March 20, 2024: Albemarle and Louisa both declare local states of emergency due to wildfires
Plus: A familiar face will be the new principal at Charlottesville High School
This newsletter and podcast has existed since July 2020 and for most of that time it has been both a written product as well as an audio program. Since the first edition, I’ve also launched Information Charlottesville as a way of archiving the dozen or so stories that are created each week. Now it’s time for another installment of stories. I’m Sean Tubbs, willing to try something a little different.
In this edition:
Albemarle County Board of Supervisors interrupt a meeting on the Comprehensive Plan to declare a state of emergency related to over a dozen wildfires
Evacuation orders have been issues for some parts of Albemarle and Louisa
Charlottesville City Schools appoint a new principal for Charlottesville High School
Charlottesville City Council gets some follow-up answers to some budget questions
First shout-out: Camp Albemarle
Today’s first subscriber-supported public service announcement goes out to Camp Albemarle, which has for over 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. Are you looking to escape and reconnect with nature? Consider holding an event where the natural beauty of the grounds will provide a venue to suit your needs. Visit their website to view the gallery and learn more!
Albemarle County Supervisors and Louisa County Supervisors have both declared local emergency related to today’s wildfires
Louisa Fire & EMS requesting people avoid area of West Old Mountain Road and Yanceyville Road
A day of high winds across Virginia has led to several wildfires across the region including in Albemarle County. County Executive Jeffrey Richardson today interrupted the Board of Supervisors meeting in progress just before 5 p.m. to gather executive staff to discuss the matter. When the elected officials returned, Deputy County Executive Trevor Henry explained.
“There’s been an emerging emergency management scenario this afternoon with the red flag warnings today,” Henry said. “What started with a couple of brush fires early afternoon has progressed to somewhere in the order of 15 or so.”
Henry said Albemarle Fire Rescue crews are engaged, off-duty officers have been called in, and the call has been put out for volunteers.
“We are bringing all of our resources to bear on this but it is emerging,” Henry said. “We believe a majority of the fires are caused by downed power lines and so we believe it is still mostly rural but we’re trying to get a full assessment of that.”
Henry said the local emergency will allow the county to tap into state emergency management funds through the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. He said other counties are also dealing with the same issue.
Supervisor Ann Mallek asked if Dominion has been asked to turn off some of the power lines due to the high winds. Henry said the county is in touch with the power utility.
Meanwhile in Louisa County, crews are battling a large fire in the area of West Old Mountain Road and Yanceyville Road. They’ve begun evacuating people from the area. Supervisors in Louisa have also taken the step of declaring a local emergency.
In a press release, Albemarle County said the number of acres involved is not yet known, but three outbuildings have been affected by fire.
“An evacuation alert has been sent to addresses on Taylors Gap Road and the side roads between Dick Woods (east) and Blandimar Road,” the release states. “Albemarle County Police Department officers are assisting with door-to-door notifications.”
Check out this post on Information Charlottesville for updates on the situation as it continues.
City Schools name Malone as next principal of Charlottesville High School
A veteran educator who has previously worked in Charlottesville City Schools will take over at Charlottesville High School on July 1.
Dr. Justin Malone was assistant principal at the school from 2013 to 2017 and has been principal at Jackson-Via Elementary school since then.
"We are delighted to welcome Dr. Malone back to CHS," said Superintendent Royal A. Gurley, Jr. in a statement. "In a strong field of applicants, he stood out for his administrative and interpersonal skills, combined with his deep understanding of our community and commitment to academic excellence."
According to a post on Facebook, Malone was selected from 43 applicants. He earned a B.S. and M.S. degrees at Old Dominion University before obtaining his Ed.D. at the University of Virginia.
In his statement, Malone said his previous experience will help him prepare to take over a school that has had a troubling year.
“I am honored to return to Charlottesville High School,” Dr. Malone is quoted in the release. “I know what makes CHS such a special and thriving school and I am committed to sharing with our students, our staff, and our community what makes CHS a safe and successful place.
He’ll take over from Kenneth Leatherwood, a veteran administrator who returned from retirement to replace former Principal Rashaad Pitt who resigned last November during a time when a series of well-publicized fights. Classes were canceled for several days to identify and implement solutions.
Second shout-out: Live music at WTJU
In today’s second Patreon-fueled shout-out: WTJU provides great music for the community every hour of the week, including live performance broadcasts by area artists. Get your calendar ready to mark down some of those times!
Every Friday night, WTJU hosts a live music series called "Offbeat Roadhouse," featuring mostly acoustic artists -- folk, blues, jazz, americana, and beyond. This Friday at 8 p.m. features the Mississippi Conjure Trio. This is not your Grandmother’s blues, unless she was born on the North End of Mississippi. That’s a live concert that is free and open to the public. Check out the schedule at WTJU for more information.
And every third Saturday, WTJU hosts "Third Rail," a live music series that pushes genre boundaries. This past Saturday featured Heavy Flow, a duo that creates ethereal sounds from the ground to the rafters. Dip into this sonic bath of instruments that include cello, vibraphone, lapsteel, accordion, vocals, keyboard, guitar, effects, and more. You can also watch the performance on YouTube.
