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, CMC, Clerk of Council Brenda J. Vaccarelli, Deputy Clerk Wednesday, May 26, 2010 12:59 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, Paige V. Washington, Jr. Absent: George Wallace MAYOR’S COMMENTS Mayor Ward stated Councilman Wallace is at the hospital with a family friend and may not be able to attend the meeting. Agenda 1. 10-0239 Discussion of Use of Technology by City Council Presented by John Eagle, Assistant City Manager. Mayor Ward stated the first item on the agenda is a discussion of the use of technology by City Council. Ms. Mary Bunting, City Manager, stated that Mr. John Eagle, Assistant City Manager, will make a presentation about the various opportunities we have as a Council to begin to move to a paperless agenda system. She stated this would be something that continuing Councilmembers and incoming Councilmembers would get to individually make decisions about but there are true cost advantages to being able to do this and John wanted to go over both the cost implications in terms of continuing the way that we do business now with paper agendas and notebooks, as well as the potential both from a cost savings standpoint and an ease of use standpoint with various types of technology that we might be able to employ to move to the paperless agenda system. City of Hampton, VA Page 1 of 26 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes Mr. Eagle said he didn’t have any power point presentations this afternoon, but he did have a couple of props. He explained what he had as a prop isn’t an actual agenda but it looks a lot like an agenda. He stated, you are familiar with the three ring binders, and the last agenda that we did was 680 pages and weighed over 8 pounds. He stated the cost to produce these agenda packages for Council as well as some of the senior staff members, surprisingly enough, is year to date $18,255, about $20,000 a year. He explained that’s mainly because it requires a lot of staff time, reproduction cost, paper cost, collating, indexing, etc. He said the one good thing about it is that you can flip through it and mark pages but it takes up a large amount of space. He stated he didn’t even have enough space on the podium to lay it out. He stated that the draw back is the weight and the expense to produce it, it’s not very green, and it’s not portable in the sense that if you wanted to send a copy to somebody, it’s not something that you can easily do. Mr. Eagle showed Council a lap top, and stated he actually gets the agendas currently electronically. He said you probably noticed when I’m out in the audience flipping mine open, it weighs about 5 or 6 pounds, so it’s a little lighter. It does require booting and logging in and any virus and software support and tech support. Technically speaking it is a portable desktop. He said pluses to this are that its saves money and it is greener and it’s a little easier to browse through a big document. It also has a smaller footprint and it’s not as easy to write in the margins as it is with the paper but there are technologies to do that. He stated the drawback is that it is still a little heavy and it does require support. There is also technical support required to use this and to keep it up to date. He added, it may not always be easy to use in terms of if the document looks a little small, zooming in and zooming out and having to use the scroll bar and the mouse and all of those kinds of things and although it is a little smaller and that’s a plus, it is a little obtrusive to sit down and flip something open and have that all in the way. He stated that the biggest drawback to all of this speaking from personal experience is the battery power. He stated he has had this problem time and time again sitting in a meeting, looking at the agenda and losing the battery and so he brings a couple of batteries with him. You probably haven’t noticed, but it is more than an inconvenience and it kind of takes away from the convenience. Mr. Eagle stated that the reason he wanted to speak today is because of the recently introduced Apple I-PAD. He said he was going to show it to Council briefly today but this really does present an opportunity because he thinks Apple has tapped into something that is very innovative and bridges the gap between this big device and a little PDA and it really does present an opportunity to go completely paperless. Mr. Eagle demonstrated the I-PAD. He explained that it weighs about one and ½ pounds so it is very light and portable and it comes with an attractive case that’s the size of a portfolio. He stated you can take the case and flip it around and set it up and it’s like a keyboard which you can type on. He stated he was doing the demonstration using the Mayor’s personal device, and he thanked the Mayor. He stated that the device is revolutionary and it requires almost no support which is the neat thing about it. He further explained that because of the way Apple builds these products, there’s no antivirus support, so it isn’t necessary to have all those extra software things, there’s no logging in, you press the button, it turns on, there’s none of those other things that you have to deal with and there’s no Virtual Private Network (VPN) accessing your network. He emphasized that it’s very easy to use. He said one thing he wanted to show you is the daily Press Web page. It’s live because it is a wireless unit and one of the things you City of Hampton, VA Page 2 of 26 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes can do to zoom in and out that’s completely revolutionary is to take your fingers and make it move on the screen, scroll around and zoom. He added that really is revolutionary because it makes it easy to move around on a document, you don’t have to find the scroll, you don’t have to reach for the mouse, its right there on a touch screen. He stated this is what really sets it apart from the other technology that’s available. He reiterated that it is unobtrusive. He stated another plus for using this device is the battery performance. He stated it lasts 10, 12, 13 hours which is incredible. He also said it is a device you won’t have to tether to an outlet somewhere. He stated it is low cost, and that he had mentioned that we are right about $20,000 for the printed version of the agenda which is about $1,300 per user, per member of staff or per member of Council. He explained that these units cost somewhere between $600, $700, $750. He explained that they pay for themselves in a single year, and it’s green. He further explained when you are looking at something like the Council agenda, you can again annotate and you can be looking at a page and if you say “I want to ask a question about that” you can just tap the screen and draw a circle around it and type the note and bookmark it and then go back later and keep track of everything that you have bookmarked in the agenda, which is a convenient way to do that as well. He reviewed the advantages of using the device stating you can track your notes, it’s lighter, and easier to read and it is very convenient for email and web browsing. He explained that this is not a replacement for a laptop, instead it is another tool. He gave an example of having a hammer and a screw driver, a screw driver can be used as a hammer, but a hammer can’t be used as a screw driver. He stated that these are all tools, and how you intend to use them will depend upon which tools are right for you, but it doesn’t mean that if you get an IPAD, that you don’t need a laptop or a desktop computer for that matter. He said personally, when he’s working on an agreement or a big document, he needs a computer and this wouldn’t cut it, but on the other hand, it is a replacement for paper if you intend to use it for that therefore, it still does pay for itself. He stated he wouldn’t, however, characterize it as a gee-whiz device, although there are some gee- whiz aspects about it, the touch screen and a feature where no matter how you hold the screen, it automatically adjusts so if you like holding it a certain way, it automatically adjusts that way. He stated that it has some very nice features. Mr. Eagle stated his suggestion is because this will save paper and it does lower support costs, he asked Council if they would like to entertain trying them out and pilot them with a couple of Councilmembers at a time, provide a little bit of one on one time to get familiarized with the unit. He added he would demonstrate at that point how to get in and out of the various applications, and let Council try them out. Mr. Eagle stated he had a conversation with our Apple representative. The City has not had a formal relationship with corporate Apple, the schools have, but we’ve reached out to them and said we have an opportunity here to be one of the first Councils in the country to be IPAD enabled and completely paperless, so they are very interested in what we might be able to do together as well. He stated perhaps they can figure out a way to make this even more affordable. Mr. Eagle asked if there were any questions. Councilman Kearney asked if the agenda would still be on the website. He asked if he were at home would he still be able to go to the computer if there was a page that he wanted to print to discuss. Mr. Eagle said absolutely. City of Hampton, VA Page 3 of 26 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes Ms. Katherine Glass, Clerk of Council, stated you’d characterize that as a replacement for your paper notebook, but it would not take away any of the other tools that we make available to citizens. Councilman Kearney stated he’d fully endorsed that concept. Mayor Ward commented, as Mr. Eagle said, there is a certain Apple for anything, and there is a printer that you can buy so that you could print from your IPAD. She also said that the other thing is that, she didn’t think Mr. Eagle had mentioned, that it’s not just WiFi compatible, it’s 3-G, so places that there isn’t WiFi, but there is phone service, you can still get a signal and it’s almost as quick if not quicker than having the internet. Mr. Eagle stated he only touched upon some of the features. He explained what the Mayor is referring to is this does have a fully integrated way to connect to the City’s email system, calendaring system, contact list. He said you can have it all right here, and it’s always up to date with your email and everything else as well as web browsing and there’s a wireless internal belt, we have free wireless here and in Council Chambers, if you have a wireless network at home, there are wireless networks everywhere these days, the library or Starbucks, wherever you happen to be, but there are places where you don’t have access. He stated for that, there is an internal feature known as 3-G and that’s basically a cellular service. He