Elected officials in both Appomattox County and Charlottesville will take action on compensation plans
Back to work for this experimental newsletter on local government in Virginia's Fifth District
One of the biggest reasons I got back into the business of writing about a community and hoping to get paid for it was because there’s a lot going on in Albemarle, Charlottesville, and surrounding areas. I knew from my writing for a nonprofit organization that there was a market for what I was doing. From the beginning, I had people paying me to keep them up to date with what’s coming up in local government meetings. .
Less than two years into writing Charlottesville Community Engagement, I had reason to begin examining whether I could do something similar for the new Fifth District. This is the 145th installment of an experimental newsletter that seeks to define the governmental infrastructure that underpins so much of what ends up happening.
Last week I had to focus on a specific story. On Monday, the City of Charlottesville released the final draft of the Development Ordinance which if adopted will transform the city’s rules for land use to one that allows property owners to do much more than currently allowed. That took my whole focus and that meant not writing about the rest of the Fifth District. Take a look if you’ve not seen it!
Unfortunately that means I missed a lot. This edition’s reading material hopefully captures some of what I missed. I’ll try not to take a week off like that again!
Appomattox Supervisors to vote on new employee compensation plan
The five member Board of Supervisors in Appomattox County will meet tonight at 6 p.m. in the Board of Supervisors Meeting Room at 171 Price Lane in Appomattox. (meeting agenda)
There are five “appearances” toward the beginning of the meeting.
Alex Rendon of Dominion Energy has asked to speak to the Board regarding his company’s recent performance
Michael Womack, a Forest Manager with the Virginia Department of Forestry will present the “payment in lieu of taxes” for timber sold in the Appomattox-Buckingham State Forest
Appomattox County’s purchasing agent, John Spencer, will give an update on the use of the Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act to finance the renovation of the county courthouse. There’s a partnership in the works with the Jamerson-Lewis Construction Company. If accepted by the Board of Supervisors, a public hearing is scheduled for September 18.
Bruce Boone of the Vo-Tech Center wants to speak to the Board regarding the upcoming open house
Registrar Patricia Morton seeks an additional $2,556.08 in funding
There are four action items.
The Central Virginia Planning District Commission is submitting a grant application to the Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission to support the Appomattox Christian Academy and the Career & Technical Education Workforce Development Program. Specifically, this would fund a welding center and a training facility for emergency medical support staff. (view the resolution)
The second is a resolution requesting the General Assembly amend the Line of Duty Act to cover police officers who work for private police firms. This is to honor the Mark Christoper “Chris” Wagner of the Wintergreen Police Department who was murdered while responding to a service call. (view the resolution)
The Appomattox Community & Disaster Relief Organization is seeking the use of the Oakville building for a meeting facility. “The organization has been beneficial to county residents and agencies since their inception, by donating over $4K to the Sheriff's Department and over $6K to residents who were victims of house fires over the last two years and they plan to continue to provide donations as long as they are able to have successful fundraisers,” reads the staff report.
Supervisors will be asked to approve a new Employee Compensation and Classification Plan that had been presented at the July meeting. It will cost $100,000 to implement some of the changes.
Council to consider sale of West Main Street land, purchase of new parkland on Moores Creek
Charlottesville City Council meets at 4 p.m. for a three item work session followed by a regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. (meeting files)
The first work session item is on the alternative of “ranked choice voting” with the presenter being Taylor Yowell, the city’s General Registrar and Director of Elections. This is on the agenda at the request of several City Councilors. Albemarle County explored the possibility last year but made the final decision in April to wait until 2025 to proceed. (view the city presentation)
Next, the Charlottesville Area Alliance will make a presentation on their efforts to make the community “age-friendly.” Co-Chairs Kristin Miller and Susan Friedman will provide an update. The presentation is not available in advance.
Finally, the Botanical Garden of the Piedmont will provide an update on what they’ve been up to for the past year. The group is in the middle of its first capital campaign to raise the funds to construct the park on land they lease from the City of Charlottesville in McIntire Park. Maryann Thompson Architects have been selected to design the structures.
The regular meeting begins with a review of the consent agenda.
The four-hour conversation on the draft zoning ordinance that City Council had with the Planning Commission on July 13, 2023 gets two pages of minutes. I was only able to get through about half of it before I decided to publish my story on July 31. (minutes)
There’s a lot on this agenda about the city’s use of funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HOME program. There is a proposed amendment of the FY23-24 to use unspent funding from previous years to pay LEAP for more rehabilitation projects to make homes more energy efficient. In all, there’s $111,749 in funding to be transferred. (agenda memo)
There is the first of two readings to appropriate $539,369 from a grant from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development for the Blue Ridge Area Coalition for the Homeless for their work on the continuum of care. (agenda memo)
There is the first of two readings of an appropriation of $150,000 from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Systems to hire three additional “Care and Safety Assistances” which is what Charlottesville calls School Resource Officers. Under the plan, one additional CSA will be hired at Charlottesville High School and two will be hired at Walker Upper Elementary School. (agenda memo)
There is the first of two readings to appropriate a $33,150 non-infrastructure grant from the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Safe Routes to School program. (agenda memo)
Then the regular agenda which has a significant amount of business.
