City Council Agendas & Minutes

City of Hampton, VA 22 Lincoln Street Meeting Minutes Hampton, VA 23669 www.hampton.gov City Council Ross A. Kearney, II Christopher G. Stuart Angela Lee Leary Donnie R. Tuck Will Moffett George E. Wallace Molly Joseph Ward, Mayor Staff: Mary Bunting, City Manager Cynthia Hudson, City Attorney Katherine K. Glass, CMC, Clerk of Council Wednesday, July 14, 2010 1:03 PM Council Chambers, 8th Floor, City Hall CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Molly Joseph Ward presided Present: Ross A. Kearney, II, Will Moffett, Christopher G. Stuart, Donnie R. Tuck Absent: George E. Wallace, Angela Lee Leary Mayor Ward stated that Vice Mayor Wallace was in Europe representing the City on our Sister Cities trip and that Councilwoman Leary was absent due to a medical issue with a family member. Ms. Mary Bunting, City Manager, clarified for the general public that all of the members of our delegation have chosen to go to visit the two sister cities in Europe on their own dime, therefore the City government is not paying for the trip. Agenda 1. 10-0303 Flood Map Update PRESENTED by Tracy Hanger, Acting Fire Chief. Gayle Hicks, Public Works Project Manager, and Mary Bunting, City Manager, also provided information. Ms. Bunting stated the first item on the agenda is a brief update on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Flood Map process. She stated the City of Hampton has received new insurance rate maps from FEMA. She said the process of updating the flood maps is a Federally regulated process although FEMA has asked us to communicate the process to our residents. She explained that today’s briefing is part of the on-going effort to make sure that the community is aware of what is going on during this flood insurance rate map adjustment. She stated that Ms. Tracy Hanger, Acting Fire Chief, would give a presentation for the benefit of Council and the public. Chief Hanger stated there was an active on-line chat yesterday and many questions were answered and if there are other questions, anyone can call with those questions. City of Hampton, VA Page 1 of 10 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes Mayor Ward stated that Chief Hanger and Mr. Curt Shaffer, Director of the Office of Emergency Management, did an online chat yesterday on emergency preparedness. She noted approximately 70 people participated and she thanked Chief Hanger and Mr. Shaffer for conducting the online chat. Chief Hanger stated she would give a brief update on the flood maps received from FEMA. She stated what the City’s role in this process is that we conducted a review of the maps to determine if streets and rivers are named properly, etc. She explained now we are at the point where public outreach is going to be conducted. She said this began yesterday with the online chat, and letters have been mailed to property owners affected, and public meetings will be held. She further explained that after that process concludes, Council will be asked to adopt the new maps and that is when the maps would go into effect. She stated once that is done, the flood plain ordinance would also have to be amended. She stated that she expects public notice to be in the newspaper and the ad would be run from FEMA. The first notice would be received on July 21, 2010 and the second on July 28, 2010. She stated this information is based on communication with an agent familiar with the process in the Federal register. She stated the maps had been published on the Federal register and it is anticipated that with this newspaper notice, that will start the 90 day appeal period for properties in the flood way or a 90 day comment period for any other properties affected by those maps. She stated it is estimated that it will take approximately six months to get through the flood map adoption process after FEMA has had a chance to review any protest received. Chief Hanger stated that the maps were produced by a new flood insurance study done by the Norfolk office of the US Army Corp of Engineers using better maps than those used in the 1980’s. She explained the old maps were done on 20 foot contours and the new maps took measurements at every two feet, therefore the maps are giving a better definition of what our special flood hazard areas are. She stated that in the mapping process there has been a datum change to where the measurement has changed but not the actual height of anything. She further explained the old National Geodetic Vertical datum of 1929 was measured in relationship to mean sea level, however the newer National American Vertical datum of 1988 is more compatible with modern surveying and mapping technologies. She explained that there is a 1.04 foot difference between the old and new measurement; however, the distance between the finished first floor and the ground does not change. For example, the old map may show a reading of nine and the new map a reading of eight but if you were in the flood zone before and nothing changed with the flood insurance study, you would still be in the flood zone afterwards. She further explained when a surveyor looks at the property; he does a mathematical equation to handle the datum change. Chief Hanger stated that the flood insurance study identified that we now have a flood way which is a specially defined area where the water or channel is expected to flow, so it is moving at a velocity. She explained this is the first time we have had an area that is routinely dry that is now considered in a flood way. Chief Hanger said another thing that the changes in the flood insurance study show is the maps better reflect a digital elevation, so there are better measurements with this flood insurance study. She explained that we will have to work through this flood way process because there are special conditions that are and are not allowed in a flood way City of Hampton, VA Page 2 of 10 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes that will have to be worked through with the property owners that are affected by this new designation. Chief Hanger explained that there have been 1,740 properties newly added to the special flood hazard zone. Councilman Ross Kearney asked over what date is this new addition, one year or since 1929. Chief Hanger stated this one day in time where they changed from the old flood maps which were adopted back in the 1990’s to the new flood maps which were adopted today. She explained this is the number of properties that were affected and these are the properties where the houses are now in the flood