City Manager’s Report October 2022 1 UPDATES FROM CITY MANAGER MICHAEL ROGERS • The Interim City Manager attended the International City and County Management Association annual conference in Columbus Ohio along with Deputy City Managers Sam Sanders and Ashley Marshall. The conference held over 140 sessions with topics centered around community engagement, Police Community Relations, Diversity Equity and inclusion, homelessness, infrastructure, mental health, Budget and finance and many more topics pertinent to effective management of local government operation and public policy issues. The Conference also included a number of exhibitors offering services and products to local government. • Attended Board meeting of Charlottesville Albemarle Airport Authority. CHO is still building to its pre pandemic activity. Although activity has not quite returned to pre-pandemic levels flights out of CHO are now 80% full, a very good sign as well as a Fiscal year budget closed with net income of $129,446. Melinda Crawford was named Airport Executive of the year by Virginia Airport Agency. Airport is recognized as well managed regional airport. • Attended the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority meeting and Rivanna Solid Waste Authority. • Meet with representative of Amalgamated Transit Union and Charlottesville Fire Department to discuss the Proposed Co90llecxtive Bargaining ordinance. It was a very productive meeting and resolved many differences in the different proposals that have been offered. • Deputy Managers Sanders and Marshall attended Leadership Lab sponsored by the Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce. This new program is an important vehicle for connecting leaders and building productive networks in our community. It is the plan to have more of Department Directors participate in this program as a way of building greater connections between the leaders in City Hall and the community. • As has been reported Fire Chief Smith will be leaving his post to return to Florida where he was in Fire Service for 24 years. He will become Chief of the Polk County Fire Department. I will work with Deputy City Manager Sanders to select an Acting Fire Chief and to determine the process and schedule for recruitment and appointment of a new chief. We are appreciative of the great work done by Chief Smith to move the department and to guide it through another successful accreditation process. • The Police Chief search continues as POLIHIRE continues to reach-out to various community stakeholders to discuss what they want in a new police chief. The Interim City Manager has conducted conversations with representatives of the CPD as well to discuss what the department would like to see in a new chief. The target for interviews is late October with a recommendation by the Interim City Manager in early November. 2 UPDATES FROM DEPUTY CITY MANAGER ASHLEY MARSHALL • Staffing Update  Congratulations are in order for the Department of Human Resources’ Organizational Development/Learning Coordinator Ms. Flora Kelly-Bertsche who presented a session entitled "Historical Influences on African-American Community Engagement" at the 2022 ICMA Conference in Columbus, Ohio on September 20, 2022. • 2022 Employee Engagement Survey  The City of Charlottesville has re-engaged the University of Virginia Center for Survey Research within the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service. The survey was opened to staff in the Spring of 2022. The Center for Survey Research is currently working on a presentation that will be given to Council during an upcoming public 4 pm reports meeting. UPDATES FROM DEPUTY CITY MANAGER SAMUEL SANDERS • Staffing Update  We salute Chief Hezedean Smith for his dedication and commitment to the Charlottesville Fire Department over the past two years; we wish him well in his new endeavor in Central Florida.  Congratulations to CFD’s Newest Leaders:  Battalion Chief Chad Bingler, Operations (C-Shift, BC 1)  Battalion Chief Lance Blakey, Professional Standards (TRNG 1 - 40 hr.)  Battalion Chief Marc Ellis, Operations (C Shift, BC 2)  And we celebrate the historic milestone achieved by BC Blakey who is the first African American to serve in this rank in the history of CFD. • Notice of Funding Availability  The City of Charlottesville will issue its first consolidated Notice of Funding Availability for all housing related grant-making; this NOFA will be issued in October with multiple RFP rounds to implement the various program redesign efforts identified in last year’s analysis in support of the Affordable Housing Plan. • Emergency Management  Interviews have commenced in the city’s pursuit of its first Emergency Management Coordinator; applicants have begun responding to situational response questions and interviews with a panel; we anticipate a candidate selection in October CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE UPDATES • Office of the City Manager – Executive Assistant Terry Bentley (she/her)  The City Manager would like to remind the community to please take advantage of the MyCville app for the reporting of any issues identified across the city. This administration of this tool has been assigned to the Office of Community Solutions. OCS staff will ensure the timely assignment and resolution of items by designated staff in the departments. Where there are items unassigned, the OCS team will work to resolve them directly. This is intended to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of this community resource. 