Clean City Commission

FULL COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES Hampton Clean City Commission August 9, 2022 ~ 3:30pm Board Members Present: Jackie Cannan, Chair; Barb Abraham, Chris Grady; Grady McLean, Gayle Mooney; April Receveur (via Zoom), Ryan Adams (via Zoom) Also Present: Angela King, Asst. City Attorney (via Zoom); Councilman Chris Bowman; Dave McCauley (via Zoom); Linda & Robert Boone; Jim Williams; Cris Ausink; C’Faison Harris; Wendy Iles; Courtney Worrall Absent: Alex Maness; Timothy Richardson Opening Business Welcome and Time Sheet: Chair Jackie Cannan called meeting to order, welcomed everyone and reminded all to sign in. Roll Call, Protocol, and Approval of Notes/Minutes: Protocol was read. Roll was conducted and a quorum was present. Gayle Mooney made a motion to approve the July minutes that was seconded by Chris Grady and unanimously approved. Hampton City Council: Councilman Bowman stated that progress continues on both the Mary Jackson Recreation, 1 Fox Hill Neighborhood, and the Aquatic Centers, noting that minor delays were mostly due to supply chain issues. He added that the splash pool at the Aquatic Center might be seen from Pine Chapel Road. Hampton City Attorney: No updates Hampton Parks, Recreation, & Leisure Services: PRLS Director Dave McCauley announced upcoming events (see attached listing). Hampton Public Works: No updates Staff Reports & Financial Overview: Cynthia Harris thanked staff members for the responsibilities they shoulder in keeping the agency moving forward: Cris Ausink for her presentation to the Neighborhood Commissioners regarding seeing partnership for the Hampton Fire Station Appreciation initiative; Courtney Worrall for taking on new tasks, working as a staff liaison for two committees; and Wendy for keeping the social media platforms engaging. A financial statement was included for review. Proposals, Discussion, Voting Items & Updates Virginia Plastic Bag Tax: City Attorney Angela King stated that while she has not yet done as much research on the tax, there are some localities now authorized to impose this 5¢ tax with some limitations. Some plastic bags are subject to the tax, such as durable plastic bags with handles that are designed to be used multiple times, or those 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. 20220809 solely used to wrap, contain, or package ice cream, meat, fish, chicken, produce, prescription drugs, or multiple bags sold for garbage, pet waste, and leaf removal. She is unaware if Hampton has previously evaluated the tax program. Wendy asked how much of the tax would be allocated toward environmental efforts. Allocations would go toward litter abatement, the SNAP/WIC programs, with retail also receiving a portion. It was suggested that Clean City reach out to Keep Virginia Beautiful and other localities to gain insight on issues they may have encountered in getting the tax approved for their cities. Jim Williams asked if there were any locales in Hampton Roads that have applied. Angela responded that while the law has been in place for a few years that most locales are in the Northern Virginia area, such as Alexandria City, Arlington County, Fairfax County, Falls Church City, Fredericksburg City, Loudoun County, and Roanoke City. He then asked how long the approval process would take if Hampton wanted to move forward with the tax. Angela stated that it would take a series of discussion, and then take several more months for it to become effective. Jim then asked if it was feasible to do a citizens survey to see their views on the tax. Cynthia asked that be delayed until more research has been done on our part. It was noted that with this tax, retailers would pass the added burden on to consumers, so finding out just how the tax impacts everyone is of the utmost importance. Linda Boone stated that while she has seen a decrease in plastic bag litter, she now sees an increase in plastic bottle litter. 2022 Volunteer Recognition Update: Wendy is working on a ‘save the date’ announcement for the October 27 event. Proposed sites are Ft. Monroe Community Center, Sandy Bottom Nature Park, and First United Methodist 2 Church of Fox Hill. Staff will try to have a site confirmed by August 26. The program format will be the same as in years past, but the committee is always open to suggestions. The first planning meeting will be Wednesday, August 17 at 2pm, and all were encouraged to participate. This year’s theme is “Focus on the Future.” 2022 Fall Retreat Update: Cynthia announced a correction to this year’s retreat date – it will be Saturday, November 12 instead of November 5. Chris Bowman has already reserved meeting space at Hampton FOP Lodge #26 at 36 Wine Street for the event. He asked that Cynthia let him know when she’d like to visit the site. The retreat will be from 9am-3pm - lunch and snacks will be provided. 2022 Holiday Dinner Update: Holiday dinners are usually held on December’s meeting date, in lieu of a board meeting. Cynthia stated that former board vice chair John Moyer is willing to assist in reserving space for the December 13 event and suggested the Paradise Ocean Club on Ft. Monroe, Olive Garden, and Red Lobster. Members did not want to revisit the Ft. Monroe site, but said they’d be interested in either of the remaining two. They were asked to submit any other locations as soon as possible. A decision will be made at the September 13 board meeting. Committee & Partner Updates Beautification: Gayle Mooney announced that the judges reviewed three beautiful yards on August 1. Kathy and David Rogers on 2nd Street were selected as the August YARDS winners. Gayle stated that the Rogers live the life of environmental stewards, doing all the work in their yard, using rain barrels efficiently, and just keeping sustainability at the top of the list in all they do. The next monthly YARDS judging will take place September 12, and the search for the Beautiful Yard of the Year will be September 19. 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. 