City Council Agendas & Minutes

City of Hampton, VA 22 Lincoln Street Meeting Minutes Hampton, VA 23669 www.hampton.gov City Council Randall A. Gilliland Joseph H. Spencer, II Ross A. Kearney, II George E. Wallace Angela Lee Leary Paige V. Washington, Jr. Molly Joseph Ward, Mayor Staff: Mary Bunting, City Manager Cynthia Hudson, City Attorney Katherine K. Glass, Clerk of Council Brenda J. Vaccarelli, Deputy Clerk Wednesday, May 5, 2010 1:06 PM Council Chambers, 8th Floor, City Hall CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Molly Joseph Ward presided Present: Randall A. Gilliland, Ross A. Kearney, II, Angela Lee Leary, Joseph H. Spencer, II, George E. Wallace Absent: Paige V. Washington, Jr. Agenda 1. 10-0171 Budget Work Session Ms. Mary Bunting, City Manager, explained that today’s meeting was a special budget work session for the Council and it is divided with open and closed session components. She further explained the closed session is specifically reserved for issues relating to specific personnel. Ms. Bunting said this work session is an opportunity for Council to ask questions or express their concerns and allow staff to elaborate. She said they generally start to get a consensus from Council at this meeting regarding the things they would like more information on, or things Council wants to consider adding back into the budget so staff can provide Council with a rebalancing of the budget by Wednesday, May 12, 2010. The City Manager stated to the extent Council wants to make changes, staff will need to make additional cuts or find other revenue opportunities to discuss and staff will need that week to be able to rebalance the budget. She stated that tradition has dictated that Council will approve the first reading of the budget tonight, Wednesday, May 5, 2010, acknowledging there are changes Council would like to make. She noted the amendments to the budget would be made at the May 12, 2010, Council meeting for the second and final reading on the budget. The City Manager stated the budget staff and the Assistant City Managers (ACMs) are available for questions. She noted that information has been provided to Council regarding questions that have already been asked. Mayor Ward asked Councilwoman Leary if she had any questions. In response, Councilwoman Leary said she didn’t have any questions regarding the budget although City of Hampton, VA Page 1 of 24 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes she will probably have some questions during the week. She said the past week has been pretty hectic for her. She thanked the Clerk of Council’s Office, the employees, and especially the citizens for their well wishes last week when her husband had to be hospitalized. She said she certainly appreciated the outpouring of support. Mayor Ward said everyone is glad Mr. Leary is home and hopefully doing a lot better. Councilwoman Leary thanked Mayor Ward. Mayor Ward said it is important to provide the City Manager with any adjustments needed. She explained because the budget is so tight, if there are things to be added to the budget, staff will need to find something to take out and that is going to require discussion. Mayor Ward said she was hoping Council would be able to provide the City Manager with a list today if there are adjustments Council wants to make. She said if they wait until May 12, 2010, the City Manager will not have the time to determine how to fill the hole. Mayor Ward said if a short extension is needed that is possible, but if they go much farther beyond today, the City Manager will not have the time to find the resources some place else in the budget and someone may not be happy with what she has to cut in order to fill that hole. Councilwoman Leary said she had already thought about talking with her ACM and going over everything with him by May 6, 2010. She said she wished it could have been sooner but she believes it will provide the City Manager enough time because she doesn’t have anything that is major. Councilman Wallace asked how much of the Youth Commission grants were made available to other agencies that are doing projects in the community. In response, the City Manager said $40,000 was set aside for that program. Councilman Wallace asked if they allocated the entire $40,000 each year. In response, the City Manager said it varied from year to year. She said in consultation with the Youth Commission and Ms. Cindy Carlson, Director, Coalition for Youth, who has worked most extensively with them, they prefer to have more flexibility, but they felt if the City could give them at least $5,000 that would enable them to continue to do some of the work they do. The City Manager said they usually spend 40% to 50% of the allocation. Mayor Ward said another thought she had about it was if Council helps them structure a way to raise the funds that they were gong to issue in grants and, it might be even more meaningful that they actually earned the money. She said then they have their blood, sweat and tears in it rather than just having it given to them. Mayor Ward said she knows her parents used to make her earn her own money and she appreciated the money she spent a lot more. She said that is just her idea or maybe some combination thereof, and the City would help them and it could be part of a learning experience. Councilman Wallace asked if the City could give them $5,000 or $10,000 and the City will match it dollar for dollar up to $20,000. Mayor Ward said she believes the matching is a good idea. City of Hampton, VA Page 2 of 24 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes Councilman Kearney said in the past when the Youth Commission was given the $40,000, they were very good, they were tight, and they did a wonderful job. He said he believes 50% is the most they have ever used and the City never collected the remaining money. He said they were allowed to roll that money over for other items during the year. In response, Ms. Chris Snead, Budget Director, said they were able to keep 65% of it as part of the savings program. Councilman Kearney said he believes, that over the years, the City has been really fair with them in the sense that they gave no strings with regards to what they did. He said they had a parameter and they did a wonderful job in following that, but conversely when they only spent $20,000 and there was $20,000 left over, they got to keep $15,000 or more for other activities during the year. He said he knows they were audited to know where the money went but Council was never privy as to where the money was spent. Councilman Kearney said he told them that he always objected to that and Council didn’t see it in a budget adjustment or anything else. He said they internally, under control of the City Manager, used it for other things and he believes Council should have been informed of that. He said he is open for any thoughts on the issue and he likes the idea of the $5,000 because he believes that would allow them to carry on their tradition. Councilman Wallace asked if Council would refuse an audit or an understanding of what it expended or did Council fail to ask for it. In response, Ms. Snead said in the past, if a Council member asked about the specific grants that were given staff provided a report to them. Councilman Wallace said Councilman Kearney referenced the residual that was not expended in the grants and that it was used by the individual youth groups and the inference was that it may not have been expended for something that was judicious. In response, Ms. Snead said she doesn’t believe that is what Councilman Kearney was saying. She said she believes Councilman Kearney was saying that it went back to the department under the budget savings program. She said it didn’t necessarily have to be spent on grants in future years. Councilman Wallace said it reverted back to the department as opposed to those individual kids. The City Manager said it was $40,000 last year but in the current budget year it was rolled back to $34,000 and for FY2011 it was zeroed out. Councilman Wallace said it is zero in FY2011. The City Manager said they are currently at zero. She said everything was so hard to cut and it was cut because they believed it was more of a nicety than a necessity, but if Council wants to restore it, staff suggested that $5,000 would be able to allow the opportunity to solicit grants. She said they would be willing to do as Mayor Ward suggested and try to work with them to try and develop a partnership program where they try to raise or match funds. Councilman Wallace asked if there was a consensus one way or the other. Councilman Kearney said he would support $5,000. City of Hampton, VA Page 3 of 24 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes Vice Mayor Spencer said he believes it would be appropriate to discuss this matter privately. He said he would like to know the reasons for the cut and how they could work with an additional amount if appropriate. Mayor Ward suggested allowing the City Manager to come up with a solution from working with Ms. Carlson, or whomever the right person is to work with. She said maybe there is a reason why it has not been done another way, or the matching grant idea may or may not work. She asked if the Council members agreed to that idea. Councilman Gilliland said he likes the matching grant idea because budget cycles are going to be easy and tough going through the various cycles over time and helping train these young folks in how to go out to the business community and foundations to raise money to support any kind of initiative is a great life skill. He said his political fund raising skills have served him well over many years. Councilman Gilliland said knowing how to put together a fund raising campaign can be very valuable because they hope they are going to be great citizens and serving on Boards and Commissions that are going to need those kinds of skills when they return to Hampton after college. Mayor Ward said she knows the State Farm program helps with