Nelson County Supervisors discussing what to do with Larkin property at retreat today; Preparing for 2023 local elections
An unexpected but productive edition of Fifth District Community Engagement
In recent installments of this newsletter, I have been describing how this time of the year is a very strange one and that the gravity is off a little. This translates into me missing meetings because they are not happening when I expect them.
Thankfully, I caught one of the meetings, and I’ve opted to throw in a couple of other stories for good measure. I’m also doing the first of several installments taking a look at what’s coming up on the ballot in local elections across the Fifth District. Make sure you read to the end!
Please share this work with others who you think might be interested in learning more about what’s happening at the local level. This newsletter is only getting started.
Now, the first shout-out to give something back to the nonprofits who are supporting me through a Patreon contribution or through some other sponsorship arrangement. The following are links to various Giving Tuesday campaigns:
Nelson Supervisors to continue discussion on recreational needs, county investment
The five-member Nelson County Board of Supervisors to hold a work session on capital improvements. This appears to be a follow-up of sorts to a September 7 work session. The minutes for that gathering are in the meeting packet. (meeting packet)
Unlike regular meetings, that meeting from September 7 is not on YouTube. Supervisors got a presentation on a potential recreation center on property recently acquired by the county near the high school and middle school on U.S. 29 south of Lovingston. At the time. they got a presentation from Jim Vernon of Architectural Partners that updated a previous one from December 2021. The three needs identified by Supervisors had been recreational fields, a multi-purpose sports facility, and a pool.
What has changed since then? Construction prices! Vernon updated the Supervisors on the updated costs for different options. The September work session was a chance to provide more direction for what could be a major capital item. This discussion comes at the same time that the county is updating its Comprehensive Plan.
Option 1 was for a full gym with an eight-lane swimming pool with many amenities. The estimate went from $30.1 million to $34.6 million. Option 2 for a reduced center which still includes an indoor pool increased from $23.3 million to $26.9 million. Option 3 would have a small center with an outdoor pool and that estimate increased to $19.2 million. The three other options were for further reductions, with Option 5 being an exterior pool with a support building at $4.7 million. Option 6 would throw in an inflatable enclosure.
The minutes give glances into the visions each Supervisors has for the future and for the recently acquired property.
Supervisor Chair Jesse Rutherford of the East District suggested that the county plot out what it needs and suggested daycare is one use and could be compatible with a recreation center.
Supervisor Ernie Reed of the Central District said a business park would not be appropriate and that a mixed-use project could work, perhaps with housing built by a nonprofit partner.
Supervisor Robert Barton of the South District was skeptical the county needed to make a big facility. He said recreational fields and a park would be suitable.
Supervisor Thomas Harvey of the North District said he didn’t think any use would benefit his constituents at all. He said people could just drive to Waynesboro or Crozet.
Supervisor J. David Parr disagreed with Harvey and suggested a larger facility could be a draw for the entire county. He suggested looking to see if the YMCA would be interested in. He also said an outdoor pool would be good for the county, but that could also happen at the old Rockfish school.
They will also review a draft public engagement survey for the county’s recreational needs as well as a discussion of dates for a potential sports committee to meet.
Old Ivy Residences returns to Albemarle Planning Commission
In 2023 I am hopeful to cover more items before Planning Commissions, especially if there’s a land use change contemplated. I’m still learning the contours of the other localities, but I’ve covered Albemarle for a decade and a half. Here’s a piece from the Week Ahead from this week.
The Albemarle Planning Commission meets at 6 p.m. in Lane Auditorium at the county office building at 401 McIntire Road. There are five public hearings on three different topics. (meeting info) (agenda)
In the first public hearing, Maple Grove Christian Church at 3210 Proffit Road seeks a special use permit for a child day center for up to 50 children under the age of 5. (staff report)
The next two are related to three applications for a new 6,500 square foot mutli-tenant building at 4290 Ivy Road that will include a veterinary clinic and a catering kitchen. There is also a request to draw up to 875 gallons of water per day for the uses, as this is not on public water and sewer.
The next two public hearings are for the long-awaited return of a proposal from Greystar Development to rezoning several parcels of land off of Old Ivy Road for up to 525 dwelling units. The applicant sought a deferral in June when it appeared the project may be headed for a recommendation for denial. For background, see the story I wrote about that at the time. One of the major concerns was the impact on the road network.
Since the summer, Greystar has returned with a revised application with new proffers to address transportation issues in a “congestion area” identified by the Virginia Department of Transportation. Rather than pay a locked-in fee, Greystar will pay a portion of any infrastructure improvements.
“The cash contribution would be equal to six percent of the total cost of future transportation improvement projects in this area, which equates to the estimated percentage increase in traffic volumes that would result from this development,” reads the staff report.
However, the maximum is capped at $750,000. There would also be a ten-foot-wide linear path for the 1,275 linear feet of the development’s frontage on Old Ivy Road.
Another issue for the development is the potential lack of sewer capacity.
“[Albemarle County Service Authority] staff indicate that sewer lines that would serve this project are currently in need of upgrades and may not have adequate capacity,” the staff report continues. “Furthermore, ACSA staff have indicated that the developer/applicant “will need to sign an agreement stating that the applicant will be responsible for upgrading the necessary sewer segments if capacity is exceeded by this development.”
