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Baseball season is finally here! Photo collage courtesy of Marty Davis of F2S.
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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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FXBG Farmers Market is Back
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Fredericksburg Farmers Market returns to Hurkamp Park on Prince Edward Street this Saturday, April 15th. The open air Farmers Market has been a popular gathering place for many years, bringing together locals, vendors, families, students, and tourists every Saturday of the season. It features growers of locally grown produce and meats, alongside artisans of baked goods, prepared foods, handmade crafts, art, music and more. Hope to see you there on Saturday.
Saturdays: 7:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Season: April 15th - October 28th
While you’re at Hurkamp Park, check out the upcoming events in the City in the display case along William Street.
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For the 36th year, Fredericksburg was recognized as a Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation in honor of the City’s commitment to urban forest management. This year, the public is invited to join the City of Fredericksburg and the Fredericksburg Garden Council on April 12th at 10:00 on the steps of the Rappahannock Regional Library at 1201 Caroline Street to celebrate Arbor Day and this amazing accomplishment. More here.
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FXBG Earth Day Celebration
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On Saturday, April 22nd, we’ll be celebrating Earth Day from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM at Old Mill Park. Presented by CFL Environmental Group and sponsored by the R-Board among others, this very popular free festival is a great, fun day for people of all ages with interesting exhibitors, excellent food trucks, live music, animals, and more. The rain date is April 29th. More here.
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Spring Community Cleanup Week
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Here is your chance to get rid of things that accumulate in yards, homes, and neighborhoods over time. Sponsored by The City’s Public Works Department and R-Board, this year’s spring-cleaning dates are Friday, April 21st – Thursday, April 27th, during which time the City’s Public Works Department collects specific types of residential materials (appliances, brush, building materials, furniture, scrap materials, tires, etc.) from special dumpsters placed throughout the City. Items accepted are residential furniture, tires, appliances, brush, and scrap materials. No household trash, paint, hazardous materials, or commercial dumping are allowed.
Containers will be placed in various locations throughout the City for collections. Locations are:
- Summit Street (Mayfield)
- 1400 block of Kenmore Avenue (near Cossey Botanical Park)
- Freedom Lane (gravel lot between VFW & Falmouth Bridge)
- Altoona Drive (Sam Perry Fire House),
- Rappahannock Avenue (at Payne Street)
- Deerwood Drive (at Ridgeway Street)
- Chadwick Court
Appliance Pickup Day is Tuesday, April 25th, by request at (540) 372-1023 by Monday, April 24th at 4:00 PM. Hazardous Waste Collection Day is in September (more later).
More information 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 and hear updates from Planning Staff on PD-R Zoning and Residential Regulation Amendments. 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:
- vote on a resolution (second 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 downtown VRE bus station, and support FRED Transit’s execution of its agreement with NVTC (this item is on the Consent Agenda)
- vote on a resolution (one reading required) to appropriate $36,180 in grant money from the VA Dept. of Emergency Management, for purchase of certain HAZMAT assets for the City’s Hazardous Materials Response Team (this item is on the Consent Agenda)
- vote on a resolution (one reading required) to authorize the City Manager to finalize and award contractsfor health insurance to Anthem and dental insurance to Delta Dental
- vote to adopt (one reading required) the Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan 2023 Update
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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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- Architectural Review Board (ARB) Meeting: Monday, April 10th at 7:00 PM in Council Chambers at City Hall. You can find the agenda here.
- Planning Commission Meeting: Wednesday, April 12th at 6:30 PM in Council Chambers at City Hall. You can find the agenda here.
- Economic Development Authority (EDA) Meeting: Monday, April 17th at 8:30 AM at the Executive Plaza, Third Floor (601 Caroline Street). When available, you can find the agenda here.
- Two City Council FY 2024 Budget meetings: Work Session on April 18th (6:00 PM) and public hearing (7:00 PM) in Council Chambers. When available, you can find the agenda here.
- School Board Meeting: Monday, May 1st 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.
- After tomorrow, the next regular City Council meeting is on Tuesday, April 25th at 5:30 PM (Work Session) and 7:30 PM (Regular Meeting). When available, you can access the agendas here.
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City Council meetings are ongoing about the City budget that goes into effect this July 1st. I hope you will take time to look at the proposed FY 2024 Budget, and let me know your thoughts.
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map of Martha Jefferson Neighborhood conservation district, courtesy City of Charlottesville
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I often think about the population growth that’s coming down the pike. How will we grow to a population of some 40,000 souls, as predicted within the next 20 years or so, without spoiling the special sauce that makes Fredericksburg such a great place to work, visit, learn and play?
Lately, there’s been a lot of talk among City residents about the importance of neighborhood character and how to balance that with the future needs of our City, including the need for affordable housing and members of our elderly population who want to age in place.
We need sensible growth that respects the character of our City and its diverse population. It’s also about creating expectations for developers and builders to follow, that respect and enhance our communities’ sense of place.
