Today’s Patreon-fueled shout-out is for Abundant Life Ministries, “working hard to create a better future for the Charlottesville community.”
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The Virginia Department of Health reports another 882 cases of COVID-19 in the Commonwealth and another 11 deaths. Today’s statewide seven-day average for positive tests is at 7.6 percent today.
In the Thomas Jefferson Health District there are another 27 cases reported today, with 22 of them coming from Charlottesville. Another death has been reported in Albemarle for a total in the district to date of 58.
The University of Virginia’s COVID tracker now reports 231 total positive cases since August 17, with 190 of those students.
Dr. Denise Bonds of the Thomas Jefferson Health District briefed City Council last night on where we are six months into the pandemic. She said Charlottesville is within the VDH’s Northwest Region, and she said the situation here is officially described as “fluctuating.”
“Our case number has been rising for the region and we’re at 12 per 100,000 incident rates and that has been increasing,” Bonds said. “We see an upward arrow and it’s been increasing for 17 days.”
However, Dr. Bonds said the seven-day average for testing rates has been below ten percent in the region. Another metric available in the non-public dashboard is the number of medical personnel who have been infected with COVID-19, and that number in the northwest region is at 3.5 percent. Dr. Bonds said that number is closer to 7 percent in the Charlottesville area.
About eighty percent of hospital beds in the region are occupied, but that includes all patients.
The last week has seen an increase in the daily number of cases in the Charlottesville area.
“The case incident rate for the Charlottesville area as of yesterday was 32 per 100,000,” Bonds said. “We had a dramatic steep increase between August 24 and yesterday with a substantial number of cases if you look at the day rolling sums, we went from 29 to 92 to 108.”
Bonds said that epidemiologists are watching case loads at UVA very closely.
“What they’re really seeing is students infecting other students rather than students infecting people in the community and vice versa, so we tend to have community members that we can trace back to a known source in the community, someone at their work site, a family member, they attended some community event where we had an outbreak in, and we have students that we can typically trace their infection back to another student group.”
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This Saturday, Albemarle County will remove Confederate markers from Court Square, and the Board of Supervisors voted yesterday to give them to a group known as the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation. The Foundation will get the statue, cannonball and cannon “as is” after it is dismantled. Supervisor Bea Lapisto-Kirtley represents the Rivanna District.
“I like the fact that they will preserve it and rededicate it as the Virginia monument for all soldiers,” LaPisto-Kirtley said.
Supervisor Diantha McKeel said she favored removing the statue and materials this weekend, but suggested they be placed in storage while Albemarle decides if any remnants of the materials would be used in efforts to tell the good and bad of county history.
“Maybe a pause in storing it would allow us to discuss at a higher level how we want to contextualize our Albemarle County history and present ourselves for future generations,” McKeel said, a thought echoed by Supervisor Donna Price.
However, Supervisor Ann Mallek said photos could be taken to preserve what is on the statue, and she wanted the materials to just go.
“We in Albemarle have the chance to take this decisive step and really forward the feeling in our own community,” Mallek said. “We’ve been careful and we’ve been thoughtful and it’s not just the last couple of months. We’ve discussed for many years how to deal with this.”
The removal of the statue will be televised on a video live stream to be provided by the county.
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The pandemic has claimed another business. Breadworks is a bakery on Preston Avenue that has employed people with disabilities since 1967 but according to a Facebook post, the store will close on September 25.
“All persons with disabilities who are employed at Breadworks will be referred to other WorkSource programs,” reads the page. “The majority will be seeking employment in the community, so we hope that area employers looking for dedicated and talented staff will offer persons with disabilities served by Breadworks opportunities for employment.”
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Charlottesville City Council has approved a new nine-story building at 218 West Market Street off of the Downtown Mall. Developer Jeffrey Levien has proposed redeveloping a shopping center that currently is rented by stores such as the Artful Lodger. Levien has proposed building eight units that would be sold below market value, four of which would be at the standard rate of 80 percent of area median income with two units at 60 percent and two units at 40 percent.
“This one project is not going to solve everything for the city but it is a start and we need every start that we can get,” Levien said.
Levien said he may work with nonprofit groups to build the units offsite, and not within the new structure. He told Council that the cost to him and the benefit to the city would be about $825,000. That’s more than he would be required to pay into the city’s affordable housing fund, but restrictions that keep rents below market would only last for a limited time. Six units would be kept affordable for eight years and two would be restricted for sixteen years.
Charlottesville Mayor Nikuyah Walker was the lone vote against the project in part because of the time limits.
“It’s good that you’ve added the extra units but by the time the family got settled in to the unit that would be potentially expiring,” Walker said.
Levien is also the developer of two luxury apartment buildings on West Main Street.
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In meetings today, the Albemarle Supervisors hold a retreat from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. today with presentations on “Contemporary Trends in Local Government” and “Operating Guidelines for High-Quality Governance.” (agenda)
The Crozet Community Advisory Committee meets at 7 p.m. with a discussion of next steps for the Crozet Master Plan. (CAC meeting info)
The Charlottesville Planning Commission meets at 5:30 p.m. and has a new member now that City Council has appointed Liz Russell to an open seat. Commissioners will discuss a zoning change to allow more daycare facilities within city limits, and will also hold a work session on a proposed rezoning on Stribling Avenue for up to 181 units. That’s higher than an application Southern Development brought to the city in 2019.
Charif Soubra is with Southern Development.
“The feedback that we got directly from the Planning Commission was that… they were hoping to see a little more density and more of an innovative design,” Soubra said.
At a community meeting last week, many nearby residents expressed concern about increased traffic volumes and the city’s perceived inability to build infrastructure to address the impacts of growth.
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September 9, 2020: COVID-19 Update from TJHD's Dr. Bonds; Albemarle gives away Confederate markers