Week Ahead for June 30, 2025: Fluvanna County Supervisors begin the fiscal year with six public hearings including one for Fork Union Drive-In
Plus: A trip south to take a look at Lynchburg City Council’s FY26 budget adoption scheduled for tomorrow
June 30 is the end of the fiscal year and July 1 is the beginning of the new one. This week in general is a fairly slow one reflecting the summer and the middle of the calendar year.
Tomorrow’s newsletter may be an attempt to sum up what’s happened so far this year, but the heat reduces my productivity in the same way that old magnifies my interest. Either way, I get nervous when meetings stop happening due to holiday and vacation breaks. It’s a quirk that makes me feel connected to ancestors somehow.
In any case, this edition contains a bonus story about the City of Lynchburg. Some readers may not know that I also write a newsletter called Fifth District Community Engagement. The contrast between the two cities is striking, and I’d like to keep revisiting this theme.
Fluvanna County Supervisors are the only top-level meeting in this slow week and they have six public hearings including one for the return of the Fork Union Drive-In movie theater.
A community meeting on data center regulations is one of two items on Albemarle County’s calendar this week. The Albemarle Board of Supervisors will skip the first scheduled meeting of the month.
Three Charlottesville meetings are held this week, but the agenda is only posted for one of them. Which one? You’ll have to read on!
There are no meetings in Greene County or Louisa County this week.
There are no meetings of the University of Virginia Board of Visitors scheduled but I’ll be looking every single day now that President Jim Ryan was forced to resign. Here’s my story from yesterday.
Thanks as always to the Piedmont Environmental Council for their sponsorship of this newsletter.
Monday, June 30, 2025
Albemarle County to hold information session on data center regulations
Last week, a Phoenix-based data center operator purchased Louisa County’s Shannon Hill Regional Business Park for $42 million. Amazon Web Services is building two data center campuses in the county and there’s a conditional use permit on the table for a third.
With that backdrop, Albemarle County is reviewing data center regulations in the zoning ordinance.
“As demand for these facilities increases, the County is taking a proactive approach to ensure that any potential data center development aligns with our community’s values and priorities,” reads a section of the Engage Albemarle website.
The Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution to initiate this study in May 2024. Under current rules, data centers up to 40,000 square feet on land zoned for industrial use as a by-right use. If someone wants to build one bigger than that on industrial land, they need a special use permit. Commercially-zoned land can also have a data center with a permit.
“The existing regulations require a 200-foot setback from all lot lines and a 500-foot setback from the Rural Areas zoning district,” Engage Albemarle continues. “All data centers must be served by public water and sewer, and if water cooling is used, the system must be a closed loop.”
Albemarle will hold a community meeting on data center regulations at the 5th Street County Office Building at 1600 5th Street Extended in Room A. (meeting info)
Lynchburg City Council scheduled to adopt FY2026 budget
I do not have a subscription to the Lynchburg News and Advance because I object to paying Lee Enterprises for multiple publications. I pay $44 a month for the print version of the Charlottesville Daily Progress, a newspaper I wrote stories for from 2009 to 2018. It now comes out three days a week and I need it for the public notices.
The same goes for the Danville Register & Bee, another Lee Enterprises paper. If I subscribed to all three, I’d likely be paying about $100 a month.
Now, it is possible as this newsletter continues I will go ahead and make the investment. I cannot cover meetings outside of Charlottesville at this time other than preview pieces in Fifth District Community Engagement.
Usually, the first place I go when I’m looking to write these summaries is the City Council agenda page.
But today I’ll quote from an email sent out by the City of Lynchburg through their media advisory list.
“On Monday, June 30, at 9:30 a.m., the Lynchburg City Council will hold a special called meeting for the purpose of setting the FY 2026 Real Property Tax Rate and conducting a second reading of the FY 2026 Budget,” reads the email. “This meeting will take place in Council Chamber, City Hall, 900 Church Street.”
When that meeting is over, the Lynchburg City Council will meet in a second special called meeting.
There’s very little information to be gleaned from the agenda for the 9:30 meeting. The agenda is very spare for the 9:30 a.m. meeting but they have to set a real property tax rate and then hold a second reading on the budget.
There’s much more on the agenda for the next meeting. That begins with a consent agenda that has two items on it that are crucial to the overall budget.
Consideration of adopting Ordinance #O-25-048 appropriating the FY 2026 Discretionary External Service Providers Budget.