There is also a request to alter the classification of some of the steep slopes from preserved to managed.
TJPDC to meet for final time in 2022; transit governance study underway
The first day of the last month brings the final time for this year that the Board of Commissioners for the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission will meet Thursday at 7 p.m. (meeting agenda)
The main item on the agenda is a briefing on the status of a committee formed to oversee production of a new study on how to govern a future transit system. This is one of the outcomes of the Regional Transit Vision Plan that’s been underway for some time now. The new committee met earlier this month.
The two goals of this new study are to explore options for a regional authority to bring down new sources of tax revenue and to “increase transportation investments and outcomes.”
Questions to be answered include:
How will the structure support regional cooperation and planning around transit operations?
How will the structure increase transit investments for the region?
How can rural localities participate in the governance structure?
There are five phases to the study and the report is to ready by the end of 2023.
Looking ahead to the 2023 elections
I’ve covered elections in Albemarle and Charlottesville since 2005. As I continue to look at a broader geographic landscape, I want to at least know who is on the ballot for next year in the 24 localities across the Fifth District.
This week, the first candidate formally launched a campaign in Albemarle County, so it’s time to prepare for more across the region. Read my story about the Mike Pruitt campaign here.
Let’s start with these four localities starting after Albemarle.
Amelia County
There are three of five seats up for election in Amelia County in the eastern portion of the district. The 2020 Census for Amelia counted 13,265 and the latest forecasts from the Weldon Cooper Center project the county growing to 15,292 by 2050.
District 1 is currently held by David Monroe Felts Jr. who won a special election in 2020 with 990 votes, or 74 percent of the vote. Prior to his election, the seat was held by Thomas Randall Gleason who ran twice unopposed in 2015 and 2019.
District 3 is currently held by Shaun Blair Weyant who ran with no formal opposition. He garnered 82.1 percent of the 983 votes cast. Before that, this seat was held by the same person for four consecutive terms.
District 4 is currently held by Howard Joseph Easter Jr. who also ran unopposed. Easter received 67.9 percent of the vote.
All candidates ran as independents.
Amherst County
Three of the five districts in Amherst Council will be on the ballot in November 2023. Amherst County is between Lynchburg and Nelson County and is home to Sweet Briar College. The U.S. Census counted 31,307 people in 2020 and the Weldon Cooper Center forecasts anticipate 28,805 in 2050.
Independent William Thomas Martin was elected to his first term District 1 in 2019 with 98.6 percent. The person who won in 2015 did not seek re-election.
When Lemuel James Ayers III won election in District 3 in 2015, he did so as a write-in candidate who got 59.9 percent of the vote against two people were on the ballot. Ayers was an official candidate in 2019, but he was the only one listed at the polls. He got 93.2 percent that year. Ayers also sought the Republican nomination to the House of Delegates District 24 seat in 2018 and lost by one point to Ronnie Campbell. Ayers ran for Supervisor as an independent.
David Winston Pugh Jr. has never faced formal opposition in his three previous campaigns for the District 4 seat as a Republican. He got 99.3 percent of the vote in 2011, 90.9 percent in 2015, and 98.3 percent in 2019.
Appomattox County
There are three out of five districts up for election in Appomattox County next year. Located to the east of Lynchburg, the U.S. Census counted 16,119 people and Weldon Cooper projects that growing to 19,163 by 2050.
One of the seats is for the Appomattox District which is held by William Harvey Hogan. He won election as a write-in in 2015 with 253 of the 281 votes cast. That’s 90 percent. Hogan was on the ballot in the 2019 election as an independent and won 1,059 of the total votes cast.
Another other district with a seat on the ballot is the Falling River District. In 2019, Independent John Frederick Hinkle defeated incumbent Chad Everett Miller with 54.7 percent of the 1,218 votes cast.
There’s also the Wreck Island District where Independent Trevor Lynn Hipps defeated incumbent Bryan Ashley Moody with 808 votes to 324 votes. Moody ran unopposed in 2015.
Bedford County
Four of the seven magisterial districts in Bedford County are on the ballot in 2023. Only the eastern portion of Bedford is in the Fifth District, but this newsletter covers the whole county all the same. Thanks to the Virginia Public Access Project for helping me fill in some of the details with this one.
Republican Mickey Mark Johnson won election to District in 2019 with 1,996 of the 2,025 votes counted.
In District 5, Thomas Wayne Scott ran unopposed in 2015 and 2019, but he won election in 2011 against an opponent. Scott received 618 of the 1,024 votes cast.
In District 6, Independent Robert Wesley Davis defeated incumbent Andrew David Dooley in a close race. Davis got 51.4 percent of the 2,605 votes cast. Dooley was elected as a Republican in 2015 after winning the Republican primary. That year there was no one else on the general election ballot. Dooley spent more than Davis
In District 7, Republican Tamara Fuller Parker defeated incumbent Kevin Stuart Willis 1,860 votes to 1,591 votes. Willis had been elected as a Republican in 2015 after defeating Parker in the primary that year. Parker was elected as a Republican in 2011 with 63.4 percent of the vote.
