Clean City Commission

FULL COMMISSION MEETING NOTES Hampton Clean City Commission November 9, 2021 ~ 3:30pm Board Members Present: Ryan Adams (Zoom), Barb Abraham, Jackie Cannan, Gayle Mooney, April Receveur, Also Present: Dave McCauley, HPRLS (Zoom); Linda & Robert Boone; Cris Ausink; Wendy Iles; C’Faison Harris Absent: Chris Grady (excused), Alex Maness (excused); Grady McLean, Liam Thurkettle Opening Business Welcome and Time Sheet: Cynthia Harris called the meeting to order, welcoming everyone and asked all to sign in. Roll Call, Protocol , and Approval of Notes/ Minutes : Roll was called, however, a quorum was not present. Protocol was read and it was noted that the October 12 minutes would be tabled until the next regularly scheduled meeting. Hampton City Council: Wendy Iles reminded all present of the surprise tribute for former HCCC 1 Coordinator Debbie Blanton at the November 10 Council meeting, asking all who are attending to please arrive prior to 6pm for seating. Hampton City Attorney: The Assistant City Attorney (ACA) is still waiting on the Budget Office’s decision on how to handle funding for HWRP’s oyster restoration proposal. Cynthia to meet with the ACA and Finance the week of November 15. Hampton Parks, Recreation, & Leisure Services: Dave McCauley announced that the 2021 Wonder Walk will take place December 4-12, 5-9pm each evening. Wendy is working with HCCC volunteers who wish to adopt and decorate a tree along the Wonder Walk. Dave asked that event coordinator Sunny Deming be contacted to see how HCCC volunteers could offer assistance. Vendors and performers will be stationed along the lighted pathway and Dave asked that if anyone knew of any bands, choirs, etc., that would be willing to help out, to let Sunny know as soon as possible. Hampton Public Works: No report Financial Overview: Budget allowances for each of the subcommittees will be discussed at the January meeting, stating that at least three board members be a part of this ad hoc budget committee. Those interested were asked to notify Cynthia by November 19. She added that the generous $300 donation received last month was made by member April Receveur, with $150 being added to Other Operational Supplies and $150 added to HCS Printing Services. The Hampton Clean City Commission works to improve and enhance the physical environment of Hampton through beautification, solid waste management education, coastal awareness activities, and litter abatement programs; educates citizens; and encourages their participation. As an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful Inc., we share the philosophy that each of us has a responsibility for enhancing our community environment. 20211109 Proposals, Discussion , Voting Items & Updates Board Member Commitment: All board members were asked to keep in mind their commitment to be a part of agency projects, events, and initiatives, particularly in the coming months. There are a host of ideas for programs and events and she asked for everyone to review proposed events to see where they could best serve. Gayle Mooney asked for examples of events. Wendy stated that in the past, committees tended to work separately from one another – for instance, Bee City USA-Hampton and Litter & Recycling Awareness held separate public outreach events at the Buckroe Beach Farmers Market. While well-attended, she asked that all committees work together on more events to increase not only board member participation, but also public awareness and citizen involvement. It was suggested by Jackie Cannan to look at public venues such as Sandy Bottom Nature Park and Bluebird Gap Farm when doing city-wide public outreach. Wendy said she’d like to fashion future events after those like Go-Green where there were speakers, demonstrations, plant sales, vendors, etc., and where visitors are allowed to move about freely from one display to the next. Cynthia added that the 311 Customer Contact Center Director Lori Thomas has offered her assistance in providing reverse 311 information calls about upcoming events. Jackie also suggested a ‘beautiful neighborhood’ contest similar to the of the Beautiful Yards contest to get more neighborhoods involved in community beautification efforts. Jim Williams reiterated the need for branding to not only get HCCC’s name out there, but to keep it at the forefront of all things environmentally connected. He noted that making HCCC’s affiliation with Keep America Beautiful, Inc. is a great way to start the branding process. Cynthia added that KAB would be a great resource for getting city-wide 2 events off the ground. Members were asked if they thought having a retreat to discuss short- and long-term goals, strategies, and events would be something into which they could invest their time. Jackie stated that past retreats were ok, but there were too many ideas and goals that were recommended, and very few that received follow-through. It was suggested that members submit their goals and events ideas to staff for compilation, and then members could select three they felt would be most advantageous. Members are to email their ideas to Cynthia by Monday, December 6, 2021. HCCC Holiday Dinner: Members were asked if they wanted to have the annual