Good evening and welcome to the Hampton City Council legislative session.

I'd like to ask the clerk to call the roll, please.

Councilman Bowman.

Present.

Vice Mayor Brown.

Here.

Councilwoman Campbell.

Present.

Councilwoman Ferraby.

Present.

Councilwoman Harper.

Present.

Councilwoman Mudler, present.

Mayor Craig.

Present.

And the invocing will be given by Vice Mayor Stephen Brown.

So I'd ask you to please stand and join us for the invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance.

Let's bow heads in prayer.

Oh Lord, how great and excellent is your name and all the earth.

This is the day you've made we should rejoice in it and be glad.

Tonight, Father God, as we are at war, I pray tonight, God, for our young men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice, laid on their lives to defend the freedoms of this nation.

Pray for their families who will mourn their loss.

Pray for their families who will have to suffer because they're no longer with us.

And so we pray tonight for peace and civility in our nation and our world.

Today is Earth Day.

We pray, Lord, for the earth.

We pray that we will take care of this earth.

We take care of our natural resources.

We will take care of our land, our trees, our forestry, our waters.

Livestock and live animals would thrive and grow.

Our earth is precious to us, and we have to take care of it.

And so, Lord, I thank you tonight for members of council who have gathered tonight to deliberate to deliberate to make decisions that will affect every citizen who sits in this in this uh arena tonight and those in our city.

I pray tonight, God, that as we uh ponder major decisions on the budget, uh, that we won't be disagreeable, even though we may disagree on some things, that we won't have a spirit of disagreement, and at the end of the day, it's about providing court services and doing what is right.

I pray now, God, that you have your way tonight as we celebrate those who've come to speak.

We pray tonight, God, for peace, not only in our locality, but in our land.

We give you praise for our first responders.

We pray for them as they have difficult jobs, and uh every day they're brave men and women who put their lives on the line, and we're grateful for them tonight.

Ask them that you would have your way, that all that we say and do in this uh arena tonight, in this chamber, we'll be done to give you a name to praise, give it in the glory, and to give you honor.

In Christ's name we pray.

All of God's people said together.

Amen.

Amen.

We literally and just as far.

So I have a couple of uh items on the mayor's comments this evening.

So uh the first of those, uh you may recall uh a couple of weeks ago we had a teen takeover at Buckrow Beach, uh, which you know for a while was uh pretty orderly, and then toward the end it got uh got a little bit out of hand.

Um the problem, as I've spoken uh about before with these types of events is that they unplanned events like this don't give uh police department and our city staff who manage the parks an opportunity to uh prepare for large crowds with parking and you know, everything that is needed to be able to you know allow people to enjoy those kinds of situations.

So, in order to do public events like that, where you're gonna invite the public to come out to a gathering, it requires you to get a permit.

And in many cases, when these events pop off, uh they are unannounced to us.

Uh and they you know create a large distraction.

So uh but one special interest story that I like to acknowledge this evening because on the one that occurred a couple of weeks ago, the young man who organized that event um you know wanted to make up for it, and uh he wanted to do something that was more positive because he did not intend for the event to end the way it did, uh, even though the uh event was uh organized in a manner that's not consistent with our permitting process.

So he has reached out to uh Mr.

David Spring down at uh Buckrow Coff Buckrow Coffee Company, Buck Roe Coffee Co.

is what it's known as down there.

And if you've been down in Buckrow recently, uh, you know, uh he has a pretty thriving business down there, you know, a coffee shop sometimes are kind of like the first step that ends up turning the community around.

But David is doing a lot in Buckrow, he's he's transforming the area behind his uh his coffee shop as a public gathering space, uh uh a community park, and uh and so it's it's drawing a lot of attention.

But what drew attention this week was uh you know, a story on the news about him uh reaching out and connecting with the young man who organized that uh takeover at Buckrow.

And so now I from what I'm told and what I heard on the news was that this young man is now going to use his influence and his social media network to uh do a takeover of Buckrow again, but for the purpose of cleaning up the Buckrow Beach.

And uh so I think that's uh something that should that is very notable.

But uh we want to thank David for you know reaching out and connecting with him, or he reached out and connected with you.

I'm not sure how it happened, but uh obviously you're giving him the right guidance uh he needs in terms of how to do things right with Hampton.

So we want to thank you for that.

So David stand up, we're just gonna give you a round of applause for doing that.

We we appreciate your your efforts to uh turn something that was uh a negative situation into you know something positive for the community, and hopefully this young man will you know learn from that and perhaps do some good events in the future, and we'll we'll certainly look forward to working with him and you to you know organize these kinds of events in a in a you know in accordance with our city policies and and our uh special event permanent process and uh allow everybody to have a good time.

But thank you for what you did to uh you know provide some guidance and and mentoring to this young man so that he can do it right in the future.

We appreciate it.

All right.

And another person who does a lot of great things in our community and has been a staple in this this city for many, many years is Mr.

Marcellus Boo Williams.

And you all know Boo Williams, he has a sports plex named after him uh in Hampton, and uh he has been you know mentoring and and coaching basketball players uh in the Hampton Roads region for a long time, and uh and is continuing to do so today with uh you know bringing in basketball tournaments to the sports plex, and you know, even sometimes the sports plex is not big enough to handle them all, they stole over into the convention center and the coliseum and gyms all around the city.

But nevertheless, uh Boo Williams is uh a guru in the AAU circles, and we are proud of the work that he's done.

Well, the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame has decided that uh you know it's time for him to be recognized.

So uh this weekend, uh April 25th, up in Rico County, Boo Williams uh will be inducted into the uh Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.

And uh so uh we're pretty proud of Boo and uh we're we're just grateful for all that he's done for this community.

You know, he he grew up in the community, played basketball, went away to college and played what he came back and give and is giving back to his community in a big way, and so we're really thankful for that.

So congratulations to Boo Williams to uh who will be one of the next inductees into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.

Yeah.

All right, so with that, I'm gonna ask the clerk to read the protocol for the uh consent agenda.

The consent agenda consists of routine non-controversial items requiring council approval.

These items are typically adopted with one motion and without discussion.

Tonight, the consent agenda authorizes the donation of a fire boat to the Isle of White Fire and Rescue Department and approves the minutes from the special session of April 9th, 2026.

We need a motion or second.

So moved.

Second.

Councilman Bowman.

Aye, Vice Mayor Brown, Councilwoman Campbell.

Aye, Councilwoman Theraby.

Aye.

Councilwoman Harper, Councilwoman Muggler.

I mayor Gray.

Aye.

Okay.

And next on the proclamations and presentations, we have three items tonight.

Uh, the first of those I'm going to read, and uh then we have a special presentation.

Um, and so the first one is proclaiming April 19th through 20 through the 25th, 2026 as administrative professionals week in the city of Hampton, Virginia.

And whereas administrative professionals play an essential role in coordinating the office operations of businesses, government, educational institutions, and other organizations, and whereas the work of administrative professionals today require advanced knowledge and expertise in communications, computer software, office technology, project management, organization, customer service, and other vital management responsibilities, and whereas administrative professional week is observed annually in workplaces around the world to recognize the important contributions of administrative support staff and is sponsored by the International Association of Administrative Professionals.

And whereas Administrative Professionals Week 2026 focuses on honoring the office professionals who make our office work reflecting the integral integral and central role that office professionals play in modern businesses.

So now therefore I, James A.

Gray, Mayor, on behalf of the City Council of the City of Hampton, Virginia, do hereby proclaim the week of April 19th through the 25th, 2026 as Administrative Professionals Week, and Wednesday, April 22nd, 2026, as Administrative Professionals Day in the City of Hampton, Virginia, saluting the valuable contributions of administrative professionals in the workplace.

And I furthermore call upon all employers to support continued training and development for our administrative staff, recognizing that well, a well-trained workforce is essential for success in today's business world.

So now I'm witness whereof I have hereinto set my hand and calls the seal of the Hampton City of Hampton, Virginia to be affixed this 22nd day of April 20, 2026, signed James A.

Gray Mayor.

So congratulations and thank you to all of the administrative professionals who work here in the City of Hampton and throughout our city.

Thank you so much.

And then secondly, uh proclaiming April 22nd, 2026 as Earth Day in the City of Hampton, Virginia.

And whereas all people of this earth have a right to a healthy environment, and whereas the youth of the world are our most valuable resources and represent a source of endless creativity and potential.

And whereas expanding environmental education and climate literacy is a vital is vital to enhance awareness about the environment, inform decision making, and protect future generations.

And whereas it is understood that sustainability will only be achieved by meeting the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations, and whereas Earth Day is an annual reminder of the constant need for environmental stewardship and sustainability efforts.

And whereas 2026 Earth Day theme is our power, our planet, and whereas it is more important than ever to act locally and to encourage citizens to participate in personal and local events and activities that can contribute to the larger well-being of our planet.

And whereas Walk Hampton Clean is a local Hampton event in which citizens of all ages can participate in cleaning up streets, neighborhoods, parks, and schools, and other areas of Hampton.

Now, therefore, I James A.

Gray Jr., mayor on behalf of the City Council of the City of Hampton, Virginia, do hereby proclaim April 22nd, 2026 as Earth Day in the City of Hampton and encourage all citizens, businesses, and institutions to use Earth Day to celebrate the Earth and promote the environmental and climate literacy in part through participating in Walk Hampton Clean.

In witness whereof, I've hereon to set my hand and cause the seal of the City of Hampton, Virginia to be affixed this 22nd day of April 2026, signed James A.

Gray Jr.

And do we have anybody except in this one?

Right, I have a clean city people here.

All right.

Yes, indeed.

Okay.

All right.

So one of the chair and all of the uh clean city commissioners come up front.

Okay.

Okay, so I'm gonna ask the clerk to read the title of the uh next presentation on the proclamations, which is the Hampton City School's cuts and conversations.

So I'm gonna ask the city manager to introduce that one.

So thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Um I'm I'm so happy that council is giving an opportunity tonight for the students of Hampton High School to share their project-based learning opportunity uh with us all.

Um I happen to have attended the the uh project-based learning presentations from all of the high schools, and I gotta tell you, I was glad I was not a judge because they were all outstanding.

But if I'm being honest, and it's not because I'm a crabber myself, but if I'm being honest, this was my absolute favorite.

And I I immediately reached out to the mayor who was not able to make it that day, and asked if we could find time if Dr.

Haynes would agree to it, uh, to let us have this presentation made to the entire community.

Because what these young men and I I think they were all men, I apologize if there was a woman, I don't remember everyone who was in the presentation.

