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, June 9, 2010 1:03 PM Council Chambers, 8th Floor, City Hall CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Molly Joseph Ward presided Present: Randall A. Gilliland, Ross A. Kearney, II, Joseph H. Spencer, II, George E. Wallace, Paige V. Washington, Jr. Absent: Angela Lee Leary Councilwoman Leary was not present because she was preparing to attend the Churchland High School’s 2010 graduation ceremony. Agenda 1. 10-0266 Report From Coliseum Central Business Improvement District PRESENTED by L. Elizabeth McCoury, Executive Director of the Coliseum Central Business Improvement District. She was accompanied by Raymond Tripp, General Manager of Peninsula Town Center; Frank Gladding, Riverdale; Brad Brown, Rob Brown & Associates; and Stuart Goodman, Goodman & Sons Jewelers. Mayor Ward said the first thing on the agenda is a report from the Coliseum Central Business Improvement District (BID). Ms. Mary Bunting, the City Manager, stated Ms. Elizabeth McCoury, Executive Director of the Coliseum Central BID, is here with several members of the board and she will give updates on the latest improvements and developments within the Coliseum Central area. She stated we have all been enjoying the addition of the Peninsula Town Center. She further stated that the BID works on a variety of projects and Ms. McCoury wanted to give Council an update. Ms. McCoury began her presentation by thanking Council for their leadership and vision. She recognized the board members in attendance: Mr. Raymond Tripp, General Manager of Peninsula Town Center, Mr. Frank Gladding of Riverdale Management, City of Hampton, VA Page 1 of 14 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes Chairman of Physical Improvements Committee, Mr. Brad Brown of Rob Brown and Associates who owns Coliseum Crossing and Coliseum Specialty Shops, and Mr. Stuart Goodman of Goodman and Sons Family Jewelers. Ms. McCoury stated that commercial property in the district totals nearly $765 million. This figure does not factor in all of the new development at the Peninsula Town Center. She explained many businesses have opened in the past few months, notably Frank Beamer’s American Grill opened yesterday. She stated she had recently received an invitation to the opening of the Orthopedic Hospital at Sentara Careplex scheduled for June 30th. She stated CineBistro will be opening soon and she believes everyone will be amazed at that project. Ms. McCoury stated there are three very active committees within the Coliseum Central BID and they are a committee driven organization. Ms. McCoury explained the Security committee works to address security concerns and has an excellent relationship with the Hampton Police Division. She said Coliseum Central purchased defibrillators for all of the Police cars in the BID. She explained that many times police officers are the first responders in the event of a cardiac arrest, so it is fortunate that they are equipped with that device. She stated Coliseum Central also administers a co-op security program that about a dozen of their businesses opt into that they pay extra to have off duty Hampton Police Officers at their establishments. She stated in their proposed budget that will be presented to their Board of Directors week after next, there is funding for the purchase of tasers, holsters and two Segway units for the use of officers throughout the district. Ms. McCoury stated that the Physical Improvements Committee is responsible for the enhancement of our gateways and medians; the enhanced HRT bus stops, which we maintain six days a week, and the swirling silks and banners. She stated we are anxious for the completion of our icon at Hampton Roads Center Parkway and the I-64 and Mercury Blvd. interchange landscape improvements. These locations are front doors into the District and are critical to our image. Ms. McCoury explained that the Marketing Committee is responsible for our comprehensive visual brand design plan along with our Get Centered positioning statement. Many events fall under the Marketing Committee. She invited Council to attend their monthly Roundtable Breakfast held the third Wednesday of the month at 8AM at the Holiday Inn. She stated that Committee reports are presented at every meeting, they welcome new businesses at every meeting and it is a wonderful networking opportunity. Ms. McCoury stated their first Wednesday concert series has kicked off to a great start with the Right On Band last week’s performance and The Josh Thompson band the month prior. She explained that this is one of the ways they give back to the community. She stated that Neighborhood Night Out will be held on September 18th in the Bass Pro Shop’s parking lot from 3-6PM. She stated last year there were approximately 3,000 attendees where people learned about health and safety. She stated that the 12th Annual Holiday Parade presented by Peninsula Town Center will be held on November 20th. Ms. McCoury thanked Raymond Tripp and Peninsula Town Center for being the presenting sponsor for this year’s Holiday Parade. She stated last year, there were over 20,000 attendees and she anticipates an even larger crowd this year with the opening of City of Hampton, VA Page 2 of 14 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes Peninsula Town Center. She said the Parade airs on Channel 3 for a full hour and that many businesses have already expressed interest in participating. Ms. McCoury