Clean City Commission

FULL COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES May 8, 2018 ~ 3:30pm HCCC Office, 1296 Thomas Street Members Appointed Members Present: Wendy Iles, Chair; Barbara Abraham; Ryan Adams; William Kotheimer, Jr.; Alex Maness; Gayle Mooney; Jamie Osso Standing Committee Chairs Present: Claire Neubert; Jim Williams Partner, Ex Officio, Ad Hoc, Staff, and Advisory Participants Present: Teresa Schmidt, Hampton City Council; Veronica Meade, City Attorney’s Office; Cris Ausink, Staff; Debbie Blanton, Staff Opening Business Welcome, Roll Call, Protocol, & Time Sheet Wendy Iles opened the meeting at 3:35pm, welcomed everyone, read the opening statement, and reminded everyone to sign the time sheet. She also explained that the envelopes were there for people who wished to donate money to the Keep Hampton Green Fund to purchase trees for Hampton’s public areas. Debbie Blanton called roll. There was a quorum of seven members. Approval of April Minutes  Claire Neubert provided amendments to the section of minutes pertaining to Hampton Waterways Restoration Project in writing.  Jamie Osso noted that while she withdrew her name from consideration for Chair, she did not intend to remove her name from consideration as Vice Chair. Debbie noted the correction and also corrected the prepared ballots.  Will Kotheimer noted that under the notes regarding the McDonald’s Coffee Grounds Project, there should be a statement indicating that the project is tabled.  Barb Abraham moved approval as amended, Will Kotheimer seconded. City Council Report: T Schmidt  Teresa Schmidt noted that it was very good to see Hampton Clean City Commission and its long-term volunteers recognized before City Council. Parks & Recreation: K Trotter  No report Public Works: J Mitchell  No report City Attorney’s Office: V Meade  Veronica Meade noted that she, too, enjoyed the Spotlight on Volunteers, and learned a lot about the history of the Clean City Commission from the presentation. Financial Report  There were no questions or comments about the financial reports. Voting Items Election of Officers: D Blanton  Debbie Blanton passed the amended ballots to the appointed board members for the election of 2018 – 2019 officers. Veronica Meade counted the ballots.  Will Kotheimer won Chair on the first ballot, but there was a tie for Vice Chair between Ryan Adams and Jamie Osso.  Ryan Adams won Vice Chair on the second ballot. 20180508   The new officers will take office at the July meeting.  Jamie thanked Wendy for her two-year service as Chair. Bays Days Participation: W Kotheimer  Will Kotheimer asked whether Bay Days had responded with the requested information. Debbie Blanton replied that the group indicated that they do not have an annual report, and had not responded to the question about the budget for the event.  Veronica Meade mentioned that there were some parts of their participation agreement that did not allow City participation that she hoped they would change.  Based on this information plus the discussion about the event being a poor investment of time and materials for HCCC due to the large out-of-town participation, Will moved and Alex Maness seconded that HCCC not participate in Bay Days.  The motion passed unanimously. New Business Non-Participating Member: D Blanton  Debbie Blanton explained that she had attempted to contact Devinn Smart at least twice that he received the initial orientation packet and subsequent meeting announcements, but that he has not responded to any communications and has not attended any meetings or participated in any way since his appointment in January 2018.  She asked whether the group wanted to address this.  The general discussion indicated that we need a full board, and if Mr Smart cannot participate now, we need to ask for someone who will participate.  Will Kotheimer moved and Jamie Osso seconded that Debbie Blanton should send a memo to City Council asking that Mr Smart be replaced. The vote was unanimous. Discussion Items Discussion of 40th Anniversary Celebration Plans and Committee: D Blanton  Debbie Blanton reviewed the timeline of events and themes for the 40th Anniversary Celebration.  She reported that the City Council Spotlight on Volunteers was very moving and did a good job of highlighting HCCC.  The anniversary logo has been placed on all social media sites.  After Debbie finishes the graphics work for the seafood tour, she will continue work on the slide presentation. She asked for help in researching what Hampton’s environment was like in 1978. Will Kotheimer offered to do some research. Members mentioned that that the kepone spill in Hopewell still prevented fishing from the James River for a long time after the spill.  Debbie will email the HCCC History to everyone, with the hope that everyone will pitch in and find out what they can. It was noted that the Times-Herald was one of the newspapers during the earlier years of HCCC.  The Volunteer Recognition Event will be held on the 40 th Anniversary of the appointment of the first board.  The group recommended moving the 5K Walk/Plog to September. Appointed Member Reports Hampton Community Gardens: W Iles  Wendy Iles reported that a volunteer and gardener is painting signs for the three community garden compost areas.  Wendy noted that the next public class from the Community Gardens will be “Herbs: How to Grow, Harvest, and Enjoy!” It will be held Monday, May 14, 6pm, Buckroe Community Garden, 710 Buckroe Avenue.  