The March 19th, 2026 City of Hampton Planning Commission meeting is now called to order.

Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll?

Commissioner Samuels.

Present.

Commissioner Griffith.

Present.

Commissioner Brooks.

Commissioner Coleman.

Present.

Vice Chair Mugler.

Present.

Commissioner DeProfio.

Chair Rogers.

Our first order of business is approval of the minutes.

Is there a motion?

Madam Chair, move approval of the minutes.

Second.

We have a motion and second on the floor for approval of minutes from the February 19th, 2026 Planning Commission work session and regular meeting.

Commissioners, is there any discussion?

Madam Clerk, please call the roll.

Commissioner Samuels.

Aye.

Commissioner Griffith.

Aye.

Commissioner Brooks.

Abstain due to absence.

Commissioner Coleman.

Aye.

Vice Chair Muggler.

Aye.

Commissioner DeProfio.

Aye.

Chair Rogers.

Aye.

We have two public hearing items tonight.

I will hand the meeting over to Director Michael.

Thank you.

First, I'll read the public hearing protocol.

The Planning Commission of the City of Hampton takes pride in being fair and courteous to all parties in attendance.

It is important that all involved understand how the commission conducts its hearings and how all persons before the commission should conduct themselves.

Individuals other than the applicant or their representative who have signed up to comment on the case will have three minutes to present their comments.

All comments must be directed to the commission.

No person may address the commission until he or she is called by the chair.

Speakers must remain at the podium or microphone while addressing the commission.

Speakers who have signed up may not donate their time to other speakers.

And please note that unless otherwise stated, the action taken by the commission today are in the form of a recommendation to the Hampton City Council.

The final decision to approve or disapprove an application will be made by the City Council at a future date.

This is a proposal by the City of Hampton to amend and reenact the zoning ordinance of the City of Hampton, Virginia by amending Chapter 2, Section 2-2 entitled Definitions, and Chapter 9, Article 2, entitled Overlay Chesapeake Bay Preservation District to improve clarity and align language with the current regulatory practices and state guidance, as well as to bring the city's ordinance into compliance with Virginia Code and State Water Control Board regulations regarding regarding trees and coastal resilience.

Here to present on behalf of staff is City Planner Valerie Taylor.

The Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act is a state law that tidewater localities are required to implement.

The purpose is to protect and improve water quality through effective land use management practices located in the enforced and enforced through the zoning ordinance and operates as an overlay district.

It establishes three areas, the resource protection area, known as the RPA, the intensely developed areas, IDA, and resource management areas.

Throughout this presentation, the acronyms RPA, IDA, and RMA will be used periodically.

This GIS image displays all three preservation areas.

The RPA is shown in yellow, IDA in pink, and RMA shown in green.

As previously stated, the purpose of the Bay Act is to protect and improve water quality through effective land use management practices.

This is done by establishing different types of Chesapeake Bay preservation areas and then identifying different criteria related to the use, development, and redevelopment of those areas.

The RPA includes title features such as wetlands and shores and a 100 foot buffer adjacent to and landward of these features.

The IDA includes these areas within the RPA or the 100 foot buffer was already developed prior to enactment of the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act, so little of the natural environment remains.

And the RMA is the land extending over 100 feet inland from the edge of the RPA buffer.

Here is a citywide overview displaying the three preservation districts.

Before discussing the proposed amendments, it's important to understand the changes that have occurred at the state level.

During the 2020 legislative session, the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act was amended to direct the State Water Control Board to adopt regulations that encourage and promote coastal resilience and adaptation to sea level rise, climate change, as well as preserving mature trees, planting new trees, as strategies to protect water quality and enhance natural resource benefits.

In June of 2021, the State Water Control Board adopted amendments to the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area Designation and Management Regulations.

These regulatory amendments include a requirement that an assessment of the impacts of sea level rise and storm surge on projects within the RPA and IDA be conducted and that provisions related to the preservation of mature trees and native plantings be included in local ordinances.

Initially, the State Water Control Board regulations stated that localities had three years or until September 2024 to implement the changes.

This deadline was further extended as the Department of Environmental Quality, known as DEQ, developed guidance for localities, which was released in July of 2025.

City staff has been in communication with DEQ while drafting the proposed amendments and is on schedule with agency expectations for local adoption.

As part of the amendment process, staff orchestrated the use of digital media to inform stakeholders.

On February 25th, an announcement about the proposed Chesapeake Bay Overlay Ordnance Amendments was posted on the city's website.

Notices were also sent to the development community in early March, and a follow-up notice will be sent after the City Council action.

ENews updates began prior to today's planning commission meeting and will continue after the final action by City Council.

The proposed amendments to Chapter 9, Article 2 focus on several key areas that strengthen environmental protection and clarify requirements.

The remainder of this presentation will focus on these specific areas, measures of tree preservation, adaptation measures within protected areas, updated submission requirements, and other minor administrative updates.

These proposed amendments are intended to reinforce the city's existing practices for protecting mature trees and promoting the use of native species.

A mature tree is defined as a canopy tree with a diameter at breast height of 12 inches or greater or an understory tree with a diameter at breast height of four inches or greater.

A native species as defined by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation is a plant that naturally occurs in the region where they evolved and over time becomes well adapted to the local environmental conditions such as climate, soil, and wildlife.

The impacts of these amendments are minimal and primarily codify the city's existing practices for preserving mature trees and promoting native species.

Another component of the proposed amendments focuses on climate adaptation measures as a permitted encroachment.

The adaptation measures allow projects or practices that mitigate climate change impacts, such as sea level rise, storm surge and flooding, to be placed within resource protection areas and intensely developed areas.

Examples would include dry or wet swales, bioretention ponds, and the use of fill as part of an adaptation measure.

In this context, fill can be used in flood mitigation or resilience projects as long as it's part of a broader design that manages stormwater and protects water quality.

When these measures meet the specified criteria, they can be implemented without requiring a formal exception.

The amendments also require applicants to submit a landscape plan for any development or redevelopment within the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Overlay subdistricts, including the RPA, IDA and RMA.

The plan must detail existing vegetation and any proposed plantings.

Adding this requirement helps applicants implement updated standards for tree preservation, native plantings, and mitigation early, ensuring a smoother permitting process.

Another significant component of the amendments is the requirement of a resiliency assessment for development and redevelopment within the RPA and IDA.

The assessment uses identified tools to evaluate potential impacts from sea level rise, storm surge, and flooding over a 30-year time frame unless a shorter period is justified.

The assessment benefits both the city and the applicants by identifying potential future impacts early and allowing proposals to be modified as needed.

Staff will also be available to provide guidance throughout this process.

Again, the purpose of the resiliency assessment is to evaluate the long-term impacts of sea level rise, storm surge, and flooding on buffer function in relation to a proposed project.

By considering future conditions, the project can be designed to protect the buffer, improve water quality, and ensure the development's long-term viability, such as elevating a house to better withstand future flooding.

This approach not only supports the applicant by reducing potential future risks, but also protects the environment by maintaining and enhancing natural buffers that help safeguard water quality.

The assessment must utilize modeling and forecasting tools developed or endorsed by the Commonwealth, such as those available on the Adapt VA website, which is maintained by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science or FEMA models accessible through the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation website.

All of these tools are free and available to the public.

The existing residence is shown in green, and the addition is shown in pink in the first image.

The second image shows the residence is located in the intensely developed area.

It should be noted that the structure was built before the Bay Act, which established preservation area boundaries, thereby classifying the home as a non-conforming structure.

The third image depicts a 30-year progression of the effects of sea level rise on the property.

The following image taken from a FEMA flood map shows the AEO7 flood zone and shows that there is no limit of moderate wave action, which is also known as a limois.

A limois shows areas on coastal flood maps where waves may reach between 1.5 to 3 feet and marks the inland boundary of the high-risk coastal zone.

The final image shows the impact of a category two storm surge on the subject property, which could produce flooding of 9 to 10 feet above ground.

This assessment will serve as the basis for discussion between staff and the applicant to determine if any modifications to the proposal are necessary and appropriate.

For example, a modification may include evaluating whether a proposed structure can be relocated or reoriented to reduce exposure to flooding or minimize impacts to sensitive environmental areas.

An additional amendment allows living shorelines to be exempt from certain performance criteria under sections 914 and 915 when specific conditions are met.