that as well. In response, Vice Mayor Spencer said they got $53,000. Vice Mayor Spencer concurred with Mayor Ward and believes that is the best approach to be taken. The City Manager said she understands that Council would like to see something restored to the Youth Commission and she will suggest something in accordance with the staff that worked with the Youth Commission that would incorporate an element of fund raising capacity as well. Mayor Ward asked if that was alright with everyone. Councilman Wallace asked if Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) money was appropriated for the Phoebus Improvement League (PIL). In response, the City Manager said there is money set aside that has historically gone to the PIL and they still have money earmarked for that. She said it is her intention that they negotiate a stricter contract with the PIL that puts some additional requirements on their operations or, if for whatever reason they were not willing to accept that, then, they would have that money available for the Phoebus community. The City Manager said she believes there are some things they can do in the contract negotiation to tighten up the contract that would make it an ongoing viable CDBG funding. Councilman Wallace said what precipitated the question is he understands there is some contention between the three entities in the community. He said the Phoebus Merchant’s Association (PMA) has requested funding from the City and he is trying to determine how to reconcile that particular situation. He asked if the Council members were on board with the PIL funding. He said if they anticipate funding the PMA in some capacity that is going to be additional general fund money as opposed to dividing it up or having that as a leverage to have these entities come together and formulate some comprehensive plan and course of action and fund it in that particular context. In response, the City Manager said staff struggled with that as well. She said it turns out however, that the PIL of the three entities is the only one of those organizations that is City of Hampton, VA Page 4 of 24 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes currently eligible to receive CDBG funds. She said the PMA is not, nor is the Phoebus Civic Association (PCA). She said if you wanted to spend CDBG money in the Phoebus community right now, the PIL is the only entity that can receive those funds. She said Ms. Angelique Shenk, Senior Neighborhood Development Specialist, met with the PMA and provided them with an application which they chose not to submit because, to paraphrase Ms. Carla Mingee’s e-mail to Ms. Shenk, they didn’t think they could qualify their organization. The City Manager explained that Ms. Shenk requested additional information to see if the City might be able to work with them to get them qualified in the future, but at this point they are not qualified and Ms. Mingee indicated that they could not qualify which is why they didn’t apply for CDBG funding. The City Manager said the City has historically spent money in the Phoebus community from CDBG funds and she was not in a position to provide general fund money in this year for any of the entities so she felt it was best to reserve the right to use that structure through a type of contract arrangement which would hopefully meet with the ultimate agreement of all three entities. She said that is something that staff will work to do before the contract is finalized. Councilman Wallace asked if the contract arrangements would be leveraging some capacity for the entities to cooperate and come to some unification in terms of outcome of goals and objectives for the community if that is necessary. In response, the City Manager said the PIL was originally created with the City’s intent that it would be a unifying organization for all of Phoebus. Councilman Kearney said no. The City Manager said there are some things that she believes the City needs to do there and the City will do there, but as everyone knows, Councilman Kearney has been working to try to unite all three organizations through another effort. Councilman Kearney thanked Councilman Wallace for his concern. He said there are several factors involved. He said first of all the PCA, one of the oldest civic associations in the City of Hampton, has a Merchant’s Committee which had built all the improvements that are in the Phoebus Community, from the parking lots to the street improvements and so forth. Councilman Kearney said back in the 1980s, Mr. Jack Shiver and Mr. Gerry Gordon, at the request of the citizens after a public meeting attended by well over 100 people at St. Mary’s School, the people were concerned that the PCA was looking out more for business interests and not the interest of the citizens. He said what happened is that he and Mr. Shiver and Mr. Gordon were charged by the mass meetings to create a new group which was called the PIL. Councilman Kearney said that is what the City Manager is referring to, looking after the affairs of the citizens with regard to the main street project and things like that to improve the quality of life among the citizens. Councilman Kearney said that continued for quite a while and there was a good working relationship. He said personalities got involved with the old mayor, Mr. Gear and people started fighting among themselves as they will do. He said in doing so, the PIL and the PCA got further apart. He explained that what has happened during the past two years, they have been brought together and they are working together. He said in the meantime, a group broke away with Ms. Mingee, who was on the Board of the PIL, and Chairman of the PCA Merchant’s Committee, and she never gave reasons for this. He said he has visited her personally to talk with her and the problem they are having is that they are not a 501(c)3 organization. Councilman Kearney said they were told they could operate under the banner of the PCA and obtain funding the City would City of Hampton, VA Page 5 of 24 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes work to get from the City since it would qualify and they chose not to do that for whatever personality reasons there are. He said he believes it is a personality issue not the interest because there is no fight among the three groups. He said they have had the public meetings with well over 200 people in attendance at the 4 town hall meetings. He said the meetings were very constructive and they are currently putting together the information that was provided at the meetings. Councilman Kearney said they have more merchants in those two organizations he referred to than they have in the six members of the Merchant’s Committee. He said you have to be real careful of what you are watching right now and the personalities involved. He said he believes, as the City Manager has stated, that with the funding that goes to the PIL there should be some guidelines established as to having open meetings which they had gotten away from and having public meetings, which they are going to do. He said they would be more responsible to the City Manager and through the old neighborhood association be more accountable. He said all these things needed to be done. Councilman Kearney said he believes the direction the City Manager is going in now is very worthwhile and worthy of Council support. He said he knows the Phoebus community supports it and the merchants in the Phoebus community support it and the residents, like him, support it. He said he doesn’t believe they need to waste too much more time on this division that seems to occur because he doesn’t believe there is a division, it is personalities involved. He said there is a lot to be done but they are working together to make it happen. Councilwoman Leary said she would not go back beyond 2004 when she came on Council. She said one of the first things she had to vote on, which she believes was in August or September 2004, was the sale of a piece of property that was owned either by the PIL or the Phoebus Development Corporation which is an arm of the PIL. She said the City was going to give half of its profits to the PIL and once she started doing the background and research of the property in question she found that it was acquired by the PIL for $250,000. She said they then turned around and mortgaged it for $350,000 and when they couldn’t make the payments, the City stepped up and they started making the payments over a ten year period. She said the citizens of Hampton essentially paid for those 9 acres of land where three hotels were supposed to be built right off of Interstate 64. She said the citizens paid for that property, and they paid for the note and when the City sold the property, they gave half of the money to the PIL. She said she had no problem with doing that however, she wanted to be straight up about it and she wanted to say that it is a donation and not a profit because there are no profits. She said she believes the record will show that she was politely hushed and there didn’t need to be anything else said about this. Councilwoman Leary said she was hoping that she didn’t have to address it any further, but since it is still alive, she believes she has to address it. She said she has had the opportunity to work with the PMA over the last four or five years and she has found them to be an extremely viable organization which has put a substantial amount of private money into the initiatives that have taken place in Phoebus. Councilwoman Leary said she saw the City’s Education and Community Committee become a defunct committee under the 2020 Celebration and if it had not been for the young lady whose name has been mentioned earlier, Ms. Mingee, with her personal determination and efforts, the 2010 Education and Community Committee would have remained defunct. She said the Committee has come up with some wonderful things like the Academic Hall of Fame and the New Triathlon that is taking place this January 2011. She said they have come up with the Spirit of