THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 5, 1995 TAG: 9505030164
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY PATRICIA HUANG, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 161 lines
HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED what the city Planning Department does? Do you want to know how the city treasurer's office manages your money? Maybe you'd like to test out the mayor's desk chair or check out the view from his top-floor office.
You can do all this and watch the daily workings of city government in Chesapeake's newly organized, employee-guided City Hall Spotlight Tour.
On one recent Wednesday afternoon, 10 small heads popped up from behind the dais in City Council chambers when Great Bridge Brownie Troop 539 took the tour.
The group of first-, second- and third-graders peered under the table and all around after clambering into the councilmen's fine leather chairs. Some swiveled from side to side in their seats as others stuck their tongues out at the television monitor, giggling at themselves on the projection screen.
The Brownie Scouts didn't vote on any issues or pass any proposals but they straightened up to an attentive pose when a city tour guide gave a brief explanation of the politicians' roles.
Nine-year-old Breanne Gilland cocked her head and raised her hand. ``Does the mayor have a boss?'' she asked.
The girls seemed to wonder at the answer: The voters are the mayor's boss.
In the Council conference room, the girls donned serious faces again when Deputy City Clerk Libby Pearsall addressed them.
``You can be very proud of your City Hall building,'' Pearsall said. ``And do you know who paid for it?''
``. . . The president?'' one girl suggested.
``No, you did. You and your parents' tax dollars,'' Pearsall said. ``It's your building.''
And that's just what city employees who started the new tours say they want to drive home.
On another recent tour, members of the Great Bridge Senior Citizen's Club made the rounds of each department before reaching the sixth floor, the city's lofty command post.
``Ooh, Welcome to the world of the rich and famous, huh?'' said Betty Brehm as she and others stepped out of the elevators and eyed the large glass windows and fine furniture of the penthouse level.
Pearsall greeted the group to give them an overview of the functions of the top floor offices.
``We keep all the Council minutes here in this office,'' she said. ``We house over 32 years of history here.''
With Chesapeake's population booming to 181,000 people, all of the city offices are growing rapidly, she said. Pearsall tossed out tidbits of information, such as the full-time occupations of each city councilman.
Council members receive $13,000 a year for their service, and the mayor is paid $15,000, she said. Elections are held every two years and usually only four or five new councilmen are elected at a time to avoid having an all-new Council.
James W. Rein, the city manager, is the chief executive officer of the the city, she explained. ``He's in charge of the day-to-day operations of the city, and he handles complaints.''
``What does Councilman Nance do?'' asked Mary Aldrich, referring to Vice Mayor Robert T. Nance Jr.
``He works in landscaping . . . and works with some developers,'' Pearsall said. ``That's why in Council meetings sometimes you'll see him abstain from voting because he doesn't want to appear that he is taking sides (or has a personal interest) in developments.''
It's this sort of detail that city tour guides say they try to provide.
``A lot of people don't really know which department does what,'' said Sharon Hoggard, a public information coordinator who restructured the tours. ``The office of public information gets calls all the time from people with those sort of questions and we have to redirect them and refer them.''
Hoggard said the old tours sponsored by City Hall were much less detailed, involving only the bottom and top floor of the building and led only by employees from the public information office.
Now all departments are involved in the process and the one-hour tours are customized for various groups. A representative from the city clerk's office gives students a quiz on city government and tour guides try to make city government relative to their young lives.
``We're hoping this will bring people closer to City Hall . . . let them know we are here to serve them,'' Hoggard said. ``In my experience I have found that more people are more detached now. They think that politicians are cold, bureaucratic and uncaring.''
Residents also may be intimidated by the size of the building, Hoggard said. And that may keep them away. But the six-year-old City Hall building was designed with user-friendliness in mind, she said. Before the building was built, city offices were spread throughout the municipal center. Now 18 of the city's departments are centralized within the large white building. They include: the City Treasurer's Office, the Office of the Commissioner of the Revenue, the Inspections Department, the Planning Department, the Real Estate Assessor, the Finance Department and the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office.
The tour begins in the lobby of City Hall as guides describe architectural details of the building, known as ``The Taj Mahal'' by many residents for its strange architecture. The design is actually a style called, ``neo-classical,'' a tour guide will tell you as the tour commences. The building was completed in 1988 and cost $16.5 million. It has 144,000 square feet with six main floors, 17 departments and 350 employees.
At the start of their tour, visitors are escorted through the city treasurer's offices to meet with City Treasurer Barbara O. Carraway and get a glimpse at the transactions being processed.
In each department, the tour groups are introduced to a representative, which is often the head of the department. At the end of the tours, participants are given small mementos, such as magnets, a pen, money clip and an annual events calendar.
Members of a Great Bridge seniors' group took their turns packing into the two elevators so they could meet on the next level of the tour. When some took runaway elevators to the wrong floors, the group waiting for them scanned over information cards from the Public Utilities Department .
``Have you ever heard of a unit of measurement called a consumption,'' asked Charlie Farr as he read the back of the card that said ``Minimum bi-monthly water bill (6 consumptions) equals $18.00 . . . . one consumption equals 748 gallons.''
``No, I can't drink that much,'' Brehm said. ``I can never figure out those utility bills. I just get the bill and send it in.''
Assistant City Engineer Cecil Sorey answered questions for the group, while explaining the function of his office.
``The public works department has three primary functions,'' he explained, ``maintaining drainage, stormwater and roads, including highways.''
``The state pays us a certain amount of money to maintain these roads and drainage,'' he said.
Aldrich pressed on. ``What about new subdivisions?'' she asked. ``Is that public works?''
Well, actually a new complex involves a combination of offices, Sorey explained. The main ones are the planning department, public works and the fire department.
Breezing through other departments such as Internal Audit and Public Information, the group found their way to the mayor's office by the end of the tour.
They peered into the glass case of a Japanese doll behind Ward's desk. That was a present from the Sumitomo Corp. when they first came, Pearsall said. The tea urn next to it was a gift from a Russian ambassador, she added. As some members of the group gawked at a photo of Mayor William E. Ward standing between President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore, Robert Brehm was looking out the mayor's window across the municipal center at a structure in the midst of construction, surrounded by scaffolding.
``What is that over there that they're building,'' he asked.
``That's the new jail,'' Pearsall said.
``Oh! I thought that was a parking garage!'' Brehm said. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by STEVE EARLEY
[Color cover photo - no cutline information]
Mary Daughtrey, an assistant in the city manager's office, talks
with members of Brownie Troop 539.
Council member Robert T. Nance shows the Brownies the view from his
office in City Hall.
Megan Geiger peers over the counter at the personnel office at City
Hall.
Graphic
Taking the Tour
Free group tours of Chesapeake City Hall can be arranged by
calling Sharon Hoggard at the city's Public Information Department
at 547-6241.
Hoggard requests that groups, organizations or individuals
interested in the tour give at least two weeks' notice.
by CNB