2026-10-13 - City Council

00:06[music]

00:09I call this meeting to order and if we

00:12go

00:15>> okay thank you

00:16>> I'm learning

00:19>> I'm trying for 20 something years

00:22>> in accordance with the Virginia Beach

00:24City Code 251

00:27and uh by authority vested in me as the

00:30mayor of the city of Virginia Beach. I

00:31hereby call for a special formal session

00:35of the Virginia Beach City Council on

00:37Tuesday, October 13, 2026 at 2:30 p.m.

00:42City Council conference room 2034

00:46uh building floor 2401 courthouse drive.

00:51The purpose of this special formal

00:53session is to allow city council

00:54following its regularly scheduled formal

00:58session as listed in the attached agenda

01:01to convene to a close session consider

01:05the following matters. one publicly held

01:08property and district 4 disposition and

01:12another one district 4 disposition

01:15and uh personnel matters council

01:18appointments boards commissions

01:19authorities agencies task force um and

01:23appointees

01:25and uh an inclusion of the closed

01:27session the uh council will reconvene

01:30into an open session for the purpose of

01:32certifying the close session the special

01:35formal session will be brought on uh

01:37cable TV, virginia.com and Facebookwide.

01:41Sincerely, Bobby D. And you know, Vice

01:45Mayor Wilson will not be with us today.

01:47She has some family business.

01:52>> Okay. Okay. Thank you. Welcome. That

01:55time of the year we love so much. Thank

01:58you. All right. So, Mr. the mayor,

02:00members of council, the first

02:01presentation will be given by Brent

02:02McKenzie, our

02:05nearly almost done director of

02:07legislative affairs, right? He was going

02:09to give city council overview of the

02:10draft legislative agenda. As I noted,

02:12this is the draft. So, this one really

02:14is what we are bringing forward for your

02:16consideration. Please feel free to give

02:18us your feedback, thoughts, comments,

02:19and amendments or additions. Brent, go

02:21ahead. The floor is yours.

02:23>> Thank you, Mr. Manager, and uh good

02:24afternoon, Mr. Mayor, members of

02:26council. It is a pleasure to be here

02:28with you this afternoon. Um, today we

02:32will present the draft legislative

02:34agenda for the 20127 general assembly

02:37session. Uh, we'll give you a brief

02:39preview of the 2027 general assembly

02:42session, go over the timeline for

02:44adopting the agenda, remind you of the

02:46council policy, and walk you through the

02:49agenda's policy priority, budget

02:51amendment, and code amendment sections.

02:54Uh at the conclusion of today's

02:57presentation, we'll be looking for three

02:58things. One, guidance on policy

03:00priorities for the session, any initial

03:03recommendations, concerns with items

03:05that have been uh proposed by city

03:07staff. And three, any issues that you

03:09would like added or removed for

03:11consideration.

03:13So the 2027 general assembly session

03:16will be what we call a short session.

03:18It'll be a 46 day session. Uh in that 46

03:22days they will amend the existing fiscal

03:24year 27-28 budget. Um they will uh take

03:30up a myriad of bills and legislation all

03:33of which will set the stage for the 2027

03:35elections where all 140 members of the

03:38general assembly will be up for

03:39election. Um, some of the topics and

03:42issues that we anticipate will be heard

03:45this year or in 27 include uh AI and

03:50data center taxes and regulations, uh,

03:53collective bargaining for public sector

03:54employees, uh, issues dealing with

03:57automated license plate readers or flock

03:59cameras as they're more commonly

04:01referred to as, and uh, we expect some

04:04noise around the, uh, $250 fine for

04:07public consumption of marijuana that was

04:09included in the legislation or in the

04:11budget last year.

04:14Uh this is the timeline that we set out

04:16when the last time I was before you, I

04:18think in late July. So today's October

04:2013th. We're presenting the draft agenda.

04:23Uh next Tuesday, there will be a public

04:25hearing on this draft agenda as part of

04:27your regularly scheduled city council

04:29meeting on October 27th. I will come

04:32back before you to get any final

04:34guidance or uh recommended changes you

04:37would like to see. And then at the next

04:40council meeting, which is scheduled for

04:41November 10th, uh the legislative agenda

04:44will be on your agenda for adoption.

04:49Uh as you will remember, uh one of the

04:52first things that um we did when I came

04:55on board was to kind of formalize the

04:58process of how the legislative agenda is

05:00adopted by city council. Um including

05:03how a uh item is proposed. We mirrored

05:07the uh way that you guys use the put

05:10things on your city council agenda. So,

05:12it can be proposed either by the mayor

05:14uh by at least three members of city

05:16council or it can float up through the

05:18city departments and approved by the

05:19city manager. Um in addition, we uh you

05:25guys put in the policy that it takes a

05:27two-thirds majority to approve a

05:29legislative agenda item. over the years

05:32that has been taken um

05:35form in two different ways. You've kind

05:37of voted for the package as a whole or

05:39sometimes you've taken items outside of

05:41that package and voted on them

05:42separately. That will be um at y'all's

05:44uh pleasure coming up on November 10th.

05:49Um our first section of the legislative

05:52agenda is the policy priority section.

05:54This is a section that we've put

05:56together to kind of highlight um policy

05:59areas that are important to the city and

06:02to the city council uh that help give uh

06:04guidance to your uh government relations

06:07team up there at the general assembly.

06:10Um the first one is on affordable

06:12housing. Affordable housing remains a

06:15priority for localities throughout the

06:16Commonwealth and for our legislators. Um

06:19here the agenda includes requests for

06:21increased funding for the Virginia

06:22Housing Trust Fund and for state rental

06:24assistance programs. Um it also includes

06:28what you will see as a recurring theme

06:30throughout this policy section where

06:32we're asking the general assembly to

06:34either uh retain or provide greater

06:37policy flexibility for local governments

06:39to make their own decisions for what's

06:41best for their local government and for

06:43their uh constituents.

06:46>> [snorts]

06:47>> Uh the next one is economic development.

06:50Uh the agenda agenda includes working to

06:53increase access to affordable child

06:55care. This is similar to affordable

06:57housing is remains a high priority for

06:59the general assembly and for localities

07:01throughout the commonwealth. Uh this

07:03section also includes a request to

07:05increase funding for the sports tourism

07:07grant program.

07:10on education. The agenda includes a

07:12request for the general assembly to

07:13continue to implement reforms from the

07:162024 JARK study that included the uh

07:20need to increase state support for

07:21education funding.

07:25Uh the next section is on energy. here.

07:28The agenda includes language encouraging

07:30the general assembly to increase support

07:32for the solar interconnectivity grant

07:34program and to retain local flexibility

07:36on the siding of energy and battery

07:38storage facilities.

07:42Uh this uh the fiscal responsibility

07:45section includes language that you've

07:47seen before encouraging the general

07:49assembly to refrain from impacting local

07:52taxing authority and from creating

07:54additional unfunded mandates. This

07:56section also includes the clause the

07:58council added last year that asked the

08:00general assembly to retain local option

08:02for collective bargaining.

08:06The flooding and storm water section

08:08includes language asking the general

08:10assembly to develop a state funding

08:12program to support the non-federal match

08:14for large-scale flood relief projects

08:16and to increase funding for the storm

08:19water local assistance fund and the

08:22community flood preparedness fund.

08:29Um on land use, you'll see the recurring

08:31theme on retaining local control over

08:33land use. And there's also an additional

08:35clause here on retaining local control

08:37over um the regulation of short-term

08:41rentals.

08:44[snorts] In the public safety section,

08:45you will see a request for increased

08:47funding for police, fire, and EMS along

08:49with a request that allows localities to

08:51continue to utilize technology to

08:53improve public safety.

08:56If you don't mind me, just interrupt

08:58them. Right now, there's going to be an

09:03attorney for

09:06help. We'll get that.

09:09>> Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

09:16Uh on transportation uh we are proposing

09:19to show support for multi multimodal

09:21solutions including roads, trails,

09:23transit and microtransit. Here you will

09:25also see language supporting improved

09:27safety and user education for ebike

09:29riders.

09:33Uh that brings us to the next section.

09:36We have one budget amendment request.

09:38Um, so here, uh, so last year the

09:43general assembly included in the budget

09:45the authority for localities to hold a

09:47referendum on a 1% sales tax increase to

09:50support school construction. Uh,

09:53included in that language, they provided

09:55additional authority for Northern

09:57Virginia localities to uh, not just fund

10:01school construction, but also to fund

10:02transportation. They did that to help

10:04them uh fund their metro obligations.

10:07Here we're proposing to add language

10:09that would allow us to add um the

10:13ability to use the funds not just for

10:15school construction but also for flood

10:17resiliency projects to help fund our

10:19CSRM obligations.

10:22Would

10:28that would would that be segregated or

10:31would those funds be mixed and used as

10:34needed?

10:36Uh I think some of those details would

10:38have to be still considered and um

10:41proposed but the theory here is it would

10:44be just a 1% increase that based on the

10:47council and I um

10:51would assume and recommend um feedback

10:54from our our friends at the school board

10:56as well on how that 1% would be uh

11:00appropriately divided up between those

11:02two priorities. But I think some of

11:04those details would still need to be

11:05figured out.

11:06Yes. So, Mr. Mayor, um to be clear on

11:08one thing. A this is asking for the

11:10option. So, it doesn't authorize it

11:12doesn't authorize a tax increase, but as

11:14you all know, the general assembly last

11:16year in an effort to help with school

11:17modernization construction across the

11:19Commonwealth authorized localities to

11:21raise their um sales tax 1% for school

11:24construction. This would allow it for

11:26not just school construction, but also

11:28for flood protection projects.

