City Council Legislative Session - Regular Meeting

Thank you.

Good evening and welcome to the Hampton Hampton City Council legislative session and ask clerk to call the roll please.

Councilman Bowman.

Present.

Vice Mayor Brown.

Here.

Councilwoman Campbell. Present. Councilwoman Farabee. Present. Councilwoman Harper. Present. Councilwoman Mugler. Present. Mayor Gray.

Present. The invocation this evening will be led by Councilman Randy Bowman and then we follow by the Pledge of Allegiance and we have with us this evening the West End PAC 2413 who is going to assist us with the Pledge of Allegiance. And so that we can keep it moving, I'm going to ask the Cub Scout Pack to come right on up here. Don't be scared. Don't be scared, Joy. I'll call you by name. Colton. All right, so please stand and join us with the invocation followed by the pleasure of allegiance.

Let us pray. Loving and gracious God, we come together to thank you. for the gift of community and the bond that unite us. We ask that you bless our neighborhood, our city, and everyone who lives and works around us. Grant us with the wisdom to understand one another, the grace to bridge our differences, and the courage to act as instruments of peace. Strengthen our hearts so that we may readily share each other's joys and shoulder each other's burdens. Protect the vulnerable among us and give us a spirit of true compassion and generosity. May our homes be havens of peace and our streets place of kindness. Let us move forward with the unified purpose, supporting one another and uplifting our shared spaces. And all of God's people repeat after me and say amen. Amen.

And scouts, if you turn around, the flag is behind you.

Amen. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

All right. And I want you to just stay right there.

Are we open? Yeah.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

okay so we had with us uh the scouts this evening we had mr colton

Manny, who's a Weeblow. We had Joycelyn, also known as Joy, who's a Baitie. Her last name is Baitie and she's a bear. We had Gabriel Carlisle, a wolf. We had Journey Lassiter, a tiger. Josiah Cook, a tiger. And Mabea Carlisle, a lion. And joining them this evening was Pastor Paul Thomas from West End Baptist Church. Nicholas Oney, the Cub Master, and Jamar Lassiter, the Assistant Cub Master. So thank you all for coming out and joining us this evening.

Very nice.

And I have another special presentation. Last week I had the opportunity to receive an email from a teacher at Captain John Smith, Ms. Martin, and she invited me to come out and see a mural that her kids in her class had worked on. so uh i i you know i told her i said my schedule was real tight i was leaving to go out of town on a trip the next day but i said i'm going to try to find time to squeeze it in and i did and i'm so happy that i did because what i got there i was just really surprised at what the young people in this class had done with a creating this mural for their school which you can see right here on the screen and uh it's got their shark mascot there and all other kinds of uh Fish in the Sea and Home of the Sharks is the name of it if you can't see that. But this is all done with bottle caps. And the students and teachers and I guess everybody else who came in and out of school collected a whole lot of bottle caps. And Ms. Martin came up with this idea and I think she did the design of it and then the kids, and it's not really that easy because they had to sand each of the bottle caps before they glued it in order to make it stick. It turned out to be a wonderful piece of art, and we're really pushing the creativity of our young kids, and this is just a great example of public art that I hope we can have, find a way to let the public enjoy it over the summer, because I know you all would be out of school, so I think we may be looking for some ways to do that. So I'm gonna ask Ms. Martin if she would come up to the mic, and I think the students have a quick speaking part, and tell us a little bit about their art project.

Good evening. I would like to thank Mayor Gray and the Council for this amazing opportunity to share our Captain John Smith mural tonight. Our student representatives are very excited to be here, but also a little nervous. I was so grateful for Mayor Grave for taking the time to come see our beautiful mural that our students worked so hard on. This project came about when our principal, Ms. Brown, approached me about adding a splash of color to the front of our building. I set off right away designing and coming up with a mural that the whole school community could be involved in. When we came back from winter break, it was time to collect those bottle caps. Evelyn's going to share a little bit about collecting those caps.

we collected bottle caps of every size and color i didn't know there was so many different sizes after we collected the caps we had to sort them as we shorted them we had to sand them down so they would be able to stick them to the wood

While they were working to prepare the caps, students began to paint the backgrounds. Helena is going to share a little bit of that painting experience.

Students from all grades, pre-K through 5th, were able to paint on the boards. We worked on one board at a time. Ms. Martin had outline shapes and students painted everything in.

After the boards were painted, students started to match bottle cap colors to the paint color on each of the boards. Bailey is going to share a little bit about that process.

We had tubes of bottle caps for each color. We would pick different size caps to place on the board to match the correct color. We would lay the cap with the solid top part on the board, filling in the space. Sometimes we had to search through the caps just to find the right size.

For the younger students, I would place a dollop of glue on each of the bottle caps so that they can just turn them over and stick them down. However, Samantha's experience with glue was a little bit different.

It was fun getting to add the glue to the bottle caps, but it was also very hard. Miss Martin made it look so easy, but it really wasn't. There was a lot to choose from, and when I mean a lot, a lot.

It was fun getting to watch the girls experience getting to use the caulk gun and adding that glue, but they were like, wow, this is really hard. As the boards were finished, I would take them down and stack them up across my cabinets. And the students' curiosity started to get the best of them. Every time they would come in, they would start asking questions. Zade is going to share a little bit about those curiosities.

We were coming to class excited to see how much work had been completed and if we were starting a new panel of the mural. We were trying to guess how it would look when it all came together. We would ask Mrs. Martin and she would say, you will see, it will all make sense at the end. And she was right, it all came together.

We enjoyed the process, but getting to see that final work was the most exciting. Mr. Brown, our custodian, helped put the mural up on a Saturday. My husband and my father came in on Sunday to help me finish installing the mural and to also add those final touches. Parents and community members were already stopping to take pictures as we were still finishing up that mural. Throughout the next weeks, our parents and community members were stopping to take pictures and to ask about exactly how this mural was created. It warms my heart to see people talking about and enjoying our students' hard work. I cannot wait to see what the future brings for our mural and future art projects. Thank you so much for having us here tonight.

Thank you. And Ms. Martin, would you come right down here with the students?

That was a great job.

Thank you.

Thank you.

So again, congratulations to students and staff at Captain John Smith Elementary School, Miss Victoria Martin, who is the arts education teacher there, and the students attending tonight, Samantha Decker, Bailey Robinson, Evelyn Howell, Zaid Meriwether-Hawley, and Helena Moore, but great job. And 10,000 bottle caps in order to make that happen, 10,000. Okay, so on May 4th, Hampton was proud to partner with Newport News, Habitat for Humanity, and many other groups for a joint city home repair blitz, where exteriors were painted, walls were completed, and all of this work was done over 12 homes across the city. The event received tremendous support from our community development department with the planning and logistics of the event. And I had an opportunity to spend time working alongside some of my peers here on the desk. We were fortunate to have Councilwoman Campbell's, Carolyn Campbell's husband, John Campbell, and his friend, Mike Riley, who are team captains. And they led the joint effort for a lot of the work we did. We appreciate that. And we all worked together on a home where we painted the exterior, repaired a fence, replaced the soffit on the front porch. And the work was tough, but it was rewarding. But it became easier. when we had some reinforcements who showed up from Joint Base Langley-Eustis to join our team. And I later learned that they were there as volunteers from Joint Base Langley-Eustis. Now this event received support from representatives of Joint Base Langley-Eustis. Their commitment to serving our community extends beyond the gates. of the installation and demonstrates the strong partnership that exists between our military and our city and what stood out most of the day was seeing the neighbors businesses military personnel elected officials and community organizations working side by side to make a tangible difference in people's lives And when people come together with a shared purpose, remarkable things happen. And Hampton remains committed to working with our partners in our neighboring cities and our military to support initiatives that strengthen our neighborhoods, improve quality of life, and ensure that all residents have a community and opportunity to thrive. So please join me in thanking John Campbell and Mike Riley. Mike couldn't be here tonight, and our friends at Joint Base Langley-Eustis. And we have with us, I'm going to list the names. I'm not sure everybody we have, but Airman First Class Trenton Harbor, and if you would, just come on up front when I call your name. Senior Airman Deanna Hernandez Molina, Airman First Class Angel Mondragon, and if I didn't pronounce that right, you can tell me what it is. And then I had Airman Nabila Muna, and Senior Airman Cameron Rogers, Airman First Class Caleb Rosales, Airman Brandon Vargas, Airman First Class Miroslavo Osorio, and unable to be with us tonight is Staff Sergeant David Colson and Colonel Anderson, the base commander, but they shared their regrets for not being able to join us, but we are extremely grateful. Now, they're here tonight and we wanted to recognize them, but when we were up there on the roof and we were pulling out the soffits and doing the painting and all of that stuff and you know we were getting a little tired because we've been there for a while and then all of a sudden the reinforcement showed up and we were so glad to see them so we had to bring them up here tonight and just thank them personally for that so

