Newport News City Council requests more data before weighing in on capital projects

Daily Press - 11/14/2018

Nov. 14--Members of the Newport News City Council said they wanted to find ways to boost revenue to build needed projects -- as well as measure their return on investment -- during a discussion on proposed capital improvements.

The discussion at Tuesday's work session was the second time this fall the council has worked on the upcoming five-year Capital Improvement Plan.

City Manager Cindy Rohlf said she needed to hear feedback from the City Council so staff could develop the plan and prioritize city needs. The council didn't dig into prioritizing projects Tuesday, but future discussions are planned.

Vice Mayor Tina Vick asked staff to look at a real estate tax-rate increase to support capital projects, highlighting the needs of the city's schools. She added that the city needed to look at different ways to boost revenue, a point that was met with agreement from other members of council.

Councilwoman Saundra Cherry said the city needed to take a look at how it works with small businesses, saying she did not believe the city was small business-friendly.

Councilwoman Patricia Woodbury said she would like to see a report of impact from the city's youth and gang violence prevention programs, and Cherry said she wanted to see more information from the airport. The two said they needed to know more about the results of the city's investment.

The council is working off a baseline CIP that carries over all the projects for fiscal years 2020 through 2023 that are in the current Capital Improvements Plan, which the council passed earlier this year.

Rohlf said the current plan is a good starting point, but there are several prominent projects that are not in the existing CIP and have become central topics in the city -- that includes City Farm Park, community centers, police equipment, additional street lighting, Huntington Middle School and Warwick High School.

Huntington, a school in the Southeast Community that closed in June, has been a dominant topic in CIP discussions.

Newport News Public Schools has requested $50 million to cover razing the existing building, constructing a new one for 600 students and furnishing it with modern technology and furniture. The city previously provided $2.8 million for design work at the Huntington site, and the school division has held community meetings to go over plans developed by architects.

At the work session, Vick named Huntington as a major project that needed consideration, but there was not much discussion on the school.

Members of City Council will be having a joint meeting with the School Board at 5 p.m. on Nov. 20 at the Newport News Public School administration building, 12465 Warwick Blvd.

Josh Reyes, 757-247-4692, joreyes@dailypress.com, @jdauzreyes.

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