OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Hampton City Council Legislative Session - March 26, 2025

City Council — Wednesday, March 26, 2025
BodyHampton, Virginia
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, March 26, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
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0:46

Good evening, everyone, and um welcome back.

0:48

And we are ready for our evening legislative session, Hampton City Council.

0:54

And so I'm gonna ask the clerk to call the roll, please.

0:56

Councilman Bowman.

0:57

Present Vice Mayor Brown.

0:59

Here.

0:59

Councilwoman Campbell.

1:00

Present.

1:01

Councilwoman Faraby.

1:02

Present.

1:02

Councilwoman Harper, present.

1:04

Councilwoman Mutler.

1:05

Present.

1:06

Mayor Greg.

1:07

Present.

1:08

And Councilmember Hope Harper will uh do the invocation.

1:13

So I ask you to please stand and then the uh Pledge of Allegiance will follow.

1:20

Thank you.

1:21

Dear Hamley Father, I come to you assembly as I know how to say thank you.

1:27

Thank you for the opportunity to serve the citizens of Hampton.

1:30

Please keep your hand on our communities.

1:34

Keep them safe and healthy in these trying times.

1:38

Please give us the wisdom and understanding to make decisions in the best interests of the citizens.

1:43

We ask special blessings for our public safety and first responders.

1:49

These we ask in your name, amen.

1:58

And to the Republicans, why nation of God with liberty and justice for all.

2:23

Okay, I have uh just a couple of comments I want to make be uh before we get started.

2:27

Uh the first of those is uh related to the um the uh plans for golf courses and the future of golf courses in our city.

2:36

A couple of weeks ago we had a presentation from uh consultants who had done some work for us on the on uh looking at uh our golf golf courses and uh making some recommendations and so but uh since that time there's been a lot of uh conversation in the community, a lot of uh conversation over social media uh regarding the uh future of the Woodlands golf course.

2:58

And uh some things that uh are being shared, some information is being shared, it's just not accurate, and so I felt the need to address that tonight.

3:07

But uh as you know, the Hampton and Woodlands golf courses have been important uh recreational assets for our community.

3:14

However, both have uh consistently uh operated at a financial loss, prompting us to take a look at their long-term viability to ensure we were making uh an informed decision.

3:24

The city engaged in National Golf Foundation and Richard Mandel Golf Architecture to conduct a comprehensive assessment on both courses.

3:32

Their study evaluated financial stability, sustainability of our municipal golf courses and provided some recommendations to improve their performance.

3:41

One key finding was uh from the report is that you know upgrades to the Hamptons Golf Course could allow it to accommodate all the rounds of golf of golf currently played in Hampton, consolidating golf operations into a single course.

3:55

And given this, the report suggests that investing in renovations in Hampton would make what seemed to be the most financial sense for the city.

4:02

Since the release of the study, there's been a lot of speculation in the community about the future of the Woodlands golf course.

4:08

And uh some of the things I said, as I mentioned, are not exactly accurate.

4:12

Uh so I want to uh say that uh just to be clear that the City Council has not made any decisions regarding the future of the Woodlands golf course.

4:20

There are no agreements done or in progress to sell the woodlands to Hampton University or any other entity.

4:28

And I want to repeat that there is no agreement done or in progress to sell the Woodlands golf course to Hampton University or any other entity.

4:37

We made no decisions on those.

5:00

Yesterday I had an opportunity to uh uh attend the uh recognition ceremony uh at uh Sandy Bottom for the mayor's book club.

5:07

And uh, you know, since the launch of the book club, the Hampton's Mayor Book Club has been dedicated to fostering early literacy and love for reading amongst our youngest learners in preschool, kindergarten, and first grade classrooms across the city.

5:21

Um preschoolers received our own copies of the book to take home while classroom libraries are enriched with new books for kindergartners and first graders.

5:28

And just an example of the impact of the program for just this year.

5:32

Uh 3,898 Hampton children have been served in the program each month.

5:38

Uh 318 volunteers read monthly, 23 schools are receiving books, and so far this year, over 7,876 books have been distributed in the schools uh to the students involved.

5:51

And this program would not be possible without the dedication of our incredible volunteers, their time and enthusiasm helped create a joyful reading experience to leave a lasting impact on our children, and so we thank all of them for their commitment to literacy and education in our community.

6:06

Uh as I mentioned this past Tuesday, we had a special brunch for all of the volunteers with the support of the students uh from Kickatan High School.

6:13

Uh, we had a large turnout because they participated in a reading program each month as well, and so all the students came over by bus and joined us for the uh for the volunteer luncheon.

6:24

But I want to say that we encourage all members of the community to support the mayor's book club, whether by volunteering to read, donating books, spreading the word about the importance of the initiative because together we can continue to inspire young minds and build brighter future for Hampton's children.

6:39

And uh lastly, I want to uh just uh put a uh uh F quick update out there on uh we're planning some changes in the sign-up period uh for the public comment uh period of our city council meetings.

6:55

Right now, uh we start uh the sign-ups at uh 6 p.m.