Homes in the Downtown Historic District already enjoy the protections of the City’s Historic District Design Guidelines. Elsewhere, outside of the Historic District, it’s a different matter.
How do you protect an older neighborhood that isn’t in the Historic District? One possible approach is for City government to authorize a Conservation District. Conservation Districts are found today in Charlottesville and other locations in Virginia, but not yet here in Fredericksburg.
In a Conservation District, the builder obtains a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) from the City before construction can proceed. The COA is issued by the Architectural Review Board when the project meets the district’s design guidelines. It’s an “ARB-Lite” process because the guidelines are typically much more relaxed than for projects happening inside the Historic District.
Design guidelines can cover things such as building height, exterior architectural details, and building orientation, to name just a few topics that are typically covered. For example, at two conservation districts in Charlottesville, a COA is required not only for new buildings, fences, and walls, but also for painting a previously unpainted brick home. This example – painting brick walls – illustrates the flexibility that can be baked into the design guidelines that the neighborhood decides should be followed.
Guidelines might also incorporate a pattern book, which can help ensure that infill dwellings are architecturally compatible with the neighborhood. It could be a pattern book off the shelf, or one your neighborhood creates from scratch, that best reflects the prevailing architecture of your neighborhood. If you’ve ever picked up a turn-of-the-century Sears Roebuck Catalog and leafed through the pages of Sears Homes kits, that’s a sort of pattern book too.
Creating a Conservation District starts at the community level. Neighborhood residents petition City Council to create the district, adopt design guidelines and commit local government resources (City Staff and the ARB) to its administration and enforcement. The Conservation District must include an inventory of buildings that will be individually protected, known as “contributing structures”.
By being resident-driven at the outset, Conservation District residents have a strong voice in advocating for where the boundaries of the district should be located, which buildings should be treated as contributing structures, and what exactly is the “look and feel” that the neighborhood seeks to preserve. Residents also hold important sway over how the design guidelines are written.
A conservation district with its design guidelines (and pattern book) has many benefits: it reflects the will of the neighborhood, helps clarify developer expectations, protects against unwanted redevelopment, and helps foster community pride and a shared sense of place.
Stay tuned for more on Conservation Districts. I think it’s time to take a serious look at the possibilities and have a robust discussion about the pros and cons of such a step.
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Swift water rescue training
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Fredericksburg is blessed with what may be the longest river shoreline in the United States for a city of our size. You can kayak or canoe all the way from Kelly’s Ford to downtown Fredericksburg, a distance (over water) of some 25 miles. When you add up both banks of the Rappahannock and Rapidan rivers, roughly 70 miles of shoreline is owned and protected by the City of Fredericksburg!
It dates back to 2006, when the City in conjunction with the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, and the VA Board of Game and Inland Fisheries, set up a conservation easement that provides for low-impact recreational use but no new real estate development across some 4,200 acres of the two river’s watersheds.
Today we are seeing a huge uptick in the number of people who are out and about on the Rappahannock River here in town. They come for many reasons: wading, swimming, kayaking, canoeing, paddle boarding, hiking, picnicking, and bird watching. Our river location is unique in the Middle Atlantic Region: whitewater as well as tidal “flatwater” flows here, with their corresponding natural ecosystems, and a charming historic town sits smack dab in the middle of it all. No wonder folks come here from all over to enjoy the natural beauty of this place.
This brings me to the issue of river safety. Since 1980, more than 80 people have drowned in the Rappahannock river here. Nearly all of the victims were not wearing a PFD (Personal Flotation Device). Deaths are often caused by strainers (fallen trees and branches that create an inextricable web of obstructions at the surface and underwater). Other hazards include sudden drop-offs, fishing lines, and extreme hydraulic pressures caused by swift water moving through areas of bedrock and boulders. These dangers can arise quickly, before you even notice them.
As a near-drowning survivor when I was a young boy – the bank collapsed, and I was swept downstream – I speak from personal experience in asking you to please be careful this summer when you are at the river. The City maintains a river safety gauge at several places: you might have seen one at City Dock, and across from River Road downstream from the Virginia Outdoor Center. The gauge tells you how high the water is, and whether it’s safe for recreation (green) or unsafe to be in the river (yellow or red).
Swift water rescue teams from Stafford and Fredericksburg train regularly to rescue people in distress on the river. Last week, the Stafford team trained next to Ficklen Island here in town (pictured above). When you see them training, be sure to thank them for their hard work. They literally save lives. We can do our part to help them, and ourselves, by taking basic precautions: like wearing a PFD (even if you’re just wading) and staying off the river entirely if you can’t see the green band on the color-coded river gauge. Check out the river safety page on FOR’s website for more information, here.
In the meantime, enjoy this amazing natural resource that we are so lucky to have in our own backyard!
