Parks, Recreation & Tourism Advisory Board

CHESAPEAKE PARKS, RECREATION AND TOURISM ADVISORY BOARD Meeting Minutes January 6, 2023 This meeting of the Parks, Recreation and Tourism Advisory Board was held on January 6, 2023, at the Chesapeake Conference Center. Chair Leedom called the meeting to order at 6:34 p.m. ANNOUNCEMENTS None. ROLL CALL Ms. Jordan took the roll. Attendance reflected a quorum with 12 voting members present, 4 were absent. Members Present: Catina Bondhill, Donna Cannatella (non-voting ex-officio/CCC, Bryan Carey, Kevin Cole (non-voting ex-officio/CPS), Susan Dixon, Deloras Freeman, Phil Johnson, Annette Kelley (Vice Chair), Bob Leedom (Chair), Chris Lowie (non-voting ex-officio/GDSNWR), Patti McCambridge, Richard Pippin, Susan Starkey, Neta Stephens, and Michael Williams Members Absent: Christine Arrasate, James Brown, Jean Carideo (non-voting ex- officio/GBBWHF), Paula Faivre, Terrence McDuffie (non-voting Youth Liaison) and Jessica Woodyard City Staff Present: Mike Barber, Monica Christiansen, Thurman Diamond, Kim Murden and Lynn Jordan MINUTES: A motion was made by Mr. Pippin and seconded by Mr. Johnson to approve the December 2, 2022 minutes as presented. The minutes were unanimously approved by the board. HEARING OF CITIZENS: Casey Shackleford – Mrs. Shackleford is attending due to her interest in the equestrian aspect of recreation in Chesapeake and Heritage Park. She has applied for a seat on the advisory board. Jean Holt and Marciela Moore also attended as visitors. SPECIAL PRESENTATION: CHESAPEAKE CONFERENCE CENTER Ms. Cannatella conducted a tour of the conference center with an overview of the facility and operations, and Mr. Barber talked about the history of the conference center and relationship with VenueWorks. REPORTS: a. Ex-Officio Reports:  • Great Bridge Battlefield & Waterways History Museum – Stan Romes, Vice President of the Foundation, attended in the absence of Ms. Carideo. November and December were very successful months for the Museum with several speaker events including James Madison, as well as hosting Tourism’s Quick Connect meeting in December. The Museum also hosted a meeting of Navy officials and neighboring jurisdictions’ City Managers. • Chesapeake Public Schools – Mr. Cole said CPS is planning on adding baseball and soccer to the middle school athletic programs for the 2023/2024 school year. He met with Mr. Barber and Ms. Miller for an initial discussion regarding the utilization of City and school fields. • Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge – Mr. Lowie said the dates for the annual Birding Festival will be April 28-29 and planning is underway to include many activities. He also discussed the recent Great Dismal Swamp National Heritage Area Act which was introduced by Senator Kaine and the late Congressman McEachin. The Act “directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to assess the suitability and feasibility of designating the Dismal Swamp and associated sites as a National Heritage Area. National Heritage Areas are public-private partnerships designated by Congress for the protection and preservation of resources and stories that are both regionally unique and nationally significant. Through these public-private partnerships, National Heritage Areas support historic preservation, conservation, recreation, tourism, and educational projects.” The study is not yet funded. • Chesapeake Conference Center – None. b. Tourism Report – o The Tourism division is now fully staffed with the hire of a new sales manager, Valencia Moore. o The City received around $450,000 in American Rescue Program grant funds from Virginia Tourism Corporation and has finalized the spending plan which will go before City Council next Tuesday for approval. The City proposes using the funds for media outreach in new markets, the purchase of a mobile visitor center van, some waterways improvements, and commissioning some real-time research. o Finalized a contract with the African American Travel Conference and are very excited to host them and were able to apply for ARP incentive funds to make it economically feasible for them. o Hotel occupancy and visitation in Chesapeake is better than it was pre-Covid in 2019. The opportunities to grow tourism and new expenditures have changed so we are currently in the discussion and review process about what that new landscape looks like now. o Please refer to the Tourism section in the Department Report for additional updates. c. Parks and Recreation Reports – For more information, refer to the Department Report and Park Project Updates. 2  o Recreation – Mr. Diamond is still struggling with staffing in some areas, but the Senior Program Section is now fully staffed again. The annual seniors’ luncheon was held in December here at the conference center. It was wonderful and very successful. The seniors loved it!! o Events & Misc. – Ms. Christiansen gave the following updates: o Department Report – We are finalizing now and it will be sent out next week with a “year in review” and highlights. o The months of November and December were very busy for us with lots of events and just as busy as in the summer! We are now in the planning mode for Spring and a lot of winter projects are happening in anticipation of Spring events. We have hired a second events staff person; we are very excited to have her. o Paddle for the Border (first Saturday in May) registration opens tomorrow with openings for up to 350 