Editorial On Venture Richmond’s Tax Exemption

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On Monday, February 10th, the Richmond City Council will vote on giving Venture Richmond a tax exemption for its real estate on the site of its proposed amphitheater below Oregon Hill. City Council should not approve this tax exemption for Venture Richmond for the following reasons:

The City Council has a moratorium on granting tax exemptions by designation. Venture Richmond submitted this application in 2012, and Venture Richmond failed to meet the deadline of April 8, 2013, as established by City Ordinance 2013-19, for introducing an ordinance exempting property from taxation by designation.

State code requires that City Council consider whether the executive salary of the organization is reasonable when considering an organization’s application for tax exemption. Venture Richmond Director Jack Berry receives a salary of over $240,000 annually. If Venture Richmond can afford to pay its Director $240,000 are we to believe that it cannot afford to pay $43,836 in real estate tax?

State code also requires that City Council consider whether the non-profit applying for tax exemption engages in substantial lobbying for legislation. According to Venture Richmond, it has spent at least $32,000 lobbying for the Mayor’s Shockoe Stadium proposal. The Mayor is President of Venture Richmond, and Venture Richmond has been engaged in substantial lobbying for the Mayor’s legislation.

Richmond’s Tax Exemption by Designation Committee recommended AGAINST a real estate tax exemption for Venture Richmond, and the committee sessions generally focused on the amount of executive salaries, revenue sources and any duplication of city services being performed by each applicant. The other organizations that applied but did not receive exemptions were VMFA parking lots, Science Museum of Virginia properties, Family Lifeline properties, CHAT Property, Hands Up Ministries properties and Richmond Urban Senior Housing property.

On its application for real estate tax exemption for its amphitheater property, Venture Richmond stated that the property was in compliance with zoning codes. Yet the amphitheater above the canal is not zoned for an amphitheater. Venture Richmond also stated that it does not compete with other organizations in the marketplace, a contention that is disputed by private promoters. Venture Richmond also stated that it does not provide or deny services based on ability to pay, a contention that would be disputed by those not affording a ticket to Venture Richmond paid events.

According to a video-taped presentation given by Venture Richmond Director Jack Berry to the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association, the intention of Venture Richmond is to rent out the amphitheater with no limitation on the number of events annually, and to serve alcoholic beverages on the property. Rental property generating income for the non-profit is generally not considered a charitable purpose for tax exemption.

I will be very interested to see how other local media covers this issue. Joined corporate and political power in Venture Richmond’s board that runs roughshod over citizen concerns is a real problem, whether the issue is the Tredegar Green amphitheater plan or the Shockoe stadium proposal.

J.E.B. Stuart Ceremony Will Include Gunfire

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From Hollywood Cemetery management:

We are having a ceremony on 2/8/2014 for JEB Stuart at Noon and believe there will be rifle volley and/or cannon fire. We wanted to let you know so the neighborhood can be notified of the plans.

From Wikipedia entry on JEB Stuart:

Although he enjoyed the civil engineering curriculum at the academy (West Point) and did well in mathematics, his poor drawing skills hampered his engineering studies, and he finished 29th in that discipline. A Stuart family tradition says he deliberately degraded his academic performance in his final year to avoid service in the elite, but dull, Corps of Engineers.

“167-year-old Hollywood Cemetery has hired a marketing agency”

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Richmondbizsense.com has an article on Hollywood Cememtery. Excerpt:

Looking to promote its available space, the 167-year-old Hollywood Cemetery has hired a marketing agency to spread the word for its burial and cremation options, including cremation niches in “Presidents Circle.”

“So many people assume that, because the cemetery was established so long ago, that it must be full,” said David Gilliam, the cemetery’s general manager. “We want to get the word out that Hollywood is still a choice for people to consider.”

Addison Clark, a marketing agency on Monument Avenue, scored the account for the historic Oregon Hill burial ground on South Cherry Street.

This is its first cemetery client, but managing partner Jeff Allen said the firm would market it like it would other historic landmarks. It will revamp the cemetery’s website, improve its search engine marketing and give it a social media presence by playing up its historical significance.

“The challenge they have is a lot of folks think of them as a historic landmark, almost an outdoor museum, but they are open for business,” Allen said.

