Volunteers hand out birds at the We Code, Too turkey drive on Saturday. PC: Zack Wajsgras
Turkey time
Community is hard to come by these days, especially as we’re all hunkering down for a long winter indoors. But at the Jefferson School on Saturday, the community put on an impressive show. During the annual We Code, Too turkey drive, 200 birds were handed out to those in need ahead of the holiday. Some of the turkeys were contributed by retailers, and many more were purchased using money from individual donations. Cars snaked through the parking lot, as recipients remained socially distant during distribution. It’s the seventh year in a row that the drive has taken place, proving that even in difficult times, some things remain constant.
Planner says peace out
Charlottesville city government’s staffing woes continue. On November 4, the city announced that Parag Agrawal had been hired as the Director of Neighborhood Development Services. Agrawal even made an introductory appearance at a press conference the next day. But less than two weeks later, Agrawal is gone, after announcing last week that he’s taken a job as the planning director in Prince William County instead. There’s been a lot of turnover at City Hall recently, but this is a new record.
Looking on the bright side, at least the city won’t have to pay Agrawal a severance package. Mike Murphy got nine months of additional pay after spending a year as interim city manager, and former city manager Tarron Richardson got a $205,000 lump sum after less than a year and a half at the helm. Maybe it would’ve been in Agrawal’s best interest to stick around for another week or two—who knows what he might have walked away with.
After 16 months on the job, former city manager Tarron Richardson walked away with $205,000 in severance pay. PC: Eze Amos
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Quote of the week
“Quite honestly, I just don’t have the time to address every crazy thing she says. It would be a full-time job.”
—Virginia Senate Republican Mark Obenshain, when asked to respond to Republican gubernatorial candidate Amanda Chase’s latest remarks
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In brief
White House bound?
After just two years as UVA president, Jim Ryan may be moving on to the White House—at least, if Nicholas Kristof has his way. The New York Times columnist floated Ryan as a secretary of education pick for Joe Biden’s cabinet last week, praising his “strong moral compass” and more than a decade of experience in higher education. Ryan was “flattered” by the mention, but said, “My focus has been and will continue to be leading the University of Virginia.”
Durty deal
You can get anything on Craigslist—even a much-loved Charlottesville bar. Durty Nelly’s Pub is for sale, and last week the whole shebang was briefly posted on the online classified board with a price tag of $75,000. Durty Nelly’s is still open and doesn’t plan on closing, but the post suggested that the owner is looking to move on.
Pass it around
After Governor Ralph Northam’s recent announcement that he would support marijuana legalization in next year’s General Assembly session, State Delegate Lee Carter proposed that money generated from pot sales be spent on reparations for Black and Indigenous Virginians. It’s “a moral commitment our history demands of us and a necessary first step in Virginia,” Carter wrote in a press release.
Bottom lines up
It’ll come as no surprise that one business in particular is thriving during the pandemic: Virginia ABC stores have reported record sales through the last few months, turning in $22 million more in revenue in October 2020 than during October 2019. Usually, restaurants make up roughly 20 percent of the ABC stores’ businesses, but the liquor shops are having no trouble making ends meet even with that flow interrupted.
Green light: Climate protesters seek ‘radical action’
The protesters chanted a straightforward call and response as they marched on the Downtown Mall:
“What do we want?”
“Climate justice!”
“When do we want it?”
“Now!”
Drums, tambourines, and mandolins accompanied the chants. The group held handmade signs with slogans ranging from “No Pipeline” to “That awkward moment when you burn your planet.”
The Sunrise Movement, a national environmental advocacy group, organized the December 6 march in hopes of maintaining momentum from September’s massive, worldwide climate strikes. Two dozen marchers began at UVA’s Rotunda and ended at the free speech wall, where 70 or so people gathered to listen to a series of speakers.
“The time is not 12 years from now, 30 years from now,” said Jack Mills, a UVA student and hub organizer for the Sunrise Movement. “We’re going to demand radical action.”
Delegate-elect Sally Hudson urged the protesters to turn their attention to Richmond, telling the crowd that the new Democratic majority makes climate progress “possible, but by no means guaranteed.”
“I want to see you there with me,” Hudson said. “The voices that get heard are the ones that sing together.”
The organizers collected signatures on a petition to submit to City Council, demanding transparency as the city works towards its stated goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.
Twelve-year-old climate activist Gudrun Campbell spoke last, saying that Governor Ralph Northam’s poor climate record was the reason she wasn’t “in sixth period right now.” Northam has come under fire for owning stock in Dominion Energy, the company behind the controversial Atlantic Coast Pipeline, and appointing a former Dominion executive as his communications chief.
“We need to hold our leaders accountable,” Campbell said.
Charlottesville’s Green Grannies, an aptly-named musical group of elderly activists, closed the program with a song, and the crowd joined in: “We need to build a better future and we need to start right now.”
