Podcasts about Louisa County

The body of the boy swept away by floodwaters in Albemarle County is recovered… Harrisonburg and parts of Louisa County are under water restrictions… The Wildlife Center says if you stumble upon a fawn that you think has been abandoned, it's probably fine….

7-day Weather Forecast - Dr. Justin Glisan Temperature: Above average temperatures in the 50s and 60s Temperature gradient across the state Precipitation: Quieter weather pattern after an active March Windy conditions expected Climate Forecast - Madelynn Wuestenberg 6-10 day (April 15-19): Temperature: Leaning below normal temperatures along the eastern part of the state Near normal temperatures for the rest of the state Precipitation: Southeast edge of the state leaning slightly above normal The rest of the state near normal precipitation 8-14 day (April 17-23): Temperature: Eastern part of the state: near normal temperature conditions Western half of the state: 33-40% chance of leaning above normal temperatures Precipitation: Most of the state near normal precipitation 3-4 week (April 19-May 2): Temperature: Equal chances for above, below, or near normal temperatures Precipitation: Equal chances for above, below, or near normal precipitation Normal Weather Context for This Time of Year: Temperature: Low 60s for daytime highs, upper 30s for overnight lows Precipitation: About 1/10 of an inch per day (doubling by the end of the month) Recent Weather Events - Madelynn Wuestenberg Temperature: March was the 9th warmest on record (based on 153 years of records) Recent cold snap with temperatures as low as 18°F in Audubon Precipitation/Severe Weather: First tornado of the year near Wilton, IA (EF0, traveled almost 2 miles) Localized heavy snowfall in March (band from north of Omaha through Mason City) More snow from March 20th event than the entire December-February winter period Specialty Crops Impacts Strawberry blossoms likely damaged if left uncovered during recent cold snap (temperatures reached 18-25°F) Magnolia trees in Des Moines showing brown flowers from frost damage Some growers reporting issues with greenhouse transplants showing death to cotyledons or stunting Soil conditions have been dry enough for field work preparation Innovative approach: A grower in Louisa County burned down terminated cover crop to create a blackened field that would absorb more solar radiation, potentially keeping the soil warmer for sweet corn seeds Other Weather/Climate Discussion Topics ENSO Status: Last La Niña advisory with significant chances for ENSO neutral conditions developing Spring Barrier: Transition period where global teleconnections (like ENSO) have less influence on local weather Windiness: Iowa experiencing second windiest spring on record due to three strong low-pressure systems in March April is climatologically the windiest month for Iowa This Day in Iowa Weather History - Dr. Justin Glisan: On April 10, 1930, very warm weather pushed temperatures to 96°F at Clarinda, making it the earliest date of the year on which such a temperature has ever been recorded in Iowa. Other high temperatures included 95°F at Thurman, 94°F at Atlantic, 93°F at Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, and 92°F in Des Moines, Dubuque and Keokuk. At many locations, this remains the earliest date on record of temperatures in the 90s.

On today’s program we’re talking with Interim Louisa County Emergency Management Coordinator Kenny Marlette to introduce him to the community in his new role and talk about the responsibilities of the position.

The Wolverine's EJ Holland discussed several Michigan recruiting topics on the Wednesday edition of The Wolverine Live, including Top 100 2026 Mineral (Va.) Louisa County running back Savion Hiter.

Olivia McGhee, who's from nearby Louisa County, attended basketball games at John Paul Jones Arena as a girl. She now plays there. The 6-foot-2 sophomore is the third-leading scorer (9.7) for the UVA women's team.

Plus: Sen. Mark Warner discusses how Democrats could've improved their performance in Virginia during the election; A second data center for Amazon is coming to Louisa County; a new JLARC report highlights issues with the Virginia Department of Health; and other stories.   

Special Elections are on the way in Virginia to fill two state senate seats… J-LARC warns that Virginia's Department of Health is in bad shape… Amazon has filed plans to build a second data center in Louisa County…. And students in Highland County learn about watershed health by taking a canoe adventure.

It's Farming for the Future Friday on the Big Show today! Lots of fun with the Coalition to Support Iowa's Farmers and the Iowa Corn Growers on the farm of Paul Gieselman!

On today’s program, we are talking with new Louisa County Sheriff K9 Deputy Mitchell Griffin about joining the Louisa County force.

Sweet Briar College will now only accept applications from prospective students who were assigned female at birth… Federal regulators give the North Anna nuclear plant in Louisa County a clean bill of health… Virginia Democrats hope the Harris-Walz proposals on housing will boost the ticket in the election this year….

On today’s program we’re talking with Kate and Kelli Totemeier of Columbus Junction. Kate is a 12-year-old member of the Cloverleaf 4-H club in Louisa County and participated in this year’s Governor’s Charity Steer Show at the

On this episode of the Club + Resort Talks podcast, Club + Resort Business Editor-in-Chief Rob Thomas speaks with Erik Whitehead, Membership Director at Myakka Golf Club in Myakka City, Fla. Miakka Golf Club, a private club currently being built by Dana Fry and Jason Straka with consultation from PGA veteran Paul Azinger, is located near Sarasota, construction is well under way and preview play is expected to begin the fall of 2025. The course is being built on more than 1,100 acres of land and will feature an Australian Sandbelt design (Royal Melbourne, Kingston Heath, etc). They also have created a 600 acre sod farm to grow their own zoysia grasses. Rob and Senior Editor Phil Keren also discussed projects happening in Florida, Arizona and California. Boca West Country Club in Boca Raton, Fla. this past week officially unveiled its 110,000-sq.-ft., fully renovated, two-story Lifestyle Center. The facility includes a 96,000 sq.-ft. Aquatic Complex, 20,000 sq. ft. of fitness studios, with state-of-the-art technology for spin, aerobics, Pilates and core training. The expansion includes a fully renovated spa, cabana shop, poker room, card room, game lounge, locker rooms/lounge, and business center. Rob and Phil shared thoughts about the renovation of the Mountainview Golf Course that was completed at SaddleBrooke Two, a master-planned community located north of Tucson, Ariz. The project focused on replacing the old irrigation system, improved drainage, bunkers complexes, turf reduction and improvements as well as adding new tees to the 27-year-old course. Phil and Rob also reviewed the ongoing reconstruction of the original 18 holes of the 27-hole golf course at the private North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, Calif. Every feature and component of the Valley and Oaks courses has been reimagined by Jackson Kahn Design. Enhancements include: tee-to-green layout changes with fair challenges for all levels of play; new greens ranging from 3,400 to 11,000-plus sq. ft.; and Sand-soil mixtures optimizing moisture characteristics and drainage. Rob and Phil highlighted a groundbreaking ceremony for a new golf clubhouse being constructed as part of a new, master-planned resort-style new home community located on Lake Anna in Louisa County, Va. The fully-built development is expected to contribute significantly to Louisa County's economy, with an estimated annual impact of $6.5 million. This figure includes $5 million from property taxes and more than $1.5 million from transient occupancy taxes. Additionally, the project will generate more than 200 full-time jobs and 150 construction and skilled trade positions during the development phase.

On today’s program, we’re speaking with Dan Heindel, Vice President of the Louisa County Fair Board, about this year’s Louisa County Fair, running from July 23-27.

Shenandoah County's school board bans “political” flags, including the Pride flag… Louisa County issues strict rules on water usage, as drought conditions worsen… November election issues top the week's political headlines in Virginia, and Jeff Schapiro is here to talk about it….

On today’s program, we’re speaking with Louisa County Sheriff Brandon Marquardt about his transition into the role, summer safety tips, and some upcoming events for the Sheriff’s Office.

Also: Chesterfield now prohibits swimming at county parks.

Representative Bob Good formally requests a recount… Phone scammers are increasingly active in the WMRA region… Dominion Energy explores a small nuclear reactor project in Louisa County….

On today’s program, we’re speaking with Lana Artz-McComb, Naturalist for Louisa County Conservation, about some of their summer programs and events.

Welcome to Charlottesville Community Engagement for May 4, 2024, a program that unfortunately has nothing to do with the fictional Star Wars universe and is less about a long time ago far far away and more about what's going on right now in the area in and around Charlottesville, Virginia. I'm Sean Tubbs, a local journalist who operates a fledgling information outlet called Town Crier Productions. What you're about to hear are some of the stories from just a little while ago. In today's edition:* Greene County Supervisors approve a two-cent decrease in the real estate tax rate and a three percent increase in the lodging tax rate (learn more)* Before adopting a budget, Louisa County Supervisors pull funding for Piedmont Virginia Community College due to the screening of a film on Palestinian independence (learn more)* A rezoning and special use permit that Albemarle County is seeking for its own property will go before the Planning Commission on May 14, less than two months after the application was filed (learn more)* Half of Charlottesville's Board of Architectural Review weigh in on a proposal for a hotel at 218 West Market Street in Downtown (learn more)* The University of Virginia wants to improve child care for its employees and seek a single firm to manage its four facilities plus a fifth that opens later this year (learn more)Early voting in the June 18 Virginia primary has begun (learn more)A word about the podcastThis newsletter got its start as a podcast. My career began at WVTF Public Radio back in 1995 as an intern. Back then, the news department produced a 15-minute local newscast with stories from municipalities across the listening area, combined with national stories read by the local announcer. That's gone now and has been for years. But back then, I learned how a news department put together enough resources to pull off a regular series of bulletins to inform the audience. I would go on to freelance for WVTF Public Radio and I created the Charlottesville Podcasting Network in 2005 to experiment with long-form audio. I stopped producing audio pieces around the time I went to work for Charlottesville Tomorrow in April 2007. I instead was directed to write articles about government issues. I still continued to work like a radio reporter, editing my stories in Audition but not actually producing them. I left Charlottesville Tomorrow in June 2018 when management changed, and I had an opportunity to try something different. I thought I would be able to continue to write at my new job, that didn't really turn out to the case. In January 2019, I experimented for a few weeks trying to see if I could pull together a daily newscast. I really wanted to get back to journalism as an independent reporter, but I needed a product. I didn't want to rely on freelance work, but wanted to create a way to get information out to people. These are all archived on Information Charlottesville, which had a different name when I initially experimenting. Go back and listen to the first one from January 1, 2019. There's no soundbites, and it's not the most interesting. Also notice there's no text, but I just found the script which ends with this quote:“I became a journalist to help bring people information about what they need to make their own decisions. That's a core value, and one that's helped me build trust with people throughout my career. I hope as you listen to this, you'll learn a lot more about the world around you. Thanks for listening. “ The podcast has been on hiatus due to a series of factors, the most important of which is that I'm focused on making sure I can get a version to WTJU 91.1 FM for Saturday morning. I also lost confidence in my recording set-up and am still trying to figure out how to engineer that back into the work flow. I view all of this as an experiment, an experiment funded by those who want to keep it going. I am a one-person information outlet capable of covering a great deal of things. Thanks to Patreon supporters and over 600 paid Substack subscribers, I'm able to constantly move forward in the hopes of creating more journalism. For now, the podcast will still be a separate product from the newsletter. Yet, I'm going to try to get two podcasts out a week. To make that more likely, perhaps I can find a sponsor? To make that more likely, perhaps I can find more volunteers who would like to learn audio production and journalism? Drop me a line if you have interest in either. Thanks for reading this bit that isn't in the podcast today. Also, tell people about it!To keep the experiment going, the audience needs to grow. Help that happen by telling people about it today! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

Local wildfires are now mostly contained, and residents in Louisa County and elsewhere assess the damage… Commentators Jonah Goldberg and Mara Liasson talk about this year's presidential race at Bridgewater College… A collaboration between a Rockingham County court and JMU is awarded for its innovative use of technology….

As of August 30, 2023 is now two thirds of the way until the end. Perhaps one way of thinking about that is that we have now heard both sides of a long-playing record designed to play at 33 revolutions per minute. It is at this point where the metaphor perhaps falls apart, but I'm still curious to know: What are you going to listen to in the next 166,656 minutes or so? This is Charlottesville Community Engagement.On today's program:* Amazon Web Services announces they will invest $11 billion in two data center campuses by the year 2040* Charlottesville City Council and the Planning Commission learn that allowances for AirBnB and other forms of short-term rentals will not be eliminated as part of the zoning reform* Charlottesville seeks input on steps to keep improving on the city's accessibility * The Albemarle Economic Development Authority signs grant paperwork for biotech startup Agrospheres * The Free Enterprise Forum releases a periodic report on local government spending * Charlottesville City Council is briefed on ranked choice voting Charlottesville Community Engagement is perhaps kind of like an afternoon newspaper, and one looking to boost its circulation. Sign up for free!First shout-out: Plant Northern Piedmont NativesSince the beginning of this newsletter, one Patreon supporter has dedicated their shout-out to an organization that seeks to draw awareness of the importance of native species to the ecosystem. As summer comes to an end and fall begins, Now is the time to visit  Plant Northern Piedmont Natives to learn what you can about what species are specific to your region! Plant Northern Piedmont Natives is one of ten regional campaigns for ten different ecosystems across Virginia, including Eastern Shore. Take a look at the full map below for the campaign for native species where you are in the Commonwealth. You can also download a free copy of their handbook: Piedmont Native Plants: A Guide for Landscapes and Gardens. In this guide, Piedmont native plants are defined as those that evolved before the influence of European settlements shaped and changed the landscape. Plants included in the guide were selected from the Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora and occur naturally within the region. Amazon to invest $11 billion in Louisa County Louisa County has announced that Amazon Web Services will invest $11 billion to build two data center campuses within two Technology Overlay Districts. “The campuses will position AWS as one of the largest private-sector employers in Louisa and will create hundreds of new jobs,” reads a press release sent out this afternoon. The county's website describes the technology overlay districts as areas within Louisa's growth area that are close to road networks and electric transmission lines. They're also areas where residential and retail development are not being encouraged. Supervisors approved the technology overlay districts in April, according to the Central Virginian. The vote to add the districts to the county's Land Development Regulations was 6 to 1. Earlier this year, Governor Glenn Youngkin announced Amazon Web Services would invest $35 billion in Virginia by 2040. That now includes this investment in Louisa. “We're proud to partner with AWS to expand their operations in a world with a growing demand for cloud computing infrastructure,” said Louisa County Board Chairman Duane Adams.Amazon Web Services is looking at two specific sites according to Louisa County Community Engagement Manager Cindy King. “AWS is evaluating two sites,” King said in an email. “What would become the Lake Anna Technology Campus (LATC) near the North Anna Power Station; and the North Creek Technology Campus (NCTC) near the Northeast Creek Reservoir.”King said construction activity could begin as soon as 2024. The Board of Supervisors will enter into a performance agreement with Amazon Web Services. That agreement could also see the rebate of tax revenues with details to be worked out in the future. Homestay provisions will not be eliminated as part of zoning code updateAs Charlottesville plans for public hearings on a new zoning code, a proposed prohibition on short-term rentals of “homestays” has been pulled from consideration.“We've gotten substantial comment back and in conversations with various of my colleagues and others in the community, we believe that this is a larger issue than we might have anticipated and one that we would recommend we kick out of this process and take up after the zoning ordinance is adopted,” said James Freas, the city's director of Neighborhood Development Services. A consolidated draft of the Development Code released earlier this month had removed “Homestay” from a list of accessory uses that would be allowed under the new zoning. That had not been included in previous drafts released earlier this year. Freas said this is one example of how the city's zoning code should be considered a living document that will be updated over time. He made his comments at a briefing given to the Planning Commission and the City Council on Tuesday. “The intent here is for the Planning Commission to conduct a public hearing on Thursday, September 14,” Freas said. “That hearing will be in Council Chambers so note the change in venue and it will begin at 4 p.m.”Notice has been mailed to property owners in the city about the public hearing. Those who wish to speak will be limited to two minutes. Freas said it will be up to the Planning Commission to determine if they would like to vote on a recommendation or if that will be done at a later time. Dates have been reserved for September 19 in Council Chambers and September 26 at City Space. Once the Commission is done with their work, Freas said Council will hold their own work sessions on a range of topics. If any changes are to be made, a new draft will be produced for Council before their vote. The plan is for Council to hold their own public hearing. Once adopted, the zoning won't take effect until a specific date after the day a vote is taken. Some projects currently in the process may have the opportunity to proceed under the old rules, but where that line will be drawn is not yet known. Freas also addressed another item that is not in the draft zoning code. The Comprehensive Plan's Future Land Use map designated “Sensitive Community Areas” which depicted places where residents are subject to displacement pressure. “We have not moved forward with an overlay or zoning specific to Sensitive Community Areas,” Freas said. “I would note that a number of the recommendations that are in the Sensitive Community Area recommendation page… have been incorporated into the general zoning ordinance.” Freas said this includes allowing for more units to be built across the city and changes to allow smaller lot sizes in some residential zoning areas. He said there was a sense that restricting development in those area would limit wealth-building opportunities.“If the displacement is a result of rising taxes, there are other ways of addressing that issue as well,” Freas said.  City Councilor Michael Payne said he did not support the lack of a specific overlay.“I would expect that this will definitely be one of the topics we need to have a work session about,” Payne said. “I know it was pretty integral into the original plan and strategy and the connection to the [Affordable Housing Plan] and I know just in the past week or two, this has been of particular interest to the 10th and Page Neighborhood Association as well as the Fifeville Neighborhood Association.”Freas pointed out that the Comprehensive Plan clearly states that specific non-zoning interventions may need to be made for each community. A question from me: Who should do that work? The city government? Non-profits? Individual homeowners? This particular part of the conversation is not over. Charlottesville seeks input on update of accessibility planThe city of Charlottesville is in the early stages of updating a plan that seeks to ensure compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The federal legislation became effective in 1990 and requires localities to make sure public facilities can be accessed by anyone. In Charlottesville, that means the update of a Transition Plan with work underway. The last version was adopted by Council on June 3, 2013. “While we are continuously working on improving accessibility, an updated Transition Plan will help us benchmark where we are now and develop a roadmap for where we can be in the future,” said Paul Rudacille, the city's ADA coordinator. As part of the work, crews have completed a self assessment of 165 miles of sidewalk owned by the city to identify potential barriers. This fall, the city's parks and other facilities will be reviewed as will services. Nothing happens in this community without a survey. There's a longform version that takes up to ten minutes to fill out. There's also a shorter one.The city has hired the firm Precision Infrastructure Management to oversee production of the new plan. There will also be a town hall meeting on September 20. Albemarle EDA signs agreement for Agrospheres fundingThe Board of Directors for the Albemarle Economic Development Authority has ratified a performance agreement with a local company that seeks to expand its sale and manufacture of a new generation of pesticide delivery systems.Agrospheres has set up operations at 1180 Seminole Trail and recently was awarded $200,000 from the Commonwealth of Virginia's Development Opportunity Fund. There's also a $36,000 from the Virginia Jobs Investment Program. “They've committed to $25 million of capital investment and creating 53 new jobs for research and development and a test of a manufacturing area,” said J.T. Newberry, Albemarle's interim director for economic development. AgroSpheres got its start as a laboratory venture at the University of Virginia. The company will be seeking to hire people with experience in biotech fermentation, plant molecular biologists, and other types of scientists. Payam Pourtaheri, founder and CEO of AgroSpheres, told the EDA's Board on August 22 that 14 of those jobs have been created so far.“The facility isn't up and running yet so a lot more jobs will be created,” Pourtaheri said. “We've recently received organic approval for our technology that helps basically to provide a controlled release of biological pesticides.” Pourtaheri said the technology is free of microplastics unlike other delivery systems. “Really excited about that and that's what we're going to be manufacturing here in Albemarle County,” Pourtaheri said. Approval from the United States Environmental Protection Agency is needed before the product can become commercially available. Pourtaheri said he's hopeful the green light will be given within a year. * Review the performance agreement* Review the resolution authorizing a local match for the two state grantsSecond shout-out: Camp AlbemarleToday's second subscriber-supported public service announcement goes out to Camp Albemarle, which has for over sixty years been a “wholesome rural, rustic and restful site for youth activities, church groups, civic events and occasional private programs.”Located on 14 acres on the banks of the Moorman's River near Free Union, Camp Albemarle continues as a legacy of being a Civilian Conservation Corps project that sought to promote the importance of rural activities. Are you looking to escape and reconnect with nature? Consider holding an event where the natural beauty of the grounds will provide a venue to suit your needs. Visit their website to view the gallery and learn more! Free Enterprise Forum releases local spending report A nonprofit group that tracks activities of local governments throughout the region has released the annual report of spending activity. “The Free Enterprise Forum Local Government Spending Index (LGSI) is modeled after the statistical methodology used to calculate the Consumer Price Index,” reads the introduction of the fifth Choices and Decisions report.Data comes from the Commonwealth of Virginia's Auditor of Public Accounts, an office that produces a Comparative Report on Local Government Revenue and Expenditures. The Free Enterprise Forum whittles down the localities to Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa and Nelson. Some interesting highlights:* Charlottesville had the highest per capita spending in the region at $5,385 in FY22* Albemarle's per capita spending in FY22 was $3,643.90* Nelson County's per capita spending in FY22 was $3,392.21 * Louisa County's per capita spending was $3,356.56 * Greene County's level of spending per person is $3,212.20  * Fluvanna County's per capita spending in the period was $2,836.63. That's the lowest amount. What else is in the report? Take a look on the Free Enterprise Forum's website.Council briefed on ranked choice voting Should Charlottesville switch to an alternative form of voting that proponents say could increase participation? The earliest the city could make a transition to what is known as “ranked choice voting” is in 2025, but the five-member City Council got a briefing at its meeting on August 21. “Instant runoff voting, or ranked choice voting, is a voting system where a voter can rank their ballots sequentially in order of preference rather than just give a single or limited number of candidates for their choice of winner,” said Taylor Yowell, the city's registrar. Proponents of this method of voting argue that it can help expand the number of candidates who seek office. (view Yowell's presentation)The votes are counted in order and individuals who receive enough votes to pass the threshold qualify for the ballot. If there are more slots remaining, the candidate who received the fewest votes is dropped from the second round.“The process will continue until a winner has earned over the election threshold,” Yowell said. That threshold depends on how many seats are available. This method was authorized by the General Assembly in 2020 as one of the electoral reforms introduced when Democrats held both Houses in Richmond. “In the session of the legislature in 2020, a bill was passed to allow ranked choice option for City Council and Board of Supervisors elections throughout the state,” said Jim Nix, one of three members of the Charlottesville Electoral Board and the only Democrat. In August 2011, Nix presided over the Charlottesville Democratic Party's use of a “firehouse primary” to select its three candidates for City Council that year from seven candidates. “I counted the votes for it,” said Charlottesville Mayor Lloyd Snook.“That was fun,” Nix said. “I was there, too,” The contest resulted in the the nomination of Satyendra Huja to a second term as well as the first nominations for both Kathy Galvin and Dede Smith. Galvin and Huja got a plurality of votes in the first round, but Smith didn't secure enough votes until the fifth round when she edged out Paul Beyer by 29 votes. (view the results on cvillepedia)Nix said the legislation that passed in 2020 has a sunset date of 2031. He said Arlington used ranked-choice to select two members of its County Board in a primary race this past spring. “It appears to have been successful,” Nix said. “The process worked as intended. The results were published quickly. Actually, too quickly, but we don't need to go into that. The outcome was clear and unchallenged and public satisfaction was high based on the results of some online surveys that were done.” However, Nix said criticisms have emerged about the tabulation method that had been used and a decision has been made in Arlington County to not proceed with ranked choice in the general election.  He said one issue is that the voting software used only allowed voters three choices for the two seats. Charlottesville's software would allow voters to rank six. The first time Charlottesville could use ranked choice voting would be in the June 2025 primary when the seats held by Juandiego Wade and Brian Pinkston would be up. That's less than 22 months away! Yowell said only the City Council races could be conducted with ranked choice voting, and not School Board races. She said there would be a cost associated with educating the public about how the new process works, should Council decide to proceed. Yowell said the city should also update to a new version of its Hart software at a cost of around $4,000. For more details, view the video of the meeting on the city's streaming service. A factor to consider and a question to you. This year, five candidates sought three Democratic nominations for three seats on Council. Only three candidates are on the ballot. Only five people submitted paperwork to be on the School Board ballot for four seats. Only four qualified. If any locality pursues ranked choice, what steps might be taken to encourage more people to actually run? Reading material:* Charlottesville City Council approves new employee pay policy, Allison Metcalf, Cavalier Daily, August 29, 2023* Charlottesville leaders, residents split over zoning rewrite, Jason Armesto, Charlottesville Daily Progress (paywall), August 29, 2023#571 shall go gently into that good night There are six segments in this installment, two more than anticipated when I began writing everything out this morning. In the three years of this newsletter, it's become an afternoon newsletter that harkens back to my childhood when my family got a freshly printed paper around 5 p.m. every day. There's been a ridiculous amount of change in my 50 years. I think one thing that remains the same is a need for as many people as possible to know what's happening. This work is about establishing a common set of facts which is why I make as many links to other periodicals as possible. For now it's just me doing the work with the aim toward eventually getting one out by 5 p.m. every single day. It's a good goal and one that motivates me.Paid subscriptions motivate me and keep me fed. If you've done so yet, do consider a paid subscription through Substack. If you do, Ting will match your initial subscription! Ting's support for Charlottesville Community Engagement is not an afterthought. The internet company wants to support community knowledge and they will match the initial subscription for every new Substack subscription. And perhaps you are a UVA student looking for fast Internet service? If you sign up for Ting at this link and enter the promo code COMMUNITY, you'll get:* Free installation* A second month for free* A $75 gift card to the Downtown Mall This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

