Newport News looks to push back some school construction

New capital plan underfunds school board request

Newport News’ draft of a fiveyear spending plan includes a new Huntington Middle School slated for $40 million as early as July 2022.

The proposed capital improvement plan contains more than $500 million in projects over the next five years. The first couple years of the plan also include a new Grissom Library, funds for Denbigh community resources and money for the Choice Neighborhood Initiative and outdoor amenities.

City Manager Cindy Rohlf and Budget Director Lisa Cipriano, with help from Senior Budget Analyst Cory Cloud, presented a draft of the plan at a work session Tuesday. Each plan covers five years, but the council adopts a plan

each year.

Accounting for pandemic challenges

The figures for some of the items on the plan were calculated before the start of the pandemic, Cipriano said. It has forced the city to reconsider some items.

“We wanted to wait to get an idea of what our finances were looking forward, so we are comfortable with this point going forward,” Rohlf said.

The pandemic also pushed back meetings from taking place in-person, which caused a delay in the vote for City Council to adopt the plan for implementation. An initial draft of the plan was presented to council last October. Council members have since reconsidered the construction of the Denbigh community pool, an idea that was circulated before, due to new health and safety guidelines. There are also more projects focused on improving outdoor parks and trails in place of indoor activities.

City plan delays school funding

The city’s plan for a new Huntington Middle School does not line up with the school division’s request.

The division plans to request $50 million for the school in fiscal year 2022, which starts July 1. If adopted, the city’s most recent capital improvement plan would allocate money for construction of the new school to start in 2023.

The city wants to push the funding back because “within this fiscal year period of 2022, it’s most likely not feasible that it could move forward,” Cipriano said.

For the past few years, the plan has categorized Huntington not as a school expense but as a public building expense. In recent months officials have been exploring a “campus concept” for the Huntington site, potentially including a new Pearl Bailey Library, Doris Miller Community Center and other public amenities.

The School Board’s projected cost of $50 million for the school includes about $45 million in construction and the remaining $5 million in furniture and equipment.

The city solicited bids from designers and architects for the campus, and a committee will make a selection within the year. Along with $40 million for Huntington, the city has slated $17 in the future for the campus.

Denbigh Warwick/ Lee Hall area

The plan would allocate funds to the Denbigh-Warwick community center. Discussion of a potential pool at the center took place at the previous capital improvement plan meeting last year.

Another area of development includes a new Virgil I. Grissom library building. The city slated $15.2 million for the construction of the public space as early as next year. It is ultimately up to council members to vote on a location of the new public space, based on recommendation from the city.

Outdoor amenities

The plan includes multiple trail and park improvements in different parts of the city.

The plan would invest $300,000 for early design work at the City Farm portion of Riverview Farm Park.

Rohlf said the city is still working with the Hampton Roads Sanitation District on a deal to give some park property to the utility for expansion. HRSD would build public trails along the waterfront of Riverview Farm Park in return.

Other outdoor trails would be in the area near the former Kmart in Denbigh, along a small canal leading to Huntington Beach and a connection between Christopher Newport and Victory Landing parks.

These three trails would cost more than $8 million across the current and upcoming fiscal years.

Council members will continue to discuss the plan over the next following weeks and vote on a final draft of the plan in the following month.