I got you babe, as in this is Groundhog Day, and I’m Sean Tubbs here with another edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement and whether or not Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, this is another program about the mundane and routine that when added up becomes whatever happens with local government. This edition of the program is dedicated to the late Ken Boyd, an Albemarle County Supervisor who routinely invoked the 1993 comedy directed by Harold Ramis to convey the sense that all of this has happened before, and all of this will happen again. Now, on with the latest bits of information.
On today’s show:
A UVA working group looking for ways to prevent gun violence has issued its initial report
The Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Policy Board gets an update on studies for future transportation projects around Old Ivy Road and Barracks Road
The University of Virginia is moving forward with a study of what to do with the Oak Lawn property
The Virginia Department of Transportation seeks comment on banning trucks from using Plank Road to get from U.S. 29 to Afton Mountain.
Charlottesville awards Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative funds to a project to model the Moores Creek and Meadowcreek watersheds
First shout out: WTJU Folk Marathon
Come gather ‘round, people, wherever you roam: From February 5 – 11, WTJU’s 2024 Folk Marathon will air round-the-clock folk and roots specials from around the globe.
WTJU is gathering friends for a raft of musical deep dives. From Richard Thompson’s soundman Simon Tassano to local favorite Michael Clem. From Virginia Folklore Society recordings to a celebration of Kevin Donleavy’s 25 years sharing Irish and old-time music. Plus dozens of artist features and deep dives. Check out the full schedule at wtju.net!
Their sound techs are setting up mics for eight live performances in seven days. WTJU is excited that the line-up includes Buzzard Hollow Boys, Terri Allard & Gary Green, Mama Tried, Erik “Red” Knierim, Barling & Collins, Uncle Henry’s Favorite, and Silo! Oh, and live squeezebox!
WTJU is here for you – and your donation makes the station available to everyone! Visit wtju.net to give your support to the Folk Marathon.
UVA Community Safety Group recommends more services for youth to address violence
One of the hallmarks of Jim Ryan’s time as head of the University of Virginia is the establishment of the President’s Council on UVA-Community Partnerships. The Council and its working groups have worked on ways to bolster the local economy, improve public health, and augment workforce development.
A committee convened in early 2023 to address community safety issues has recently published its first report. The Community Safety Group was formed after three UVA football players were shot and killed on the campus. (read the report)
“Equally disturbing is the fact that the rate of violent crime in Charlottesville increased by 30 percent from 2021 to 2022, and in the early months of 2023, Charlottesville police had already investigated five homicide cases; compared to zero cases in 2021,” reads the background section of the report.
The group’s charge was in part to study the regional network of care providers and recommend improvements to mental and behavioral health. The Community Safety Group met twelve times and received reports from a variety of different people including representatives of the Crisis Intervention Team, the Uhuru Foundation, the UVA Equity Center, Brothers United to Cease the Killing, and the Commonwealth’s Attorneys in both Albemarle and Charlottesville.
The recommendations follow the framework of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Strategies and Approaches to Prevent Youth Violence.
Recommendations include:
Launch programs on firearm safety and “responsible use and care”
Create a speakers campaign on gun violence mitigation and trauma
Continue to use the U.S. Justice Department’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” designation for Albemarle and Charlottesville
Create crisis response teams for the aftermath of violent events
Create a crisis response plan to review incidents after the fact
Place UVA Health clinicians with pediatric experience to provide services in communities that need them the most
Increase the number of places for youth in transition to be able to stay
Increase availability of mental health services in neighborhoods most impacted by violence
Create and continue funding for a Youth Opportunity Website to provide information on “educational, recreational, and youth-focused mental health” for young people
Create a data-sharing system to track incidents of violence and other metrics related to community well-being and how resources are used
Create a mobile app to help people get connected to services
Expand community mentorship programs and increase academic support to impacted youth
The recommendations draw upon the other five working groups. Is there anything in there that jumps out at you as a way to help?
“Pipeline” studies continue for future projects for Barracks Road, Old Ivy Road
How do transportation projects get selected for funding? There are many pathways for ideas to become candidates and one of them is the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Project Pipeline.
“Project Pipeline is a performance-based planning program to identify cost-effective solutions to Virginia’s multimodal transportation needs and priorities,” reads the narrator of a VDOT overview of the program on YouTube. “Project pipeline is intended to provide a clear connection between the Commonwealth Transportation Board’s VTRANS priorities and Virginia’s project development and prioritization process. It aims to implement a statewide look at needs and formalize the connection with planning, funding, and programming transportation solutions for Virginia.”
