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Home My WebLink AboutAUGUST 21, 2012 WORKSHOP MINUTESCITY OF VIRGINIA BEACH "COMMUNITY FOR A LIFETIME" CITY COUNCIL MAYOR WILLlAMD. SESSOMS, JR., At-Lnige V/CE MAYOR LOUIS R. JONES, Bnvside - District 4 GLENN R. DAVIS, Rose Hnl[ - District 3 WILLIAM R. DeSTEPH, At-Lage HARRY E. D/EZEL, Kempsville - Dish-ict 2 ROBERT M. DYER, Cen[erville - Dish•ict I BARBARA M. HENLEY, Princess Anne - Dish•ict 7 JOHN D. MOSS, At-Large JOHN E. UHRlN, BencA - District 6 ROSEMARY WILSON, At-Latge JAMES L. WOOD, Lyiuzhnven -District 5 CITY COUNCIL APPOINTEES CITY MANAGER - JAMES K. SPORE CITYATTORNEY- MARKD. STILES CITYASSESSOR - JERALD D. BANAGAN CITYAUDITOR - LYNDONS. REMlAS CITY CLERK - RUTH HODGES FRASER, MMC CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP AGENDA 21 August 2012 CITY MANAGER'S BRIEFINGS -Conference Room - A. J. T.'s GROMMET ISLAND ADVENTURE CAMP Ross Vierra, Chair - The Virginia Gentlemen Foundation CITYHALL BUILDWG 2401 COURTHOUSEDRIVF' VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGlN/A 23456-8005 PHONE: (757) 385-4303 FAX (757) 385-5669 E-MAIL: crycncl@vbgov.com 4:00 PM B. VIRGINIA AQUARIUM and MARINE SCIENCE CENTER CONSERVATION Mark Swingle, Director, Research and Conservation - Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center C. PENDING PLANNING ITEMS Jack Whitney, Director - Planning Department -1- ,?_ s ? ??F (ILR NAT? ? VIRGINIA BEACH CITY COUNCIL Virginia Beach, Virginia August 21, 2012 Mayor William D. Sessoms, Jr., called to order the CITY MANAGER'S BRIEFING, re J.T.'s GROMMET ISLAND ADVENTURE CAMP in the City Council Conference Room at 4: 00 P.M. Council Members Present: Glenn R. Davis, YVilliam R. "Bill " DeSteph, Harry E. Diezel, Barbara M. Henley, Vice Mayor Louis R. Jones, John D. Moss, Mayor William D. Sessoms, Jr., John E. Uhrin, Rosemary Wilson and James L. Wood Council Members Absent: Robert M. Dyer ill August 21, 2012 -z- CITYMANAGER'S BRIEFING J.T's GROMMET ISLAND ADVENTURE CAMP 4: 00 P.M. Mayor Sessoms introduced and welcomed Ross Vierra, Chair - The Virginia Gentlemen Foundation. Mr. Vierra expressed his appreciation to City Council for their past support. He advised The Virginia Gentlemen Foundation funded and bziilt the Grommet Island Park and they are proud of the opportunity itprovides for disabled individuals. The group is undertaking an amazing endeavor with the commitment of the JT Walk Family and the Communiry. Five (S) years ago, the foundation began with a"bunch of guys looking for ways to give back to a City they really love ". At the same time, Josh Thompson was diagnosed with ALS, which is a horrific disease. The Foundation wanted to raise funds to help find a cure for ALS and educate the Community on the effects this disease has on people. Over the past five (S) years, the Virginia Gentlemen Foundation has raised approximately $5.4-Million, with over 10,000 people attending the JT Walk event. The Foundation expanded their reach with not just the fight against ALS but to help those with disabilities; and, in 2010, built and donated back to the City, JT's Grommet Island Park. The Foundation has begun working on their next pYOject, which will build on the success of Grommet Island Park by bringing the theme "inland" and building JT's Camp Grommet Adventure Camp. The Camp will be a 20 - 30 acre adventure camp, focusing on children with disabilities, special illnesses and Wounded Warriors and families of Fallen Heroes. A host of activities will be held at the Camp with a lake for fishing, a cable wake boarding system that will allow those with disabilities to enjoy wake boarding, rope courses accessible at every level of disability, an indoorpool with rehabilitation elements, an outdoor pool and splash site, wellness support center, gymatorium for indoor activities, putt putt, archery range, outdoor classrooms and athletic fields all of which will be wheel-chair accessible. The Community is excited about this project and the Foundation currently has commitments of $2.5-Million and is excited about getting this project underway. Mr. Vierra expressed his appreciation to City Council and the Citizens