REMINDER
Please do not respond directly to this email, as the email address is not monitored. If you wish to reply, please email me at my City government email address.
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Spring is finally here, and the flowers are beautiful!
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Victorian Garden and Tulip Tour
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You can’t miss the tulips and daffodils blooming all over right now. It’s so pretty! Thanks to Brent Brady’s TulipsFXBG crew and Bloomia, hundreds of thousands of tulip bulbs were planted around the City, and we are now reaping the rewards. You can take a tour of the City’s tulips and other Spring bloomers by horse and carriage, while learning about the Victorian Era. 45-60 minute tours are happening on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays. Learn more here.
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Our beloved FredNats’ Opening Day is April 7th – a mere 11 days away! There’s no way I can list all of the events and features happening at the ballpark this year. Check it all out here. There’s never a dull day at the ballpark.
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But I have to mention this one amazing thing that's happening. This year, our FredNats team is very proud to join MiLB’s “Copa de la Diversión”, a season-long event series specifically designed to embrace the culture and values that resonate most with Minor League Baseball teams' local U.S. Hispanic communities. The Fredericksburg Nationals are presenting Fundadores, a celebration of the Latin American culture in our history, community, and of course, baseball. Five times throughout the season, the Fredericksburg Nationals will honor and celebrate the Hispanic community with special jerseys, food, giveaways, and all kinds of great things (see the Good Morning photo).
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Lots of Spring Hunting Happening
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Nothing marks the beginning of Spring like a good Easter Egg hunt. And we’re far too awesome to only have one.
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Community Easter Egg Hunt
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Come out April 1st for a free Easter Egg Hunt and community gathering at Old Mill Park. There will be games, refreshments, and even a grill giveaway. Easter Egg Hunt will include two age groups, ages 0-4 and ages 5-10. More here.
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Friday, April 7th is the annual Dog Easter Egg Hunt at Memorial Park, 1401 Kenmore Avenue. It’s a delightful way to team up with your furry friend for some great times. The $8 registration fee covers up to two dogs per person. Dogs must be at least 12 weeks old, and a small dog area will also be available for dogs under 15 pounds. Pre-registration is required. Register online here.
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Not in the City exactly, but very close by at Gary Melchers Home and Studio (224 Washington Avenue in Falmouth) is a “beeping” Easter egg hunt on April 2nd from 2:00 – 4:00 PM. This egg hunt is especially for visually impaired or blind children to hunt specially engineered eggs that emit a chirping sound. Sighted siblings are encouraged to participate by wearing a blindfold. Other wonderful sensory activities, like a petting zoo, will be there. Click here for more information.
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It’s a good ole scavenger hunt on April 1st at 12:00 – 2:00 PM starting at Hurkamp Park and ending at Riverfront Park. More here.
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Tomorrow's City Council Meetings
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You can attend the City Council meetings in person. You can also watch the Regular City Council meeting online, or on Cox Channel 84 and Verizon Channel 42.
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Work Session: 5:30 PM, City Council Chambers, City Hall
We will continue discussions of the City Manager’s FY 2024 Recommended Budget (more on this below) and discuss the Economic Development Strategic Plan. The Work Session Agenda is here.
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Regular Session: 7:30 PM, City Council Chambers, City Hall
The agenda for the Regular Session is here. Among other things, we will:
- hear a proclamation on Arbor Day (April 12th, 2023)
- hear a Data Center Update
- vote on a resolution (second reading) to approve a lease of certain real property interests to VFW Post 3013 located on Princess Anne Street at Freedom Lane (this item is on the Consent Agenda)
- vote on a resolution (second reading) to permanently change the due dates for paying Real Estate Taxes and Personal Property Taxes to June 5th and December 5th (this item is on the Consent Agenda)
- vote on a resolution (one reading) to amend the FY 2023 budget to appropriate $10,140 in funds collected through the Shop with a Cop for Seniors program (this item is on the Consent Agenda)
- vote to approve (first reading) the franchise renewal agreement with Trolley Tours of Fredericksburg
- have a conversation about Tree City 2022 (Mayor Greenlaw)
- hear Boards and Commissions updates
- vote on a resolution (one reading) to appropriate $1,218,800 in funds from the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) for FRED Transit commuter bus service from the Route 208 Park and Ride Lot in Spotsylvania County, to the VRE bus station, and support FRED Transit’s execution of its agreement with NVTC
- vote on a resolution (on two readings) approving several technical changes to the Floodplain Overlay District ordinance that are being required by FEMA
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About Public Comments
Citizens who wish to participate in the public hearing or public comment period during a Regular City Council meeting (not a Work Session) will be able to speak in person or send their comments in writing. Please click here for public comment guidelines.