stated for around $30 or as cheap as $15 per month, you can get that service and it stays connected through the cellular service 24-7. Councilwoman Leary asked Mr. Eagle about changes to the text. She asked if we see the agenda and we want to put a note to annotate. She said she understands how to do that, but what she wants to know is how do we make sure that what is sent to us, and what the Clerk has already put on the agenda or on the agenda review form can’t be overwritten. Councilwoman Leary asked to confirm that there are safeguards. Mr. Eagle stated what the Clerk sends out is a PDF file, and to their credit, they spend a lot of time putting everything together even in the paper version, but the electronic version is one big file. He added, however, that it’s indexed so you can open up an index and just jump right to this item, so you don’t have to try to find something, you can actually jump right to it, but there’s no way to edit anything in that document and the software that we can provide to allow you to annotate is something that goes on top of that and is very obvious. Sort of like a post it note. Councilwoman Leary asked how is the retrieval of the information going to work. She asked if it will have some type of a document legend. Mr. Eagle answered in terms of retrieval there’s a couple of different possibilities. He explained it can be as simple as the Clerk emailing you the agenda as soon as it is ready and then once you are looking at the agenda, if you want to search for something, for example there is a search tool in the software. The City Manager asked if she could amplify since she has been experimenting with it and this week had her agenda on the PDF reader that’s on the I-PAD device she is using. City of Hampton, VA Page 4 of 26 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes The City Manager explained when you pull it up, they actually catalog them, so when Ms. Glass emailed it out, I pulled it up into my PDF reader and then was able to name it whatever I wanted for my own personal use, for example, I named it 052610 Council meeting, then it saves it in the PDF reader. She further explained for example if she had 5 or 6 Council meetings stored there and using the same nomenclature each time she opened it up, she can go into the PDF reader and select the one that she wanted to open. She asked Councilwoman Leary if she was asking about easy ways to retrieve them. Councilman Leary stated the way she manages hers is a little bit of a different system, it’s more of a universal system where agendas are under A and then singled out by date. They are in chronological order but all of the agendas are together then when you get into correspondence, for example, then they become document source, so that there is a methodical way of handling 25,000 documents. She asked if we were going to have that same opportunity. In other words, if you create a document on that IPAD, or is this just to track the work that we do on our agenda. Mr. Eagle stated he would not look at this as being a replacement for your laptop or your desktop, however, everything just described can still be done, in fact, these come with a substantial amount of memory. He stated there is room to store literally hundreds of electronic agendas in this little device. He said that is definitely a possibility. Councilwoman Leary stated that she would like to be one of the guinea pigs and the reason why is because she loves documentation. She further stated that she doesn’t like all the paper that goes with it and this would be something easier to take to a meeting where she could take notes, instead of writing by hand into a notebook. She said it’s easier for her in a meeting like the ones that we have, so she is really looking forward to the opportunity to go into the next phase. Mayor Ward thanked Mr. Eagle for the information, and asked if that was all of the presentation and commented that it sounded like there are some willing participants. Mr. Eagle mentioned that we have some of the incoming Councilmembers present as well, so they can come see him and discuss it with him also. 2. 10-0243 Briefing on War Memorial Stadium Roof Repairs Presented by John Eagle, Assistant City Manager. Mayor Ward stated the next item is a briefing on the War Memorial Stadium roof repairs. The City Manager stated that the War Memorial Stadium is currently undergoing a roof replacement that is not expected to be completed until after the current baseball season despite our best efforts to try to have that completed by that point, so we wanted to provide a briefing for the Council and the community that includes a background and some explanation as to what is coming and why it takes as long as it does to get it completed. She stated we also wanted to provide information on some of the mitigation strategies we’re using to assist during the season with the construction phase that we are going through. She stated John Eagle will present to Council once again and give an update on that project. City of Hampton, VA Page 5 of 26 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes Councilman Kearney thanked Vice Mayor Spencer for bringing this to the table. He said before Mr. Eagle started his presentation, he thought it was a good idea for the City Manager to mention the history of how the roof got to this state because it used to be co- owned, but now is strictly under the City of Hampton. He asked the City Manager to address that. The City Manager said she would touch on that and that Mr. Eagle would be going through the history of the roof itself and why it needed to be replaced. She explained what Councilman Kearney was referring to for the benefit of the larger public is that the War Memorial Stadium has been managed by the Peninsula Stadium Authority for many years and until recently the Peninsula Stadium Authority was co-managed, co-appointed by the Cities of Hampton and Newport News. She said through a variety of changes, about a year or two ago, in 2008 we transitioned to the City, through our appointments to the Peninsula Stadium Authority, having complete ownership of the facility. We do many events there, of course people are familiar with the Peninsula Pilots which are opening on Thursday evening but we also do Peninsula tournaments for softball and baseball for our high schools, the apprentice school uses the facility and of course the facility is made available for other kinds of community events. It is indeed a facility that is important to our larger community and it is a big part of our recreational asset program and it was with that in mind that the maintenance of the facility is essentially the City’s responsibility. It is a community asset made available for multitudes of events as of 2008. Up until that point, it was co-owned. She asked Mr. Eagle to give some specifics about the facility itself and the roof itself in terms of what happened there and why it needs to be replaced at this point. Mr. Eagle stated for the members of the public who aren’t aware, the War Memorial Stadium was built back in 1947 and came on line in 1948 as a training ground for the Brooklyn Dodgers. It is a magnificent asset to the community and as the City Manager mentioned, tomorrow May 27, 2010, is the opening night for the Peninsula Pilots. He said some members of the community may have seen the Peninsula district playoff games last week, and that was also written about in the paper and the shipyard Apprentice School uses the stadium and other community events are held there. He stated there is an upcoming event that the Bay Days foundation is putting together for the disadvantaged and disabled for a special baseball camp. Mr. Eagle stated he has heard some thoughts expressed that the community was becoming concerned about the condition of the stadium especially the way it looks currently, so he wanted to assure both Councilmembers and the public that this is a temporary situation. He further stated that the roof itself has undergone several repairs over the years. He stated that it’s a 60 year old facility and the nor’easter in November caused the authority to become concerned because the roof was really starting to show its age and they approached the then City Manager, Jim Oliver, who came out and took a look at it and from that we commissioned a study from Hudson and Associates. Their report revealed that the roof had become a danger and recommended it come down immediately. He explained the City took steps to do that and had that done as quickly as possible so as not to impact any of the events that were getting ready to take place, which at that time was probably the Apprentice School season. Mr. Eagle said currently the roof is down and all that is remaining overhead are the steel stints that support the roof and at that time we weren’t sure that those were going to be City of Hampton, VA Page 6 of 26 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes able to be reused but he is pleased to report that a structural engineer analyzed them and certified that they are indeed in good shape, so they will be reused. He added that they are in the process of being scraped and painted. He said we had hoped the paint would be there before tomorrow, but the painting contractors are behind in their preparation work to make sure that they do a good job. Mr. Eagle stated that after the roof came down, the process of getting the roof replaced began, but it is an involved process. He said an engineering study has to be done. He stated that it is a very large structure and it is not like the roof of a house and there’s a lot of weight to support and there’s some architectural aspects that the community wants to be sure remain intact with a facility of this character and this nature. He stated that the good news is that this is underway, but it is a 60 day process which started the first of May, and is expected to be completed by the end of June. He stated at that point, we are going to get bids as required, and we should have a contractor on board by the middle of July. He said at that point, it is our hope that we get construction started. The construction phase can proceed fairly quickly but we do have some challenges to try to work out because this is in the middle of the Peninsula Pilots baseball season. Mr. Eagle mentioned that Mr. Michael Hodges, Senior Construction Engineer, has been very much involved in this process but is out of town today, so Mr. Ron Sterling, Senior Civil Engineer Project Manager, is available for any engineering questions. He added, Mr. Sterling isn’t terribly up to speed on this specific project, but he is here to answer questions of an engineering nature. Mr. Eagle stated that during construction, we will work with contractors to see how much we can accomplish through roping off certain sections and doing what we can to have that