said that part of their desire to give back to the community involves support of local organizations such as the Peninsula Pilots Baseball Team and the Hampton City Schools. She stated one of the projects that they worked on this year through the Marketing Committee is their coupon book. Ms. McCoury gave a book to each Councilmember and explained that there is no charge for these books. Ms. McCoury stated that the Marketing Committee is also responsible for the electronic billboards on interstate 64 and 664 and route 17 on the other side of the James River Bridge. Ms. McCoury stated that there are no security concerns at any of their events thanks to Peninsula Town Center security and the Hampton Police Department. She gave a power point presentation showing some pictures from the Neighborhood Night Out and the Holiday Parade from last year. Ms. McCoury thanked Councilman Gilliland, Councilman Washington and Vice Mayor Spencer for their support over the years in bringing the Coliseum Central master plan vision to reality and wished them well in their future endeavors. She stated she would be happy to address any questions Council may have. Councilman Kearney asked if the turkey would be in the Holiday Parade again this year. Ms. McCoury stated that the turkey will not be in the parade this year. Councilman Kearney stated the parade is a wonderful addition to our community, and that Barbara Ciera does a wonderful job with the presentation. He thanked Raymond Tripp for addressing concerns that the public had and he expressed that he has heard wonderful things from members of the community. He stated the Peninsula Town Center is a great asset and thanked everyone on the board for everything they have done. Vice Mayor Spencer asked Ms. McCoury or Mr. Tripp to address when there would be more grand openings of other businesses in the Town Center. Mr. Tripp stated Build-A-Bear will open shortly. He said the one they are most excited about is CineBistro opening June 25th. He stated that there will be a Mexican Restaurant opening called Abuelo’s at the end of June or early July. He said they are working out issues with the Thaijindesu, so hopefully it will open by the end of August. He stated Kenji Fusion, a Japanese Hibachi style Restaurant is opening sometime in August, Blue Mountain Sports and Green Turtle Sports Bar will hopefully open by September as they are still getting their permits. He said they are excited about having Bryant and Stratton which will be ready for school this coming fall. He said there are two other office leases they are working on. He stated a nail salon will open in approximately four weeks and The Wine Loft will be opening toward the end of June. Mayor Ward asked if Frank Beamer’s restaurant opened. Mr. Tripp stated yes, Mr. Beamer’s restaurant opened yesterday. He stated Mr. Beamer visited with them Saturday night. He said Q Barbeque also opened and Steve Perry is involved in that and is the Frank Beamer restaurant owner. He said he and Frank have City of Hampton, VA Page 3 of 14 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes had a relationship for some time. He said that Mr. Perry is a Richmond restaurant restaurateur and has several restaurants across the country. He said they had two restaurants in Blacksburg, but they have since closed, but he is excited about the restaurant here. Councilman Kearney said he had asked about the closing of the restaurants in Blacksburg, but believed that the closing of those restaurants was due to the mall closing in that area. Ms. McCoury thanked Council for the opportunity to present an update to them and she asked them to look at the Website, ColiseumCentral.com. She said they all should be receiving constant contacts and they don’t send out spam, so if they do send any information, it is usually good. Mayor Ward thanked the members of the Coliseum Central BID board for coming. She stated Council appreciates all they do for the community and for the participation in the BID and all of their support. 2. 10-0250 Authorization to Pick-up the Employee's Contribution to the Virginia Retirement System Under Section 414(h) of the Internal Revenue Code for Plan 2 Employees PRESENTED by Mary Bunting, City Manager. The Mayor stated the next item on the agenda is the authorization to pick up the Employee’s Contribution to the Virginia Retirement System Under Section 414 (h) of the Internal Revenue Code for Plan 2 Employees. The City Manager stated that she needed to discuss this item with Council today, and that Council would be asked to take action on this at the evening meeting. She explained that the State through the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) is compelling action on the part of localities to indicate whether they intend or do not intend to pick up a percentage of the employee share for VRS for all new hires beginning July 1st. She stated we recently received the model resolution that localities were being asked to pass. She said we didn’t have this at the time of the budget considerations and thought we would have more time than we have to make that decision. She stated during the budget deliberations, she initially suggested to Council that for new hires, we begin to pass on 5 percent employee share as set by VRS. She stated some questions about the competitiveness of our salaries and benefits package as to whether other localities were making similar considerations were raised. She stated we indicated we would