Lewis & Clark & Historical Hysteria

I've been awfully remiss in not acknowledging the early-November debut of the wonderful new "Hysterical Society" blog, birthed by the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society before their Executive Committee got wind of it and summarily orphaned it (disappointingly so).

The blog kicked off with a great post about the landmine-laden (yet necessary) effort to devise some signage that would put the Lewis & Clark statue at Ridge & Main into more accurate historical context, particularly as it relates to its portrayal of Sacagawea -- see images below. Good discussion ensued.

I'm adding Hysterical Society to my blogroll and I applaud its rebellious creator for doing his part to help make Cville history come alive!



















Lewis & Clark Statue, 1954 -- you can barely see poor Sacagawea, who's cowering...er, tracking?...at the rear.














Here's the statue as it looked shortly after its 1919 unveiling, with the old Midway School in the background. Can't even see Sacagawea here, but then Meriwether Lewis gets short shrift too ("William Clark Monument").

Just Swimmingly, Thank You

When I got elected to City Council last year I never thought I'd be focusing so much of my time as a Councilor on the issue of...indoor swimming pools. But this is a town that takes its indoor aquatics seriously. Having said that, this is also a town that has run its public indoor aquatic facilities into the ground. Thanks to years of deferred maintenance, they're in sad shape today. It would cost an extraordinary amount of money to restore them to their original condition and keep them functional for another 30-40 years. Oh, and the vast majority of the people who use these pools don't live in the City. City taxpayers bear most of the financial burden of operating Smith Pool, for example, yet surveys suggest that fewer than 10% of the users of Smith Pool last year were City residents.

There's been a lot of public discussion lately on the choices we have before us when it comes to the future of our indoor pool facilities. I won't rehash the whole range of options here. I have been convinced, however, that our community will not be well-served by maintaining (or even slightly elevating) the status quo. The fiscally conservative approach would be for the City to get out of the indoor pool business altogether and to privatize the whole affair. The fiscally profligate approach would be for the City to build two public state-of-the-art replacement facilities and operate them into perpetuity at taxpayers' expense. I have no reason to believe that there isn't an ideal solution to be found in between these two extremes. And in fact, after a great deal of study, the good folks on our Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee have proposed such a solution:

1) Consolidate Crow & Smith Pools and build a new Smith Pool in the old one's place, operating it as a public facility but one that meets a much broader range of indoor aquatic needs than Crow or Smith do today, with an overt emphasis on attracting and serving more City residents. The new Smith Pool would be located adjacent to the new Boys & Girls Club at Buford Middle School, providing tremendous opportunities for cost-savings and programmatic synergies in the construction and operation of these community facilities.

2) Partner with Albemarle County and the YMCA to establish an accessible and affordable new indoor aquatic/recreation facility in McIntire Park, next to Charlottesville High School (just a stone's throw from Crow Pool) that will offer first-rate fitness & enrichment programs for high school youth, young adults, senior citizens, working families, and other folks who can't afford the costs of a private/for-profit club membership. City taxpayers would incur no ongoing operating costs for the facility (saving millions of taxpayer dollars in the coming decades); the main cost to the City would be the loss of one softball field at McIntire Park (used almost exclusively today by non-City residents) -- and, if we choose, a loan to help build a competitive swimming pool for use by our CHS Swim Team.

City Council is in the middle of a lengthy discussion and debate about the pros and cons of this proposed course of action, and of course the devil (as always) is in the details. It's by no means an easy decision for Council. Many residents are quite fond of the indoor aquatics facilities & programs that we have now, and are understandably leery of change. Some residents recoil at the mere whiff of privatization and are suspicious of what the City would be losing by entering into "public-private partnerships" with groups like the Boys & Girls Club or the YMCA (and don't even get me started on all the e-mails I've received about separation of church & state thanks to the "C" in YMCA). Some residents, distrustful of Albemarle County's motives, wonder if the County is pulling a fast one on us by securing a prime chunk of City real estate for a facility that's going to serve a whole lot of County residents. Some residents simply hate the idea of leasing out a piece of McIntire Park (even if it's "just" one of the softball fields) when we're already about to lose a huge swath of the Park to the new Meadowcreek "Park"way. (Can't say I'm not sympathetic to this last concern, but I do think parks are designed in large part for recreational purposes so it irks me much less to introduce a recreation facility into the park than to build a big road through the park [which will bring with it a noxious mess of asphalt and automobiles and exhaust fumes and noise pollution and other things from which parks are supposedly intended to provide us refuge].) And a tiny handful of folks are so blinded by their blanket disgust at anything City Council does that you almost suspect they'd find reasons to oppose this deal no matter the particulars. Can't do anything about them and won't even bother tryin'.

