April 21, 2025: Fire/EMS calls are up seven percent in Charlottesville in first three quarters of FY2025
Plus: More information about the budget process in Albemarle County
Sometimes a Monday is the day when you have little time to produce a new edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement but you decide to do so anyway. Writing in the second person to an audience of thousands may also be a sign that it might have been better to not have produced this April 21, 2025 edition. But then where would the information? You’re not Sean Tubbs, but maybe we all are if we could imagine a fourth person?
In today’s installment:
Calls to the Charlottesville Fire Department are up slightly this fiscal year compared to the last
This Saturday is National Prescription Drug Take Back and there are four locations to do so in Albemarle
The sorority Delta Zeta will appear before the Charlottesville City Council in May to appeal a denial of a request to take down 144 Chancellor Street
Albemarle Supervisors had several questions about the budget process this year, and I wrote up some of the written answers from staff
First shout-out: Cville Village
Can you drive a neighbor to a doctor’s appointment? Change an overhead lightbulb, plant a flower, walk a dog for someone who is sick, visit someone who is lonely? If so, Cville Village needs you!
Cville Village is a local 501c3 nonprofit organization loosely affiliated with a national network of Villages whose goals are to help seniors stay in their own homes as long as possible, and to build connections among them that diminish social isolation. Volunteers do small chores for, and have gatherings of, professors and schoolteachers, nurses and lawyers, aides and housekeepers. Time and chance come to all – a fall, an order not to drive, failing eyesight, a sudden stroke. They assist folks continue living at home, with a little help from their friends.
Cville Village volunteers consult software that shows them who has requested a service and where they are located. Volunteers accept only the requests that fit their schedule and their skills.
Volunteering for Cville Village will expand your circle of friends and shower you with thanks.
To learn more, visit cvillevillage.org or attend one of their monthly Village “meet-ups” and see for yourself. To find out where and when the next meetup is, or to get more information and a volunteer application, email us at info@cvillevillage.org, or call them at (434) 218-3727.
Charlottesville Fire/EMS Incidents up seven percent in FY25
The Charlottesville Fire Department is on track to have a busier fiscal year than the previous one.
Firefighters and medics responded to a total of 6,027 incidents from July 2024 to March 2025, up seven percent from the same period in FY24.
“Fire incidents increased by 42 percent, EMS incidents decreased by 4 percent and all other types of incidents increased by 23 percent,” Thomas wrote in the latest report from Charlottesville department heads.
However, FY2025 is still below FY2023 which saw a total of 6,292 incidents from July 2022 to March 2023.
Thomas said cooking fires are up 84 percent this year compared to 2024.
“Other type” is not defined in the report and a request for clarification is pending.
The fire department also keeps track of the number of opioid overdoses.
“CFD and [Charlottesville-Albemarle Rescue Squad] have run an average of about five overdoses monthly in 2025, a decrease from 2024’s average of six overdoses monthly,” the report continues.
Thomas said the department began last June to track the number of emergency responses for people who are unhoused.
“Our records show that over the last nine months, CFD and CARS have responded to 40 unhoused patients monthly on average,” Thomas wrote. “The top three findings of attendants in charge on these incidents were non-traumatic pain (17.8 percent of calls), alcohol abuse (14.1 percent of calls), and bodily injuries (11 percent of calls).”
Thomas also reported on recent structure fires.
A fire at 1401 Melbourne Road has been ruled as accidental with damages assessed at $250,000. Hawes Spencer reports for the Charlottesville Daily Progress that this is the second fire at this location in 2023.
A fire on McCormick Road was deemed an accidental lab fire.
A fire on Ridge Street was accidental with damages assessed at $4,000
A fire on 2nd Street SW is still under investigation with damages assessed at $30,000. The Daily Progress reports this was at Revolutionary Soup. Their headline is Arson suspected after fire at downtown Charlottesville eatery but Thomas states in his report that the Virginia Forensics Lab continues to investigate.
Localities across Virginia offering safe way to return prescription drugs this Saturday
This Saturday is National Drug Take Back Day and there are four drop-off points in Albemarle County.
“That’s a pretty important day if you have old medications you’re not going to be taking,” said Samuel Miller District Supervisor Jim Andrews. “Don’t throw them down the train or otherwise dispose of them in the trash.”
