July 8, 2024: Incident in Belmont leaves pedestrian dead after possible altercation with driver
Plus: Three Charlottesville City Schools will assume their new names in September
A Monday after a holiday weekend in the summer can go one of two ways. There’s either an honest attempt to set up for the rest of the year by listing all of the various projects that need to be tackled. Or there’s a hope that the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer can sustain themselves right up until Labor Day. This is Charlottesville Community Engagement, the embodiment of a third way where every day is a holiday and everyday is a work day. I’m Sean Tubbs, glad to get to work.
In today’s installment:
A man is dead after being struck by a car in Charlottesville following an altercation
Charlottesville is moving ahead with name changes on three schools
The head of a nonprofit that serves seniors and caregivers is retiring at the end of the year
Charlottesville marks Parks and Recreation Month with a proclamation and public input sessions
A look at a handful of recent property transactions in Charlottesville
First -shout out: Charlottesville E-bike Lending Library
In today’s first Patreon-fueled shout-out: The rolling topography of the Charlottesville area keeps some people away from choosing cycling as an option to get around. Perhaps an e-bike is in order?
That’s where Charlottesville’s eBike Lending Library comes in! 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 they 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.org.
Investigation continues into car-involved fatality on Nassau Street
The Charlottesville Police Department continues to investigate an incident Saturday evening on Nassau Street in the city’s Belmont-Carlton neighborhood that left one person dead. Officers responded to a call about a crash between a motorized vehicle and a pedestrian.
“Upon arrival officers located 42-year-old Charlottesville resident, Edward Fitzhugh Anderson, in the 700 block of Nassau,” reads a press release sent out later that night. “Mr. Anderson was pronounced deceased at the scene.”
The woman driving the car remained on the scene while additional officers from the traffic, forensics, and investigations units arrived.
“Further investigation and statements obtained indicated that Mr. Anderson attacked the female, while she was in her parked vehicle,” the release continued. “As the female attempted to flee the attack, she struck Mr. Anderson with her vehicle.”
Investigations continued into Sunday after police initially concluded the two people did not know each other. Shortly before midnight last night, a second release noted that the Commonwealth’s Attorney has been notified and will decide whether there are any charges to press after a police investigation.
Charlottesville City Schools moving forward with new names for existing institutions
Charlottesville City Schools have resumed a campaign to rebrand schools that have carried the names of people deemed by committee to no longer represent the agency’s values.
According to a press release sent out this morning, Venable Elementary School will become Trailblazer Elementary School and Clark Elementary School will become Summit Elementary at the beginning of the upcoming academic year.
The School Board voted to rename both in January 2023 but held off on making the change out of concern the new names would confuse people looking for their polling place. (read my story)
Clark had been named for a Revolutionary War general and the new name represents the both the mountain views and the school as a “gathering of leaders.”
Venable had been named for a math professor at University of Virginia who served in the Confederate army. The new name honors the Charlottesville 12, a group of students who desegregated Venable Elementary and Lane High School.
The new names are not yet reflected in school quality profiles issued by the Virginia Department of Education. Five of the city’s six elementary schools were listed as accredited in 2023, but Clark/Summit is accredited with conditions with achievement gaps noted for English and Mathematics as well as chronic absenteeism.
Now that Charlottesville has purchased Albemarle County’s share of what had been a joint vocational school, that institution will be known as the Charlottesville Area Technical Education Center. (read my story from March 2023)
“When Charlottesville City Schools voted to acquire CATEC, the Board approved a slight name change to reflect the school’s mission to provide technical education in the area,” reads the press release.
The release does not have information about other names that are under review. The name Buford will be stripped from the middle school that is under construction in favor of the generic “Charlottesville Middle School.”
Buford Middle School is also accredited with conditions due to chronic absenteeism, achievement gaps in English and Mathematics, and an overall poor level for academic achievement in science.
According to the school system’s website, the process remains paused for Burnley-Moran and Johnson but the School Board voted in April 2023 that they should both have new names and sought community feedback.
“A name with ‘purpose’ might be values-driven or aspirational,” reads the website. “A name filled with purpose would communicate our goal of helping students be their best selves and make our world better.”
According to community relations coordinator Amanda Korman, the renaming process has been refined and community engagement for new names will resume this year.
At least one descendant of one of the name-sakes under consideration is against the idea. Chuck Moran spoke to Courteney Stuart on WINA last year about why he felt Burnley-Moran should continue to be named after his great aunt Sarepta Anna Moran. (take a listen)
Keane to retire from JABA at end of the year
For over 13 years, Marta Keane has led an organization that seeks to make it easier for older community members to grow old. Today the Jefferson Board for Aging (JABA) has announced Keane will retire at the end of the year.
