Huge thanks to Todd Edgerton for volunteering to guest post this.
Crozet Community Association (March 14th, 2013)
*of note, this is my first meeting for this organization and I’m very very glad to have this support network in our community, every community should be so lucky*
• I arrived during the presentation of the ACPD Corp. Jenkins, who was explaining the new hire process and that ACPD will be growing their number of sworn officers by six, over the next 2 yrs. He also fielded a few questions regarding the firing range options which the county is currently assessing. Most important to note is that an outdoor range is currently not being explored. He also explained some of the new ‘models’ of patrol that the county has moved to, which seems promising in returning to a local officer/s scenario. I see this as a major change in our police force and am excited for the change.
• Dave Brockman (recently brought on by the Jessup family, replacing the lead developer within Old Trail) presented a number of poster board renderings for Old Trail future development. Dave then explained his background as being from the ‘West’ and having been a landscape architect. He is trying to get up to speed with our lifestyles and mannerisms in the Commonwealth, and for only being here 9 months, I’m impressed with his efforts. Even though everyone wanted to ask him questions about the hotel, he explained that the owner of the Lodge was actually building the hotel independent of Old Trail, in a by-right development. David Hilliard would have helped answer many questions, had he been present, but was travelling on business tonight. Dave also explained the vision for the new Old Trail ‘parks’ nearest to the Brownsville School, as a start to connect all the green spaces within OT. He sees the green spaces as ideal for informal sports/play and that he would like to nurture a true downtown sense in the village area of OT, esp. with the addition of 3 new commercial buildings apart from the hotel. It’s also of note that he and his family live within Old Trail.
• It was made clear after many questions that Dave ought to realign his presentations to include Old Trail as part of the greater community, and not as an island apart from Crozet. Not really Old Trail vs. Crozet, but that we are all Crozet one-in-the-same. Many comments were directed to the vein of tourism that the hotel will market themselves to, primary the alcohol tours (wine/beer/etc.) There were questions related to the hotel, traffic patterns, and timing of commercial build out – which he tried to answer the best way, but without details he wasn’t able to provide much substance.
• Bill Schrader updated the group with details about the library building and the steps he is going through with regarding to funding and the recent grant that the library received. Most of the details are written about in the most recent Gazette. There was some discussion regarding the 1st floor space and what may best go in that place, unfortunately the library will have to have a tenant that will NOT be permanent, as that sq footage will ultimately be claimed by the library with future growth. He reminded us if we gave money in 2012, that this is a new year and to dig a little deeper for contributions THIS year
• Jessica Mauzy announced the next Trail work day and that it is a great opportunity for children to earn community service hours, and to really get to know the other community members. Ann MAllek recognized the group as being the model to which other trail groups within the Commonwealth should follow.
• The Western Albemarle Rescue squad, Crozet Volunteer Fire Department, and Crozet Library were presented with contributions raised at the Valentine’s Swing Dance, last month.
• Jim Crosby & Tom Loach presented their ideas about a Crozet Safety Corp proposal. The idea is that your best resource in an emergency may be your immediate neighbors. The ideas are very similar to neighborhood watch in other communities. Care about your neighbors and we can be much more self-reliant, and once this Corp is seen as a positive by ACPD, we have an opportunity to been a pilot/model for other neighborhoods within the county. Using the master plan as a guide, Crozet is slated to be denser than Charlottesville proper, with much less police presence.
• Independence Day celebration will be July 6th, with the 7th as a backup date. It will be held in the Park as it has in years past, including a parade. Time for other new business was limited as Dave’s presentation took longer than expected, but there are several vacancies in Albemarle Co Boards and Commissions please apply and represent Crozet! More on these vacancies on ‘Real Crozet’ blog.
• Charlottesville Tree Stewards are currently offering a $25 voucher towards the purchase of a tree, per family, as long as you following the guidelines. There are 5 nurseries within the county that will accept this voucher, and the funding is being provided by Bama Works Fund of Dave Matthews Band, and an anonymous donor.
I’m going to add links later today ….
Update 18 March 2013:
1 – I’ve storified the meeting ; click through for the story.
2 – Trevor Henry’s slides showing an update on what’s happening in Downtown Crozet, including the ongoing utility relocation.
3 – Link for the Charlottesville Tree Stewards.
4 – Regarding the Crozet Safety Corp proposal – I would highly encourage folks to follow RealCrozetVA on Twitter and “like” RealCrozetVA on Facebook – they have proven to be invaluable (to me at least) when seeking information from neighbors and fellow Crozetians when we’ve had large power outages (derecho, anyone?), when we’ve been looking for road conditions after the snow, etc.*
*For those who know me or have read RealCrozetVA for years, you know that while this could be perceived as self-serving advice, I’m suggesting participating in these social networks for the good of the community.