America and It’s A Wonderful Life at the American Theatre. She said they have come up with multiple revenue generating, community gathering events that have held the fabric of the City of Hampton, VA Page 6 of 24 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes City’s diversity together. Councilwoman Leary said for that reason she will support the efforts of the PMA, not to try to cause any additional divisiveness, but if there is any divisiveness she believes it is probably comes from the politics that have entered into all of this and she believes Council needs to try and continue to work with all of the entities in that area until there is something that is more definitive that comes about. She said she doesn’t know if that is going to be done within 6 weeks, 6 months or a year, but she believes they need the opportunity for the City Manager and staff to sit down with these three entities and give them the opportunity to work independently, but at the same time, to work together. Mayor Ward said she doesn’t believe anybody is arguing that point. Councilwoman Leary said from what she heard just a minute ago she took exception to a couple of things that she thought might be. Mayor Ward said she doesn’t know what the old real estate deal has to do with this. Councilwoman Leary said she didn’t want to spend a great deal of time on this, she wants staff to be working on it but she believes there are several things that have happened in the past that she doesn’t mind being investigated. She said just because somebody has a 501©3 and they are not required to give the City any information about how they spend their money or any treasurer’s reports or things like that. Councilwoman Leary said if the City is giving any money to a 501©.3 she wants to see how it is spent. Mayor Ward said she happens to know, and perhaps some of this is not appropriate for an open meeting, but she knows there have been letters and investigations and the City Attorney’s Office is involved. She said she knows the City Manager and the City Attorney have been very diligent bout inquires the City has received. Mayor Ward said she has met with one of the groups and discussed their concerns with them. She said she believes this is on everybody’s radar screen and it hasn’t been lost. Mayor Ward said she doesn’t believe some of the discussion is appropriate for open session because it involves legal issues. Councilwoman Leary said she didn’t want to go any further about the other investigations that she knows about. Mayor Ward said she knows that this is on everyone’s plate and everyone is concerned about it. Councilwoman Leary said she didn’t want to feed what is already taking place and that is why she wants to remain open-minded about this. She said it is her understanding that the PMA is working with the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) as well that will be profitable and beneficial for the whole community. She said just because they were unable to meet the criteria this time because she doesn’t believe there was much notice given them to get the paperwork in, she believes they need to step back and let them try to work this out. The City Manager said the City sent applications to all interested in CDBG funds in December 2009 and followed up with January 2010, 24 hours before the deadline because they had not heard anything and they expected to hear something from them. She said they had the same period of time to apply that every other agency did and Ms. City of Hampton, VA Page 7 of 24 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes Shenk indicated to the City Manager that she had made a personal effort to ensure the application went to the PMA at the same time it went to everyone else because she knew of their interest. The City Manager said just because the City was not able to budget money for them separately as an individual organization, doesn’t mean that staff is not prepared to assist in various initiatives. The City Manager said Councilwoman Leary referred to the IDA inducement program which is one thing the City has tried to link them up with and earlier this week, Ms. Mingee wrote the City Manager about some concerns she had with extra-duty police officer costs they never had to pay in the past. The City Manager stated that she and Chief Charles Jordan took care of that. She said they are trying to work with them to support the special events program because they realize it benefits the entire Phoebus community and it is everyone’s collective desire that Phoebus progresses. The City Manager said she knows the PMA was disappointed not to receive direct funding and just because they were not eligible this year doesn’t mean they will not be eligible in the future. She noted that the City is continuing to work with them through the operating funds and through the City departments to try to support the betterment of Phoebus overall and all three organizations because they all are worthy organizations. Councilwoman Leary agreed with the City Manager and stated that is what she is trying to do and she appreciates Councilman Wallace bringing it up and asking about it. She said it went on for a long time without her knowing that the CDBG money was the one that was financing the salary of the Executive Director of the PIL. She said she appreciates everything that has been done and she wants that to continue. Mayor Ward said this has been on the forefront for some time. She said the City Attorney and City Manager have met with them, so this is a concern of everyone and everyone has been working on the issue. Vice Mayor Spencer said he appreciates the comments from his fellow Council members and he believes it is appropriate. He said it was mentioned that if the PMA is looking for some assistance to develop the small business community there, the appropriate arena is not Council, it is the IDA and the Economic Development Department and that is where he believes the emphasis should be placed as was indicated. Councilman Wallace said his intent was not toopen up Pandora’s Box by broaching that subject and he had no idea it would go in that direction. He said his intent was to not have Council to be put in a position where they would be back and forth between these various entities in the community for funding and support and in view of the fact that not maximizing the benefit of the opportunities they have in terms of the funding the City has already placed in that community. He said in that particular context, he wanted to be sure that Council has some leverage in terms of some conditions associated with the funding that will motivate those individuals to come together in some comprehensive fashion. Councilman Wallace said he is hoping the City Manager and her staff will make that happen. Mayor Ward said she hopes the next issue isn’t as exciting. Councilman Wallace said he would like some consideration of the restitution of the holiday parade. He said his rationalization for that is the City has minimal opportunities, at the sum that is allocated to put the Hampton byline and image in a proper perspective in the region, as they do in that particular opportunity. He said to lose that opportunity City of Hampton, VA Page 8 of 24 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes for the sum that it costs to televise that particular situation is, in his judgment, false economy relative to what it does for the community and the community’s image. He said recognizing the City is in tough times, but also the image is the thing that sells the City in the context of making Hampton a viable community and people to want to come to the community to live, work and shop and that is part of that particular process. Councilman Wallace said he would leave it as is and Council can discuss whether it has merit or not. Councilman Wallace said another concern he has is there is no money in the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for the Master Plans. He said they are taking neighborhoods through extensive master planning processes and procedures and not having any money set aside for implementing some of those particular plans, in his opinion, is cause to be concerned and cause to raise questions. He said he will make it known again, that he campaigned on the process of implementing some of the community plans. He said Council has not received any progress reports on where we are with the Wythe Master Plan or the Phoebus Master Plan or the Buckroe Master Plan in a comprehensive context on a periodic basis. Councilman Wallace suggested that as part of the process for the upcoming year, Council receive quarterly reports on where they were with the various comprehensive plans. He said it also speaks to Council’s credibility with the community in terms of people doing that and they have been talking extensively about the Buckroe Beach Master Plan and the process associated with that. He said he believes they could give equal rating and consideration to the plans for Buckroe, Phoebus, King Street and the other plans on record. Councilman Wallace said he is rather apprehensive because they don’t have any funding for it and maybe if the City Manager has a strategy for it, he would like to hear it at an appropriate time. He said the same situation prevails for the Economic Development plan. He said they have talked about being strapped in terms of their expenditures and those kinds of things, and they have talked about having a general fund reserve that they could appropriate if a situation evolved and developed that requires some expenditures that was a home run for the community and he recognizes that, but he believes the message they send if they don’t have something in the capital plan for either economic development and/or the master plan sends a wrong message. Councilman Wallace said he read an article the other day on the Constitutional Officer supplements. He suggested that the City Manager list the amount the City is required to pay in the budget for the support of the Constitutional Officers