AdvanceChristiansburg

The following are a few updates:

1.  Public Meeting Notices - One of the more important aspects of the new town website is making it easy for folks to be aware of all public meetings (Council, Committees, and Commissions), events, etc. throughout the town.  One mechanism for doing this is keeping the Community Calendar updated, which we will continue to do.  Another feature is the "Notify Me" button on the Homepage Screen.  This is part of the E-Notification and allows interested individuals to register to receive e-mail notices of public meetings, agendas, and other events including recreation department.  Additionally, folks who register to receive Agendas are also provided with notification of recently approved Minutes (the main website has archived minutes for older meetings).  Some folks will undoubtably prefer to continue receiving hard-copy agendas via US Mail (and this will continue to be an option), but we are hoping that E-Notification will become a mainstay for public notice and will reduce the use/costs of paper products and postage over the long haul.  So please consider registering for this online, and if you would like assistance, please contact the Town Clerk.  We will be adding to the list of E-Notifications as we go along.

 2.  Bicycle & Pedestrian Facilities - The Town's Street Committee (Councilman VanHoozier and myself) has been studying the Town's Recreation Master Plan, Comprehensive Plan, and some map information with the hope of advancing bike/ped projects.  We are considering a wide variety of funding sources and mechanisms to develop a list of prioritized projects that are cost-effective (funded partially or entirely with grant money), and can be recommended to the full council as actual projects.  Our standing Street Committee Meetings are the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 7:00p in the Town Manager's office (or adjacent conference room if attandence dictates); feel free to attend and observe.  More updates on this as it takes shape.

3.  Stimulus Package Opportunities - Since President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 into law last week, we are now looking for ways to accelerate candidate projects including Route 114-Phase II, the Huckleberry Trail Extension, and other potential projects (including possible bike/ped projects to sieve out from Item 2 above).

4.  Curbside Recycling -  At council's 03 Feb 09 meeting, a town staff report on curbside recycling was distributed to council members for review and consideration.  The report was based on research from other localities, available town resources (trucks and personnel), existing trash collection schedules and routes, and anticipated costs.  Numerous avenues exist for the town to actively lead this effort, each with its related costs and benefits.  The distillate of this report were three options ranging from a pilot program that would begin with recyclable pickup in limited sector of the town on a day when only three of the town's four trash trucks are being used, to the purchase of two new trucks and comprehensive town-wide collection. 

I usually avoid speaking for others on council, but I will note here that conversations with others on curbside recycling has been positive and I believe the interest is there to see a successful program be established in town. 

At our most recent meeting (17 Feb 09), Jeremy Hart of Valley Curbside Recycling (VCR) provided council with an update of where his new business is at in building a private program to meet this need.  Mr. Hart explained that VCR has already gotten traction in a pilot sector of town with 860 homes and several dozen customers, and has plans to expand the company's program to all town residents.  VCR's monthly rates are very reasonable at $12.50 to $15.00/month depending on the length of contract.  VCR's business model also includes incentives for Street Coordinators who sign up new customers.  And so, it appears the town has a capable and committed venture that's taking root that would not only fill an important community need, but also provide job and business expansion opportunities.  Following Mr. Hart's presentation, council deliberated on the staff report and on VCR's presentation.  The essence of this discussion, as I perceived it, was that there is interest by council to support recycling and that time and support should be provided to VCR (and others if they step forward) to fill this need for the next 12 months.  Council will then gauge the success of this approach and consider options at that time to meet the needs of our community.

As an aside, I learned on Tuesday that VCR's expanded service area now includes our neighborhood ... so we've signed up to support this in earnest.  I fully encourage others to do the same.  Based on the numbers, VCR is offering a deal to those who want to participate (likely the same folks who would actually participate if this was a town-led initiative).  Government's role should be providing services that folks generally can't do themselves, so my hope is that the private sector can show us it can be done better/faster/cheaper.  My fingers are crossed for good luck, and the larger context is that recycling seems to be growing roots in town.  This is a good thing.