On this day in 1967, Jimi Hendrix played his last show as the opening act for the Monkees. At least, that's one obscure fact about this day that serves as an ice-breaker for the July 17, 2023 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement. But how do we know for sure? Is there a recording? Were any of you there? In any case, I'm skeptical but this is sadly not the focus of this installment of the program. In this particular edition: * A brief look at tonight's meeting of the Louisa County Board of Supervisors* Charlottesville opens up grant program for festivals and events* The search continues for a new fire chief* Some city departments will move into the S&P Building* Charlottesville City Council and the Planning Commission further discuss changes to draft zoning mapI like to write about this community. I really love when people read it. Sign up for free and I promise not to beg you for money. But I do appreciate paid subscriptions.First shout-out: Plant Northern Piedmont NativesSince the beginning of this newsletter, one Patreon supporter has dedicated their shout-out to an organization that seeks to draw awareness of the importance of native species to the ecosystem. As we approach summer, Plant Northern Piedmont Natives wants you to know they've printed over 9,280 copies of their guide Piedmont Native Plants: A Guide for Landscapes and Gardens. In this guide, Piedmont native plants are defined as those that evolved before the influence of European settlements shaped and changed the landscape. Plants included in the guide were selected from the Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora and occur naturally within the region. You can download your copy today for free! Louisa County Supervisors do in fact meet tonightThere's a public hearing on a 5 megawatt solar facility We begin today with a correction. Or rather, an admission of an omission on this mission to inform and illuminate decisions. The Louisa County Board of Supervisors will meet this evening. I'd reported incorrectly that they took the day but that was my error. Rather than repeat all of that, head over to today's Fifth District Community Engagement for an explanation of what happened.Visit above for all of the details, but there are four public hearings worth placing here before we get on with getting through the week ahead.  * There is no staff report for a resolution that would change Louisa County code to allow for the Board of Supervisors to issue a five percent real property tax rebate to citizens. (resolution)* There's a public hearing on a siting agreement for a 5 megawatt solar facility known as OCHS solar or Louisa Solar. This would bring $50,000 to the county if the project is approved. (resolution) (siting agreement)* There's a related public hearing for a conditional use permit for the above project. Go back and look at the meeting overview for a link to more information. * There's a request for a conditional use permit for an equipment sales and rental business in a General Commercial District. The Planning Commission recommended approval with eight conditions. (resolution)A glimpse at the latest report from the City Manager RogersCharlottesville City Council meets tonight and one item I did not include in yesterday's Week Ahead is the report from interim City Manager Michael C. Rogers. Rogers will soon hand over the position to Deputy City Manager Sam Sanders, and Council will vote on Sanders' contract tonight.One of the aspects Rogers' brought to the job when he began in early 2022 was the creation of a written report about what's happening inside of city government. Here are some stories from the latest report.City awarding $560,000 in grants for arts, culture, and festivalsLast August, City Council set aside $580,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act to help spur community events in the wake of the pandemic. The window is open for groups who want to try something new or sustain something existing.“The program is intended to promote citywide special events that will activate public spaces, enrich the lives of residents, encourage partnerships between organizations, foster a vibrant and diverse community, and stimulate economic activity,” reads the report. Applications will be taken in four separate windows and up to $10,000 will be awarded for each event. Take a look at the city's website for information about how to apply.  Search continues for a new fire chief for CharlottesvilleCharlottesville is a city that has had much turnover and many high profile vacancies. That includes the position of fire chief. Michael Thomas has been serving on an interim basis since Hezedean Smith left to take a position in Florida. There were 30 applications to become the new chief. “The in-house review committee, which included representatives of the Fire Fighters union, narrowed the field to eight who were invited to do online interviews. And after that review, four candidates are invited for in-person interviews,” reads the interim city manager's report. An appointment is expected in the next several weeks. City departments moving into S&P BuildingThe City of Charlottesville owns the S&P Building at 700 East Jefferson Street and the Charlottesville Economic Development Authority leases it to S&P. City Council was briefed on the terms of this arrangement last June.Just over a year later, a few city departments will be moving into the building on the 1st and 2nd floors. These include the Office of Community Solutions and Public Works' Engineering Division. A regional group will also move into the space. “The Emergency Communications Center will occupy most of the first floor as training and space for back-office operations to lighten the current pressure at the main office on Ivy Road,” the report continues. Other items:* A new proposed pay scale for city employees will be presented to City Council on August 7 followed by a first reading on August 21. * Melinda Crawford is retiring from her position as the Chief Executive Officer of the Charlottesville Regional Airport. Internal candidates for her replacement will be interviewed by the Charlottesville Albemarle Airport Authority in August. * There were a total of five complaints made to the Police Civilian Oversight Board between October 2022 and April 2023. Three were forwarded to the Police Department's Office of Professional Standards. One was referred to the traffic engineering division as it was about a crosswalk. One more complaint is still pending. The one complaint received in May will be closed because it involved a UVA police officer. No complaints were received in June. * An update on the decarbonization study for municipal gas will be given to Council in October with a final report to be ready in February. Council was briefed on the launch of the study in March. Second shout-out: eBike Lending Library In today's second subscriber supported shout-out, one Patreon supporter wants you to know that Charlottesville now has an eBike Lending Library!  E-bikes are a great way to get around the community but there are many brands and styles to choose from. Because many e-bikes are sold online, it can be a challenge to try an e-bike before buying one.The Charlottesville E-bike Lending Library is a free, not-for-profit service working to expand access to e-bikes in the area. They have a small collection of e-bikes that we lend out to community members for up to a week, for free. You can experience your daily commute, go grocery shopping, or even bike your kids to school, and decide whether e-bikes are right for you. Check out this service at https://www.ebikelibrarycville.orgCharlottesville City Council and the Planning Commission further discuss changes to draft zoning mapSpoiler alert. I'm still quite behind on writing about the latest on the draft zoning code in Charlottesville. I also really want to write up the discussion on the Comprehensive Plan in last week. Later this week I'll write up the three hour discussion from July 13, 2023 between the City Council and the Planning Commission. Near the beginning of the Charlottesville Planning Commission meeting held on Tuesday, July 11,  there was this bit of information from Missy Creasy, the deputy director of the city's department of Neighborhood Development Services. “Because we're going to be talking about the zoning ordinance at length on Thursday, we won't have any additional zoning ordinance discussions for this evening,” Creasy said.The Planning Commission has held two joint work sessions with the City Council on the work session. The first was held on July 5 and was intended to be a continuation of a May 23 work session on potential changes to the zoning map. That one lasted four hours, and I have a summary of that discussion. You can either listen to it here on Charlottesville Community Engagement or read the text-only version on Information Charlottesville. The July 13 edition focused on residential neighborhoods and I plan to write that up in detail. But the July 5 noontime meeting began with an exchange captured between Charlottesville Mayor Lloyd Snook and Charlottesville Planning Commissioner Lyle Solla-Yates.“R-A, R-B, and R-C,” Solla-Yates can be heard before the meeting began. “I talked with staff about it just now, and that will be the next one that will be addressed at a work session…. Do you understand the issue?” “Well, I understand the issue, but I don't understand the resolution,” Snook said. “We will get there,” Solla-Yates said.“Okay,” Snook. “Which is a terrible answer, but that's my answer today,” Solla-Yates said. “Okay,” Snook. “Your concern is noted,” Solla-Yates said. What concern? What resolution? Maybe we'll find out. The July 5 meeting took two hours. The group went one by one through a series of specific requests recommended by members of the public. The following is some of what they discussed. Cedar Hills Road at District AvenueA two-block section of Hydraulic Road across from Stonefield in Albemarle County is currently listed as Corridor Mixed-Use 5 in the draft zoning code. One member of the public noted that currently some of those blocks are duplexes and other affordable places to live. Commissioner Philip d'Oronzio suggested switching those not fronting Hydraulic Road to Residential-A or Residential-B in order to preserve them. Councilor Brian Pinkston pointed out that the Commonwealth Transportation Board recently approved a roundabout at District Avenue at Hydraulic. That means some of those structures may be demolished to make way for that project. Snook, a member of the MPO Policy Board, said at least two buildings would have to go. (read that story)“Part of my concern is that I would hate to get to a situation where we are so determined to maximize housing that we don't allow for commercial uses in places where commercial uses make sense,” Snook said. d'Oronzio described the existing character of the land not fronting Hydraulic.“Once you get two steps back from Hydraulic you are in a quiet suburban neighborhood,” d'Oronzio said. The group reached consensus to make many of the changes to some of the properties. As this is a written and audio visual, I can't see precisely what was changed. Rugby / Grady and accommodating the student population Another request to the Future Land Use Map was for an area around Rugby Avenue and Grady Avenue designated for High-Intensity Residential. This is an area that's used for off-Grounds housing for students at the University of Virginia. “The current designation shows High-Intensity Residential for 3 owner-occupied homes, which seems to me like an encroachment of that student area into non-student land that won't be necessary if we densify within its current boundaries,” reads the request.  When the draft zoning map was drawn, these parcels were designated as Residential Mixed Use, or RX-3.At the work session, Commissioner Rory Stolzenberg suggested going in the other direction and increasing them by one grade to RX-5.“And the general philosophy of fitting as many students into existing student areas as we can so that they stop spreading out, Stolzenberg said. “That would leave a little more room to fit them in. I think 5 is also fairly consistent with some new development on Virginia Avenue that's four stories over there that is obviously higher than three.” However, Stolzenberg suggested some of the owner-occupied houses could be reduced to address the community member's concern. This topic comes up at a time when the University of Virginia is conducting a planning study for an initiative to house all second-year students on Grounds. Charlottesville Mayor Lloyd Snook expressed skepticism. “That's just me trying to read tea leaves and it's not any inside knowledge,” Snook said. “And if it happens it's going to happen probably at least five years from now anyway and maybe more like ten. Who knows? By that time we'll have a different Board of Visitors and we may have a different president. We don't know.” Planning Commissioner Carl Schwarz pointed out that after 14th Street was up-zoned in 2003, many houses came down to make way for the large apartment buildings that have been built ever since. Schwarz served two terms on the Board of Architectural Review (BAR) before being appointed to the Planning Commission last year and has seen many applications in this specific area. “This area has been kind of a battle ground for the BAR,” Schwarz said. “It is a bit of a struggle because there are a lot of single family houses that are no longer single family houses. And it's a little frustrating because there's an elementary school and the library and you've got parks. It's set up as a neighborhood but it's almost exclusively lived in by students.” Councilor Brian Pinkston raised a concern that the city may not have the ability to handle the additional density. The properties adjoining a nearby intersection are either Residential-C or RX-3. “We're assuming a lot of things about vehicles, we're assuming a lot of things about the road network, and so where Rugby (Road) comes into Preston (Avenue) just north of there essentially in an area that for better or worse has been residential for many years, that's going to be essentially like a hub as we're looking at it and I have some questions about whether that's really feasible.” Commissioner Rory Stolzenberg said that was not the area he was considering for upzoning. He meant closer to the University on properties that are currently zoned either in the UMD or UHD category. “That is zoned for 50 feet, five stories,” Stolzenberg said. “So really what we're proposing in this map is really a downzoning from what we allow there now. RX-5 would be what's allowed now.”Snook asked if anyone had ever quantified the number of UVA students who live in areas designated in student housing. Bill Palmer works in the office of the UVA Architect and said they've studied the issue.“Generally what we've found for undergraduates especially is that they want to be as close to UVA as possible,” Palmer said. “I will say that this area and [Jefferson Park Avenue] are both serve by our [University Transit Service] and very walkable.” However, Palmer said many students do bring their cars and if there are no parking minimums in the future, there would have to be some management. Upzoning church propertiesThere has been a trend in Charlottesville for church properties to go through rezonings to add residential density. This has happened at Hinton Avenue Baptist Church in Belmont, Park Street Christian Church, and Mount View Baptist Church in Locust Grove.In the comments on the Future Land Use Map made so far there were two further requests for church properties to be designated for future residential growth. These are at the Greek Orthodox Church on McIntire Road and Mount Zion Baptist Church. The Greek Orthodox Church property has a draft zoning designation of Residential-C. The Mount Zion Baptist Church property is Residential-A and is in the Sensitive Communities overlay. Commissioner Karim Habbab suggested it could be increased.“The South First Street development across the street is RX-3,” Habbab said. “Would it make sense to make [Mount Zion Baptist Church] RX-3? It's right on Elliot Avenue.” Freas said doing so as part of this process would require an alteration to the Future Land Use Map, which may slow down the rezoning process. Upzoning north of the BypassCharlottesville Mayor Lloyd Snook responded to community members suggestions that the area north of the U.S. 250 Bypass might not be suitable for medium-intensity residential. I'll point out that as I write this, I don't have access to the spreadsheet to which Planning Commissioners and Councilors made reference. For instance, the current draft zoning map designates properties along Meadowbrook Heights Road, Grove Road and Kenwood Lane as Residential-B matching the Medium-Intensity designation called for in the Future Land Use Map.  “One of the primary reasons why I really don't want to increase density right there unless we are going to solve the traffic problem,” Snook said. “That gets back to the question that I've been asking for a year now which is what responsibility do we have if we create a greater degree of intensity of use there?” Snook said the city has limited resources to put into infrastructure and the city might have to use eminent domain to buy right of way for more sidewalks. More on this topic in future editions of the program. Reading material:* Albemarle County plans study to address overcrowding, undercrowding in schools, Faith Redd, Charlottesville Daily Progress (paywall), July 15, 2023* Around $20K collected in Charlottesville from plastic bag tax, NBC29, Jacob Phillips, July 16, 2023Here's what's at the end of #557:I write this edition in Langhorne, Pennsylvania. I'll be here a lot more. How much more? Doesn't really matter, but what does matter is that torrential rain hit here the other day and a family of seven died when their vehicle washed away in a flash flood. Pennsylvania is contemplating joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative while Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin is doing what he can to pull out. What should happen? I don't know. But the point of this newsletter is to make you pay attention to what's happening and I am disappointed I've not been able to cover this specific issue. Why do any of us do any of the things we do? What is this life? Is it mere trivia that Jimi Hendrix did in fact open for the Monkees? Who gets to decide what is interesting and what's worth knowing? What's really worth paying attention to? All of us. I thank you for choosing to read what I put together. Advertising returns next time. Please pay attention and learn everything you can about this very complex world that needs constant vigilance to survive. Charlottesville Community Engagement is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

Virginia's 57th House of Delegates District was completely redrawn in 2021, has no incumbent delegate and may be a tight race come November; Democrats Susanna Gibson and Bob Shippee are running in the June 20 primary election for the chance to face Republican David Owen in the November general election. The 57th District covers the eastern side of Goochland County as well as most of Short Pump with a portion of Henrico County's Three Chopt District. Before Virginia's 2021 redistricting process, the 56th District covered this area, but it also included all of Louisa County and a portion of Spotsylvania...Article LinkSupport the show

In the newly drawn Virginia House of Delegates' 59th District, three Republicans are vying to win the June 20 primary: Graven Craig and Philip Strother are running against Del. Hyland “Buddy” Fowler, who has represented District 55 since 2014. The district covers parts of the Fairfield and Brookland districts in Northern Henrico County, the western side of Hanover County and most of Louisa County. Democrat Rachel Levy is also running for the seat and will face the winner of the Republican primary in the November general election. Voters within the district's new boundaries typically favor Republicans – Gov. Glenn Youngkin...Article LinkSupport the show

In this episode of LFEcast, Dan and Brett sit down with retired music teacher and distinguished educator Rachel Newell.  Rachel shares how putting God first throughout her career enabled her to change and impact the lives of so many of her students and colleagues throughout her educational career.  Rachel was recently featured at our LFE Event in January 2023 as a distinguished panelist.  She even has a special message for current educators at the end of this episode that you won't want to miss.  Learn more about Rachel below:1972-1974 music teacher in Louisa County, Va public schools1974-1976 and 1977- 2013   Elementary music teacher in LCPS ( 18 schools, most recently Hillside Elementary for about 15 years). *Honors:Shenandoah University Teacher of the Year 1999Agnes Meyer Teacher of the Year for LCPS 2003Fulbright Memorial Fund winner 2003 ( trip to Japan for 3 weeks)Find out more about the ministry of Staff Fellowship, Inc at https:///www.stafff.org. If you want to learn more about how you can be involved with LFECast as a guest or sponsor please reach out to lfecast@stafff.org or dan@stafff.org.

!yad drawkcaB lanoitaN ot emocleW! Though it is possible that this day may be a figment of my imagination.This is also the final day of January, a month I feel I only just got to know. At the end of midnight, 2023 will have passed the 8.5 percent mark. There's so much to keep track of, both imaginary and real, and both my fictional and non-fictional selves occasionally team up for a little something we both call Charlottesville Community Engagement. I'm Sean Tubbs, or at least, one of me is. On today's program:* A dozen more people have filed to be considered as a replacement City Councilor, bringing the total to 20* All localities in the Thomas Jefferson Planning District experienced population growth since the U.S. Census, with Louisa County growing the most * The Central Virginia Regional Housing Partnership introduces itself to the current City Council This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

Today we begin the program by checking in by asking: Are you being served? After all, this is Customer Service Day, which may or may not actually exist. But the idea reminds me of the many years I spent in food service while also working as a reporter.Either way, Charlottesville Community Engagement exists to be the best it can be at bringing you information about the immediate world around. I'm the host, Sean Tubbs, and I value each and everyone of you and if you have questions, please drop me a line and I'll try to do what I can. On today's program:* Albemarle County gets $3 million from Virginia to help position UVA's North Fork be ready for business while Louisa County gets $11.6 million for Shannon Hill Regional Business Park* Charlottesville City Council will review proposed new precinct boundaries at a meeting tonight * Comprehensive Plan meetings abound this week with reviews in both Greene County and Nelson County This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

Greiner Auto Body of Washington, Iowa, using state of the art techniques and decades of experience to get your car back on the road after an accident and Car Doctor of Washington, Iowa, No matter who Frankensteined it, they can fix and clean and customize it! Present Southeast Iowa Today! John Bain talks with Louisa County Conservation Naturalist Lana Artz-McComb about upcoming winter events.

One two, two two, two zero, two two. This particular way of reciting the date sounds almost birdlike so let's fly right into this pre-holiday edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement, a newsletter and podcast that seeks to provide as much information as possible. But if you are avian in nature, apologies in advance for the lack of translation into dialects for all of our feathered friends. I'm Sean Tubbs, resisting the urge to make a witty comment about Twitter. On today's program:* The Regional Housing Partnership hears from Delegate Sally Hudson about her housing priorities for the 2023 General Assembly and have a discussion on bottlenecks in the development review process* A quick look at what else may be coming up in the 2023 General Assembly * And the Chris Long Foundation makes another round of book donations in partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of Central VirginiaFirst shout-out goes to Camp AlbemarleToday's first subscriber-supported public service announcement goes out to Camp Albemarle, which has for sixty years been a “wholesome rural, rustic and restful site for youth activities, church groups, civic events and occasional private programs.”Located on 14 acres on the banks of the Moorman's River near Free Union, Camp Albemarle continues as a legacy of being a Civilian Conservation Corps project that sought to promote the importance of rural activities. Camp Albemarle seeks support for a plan to winterize the Hamner Lodge, a structure built in 1941 by the CCC and used by every 4th and 5th grade student in Charlottesville and Albemarle for the study of ecology for over 20 years. If this campaign is successful, Camp Albemarle could operate year-round. Consider your support by visiting campalbemarleva.org/donate.Delegate Sally Hudson meets with Regional Housing Partnership For the next couple of weeks, the format of this newsletter and podcast shall change a bit. I record many more meetings then I am able to process during the busier weeks. I try to write and produce as many as these possible, and it takes me a while to get back.A major issue facing our community is the ability of people to find housing they can afford. In the past two years, both Albemarle and Charlottesville have adopted affordable housing plans that seek to encourage, incentivize, and require below-market units. Both localities are also part of the Regional Housing Partnership coordinated by the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission. The Partnership invited Delegate Sally Hudson to their December 5, 2022 meeting so she would be able to hear directly from its members about issues facing the development community and local government. This took the form of a roundtable discussion with questions asked by the Regional Housing Partnership. Albemarle Supervisor Ned Gallaway was the moderator. “The first question I will throw out is what legislative priorities if any do you have to impact affordable housing?” Gallaway said. Hudson said she is glad to help build a bridge between localities and the legislature on the topic. “I think we all know that affordable housing is priority one, two, and three from the constituents that we collectively serve and it's going to take a lot of collaboration between state and local government in particular because the General Assembly is often handcuffing you all from doing the kind of things that you need and denying you both the resources and the flexibility to try to tackle the problem with a full suite of tools that you deserve,” Hudson said. Watch the whole meeting on YouTube:Hudson said she has carried bills to allow Charlottesville flexibility. In 2020, HB1105 easily passed both Houses of the General Assembly and added the city to the list of localities authorized to adopt inclusionary rezoning rules to require units to be built at below-market levels. In 2021, Hudson introduced another bill (HB1900) to give more protection to tenants against evictions passed on a 55-44 vote in the House of Delegates and 20-19 in the Senate. Later that year, the Republicans took back the House of Delegates, a body they currently hold a 51 to 47 majority with two vacancies. Special elections for two vacant House seats will be held on January 10. The General Assembly convenes the next day. “Going into the next session, I am planning to introduce three bills, two of which were direct requests from local folks,” Hudson said. “One became a priority from the [Albemarle] Board of Supervisors which is allowing short-term rentals to expire if the property changes hands because I think we're getting increasingly concerned about companies gobbling up lots of different properties that perhaps were originally intended for owner-occupied housing to have maybe another stream of income on their property.” Hudson said another bill was requested by individual members of the Charlottesville Planning Commission to study the possibility of allowing properties and residential units to be taxed at different rates. “Potentially allowing for some more flexibility when we know we've got some underutilized opportunities for urban infill in the city,” Hudson said. The third bill would be to set up minimum standards for accessory dwelling units statewide.  Delegate Hudson also reminded the Regional Housing Partnership that Governor Glenn Youngkin has made the production of new housing a priority in the next session as part of his Make Virginia Home initiative. She said there needs to be additional funding. “The current administration is sort of trying to pit demand-side subsidies and supply-side constraints against each other where really it's a ‘yes and' answer,” Hudson said. “There are some units that will need to be permanently subsidized for tenants or owners that we know will not be able to maintain the income stream they need to stay in place.” Hudson said she is concerned about proposals to fast-track construction of affordable housing by trying to expedite the permit process and easing zoning rules. “I am concerned that the administration also means cutting corners on labor and environmental regulations and allowing projects to go up faster because they are short-changing either workers or the environment,” Hudson said. One big topic in the conversation regarded what many developers say is a big hold-up for the provision of all kinds of housing. “I hear and I'm sure that you do as well in conversations with developers about bottlenecks at the local level in the permitting and approval process,” Hudson said. “I don't feel like I have gotten a clear answer as to where in the pipes of government are the slow-downs and what can be done to speed them up?” Supervisor Ned Gallaway said it was a complex issue.  “How I would answer that is that you have a systems issue,” Gallaway said. “We have antiquated systems in use. We've got a personnel drain… in terms trying to retain the people.”In the last couple of months, Albemarle has lost its director of planning and a senior planning manager to the private sector. But Gallaway also said that different people may bring different levels of scrutiny to whatever application may be in front of them. He said he's interested in a three-pronged approach. “Is the system, the mechanism they use to process the permits or whatever it is, as efficient as it can be?” Gallaway said. “Do you have the people in place to be able to do it? And then, do you have the right mentality being done on the work that's actually being done?” Albemarle has invested in new software, and that's a topic I'll cover in an upcoming edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement. Want to make sure you get that story? Sign up for a subscription!Charlottesville Mayor Lloyd Snook said he believed there were personality conflicts that contribute to the bottlenecks. “We've got a problem in the City of Charlottesville right now without getting into a lot of detail where you have folks on the private side who are just pissed off at the folks on the city side and vice-versa and they can't see eye to eye on what an acceptable application looks like and the city manager is trying to mediate this dispute between them but we've got delays of up to a year or more on things like engineering details that ought to be resolvable and it's so frustrating for those of us who get harped at from both sides and basically what we need is for these two groups of people to start acting like adults,” Snook said. Snook said he was concerned about state mandates from Richmond for specific clocks for action. “That assumes that, first of all, that the engineering people who are submitting the applications have actually done a good-faith effort to get the whole stupid thing finished instead of putting in 20 percent and then figuring it out as we go along,” Snook said. “And that's the kind of thing we've had problems with.” The Regional Housing Partnership includes members from the private sector including one developer who said he has experienced delays in both Albemarle and Charlottesville. He said he wanted to find solutions to getting building permits processed faster. “I sit at this table because I'm passionate about it,” said Christoper Brement of Bramante Homes. “I volunteer for the Blue Ridge Home Builders Association because I'm passionate about it. And we've been very grateful to the Community Development Director in Albemarle County for holding several roundtables engaging the Blue Ridge Home Builders Association.”Toward the end of the meeting, Supervisor Ned Gallaway asked about one of the bills Hudson carried in the 2022 General Assembly. HB1286 reduced the amount of time public housing authorities have to inform the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development about properties they may want to “demolish, liquidate, or otherwise dispose” of property. “Last year I carried a bill which… was geared towards facilitating faster redevelopment of public housing projects,” Hudson said. “In order to let residents know that their units were about to be renovated there were two separate stages which could have proceeded in parallel and residents to still get the same level of timely notification that they were going to need to relocate temporarily while allowing the construction efforts to get moving.”Hudson that bill was a collaboration with housing authorities across Virginia. Delegate Hudson is also challenging Senator Creigh Deeds for the Democratic nomination for Senate District 11, which creates an open seat in House District 54 next year. So far, only one candidate has filed and that's Albemarle School Board Member Katrina Callsen. Second shout-out: UVA Health holiday gift card driveWith just a few days before the holidays, there's still time to help ensure someone who could really use a gift to get one this Christmas. The Student National Medical Association (SNMA) is partnering with the UVA Health Office of Diversity and Community Engagement to collect and distribute gift cards.  Every year UVA's SNMA chapter works with Charlottesville's City of Promise to sponsor a toy drive for the Westhaven community. Children create holiday wish lists, and your purchase of a $20 gift card from area stores or a donation through Venmo will help more community members have the opportunity to purchase the things they want for themselves and their children.  This year the SNMA has extended their reach in support of children and parents associated with Abundant Life Ministries and WellAWARE. Learn more in the flier below or call Jacklene Martin at 434-409-4313.Legislative round-up: Easing burden for trail easement givers? Once the General Assembly begins, it can often be difficult to track the progress of individual bills but each year I get a little more efficient. But until the first gavel drops, it's fairly easily to tell you about new pieces of legislation have been filed. Here's another round-up of what's in the hopper. * Senator Amanda Chase has filed a bill that would revoke the ability of localities to decide for themselves if they want to ban possession of firearms on public property and would prevent localities from suing firearms manufacturers. Also, any weapons purchased through buy-back programs would have to be sold at public auction rather than be destroyed. (SB805)* Delegate Bill Wiley has a bill to allow anyone to carry a concealed handgun without a permit. (HB1420)* Senator Bill Stanley filed a bill to create the Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics + Computing Competition Team Grant Program to encourage extracurricular clubs in public schools. (SB806)* Senator Barbara Favola has a bill that would allow localities or a park authority to create a system of walking trails including private easements. If passed, the property owners who grant such easements would be released from civil liabilities related to their use. (SB807)* Favola has another bill that would clarify the temporary detention law related to mental and physical conditions if the person involved is intoxicated. (SB808)* Another piece of legislation from Favola would place restrictions on how wine and beer can be displayed to ensure they are not placed next to nonalcoholic beverages. (SB809)* Delegate Lee Ware filed a bill to modify the way cigars are taxed in Virginia. (HB1417)* Delegate Tim Anderson seeks a Constitutional amendment that would not allow personal property taxes to be collected on automobiles, pickup trucks, or motorcycles if they are used for personal use. (HJ 462)Chris Long Foundation delivers books to Boys and Girls ClubA philanthropic organization associated with a successful player in the National Football League has made its latest contribution to the Charlottesville community. The Chris Long Foundation dropped by the Boys and Girls Club yesterday to hand out over 1,00 books to club members from across the region. “This is our third book distribution in Charlottesville. It means so much to be in a position to continue giving back to kids in our community,” says Chris Long, founder of the Chris Long Foundation. “All kids should be given the opportunity to excel. That starts with igniting their passion for learning through books that spark their interest and enthusiasm for reading.”  This is part of the foundation's EdZone initiative which is described on the website as where “elite athletes, coaches, and fans team up to help kids have access to the materials needed for educational equity and success.”  Reading material for December 22, 2022* Deputies in Louisa County fatally shoot warrant recipient, Hawes Spencer, Charlottesville Daily Progress, December 20, 2022* Plastic bag tax starts Jan 1. in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, Dryden Quigley, NBC29, December 20, 2022* A developer's plan to build new apartments in Scottsville shows just how unprecedented big projects are for the small town, Erin O'Hare, Charlottesville Tomorrow, December 20, 2022Housekeeping for edition #475:We are in the holidays now with me producing this afar from the usual studio. You may not notice this if you just read the newsletter, but the audio version may sound a bit different. Same microphone, but the words will be read out loud in different places. The podcast listener may know. If you're not one, give it a shot! All of the quotes you see in this newsletter? Usually you can hear the person who said it in their own voice! Episode 475 is 47.5 percent of the way to Episode 1,000. After that I'll decide if it's worth it to continue to producing Charlottesville Community Engagement. Until them, this work should still be regarded as an experiment. And I am grateful for those funding the research! That's over a quarter of the 1,800+ people who have signed up for these fairly frequent updates on the the nuts and bolts of our civilization. That mostly comes by paying for a subscription through Substack at whatever level you feel comfortable with. The company Ting will match that initial payment, for which I am endlessly grateful. This helps me really begin to see what the road to 1,000 editions and beyond looks like.Why not give yourself the gift of faster broadband? Ting can help! If you sign up at this link and enter the promo code COMMUNITY, you'll get:* Free installation* A second month for free* A $75 gift card to the Downtown MallSafe travels to those traveling and safe staying for those staying. Possibly vice versa, but I've not quite thought out the ramifications of such a statement.  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

