July 26, 2024: Habitat for Humanity to make counter-offer for Carlton Mobile Home Park
Plus: FY24 revenues in Virginia up $1.2 billion over most recent forecast
This is only the second time there has been an addition to the number of Charlottesville Community Engagement installments that have gone out in total with this being the 710th. On July 26, 2021, the 222nd edition went out with stories about COVID, the Fontaine Avenue Streetscape, and Charlottesville Area Transit route changes that still have not yet gone into effect. I’m Sean Tubbs, and it turns out this is what I do.
In today’s installment:
Habitat for Humanity will make a counter-offer of at least $7 million to purchase the Carlton Mobile Home Park in Charlottesville
Governor Youngkin announces revenues for the Commonwealth in Virginia are $1.2 billion higher than forecast in May
The Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission agrees to pursue another round of funding for rural housing presentation
A quick update on construction of the roundabout at Hillsdale and Hydraulic
New legislation now allows some appointed bodies in Virginia to meet virtually more often
The TJDPC also receives additional funding from Virginia for broadband expansion
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Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville to make counter-offer on Carlton mobile home park
An organization that has twice been involved with redeveloping mobile home parks in the community will now take a lead role in preserving a third.
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville has announced they will counter a $7 million offer for the 6.46 acre Carlton Mobile Home Park. They did so after meeting with residents with the Legal Aid Justice Center and the Piedmont Housing Alliance.
“Per state law, any sale of a trailer park is contingent upon the park owner considering any offers from a tenant group, representing 25 percent or more of existing tenants received by the owner within 60 days after the notification was given,” reads the press release sent out this afternoon.
That notice was given by the Bolton family on June 7. The Charlottesville City Council discussed potential support at a recent meeting and over 40 percent of residents signed the petition. At the meeting, they also asked for two conditions:
The space will remain a mobile home park for at least three years
Rent increases will be capped at 5 percent or $15, whichever is lower
In a statement, Habitat CEO Dan Rosensweig said this will be difficult for the organization given the need to pull financing together by August 6.
“We and our partners feel deeply that, given the enormous stakes for the families, we have a moral and ethical imperative to do everything we can to prevent displacement,” Rosensweig said.
Habitat previously redeveloped Sunrise Park as a mixed-income community on Carlton Avenue in Charlottesville and continues to lead the development and redevelopment of Southwood Mobile Home Park.
The release does not indicate how much funding may be made available from the city.
Last year, City Council agreed to provide $5 million to the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority to help with a purchase of the 74 units in the Dogwood Housing portfolio. Council also agreed to purchase 405 Avon Street from CRHA for $4 million in a deal that allows the public housing authority to continue to use the space and to participate in its eventual redevelopment.
Virginia revenues in FY24 ahead of forecast
Fiscal Year 2024 in Virginia is now behind us and the numbers are beginning to come in for how the Commonwealth’s budget will end up when the books are closed. Governor Glenn Youngkin announced this morning that revenues are $1.2 billion over the revenue forecast.
“For the full fiscal year, overall general fund revenue collections grew 5.5 percent, well above the 1.3 percent increase assumed in the official forecast,” reads a press release sent out this morning.
The release notes that the additional funding covers the additional amount added to the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program (VMSDEP) recently agreed upon in a special session of the General Assembly.
“Record revenues underpinned by Virginia’s strong job growth continue to show there is plenty of money in the system to make critical investments while cutting taxes to bring down the cost of living for hardworking Virginians,” Youngkin is quoted in the release.
The actual numbers were not made available in the release but will be fully revealed at the August 14 meeting of the Joint Money Committee at the General Assembly. That will be livestreamed beginning at 10 a.m.
TJPDC to pursue second year of rural preservation grant
The regional planning body that covers five rural localities and Charlottesville has endorsed the pursuit of another round of funding from the federal government for rural housing preservation.
“The housing preservation grant basically helps folks rehabilitate their homes, particularly those with low or extremely low incomes,” said Logan Ende.
Funding goes to partner agencies such as the Albemarle Home Improvement Program or the Fluvanna-Louisa Housing Foundation who do the work upfront and are reimbursed by the TJPDC using the grant funding. Ende said there is up to $5,000 available for each project and the average is about $3,500. Each organization also provides a local match.
“Typically the money is used for things like a new HVAC system or a roof replacement,” Ende said. “Generally speaking, pretty crucial repairs for people’s homes.”
The TJPDC received $212,435 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the current federal fiscal year which ends on September 30. There’s about $35,000 remaining that is not yet committed.
“Probably a handful of projects will come in the rest of the summer to be completed and that might wrap things up,” Ende said.
The TJPDC is asking for less funding in this cycle because the overall total available for the Commonwealth of Virginia has been lowered this year.
Visit the TJPDC for more information on the grant program.
Southern entrance to Whole Foods from Hydraulic still blocked until this weekend
This week there was another wrinkle in the temporary closure of the intersection of Hydraulic and Hillsdale Drive that’s underway through August 13.
