>> good afternoon and welcome to
the hampton city council work
session.
MADAME Clerk, will you call the
roll, please.
>> come bowman?
>> present vice mayor brown?
Campbell.
Ferebee?
COUNCILWOMAN Harper?
>> present.
>> COUNCILWOMAN Mugler?
>> present.
>> mayor gray?
>> present.
And we have a pretty full agenda
this afternoon with several
presentations so we'll go ahead
and get started.
I'll ask the city manager to
introduce the first one.
>> thank you, MR. Mayor and
councilmembers.
We're so excited to have with us
today the chair of the portland
row authority board of
directors, our own hampton
appointee jay joseph as well as
the ceo of the port authority
scott martin to give us an
update on their activities and
the annual report for the
authority.
There's a lot of really great
stuff happening there.
As you know many of you have
have been involved in the
landscape action plan and we're
all anxiously awaiting the
unveiling of the first part of
the african landing memorial
later this month.
But there's so much more good to
share, MR. Joseph and MR.
Martin will be glad to impart to
you all.
>> good afternoon.
We have to meet
-- need a password
apparently.
Anyway I'm here just to greet
you really and say thank you for
taking an interest in fort
monroe.
I know it's an important part of
hampton and what we do.
Just two quick things: one to
remind everybody about our
governance.
We are a board of 14 members.
Two of your appointees are
obviously mary and me.
But the other twelve are
controlled by the elections and
by the governor.
We have of course our delegate
and state senator, martha is
familiar with that job so
delegate thorton and senator
loch currently.
We have two ex-physio members,
secretaries of commerce and
trade and of natural and
historic resources much and then
we have 8 citizen appointees
that the governor appoints.
To hampton has a small role to
play, 2 out of 14 board members,
but I can tell you that we more
than carry our weight.
When you appointed mary, I was a
little concerned that we would
be stretching her too thin.
I can tell you she has been an
incredible contractor to our
board.
For example, she helped behind
the scenes with glen of his
management of fort monroe,
making it a more efficient
operation.
She also served on the search
committee that brought us scott
martin.
Now, we can no longer refer to
scott as our new ceo.
He's been with us since JANUARY
of 2025, over 18 months.
You know, we're not supposed to
compare our children or our
CEOs, but glen had his
strengths.
Glen really got us in good
standing when richmond,
established our funding stream
and has really helped us in that
way.
Scott brings a whole different
set of talents to fort monroe.
His background, we hired them
from chattanooga parks and
before that he had another urban
parks job, so he comes with a
lot of urban park experience.
And I think as you'll see from
his presentation, he has vision,
he has enthusiasm and we look
very much forward to the next
phase of our success at fort
monroe.
So here is scott.
>> thank you, jay.
>> all right, scott, should we
start clapping now or --
>> no.
[Laughter]
The honeymoon will end.
It will be fine.
I would say good things about
mary and I share one
commonality, we're both children
of city managers so we are
emotionally supported or
stunted, I'll let you take that
however you want to.
i'm going to run you through
what is now our annual report to
you.
There's no action item for you
here.
I'm not expecting any sort of
response, other than really
absorption about what we're
working on, with future
engagement to come.
So apologies in advance, but
those of y'all who have been
stuck with me know that I will
throw a thousand slides at you
and if you hold onto one or two
things you're doing pretty good
but hopefully there's something
for each person so I'm going to
jump right in.
We have 1.3 million visits a
year.
That's why this work and this
collaboration with you means so
much to us.
There's a lot of things going on
as well.
I sent you a deck earlier, I
won't repeat it, you can read as
well as I can but I think the
most transformational and the
adaptive reuse underway now for
residence at fort monroe, when
you're welcoming, 300, 350 new
residents to hampton at fort
monroe through buildings like
this that are now being adaptbly
re-used and activated.
The first building on the
entryway is now fully leased.
You probably noticed folks
sitting there.
Building 100, that's the same
architect that did the library
of congress did that building.
That will become occupied
mid-this month, fully leased.
Then this coming year, we're
working through your planning
and building departments already
for permits, but the medical
arts building and the arsenal
will begin their redevelopment
as well.
All in, you're looking at
$45 million of private
investment in hampton for
housing.
I think any city would be happy
to have that, and it was not a
light step to move that fast,
and mary and jay and all the
folks before me deserve all the
credit.
Additionally in the state budget
this year I'm proud to report
senator loch is senator loch,
put her in bubble wrap, whatever
we have to do.
She's rock star for us.
She brought home $12 million to
bring utilities to the inner
fourth, that means those
buildings can finally be used
once the utilities are there.
They can't be yet, no matter how
many great ideas I show you.
I think everyone in the crowd
who has been to the beach will
appreciate this, we'll put a
bathroom at the beach instead of
a port-a-john, with a cafe
facility and then the landscape
action plan that I'll talk to
you about today.
As you keep pushing the
specialness of hampton we're
seeing the fruits of your labor,
and I can't say enough about
mary and your team.
We're seeing attendance up
across the boards.
You can read the stats as well
as I do but folks are coming out
and they're spending time I
would be remiss if I didn't
spend the african landing
memorial.
It's finding its footing.
I have seen graduation photos,
proposals, I've seen people cry,
i've seen people come there just
to touch the stones.
I've need knucklehead
skateboarders that I chase off,
you get the full range.
But the community is finding the
memorial and we look forward to
the next phase of at, and I hope
you will join us on the 29th
when the first sculpture arrives
and at that point, y'all when
it's going to change.
When the memorial goes vertical
and the figures arrive and
stories and names find their
place, let's watch how the
nation responds to this space.
It's going to be a very
interesting and dynamic
experience over the next couple
of years.
But mainly what I want to talk
to y'all today about is the
landscape action plan and the
work we've been doing.
We'll zoom out to 100,000-foot
and then I promise we'll come
down to at least 20,000.
The future is urban, no matter
what anyone says.
The challenge is not a lot of
folks at state government think
about urban every day, where
they wake up and say how are
these areas functioning.
This is our one chance to do
that as the commonwealth of
virginia, it's a unique deal.
We sit in the 37th largest
city in the nation if you take
hampton roads as a city.
And I can pull any best places
to live, I imagine you all get
sucked into these as much as I
do when they come out, they're
click bait.
But -- they are click bait.
Moniquele came out with their
top 20 best places to live in
the world.
the yellow ones, 14 of the top
20 are port cities.
Something happens in cities like
ours where ports are and
commerce meets water.
They are the best places to live
if we get it right.
And we think we've got a great
chance to deploy fort monroe,
much like you've seen at the
press idioin san francisco and
governors aisle in new york and
this is our flag and it sits in
hampton so we're all very
fortunate and if we're being
honest, we're all probably a
little bit overwhelmed and
humbled by this landscape and
the stories it carries.
And the big stuff here to finish
up and set you up is the most
important thing to get these
projects done isn't bricks,
isn't mortar, isn't a listing,
it's the people.
You've got to have the right
people at the right time asking
the right questions for the
right place.
And we think we do.
And thank you and thank you mary
and everyone else for being the
right people to advance us.
The first way we did that was
the selection of hargrave jones,
the architects that design the
next iteration of fort monroe.
We picked them I think mary
would agree in large part
because of their success at this
location.
That's the presidio in san
francisco.
In 1995 when it ceased being a
military base and rolled into
what a public landscape is, this
is the apprentice I had so
presidio today.
You're looking at the number 1
visited national park in the
national park system.
You're looking at a unit of the
national park that netted
$18 million last year.
It's different, san francisco,
you throw a rock, you hit a
hedge fund manager worth a
billion dollars.
They roll in a different
neighborhood.
But the lessons are absolutely
applicable to what we're doing
here and we felt har graves
jones would bring those lessons
and bring them to us.
We had our jury competition last
year.
We started the process in
JANUARY.
We're on track to have the
trustees in SEPTEMBER and we're
on target to deliver this to the
governor in DECEMBER.
Fun part of our project:
private investors, public
investors, philanthropists, city
councils, you all want to know
there's consistency, is it going
to last, you ask yourself that
every day.
The fun thing is we will ask
because there's one person in
virginia who has the authority
to sign the deed restriction and
master plan for fort monroe and
I know where she goes to work
every single day.
So we will be in governor spam
burger's office with the master
plan and when she sirens it
we're
signs it,we're locked in.
That's a very powerful position
to be in as I'm sure leonard
would say in economic
development.
These are the key themes.
We've had nearly 1500 folks
engage us around the community
in meetings and public
workshops.
No surprise, these are all the
things people tell us they want
to see done.
They match in many ways the
screening I can plan you already
have so there's a consistent
hampton language that rolls
throughout.
We have to map in the economics
because this doesn't work if it
doesn't pencil out.
That's where they live, how
people work, how we align with
leonard's team, how we fit into
the ecosystem of economic
development, how we fit into
programing.
And then our trustees were asked
to tell us where they want to
go, because they're charged with
leadership.
This was the word exercise we
did with the trustees when we
said, what are the important
things to emphasize at fort
monroe.
And I want to share this because
y'all have done these word maps
I'm sure in other planning
exercises you have done.
The centrality of history and
specialness around both black
history but also around ecology
just rang true.
We're starting to think about
how this landscape speaks to the
nation going forward.
And we found this a great
launching point for design, to
have this sort of continuity
from our trustees.
National park service is
involved.
Our plan is reaching from our
land to national park service
land.
I had to put this language up at
their request.
The park service cannot commit
to any of the plans we're
drawing.
The commonwealth of virginia is
leading.
We hope they follow.
But nothing we propose is
something they can commit to at
this time.
They are in lock step with us.
Some of y'all were around during
the time fort monroe was
created.
If you remember the property
lines on where the national park
service is and the commonwealth
is, those were political
decisions of a political
negotiation, not about the
resource, how a visitor
experiences the site or a
seagull experiences the site.
I've interviewed the seagulls,
they don't know if they're on
commonwealth land or
commonwealth of virginia land,
they don't care.
So when we bring it all together
I want to show you what's going
on.
These are 20% drawings and we'll
zip through them and show you
some precedents about thinking
about the advancement of fort
monroe.
First we start with
connectivity.
Connectivity for us begins with
pipes and I'm sure this group
has heard a lot about our
problems.