happen concurrently with the season. He added, we are looking at several mitigation strategies that have to deal with making sure the public is aware of what is going on because if the public shows up tomorrow night, opening night, May 27, 2010, we want them to be aware. He stated for example they are going to be making several announcements over the PA system during the course of the game and letting folks know what is going on, and there are going to be signs that will be at the gate that say something to the effect of excuse our mess while we are replacing the roof. He mentioned, the Authority considered getting tarps temporarily covering the roof, but it was in consultation with engineering who thought that would not work because of the very large surface area. He explained that the stints are so far apart, it creates issues of how to drain the water off, etc. Mr. Eagle stated we did contact the Daily Press. He stated he spoke personally with Mr. Dave Johnson, the gentleman who wrote the stories and covered the Peninsula District baseball games, and he assured him that they are going to run an article tomorrow conveying this same information to coincide with opening day. He said we will be sending e-news and doing other things to make the public aware of what is going on at the War Memorial Stadium. Mr. Eagle stated he would close explaining one idea that was in the works. He explained that we are exploring a more robust campaign capitalizing on the roofless or topless aspect and encouraging baseball fans to see the Peninsula Pilots roofless or topless. We have engaged a local business about sponsoring an effort to make it an interesting and memorable year as we hope to get the roof back into its pristine state and continue to have this wonderful asset in our community. City of Hampton, VA Page 7 of 26 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes Mr. Eagle asked if there were any questions. Councilman Kearney asked Mr. Eagle to address the fact that the Apprentice School plays there and the year before last they were the National champions in their league and are contenders every year under the leadership of Hamptonian Brian Cave. He stated he wanted to discuss the press box. He stated we’ve also asked the Apprentice School to get involved in the design. He asked Mr. Eagle to enlighten the Council and the public. Mr. Eagle stated he had one slide and promised not to do any power point but this is Q- Designs early concept drawing of what it would look like. He stated it pretty much holds to what was out there previously with the exception of the press box that looks more up to date. The idea is that having a more up to date press box allows us to look at other league events that the stadium could reach out and host. He further explained that the press box is a phase two type project. He said it is being designed as part of the contract with Q-Design that did this concept drawing as well as doing all of the engineering work for the roof. With that design, it is our hope that we can approach some other community partners about how we might go about funding a much improved and state of the art press box than what was there previously. Councilman Washington asked Mr. Eagle if the materials that are going to be used for the roof are going to be such that we’re going to have to replace the roof every five or ten years or so or will it be a sustainable effort in that regard. Mr. Eagle stated that this should be a 20 year roof minimum. He explained that there is a specification that the engineers work by but even with that, the previous roof lasted 60 years with repairs, so this should be of the same quality. Councilman Washington asked if it would be tin or whether it would be some other type of material. Mr. Eagle explained this would still utilize the joist and the wood structure that was there previously, so it should be of the same or similar quality. Councilwoman Leary asked Mr. Eagle if he said there was a gentleman there that is an engineer with a consulting firm, because she would like to ask him a question. Mr. Eagle replied that Mr. Sterling is with the City’s Engineering Division and he is not versed in this project. He said he only had him here because Mr. Hodges couldn’t make it, but if you had an engineering question perhaps he could answer it. Councilwoman Leary said she does have a question, but would like to ask for an electronic copy of the consultant’s report. She said she heard him say they were going to paint and they are talking about the steel. She asked Mr. Eagle to please make sure that the paint is something with a rust retardant. She expressed that we faced that problem before with one of the garages that was built here in the City which did not have a rust retardant on it, so she wanted to make sure that this can last as long as possible. New Business City of Hampton, VA Page 8 of 26 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes Mayor Ward said the City Manager had some things she wanted to tell us about the Community Services Board (CSB) voucher program. She said we’ve all gotten a lot of emails and read about the budgetary challenges facing the CSB and we all have a lot of empathy and concern for the families that have been affected. Mayor Ward stated that the City Manager would give a briefing. The City Manager stated we did brief Council on this as we were adopting our budget just as the City staff was learning about the CSB decision in balancing their budget which, as a reminder, was generated by State budget cuts. She explained the local governments effectively did not impact the CSB’s operating budget. She said there were some minor adjustments that both Hampton and Newport News made for programs that were no longer continuing at the CSB, but our local contribution effectively remained the same. She said they did, however, receive significant cuts from the State, particularly in the areas of State general fund contributions and just as we had to make tough budget decisions, they then had to make some tough budget decisions as well. We learned of those just as we were getting ready to adopt our budget and we gave you a briefing of what we understood would be going on with the voucher program that you’ve been hearing a lot about. She stated she has asked Mr. Chuck Hall, Executive Director of the CSB, to be here at the next meeting as she understands several of you had questions you wanted asked directly of him, but in the meantime she wanted to give a very quick update as the Mayor indicated what is going on here so that you might be able to answer questions. The City Manager added that Mr. James Gray, Assistant City Manager, has prepared a one page handout that captures the issues and the points we’ve been making as staff to those who have contacted us about the program. The City Manager said there are currently 72 voucher recipients in this voucher program. What this voucher program does in effect is provide support for adult children with disabilities to be able to attend day support services. She explained day support services can be a variety of things, in some cases they involve employment services and other cases they involve supervised activity, but what the program allows the recipients to do is to remain living at home with an adult caretaker as opposed to having to go to a State institution. This enables, for instance, parents to continue to care for their children but work because they have day support for these adult children with disabilities and or to get a respite considering some of the caretakers of these individuals are aged and they can’t do it 24 hours a day, seven days a week. She reiterated that the program enables families to keep their loved ones at home and not send them to a State institution. The City Manager stated that the alternate way for these services to be provided is through a program called Medicaid Waiver. She explained that what the Medicaid waiver does is provide via Federal Medicaid dollars the same funds that the CSB voucher has provided. Virtually all, not 100%, but virtually all of the 72 voucher recipients are entitled to receive Medicaid or Medicaid waiver slots, assuming that they are available. She explained that referring to virtually all, there are some who would not meet the financial assistance test. Some for instance who have trust funds that provide money each month for their care and in that case, they would not qualify for the Medicaid assistance, but they could pay for these services directly. The CSB voucher has been providing $30 per day. Some of the services cost up to $50 a day and the agencies that provide them have been subsidizing them through their fund raising City of Hampton, VA Page 9 of 26 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes efforts. She stated they all qualify from a disability standpoint for Medicaid, assuming they didn’t have a trust to provide for their care, they could qualify for Medicaid. She explained that what she thinks most people don’t understand in the newspaper coverage is that everyone of these who qualify for Medicaid, which is virtually all of them, could go tomorrow to a State institution which costs the State roughly $200,000 a year. She stated it is not as though these families would be without service, they could have care immediately at a State institution, however, it is generally agreed by most people that the State institution is not necessarily the preferred way for many people to get service, if they are able to keep their adult child in home with support, they want to do that and we as a community tend to encourage that. She stated it is better for the family and it is also financially better for the taxpayer for that to happen. The City Manager stated the interesting dichotomy we find ourselves in is that State would in essence pay immediately for these families to go into a State institution and in fact from time to time, family members will get to the point where they no longer can care for their adult children, they may go into a nursing home themselves, they may unfortunately pass away, they just may get to the point where they can’t continue to make it work. She explained in those situations, the child then goes to the State institution. She added the even more interesting aspect of this is it cost the State more to do that service and their bed space is limited. Because the individual is automatically qualified for a State institution, many times when they go to the State institution, they are immediately given the Medicaid Waiver. She reiterated that the Medicaid Waiver is the vehicle by which they can get day support services or other residential placements that are less intensive and closer in community to a family than a State institution might be. The City Manager discussed the two types of Medicaid Waivers: a waiver that you would get if you are