Charlottesville City Council to interview candidates for City Manager on Thursday
Plus: Other items about the University of Virginia
This is a strange week with both a holiday as well as three fifth days of the week. That means there’s not been much happening in terms of local government meetings. Few elected bodies meet regularly on the first Thursday or the first Friday.
So that means that this newsletter would only have one entry today, so I’m going to include some other items from the Week Ahead from the Charlottesville Community Engagement feed. My hope for this newsletter is to eventually have additional government meetings for the other metropolitan areas. This is a little taste!
I’ll be back to the rest of the Fifth District next week.
Charlottesville City Council to meet to discuss City Manager search
Since January 2022, Charlottesville’s interim city manager has been Michael C. Rogers, an employee of the Robert Bobb Group. Council opted to hire a firm to provide someone to run the day-to-day operations of city government after a man hired in the fall of 2021 opted to not actually take the job. (NBC29 story)
The five-member Charlottesville City Council will meet at 1:15 p.m. to interview candidates on the shortlist for permanent city manager. The firm POLIHIRE has identified these for Council. (meeting info)
At a campaign forum on May 10, four of the five candidates for the three Democratic nominations for Council were asked about the search. (read the story)
Council candidates Charlottesville Mayor Lloyd Snook was clear the permanent manager will be in place soon.
“The current plan is to have that choice made by the end of May and hopefully to have that person here by July 1 or August 1 at any rate,” Snook said.
Who will it be? Has Rogers expressed an interest in taking on the job in his own right?
UVA Board of Visitors: Vote on FY24 budget, Olympic Center groundbreaking
Time flies while you’re waiting for the next open meeting of the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors. The appointed body is subject to Virginia’s open meetings laws and a live stream is provided to those who would like to know about what’s happening at the region’s most powerful economic engine. (meeting info)
The post-graduation meeting lasts two days and begins with a morning session Thursday of the Health System Board at the Boar’s Head Resort for the Health system. One item will be a report on the Paul and Diane Manning Biotechnology Center. After a closed session, the Health System board will take action on the FY2024 operating and capital budgets. (agenda packet)
“On January 20, 2023, the University of Virginia announced plans to develop a biotechnology institute that positions UVA at the very forefront of cutting-edge medicine, such as cellular and gene therapies that revolutionize how diseases are treated and cured,” reads the staff report. “ The new institute is made possible in large part due to a $100M gift from Paul and Diane Manning.”
The BOV then will reconvene at the Rotunda for a series of committee meetings.
The Audit, Compliance and Risk Committee (packet)
The Advancement Committee (packet)
Academic and Student Life Committee (packet)
The BOV will then attend groundbreaking for the $75 million Olympics Sport Center. The Buildings and Grounds Committee reviewed the schematic design in December, as I wrote about at the time.
“The Olympic Sports Center program includes training and performance areas, locker rooms, sports medicine, hydrotherapy pool areas, work environments for staff and coaches, conference and meeting rooms, sports nutrition, and building support spaces comprising a total square footage of approximately 100,000 [gross square feet],” reads the staff report.
See Friday for the rest of the meeting.
New name for new UVA Hotel; BOV to talk DEI
The University of Virginia Board of Visitors meeting continues on Friday at the Rotunda with the Buildings and Grounds Committee going first.
Under action items, the panel will approve the names of the several new buildings. This includes the new hotel and conference center which is to be known as Virginia Guesthouse.
Next, the new bridge that will span Emmet Street between the Contemplative Commons and Newcomb Hall will be named after Jeff Walker, a 1977 alumnus of the McIntire School of Commerce.
“The Contemplative Commons project features a new pedestrian bridge across Emmet Street that will connect residential and academic spaces on central Grounds and reroute pedestrian traffic through one of the University’s most important natural areas,” reads the staff report. “The bridge design was inspired by the High Line in New York City and provides spaces for study, reflection, and engagement in informal social exchanges.”
City Council granted air rights for the project last fall after a slight delay.
Next various spaces at the Forum Hotel at the Darden School of Business.
The “modern steakhouse” will be called Birch and Bloom
The taphouse will be called The Good Sport
The botanical garden will be named after David M. LaCross, a 1974 alumnus of the McIntire School of Commerce and a 1978 alumnus of the Darden School
A garden in homage to Thomas Jefferson will be named for Donald Morel, a 1997 alumnus of Darden’s Executive Program
The outdoor amphitheater will be named for Darden’s Class of 1987
They’ll also approve the 2023 Capital Plan which is about $400 million lower than the 2022 plan of $2.87 million. In March, the committee learned that there’s $7 million in the plan to move forward with an initiative to house all second year students on Grounds. More on that later in the week in this newsletter.
They’ll also review the schematic design for the Karsh Institute of Democracy. In December, the committee has a spirited debate about a lack of brick in the materials. A new design incorporates some of the feedback.
The final item is a review of the schematic design for the new energy plant that will be constructed at the Fontaine Research Park to support expansion of activities at that UVa-owned facility.
There are other committee meetings including the Finance Committee (packet) and the University of Virginia at Wise (packet)
The Full Board packet features conversations on the latest Princeton Review Best Value Ranking, requests for information, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
This latter conversation should prove interesting. This may be the last meeting of a Board of Visitors not controlled by Republican Governor Youngkin. The terms of Whit Clement, Louis Haddad, Angela Hucles Mangano, and James Reyes expire on June 30.
Youngkin’s tenth executive order upon taking office dropped the word “Equity” for “Opportunity.” Youngkin’s first has the title “Ending the Use of Inherently Divisive Concepts, Including Critical Race Theory, and Restoring Excellence in K-12 Public Education in the Commonwealth.”
The presentation in the packet describes what UVA is doing in DEI with 55 dedicated positions and a $5.8 million annual budget.
Reading material:
Failed vote on capital improvement plan leaves city's budget unbalanced and mayor 'disappointed' in council, Bryson Gordon, Lynchburg News & Advance, May 25, 2023
Hanover County Board of Supervisors appoints two new School Board members, Tannock Blair, WRIC, May 25, 2023
Two Things: Confusion near a casino restroom; parking problems and tax hikes, Greensboro News-Record, May 26, 2023
Danville looking to make improvements in Almagro community, John Crane, Danville Register & Bee, May 26, 2023
New building permit fees to take effect in Bedford County, Justin Faulconer, Lynchburg News & Advance, May 26, 2023
Bedford board approves fiscal year '24 budget, pay raises for employees, Justin Faulconer, Lynchburg News & Advance, May 26, 2023
Amherst GOP backs Carver for commonwealth's attorney, Gilman also running, Justin Faulconer, Amherst New-Era Progress, May 27, 2023
Amherst County Republicans endorse Ayers in bid for sheriff, Justin Faulconer, Amherst New-Era Progress, May 27, 2023
Residents speak out on proposed planned development in Pittsylvania County, John Crane, Danville Register & Bee, May 27, 2023
Major Elliott seeks to succeed Viar as Amherst sheriff, Justin Faulconer, Amherst New-Era Progress, May 27, 2023
Grant adds 2,000 new homes to fiber area, Victoria Thompson, South Boston News & Record, May 29, 2023
Grown Here at Home: Pittsylvania County farmer expands farm operation with solar grazing, Neesy Payne, WDBJ-7, May 29, 2023