3 • Office of Budget and Management – Director Krisy Hammill (she/her)  The new budget year is underway, and staff is busy working on the full process for the FY24 budget from CIP to Departments! The Office wishes to remind the public that they can view the FY23 budget at any time through the Budget Explorer tool at: https://www.charlottesville.gov/1473/Budget-Explorer. In addition, the FY24 Budget Development Public Meeting Calendar is being created in collaboration with the Clerk of Council and is scheduled to be posted shortly on the Budget Office webpage at: https://www.charlottesville.gov/169/Budget. A new opportunity for public engagement has been added to the calendar this year. The City Manager will be holding a Budget Forum in January. More information to come once we get closer to that time. • Office of Communications & Public Engagement – Deputy Director David Dillehunt (he/him)  The Office of Communications and Public Engagement is already getting excited for the 25th Grand Illumination to be held on December 2nd! The staff has been working hard to make sure that our little piece of winter magic is wonderful. Staff is also currently working on continuing to support boards and commissions with virtual or hybrid meetings, ensuring public access to media recordings, working to provide quality programming on our Government television channel, and helping with internal communications. • Office of Community Solutions –Director Alex Ikefuna (he/him)  We thank Erin Atak, Grants Planner, for her service to the City of Charlottesville in managing the HOME & CDBG programs; Erin departs later this month for a new opportunity in the DC Area.  OCS Staff is working with an internal cohort to define the bag distribution effort in association with the implementation of the Plastic Bag Tax in January 2023.  OCS Staff has continued to support residents of Midway Manor on their various issues with management; facilitated conversation with HUD that led to a meeting with the property owners to review the concerns expressed by residents.  Hosted the Quarterly Neighborhood Leaders Meeting on September 15, 2022 (See attached Q&A items)  Worked with CRHA to initiate reallocation of CSRAP funds to acquire existing affordable housing units in an effort to preserve them for long term affordability • Office of Economic Development – Director Chris Engel (he/him)  The Office of Economic Development joined Bread & Roses for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the addition of a new walk-in cooler. Bread & Roses is an outreach ministry of Trinity Episcopal Church that provides access to a commercial commissary kitchen for early-stage food and beverage start-ups. OED’s Building Resilience Among Charlottesville Entrepreneurs or BRACE grant provided funding support for the addition of the cooler. Since its inception in 2015 – Bread & Roses has assisted 20 start-ups with access to a certified commercial kitchen with many of those same start-ups also receiving support from OED. • Office of Human Rights – Director Todd Niemeier (he/him)  The Office of Human Rights continues to receive an increasing number of incoming requests for individual support. We are still entering service data for the month of August and September, but the current total incoming contacts for 2022 is 1,951. The total number of incoming contacts for 4 the entirety of 2021 was 1,962, the highest of any year since the opening of the office in 2014. We are set to surpass this number in 2022. The Office would like to remind the public that the Human Rights Commission holds its next regular meeting on September 15th. Included in the agenda packet for this meeting is the final version of the CY2021 HRC & OHR Annual Report as well as a draft of the amended Human Rights Ordinance containing revisions that include substantial equivalence to federal fair housing law. The current plan is to present both the CY2021 Annual Report and the amended Human Rights Ordinance at the City Council meeting scheduled for November 7, 2022. At its September 15th meeting, the Commission will also host Delegate Sally Hudson who will share information about current and upcoming legislation within the General Assembly that may relate to human rights. The Commission will use this information, along with community feedback, to present a set of legislative recommendations