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An art show celebrating the Rappahannock River, featuring the gorgeous work of Kass Escroe, Ash Moore, Dolly Whitley, and Pete Morelewicz is happening at the very cool PONSHOP (712 Caroline Street) through April 29th. There’s a fun backstory to this art show. Go find out about it and fall in love with the creatures of our amazing River through the work of some incredible artists. As an added bonus, this art show is interactive! In addition to their wonderful pieces, each artist created a “Coloring Book” style river-inspired postcard. These limited edition cards are available at PONSHOP by donating to Friends of the Rappahannock. You can color and display your card at the PONSHOP throughout the duration of the exhibit. Who wouldn't love an opportunity to Color for a Cause!
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Black History Walking Tour
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Due to the popularity of this event, the Fredericksburg Area Museum (FAM) has announced new dates for Black Businesses & Entrepreneurship in Fredericksburg, 1787 – Present Walking Tour – on April 19th at 1:00 PM, May 22nd at 4:00 PM, and June 25th at 11:30 AM, starting at FAM at 907 Princess Anne Street. Led by Dr. Gaila Sims, FAM Curator of African American History and Special Projects, the two-hour multi-stop walking tour features stories of African American business owners and entrepreneurs throughout Fredericksburg’s history, beginning with John DeBaptiste and the establishment of French John’s Wharf in the 18th Century and continuing with Henry Deane and the development of Liberty Town following the Civil War. It also touches on past thriving Black businesses on Princess Anne Street and celebrates our contemporary favorites throughout the City. “Grounded in historical documentation, archival research, and individual stories, this walking tour explores Fredericksburg’s unique contributions to the history of Black enterprise.” There’s a lot more information here, including ticket sales.
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The first-ever Compost-a-Thon is being held May 12th from 5:00 – 8:00 PM at Hurkamp Park (May 19th rain date). This unique event is hosted jointly by the R-Board and the City’s Environmental Sustainability Program. There will be compost demonstrations and discussions, and the first few attendees will receive a free compost starter kit!
The goal is to work together to raise public awareness about why all of us should be composting our organics, recycling, and using compost. Included will be an on-site food drive benefitting the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank to align with this year’s theme of “For healthier soil, healthier food.” For more information about Compost-a-Thon, click here.
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April is Child Abuse Prevention Month
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Check out all the pinwheels outside City Hall. They were planted by City employees in honor of Child Abuse Prevention Month. The blue and silver pinwheels serve to signify the happy childhoods and bright futures that all children deserve. To learn more about preventing child abuse, please click here.
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Chip Taylor and his band of merry volunteers are back at it again, beautifying Hurkamp Park on May 7th from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM. You’ve undoubtedly seen the amazing results of the Love Scrub crew’s labor of love. Each Spring and Fall, Chip inspires a group of volunteers to come out and plant flowers, spread mulch, pull weeds, and otherwise love scrub Hurkamp Park. I plan to pitch in this Spring. Kids and adults of all ages are there working together. It’s really something.
You don’t need to register to volunteer, just grab some gardening gloves and show up by the fountain at Hurkamp Park at 10:00 AM on Sunday, May 7th. Chip is keeping everyone updated on his Facebook page.
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New Middle School Website
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screenshot from Middle School website
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If you’re curious about the progress and plans for the New Middle School, currently expected to open in August 2025, there is no better place to get updated than by visiting the newly created website that will give you all the information you need. It’s a fantastic website with 3D renderings, construction plans and timelines, and capacity information.
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Jasiah Smith - A Great Loss
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Our school community – and the community at large – has lost a wonderful young man as a result of senseless gun violence. Jasiah Smith was a great friend to many in our community. Acknowledging this devastating loss, and helping his family and friends come to grips with this terrible tragedy, has to be part of the healing process. Our hearts go out to them all. Please read Superintendent Marci Catlett’s heartfelt statement 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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- Street Closures at the George + Charles Streets intersection will continue into this week while the City repairs drainage issues.
- Annual Spring Flushing: Flushing of our City water will occur through May 2023. Crews will work each day, Monday through Friday (excluding holidays), from 7:00 AM until 3:30 PM. You may notice a slight change in the taste of your water. To check when crews are scheduled to flush in your neighborhood, and their progress, please refer to the City's website or call 540/372-1023. Read the full notice here.
- Commissioner of the Revenue New Hours: The City Commissioner of the Revenue’s office, located in City Hall, 715 Princess Anne Street, is now closed at 4:00 PM. In addition, for the rest of April, the office will be closed to the public on Monday at Noon and all day Thursdays.
- Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon is on May 21st. Registration is now open.
- 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.
An avid bicycle user of the trails in the Quarry area contacted me about a dangerous creek crossing on the trail. Part of the crossing is affected by erosion and it’s tough to maneuver a bicycle through there. I brought it to the attention of the City Manager, who, working with Parks, Recreation and Events staff, along with Public Works, have visited the site multiple times. The City now plans to shift the trail slightly and build a simple wooden span pedestrian bridge just upstream from the problem spot. The bridge would be around 20 feet long and 5 feet wide, where higher volumes of water can flow easily underneath it. Current timeline has it being finished in September.
The next newsletter is scheduled to come out on April 24th. 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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