Albemarle County Police Department (1600 5th Street, Charlottesville VA 22902)
Wegmans (100 Wegmans Way, Charlottesville, VA 22902)
Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital, Outpatient Care Center (**NEW LOCATION ADDRESS FOR 2025: 595 Martha Jefferson Drive, Charlottesville, VA 22911)
Crozet Family Medicine (1646 Park Ridge Drive, Crozet, VA 22932)
The local event is a partnership between the United States Drug Enforcement Agency, Sentara, Wegmans, and Albemarle County.
Accepted items include unwanted prescriptions, vape-pens, e-cigarettes, and medical sharps. The latter is required to be in a puncture-proof container. People are asked to remove any personal information from medication bottles or containers. Other medical waste it not allowed.
“It’s also regular medications that you have so it’s not just prescriptions but it’s any old Tylenol, or Advil, or whatever medications you have,” said Rivanna District Supervisor Bea LaPisto-Kirtley.
The next event will be held on October 25, 2025. There’s also a permanent drop-off point at at the Sentara Martha Jefferson Outpatient Pharmacy, available Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Second-shout out: Design Develop
In today’s Patreon-fueled shout-out, architectural firm Design Develop is offering a new service aimed at the development community that the rest of us might want to know about , too — 3D point cloud scanning! This technique uses specialized equipment, such as 3D scanner systems, to gather a large amount of data points that represent the surface of the scanned object or scene. This really comes in handy when working with historic structures, as the firm knows from its experience in Baltimore and Charlottesville. Read their blog post for more information!
The applications of 3D point cloud scanning are extensive and cover various fields, including architecture, construction, cultural heritage preservation, virtual reality, industrial design, manufacturing, and more. These applications require accurate 3D spatial information, and Design Develop’s workflow provides precise and comprehensive results, all while being more cost-effective than traditional methods.
Design Develop has expertise in this workflow for their own needs and now has a dedicated team offering this service in the Charlottesville and Albemarle Area. If you're involved in the real estate, design, or construction industry, contact them for more information or a free quote.
Visit their website for an introductory video that captures the 3D point cloud scanning of the Downtown Transit Center and a booklet that will explain more!
Charlottesville City Council to hear appeal for 144 Chancellor Street
In January, the Board of Architectural Review denied a request from the sorority Delta Zeta to demolish 144 Chancellor Street. The group wants to make use of the property but it is within an architectural design control district which requires the BAR’s approval before a structure can be removed.
At the time, Planning Commissioner and BAR member Carl Schwarz said he had sympathy for the group but the appointed body had to weigh the proposal against the city’s guidelines.
“I think you’re right that it probably has served its use in the neighborhood,” Schwarz said. “So you take it to City Council, you appeal it. If they deny you guys, you put it on the market for a year and then if no one buys it, you tear it down.”
That quote originally appeared in a story I wrote for C-Ville Weekly.
The Delta Zeta Housing Corporation submitted a letter to Council on February 5 to request the appeal. This document counters an allegation made by a BAR member at the January 22 meeting that the structure known as the Annex was neglected.
“DZ-NHC demonstrated good stewardship of the Annex by replacing the asphalt shingle roof in January of 2011 following storm damage,” reads the letter from Executive Vice President John Gottschall. “The structural issues have been present in the building for years, dating to before DZ-NHC ownership of the annex in 1979.”
There was also discussion of the building’s possible use as a school. Gottschall said there was no evidence offered and seeks granting of a Certificate of Appropriateness for the sorority’s demolition request.
Council’s first meeting of May is on May 5.
Reviewing answers to Supervisor questions on the Albemarle budget
The second public hearing for Albemarle County’s proposed budget for FY26 is this Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Lane Auditorium. There is no information that I am aware of since a work session on April 7 when Supervisors agreed to add another $1 million to the housing improvement fund.
To satiate my curiosity of all things Albemarle budget, I went through a list of answers to questions raised by the Board of Supervisors in a series of work sessions. The following information comes from those documents.