Okay, that's better. Let's switch on. Okay, one more. There's a star.

Okay, and then lastly, just a couple of announcements. You know, of course, this coming up soon, this weekend, actually, I saw I'm putting up the tents and everything today, and you know that June 12th through the 14th is Blackbeard Pirate Festival. It is that time of the year. And the Grand Pirates Bash is Friday, June 12th, 6 to 9 p.m. at the Virginia Area Space Science Center, where you can hobnob with all the pirates, but you should wear your finest pirate attire for that night. There will also be live entertainment. It's a ticketed event. Space is limited, but tickets are for sale through our Parks and Recreation and Leisure Services website. And then on Saturday night you may visit black beers block party with the champagne band performing from 6 to 9 and make sure you stay around Saturday nights fireworks display over the Hampton River and that 30 p.m. and then on friday uh this week kicks off juneteenth uh weekend and so on june 19th we're going to have out on the hampton roars harbor our region will have five harbors to host sale 250 along along with new orleans baltimore new york and boston but none of the other ports will have such a spectacular viewing of the international character tall ships and military vessels as the views from fort morrow so please plan to come out and see that uh the parade of sales ships processed uh through the channel and into the port of virginia and on june 19th that will be from 9 00 a.m until noon and then you can celebrate many other juneteenth events throughout the weekend so with that i am going to ask the clerk to read the protocol for consent agenda

Mayor, it's my understanding that item number 226-0196 has been requested to be pulled from the consent agenda, so it will be considered under general items later in the agenda. The consent agenda consists of routine, non-controversial items requiring Council approval. These items are typically adopted with one motion and without discussion. Tonight, your consent agenda amends the FY2026 Council-approved budget to accept and approve increased funding from the Virginia Department of Transportation to do maintenance and construction of streets and roads, accept and approve increased funding from the state and federal government to support public assistance programs, endorses two projects for consideration under VDOT's Smart Scale program, which would provide additional funding for pedestrian improvements along Briarfield Road and Power Plant Parkway, and a pedestrian bridge between Kilgore Avenue and Coliseum Drive. as requested renames a portion of butler farm road and a portion of thomas nelson drive to college drive which is the final step to the name change from thomas nelson community college to virginia peninsula community college amends and reenacts the city code to comply with the virginia code with respect to background checks and it approves the minutes from the council's april 22nd work session all right we need a motion and a second for items one through five and seven

Mister mayor. Approval of tonight's consent agenda comprised of items 1, 3, 5, and 7.

Second. All right for a motion to second you call the roll please.

Councilman Bowman, aye. Vice Mayor Brown, aye. Councilwoman Campbell, aye. Councilwoman Barabee, aye. Councilwoman Harper, aye. Councilwoman Mugler, aye. Mayor Gray.

I mean item 6 will be acted on under general items later on the agenda. All right so next I got some proclamations tonight.

I'm sorry Mister mayor. So the motion was for items one through five and seven, which means that the item that was excluded was item six, which was the ordinance to read about the authorized criminal history checks. I'm not sure that's what was intended. I thought what was intended was to pull item 2 off of the consent agenda and vote on that one separately, which is the encroachment agreement. I'm sorry, I didn't catch that before you voted.

Mr. Mayor, can I amend my motion? That is correct.

Yes, you may amend your motion.

I'm in the consent agenda approval to include items 1, and 3 through 7.

All right we have a motion to second to prove the items is listed. You call the roll.

Vice mayor Brown I Councilwoman Campbell I Councilwoman therapy on Councilwoman Harper I Councilwoman Mugler I mayor Gray.

So then it is item 2 that will be addressed later on the general items. Okay, so we had proclamations that were awarded this week for Men's Health Week, which is June 15th through the 21st. I'm going to read that proclamation. So June 15th through 21st, we are proclaiming that as Men's Health Week and June 2026 as Men's Health Month in the City of Hampton. And whereas Men's Health Month is a part of the ongoing international effort to educate men, boys, and their families about the importance of preventative health screenings, early detection, and healthy lifestyles. And whereas nationwide, men have a life expectancy that is approximately six years shorter than that of women and experience higher rates of chronic disease, including diabetes, obesity, cancer, heart disease, and premature mortality. And whereas men who are educated about the value of preventative health will more likely participate in the health screenings, and whereas Men's Health Month provides an opportunity to recognize the mental and physical health needs of men and boys while encouraging fathers and caregivers to serve as positive role models through preventative care, healthy living, and health-seeking behaviors. And whereas the growing epidemic of deaths of despair, including deaths related to suicide, substance use disorders, alcohol misuse, and homelessness, underscores the urgent need to raise awareness of unrecognized and undiagnosed depression, mental stress, and emotional stress amongst men and boys. And whereas the centerpiece of Men's Health Month is National Men's Health Week, a special awareness period passed by Congress and signed into law May 31, 1994, and observed annually through the efforts of Men's Health Network to build health, empathy, recognition, and understanding of the unique health needs facing men and boys. Now, therefore, I, James A. Gray, Mayor, on behalf of the City Council of the City of Hampton, Virginia, do hereby proclaim June 15th through the 21st, 2026, as Men's Health Week and the month of June 2026 as Men's Health Month in the City of Hampton, Virginia. And furthermore, I encourage all citizens to pursue preventative health practices and early detection efforts. and witness whereof i've hearing to set my hand and cause the seal of hampton seal of the city of hampton virginia to be affixed this 10th day of june 2026 signed mayor james a gray jr And a couple more proclamations this evening. This as I mentioned this week it coming up later this month is June 10th and so I have a proclamation for June 10th recognizing June 19th 2026 says June 10th in the city of Hampton Virginia. And whereas President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, declaring slaves in the Confederate territory free. And whereas this action paved the way for the passing of the 13th Amendment, which formally abolished slavery in the United States of America. And whereas word about the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation was delayed some two and a half years in reaching authorities and African Americans in the South and Southwestern United States. And whereas on June 19th, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas and announced the end of both the Civil War and slavery. And whereas the celebration of the end of slavery became known as Juneteenth, combining the words of June and 19th, is the oldest known public celebration of the end of slavery in the United States and has been celebrated by the African-American community for over 150 years. And whereas Juneteenth commemorates African-American freedom and celebrates the successes gained through education and greater opportunity, and whereas the annual Juneteenth celebration will take place in the city of Hampton with events taking place throughout the month of June 2026. Now, therefore, I, James A. Gray, Jr., Mayor, on behalf of the City Council of the City of Hampton, Virginia, do hereby recognize June 19, 2026 as Juneteenth Day in the City of Hampton, Virginia, and I urge all citizens to become more aware of the significance of this celebration in the African-American history and in the heritage of our nation and city. Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and cause the seal of the City of Hampton, Virginia, to be affixed this 10th day of June, 2026. Signed, James A. Gray, Mayor. and so i am going to ask uh director of our unity commission to come up mr gabe diaz and i'm going to present the proclamation

