Town and Gown Committee

TOWN AND GOWN COMMITTEE MEETING 12:00pm TUESDAY – August 9, 2022 HAMPTON COUNCIL CHAMBERS MINUTES Election of Acting Chairman Chairman McKenna, as well as Vice Chairman Harrell, were unable to attend the meeting today. Raymond Tripp agreed to serve as Acting Chair; therefore, the following action was taken to certify the appointment: ACTION: Mary Fugere made the motion to elect Raymond Tripp to serve as Acting Chairman for the August 9, 2022 meeting. Robin McCormick seconded. All in favor, motion passed. Call to Order Acting Chairman Tripp welcomed everyone and called the meeting to order at 12:10 p.m. Roll Call Acting Chairman Tripp asked the Clerk to call the roll: Members Present: Ann Bane, Beth Dickens, Novelle Dickenson, Mary Fugere, Andrew Green, Kellie Goral, Robin McCormick, Darren Robinson, Bill Thomas, Raymond Tripp Staff Present: Annette Oakley Guest: Carolene Goodwyn-Harris and Angela Haywood (Bryant & Stratton) Approve May 10, 2022 Meeting Minutes Acting Chairman Tripp stated the draft minutes from the May 10, 2022 meeting were distributed for review, and if there were no changes, called for a motion to approve. ACTION: Robin McCormick made the motion to accept the minutes, and Mary Fugere seconded. All in favor, minutes were approved. Key Updates/Other Business:  Marketing, INC – Robin McCormick stated the City Council, Planning Commission, Economic Development Authority and Hampton Redevelopment & Housing Authority have a joint meeting (retreat) tomorrow at the Hampton Roads Convention Center. Marketing will be videotaping the meeting and will have copies available upon request.  Conventions and Visitor Bureau – Mary Fugere gave the following updates: o The AquaPlex is a little behind schedule, due to supply issues/delays, but will probably open mid to late October. She stated CVB is offering weekly Hard Hat Tours on Wednesdays at 10:00am and if anyone is interested in taking the tour, please let her know.  o Upcoming event dates: • August 20 – Sundown Jazz Series at Mill Point Park - 5:30-9:00p.m. • August 27 – Landing Day at Fort Monroe • August 27 – Boo Williams Gala (documentary) - cost is $85.00 and is open to the public • August 28 – Day of Healing at 6:00 a.m. and 5k Run • September 3 – Crabtown Seafood Festival • September 10 – Aberdeen Gardens Fish Fry “To Go” (Mary Peake) • September 15 – Aberdeen Gardens Documentary (American Theatre) o VASSC Director, Bob Griesner, is retiring at the end of September and there will be a national search to fill the position by February. o The Hampton Queen tour boat has been delayed, but they hope to open by Labor Day weekend. o Langley Speedway – she has tickets to the skybox for small groups. o WAE Positions are open in CVB: o Shuttle Bus Drivers o Sports Logistics o Information Specialist for Visitor Center  Bryant & Stratton – Angela Haywood reported for Eric Harrell: o The Hampton campus received approval for the Nursing Program and they are currently enrolling. They are accepting 40 students per semester. They held an Open House regarding the Nursing Program and it was well attended. o Fall classes begin September 6th in-person. Carolene Goodwyn-Harris reported the Rapid Registration starts August 22, 2022 from 10:00am-2:00pm. Angela also mentioned she toured Hampton with Bruce from CVB, which was amazing and she learned so much. She encouraged all to take the tour. Mary stated she would love to have everyone take the tour, especially students. She stated they are offered monthly.  Community Development – Darren Robinson reported the next phase of Hampton’s Community Plan would be September 8, 2022. He stated the first meeting was for the community to give input in the various categories. At the second meeting, staff will take the information from the first meeting and start building a plan. He encouraged all to attend and be involved (referred to the website); please RSVP and pick one of the categories of interest. Acting Chairman Tripp mentioned the various categories of discussion, which are Education, Economic Development, Hampton Resilience, Economic Empowerment, Safe & Clean Community, Placemaking, Excellence in Government and Living with Water. Mary F. mentioned at the 2018 Community Plan, Hampton University students attended and had incredible insight; she hopes they, and other students can attend this year as well.  VPCC (TNCC) – Beth Dickens reported on the following items: o The college has officially changed their name to Virginia Peninsula Community College.  o Classes start August 8th and faculty goes back next week. They are excited about the new school year.  Hampton University – Novelle Dickenson reported the following items: o New President, Darrell Williams began July 1, 2022. o Faculty returns on August 29, 2022. o Classes begin after Labor Day and they are looking forward to the new school year. Bill Thomas reported on the following items: o As mentioned, HU welcomed new President (Retired) LTG Darrell Williams and his wife Myra. He gave some background on Mr. William’s career. He stated his first priority is to make Hampton University student’s experience #1 in America. They are looking forward to working with him. o Expressed appreciation for Dr. Harvey’s 43 years as President. He stated HU is now part of Colonial Athletic Program, a new level of sports on the Peninsula. They want to engage the community with a Community Day. He acknowledged Dr. Harvey for efforts to do this. o HU will be working more with HCS Board. He thanked Ann Bane and staff for their efforts. o HU is working with City of Hampton and VDOT on the road widening. He feels we need to be more proactive and smile…compared to other cities, this project is sponge-able! He suggested the Town and Gown do some type of advertising; drivers need to be polite to the workers and work together. o He looks forward to the new school year. He suggested bringing the new President over to meet the committee and invited all to attend Hampton University events.  Hampton City Schools – Kellie Goral reported on the following: o They are preparing for the new school year o Held four successful graduations in June, with summer graduation at Hampton High School on this Thursday at 6pm o They welcomed 200 new teachers and continue to hire o Teachers return next week and classes begin August 29th o Summer Bridge started Monday for freshman students o They will have two pop-up hiring events: o 8/10 at Tarrant Middle School (10am-2pm) o 8/13 at West Hampton Community Center (10am-2pm) o Pleased to report transportation update; only nine bus driver vacancies left o The State will release On-time Graduation Rates in September Ann Bane asked if anyone knew of high-quality teachers to send them their way or refer to the HCS website. Kellie mentioned the sign-on bonus. Darren inquired about the FLEX Program. Kellie stated it kicks off this school year and is at capacity – all spots and teachers filled. She noted it is interactive and the students have to live in Virginia. Ann suggested we have a presentation on the FLEX Program at a future Town and Gown meeting.  Coliseum Central BID – Raymond Tripp reported the following: o On Wednesday, they will host the Business Roundtable, which is open to the community. Randi Renfield from Google is the guest speaker. The presentation will be ‘Grow with Google’ and some of the topics are maps, tips and business. It is a virtual meeting and they have a Home Depot gift card to give away. He encouraged all to attend (please RSVP). o City Council Candidates will attend/speak at the Business Roundtable in September. They do not have the link yet, but let him know if interested. o The Holiday event will be announced at the next meeting. Novelle inquired about the construction at the Greyhound Station (corner of Pembroke and King). Darren stated they are changing the traffic pattern to be less congested and adding a turn lane. Next Meeting: September 13, 2022 Adjourn: Acting Chairman Tripp thanked everyone for attending. There being no further business, he adjourned the meeting.