The elementary school planned for the northern feeder pattern is now being planned to have a capacity of 600 students, up from 100 in the current budget. (document 1)
In 2023, Albemarle County purchased 462 acres around the Rivanna Station military base for $58 million. The county borrowed that money on a “bond anticipation note” that carries an annual debt service of $3.1 million. In FY2024, Albemarle spent $1.8 million from the Economic Development fund for preparation work to develop the property for a future defense and intelligence campus. In FY2025, another $1.8 million was allocated for this purpose but only a third of that has been spent. (document 1)
As of March 4 of this year, Albemarle had 3,736 parcels under land use taxation where the properties are assessed at lower than market rate to encourage conservation of the rural area. That results in $15,612,538 in deferred taxes. The number of parcels under land use taxation is down from 4,503 in 2019. (document 1)
Each penny on Albemarle’s real estate tax rate is worth $2,889,947 in FY2025 and has steadily increased in value since FY2014 when each penny was worth just over $1.5 million. (document 2)
A firm called Emergency Services Consulting International (ECSI) is under contract for the county to study staff levels for Albemarle Fire and Rescue and the Albemarle County Police Department. A report is expected in the fall. (document 2)
There are 11.7 positions eliminated in the FY26 budget. (document 4)
There were 15,996 calls for service to the Albemarle County Police Department from January 1 to March 8 of this year. Of these, 170 were Priority 1. Total call volume is up 17.08 percent since 2021. (document 5)
In the same period, there were 3,488 calls for service for Albemarle Fire Rescue with 2,521 of those being EMS calls and 651 being fire calls. Call volume has increased by 21 percent since 2021 (document 5)
The fourth report has information about how many people have been assisted through the Albemarle County Emergency Relief Program.
In FY2024, there were 646 people who sought assistance with 440 approved for a total of $472,545. Of this, $106,100 was used to avoid utilities being shut off and the rest was used to avoid eviction.
In FY2025, there were 449 callers who sought assistance totaling $120,599. Of this, $85,816 was used to avoid eviction and the rest was used to utility disconnection.
“Staff work with callers to recruit resources from other sources in the community to ensure they can actually avoid the impending shut-off or eviction though there are situations where the amount of arrears is too great to accomplish this goal,” reads the fourth report.
Also on April 7, Supervisors added an additional $200,000 to this program for FY26.
Reading material for #851
Another preliminary ruling from Judge Worrell allows lawsuit against Charlottesville’s zoning code to proceed, Sean Tubbs, C-Ville Weekly, April 17, 2025
Charlottesville passes $265.2M budget, Dmitry Martirosov, Charlottesville Daily Progress (paywall), April 18, 2025
Three local affordable housing projects face additional hurdles after funding slashed from federal budget, Akash Sinha, Charlottesville Tomorrow, April 18, 2025
A thing to quickly forget about #851
Sometimes I have to struggle not to report something. On Friday, the City of Charlottesville’s Public Works crew installed plastic tubes in the roadway visible from the workstation where I do most of my work. They installed two half-circles to narrow the intersection.
I sought information and wrote to the person I am supposed to contact in the city government. I looked up information on the Public Works page and there was no information. I wanted to know if this was permanent or related to the ongoing waterline installation. I’ve still not had an answer 72 hours after initially asking the questions.
Should the city be required to let people know when changes to the local roadway are going to be made? Or at least to notify? Should a neighborhood association get this information to people? Mine had no information about either this or the year-long work on my street related to that waterline replacement.
On Friday afternoon I went downtown and had an off-record conversation with another city staffer. This person should have known that public works had made a change to the road, but did not know they were doing the work.
I can report no crashes and I can also report people are more cautious using the neighborhood. I can also report that the stop sign that was moved about ten feet into the roadway was knocked over within 12 hours.
No one from the city came to check and see how the work was going over the weekend. If they had, they would have noticed the stop sign. Whoever hit it also moved it from the roadway to the parkland.
As I finish up today, I note that Public Works has finally come out to replace the stop sign. I can’t tell if they’ve made any changes.
One of the questions I asked was whether there was a professional design, or crews just installed something that had been sketched out. There have been questions about similar work done on Elliott Avenue did anything.
Will I get my questions answered? I definitely have no capacity to pursue this as a story but something about this seems off to me and I would have liked to have had the opportunity to offer comment.
Anyway, here’s a track by Chime Oblivion that may make it all better. This is John Dwyer’s latest project and I’m enchanted.
A sub-headline in this post had the wrong address for 144 Chancellor Street. I regret the error.