Parks & Recreation Advisory Board

Parks, Recreation & Leisure Services Advisory Board Meeting Tuesday, February 6, 2024 | 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: Katherine Dermanis, Dr. Irina A. Gorbunova-Ford, Dr. June Javier, Jennifer Parker, Remi Travis B. Wright, Michelle Griffin (arrived at 5:10pm), Steven Raudman, David McCauley, Angela King, Councilman Bowman, Sara Snowden Absent: DeRocke Croom Dr. June Javier called the meeting to order at 5:00pm, welcomed the attendees, and advised that a quorum was present.  Approval of November 7, 2023 minutes Dr. Javier gave the board members an opportunity to review the minutes from November 7th. Jen Parker made a motion to accept the November minutes as written. Steven Raudman seconded the motion and the minutes were unanimously approved. New Business Board Member Updates/ Open Discussion Director McCauley opened the floor and gave an opportunity for the board to express any concerns/updates. • Steven Raudman shared the ongoing issue regarding the soccer complex that has been on social media. Parks, Recreation & Leisure Services 22 Lincoln Street | Hampton, Virginia 23669  • There was a TV segment regarding the items that were removed from the fence in dedication to Codi Bigsby. Director McCauley shared that those items were to be removed within 30 days. Any items that were left would be stored within the PRLS facilities to be picked up. • Dr. Javier asked a question on whether or not the youth have to become a member to access/utilize the basketball court at Mary Jackson Neighborhood Center. Director McCauley shared that no membership is required to utilized the outside basketball courts. However, membership is recommended to utilize the basketball courts inside Mary Jackson Neighborhood Center. • Kathy Dermanis brought up the discussion of the Buckroe Beach playground renovations. Director McCauley shared that the department is looking for different options and price variations. Once identified, the options will be presented to the City Council for approval. • Dr. Javier asked if the construction at Darling Stadium is moving forward. Director McCauley shared that construction will begin in the upcoming weeks. The first phase of construction was approved by Council. • There was additional conversation regarding the upkeep of the soccer complex. It was shared that it would be a process to maintain the maintenance of the fields as well as heal the fields due to the constant utilization of the fields by citizens. • Remi Wright asked a question in regards to cell phone charging stations at bus stops. Remi was encouraged to speak with Director McCauley directly to point Remi in the right direction to address the issue/concern. Review/Update Bylaws Angela King began discussion of the PRAB Bylaws. She shared that the change within the Bylaws is to modify the language regarding attendance to match with a recently adopted City ordinance. The new language will state that failure to attend at least 75% of the meetings within a one-year period (based on term) could result in removal. Angela noted that proposed amendments must be received by the board members at least two weeks prior before any voting occurs; and that board members received the redlined bylaws on December 13, 2023. Jen Parker made a motion to accept the bylaws as written. Dr. June Javier seconded the motion and the bylaws were unanimously approved. Themed Meeting- Emergency Management Director McCauley introduced Deputy Coordinator, Sara Snowden, from the Hampton Emergency Management Office (EMO). Sara thanked everyone in attendance for inviting her to speak at the board meeting. EMO responsibility within the city is to coordinate emergency planning and any kind of disaster response. They work closely with departments all over the city. Hampton is known as the designated storm ready community through the National Weather Service (NWS). Every four years they go through a process to become accredited with the Parks, Recreation & Leisure Services 22 Lincoln Street | Hampton, Virginia 23669 National Weather Service. It requires a lot of collaboration with the city departments such as 911, 311, police, fire, and etc. The NWS verifies that there is a plan and that EMO are ready to take the appropriate steps. It also requires that EMO actively monitor the weather and that they engage with the NWS. EMO responsibility is to watch the weather carefully and keep people aware because it does affect the operations of a lot of departments within the city. There’s a multi-agency coordination which is every department within the city has some type of role with emergency preparedness and response. Department heads are responsible for keeping their employees informed of their role and trained on it. EMO responsibility is to be in coordination with the departments and to hold exercises periodically when they practice the responses. They operate on an emergency operation plan which are the basic functions of what would happen in an emergency and how that would be declared. The emergency supported function are broken into all the different functions that might have to be carried out during a storm or any kind of disaster. The emergency operation plan is available at the Hampton Public Libraries. Sara shared PRLS supporting roles includes the following: • Support emergency management • Support transportation • Support Public Works • Mass care (shelter) • Resource support • External affairs She also described different situations and natural disasters that occurred such as the COVID clinics and hurricanes where PRLS provided resources and assistance with EMO. EMO has an activity log during disasters to keep track of what is being done as well as learn from each disaster in order to do better in the future. It also helps with reimbursement when they are eligible for it. Sara coordinates with FEMA for reimbursement when eligible. The National Incident Management System (NIMS) and the Incident Command System (ICS) are FEMA programs which tells us how we will operate in disasters so that the state comes in to support us. Sara concluded her presentation and thanked everyone for inviting her to speak. Open Discussion Director McCauley thanked the board for their CIP nominations. The following CIP nominations were ranked to go to Council to include: 1) Therapeutic Recreation Center Renovations, 2) Branding & Signage, 3) Special Events Enhancement, 4) Parks Landscape Design, and 5) Parks & Recreation Main Office Renovations. The nominations were presented to the CIP committee. Director McCauley also thanked the board for their insight and review of program proposal applications that Community Center Manager, Nicole Dennis, presented to the board in August Parks, Recreation & Leisure Services 22 Lincoln Street | Hampton, Virginia 23669 2023. In conclusion, he shared that the Athletics division will be presenting at the March meeting in continuation of the themed meetings. Adjourn: Michelle Griffin made a motion to adjourn the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 6:05p.m. Next Meeting: Tuesday, March 5, 2024 @ 5:00 p.m. 5th Floor City Hall, Canty Conference Room Parks, Recreation & Leisure Services 22 Lincoln Street | Hampton, Virginia 23669