Neighborhood Commission Agendas & Minutes

MINUTES Hampton Neighborhood Commission Meeting Community Development Department June 9, 2014 Time 5:00 – 6:30PM Present Ann Bane, School Rep Alice Callahan, District 6 David Duxbury, District 1 Steven Edwards, Chair-Elect Barbara Franklin, Public Relations Rep. James Gray, City Rep. Kathy Johnson, Chair Sandra King-Medina, District 4 John Lowe, District 7 Henry Mills, Institutional Rep. Patricia Parker, District 5 Anthony Reyes, City Rep. Jason Samuels, District 8 Peggy Todd, At-Large Rep. Rhonda Woods, District 9 Jonathan McBride, Executive Director Jasmine Bryson, Recording Secretary Absent Pamela Croom, District 2 Ron Davis, City Rep. Judy Hart, District 10 Chris Henderson, District 3 Grace Kelley, Youth Rep. Nehemiah Lipford Guests I. Opening Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 5:00pm. A. Roll Call and Verification of Quorum Quorum verified. 1  B. Pledge of Allegiance C. Approval of Minutes of the May 12, 2014 Neighborhood Commission Meeting The Chair asked for consideration of the minutes for the May 12, 2014 Neighborhood Commission meeting with necessary amendments made.  Henry Mills was marked absent, yet he seconded the motion for consideration of support for the Citizen’s Unity Commission’s Listening Tour. o This was changed to show he was present.  Steve Edwards was marked as voting in favor of the consideration of support for the Citizen’s Unity Commission’s Listening Tour and then marked absent for the same vote. o This was amended to reflex Steve was present and he was in favor of the motion. Kathy Johnson made a motion to approve the minutes. Ann Bane 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 The Chair had several announcements:  In the recent city election, Jason Samuels was elected to serve on the Hampton City School Board.  Also Jonathan McBride is now the new Director of the Neighborhood Office. E. Recognitions None II. Director’s Report The Director reported:  Shellae Blackwell - Former Neighborhood Office employee, Shellae Blackwell has returned to work with the Community Development Department primary as the liaison for the Safe and Clean Initiative to conduct neighborhood outreach. 2   Hiring Update - Currently the Housing and Neighborhood Office is hiring four new positions and the application period closed on Sunday, June 8, 2014. By the end of the month the interview process should be done and new employees should be hired and working by July. It will take time to train and get everyone up to speed.  Hoarding Workshop – The workshop will take place on June 17, 2014 from 1pm to 3pm at Sandy Bottom Nature Park. o Hoarding has now been classified as a mental disability by the American Psychological Association (APA). o During the workshop the Virginia Housing Office will come to speak and will cover ways to approach and work with people with this disorder in regards to fair housing regulations. o Police, Human Services, Healthy Families Partnership, and THE City Attorney’s office are all coming to participant. o James Gray made a suggestion to add Animal Control to the list of attendees due this being a type of compulsive hoarding and closely related to animal cruelty. III. Items to be Presented by Public None IV. Briefings None V. Action Items A. Consideration of the Pasture Point Neighborhood Association Neighborhood Improvement Fund Application Henry Mills presented the Pasture Point Neighborhood Association has submitted an application requesting $93,000 dollars for beautification and to improve certain parts of the neighborhood, such as fixing cross walks, landscape medians, create a parking lane on Pembroke Ave., etc. The Chair asked for a motion to approve the application for the grant. The Chair called for a vote. APPROVED AYES: 13- A. Bane, A. Callahan, D. Duxbury, S. Edwards, B. Franklin, J. Gray, K. Johnson, S. King-Medina, J. Lowe, H. Mills, P. Parker, A. Reyes, J. Samuels, P. Todd, and R. Woods NAYS: 0 3  ABSTAIN: 0 ABSENT: 6- P. Croom, R. Davis, J. Hart, C. Henderson, G. Kelley, and N. Lipford. VI. Dialogue A. Committee Status Reports on Work Plan Progress 1. Executive Committee a. Meet and Mingles – Committee recommends continuing to have the recognitions of local organizations, but possibly take it a step further by recognizing some children organizations. i. Also improve advertisement through the Home Repair Blitzes and outreach from the District Commissioners for the Meet and Greets. b. Commissioner Retreat – The retreat will focus on providing more guidance on the commissioner role and an extra