Category Archives: government

4th District MPACT meeting reminder

Posted on by
Reply

From announcement:

4th Precinct Residents and Neighborhood Leaders-
Thank you so much for your support of MPACT over the last 6 months at 4th Precinct Headquarters. As of June, we will be combining our meeting dates and location with the 4th Precinct CAPS team to strengthen our attendance and the participation in both MPACT and CAPS.

Our June meeting will be Thursday, June 16th at Linwood Holton Elementary, 1600 W. Laburnum Avenue, in the school’s media center.
The CAPS meeting starts at 6PM and MPACT will begin once CAPS ends, or approximately 7PM.

The agenda for the MPACT meeting will include an overview of the Highland Park Quality of Life Plan by VCU Metropolitan Urban and Regional Planning students and a discussion of how such plans can be supported by the neighboring communities and possibly replicated in other communities. We will also review MPACT high priority concerns.

I hope that you can be a part of this discussion and consider attending both the CAPS and MPACT meeting. I look forward to seeing you on Thursday, June 16th.

Many thanks,
Emily

Emily E. Griffey
MPACT Coordinator
City of Richmond
phone- (804) 646-7527
cell- (804) 229-0393
emily.griffey@richmondgov.com

City’s DPU Completes Sewer Work Ahead of Schedule

Posted on by
Reply

From City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities press release:

The sewer main repair taking place where Belvidere Street, Cumberland and Canal intersect has been completed as of today, June 13, 2011, four days ahead of schedule. See attached updated release for details.

From June 3:
DPU TRAFFIC ALERT – Belvidere and Canal Streets

RICHMOND, VA—Beginning Monday, June 6 through Tuesday, June 17, 2011 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. the sewer maintenance division of the city of Richmond Department of Public Utilities will be repairing a sewer manhole and adjacent piping where Belvidere Street, Canal Street and Cumberland Street intersect to repair a sewer manhole and adjacent piping.

During the repair work, no more than one lane, at any given time, will be closed. At least one travel lane will stay open at all times in any direction. The work zone will be well marked and traffic will be directed around the work zone. Minimal traffic disruption is expected. Motorists are asked to proceed with care around the work zone.

Defend Feeding In Public Parks

Posted on by
3

For the most part I have tried to stay above the fray in regard to this past year’s Monroe Park controversy. As I have stated before, I appreciate neighbors’ efforts with the Monroe Park Advisory Council. Most City residents would like to see a cleaner park with better features (On a side note, others have tried to say the exact opposite in regard to the park and this neighborhood as some sort of elitist way to justify more encroachment by VCU and corporate entities). They understand the need to keep the existing trees and make Monroe Park a welcoming oasis in the surrounding concrete.

While I have sympathy for the Keep Monroe Park Open Campaign and I do support Food Not Bombs mission, (especially in the face of how many wars now?), I personally think that its not necessarily the end of the world for the local homeless or the public in general that the park be temporarily closed for needed renovations. With all due respect to the history of the homeless issue in Richmond, there are other public parks in the City (and there should be more public space created overall). I have tried to steer the controversy towards compromise, but in the end that’s where I stand.

However, I also stand with Food Not Bombs for the overall right to feed people in a public park (while taking personal responsibility for trash and safety). I am very troubled by what I am hearing from Florida where activists are being arrested for feeding the homeless. This country is headed for even worst times if this is what it has come to : making it illegal to nourish a fellow human being in need in an OPEN public park. I urge Richmond to fully consider what is at stake. I hope that we will not see this sort of fascism here and I hope that Food Not Bombs feels free to return to Monroe Park (or any other public park that they so choose) after renovations are completed.

Get Ready For City’s Sustainability Plan

Posted on by
Reply

From announcement:

Richmond Community:

The Mayor will hold a community workshop on June 9th from 6-8 p.m. at
the Carillon Tower in Byrd Park to present progress made thus far on
the RVA Green plan and take citizen input. For more information on
this city project, visit: http://www.richmondgov.com/sustainabilityplan/

No word yet on making local firework displays more green…

Oregon Hill Speaks Up In Favor Of Passenger Rail

Posted on by
2

At last night’s Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association meeting, residents voted in favor of sending a letter to the Commonwealth Transportation Board asking them to support funding for Virginia’s passenger trains.

Here is some background on the issue from Virginians For High Speed Rail:

Dear Supporters,

We have launched our latest web-form to ask the Virginia Commonwealth Transportation Board to support the funding currently in their draft six-year transportation plan to maintain our current Amtrak Northeast Regional Service and future expansion to Norfolk.

This funding is vital to the continued operation of the regional trains that serve Alexandria, Manassas, Burke, Woodbridge, Culpeper, Fredericksburg, Charlottesville, Ashland, Richmond, Williamsburg, Newport News, Lynchburg, with future stops in Norfolk and eventually Roanoke.