There are two areas in the jurisdiction of the Charlottesville-Albemarle Metropolitan Planning Organization that are currently under review through the program. One covers Barracks Road between Emmet Street and the U.S. 250 bypass. (view the website)
“We’re revising the alternatives scenarios so we can develop a public outreach survey and that should be going out early next month,” said Chuck Proctor, a planner with VDOT’s Culpeper District.
The other is taking a look at Old Ivy Road where there are a number of future developments planned and approved. Proctor said potential alternatives are being reviewed and the stakeholder group overseeing this study should meet at some point in February with public comment soon afterward.
“The intent is to get a viable project or projects out of these pipeline studies for the MPO and localities to consider for Smart Scale,” said Sean Nelson, the district engineer for VDOT’s Culpeper District.
Smart Scale is one of the mechanisms through which projects are funded. Applications for the sixth round will be taken this year, and Nelson said the timing won’t be right for any projects that develop from these two pipeline studies.
Sandy Shackelford, the director of planning and transportation at the Thomas Jefferson Planning District, said the sixth Smart Scale round will have more strict documentation requirements and that means the number of available projects is limited. Pre-applications are due on April 1.
“We need to make sure that we have enough lead time to get the projects prepared which means we’re not going to be able to introduce projects that we haven’t done any work on,” Shackelford said.
That eliminates consideration this year of an extension of Hillsdale Drive south to the U.S. 250 bypass.
The projects that might be submitted for consideration by the MPO are:
Conversion of Interstate 64’s junction with Fifth Street Extended to a diverging diamond
Projects that result from a pipeline study of the intersection of Route 22 and Route 250 (learn more)
Projects that result from a pipeline study of U.S. 250 between Hansen Road and Hansens Mountain Road (learn more)
The MPO Policy Board also got an update on a project funded in Round 4 of Smart Scale project at U.S. 29 and Fontaine Avenue. The primary purpose was to add capacity at the interchange to allow northbound trucks seeking to go west on I-64 to turn around and go back to make a right-hand turn. The project has drawn concern from the University of Virginia, and the goal is to find an alternative that fits within the budget. This item will come back to the Board again at their meeting in February.
UVA to begin planning process for Oak Lawn
The University of Virginia is seeking architectural and planning firms who would be interested in helping plot out the future of a 5.2 acre estate in Fifeville. The state institution purchased Oak Lawn in October 2023 for $3.5 million.
“The purpose of the planning study is to assess childcare and potential program uses of the site in support of UVA Health and the community while protecting the historic value of the property and exploring potential density, access, transportation, and related impacts,” reads the request for letters of interest and statements of qualification.
The request states that engagement with the Fifeville neighborhood would be a key component as would be historic preservation. The document also notes that any project would follow Charlottesville’s land use rules, even though the property is owned by UVA.
“The property is in Area C, as defined by the Three-Party Agreement between the University, City, and County, requiring the University to follow both state and local review entitlement processes for any proposed development,” the request continues.
The property is now zoned Residential-C would would allow additional dwelling units on the site by-right. Oak Lawn is also an Individually Protected Property which means the Board of Architectural Review will have to weigh in on any design changes.
Firms who want to do the work have until February 20 to send in their material. A request for proposals will be released to a shortlist on March 1.
Sponsored message: Buy Local
From Crozet to Barracks Road, the Downtown Mall to the Shops at Stonefield, and everywhere in between, Albemarle County and Charlottesville’s Offices of Economic Development encourage you to Buy Local as the New Year unfolds.
Buying locally supports our neighbors and community members and makes a big impact for our local economy. Local businesses are more likely to reinvest in our community and their goods and services contribute to the unique character of our community.
Learn more about how you can support local business at ShowLocalLove.org and on social media:
VDOT seeking input on through-truck restriction on Plank Road
A group of residents and businesses in the Batesville area in Albemarle County have been asking for ways to reduce traffic that travel through the unincorporated village. This week, the Virginia Department of Transportation opened up the public comment period for a proposal to ban trucks seeking to use Plank Road as a way to get between U.S. 29 and U.S. 250 at Rockfish Gap Turnpike.
“Signs advising motorists that Route 692 is being considered for a through truck restriction have been installed along the affected route and will remain in place through the comment period,” reads the press release.
