January 20, 2025: Albemarle County honors Riverview Farm with MLK proclamation
Plus: A lot of odds and ends from a recent report from Charlottesville city officials
Since 1937, presidential inaugurations have taken place on January 20 following ratification of the 20th amendment to the U.S. Constitution four years earlier. It is always possible in a democracy to change the fundamental rules. That is one reason why it is crucial for a democracy to have actors whose role is to explain processes and remind people of what’s already happened. Such work has been the stated purpose of Charlottesville Community Engagement since launching in July 2020. I’m Sean Tubbs, and this is what I do.
In today’s installment:
Albemarle County Supervisors marked Martin Luther King Jr. last week with a proclamation that also honored the legacy of Hugh Carr and Texie Mae Hawkins
The City of Charlottesville issued over 90 citations for failure to remove snow from sidewalks after the recent winter storm
A planning manager for the City of Pittsburgh will soon become Charlottesville’s next long range planning manager
Demolition is underway on the former Woodrow Apartments to make way for a large student housing complex
Statistics on Charlottesville’s mental health response team as well as preliminary numbers on applications for the city’s affordable housing funds
First shout out: Charlottesville E-bike Lending Library
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. Go learn more about the service at https://www.ebikelibrarycville.org!
Albemarle Supervisors recognize MLK Day and award proclamation to Riverview Farm
Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday first observed on January 20, 1986, three years after President Ronald Reagan signed legislation to create the official occasion. Local governments are closed today in observation but last week the Albemarle Board of Supervisors adopted a relevant proclamation.
“Whereas, just a century after the Emancipation Proclamation, in 1963, Dr. King and allied forces marched on Washington and delivered the revered ‘I have a Dream’ speech, advocating for the end of racial segregation and societal inequality,” read Supervisor Ann Mallek of the White Hall District.
“In honoring his legacy, MLK Day is the only federal holiday designated as a National Day of Service to encourage all Americans to volunteer to improve their communities,” Mallek continued.
The proclamation also points out that the section of Albemarle County’s strategic plan on “core values” includes the phrase “we expect diversity, equity, and inclusion to be integrated into how we live our mission.”
In local government, proclamations are often accepted by representatives from the community. In this case, Albemarle offered the document to the Ivy Creek Natural Area Foundation. That organization also runs the historic Riverview Farm which was purchased in 1870 by the formerly enslaved Hugh Carr. Education Coordinator Mariah Payne was intended to make remarks but her mother read from what she had prepared.
“It is a privilege to share and preserve the stories of African Americans in Albemarle County,” Payne’s mother said on her behalf. “I want to first and foremost acknowledge the Car Grier family and their descendants whose dedication and service have profoundly enriched our community and beyond.”
Payne’s father recently turned 80 and had gone to school at both the Albemarle Training Center as well as Burley High School. Both were in existence before the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case that made segregation by race unlawful.
“In 1963, he joined a group that was arrested for protesting Jim Crow at a segregated movie theater, “It is because of these individuals that Ivy Creek stands as the place of reflection, learning and celebration.”
Susie Erhardt is the executive director of the Ivy Creek Natural Area which operates on the land Carr once owned with this wife Texie Mae Hawkins.
“Together they built a legacy of hope and opportunity for their children, believing that education could transform lives and open new doors,” Erhardt said. “Riverview Farm, now an African American historic site, preserves the home and barn of the Carr-Greer family. During the Jim Crow era, Riverview Farm served as a safe haven, a place for education club meetings and a refuge for African Americans seeking solace and strength.”
Erhardt went on to provide much more details such as the story of Carr’s oldest daughter, Mary Carr Greer. Erhardt described her as a champion of voting rights.
“In the 1940s, she helped adults navigate literacy tests, pay poll taxes and claim their political voice,” Erhardt said. “Mrs. Mary Carr Greer's husband, Mr. Conley Greer, the first African American extension agent here in Albemarle county, was equally pioneering. He worked tirelessly for African American farmers to improve their agricultural output and achieve economic independence.”
In 2023, Riverview Farm was added to the National Park Service’s African American Civil Rights Network.
Scottsville District Supervisor Michael Pruitt said Martin Luther King Jr. pushed people to question much of what had been established in society.
“He was someone who was fundamentally, deeply radical,” Pruitt said. He after all, called on people to make an assessment of the moral worth of existing laws and finding them lacking, recognize that they should not be followed. That is a radical position. And he is someone who was fundamentally leading a movement that was unapologetically Christian.”
