Good Monday morning to all! You are listening to the James Exchange: all things Scottsville and surrounds. I am Nancy Gill your host.
Scottsville Town Council has two meetings this week. Their regularly scheduled work session is this evening starting at 7:00 in Council Chambers with ZOOM viewing. Just a note, that this is the work session and Council usually does not entertain public comment at these meetings. This isn’t anything new, but I want to stress this since our elected and appointed officials have somehow been labeled as “segregating public opinion.”
The second meeting is tomorrow evening, November 9, and is a joint meeting with the Albemarle Board of Supervisors. This is the second annual meeting of the two bodies. Last year’s meeting was, “the first such meeting since a summit on boundary adjustment, held at Lumpkin’s in 1993. In 2020, the bodies compared policies and projects, and agreed to meet again. In the past year, staff-level cooperation has improved and extended to most County departments, from parks to police.”
Tomorrow’s agenda includes:
Joint meeting with Board of Supervisors
The information on this has been reported on.
Council rules of procedure for public input
Town Clerk Thomas Unsworth will present some further detail on this topic. In short, there are two kinds of public engagement at Town meetings: legally required public hearings, and everything else. Public bodies have very wide latitude to set house rules as they see fit, either to promote or limit public comment. Constitutionally, the meeting is a “limited public forum” where the efficient function of government can indeed limit free speech. Restrictions on the number and duration of speakers are very common. On the other hand, tools like instant polls and live Tweeting can extend engagement into new spaces.
Action: Guidance to staff in preparing a change to the Council rules of procedure, or keep existing.
This references remarks made by Matthew Holt at last month’s public session regarding “segregation of public opinion.” (For more on this listen to my October 24 podcast: To Speak or not to Speak…To Hear or not to Hear.) I will have much more on this later.
Budget and compensation update
The Town’s current fiscal year is one third complete. Revenue to date is 42% of the projected total, and spending is 36% of the total, putting the Town in a positive position. The increased spending is due to rapid and early progress on capital projects, such as the office DMV renovation. The revenue boost comes mainly from federal ARPA funds received. The sales tax revenue is also ahead of projections as retail shopping is strong. Transient occupancy tax is a small line item but performing very well, as new rental properties have launched. Meals tax is the Town’s largest locally controlled revenue line and is ahead of projection for the year so far, looking stronger with two new restaurants opening soon.
The personnel budget is of concern at the mid-point in the year. Several pay issues have become more urgent. Low pay and raises in recent years creates a burnout and turnover risk in several positions. Neighboring localities have used ARPA funds and strong local revenues to increase salaries, making up for stagnant pay in the 2010-2020 decade.
Within the current budget, the Town can afford several mid-year changes: upgrade the maintenance position worker position to full-time, which would help with contract and project management in the office; continue paid internships; market corrective for the clerk and administrator of ten percent; hire the new police chief at a more competitive salary.
Action: directive to staff on pay changes within the current budget.
Overview of Planning Commission recommendations and context
•Special Use Permit for Cluster Density on Bird Street. Planning Commission recommended approval of this permit on a 2-1 vote, with seven conditions related to site plan, native plants, trails, parks, sidewalks, affordability, and reduced density. Council can keep or modify these conditions, or deny the project outright. The by-right option on the 12-acre site is eight houses. The application is for 48 homes, and the commission recommended 36.
•Special Use Permit for Cluster Density on Blenheim Road. Similarly, Planning Commission recommended approval of this permit on a 2-1 vote, with only four conditions related to site plan, native plants, trails, and reduced density. Council can keep or modify these conditions, or deny the project outright. The by-right option on the 12-acre site is six houses. The application is for 24 homes, and the commission recommended 18.
•Zoning Map Amendment for Commercial at James River Road. Town Council approved special use permits for Tiger Fuels Market in December of 2020. The project is now proceeding towards site plan review. The applicant has two requests related to their plan. First is to rezone their entire site as Commercial. A parcel boundary change creates split parcel zoning.The commission recommended approval 3-2.
•Zoning Text Amendment for Main Street Parking. This gives the same exemption to Main Street parking that is in place for Valley Street-in the Historic District overlay. The commission recommended approval 4-0.
•Zoning Text Amendment for Floodplain. This protects the town. For more information contact the Town office. Vote 4-0.
Other business includes:
2022 Legislative Program for Thomas Jefferson Planning District
Plastic bag tax
Agreement with Albemarle County on Vehicle License Fee administration
I want to thank Matt Lawless for his staff report which I have used in this podcast.
And now late breaking news…or perhaps not so late breaking since I hear the Scottsville rumor mill is in full swing.
Town Council now has two empty seats on the Architectural Review Board, one empty seat on Town Council, and one empty seat on the Planning Commission. Both Shari and Rob Lambert have resigned from their positions, and have listed their home for sale. You can read between the lines all you want, but I will again reference Matthew Holt’s words spoken at the last Town Council meeting. I will have much more on this later, and I encourage Scottsville residents and those who reside in the Greater Scottsville area to listen to my podcast from October 12…”Scottsville: Who Are We?”
That’s it for me until Veterans’ Day.
Rumor Mill? What Rumor Mill...and Agenda Items to Boot...