But what they did is truly amazing, and it opened, I think a lot of people's eyes to a really um important issue that we might not think about in our normal lives.

And it really resonates well this particular week, too, because in addition to Earth Month and Earth Day, it's also our um it's National Violence Prevention Week.

And um, you're gonna hear, I don't want to steal their story because they told it so so well.

But what they did changed um and impacted a lot of people on a lot of different levels, and it's a really good example of how we can come together as a community to help young men and women in our community.

And so with that, I I don't know if if our school board chair who's here or Dr.

Haynes, our superintendent here, wanted to say anything before the kids kick it off.

But um, I think you all will be as moved as I was in hearing this freshman academy's presentation for their project-based learning.

So um again, Dr.

Haynes or um Dr.

Mason, did you all want to say anything, or are we just gonna turn it over to this great Hampton High School team?

All right.

Hi, my name is Janaya Stanley.

And we are cuts and conversations.

Today, we are presenting cuts and conversations, a student-led initiative built around one simple idea.

Come for the haircut and stay for the conversation.

This process is not only about providing services, it's about making sure students feel need, heard, and supported.

So today, we will walk you through our project overview, our planning and proposal, and the implementation that we had and the impact they had on students and communities.

We started by asking one important question.

How can student-led conversations combined with access to basic needs like haircuts and meals, strengthen relationships, build social capital, and promote personal and academic growth?

This question guided everything that we create.

And City Council, I would like to stop and ask you all a question.

How many of you feel more confident after getting your hair done or a fresh haircut?

Thank you for the show of hands.

Now imagine being a student, not able to fill that confidence.

That's what led us to dig deeper into this problem.

So better understand student needs, we collect the data.

We created a survey asking the students, have you ever won a hoodie or hat because you did not like how your hair looks?

And 41.3% said yes.

High school students report that haircuts typically cost 25 to 50 dollars.

We can't afford that, and sometimes our parents can't either.

Hello, I'm JB Thomas, and I attend D Hampton High School.

And this is my problem.

Prior to going to cuts and conversations, I was always wearing my hoodie in school, getting in trouble for not taking my hair gear off.

A student came up to me and told me about cuts and conversations, and I actually got a haircut.

It looked nice, don't it?

Y'all like it, right?

I wanted to cuts and conversations, and I actually got a mentor.

And the mentor actually helps me talk about things that I wouldn't even have the courage to speak about today.

And for that, I am a changed man.

Thank you for cuts and conversations.

Our program had three main goals.

First, to strengthen confidence and communication skills.

Second, to enrich engagement between students and communities, and third, to promote belonging and engagement through communities and connections.

To measure success, we took a tennis and distributed pre- and post-surveys.

And at the end, you would see student and parent testimonials.

Our project timeline was very simple.

First, we started with our needs assessments and our pre-programmed surveys, then our community outreach.

Then we launched our program and had over 40 students participate.

And the community day came, and we had more students from different schools and more licensed barbers.

City Council, I would like you to close your eyes.

Bzz the sound of cuts and conversations.

When you walk through the door, you see barbers cutting students' hair, students talking to mentors, and students talking to other students.

Then you turn around, you see the table, the food, the drinks, because you know we gotta eat.

Now open your eyes.

You see 40 students participate in with 100%.

And you know how difficult it is to get students to participate 100% with over 65 free haircuts given out.

And the best part, we saved 1,100.

Can somebody say 1,100?

1,100.

Now that's something to clap about.

But this would not be possible without our community partners.

So we would like to say thank you to Hampton Commonwealth's attorney office, and thank you to Hampton Police Division.

Thank you to Lord Our Voices Empower.

Thank you to Quality of Life Inc., thank you, Wonder Years Network.

Thank you, Office of Youth and Young Adult Opportunities.

And thank you to the Academy of Digital Video Production.

The impacts of cuts and conversations removes barriers by reducing the need for hoodies and hats in the school building.

Then we facilitate communication by enhancing communication skills for students.

Also, we provide direction by helping students with a mentor.

Me personally, I enjoy cuts and conversations because I was able to express my insecurities while feeling judged.

So now I feel confident about myself.

And we actually have some of our community partners and barbers in the audience today, like Mr.

Hickman and Mr.

Adrian Cook.

But to sustain and exp to sustain and expand our program, first we must secure funding and expand partnerships that will create a financial incentive to strengthen more mentorships and increase scaling.

But cuts and conversations is more than a haircut.

If you don't believe me, watch this video.

My experience with cuts and conversations was very impactful for myself to see.

Very similar.

Discussions that even as 45-year-old man can't even get my friends.

So I just believe that having this program is really big because getting a haircut and making yourself like that.

It's a confidence building.

Wow, having a mentorship with kids after school hours and giving them something to eat.

It's just anything that you can do to just make it involved.

They know that places like uh cuts and conversations, which actually brings the service to youth are much, much, much better.

They feel safe, um, having conversations that are going to uh things that a lot of times we can't share the teachers or even our parents or sometimes our close friends.

Um incredible for students to come and to be seeing her and value.

Something that students need every single day.

They talk about my lessons is just a simple conversation from relationship buildings and anything from a career building or anything of that nature.

So the group of people that like we didn't actually get through some of the stuff that we wanted today.

So come in, we'll get in the conversation that you get in.

As you can see from the video, you see the impact that cuts and conversations has had.

But now we need your help to make a sustainable movement.

Help us help our community.

So City Council and Community, are you in?

Yes.

All right.

Councilwoman Harper.

Congratulations.

That was awesome, phenomenal, wonderful, exuberant presentation.

Thank you so much for bringing that here.

How can we expand or how can we help you?

Meaning, if we would like to make a you know, donation to someone, make getting a haircut or whichever, how is that possible for us to do?

Reaching out to our people from Hampton High School works.

Raise your hand.

Miss Erica, Miss Snyder.

I have uh I have a a note here that says a point of contact for for this program is Erica Spencer at Hampton High School.

Oh, I know Erica.

Eric, are you out there?

Eric makes your thing.

Yes.

Okay.

All right.

Okay.

Okay, so we're going to have to do that.

I just contact Erica.

Thank you.

That was wonderful, phenomenal.

Councilman Bowman.

Just want to say um just wow.

Um, your presentation just fantastic.

Um, I am so impressed how well mannered, how well spoken you guys are, and that contributes to our wonderful school system.

So just thank you for that.

And secondly, I would like to know when do you meet, where do you meet.

Um, not that I'm coming to get a haircut, but I would love to be a part of the conversation just to sit back and enjoy.

Okay, Councilwoman Muggler, and Vice Mayor.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Oh, sorry.

Um, but you all might be able to trim Councilman Bowman's beard.

It would give you some confidence, right?

Anyways, uh thank you, young men and um lady for your presentation today.

You all said you're ninth graders, yeah, ninth graders, and you all are so impressive and so sophisticated.

I'm pretty darn sure that as a ninth grader, I did not know what data was.

I we didn't talk about data, and we didn't have a handle on that kind of information at this point in our education.

Now I'm one of the older members up here, so I'm speaking for my my myself, but anyway, I'm so impressed with the the the grasp you all have on the subject matter that you all really attacked this question and came up with a solution, and you you used real data and information to back up your idea, and um, and you've gotten real results from that.

So cool.

Um, and again, it is a testament to our academies and the leadership in Hampton City Schools.

Um, it just continues to make me so proud, so proud of our division, and so proud of our young people.

You all are are awesome, and I know your futures are bright.

Um, so thank you so much for the presentation.

Vice Mayor Brown.

Yeah, thank you, Mayor.

I am again I can ditto everything that's been said, but one thing I I do appreciate about you brothers and sister is that uh you were able to help people uh recognize who they are and the gifts they have inside as they were some mention of low self-esteem and didn't want to look up and you know didn't um uh feel valued uh and and a good haircut will make you feel different.

Uh I cut my hair every day and uh um the hat that I do have and uh I when I when I feel like I I just feel like I'm good and also I want to say uh and uh uh my sister I want to recognize her too.

She was in the video, uh Alexis Carrington in the back just came in.

Lexus, bless you, my sister.

Um yeah, give her a hand.

But but I do have one one question for you.

So do you guys facilitate the conversation as well?

I know you got other people coming in, but you guys are you involved in the conversation when folks come in for the cut and then the conversation?

Um me personally, I was one of the students that was asking questions and like you know, trying to tackle what people felt.

Sure, like with certain things about self-image and you know, just how they felt about felt about their self, you know.

Great, yeah, thank you.

Appreciate it.

Councilwoman Ferrebby.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Uh did all the everything that all the other council members have said.

Um I am a product of Hampton City Schools.

I went to the Bethel High School, but I'm I just have to say that I'm so happy with the administration, and I want to thank our city manager for bringing this presentation to us.

Um I stand here to help in any way that I can.

And I do have a question since we have uh a young lady.

Are you planning on expanding to also do uh women's hair?

Yes, we're planning on expanding to breeders, and we have female mentors coming also.

Outstanding.

Thank you.

And I hope that um there will be opportunities for you all to do some interns, student internships at some point within the city as well, because we want you to get educated here, and we we want you to come back to live, work, and play.

You're exactly who we need in our city.

Thank you.

I just have one more quick question.

So when you guys graduate, will this program continue at the schools?

Hopefully.

Okay, great.

Let's try to make that happen.

The superintendent is out there, so he hears you.

Councilmember Campbell.

Thank you.

Great job, guys.

This is wonderful.

Um, I know you were getting ready to say there was a date that you were gonna meet next.

Um, what is that date?

May 20th.

What date?

May 20th this year.

Okay, and what time is there at it starts sometime around after school, about after school 330.

Say 330.

Okay.

And um, so are you guys gonna continue this throughout the school year, or is this was this a project of one time, or is it something you're gonna keep doing?

At a certain point it was a project, but then we expanded and tried to tackle the problem because we realized it was something that people actually go through, and then we made it an actual program instead of just a project.

So are you gonna become barbers or are you gonna become business owners?

I don't know about myself personally.

Well, great job, guys.

Thank you very much.

Mayor, I just wanted to offer, because I think the you know, as you all reflected, and I'm sure the audience felt the same way, and and I like you know, others of you want to help, you know, both personally with donations, but also I want to help you.

We're gonna I'm gonna offer my city team to help you if you want to help you figure out how you can set up a website to receive donations and things like that.

Because one of the things you said in your presentation was you want to scale it so that you can do it with frequency and not just for Hampton High School students, but for others.

