THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 9, 1996 TAG: 9602080131
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONI WHITT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 234 lines
What's it going to take to imrove Portsmouth's image and to make it a leader in the region.?
How does a city overcome the stigma and the reputation for a high rate of violent crime?
How does it promote racial diversity as a quality that enriches a city, rather than a problem that must be overcome?
How does a city show off a varied and affordable housing stock?
Where does a city begin solving problems caused by poverty - do the schools have a place?
How does a city get the community involved in solving some of these problems?
These are the questions the City Council has been struggling with for the past two years during goal-setting sessions.
The council is striving to answer some of those questions as the city begins a development effort that it hopes will bring more visitors to the city and help brighten Portsmouth's image.
During the first few days of February, the council met in Williamsburg for an intensive three-day work session where the members tackled the issues, set priorities and planned for future development.
The council discussed how citizen involvement can help projects succeed and help build pride in the city.
Police Chief Dennis Mook told the council that the community and police are working together to fight the city's crime problems. During a crime summit last month that included 430 citizens, Portsmouth residents helped the Police Department look at new ways to fight crime.
The council was impressed with the number of people who want to help fight crime and is looking for ways to educate and encourage citizens to get more involved.
``None of it is going to be successful until we get community support,'' Councilman James T. Martin said. ``Let's adopt the goals and outcomes of community policing and bring in some community support.''
Citizens who watch court proceedings, who watch out for their neighbors and who call police when they see suspicious activity could make a significant impact on the city's crime problems, council members agreed. An active and concerned community could convey the message that citizens are serious about fighting crime and that they expect all participants in the criminal justice system to use their tools to fight criminals.
``We can't expect judges to be an extension of the Police Department, but we can let them know what the pulse of the community is,'' Councilman James C. Hawks said.
Council members also urged the police to keep citizens informed after they call 911.
``We need to have two-way communication,'' Councilman P. Ward Robinett said. ``Give citizens feedback, tell them `we've picked up this guy' or your call helped us in this way. We should have a goal to exceed citizens expectations.''
The council has been building on community input, and several council members said they would like even more community involvement in combatting crime and developing projects like the Vision 2005 economic development plan.
Ray Gindroz with Urban Design Associates, the Pittsburgh architectural firm that helped design Vision 2005, talked to the council on Saturday about the city's success, where the council wants to place emphasis and ways to go beyond Vision 2005.
Again, the council pointed to the value of citizen input in making the plan successful.
``It's like a government-citizen partnership,'' Deputy City Manager H. Timothy Little said of the plan and its implementation. ``That's been unusual and important. There is a real excitement in the meetings.''
Hawks said while the input has been beneficial, he would like more citizen input. Council members said they are dedicated to completing projects already designated in Vision 2005, largely because citizens have supported those plans.
The council also began looking at two additional priorities beyond the existing plan. The council next wants to begin improvements in Cradock and in the Fairwood Homes/Tower Mall area.
``We're going to take this process and what's been successful and start applying that to the future,'' Martin said.
In addition, Gindroz suggested that the city begin looking at a regional partnership in tourism that would use waterways stretching from Williamsburg and Smithfield to the Elizabeth River between Norfolk and Portsmouth to emphasize the region's rich history.
The project could start on a smaller scale. Gindroz believes Norfolk and Portsmouth could capitalize on their complementary assets. He suggested that the two cities begin something similar to Boston's Freedom Trail using the ferry system as part of the trail to bring tourists to significant historical attractions. That ``trail'' then could spread to other historically significant areas.
``You could have everybody thinking you're a world-class international attraction,'' Gindroz said. ``The strategy is simply to overlay and tie things together.''
Included here are lists of the City Council's goal areas and lists of actions the council discussed within each of those areas. City Manager Ronald W. Massie and city staff will explore each area and bring more information to the council during a work session Monday.
The package of information from the manager and city staff will include a consolidated and prioritized list based on the council discussions during the retreat as well as a plan for meeting some of the goals in the coming year.
NEIGHBORHOODS
Continued codes enforcement to improve the quality of houses.
Safe neigh-bor-hoods.
Determine the goals and priorities for the city's diverse neigh-bor-hoods.
Encourage competitive beauti-fi-ca-tion.