come back to it at such time when we had a sense of what other localities were doing, and now the State is compelling us to act very quickly and make that determination now. She stated in speaking with peer locality managers all of which are making similar considerations at the same time we are, as of this point, the only locality we are aware of intending to pass on that five percent to their new hires is Virginia Beach. She further stated that the Peninsula localities have indicated that they believe that they should not pass on the five percent to employees because they have not been able to adjust their City of Hampton, VA Page 4 of 14 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes salary ranges for economic reasons and they do not want to put themselves at a further competitive disadvantage. Vice Mayor Spencer asked the City Manager if there is a possibility to pass on a percent between zero and five, for example two and a half. The City Manager stated it must be full percentage increments. She said what she wants to see from Council today is what their desires are and whether they want to do zero, one, two, three, four or five percent. She said she recalls Council wanting to know what other localities were doing. She stated, again the only locality at this point that plans on passing on any percentage is Virginia Beach. She stated she wanted to make clear for the public’s benefit that this is only in reference to new hires because State law precludes us from having this conversation about existing employees. She explained that there was some legislation that was considered during the General Assembly session which Governor Robert F. McDonnell vetoed which would have given the authority to discuss existing employees. She stated that some people in the community believe we should entertain that notion for existing employees as well, but that is not a legal option. She stated the only option available is the new hires effective July 1st. She stated she wanted to make clear that regardless of whatever Council decides, this is unlike for existing employees, an election that can be varied each year. The City Manager stated the localities already referenced that are not intending to pass on any of this to their new hires can revisit that in future years. With existing employees, until this legislation was adopted this year, it was an irrevocable election, once a decision was made. She explained that is not the case with new hires. She explained each July 1st is a new opportunity to pass on to new hires at what percentage rate you want to pass on. She gave an example if we decided this year to follow the course of other Peninsula localities and not pass on anything, that does not mean that next year we could not choose to pass on an amount; however, at that point, it would only apply to new hires after that resolution were to take effect for the next fiscal year. She stated that we do have flexibility and wanted Council’s guidance today so we would know how to prepare the resolution this evening for Council. Vice Mayor Spencer asked what the dollar amount in the budget that was just passed that we pay five percent to the VRS. Ms. Bunting stated we should defer to Mr. Karl Daughtrey, Finance Director. She stated the total rate varies every two years based on actuarial studies. She further explained that the five percent is the employee share, but she couldn’t recollect the new actuarial rate. She asked Mr. Daughtrey to address that. Vice Mayor Spencer said he believes this is an important number to have on our radar screen as this decision is made. Mr. Daughtrey stated that the actuarial rate for 2011 is 20.34 percent including the five percent employee contribution amount. He stated the total contribution is projected as $14.8 million for the fiscal year and the five percent member share is $3.7 million for existing employees. The City Manager stated that an estimate was done at the request of a Councilmember. She stated that it is hard to know what the effect will be on new hires due to the hiring freeze and we have looked at that freeze to take care of the people impacted by our City of Hampton, VA Page 5 of 14 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes budget reductions. She said we may continue some aspects of that hiring freeze in the future. She stated that Mr. Daughtrey estimated $200,000. Mr. Daughtrey confirmed that was correct. Vice Mayor Spencer stated he was going to bring up the same topic in reference to the hiring freeze and in this economy, people are happy to get a job. He stated he wasn’t sure about the incentive about us picking up all of the retirement for the new hires. He stated people are looking for work and if they have to participate in their own retirement, he thinks they would rather participate and have a job than not. The City Manager stated she understood Vice Mayor Spencer’s sentiment. She said it becomes challenging if we are not in alignment with other localities. She said this doesn’t happen in the entire work force but in Public Safety in particular where you are hired only at the in hire rate, we typically do hiring at the same time as other localities because of timings of regional academies. Police Officer and Fire Officer Candidates are very well versed in looking at the total compensation package offered by localities. She stated the area that concerns her is if our salary rates are comparable with, for example Newport News, and Newport News