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- School Board Meeting: Monday, April 3rd at 6:30 PM (closed session) and 7:30 PM (open session) in the School Board Chambers at the Walker-Grant Center, 210 Ferdinand Street. When available you can find the agenda here.
- School Board/City Council Budget Joint Work Session at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, April 4th at Walker-Grant Center.
- Economic Development Authority (EDA) Meeting: Monday, April 10th at 8:30 AM at the Executive Plaza, Third Floor (601 Caroline Street). When available, you can find the agenda here.
- Architectural Review Board (ARB) Meeting: Monday, April 10th at 7:00 PM in Council Chambers at City Hall. When available, you can find the agenda here.
- Planning Commission Meeting: Wednesday, April 12th at 6:30 PM in Council Chambers at City Hall. When available, you can find the agenda here.
- After tomorrow, the next City Council meeting is on Tuesday, April 11th at 5:30 PM (Work Session) and 7:30 PM (Regular Meeting). When available, you can access the agendas here.
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Each year at this time, City Council works with the City Manager’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year, which begins on July 1st. You can read the proposed budget here.
There are four factors that are driving this proposed budget:
- Economy
- Inflation
- Compensation
- Debt Service
Economy – several things are at play here. The post-COVID economy has new norms including more working from home, and the end of Federal Stimulus funding. If you follow financial news, you’ve heard the talk about a recession. Some experts believe there will be a mild global recession in 2023, as reported by the World Economic Forum following a recent poll of economists. In what ways can we as a City be more resilient in the face of economic forces?
Inflation – continued inflation is expected for the cost of goods and services, and their impact on the City’s capital projects. We’ve already seen its effect on the cost of the new middle school. On the flip side, since inflation also affects the price of consumer goods and services, the City’s revenue benefits from inflation in terms of sales taxes, meals taxes and lodging taxes.
Compensation – the City needs to be competitive in the market on issues of worker recruitment and retention, which is related to current wage pressures. Given relatively higher salaries paid for local government workers in nearby jurisdictions, and the cost of losing trained workers, we cannot afford to let salaries stagnate.
Debt Service – the City is still paying off the New Courthouse and other Capital Improvement Projects (CIPs). Added to this is the debt for the New Middle School and the Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrades, which together are very costly new CIPs.
There are many good things in the proposed budget, and some challenges. I’d like to focus here on one of them: real estate taxes. A good place to start is with this summary prepared by the City Manager.
As you’ll see in the summary, the proposed budget calls for a 2 cent increase in the real estate tax rate, from $0.86 to $0.88 per $100 of assessed value. Just so you know, for each penny increase, the City currently collects roughly $475,000. Of course, raising the tax rate is a double edged sword: it helps pay for needed City services and improvements, but it makes it more expensive to live in the City. The danger we face with ever-increasing real estate taxes in conjunction with rising assessed values, is that Fredericksburg could become unaffordable except for the upper middle class and the wealthy. If that happens, we could lose much of what makes the City so special.
I believe that instead of relying disproportionately on real estate taxes to fund the City’s budget, we should place much more emphasis on Business Development and Tourism. The proposed budget envisions such an effort, as do City Council’s Vision and Priorities.
Roughly 33% of the City’s General Fund revenues come from real estate taxes. I want to see this share drop to 30% or less over time, and the share attributable to commercial activity increase proportionally. Currently, the City’s revenue from commercial activity (sales tax, meals & lodging tax, business license and business personal property tax) is roughly on par with the revenue the City gets from real estate taxes.
