Are big changes ahead in budgeting, taxes, and economic development?

This article is an extended version of what appears in today's Daily Progress.

By Brian Wheeler
Charlottesville Tomorrow
Sunday, November 8, 2009

The day after his fellow Republicans swept the competitive races for the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors, Ken Boyd (Rivanna) was not gloating.  In a board meeting that lasted all day on Wednesday, Boyd patiently listened to reports of dire economic conditions and jabs by his colleagues at the promises made by victorious Republican candidates Duane Snow (Samuel Miller) and Rodney Thomas (Rio).

Thomas defeated one-term incumbent Democrat David Slutzky (Rio) and Snow won the open seat race in the Samuel Miller district over Democrat Madison Cummings and Independent John Lowry.  Both winners are local businessmen born and raised in Charlottesville-Albemarle. 

The election results will bring a new mix of experience, politics and philosophy to the board starting in January. That could mean big changes in the board's approach to budgeting, tax rates, economic development and other key issues.

“I don’t know how much it will change,” said Boyd in an interview after a grim work session on the County’s five-year financial plan.  “When you run one way, then get elected, you are faced with certain realities once you are on the board. Running for election is different from actually legislating.”

“Even people with experience in the community get faced with having to make fiscal decisions, and it can be different on the inside than from the outside looking in,” said Boyd.

Jack Marshall, president of Advocates for a Sustainable Albemarle Population (ASAP), said in an interview that he thought the election would bring significant changes.

“In the last 20 years, there has been a natural tension on the board, between those that subscribe to a traditional strategy—constant growth is good; we always need to attract new businesses—and a newer strategy, that a community should seek a sustainable level of economic development that over the long haul doesn’t disrupt our environment and quality of life,” said Marshall.  “Last week’s election pretty clearly shifted the balance toward the more pro-growth approach.”

A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO BUDGETING

Thomas and Snow both indicated in their campaigns that zero-based budgeting process would be part of their approach to cutting government expenses and avoiding tax increases.

In an interview after the election, both Thomas and Snow said the budget and economic development remained at the top of their priority lists.

“My priority is the budget.  We now have a $5.7 million deficit [in this fiscal year],” said Thomas.  “We have to start cutting expenses because we don’t have any money and it is not getting any better.”

Boyd, Snow and Thomas all say they believe zero-based budgeting could improve the County’s financial position.

“Instead of staff coming back with budget recommendations [to the board], department heads would build their budgets from the bottom up,” explained Boyd.  “One advantage of zero-based budgeting is that instead of staff making decisions about what is essential, the board is forced to do that.”

“When requests for money are made, we need to have [staff] justify that expense,” said Snow in an interview.  “You have to be prepared to say why you need it and what will happen if you don’t get it.”

Jeff Werner, a land use field officer for the Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC), said in an interview that zero-based budgeting was going to force some tough choices at the board level.

“In the past it has been easy for some of the supervisors to say they support various initiatives, but that they also want to cut taxes,” said Werner. “It is going to require them to take very specific positions on the things they want to cut and I think that will be very interesting.”

CUTTING EXPENSES VS. RAISING TAXES

The board of supervisors that meets in January will start with four votes opposed to any increase of Albemarle’s current 74.2-cent real estate property tax rate.  The three Republicans and Democrat Lindsay Dorrier all say they are currently opposed to a staff proposal to increase the rate by 3 cents and maintain that rate for the next five years. 

“I don’t want to increase the tax rate at all,” said Thomas. “I would rather look at where we can save some money and programs that we can cut out of the budget.  Maybe in the police department, but I don’t have all the facts yet.”

“I would like to keep the tax rate the same as it is now,” said Boyd.  “Everybody I know, in business and personally, is having to cut back.  Until we reach the point where we are having to sacrifice critical services, I wouldn’t be willing to raise that rate.”

The majority of today’s board, however, has given County Executive Bob Tucker direction to pencil in the higher tax rate to prepare a draft five year financial plan.  At the meeting Wednesday, staff reiterated that a 77.2-cent rate would mean the average homeowner would pay the same real-estate taxes as this year because of declining property values. The Board is expected to approve a five year financial plan in December.  In April, the new board of Supervisors will set a final tax rate for calendar year 2010.

In the work session Wednesday, the board received new financial projections and learned that the current fiscal year revenues were now $5.7 million below what was budgeted.  Second, they were warned that a 74.2-cent tax rate would not even cover the costs to service existing debt in the next capital budget.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

With this election, the next board of supervisors can be expected to bring economic development center stage as one tool they will propose to use to improve the county’s fiscal health.  In their campaigns, both Thomas and Snow emphasized the need to attract new businesses to the community with more specific economic development plans.