they're saying congratulations this is for our city

And then the last proclamation is in recognition of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Day in the City of Hampton, Virginia, whereas June 27th is recognized nationwide as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Day, first established by Congress in 2010 to create awareness of the disorder and to promote outreach and support for those who suffer from it. And whereas PTSD is formally defined as a mental health condition that develops after an individual goes through a life-threatening event where the lingering feelings of distress, anxiety, and dread continue to interfere with the person's quality of life even after the event has passed. And whereas individuals with PTSD are diverse in their unique backgrounds and experiences, and whereas the city of Hampton honors our large veteran community and those who may have experienced PTSD due to lived experiences not related to combat, noting that up to 6% of the general population will contend with this disorder in their lifetime. And whereas residents with PTSD of value members of our community whose whose strength courage and perseverance continue to move city of Hampton forward and whereas individuals with PTSD seek to build lives for themselves as they push past their adverse experiences by pursuing education, employment, housing, recreation and meaningful community connections. And whereas all citizens suffering from PTSD deserve our consideration and those who are affected by PTSD from wounds received while protecting our freedom deserve our respect and special honor. And whereas recognizing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Day encourages all residents to stand together as a community by promoting understanding, offering support to one another, and creating a space where those who are struggling feel safe and ask for help. Now, therefore, I, James A. Gray, Jr., Mayor, on behalf of the City Council of the City of Hampton, Virginia, do hereby proclaim June 27, 2026 as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Day in the City of Hampton, Virginia, and I encourage all residents to reach out to their fellow citizens to provide support and remove the stigma associated with this disorder. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and cause the seal of the City of Hampton, Virginia, to be affixed this 10th day of June, 2026. sign james a great mayor and accepting this proclamation this evening uh is uh let's see it's miss vivian austin here miss vivian austin come on up miss austin uh she's the chair of our mayor's committee for peace people with disabilities and uh she will come up and select uh receive the proclamation along with other members from the committee so come on up and join us all right councilman one more time

Thank you.

Okay, before I move on with the agenda I want to acknowledge the presence of a delegate of the 86 South District here representing Hampton delegate Virgil Thorne. How you doing this evening? All right, with that, I'm going to ask the clerk to read the protocol for public hearings.

The City Council is committed to fair and respectful hearings. The following guidelines help ensure an orderly process. Individuals wishing to speak must sign up in the City Hall lobby starting one hour before the meeting and ending when the meeting begins. Speakers will be called in the order they signed up. Speakers shall address Council from the center podium and each speaker is allowed three minutes. The timer has a green light which will turn yellow with one minute remaining and then red when time is up. All comments must be addressed to the council and speakers may not yield their time to others. After all speakers are heard, the mayor will close the public hearing and invite council discussion and action. Thank you. Your first public hearing this evening is item number 8, 26-0154. It's a use permit application by Delwin Cosby to allow vehicle repair heavy at 611 Copeland Drive, LRSN 1000432. All right, City Manager.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Mayor. Tonight, our Senior City Planner, James Randolph, will be making this presentation for you.

Good evening honorable mayor council members city manager city attorney before you this evening you do have use permit number 26 dash 0, 1, 5, 4, this is at 6, 11, Copeland drive. application is for a use permit to allow for vehicle repair heavy to occur on property that is zoned heavy manufacturing m3 the purpose of the application is to establish a vehicle paint and repair facility in the copeland industrial park this is a general location map showing the property in the southwest portion of the city as indicated by the red star This is a closer view of the property, showing it outlined in blue at the intersection of 60th Street and Copeland Drive. The proposal is to renovate an existing 11,900 square foot building on 0.743 acres into a vehicle paint and repair facility. It will operate as a Mako Auto Body franchise. It will create six to 11 new jobs, provide investments with new equipment, and also includes the installation of new signage. This is a zoning map of the general area. All the purple is M3 heavy manufacturing and the blue is M2 light manufacturing. The future land use map does indicate this area for business and industrial use. This is a view of the current building from Copeland Drive with an additional view of the proposed signage of the Mako franchise on the front of the building. This is additional signage proposed for the side of the building facing 60th Street. This is a general concept plan showing the general parking. The building is outlined in blue towards the bottom. We'll show the circulation and general repair patterns for vehicles entering the facility and leaving. It also shows the additional, as outlined in orange, fenced, outside fenced parking and servicing area for final detailing after the work is complete. This is a closer view of that parking and servicing area outlined in orange. And this is an example of the type of equipment that will be used in this operation. In addition to being consistent with the future land use map, the Hampton Community Plan does provide for other public policies with specific emphasis on economic development policy number two to focus business expansion and attraction to strengthen the industrial clusters. The use permit conditions do include seven conditions. Limiting vehicles that are being serviced to a maximum of 30 days on site. Vehicle storage is prohibited. The outside fence parked parking and servicing area will be screened. It will require certificate of occupancy as well as compliance with all applicable laws and nullification and or revocation should that occur. A community meeting was held on May 2nd. The applicant and staff were present. No one from the community attended. Staff analysis provides that this furthers the adopted policies of the Hampton Community Plan. It is located in an established industrial park. It provides 6 to 11 new jobs and also investments in equipment. In conclusion, the applicant will have an opportunity to present, followed by a public hearing. And Planning Commission and staff do recommend approval of this use permit with the seven conditions. And if you have any questions, I would be pleased to answer them.

So any questions for Mr. Randolph? Okay, thank you. Does the applicant wish to speak? Excuse me? The applicant...

The applicant is here this evening, Mr. Cosby, and he's clear. Thank you.

Good evening, honorable mayor, members of the committee, council members. I'm Delwin Cosby, owner of DJC Collision and DJC Logistics. And I'd also like to thank Mr. Randolph for his presentation. I look forward to adding additional jobs to the area, also with our internships and things for students who want to learn the trade of our auto bodies. Now, with this body shop, We're not just auto shop. We're gonna be painting any units that will fit into the paint booth. So if you have boats, you have chairs, you have school equipment, you have anything, then we'll be available to help you. Now the primary purpose of me getting this This property is to take care of my fleet. I'm with DJC Logistics. I'm an Amazon DSP. So we have about 50 to 70 Amazon vans on the road a day. And it It comes up with a lot of dents and dings with young drivers that we have out there trying to support the community. So that's the primary purpose. We're not going to be in competition with other collision shops like Caliber Collision and those guys because we are a retail shop. Our main deal is to get the dents out, sand it down, put some bond on it, spray paint it, get it in and out of the booth and back on the road. So that will be our main purpose. So, also, if anybody have any questions for me, I'm willing to answer.

Questions for the applicant? Councilwoman Mugler.

Thank you Mister mayor just a quick question about the paint booth you you mentioned that you can paint other things to have besides vehicles in this for example, a piece of furniture, yes, I think what we do is units and also I didn't mention the first 10 units that show up we're going to be given a huge discount so anybody have anything we need. I might be that we're looking for my opening if approved around the 3rd of August. So we're looking at thank you.

Okay, thank you Sir, I think that's all the questions for you I think you know, okay this item does require public hearing so we're going to open the public hearing we have one person signed up to speak. Marissa Lucas. And when you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Okay. All right. There are no speakers on this item.