First is a public hearing on the sale of a 1,141 square foot parcel of land at 601 West Main Street purchased in 1979.
“It was believed to be acquired for purposes of accommodating a potential future transportation or transit related improvement,” reads the staff report. “These improvements have never occurred, and the land remains unimproved.”
A firm doing business as Main Street West LLC seeks to buy the land for $119,108.99. That’s the full 2022 assessment, according to the staff report. I could not find the parcel in the city’s GIS viewer to find out the 2023 value. Is this part of the overall Starr Hill Park?
After that, Council will be presented with a new pay structure for the city’s non-unionized employees. This was a 2022 priority of interim City Manager Michael C. Rogers and the firm Gallagher Consulting presented their work to Council on April 3.
“An updated market-based compensation program is key to attracting and retaining an engaged and high performing workforce to support the mission and values of the City,” reads the staff report. “The end result will help guide the City toward making our compensation competitive with other municipalities, local governments, and jurisdictions in the labor market.”
A public hearing was already held for this outside of Council on Thursday, July 27, 2023. No one spoke at that event, which can be watched on the city’s video archive of previously streamed meetings.
Why wouldn’t this public hearing be held during the Council meeting?
Following that item there will be a resolution supporting the Sister Cities Commission’s request to host a delegation from Huehuetenango, Guatemala. That community was chosen over Carlos Paz, Argentina in late 2020 as a Spanish-speaking locality to enter the program. The relationship is now a “Friendship City” which requires at least one exploratory visit within three. (staff report)
Two funding awards totaling $350,000 from two conservation funds will allow the City of Charlottesville to purchase an 8.45 acre property on the south bank of Moores Creek on the other side of Azalea Park.
“The property may be used for general park uses, trail development, possible stream restoration, and to support urban agriculture and community gardens,” reads the staff report. “Following acquisition, the Department of Parks and Recreation intends to create trails on the property and begin to determine possible tree planting and stream restoration opportunities for the future.”
The International Rescue Committee’s New Roots Farm will continue to operate on the property for at least three if a new lease agreement is signed.
Next up is the second time the HOME-ARP FY23-FY24 action plan comes up. Specifically, there’s the first of two readings on a resolution to approve the plan and to appropriate the $347,404 in Charlottesville’s share of the funds. Four applications were received and the following two programs will receive the funding (staff report):
Community Services Housing, Inc will receive $67,361 to preserve their existing units throughout the city
Piedmont Housing Alliance will receive $280,043.92 toward their plan to redevelop the MACAA site at 1025 Park Street
On a related note, Council will also approve a document that reviews how HUD HOME and Community Development Block Grant funds have been spent in the previous year. This document is known as the Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report, or CAPER. This document is not actually linked to the agenda, but is instead on the website of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission (TJPDC). That website states that the item is on Council’s agenda for a public hearing. But that’s not what the Council agenda says for item #14. This item does have a resolution indicating what Council’s priorities are for FY24. Clear?
In the penultimate item, Council will amend for the sixth time the grant agreement for the Charlottesville Supplemental Rental Assistance Program. This program was adopted by Council in October 2017 with an annual allocation of $900,000 from the city. (staff report)
In the final item, Council will get an update on the Internal Work Group on Gun Violence.
“While shots fired incidents are not categorized as part 1 crime, there has been an increase in both reports of shots fired calls and confirmed incidents of shots fired calls for service,” reads the staff report.
Reading material:
Danville Casino gets its 3-month report card, Grace Mamon, Cardinal News, August 15, 2023
Danville Casino rings up $21.4 million in revenue in July; city to get about $1.3M in taxes, John Crane, Danville Register & Bee (paywall), August 16, 2023
Pittsylvania housing project is approved after contentious meeting, Grace Mamon, Cardinal News, August 16, 2023
New Bedford County short-term rental ordinance approved, Justin Faulconer, Lynchburg News & Advance, August 16, 2023
Two candidates running for South District School Board, Emma Martin, Nelson County Times, August 16, 2023
Lynchburg City Council approves funding as school division seeks release from desegregation order, Bryson Gordon, Lynchburg News & Advance (paywall), August 17, 2023
Amherst supervisors approve $14 million funding request for high school renovation, Justin Faulconer, Amherst New Era-Progress, August 19, 2023
Two people died at Charlottesville's jail. Officials waited nearly a week before saying anything., Hawes Spencer, Charlottesville Daily Progresss (paywall), August 17, 2023
Axton high-density development to proceed, Chuck Vipperman, Chatham Star-Tribune, August 17, 2023
Job numbers keep rising for Prince Edward and region, Brian Carlton, Farmville Herald, August 18, 2023
Amherst commission postpones vote on proposed solar operation in Piney River, Justin Faulconer, Amherst New Era-Progress, August 19, 2023
'A giant in this community:' Lynchburg celebrates unveiling of statue honoring city's first Black mayor, Bryson Gordon, Lynchburg News and Advance (paywall), August 20, 2023
YOU DO A GREAT JOB AND IT IS MOST APPRECIATED BY THE COMMUNITY
GRAHAM FALLON, M.D.