Now that is a $1,000,000 plus question. (By the way, videos of the meeting are at: http://myvaresources.com/VideoFiles2010/2010_07_12PC/2010_07_12PC1.html
Here are a few observations/questions about why this and many other development issues have come up. Read the rest of this entry »
Revisiting a re-visitation of the Meals Tax increase is on the agenda on the Tuesday, June 8th, Special Meeting of the Christiansburg Town Council. Rather than go through all the gory (although sickly humorous) details of why this is necessary, read the editorial at the Roanoke Times.com: Editorial: Christiansburg’s budget shenanigans. You can always watch the video at MyVAResources.com’s Videos of Public Meetings page, Part 5 on the 6/1/10 Town Council Meeting is the key element. On another note in the same sad song: Read the rest of this entry »
HB619: Erosion and sediment control; may assess civil penalty.
This has just passed the House and as with the Health Care bill, has been defanged there (although maybe not as badly as the Health Care bill). Now, it is up to the Senate. Read the rest of this entry »
The Cambria Toy Station has reopened.
I am sorry for any inconvenience this has caused customers, but the Historic Structure has to have priority. The floors are American Chestnut which as most of you know is extinct, so there is NO replacing it. Drying out those floors has been a very slow process to insure there was no warping or other damage. Except for a bit more painting that needs to be done, the store is about ready. Our inventory is a bit low because we were unable to verify that there were no hazardous chemical or sewage in the stormwater so anything that got possibly damp… got gone! The safety, health, and well being of you and your families is and always will be our primary goal within the store. We hope to start with hours from 10:00AM to 5:00PM Wednesday through Saturday and 1:00PM to 5:00PM on Sundays starting July 29th, Wednesday.
After being closed for over two months trying to repair damage to the Depot from the stormwater flooding that occurred (by the way, the stormwater drain by the other train station is still funneling a ton of water directly into the floodplain. (A short video is available but it may be a bit slow to load right now.) That water comes off of all the area above the Main Street intersection. During a good rain, it creates a kinda kewl waterfall, unless, of course, you have to be out in that rain trying to keep more flooding from happening. That should be a heads up to all of you who live in that area. Whatever you put in your yard or in the ditch ends up coming through that pipe under the road and dumping on to the ground then goes directly into the Creek. That means, what you dump you (or someone else) drinks. What you dump affects aquatic life and the nearby plants and animals relying on that Creek to stay alive.
It also means that a lot more sedimentation is going into the Creek. When that settles out, you will find the water level slowly increasing and more flooding is likely. If you can remember a time when the water didn’t come over the bank nearly as much, this process is a likely culprit. Try filling a glass of water to the brim, then toss in a couple of tablespoons of dirt and what happens. Be sure you have a towel handy or do it on a surface that you don’t mind getting wet though!
Then you really, really have to wonder about the number of sewage issues and how much of that ended up going into the stormwater. That adds the potential for a lot of nasty bacteria and such ending up in the water supply. Thus far, we are still fighting against future flooding in Cambria.
Before you start saying, well it’s in a floodplain so it is suppose to flood, remember that it has been in that floodplain for decades without any flooding. The problems did not start until the town raised the road level again (now a total of 18″ in 20 years), installed that crazy concrete ‘dam’ in the middle of the road, installed a drainage – sidewalk system that looks nice but is totally dysfunctional, and started allowing a lot of development in the surround area without enforcing the town’s codes (and state laws) concerning stormwater and erosion/sediment control.
Remember that glass of water experiment I spoke of earlier? In the real world that dirt is picked up and carried by water going to stormdrains. Some of that sediment settles out in those basis designed to collect and channel stormwater flow. As time goes by, layers of sediment build up and the result is that the catch basins cannot hold as much water. That is why people saw the Town’s trucks out in Cambria at 6AM on the morning of the 15th. They were trying to pump out the sediment that had built up, preventing the system from draining effectively. The fact that that is a fairly new system shows that there is a significant problem with either the amount of sediment going into the drains or that town staff have not been given the latitude to do the type of monitoring and maintenance required to make sure these types of situations do not occur. Preventative maintenance is much less expensive than dealing with the affects of doing nothing.
