Author: Jim Duncan

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More Power Outages in 2019?

Yesterday was funny; as I was showing a house, with the power out, I watched people emerge from their houses to play in the yard, and neighbors talking to neighbors. If we could just silence the generators, maybe we should lose power more often. 🙂

Sure feels we’ve had more power outages this year.

First: Thank you, Dominion, for being so super-responsive. Truly.

I asked the folks at Dominion Power via Twitter (they are amazingly responsive, by the way):

They couldn’t provide that, but did for my home address (I live near Crozet Park). I bet the Old Trail side numbers would be a bit different, as they often lose power when we don’t, and vice-versa.

DOM-provided outages

2010- August:1

2011- May: 1, August: 1, Nov: 1

2012- July:1, Sept: 1 (edit: Derecho!)

2013 – March: 1. May: 1, June: 1 

2014- zero

2015- December: 1

2016- Nov: 1

2017- July: 1, Oct: 1 

2018- Feb: 1, May: 2, June: 2, Aug: 1, Nov: 1

2019: Jan: 1, June: 1, July: 1 

About 6 of these were considered “momentary outages”, which are outages that last for less than 2 minutes.

And the Facebook post

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Crozet Connect Launch Party 2 August

via email

As you might know, the launch of the Crozet Connect is on August 5. To promote that new service JAUNT has partnered with Starr Hill Brewery and Old Trail to hold two service launch promotion events right before the service starts.

August 2, 7-9 p.m., Starr Hill Brewery

Live music by the Crozet Jam Band (they said they’ll do some “road” numbers). CONNECT Bus parked outside. CONNECT swag and info handed out. Possible rebranding of beer with CONNECT logo (brewmaster still working that out). Raffle for monthly passes.

August 3, 12-2 p.m., Old Trail Business Center

Family-oriented, picnic-themed event featuring local artist Sarah Lopez. Businesses will have exhibits. Waylands Crossing Tavern will serve outside on sidewalk. Ice cream truck and CONNECT bus parked. We’ll have a table with swag and info. Raffle for monthly passes.

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TONY, the self-driving shuttle, launches

TONY

Well, this is cool.

ALBEMARLE COUNTY, VA – Albemarle County, Perrone Robotics, Inc., JAUNT, Inc., and Smart Mobility, Inc. today celebrated the first day of service for their autonomous shuttle transit service, the first public autonomous shuttle operating in Virginia on public roads.

AVNU (pronounced, “Avenue”, an acronym for Autonomous Vehicle, Neighborhood Use), is based on Perrone Robotics’ TONY GEM autonomous shuttle platform.  The pilot will operate for three months, with routes shifting to different areas of Crozet. The first route will be within the Old Trail Village neighborhood and the second route will run between Old Trail Village and downtown Crozet. The AVNU pilot is supported in partnership by Albemarle County, Perrone Robotics, JAUNT, and Smart Mobility, Inc.

“It is with great pleasure that we launch the pilot of the next generation of transportation – autonomous neighborhood shuttles – here in Crozet,” said Ann Mallek, White Hall District Supervisor. “Albemarle County is so proud to support our homegrown company, Perrone Robotics, to bring this project to fruition and to support our development areas by providing small-scale transit service to connect residents with commercial and recreation centers.” 

This electric-powered shuttle is designed to operate autonomously on public roads, navigating vehicle and pedestrian traffic. “With over 33,000 autonomous miles traveled using our technology, TONY powered vehicles bring the highest level of autonomy available in the world today to shuttles,” said Paul Perrone, founder/CEO of Perrone Robotics.

“We are deploying an AV platform that has been carefully refined since 2003, applied in automotive and industrial autonomy spaces, and now being leveraged to bring last-mile services to communities such as those here in Albemarle County, Virginia. What we deliver is a platform that operates shuttles autonomously in complex environments with roundabouts, merges, and pedestrian-dense areas.” 

During the pilot, the shuttle will operate with an onboard safety operator that is actively monitoring the roadway and able to assume control of the shuttle if needed. 