11:31The Commonwealth also understands that

11:33the language that they wrote doesn't

11:36necessarily work in um in a pragmatic

11:39sense for how localities to use it. So,

11:41we do suspect that this year they're

11:42going to be doing some clean up to this

11:44language as well. But like this would

11:46have to be if it is adopted, we'd

11:48probably have to see how the

11:49Commonwealth would want to draft the

11:50legislation so we can better sense of

11:52answer your questions, Mr. Cummings.

11:53Well, ultimately how we see it is that

11:55say for some reason school board council

11:58elected to go down this path, we would

12:00be able to kind of determine with say it

12:03raises $100 million, we'll be able to

12:05determine the right ratio of which the

12:08council would want to authorize the use

12:10of of those funds if you're willing to

12:12go in that direction.

12:14>> And I'll just add one additional point

12:16and um remind that that um this is just

12:21for a referendum. At the end of the day,

12:22the voters would decide if they wanted

12:23to increase the 1% or not. Um, it would

12:26require the the uh voters's approval.

12:31>> Just a quick followup. Would this

12:32proposal just be for Virginia Beach only

12:34or for statewide? And if it's statewide,

12:37have you talked to anyone else about a

12:38need?

12:39>> So, we're getting ready. So, basically,

12:41we wouldn't talk to anybody else until

12:43we talk to you all. Right. So, we want

12:45to make sure that you guys are okay with

12:46it. We we're willing to approach it

12:49however it makes sense for council. But

12:51assuming that council's okay with this,

12:53our next step would be to talk to cities

12:55that we know face this issue. For

12:57example, NOFK and um Hampton and Newport

13:00News and Chesapeake to some extent. They

13:02all face these issues of rising flood

13:04protection project costs. In particular,

13:05Hampton and NOFK, they're all looking

13:07for ways to pay for their 35% share of

13:10the CSRM obligations. This could be an

13:14option. So, we anticipate talking to

13:16them to see if they'll be willing to go

13:18together and as as maybe the five or

13:20seven cities in the region.

13:23>> Okay. Amelia.

13:25>> Yes. We just came from the um VML and it

13:28sounds like it's going to be something

13:30more safe than just Virginia Beach.

13:36Jennifer had a similar question in terms

13:38of how we would determine if the voters

13:42wanted something like this, what

13:44percentage would be used for what task?

13:46And I think that has to be answered

13:48before the referendum is put out so that

13:50voters know what they may be electing

13:52for. If they have in mind, yeah, I

13:54support this but want it to go to

13:55schools, but then more of it goes to

13:58coastal storm, there could be a mismatch

14:00in expectations. So, just making sure

14:02that's cleared up if we even go down

14:04that route before it gets on the ballot.

14:06>> Yeah. And that likely I don't think um

14:08our interim city attorney probably say

14:10that for the question we'd have to to

14:12your point, we'd have to clarify how we

14:15want to use the funds. Yeah.

14:21>> Uh so the next section includes six code

14:23amendment proposals. Uh the first is a

14:27proposal from the Virginia Beach Fire

14:28Department leadership uh to have the

14:30general assembly develop a deferred

14:32retirement option plan for public safety

14:36employees. This plan would benefit all

14:38public safety employees who are eligible

14:40for the hazardous duty supplement at

14:42retirement. So the hazardous duty

14:44supplement is a program that provides an

14:46additional retirement stipen from the

14:48time they uh public safety officer

14:50retires until they reach uh social

14:52security age. So, uh, as an example, if

14:55a firefighter, uh, began working at 20,

14:58they did their 30 years, they're 50

15:00years old, they're eligible for

15:01retirement, today, they receive an

15:03additional, it's like $17,624

15:06or something like that. Um, a year um,

15:09between the time they retire and until

15:11they reach social security age at 64.

15:14Um, if they continue to work, they forgo

15:17that additional statement that those

15:19dollars, they don't get that benefit. So

15:22it sort of in uh creates an incentive

15:26for that public safety officer to go

15:28ahead and retire so that they don't lose

15:30that benefit. This proposal would allow

15:32for that additional stipen to be placed

15:34into a retirement account for that

15:37public safety officer, allow them to

15:39stay on the job and to uh not forgo that

15:42benefit. Um, you know, in a this age

15:44where it's difficult to recruit fire,

15:47police, EMS, this could be an incentive

15:51to help us keep employees on the job.

15:56Uh, the next proposed amendment is to

15:58expand the existing tourism development

16:00financing program. The TDFP currently

16:04allows local and state governments to

16:05partner with public sector to utilize a

16:07portion of the sales tax to further

16:10tourism development opportunities. This

16:12proposal would add a uh what we're

16:15calling a a fourth redevelopment tier to

16:18the program that would allow the state

16:20to include up to 20% of the state income

16:22tax from the jobs that would be created

16:24by the new tourism project.

16:28Uh

16:30the next three recommendations come from

16:32the Virginia Beach Police Department.

16:33The first is our um what we're kind of

16:36renaming community safety zones. Last

16:38year we called this the popup zone

16:40legislation.

16:42Um we're just kind of rebranding it

16:44here. Folks didn't like the name last

16:46year, created some confusion as to what

16:48its purpose and goal was. And so we're

16:50hoping that um this will be the first

16:53step in um getting this [clears throat]

16:55legislation passed along with some of

16:57the recommendations coming out of the

16:58mayor's safety task force.

17:02The second request is to um

17:07to uh I don't know kind of close a

17:09loophole that was created last year uh

17:12through some legislation. So last year

17:13the general assembly passed a law that

17:15prohibits anyone with a concealed carry

17:17permit from carrying a concealed weapon

17:21while intoxicated. but it didn't mention

17:25uh if it was prohibited for someone who

17:28uh was open carrying or someone who

17:29didn't have a concealed carry permit to

17:31carry a weapon while intoxicated. So,

17:34this proposal would try to clear that

17:35up. Um I think that was a very

17:37convoluted uh explanation, but basically

17:41what I'm trying to say here is that this

17:43legislation would uh basically make it

17:46illegal for anyone to carry a weapon

17:48while intoxicated.

17:51Um

17:57uh so this proposal would add two

18:00additional law enforcement members to

18:01the forensic science board. Uh currently

18:04there is only one law enforcement member

18:06on the forensic science board. Um we

18:09don't believe that it's got proper

18:11representation for um small, medium, and

18:14kind of largesiz localities. So this

18:16legislation would add two members and

18:18require each member to come from a

18:20different tier of a populated of

18:23population.

18:26And then our last proposal comes from

18:28human services where they would like

18:30additional time when dealing with an

18:32emergency temporary guardianship and

18:34conservatorship for adult protective

18:36orders. Currently, they are only

18:38provided a 15-day period with a

18:41potential five-day extension uh to

18:44conduct the initial investigation and

18:46collect all the information available.

18:48Uh due to the rising number and

18:50increased sophistication of these

18:51orders, they would like that 15-day

18:54period extended to 90 days.

18:58Uh so that's the proposals that we have

19:01for you this year. Um, as I mentioned at

19:04the beginning, we will be we are seeking

19:05your guidance on the policy priorities,

19:08any initial recommendations and concerns

19:10with the items recommended by staff and

19:13any issues that you would like added or

19:15removed for consideration.

19:27You all should have gotten a letter from

19:29the uh bean ribbon committee about some

19:33particular legislative agenda items that

19:36they're interested in. Did you get that?

19:39>> Yes, ma'am. And um if I'm remembering at

19:43least two or three of the four were

19:45included in the in the

19:47>> three of the four are just extending the

19:49present funding but the one that you

19:52didn't put in uh and [clears throat]

19:55just in case you haven't got your copy

19:57of the letter

19:58of course for the past couple of years

20:00we've had a lot of study done about

20:04trees uh by uh Dr. Mccclaclin uh and his

20:08team at Virginia Tech and and they have

20:10developed a lot of information for us

20:12and so it's building on that that we

20:15were looking at. So this this paragraph

20:19the primary objective would be to

20:21evaluate whether preservation of

20:23existing mature tree canopy should be

20:26recognized as a best management practice

20:28within Virginia's storm water regulatory

20:31framework and BMP clearing house. While

20:34current regulations provide storm water

20:36credit for newly planted trees and other

20:39engineered practices, they generally pro

20:42provide little or no credit for

20:45preserving manure tree mature trees that

20:48already deliver significant storm water

20:51quality and evapo transpiration

20:53benefits. Recognizing tree B

20:56preservation as a BMP would create a

20:59meaningful incentive for developers and

21:01builders to retain existing canopy

21:04rather than clear-cut sites and replant

21:06trees that may require decades to

21:09provide comparable environmental

21:10benefits. So right now, newly planted

21:14trees count for what's required, but

21:20mature trees don't count for anything.

21:22And so what we this is to try to get

21:25developers to be willing to

21:28heap some mature trees. Don't go in and

21:30clear cut everything because the mature

21:32trees are already providing those storm

21:34water benefits. If you just plant new

21:37ones, it's going to take decades for

21:38them to be able to do it. So could they

21:41get some credit for retaining mature

21:44trees? I think we've got a mature tree

21:47on a farm that we got emails from last

21:50week, the John Williams farm in New Town

21:53Road, I think it is, that you know, the

21:56developer is going to cut down a 300y

21:58old oak. Well, that tree has got a lot

22:02of value. I mean, it's and and you take

22:05an old a tree that

22:08size and that age. I mean they have

22:11they're they're providing the storm

22:13water benefit already and a newly

22:17planted tree is going to take years

22:18before it has to. So what this is just

22:21saying was that this would be an

22:23incentive for developers to retain the

22:26existing canopy rather than clear

22:28cutting everything. So if it can be con

22:31counted as a part of their um BMP

22:35makes sense to me.

22:38Okay, that's something that we can

22:40consider definitely.

22:42>> So, just you know, typically how it goes

22:44is that you guys will let us know. So,

22:45you want to

22:47>> add that anybody? Yeah, why not?

