Category Archives: Accountable Government

Open Letter to City Council: Defer Item 19-276

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Mr. Mayor and Honorable Members of Council:

I write to oppose approval of item 19-276 on the City Council Agenda for July 23, 2019. Until 6 PM yesterday evening, only a relative handful of Portsmouth citizens had any idea this was coming. Unlike the previous master plan for development of the old Fairwood Homes/Academy Park property, which was extensively discussed with our residents, this proposal emerged from closed discussions and is being thrust on the populace as a “done deal”. Setting aside for the moment any casino considerations, the entertainment district could negatively impact nearby neighborhoods — including Cavalier Manor, Highland Biltmore, and Newport — and the businesses in and on the periphery of Victory Crossing. Additionally, it will have potential adverse impact on the Portsmouth Campus of Tidewater Community College. I do not believe that such a project, sited on what is one of our largest, if not the largest, tracts of developable land should proceed at breakneck speed. As I have noted at other times and places, when someone wants to achieve something in the worst way, they generally do. Hometown “poster children” for the validity of that concept include the Atlantic Union Bank Pavilion and the Elizabeth River Crossings Project. Continue reading →

What Goes Around, Comes Around, CM Moody

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Almost ten years have passed since Portsmouth City Council called for Mayor James W. Holley III to withdraw from office. Revelations by his administrative assistant, a city employee, that he required her to perform personal services (among them, calling stores to locate apparel items he wished to purchase, having a magazine subscription cancelled, and making hair and nail appointments for him) in addition to her official duties, brought abundant negative media attention to our city. In a rare act of unanimity, six council members, led by then Vice Mayor William E. Moody, Jr., drafted a statement asking Mayor Holley to step down. According to the Virginian-Pilot account, the statement read, in part, “‘We have much left to accomplish and we must have the focus, the consistency and stability with which to move forward as a unified community. Sadly, it is no longer possible under the mayor’s leadership for reasons which have become clear to the entire community.'” [Emphasis is ours.] (See the Virginian-Pilot, August 12, 2009.) Continue reading →

Council Watch: January 7-8, 2019 Work Sessions

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Scheduled presentations for the January 7 public work session (as of January 2):

  1. Financial Overview
  2. Regional Broadband Network
  3. Wheelabrator

Scheduled presentations for the January 8 public work session (as of January 3):

  1. Medicaid Expansion
  2. City Council Retreat
  3. Neighborhood Incentive Fund
  4. City Manager’s Report Review / Reports Back
  5. City Council Liaison Reports

Notes:

  1. Work session agendas are subject to change with little or no notice.
  2. Work session proceedings typically air on PCTV and the Portsmouth VA YouTube Channel within 24 hours of the meetings.

 

Publisher’s Notebook: Lumps of Coal for Your Stocking

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The late, great Henry Howell used to say, “There’s more going around in the dark than Santa Claus.” As the hours of daylight dwindle for the next week or so, those working in the dark have more time to obscure what it is that they are doing. Additionally, with the elections in our rear-view mirrors and winter holiday plans in the forefront of many people’s minds, the final city council meeting of the calendar year tends to receive far less public attention than most others. Consequently, if our officials intend to avoid citizen oversight, this is an ideal time for them to act. PCW feels obliged, therefore, to shine its high beams on three agenda items slated to come before council this Tuesday evening: 18-466 – Appropriation of $1,820,000 to Acquire Economically Significant Property; 18-462 – Precinct Number 24 Location Change; and 18-465 – Re-appropriation of FY2019 CIP Funds for the Circle of Sail Project. We believe that each of these matters merit more public attention before adoption than they are likely to receive in the current season. Continue reading →

Special Council Meeting, January 3, 2018

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Unless you subscribe to the City Clerk’s eMail alert list or have friends “on the inside” of city hall, you would not know that a special, called meeting of Portsmouth City Council is coming up tomorrow at noon. The calendar of meetings for 2018 that council adopted during its final public session of 2017 does not include, nor even hint at, it. Still, a call letter went abroad about 1:30 PM on Friday, December 29, 2017, bearing news of this previously unscheduled gathering. If you were in the midst of your holiday activities, you might well have missed it. Continue reading →

Publisher’s Notebook: Cancelling the Call for Recycling Boycott

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Following a conversation today with Deputy City Manager Vincent Jones, I am withdrawing my call for a recycling boycott in Portsmouth. DCM Jones made me aware of relevant information not previously available to the public, which included both a timeline and a description of the steps the city administration took on receiving notice in June of the former recycling contractor’s intent not to renew. He assured me that the city retains its commitment to recycling and is moving forward to get the program back in full swing. I urged him to share with citizenry during Tuesday night’s regular city council meeting the detailed explanation he provided me. From what I learned, I am now convinced that the administration acted in the best interests of the citizenry, which means a boycott would be counterproductive.

Publisher’s Notebook: Why Recycling Is in Turmoil

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Two months ago, as I sat outside the meeting room in which the board of the Southeast Public Service Authority (SPSA) was conferring in closed session, I overhead bits and pieces of a conversation among representatives of various waste hauling and recycling companies. Today’s edition of the Virginian-Pilot contains not only the essence of that hallway discussion but additional context for it. Portsmouth residents should pay it special heed for the article indirectly explains why our former recycling contractor was unable to offer the same terms for handling our materials going forward as in the contract that recently expired. If you only read one item from the V-P today, I strongly recommend that it be this one.

Continue reading →

Publisher’s Notebook: Call for Two-Week Recycling Boycott

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With apologies for the eleventh-hour call to action, I am asking my fellow municipal recycling customers in the city of Portsmouth to join in a boycott of the non-recycling program over the next two weeks. As I was surprised to learn on November 13, our city administration allowed its recycling contract to expire sometime in the last few weeks and redirected our recyclable material to the Wheelabrator Portsmouth Waste-to-Energy facility, where the combustible material has been burned and the remainder, diverted to the SPSA landfill in Suffolk. (See the Virginian-Pilot investigative report on this matter.) Not only did these revelations come as news to recycling customers but to members of city council, as well. Continue reading →

Resource List for November 7, 2017, Local Elections

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During this election cycle, PortsmouthCityWatch.org has put significant resources into capturing live, public appearances by candidates for Portsmouth Constitutional Offices. We are particularly appreciative of the Portsmouth Taxpayer Alliance, People for Portsmouth PAC, the Portsmouth Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, and Port Norfolk Civic League for allowing us to be their media partner for candidate events they hosted. Additionally, we invited all to all ballot candidates to sit for interviews with us and/or to provide written statements for publication on PortsmouthCityWatch.org. Sadly, only two candidates chose to follow through on those invitations. Listed below, then, are links to the videos collected from those efforts. Continue reading →

Open Letter to City Council re: Confederate Monument Resolution 17-449

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Mr. Mayor and Honorable Members of City Council:

I write to express my opposition to the resolution of intent to relocate the Portsmouth Confederate Monument. Although I agree in principle with the objective, I believe that the diversity of community opinion on the matter and the intensity of feeling the discussion engenders on all sides of the issue argues for more dialogue among our citizenry as well as an advisory referendum on whether or not to relocate it. Continue reading →