going to go to a State institution is called a Residential Waiver. It is good for any type of service, residential, or day support. Another type of waiver program is a Day Support Waiver and there is currently a waiting list state wide for the Medicaid waivers for day support services. She said in the Hampton, Newport News area, there are 86 individuals in addition to the 72 that are on a Medicaid waiver waiting list. She stated many of these individuals have more severe and urgent needs than the 72 that are getting the voucher. She explained another important thing to understand about this voucher program is that what started many years ago in response to another situation relating to State general fund dollars and at that point, the people who were already in the system got the vouchers, but effectively no one else after that point got vouchers, so the only way the other people in the community have been supported is going on the Medicaid waiver waiting list and each year, the State makes a handful available. She explained further that right now there are about 12 that are available State wide for the 86 in our area and others around the State. She stated, you might ask why doesn’t the State fund the Medicaid waiver when they would have to accept them in a State institution and we could only conjecture as to why that is. She said her personal assessment is that they know that most people want to try to keep the adult children in community and family if at all possible and that people cobble together what they can cobble together to support it. The State General Fund dollars have been cut and these are the dollars that would be used in a community to provide a voucher or some alternative service if the government were so inclined to provide the service. She stated the alternative is the family can go to a State institution and in fact in conversation with Mr. Hall yesterday, he indicated that someone said they couldn’t do it anymore and started to take them to the State institution en route and the State institution said they’ve got a Medicaid waiver just like that because they couldn’t take them in the state City of Hampton, VA Page 10 of 26 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes institution. So we are dealing with an interesting dichotomy. She said she didn’t want to speak for Mr. Hall or the Community Services Board as to why they elected to go this way, but rather to make clear to you that this is a very complicated subject and she understands that we all feel compelled to try to assist in this regard because we care for the families and want the families to be able to keep loved ones at home and they need those day support services to be able to do that, however this is a State responsibility and the State is the entity that has created this dichotomy of going to a State institution to get services but be put on a waiting list for day support services and it really doesn’t make sense since the State institution services are in the $200,000 range and in this case what we’re talking about, the CSB has been supporting to the tune of $7,000 but that’s the State construct. The City Manager stated that our delegation has taken an active interest in this issue, Delegate Abbott was spearheading the effort, but all of our Delegates and Senators have agreed to sign on to a letter to the Governor pointing out some of these issues and asking the Governor to reconsider the cut to the General Fund dollars to the CSB and/or to make more Medicaid waiver slots available to the families in these situations. She asked everyone to remember it’s really not just the 72 that are in this situation. Those are the 72 that have been getting the voucher, but there are another 86 on the urgent waiting list and they’ve never had the advantage of the voucher because the voucher was a one time deal that happened based upon a historical situation many years ago and while our hearts obviously go out to the 72, the 86 are out there and they don’t have an advocate coming to you saying where are their dollars and they are in the same exact situation. She stated this is a State policy issue that needs to get some attention and needs to be resolved in favor of families staying in-community, staying in-home where the services are much cheaper for the Commonwealth. She stated the delegation intends to do this, and she has been assured that once the letter is finalized, we will get a copy and will immediately get it to all of you as well as the incoming Council people. She said she thinks it would be appropriate, should Council want to do something, for the Council to support the delegation in this effort. She stated however, that she would caution us against getting in the mode where we think we would need to make up those dollars. This is a never ending pot of money that is really the State trying to shift, in my estimation, their fiscal responsibility to local government as we have seen in many other areas. They are the ones who save money when services are provided in-community as I already pointed out with the State institution cost. She stated we need to work together with our delegation to try to resolve this at the State level in favor of the families and Mr. Hall will be available to answer any questions you have in June. The City Manager said Council has the sheet that Mr. Gray has put together for your use in answering questions and writing emails and we will continue to write and respond to every family who writes in and do all that we can on the State level, but we wanted to update Council and the public where we are in that regard. Mayor Ward thanked the City Manager and stated that her comments were very helpful. Councilman Washington stated he was appreciative of the information that the City Manager disseminated. He added that everyone has been impacted in some form or fashion because there are constituents that have been calling and are very concerned and in some cases fearful of the fact that their loved ones cannot get the service that they need or are required to have. He stated as he looked at the first paragraph on the second page that shows the individuals who are receiving the different services and from City of Hampton, VA Page 11 of 26 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes what locations, he noted that one person he has in mind in relative to this has been receiving services from the Eggleston services out at Sarah Bonwell Hudgins. He stated that he wasn’t sure if Mr. Gray was aware, but there is a community meeting that is going to be held at the CSB campus on Saturday. He stated he didn’t have all of the particulars but if someone desired to attend, they could get that information so we could disseminate it. He further expressed that there are some very concerned parents in the community that are afraid that because of the voucher being taken away that their loved ones’ services would not be provided. He stated that we need to be vigilant in our efforts to try to find any and all information on this that we possibly can and do whatever we can do to effectuate the dollars coming down from the State because they need to follow their own guidelines to get that service provided. Councilman Washington asked Mr. Gray if he had any information relative to that meeting. Mr. Gray stated he was not familiar with the meeting but he would check with the CSB or someone at the ARC, he could find out the time scheduled for the meeting and could probably attend if that would be helpful to get information to bring back to Council. Councilman Washington stated that he knows that there are going to be quite a few clients that are under the voucher program now that will be attending. He said as soon as we can get all of the necessary particulars, he would appreciate Mr. Gray disseminating that to Council so they can inform the community. Mr. Gray stated he would like to share with Council that he met with the CSB Director this morning and he is doing everything he can to try to resolve the issue and continue the voucher programs to the degree that he can. He added that as the CSB Director shared with him this morning, the funds that he uses for the voucher program have already been reduced in the current fiscal year, so he’s funding the vouchers now using other revenues. He is prepared to continue the funding as long as he can understanding that there are other strategies being looked at to try to find funding either at the Federal or State level. Mayor Ward commented that it is fair to say that between Mr. Gray and the City Manager and other staff that they are on this 150% and they have been working very hard to come to a resolution and been supported by the delegation and of the Community Services Board and been very responsive to the families, and we’ve seen all the emails. She stated she believes everybody is doing all they can and everybody is on the same page. Councilman Washington stated that he wants to let the general public know that we are doing whatever we can to try to reverse this decision if we can and if not, assure them that the services are still there and that they just may have to go through another process to receive them. Mayor Ward commented that what is really compelling about what the City Manager said is that not only are there the 72 families that have lost their vouchers potentially, but there are 86 more families with adults which may be in greater need that aren’t being served at all. She stated that is a concern, and on top of that, we are looking at a situation where the State is willing to pay $200,000 per person for residential care, but we can’t get a $7,000 voucher. She stated that is not logical. She added there’s a bigger problem beyond what we thought there was and there is a bigger institutional problem. City of Hampton, VA Page 12 of 26 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes Councilman Wallace joined the meeting at 1:37 pm. Councilman Wallace asked what happens if the program were still in existence and a family discontinues using that voucher, does it then become available for someone else or does it go away. The City Manager explained that the voucher program is not something that the State actually funds; it’s something that the CSB designed to take care of the situation. She stated that this goes back to many years ago when the ARC of the Peninsula actually ran services at Sarah Bonwell Hudgins and there was a change in service provider there and many of the families who were in attendance at ARC of the Peninsula wanted to remain with ARC of the Peninsula, so rather than the CSB continuing to put all of its State General Fund dollars into that specific site based program, they then took the people who were eligible at that time and gave them vouchers so they could take vouchers wherever they wanted to go. She further explained if they wanted to stay