We had a problem at mill creek.
We got to get the pipes right.
We have about $27 million in the
bank right now and projects
being designed to take care of
the utilities.
We take care of utilities, we
then can come above ground.
The next then becomes the above
ground stuff, which is what
people are interested in.
How do vehicles move around fort
monroe?
The army moved them around one
way.
We don't need to move them
around the same way the army
did.
Nor should we.
They were worried about quickly
getting from a to b.
We don't do that.
Public landscapes is about how
it makes you feel.
This is the current look, y'all
have probably been out there and
seen fenwick as it looks like
this.
This is how it's going to look
when we're done with it.
This is about a landscape that
is now changing.
Everything is about the
performed.
We're going to build in rational
routes so you don't have to
crossroads with a stroller or
someone learning to drive a bike
or you can move in a circle
around the site.
How do we move pedestrians and
bikes around?
The army was fine with this.
This is a fine service for the
army.
We think this is a higher level
service for our landscape people
that want to spend in and
businesses that would want to
invest in.
And that continues on with
boardwalk languages I'm see us
deploy throughout.
Hardscape is a big one for us.
Form -- a fifth of fort monroe
is paved and people think we
have a flooding problem.
No, we have a pavement problem.
We have a need forrest room and
parking.
so while we eliminate parking in
someplaces, you put it where you
need it in others.
I know y'all hear it, you need
more parking at fort monroement
I'm here to tell you do not need
more park, you need the right
parking at fort monroe.
We can design our way through
that, with restrooms.
We want to build around the
destinations.
It's everything from the
historical sites you know, the
national historic landmark, and
the history sites that are lost.
African landing memorial is a
perfect example.
There is nothing in the
landscape that told y'all 20
years ago the african landing
happened there.
There is now.
There's nothing on our site to
tells the native american story
yet.
There will be in the future.
There's nothing that talks about
the bird migration.
There will be in the future.
So it's past and present for
connectivity in history that we
draw forward.
And that begins with us, with
adaptive reuse of existing
buildings.
One of the first moves we're
going to hear from this plan is
no new buildings until we fill
our existing buildings and we're
probably going to do some
removal of buildings along the
way.
The market isn't there to
support that much more.
And that's good, we don't have
the budget to sustain it.
We can be adults about this and
make the hard decisions.
And then find the places where
the private investors wanting to
in.
Water and beach is everything,
about 70% of our visitors at
some point encounter water and
the beach so how do we bring
that forward?
And our board, the trustees have
been keenly focused on this.
We did an exercise and asked
what was important to them and
it was water, water, water.
How do we design amenities like
this that allow you to enjoy it
safely, cleanly and go home
without sand between your toes?
The sea walls don't have to be
corps of engineers, we can
design sea walls that allow
people to get in the water but
also protect our assets.
And then residential.
We've got that great grain, the
historic village there, that can
be infilled with appropriate
housing.
We're using charles son and
savannah as the model.
It can receive infill.
It needs to receive trees that
it's a walkable, gentle density
neighborhood, like it has been
for nearly 150 years and we've
got ways forward.
And that includes the infill of
spaces.
So we have all sorts of uses
that loop in here.
I'm happy to spend time
afterwards if you want to deep
dive the stuff.
And then we've got
transformation of land.
The army just had -- if you go
out today there's at all fescue
they make short and you know it
really, really well you know it
has sand bursts in it
burrs in it.
So we want to think about
grasslands to shoreline edge to
activating the parade grounds so
it can host musical festivals,
so it can host art shows.
And just areas of shade and
places you can sit down and
enjoy.
Coupled with the resilient
ecology.
We think we can put about a
hundred acres of marsh in fort
monroe and restore the key
coming there.
What I want you to think about
the power of that and maybe it's
me, mid-life cries issues I'll
own it.
Crisis, I'll own
it.
Sometimes it's hard to
appreciate the chesapeake bay
until you drive by it every day,
everyone who comes and says oh,
my gosh, you live here?
Our job is to bring that forward
and ecology is how we do it.
I want you to imagine -- because
the plans are going to show --
you're able to stay at a lodge
and then walk into a chesapeake
marsh and see a red drum sunning
itself, see what we experience.
We can do that.
The army had a mission and they
were mission focused.
Our mission will be a little
different so you'll see us bring
ecology into the landscape as
well.
To not only soften it, make it
more resilient in terms of
climate change but make it more
beautiful, enjoyable as well
give folks the opportunity to
spend time out there in a way
you can't do anywhere else in
hampton roads.
There's no one else playing in
this lane, it's wide up for us.
One of the trans formses we've
learned is mill creek is a top 3
sailing and crew facility that's
underused on the east coast.
We've been told that by the
national governing bodies.
How do we deploy that as a
resource?
Because you can't get the big
boats in there to cause trouble.
So we are looking at a boat
house complex to what you see up
there to amplify the work of
youth sail virginia -- I think
they were going to cancel
sailing, they're bringing
sailing back, and how can we
work nationally in that space, a
real opportunity for us there.
Towers have always been part of
fort monroe's history, so one of
the things architects quickly
figured out is let's bring them
back.
So if we can find the confidence
to bring contemporary
architecture, do a design
competition, and you know it is
an instagram we live in, if
you've been to new york and --
what's it called, the big strat
few thing, we're
-- at one timethere were over 22 towers up and
down that peninsula and once
you're up in those towers, any
of y'all that have trespassed,
if you get up high you can see
all the way to the chesapeake
bridge tunnel and even beyond.
We can make that available to
our guests as well.
So those are the big ideas we're
chasing.
We're moving to 60% in
SEPTEMBER.
In SEPTEMBER, we are going to be
at two public workshops.
Love to have y'all engage as
well.
We're always testing this
against our residence and
listening and then we listen
again, did we get it right or
wrong.
We'll be at the peninsula on
SEPTEMBER 16th from 6 to 8
P.M., virginia teck is helping
could
cosponsor that and then south
side on the 17th for both of
the listening sessions before we
do final edits that will come
back to our board in OCTOBER --
spoiler alert there will be a
called meeting -- and then
advance that to the governor
because we love hitting
headlines.
And my final statement before I
depart or take questions, we've
done this before as a nation.
It is of course the national
mall in 1946.
That is a public landscape
serving our nation brilliantly.
It won a world war.
And then the greatest generation
did one neat thing, didn't they?
They gave it back to us like
that.
A public landscape, serving its
nation, beautifully today with
the world war ii memorial, the
vietnam memorial, the steps of
the lincoln memorial where so
much of our history was written.
These landscapes pivot and
change to serve how we ask them
to serve and we're simply saying
to fort monroe what's your
service to virginia and the
nation next?
I appreciate y'all's patience.
I know that's a lot of slides.
I'll share the deck.
Happy to take any questions and
again just encourage to come see
us at the public work sessions
and on the 29th when we
welcome not only the
commonwealth but the nature to a
pretty significant momenter us
as perform reveal the
we reveal the first sculpture
of the african landing memorial.
>> thank you, scott.
You flew through 97 slides like
I've never seen before.
You can present anytime.
Vice mayor brown?
>> thank you and scott and jay
and to your board, thank you.
I hope people in the audience
and also watching will realize
that great things are happening
at fort monroe.
And some of the things that's
happening, there really isn't
any cost to citizens, taxpayers,
and the question I had was, I
know that the system -- what
fort monroe has had one water
meter and to meet the demand for
the government, are there plans
for additional water meter, one
or two more meters to meet that
demand?
>> yeah, we're going to meter
everything that uses water,
because you're exactly right the
army had one meter for water and
sewer.
That's the only way to treat
renters fairly.
And to add a little asterisk,
why does it matter and why are
we spending so much money on
utilities?
We buy approximately, give or
take, john will quibble with my
numbers but 50,000 gallons of
water a month or fort monroe.
We pay to treat on the average
month 400,000 gallons.
That's all chesapeake bay water
that comes into our aging pipe
systems.
So while I'm happy to clean the
bay, I think there are better
ways to did it than through our
local sewer district would and
my
.
>> as we look at developing fort
monroe and all the great things
going to happen there, that will
rival the apprentice I
apprentice I
-- that will produce
an enormous amount of revenue so
our community can continue to do
the kinds of things that we do
and looking at the plans, this
will be the envy of the east
coast and probably one of the
greatest places to visit in the
nation.
So thank you very much for that.
Appreciate it.
>> any other questions?
All right, scott, I just want to
ask, you know when you showed
that fenwick with would be
eventually closed and be a
trail, is that a part of the
trail is that part of the trail
757 that terminates at fort
monroe?
>> yes, sir.
>> all right.
Any other questions, comments?
All right, thank you.
Great presentation.
[Applause]
Okay, city manager, our next
presentation?
>> thank you, MR. Mayor.
As you know, and hopefully the
community knows, some time ago
we were awarded a
3 million-dollar coastal storm
risk management feasibility
study, colloquially known as
three by three studies, to
assess how we might work with
the federal government through
the army corps much
corps of engineer to
better protect our community not
just from the intense rain
events like we had this week --
an interesting fact in that
deluge of rain we got on monday
night, 1.87 inches fell in just
10 minutes.
Let that sink in, 1.87 inches.
That's a lot of rain in 10
minutes' time.
So if you had extra flooding in
your neighborhood or on your
property, that's why.
None of the systems that were
built 50 to 100 years ago to
protect our city anticipated
intense rain events of that
nature.
But also, we know that our
region is experiencing both sea
level rise and land subsidence.
And we want to think about not
just what's happening today, we
want to think about what's going
to happen in 50 years.
And so the biggest source of
federal funding to help address
things like this comes through
army corps of engineers and the
gateway to getting that type of
money is what's called a coastal
risk management study or 3 by 3
study.
We were very happy when we got
that 3 million-dollar study,
because we were told it would
come with no local match, and we
would get to look at structural
and non-structural solutions
that would help us prepare for
what's going on today and 50
years from now.
Unfortunately, shortly after we
got all of that and started
going, we got new direction from
the corps that they were only
allowed to stay within that
$3 million.
We could not put any additional
money into it, nor could the
federal government, and because
it was capped at $3 million,
they would not be able to look
at structural solutions, which
we believe are absolutely
necessary and warranted.