And I think there are a lot of people who really admire what you're doing, as you saw, and if you could have a website with a secure way of donations or a way to receive donations, people would likely step up and help even more than you could possibly imagine.

So if you all want to spend part of your summer, once you get done with all your schools, because I know exams and all that's coming up.

Let me know when we break, I'll give you my card.

Reach out to me and my city IT uh innovation team and our IT team and all that will help give you the information you need so you can take this to the next level.

Thank you.

Well, I came in uh when you all were in here uh rehearsing, and uh I know that there was you know, some were a little bit anxious about how you're gonna do in your presentation, but I will say that your presentation was flawless.

So practice makes perfect.

You did a great job.

But uh thank you all, and we look forward to uh continuing to learn more about this program, cuts and conversations I want to say thank you to you guys for giving us this opportunity.

All right.

Just come back for just a second.

Come back.

Gentlemen and lady.

They'd like you to come up with a picture.

Thank you, Mayor.

They were in here practicing the other day and they were a little nervous about you know doing it and all of it.

Yeah, they came in.

Yeah.

Mayor, the next item on the agenda is twenty-six-0140 with the finance committee recommendation based on the revenue guideline for real estate tax rate adjustments.

My bad, I looked over it.

Thank you for correcting me on that.

So and I was uh looking, I see Miss Curtis is here.

All right, come on up.

As she's coming up, I'll just say for the record, Mr.

Mayor, in case people aren't aware, council has a finance committee that is appointed to review the calculations rate relative to the rate stabilization policy that council adopted, which Ms.

Curtis will describe.

Um each year they convene after the budget is released and after the financial uh data is available to make sure that we have properly applied the rate stabilization policy that was set forward by city council, and Ms.

Curtis is here tonight to represent that committee.

And thank you so much for having me, particularly after that last presentation, because I know this is going to be just as riveting as that fabulous presentation was.

Good evening, Mayor Gray, and Vice Mayor Brown, Council members, Mrs.

Bunting, City Attorney.

Nice to see you all.

Um let me give you an overview of the history and purpose of the finance committee, and then I will give you an overview of the revenue guideline for real estate taxes, and then finally I will um give you our recommendation.

The finance committee was established in 2005 by city council with an eye toward enhancing council's role in developing a broad scoped strategic view of city finances, and to provide council advice and support of the very important financial decision making that you have.

Um, and we had the assessor as well this year.

In 2006, the financial guideline dealing with real estate growth was established.

Um this is the formula by which we operate.

Real estate revenue growth net of new construction from one fiscal year to the next shall be limited to the equivalent percentage increase in an inflationary growth factor as measured by either the consumer price index for urban dwellers or resident income growth, whichever is greater and any given year.

To the extent that the needs of the city in terms of budget require real estate revenue to grow faster than this factor, then the manager and council shall explicitly explain the budget driving factors causing this, so that our residents may have a clear understanding of the need to deviate from the financial guideline.

This guideline started uh in implementation in 07.

In 2013, council approved a revision to the revenue guideline for real estate taxes to incorporate a potential decline in real estate revenue and to allow flexibility to the governing body regarding the application of the tax rate factors, and to also review all revenues and fees to encourage diversity and less reliance on real property revenues during economic declines.

This is the tax equalization of the impl the implementation of the tax equalization policy over the last uh nine years.

And I want to particularly point out that in 2023, when the increase in real estate tax revenue, the the assessed value went up 23 million dollars, the equalized tax rate by the formula went down from 127 per 100 to 119 per 100.

That that gives you an idea of the sort of CSAW effect that this policy is intended to have.

If the real estate values decline, then less revenue comes into the city than the taxes may need to raise to try to equalize that when the rate when this when the value raises, then the taxes may be adjusted downward.

And we have been able to do that using this formula, and you can see that in this um in this on this table.

So we met um and voted unanimously on April 15th to confirm the calculation of the stabilization real estate tax rate at the equalized rate of $114.

Sorry, $1.14 per hundred dollars of assessed value per the revenue guideline.

Uh we came to that after looking at uh presentation from the city manager's office about the uh upcoming budget and uh looking at the assessments in the city.

So we are recommending uh to you all that you approve uh and use the one dollar fourteen per hundred dollars of assessed value in your budgetary uh conversations and the city manager oddly enough is also recommending a dollar fourteen.

So we recognize that the manager has rec uh recommended a fiscally responsible budget for the citizens based on the rate, and we support the council's adoption of that rate.

Any questions?

Any questions for Ms.

Curtis?

All right, don't have any for you to see.

Those young people were spectacular.

Okay, thank you.

Uh well, thank you for your work with the uh finance committee and your presentation.

Thank you.

All right, so now I'm gonna ask the clerk to read a protocol for public hearings.

The city council is committed to fair and respectful hearings.

The following guidelines help ensure an orderly process.

Individuals wishing to speak must sign up in the city hall lobby, starting one hour before the meeting and ending when the meeting begins.

Speakers will be called in the order they signed up.

Speakers shall address the council from the center podium.

Each speaker is allowed three minutes.

The timer has a green light, which will turn yellow with one minute remaining, then red when time is up.

All comments must be addressed to the council and speakers may not yield their time to others.

After all the speakers are heard, the mayor will close the public hearing and invite council discussion and action if appropriate.

Your first public hearing this evening is item number five, 26-0096.

It's a public hearing to receive citizens' comments relative to the proposed real property tax increase.

Proposed tax rate is to maintain $1.14 per $100 of assessed value.

And that's it.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Uh, for the benefit of the public that may not always follow this every year, you might be like, why are they saying a tax rate increase, but then saying the rate is being maintained?

The code of Virginia 58.1-3321 requires that all localities conduct a public hearing when the annual real estate assessment results in an increase in the real estate tax levy that is more than 101% of the prior's tax levy.

And they require us to calculate what it would be, the rate would be if you only allowed a 1% growth in your budget.

They don't opine on whether that's realistic or not.

For instance, you couldn't do more than a one percent salary increase for employees, whether they're police officers or teachers at just one percent.

But they have basically set that policy so that the public would know what the rate would be if you artificially constrain things to a one percent growth.

In this particular case, if we were to do that, the tax rate would be a dollar well one point one one four nine.

So a dollar eleven and four nine beyond that.

Um in this case, because we're recommending a dollar fourteen as Ms.

Curtis described in accordance with our rate stabilization policy that looks at inflationary costs and the need for salary increases for employees.

Um, our rate suggests it should be a dollar fourteen, which is the same tax rate as last year.

So that's why there's that conflicting title that you sort of heard the increase, but we're maintaining the rate the same.

In any event, we are required to have a public hearing to allow the public to comment on this item, and I'll turn it back to Mr.

Mayor for that public hearing.

All right, well, this item uh does require public hearing, uh, does not require a vote this evening, but we're gonna open the uh public hearing.

So we have uh one person sign up to speak on this item.

Uh Aaron Weaver.

Which is being presented as equalized rate based on the city revenue as shown by the finance committee that we just watched.

However, while this rate itself is not has not increased, the reality of it, the property values have, which means residents are still paying more.

So while the maybe technically no increase, it does not feel like that to people paying bills, which everybody pays bills.

I understand the position the city is in.

I understand the rising costs, the obligations, and the need to maintain services.

However, the outcome is still the same for the residents, and that is increased financial pressure with no relief at all.

And that is where I believe we need to shift the conversation.

One of the biggest factors that uh City Manager Bunton keeps telling us each and every time is impacting this conversion is the military tax relief at the state level.

The policy is needed, it is deserved, and it supports our veterans.

It is also a direct impact on our local revenue cities, including Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, and Virginia Beach.

That means they're carrying a portion of that cost at a local level that we are doing.

So many questions.

So my question to this is that what are we doing as a city to advocate for that relief at a state level to offset that impact?

Because it's not just Hampton that has this issue.

This is a regional issue.

We have an opportunity here for leadership.

Mayor Gray has a strong relationship with mayors across the region and across the cities that we see on the social media page.

And we would like to, I would like to see a coordination coordinated action, the same way that the letter was coordinated with when I they did not want the um city employees to have uh to have I can't think of what it is, but they didn't want to have that.

Correct.

Yeah.

So I want to see that same letter.

And matter of fact, you can lead it instead of Bobby Dyer from Virginia Beach.

I believe we should be working together and the city's formally request state support and reimbursement tied to that military tax relief.

Because if we are serious about providing relief to residents, we cannot solve that fully on a local level alone.

So my position is simple.

I understand why the rate is being held at a dollar fourteen, but holding that rate is not the same as providing relief.

If we want to create a real tax relief, we have to expand that strategy beyond what is the local budget and actively pursue at a state level.

Residents are doing their part.

The city is doing what it can.

Now the question is are we willing to lead the push for additional support needed actually to move that number down?

Thank you.

You got it.

Okay.

Uh that's the only person signed up, so we'll close the public hearing on that item and ask the clerk to read the title for the next one.

Item number six is 26-0097.

It's a public hearing to receive citizens' comments regarding the city manager's recommended budget for fiscal year 2027.

All right, city manager.

Mr.

Mayor and Council members, this is the official um state budget required hearing for consideration of the manager's fiscal 2027 budget.

Uh tonight we will only receive comments.

We will not vote.

Um, although the state only requires one budget hearing, we by tradition have two.

We will also have a second budget hearing on May the 6th at 6 30.

That night is a special meeting designed only for the second hearing on the budget process.

All right.

This item uh does require mention a public hearing, so we're going to open the public hearing.

Uh we have three people sign up to speak.

Uh the first one is uh Jane Foggy.

Okay, thank you.

Um Mayor Gray, Vice Mayor, City Council members, city manager, attorney.

Uh my name is Jane Fogg.

I'm speaking on behalf of Alison Moore of More Laughing Arts and Media Youth Development Program.

She would certainly have been here tonight herself, except she was previously engaged uh for an event, uh, City of Newport News juvenile department having an event connecting their juveniles in the program with their parents, and she's doing comedy for them.

She asked me to come and speak on her behalf.

I'm a resident of Hampton.

I have two grandsons also reside in Hampton during the summers, and they were participants in last summer's inaugural cool kids camp.

Uh in the fall, I was here with Alison and other parents, students, educators, and community members when we reported to City Council the success of that summer camp.

And with your support, we serve two dozen Hampton families through three weeks of full day low-cost, high-quality programming.

Since then, we're laughing has continued to build and expand with a fall program focused on safe media use, communication and digital awareness, and a spring break camp focused on performing arts, confidence, communication, collaboration, and leadership.