For those individuals or entities who are time-shifted, why not celebrate today as Thanksgiving? The actual date for that holiday is one week from today, but there are those north of a certain parallel who have already celebrated. All I know is that it is November 17, 2022, and this is currently the latest installment of Charlottesville Community Engagement, a newsletter and podcast wrestling with the news, or at least calling informational missives by that name. Now, pass the imaginary gravy. On today's program:* The University of Virginia will not hold a home football game this weekend as the football team and the rest of the community continue to grieve* A longtime Charlottesville City Manager has died  * A quick look at some land use projects in Albemarle County * And the Charlottesville Human Rights Commission wants to change their ordinance to be able to investigate fair housing claims and more Sign up to get all of the information as often as its published. Signing up is free, but paid subscriptions get a few benefits. First shout-out: Rivanna Conservation Alliance Round-Up wrap-upIn today's first Patreon-fueled shout-out: The Rivanna Conservation Alliance is inviting members of the public to a meeting Thursday, November 17 to get input on a proposed riverbank restoration project at Riverview Park in the City of Charlottesville.Riverview Park is the only public access to the Rivanna in Charlottesville and a heavily used and much-loved part of the community. Unfortunately, Riverview suffers from high rates of riverbank erosion and other environmental challenges that damage the Rivanna River and threaten the integrity of the Park and the community's use and enjoyment of it. RCA and Ecosystem Services will provide updates on the project and to get your feedback. Visit rivannariver.org to learn more about the project. Register on Eventbrite for the event which will be held at the Woolen Mills Chapel Thursday at 7 p.m. UVA requests external review of previous handling of shooting suspect; cancels final home football game of the seasonIt has now been nearly four days since someone fired a gun to on several University of Virginia students who had just returned from a field trip to Washington D.C., killing three of them and injuring two others. Yesterday, suspect Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. had his first appearance in Albemarle County court. One of the injured has been through two surgeries and another has been released from the hospital. Classes resumed yesterday at the University of Virginia, but there will be no home football game this Saturday as the match against Coastal Carolina has been canceled. There's no word yet on the final home game with Virginia Tech. “Instead there will be a memorial service at 3:30 p.m. in [John Paul Jones Arena] to honor the lives of Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr., and D'Sean Perry, as well as the two students injured in the shooting, Mike Hollins and Marlee Morgan,” said President Jim Ryan in a video message sent yesterday. Ryan thanked students for organizing a silent vigil Monday night. “You've been through an extraordinarily difficult experience including the loss of three students and the injuries to two others,” Ryan said. “But also a 12-hour ordeal of sheltering in place and the fear and uncertainty that attended each one of those hours, whether you are a student, faculty, staff, or a parent.”The suspect had been flagged as a potential threat and Ryan said that there are more questions to be asked.“The criminal investigation is underway and we have also inviting an external review with respect to the University's interaction with the suspect and whether we did all we could to prevent or avoid this tragedy,” Ryan said.President Ryan said that may take some time to complete. Several media accounts are reporting that the Virginia State Police will conduct that investigation.  For more details on all of these stories, I recommend reading some other articles written by colleagues in journalism: * Virginia Athletics community grieves fatal shooting of three football players, Joe von Storch, Jude Nanaw, Eva Surovell, and Ava MacBlane, Cavalier Daily, November 16, 2022* Suspect Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. faces charges at Albemarle General District Court, Ava MacBlane, Cavalier Daily, November 16, 2022* UVA President calls for external review, Alice Berry, Daily Progress, November 16, 2022* UVa shooting victim Mike Hollins' mother provides updates on son's condition, Alice Berry, Daily Progress, November 16, 2022* No bond for UVa murder suspect in first court appearance since shooting, Sydney Shuler, Daily Progress, Novemebr 16, 2022* Tragedy at UVA, Kristin O'Donoghue, C-Ville Weekly November 15, 2022Longtime Charlottesville City Manager dies A man who spent 25 years as the City Manager of Charlottesville has died. Cole Hendrix served from 1971 to 1996 and presided over the conversion of Main Street into the Downtown Mall“During his tenure he provided stable, professional management and leadership, and mentored many young public administrators,” reads a message sent out Wednesday by the City of Charlottesville. “He and his wife Janet continued to be part of our community after his retirement.”I spoke with Janet Hendrix in September at the studios of I Love Cville on Market Street. “He came from Kansas City, Missouri,” Janet Hendrix said. “He went to school at [Kansas University] and got his master's in public administration.” Janet Hendrix said that Cole Hendrix worked a series of jobs in cities and towns across the United States before becoming assistant city manager in Kansas City.  That's when he was offered the job in Charlottesville. “He was just 36 when he came,” Janet Hendrix said. “Just a pup.” The area was a lot different fifty years ago.“The old K-Mart was a dairy farm, or behind there was a dairy farm,” Hendrix said. Janet met Cole during his tenure as City Manager and said the workload for the position was a lot even back then.“Cole would come home every night and he would sit in his chair and he would work every night, but he was home for dinner,” Janet Hendrix said. “Council meetings, sometimes he wasn't home until 1 in the morning, and that's just how it was.”After retirement, Cole Hendrix went to work for the University of Virginia as an associate vice president.“The last thing he did while he was at the University was he was the acting director of finance while they were doing a search for a new finance director,” Janet Hendrix said.Cole Hendrix would also play a frequent role as fill-in manager for towns and counties across Virginia when they were looking for a permanent occupant. “He actually was hired to stay for a while in one in which they were getting a new sewer treatment place together and they really needed his expertise and background in doing that,” Janet Hendrix said. “He helped them with that. It's been a great life.” Watch Janet Hendrix appear on the Jerry Miller Show with Delegate David Toscano:Albemarle County land use: Riverside Village developer seeks reduction of required commerical spaceThere's a lot happening in Albemarle County, and not everything rises to the level of a full news story. So, here's a quick update on three things happening in land use in Albemarle:* The Trading Post gas station and convenience store at 3017 Monacan Trail has applied for a certificate of appropriateness for a new fuel canopy as well as new signage. Currently the store is now branded by a major company but the new sign will mark this as a BP station. (ARB202200097)                       * A property owner in the White Hall District is seeking a special use permit to bring an existing 73-unit manufactured home park on a nearly 15 acre parcel, and to add another 14 units. (SP202200029)* The developer of Riverside Village on Stony Point Road seeks to amend an application plan and code of development for a prior rezoning to reduce the minimum amount of commercial required from 8,000 square feet. That space is currently vacant and the developer wants to convert the space to residential. (ZMA202200010) More on those land use applications in the future. Follow the Week Ahead on Sundays as well as this newsletter for more if there's a story to be told. Second shout-out: JMRL to hold Food for Fines driveIn this second subscriber-supported shout-out: Be a hunger hero! Bring an item to the Front Desk of any JMRL location during business hours between now and November 19 and receive $1 off overdue fines and late renewal fines for each donated item. Some of the most needed items are:* Canned soups, stews and chili - low sodium* Canned veggies - low sodium* Cereal - low sugar, whole grain* Peanut or almond butter - low sugar* Spaghetti sauce - low sugarDonations from most branches will go to the Blue Ridge Food Bank, though those in Louisa County will go to the Louisa County Resource Council. City Council to vote on expansion of powers for Charlottesville Human Rights CommissionThe Charlottesville Human Rights Commission meets tonight ten days after City Council held the first reading of a proposed change to the ordinance that would expand their ability to investigate discrimination claims. “It will just give us a little more teeth to investigate and make judgments against Fair Housing law violations in the city,” said City Councilor Michael Payne said. Charlottesville City Council voted 3-1 on May 20, 2013 to create the Human Rights Commission, with Mayor Satyendra Huja abstaining at the time. The Commission was an outcome of a city initiative called the Dialogue on Race.  Since then, the Human Rights Office has been through two directors and is currently led by Todd Niemeier. Council was briefed on potential changes to the Human Rights ordinance that could expand the powers of the Human Rights Commission. City Councilors had already had the opportunity to ask Niemeier questions through what city staff refer to as “2-2-1” meetings where elected officials get briefings without forming a quorum required that would trigger Virginia's public meeting laws. “During our 2-2-1's, I heard some basic questions about what the ordinance was, what is the function of the Commission and the Office of Human Rights, especially maybe just reiterating that for the public as well,” Neimeier said. The Commission is seeking many changes to the ordinance to give them more power to investigate claims of discrimination. “The contents of the ordinance are based on state and federal human and civil rights law,” Neimeier said. “And what the ordinance does is that it provides processes for us to address unlawful discrimination within the city.”The Human Rights Office is within the City Manager's office and has three main tasks. One is to receive phone calls, emails, text messages, and walk-in visitors from community members who have claims. Another is to do outreach to make sure people know the office can do.“In addition we do education and awareness around issues of discrimination,” Neimeier said. The third role is to support the Human Rights Commission, which is set up to hear appeals if staff has determined a complaint is not valid. The Commission's powers are fairly limited.“They can either recommend that they go back to mediation or they can recommend to the city attorney that a civil action be filed on behalf of the aggrieved party,” Neimeier said. “But they can only recommend that. They can't grant any relief. They can't grant monetary relief, injunctive relief. None of that. That's not within the power of the Commission.” Now the Commission wants to change the ordinance in part to expand their investigative reach. “We added language to make the ordinance substantially equivalent to federal Fair Housing law,” Neimeier said.That would allow the Office of Human Rights to be able to enter into a Fair Housing Assistance Program workshare with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. That will bring complaints into the Charlottesville office that may have originated elsewhere. “So that's an additional responsibility but the federal Fair Housing Office will support us by providing training and guidance, funds for capacity building when we first start out in that work share agreement, and we also get reimbursement for handling complaints of discrimination and those reimbursement rates vary depending on how the complaint is resolved,” Neimeier said. That will also allow the Office of Human Rights to enter into conciliation discussions as a third party directly involved with cases. The bar to making a finding also will change. “The standard changes from probable cause and above to reasonable cause because that's how federal law refers to the determinations in a case,” Neimeier said.Under this proposed change, if staff believed there is no reasonable cause for an alleged violation, the Commission could hear the appeal and they could make a determination. Under the proposed change, the office can issue a charge against a violator. “Once a charge is issued, it's basically a description of the violation and it's a statement that a civil action will be filed by, in this case, the City Attorney's office on behalf of the aggrieved person,” Neimeier said. Neimeier repeated that he has had conversations with Councilors about these in private meetings. Once the ordinance is adopted, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will review the city's application. City Councilor Michael Payne said the last City Council had directed the Human Rights Commission to make these changes. He supports them.“It will just give us a little more teeth to investigate and make judgments against Fair Housing law violations in the city,” Payne said.Payne also wanted to know what the budgetary needs would be to add positions to deal with an expanded workload. The city has already committed one-time money from the American Rescue Plan Act for one new position.“That will allow us to hire an intake counselor as well as an investigator,” Neimeier said. “Right now we are a two-person office.” That will also increase the ongoing budget heading into the future when the federal funding runs out. Niemier said he is working now to get a job description for the intake position. He said the federal workshare program will increase the workload. Mayor Lloyd Snook said the ordinance needed to clearly outline the responsibilities for landlords or others who would be potentially under investigation. “The part that most needs to be written as a fourth or fifth grade level is the part that says what you can't do,” Snook said. Snook said he was able to ask around 20 questions during his 2-2-1 with Neimeier.  He also urged caution in proceeding too quickly without doing due diligence. “Most of the time when we have made hasty decisions, when we have done something that we didn't fully vet, fully think through, fully edit, we've been dissatisfied with the results,” Snook said. After more discussion, Snook suggested no vote be taken at the meeting. “Having said all of that, anybody else have anything else they want to say or should we basically table this until the 21st and take it back up then with whatever new drafts or anything else we may come up with,” Snook said. Yet, the item is listed on the agenda for Council's meeting for a second reading, and on the consent agenda. I have a question out to the city about that. In the meantime, the City Human Rights Commission meets tonight at 6:30 p.m. The packet includes recent minutes as well as a report for November. From this we learn that the Human Rights Office has received six complaint this year for housing discrimination in Charlottesville and two in Albemarle. (download the meeting packet)Reading material you may find of interest:* Pittsylvania County uranium deposit to be sold to Canadian firm, Dave Ress, Richmond Times-Dispatch (via Danville Register & Bee), November 15, 2022* Danville City Council tables vote on collective bargaining, Charles Wilborn, Danville Register & Bee, November 15, 2022* Virginia solar developers say stormwater rules could wash away their margins* Former Charlottesville city manager Hendrix, who championed Downtown Mall, dies, Henry Lin-David, Daily Progress, November 17, 2022* Missing context, political bias: Some of critics' objections to Virginia's new history standards, Nathaniel Cline, Virginia Mercury, November 17, 2022* Virginia joins brief supporting challenge of vehicle emissions rule, Charlie Paullin, Departing comments for episode #460We are a week away from Thanksgiving, and for the next week and a half I will be producing fewer newsletters. I don't know my exact schedule at the moment, but I am going to take advantage of the downtime. There's a lot to rest up for in the future. In the meantime, thank you to  all of the subscribers, paid and unpaid. I'm really glad to be able to write and produce this newsletter and podcast as often as I can, and I'm grateful to all who are following along. Extra thanks to the roughly one in four who have stepped up to support the work, either through a paid Substack subscription or by becoming a Patreon supporter. If you do support through Substack, Ting will match your initial payment. This is an extra level of support that really comes in handy as I contemplate what the future may look like. I believe this work is important to do, and one in four of you are supporting me directly. And even if you don't sign up for a paid subscription to this newsletter, Ting wants your business, and if you sign up through a link in the newsletter you will get free installation, a $75 gift card to the Downtown Mall, and a second month for free. Just enter the promo code COMMUNITY.Now, onto the next one! Please share with people you think they might be interested. Whether you're one of the one of the four, or one of three in four, you are all important to me. Thanks for reading! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

It's the eleventh day of the eleventh month, marking the time 104 years ago when Armistice ended the First World War One. Today we mark it as Veterans' Day and local government is closed. This is the first edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement after a brief break to get ready for all that is yet to come. Today, though, is a good day to look back and all of those who have done so much to get us to this point. On today's show:* A round-up of election results from the area * Albemarle County recognized veterans Day* Charlottesville City Council gets a report from Interim City Manager and discusses recent violence downtown and possible solutions Sign up to get all of the free newsletters and podcasts and considering paying to help support the work!First shout-out: Free jazz concerts coming up week of November 15In the first subscriber-supported shout-out, the Charlottesville Jazz Society wants you to know about an upcoming series of free concerts by Professor Bill Cole and the Untempered Ensemble. The Untempered Ensemble are artists in residence at the University of Virginia Department of Art and will give three free concerts the week of November 15th. The group includes members of Indigenous American (Wabanaki and Nipissing), Asian-American, and African-American descent. The musicians play a wide variety of wind, string and percussion instruments from six different continents offering audiences the opportunity to form a world view of sound.The shows:* Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 5:00 pm | Memorial to Enslaved Laborers, UVA Grounds | FREE* Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 7:30 pm | The Jefferson School African American Heritage Center | FREE* Thursday, Nov. 17 at 7:30 pm | The Dome Room of the Rotunda, UVA Grounds | FREEFor more information about Professor Bill Cole and the Untempered Ensemble, visit arts.virginia.edu. Election results across the planning districtThe results are now more or less in for Election 2022 in Virginia but let's go through some of the details. Republican Bob Good defeated Democrat Joshua Throneburg to win a second term representing Virginia's Fifth Congressional District. With 354 precincts of 378 reporting, the Virginia Department of Elections lists Good with 57.86 percent of the vote. He carried 21 of  the 24 localities in the Fifth District. Throneburg only won in Albemarle County, Charlottesville, and Danville. Nearly 87 percent of voters in Charlottesville cast a ballot for Throneburg, compared with 66.1 percent in Albemarle, and 53.2 percent in Danville. Just under a dozen Albemarle residents voted in the 7th District due to the small sliver. Fourteen people voted for Republican Yesli Vega and seven people voted for Democrat Abigail Spanberger. Overall, Spanberg was re-elected to a third term with around 52 percent of the vote. The only other election on the ballot in both Albemarle and Fluvanna was for Scottsville Town Council. Two candidates were on the ballot, and several people made a write-in bid. Final votes won't be counted on Monday but incumbents Meredith Hynes, Dan Gritsko, and Bill Hyson were all re-elected. Turning to Greene County, Vega won the county with 60.8 percent of the vote. Kimberly Breeden Tate won an uncontested race to be Commissioner of Revenue. Rebecca Roach won an uncontested race to be on the School Board representing the Stanardsville District. Michael A. Payne won an uncontested race to be Mayor of Stanardsville. Three people were on the ballot for four seats on the Stanardsville Town Council and all three made it as did a write-in. There was a contested School Board race in Louisa County, where Lloyd Runnett defeated David Harold Rogers in the Mineral District with 67.8 percent of the vote. R. Garland Nuckols remains the Mayor of the Town of Louisa in an uncontested race. In the Town of Mineral , Ed Jarvis leads Pamela Harlowe with 98 votes to 70 votes with slightly more votes to be counted. For information on Town Council races in Louisa County, visit the Virginia Department of Elections webpage. Albemarle Supervisors mark Veterans' DayToday is Veterans Day and nine days ago, the Albemarle Board of Supervisors passed a resolution honoring the occasion. Donna Price, Chair of the Board of Supervisors, read from a proclamation. “WHEREAS, the United States of America, founded on the principles of liberty and justice for all, has called on her men and women in uniform to protect our national security,” Price said.* The preservation of our national interests, our rights and our freedom, has been ensured by the service of these individuals* On Veterans Day we remember and pay tribute to the millions of patriots whose courage and sacrifice have secured our freedom and defended our values both at home and abroad* Over one hundred veterans continue to serve their country in public schools and government as teachers and other professionals providing services to the students and citizens of Albemarle County* These veterans employed by Albemarle County Public Schools and Local Government deserve recognition for their continued service.“NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors hereby recognizes all veterans and the men and women that are currently serving in our armed forces around the world; an BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors hereby appreciates and honors the continued contributions and sacrifices of the Armed Forces veterans employed by local government and public schools,” Price read. Price herself is a retired U.S. Navy Captain in the Judge Advocate General's Corps. Albemarle Police Lieutenant Elizabeth Gomez accepted the proclamation. She enlisted in the Army National Guard in September 1991 and served as a combat medic and ambulance driver, becoming a police officer in 2000. “We do what we do now based on our choices earlier on in life to serve and protect our community,” Gomez said.While local and state government may be closed today, information about resources is available on the internet. A good place to start is the Virginia Department of Veterans Services and the Central Region. Second shout-out: UVA Helps Ensure Climate Resilient Buildings, Landscapes, & CommunitiesIn today's second subscriber supported shout-out, UVA Lifetime Learning, Office of Engagement, has an event this Saturday morning for readers following climate action and resilience planning. At the UVA School of Architecture, faculty, staff, and students are leading innovative research on climate resilient buildings, landscapes, and communities — from the coastal landscapes of Virginia's Eastern Shore and the Chesapeake Bay region to community development in the Arctic; from renewable biomaterials for building construction to new planning methods for restorative urbanism. Join Dean Malo André Hutson this Saturday morning at 10 a.m. for an opportunity to learn more about this exciting work, the diverse methods of community-centered design research it employs, and the actionable ways it addresses the future health of our built environment. This takes place at Alumni Hall as part of the More than the Score program or watch online! Register on Eventbrite for Designing for Climate ResilienceCharlottesville Council discusses gun violence; many governance details in written report The Charlottesville City Council had a full meeting on Monday, and one I'm finally able to get to after taking a couple of days off from a deadline. We start the coverage with the consent agenda, which included an extension of the contract for the Robert Bobb Group for the services of Interim City Manager Michael C. Rogers. According to a staff report, that will give enough time for a new police chief to be hired as well as for Council to adopt a strategic plan. Then there's also the matter of the budget. No one spoke during the opportunity to comment about the contract extension. Next, there was a review of the written city manager report followed by comments about recent shootings in the area. Let's go through the report first: (read the report) * Rogers said a new executive director for the Police Civilian Oversight Board will be hired as soon as possible. The Board's operating procedures will be reviewed by Council at their meeting on December 5. * New procurement rules adopted by Council in October will make it possible to use private dollars to help pay for energy savings projects in large capital projects. (story on InfoCville)* New employee Ben Chambers is now the transportation planner for the Department of Neighborhood Development Services. The position is intended to help address a backlog of stalled projects. Council was briefed on a “reboot” for transportation planning this past May. (story on InfoCville)* More people are seeking out the services of the Office of Human Rights with 2022 volumes higher than all of 2021. We'll hear more about a proposal to hire two more staff for the office in a future installment of the program. * The average review time for a building permit is now below is now down below 40 days according to a chart provided in the report. That's because the city sought help from the University of Virginia with a backlog and hiring two people to serve as both a new building code official and a support services manager. The new goal is to bring reviews down to 14 days, which the report states will take hiring more personnel. In City Manager Rogers addressed the recent shootings on the Downtown Mall. “A week or so ago there was a violent incident on the mall at one of our establishments that resulted in the death of someone and two bystanders being hit by stray bullets,” Rogers said. Rogers convened a meeting with Friends of Downtown Cville to discuss the incident and steps to improve security.  “When there is violence in the community in a concentrated period, naturally people are going to be upset and people are going to fear being in the location where those things are occurring,” Rogers said. “By and large when you consider the statistics in our community, it's still safe.”  Interim Police Chief Latroy Durrette offered some statistics about responses to calls for services related to gunfire. (view the data)There were 185 such calls in 2017 and 181 calls in 2018. “A slight decrease in 2019 with 172,” Durrette said. “In 2020, we started to see an increase of 298 and a greater increase in 2021 with 322.As of October 23, there have been 211 calls for service for shots fired. Durrette said shots fired incidents are not common on the mall and he showed maps showing where they are focused. For this year, that's the Tenth and Page neighborhood as well as the Orangedale-Prospect area according to one of the images. He said he has increased patrols on the Downtown Mall. City Councilor Brian Pinkston said he was more concerned about reducing gun use in the parts where it is concentrated. “Whenever I talk to folks, people remind me that this is complicated, the causes and how we try to effect change is complicated too because there are unintended consequences,” Pinkston said. Vice Mayor Juandiego Wade was at that Friends of the Downtown Cville event which was attended by a wide variety of stakeholders.“People came together from all sides of the community to talk about a very serious issue and I think we had some really good discussions,” Wade said. “Some of those discussions included de-escalation. I think that there was some understanding that when police arrive at these scenes, a lot is going and they want to preserve the scene. Part of it is that we wanted to talk about de-escalation,”Rogers said the city has been speaking with law enforcement at the University of Virginia about sharing information and resources. “We'll be following up on that and I think that there's opportunity for the city, the county, and the University law enforcement to join forces and approach this as a truly regional issue,” Rogers said. During matters from the public, several people addressed the issue including Emily Morrison of the Front Porch, a music training entity with space on 3rd Street SE.“My staff would  benefit from de-escalation trainings in the event of a conflict near our building so that we can know what to do in the event of an emergency,” Morrison said. More from this City Council meeting in future installments of the show. Articles you may have missed from other outlets:* Charlottesville and Albemarle County get bluer, Alice Berry, Daily Progress, November 9, 2022* Youngkin to propose new agency for workforce development, Markus Schmidt, Cardinal News, November 10, 2022* Maybe it's not just ‘the economy, stupid': winners and losers from the 2022 midterms, Bob Lewis, Virginia Mercury, November 11, 2022 (commentary)An inventory of end notes for #458We begin the end with a humbling confession. I got the beginning of the November 8 newsletter wrong by writing without actively engaging my brain. Election Day is the first Tuesday of the month unless it's the first day of the month, or something like that. I won't correct this error but will lead people to this blurb. These blurbs come at the end of a lot of writing. Is it possible I made this error just to bring new readers to this point? Possibly. The point of this section is to thank subscribers and point out that Charlottesville Community Engagement is a service of Town Crier Productions, a company formed to write as much as possible. Sometimes that does mean taking a quick break which I did Wednesday and Thursday. If you want to know when the next edition may come out, do consider joining the Chat function in Substack. It's still a work in progress, but I'm exploring non-Twitter alternatives. All of this work is paid for by many of you readers and listeners via Substack, in addition to the various individuals and entities who pay me through Patreon. More details on that later, as you don't need to read that every time. But, I do want you to know I appreciate the one in four who pays to keep my attention focused on a wide variety of things. You support my beat reporting which allows me to see patterns and incongruities. Ting match Substack subscriptions, though. I have to mention that! And even if you don't sign up for a paid subscription to this newsletter, Ting wants your business, and if you sign up through a link in the newsletter you will get free installation, a $75 gift card to the Downtown Mall, and a second month for free. Just enter the promo code COMMUNITY. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

