Tag: Politics

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Recapping CCAC – Future of Barnes Lumber Property

I’m going to update this later today, but wanted to publish a draft for those interested in last night’s conversation. It was, in my opinion, a great conversation and dialogue. Great input from the public and the CCAC. There was a lot of information covered last night – from possible timelines, challenges with developing such a large parcel in such a relatively small town, possible businesses that could go in, probable residential components, zoning … a lot. Much of that was captured by @Tim_Dodson and @CvilleKim (and @RealCrozetVA) on Twitter and quite a few not at the meeting few engaged on Twitter as well. Grab a cup of coffee and digest the tweets – and then … ask questions.

Update: Charlottesville Tomorrow has a great story about last night’s meeting.

– For those curious, the hashtag #CCAC1213 was used to track the conversation on Twitter.

A few of the best questions/topics that were addressed and I’ll address in the update, but ultimately, this was a conversation about the former Barnes property and the future of Crozet:

– (Frank) Stoner: what’s the unique value proposition to bring people downtown? #CCAC1213
– What are some towns that are what you’d like Crozet to be? #CCAC1213
– #CCAC1213 today the challenge for developers is that the infrastructure requirements take up so much of the costs
– Stoner: challenge of replicating old town feel is the execution #CCAC1213 Continue reading “Recapping CCAC – Future of Barnes Lumber Property”

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CCAC Meeting – 19 December 2013

This should be a good one, folks. One of the most-discussed and most important pieces of land in Crozet is the Barnes Lumberyard. This will be a great opportunity to listen and learn more. (as seen on the Crozet Calendar)

Who’s up for tweeting this meeting? The tweeting of the last CCAC meeting was a great success.

CROZET COMMUNITY ADVISORY COUNCIL

The Meadows, Crozet (5735 Meadows Dr.)

Thursday, December 19, 2013 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Agenda

1. Agenda Review. (Meg Holden – CCAC chair)

2. Approval of Minutes from November 21, 2013 meeting, if available.

3. Presentation by Frank Stoner regarding the Barnes Lumber property.

4. Announcements.

5. Future Agenda Items.

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Crozet Community Advisory Council Meeting – 21 November 2013

If anyone – anyone – is willing to live-tweet this meeting, please let me know asap. The agenda is chock-full of really interesting, relevant, important stuff. (bolding mine)

* Update: two volunteers have stepped forward to live-tweet the meeting and one more is likely to write a guest post. At the very least there will be at least three more people there. Thank you!

Live-tweeting the meetings accomplishes several things:

1) It gets you (or me) to attend the meeting to listen and learn

2) Tweeting the meeting engages the folks who are at home, unable to attend but really want to be informed

3) It allows me to capture the tweets and post them in a blog post here for anyone/everyone else who is interested in the meeting and can neither attend nor follow on Twitter.

4) It helps the CCAC know that people are paying attention.

5) Tweets capture more than almost any news story can.

CROZET COMMUNITY ADVISORY COUNCIL The Meadows, Crozet (5735 Meadows Dr.)

Thursday, November 21, 2013 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

1. Agenda Review. (Meg Holden – CCAC chair)

2. Approval of Minutes from October 17, 2013 meeting.

3. Project Updates/Information:

• Library fundraising update – Bill Schrader.

• Streetscape update and overview of town hall meeting – Lee Caitlin

• Discussion of Barnes Lumber company – Leslie Burns and Meg Holden

• Update on plans for pedestrian crossing signal at Clover Lawn/Harris

Teeter.

• Update on Safe Routes to School project, with information specific to

the crossing at Crozet Elementary

• Hotel project

• Wilson Jones property environmental remediation

• Resolution for extension of Crozet library hours

4. News concerning area schools affecting development area.

5. Change of meeting date and place – Bill Schrader.

6. Items not listed on the agenda

7. Announcements.

8. Future Agenda Items.

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Sidewalks to Crozet Elementary Delayed. Again

Remember the now-seemingly-mythical sidewalks to Crozet Elementary? Announced in May 2010, news was silent about the sidewalk grant for years. We’ve discussed for years the need for sidewalks to Crozet Elementary.

Looks like we’ll be waiting for sidewalks for longer than expected. Even last month it seemed that the funds were in place.

via email last night from Jack Kelsey with Albemarle County (thanks, Jack for keeping us informed):

The bids for the Crozet Elementary School “Safe Routes to School” sidewalk project (Crozet ES to Ballard Dr.) were received and opened on Oct 29th. I will be providing a brief status update to you and the PTO Wednesday night, but I wanted to give you a heads-up that the bids came in substantially higher than the estimated construction cost and the project budget.   