By the way, there are those who are reporting that they have been assured by one council member that their problems will be taken care of by the Town. Cambria Emporium and Cambria Depot, two of the buildings in Town listed in the Federal Registry of Historic Places have not been provided such assurances from anyone in the Town. We do however, have new painting for parking and crosswalk which is appreciated as it adds to customer and tourist safety. I just hope the paint surface used can be seen from several inches under muddy water.
By the way, in any situation where you have reported these types of erosion and sediment control issues, notify the Town first. You do not have to accept being ignored as many have complained to me has been done to them. If the Town does not deal with the problem, your next course of action is to contact the Department of Conservation and Recreation for help.
For almost a year now, I have been recording (audio or video) of the Town of Christiansburg Town Council and Planning Commission meetings and posting them online for people to see. I just updated the website http://www.myvaresources.com with the newest. They include the July 6 Planning Commission Meeting and the July 7 & 21 Town Council Meetings. (Sorry, I missed the July 20 Planning Commission Meeting due to illness.) These are not professional recordings by any means. They are, however, an open and honest attempt to provide the citizens of the Town of Christiansburg with information about what their government does and why things happen the way that they do.
The link above takes you to the entrance of the full website (which contains a lot of other information) and there are links across the top to click on to go to specific areas. The link labeled **Video of Meetings” will take you to a page with all of the recordings that are currently available. (Some of the older ones have been removed to save space on the server but are available, just let me know what you need).
One of the patterns you will notice can be found in the responses of the Mayor: “Let’s wait and see.” Last night he provided a new variation on that theme: “Let’s wait and monitor” or “Let’s wait and watch”. (Based upon a review of the historical minutes, this translates into Let’s do anything we can to pretend we’re doing something until the issue goes away!)
I am starting a list of such statements that appear to be designed to take action by not taking action. This type of attitude has cost the Town a lot…and I am sure will cost the Town a great deal more as times progresses. This is an awful lot like putting a band-aid on a cut without cleaning it and applying antibiotic first. It looks good on the surface, but it can lead to some serious problems later. You can’t hide issues forever. At some point, you have to take charge, show some leadership and start dealing with the issue. (Since this specific issue realted to stormwater, erosion & sediment control, it is nteresting that the Town of Christiansburg is under a Corrective Action by DCR for failure to document inspections related to erosion/sediment control and stormwater.)
Watch the video and you will see some good examples of where those leadership qualities were exhibited by Michael Barber, Ann Carter, Henry Showalter, and Jim VanHoozier. Leadership means being outfront, making decisions, and getting things done. IT DOES NOT MEAN LET’S WAIT AND SEE! Rather than Waiting to See, why not come up with a solution. If a solution is not currently present, then set up some specific critera where followup reviews are done on a regular basis until such time as the issue is resolved. Mr. Mayor, it is time to take some positive action rather than negative inaction!
It is a crying shame that one of our older citizens cannot enjoy her property in her retirement years. People build homes with yards with a reasonable expectation that the property can be used as they wish. Who knows maybe you or one of your family members will be the next person to have such a problem.
Despite the issues noted, page 31 of the pdf document (DCR report./Corrective Action) gives a Local ESC Program Rating that reports the following. While not a perfect score, it clearly shows those areas where opportunities exist for the Town of Christiansburg to improve its performance when it comes to the management of Erosion & Sediment and Stormwater.
CERTIFIED PERSONNEL (Scored 45 of 45 possible points):
ESC Ordinance (Scored 45 of 45 possible points):
General Program Administration (Scored 8 out of 10 possible points)
Plan Reviews (Scored 85 out of 100 possible points)
Inspections (55 of 100 possible points earned)
Enforcement (80 of 100 possible points)
Well, that’s it for my review of the DCR Audit and Corrective Action. Hope you have learned as much as I have. It will be interesting to see what actions the Town has taken to correct these issues. Come to Town Council meetings and bring your questions with you. It is your property, your town, and your government.
All of the previous information has given some insight into the degree of importance the Town of Christiansburg attributes to stormwater issues and erosion & sediment control. This section is based on the actual observations made by DCR professionally trained staff when the project sites were visited.