On Wednesday, the managers of the Whole Foods on Hydraulic Road asked VDOT to close its south entrance to allow for a malfunctioning power transformer to be replaced. The north entrance remained open and the southern one is expected to reopen on Saturday.
This work has not affected conversion of the signalized intersection to a roundabout that is currently underway, according to Sharon Ketcham of the Virginia Department of Transportation. Ketcham provided a status update on that work.
Construction update:
All drainage work is complete
Half of the roundabout is complete
All concrete islands within the detour are complete
Milling is done and patching is almost complete
Paving will commence as soon as the weather permits
Crews will work on the other half of the roundabout in the next few days.
Construction still to come:
Pavement stamping
Pavement markings
Roadway lighting.
Ketcham said the detour should be lifted as scheduled.
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!
TJPDC briefed on new law allowing more virtual meetings
Four years ago, Virginia and the rest of the United States were under states of emergency that allowed for government meetings to be held online. When those emergencies were lifted, the rules reverted back to requiring in-person meetings for most of the time.
Each year since there have been legislative attempts to expand the number of times some appointed bodies can teleconference rather than meet in person.
This year, HB894 from Delegate Elizabeth Bennett-Parker passed the House of Delegates 74 to 26 and the Virginia Senate 32 to 7. That bill was incorporated into SB734 introduced by Senator David Marsden that passed the Senate 35 to 4 and the House of Delegates 79 to 20.
The Thomas Jefferson Planning District’s Board of Commissioners adopted a new policy last night that reflects the changes.
“The first one is to increase from 25 percent to 50 percent the maximum number of meetings you can hold per year,” said David Blount, deputy director of the TJPDC and its legislative liaison.
That means the TJPDC could hold up to five virtual meetings a year but none of them could be consecutive.
The other change requires members of the body to have their cameras on in order to be counted toward a quorum.
“I think the premise behind this and it being brought forth by some folks in the open government world is that this is a virtual meeting and we want to make sure that we can see folks when you’re having these public meetings,” Blount said.
The legislation does not apply to elected bodies, school boards, planning commissions, architectural review boards, or any body with the power to deny, approve, or revoke a professional license or other permit.
One member of the Louisa County Board of Supervisors said he would welcome being able to meet remotely.
“I think it’s a great idea and it would save somebody driving 84 miles every once in a while which I’d be all for it,” said Tommy Barlow of the Mountain Road District.
The TJPDC took their vote at a virtual meeting at which Barlow and the other Commissioners were not physically present.
TJPDC awarded $12.2 million for additional broadband expansion
Efforts to expand broadband in the Commonwealth of Virginia got another boost this week with the release of $41 million in funds through the Virginia Telecommunications Initiative (VATI).
That includes an additional $12.2 million for a public-private partnership led by the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Committee and Firefly Fiber Broadband. That will be part of a $48.6 million expansion that will build on infrastructure owned by the Central Virginia Electric Cooperative, the Rappahannock Electric Cooperative, Dominion Energy, and the various county governments involved.
This will expand service to a potential of 5,825 households in Amherst, Appomattox, Buckingham, Campbell, Fluvanna, Goochland, Greene, Louisa, Madison, and Powhatan counties.
The expansion builds on previous work the partnership has done according to TJPDC Deputy Director David Blount.
“Moving right along, Firefly is doing great work,” Blount said. “We just got a report from them that they completed more than 13,000 passings with their fiber construction and that’s on the way to the 36,000 plus passings that are the milestone for the VATI 2022.”
Blount said Firefly is requesting permission to get started on the new expansion as soon as possible.
One story for reading material in #710
Albemarle’s Meg Bryce votes to change Standards of Accreditation in her first Virginia Board of Education meeting, Jay Hart, Cville Right Now, July 25, 2024
Bon soir, #710
So, the podcasting didn’t work out well this week, but there will be one tomorrow that captures the sound-rich stories from this week. You can hear a preview on WTJU tomorrow morning at 6 a.m.
This will always be an experiment because life is an experiment for many of us who fumble around trying to do our best in a world where there are harsh critics who often get the better press. If life were the movie Dodgeball, this podcast is a product of an Average Joe.
In any case, the Olympics are on and I’m sort of inspired to watch this time around because I want to believe in a planet whose inhabitants work together to better the entire species. I do this work because it’s the only way I know how to make an ongoing contribution. I try to get it right, and appreciate the kind words many of you have to say.
The less than kind ones? People have the right to be jerks, and Voltaire would fight for your right to be one.
Thanks to all paid subscribers for fueling this experiment and efforts to improve. I’ll be sending out a bunch of thank you notes this weekend if I can, but there are so many stories to catch up on.
If you’d like to join those paid subscribers, Ting will match your first subscription whether it be at the $5 a month level, $50 a year level or $200 a year level. The latter will get you two shout-outs a month. It’s a bit of an innovative way to fund my work and I’m grateful to Ting for the opportunity which has been underway since sometime in 2021.
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:
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A $75 gift card to the Downtown Mall
"The sub-headline for the Carlton Mobile Home Park story was corrected shortly after publication to reflect that this is a conditional situation and that a purchase by Habitat and partners is not guaranteed."