to City Council for consideration in its annual legislative agenda. In addition, Victoria McCullough -Community Outreach and Administrative Specialist for the Office is working with the Human Rights Commission and the Communications Department to develop a community survey and publicity campaign to solicit public feedback regarding the Commission’s legislative recommendations to Council. The survey and publicity materials will be in both English and Spanish. The Office also continues to thank their Interns Lily Gates and Ginny Helmandollar for their continued excellence in service! • Office of Equity and Inclusion - Downtown Job Center & Home to Hope Program– Employment & Financial Opportunity Manager Roy Fitch Jr. (he/him)  The Downtown Job Center - represented the department this weekend at Region Ten's 7th Annual CRANU Event. CRANU stands for Community Recovery for All Neighborhoods United. It was sponsored by their Community-based Peer Recovery Services Team. The event took place at Tonsler Park on Saturday, September 10th from 11am to 3pm. 30 contacts were made with community attendees/12 contacts were made with community agency partners. The Home to Hope program is sad to share that Peer Navigator Shadee Gilliam will be moving on, but excited to see his work continue with the City’s Department of Human Services. We extend a large thank you to both Mr. Gilliam and Ms. Ramanda Jackson (an original Peer Navigator who also joined the Department of Human Services) for paving the way along with Stacey Washington and Whitmore Merrick from the inception of this program. They both are sorely missed, but we also are grateful they will continue to help serve and support the community with the City. To that end, we do encourage members of the community to consider applying to serve in the Home to Hope program as a Peer Navigator. The position closed to applications on September 15, 2022, and submissions are being reviewed currently. 5 CITY DEPARTMENTAL UPDATES • Charlottesville Area Transit – Director Garland Williams (he/him)  Working to onboard a consultant to continue with project management efforts to support the desired expansion of our fleet with alternatively-fueled vehicles; beyond the actual busses, there are considerable infrastructure improvements needed to support such a major change to CAT operations  CAT is working to have a facilitated tabletop exercise that is aimed at ensuring preparedness for security events capable of impacting bus operations; this is a compliance requirement  CAT recently received approval to engage a firm to produce a Transit Develop Plan which informs the next years of operations to include innovation, operations, and investments  We continue to recruit drivers for both transit and pupil in hopes of reaching stable staffing levels to ensure complete service across all routes  We very much appreciate the patience of the community as we work through the current period of driver shortage and its impact on daily operations • Charlottesville Fire Department – Chief Hezedean Smith (he/him)  Fire Prevention Week coming up October 9th – 15th. This is also the 100th anniversary of the observance of Fire Prevention Week; this year’s theme: Fire won’t wait. Plan your escape. • Charlottesville Police Department – Assistant Chief Major LaTroy Durrette (he/him)  In August 2022, the Charlottesville Police Department responded to 3529 incidents. By way of a public service announcement the Department, due to the continued staffing shortages, is currently directing certain calls for service to be submitted directly to the online reporting portal. Online reporting options include the following calls for service: unsolicited phone calls, fraud, larceny, littering, lost or mislaid property, suspicious activity, and vandalism. Officers will continue to respond to emergency calls and crimes in progress. Officers will still respond in person to larcenies of firearms and vehicles. Online reports will be reviewed for assignment daily, however, there may be a delay in response due to staffing shortages. Based on the information provided, some online reports may be cleared out upon review without a return calla call back to the reporting party. In addition to these adjustments, police officers will not respond to civil matters that do not require emergency protection of an individual under Code of Virginia: 15.2-1704. We understand the frustrations of citizens wishing to speak with an officer in person about the incidents they are reporting. Unfortunately, our department is currently down 30 sworn positions. Shift supervisors are making every effort to manage the resources available and prioritize calls for service based on the severity of the incident and impact on the community. • Human Resources – Director Mary Ann Hardie (she/her)  Organizational Development/Learning Coordinator Flora Kelly-Bertsche presented a session entitled "Historical Influences on African-American