I feel this shows that NOT ALL SITES ARE TREATED EQUALLY! Pay close attention to the Aquatic Center where some of our own town staff are helping with the work. I hope that better care of that facility is taken in the future than it is during these phases. And, to be so very, very close to a creek that runs into Crab Creek where there are already problems with sedimentation….good grief. Guess my mom was right again: “Judge a peson by what he does, not by what he says he will do.”
Now…to the site visit reports:
This series will conclude tomorrow with the Inspection/Enforcement discussion.
The bulk of the pages provided in the DCR report have to do with Plan Reviews and Site Visit Checklist for specific sites. Note that this is an evaluation of the Town of Christiansburg’s peformance. It is the RESPONSIBILITY of the Town of Christiansburg to be sure that things are done in such a manner as to protect citizens.
However, these issues, if correctly dealt with by the Town serve to benefit both citizens and developers. Doing something the RIGHT way, the first time, is something that I was raised up to believe. Only partially doing a job, or doing a job poorly simply means you will have to deal with it at some point in the future. In situation such as the management of Stormwater, it is not only the Town that pays for errors, it is citizens. If things are not done properly at the beginning and problems occur, YOUR TAXMONEY is what will have to be used to fix the problem, if it gets fixed. Alternately, it is your out of pocket expenses to replace and repair, it is your insurance rates going up, it is your property values going down. And, to be affected by these things, you do not have to live on an affected property, you only have to live near it.
Shortcuts and doing only the minimum the law requires is a bit less than taxpayers have a right to expect from government. I think it would be a good idea for elected officials to do a more thorough review of Erosion & Sediment Control and Stormwater ordinances to see where the minimum is just maybe…not enough. That would be a good review of at least one part of the code.
The proposed recodification of the Code that is suppose to be in the works would simply make sure that the Town Code meets the minimum standards as required by the State. What Town Council needs to take a close look at is where in the State Codes they are allowed to do more than meet that minimum and determine if THOSE areas should be revised.
Plan Review MS Checklist (I am only including those areas which receive NO answers instead of the desired YES ones):
It’s nice to find that some of the areas inspected had such great scores. As a citizen, knowing and believing that the Town should be an example, I am embarassed at the results found at the Aquatic Center. This is suppose to be a bright and shining star in our Town. We should start by taking good care of it RIGHT NOW!!! Of course some of the issues with Erosion & Sediment Control might just be why some of the delays occurred. Considering some of the stuff I’ve seen on my daily drivebys there, I would just about be willing to bet that has contributed to some of the delays. You can’t get close because it is posted, but a great deal can be seen from the road. A great deal more can be seen from the road with a pair of binoculars or a camera with a really good zoom lens:)
Beginning on page 3 of pdf created from the document received from DCR addressed in Part 1 of this series (Department of Conservation and Recreation) is the “LOCAL ESC PROGRAM REVIEW CHECKLIST”. Four different program areas are evaluated: Administration, Plan Review, Inspection & Enforcement.
Let me make it clear at the onset that this checklist includes a combination of things that are Minimally required, Recommended practices, or deal with ‘optional items’ where the criteria MUST be met if these ‘optional items’ are utilized by the Town.
In Part I: Administration the Town’s performance looks pretty good until you get to page 6 where the NO’s start coming in or what appear to be recommended steps:
These results rather lead one to the impressions:
Ultimately, this speaks to the issue of what happens when the focus is only on meeting MINIMUM requirements of State Code. The reason for establishing MINIMUM requirements is because there is such diversity in topography, soil types, and absorption rates, this leaves jurisdictions with the flexibility to ADD to these minimum standards in a way that best serves its citizens. It is not a law saying that ONLY those minimum standards must be met. It is a starting place, common ground, from which the Town should be building its ordinances to protect citizens and the environment.
In Part II: Plan Review there were also a few NO’s.
Again, this section speaks primarily to how the Town of Christiansburg prefers to meet the minimum standards. All of the NO’s above were related to recommended items. The Maintenance of permanent facilities for stormwater management is a requirement. Now whether it is done by the Town, agreed to by the developer, or falls upon the shoulders of the property owner is not clearly defined at the early stages of the process and could become a ‘bone of contention’ later on. The Lot by Lot grading plans would insure that criteria are met for each indivudal lot, thus preventing issues arising in the future where grading on one lot could have a negative affect on another lot if the parcel is taken as a whole.
