Category Archives: government

Water Matters

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Councilperson Parker Agelasto is rightfully following up on citizens’ concerns about water utility billing. The Finance & Economic Development Standing Committee is meeting Thursday, July 20, 2017 at 5pm in the Council Chamber.

On the agenda, this paper:

RES. 2017-R049 To request that the Chief Administrative Officer cause the Department of Public Utilities to prepare and submit to the Council a plan to phase out Payments in Lieu of Taxes from the Department of Public Utilities over a ten year period.

Click here, here, here, here, here, and here for some background.

On anther matter, a proposed County of Chesterfield water facility in a Richmond City park, Councilperson Kristen N. Larsen supplied this update:

Update on Larus Park/Water tank issue: At my last district meeting on 6/29 I gave an update on this forthcoming legislation originally scheduled for the City Council Land Use meeting on 7/18. Because of ongoing discussions with the city administration on community concerns and the exploration of options, this legislation is being continued until the 9/19 Land Use meeting. I am still committed to holding another community meeting regarding this issue prior to it being considered by city council and will get back to the community with that information once I have updated information. Thank you to everyone who has contacted me regarding this issue.

Citizens may want to join the FaceBook group “Protect Larus Park! and all of the other city parks, for that matter” to keep abreast on this issue.

Lane Closure – 2nd Street

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From City DPW press release:

Lane Closure – 2nd Street
WHO: City of Richmond Department of Public Works

WHAT: Lane Closure

WHEN: Starting at 9 a.m. on Thursday, July 13 through 4:30 p.m. on Monday, February 4, 2019

WHERE: 2nd Street between Spring Street and Brown’s Island Way

BACKGROUND: The parking lanes on 2nd Street between Spring Street and Brown’s Island Way will be closed to re-stripe lanes to accommodate upcoming work at the Virginia War Memorial. Parking will be eliminated in that segment of the road for the duration of the project and traffic lanes will be shifted to provide construction staging space. Please use caution and follow the road signs.

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More High Speed Dreams And #Rally4Trains

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It seems like I wrote this decades ago, but it was years- The Dream of High Speed Rail.

Still, recent headlines promise and disappoint in a bewildering order.

High-speed rail meetings chugging along in Hanover

84 Amtrak passengers stranded five hours after train gets stuck on tracks in Charles City

As often as my hopes are dashed, I hope they can stay alive. To that end, join Mayor Stoney and others at the RVA #Rally4Trains this evening:

President Trump’s FY 2018 budget eliminates 48% of Virginia’s passenger rail service and we are rallying in support of improving our passenger rail network, not cutting it!

Join Virginians for High Speed Rail, Southern Environmental Law Center, and National Association of Railroad Passengers for RVA’s Rally for Trains at Main Street Station on June 28th at 5:15pm with Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney.

(You can then join Mayor Stoney at his 5th District Community Community Meeting at the Randolph Community center at 1415 Grayland Avenue at 6:30 pm (and ask him what really comes first, schools, or stadiums?).

Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association Meeting Tomorrow

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From email announcement:

Hello all

OHNA will be meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, June 27th, at 7 pm, at St. Andrew’s (In either the Parish House or the Little Chapel. Need to find out.).

And on Wednesday, June 28th, Mayor Levar Stoney, will be holding the 5th District Community Community Meeting at the Randolph Community center at 1415 Grayland Avenue.

Thanks
Jennifer

Put Schools First, Breaking Records and the Status Quo

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While some Richmonders discuss how to deal wth the past, others are acting on its future.

The Richmond Crusade for Voters (a historic black civil rights group) gathered over 6,000 signatures on primary election day, which may be a new record for petitioning on one day! The signatures are for www.PutSchoolsFirst.org, a petition for a future voter referendum to make school modernization first priority in the City budget planning. It’s important to note that this is revenue-neutral and allows for proper adjustment with City Council’s input. For the petition language, please visit the website.

In addition, The Sierra Club Falls of the James, an (almost all white) environmental group, is supporting the www.putschoolsfirst.org petition/referendum campaign, adding that school modernization should include green building and solar energy (other Virginia localities like Charlottesville and Arlington are doing it, why not Richmond?).

Despite some of the projections in the local corporate media, this school modernization effort is not ‘against’ anyone, not Mayor Stoney, not his ‘Education Compact’. It is neutral other than stating that the status quo is unacceptable.
It’s worth noting the grassroots aspect of this and it comes after many previous grassroots movements, including from Oregon Hill’s Open High School.