at Sarah Bonwell Hudgins with Eggleston, they could, if they wanted to remain with ARC of the Peninsula and go to a different location, they could. She explained, that was a onetime solution and after that point, people have not gotten vouchers. It was just to take care of the people then and there and it was a creative solution at the time, but it wasn’t meant to be a permanent fix. She further explained that the State’s permanent way of dealing with this is you get a Medicaid waiver for day support, but they have not been funding adequate numbers of slots each year so that the waiting list grows. Every year, they give a handful and Mr. Hall told her right now there are 12 and he has applied for all 12. She said there are also other people from around the State who have also applied, so he doesn’t know whether he will get 12 or some lesser number, but if there are 72 in this program and 86 on a waiting list, that doesn’t go very far. She explained the vouchers don’t get passed on to other people, where as the Medicaid waiver slots do because that is a State funded program. She stated that the part that she finds interesting that she wants to assure people, emphasizing that this is the ideal solution, if we aren’t able to restore this, if the State delegation does not restore this or the Federal money that Mr. Hall has indicated he would make available should he get it, which is federal Medicaid assistance percentage program (FMAP) he says if he gets that, he will put it towards this program. If none of that happens, worse case the family could take the child to a State institution and there’s a 99.9% chance that they will be immediately turned away with the Medicaid waiver to continue the services that they have. She stated when the Mayor was saying about the interesting dichotomy here that’s it in a nutshell because the State doesn’t have enough beds at its State institutions and it costs so much more and if a person is capable of remaining in the community then they want to keep them in the community. She added you can imagine the terrible emotional turmoil it puts a family through to get to the point where they say I can’t do it anymore. We all want to take care of our children and so they have to go through this emotional roller coaster and say I’m going to let them go to a State institution literally, get on the door step and then are told; okay we’ll fund your waiver slot. In effect, that is essentially what would happen. She stated she doesn’t like the process at all, and she thinks it needs to be fixed and we have a responsibility as a community to help our delegations fix the process. She said we will do all we can as staff to support you and delegation in that process, but we don’t want to leave people with the sense that there is nothing for these families. These families are entitled to Medicaid assuming they don’t have unique financial situations which again a handful of them do. They are entitled to Medicaid and Medicaid will support the placement in the State institution and when they go to that State institution slot, then in all likelihood, they will get the waiver slot that they need to City of Hampton, VA Page 13 of 26 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes remain in day support and they shouldn’t have to do that. She stated the State ought to come up with a Medicaid waiver slot to keep them in day support at $7,200 a year from the get go and we’ll work to do all that we can to help that process. Councilman Wallace asked how long that process takes once it is initiated. The City Manager stated that it can vary. She explained, when she spoke to Mr. Hall, the most recent case when that happened, the person already had their Medicaid eligibility and they called up the State institution and they got the waiver immediately. She further explained that some haven’t taken the steps of getting Medicaid eligibility even though they are entitled to it. There are some families that even struggle with that, they don’t want to go on Federal assistance if they don’t have to even though they are legally entitled to it and it is really not about income in those cases. Some families haven’t done that and Ms. Wanda Rogers, our Social Services Director, has said that they will do everything to expedite that application. She said it is said that usually that application can take anywhere from 30-60 days but that they will make a priority with getting Medicaid eligibility for these families if they opt to go that route. Councilwoman Leary stated that there are probably people at home watching this, thinking talk is cheap. She said while she wants to remain professional, she is outraged. She said when you look at 35 people, she believes that is how many that we have in this program, using 35 as a number to start with, if 35 people that are in day situations are put into a State facility which we know they don’t have, you are looking at 7 million dollars, and somebody doesn’t know how to do a budget if they have 12 slots open for the whole State and those 12 slots cost $200,000 a piece. The City Manager apologized for not being clear. She explained that there are two different slots. There are day support waivers and there are 12 of those, then there are residential waivers that they use when someone comes to State institutions who they believe can be serviced in the community. She stated that is a different pot altogether. She explained they don’t give those out until you go to a State institution. Councilwoman Leary said but that is where the individual got an instant waiver. The City Manager confirmed that is correct, the second pot and they have more than 12 of those State wide, but it isn’t given until the person shows up on the door of the State institution. Councilwoman Leary said instead of pushing the parents to do something, she thinks we should do something. She would like the opportunity to look at the pages that were given Council for reference. She stated she sees where the CSB is preparing a letter for the Governor for the legislative delegation of Newport News and Hampton asking for the restoration of $406,420. She stated that she’d like to help to support that by issuing some type of letter from Council that we are in support of these funds because of the number of families that this is going to impact. She added, she wouldn’t have a problem hand delivering it. She said she knows we are going to depend on our delegation to do that. Mayor Ward commented that we are all equally outraged and what particularly is outrageous is that we don’t think these families should have to go to the door step of the State institution when it is exponentially cheaper to provide them the vouchers for care. City of Hampton, VA Page 14 of 26 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes She further stated that the point of the whole conversation is that it is much more complicated than to ask them to fill this one hole because then there are still 86 families that aren’t being served, so we think we should come up with a global solution to the problem and our State delegation is the right body to achieve that global solution because in order to fix this, we are going to have to work with the State. She reiterated that filling the hole for these 72 families does not begin to address the problem which you are outraged about which is that in order to get a waiver for those 86 families, they have to put their child in residential care, so asking them to fill that $420,000 hole doesn’t begin to address the enormity of the problem. She stated that is why we need to work with our State delegation to get all of the facts out and make sure the community knows what all the facts are and work on a global solution that will solve the problem for all of the families, all 158 families and not just the 72. She stated that is what the City Manager is talking about and we have to work with our State delegation to get the problem solved. Councilwoman Leary stated that she agreed, but it sounds very simple that all the parents have to do is make a phone call or do this or that, but that isn’t the case when the waiting list is so huge. She stated she read somewhere that there are 5,100 people State wide that are trying to get these types of vouchers. She said she would hate to stand in that line. She said she would like Council to do anything possible to be more proactive. The City Manager stated for clarification, she would be glad to provide a draft letter for all of Council to sign and she was alluding to the fact that she thought once we saw what the delegations said, we ought to stand behind them and she intended fully for a letter to be part of that. She said she did not mean to suggest that it was simple and all people needed to do was go through this process, as she tried to note that this is a terribly emotionally draining decision and families shouldn’t have to go through that. She said she was trying to explain the fact that the State policy does not make sense because if someone can just show up on a doorstep and be given one, then they should be given one outright, and not be put through that process. She said she has theories about why they do that but it doesn’t matter what her theories are, what matters is that we try to fix the process. She said she thinks that is what the delegation is trying to do and she agrees that Council should support it once she sees what the delegation does and how they tell her how we can be most effective in supporting them, she will be with you asking you to sign a letter, appear before committees, whatever it is that we need to do, but we should take our lead from them in terms of supporting what they are doing to try to rectify this. Councilman Wallace stated we need to get the parents thoroughly educated, as most of them probably are, in that particular process and solicit their help and advocacy with the General Assembly delegation in terms of that particular problem so that there is a community and global sense of urgency for the issue as opposed to just us and this small body. Mayor Ward stated that we also need to work with the City of Newport News because half of the families live there. Councilman Washington asked to clarify something. He stated that the meeting is going to be held at the CSB is tomorrow (Thursday instead of Saturday) at 5:00 if anyone is interested in attending. He added that they can get some additional information relative City of Hampton, VA Page 15 of 26 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes to this subject matter as well. He stated that he wanted to make sure that he got the correct information out. Mayor Ward asked if anyone else had anything under that topic. Councilman Kearney said he would like for the record to see if there is any Council support. He stated he attended the meeting for the Fort Monroe Federal Area Development