For immediate release:
Email to City Council Representatives:
March 29, 2026
Dear Mayor Alexander and Members of City Council,
It should come as no surprise to you that the proposed FY-2027-31 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) budget is heartbreaking for those of us who live on the Eastside of this city. The Eastside Recreation Center, which is included in the current version of the CIP, has been deleted from the proposed spending plan despite the fact that Mayor Alexander in his April 2025 State of the City address promised this project would become a reality. The proposal also incudes $72 million for a new MacArthur Center project while not one penny is proposed for Military Circle redevelopment. Once again, it is confirmed for us. City leadership has Downtown Tunnel Vision.
In fact, a recent analysis of the proposed five-year CIP indicates Norfolk’s future plan for its infrastructure is actually Downtown Tunnel Vision 2.0 as the concentration of fiscal resources in the downtown/westside area is at its highest level since the River Forrest ShoresWayside Manor/Easton Place Civic League began conducting its annual analysis of Norfolk’s five-year CIP blueprint in FY2023.
As a reminder, our methodology for this analysis is to examine every geographically named project and its attached price tag. We acknowledge there are citywide projects where locations are not identified. These were not included in our percentage calculations. However, the nature of the proposed spending plan is such that we suspect if geographic funding had been identified within those citywide projects, the inequity possibly would be more significant. As it stands now, downtown/westside projects constitute 62.4 percent of the named projects in the proposed CIP. Attached is our worksheet. Should you see any errors on our part, please point them out. We want a very accurate, clear picture here.
Several years ago an Equity for the Eastside Coalition was organized. Comprised of three civic leagues (Elizabeth Park, Lake Taylor and River Forrest Shores/Wayside Manor/Easton Place), our goal was to improve city investment in our area. In answer to our concerns Mayor Alexander and City Manager Roberts met with a core group of us. We believed back then, based on their assurances, the city’s commitment to our area would be strengthened. It appears disbanding the Coalition was a mistake. This letter may be signed only by the RFS/WM/EP Civic League at this time, but please note we plan to reach out to other Eastside civic leagues to help us in the cause to make a change in this abysmal CIP.
No sitting City Councilman or Councilwoman should be surprised we find this budget unacceptable. In fact, we specifically appeal to Councilman Paige and Councilman Clanton to intervene on our behalf. The proposal as it stands now represents a broken promise. City Council can change this sad reality by directing city leadership to restore some equity to the proposed CIP by including funding for the Eastside Recreation Center on a timely schedule, one that sees construction happening within the five-year timeline. Also, you cannot remain silent on what’s happening with Military Circle. We are weary on the Eastside – looking at the wasteland that is Military Circle, the hotels in the Military Highway corridor that have proved to be crime magnets, the litter-strewn streets and a city park (Poplar Hall) that doesn’t even deserve to be called a “park.”
cc: Patrick Roberts, City Manager
Sincerely,
Edith Lizalde, President
Debby Forehand, Immediate Past President
Kathy O’Hara, First Vice President
Liz Albert, Second Vice President
Sunita Malik, Corresponding Secretary
KK German, Treasurer
Dustin Wallace, Trustee
Garrett Beaver. First Vice Trustee
Maravia Reid, Second Vice Trustee
River Forrest Shores/Wayside Manor/Easton Place Civic LeagueNorfolk, VA 23502
For Immediate Release
For Further Information, Contact:
Liz Albert, 757-681-0131
Charla Smith-Worley, 757-373-3536
A Norfolk civic league makes video available of School Board discussion on two high interest issues: school closures and possible changes to the Maury High School site plan
When the Norfolk School Board scheduled its July 7 and 8 retreat there were citizen requests that the school division live stream, broadcast and/or archive video of discussions. When it became apparent the Board would not accommodate these requests, two citizens, with the help of a local civic league, decided to provide the service.
Two agenda items on Day 2 of the retreat were deemed of particular importance – a discussion on the current school closure and consolidation plan and the Maury High School comprehensive agreement.
Charla Smith-Worley of the Lake Taylor Civic League and Liz Albert of the River Forrest Shores/Wayside Manor/Easton Place Civic League ensured the discussions were captured on video. Edith Lizalde, president of the RFS/WM/EP Civic League, took on the technical aspects of making the video available on the organization’s website. Mrs. Smith-Worley and Mrs. Albert are also members of the School Board’s advisory committee on educational and facilities planning. Those interested can find the video below. It is also important for interested parties to view the presentation on the school closure and consolidation recommendations and the presentation on the Maury High School comprehensive agreement. There are other supporting documents that show how the advisory committee, the consultant and school officials arrived at the recommendations. Those can be found in the BoardDocs section of the school division’s website. Simply click on the word “meetings,” then click on the 2025 archived agendas and find the July 8 agenda. Supporting documents are posted along with that agenda item.
“Obviously the video is not of the broadcast quality the school division could have provided. But we felt it important that citizens have access to the substantive dialogue that occurred. As members of the School Board’s educational and facilities planning advisory committee, which contributed to the plan to close and consolidate at least 10 schools, Mrs. Smith-Worley and I felt transparency would help make this plan more understandable and acceptable for the school communities that may be impacted In addition, the discussion on the Maury High School site plan resulted in some new information that had not been made public until that retreat. A possible change discussed was building a stadium for Maury High School,” said Liz Albert, who is also the second vice president for the RFS/WM/EP Civic League. She went on to note a natatorium and a stadium have both been estimated to cost about $11 million each. This means that City Council would have to allocate more funding for the rebuild to accommodate both amenities. City Council’s July 15 agenda includes an item for vote on authorizing and approving a comprehensive agreement between the city, the School Board, and Heartland Construction for the final design of a new Maury High School and “supporting athletic and other facilities.”
The present school closure and consolidation plan now before the School Board identifies these schools for closure: Berkley-Campostella Early Childhood Center, Ghent School, Granby Elementary, Lindenwood Elementary, Norview Elementary, Norfolk Technical Center, P.B. Young Elementary, Tarralton Elementary, Southeastern Cooperative Educational Programs Facility and Willoughby Early Childhood Center. Students in these schools would be moved to other Norfolk schools.