Supervisor Ned Gallaway of the Rio District said he often reads King’s writing around this time of year and what jumped out this time was a speech on loving your enemies that King gave on November 17, 1957. He read an excerpt.
“A second thing that an individual must do in seeking to love his enemy is to discover the element of good in his enemy,” Gallaway read. “And every time you begin to hate that person and think of hating that person, realize that there is some good there and look at those good points which will overbalance the bad points later.”
Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968 at the age of 39.
Second-shout: Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration on January 26 at Mount Zion First African Baptist Church
Mark your calendar for January 26 at 5 p.m. when the Mount Zion First African Baptist Church will host the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration. Since 1985, the Celebration has been held to honor people who have served the community starting with Drewary Brown who received the first award that year.
Since then, the event has honored 35 other members of the Charlottesville area for their commitment to Dr. King's ideals. During its anniversary year, the program will honor 40 years of past award winners. With leaders from Piedmont Virginia Community College, UVA, local government, and the community, the group will look forward to the future!
The program will feature musical selections from the MLK, Jr. Community Choir, a Children's Choir, and Youth and Young Adults Choir. Leaders from a variety of faith traditions will participate in the event, which will feature former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney.
Prior to the program beginning at 5, a special musical and reading prelude will occur at 4 in the church. Parking for the event is at Mt Zion, 105 Lankford Ave.
Charlottesville City Manager report: Shelter information and more
This week’s Week Ahead newsletter was 5,300 words long so I didn’t report everything I could have reported. One aspect I saved is a review of what’s listed in Sam Sanders’ written report for tomorrow night’s City Council meeting.
The section from Deputy City Manager Ashley Reynolds Marshall provides helpful information for anyone who might be caught out in the cold without a place to live. We’re still in the season where PACEM provides overnight shelter with a check-in period between 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The Men’s Shelter Line can be reached at 434-465-1392
The Women’s Shelter Line can be reached at 434-465-7521
Additionally, the Salvation Army provides overnight shelter but individuals have to pass a breathalyzer and provide a government-issued identification.
Snow report: “Always room for improvement”
The Charlottesville dodged winter snow this past weekend, but the snow event from January 5 and January 6 dropped between four and five inches. Deputy City Manager James Freas described the city’s effort in removing snow from primary roads as “very good” but said there could have been improvements.
“Public Works took on the additional task of clearing sidewalks in the school walk zones in order to support the safe opening of Charlottesville City Schools on Thursday of that week,” Freas wrote in the city manager’s report.
The city issued over 90 citations to enforce the sidewalk clearance ordinance with a priority on school walk zones. City staff had an internal meeting on the response on January 17.
NDS report: Long range planning manager to begin work in early February
The city has hired a long range planning manager to serve in the Department of Neighborhood Development Services. Ose Akinlotan will begin work for the city on February 3 after last serving as a planner manager in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
“Ose will lead planning efforts related to development of planning policy and small area plans in support of the City's Comprehensive Plan,” reads the report.
The next small area plan is set for the 10th and Page area according to a report given to the Planning Commission in December by NDS Director Kellie Brown.
“Our initial step there will be starting to pull together an understanding of the existing conditions in that neighborhood, and really seeking to identify what are the key issues that can be addressed, that should be addressed, that a small area plan can help resolve, and working with the community as well, collaborating with them to identify those key planning issues,” Brown said at the time.
The report also notes that the city has granted permission for land disturbance to begin at 2117 Ivy Road and 409 Stadium Road. Those are two large residential developments being constructed under the former zoning code on properties within the University of Virginia’s sphere of influence. In the latter, demolition is underway of the former Woodrow Apartments that will be removed to make way for 468 units in what will be called the Verve.
“Both projects are under construction with an anticipated completion date in the spring of 2027,” the report continues.
The city has also taken its last building application made under the 2018 building code with the transition period to the 2021 building code having concluded on Friday.
“This requirement is well known in the building industry and City staff has also been providing reminders to our customers, including an all-inclusive email sent to 285 contractors, architects, engineers, and homeowners,” the report continues.
ANCHOR statistics
This fiscal year, the city has created a public safety response team called ANCHOR which stands for “Assisting with Navigation, Crisis Help, and Outreach Resources.”
“ANCHOR’s membership is composed of two members of the Charlottesville Fire Department, one member of the Charlottesville Police Department, and two mental health professionals employed by our local nonprofit partner, Partner for Mental Health (PMH),” reads the city’s website on the team.