"Marta has taken JABA from a good to an excellent area agency on aging in Virginia," an information release quotes Dick Gibson, the chair of JABA’s Board of Directors.
Keane took over from Gordon Walker, a former member of the Albemarle County School Board who served as JABA’s CEO for 31 years after being hired in 1982. JABA itself dates back to 1975.
Gibson said Keane had the attributes needed to advance the organization.
"Marta possesses the proper balance between passion for mission and sound business practices, and she has brought incredible energy, compassion, knowledge, innovation, business acumen, team-building, goal setting, and success to all facets of JABA,” Gibson said.
Keane suffered a stroke in 2018 while traveling overseas and was left paralyzed. The JABA Board encouraged her to stay and within six months she was able to stand and deliver a presentation on resiliency.
Keane will continue to work as CEO this year while her position is filled.
No matter who is in charge, the nonprofit agency offers services to adults over the age of 60, adults with disabilities, and caregivers.
“If you or someone you love is in need of service or support, contact our Senior Helpline at 434-817-5224 or 833-559-2428,” reads a portion of the 2023 annual report.
According to that report, that year JABA delivered 45,509 meals to homes, assisted 14,906 people with referrals, and served as an advocate for 3,857 people in long-term care facilities. Another 3,232 people were assisted with insurance counseling and JABA volunteers provided nearly 20,000 hours of service.
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 marks Parks and Recreation month with proclamation, public input meetings
Now that the holiday is over, the month can really begin. That includes a full recognition that this is Parks and Recreation Month. City Council had on their recent agenda a proclamation honoring the occasion as read by Councilor Natalie Oschrin.
“Parks and recreation are integral parts of communities throughout the country, promoting health and wellness, improving the physical and mental health of people who live near parks, promoting time spent in nature, which positively impacts mental health by increasing cognitive performance and well-being, and alleviating illnesses such as depression, attention deficit disorders, and Alzheimer’s,” Oschrin said.
The Charlottesville Parks and Recreation Department offers over 200 programs and has over 2,000 registered participants this summer in swim lessons, dance programs, day camps, and athletic leagues.
One of those leagues is the Tonsler League, which Council recently allocated an additional $10,000 from the city’s Vibrant Communities Fund. (read the staff report)
That’s on top of the $250,000 from the Virginia Department of Housing Community Development in Fiscal Year 2025 allocated to the City of Charlottesville in the recently adopted Virginia budget. That’s because of an amendment request from Delegate Katrina Callsen.
“This amendment provides $300,000 in fiscal year 2025 for the Tonsler League in the City of Charlottesville, which is a nonprofit that sponsors a summer basketball league and community engagement activities, such as the ‘Circle of Brotherhood’ developed in response to gun violence, and giveaways, such as bikes for youth and turkeys during Thanksgiving,” reads the request.
Last week’s proclamation for the Parks and Recreation takes on a promotional tone for other upcoming events.
“Special events in July include Sounds of Summer on July 13 at Tonsler Park featuring The Tara Mills Band, bluegrass and a free meal off the grill from 6 to 8 p.m. and the Sunday Sundown events on July 21 from 12 to 2 p.m. at Washington Park featuring free and meals and free access to the pools,” Oschrin continued.
Rian Anthony has recently been promoted to director of the city’s parks and recreation department and as he accepted the proclamation, he took the opportunity to remind Council and anyone listening that a public process for community input is still underway. The city has hired PROS Consulting to do the work as I reported last November.
“We are still in the midst of our master plan and just upcoming events for public input, we have Monday July 15 at 6:30 p.m. for Court Square and Market Square,” Anthony said.
That coincides with the City Council meeting scheduled for that night. This is for a “framework
The other events are:
July 18 at 6 p.m. - public input session for a framework plan for Benjamin Tonsler Park
July 23 at 6 p.m. - public input session for a framework plan for Booker T. Washington Park to be held at Carver Recreation Center
August 20 with time to be determined - a presentation on the over all needs assessment for the rest of the park system
To learn more about the process, visit the city’s website.
A very brief look at recent Albemarle real estate transactions
After I publish this installment, I will be posting the May 2024 Charlottesville property transactions to Information Charlottesville. There are fewer sales in the city and I’m able to capture the entire community.
Not so much in Albemarle, a much bigger community and one where I very much want to understand what’s happening with the market. 2025 assessments are not too far away.
What follows is very anecdotal with no trends, and not complete enough to send out as a full newsletter. I want to post one of these work as a way of developing regular content for the newsletter.