Community Engagement" at the 2022 ICMA Conference in Columbus, Ohio on September 20, 2022. In August the department announced an addition to our health insurance plan called ‘Hinge Health’ which is part of the Aetna Back and Joint Care Program. Employees and eligible family members have access to the personalized and innovative program at $0 cost. Our goal in adding the program was that it would not only help employees feel better and increase productivity but also assist in the management of our growing 6 musculoskeletal insurance claims. Last week we received the following update from Hinge Health: “Our team recently pulled some cohort reporting and after review we noticed that the City of Charlottesville was among the best in member engagement and utilization. To provide some background, Hinge Health's gold standard member utilization annually is 2-3% and the City of Charlottesville is already more than halfway there with just one campaign!”  Further, the Department would like to make sure the community knows that there are many open positions with multiple departments in the City. Please go to our website to see all openings and encourage eligible applicants to apply: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/charlottesville • Information Technology –Director Steve Hawkes (he/him)  Internally, the department is very happy to announce that Nathan Newell, Senior Software Engineer, has accepted our offer to become the City’s Applications Manager. Nathan has been working in City IT for 21 years and has been an outstanding employee during his tenure. As he transitions into his new role we will start the process to hire a new Senior Software Engineer. The department continues to work on the H: Drive to Microsoft OneDrive migration project and is scheduled to complete the migration of all departments by the end of the year. Another project IT is working on is an alerting and notification system for staff. Initially, the system will be used to alert staff of City closings and delays with other use cases for the system coming onboard in the future. Further, the Department has been working with JMRL to ensure their staff has access to electronic paystubs from both PC and mobile devices. On the Applications Team side, our team has been working with Parks and Recreation to enhance their existing Time Clock system to allow time entry from a mobile device. The enhancement will provide a more efficient entry of time and provide a number of data validation steps to increase the accuracy of the time records. The IT Department’s Help Desk system version 3.0 was recently rolled out to IT staff. The system has a number of significant enhancements including allowing non-IT staff to enter tickets, view the status of tickets, etc. We anticipate the full rollout of the new Helpdesk System in October 2022. • Neighborhood Development Services – Director James Freas (he/him)  Hosted Roundtable work sessions with Developers and Engineers to discuss improvements to the development review process; this is an ongoing effort aimed at transforming the process for long- term impact  The city has supported a Reconnecting Communities grant proposal being submitted by Albemarle County and focused on the 29 corridor; we were able to align efforts and while supporting their effort, they have joined in support of the city pursuit of Safe Streets and Roads for All funding  Our team has prepared and submitted a Safe Streets and Roads for All grant for the September deadline; we hope to secure these critical planning resources to help create a citywide Transportation Plan that will then be eligible for additional consideration of implementation funding; the grant will underwrite a host of activities to include community charrettes, data analysis, existing plan assembly and integration, and capacity and priority assessments  We are excited to have recently completed interviews for the new Transportation Planner role; an offer has been extended to a candidate and we look forward to announcing a new staff member who will lead our transportation planning efforts, something we have needed for a long time • Parks & Recreation – Director Dana Kasler (he/him)  We continue to work to develop operational agreements with Bennetts’ Village, Botannical 7 Garden, and Dogwood Memorial to codify the relationships for long term management.  Prioritizing development plans for the Meadowcreek Trail to continue moving toward a full realization of all three sections, including the connection to Michie Drive.  Evaluating opportunities to restructure the department in an effort to optimize operations and better support the various business lines; this will be completed in advance of initiating the Master Plan to ensure the department is ready to shift into implementation upon completion of the study. • Public Works – Director Stacey Smalls (he/him)  Administration:  Engineering: Continuing to work with VDOT on portfolio reboot; current priorities are resetting the plans for Emmet and Fontaine Streetscapes; project alignment with UVA has been critical and has ensured the projects can continue to move forward with aggressive planning for execution.  