And I say that because what they
ended up focusing on and what
you're going to hear about today
is a non-structural study.
And to contrast that, when you
think about other areas that
have gotten federal support,
whether they're levy systems
like in new orleans, tidal
gates, other kinds of things
like bulkheads and things of
that nature, they're what we
call structural solutions and
they tend to protect lots of
properties, not singular
properties, whereas non-
structural solutions are things
like elevating homes or
floodproofing buildings.
And those are helpful, but they
don't provide the same coverage
that the larger structural
solutions will offer.
The army corps apologized to us
that they would only be able to
look at structural at this time
and said that they would
absolutely continue to work with
us to look at structural in the
future.
And we press on and keep
reminding them of that and
hopefully that structural study
will come, just as it did come
for norfolk and virginia beach
in our area.
But today what you're going to
hear about is only a non-
structural study and I want to
caveat and I've taken the time
to caveat this to say that
they've done this assuming no
structural improvements, even
though we know that's what we
need and what we're going to
advocate for.
So the numbers you're going to
see are pretty staggering, and
just as one example, when they
talk about home elevations, they
suggest what we would need to do
is on the order of 300 a year
for ten years, and there are not
enough contractors to do 300
home elevations a year in our
state or region.
The numbers are very high.
And what we would have to spend,
as you will see, to do that is
on the order of 100 million a
year, if I remember correctly.
Not within our financial
capability.
And honestly not the best source
of funds if we could take that
same amount of money and put it
into the structural solutions.
But we were given a non-
structural study.
And they are ready to produce
that non-structural study.
And we've asked them to put all
these caveats I'm describing to
you in their report and in
executive summary and to make
clear in their final report --
because we're talking about a
draft report today -- we still
believe that structural is the
way to go, that this report that
you hear actually builds the
case even stronger than we had
built it before.
So the process of the study is
to have a public comment period,
and we wanted to provide the
information not only to council
but to the community, so you
understand where we are, and
understand our concerns about
the study and its limitations
and understand that we're going
to continue to press for the
structural as well.
As I say there is a benefit from
the study, there absolutely are.
It is a gateway to funding, as i
mentioned, and there are really
good examples of where home
elevation, floodproofing,
critical infrastructure
management can be done through
the study.
But I do want to be very clear
that as olivia and scott deliver
this presentation, we are not
anticipating being able to
financially nor do we think it
is the right solution to do 300
home elevations a year.
There just like I said isn't
even the contractor capacity to
do that kind of thing.
So it is a helpful study.
It moves our living with water
agenda forward but not quite as
far forward as we would have
liked.
But with that caveat, I'm
pleased to have olivia and
scott, our leaders of our
resilient effort, to walk you
through what it says, where we
are in that process, what it
means during this federal
comment period and where we
expect to end up at the end of
the day.
Olivia?
>> thank you, mary.
I feel like I don't really need
to do the presentation anymore.
That was a wonderful job --
[Laughter]
-- for the record to explain t
so you didn't have to say
negative things about the corpse
that I'm saying.
>> we're going to fly through
some slides today.
I'm olivia askew, the resilience
officer.
I have with me scott smith our
resilience engineer and we have
a representative from the corps,
so she would be able to answer
any questions for you.
so here is our agenda for the
day.
We're going to spend most of the
time at the content of the draft
report but I want to provide
some additional context, adding
onto what mary provided you and
then we'll end with what are the
next steps for the study.
So in terms of the challenge of
flooding for our region, in both
hampton and the coast -- and
I'll circle back around to why
I'm talking about vic owes in,
they're vulnerable to widespread
and flex complex flooding
challenges.
Flooding just just occur
doesn't just occur on
our coast, they come from lots
of different directions.
In response to challenges and
the impacts in hampton in
some background: this study as
already mentioned is 100%
federally funded to the end of
the study.
Additional appropriations will
be needed to further engineer
and design and eventual
implementation of the early
actual plan, which we'll talk
about in a minute.
It's at a max of $3 million in 3
years.
This is a very quick study in
terms of how long it takes to do
a city wide regional study.
So that limits us for what we're
able to study.
The city of hampton is the sole
non-federal sponsor but we're
also partnering with the city of
poquoson and they have been a
great partner to work with.
So as mentioned this is a single
purpose coastal storm
co-management study.
We're not looking at ecological
restoration or things of that
nature or dredging, just looking
at coastal storm management,
focused on non-structural
analysis, elevation of
residential and floodproofing of
nonresidential and critical
infrastructure in hampton and
poquoson.
It's a 50 period of analysis
from 2040 to 2090.
How does this connect with
water?
I'll briefly go over this.
Our party has two facets, two
sides.
It's a challenge, flooding is a
challenge in hampton but water
is an asset.
And non-structural measures are
one of the strategies that we
can address the challenge, again
as mary noted is a singular
structure strategy rather than a
community wide strategy.
So the feasibility study
planning process: it's
important to note that first and
foremost, this peninsula coastal
storm risk management or I'll
abbreviate to csrm for ease is
an army corps plan.
And as an army corps plan is it
must follow federal policies and
administration priorities that
are set in washington and then
dictated to our local norfolk
district by the army corps
headquarters.
And sometimes these policies and
priorities align with the city's
priorities and values for living
with water and resilience, and
sometimes they don't.
So our goal at the city and --
at our project team is to have
this balancing act, where we are
attempting to maximize the
federal investment that we have,
this 3 million-dollar study,
while balancing the policies
that sometimes don't align with
the city in order to get the
best risk reduction for our
citizens.
So the army corps has a
four-part feasibility study
schedule, scoping is the
beginning.
Which began in 2024.
Then we move into alternatives
analysis and evaluation.
Then there's the continued
refinement of the selected plan,
so the alternative that's
selected to move forward, and
then there is a series of
reviews at the washington level.
And you can see there, noted, we
are here, in between
alternative, evaluation and
continued refinement of the
plan.
So the draft report was released
in JULY of 2022 and the end of
the public comment period is
SEPTEMBER 6th, 2026.
So again some additional context
for what the draft report is and
the language that's on this
shied is directly from that
executive summary that mary
mentioned.
The draft report is a snapshot
in time.
The army corps has to stop,
release a draft report and in
this instance this was -- the
information from the draft
report reflects the study
analysis in JUNE.
We have continued to refine down
since JUNE -- it's AUGUST now,
it's been several months -- the
scope and scale of the plan.
But one of the biggest benefits
of the report is that it does
illustrate at the federal level
the extensive need for risk
management in hampton and notes
that there is federal interest
in reducing that risk.
I'm sorry not a local or
regional problem, it is a
federal problem.
But the current scope and scale,
as mary noted, is above
realistic implementation and
capacity because of the cost and
other issues as well.
So refinement will occur between
the draft and final report to
ensure that the early actual
plan, that recommendation
reflects an interim solution
that can be reasonably
implemented in a timely and
practical manner, with knowing
that nature based and structural
measures are needed in addition
to these non-structural
measures that are outlined in
the plan.
And so with that, I'm going pass
it over to scott and then I'll
come back around and close us
out.
>> thank you, everyone.
So we're going to go and look at
what's actually in the report,
how significant the future of
hampton's coastal flood risk is
and what the corps evaluated and
what is currently being proposed
for federal investment.
This map illustrates the
magnitude of the long-term
challenge.
The corps evaluated conditions
through 2090 using the tide sea
level rise scenario of about 5.1 feet of sea level rise and
the takeaway is that the flood
exposure becomes increasingly
widespread over the study
period.
So it's a scary map, but -- and
then the corps then translates
economic damages -- essentially
they're asking two questions:
what happens if we do nothing
and how much damage with an
investment prevent?
Does the damages become the
basis for determining whether a
project is economically
justified?
So this slide demonstrates the
scale of the problem, more than
45,000 hampton assets were
identified as potentially at
risk, including critical
infrastructure, such as fire
stations, emergency operations,
shelters and the hospital.
So this is not simply a
residential flooding issue, it's
also about maintaining essential
services during and after a
storm.
As we said, we went through
study refinement, and this is
where the study begins to
narrow.
The corps cannot advance
everything identified in the
analysis within the current
study, schedule, budget, new
federal requirements including
reaching a 35% design threshold,
and the need for an early
actionable project forced the
team to prioritize.
So I want you to just remember
that the need didn't get
smaller, the federally
actionable project did.
So for critical infrastructure,
the corpse focused opt
facilities facing the greatest
flood exposure, particularly
facilities with low first
floors, exposure of the 20-40
floodplain and facilities that
are not already scheduled for
replacement.
So we had 18 structures in
hampton and there were 3 in
poquoson.
And next we looked at the non-
structural focus area and for
homes and businesses the corps
also defined folks areas based
on community cohesion, hydrology
and flood risk.
The resulting inventory contains
nearly 27,000 structures and 94%
of those are single family
homes.
So when we look at the future
with our project, this is one of
the most important numbers in
the presentation.
Within the focus areas, the
corps estimates more than
$10 billion in future flood
damages, including approximately
7.6 billion in hampton alone.
That puts the scale of our
long-term resilience challenge
into perspective.
So it's important to remember
what the federal study does and
does not address.
This is specifically a coastal
storm risk management study
focused primarily on non-
structural measures and critical
forecast.
Infrastructures.
It's not looking at compound
flooding from the rain reasons
as
events,as mary talked about earlier.
One of the components of the
broader living with water
strategy and not the city's
entire flood resilience
program.
So the corps as part of the
planning process evaluated
several alternatives, what if we
do nothing, looking at critical
infrastructure only.
And the alternative could
prevent roughly 7.5 billion in
damages but it is estimated to
exceed $5 billion.
That scale is simply not
practical as a near-term single
project, which is why further
prioritization is necessary.
again, this analysis validates
the need but it also
demonstrates why the program
must be phased.
And then this slide illustrates
the path forward, the corps
separating the larger composite
hence I was vision into an early
anxiousable plan that can move
forward toward authorization and
authorization is that
federally -- getting it approved
for funding down the road.
And the future action plans that
preserve additional needs for
later phases.
The immediate project must reach
35% design and meet the federal
environmental requirements.
So we can use we can use this to
eye ply for future projects to
elevate more homes but we would
have to go back through the 3 by
3 process again.
