Thank you for calling Charlottesville Community Engagement. To whom shall I direct your call? At least, that’s how I would answer the phone if this newsletter and podcast was an office of some sort. Yet you’re stuck with a normal installment of the program for May 10, otherwise known as National Receptionists Day.  

On today’s program:

* Albemarle County has signed on to a plan to prepare for natural disasters and other emergencies

* Changes are in the works for how  a closed-door planning group operates 

* There will some major roadway changes around the University of Virginia this summer 

* An official with the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce describes the economic impact of the defense sector 

The second Monday of May is with us and takes the name of May 8 or could also go by Day 128. There are 44 days until the solstice, the next time the world will begin to turn back toward the dark. Until then, Charlottesville Community Engagement shall continue to point out such information but cannot let it slide that this is also National Meeting Planners Appreciation Day.  Sounds appropriate.

On today’s program:

* A structure fire in Charlottesville has claimed one live 

* Republicans nominate two area candidate for state Senate

* The Virginia Association of Counties has released their legislative summary for the past year 

* Albemarle County has signed on to a regional partnership to use opioid settlement money to expand care 

* The World Health Organization declares an end to the pandemic but UVA officials warn COVID-19 is still an endemic threat 

One, two, three. As in, 123, which is the day of the year that May 3 falls upon three out of four years. Such facts may or may not be of relevance, but they seem more useful than telling you about dubious holidays such as the Great American Grump Out or National Lumpy Rug Day.  Either way, this is Charlottesville Community Engagement and I’m Sean Tubbs.

On today’s program:

* Home sales have dropped but sale prices continue to increase according to the latest information from the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors

* Early voting begins for the Democratic Primary on Friday

* The cost estimate to build a sidewalk on Stribling Avenue has increased

* Charlottesville City Council adopts an ordinance to retroactively change the now-expired “continuity of government” ordinance that allowed virtual meetings during the pandemic 

I became a writer to try to understand what was going on in my head and to process feelings that no one around me seemed to want to hear about. May 2 is Childhood Depression Awareness Day, and I’m reminded of how confusing the world seemed to be when I was younger and how much I retreated from everything. 2023 seems to be more intimidating to young people than 1983 was to me, and I’m hopeful that somehow we can all figure out how to treat each other with respect. I’m Sean Tubbs, hoping you’ll pick up a pen and start writing out your life, too. 

On today’s program:

* Charlottesville City Council returns to in-person meetings

* The city may soon have a new City Attorney 

* Several updates from interim Charlottesville City Manager Michael C. Rogers including attempts to collaborate with Albemarle County on parks projects and other areas of mutual interest

* Charlottesville votes to allocate another $1.7 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds 

For over three years, the City of Charlottesville has been engaged in a process to reform the way land use decisions are made. The Cville Plans Together initiative has resulted in an affordable housing plan as well as an updated Comprehensive Plan. This spring and summer sees continued work on a new zoning code intended to make it easier to build more housing and require more of them to be affordable. That’s one of the major topics of Charlottesville Community Engagement, and that’s the sole focus of this April 28, 2023 edition. 

On today’s show:

* The Charlottesville Planning Commission and the Charlottesville City Council met for nearly four hours on Tuesday to discuss what we know so far about the new zoning

* Public comment on the first two modules is due this Sunday

* The release of the third module has been delayed to mid-May and the release of a consolidated draft will be in late July

* Commissioners and Councilors indicated they would be willing to be open to allowing market rate units to be in new developments that seek “double density”  

* The conversation also covered what tools may be possible to stop displacement in “Sensitive Communities” 

Do you like the world to be arranged in an orderly fashion? Or do you prefer the chaos of the random? Either way, if you’re looking to increase your productivity, consider that April 26 is Get Organized Day according to several websites set up to tell us what day it is. None can tell us the origins. Yet, the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals celebrate on May 20, which is not today. But let the countdown begin. I’m Sean Tubbs. 

On today’s program:

* Albemarle County Supervisors will hold a budget public hearing tonight

* Last week, Supervisors were briefed on a $2.9 million plan to upgrade the athletic fields at Darden-Towe Park 

* The six elected officials also signaled they’ll hire another person to work on affordable housing six months earlier than expected

* Charlottesville seeks applicant for boards and commissions

* Albemarle will pay members of some boards more money for their service

* Ranked-choice voting in Albemarle County will have to wait until 2025

The 115th day of the year has arrived and we’re not quite one third of the way through 2023. That milestone will be met on the 122nd day, or a week from now. There are so many ways to divide up time, and the intent of Charlottesville Community Engagement is to inform anyone reading or listening that they too can look anew at the world each and every day. I’m Sean Tubbs. 

On today’s show:

* The head of the Piedmont Community Land Trust gives Albemarle Supervisors an update

* Those same Supervisors discuss the details of a proposed ordinance to make developers to designate a fifth of their new units as affordable 

* Supervisors are asked to provide feedback on whether developers should be able to pay into a fund rather than build those units 

* Supervisor Ned Gallaway calls for a whole different kind of work session with more stakeholder input to craft a better ordinance

What is it that you really want to do? Are you making progress toward what you want to achieve? As a member of an intelligent species, it’s always a good time to ask such questions. But I’m told by a website of dubious repute that today is Refresh Your Goals Day. Charlottesville Community Engagement has not become a self-help newsletter and podcast, but I always encourage everyone to remember they are alive. I’m Sean Tubbs. 

On today’s program: 

* Charlottesville hires a veteran of the police force in Newark, New Jersey to serve as executive director of police oversight work here

* Council holds first of two readings on allocating $835,000 for one bucket of affordable housing funds

* Charlottesville ends the COVID-19 era for local meetings

* And Council unanimously approves the award of $5 million to the city’s public housing agency for half of the purchase cost for 74 units of housing to keep it below-market

Three out of ten days that will happen this year have now already happened as we hit the 108th edition of 2023. One way to slow down time is to measure the increments as intricately as possible in the hopes of assembling them once again in the future. At this moment, there is not a new edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement to mark each rotation of the Earth, but this is the 524th installment. I’m Sean Tubbs on my Day 18,149. 

On today’s program:

* Charlottesville is on track for a $10.4 million surplus for FY23

* Campaign finance reports are in for candidates seeking office this fall 

* Democratic candidates in Albemarle County out raise their independent counterparts

* Four out of the five Democrats for three slots on the ballot in November turned in campaign finance reports

* Katrina Callsen raised the most money in the Democratic campaign for House District 54

* Amy Laufer raises more funds than Kellen Squire for House District 55, but Squire had over a thousand individual donors 

* Creigh Deeds brought in more money than Sally Hudson in Senate District 10

* A brief look at the big tax rate cut coming to the City of Lynchburg 

Welcome to the day 

It is April Seventeen

That’s the whole intro

Except, it’s not, because I can’t limit myself to 17 syllables to properly provide context. Such context is the whole goal of Charlottesville Community Engagement, a newsletter and podcast that attempts to establish a little harmonic knowledge about the chaotic world. I’m Sean Tubbs, thinking you’ve not heard the last attempt to celebrate International Haiku Poetry Day. 

On today’s program:

* Council will take a final vote tonight on a “true-up” appropriation to Charlottesville Area Transit

* The four elected officials and one appointed official will also take action on an award of $5 million to the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority to purchase 74 affordable units

* A quick summary of cases pending against Charlottesville City Council 

* The city wins a $7.1 million federal grant to replace natural gas pipes around West Main Street

* Plus two more Haiku!