At its meeting on September 5, 2007, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors held a work session on the proposed Willow Glen subdivision, near the Charlottesville Regional Airport and the Hollymead Town Center. (link to staff report)
The applicant seeks to build 234 units on 23 acres of land, in a mixture of townhomes and single-family detached houses. The land is currently designated in the comp plan as a mixture of Light Industrial Service and Urban Residential, and the developer and owner are requesting a change to all Urban Residential as part of the Places29 Master Plan.
The two and a half hour discussion covered topics ranging from whether the County has enough land for light industrial use, as well as whether developers can specify how money from their cash proffers can be spent.
As Wahoos flow back into Charlottesville to the University of Virginia, water is also once again flowing over the South Fork Rivanna Dam. How long the latter will continue in the face of an influx of new users and little new rainfall is a major question on the minds of local water officials. In one form or another, the community water supply was the dominant theme at the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority’s August board meeting. The prevalence of the county’s still-existing drought condition was acknowledged repeatedly as the Board of Directors moved through their agenda; in fact, Tom Frederick wasted no time by starting the meeting with a presentation of his findings on current water levels in the area.
The campaign season for three Board of Supervisors races is officially underway, with the first candidates’ forum of the year. Seven candidates for three seats were guests at the annual meeting of the Albemarle County Farm Bureau, held August 14, 2007 at Western Albemarle High School.
President Joe Jones joked with the crowd that he would have preferred to have booked a bluegrass band to close out the annual meeting.
However, the Board of Directors felt with the number of seats up for election this fall, that part of our responsibility as an organization is to educate our membership,kj he said. Part of that education is getting to know the candidates for the Board of Supervisors.
The Board of Directors of the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority has issued a Drought Watch for the area. The move is the first step called for as part of a drought action plan adopted by the RWSA last September, and is being taken now because streams that fill the area’s reservoirs are slowing at a rapid pace.
Charlottesville will expand its partnership with the Boys and Girls Club, but has postponed a decision whether to begin a new relationship with the Piedmont YMCA. The items were discussed during a City Council work session held on July 9, 2007, at the Key Recreation Center.
Mike Svetz, Director of the City Parks and Recreation Department, described the meeting as a way to seek direction from Council on partnerships that would “enhance and not replace services within the community.kj At issue is what the City should do with two pools – one at the Smith Center at Buford School, and the Crow pool. Svetz said a needs assessment performed in 2005 found that both needed major renovations.
During the meeting, Svetz named key decisions he wanted Council to make. The first dealt with the overall direction of the Parks and Recreation Department and read:
Does the city guarantee the commitment of resources to the Charlottesville Parks and Recreation Department for the expansion and improvement of programs and outreach activities within public housing sites, neighborhood parks/centers and schools?”
After a small discussion, Council reaffirmed their commitment to a neighborhood center model of supporting the parks and recreation department. But Councilor Julian Taliaferro wanted more information on what exactly needed to be improved.
“How much money are we talking to do exactly what?” he asked.
Councilor Dave Norris, a proponent of a partnership with the Piedmont YMCA, said he understood that many people in the community are concerned that increased partnerships will result in the city scaling back its commitment to neighborhood-based programs. He said any money spent by the Boys and Girls Club or the YMCA would free up resources within the Parks and Recreation Department to be reinvested elsewhere in the system.
“I think it’s very important that council go on record, even if we don’t know the details yet, and say we are going to actively seek to enhance and expand those programs in the years ahead, Norris said.
Mayor David Brown wanted to know if expanded partnerships with the YMCA and the Boys and Girls Club would come with continuing expenditures in the years to come. Tom Jones of the Boys and Girl Club said the organization will spend $100,000,000 over the next several decades running its center. Kirk Krueger with the Piedmont YMCA said his only organization would only seek money for capital costs.
Before moving on to the specifics of the two partnerships, Councilor Kevin Lynch suggested taking half of any next year’s budget surplus towards capital improvement projects for parks and recreation. Councilor Kendra Hamilton said Council has other needs that are more pressing.
