Amelia County to hold public hearing on reduced budget; Albemarle Supervisors to get input on affordable housing grant program
Is this local news? Local aggregation? Something else? Just read!
A third edition for this week, with two of three segments repurposed from this week’s Week Ahead on the Charlottesville Community Engagement Substack feed. I wish I had more for Amelia County, but all I could find was a two-page agenda.
Most of my focus is on local and state government, and I don’t follow the development of policy at the federal government very closely. But today as I was finishing up today’s CCE newsletter, I noticed Senator Mark Warner signed on to a resolution highlighting the importance of local news.
“In Virginia and across the country, local news outlets are relied on to keep our citizens informed, combat disinformation, and serve as a crucial check on our government institutions,” Warner is quoted in the release. “It is important that we continue to honor the hard work that local journalists do for our Commonwealth and for our democracy in the face of continued budget cuts, newsroom closures, and staff reductions that have made their work more challenging.”
I started this newsletter to do my part. I’ve been a journalist for most of my life, and the impulse to want to report started in Campbell County where I grew up. I graduated from Brookville High School in 1991 and spent my time at Virginia Tech working at a newspaper. I’ve spent my career writing about local government, and I feel I have a lot more time left helping this Fifth District understand itself better. There are deep disagreements within our Congressional boundaries, and the point of a democracy is to have a forum to work them out.
My main focus for now is on Charlottesville Community Engagement, but I am very hopeful that in the years to come, this newsletter will continue to help connect those of us who live here better know what’s happening in one of 435 such districts.
Thank you for being part of this journey. And please make sure you always check for the “Reading Material” section to know what stories are being written by my colleagues across the district.
Amelia County Supervisors to hold budget public hearing on reduced FY24 budget
The five-member Board of Supervisors in Amelia County will meet Wednesday night in the Amelia County Administration Conference Room at 7 p.m. (agenda)
I can only find a two page packet online so this will be a brief entry.
Under presentations, there will be a report from the Virginia Department of Transportation as well as the School Board. There will also be an appointment to the Brightpoint Community College board. That institution used to be called John Tyler Community College.
Under old and new business, there will be a discussion on local agricultural producers.
There will also be a public hearing on the FY24 budget. Thanks to reporting on April 6 from the Amelia Bulletin Monitor, we learn that Supervisors reduced the proposed $61.9 million budget to approximately $57 million. There’s a lot of detail in the article and I’m glad I’m a paying subscriber.
Next will be a review of FY22 audit, the personnel policy, and an item titled “PJDC Mechanical Systems.”
There are seven items under Community Development:
A special event permit for Walk for Life
A special event permit for Celebrate Independence
A special event permit for the Lavender Festival
A resolution to accept Maplewood Forest Road
There is a public hearing for a zoning text amendment for the definition of a dog kennel
There is a public hearing for a zoning text amendment for setbacks for wireless support structures
There is a public hearing for two specific parcels from R-1 to R-2. TM31-9-1 and TM31-9-2 ring a bell anyone?
Albemarle Supervisors to review draft affordability ordinance, hold public hearing on affordable housing grant program
The six-member Albemarle Board of Supervisors meets at 1 p.m. in Lane Auditorium in the county’s office building at 400 McIntire Road. (meeting info)
The first item on the agenda is a presentation from the Department of Social Services on the annual report for FY22. It has the title “Normalizing, Stabilizing, and Balancing Acts.” The report makes an analogy with the department’s purpose to wood stabilization.
“The process is broken down into many steps, but the ultimate result is a new structure; one that is not only beautiful, but also better for its next purpose with a much greater stability,” reads the introduction to the report. “This stabilization process can essentially preserve the wood to be utilized for a higher purpose, even when it appeared to be worn.”
Next, the Supervisors will have a work session on a proposed affordable dwelling unit ordinance. This is part of an effort to complete the Housing Albemarle plan adopted on July 7, 2021.
“The Board delayed full implementation of Housing Albemarle until a package of incentives supporting developer efforts to construct affordable housing units was adopted,” reads part of the resolution of intent to create the ordinance. “Albemarle County desires to provide housing that is safe, decent, and sanitary; and available to all income and age levels.”
For developments over ten units, the ordinance would require a minimum of 20 percent of the total units to fall under the parameters of affordability. There’s a lot more in the ordinance and I hope to write about it. Read the draft ordinance for more details. And here’s the draft set of guidelines.
Then there will be another work session. I hope to write about that, too as I’m out of the loop on where the overall budget process is. Last thing I wrote from the Albemarle budget about was transit.
In the evening session, there are two public hearings. The first is for amendments to the ordinance for real estate tax relief for the elderly and disabled. The threshold for maximum annual income is being increased from $75,000 to $83,850 and the net worth threshold is being increased from $200,000 to $250,000. (staff report)
The second public hearing is for the Affordable Rental Housing Grant Program. Supervisors had a work session on this topic in February that I wrote about at the time. The program appears to be more robust now and will utilize a form of tax-increment financing.
“The grant program is supported by an increase of property tax revenue to Albemarle County generated by an incentivized project, and may be provided to affordable housing projects that achieve one or more of the affordable housing objectives outlined in Housing Albemarle,” reads the draft policy. “All grant awards are approved by the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors and directed through the Economic Development Authority.”
On the consent agenda:
There is an amended note for the Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center for the remaining $124,847 for a $130,000 loan made to help cover cost overruns for their facility in Darden-Towe Park. The center must pay $15,000 by the end of this year, $25,000 by the end of 2024, $35,000 by the end of 2025, and $49,847 by the end of 2026. (staff report)
Minutes from the June 2, 2021 and June 16, 2021 Supervisor meetings will be approved.
There’s a special exception for a personal wireless facility in Bellair. (staff report)
There’s a quarterly report from the Albemarle Broadband Authority. (staff report)
There’s a report from the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority. (staff report)
There’s a report from the Albemarle County Service Authority. (staff report)
Fluvanna County to hire Payne as temporary county attorney
The five-member Board of Supervisors in Fluvanna County meets at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Carysbrook Performing Arts Center in Fork Union. (agenda packet)
There are five action items.
There will be a consideration of the hiring of a temporary county attorney. I wrote a story back in December about the retirement of Fred Payne from his law firm. He will formally become the temporary county attorney through June 30 at a monthly salary of $3,000
There’s also a services agreement for services of a deputy county attorney and an assistant county attorney. This will come from the firm Payne & Hodous.
There will be a vote to adopt the FY24 operations budget of $104,199,759 and the tax rates for 2023. The real property tax rate would be $0.84 per $100 of assessed value.
There will be a vote to adopt the FY24-28 Capital Improvements Plan
There is a vote on a request to operate an existing split precinct for 2023 and the future. This is for a section of the Cunningham District that is split between House District 55 and House District 56.
Reading material:
Agri-tourism site proposed for Scottsville area, Heather Michon, Fluvanna Review, April 9, 2023
Scientist makes bid for Albemarle County School Board, Hawes Spencer, Charlottesville Daily Progress, April 12, 2023
Schoenster announces run for Board of Supervisors, Press Release, Fluvanna Review, April 13, 2023
Supervisors discuss school funding; approve various items, Heather Michon, Fluvanna Review, April 13, 2023
Albemarle County grand jury indicts multiple people, NBC29, April 17, 2023