22:50>> And then the vice mayor also asked to

22:53bring about if we want to go ahead and

22:55once again try to get the blue line

22:57charter amendment uh going forward.

23:02>> So, so clarifying. So we'll work on

23:04draft language for sorry the chart

23:07amendment requires its own public

23:08hearing um and so we won't have the same

23:11timeline that we have the legislative

23:13agenda. So it'll come in November if

23:15that's what you want. Okay.

23:18>> Yeah.

23:20>> Can you clarify for me just the uh

23:23procedure about how we identify who

23:25carries what legislation to to the

23:28assembly? Uh so historically I've tried

23:31to uh or uh the government relations

23:34team has tried to identify

23:37uh what committee the legislation will

23:39go to and try to identify one of the um

23:42members of our delegation that sits on

23:44that committee. That's usually the best

23:46way to go. or if somebody has a certain

23:48area of expertise or um history dealing

23:51with a certain topic and is trusted

23:54there at the general assembly on that

23:55topic, then we try to guide that

23:57legislation towards uh those

23:59legislators. And so um we we try to be

24:02more strategic about which legislature

24:04carries which piece of legislation in

24:06order to give it its best uh best

24:08opportunity to pass and become law. Um

24:11and so, you know, I'm um confident that

24:14our government relations team moving

24:16forward will um continue that. And

24:19obviously, if you have a recommendation,

24:21we're always open to that as well.

24:24>> Okay. Anybody else at this point?

24:26Patrick.

24:27>> So, Mr. Mayor, this I just want to

24:28clarify the two ads I got right now is

24:31um the blue line charter amendment and

24:33then also the mature tree BMP

24:37stormwater credit

24:38>> and then the addition of the FTEES for

24:41uh comealth attorney.

24:43>> Okay. That one would fall under the

24:45unfunded mandates one, but we make sure

24:46we clarify it.

24:47>> Yeah. Thank you.

24:52>> All right. Now, Jennifer,

24:54>> I just have a question about the

24:55forensic science board. Is this

24:58What area does this cover? Is this like

24:59a Hampton Roads, Virginia Beach, or

25:01Commonwealth?

25:02>> It's a Commonwealth uh wide board. I

25:04think there's uh currently 17 members on

25:07the board if I remember correctly. Um of

25:09those 17 members, only one is uh

25:12represents local uh police departments.

25:15And currently the the one local police

25:19department that is um our representative

25:22comes from a very small town. it doesn't

25:24have some of the same challenges and

25:26issues that a larger city may have, some

25:28of the more complicated issues and

25:30challenges that we may see. And so our

25:32proposal was to kind of um have three

25:35members of of local police departments

25:37represented and have it kind of tiered

25:39by population so that um you know small

25:42towns and cities are still represented

25:45but um as well as kind of um those

25:48middle ground as well as the larger

25:49localities.

25:50>> Thank you. Anybody else at this point?

25:53Okay.

25:54>> Yeah. So, may I just want to clarify one

25:56more thing. This isn't finished, right?

25:57So, obviously, if you guys think of

26:00anything or if you get anything from

26:02some of your um some of the committees

26:04that you guys work on that they want

26:06considered, please feel free to reach

26:08out to me and um we'll share the contact

26:11with Jesse Reynolds, the new um

26:12legislative affairs director, soon as

26:14she gets started. So you guys can reach

26:15out to her as well if you want to

26:16discuss

26:19>> the ebike legislation is that how's that

26:23being covered statewide?

26:24>> So I received in my email today a um

26:29copy or a draft of the final report that

26:31will come from the ebike work group. I

26:33haven't had a chance to take a look at

26:34it yet. Just came in the last uh hour or

26:36so as I was preparing for this meeting.

26:38Um but that report will go to the

26:41general assembly by its I can't remember

26:43it had a November uh 17th or November

26:4610th I can't remember the date uh

26:47deadline and from there um the general

26:51assembly members will have the

26:52opportunity to take the information of

26:53that report and ask for it to be turned

26:55into legislation. Um we don't know what

26:57that will look like at the moment yet.

26:59Um that's really up to the individual

27:01legislators on if they want to introduce

27:04the legislation and they want to take

27:06the recommendations [clears throat] or

27:07if they want to do something different.

27:09Um but we will continue to monitor and

27:10track that. I anticipate that um there

27:14were two legislators out of Louden who

27:16really helped us push forward this idea

27:19to do the workg groupoup study group. Um

27:22and they were very interested in this

27:23and so I anticipate we'll see um at

27:26least a couple pieces of legislation

27:27from that study. Were there any specific

27:30recommendations from the city from

27:33Virginia Beach City task force that

27:35weren't addressed by the statewide that

27:38we should consider?

27:39>> Uh I'd have to go back through and kind

27:41of double check. I couldn't tell you off

27:43the top of my head. I know the um the

27:45work group I I did participate in those

27:47workg groupoup meetings. Um they were

27:50interesting. The work group started off

27:52as a um I don't know I think a

27:55manageable size and it continued to grow

27:58with each meeting and it got a little um

28:01it it got tough towards the end.

28:04>> Mr. Mayor um Mr. Comics to your point

28:05we'll do a crosswalk of what the

28:07recommendations were and then what the

28:09recommendation that he just received

28:10from the the work group and we'll put it

28:12in the council probably if not this

28:14week's package the one after that.

28:15>> Thank you.

28:20>> [clears throat]

28:20>> Thank you.

28:23>> Thank you. Thanks.

28:24>> All right. So, Mr. Mayor, members of

28:26council, the next presentation will be

28:27given by our director of agriculture,

28:30David Trimmer. He's going to give city

28:31council overview of our agricultural

28:33program and provide some highlights and

28:35statistics about our a

28:38industry.

28:39>> Uh, thank you, city manager dehaney, and

28:41thank you, mayor, for having us. We

28:42appreciate being here and appreciate the

28:44council and having us here, too. And I

28:46appreciate um uh city uh attorney

28:50Harmire and uh I look forward to walking

28:53you through this uh on our first page.

28:56It's basically this is who we are to

28:59promote the growth and sustainability of

29:01the agriculture industry. If you go back

29:03through time back to I saw YouTube the

29:06other day on how Virginia Beach got

29:08established. The main part of that was

29:10agriculture was there from the beginning

29:12and it's always been there continues to

29:14be there. We look at large, small,

29:16medium-sized businesses that come and go

29:18in our industry, come and go around

29:20here. The biggest one when I first got

29:21here, everybody talked about the Ford

29:23plant. You know, it coming with times,

29:26technology changes, business moves, and

29:29and go to our next slide, you'll see our

29:31our key being the Virginia Beach economy

29:34is tourism, the military, and

29:36agriculture. There are a lot of things

29:38going on as economic development does a

29:40great job of attracting businesses,

29:42bringing more businesses in. Agriculture

29:44is what I represent, what our team

29:46represent. That is what we consider the

29:48foundation of what we what we are has

29:51been addressed by the mayor and mayor's

29:53past. It's the milk stool, the milking

29:55stool. And we are a leg on that milking

29:57stool. Uh if we go to the next one,

30:00agriculture in Virginia Beach, it's

30:02Department of Agriculture. Again, that's

30:04who we are. We got Virginia Cooperative

30:05Extension. We got Virginia Dair Soil and

30:08Water Conservation District. just the

30:10last two weeks they they've entertained

30:111,600 kids, 800 in Chesapeake and 800 in

30:15Virginia Beach, teaching uh first

30:17graders all about agriculture and we

30:20start them at a young age. We have the

30:21city-owned farmers market um is part of

30:24our program. Land use value assessment

30:27that the importance of having

30:28agriculture land and that tax uh base.

30:32The green line as as we all know is

30:34basically Indian River Road going south

30:36and uh and and and we protecting is is

30:40housed by soore and septic water and

30:43septic and agurism we will cover here

30:47the preservation of agriculture industry

30:48is a rural character of a city for

30:50future generations. Uh the economic

30:52impact is 177.2 million. Uh the year

30:56before was 178.1 on average for the past

30:595 years it's 171.4. four we have 26,419

31:04acres under cultivation crops livestock

31:07and horses or the equin industry as I'll

31:09say

31:11as we go through the it also covers the

31:14the what does the ARP program mean to us

31:16it's a cost-saving measure to one degree

31:18it provides us land to farm it is the

31:21backbone of what uh an indust an

31:23industry has what's the difference

31:24between agriculture and any industry

31:27there's three main things right labor

31:29cost of capital and You got to have land

31:31or buildings. In our case, we we have to

31:34have good soils and that's what the egg

31:36reserve program gives us that

31:37opportunity for generational growth and

31:40to maintain our properties that we we

31:42are on. You'll know in the newsletter we

31:44just sent you. Uh Sarah Grimstead Cotton

31:46did an excellent interview with John

31:48Cromwell who's uh and Betsy Cromwell

31:51talks all about what ARP meant for them

31:53and where they got their foundation of

31:55starting in Norfol and how their family

31:57migrated here. and they probably

31:58wouldn't be here if it wasn't for that

32:00program. Uh it, as we've seen it on the

32:03previous presentation, as we all know,

32:05it helps control reoccurrent flooding.

32:07It helps protect the and as Mrs. Henley,

32:10Councilman Henley stated, it helps

32:12protect our tree canopy down south. It

32:14adds to that all the canals and ditches

32:16if they weren't in place, the trees, the

32:18environment, as as stated in the last

32:21bullet, provides a wildlife habitat.

32:23We've all seen recently, we've had some

32:25bears running around. We had an issue in

32:27June. A farmer had a a bear having uh

32:31like being at the Golden Corral down

32:32there eating his sweet corn. Uh he

32:35didn't want the animal destroyed. He

32:36wanted it moved and we had to work with

32:38the state uh uh game person to come in

32:41and help move that animal. Uh [snorts]

32:44you know, the development rights are

32:45sold. You guys recently received the the

32:47annual report. It tells you pretty much

32:49pretty good deal about it. Uh it the

32:51development rights you your land stays

32:53with you. You can farm it, rent it, sell

32:55it with the deed of easement attached.

