Meadowcreek Parkway and Hillsdale Connector Approved

silkyzephyr writes: The Daily Progress reports that at Monday night’s meeting City Council approved the Hillsdale Drive connector. Buried at the end of that story is the news that City Council also agreed to build the Meadowcreek Parkway.

From watching the meeting, it is clear councilors now differ only on whether the city should mandate, or merely suggest, building a grade-separated interchange at the same time.

The problem is money: there isn’t any. Councilors Schilling and Caravatti do not want the bulldozers kept waiting while the City saves up for an interchange. The majority, Councilors Hamilton, Lynch and Mayor Brown, insist that without one the Parkway would dump ruinous traffic at a stoplight, paralyzing Route 250. Delaying the Parkway is better than building it wrong, they say.

The two factions have agreed to work out compromise language by the next meeting.

Both road approvals are only at the first step, the design. But City Council has essentially started a process which once begun, grinds on to its inevitable conclusion. In sum, nearly forty years after it was first proposed, City Council is now united on putting a road through Mcintire Park.

I will note kudos to Councilor Lynch, who held out for a Christmas list of goodies like replacement parkland. He has been promised virtually everything he wanted. If we must pave a park, adding fifty acres of green space does soften the blow.

Lynch Provides Budget Analysis

Kevin Lynch is circulating a document about the city budget, providing his take on the financial problems faced by the city, how money should be allocated within the budget, and offering short- and long-term solutions to budget problems. It’s a great read and, frankly, I’m really impressed that he put together this 14-page, single-spaced document. It was a little over a year ago that Kevin provided detailed answers to the questions provided by folks on cvillenews.com on the matter of the Meadowcreek Parkway; the point being that this isn’t new territory for him. Download it here as a PDF (116k), and check out tonight’s City Council meeting to see the submission of the draft budget proposal. 03/08 Update: John Yellig has a story about the white paper in today’s Progress.

O’Connell to Present Budget

In December, City Council asked City Manager Gary O’Connell to prepare two budgets, one maintaining the $1.09 real estate tax and one cutting it to $1.07. O’Connell will end up proposing a cut to $1.05, the biggest drop in a quarter-century, at Monday night’s City Council meeting. The $106M budget is up 5.5% from last year’s $100.4M budget. One notable cut includes the Percent for Art fund, which sends 1% of capital improvement project funding to public art. John Yellig had the story in Friday’s Progress.

Increase in Homeless in Past Year

Homelessness is on the rise in the area, according to a census released by the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission. The number of homeless in C’ville, Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa and Nelson has climbed from 156 to 175, though the number that are without any type of shelter has declined, thanks to People And Congregations Engaged in Ministry. 45% of the homeless people surveyed hold down full- or part-time jobs (but can’t save enough money for first and last month’s rent on an apartment), 5% have panhandled, 6% have received Social Security, and just 3% have received unemployment. Since last fall, PACEM has been taking in homeless men who would otherwise by denied entry to other facilities, a result of the gap between the Salvation Army (sobriety required) and the Mohr Center (serious intoxication required). John Yellig had the story in yesterday’s Progress.

Van Yahres to Retire

Delegate Mitch Van Yahres (D-Charlottesville) announced this evening that he will not be running for reelection. After 24 years in office, Mitch has cited both age and the need for a new generation of leadership as reasons ending his lengthy service in the House of Delegates. Cue a half dozen Democrats and one foolish brave Republican declaring their candidacy. Press release follows, and the Progress already has a story by Bob Gibson on their website, which is impressive.
Continue reading ‘Van Yahres to Retire’

Sideblog