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Regional Commission Honors 2016 Distinguished Leadership Award Winners
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The Rappahannock-Rapidan Regional Commission was proud to honor two Culpeper County citizens, one posthumously, with the 2016 RRRC Distinguished Leadership Awards at the 2016 RRRC Annual Meeting. The awards honor one government leader and one citizen representative for outstanding contributions to the region, and facilitation of enhanced communication, coordination, collaborative governance and regional planning across the region.
Mr. John Coates was selected as the 2016 Regional Distinguished Leadership Government honoree. Mr. Coates has had a long career of service to the public in the Rappahannock-Rapidan region as both an appointed and elected official. His service includes a nearly 30 year career as a transportation engineer with the Virginia Department of Transportation, and 16 years as an elected member of the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors with eight years as Chairman. Mr. Coates presently serves on the Rappahannock-Rapidan Regional Commission as a citizen representative from Culpeper County. Mr. Coates’ transportation and engineering background has made him cognizant of the regional, as well as the local implications of any project or issue on the public’s agenda, and he continues to bring a cooperative and collaborative leadership style to his work.
Dr. G. Russell Aylor, Jr. was posthumously selected as the 2016 Regional Distinguished Leadership Citizen honoree. Dr. Aylor was appointed as a founding member of the Culpeper County Planning Commission in 1976, and served as Planning Commission Chairman for 27 years until his passing in 2010. Dr. Aylor’s leadership guided Culpeper County through the development of the County’s first Comprehensive Plan and subsequent revisions, a comprehensive rezoning in 1989, and periods of unprecedented growth. Dr. Aylor also sought to advance historic preservation in the region as a member of the Brandy Station Foundation and Civil War Preservation Trust, among many other interests and contributions. Dr. Aylor's wife, Page, and son, graciously accepted the award in his honor.
Below: 2016 Distinguished Leadership Award winner John Coates (left) and Mrs. Page Aylor (right), who accepted on behalf of the late Dr. G. Russell Aylor, Jr.
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RRRC, Partners Awarded USDA Farmers Market Promotion Program Funding
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The Regional Commission and project partners Culpeper Renaissance, Madison County Farmers Market, and Piedmont Environmental Council, were recently awarded approximately $249,285 from the United States Department of Agriculture's Farmer's Market Promotion Program to promote the region’s locally grown food and agri-tourism assets. One of fifty organizations across the nation to receive a Farmers Market Promotion Program Grant this year, the project partners, Rappahannock-Rapidan Food Council and RRRC Regional Tourism Committee will oversee the implementation of the three-year grant project. Additional input will be collected from farmers, consumers and other stakeholders across the region.
The majority of the funds will be spent developing and conducting a local foods marketing campaign, including a regional brand, eye-catching imagery and cohesive messaging that will resonate with local consumers’ values. Funds will also support targeted marketing efforts at the Madison and Culpeper Farmers Markets, and continued publication of Piedmont Environmental Council’s Buy Fresh-Buy Local guide.
The second aspect of the project specifically targets agri-tourism promotion through further development of the Tween Rivers Trail. Many of the trail sites are small business owners with little to no marketing budget or experience. Expansion of this regional agri-artisan trail combined with quarterly training and networking workshops focused on marketing will help address these issues.
The third aspect promotes direct-to-consumer local food markets within the region by building sourcing channels. In 2014, Piedmont Environmental Council launched the online tool, Farmer-Chef Express to facilitate connections between buyers and sellers, including institutional buyers. Grant funds will be used to hold two farmer-buyer “speed-dating” events, and a regional food expo.
This project is part of the planning district commission’s on-going efforts to foster the region’s agricultural economy. Highlights include adoption of a Regional Farm and Food Plan, establishment of the Rappahannock-Rapidan Food Council, creation of the Tween Rivers Trail, and coordination of a feasibility study for the Carver-Piedmont Agricultural Institute.
For additional information on this project, please contact Michelle Edwards at medwards@rrregion.org or (540) 829-7450.
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Virginia Outdoors Plan Meeting Scheduled for November 17th
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Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) staff will be seeking input for the annual Virginia Outdoors Plan update at the next meeting of RRRC’s Land Use and Environment Committee on November 17, 2016 at 10 a.m to Noon in the Regional Commission’s conference room. The Outdoors Plan is the state's comprehensive plan for land conservation, outdoor recreation and open-space planning. DCR staff will provide attendees with information on the Plan, as well as related DCR resources and tools.
Localities and other stakeholder organizations are encouraged to provide updates on current and planned outdoor recreation projects during the meeting, especially if they may be seeking grant funding in the next several years. DCR staff will also be seeking regional input on the following Outdoors Plan topics:
- Economics and tourism
- Health, play and youth outdoors
- Scenic resource recognition and dark skies initiative
- Government ownership of recreation lands
- Biodiversity and land conservation
- Identify outdoor recreation carrying capacity conflicts in the region
- VOP Mapper updates
- GIS updates
The region’s chapter of the 2013 Virginia Outdoors Plan can be found at http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/recreational-planning/document/voppd09.pdf. For additional information on the Virginia Outdoors Plan, please contact Bill Conkle, DCR, at Bill.Conkle@dcr.virginia.gov, or (804) 786-5492.