Authority (FMFADA) last week as did Vice Mayor Spencer and Councilman Wallace and he appreciated that very much and it is being followed up with a meeting with Mr. Bruce Sturk, Director of Federal Facilities and Mr. Bill Armbruster, Executive Director of the Fort Monroe Federal Area Development Authority tomorrow. He explained it is for setting the goals and direction for the changeover July 1st and he would like to keep the City Manager and Council updated as we move forward with that. He said he would be immediately talking to the Mayor and keeping her abreast of what is happening too. Councilman Kearney stated that there are four items that he wanted to discuss only to the point that he would like to have some future discussions with the entire Council. The first is we received on April 14th the breakdown from Ms. Lesa Yeatts, Senior Deputy City Attorney, on how we pay for the dredging, and he requested that we look into that further, especially the dredging of the Salt Ponds. He stated we are getting to the point where it is filling in again; it keeps filling in and not only is the main channel going in, it’s also going back to Colonial Acres. He stated obviously the legal intent now is who is responsible to keep it open. He said we should get the new members of Council as well as current City Councilmembers involved as to what our plan is for maintaining that because one of the figures that was given was that it was going to take about $280,000 to open up that one channel and the remaining area would be $1.8 million over a 10 year period. He stated that we need to address whether or not that is a responsibility belonging to the City of Hampton and he isn’t saying it is, but originally Mr. Bob O’Neill, former City Manager, said it wasn’t our responsibility and now it seems to be changing. He added, if it is changing, we need to discuss as a Council, be it now or at a retreat, how we are going to try to pay for that and that was one of the reasons he supported the boat tax because he thought that money could go into help defray that cost. Mayor Ward stated that she along with Ms. Cynthia Hudson, City Attorney, and the City Manager went on a tour of the channel by boat Monday. She said they started at Colonial Acres and they are working with the community to come up with a plan to sit down with them and discuss it and also the City Manager does have an idea of coming up with a global way of dealing with these issues. Councilman Kearney said he had no doubt that they would, but the people that are involved with this, residents along all the shores who are going to receive the benefits of the dredging as are the people back in the Salt Ponds are willing to work hand in hand. He said he didn’t think there is a negative group there, but we need to get Council on board as a body as to what our responsibilities are going to be. Councilman Kearney said the second issue is that there has been a lot of discussion relative to Kearney Park. He said he would like to be afforded some time later that we could as a Council could talk. He mentioned Councilwoman Leary made a comment about it too. He explained it is bigger than just actually redoing that park. He stated today, he couldn’t attend the meeting we were having. He said we were meeting with City of Hampton, VA Page 16 of 26 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes the homeless people under Chris Jacobson’s leadership. Chris is the Vice President of the Phoebus Civic Association and a downtown merchant and among other things as Councilman Kearney knows with the computer technology. We are trying to touch on all of this to decide what it is that we need to do and how to do it. He stated to the City Manager that there is a tremendous need for police presence there. He said he knows that our men and women have so much more to do than just patrol an area, but the homeless are actually bringing their coolers, bringing their lawn chairs and sitting there on the sidewalk. He stated that there must be rules that we have against obstructing the walkways and the right of ways like that and it just needs to be addressed. He stated it is getting worse, it’s not getting better and that’s why we are having the meeting with the people who are actually in the park. He stated that there are a couple who are there that he grew up with and has known over the years and that they were at one time very vibrant fisherman living in the community and because of a lot of circumstances have gone there way, they are in this situation. He stated those individuals want to help too. He said he will keep Council abreast of that, but he thinks we need time to talk about the Kearney Park situation named for Judge Frank A. Kearney, not Ross Kearney. Councilman Washington added Ms. Lilly May Jones called Councilman Kearney and was supposed to call the City Manager about that very subject matter because she has some insight relative to that as well. The City Manager said she hasn’t spoken with her, but that she would follow up with her as well. Councilman Kearney stated that she is a wonderful lady and very involved in all areas. Councilman Kearney stated that the third area that he has is that he would like for Council to have a report as to how recruiting is going for volunteer fire and rescue. He stated Jimmy Gray had gotten that for him. He said he knows that they are working and they have numbers on the sheet and he hopes that other Councilmembers received it and if not, he hopes they would get the information about how many people are being interviewed and so forth but somehow the boat we are missing is we need to go down and go to these young people we have in our four high schools. He stated that there are young people who are not going to college that if we can make this available to them that they could become a paramedic or a fireman and could go into the volunteer service and then open the doors for service in the Defense Department, the military and also with the civilian fire and rescue squads across the Commonwealth. He stated that he knows there are people in the room here that agree with him in the sense that not everybody is going to go to college and we need to do something, but this is one mechanism we have set up right now that if we had the report and had a chance to discuss it when we are not really hurried that we could maybe get a consensus from the Council and the new Council that we need to step forward and do what we have to do to reach out to these young men and women. He stated he knows that we are restrained, too, by law as to their age involvement, but we need to address and discuss it if we can. Councilman Kearney stated that the last thing that he had is on the capital projects. He stated on March 24th, we received from Mr. Lynn Allsbrook, the Acting Director of Public Works, our capital projects. He stated he isn’t being critical of Ms. Bunting, the current City Manager or Jesse Wallace, the former City Manager, or anybody else but years ago we used to set time aside when we spent a day in a work session where we listed the capital projects that we had. He stated some of them have been on the books for almost City of Hampton, VA Page 17 of 26 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes 50 years, like the Phoebus Improvement was on the books for almost 50 years before the street scaping was ever done. He said there are other projects like that that we’ve been promised this and that, but there are projects like that all over the community. He said we need to discuss them as a body and where the staff would say these are the priorities we have, and this is why they are that way knowing it may change should we have a disaster or something, but he would like for them to talk about that so it doesn’t become a blindsided item with Council. Why didn’t we do this, or why didn’t we do that and we can help set goals and maybe even aid you more in the job that you have to do. He said he would like to see something like that come out either prior to or during or after the retreat. He said he thinks it will be very helpful, too, not only to the Councilmembers and staff, but to the public in general. Councilman Wallace said he would like to echo some of the sentiment that Councilman Kearney just mentioned, but he wanted to add to it. He stated that we have spent a lot of time in the last couple of years on dredging and shoreline protection. He said he would like to see us consider adopting a policy of a dollar for dollar expenditure for curbs and gutters in other communities similar to the policy on dredging and shoreline protection. He stated the same arguments made in terms of property value, maintenance, getting people to live in your community, a desirable community, Waterfront, the same rationales could be made in terms of improving the curbs and gutters in those other communities. He said that could also be a future discussion. Councilman Wallace stated Councilman Kearney mentioned remedies for Kearney Park. He said in the deliberations that we have for fixing the issues associated with the park, part of the issue is with the veterans. He suggested trying to find another way to accommodate the veterans. He added, one of the ideas he had was maybe we can get the veterans to be volunteer firemen, because that would give them some place to go and something to do. He added, it may be farfetched, but just something he thought he’d mention. Mayor Ward said it is good to share ideas and that is what the work session is for. Councilwoman Leary stated she appreciated Councilman Kearney bringing up about the dredging of Salt Ponds because yesterday she spent a couple of hours out in Elizabeth Lakes looking at the Bromley area drainage, Bromley and Bird Westra. She stated that there are issues with Salt Ponds and there are Salt Ponds, the long creek waterway association that has just started, she visited Southall Landing, Fox Hill, Bell Arena, White Marsh, Grand View, Pastures, Riverdale, Langley Air Force Base, the Peninsula shore line protection, Peninsula Shore Line Protection Task Force, Aberdeen last weekend and New Market. She said she decided when talking with people in Elizabeth Lakes, that she is going to set July as a time for her to try to get representatives from each one of these areas to discuss what needs to be done holistically for the entire City, not just on Bromley, not just on the dredging at Salt Ponds, not just at Factory Point, but the entire City, because she doesn’t think that people really understand that everything that crosses up here, that protective barrier shoreline we’ve talked about it ad nauseam but the citizens when they look at the maps can see that from Factory Point to Fort Monroe, all of that area protects what’s to the south of it which is the rest of our City. She stated all of these small tributaries and drainage ditches