Until today, no one at Charlottesville Community Engagement knew that October 19 is Hagfish Day. In fact, the only person who works on the program didn't even know that there was something called a hagfish, though it makes sense that the structure of the  English language would come up with that word. I don't recommend looking up what the actual creature looks like, and the quicker we put this behind, the faster we can get on with the program. I am your host, the very skittish Sean Tubbs. On today's show: * There's a new interim fire chief and permanent emergency management coordinator in Charlottesville * A committee is being formed to plan for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Downtown Mall* A brief financial update from the city of Charlottesville* Louisa County Planning Commission recommends rezoning for a hotel and apartment complex, but doesn't endorse plan to increase height to 80 feet Sign up for free to get all new editions. Pay for a subscription and you'll get the occasional “first look” at content such as today's release of the September 2022 property transactions in Charlottesville!First shout-out is for LEAP's new Thermalize Virginia program In today's first Patreon-fueled shout-out: Have you been thinking of converting your fossil-fuel appliances and furnaces into something that will help the community reduce its greenhouse gas emissions? Your local energy nonprofit, LEAP,  has launched a new program to guide you through the steps toward electrifying your home. Thermalize Virginia will help you understand electrification and connect you with vetted contractors to get the work done and help you find any rebates or discounts. Visit thermalizeva.org to learn more and to sign up!  Deputy Chief named as Charlottesville's Interim Fire ChiefA veteran firefighter with over thirty years experience but only five months in Charlottesville has been named as the interim chief of the city's department.Michael L. Thomas has been the Deputy Chief of Community Risk Reduction since June 2022 after retiring from the Lynchburg Fire Department. He will succeed Chief Hezedean Smith, who has left to become chief in Polk County, Florida. “Chief Thomas holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and an Associate Degree in Fire Science. He holds certifications as a Fire Inspector, Fire Investigator, Certified LEO, Incident Safety Officer, has attended the National Fire Academy, and is currently enrolled in ICMA's (International City/County Management Association) Professional Development Academy,” reads a press release with the announcement. A search for a permanent chief will soon begin. Last week was Fire Prevention Week and Interim City Manager Michael C. Rogers marked the occasion at this week's City Council meeting. He urged everyone to have a fire escape plan and to have crucial monitoring equipment in place.“Working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in reported home fires in half,” Rogers said. “If you need new smoke or carbon monoxide detectors, please call CFD at 434-970-3481 and schedule an installation.”Rogers also announced the hiring of the city's first emergency management coordinator. Jeremy Evans is a captain with the Charlottesville Fire Department. He will report to Rogers in his capacity as the city's public safety director. More Charlottesville updates from RogersRogers also announced the opening of the public bathroom at York Place on November 1, as first reported by Charlottesville Community Engagement last week. “The facilities will be open seven days a week during building hours which generally are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily,” Rogers said. Rogers said the city is also seeking to reopen the Downtown Transit Center by the end of the year. He also said a committee is being put together to oversee the 50th anniversary of the creation of the pedestrian mall on Main Street. First quarter report in for FY23 in Charlottesville Charlottesville City Council spent an hour and a half on Monday taking a look at the plans for the budget for the fiscal year that begins next July. I'll have more about that conversation in a future edition of the newsletterBut they also got a snapshot summary of the first quarter of the existing fiscal year at the beginning of their regular meeting from Krisy Hammill, the city's budget and performance director.“We are looking at a revenue surplus at the moment based on our performance in the first quarter,” Hammill said. “If everything were to hold true with that, we are looking at roughly $4 million revenue surplus for FY23.” That's a very tentative number. A more secure number is the surplus for FY22 which will be formally known as an audit comes closer together. The estimate at the moment about that is around $14 million.“I think it's going to be a little bit more than we talked about earlier but we'll just have to wait and see until we get the real numbers,” Rogers said. More on how that money might be spent when I'm able to do that deeper dive into the city budget work session. For now, take a look at the city's Budget Explorer, which now should contain data from July 1 to September 30 of this year. Second shout-out goes to Camp AlbemarleToday's second subscriber-supported public service announcement goes out to Camp Albemarle, which has for sixty years been a “wholesome rural, rustic and restful site for youth activities, church groups, civic events and occasional private programs.”Located on 14 acres on the banks of the Moorman's River near Free Union, Camp Albemarle continues as a legacy of being a Civilian Conservation Corps project that sought to promote the importance of rural activities. Camp Albemarle seeks support for a plan to winterize the Hamner Lodge, a structure built in 1941 by the CCC and used by every 4th and 5th grade student in Charlottesville and Albemarle for the study of ecology for over 20 years. If this campaign is successful, Camp Albemarle could operate year-round. Consider your support by visiting campalbemarleva.org/donate. Louisa County Planning Commission recommends rezoning for resort, but declines to do so on 80-foot buildingsPlans to build a hotel and residential complex on the shores of Lake Anna in Louisa are before that county's government and went before the nine-member Planning Commission on October 13. Before we get into the details about what happened, you can also choose to read an account of this meeting as a thread on Tammy Purcell's Twitter account. Purcell writes Engage Louisa.Don't tell me how it ended. I'm still going through the audio of the meeting, in which senior planner Thomas Egeland introduced the several requests before them from L.A. Resort LLC by laying out the land. “Together these two parcels make up 15.277 acres located near the Spottsylvania / Louisa County border adjacent to the New Bridge Road, Route 208,” Egeland said. The properties are zoned for commercial, and a previous owner of one of the properties sought an increase to Planned Unit Development to build a 60-unit condominium. The Board of Supervisors denied that request in 2016 and the current owner obtained site plan approval for a project that allowed a restaurant, 25,000 square feet of storage buildings, and three hotels. “Tonight, L.A. Resort LLC is requesting to start fresh,” Egeland said. That means a new Planned Unit Development request which Egeland details.“To Planned Unit Development, PUD, to construct a 96-unit condominium building, a 130 room hotel, a restaurant with retail space, marina services, and accessory structures,” Egeland said. There's also a conditional use permit request to allow for 80 foot residential buildings. The Comprehensive Plan calls for mixed-use and is within the Lake Anna growth area. Mike Grossman represented Lake Anna Resort LLC. “Every once in a while you find the perfect use for the perfect location and I think this is exactly what we have in this particular situation,” Grossman said. Grossman said the project would benefit Louisa County financially by providing new hotel rooms and dining opportunities. During the public hearing, several people disagreed and spoke out against the size of the development such as one person across the street. “When we purchased that property we recognized that it would be residential across from us, that's what we expected to see,” said Bill Unrue. “We did not expect to see an 80 foot Virginia Beach style type condo set-up there.” Several other nearby property owners also opposed the rezoning, including one person who drove down from Leesburg.“I'm the first one to say I'd love to have a hotel on this lake,” said Carolyn Lorenzin. “It would be great. I have lots of friends and family from out of town and it would be really great to have a place to put them up, but I think this is too much.” Others were concerned that the residential units would become hotel units by being rented out on a short-term basis. Others cited Lake Anna's recent bout of harmful algae blooms, as monitored by the Virginia Department of Health. “I believe it's irresponsible for the county to add to the problem by allowing this dense, high-density residential resort,” said Anna Clapp. “Discharging up to 60,000 gallons of wastewater a day. I know it's treated but that's what they've said, that they might that they might discharge up to that amount.” In his rebuttal, Grossman pointed out that the land has been zoned for commercial use since 1969. “So I think it should be no surprise to anyone that this land is going to get developed,” Grossman said. “It's extremely valuable land so a Putt Putt Golf or some kind of light density commercial development is just not going to happen.” Many speakers had questioned the timing of development and were concerned the residential would be built before the commercial. That would mean less revenue from meals and lodging taxes, which tend to be paid by people who don't live in the community and don't use services One Planning Commissioner wanted a guarantee.“I would be looking for something along the line that we would without certificate of occupancy for the residential until we have an approved site plan for the hotel and the restaurant,” said the Planning Commission Chair John Disoway of the Mineral District. Grossman said the project would need a hotel in order to proceed with financing, and the goal is to build all of it at once. However, other Planning Commissioners agreed with Disoway agreed that they wanted more certainty. “If a lending institution won't take on the risk if they don't have the commercial, then why should we?” said Commissioner George Goodwin of the Cuckoo District. There is currently no hotel on the Louisa County side of Lake Anna. The Commission had three votes. In the first, they recommended approval of the rezoning with two recommendations. One would be for the developer to post a performance bond and the other would be to tie the certificate of occupancy for the 96 residential units to a site plan being submitted for the hotel. That passed on a 4 to 2 vote.Next was a conditional use permit for the request to allow the residential buildings to be 80 feet tall. That failed on a 3 to 3 vote. A third motion on a request to allow a different kind of material passed. The item will go before the Board of Supervisors at a later date. Conclusionary notes for Episode #445Finally, another episode! If I had my druthers, there would be a new episode of Charlottesville Community Engagement each and every day. Then again, if I had my druthers, I would be a lot further along in knowing what a druther is and why I would want multiples. I do know I would love to have multiple new paid subscriptions to Charlottesville Community Engagement through Substack in order to help that possibility come to life. Behind the scenes I have a whole system in place just waiting to assign people stories and segments, but the business of Town Crier Productions needs a few more customers. Paid subscribers get to take a first look at content such as the September 2022 property transactions that went out this morning. Everyone else can see that on Monday on Information Charlottesville. If you do sign up, Ting will match your initial subscription. And even if you don't sign up for a paid subscription to this newsletter, Ting wants your custom too, and if you sign up through a link in the newsletter you will get free installation, a $75 gift card to the Downtown Mall, and a second month for free. Just enter the promo code COMMUNITY.All of this talk of sign-ups makes me want to also put a sign up for the Twitter account @cvilletowncrier to get schedule updates and links to other news stories. Please spread the word of all of the newsletters and podcasts, and maybe things will turn out okay. Music in the podcast comes from Wraki, a lifelong musical experience that manifests in multiple melodic forms. Do check out the bandcamp page and consider buying the album Regret Everything.  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

This episode is about a community that gave one very special teacher a place to call home and meaningful life through our sport. Kate Fletcher and her Lion Pride Scholarship run have been covered extensively by the media but during our conversation, Kate shares a part of her story for the first time. Listen in as we learn why helping students see their potential is really so important to Kate and how her Louisa County family recently showed her the love and support she always deserved. For more information and to support the Lion Pride Run: Donate: https://www.gofundme.com/f/kate039s-lion-pride-run GoFundMe Heroes Video: https://www.gofundme.com/c/heroes/kates-run New York Times Feature: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/17/style/why-do-i-cry-so-much.html --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mayberunningwillhelp/message

There are many made-up holidays that somehow have found their way into being mentioned on this particular channel of programming as part the introduction. For some reason, today is Clean Your Floors Day, though it’s unclear who makes the money off of those greetings cards. But how clean are your floors? Are you a rebel without a broom, or are you a vacuum warrior? It’s a very good thing that none of the rest of this installment of Charlottesville Community Engagement has anything to do with this particular topic. But I will have you know, I mopped mine yesterday in anticipation of this very important day. On today’s show:So far there are no debates scheduled in the contested Fifth Congressional District race but Democrat Josh Throneburg wants to change thatArea home sales volumes have decreased, though the cost to buy a place to live continues to increaseGreene County hires a water and sewer director to prepare to expand supplySeveral area organizations receive funding from Virginia Humanities, including a project to tell stories of PVCC students who have been or are in prisonAlbemarle County continues to review its Comprehensive Plan and the seven-member Planning Commission got their chance to review growth management options late last month First shout-out is for LEAP’s new Thermalize Virginia program In today’s first Patreon-fueled shout-out: Have you been thinking of converting your fossil-fuel appliances and furnaces into something that will help the community reduce its greenhouse gas emissions? Your local energy nonprofit, LEAP,  has launched a new program to guide you through the steps toward electrifying your home. Thermalize Virginia will help you understand electrification and connect you with vetted contractors to get the work done and help you find any rebates or discounts. Visit thermalizeva.org to learn more and to sign up!  Challenger Throneburg challenges Good to an in-person debateThe Democratic candidate in the Fifth District Congressional race has asked his opponent to agree to meet in person for a debate or other kind of candidate forum before the November 8 election. Josh Throneburg of Charlottesville became the candidate earlier this year before the primary when he was the only one to qualify for the ballot. “There’s one question I get asked more than any other and that is, when will the two of you debate?” Throneburg asked in a campaign video sent out this morning. Throneburg addressed his comments directly to Good and said there were at least three organizations that would hold a campaign event, and that he’s accepted all of them.“But you have either rejected or ignored those invitations and so I want to make things crystal clear. I, Josh Throneburg, challenge you, Representative Bob Good to an in-person debate sometime between now and November 8.”Good is seeking his second term in the U.S. House of Representatives having defeated Cameron Webb in the 2020 election. Candidate Good did participate in a September 9, 2020 virtual campaign forum put on by the Senior Statesmen of Virginia. You can take a listen to that whole event at the Charlottesville Podcasting Network. A request for comment or a response is out to the Bob Good for Congress campaign. CAAR: Charlottesville real estate market continues to cool as prices continue to increaseThe number of sales in the Charlottesville housing market continues to drop as the median sales price continues to climb. That’s according to the latest report from the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors. (view the report) “There were 1,380 homes sold in the CAAR area in the second quarter,” reads one of the bullet points in the CAAR Home Sales Report for the second quarter. “This is an eleven percent drop from the second quarter a year ago, which is 165 fewer sales.” CAAR’s jurisdictional area is the same as the Thomas Jefferson Planning District with the city of Charlottesville as well as the counties of Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, and Nelson. The median sales price increased to $417,850, an eleven percent increase over the second quarter of 2021. Additionally, supply has increased with 741 active listings in the area, a 28 percent increase over the same period in 2021. To put the increase in perspective, consider that the median sales price for the second quarter of 2018 was $301,000. The report also covers recent economic trends such as steady job growth and low unemployment. “Several job sectors have fully recovered and have actually expanded since the start of the pandemic, including the Professional and Technical Services sector, and the Federal Government sector. The homeownership rate within these two job sectors tends to be relatively high, so growth in these sectors provides fuel for the housing market in Virginia.”However, the leisure and hospitality sector continues to show signs of recovery. Mortgage rates are higher than last year, but have shown a slight decline from the end of June when the average rate on a 30-year fixed was 5.7 percent. However, the report acknowledges the cooling effect of rates that have increased two percentage points so far this year. Sales volumes were down in all localities except Greene County where there was a 33 percent increase in sales. There were 122 homes sold in that jurisdiction between April and June of this year compared to 92 in the same period the year before. The median sales price increased in all of the jurisdictions, but Nelson County saw the biggest jump in values from $285,000 in second quarter of 2021 to $425,000 in the second quarter of 2022. Visit caar.com to download the report. What do you think? If you’re a property owner, how does this change your views on what you may do with your own place? What about if you want to own? Say something in the comments. New water and sewer director in GreeneGreene County is preparing for anticipated population growth by expanding its urban water supply. Now the locality has hired its first ever water and sewer director. “Mr. Greg Lunsford… will oversee the development of a team to operate Greene County Water and Sewer Department as Greene transitions out of the Rapidan Service Authority,” reads an announcement posted to the county’s Facebook page. Greene County recently left the RSA in order to build a reservoir that’s already received permission from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The idea is to impound White Run to create storage. (learn more on the Greene website)Lunsford recently served as the town manager of Elkton in Rockingham County where the release states he helped advance a water system upgrade. In Greene, he will lead the work to create a water and sewer ordinance to govern the new supply. Virginia Humanities awards grants to area nonprofitsThe state agency that serves as the official humanities council for Virginia has made its latest round of grants to nonprofit organizations that seek to tell new stories about the people who have lived in the Commonwealth. “We want Virginians to connect with their history and culture and, in doing that, we hope we’ll all get to know each other a little better,” reads the About section of the website for Virginia Humanities. In all, Virginia Humanities awarded $153,200 to eighteen organizations including several in this general area. The Catticus Corporation of Berkeley, California will get $10,000 for a project to build a website intended to tell the story of Barbara Johns and the 1951 student walk out in Prince Edward County to a larger audience across Virginia and the nation. James Madison University will get $5,400 toward a project called A Miserable Revenge: Recovering 19th-Century Black Literature from the Shenandoah Valley. This will transcribe a handwritten novel by George Newman around 1880. Newman was an African American educator from the Winchester area. The Louisa County Historical Society will get $7,000 for a project called Representing our Residents: African American History at the Louisa County Historical Society. This will be a series of oral history interviews and public outreach activities.The National D-Day Memorial in Bedford will get $8,000 for a project called Someone Talked! A Podcast of the National D-Day Memorial. This will include conversations between the prolific WWII historian John McManus and other scholars and is intended and designed to reach and engage new audiences now that the generation that lived through WWII has passed. A project to add two Louisa County churches to the National Register of Historic Places received $3,000.Piedmont Virginia Community College will receive $10,000 for the PVCC Prison Creative Arts Project. The idea is to collect original writing from incarcerated PVCC students and then create a theatrical production based on the stories. The Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Museum will get $8,250 to make three videos to introduce the Monacan Nation as “custodians of the lands and waters in and around Charlottesville” to serve as land acknowledgments The Virginia Tech Foundation will receive $20,000 for a podcast to be called Tribal Truths on the histories and cultures of state and federally recognized Tribes in Virginia. To see the rest, visit the release at Virginia Humanities. Second shout-out goes to Camp AlbemarleToday’s second subscriber-supported public service announcement goes out to Camp Albemarle, which has for sixty years been a “wholesome rural, rustic and restful site for youth activities, church groups, civic events and occasional private programs.”Located on 14 acres on the banks of the Moorman’s River near Free Union, Camp Albemarle continues as a legacy of being a Civilian Conservation Corps project that sought to promote the importance of rural activities. Camp Albemarle seeks support for a plan to winterize the Hamner Lodge, a structure built in 1941 by the CCC and used by every 4th and 5th grade student in Charlottesville and Albemarle for the study of ecology for over 20 years. If this campaign is successful, Camp Albemarle could operate year-round. Consider your support by visiting campalbemarleva.org/donate. Albemarle Planning Commission reviews seven options for growth management Is this the summer of 2022, or is it the Summer of AC44? AC44 is the name Albemarle County has given for the review of its Comprehensive Plan. That’s a document Virginia requires all localities to adopt and review every five years. Albemarle last updated its plan in 2015 and work got underway earlier this year. “We’re currently in phase one, plan for growth, where we are reviewing and evaluating the current growth management policy, using lenses of equity, climate action, and capacity projects,” said Tori Kannellopollous, a senior planner with Albemarle County.At the end of this phase, staff and hired consultants will have developed a draft vision for “growth and resilience” on which new policy objectives will be written.  The work so far has led to the development of seven growth management policies for the public to review. “We are planning having in-person and virtual roundtables and online opportunities in step three,” Kannellopollous saidThe Commission will then review the work in September followed by a review by the Board of Supervisors. Discussions about what changes might come in the rural area will come during phase two of the Comprehensive Plan Review. Several Commissioners wanted to know if survey responses have done enough to capture a diversity of opinion. “I did a deep dive on the last one that came out and when I look at the demographics, the demographics really trend white, upper class, middle-upper class, and extremely well-educated,” said Commission Julian Bivins. “What I’m nervous about is that those responses become the drivers for lots of decisions.” Charles Rapp, the deputy director of the Community Development Department, said he expected participation to increase when the plan review gets into specifics.“People are excited to get into the specific topics [and] into the details of this plan,” Rapp said. “At this point we’re still at such a high level trying to figure out which of those avenues we’re going to go down and which ideas we want to explore and what are those topics that we want to dive into.” The Commission also got an update on the buildout analysis of the county’s existing capacity for new homes and businesses. The firm Kimley Horn has been hired to conduct that work. Kannellopollous had several preliminary observations.“In mixed-use developments, the residential component tends to fill out first and the non-residential component may not build out until years later,” Kannellopollous said. “When factoring in site readiness and site-selection criteria, there appears to be sufficient capacity for commercial and retail uses but much less currently available for office and industrial uses.” Another finding is that new developments are not being approved at the maximum possible, and that by-right developments also do not use all of the potential building space recommended in the existing Comprehensive Plan.Seven growth management optionsThe firm EPR has been hired to help develop the growth management options. “These were developed by the consultants and the staff after the first round of public input,”  said Vlad Gavrilovic with EPR. “They’re not intended as picking one as the winner or the loser. They’re intended to initiate discussion.” Let’s go through them. Here’s option one:“Applying more density and more in-fill development within the existing development areas and retaining and enhancing green infrastructure,” Gavrilovic said. “Next option was looking in the development areas to adjust the densities and reduce the maximum densities to more closely align with what people have actually been building as.” The third option would be to develop criteria for which the growth area might be adjusted. “Looking at new criteria to identify when, where, and how growth areas should be expanded,” Gavrilovic said.  “The next option was opportunities for non-residential development around the interchanges on I-64 to support job growth and economic development.” Option five would explore the possibility of rural villages. “Rural villages where you would promote small scale commercial and service uses to nearby rural area residents,” Gavrilovic said. “Number six was looking at current service provisions and seeing if adjustments are needed to ensure equitable distribution of services, particularly health and safety services.” The final option is to “explore opportunities to promote forest retention and regenerative land uses in the Rural area that support climate action goals.” So those are the seven scenarios. A second round of community engagement went out with these results. “We heard that the three options that best support climate action were regenerative uses in the rural area, rural villages, and distribution of service provision,” Kannellopollous said. “The three options that best support equity were service provision, rural villages, and providing more density and infill in the development areas with green infrastructure.” For the “accommodating growth” lens, the top three options were rural villages, non-residential development at Interstate interchanges, and service provision. Commissioner feedbackCommissioner Karen Firehock said she saw the provision of infrastructure to support development areas as an equity issue.“People should be able to walk to a park or a trail or a healthy environment near to where they live and not have to get in the car and drive a really long way to find something green,” Firehock said. Firehock said the county is expanding some services into the rural area, such as the Southern Convenience Center in Keene. She said that will make it easier for people to meet other environmental goals. Commissioner Lonnie Murray lives in the rural area, and hopes the growth management strategy does not undo work to date. “I think it’s important to have a concept of ‘do no harm’ in the rural area,” Murray said.As an example, he said he wants the county to stop paving gravel roads in the rural area. Bivins urged the Commission to look ahead to the next redistricting after the 2030 Census, when he said the urban areas will continue to have more of the county’s expected population. “If we do not increase the development area, Samuel Miller [District] will end up in the near future as the largest land mass district in Albemarle County.” Bivins said “From an equity standpoint, one has to say ‘is that where we want to go as a county?’” The Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service currently projects Albemarle’s population as increasing to 124,016 by 2030, up from 112,395 in the U.S. Census of 2020. Commissioner Fred Missel said he wanted to know more information about how capital infrastructure works together to support development.“How does the capital plan for infrastructure, how does that inform development and how are they linked together?” Missel asked. “Not to throw the [Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority] into the mix it’s just one that comes to mind. What is their capital plan and how does that support strategic density? How does it support sustainability?” Missel’s day job is as director of design and development at the University of Virginia Foundation. The Foundation is pursuing a rezoning at its North Fork Discovery Park for a potential mixed-use residential complex. If you’d like to learn more about capital projects in Albemarle County, click here.If you’d like to learn more about the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority’s Capital Improvement Program, download it here.Luis Carrazana’s day job is at the University of Virginia’s Office of the Architect. He said he wanted better metrics. “And a lot of times we focus on the big picture but we lose that option to say ‘we know we’re going in the right direction if we’re achieving A, B, C, and D,” Carrazana said. “So I would encourage everyone to think about that as well.” Planning Commissioner Corey Clayborne said density in the right place can help the county achieve certain goals, but he also acknowledged a tension with those who have pushed back. “That’s something we kind of have to wrestle to the ground and I’m not sure if that would be part of the final deliverable here as much as, is there an education sense in this process with the community as we step through this?” Clayborne asked. “Does that mean there are graphics or visuals? I’m not sure what that answer is yet but addressing it… if we can get our arms around and embrace strategic density, I think if you start talking about design importance, that could be a major key to affordable housing.” Commissioner Dan Bailey said one piece of data is experience that comes from what’s been approved and what’s actually been built. “I live in Belvedere and it has a concept that’s been there for nearly ten years of having centers in the community, but it’s been vacant for ten years,” Bailey said. “And we’ve done a lot of approving these novel neighborhood model density and other things where they should have this retail or office building. I would really love to know how many of them have actually been developed.” The next step will be a series of public engagement on the themes as well as the growth management options. Stay tuned. If you’re interested in this topic, invest an hour in the conversation to inform how you might participate. Housekeeping notes for 415 (Clean Floor edition)That’s the end of another installment of the program. Thank you so much for being here! I hope to have another one out tomorrow, followed by another on Friday. Then the Week Ahead and the Government Glance. The latter is the first publication of the new Fifth District Community Engagement.  That’s another service of Town Crier Productions, a company formed to keep you in the know. Contributions and payments to Town Crier Productions cover the cost of reporting. That includes a bill with the United States for the Public Access to Court Electronic Records. I use that service to stay up to date on federal lawsuits such the one former City Manager Tarron Richardson had filed against the city, or the two court cases that sought a House of Delegates race this year.  So, if you’re like to support this program which includes expenses like court reporting, consider a paid subscription through Substack. If do so, Ting will match your initial payment! And, if you sign up for their services through this link you’ll get a free standard install, your 2nd month free, and a $75 downtown mall gift card! Enter the promo code COMMUNITY for full effect. All of the funding goes to ensure I can keep doing the work, which two years ago included bringing the audio from a campaign forum to the public via the Charlottesville Podcasting Network. That’s also part of Town Crier Productions. There’s a lot, and your support will help me pull all of the pieces together into whatever it becomes. Music comes from the D.C. entity that currently goes by the name Wraki, selected randomly from a bin of basement-recorded cassette tapes. You can support that work by purchasing the album Regret Everything for whatever you would like to pay. Now. Off to go clean some floors. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