Right now, the Richmond Crusade for Voters is reaching out to black churches across the City, and the Sierra Club is reaching out to like minded environmental organizations. Hopefully more progressive groups will reach across racial lines and join this very important school modernization effort. To paraphrase Dr. King again, If not now, when?

Utility Message On Gas Safety

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From Richmond’s Department of Public Utilities (one of our great advertisers!):

The Natural Gas Safety Awareness Program of the city of Richmond’s Department of Public Utilities is here to educate our customers and non-customers – all those who live, work, shop, worship or play near natural gas pipelines – about natural gas safety.

Please watch this brief 17 minute video that will offer a brief history of the natural gas distribution system, and a detailed overview of the public awareness component of our overall safety program.

Harrison Street Closure Next Week

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From City press release:

For Immediate Release
June 13, 2017
For more information, contact:
Paige Hairston – (804) 646-3659

Street Closure – South Harrison Street
WHO: City of Richmond Department of Public Works

WHAT: Street Closure

WHEN: Starting at 6 a.m. on Sunday, June 18 and ending at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, June 20

WHERE: South Harrison Street between Grayland and Parkwood Avenues

BACKGROUND: The area will be closed to resurface the bridge over the Downtown Expressway. Traffic will be detoured around the work zone. Please use caution and obey the traffic signs.

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Oregon Hill and Randolph Neighborhood 5th District Cleanup

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From 5th District City Council Liaison Amy Robins:

Hi OH neighbors! Your neighborhood cleanup is this Saturday from 9am-12pm.
Jimmy Blackford is going to need 4-5 volunteers to help in the alleys with the city waste truck. He’ll be meeting you at Pleasant’s Park (Albemarle & S. Laurel).
Councilmember Parker Agelasto & I will be meeting everyone else at Idlewood & Harrison along with Randolph neighbors. (This is the official neighborhood line.) We will tackle litter pick up, graffiti removal, and I’m trying to line up some more Tree Stewards for clearance pruning.
Being the dork I am, I normally have a birthday cleanup. This year since the dates were so close together I decided to leverage the volunteers into this one event. After the cleanup (~12:15pm), we’ll be doing a quick pot luck in P. Jones Park (Idlewood & Temple) in Randolph. Bring a swim suit if you like, it’s right next to the Randolph Pool and there is a playground for the little ones too.
My wife & I will provide water, plates, napkins, condiments, hotdogs, buns, and birthday cake. If you can bring a dish, chips or whatever please do. If you can’t, don’t let that hold you back from swinging by after volunteering!
I hope to see you at some point on Saturday!
Amy

From Cherry Street neighbor Jimmy Blackford:

William Byrd Center finally mowed the grass in their overgrown lot (& the baseball field, too!). So we can keep up the momentum with this Saturday’s Oregon Hill Alley Cleanup. Can you join us at 9 am Sat. 6/17 at Pleasant’s Park? We’ll go thru the alleys with a city trash truck to gather all the discarded furniture etc. If that’s not your bag, join us anyway & we’ll give you a trash bag & grabber fior you to pick up litter in the neighborhood. We’ll meet at the park at S. Laurel St & Albemarle St.

Also, here’s the link for the FaceBook Event Page.

Chesterfield County’s Water

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Why is the Oregon Hill community news site posting about Chesterfield County’s water?

You probably still need to read this week’s Richmond Free Press. As with last week’s article on Monroe Park, reporter Jeremy Lazarus is supplying some valuable insight to how this area (dys)functions. For some mysterious reason, the following front-page article does not appear on the newspaper’s website, but here are photos of the printed version:

Please take the the time to read the second page, which includes hard-hitting quotes from former Sierra Club leader Dr. Charles Price on this attempted usurping of a public park as well as from Laurel Street neighbor Charles Pool on the City’s regressive water utility fees.

Although the Richmond Free Press article does not mention it, some neighbors are also speculating about how Chesterfield County might resell their ‘bargain’ on City water to Niagra Bottling LLC. Is City of Richmond not only forced to provide Chesterfield Co. water at a fifth the cost that Richmond customers must pay, but also subsidizing cheap water for the Niagara Bottling LLC? Are we really going to be damaging a Richmond city park to build a water facility so that Niagara Bottling Company can have cheap water?!

While Oregon Hill is not in Chesterfield County, our neighbors continue to keep an eye on local water issues and hope more media like the Richmond Free Press does the same.