Consideration of adopting Ordinance #O-25-050 appropriating the FY 2026 Schools Operating Budget by major classification
There’s no information for either of these items.
The first item under general business is adoption of a personal property tax rate of $3.00 per $100 of assessed value effective January 1, 2026.
The next item has the second reading on the adoption of the budget. The budget recommended by City Manager Wynter C. Benda totaled $252,790,282 but the one that will be adopted will be $250,318,113, a $2.47 million difference. Of that amount, $2.34 million consists of cuts to operations.
The Agenda Item Summary lists all of the meetings that have taken place from the January 9, 2025 work session, the March 11 budget introduction, the April 22 public hearing, the May 27 lodging tax public hearing, the June 10 lodging tax public hearing, the June 23 real property tax public hearing, and the first reading of the budget on June 24. There was also a public hearing scheduled that night which was canceled soon after adjournment.
There is also a document titled “Details of Budget Decisions FY202 Revised” which describes some of the steps taken. I’ll attempt to summarize.
The real property tax rate will remain at $0.89 per $100 of assessed value. This brings in an additional $785,356 in revenue because the tate is above the equalized rate.
The proposed budget was based on revenues of $242,314,644 and the use of $10,475,638 from the city’s fund balance.
There had been a proposal to lower the real property tax rate to $0.84 that would have meant an additional $4.5 million in spending cuts. This did not have a majority of votes.
Council did agree to a proposal to waive motor vehicle license fees for FY2026 which means a loss of $1.55 million in revenue.
The city will bring in an additional $300,000 in interest.
The personal property tax rate reduction from $3.80 to $3.00 will mean a loss of $4.4 million in revenue, but the city will still receive $2.2 million from the higher rate that will remain in effect for the rest of the calendar year.
A program in Neighborhood Services called the “Cars, Weeds, and Trash” program has been eliminated, which means $25,000 in revenue will not be collected.
There is an extensive list of specific cuts to government services including elimination of several positions in groundskeeping, property assessment, tourism, museums, juvenile services, social services.
Take Your Kids to Work Day has been eliminated saving $1,000.
The Downtown Library branch will be closed but there’s no dollar figure associated with this line item.
The Jackson Heights Arts Studio run by the Parks and Recreation department will be closed saving $68,499.
The Templeton Senior Center run by the Parks and Recreation department will be closed saving $92,860.
There are several specific resolutions associated with the budget adoption.
Consideration of adopting Ordinance #O-25-047 appropriating the FY 2026 General Fund Operating Budget (excluding Discretionary External Service Providers and Schools Operating Budget) (view the resolution)
Consideration of adopting Ordinance #O-25-049 appropriating the FY 2026 Operating Fund Budgets for all other funds (view the resolution)
Consideration of adopting Ordinance #O-25-051 adopting the FY 2026 - 2030 Capital Improvement Program and appropriating the FY 2026 Capital Budget (view the resolution)
Consideration of adopting Ordinance #O-25-052 appropriating $50,000 of the FY 2026 Reserve for Contingencies for use by the City Manager (view the resolution)
First Reading: Consideration of adopting Ordinance #O-25-___ setting the Personal Property Tax Relief Rate at 40.25% for January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025. This Resolution shall apply retroactively as of January 1, 2025 (view the resolution)
The Lynchburg City Council next meets on July 8.
Other stories about Lynchburg:
Lynchburg budget proposal sends dozens of jobs, three centers to chopping block, Rachel Tillapaugh, WSET, June 26, 2025
Lynchburg Police celebrate grand opening of new headquarters, Leila Mitchell, WDBJ-7, June 27, 2025
Residents wage last-minute campaign to save art studio, downtown library, Mark Hand, Lynchburg News and Advance (paywall), June 29, 2025
Tuesday, July 1, 2025
Charlottesville Tree Commission to meet
The Charlottesville Tree Commission will meet at 5 p.m. in the Parks and Recreation on the street level of the Market Street Parking garage. What do they do?
“The Commission works to enhance the diversity and health of the City’s tree canopy, educates the community about the critical importance of trees, and advocates for public and private resources and engagement,” reads the website. “The Commission remains informed about local changes and intentions involving trees as well as plans for public lands and City infrastructure.”
On this agenda, the Tree Commission will get an update on the city’s urban forest management plan, an update on invasive plant control, and updates on tree preservation at Kindlewood. They’ll also learn about the work being done by an seasonal maintenance worker employed by urban forestry.