Um we're also excited to be looking at preparing for our second year of summer camp programming.

Uh we have tested our services now with one full year of creative programming, and we know it's what the youth and the community want.

We offer it a great experience to the kids at an affordable price for their parents, and investment from the city will allow us to put on a great summer camp in 26 while also investing in us grounding in Hampton with a facility and accessible programming and events for the youngsters.

We need a facility, we need technology and equipment in order to continue planning stable events on a regular calendar basis throughout the year.

Finally, we are very proud to uniquely empower Hampton youth to grow confidence, character, and leadership through year-round media and performance programs, giving them real world exposure, social emotional growth, and opportunities to shine, including creating content for television that reaches audiences beyond the classroom and their community.

So thank you again for believing in our youth and our program.

We are proud to showcase Hampton's talent and potential.

All right, thank you, Ms.

Fog.

Uh, next speaker is Brenda Marks.

Mayor Gray, Vice Mayor Brown, Council members, Ms.

Bonnie.

First of all, I was supposed to be signed up on tax rate, but I'll handle that in the public comment.

The budget, everybody knows that city budgets are going up.

But there are a lot of questions about line items that are not described what they're for.

And part of this may be in the capital improvement plan, but overall there's items in the budget like 10 million for got golf courses.

Doesn't say which golf course is half going to one, half going to the other.

And when you're when I go to buy something, I'm gonna know what I'm buying when I buy it.

As citizens in Hampton, when we're paying something, we want to know what we're paying for.

The question about the fire station.

We're paying 18 million dollars for a fire station.

Norfolk's playing paying fix.

Now, size may pay play a part in that, but when all of this is being publicized around us, there just needs to be line item budgets work great.

And we do category item budgets, but we don't do line item budget, and it makes it very difficult for us to say we agree with this or we don't.

Things may be great, but you can't tell.

And I'm probably as good at math as they come.

So it's not that I don't comprehend the budget or the budget process.

We need everybody else is having to scale back and tighten our budget, and Hampton just keeps going.

So if between now and the next public hearing on the budget, we could get some clarification on some of the stuff.

It might make it less apprehensive to say yes, it's a great budget.

Thank you.

Thank you, Ms.

Marks.

Next speaker is Aaron Weaver.

Aaron Weaver, the city manager's recommended budget includes the Hampton Coliseum Arts Commission and the Aquaplex.

Um one enterprise fund with a total of federal year 27 budget of about 27.7 million.

That includes the operating revenue of 5.47 and retained earnings of about 1.6 million from the general fund.

So while this is structured as an enterprise operation, it's not fully sustained by like it's one on revenue.

Last year, I specifically was standing right here.

Well, right there, um, asked for uh I asked about the Aquasfects specifically.

And the response was that we it just transferred to the city from another organization, so there was no clear numbers yet.

Now we have a full year later, and those numbers should exist.

So my question is direct with what the actual net operating result of the aquaplex alone, not combined with the Coliseum and other facilities, but the aquaplex itself.

How much revenue is that generating?

How much uh does it cost to operate?

How much does the taxpayer support, if any, uh is required to keep it running?

We often hear about the aquaplex as an economic driver, and is that if that's the case, then we should be able to measure that.

We should have be able to return see that return on investment.

And what is the long-term plan?

Is that goal for it to become self-sustaining, or is it expected to remain a partially subsidized asset?

This is not about being against the aquaplex, it is about transparency because when residents are seeing increased costs with no tax relief, as we know, $1.14.

We have clear to be clear about where that money is going.

What is it producing?

Right now, everything is grouped together in that category.

That makes it difficult to evaluate.

So my ask is simple.

Break out the aquaplex for me, at least for us in general.

Uh show the revenue, show the expenses, and show the plan moving forward for that uh location.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Weaver.

And that is uh concludes all the speakers uh for the um city manager recommended budget.

All right, uh ask the clerk to read the uh title of the next item.

Item number seven is 26-0098.

It's a public hearing and adoption of FY 2027 to 2031 capital improvement plan.

City manager, Mr.

Mayor and Council members, as you know, but for the benefit of the public, the capital improvement plan is a five-year plan.

It is a recommendation that is fluid, except for the first year.

The first year of that plan, in other words, the fiscal 2027 part of it aligns with the manager's recommended capital budget.

Future years out, the 28, 29, 30, and 31 are planning estimates that are based upon best projections.

And I'll use this moment just to give an example since the question was asked about the fire station.

What we do when we're making an estimate, and by the way, that's in a future year, is we look at what the engineers tell us might be what a a station might cost at that time.

And current dollars today, um, fire stations are going for about $700 per square foot.

And so we multiply that times the square footage that we expect we will need for the new um fire station, uh, which will be likely modeled off of the one that we recently opened on Pembroke Avenue, uh, because we don't want to have to spend a lot of money and redesign each time we do a replacement fire station.

Um that square footage for the Pembroke Avenue one was 17,000 square feet.

Um, and so if you take that and you multiply times 700 uh dollars, that would be roughly 12 million dollars.

It takes 24 months to design and build a station.

So you have to put a projected cost that construction will go up in that period of time and allow for a contingency, which is how our estimate is what it is in the budget.

That does not mean that will be what it is in the end.

These are just planning numbers.

And we did check with the city of Newport News, and in fact, in their CIP, um, while it says 5.5 million this year, it's it's allocating a current a total of 11 million dollars for their fire station that is being constructed in the upcoming fiscal year.

So I just use that as an illustration, both to answer a question that was posed, but also to give people a sense of how we put numbers in the years out.

Hopefully the numbers for the first year, the 2027, are pretty accurate because we're gonna be doing things within the next 12 months.

But the latter years, they're placeholders, and they will change over time as costs go up, or hopefully they come down.

But we have to reflect, you know, sort of where we're planning to go so that we can plan responsibly for the future and show other people, not only our community, but people outside of our community that are determining whether they should make investments in our community, how we're taking care of our facilities and the plan growth for our community.

I hope that helps explain what the CIP is.

As the mayor mentioned, tonight is actually the adoption of the CIP after the public hearing, because again, next week we'll be having second meet uh meeting on the general budget, and then at May 13th, they'll adopt a budget with or without amendments, and we have to have adopted the CIP first so that the CIP's first year can mirror the adoption of the state of the city budget.

Um, I hope that helps give context for folks, and I'll turn it back to the mayor for the public hearing.

All right, thank you.

And uh, this item does require public hearing, so we're gonna open the public hearing.

We have one person sign up to speak, Aaron Weaver.

I really feel like a nerd at this point.

Aaron Weaver, the uh federal year 27 capital improvement plan is about 489 million dollars according to the CIP presentation that we saw.

Family resilience and economic empowerment receives 3.5 million, which is just 0.7% of that total as shown on page 7 of the CIP presentation.

That category includes temporary homeless housing and slash tiny homes and 2.5 million for the Riverside Psychiatric Emergency Department.

Now, in the detailed CIP, that breaks down to 500,000 in uh federal year 27 and 2 million and 28.

So my question is with that federal year uh 27500, is that for planning, design, land acquisition, or uh actual construction?

Has the site already been identified, purchased, who will build, own, operate the tiny homes once completed?

And next, under placemaking, the CIP presentation shows that the 52.8 million or 10.8% of that total plan on page seven is uh CIP list.

10 million of that is for a golf course renovation shown on the on page 22.

My question is with that 10 million dollars, is that for the Hampton's golf course, or is that for Woodlands golf course or both?

What specific infrastructure is being replaced?

What measurable return on investment are we expecting from that investment?

And that next under the same placemaker category, 850,000 of that is for therapeutic recreation center renovations shown on page 23 of that.

The description focuses on interior upgrades and system improvements.

But I raised the uh question last year that the facility sits back off of Kikatan Road.

Unless you already know it's there, you will drive right by to never know it's even there.

So my question is does that 850,000 include a permanent monument sign on or any exterior visibility improvements?

And if not, then that cannot be added to this project of scope of work before it's finalized.

Then my broader question is with the family resiliences only 0.7% of nearly 489 million.

Of that is how how do we determine what level of investment is enough given the real needs we see every day in housing, homelessness, which I came here so much for.

Uh behavioral health.

I'm not asking to remove projects, I'm asking for clarity.

We are are we building where is it where is it going?

Who is responsible?

And what outcomes should the residents expect?

Because the numbers are there.

Now we need the answers to what's behind them.

Thank you.

Wait, hold on.

Oh, I got another minute.

Matter of fact, can I put that on the other one?

I was gonna let you talk some more on that one.

All right, so uh that's the only speaker signed up on the uh public hearing on the capital improvement plan.

So we will close the uh public hearing and call for a motion.

Mr.

Mayor, uh move that city council approve and adopt item 26-0098 fiscal year 2027 through 2031 capital improvement plan.

Second.

All right.

Uh discussion or comments from city council.

Councilwoman Campbell.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

I just want to take a moment.

Um, I'll be voting no for any tax rate above a dollar twelve.

I believe that's where we should be.

And because of this position, I'll be voting no on the capital improvement plan.

I believe we hit an inflect we have hit the inflection point of being able to absorb tax exemptions and accomplish the goals.

The impact on those paying taxes is beginning to have a negative effect on those who are a shrinking population of the taxpaying entities.

We need time to work on addressing tax waivers that continue to grow.

Um Terra Hamp University, Langley, Churches, Federal Disability, and other increases in tax exemption and relief impacts at the federal and state levels to get taxable exemptions.

I think we need to hold on uh new spending and focus on a tax relief plan for suffocating the taxpayers.

Uh, there are new expenses in the budget that are not required this year, but that could be delayed.

There are CIP items that are not required this year but could be delayed.

There are costs that do not need to be incurred this year, uh, such as the demolition of some blighted infrastructure.

Um, I think this the capital improvement plan is is great.

I think a lot of stuff's in there, but I just think that we are suffocating the people that are the ones left paying the taxes when you add all the tax exemptions that keep coming down the pike.

So um nothing personal against the the CIP, but um I feel very strongly about that.

So that's where I'll be taking today.

Thank you.

Questions, comments from council members.

All right.

Uh we have a second.

I mean we have a motion and a second on the floor.

Uh Madame Clerk, you call the roll.

Councilman Bowman.

Aye.

Vice Mayor Brown.

Aye.

Councilwoman Campbell, nay.

Councilwoman Fairby.

Aye.

Councilwoman Harper.

Aye.

Councilwoman McCler.

Aye.

Mayor Gray.

Aye.

The motion carries.

All right.

All right.