is willing to pick up that five percent contribution and we aren’t, in those situations where we are competing for the best talent, we stand to risk some of the candidates we would want to get because we do hiring at the same time. She further said, in those areas, you can’t give them more money to make up for it because the new hire will end up being paid more than the seasoned employee. She stated this means you can’t make up for it in another way, yet the other locality may offer a specific financial advantage to those recruits. She stated in the general workforce, there are a lot of other factors, and rarely are we hiring for the same job at the same time in the same way where it is easy for an employee to compare the compensation benefit package side by side. She reiterated that tends to happen often in Public Safety. Councilman Wallace stated that the City Manager made the point he was about to state, but he would like to add that Virginia Beach historically is always on the top of the scale in terms of salaries that they pay. He stated that we are historically in the middle. He said when you put the salary differential in addition to the fact that the individual now has to contribute to their retirement program, that widens the gap, therefore this is something that Council needs to be sensitive to and aware of. Mayor Ward agreed with Councilman Wallace and stated she is conflicted between the two. Councilman Wallace stated he also wanted to mention the fact that the City of Hampton hasn’t given its employees a salary increase in the immediate past which is an additional factor that needs to be considered. Mayor Ward stated in reference to recruiting, Public Safety Officers in particular, that would put us in a tough spot, but she would like to see us not continue to burden future generations of Hamptonians with this. Councilman Washington stated in the case of first responders, he can appreciate what was said relative to the five percent and the differentiation there, but his concern is with the other staff members. He asked are we talking less than $200,000 that we have projected for that purpose. City of Hampton, VA Page 6 of 14 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes The City Manager stated for VRS purposes, we can’t treat the classes of employees differently. She said there are different marketing challenges for Public Safety but that does not mean to imply that the other employees’ recruitment is not equally important to us. She further said she would never suggest segregating the two, and even if we could, legally we can not segregate the two. Mayor Ward stated that the point about the Public Safety is that they are all graduating and competing at the same time and they are getting offers from three or four different localities and every penny makes a difference. Councilman Wallace gave an example of being a widget maker employed by the City of Hampton at a certain rate, then a widget maker position becomes available at another community comparable to us in terms of that particular job description, that individual would change his employment to the other jurisdiction because of the difference in the other pay and the contributions that would have to be made to retirement. Mayor Ward asked if the City Manager had a recommendation for Council. The City Manager stated she understood the struggle that everyone expressed and that she had initially suggested passing on the increase to new hires for the purpose of giving more financial flexibility in the future; however, being the only locality on the Peninsula to do it creates unique challenges. She stated for all of these reasons just described, for a competitive posture and to ensure we are able to recruit and maintain the best and most talented people, we live up to the motto of doing more with less, but her fear is the potential loss of talented people or the inability to recruit the most talented people particularly in the first responder area where comparisons are being made. She stated she had prepared the resolution assuming the City would pick up the full five percent, and knowing this can be revisited at budget season each year. She stated if this were an irrevocable election, she would perhaps be saying we should pass more on now so we could look at future generations, but given this is a one year decision in light of the economy and the fact that no one else is doing it and we haven’t given raises for several years, she comes on balance this year in suggesting that you pick up the five percent. She reiterated that she will revisit this each year in the budget process and she believes other localities will as well and if they move in that direction, she will come before Council suggesting we make movement in that direction. Mayor Ward asked if Virginia Beach already does that now, or are they just doing that this year. Ms. Bunting said she had been told that they have not adopted their resolution yet either but they are considering picking it up. Mayor Ward said that means we don’t know what Virginia Beach is going to do. She also asked whether or not James City County was going to do it or just consider it at this point. Ms. Bunting said her most recent conversations are that no one else is planning on picking it up this year. She said what happens when they get to all of their Boards and Commissions, she doesn’t know. City of Hampton, VA Page 7 of 14 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes Mr. Daughtrey