So we'll close the public hearing and we need a motion to say Mr. Mayor, I move that City Council approve use permit application 26-0154 for heavy vehicle repair at 611 Copeland Drive subject to seven conditions as presented in the agenda packet.

Second. I will have a motion a second is in the further discussion. I could be a no man, man quickly call wrote this.

Councilman Bowman I like their Brown I have a woman Campbell I have a woman therapy. I have a woman Harper I have a woman Mugler I'm there great. I. Item number nine on your agenda this evening is an ordinance to amend and reenact the zoning ordinance of the city of Hampton, Virginia, chapter two, section 2-2 entitled definitions. To amend the definition for amusement centers, amusement or skill-based devices accessory, off-track horse race betting facility, and Physical Recreation Facility, Chapter 3, Section 3-2, entitled Table of Uses Permitted to Add Amusement or Skill-Based Device, Accessory, and Off-Track Horse Race Betting Facility to the Use Table, Chapter 3, Section 3-3, entitled Additional Standards on Uses to Add Additional Standards for Amusement or Skill-Based Device, Accessory, and Amusement Centers Uses, and Chapter 9, Section 9-23, entitled Modifications to Permitted Uses.

Mr. Mayor and Council Members, Chief Planner Donna Woodville will be making this presentation.

Good evening, Mayor Gray, members of council. As the clerk just read, this is a proposed zoning ordinance amendment proposal before you regarding amusement centers, gaming devices, and physical recreation facilities. Specifically, looking to amend chapters two and three to define and redefine uses, amend and add additional standards related to amusement centers and amusement devices and physical recreation facilities. The purpose of these amendments are to modernize the zoning ordinance, clarify and define uses, establish clear regulatory thresholds, improve enforcement, and provide a more flexible framework that allows low intensity uses by right while requiring additional review for higher intensity operations. So some of the solutions that we're gonna look through this evening are replacing the coin operated amusement definition with amusement devices, mending the floor area of amusement devices as an accessory use, amend amusement center definition, add a new definition for off-track horse race bedding facility, and amend the physical recreation facility definition. Starting with the coin-operated amusement machine, this is how the current definition reads. And the problem with that is this definition is too vague. The word coin operation has become outdated since there are many forms of payment. for these types of machines. It doesn't currently distinguish between the types of skill-based or other forms of arcade games. And currently it's overly restrictive in that it does not allow any more than six arcade style games. And so the solution is this new definition, and I'm not going to read the whole definition, but it basically is inclusive of all the different types of arcade machines that are out there. However, it does not include any games that would be restricted based on age. And this is amusement devices as an accessory use. These are the locations where they are currently permitted. These districts are commercial districts, Phoebus and DT1 and DT2. But more important about this slide is the instead of the number looking at the number of machines is will now assess by the floor area and so a business would be allowed to have 20 of their floor area have these arcade machines So moving on to amusement center, the current definition, again, it's too vague and it has outdated language in there. It has the coin operated machine term in there. And so the amended definition is intended to provide greater clarity and capture establishments that are mostly the intent is for these arcade or amusement type devices. And we're also with this, in addition to amending the definition, looking to add additional zoning districts of where amusement centers would be allowed. So quite simply, an amusement center, the new definition would be any establishment whose principal use is the operation of amusement devices. And as mentioned, in addition to C2 and C3 and M2, BB3, BB4, DT1 and DT2, those who are Buckrow, Beach and downtown districts would be added in the in addition to where they're already allowed in the phoebus you see phoebus one two and three there as well as our public open space and most of these uh except for the commercial and i think m2 all require use permit so uh in creating the new amusement uh center language uh We kind of set apart the OTB or what is the full name, Off-Track Horse Race Betting Facility. And by adopting the new amusement center definition, it would make our existing OTBs that we have in the city would become legal. They'd remain legal, but they would be non-conforming. So we thought it'd be better to create a new definition that sets them apart as their own facility. And this pretty much, this definition, the wording comes straight from the Virginia Code that defines what an off-track horse race betting facility is. And where they would be permitted would be in the limited commercial C2 Coliseum Central Overlay District. And it would still require a use permit. And looking now at the physical recreation facility, the current definition, we actually amended this definition not too long ago, but we have found that it inadvertently excludes some predominantly outdoor-based recreation, such as mini golf, pickleball courses, which have become quite popular, and even basketball courses. And so this new definition just refines it a bit to make it more inclusive, and you'll see some of the red highlights there, where it specifically mentions fitness centers, gymnastic facilities, dance and martial arts studios, as well as indoor-outdoor courts or fields, And you also see miniature golf facilities there. In addition to this amendment, we're also recommending adding the public open space district to the list of permitted uses. We did do some research here in the area and then elsewhere in the state. And what we found is that there's varying degrees throughout all these localities of how they define amusements and devices and amusement centers. And I think we... We're pretty much in line with a lot of them, but Hampton is unique just like these other cities are unique. And so what we've presented to you tonight is what we think works best for the city of Hampton. And so in conclusion, we believe these recommended amendments would eliminate the reliance on outdated terminology. We have new and amended definitions and new standards that would appropriately define arcade use and it would distinguish between accessory amusement devices as an accessory use versus a full amusement center. It also includes, would be inclusive of barcade uses. And again, that's kind of a larger amusement center that has, you know, you think of like eat, drink and play. And also these amendments would reduce ambiguity and help us with our enforcement and interpretation and also offers greater flexibility with respect to our physical recreation facilities within the city. And so that concludes my presentation after the public hearing of staff and planning commission recommend approval of these amendments known as zoning ordinance amendment 26 dash 0, 1, 4, 6, be happy to answer any questions you have in me at this time.

All right questions from us to work. All right. Thank you. Thank you for the presentation. This item requires a public hearing, so we're going to open the public hearing. There's no one signed up to speak, and so we'll close the public hearing and call for a motion.

Mr. Mayor, I move that the City Council approve and adopt Zoning Ordinance Amendment 26-0146 concerning amusement devices and other recreational uses presented in the agenda package.

Second.

Okay with a motion to second is any further discussion. I did you know we call the roll please.

Councilman Bowman I vice mayor Brown all right Councilwoman Campbell I have a woman therapy I have a woman Harper I have a woman Mugler I mayor Gray I item number 10 is 26 to 0, 1, 9, 2, it's an ordinance granting a non-exclusive franchise agreement to Lumos telephone LLC. to occupy and use the public streets and public rights of way located in the city of Hampton for providing telecommunications services.

Mr. Mayor and council members, Loomis Telephone is a Virginia limited liability company. They contacted the city of Hampton and advised that they desire to use and occupy the public streets and public rights away located within the city for the purposes of constructing, installing, and maintaining network facilities for telecommunication services within and through the city to provide services to the citizens of the city therefore lumos requested that the city grant a telecommunications franchise to provide the services that they propose pursuant to the constitution of virginia and the virginia code the city has the authority to grant franchises and other authorizations for the use and occupancy of the public streets and public rights away the The franchise term requested by Lumos is for a period of five years, which does not necessitate the bid process required under section 15.2-2100 of the Code of Virginia as amended. City staff recommends allowing Lumos to use the public streets and public right-of-ways subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the agenda package in that certain non-exclusive franchise agreement between the city and Lumos. And I want to just note, because I had a question earlier, This comes up from time to time, that when utility companies go into our city streets, they are required to put them back to the condition. So when they open up the street, let's say, to put in the fiber, they're going to have to repair it back to the drivable surface.

Mr. Mayor?

We did have someone signed up to speak on this public hearing right.

So this item does require public hearing we have one person signed up and now it's time to call miss Rick Marissa focus and which come on stage names to make sure I stated it correctly.