orientation for the new commissioners. c. Improve Interview Process – Amend interview questions and process to aid the Neighborhood Commission in determining the best candidates for the organization needs. Also this will help applicants decide if this is a position they really want to obtain. d. Welcome Letter – The committee recommends creating a welcome letter from the Chair to all new commissioners. i. Along with the letter, the committee suggests having a monthly bulletin from the Chair informing commissioners of updates, upcoming events and/or matters for them to consider for the next meeting. e. Mentorship available for new commissioner with the veteran/departing commissioner. i. The leaving commissioner could supply the new commissioner with all their networks, resources, and contacts to make the transition easier. f. Jonathan noted the committee recommended having the next Meet and Mingle during the next You Make a Difference Event in February. 2. Nominating Committee- No report 3. Youth Committee a. The committee had their Welcome Event on June 9th at 7:00pm in the City Council Chambers to greet all their new members. b. They had a busy end of the year and are wrapping up until the fall. 4. Grant Review Committee a. Neighborhood Sign – Henry Mills announced the Tide Mill Neighborhood sign grant was finally approved. Through all the complications and delays, the sign grant was finalized and the project will be completed soon. 4  b. Aberdeen Gardens – Ann Bane reported the Aberdeen Gardens held their Annual Heritage Day, June 28th, which was a huge success. 5. Civic Communications Committee – No report; the committee is having their first meeting Wednesday, June 11th. 6. Neighborhood-Schools Partnership Committee – Ann Bane noted the committee hasn’t met officially yet until the Neighborhood Office has more staff, but they will be sending out a letter of consideration for suggestion on home to improve the relationship between the community and Hampton City Schools. a. Kathy Johnson reported the committed hosted the Out of School Time Symposium Event which was very successful and a big thanks to Hampton City Schools as well as Dale Rogers. 7. Community Appearance, Pride and Image Committee a. Peggy reported the committee is been discussing the potential restrictions of the Parking on the Lawn effort. i. The committee decided to gear it towards educating neighborhoods on the hazards and repercussions of parking on the lawn. ii. Also they would like to present this to the Executive Committee first before to get suggestions on how to go about educating the community. b. In addition, the committee discussed the upcoming Statewide Neighborhood Conference. i. Background: The annual Virginia Statewide Neighborhood Conference provides an excellent opportunity for communities from across the Commonwealth to come together and share their knowledge, experience and vision on how to make Virginia’s neighborhoods the neighborhoods of choice. While each neighborhood is unique, all neighborhoods across Virginia face very similar issues and challenges ranging from the basics of organizing to addressing the complicated issues of public safety. Each year the conference is attended by a diverse group of grass roots neighborhood leaders and youth, non-profit and government staff, and others working in the field of neighborhood development. ii. Applications to participate are available online at http://vsnc.org/. VII. Items by Commissioners  David Duxbury inquired about what issues should be brought up to the Commission. He noted there are several issues in his district, such as 5  potholes, the type of repairs of these potholes lasting, violence in the Northampton area and what to do when nothing is done. o Suggestions were made to contact 311 first, then if that is not successful to place a compliant and speak with the department directly. o Also it was noted to have Cynthia Laurrell come to one of the meetings to speak to the group about the process when calling 311 and what can be done about the issues with the process. o Kathy Johnson clarified issues can be brought to the Neighborhood Commission during this part of the meeting. Once the item is heard, at that point it can be determined if a solution can be found through a contacting with another commission or whether the items needs further debate in which care it can be added to the agenda for a formal vote. VIII. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 6:30pm. Next Meeting Date: July 14, 2014 @ 5:00PM. Location: Community Development Conference Room 6