Since 2003, The Boys and Girls Club has operated programs at the Smith Pool Center at Buford School, but now needs more space. They want to expand the partnership and coordinate with the city on a construction project to replace the Center. But, the extent of the partnership needed to be determined.
“Any decision that we make in the near term with the Smith Center and pool site obviously impacts them from a construction standpoint, said Svetz.
Tim Sinatra, Executive Director of the Boys and Girls Club, briefed council on his organization. He said his organization serves primarily minorities, and offers a consistent place for youth to go to stay out of trouble. But, Sinatra said the club needs more room to expand its youth development services.
“We’ve had waiting lists every summer, and have had to turn away sixty to seventy families,” he said. This summer, the Club has enrolled 150 children, and Sinatra said that’s about sixty too many. The new building will cost at least $10,000,000 and will be built at the existing Smith Center, and will be designed to serve over 400 kids a day, with a dedicated wing that will strictly be for teenagers. In exchange for an enhanced partnership, the city Parks and Recreation Department would be able to use some of the new rooms for its programs. While the new facility is currently being designed, Sinatra says it will be between 25,000 and 30,000 square feet, and may or may not include a replacement pool. That will depend on what the city wants to do.
The Club will have a schematic of the drawing by the end of August. At the work-session, Boys and Girls Board Member Tom Jones said the Club isn’t looking for any specific yet in its expansion of a partnership.
“Are there ways that together we can do things intelligently and quickly that will expand the services?” he asked. He also said the sooner the city makes a decision on what to do about Smith Pool, the sooner the Boys and Girls Club can fully design their new facility. The architect W.G. Clark will have a schematic of a drawing by the end of August. Mike Svetz with Parks and Recreation has recommended expanding the partnership and replacing Smith pool. He said that would cost about $2 million to repair and renovated Smith.
Council held a long discussion about what kind of pool should be built at Smith. Should it be targeted as a recreational pool, or should it be built for competitive swimmers? This issue came up again later in the evening when the YMCA was discussed. But Councilor Lynch wondered if Council should approve the construction of two indoor pools.
“I would like to see us consolidate [Smith and Crow pools] which would give us substantial savings in operating over the next twenty-five years,” Lynch said.
Before a long-term decision is made on the future of the two pools, Council agreed they were not willing to commit money to renovate the locker rooms at either one. Svetz had put the price tag on such renovations at $565,000. Council also said they wanted to see more details on the Boys and Girls Club facility before deciding on whether to put a pool there.
Council then moved on to discuss the YMCA proposal. The Piedmont YMCA has designed a 75,000 square foot facility to be built in McIntire Park West adjacent to Charlottesville High School. The building would be built where picnic shelters currently stand.
Kirk Krueger, Chair of the Piedmont YMCAGuv,!v,,us Board of Directors, said the new facility will cost $14 million.G,V The YMCA is conducting a capital campaign to raise $10 million, has received a pledge of $2 million from Albemarle County, and plans to ask Charlottesville for an additional $2 million. Krueger said the YMCA would never come back to the city for additional funds, and the land would revert back to the city after a 40-year ground lease. A new facility would be open 7 days a week, and would consolidate 23 of the Piedmont YMCAGuv,!v,,us current sites at which it operates basketball and other youth programs.
So far, Krueger said the YMCA has raised a little over $7 million, and wants an answer from the city as quickly as possible. There’s a September 30 deadline to enter into a ground lease in order to qualify for the terms of $300,000 grant from the Perry Foundation. Also, Piedmont Virginia Community College has offered land at its campus in Albemarle County for the YMCA.
“What we ultimately want is for the city to commit to us to at least conceptually agree to partner with the Y at the McIntire Park site,” Krueger said.
When asked by Councilor Kendra Hamilton if the $2 million the YMCA wants from the City included land, Krueger replied that it did not. Councilor Lynch responded that many outside groups tend to see city parkland as surplus land waiting to be used.
