City Council Legislative Session - Regular Meeting

Spotlight session. And tonight we have a council spotlight that highlights how Hampton is living out part of our safe and clean community, a strategic priority, through outstanding work of local businesses. And so, I'd like to invite Brian Marchese from the marketing outreach department to come forward and share more about this evening's program.

Thank you, Mayor, Vice Mayor Brown, members of council, City Manager Bunting, and City Attorney Sid ner. Well, I have to say, if there was ever a perfectly matched time for this topic, it's today. Happy Earth Day everyone. Tonight's spotlight ties one of our seven strategic priorities, safe and clean the safe and clean community. At its core, the priority is about ensuring that all Hampton citizens and businesses are safe, healthy, and secure in their persons and property.

We often think of that, those safety terms in terms of policing and youth engagement or blight removal. And all these matter enormously. But a safe and clean community is also one where the air is clean, where waste is managed responsibly, and where businesses are good stewards of the environment and their neighbors share. That is exactly what tonight's honorees represent. And as we've said about the Spotlight series over the past few months, local government cannot and should not be the sole solution provider.

Progress happens through partnership. And tonight, we celebrate four Hampton businesses that are living out that philosophy, not because they were required to, but because they chose to. These honorees are the quarterly winners of the Virginia Peninsula Clean Business Forum, a collaborative initiative among Hampton, Newport News, York County, and James City County that recognizes businesses making a real measurable difference in our environment and our community. What you'll hear tonight is remarkable, not just because these businesses are doing the right thing for our planet, but because they're doing it in creative, innovative, and deeply community rooted ways. But before we introduce our honorees, want to take a quick word about the program that they were honored for.

The Virginia Business Clean the Virginia Peninsula Clean Business Forum was established as a joint effort among the Peninsula local localities through the representative, respective clean city community organizations. For Hampton, the Hampton Clean City Convention's Clean Green Workspaces Committee oversees this initiative. It's a lot of words to put together. The forum meets quarterly at rotating sites across the Peninsula, bringing together business leaders, environmentalists, and community members around the shared goal, recognizing and elevating environmental best practices in the business community. Tonight, we're looking at the quarterly winners from the twenty five-twenty twenty six cycle.

And we're especially pleased that the Hampton Clean City Commission is here with us in chamber tonight. The commission's leadership and staff make this work possible. And I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge them. The Commissioners for the Clean City Commission that are in attendance are Chair Grady McLean, Vice Chair Chris Grady, Travis Adams, Darian Harris, Kimberly King, Betsy McAllister, and Karen Scott. And let us not forget our amazing Public Works Clean City Division staff, Wendy Iles, the project specialist, and Cynthia Faison Harris, the Clean City Coordinator.

So, our 2025 winner was Earthly Child Creations. We begin with this business that takes the idea of reduce, reuse, and recycle and turns it into something beautiful. Earthly Child Creations led by Ms. Kenisha Haskins is built around a simple but powerful mission. Raise environmental awareness by creating unique upcycled products from locally reclaimed materials. Think about everything that gets thrown away every day. Single use plastics, old clothing, fabric remnants, leftover yarn, most of it ends up in the landfill. Earthly Child sees waste differently. They see the potential in it. They see the art.

They see the purpose. By repurposing materials that would otherwise be discarded, Earthly Child is not just making products, they're making statement. And that sustainability can be creative. That's going green. That going green doesn't matter, means sacrificing beauty or quality. One's personal, one person's trash can really become another person's treasure. Miss Haskins, your work is a reminder that small businesses can be powerful environmental game changers. And Hampton is proud to recognize you tonight. If you could come up. Mayor?

Mayor, how council come down? Okay. Next, we have the 2025 winner of Buckroe Coffee Company. If you've ever if you've never had a reason to stop by Buckroe Beach to grab a cup of coffee, tonight I changed that. Buckroe Coffee Company owned by Mr.

David Spring is one of those places that just gets green business practices. Start with their coffee. Their used grounds don't go to waste. They're passed along to a local mushroom farmer who uses them as part of their growing process. And that partnership has attracted some pretty impressive attention. NASA has taken interest in the project, and those mushrooms are actually grown right at the Buckroe right at Buckroe Coffee's property. But that's just the beginning. Their property features a wildflower garden with native plants, a growing area where customers can pick their own okra, lavender, strawberries and sunflowers. And all of the shop's food waste is composted and cycled back into the garden. They've also partnered with Hampton Clean City Commission as an adopt a spot cleanup site.