“The entire culture needs to be changed to be more business friendly.  We are open for business,” said Thomas.  “We need to attract more businesses to Albemarle County.. and I am not speaking of commercial or retail businesses, I am primarily talking about businesses that can hire significant numbers of people.”

Thomas said he was interested in creating new locations for light industrial businesses and that he was open to discussing the Yancey Mills Business Park proposal in Crozet’s rural area.

The PEC's Jeff Werner said he expected the next board would be “pre-disposed to grant developers what they want.”

“How much more would they have to approve to be business friendly?” asked Werner. “Look at the pipeline of residential and commercial development that has been approved but not built.  To say we need a growth area expansion for new business is absurd.”

Snow said he wanted to focus on the county’s economic development plans, with a focus on development within the designated growth areas. 

“We should come up with a system where we facilitate and help [business] rather than drag our feet.  There is a problem,” said Snow.  “It will be a team effort, I am not coming in with both guns blazing.  It will take a mentality of all of us working together.”

ASAP’s Jack Marshall said he hoped the new board would plan carefully for future of the entire community.  He also indicated his preference was for the County to support existing local businesses rather than attract new ones.

“I know that the new supervisors are concerned about the long term good of the whole community and trust they will carefully weigh the impact of their decisions on future generations,” said Marshall.  “I would urge that we do everything we can to support and strengthen local businesses.  Over the long haul, it is not healthy to make great efforts to bring in new businesses.  Any economic development efforts should go into sustaining and strengthening what we already have here.”

Crozet streetscape grant prompts questions about County’s capital projects budget

By Sean Tubbs
Charlottesville Tomorrow
Friday, November 6, 2009

The streetscape improvements are called for in the Crozet Master Plan

In the face of significant revenue shortfalls, Albemarle County Supervisor Ken Boyd (Rivanna) said Wednesday that at least some projects in the County’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP) should be scrutinized to see if public investment is still warranted. Earlier this year, the County removed $100 million  from the program through FY2014 in order to balance the five-year financial plan. This week, supervisors were told to expect another $100 million in project cuts and to prepare for a heavily revised capital budget focusing only on maintenance and debt service.

The topic came up during a public hearing on an application for a $250,000 grant from the federal government to help pay for streetscape improvements in downtown Crozet. The County has previously received $300,000 in transportation enhancement money (TEA-21) for previous phases of the project. The money will pay for sidewalks, drainage improvements, decorative lights and benches.

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The total cost of the project is around $2.5 million, according to Albemarle County’s Chief Planner, David Benish. If awarded the grant, the County will pay for around 80 percent of the project with taxpayer dollars. Benish said the Crozet streetscape is one of the higher priority recommendations called for in the Crozet Master Plan.

Boyd expressed concern at the amount of money that the County has invested in the project. He said he was not sure if this was appropriate spending given the County’s ongoing budget issues.

“We have two master plans, and we seem to forget about the other one at Pantops that has absolutely no funding for it,” said Boyd. “At the same time, we’re throwing millions of dollars into Crozet.”  Meanwhile, he pointed out that improvements called for in the Pantops Master Plan have not yet been funded.

Benish said many of the Pantops improvements are anticipated to be paid for with proffers from developers such as intersection improvements and at least $1 million in sidewalk improvements. Supervisor David Slutzky (Rio) pointed out that the Crozet Master Plan was adopted five years ago, whereas the Pantops Master Plan was only adopted in March 2008.

“Wait until we get to Places29 and the tab for infrastructure we’re going to have there,” Slutzky said.
Boyd said he wondered how many previous decisions on capital spending will need to be reconsidered as the County’s budget climate continues to worsen .

Supervisor Dennis Rooker (Jack Jouett) said once the County begins to apply for grants for projects, it cannot break that kind of commitment.

County Attorney Larry Davis said if the project is not finished, the County would have to return the other $300,000 received through the federal program.

The Board voted 6-0 to support the grant application. Boyd said he could support this application, but that he wanted to apply more scrutiny during the development of the FY2011 CIP.

“I’m going to ask as part of the CIP oversight committee review that we look at these multi-millions worth of monies that are sitting around for previously approved projects and whether or not we can continue to do those,” Boyd said. However, he acknowledged that projects that are tied to grant funds will likely have to go forward.

Hatton Ferry’s future requires a non-profit owner

By Sean Tubbs
Charlottesville Tomorrow
Friday, November 6, 2009

The future of the nation’s only remaining pole-driven ferry depends on whether the Albemarle County Historical Society or another non-profit is willing to take on its ownership. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has established a December 31 deadline for the ferry to be transferred to another entity. Otherwise it will be closed.

