DATE: Thursday, June 19, 1997               TAG: 9706190408

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY BATTINTO BATTS JR., STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  156 lines

ONE MAN'S LASTING LEGACY BOB HOUSE LEFT HIS MARK ON FOUR HAMPTON ROADS CITIES, SERVING EACH AS ITS CITY MANAGER.

The bands that play on the riverfront, the downtown shops and eateries, the suburban growth, talk of regionalism - they've all come to be part of life in Hampton Roads. And they were the dreams of a leader who died in a freak plane crash 15 years ago.

G. Robert House Jr. envisioned the redevelopment of downtown Norfolk similar to that which is now taking place, with the construction of an upscale mall and other projects designed to attract tourists.

He foresaw the growth in Chesapeake, Suffolk and Virginia Beach, helping to secure the water contracts needed to make it possible.

He foretold a day when South Hampton Roads cities would unite to form one large municipality.

And he died trying to lay the groundwork for the waterfront development now being discussed in Portsmouth.

On May 28, 1982, a twin-engine plane carrying House and four Portsmouth city employees crashed into an unoccupied home in Columbia, Md. All aboard were killed.

The loss of so many city executives at once cast a pall over Portsmouth and the rest of Hampton Roads. But House's work and legacy set the stage for the community as we know it today.

``I believe that this metropolitan area will emerge and is emerging now as one of the most significant in Virginia and perhaps one of most significant in the Mid-Atlantic area,'' said Suffolk City Manager Myles Standish, a former assistant to House. ``A great deal of what Bob House did 20 years ago is paying great dividends today.''

House was considered the dean of Hampton Roads city executives because he'd been city manager in four local cities - an unprecedented and still unmatched feat.

During that run, House built a reputation as a thorough and hard-driving visionary who loved to pass his experience and theories about public administration to assistants.

That's because House saw them as future leaders, the people who would one day make decisions about the destiny of Hampton Roads.

Portsmouth City Manager Ronald W. Massie, who served three years under House in Norfolk, often thinks of his mentor when making decisions.

``I talk very frequently about what Bob would have done,'' Massie said. ``I'm sure when he got here he looked at the city's strengths and how to maximize them. That's what I did, too.''

House worked in government in Durham and Forsyth County, N.C., and in Emporia and Bedford - then began his run through Hampton Roads in 1968, when he took the city manager's job in Chesapeake.

He developed a reputation as the region's ``water warrior,'' recognizing the commodity's importance. He is credited with adding about 40 million gallons to the region's daily drinking water supply.

House laid the foundation for a new water system for Chesapeake. And when he moved to the city manager's job in Norfolk, which supplied Chesapeake with water, House signed contracts acknowledging Chesapeake's right to develop its water supply.

Also while in Norfolk, House wrote the contract that committed Virginia Beach to pay for improvements to Norfolk's water system for 20 years. In exchange, Virginia Beach was promised a continued water supply to allow for growth.

When House moved from Norfolk to Suffolk, he laid plans for an expanded Suffolk water system, which, during the drought of 1980, forced Norfolk to acknowledge its dependence on other localities.

And while in Portsmouth, House helped heal a festering feud with Suffolk over water system contracts.

House also was known as a smooth operator, always armed with plenty of background information and a careful assessment of every issue he approached.

``He was a quiet, behind-the-scenes guy,'' said Bob Creecy, Portsmouth's director of management services. ``He liked to present researched documents to the (City) Council so they could make a decision. He let the council take the limelight. He was comfortable with that.''

House's knowledge of other cities' needs gave him the upper hand when negotiating contracts with them, other city officials recalled.

``The respect I had for Bob House is similar to the respect between two football players on opposing teams,'' said George Hanbury, who was Virginia Beach's city manager during House's tenure in Portsmouth. ``That can only be appreciated by those in that arena. You admire them for strategy and integrity, even though there is a competitive nature there as well.''

Hanbury succeeded House in Portsmouth, serving as city manager there until 1990, before taking the same position in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Although House competed hard for the cities he represented, as early as 1976 he projected that the area would one day unite as a region, saying a single, large municipal government is inevitable for South Hampton Roads.

``It has to happen,'' House said in a newspaper article. ``I know that frightens a lot of people, but eventually it will be a reality.''

Such a government remains far from a reality here, but local cities are moving slowly and grudgingly toward better cooperation.

Although House was widely revered as a city manager, he didn't hog the spotlight. He believed in a city administration based on a delegation of duties and frequently passed on his knowledge and experience to staffers.

``Bob was a person who you went to school with every day,'' Massie said. ``Everybody went through the day handling their responsibilities, and then we would meet in his office at 5:30 and school was in session. We would stay there until 7:30 or until he ran us out.''

House also encouraged interaction among city departments to develop a team approach to problem solving - a process now known at total quality management, something Massie has used in Portsmouth.

``He believed big groups make better decisions,'' Massie said. ``Bob believed that government was there to meet all needs and you need a mix that satisfies all needs. At different points you try to stress one or another, but it is all about balance.''

Portsmouth, with its meager economy and heavy tax burden, was expected to be House's greatest challenge. But House saw a wealth of untapped potential on the city's waterfront.

He proposed the conglomeration of eateries, booths, boat docks and an on-the-water bandstand, now known as Portside and quite a lot more than a bandstand. He saw Annapolis, a city on the Chesapeake Bay that also has a rich maritime history, as a model for Portsmouth.

House and his assistants were on their way to Annapolis to study ideas for a municipal boat harbor when their plane crashed.

Also killed were Chesley H. ``Chet'' McGinnis, an assistant city manager; Ralph D. Hester, the city's chief engineer; and his assistant, Thomas D. Gooden. The plane was piloted by Joseph M. Weth Jr., a Portsmouth police officer.

Investigators determined that weather and the weight of five passengers were factors in the crash.

The deaths rocked the city, which had begun to believe in itself under House.

``I don't ever remember crying as much as we did during that spring and summer,'' City Clerk Sheila Powell Pittman recalled. ``After that, it was like you were totally drained. How could so much happen to a city in so little time?''

But it was House's ability to sell others on his vision that helped Portsmouth recover from the loss of so many top executives at once. The City Council hired Hanbury, another visionary city manager, six weeks after House's death.

While Hanbury had his ideas, he moved to see that House's visions came to fruition. Hanbury established a city economic development department and involved the Chamber of Commerce in organizing and financing a major promotion campaign for Portsmouth, both House ideas.

``I give (House) a lot of credit for getting the council to buy into his vision and getting us to believe in ourselves and believing that Portsmouth could be a destination,'' Pittman said. ``He got us feeling good about ourselves and what our assets were.''

Seeing some of House's dreams come true is rewarding to longtime city employees such as Pittman and Creecy.

``He was very committed to doing some of the things that are being brought into fruition now,'' Creecy said. ``He set us on the path that we would later follow.'' ILLUSTRATION: STAFF/File Photo

[Bob House]

Myles Standish

Ronald W. Massie

George hanbury KEYWORDS: PROFILE

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