“And, it’s not. If we use four acres of parkland for [the YMCA] where do we get the extra four acres of parkland? Four acres of parkland is probably worth more than two million,Guv,!Vkj said Lynch.G,V Mike Svetz said the assessed value of the property is about $60,000 an acre, prompting Lynch to joke that he would immediately write Svetz a check for $240,000.
Mayor Brown told the audience he is warming to the idea of the YMCA in McIntire Park, but said it was unfair for the city to have to pay the same matching amount as the county when it would be giving up some of its parkland. “I wouldn’t mind seeing Albemarle County take on more responsibility for providing softball facilities to the region, allowing us to reprogram the rest of the land in McIntire Park in a way that serves city youth more than softball fields do,” he said. Brown also said he wanted the Y’s Board of Directors to have a proportionate number of city residents serving as members.
Councilor Hamilton said many of the people who have told her of their opposition to the Y proposal say they just don’t want parkland to be used, and that many others are concerned this will lead to the privatization of the Parks and Recreation Department. She said she would only be prepared to proceed if she could get certain guarantees from the Y, mostly that any city money freed up by the Y operating aquatic programs would go towards other parks and recreation programs run by the city.
Councilor Lynch said that he remained interested in the plan, but needed to see more proof that the neighborhood centers would continue to be developed. More importantly, he said the city has to continue the philosophical debate about the direction of the Parks and Recreation department.
“If the Y wants to see a decision by the end of September, I want to see details fleshed out in terms of what does that mean for programming,” Lynch said. “What does that mean for the existing cooperation with the Boys and Club, and what does that mean for the picnic shelters?”
Svetz wrapped up the discussion by asking if he could enter into the process of entering into the ground lease with the Y. None of the councilors except Norris said they were willing to do so at this time, but would revisit the issue at a further work session or council meeting in early September. Hamilton suggested holding a closed session to discuss the negotiations, something City Manager Gary O’Connell said would not be allowed.
Council ended the meeting by agreeing to operate Crow and Smith Pools for the time being while details are worked out regarding their respective futures. Additionally, Council will defer action on a new partnership with the YMCA until it can see more details on the deal, which Svetz says will be ready by early September.
Timeline of meeting:
01:00 – Mike Svetz, Charlottesville Director of Parks and Recreation
12:45 – Council considers direction of Parks and Recreation Department
24:36 – Council considers expansion of Boys and Girls Club partnership
26:26 – Tim Sinatra, Executive Director, Boys and Girls Club
33:00 – Tom Jones, Boys and Girls Club, talking about the design for the new facilty at Smith Center.
38:00 – Architect W.G. Clark, talking about how his design will improve the Boys and Girls Club
46:11 – Mike Svetz introduces Council discussion on Boys and Girls Club
1:13:06 – Mike Svetz introduces Council discussion on YMCA Piedmont
1:14:00 – Kirk Krueger, Piedmont YMCA
1:23:37 – Council discusses Piedmont YMCA proposal
On June 18th, 2007, Charlottesville resident Peter Kleeman officially announced his candidacy for a seat on the City Council. He qualified for the ballot last week by turning in 125 petition signatures to the city registrar.
An area resident since 1981, Kleeman has been an independent transportation consultant since 1997 specializing in air quality, noise, and energy modeling and analysis relating to transportation activities. Before becoming a consultant, he worked for three years as an engineer for the Virginia Department of Transportation.
“After coming here, I have grown to love this city,” Kleeman told a gathering of reporters under a hot morning sun. “I believe that my role as a citizen is to be actively involved in the issues, and I have done that.” He has served on the Metropolitan Planning Organization Policy Board, vice president of Alliance for Community Choice in Transportation, and a frequent volunteer for community organizations.
Kleeman said he wants to connect citizens with decision-makers in city government, and that city planners have to do a better job connecting to neighborhoods. He said the region needs to develop a transportation network that includes outlying counties. He wants to see more money put into public transportation and walking paths.