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The ferry is under the jurisdiction of VDOT in part because it carries vehicles across the James River (Source: Steven Meeks)

The Hatton Ferry first began crossing the James River upstream from Scottsville in the late 1870’s. Every year from April to October, ferrymen use poles to push the boat guided by a cable that spans the river. The state highway department  took over operations of the ferry in 1940.

VDOT announced this summer it could no longer fund the ferry due to budget cuts. In July, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors agreed to contribute $9,300 to keep the ferry operating throughout this year. However, the historical society was charged with coming up with funds not only to repay the County, but also to ensure funding for next season.

The man in charge of the current fundraising efforts  for the ferry’s continued operations told the Board of Supervisors on Wednesday that if the Hatton Ferry is closed, a piece of American history will be lost forever. E. Marshall Pryor III appealed for the County’s financial support.

“If we don’t get some participation from the community, from the Board of Supervisors and other municipalities, [the ferry] can’t go on forever,” Pryor said.

Supervisor Lindsay Dorrier (Scottsville) suggested the creation of a public-private partnership where donations would be matched by County dollars. He said the ferry should charge riders, which would bring in revenue either for the County or a non-profit organization that would run the ferry.

“I think Albemarle County along with Buckingham County and Scottsville can come up with $10,000 or $20,000,” Dorrier said.

Supervisor Dennis Rooker (Jack Jouett) said he was skeptical that money could be found when the County faces a significant budget shortfall in the current year.

However, Supervisor Ken Boyd (Rivanna) agreed with Dorrier.

“In a $307 million budget, I think we can find $10,000,” Boyd said. He said one possibility might be to use  money from the Acquisition of Conservation Easements (ACE) program because the ferry promotes the rural nature of the community. Staff was directed to come back with suggestions of what budget items could be cut to pay for the ferry.

Pryor said his group has not yet submitted any grant proposals to fund the ferry, but has raised around $20,000 through private contributions. That’s enough to pay for the ferry for next season, which he said will be the 140th anniversary of the ferry. Pryor estimated that at least $700,000 will need to be raised in order to ensure it can operate “in perpetuity.”

Download an October 28 letter from VDOT Commissioner David Ekern to Bob Tucker

However, VDOT’s end-of-year deadline for a decision is looming, forcing the Society to scramble to establish a long-term plan.

Under state law, VDOT cannot transfer ownership directly to a non-profit organization. Instead, either Albemarle, Buckingham or the Town of Scottsville would need to receive the ferry from the state before it could be transferred to a non-profit.

(Source: Steven Meeks)

County Attorney Larry Davis said Albemarle cannot run the ferry itself because localities do not have the authority to operate a ferry without specific enabling legislation. He said the best way to operate the ferry would be to transfer it to a non-profit organization. However, Davis was concerned that complications could arise if the County serves as the intermediary.

“If the County is the middle person for this, there may be the expectation that the County will be there with deep pockets to keep it operating,” Davis said.

Steven Meeks, President of the Albemarle County Historical Society, said his Board of Directors has discussed taking over management of the ferry, but has not formally adopted a position.

“We’re very interested in possibly managing it,” Meeks said. In a follow-up interview, Meeks said he needed to research the costs of liability insurance as well as the legalities of the transfer.  He added that he is optimistic he can put together a proposal in time for the next Board of Supervisors meeting on December 2, 2009. 

TIMELINE FOR PODCAST

• 0:57 – Public comment from E. Marshall Pryor
• 04:10 – Public comment from Steven Meeks, President of the Albemarle County Historical Society
• 7:49 – Supervisor Lindsay Dorrier suggests instituting a public-private partnership where the County could contribute matching funds
• 8:00 – Supervisor David Slutzky asks where this money will come from
• 9:31 – Dorrier says Hatton Ferry could make money back by charging fee for use
• 10:37 – Supervisor Dennis Rooker expresses budget concerns
• 11:22 – Slutzky says that he doesn’t want fees and taxes to be raised
• 12:35 – Supervisor Ken Boyd agrees with Dorrier that the money can be found somewhere in budget
• 13:13 – Boyd suggests taking money out of the ACE (Acquisition of Conservation Easements) Program to fund the ferry
• 13:30 – County Administrator Bob Tucker says that staff could attempt to identity places in the budget where funds could be cut
• 14:55 – Rooker says VA Film Festival pays off the investment from County and is interested in studying the rate of return for the ferry
• 15:45 – Dorrier wants Buckingham County and Scottsville to contribute to the ferry too
• 20:48 – Slutzky says he appreciates the efforts to keep the ferry operating, but doesn’t want to mislead the public by building hopes for something that might not happen
• 21:28 – Tucker talks about letter from VDOT which warns that the ferry would be discontinued by the end of the year
• 24:55 – Tucker says that VDOT can’t legally transfer their assets to non-profit, so County would have to act as middleman in this transfer
• 26:13 – County Attorney Larry Davis says County does not have the proper enabling authority to operate a ferry
• 31:45 – Davis says that there are no non-profits that have come forward who want to operate the ferry without financial assistance, and if the County acts as a middleman, it could create the impression that the County financially backs the ferry
• 32:21 – Supervisor Sally Thomas says that any non-profit who receives the ferry would assume full responsibility
• 33:34  - Meeks says that the Historical Society Board hasn’t formally adopted a position on whether they want the ferry
• 34:44 – Slutzky asks Meeks to get Historical Society Board to adopt a position quickly so the Board can act at their December 2^nd meeting if necessary