It's just that some of that
work's already been done so
hopefully can be done --
>> excuse me, scott.
>> yes, sir?
>> you referenced on a previous
slide the 35% design maturity
requirement.
Could you explain what that
means?
>> so they have to do -- for the
number of homes to be elevated
they have to go through and come
up with a 35% design maturity
showing, you know, what they
anticipate being the actual cost
of raising those homes.
So to break them into different
types of homes, different sizes
and come up with engineered
estimates as to what that cost
will be.
And then the early actionable
plan, currently it includes up
to 21 critical infrastructure
facilities and almost 4,000
residential and nonresidential
buildings across hampton and
poquoson.
And as we said, this will get
further refined, but the focus
is on areas with significant
flood risk, lower disaster
preparedness and recovery are
capacity in areas where
structural flood protection is
not considered appropriate.
So for hampton, we're looking at
aberdeen, buckroe and fox hill.
And the cost of the early
actionable plan -- so as we
said, when we're looking at the
federal share and the non-
federal share, a non-federal
share for the city of almost one
and a half billion dollars over
ten years is just not realistic
for the city.
And then for hampton, the
current plan identifies 2308
assets including 18 critical
infrastructure and the benefit
cost ratio is only 1.11, so the
project is economically
justified but only narrowly.
And the draft report gives us a
very --
>> scott, vice mayor brown.
>> yeah, thank you, thank you,
scott.
To the community that you're
looking at currently it's fox
hill aberdeen and buckroe?
What's the criteria for
selecting these communities?
>> they're looking at the
finished floor elevation, the
flood risk and then also looking
at -- for community cohesion, so
not just looking at a particular
home but a group of homes.
And they're also looking at the
area, the susceptibility of the
area for flooding.
>> are you looking at the upper
communities that would also meet
the same kind of resourcing and
services?
>> initially the entire city was
looked at and then it's just
been the first sizing took it
down to these areas, it will be
further refined down to get to a
more manageable number.
>> okay, thank you.
Councilmember bowman?
>> was city line drive included
in this city --
>> the city line -- the city
line apartments, that area?
>> yes.
>> no, that's being looked at
through another study currently.
We had a study through fema that
we're looking at those apartment
complexes.
>> okay, thank you.
>> yeah.
>> COUNCILWOMAN Mugler?
>> thank you, MR. Mayor.
Can you -- on the slide before
this I think, still on the map,
can you talk a little bit about
the coloring of the map?
Is there any significance in the
colors --
>> no, it was just to
differentiate the areas.
It doesn't indicate priorities
or anything else, it's just
highlighting the areas.
>> okay, thank you.
>> and then I'll turn it over to
olivia to close us out.
>> all right, so as previously
mentioned, we are in the public
comment period for the draft
report.
The final report that pencils
down for the working team is
around MARCH of next year.
So we will come back, present a
briefing to you all once the
final early actionable plan has
been been refined and we're not
able to refine anymore, to let
you all know about what is
continuing to be part of the
plan and we can do periodic
briefings through the memo as
well.
And then from MARCH of 2027, it
goes to washington, and we'll
have several levels of review,
and we anticipate a signed chief
report by the assistant
secretary of the army in JULY of
2027.
And then from there as scott
mentioned, the city would need
to ask for additional
appropriations from congress to
further additional design and
engineering and implementation
of the early actionable plan.
So there are currently two
options for feedback for the
public.
The first is tomorrow evening.
There is an in-person meeting at
the fox hill neighborhood center
from 6 to 7:30.
That is at 65 hall road.
It will be a short presentation
at the beginning and then an
open house style, with members
of the resilient hampton team
and our staff and many different
members from the army corps
norfolk district there to answer
any citizens' questions.
In addition to to the in-person
participation option, there is
already up online on the army
corps website an on demand
presentation that we had that
will be available again for
comment until SEPTEMBER 6th.
In closing, we're going to
continue to work on the
project --
>> vice mayor brown.
>> yeah, thank you, olivia.
How do you get this out to
residents?
What are we doing to get
residents here and at the
meeting regarding this issue?
>> yes, sir.
So we've used our city social
media and e news.
We also have our resilient
hampton newsletter.
In addition to that we've sent
it out to our community
partners, folks on our
neighborhood commission to
distribute to neighborhood
groups.
>> are we doing any postal?
>> not for this effort.
So we're going to continue to
work and scale down the study to
it's something that's actually
feesible for the city to
implement.
As we've already said, this is
just one of the city's
strategies to reduce coastal
storm risk.
This is not the only strategy.
We will continue to pursue
structural and nature-based
strategies where they make sense
and where they provide the most
benefit for the community.
And we will continue to look
forward to future partnerships
with the U.S. Army corps on that
effort as well.
So this is a shameless plug for
that newsletter and social media
that I mentioned.
If anybody from the public would
like to scan and sign up for our
newsletter, we put information
about our upcoming public
meetings, project updates, share
partner opportunities as well
and then we recently established
a facebook and instagram where
we share similar information.
But as I said, scott and I are
here for any questions that you
MAY have, and if we have any
army corps questions, someone
could answer those for you as
well.
Thank you.
>> okay thank you.
Questions, comments from
councilmembers?
All right -- I'm sorry,
COUNCILWOMAN Mugler.
>> thank you, MR. Mayor.
We're back to the slide that we
were on before, I think it's
number 25.
That's not it.
It's the one with the map, with
the color -- I'm just --
>> yes, ma'am.
>> I'm just curious about the
findings and where this is
focused and that it didn't
capture with our downtown where
we know we've got a lot of
significant flooding.
It didn't capture really
riverdale -- I'm not sure what
that's referred to in this --
>> mercury central.
>> yeah, okay.
-- map.
So what were -- how did they
land on these particular areas
to focus on?
>> so number 3 there on the
criteria, area is not suited for
structural measures, is key to
how we zoomed in on fox hill,
buckroe and aberdeen.
As mary mentioned in the
beginning of the process when we
were scoping, we were scoping
structural and nature based,
non-structural, so we worked
with our consultant team and we
worked with the army corps to
outline what we thought at a
very conceptual level, where
could structural measures such
as a levee or a flood wall
provide community scale
benefits.
And we have a pretty good
picture of where those are now.
So in terms of just not looking
at what areas are lowlying, okay
yes, it's all the hashed areas
and the areas that are colored.
What are areas that are socially
vulnerable, that's what the load
[Indiscernible] That means in
army corps language.
Those are scattered throughout
the city.
But there are places where we
feel that structural measures
will provide the most benefit.
So when we were looking to zoom
in on criteria in areas where we
can move forward with non-
structural, we said okay,
there's a structural measure for
mercury central, if we're truly
trying to refine and use the
investment in the areas where
future federal investment MAY
not happen, we said, okay,
there's a structural measure,
we're not going to look at that
focus area, and so we ended with
fox hill area and buckroe
because there aren't structural
solutions that provide wide
scale community benefit, and
then aberdeen, we zoomed in
because of the social
vulnerabilities in that area as
well.
>> thank you.
That's very helpful.
I appreciate the further detail
on that.
Thank you.
>> all right, any other
questions, comments from
councilmembers?
Okay, thank you olivia, scott.
All right, city manager, next
presentation?
>> yeah, so last month we heard
from chief wideman about the law
enforcement efforts around
bringing down crime, and we had
some really good reports from
chief wideman, as you'll
recollect.
That's something we do each year
in JULY.
And each year in AUGUST we come
behind the chief and share what
we're doing for prevention and
intervention through our office
of youth and young adult did
opportunities which is the host
of the hopeful hampton program.
Really there's no one department
that works on prevention and
intervention, but the office of
youth and young adult
opportunities is the home, the
centralizing facilitator for
hopeful hampton initiative that
has helped us make tremendous
strides with youth and young
adult activity that has been
detrimental in the past in our
community.
And so today, hugo morrison who
is our interim director for that
office, will do the annual
report, which covers JULY 1st of
2025 through JUNE 30th of
2026.
I think you'll be really excited
to see how much has been done
over the last year and it backs
up the results that you were
seeing from chief wideman last
month.
>> thank you, city manager,
mayor.
Good afternoon, mayor, vice
mayor, members of council, city
manager, city attorney, clerk of
council and other elected
officials, and our hampton
family.
Today I want to temperature you
a
tell you thestory of how hampton is leveling
up not only by offering more
programs but making developments
that create impact in the lives
of young people, families and
neighborhoods.
For us leveling up means moving
beyond isolated activities
toward a connected system of
accountability and opportunity.
It means addressing trauma so
people can heal, strengthen
stability skills and future
readiness so they can rebuild,
and helping young people and
communities reach their fullest
potential so that they can
thrive.
This annual report reflects the
city's commitment to creating
better outcomes for youth and
young adults across prevention,
intervention, workforce
development, housing
stabilization, neighborhood
engagement and community
partnerships.
Hampton's invested in both
people and the conditions that
help people succeed.
The story you will hear today is
not only about dollars spent, it
is about what those dollars make
possible.
A young person finding
direction.
A family remaining stable.
Grassroots organizations
expanding its reach.
And a neighborhood gaining
direct access to help before
crisis become consequences.
That is the promise behind this
work.
When we engage community with
intention, investment becomes
impact and impact gives hampton
the opportunity to heal, rebuild
and thrive.
Our work is rooted in a simple
belief every young person
deserves an opportunity, every
family deserves support and
every neighborhood deserves
hope.
The progress highlighted
throughout this report belongs
to all of us.
Our city council, our city
manager, mayor, staff, steering
committee, community
organizations, law enforcement,
schools, faith leaders,
businesses, residents and most
importantly, the young people
who continue to choose a
different path every day.
I would like to take a moment to
pause to acknowledge the
presence of our hopeful hampton
steering committee members that
are present and I'll ask them to
stand.
Thank you.
Our violence interrupters who
are present as well, would you
please stand.
Thank you.
And the staff team of youth and
young adult opportunities, would
you please stand.
Thank you.
While we celebrate significant
accomplishments, we also
recognize that our work is far
from complete.
Balance prevention is not a
destination, it is a long-term
commitment that requires
courage, collaboration,
innovation and sustained
investment.
As we move into the next fiscal
year, we remain committed to
strengthening protective
factors, creating meaningful
opportunities, building safer
neighborhoods and ensuring every
young person has the chance to
heal, rebuild and thrive.
