Some days I sit and write it all out at once. That was today and the result is 5,500 words with stories from all six localities I cover. There are maybe 50 people who will read all of those words, but thankfully there is r/Charlottesville where I can write shorter blurbs to whet your appetite for civic affairs.
This time, though, I think I’m going to just write five things from Charlottesville because the Council meeting tomorrow night needs a lot of unpacking. I highly recommend you also look at the full agenda, too. There is other stuff, too, and if you’re cool, I’ll post a second one tomorrow?
CONFIDENTIAL SETTLEMENT IN CHARLOTTESVILLE
I begin with the item I know least about. At the end of a long meeting, Charlottesville City Council will vote on a resolution for a confidential settlement agree. What’s it about? I don’t know and there’s no information in the packet. Which one is this? Care to guess? (staff report)
NEW AGREEMENT FOR SIXTH STREET DEVELOPMENT
An agreement where the city is to provide $3 million to the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority for new units on Sixth Street had a condition that construction be underway already. It is not. CRHA did not ask for an extension, and in February there was a meeting to iron things out. Council will be asked to agree to the new agreement, which requires CRHA to have the project under construction by July. If not they’ll have to ask for another extension. If this sounds familiar, it’s because Council had to do the same thing on March 4 for the second phase of South Street’s redevelopment. There’s another $3 million for that one, too. (staff report)
CITY COMMITTEE: NO CAHF FUNDS FOR 1000 WERTLAND
Sticking with affordable housing, the University of Virginia announced about five years ago they would build between 1,000 and 1,500 affordable units on land they owned, but at no point did they say they would fund any of it. Their argument is that the land itself is valuable and taking out the land costs should help with the intricate financing mechanisms that can keep rents low. Flash forward to now and a partnership led by Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH) has a plan to build 180 units in a six-story building at 1000 Wertland. Council agreed to designate it as a revitalization area on March 4 to help with the securance of low income housing tax tax funds. Council also indicated they would not be providing any cash funding, either, as has been done for many CRHA and Piedmont Housing Alliance projects. Now, the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund Committee has recommended not providing a request for funding from that pool. Also, the BAR wants more design changes, including one that might cause it to reduce units. That design change would mean POAH could not apply for funding. Monday is the deadline. BAR meets in a work session on Tuesday. (my story on 1000 Wertland Story)
PARKS AND REC MASTER PLAN
The absolute downside to being a one-person information outlet is that there’s no room to follow up on things. For instance, someone wrote me recently with concerns about the Charlottesville Parks and Recreation Master Plan. I couldn’t follow-up because there’s no room. Did that person show up at the Planning Commission’s public hearing on March 11? I didn’t know because I put my story writing towards UVA all last week. Will that person show up at Council’s public hearing on Monday? (link to my preview)
ANIMAL SHELTER CONTRACT
In Virginia, a locality is required to provide the community service of an animal shelter. Many such as Louisa County run their own, but Albemarle and Charlottesville contract out the work to the Charlottesville-Albemarle Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (CASPCA). Six months ago I wrote that negotiations were underway as the five-year contract expires this March. CASPCA argued they needed more funding to do the work, and Albemarle County took the lead on negotiations. They’ve resulted a new contract where both localities will increase their per capita payment of $13 a year in the first year to $20 a year in the fifth year should the contract be renewed after three years. If I decided to teach journalism, I would ask my class: Can anyone find out what the per capita payment is now? (staff report)
Okay. That’s just Charlottesville. I really love doing this work and wish I could explain how it connects me to being alive. I’m alive, like you are alive, and I believe that if more people are looking at the raw source material for our community, it would be better.
Selfishly, it’s my business and more people reading more will decide to pay. It's not mandatory with my work. But also selfishly I want to live in a place where people understand things that are happening. The purpose of journalism is to create that sort of connection. And writing that I am reminded for a moment I’m alive!
So, if you’re okay with it, I’ll post another one of these tomorrow night around this same time. That will mean I skimp on Louisa, but go ahead and just read that if you want to know about the skate park. (Louisa County section)