Do you like the world to be arranged in an orderly fashion? Or do you prefer the chaos of the random? Either way, if you’re looking to increase your productivity, consider that April 26 is Get Organized Day according to several websites set up to tell us what day it is. None can tell us the origins. Yet, the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals celebrate on May 20, which is not today. But let the countdown begin. I’m Sean Tubbs.
On today’s program:
Albemarle County Supervisors will hold a budget public hearing tonight
Last week, Supervisors were briefed on a $2.9 million plan to upgrade the athletic fields at Darden-Towe Park
The six elected officials also signaled they’ll hire another person to work on affordable housing six months earlier than expected
Charlottesville seeks applicant for boards and commissions
Albemarle will pay members of some boards more money for their service
Ranked-choice voting in Albemarle County will have to wait until 2025
First shout-out goes to the Rivanna Conservation Alliance
In today’s first Patreon-fueled shout-out, the Rivanna Conservation Alliance wants wildlife and nature photographers to enter their second annual photography contest! They want high-resolution photos related to the Rivanna watershed and the winning entries will be displayed at the 2023 Rivanna Riverfest on May 20. The two categories are 16 and under, and those over the age of 17. You can send in two entries, and the work may be used to supplement Rivanna Conservation Alliance publications. The deadline of May 1 is fast approaching so now’s the time to get organized! For more information, visit rivannariver.org!
Albemarle to hold budget public hearing tonight
After six work sessions and multiple town halls, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors will hold the public hearing tonight on the $551.5 million total budget for fiscal year 2024. To get a sense of what’s changed since the budget was introduced on February 22, I thought I would go through the final work session from the April 19 meeting.
Andy Bowman, Albemarle’s Chief of Budget, said there were four main topics:
Status of investment in athletic fields
A discussion of county investments in affordable housing
Compensation for members of Boards and Commissions
Tax relief for the elderly and disabled
The first three are now segments in today’s newsletter and I hope to get to the fourth in another installment. I’d like to be able to get a lot more in this newsletter and I’d like to be publishing daily because there’s enough happening. But that’s for the future.
For now, here are some articles about the budget process this year I have been able to write up:
Albemarle elected officials continue conversation on how to pay for $318M school capital request, December 12, 2022
Albemarle assessments up 13.64 percent in 2023, January 30, 2023
Albemarle Supervisors presented with $551.5M budget for FY24, February 25, 2023
Albemarle County holds first public hearing for FY24 budget, March 6, 2023
Albemarle Supervisors continue review of $551.5M budget, March 15, 2023
Albemarle Supervisors hear from transit providers at budget work session, April 10, 2023
Supervisors endorse $2.9 million plan to rebuild athletic fields at Darden Towe
But back to the April 19, 2023 work session. Let’s start with athletic fields.
The recommended budget for this year included funding over five years for two grass fields at the new Biscuit Run Park.
“This would be a total project of $3.9 million with design and construction that would take place with those fields beginning in fiscal year 26,” Bowman said.
As it stands, Albemarle currently has nine athletic fields, not including the 32 athletic fields operated by Albemarle County Schools.
At a previous work session, Supervisors asked if there were options to invest in more fields, including an upgrade of the four fields at Darden-Towe Park. Bowman said staff consulted with the firm Kimley Horn to develop a plan for the Board to consider.
“We worked to create what we call a Darden-Towe rebuild,” Bowman said. “We would take these fields one at a time and first those fields would be stripped of the existing turf from the field.”
The fields would then be regraded to ensure better drainage and then the soil would be tested to assess if the right kind of grass would grow.
“Once that was done we would then have new irrigation and high-performance sod that would be installed,” Bowman said. “And then the final step in the process would be to allow for those fields to rest for one year so they would be taken offline for an extended period.”
The fields could then be better maintained for long-term use. This time last year, The Board stale-mated on a plan to build fields at Darden-Towe with synthetic turf. (read my story)
Bowman said this grass project would cost $2.9 million, with $800,000 coming from the city of Charlottesville.
Supervisor Ned Gallaway had supported synthetic turf fields at Darden-Towe in part because he said that would allow fields to be more reliable more quickly. He wanted assurance that the scheme would work.