Together we are proving that
when a city believes in people,
transformation is possible.
And before we begin, looking at
spreadsheets and numbers I want
us to take a moment to look at
some success stories.
I want us to pause with the
stories on this slide.
These letters and reflections
remind us that every day in
point represents a person whose
life was touched by opportunity,
support and hope.
One young person describes how
summer youth employment provided
more than a paycheque
paycheck.
It ultimately landed them a job
in a federal facility.
The city of hampton's investment
created the structure but caring
staff, mentors and community
partners helped turn that
structure into a life changing
experience.
The result is not simply program
participation, it is greater
confidence.
It is stronger relationships,
new skills and a clearer path
forward.
When I reflect on fiscal year
'26, I don't first think about
programs, budgets or statistics,
I think about people.
I think about the young man who
completed probation, found
employment and now believes
tomorrow is worth fighting for
and is still connected to fed ex
today.
I think about the student who
received an acceptance letter,
who will be joining the ranks of
higher institution this
particular AUGUST and actually
in just one day or two will be
going off to school after having
participated in our hopeful
hampton divergent program.
I think about families who found
hope instead of despair,
neighborhoods that discovered
partners instead of barriers.
Every number in this report
represents a life, a family or a
future.
As we review the rest of the
report, I invite you to keep
these young people in mind.
They are the reason behind every
investment and clearest evidence
of why this work matters.
With the human factor and view,
let us look at this dashboard.
This dashboard represents our
programs as they operate, as
they connect the continuum
rather than isolating
initiatives.
Opportunity connect received 117
referrals.
Of those referrals, 73
individuals were eligible for
wraparound services, while 44
were referred to external
resources.
It is important to note here
that in some cases, the office
MAY be unable to provide the
specific services requested
because the individual falls
outside of the program's
eligibility requirements, such
as the requested assistance is
outside of our authorized scope,
relocation or bill assistance
was requested or the person is
already receiving coordinated
case management through another
provider.
Some additional exclusions MAY
be they're not a hampton
resident or outside of the age
range for the referral.
However, being ineligible for
one of our programs does not
mean that we simply turn someone
away.
Wherever possible, we provide a
warm referral to an agency
better positioned to address
that need.
our goal is to help the resident
reach the right door, even when
the office is not the final
door.
The dashboard also reflects our
broader impact, 146 youth placed
through summer youth employment
programs, 13 young people served
through our divergent cohorts
and five neighborhood youth
employee associates completing
year round workforce
development.
The larger story is that hampton
is building infrastructure
around people with multiple
entry points and multiple
pathways toward success.
Housing stability is
foundational to youth
development and violence
prevention.
A young person cannot
consistently focus on school,
employment or personal
development when the family is
facing displacement, hunger or
an immediate housing crisis.
During fiscal year 26,
opportunity connect invested
$10,157.30 in housing and family
stabilization assistance.
That investment supported four
families experiencing emergency
housing needs, provided
emergency food since and
addressed five stabilization
cases overall.
It included 6,800 in emergency
housing stabilization, 1,000 in
rental assistance, $2,282.30 in
temporary lodging and $75 in
emergency food support.
The immediate outcome was the
families that received the
support necessary to remain
sheltered, avoid deeper crisis
and address urgent food needs.
These interventions gave
families additional time and
stability to work through their
individualized service balance
as well.
To distinguish between
assistance provided and
long-term outcomes.
The during data demonstrates
that as we stabilize our
evaluation model we also want to
measure where the families
remain housed 30, 60 and 90 days
after receiving assistance.
>> hugo, if I can just add for
clarity, this is -- I want to be
clear, these are the investments
being done by this office.
Which obviously have larger
housing stabilization programs
through our human services
department, for people who for
instance are on the verge of
homelessness, experiencing
homelessness and whatnot.
What hugo is describing here is
the direct efforts for people
who are on our vulnerability
list or who have come to us
through one of our partner
agencies as needing specific
help to avoid falling into the
trap of being either a victim or
a perpetrator of crime.
So I don't think you to think
that's all the we've done with
respect to housing
stabilization.
This is the specific efforts
around this department and
hopeful hampton.
>> yes, thank you.
I'm happy to also report that
these families are still stable
and have remained connected to
employment, including jobs at
amazon and fed ex.
Stable homes build stronger
families.
That is how housing
stabilization becomes a part of
lamp's larger story of healing,
rebuilding and thriving.
Opportunity connect also
demonstrates the impact that is
created not only through direct
assistance but also through
strategic investment and trusted
community spaces and
experiences.
During fiscal year 2026,
$22,345.08 in directions and
direct stipends for
incentivization helped the city
respond to real-time needs.
An additional $569.85 supported
activities and programing.
Together these resources helped
remove barriers by creating
opportunities for young people
and families to connect in
positive, supportive
environments.
The city supported initiatives
such as the commonwealth cares,
youthfest 25 with the greater
aberdeen community coalition,
the [Indiscernible] Community
event, 707 community showcase,
trunk retreat celebrations
through our recreation and
leisure services and a toy drive
with 249 ninja in the phoebus
area.
Each activity served a strategic
purpose, strengthening trust and
neighborhood relationships,
resource rich gatherings expand
access to services, athletics
mentoring celebrations and
family activities create
protective experiences that
reduce isolation, reinforce
belonging and give young people
constructive ways to engage.
The city's role was not to
replace community leadership, it
was to resource it.
Connect it and help it reach
further.
This is responsive government,
listening for where we can
support and unlock momentum and
then invest it in ways where we
can meet people where they are.
Every dollar represented more
than financial assistance, it
represents hampton's commitment
to stronger families, safer
neighborhoods and a community
where opportunity is visible and
accessible.
Our summer youth employment
program continues to be one of
hampton's strongest violence
preference and workforce
development developments,
because it connects young people
with meaningful employment,
caring adults and real world
experiences that extend beyond a
paycheck.
This summer we received 332
applications, interviewed 330
young people and successfully
hired and placed 146 youth
across 52 host sites.
These placements span virtually
every major sector of city
government, from public works
and parks and recreation to
human services, education and
business administration.
This year's implementation
required significantly more
coordination than previous
years.
Beyond matching students with
host sites, our team managed
recruitment onboarding,
orientations, compliance
requirements, work site support,
payroll coordination and
continual engagement with both
students and supervisors
throughout the summer.
One area of growth this year was
our partnership with joint based
langley [Indiscernible] Where
eligible youth had to attain a
really.
D or passport before placement,
while that created additional
planning responsibility, it also
opened doors to career
experiences many of our youth
would not otherwise have access
to.
And speaking with the base
command, they actually asked us
to consider staffing the uestace
base as well.
We will
with him see if a potential
partnership exist there is.
The program isn't simply about
summer jobs, it is about
building workforce readiness,
expanding career exposure,
strengthening mentorship
opportunities and creating
lasting community impact.
Today's report represents the
implementation phase rather than
the final outcome phase.
The true impact of this year's
cohort will be measured
following midpoint evaluations
and program evaluations, which
are happening now.
Youth satisfaction surveys, host
site feedback, employment
retention data and documented
workforce readiness outcomes.
Those comprehensive findings
will be included in next year's
annual report, allowing us to
measure not simply participation
but long-term growth.
Skill development and career
readiness while we celebrate the
number of youth served today,
our greater success will be
ultimately measured by how many
young people leave this
experience more employable and
ready and more confident and
willing to take on career
opportunities.
As participation continues to
grow, so does the operational
complexity of the program.
this is not a seasonal project
any longer, planning begins
months well before the first
student is hired and continues
well after the final workday,
through evaluations, employer
engagement, compliance,
reporting, recruitment and
participation in the next
program cycle or preparation
excuse me for the next program
cycle.
The sustained -- to strengthen
and sustain this momentum, we
will be requesting at the
appropriate time a full-time
program facilitator dedicated
exclusively to planning
coordination, execution and
continuous improvement of the
summer youth employment program.
Adding this capacity allows
leadership to focus on strategic
growth while ensuring the
day-to-day operations of one of
hampton's largest youth
workforce initiatives, receive
the dedicated attention it now
requires.
The hopeful hampton divergent
program.
The hopeful lamp
rg hampton
divergent program provides early
and intensive intervention for
young people facing elevated
risk.
During fiscal year 2026 the
program operated two twelve-week
cohorts providing 24 total weeks
of programing and serving 13
young people.
Of those participants, 53.8%
were age 15 or younger.
That is significant because it
demonstrates that we are
reaching young people early
enough to influence their
decisions and future
trajectories.
the city invested $72,581.99 in
participant stipends, mentors,
mindfulness and guided
recreation, food and nutrition
equipment, experiencial learning
and commencement activities.
Approximately 87.5% of the
funding was invested directly
into program services.
Based on the total investment
and 13 participants served the
cost was approximately 5,583
cents per participant.
12 of the 13 participants
completed the program, resulting
in approximately cost of $6,049
per completer.
Those figures should be viewed
in the context of the program's
intensity.
This is not a single workshop or
a short-term recreational
activity.
Participants receive 12 weeks of
structured intervention,
stipend, mentoring workforce
readiness, mindfulness,
experiencial learning, meals and
sustained engagement from
trusted adults.
Study show that it costs more
than $110,000 annually to house
one young person and a juvenile
detention center.
Our goal is to reach them now
rather than to rescue them
later.
Investing in prevention before
incarceration becomes their
reality.
It is also important to note
that incarceration does not mean
the city abandons a partner.
If a young people is
incarcerated during the program,
our relationship with that
participant does not
automatically end.
Following the release the office
will attempt to reconnect with
the young person and re-engage
them in programing or connect
them with another appropriate
opportunity.
Our message is that a setback
does not eliminate someone's
ability to receive support, we
continue to create opportunities
for young people, to reconnect,
rebuild and choose a different
path.
That work grows stronger when we
pair it with trusted
relationships.
Which brings us to our outside
agency partnerships.
As we continue to level up,
engaging with our community
through impact, one of the most
important lessons we've learned
is that government cannot do
this work alone.
Change happens when we invest in
people and organizations that
have earned trust in our
neighborhoods.