You’ll also see these dates again. Albemarle’s assessor classifies transactions as valid or invalid, with valid ones being those that will lead to the calculation of fair market value that will go into those 2025 assessments. So, here we go!
June 18, 2024:
A five bedroom house on Wellington Place in the Ednam Forest neighborhood sold for $1.6 million. That’s 17.92 percent above the 2024 assessment of nearly $1.36 million and 55.88 percent above the 2021 assessment of $1,026,400. (Samuel Miller District, 2.4 acres)
A recently-built four bedroom townhouse on Blithe Court in the Birnam Wood off of Hydraulic Road neighborhood sold for $580,000. That’s 19.64 percent above the 2024 assessment of $484,400. (Rio District, 0.09 acres)
A four bedroom townhouse built in 2018 on Riverside Xing in the Riverside Village community sold for $653,000. That’s 1.52 percent below the 2024 assessment of $663,100 and 17.91 percent above the 2021 assessment of $553,800. (Rivanna District, 0.1 acres)
June 20, 2024:
A four bedroom single-family detached house on Timberwoods in the Forest Lakes sold for $550,000. The structure was built in 1997. The transaction is 23.04 percent above the 2024 assessment of $447,000 and 51.47 percent above the 2021 assessment of $363,100. (Rivanna District, 0.16 acres)
A three bedroom single-family detached house built in 2004 on Stonegate Court in Crozet’s Western Ridge neighborhood sold for $505,000. That’s 22.54 percent above the 2024 assessment of $412,100 and 46 percent above the 2021 assessment of $345,900. (White Hall District, 0.14 acres)
A two bedroom house built in 1999 on Ednam Circle in the Ednam neighborhood sold for $1,591,000. That is exactly the 2024 assessment. In 2023 the assessment was higher at nearly $1.65 million. In 2021, the assessment was $1,271,400. (Samuel Miller District, 0.12 acres)
A four bedroom house on Franklin Lane built in 1983 just to the east of Darden Towe Park sold for $985,000. That’s 53.38 percent above the 2024 assessment of $642,200 and 120.31 percent above the 2021 assessment of $447,100. (Rivanna District, 2.01 acres)
A newly-built three bedroom townhouse built on Horizon Road in Southwood Village sold for $479,900. That’s 3.34 percent above the 2024 assessment of $464,400. This is one of the units built by Southern Development. (Scottsville District, 0.04 acres)
A block to the south, a three bedroom single-family detached house built by Southern Development sold for $685,100. That’s 14.97 percent above the 2024 assessment of $595,800. (Scottsville District, 0.12 acres)
June 21, 2024:
A four bedroom single-family detached house on Delphi Lane in Cascadia neighborhood sold for $635,000. That’s 2.19 percent above the 2024 assessment of $621,400 and 35.16 percent above the 2020 assessment of $469,800. The structure was built in 2017. (Rivanna District, 0.16 acres)
Reading material:
Pioneering Charlottesville gallery continues to awe, Virginia Living
Tourism director discusses Passenger Rail highlighting Montgomery County’s assets, Angelica Ramos, Mountain Living, July 4, 2024
School Board Gives Status Update to Supervisors, Lisa Martin, Crozet Gazette, July 5, 2024
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation awards $1.57 million to river groups, Fredericksburg Free Press, July 5, 2024
Virginia Department of Health closes investigation of Lake Anna Memorial Day outbreak, Fredericksburg Free Press, July 6, 2024
Central Virginia bus riders reap benefits of zero fare and new services, Ian Stewart, July 8, 2024
Thought as #702 fades away
Another week begins and there’s so much to get to! For a one-person information outlet, I produce a lot and people have come to expect it. That means I wake up every morning with purpose and get to work, picking up my daybook and following up on stories. I’m glad to be able do this work.
I also want to use this space to acknowledge Tammy Purcell, the force behind Engage Louisa. That’s a Substack newsletter that delves deeply into the fastest growing community in the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission. Tammy announced yesterday she’s taking a short break due to the death family member and I wish her family condolences and compassion at this time.
Last summer, I had to ease up a little due to family issues so I know how difficult this must be for her. Her work is invaluable in these times when many people’s perceptions of other communities is based on a relative lack of information about them.
Anyway, now it’s time to get back to work on #703 and the rest. You know the deal by now. Paid subscriptions are matched by Ting.
In return, I tell you that Ting can help you with your high speed Internet needs. If service is available in your area and you sign up for service, enter the promo code COMMUNITY and you will get:
Free installation
A second month for free
A $75 gift card to the Downtown Mall
