Year: 2013

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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