And to sweeten the deal, they offer the volunteers coffee when they participate. And the beautiful murals on the property, all painted by local artists. Baco Coffee is more than a coffee shop. It's a community gathering place, a green space, a local art gallery, and an environmental partner with the city of Hampton. All rolled into one.

Mr. Spring, I think I just saw you come in. Hampton is lucky to have you. Come on up. There we go.

Okay. Our next honoree is proof that healthy choices for your body and healthy choices for the planet can go hand in hand. Native Soul Bar and Market led by this Marla Blanc is an eco friendly juice bar offering vegan food, fresh juices, smoothie, and herbal teas. And everything about the way they operate reflects their commitment to sustainability. Their straws are bamboo. Their takeout containers are compostable. Food waste is composted. They work with small local farms, and they even grow their own herbs and teas served at their shop. Their juices and juice shots come in glass bottles, not plastic. And the water they source comes from plant based containers.

Their bags are made of paper. And here's just one that really stands out. They cook in cast iron skillets, not just because it's traditional or trendy, but specifically to avoid to avoid PFAs PFA chemicals, those forever chemicals that can leash from certain nonstick cookware into your food. That level intention that level of intentionality goes above and beyond. Native Soul is making health and sustainable sustainability the And And our this evening.

Oh, you're here. Okay.

Great.

Okay. And our last honoree for this evening is the 2026 winner, Ames Cleaners. Our final honoree shows that going green sometimes takes significant investment and it's worth it. Ames Cleaner, led by Mr. Joe Ames, made a major commitment to environmental responsibility by investing in state of the art hydrocarbon dry cleaning machines, an $80,000 investment in the future of this business and the health of this community.

And here's what the machine does. Instead of relying on the harsh chemical solvents traditionally used by dry cleaning, known as PCEs, which can be hazardous to human health and the environment, the hydrocarbon machine uses a cleaner process that recycles its own solvent. In just the last six months, the machine has recycled 55 gallons solvent that would otherwise have required special hazardous waste hauling. And even though the regulations might not require it, AIMS still has that waste hauled away, just as an extra layer of protection for the environment. That's going above and beyond.

The machine also recycles their water used in the cleaning process, meaning less overall waste. Clothes actually last longer with this method and employees are protected from the exposure of the harmful chemicals. There's also one more detail worth mentioning. Any clothes left unclaimed by customers aren't thrown away. They're donated locally. Unfortunately, Mr. Ames was unable to make it here this evening. So, with that, that ends all the honorees we have tonight. But these are four businesses in four different industries. Four different approaches to sustainability.

Each of them shares something in common though. They all made a choice. A choice to do more than just the minimum. A choice to think about their neighbors, their environment, and the community that that that they're building alongside of us here in Hampton. And with that spirit of partnership, the spotlight is designed that is the spirit of partnership that the spotlight series is designed to celebrate.

Tonight, we're proud to recognize Earthly Child Creations, Buckroe Coffee Company, Native Soul Bar and Market and Ames Cleaners for their commitment to environmental stewardship and helping us make a cleaner, greener and more sustainable city. And what better night to do that than on Earth Day? These businesses don't just celebrate Earth Day one day of year. They show up every single day. And that is the kind of community that Hampton is and the kind of community we're committed to building together. With that, mayor, I'll turn it

back to you. Good. Thank you, Brian. And so, congratulations to all of these businesses. You know, on a quarterly basis, all of the clean city commissions on the Peninsula, they get together, they meet, and they make these awards at the quarterly meeting.

And it kind of rotates around to the different cities and counties to do that. But, you know, at each of those events, there is a Hampton business that's acknowledged there for what they're doing to, you know, with, you know, just important things to keep the environment clean and so forth. So, I just thought it was appropriate that we bring them here in a special session and acknowledge what they're doing back here on the home turf. So, I wanna thank all of them. And, I know you called out the names of all of the board members or the commissioners from Killeen City Commission, but I like to ask them all to stand if you if you would.

So we had a whole group of them down here. Thank you. Thank you for coming out this evening. And then and then we also have some of our staff members back there, and I wanna acknowledge one of those staff members is getting ready to retire. And because, you know, I know that there's a special recognition coming up for her, but I wanna ask Cynthia Harris to stand. She's the she kinda helped run the show over there and keep everything moving, but retiring after many years of service for the city of Hampton. And thank you thank you so much for your service and what you've been doing for us. So alright. Okay. So, with that, we are adjourned until 06:30. So, thank you again for a great presentation, Brian.