I support finding ways to foster commercial and mixed-use redevelopment of the area along and west of I-95 in a sustainable way, with the goal of bringing much-needed additional revenue to the City while reducing our dependence on real estate taxes. How do we do that? By being competitive in the regional market, and attracting the sorts of development that will lessen our dependence on real estate taxes. Expect to hear more on this in the coming months.
If we can manage growth effectively, I see the City growing less dependent on real estate taxes, which would help hold down the cost of living in Fredericksburg. It’s a balancing act, of course, and we may only have one chance to get this right.
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Rooftop Solar: New Building Code Restrictions
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A quick story here. Last summer I had a solar feasibility study done of our house on Charlotte Street. The results shocked me: rooftop solar is no longer possible for City homes like ours, given a recent change (July, 2022) in the Statewide Building Code that requires a 3-foot clearance between the roof edge and a solar array.
Our house has a hipped roof, meaning that there is not a whole lot of roof surface facing in any one direction to begin with. When you have a required 3 foot setback from the roof’s edge, there is very little space left over for solar panels. In fact, so little that it renders a solar installation impractical. There’s a pretty good discussion of this new restriction here, which I recommend reading for anyone interested in rooftop solar for their home.
I hope future building code revisions will increase, not decrease, the opportunities for residential rooftop solar. We’ll see. So far it’s a bit discouraging.
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What's the Big Deal About Litter?
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With cold temps behind us, folks will be out in large numbers using the City trails and parks. We have wonderful outdoor amenities in Fredericksburg, and we love seeing people enjoy them.
But with good weather we also see a lot more litter. It would be wonderful if this year could be different. To meet the challenges of litter control, City employees pick up trash at the trails and parks on a regular basis. Conscientious residents and volunteer organizations help out a great deal too, and they all deserve a lot of thanks. This remarkable community spirit is part of the special sauce that makes our little city such a great place.
Litter is still a real problem, though. It goes beyond being an unsightly nuisance. Litter harms our environment, our wildlife, and our local economy. For more, check out my op-ed piece What’s the Big Deal about Litter. I do hope you will find a way to help out with our parks and trails by picking up litter when you see it, and carrying out your own trash when you leave one of our parks.
Here's an upcoming opportunity to help out: Join Friends of the Rappahannock at Hurkamp Park on Saturday, April 8th to help clean up our community and prevent litter from reaching our river. Volunteers will meet at Hurkamp Park to pick up a litter grabber, gloves and trash bags. From there volunteers will disperse to downtown and other parks within walking distance to pick up litter. More information here.
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Wild and Scenic Film Festival
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Join the Friends of the Rappahannock, the City of Fredericksburg, UMW, and other local partners on April 15th to view the 11th Annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival - one of the largest environmental film festivals in North America - at UMW’s Chandler Ballroom.
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More than a dozen inspirational films will be shown, spanning a wide array of topics including Monarch butterfly migrations, osprey habitats, plastics in our waters, whitewater rafting, prehistoric art, outdoor adventure, and much more.
Local partners include community and student groups who will be present and helping out at the film festival. Be sure to ask them about their efforts to improve the environment. I think you’ll be impressed! Tickets are available in advance here. I hope to see you there.
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Allman's BBQ Hits the Big Time!
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When the very famous Southern Living chose Allman’s BBQ as one of the five best barbeque spots in Virginia, we were thrilled but not at all surprised. I traveled quite a bit when I was an archeologist doing digs in small southern and western towns. Some of the tastiest BBQ comes from those places, and I can tell you that Allman’s is among the best I’ve ever had.
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The Marine Corps Half is Coming Back
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We’ll be talking about this amazing event when it gets closer, but here is your reminder that you can register now for the Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon, Semper 5ive, or the Devil Dog Double on May 21st here.
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April First Friday and Sip + Stroll
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Come downtown on Friday, April 11th for First Friday and Sip + Stroll when the galleries and shops will be open late, and many participating restaurants will be selling alcoholic beverages for adults to enjoy while strolling downtown. Click here to download the street map that lists which restaurants are participating in Sip & Stroll and which art galleries and shops are staying open late. This would be a good time to sign up to volunteer for First Friday.