“We’ve seen a whole series of issues in the neighborhoods recently where the neighborhoods have felt left out of the process, whether its about historic preservation or cut-through traffic.” Kleeman says he will spend a lot of his campaign talking to neighborhood associations.
Along with Barbara Haskins, Kleeman is one of two independent candidates in the race. He previously ran for Council in 2000, but failed to win the Democratic nomination. This year he bypassed that process, which resulted in the nominations of Holly Edwards, Satyendra Huja, and incumbent David Brown.
“I felt we needed to have more candidates than positions in order to have a meaningful dialogue
and energize the city.”
[Charlottesville Tomorrow will post video of the event later on this evening.]
The Albemarle County Natural Heritage Committee (NHC) made its annual report to the Board of Supervisors during the Board’s meeting on June 6, 2007. The committee was created two years ago to assess the countyGuv,!v,,us biological assets in an effort to come up with a sustainability plan. (report in .PDF format)
The roots of the NHC date back to the Comprehensive Plan adopted in 1999, which recognized Guv,!E”the importance of protecting biological diversityGuv,!V| for the ecological, aesthetic, ethical and economic benefits to the community.Guv,!Vkj
In 2002, the county formed a temporary biodiversity committee to come up with an initial assessment of AlbemarleGuv,!v,,us natural biological assets. In 2005 the panel was formalized as the Natural Heritage Committee.
Tom Olivier served as the chair of the committee last year, and presented the report to the Board. He said the NHC is developing an education plan to make sure landowners are aware of the assets on their property. The panel also is creating an additional layer in the countyGuv,!v,,us Geographical Information System to give county planners more information on biological resources when making land use decisions. Olivier said both the Nature Conservancy and Stream Watch have agreed to help fund this effort.
More importantly, the NHC will develop and implement a Guv,!E”Rapid Conservation PlanGuv,!Vkj to help protect areas that are under threat. Long-term, the NHC will develop a Guv,!E”Strategic Conservation PlanGuv,!Vkj to protect biodiversity at Guv,!E”a landscape scale.Guv,!Vkj
To that end, Olivier told the board that six sites should be considered as Guv,!E”priority conservation targets.Guv,!Vkj
They include three wetlands (Campbell, Preddy Creek, and Pinkerton SlashGuv,!Vkj, ), two river bluffs (Key West Rivanna and North Fork Rivanna Bluffs), and a large forested area in the southwest portion of the county that Olivier called Southern Albemarle Mountains.
The Pinkerton Slash area is already covered by a conservation easement, but Olivier says that doesnGuv,!v,,ut necessarily mean that the biological diversity of the areas will be protected.
Guv,!E”They simply insist that they be kept in open space,Guv,!Vkj he said. He recommend county staff develop a program similar to the Acquisition of Conservation Easement (ACE) program to protect the fauna and flora in targeted areas. Guv,!E”We think that sites that are recognized as being of high value based on biological resourcesGuv,!V| should be recognized as things we need to protectGuv,!Vkj
Olivier also said the committee wants the county to create a plan to help landowners understand the importance of these areas, and to also offer options for how stewardship programs might work.
When asked by Supervisor Ken Boyd (Rivanna) if the committee has contacted landowners, Olivier responded that they want to develop the stewardship education plan first. Guv,!E”I think the sense was that since weGuv,!v,,ure proposing things that are entirely voluntary, and since the biological value at these places is really independent of the current ownership, that this was the proper initial step to take.Guv,!Vkj
Guv,!E”Many people simply have no idea when they have biological resources on their properties that are special, and unfortunately sometimes they are destroyed quite casually.Guv,!Vkj He said the first step is let people know what they have, and also that the county wants them to voluntarily preserve them.
Supervisor David Wyant (White Hall) asked Olivier what guidance the committee might give to landowners who want to see a return of certain species of animals to their property. He recalled one woman who recently appeared before the Board to discuss the disappearance of bobwhite quail.