Living shorelines as defined by Virginia Code are a natural approach to shoreline protection that helps manage erosion and preserve wetlands.

This change streamlines the permitting and implementation process for living shoreline projects, supporting faster, more effective shoreline restoration.

The final proposed amendments include updates to Chapter 2 and Chapter 9, Article 2.

Chapter 2 adds new definitions related to the amendments in Chapter 9, removes outdated definitions, and clarifies an existing definition.

In Chapter 9, Article 2, language modify modifications are made to improve clarity and better align with the implementation of the ordinance, including a restructure of the permitted encroachment section.

These changes aim to ensure consistency and clarity in interpreting and implementing the ordinance.

In conclusion, staff recommends approval of zoning ordinance amendment ZOA 26-0047.

This concludes the presentation.

Additional staff is present to assist if needed.

Commissioners, do we have any questions for staff?

Yes.

Second of all, um great presentation and um thank you.

So I have no questions at all.

Okay.

Thank you.

Any other questions by Commissioners?

Thank you.

Thank you.

If there aren't any questions or any other discussion, this is a public hearing, and so I will open the public hearing.

Is anyone signed up to speak?

No, there are not.

With no speakers, we'll close the public hearing.

Is there any discussion, Commissioners?

All right.

Is there a motion on the floor?

Yes.

Move approval of ZOA 26-0047.

I second.

We have a motion and a second to approve ZOA 26-0047.

Madam Clerk, will you please call for the vote?

Commissioner Samuels.

Aye.

Commissioner Griffith.

Aye.

Commissioner Brooks.

Aye.

Commissioner Coleman.

Aye.

Vice Chair Muggler.

Aye.

Commissioner DeProfio.

Chair Rogers.

Aye.

And that motion carries.

Director.

Thank you.

The next public hearing item is 26-0071.

This is a proposal by the City of Hampton to amend and reenact the zoning ordinance of the City of Hampton, Virginia by amending Chapter 1, Article 1, Section 1-2, thereof to revise portions of the zoning district map defined in that section pertaining to airpoint, airport noise, and aircraft accident potential zones and boundaries.

Here to present on behalf of staff is zoning administrator Melvion Folzum.

Good afternoon, Madam Chair, Vice Chair, members of the Commission, Secretary of the Board, Legal Council, Citizen Staff and Guests.

My name is Melvian Folgium, and I will be presenting the proposed zoning zoning amendment to the air installation compatible use zone zoning amendment 26-0071.

Today I'll be providing an overview of the air installation compatible use zone or ACU study update that was released in June of 2020 for an active NOU between the joint base Langley Uses and the City of Hampton.

This presentation will revisit information that was originally shared with City Council in 2021 following the release of the study.

More broadly, these updates help to ensure Hampton include continues to plan for compatible land uses around Langley, the Langley Air Force Base while protecting public safety and supporting long-term missions of the installation.

Hampton has maintained a strong partnership with Langley Air Force Base for many many decades dating back to the 1970s.

During that time, the city has implemented a number of planning tools designed to guide development in the areas affected by aircraft operations.

The tools include zoning overlays, flight approach districts, and the construction standards for building buildings located in the higher noise areas.

Today's presentation focuses on three main points.

I'll briefly explain what the ACUS program is and how it functions as a planning tool.

Summarize some updates included in the 2020 study and review the regulatory steps the city is taking to align zoning maps, zoning maps, noise contours only with the updated recommendation.

The ACUS program is a planning program developed by the Department of Defense to help communities plan for land use uses near the military airfields.

Aircraft operations can generate both noise impact and safety considerations.

The study maps contain several types of planning zones, including clear zones, which may have the highest accident potential near the runway, accident potential zones, and noise contours, which we are discussing.

Typically, these areas are measured between a decibel of 65 to 75, with some areas having a greater decibel level over 75.

These levels do not regulate land use directly.

Instead, they provide guidance that local governments use in developing zoning and planning policies.

The briefing provides and provided an overview of the proposed amendments to the North Contours on the coordinating map, which illustrates the flight pattern of the F-22 fighter jets based at the Langley Air Force Base in Hampton and depicts the potential impact zones associated with their operation.

As you see here on this map, this map is the ACUS noise contour comparison map.

It focuses on the adjusted boundaries or boundaries that were impacted by the changes in the memorandum.

The exhibit adjusted displays the adjustments of the noise contours only.

The contours shown in red show the areas that were removed.

The shaded area also shows the larger area of that was removed by the study.

The green represents the areas that were added.

If you look closely at the information in the box, it also details the parcels that were incorporated into the original study.

According to the old um the old exhibit, it states that the number of parcels impacted were 4,952 parcels with a new parcel recommendation or a new parcel evaluation evaluated at 3,242 parcels.

This um shows that the math or the calculations reduce the number of parcels by 1,710 parcels in the city of Hampton.

Why this matters?

These updates are very important for several reasons.

First, the Langley Air Force Base serves as a significant economic engine for our region, providing thousands of jobs and supporting a wide range of local businesses.

Second, the aircraft operations can directly impact nearby land uses without careful planning, conflicts may arise between development and flight operations.

By proactively updating our policies, the city can help to prevent these conflicts while ensuring the installation can continue to operate effectively into the future.

This slide is an overview of the city's regulatory framework utilized within our ordinance.

Underneath the noise, um the noise zone standards, it's a or it pretty much discusses that any primary residential structures built within the noise contour district after October 1st, 1992, must include a sound installation to ensure the interior noise levels do not exceed a decibel of 45.

What this means that anything such as or any components of a home that includes doors, windows, or roofs must be constructed to meet the standards of the sound transmission control rating.

This does not include any non-habitable spaces, garages, or storage area.

The aircraft installation, or excuse me, the aircraft accident potential zone shows three potential accident zones measured from high potential to a measurable potential for an accident.

The purpose of the establishment of the three air airport noise zones and three aircraft potential zones is to designate between the severity of the levels of the noise impact so that the appropriate appropriate acoustical performance standards can be employed to mitigate the adverse impacts of the noise aircraft zone and facilitate accurate uh identification such as noise zones for land use purposes.

The next steps to addressing the necessary amendments to the noise contours only would be a recommendation from the planning commission to city council.

These actions officially incorporate the updated acoustic noise contours only into the city's regulatory framework.

After the conclusion of the public hearing, staff recommends approval of ZOA 26-001.

This concludes my presentation.

I'm available for any questions, the board may have.

Thank you.

Thank you for the presentation.

Commissioners, do we have questions?

No questions for staff?

Yes.

Madam Chair, if I can just jump in, I would like to point out that our zoning code applies to discretionary applications in these areas, which means that by right development would not be impacted.

I'd also like to prove it, point out that uh this map is only adding areas that are in the 65 to 69 decibel range, and nothing in our code provide uh imposes any new additional restrictions on properties in that range.

So the practical effect of this would be only that properties in those new areas would have to disclose that they're in a noise contour zone uh upon resale, and uh that is a there's a state law that we do not enforce.

All right, any other questions?

Yes.

Um, just to be clear, 65 through 70 decibels is basically the same amount of decibels as a normal speaking voice.

So I know that when I hear planes, it's louder than our speaking voice.

So how do we come up with the standards or to justify that?

Because most planes are louder than 65, 70 decibels.

I will have Mr.

Clint Roth to step forward to speak towards that question.

Sorry, I'm a physicist.

Yeah, here you're doing that.

Clint Ross, uh City Hampton employee for those of you who haven't met uh uh federal facilities, community affairs liaison uh as well as uh the commander for joint baseline that used this from 2019 to 21.

Uh the the decibel levels are determined by the Air Force on the different contours, and that's how they're presented as far as the the math at uh altitude and how those contours are uh determined.

I would have to follow up with more information.

But but I agree uh the jets are louder than the normal speaking voice.

And you agree that 65 to 70 is the actual decibels for the normal speaking voice.

Yeah, I'm not aware of that.

Okay, yeah.

It is anything else.

Thank you so much for your presentation, Ms.

This is a public hearing, so I will open the public hearing.

Is anyone signed up to speak?

No, there are not.

Then we will close the public hearing and entertain a motion.

Uh Madam Chair, I moved that the planning commission recommended adoption of the zoning ordinance amendment 26-0071 is presented in the agenda package.

