OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Virginia Beach City Council Meeting - September 16, 2025: Flood Protection Program Update and Council Actions

City Council Meetings — Tuesday, September 16, 2025
BodyVirginia Beach, Virginia
SessionCity Council Meetings
DateTuesday, September 16, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 46:04

Transcript — Verbatim
0:11

Welcome to everybody.

0:13

Okay.

0:14

We have uh Dr.

0:15

Ross Hammond and Rosemary out and Mrs.

0:18

Henry will be running late, but we can go ahead and get started.

0:22

All right.

0:23

So, Mr.

0:23

Mayor, members of the council.

0:24

The first briefing will be provided by our um stormwater oversight board and also our program manager Jacobs Engineering.

0:32

I give a city council update on the flood protection program.

0:35

You'll first hear from Jeffrey Waller, who is the chairman of uh flood prevention.

0:39

Flood prevention oversight board, followed by Alicia Peter for Jacobs.

0:46

If you look out any window, we have an unplanned uh show and tell item going on outside today.

0:54

I'm Jeff Waller, chairman of the flood prevention bond referendum oversight board.

0:59

Flood prevention bond referendum included seven master projects with 21 projects uh in the 2021 bond referendum along with 10 support projects and 10 other active projects.

1:11

The resolution creating this board calls for a report every three months.

1:17

I was last year in June, so this is the third month.

1:20

Um since the last report to City Council.

1:26

Uh the board has received briefings from uh Mike Tippen on the uh from the Stormwater Engineering Center on modeling stormwater on uh the PC swim model.

1:38

This provides the foundation for all the work that uh is going into the this program.

1:44

It shows pipe sizes, pump stations, and tide gates.

1:48

Another briefing Mike gave was a program summary from day one to our two new uh high school students to kind of explain what's going on in the program.

1:58

Uh Jennifer Luddengren of Media and Communications provided updates on communications and centralizing communications and post on the website, blogs, videos, views, email newsletters, Facebook, and a fourth grade initiative uh going to Virginia Beach City Public Schools.

2:17

And and as a side note, I volunteer regularly at Bayeside Elementary School, and I've already told the principal and the fourth grade teachers that when they get this quick and if they want my help help, I'll be down there.

2:29

The principal asked if I was an expert, and I said compared to a fourth grader, I'm pretty good.

2:37

And then uh Jonas Alred gave a presentation on maintaining our existing storm infrastructure program.

2:44

Highlights listed in the uh August 25, 2025 status report from Jacobs Engineering.

2:52

So the following are underway, uh, and these are pretty much every month.

2:56

Windsor Woods Tide Gates is getting ready to wrap up in the next two, three months.

3:01

Uh South Bay South Plaza Trail Presidential Boulevard drainage is wrapping up.

3:06

Bow Creek Stormwater Park.

3:10

Um CTAC drainage, first colonial ocean of boulevard drainage.

3:15

The Eastern Shore drainage improvements brick project.

3:20

This is a building resistant infrastructure communities.

3:25

Uh includes two pump stations, Cape Henry Ditchwork, and Elevating Lynn Evan Drive.

3:32

And this is being uh ready to go to advertisement.

3:37

One one highlight in the August report shows that the total program estimate has increased from 1.1 to 1.5 billion with the B dollars.

3:49

And I hate to give this to Leisha, but she has more details that she'll share with just a minute in just a minute.

3:58

Future activities for the board include uh we want to do a site visit uh again to Bow Creek Stormwater Park.

4:05

We've been there a couple times.

4:07

Uh next summer we want to go back to Lake Windsor Tide Gates because the construction of some of the bigger improvements is getting ready to start.

4:16

And the shore drive work will begin next year.

4:20

And we want to go out and see that.

4:22

So uh our our request of City Council.

4:26

Um, we had the presentation from the community communication group.

4:30

This is a great outreach for our community, and the board supports the expanded community outreach for the uh flood prevention program.

4:39

So if that ever comes up, it has our support.

4:43

The board will uh advise city council members when the topic of our monthly board meetings is in your Drist district, so you can join it.

4:50

Join us at our meetings.