Please help us encourage the CTB to fully fund passenger rail over the next six years!

To view and sign the message go to www.vhsr.com/action/sixyearplan

Sincerely,

Danny Plaugher

Follow us on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/VAHSR
Follow us on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/VHSR
Make a tax-deductible contribution at www.VHSR.com/donate

Its worth noting that OHNA’s support and this current issue are about maintaining and improving our current passenger rail, not necessarily more expensive high speed rail.

More stuff for your calendar….

Posted on by
1

Byrd House Market tomorrow from 3:30 pm to 7 pm.

Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association meets tonight at 7 pm at the William Byrd Community House.

Recycling and trash pickup this Wednesday morning.

In addition to the Byrd House Bash, the 4th Precinct MPACT meeting is on Thursday. From announcement:

The 4th Precinct MPACT meeting will be this Thursday, May 26th at 6:30PM at the 4th Police Precinct Headquarters (2219 Chamberlayne Avenue). We hope that you will attend to learn more about neighborhood issues and connect with city administration regarding your concerns. Roslyn Johnson, Deputy Director of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities, will present an overview of the summer recreation activities planned in the 4th Precinct and across the city.

This will be the last meeting of the MPACT team on the 4th Thursdays. Starting on Thursday, June 16th the MPACT team will combine meeting days and locations with the 4th Precinct CAPS team at Linwood Holton Elementary in the media center. In June, the CAPS meeting will be 6-7PM and the MPACT meeting will be 7-8PM. Citizens and residents are welcome to attend both meetings. CAPS focuses on cross-departmental issues to enforce property maintenance and public safety, while MPACT focuses on the high priority areas for MPACT (potholes, illegal dumping, street lights and more), sharing information between residents and city agencies and general concerns.

For more information about CAPS, please visit: http://www.richmondgov.com/CommunityAssistedPublicSafety/index.aspx

For more information about MPACT, please visit: www.richmondgov.com/mpac

Also,

Just in time for the start of Hurricane Season, Virginia’s Hurricane and Emergency Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday runs May 25-31st, 2011. During this time, purchases of items designated by the Department of Taxation as hurricane preparedness equipment, including batteries, flashlights, bottled water of all types and sizes, cell phone batteries, coolers, portable generators and many other useful items can be purchased with no sales tax added during the week. Portable generators must be priced at $1,000 or less, and other eligible items must be priced at $60 or less for each item. Many retailers will post signs listing all the allowable items so that Virginians can get ready for hurricane season.
For details, including guidelines, frequently asked questions, and a list of eligible purchases, click here.

Remember, Hurricane Seasons starts June 1st, so be prepared! While we do not live on the coast, flooding often hits Central Virginia during this time. To learn more about getting ready for hurricanes and floods, visit www.ReadyVirginia.gov.

Important Transportation Meetings Tonight and Tomorrow Night

Posted on by
Reply

There are a few important meetings happening tonight and tomorrow evening that could use some citizen representation.

One is tonight:

Strategic Multimodal Transportation Plan for Richmond

http://byrdpark.net/2011/05/16/a-strategic-multi-modal-transportation-plan/

Tomorrow night a is state transportation hearing, also downtown.
This is important because it helps establish the six year fiscal plan for the Virginia Department of Transportation.

http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/resources/SYIP.2012-17.03.11.PH.ad.pdf

(Also, don’t forget the James River TDML meeting tomorrow night)

CAPS Meeting Thursday

Posted on by
Reply

From City announcement:

The Fourth Precinct Community Assisted Public Safety (CAPS) meeting will be held:

Date: May 19, 2011

Time: 6:00 p.m.

Place: Linwood Holton Elementary School

1600 W Laburnum Ave

You may send your concerns to us via email at CAPS@Richmondgov.com, fax at 646-5355 or phone us at 646-2277 (CAPS).

Final Public Meeting for James River TDML Study

Posted on by
2

From DEQ announcement:

DEQ would like to invite you to the final public meeting for the draft Implementation Plan (IP) developed for the James River – City of Richmond Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) study. This meeting will be held on Wednesday May 18, 2010 at 6 p.m. at the DEQ Central Office located at 629 East Main Street in Richmond VA 23218. Click here for directions to DEQ Central Office.

The draft plan will be made available on the DEQ website. When the document has been posted, you will receive an email with a link to the draft.

Over the last 6 months DEQ and MapTech (project contractor) have met with the residential, agriculture, and urban workgroups as well as the steering committee to develop the draft document. Many of you have participated in one (or more) of the three working groups and on the steering committee – a very big thank you for all of your help – we truly appreciate all of your great ideas and the information you have shared with us!

Continue reading →