So the challenge for those of us on Council who are inclined to support the proposed course of action is not only to make a compelling case as to why the status quo is not serving the community well, but also to demonstrate how the anticipated benefits of these proposed changes are sufficiently "pro" to outweigh the "cons." Pardon the pun, but this is no walk in the park. At the end of the day, however, I believe we very likely could have a system that offers more and better amenities to more City residents at lower long-term cost to City taxpayers. That kind of an outcome doesn't present itself very often (ever?) in the operations of local government, which is why I have been positively inclined toward pursuing it. But as always, my fellow Councilors and I need to hear from citizens as to what you think & what you value. (It's your money, not ours.) And it's now easier than ever for City residents to voice their opinions to Council on this or any matter -- simply send an e-mail to council@charlottesville.org and it will automatically go to our in-boxes. Or call and leave a message at 970-3113 and it will be forwarded to us. Thanks.

p.s. FYI, City staff put together (at Peter Kleeman's suggestion) a one-page matrix which spells out the different facility options that we are considering. It's quite helpful and can be downloaded here.

UVa Women Give New Meaning to "Nail-Biter"

Eli and I took in the NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament game today at Klockner Stadium (love that place), featuring #17 UVa vs. my alma mater, William & Mary. The Cavaliers dominated throughout, but couldn't get a single shot into the goal until there were 14 seconds left in the game (out of 5,400 seconds total), thanks to an incredible header by Nikki Krzysik off a shot by Becky Sauerbrunn. What an amazing, amazing finish! Congratulations to the UVa Women and best of luck next weekend in your third round (final 16) game vs. UCLA!

"Postcards from Charlottesville," Show #2

The second edition of my new current events/local history TV show, "Postcards from Charlottesville," airs at 7pm tonight on Public Access Channel 13 (and on subsequent Wednesdays at 2:30pm and Fridays at 7pm throughout the month).

My guests this month are City Councilor-elect Holly Edwards, who talks about her work with the Westhaven Nursing Clinic and the Public Housing Association of Residents, and historian/photographer/blogger/man-about-town Bill Emory, who discusses his efforts to capture the rich history of Charlottesville's Woolen Mills Neighborhood.

Click here for an on-line video version of the show:
http://charlottesville.granicus.com/ASX.php?publish_id=68&sn=charlottesville.granicus.com

David Dillehunt of Charlottesville Public Access Television once again did an excellent job of producing and directing. Thanks David!

Thoughts on Fiscal Responsibility & "Smart, Citizen-Focused Government"

Earlier this afternoon, Julian Taliaferro and I held a news conference to unveil a series of proposals to instill more transparency, innovation and fiscal responsibility in budgetary decision-making by City Hall. Below, FYI, are the draft talking points from that event (though they're not an exact transcript of our remarks as delivered).

UPDATE: See the complete video of our news conference (courtesy Charlottesville Tomorrow) here:
http://cvilletomorrow.typepad.com/charlottesville_tomorrow_/2007/11/norris_taliafer.html

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Talking Points on Taliaferro/Norris Media Event re: Fiscal Responsibility/“Smart, Citizen-Focused Government” -- 11/13/07 DRAFT

* We ran on a platform of fiscal responsibility, and over our first year in office we've seen a number of things which have led us to believe that there’s more the City can be doing to assure residents that their tax dollars are being well-spent and that City Hall is indeed operating in a “Smart, Citizen-Focused” manner.

* Next week City Council will be kicking off the process of putting together our FY2009 City budget and today we are proposing a series of reforms that we hope will be incorporated in that process.