holiday dinner, tentatively slated for Tuesday, December 14, 5:30-7:30pm. Barb Abraham stated that to ease everyone’s minds about social distancing, a spacious venue is required. Jackie added that the year before, Debbie Blanton secured a venue where members were separated from other patrons, but she could not recall the name of the venue. April suggested an alternative to dinner in having members meet as a group along the Wonder Walk and offer hot chocolate, hot cider, etc., in kind of a tailgate party atmosphere. Cynthia to send suggestions, including these, by November 16 to members for a final tally on whether to hold an event, and, if so, where and what type. 2021 Volunteer Recognition Event : Volunteer awards and gift bags will be distributed Friday, November 19 (9am-3pm) and Saturday, November 20 (10a-2pm). Volunteers are requested to The Hampton Clean City Commission works to improve and enhance the physical environment of Hampton through beautification, solid waste management education, coastal awareness activities, and litter abatement programs; educates citizens; and encourages their participation. As an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful Inc., we share the philosophy that each of us has a responsibility for enhancing our community environment. 20211109 assist. Award winner items will be located in YH Thomas’ Red Room and all other volunteer swag bags will be in HCCC’s conference room. It was noted that City Manager Mary Bunting penned congratulatory cards to all the major award winners, and Mayor Donnie Tuck provided an online thank you presentation to all of HCCC’s hundreds of volunteers. That presentation link was made available in the October newsletter and on the agency’s social media platforms. The HCCC Full Commission will also add its very own thank you to the volunteer swag bags. Committee , Partner , Staff Updates Beautification : No report Bee City USA - Hampton : Training webinars are in the works and will be available the third Thursday of each month, January – July from 7-8pm. The webinars will be featured on Zoom or Eventbrite. Barb added that instead of the committee sponsoring a ‘paint night’ it is looking into having a fundraiser to highlight restaurants in Phoebus. Lastly, she stated that with the Bee City plant sale and donations, there is enough in its budget line item to pay the $500 annual membership fee for 2022. Clean & Green Workplaces : Debbie Blanton is working on a flyer for Clean Business nominations similar to that of the Beautiful Yards program. The nomination form is now online on the agency’s website and so far, one nomination has been received. The Clean Business Forum is normally held on a quarterly basis by Hampton, York County, Newport News, and James City County. Due to Covid, the forums were cancelled last year, but York County will 3 host a virtual event on December 6. Jim stated that Hampton’s Clean Business winner for this quarter is “Less Than,” a new “Zero Waste + Refill Shop” located at 24. S. King Street. Less Than offers sustainable alternatives to everyday goods that are healthy for both people and the planet with a focus on eco-friendly products with compostable or bio-degradable packaging. Its refill stations offer liquid goods and candle refills. Information about York County’s virtual event will be available very soon. Community Gardens: There are currently three available plots in addition to two handicap plots at Buckroe. Monthly classes to begin in January and updates are forthcoming. One special class will be on herbal remedies, conducted by Jill Davis. Wendy also spoke of how important the Community Garden Giving Table is to surrounding neighborhoods, in that the homeless population often come by and even the fire stations have picked up a few of the harvested items. In addition to distributing fresh produce from North Phoebus Community Garden at the North Phoebus Community Center, the organization SAME (So All May Eat) also received produce from the Community Garden Feeds program. A Seed Swap will take place Saturday, December 4, 10am-12pm in the YH Thomas Red Room. Wendy was reminded by Councilman Chris Bowman earlier to talk about the successful national American Community Gardening Association conference hosted by Wendy in mid-September. She said that the host committee’s 27 volunteers took care of more than 100 attendees and that Mayor Donnie Tuck, Councilman Bowman, and HPRLS Director Dave McCauley all were there to welcome the participants. She added that Jim Williams was also a facilitator and that the The Hampton Clean City Commission works to improve and enhance the physical environment of Hampton through beautification, solid waste management education, coastal awareness activities, and litter abatement programs; educates citizens; and encourages their participation. As an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful Inc., we share the philosophy that each of us has a responsibility for enhancing our community environment. 