Ensure proper drainage.
CULTURAL AND RECREATIONAL
More recreational centers.
Create more open space in neighborhoods.
Expand cultural education.
Improve Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.
Improve city's museums.
Create a sports facility for regional and state competitions.
Establish a local history commission.
PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE Reduce teen pregnancy by 50 percent.
Study the effect of state and federal welfare reforms on the city's budget.
Explore the future of Public Housing. Is the current concept a relic of time past?
Study the extent of the city's homeless population.
Coordinate services so that welfare programs do not overlap.
Assess the special needs of the city's elderly.
Assess the availability of day care for children and the elderly.
Provide health care services for those not served.
Increase the public's participation in preventive health care education.
Study the availability of substance abuse treatment, prevention and education.
MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS
Promote the city's strengths and opportunities to its citizens and to tourists by showing off the city's history, diversity, waterfront, museums and unique neighborhoods, including Olde Towne.
EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Consolidate services and agencies.
Look at city staffing. (Are the right people in the right place? Can the city staff be further reduced?)
Review the city's hiring practices. Are a fair number of minorities being hired for middle and upper management?
Is the city staff responsive?
Look for more public/ private partnerships.
Keep citizens better informed.
Explore implementing a Human Relations Commission rather than rely on one person to respond to grievances or equal employment opportunity complaints.
PUBLIC SAFETY
Address the city's drug problems.
Keep schools open longer - evenings and weekends for after-school programs and intramural sports.
Take a holistic approach to crime by attacking social problems, jobs, education.
Enforce curfew laws.
Advertise criminals in the media and on the government channel. Print names, pictures and for what crimes they are convicted.
Explore the underlying issues for juvenile crime.
Have a youth summit on crime.
Have a citywide crime summit at least annually.
Get all agencies involved in public safety.
Encourage and support neighborhood efforts to fight crime.
Expand the Neighborhood Enhancement Action Teams throughout the city.
QUALITY ED
Bring more of TCC's operations downtown.
Expand uses for the Norfolk State/Old Dominion center, including research.
Expand the colleges' presence in Portsmouth.
Expand cultural education.
Create a vocational program.
Provide more preschool programs.
Provide adequate facilities throughout the system.
Encourage more parental involvement in the schools.
More after-school care programs.
Encourage more middle-school intramural programs.
INFRASTRUCTURE AND TRANSPORTATION
Work toward overhauling the federal stormwater management program.
Work toward building Pinner's Point Connector.
Provide better and more efficient public transportation. Also find ways to fund a public transit system.
Expand the City Jail.
Relocate City Hall.
Study and implement the plan for curbs, gutters and drainage throughout the city.
Effectively utilize or sell all city-owned property.
Make office space or an office building available for prospective buyers to inspect.
Promote use of space around the new High Street Landing.
Better utilize Portside.
Maintain the capacity and quality of the city's water system, with an eye toward expanding capacity as needed in the future.
Study or design a plan for street resurfacing and filling in potholes.
Implement land use planning.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND FINANCE
Do some joint development with the Port Authority.
Go to state with creative ways to raise funds.
Get more money from the federal government for the property it owns in the city - payment in lieu of taxes.
Do more technology upgrades to save money.
Increase the city's fund balance to $10 million in two years.
Have the city's bond rating increased to AA in 5 to 10 years.
Explore tax increment financing on projects.
Use lease purchasing as a tool.
Use revenue bonds on public/private partnerships. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by MARK MITCHELL
Moving forward in retreat [color cover photo]
Councilmen Bernard Griffin, left, and Cameron Pitts, and Mayor
Gloria Webb, listen to Police Chief Dennis Mook tell the council
that the community and police are working together to fight the
city's crime problems.
Councilman Jim Hawks listens, then contributes his thoughts in a
session on crime. ``We can't expect judges to be an extension of the
Police Department, but we can let them know what the pulse of the
community is,'' he told his colleagues.
Ken Wheeler, the city's director of Marketing and Communications,
prepares his presentation.
Regina Harrington posts ideas as they are presented by council
members and speakers at the three-day work session in Williamsburg.
The council tackled the issues and set priorities.
KEYWORDS: PORSTMOUTH CITY COUNCIL RETREAT by CNB