play an important role in what we are talking about. She stated last weekend when she was at Aberdeen listening to the people, they understand the situation. She said, for the first time, Mr. James Peterson, Assistant City Manager, presented her with how the City has been divided up into four City of Hampton, VA Page 18 of 26 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes main water sheds. She explained that she would like to have an educational process as well as a study that will help our citizens understand how the whole City drains. She said Mr. Peterson has given her an outfall ditch of every place in this City where water drains. She stated that will help our citizens understand the importance of not sweeping their grass into the storm drains and that type of thing. She said she knows that we’ve talked about the dredging of Salt Ponds but she wants to see something on the latest consultant reports that we have on shoreline protection. She explained she is talking about electronically; she doesn’t want anybody to fix a notebook for her or anything. She said she would like to have the latest consultant report on shoreline protection and what our maintenance schedule looks like as far as shoreline maintenance, something about storm water management and some type of storm water maintenance list, drainage management and a drainage list. She said when Councilman Kearney was Mayor, he and she attended a meeting at the Northhampton Association and at that time, the question was raised where is the drainage schedule and the Public Works Director at that time said it was in Pat Rays head which caused both Mr. Kearney and her to ask questions where is something that the citizens can see and look at possibly on line so that they can see when we are going to get to their area of the City to work on drainage. She said she plans on addressing this in July once the new Council is sworn in and there are meetings that are inclusive of everybody because its not just one single area that has a problem, it’s the whole City. She said she doesn’t think we are going to solve anything unless we look at it from an overall standpoint and she would like for you to drive down Salem Drive where the City has just recently put in a drainage system there. The problem is on trash pick up day, it is difficult to get down that street because the road is not 20 feet wide and the ditches are now concrete and if you put your car too close, its going to slide into that drainage ditch and you may lose your transmission, probably drive shaft and a few other things. She said she spoke to Lynn Allsbrook, Acting Director of Public Works, about it, he understands the dangers she thinks are involved that anybody walking down the street might fall in a concrete area because the lighting isn’t that good anyway and two, it is going to take an extreme amount of maintenance because when people rake their yards, or leaves fall or gumballs, its going to go directly into that concrete and add to the drainage issues. She stated, we’ve got a problem there and she hopes Council will drive by to see what she is referring to. Mayor Ward said one of the things she said when Councilman Kearney spoke was that the City Manager is looking at a global perspective on how to deal with this. She asked Councilwoman Leary to give the City Manager the chance to do that. She added, obviously she only came on the job January 1st, and we just got through the most difficult budget year maybe in the history of the City and she is working on a plan for us to work with the new Council in reference to how to move forward in dealing with these issues. She asked if Councilwoman Leary would coordinate with the City Manager. She stated, Councilwoman Leary can have all the community meetings she wants , but sometimes the citizens get confused if she goes out by herself and has these meetings and the City Manager is working on something else here globally with staff, then it can be confusing for the citizens about where to go and what is going on. She reiterated that it would be great to coordinate with the City Manager’s office and give her a chance to take this ball and run with it because she is working on it and it is only May, so she needs to be given a chance to work on the problem. Councilwoman Leary stated that she doesn’t have any problem doing that. She added that she is good at citizen engagement and the City Manager can tell that from the meetings they had, but what she would like to do is to remove the sting that people are City of Hampton, VA Page 19 of 26 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes feeling about these issues not being addressed the way they think they should be and she believes that if we get two representatives from each one of these eleven different organizations, that we can work on something in a collaborative effort and that is what she wants the City Manager to have an opportunity to do. Councilwoman Leary stated another thing she wanted to state is Councilman Wallace brought up the fact that he wants curbs and gutters in every neighborhood and she agreed; however, she feels curbs and gutters are not the answer to managing storm water and drainage. She explained that is why she is asking to please go look at the new drainage system that is on Salem because we can’t do that throughout the City because our Risk Management people would go crazy. Mayor Ward stated it would probably be best if Councilwoman Leary and the City Manager discussed it later and let her take the ball and run with it. She also stated that Councilwoman Leary could get with the City Manager about the Citizen Engagement piece and she agreed that Councilwoman Leary would be a great help with that. She reiterated to let the City Manager schedule these meetings and coordinate this effort and Councilwoman Leary is involved, but she thinks it would be less confusing for the citizens. She stated the City Manager is working on this and we should give her the opportunity to do so as the City Manager and to allow her to get all of Council and staff involved and try to address it and come up with our global solution. Councilwoman Leary responded that she appreciates that, but when citizens call her, she responds to them as quickly as possible. Mayor Ward explained that she wasn’t suggesting that Councilwoman Leary not respond, but that she was trying to give the City Manager a chance to come up with a solution that all of Council and her staff can participate in as a team, rather than having separate meetings addressing citizens’ concerns when she is trying to do the same thing at the same time. She explained that it makes it much more difficult for staff to address the concerns Councilwoman Leary brings forward when she is trying to do her job for all of us and on behalf of the staff and for all of the citizens at the same time. She stated that she knows that the City Manager is working on this problem and that she was just asking Councilwoman Leary to give the City Manager an opportunity as Manager to work on the problem. Councilwoman Leary responded that is why she set it up for July. Mayor Ward stated that the City Manager is not going to get it finished by July and that she doesn’t think that is enough time and it isn’t fair. Councilman Wallace stated that he was going to enroll in graduate school and take a civic engagement class so he can be as lucid and articulate as Councilwoman Leary in that particular process. He stated it was mentioned in one of the prior sessions that Council wanted to have a series of meetings in all segments of the community relative to the whole flood issue and incorporate some of the things that were in the Fire Department’s flood mitigation plan. He stated all of these are a part of that situation in terms of how we do that and he is sure the City Manager is taking that into account, but we need a citizen education process as well as to what we are capable of doing, so when we do have an issue with a six inch rain in 60 minutes or the tide is in and the water can’t go any place, people don’t understand that that is the situation, particularly City of Hampton, VA Page 20 of 26 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes when you are one and a half or two feet above sea level, so it is an education process as well as capacity situation. He stated he is sure the City Manager is going to incorporate all those issues. Mayor Ward stated that is why global perspective and approach is so important. She explained you can chop it up in pieces and talk about one thing without the other and you’re not going to come to an answer or solution. She concurred with Councilman Wallace’s example of the historic sea level rise as part of the problem. Councilman Kearney asked if we didn’t just recently get a report that the City had commissioned about the rising tides in our area. The City Manager said yes. Councilman Kearney stated he knows even with his education it has taken him quite a while to go through that and read it and stop and take notes. He further said it is really a document that covers everything from Grandview, Factory Point, all the way down including Fort Monroe and he thinks that right now he is just about where the report indicates the amount of land that is under sea level and the potential of the difficulty. He further said with that, he thinks that is one of the first stages because we had commissioned that some time ago and we finally got the report. Councilman Kearney asked how long ago we got that report. Mayor Ward stated that the report he is referring to was the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission (HRPDC) report. Councilman Kearney said no, it’s done by the City of Hampton because it applauds the City of Hampton. The City Manager stated she would have to go back, but so many dates recently have emerged. She stated we did send that recently and she agrees with Councilman Kearney. She stated she wanted to give a preview of where we were going. She said we wanted to get through the budget process before we could do this but staff has been developing a concept of a citizen task force that would look at the multiplicity of issues because they are all interrelated. She explained, we have flooding issues, we have dredging issues, and we have shoreline protection issues. She said there are different strategies for dealing with each, but they are interrelated, so we need to have a common departure point as we discuss those issues about what law allows us to do, what law does not allow us to do, what FEMA does, what FEMA doesn’t do, what the State does, what the State doesn’t do, and we wanted to have that departure point ready for the citizen engagement that we want to do. She explained that you saw that we tried to do unique civic engagement around the budget process, but that wasn’t just for the budget process, it