Mayor Bobby Dyer described it as “a major snafu” at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. “It’s our duty that when we have any event at the Oceanfront that there’s a positive light on it. This was not a positive light.”

He recommended that in order to rebuild trust, the festival organizers should commit to a long-term partnership, possibly for three-to-five years, and that the city must take a more proactive role.

“The city has been left out of the decision loop in terms of what goes on in operations,” said Dyer, who wants a contract with the festival team outlining the city’s expectations.

Festival organizers notified the city Friday afternoon, just hours after tickets went on sale, that the Oct. 12-13 event was canceled and they intend to reschedule it in April. Soon after the city was notified Friday, Pharrell Williams posted on social media that the festival wasn’t ready yet and ticket-buyers would be refunded.

While organizers are eyeing a move back to April, City Manager Patrick Duhaney said the decision to change the festival date hasn’t been solidified by the City Council.

Something in the Water was first held at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront in 2019. Williams was originally asked to organize an event in late April to provide structured entertainment for college students who had been coming to the resort area each spring.

After inclement weather forced Williams to cancel the festival’s third day in 2023, he decided to move it to October this year in hopes of better conditions.

Duhaney noted money the city set aside for sponsorship — as much as $2 million — has not been spent. He read a letter from the festival team which indicated that issues with the lineup of performers prompted Williams to drop the October date.

“After spending considerable time with members of the music community, we have collectively decided that a festival in April will be far more substantial and impactful for the city of Virginia Beach and allow some of the participants who had committed and endured conflicts beyond Pharrell’s control to participate in April,” the festival organizers wrote.

The festival team promised to have “a concrete plan set within this calendar year.”

Councilmembers Amelia Ross-Hammond and Jennifer Rouse, liaisons to the festival, said Friday’s announcement came as a surprise to both of them.

“We felt blindsided,” said Ross-Hammond.

The two of them held several meetings with city officials and the festival organizers over the weekend.

“We received a lot of reactions, and questions and frustrations and concerns,” said Rouse. “We made sure to share that with the Something in the Water team as well as the city.”

Rouse is pushing the festival organizers to set the April date and lineup sooner than later, she said.

“They want to make an intentional effort to rebuild credibility and trust,” said Rouse.

Councilman Barbara Henley said the postponement is more than just a disappointment to business owners.

“It’s cost a lot of people some serious money,” she said, citing that some hotels are not going to have the income they were counting on.

“We take this as a learning experience,” Henley said. “We have to set benchmarks.”

Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com

“They can be an extra set of eyes and ears for us at the parks,” said Leigh Henniker, city superintendent of ground services. “It can help us get the information quicker and resolve any issues.”

Some parks are being vandalized more than others including two skateboard parks: Woodstock and Williams Farm, according to the city.

“We’re having more issues with graffiti or where people are breaking things,” Henniker said.

Some of the problems include spray paint on the skateboard ramps, picnic tables taken apart and toilet paper jammed into toilets.

“No one wants to go into a bathroom and see someone has trashed it,” said Henniker.

The incidents could be happening when park maintenance staff is not on site, Henniker said. The city has teams that rove from park to park, visiting each one two or three times a day to clean the bathrooms and take out the trash.

It’s also possible that some of the damage, outside of the restrooms which are locked from dusk to dawn, is happening at night, she said.

Citizens are being asked to report the problems by filling out a service request and include a photograph through an online form. Maintenance and accessibility issues such as broken playground equipment or a fallen tree branch blocking a sidewalk can also be reported.

The online reporting form has been around for several years but not many people knew about it, according to city spokesperson Ali Weatherton. The city recently ramped up marketing efforts to get people to use the form and created an easier online link: virginiabeach.gov/landscape. Click on “request landscape services” to complete the form.

In the last five weeks, the city has received roughly 40 submissions.

The report can remain anonymous. If contact information is provided, a parks maintenance staff member may reach out to get additional information.

Graffiti can also be reported through the city’s non-emergency phone number 311, or the main Parks and Recreation line at 757-385-0400.

Park staff have also caught people in the act, Weatherton said.

The city’s Park and Landscape Services Division is responsible for all landscaping and grounds maintenance of city building sites, schools, park land, roadways and the resort area. Services include mowing and litter control, landscaping, playground and athletic field maintenance, and parking lot sweeping and striping.

“These are everybody’s parks, and we want to take care of them,” said Henniker.

Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com

The City Council approved $4 million for the park design a year ago, and the city recently awarded the design contract to Dills Architects of Virginia Beach. Representatives of the firm and its partners talked about their approach to maintain open vistas for the project at the council meeting Tuesday.

