From: Randy Wingfield
Sent: Tuesday, July 20, 2010 1:44 PM
To: Ann Carter; Bradford Stipes; Earnest Wade;
Henry Showalter; Jim VanHoozier; Mike Barber;
Richard Ballengee; Lance Terpenny; Barry Helms
Cc: Ann Carter; Craig Moore; Kevin Conner;
Mike Byrd; Steve Huppert; wbooth; Nichole Hair
Subject: Ivy Ridge Connectivity Index/Sage Lane Connection

VDOT uses a connectivity index for approval of
subdivision with new streets as part of their
secondary street acceptance requirements.
This index uses street segments divided by
intersections (cul-de-sacs are included as intersections)
to come up with the index number.  Christiansburg is
classified by VDOT as a Compact area which would require
a connectivity index of at least 1.6, however this
requirement does not apply within Christiansburg as we
maintain our own streets, I am just providing this for
your reference.  To simplify it, the higher the
connectivity index, the better.  The connectivity
index cannot mathematically be lower than 1.

 I ran the same connectivity index for Ivy Ridge
and came up with the following numbers:

For the development as shown on the Ivy Ridge
Conceptual Plan dated 5-10-10 with a connection made
to Sage Lane = 13 segments / 7 intersections
(including cul-de-sacs) = 1.86 connectivity index

For the development as shown on the Ivy Ridge Conceptual
Plan dated 5-10-10 with no connection made to
Sage Lane = 10 segments / 6 intersections
 (including cul-de-sacs) = 1.67 connectivity index

The Town Administration, Planning, and Engineering
staff feel as though the connection to Sage Lane
should be made because of general connectivity and
for emergency access reasons.  Police Chief Mark Sisson,
Fire Chief Billy Hanks, and Rescue Squad Captain
Kelly Walters concur that the connections to Sage Lane
is desirable for these reasons.

There is an existing stub out at the end of
New Village Drive which could be utilized for access
through the Shaffer land via the stub out of Albert Lane
shown on the concept drawing.  This connection would
provide an additional connection through New River Village
 to the proposed development if it were constructed.

Town staff will require the connection if Town Council
desires it, but will not require the connection if that
is the desire of Town Council.

Randy Wingfield
Planning Director/Zoning Administrator
Town of Christiansburg
100 E. Main Street
Christiansburg, VA 24073
phone: (540) 382-6120 x 119
fax: (540) 381-7238

Since Mr. Wingfield has provided his phone number, feel free to let him know how you feel about this. Feel free to call all of those members of Council and ask who authorized this.

Here are a few observations/questions about why this and many other development issues have come up.

1. Poor to non-existent planning.
2. Council not being fully informed before making decisions.
3. Planning Commission not being fully informed before making recommendations.
4. Planning Dept. staff not knowing what information the Planning Commission and/or Town Council need to know in order to make informed decisions.
5. Planning Commission and/or Town Council not wanting to know the information required to make informed decisions.
6. Someone dictating what the Planning Dept. staff is allowed to present to the Town Council and/or Planning Commission, created a very skewed view of things.

At the July 12th Planning Commission Meeting, I reviewed what the Town is calling Staff Analysis packages. These are the packets of information that are provided to Planning Commission and then to Town Council in order for those elected and appointed officials to know the impact on rezoning/development on the Town as a whole and on neighborhoods specifically. It was all I could do to keep from laughing hysterically.

Take a look for yourself. Then take a look at samples I got from other jurisdictions for a comparison.

1. Christiansburg Staff Analysis
2. Examples from other jurisdictions:  Sample 1 Sample 2

You will quickly note that the information that is provided to Commissioners and Council is far more extensive in other jurisdictions.

When I asked Planning Director Wingfield why there was so little information, he responded that he had been told by the Town Manager what was to be given in the report and that the Town Council has said what it is that they wanted.

This sets up two distinctive scenarios: 1) the Town Manager has been controlling what the appointed and elected officials see in relation to any proposed development or rezoning, and 2) the Council members are expected to know what it is that is available for them to ask for and that they have the knowledge/training to know what is important.

I believe that it is part of most programs offering Planning Degrees for students to learn what should be included in such documents. Also, I do not believe that we have any elected or appointed personnel who have degrees in planning. This makes it a lot like going to a proctologist for a toothache! Hello….get a clue…people who are trained to do something, have been examined for their knowledge on that something, might…just might have a tad bit more knowledge than those who do not. In fact, if I am not mistaken, isn’t that why the Town of Christiansburg pays the money that they do for Planners, because of their knowledge.

Talk about waste of taxpayer money. If you are not going to let someone do what they are trained to do then why have people with the training?

If you don’t have people trained making assessments and giving advice, then don’t be surprised when you have problems with whatever area they are working in….i.e., traffic, stormwater, legal issues, etc. You can expect to see problems and LAWSUITS when professional staff members are restricted or incapable of doing the very jobs that they were hired to do.

More on Sage Lane to come, particularly how easily the ‘emergency access’ can be dealt with WITHOUT having to have a ‘road’ there to create traffic issues.