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Quote of the week
“It’s disappointing that a university with a $9.6 billion endowment—and $2 billion reserve fund that’s larger than the state’s rainy day fund—still feels the need to squeeze hardworking students and families.” —Stacie Gordon, Partners for College Affordability and Public Trust’s state advocacy manager, on UVA raising tuition 3.6 percent
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In brief
Gun-loving
With a new Democratic state legislature promising stricter gun control, more than 40 Virginia counties have declared themselves gun-friendly “Second Amendment sanctuaries.” (The resolutions aren’t legally binding.) The map highlights in red the counties that have adopted these measures, including Orange, Louisa, and Augusta.
Public parks, private security
Weeks after an unauthorized camera and what appeared to be a homemade booby trap were found by the Jackson statue, UVA prof and activist Jalane Schmidt and others were confronted by men claiming to be “security” or undercover cops in the Market Street and Court Square parks. About three dozen people joined Schmidt Monday night at a short-notice monuments tour and learned about their rights in public spaces from a National Lawyers Guild member. Schmidt says the faux cops create a confusing and dangerous situation.
Mike Murphy. Photo: Eze Amos
No work, all pay
Deputy City Manager Mike Murphy has bid the City Council offices adieu—but you wouldn’t know it from looking at his pay stubs. Murphy, who previously served as interim city manager and earned $158,000 annually, retired on December 6, but will continue to be paid through October 2020. “My time with the City of Charlottesville has been more rewarding than I could have ever imagined,” Murphy told NBC29.
Beer necessities
Champion Brewery’s plan to convert an abandoned church on Earlysville Road into a beer garden has drawn pushback from nearby homeowners and environmental groups. Hunter Smith, Champion’s owner, wants to offer a “cool family-friendly outdoor experience,” reports the Daily Progress, but local advocacy organizations like the Ivy Creek Foundation have warned against the “dangerous and destructive impact” that the brewery could have on wildlife and waterways.
(Not) getting on board
The Police Civilian Review Board has been years in the making, but the city received only 14 applications for its 8 spots on the board. The applicants range from a longtime community activist to a U.S. Navy veteran, according to The Daily Progress, and include two of the losing candidates from last month’s election, Bellamy Brown and Elliot Harding. Bylaws stipulate that three members must be from a historically-disadvantaged community (or live in public housing), and one must represent a racial or social justice organization. Council will interview the candidates in a closed session before its December 16 meeting.
MyCville allows users to identify the location of a problem using a map, attach a photo, and write a description with any pertinent information.
A common gripe in Charlottesville among residents and city officials alike is how long it takes local government to get things done. But keeping track of complaints isn’t easy: Deputy City Manager Mike Murphy says the city receives so many emails that it can take a while to review them, and sometimes officials miss them altogether. That can make it tricky to resolve these issues, especially when there’s no database to manage service requests submitted by phone, email, or in person.
Enter the MyCville app. When it comes to small-scale issues, MyCville, the city’s web portal and mobile app, may be the most efficient way residents can alert local government to problems—though so far, a large percentage of complaints have been logged by city officials themselves.
The city manager’s office launched the app in April 2018 and has since fielded 2,131 requests. However, at a Charlottesville City Council retreat July 31, Murphy reported that 41 percent of those were submitted by city officials for residents who reached out with an issue some other way.
City spokesman Brian Wheeler says the quickest way to have an issue resolved is by contacting the department that directly handles the problem. But it’s not always clear which department is responsible for a particular issue. This can result in residents being bounced around between departments before they find the right people.
With the MyCville app, “you don’t have to worry about what department needs to handle that problem,” Wheeler says. The submission form, which is available on both smart phones and a web browser, includes a list of common requests users can choose from, such as snow removal or trash pickup, as well as a general question field in case a particular issue doesn’t appear on the list. Requests are then automatically routed to the appropriate department. And, unlike a request made by phone or email, users can track the progress of their submissions.
According to Murphy, three particular issues have made up 42 percent of all submissions: overgrown landscape (412), litter (248), and dead animals (227). A whopping 81 percent of requests have been handled by either the Department of Public Works or Neighborhood Development Services.
Local activist Kevin Cox frequently contacts the city government about issues pertaining to sidewalk usability and landscape maintenance. He prefers to reach out to Charlottesville officials through phone or email and doesn’t find MyCville to be user-friendly.
“I’m not impressed,” Cox says. “It’s a little unwieldy, too much information…I’d like to see the city take care of things on their end before working on new ways to get the citizens involved.”
Cox notes, however, that his wife used the app to report a dead deer in the road and the city’s response was “very prompt.” He says the idea is encouraging, but doesn’t want city officials depending on resident requests for action to be taken.
The city decided to develop the app as a cost-efficient alternative to a 3-1-1 customer service center, which would’ve required a paid staff to field calls, and funding to keep the service up and running. Murphy says the city manager’s office looked into creating such a center twice over the last seven years, but both times the idea failed to gain momentum. He doesn’t dismiss revisiting the topic again.