of Virginia Beach for their continued support of the Foundation. October 7`h is the JT's Walk and Beach Party and Mr. VierYa invited everyone to participate. Mayor Sessoms expressed his appreciation to Mr. Vierra and the entire Virginia Gentlemen Foundution for their generosity and efforts in making the City of Virginia Beach " the Best City in the World ". August 21, 2012 -3- CITY MA NA GER'S BRIEFING VIRGINIA AQUARIUM and MARINE SCIENCE CENTER CONSERVATION 4:10 P.M. The Mayor called to order the CITY MANAGER'S BRIEFING re the VIRGINIA AQUARIUM and MARINE SCIENCE CENTER CONSERVATION. The City Manager introduced Mark Swingle, Director - Research and Conservation. Mr. Swingle expressed his appreciation to the Mayor, Ciry Council and City Manager for their continued support of the Aquariatm: Mr. Swingle advised two words that best describe the aquaNium are "innovative " and "impactful ", as it is the highest attended facility of its type in the Commonwealth: August 21, 2012 -4- CITY MANA GER'S BRIEFING VIRGINIA AQUARIUM a n d MARINE SCIENCE CENTER CONSERVATION (Continued) Their research and conser-vation efforts have helped the natural resources not only in the City but also in the Region and the Commonwealth. The Virginia Aquarium Foundation is the "host" of the programs which are totally funded by grants, donations and fundraising events. The aquarium has had over sixty (60) grants and contract awards over the years, totaling more than $7-Million. Mr. Swingle will discuss four (4) of those programs today: First is the award-winning Marine Animal Stranding Response Program, which is the foundation for the Research and Conservation efforts. The Team has responded to sea turtle and marine mammal strandings in the mid-Atlantic Region for more than twenty (20) years. This is a science-based program founded on the belief that each stranding, whether alive or dead, represents a unique learning opportunity. The Aquarium just had its S, 000`h stranding response. They are curYently averaging approximately three hundred (300) stranding responses per year. August 21, 2012 -5- CITY MANA GER'S BRIEFING VIRGINIA AQUARIUM and MARINE SCIENCE CENTER CONSERVATION (Contiitued) Below is the Aquarium's working definition of "strandings ". Strandings provide opportunities to study animals in ways not possible in the wild, to assess the health of wild populations as marine mammal health is an indicator of the health of the environment.• Live animal strandings get about 90% of the public attention and press; however, only represent about 10% of the total strandings. Live animal strandings provide unique challenges for the Team, both with logistics and animal care/welfare. Stranded animals are always sick, injured or otherwise compromised and often near death: August 21, 2012 -6- CITY MANA GER'S BRIEFING VIRGINIA AQUARIUM and MARINE SCIENCE CENTER CONSERYATION (Continued) Many animals can be successfully rescued and rehabilitated; depending on their condition, rehabilitation can last as little as weeks or as long as several years: The Stranding Team has more than sixty (60) Volunteers who contribute more than 16,000 hours each year to support the stranding response opeYations: August 21, 2012 -7- CITY MANAGER'S BRIEFING VIRGINIA AQUARIUM and MARINE SCIENCE CENTER CONSERVATION (Continued) Rehabilitating stranded animals often pose unique circumstances and opportunities for innovative medical care. For example, the slide below shows a gray seal, which required surgical repair of a rear flipper, the loggerhead sea turtle (top right) was nearly blind when it was recovered and undenvent successful double cataract surgery and the green sea turtle (lower right) nearly died ftom ingestion of marine trash such as balloons, food wrappers and other plastic debris. All three (3) animals were successfully rehabilitated and released: The primary goal of rehabilitation is to release the animal back into its natural habitat. Celebratory events are often shared with the public. The animals that regain their health but aYe unable to sur-vive in the wild, are provided permanent homes in zoos and aquariums: August 21, 2012 -8- CITY MANA GER'S