Charlottesville–Right Now with Coy Barefoot

On Tuesday, October 28th, Brian Wheeler joined Charlottesville Right Now to discuss the water supply issue.

 

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Brian Wheeler is the Executive Director of Charlottesville Tomorrow, a non-partisan organization that covers growth and development issues in our community. He appears on Tuesdays on Coy Barefoot’s program. On the October 14, 2008 edition of the show:

• Charlottesville has the most expensive gas in the state. (Daily Progress)
• Brian explains that Citizens for a Sustainable Water Supply Plan are concerned that the task force is not doing what it was originally told to do. Tom Frederick, Director of the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority recommended to his board that the four chairs create a task force and that two studies be done on a parallel track.  Experts will study what to do with the dredged material and the task force will figure out if dredging is the best solution.  (Charlottesville Tomorrow)
• Brian reports that three out of the four chairs felt that dredging should not change the 50 year water supply plan. Mayor Norris said that the task force should see if we can build a smaller dam if we can recover enough capacity in South Fork.
• Betty Mooney called in to say that Mr. Frederick fails to mention that without the new pipeline, the expanded Ragged Mountain Reservoir cannot fill itself.  Betty feels that Gannett Fleming’s assumptions as to how much capacity can be recovered from dredging and whether that will be sufficient to meet our needs are incorrect and said that the stop work order is evidence that we should not trust their numbers. Brian says that the water supply plan has always mentioned the pipeline.
• The four chairs feel the first question the task force needs to answer is “should we dredge and if so why?” But, they should not consider dredging as in thinking it will change the water supply plan.
• The task force is seeking public input.  He gives the website www.albemarle.org/southforkreservoir for a survey regarding the issue. (Charlottesville Tomorrow)
• Keith calls in and says that estimates for water demand were 11.08 MG/D but then after the drought and new water saving fixtures were put in the actual demand was 9.98 MG/D. The model used to justify need for the reservoir used thewas 11.08 MG/D even though demand had been significantly reduced.  When that difference is compounded 7% each year for 50 years the difference is >30%.
• Kevin Lynch says that Brian fails to mention the charge of the task force being water supply. Feels like it’s a joke to think about using the reservoir primarily for fishing and rowing.

 

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On the September 29, 2008 edition of WINA’s Charlottesville–Right Now, Charlottesville Mayor Dave Norris joined Coy Barefoot to explain his views on the 50 year water supply plan. Norris posted a blog entry on the topic the other day. Check out Charlottesville Tomorrow for more coverage on the topic.

 

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Brian Wheeler, Executive Director of Charlottesville Tomorrow, joins Coy Barefoot on WINA’s Charlottesville–Right Now every Tuesday to talk about growth and development in Charlottesville and Albemarle County.

• Brian explains why Gannett Fleming’s cost estimate for the new dam at Ragged Mountain Reservoir has increased from $37 million to approximately $70 million. Click here for the report from the RWSA
• Brian responds to comments from Betty Mooney of Citizens for a Sustainable Water Plan, who has called for the resignation of the RWSA Board of Directors
• Harris Teeter in Crozet is building up fast, reflecting the tremendous growth going on in Crozet
• The Charlottesville Day School seeks to expand their operations with a new facility in the rural areas. The Albemarle County Planning Commission was not too receptive.
• Transfer of Development Rights discussions continue in Albemarle County

 

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Former City Councilor Kevin Lynch joins Coy Barefoot on the September 23rd edition of WINA’s “Charlottesville–Right Now!” to talk about his opposition to the currently adopted 50 Year Community Water Supply Plan. Lynch is also a member of Citizens for a Sustainable Water Plan. The Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority announced this week that the cost estimate for the new Ragged Mountain Dam has been increased to nearly $70 million
.

 

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On the July 1, 2008 edition of WINA’s “Charlottesville–Right Now!” Coy Barefoot speaks with Kevin Lynch, former city councilor and member of Citizens for a Sustainable Water Plan.