zone. She said there are another 2,734 properties where part of the property is now in the flood zone that were not in the flood zone before but the main property structure, so the house on the structure may not be affected. She said there are another 2,568 properties where, because of the better measurements that are no longer in the flood zone, so those property owners may not be required by their mortgage company to carry flood insurance. However, we urge caution because this is separate from the risk from a hurricane storm surge flood. She stated there is a large portion of the City which may not be in a flood zone that could be impacted by storm surge, and could still flood during a hurricane. Councilman Kearney stated this needs to be highlighted because this refers to the general rising of the tides, but not the surge we would have that could be 8, 12, or 14 feet that would come during a hurricane and those who do not have flood insurance would have total loss of their property. Chief Hanger stated that homeowners and business owners are encouraged to get flood insurance because if there is a loss due to water and flooding, it would not be covered by a regular homeowner’s policy. Chief Hanger said there are 212 properties that are in the new flood way area. She said in the public meeting, she will explain further what a flood way is and go through what can and cannot be done in a flood way. She said these are properties that have received a separate letter stating the property may be in a flood way and that the homeowner would be responsible for reviewing a map to determine for themselves since we can’t legally advise them whether or not they are in a flood zone. The reason for this is that the City does not require flood insurance; instead the mortgage company requires flood insurance. Chief Hanger stated that on June 29, 2010, a stakeholder‘s meeting was held where Realtors, surveyors, insurance agents and military were invited. She said they gave good feedback on how the presentation could be improved to help the public understand. She said three public information meetings have been scheduled. One at Kecoughtan High School on July 19, 2010, from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm, one at Aberdeen Elementary School on July 22, 2010 from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm, and at the Hampton Roads Convention Center on July 24, 2010, from 10:00 am to 11:30 am. She stated they want to have computers set up so people can look at the maps and see where their property is in the proposed maps. She said these are preliminary maps because they have not been adopted by City Council and are not the final maps from FEMA because the appeal and protest process is not complete. She explained that the appeal must include technical engineering data in order to support that appeal; therefore, a homeowner cannot state they don’t think they are in a flood zone, instead they must City of Hampton, VA Page 3 of 10 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes have an engineer or surveyor that shows something is wrong with the model and that FEMA miscalculated the location of the proposed flood zone. She said the appeal is the responsibility of the property owner and they will need to submit appeals and comments to the Flood Plains Manager before the end of the 90 day appeal period, then the City is responsible for forwarding those appeals and comments to FEMA for their review. She stated FEMA will at that point consider any changes to the new maps before a final version is adopted and sent back for Council action. Chief Hanger stated there is a 30 day waiting period for flood insurance to become effective and since we are in the middle of hurricane season, it is a good idea to get flood insurance. She stated the National Flood Insurance Program does have insurance available for a time period between now and September 30, 2010, where flood insurance is available, but they are not sure what Congress will do to readopt or extend that program after that date. She stated it is important to remember the policy coverage is $250,000 on the National Flood Insurance Program which means those that have property valued greater than that would want to seek insurance from a private company. She stated the flood insurance policies do not cover contents or relocation costs so separate policies to cover contents may be purchased; therefore it is important to discuss these options with insurance agents. Chief Hanger stated that failure to adopt the new maps would result in probation or suspension of the City of Hampton from the program and those sanctions would include that flood insurance would not be available to our residents, no existing policies would be renewed, we wouldn’t be able to get Federal grants or loans, we would not be able to get disaster assistance and no Federal mortgage insurance would be provided. She stated we do not want to be sanctioned by the National Flood Insurance Program. She stated residents are encouraged to purchase flood insurance especially since half of the City of Hampton is in a flood plain and there are many properties impacted by flooding. Mayor Ward reiterated that the mortgage companies are going to require flood insurance so some people will not have a choice. Councilman Kearney stated he is interested in this project, but his concern is what would be appealed. Chief Hanger stated that they would appeal if technically incorrect data was used to put together the study. For example, property owners who have lived in an area for numerous years without flood issues feel they are not at risk for flood, but studies show their area is at risk. She said there is also a letter of map amendment process where if a property owner can show that they are not below base flood elevation, they can get a review by the FEMA that would take them out of the flood zone. She said there are processes in place for homeowners to appeal. Councilman Stuart asked what it would cost an average homeowner of a $250,000 home to do the technical step to prove a discrepancy. Ms. Gayle Hicks, Senior Civil Engineer Project Manager with Public Works, stated FEMA will be providing the engineering models that were used. She said any engineering firm or surveying firm that would like to contest this for an individual will be provided the model. She said the Federal regulation summary document that FEMA prepared in City of Hampton, VA Page 4 of 10 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes reference to appeals, comments and protests is downloaded on the