Residents urge council to form homelessness task force, repair neighborhood courts and help grandmother seeking child-welfare assistance

Three residents used the Sept. 10 public-comment period at the Hampton City Council meeting to make separate appeals for action on homelessness, neighborhood recreation facilities and child-welfare assistance.

Latoya Fleming, who identified herself as a Hampton resident, asked the council to form a homelessness task force and to review a pilot transitional-housing proposal she had emailed to council staff. Fleming said the task force should unite elected leaders, nonprofits, churches and residents to launch a pilot program for transitional housing and support services and to identify areas where the city can reduce strain on emergency services while helping people move toward stability. “Let’s form the task force and commit to reviewing this pilot proposal as a step toward lasting change,” Fleming said. She told council that she had emailed the detailed proposal earlier in the day and asked members to review it.

Whitley Richards asked the council and staff to help repair neighborhood recreation courts in Northampton, saying the tennis courts lack nets and several basketball courts are missing rims and full backboards. Richards described taking on the effort herself for two to three years and said children and adults in her neighborhood would use repaired facilities for activities including pickleball.

Pamela Ward described difficulties obtaining help from a child protective-services worker after reporting an abuse case and said she was paying about $500 a week to keep two grandchildren in a hotel while searching for assistance. Ward said she had repeatedly called agencies and had not received the support she expected. During public comment, Mayor Gray and staff noted that Assistant City Manager Quasi Obang — who works with the human services department — was present and could help connect Ward to the appropriate human-services contacts.

Deputy City Manager Bridal De Profio said staff had recorded Richards’s request for courts repairs and would share it with the parks and recreation director; the mayor confirmed staff would follow up on Fleming’s emailed proposal. For Ward, the mayor pointed to Assistant City Manager Quasi Obang in the chamber and said Obang could help get her connected to the right people.

None of the three public-comment items produced a formal council motion during the meeting; staff indicated they would pursue follow-up outside the public comment period.

Meeting context: the council’s public-comment rules were read at the start of the hearing; each speaker was allotted three minutes. The three speakers were part of a larger public-comment segment that concluded before appointments and other agenda business.