Weigh In On The Future of West Main Street

The City of Charlottesville has recently hired a consultant group to do a redevelopment plan for the West Main Street corridor between the downtown mall and the University.  The City will be holding a public meeting on Saturday, December 7th, from 10 am – 2 pm at the Carver Recreation Center at the Jefferson School.  No matter where in the City you live, West Main is your street, and this meeting will be a great chance to share your opinions about what you’d like to see happen in the future.

All this information, and more – including a description of the specific topics that the consultants are studying – is on the new project website: www.gowestmain.com.

How Energy Efficient is Your Home? Find Out AND Help a Good Cause

The Local Energy Alliance Program is a nonprofit dedicated to encouraging homeowners in Central Virginia to make their homes more energy efficient. A LEAP Home Energy Checkup combines our Healthy and Efficient Home Evaluation with complimentary, energy-saving products directly installed by our experts so you can immediately save energy and money. You'll get an evaluation of your home's energy efficiency, the advice of one of LEAP's Energy Coaches, energy efficient light bulbs, pipe insulation, door weatherization and more; plus a checklist of additional energy saving measures for your home.

The value of this package is estimated at over $300 in goods, savings, and professional advice but with LEAP's participation in Dominion Electric’s Home Energy Checkup instant cash rebate program, our price to homeowners is only $35 during this neighborhood promotion. Visit leap-va.org/checkup for more information. LEAP will be conducting the Home Energy Checkups from 12/09/13-01/03/14 and 01/20/14-1/24/13 in the Fry's Spring Neighborhood and the Jackson-Via Elementary School District as a fundraiser for the Jackson-Via Elementary PTO- $10 will be donated to the organization for each house that receives a checkup. The homeowner/tenant must be a dominion customer, and the checkup is not available for apartment buildings.

Please visit http://leap-va.org/leap-home-energy-check-up-scheduler/  (choose “Fry's Spring/Jackson-Via” from the drop down menu) or call Jon Proffitt at 434-227-4666 to schedule. Remember to state that this is for the Jackson-Via PTO Fundraiser!

Old Lynchburg Road Safety, Sidewalks and Drainage Update

From City engineer Tony Edwards:

Those drainage structures identified as being too high within the road cross section have been investigated further and a solution has been requested of the contractor to make repairs.
The silt fence along the back side of BMP, will be removed once the grass is established.
The contractor will need to secure the reflective tape on bollards near flashing light pedestrian crosswalk.
The city has requested a one year bond for the potential removal and replacement of the existing white oak tree next to the trail entrance, in the case the tree health declines.
The drainage structure near 301 Middleton Lane, will be adjusted so the top doesn’t rock and become nosy when vehicles drive over it. Additional seeding will also be provided at the end of the retaining wall (OLR side)
The stone path was cleaned up and adjusted to the new easement at the Old Laurel Lane right of way, however it was requested that Finley provide an estimate for paving 2” of surface mix over the compacted stone base material. Additional drainage improvement options will be assessed when the Parks Department looks to install more landscaping in this area.
Due to vehicle operators driving off the edge of the driveway at 229 OLR, a 6” x 6” timber curb was requested. The contractor has restored the slope and a wooden curb was requested. No cracks in the driveway were found and the driveways are in good condition. The sink hole that was found during the driveway repaving was repaired and the existing 48” concrete storm pipe found to be in whole condition. The concrete patch provides a stable and compacted condition for the driveway.
The handicap sign request for 112 OLR is in process with the traffic division and will be handled directly with the owners.
Rock and debris have been removed from the top soil layer of the  disturbed areas and will be checked again before final acceptance.
A request for additional top soil behind the silt fence at 211 will be reviewed and placed as needed.
Speed limit signs are currently installed on both ends of OLR , but additional locations for installation are being reviewed. This will also include moving  the “No Trucks”… sign closer to JPA.
All close –out documents will be submitted within 10 days after the Substantial Completion date has been established.

Some Pedestrian Improvements Are Being Considered for Jefferson Park Avenue

On Wednesday night, October 9th, Amanda Poncy, the City's Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator, presented some preliminary ideas about how to make it easier for pedestrians to cross JPA between Robertson Avenue and Cleveland Avenue.

FSNA Is Pressing the City to Hold Hearings Related to the Downzoning of the Neighborhood

The following email was sent on October 6th, 2013

Dear Charlottesville City Council,

The following letter is what the FSNA Board approved to send to Jim Tolbert, Director of NDS. I am sending this to you directly as during a phone conversation I had with Jim on Friday, he explained to me that your direction for this study would be required and we should send this to you directly to have placed on Council's agenda for approval of this direction. So please review the letter approved by the Fry's Spring Neighborhood Association Board below and direct Neighborhood Development Services to proceed with the Survey and Public Hearing for rezoning.

Fry's Spring Neighborhood Association Announces New Board Nominees

In accordance with the FSNA constitution, the new slate of FSNA officers and at-large board members were announced at the FSNA meeting on Wednesday, October 9th. The election will be held at the FSNA annual meeting, Oktoberfest, on Sunday, October 20th from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm. The nomination process is still open until the vote is held at Oktoberfest.

The nominated board is:

• Jeff Greer, President
• Brian Becker, Vice President
• Hiroshi Parker, Corresponding Secretary
• Susan Elliot, Recording Secretary
• Terri DiCintio, Treasurer
• Hardy Whitten, President Ex-Officio

At-Large board members:

• Hillary Bracken
• Susan Quinn
• Peter Hedlund
• Inessa Telefus
• Jess Wenger

Old Lynchburg Road Safety, Sidewalks and Drainage Update

Hello everyone,

Here’s an update on the recent work done on the site.

Additional landscaping work was provided at the bio-retention filter area, additional site clean-up work was provided along the corridor, lawns were cleared of any remaining debris, old straw removed, additional topsoil placed, hydro-seeded and a light straw covering placed back , were growth was slow. The remaining black silt fence will be removed once the grass has taken hold in those recently seeded areas. The need for partial street closures are not anticipated at this point and normal traffic flows have resumed. Information for the proposed trees along the wider sections of OLR right of way has been collected and a separate contract will be established for the installation phase later this fall.

Best,

Tony Edwards

City Engineer, CFM