20220809 Bee City USA-Hampton: Barb Abraham said the committee met on July 21 and they are currently working on a map of public pollinator gardens throughout the city. So far, $240 has been collected for pollinator garden certification signs. At the Bee City public outreach event at the Farmer’s Market, the committee had 215 visitors to its table, and received $293 in donations. Barb added that the committee will also be discussing a possible change in the date and time of its current meetings and will bring any changes to the September board meeting for discussion and approval. She also noted that the committee just completed the last of its seven webinars. Clean & Green Workplaces: Jim stated that the committee did not meet in July but will meet August 16 and will welcome Dominique DeBose of Economic Development/Partnership for a New Phoebus, and Joe Griffith, Phoebus Neighborhood Commissioner/Partnership for a New Phoebus. Carolyn Heaps-Pecaro of Resilient Hampton is also expected to attend. Right now, they have only received two Clean Business nominations, one for Sommer Freeze Ice Cream Shop and another for a doctor’s office. They will be contacting both to schedule visits and make a determination for the 3rd Quarter Clean Business winner. Barb spoke about the flowchart she asked Courtney Worrall to create, explaining the flowchart will show the process for how committees are to submit meeting notices, agendas, and minutes that will meet the FOIA rules. Courtney has prepared the chart that will be distributed to each of the committee chairs prior to the September meeting. Jackie brought up the issue of panhandlers that congregate at the 7-Eleven at Village Drive and Big Bethel Road, complaining that they leave massive amounts of trash, debris, and cigarette litter around the store. She’s asked the storeowners to speak with one of the panhandlers about simply using the trashcans, but the problem still exists. Jim stated that since there’s a new police chief, maybe asking him to come to a board meeting to discuss the issue of 3 enforcement of litter laws and how to deal with panhandlers would be necessary. Cynthia asked what role Clean City might play in enforcement of litter laws other than educating those that wanted to be educated about them. Jim responded that just being able to share information and statistics with the chief would be a beginning. Cris Ausink then gave an example of how educating a homeless person proved fruitful in that she has now seen evidence of that person actually bagging their trash and setting it out for collection. Linda Boone asked how would enforcement of litter laws financially affect citizens. Ryan also noted that mental health is a major issue with which police are now dealing, and added that panhandling is a low priority for them right now. Cynthia stated that we need to keep on top of this issue. Hampton Waterways Restoration Project: Linda Boone shared that the committee has discussed tentative change in meeting frequency and asked the board to approve a meeting schedule of the second Wednesday of every other month. Chris Grady made a motion to accept with a second provided by Jackie. The motion unanimously carried. Meetings for the remainder of the year will be September 14 and November 9. The committee will be performing public outreach at the September 10 Arts in the Park event at Buckroe Beach, with the theme being, “Seize the Bay.” This is an effort to educate the public on the importance of watershed and waterway sustainability measures and to promote a behavioral change in how people view their roles in sustainability. An update of the Bluebird Gap Farm Master Plan will be forthcoming. Cris and Linda met with Farm Manager Adam Newland on August 2 and will be working with Hampton City Schools on the farm’s “Trash Bash” project. Linda stated that plastic disintegrates so it would be more feasible for Kecoughtan HS students to design and make a new 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. 20220809 sculpture every 2-4 years. Photos will be take on each sculpture to place on signage so that returning students and young adults would be able to see their work with each visit to the farm. They will be discussing this project with the school liaisons. Linda also stated that its lone functioning bee house is in need of repair; Wendy suggested that Barb speak with Colonial Beekeepers about assisting. Adam would also like some signage that would provide information about the bee houses. Lastly, Bluebird Gap Farm will host its annual Farm Festival on September 22-23, 10am-5pm. All were encouraged to attend. Litter & Recycling Awareness: Cris and Ryan discussed the Hampton Fire Department Cleanup Project with cleanups at various station sites to run September through June. Cris announced the project at the recent Neighborhood Commissioners meeting and received support for the event. She is to provide to Anna Hammond of the Neighborhood Office, a summary of how the committee would like commissioners and their neighborhoods to be involved in the project and is asking them to provide sites within their districts for cleanups. Ryan added that the idea of presenting gift cards to each fire station’s three shifts is being researched along with a donation letter asking businesses for their help in showing appreciation. Ryan asked if a donation jar could be at public outreach events, but it was noted that a staff member must be on hand to oversee that function. Further discussion of the project will be forthcoming. . 4 School Pride in Action: No updates VA Cooperative Extension: No updates Hampton VCE Master Gardeners: No updates VA Peninsula Master Naturalists: Linda announced that the Pawpaw Festival will be August 27 at the historic Endview Plantation in Newport News, 11am-4pm. VMN members will be on hand with representatives from the Butterfly Society of Virginia, Virginia Bee Society, Hampson Roads Bird Club, Leave No Trace, Newport News Waterworks, and the Peninsula Tree Stewards to celebrate one of only two native fruits to Virginia. She noted that the festival is replete with inspirational trails and walkways and there will be culinary offerings made from the pawpaw fruit. “The fruit is said to taste as a combination of mango, banana, and coconut, with the consistency of banana. The fruit looks like a very small green banana.” (www.foodandwine.com). The festival will offer free tastings and items for purchase. Public Comment: none. Wendy asked that anyone needing to have information posted to social media to please send the information to her so details might be confirmed prior to posting. Please have the info to her 48 hours ahead of the need to schedule the post. Meeting adjourned: A motion to adjourn was made, seconded, and unanimously carried at 5:01pm. Minutes submitted by CFHarris 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. 20220809