I'm asking clerk to read the protocol for public comment.

Council meetings are for conducting city business.

Public comment is allowed on matters within the council's authority and follows public hearing items.

Speakers must follow the citizen participation protocol.

Speakers may sign up in the lobby one hour before the meeting and until it begins.

Speaker shall address counsel from the center podium.

Each speaker is allowed three minutes.

The timer has a green light, which will turn yellow with one minute remaining, then red when time is up.

Please speak respectfully and avoid personal attacks.

Focus on topics within council's jurisdiction.

Do not use the platform for political campaign speeches.

Comments must be directed to the council and yielding time is not allowed.

Audience must remain respectful and refrain from interruptions.

Council typically listens without engaging in dust discussion.

Responses may be provided by the city manager, city attorney, or council members after public comment.

Failure to follow this protocol may result in removal from the podium or meeting after a fair warning.

Thank you.

Okay, we have a few people signed up to speak.

I see some names on here that I haven't seen before.

The uh timer is right here.

Uh green, you go, yellow, you have one minute left.

Red, uh, your time is up.

If you wrote a five minute speech, you still only get three minutes to say your five minute speech.

All right.

So the first speaker this evening uh is uh Keith Walker Hello.

Uh I brought some supporting materials that I believe you should have, include pictures of flooding.

Oh, you already have them, okay.

I have one for each council member.

Thank you for allowing me to be.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to address council today.

I'm here to address concerns about the drainage dish that runs down the easement behind my home at number six MACALVA Drive here in the city of Hampton, Virginia.

The drainage ditch has collapsed and no longer functions properly.

This routinely allows stormwater to spill into my yard and go under my house.

This in turn encourages both the growth of wood decay fungus as well as the undermining of the foundation of my home.

I installed a French train, sump pumps, and dehumidifier to address the moisture issue.

However, this is not solved the problem.

The situation has deteriorated to the point that there is now a crack in the foundation of my home, and the walls at the rear of the home are cracking.

I have spoken to numerous city officials about this problem.

Stormwater is insisting that the seven homeowners who live along the easement remove their fences so that they can use a machine to dig a trench.

Not only would this be tremendously financial burden to the homeowners, but it would expose the residents' homes to an invasion by intruders who come down the easement under the cover of darkness and in our homes unseen from the street.

Fence removal is unnecessary and just a bureaucratic way to say no without saying no.

All that is required is a team of men with shovels.

However, I've been told by team members who would actually do the work that nobody's trying to work that hard.

In addition, my e my as my assessment has increased to 161,000 for the property.

I originally paid 89,000.

That was in 2014.

My question to the assessor's office is who would pay that much for a home on a lot that regularly floods and has a crack in the foundation and cracked walls.

The assessor's office has not been forthcoming, has not been helpful.

Um I spent, as you can see, thousands of dollars to save to fix the underside of my home.

The assessor has not been helpful.

The stormwater department has stonewalled.

I did speak to Mr.

Mitchell just before this meeting.

He said he'd come out, but nothing has been done.

I came here in 2022 to address council.

This is four years in the making.

Now my home is severely damaged.

I have cracks all along the walls of my kitchen.

On the back door, or my French door, the house is sinking.

I have provided you with pictures and invoices so you can see what I've spent.

I'm asking for assistance.

Someone needs to do something.

They should have done this before.

So I'm reaching out to you.

Now when Mr.

Mr.

Mitchell comes on Friday after I get off work, I'll meet with him and whoever else he brings, uh, and we'll see what has to be done.

But asking all of these people to move their fences is an egregious burden.

On top of that, people have built on the easement.

I don't know how that happened, but they've done that.

All right, Mr.

Walkner.

Thank you.

All right.

Next speaker is James Stevens.

Can I just say uh just going back to Mr.

Walker?

Uh city manager typically addresses uh these what she hears of the public comments uh at the conclusion of the public comments.

And so I know Mr.

Mitchell is in the back if you need to speak with him, but she'll get a chance to address that when we're done if you want to hang around.

Okay.

All right.

Sorry, Mr.

Stevens, you can go ahead.

Where's the it's right here?

Okay, all right.

Honorable uh Mayor Gray and Vice Mayor Brown and the rest of the city council.

Good evening.

I am Jay Stephens, president of Peninsula Youth Football and Cheerleading.

We'll just call it PIFCO for short.

I would like to talk with you about the city's current policy, the double tax kids that play in 100% volunteer program.

There are five youth football programs under the PIFCO umbrella.

We have um Hokies, Broncos, Tornadoes, Cap Cardinals, and the Eagles.

They service about 800 to a thousand kids between ages of five and fourteen.

They collectively put close to a hundred adults on the fields of mentor kids.

Once again, let me state they are 100% volunteer programs, and let me include these are Hampton citizens.

Well, we received a letter from we received a letter and had a follow-up meeting from Hampton Parks Rec Department, which informed our teams that they will be receiving a $3,500 to roughly about $6,000 a year bill per team to practice on fields that they have been on for years.

Also, these fields are not occupied by any other organization.

This is something totally new.

I think it's important to know that these fees didn't come out until a long-standing program left parks and rec, but that's a whole other story.

I believe everyone can fully understand getting a fee to use fields for game day, and I have no doubt that this is feasible, and we can make that happen.

However, the other fees that really only affect kids going to football practice are designed to purposely create hardships for the programs because they do not play in parks and rec.

The kids in these programs are citizens, they're family paid taxes.

The use of the use of fields, and they are systematically being put off of them.

This fee is a double tax.

Okay, this fee is a double tax.

This revenue that parks and rec is forcing isn't included in the city's 2026 budget.

It is designed for heart, it is designed to create a hardship on citizens, and that is wrong.

I don't really have enough time to go through everything.

I'm just gonna leave with this.

We live in a time with success of cities rise and fall with the community partners and volunteerism.

Everyday average citizens in in city council, here we are.

Volunteering and mentor, close to a thousand kids.

We are 100% volunteer, nonprofit.

We are not asking for any special privileges from the city.

We are not draining any resources.

At a time where groups of kids are assembling in public areas, we are here to help with the problem.

Why would the city double tax us to a point where we can't be of assistance?

I humbly ask you to review this policy.

Help us help the kids.

Thank you for hearing me out, and I look forward to discussing this with you in detail in the future.

Thank you.

Once again, I'm Jay Stephens of Peninsula Youth Football.

Thank you, Ms.

Stephens.

Uh, next speaker is Aaron Flanagan.

Oh good.

All right, hey folks, council people, neighbors, nerds.

Anyway, uh, this is my first public speaking endeavor.

So uh it's gonna be a little stupid given the conversation and cuts kid that I so I made me cry.

It's so gorgeous, those kids doing that stuff.

Anyway, here's my thing.

I've only lived here about three years and some change.

My husband works at the VA, I'm a patient at the VA.

And the thing that's jamming me up is when I have uh appointments there, it it sends me my whole day.

And I only live 10 minutes up the road apiece.

But y'all, if you're on Settlers Landing in Woodland, if you had to traverse yesterday and y'all saw that traffic in the morning, my word.

I got friends that work there, I got my husband worked there.

I gotta go there as a patient.

Oh my god.

Anyway, the thing of it is could maybe you folks uh uh communicate with whoever the transportation folks are, and that uh emancipation road that goes out towards Tyler.

Heading towards Hampton University, leaving the campus.

Make that a right turn only.

Kind of do that.

And then in the opposite direction, when you're going on Martin Luther King, exiting the VA, going towards Mallory.

Also, make that a right turn only.

And maybe that'll cut down on some people that don't really kind of need to be there because it's super stressful to have to leave your house.

And then you gotta traverse the campus.

And I'm sorry, I just don't have the bandwidth for it.

So, friends, neighbors, please.

If y'all don't need to use the hand to be here, please stop.

And that's all I'm gonna ask for, and thank you for your time.

Thank you, Miss Flanagan.

No clapping is allowed in the chamber.

All right, next speaker is Jamil Beach.

Uh good afternoon.

I'm Jamil Beach.

Good afternoon, council, uh mayor, vice mayor.

So today I'm here uh on behalf of PIFCO president as well.

Um I'm a coach for Cap Cardinals.

I'm also a father.

I'm also uh part of Cap Out Science Fraternity Incorporated, who helped support uh Capital Cardinals Athletic Association.

I was raised in this program by a single mother.

It gave me structure, mentorship, and direction uh that I have today.

I give that guidance back by coaching.

So my children are now part of that as well.

So these new fees that they put on us as far as $25 a day per practice, $100 per game.

Like we said, it ends up being about $3,500, $6,000 a year.

Um it impacts not only us but the organization.

They force organizations to the front to front the costs at first and then raise the prices on the parents.

And then when that happens, families get priced out and kids lose access.

So with that being said, this program builds young men and women and keeps them on the right path.

I'm asking you to consider these costs and protect access for these kids who need it the most because I'm standing here today as a proof that it works.

So when you look at it, uh the average median in Virginia for a single family and a single parent, it would be 35,000 to 50,000 in the range of a salary.

So you take that and we raise the price on them.

That's gonna drive those kids away, and then it's gonna put the kids on the street.

Then we're gonna have another takeover, and then it's gonna be misled in a way that you know everybody thinks their kids are bad.

So I just ask that you consider that, please.

Thank you.

All right, thank you, Mr.

Mr.

Beach.

Uh next speaker is Dina Hughes.

All right, good evening, everyone.

I'll spare everybody the greetings.

I love you all, you know that.

Uh Dina Moore Hughes, Chair Commissioner for Kappa Alpha, uh Kappa Cardinals Athletic Association.

This is my 25th year, um, and I also had eight years at the Hampton High School.

All right.

Uh I've had six children come through uh our athletic program, Kappa Cardinals, and some of that time I was a single mom, so that was our only outing besides working school.

From that program, my children, I have a PA in oncology nurse, an admin to the chief of police in DC, a musician, and also an entrepreneur.

Originally Hart McAllister for 31 years under Arthur Price, Greg Price, Greg Bell uh Chris Belton, Alexa Starp, and myself, we were the group that left Parks and Rec.

Um, after many years of failed conversations and requests for support.

Our purpose is to touch young lives through athletics as a vehicle, where we provide youth with physical endurance, mental capacity, social skills, and servant leadership skills.

60 to 80 cheerleaders, 80 to 100 football players since 1996, 150 plus kids, 10 to 20 hours a week, seven to eight months out of the year, over 640 hours of volunteer time for 31 years.

That's 19,000 hours of volunteer time serving your youth.