7:00

And then those who want to speak at public comment or public hearings can sign up all the way until 645.

7:06

Well, our council meetings start at 6:30.

7:10

So in some cases where we have a brief agenda or limited items on our agenda, we sometimes have to uh stop the meeting or adjust the agenda to try to fill in the gap uh while we wait for people to sign up to 645.

7:25

So uh starting at our first meeting in May, we want to make a change to that and require uh those who want to sign up to sign up by 6.30.

7:34

But we'll uh extend the period of time available to sign up so you'll still have the same amount of time.

7:40

We just need you to do it by 6.30 so that when the meeting starts, we have everything online for public comment, and we don't have to worry about stopping or adjusting our agenda.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural███████████████████████████████31%
Technology and Innovation█████████████13%
Parks and Recreation████████████12%
Voter Accessibility████████████12%
Transportation Safety█████████9%
Community Engagement██████6%
Education And Workforce Development█████5%
Public Engagement████4%
Environmental Protection███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Hampton City Council Legislative Session - March 26, 2025

The Hampton City Council met on March 26, 2025, at 6:30 PM in Council Chambers. The meeting included a consent agenda, a presentation on the Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities (BASC) program, public comments, and a deferred appointment. Mayor Jimmy Gray also addressed community speculation about the future of The Woodlands Golf Course and announced a change to the public comment sign-up period.

Consent Calendar

  • Item 25-0093: Resolution to amend FY2025 budget to appropriate $142,000 from the Computer Replacement Committed Fund Balance to the Information Technology General Fund for the Cybersecurity Program. Approved unanimously (7-0).
  • Item 25-0099: Resolution to amend FY2025 budget to appropriate $90,160.01 from the Hazmat Restricted Fund Balance to the Fire and Rescue Division's General Fund Operating Budget for hazmat emergency materials and equipment. Approved unanimously (7-0).
  • Item 25-0088: Approval of minutes from the work session of February 12, 2025, and legislative session of February 26, 2025. Approved unanimously.

Presentations, Proclamations, Awards

  • Briefing on Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities (BASC) and Innovation Team (i-team) Introduction: City Manager Mary Bunting introduced the program. Hampton is one of 25 cities nationwide selected for this three-year initiative. Interim Assistant City Manager Hui-Shan Walker reviewed the timeline (application September 2023, selection September 2024) and goals: addressing flood-related damages, resilience, and response in pilot areas Aberdeen Gardens, Briarwood Terrace, and West Shell Road. The partnership table includes city staff, local partners (Wetlands Watch, Greater Peninsula CARES), and initiative partners. i-team Director Chad Sanders (started March 24) and Civic Designer Demetrius Keilu spoke about the team’s process, including weekly office hours and two monthly workshops. Current funding: $120,000 in grants for i-team work, $230,000 implementation grant for a climate action plan, plus access to federal grant technical assistance. Salaries for three i-team positions are funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Aaron Weaver: Thanked city staff (Monica Meharg, Gabe Diaz, Will Pell) for honoring the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind students and his mother at a March 1, 2025 event. Called the event a step toward rebuilding trust, which he said has been broken in the neighborhood.
  • Richard Brown (Phoebus resident): Requested traffic calming measures (speed bumps or islands) on Mellen Street due to speeding (45-50 mph) and a fatal hit-and-run two years ago. Noted a prior conversation with Gregory Moyer who said 85% speeding threshold is required for action.
  • Linda Boone (volunteer, Hampton Waterways Restoration Project and Master Naturalist): Announced the Earth Day Environmental Festival "Together is Beautiful" on April 26, 2025, at 12:30 PM at Blue Bird Gap Farm, where a 7x5-foot sea turtle sculpture named Morris (created by Kecoughtan High School STEM students) will be dedicated to educate about littering.
  • Jacqueline Keener-Weatherford (volunteer, Master Naturalist): Described the "At a Farm Project" founded in 2023 to make Blue Bird Gap Farm accessible. Highlights: earned a $14,000 grant for two all-terrain wheelchairs (available free in May), developed sensory toolkits for visitors with autism based on parent surveys. Noted global statistics that 1 in 5 people have a disability. Thanked the city for support.
  • Neva Beierle: Opposed two recommendations by the Electoral Board: closing three polling places (over 10% of Hampton’s polling places) and redrawing boundaries for 9–11 others. Expressed concern that the changes could be disruptive and reduce voter turnout, possibly targeting specific communities. Asked for the board’s rationale.

