Neighborhood Commission Agendas & Minutes

MINUTES Hampton Neighborhood Commission Meeting Community Development Department August 12, 2013 Time 5:00 - 6:30PM Present Ann Bane, School Rep. Nancy Belew, District 3 Alice Callahan, District 6 Robin Carpenter, District 7 Ron Davis, City Rep. Karen Duncan, District 1 Steven Edwards, Institutional Rep. James Gray, City Rep. Kathy Johnson, Institutional Rep. Henry Mills, Institutional Rep. Patricia Parker, District 5 Anthony Reyes, City Rep. Tommy Southall, District 9 Valerie Twine, District 2 Angelique Shenk, Executive Director Rashida Costley-Clarke, Recording Secretary Absent Ryan Jones, Youth Rep. Sandra King-Medina, District 4 Jason Samuels, District 8 Peggy Todd, At-Large Rep. Anthony White, Youth Rep. Judy Hart, Chair Guests Mike Long John Gajdek I. Opening Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 5:10pm. A. Roll Call and Verification of Quorum 1  Quorum verified. B. Pledge of Allegiance C. Approval of Minutes of the June 10, 2013 and July 8, 2013 Neighborhood Commission Meeting The Chair asked for consideration of the minutes for the June 10, 2013 and July 8, 2013 Neighborhood Commission meeting. Tommy Southall made a motion to approve the minutes. Karen Duncan seconded the motion. The Chair called for a vote. Chair voiced, “All in favor please say aye.” Response, “aye.” Chair voiced, “Opposed?” Response – none. Minutes approved. D. Chair Announcements • Commissioners welcomed the new Patricia Parker in District 5. • The Chair announced Henry Mills as the new Chair of the Civic Communications Committee. • Judy Hart is having medical issues and at this time is unable to serve as Commission Chair. She will continue in her role as District 10 Commissioner until a new candidate is appointed. Kathy will serve as acting Chair until October when a new Chair is selected. Commissioners were asked to sign and circulate the card for Judy before the leaving tonight. E. Recognitions • Two neighborhoods were recognized as new Registered Neighborhood Organizations; Farmington Civic Association and Aberdeen Gardens Historic & Civic Association. A representative from Farmington was in attendance to accept a certificate of participation. Major Davis accepted the certificate on behalf of Aberdeen Gardens. II. Directors Report • Sabrina Carr updated the Commissioners regarding the upcoming Virginia Statewide Neighborhood Conference. Registration forms were provided. Commissioners interested in attending the conference they are asked to submit their form to Sabrina as soon as possible. • A proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendment will be presented to City Council on Wednesday regarding chickens. The proposal recommends a permit and inspection for citizens interested in keeping chickens. It also limits the number of 2  chickens to 4 and does not allow roosters. Citizens who already keep chickens will be grandfathered. • The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development approved the disposition of the Lincoln Park Public Housing project. The Hampton Redevelopment and Housing Authority will work over the next year to relocated residents. • Christopher Hurt was introduced to the Neighborhood Commission; he is the newly hired Neighborhood Youth Planner. III. Items to be Presented by Public • Mike Long 132 Toler’s Rd. Williamsburg, VA Mike spoke regarding clothing drop boxes. He is the manager of the Disabled American of Veterans (DAV). They currently own 7 stores in the Hampton Roads area and clothing drop boxes are their primary means of receiving donations. DAV gets the permission of property owners to places boxes on their site. If the owners are not satisfied with maintenance the DAV will remove them immediately. The DAV asks that the Commission not let the poor performance of some drop box owners hinder the operation of others. • John Gajdek, 6812 Meadowland Dr. Norfolk, VA John, also from the DAV added that the organization found it to be more cost effective to have drop boxes than other means of collecting. All profits from the drop boxes are used locally on programming for veterans such as transportation to and from doctor’s appointments. IV. Briefings A. Analysis of Clothing Drop Boxes Melissa Sajid was in attendance to receive feedback and answer questions regarding regulating drop boxes. Feedback received by Commissioners from leaders in their districts and sectors included; • Non-profits o Most concerned with boxes not being labeled and not well maintained. o Majority felt these boxes should be regulated • District 7 o Partnership for new Phoebus supported for option 3. o Many felt these boxes were unsightly and that there are too many popping up around neighborhoods. o Residents will to continue to support the responsible groups that maintain their boxes. o There was no preference on whether the boxes should be limited to commercial or non-profit operations. • District 3 o Limit the number of boxes an organization can have. o Make sure boxes are spread out 3  o The organizations collecting should be non-profits not for-profit organizations o Limit the number of boxes in shopping centers o Did not like the idea of grandfathering, some type of permit should be required o Boxes should be clearly marked • District 8 o Response from Crown Pointe: Three members indicated that they support option #2. o We had, what we call, our "Leadership Meeting" for Magnolia Neighborhood. In attendance were representatives from Magnolia Neighborhood, Memorial Baptist, Central United Methodist, First Presbyterian and Kingdom Builders Church. We discussed the clothing drop boxes. We feel the city should go with option 3; strongest regulation. Many of the boxes are soliciting goods for "thrift store businesses" and not charities. We also felt the city has been making an effort to "clean-up" the city visually and these boxes go against that goal. We also think you should not grandfather clause existing ones, but give them a period of time to register their boxes. The problem has become bad enough for everyone to notice, so grandfathering will only grandfather the problem and blithe. Between the Goodwill Building, the various organizations that will pick- up goods from residents and area churches that will take in goods for charity; there is more than enough collection spots in Hampton. • District 9 o Too many boxes appearing and they are frequently moved o Grandfathering existing boxes won’t resolve current issues. o Don’t want to see them on every street corner and every available parking space. • District 