was for working on a multiplicity of issues and the next one we wanted to take on was waterway management dealing with the three subcomponents mentioned and it does need to be staff and citizens working together both in understanding the issue as well as developing strategies that the community can get behind and support, some of which will be government’s responsibility, some of which will be individual home owner responsibility, some of which will be State and Federal responsibility. She stated she was planning to come to you very shortly with a plan for citizen engagement around each of those topics with that baseline data so we can all begin with a common departure point. City of Hampton, VA Page 21 of 26 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes Councilman Kearney stated that is what he was getting to and the two reports that Council has gotten in the past two weeks was one that was commissioned by the City of Hampton (FEMA insurance report) , and the other was done by the HRPDC. He stated in his reading the information was telling the local citizen of the responsibility they have because we were in a situation that really can not be remedied by let’s put a band aid on this or put a band aid on that. He further stated we are suffering an area where the Chesapeake Bay is dropping and we’re having a rising tide. He agreed with the City Manager saying all these things are connected, but now there is a responsibility that comes to the citizens and his point is when we finally get down to discussing this, we are going to have to include the members of the General Assembly because what they’ve got to do is allow us to redo some of the laws that let the property owner who lives on the water protect his land. He stated that right now, living down by Mill Creek, he isn’t allowed to build his rip rap up that would protect his property because the wetlands does not permit him to do so, it was permitted years ago, but not now. He explained this means if you have flooding, then there is flooding not only on his property, but on the properties behind him going all the way back to Mallory Street. He said we could take care of it if we had an allowance to do that. He said it is a very big and complicated situation and the data is now coming out that shows us how complicated it is. He stated, it’s not just simply global warming, there’s a whole lot to it. Mayor Ward said that is why she said this is so important and suggested at some point to look at it in a global perspective. Councilwoman Leary stated that Councilman Kearney brought up a very good point that we did have a report regarding rising tides. She stated there was also a group of us including our Wetlands Board that went to the Virginia Institute of Marine Science Forum called Shifting Sands where Lee Rosenberg was one of the presenters at that meeting. She explained Lee Rosenberg is with the City of Norfolk and has been with them for over 20 years. She stated she and the Wetlands Board have asked for the City to bring Lee Rosenberg here to the Wetlands Board. She added, he doesn’t have to make a report here, he can make it to the Wetlands Board and let us film that and then a disc of that could be given to the City Council to review. She explained it is a very important report that shows how Norfolk and Virginia Beach both saved $63 million and $83 million respectively from the storm consequences with Isabel by being proactive about their shoreline. She explained she is trying to be proactive. She said she has said this before, but she is going to say it again in front of the public that she doesn’t represent this Council, she doesn’t represent the staff, she doesn’t work for this Council, and she doesn’t work for the staff, she works for the people who elected her, these individuals have personally asked her for a meeting to try to draw all of the individuals and players together that are suffering so greatly in Poquoson, the Langley area, Newport News and Hampton. She explained further that is what she has been working on for the past five years and it has come to that culmination now. She said she wants to move forward because June 1st is the beginning of hurricane season and she can’t tell these people she isn’t going to work with them and listen to what they have to say because the City Manager is not ready. She said she is going to be ready by July, she is ready now, but she needs to give these individuals the opportunity to make plans for their vacation. She added that she is not trying to be disrespectful in any way whatsoever; she is just trying to convey what she believes her responsibility is as a grass roots person that happened to be elected to this body. She said she wants to work as a team, and she is trying to address this from a global perspective, but she really would, for the record, love for Mr. City of Hampton, VA Page 22 of 26 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes Rosenberg to come here at our request and meet with our Wetlands Board and let our public see what he is talking about, what we’ve already had the privilege to see. Mayor Ward stated that her request was based on all of us working together for the citizens and she agrees with Councilwoman Leary that that is what we are all here for and that is to try to help the citizens in the best way. She further stated that she thinks the best way to do that is as a unit together and to allow the City Manager to do her job, so we just disagree on how to get from point A to point B, but we are all here for the same reason. Councilman Gilliland stated that on the issue of flooding and the meetings that Councilwoman Leary is planning and that the City Manager is trying to put together, he thinks all seven Councilmembers and certainly the newly elected members can all stake a pretty good claim to Civic Engagement. He stated that is how you get elected; you get citizens to do something, mainly vote for you. He stated that it seems to him that there is no doubt that if staff and the resources of the City are allowed to do the work that they can do to pull together information and schedule the meetings, if all seven Councilmembers and the new members coming in would commit to the kind of Civic Engagement that each of us is capable of, we could have a great turn out for those meetings and show some unity around solving this issue. He further stated he thinks that is something the citizens want. He thinks they want to see a unified Council addressing these issues, so he would just encourage that we allow the staff to do the work that they are capable of using the resources of the City to pull together a well orchestrated presentation for the community on all of these issues and that we play the role that we are very good at which is engaging the people that we represent. He said in his opinion, if all seven Councilmembers did all of that together with all of the arrows pointed in the same direction, with all of them pulling on the oars at the same time, there will be a better result, so he encourages Council to do that if possible. Councilman Gilliland stated that he wanted people to know that Edith Jones who has been the Executive Director at STOP, the organization that is responsible for a lot of things, but in particular the weatherization assistance program for the majority of Hampton Roads, passed away this week. He said she is an icon and a legend in what she does and what she has done literally her entire life working with that community action agency. He said he would like a proclamation prepared and given to the family. He said she was so big in Norfolk that Paul Fraim had an Edith Jones Day. He stated she has just been a remarkable woman and she touched thousands and thousands of people. Mayor Ward asked Councilman Gilliland to get with Ms. Tammy Lee, Deputy Clerk, and give her the details, we will be happy to prepare a proclamation. Mayor Ward stated that she wanted to let everybody know that the Executive Director of the Hampton Roads Military and Federal Facilities Alliance, Frank Roberts, resigned last week, so there will be a search on for a new Executive Director for the organization. She stated that she believes his resignation date is in August. Closed Meeting City of Hampton, VA Page 23 of 26 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes 3. 10-0223 Closed session as provided in Virginia Code Section 2.2-3711.A.1, .3 and .7 APPROVED Motion made by: Councilmember Paige V. Washington, Jr. Seconded by: Councilmember Ross A. Kearney, II Ayes: 7 - Randall A. Gilliland, Ross A. Kearney, II, Angela Lee Leary, Joseph H. Spencer, II, George E. Wallace, Paige V. Washington, Jr., Molly Joseph Ward Nays: 0 . 10-0228 to discuss the acquisition or disposition of real property in the Shell Road, Downtown, and North King Street areas where discussion in open session would adversely affect the city's negotiating strategy or bargaining position. NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0229 to receive a briefing pertaining to probable litigation. NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0227 to discuss a personnel matter involving the Fire and Rescue Department NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0226 to consider nominations to the Virginia Municipal League 2010 Policy Committees NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0241 to discuss appointments to the Ad Hoc Leadership Group. NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0240 to discuss an appointment to the Board of Zoning Appeals. NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0242 to discuss an appointment to the Finance Committee NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0244 to consider appointments to the Martin Luther King, Jr. and Local Civil Rights Leaders Memorial Working Committee NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0245 to discuss appointments to the Hampton Redevelopment and Housing Authority City of Hampton, VA Page 24 of 26 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0246 to consult with legal counsel employed by the City regarding legal procedure for Council agenda preparation and Council personnel issues NO ACTION REQUIRED Certification 4. 10-0224 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; 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 Motion made by: Councilmember Ross A. Kearney, II Seconded by: Councilmember Paige V. Washington, Jr. Ayes: 5 - Ross A. Kearney, II, Angela Lee Leary, Joseph H. Spencer, II, Paige V. Washington, Jr., Molly Joseph Ward Nays: 0 City of Hampton, VA Page 25 of 26 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes Adjournment _____________________ Molly Joseph Ward Mayor __________________________ Katherine K. Glass, CMC Clerk of Council Date approved by Council ______________________ City of Hampton, VA Page 26 of 26 Printed on 8/24/2010