1. Greater Emphasis on Performance/Outcomes in City Spending

> In our budget we talk a lot about inputs (how much money we’re dedicating toward different needs) but we don’t do a good job of letting taxpayers know what they’re getting for all their money (i.e. outcomes) and how well our various City agencies are performing, especially compared to other municipalities. We need to do more benchmarking with other municipalities – for example, by doing a simple head count to compare the number of employees in various functions with other cities.

> We are encouraged by recent efforts by City staff to incorporate performance measurement/management in the City budget development process. Through its participation in the ICMA Center for Performance Measurement, the City is learning from localities like Prince William County and Fairfax County who are ahead of the curve when it comes to the performance measurement process. For the first time this year, City staff have asked departments to provide data related to performance measures when making their funding requests, and additional information on goals and accomplishments (outcomes) is going to be provided to the public in this year’s budget document. The City is also exploring the idea of developing strategic business plans for each of our departments, linked to Council’s Strategic Vision/Plan. All of these efforts are to be applauded.

2. Increased Transparency in Budgetary Decision-Making

> All major new expenditures must be fully vetted in public

> Information on the status, funding streams and anticipated outcomes of all major City projects needs to be made available to the public in an accessible way (via the City’s website and in print form for those who request it)

> The Sister City Program, in particular, needs more clarity, focus and structure, and greater community buy-in. We look forward to the recommendations of our Sister City Committee as to how these goals can be accomplished, based on best practices in other communities. Private dollars should be raised to defray travel costs of our Sister City delegations.

> Likewise, there needs to be more of an open, deliberative process by which decisions are made regarding expenditures for Public Art.

3. Dedicated Focus on Cost Savings & Innovation in City Governance

> At the outset of each year’s budget development process, before the City Manager proposes his budget for the succeeding year, Council should hold a public hearing & work session focused solely on opportunities for cost savings and reductions in the current size and scope of City government.

> We propose to increase innovation and cost-effectiveness in City operations by (1) reviving the spirit of Waldo Jaquith’s “Ten for Ten” proposal (from 2003) -- http://waldo.jaquith.org/blog/2003/07/ten-for-ten -- by setting aside a pot of money to fund small initiatives that can improve our community in significant ways, and/or result in significant cost savings through smarter municipal operations /partnerships; and (2) expanding our rewards program for City employees who suggest smarter and more cost-efficient ways of delivering public services.

> City government and City schools should redouble their efforts to save substantial amounts of taxpayer dollars (and help the environment) through energy conservation/energy efficiency measures in municipal buildings and operations.

> For both City government and the City schools, a plan needs to be developed for shifting more funds and staffing from Central office/administration to front-line positions. We’re pleased to report that the City Manager has led the way in this regard by deciding NOT to re-fill one of the two Assistant City Manager positions that are currently vacant; after initially proposing to use funds from one of these positions to create a new high-level Customer Service Director position, he will instead be tasking existing staff with developing strategies for improving customer service at City Hall.

4. Making Strategic Investments in City Infrastructure to Save Dollars in the Long-Term

> In recent decades, City has been penny-wise and pound-foolish in deferring maintenance and badly-needed upgrades to our City infrastructure in order to save dollars in the short-term. That needs to end. As a result of this practice, we are facing tremendous capital costs: sewers, pools, water capacity, municipal building upgrades, transportation improvements, etc. Many of these costs are directly related to our ability to manage growth in the County and absorb an increasing level of cut-through traffic by County commuters. Right now, 50% of our County Revenue-Sharing funds are dedicated to capital costs and we propose to increase that to 75% in the years ahead so we can get a better handle on the transportation improvements that are necessary to protect our neighborhoods and promote increased use of transit, walking and bicycling.

> Under-investment in affordable housing has contributed to a critical situation wherein many of the working people who make this City function are having to move 20, 30, or 40+ miles away to find housing they can afford (thus clogging our roadways and contributing to suburban sprawl). Having an adequate stock of affordable housing is an essential component of a City’s capital and social infrastructure. We need to create a dedicated and substantial source of annual funding for affordable housing to help address this problem.

