City Council Special Session

22 Lincoln Street Hampton, VA 23669 www.hampton.gov City of Hampton Council Approved Minutes - Final City Council Special Session Mayor Donnie R. Tuck Vice Mayor Jimmy Gray Councilmember Chris L. Bowman Councilmember Steven L. Brown Councilmember Hope L. Harper Councilmember Billy Hobbs Councilmember Martha Mugler STAFF: Mary Bunting, City Manager Cynthia Hudson, Interim City Attorney Katherine K. Glass, MMC, Clerk of Council 10:00 AM Darling Stadium, 4067 Victoria Boulevard, Hampton, VA Wednesday, August 14, 2024 CALL TO ORDER Mayor Tuck called the meeting to order at 10 a.m. Councilmember Chris L. Bowman, Councilmember Steven L. Brown, Vice Mayor Jimmy Gray, Councilmember Hope L. Harper, Councilmember Billy Hobbs, Councilmember Martha Mugler, and Mayor Donnie R. Tuck Present 7 - DONNIE R. TUCK PRESIDED READING OF THE CALL FOR THE SPECIAL MEETING The Clerk read the call for the special meeting. This meeting has been called to give the Hampton City Council and the Hampton School Board the opportunity to tour Darling Stadium and see the recent improvements which have been made. Roll Call - Hampton City Council Katherine Glass, Clerk of the City Council, called roll and all members of the City Council were present. Roll Call - Hampton School Board Joy Charbonneau, Clerk of the School Board, called roll with all members of the School Board present except for Dr. Richard Mason, Jason Samuels, and Stephanie Jackson Afonja. Page 1City of Hampton

August 14, 2024City Council Special Session Council Approved Minutes - Final AGENDA 1. 24-0364 Tour of Darling Stadium Improvements HandoutAttachments: Dave McCauley, Director of Parks, Recreation and Leisure Services began by thanking Ron Kagawa and Greg Schmitt of Kimley-Horn who designed the project, Andrew Barksdale of Shaw Turf and Ben Laverdure of GTR Turf, along with Terrence Jones, the Project Manager from Public Works. He also thanked Brian Lewis, Water Resources Engineer; Ron Sterling, Senior Civil Engineer/Project Manager; McCord Newsome, Engineer; Alison Eubank, Parks Planner; and C. J. Gajan, Parks Administrator; and James Sykes, Master Technician. Mr. McCauley spoke about how the project was designed and permitted, with construction beginning on Valentine’s Day and the transformation completed in six months. He stressed the collaboration between the contracts, City of Hampton departments, and Hampton City Schools (HCS). He explained the funding behind the project and, by transitioning to synthetic turf, field use can be increased by multiple spots and with reduced maintenance required. The field is ready to support football, soccer, lacrosse, and field hockey and meets the standards set by the National Federation of State High School Associations. He continued that, since the team kept the project on schedule, there was no disruption to HCS athletic schedules. Mr. McCauley shared that the parking lots will be repaved and ready for the first football game on August 29th. Mr. McCauley thanked Richard Fortune of Hampton City Schools who was a valuable resource in keeping the needs of student-athletes in mind during this process. Mr. McCauley also thanked the City Manager, Mary Bunting, and Deputy City Manager, Brian DeProfio for their unwavering support and guidance and also thanked the Hampton City Council. Following Mr. McCauley, the following individuals also gave brief remarks: Terrance Jones (Project Manager from Public Works), Ron Kagawa (Kimley-Horne), and Ben Laverdure (GTR Turf). The speakers shared information on the importance of budgeting for proper maintenance of the turf. They also spoke on its safety features and how it has a state-of-the-art feature to handle rain and it was made of recycled material and is recyclable. The final speaker was Allison Eubank (Parks Planner) who spoke about additional Page 2City of Hampton

August 14, 2024City Council Special Session Council Approved Minutes - Final improvements to the stadium above and beyond the initial scope of work which included an assessment of the stands and some repairs which would be done before the first football game. There is also a future plan to upgrade the lighting to LED which will use 40% less power. Ms. Eubank shared that the entire stadium has been power-washed to include the brick and stone and the stands. There will also be future work on the ticket booths and press box. The locker rooms need more improvements and a new roof is needed to protect them. At the current time, staff is working on best practices and rules needed and those are being vetted now. When final, they will be posted for all to see. Councilman Steve Brown shared his excitement that now Hampton’s student-athletes have the same advantage as others. He questioned how we would allow other uses yet still protect it. City Manager Bunting talked about traditions such as the Battle of the Bands and that they will explore the technology that will allow expanded use by other events. This is possible if a product called OmniDeck is purchased to cover the turf to allow other uses. HCS Athletic Director Richard Fortune indicated that so far football and field hockey are scheduled and junior varsity/middle school track is scheduled almost every day in the fall with soccer scheduled to begin in spring. There is also the potential to host regional and state events. There was some discussion of the surface being safer in terms of temperature because loblolly pine was used which has less impact on the environment and makes a safer turf as watering it isn’t necessary. School Board member Ann Cherry asked about how much funding would be required for maintenance and was told it will be based upon the use but that it should be less than was required in the past. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 10:41 a.m. and the attendees were allowed to view the improvements close up. Page 3City of Hampton

August 14, 2024City Council Special Session Council Approved Minutes - Final ______________________ Donnie R. Tuck Mayor ______________________ Katherine K. Glass, MMC Clerk of Council Date approved by Council _____________________ Page 4City of Hampton