They're playing face there. Marissa Oaks. I was encouraged by the women women downstairs to sign up to speak in case there are any questions in this matter, but otherwise I don't have anything to share with you today.

All right, thank you. All right, there are no other speakers so we'll close the public hearing and call for motion.

I move that City Council approve and adopt item number 2, 6 dash 0, 1, 9, 2 ordinance approving non-exclusive franchise agreement to the most telephone LLC as presented in the agenda package.

Second second.

I have a motion to second is in for the discussion. I could be in a matter clerk called rule.

Councilman Bowman. Aye. Vice Mayor Brown. Aye. Councilwoman Campbell. Aye. Councilwoman Farabee. Aye. Councilwoman Harper. Aye. Councilwoman Mugler. Aye. Mayor Gray.

Aye.

Item number 11 is 26-0212, an ordinance to amend and reenact the non-coded ordinance adopted on June 12, 2024, setting the salaries for the mayor and members of city council pursuant to Virginia Code section 15.2-1414.6.

Mr. Mayor and council members, for the benefit of the public, in 2024, the Virginia General Assembly amended the Virginia Code section 15.2-1414.6, which provides for the maximum annual salaries for the mayors and council members of all Virginia cities. This was the first time those maximums had been increased since 1998. The Hampton City Council and many others throughout the Commonwealth then adopted ordinances to adjust salaries in response to that, and Hampton in particular adopted that ordinance on June 12, 2024, which increased the salary of the mayor to the level set forth by the Virginia Code of $47,000 and the salary of each council member to $43,000. However, in addition to increasing the maximum salaries, the Virginia General Assembly provided that such maximum salaries could be further adjusted by ordinance by an inflation factor not to exceed 5%. The Virginia Code further provides that proposed increases to such salaries shall be adopted at least four months prior to the date of the next municipal election and that no increase in such salaries shall take effect until July 1st, after the next regularly scheduled general election of council members. Instead of waiting for another extended period of time to do another large increase, as was needed to be done in 2024, with it not having been increased since 1998, The proposed non-coded ordinance amendment would give the mayor and the members of council a one-time increase of 4%, the same as the cost of living adjustment approved for the general workforce as part of the fiscal 2027 budget. If the proposed ordinance is adopted, the cost of living increase for the mayor and council members of city council will not go into effect until July 1st, 2027.

Thank for that explanation city manager show is there a motion.

Yes, you need to open the public hearing first.

I want I'm sorry I would open the public here because this item does require public hearing there's nobody signed up to speak so going to close the public hearing and now call for motion.

Yes, the move that the City Council prove it and adopt items 26 dash 2, 0, 2, 1, 2, amended ordinance setting Salison may remember the Council as present in the agenda package.

A motion to second any discussion. Councilman therapy.

Yeah, I have a thank you Mister may have a clarifying question if If this does not pass and then two years from now when it's open again, will the salary be caught up to cost of living or will it just be a certain percentage? at that time.

So that particular question is the code is a little bit ambiguous as to whether or not you can do those cumulative adjustments like that. So we have discussed possibly seeking a clarification before that occurs. So I don't want to tell you that you would be able to do that right now. The more conservative approach would say is you couldn't do more than 5% at any one time unless we receive guidance that that is permissible. Thank you.

So you put the discussion of the council members. I would just add to this that you know again as a city manager mentioned this is not result in a pay increase the council members this year. The pay increase of up to 4% would go into effect until July to July 1st of 2027. and you know really this is really about trying to keep salaries of council members keep pace with inflation and really looking at you know trying to give others who may be interested in running for city office more incentive to want to participate if the salaries are are in line or at a level where they could afford perhaps this to be their full-time job as opposed to a part-time job which it is now so uh you know it's not necessarily about just us and who may benefit from a pay increase next year we actually if each year each time we want to do this we got to go through the same process because that's the way the state code has it set up but you know really it's it's really about just kind of setting the pace setting the tone for salaries for future leaders in our community who want to serve on city council and or make sacrifices especially the younger generation who may be working or working with families and may be interested in also serving this capacity that you know it makes it a affordable attraction for them to do so city manager

Yes, Mayor, I failed to mention, I thought it might help give context to it as well, that the 4% would be equivalent to $1,720 for the council people and $1,880 for the mayor because of the slightly different amounts provided by code for the mayor. But if we don't do it regularly, then we would get in the place where once again, we may have to try if it's even allowed as the city attorney said of doing a much larger increase all at one time. And so for the budget purposes, it's a lot easier to assume that incremental increase over time. As you can see, it's a relatively minor amount of money in the scheme of things. I realize every dollar matters to every person, especially those that live paycheck to paycheck, but it's not like it's a huge amount of money. It's $1,720 for the council members.

Thank you for that additional context. All right, any other questions, comments from council members? I think we have a motion to second. So, Madam Clerk, you call the roll.

Councilman Bowman I. Vice mayor Brown all right. Councilwoman Campbell I. Councilman therapy I. Councilwoman Harper I. Councilwoman Mugler I. Mayor Gray I the motion carries.

Clerk to read the protocol for public comment.

Council meetings are for conducting city business. Public comment is allowed on matters within the council's authority and follow the public hearing items. Speakers must follow the citizen participation protocol. Speakers may sign up in the lobby one hour before the meeting and until it begins. Speaker shall address council from the center podium. Each speaker is allowed three minutes. The timer has a green light which will turn yellow with one minute remaining then red when time is up. Please speak respectfully and avoid personal attacks. Focus on topics within council's jurisdiction. Do not use the platform for political campaign speeches. Comments must be directed to the council and yielding time is not allowed. Audience must remain respectful and refrain from interruptions. Council typically listens without engaging in discussion. Responses may be provided by the city manager, city attorney or council members after public comment. Failure to follow the protocol may result in removal from the podium after a fair warning. Thank you.

Okay, thank you. And for those who are here speaking at public comment period for the first time, the red light, green light, yellow light indicators are right over here in front of the vice mayor. When it's green, you're speaking. When it turns yellow, you have one minute left. When it's red, your time is up. If you wrote a 5 minute speech you still only get 3 minutes to say your 5 minute speech and so with that I'm going to call the first speaker who I know has been here before miss Linda Seeley.

Let me keep a pair Jimmy don't start yet. Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Council Members, City Manager, and City Attorney. I'm Linda Seeley, and I'm here tonight to speak on something that I dearly love and dearly care about. The animals in our city. They are innocent and defenseless and please know they depend on the mayor, vice mayor, council members, and the city manager to work to make sure they're being cared for. Our city has done great things like implementing a new tethering law and a lease law and supporting the regional animal shelter. I believe Jason Mitchell and Lieutenant Giles are aware of the staffing problems of animal control and will resolve them as soon as possible. And I do appreciate the hard work the current senior animal control officer, Leslie Brazil, is doing. She's doing a fantastic job. She can trap cats. She's learning the city very well. I commend her. Routinely we get messages on Facebook and Nextdoor about animals in need and people out here needing help with the animals that they have in their hands or in their neighborhoods. Regarding our regional, and this is so important, regarding our regional animal shelter, no animal ever should be turned away. A prior Newport News Department head agreed with this point. that's refused from that shelter is really going to be contributing to an animal problem, a population, because they're not, most people that bring them in very rarely are neutered or spayed. And so what they do when they say, we're not going to take them, we're full, it's a public shelter. We're paying for them to take our animals. So as the department had said, they'll go out and dump them. And that's poor little things are out here fending for themselves. I wish every animal could have a happy home. But because people won't spay and neuter their animals, the shelter gets full. We just need to spay and neuter these animals. Less born, less has to be put to sleep. I urge citizens all the time, even when I was on campaign, I included PETA. They gave me a good opportunity to be in areas I hadn't been in a long time. So that's an advantage. If you're campaigning, you can always insert something on the animals too. They can benefit as the person that you're campaigning for can benefit. And I give them the number and tell them how to go about it. Now, Jimmy, I want you to listen to this.