“I saw that there was high-performance sod, I saw regrading for drainage but also some sort of drainage underneath,” Gallaway said. “While I don’t believe that it would achieve the same thing as artificial turf would have achieved in terms of those items, how can you give me confidence that it will increase it over what we have now?”
Parks and Recreation Director Bob Crickenberger was on hand to answer and said that fields at Biscuit Run will help fill in the gaps while Darden-Towe fields are restored.
“The fields have not had this level of maintenance in probably 25 years,” Crickenberger said. “They’re just really compacted. We’re not even sure that when they were constructed that the best top soil and material was used at that time. So over the period of time, they’re beat. They’re beat up.”
Supervisor Ann Mallek had been against the turf fields and said she was grateful for this plan, that would cost the county about $16,000 a year once the upgrade is complete.
“Once they are restored, we will be making a commitment to maintenance and getting you the staff you need to do the job,” Mallek told Crickenberger.
Will this come up tonight at the public hearing? Stay tuned!
Supervisors agree to hire a housing position in July, six months earlier than expected
The Board of Supervisors adopted a strategic plan last year which serves as the underpinning of the draft budget for fiscal year 2024.
“One of the takeaways and themes of this budget is that there have been some objectives which are really about taking our existing resources and work plans and seeing those through,” Bowman said. “There are also those objectives where we really need additional resources to move those forward.”
Bowman said housing is a topic in the middle with an existing plan as well as the need for new personnel to help the county implement an affordable dwelling ordinance. Over time the workload for the county’s Housing Policy Manager has moved to one more of a policy development rather than doing the work.
In January, the county hired a temporary worker to manage Community Development Block Grants from the federal government. The proposed budget anticipates a new full-time employee devoted to affordable housing beginning in January 2024.
“But if the Board wanted to go further than the proposed budget, an option would be to look at accelerating that position’s start from January up to July to allow that person to get onboarded and trained sooner,” Bowman said.
Bowman said that would come as a cost of $55,000.
Kaki Dimock, Albemarle’s director of social services, said she would gladly accept an additional employee earlier but cautioned against expecting one full-time equivalent to be able to solve the policy hurdles the county is experiencing with long time it is taking to craft an ordinance to required affordable housing units be built.
“I do think that there is also a threshold that once some of these messier issues are resolved and we’re into implementation it is much more straightforward and the FTE position that’s in the budget for FY24 will be able to move that needle considerably,” Dimock said.
Supervisors agreed to advance the housing position forward by six months and that will be in the budget that they will vote on out on May 3.
Second shout-out: Silent Auction for Charlottesville Community Bikes
In this second subscriber supported shout-out, Charlottesville Community Bikes believes that bicycles can be a means to social change, addressing issues of equity, access, and inclusion. They provide free bikes to adults who need one, and have a special program that provides free bikes to children. Want to learn more or support their work? Check out the Silent Auction that is currently underway right now to raise money for the organization. Visit charlottesvillecommunitybikes.org to learn more.
Charlottesville seeking applications for boards and commissions
A quick break from the Albemarle Supervisor budget work session from April 19 for a quick story from the City of Charlottesville.
So you’ve read this newsletter or listened to this podcast for a while. Or maybe you just started. Either way, perhaps you’d like to have a chance of being in the newsletter! One way to do that is to get yourself appointed to a Board or Commission in the City of Charlottesville. Applications are open now.
“We believe it is not only the right, but the responsibility of interested and capable citizens to become engaged in local government policy by advising City Council on important community-related issues,” reads a press release that went out this morning.
There is a wide range of vacancies from the Community Development Block Grant Task Force to the Vendor Appeals Board. Other examples include the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund Committee, the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority Board, the Historic Resources Committee, and the Jefferson Area Community Criminal Justice Board.
The current round of applications is due on June 9 for appointments to be made at the June 20 Council meeting. Visit the city’s website for information on how to apply as well as for a full list of openings.
Applications are not being taken for the Planning Commission at this time but the terms of Commissioner Rory Stolzenberg and Hosea Mitchell expire on August 31 of this year.
Albemarle Supervisors agree to increase pay members of Planning Commissioners, other boards
There are five Boards or Commissions in Albemarle County for which the members get paid a small stipend. These include the Architectural Review Board, the Board of Zoning Appeals, the Equalization Board, and the Planning Commission. The Fire Prevention Board of Appeals is the same body as the Board of Building Code Appeals.