32:57You can hunt on it. You can cut timber.

33:00You can reserve future building sites.

33:02Or you can just sit back and have the

33:04trees and just and and live by what it

33:06protects. And and that's that's that's

33:08all part of this ARP program,

33:12please.

33:14It's a It's a 25-year payment plan

33:16called an installment purchase

33:18agreement. Mrs. Henley was touching on

33:19it earlier uh back when it started in

33:21the early 1990s and came forward under

33:24her leadership and meeting with other

33:26farmers and other people in the

33:28community. We touched on it. It was the

33:30whole purpose of our February uh our

33:34March a banquet where Eddie Bordan stood

33:37up there the attorney here and

33:38recognized that program for all the

33:40value it has done through the years. uh

33:43the the payment the interest it's a

33:4525-year program tax-free interest

33:47payments that money is used for uh imp

33:50buying more land improving their buying

33:53equipment buying their seed and

33:54fertilizer uh by diesel oil right now

33:57and and moving forward uh the payments

34:00are process the payments are uh the

34:02interest payments are processed on June

34:03and December so twice a year they get

34:06they get their interest payments made we

34:08are now at the stage over the last three

34:10years four years that we are retiring

34:12ing some of these that doesn't mean

34:13they're go away. There's no more

34:15interest payments going out. They are

34:16retired. They receive their T-strip

34:18balloon payment at the end and but the

34:21property still stays in the ARP program.

34:24It is still protected and continues to

34:26be part of their estate and their

34:27farming and their business. Um let's go

34:31to the next one.

34:33>> Can I interrupt?

34:34>> Yes ma'am. Absolutely.

34:35>> Really important point. At the

34:38beginning, there were a lot of people

34:39who thought, well, this was only for 25

34:41years. That's

34:42>> right.

34:42>> It's just that the payment is only over

34:45a 25 year period,

34:47>> but selling the development rights is in

34:49perpetuity. You don't get them back. I

34:52mean, you can purchase them back at the

34:55future

34:56>> value if you choose to do that, but you

35:00don't get those de development rights

35:02back after 25 years. It's in perpetuity.

35:04>> That is correct, Mrs. Hanley. And even

35:06to date, nobody has approached us about

35:08wanting to get out of the program. It is

35:10is continued on. And uh I mean at that

35:13that that as stated in here, uh it

35:16started May 9th, 1995. We had a we now

35:19we currently have 11,358

35:22acres enrolled. Our goal is 20 and it's

35:25at 300 acres a year. It's going to it'll

35:28take some time, but again, it's it takes

35:30us a year to go through one of these

35:32because there's a lot of legal stuff, a

35:34lot of a lot of deeds and and

35:36researching and paperwork to get done. I

35:38think the key on this slide is the 992

35:41development rights we purchased. That's

35:43992 houses. And if you think about it,

35:46if you didn't have the program, and

35:48that's one per 15 is what we calculate

35:50that number on. If you you could have

35:53codacs down there, you could put you

35:55could put you could do one acre uh lots.

35:58In that case, you could have 11,358

36:01more houses. You you picture that.

36:0311,358

36:05times two, two cars per house. That's

36:0722,000 more cars down there. And you

36:10could do the math and continually spin

36:12it the way you want. But I mean, it's uh

36:13it's a good program. It's a program

36:15recognized at the state level. It's a

36:18program as you guys all know we we are

36:20one of five uh counties or city cities

36:23mo mainly counties that took advantage

36:25of the the I'll call it the vax money

36:28which is now the forestry money and

36:30we've accumulated somewhere around $1.8

36:33million we've used to reimburse us for

36:36our expenses that we spend that's just

36:38an off offset of of our money and keeps

36:40the fund balance as healthy as it is.

36:43I'll touch on a lighter note. the

36:45farmers market. It's been since 1976.

36:47It's 50 years old this this summer. Uh

36:50we're really going through some

36:51renovation there through the leadership

36:53uh uh program of of upgrading some of

36:56our m uh uh facilities. Uh putting new

36:58faces on it. We're getting our black top

37:01redone coming up. ADA has brought us in.

37:03We've got up those of you who come to

37:05the market and dance on hoown night on

37:07October. Uh the we have to upgrade that.

37:10And uh it's really it's it's a it's got

37:14the restaurant, the dairy, the butcher,

37:15the baker, the seafood, the specialty.

37:17We're adding three new uh uh two new

37:20tenants coming up. The grill's back in

37:22action as the mayor would knows. He's

37:25seen. We have three full-time staff. I

37:27have nine total staff. Myself on

37:30keyboard today is Kathy Rogers. She's

37:32she's with me. I have my choir over

37:34there with Jenny and and Sarah Ginstead

37:36Cotton who do run the ARP and and

37:39Jenny's my uh uh community lison person.

37:43Uh we are responsible for all of our

37:45interaction, all of the program we we

37:47did with with with uh all that went on

37:50uh to to promote the sustainability and

37:52growth of our agriculture community.

37:56A couple pictures just gives you some

37:58feel-ood pictures. I mean it's all about

38:00the eight events we do each year. the

38:01Friday night hoowns, the sponsorships.

38:03We have 45 companies, maybe maybe even

38:06more. I think I sold one the other day

38:08at a banquet. Uh 47 companies that are

38:11interested in sponsoring the farmers

38:12market at $1,500 a pop. They they what

38:15do they get? They get their name on.

38:17They get they get to put their banner

38:19up. We mentioned them in our paper. They

38:20get to come out to our eight events if

38:22they won and set up shop and pass out

38:24their material. Uh I mean it's and they

38:27are mainly a lot of them are just

38:28companies that want to sponsor the

38:30farmers market. They like what goes on

38:32there. They like what we do. It's a

38:34safe, clean, friendly environment. And

38:36if you come out to the event, if you

38:38were there the other this last weekend,

38:39I mean, it was a sea of people. Even

38:41with the weather being average, uh the

38:43weather's good. I mean, it's it's a

38:45really an awesome place. And uh as as

38:47you can see, pumpkin row there,

38:49pumpkins, Christmas trees. We have the

38:51car the spring carnival was only for

38:52kids. Uh we have pop-up events which

38:55have really going grown really busy. The

38:57first Sunday art market is a plant swap

39:00meet. Uh we that that is really taking

39:03off on a Sunday. We have food trucks 868

39:07different food trucks there. We have a

39:09lot a lot of people that like to craft.

39:12A lot of people make their own stuff.

39:14They can come out and set up and sell

39:16their craft products, sell their

39:17agricultural products. It's it's a

39:19pretty cool time. Our farmers market,

39:21our educational program is probably one

39:23of our star programs. We call it the

39:25RHC. It's for K through five uh age. We

39:29don't turn anybody around. The other day

39:31we did a group of uh I want to say 20

39:34from Vanguard Landing. So that's that's

39:36that's a special use program that we

39:38brought them out, taught them about

39:39agriculture. We it's we do 3,275. We're

39:43always around that 3,00 to 3500 kids we

39:46do a year. Really good program. Uh

39:48lowcost working through the schools. We

39:50did a in the classroom this year. We did

39:52it in I think last week of July. This

39:55year we had 35 teachers I believe come

39:58out from all around the area. They get

40:00credit. Our goal is to educate them

40:02about agriculture. Some of it was at we

40:04were at the public works building. Then

40:06we shipped it over to the farmers

40:07market. Little little hands-on as you

40:09can see in the picture. Our goal is

40:11that's teaching education to those

40:13teachers that they can take back to

40:15their kids. They can also either go

40:17aggra tourism down on the farm for a

40:18farm visit or they can come back to the

40:20farmers market because most of our a lot

40:22of our farms do agurism now because just

40:25like I've mentioned years ago with the

40:27wine industry wants you to come to them.

40:29They don't want to sell you wine through

40:32the store. They prefer you come to them

40:34take part in their events and feel learn

40:37exactly what's going on at the winery.

40:39Know exactly why you may want to take

40:41your time spent hold an event there.

40:43something. That's what we do at the

40:45farmers market, too. We our key partners

40:48right there, master gardeners, you you

40:49know, you hear me talk about this all

40:51the time. We have 300 MA master

40:53gardeners. Uh one of those programs, the

40:56rain barrel program, I think year to

40:58date, 2026,

41:00we've done 110 barrels we placed out.

41:03That means you're capturing that water

41:05coming off of a roof. We're using it to

41:07water gardens. You're using it for

41:08various reasons. We're not letting it

41:10run down the sewer necessarily. We're

41:12we're controlling it. Our people are

41:14using it. Uh I think we've we have eight

41:17rain sessions a year. We've got one more

41:20left I believe on October 17th at the

41:24farmers market. So that number of 110

41:27should increase probably be 120, 125,

41:30130. The middle picture is our ham

41:32project. We do that in the spring,

41:35February to the spring. We did 132 hams

41:40last year and we had 90 participants.

41:42The 90 participants are you usually the

41:46goal is to have dad or mom and their

41:48child and come out and learn how to cure

41:51ham and they and and we we have a great

41:54relationship with Smithfield. So we get

41:55the hams local. We don't do the

41:57Smithfield tour anymore. Food safety

42:00doesn't allow us to do that anymore. And

42:02uh but it's a great really great

42:04program, very popular program. And uh we

42:08always talk about the directional sign.

42:10I always make reference to Myrtle Beach.