One other important... Ms. Celia, your time is up.

Oh, it is? Yes. I can't say it about you. Gosh, I've got to tell the citizens something.

I know. But we can only give you three minutes to speak.

Oh, really? Okay. Well, thank you, sir. I know you don't want to arrest me.

All right. Next speaker is Ms. June Sullivan.

You said three minutes. Remember three minutes, Ms. Sullivan.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, thank you council for allowing me to speak. One issue I would like the city to consider is transparency regarding feral cats and cat colonies. At a recent meeting I heard that a resident in our area reportedly accepted eight cats into a colony. What surprised me was that none of us in the neighborhood was aware that a colony existed or was being established. My concern is that residents who are affected by these decisions should be informed and have the opportunity to understand how colonies are managed. My family has grossly been impacted. Over nine cats were born under our shed last year and three this year. Several times a day, cats passes through our yard. I've counted about 20. Feces are everywhere and odor is intolerable. After animal control picked up several cats, To learn that a colony had been formed by a neighbor was totally disappointing. If colonies are part of Hampton's strategy, I believe residents should know when a colony is established in their neighborhood, who is responsible for managing it, and how often, how complaints, about feces, odors, and sanitation concerns are handled, how many cats are being trapped, relocated, and managed. Just as the city seek public input on other decisions that affect neighborhoods, we should be informed and given opportunity to comment before a colony is approved or relocated in our community. Because we are the ones who live with the effects. It is our quality of life, sanitation, odor, and the enjoyment of property that is affected. I will ask the city this question. How does Hampton measure success in managing feral cat population and how are residents informed about the results? One final question is given that Hampton has long recognized feral cat management, as a ongoing issue what additional steps and policies the city considering to move from reacting to the problem to being more proactive in managing the problem just to achieve measurable reduction in the population and to impact on and the impact on neighborhoods and citizens quality of life further fieldcast whether they are stated or not and colonies created they are encroachment on our property and hands and is grossly impacting our quality of life, thank you for your time and consideration I have my president of the neighborhood watch the group neighborhood watch with me to be on. Thank you.

Thank you miss Ellen next speaker is Chris Bowman.

i'm chris bowman good evening mayor council members city manager city attorney and council clerk this evening i'd like to touch on two items first several months ago i attended a presentation on the infield housing plan book i believe 11 proposed models were presented i want to commend the council the community development and the architect on this plan And the progress to date. I believe this concept will start in the with area. I have two recommendations. Build them to a lead gold level and to a category three wind load. Second, in a recent Daily Press article on school speed cameras, $445,000 were received from Macon School, $350,000 from Barron Elementary, and $334,000 from Bethel High School. That totals $1.4 million. The city has 13 school zones. If three zones generate $1.4 million, The remaining 10 should generate 11.3. All in, that is $12.7 million. That's a lot of money and a lot of revenue. I assume the city gets to keep all this revenue. If not, and the state does, we need to petition our delegates, senators, and Congress individuals to have this changed. This revenue can assist with lowering property tax, and increasing salaries for police, fire, rescue, 911, and 311 staff, and our teachers. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bowman. Next speaker is Joan Weaver.

Good afternoon, governance team and Ms. Glass. One thing that bothers me more than anything is to hear they say, quote, unquote, no one from the community came. Greater with right here is here. And I want to hold you all accountable. And I would like answers. City Council. overseeing city departments. You hire and fire, is that not correct, city manager, city attorney, and auditor. You oversee the effectiveness of city operations. You are supposed to act as an ombudsman by listening to resident complaints, addressing neighborhood issues and answering questions, community engagement, hosting public meetings, taking comments, establishing short-term objectives for the city. Yet in our neighborhood, the only time we see you is when you come for our votes. Let that change. I would like to have it spelled out, the effectiveness, the Department of Taxation and Codes and Compliance, they are anything but effective in our neighborhood. and we need to have it on the record an official complaint to where we list concerns for substandard service when we are disrespected, when we are ignored and we are shuffled on the side and they go ahead and lead to quote unquote misdemeanors when the biggest misdemeanor is their ineffectiveness in service to our community. Who do we address to stop them in their tracks before it gets to where it is. And as I stated, it does not make sense. If city council, from what I said, if those are your responsibilities, put it on the record and let us know. No one should be in that situation. You give all these great expectations about how you want to help the residents, how you listen to the residents when you do anything but that. Ordinance could be explained right within ordinance that you spit out so easily or resolutions for the citizens, but you don't share that. Once again, Department of Taxation, Codes and Compliances, an official step-by-step on what we need to do to get that addressed and have counsel come out and do your job as well. Not a smooth over by the city attorney who did not, I'm sorry, city attorney, city manager, who did not answer me the last time. If anything else you should know, I will keep coming until you answer me and do right by our community. Thank you.

No clapping in the council chambers.

Thank you.

All right. Thank you, Ms. Weaver. Next speaker is Aaron Burke.

Hello, everyone. I'm just about as hot as she is, but for a totally different reason. I'm back again about this Farrell's hookah bar that is literally destroying my neighborhood day after day, weekend after weekend. And this is my second time being up here to speak on this. I've got three kids back there that wake up at 1 o'clock in the morning to tell me that somebody's out in front of the house doing whatever they decide they want to do. I'm seeing people now urinating in front of my house, urinating on people's vehicles that live in that neighborhood. I'm tired of the trash. I'm tired of the destruction of property. I'm tired of people's – I find people's keys in my backyard, car keys. Let's not play this game anymore. You guys need to do something about it. It needs to change. It needs to stop now. They don't deserve a liquor license. They don't deserve to even be open at this point. We're done. My entire neighborhood is through. We live on a dead end street. You can't even get emergency vehicles through our street if something was to happen. I have elderly, disabled, young children, and a whole lot of people that don't deserve to go through this night after night, day after day, weekend or in the middle of the week, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. It doesn't matter. Shut down that place or give us residential parking that only allows us to be there and make it a tollway zone. They're destroying businesses next door and across the street, and we are tired. It needs to stop now.

Thank you, Mr. Burke. Next speaker is Chair Lisa Burke.

Good evening. By the last name I can guess, you know I am his missus. Those are also my beautiful children. The first time I came here, I noticed that all of you applauded the daycare that was approved. I have children. Are they not to be considered their safety? Are they not to be considered during the school days to be able to sleep peacefully? We live about two miles from Buckrow Beach. there was a stabbing because of the unruliness that is happening, okay? I understand you cannot control the youth and that is fine, but I'm trying to raise mine with my husband respectfully. We cannot do that as long as you allow Ferrells Hookah Bar to advertise that our dead end subdivision is considered public parking and we cannot tell them they cannot park there. I appreciate police officers like Sergeant Bradford who listen to us when we do call the non-emergency line. I also understand that our Hampton Police Department has limited resources, especially when it comes to personnel. I do not want to bother them with this. However, my children's safety is my number one concern. And by any means necessary, I will ensure that they are safe, them and any other children in my care. That will include my sister's daughter because she is currently deployed, therefore my niece when she comes to live with me. I will ensure her safety as well. I do not want to be pushed aside once again like last time to speak with Joshua George, what is it, Officer Rauch, Alexan Bethea, and Katie McHale. Because those are the people that you allowed us to speak with and to address our concerns with. And guess what? They were not helpful. They were non-responsive. And they also were honestly rude. So once again, we do not want to close businesses. Excuse me, I will say I don't want businesses to close, but if it has to close to ensure my safety, my family's safety, my children's safety, then close it. Because if I have to take matters into my own hands, we will end up on way B10.