stated Portsmouth is considering passing on the five percent to their employees. Mayor Ward stated, so far, these three Municipalities are just considering it, not doing it yet or haven’t passed a resolution yet. Mr. Daughtrey stated that is correct and he has not seen any resolutions as of yet. Ms. Bunting stated this topic is on the agenda this evening, and if it was Council’s desire to do something other than what is being recommended, and Council gave that indication this afternoon then the agenda can be adjusted. She stated if Council wanted to consider it this afternoon and make a recommendation this evening, we will respond accordingly. Councilman Kearney stated that he supported the City Manager’s position with this. Vice Mayor Spencer stated another thing we need to enter into as a Council, is that we need to get real about what is happening in the economy. He said we need for example to look at a person who has worked for 30 years and see what the percentage of their retirement is, and they have Cost of Living Allowance (COLA). He asked if he was correct in the fact that there are those who have retired that are making more money than when they were working. Ms. Bunting said she wasn’t aware of people getting a lot more than what they made, but instead they are getting close to what they were making. Vice Mayor Spencer asked if every year the amount goes up as a COLA. He said to clarify, we need to know as a body how stringent, generous or competitive our retirement is because we are all aware of what is happening in our economy and it’s difficult. He said he would side with the City Manager’s recommendation, but the next budget session or next Councilmembers need to look at this unfortunate circumstance and challenges, for example the Community Services Board situation. He said unless we find a way to economize and save, we are going to try to keep up with other localities, but sometimes you have to step out. He said Hampton is a City of firsts. Councilman Washington said in his opinion, Council should go with the City Manager’s recommendation at this point. He said the critical piece of information is that this can be reviewed every year during the budget process. He said he will go along with the City Manager’s recommendation. Councilman Wallace stated from the historical perspective people are not generally aware of the fact that when this process was launched in terms of paying the employee’s retirement portion, it was done in lieu of raises. He further explained that has been compounded over the years and that needs to be considered when we begin to do the drilling down. Ms. Bunting stated we do have employees who have retired with close to their salaries. She explained most of those employees are in the category of employees who were in both the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) and the Hampton Employees Retirement System (HERS). She stated we did up until the mid 1980’s have dual retirement system options. She said in the mid 1980’s Council saw wisdom to seize participation for any new hires in the HERS system and new hires, as well as all hires since the mid 80’s only City of Hampton, VA Page 8 of 14 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes participate in the VRS system. She said while the VRS system is better than some private sector retirements, it is not as generous or as close to their working salary, so people who retire in years to come who didn’t have the benefit of participating in both will have a much reduced retirement comparatively. She added she recognizes that we should be sensitive to and compare to other localities but also to our private sector comparisons and understand what our residents are receiving and not receiving. She said she ensures for the future that is something she diligently plans to pursue each year but doesn’t want to put our workforce at risk in terms of the quality of candidates. She said she understands the dilemma Council faces and wishes she could be in a different place herself, but the factors that led to her recommendation have already been discussed. 3. 10-0269 Update on Volunteer Recruiting PRESENTED by Tracy Hanger, Acting Fire Chief. Mayor Ward stated we have an update on Volunteer Recruiting. Ms. Bunting stated that Chief Tracy Hanger, Acting Fire Chief, would give Council an update on the Volunteer Fire Fighter Recruitment and retention. She stated this follows on a policy consideration that Councilman Kearney brought up at a prior meeting and to her individually about the outreach being done in our community to serve our larger Fire Department needs and the opportunities that exist in addressing the needs of the young people in our community who may not choose to go to College, and Fire Fighting and Emergency Rescue represent a good career path and opportunity for those students. She stated Councilman Kearney wanted us to explore some of the policy issues around that. She stated Chief Hanger has prepared a presentation in reference to that. Chief Hanger stated that the purpose of her presentation is to give Council a brief report on recruitment and retention efforts. She stated that Hampton has six volunteer fire companies and their goal is to have 150 operational members. She stated operational members are defined as volunteers who make the monthly requirements of training and activity and they meet the requirements for turning in Department of Motor Vehicle checks, doing other training and things we are