Depotdazed » Resources http://www.myvaresources.com/blogs/depotdazed Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:10:11 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Stormwater Management in Christiansburg, VA http://www.myvaresources.com/blogs/depotdazed/2009/05/stormwater-management-in-christiansburg-va/ http://www.myvaresources.com/blogs/depotdazed/2009/05/stormwater-management-in-christiansburg-va/#comments Thu, 28 May 2009 14:25:16 +0000 admin http://myvaresources.com/blogs/depotdazed/?p=1010 There’s a new page on my Special Studies section of MyVaRecources.com (informational site for citizens of the Town of Christiansburg and everywhere else this side of Pluto). (From any page on the site, simply click on the Special Studies link, then on the Stormwater link.)

Guess what the topic is …. “Stormwater“. There is very little discussion on the page, rather it is a collection of links that I found to be informative on the topic of stormwater. They cover a variety of the issues related to stormwater including: runoff, flooding, health hazards, environmental hazards, property damage, state laws, your rights under those laws, and general information sites.

A reader asked me a while back if I was really ignorant enough to believe that Town officials would read the blog. Well, the answer was and is, of course not! If they were that motivated to know about the problems around town, they would wait for someone to call them, they would be asking questions before making decisions, they would be demanding firm answers rather than “I think so.” They would already know about all of these sites and the information they contain. What I do, I do for citizens. Hopefully, there are some of those citizens who will decide to run for the office of Town Council or Mayor in the next election. It is my goal to be sure that citizens know their rights and that anyone running for office will be able to be effective leaders in the community.

I will note there there is/are one/or more elected/appointed official(s) that do/does read the blogs, does go to the sites, asks for more information, and is/are trying to make change. He/She/They is/are prevented from doing some of the things that need to be done by a block of those with voting power who insist things be done the way they have always been done. That is a problem that it will be up to voters to remedy. I could nearly guarantee that any citizen who spends 15 minutes looking at some of these information sites will know more about stormwater than most Town Council members. (Yes, I am being vague for a purpose. If you think citizens are the only ones that are being intentionally left in the dark, you are wrong!)

I will not provide information on who that/those may be but if you look at some of the vidoes or listen to some of the audios, or better yet, come to some of the meetings and see for yourself, you can tell who has done their homework and who hasn’t. I’ve been working hard to update the videos and all are loaded and ready to go except for the 5/19 Town Council Meeting which I am still working on. (Sorry, but trying to protect Historic Buildings from stormwater damage has to take priority.)

I understand that a citizen’s group is in the process of forming and when I hear more, I will let you know. I will be there! I have a few ideas of my own in the works and as soon as the rain slows down, it is going to be “Katie bar the door!” time. I want to see how the town responds before I get those going so that time and resources can be most effectively used…..planning….they’ll never figure out what I’m up to because they don’t understand planning:)

Anyway, if you have some time, check out the Stormwater page. If you find things on your own that could be added, let me know.

My thanks to all of you for your support and encouragement during these trying times. Your encouragement via emails and phone calls has kept me going! I’m feeling a lot like the David and Goliath scenario is in place. But, we all know how that one turned out!:)

Don’t forget to check out ThinkChristiansburg’s blog on Stormwater and the role of the DCR! Rain, Rain Go Away.
Have a great day!

]]> http://www.myvaresources.com/blogs/depotdazed/2009/05/stormwater-management-in-christiansburg-va/feed/ 0 A place to get your own information. Arm yourself with data before you argue. http://www.myvaresources.com/blogs/depotdazed/2009/04/a-place-to-get-your-own-information-arm-yourself-with-data-before-you-argue/ http://www.myvaresources.com/blogs/depotdazed/2009/04/a-place-to-get-your-own-information-arm-yourself-with-data-before-you-argue/#comments Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:20:58 +0000 admin http://myvaresources.com/blogs/depotdazed/?p=582 I want to share another site with you that provides some good information on Christiansburg. City-Data.com has been able to provide some information that has been difficult to obtain from the town, such as # of employees. Granted, the information is not all the most current (number of town employees is from March of 2002). Here are some samples of what you can find:

Near the top is a chart showing home sale from 2004 through 2008 by quarter. The step decline in home sales during this period is clear.

Just below that is this section

For population 25 years and over in Christiansburg

  • High school or higher: 81.9%
  • Bachelor’s degree or higher: 25.1%
  • Graduate or professional degree: 9.1%
  • Unemployed: 2.2%
  • Mean travel time to work: 20.0 minutes

It appears that a lot of people live in Christiansburg but do not work here. All the more reason for the Town to take a close look at transit options.

The next section shows how much higher Christiansburg is than the state average for the number of building permits per 10,000 in population. It also shows how much lower these buildings are in cost compared to the state data.

The concept of a standard curve is totally blown away when you look at the next chart set where household income and home values are addressed.

The next section shows the most common types of industries (two separate charts for males and females). A quick glance causes me to think that without construction and education jobs this area would collapse quickly. Since both of those are affected by the current economy, once can anticipate that the money needed to run government is going to have to come from somewhere. (Also, retail sales, meals, and lodging are all likely to be hurt hard and all those user fees the town has been relying on are dying up.)

One thing I’ll point out is that the chart for crimes has two lines for each entry. The second line is simply a calculation of what the actual crime rate (number in first line) is projected to be in a population of 100,000 people (which Christiansburg is a long way from). That provides you with an estimated number to be able to compare to larger population areas. A look at the actual numbers for the years provided made me go to the citizen’s website to look at current numbers for this year…scary. Let’s hope the current trends don’t continue. By clicking on one line of the crime data, say ‘thefts’, the chart directly below will show how Christiansburg compares to U.S. averages. It is also noted that the number of police officers here is lower than the U.S. average.

3/4 of the way down this page is the list of town employees. It is noted that in 2002:

  • there were 40 police officers at an average annual salary of $38,000
  • Parks and Rec. had 10 full time people at an average annual salary of $34,181.
  • total government employees = 187 with average annual salary of  $30,841.

No need for me to tell you what I see. I’m hoping that you will take a look and tell me what YOU see. Each of us will have different approaches to understanding this information and what it means to the town as a whole. I look forward to your comments.

By Carol Lindstrom On February 9 at 3:07 PM

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