Our uh 5,000 youth are served, not including our basketball and mentoring program, add another 3,000 students.

That's about 8,000 to 9,000 students we impact on a regular basis.

Many giving back, such as Jamil by coaching, this and other organizations working in our schools and in our businesses.

Personally, I've housed cheerleaders.

I'm traveling to Winston Salem State to watch one graduate, and I've sang at one mother's funeral.

We are volunteers, and we now have to do additional um fundraising for already stressed families to facilitate the program.

So we incur those costs to our families, many of which are just aunties and uncles and grandmas trying to find something for their kids to do.

I'm asking council to consider looking at creative ways to support athletic programs, both public and private, through existing public uh, excuse me, trying to make sure I don't mess up what I got.

Okay, I'm good.

Um, through existing budgets, possibly with the youth and young adult opportunities, and we all saw that event this week.

There is funding, I'm sure, in that capacity, or potentially with the capital budget through the family resistance, uh resilience and economic um empowerment.

Studies show that sports, whether it's active, active, or being uh watched, reduces crime by 15 to 25 percent.

Um, and while increasing community uh uh engagement and reductions in school suspension.

So, with that being said, that's my time.

Thank you so much.

All right, thank you, Miss Hughes.

Next speaker is Alexis Thor.

Thank you.

Good evening, members of council.

I am Alexis Tharp, and I'm a Hampton resident, a parent of three former Hampton City School students, a former Hamden City Schools teacher for 22 years, and the deputy commissioner of Kappa Cardinals Athletic Association here in Hampton.

For almost 20 years since the birth of my youngest child who's here with us today.

I have been part of this organization.

All three of my children came through this program.

My two sons played football and basketball.

My youngest son is now coaching basketball with us, and my daughter cheered.

She's Hampton High School graduate as well.

Um, what started as something for my children became something much bigger.

It became family, it became community.

As an educator, I've always believed that what happens outside of the classroom is just as important as what happens inside.

This is why our program is not just about sports.

We mentor our athletes, we support them academically, and we provide tutoring and guidance because we are committed to developing well-arounded young people.

I have dedicated years of my time volunteering to support this organization.

My husband, who has coached youth sports for over 35 years, has been part of other rec league programs, but has found Kappa Cardinals to be among the most supportive and community-centered.

Recently, our organization made the decision to leave Hampton Parks and Rec after over 30 years of participation and join another league.

We believed and still believe that it's the best in the best of the best interest for our children and their development.

However, despite the decision, we are now facing significant new fees, $25 per day for practice and additional cost for game days to use the same public uh spaces as in our own city.

However, despite the excuse me, um, this is not just impacting us.

Multiple teams within PIFCO program are facing the same fees, organizations that also serve children who live right here in Hampton.

These are not outside groups, these are Hampton families serving Hampton children, working to provide structure, mentorship, and opportunities in Hampton.

The reality is these costs add up to thousands of dollars over a season, and those costs will be passed down to parents.

For many families, that will mean children lose access to their programs that keep them active, supported, and on positive paths.

I have finished I have firsthand as a parent and as an educator as a community leader.

The impact of organization has on our own cities.

We are simply asking for fairness.

We respectfully ask that you reconsider these fees and work with us towards a solution that keeps youth sports accessible and affordable for all Hampton families because when we support programs like this, we invest in the future of Hampton.

Thank you.

All right, thank you, Ms.

Tharp.

Next speaker is Ashley Ginrett.

Good evening.

I'm Ashley Ginrett with the Virginia Eagles Athletic Organization.

For those of them that don't know, Virginia Eagles is a nonprofit youth sports program that operates in the city of Hampton.

We utilize Kilgore Gifted Center and offer multiple sports to children ages five to fourteen.

We also have the Eagles Rise Above program, which is a classroom-based program to assist in youth violence prevention needs.

We like to think that our partnership with the city has been mutually beneficial during this time, and I'll just touch on a few of those.

For the last 10 years, Parks and Recreation has provided us with space to run our football program.

Annually, our program engages 300 to 400 kids through our services.

At the time the field was provided to us, there was no city program utilizing it.

Due to the size of our program and potential for growth, we were advised the field would always be a place we could call home.

There was no request for payment at that time, and we were grateful.

In return, we primarily maintain that field.

This includes paying for grass-cutting services, painting the field lines, which costs 300 to 500 per game, and we have a minimum of five games per season, five home games, proactively keeping an open line of communication with the leadership of Kilgore Gifted to navigate that space together.

Outside of our field space, we're extremely active in the community.

We are regulars at community events throughout the city to include National Crime Victims' Rights Week, Youth Violence Prevention Week, Commonwealth CARES, community canvassing for neighborhood surveys and quality of life surveys, trash pickup with Clean City Commission and more.

Not only do we attend events, we host events, but our pride, our most notable event is Eagles versus everybody, uh, in which we go into high crime areas, identify via crime stats, and we take our programs there using sports as a catalyst to provide resources to families and children in those areas.

Just like many other football and cheer organizations in the area, our budgets were finalized in January, and registration amounts were set based on those numbers.

The city's decision to add an additional $4,000 mid-season doesn't just impact the people you see in this room, it does impact over 1,000 children that is spread through all of our five programs.

We have been advised that if we bring our organizations into parks and recreation, then these fees would be waived.

However, that is not fair to our athletes and parents as it's not a viable option at this time.

The belief that charging an outrageous amount of money would force organizations back into the program is a flawed way of thinking.

Though we were initially told we would not have to pay, we understand business.

We're asking you all to take a closer look at the financial obligation that you have presented to our organizations.

Other options should be looked at, such as gain day only if fee assessments as other cities do.

If the goal is to fold our youth organizations, then this will get you there.

But if the goal is to continue to work together to engage and save our youth, then the fees should be reconsidered.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Next speaker is Cafea LaFay Morrison.

Am I allowed to bring one of my kids up from my program to show as well?

Okay.

And please state your name so that I get correct when I say good evening.

I'm Lafayette Morrison.

This is uh young Mr.

McKenzie Pickett.

He is a uh nine-year-old in our program.

I represent the Hampton Rose Hokies.

I am the football coordinator.

Um just like the other programs that came up here before me, Kappa, the Eagles, the Broncos, Southampton, um, those fees will be very impacting to our program.

Uh a program like ours, we set our budget back in January.

So to get an additional 4,000, and we're a nonprofit program.

That's that that's just gonna be a very financial hardship on our parents.

Um youth football.

I play football, pay parks and rec.

Um, it's a community outreach, it's a outlet for kids.

It's more than football going on in those fields.

Um, it's mentorship, brotherhood, uh, life skills, all different types of things.

So, in short, just like them, I ask that you reconsider the MOU on the uh athletic field fees.

And McKenzie would like to say his part.

Hello, everybody.

My name is McKenzie Pickett, and I played for the Hampton Rose Hokies.

Uh the Hokies have taught me life lessons.

Uh they helped the community.

I was trunk or treat and food drives, and they helped me make friendships, and that's all I really have to say.

Thank you.

Thank you for your time.

All right, thank you.

All right, next speaker is Aaron Hawkins, Aaron, Aaron Hawkins.

All right.

Uh next speaker is Tony McKeithen.

My son already raised my numbers.

He already worked.

Okay.

All right.

Um, next speaker then is Aaron Weaver.

Aaron Weaver, wave those fees.

Um, I want to speak on April the reason I came up here, uh, other than waiving those fees.

April 9th special session is where uh the ones I want to speak on the April 9th special session where city council traveled to Hanover and Harako to tour data centers and redevelopment projects.

According to the notice of action, the purpose of this trip was to strengthen understanding of digital infrastructure and economic development.

Opportunities and portions of that meeting were held in closed session due to proprietary information being shared.

I understand the the need for that uh confidentiality in certain situations, especially when private businesses are involved.

That part makes sense.

But at the same time, this was a full uh full council trip involving uh other than uh councilwoman fairby, um involving travel staff and time.

It was clearly it was clearly ties to into the future economic development decisions that will impact this city.

So my question is simple.

What did we learn and what comes next?

Because from the public's perspective, we see the city tour data centers uh discuss digital infrastructure and explore development models in Richmond.

But we don't yet know how this translates back to Hampton.

Are we actively pursuing data center development here?

Are there's uh sites being uh considered?

Are there partnerships being explored?

Or and how does this align with our current land use infrastructure capabilities and long-term economic strategy?

The notice of action also uh mentions conversations around power constraints, cooling systems, workforce needs, and even rebranding uh data centers as digital infrastructure.

Those details raise bigger questions uh about readiness.

So, again, the question is not what was said in closed sessions.

Don't use that as excuse, please.

The question is what direction are we heading as the as a result of this trip?

Because if this is going uh to influence future decisions, whether that's zoning, infrastructure, investment, or economic incentives, then the public should have a clear understanding of the vision moving forward.

I'm not asking for proprietary information.

I'm asking for clarity on the direction.

Uh we did what did we learn?

How are we going to apply this here in Hampton, Virginia today?

Dang another minute, man.

That's two minutes on the top of that.

All right, have a good one.

All right.

Uh next speaker is Veronica Parker.

Good evening.

Good evening, Council.

You all.

My name is Verona Parker.

My name is Veronica Parker, and I am a longtime resident of the city of Hampton.

I'm a retired school teacher from the city of Hampton of 39 years.

I am also a foster parent here in the city of Hampton, and I live in Hampton and have raised a son that has gone on to produce, which is just a product of Hampton High School to go on to do bigger and better things in life in the military air force as an officer.

So, but I am here in support of the Kappa Cardinal organization.

I've raised my son, the oldest son, who is now 31 to do those things, and I needed them because I was a single parent, and I was raising a young man, and I needed them to help me as he progressed in life.

Now, it worked out well.

He did just what he expected him to do and go on.

I am now the mother of a five-year-old that is a part of that same organization.

So I have preconceived ideas about what how they helped with my first son, because now I have a second son that's going through that.

But I'm getting some kickback because now it's uh more expensive that's going to be falling on me in helping this young son that I have now.

And he also has other needs that the organization attends to, the academics, as well as helping him to grow to be a well-rounded young man.

And I think that not considering the fees that they are being paid would be a damper on me as a parent and on others as well for a program that's so proudly that works and deals with the young men that and and young ladies, because I go back to quote what my oldest son said, and he said that he never knew, and he learned from the organization that a man never shakes somebody's hand sitting down.

He also learned how to tie a tie.

So the part of Kappa Cardinals organization is something that afforded me the opportunity to know that I'm moving in the right direction in raising my sons.