Visit wtju.net for more information and find something new to listen to.
Charlottesville to increase monthly parking fees, may consider fee increases for solid waste removal
Charlottesville City Council held the second budget work session for the $251.53 million budget for fiscal year 2024 on March 14, 2024 and most of their time was spent discussing funding for outside and nonprofit agencies. But first, they had some follow-ups from the March 7, 2024 work session. (read that story) (view the presentation)
One of the questions was whether Charlottesville could receive a greater portion of funding raised by the transient lodging tax by amending the memorandum of agreement with the Charlottesville Albemarle Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“That agreement will be forwarded to Council and the City Manager is working to schedule with the [CACVB] executive director,” said Krisy Hammill, Charlottesville’s budget director.
Another question was whether the city might increase solid waste fees paid by city residents and property owners to cover increases costs the Public Works department pays for refuse collection.
“Overall we are experiencing changes and price increases on both the processing side which are the tipping fees as well as the collection side,” Hammill said.
Hammill said is seeking a new contract and any fee increases will wait until new prices are known.
After learning that the current fees are subsidized by the city, Pinkston said he would like the fees to be increased.
“I just don’t think that we should be subsidizing people’s trash,” Pinkston said. “Maybe there’s some level at which we do that. I think we should have the conversation about it.”
Another question wanted to know how much it would cost to hire the additional bus drivers to fully implement Charlottesville Area Transit’s “system optimization plan.” that Council approved in the summer of 2021. That involves hiring or more drivers and buying more buses to allow for more frequent and reliable service.
An intermediary step to bring the number of drivers to 70 and full implementation would be to bring that number up to 82. The annual cost to add 11 drivers would be $835,758 and it would cost $1,975,427 to add 26 new operators.
CAT Director Garland Williams it would take about four to six months to train new drivers.
“If you give us the positions in July, that means we’re really up and running January of the following year,” Williams said.
Councilor Michael Payne supported moving forward with the first step as soon as possible. CAT has been running on reduced service for the past four years.
“I am supportive of figuring out whatever it takes to try and fund that intermediary step on the quickest timeline that we can because as much as we talk about transit, this is the absolute bare minimum necessity and we aren’t there yet,” Payne said.
More vehicles would also be needed. Williams said the hiring of a new assistant director of maintenance is helping keep vehicles on the road.
Another question dealt with anticipated changes in a separate pool of money known as the “Enterprise Parking Fund.” The city is proposing raising the monthly parking rates at the two city-operated parking structures by $5. The city owns the Market Street Parking Garage outright, but pays a ground lease to the Charlottesville Parking Center for the Water Street lot and this year the terms of the lease will reset to market rate.
“We’re anticipating—we don’t know the number yet—but it’s going to go up, and it’s going to go up considerably,” said Chris Engel, the city’s director of economic development.
At one point, the Charlottesville Parking Center and the City of Charlottesville were in a legal battle related to operations at the Water Street Parking Garage. For a glimpse into that story, go back and read this April 2015 article in C-Ville Weekly.
More on the Vibrant Community Funds in the next edition of the newsletter. The first public hearing on the budget will be held on Thursday at 6 p.m. in CitySpace.
Reading material:
EPA Regional Administrator visits UVA to discuss environmental issues, research, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Press Release, March 19, 2024
Virginia dedicates more money to rail assistance program, Nathaniel Cline, Virginia Mercury, March 20, 2024
A month in: What’s happened so far with Charlottesville’s new zoning rules?, Sean Tubbs, C-Ville Weekly, March 20, 2024
Democratic legislator questions Youngkin’s appointments to environmental justice council, Charlie Paullin, Virginia Mercury, March 20, 2024
#650 is 13 x 50
This is the second edition in a row that goes out deliberately without a podcast, but there will be a version. I wanted to get the two top pieces out to as many people as I could, and I’ve decided to play around with wanting to produce the newsletter without the audio because the information can get out faster.
This is because about a month ago, I began producing a radio version for WTJU forcing me to step up my technical game quite a lot. The higher standards have meant I’m taking longer to get the audio done, and so why not decouple the two?
How this shakes out depends on a lot of factors, but I intend to produce a podcast version and a radio version, and we’ll see how it turns out. What matters is getting information out as fast as I can to as many people, and most of you are readers. The listeners rock, though.
All of this is possible because of paid subscribers through Substack as well as Patreon. Ting matches initial Substack subscriptions. I’m grateful for that sponsorshipm and I’m grateful for you if you have made it this far.
The partnership with Ting is an incredibly generous sponsorship, and you if you sign up for service and enter the promo code COMMUNITY you’re going to get:
Free installation
A second month for free
A $75 gift card to the Downtown Mall
Holy Cow! Real Estate Tax Rate of $0.99
Substantial increase in Trash Pick up stickers (Please let Brian know the city tax payer money is supposed to cover trash pickup.)
Parking downtown is now going to cost $7.00 an hour.
I am beginning to think the rumor is true that the city wants to get rid of the middle class. Especially when reading the Median Home List Price last week was $825,000.