Second we have a motion and a second for the zoning amendment 26-007 one.

Is there any discussion?

Commissioners.

Aye.

Commissioner Griffith?

Aye.

Commissioner Brooks?

Aye.

Commissioner Coleman.

Aye.

Vice Chair Muggler?

Aye.

Commissioner DeProfio?

Aye.

Chair Rogers.

Aye.

For the community development directors report, we have the youth planner report, and here to present is Henry Gottfried.

So looking at the month of March, what do we expect for this month?

Do we expect to have warmer weather?

My spring break unfortunately has not hit yet, but we're going to keep on moving forward.

Or do you expect to be the best version of yourself?

However, you expect to have this.

This is what we have done in the month of March.

So looking at the bylaws, started in 2013.

We really wanted to establish some different changes happening within these bylaws.

One of that being a stricter attendance policy.

With the attendance policy, there is no more than three abscesses per quarter.

You have to be 24 hours before you can have an excused absence before the act is excused.

And we have removed some commissioners unfortunately, but we've kept the stuff moving.

So moving on to the youth orchestra, this is a great opportunity for the youth advisory group as well as the Hampton Youth Commission to go to Christopher Newport University to really connect with their peers, expose themselves to music, and even step outside of their comfort zone.

Looking at data trainings, we track measurables for the different map for the youth master plan.

We have all types of data, qualitative, more touchy-filly data, quantitative, number numerical data, as well as mixed data as well.

Focus groups, this is where we connect with other different youth-led organizations, try to create solutions within the city of Hampton for youth, network with different people, different organizations, youth advisory group alternatives, and build long-term relationships from there.

Moving on to social media improvement, we did a collaboration with the Matt Academy or Media Arts and Design at Bethel High School.

We not only discuss being safe online, but also helped expand our reach on social media and are posting a lot more.

And looking at upcoming events.

We have Skate No Hate, Drip and SIP, and Youth Climate Summit.

This concludes my presentation.

Thank you guys for listening.

Thank you, Mr.

Godfrey.

Any questions or comments for Mr.

Godfrey?

Mr.

God, I'd just like to thank you so much.

This is my second meeting, second time seeing you present.

Um due to such a wonderful job, and I just want to commend you on being able to come and speak and give us the updates of the youth commission.

Continue the great work.

You are doing fabulous, sir.

Any other comments?

Mr.

Godfrey, one of the things I noticed in your presentation today is a lot of um engagement between groups and among groups.

And I think that's such a great way to um make and strengthen connections and for young people to get to know people that are different from themselves.

And I do appreciate the fact that that your commission is making those efforts to connect people outside of your own group.

Thank you so much for the presentation.

Yes.

Thanks so much.

Thank you.

We're moving on to items by the public.

Is anyone signed up to speak?

There are none.

In that case, are there matters by the commission?

All right.

Appearing that we have covered everything in our agenda, this meeting is adjourned.

Each year, worldwide, over a quarter of a million pedestrians are killed in traffic.

Millions of pedestrians are maimed or injured.

Join us for the next half hour as we look for solutions on perils for pedestrians.

On this episode, we visit Jackson, Wyoming to learn about Wyoming pathways.

Then we look at a key trail connection in Great Falls, Montana.

Stay tuned.

We're in Jackson, Wyoming, talking with Tim Young, who's the executive director of Wyoming Pathways.

What is Wyoming Pathways?

Wyoming Pathways is a statewide advocacy organization, and we work on bicycling and walking and trail issues and serving communities across the state of Wyoming.

And what are what are some of the current hot issues in Wyoming?

Well, typically they revolve around policy issues, what's going on to improve policies to make bicycling walking more convenient, more accessible.

It's funding issues, so communities have the access to resources they need to be able to implement their visions for improving their communities.

And then working uh at the grassroots level, uh, engaging people in their own communities, uh, helping them with projects they may have, resources they may not be aware of, and we do that across the state.

I have a board of directors, uh, an employee, so there's it's two-person staff uh and a board of directors.

And Wyoming is a fairly rural state.

Uh how does that affect uh how you do things?

It is a real estate, but you know, it was one of our former governors, Mike Sullivan that said that Wyoming's a small town with very long streets.

So we really are like a community that knows each other uh in many cases across the state.

Uh a little over 500,000 people, the smallest population of all the states actually.

And you're on the far end of the state from the capital in Cheyenne.

I suppose with electronics nowadays, that doesn't impact you too much.

Well, you can certainly do a lot uh on the computer, and I spend uh plenty of time uh on my internet and uh and email, but it's vitally important to see people in their own communities uh on their own home uh land and be able to understand uh a place you really have to go there in person.

So I do some traveling and then I certainly work uh out of the office.

And something like uh you know, pathways, trails, as well as you know, sidewalks and cities or towns.

Um what what agencies are you dealing with?

Transportation, uh natural resources, what uh how are things set up here?

We focus a lot on the state agencies, so that's the State Department of Transportation uh YDOT in in our state.

Uh that's one.

Um the Department of Health is another agency we've got a strong partnership with, and we're actually going to be hosting a summit here in Jackson Hole next uh May 21st and 22nd.

That's going to be uh uh open to everyone in the state, but uh these state agencies are going to be our partners in sponsoring that.

Um, which is a great sign of support among the state agencies for bicycling and walking.

Um we work with the Wyoming Business Council.

They provide some programs for um uh that communities can access for uh typically for downtown main streets, and they actually run Wyoming's Main Street program, which has almost 19 communities uh at one level or another of uh main street programs.

So uh those are uh Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources, that's another agency we work with, and they have um increasingly added trails to some of the state parks to great success.

So we work with those agencies principally the governor's office, uh, who's has a keen interest in this and uh has been very supportive.

So that's our our focus with state agencies.

And you also work directly with the towns and localities or yeah, when communities uh call, for example, I was just on the other side of our state two weeks ago in the little town of Story, Wyoming, which sits on the east slope of the Bighorn Mountains.

It's a beautiful little place, but it's only a a thousand, uh less than a thousand population.

And they were struggling with some challenges for uh pedestrian safety along their streets, which uh don't have sidewalks, don't have shoulders, and they feel that traffic is speeding through their small town.

So they were they invited me over to take a look and and to discuss options they may have.

So that's an air an example of kind of how we get out and talk to communities, um, try to assess what their uh challenges are and and see if there's ways we can help them.

And here in Jackson, we're standing uh on this nice bridge.

What are we standing on?

Well, we're standing on the Snake River Pathway Bridge.

Uh the the result of 25 years of community vision and hard work.

It's uh 3.2 million dollar structure that spans 760 feet across the Snake River.

There were times when folks said this would never be built, and here we are standing on it.

So it it is uh a remarkable success.

Jackson's been uh working on bicycling and walking now for over 25 years as a priority for the community.

And although sometimes these projects feel like they take forever and they often do take a uh multiple years, uh long-term dedicated vision is is uh paid off for Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

We now have well over 60 miles of paved pathways.

We've greatly improved the pedestrian walkability of the downtown uh of Jackson.

We've have a what's is considered a uh in the international mountain biking world a silver ride center.

Uh the quality of our mountain biking and hiking trails uh close to home here is is very uh uh well recognized.

So we've made some big improvements and been they've been very well accepted by the community.

Um voters, for example, um this was largely funded through a ballot issue.

So we have the opportunity in Wyoming to put a project on the ballot and say to voters, you know, if you're willing to vote for this, you will get this facility um uh for uh for your support, and it passed with almost 80 percent um of in favor of building this bridge that we're standing on.

So remarkable support from the voters, which helps from the elected standpoint when they see that level of support among the uh the citizens, it's easier for them to step up and say, let's provide the support we need to as the government agencies overseeing and managing the facilities.

This is a fairly significant investment in this bridge.

Why is this bridge important for the network?

Like every bridge, it connects one side of the river to the other.

And we have you know the town of Jackson to the east of here, it's the large population center in the county hub, but on the west side uh to uh of the valley, we have Teton Village, a destination resort, uh uh year-round destination resort of high quality, and we have the town of Wilson, we have Teton Pines, so very large population areas on the west side of uh the Snake River, and this bridge was the key missing link, and uh getting it completed has dramatically increased bicycling and walking uh in the community because we can now get back and forth safely.