So again, I ask you all, please reconsider those fees so that we here in the city of Hampton can continue our youth and our youth can prosper in a nice way.

Thank you.

Thank you, Ms.

Parker.

Next speaker is Edwin Barrett.

Okay.

All right, and then the final speaker is Done Nelly.

All right.

Okay, so that's not a comment in the call, she said.

Miss Marks.

Um I don't have you on public comment, but come on, Miss Marks.

You know, I'm not gonna let you leave me out.

Um we let us speak.

Go ahead and put your time.

Do you wish to speak on public comment?

Just like just I I think I understand what may have happened.

I think she may have indicated she wanted to sign up for both, and perhaps in the 311 system, it just got put on the same.

It just didn't get translated for some reason.

Go ahead, Ms.

Marks.

Okay.

I said I was gonna address the part of the budget because I he put me on the wrong line the first time, anyway.

Um last time I talked to y'all about the budget, they I mentioned that the year we got COVID money, this bunning had said that we couldn't reduce the real estate taxes because the COVID money came with the caveat, you couldn't reduce taxes.

She at that time said she was monitoring the case.

I asked about it.

I still didn't have an answer.

So after the last meeting, I went home and I found the case.

And the year after we were told we couldn't get a reduction in taxes.

A federal court ruled that that clause in the COVID money was unconstitutional, and that municipalities were released to adjust their taxes as they chose.

We took Ms.

Bunny added word then that she was gonna monitor the case, and if it turned out that the case was overturned, the can't city could go back and adjust the taxes.

I'm in the process now of going back through city council meetings to find that particular video when that comment was made.

Now that I have found the case, y'all don't want to give us a reduction in taxes this year for whatever reason, other than we just want more money.

I'm standing here telling you that when I find that tape in which Ms.

Bunning said the city could go back and adjust the real estate taxes.

I'm gonna provide you with a minute and time seconds on that tape that you can hear it for yourself, and I'm going to provide you with the case ruling that said the clause preventing y'all from get reducing your taxes was unconstitutional.

Y'all have got to cut us a break.

You just take and take and take.

Oh, I'm sorry, maybe some of the words.

I did.

That's okay.

I'm gonna start with Mr.

Walker because he was the first one.

Okay.

Um Mr.

Walker, I just uh we have checked our records and our team did come out and cut and clean the ditch behind your home with their hands and the shovels and all that that you want.

However, what they determined is we should regrade it in its entirety, and to regrade it in its entirety, we do need to use the small piece of equipment that they brought out.

And we cannot do that unless the back fence comes down on all of those properties.

To your point, some people built in the easement and they shouldn't have done that.

The way that likely happened is that they put up the fence without coming to get the permit.

And our rules say that if you put something in the easement that you're not supposed to put in the easement, and the city needs to have it taken down to do maintenance, you have to take it down.

I understand why you might not want, and I don't know your particular situation versus the other properties.

I just know some are in the easement.

You acknowledge that yourself.

For us to be able to get in and properly regrade it, which we are glad to do.

Now, Mr.

Mitchell has said he'll come out tomorrow and look at it.

He is the assistant city manager over Public Works.

He used to be the director of public works.

If he's able to find a solution other than that, I'm sure he will find a solution other than that.

But it may be that the solution is something you don't really want.

So you'll have to make a choice as a group of neighbors.

Do you want us to regrade it or do you not want us to regrade it?

And I will move on to the next comments because we don't do back and forth at this time.

I'm glad to stay back afterwards and speak with you if you'd like.

Next to him is Leon Bass, our deputy director of parks.

Um Mr.

Crendon, our director of parks and recreation, was not able to be with us tonight.

He's he's ill today.

Um I want to suggest that those people who spoke to that, Mr.

Bass and Mr.

Mitchell are willing to stay back and talk with you a little bit more in depth than I can do in this limited period of time.

We're also willing to host a meeting next week to meet with you all and think about how we might solve some of the issues because we all value very, very much what you do for the young people in our community.

Um and I think Ms.

Moore gave a really good suggestion that we might also explore, which is looking at how the Office of Youth and Young Adult Opportunities might be able to give some grants to help with these things.

But for the benefit of the public, and just to state for the record, we have long had a fee structure that was supposed to have been charged.

Past administrations, we learned when Mr.

Crendon came in as the new director, were not consistently charging as they were supposed to.

That prior fee was actually even more expensive than what he was suggesting.

That prior fee was $25 per hour per field for field rental and $25 per hour per field for lighting with one hour minimum rental blocks.

I happened to look while we were sitting here as people were coming up and back.

Newport News charges very similar fees.

Um I suspect what happened was because of the good work you all are doing for young people.

Umbeknowns to us that the parks team said, Well, let's help them out, let's help them out, and we're glad to help people out.

But we have certain fees and things on the books that we really should be implementing, or we should come to council and ask them to repeal if we're not going to do that.

And Mr.

Crendon thought he was doing something good by suggesting that instead of $25 per hour per field, and then the lighting as well, that we just go to a flat $25 per day for practice field use and $100 per game day.

And that seemed like that would be a lot cheaper than the $25 per hour.

Um, we certainly all heard you and what it would mean in terms of impacting the organizations, which is why Mr.

Mitchell and I have suggested that we have a group meeting.

We'll work to find a time that would work for everybody.

That's why maybe if each of you that have an organization can speak with him, we can try to find a good day and time because I know you all are all practicing at different times and have your own full lives.

But we would like to try to work through this and figure out what it is we need to do so we can bring in a proper updated policy to council because we shouldn't have something on the books that we're not consistently enforcing.

And I want to applaud Mr.

Crendon for noting that.

Um, because I certainly was not aware of that, and um we want to make sure that we do things properly.

So we'll try to work together to figure this out because the last thing we want is young people not to get served.

You know, we we started the meeting tonight highlighting some great works to help the community, and so I can't make a commitment right now what the recommendation will be.

I understand what Mr.

Crendenden was trying to do, and my understanding is that most cities do charge something, and that something has you know typically charge, whether it's for their parks team, which typically gets a little bit of a lower fee, or a non parks team.

But I want to see all of the comparisons for the other cities.

I want us to sit down and talk about that and figure out what might work and do we have other supplemental sources like the Office of Youth and Young Adult Opportunities that might help sponsor some of that cost or what have you.

So let's all just pledge together to work on that.

Um I see that the um Flanagans who were here on the VA traffic issue left.

I stepped away for a moment to try to catch them, but Mr.

Mitchell went out and is talking with them and he's gonna explain everything as you all know that we've been doing around those issues and our coordination and conversations with VDOT, HU and the VA hospital, and you know, rather than taking a lot more time, I won't go into that since the flannigans aren't here, but I wanted to assure you that they will be having a conversation.

Um while I'm addressing Mr.

Weavers, um, I do I will pick up some of the things that he mentioned, and likewise when I get to Miss Mark, some of the things that they said earlier in the public um hearing phase, just so that we can give them the information they're seeking.

And I because I was taking notes as we went, they may not appear in the same logical order.

I'm gonna start with the tax relief for disabled veterans.

I want to assure you if you look in our legislative packages, this issue has been in our legislative packages for many years.

I want to acknowledge that council won't now councilwoman Muggler, when she was delegate muggler, actually carried a bill to try to get relief for the localities such as Hampton that had a higher disproportionate share of the disabled uh veterans tax because she understood and we've understood for a long time, it is an important tax.

We're not trying to take the tax away from any deserving person.

But you do have localities such as Hampton, because we're a military-friendly community and have a VA hospital that have a disproportionate impact.

So she actually carried a bill, got the commission on local government to look at it, assess it, make recommendations, and unfortunately, the General Assembly failed to act on any of those in the meantime.

But we have continued to put it in our legislative package.

I think our delegation is very, very supportive to try to help with that as the chair of the chief administrative officers.

I have been representing the entire region and all of the managers at various opportunities to speak, including the Hampton Roads Caucus, which is all the legislative members of our regional delegation, all of the mayors, all the city managers are united on this because as a military-focused region, most of the localities, if not all of the localities in our region are amongst those most impacted.

So I wanted to be clear that this is something we have been actively and will continue to actively work on, not to take away from our 100% service connected members, but to try to get the state to step up and recognize that yes, every locality should do a fair share, but those of us that have more than our fair share should get some relief so that our residents, our other residents, aren't carrying a disproportionate burden.

On the tiny homes, um, and again, these may not have been in exact order, I apologize.

The City of Hampton and Newport News plan to work on transitional supportive housing with one another.

At this point in time, it appears that tiny homes may be the best way to do that.

But we are still putting together the cost estimates.

We are exploring the different land options.

There are land options we're looking at in Hampton and in Newport News.

We're looking at the possibility of some in Hampton, some in Newport News, all in Hampton, all in Newport News, but with each locality contributing their proportional share and with what they put in being what is available to the resident.

So hypothetically, if we did 50-50 and there was a total of a hundred units, we would each get 50 if it were in one locality or the other.

It may be that there's 50 in Hampton and 50 in Newport News.

But we want to do this together because many of the people who are homeless or need tiny home supports for other reasons, and it's not just the homeless that can benefit from that.

There are people who have varying abilities that could also benefit from tiny homes.

Many of them are transient between our two communities.

They go between the two.

And we want to, with the tiny home community, not just provide housing, but provide a wraparound community support.

That would be things like social services, work development, like versability is a an entity that works with people of varying abilities, the community services board and others.

And it's easier because most of the entities that do a lot of that serve both Hampton and Newport News.

It's easier for them to support potentially one location.

We've also talked about tiny homes, but some cities go vertical.

What we found in our research is going vertical sometimes makes the problem worse because vertical structures tend to be more isolating than tiny home communities, just like neighborhoods are typically more provide more of a social fabric than do apartment complexes.

So there is a lot to be determined.

But we are working very fast.

The trip that we took to Salt Lake City and Councilwoman Muggler and myself were on a different trip with the Hampton Roads Chamber that preceded that Salt Lake City one that included many different things, but one of which was tiny home communities.

We learned a lot about it because those are two of the best practices in our nation.

And we have a fair amount of data now between the Austin trip and the Salt Lake City trip.

When we went to Salt Lake City the second time, we took, we didn't take the whole council again.

We took the United Way, we took the Peninsula Community Foundation, we took the Bernardine Sister Franciscan Foundation, all three of which have been very committed to housing issues, and we wanted to help them have them help us plan because some of the support needs to be done by the city, but some of it needs to be done by the larger community and the philanthropic community.

And so we're building out a plan with all of these partners.