Supervisors accept open space for Arden Place development; Widen trail and require pedestrian connection to Woodbrook

This article is an extended version of what appears in today's Daily Progress.

By Connie Chang & Brian Wheeler
Charlottesville Tomorrow
Thursday, November 5, 2009

The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors has overruled the recommendations of its planning commission, and the wishes of many in the Woodbrook neighborhood, by requiring the developer of a luxury apartment complex to widen a proposed trail and connect it to public property.

 The 212-unit Arden Place development was approved by the planning commission in September and is located on land off of Rio Road behind the Albemarle Square Shopping Center.  Coleway Development agreed to provide open space and a trail in order to qualify for a density bonus of 25 additional residential units. 

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On Wednesday, the board accepted Coleway’s proposal, but not before making modifications.  Supervisors added requirements that a pedestrian trail be widened from 5 feet to 8 feet and be connected to a planned stormwater management project called the Woodbrook Lagoon Project. 

At the public hearing in September, many Woodbrook residents voiced opposition to a wider trail and any connection in the vicinity of their neighborhood.  No residents were present at the Wednesday morning meeting.

Some Supervisors thought the 5-foot wide pathway would be too narrow to be effective.
Supervisor Sally Thomas (Samuel Miller) noted that a pathway would need to be at least 8 feet to accommodate bicycle traffic.

“Someone’s going to be sorry if we don’t make this wide enough to make it usable,” said Thomas.

“If you want to create an access that allows people to get from this area into the commercial areas to the north and west, [then] you don’t want it to be what would be considered a narrow sidewalk,” said Dennis Rooker (Jack Jouett). “It needs to be a width people can push a carriage on easily, bicycles could go on.”

Woodbrook residents have previously lobbied against any connection from Arden Place to the nearby Woodbrook Lagoon Project.  Even a trail, they said, would diminish the safety and security of their neighborhood.

However, several Supervisors felt that blocking access to public property by the broader community was a more significant concern.

“I do have some reluctance to endorsing that a particular piece of county-owned property is really only available to one neighborhood,” said Ann Mallek. “It is public property and we are making a significant improvement to it for many good reasons.”

In an interview, former Woodbrook Association President, John Gallagher, expressed disappointment over the Board’s decision, especially in regards to the re-establishment of a connection to Woodbrook.  He said residents had made headway in a long battle to remove what was once proposed to be a vehicular connection.

“Our neighborhood has one way in and one way out and it has been that way for 40 years or so,” said Gallagher. “What this pathway does is breach our security. That pathway is going to dump people into a place without sidewalks or streetlights. [The Board] is creating a safety issue.”

Supervisor David Slutzky (Rio) reiterated the concerns he had heard from Woodbrook residents in his district.

“One of the reasons why the Woodbrook community seemed to react so strongly to that connection is that there are no public facilities other than the street for people to walk on,” said Slutzky. “They were worried about a lot of kids now walking down the streets of Woodbrook where they don’t have sidewalks.”

Andrew McGinty, developer for the Arden Place project, noted that the Board’s decision will certainly come as a surprise to the majority of Woodbrook residents.

“[The Board’s decision] was a departure from what was negotiated in the planning commission meeting,” said McGinty. “You have to sympathize somewhat with Woodbrook.”

“We worked very closely with the Woodbrook residents throughout this process trying to implement and incorporate their suggestions,” said Valerie Long, Coleway’s attorney.

Pending easement agreements and other signed documentation with Gardens Shopping Center, the proposed Arden Place development will also have vehicular access to the Carmike Theater. Although this connection will be gated and limited only to Arden Place residents, Woodbrook residents still worry over the potential for strangers to access their neighborhood.

