City manager report: Meetings continue to better understand local gun violence

The packet for the December 2, 2024 meeting of the City Council includes a written report on all sorts of items happening within local government. This is a good way to keep up with some of the details, and almost every one of these is worth a potential story. (read the report)

Since the last Council meeting on November 18, City Manager Sam Sanders has held a series of meetings including those of the Rivanna Solid Waste Authority and the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority. Sanders noted that one of the conversations was about a dwindling amount of landfill space and that the group is “looking at alternate resources that are needed and all ideas are on the table.” Here’s a story from that discussion.

Sanders also met with the UVA Equity Center on their efforts to reduce gun violence in the community. This work is informed by the report from the Community Safety Group released earlier this year. (read previous coverage)

“The UVA Gun Violence Solutions Project (GVSP) is a university-wide effort to develop, implement, and assess actionable solutions to reduce gun violence,” reads the website for the initiative.

One aspect of that work is a one-credit course offered by the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy called Understanding Gun Violence.

Sanders also attended the fall meeting of the Virginia First Cities initiative where several speakers discussed what to expect in the 2025 General Assembly and the 119th Congress. So far the website for Virginia First Cities does not list a legislative agenda for next year.

Some other items in the report:

• The deadline is closing to vote in the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority’s Day Without Water Art Contest. The theme this year is “What’s Your Drop In the Bucket?” The online voting can be done at this link. The poll closes on December 4, so hurry!
• Albemarle and Charlottesville will begin operating out of the new joint General District Court next year and mediation is underway to ensure the Sheriff’s Department in both localities are on the same page regarding security protocols.
• The city is partnering with the nonprofit Community Climate Collaborative on a series of Climate Cafes and the December 13 event will focus on electric vehicles and will include the group Generation 180. The event is at the Bradbury at 9:30 a.m. and you can register here.
• The Office of Human Rights has opened eleven discrimination cases this year. The office is also seeking to become certified to handle additional cases by being certified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to handle fair housing complaints. HUD wants additional changes which will be presented to Council in January.

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