Engineering: Interviewing candidates for Admin III position which will deliver critical work flow capacity for the division that we hope to expand with the addition of a financial analyst to enhance overall project management  Environmental Sustainability: Staff has been reviewing recent recommendations for consideration to be integrated into the city’s Climate Action Plan  Environmental Sustainability: Onboarding new Climate Action Plan Specialist, Emily Irvine, who joined the team at the end of August.  Environmental Sustainability: MS4 Annual Report being prepared and submitted to the state.  Facilities Development: Project assessment underway for fuel station improvements at the Avon Yard to repair recent damage to bumps and replacing gas storage tanks with upgraded facilities.  Facilities Development: Recently provided presentations on the General District Court and CHS Roof Replacement Projects to the City Manager’s Office.  Facilities Maintenance: Working to prepare for City Hall reopening on October 3rd with various projects, including the establishment of a new City Hall Ambassador workspace in the lobby of City Hall to assist visitors with appointment setting and offering information  Facilities Maintenance: Preparing a justification analysis on work order management system needs and options for how to improve our response and tracking of ongoing asset management  Fleet: Currently rolling out GPS tracking to the Parks & Recreation fleet and all sensors will be in place by November.  Fleet: In addition to the project planning for the fuel station at the Avon Yard, the city has also added a fuel card program as a backup that we intend to maintain even with full restoration of city- managed fuel service  Public Service: Internal efforts underway to rollout Leaf Collection Services at the end of October.  Public Service: Snow Operations planning is underway as a preparation for winter activation. Utilities – Director Lauren Hildebrand (she/her)  Since 2019 the Charlottesville Gas Energy Efficiency Program (CGEEP) has provided qualified households with free home weatherization improvements. These improvements include upgrading attic insulation, duct and air sealing, pipe insulation wrapping, and a number of other measures designed to increase a home’s overall energy efficiency. CGEEP enters its third year with updated income qualification levels, expanding the program opportunity to more households. The program uses 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI) to determine household income eligibility, and 120% of 8 AMI for households with the Utilities account holder age 60 years or older. Now, a family of four qualifies for CGEEP with a combined total household income of $83,850, and a family of two with the account holder over age 60 qualifies with a total combined household income of $100,680. The program is available to home owners, as well as to renters who seek the program with landlord approval, and includes single-family homes, duplexes, and townhomes.  The Department of Utilities takes the community’s water quality seriously, and has applied for a grant from the Virginia Department of Health, Office of Drinking Water, to help in the process of a system-wide inventory of the materials used in the city’s water lines. This inventory is required by the Environmental Protection Agency for all water providers, to ensure the delivery of clean, high quality drinking water nationwide. Access to clean, safe, and reliable water is the number one priority for the Department of Utilities, and the 2022 Water Quality Report confirms that the city’s drinking water exceeds all safety standards and poses no threat to public health. • Social Services – Director Sue Moffett (she/her)  The Department of Social Services was found to have zero (0) payment errors in their most recent IVE quarterly case review. Congratulations for stellar work to the team! The Department would like to ensure that the community knows that pandemic EBT benefits are continuing through the Department of Education. Eligible school age children will receive a one-time benefit amount of $391. The Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program is a federal program created in the spring of 2020 to supplement school meals that students missed while schools were closed or placed on part-time attendance schedules due to COVID-19. To be eligible for P-EBT benefits, students must qualify for free or reduced-price school meals under the National School Lunch Program and meet certain conditions as defined by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Should any member of the community need assistance please contact the Department of Social Services at 434-970-3400 for additional information/ Comuníquese con el Departamento de Servicios Sociales al 434-970-3400 para obtener información adicional. 