For now, the biggest issue may be getting residents to use the app—or even realize it exists. MyCville only has two ratings on Apple’s App Store. The city says it plans to add more items to the request list, to make it more versatile.
Wheeler acknowledges that not everybody has access to a phone or computer, so the city still keeps other avenues open for residents to use in order to have their voices heard. But for “issues of concern in the community,” he says the city will solve problems most efficiently when the relevant department is made aware directly—starting with MyCville.
Chief RaShall Brackney held a press conference to announces changes she’s made to the department. Photo by Eze Amos
When Charlottesville Police Chief RaShall Brackney took her oath in June, she was sworn in to a position already highly scrutinized by citizens of a town where many are wary of the cops. Perhaps the thing locals wanted most in a new chief was transparency, and Brackney says she has spent the past nine months trying to give it to them.
Since September, Brackney has provided stop-and-frisk data in a monthly PowerPoint posted to the city’s website. And on March 8, she held a media-only press conference to announce that the police department would immediately turn over results of an internal affairs report on complaints made against officers, and make already public arrest data available online for anyone to peruse.
She also provided a 2018 report on use of force, which showed only one instance of deadly force, when a suspect shot an officer in September 2018, and the cop returned fire, killing him.
Incidents of physical force, without weapons, were more frequent, with 20 occassions including 10 takedowns, four hands-on encounters, and one knee strike.
Making the data easily available to community members is part of Brackney’s plan to restore the reputation of the CPD and regain trust, she said.
“I really believe that this meets the community’s call for transparency,” added Interim City Manager Mike Murphy at the press conference.
But the online arrest records won’t include race, an omission that local attorney Jeff Fogel called disappointing.
“The disparity between white and black arrests is what the primary issue is, and this won’t help,” says Fogel. “The department has that information but is not providing it.”
Brackney didn’t address why.
So far, nothing the CPD has produced isn’t already public information, though it’s now easier to find, says Fogel. And, he adds, the department and city manager refuse to answer why they won’t provide certain data, such as the details of detentions (without names).
“That is the true test of transparency, that which the law does not require to be public,” says Fogel, who for years has called for cops to turn over stop-and-frisk records. His earlier demands for data resulted in the release of a 2017 report that showed approximately 73 percent of city stop and frisks involved African Americans.
Friday’s meeting, which was pushed back an hour and a half, started with a few remarks from Murphy and ended with a tame Q&A with the chief—in stark contrast to an October press conference she held outside the CPD, which was open to the public and became increasingly tense as it proceeded. That one came to a close after a couple of heated exchanges between the chief and attending activists.
Since then, a member of the Police Civilian Review Board accused Brackney of verbally attacking her, which led to a February protest outside the police station with demonstrators carrying signs that read, “Chief Brackney assaulted Katrina Turner.”
Brackney has faced severe understaffing at the department this year, and she’s listed pay, lack of take-home police cars, and the attitude of the community and of the Civilian Review Board as factors in the wholesale departure of officers. But Albemarle Sheriff Chip Harding said he’d heard complaints from cops about Brackney’s leadership, and he suggested an outside consultant do an assessment—a suggestion rebuffed by Murphy.
At the press conference, Murphy said he’s been impressed with her other accomplishments over the past nine months, such as making new assignments for officers, reviewing and changing policies, and creating a new command structure.
The new structure includes four divisions: field operations, administration, support operations, and investigations, and according to Brackney, it has allowed her to shift several of her lieutenants into different roles, eliminating assignments that kept officers cooped up at the headquarters during their shifts.
Brackney said the CPD is actively drafting potential members with a new recruitment video. There are still approximately 20 vacancies, compared to 25 at the peak of what she once called the “mass exodus.”
When asked about the current morale of those on the force, she seemed to dodge the question. Said Brackney, “When we talk about morale, it’s really just a very subjective kind of viewpoint.”
Cop complaints
Community members have also called for the Charlottesville Police Department to release a report of internal affairs investigations, or findings from cases in which people complained about their interactions with officers for issues including racial profiling, police corruption, rudeness, and unreasonable force.
Chief RaShall Brackney made these results available at the March 8 press conference, and out of approximately 40 reported allegations in 2018 (including at least five internal investigations with undisclosed results), only four complaints have so far been sustained—for inappropriate language, a traffic law violation, rudeness, and inadequate performance of duties.
On the first of the month, UVA students rallied outside of the Rotunda, where the Board of Visitors was set to discuss living wage for university employees. While it’s currently $13.79, students would like to see it set at $16, and demanded so by slapping their hands against Rotunda windows until one broke.
Gone wrong
Xavier Murphy, 24, was sentenced February 26 to 13 years and 8 months for voluntary manslaughter in the shooting of Tatiana Wells, his girlfriend and mother of his child, last June in the Days Inn. Murphy is the cousin of Alexis Murphy, who was murdered in 2013, and his mother is an advocate against domestic abuse.