42:12Don't ask me why cuz cuz my boss is

42:14sitting up there. But when you're

42:15driving to Myrtle Beach, you see

42:16welcome, you know, here comes south of

42:18the border another 10 miles. We didn't

42:20want all those signs in the southern

42:21part of the city. So years ago, under

42:23Mrs. Henley's leadership and other local

42:25people, they said, "Let's come up with a

42:27sign program through Farm Bureau and and

42:29and so we can limit the big signs down

42:32there and we limit and our zoning people

42:33have helped us out. It's all a key

42:35because you don't want to drive down and

42:36see sign after sign after sign and

42:38especially with our small roads. Uh you

42:41guys all know uh volunteer program again

42:44with nine people, four agents on the on

42:47the VCE side, we have 914 volunteers.

42:51We're about the sixth largest of the

42:53department. 47,000 plus hours served.

42:561.6 million in in uh in in value. Uh we

43:00we really we really value our

43:02volunteers. Ma they are master

43:04gardeners. They are 4. They are the

43:06financial ed programs. They are poverty

43:09simulation programs. Uh they are the

43:11farmers market. That's how we get things

43:13done.

43:14>> Can you get a sign from Mrs. Henley?

43:17[laughter]

43:18>> She wasn't in that spot.

43:22And we pay for it.

43:23>> Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Everybody I mean we do

43:25we do a charge a nominal nominal because

43:27those sign icons we change every season.

43:30So if you're a strawberry person there

43:32are

43:33>> people will call me that day and say uh

43:36get get Jenny out or we you'll see Jenny

43:38out with her life or vest on and get and

43:42parks and recck works with is great.

43:43They'll come out and keep the area cut.

43:45Mrs. Henley and I were down there the

43:47other time. She says, "I'm going to get

43:48my son come up here and and we whack

43:50this all this area for me." And I don't

43:52know if she beat Jenny out, but but uh

43:54we do appreciate up the upkeep on that.

43:56And uh certain times a year, as Jenny

43:59will tell me, she goes, she goes, "I'll

44:00say take Ken with you cuz the snakes are

44:02prevalent right now." You know, send him

44:04in first. You know, jokingly, jokingly.

44:07But uh yeah, uh I' I've mentioned the

44:09230 members of the Master Gardener

44:11program. We have our current agent just

44:14had a baby and a baby girl and uh uh she

44:18is out till January, but we won't miss a

44:21beat with our 230 members. The we have

44:23an LLC. We have a board of directors

44:25that takes care of that. We have 22 new

44:28interns coming on this fall. Two will be

44:32two in addition will be parks and wreck

44:34people that'll take part in the program

44:36and learn all about horiculture which

44:38which will they'll take back to their

44:39area. Our master gardeners are not there

44:41to come trim your bushes. Our master

44:43gardeners are there to educate you on

44:45how to trim your bushes or how to work

44:47with your trees and how to do this and

44:49how to do that. And they have we're

44:51under the umbrella of Virginia Tech. So

44:53we have all the research on that side

44:55too which I'll show you here in a

44:56minute.

45:00We have uh our 4 side. I'll touch up

45:02touch on currently our 4 agent left us.

45:05She went back to Den Witty. She she came

45:07out of college. great individual. Uh she

45:10missed home home is Denwy. So she an

45:13agent's position opened up there. So we

45:15transferred. We're meeting with a a new

45:17agent who wants to transfer here. We're

45:19going to meet with him next week. And uh

45:22we have a very very big uh 4H program

45:25here as as uh Clerk Barnes will tell us.

45:28It's it's a it's a really big program.

45:30It's not something you you uh want to

45:33throw a college person in into right off

45:36the bat. Uh, we have four military

45:38clubs. We have a camping program. The

45:40camping program was late July. I think

45:42we took 116 people to camp. I think it

45:46was 19 counselors and the rest would be

45:50the uh the hund and some would be the uh

45:53kids, the children. Good way if you got

45:55grandchildren or you've got kids and you

45:58want to send them to camp, you have to

45:59be nine years old. Nine years old. See,

46:02I still remembered. I sent my daughter

46:04one year, two years I sent her. She

46:06asked me not to send her again, but uh

46:08yeah, she said, "Dad, it was the food."

46:11We uh coordinate our farm research with

46:13the universities, which I've touched on,

46:14and that includes Virginia State

46:16University, and and uh like like like we

46:19all say, we're all available 24/7, 365.

46:22Uh this gives a picture of uh our our

46:25agent in a school. We do a lot with

46:27schools. I took a call today, wanted to

46:29know what school programs they we are

46:31doing at Kellum they they could have

46:33interest in. I hooked them up with Roy

46:35and Roy will view that with them. This

46:37is just a schematic picture of where

46:39Virginia Tech's 11 research facilities

46:42are. And you'll notice where we are at

46:43Virginia Beach, we have five pretty

46:46close to the close to us. That's

46:48important. Why is it important? If a

46:50question comes up, we we've got rapid

46:52response with those agents in those

46:54other facilities on the research side we

46:56can call versus going to Mecca at

46:57Blackburg. So, that really helps out a

46:59lot. there. And there we're do there

47:01we're doing uh uh we're looking for

47:04insects. What what what's going on with

47:06certain crop? Uh uh it just Roy in the

47:10field doing what he does. This is not to

47:12read to you. This is just something you

47:14look at the timeline going back to 1643.

47:17There's a couple cool things in here.

47:19More than for 1500 acres of strawberries

47:22were raised in Princess Anne County.

47:24Today there's 29 acres raised in

47:26Princess Anne County. Uh we used to grow

47:29cotton. We don't do cotton here anymore.

47:32Uh it tells today we have 24,000 acres

47:35under cultivation. Uh to give you an

47:37idea, the bottom one it says steers,

47:40hogs, lambs for the Virginia Beach 4H

47:42members brought in a record $100,000 of

47:45Virginia Beach livestock show and sale

47:47in the year 2000. Some of you were in

47:49our recent sale in June. We brought we

47:52brought in $243,322.

47:56So that's double what um that that they

48:00did before. And that's the interest of

48:02the kids raising their animal, the kids

48:04taking care of their animal, the kids

48:06documenting it, and then they do a live

48:08sale and a lot of them take them home.

48:10Now the uh this is just another then and

48:13now. I won't read it to you, but the

48:15first one as Virginia Beach was more

48:17hogs than people. We've all heard that.

48:19Now we have we have a large quantity of

48:21equin. We've got about 70 locations down

48:24there that have some form of equin on

48:26it. We estimate 21 million in economic

48:30impact on the on what uh we just

48:32recently did a study headed by Sarah and

48:34and another individual. And uh we

48:37estimated two 2,616

48:40horses down there. Uh in the old days,

48:42this is another key one, the third key

48:44point down there. We have uh the only

48:47animal product direct to consumer was

48:50princess and turkeys. Now we offer

48:52direct consumer poultry, pork, beef,

48:56sheep, and goats are available for sale

48:58at as whole animals to be processed off

49:00farm. There's a big demand for protein.

49:04Uh as some of you have already been to

49:05coastal cattle that there there he's

49:07doing cattle side. There's a we have we

49:09have multiple people doing chickens. We

49:12have multiple people doing eggs. Uh

49:14niche markets, they they direct to

49:16consumer.

49:18Next page, please.

49:20This is this is just a si simple

49:22picture. Still today 100% of our farms

49:25are family farm. We have no corporate

49:27farms here. And uh these are all family

49:29farms. And uh the the one in the middle

49:32up there, the Mosley's they were the

49:34recent 2026 award were awarded the aphid

49:38grant and some couple of you take took

49:41part in that is a grant that helps them

49:42do uh renovations to their property.

49:46It's a 4 acre farm, just those two. And

49:50it's from farm to kitchen, not farm to

49:53table, farm to kitchen where you will

49:56grow, they grow it, they pick it, and

49:58you take it home and you cook it. The

50:00next one up top going back one is the

50:03Collarifers. They are the 2024 aphid uh

50:07award from the state. That was through

50:09the Vax. One was through Vax, the other

50:12was for the uh forestry department. and

50:14they used their uh aphid grant to

50:17renovate their uh buy refrigerator as

50:20part of their new process related to the

50:22berries and they product and they also

50:24spent money on irrigation to expand 4

50:26acres of land to have apples and grapes

50:32short one uh 23,159

50:35uh acres double cropped fruit and

50:37vegetables about 280 ornamentals and

50:40green houses 249 acres that is growing a

50:43good bit you're seeing Uh several of our

50:45uh um nurseries are growing. They are

50:49looking for land. They want to do

50:50five-year leases because that's what

50:52they need for the maturity of what

50:54they're growing. And and that's going

50:55real real well. Pasture and hay. Uh

50:582769. This last picture,

51:01go one more. I'm I'm going to skip that

51:03one. This last picture kind of sums it

51:05up right there. That as Jenny calls it,

51:08food security and national security side

51:10by side. So I think it's a pretty cool

51:12picture. I appreciate you all's time and

51:14if anybody's got any questions, I'd be

51:16more than willing to offer and and and I

51:18tell you if anybody wants to go out on a

51:19on after we get through the election,

51:21we'll go out on a tour. Uh most of you

51:23have come out and we can go in the

51:25spring, take a good look around. The

51:27fall is different than the spring

51:29because we just finished our corn. We're

51:31harvesting soybeans now up till

51:33Thanksgiving, maybe a little longer and

51:36depending on the weather and then we'll

51:37go to berries come this uh uh spring.

51:40But anyway, I thank y'all. Before I get

51:42to Stacy, let me just say uh I had the

51:45pleasure of opening up uh you you know

51:48the initial event with Farmade and

51:51Farmade came here I believe for a reason

51:54and from what I understand a lot of the

51:57artists you know made tours of there.

51:59Could you go into [clears throat] that a

52:00little bit?