“Few places in the city, and I would say on the East Coast … offer the sort of dynamic beauty that happens at this site,” said Clay Dills, owner of Dills Architects.

Rudee Loop, the resort area’s southernmost end, is surrounded by water on three sides. It overlooks the ocean and Rudee Inlet and, the city says, is widely considered one of the most prized undeveloped pieces of waterfront property on the East Coast. The land is currently used for public parking and a staging area for large-scale Oceanfront festivals.

In addition to the design money, Virginia Beach transferred $60 million from a resort area parking fund to “Rudee Loop Park Development” in this year’s budget. Following the Tuesday presentation, several council members said they’re leery about paying that much for a park at Rudee Loop given the multitude of needs across the city.

“Our job is to be based in reality, and I don’t see how we can move forward with a $60 million pet project when we have neighborhoods that don’t have sidewalks,” Councilman Chris Taylor said.

Taylor cited several projects that are costing more than planned, including flood protection, renovations to the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center and the 5/31 memorial park, of which Dills Architects is the designer.

“I know our citizens don’t want another project that’s going to be in a deficit,” Taylor said.

But several of his colleagues said they support investing in a “world-class” park with a parking garage at Rudee Loop.

“We owe it to ourselves as the largest city in the commonwealth, as a tourist destination, on literally the last piece of undeveloped space within anywhere even close to here on the East Coast, to let some creativity happen and to think big,” Councilman Joash Schulman said.

In 2022, the city invited real estate developers to submit development ideas for roughly 8 acres of city-owned land at Rudee Loop. The city’s criteria included support for the existing surfing and fishing environment and maintaining public access to the beach, Boardwalk and inlet. Four proposals were submitted, including a park design by the city’s department of Parks and Recreation.

The city also conducted a public survey on Rudee Loop last year. Of more than 4,000 respondents, 71% wanted “green/open space,” and 83% didn’t want a hotel or resort on the property.

On Tuesday, council member Barbara Henley said she didn’t expect open space to cost so much. She and council member Sabrina Wooten had voted against the $4 million in design funding, transferred from a tourism fund.

“I can’t imagine spending this much money and leaving it open,” Henley said.

Councilmember David Hutcheson, the city’s former fire chief, said he’s having a hard time justifying the cost of a park at Rudee Loop after having to fight to get money in the budget this year to hire more firefighters.

“I can’t wait to see what it’s going to be, but there’s a definite nervousness in me about it,” Hutcheson said.

The design team will come back to City Council with recommendations on how the park can generate revenue and what the operating costs will be.

Dills will work with landscape architecture firms EDSA and Scape as well as BRV, a company that specializes in park budgets and has worked on midtown Manhattan’s Bryant Park, which features eateries, bars and New York City’s only free admission ice skating rink.

The Miles Agency, led by former Virginia Beach City Council member Delceno Miles, will handle public engagement. And local contractor Sussex Development Corp. will be in charge of construction cost control.

City Manager Patrick Duhaney tried to reassure council members that nothing’s set in stone at this point. The design is still in the concept phase and he said City Council will be able to weigh in on the final cost.

“It’s not an approval to move forward yet,” Duhaney said.

Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com

Neopestalotiopsis disease, which first appeared several years ago in Florida, can cause light to dark brown spots on plant leaves and rotting of the fruit. To avoid it, some local growers started getting their plants from a supplier in Canada. But now, major nurseries there are also seeing symptoms, and they’ve recently warned the fruit growers.

“They are basically canceling orders (and in many cases refunding the deposit) or telling plug plant producers and farmers to take plants at their own risk — no reimbursements for bad or infected plants delivered this year,” said Phil Brannen, a professor in the Plant Pathology Department at the University of Georgia, in an Aug. 21 post on the university’s cooperative extension’s website.

It’s not the first time Hampton Roads has dealt with a strawberry disease, but this one could have a major impact on growers who count on the popularity of the fruit.

“That’s a major crop that draws the consumers to the farms,” said Jayesh Samtani, associate professor and small fruit extension specialist at the Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center. “It’s the first crop that gives you fruit in the spring season.”

The disease can reduce a grower’s harvest by as much as 50%, Samtani said.

“It’s scary for sure,” said Roy Flanagan, Virginia Beach’s agricultural extension agent and owner of Flanagan Farms, which offers u-pick strawberries in the spring. “It’s a new enemy of the plant that you’ve got to figure out to combat.”

Virginia Beach is the commonwealth’s largest producer of strawberries thanks to the area’s temperate climate and nutrient-rich soil. The value of the crop in Virginia Beach ranges from $750,000 to $1 million per year. Meanwhile, a strawberry farm in Virginia Beach sees an estimated 1,500 visitors each week in May, according to the city.