Alleged molester pleads
Former Albemarle school psychologist Richard Sidebottom, 74, pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual battery of a child under 14 and indecent liberties involving girls aged 4 and 11. According to the Daily Progress, a 2009 allegation was not prosecuted, but the case was revived in 2018 with another report that included Sidebottom wearing shorts that exposed his genitals and masturbating nude in front of the windows in his home.
Where’s he going?
Ryan Jones
Rick Shannon, UVA Health System’s executive vice president of six years, announced March 4 that he’s stepping down in May. Shannon and President Jim Ryan didn’t allude to any future plans for the hospital’s head honcho, and neither did a UVA spokesperson, but Shannon did say this: “The time has come for new leadership to guide this great organization into the future.”
To the landfill
If you’ve been recycling your No. 3 through No. 7 plastics, like sandwich bags, PVC pipe, and styrofoam, you won’t be for long—and they’ve likely already ended up in a Raleigh, North Carolina dump, according to Charlottesville Tomorrow. The Rivanna Solid Waste Authority voted last week to stop accepting those materials, effective July 1, because the Chinese market for them is closed.
Quote of the week
“Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son Otto. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity. No excuse or lavish praise can change that.”—Fred and Cindy Warmbier, on the president’s recent statement that he believes the North Korean dictator didn’t know about the treatment of their son, UVA student Otto Warmbier
City budget breakdown
It’s that time of the year again, when the city manager—or interim city manager in this case—proposes his budget for the next fiscal year. This time, Mike Murphy is requesting $189 million for 2020, a 5 percent increase over the current year’s adopted budget.
The increase in meals tax from 5 to 6 percent has some folks in the restaurant industry reeling, out of fear that lower- and middle-income people will be priced out
of feasting on their fare.
Murphy says a meals tax is less of a burden on local residents than a real estate tax, pointing out that a significant percentage
of restaurant meals—the city estimates 35 percent or more—are paid for by tourists.
The proposed budget keeps the city’s real estate tax rate at 95 cents per 100 dollars of assessed value, but it’s been advertised as two cents higher to give City Council some flexibility as it reviews the budget proposal before its April adoption. Though it may soundlike pocket change, the additional two pennies would add up to $1.6 million, says Murphy.
Here’s a bit more of the budget breakdown:
• A lodging, or transient occupancy, tax on hotels, bed and breakfasts, and other short-term rentals, increased from 7 to 8 percent.
• Just over $10 million is proposed to go toward affordable housing, with an additional $33 million or so in the five-year capital program reserved for several initiatives, including improvements at Friendship Court.
• The budget asks for funding for three new jobs:
A centralized safety coordinator within the office of risk management, who would make $43,020, and serve as a staff member to guide policy and practice on things such as emergency preparedness and event planning. Says Murphy, “There are a lot of different ways that safety and security need to continue to be addressed…but we do need somebody to spearhead those efforts.”
A $132,729 security manager at the police department, who would make the city’s security plans, policies, and infrastructure.
A support services manager in Neighborhood Development Services for $56,670, because Murphy says assistant director Missy Creasy has her hands full, and a new position would help spread out her work.
• City schools will be allocated an extra $3.37 million, the largest increase in over a decade, to total $88 million. The city’s capital improvement program will also give about $6 million to schools.
John Hall has run for City Council before. He’s also been banned from City Hall back in the early aughts because of behavior that caused then-city manager Gary O’Connell concern, such as showing up at City Council wrapped in foil, according to former councilor Rob Schilling.
Hall plans to launch another run for council February 1, but he’s run into a problem with the city again after asking an artist to paint a portrait of Heather Heyer and Susan Bro to hang in council chambers—and telling her the city would pay for the painting, he said in an email he shared with C-VILLE Weekly.
Interim City Manager Mike Murphy said it was “highly inappropriate” for Hall to imply to artist Kelly Oakes that he had the authority to commission a painting and Murphy asked him to cease doing so in an email to Hall. “If you continue to portray yourself in person or in writing as an agent of the City Council authorized to expend city funds, I will refer your actions to the commonwealth’s attorney for possible prosecution pursuant to the Virginia Governmental Frauds Act,” says Murphy.
Oakes, who now lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, says that when Hall sent her the request, “I kind of knew it wasn’t true.” She says she painted Hall for a show she did about a year ago when she was doing portraits of people who were clients of the Haven. “A lot of people are ignored because they’re mentally ill,” she says. “I knew he had no right to do that, but I knew his heart was in the right place.”
C-VILLE was not able to immediately reach Hall. In 2017, he told this reporter he’d been diagnosed as bipolar.
And in another development, Hall planned to announce his run for council February 1 with a rally and ringing of a Liberty Bell replica at the Ridge Street fire station, followed by a post-rally reception at the Omni, according to an email he sent to local media.