52:00>> Yeah absolutely. So, you know, we

52:02started with Farm probably April, May

52:05and uh uh it I was on a screen Microsoft

52:09total full of people. No idea. They

52:12brought 13 people. They came in. We took

52:14them tours, went all around. We did a 70

52:16people uh on one of the tours that took

52:19place during farm aid was the was the

52:21Vaughn family on coastal farms. We did

52:24two groups of 35 in and out of the farm

52:27uh talking about agriculture, talking

52:29about a they were really into the ARP,

52:32really into the fact you're going

52:34farm-totable dinners and and things like

52:36that. They thought that was great. They

52:38visited Mrs. Henley's farm that you've

52:39seen pictures of Mrs. Henley in there.

52:41The horses, they took pictures of that.

52:43They were very handson and very wanting

52:46to see. I was interviewed on a literally

52:49were walking around and I'm talking

52:50explaining stuff and the guy's got the

52:52phone like this and he's got a thing.

52:54He's filming it and and doing a podcast

52:58and sending I have no idea what he's

53:00saying, you know? I have no idea. It

53:01just frightened me when I'm thinking

53:02about it. Yeah. And then two ladies come

53:05over to me and they were very nice and

53:07we would like to interview you for a

53:09podcast in Puerto Rico live. And and I

53:12said, "You're going to give me the

53:13questions first?" And she says, "Yes, we

53:15will." So they walked me through the

53:17questions. They said, "Are you ready?" I

53:19said, she and I said, "This is going to

53:20Puerto Rico." She says, "Yes." They were

53:22they were really engaging people and

53:24good questions and I mean that I

53:26probably did that three times that day

53:28on different languages and different

53:30people and uh and it was pretty cool. I

53:32mean it was uh the people were very very

53:35engaging and uh you know we had one shot

53:38at this. Let's face it, they probably

53:40won't be back here because they'll go

53:41someplace else. But I think we made a

53:43really good impression. I mean, if you'd

53:46have been there, they brought a

53:48Greyhound. I mean, a one of the the

53:51buses down and there's I said, "There's

53:54no way he's making that turn." And he

53:56put it right in the ditch. Put it right

53:58in the ditch. So, to for the added

54:00pleasure and Mrs. Henley knows it's

54:02Coastal Farms.

54:04>> Yeah. So, for the added pleasure, we got

54:06a we had to get a John Deere tractor,

54:08hook him up, and pull him out, you know,

54:10and and and you know, there's just no

54:13way. I said he's going in the ditch.

54:14[laughter] He's going to go in the ditch

54:16cuz you know it and it it but you know

54:19it's it's uh it is what it is down Von

54:21Lane with him and you know down you know

54:23it's just nowhere to go.

54:25>> I tell you what it was a really big deal

54:27that far a came to Virginia Beach

54:29especially in the offseason and Stacy

54:32>> thank you that's a fascinating very

54:35inform uh informative presentation but I

54:38do have a question. And I only bring it

54:40up because I think it's the most maybe

54:43the most misunderstood

54:45concept in the city. If you can go to

54:48page four.

54:50I just want to get real clarification.

54:55Comes up every day.

54:59Maybe I misheard,

55:01but when you define when you define the

55:04green line here, you define the the area

55:07south of Indian River Road where there's

55:09no water or sewer. That's what I heard

55:12you say.

55:12>> That was my mistake. Yes.

55:13>> And that is not the green line.

55:15>> No, that was my mistake.

55:15>> Okay. Could you please because there's a

55:18difference that people whenever you're

55:20explaining the green line you know

55:22development south the green line it

55:24takes a half an hour conversation to

55:25educate people what the green line is

55:28and the difference between the green

55:29line and the blue line. So just for so

55:33sufficiently clear the air. So basically

55:35you from you know the history of the the

55:38green line the the inner

55:41>> the intert traffic area you know so in

55:43above the Indian river road you have

55:48houses and it's from there up you have a

55:52>> transition area

55:53>> transition area so you've got to

55:55>> you've got the brown farm the Brenamman

55:57farm the bell farm they go all the way

56:00up to where basically Santara and then

56:04the uh the ball fields are. We still

56:07farm all that. You basically follow it

56:09down Princess Sand Road

56:11>> and you take it off towards follow

56:12Princess Sand Road down basically the

56:14sand bridge and below that is our inner

56:17and you still got farming going on down

56:20by the sand bridge on south and and it's

56:23basically that area. Above that you in

56:27theory have water and sewer. below that

56:30you do not except for one small area off

56:33of Indian River Road. It's a housing

56:35development on the southern part

56:37southern side of Indian River Road. One

56:39small

56:39>> that's what we call the blue line.

56:41That's what we're trying to

56:42>> get the uh

56:44>> legislature to let us identify

56:46officially the blue line

56:48>> is [clears throat] south of Indian River

56:49Road where there is no water sewer. I

56:52just because

56:53>> yeah,

56:53>> I've been saying it for years and I know

56:55people would be calling me out going,

56:56"You were wrong."

56:57>> No, no, no, no. tell them I was wrong.

57:00>> No, no, no. We just did.

57:03[laughter]

57:03>> Yeah.

57:04>> Thank you.

57:04>> Thank you, Jennifer.

57:06>> And then Barbara.

57:07>> So, actually thinking about the the last

57:09image and this past year, there have

57:12been so many food recalls across the

57:14country and concerns about like berries

57:16and lettuce and what can we eat and

57:17what's safe to eat or not. And so, I

57:20found just such great benefit to our

57:22local community that we could go to the

57:24farmers market. So, a sense of, you

57:26know, like Olivia still wants her

57:27berries, but I was a little anxious

57:29about getting it from certain retailers.

57:31So, um it it's really just a testament

57:34to preserving this industry, not only

57:37for our own, you know, revenue, but for

57:39our residents as well that we can access

57:41locally grown produce um shipped out,

57:45but like for us, too. So, I just really

57:47appreciate that. And as a plug, I have

57:49friends, they own a home in SuffK, but

57:52they regularly bring their two kids out

57:54to the farmers market and to agurism.

57:56They do the different classes out there.

57:58So,

57:58>> excellent.

57:59>> We got a good thing going

58:00>> cuz we've we you know, when you think

58:01about it, you we grow, it's kind of like

58:03the Mosley's opening their four 4acre,

58:06>> you know, they they can sell their

58:08product through their farm stand at the

58:10farmers market, creek wars, or they can

58:12sell it direct to Indian River

58:14Plantation or whoever else wants to buy

58:15it. I mean, we have 460,000 residents

58:18here, 1.8 around the area, and all the

58:21all the people the tourism group brings

58:22in, and they can all buy fresh local

58:24product where we don't have to wholesale

58:26it. We sell it retail, plus our berries,

58:29everything. Uh, perfect time of year.

58:31Right now, it's Thanksgiving coming up.

58:34>> Hey, Barber and Cash.

58:36Well, on page three here on the third

58:39page, and it's not numbered, it says,

58:41"Did you know that agriculture is

58:43Virginia Beach's third largest

58:45industry?"

58:47We are an industry. We keep talking

58:50about, "Oh, we need to have industry

58:52down in the south." Well, if you're

58:54going to put light industrial down in

58:56the south, you've got to get rid of your

58:59third largest industry, agriculture. We

59:02already [clears throat]

59:02have an industry in the southern part of

59:05the city.

59:06And it's a very valuable industry for a

59:10lot of reasons.

59:12Um,

59:15I get really aggravated when I hear

59:18people look at a map and they're talking

59:20about the types of land and they call

59:23all of the egg land vacant land. That

59:27land is not vacant. It's being used for

59:30farming, which is an industry. And all

59:33of those houses down there, you see,

59:36they're all businesses. We're not doing

59:38it for the fun of it. It's our business.

59:41So, people talk like agriculture is just

59:44vacant, waiting for something better. I

59:47think it's the best we could possibly do

59:49for that area. Number one, it fits the

59:52land. We know that the soils are poorly

59:55drained. It's not good to put big

59:58structures there, but it's perfect for

1:00:01what you see in that picture. You get a

1:00:03big rain, it's probably going to run

1:00:05off, certainly going to soak in. Every

1:00:08now and then it might get so wet, we

1:00:10have a little problem, but the farmers

1:00:12pretty much take care of the ditching.

1:00:15Agriculture is what is right for the

1:00:18area in the southern part of the city.

1:00:20So why we start keep trying to stick

1:00:22more other types of industry down there?

1:00:25I'm going to argue with you about it all

1:00:28the way because we've got the best thing

1:00:30that's right for the industry. Now, in

1:00:33talking about

1:00:35when we're what we're trying to put down

1:00:37there are industries that make things,

1:00:40manufacture things and need big

1:00:42structures. Well, what we grow, our

1:00:45product gets stuck in that ground every

1:00:48year in the spring with seeds and then

1:00:51we harvest it in the fall and the next

1:00:53year we do the same thing. We don't need

1:00:56a great big 250,000 square foot

1:00:58building. We do it every year with what

1:01:01we've got. And David, I would like for

1:01:04you, if you would, give me a list of

1:01:08some of the uses for soybeans. Right

1:01:11now, we're getting ready shortly to

1:01:13start the soybean harvest. You ride down

1:01:16through the area down there now, and you

1:01:18just see fields and fields of soybeans

1:01:20that are almost ready to pick. Well,

1:01:22those soybeans get used in a long

1:01:26multitude of products that have to have

1:01:29soybeans.

1:01:30That's our product. That's what we're

1:01:32producing. And we're going to be

1:01:35harvesting it very soon. And then next

1:01:37May, we'll plant it again. And then

1:01:39we'll do another harvest next fall. We

1:01:42do create a product. Right now at our

1:01:46farm this afternoon, those guys are down

1:01:48there setting their strawberry plants

1:01:50that we're then going to pick in the

1:01:52spring. That's our product. So, we

1:01:56produce products that are very valuable.

1:01:59Some are used for food. Other products

1:02:01like soybeans are used for gosh knows

1:02:03everything else.

