Tag Archives: Monroe Park

Who Will Be Richmond’s Next Mayor?

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With a lot of voting already underway, many Richmonders are confronting the reality that they still don’t know who to vote for Mayor.

Sadly, as with the last Mayoral election, the corporate media is trying to paint the election as being between two headline candidates, incumbent Mayor Stoney vs. challenger City Councilperson Gray, and a litmus test on Stoney’s tenure.

But for many Richmond citizens, its not nearly so cut and dried. Many find the frontrunners in both the Mayoral and Presidential elections to be extremely unpalatable, and it has not been unexpected in that regard (and I can’t help but wonder how different these elections would be with needed reforms like ranked choice/instant runoff voting). For Oregon Hill residents, questions still zero in on what ALL the candidates can and will do for THIS neighborhood.

For example, both Stoney and Gray have failed to act on the Monroe Park debacle, which is a fiscal and environmental disaster under the private ‘Conservancy’. The Sierra Club Falls of the James recently endorsed Alexsis Rodgers, based on some sort of green promise. But it is not very well defined and says nothing about Monroe Park, Richmond’s most historic PUBLIC park.

Oregon Hill residents know how important it is to exact promises now, especially given the existing threats and still-existing threats.

Only mayoral candidate Justin Griffin has said he will act to terminate the Conservancy’s lease on Monroe Park. Furthermore, Griffin has also stated:

This is not an out-right endorsement, for we still need to know more about Griffin’s overall stances, but his tagline does ring true, “Because we deserve better”.

We know Richmond overall deserves better, and we would love to hear specifics on what candidates plan to do about many other issues, including everything from the water to the sun.

Former Governor and Mayor Wilder has also made this observation. Hopefully his upcoming debate will bring the fire.

As has been made clear from past elections, Oregon Hill residents vote and their votes matter- if Mayoral candidates want to win, they need the Central 5th District, and thus they need Oregon Hill.

Warning: Roundup In Monroe Park

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From neighbor and Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association President Todd Woodson:

I just confirmed with workers in Monroe Park that they are spraying Roundup™ weed killer on the entire lawn. In 2015, the World Health Organization International Agency for Research on Cancer declared glyphosate a carcinogen. More than 50 cities and counties have banned the chemical. Many consider glyphosate a significant cause of bee deaths. The Monroe Park “Conservancy” is a horrible steward of the environment and their lease must be terminated. Enter the park at your own risk!

In other Monroe Park news, VCU representatives Catherine Howard and Brian Shaw have dropped off the Monroe Park Conservancy’s board and Vice Provost Dr Charles Klink and VCU planner Jeff Eastman have been tapped to replace them. Sadly, no news on adding more community representation, despite past promises to City Council.

‘Terminate The Lease’ Rally On Friday

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From email announcement:

Dear Friends

This Friday, May 17th at 4PM there will be a peaceful rally asking to TERMINATE THE LEASE on Monroe Park held by the Monroe Park Conservancy. This will occur at Monroe Park across from the big tent. We will gather on Main st.

All members of the community are invited. The Monroe Park Conservancy holds a 30 year lease (since 2014) on the City’s oldest and most historic municipal park, purchased in 1851 by the City. The Park was reopened last Autumn after a 22 month renovation overseen by the City and the Monroe Park Conservancy. During that “renovation”, a substantial portion of the historic tree canopy was destroyed, ALL public restrooms were removed, the WWII Memorial was desecrated by a large electrical box and poorly planned and executed pathways were installed that wash gravel dust into the sewer system whenever it rains. Its time for the City to terminate this lease and start fresh on a new plan to fix all the things that went wrong under the Monroe Park Conservancy. Additionally, a recent City audit found that $345,000.00 used in the botched “renovation” was billed to the City’s School Building Fund. We ask that City officials work in partnership with the stake holding community to achieve positive changes in the Park.

Thank you,
Todd Woodson, director
Fans of Monroe Park

(Editor’s note: The Sierra Club Falls Of The James has previously called for ending the lease.)

WRIR’s Open Source Show Today

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WRIR-LPFM’s local affairs show Open Source will be airing today at noon. It will feature at least two stories that may be of particular interest to Oregon Hill- Monroe Park renovation problems and the archeological excavation of Virginia State Penitentiary’s site.

TUNE TO THE SOURCE!! On Friday’s edition of Open Source RVA, heard at noon on WRIR 97.3 FM, I discuss the continued problems with the Monroe Park renovation with Todd Woodson, former member of the Monroe Park Advisory Council, including the recent discovery that $350,000 in school construction funds were being diverted toward the park. And author Dale Brumfield returns to the host seat. He talks about the Virginia State Penitentiary archeological excavation with Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project’s Ana Edwards, archeologist Ellen Chapman, and Environmental historian Libby Cook. ALSO: Charles Mcguigan of WRIR’s “A Grain of Sand” tells the inspirational story of 60-year-old Iron Man Triathlon champion, Will Turner. SO MUCH SOURCE! Listen in Friday at noon on WRIR 97.3 fm Richmond Independent Radio and http://wrir.org..

More Monroe Park Woes

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Neighbor and OHNA President Todd Woodson reports…

The audit of the 2019-2020 Budget and Strategic Planning- Capital Improvement Plan was released yesterday and $350,000.00 in Monroe Park renovation expenses were misclassified by the Finance Department as being School Construction funding. That means the Monroe Park “renovation” actually cost at least $350K more than we thought. WAY over $7,000,000.00 was spent for an environmental disaster…

Editorial: Will other local media report on this? Doubtful, since they have done such a horrible job already. Citizens continue to ask City Council when the Monroe Park Conservancy’s lease will be terminated and the park returned to the public.