9 APPOINTEES AND ELECTED OFFICIAL UPDATES • Circuit Court – Honorable Lizelle Dugger, Clerk of Circuit Court (she/her)  For the first time since the early part of this year, my office is fully staffed. • Commissioner of the Revenue – Commissioner Todd Divers (he/him)  The Commissioner of the Revenue thanks Citizens for their patience with technical difficulties in the CHAP application program. Due to those issues, the program application period was extended to September 16, 2022. The team will begin processing those applications at this time. For information on the Real Estate Tax Relieve programs offered by the Commissioner please go to: https://www.charlottesville.gov/1513/Real-Estate-Tax-Relief • Finance Office – Director Chris Cullinan (he/him)  The Finance Department is continuing to close out the recently completed fiscal year in preparation for the annual audit. The City's auditors will be on-site in early October. Further, the Department would like to make sure the community knows that they are actively recruiting for accounting and procurement positions. Job descriptions and applications can be found on the City's jobs board at https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/charlottesville • Treasurer’s Office - Treasurer Jason Vandever (he/him)  The Treasurer’s Office would like to make sure that the community is aware that U.S. Passport services are in full swing! The office processed 20 passport applications in the first month since resuming the service. Due to demand, we have expanded the service to twice a week. This month we wrapped up the rush for zone parking permits, as the new permit season began on September 1st. Permits are still available to eligible residents. Our office is currently preparing tax accounts for second-half billing, and bills will be mailed towards the end of October. 10 NEIGHBORHOOD LEDERS MEETING SEPTEMBER 15, 2022, 5:30 PM – 7PM QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES KELLYTOWN NEIGHBORHOOD 1. I’m interested in the strategy for improving pedestrian safety on the 1400-block of Rugby Avenue, listed in degree of importance to me (highest first). Response: This relates to the pedestrian safety improvements below. 2. Light at Rosehill and Rugby Ave. Response: This project has been bid, and is in process of being awarded. Construction on the intersection should begin this fall. 3. High vehicle speed on Rugby Avenue (seems to me like it’s usually running 40mph in a 25mph zone) Response: For the time being, enforcement is probably the best course of action. We can take another look at speeds once the 4-way stop and new signal are in place as those should have some impact of travel speeds. 4. Crossing at the Sherwood-to-Westwood end. Response: This should be addressed with the Parks trail project. It will turn the intersection into a 4-way stop and be much easier for bikes/peds to cross. 5. Sidewalk on west side of 1400-block of Rugby Ave. Response: Assuming this means the North Side of Rugby (Rugby runs East/West). Currently no plans to finish this section of sidewalk. It would require removal/rework of several residents parking situation close to the Rosehill intersection. JPA NEIGHBORHOOD One of our main concerns of Jefferson Park Avenue Neighborhood Association (JPANA) 1. Our Jefferson Park Neighborhood has serious Traffic concerns at JPA/Maury Avenue/Fontaine site; the City soon could be calculating just over 1,000 new people moving in. 2. Presently we have one Traffic Engineer to handle our cars, delivery trucks (add the frequent UPS, pizza /food orders as we are accustomed to) bikes, scooters and, Pedestrians. How is our one Charlottesville Traffic Engineer, Brenden Duncan, going to take care of all Charlottesville (and the Pedestrian/bike person has left)? Response: We are currently trying to hire 2 positions in the Traffic Engineering division. 3. Our JPANA understands that our traffic count for our area is 5 years old – does it need an update? Is our infrastructure ready to handle our upcoming Traffic and Density? Response: The latest VDOT traffic counts are from 2021. We have no reason to believe that any of our current intersections will be unable to sustain our current or projected traffic volumes. 4. Safety is our JPANA main concern – environmental (car fumes, noise, just livability when conditions create “too close for comfort.”) Response: The City will continue its ongoing effort to improve and maintain safety of its streets and the livability of city neighborhoods. 5. Visitors coming into our entrance corridor to Charlottesville and to the University (UVA); – 11 for our special events, and just pleasure, let’s show our Pretty Best. Response: I believe we are continuing to move forward with the Fontaine Corridor plan to help beautify and make the corridor more multimodal friendly. 12