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Crozet Community Association Meeting – Storified
It’s always better when the Crozet community gets involved …
Storified by Jim Duncan· Mon, Mar 18 2013 06:24:17
I assume this is the correct link: http://charlottesvilleareatreestewards.org/2013/02/13/25-tree-voucher-give-away-to-homeowners-2/#more-1827
Thanks, Julie. I’ve added the link above.
Applause and great appreciation to Todd Edgerton for his recap of the CCA meeting. Now I know who to contact when it’s time to elect a CCA secretary next January! Great job. I’ll have the CCA draft minutes from the meeting posted this weekend at thttp://cca.avenue.org/meeting-minutes/
I liked the way of presentation ideas of Jim Crosby & Tom Loach about a Crozet Safety Corp. Being a model for other neighborhoods is really a good thing.
regards,
sandrahelen848,
http://hvactrainingpro.com/
From Jennie_Moore –
“I don’t tweet, so here goes……In my opinion, Mr. Brockman’s comments in #The Crozet Gazette’s article about the hotel and his vision regarding future development in Old Trail came across much better than his presentation at the CCA meeting.
Mr. Brockman’s presentation outlined how the plans for Old Trail and its commercial development are similar to that of the town of #Crozet, in that you have commercial property and density near the core/center of town and then density drops off as you move away from the core. It was pointed out to Mr. Brockman that Crozet is not a town and for that matter neither is Old Trail.
His presentation only further illustrated to me the intention of Old Trail and its developers to separate themselves from Crozet rather than be a community on the outskirts of Crozet. I feel that his information perpetuated the idea of the “us and them” mentality. It clearly outlined the plans to create significant commercial development in their core/center.
The intensity of this development will take away from development in Crozet. Mr. Brockman’s presentation would have benefited from a bit of history about the relationship that Crozet and Old Trail have had since its inception.
Jenny – I agree that Dave Brockman is still learning about the history and the issues regarding Crozet and Old Trail. I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt. We were never able to get the previous Old Trail management to come to meetings or engage with us in a meaningful and public forum, so I give Dave a lot of credit for coming.
It’s true we’re not a town, in the sense of a political entity with a council and town taxes, etc. However, I think we are a town in these sense of how we think of ourselves – and the town of Crozet, in this sense – includes Old Trail, and Clover Lawn, and Music Today, I think of the political boundary of the Crozet growth area as the general town boundary. FWIW, I grew up in a town – Warrenton back when it was about the size of Crozet,is now (in population, though I think also in physical size – watched it expand, struggle about a bypass and then a bypass of the bypass, try to preserve old downtown. (We lived on Main Street) My father owned a business in it, he served its town council and as vice-mayor for years. So I’m familiar with what makes a town in the community sense and what makes it a town in the political sense. What’s most important is the former – the sense of community and shared vision. With that in place, the political will needed to make the vision reality will happen whether or not we’re incorporated or not.
I agree that the issue of defining the word “town” can be political or the sense of community. I mentioned that in my comment since it was brought up during the meeting. For me Crozet is a town in the sense of the community and connections we have with one another. It is also an impressive community because of the willingness for people to become involved in guiding the future of Crozet. My concern regarding the presentation was that the description of the development of Old Trail’s urban core being compared to that of Crozet’s seemed to further illustrate the idea that these are going to become two separate places. I believe that Old Trail should be a part of Crozet, but my take on the history and intentions of the development is that the ultimate vision is not to be a part of Crozet, but rather something that just happens to be located near Crozet. I am glad that Mr. Brockman attended the meeting and having someone sent from Old Trail to provide information is a very positive thing. If I were interested in purchasing a home in a community like Old Trail I would have been impressed with his presentation. However, I am interested in protecting the place that my family has lived for over 100 years. I am interested in properly fostering growth and prosperity in this place that is my home. I enjoyed the CCA meeting and intend on attending them in the future! (even paid my dues)
If time permits continue to brainstorm on development issues and ideas and hear more from Kim Connolly and Dave Stoner on economic development for Crozet.
hcg drops
Thank you Jim Duncan for posting my comment. I will work on getting this twitter stuff figured out.
You are quite welcome!
Jennie – And I should have said – thanks for coming to the CCA meeting. I hope you’ll continue to attend and participate. We need may voices and viewpoints. Thanks for sharing yours.
As for Crozet being a town, the only thing I can say is if someone asks me what’s my home town, the answer will be Crozet, not Charlottesville.