Saturday’s all right for writing! That is, writing information about land use, transportation, economic development, elections, and more! This is Charlottesville Community Engagement, a newsletter and podcast intended to let you know about a few things you didn’t know before, and intended to keep an eye on a great deal of things. I’m your host Sean Tubbs, exploring and exploiting my curiosity hopefully for your benefit. But please: No fighting! In today’s newsletter:The first campaign finance report is in for the race of the 55th House District, even if it’s still unclear when the election will be held Charlottesville Planning Commissioners seek action on safer streets in advance of the school A former Charlottesville school superintendent becomes Governor Youngkin’s permanent chief diversity officerThere’s one day left to fill out the latest questionnaire on Albemarle County’s growth management policy The head of the area’s aging services agency is elected to lead a statewide group First shout-out: Join me for a Cvillepedia training session - Brand styleIn today’s house-fueled public service announcement, the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society wants you to know about an upcoming exhibit at the Center at Belvedere featuring portraits of several historical figures active in the Charlottesville area in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Frances Brand was a folk artist who painted nearly 150 portraits of what she considered “firsts” including first Black Charlottesville Mayor Charles Barbour and Nancy O’Brien, the first woman to be Charlottesville Mayor. Brand’s work will be on display from July 5 to August 31 in the first public exhibit since 2004. And, if you’d like to help conduct community research into who some of the portraits are, cvillepedia is looking for volunteers! I will be leading three more Cvillepedia 101 training sessions at the Center July 18 at 2 p.m. Sign up at the Center’s website.Laufer outraises fellow Democrats in 55th District There is still a possibility that Virginia will have an election this year for the 100 seat House of Delegates. A second federal lawsuit arguing that legislators elected last November are in unconstitutional seats still awaits a final ruling and November 8 is 115 days away from today. That makes yesterday’s deadline for active candidates for the House of Delegates that much more compelling. There are currently three people seeking the Democratic nomination in the new 55th District, which includes most of Albemarle’s geography, as well as northeast Nelson County and western Louisa County. The Virginia Public Access Project has pulled together all of the filings, and former Charlottesville School Board member Amy Laufer outraised her opponents with a total of $61,731 raised in June. Fifty-seven donors contributed more than $100, requiring their identification. That includes a transfer of $7,327 from Laufer’s previous campaign for the Virginia Senate in 2019. There is one $10,000 gift from Hunter Bourne, and a pair of $5,000 gifts from Clean VA and the Morrill Family Investment. There were 68 contributions below the $100 limit. Emergency room nurse Kellen Squire raised $41,531 from March 8 to June 30. Thirty-four contributions were in excess of $100 with 406 below that threshold. There is one $20,000 contribution from Kay Ferguson.Albemarle County Supervisor Donna Price raised $11,798 with ten contributions above the $100 threshold and thirty below. Republican Rob Bell is the presumptive incumbent, currently representing the former 58th District. Bell began the year with a balance of $76,253 and has raised $5,250 so far this year. More on the status of the lawsuit in the next installment of Charlottesville Community Engagement. One days left to fill out Albemarle’s growth management surveyAs mentioned in the last program, a survey is about to close for Albemarle County’s growth management survey. The county is in the midst of updating their Comprehensive Plan, and this is the second questionnaire. Here’s more from a video produced by the office of Communications and Public Engagement (CAPE). “New development proposals that require a change in zoning or a rezoning are evaluated by recommendations in the Comprehensive Plan, including the growth management policy,” states the narrator. “As part of growth management, the Albemarle County Service Authority establishes a jurisdictional area where public water and sewer will be provided. This jurisdictional area mainly corresponds with the development area.” If  you’re interested in hearing more, the Albemarle CAPE has posted the latest episode of their Let’s Talk Albemarle podcast. The guest is Rachel Falkenstein, a manager in the Community Development department who oversees long-range planning.“Usually we look out 20 years and that number comes from the state of Virginia,” Falkenstein said. “They require localities to have a Comprehensive Plan that plans for 20 years out into the future so we use that for most of our planning documents.” As of Friday afternoon, 270 people had taken the survey, according to CAPE director Emily Kilroy. The Albemarle Planning Commission will have a work session on the Comprehensive Plan on July 26. To catch up on previous stories on land use issues in Albemarle, check out Information Charlottesville through this link. And if you’re in the mood to fill in another survey, the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission wants your input on the Regional Transit Vision Plan.. To catch up on all kinds of transit related stories, check out Information Charlottesville through this link. Youngkin appoints Atkins as chief diversity officerGovernor Glenn Youngkin has appointed former Charlottesville Superintendent Rosa Atkins to serve as Virginia’s Chief Diversity, Opportunity, and Inclusion Officer. Atkins has been serving in the position on an interim basis following the departure of his first appointee, Angela Sailor. According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Sailor left in April for a family matter. Atkins served as Charlottesville’s superintendent for 15 years before retiring. Earlier this year, former Governor Ralph Northam appointed her to serve as the acting superintendent of public instruction for the Virginia Department of Education. In the Northam administration, Atkins’ position was known as the Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer, but Youngkin changed the name in Executive Order #10 when he appointed Sailor. “We must strengthen and focus the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ODEI) by including in its mission the promotion of entrepreneurship and economic opportunity for all Virginians — including Virginians with disabilities — as well as the promotion of free speech and civil discourse,” reads that order.Sailor’s name is still on the website for the office. In other appointments of note, a University of Virginia official has been named to the Virginia Economic Development Partnership. Pace Lochte is the assistant vice president for economic development. Youngkin also appointed Rob Rutherford of Nelson County to the Virginia Manufactured Housing Board. Rutherford is a manager with Pro Tech Builder, a maker of modular homes.JABA leader elected to Virginia aging services associationThe chief executive officer of the area’s aging services association has been elected as president of the state entity that represents all 24 such agencies across the Commonwealth. Marta Keane of JABA will begin a two-year term as president of the Virginia Association of Area Agencies on Aging (V4A).Keane has been CEO of JABA since 2013. According to a release, during that time she helped form the Charlottesville Area Alliance as an umbrella organization for various entities that work with senior services in the community. “With this comes challenges to meet their increasing and changing needs, and opportunities to identify and maximize the strengths that seniors bring to our communities,” Keane is quoted in the release. “During the next two years, I hope to continue our efforts with demographic services to better identify areas that have unmet needs, work with networks to identify new ways to meet the needs, and identify new funding sources to allow us to grow and sustain critical services."JABA was formed in 1975 as the Jefferson Area Board for Aging. In today’s other two shout-outs: Local media and Code for CvilleCode for Charlottesville is seeking volunteers with tech, data, design, and research skills to work on community service projects. Founded in September 2019, Code for Charlottesville has worked on projects with the Legal Aid Justice Center, the Charlottesville Fire Department, and the Charlottesville Office of Human Rights. Visit codeforcville.org to learn about those projects. The final comes from another Patreon supporter who wants you to go out and read a local news story written by a local journalist. Whether it be the Daily Progress, Charlottesville Tomorrow, C-Ville Weekly, NBC29, CBS19, WINA, or some other place I’ve not mentioned - the community depends on a network of people writing about the community. Go learn about this place today!Charlottesville Planning Commissioners seek Council action on safer streets on school routesAs of today, there are 39 days left until the first day of school in the City of Charlottesville. Yesterday, the school system held a Transportation Talk and Walk Session to discuss a recent alert from Superintendent Royal Gurley that the bus driver shortage has worsened and walk zones will be expanded. This past Tuesday, the city Planning Commission was briefed on a request from one of its members that city government take steps to make routes to school. They got an update from Missy Creasy, Charlottesville’s assistant director of the Neighborhood Development Services office (NDS). “The city has a pretty robust program that they’re putting together to address how they are addressing the shortage at this point in time and some pretty innovative things on there,” Creasy said. These include encouraging older students to take Charlottesville Area Transit routes, hiring more crossing guards or finding more volunteers, and buying smaller buses that don’t require drivers to have commercial licenses. NDS director James Freas said the shortage provides an opportunity to apply goals of the recently adopted Comprehensive Plan to a real life problem. “Wrapped up in this challenge is an opportunity to explore those options,” Freas said. “The flip side of that is that it’s a little early for us right now in that we are in the process of building out a transportation planning program.” In May, Council was briefed by Deputy City Manager Sam Sanders on a series of problems with how the city has run its transportation planning program. For instance, transportation planners have had too high of a workload, and the city has been unable to move some projects forward. There’s also a vacancy in the position of bike pedestrian coordinator after the last person left the job at the end of 2021 to work for a consultant. “We expect that position to post very soon and see that position as really being able to take a lead role in doing exactly this type of work and that is coming up with innovative, innovative, and low-cost ways of improving pedestrians, particularly children’s safety, in the neighborhoods around our schools,” Freas said. Creasy said that the traffic engineer and the Safe Routes to School coordinator no longer work in NDS. Instead they work for the Public Works department, a decision made by former City Manager Tarron Richardson. Creasy said NDS does coordinate with public works, but more people are needed to implement what’s in the Comprehensive Plan. “We do have really good support for continuing to move forward in this direction,” Creasy said. “We have tools in place but we just need to fill them with humans so that we can keep the work going.” Creasy said she is aware of grassroots efforts to make things better, but coordination with the city is needed. Freas said that one remedy would be to paint bump-outs at curbs to provide more space for people. “It’s a significant safety improvement and you can do that with paint and potentially flex-posts, but even to do just that, you do have to do some engineering design, you do need to coordinate with public works street folks,” Freas said. Freas said that there’s a possibility of maybe having something done within six weeks, but he cautioned that it will be hard to do in that time frame. “I think, A, the school department’s plans are really good, I think they have some good solutions in place, and B, I think we can build towards that and start contributing the safety improvements we need to make as we go forward,” Freas said. Commissioner Rory Stolzenberg said he supported the idea of an official letter to City Council, but also said funding needed to be in place to implement the solutions.  “Is it safe to assume there is not within the currently allocated budget enough money to really address the things that staff would potentially want to address?” Stolzenberg asked. “Or potentially to hire outside traffic engineers to take some of the load of our in-house resources?” Freas said he would need to have a scope of work before answering that question. “We don’t have an identified line item for that right now so we would be cobbling together money from other sources,” Freas said. Stolzenberg said he would like the Planning Commission to recommend identifying money in the current fiscal year so incremental improvements can be made throughout the school year. He pointed out that Council voted in late June to purchase property for parking.“Council just spent $1.65 million on a parking lot with 40 spaces,” Stolzenberg said. “It seems to me that we can find money within the currently allocated [Capital Improvement Program] that could be reallocated to make sure that kids don’t get run over by cars on their way to school.” Stolzenberg also asked if the city has explored the ability to install cameras in school zones to capture people who speed. Freas and Creasy said they did not know if the city has done that research. The Commission agreed to send a letter to Council seeking support for the work. Stolzenberg said he would draft that document. The discussion took place just before the Commission’s joint public hearing with City Council. Vice Mayor Juandiego Wade said he heard the message.“It doesn’t have to be a war and peace type of document,” Wade said. “We understand the issues and we’re hearing a lot of from the citizens now.” Two more Talk and Walk sessions are scheduled this month. Do you have a specific concern? Drop me a line and I’d like to hear about it. Housekeeping notes for the conclusion of today’s newsletter:Thanks for reading! Today’s show is a rare Saturday show. Coming up next is the Week Ahead for July 18, as well as the Government Glance at the Fifth Congressional District. That’s a separate Substack. Music in the podcast version is composed by an entity currently going by the name Wraki. You can purchase the latest tracks on Bandcamp in an album called regret everything.  I certainly hope you will check it out! Finally, I can’t say enough positive things about Ting’s generous sponsorship. If you sign-up for Ting service, you’ll get:Free installationSecond month of Ting service for freeA $75 gift card to the Downtown MallAdditionally, Ting will match your Substack subscription to support Town Crier Productions, the company that produces this newsletter and other community offerings. So, your $5 a month subscription yields $5 for TCP. Your $50 a year subscription yields $50 for TCP! The same goes for a $200 a year subscription! All goes to cover the costs of getting this newsletter out as often as possible. Learn more here!Charlottesville Community Engagement is free to receive, but supported by paid subscriptions. If you subscribe, Ting will match your initial contribution! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