Perrone Robotics, Inc. (PRI)

Perrone Robotics has developed a general purpose software platform for robotics and autonomous vehicles called “MAX®”.  The company is focused today on delivering its TONY product, built on MAX, to commercially deploy practical autonomous shuttling of people and things. With over 16 years of experience and over 33,000 miles autonomously driven, Perrone Robotics’ MAX autonomous engine enables standard vehicles of any size to collect input from any suite of sensors, fuse that information together into a coherent picture of what surrounds a robot, and then engage in appropriate maneuvers and actions. For more information, please visit https://www.perronerobotics.com/

Update: Answer to a Question

Question: I don’t understand. Is there a schedule? Or do you summon it somehow? I mean, if its route is within Old Trail, where is it going besides between people’s houses and the commercial block? School to Grit? Confused.

Answer: Today was the shuttle launch. Today from 10-12 and 3-5 as well as tomorrow, the shuttle will be available on a fixed loop in Old Trail. Beginning next weekend (July 20-21) the shuttle will be running on weekends on a closed loop in Old Trail. There will be a schedule that is publicized before next weekend (July 20-21).

Eventually the plan is to be able to summon it and to expand it’s range. Stay tuned!

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Albemarle County Will be Redistricting Schools

At some point, Albemarle County will be redistricting schools, because the population is growing. Please take time to read this whole thing, courtesy of Amanda Alger. If you have comments or questions, please comment below, or email Amanda. Bolding throughout is mine.

If you don’t have kids, please get involved, as school quality and perceived school quality affects property values. If you do have kids, get aware and involved. Even if your kids are little now, they’re going to grow up. I’m happy to talk our schools’ perceived quality about property values offline.

Review the Albemarle County Long Range Planning Committee DRAFT Final 2019 Report here.Download

via email –

If you’d like to provide any comments or feedback on this draft report, please do so by July 1 at 8 am.  The report will be presented to the School Board at their meeting on July 11th at 6:30, which is open to the public for comment. 

The Long Range Planning Advisory Committee (LRPAC) is tasked with putting together a yearly report for the Superintendent and School Board to assist in the development of long term facilities plans.  They meet monthly and Central Office staff puts together this report with input from representatives appointed by each School Board member and the Superintendent.


This year’s $180 million Capital Improvement Program (CIP) recommendation addresses four areas: Maintenance and Replacement, Capacity and Growth, Safety and Security and Renovation of Existing Facilities.  


Of particular interest to the White Hall District:


From June 26 Draft Report: “The top ranked capacity related project is an addition to Crozet Elementary School combined with redistricting Brownsville Elementary School students. Robust growth in the Crozet area has been on the radar for some time and the time for additional capacity has come.


Brownsville and Crozet are currently over capacity and enrollment is anticipated to continue growing. Brownsville will utilize 8 mobile classrooms next year. At a capacity of 330, the Crozet site has room for expansion. A design for an addition and improvements is currently funded in the CIP with the assumption of redistricting students from the current Brownsville district to Crozet Elementary when the project is complete. With a forecasted 96% population growth over the next 30 years, expanding Crozet up to its maximum is a near-term recommendation, but a new western elementary school will also likely prove necessary longer term. An expansion of an existing school is recommended prior to the construction of a new school for several reasons including timing, cost, less redistricting, equitable size amongst schools, and staffing benefits. These reasons are elaborated on in the justification section of the Crozet Addition project page of this report. 

Continue reading “Albemarle County Will be Redistricting Schools”
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A Catholic Church on St. George?

This was an interesting “item not on the agenda” at the 12 June 2019 CCAC meeting. I asked the gentleman who read the letter from some of the St. George neighbors to share the letter. I have pasted it below.

The local church search committee has proposed the site of Anderson Funeral Home on St. George Avenue in Crozet as a potential site for the Diocese of Richmond to review to see if it’s suitable site. (from downtown Crozet, head towards Crozet Elementary, turn left on St. George, and it’s up there on the right)

Continue reading “A Catholic Church on St. George?”
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Support Crozet’s Fireworks and Independence Day Celebration

Copy/Pasted from the Crozet Community site. With permission.

These events involve a lot of donated time from a lot of individuals and donated materials and services from local companies, but it still cannot happen without financial contributions, too.

  • You can contribute right now, online, by clicking on this link.
  • Please put “CIDC donation” in the Designation box.

Of course, we appreciate all donations, but to boost our efforts to cover expenses, we have three leadership donor levels and we are hoping that you will show your support by becoming a lead patron this year.

