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The 434 Newsletter 

Keeping You Informed
Highlighting September 2021


From Chris Faraldi 
Ward IV Representative, Lynchburg City Council

The Rundown

Brief Updates
  • Early Voting
  • Council Elections
  • Water Resources Improvements
  • Parks & Recreation Needs Assessment
  • Brief Updates
  • & More

Early Voting

Early voting is now fully underway, and I wanted to encourage you to consider joining me and casting your ballot before election day. Let me tell you why.
 

  • Voting early ensures your vote is counted and in the bag. God forbid life happens and someone gets sick, hurt, or for whatever reason, you cannot get to the polls on November 2nd, casting your ballot early ensures your participation. 
  • It secures your name as voting and removes any speculation on election day, should someone attempt to vote as you.
  • It frees you up to help us monitor the election on November the 2nd if you are so willing.
I hope you will get out there and vote early at the Lynchburg Registrar, 9-5, Monday through Friday. If you have any further questions, just let me know or visit VoteLynchburg.com for more information. 

September 28th Roll Call Items/General Recognitions and Requests

I had a few items to present our September 28th Meeting at Roll Call for Council:

• September 28th was #NationalVoterRegistrationDay. Make sure you are ready to cast your ballot come November 2nd!

• Commending the Lynchburg Fire Department for their mutual aid efforts in Campbell County.

• Council should be fully briefed as to why the Main Street renewal project continues to be delayed and delayed again so we can ensure this economic hub is fully opened on January 1. We have got to open up Main!

Council Elections


If you read my emails on this front, much of this will likely be a repeat. Yet, it is a very impactful discussion Council will be having in the very near future. 

As you remember, on September 14th, Council entered a discussion on which November cycle is preferred, odd or even-numbered years. Due to legislation that was passed in Richmond, the days of City Council elections are no longer and have been moved to November. As it stands, the next election would be next year, November 2022, which is also when the House of Representatives is up again; after this, November 2024 (the cycle you all elected me to), which is also the Presidential cycle. 

This begged the question by some on Council - should Council elections coincided with federal election cycles.

There was a proposal that would have Council consider extending our own terms of office by 12 months, thus moving the elections to an odd-numbered, "off-year" cycle. The other proposal at the time was to do nothing. While I was astonished this was one of the proposals that would have Council consider extending our own time in office, something I was very vocally against, along with many of you, it was mutually agreed by Council it be taken off the table. Per our Rules, this is a binding vote as we can operate by consensus, meaning, such a proposal cannot come back. Thank you to everyone who contacted Council and shared your voice.

I am so appreciative of Council's decision in this case and thank my colleagues for their role in our united direction.

Moving forward, Council will likely entertain a few other options that move our elections away from federal cycles, likely through a Charter Amendment process through Richmond. yet, the message was clear - empower the voters to be at the forefront, however this narrative unfolds. One final piece in all of this that will impact much of this is how/if the Wards get adjusted based on the Census data. we shall see.

As always, I will continue to inform you. 

Water Resources Capital Improvements Presentation

Our water system is the lifeblood of our City. After a Water Resources Capital Improvements presentation from Lynchburg Water Resources, which we have heard portions of before, Council is reminded of the hundreds of millions of dollars needed for repairs.

This is a very complex opportunity for strategic improvements that could spark economic development, residential growth, as well as key protections for this necessary asset. Yet, the intersection of pipes failing, the rate of current repairs, and the financial ability to do prevent "catastrophe" as I describe it is an important metric to know. While we don't know this information yet, as I pointed out in this clip, Council needs to know where this intersection is so the best decision can be made.

All of this to operate from, my perspective, the trying economic times so many are in. We must utilize federal and state dollars as leverage wherever possible, keeping front of mind how any tax or fees increases would negatively impact our neighbors. This will impact us all greatly.
My thoughts on the presentation.

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Brief Updates

(This is a new, more streamlined, format. I hope you like it)
  • Council adopted the following Resolutions:
    • R-21-065, amending the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 City/Federal/State Aid Fund budget to appropriate $65,000 to support salary and benefits for the Drug Court Coordinator position during FY 2022.
    • R-21-068 in support of an application to VDOT to include several projects for the FY 2023 Revenue Sharing and Transportation Alternatives Projects programs. 
    • R-21-069 approving the naming of a private street and new entrance as Poplar Forest Parkway.
    • R-21-070 approving the submission of the Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report.
    • R-21-071 authorizing the issuance of up to $275m in bonds through the Economic Development Authority and the City for Centra Health, Inc. 
    • R-21-072, 73, and 74 amending the FY 2021 Operating Budget and appropriating funds to reflect fourth-quarter adjustments, amending the FY 2022 Operating and Capital Budgets, and appropriating/rescinding funds to reflect first-quarter adjustments.
  • Council adopted the following Ordinances:
    • 0-21-067, approving a right-of-way vacation for Railroad Avenue.
  • The Mayor made the following proclamations:

Let's Talk Parks

Let's talk parks!

We received the results of a Parks & Recreation Needs Assessment and Comprehensive Park Master Plan, and here are some of my takeaways:

• We need to take any private assets into account and how the City can partner with them, ensuring our government doesn't step on their toes.

Let's review policies for some of the public areas that this report cites as "restrictive." This would be a far less expensive task compared to creating a new recreational area.

• If new areas are considered, I hope we can focus on areas that are underserved, like the Timberlake/Leesville corridor, all while noting other parks nearby in surrounding localities so we aren't competing.

I am very interested in seeing where this conversation leads and how it can best serve our community!
My points in response to the Parks & Rec presentation
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How will Redistricting impact Lynchburg? I spoke with Brian on WLNI's "A Deeper Dive" to discuss. 

Community Spotlight

A new non-profit tackling a community need through education, partnership, skills development, all while shedding light on one of the most historically dense areas of Lynchburg. 

The Pierce Street Gateway, located at 1301 Pierce Street, is a community new garden in the heart of down, squarely fixed in what is called a "food desert," meaning, there is no fresh food source or store nearby this neighborhood. It was started by a small group of community-minded business leaders who saw a need and acted.

Historically, well, there is no more historically dense area in our City. A part of their website reads:

In recent years, Pierce Street has finally begun to receive its due. Eight historic markers now line its sidewalks, a density of homage unparalleled in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Five of those plaques honor individuals who contributed to the street’s mystique—poet Anne Spencer, her son Chauncey (one of the originators of the Tuskegee Airmen), tennis coach and physician Dr. Robert Walter Johnson, innovative educator and local politician C. W. Seay, and Frank Trigg, born into slavery but later the head of three colleges.

This is how our City will continue to improve - by private neighbors, likely strangers, stepping up and helping others. Hopefully, this small community project will educate and serve the City well.

I had the pleasure of attending the ribbon-cutting for the Pierce Street Gateway, and look forward to helping out here and there when I can. It's little initiatives like this that define Lynchburg so, so well. Wishing them all the best!

You can learn more about their work at www.piercest.org, and I encourage you to take a look. 

Chris in the News

Thank you for the opportunity to serve you on Lynchburg City Council as the representative from Ward IV.

Best,



Chris Faraldi, M.A.
Ward IV Representative
Lynchburg City Council
www.ChrisFaraldi.com
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PO Box 4803, Lynchburg VA 24502 || Hello@ChrisFaraldi.com

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