Based on the stipulations that came with the SRTS Grant funds, the project must be re-advertised/re-bid. Prior to re-advertising we must try to determine the reasons for the higher bids – for example: error in estimating; lack of clarity in the plans & specifications; season or time period for construction; market conditions or amount of work already lined-up by bidders. We will address the reasons in the plans & specifications, reduce the scope of the improvements as necessary to stay within the budget, and then re-advertise the project. We will work to resolve this matter and re-advertise as soon as possible, but I wanted to give you advance notice that there will be additional delay.

When I asked how much higher the bids were, Jack responded –

As for how much higher were the bids, all I can say at this time is that they were greater than 10% of the construction cost estimate.

I asked Jack if we were at risk of losing the funding. He replied:

We need to rebid the project so at this time I cannot share the difference between our estimate and the bids received. We are not at risk of losing the grant funding. Also want to make certain you understand that the SRTS project (Crozet ES to Ballard Dr) had to be advertised/constructed as a separate project from what is described below (ed note: referencing the funding noted here ). This is because the SRTS is Federal funding and there are specific Federal design, bidding and construction requirements to which we must adhere that do not apply to the State (Revenue Sharing) fund portion of the Crozet North Sidewalk project that runs from St George Ave. to the Crozet Elementary School.

Notes:

– The above is posted with permission.

– Anyone on Crozet PTO want to write a story/update for RealCrozetVA after the PTO meeting?

– I’m wondering if those bids can be public. I’d think they could/should be so we can see the scope of work and where the discrepancies/overruns are.

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Recapping CCA Meeting – 12 September 2013

Crozet Community Association Meeting - 9-12-13
Crozet Community Association Meeting – 9-12-13

 

Click through to read the tweets from last night’s Crozet Community Association meeting.

Go all the way to the bottom and scroll up. Tweeting the CCA meeting last night. Topics included the Crozet Avenue Streetscape update (prepare for a year of construction), sidewalks to Crozet Elementary the proposed police station in the old Train Station (old Crozet Library) and more.

I’ll say this (as I frequently do) – the community meetings are where things get, while not necessarily decided, absolutely get influenced. Continue reading “Recapping CCA Meeting – 12 September 2013”

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Results of the “What Should become of the Crozet Library” Poll

Thanks, all for the responses. I’m going to be in meetings and coaching soccer until the CCA meeting tonight, so I’ll try to update this again just prior to the meeting

The “other” responses are below. Winner of “other” – Train station.

Updated - 17 September 2013 at 7:27am

(updated 13 September around 3:30pm)

Honestly, I’m shocked that so many want a police substation on one of the major entrance corridors to Crozet.

Update: Mostly great comments and debate at the RealCrozetVA facebook entries.

– One post
– Other post

Highlights for me:

– A link to a scientific study of the merits of a police station in a community
– I think that the old Crozet library is a building with a prominent and central location in Crozet and a long and much-loved history and that it should be used in a way that allows members of the public to continue to enjoy it, such as a community center or a local (or natural) history museum. I think it would be a shame to turn such a beautiful and historic building into a police station (which could be housed in any building) and that it would be a waste of money to renovate it for that purpose, when it could be used as is for a more community-minded function. Continue reading “Results of the “What Should become of the Crozet Library” Poll”

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What Should Become of the Old Crozet Library?

Old Crozet library

The Albemarle County Police want to spend $350k to renovate the library/depot.

The Crozet Gazette have an extensive story this month and Ryan at the Newsplex did a story last night and J. Reynolds Hutchins at the Daily Progress had a nice story yesterday as well.

There’s a good discussion the RealCrozetVA Facebook page (comments embedded after the jump here).

What do you think? Police station? Train depot?

I’m skeptical that the old library’s best use is a police station. More patrols? Yes. Police station? I’m open to being convinced.

I’ve added a poll to this story – please click through to respond. I’ll make sure that the County – the BoS, CCAC, etc. – see the responses. Thanks. Please note that the Police Station is the only thing I know of as having been proposed. The other options are just ideas I’ve heard.

— I’ll publish the results tomorrow before the Crozet Community Association meeting. I’m inclined to disregard the suggestions for “a shooting range” and “bodo’s” —

Continue reading “What Should Become of the Old Crozet Library?”

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Summary of Last Night’s CCAC Meeting – 15 August 2013

Lamentably, I had to leave about 30 minutes early.

Click through, scroll to the bottom and read the tweet summary I put together if you’re interested. Schools, Crozet Library, a Crozet crime update of sorts, infrastructure concerns and more.

Importantly:

Continue reading “Summary of Last Night’s CCAC Meeting – 15 August 2013”