“[The pedestrian connection] blows a hole into the commercial area, the outside world,” said Gallagher.

In an initial motion, Slutzky moved to grant the dedication of open space with the only added condition that the path be widened from 5 feet to 8 feet. After that motion failed on a 2-4 vote (Slutzky and Ken Boyd in favor), the motion was revised to include the condition that the path also connect to the Woodbrook Lagoon Project. That motion passed by a 5-1 vote with Ken Boyd (Rivanna) voting against.

In an interview after the meeting, Boyd said he supported the development, but wanted the neighborhood’s input on the changes from the board.

“I am in favor of the project as presented and agreed to by the Woodbrook neighbors,” said Boyd.  “I couldn’t vote in favor without first giving them a chance to weigh in again.”

”Hydraulic flyover” to be removed from VDOT corridor study

By Sean Tubbs & Brian Wheeler
Charlottesville Tomorrow
Tuesday, November 3, 2009

The last of three unexpected road proposals for the Charlottesville-Albemarle area included in the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) U.S. 29 corridor study will be dropped from the final report to be completed later this month.  Charlottesville City Council asked at their meeting Monday that the proposal to connect U.S. 29 to the 250 Bypass via a partially elevated roadway near the Kroger at Hydraulic Road be eliminated from consideration. 

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In October, VDOT announced it had removed both the Leonard Sandridge Road extension and the “Eastern Bypass” from the study.  All three proposals have come under criticism from local officials who said they were not consulted about them nor was there data presented to support the recommendations.

Springer displayed several conceptual drawings depicting how the flyover would evolve (Click for larger image)

This design will have the appearance of a ’mixing bowl’ type intersection which we do not believe is appropriate for our community,” reads the letter from Mayor Dave Norris, which is addressed to Butch Davies of the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB).

The letter states that 10 City businesses would be affected by the road and interchange, costing the City over $868,000 a year in taxes. Council also told Davies that it feels the real issue with congestion on U.S. 29 is the proliferation of traffic lights north of Charlottesville.

“I can assure you [the interchange] will not be in our final report unless the City chooses to support it,” said Charles Rasnick of VDOT. 

However, the project manager hired to oversee the project had the opportunity to explain the reason why the concept was under consideration. Joe Springer of the Parsons Transportation Group told Council that many of the transportation improvements recommended in Albemarle County’s Places29 Master Plan would not do enough to address congestion on U.S. 29 between Hydraulic Road and the U.S. 250 Bypass.

Springer told Council that the flyover would help open up U.S. 29 to redevelopment in the City between Hydraulic Road and the 250 Bypass (Source: VDOT)

“There is the project to add an additional lane southbound between Hydraulic Road and extending on to the Route 250 bypass on to Barracks Road,” Springer said. “We do believe that is needed but it doesn’t adequately address long-term needs.”

Instead, Springer said the alternate was suggested as a way to remove through-traffic from U.S. 29 for that stretch of highway, allowing the existing U.S. 29 to serve local traffic. He added that the project would depend on the long-term redevelopment of the area.

“We do believe that it would provide some benefits both in terms of land use and in terms of being able to downgrade the existing stretch of U.S. 29 to make it more livable and walkable,” Springer said.

Councilor Julian Taliaferro said he understood that the existing interchange of U.S. 29 and U.S. 250 is a cause of congestion, but that he was troubled by the new concept.

“The issue of the chokepoint has been created by lack of action to build a bypass and to build connector roads in this area,” Taliaferro said. “It seems to me like a rather short-sighted solution to send this through the City.”

Rasnick told Taliaferro that the concept of the new interchange would not work to help relieve congestion unless the Leonard Sandridge Road extension was also considered. However, that concept was removed in October at the request of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors.

“Our feeling was that you needed both of them to be working together,” Rasnick said.

Councilor David Brown questioned whether any business owner would be willing to take a risk to develop properties that had an elevated highway above them. Mayor Dave Norris wanted to know how the concept could be included in a draft study with absolutely no input from City officials.

A final report will be released later this month. It will then go before the CTB for approval.

Local election results

In the races covered by Charlottesville Tomorrow during 2009, the following candidates were elected tonight:

Albemarle County Board of Supervisors

• Independent Dennis Rooker (Jack Jouett)
• Republican Rodney Thomas (Rio)
• Republican Duane Snow (Samuel Miller)

Charlottesville City Council

• Democrat Dave Norris
• Democrat Kristin Szakos

Thank you to all of the candidates who participated in our interviews and candidate forums during this important local election.