Thank you, Ms. Burke. That is our final speaker for the evening. So I'm going to turn it over to the city manager to address any items she chooses to do so at this time.

certainly thank you mr mayor and i normally go on order but i do want to start with miss weaver's comments because i did fail to address everything she wrote brought up last time and i want to apologize for that sometimes when i'm trying to manage all the comments i skipped something and it wasn't intentional so i'm going to start with yours tonight um i will clarify just one thing first on the facts the city council does hire and fire and supervise the city manager the city attorney and the city of clerk they do not do that for the assessor or the auditor or any of the other department heads the way the council manager form of government is set up is that they hire the three people that I mentioned to manage the city. All of the department heads report directly to me through my assistant city managers. The tax assessor in particular, although she does work for me and my responsibility is to hire someone who meets the minimum qualifications, we cannot neither the council nor even myself nor the city attorney can direct them how to do the assessment process they are certified they're actually internationally certified and ranked as doing assessments correctly but their review as to whether or not they're doing accurate assessments is done first by the state they look at how close assessments are to market ratios And frankly, if we don't do good enough, they can come in and take over our assessment office. And the second point of review is actually a citizen review. It's a citizen review board. So if someone does not agree with their tax assessment, the process there is to file an appeal. And then that appeal is reviewed by a citizen board. And if the citizen board believes the tax assessor made an error, they will make an adjustment. But we, and I include the council on that, as well as the administrative staff, cannot do assessments or direct assessments to be a certain way. And that's been done intentionally because the state and all of us want to make sure that the assessments are truly a reflection of market value and not of some political need to create revenue for the budget. In terms of the codes department or other city departments where people have complaints, At one time, we did have an ombudsman position. Many years ago, before I was manager, I think it was when Jesse Wallace was city manager, and we had some budget challenges, and Hardy Cash, who was the then ombudsman, retired. That position was eliminated. We ask citizens to call in complaints to our 311 number. And if people can't dial 311, they are to call 727-8311. They can be submitted electronically using the website or using the app. We ask people to call them in there, but they don't have to only do them there. they can do them via council office via the manager's office they want they we encourage oftentimes to start in the department level only because it can oftentimes be resolved versus coming to us but i understand your point of the question is you're not satisfied with what happened at the department head level and so that's where that would come to the manager's office or the council's office 311 does give us a report of all the complaints for us to investigate and look into but the most direct way if you're unsatisfied with what you had is to come to the council and me so that we can look into the complaints. When something is involved with a code violation, which is, I believe, what you were speaking about when you referenced misdemeanors, once that is issued, that is a court matter. So we cannot intervene for the court at that point in time. But we can certainly look at the process that leads to citations. And I'm glad to sit down with you any time, as you know, and talk through the issues that you have. But we do not have an official ombudsman any longer. 311 basically serves as the record keeping system, if you will, for us to track the number of complaints that we get on various different departments for various different reasons. But I always encourage people who are unsatisfied with any resolution to come directly to our office and they will get the highest level of review from our office. I'm sorry you feel that way. I'm going to move on now to Pharaoh's. We understand your frustration and want to do what we can help. Public roads, however, are public roads and it's very difficult to keep people from parking on them. Tonight I heard something I didn't hear last time, which is that the establishment is actually advertising your neighborhood streets as parking for the restaurant. They absolutely should not be doing that. And we will follow up with them and make sure that they know they should not be encouraging people to go elsewhere to park. They should be accommodating parking on their parking lot. I'm hesitant to say this because I don't want to offer something I can't definitely deliver, but I've asked the staff to look at is it possible to make your streets a resident only parking zone. There are certain criteria that have to be met under code. That code is established by the state and then we adopt it locally, but it may be because of the problems you're having. and again maybe please don't take this as an absolute commitment we have to do the research that we might be able to qualify your neighborhood as a resident only when that happens typically what happens is we work to get decals and then the police can look for the decal and if the decal is there of course they don't get ticketed and if someone doesn't have the decal then they do get ticketed, and that makes it easier. But it is very hard to qualify to make a public street one of those resident onlys. As you were talking, I texted my staff in the back. If you want to look in the back, Mr. Jason Mitchell, who's the assistant city manager, and Michael Bowery, who's over there, he'll raise his hand now. Mr. Bowery is the director of public works, which is the department that would look and see if we could qualify that. I will say we've had very candid conversations with pharaohs. I am told that they are looking for solutions to the problem. We've been putting a lot. I'm just telling you what I've been told. that they are looking for solutions. We have evidence that they've looked at other shopping centers to potentially move. But again, that may not be true. I'm just sharing what we've been told. And we will continue to keep our eye on the business as well as all businesses that may have a deleterious effect on neighborhoods. um in terms of mr bowman's questions about the school zone cameras i just confirmed because the numbers he quoted seemed high the total number for our school zone camera enforcement has been right about two million dollars so it may be that the ones that he cited were ones where more tickets were generated but in the entire city it was about two million dollars THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RECENTLY ADOPT LEGISLATION THAT REQUIRES THAT ANY MONIES RECEIVED FROM SCHOOL SPEEDING ZONE CAMERA TICKETS MUST BE USED TO IMPROVE SAFETY AND first you can cover the cost of the program because there is a cost to administering it and then with anything left over it needs to be used for school safety or other road safety projects in the vicinity and i think not speaking for the general assembly but the sense of the debate i heard and saw reflected was that they wanted to make sure localities were not doing this just to supplement their general fund budget but truly for the reasons that were stated i.e public safety and so they have now restricted how we can use those funds now the good news is we have lots of safety projects that we want to do in hampton and so we do we do the school zone cameras first and foremost to protect our kids but and we would prefer to take no tax revenue i mean no ticket revenue and have everybody go 25 miles in a school zone But given that people do violate it, we are taking that money and putting it into pedestrian safety projects. And while it'd be nice to have the flexibility to do whatever in case an emergency came up, right now we have enough safety projects that we don't anticipate having a problem meeting the state mandate in that regard. And we will look into the recommendations that you made to enhance the inflow housing plan. Now I'll turn to Ms. Seeley and Ms. Sullivan's comments about the animals and feral cats specifically. This council has been very committed to making sure that we address feral cats and animals broadly. In fact, I don't know if you noticed it, but before we started, there was an ad up on the TV that was running. I don't know if you all could see it in the audience, but when I was back in my office, I saw it come up about our PETA clinic to help people get their animals spayed and neutered. The single most effective thing we can do about getting the numbers of feral cats down is for everyone to act responsibly and get their cats spayed and neutered. And so we've been trying to expand that program as funds would permit. This council adopted years ago, not these folks here, but Hampton's council years ago adopted an ordinance that required that feral cats be in managed cat colonies or be picked up. And the notion behind the managed cat colonies for what it's worth is in a managed cat colony, the cats must be cared for. They must have regular food. They must get their annual shots like feline leukemia and other kinds of things. And if someone is really caring properly for a cat colony, then there shouldn't be problems for surrounding neighbors. Unfortunately, some people set up colonies and don't go through the registration process with us so that we can check and make sure they're doing all of those things. So if you are aware of a cat colony and you want us to know if it's an official cat colony, by all means, please call us and we can check. And if it is not an official one, the code gives the process for getting it either into compliance or disbanding it. But I do think the notion Ms. Sullivan made, if we're not already doing it, and it sounds like we're not, and it simply could be because of manning, we've been short in manning and animal control for a little bit of time, not because we don't want to fill the jobs, but because they are tough jobs for people. A lot of people who are drawn to be an animal control officer come because they love animals. And then when you have to pick up feral cats and take them and know that ultimately they're probably going to be euthanized, it's a very hard thing for people to do. And yet I'm not saying that that's wrong. You know, there's a lot of literature out there that the cats are suffering and that it may be, you know, there's two schools of thought. Candidly, the two schools of thought will never agree, but there is a strong evidence on both sides for what people want to believe. But feral cats, if they're not regularly fed and they're not getting their shots and all those things that the cat colony is intended to do, are struggling. And so we do, our policy has been, as we're able, we try to have a full-time person to do trapping as weather and other things permit. as long as our manning is up, we try to do that. And that will result in feral cats being euthanized. We prefer them to be in managed cat colonies. We prefer them to have been spayed and neutered, which is a requirement to be in a managed cat colony. But if not, we will pick them up. But we do struggle with manning because that is a hard thing for people who love animals when they're drawn to that work. So we do have a bit of churn in those jobs. All of this is in the way of saying I want to assure everyone who cares about animals that we will do everything we can with the manning that we have. we understand the issues and i think the idea of making sure the neighborhoods are informed when a registered cat colony is established is a very good one and if we haven't been doing it's likely because of the manning situation i just described but we will recommit to making sure we do that as as they are established i think that covers everything that was brought up if i missed anything as i did last week inadvertently with miss weaver i apologize i'll be glad to stay back if i missed anyone's items