Discussion Items

  • Mayor’s Comments on Golf Courses: Mayor Gray clarified that no decisions have been made regarding the future of The Woodlands Golf Course. There are no agreements to sell it to Hampton University or any other entity. He summarized a consultant study finding that upgrades to The Hamptons Golf Course could accommodate all current rounds, making financial sense, but Council has not acted.
  • Mayor’s Book Club Update: Reported 3,898 children served monthly, 318 volunteers, 23 schools, and 7,876 books distributed this year.
  • Public Comment Sign-Up Change: Starting May 2025, sign-up for public comment will close at 6:30 PM (meeting start) instead of 6:45 PM, to avoid agenda interruptions.
  • City Manager Responses:
    • For Mr. Weaver: City has identified funds to begin the infrastructure study for the Virginia School site.
    • For Mr. Brown: A traffic counter was installed on his street on March 20 as a first step; police do not believe the fatal accident was speed-related. The city will study results and engage the neighborhood.
    • For Ms. Boone and Ms. Keener-Weatherford: Thanked them for their volunteer work and expressed support.
    • For Ms. Beierle: Council discussed the Electoral Board’s recommendations in a 1:00 PM work session. The first recommendation (moving East Hampton polling from Phoebus High School to Hampton University) prompted Council to consider instead adding a polling location at HU. The second recommendation (multiple precinct changes) drew many questions, and Council did not seem interested in pursuing it. The city attorney will handle next steps with the Electoral Board and voter registrar.
  • iValue Budget Polling: City Manager Bunting announced results were presented earlier that day and will be posted online. Budget timeline: preview April 9 (1:00 PM work session), budget document released April 15, first public hearing April 23 (6:30 PM), second public hearing and first vote May 7 (special meeting, 6:30 PM), final adoption May 14.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent Agenda approved unanimously (7-0).
  • Appointments to Hampton Commission on the Arts deferred to the April 9, 2025 legislative session (motion by Councilmember Ferebee, seconded by Councilmember Mugler; vote 7-0).
  • No public hearings were held.
  • The meeting adjourned at 7:19 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening, everyone, and um welcome back. And we are ready for our evening legislative session, Hampton City Council. And so I'm gonna ask the clerk to call the roll, please. Councilman Bowman. Present Vice Mayor Brown. Here. Councilwoman Campbell. Present. Councilwoman Faraby. Present. Councilwoman Harper, present. Councilwoman Mutler. Present. Mayor Greg. Present. And Councilmember Hope Harper will uh do the invocation. So I ask you to please stand and then the uh Pledge of Allegiance will follow. Thank you. Dear Hamley Father, I come to you assembly as I know how to say thank you. Thank you for the opportunity to serve the citizens of Hampton. Please keep your hand on our communities. Keep them safe and healthy in these trying times. Please give us the wisdom and understanding to make decisions in the best interests of the citizens. We ask special blessings for our public safety and first responders. These we ask in your name, amen. And to the Republicans, why nation of God with liberty and justice for all. Okay, I have uh just a couple of comments I want to make be uh before we get started. Uh the first of those is uh related to the um the uh plans for golf courses and the future of golf courses in our city. A couple of weeks ago we had a presentation from uh consultants who had done some work for us on the on uh looking at uh our golf golf courses and uh making some recommendations and so but uh since that time there's been a lot of uh conversation in the community, a lot of uh conversation over social media uh regarding the uh future of the Woodlands golf course. And uh some things that uh are being shared, some information is being shared, it's just not accurate, and so I felt the need to address that tonight. But uh as you know, the Hampton and Woodlands golf courses have been important uh recreational assets for our community. However, both have uh consistently uh operated at a financial loss, prompting us to take a look at their long-term viability to ensure we were making uh an informed decision. The city engaged in National Golf Foundation and Richard Mandel Golf Architecture to conduct a comprehensive assessment on both courses. Their study evaluated financial stability, sustainability of our municipal golf courses and provided some recommendations to improve their performance. One key finding was uh from the report is that you know upgrades to the Hamptons Golf Course could allow it to accommodate all the rounds of golf of golf currently played in Hampton, consolidating golf operations into a single course. And given this, the report suggests that investing in renovations in Hampton would make what seemed to be the most financial sense for the city. Since the release of the study, there's been a lot of speculation in the community about the future of the Woodlands golf course. And uh some of the things I said, as I mentioned, are not exactly accurate. Uh so I want to uh say that uh just to be clear that the City Council has not made any decisions regarding the future of the Woodlands golf course. There are no agreements done or in progress to sell the woodlands to Hampton University or any other entity. And I want to repeat that there is no agreement done or in progress to sell the Woodlands golf course to Hampton University or any other entity. We made no decisions on those. Yesterday I had an opportunity to uh uh attend the uh recognition ceremony uh at uh Sandy Bottom for the mayor's book club. And uh, you know, since the launch of the book club, the Hampton's Mayor Book Club has been dedicated to fostering early literacy and love for reading amongst our youngest learners in preschool, kindergarten, and first grade classrooms across the city. Um preschoolers received our own copies of the book to take home while classroom libraries are enriched with new books for kindergartners and first graders. And just an example of the impact of the program for just this year. Uh 3,898 Hampton children have been served in the program each month. Uh 318 volunteers read monthly, 23 schools are receiving books, and so far this year, over 7,876 books have been distributed in the schools uh to the students involved. And this program would not be possible without the dedication of our incredible volunteers, their time and enthusiasm helped create a joyful reading experience to leave a lasting impact on our children, and so we thank all of them for their commitment to literacy and education in our community. Uh as I mentioned this past Tuesday, we had a special brunch for all of the volunteers with the support of the students uh from Kickatan High School.

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