This is a completely separated from road system with underpasses, bridges, and and built to a very high standard.

So you'll see uh kids riding on their own, uh, young kids, eight, ten, twelve years old, riding to see their friends, perfectly safe with their support of their parents, and you'll see um grandparents out on this as well picking up the bike after many years of maybe not riding because they feel like they have it's comfortable and comfort is a big factor when people determine am I gonna sit on the couch or am I gonna go get some exercise today?

And when they feel like they have a comfortable, safe place to go, we see use skyrocketing.

So it's it's not just tourists using these facilities, but but the local families.

From the beginning it's been for everyone, and we are a resort community, um, but the community has really been uh that's the impetus for funding these uh pressuring uh the elected officials to take the steps they need to take to apply for the grants and to manage these projects.

Um but it's been incredibly successful with our visitors.

Um, one of the things is as a nation we're facing is is the is the threats of climate change and trying to reduce our carbon emissions is something we're all sensitive to.

And this is giving our resort an opportunity to travel and to enjoy the resources and to get from uh little village to little village without using a car.

And so uh we are making some steps, some inroads with uh reducing our carbon footprint by having a great system of bicycling and walking.

And heading north out of Jackson up towards uh Grand Tetons.

What are you able to do in terms of paths going off in that direction?

Well, Grand Teton has um from the town of Jackson to Jenny Lake, there's a 20-mile continuous pathway now that connects directly from the population and visitor hub of Jackson, the town of Jackson, up to Jenny Lake, which is one of the principal destinations in Grant Teton National Park.

So it's a monumental achievement due to the challenges of working with the National Park Service.

And I think it's not um unfair to say that they were strongly opposed to putting any pathways in the park for many years, and it was a huge fight with the National Park Service to get them to embrace the idea that people accessing the park without a motor vehicle was actually a good thing for the visitors and for the park.

But we were able to persevere.

There were some very tragic uh bicycle fatalities that happened in 1999 and 2001 that finally flipped the conversation to where the Park Service could not ignore it any longer.

And with the support of um of a visionary uh Wyoming Senate U.S.

Senator Craig Thomas, we were able to secure some appropriations and uh to continue to encourage the National Park Service to do the right thing with adding these uh resources.

And so um fast forward uh ten years, because it took another 10 years of uh environmental planning um in engineering and then finally construction, from the day the PAS opened, they were success.

They have been nothing but appreciated by the visitors, they've been a very low impact in terms of the management um expenses and and challenges from the park service.

And the the concerns that some voiced about wildlife impacts or about other types of visual impacts to people driving in cars didn't materialize, thankfully.

Um they've been a huge success.

And I hope it's a vision for the rest of the national parks to take a look at how their visitors are accessing the park on these visits they come to.

I would say that while cars certainly are an important element of access, bicycling and walking are should be preferred modes of access in our national parks.

Yeah, national parks across the country.

You have the problem of you know, what do we do with all the cars that come in, where do they park and everything else.

Um what uh what concerns did the did the park have uh about putting in the path and then and how are you able to address those?

I mean I mean I other places can look at the success here, but how did you get over those those those hurdles that that their concerns were addressed?

Well, I think strong and continued advocacy is absolutely necessary.

The Park Service doesn't move uh quickly, and in many ways that's not a bad thing, but trying to implement change is a challenge, and from the turn of the of the 20th century, automobiles began to dominate our national parks to the detriment of our parks.

And when you talk about uh some of the congestion that people are seeing in some national parks, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, typically when you really dig into it, it's car congestion.

It's too many cars, too many cars trying to park, too many cars in the parking lot.

Um, it's not always too many people.

So if we can if we can improve the way people access our national parks, uh offering them more options like you have here.

You can leave your car uh or you don't even need to have a car.

You could fly into the airport, take a transit uh vehicle down to town, stay in a hotel and ride your bike and have a more than a week's bicycling opportunities in a fabulous place and never have to drive a car.

Uh so that that's an option here now, and it wasn't before.

It truly was unfriendly for all but the most hardy bicyclists to get out and share the road with fast-moving uh motor vehicles.

So it takes it takes time, it takes both um vision from the community, the the gateway community to encourage the park.

It takes the park service to take the steps they need to take to make the decisions, say we're gonna we're gonna implement this and it's going to be successful.

And finally, when we got to that point here in Grand Teton National Park, uh it's proven to be exactly that.

Um there were concerns that uh, for example, grizzly bears.

We have we're blessed with every large carnivore that was here before uh Europeans settled in the in Wyoming.

Uh Wyoming still has uh we have wolves, we have grizzly bears, we have mountain lions, and it's a great thing that those uh that all those uh species are are thriving here.

And there were concerns that what about grizzly bears?

And I'm happy to tell you that not a single grizzly bear has died be as a result of a bicyclist.

So we can uh we can say that with almost 10 years of experience with our pathways, no grizzly bears have died.

It's not the same you could say about motor vehicles.

Every year there's a tragic number, approaching 200 large animals are struck and killed by motor vehicles in our park and uh in our community every year here.

So with the level of wildlife that fortunately still exists here, there is a big problem with motor vehicles and and wildlife.

Um that is not necessarily the case with people walking and bicycling on these uh safe pathways.

Going back to the state level, what sort of avenues are there for for public input into head and bike issues?

One of the big new opportunities right now is uh initiative that our legislature passed in 2016.

It created uh it required the governor to appoint a task force of 13 people from a variety of disciplines to a bicycle and pedestrian system task force and charge that group with preparing a report um on the benefits and opportunities of bicycling and walking and natural surface trails.

And the governor appointed that group last summer.

Uh I was one of the people appointed and actually serve as chairman of the task force.

We've been actively working uh for the past year, uh meeting and discussing um opportunities we have and studying the benefits that have been explored in other places and translating that into Wyoming.

So we're about to produce a final report uh in the next couple of weeks.

Uh it's being prepared by Alta Planning and Design, one of America's premier uh firms with expertise in this area, and then with the input of a lot of citizens around the state of Wyoming.

Um so it's it's going to be a template for the future for Wyoming for our communities to improve livability to make them better places, more inviting for new businesses to come.

It's a part of our governors and Dow initiative, which is an economically economic opportunities for the future, um, looking at different ways what can we do as a state to improve the climate for new businesses to form and businesses that are here to be successful and grow.

Um and for health, especially.

It it specifically uh requires looking at the health benefits of bicycling walking, which as you know are significant, and sometimes in studies we've seen uh actually exceed the economic benefits, which are substantial, the health benefits if we are a little more active, if we walk a little more or bike a little more because it's comfortable, because it's safe, because we can do it with our friends or our family, our kids.

Um, we're healthier people, and health outcomes are improved and health care costs go down.

So that's one of the joys of the work I do is that you have these multiple levels of benefits that very few other modes of transportation can offer.

We're in Great Falls, Montana, talking with Chris Ward with T DNH Engineering.

What do you do for your company?

Well, I'm a civil engineer and project manager.

I work mainly on transportation projects.

What's this right behind us here?

Well, this is Sun River Connector Trail, which is a shared use path project.

It was built last year.

Um it's been on the ground and open for about a year now.

Uh and the purpose behind it was to connect a couple of shared use path segments that have been in place for quite a while, but uh pedestrians and bicyclists had to detour at this point out onto the shoulder of this obviously very busy highway.

Um, and so this this filled in the kind of a gap in the in the non-motorized transportation network in this part of town.

Where did the idea for some kind of path or sidewalk along here originally come from?

Well, that's a that's actually a good question.

There's there's two ways to look at it.

Um, you know, probably over around 10 years ago or so as as the River's Edge Trail Board was looking at how to construct a trail side uh shared use path system.

This was identified as a place that that uh was part of the south loop of the River's Edge Trail System.

But once we started uh once my firm got involved and started working on the design, we pulled up the old plans for this highway when it was when the westbound lanes were added in 1983, and we found uh kind of a little dashed outline there on the plans that said future sidewalk.

So the answer could be you know the last 10 years, or it could be that it's been envisioned in some form for decades.

And so we were able to come in and I kind of like to think of it as me and my team were sort of joining the design team from the early 80s and just kind of completing something that everybody knew needed to happen eventually.

What was what was difficult about this path that might have made them leave it out back in the 80s?

Well, it it has a number of challenges.