20211109 event featured renowned writer and owner of the Southern Exposure Seed Exchange was the guest speaker, which undoubtedly added to the ratings being the highest ever received for an ACGA conference. Dave said the event was a ‘class act’ and thanked Wendy for a job well done in bringing folks to Hampton, many who said they are likely to return in the near future. Dave also asked if Wendy could see if some of the same vendors would be available for the upcoming Wonder Walk. Hampton Waterways Restoration Project : Linda noted that at the October meeting, Cynthia was the featured speaker and spoke about subcommittee protocol, the HWRP/HCS oyster gardening proposal, and the possibility of having students assist with HWRP social media. HCS Stem Teacher Betsy McAllister contacted Bethel HS instructors to find about student help and they will be in contact with Betsy in the near future. The cleanup at Billy Woods Canal was postponed, volunteers did cleanup up the waterway at Bluebird Gap Farm, collecting 113lbs of trash and debris, and covering 175 sq. ft. Member Grady McLean collected data for the Indian River cleanup which was submitted to PW Stormwater Engineering. It was noted that not as many cigarette ends were found as in previous cleanups. Cris added that an urgent need for volunteers is needed for a cleanup at Dandy Haven shoreline on Saturday, November 13, 9- 11am and for anyone able to help to contact her as soon as possible. Litter and Recycling Awareness: Jackie said that the shopping center manager at Big Bethel and Village Drive asked about the possibility of getting cigarette butlers. Cynthia directed the question to Jim and C&GB committee will work on that. Cris said that the committee is still 4 collecting new and unused greeting cards that will be donated to a senior rehabilitation facility for residents’ use. The Hampton Master Gardeners are also working with this facility. The committee had a community cleanup on November 4 at Gosnold’s Hope Park with Pat Parker and three other volunteers. Dave noted that with the sports season in full swing, the park may need frequent cleanups. It was added that PRLS Recreation Manager DeRocke Croom is working closely with teams to insure the parks are cleaned after each event. LRAC AAS statistics for the month of October: 26 groups participated with 365 volunteers who had a total of 70 cleanups. Those cleanups resulted in 519 volunteer hours, 269 bags of trash collected, and 5,130 cigarette ends collected and properly disposed. School Pride in Action: The first SPIA meeting will be held Thursday, November 11, 4:15pm. Educators are excited about getting back into the swing of environmental education projects and initiatives. Hampton Master Gardeners: The current new MG training cycle will end in November. A virtual plant sale is open now for only a few more days – members encouraged to review and participate. April 30, 2022 is the date for the next MG Plant Sale at Bluebird Gap Farm. Hampton Master Naturalists: The Master Naturalists are participating in a tour of Newport News Waterworks – many members were unaware that such a thing existed. Linda stated that due to Covid, tours were postponed but are gearing up once again. She encouraged members The Hampton Clean City Commission works to improve and enhance the physical environment of Hampton through beautification, solid waste management education, coastal awareness activities, and litter abatement programs; educates citizens; and encourages their participation. As an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful Inc., we share the philosophy that each of us has a responsibility for enhancing our community environment. 20211109 to check out the website for more information. The MNs are submitting to DOF a grant application for $5000 for seedlings to be distributed to Hampton and Newport News City Schools. The next MN meeting is Tuesday, November 9, 6pm. Staff Reports: No report Meeting adjourned A motion to adjourn was made, seconded, and unanimously carried at 4:54pm. Announcements  Clean & Green Workplaces Meeting, November 16, HCCC, 3:30pm  2021 Volunteer Award & Gift Distribution, HCCC, November 19, 9a-3p & November 20, 10a-2p  THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY, November 25-26, HCCC Offices Closed  York County hosts quarterly Clean Business Forum, December 1, virtual event  HPRLS WonderWalk, December 4-12, 5-9pm – VOLUNTEERS NEEDED  SPIA Meeting, December 9, 4:15pm, HCCC  HCCC Holiday Activity, Tuesday, December 16, 5:30pm TENTATIVE  CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY, December 23-24, HCCC Offices Closed  NEW YEARS HOLIDAY, December 31, HCCC Offices Closed  LRAC Meeting, January 6, Mama Rosa’s, 11:30am  HCCC Full Commission Meeting, January 11, 2022 5  HWRP Meeting, January 12, FMCC, 6:30pm  SPIA Meeting, January 13, HCCC, 4:15pm  Clean & Green Workplaces Meeting, January 18, HCCC, 3:30pm  Bee City USA-Hampton Meeting, January 20, HCCC, 1pm  Bee City USA-Hampton Webinar Series Begins, January 20, 7-8pm The Hampton Clean City Commission works to improve and enhance the physical environment of Hampton through beautification, solid waste management education, coastal awareness activities, and litter abatement programs; educates citizens; and encourages their participation. As an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful Inc., we share the philosophy that each of us has a responsibility for enhancing our community environment. 20211109