Scott Morgan, associate director of sales at the Omni, replies that “under no circumstances” did he agree to host a reception at the Omni, and writes in bold, “Again, the Omni is not a location for any rally or post reception on February 1st.”
At Hall’s rally at the fire station, he addressed the situation, and said he would not be having his follow-up event at the Omni. “Some things are said verbally, and then when the pressure’s put on, they back down,” he said.
He also addressed the portrait of Heyer and Bro that he wants to commission, and said if he is elected, and he is able to commission it, taxpayers will pay for it.
And he shared some other plans for if he’s elected. He wants to encourage local students to study trades at CATEC, improve infrastructure, and replace a “dangerous gas line” near The Corner. In an earlier interview with C-VILLE, he said he’d like to replace the trees on the Downtown Mall with dogwoods, which wouldn’t hold as much ice and snow, because if someone were to walk under the existing trees as ice was falling, they “could be killed,” Hall said.
At his rally, which he said promoted “peace, togetherness, and union,” he rang the Liberty Bell replica once in honor of the First Amendment. And he ended his speech with a quote he attributed to Jimi Hendrix: “When the power of love overcomes the power of hate, the world will know peace.”
The Charlottesville Fire Department referred a call asking if its station was hosting Hall’s rally to city spokesman Brian Wheeler, who provides a January 25 letter from Murphy to Hall, in which Murphy denied Hall’s request to hold a rally there because the fire station property is not available for use by the general public. Wheeler notes that there is a public sidewalk in the area.
Updated 10:43am with the Omni response.
Updated 11:40am with the city’s response about using the fire station for campaign rallies.
Updated 1:30pm February 1 with information from Hall’s campaign announcement.
The latest iteration of a rebranding campaign to draw visitors to the area was better received than an earlier one, but its use of “C’villeization” still makes some local officials squeamish.
Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau
The word “civility” has become a bad word among some Charlottesvillians. Now a proposed tourism ad campaign touting “C’villeization” as a play on the C’ville nickname is also drawing fire.
Chapel Hill-based ad company Clean presented mock-ups of its “Welcome to C’villeization” rebranding campaign at a December 20 tourism board meeting. The ads feature images of attractive people eating local food, having a good time, and, in one, clinking wine glasses with the text, “C’villeization welcomes spitting. In the right context.”
Mayor Nikuyah Walker, who is not on the tourism board, is not a fan. She posted on Facebook, “This makes me so sad. This logo is unacceptable. Be Better! Do Better!” Walker did not respond to a request from C-VILLE for comment.
Supervisor Ann Mallek, a county representative on the board, says, “I’m not a tourism expert. I do know what stuck up and arrogant look like.”
And by “stuck up” and “arrogant,” she means “anybody who claims to be the center of civilization.”
At an October meeting, Clean learned that civility was not going to fly. At the December meeting, Interim City Manager Mike Murphy was wary of “C’villeization” and “C’villeized,” as well. “It’s still too close for me,” he said.
Councilor Kathy Galvin said, “C’villeization is a problem.”
And Councilor Mike Signer, the city’s alternate member, liked going with “C’ville” sans the play on civilization.
Despite those reactions, Adam Healey, the visitors bureau interim director, said the C’villeization campaign had gotten “highly positive” feedback. He proposed it for an ad campaign targeting 25- to 44-year-olds, dubbed “refined roamers,” in the Washington, D.C., and Research Triangle Park area in North Carolina. “The goal is to increase short getaways,” he said.
After Walker’s Facebook post, which Healey says he hasn’t seen, he says, “We have to understand our objective. We’re trying to draw visitors. We’re not on a social mission. We’re on an economic mission.”
Albemarle Economic Development Director Roger Johnson, who was elected chair of the reconfigured tourism executive board, says the C’villeization presentation “was definitely better received than the initial one.”
The visitors bureau board has gone through major turnover the past year, and will now include two elected officials from the city and county on its executive board.
That change was spearheaded by Mallek, who says, “For 11 years I was concerned the county was not getting the service it deserved for its million dollars.” Before, the county sent a staff member, who was one of 11 board members and was consistently in the minority when the county’s wish list was voted on, according to Mallek.
Those at the December 21 meeting approved a 14-member board, with two elected officials each from Albemarle and Charlottesville, four city and county administrators, a UVA vice president, reps from the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which owns Monticello, and the Chamber of Commerce, two tourism industry members, and one representative from the arts community.
The size of the board drew some concerns. Signer favored a “nimble” decision-making group like the seven-member Rivanna Water & Sewer Authority Board. And Johnson said, “The larger we make this group, the harder it is to make decisions.”
Both the government officials and tourism representatives wanted more people with expertise from the tourism industry on the board.
The Board of Supervisors and City Council will vote on the changes to the board in January. As for the ad campaign, that will come back to the tourism board. Says Healey, “We’re going to incorporate feedback.”