The total distance that would be affected is 9.67 miles. The official alternate route would be to use U.S. and Interstate 64, a distance of 23.81 miles.
To make a comment in writing, contact the Charlottesville Resident Engineer with a letter or email. I don’t like to put people’s email addresses in the newsletter, so visit the VDOT website for that information. Here’s the address:
701 VDOT Way
Charlottesville, VA
22911
Contract awarded for 2D watershed model; bids sought for pedestrian bridge over Pollocks Branch
To prepare for more volatile storms and the flooding that may accompany them, the city has hired a firm to conduct a two-dimensional model of the watersheds of Moores Creek and Meadowcreek. The firm Hazen & Sawyer will take on the project which will suggest where infrastructure may be needed for stormwater management.
The source of the funding is Virginia’s Community Flood Preparedness Fund, which had been funded through the Commonwealth’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Governor Glenn Youngkin made exiting the interstate compact a centerpiece of his time in office. There had been a lawsuit to prevent the exit, but the website for RGGI no longer lists Virginia as a member.
Here are some other recent procurement activities in Charlottesville:
Nielsen Builders of Harrisonburg has been awarded the contract to build the Bypass Fire Station. The city has set aside $8,627,607 for the project. Learn more about this project on the city’s budget explorer.
Total Environmental Concepts Incorporated of Laurel, Maryland, has been awarded the contract to a new fuel station at the Avon vehicle depot. (learn more)
Southern Air Inc has been awarded a contract to remove and replace the chiller on top of the Market Street Parking Garage. (learn more)
Simpson Unlimited of Manassas has been awarded the contract to put a new roof terrace on Johnson Elementary School. (learn more)
Harrisonburg Construction Company of Charlottesville won the contract to replace a retaining wall at Maplewood Cemetery. (learn more)
Unifirst Corporation has won a contract to provide uniforms for Charlottesville Area Transit employees. (learn more)
The city is seeking a firm to build a timber bike and pedestrian bridge over Pollocks Branch at Jordan Park. Bids close on February 26, 2024. (learn more)
Troon Golf LLC of Scottsdale, Arizona, will provide golf course management services
Reading material:
'It's time to fight': Amherst's Gloria Witt announces run for Congress, Justin Faulconer, Lynchburg News & Advance (paywall), January 24, 2024
UVA and Community Partners Release Community Safety Working Group Report, Bethanie Glover, UVA Today, January 25, 2024
Health leaders: Va.'s Office of EMS owes $33 million, misused funds for years, Eric Kolenich, Richmond Times-Dispatch, January 26, 2024
Greene County introduces new mass communications system, Charlottesville Daily Progress (paywall), January 28, 2024
“Waste Not, Want Not” initiative gives new life to discarded materials, Lindsey Lian, Cavalier Daily, January 29, 2024
Charlottesville solar firm guiding Central Virginia farms, small businesses through grant process, Emily Hemphill, Charlottesville Daily Progress (paywall), January 29, 2024
Land in Greene County added to national park, CBS19, January 29, 2024
Virginia Senate passes bill to let localities increase sales tax to pay for school construction, Nathaniel Cline, Virginia Mercury, January 29, 2024
Virginia bill seeking to extend line of duty benefits to private officers fails in House, Justin Faulconer, Lynchburg News & Advance (via Charlottesville Daily Progress (paywall)), January 29, 2024
CAT remains free to ride, but for how long?, Keagan Hughes, NBC29, January 30, 2024
New concerns regarding mail delivery in Virginia, CBS19 News, January 31, 2024
The end of #631
One idea would be to have this newsletter and podcast come out on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, a goal that has been achieved for this week. This allows ample time to do research and other tasks necessary to keep Charlottesville Community Engagement going, such as reading through as many sources as I can.
I joked up top about this being Groundhog Day and the Sisyphean nature of local government. It turns out that nearly 17 years since being hired by a nonprofit to do research, I find it comforting to note how many shifts and changes have happened. I really consider it an honor and a privilege to do this work and to remember those who are no longer with us such as Ken Boyd, Holly Edwards, Duane Snow, Rodney Thomas,.
Thanks to all of you paid subscribers for keeping this going. Your initial payment through Substack is matched by Ting, an internet provider with a sense of community.
And maybe you’re in the market for new Internet? Check out Ting to see what they have to offer, and if you decide to proceed, enter in the promo code COMMUNITY to receive:
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A $75 gift card to the Downtown Mall
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