Actually, this whole four-lane highway that we're standing next to is built on a causeway in the Sun River floodplain.

So at one time this would have just been uh the banks of the Sun River in the 1950s.

The highway was built through here on a causeway, then it was widened in the 80s to allow for a four-lane highway.

But it's pinned, it's as you can see, it's immediately adjacent to the Sun River.

And so there's there were a lot of concerns about the um, you know, environmental uh loss of the river bank uh with any additional fill out there, and also impairment of the floodplain.

Great Falls was hit by a huge flood in 1984.

If if this was April 1984, we'd we'd be kind of standing up to our knees in water right now.

So there's a lot of sensitivity about the the floodplain and the need to convey flood water through here.

So the uh regulator agencies very rightly were concerned about building a bunch more fill into the river right here.

That was probably the main concern, and then also there's just the difficulty of uh building some kind of a structure or retaining wall or whatever it might be on an old fill that's full of rubble and riprap and stuff like that, so geotechnical challenges, and it's all silty uh river bottom mud under that.

So you're an engineer, engineers are clever about solving problems.

What solution did you come up with?

Well, that's what we like to think anyway.

Um I what we and this is one of the things where it's really fun to work on a multidisciplinary team where you have a bunch of people with very specific expertise, uh transportation engineers, people that are interested in non-motorized travel, people that are interested in geotechnical engineering, people that are that know structural engineering, that we even had electrical engineering involved because of the lighting system that had to be uh added.

So we basically got the team together and started looking at the issues and kind of troubleshooting it, looking at what had been done before.

Um and realizing that we were constrained by the river and wanting to maintain as much river capacity as we could.

Um one of the things that immediately came up was well, we can't just build a fill down into the river.

We're gonna have to build some kind of a structure to constrain this as much as possible.

Um we realized, well, we're gonna have to build some sort of a temporary retaining system to be able to excavate and work on that structure.

Uh and the solution for that was uh temporary sheet pile, uh like a cofferdam kind of retaining wall.

And at some point the design team, some I don't remember who it was, but somebody said, Well, why don't we just make that sheet pile wall part of the permanent structure?

And that actually turned out to be the solution here.

So this cantilever trail that you see here is is sticking out several feet beyond the top of a sheet pile wall.

And what that enabled us to do was uh maintain a lot of the river bank, uh it's vegetated, um, it's there for wildlife to use, and also maintain a lot the vast majority of the the flood capacity.

The the edge of the structure is basically at its closest point is uh equivalent to the to the active conveyance channel of the river.

So it doesn't it doesn't really interfere with the active channel or uh impair that so that was kind of the solution that we came up with, and then uh the the actual walking surface is a cantilever moment slab, so there's a lot of weight of reinforced concrete that counterbalances any possible pedestrian loading or whatever kind of loading might be out on the cantilever part.

It doesn't rely on any tie backs or any connection to the to the pavement slab.

It's just uh it's just uh balanced for whatever possible loading might happen there.

And so that was I'm I'm really proud of what we were able to do there.

I I love see I love you know, this is my hometown.

I love coming by here and seeing people walking and biking.

A lot of people are recreating, and I think I see a lot of people that are probably using this that would not have gotten out and gone for a walk, that might have been staying in one of the hotels down there by by the Fox Farm intersection.

But I see a lot of people that are these are transportation trips, they're going to and from work.

They live on that side of the of the Missouri River, they have a job on that side, and in the past, they would have either had to have driven a car or taken the bus, or they would have had to have walked or biked on the shoulder of a you know 45 mile an hour highway.

And so to me, that's really gratifying to see to be able to facilitate that.

It's an option that people are taking advantage of and using, and to be able to make that kind of a difference in my community is just that's that's the greatest part of being an engineer.

I'm really happy that we're able to do that.

And how does state highway policy work?

Uh are you gonna be able to see more projects like this built right along the edge of a of a state highway like this?

Um I I think so.

There's been quite a bit of discussion about that this year, so it's it's a very appropriate question.

There was a you know, MDT is working under a lot of fiscal constraints, it's getting harder and harder to maintain infrastructure, the costs of that, and you know, the funding that's available.

So they're they've been trying to figure out how do we how do we keep up with all of this infrastructure that we've got out here, and I think one of the things that was identified is we're starting to develop a network of non-motorized facilities like this, and who and how are we gonna maintain that stuff?

Um trying to address that.

Uh it the problem is like any policy, people can read it differently, and there's been a lot of a lot of debate and discussion about, you know, has it changed anything?

And I, you know, I've read through it myself, and I I believe that that that the policy specifically has projects like this in mind, you know, standalone uh non-motorized transportation facilities where there's a safety issue, there's a important uh non-motorized connection that needs to be made.

It may serve a recreational purpose, but it's basically here as part of the different transportation modes that are using this very restricted corridor that connects two sides of town.

And I to me the policy is specifically written to try to prioritize this kind of project because it it checks all those boxes of being, you know, having a transportation purpose, um, being uh being safety oriented uh and stuff like that.

And there was you know, the the main ingredient is having some kind of an ongoing maintenance agreement.

And the city and MDT have got, you know, an agreement like that in place.

So I'm not concerned about it.

I think that I think that these this kind of specifically this kind of project um has a great future.

And if you think about it, what if what if we could get a lot of usage on a facility like this?

Maybe down the road that would preserve the capacity of the of the vehicular facility so that you have a good level of service out there on the on the highway, and you don't have to add another travel lane someday.

That's I think of this as a non-motorized travel lane on this facility.

And I I ideally I would like to see it, you know, take a good amount of the uh good amount of the capacity here.

If it's maintained in the winter and it connects from point A to point B, uh I think you'll see in the future there's gonna be a lot more use of that.

So I guess to answer your question, I'm I'm not worried about that policy.

I think that it's it facilitates this kind of project.

And there's you know, there's other projects that that the trail board and and others would like to see as part of this overall non-motorized network being developed in Great Falls.

Um River Drive South is a a project uh on the Missouri River, uh just downstream from here.

Basically, that'll complete this whole South Loop.pedestrians dot org.

So my name is Christopher Batten.

I graduated from Phoebus High School in 1995, and I'm currently a professor in electrical and computer engineering at Cornell University.

So after I graduated from Phoebus High School, I went to the University of Virginia and earned a bachelor's in electrical engineering.

After graduating from UVA, I went to the University of Cambridge to earn my master's in engineering.

And then I went to MIT, where I earned my doctorate in electrical engineering and computer science.

And then I started as a faculty here at Cornell University.

So I uh teach and do research in the area of computer architecture.

Computer architecture is really about computer system design.

So for example, we look at what type of computer systems should we be building in five or ten years and how should we build them.

So there were a couple of really uh formative experiences during my time at Phoebus, which really helped create a foundation for me to be successful in in science, engineering, and technology.

So one of them was the Center for High Technology, uh, so the robotics program specifically.

I was actually out of district and participating in the Center for High Technology was one of the reasons I was able to go to Phoebus.

And um the robotics program was led by Mr.

May when I was there, and it was a fantastic experience.

Uh students uh were basically in in charge of the curriculum.

Mr.

May would pick out the textbook that we use during the year, but then students would take ownership of specific chapters and and teach the other students about the material, prepare problems.

It was a very hands-on, project-driven type uh course, and it really taught me a lot about what engineering actually was.

And so I really enjoyed that experience.

Uh, another good example would be uh the science fair.

So I was part of the science fair for two years.

Um, how Mrs.

Tucker taught the uh biology program there when I was at FIBAS, and she was a great mentor.

And I did a really interesting project, dealt with paramecium, small bacteria.

We looked at how bacteria responded to various different environmental conditions and what would happen when the paramecium were exposed to different contrasting and conditions and how they would respond uh to those conditions at the same time.

And I had an opportunity to go to various science fairs, and it really helped expose me to science, but also research, how to independently come up with uh interesting questions, how to design the experiments to answer those questions, and how to evaluate the results to figure out the next set of questions we should ask.

I think the third kind of formative experience I had while I was at FEBIS uh was really the New Horizons um governor school program where I was able to uh take uh physics, but also uh took advantage of the mentorship program.

And so I spent um many afternoons every week over at NASA Langley uh working with my mentor Jeffrey Tanil, learning a lot about basically big supercomputers.

