Albemarle County to discuss capital needs for education in joint meeting with Albemarle School Board today

One of the pieces of information Albemarle financial staff need to put together a budget for FY26 is a request from Albemarle County Public Schools. The two elected bodies representing both aspects of government will hold a joint meeting at 1 p.m. in Room 241 of the county’s office building at 401 McIntire Road. (meeting info) (1 p.m. agenda)

The topic is a joint look at the five-year financial plan. Supervisors had their first look at this preliminary budget document on November 20 as I wrote last week.

The materials for this joint session indicate a total capital improvement plan request of $560,139,500 over five-years in their request. The request for the first year is $89.6 million and there don’t appear to be any surprises. One new request in FY30 is $100 million for a “high school capacity project.” Another $3 million is anticipated that year for design of a preschool center.

The joint meeting is the only item on the afternoon agenda.

The regular meeting of the Albemarle Board of Supervisors will meet at 6 p.m. so all of the usual items such as announcements and the public comment period will be at this time. This portion of the meeting will be in Lane Auditorium. (meeting agenda)

There are several public hearings.

The first is on the programming for some of the county’s remaining American Rescue Plan Act funds. (read the full description)

• $110,722 will be used for “continuation of programming in human services economic vitality projects, broadband, and ARPA eligible uses.”
• $336,298 will go to the Albemarle Housing Improvement Program for them to complete four households and to help three existing houses concert from septic fields to sewer.
• $80,000 will go to pay for housing navigation services conducted by the Piedmont Housing Alliance under their Financial Opportunity Center.
• $170,000 will go to the Albemarle County Emergency Relief Program to help prevent evictions or utility disconnections.
• $100,000 will go to help develop a low-barrier year-round shelter.
• $27,186 will help pay for an Active Threat Assessment program.
• $3,836 will go to the Parks and Recreation Department to help pay for an emergency generator at the Meadow’s Community Center.
• $37,544 will go to the Charlottesville Albemarle Convention and Visitors Bureau for their marketing budget.
• Another $67,280 represents the city’s contribution from the same for the CACVB

Another item up for public hearing is the appropriation of $375,000 from Crozet New Town Associates to go word the Barnes Lumber Library Avenue extension project.

The second public hearing related to acquisition of a 0.07 acre property in Crozet for the extension of Library Avenue. The property in question was at one point to have been conveyed from the developer of Parkside Village to the homeowner’s association for that development.

“The current record owner is a defunct entity with multiple judgments encumbering its properties,” reads the staff report. “Albemarle County staff has completed due diligence with advertisements and signage to provide an opportunity for other potential owners to state a claim on the property, but none were received.”

The current record is Hauser Homes which hasn’t existed since 2014 according to records from the State Corporation Commission.

The third public hearing is for a special use permit for the Central Virginia Electric Cooperative to rebuild a transmission line in the Batesville area. (item materials)

Before you go: The time to write and research of this article is covered by paid subscribers to Charlottesville Community Engagement. In fact, this particular installment is from the December 2, 2024 Week Ahead edition of the newsletter.