website under Flood Plain Management. She said they will be contesting some incorrect assumptions made prior to input of the information into the model and the flood insurance study is an executive summary of the work that was done. She said if they read through the insurance study and do not agree with it and claim to prove there is an incorrect assumption in the model, it can be appealed. She said FEMA will be surprised to have questions asked about the appeals because they seldom receive formal appeals. She said FEMA will answer each one which is why after the 90 day appeal period we cannot guarantee when we will put the flood map before Council for approval because FEMA will have to go through each one and address it before they can issue a final letter of determination. Ms. Bunting stated we encourage people to make a review of their flood insurance needs and not just rely on the fact that they may be coming out as all coastal areas are impacted by potential weather events. She said people who have never had to have insurance before and may now be in a flood zone are encouraged to look at this now as there may be opportunities to get favorable rates prior to the maps being adopted. She stated that tonight there will be a larger presentation. She said the flood map update process is something that is Federally driven in terms of schedule and review and appeal, but we have other issues to deal with as a community ranging from protecting ourselves from floods and storm surges all the way to dredging and coastal management. She said we will be doing a larger community engagement process involving external experts such as the Corp of Engineers and others who can help determine what government, homeowners and business owners can do to better manage assets and prepare for potential disasters. 2. 10-0312 Briefing on the Council Retreat and Next Steps PRESENTED by Mary Bunting, City Manager. She shared that Council's vision statement is: "Hampton will be a vibrant waterfront community and regional partner that values and maintains its historic roots and small town feel while offering leading edge amenities that meet the needs of its diverse population." Ms. Bunting stated she will make a report on behalf of Council to let the public know what occurred at the recent Council retreat held June 30, 2010 and July 1, 2010. She stated that the purpose of today’s presentation is to give the public an understanding of the purpose of the retreat and the work products and to discuss with the public and Council what she, as Manager, believes to be the next steps for moving forward with the good work done at the retreat. The City Manager stated the purpose of the retreat was multi-faceted. She stated everyone was glad to have the three new Councilmembers in attendance and this gave an opportunity for team building and learning each other’s management and governance styles and learning what is important to each other and how to work effectively together and understanding those styles. She stated we also wanted to agree on Council’s vision and issues for staff and the community over the next several years. She said every Council brings its own flavor to a community and it is important that we not assume the work of a prior Council is going to continue, but give Council the opportunity to update their vision and issues for the staff and community. She said we talked about the effect of roles for staff and Council seeing how staff works as well as how Councilmembers City of Hampton, VA Page 5 of 10 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes wanted to work with one another. She said they began the process of identifying operating guidelines so that there are clear expectations of one another. Ms. Bunting said that Hampton’s core vision for many years has been Hampton being the most livable City, but each Council has to define what being the most livable City in Virginia means particularly looking to the future, in 2025 for example and if we did achieve the goal of being the most livable city in Virginia. She stated Council was asked to develop a picture that would answer that and draw people forward in a dream focus versus problem focus so that we can know what we are aspiring to be. She said the vision is that Hampton would be a vibrant waterfront community and regional partner that values and maintains its historic roots and small town feel while offering leading edge amenities that meet the needs of its diverse population. The City Manager elaborated on eight areas that Council asked staff to be prepared to work on with them. Ms. Bunting said the first issue is economic base. She said the transition at Fort Monroe is important to the community and while we are not in charge of that reuse plan, that is the Fort Monroe Authority appointed by the Governor, we have to work with the Fort Monroe Authority to ensure the transition is beneficial to our economic base so we do not have to pick up a lot of cost for Fort Monroe that becomes the burden of our residents, yet we maintain the asset that Fort Monroe continues to be. She said valuing existing businesses including minority and women owned businesses and helping them to grow was discussed. She said enhancing our relationship with Hampton University and leveraging that to enhance our economic base and not being overly dependent on our military and federal installations but ensuring federal and military installations are protected to the extent that we can encourage growth in that industry. She said the value of recreation is a tourism engine for us and that we want to ensure that the waterfront and history are valued as part of the economic drivers was another issue discussed. Ms. Bunting stated in reference to housing stock, the Council is hoping to achieve a mix of housing that meets the needs of all income spectrums in our community ensuring we have our fair share of affordable housing but we also have our share of high value housing so that we can meet the needs and keep residents that want to live in our community and attract others to our community who previously felt we didn’t have the housing stock they needed. She said Council discussed enhancing our Codes Compliance and Blight enforcement efforts. Ms. Bunting said in reference to water related challenges such as dredging, storm water management, flood way management, coastal shoreline protection and ensuring we identify what we can do locally, regionally, State and Federally to address the water related challenges we have but also what homeowners can do for themselves. Ms. Bunting