Storms, Public Hearing & Pickup Soccer – The week That Was – Crozet Twitter Updates – Brief Notes for 2010-06-06

Note: the green/italicized portion of this post are from the public hearing on the Restore N Station.

Crozet Arts and Crafts Festival – May 8-9 2010

Just a reminder that this weekend brings the Crozet Arts & Crafts Festival. And, but for a couple possible thunderstorms, it should be a beautiful weekend.

Deep in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains in central Virginia lies the little town of Crozet. Steeped in history and surrounded by breathtaking scenery, Crozet is a supportive, growing community close to Charlottesville. Monticello, Ashlawn, Montpelier, the University of Virginia, Skyline Drive, the Blue Ridge Parkway and the nearby Shenandoah Valley make central Virginia a place of interest to visitors from all of the the world. Charlottesville is consistently ranked by Money Magazine as one of the 100 Best Places to Live in America. Those who visit often find ways to return – and some make it their permanent home.

The Crozet Arts & Crafts Festival is now entering its 30th year and has become a tradition for many artists, patrons, volunteers and entertainers alike. It has a strong reputation locally and the demographics of the area provide support year after year. Due to its central location in the Commonwealth and its convenient access to many major roadways, including I-81 and I-64, the Charlottesville area makes a great show stop between major cities. Any time of year is a good time of year to do business here.

Update: If you have some time, feel free to volunteer at the Crozet Arts & Crafts Festival.

The tents are up and we are getting ready to host over 100 exhibits for the 30th Annual Crozet Arts & Crafts Spring Festival. However, we are in need of more volunteers to help us Saturday and Sunday! Please, please consider volunteering an hour or two or more. But if you could only work an hour, we can use your help. There are a variety of tasks from running the information tent to pouring Starr Hill beer at the wine and beer tent on Sunday (must be 21 to volunteer at the wine and beer tent).

Any time you can provide will be greatly appreciated! Funds generated from this event help run the operating costs of Claudius Crozet Park, Inc. and ultimately will help us provide support for the Crozet P.A.R.C. campaign. It takes a village to run this event. Claudius Crozet Park, Inc, is a non-profit and independently-run park(no funds are received from Albemarle County).

See the link below and consider where you might be able to provide help with this event, please?

www.crozetartsandcrafts.volunteerhub.com (we only need your name and email when you sign up)

WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!!!!!!!

www.crozetpark.org
www.crozetartsandcrafts.com
www.facebook.com/ClaudiusCrozetPark

P.S.
Entertainment on Saturday beginning at 3:30 p.m. will be Terry Allard, Darryl Rose and the Kid Pan Alley singing group. It promises to be great entertainment!

_______________________________________________

Time to Wake up the Bedroom Community Citizens of Crozet!

Editor’s Note: Leslie Burns was kind enough to answer my call for someone to write about last week’s Crozet Community Association meeting.

A handful of Crozet Citizens showed up last Thursday to hear what is happening in our town at the Crozet Community Association gathering. Who are these folks? Why, they are your neighbors… hoping to pull together and grow community involvement. You might not have heard about the meeting or paid much attention to the small signs announcing it that were posted around the main intersection of town. But maybe it is time to start showing up at these association meetings…they only meet five times a year. It is not a huge commitment to make. That was one of the issues that came up at the meeting- how to reach out and connect the many neighborhoods and people living out there that have the health of our town in mind.

Here’s the dilemma. No tax revenues = no new funds to support the type of cultural and much needed improvements (think Library, road improvements, sidewalks, etc.) that are at the very heart of the Master Plan of Crozet. So where do the revenue hungry turn when it is time to welcome developers of light industrial business parks? The easiest places to access are usually given the green light for development first and we have a light that we should examine closely before we let it change on us. Some of the locations recently designated by our leaders for ideal growth are a few major intersections of highways with Rte 64.

It was announced tonight at the Crozet Community Association meeting that there is going to be a Master Plan review and meeting on Thursday, January 21st whose purpose (for one) will bring to light an idea that at least one person in our community claims will supply the revenue generating light industrial growth that Crozet (by way of our growth-area designation in the county) is destined to support. Where is this development to occur? The proposed development of land equal to the size of two Fashion Square Malls, sits quietly by the intersection of 250 and 64 at that sleepy little intersection that is the gateway to our homes and schools right now. Imagine a Waynesboro type intersection right next to our lovely pastoral village. Is this what you moved to Crozet to get close to?

If “Intersectionville” is the very name of the town you want to live in you may well get it, unless you show up to exhibit your commitment to an alternative way of life. The vision of retaining the downtown area and building it up to support sustainable and healthy growth alongside the tracks and within walking distance of community services already in place, will become nothing but a memory if the car and semi-truck driven sprawl is allowed to go in where it is proposed.

