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City Clerk's Office - City Council - Town Meetings

Indian River Town Meeting
December 1, 2009

• Indian River High School Modernization Funding
• Public Transportation in Chesapeake
• Parking on Vicker Avenue
• East Georgetown Roads
• Lawn Clippings and Trash Bins left on Street

Following are responses to issues, grouped under headings, raised at the Indian River Town Meeting.

Indian River High School Modernization Funding

At the Indian River Town Meeting of December 1, 2009, numerous citizens spoke of the need for modernization and expansion of Indian River High School.

City staff had been meeting with School staff on this need since early 2009. Based on estimated shared resources available in the School Lock Box (Reserve for Future Capital), it was agreed that there were sufficient funds to move ahead on a modernization and expansion of Indian River High School which would be similar in scope to the project for Western Branch High School currently under way.

In a presentation to the School Board on November 5, 2009, School staff confirmed this understanding. The following resources were identified as available for a project to modernize and expand Indian River High School to a 1,750 capacity at a cost of $41,905,500:

• Architect and Engineering Costs of $3.66M to be funded from cash proffers and cash from the School Lock Box.
• Construction Costs of $38.2 M to be funded from four debt issuances with debt payments made from the School Lock Box including $1 million per year funds for ten years from the South Norfolk TIF.

Given the citizen interest in this project, the City Council liaisons for Chesapeake School Board scheduled a meeting with the School Board Chair and Vice-Chair. The School Board members and staff raised concerns regarding other capital needs which might arise and which could not be funded if the Indian River project was pursued. It was agreed that critical needs which might arise would be reviewed in the context of total School resources.

In order to move the Indian River project forward on the schedule to open in 2013-14, the City representatives agreed to expedite appropriation requests from the Schools for use of proffer and School Lock Box resources. In addition, it was clarified that, based on City Attorney review of State Code, School proffers could be used for A&E costs of this project because the project included a component to address student capacity.

The School Board unanimously included the Indian River High School project in the Schools capital program approved on December 14, 2009. We are committed to working with Schools to keep this important project moving ahead.

Public Transportation in Chesapeake

Public transportation service in Chesapeake is provided by Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) and funded by a combination of federal, state, and local contributions, as well as user fees. There is no dedicated revenue source for public transportation funding in Hampton Roads, so requests for transportation service compete with numerous other service requests.

The current City operating budget (July 1, 2009 thru June 30, 2010) does not include funding to expand transit service. It does, however, provide sufficient funds to maintain current service levels. This is significant because transit costs have increased over the last several years while many City budgets have been reduced.

The City's Comprehensive Land Use Plan, adopted in March of 2005, recognizes the need for enhanced public transportation. City staff will continue to work with HRT to monitor transit routes, levels of use, and times of service. Transit needs and service levels will be re-evaluated for possible expansion of service as funding allows in the future.

With respect to the economic stimulus package, or American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), all agencies receiving funds are required to adhere to detailed reporting requirements regarding use of those funds. Information on the City's ARRA funded projects can be found at cityofchesapeake.net. Similarly, information on HRT's ARRA funded projects can be accessed at HRTransit.org.

Parking on Vicker Avenue

Traffic Engineering staff performed a field inspection of Vicker Avenue and did observe a single vehicle parking along the roadway. The West Munden Civic League will be contacted to discuss on-street parking needs along Vicker Avenue to gauge whether there is community support for a parking restriction. The City will work to balance the need for some on-street parking with maintaining adequate travel lanes for motorists and emergency vehicles.

East Georgetown Roads

Public Works reports that all streets in the East Georgetown area are ranked over 70, which is above the resurfacing standard currently used by our pavement management system. As a result, the streets in this area are not included on the resurfacing schedule for fiscal year 2009-10, which ends June 30, 2010. The majority of the streets on this year's schedule are ranked in the 60's, with some ranked in the 50's. The Operations Division will continue to monitor the road conditions for needed maintenance.

Lawn Clippings and Trash Bins left on Street

This situation is being monitored for violations.