issue statements
Questions posed by community organizations will be provided below.
Questions from the League of Women Voters of the Charlottesville Area
Given that the City and the County are both heavily involved in the urban area, what can they do to work more seamlessly together, so that the school system, the public safety entities, and the utilities could operate more efficiently?
I believe the key to success of the City and County working together – no matter the endeavor - begins and ends with the leadership of elected officials along with the county executive and the city manager. Elected officials need to have the political will to work beyond their immediate jurisdictional interests to achieve regional success, trusting that regional success will benefit all. The county executive and the city manager – who answer to their respective elected bodies – need to instill and inspire a culture of regional cooperation and mutual planning among the members of their respective staffs. As has been the case with past regional successes, the combined efforts of both the staffs of the County and City will be an integral component. In May of 2016, four memorandums of understanding were created identifying affordable housing, education, the environment and transportation as areas for cooperation and directed staff to begin the work. It now should be a top priority of the Supervisors, City Councilors, the County Executive, and the City Manager to follow up on the progress of achieving the outcomes as defined in the memorandums.
A DEQ report and a Stream/Watch study estimate that only about 30% of the streams within the County are healthy by Virginia water standards. What steps would you support to improve local water quality?
I will support the continuation of the implementation of the County’s Stormwater Management Program as mandated by the state out of concern for local streams and the Chesapeake Bay. I support efforts to make sure our current local ordinances and water protection regulations – including those that go beyond what is currently mandated by the state – are being enforced. The current supervisors have wisely moved to take proactive steps in regard to protecting the quality of streams ahead of what will likely be future state mandates.
How do you see the balance between expanding economic development in the county that diversifies our tax base and the impact that such economic development will have on population growth, traffic, schools, etc?
Population growth and the consequent impacts on traffic, schools, etc. has occurred and will continue to occur no matter the progress of economic development in our community. The Weldon Cooper Center report that was recently published, states that the county population has grown 6.8% since 2010 with a projected growth of an additional 4.5% by 2020. It is necessary for us to be ready for the population growth through effective planning. We plainly see the impact that population growth is having on transportation, school classrooms, local businesses, county amenities, etc. Diversification of the tax base will help us acquire the resources we will need in order to continue to provide the necessary infrastructure and services enjoyed by our current citizens and will be enjoyed by our future community members. The type of economic development and redevelopment/revitalization that we encourage to occur and, perhaps more importantly, that Albemarle is ready to embrace is a critical policy conversation. Just as we plan and allocate resources for infrastructure and services we need to also plan and outline the types of things we do to encourage our current local businesses to successfully expand and grow; and define the types of local industries we would like to see take root in Albemarle in order to produce jobs that will pay middle to high incomes. This is a difficult answer to try and frame in a paragraph or two and I look forward to learning more from our citizens and local business owners as Election Day approaches. Now that a new County Executive has been hired, I plan to ask that he make the hiring of a seasoned Economic Development Director with experience in urbanizing localities a top priority. I am ready to get to work with the new County Executive and the new Economic Development Director on instituting a strong economic plan for Albemarle. We cannot afford to be behind the development and growth that we know will occur, we need to be in front of it leading the way.
I believe the key to success of the City and County working together – no matter the endeavor - begins and ends with the leadership of elected officials along with the county executive and the city manager. Elected officials need to have the political will to work beyond their immediate jurisdictional interests to achieve regional success, trusting that regional success will benefit all. The county executive and the city manager – who answer to their respective elected bodies – need to instill and inspire a culture of regional cooperation and mutual planning among the members of their respective staffs. As has been the case with past regional successes, the combined efforts of both the staffs of the County and City will be an integral component. In May of 2016, four memorandums of understanding were created identifying affordable housing, education, the environment and transportation as areas for cooperation and directed staff to begin the work. It now should be a top priority of the Supervisors, City Councilors, the County Executive, and the City Manager to follow up on the progress of achieving the outcomes as defined in the memorandums.
A DEQ report and a Stream/Watch study estimate that only about 30% of the streams within the County are healthy by Virginia water standards. What steps would you support to improve local water quality?
I will support the continuation of the implementation of the County’s Stormwater Management Program as mandated by the state out of concern for local streams and the Chesapeake Bay. I support efforts to make sure our current local ordinances and water protection regulations – including those that go beyond what is currently mandated by the state – are being enforced. The current supervisors have wisely moved to take proactive steps in regard to protecting the quality of streams ahead of what will likely be future state mandates.
How do you see the balance between expanding economic development in the county that diversifies our tax base and the impact that such economic development will have on population growth, traffic, schools, etc?
Population growth and the consequent impacts on traffic, schools, etc. has occurred and will continue to occur no matter the progress of economic development in our community. The Weldon Cooper Center report that was recently published, states that the county population has grown 6.8% since 2010 with a projected growth of an additional 4.5% by 2020. It is necessary for us to be ready for the population growth through effective planning. We plainly see the impact that population growth is having on transportation, school classrooms, local businesses, county amenities, etc. Diversification of the tax base will help us acquire the resources we will need in order to continue to provide the necessary infrastructure and services enjoyed by our current citizens and will be enjoyed by our future community members. The type of economic development and redevelopment/revitalization that we encourage to occur and, perhaps more importantly, that Albemarle is ready to embrace is a critical policy conversation. Just as we plan and allocate resources for infrastructure and services we need to also plan and outline the types of things we do to encourage our current local businesses to successfully expand and grow; and define the types of local industries we would like to see take root in Albemarle in order to produce jobs that will pay middle to high incomes. This is a difficult answer to try and frame in a paragraph or two and I look forward to learning more from our citizens and local business owners as Election Day approaches. Now that a new County Executive has been hired, I plan to ask that he make the hiring of a seasoned Economic Development Director with experience in urbanizing localities a top priority. I am ready to get to work with the new County Executive and the new Economic Development Director on instituting a strong economic plan for Albemarle. We cannot afford to be behind the development and growth that we know will occur, we need to be in front of it leading the way.