Some area farms were able to order healthy cutoffs, or bare root plants, from California this year before they sold out, according to Samtani. Flanagan Farms and Cullipher Farm are among those. Others will take the risk with the Canadian plants or cancel their orders.

The situation likely will have long-lasting repercussions.

“The disease has a tendency to stay in the soil from one season to another,” Samtani said. “Even next year, if your plants come in clean, it would not be advisable to use the same site.”

Cindy Weatherly, who operates a farm in Pungo and Cindy’s Produce, a farm stand on Harpers Road, will skip growing strawberries this year to avoid contamination.

“This is an aggressive strain,” Weatherly said. “I don’t want to introduce a disease into my soil that I know nothing about until I watch someone else take care of it.”

To help stave off the disease, which thrives in warm climates, some growers will receive their plants a little later than normal, Samtani said. Strawberries in southeast Virginia are typically planted from last week of September through the first week of October. Chandler, Sweet Charlie, and Ruby June varieties are mostly grown locally.

Samtani plants berries at the research center each year. He’s expecting strawberry plants to arrive Oct. 10.

The Henley family is one of the city’s largest strawberry producers, growing them across 10 acres. They received the tips of strawberry plants from a supplier in Nova Scotia and have been rooting them in trays, said farm owner Barbara Henley. She’s already noticed some signs of the disease in one of the varieties, but is on track to plant in three weeks.

“Ours look fairly good,” Henley said, also a City Council member. “I’m afraid to say too much.”

The research center is advising growers about how to mitigate the disease if plants are infected. One option is fumigating the soil, which involves injecting a synthetic chemical gas. Sanitizing clothing, equipment, machinery and pruning tools also will be critical.

And fungicidal treatments can also help keep the disease under control. However, the most effective chemical — thiram — is being phased out by the Environmental Protection Agency, Samtani said.

Some factors, like weather, will be out of the control of growers. A dry, mild spring could keep the disease at bay.

“We don’t really know what’s going to happen until it all unfolds and the season progresses,” Samtani said.

Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com

Virginia Beach residents Richard “R.K.” Kowalewitch and Donald Edwards petitioned the Supreme Court of Virginia to force the Virginia Beach Voter Registrar and Electoral Board to remove Mayor Bobby Dyer and Councilwoman Sabrina Wooten from the ballot.

They claim Dyer and Wooten violated the city charter by not tendering their resignations, effective Dec. 31, before qualifying for the ballot. The plaintiffs contend that the registrar and the board placed “ineligible and unqualified” candidates on the ballot.

“They have to put the resignation letter in,” Kowalewitch said by phone Wednesday. “It wasn’t done.”

Dyer’s term as mayor expires Dec. 31. Wooten represents District 7; her term also expires Dec. 31.

Virginia Beach’s charter states: “In the event any councilman, including the mayor, shall decide during his term of office to be a candidate for mayor, he shall tender his resignation as a councilman not less than ten days prior to the date for the filing of petitions as required by general law. Such resignation shall be effective on December 31, shall constitute the councilman’s intention to run for mayor, shall require no formal acceptance by the remaining councilmen and shall be final and irrevocable when tendered.”

Kowalewitch contends resignation letters would have needed to be filed by June 18.

Wooten submitted a resignation letter, effective Dec. 31, to City Clerk Amanda Barnes on Aug. 27. Wooten declined to comment about the lawsuit when reached by phone Wednesday.

Dyer has not submitted his resignation letter, according to Barnes. The mayor also declined to comment.

Another mayoral candidate, council member Chris Taylor, provided a resignation letter, also effective Dec. 31, to the city clerk May 30. Taylor is in the middle of his four-year term as the District 8 representative.

The fifth mayoral candidate, former Councilman John Moss, doesn’t currently hold office. The upcoming election will be Kowalewitch’s fourth run for mayor.

Kowalewitch and Edwards are seeking a writ of mandamus from the court, which is a judicial order that requires a government official to comply with the law. The petition names Virginia Beach Voter Registrar Christine Lewis and the city’s Electoral Board: chairman Jeffrey Marks, vice chair Nanette Miller,  and secretary Lauralee Grim. Lewis declined to comment on the lawsuit. Marks, on behalf of the board, also declined to comment.

The legal action was filed ahead of the start of early voting, which begins Sept. 20. It references a recent opinion by the Virginia attorney general on a election matter unfolding in neighboring Chesapeake, though the issue at hand there appears unique to the city’s charter.