Today is the antepenultimate day of Fiscal Year 2022, and we’re counting down the hours to when the metaphorical ball will drop in Richmond marking the beginning of FY2023. Are you prepared? Feel free to review previous installments of Charlottesville Community Engagement to revisit the hundreds of stories written in the tinfopast 12 fiscal months. Or head on over to Information Charlottesville to see I’ve been able to cover at least. The “I” here is Sean Tubbs and thanks for reading. On today’s program: Charlottesville City Council gets details on a water infrastructure project in advance of a vote today by the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority Many people had an opinion about whether the name of the regional library system but it’s up to elected officials to decide on a change How much trash was processed in Virginia last year? The Department of Environmental Quality has a new report.And about two hundred people attended an open house on the forthcoming update of the city’s zoning codeToday’s first shout-out goes to WTJUIn today’s first Patreon-fueled shout-out: Algorithms know how to put songs and artists together based on genre or beats per minute. But only people can make connections that engage your mind and warm your heart. The music on WTJU 91.1 FM is chosen by dozens and dozens of volunteer hosts -- music lovers like you who live right here in the Charlottesville area. Listener donations keep WTJU alive and thriving. In this era of algorithm-driven everything, go against the grain. Tune in and support freeform community radio on WTJU Consider a donation at wtju.net/donate.Around 200 people turn up at Pavilion to get details on the city’s zoning processWhen the Cville Plans Together Initiative began in early 2020, there were plans to engage people at a series of meetings while the work of crafting an affordable housing plan and the Comprehensive Plan update was conducted. However, the pandemic forced all of that public engagement work to go online. Council adopted the Affordable Housing Plan in March 2021 and the Comprehensive Plan last November. Both call for additional residential density across the city and an update of the zoning code is the next step. This time around, people can meet in large numbers, and an open house was held yesterday at the Ting Pavilion where attendees could get a look at the new Diagnostics and Approach Report for the zoning rewrite. People could go through the entire process to date and ask questions of consultants, city staff and each other. I dropped by briefly and spoke with James Freas, the city’s Director of Neighborhood Development Services since last September.  (read the Zoning Diagnostic and Approach report)“We’ve just released the report about two weeks ago and what we’re really looking for is where can we answer clarifying questions, where can we answer questions about what we’ve already shared and what’s in there, and what else should we be considering?” Freas said. Freas said even half an hour into the event, he could see how community engagement will be different for this phase of the Cville Plans Together initiative. “If you look around, people are having conversations,” Freas said. “You can’t do this on a Zoom environment. So it’s really exciting to be back in person talking to people face to face, introducing ourselves, having a conversation, and even if we don’t agree, because we’ve met and talked face to face, we’re able to walk away in a move civil environment.” Freas said the city will collect comments through August, and he will be visiting various neighborhood associations to explain the idea. Then the diagnostics report will be finalized in September for the Planning Commission and Council to review, followed by the actual rewrite. DEQ releases solid waste reportMore than 22.7 million tons of solid waste were sent to processing facilities in Virginia last year, with nearly 5.4 million coming from out of state. That’s according to the annual solid waste report for 2021, released yesterday by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. “The total amount of solid waste received increased by one percent or 225,524.95 tons compared to 2020,” reads the report.However, the amount that came from another jurisdiction dropped by 5.28 percent. About 44 percent of out-of-state came from Maryland, 18.7 percent came from New York State, and 14 percent came from Washington D.C. Around 11.8 percent of the waste was incinerated and 73 percent went into landfills. Another 8.24 percent was recycled. All but one of Virginia’s 204 permitted solid waste facilities submitted reports. Locally, the landfill operated by Louisa County buried 23.1 tons of solid waste and has 10.2 years left of capacity. Two transfer stations included in the reporting are the Ivy Materials Utilization Center in Albemarle County as well as the Nelson County transfer station. Speakers express multiple views on renaming of library system The Board of Trustees of the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library met yesterday at the Northside Library on Rio Road for the usual things such as a five year plan and a budget. But the main item throughout the meeting was whether the system’s name should be changed. “I don’t expect that we will have a vote on the issue of the library’s name change today,” said Thomas Unsworth, the chair of the JMRL Board. “In fact the Board would be able to call a public hearing if need be to collect further feedback from commentary on that issue.”The public comment period came at the beginning of the meeting before comments on the topic from JMRL Director David Plunkett. The topic came up at the last trustee meeting in May when Myra Anderson asked for the change because Thomas Jefferson and James Madison owned people as enslaved workers. We’ll hear from Anderson again in a minute.  The first speaker identified himself as Nickolaus Cabrera and said he was a rising senior at the University of Virginia as well as president of the school’s chapter of Young Americans for Freedom. “We lose our future when we burn our past,” Cabrerra said. “What you all are considering today is a direct burning of our past. Why is this discussion happening? On what basis?” Cabrerra said the name change would do nothing more than promote a “woke agenda” and this would be an example of censorship. The next several speakers sided with this view. Others did not, including Gloria Beard of Charlottesville. “It’s time for a change for all people and I hope you all consider what we’re trying to bring across to you,”  Beard said. “It’s time to change so all people feel like this community is for everybody.” Others felt Jefferson and Madison’s legacy was too important not to honor. “Without Jefferson we would not have the freedoms we have so that is just so important for people to research, come to libraries that are full of books,” said Ann McLean of Richmond. “Yes, he loved books.” McLean said the Declaration of Independence was more important than the works of Shakespeare, the Magna Carta, and the writings of Cicero.“Without the principles set forth in the Declaration of Independence, we would have no rights and no liberties and be completely at the mercy of the government,” McLean continued. “Which we do not want to be!”Myra Anderson described herself as the president of the Reclaimed Roots Descendants Alliance and a descendant of enslaved laborers.“Six of my ancestors were sold on the auction block in 1829 at the second estate sale of Thomas Jefferson,” Anderson said. “At the time the Declaration of Independence was written and it was declared that all men are created equal, my sixth great grandfather and grandmother were enslaved at the time at Monticello.” Anderson said libraries should be inclusive spaces and the name should change to reflect the updated values of the system. She said to her, the name Jefferson does not just conjure up greatness. “It represents the trauma, the oppression, the pain, and the part of Jefferson that most white people want to gloss over when they talk about his greatness, but unfortunately that’s the part that put Black people on a trajectory of struggle,” Anderson said. Anderson said the precedent for such a change was set locally when the health district dropped his name last year. Director’s reportAfter the public comment period was over, Plunkett gave his report on how the name is currently codified and how it might be changed. He said state law for regional library boards deal with how trustees are appointed and the rules for spending money.  There’s no mention of who gets to name them. Plunkett said the current name has informally been in place since 1972 when the regional system was created to pool resources across a wider area. “The big reason though that Charlottesville, Albemarle, Greene, Louisa, and Nelson joined forces to create JMRL was because of state aid funding which was amplified in the 70’s,” Plunkett said. “Basically the state incentivized localities to get together and share their resources in order to provide library services.” The original agreement from 1972 did not yet include Greene County, and Plunkett said it was originally called the Thomas Jefferson Regional Library. “The library board heard a comment from a library board member who made a plea to them to change the name from the Thomas Jefferson Regional Library to the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library,” Plunkett said. Plunkett said that board member wanted to recognize the “special friendship” between Madison and Jefferson. He noted Madison did not live in the service area now operated by JMRL. Greene County joined in 1974 and the name was officially changed in an amended agreement. Plunkett said he’s sought legal advice about who gets to change the name. “The legal counsel that the library board has received is that the authority for changing the library name rests with member jurisdictions, with Charlottesville, Albemarle, Louisa, Greene, and Nelson,” Plunkett said. Plunkett said the agreement is overdue for its mandatory five-year review and a five-member committee with one appointed by each jurisdiction should begin that work and consider a new name as part of that process. “If there were changes made to the regional agreement at that point, they would need to take them back to their Boards of Supervisors or City Councils to vote on before that could come back as an amended regional agreement,” Plunkett said. Plunkett said the Blue Ridge Health District did not have to ask for permission to make a change and it was made administratively. He added Albemarle County Public Schools have a policy in place regarding school names (learn more). The University of Virginia has a Namings & Memorials committee. Board discussionDuring the Board discussion, Trustee Lisa Woolfork of Charlottesville noted the library was not named to honor the two former presidents, but their friendship. “It wasn’t about ‘Oh, look what they did for the Bill of Rights and the Declaration and et cetera,” Woolfork said. “It was, ‘these guys are friends!”’Woolfork noted that Charlottesville’s Unitarian church recently dropped Jefferson’s name from its official name. “I really do believe that we are in a moment where our democracy is being challenged in a variety of ways and I feel as though we have the opportunity to make some true progress to reflect some of the growth that Charlottesville has made,” Woolfork said. One of Albemarle’s trustees, Michael Powers, said at issue is that different people view as the primary legacy of Jefferson. “I think it’s clear to me that many people primarily associated Jefferson and Madison with their practice of slavery, but it’s also clear that whatever the origin of the name was at the time, over the last 50 years many people have come also to primarily associate these figures with powerful and fundamental American values, principles and ideals,” Powers said. Powers said the JMRL Board has to take both considerations into account and he spent some time defending how others have sought to defend Jefferson’s legacy. He cited the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution as the main legal tool used in the Civil Rights movement. “So we hear in the 14th amendment, equal protection for life, liberty, they are very familiar echoes of Jefferson’s ‘All men are created equal’ and ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” Powers continued. JMRL Chair Thomas Unsworth said while the JMRL can’t directly change the name, they can make recommendations or suggestions to local officials as part of the agreement review. Woolfork was clear that she feels the name must change and she resisted framing the issue as one of two equal sides. “It seems to me that that true energy of what a library does and brings and provides should be robust enough and substantial enough that we can serve our services areas and provide the things we continue to provide and not being called Jefferson Madison will not impede our ability to do that,” Woolfork said. The trustee from Louisa County pointed out that two of the five localities have already voted on resolutions opposing a name change. Neither resolution in either Greene or Louisa specified any further action. (Louisa Supervisors unanimously oppose name change, June 9, 2022)The trustee from Nelson County said she was concerned about the resolutions.“They put that out before even hearing what the other people in the area,” said Aleta Childs. The Board had a long discussion of the matter and in the end opted to pick up the conversation at its next meeting in July. By then, Tony Townsend of Albemarle will be the chair. “My agenda here is to make sure that the area’s most inclusive, diverse, and free resource doesn’t get sidetracked or handicapped by this discussion,” Townsend said. “I think it’s a good discussion. I think it needs to happen. I think we can probably come up with a plan that will allow everyone to have at least input.” Townsend said the process is just beginning. Woolfork said she wanted to know if Louisa and Greene would leave the regional system as a result. “Are they that committed to their adulation of Jefferson and Madison that they will just say ‘we don’t want to have a library with you anymore, thanks, and nice knowing you,’” Woolfork asked. The JMRL Board of Trustees next meets on July 25 at 3 p.m. Second shout-out is for LEAP’s new Thermalize Virginia program In today’s second Patreon-fueled shout-out: Have you been thinking of converting your fossil-fuel appliances and furnaces into something that will help the community reduce its greenhouse gas emissions? Your local energy nonprofit, LEAP,  has launched a new program to guide you through the steps toward electrifying your home. Thermalize Virginia will help you understand electrification and connect you with vetted contractors to get the work done and help you find any rebates or discounts. Visit thermalizeva.org to learn more and to sign up!  RWSA to vote today on Central Water Line projectToday the Board of Directors for the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority will meet to select an alignment for a five mile pipeline that the organization says is necessary to help secure drinking water infrastructure. Last week, Charlottesville City Council got a briefing on the project. (view the presentation)“So we call it the Central Water Line project because it was recommended to be located in the central portion of the city to provide the greatest water benefit to our regional water supply system,” said Bill Mawyer, the executive director of the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority. Mawyer said planning dates back to a drought in 2002 that led to a long discussion about how to expand the community water supply plan. That involved expansion of the Ragged Mountain Reservoir by building a new earthen dam, as well as an upgrade of the Observatory Water Treatment plan. This Central Water Line is to transfer water to a location in Pantops. “We realized later, it was not part of the original Community Water Supply plan, that we needed to have a large pipe coming away from the Observatory Treatment Plant so that we can distribute that water to all parts of the city and the county, the urban water area as we call it,” Mawyer said.The current cost share is a 52 to 48 percent split with the Albemarle County Service Authority picking up the larger share. Various versions of this pipeline have been considered in the past to increase capacity, and a report released last year called the Urban Finished Water Master Plan recommended this central pipe through the city. “If we expand the water treatment plant and we replace the raw waterline to get it to the treatment plant, it has no benefit if we can't put that water out into the system,” Mawyer said. Mawyer said the work would be done in segments of several hundred feet at a time with most of the work underneath city streets. “We expect the schedule to be from 2024 through 2028,” Mawyer said. Mawyer said the RWSA has presented to six neighborhood associations along the route and mailed out information to every parcel on the way. He said that led to another visitation of the five alignments and other alternatives that had been examined. One of the alignments would have used the Route 250 bypass but that would have taken eight years. “Work on the bypass was going to be quite a challenge [and] that likely would have to be completed at night due to the impacts on traffic,” Mawyer said. Other alignments included Preston Avenue, West Main, and along Harris Street and Fifth Street Extended. Mawyer said the latter got further attention during the neighborhood meeting phase. “Now, when we had our neighborhood meetings, they said, well what about going down Harris Street all the way to Fifth Street and come up Fifth Street ,” Mawyer said. “So we took a careful look at that and found that there were two disadvantages. One,  it was going to be about $8 million more expensive because it’s a much longer route.”Mawyer also said Fifth Street carries heavy traffic including emergency vehicles. Another potential alternative was to go underneath Shamrock Road which would have been shorter and cheaper, but other problems were identified.  “But Shamrock is such a narrow street, with no shoulder on one side, with on street parking, very congested, [and] you have the railroad track and the vertical curve,” Mawyer said. The Cherry Avenue alignment was deemed to have the least amount of traffic and to take the least amount of time to complete. “We think this southern Cherry Avenue [alignment] when all things are considered provides the greatest benefit and opportunity for us,” Mawyer said. “We recognize that there will be impacts along the way.” The RWSA’s chief engineer said she ran models on all of the various ways to connect the water line.“The connectivity that we get from the… Central Water Line that ties in all of these mains and provides this main corridor that goes east-west through the city in a relatively straight line really did provide the greatest hydraulic benefits to the system under the most number of conditions,” said Jennifer Whitaker. Councilor Michael Payne acknowledged he is not an engineer but he said he had concerns about the preferred alternative along Cherry Avenue in part because he felt RWSA’s assessment of impact to neighborhoods had been subjective. “Is that really the best route in terms of objective criteria and how much that decision has been made via subjective criteria,” Payne said. Payne said the Northern route would be cheaper with a price tag of $28 million. That alternative would also require moving ahead with an $11 million upgrade of the Emmet Street water main that was not otherwise required until the 2030’s. “It raises my eyebrow that a project that at least on my understanding while adding some redundancy to the whole system is primarily benefiting the Pantops area is being routed through the southern part of the city, particularly public housing and low income communities,” Payne said. Councilor Brian Pinkston has been on the RWSA Board of Directors since January. He supported the Cherry route and said it would have benefits for the southern portion of the city. “One of the extra benefits of doing it this way is that you get larger transmission lines on the southern side of the city,” Pinkston said. “That’s not something that’s been brought up tonight but its an important reason why I think this is the most reasonable route.” Pinkston also noted that much of the opposition is based on an idea somehow this would all be done for the benefit of people in Albemarle’s growth area. “I don’t know why it’s a problem that we would to help people in the county, particularly when they’re paying 52 percent of it,” Pinkston said. Council did not take a vote on how to direct Pinkston and the city’s two other RWSA members. Charlottesville Community Engagement is free to receive, but supported by paid subscriptions. If you subscribe, Ting will match your initial contribution! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

Today the year turns 161 days old, but don’t get too used to that number, for it will be replaced quite soon with another, and another, and so on. But 2022 is still not yet at the halfway point, and you’ve got three weeks left until that not-quite-august occasion on July 1. The occasion right now is this installment of Charlottesville Community Engagement, and this person writing is Sean Tubbs.  There’s lot of information in every installment of this newsletter and podcast. Send it on to more people to help grow the audience!On today’s program:The University of Virginia is asking developers to send in qualifications to build two mixed-use communities as part of an affordable housing initiativeTwo redevelopment projects being undertaken by the city’s public housing agency may not get financing through low-income housing tax credits this yearCharlottesville City Council officially kills the West Main Streetscape Louisa County Supervisors discuss a referendum for a sports complex and whether it should include turf fields on existing athletic fieldsAnd Charlottesville will only one outdoor pool at a time for the time being First shout–out: JMRL to kick off the Summer Reading ChallengeIn today’s first subscriber-supported public service announcement, the Jefferson Madison Regional Library wants you to read as much as you can this summer, and for encouragement and incentives, they’re holding another Summer Reading Challenge. There’s an Ocean of Possibilities this year and the Central Library will kick off the challenge this Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon at the Central Library. It will be a party with music, food, and fun! The Friends of the Library will pop up a mini-book sale and a Books on Bikes parade! You can learn more about the Summer Challenge and how you or your family members can win awards and receive prizes. Visit jmrl.org to learn more about the kickoff event, this Saturday! University of Virginia issues first request for qualifications for affordable housing developerThe University of Virginia is moving forward with an initiative to use property owned by its real estate foundation to create units that will be reserved for people whose incomes are below the area median income. The UVA Foundation issued a request this morning for qualifications from firms to develop two separate projects, including a two-acre site on Wertland Street. The other is a 12-acre site on Mimosa Drive known currently as Piedmont. “UVA/UVAF intends to enter into a ground lease with one or more development team(s) best suited to satisfy UVA/UVAF’s requirements and desired features,” reads the request for proposals. UVA announced a goal of building between 1,000 and 1,500 affordable housing units in March 2020, but momentum was stalled by the pandemic. These two sites as well as the North Fork Research Park were identified in December after initial work for the project was conducted by the firm Northern Urban Real Estate Ventures. A similar request for qualifications for a firm for North Fork will be made at a later date. Under the arrangement, the UVA Foundation would continue to own both sites and the developer would own the structures and other improvements. “UVA/UVAF seeks to maximize the amount of affordable and workforce housing at each site and as such, will provide the land as a part of the Project,” the request continues. “UVA/UVAF will not otherwise contribute funding to the Project.” The developer will be responsible for preparing the plans and getting all of the necessary approvals, including archaeological studies. They’ll also have to have experience getting financing through Virginia Housing. Other development requirements include:Deliver a moderate to high-density mixed income housing communityOffer a maximum number of affordable housing units, with an emphasis on creating mixed-income communities that include, but are not limited to, units in the 30 percent to 60 percent area median income rangeCoordinate with UVA/UVAF and local jurisdictions on the utilities and infrastructure that will serve the development, and coordinate on the design aesthetic that interacts with the surrounding community.Demolish the existing improvements as needed to accommodate the Project, with the exception of historic structures (applicable only at Piedmont).City officially cancels West Main Streetscape projectCharlottesville City Council has voted to officially cancel the $55 million West Main Streetscape project as well as other projects in an effort to get the city’s transportation house in order. The Virginia Department of Transportation will now administer a project to extend a turn lane at Route 250 and Hydraulic Road. A project to coordinate traffic signals on Emmet Street has also been canceled, as has a Smart Scale funded project at the intersection of Preston and Grady. The details were discussed at a work session with the Planning Commission on May 24. (read my story)“While this is called cancellation of those projects, that’s in regards to the funding with VDOT, so as discussed, especially some of the safety projects, these are not going away forever, they’re just going away as Smart Scale projects,” said City Engineer Jack Dawson. The West Main Streetscape began with a $350,000 study authorized by Council in February 2013 which also led to a rezoning for the street. Over the years, Council authorized more and more funding as a local match for VDOT funds to build the project which was to be split into four phases.  The project lost support as a plan to renovate and expand Buford Middle School became a priority for the current City Council. Charlottesville Mayor Lloyd Snook said the project has been on life support for at least a year. “In a sense, this is almost a formality for us to recognize that which has already been made clear to us and decisions we have made ourselves over the last few years,” Snook said. “This is just finally pulling the plug on it.” The Commonwealth Transportation Board next meets on June 21 and may take up the official resolution to defund the project. Virginia Housing does not recommend funding for two CRHA projectsThe Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority has appeared to have fallen short in its attempt to get financing for two planned redevelopment projects in a current funding cycle. Virginia Housing, the entity that authorizes low-income housing tax credits in Virginia, has issued its final rankings for this year pending approval by their Board of Commissioners later this month.  Credits for 47 units in the Sixth Street Phase One project have not been recommended to be funded through what’s known as the Housing Authority pool. An application for additional credits for 113 units for the second phase of the redevelopment of South First Street also did not rank high enough to move forward. Virginia Housing granted credits for the second phase in 2020 and this second application was to fill in a funding gap caused by higher construction costs. South First Street Phase One is currently under construction and is expected to be occupied earlier this year. That 62-unit project did receive low-income housing tax credits in 2021. The only application recommended for funding from the Housing Authority pool this year is for new construction of 68 units in Norfolk by a company called Brinshore. In that project, 47 of the units would be supported through the credits. CRHA executive director John Sales said is hopeful the Virginia Housing Board of Commissioners will reconsider the rankings at their next meeting in Richmond coming up later this month on June 21 and June 22.“The Board in the past has fully funded Public Housing redevelopment efforts,” Sales said. “We are hoping the Board does the same thing this year when making final allocations.”Sales said if Sixth Street’s request is not funded, CRHA will pursue another financing opportunity later this year or reapply in 2023. He said the South Street Phase Two project will move forward if another source can be found to fill in the funding gap.   You can download the full list of rankings from the Virginia Housing website.Lifeguard shortage causes Charlottesville to limit outdoor pool hoursWith summer just getting under way, the Charlottesville Parks and Recreation Department has made the decision to restrict hours at both Onesty Pool and Washington Pool so that only one of them will be open each day. “The Department is actively recruiting lifeguards and if the staffing levels increase and are able to operate both pools concurrently, we will update the operating hours,” reads a press release that was sent out this morning. For now, Onesty will be open Thursday through Saturday between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Washington Park Pool will be open those hours from Sunday to Wednesday. The indoor Smith Aquatic Center is now open every day after being closed for a couple of years. Outdoor spray grounds are also open. Visit the city’s website for more information. Second shout-out: The Plant Northern Piedmont Natives Campaign It’s getting close to the end of springtime, and one Patreon subscriber wants you to know the Plant Northern Piedmont Natives Campaign is a grassroots initiative of motivated citizens, volunteers, partner organizations, and local governments who want to promote the use of native plants. Did you know that National Pollinator Week is June 20th-26th this year? There are many ways to celebrate and learn more about our native pollinators, and here's a great one to start with:Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is hosting an in-person/virtual Pollinator Power Symposium on June 23rd, and there is an excellent line up of speakers scheduled for the day! There are plenty of resources on the Plant Northern Piedmont Natives Facebook page, so sign up to be notified of lectures, plant sales, and more! Louisa County may seek a referendum for a sports complexDiscussion of a sports complex with new athletic fields in Albemarle County stalled at the end of the budget cycle, but Louisa County is considering a referendum on the issuance of $16.5 million in bonds for that purpose. The Louisa County Board of Supervisors discusses a draft petition for the referendum at their meeting this past Monday. For a referendum to get on the ballot, a Circuit Court judge has to sign an order by August 18. “This is for a bond issue of up to $16.5 million and it lists four baseball fields, four rectangular fields for sports, concessions, lighting, parking and related facilities, a field house at the high school football field and renovation of existing sports facilities,” said Louisa County Attorney Helen Phillips. Phillips said the language in the ballot question has to be in plain English and not in legalese.Supervisors discussed the proper wording, and whether the suggested wording was too broad. There is a possibility of two different ballot questions. One would be for the complex, and one would be for the field house and other renovations. “In the discussions we’ve had about going to referendum, I don’t recall anything other than just going to referendum to see if people would get behind building a sports complex,” said Mountain Road District Supervisor Tommy Barlow. Supervisor Fitzgerald Barnes said he sees the need for a complex that would expand the county’s offerings, but that the existing school fields also need to be addressed. “What we don’t have in this county is synthetic surfaces for girls’ softball where they could play in the rain,” Barnes said. “These fields would allow, number one, not having to water them, not having to fertilize them, not having to cut them. They would be maintenance free fields.” Barnes said this could help the county increase revenue from lodging taxes. Supervisor Toni Williams of the Jackson District said the ballot question as suggested appeared to assume that the county has already decided to proceed with the project. “It appears that the cake is baked in this that the decision has been made to build them,” Williams said. “Maybe the real special election should ask, first of all, do you want these facilities in the county, and if you want them, do you authorize the Board to pay for them by bond?” Supervisors gave direction to divide the referendum into separate questions. Final language will be discussed and approved at future meetings. The location for a future sports complex has also not yet been selected. For more information on this and anything else happening in Louisa County, visit Engage Louisa by Tammy Purcell. Town Crier Productions has a sponsorship thing with Ting!For over a year one year now, Town Crier Productions has had a promotional offering through Ting!Are you interested in fast internet? Visit this site and enter your address to see if you can get service through Ting. If you decide to proceed to make the switch, you’ll get:Free installationSecond month of Ting service for freeA $75 gift card to the Downtown MallAdditionally, Ting will match your Substack subscription to support Town Crier Productions, the company that produces this newsletter and other community offerings. So, your $5 a month subscription yields $5 for TCP. Your $50 a year subscription yields $50 for TCP! The same goes for a $200 a year subscription! All goes to cover the costs of getting this newsletter out as often as possible. Learn more here! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

Hello and welcome to another episode of Charlottesville Community Engagement for June 9, 2022. While I increasingly wonder if I am a cartoon character, I am certain I am not the subject of National Donald Duck Day and if you listened to the beginning of the podcast version, you would have proof. Additionally, my name is not Earl and I am not sure an entire day needs to be devoted to strawberry rhubarb pie. I am certain I’m Sean Tubbs, and that the show really begins now. This ongoing compendium of information is supported by paid subscriptions, but you can get it for free. If you do pay, Ting will match your initial payment! Please support the work! On today’s program: Another federal lawsuit is filed to seek a House of Delegates race this yearThe Louisa County Board of Supervisors goes on record unanimously opposing a change to the regional library system The head of the area’s tourism bureau briefs Council on hotel occupancy and efforts to promote Black-owned destinationsVirginia to receive $76.4 million from the latest carbon allowance auction brokered by the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative First shout-out is for LEAP’s new Thermalize Virginia program In today’s first Patreon-fueled shout-out: Have you been thinking of converting your fossil-fuel appliances and furnaces into something that will help the community reduce its greenhouse gas emissions? Your local energy nonprofit, LEAP,  has launched a new program to guide you through the steps toward electrifying your home. Thermalize Virginia will help you understand electrification and connect you with vetted contractors to get the work done and help you find any rebates or discounts. Visit thermalizeva.org to learn more and to sign up! Another lawsuit filed to force House of Delegates race this NovemberAnother Richmond area resident has filed a federal lawsuit in the Eastern District of Virginia claiming that the House of Delegates boundaries in place for the November 2021 election are unconstitutional. The action comes two days after a three-judge panel ruled that Paul Goldman did not have the legal standing to make the claim that the Board of Elections erred in certifying elections for outdated legislative boundaries. Jeffrey Thomas Jr. had filed to be added to a suit filed by Paul Goldman last October, but Monday’s opinion rendered that request to intervene moot. Yesterday Thomas filed a “petition of mandamus” that asks the court to consider his claim that he has suffered a legal injury because the 71st House District where he resides has a 2020 Census Count that contains more people than it should. “Plaintiff and all other voters and residents in [House District] 71-2011 have had their voting strength and political representation unconstitutionally diluted or weakened by their failure of Defendants to conduct, enact, or oversee decennial constitutional reapportionment, redistricting, or elections,” reads paragraph 10 of the petition.Paragraph 17 of the petition states that the smallest House District has a population of 71,122 and the largest has a population of 130,082 according to the 2020 Census.  Thomas states his own district is ten percent over the ideal size and that the Virginia Constitution doesn’t permit a deviation above five percent. Paragraph 29 and 30 point out that Thomas is now within the new 78th House District, which has a population of 87,774 people. Thomas seeks a repeat of 1982 when a federal court ordered elections for the House of Delegates for similar reasons in the Cosner v. Dalton case.“Conducting House of Delegates elections in 2022 under constitutional lines is a proper remedy under the Cosner precedent,” reads paragraph 58.  Thomas is requesting that attorneys for the Commonwealth of Virginia make a reply or file a motion to dismiss within 48 hours of their receipt of the petition. Louisa Supervisors unanimously oppose name change for regional libraryAt their meeting this past Monday, the seven-member Board of Supervisors for Louisa County voted on a resolution to formally oppose any change of the name of the Jefferson Madison Regional Library system. A group requested that action at the most recent meeting of the JMRL’s Board of Trustees.Supervisor Chair Duane Adams of the Mineral District asked for the resolution to be put on the agenda. “I think about $392,000 of our tax money goes to funding the Jefferson Madison Regional Library [and] we have a right to say how our money is spent,” Adams said. Adams said this resolution did not withhold the funding but simply stated opposition to a potential name change. “If the library board changes their name I will put a motion and resolution on the [Louisa] Board’s agenda to withhold our $392,000 and bring it back to the county,” Adams said. “What that would mean is we would withdraw from the regional library system.”Adams said the library would not close and service would continue. For comparison, the Fluvanna public library is independent of JMRL and that county’s budget is $457,442 for fiscal year 2023. Adams also noted there is no outcry against the name of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission or that there is a tobacco leaf on the Louisa County seal. “I think at some point we have to recognize that history and people is both good and bad,” Adams said. “Yes, the institution of slavery was evil, it was awful, it was despictable and I don’t think anyone would ever try to justify it.” Cuckoo District Supervisor Willie Gentry said he wanted to know more information about what the new name might be. “It’s kind of hard to say you oppose something when you don’t know what it’s going to,” Gentry said. “The second thing is, the name on the building is the Louisa County library.” Gentry, Adams, and the rest of the board voted to oppose the name change. The next meeting of the JMRL Board of Trustees will be held on June 27 at the Northside Library beginning at 3 p.m.Virginia receives $76.4 million in June’s cap-and-trade auctionVirginia has now participated in six auctions brokered by the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, an interstate compact that seeks to incentivize investment in new sources of power generation that produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions. The Commonwealth joined the program in 2020 and legacy generators of electricity must purchase credits to exceed caps authorized by the General Assembly that year. The latest auction was held earlier this month, and Virginia will receive $76,418,182.90. By the terms of the state code, Virginia will direct 45 percent to the Community Flood Preparedness Fund and 50 percent to support energy efficiency programs for low-income households. Read more about the auction in this press release.Governor Glenn Youngkin has pledged to withdraw Virginia from RGGI out of a concern that energy companies such as Dominion pass on the costs to consumers. Earlier this year he signed an executive order seeking that outcome, but that action would require action by the General Assembly. Legislation to withdraw did not pass but the issue is likely to come back. At the local level, the city of Charlottesville will hold a virtual workshop tonight on the Climate Vulnerability Assessment, which the city will use to create a climate action plan. Top hazards identified are an increase in violent storms and periods of extreme heat. If you want to attend, you’ll have to register in advance. (register in advance)Watch a tutorial on RGGI auctions:Second shout-out is for a Charlottesville Jazz Society concert this Saturday:In today’s second subscriber-supported shout-out. On Saturday June 11, the Charlottesville Jazz Society and WTJU present Michael Bisio in a solo acoustic bass performance. Bisio is touring in support of his new solo bass recording "Inimitable". Opening for Michael Bisio will be Richmond violinist/electronics artist Zakaria Kronemer. The concert at Visible Records on Broadway Avenue will begin at 8 pm. A suggested donation of $10 at the door is requested.  For more information visit cvillejazz.org or call (434) 249-6191.Council briefed on tourism group’s efforts to bring in more visitorsHotel occupancy in Albemarle and Charlottesville continues to rebound with overnight stats in April of this year slightly above the previous year, but still below pre-pandemic levels.“We’re recovering a bit,” said Courtney Cacatian, the executive director of the Charlottesville Albemarle Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Our hotel occupancy is still limited by our workforce here.” Cacatian provided that information to City Council at a work session Monday that served as an introduction to the agency, which was created in 1979 to promote tourism in the area. She said the entity never stopped advertising during the pandemic, so there is pent-up demand reflected in the average daily rates. This April that figure was over $170 a day compared to around $100 in April 2021. (view the presentation) “The mission is really to enhance the economy, specifically in the tourism industry, and to generate tax revenue for the city and the county,” Cacatian said. “And we reinvest that funding back into the tourism economy to start that funnel again.” Cacatian has been in the position since August 2019, several months before the pandemic hit. The agency’s main source of funding is through the transient occupancy tax levied by Albemarle and Charlottesville, in addition to grants. The CACVB’s budget lags two year behind collection, which explains why the FY23 budget of $1.72 million is lower than the FY22 budget of $2.053 million Much of the funding goes into marketing. “And that marketing includes advertising, public relations, and sales efforts,” Cacatian said. “We’re the storytellers for Charlottesville and Albemarle and we get to tell people who don’t live here what we want them to know about us so that they come to visit.” CACVB also served as a pass-through agent for $680,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding that originated from the Virginia Tourism Council, as well as $750,000 in ARPA funding from Albemarle County. One of the marketing initiatives targeted to a national audience is called Discover Black Cville which went live on March 27. That began in August 2020 with listening sessions with Black businesses and attractions. “It was really important to me that we were making sure that our community had buy in before we launched nationally and you could tell on launch day how much community buy in and positivity had been created by this effort,” Cacatian said. The initial launch weekend led to several articles:My Trip To Charlottesville, Virginia Taught Me The Importance Of Black Ownership In America, Marsha BadgerCharlottesville, VA, To Highlight Black-Owned Businesses Through Community-Led Initiative, Brunno BragaCharlottesville Celebrates National Launch of Discover Black Cville, Mary MelnickVice Mayor Juandiego Wade was on hand for the event.“It was a room full of writers from different newspapers and I love meeting new people so it didn’t take much for me to get there and talk to them,” Wade said. “It was great. It was just a perfect weekend as far as the weather, the activity. It was smelling great outside with the different food so I hope they enjoyed it.”Councilor Sena Magill said she really liked what CACVB is doing with Discover Black Cville, but she said she was concerned about any funds being used to pay for short-term rentals that may not be properly registered with the city.“If the city is paying a large chunk of money and then we are providing advertising space for companies who are breaking our zoning laws and impinging on our affordable housing stock…” Magill said.“And then typically not paying the taxes either,” said Charlottesville Mayor Lloyd Snook.“Yeah!” Magill said. “I have some issues with that.” Cacatian said she would look into the matter. The Board of Directors for the CACVB next meet on July 11. Check the public notices section of their website for more information. Town Crier Productions has a sponsorship thing with Ting!For over a year one year now, Town Crier Productions has had a promotional offering through Ting!Are you interested in fast internet? Visit this site and enter your address to see if you can get service through Ting. If you decide to proceed to make the switch, you’ll get:Free installationSecond month of Ting service for freeA $75 gift card to the Downtown MallAdditionally, Ting will match your Substack subscription to support Town Crier Productions, the company that produces this newsletter and other community offerings. So, your $5 a month subscription yields $5 for TCP. Your $50 a year subscription yields $50 for TCP! The same goes for a $200 a year subscription! All goes to cover the costs of getting this newsletter out as often as possible. Learn more here! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