So they had an IBM SB2, an Intel Paragon, and as a high school student, I had a chance to run some code on these these computers, which was pretty rare.

And that really taught me a lot about computing.

And you know, so for my experiences in the rocks program, about engineering, science for research, and at the mentorship program terms of uh terms of computing really shaped what I do today ever since, actually.

Now that I've kind of seen what it's like to be a teacher on the other side, now that I'm a professor at at a university, I kind of see what it's like to be a teacher.

Um and reflecting back on my time at Phoebus, uh I really would urge current students to take advantage of the the teachers, at least when I was there, and I'm sure it's still the case.

The teachers are more than willing to go above and beyond to help students that are excited about learning and want to get engaged.

And I saw that time and again.

And I am a very proud 1991 graduate of Bethel High School.

Going to Bethel was it was just a great experience at high school from participating in in sports and other extracurricular activities, having great teachers, and really having the opportunity as a young man uh to prepare myself for college and life at the college.

It was a very sound and good foundation that I got at Bethel High School.

This work that I have the privilege of doing in the city of Hampton, it is truly a labor of love, knowing that the work that my team and I here in the economic development department, the work that we do, it does have a tangible impact on the lives of every citizen in the city of Hampton.

I have three children who are in Hampton City Schools.

And my personal philosophy is if I can help create opportunities for my own children, then I've helped to create opportunities for other people's children as well.

My career aspirations actually became solidified when I was in middle school at Jeff Davis Middle School.

And it was it was during that time there that I participated in Chrome.

I also participated in the Sharp program there and Chrome and other programs and activities.

And so I actually went to school and got an engineering degree and worked in advanced manufacturing and then some other and then some other areas of manufacturing.

And then one day I got the AHA moment and figured out what it was I wanted to do when I grew up.

That was workforce and economic development.

And it was this has been truly a blessing to have the opportunity to grow up in my career professionally to come back home and have the opportunity to serve the citizens and my friends and family here in the city of Hampton.

My name is Margot Lee Shetterly.

I'm a 1987 graduate of Phoebus High School, and I'm also a graduate of Eton Junior High School.

I guess it's middle school now, and Captain John Smith Elementary School.

So I am 100% product of Hampton City Public Schools, and very proudly so.

First of all, I think I got a fundamentally solid education here.

I had good teachers who cared a lot.

So I really appreciate the fundamentally good education that I received here in Hampton.

The other thing that I think was really important, and this was really made clear to me during the research of my book, is that I went to an integrated Hampton City schools.

It was very economically diverse.

So we had, I went to school with the mayor's daughters, and I also went to school with with kids from public housing.

So I think the fact that that great diversity, not just in terms of the background or the race or the the ethnicity of the people, but also in terms of the economic background, um, was a fantastic way to grow up.

Um it was a really wonderful way to meet people from different backgrounds and to um get exposure to different points of view, liberal, conservative, absolutely everything.

Um I feel like I came into contact with in the Hampton City Public Schools, and I'm very grateful for that.

When I went to first grade in uh the first day of first grade at Captain John Smith Elementary School, my teacher was Mrs.

Gwendolyn Chisman.

And Mrs.

Chisman is what the kids called a mean teacher, you know, which in retrospect means that she was an excellent teacher who really cared about the kids.

She made sure we did our homework.

Um she really, even though we were only six years old, pushed us to the to really stretch our abilities.

And so the first day of first grade, Mrs.

Chisman got in front of the class and she said, This is it.

This is first grade.

And I still remember that because she said that to us as if we had walked into like a differential equations class in college, you know, in graduate school or something.

You know, and the level of expectation that she had for us, even though they were just six years old, was so high, and I still remember that.

And in retrospect, um, I I appreciate it so much, and I'm sure it had a huge impact on my entire career.

I went to the University of Virginia and I studied uh finance.

I I went to the commerce school and immediately went to go work on Wall Street.

So I worked as an investment banker for the first half of the 1990s.

Um I decided I wanted a change.

There was this new thing called the internet, just starting up and becoming very popular, and I I thought that was quite intriguing.

So I spent um really from uh the mid-90s through um the early 2000s working in internet media in New York, um, really a fascinating time.

Um I was in New York um on 9-11 and um stayed through the beginning of uh 2002, then took some time off to travel and came back to New York.

Um shortly thereafter, I met my husband, who was somebody who had also um kind of worked in internet media and he'd worked in publishing.

Um, and the two of us um got married, we moved to Mexico, and we started an English language magazine for expats, uh, which was to quite an adventure to say the least.

Um we lived in Mexico for 11 years.

Uh we ran the magazine for uh three years, then we closed it.

We started another business, um, which was an internet consulting business, um, kind of trying to help tourism businesses in Mexico with translating and internet marketing.

Um, and in 2012, I I came back here to Hampton and started working on what would become hidden figures.

So for the last four years, uh, we lived in Mexico, and you know, I would come back here for big chunks of time for um for research.

And uh two months ago we moved back to the United States full time, and I now live in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The most important thing about this book now coming out, and particularly about the enthusiasm that it's receiving, is it probably means that I'll get a chance to write another book.

So I guess at this point um I can officially call myself a professional writer, um, and I'm embarking on what's probably my third or fourth career at this point.

Um, so that that's really exciting.

I I feel like I'm doing the most interesting and the best work that I've ever done.

Um, and it's building on all of the things that I've done previously.

You know, I think a lot of times when we're young, we think that we have to know exactly what we're gonna do, and we've got this path, and if we don't, you know, achieve X thing by the time we're 25, it's all over.

And um, you know, I just say that um life is long and it's full of surprises and twists, and if you have the idea that you're always trying to do the best, whatever it is that you're doing, even if you fail, even if you come into you know uh encounter a wall, um, you know, eventually you're gonna find the thing that that makes you happiest and that you're best at.

I I feel like um that's certainly been the case for me.

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Hello and welcome to Choose Hampton.

I'm your host, Dosia Scott, and I have with us today the illustrious Dr.

Shanika Hayton from Healthy Families.

How are you today, Jeannie?

I'm wonderful.

Thank you so much for having me, Dosia.

Wonderful, wonderful.

So let's get into it.

Okay.

So you've been with the City of Hampton for more than 20 years.

Can you walk us through some of the roles that you've had and what kept you here this long?

Absolutely.

I think my story to Hampton is very unique.

I actually started in Hampton as an intern from Hampton University.

Wow.

From completing my graduate degree in counseling.

Oh my God.

And so I actually came to Healthy Families completing my practicum, doing the parenting groups in the evening time.

I love those.

I did those as well.

So I actually started as an intern who eventually actually saw that we had um a full-time position open in early intervention, which is ITC, and I applied.

And I actually got my first job, official job where I'm getting paid.

Um we like that.

We like that, right?

Um working for ITC, Infantiler Connection as an early interventionist full time.

Um and I did that for about five and a half years and realized that I felt like I was at a place where I was ready to be a supervisor.

All right.

And so then there was another opportunity that came in healthy families for a senior supervisor position, um, working in our home visitation program as known as Healthy Start.

Oh right.

Um, which would then also allow me the opportunity to do some supervisory work in our parenting education arm.

Okay.

So I then transitioned to that position.

One of the things very unique about that is it was a lateral move.

So I went and got a lot more responsibility.

Right.

Okay, okay, it was lateral.

However, one of the best decisions I ever made, right?

Because little did I know where I was gonna end up.

So after that position, I had the opportunity to apply for my very first managerial position.

Okay, in which I was managing parenting education, mayor's book club, um which we love.

Um all of the community service like aspect programs of healthy families, in which I did that probably about another four or five years.

And then, of course, our um administrator decided to retire.

Um Debbie Russell, of course, the trailblazer, as I often call her.

Pay hobbage to those who came before us.

Yes.

Thank you, Debbie.

She was the trailblazer, and so she retired.

And so for a while, we did this collaborative leadership style in healthy families.

But then I had the opportunity in which the administrator position for healthy families came open.

And I said, you know what?

I'ma just throw my hat in the ring.

Why not?

What do I have to lose?

Right, right.

And now I guess what they say the rest they say is history.

Yes, it is.

I have now been serving as the administrator of healthy families.

I believe that I'm going on year like six or seven.

Wow.

And so that was a very robust career.