Councilors Wes Bellamy, Kathy Galvin, Heather Hill, and Nikuyah Walker have to figure out how to fund the city’s affordable housing goals. Staff photo
By Melissa Moody
This is a story about numbers.
The number of families currently served by public housing and rental assistance vouchers: 826. The number of people on the waitlist for public housing or assistance: 1,866. The number of units Charlottesville needs to serve low-income residents: 3,975—or 20 percent of the city’s housing supply—in a city where 54 percent of the households qualify as low-income, very low-income, or extremely low-income.
And now there is a new number—$50 million.
That’s the amount of a bond the Charlottesville Low-Income Housing Coalition requested for affordable housing redevelopment and improvement that was discussed at a City Council capital improvement program budget work session September 6.
“At this point, housing for low-income residents within the city, outside of subsidized units, is pretty much non-existent,” said neighborhood planner Brian Haluska. “The rental vacancy rate in the city is 1.7 percent, while a healthy vacancy rate is around 5 percent.
“It’s hard to see a path forward using just market forces to provide additional housing for low-income residents.”
City Manager Mike Murphy and city staff briefed councilors on existing projects, unfunded improvements and new projects, and deferred maintenance for the city to be included in the CIP plan for the next five years. Increased funding for new affordable housing initiatives was a major focus of the session, as was expansion and modernization of city schools, both of which would cause substantial increases in the city’s budget over the next five years.
City staff briefed councilors on the current budget, including $131 million of debt that is paid by taxes and utility revenue, and the city’s policy of maintaining a 9 percent debt service to operating expense ratio, with a ceiling of 10 percent. According to staff, an increase in the city’s debt to fund new affordable housing initiatives would increase the debt service ratio or need to be backed by an increase in revenue streams.
But the issue also is a story about people and the repercussions of a history that echo across generations—from the work of enslaved people at the University of Virginia 200 years ago to the displacement and destruction of Vinegar Hill just 50 years in the past.
“Affordable housing is an issue of our city’s values,” said Elaine Poon, managing attorney of the Charlottesville office of the Legal Aid and Justice Center. “The city—the residents, the developers and those who need affordable housing—know that the history of systemic and institutional racism in Charlottesville and the country are directly linked to affordable housing needs today.”
The low-income housing coalition’s goals, aligned with those of the Public Housing Association of Residents, are that the city: prioritize extremely low-income housing; increase funding for the Redevelopment and Housing Authority, including issuing the first $50-million bond; earmark revenue for CRHA so that it has a stable source of income; increase funding for the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund to support nonprofit developers of affordable housing by at least four-fold; upzone areas of high opportunity for affordable housing; purchase and dedicate land for CRHA and nonprofit developers; and collaborate with major players in the area to develop workforce housing.
Murphy emphasized the need for council to prioritize projects to meet its goals—particularly in light of the fact that some of the goals exceed the current budget. Mayor Nikuyah Walker and councilors Wes Bellamy, Kathy Galvin, and Heather Hill agreed on the need to plan the budget strategically, to specifically address major projects like affordable housing and school modernization and expansion through more work sessions devoted to those topics in particular, and to bring in internal and external partners for input.
The cost to meaningfully address affordable housing redevelopment and maintenance and school expansion and modernization each exceed the current five-year CIP budget, Hill said. “Working with CRHA, Charlottesville City Schools, and other stakeholders to flesh out the actual costs and required timelines is critical to setting priorities.”
Community contributions to these conversations are also vital, according to council members.
Bellamy noted the importance of continuing discussions about how to fund affordable housing redevelopment and maintenance. “I think we at the very minimum, because of the history of our community and things that have transpired, we owe that much to our public housing residents.”
Council is planning to meet with housing representatives by late November. The budget discussions will continue across departments and come back to City Council in March 2019.
Former Charlottesville Police Chief Al Thomas and current Chief RaShall Brackney. Former Virginia State Police Superintendent Steve Flaherty and current Superintendent Gary Settle. Former UVA President Teresa Sullivan and current President Jim Ryan. Former UVA Police Department Chief Michael Gibson and new Chief Tommye Sutton. Former Mayor Mike Signer and current Mayor Nikuyah Walker. Former City Manager Maurice Jones and current Interim City Manager Mike Murphy.
It was an unprecedented year for the city, but also one in which we saw a major shift among people in positions of power. Some heads rolled, some quietly retired, and the list of local leaders is almost unrecognizable from this time last summer.
Charlottesville Police Chief Al Thomas abruptly resigned in December, making way for Chief RaShall Brackney, who took her oath in June. Thomas wasn’t the most popular guy in town after Tim Heaphy released his independent review of the summer of hate, which alleged that Thomas deleted texts, used a personal email to skirt FOIA, and told law enforcement when white supremacists and counterprotesters went to war in the streets to “let them fight a little,” because it would make it easier to declare an unlawful assembly.