The Louisa County Board of Supervisors adopts a resolution unanimously condemning the call to drop the names Jefferson and Madison from the name of the regional library system. Any other counties? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to Mother’s Day Eve, a holiday that may not exist, but is certainly a possibility in a world that seems to have an occasion for everything. While we wait for Mommoween to be invented, we’ll just have to settle for another installment of Charlottesville Community Engagement, a newsletter and podcast that is most certainly not funded by Big Greeting Card. Find the info worthwhile? Send it on to others! On today’s program:Greene County’s Commissioner of Revenue resigns after pleading guilty to federal charges of witness tampering Kellen Squire officially launches his race to the Democratic nominee for the 55th House District Dr. Denise Bonds is stepping down as director of the Blue Ridge Health DistrictAnother surge of COVID appears to be in the making, but it’s too early to tell how severe it might be And the City of Charlottesville is taking donations to help cover unpaid utility bills Today’s first shout-out goes to WTJUAlgorithms know how to put songs and artists together based on genre or beats per minute. But only people can make connections that engage your mind and warm your heart. The music on WTJU 91.1 FM is chosen by dozens and dozens of volunteer hosts -- music lovers like you who live right here in the Charlottesville area. Listener donations keep WTJU alive and thriving. In this era of algorithm-driven everything, go against the grain. This week is the annual Rock Marathon, so tune in and support freeform community radio on WTJU Consider a donation at wtju.net/donate.Snow resigns as Greene County Commissioner of RevenueLarry Snow has resigned as the Commissioner of Revenue in Greene County after pleading guilty in federal court to tampering with a witness. Snow appeared in the Western District Court in Charlottesville Friday to answer to charges that stemmed from a federal investigation, along with his son who pleaded guilty to a charge of heroin distribution. The elder Snow was caught trying to harass and intimidate a confidential informant involved with the investigation.“Elected officials should hold themselves to a higher standard and serve their community responsibly,” said Stanley M. Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Division in a release sent out by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia. “Mr. Snow violated the faith entrusted to him, and with his son criminally used personal information of community members for their own gain,” Snow was first elected to the position in 1987 and was reelected in 2019 while under indictment with three quarters of the vote. In November 2017, Bryant Snow was arrested on two state counts of distribution after selling methamphetamine and heroin to an informant. He plead guilty to the meth charge in April 2018 and was imprisoned at Central Virginia Regional Jail. While there, the father and son discussed ways to intimidate someone referred to as Person A. At one point, the elder Snow sent out over 12,000 pamphlets to Greene County residents describing how the Sheriff’s Department uses informants in an attempt to dissuade Person A. Larry Snow will be sentenced on July 25 and Bryant Snow will be sentenced on August 1 before Senior Judge Norman K. Moon. Bonds stepping down as director of the Blue Ridge Health DistrictA search will soon get underway for a new director of the Blue Ridge Health District now that Dr. Denise Bonds has announced she’ll step down from the position at the end of this month. She’s been the health director since 2015 and led the agency during the COVID-19 pandemic and during a name change. “Under Dr. Bonds’ leadership, BRHD expanded its HIV testing and prevention services, increased access to testing for sexually transmitted diseases, and broadened the size and reach of the Population Health Division, including launching a robust Community Health Worker program,” reads an announcement from the Blue Ridge Health District sent out yesterday afternoon. Dr. Bonds also served as interim director of the Rappahannock Area Health District from August 2020 to April 2021. The Blue Ridge Health District is also closing down its COVID-19 case investigation team. According to the release, they followed 47,274 cases since March 2020. After this weekend, the Mobile Health Unit created during the pandemic has held 200 events at which over 5,000 COVID vaccinations were administered. A memorial to those lost during the COVID-19 pandemic will be held on May 24, 2022 at the Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital Amphitheater.COVID-19 update A spring surge of COVID-19 continues to rise with the Virginia Department of Health reporting 2,677 new cases on Friday, with a seven-day average for positive tests at 11 percent. That’s about where things were in late February when the Omicron surge was waning. “And that’s up from around three percent, three and a half percent in March, so we have seen an increase in test positivity,” said Dr. Costi Sifri, the director of hospital epidemiology at the University of Virginia Health System. “This is occurring in a background where we’re having less testing in general because of the growth of at-home testing and I would say the vast majority of the people who are testing positive at home through a rapid antigen test are not going on to get a PCR test somewhere else.” The dashboard for the Blue Ridge Health District hasn’t been updated since May 1, and the Virginia Department of Health no longer provides that information in an easily-consumable fashion. The dataset is available here.  The increasing number of cases are not leading to increased hospitalizations. Today the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association reports 30 COVID-positive people in intensive care units and 11 on respirators. At the height of the Omicron surge in late January of this year, that number climbed over 400. Dr. Sifri said the numbers are expected to rise as more people forgo wearing masks indoors and as people move further away from their vaccinations or boosters. “There is some progressive loss of some immune response,” said Dr. Sifri. “And finally, in this background is new subvariants of Omicron.” Dr. Sifri points people to the weekly models produced by the University of Virginia's Biocomplexity Institute. The latest from April 29 predicts a further surge this summer, though with lower death rates due to treatments that are now available, more than two years after the pandemic began. “The open question is how much of an impact will that have on health systems?” Dr. Sifri asked. “Is that going to lead to more hospitalizations? Is that going to lead to more [intensive care unit] hospitalizations and deaths? That’s our concern.”Dr. Sifri said vaccinations may not prevent infection but do limit the severity. City taking donations to cover unpaid utility billsIt’s been nearly a month since the City of Charlottesville announced it would resume the practice of shutting down service for unpaid utility bills. There was a statewide moratorium on such disconnects that expired last September. In all, the city used $557,000 in various federal assistance programs to help some customers.However, they announced in April disconnects would resume. “To date, six accounts have been disconnected and remain out of service,” said Chris Cullinan, the city’s finance director, in an email to Charlottesville Community Engagement. However, the city is taking donations to help prevent further disconnects. Cullinan said that as of Thursday, the city had received $800 from concerned community members. He said checks marked with “Water/WW Assistance” in the memo can be sent to:City of Charlottesville Utility Billing OfficePO Box 911Attn: Water and Wastewater AssistanceCharlottesville, VA  22902Second shout-out goes to a Charlottesville Jazz Society event this weekendIn today’s second subscriber-supported shout-out, the Charlottesville Jazz Society and WTJU are pleased to bring bassist Joe Fonda back to town with his long-standing group the Nu Band. They’ll be appearing Tuesday May 10 at the Bridge at 209 Monticello Road. The Nu Band is a dynamic jazz ensemble from New York City, featuring some of the most unique, compelling and in-demand voices in creative music today. The band was formed in 1999, and since then has released 10 recordings, completed 9 European and several US tours, bringing forward-leaning, provocative and evocative music to the world. All tickets for The Nu Band at The Bridge, May 10th at 7 pm will be $10 at the door. For more information visit cvillejazz.org, Squire launches campaign with ad releaseThere’s still no firm resolution on whether Virginia will elect the next set of members of the next House of Delegates this November or the next, but there are two active candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for the newly drawn 55th District. On Friday, Kellen Squire released a video to launch a campaign for which he filed earlier this spring. He’s an emergency room nurse who ran in the 58th District in 2017 against incumbent Rob Bell. “Just as I believe there’s hope for me when I come home to my family,” Squire narrates in the two-minute video that depicts him driving home from a shift, concluding with him getting out of his vehicle. “I’m Kellen Squire and I’m running for the House of Delegates because as an emergency department nurse, I know that we all do better when we all do better,” Squire continues. “I’ll fight unapologetically for rural Virginia. I’ll put people before party. And I’ll make sure no Virginian gets left behind.” Squire joins Albemarle Supervisor Donna Price in the race for the Democratic nomination, a race in which the winner could take on Republican Rob Bell, who has represented the 58th District since 2002. He’s not yet made an announcement about the next election. The 55th District is geographically different and will consist of most of Albemarle County, western Louisa County, and northeast Nelson County. Price made her announcement on Facebook on Tuesday, a day after someone leaked a draft Supreme Court ruling purporting to overturn Roe v. Wade. (read the story)There is a chance that an election could be held this year due to a federal lawsuit filed by Richmond attorney Paul Goldman arguing that legislators elected in 2021 are in unconstitutional districts. Judge David Novak of the Eastern District of Virginia is expected to rule on whether Goldman has the legal standing to file the case.On Thursday, Novak admonished Goldman for filing a motion to ask the court to consider the draft ruling as evidence for why a House of Delegates race should be run this year. “The Court hereby STRIKES this Motion at patently inappropriate and completely irrelevant to this case,” Novak wrote in an order. “Neither draft opinions nor press reports have any impact on the decisions of this Court.” Novak told Goldman to stop filing additional motions. Help support Town Crier Productions with a paid subscription to this newsletter!For one year now, Town Crier Productions has a promo with Ting!Are you interested in fast internet? Visit this site and enter your address to see if you can get service through Ting. If you decide to proceed to make the switch, you’ll get:Free installationSecond month of Ting service for freeA $75 gift card to the Downtown MallAdditionally, Ting will match your Substack subscription to support Town Crier Productions, the company that produces this newsletter and other community offerings. So, your $5 a month subscription yields $5 for TCP. Your $50 a year subscription yields $50 for TCP! The same goes for a $200 a year subscription! All goes to cover the costs of getting this newsletter out as often as possible. Learn more here! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

Today’s visit to the National Day Calendar reveals what many would regard as plain old silliness. Apparently it is National Chocolate Custard Day, National Garden Meditation Day, National Two Different Colored Shoes Day and National Lumpy Rug Day. If Charlottesville Community Engagement had a budget for promotional prizes, one would go for a winning photograph in a contest to capture the essence of all four of these fantastical days. In all seriousness, May 3 is also World Press Freedom Day and I’m honored to be able to bring your this information on as many days as possible. On today’s program:The chair of the Albemarle Board of Supervisors will run for the Virginia House of Delegates Several tourist destinations across the region receive matching funds from the Virginia Tourism CorporationThe head of the Thomas Jefferson Area Coalition for the Homeless briefs Council on progress towards getting everybody housedAnd the Albemarle Architectural Review Board takes a first look at a project to build 81 units of permanent supportive housing Today’s first shout-out goes to LEAPWe’re now well into spring, and many of us may have already turned on our air conditioning units for the first in months. To see what you can do to get the most out of your home, contact LEAP, your local energy nonprofit, to schedule a home energy assessment this month - just $45 for City and County residents. LEAP also offers FREE home weatherization to income- and age-qualifying residents. If someone in your household is age 60 or older, or you have an annual household income of less than $74,950, you may qualify for a free energy assessment and home energy improvements such as insulation and air sealing. Sign up today to lower your energy bills, increase comfort, and reduce energy waste at home!Supervisor Price running for 55th House of Delegates The chair of the Albemarle Board of Supervisors has announced she will be a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the new 55th District for the Virginia House of Delegates, whether the next election is held this year or next. Scottsville Supervisor Donna Price announced this morning on Facebook that yesterday’s leak of a Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade prompted her to file for her candidacy. “I yesterday morning filed my campaign committee paperwork to be a candidate - whether it be this year as a result of the Federal District Court case of Goldman v. Brink; or, next year as regularly scheduled,” Price wrote.Federal Judge David Novak is currently deliberating on whether Richmond Attorney Paul Goldman has the legal standing to have filed a suit claiming Virginia’s current legislative districts are unconstitutional because they are still based on the 2010 Census. The Virginia Supreme Court adopted new districts drawn by Special Masters in late December 2021 after a redistricting commission failed to reach consensus. The incumbent in the 55th District is Republican Rob Bell, who currently sits in the 58th District. The new 55th District covers most of Albemarle County, western Louisa County, and northeastern Nelson County.Price joins Kellen Squire as declared Democratic candidates in the 55th District. Squire ran against Bell in 2017 for the 58th District and was defeated 61.2 percent to 38.71 percent. Bell outraised Squire $471,519 to $115,210 that year. Squire was briefly a candidate in the 2021 Lieutenant Governor’s race. The first campaign finance report for the next House of Delegates race is not due until July 2022. In her announcement on Facebook, Price said she was running now to protect reproductive rights, which she said are one vote away from being overturned in Virginia. “While I support the legal basis of the Goldman v. Brink plaintiff, I have been holding personal concerns about elections in 2022 given the mood of the country,” Price wrote. “Those concerns no longer exist.  We are in a legally existential battle for the rights of Americans.”Price was elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2019 by beating Republican Michael Hallahan on a 55.21 percent to 44.44 percent margin. Hallahan raised $92,256 to Price’s $38,234. Squire, an emergency room nurse,  said he will be making a formal announcement on Friday but responded to a question this morning.“I filed the first week of March, but have spent the last two months building the local, regional, and statewide support that will be necessary to win this race,” Squire wrote. “I've been told by both current and former local, regional, and statewide elected officials of both parties that the Virginia GOP intends to dump whatever resources are necessary to keep this seat in their column.” Squire credited his 2017 race with laying the groundwork for the eventual Democratic takeover of the House of Delegates and the Senate in 2019. Youngkin decries leakAs for that leak, U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Roberts has confirmed the publication of a draft opinion.“Although the document described in yesterday’s reports is authentic, it does not represent a decision by the Court or the final position of any member on the issues in the case,” reads a press release from the Court.Roberts has directed the Marshall of the Court to investigate the source of the leak.  In a statement, Governor Glenn Youngkin decried the leak and said it was premature to speculate on what the actual ruling will be. “We learned from listening to Virginians over the last year that we have much common ground on this issue. I am pro-life, and I have been very clear about that since the day I launched my campaign,” Youngkin said. As of today, there’s no ruling from Judge David Novak on the Goldman v. Brink case. Area tourism efforts receive funding from the Virginia Tourism CorporationGovernor Glenn Youngkin has announced the award of 259 grants to entities across the Commonwealth to mark National Travel and Tourism Week. The funding comes from the Virginia Tourism Corporation’s Marketing Leverage Program & Regional Marketing Program Grants“This funding cycle, local partners will commit more than $12.4 million to match the VTC funding, providing more than $15 million in new marketing activity,” reads a press release sent out on Monday.  The recipients are:Blue Mountain Barrel House and Organic Brewery in Afton for their Road Trip to Nelson 29 promotion ($5,000)Boars Head Resort for their Winter Wander promotion ($5,000)Center for Independent Documentary Inc in Charlottesville for the La Loba Festival ($5,000)Charlottesville and Albemarle County for the Historic Vines, New Roots promotion ($20,000)Crozet Park for the Crozet Arts and Crafts Festival ($10,000)Ix Art Park Foundation for the Cville Arts Winter Weekends / Charlottesville Arts Festival ($10,000)Louisa Chamber of Commerce for Unplug & Play 2.0 ($5,000)Louisa County Parks, Recreation and Tourism for the Happening Around Corner: Louisa County Events / Visit Louisa Mobile App ($24,936)Love Ridge Mountain Lodging of Charlottesville for the launch of the program ($10,000)Nelson County for the Nelson County Dark Skies Trail and the Nelson Winter Market ($20,000)Orange County for the Orange Uncovered promotion ($20,000)Queen City Mischief & Magic in Staunton for the Queen City Mischief & Magic Festival ($16,616)Quirk Charlottesville for their program History, Hiking, and Heritage: A Trip to Charlottesville ($10,000)Southern Revere Cellars LLC for the Land Made promotion ($10,000) Staunton Augusta Art Center for the Art in the Park promotion ($3,000)Staunton Music Festival for the Staunton Music Festival / BaroqueFest 2022 program ($13,750)Summer Stage LLC for the Summer Stage @ the Blackburn program ($10,000)The Front Porch of Charlottesville for the Boots and Bling Fall Gala ($4,350)Tom Tom Foundation of Charlottesville for the Tom Tom Festival ($10,000)Virginia Festival of the Wheel in Charlottesville ($10,000)Wayne Theatre Alliance in Waynesboro for an Outdoor Production ($10,000)Waynesboro for the Family Friendly Waynesboro program ($20,000)Shout-out to Camp AlbemarleToday’s second subscriber-supported public service announcement goes out to Camp Albemarle, which has for sixty years been a “wholesome rural, rustic and restful site for youth activities, church groups, civic events and occasional private programs.”Located on 14 acres on the banks of the Moorman’s River near Free Union, Camp Albemarle continues as a legacy of being a Civilian Conservation Corps project that sought to promote the importance of rural activities. Camp Albemarle seeks support for a plan to winterize the Hamner Lodge, a structure built in 1941 by the CCC and used by every 4th and 5th grade student in Charlottesville and Albemarle for the study of ecology for over 20 years. If this campaign is successful, Camp Albemarle could operate year-round. Consider your support by visiting campalbemarleva.org/donate. Council briefed on increase in homelessness in Charlottesville areaThe Thomas Jefferson Area Coalition for the Homeless (TJACH) is the lead agency in this region for the U.S. Department of Housing and Development’s Continuum of Care program. They cover an area including Charlottesville, Albemarle, and the other localities in the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission. “We believe that everyone deserves a safe place to call home and we believe that is a human right,” said Anthony Haro, TJACH’s executive director. (download Haro’s presentation)Haro said the goal of TJACH is to make homelessness as rare, brief, and nonrecurring as possible. He said homelessess is a symptom of a system that lacks enough resources and coordination. Every year, TJACH participates in the Point in Time survey to measure the size and scope of homelessness in a community. “Every year we do it in January with the goal of trying to identify folks at a time when we’re hoping most people are in sheltered settings because of the weather,” Haro said. The count is reported to HUD and the same methodology has been used for the past 12 years. The number of people in emergency shelters increased from 144 in January 2021 to 228 in January 2022. “The most significant shift has just occurred over this past year and it’s directly related to the pandemic and also things that the pandemic has brought with it like high housing costs and lack of available affordable housing,” Haro said. During the pandemic, congregate shelters moved to non-congregate settings as people were set up with private rooms in hotels. TJACH has partnered with Virginia Supportive Housing and the Piedmont Housing Alliance to purchase the Red Carpet Inn on U.S. 29, which has been converted to an emergency shelter. More on that in a moment.Just under seventy percent of those counted are male, and 98 percent of those counted are individuals. Fifty-two percent are white, 41 percent are Black, and seven are listed as other. Haro said the number of people who were chronically homeless dropped from 76 in 2012 to 32 in 2014. He attributes that to the opening of the Crossings at Fourth and Preston, a 60-unit single room occupancy building built by Virginia Supportive Housing. That number has begun to increase and Haro said there’s a need for more housing. “The other real key component to address unsheltered homelessness is street outreach programs and so we have street outreach though the PATH program at Region 10 which is focused people living outside with mental health and or substance issues but those resources haven’t really changed significantly in a long time,” Haro said. The Point in Time count isn’t the only metric. Haro said TJACH also measures the total number of people served each year and that figure increased from 290 in 2013 to 528 in 2021. He also said people are staying longer in emergency shelters with the average length of stay in 2021 was 136 days. “Before the pandemic it was around 40 days, 30 to 40 days in shelter was the average,” Haro said. That leads to a lack of turnover in those shelters, leading to shortages in emergency shelter capacity. Haro said the forthcoming 81-unit project at Premier Circle will provide relief when it’s built, but it will take some time. Ground is expected break ground next May and will be supported by Low Income Housing Tax Credits as well as Housing Choice Vouchers. Vice Mayor Juandiego Wade said constituents have asked him if TJACH had any outreach to people who panhandle on medians within the city. “Have you all, or is there a way to reach out to them, to say yes, here is service?” Wade said. “They say they see many of the same people in the same intersection and it concerns them. Sometimes they say it seems dangerous and I tell them there’s really not anything we can do.”Haro said many of those individuals may not be homeless. Some may be paying for hotels and some may be living in their own places. “People choose to panhandle for many different reasons,” Haro said. “For some people it’s a social interaction activity and for other people they are paying to stay in a hotel that night and so it varies widely. We do have outreach workers who are familiar with many of those individuals. There are new individuals that pop up every now and again and that I see panhandling and I notify outreach team to see if they are aware of those individuals coming through.” ARB makes comments on Premier Circle projectOn Monday, the Albemarle County Architectural Review Board took a look at the initial site for Premier Circle which involves construction of a four story building as part of a three building campus.. The property is within the county’s Entrance Corridor Review guidelines.“The focus is largely on the site landscaping and the building design in the Entrance Corridor facing elevation of the first phase one building,” said Khris Taggart, a planner with Albemarle County. Staff recommended approval of the initial site plan with some recommendations for revisions. That means things like hiding electrical equipment from view, requiring windows to avoid blank walls, and to include a plan indicating how demolition of existing structures should proceed.The building is being design by BRW Architects and they were represented by Whitney McDermott.“The TJACH Premier Circle initial plan before you today is a component of a larger vision that is a partnership between the Thomas Jefferson Area Coalition for, Homeless, Virginia Supportive Housing who are developing the building before you today, and the Piedmont Housing Alliance,” McDermott said. McDermott said the design of the whole plan is to allow for the existing motel units to exist for as long as possible. The Piedmont Housing Alliance will eventually build a 60-unit multifamily building as part of phase 2 and the third phase will be a future mixed-use building. View the entire ARB meeting: This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