Chesapeake City Council filed a lawsuit against sitting member Don Carey in a dispute over whether he should have resigned — in this case, officially stepped down from his current seat — in his bid for mayor.

The Chesapeake city charter calls for a resignation by June 30, six months before Carey’s term ends. But it was established when Chesapeake held elections in May.

General Assembly action in 2021 shifted the city’s elections to November, but the accompanying provision for resignation was not altered, according to an opinion issued in May by Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares. His opinion concluded that Carey was required to step down by June 30.

In contrast to Chesapeake, the Virginia Beach charter states that the resignation to run for mayor must be made 10 days prior to the deadline for filing a petition to run, which occurs in June. But it is effective Dec. 31.

Kowalewitch says Miyares’ opinion proves candidate eligibility requirements in a municipal charter must be upheld.

“There’s a value in that,” said Kowalewitch.

He cited another part of the city charter which states that the term of office for each council member continues until his successor has been duly elected and qualified. Kowalewitch worries if Dyer and Wooten didn’t follow the proper resignation procedure, they could stay in office beyond their term should a problem arise with the election of their successor.

Kowalewitch and Edwards previously filed a federal lawsuit contending that the city illegally changed its voting system prior to the 2022 election. The lawsuit was dismissed. A separate state lawsuit challenging the city’s district voting system was allowed to proceed in circuit court.

When the resign to run issue arose in Chesapeake, The Virginian-Pilot asked Virginia Beach City Attorney Mark Stiles if Dyer and Wooten each was required to submit a letter of resignation.

“No,” Stiles wrote back in an email on Aug. 6. “The resign to run provision states that the effective date of the resignation is December 31. Because their terms end on that date anyway, there is nothing for them to resign from.”

On Aug. 12, The Pilot asked Stiles to provide more context as to why Dyer and Wooten were not required to submit a resignation letter.

“Because their terms naturally expire, there is nothing for them to resign from and there is no need for a special election to fill the balance of their terms,” Stiles wrote.

On Wednesday, Stiles said he would not comment on the lawsuit because the city’s not a party in it.

Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com

The review comes on the heels of an intense meeting last week when Virginia Aquarium Foundation President Dan Peterson addressed the council for the first time about the group’s desire to partner with the city on the facility’s future. The City Council, after learning the aquarium needs major renovations to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars, has been considering leasing it to a private third-party.

City Auditor Lyndon Remias presented the findings to the City Council today.

The audit revealed that the city operating expenditures were nearly $20 million in fiscal year 2024, and the city fell short with a $3.7 million loss in revenue. Despite the shortfall, the city had anticipated a worse scenario, setting aside nearly double that amount as a subsidy in the budget.

Aquarium foundation wants to collaborate with Virginia Beach, pause search for private operator

The foundation’s expenses topped out at $5.2 million, but it was able to stay in the black with an estimated $827,000 in revenue after expenses.

The group is not required to provide the city with detailed revenue and expense transactions, according to the audit. One of Remias’ recommendations is to add a “right-to-audit” clause to the agreement between the city and the foundation so that his office can require the foundation to provide those numbers.

At the Aug. 27 council meeting, Peterson said the foundation didn’t provide financial information that’s not required in the agreement because he was not told how the city planned to use it.

“I have a fiduciary responsibility not only to the foundation but to all of our constituents, especially our volunteers and especially our donors, to ensure that that information would be utilized in a manner that takes into consideration the best interests of the foundation,” Peterson said.

Council members are expected to vote Tuesday night on whether to share the cost of an initial $100,000 inspection with the foundation — at the nonprofit’s request — to figure out the extent of renovations needed on three large tanks, which hold shark, seals and sea turtles. The audit recommends moving forward with a detailed assessment.

The city owns the aquarium’s buildings and grounds and operates its facilities. The foundation owns the exhibits and the animals. Funding for the aquarium comes from a variety of sources, including admission fees, memberships, retail sales, grants and sponsorships.

The audit also notes that per the agreement the foundation retains all revenues from concession sales, boat trips and the aquarium’s Adventure Park activities. Remias recommends a review of the revenue distribution given the fact that the city owns the facilities.

Virginia Aquarium currently utilizes 48 acres of land, operates out of three buildings, including one that is closed to the public, and has a visitor capacity of approximately 3,660 per day. It’s key components include marine life exhibits, nature trails, educational programs and research.

Remias recommends that the aquarium’s three animal care accreditations, which are currently held by the foundation, be transferred to the aquarium itself, so that the city can control that aspect, especially since the city pays insurance coverage on the facility. Such a change could also make the aquarium’s animal records available to the public.