Last week, Supervisors were briefed on a recommendation to increase the stipend. Bowman noted two other boards whose members are paid.
“I will note that the Electoral Board members also receive compensation but that is set by the General Assembly,” Bowman said. “The Albemarle School Board members receive compensation and that’s approved by the School Board and not the Board of Supervisors.”
Bowman said there have been no adjustments to the stipend since 2000. Staff is suggesting raising compensation by the same percentage level that the Board of Supervisors’ salaries have been increased since 2000, or a nearly 77 percent rise.
“That would have a total budget impact of just over $28,000 and that could be funded via the reserve Board contingencies,” Bowman said.
Supervisors were also asked if they would support moving to an annual increase for these positions.
Supervisor Donna Price of the Scottsville District said she supported both components.
“The catch-up to bring these individuals up to comparability but also including in here that it would be part of the future process so we don’t run into this gap in the future,” Price said.
The change will require an update to the county ordinance in order to be fully implemented.
Ranked-choice voting will not be used in Albemarle’s elections this November
At the tail end of the April 19 work-session, Supervisors asked if they had any other items to bring up. Supervisor Chair Donna Price had two items.
“First one, ranked-choice voting,” Price said. “Where do we stand in terms of any expenses associated with ranked-choice voting if the Board were to proceed with that this fiscal year?”
Last November, Supervisors were told the county would not be ready for that change in time for the June 20, 2023 primary as I reported at the time.
County Executive Jeffrey Richardson said there is still a possibility of having the reform in place this year. At least, it’s fiscally possible.
“From a budgetary stand-point, the staff has been working and we would approximate that if the Board of Supervisors were to ask for ranked-choice voting, the earliest you could do it would be in November and that is in fiscal year 2024,” Richardson said. “It’s going to be approximately $65,000.”
A final decision did not have to be made at the April 19 meeting. Price said she would not support ranked choice voting for the second of two elections this calendar year.
“Not having ranked choice voting in the primary and then going to ranked-choice voting in the general election, I don’t believe would give us sufficient time to educate the population,” Price said.
Price is not seeking a second term this year in the Scottsville District, but Supervisor Bea LaPisto-Kirtley will be on the ballot in the Rivanna District. She also does not support making the switch this year.
“I just think it takes a lot of time to prepare people for this so that they have a good level of understanding,” LaPisto-Kirtley said.
Supervisors reached consensus it would be better to begin use of ranked-choice voting at the primary level but that was not ready in time for this year’s election.
Price ran out of time and did not ask her second question.
Reading material:
Albemarle considering changes to affordable housing rules, Dryden Quigley, NBC29 News, April 19, 2023
Candidates for White Hall seat divided on accepting developers' dollars, Reynolds Hutchins, Charlottesville Daily Progress, April 20, 2023
Planned solar farm in Albemarle County could power half of its homes, Reynolds Hutchins, Charlottesville Daily Progress, April 22, 2023
'Technicality' over corporate status could tank plaintiff's case in Lee statue dispute, Hawes Spencer, Charlottesville Daily Progress, April 25, 2023
As Virginia moves to pull out of carbon market, housing groups worry about funding loss, Charlie Paullin, Virginia Mercury, April 26, 2023
Parking regs repeal clears City Council, Jonathan Spiers, Richmond BizSense, April 26, 2023
Thoughts at the end of #527
If you do a search on news.google.com for “Albemarle athletic fields” you won’t find a story about the plan discussed by Supervisors to upgrade the fields at Darden-Towe. But you may find one in a few days as other information outlets write about the topic. Where’d they get the idea? Possibly me.
Your paid subscription to Town Crier Productions helps improve the information ecosystem because I write everything in this hopes others will follow. As much as I want to write it all, I can’t do so. But with more paid subscriptions, I hope to eventually hire people.
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Thanks to Wraki for incidental music in the podcast, which you can’t hear unless you listen to it. Check out the work on BandCamp!
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April 26, 2023: Albemarle County moving ahead with plans to upgrade athletic fields at Darden-Towe; No ranked-choice voting in Albemarle until 2025