said the Council discussed aesthetics and maintaining the properties that we have with the assets we have while working to improve the appearance of the City overall, including the Blight Management issues but also reviewing how we appear to external visitors and residents as they drive down our streets and whether or not we present our image as a community that is well cared for. She further stated this means enhancing the aesthetics of our community. City of Hampton, VA Page 6 of 10 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes Ms. Bunting said the Council discussed the image of our community ensuring that people are aware of what we have available to them, working to ensure we celebrate the things we achieve as a community while striving to do more. She said we need to make sure our image internally and externally is something we can be proud of. She said in reference to schools, everyone agreed that schools are very important, understanding that we are not in charge of the schools as there is an independently elected school board and staff but we need to support the school system making them recognized as a school system that accomplishes great things. She said while we do have overlap of responsibility such as maintenance of school grounds, we need to partner with the school system and reinstitute the Council/School Board buddy relationship in order to find ways to support one another as we all share concerns such as high school graduation rates and students being prepared to enter college and the work force. She said Council wants to know what they can do to support those issues while understanding it is not their direct role. The City Manager stated State and regional issues are important to our region and to our City. She said for example, transportation is an area where we have improvements to make that cannot be solved locally, instead they must be solved regionally with the partnership of the State, so we need to play an active role in State and regional governance and carefully identify areas where we can make a difference on regional issues. Ms. Bunting said communication and outreach to our citizens is important to Council and staff as well as finding new ways of dialogue and outreach with the residents. She said it is important to strengthen various tools we can use to make sure we get the word out to people and to hear back from people about what we are going as a government. Ms. Bunting stated those are the areas Council touched on during the retreat as staff was asked to compile the information for Council. She said staff plans to present a more detailed report on next steps for Council at the August Council meeting. Regional Issues New Business Closed Meeting 3. 10-0276 Closed session as provided in Virginia Code Section 2.2-3711.A.1, .3, .7, and .29 APPROVED Motion made by: Councilmember Ross A. Kearney, II Seconded by: Councilmember Will Moffett Ayes: 5 - Ross A. Kearney, II, Will Moffett, Christopher G. Stuart, Donnie R. Tuck, Molly Joseph Ward Nays: 0 . 10-0307 to consult with legal counsel regarding specific matters pertaining to dredging, codes enforcement, and service districts, and requiring the advice of such counsel City of Hampton, VA Page 7 of 10 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0305 to discuss the terms or scope of a public contract to be awarded and involving the expenditure of public funds, where discussion in open session would adversely affect the city's bargaining position or negotiating strategy NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0306 to discuss the acquisition and disposition of real property in the Shell Road and Cross Roads (Coliseum Central) areas of the city NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0310 to consider appointments to the Martin Luther King, Jr. and Local Civil Rights Leaders Memorial Working Committee NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0308 to discuss an upcoming vacancy on the Planning Commission NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0313 to discuss an appointment to the Board of Zoning Appeals NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0127 to consider an appointment to the Thomas Nelson Community College Board of Trustees NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0288 to consider appointments to the Transportation District Commission of Hampton Roads NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0314 to consider appointments to the Community Policy and Management Team NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0315 to consider an appointment to the Building Code Board of Appeals NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0316 to consider an appointment to the Board of Review of Real Estate Assessment NO ACTION REQUIRED City of Hampton, VA Page 8 of 10 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes . 10-0317 to consider appointments to the Clean City Commission . 10-0318 to consider appointments to the Grievance Board NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0319 to consider an appointment to the Virginia Peninsula Disability Services Board NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0320 to consider appointments to the Animal Control Advisory Board NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0321 to consider appointments to the Board of Directors of the Virginia Air & Space Center NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0322 to consider an appointment to the Peninsula Airport Commission NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0323 to consider appointments to the Hampton Arts Commission NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0324 to consider appointments to the Board of Directors of the Office of Human Affairs NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0326 to consider appointments to the Purchasing and Procurement Oversight Committee NO ACTION REQUIRED . 10-0325 to consider the appointment of Council liaisons to various Boards, Commissions and Committees NO ACTION REQUIRED Certification City of Hampton, VA Page 9 of 10 Printed on 8/24/2010 City Council Meeting Minutes 4. 10-0277 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 Will Moffett Ayes: 6 - Ross A. Kearney, II, Angela Lee Leary, Will Moffett, Christopher G. Stuart, Donnie R. Tuck, Molly Joseph Ward Nays: 0 ___________________ Molly Joseph Ward Mayor ______________________ Katherine K. Glass, CMC Clerk of Council Date approved by Council _____________________ City of Hampton, VA Page 10 of 10 Printed on 8/24/2010