Our outside agency partners
catch more kids [Indiscernible]
Project, love, let our voices in
power and get back to the block
serve as an extension of hopeful
hampton.
Every day, they are in our
communities building
relationships, mentoring youth,
responding to crises, engaging
families, transporting
participants to services,
supporting workforce
development, navigating the
court system and connecting
young people to opportunities
that change their lives.
One of the strongest indicators
of their impact is that routine
check-ins were the most frequent
service provided.
That tells us this work isn't
built on one-time interventions,
it is built on consistent
relationships, trust,
accountability and showing up
day after day.
When crisis occurred, these same
organizations were there to
intervene, stabilize families
and reconnect youth to positive
pathways.
Leveling up means moving beyond
programs to strengthen
partnerships.
Every investment we make in
these grassroots organizations
expands the city's capacity to
reach more young people, to
respond more effectively and
build safer neighborhoods from
the inside out.
Together we are creating a
community where prevention is
shared, opportunity is expanded
and every young person has the
support they need to, guess
what, heal, rebuild and thrive.
As important as our partnerships
with outside agencies have been,
we also recognize that some of
the most innovative solutions to
community balance don't begin in
government, they begin in
neighborhoods.
And so while many grants are
named -- in name, they make very
big impacts.
The mini grants program reflects
a simple but powerful belief,
communities often know what they
need and the city investment can
help local solutions grow much
in fiscal year 2026, hampton
invested $96,350 across 12
grassroots organizations.
These partners delivered
mentoring youth, development
back to school support, violence
prevention, awareness, mental
health and wellness programs,
again helping us impact young
people where they grow.
And I'm sorry, that was the mini
grant investment of $86,000,
with a donation agreement of
$22,345.08, bringing our total
city investment to $108,345.08.
To ensure accountability and
equitable investment, proposals
are reviewed by a
multidisciplinary committee,
representing public health,
education, juvenile justice,
financial oversight, youth
development and community
leadership.
This collaborative review
process helps ensure funding
decisions are transparent, data
informed, equitable and aligned
with the mission of hopeful
hampton.
By investing directly in
grassroots organizations, the
city continues to strengthen
local capacity, amplify
community voices and build
sustainable partnerships that
improve safety and quality of
life.
Looking ahead, we are committed
to strengthening the mini grant
program through continuous
improvement.
In the coming year, we will
broaden the program's reach by
refining eligibility and scoring
criteria, to encourage greater
participation from diverse
community organizations.
We will also expand monitoring
through enhanced desk reviews
and periodic site visits to
better measure outcomes, provide
technical assistance and ensure
accountability.
Additionally, we plan to
implement a rotating review
panel that reflects a broad
cross-section of community
expertise and lived experience,
promoting diverse perspectives
while maintaining a fair
objective and defensible grant
review process and elevating
youth forces by adding youth
members to that team as well.
These enhancements will
reinforce public trust, improve
program effectiveness and
maximize the city's investment
in community-led violence
prevention initiatives.
Our youth violence prevention
week is hampton's annual call to
action.
It is our public health
awareness initiative, bringing
together youth, families,
schools, law enforcement, faith
leaders, non-profit
organizations and community
partners around one shared
belief: violence prevention is
everyone's responsibility.
Throughout the week, events such
as the reunion of hope, coupled
with its resource fair, the
mayor's classic town hall,
college edition, hopeful hampton
football showcase and hopefest
created opportunities for
meaningful conversations,
positive youth engagement and
direct access to community
resources.
While these events successfully
foster connection and
visibility, they also challenge
us to think differently about
how we engage the community.
As we continue to level up,
there is an opportunity to
evolve youth violence prevention
week from a series of individual
events into a core city wide
movement that reaches residents
where they live, learn, work and
gather.
To increase participation,
accessibility and neighborhood
ownership, we propose re-imagine
being youth violence prevention
week around three community
impact zones, strategically
located throughout hampton.
Rather than asking residents to
travel across the city, each
zone would host activities
tailored to the unique strengths
and needs of its surrounding
neighborhoods, while maintaining
a unified city wide message of
hope, safety and opportunity.
In addition the week would
culminate with a dedicated
community partners and service
provider night and evening
focused on strengthening
collaboration among agencies,
non-profit organizations, faith
communities, schools, behavioral
health providers and local
businesses.
This event would provide
residents with direct access to
services while giving providers
an opportunity to coordinate
resources and identify new
partnerships that strengthen
hampton's violence prevention
ecosystem.
As we continue to level up, our
goal is simply not to host
events, it is to build a city
where every neighborhood has a
voice, every family family has
access to support and every
young person has the opportunity
to heal, rebuild and thrive.
Prevention today creates
possibility tomorrow.
This is how we build saver
neighborhoods and brighter
futures together.
Our urgency center at rip rap
road represents far more than an
opening of another city
facility.
It represents a new model for
how hampton serves its
neighborhoods, bringing
opportunity, prevention and
coordinate the
coordinated services into the
community.
Our team has been laying the
foundation for this moment.
We have intentionally built the
operational framework that will
guide the center's work, build
partnerships and engage
residents to better understand
the needs, interests and
priorities of the rip rap road
community.
It is my privilege to announce
that we anticipate you joining
us for our ribbon cutting
ceremony on wednesday 26 at 1
P.M.
Invitations are beginning to be
circulated and on your calendar
as well as to the public as well
as they're hearing it probably
here for the first time.
Hopeful hampton, making
measurable progress.
Again, hopeful hampton was
established to fundamentally
change the conditions that allow
violence to occur.
Through a public health
approach, cross-section of
partnerships, focused
intervention and meaningful
opportunities, we are
committed -- we committed
ourselves to creating safer
neighborhoods and better
outcomes for hampton residents.
Today the data tells a
compelling story.
While our work is far from
complete, the measurable
progress we are seeing
demonstrates that strategic
investments, community
partnerships and intentional
intervention are making a
difference.
Fiscal year 2026 gunshot
injuries among this population
of 25 and under decreased to 21,
compared with a five-year
average of 52.8%.
That represents a 60% decrease
in total gunshot injuries.
Fatal shootings decreased by
69%, from a five-year average of
13 to 4.
Non-fatal shootings decreased
by 58%, from a five-year average
of 39.8 to 17.
These statistics focus
specifically on individual's
aged 25 and under and reflect
data through JULY 30th of this
year.
The vulnerability lists outcomes
add another important dimension.
During fiscal year 26, 116
individuals were removed from
the list.
81 were removed for sustained
positive behavior.
27 were removed for following an
arrest.
5 were removed after relocating
and unfortunately 3 were removed
from being deceased.
The 27 arrests should not be
interpreted as 27 people who are
currently incarcerated.
Some MAY have subsequently been
released, similarly relocation
reflects the person's known
status when they are removed.
An individual could have later
returned to hampton without our
immediate knowledge as well.
Community perception matters as
well.
Youth violence prevention week
surveys results show that 80% of
respondents increased their
understanding of youth violence
prevention, while 64% reported
an improved perception of
neighborhood safety.
We are making progress while
recognizing that continued work
is needed to reach the 85%
safety projection goal overall.
The conclusion is clear:
hampton's investment across
prevention, intervention and
enforcement, opportunity,
stabilization and community
partnerships is working our
next level is deeper
coordination, improve data
tracking and evaluation, expand
trusted partnerships and sustain
the resources that make this
continuum possible.
Leveling up is not a single
program or a single year, it is
the city of hampton making a
long-term commitment to people,
investing early, responding
strategically, measuring
honestly and building a
community where every young
person and family has the
opportunity to -- say it with me
now -- heal, rebuild and thrive.
Thank you.
And I'll answer any questions
you MAY have.
>> COUNCILWOMAN Harper?
>> thank you, hugo.
The presentation was very good.
I really, really enjoyed it.
Y'all know the department is
very close to my heart,
personally.
But I had several things -- not
necessarily so many questions
but several things I wanted to
say.
Isms glad
I was glad to know that y'all
are doing things to assist with
the families, because I always
have said that when they come
outside and they're with you for
two or three hours, they go back
home, where they're there 95% of
the time, so those families, I'm
glad to see that helping
everyone inside of the home to
help them heal and thrive as
well.
And rebuild.
So thank you for that.
One of the things I wanted to
say, I wanted the public to note
that the violence interrupters
specifically, the ones that are
here along with adrian cook,
their job is 24/7.
It is not a job that they do 8
to 5, you know, 10 to 4.
It is 24/7.
They really get engrained into
those young people and into
their lives, their families,
their -- they get to know their
families, their families get to
know them.
And to the point of they are
there with them every step of
the way, going different places,
going to the home, you know,
helping with mentoring them, if
they need some further talking
to, they are there for that to
help the families with that.
So I just want to applaud them
for a second to personally say
thank y'all for what you do,
because being a mentor, it is a
dedicated and committed effort.
And so thank y'all so very much
for the time that you've given
to the hampton youth and by the
measurable progress, what you're
doing is working.
So thank y'all so very much and
I know you all have outside
organizations and non-profits
that yourselves have, so in
addition to doing that and
assisting with our youth, thank
you so very much for that as
well.
And I think that's all that I
had.
I think you did talk -- one
other thing, hugo, about the
expansion of the summer youth
employment program, that we're
still doing that this year?
>> yes.
We will still maintain for young
people moving into a year round
employment experience, and many
of them are submitting their
applications today, because the
program -- the summer youth
employment program will end on
AUGUST 24th but some of them
will be able to continue on as
long as they have met the
criteria and have had a good
evaluation from their current
position.
>> wonderful.
Thank you so much.
>> vice mayor brown?
>> yeah, thank you, hugo, and
also to your staff.
Like again, this is a team
effort so I'm very impressed,
and I don't know if nobody told
you, I like numbers and youth
numbers -- I'm getting really
excited about these.
The only comment I had -- or
question I had is when you go
back to your hopeful hampton
divergent program, I think you
posted the '25 and '26 numbers
of who was involved in the youth
divergent program, and I guess
my question is 13 of them were
served and went the 24 weeks of
total program.
How many did we lose?
Did we lose any?
>> just one this fiscal year.
>> just one?
>> yes.
>> okay.
Also, for your case management,
one of the things that I have
been impressed with, I said this
many, many times about how we
track young people who are in
these programs or in this
office.