The audit also delves into the aquarium’s Stranding Response Team. Its area of responsibility for stranded marine mammals and sea turtles encompasses over 7,200 miles of the state’s coastal shorelines. Remias recommends seeking federal and state funding for the aquarium’s rescue, research and conservation efforts. The foundation’s research and conservation expenditures in fiscal year 2023 topped out at $1.3 million, according to the audit.

Remias also recommended considering the pros and cons of requiring the aquarium director to also serve as the foundation’s executive director as outlined in the agreement.

“Inherently, you’re putting the director in two roles,” said Remias. “That increases the risk, in fact or appearance, of a conflict of interest.”

Part of the review focused on a survey of aquarium employees and foundation members, many of who became unnerved when the city pursued privatization options earlier this year and felt left out of the conversation.

In March, City Manager Patrick Duhaney had recommended that the city continue to engage third parties to figure out what kind of offer can be brought forward while communicating with the foundation. Meanwhile, some aquarium employees resigned amid the turmoil.

Remias’ audit recommends ways to address “low morale.”

“Leadership should engage in transparent communication, actively involve employees in strategic planning, and provide reassurance through clear, actionable steps that demonstrate a commitment to navigating challenges together,” the audit states.

Cynthia Whitbred-Spanoulis, aquarium director, responded to the recommendations in an interoffice memorandum.

“The aquarium leadership team was not significantly involved in the discussions and decisions made over the past year regarding the future of the facility,” she wrote. “For accuracy, the term ‘leadership,’ in this context, should refer to the City Manager’s office.”

The audit was part of a scheduled review of city assets, but several council members agreed it was timely given the ongoing conversations about next steps.

“We should certainly take these recommendations into account,” said Councilman Worth Remick.

Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com

“When you think about it, 329 years ago, we had relatives standing possibly where we’re at today farming,” said Billy Vaughan, reflecting on his family’s history during a recent interview. “That’s pretty cool to take in.”

Vaughan, 52, grew up helping his grandfather care for the family farm and decided to carry on the tradition.

But since taking the reins, Vaughan has faced rising operational costs, leading him to rethink his goals. Vaughan, along with some other local generational farmers, have changed their business models to stay viable.

Many are trying new on-farm experiences, including markets, farm-to-table events, educational field trips and u-pick options. They’re also focusing on more sustainable practices with less reliance on costly herbicides and fertilizers.

And it’s working, says David Trimmer, director of Virginia Beach’s Department of Agriculture.

“People are passionate about certain things, and that adds fresh blood, new ideas,” Trimmer said. “Anything that adds value to the existing farm operation and helps differentiate themselves from what others are doing is great.”

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Economic impact

Agriculture is Virginia’s largest private industry and has an economic impact of $82.3 billion annually, according to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The commonwealth has 41,500 farms covering more than 7 million acres. In Virginia, 97% of farms are family owned.

But over the past decade, farmland area has shrunk as properties are converted into other uses, including housing and commercial development. Virginia lost about a million acres of farmland from 2012-22, according to data from the 2022 Census of Agriculture.

“The ones that are left are the ones that were able to flex and adapt their businesses,” said Robert Harper, grain marketing manager for Virginia Farm Bureau.

Despite overall loss of farmland across the state, the economic impact of agriculture in Virginia increased from 2016-21, according to a study conducted by the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service.

In Virginia Beach alone, agriculture had a $182 million impact on the economy in 2023. The top crops harvested in Virginia Beach are corn for grain, soybeans, hay and vegetables.

Virginia Beach has mostly protected its farmland from development with planning policies centered around a growth management tool called the “Green Line.” Formally established in the city’s 1985 master land plan, the line runs mainly along Princess Anne Road, separating the northern and southern parts of the city.

Development is allowed south of the Green Line, but proposals have to comply with zoning and design guidelines in the area, which limit density and encourage open space. Any nonconforming use would require approval by the Planning Commission and the City Council.

While some crops grown in Virginia Beach are exported across the globe, others stay local.

“Our grain farmers feed the world and our fruit and vegetable farmers feed the community,” said Roy Flanagan, Virginia Beach agricultural extension agent.

___

A growing meat market

While some granaries in Virginia Beach continue to find success in exports or selling grain in bulk to domestic companies for animal feed, rising costs in labor, fuel and machinery have forced others down a different path.

The largest growth area in Virginia Beach agriculture in recent years is pasture-raised protein, or direct-to-consumer meats.

Vaughan, with the help of one of his daughters who raised steer through the local 4H program, started to focus on Hereford cattle several years ago. He launched a beef company called Coastal Cattle and opened The Meat Shack, where he sells his own products as well as items from other local farms.

