June 14, 2023: Deeds and Hudson both raised over a half of million in latest campaign finance period
Plus: Charlottesville City Council agrees to help CRHA buy another house
We are now on the second day of National Hermit Week, an event supposedly created in 1996 to draw awareness to the benefits of being alone. Introspection. Organizing. No arguments about what to watch. If you are one who is anticipating a lot of time just by yourself, one option would be to read every single edition so far of Charlottesville Community Engagement, a newsletter created during the time National Hermit Week went on for a good year or so. I’m Sean Tubbs, looking for the patterns.
On today’s edition:
Deeds and Hudson both raised over a half million in cash and services in latest campaign report for Senate District 11
Council agrees to help CRHA buy another single family home
Charlottesville seeks applications for federal funds to build rental properties
First shout-out: eBike Lending Library
In today’s first subscriber supported shout-out, one Patreon supports wants you to know that Charlottesville now has an eBike Lending Library! E-bikes are a great way to get around 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 we 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.
Deeds and Hudson both raise over a half million for District 11 in latest campaign finance period
The heated campaign between Senator Creigh Deeds and Delegate Sally Hudson for the new District 11 will be decided in six days, and both campaigns have plenty of money to spend in the final moments before the primary.
The Virginia Public Access Project has compiled campaign finance reports for the period between April 1 and June 8.
Deeds began the month with $422,902 in the bank and raised a total of $516,322, including $456,495 in contributions greater than $100, $9,392 in contributions less than $100, and $50,435 in in-kind contributions more than $100. (view the raw report)
Notable contributions came from fellow members of the Senate including $45,000 from Senator Scott Surovell, $20,000 from Senator Mamie Locke, and $10,000 from Senator Barbara Favola.
The Deeds campaign spent $677,336 in the period to end the month with $211,452.
Hudson began the period with $139,383 on hand and raised a total of $599,152 from April 1 to June 8. However, half of that is in-kind contributions. The totals are $282,058 in cash contributions over $100, $10,987 in cash contributions under $100, $305,116 in in-kind donations over $100, and $988 in in-kind contributions under $100. (view the raw report)
Sonjia Smith contributed another $100,000 in the period and the report lists $3,740 in in-kind contributions from Smith. Smith has previously contributed already $30,000 in cash.
Hudson spent $417,318 in the period and had a balance of $15,111 as of June 8.
Meanwhile, Republican candidate Philip Hamilton began the period with $509, raised $770, spent $1,017, and had a balance of $262.
Independent candidate J’riah Guerreo raised no funds and spent no funds. Or at least, there’s no report.
More from the campaign finance reports tomorrow.
City Council poised to authorize funding for CRHA to purchase Fry’s Spring property
Charlottesville City Council has agreed once more to redirect funding to help the separate public housing agency purchase property for the purpose of retaining affordable units.
This is the third time that Council has agreed to use funding budgeted to bolster federal housing voucher programs to pay for the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority to purchase additional property.
“We were setting aside $900,000 per year for the program and as of FY22, there had been an accumulation of a $1.9 million surplus based on the funds not being utilized for a variety of reasons,” said Deputy City Manager Sam Sanders. “The market really being the driver behind that.”
Sanders said the CRHA asked the city to reallocate the funds to help prevent what’s known as “naturally occurring affordable housing” that would otherwise be in jeopardy.
In this case, the city would transfer $137,500 to match the CRHA’s equivalent payment for the $275,000 purchase price for 100 Harris Road.
“That house is currently assessed at $369,000, so this would be purchasing it at $275,000 which is roughly $100,000 under market value,” Sanders said.
This property would be part of the city’s growing housing portfolio that will be managed in partnership with the CRHA. That also included the 74 units known as Dogwood Properties which Council agreed to spend $5 million to cover the $10 million price tag for CRHA.
The existing rent is $750 and the existing tenant can remain in place until they are ready to leave.
“I think purchasing land is the most important, powerful thing we can do for affordable housing being that we are ten and a half square miles, land-locked,” Payne said.
The last time this property sold was in October 1972 for $34,500.
Mayor Lloyd Snook voted for the payment but said he was concerned there did not appear to be a written strategy for how CRHA will proceed to acquire property in the future.
“The fact that we don’t have a plan now is a relatively speaking small concern,” Snook said. “We don’t have a disposition in mind yet but I think we need to have a plan for this kind of purchase if we’re going to do it again.”
Fellow Councilors agreed a plan and strategy would be needed as CRHA plans to buy more property. Second readsing
Second shout-out: Camp Albemarle
Today’s second subscriber-supported public service announcement goes out to Camp Albemarle, which has for sixty years been a “wholesome rural, rustic and restful site for youth activities, church groups, civic events and occasional private programs.”
Located on 14 acres on the banks of the Moorman’s River near Free Union, Camp Albemarle continues as a legacy of being a Civilian Conservation Corps project that sought to promote the importance of rural activities. Camp Albemarle seeks support for a plan to winterize the Hamner Lodge, a structure built in 1941 by the CCC and used by every 4th and 5th grade student in Charlottesville and Albemarle for the study of ecology for over 20 years. If this campaign is successful, Camp Albemarle could operate year-round. Consider your support by visiting campalbemarleva.org/donate.
Charlottesville seeks applications to build affordable housing using COVID-19 funds
The federal government’s response to the pandemic is now over, but there’s still additional funding available for various projects paid for through the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act.
The City of Charlottesville expects an anticipated $340,000 through the HOME-ARP program that funnels out of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Applications are now being taken, according to a press release sent out on Monday.
“The Office of Community Solutions (OCS) seeks applications for HOME-ARP funding that can be used to acquire, rehabilitate, or construct rental housing within the Charlottesville City limits that are affordable to individuals and households with incomes at or below 60 percent of Charlottesville’s Area Median Income (AMI),” reads the announcement.
The bulletin also states that applications that can use the HOME-ARP funding to match other sources will receive special consideration. Projects must be completed within two years of winning the award.
Interested? There’s two workshops to learn more on June 22 with one at 10 a.m. in CitySpace and another at 5 p.m. in the Neighborhood Development Services conference room.
For more information, take a look at the city’s website.
End of #545
I quite like a challenge and doing things differently. And gosh, we’re here. As of now, there will be a podcast “week in review” that will be sent out separately. Anyway, I’m out of time. Maybe this is what finally prompts me to hire a copy-editor! If you’re interested, I have funds to pay someone $25 for an hour’s work each time on a case-by-case basis.
If you can manage a few dollars to pay through Substack, Ting will match the initial payment.
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A second month for free
A $75 gift card to the Downtown Mall