1:02:05>> And and it's it's it's an industry. And

1:02:09I think it's about time we started

1:02:11treating it as an industry. I know at

1:02:13one point, I think it was at well in the

1:02:1690s when we created the ARP, we had

1:02:20visited other localities

1:02:22and one of the things we learned was

1:02:25that other localities had agriculture

1:02:28departments and that they did things.

1:02:30Well, we did come home and for a time we

1:02:33had an agricultural person in our

1:02:36economic development department. But

1:02:38it's something about the economic

1:02:40development people that don't count

1:02:42farming as as economic development. I

1:02:45don't know what it's supposed to be, but

1:02:46anyway, we had somebody in the economic

1:02:48development department for a few years,

1:02:50but then that kind of went away. But we

1:02:53really need to start recognizing

1:02:55agriculture for what it is. It is an

1:02:58industry. It look at the money that it

1:03:01brings in and and what it creates and

1:03:03what it does for itself.

1:03:06and it's the right thing for that type

1:03:09of land. And I don't know why we keep

1:03:11thinking we've got to make it into

1:03:13something else.

1:03:15Uh but I I would really I I think we

1:03:18need to start appreciating it for what

1:03:20it is. We create a lot of products. U

1:03:23somewhere in here it names a lot of

1:03:25them. A lot of them are food which are

1:03:27certainly important, but then there are

1:03:29other products that do other things like

1:03:31soybeans. They're they're used in

1:03:33everything. So, I I really think it's

1:03:36it's time we stop trying to stick some

1:03:38other industry down there because in

1:03:40order to get another industry down

1:03:42there, you've got to push this one out.

1:03:44And I think this one is perfect for us.

1:03:47And I'm going to argue with you all day

1:03:48long if you try to get rid of it because

1:03:51it's the right thing for for this area.

1:03:53And um uh I think we need to start

1:03:56learning a little bit more about it. We

1:03:59had a really good uh

1:04:02meeting last week with the Farm Bureau

1:04:04and they had their annual meeting and it

1:04:06was a couple hundred people there and

1:04:08when you get there and you say all of

1:04:09these people are business people that

1:04:12are running our agricultural industry.

1:04:15Uh I think we really need to start

1:04:18understanding what agriculture is and

1:04:20that land. If one more person calls it

1:04:22vacant land, we're going to have a big

1:04:25argument. It's not vacant land, but the

1:04:29public gets to to enjoy it because you

1:04:31ride down there now and you just see

1:04:32fields and fields of whatever's growing.

1:04:35And it's open space, so people get to

1:04:38appreciate it as open space in the area,

1:04:41but it's certainly doing something very

1:04:43important. It's a great economic

1:04:45development tool. It's it's our business

1:04:48and um we need to start appreciating it

1:04:50for what it is. So that's my lecture for

1:04:53today.

1:04:54>> Okay. Thank you. And uh Mrs. Sunley, I

1:04:56concur and that's why I think it's

1:04:58important that we get the blue line

1:05:00legislation that would really protect

1:05:02that area. Okay, Cash,

1:05:05>> thank you. Thank you for the

1:05:06presentation. Um and I was able to talk

1:05:08to you guys before um we actually

1:05:12started the um the meeting. Definitely

1:05:14want to do a tour.

1:05:16>> The closest thing when I think of um

1:05:18agriculture and and closest to uh

1:05:21District 7 is the U Salem Berry. Yes.

1:05:25>> Right.

1:05:26>> And so I was filming with my iPhone

1:05:28telling everyone to come here and you

1:05:31said it farm tot.

1:05:34>> Just incredible. So with that being

1:05:36said, uh, Councilwoman Henley, I concur

1:05:39with you. Third largest, not just um

1:05:43something that is wishful thinking, it

1:05:45is um it is to the core of Virginia

1:05:50Beach. It's what we wear on our on our

1:05:52pin on our flag. Virginia Beach flag

1:05:55agriculture. So I agree with you. I

1:05:57would like to keep it going and so I

1:06:00like to protect and what uh the mayor

1:06:03said the blue line that is important and

1:06:06so I concur with you there and so great

1:06:08lecture. I'm listening. Thank you.

1:06:12>> Thank you.

1:06:12>> Yep. [clears throat]

1:06:14>> Okay. Anybody else? If I could recommend

1:06:16Oh no, Ameilia. I was just mentioning

1:06:19today and Councilman Green was down

1:06:21there when the governor spoke,

1:06:24agriculture is the first that she

1:06:26mentioned

1:06:27>> entire commonwealth,

1:06:29>> the largest private industry in the

1:06:30state, agriculture and forestry,

1:06:33>> right? If I can recommend the number of

1:06:36times I went out to plow day and I'll

1:06:39tell you what that barber that was a lot

1:06:42of fun and you see all the farmers

1:06:45coming together and they got I got to

1:06:49ride behind two horses on a plow and

1:06:52then they had plows as big as this road

1:06:55cost I think millions of dollars. Oh my

1:06:58god. But when you get there and you know

1:07:01that they put out a wonderful meal for

1:07:03everybody.

1:07:05But I'm just saying if you want to get a

1:07:07true appreciation of like Barbara, you

1:07:10and I had you know lunch there a couple

1:07:13times during that day. The activity that

1:07:16you see with all the farmers working

1:07:18together and with the equipment and what

1:07:21that equipment has to cost in terms of

1:07:24what's going on. Uh I think it would be

1:07:27educational, you know, to go down and

1:07:30actually see it and it really, you know,

1:07:32gives you perspective of what goes on.

1:07:34And thank you, David, for

1:07:35>> Yeah, good point, sir.

1:07:38And and November 7th is the proposed

1:07:41plow days this year. Rain dates November

1:07:4314th. I'll confirm it. We'll let you

1:07:45know for sure.

1:07:47>> If I could just make one more point that

1:07:48I hope is really important for

1:07:50everybody.

1:07:52During the time the 80s and 90s when we

1:07:56were just growing so fast every week

1:07:58there was a new subdivision approved and

1:08:01in the 90s we began to recognize that if

1:08:04we didn't do something we weren't going

1:08:06to have an agricultural industry because

1:08:08in order to have agriculture you got to

1:08:09have land and all that land was being

1:08:12eaten up by sprawl and so that's when we

1:08:16started looking around to say what could

1:08:18we do and I was trying to remember who

1:08:21we had working with with us. I know it

1:08:23was Dick Cochril and John Balm and

1:08:24myself and others. I'm going to find out

1:08:28if I can remember. And we said, "What

1:08:30can we do to make sure we're going to

1:08:33have some land to have an agriculture

1:08:35business?" And that's when we came up

1:08:37with the purchasing development rights

1:08:39and we visited places that did it

1:08:42because Virginia did not allow

1:08:44purchasing development rights. So when

1:08:46we decided that that was the way we

1:08:48could do it because if somebody aged out

1:08:52and they needed to sell their land, the

1:08:54only buyer was a developer. So the ARP

1:08:59allows another way for them to get the

1:09:03the the value of the land but still have

1:09:06the land as agriculture. And so that's

1:09:08when we came up with the ARP. and we had

1:09:11to create it in Virginia because it was

1:09:13not allowed in Virginia and we had the

1:09:16first program for AR for purchase of

1:09:19development rights in Virginia Beach and

1:09:21now several other localities have

1:09:23adopted it from our work. So this is

1:09:26something that we created because we

1:09:28knew if we didn't do something there was

1:09:31going to be no agriculture in Virginia

1:09:32Beach. And if we had not done this

1:09:35program

1:09:37we wouldn't have it would be all the way

1:09:39down to Knots Island just one

1:09:43development after another. And so this

1:09:46is what has caused Virginia Beach to be

1:09:48able to be what we are today. And I tell

1:09:50you what, we worked really hard on it.

1:09:53And um I think it I'm going to try to

1:09:57put together the the the background of

1:10:00how we did it because it it was really a

1:10:02a the fact that we were able to pull

1:10:04this off minds me when I think about it.

1:10:08But when we look at it and we're

1:10:09purchasing the development rights and we

1:10:12brought one uh land into the program

1:10:15last week, yes, it costs, but the payoff

1:10:18is great. And I mean right now it's one

1:10:22penny on the real estate plus some other

1:10:24um

1:10:26uh income sources that that we had. But

1:10:29but anyway, it's an it's very important

1:10:31that we keep this program and uh um if

1:10:34you have any questions about it, we'll

1:10:37try to answer the questions. But it it

1:10:39saved agriculture because we wouldn't

1:10:42have it otherwise.

1:10:43>> Okay. Thank you. All right. a great

1:10:46presentation and it's very enlightening

1:10:48and very proud of that.

1:10:49>> Thanks everybody. Yeah, thank you all.

1:10:51Appreciate you.

1:10:52>> Got it.

1:10:56>> Okay. At this point, any council

1:10:58comments or things of that nature? Okay.

1:11:01>> Oh, Mr. Mayor, I do uh just general

1:11:04comments commissioner. Okay. Um, I I

1:11:07just want to say out loud, um, well,

1:11:09first of all, I wanted to congratulate

1:11:11the Hampton Roads Agriculture and

1:11:13Research Extension Program up in

1:11:15District 9 and the Master Gardeners for

1:11:17putting on a fall garden festival. Um,

1:11:20Mr. Trimmer, uh, mentioning the master

1:11:23gardeners kind of triggered it in my

1:11:24mind. And I mean there uh plant sales,

1:11:27demonstrations, they had like well over

1:11:301500 people I would imagine there. Um

1:11:33and um dozens of other partnerships with

1:11:36local horicultural and environmental

1:11:38organizations, clean communities

1:11:40commission was down there, Jen. Um so

1:11:42that was it was great to see um multiple

1:11:45city departments represented. Um and

1:11:48then the other thing I wanted to just

1:11:49raise generally um and I know we had

1:11:51been talking about this um cross country

1:11:53trail and um the the money that um is

1:11:58coming out of the reversion funds or is

1:12:00was I guess contemplated to be coming

1:12:02out of the schools reversion. Um I've I

1:12:06understand the ask. I understand we have

1:12:08been talking about um you know some of

1:12:10those lowhanging fruits uh in the ITA

1:12:13parks plan uh including planting trees

1:12:16which I think we should definitely be

1:12:17doing down there but um but the school

1:12:19community and the you know obviously a

1:12:22lot of the press around this subject has

1:12:23been um I think it's missed the mark on

1:12:26what what what all of this was about.