And it's you started off so from college, and now to in that pipeline to know that we've been doing that connection for 20, over 20 years now is amazing with Hampton University.

Exactly.

All right.

Absolutely.

And I am till this very day a person who sits down.

We have interns all the time in the department because I believe in the opportunities of interns and us bringing them into the work environment.

And I still interview the interns that come to healthy families.

And that is wonderful.

Thank you for making sure we keep that going on.

All right, so for those who don't know anything about healthy families, how does it support Hampton families and parents and children?

Okay, so Hampton Healthy Families, I like to say, is an organization that does any and all things supporting children and families in Hampton.

Whether you just found out you're about to have a baby and you're so excited, but scared at the same time.

So we provide the support with our home visiting aspect, right?

Of giving you what you need to do to have a healthy pregnancy, make sure you stay healthy, make sure your baby stays healthy, but also connecting you with all these community resources that can help you parenting your child.

So then, of course, we transition into your um preschool years or early childhood years where we have play groups that's happening, um, parent and child playgroups that's happening for children for and under at our Mallory site currently where parents come in and I remember we remind them this is a parent-child play group, so you participate.

But the great thing with that is it shows you things that you can be doing with your child at home to help channel their development.

Okay.

Um, and then from there, of course, we also have early intervention who have worked with children birth to three, that if there's families who they may feel like there may be some developmental concerns with their children, which is a very hard role to have to navigate as well.

We're here to navigate you through that as well, right?

Um, which is where I started my career.

So it's like my baby.

Right.

It's really near and dear to your heart.

It's real special.

Um, and then as we progress, of course, we have your mayor's book club where we're pushing early literacy for our little people under second grade, right?

You actually go into the schools, right?

Yes, we actually go into the school.

I was just volunteering reading, what was it a couple weeks ago?

And I'm always like, take me to kindergarten classes, and I went to see my favorite.

So animated.

And then by the time I finished, I thank the teachers like 30 times because the reality is I had been out of the classroom so long.

Right, I had no idea what it was like.

Now disadvantage a large number of children.

That is something that takes a real skill set that I probably no longer have.

But it was a beautiful opportunity, right?

To take volunteers into the schools and allow them to read to these children and encourage early literacy.

Then from that, you have your before and after care, which happens in our elementary schools, 24 sites, including four of our middle schools, where parents can make sure that their child has access to affordable, safe child care so they can go out into this world and provide for their families, right?

Amazing.

And I really have that.

It does matter, especially now.

Uh yeah, we we've learned a lot over the years, right?

That it's very important.

Right.

And then you also have the parenting education arm where literally we have parenting classes, our parenting workshops for parents, regardless of the age and stage of their family.

Right, right, whether you're just starting a family or you're at the adolescent years and you're like, oh my goodness, this is different.

I need team nurturing, or I just need something just for dads.

I need dads differently, whatever it may be.

Right.

And then, of course, rounding the the bid, we also have our youth civic engagement program in which we oversee the youth civic engagement aspects of the city, trying to encourage youth to want to participate in what's happening in their community, right?

And have a voice in their community.

Is that new?

Is that something that's always happened over the years?

That's not new.

Um, we have for the last several years had a partnership with the organization Alternatives Inc.

Oh, that's right.

So Alternative Inc.

does a significant part of amount of that work for the city, and healthy families just kind of oversees it and make sure that it stays in a line with where the city's wanting to see the work go with the youth in the city.

All right.

Well, in this 20 years, how do you think healthy families has changed or impacted the community?

Interesting.

Um, I think that it's changed from the perspective of healthy families as an organization is very resilient, right?

We're a very resilient organization, regardless of what we've experienced as an organization, also regardless of what our families are experiencing, but the thing that has always stayed at the center of it is our children and families, right?

I have a very, very committed team that goes out here and does this work every day, and they give their all the things, their their passion, their purpose to making sure that we're giving families and children what they need.

And I'm hoping that I'm kind of leading from example from the top, right?

Right.

Yes, that we need to make sure that our children and families have what they need because this is one of the greatest ways, right?

To ultimately influence generations to come.

I love it.

I love it.

And the one thing that I love most about Healthy Families for me personally is the engagement.

I mean, everywhere you go, whether you go to build um Blueberg Gap Farm for those events or you're at the mosaic, you guys are always there, making sure that there's a presence for families.

So I do appreciate that.

Thank you.

And so, how one last question I have for you is how do you feel that healthy families is part of being the heart of Hampton?

I think a healthy families is a part of the heart of Hampton because the work that we're doing is positively influencing families for generations to come.

Fantastic.

I love it.

Dr.

Shaniqua Hayden, thank you so much for coming on the show today.

Thank you so much.

I appreciate it, and we will definitely bring you back to tell all the great news about what Healthy Families is doing in the future.

Thank you so much.

Have a wonderful day.

You too.

I'm your host, Cecilia Scott, and today we have with us Maurice Leary with the economic development department.

How are you doing today, Maurice?

I am well.

How about you, I am doing fantastic.

Thank you for having me.

I am so glad to have you on the show today because you are one of our newer employees for the city of Hampton.

And what is your title again?

I'm a business development manager.

All right, well, business development manager.

So we definitely need that in our city as we start to build more and bring more businesses into the city.

So let's get into it.

You ready?

Sounds good.

All right.

So what attracted you to the role that you have now?

Uh, simply put, civic pride, um, the ability to do meaningful and challenging work and to have the opportunity to have a visible, a visible reminder of the work that I'm doing.

I can tangibly see all of the good things that are happening in the great city of Hampton.

I love that.

I love that.

So many times we don't actually meet the people behind what brings businesses here and why they're here.

And so, too, to get into why it's important to make sure that the businesses that come to Hampton are selected in such a way.

Can you give us a little bit um of the behind the scenes selection process or the or how that how business selection happens in Hampton?

So it happens for a number of reasons.

Primarily, um, we market and promote the great assets that we have here.

We happen to be blessed to be in a coastal community.

Uh we have great military installations here.

We have a wonderful uh academic uh institution here.

So, with all of those great things and coupled with the fact that there's quality and affordable housing, that makes something uh to be a very good appetite for businesses that are looking to choose Hampton and for those that are currently uh in the city of Hampton.

Wonderful.

So, can you explain business attraction, retention, expansion in a way that would resonate to residents?

Yeah, to to kind of demystify what what we call BRE in the industry, uh business retention and expansion.

Simply put, my job is to create and protect those jobs and services and tax dollars that we already enjoy.

And in doing so, that allows for a good quality comfort of life for our current residents.

So that's it in a nutshell.

It's all about protecting what we already have in place and of course promoting those great things that will allow other businesses to look for a great place to start their services.

That's amazing.

I mean, I think Hampton has a all the strengths and all the things.

But what do you find that Hampton's greatest strengths are when promoting to businesses?

Well, well, first and foremost, as I stated before the the location, because we have access to the one of the deepest and widest ports in all of the world, it allows those that are interested in manufacturing and logistics and distribute distribution to have a great place to call home.

Um, where we're located in less than a day's drive, we can reach more than 75% of uh the contiguous United States.

So that makes us very, very attractive.

Exactly.

So how does the education pipeline play into the business retention and attraction model?

Well, so when businesses choose to make a place home, they obviously have employees that are gonna make up that organization and those employees uh have kids.

And you know, it's all about making sure that their kids have a great place uh to call home and to be cultivated and developed.

And because we have the wonderful academies of Hampton uh in place, there are pathways, there are ways in which that we can allow that fruition to take place.

And in addition to that, uh on a post-secondary level, we have a prestigious research institution in the name of Hampton University that's here that that bodes well for us.

All right, so looking ahead, what are you most optimistic about when it comes to the future business aspirations for Hampton?

Well, I'm I'm very optimistic about what's on the horizon.

Um we have wonderful assets.

We have the Phoenix Commercial Center, we have the Hampton Logistics Center, uh, that's almost uh virtually two million square footage of uh inventory that are there.

Uh we've recently inked uh the e-logistics uh USA outfit.

So that makes us a prime uh opportunity.

Uh and with the proliferation of a lot of the defense and energy sectors, and because we have great partners like the Hampton Roads Alliance, uh, we go about it from a collaborative and a regionalism uh kind of uh perspective, and that allows us to be not only successful, but it allows us to be very strong for the uh the future.