In another meeting:
The Charlottesville Sister Cities Commission will meet at 4:30 p.m. in City Space. An agenda is not available at publication time. (meeting info should be here when posted)
Wednesday, July 2, 2025
Fluvanna County Supervisors to hold six public hearings including one for Fork Union Drive-In
The five members of the Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors will meet at 5 p.m. in the Circuit Courtroom at 72 Main Street in Palmyra. (agenda packet)
There will be a special presentation recognizing School Superintendent Peter Gretz for being named Superintendent of the Year by the Virginia Association of School Superintendents. Learn more about from Heather Michon in this press release posted in the Fluvanna County Review.
Treasurer Debbie Rittenhouse will make a presentation on “bank balances, TACS collections, general Treasurer’s office information.”
There are four action items:
The first is to advertise a public hearing on August 20 for the Fork Union Drive-In’s request for a waiver for signs. The designs submitted are in excess of the county’s requirements. (learn more)
The second is on the 1.5 percent bonus for Constitutional officers and Compensation Board funded employees. There’s a memo from the executive secretary of the Compensation Board that explains what’s going. (learn more)
The third is to advertise a public hearing on August 20 related to increased rates for the Fork Union Sanitary District. Rates were also increased last year, but do not cover the full costs and the agency considers itself in financial stress. (learn more)
The fourth is related to a performance incentive grant for the Coves at Monticello affordable workforce housing complex. This is going on my list of stories to write. (learn more)
Then there will be a closed meeting with no indication on the agenda over what the topic will be.
The Board is scheduled to reconvene at 6 p.m. after a dinner break.
Then there are six public hearings.
The first is for a special use permit for the Fork Union Drive-In. (learn more)
The second is on a change to the county ordinance to allow for lifetime dog licenses. (learn more)
The third is for a rezoning of 36 acres from Agricultural-1 to Industrial-1 being sought by Fluvanna County with the BHL Group serving as the consultant. This is being done preemptively as an economic development effort. The Planning Commission recommended this on a 5 to 0 vote at their meeting on June 5. (learn more)
The fourth is on an amendment to the zoning ordinance to add a definition for “solid waste” and to eliminate the word “municipal” from the definitions of Solid Waste Material Recovery Facility and Solid Waste Collection Facility. (learn more)
The fifth is for an amendment to the county’s lease agreement with Cellco Partnership for land owned by the Fork Union Sanitary District. (learn more)
The sixth is on bonuses for state-funded employees in the Department of Social Services, the Registrar’s Office, and the Electoral Board. (learn more)
One of the items on the consent agenda is a grant application for Virginia’s Agricultural and Forestal Industrial Development for infrastructure. Fluvanna County has already applied for $7,374 for the commercial kitchen and the award was announced this past week. (learn more)
We also learn from the minutes that the Commissioner of the Revenue, Mel Sheridan, will retire on December 31. That means the county must seek a writ of special election for a replacement in the November 4 election.
Fluvanna County Supervisors will skip their second meeting in July and will return on August 6.
In other meetings:
The Virginia Department of Agricultural and Consumer Services will host a training program on the spotted lanternfly as well as fire ants. This will take place at 10 a.m. in the Nelson Center at 8445 Thomas Nelson Highway in Lovingston. (learn more)
Thursday, July 3, 2025
Charlottesville bike group to meet
The only meeting scheduled that I can find is of the Charlottesville Bike and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. There’s no agenda at publication time. The meeting info should be posted here.
“The Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee is a voluntary advisory group within the City of Charlottesville dedicated to improving bicycle and pedestrian facility design and safety for all road users,” reads that website.
They will meet at 5 p.m. in the Neighborhood Development Services Conference Room. You can access these via Zoom which makes me wonder if I should start recording them.
Oh wait! These are online! Here’s a link to the June 5 meeting. The agenda isn’t posted, though.
Oh wait again! I found another meeting as I came close to the end of this edition!
In the other meeting:
The Albemarle County Natural Heritage Committee meets at 5:45 p.m. in Room 235 of the county’s office building at 401 McIntire Road. They’ll get an update on the solar ordinance review and the data center regulations review as well as their recommendations on Dark Sky in the Albemarle County Comprehensive Plan Review.
Friday, June 4, 2025
A writing assignment for you for potential publication but mostly because I want to start a conversation.
What are thoughts on democracy in America on the 249th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence? What are your predictions for what things will look like in the next two years, ten years, and 25 years?