Ed. — The following are responses to questions posed by The Independent News to the unopposed candidate in the election for the District 4 seat on the Virginia Beach City Council. Answers to our questions in this series generally are not edited, aside from obvious punctuation issues, spacing and formatting, or for clarity. The print edition containing our full voter guide is now on stands through this coming weekend.
- News coverage about races in Virginia Beach is at this link.
- News coverage about voting system changes is at this link.
- Please reach John Doucette, the editor, with any questions or concerns via email.
- Find the main page for the complete 2022 voter guide at this link.
AMELIA ROSS-HAMMOND
- Residence: Wesleyan Chase
- Age: 72
- Occupation: Retired, Distinguished Professor Emerita, Norfolk State University
- Military Service/Education: PH.D. in Education Leadership, Curriculum, and Instructions and Ethnomusicology, University of Denver
- Endorsement: Virginia Beach Education Association-PACE, Virginia Beach Hospitality PAC and Virginia Beach Democratic Committee
- Website: amelia4vb.com
- Phone: (757) 270-4658
- Email: amelia@amelia4vb.com
- Social Media: @rosshammondforvirginiabeach on Facebook
What are your specific qualifications for this office? I am a consensus builder, and community outreach advocate which has served me well in many capacities. Having formerly served on Council, for the Kempsville District, I bring institutional knowledge and lived experiences working in a civil minded method to get things accomplished across the city. My qualifications include: a University of Virginia, Sorenson Political Leadership and Candidate Training Fellow, and several Executive Leadership Institutes, and Cultural Diversity certifications. Accomplishments during my tenure as councilwoman included: securing two million dollars for the Historic Kempsville-CAC initiative; a per capita raise for the Virginia Beach Arts and Humanities Commission to increase cultural programming grants, an important economic revenue stream and arts benefits for our residents and tourists; worked with business leaders and schools administrators to secure the establishment of the Kempsville High School Business Entrepreneurship Academy; provided oversight for the New Kempsville Recreation Center; the CIP for the Witchduck/Kempsville road; advocated and achieved the full day Kindergarten program, the Homeless Apartment complex off Diamond Springs Rd and the Human Resources Center, off Witchduck. Rd. Other accomplishments include, working with the Office of Economic Development to initiate the annual SWAM workshop, and initiating the 1st Virginia African American Cultural Center in Virginia Beach.
What is the most important issue facing the city and how will you address it in office? The most critical issues facing the city are Transportation, Affordable Housing and Flooding /Stormwater mitigation. Public transportation is crucial and as an HRT commissioner for the city, I am monitoring two micro-mobility pilot programs, efficient bus tracking and improving transit stop amenities for better connectivity. Improving access to affordable housing is crucial for workforce retention and I will advocate for more mixed-use and tax credits innovation projects. I will also address Stormwater Management by monitoring the progress of the approved Bond referendum project and encouraging citizens input and participation in mitigating these dire effects on our terrain.
What are your three main policy priorities?
- Fully fund our public schools, pay our teachers fairly and replace our aging school buildings. The shortage of teachers impacts instructions and learning. School consultants survey show that ten schools need to be rebuilt, and /or refurbished like Bayside and Princess Anne are over their 50 years shelf life, and this could result in serious health and working environmental issues and Increase funding for SROs officers and mental health counselors.
- Train our workforce for high-paying jobs in advanced manufacturing, STEM, and green energy. With the ever-changing 21st century jobs, economy such as the Off-Shore wind project, and drones’ technology, we can prepare and retain our workforce graduates and military veterans.
- Revitalize regional transportation and make public transit more rider-centered and accessible. We need a multi-modal transportation system with more micro and electric shuttle busses, more real-time bus tracking and bus shelters.
Should city services such as water and sewer be extended south of Indian River Road to promote development of rural communities? Yes, city services such as water and sewer should be extended south of Indian River Rd to promote development of rural communities and improve their qualities of life — just for small businesses and families. These taxpayers need access to city amenities.
Do you support the agricultural reserve program, or ARP? Should its dedicated funding be maintained at a consistent level? Yes, I support the Agricultural Reserve program (ARP) and its dedicated funding be maintained at a consistent level. Overall, this program has approximately ten and a half thousand acres of preserved land which includes commodity and specialty crops, Pasture/Hay, and Timber at very low cost for city services. The preservation and protection of these farmlands is beneficial for our next generation of farmer. This is the third largest economic revenue generating stream for the city.
.Do you believe nonfarming businesses should be allowed on agriculturally zoned land in the rural area of the city? I am not a strong proponent for having large nonfarming businesses intertwined with allowance on agriculturally zoned land because they could erode the pristine quality of the rural part of the city and overtime will increase the amount of public services cost to the city. Currently, the Agribusiness generates over $130 million in revenue to the city with a low base of city services requirements, but this could drastically increase city services based on the type of nonfarming businesses established in this part of our agricultural farmlands.
Do you support the city’s successful appeal of Holloway v. Virginia Beach voting rights case, which may mean the 10-district system under which you are running may change? There were many moving parts in this case and though the city has successfully appealed the ruling, there is still the situation that we cannot return to the former at-large voting system. The city after this election, with the public’s input must come up with a mutually beneficial voting system for its citizens and public servants.
It is likely the new City Council will need to reconsider our local voting system following the Holloway v. Virginia Beach reversal in the appeals court. How should the council do this while engaging citizens? As I mentioned earlier, the council needs to field input from its citizens because we have grown into a very diverse population. At this point we should assess the outcome of the 10-1district system following November’s election. Then, we should hold town meetings with an experienced consultant to help navigate this process between council and the public in a civil manner.
How should the city address concern about sea level rise and recurrent flooding aside from projects funded via last year’s referendum? Sea level rise and recurrent flooding is part of our city’s ongoing issue, but we can alleviate the impact by increasing storm drain cleaning, provide more large-scale infrastructural designs and drainage systems for our roadways, a better management of our watershed areas, protecting marshes, wetlands, and dunes, which helps to reduce flooding. As former president of the Virginia Beach Beautification Commission, we were awarded the Tree City USA award last year as advocates for planting and maintaining existing trees, a notable example of city’s response with planting of hundreds of new trees at Ashville Park to alleviate recurring flooding
Has the city done enough to help the restaurant and hospitality industry recover from shutdowns related to the pandemic? The entire country incurred terrible setback, due to the pandemic, but overall, the city’s restaurant and hospitality industry weathered the situation well. Despite reduced staff, they became highly creative in continuing to keep their businesses afloat. With the support of PPP loans, supplemental funds from the city and maintaining their TIF funds intact, both entities should be proud of how all stakeholders collaborated to ensure amicable compromises were achieved. Also,Virginia Beach was blessed to keep its oceanfront operational throughout the pandemic.
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