requiring of active members. She stated they currently have 115 members who meet that operational definition, so there is a gap in where they want to be. She explained that it is important that the goal of 150 was set because they have to equip and train those personnel to meet current standards. Chief Hanger said currently the qualifications for volunteer fire fighters have changed. The background check requirements have changed as they now go through a process of a background questionnaire, polygraph and live scan which is a finger printing data base review to see if there is anything in their background that would preclude them from joining the system as a volunteer. She further stated that the applicants take an agility test similar to the career personnel. She stated they also have training requirements that the volunteers would be required to take to be a firefighter. They are required to have Fire Fighter One and Fire Fighter Two training. Chief Hanger stated that recently, the issue came up in reference to the age of the recruits. She said currently the age is 16 or older. She added in order to comply with State law, the applicants have to have parental consent, a City ordinance in place City of Hampton, VA Page 9 of 14 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes allowing junior volunteers, and they have to be trained to meet the State requirements. She stated they have had several junior fire fighters in their system. Councilman Washington asked in the case of those individuals who want to be part of the Fire Division and they are 16 and get permission from their parents, if there was a vocational piece that they would be credited for within their schools such as student work study type of program. Chief Hanger said she would talk about the New Horizons Program which is the vocational program that the City supports and that they are able to train the high school students to become certified as Fire Fighters and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT’s). Chief Hanger stated that since January 2007, there have been 128 volunteers enrolled in classes, 51 enrolled in classes remained as active volunteers, eight have been hired as career Fire Fighters and five are When Actually Employed (WAE) Fire Fighters which are working to help fill current staffing needs. Chief Hanger discussed the current efforts for recruitment. She stated there are 120 applications and their goal is to be able to fill a Fire Fighter One and Two class with 15 applicants and another EMT basic class with 15 applicants in the near future. Chief Hanger stated the New Horizons Program is a regional program for high school students. She explained the eleventh graders take Fire Fighter One and Two, the twelfth graders take EMT basic training and not all the students enrolled in the program complete it. She explained that sometimes the students find that fire fighting or Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is not what they want to do. The program in 2009 started with 18 students, and graduated 10 and had eight EMT’s graduate in 2010. There were 24 students enrolled and only 14 completed the fire fighter certifications. In the EMT class, there were fewer that have gone on from fire fighter to EMT and part of that was because some were seniors and graduated. Now there are 25 students enrolled in the current school year. Chief Hanger stated from the localities in 2008 and 2009 school year, four of those students in the class that graduated were from the City of Hampton. There were also participants from York County, Newport News and James City County. She stated in the 2009 and 2010 school year, there were only two Hampton students that participated in the program, but other localities also joined in the program such as Gloucester, Poquoson and Williamsburg. She stated that in 2010 to 2011, there was also multiple jurisdictions participating and four of those students were from Hampton. Chief Hanger stated the main challenge is how to encourage the interested students in Hampton to join the program in order to get good training and recruits from the school program as a vocational program. She further stated that they do provide assistance with training on their practical days and lectures for these students to assist them with this process. She stated it is a pleasure to be able to work with the students. Chief Hanger said she would answer any questions Council had. Councilman Kearney thanked Chief Hanger and Mr. James Gray, Acting Assistant City Manager, former Fire Chief. He said they are all on the same page. He stated the City of Hampton, VA Page 10 of 14 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes issues in his opinion are one, how to staff the six volunteer fire companies with the people who primarily live in that neighborhood. He said the second issue is and the importance of this meeting is how we can use our recruiting office to reach out to these young men and women in our high schools who aren’t going to college. He agreed that the background study is necessary and he doesn’t recommend changing anything they are doing, but he thinks if we reach down and touch some of these young people 16 years of age in their sophomore year of high school and tell them this program is available, we can take people who may have a tendency to go the wrong way and keep them straight. If we take some of these young people in that stage of life who can not afford to go to higher education and