Red For Ed March On Monday, Starting In Monroe Park

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From event page:

It comes down to this: our state government made a promise to us in the Constitution to provide free, high-quality schools for all children in Virginia. As teachers, we know that an equitable and high quality public education system is the cornerstone of the type of society we all want to live in.

The time is now. January 28 parents, teachers, students and community members will march on the capitol to tell our General Assembly to #FundOurSchools. We need you to join us. #RedForEd #Red4Ed

RSVP here: https://www.virginiaeducatorsunited.com/march-rally-details

From Richmond Police Department:

Also:

Ed. note: this neighborhood is very familiar with these issues:

https://www.oregonhill.net/2018/07/01/broken-promises-richmonds-leaders-dont-want-to-put-schools-first/

https://www.oregonhill.net/2014/04/28/and-they-march/

Top Issues For Neighborhood

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I have been meaning to do this post for a while and the start of the year seems to be a good time to actually get it done… I have done a little bit of surveying with neighbors, but some things, frankly, have not changed…

1. Establishing an anti-demolition City overlay for the neighborhood- how to protect historic assets and character took on new emphasis and concern with what happened with the 800 block of W. Cary Street this past year. This could be a precursor for making Oregon Hill an official City Historic District.

2. Establishing a signed, binding agreement that VCU will not encroach into Oregon Hill any further. Note: VCU administration shamefully refuses, despite having agreements with other neighborhoods and even foreign countries. The disrespect is intolerable and distrust remains.

3. Encouraging more neighborhood contacts and social connections. Many neighbors, especially new ones, want better ways to get to know the people who live around them. Oregon Hill has traditionally been seen as very ‘tight-knit’, but it has also seen many residents come and go. More public events geared towards the neighborhood that are family friendly and inclusive- think block parties with performances and attractions. Who remembers the pony rides? How about an annual neighborhood-wide yard sale?

4. Advocating for brick sidewalk repairs. Yes, we need to make sure our historic brick sidewalks are brought back to acceptable standards and maintained that way.

5. Getting new trees for tree wells and elsewhere (including Monroe Park!)

6. Ending the lease for the Monroe Park Conservancy and returning the park to public (City) control. Despite all the changes, Monroe Park has historically been and will always be one of Oregon Hill’s parks. Let’s not allow anything like ‘the Conservancy’ to happen to any more of our parks.

7. Public trash/recycling receptacles. With all the foot traffic that the neighborhood gets with its proximity to the river, it’s important that more public trash/recycling receptacles are made available.

7. More litter clean ups. In the past, we have had volunteer neighborhood leaders work with the City and other groups like VCU Green Team and RVA Cleansweep to do community litter pick ups. We need new blood to step up to coordinate these efforts.

8. Encouraging more proper recycling. While I am confident that Oregon Hill has a better than average recycling percentage per household than many other places, we can always do better- part of that is making sure recycling receptacles are kept out of sidewalk right aways when not awaiting collection.

9. Potholes- despite the City’s efforts, there are still a few spots where potholes are a constant problem- especially in some of our alleys.

10. Neighborhood watch/porch pirate prevention- thankfully the neighborhood is relatively safe, but there are still very serious concerns about interlopers. One problem we have seen more of in recent years is porch piracy- the stealing of package deliveries and porch items.

Some other worthy topics:

Better traffic enforcement

More park renovations and improvements for parks, including Holly Street Playground

More enforcement of dog poop pickup

More engagement with landlords about rental properties

Bike lanes

More small businesses that cater to the neighborhood

Fire safety/disaster preparedness

And of course, I will put in a word for more solar in the neighborhood…

Letter On Monroe Park

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Cherry Street neighbor (and Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association President) has a letter to the editor in today’s Times Dispatch.

Editor, Times-Dispatch:

Less than three months after reopening, Monroe Park is showing signs of massive design failures that need immediate remedial attention. The 22-month renovation took much longer than anticipated and came in way over budget, costing about $1 million an acre.

What will it cost to address these egregious planning blunders? The destruction of a significant portion of a wonderfully healthy tree canopy and other design and construction errors have caused the pathways to erode, sending large amounts of gravel dust into the sewer system where it will inevitably end up in the James River. The Sierra Club’s Fall of the James chapter has called the newly made-over park an environmental disaster. One of Richmond’s most popular gathering places, the renovation removed all public restroom facilities and the 1945 World War II memorial was desecrated by an ugly electrical apparatus. Large puddles of standing water languish on damaged lawns where there was never a problem before.

It didn’t need to be like this. A wonderful master plan was crafted and adopted by City Council but was tossed in favor of turning over the park by lease to a corporation weighted heavily by institutional and large corporate interests. Bad logic prevailed, removing the trees as well as a designated resource area for children. Funny that in the past, the Redskins Training Center also lost a significant portion of desirable tree canopy and in an amazing public letter of apology, then-Mayor Dwight Jones expressed contrition for that error.

Mayor Stoney has shown discomfort over the situation in Monroe Park but says he inherited the situation. Now the same planning firm that worked on Monroe Park is working on plans for the historic Pump House. Can we really afford more bad decisions with this architectural masterpiece?

Charles Woodson

Richmond

Even today, as seen from the VCU Ram Cam (photo above), the grass in Monroe Park still bears the scars of the corporate tents from almost a year ago. Again, Woodson and the Sierra Club ask for a comprehensive tree planting schedule to replace the destroyed canopy in the entire park. And bigger questions still remain- what happened to the public restrooms? How has $7.5 million been spent?