and the amount the City actually pays. He said if there was a comparability release of that particular information to the community that would pale a reference in comparison to the amount that the City actually paid for the supplemental of the salaries of those individuals. He said that information should be known so there is less emphasis placed on the fact that the City supplements the Constitutional Officers and greater emphasis on the fact that the City pays far greater amounts for the support of those Officers than the State does. The City Manager said the City includes that information in the budget documents and she implored the reporter to please look at the budget document so he could see that the City demonstratively shows the community what the City pays for the entire offices and the reporter chose not to focus on that in the article. Councilman Wallace asked the City Manager to direct the reporter again. The City Manager said she would. She stated in the budget document, as Councilman Wallace referenced, they show how much the total operation of each of the offices is, City of Hampton, VA Page 9 of 24 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes how much they receive from the State and how much the City is supposed to receive from the State and how much the City ends up picking up. She said they actually label it City Aid to the State. She explained that in many of the offices, the State is supposed to pay 100% and the State doesn’t. She further explained that the City has stepped up to the plate because the offices’ functions are so critical to the community that they had to have efficient and effective operations. She said they took the opportunity to display all the information in the budget documents. Councilman Wallace said he knew it was in the budget document but he wanted to call attention to it so it could be in the community and press releases to counter an erroneous and false impression in that regard. Councilman Wallace asked the City Manager to explain the $450,000 savings on the Regional Jail. In response, the City Manager said the Regional Jail per diem rate is actually going up $3 a day. She said Councilman Wallace may recollect from his time on the Regional Jail Authority, each locality has an obligation for a certain number of beds and Hampton’s requirement is for 175 beds. She said the City has the opportunity to purchase additional beds above and beyond the 175 beds. She said they are offered at a discounted rate but there is nonetheless, a per diem requirement. She explained that over the last several years when jail space was at a premium, Sheriff B. J. Roberts needed to contract out extra beds at the Regional Jail and he has been able to (1) the inmate population isn’t as high and (2) has been able to bring some of those as parts of the jail have been maintained and addressed. She said they don’t need to pay as much to the Regional Jail for the extra inmate but they will be meeting their minimum requirement to include a $3 per diem increase. She said that is savings from those additional extra beds they will not be using. Councilman Wallace said the City will have fewer prisoners and consequently will have a lesser need. In response, the City Manager stated the Sheriff has the ability to keep more in home and it is a combination of the two. The City Manager said there are certain inmates that automatically go to the Regional Jail because of the nature of their conditions. She noted that all medical inmates go to the Regional Jail so when there are fewer medical inmates you don’t have to send as many and there is a variety of factors there. The City Manager said the City doesn’t have the need for as many outsourced beds. Councilman Wallace said he would like consideration for the restoration of at least one youth planner for the Planning Department. Councilman Gilliland said they still have the increased fees for building permits in the budget and he doesn’t support that. He said he believes that industry, as he has said before, is in the toughest times it has seen in more than a generation at least, if not longer. He said placing obstacles in the way of that industry isn’t the right thing no matter if it is a penny or a dollar. The City Manager said she understands Councilman Gilliland’s concerns and he has expressed this before. She said they thought about not keeping it in the budget, but in the end it generated roughly $100,000 and the adjustments were made to bring ourselves in alignment with other communities. She said the City is not raising its fees in excess of what builders have to pay already in other communities. She said the City has City of Hampton, VA Page 10 of 24 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes been offering a break in that industry, and the industry needs a break that it can get today, but the City is also not recovering the cost of the City doing the business and other localities are already at a higher rate than Hampton. She said they felt it was an opportunity to better recover costs without unduly burdening them. Councilman Gilliland said he still needs to have a conversation to better understand the changes in Planning and Economic Development and the budget associated with how that is going to be allocated to real estate versus job creation. In response, the City Manager asked Councilman Gilliland if he would like her to answer his question now. Councilman Gilliland said it is not necessary that it be done right now but he needs to get a better understanding of it. He said he wants to ensure there are resources aligned properly with what it is the City hopes to achieve. In response, the City Manager stated they sent out details in the Friday memo but she doesn’t know if Council has had the opportunity to read and study the information. She said if it didn’t answer the question she will try and address it further. The City Manager noted that Mr. James A. “Pete” Peterson, Assistant City Manager, sent out an organizational chart as well as descriptions. Councilman Gilliland explained that he wasn’t proactive in getting that accomplished this week. The City Manager said she needed to know if it didn’t address it or if it is just an issue that Councilman Gilliland needs more time to go through. She said if it didn’t address it she will try again and provide another level of detail. In response, Councilman Gilliland said he will need some clarification and would meet with the City Manager. Councilman Gilliland said he still remains opposed to reinstitution of the boat tax and the City has received a lot of response from the community opposing the re-imposition of a boat tax. He said he doesn’t know how other folks’ calls and e-mails are running, but his are running 20 to 1 against it. Councilman Gilliland said he has even had some folks who were pro putting a boat tax back on and have actually looked at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) study and are willing to reconsider, or some have actually reconsidered their position after reading the study and realizing that it would have a net negative effect on the City. He said if the City is going to ultimately reinstate the boat tax, he wants a recommendation from staff given what is in the report and given that if they believe the report is true, and he does, he wants the net loss of revenue reported to Council on how much that would be in increased real estate tax. He said if they are candid about the economics of this and they say the boat tax is going to be reinstated, then the City needs to use the data from that report to demonstrate what it really means in terms of a net economic impact to the City. Councilman Gilliland said what it means is the City needs to raise some other tax or cut some other service and he wants that information. Councilman Gilliland said he would like the opportunity to leave the door open for a discussion of the City of Hampton’s support for the grant that was just received, the Green Jobs Alliance, to establish a regional energy alliance in Hampton Roads and a Home Performance with Energy Star Program. He said a requirement of the grant is that the Federal funds be leveraged 5 to 1 and that can be done in cash and in-kind services. He said they will be asking every locality to provide support and some localities will be providing some of the CDBG money to support as leverage funds and City of Hampton, VA Page 11 of 24 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes some will be doing it in marketing support, administrative staff support, but every locality that wants to benefit from the program needs to actually participate in the program. Councilman Gilliland said he didn’t have a specific proposal today, because they are trying to put all the pieces together. He noted that they had a meeting yesterday (May 4, 2010) with about 25 folks from around the region to discuss what needed to be done to implement this. Councilman Gilliland stated that if the City was to retrofit 7.5% of the single family homes in Hampton Roads with a modest energy efficient retrofit of $5,000, it would create nearly 2,800 jobs and it would pump more than a half billion dollars back into the regional economy, including Hampton through payroll and utility savings and it would increase real estate values nearly a half billion dollars. He said whether you believe in global warming or climate change or any of that science stuff, it would eliminate 300 million metric tons of carbon going into the atmosphere. He said from a job creation and sparing the local economy and these jobs are primarily in the construction trades which he can tell you the home builders, remodelers and particular small and minority contractors will be the beneficiaries of this successful program. Councilman Gilliland said from a policy perspective he would like to be able to present that to Council formally so that everyone on Council can clearly understand the economic opportunity that it presents. He said he will be doing the same thing with 15 other localities