Town and Gown Committee

TOWN AND GOWN COMMITTEE MEETING 12:00pm TUESDAY – AUGUST 8, 2023 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE ROOM MINUTES I. Vote to Substitute Chairman Chairman McKenna and Vice Chair Harrell could not attend the meeting and therefore, Raymond Tripp agreed to lead the meeting in their absence. The following motion was made: ACTION: Steven Lynch made a motion for Raymond Tripp to Chair the meeting. Steven Bond seconded the motion. All in favor, motion passed. II. Call to Order Mr. Tripp welcomed everyone and called the official meeting to order at 12:12p.m. III. Roll Call Mr. Tripp asked the Clerk to call the roll: Members Present: Tracy Ashley, Steven Bond, Dominque DeBose, Mary Fugere, Carolene Goodwyn-Harris, Kellie Goral, Steven Lynch, Robin McCormick, Tracy Staten, Raymond Tripp, Donnie Tuck Staff Present: Annette Oakley, Taiub Mohammad, Mike Hayes Steven Bond introduced Taiub ‘Shu’ Mohammad, Management Analyst in the City Manager’s Office. Shu gave a brief background on his assignments and responsibilities in his new position working with Steven and the City Manager’s Office. IV. Approve June 13, 2023 Meeting Minutes: Mr. Tripp stated the draft minutes from the June 13, 2023 meeting were distributed for review, and if there were no changes, called for a motion to approve. ACTION: Robin McCormick made the motion to approve the minutes and Mary Fugere seconded the motion. All in favor, minutes were approved. V. Community Plan Presentation – Mike Hayes Mr. Tripp introduced Mike Hayes, Planning & Zoning Administration Manager in the Community Development Department, who provided a brief presentation on the Hampton 2040 Community Plan (copy on file). Mike touched on the following items:  Community Plan (Comprehensive Plan/Strategic Plan) o Comprehensive Plan - short-term action-oriented plan o Strategic Plan - long-term vision plan  Timeline and Process  Stakeholder and staff work – align goals/draft document  Seven Strategic Priorities: o Economic Growth o Educated Citizenry o Living with Water o Placemaking o Safe & Clean o Family Resilience o Excellence in Government 1   Part of the process is a formal hearing by the Planning Commission, and then to City Council for adoption, which is proposed for the end of the year.  Steering Group work: o Draft goals o Vision Statements o Emerging Themes  Next Steps: o Meetings with community o Reviews by Subject Matter Experts o Background work for long-term plan o Integrate the work Mike provided an opportunity for questions, and members inquired about the following: Q – What is the overall objective to have something to City Council? A – Hope to have something by the end of the year. Q – Are there ‘measurables’ for the goals? A – Yes, the goals and strategies will be ‘measured’. Q – How often will it be assessed? A – Not sure at this stage, it may vary depending on specific strategies and goals. They are also looking at doing a dashboard. Additional materials and information, such as Community Plan meeting minutes, can be found online at Hampton2024. Mr. Tripp thanked Mike for his presentation. VI. Key Updates Since the May Meeting: Committee Members provided the following key updates:  Robin McCormick (Marketing, Inc.):  Hampton continues to celebrate the All-America Cities designation this summer and throughout the year. Mary Fugere coordinated an event at the Langley Speedway and the final Groovin’ by the Bay will include various activities and fireworks. The National League of Cities will also present the All-America award. There will be a special recognition at the Hampton Holiday Parade later in the year, with an All-America Cities theme.  Steven Lynch (Economic Development):  Former VA School Property - Closing on the facility at the former Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind property (Shell Road) today (if all goes as planned). The project will bring much-needed inventory to our market, as the facility can be used for many things, such as logistics, office space, and light manufacturing. They will also have, built within the facility, a new workforce building used for additional training, educational purposes, community outreach, etc. It will become a strategic part of the workforce and is a great addition to the City.  Outback Steakhouse – There have been many inquiries and Economic Development is trying to bring the restaurant back to Hampton, as they lost their Peninsula Town Center lease. (Chase Bank is in the former Outback building). Economic Development has proposed four possible sites to relocate and are putting in the effort to assist with bringing them back.  