Parks & Recreation Advisory Board

Parks, Recreation & Leisure Services Advisory Board Meeting Tuesday, November 7, 2023 | 5:00 p.m. | 5th floor City Hall, Canty Conference Room Members: Michelle Griffin, Chair Dr. June Javier, Vice Chair Dr. Irina A. Gorbunova-Ford Katherine G. Dermanis DeRocke Croom Jennifer R. Parker Remi Travis B. Wright Steven L. Raudman [One Vacancy] Opening Business  Welcome, Introduction and Call to Order Attendees: DeRocke Croom, Katherine Dermanis, Dr. Irina A. Gorbunova-Ford, Dr. June Javier, Jennifer Parker, Remi Travis B. Wright, Michelle Griffin, Steven Raudman, David McCauley Absent: None Director Dave McCauley called the meeting to order at 5:00pm, welcomed the attendees, and advised that a quorum was present.  Approval of October 3, 2023 minutes Dr. Javier gave the board members an opportunity to review the minutes from October 3rd. A motion was made and seconded to approve the October minutes as written. New Business Themed Meeting—Hampton Clean City Commission Presentation Director McCauley introduced Hampton Clean City Commission Coordinator, Cynthia Harris, as the speaker. Cynthia thanked everyone in attendance for inviting her to join the meeting as a speaker. She shared that HCCC is an environmental education agency for the city of Hampton. HCCC is considered to be under the umbrella of Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Services. The agency mission states “the improvement and enhancement of Hampton’s physical environment, Parks, Recreation & Leisure Services 22 Lincoln Street | Hampton, Virginia 23669 citizen education, and active engagement in environmental stewardship through solid waste management, stormwater management, waterway & watershed preservation, and urban greening. HCCC is affiliate in good standing with the Keep America Beautiful National Corporation. They are also part of the President’s Circle due to completing several requirements in order to be in that status. Their vision is envisioning a future in which Hampton is the cleanest and most beautiful city in the United States. Its citizens are the most environmentally aware of their responsibility to our future generations. HCCC has a commission that includes nine volunteer board members, Council appointed board members, and five subcommittees that are also chaired by volunteers. HCCC is volunteer driven, while also having a staff of three people that includes the coordinator, senior office specialist, and project specialist. As a result, volunteers are heavily relied on to get the job completed. HCCC hosts an annual volunteer recognition event where it is an opportunity to show appreciation for all of the volunteers. Cynthia shared that there are several environmental educational components such as “Tour De Trash” which is a 3-hour tour to the TFC recycling plant in Chesapeake. The organization is in the planning stages to schedule tours for 2024 to include the NASA steam plant, tour to the Virginia Peninsula Service Organization Association, and tours with Public Works & Solid Waste. Once the dates have been confirmed, the listing will become available to the public on the website at hampton.gov/hccc. There are a few subcommittees within the Hampton Clean City Commission such as the following: • The Litter Awareness Subcommittee This is considered to be the strongest subcommittee where they participate in the adopt-a-spot community cleanups. The adopt- a -spot cleanups are one of the biggest segments of volunteers and at any point in time during the year, they can have anywhere from 500 to 1000 volunteers. • The Hampton Waterways Restoration Project Participates in waterway/shoreline cleanups. • Bee City USA Participates in pollinator garden certifications. • The School Pride in Action Consists of Hampton City Schools teachers that get together and share best practices back to their schools. • Clean and Green Workplaces Partners with solid waste and beautification recycling agencies in Newport News, James City County, and York County. HCCC has several successes for FY23 to include the following: • Adopt-a-Spot Program & Waterway programs completed 574 cleanups that resulted in over 2,700 bags or 81,000 pounds of trash that was removed from public property within the city of Hampton. Parks, Recreation & Leisure Services 22 Lincoln Street | Hampton, Virginia 23669  • 57 pounds of trash was recycled • 59 acres of parks, public lands, playground, and etc. were improved • 20 miles of rivers, lakes, shorelines, and wetlands cleaned • 8,800 hours donated by HCCC volunteers for FY23 which was a value of $281,175 to the city of Hampton where the city was able to save on the cost of services. Cynthia opened the floor for questions and thanked everyone for allowing her to present. Department Updates Director Dave McCauley began discussion to rate five Capital Improvement Projects to be voted by the board that will result in going to Council. After discussion amongst the board, the following listed below were ranked to go to Council. 1. Therapeutic Recreation Center Renovations 2. Branding & Signage 3. Special Events Enhancement 4. Parks Landscape Design 5. Parks & Recreation Main Office Renovation Dave thanked the board for their insight and approval of the Capital Improvement Projects. Board Member Updates There was a recap for those that missed the October meeting on who were voted as the new Chair (Michelle Griffin) and Vice Chair (Dr. June Javier). There was also a recap of the new appointed board members. Each board member provided a brief introduction of themselves. Open Discussion Jen Parker provided an update in reference to the previous Parks & Recreation Advisory Board meeting involving Special Events. Hampton City Schools and Special Events are working together to provide separate guideline/procedures in terms of HCS/PTA. Adjourn: Michelle Griffin made a motion to adjourn the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 6:08p.m. Next Meeting: Tuesday, December 5, 2023 @ 5:00 p.m. 5th Floor City Hall, Canty Conference Room Parks, Recreation & Leisure Services 22 Lincoln Street | Hampton, Virginia 23669