  • For a gift of $500 or more, we will prominently display your company banner you provide at the entrance to the park during the event, identify your patron status in the Crozet Gazette and event handbill and provide you with ten passes to the celebration in the park as well as published thanks in the Crozet Gazette and the event handbill.
  • For a gift of $250 to $499, you will receive acknowledgment in the Crozet Gazette and event handbill and four passes to the celebration in the park.
  • And, for a gift of $100 to $249, you will receive two passes to the celebration in the park, published thanks in the Crozet Gazette and the event handbill.

June 29 will be here before you know it.  Won’t you join us by contributing whatever you can afford?  If being a lead patron is too much, please send whatever you can afford.   Your contribution is tax-deductible charitable donation. Thank you!

Please make your donation by Friday, June 21 in order to be listed on the event  handbill. 

  1. You can mail a check payable to: Downtown Crozet Association and send it to: CBT, P.O. Box 863, Crozet, VA 22932.  Please put  “CIDC donation” on the memo line.
  2. You can contribute right now, online, by clicking on this link:  
  3. Please put “CIDC donation” in the Designation box.
  4. Thank you for your generous support!

It takes a village – won’t you help out on Saturday, June 29 for an hour?

We need your help for just an hour or two on Sunday, June 29.   Below is the website to sign-up to help with the Crozet Independence Day Celebration (CIDC) between 5PM to 10PM. There are a variety of tasks and time slots. Most of the time slots are only an hour – so there’s lots of ways to help and still enjoy the event.

To sign up, please click here! (Coming soon)
For now – email CrozetCommunity at gmail.com to volunteer!

When you sign-up it will ask for your name, email and, optionally phone number.  No one else can see your email and phone.  We promise we won’t share it.  It’s helpful for us to have it if something happens and we need to let you know about a last minute change.

We urge church groups, civic and neighborhood associations to sign-up.  Crozet Trails Crew already has volunteered to staff one spot the whole evening!  Let’s see which group can have the most volunteers!

With your help, we can make this Crozet Independence Day celebration the best ever!

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CCAC Recap – June 2019 | Barnes Redevelopment, Water, Catholic Church on St. George?

Read all the tweets here.

Highlights from the CCAC meeting

PDFs from the Barnes Lumberyard redevelopment presentation

DRAFT Guidebook for residencesDownload
Barnes Lumber Redevelopment OpportunityDownload

Draft form for residences

Photos

Continue reading “CCAC Recap – June 2019 | Barnes Redevelopment, Water, Catholic Church on St. George?”
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250 Closing at Tilman for a Bit

It’s just past the blinking light on 250 on the way into Charlottesville. You know, the dip in the road that’s been getting dippier for the past few weeks?

via email:

 PORTION OF RT. 250 IN ALBEMARLE TO BE CLOSED JUNE 12-13

Crews will replace large pipe; motorists advised to follow posted detour

CULPEPER — An upcoming pipe replacement project will close a portion of Route 250 (Ivy Road) in Albemarle County in mid-June. 

VDOT will close Route 250 to through traffic to replace a large pipe located just east of Route 676 (Tilman Road). This work has been scheduled to avoid both morning rush hours. The road will be closed beginning at 10 a.m. June 12 and will reopen by 4 a.m. June 13, weather permitting. 

The large pipe must be replaced to prevent damage to the travel lanes. Crews will excavate the soil above and around the pipe. After removing the pipe, crews will install a new pipe, backfill the area and resurface the road. 

Due to the significant work required to remove the old pipe, it is not feasible to keep one travel lane open during this project. 

Motorists are advised to use Route 738 (Morgantown Road) to get around the closure. 

Drivers should check www.511virginia.org or the 511 mobile app for updated information about traffic conditions and follow @VaDOTCULP on Twitter for updates.

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CCAC – June 2019 | Downtown Crozet Update, Crozet Express

#CCAC0619

via email:

CROZET COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEECrozet Library, 2020 Library Ave, Crozet, VA 22932 Wednesday, June 12, 2019 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:45 p.m.

Agenda

  1. Introductions and Agenda Review (Allie Pesch – CCAC chair)
  2. Approval of Minutes
  3. JAUNT Crozet Connect Schedule Update (Stephen Johnson, JAUNT – 15 min)
  4. Rivanna Authorities Crozet Projects Update (Bill Mawyer, Executive Director, Rivanna Authorities – 45 min)
  5. Barnes Lumber Development Updates (Frank Stoner, Milestone Partners – 15 minutes)
  6. Downtown Crozet Initiative Branding Crozet Recap (Doug Bates – 15 min)
  7. Items Not Listed on the Agenda
  8. Announcements