in Hampton Roads and he certainly ought to start at home. The City Manager said it would be helpful to staff to get a sense from Council if there is a leaning on the boat tax. She said as everyone knows, there was a fair amount of revenue generated by it and she realizes that some have said it is not very much, but $188,000 and in this fiscal year it would be essentially double that because it is a calendar year tax in next year’s fiscal year budget. She said if it is Council’s inclination to put the boat tax back she is going to have to find $188,000, so the sooner she knows that the better. Councilman Gilliland said he would argue that is not true. He said the City has a study that says it is not true. In response, the City Manager said she understands Councilman Gilliland’s point but that is what the Commissioner of Revenue’s Office budgeted, even allowing for a discount of certain boats leaving and that is what is currently in the City Manager’s Recommended Budget and that is where she is going to need to make the adjustment. Councilman Gilliland said if you put it on you lose more money than you gain, it is just that simple. The City Manager said she was not saying not to put it back but it is $188,000 of expected revenue that she would need to get it from somewhere. Councilman Wallace said he believes Councilman Gilliland is saying the City Manager is putting $188,000 in the budget line item and Councilman Gilliland is saying it is going to impact revenues other places that will be greater than that and consequently you will have to make that revenue up someplace else. He said it doesn’t show on the bottom line when Council passes the budget next week but it will ultimately show in terms of having to go back to the contingency fund or someplace else in order to make up the shortfall someplace else. He said that is the analogy. Councilman Wallace said he is leaning towards agreeing with Councilman Gilliland regarding a boat tax because while it is counterintuitive, it does not make economic sense. He said it is just like the fact that they are going to be deferring the construction of the parking garage for the courthouse, City of Hampton, VA Page 12 of 24 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes it is counterintuitive and it makes good politics but it doesn’t make good economic sense when you are talking about the tax payers. Councilman Wallace said you want him to be for protecting and minimizing the costs they have to pay, then sometimes he has to make some counterintuitive kinds of judgments and that is what Councilman Gilliland is saying. Mayor Ward said everyone has to remember that when they ask the City Manager to put something back in the budget, they also have to remember where they are going to take it from. Vice Mayor Spencer requested the City Manager to look for ways to work with the capital in the budget. He said in spite of the feel good nature of it, it actually is a detriment to economic growth and vitality. It creates loss of jobs and revenue as the study had formulated. He said he appreciates the efforts to try and arrive at some magic bullet number at the $.30 and appreciation is there for the City Manager and staff, but he believes to have it on the shelf and to be prepared for that eventuality. Councilman Kearney asked if the library is impacted with the budget as presented. In response, the City Manager stated the libraries are not impacted. Councilman Kearney asked if the children’s reading programs would be impacted. In response, the City Manager stated the libraries were not cut at all. Councilman Kearney said there are some rumors going around that the budget is passé and the libraries will be closed for two days a week. He said he is sure it was a lot of rhetoric from the recent election. The City Manager said there are a few employees that have chosen to take early retirement so if people are hearing that a person may be leaving, they may be making an assumption, but that was completely voluntary because the City did not eliminate any positions or funding in the library. Mayor Ward said she believes that was the direction of Council. Councilman Kearney said he wanted his question addressed for the record. Councilman Kearney said he heard the Blue Bird Gap Farm is closing as well. In response, the City Manager stated the Blue Bird Gap Farm is not closing and there was no funding eliminated from Blue Bird Gap Farm. Councilman Kearney said he also supports the Christmas parade and what can be done to keep it. He said he believes it speaks for itself in bringing the community together. He said the City really only has two parades in the community which is the Christmas Parade and the Phoebus Days Parade and he believes they are both part of the community and they meet a need. The City Manager said they are not getting rid of the parades but they are getting rid of the taping and paying to have it run on Channel 13. She said if Council wants to consider putting back the taping that is fine, she needs clarification. City of Hampton, VA Page 13 of 24 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes Councilman Kearney asked how much it costs to tape the parade. In response, the City Manager said it was $20,000. Councilman Kearney said he would support that taping and look deeper during the next year to see if there is another way to tape the parade, because they are revamping the City’s media programs with the school board. He asked if that was still on board. In response, the City Manager said it is. Councilman Kearney said if that is done, they may have a larger audience than what they can with WVEC. Councilman Kearney asked if the International Children’s Festival is impacted by the budget. In response, the City Manager said it is not affected. She said she would provide specifics regarding the personnel issues and the contract issues associated with the festival. The City Manager stated that it was announced at the festival that it would continue and the countries participating indicated their intention to participate next year. Councilman Kearney asked if the children’s movies would still be held on a weekly basis during the summer. In response, the City Manager stated the movies would continue and will be done at Blue Bird Gap Farm. She said it is being moved to Blue Bird Gap Farm because it is more of a family atmosphere and they are better able to provide security. Councilman Kearney said those reasons are very important. The City Manager said the City will also be continuing the movie series. Councilman Kearney said he is sorry for the Buckroe community but it is out of their hands and it is from the regionalism of gangs that have come here. Councilman Kearney said Hampton Bay Days will not be affected. He said he knows they are getting a reduction but that was their own choosing because of the amount of money they had. He said the Hampton Cup Regatta will still get funding but it is cut in half, theoretically from what it had been. In response, the City Manager stated that Councilman Kearney was correct. Councilman Kearney said they talked about the possibility of reinstituting decals for cars since the tax is already being paid. He asked if staff has thought any more about this. In response, the City Manager said they have had conversations with Mr. Bob Williams, Treasurer, who indicates it would be an effective tool for them and they would be in support of the City reinstituting the decal if Council is so inclined. Councilman Kearney asked if this would be something that would come before Council at a later time. He asked if it was necessary for the budget itself. In response, the City Manager said that was correct. Councilman Kearney said when you start to do that I was discussing during those public meetings I referred to earlier. Some people asked why they couldn’t look at using the old metal decals we had before and you put a sticker on them. You are too young to remember, but we used to have metal decals that looked very similar to the fire tags that you see a lot of the volunteer firefighters use today. City of Hampton, VA Page 14 of 24 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes Vice Mayor Spencer said it is like a little license plate. Councilman Kearney said it hooks on to the license plate. In response, the City Manager said staff would look into that suggestion. Councilman Kearney said different communities had them before consolidation and it was black and white in those days, but if you were a fireman, it was red. He said that might be easier for people who say they have a hard time with the stickers. Councilman Kearney said regarding the boat tax, he might be the only Council member who has a boat. He said it is just a little fishing boat and he doesn’t object to the boat tax. He said when he hears the objections of the reports the City has, he looks down at the waterfront from Joy’s Marina to around off of Boxwood Avenue at Pools Grant, and there are a lot of empty slips and he doesn’t believe it has anything to do with the boat tax. He said he believes a lot of the empty spaces have to do with the economy and how it is affecting people. Councilman Kearney stated that he has said from the very beginning that he didn’t like the idea of a rate, and he doesn’t care if it a dollar or ten cents of having to charge large boats. He said he has objected to that from the beginning because they are not getting the services that a small boat would receive with the dredging the City is doing and the installation of the boat ramps, and in particular, the fire boats and the rescue as it does for everyone else. He said if there could be some way the City could separate that into two, and he knows the City Manager keeps saying they are working on it, but that would help him in his support for a boat tax. He said he supports a boat tax for the smaller boats and he supports a tax with a greater limit on the large boats. He said he doesn’t believe they should be paying $10,000 to board at Blue Water Yacht, he believes that is