1:12:29Um, but if if schools are upset about it

1:12:32or if there are uh elements of uh our

1:12:35educational community who have questions

1:12:37about it, um I I'd love to know what

1:12:40other priorities they have for that

1:12:41money. Um and and if and and if they can

1:12:44agree on some priorities for us to u

1:12:47consider, then maybe we ought to be

1:12:49considering those priorities um in a in

1:12:52a competing fashion to uh um to what was

1:12:55uh originally contemplated. So, I'm I'm

1:12:58neither for nor against, so to speak. I

1:13:00understand where the conversation came

1:13:01from, but at the same time, um you know,

1:13:04I'd be I'd be tonedeaf if I wasn't, you

1:13:06know, hearing from my constituents that

1:13:08they've got some, you know, serious

1:13:09questions about why why we're, you know,

1:13:12contemplating using uh the money for

1:13:14that use. So,

1:13:15>> we'll get we'll get it worked out.

1:13:17Anybody else at this point?

1:13:19Well, just briefly, uh, this weekend, at

1:13:22least today, my voice is back, but went

1:13:25over at NOA State and Nagi, uh,

1:13:29homecoming and, uh, it was a great one.

1:13:32I think was 6 to9 to zero. So, they were

1:13:36really,

1:13:36>> they pulled it out.

1:13:39>> So, it it was great. cuz you I was in

1:13:42the parade to hear my voice and um as a

1:13:46lot of you know I taught at state and

1:13:48was department chair so it was really a

1:13:51great event and then the second thing

1:13:53after they had the uh NAACP

1:13:58which went very well. They brought Ben

1:14:00Chavis in who was one of the leaders in

1:14:04the civil rights. So I attended it.

1:14:06Councilman um

1:14:10Remick was there. Was there any other

1:14:12council people you saw?

1:14:14>> And we saw Mayor D. He actually gave

1:14:16special greetings on behalf of the city.

1:14:19>> Wait, who was there?

1:14:20>> Were you there?

1:14:21>> Yes.

1:14:22>> Where were you?

1:14:26All sitting on the same table.

1:14:28>> They put me in the back. [laughter]

1:14:31He was working. [snorts]

1:14:35>> Sorry, I came by the table. [laughter]

1:14:39>> Best shoes,

1:14:41>> right?

1:14:46>> And then the last thing was the Virginia

1:14:48Municipal League um on that board. So

1:14:51that was really interesting and points

1:14:54they made was the legislative priority.

1:14:56And that

1:14:57>> yes

1:14:57>> meeting went on for a while as most

1:14:59people brought other things in and some

1:15:02of the people spoke also about cannabis.

1:15:05We got to learn that whole process uh

1:15:08lectures on the um

1:15:11what else was there collective

1:15:13bargaining.

1:15:14>> They talked about collective bar opener.

1:15:16We need to study this

1:15:19going into all of that. And u then of

1:15:22course the governor spoke about

1:15:24priorities.

1:15:25>> Yeah. So,

1:15:28[snorts]

1:15:28>> also

1:15:33[laughter]

1:15:40this time he asked many questions.

1:15:42>> I did. I did.

1:15:44>> And let me just say the NAAC they

1:15:46celebrated their 85th the Virginia Beach

1:15:49branch 85th anniversary. So it was a you

1:15:53know pretty big deal. Was very nice of

1:15:54them. Okay, are we ready for close?

1:15:58>> Uh, [clears throat] I asked about this

1:16:00last week and I just want to clarify the

1:16:02Punga Fairy Road project. Uh, the Farm

1:16:05Bureau had its annual meeting last week

1:16:07and in their listing of wants, this was

1:16:11very important to them and I want to

1:16:12make sure I was telling them the right

1:16:14thing. I know this said that we had a U

1:16:17protect federal protect grant that we

1:16:20had an obligation deadline of September

1:16:2230th of last week or we would lose that

1:16:26money. And I think you said last week

1:16:27that we were able to meet that

1:16:28agreement.

1:16:29>> Yes, we're able to meet that agreement,

1:16:31but the federal government has told us

1:16:32that we've met our obligations, but

1:16:35they're still in the process of fully

1:16:37ensuring that they have enough funds to

1:16:39process the protect grant. But we're

1:16:42operating as if we're going to fully get

1:16:43it. But we've met our obligations on it.

1:16:46>> Yeah. because um

1:16:50the funding for this according to this

1:16:53report that we got in September on the

1:16:55project um looking at what we have as a

1:17:00balance to complete because it looks

1:17:01like this is going to be another really

1:17:03big

1:17:04>> project um that with the federal money

1:17:10and so forth. But we were supposed to

1:17:12have gotten some local bond referendum

1:17:14money, but that got cut down to 5

1:17:16million. Was supposed to have been 11

1:17:18because we transferred some of it to

1:17:20Windsor Woods, Princess Anne Plaza, and

1:17:22the Lakes Mega Bundle. So that part of

1:17:24the city got part of the Punk Fury Road

1:17:27project money, but that's still we're

1:17:30going to be putting this out for bid

1:17:33within 90 days. So December we put this

1:17:36act to bid and then we find out what the

1:17:38construction cost is going to be and we

1:17:41should open those bids sometime next

1:17:43spring.

1:17:44>> So it looks like this project which is

1:17:47pretty important because it's one of the

1:17:50three critical uh evacuation routes for

1:17:54the south and if this is flooded and

1:17:57closed which it was three or four times

1:17:59last year it's a 20 mile detour. So, we

1:18:02really need to make sure this this road

1:18:04gets done and I want to make sure I'm

1:18:07telling people the right thing. So,

1:18:08you're shaking your head. Yes.

1:18:09>> Yes, ma'am. Yes. Okay.

1:18:11>> And also, we let we let let you know and

1:18:12the council know that we are likely

1:18:14probably going to have to make an

1:18:15adjustment in the budget to get fully

1:18:18funded on that project considering the

1:18:19project gap is more than what we have

1:18:21for it. So, yeah, we're moving in all

1:18:23direction to get the project fully

1:18:25funded and get it awarded.

1:18:27>> Okay. All right. Well, this one is is

1:18:29pretty important. Just wanted to make

1:18:31sure I'm not telling people.

1:18:34>> Also, Mrs. Henley, you know, after

1:18:37Patrick and I met with the deputy number

1:18:40two guy, the National EPA, we're going

1:18:43to be praying for good news coming and

1:18:46so we [clears throat] could get both of

1:18:47these projects finally in line. That

1:18:50would be a real deal.

1:18:53>> Thank you very much.

1:18:54>> Okay.

1:18:54>> I'm sorry. I got one more and this is it

1:18:56will be quick. in the in the council

1:18:58package. I just want to direct direct

1:19:00everybody's attention to an October 9th

1:19:02memo from the manager regarding the um

1:19:05youth outreach and crisis uh prevent

1:19:07intervention and group homes for at

1:19:09youth kids um who come into into

1:19:13connection with our um our court systems

1:19:15and folks who we are trying to

1:19:17rehabilitate and try and keep them out

1:19:19of the court system. Um there are um

1:19:22some issues and we've met with uh chief

1:19:24judge um of the juvenile domestic

1:19:27relations court, Judge Quig. Uh and

1:19:29we've had some ongoing dialogue and

1:19:31there'll be more ongoing dialogue, but

1:19:32this is really good background

1:19:34information and hopefully maybe set up a

1:19:36conversation for down the road.

1:19:38>> Okay. All right. Anybody else? Okay. The

1:19:42chair will entertain a motion of recess

1:19:43into a close session pursuant to the

1:19:46exemptions of open meetings allowed by

1:19:48section 2.237. 1937 code of Virginia as

1:19:52amended for following purposes.

1:19:55Publicly held property discussion or

1:19:58consideration of the acquisition of real

1:20:01property for public purpose or of the

1:20:04disposition of publicly held property

1:20:07where discussion that an open meeting

1:20:09would adversely affect the bargaining

1:20:11position for negotiating strategy

1:20:14[clears throat] of the public body.

1:20:15Section pursuant to section 2.237 237

1:20:18webin 3 acquisition district 4

1:20:22disposition district 4 and personal

1:20:24matter matters

1:20:26discussion consideration or interviews

1:20:29of prospective candidates for assignment

1:20:31appointment promotion performance

1:20:33demotion salaries disciplining or

1:20:35resignation of specific public officers

1:20:38appointees or employees of any public

1:20:40body pursuant to section 2.2371 23711A1.

1:20:45Council appointments for boards,

1:20:46commissions, authorities, agencies, and

1:20:48appointees. I have a motion. So move

1:20:50>> second.

1:20:54>> Hi councelor Henley.

1:20:56>> Hi.

1:21:00>> Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi.

1:21:07Hi.

1:21:09>> Okay, we are recessed into close.

1:21:22>> [music]

1:21:22>> Back to order. Do I have a motion to

1:21:24certify? Close.

1:21:26>> So move.

1:21:27>> Second.

1:21:28>> Council member religious abil.

1:21:40Hi, Councilman.

1:21:42>> I

1:21:43may

1:21:47close.

1:21:49>> Thank you.

1:21:50>> Happy hair.