Trash/Recycling Pickup Tomorrow

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This Wednesday is a red Wednesday, which means trash and recycling pickup. Please make sure you pick up containers after pickup tomorrow night. They do not belong on the sidewalk after tomorrow night. (For more information click here.)

Also, RVA Environmental Film Festival (RVA EFF) starts tomorrow. It will be at Henrico’s Tuckahoe library at 6:30 for a showing of Plastic Paradise and a special preview of a new local documentary called Richmond Had Rails. Then on Wednesday night, it will be at VCU’s Grace Street Theater for a showing of The Right To Breathe, Trashed, and More Than Honey. See the full schedule for this FREE event by clicking here.

Cynthia Ann Brandt Obituary

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Cynthia Ann Brandt, 65, died peacefully on Tuesday, January 28, 2014 in Richmond, VA. She was born on December 31, 1948 in Chincoteague, VA and lived in Richmond for the majority of her life. Cynthia is survived by her husband Cliff, her father and mother-in-law William G. Brandt Jr. and Julia Brandt, and her sister-in-laws Pauline Kerwath and Vivian Pollock. Information regarding memorial plans can be found by emailing cliff.w.brandt at gmail.com.

From a long term time reader:

I have known Cliff and his wife for about 4 years now and they are terrific people, beloved by their neighbors and friends.

Community Discussions On Monroe Park and Idlewood Traffic Tomorrow Evening

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If you didn’t catch Friday’s Open Source RVA on 97.3 FM and http://wrir.org/, check out the podcast! Oregon Hill neighbor Charles Woodson of the Monroe Park Advisory Council talks about a controversial lease agreement that would give Richmond’s oldest park over to a private conservancy.

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This should be required listening prior to attending the “Community Conversation” happening tomorrow evening at 6 pm at the Nile.

Join us as we collaborate with Richmond Magazine, TMI Consulting Inc., the Future of Richmond’s Past and local restaurants to offer our next series of “Community Conversations.” Each month we will discuss a locale in the city spanning from Shockoe Bottom to the Boulevard. Attendees will participate in a discussion with Harry Kollatz, Jr., senior writer with Richmond Magazine and author of two books on Richmond history: Richmond Ragtime and True Richmond Stories, who will facilitate a conversation on the significant events and changes that have occured in Monroe Park over time. By the end of the evening attendees will have a comprehensive view of the history of Monroe Park and how it has become the locality that we see today.

I know some neighbors will be missing this due to a conflicting meeting about the Idlewood roundabout project at the Randolph Community Center.

From Councilperson Parker Agelasto’s newsletter:

At 7:30 pm, the City’s Traffic Engineer, Tom Flynn, along with consultants from Kimley-Horn and Associates will meet with a task force of Randolph and Oregon Hill residents to discuss the problems and solutions in crafting a design for the a proposed roundabout along Idlewood Avenue.

The proposed roundabout has been a recommendation of the City Traffic Engineer with the City for about 10 years and was codified in the long-range Richmond Connects Multimodal Transportation Plan. In 2012, this had a series of public work sessions to make recommendations and included several modifications in March 2013 before being finalized in July 2013. The complete document is available at www.yesrichmondva.com/sites/default/files/documents/RichmondConnects.pdf.

The roundabout project was spearheaded by a coalition from Oregon Hill, William Byrd Community House, Byrd House Market, St. Andrew’s School, St. Andrew’s Church, and VCU. Due to the nature of the Downtown Expressway exit ramp and the traffic intersection at S. Cherry Street, this section of Idlewood Avenue is dangerous and poses a safety concern. VCU offered to contribute half of the cost of the project if the City contributed the remainder. These funds are currently in the budget and the City leveraged its share to receive matching funds from the State (meaning the City’s cost is only 1/4 of the entire project). That said, the concept is fully funded and a consultant has been hired to begin the design process with public input.

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House Fire On S. Pine Yesterday

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There was a house fire on the 300 block of S. Pine Street yesterday. Thankfully, no one was hurt.

From the resident:

The long and the short of it is that a small fire broke out in the chimney upstairs and spread to the attic. They had to rip up some of the roof to hose it down. All is okay, except looks like I lost a sizeable chunk of my book and zine collection in the water. Very strange day.