Coastal Cattle has been growing fast between its on-farm experiences and the meat market. The Vaughans partner with other farms and businesses to host farm-to-table chef-prepared dinners on the farm in the spring and fall.

“We’re usually sold out every event,” he said.

Over on the Pungo Ridge, another generational farm family has been trying innovative approaches and diversifying its offerings to stay relevant and successful in modern times.

Cullipher Farm started raising cattle and using rotational grazing to improve the farm’s soil and reduce its use of herbicides and fertilizers, which has become increasingly important in light of challenges in today’s world.

“A lot of those are foreign products, and with global conflicts they’re hard to get,” said Jeb Cullipher, 25, who started working full-time on the farm with his father about five years ago.

For example, Ukraine was a large producer of nitrogenous fertilizer, but Russia’s invasion of the country in early 2022 affected production and price. The ensuing war led to transportation interruptions in the Black Sea region and new trade restrictions, which diminished already limited fertilizer supplies and drove up prices, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Fertilizer costs account for nearly 45% of operating expenses for U.S. wheat and corn farms, according to the 2022 commodities data from USDA’s Economic Research Service.

Higher fertilizer prices have led to farmers adjusting their production practices.

The Culliphers previously grew soybeans and field corn, but now they plant grasses and other crops for cows to graze on. Eventually, they will be able to grow produce in the soil using fewer chemicals, Jeb Cullipher said.

“I don’t want to be that dependent on shipping and trade,” he said. “We grow food and to a certain extent it shouldn’t be that complicated. I have to believe that there’s a simpler, better way to do it.”

___

Providing a diverse experience

As local farmers look for new sources of income, on-farm experiences have proven worthwhile in recent years, including pick-your-own produce, corn mazes and other special events, Flanagan, the local agricultural extension agent, said.

“Twenty years ago folks might come and get three bags of corn for freezing, now they come and get ears of corn for dinner,” he said, noting the change in consumers’ eating habits.

The Vaughan’s farm offers public school field trips with hayrides in the fields to learn about their farming practices. Vaughan had about 500 children visit last spring.

Jeb Cullipher has brought a fresh perspective to diversify his family’s farm as well. It now offers a sunflower field, play area, farm animals, pick-your-own produce, themed corn mazes and an on-site market.

“My dad luckily is very open to my ideas and my input,” said Cullipher, standing beside a row of peach trees on a recent morning. “He’s vested in me being a part of this, and in turn, he gives me the opportunity to run with things, to feel like I have some autonomy, and I’m not just taking orders from him.”

He and his father, Mike, also have been growing Cullipher Farm’s u-pick options in recent years. Produce sold by u-pick and in the market on the farm property now makes up 85% of the farm’s income.

“It’s the only way that we can survive, really,” said Mike Cullipher.

Depending on the season, they offer strawberries, no-spray blueberries, no-spray blackberries, grapes, peaches, nectarines, apples and pumpkins.

“The idea is to have something essentially from the time we open the first of April until Halloween,” said Jeb Cullipher. “Any day of the week you can go take it off the vine, tree, bush, whatever it is, you can go harvest your own fruit fresh out of the field any day of the week except for Mondays because we’re closed.”

And customers don’t seem to mind driving out of their way for a basket of fresh fruit or package of vacuum-sealed farm fresh beef. Several people were shopping at Cullipher Farm Market on a sweltering August morning, including Barbara Smith of Virginia Beach.

“I’d hate for the summer season to get away without making a visit out here,” she said.

___

A family affair

Bringing the next generation of farmers into the fold is critical for success, says Jim Salmon of Salmon Inc. in Creeds. His family’s granary export program moves soybeans from the Mid-Atlantic region to destinations all over the world.

Salmon said having all three of his adult children — Sterling, Crystal and James — involved in the business has been “a big asset.”

“They bring new perspectives and new ideas on how to do things,” he said.

Mike Cullipher, 57, agrees. He said the business benefits from his son’s fresh ideas and work ethic.

“He has the drive and the mental capacity to absorb and take it in and truly contribute to the operation,” Mike Cullipher said.

Even as farms adapt and change, success still boils down to a willingness to put in the hours, sweat and tears.

“There are days I like it, and there are days I don’t,” Vaughan said. “It’s a job. It’s every morning. You got animals that depend on you to feed them, water them and take care of them.

“Doesn’t matter if it’s your birthday, and you can guarantee every holiday your help is taking off.”

Several of his family members live in houses on the family farm, and Vaughan hopes one day the next generation will carry on the tradition.