BRIEFING VIRGINIA AQUARIUM and MARINE SCIENCE CENTER CONSERVATION (Continued) Unfortunately, many marine animals become entangled in fishing gear. The Aquarium has specially trained staff and equipment as this is often a dangerous activity. The staff has experience in disentangling whales, dolphins and sea turtles. The slide below is a humpback whale, which was successfully disentangled from gillnet gear off the Coast of Virginia Beach: Below is a leatherback sea turtle heavily wrapped in the buoy line of a whelk pot. Luckily, all of the line was successfully removed after a nearly 90-minute disentanglement operation: August 21, 2012 -9- CITY MANA GER'S BRIEFING VIRGINIA AQUARIUM and MARINE SCIENCE CENTER CONSERVATION (Continued) Most animals that wash up on the beach are not alive. Although their death is a tragedy, the Aquarium looks at it as unique and often rare opportunity for scientific study. Most common identifiable causes of death for large whales involve ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear. Below is a Northern Right Whale (most endangered large whale species in the world) which was pregnant with a nearly full-term fetus when she was struck and killed by a ship: Each animal is thoroughly examined, including a necropsy (animal autopsy). Post-mortem examination can reveal the cause of death, as well as provide other important information such as age, diet, gender, sexual maturity, reproductive history and signs of past encounters with human activities. The young Northern Right Whale calf (on right) shows the telltale signs of an encounter with a vessel's propeller: August 21, 2012 -10- CITYMANAGER'S BRIEFING VIRGINIA AQUARIUM a n d MARINE SCIENCE CENTER CONSERVATION (Contiizued) The stranded Fin Whale below was in Sandbridge. All large animal strandings are rather challenging, both from a personnel and equipment standpoint: While mass strandings are not very common in Virginia, it does pose the most challenging scenarios for the marine mammal stranding network: August 21, 2012 -11- CITY MANA GER'S BRIEFING VIRGINIA AQUARIUM and MARINE SCIENCE CENTER CONSERVATION (Continued) Dolphins are born without teeth; however, the teeth that develop by six months of age are permanent. Because they only have one set of teeth, the nice pointy teeth of a young adult often becomes worn or cracked as they age. Dolphin's teeth show its age by the number of rings, similar to a tree. For example, one (1) ring equals one (1) year of life. Teeth collected from stranded dolphins are used to compare the dolphin 's size and other info: When possible and prior to their release, rehabilitated animals are tagged for monitoring. When funding is available, satellite tags allow post-release tracking of animal movements and behavior. For example, the seal below travelled from a release site in Virginia Beach to an area north of Newfoundland in two months: August 21, 2012 -12- CITY MANA GER'S BRIEFING VIRGINIA AQUARIUM and MARINE SCIENCE CENTER CONSERVATION (Continued) Expertise in stranding response and animal rehabilitation is invaluable when environmental tragedy strikes. The Aquarium staff assisted with sea turtle recovery and rehabilitation efforts in the Gulf Region as a result of the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: August 21, 2012 -13- CITY MANA GER'S BRIEFING VIRGINIA AQUARIUM an d MARINE SCIENCE CENTER CONSERYATION (Continued) Below are the Aquarium's research partners: August 21, 2012 -14- CITY MANA GER'S BRIEFING VIRGINIA AQUARIUM and MARINE SCIENCE CENTER CONSERVATION (Continued) Aerial surveys provide one major component to determine the number of sea turtles; however, this only documents animals at or near the surface: Below is an example of the Aerial Survey Track-lines, including the survey results. All sightings have accurate location data put into GlSprograms for mapping and analyses: Aerial Survey Track-lines -765 -16 0 -755 -150 -745 Lon91utl=1 August 21, 2012 -15- CITY MANA GER'S BRIEFING VIRGINIA AQUARIUM and MARINE SCIENCE CENTER CONSERVATION (Continued) Tagging and satellite trachzng is used to account for animals below the surface and unavailable to aerial