ludicrous. He said in providing $1,000 or $2,000, they would tell you, as they have told him before, that they thought it would be reasonable with the City’s fire boats and the rescue. He said he hopes that could be worked out. Mayor Ward said that was one of the reasons they tried in the General Assembly and because of the way the law is written, and she will let Ms. Cynthia E. Hudson, City Attorney, explain it more clearer, there are severe limitations on how the City can do that in terms of capping a tax for a certain dollar amount, the way the law is, it is a dollar per a certain assessed value, they can only make a differentiation between tonnage or length. The City Attorney stated that was correct. She noted that Title 58.1 very severely restricts the classifications the City can make for personal property taxation purposes. She said they can either come within those classifications or we don’t, with the rate being uniform in the classifications. The City Manager said staff has prepared the ordinance on the basis of tonnage, five tons under and five tons and over and they can set a differential rate between those two categories and effectively then you could get it what you want to do. She said when she brought it up with Council previously there was some concern about a differential rate and in fact she had suggested a differential rate. She explained where staff came up with the $.30 is that they were effectively trying to get a maximum rate that would be in the range of what is being discussed. She said for instance, a million dollar boat with a $.30 tax rate would pay $3,000. The City Manager said staff checked with the Commissioner of the Revenue’s Office and there are only three boats that are assessed City of Hampton, VA Page 15 of 24 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes over a million dollars, so effectively the boats in the community that are already registered would be paying $3,000 or less, with the exception of three boats. She said they felt by setting the rate at $.30 they were effectively getting at, without legally capping, a cap that was in the ball park of what she has heard as well, which was in the $2,000 to $3,000 range. The City Manager said that was the best they could do using the 5 tons over and under. She said they can set a differential rate if Council wants to do that. She said perhaps it is an opportunity for a compromise, but she also understood that some Council members felt like that was more inequitable. She said staff will be prepared to do whatever Council decides. She said the ordinance has been advertised and prepared with the classification of 5 tons over and under and then it is an issue if Council wants to set that at a $.00001 for everything or if Council wants to do some rate classification other than that. She said staff can do it separately for the two classifications. Mayor Ward said she wanted to clarify that there wasn’t a cap available. She said you can effectively cap it because you know the highest value boat you have is a million dollars, but you can’t put a cap on it. The City Manager said what she was trying to say is that they were effectively trying to get there. Vice Mayor Spencer asked if the City Manager can provide Council with the number of boats 5 tons and over. In response, the City Manager said she has the information in her office and she will provide the information to Council. Vice Mayor Spencer said that information would help Council to have an idea of what it really means. Councilman Kearney said in doing that, he understands there are close to 30 boats that are in the million dollar range that are in the City of Hampton, so he assumes they are just staying here and they are licensed to be in Virginia Beach or Suffolk and they are just parked here and not taxed. In response, the City Manager said they do not have to register with the City if they are in Hampton for six months or less. The City Manager explained the value of the boat is depreciated annually and she sent Council a memo from the Commissioner of Revenue describing how that is done. She further explained that while a boat may have been purchased in excess of a million dollars, it may not be valued at a million dollars because of the assessment. She said it is just like cars depreciate over time, the boats depreciate over time. She said they may have an additional situation where they have boats that are not choosing to register. The City Manager said the tax base they would be working under currently is there is one boat at a million dollars and three boats in excess of a million and everything else is under a million. Councilman Kearney said he would like to know how many boats are 5 tons and over. He said it reminds him very much of the issue that the City had some years ago when they talked about putting parking down the end of First Street for the public beach. He said the crowd came in and some were very ugly with what they had to say and Council voted not to do the parking at the end of First Street. He said he believes it is the same thing here, we have the services the City is providing especially with the boat ramp and the dredging, which will accommodate the smaller boats, and he believes it is very worthwhile and he believes the Hugh Bassettes in the community expect some sort of City of Hampton, VA Page 16 of 24 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes equalization. Councilman Kearney asked what the tax is on camper trailers and so forth. In response, the City Attorney stated the City reduced the tax rate for Recreational Vehicles to the same as the boat tax. The City Manager said we are raising it back to $.30 in this proposal. Councilman Kearney said they are taking the RV tax and raising it from $.000001 to $.30. The City Manager said they moved it down because the argument has been made about the break for boats and not for RV owners. She said since Council previously tied the two together in policy. She explained that they felt if they were going to raise one they should raise both. Councilman Kearney asked if there is a breakdown as to how much money will come in from that or is the $188,000 all lumped together. In response, the City Manager said she believes it was all lumped together. The City Manager said staff can provide the breakdown to Council. Councilman Kearney said he would like to piggyback on Councilman Gilliland’s comments because he knows he has been pushing this for a long time and long before he got into this particular field, with regard to his employment. He said he would like to know a lot more about the green job and how the community can get involved. He said it is obvious that is big coming out of Washington, D.C., right now and he believes the City should know more. Councilman Kearney asked Councilman Gilliland if the City does the policy, what would be the timeline with regards to discussing the policy and any enactment Council might do. Councilman Gilliland said he would be happy to provide all of the information and make a formal presentation. He said he has continued to keep Council in the loop through e- mails and he has written at least a couple of different memos on the subject and on May 4, 2010, he held a public meeting in Council Chambers and invited everyone to come. Councilman Gilliland said he is making the effort to get folks informed and needs people to come to the meetings. He said the meeting yesterday was two hours of Q&A on the whole subject. Councilman Kearney asked if the City has support by the IDA with regards to this. In response, Councilman Gilliland said the IDA wrote a letter of support. Councilman Kearney asked if that is where this would be headquartered. In response, Councilman Gilliland said this is not a Hampton City government project, it is a Federal grant to the Green Jobs Alliance which is a 501© 3 non-profit organization to establish what is commonly called a regional energy alliance that will run a program that is a Department of Energy/Environmental Protection Agency (DOE/EPA) program called Home Performance with Energy Star. He said that program is designed to deliver energy efficiency retrofits to residential and they will also be doing commercial work as well. He said there are models for this in other parts of the country and there are two launched and three others in Virginia that are launching. He said Richmond Metro and Charlottesville Albemarle has one up and running and Northern Virginia has one that just started a month ago and Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania just got a grant from the State to do one and Roanoke/Blacksburg are also doing it. City of Hampton, VA Page 17 of 24 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes Councilman Kearney said he would like to know more about it. He said he believes it will be good for Council to look at that and to know what agency or department would be overseeing it to ensure that it is continued as time goes on, if it does prove to be beneficial. The City Manager said she will schedule a presentation for Council. Councilman Kearney said he agreed with Councilman Wallace when he talked about the Master Plans but he thought Council adopted a policy with regards to that. He said the subject had come up many times that they would ensure that when all development was done in any one of the areas where the Master Plan had been developed, the agencies; Planning and Codes Compliance would ensure that what was being done was going to comply with the Master Plan and not outside of it. He asked the City Manager if that was true, not true, or if she didn’t understand what he was saying. In response, the City Manager said it was a little bit of all three. She said to the extent the City has the legal ability, they do that but sometimes there are grandfathered uses and those kinds of issues. She said she will meet with Councilman Kearney and explore a little more and she will get a full report to all of Council. Councilman Kearney said he agrees with what Councilman Wallace was saying