Okay, thank you that city manager. Okay, moving on to the next item on the agenda. I am that was deferred or item that was removed from consent agenda that is now on the general items.

i'm sorry that's item number two 26-0196 which was pulled from the consent agenda it is a resolution to approve an encroachment agreement pursuant to hampton city code section 34-86 between the city of hampton and matthew sterling crockett and elizabeth may crockett to allow an encroachment into the city's right-of-way for installation of plants for landscaping and a privacy fence within and along the city's right-of-way known as sunset road east

Mr. Mayor and council members, Mr. and Ms. Crockett own property located at 25 Charles Street. The city of Hampton is the owner of Sunset Road East, which is the right of way in question here. And the Crockett's installed a privacy fence encroaching within the right of way without obtaining the required city council approved non-exclusive revocable license. They also installed trees, bushes, and other plants for landscaping that were encroaching within the right of way without obtaining the required city council approved non-exclusive revocable license. They did this to try to address concerns they had with traffic from the adjacent business Vulcan, and they thought that that would make their quality of life better. So I don't think they did it with any mal reason, but they did in fact do this without getting proper permission. So I asked staff if they could work with the applicants to determine a way where we could support what they were trying to do to improve their quality of life and protect against the extra traffic that you get in a business like Vulcan without endangering the things that we need right away easements for. For people's benefit, typically the reason why we maintain easements is you got water lines, sewer lines, other things that you have to have access to. So this request was routed to city staff and local utility companies. None had objections to having some of these things in the right of way, but some of them needed to be moved. So that should there be a problem with water lines or sewer lines, utility lines, they could be gotten to without impacting the fence or the plant material so what you have before you tonight is an encroachment application and license to encroach into two areas of the right-of-way area one which is about 62 plus or minus square feet to allow the existing privacy fence to continue to encroach within the right of way. And area two, which is about 1,265 feet plus or minus to allow for the encroaching existing trees, bushes, and other plants. Some of which will be moved, as I said, to be out of the area where we would need to potentially do work. So staff and the utility companies are comfortable with what is before you tonight. And we recommend approval of the encroachment agreement as a way to try to help the applicant.

all right with this uh councilwoman campbell requested this item to be pulled out for a separate vote so i believe you have a motion thank you mr mayor yes i think um i know we had received one complaint from one neighbor and i want to make sure that the citizens have an opportunity to speak july is a holiday and i don't know who's going to be in i'd like a little more time to work with the vulcan because I guarantee that house is not the only one with a dust problem. So I think we need to make sure that they're doing their job to keep the dust down for all the residents on that road. So I move that City Council defer item 26-0196 to the legislative session on August 12th.

Is there a second? Well there's a no second on the motion so and we'll need another motion on the item to move forward with approval.

So motion to approve. I can move the city council approved item 26 dash 0, 1, 9, 6, resolution. A proven approach an agreement with Matthew and this the pocket as presented in the agenda packet second.

So we have a motion and a second to approve is any further discussion. To be in a medical record rule.

Councilman Bowman. Aye. Vice Mayor Brown.

Aye.

Councilwoman Campbell. Nay. Councilwoman Farabee. Aye. Councilwoman Harper. Aye. Councilwoman Mugler. Aye. Mayor Gray. Aye. The motion carries.

The protocol for appointments.

I apologize, mayor. There is not a protocol, but I believe Councilwoman Farabee needed to make a statement before we proceed.

Okay, Mr. Mayor.

Councilwoman Farabee.

Thank you. I will not participate in any discussion or vote concerning appointment to the Virginia Peninsula Community College Board of Trustees because my spouse is under consideration for appointment.

Okay, and I may read the motion for appointments.

Yes Sir, the first motion is with respect to on the Virginia Peninsula Community College Board of Trustees appoint Melvin Farabee to a first full term until June 30, 2030. That motion stands alone.

It stands alone, so we need a motion and a second.

So moved, Mr. Mayor. Second.

Any discussion? Okay. Would you call for the vote, please? Call for the roll.

Councilman Bowman? Aye. Vice Mayor Brown? Aye. Councilwoman Campbell? Aye. Councilwoman Farabee? Abstain. Councilwoman Harper? Aye. Councilwoman Mugler? Aye. Mayor Gray?

Aye.

Now, the rest of these will be in one motion. On the Hampton Animal Response Team, defer action until July 8, 2026. On the Citizens Police Advisory Group, reappoint Anthony Sandefur to a second term until June 30, 2030. Appoint Grady McLean III and Darius Copeland as business community representatives to first terms expiring June 30, 2030. On the Economic Development Authority, appoint Rob Schufer to fill the unexpired portion of a term until March 31, 2030. On the Neighborhood Commission, appoint Brenda Cole for District 4 to fill the unexpired portion of a term until June 30, 2027, Caroline Peabody as a business representative to fill the unexpired portion of a term until December 31, 2026, and Jason Mitchell as the city manager's representative. On the Senior Citizen Advisory Committee, appoint Dr. Edward Yule to fill the unexpired portion of a term until May 30, 2029, and reappoint Robert Guerin to fill the unexpired portion of a term until March 20, 2030. On the Hampton-Newport News Community Services Board, reappoint Karen Bowden to serve a third term until June 30, 2030. On the Grievance Board, appoint Carolina Peabody to serve a first term until June 30, 2030, and Shelly Lawrence to a partial term ending on June 30, 2029. On the Peninsula Alcohol Safety Action Program Advisory Board, reappoint Tremaine Brown to a first full term until June 30, 2030, On the Hampton Commission on the Arts, point Richard C. Press to a first term until June 30, 2030, and Jason Mitchell as the city manager's representative until June 30, 2030. And on the Peninsula Airport Commission, reappoint Jay Joseph to a four-year term which will expire on June 30, 2029. All right.

We need a motion and a second.

So moved. Second.

Second. Councilman Bowman, aye. Vice Mayor Brown, aye. Councilwoman Campbell, aye. Councilwoman Farabee, aye. Councilwoman Harper, aye. Councilwoman Mugler, aye. Mayor Gray, aye.

All right. Are there any reports by city manager, city council, or staff or committees? Be it none. Is there any new business? All right. If there's no new business, then we stand adjourned.