observers: August 21, 2012 -16- CITY MANA GER'S BRIEFING VIRGINIA AQUARIUM and MARINE SCIENCE CENTER CONSERVATION (Continued) The City is one of the best places to see Bottlenose Dolphins. We participated in a multi year project with fishermen to inodify pound net gear, in hopes of reducing interactions with bottlenose dolphins and sea turtles: August 21, 2012 -17- CITYMANAGER'S BRIEFING VIRGINIA AQUARIUM and MARINE SCIENCE CENTER CONSERVATION (Continued) The highest density of strandings is located around Cape Henry pound nets: August 21, 2012 -18- CITY MANA GER'S BRIEFING VIRGINIA AQUARIUM a n d MARINE SCIENCE CENTER CONSERVATION (Continued) The Aquarium fished with pound net fishermen for over three years to develop methodology for measuring catch and testing new leader design: August 21, 2012 -19- CITYMANAGER'S BRIEFING VIRGINIA AQUARIUM and MARINE SCIENCE CENTER CONSERVATION (Continued) The experiment was successful and in 2010, the Virginia Marine Research Center began requiring the alternative leader to be used in the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay: BoHlanose dolphina wilh signa of pound ret inleraction in Virginia Beach 1897-2011 to ? B ? E E e 987 1998 199B 2000 2001 zooz 1- euua 1- evw e??i c?.o ..w Twisiedrvivre marFS are cnn?vtent wdh but rrot iMCatrva ol. pounE re? inroracton. August 21, 2012 -zo- CITYMANAGER'S BRIEFING VIRGINIA AQUARIUM and MARINE SCIENCE CENTER CONSERVATION (Continued) Lastly, the Aquarium is involved in a ship survey project: The Aquarium placed AIS and RADAR Antennas on top of the Wyndham Oceanfront Resort with a conference room used as the observer location. The team spent five (S) days per month for one (1) year tracking ships: August 21, 2012 -21- CITYMANAGER'S BRIEFING VIRGINIA AQUARILIM a n d MARINE SCIENCE CENTER CONSERVATION (Continued) AIS data is transmitted from most commercial ships more than sixty-five (65) feet. A GPS is attached to AIS system on ships: Below are the survey areas: August 21, 2012 -22- CITY MANA GER'S BRIEFING VIRGINIA AQUARIUM and MARINE SCIENCE CENTER CONSERVATION (Continued) August 21, 2012 -23- CITY MANA GER'S BRIEFING VIRGINIA AQUARIUM and MARINE SCIENCE CENTER CONSERVATION (Continued) More than fifty (50) whales have been identified off the Coast of Virginia Beach: August 21, 2012 -24- CITY MANA GER'S BRIEFING VIRGINIA AQUARIUM and MARINE SCIENCE CENTER CONSERVATION (Continued) August 21, 2012 -25- CITY MANA GER'S BRIEFING VIRGINIA AQUARIUM and MARINE SCIENCE CENTER CONSERVATION (Continued) Below is the future site of the New Marine Animal Care Center. The property was recently acquired from the Navy and is adjacent to the City's dredge operations facility. The goal is to begin construction in 2015: August 21, 2012 -26- CITY MANA GER'S BRIEFING VIRGINIA AQUARIUM a n d MARINE SCIENCE CENTER CONSERVATION (Continued) Mayor Sessoms expressed his appreciation to Mr. Swingle and the entiYe Aquarium Staff for their work. August 21, 2012 -v- CITYMANAGER'S BRIEFING PLANNING ITEMS PENDING 4: 50 P.M. The Mayor called to order the CITY MANAGER'S BRIEFING re PLANNING ITEMS PENDING. The City ManageY introduced Jack Whitney, Director - Planning. Mr. Whitney detailed the Planning Items to be heard by the Ciry Council on September 11, 2012, and September 18, 2012. September 11, 2012 John Johnson Ocean Properties BPMS Cascades Wilson Driver Widgeon September 18, 2012 John Lynch Silver Hill at Thalia Barbara L. Tynes ARAI Americas Rodney Price August 21, 2012 N ? O N ? N 00 ?, O m ? .?rwwMau?w . . ' C L -? S h ? , , ` ? 3I1V A S- ? ? - oa??no?r?LM N ?E ?d ' I } 8 ¦1 Y l• ' I ? r- N T- O N ? .r- N 00 N N ? O N ? N 00 ? ?7 ? = ? e + u Y L 1? 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'. €?4? i?' ??3 a 3 ?S . ? ? i p1 ? 4 tl{p??,e+4t ?p tl ,? aaiE?? ,go? s g?tt.e@ I ?y ? j3l ?•? ? lSy?1 ?P ??tYSai EF ??iF:i?l I f?` ? p# ! s e N ? N T- O N ? N 00 M ? N r C) N ? ? N 00 v a a 0 r ? E n' Q ? ? _L if d? T N T- O N ? N OC) LO v- -28- ADJOURNMENT Mayor William D. Sessoms, Jr., DECLARED the City Council Meeting ADJOURNED at 5:10 P.M. t,,,& fm A anda Finley-Barn CMC Deputy City Clerk, II 4RH"oddges"Araser, MMC City Clerk August 21, 2012