people. It fills up quickly so if you are interested, register as soon as possible. o The Department will be bringing citizen bus tours back in the Spring and staff will let you know when they are so you can help us get the word out. o A beautiful new walkway was installed at Battlefield Park South so check it out if you have a chance. d. Director Updates: • Mr. Barber gave the following updates: o Battlefield Park South – Some enhancements were made prior to, and for, the Battle of Great Bridge event and some are now permanent fixtures to make it a year-round attraction and will be finishing up in January. The new walkways will improve connectivity. Some lighting will be installed along the waterway along with pavilions and additional parking. o Fa La La Land was very successful again this year and we were fortunate again to have decent weather. Deck the Hall was also very popular, and we are waiting for traffic counts. Hopefully, we can continue to grow these events in the future. o Clock Tower at Eileen Olds Courtyard Park – The clock tower was installed, and it is also lighted at night. A plaque will be added next week. Landscaping is planned for the Spring. Judge Olds was able to see it as it was installed and was so happy! o Athletics – Youth basketball season starts this Saturday. We still do not have officials, but we have been recruiting and training and will move forward anyway. If you know anyone who would like to help (pay is $30 for a 40-minute game), please send them our way. For our other sports, currently we appear to be fine for officials. o Gold Star Memorial at City Park – We are one of 4 sites in Virginia. The Gold Star Memorial group completed the fundraising, the memorial was ordered and received and is now being etched. The infrastructure for the memorial will be 3  started in the next month or so with the goal of completion and dedication on Memorial Day weekend. It will be located to the left of the Chesapeake 9/11 Memorial. The storm a couple of weeks ago really tore up the big flag so another one has been ordered and should be here next week. o Summit Point (by Dollar Tree headquarters) – A facility study is being conducted in partnership with the Economic Development Authority, with PRT and Summit Point as partners for one of Summit Point’s future phases. Would the facility be a performing arts center? A smaller hotel/conference-type center? Some of the uses might be entertainment, recreational, hospitality, educational, etc. Other potential stakeholders will be providing input such as schools, hospitality groups, library, and the conference center. Initial discussions are scheduled for January 10-11. Nothing is funded yet so part of the discussion will be funding. More to come. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: • None. NEW BUSINESS: • None. HEARING OF BOARD MEMBERS: • Ms. McCambridge said she went to several the events in November and December, and they were wonderful. She attended the Tidewater Winds concert as well and it was amazing! Also, she is a member of a local group that works to bring speakers to Chesapeake, and she talked to a freelance writer for the Virginian Pilot, Lee Belote, who normally covers events and wants to do a special section in the Clipper and include Chesapeake events. If you have anything you would like to submit, email her at JLBelote@Verizon.net. • Ms. Kelley asked if the bus tours will be doing the African American Trail. Mr. Barber said yes, there will be two of those tours. We are also planning two days where there will be an open house at the Cornland school, and a variety of other activities. More information to come next month and we will give you advance notice of signups for bus tours. Then she asked about the website and that she had trouble finding information on the senior luncheon. Mr. Barber and Ms. Jordan commented that the new website will be cleaner and much more user friendly, and it goes live on January 19th. • Mr. Johnson and Mr. Pippin also attended many events in November and December, and echoed Ms. McCambridge’s sentiments. Great job and thank you! Mr. Johnson and his wife also attended the Tidewater Winds concert, and it was dedicated to a pilot from 1948 flying into Germany. The pilot would drop candy wrapped in handkerchiefs to the citizens. At the end of the concert, little parachutes dropped chocolate into the audience, and it was truly amazing. Mr. Williams said that the pilot, Col. Halvorsen, died in 2022. As a young pilot, his candy drops started a humanitarian effort in East Berlin. • Mr. Leedom said that he met with Ms. Bondhill, a new board member, who wanted to know what to expect as a board member. He wanted to open that up as an option for any new board members – contact him if you would like to get together and talk. Ms. 4  Bondhill was very appreciative and thanked Mr. Leedom for taking the time to meet with her. Ms. Christiansen added that anyone is welcome to contact any staff member at any time to answer questions, or for any reason. • Mr. Pippin said he received the Bylaws and asked if he could also get a copy of the SOP’s. Mr. Barber said it is probably time for everything to be reviewed and updated by the board. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 7.56 p.m. NEXT MEETING: The next meeting will be on Thursday, February 2, 2023, at the Portlock at South Norfolk, 3815 Bainbridge Boulevard, at 6:30 p.m. Minutes submitted from audio recording review by Cori Fuqua, Secretary 5