• RWSA task force- Lynch describes an “interesting couple of weeks,” most significantly the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority board’s decision to allocate money to solicit information from consultants with expertise on dredging, and their creation of a task force to simultaneously examine dredging in greater detail.
• Lynch explains the purpose of studying the composition of the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir to determine the best way to dredge.
• Lynch discusses the dredging disposal site advocated by Pat Enright of Dominion Development Resources. “I think there’s a real fear that if the community knew just how cheap it would be…
• Lynch responds to criticisms that dredging alone would not provide sufficient water for the community.

 

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Brian Wheeler, Executive Director of Charlottesville Tomorrow, joins Coy Barefoot every Tuesday for an update on growth and development issues in greater Charlottesville. On the July 8th edition of the show:

• Albemarle County Board of Supervisors set to discuss land use taxation on July 9, 2008. The Board will consider a proposal to revalidate the program. Staff are recommending against an option to restrict the program to parcels that only qualify for the program’s open space classification.
• St. Anne’s Belfield (STAB) sought approval from the Planning Commission to relocate their middle school from its Ivy Road location to its lower campus off Faulconer Drive.  STAB plans to construct new academic buildings and sports fields on the existing lower campus to support an increase of students from about 300 today to a maximum of 550 for pre-school through 8th grade.
• Board of Supervisors gets update from RWSA and ACSA officials.
  
• Forest Lakes Town Hall meeting held to address safety concerns involving US 29
• Council votes to conduct performance and efficiency review, similar to one that will be conducted by the Board of Supervisors

 

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On the June 19, 2008 edition of WINA’s “Charlottesville–Right Now!” Coy Barefoot speaks with Pat Enright, CEO of local developer Dominion Development Resources, LLC (DDR). Enright discussed two major projects his firm has been involved in recently, the Northtown Center development on behalf of developer Wendell Wood, and the proposed dredging of the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir.

• Northtown Center approved - Phase I of the Northtown shopping center will contain a bank and other retail. Enright described his job as“really trying to align what the client needs, with what they’re allowed to do, with what the residents are going to be impacted by.”
• Dredging - DDR has proposed that an active quarry 3,000 feet from the reservoir be used as the disposal site for dirt removed from the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir. Enright admits that his company has a financial stake in that piece of land, but argues that this shouldn’t prevent citizens and government from looking at the merits of the proposal. Enright estimates the approximate cost of removing the 2 million cubic yards of dirt currently in the reservoir to be between $24-29 million dollars.

(links are to stories on Charlottesville Tomorrow)

 

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On the June 19 edition of WINA’s “Charlottesville–Right Now!” Jay James, filling in for Coy Barefoot, speaks with Brian Wheeler, the Executive Director of Charlottesville Tomorrow. The topics include:

• The great water debate- Brian explains the basics of the controversy over the water supply plan. Betty Mooney from Citizens for a Sustainable Water Plan called in to express her concerns about the current course of action and the fact that, in her opinion, the dredging option has not been fully explored.
• The Downtown Mall renovation- The city is moving forward on a $7.5 million renovation of the bricks on the Charlottesville Downtown Mall. The newest iteration of the plan would start the process in January, and finish by the end of April. The proposed fountains and Sister City Plaza have been removed from the plan.
• Deferred maintenance- “Howard” called in to say that he sees a pattern of deferred maintenance in local government, both with the water infrastructure and with the Downtown Mall bricks. Brian responded that there are definitely examples of lack of maintenance, but that doesn’t mean that local government isn’t now trying to look ahead.

 

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On the June 3 edition of WINA’s “Charlottesville–Right Now!” Coy Barefoot speaks with Brian Wheeler, the Executive Director of Charlottesville Tomorrow. The topics include:

• New water supply developments- The RSWA today received a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers authorizing the construction of the new dam re-approved at the last City Council meeting.
• New bank on Route 29- Chevy Chase will be constructing a new branch on the corner of Emmett Street and Barracks Road
• New shopping center discussion delayed- Planning Commission discussion on proposed Northtown Center deferred until June 17
• Eastern Connector Update- The Eastern Connector Steering Committee has decided to recommend as their preferred alignment a four lane road through Pen Park connecting Rio Road to Route 20.

 

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