Wendy is working to put together a composting class. She asked Jim Williams if he would work with her on it. 20180508  Wendy wants to apply for a $5,000 Walmart Foundation grant to place a healing garden in a public area of Hampton, which seems appropriate based on the number of medical facilities located through the community. The site has not yet been selected, but she would appreciate help with the grant. Gayle Mooney volunteered to help. Beautification Committee: B Abraham  Barb Abraham reported that the first YARDS judging will be Monday, May 14.  Barb emphasized the need for nominations, and reminded everyone they only need the street address of their nominees. Fundraising Committee: W Iles  There will be a rock making fundraiser for HCCC on May 19. The proceeds, after costs, will go to HCCC. Standing Committee Reports Clean & Green Businesses Committee: J Williams  The Community Collection was a great success for a first-time event. At least 22 cars came through, nearly half of the drivers said they heard about the collection either through an HCCC email or social media. Tallies for total amounts have not yet been received. Many of the volunteers present received a behind-the-scenes tour of Goodwill.  Commission members indicated an interest in holding a meeting at Goodwill and receiving the tour. Debbie will arrange the meeting. Hampton Waterways Restoration Project: C Neubert  Claire Neubert reported that Hampton University Marine & Environmental Science students shared the results of their research on “Crassostrea Virginica Oyster Spat Recruitment in the Hampton River” at the last HWRP meeting.  The cigarette butt project is progressing well. The signage will be finished and installed soon. The street sweeping information is still needed. The project should receive TMDL credit when results are in.  The Hampton Seafood Industry Tour will be May 11. Hampton Convention & Visitors’ Bureau will is providing transportation at no cost. A special thank you is due to Isaiah Timmons for his creation of the invitation flyer. Any costs for refreshments and gift bags will be covered by HWRP funds. Special thanks go to Teresa Schmidt, who did so much to smooth the way for the planning of the tour.  HWRP participated in Walk Hampton Clean and will have a display at the Waterwalk grand opening on May 12. In addition, the group will have a display at Sunset Boating Center’s Open House, 800 South Armistead Avenue from noon – 5pm.  Water quality testing was held April 16, 1pm, Gosnold’s Hope Park and Elizabeth Lake.  Oyster Gardening was held April 14, 8:30am, Dandy Haven Marina and April 28, Sunset Boating Center.  An Oyster Roundup will be held June 14 at Dandy Haven Marina, with a seminar from 6pm – 8pm.  The next meeting will be May 10, 6:30pm, at Ft Monroe Community Center.  Clean the Bay Day will be June 2, and members are encouraged to participate.  Hampton City Schools will be holding its annual oyster planting at Elizabeth Lake from May 29 – June 5, in cooperation with the Elizabeth Lake Environmental Stewardship Committee. Litter Awareness Committee: P Parker  Debbie Blanton reminded members that the next Community Cleanup will be held on Big Bethel Road between West Park Lane and Isaac Lane. School Pride in Action Committee: S Lewis  Debbie Blanton noted that the next School Pride meeting will be May 16, 4:30pm, at Panera’s, 2170 Coliseum Drive. This will be the last meeting of the school year.  Sally and Debbie have been discussing a different plastic bag recycling competition in partnership with Kroger. This competition would recognize winners from secondary and elementary levels at first, second, and third place levels. Debbie and Sally will write a project proposal after details are firmed up more. Virginia Cooperative Extension: G Johnson  No report 20180508 Master Gardener:  Wendy Iles reported that the Master Gardeners had 720 customers, 160 in line before the gate opened. Master Naturalist: C Neubert No report HCCC Staff Reports: C Ausink & D Blanton Cris Ausink reported that preliminary numbers for Walk Hampton Clean are 90 miles walked, 354 bags of trash removed, and 10,965 cigarettes removed by 658 volunteers. 52 groups borrowed equipment, 6 are pending equipment return. 10 sites canceled, and 11 reports are missing. Public Comment Jim Williams expressed sincere appreciation for Teresa Schmidt’s service as Councilwoman and as the Council Liaison to the Hampton Clean City Commission. Her efforts are greatly appreciated. He said, and other members concurred, that they hoped she would continue to be part of the group despite the election results. Announcements  LARC Meeting, May 9, 11:30am, Mama Rosa’s  VRA Conference, May 9  HWRP Meeting, May 10, FMCC, 6:30pm  Seafood Tour, May 11, 1pm  Rain Barrel Workshop, May 12, 9am, HCCC  Grand Opening Waterwalk Trail, May 12, 10am  YARDS Judging, May 14, HCCC, 8:30am  Clean & Green Workplaces Meeting, May 15, 3:30pm  School Pride in Action Meeting, May 16, 4:30pm, Panera’s  LARC Community Cleanup, May 18, 3pm, Cooper ES  Making Rocks Workshop, May 19, 9am  VPPSA Collection, May 19, 8am, Coliseum Lot  Clean the Bay Day, June 2, 9am  World Environment Day, June 5  LARC Meeting, June 7, 11:30am, Mama Rosa’s  YARDS Judging, June 11, HCCC, 8:30am  Full Commission Meeting, June 12, 3:30pm, HCCC 20180508