And so I don't have all the answers today, but I can tell you that basically what it costs to do a 50-home tiny 50 house plus or minus tiny home community is roughly 4.5 million dollars in today's dollars.

So that's what we were hoping to aim for, but there's a lot more planning to do, and I can't say what sites right now because some of the sites are for sale, and we would have to you know negotiate, and we don't want to negotiate against ourselves in the media.

Um I think there was a question about because that's in the family resilience category of the capital improvement budget, why that percentage is a little bit lower than some of the others, or quite a bit lower if you're if you're really about the same thing is true, honestly, with public safety in a way.

Most of the public safety, with exception of a brand new fire station, which I addressed earlier, um, or the family resilience are more service delivery as opposed to infrastructure.

You always find in any CIP plan that the biggest category is going to be something like good government, you know, your basic infrastructure, your streets, your sewer, your stormwater, and those kinds of things.

Um, but we put quite a bit of money in this budget for those kinds of areas, um, in addition to the money for the tiny homes, which there's 2.5 in the CIP, but we already had two million dollars, as I noted when I released the budget and some federal money we've been holding to do something around this issue for some time.

Um we have the money to do placements for people who can't get into the currently available shelters, and we've added some support for workforce development.

Um I mentioned, I think when I released the budget, trainings for people at the community college and other nonprofit providers where they can go in and get training to be a phlebotomist in a month and then be able to get a higher wage job or EKG technician and stuff like that.

So if you look on the operating side of the budget, you're gonna see that there's some major investments for the the family resilience and economic empowerment there.

But typically in the capital budget, you're just not gonna see as much because of the nature of the investments that are required.

I believe there was a question from both you and possibly Miss Marks about the golf course.

Um that 10 million dollars is money that was saved from a prior fiscal year when we received a report from I'm forgetting the name, I apologize.

I think it's the National Golf Foundation NGF that came in and looked at our two golf courses.

And one of the things that they noted was that the Hamptons has some really severe drainage issues, and also is not played with the same frequency as the woodlands because it's less walkable.

And when they did surveys of the golfers in our community and those who come from outside of our community to use our golf courses, they recommended that we make some enhancements to the Hamptons to make it more woodlands-like, if you will.

Um, that doesn't mean it replaces the woodlands, but the woodlands is beloved for a lot of reasons.

Some of it is that it's a much easier course for seniors to play because you can walk it, so you don't necessarily have to rent a golf cart if you don't want to run a golf cart.

It's also there's some historic significance by the designer of the golf course, but there's a lot of things that we could do at the woodlands to make it more playable and increase our revenue and get a return on that.

So when we had end of the year savings, I think it was two years ago, we set aside the money to be able to do the improvements at the Hamptons, which is what that's targeted for.

It is not money, it's one-time money, it's not money that could reduce the tax rate because the tax rate you would have to lower with recurring revenues or recurring cuts.

Um, the council data tour, um, the whole council went because many cities in our area are being confronted with data center proposals.

And the council and staff thought it would be best to learn about modern facilities instead of just looking at rumors and commentary online.

Um they wanted to see some that were close that were small, some that were big.

Um, most of the time when we hear the word uh data center, we think these big mega campuses, but there are actually some that are put into what look like regular office buildings, and you would never know the difference.

And so we wanted to see the range of them so that we could start to talk about how do we how do we be ready for it when and if we get proposals?

We may not get proposals, we may get proposals.

Right now, our zoning code does not address it.

And I can tell you that some of the cities that are complaining about some of the things that happened are saying the worst thing they ever did was make a decision without having a zoning code that contemplated the issues.

And so, since we could see two different facilities in Richmond, basically an hour, hour and 15 minutes away, we decided it would make sense for them to all go and see.

See the physical plant, talk with the businesses, ask the tough questions that residents ask, things about water usage.

We learned, for instance, that most of the current facilities, the newer ones, not the older ones, have self-contained water recycling loops, things like that, so that they would be informed to know do we want to have them at all?

Because if we don't, then we can write the zoning code that way.

But if we want to have them, what would be the protections we would want to put in place for our public?

Where would we want to put them?

Where would we not want to put them?

Do we want them at all?

And before you can write rules for the zoning code, you have to understand the landscape.

So that was the purpose of the data tour.

The minutes that were referenced, there were just a few things that were, it wasn't even a long conversation.

I think it may have been a 10-minute conversation after we left both facilities to say, while it's fresh on your mind, what are the key points you want to record that you're going to have staff come back and work on.

We will absolutely have a full session on data centers, maybe probably more than one in the future with the public.

But since we're in budget season right now, the staff that's required to put together that public presentation and what we learned and what are the issues our community needs to think about, they're all kind of tied up with budget right now.

So I would expect that that will come sometime in the summer.

The aquaplex, I apologize for not remembering your specific thing.

I know that when we did get the data, I believe it was Ms.

Marks who had asked for a FOIA and we sent it to her, and I can pull that out for you.

The reason why we choose to put it on the Coliseum Fund and the convention center, I mean all of those together is because they are intended to be as much as possible enterprise operations.

And so when you're doing enterprise operations, typically the best accounting principle is to put them in an accounting fund that is called enterprise funds because you're charging revenues and things like that, and you want to track them a certain way and depreciate it a certain way from best accounting principal standards.

We always assumed we would have to subsidize that facility because we're not willing to run it only as a competitive facility.

If we were running, if we weren't doing community use, we would be we could charge much higher.

We could have the place filled the whole time with rentals and meets and things like that.

But if you'll recall, we also built it as a replacement facility for the West Hampton Community Center.

And so we wanted to make sure that we had some lower rates for residents, which are subsidized rates effectively, as opposed to the going rental rates in other places.

We wanted to make sure that we had the opportunity to do other creative programming.

Now that we have Mr.

Crendon on board, he is a very skilled parks and recs director, and he's building out a stronger aquatics team.

I think you're gonna see a lot more community programming.

The more community programming you put in the facility, the more subsidy is going to be required because you typically don't charge a rate at all, or what whatever you charge is a subsidized rate.

So I I want to be clear.

We always plan for and always expected that there would be some subsidy, but there's also a lot of revenue generation from the concession stand, from out-of-town people for the summer passes and things like that.

Although we have a cheaper resident pass, we do charge for the splash park because it's not a typical city service.

And so there's a variety of revenues that come in, the rentals from the meats and those kinds of things.

I don't remember the numbers off the top of my head.

I'll be glad to get them for you.

And the therapeutic recreation center, uh, we had always planned to put a sign there, but we were waiting until we were ready to proceed with the renovation.

Um we have 850,000 set there.

That's what we had asked for initially.

Costs have gone up, as I talked about with fire stations as an example, costs go up.

We may have to put some more money in there, but we will absolutely get an updated sign when we complete the renovation so that we can we have to figure out how we're doing the renovation, how do we maybe reposition if we reposition things?

And so that's why we held off on the sign.

Um Mrs.

Marks uh brought up the COVID commitments.

I I mean, you're welcome to do all that research.

I will stand by the fact that I said that at the time, but what I said at the time, if I'm not mistaken, is that if we get a decision in the year that we were in.

We are at this point, I don't know when the court case got done.

I didn't keep tracking it because we moved beyond the year that we were in, if I'm not mistaken, before the court case came out.

Um at this point, if we were to try to lower the tax rate, which we can do, but we will have to cut expenses.

And I realize Miss Mark's position is that there's frivolous things in the budget she would like to see us cut.

I believe that the things that we have in the budget are things that other residents also support.

And so that's why we do the I value process to let people express what they like and what they don't like and what you know we need.

And as I've always said, there's some things I have to reserve the right because there's people who don't show up to speak for themselves.

Um I wish more people participated.

We send a postcard to every resident, and there's, you know, we offer online, so you don't have to come in person, but the people who do choose to invest their time in that process, we do listen to.

And if there's something that they didn't represent, for instance, a lot of times you don't see some of the youth programs or special needs kinds of things.

Unless someone has a special needs child, they don't necessarily think about those kinds of things.

So there's some things that don't get rated as well.

Foster care is another one a lot of times we don't get, or healthy families and the things that they do, people don't know all about them.

So we put together a manager's recommended budget based upon the services that get used by our community, and I personally would have a hard time cutting any of them because there would be an audience that would be in here screaming, saying how awful it is that we're doing that, just as we heard rightly so tonight about the impact of a fee change on a lot of folks who probably wouldn't have been heard by the rest of the residents if they hadn't come here tonight.

Um, and I think you also mentioned Miss Marks under the uh budget, wanting to know I answered the $10 million golf course, I addressed the fire station.

Um, and I think I got the ones you said, uh you know, the line item budget.

I I realize she and I disagree about this.

This comes up every year.

Um, a long time ago, going all the way back to Bob O'Neill, Bob O'Neill felt like nobody knew what a line item budget meant.

If you don't know how much you know, gas cost well, gas is easy because we all have to deal with gas.

But if you don't know how much it costs to pave a road, and you just see a number for asphalt, it doesn't really tell you much.

You can see if it's going up or down, but you have no idea how many miles of road the asphalt is covering.

So back in whenever it was 89, 90, 91 in that time frame, Mr.

O'Neill said we need to do a budget of outcomes.

The outcomes are what you actually get for the money.

You can go look at Newport News budget or Williamsburg or Pocosa and your Virginia Beach pick anyone, and you can see what's going up and down.

But unless you're intelligent about every item in that budget, you don't know what the line items are really buying.

In our budget, you know what the line items are really buying.

And you might not like it, but at least you know what the money is going for.

And so that's why we've all long done that.

We actually get national budget awards for doing it the way that we do it.

If council wanted to change it, of course we could change it.

I would think that the public would lose a lot because they wouldn't have that information.

I think I addressed everything that came up tonight, Mr.

Mayor.

I'm sorry I went on so long, but because we don't respond to budget comments in the middle of the budget hearing, I did not want those who came tonight to speak to feel like their their uh comments were unheard.

All right, thank you for those explanations.

Okay, so now we will get to uh the clerk reading the motion for appointments the motion required on item eight this evening is to appoint Brian DeProfio to the Western Tidewater Regional Jail Authority to serve as an alternate for the city manager.

Motion and a second so move second councilman Bowman, aye, Vice Mayor Brown, Councilwoman Campbell, aye, Councilwoman Faraby, aye, councilwoman Harper, aye, Councilwoman Mugler, aye, Mayor Gray.

All right, are there any other reports from the city manager, city council member staff or committees?

All right, is there any new business?

All right, we adjourn.