“(Billy) has played a pivotal role in keeping this legacy alive,” said Vaughan’s cousin, Whitney Williams. “Because of him, we all get to live this beautiful life on the farm, seeing it active as our ancestors did.”

Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com

“It was a big milestone for the project to come out of the ground,” said John Lawson, executive chairman of W.M. Jordan Co., the project’s general contractor. “We thought it would be a nice twist to have a bottoming out party especially given the challenges we’ve had with environmental issues.”

The mixed-used development project on three city blocks in the heart of the Oceanfront resort area had faced months of setback while dealing with underground debris and water contamination. Despite that, developers say the surf park and entertainment venue are still on schedule to open next May. 

Virginia Beach owns the Atlantic Park land and is a partner with Venture Realty Group on the project. The first phase now under construction costs a whopping $350 million, according to Lawson. It includes the surf park, an entertainment venue, apartments, offices, retail, restaurants and two parking garages.

The project also has the backing of music and fashion star Pharrell Williams, who was raised as a young child near the site, in the Seatack neighborhood.

Construction was temporarily delayed over the winter when groundwater that had built up inside the hole that will become the surf park contained high levels of iron and arsenic. The 10-foot-deep excavated area runs along the western side of Pacific Avenue between 18th and 20th streets. The deepest part of the lagoon is 5 feet below sea level.

After the contractor installed a new filtering system, dewatering restarted in May. Also, early on in the construction process, debris and trash discovered under the site from the old dome civic center and other projects had to be removed.

“That site’s been built and rebuilt on for over 100 years,” said Lawson. “We didn’t know those things until we started digging.”

With the lagoon’s foundation now in place, it’s full steam ahead.

Wave technology from Spain-based Wavegarden will be installed this fall, and by the end of this year, the surf lagoon structure will be completed, Lawson said. The 2.5-acre surf park eventually will hold 6 million gallons of water, he said.

Construction has begun on Atlantic Park’s “Surf Central” building, which includes cabanas overlooking the lagoon. The building will include 20 rentable units, a private surf club area and a restaurant.

The custom Wavegarden Cove will be run by Beach Street Development and Operations. It will offer more than 20 different wave profiles ranging from 4 to 6 feet for all levels of surfing from beginners to pros. Sessions will last 55 minutes and start on the hour, according to Blake Hess, chief operating officer/partner.

Hess has worked in operations on multiple surf parks, including the Surf Ranch in California’s Central Valley and NLand Surf Park in Austin, Texas. But he notes that Atlantic Park is the first surf lagoon to be in the heart of a city andso close to the ocean.

Bookings for surf sessions are expected to open around Thanksgiving, according to the developer. At Atlantic Park, each surfer will have the opportunity to catch 12-15 waves per session, Hess said.

Pricing has not been locked in yet, Hess said. Memberships will be available but it will be different than a water or theme park because of limited capacity.

The water won’t be heated in the winter, but guests will be able to take a warm shower after a session.

“In the lagoon you are constantly moving, either surfing or setting up for your next wave, unlike the ocean where you sometimes sit for extended periods waiting for the next set to roll in,” Hess said. “The constant movement in the lagoon keeps you warm!”

The on-site entertainment venue will open at the end of May, Lawson said. It will have capacity for 3,500 people inside and space for an additional 2,500 people outside. Live Nation will operate it.

It will feature an airplane hanger door in front of the building leading to the outside viewing area, Lawson said.

“If you have a storm coming off the ocean you can close it up so you won’t have any issues with weather,” he said. “When the storm passes, you can open it up.”

Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com

The overrun adds roughly 10% to the capital improvement project, bringing the total cost up to $93 million. The total includes an increase of more than 25% on the $53 million construction contract, which will require the City Council’s approval.

Cost inflation, supply chain impacts, unforeseen circumstances and scope of work changes have impacted the project.

“It’s due to a lot of the same factors we’ve seen on other projects as we’ve gone through the pandemic and the post-pandemic inflation,” said L.J. Hansen, director of public works, during a Tuesday City Council meeting.

Three municipal buildings are undergoing renovations and each of them have been renumbered. They include: old City Hall (now Building 3), Building 2 (now Building 11) and Building 11 (now Building 33).

The city’s municipal center was the site of the 2019 mass shooting, when a disgruntled city employee killed 12 people and injured six others before he was fatally shot by police. Nearly 400 people, including staff from four departments, worked in former Building 2. They were relocated to temporary, leased offices.

“This was right after 5/31,” said City Manager Patrick Duhaney at Tuesday’s meeting. “The City Council made a decision that no employee that was in Building 2 would have to come back to Building 2.”