Guv,!E”I know the reason we donGuv,!v,,ut have them is because we clear-cut a whole lot more than we used to, we used to have brush fields. Well that goes against our land-use. We have got some things in place, and I think weGuv,!v,,ure going to find we run into these conflicts, and for me to get quail back, I have to do certain things, and other people come along and say you canGuv,!v,,ut do that. ThatGuv,!v,,us the kind of guidance I would look from yaGuv,!v,,ull.Guv,!Vkj
A naturalist with the University of VirginiaGuv,!v,,us Department of Environmental Science and member of the committee responded that the NHC is still trying to work out long-term plans for how to resolve such conflicts.
Guv,!E”Not only are we in conflict with our environment but the county of Albemarle is actually degraded,Guv,!Vkj said Carleton Ray. He added this costs the county more in increased water bills and impacts the countyGuv,!v,,us aesthetic values.
Guv,!E”Resolution of these conflicts is going to be a tough nut, but it need not cost a lot of money if people knew how or had guidelines for how to take stewardship of their own land, this wouldnGuv,!v,,ut cost anything, it just changes behavior.Guv,!Vkj
City Democrats nominated David Brown, Holly Edwards, and Satyendra Huja as their slate for the Charlottesville City Council election being held in November 2007. There were 426 ballots cast as follows: Huja-304; Edwards-279; Brown-261; Seaman-188; McKeever-149. The City Democrats have a weighted system that allocates 100 “convention votes” by precinct based on the raw vote from the convention. The weighted vote did not change the order of finish and only one ballot was required.
Click image below for detailed view of voting results:
On May 19, 2007, the five candidates seeking Democratic nominations for three seats on Charlottesville City Council held another in a series of forums at the Jefferson Area Board for Aging. Over sixty people attended the event, which was hosted by the Charlottesville and Albemarle Democrats as part of their monthly breakfast meeting. Columnist Bob Gibson of the Charlottesville Daily Progress served as moderator for the forum.
Jamestown Archaeologist Bill Kelso joins Coy Barefoot on WINA’s Charlottesville–Right Now to talk about the 400th anniversary of the founding of the first successful English colony in North America. Kelso led efforts to discover the original footprint of the fort, which was for decades thought to have been lost. He and Coy also discuss the Queen’s visit, the fate of the colony at Roanoke Island, and the recent federal recognition of several of Virginia’s Indian tribes.
On May 14, 2007, close to four hundred Albemarle County Democrats attended a caucus to nominate candidates for six races, including three seats on the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors. Marcia Joseph (Rivanna District) and Ann Mallek (White Hall District) were unopposed for their party’s nomination. Supervisor Lindsay Dorrier won his party’s nomination for a third consecutive term defeating challenger Kevin Fletcher. Democrats also selected Larry Claytor for Sheriff, Debbie Shipp for Clerk of the Circuit Court, and Denise Lunsford for Commonwealth’s Attorney.Charlottesville Tomorrow has produced both audio and video content from this event focusing on remarks by candidates for the Board of Supervisors. The audio recording is twenty-three minutes and features the acceptance speeches made by Marcia Joseph and Ann Mallek, plus the remarks made to the Scottsville caucus by Lindsay Dorrier and his challenger Kevin Fletcher. The video includes the speeches by Joseph and Mallek only.
The five Democratic candidates for three open seats on the Charlottesville City Council participated in their first candidate forum on Thursday, May 10th, in the cafeteria at Walker Upper Elementary School.
These forums are important opportunities for the public as the three candidates who are nominated at a Democratic caucus on June 2nd will likely end up as the next city councilors. Charlottesville Tomorrow spoke with city Republican Chair Buddy Weber this week who confirmed that the Republicans would not run a candidate this year. Independent candidates have until June 12th to file the paperwork to get on the ballot for the November general election.
Visit our Election Watch 2007 website for detailed information on the candidates, campaign finance reports, upcoming candidate forums, and related events. View all postings related to City elections.
another in a series of forums at the 
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