and he said he was sorry they didn’t have a clump of money, theoretically to put into a pot, that they could draw on to implement these plans. He said the oldest of these plans that he can recall is the Kecoughtan Road Corridor and he said he wonders what they are doing with that. He noted that one time along the line, Council was promised that they would receive reports as to how these plans were being implemented and maybe there was not implementation so there was nothing being done. Councilman Kearney said the last one they had with any controversy was when the Wilson Project came up and it didn’t fit the plan. He said Council voted to adopt the Wilson Plan which in fact was not part of the King Street Corridor Plan, but that is the last time he recalls something falling into that category. Councilman Kearney said he believes what he said is worthy of a memo from the City Manager and some direction as to policy that Council can adhere to so Council knows what they are doing. The City Manager agreed with the suggestion of quarterly reports even if there hasn’t been any activity in a particular area to verify that in writing so Council can see where efforts are being undertaken and successes being made and where they are not making progress. She said although there is not additional funding in this year’s budget, they do have some funds on hand in each of the Master Plan areas and she will also include that in the memo so Council can see what is on balance as well as the efforts that have been made. She said she believes the quarterly reports are a very good idea. Councilman Kearney said he is disappointed and he is not pointing fingers at anyone, but he didn’t believe they answered the charges brought up about the support for supplemental pay to the Constitutional Officers. He said they didn’t present the side that had been presented to this member of Council when they voted for them because he had difficulty with it, but when he was told by the Commonwealth’s Attorney that they could not find the lawyers to come in and therefore the case load was so heavy they couldn’t find the qualified attorneys because the pay was so low, as established by the State, then the City turned around and stepped in and did that. Councilman Kearney said Mr. Chris Hutton at that time was the Commonwealth’s Attorney. He said it has happened with the Sheriff’s Office and it seems to him that it was a common sense thing the City needs to explain or re-explain the City’s position with the general public. He City of Hampton, VA Page 18 of 24 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes said there were decisions that were made in public meetings and he would like to ensure that the case of the City is presented better. The City Manager said she appreciates Councilman Kearney’s comments and she spent over an hour on the phone with the reporter, Mr. Peter Dujardin, on two different occasions and Ms. Katherine K. Glass, Clerk of Council, pulled minutes where the conversations were held in the open session and she provided those references to Mr. Dujardin. She said he asked for specific questions as to why Council’s policy was the way it was and she gave him the specific dates of the minutes. The City Manager said she regrets that the case did not come out better in the reporting. She said she is not taking personal offense, but she spent more than two hours with Mr. Dujardin trying to get him to understand the larger picture and that it was a practice of supplementing the offices in its entirety and not individual officers and that it was done for retention and recruitment issues. The City Manager said she specifically used the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s case as an example and said what was happening prior to this was they were training people to prosecute drug offenders, gangs and the like and then, because they couldn’t keep a decent pay, they would end up taking all the expertise in how to prosecute a case and become defense lawyers. She said they had a very absolute public interest in ensuring tenure and seniority in the professional staff and that was the motivation. The City Manager said Mr. Dujardin indicated he may do a follow up article and focus on that but this article was specifically in response to Mr. Jim Adam’s e-mail which addressed the supplements to the officers and that is what the report was choosing to focus on. She said staff did their best to get that across to the Daily Press. She said she believes this gets back to an issue Council has raised with staff repeatedly about getting the City’s word out and as noted in the budget, the Marketing and Communications Department have been reorganized so they can have a consolidated effort in that regard. She said she believes this is the kind of thing they need to address for themselves because the Daily Press has their own slant that they want to cover and they don’t get out the full story. Councilman Kearney said he was not pointing fingers because he knew they had done so much over the last 16 years and that it was very unfair to come up and make the City look as if it was caught sleeping or something. Councilman Kearney thanked the City Manager for the work that has been done by the different departments and agencies in Buckroe in the building of the new breakwater. He asked those who have not been down there, to go to the end of Buckroe Avenue and Old Point Avenue to look at those two breakwaters and the way they were installed. He said they were done in a timely manner and the beach is cleaned up. He said it is just beautiful and he believes it is going to be a great thing in protecting the shoreline as they have done over the years. The City Manager said they have a second phase with that effort in the proposed budget for next year. Councilwoman Leary said she wanted to comment on two things Councilman Kearney mentioned. She said she believes Council is required to revisit the Master Plans every five years. In response, the City Attorney said if Councilwoman Leary is referring to the overall comprehensive plan, it is required to be approved by the Planning Commission and Council. She said it is less frequently than 5 years, she believes it is every 15 years. City of Hampton, VA Page 19 of 24 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes Councilwoman Leary said there isn’t anything that would prevent Council from adopting something that they could go back and would remind them to review the Master Plans. In response, the City Attorney said Council can amend it at any time but the statutory requirement is 10 years. Councilwoman Leary said she wanted to apologize to her fellow members of Council because she sent herself an e-mail that was forwarded to her. She said there was a Daily Press article on May 1, 2010, about the Constitutional Officers. She stated Ms. Joan Charles went back and did a data comparison on the four jurisdictions; Norfolk, Newport News, Hampton and Virginia Beach using a per capita basis. She said her question is how Hampton’s per capita cost can be so much greater than the other three jurisdictions with every one of our Constitutional Officers. She said the attachment was sent to Council and they will also receive the e-mail. Councilwoman Leary said the population data was taken from the United States Census Bureau Quick Facts estimated populations between 2006 and 2008. She said the State and County facts can be Googled to obtain the population information to verify the figures that are contained in this document. Councilwoman Leary said she wanted to present that to Council and especially to the City Manager for her response later on. She said she didn’t believe it was fair for the City Manager to answer it today. Councilwoman Leary said another question is how the State would arrive at the amount to fund these Constitutional Officers, but that is part of what she wanted to ask. In response, the City Manager said she would provide Councilwoman Leary a response in writing but quickly she said one of the reasons for the differences is that the State has the policy of paying more for the Constitutional Officer based on the size of population. Councilwoman Leary said that is why they did the per capita research. In response, the City Manager said that doesn’t necessarily mean that the workloads are variable in all cases depending upon what functions the Offices have taken on for the locality. The City Manager stated there are some explanations that she believes will justify very clearly what they have been doing and she would be glad to provide all members of Council that information in writing and a full report to the public for the record at the appropriate time. Councilwoman Leary thanked the City Manager. Vice Mayor Spencer said he appreciates the two hours the City Manager spent with Mr. Dujardin. He said it is just a shame that they boil it down to two or three sentences that seem to show what their real intent was in the article. He said anything the City Manager can do to clarify the issue would be greatly appreciated. Vice Mayor Spencer said the holiday parade is shown live and he thought it is shown again as it gets closer to Christmas but he doesn’t know if that is accurate or not. He said having participated the last couple of years it is an absolutely wonderful family affair that showcases Hampton and the Downtown area to a lot of citizens from outside the region. He said he knows and he appreciates the fact that it is the most difficult budget the City has had to deal with in many years. He said staff should look at that and get some answers. Vice Mayor Spencer said he was glad the summer movies were brought up because that is another validation that they are finding additional uses for Blue Bird Gap Farm in spite of what the press may try to tell the people, the City is not closing City of Hampton, VA Page 20 of 24 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes Blue Bird Gap Farm. He said from the information provided to Council the International Children’s Festival