The Land Use and Environment Committee meets on a quarterly basis, and staff of local and state government and area stakeholder organizations are invited to attend. Topic suggestions are always welcome. Additional information concerning the Land Use and Environment Committee can be found at http://www.rrregion.org/envcmte.html, or by contacting Michelle Edwards at (540) 829-7450.
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FAMS Employment Subcommittee Hosting Public Forum in Orange
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The FAMS Employment Transportation Subcommittee will be hosting a Public Forum in each of the 5 counties in the Rappahannock-Rapidan region beginning with Orange County on Wednesday, November 9th from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Orange County Library in the Town of Orange. Their goal is to provide employment transportation information and resources available to the community, and to gather information on the current needs and unmet employment transportation needs.
Employers, transportation providers, human services agencies and the public are encouraged to attend. In addition to the public forum events, the FAMS Employment Transportation Subcommittee has been distributing surveys to both employers and employees to capture data on needs as well. The data collected will then be used to develop a work plan that will help to support, improve and expand employment transportation options in the region.
Dates, times and locations for the other county forums are currently being scheduled and will be shared once confirmed. For more information, or to join the FAMS Employment Transportation Subcommittee, please contact Mobility Manager Jenny Biché at 540-829-7450 or jkbiche@rrregion.org.
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Applications in for Round Two of Smart Scale Transportation Funding
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The second round of applications to the Smart Scale (formerly HB2) transportation funding program saw an increase in the total number of applications and total funding requested statewide compared to the first year of the program in 2015. 436 projects were submitted to the program this year with $9.25 billion in funding requested. The Secretary of Transportation's office expects around $700 million to be available for those requests when revenue numbers are updated in December.
In the Virginia Department of Transportation's Culpeper District, 35 projects were submitted for funding including 14 from the Rappahannock-Rapidan region. Culpeper County submitted three requests, Fauquier County submitted six requests, Orange County submitted three projects, and the Town of Warrenton submitted two requests. Those totals can be compared to 17 projects submitted from localities in the Culpeper District last year, and just four from the Rappahannock-Rapidan region.
Validation and scoring of applications is currently underway and project scores will be released in January 2017. A map of all 436 projects submitted for round two is available on the Smart Scale website.
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Looking for RRRC on Social Media? Look No Further!
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FY 2016 Annual Report and Data Summary Released
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The Regional Commission released its FY 2016 Annual Report and Highlights report and the 2016 Regional Data Summary publication at the RRRC Annual Meeting earlier this month. The Annual Report contains highlights of the past fiscal year, including information on the RRRC Regional Farm & Food System Plan, Carver-Piedmont Feasibility Study project, Foothills Housing Network's collaborative response to homelessness in the region, and the Backyard Rainscaping implementation project in coordination with Friends of the Rappahannock and Culpeper and John Marshall Soil and Water Conservation Districts, among others.
The annual Data Summary features a number of demographic, socio-economic, transportation, and environment-related statistical indicators and serves as a quick reference for data for the region's towns and counties. The Regional Commission is always willing to discuss regional data needs and available indicators and you may contact Patrick Mauney at (540) 829-7450 with specific questions.
Copies of both reports, and other published reports, can be found on the Commission's publications page.
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Septic Cost-Share Funding Available Through Culpeper SWCD
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The Culpeper Soil & Water Conservation District has cost-share funding for septic system preventative maintenance and system malfunction remediation. All areas within the Soil & Water Conservation District's region - which includes Culpeper, Madison, Orange, and Rappahannock counties in planning district 9, as well as Greene County - are eligible. An approved application is required prior to implementation and cost-share payment amounts vary depending on the scope of the repair required, but will cover 50% of total cost to a maximum of $150 for a septic system pump-out and higher amounts for other repairs. A brochure outlining the requirements and contact information can be found on the Culpeper SWCD website.
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Photo Feature: Flint Hill Historic District
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This is an ongoing feature focusing on a building or area of historic interest in the region. We will feature noteworthy historic areas or buildings from each of the five counties and eight towns and welcome your suggestions and pictures to planinfo@rrregion.org.
The Flint Hill Historic District covers nearly 116 acres within the village of Flint Hill in Rappahannock County. The District includes areas on both sides of Route 522 - Zachary Taylor Highway - a primary north-south corridor through the Rappahannock-Rapidan region. The area was added to the Virginia Landmarks Register in June 2010 and to the National Register of Historic Places in January 2012 and has buildings dating from the mid-1700's to around 1950. The Historic District "is surrounded by an intact rural landscape that historically supported the small crossroads village," according to the application for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. As the application also notes, "the village is traversed by several streams and enjoys commanding views of the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia's northern Piedmont landscape." Two buildings within the Flint Hill Historic District - Caledonia Farm and Flint Hill Baptist Church - were listed on the National Register separately prior to the Historic District's official listing.
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