If you have an opinion to voice please show up on Thursday night on the 21st at the Field School auditorium (Old Crozet School on Crozet Ave.) at 7:00 PM. Meet some new neighbors and bring some neighbors that you already know. Meet some of the planning department representatives that have been actively involved in our master plan-consistently showing up to hear what YOU have to say. Listen to what is proposed to develop around us and become an active part of the small town that you moved here to enjoy. If you let others make your decisions for you- you are going to have to live in a world that someone else created for you and your children. Government is here as a tool of the people. If we do not interact, speak-up and have a hand in the sustainable design of our town here- it will not be a tool in our hands- but in the hands of those that would profit from business-as-usual sprawl. If the vision for Yancy Mills Industrial park and surrounding areas is not of a sprawling build out- let that be shown clearly to us.

Here’s the challenge… People that live in Crozet can affect how and where that revenue-creating light industrial growth is to occur by becoming the community that we claim we came here to be part of.

You want that small town feel? Now is your time to shine on Thursday- January 21st.

Christmas Tree Recycling in Crozet

Basically, we’re taking our Christmas trees – sans lights and stands – to Crozet Park or Greenwood Community Center. Who’s going to be first?

From the County of Albemarle:

Trees will be recycled into free mulch for the public

It’s almost that time of year again!

As in the past, the Albemarle County Parks & Recreation Dept will host its annual Christmas Tree Recycling Program beginning December 26, 2009 through January 16, 2010. The Christmas Tree Recycling Program collects discarded Christmas trees which are chipped into mulch and then offered to the public at no cost. This program has been in operation since 1988 and recycles over 3000 trees each year; which in turn yields over 144 cubic yards of mulch. Not only does this recycling program provide citizens a place to dispose of a potentially large and cumbersome item, it also reduces the impact on our landfill.

By combining forces with the Charlottesville Curb Side Pick-Up Program, the two programs collected over 5600 trees last year, yielding approximately 268 cubic yards of mulch. According to the City Public Works Department, their curbside pick up will be the week of January 11th, 2010. Trees must be at the curbside by 7am. Shortly after the City’s curbside pick up, the County and City Parks & Recreation crews will team up to chip the estimated 2600 trees at Darden Towe Park.

As a reminder, this program is for Christmas trees only, please no yard waste. Both the County & City programs require that all decorations, stands and nails be removed from the Christmas trees. Free mulch will be available to citizen by February 1, 2009, at Darden Towe Park.

The County will operate seven sites daily, 7am till dark.

The sites are as follows:

Continue reading “Christmas Tree Recycling in Crozet”

Crozet PARC – a Dome for the Crozet Pool

The new Crozet Park Aquatic and Recreation Center (Crozet PARC) will be the first of its kind in Albemarle County. It will provide affordable year round swimming and fitness programming for families in the western part of the county and beyond.

Our fundraising campaign has two phases. The first benchmark is to raise $200,000 in the community to match a pledge from Claudius Crozet Park, Inc. This $400,000 benchmark will provide the funding to add a removable dome to the existing pool; the final phase of the campaign will provide the funding to convert the existing park building into a recreation center that will offer fitness equipment, classes, after- school and camp programs, and community space for healthy lifestyle workshops. The Crozet P.A.R.C. will be a special place, open to all, regardless of ability or income.

Campaign Goals:
• 2009 – 2010 Pool Dome Fund Drive
• 2010 – 2011 Recreation Center Fund Drive
Claudius Crozet Park, Inc. is a community-owned charitable organization (501(c)3).

All gifts are tax deductible and can be mailed to:
Crozet Park Pool Dome
PO Box 171
Crozet, VA 22932

Make checks payable to Claudius Crozet Park, with pool dome written in the memo section.

Information will be available at the Crozet Music Festival October 2nd, 3rd & 4th and at the Crozet Arts and Crafts Festival on October 10th & 11th.

For more information or to make a donation on-line visit our park website after October 1, 2009
and click on the Crozet P.A.R.C. campaign tab. The park website is www.crozetpark.org.
For additional questions contact Ravi Respeto from the fundraising committee at [email protected].

More at Crozet Gazette.

Crozet Park Open this Weekend

Get your pool passes now! Even better, they will be using a new saline-based chlorination system.

This year, the pool committee has already been busy making other improvements for their patrons. First and foremost, the pool’s water sanitation process has been completely converted. Rather than continuing to use a granulated chlorine injection process for water treatment, the pool has converted over to a new, improved, safer water treatment system called ChlorKing®. This system makes it no longer necessary to have staff handle hazardous and expensive chemicals. It reduces the amount of room needed to store sometimes large, heavy quantities of chlorine that are necessary to keep the water levels safe. It creates a natural antiseptic environment that prevents bacteria and algae from forming. Furthermore, there is the potential that the ChlorKing saline chlorination system could reduce our system running costs by up to 80% annually.

As an added perk, while chlorine exposure to humans is often harsh, this system will be so much kinder and gentler to our natural bodies. Potentially gone are the days of red, irritated eyes or itchy, dry skin, green hair for our fair haired swimmers or even bleached bathing suits and the water will feel soft, silky and more all natural than ever before. There will be no more of that chlorine taste or smell; however, you will find a slightly salty taste to the water from now on, which is normal with this system.

Continue reading “Crozet Park Open this Weekend”