That wasn’t the only law enforcement shake-up. After nearly 15 years as Virginia State Police superintendent, Colonel Steve Flaherty retired in December, and was succeeded by Lieutenant Colonel Gary Settle. At the University of Virginia, Police Chief Michael Gibson also retired this summer, and new Chief Tommye Sutton was sworn in August 1, the same day as new UVA President Jim Ryan.
Ryan took the reins from Teresa Sullivan, who was highly criticized for having prior knowledge that white supremacists planned to march across Grounds last August 11, not warning students, and initially denying that she was privy to any of it. She had plans to leave before last summer, and on her way out, Ryan said he admires that she stayed focused on what really mattered to the university. “These were turbulent times and I think she demonstrated remarkable courage,” he said. Nevertheless, the Beta Bridge was decorated with the words, “Nazis love T. Sully” as she left.
The university also appointed Gloria Graham as its first-ever vice president of safety and security after emboldened neo-Nazis in white polos and khakis encircled and beat several students with their torches.
Poor planning for the weekend of the Unite the Right rally also fell on the head of City Manager Maurice Jones, and City Council decided not to renew his contract on May 25. Jones took a job as town manager for Chapel Hill, and in came former assistant city manager Mike Murphy, who will serve in the interim—but not without a fight from Mayor Nikuyah Walker, who challenged the first person offered the job.
Walker wasn’t mayor, or even on City Council, last summer. She replaced then-mayor Mike Signer, whose leadership came under fire when it emerged that he threatened to fire Jones and Thomas during the height of the August 12 violence. He was also suspected of leaking emails and was publicly reprimanded by his fellow councilors. Vice-Mayor Heather Hill also joined the ranks in the November council election—Kristin Szakos did not run for re-election and Bob Fenwick got the boot in the June primary.
City Attorney Craig Brown said goodbye, and was replaced by John Blair, who most recently served as deputy county attorney in Albemarle.
And last but not least, city spokesperson Miriam Dickler stepped down as Charlottesville’s director of communications in January, and former Charlottesville Tomorrow executive director Brian Wheeler filled her shoes.
City police Chief RaShall Brackney promises a robust police presence but people will still be able to exercise their First, Second and Fourth amendment rights.
staff photo
During the weekend of August 10-12, the anniversary of last summer’s violent and fatal clashes, the city will be on lockdown—and Governor Ralph Northam has already declared a proactive state of emergency.
At an August 8 press conference attended by more than a dozen law enforcement and public safety officials, city spokesman Brian Wheeler said pedestrian access to the Downtown Mall will be restricted to two points on Water Street: First and Second Street SE.
Inside the mall security area, poles, glass bottles, pepper spray and other items used in last year’s hand-to-hand combat are prohibited—but Virginia state law makes it okay to carry firearms. Chief RaShall Brackney said another constitutional right—the Fourth Amendment—will be in force and visitors to the mall will not be searched before going to buy gelato.
Virginia State Police Colonel Gary Settles said he will have more than 700 officers in town “fully prepared to act” in the event of any violence of violations of the law. And Wheeler puts the total number of cops at over 1,000.
Interim City Manager Mike Murphy had previously announced additional measures that will affect many people in the downtown Charlottesville area during the Unite the Right anniversary weekend, including closing city parks and pools, relocating City Market, and an early closing of City Hall.
The city had already planned to close streets in the immediate downtown area. Now parking will be restricted on additional streets around Friendship Court and the western portion of McIntire Park will be blocked to traffic, and the closures will begin at 6pm Friday, August 10, and have been extended to 6am Monday, August 13.
“We understand that the city and the task fowarce are concerned with safety, however, does closing down the city out of an abundance of caution play right into the hands of the Nazis and this negative anniversary?” asks Janet Dob, a longtime City Market vendor.
She and Cynthia Viejo, the Bageladies, have had a booth at the market for more than a decade, and Dob says downtown businesses are still reeling from last summer. “Revenues were down, not just on that weekend, but longer-term, and a year later when there seems to be little recovery, we’re all hit again.”
“Nobody puts Baby in a corner,” says Viejo, quoting Patrick Swayze. Adds Dob, “That’s exactly what the city is doing—putting all of downtown in a corner and not allowing its goodness to shine.”
Adds Priya Mahadevan, who operates the Desi Dosa stall at City Market, “While I understand that they are trying to keep us safe, closing down businesses means thousands of dollars in losses for all the market vendors. Basically disrupting business is the police’s way of telling us they are incapable of ensuring the safety of people who are trying to do their work and earn a livelihood.”
After the city announced that City Market will be closed Saturday, August 11, vendors who don’t want to lose business have decided to take their booths to Ix Art Park that day. Priya Mahadevan says her Desi Dosa stall will be there. Photo by Martyn Kyle
City Market vendors have agreed to hold the market at Ix Art Park instead.