In Part III: Inspection, there were some NO’s and some of these are required. The required articles are denoted by bold print.
This is a highly relevant component of the entire process. The Town Council can vote on and pass ordinances all day long such as the erosion & sediment control ordinance discussed here. But! Exactly what use is an ordinance if it is not followed up on by inspections? These inspections are a crucial component in making sure that things are being done correctly and that future problems can be averted (the state code even allows for modification of plans should problems arise during the process. All the Plans and Enforcement in the world are wasted (including taxpayer money to support those activities) if the necessary inspections are not being done!
In Part IV: Enforcement there were only two (2) NO’s and both were recommended rather than required.
Beginning on page 10 and continuing through page 34 you can find the reviews of specific land disturbing sites. However, on page 35 is the Local Program Overall Rating which shows why the Corrective Action Agreement was warranted (a minimum of 70 points is required):
| Available Points |
Earned Points |
Program Area |
| 100 | 98 | PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION |
| 100 | 85 | PLAN REVIEW |
| 100 | 55 | INSPECTION |
| 100 | 80 | ENFORCEMENT |
This one sure doesn’t take a brain surgeon or an engineer to figure it out. It is a simple 4 step process. Only in this case, one of the steps is inadequate. The scenario is not unlike sitting in a chair with one broken leg. So long as you maintain perfect balance and don’t move, you’ll be just fine as long as your muscles hold out. Sooner or later though, you’re going to get tired, a muscle will spasm…and BAM! You’re gonna hit the floor.
I’m still wondering if any of the Town Council members were aware of this report. I know that some were not until Tuesday night.
I recently requested a document from Department of Conservation and Recreation. This request was based on a comment made by the Christiansburg Town Manager to Town Council at a public meeting, the Town Council Meeting of December 16, 2008 (written minutes). This statement was to advise Town Council that the Erosion & Sediment Stormwater Ordinance for the Town of Christiansburg (Chapter 10 of the Town Code) (or audio at the 45 minute mark) needed to be modified slightly because there were changes in definitions of the State Code and a few minor changes in design. The Town Council voted to accept this ‘document’. Only one problem, the document didn’t exist. Or at least when I asked for a copy I was told that it hadn’t been written yet. (The updated version of Chapter 10 of the Town Code is now available at the town website (see link above). If it had and if the Town Council members had read it, they would have found that there were a lot of changes and they were significant, not minor. Of particular note was increased enforcement, increased fines for violators, and higher standards in erosion & sediment/stormwater control measures.
Since that time, I did a review of Town Council Meeting Minutes, the Town Code, the State Code, and just about everything else I could find. I did line by line comparisons of the Town Code with the State Code and the various DCR documents that establish guidelines and criteria.
DCR did a program review for the Town of Christiansburg. The specific dates of that review were October 21 and 22 of 2008. Someone within the Town of Christiansburg received a Corrective Action Statement from DCR based on the results of that study. It mandated that the Town of Christiansburg woul sign the Corrective Action Agreement no later than April 18, 2009 and that a written report on progress would be provided to DCR no later than June 17, 2009. It also mandated that the corrective actions would be completed no later than September 15, 2009.
I will be reporting on several aspects of this report but, for now, I want to focus only on the Corrective Actions. Take a look at these and see if it really looks like a few minor changes based upon definitions were needed, or if there are/have been greater issues with the Town’s approach to Stormwater management. It is important to realize that once property is rezoned, the Town Council is effectively out of the picture and totally dependent upon the actions of the Town Manager to insure that the health, safety, and well-being of citizens is maintained. The Codes of the Town of Christiansburg give virtually exclusive rights to the Town Manager to enforce criteria, make waivers, accept less than minimum standards, etc.
The program component that is noted for corrective action is “INSPECTION” and 4 specific items were noted.
Of course I’m not a professional, but this looks like someone is saying that Inspections for Erosion & Sediment Control/Stormwater Management were not be done in compliance with State Codes and that the Town of Christiansburg has been directed to correct these ‘errors/ommissions’.
Note that this document was signed by the Town Manager on 4/3/09 (the document from DCR is dated 3/19/09). There are a total of 35 pages in this document. This is the first page. Additional pages provide more specific information concerning the reviews performed and areas that were scored.
More on the information found on these additional pages tomorrow.
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