The ANCHOR team is coordinated by the city’s Department of Human Services which provided statistics in the latest report.
“In the last 60-day period, ANCHOR responded 47 times and served 30 unique individuals,” reads the report, though it is unclear what the exact period has been. “Sixty-three percent of those responses were related to mental health, 13 percent were related to substance use, one percent were both mental health and substance use, and 17 percent were resource navigation calls not related to a crisis.”
Charlottesville’s budget for FY25 includes $720,787 for the ANCHOR team. See page 60 for confirmation of that detail.
Review underway for two pools of city affordable housing funding
Charlottesville City Council adopted an Affordable Housing Plan in March 2021 that morally commits the city to spend $10 million on various programs to build new income-restricted units and maintaining existing ones.
That money is handed out through several pools of funding including two that go by the acronyms CAHF and HOPS. CAHF is the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund and HOPS is the Housing Operations and Programs support.
The city’s Office of Community Solutions oversees the administration of these funds and the office sought applications for both in the fall.
“OCS staff received six applications for FY25 Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund (CAHF) Grant funding, totaling approximately $1.6 million,” reads the report, which also adds there is only $823,000 available in this cycle.
There were 16 applications for HOPS seeking $1.48 million in funding. There’s a total of $897,000 available.
“The CAHF committee will begin reviewing the applications in January 2025,” the report continues. “OCS staff will present the CAHF Committee's award recommendations to the City Council.”
No meetings are currently scheduled according to the city website on the CAHF Committee. One of the city’s two calendars for online meetings also does not show any meetings scheduled.
Reading material:
How the Trump Presidency Could Impact Urban Planning, Planetizen, January 19, 2025
Trump pledges a series of Day 1 executive actions to end 'four long years of American decline', CBS19 News (via Associated Press), January 19, 2025
Charlottesville Media Group Is Saga’s Latest Cluster Rebrand, Cameron Coats, January 19, 2025
Remarks as #795 concludes
Every week I write a column for C-Ville Weekly. I don’t include that story in the spreadsheet of work at Town Crier Productions but the reporting and research for both are completely connected. There are too many times when Monday rolls around and I’m still agonizing over what to write.
At the moment, I appear to have lost one of my biggest sources of stories and that itself may be a story as the year unfolds. I’m not ready to give details on that yet because I’m still ascertaining how much the community may have lost. If I’m being obscure, this is deliberate because my work is a skill game of sorts and I’m not always aware of the rules. I do know not to give my hand away, but I can’t help a tell.
For this week’s column, I opted to write about the Broadway Blueprint study that the Albemarle Economic Development Authority will review tomorrow. I had been thinking about writing about the closure of Rose’s, but at 7:30 a.m. this morning I wasn’t sure I could pull that off. There’s always next week, as well as the next day.
I also wanted to make sure I got a newsletter out today. While this is a federal holiday, I am not a salaried employee and have no paid time off. My livelihood depends on producing as much information as possible, all in the service of fulfilling my mission to practice journalism in a way that seeks to reduce any sense of helplessness they may have about navigating the civic landscape.
There are now over 3,500 subscribers to this newsletter, and a fifth of them pay something to keep it going. I’m still preparing new ways to bring in revenue so I can do the following in order of what comes to mind first:
Have enough money to hire copy editors who can help me get stories out without the annoying typographical mistakes and who can help me with things that don’t quite get explained right.
Hire an actual human being to create some images I can use to make things look better. I will refuse to use anything generated by “artificial intelligence” with an exception for transcription software.
Find a way to fund the training of individuals who may want to do whatever it is that I do. Civic archivist? Policy explainer? But the clock is ticking and I feel it is crucial important to teach younger people how journalism was practiced in the days before social media.
Hire someone to help with business tasks that I should be doing more often to increase the likelihood I’ll get to keep doing this work.
As more revenue comes in, I will not likely use any of it to take time off. When the pandemic hit in March 2020, I heard a calling that seems to keep growing in volume. This is not a fundraising spiel. It’s what I’m writing on this particular day as I try to think about what I do and why I do it.
With that I’m leaving a YouTube link to my favorite R.E.M. song and probably my favorite song of all time.
i am so glad to live in the albemarle county and charlottesvile city area......where both governments strive for fairness, equality and support for all of us who live here.....that is becoming more and more vital each day....