Rapture owner Mike Rodi says the street closures are “a terrible thing for Downtown Mall businesses.” But he also points out, “If we put an end to this that weekend and on Monday morning have no images to haunt us, if we pause on the anniversary, nothing happens, and there’s no will for a 2019 repeat, that benefits us.”
According to Rodi, “A lot of the business community feels it’s overkill in compensation of last year.”
A year ago, white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and counterprotesters clashed in the streets without police intervention. Heather Heyer was killed when a car plowed into a crowd on Fourth Street and two Virginia State Police pilots died in a helicopter crash. VSP have said they’ll be in town in various uniforms all week.
Rodi says he’s “disgusted” by the Virginia General Assembly, which refused to add Charlottesville to a list of cities where open carry of guns is prohibited. “While you can’t bring an aerosol can or pocket knife into a restricted area, you can bring an AR15,” he says.
“I don’t see how [the city] can do anything else,” he says of the restrictions. “If anyone gets hurt, it’s blood on the city’s hands.”
Some of the recently announced closures conflict with events on a city website called #ResilientCville, which also has a calendar. It lists a nonviolent action workshop for August 11 at Carver Recreation Center, which is now closed for the weekend.
Murphy said at the August 6 City Council meeting that the city would not be able to provide security at its parks and pools, and that it would be unable to staff some of its parks because of the number of employees who said they won’t be coming in.
And while Sprint Pavilion general manager Kirby Hutto initially said Fridays After Five would proceed, he announced August 7 that the weekly event is also canceled.
Several downtown businesses have banded together to stay open this weekend, and on Monday, August 13, when some, such as Tastings, are usually closed. A few will offer specials to encourage business—Livery Stable will have a 5-7pm happy hour all weekend, and Iron Paffles & Coffee will sell all paffles for $6. Water Street Parking Garage will also be open. (Scroll to the bottom of the story for more information.
The University of Virginia, which endured the horrifying spectacle of torch-carrying neo-Nazis marching through Grounds last year on August 11, announced plans to restrict access over the weekend to the Lawn (except for residents and attendees of a ticketed event August 11) and to the plaza on the north side of the Rotunda, where a small group of counterprotesters were surrounded by white supremacists at the statue of university founder Thomas Jefferson. Staff erected barricades six feet around the Jefferson statue August 6, but UVA Students United have planned a rally at the Rotunda’s north plaza from 7 to 9pm August 11. The group’s Facebook page says students met with Gloria Graham, vice president of security and safety, who said there will still be access to most of the plaza. University spokesperson Anthony de Bruyn confirms that access limitations only extend to part of the plaza.
The weekend ahead
Though it’s unclear whether there will be any white supremacist demonstrations in town this weekend, here’s what’s on
Charlottesville’s calendar, and a link to all city closures:
Wednesday, August 8
Charlottesville Clergy Collective prayer session at Market Street Park. 6 to 6:30am. Noon to 12:30pm.
Lawyers’ panel on free speech and anti-racism at Jefferson School African American Heritage Center. 7 to 8:30pm.
Thursday, August 9
Charlottesville Clergy Collective prayer session at Market Street Park. 6 to 6:30am. Noon to 12:30pm.
Interfaith worship service: Making Our Way Together at The Haven. 7 to 8pm.
Friday, August 10
Charlottesville Clergy Collective prayer session at Market Street Park. 6 to 6:30am. Noon to 12:30pm.
Shabbat service at Congregation Beth Israel. 6:15pm.
Saturday, August 11
The Hope That Summons Us: A Morning of Reflection and Renewalat UVA’s Old Cabell Hall. Ticketed event with clear bag policy. 9am.
Congregate Charlottesville: A Service for Repair at First Presbyterian Church. 3pm.
VA Students Act Against White Supremacy: Rally for Justice at the Rotunda. 7pm.
Sunday, August 12
Community sing-out to celebrate harmony and diversity at Ix Art Park. 4 to 6pm.
NAACP’s Time for Reflections and Healing forum at Zion Union Baptist Church. 4 to 6pm.
Better Together: Lament, Repent, Rejoice at the Sprint Pavilion. 6 to 8pm.
Open doors
Some businesses that have pledged to stay open this weekend and on Monday, August 13 are: Baggby’s, Brasserie Saison, Champion Brewery, Cinema Taco, Citizen Bowl Shop, Citizen Burger Bar, Common House, Grit Coffee, Himalayan Fusion, Iron Paffles & Coffee, LWs Livery Stable, Mudhouse, Rapture, Splendora’s Gelato, Tastings of Charlottesville, Tea Bazaar, Ten, The Juice Place, The Nook, The Pie Chest, and The Tin Whistle Irish Pub
Updated 4:40pm August 8 with latest press briefing.
Updated 8:53am August 9 with a link to city closures and a correction on which streets will be blocked.