The additional $8.4 million Hansen is requesting now would cover $2.4 million in floor plan changes in Building 33, $1.5 million increase in cost of furniture and demountable walls, and $500,000 to soundproof police interrogation rooms, among other items.

The project has already included nearly $12 million in construction change orders including relocating and upgrading data center equipment, adding storm water structures and installing ballistic glass in former Building 2, which was renovated into a police headquarters. Most of the renovation work to former Building 2 has been completed and police staff started working there this year.

The main entrance of the Colonial-style three-story brick building is now adjacent to the new City Hall, a separate $50 million project, which opened in 2022.

First look at renovations to building where Virginia Beach mass shooting occurred

Former City Hall, now referred to as Building 3, has been undergoing renovations for two years and completion is expected in the spring. There have been some delays including asbestos remediation and the need for a waiver that was granted by the City Council for the use of synthetic slate on the roof. Public utilities and planning employees will move into the building next summer.

Construction on Building 33, which was the former police headquarters on Princess Anne Road, began in March after the police department headquarters relocated. Public works and information technology staff will occupy it by next winter.

Hansen said money from two other city capital improvement projects — future relocation of the Beach Maintenance Facility and upgrades at the Central Plant — could be transferred to cover the municipal center funding gap. Hansen said funding for those projects could be reinstated at a later date.

The City Council will vote on the transfer option in September.

Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com

Dan Peterson, chair of the Virginia Aquarium Foundation, addressed the City Council at a meeting Tuesday.

“I don’t know if a third-party operator is viable or not,” Peterson said. “I don’t know if the foundation could take on more of an operating role. We need to assess all of these different factors, and we need to assess all of these different business models so that we can come back to council.”

The price tag on a multimillion-dollar renovation and expansion of the aquarium presented to the City Council last year was an estimate and not an engineered proposal, Peterson said, and while the facility’s tanks are aging, their actual condition has not been formally assessed.

The city operates the aquarium and owns its buildings. The City Council decided last year to explore the option of private ownership of the aquarium after learning the tanks that hold the animals are deteriorating and will cost millions to repair. Two private entities, the owners of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! and Dollywood, expressed interest.

The foundation wants the city to split the cost of a $100,000 structural engineering study to determine the condition of the aquarium’s three largest tanks, which hold seals, sharks and sea turtles, to figure out the sense of urgency and real cost, Peterson said.

He also recommended the city participate in a $50,000 operation to conduct borings into the aquarium’s concrete foundation to assess its viability.

City Manager Patrick Duhaney said a comprehensive assessment of both the foundation and the city’s assets will be needed. The foundation is in the process of assessing what it owns because a third-party operator would want to own or lease the animals and exhibits, Peterson said at Tuesday’s meeting.

The City Council agreed it will vote on a resolution in September to work with the foundation to come up with viable options for the aquarium’s future.

Peterson previously stressed in emails to the City Council that the foundation felt it was being left out of the process and wanted to share its perspective.

After hearing Peterson speak and seeing a crowd of aquarium foundation members and volunteers in the audience, Councilwoman Barbara Henley said she believes the city took the foundation’s role for granted.

“We appreciate what we have; we just want to make it better,” Henley said.

After the meeting, former city Councilman John Uhrin, who serves on the aquarium foundation, said city discussions with private entities haven’t centered on actual costs, which is critical because it currently costs more to operate the aquarium than what it brings in. The city allocates roughly $2 million each fiscal year for aquarium capital improvements and subsidizes operations with roughly $7.4 million a year.

“There’s no possibility where you’re going to have a private-sector partner come in and make it profitable particularly after they have to pay the foundation for the assets we have, which are on the books for $30 million,” said Uhrin. “All of that talk was for naught.”

A city audit of the aquarium will be presented publicly next month.

The city’s consideration of alternative facility ownership or operators has created turmoil among aquarium staff and members of the foundation for nearly a year. Peterson had said in March that several employees have left the aquarium due to the uncertainty of its future. He wrote to the council asking members to “not take any direction towards possible privatization” until hearing from stakeholders.

Virginia Aquarium, which opened in 1986, is the third-most visited attraction in the state behind Kings Dominion and Busch Gardens theme parks. It holds 650,000 gallons of water in exhibits and has more than 250 species — including mammals, fish, birds, and reptiles.

The city and foundation recently invested $47.9 million for three aquarium projects; however, major renovations and an expansion of the main building are needed, with cost estimates between $50 million to $200 million depending on the scope of work. Peterson said the highest estimate included a $60 million parking deck, which can be eliminated.

Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com