All right, so here's your plug at moment.

Is there any place that people can go if they wanted to learn more about business retention, business aspects or business opportunities?

Where could they go?

Yeah, they can come right downtown.

Um located in the Rupert Sargent Building, our economic development office is always interested in having those conversations.

Uh we're available.

Uh of course, with that being said, uh, it's about us getting out in the community and connecting with those that are already there.

So look look forward to seeing me come on the horizon.

All right, and continue to choose Hampton.

All right, Maurice, it has been a pleasure having a chat with you today.

I look forward to having many more in the future, and thank you for always allowing our residents, our businesses, and our friends to choose Hampton.

Well, I appreciate you having me.

Thank you.

Hello, and thank you for tuning in to another episode of Fusion Fitness, the place where you can come to get a great workout and also develop some dance skills as well.

Today we have with us the lovely D also we have the beautiful Britney.

So just to get your morning started, afternoon or evening, let's go ahead.

Here we go.

Roll the shoulders back.

Step it out.

Step it in.

I say it's a bit of a step it out.

Step it up.

Forward it to look at everybody when it's up.

Me out by the thing that step back out.

Step back to the old wish, I'm not here.

Down the one to win it, but I'm in it now.

Pull it in.

Forward back.

Forward.

Forward.

I said back.

Turn it.

Other side.

One two.

I am one eight I need.

Three.

I say one day.

Here we go.

Single.

Rotate.

We have no reason.

Here we go.

She has that one thing and I shall try to come in with me.

Roll it back.

I say it's a bed, make it a day.

Step it out.

Pull it in.

Why is the Step it up?

What is the chapter one people and one people step back?

Other side.

Step back.

Don't be broken with me up to come directly.

Turn it.

Turn it.

Step it out.

Pull it in.

Step it out.

Birthday.

When it comes back to come to love.

I hope so.

Here we go.

Tap I never had a moment similar to this.

I didn't understand how high that it can get.

Because we're delusional.

Walk it out.

Huh?

What?

The shreds feel in my strongly.

Take it out.

Moving in my space.

I'm so punch down.

I am the sky.

I'm feeling it.

Here we go.

So high right in the sky.

I'm feeling it.

Let's hit the brakes now.

I am losing all control.

I set my phases on my last and let's go.

Let's set up course so we can go and I walk it out.

Only strongly well.

And we should probably go there just to see what it's up.

Crossing in my space.

Step it up.

Moving in my space.

Here we go.

I'm so high.

I'm feeling it.

Here we go.

So high right in the sky.

I'll just feel it.

So high right in the sky.

I'm feeling it.

I'm so high.

Right in the sky.

I'm feeling it.

Tap.

Feeling it.

Feeling it, feeling it, feeling it.

Leave it up.

Step it up.

Chris in my space.

Move it in my station.

Here we go.

I'm so high, right in the sky, I'm feeling it.

I'm so high, right in the sky, I'm feeling it.

Good job.

Let's keep it moving.

Whew.

It's gonna be kick step.

Kick step.

Kick step, kick, step.

It's gonna be much faster than that.

Kick snap.

Here we go.

Kick it.

Here we go.

Get low.

We gotta party and it's on to high set it off.

Push for it.

We gotta do it and we gotta do it right.

And we have some hold it.

We can sit in the way.

We have our hands up your party till I can so ride so fantastic, cause we all need I wanna hide and I'll never come down.

If you sound is good for hands in the telling trouble, put your hands in the air.

If you come and get a bow, put your hands in the hair, tell the PJ turn up, put your hands in the head out.

Stay low.

Set it up We gonna do it and we gotta do it right.

We're gonna step.

We see those hours popping.

Hold it and do it.

And then it's another full and give it in.

I wanna hide and I'll never find a dead.

Here we go.

If you sound and get crawl, put your hands in the air.

If you're telling me trouble, put your hands in the air.

If you're telling you, put your hands in the hair, tell the DJ turn it up.

Put your hands in the side, side, down, up, side, side, down, up.

Set it up.

We gotta do it and we're gonna do it right.

If you're down again, crawl, put your hands in the layout.

If you're down again true, put your hands in the air.

If you're done again, both put your hands in the air, till the DJ turn it up, put your hands in the Push, push Bounce it out.

Keep it up.

Come on.

Now my smaller to go.

Alright.

Let's keep it moving.

Widen your stance up.

Rocket.

Rocket.

Here we go.

Center.

Rock it.

Here we go.

Pull.

I can move up in my gun.

Step it out.

I just find a sending that spot.

I underneath we're just my time.

I know you bought on two for the side.

Hold it.

Single.

Overhead.

Center.

Center.

Single double.

Pull it.

I'm going to pick up.

Skip it.

Kick it out.

Again.

Go see why you're not in high.

Here we go.

How did you sit in feeling?

Sometimes you see your feeling.

I think that your own fridge is every feeling.

Single double.

Center.

Get up.

Rocket.

Rock.

Rock.

Here we go.

Set her up.

We're going to go back into a single single double.

Alright.

Good job.

Nice and easy.

I want your arms to be up.

Let's go.

Not down here.

Right here.

Here we go.

We get this body now.

We got to get the power.

Keep it up.

Take it out.

Shift it fast.

Lock it out.

Pull it up.

Pull it out.

Hold it right here.

Keep it up.

We have a coming down because we body the finish.

The sky is a little bit.

Here we go.

So it is pushed.

From the top.

Push.

Push.

Take two steps.

I'm about to give it a food.

Pull it up.

Pull it up.

Pull it up.

Okay, ready to hold it.

Take it back.

We just need to dance.

Back it up.

Get lower.

We just need to rock the rock.

You should have no feet.

We need to get a living.

We've never cut it down because we are needing to finish.

Rocket back.

We just need to dance.

Take it up, pick it up.

Shake it, fast and body.

Pick it up.

We just need to dance.

Pull it up.

Pull it here.

Pull it up.

Here we go.

Just rock.

Good job.

Peace sweating.

Just a little bit.

I am too.

Just a little bit.

Let's keep it moving.

Woo-hoo.

Right here.

We're gonna take this one nice and easy.

Just group to it.

Woo.

Here we go.

Hold it.

Shining like a star.

Put a side.

Hold it.

Go to the first step.

Lock it out.

With all the never feet.

I want to reach the sky and make a way for me.

So bad I understand.

It's like every time we don't have to look too far.

Here we go.

Step back.

I will get us in time.

Nice and easy.

From the top.

Hold it.

Shining like a star.

Walk it out.

Step back.

Step back.

Stand back.

I'm sure I make it so and you can do the same.

All you need is make sure.

Be sure to come to water.

And if we should be free, there's no complaining.

Step back.

Here we go.

Hold on, start be a shame.

Step back.

Here we go.

Keep it up.

Doing good.

Hold it.

Back.

Step back.

Step back.

Nice and easy.

Good job.

Alright, we ready to take it down.

Nice and easy.

One time I was dealing with her.

I never be so big.

Nice and easy.

Well I want to see for you is to be a child of the love up.

Up side step.

You've got to be more disturbing.

So special for you and I will mind to bring your side.

I will teach you right to I will never let you go wrong.

And I love to see.

I will teach you rust the style.

Inhale it.

Take it over.

I'd love to be a rest of them.

All I'm here to do on this easy is to do the words of God.

Why all does fade away?

Let me tell you something.

I will find to break your heart.

I will teach you like this.

I didn't want to be wrong.

And I love to see that nice stretch, let you hand strength.

Cross back.

One time I want to be there.

I never be so big.

I will find the brick and I will be to practice the other side.

And I love this.

I will kiss you, brush the spine.

Exhale.

Thank you guys for turning in to another episode of Fusion Fitness.

I would really like to give a special shout out to our wonderful music producer from Metasound Productions, Mr.

Dandy D.

Boy Bush.

He helps us do everything here, and it's awesome.

And thank you to our main producer Ray Price and to the Newport News Public School system.

Hope you guys turn in next time.

Now, how it starts.

It is single, single, double, double, single, single, double, double.

When you're here, you're gonna flip it back and you're gonna walk right around.

And then it's single, single, double, double.

After that, you do the other side.

One, two, double, one, two, double, flick, walk around, single, single, double.

That's it.

Next time it should come a lot easier.

This year we are selling.