4:53

And I'm sure you already do this, but please remember your the flood prevention program for your district meetings and your uh open houses.

5:06

Um City has been awarded 63 million dollars in state and federal grants, and we'll submit soon on another 44 million dollars in grants.

5:16

We have uh welcomed two new student members.

5:18

We had two graduate, they're off to college.

5:20

Hope they're doing well, and uh we have uh two new ones.

5:25

We meet uh the board second Tuesday of every month at town center.

5:30

Our meetings are open to the public.

5:32

The board has a website accessible from Ripple Effect.

5:35

Our email address is posted in case you want to email.

5:39

And our board still remains looking forward to being a part of the flood prevention program.

5:45

And with that, I'll turn it over to Leisha.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Stormwater Management█████████████████████████████████████████████55%
Public Engagement███████████14%
Fiscal Sustainability███████9%
Procedural█████6%
Public Safety████5%
Historic Preservation███4%
Pending Litigation███4%
Personnel Matters██2%
Parks and Recreation█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Virginia Beach City Council Meeting - September 16, 2025

The City Council met on September 16, 2025, to receive an update on the flood protection program, discuss a COLA adjustment for council members, and address several ordinances and planning cases. Key highlights included a significant cost increase for the flood program and plans for a joint school board meeting.

Flood Protection Program Update

  • Jeff Waller, Chairman of the Flood Prevention Bond Referendum Oversight Board, reported that the overall program estimate has risen from $1.1 billion to $1.5 billion. The board supports expanded community outreach and highlighted ongoing projects: Windsor Woods Tide Gates (wrapping up in 2–3 months), Bow Creek Stormwater Park, and CTAC drainage improvements. The city has been awarded $63 million in state and federal grants and is applying for an additional $44 million.
  • Alicia Peter of Jacobs Engineering presented detailed cost drivers: refined scope from preliminary engineering, cost escalation (pre-COVID estimates, labor shortages, material price increases, tariff uncertainty), and environmental/roadway coordination. Specific projects: Windsor Woods/Princess Ann/Lakes bundle increased from $504 million to $803 million; Lake Bradford/Chubb Lake from $158 million to $181 million; Southern Rivers project doubled. Total spending through August 2025 is $132 million. Outreach statistics: 43 blogs (27,000+ views), videos (122,000 views), social media (155 posts, 900,000 impressions), website visits (1,400–2,000 monthly).
  • Councilman Stacey requested a breakdown of cost increases attributable to scope changes versus pure cost escalation. The City Manager clarified that scope has not been added (no “scope creep”), but initial estimates were based on rough concepts; designs now reflect actual needs. The legal obligation is to issue $567.5 million in debt within 10 years, not necessarily to complete the 21 specific projects within that timeframe.

Council Member Comments and Proposals

  • Councilman Hutchinson proposed a COLA adjustment for council salaries (to take effect July 2027) linked to employee COLA rates, stating it is not for current members but to attract future qualified candidates. Councilman Hutch stated he would not participate in the adjustment. The matter will be drafted with staff and brought to public hearing.
  • Councilman Stacey requested a joint meeting with the School Board’s School Modernization Committee on October 14, 2025, to discuss the Princess Anne High School modernization plan. Council agreed.
  • Councilman Josh announced a town hall on September 22 at Princess Ann High School (6–8 PM) regarding the upcoming election system referendum.
  • The Mayor noted the Oceana Air Show (Sept. 20–21) and recognized the Virginia Public Safety Foundation memorial for fallen officers and firefighters, and a commendation from Norfolk Airport for a joint emergency exercise.

Ordinances and Resolutions

  • Ordinance (J.8): Residential parking permit extension for Cavalier Shores neighborhood placed on consent and approved without discussion.
  • Ordinance (J.9): Appeal by Ashton Builders LLC regarding Certificate of Appropriateness (white fencing) – deferred for 90 days per Councilman Stacey’s recommendation, as the applicant proposed a revised fencing plan that may need further review by the Historic Review Board.

Planning Cases

  • Case K.6 (CEC Family Trust, conditional use permit at 213 Fourth Street) and Case K.7 (District 6): Placed on consent and approved.
  • Case K.11: Two speakers registered; will be heard at a future meeting (not discussed further in this session).

