Today’s Patreon-fueled shout-out comes from a contributor who wants me to say
"Early voting is underway for all registered voters. Vote in-person or request a ballot by mail. Register to vote by October 13. Visit elections.virginia.gov/registration/voter-forms"
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The statewide seven-day average for positive COVID-19 tests has declined to 4.5 percent today, down from 5.5 percent a week ago. In the Thomas Jefferson Health District, that number is 4.3 percent today, but some in the community are concerned that number is artificially low due to the number of routine tests being conducted for athletes at the University of Virginia.
The Virginia Department of Health reported another 755 cases this morning, and the Thomas Jefferson Health District reported 43. That’s 23 cases from Albemarle and 13 from Charlottesville. Another fatality has been reported of a person from Charlottesville for a total of 29 since the pandemic began.
The University of Virginia reported four new cases on Monday, September 28, and now lists a total of 194 active cases with 187 of them students. Twenty-nine percent of quarantine rooms are occupied, and the number of isolation rooms is at eight percent.
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The Charlottesville City Council spent seven hours in meetings yesterday, with the first hour being a discussion of the city’s financial situation. After that they held a long discussion on what should be in the next city’s Strategic Plan. The meeting was postponed two weeks following the resignation of City Manager Tarron Richardson. City Councilor Heather Hill is in her third year on Council.
“I’m really confident that this group of Council colleagues in partnership with our acting city manager and supported by staff have a real opportunity to lay down the foundation for this community in the next few years ahead,” Hill said. “We’ve been through a tremendous amount in the last three years.”
Hill said she hopes the process can bring focus to Council’s work. Councilor Lloyd Snook took office this year, and expressed the thought that so many decisions had been put into motion by the last Council. It is rare that that three new Councilors take office at the same time, something that last happened in 1989.
“We joined Council in January sort of, kind of like jumping into a canoe that’s already going down the river,” Snook said. “There’s a lot of stuff we had to deal with right away in terms of budget and then we were going to put this session back in January or February and it got put off.”
Vice Mayor Sena Magill said she felt the existing Strategic Plan was both too broad and too specific at the same time.
“This is an important document for our staff to be able to utilize to get a direction from Council on knowing where we want them to go,” Magill said. “So I’m really hoping that we can provide a document that really gives flexibility for change and flexibility for growth.”
Councilor Michael Payne also expressed frustration about not being able to move forward with policy changes right away.
“Feeling like we’re being really reactive to things going on rather than proactive about trying to take action on implementing new policies or continuing things related to the platforms that we actually ran on,” Payne said. “I hope one thing that can come from this process Council being able to come to a consensus on a strategic plan that puts Council, city leadership and staff to have some alignment on some goals and priorities.”
Mayor Nikuyah Walker hoped for something solid in place to serve as a foundation for the next city manager. She also wanted the plan to be realistic.
“I also hope that we are really clear on what we can do, and set goals accordingly and not try to be overly ambitious and encompass every item possible that will come up and that we are really clear and focused,” Walker said.
Part of the work of creating a strategic plan is to create a new vision statement. The current one is “Charlottesville: A Great Place To Live For All Our Citizens.”
Interim City Manager John Blair said his hope was to harness the talents of City Councilors to create a road map for city initiatives in a time of change.
“You know, local government can only do so much,” Blair said. “You’ve got to have the private sector, your nonprofit sector, your University that’s located here.
There will be two more work sessions on the strategic plan in October.
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Construction on the Belmont Bridge is not expected to start until next spring at the earliest, but Charlottesville has announced plans to reorient the vehicular lanes using barrels. Beginning today, an existing bicycle lane will be converted to a shared space for cyclists and pedestrians. The change will be in place for at least a week and is being done to help encourage physical distancing.
“With the onset of COVID-19, many communities are taking advantage of the reduced traffic volumes in order to reallocate the roadways to give citizens more space to walk, bike and exercise while still maintaining recommended physical distancing guidelines,” reads the press release.
In August, Council was told by transportation staff that right of way acquisition was complete for the project. They also appropriated $15.26 million in state and federal funding for the $31 million bridge replacement project.
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There are two days left for Albemarle County businesses to apply for the Safe Spaces and Places grant, which can cover costs of up to $25,000 for expenses to help move operations outside. Interested parties should fill out an inquiry letter or watch the webinar for more info.
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Only one meeting today, and it’s a big one. City Council will hold a work session on the future of the West Main Streetscape, a project that seeks to create infrastructure to support development on a road that connects UVA with downtown. The cost estimate for the project has climbed to $49 million. For details, read a report I published yesterday.
September 30, 2020: Charlottesville gives input on Strategic Plan