6 o Main concerns are that boxes are overflowing and not clearly labeled. • District 2 o Who is regulating the boxes? o Will permit fees cover regulating cost? o Residents had similar concerns as the other districts • District 1 o Limit the number of boxes in a shopping center and the number an organization can have throughout the city o Make sure the boxes are clearly labeled o Main concerns are around aesthetics. Is it possible to regulate size of the boxes? o Regulate the frequency of pickups? Common themes from the feedback received; 4  • Support for responsible charities • Limits; (1) either the number of boxes per area, (2) the number by an organization, or (3) limit the size of the boxes • Enforce maintenance to prevent blight • Require boxes to be clearly labeled. • Don’t allow grandfathering • Many would prefer only non-profits be allowed drop boxes. For-profits can have boxes on their own property B. Meet & Mingle Debrief • The Chair opened the discussion by summarizing the feedback from the Executive Committee. Commissioners felt the feedback from Executive Committee captured their thoughts and ideas well. One additional suggestion was to advertise the meetings through the school system to increase participation. C. Discussion regarding Invocation • Kathy introduced the discussion by briefing the Commission on the letter received by the City Attorney, and the discussions of the Executive Committee. Several options were posed to the Commission; (1) to continue the invocation as usual, (2) to come up with a creative alternative or (3) remove the invocation from the agenda. • There were several comments from the group including; o Discussion regarding using a moment of silence instead of a prayer o Concerns about diversity. The Commission should embrace diversity but our prayer is specific to one religion. o Concern about regulating the prayer • After further discussion the Commission came to the consensus to remove the invocation from the Commission agenda. D. Safe & Clean Campaign • James Gray gave an overview of the Safe & Clean Initiative. The purpose of the initiative is to establish relationships with neighborhoods to communicate with police and city officials, and also attacking blight. The Hampton Police Division to address the increase in crime. Several measures have been put into place for the initiative including; reassigning of administrative officers to street duty, working with state police and probation officers and making more arrest of citizens with warrants and drug related crimes. • Major Davis gave a presentation on the initiative. Highlights of the presentation included; o Crime rates o Proposed solutions for addressing crime such as increased patrols, enhanced equipment and surveillance, joint investigations and collaboration with various departments o Ways the Commissioners can get involved 5  Motion to Extend The Chair asked for a motion to extend the meeting to 7pm. Tommy Southall made a motion to extend the meeting. Alice Callahan seconded the motion. The Chair called for a vote. Chair voiced, “All in favor please say aye.” Response, “aye.” Chair voiced, “Opposed?” Response – none. Motion carried. • Staff has identified crime and codes violation hot spots. The mobile command unit and staff members will be engaging neighborhoods and having neighborhood meetings in those areas. • Major Davis also informed the Commission of ordinance changes; o Curfew change- Teens under 14 the curfew is 10pm, teens 14-17 curfew is 11pm. o Proposed ordinance amendment to limit the number of days someone is allowed to stay in a hotel. o Proposed rental inspection program • Questions and comments from Neighborhood Commissioners included; o Can this presentation be made available to neighborhoods and neighborhood watch groups? Yes o Tommy Southall also discussed briefly the Community Action Coalition for the Prevention of Youth Violence group. Tommy and Steve Brown are co- chairs of the group. There will be a basketball tournament on August 24 at the Boo Williams Sportsplex. IV. Action Items A. Consideration of the Nominating Process for District Commissioners • Tommy Southall reported on behalf of the Nominating Committee. The Committee would like to recommend two candidates to City Council for appointment, Pamela Croom (District 2) and David Duxbury (District 9). • Both were selected based on their interview and qualifications. The committee asked for consideration of the nominating process for Districts 2 and 9. Recommendations from committees do not require a motion. The Chair called for a vote. Chair voiced, “All in favor please say aye.” Response, “aye.” Chair voiced, “Opposed?” Response – none. Motion carried. 6  B. Consideration of the Nominating Process for At-Large Commissioner • The Nominating Committee would like to recommend one candidate to City Council for appointment, Barbara Franklin. Barbara was selected based on her interview and qualifications. The committee asked for consideration of the nominating process for the Public Relations position. The Chair called for a vote. Chair voiced, “All in favor please say aye.” Response, “aye.” Chair voiced, “Opposed?” Response – none. Motion carried. V. Dialogue A. Strategic Issues Discussion B. Committee Status Reports 1. Executive Committee • The next Executive Committee meeting will be rescheduled. 2. Nominating Committee 3. Grant Review Committee 4. Youth Report 5. Civic Communications 6. Neighborhood-School Partnerships • The group has been actively working virtually. • The PTA kickoff is scheduled for August 27 at 6:30pm at the Ruppert Sargent Building. • Committee drafted an “Opening of School Letter” to be sent on behalf of the Commission. The goal of the letter is to get the letter out as many ways as possible. 7. Community Appearance, Pride and Image V. Other Matters by Commissioners • Nancy Belew apologized to the Commission for her absence. Her family is preparing to move out of the district but will be staying in Hampton. She is recruiting for a replacement and brought a potential candidate, Chris Henderson to the meeting to observe. • Valerie Twine took a CERT class and encourages everyone to take the class with their neighborhood. • Tony Reyes acknowledged the letter received from Pasture Point regarding traffic concerns. Tony will discuss the concerns with Public Work tomorrow and will provide results from traffic surveys to the Executive Committee as soon as they become available. 7 Next Meeting Date: September 9, 2013 @ 5:00PM. Location: Community Development Department 8