Other Projects - Working on projects in the Phoebus, Kecoughtan, and Coliseum areas as well and will update the committee at the next meeting.  Dominque DeBose (Phoebus Partnership):  SeeWhich Books is a new bookstore in Phoebus, on Hope Street. It includes diverse and inclusive authors. She encouraged all to stop by the new store. 2  Steven Bond (City Manager’s Office):  On July 28, Jimmie Wideman was sworn in as the new Chief of Police. He was formerly with the City for many years and knows the culture of the Hampton Police Division. He is well respected and we are excited to have him on the team.  A Hampton team partnered with Bloomberg at Harvard to explore better ways for community engagement and trying to revamp/rethink engagement within City departments. The team is working with the management team on proposals.  Kellie Goral (Hampton City Schools):  Dr. Raymond Haynes became the new Superintendent on July 1, 2023.  HCS welcomed 300 new teachers, with veteran teachers returning Wednesday.  School begins on August 28.  Continue to recruit and hire new teachers; currently have 36 vacancies. If anyone is interested, there is a Job Fair every Wednesday in August. The goal is to be 100% staffed by the time school begins.  Doing well with bus driver vacancies; will probably only need just four once school starts.  Still on par to be 100% accredited come September, with on-time graduation rate at 95% and dropout rate at less than 1%.  Tracy Staten (Workforce Development Council):  Upcoming Business Services events: o August 15 – Job Fair at VPCC (Williamsburg campus) from 11:00am-1:00pm o August 16 – Employment Readiness Workshop at Four Oaks (Newport News).  Partner with Brooks Crossing – Secretary of Commerce and Trade, Caren Merrick, shared excitement to see what Brooks Crossing offered and that young people were very in-tuned with crafts – there are many things for them to do.  August 12 – Hosting ‘Village Raised Kids Fashion Show & Arts Extravaganza’ – from 12:00-2:00pm at the Boys and Girls Club in Newport News. Youth can express their artistic abilities (poetry, design, hair styling, etc.) at the event. She encouraged all to attend. She is also helping youth by volunteering to work with the Boys & Girls Club and teaching etiquette.  Mary Fugere (Conventions & Visitors Bureau):  The Town & Gown Nominating Committee needs volunteers to serve on the committee. Raymond Tripp, Kellie Goral and Dominque DeBose volunteered to serve on the committee.  CVB will provide ‘Welcome’ banners and support for Hampton University students, and will also coordinate with Phoebus.  Hampton University Homecoming is October 28 and they are expecting @20,000 people for the game. There will be parking and shuttle buses at the Coliseum/HRCC. The CVB is looking for support from businesses and will be doing various advertisements to show more support.  Additional upcoming events: o Mystical Arts of Tibet at The American Theatre o Enslaved African Landing Day at Fort Monroe on August 26. Rick Murphy is the guest speaker. o Weekly concerts; Groovin by the Bay, Block Party and Music by the Bay. o Boots and Beer-tails on August 19 at Power Plant. o Baseball Tournaments at the War Memorial Stadium.  Aquaplex is still open for enjoyment.  Carolene Goodwyn-Harris (Bryant & Stratton):  Held a spectacular reveal of their new renovated facility and had great community support. Thanked members of the Town & Gown Committee who attended.  August 19 - Open House from 10:00am-1:00pm. Encouraged all to tour the new campus.  September 6 - New fall semester starts. 3   Raymond Tripp (Coliseum Central BID):  Panera relocated to a new facility to Coliseum Crossing, includes a drive-thru.  McAlister’s Deli is now open.  Thanked Mayor Tuck for his support of the community event, ‘Neighborhood Night Out’, on August 1. The event was well attended and Governor Youngkin, City Council members, Chief of Police and others were also in attendance. It was a great turnout, with many participants, vendors (40) and supporters. The Red Cross was at the event and twenty-two people gave blood.  He mentioned a documentary was made about Boo Williams and will be aired September 9 at 7:30pm at The American Theatre. There will be a Silent Auction and an after-party at Noir. The tickets are $45.00. He noted that Boo Williams and Governor Youngkin reconnected at the ‘Neighborhood Night Out’ event, as in the past, they played basketball together. Mr. Tripp also congratulated City of Hampton for the All-America designation for the fourth time! VII. Next Meeting: Mr. Tripp stated the next meeting is scheduled for September 12, 2023. VIII. Adjourn: Mr. Tripp thanked everyone for coming. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. 4