provide them a position where they learn skills and help the community in providing service and give them a profession to look forward to. He said Mr. Gray explained to him that when these young people finish Fire Fighter One and Two in their senior year, they qualify to go work for the Federal Government, which to him is a good thing. He stated they can go all over the country to serve, not just Langley and Fort Eustis. He stated under the leadership of Chief Hanger and the City Manager, we can try to reach these students by working with the school system and the counselors and explain to them that the General Assembly allows 16 year olds to do this and explain to them the opportunities they have as long as they meet these qualifications and stay out of trouble. He said he knows of many kids in his neighborhood who are floundering that would love to have the opportunity to do something, but it just isn’t available to them right now. He said the jobs aren’t there in this economy but this is training that they can carry through life and do so much for their community. He said he hopes the City Manager concurs and hopes Council doesn’t object so that we can gear ourselves for success. He added, New Horizons is a wonderful program, but when there are only two out of the 14, we are missing the boat. He said this isn’t the fault of the Fire Department or New Horizons; instead we need to determine what we can do to use the system we currently have to encourage these children. He said a few years ago this Council established the volunteer recruit which gave a means to do this and took the workload off of the fire department in seeing that this could be accomplished. Councilman Kearney thanked Chief Hanger for making the presentation and he thanked Mr. Gray for all he has done in this area. The City Manager stated she would be glad to pursue this with Mr. Gray and Dr. Linda Shifflette, School Superintendent, to see how they can realize the vision Councilman Kearney had articulated. Councilman Kearney asked the City Manager to keep Council informed of how things are going. The City Manager said she would keep Council up to date on the issue. Councilman Washington asked if there was a training outreach program that could be utilized. He said it was mentioned there was a program many years ago just for that purpose and he was curious if that would be useful in getting the word out to those students, for example the students in Councilman Kearney’s neighborhood, so they could get involved in the program as well. Councilman Kearney said years ago the job for the junior fireman was called Lantern Boys which gave these young kids a job which was to carry the lanterns for the firemen. He said there is in the structure of the volunteers, perhaps the volunteer Lieutenant in each station who is in charge of training and they check report cards and keep tabs on these young people. He stated the system is there, but it just hasn’t been used recently because we haven’t gone after them. He said years ago the success came from people City of Hampton, VA Page 11 of 14 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes telling their friends who told their friends and so forth. He said this is for men and women and there are no racial barriers today and it is open to everyone in the community. Regional Issues New Business Closed Meeting 4. 10-0233 Closed session as provided in Virginia Code Section 2.2-3711.A.1, .3 and .7 APPROVED Motion made by: Councilmember Ross A. Kearney, II Seconded by: Councilmember Randall A. Gilliland Ayes: 6 - Randall A. Gilliland, Ross A. Kearney, II, Joseph H. Spencer, II, George E. Wallace, Paige V. Washington, Jr., Molly Joseph Ward Nays: 0 . 10-0267 to consult with legal counsel employed by the city regarding probable litigation and specific legal matters pertaining to regulation of taxicabs and an outside entity funding request and requiring the advice of counsel. NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0273 to discuss the acquisition or disposition of property in the Downtown Hampton and Crossroads areas where discussion in an open session would adversely affect the City's bargaining position or negotiating strategy NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0141 to consider an appointment to the Hampton-Newport News Community Criminal Justice Board NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0145 to consider an appointment to the Finance Committee NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0240 to discuss an appointment to the Board of Zoning Appeals. NO ACTION REQUIRED City of Hampton, VA Page 12 of 14 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes . 10-0241 to discuss appointments to the Ad Hoc Leadership Group. NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0268 to consider appointments to the Hampton Redevelopment and Housing Authority NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0274 to consider appointments to the Martin Luther King, Jr. and Local Civil Rights Leaders Memorial Working Committee NO ACTION REQUIRED Certification 5. 10-0234 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 Joseph H. Spencer, II Seconded by: Councilmember Randall A. Gilliland Ayes: 6 - Randall A. Gilliland, Ross A. Kearney, II, Joseph H. Spencer, II, George E. Wallace, Paige V. Washington, Jr., Molly Joseph Ward Nays: 0 City of Hampton, VA Page 13 of 14 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 14 of 14 Printed on 8/24/2010