How do we know how they're
doing, what success rates
they're having, what notes are
captured to do case management?
Do you use an electronic system?
How do you use case management?
>> we use [Indiscernible] Not
represented on this data but I
did want to highlight the
hopeful hampton divergent
program on this dashboard, as
you can see.
That spans over the total
conception of the program, since
we've been doing it.
We had about 40 applicants, 35
successful outcomes.
13 of them are working currently
and 14 of them have graduated
from high school graduations
since being involved with the
program.
So they're going to highlight
that on the dashboard as well.
But in tracking our -- we use a
is system called casebook which
is an electronic software where
we capture all of our notes
inside of there.
Of course we build out
individualized plans so they're
made a referral to the office.
Families can refer themselves.
We get referrals from our
hopeful hampton steering
committee, from port services
unit, schools, any counselor or
anyone who comes in contact with
a youth, our violence
interrupters are now referring
students to that process as well
through our opportunity connects
because they MAY be out in the
community working with someone
and find another participant
that MAY need additional layers
of support as well.
So from there it turns into a
meeting, an intake meeting and
so from the intake meeting it's
when your case notes will begin
and your tracking system and
case book system so yes, we
maintain the case book system
with notes and making sure that
the clinical -- or not clinical
team but our engagement team are
documenting all of their
interactions with young people.
>> we capture them while they're
in the program in case book.
What about post?
>> we're keeping track of where
they are so they will have a 30,
60 and 90-day review and 100
days out review and they will
move from intensive or active
referral to active monitoring.
So during that we're monitoring
them based on reports that they
are self-reporting as well as
any follow-up with schools or
agencies that refer them.
>> now, I know that going back
to your resource -- enabled
resource centers, I know that
congressman scott gave us 4
point something million I think
it was to do a neighborhood
resource center.
>> yes,.
>> the first one is going to
open on you said AUGUST 26th?
>> yes.
>> so when you look at going
into a community, is there a
need assessment done, when you
place these centers in a
particular community to see what
the needs are, which determines
how busy or how well used that
center is going to be?
Do you do that?
>> yes, we will do that at the
opening by surveying community
members and those that come to
the center.
They are being placed --
currently the placement was
determined by calls for service
in our traffic zones where we've
noticed an elevated call of
services and needs in that area.
So while we are having to --
we're negotiating space and
scouring spaces, we're scouring
them in specific neighborhoods
that have elevated calls for
service.
But yes, we will do some
individualized planning and
needs assessments with community
members as we open up the
models.
So some of them will look --
most of them will look identical
but they will have specific
needs that have arisen from
community voices.
>> so the services could be
different in a neighborhood
[Indiscernible]
>> it's a possibility, yes,
that's what we anticipate, yes,
sir.
>> and my last question is there
are other centers that we are
going to stand up.
Have you identified other sites
already or in the process you're
looking at other places for
these centers?
>> we are in some negotiations
right now with scouting some
sites, so yes, we have one
that's on the table that's going
to follow this one immediately
and then we have another one
that we'll be reviewing,
hopefully right after this.
>> all right, thank you.
Good job.
>> thank you.
>> COUNCILWOMAN Ferebee?
>> thank you, MR. Mayor.
MR. Morrison, I just want to
applaud you for your leadership,
engaging community through
impact.
This program -- this group of
programs under this office
are -- it's not a nicety, it's a
necessity because our children
are our present and our future,
and in order for our city to
continue to thrive, we have to
be prepared to support our
communities and more importantly
our -- the people that are going
to take over our jobs and our
positions, and we want to make
sure that hampton is a place of
choice for our youth to want to
come back, to live, play and
work.
I can't say enough about the
emphasis that you have on, you
know, capturing all the talents
of all of our students and the
violence interrupters and your
staff, y'all are just
phenomenal.
Anything that I can do to
support you, I'm here.
And I do really appreciate the
depth of information that you've
provided to us and this impact
report, also that dovetails the
report that we received last
month from our police chief.
This partnership that we have in
the city is like no other, and I
just can't say enough positive
things about the work that's
happening in this area within
our city.
And I want to thank our city
manager and our mayor and
council for your support as
well.
Thank you.
>> thank you.
>> john could you go back to
your slide where you showed the
reduction in shootings in the --
>> yes, sir.
>> -- age groups?
Because I didn't see that one.
Okay.
So looking at the trend from '21
down to -- well, fy21 down to
fy26, is a significant decline.
And you indicate the average is
60%.
I was looking around and I see a
city hall reporter has left us
and I don't know if he caught
this particular slide, because
those other communities have
been talking about significant
drops in violent crime.
I think this is important to see
what the work in hampton is
accomplishing, the work you all
are doing with reducing violent
crime amongst this age group.
And you know, obviously we got
work to do in other age groups
that you might go not be
touching but this is where we
were focusing on attention based
on hopeful hampton and based on
the work that I think our team
started with
started an is now continuing and
we're creating a safer community
with significant reduction
in crime.
So again I want to thank all of
you and your team and our
violence interrupters.
I've heard some of the stories
of the some of the work that
you're doing with young people,
it's just amazing work, and this
is getting the results.
So we need to hold hampton up as
an example of what can be done
when you invest in the right
people and the right resources
and give them the tools they
need to go out and do the work,
that we can get these kind of
results.
So thank you so much for that.
>> thank you, mayor.
>> city manager, next slide I
think is a continuation of this
one --
>> it is a continuation, and
hugo is going to continue, but i
would like to sort of segue and
say you've seen what we've been
able to do with the city funds
that you've allocated and with
some of the arpa dollars that
went to this over some of that
year period of time, there were
arpa funds involved as well.
We are very pleased and grateful
to the general assembly most
especially senator loch,
delegate thorton and delegate
ward for getting hampton added
to the safer communities
program.
The safer communities program is
a program of prevention and
intervention that has existed
for a period of time.
We were not originally included
in it, nor was newport news and
some other localities that were
added this year, norfolk,
portsmouth are two that are in
our region that were on the
program before.
And senator loch for several
years has carried the water to
get us added.
And of course delegate thorton
and delegate ward have supported
her in that effort.
This year, we were able to to be
added, and as a result of that
we will be getting $3.1 million of
extra money this clear towards
these kinds of initiatives.
We believe this will be largely
annual, recurring money, unless
the general simply decides to
stop the program all together.
I say largely because we were
total our allocation would be
2.5 and we were pleasantly
surprised when the office
communicated 3.1.
We're not clear if the 3.1 is
recurring but it will take it
and do good things with it.
Now that we have gotten
direction from the state agency
that oversees this about how the
funds can be used and the
process for pulling them down,
we wanted to bring to you all
our proposal for doing that.
The item says briefing and
appropriation.
There is no appropriation at
this point.
There is just a briefing.
What will happen, assuming you
agree with us on our proposed
use of the funds, is that we
will submit this to the state.
We've had verbal conversations.
We expect it to be approved but
there's a formal mechanism for
submitting it formally after you
have received it.
And so we will make that
submission and then hopefully in
a few weeks' time be able to
announce that the money is in
hand and we can start to do the
things that hugo is about to
present to you.
And putting this proposal
together, we relied, a, on the
data that you've seen, what has
been working, what we know to
work, not only based upon our
experience but on national
research.
We wanted to expand programs
you'll see and talk about
expanding things like our youth
violence interruption programs
or community grassroots
programs, our workforce
development programs and those
kinds of things.
But we also wanted to use some
funds to do some things we
haven't been able to do, like
add some pro-social activity
that we hear from young people
that they would like to see that
keeps them positively engaged in
activities as opposed to doing
potentially disruptive kinds of
behaviours.
So you're going to see a mix of
things here that represent a
range of opportunities for us,
some of them are one-time funds
and that would allow us to
buffer if we really only get 2.5
next clear.
It will also help us to pick up
the resource centers when
congressman scott's grant does
run out, if those resource
centers are as successful as we
expect them to be.
So we've put together a
portfolio of a mix of recurring
and one-time funds for you today
and I'm pleased to turn it back
to hugo to share what our staff
proposal is for how to best use
these funds.
>> I will skip some of the
preliminary, because our city
manager has gave us a great
overview.
As we've heard already, we have
been aligned with 3.12 million,
around five eligible pillars.
So I do want to highlight the
state's pillars around after
school programs and mentor
ships, education and economic
opportunity, trauma informed
mental health care, credible
messengers, violence
interrupters and then trust
between law enforcement and
community stakeholders and while
we have received the
appropriation in the
commonwealth's budget we do have
to submit an application, by
AUGUST 31st as you see is the
application deadline, so we're
working in compressed time line,
so today what we're asking for
is probably some feedback from
our council on the proposal that
we will review in just one
moment to determine direction,
if you agree with staffing
direction and just overall
proposal, then we will move to
the completion of our
application and finalizing the
scope of eligible programs and
activities.
What you'll see next is that we
have coordinated these -- this
investment around 6 investment
areas that directly align with
the 5 pillars of the state's
eligibility criteria, but
hampton has 6 investments that
we would like to lift up before
you today.
So the first one being
prevention and youth
opportunities, which will be
preventative factors before
crisis, by connecting youth and
families to education,
employment, mentorship,
leadership and safe structured
opportunities.
And some of the representative
activities there of how we plan
to spend the 612,000 in this
area is to increase our year
round workforce development and
career pathways, have a
coordinated resource navigation
and opportunity connect, and
then some youth leadership,
family strengthen and safe out
of school time and program.
What's already included in
this -- what's already been
approved in fiscal year 27's
budget includes family and
planning resilience training and
employment funds that we might
spend there as well so -- our
next one is safe neighborhoods
and stabilization.
The proposed investment in safe
neighborhoods and stabilization
is 927,200.
This area addresses the physical
and social conditions that shape
neighborhood safety, including
housing stability, inclusive
public spaces, environmental
design, security infrastructure
and positive community gathering
opportunities.
This category preserves support
for the riverside hand-in-hand
housing program, which is
included in the fiscal year 27
budget, which also creates d
while also creating room for
strategic capital developments
proposed in coordination with
other departments as well.
That includes a portable skating
rink, a portable basketball
court, inclusive recreation and
sensory environments across
community centers, community
gathering spaces and security
and environmental safety
improvements as well.