5. Returning Surplus Property Tax Dollars to the Citizens

> Once again this year, we anticipate the City will realize a sizeable budgetary surplus from the prior fiscal year. We strongly prefer to have a year-end surplus than a year-end deficit (as Albemarle County experienced this year), and we support the current policy of dedicating a substantial portion of one-time surplus dollars to capital/infrastructure needs. However, for that portion of the surplus that results from higher-than-projected property tax collections, we propose that the City explore giving those dollars back to the citizens through a direct cash rebate to allow citizens to use those dollars as they see fit.

Reflections on PACEM's Opening Night

Tonight was opening night for PACEM's fourth season of winter shelter to the homeless. We'll be open through mid-March. This day has been months in the making. I'm tired.

The occasion of someone seeking help at a homeless shelter should be a moment of profound sadness. I feel guilty reporting, then, that many smiles were shared tonight. The people we shelter are like family. Many of them live in the firm grasp of mental illness and/or substance addiction, so it's a disfunctional family, but it's a family nonetheless. So while it was awful to see some familiar faces tonight, it was good to see them too. I know, it doesn't make any sense, but there you have it.

We have 17 people on our shelter staff this year, and there's not a weak link in the bunch. This is a great team, and they're already starting to bond. I'd put my employees up against those of any small non-profit anywhere.

One of my primary responsibilities as Executive Director is raising the funds needed to sustain our shelter program through March so that no one has to spend a night outside in Charlottesville this winter. Frankly, it's the least favorite part of my job. Help a brother out and consider making a (tax-deductible) donation to the cause.

OK, I'm off to bed. Got to be ready for day two.

1 in 4 Homeless are Veterans

A new study released today indicates that 25% of the homeless people in America are military veterans, and that a growing number of them are casualties of the current wars in Iraq & Afghanistan.

Last year, as you can see on our statistics summary, "only" 9% of PACEM's guests were veterans, but it looks like that number is likely to increase as more men and women come home from Iraq & Afghanistan bearing scars that may take decades (if ever) to heal.

Perhaps it's time to update the slogan "Support The Troops -- Bring Them Home" to "Support The Troops -- Bring Them Home -- Make Sure They Have a Home."

Wahoowa

I have to admit, I'm not much of a football fan (my father, who lives and breathes OSU football, still doesn't understand how we're related), but in honor of the Cavaliers' big nail-biter of a victory over Wake Forest today and the accomplished season they've been having overall this year, I thought I'd offer a little postcard history tour of the UVa football program.

Since 1931, the Cavaliers have called Scott Stadium home. But the 61,500-seat Scott Stadium we see today bears little resemblance to the much smaller Scott Stadium of 50 years ago (or even the version of 25 years ago, for that matter). And yet the Scott Stadium of 50 years ago was a giant compared to the previous home of UVa football -- Lambeth Athletic Field, located behind today's Lambeth Dorms.

Taking it back even one step further -- for the first 15 years or so after the program's inception in 1888, UVa played its home football games in the "Mad Bowl" behind Madison Hall.

The earliest image I have of Lambeth Field, circa 1905 (prior to construction of the colonnades you see below).

Here's Lambeth just a few years later (circa 1916). At least one journal of that era, according to this excellent history of Lambeth Field from the Cavalier Daily, described it as "the finest athletic stadium in the South, and one that compares very favorably with the stadiums at Syracuse and Harvard." Season tickets back in 1913 could be had for the bargain price of $7.50 for students and $9.50 for alumni.














Lambeth again, circa mid-1920s. This structure had 8,000 seats and cost $35,000 to build.

Scott Stadium was 10 years old in 1941, when this postcard was mailed. At the time, the stadium held 25,000 people. Look how much green space there was! (Vivid contrast to today.)

Circa 1951. According to its wikipedia entry, Scott Stadium is the oldest Division I football stadium in Virginia.














Back in the late 1960s, Scott Stadium was on the far edge of UVa's grounds. Not so much anymore!

Scott Stadium, 1970. I wonder whatever became of those two young people at the bottom left...


And just for kicks, here's Scott Stadium today (photo by Mike Ingalls of TheSabre.Com):