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Dahlgren Honors FCPS School Board Chair
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image from FCPS
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FCPS School Board Chair Jennifer Boyd recently received the Distinguished Community Service Award at the annual Honorary Awards Ceremony of the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren. Congratulations, Ms. Boyd! You can learn more about the award in this Free Lance-Star article.
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“Something Rotten!” is a hilarious musical that mashes up 16th Century Shakespeare and modern day Broadway. I can’t wait to see what our talented students do with this. Showtimes are at 7:00 PM from March 30th through April 1st at James Monroe High School Auditorium. Click here for tickets.
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The Championship Game between the parents and staff of Hugh Mercer and Lafayette is happening this Wednesday, March 29th.
Here are the details:
- Admission is free
- Location: James Monroe High School
- Times: 5:30 PM (Doors Open) and 6:00 PM (Game Start)
- 2020 throwback t-shirts will be available for sale (cash ONLY $10). Parent groups will be selling snacks and drinks. Join the 50/50 raffle! Enjoy the half-time shows!
- Questions? Contact Sandy Gillenwater by email or phone: (540-372-1130)
- Learn more here
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Superintendent's Community Roundtable #5
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The Superintendent’s Community Roundtable is meeting again on April 26th at the Walker-Grant Center from 8:00 AM – 10:30 AM. The focus of this Roundtable is planning for the future. These have been really insightful meetings and I’ve learned a lot from the participants and the panelists. Click here to register.
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- Commissioner of the Revenue New Hours: The City Commissioner of the Revenue’s office, located in City Hall, 715 Princess Anne Street, will begin closing at 4:00 p.m. effective Wednesday, February 1st. In addition, for the months of February, March, and April, the office will be closed to the public on Monday at noon and all day Thursdays
- Parks, Recreation and Events Summer Catalog: Summer is fast approaching, so be sure to check out the Parks, Recreation and Events’ Summer Catalog here!
- Wall of Honor: If you’ve attended a City Council meeting, or watched one on TV, you’ve probably noticed the brass nameplates on the back wall of Council Chambers. Known as the Wall of Honor, each nameplate honors a person who made significant contributions to the welfare of the City and the betterment of society. It’s a great way to give credit to the amazing people who helped pave the way forward for our remarkable community. Nominations are received from the public every year. If you have someone in mind whom you would like to nominate, you can download the form here. To be eligible for inclusion on the Wall of Honor, a nominee must have been deceased for at least one year prior to being nominated. May 13th is the deadline for nominations.
- FXBG.com: There’s no way to cover everything to see and do in the City in this Newsletter. Click here to learn about more great things to do.
- Boards and Commissions: The City is seeking City resident volunteers to serve on its very important boards and commissions. It really is a great way to be involved in the City. I started as a member of the Architectural Review Board and look what happened! If you’d like to serve your City on a Board or Commission, visit the City’s Boards and Commissions page here.
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Feel free to reach out to me anytime. I want to hear your ideas, priorities, and concerns.
I was asked by a constituent if City Council’s Work Sessions on the FY 2024 Budget could be livestreamed. Folks unable to attend in person still want to watch these meetings. At the last Council meeting I brought this up: I asked if we could hold our Work Sessions in Council Chambers (instead of the large conference room upstairs, where we’ve been holding Work Sessions lately) so that these meetings can be televised for the public. While Council enjoys sitting together around a large table, which is conducive to having productive meetings, the AV technology hasn’t been installed yet in the conference room, so meetings held there are not yet capable of being livestreamed. To make a short story shorter, Council has agreed to hold our FY 2024 Budget Work Sessions in Council Chambers. So, if you can’t make these meetings in person, you can watch them online, or on Cox Channel 84 and Verizon Channel 42.
The next newsletter is scheduled to come out on April 10th. Previous editions of my newsletter can be found here.
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As always, take care and be good to each other,
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Note the email address from which this newsletter was sent is not monitored. If you wish to email me, please use my City government email address. I’d be happy to talk to you about your priorities for the City.
Please be aware that all email correspondence to and from my City government email address is subject to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and the Virginia Public Records Act which may result in monitoring and disclosure to third parties.
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