is largely self-sufficient and Mr. Jim Wilson, Director of Parks and Recreation, has the staff and expertise to continue the festival. Vice Mayor Spencer said it is a wonderful event and it brings folks to Downtown. He said the festival also provides everyone the opportunity to appreciate diversity. He said depending on what may or may not happen with the boat tax, he believes they should still pursue in the City’s legislative package, the decal fee that seems to be the easiest way to enforce and collect and is not punitive. He said it doesn’t add to the business anti-growth and it seemingly makes a lot of sense, but for some reason, they cannot get the leadership in Richmond to carry it through on the City’s behalf. He said he knows that Councilman Wallace went to Richmond and represented the City very well. He said in light of the boat tax, if appropriate, he read the memo received from Mr. Ross Mugler, the Commissioner of the Revenue, on April 29, 2010, and it was indicated by some of the speakers that came to the Council meeting on April 28, 2010, there are some real concerns about how you have come to a correct valid amount. Vice Mayor Spencer noted that the Commissioner of the Revenue indicated if the implementation of the boat tax did occur, the current method of assessment may be subject to review to ensure a better reflection of the fair market value. He said he guesses in lieu of that information from the Commissioner of the Revenue, Council needs to know how it is going to be better reflective of the fair market value before the tax is instituted. Councilwoman Leary said she would like to know, since she has received so many e- mails about this, the amount of requests for the organization RSVP. She said she thought it was $5,000 or $10,000. She said she has requested information on the volunteer hours that they spend working with their efforts, predominantly for seniors. She said if they put the same dollar value to those numbers of hours as they do with the Neighborhood Commission they might be able to restore their contribution that the City gives to them. She said she believes they have funded Denbigh House at the same level they funded last year and because of their work she doesn’t believe that was cut. In response, the City Manager stated the Denbigh House was not cut from the budget. Councilwoman Leary said she would like to know about the $1 million stormwater fund that was given to the Neighborhood Commission and she understands it doesn’t go to them any more. She said she would like to know what happened to it and where it is going now. Councilwoman Leary said she knows the City has, and supports several 501©3’s and she believes the last count is about 15. She requested an annual balance sheet or something from those organizations if the City is going to continue to support them. The City Manager asked Councilwoman Leary if she wanted the full copy of the financial statements that are submitted to the City. In response, Councilwoman Leary said that would be good, a statement of income and expenses. Councilwoman Leary said when she was elected in 2004, she remembered then Mayor Charlie Wornom calling her and saying he wanted to meet with her tomorrow morning. She said that was the next Council day and he wanted all of the Council-elect people to participate in sessions in the afternoon session and in the evening session and even the closed sessions as an opportunity to learn what goes on before they take the Oath of Office. She said she would like to see Council extend that same invitation to the new Council-elect individuals, Mr. Will Moffett, Mr. Donnie Tuck and Mr. Chris Stuart. City of Hampton, VA Page 21 of 24 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes Mayor Ward said they are already on it. Councilwoman Leary thanked Mayor Ward and stated if she has anything else she will try to get it to the City Manager tonight. Councilman Kearney said that last comment was a policy Council adopted in 1993 after which Council members were to be broken down and were invited to sit in on the budget sessions and so forth. He said he was saying this for the reporter to know that in 1993, the policy was adopted of implementing the newly elected Council members that they had a right to participate in the meetings and even into the closed sessions, they were invited to come in and listen to the discussions. Mayor Ward said she knows the City Manager has already communicated via e-mail with the three individuals who won last night and she has talked with everyone either on the phone, or in person with them. She said she and the City Manager talked this morning about doing exactly what Councilwoman Leary brought up. The City Manager said they also do an orientation book and orientation session and all three of the successful candidates have been alerted about that effort and they would be getting with them after a reasonable period for a break. Councilman Wallace said he wanted to correct one impression. He said the three Council-elects do not have a right until they are sworn in on July 1, 2010. He said it is a privilege that is extended to them. Mayor Ward said Councilman Wallace is exactly correct in that until they have taken the Oath of Office it is a courtesy that is extended. Councilman Wallace said he doesn’t know what the cost of the Senior Weight Program in Phoebus is but he would like to see if that could be done in some other context. In response, Mayor Ward said that might be a closed session item for discussion. The City Manager said she sent a note to Council indicating that it would be discussed in closed session because of a personnel matter. Councilman Wallace said the summer playground fees will be implemented for the first time and they are $15 for the first child and $30 for the second child. He said he believes that will impact children that will be the least able to afford that and he wonders if that is something they want to do in terms of having the young people in a structured program or not having a structured program and possibly having to pay more on the back end because they are doing something that is not constructive. He said they may want to look at waiving that fee. In response, the City Manager said they have always had the fees for the actual summer camp. The City Manager asked if Councilman Wallace was referring to the summer playground camp. Councilman Wallace said yes and he believes the population that is going to be using the playground is possibly different from the ones that will be using the after day care structure. He said that he doesn’t know that to be fact but it is an assumption on his part. In response, the City Manager said she thought the City was already charging and just going up $5. She said she would get back to Council with information on the whole program. City of Hampton, VA Page 22 of 24 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes Councilman Wallace said he believes he read that it went from $0 to $15. In response, the City Manager said she would provide a response to Councilman Wallace. Closed Meeting 2. 10-0172 Closed session as provided in Virginia Code Section 22.1-3711A.1, .5, .7, and .29 APPROVED Motion made by: Councilmember Joseph H. Spencer, II Seconded by: Councilmember Ross A. Kearney, II Ayes: 6 - Randall A. Gilliland, Ross A. Kearney, II, Angela Lee Leary, Joseph H. Spencer, II, George E. Wallace, Molly Joseph Ward Nays: 0 Absent: Paige V. Washington, Jr. . 10-0217 to discuss a prospective business in Hampton where discussion in an open meeting would adversely affect the bargaining position or negotiating strategy of the City NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0218 to discuss the award of a public contract, including scope and terms, where discussion in open session would adversely affect the negotiating strategy or bargaining position of the City NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0216 to discuss specific personnel decisions and changes proposed in the budget process and to consult with legal counsel regarding specific legal matters regarding the budget process and dredging requiring the provision of legal advice by such counsel NO ACTION REQUIRED Certification 3. 10-0173 Resolution Certifying Closed Session WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Hampton, Virginia, has convened a closed session on this date pursuant to an affirmative recorded vote made in accordance with the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act; and WHEREAS, Section 2.2-3712D of the Code of Virginia requires a certification by the City Council of the City of Hampton, Virginia, that such closed meeting was conducted in conformity with Virginia Law; City of Hampton, VA Page 23 of 24 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Hampton, Virginia, hereby certifies that, to the best of each member’s knowledge, (i) only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements by Virginia law were discussed in the closed session to which this certification resolution applies, and (ii) only such public business matters as were identified in the motion convening the closed meeting were heard, discussed, or considered by the city council of the city of Hampton, Virginia. ADOPTED - Councilwoman Leary's vote was based upon the discussion of shoreline issues being included in closed session. Mayor Ward's observation was that any veering from the legal issues of dredging was momentary and unintentional and the City Attorney steered the discussion back to those matters allowed per statute. Motion made by: Councilmember Joseph H. Spencer, II Seconded by: Councilmember Randall A. Gilliland Ayes: 5 - Randall A. Gilliland, Ross A. Kearney, II, Joseph H. Spencer, II, George E. Wallace, Molly Joseph Ward Nays: 1 - Angela Lee Leary Absent: Paige V. Washington, Jr. ___________________ Molly Joseph Ward Mayor ______________________ Katherine K. Glass, CMC Clerk of Council Date approved by Council _____________________ City of Hampton, VA Page 24 of 24 Printed on 8/24/2010