Portsmouth City Council unanimously adopts multiple grants, Main Street participation and affirms local emergency

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The Portsmouth City Council on Feb. 11 voted unanimously to accept and appropriate several state grant awards, authorize participation in the Virginia Main Street program and confirm a local emergency tied to a recent snowstorm.

The council approved an ordinance to accept $1,290 in dog and cat sterilization funds from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, and ordinances accepting $30,000 from the Virginia Department of Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services for the Southside Regional Hazardous Material Response Team; $89,840 in community development block grant (CDBG) program income and $24,844.49 in HOME Investment Partnerships program income for community planning and development; $103,401.84 from the Virginia Department of Health through the Virginia Resources Authority for development of a lead service line inventory and sampling plan; and $150,000 from the same VDH/VRA source for a lead service line replacement gap analysis and action plan by the Department of Public Utilities. The council also accepted $599 in additional Family Preservation and Support Program funding and $50,000 in additional Title IV-E foster care funding for the Department of Social Services.

The council voted to authorize Portsmouth’s participation as a mobilizing community in the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development’s Virginia Main Street program. The meeting record shows one registered speaker, Donna Biggs of the Woodbine Farms neighborhood, asked how some of the program or program-income funds were requested and determined to be used; she asked, “Who was the one who asked for this money and how was it determined to be used?”

Separately, the council adopted a resolution confirming a declaration of local emergency due to the threat of a major snowstorm and thanked city staff for storm response. Vice Mayor Moody and Council members recognized crews who cleared roads and supported public safety during the event.

All items taken from the city manager’s report and the items submitted by council were adopted by roll call as recorded in the meeting transcript with unanimous tallies noted as “5–0.” The clerk read each ordinance or resolution aloud; motions to adopt were made and seconded, and the clerk recorded adoption for each item.

Why it matters: The appropriations fund public-health work (lead-service-line work), emergency response capacity, social-services supports and community development projects. Participation in the Virginia Main Street program commits Portsmouth to a state-managed preservation-based commercial-district revitalization process that can shape local downtown economic and historic-preservation activities.

The city manager concluded the city manager’s report at the end of the sequence of items. Residents and one registered speaker asked for additional detail and transparency about how program-income and Main Street funds will be allocated; council did not delay adoption for further study at this meeting.