In one sense of the phrase, Charlottesville Community Engagement has now come full circle as this is the 360th edition. That coincides with April 6, 2022 but there is not necessarily correlation, but the hope is this edition and every other edition causes you to know more than you did before. I’m your host, Sean Tubbs.On today’s program:Deputy City Manager Sam Sanders asks City Council for their feedback on how to meet Charlottesvillle’s goal of putting $10 million a year toward housing The U.S. House of Representatives votes to support NATO, and two area Congressman vote against the resolutionA quick profile of Fashion Square Mall Louisa County doubles the amount of a tax rebate for a developer to pay for a regional wastewater pump stationFirst shout-out goes to Camp AlbemarleToday’s first subscriber-supported public service announcement goes out to Camp Albemarle, which has for sixty years been a “wholesome rural, rustic and restful site for youth activities, church groups, civic events and occasional private programs.”Located on 14 acres on the banks of the Moorman’s River near Free Union, Camp Albemarle continues as a legacy of being a Civilian Conservation Corps project that sought to promote the importance of rural activities. Camp Albemarle seeks support for a plan to winterize the Hamner Lodge, a structure built in 1941 by the CCC and used by every 4th and 5th grade student in Charlottesville and Albemarle for the study of ecology for over 20 years. If this campaign is successful, Camp Albemarle could operate year-round. Consider your support by visiting the Camp Albemarle website! U.S. House adopts resolution supporting NATO; Two Virginia Representatives voted againstThe U.S. House of Representatives voted 362 to 63 yesterday on a resolution to uphold the founding principles of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and to make clear that the organization stands for shared democratic values. House Resolution 831 was introduced by Virginia Congressman Gerald Connolly in December and made its way through the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.“NATO’s founding document, signed here in Washington D.C. on April 4, 1949, this very week,” said Congressman Connolly. “It’s clear. NATO is an alliance of democracies. The preamble to the treaty notes the determination of Allies to ‘safeguard the freedom, common heritage, and civilization of their peoples founded on the principles of democracy. “Nine of Virginia’s 11 members of the House of Representatives voted for the resolution, which also calls for the establishment of a Center for Democratic Resilience within NATO Headquarters. The resolution comes at a time when NATO forces are keeping a close eye on the Russia’s war against Ukraine. Ukraine is not a member of the organization. Both 5th District Representative Bob Good and 6th District Representative Ben Cline  voted against the bill. Louisa Supervisors amend performance agreement for Crossing PointeWhen a developer asks for a rezoning to build a larger number of units than otherwise would be allowed, sometimes there are agreements with the locality to provide infrastructure. When the Louisa Board of Supervisors approved the Crossing Pointe development at Zion Crossroads in December 2019, they entered into an agreement with the developer for a $250,000 real estate tax rebate in exchange for construction of a regional wastewater pump station on the site. “That pump station is a regional pump station in nature that serves multiple properties in that area, the Zion growth area, and not just the Crossing Pointe [Planned Unit Development],” said Louisa County Economic Development Director Andrew Wade. Wade said the developer has requested an increase to $500,000 due to the rising cost of construction.“The price of the regional pump station over the course of three months has gone up from $650,000 to approximately $1.3 million due to material pricing and construction inflation and things of that nature,” Wade said. Wade said the Louisa County Water Authority will own the pump station when it is completed. The rebates won’t begin until the pump station is operational. Supervisors agreed unanimously to proceed.  Construction on the Crossing Pointe development is soon to begin. There will be 321 dwelling units and 138,000 square feet of commercial property. The Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission is currently overseeing a small area study for the growth area which straddles both Louisa and Fluvanna County. The next public meeting for the Zion Crossroads Gateway Plan is April 19. Special thanks to Tammy Purcell of Engage Louisa for assistance with this story! The latest installment has the latest news on Zion Crossroads, including changes to Zion Town Center that would see fewer single-family detached homes and more townhomes. Chamber of Commerce profiles Fashion Square MallEvery now and then, the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce writes up a profile of a business in the area. This time around their staff asked the leasing and marketing manager of Fashion Square Mall a series of questions, including to mention recent success stories. “We have recently opened up three new stores and will be opening up many more in upcoming months,” said Athena Emmans in response. Fashion Square Mall opened in 1980 and has been through a string of owners. The property sold at foreclosure last year and was purchased by a firm called Charlottesville JP 2014-C21 LLC for $20.2 million and that deal closed on September 30. Now the property is managed by JLL and Emmans writes that they are actively seeking to become a unique destination. “We offer an indoor shopping experience with a community atmosphere for our tenants to get help with marketing, branding and foot traffic for their business,” Emmans wrote. “We provide small and large businesses with affordable commercial properties.”To learn more, read the rest of the profile on the Chamber’s website. Friends of JMRL Book Sale continues through SaturdayIn today's second Patreon-fueled shout-out! Lovers of used books rejoice! The Friends of the Jefferson Madison Regional Library is back again with their annual Spring Book Sale opening this Saturday through Sunday, April 10! The Friends of the Library sale will once again take place at Albemarle Square Shopping Center from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day. There’s a special preview for members tomorrow from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and there’s still time to volunteer!Visit jmrlfriends.org to learn more! See you there!Deputy City Manager Sanders reviews recent audit of Charlottesville’s housing fundWhen Deputy City Manager Sam Sanders joined Charlottesville’s management team last July, he more or less filled a vacancy for a lower position that had been open for a year. “I became your housing coordinator right away, because we didn’t have one,” Sanders said at an April 4 work session on the city’s affordable housing policy. “I have been spending a lot of time observing, reviewing, questioning, complaining, evaluating, and testing all of what we do, how we do it, why we do it, and trying to figure out what else we can do to make it all run more smoothly and definitely be run better.”Around the same time Sanders was clocking into City Hall for the first time, Council had agreed to spend an additional $165,000 to pay the consultant HR&A Advisors to review how the city has spent its affordable housing funds since 2010. Council had a work session with that firm on March 21, but Sanders wanted to share his views. See also: Charlottesville City Council discusses reform for affordable housing fund, March 30, 2022HR&A found that the city has spent $46.7 million on affordable housing programs since 2010. “The question that you should be asking is if that is good,” Sanders said. “The answer is yes, but good is relative, especially because you will never spend enough on affordable housing. I think most communities have found that around this country. Because markets are always changing, there’s always a need to do a little bit more, a little bit more, a little bit more.”Sanders said the report found that 1,611 affordable units were constructed or preserved and that 640 additional households were served. “Can we do better and can we do more?” Sanders said. “The answer is of course you can. But how will that decision get made? How often will you commit more? How much more? And when? Everyone of these questions are critically important to managing a program and knowing the cap helps to manage the many expectations.”Watch the April 4, 2022 work session on affordable housingView the April 4, 2022 presentation Read the staff report for the March 21, 2022 work sessionSanders said there is a need to make sure that the funds are spread around and that many different organizations need to have access. There’s also a need to make sure that Council has accurate data about what has happened to inform future decisions. In March 2021, Council adopted the Affordable Housing Plan which calls upon the city to invest $10 million a year for this purpose. A previous goal had been $4 million a year, but a big push for investment in affordable housing was made after the events of the summer of 2017. “2020 was clearly a turning point and we see this as the shift to the $10 million being a good number,” Sanders said. “We know that there are a lot of organizations that have already made it clear that $10 million is not enough. Ideally for us internally we look at the face that you endorsed the Affordable Housing Plan at $10 million a year for ten years and it will be our priority to help you get there.” Other metrics in the analysis seek to measure the cost effectiveness of funding spent so far. Sanders said that for those organizations who are constructing new units, the cost per unit is higher. However, competitiveness between proposals would encourage those entities to seek out private funding to help leverage city investment. “But your priority would also be that they do go look in other places to bring additional dollars to the table so that that number doesn’t continue to grow,” Sanders said. There are also demographic measures that seek to determine how funding is meeting equity goals. “We only see Black and white as a comparison,” Sanders said. “One thing we have to remember in the equity space is that we make sure we are considering the other minority populations in our community that also deserve attention to be paid to their particular housing situations as well.” Sanders’ questions for City CouncilBut, funding is one thing. The question is whether the city is managing its programs effectively. Sanders identified several problems. “We don’t know how many affordable units still exist from those that we funded,” Sanders said. “That’s accurate. We don’t know even for how much longer they’re going to exist. But we got to do better and there’s work to be done there.”Sanders said there is not an internal mechanism for the city to keep track. That will take more information from partner organizations that receive the funding. The city needs better tools to ensure compliance. “We don’t have the best agreements in play,” Sanders said. “They’re not the comprehensive set of agreements that we would use that would ensure that we could capture the information, that we are denoting who is responsible for reporting said information and on what schedule. That way we can go back to them and get what we want.” Another question for Council is if they want to come up with an official definition for affordable housing for the city, meaning what level of household income should be served by city funding? “I think it is important for us to be able to define it for the community at large,” Sanders said. “It helps our partners understand what that means to you as the Council but it also helps staff understand how to do the work that they’ve been charged to do.” Sanders wanted to know what each Councilor thinks about that $10 million for affordable housing. Is it a commitment, or if it is an aspirational goal.  City Councilors Pinkston and Payne said they expect the city to spend that amount. Mayor Lloyd Snook thought it was more of a goal. “I’m willing to average, which makes it a goal, but it’s not a commitment to me,” Snook said. “Furthermore we don’t have the authority to bind future Councils as a commitment.”Sanders wanted to know if Council wanted to consider whether the land trust model should be a priority. “That’s an opportunity for you to add an item to your affordable housing toolbox,” Sanders said. “There are a lot of communities today that are wrestling with the idea of how we can make it more affordable because simply building it isn’t necessarily working it for everyone.”Sanders said this could take the form of the city setting up its own land trust, or working with the one that is now operated by the Piedmont Housing Alliance after being incubated at the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission. Councilor Brian Pinkston said thought it could continue to be maintained outside of city government. “What I don’t want to do is invest in a bunch of rework if what PHA or whoever has is working as long as we’ve got solid guardrails to ensure that that is being done in a transparent way,” Pinkston said. Sanders also said there’s a need for better coordination between the groups that offer support services for homeless individuals. The status quo isn’t enough. “We locally with all of our housing providers can acknowledge we have gaps and there is no one in that gap,” Sanders said. “So if there’s no one in the gap, if you’re running a good affordable housing program, you stand in the gap. So what we need to be able to do is figure out how do we get in the gap in the right way with the right resources to successfully close that gap.”That could be expansion of an existing organization through city funding creating a new one. “But you don’t know any of it if you don’t do the assessment work, you don’t do the analysis work, and you don’t ask the questions,” Sanders said. Councilor Sena Magill said she would like to see more attention toward homeless individuals. “I am getting growingly concerned because regretfully it looks like we are back to numbers it looks like we were before the Crossings opened,” Magill said. The Crossings was one of the earliest beneficiaries of the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund and was constructed by Virginia Supportive Housing. That agency has partnered with Piedmont Housing Alliance and the Thomas Jefferson Area Coalition for the Homeless on a second facility to be built at Premier Circle on U.S. 29 in Albemarle County at the site of the former Red Carpet Inn. Obligations from the recent pastSanders also briefed Councilors on the reality that future city funds will be tied up to meet the obligations of previously approved projects that include tax rebates such as the one Piedmont Housing Alliance will get for Friendship Court. ‘Those are going to come for payment beginning with Friendship Court in FY24,” Sanders said. “We estimate it’s going to be roughly $200,000 a year for what that is going to cost the city itself to rebate for those improvements.” All of the redevelopment projects underway by the Charlottesville Redevelopment Housing Authority will employ the same mechanism, another cost to the city over years. “It’s the same synthetic [tax increment financing] scenario in that whatever tax obligation that would be due would not necessarily be paid and the city would be covering it,” Sander said. Public housing projects move forward after Council talks on CRHA financial sustainability, CCDC property tax liability, October 24, 2020Council approves agreement for Friendship Court funding, October 30, 2020But what about the definitions of affordable housing. Sanders has this perspective. “I always like to say it is not about affordable,” Sanders said. “We don’t need to be focused on the word affordable. Our focus is on the word attainable.” Council ran out of time at this work session. Later in the night they would meet again to approve a new Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund committee, new purposes for the existing Housing Advisory Council, and to allocate projects from the CAHF. More on those items, as well as a 4-1 vote to approve a rezoning on Grove Street Extended in future editions of Charlottesville Community Engagement. Support Town Crier Productions through Ting! Special announcement of a continuing promo with Ting! Are you interested in fast internet? Visit this site and enter your address to see if you can get service through Ting. If you decide to proceed to make the switch, you’ll get:Free installationSecond month of Ting service for freeA $75 gift card to the Downtown MallAdditionally, Ting will match your Substack subscription to support Town Crier Productions, the company that produces this newsletter and other community offerings. So, your $5 a month subscription yields $5 for TCP. Your $50 a year subscription yields $50 for TCP! The same goes for a $200 a year subscription! All goes to cover the costs of getting this newsletter out as often as possible. Learn more here! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

We're taking a quick detour this episode from books and onto programs available within the Louisa County community. On this episode, MaKayla Glenn from the RSVP (Retired & Senior Volunteer Program) shares about the various programs the Iowa Department on Aging supports in our area, including services for aging in place and opportunities for volunteerism! We hope you take a listen about the amazing things she has to offer and get in contact with her directly if you're interested! MaKayla serves Iowa, Keokuk, Louisa, and Mahaska counties currently, but if you're in another area, we're sure she'll help you get in contact with the person you need to! iowaaging.gov/rsvp makayla.glenn@iowa.gov Alternate title to this episode: "What is your drink of choice at work?" and honestly, it sounded a lot better in Mandy's head. Exit music from: AleXZavesa via Pixabay

Curling is Cool Day. Inconvenience Yourself Day. National Rationalization Day. These are some of the themes supposedly associated with February 23, 2022, another day with a little more light than the one day before. I suppose it is inconvenient that it’s way too warm and there’s no local ice rink to go curling. Instead, dig in for another installment of Charlottesville Community Engagement, a podcast and newsletter that seeks everyday to emulate the principles of World Understanding and Peace Day. On today’s program:Albemarle County Executive Jeffrey Richardson presents a fiscal year budget for FY23 that’s 20 percent higher than the current yearAmazon will build a 1 million square foot fulfillment center in Fishersville Governor Youngkin signs four more bills into lawCharlottesville’s Parking Advisory Panel further discusses civilian enforcement of parking First two shout-outs go to good cheer and local mediaLet’s begin today with two Patreon-fueled shout-outs. The first comes a long-time supporter who wants you to know:"Today is a great day to spread good cheer: reach out to an old friend, compliment a stranger, or pause for a moment of gratitude to savor a delight."The second comes from a more recent supporter who wants you to go out and read a local news story written by a local journalist. Whether it be the Daily Progress, Charlottesville Tomorrow, C-Ville Weekly, NBC29, CBS19, WINA, the Crozet Gazette, or some other place I’ve not mentioned - the community depends on a network of people writing about the community. Go learn about this place today!Amazon to open fulfillment center in FishersvilleGovernor Glenn Youngkin has announced that the internet distribution company Amazon plans to open a 1 million square fulfillment center in Fishersville, creating 500 jobs where workers will specialize in packing and shipping bulky and large-sized items. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) and the Shenandoah Valley Partnership have been working to secure the project. “It has been a great pleasure to work with the Amazon team and Augusta County to secure this major expansion by one of the world’s largest corporations,” said Shenandoah Valley Partnership Executive Director Jay A. Langston, Ph.D. “We are excited about the expanded logistics infrastructure that will exist as a result of Amazon’s location.”Youngkin said the economy is a top priority for his administration. “Amazon’s new fulfillment center in Virginia is a testament to the Commonwealth’s exceptional infrastructure, competitive business costs, and long-term commitment that I’ve made to make sure we are developing talent and training workers to make Virginia the best state for business,” Youngkin said.  Amazon has over 30,000 full-time and part-time employees in the Commonwealth of Virginia already and recently launched delivery stations in Louisa County and Waynesboro. They opened a robotic fulfillment center at Richmond Raceway in Henrico County and both a delivery center and a “cross-dock fulfillment center” in Stafford County last year. The announcement is a sign that economic development is bipartisan. Last year, the Shenandoah Valley Partnership worked with the Northam administration and the VEDP to locate: An Italian cured meats producer to Rockingham CountyThe expansion of Virginia Industrial Plastics in RockinghamA distribution center for the restaurant chain CAVA in the Mill Place Commerce Park in AugustaA factory in Rockbridge County for Modine Manufacturing Company, a company that makes cooling systems for data centersExpansion of textile-based engineering firm Ryzing TechnologiesLearn more about the announcement on Virginia Business.Youngkin signs four billsThis morning, Governor Youngkin signed four more bills that have passed both houses of the General Assembly. HB55 will require the State Registrar of Vital Records to provide a weekly update of recently deceased people to the Department of Elections “to promptly cancel the registration of a person on the list.” HB195 would allow a locality’s registrar to waive requirements for location of polling places if a suitable building cannot be found within legal parameters.HB386 adds the Arland D. Williams Jr. Memorial Bridge to a list of those where D.C. and Maryland have jurisdiction to clear disable vehicles. HB971 would grant additional tax relief to Virginia businesses “Through this bill, Virginia expanded and made retroactive tax benefits related to Paycheck Protection Program loans and Rebuild Virginia grants to ensure COVID-19 aid granted to businesses would not be treated as taxable income,” reads a press release. “Altogether, this bill will save Virginia individual and business taxpayers $201 million in taxes.”Charlottesville Parking Advisory Panel discusses civilian enforcement of parkingCharlottesville in November 2020 was in a different place, with interim City Manager John Blair at the helm. At that time, the city’s Parking Advisory Panel endorsed a proposal to ask the City Council to transition enforcement of on-street parking limits from the police department to a civilian contractor. (Parking panel supports non-police enforcement, November 18, 2020)Since then, Blair left the city. Chip Boyles was hired and resigned within nine months, shortly after he terminated former Police Chief RaShall Brackney. Charlottesville’s Parking Director Rick Siebert told the panel earlier this month that neither the policy or parking enforcement appears to be a priority at this time. “I’m aware the police have a lot of challenges right now but parking seems to have fallen pretty far down the list,” Siebert said. Now the interim City Manager is Michael C. Jones, and his primary focus is getting together Charlottesville’s budget for next fiscal year. “He has not been briefed on this issue at all,” said Chris Engel, the city’s economic development director.The panel discussed whether they should bring the matter up during the city’s budget development process. Siebert said there would be be no additional revenue, but panel chair Joan Fenton said switching to a civilian firm could free up resources in a department that is understaffed. “And it would free up the [Community Service Officer] or somebody else to do other duties which they are short-handed for so perhaps it does make sense to present it as part of the budgeting,” Fenton said.Engel said it was more of a policy issue than a budget one and suggested this was not the right time to approach Jones or Council. “It might be the type of thing that a citizen could submit as an idea though rather than coming officially from one of you all,” said panel member Kirby Hutto. The panel then suggested resending its previous letter. Siebert urged them to be realistic until after the city’s FY23 budget is adopted later this spring.“We only have an acting chief of police and this kind of policy issue is just not on anyone’s radar right now compared to trying to hash out what the city is going to do about its budget,” Siebert said. Siebert suggested trying again in May. The panel agreed to wait. Third shout-out goes to Camp AlbemarleToday’s first subscriber-supported public service announcement goes out to Camp Albemarle, which has for sixty years been a “wholesome rural, rustic and restful site for youth activities, church groups, civic events and occasional private programs.”Located on 14 acres on the banks of the Moorman’s River near Free Union, Camp Albemarle continues as a legacy of being a Civilian Conservation Corps project that sought to promote the importance of rural activities. Camp Albemarle seeks support for a plan to winterize the Hamner Lodge, a structure built in 1941 by the CCC and used by every 4th and 5th grade student in Charlottesville and Albemarle for the study of ecology for over 20 years. If this campaign is successful, Camp Albemarle could operate year-round. Consider your support by visiting http://campalbemarleva.org/donate. Richardson presents $565M “Transform Albemarle” to SupervisorsA strong projection of revenues in Albemarle has led County Executive Jeffrey Richardon to present the Board of Supervisors with a budget for fiscal year 2023 that is twenty percent higher than the existing year. (download the budget)“This fiscal year’s recommended budget is built to transform Albemarle,” Richardson said. The property tax rate will remain at 85.4 cents per $100 assessed value. Property assessments in Albemarle are up an average of 8.4 percent in 2022. Sales tax, food and beverage tax, and transient occupancy taxes are up 17.1 percent from FY21.However, Richardson said not all signs are positive. “We are mindful that those indicators don’t highlight some of the challenges in the local economy,” Richardson said. “The prices that consumers are paying have risen, they’ve risen by 7.5 percent when comparing January 2022 to January 2021. Gas prices are up nearly 40 percent from where they were a year ago. Participants in the SNAP Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program remain higher than in pre pandemic 2019.” Richardson said he has had direction from Supervisors to reduce the amount of the county’s budget that is based on the property tax. In fiscal year 2007, sixty percent of Albemarle’s revenue came from that source, but that has increased to 68.5 percent in the current year’s budget.The budget is built on an increase in the food and beverage tax from two percent to six percent, and an increase in the transient lodging tax from three percent to eight percent. That would match the same rates in Charlottesville. “Thousands of people visit our community for vacations, sporting events, weddings, and to visit our natural and historic resources,” Richardson said. “We are also a regional hub for commercial activity. Increasing our taxes in these two areas means we can begin to shift revenues away from the people who live here and spread it out more broadly to those who are visiting our community.”The budget also anticipates lowering the personal property tax rate by 86 cents due to a sharp increase in the valuation of used vehicles.“We’ve been given the authority for a local cigarette tax which went into effect in January,” Richardson said. “A plastic bag tax which we will be exploring in the coming months. Richardson highlighted several areas of new spending in the budget. A Community Response Team will be created to respond to “individuals in crisis with a cross-functional team” consisting of social workers, police, and firefighters. The funding source is the cigarette tax authorized by the General Assembly in recent years. “Depending on the details of the call, this team will adapt their response to best meet the critical needs of the person, ensuring the safety of all parties involved,” Richardson said. “This program responds to a troubling growth in mental health call services that have unique needs.” The capital budget for fiscal year 2023 anticipates spending the highest one-year amount in county history. In fiscal year 2006, the figure was $23 million and the Albemarle population was around 91,400. Now the population is estimated at 114,424 and the recommended capital budget for next year represents a need to catch up.“For fiscal year ‘23 the recommended capital budget is approximately $93 million and I would like to note that in 2010 and in 2011 these years were impacted by the Great Recession and in 2021 by the pause in the capital program due to the pandemic,” Richardson said.A fire engine at Pantops Station 16 will be operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week. “Seven days a week to further support the strength of the fire rescue system and to reduce reliance on Charlottesville Fire for calls east of the City,” Richardson said The capital budget also has funding to increase space to address increasing enrollments in Albemarle public schools.“The budget recommendations will over the next five years advance three new public school projects to address capacity needs within our school system,” Richardson said. “Two elementary schools. One in the northern feeder pattern and one from the south, and a second high school center.”Biscuit Run Park will be opened with five miles of trails and athletic fields.“This is a 1,200 acre natural park within the county’s development area and it will provide a park experience unlike any of our other parks, combining the natural features of our rural parks with athletic amenities that you’d expect in an urban park,” Richardson said. In recent years, Albemarle has been putting money into a line item to match other sources of funding. “This budget recommends continued investments in our transportation leveraging program which provides local funding to draw down state funding for road and bike and pedestrian improvements,” Richardson said. Some of the American Rescue Plan Act funding will be used to pay for the cost of some urban Albemarle properties to be connected to the sewer system.“There is a connection cost that can be out of reach for many homeowners,” Richardson said. “The proposed program will provide fiscal support to low-income households in making that shift as the age of these homes and the infrastructure attached to them is reaching a tipping point where the failure of a septic system in the urban area presents a real environmental health hazard.” Other aspects of the budget: There’s a four percent market adjustment for staffThe county will pick up funding of the Yancey Community Center once a grant from the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation expires. The county will fund a microtransit project on Pantops and the Places-29 areaWork to implement the Housing Albemarle plan will be paid for through a combination of the budget surplusThe public hearing on Richardson’s recommended budget will be held virtually on March 2. Work sessions will be held throughout that month before a public hearing on the tax rate on April 27 and the version of the budget marked up by Supervisors. Approval is set for May 9. Supervisors had a few comments in advance of the public hearing next week. Several expressed concern that action in this year’s General Assembly may affect the budget. It will be the first budget for new Supervisor Jim Andrews (Samuel Miller). “A lot of times I’ve always been advised that when you try to figure out what’s a priority in any organization it’s not to ask what they’re doing but what they’re not doing,” Andrews said. Supervisor Ann Mallek (White Hall) has been through over a dozen budget cycles so far, including during the Great Recession when the capital budget was slashed. “That reduction of $100 million in new projects three and four years in a row is why we have the backlog that we have,” Mallek said. “We are making a valiant effort at catch-up with available one-time money that is a once-in-a-lifetime generational thing to have at hand.”Supervisor Donna Price (Scottsville) praised staff for reducing the personal property tax.“We talk about using equity and inclusion in our decisions and your proposal here to reduce the personal property tax provides an across the county truly equitable calculation of relief for our community members,” Price said. “We do have so many people who are in tenancies and almost everyone has to rely on their vehicle for transportation because of the nature of our county being so rural in so many areas.” More to come in the very near future. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

This week we talk about the region semifinals and make up for some lost time after not being able to record last week. That means double the usual awards, offensive and defensive players of the week and the C&G Paving Road Grader of the Week.  

This week we talk about last week’s Game of the Year, this week’s Albemarle/Goochland matchup and some volleyball. We’re also handing out the usual awards, offensive and defensive players of the week and the C&G Paving Road Grader of the Week.  

This week we talk about the huge Western Albemarle versus Louisa County clash Friday. We’re also handing out the usual awards, offensive and defensive players of the week and the C&G Paving Road Grader of the Week.  

This week we talk about the Western/Albemarle and Orange/Louisa rivalry clashes this week. We’re also handing out the usual awards, offensive and defensive players of the week and the C&G Paving Road Grader of the Week.  

This week we sit down with Western Albemarle’s Joey Burch, the Warriors’ football/wrestling/baseball standout who has made big plays in all phases of the game to help spark the Warriors to a 4-0 start. We’re also handing out the usual awards, offensive and defensive players of the week and the C&G Paving Road Grader of […]

A tough week for local squads, but we’ve got the awards segment with Offensive players of the week, defensive players of the week and the C&G Road Grader of the Week. Then, discussion about the week and three matchups to watch this week as Louisa and Fluvanna square off, the Battle for the Blue Ridge […]