Closed Session

  • A motion was made and approved (unanimous voice vote) to recess into closed session to discuss legal matters (Atlantic Park litigation), real property acquisition (District 10 and 4 – “Project Football”), security matters (election security), and personnel matters (council appointments and performance).

Key Outcomes

  • Flood protection program cost estimate increased to $1.5 billion; staff will provide a breakdown of cost escalation vs. scope changes.
  • Council directed staff to draft a resolution for council salary COLA adjustment, to be brought to public hearing.
  • Joint council-school board meeting scheduled for October 14, 2025, on Princess Anne modernization.
  • Appeal J.9 deferred 90 days for revised fencing proposal.
  • Several planning cases and ordinances approved on consent.
  • Closed session authorized for multiple matters.

Meeting Transcript

Welcome to everybody. Okay. We have uh Dr. Ross Hammond and Rosemary out and Mrs. Henry will be running late, but we can go ahead and get started. All right. So, Mr. Mayor, members of the council. The first briefing will be provided by our um stormwater oversight board and also our program manager Jacobs Engineering. I give a city council update on the flood protection program. You'll first hear from Jeffrey Waller, who is the chairman of uh flood prevention. Flood prevention oversight board, followed by Alicia Peter for Jacobs. If you look out any window, we have an unplanned uh show and tell item going on outside today. I'm Jeff Waller, chairman of the flood prevention bond referendum oversight board. Flood prevention bond referendum included seven master projects with 21 projects uh in the 2021 bond referendum along with 10 support projects and 10 other active projects. The resolution creating this board calls for a report every three months. I was last year in June, so this is the third month. Um since the last report to City Council. Uh the board has received briefings from uh Mike Tippen on the uh from the Stormwater Engineering Center on modeling stormwater on uh the PC swim model. This provides the foundation for all the work that uh is going into the this program. It shows pipe sizes, pump stations, and tide gates. Another briefing Mike gave was a program summary from day one to our two new uh high school students to kind of explain what's going on in the program. Uh Jennifer Luddengren of Media and Communications provided updates on communications and centralizing communications and post on the website, blogs, videos, views, email newsletters, Facebook, and a fourth grade initiative uh going to Virginia Beach City Public Schools. And and as a side note, I volunteer regularly at Bayeside Elementary School, and I've already told the principal and the fourth grade teachers that when they get this quick and if they want my help help, I'll be down there. The principal asked if I was an expert, and I said compared to a fourth grader, I'm pretty good. And then uh Jonas Alred gave a presentation on maintaining our existing storm infrastructure program. Highlights listed in the uh August 25, 2025 status report from Jacobs Engineering. So the following are underway, uh, and these are pretty much every month. Windsor Woods Tide Gates is getting ready to wrap up in the next two, three months. Uh South Bay South Plaza Trail Presidential Boulevard drainage is wrapping up. Bow Creek Stormwater Park. Um CTAC drainage, first colonial ocean of boulevard drainage. The Eastern Shore drainage improvements brick project. This is a building resistant infrastructure communities. Uh includes two pump stations, Cape Henry Ditchwork, and Elevating Lynn Evan Drive. And this is being uh ready to go to advertisement. One one highlight in the August report shows that the total program estimate has increased from 1.1 to 1.5 billion with the B dollars. And I hate to give this to Leisha, but she has more details that she'll share with just a minute in just a minute. Future activities for the board include uh we want to do a site visit uh again to Bow Creek Stormwater Park. We've been there a couple times. Uh next summer we want to go back to Lake Windsor Tide Gates because the construction of some of the bigger improvements is getting ready to start. And the shore drive work will begin next year. And we want to go out and see that. So uh our our request of City Council. Um, we had the presentation from the community communication group. This is a great outreach for our community, and the board supports the expanded community outreach for the uh flood prevention program. So if that ever comes up, it has our support. The board will uh advise city council members when the topic of our monthly board meetings is in your Drist district, so you can join it. Join us at our meetings. And I'm sure you already do this, but please remember your the flood prevention program for your district meetings and your uh open houses.

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