>> vice mayor brown?
>> hugo, help me with inclusive
public spaces.
>> so at our community centers
and recreation centers, we want
to look at the spaces there to
make them more accessible and
inclusive of all people
especially ada accommodations
and things of that nature, so it
will have some different
recreation programing that we
MAY be able to offer.
As well as those that just
gather and choose to participate
in non-recreational activities.
>> is this tied to neighborhood
resource centers?
>> this particular segment is
not.
>> okay.
And the other thing, riverside
hand-in-hand housing program?
>> yes, so there is a proposal
that we're working on with the
riverside hand-in-hand hospital
based violence intervention
program to provide them some
support of making sure that when
those residents from our city
have been a victim of crime or
have been a victim of gunshots
or trauma that we have ability
to house them for whatever the
case MAY be, whether it's
relocation, for protective -- to
let cooler heads prevail so
there is not a reaction or
retaliation in the community.
We want to be able to support
that effort.
And there's a proposal that
we're currently considering.
>> we had -- just as a reminder,
we had that in the budget if the
current fiscal year -- the last
and the current fiscal year
really to help be a conduit
entity for some of the things
that will help stabilize
situations that are not as easy
for us to directly do.
And so in this particular case,
we're picking that up so it
doesn't remain -- our growing
needs there don't put a burden
on the general fund budget.
>> while we have done some of
this in the past we have to look
at different areas through our
crime prevention, through
environmental design and making
sure that we offer that as well
as a possibility.
Our next investment would be our
violence interruption and
community safety.
It is our largest proposed area
with $978,000 and those
represented the
representative activities
include violence interrupter
teams, as well as our hopeful
hampton divergent program and
structure intervention and every
entry crisis response and
emergency stabilization.
As you can see, also included in
fiscal year approved budget is
our voices in power,
[Indiscernible] Star reentry
center we want to work with and
then increasing our credible
messenger capacity as well.
I thought you had a question --
>> if I MAY again just to
clarify, hugo is referencing the
'27 budget.
You MAY recollect that during
the budget, we took a chance
that we were going to get this.
I say took a chance because,
remember, the state budget had
not been finalized but we were
pushing to make sure that we
could pick up one time monies
that we had used for some of
these programs, like the
riverside helping hand or some
of the money for the divergent
programs and things like that
for prior grants that were
running out.
We wanted to continue those.
We were believing we would get
the state grant.
So we took a million of the 2.5
to be able to continue things
that we had started with
one-time money.
And those were the ones we put
in the budget.
We didn't -- because we didn't
know if the state budget would
include us in the end, we didn't
push it all the way to the 2.5
or the 3.1.
So when he's making callbacks to
what the '27 budget includes,
he's making reference to that
first million dollars we had
pre-allocated basically.
I just saw some confused
expressions as hugo was
referencing '27 so he's trying
to make the link back for you
all with what you did in the
budget by using one million
dollars of grant funds that we
anticipated getting, with the
predefined programs and these
other things he's talking about
either expansions or new things
are using the differential
between the money we're getting
and the one million we already
pre-allocated.
Does that help?
>> all right, our next
investment area we're going to
look at is healing and recovery,
by expanding trauma informed
care, healing supports, recovery
services and school connected
prevention.
In this area we've proposed
$225,000.
This proposed investment in
healing and recovery recognized
violence as both a public safety
issue and a public health
awareness issue.
The effects of violence do not
end when the incident report is
completed.
Trauma can affect a victim, a
family, a peer group, a school,
an entire neighborhood.
Representative activities
include trauma informed behavior
health services and clinical
screenings, victim-family, peer
and community healing supports,
a safe passage program connected
with our schools and school
connected prevention and
workforce training that
strengthening the capacity of
staff and partners to respond
effectively.
So if you
doing some additional
training around local trainings
and CBTs to ensure that staff
have the capacity to respond as
well.
this proposal is not intended to
duplicate existing behavioral
health services and instead it
creates opportunities to close
gaps, improve referrals, support
trauma informed responses and
connect residents to help
through trusted city and
community partners.
Our next area would be community
partnerships and capacity
building and it's proposed for
$215,000, extend hampton's reach
by investing in community
organizations, resident led
solution
solutions and collaborative
networks.
So representative activities
include competitive grants for
community based organizations,
faith and community
collaboration, technical
assistance in a flexible
structure for emerging community
initiatives.
Community organizations often
have relationships and access
that government cannot
reproduce.
They MAY be the first to
recognize a developing conflict,
the first place a family turns
for help or trusted voice to
encourages a young person to
self-report.
So we envision having the
opportunity, much like our mini
grant process, to go through a
competitive process where
grassroots organizations would
come alongside of us that fall
in that category of
intervention, prevention or
awareness to do some of this
work alongside of us.
>> a question right there.
Regarding the 215 for community
partnerships, which includes the
competitive mini grants, will
this be 215 in addition to what
we're already spend, so we're
able to offer more mini grants?
Okay, all right, thank you.
>> no problem.
And lastly would be our strategy
innovation and sustainability,
right.
We want to continue the work
that has already been started,
but as we start new work, we
want to be able to look at how
do we sustain this and what is
the data telling us.
So we propose another $158,513
in this investment strategy.
This category supports the
staffing, data, evaluation,
communication and continuous
improvement functions needed to
administer the award and
demonstrate results.
The safer community guidelines
requires a full-time coordinated
dedicated to the planning,
implementation and coordination
of community violence
restructuring strategies.
That position will help align
departments and partners, track
implementation, manage grant
requirements and pursue
opportunities to sustain
effective work beyond the award
period.
This category also includes
evaluation and performance
measurement, a community center
data dashboard, strategic
communications and
sustainability planning.
These are not add-ons.
They are the infrastructure that
allows council, staff, partners
and residents to understand
where funds were invested, what
activities occur, who will serve
and whether the strategy is
producing the intended results.
Because this is a one-year
award, discipline implementation
and regular monitoring will be
essential.
We must be able to identify
delays early, adjust
responsibly, document
expenditures and ensure the full
investment is used for eligible
and impactful purposes.
And that's why you see that
investment at that level.
So today we're asking council
for feedback on the proposed
categories, priorities and
overall investment direction.
Specifically, we would like to
know whether this framework
reflects the community safety
priorities council wants hampton
to advance, whether the proposed
balance among direct programing,
neighborhood investments,
community partnerships, healing
services and accountability is
appropriate, and whether there
are concerns or adjustments
staff should address before the
application is finalized.
Following council's feedback,
staff will refine category
totals as necessary, verify
project costs, confirm allowable
expenses, completed supporting
narratives and approvals and
prepare the application for the
submission by AUGUST 31st.
And then again this proposal is
not a collection of disconnected
programs, it is an investment in
our ecosystem and what we've
already began with hopeful
hampton.
We want to further advance the
work, close the gaps and
continue making sure that we
provide opportunities and
results as well.
>> questions?
I'm sorry, COUNCILWOMAN Mugler?
>> thank you, MR. Mayor.
and thank you, hugo.
This is a good presentation.
And a very thoughtful proposal.
So I am impressed with -- you
have a lot of money to spend so
you've been very thoughtful
about how you can direct this
money.
The only area I think I would
see a challenge is in your
violence interrupters, and that
is only that we -- it's hard to
find them, right.
And so that's where the
challenge will be, I think, is
to find good folks like the ones
we already have participating
with us.
But we know that that's been a
tremendously successful part of
your work.
And so I hope we can use every
penny of that to expand that and
make it work for young people.
But yeah, I think this is a very
thoughtful proposal.
>> thank you.
And some of our team members
have additional referrals and
recommendations they would want
to make as well, so we would be
open to their feedback for the
current team that's serving and
then how do we expand on what we
have right now and then possibly
making some additions to that
team.
>> you've got your work cut out
for you.
>> yes.
>> especially between now and
AUGUST 31st, right?
>> yes, but I have great support
and multiple departments as well
sites not -- while we're
coordinating the effort there's
good support around the city and
we're doing this collaboratively
together.
Thank you.
>> any other questions,
comments?
Okay well, thank you, hugo.
A lot of presentations today, a
lot of good information.
And I think we're excited about
the good work you're going to do
going forward, taking full
advantage of the safer
communities grants.
>> all right, thank you, mayor.
And thank you, members of
council.
>> so that sounds like you're
comfortable generally with us
submitting this --
[Applause]
And we plan to bring back even
better numbers than the ones we
gave you in the earlier
presentation after we're able to
do these additional things.
MR. Mayor, that completes the
prepared staff presentations for
today.
>> okay, all right.
So with that, are there any
regional issues?
Any items of new business?
All right, there being none,
then I'm going to ask the clerk
to read the motion required for
closed session.
>> the motion required today is
to con vine a closed session
pursuant to virginia code second
2.2-3711 (A)(6) To discuss or
rg
the investment of public funds
in the Lasalle corridor, where
bargaining is involved and
discussion in public would
adversely affect the city's
financial interest; pursuant to
virginia code section 2.2-3711-3
and 6 for discussion of a
potential mixed use project in
coliseum central that MAY
involve the disposition of
public land and the investment
of public funds, where
bargaining is involved and
public discussion would
adversely impact the city's
negotiating position and
financial interest; and pursuant
to 2.2-3711a3 to discuss
disposition of publicly held
real property in the downtown
hampton area where discuss in an
open meeting would adversely
affect the negotiation strategy
of the city pursuant to section
2.2-371 is to discuss the
acquisition of real property in
hampster north where discussion
in an open meeting would
adversely affect the negotiating
position of the city and to
discuss appointments as listed
on your agenda.
>> all right, need a motion and
a second.
>> so moved.
>> second.
>> call the roll, please.
>> COUNCILWOMAN Bowman?
>> aye.
>> vice mayor brown?
>> aye.
>> COUNCILWOMAN Campbell?
>> aye.
>> COUNCILWOMAN Ferebee?
>> aye.
>> COUNCILWOMAN Harper.
>> aye.
>> COUNCILWOMAN Mugler?
>> aye.
>> mayor gray?
>> aye.
All right, we will convene in
closed session at 3:15 in the
lawson conference room and
following the closed session,
council will reconvene in the
open meeting in the same
location in order to certify the
closed session and then proceed
to adjourn the meeting.