As a side note, Mr. Huppert noted that he was now seeing people out working on sidewalks and that maybe the focus of the Planning Commission on sidewalks contributed to that behavior. Personally, I doubt it. I think it is far more likely that increased activities on sidewalks, groundskeeping, road repair,  landscaping, street cleaning, and other such area, is more likely a function of the fact that with the Aquatic Center finally ‘finished’, all of those town workers were were diverted from their normal jobs to work on the Aquatic Center suddenly find themselves being allowed to work on the routine daily issues of a town.

The Aquatic Center cost town taxpayers a lot more than just the money for the building. Diverting Town staff from their regular duties to work on the Aquatic Center meant that things did not get done! Even the Town Manager has acknowledged that to cut any personnel would mean having to cut services. It should come as no surprise to citizens that basic services were dropped in order to have people work on the Aquatic Center. Town Council has asked for an accounting of the number of town staff hours involved in the development of the Aquatic Center several times in the past and only vague responses have been received.

Maybe the only way that Council could find out the answer to that question would be to ask the workers themselves. Cutting services to taxpayers is not the right way to get the work done at the Aquatic Center. Reportedly, town staff was used to save money. Perhaps this also contributed to the multiple DCR violations on the site for erosion and sediment control as well.

The Auditor of Public Accounts provides the citizens of Virginia with a way to see what is happening financially, with their specific County, City or Town.

On a website entitled “Commonwealth Data Point: Transparency at Work in Virginia” you can find information about expenses and revenue at the State-wide level or by jurisdiction. For instance, by clicking on the Local Government tab at the top, you get a drop-down menu that allows you to choose from “Expenditures”, “Revenues”, or “Local Comparison Analysis”.

Both “Expenditures” and “Revenues” then allow you choose “County”, “City”, or “Town”. This will take you to a list of all of the jurisdictions within the chosen category and provides the overall information for FY2002 thru FY2008.

Example 1: Local Government Expenditures (note that all of those numbers in blue are links which will take you to more detailed information)

…and …

Example 2: Local Government Revenues (note that all of those numbers in blue are links which will take you to more detailed information)

The Local Comparison Analysis option allows you to select two different localities, select fiscal years for those localities

Example 3: Comparison of Towns of Christiansburg and Front Royal for the Fiscal Year 2007 (Details on 2008 do not seem to be available yet … possible effect of budget cuts?)

Expenditures	Christiansburg FY2007	Front Royal FY2007
General Government	$1,671,785.00	$2,291,155.00
Judicial Administration	$0.00	$0.00
Public Safety	$5,824,693.00	$3,553,958.00
Public Works	$6,353,801.00	$3,675,203.00
Health and Welfare	$19,674.00	$49,523.00
Parks and Recreation	$1,965,578.00	$61,712.00
Community Development	$1,550,899.00	$549,706.00
Nondepartmental	$0.00	$0.00
Education	$0.00	$0.00
TOTAL EXPENDITURES	$17,386,430.00	$10,181,257.00

The key to effectively using this data is to make sure you are not comparing “apples to oranges”. Demographically, Christiansburg more closely fits into the same profile as Front Royal rather than say… Blacksburg.

Blacksburg has a population nearly twice that of Christiansburg and Front Royal. Blacksburg’s Population Density is also roughly twice that of Christiansburg and Front Royal. Christiansburg shows a Median Household income of nearly twice that of Blacksburg due to the number of students in Blacksburg that skew the data, but Christiansburg and Front Royal are fairly close.

While Vienna and Herndon are both close in total population to Christiansburg, that is where all similarities cease. Vienna and Herndon both have approximately 1/3 the land area, twice the population density (Vienna) and 5 times the density (Herndon), and twice the Median Household Income.

In other words, for Christiansburg data to be compared to Vienna or Herndon, you have to keep in mind that they are significantly different in many areas. Front Royal more closely matches the demographics of the Christiansburg population.

Taking a look at the 2009 Comparative Data that is also available on the APA website one can take a much closer look at Towns.

I hope that some of you will take the time to explore the offerings found on this website. It is there for citizens and is a good example of Open Government!

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.

The Richmond Sunlight’s Bill Tracking page for this bill shows two versions. The original and the eviscerated version that will proceed. The original bill is HB619 and the version as modified and passed by the House is HB619E. The Richmond Sunlight’s information on the right side of the page explains how to find the changes (they are either highlighted {shown as underlined below} if something is added,or have a line through them if something is deleted

The original change draws a clear line that identifies the first fine ($100) and each additional fine ($1000). The new, upgraded version allows for the locality to pick a figure between $100 & $1000 on each and every violation (each day constitutes a different violation). On the surface this may seem better, however, there is a lot of room for a ‘hitch in the get-a-long’ of this UNLESS this is (1) incorporated into the jurisdictions ordinance and (2) is applied in the same way to each and every violator.

If the violator is a simple citizen clearing an area of his/her backyard for a garage or shed, as opposed to a big development, I can see where you may want some latitude. This new version makes it easy for local government to make an uneven playing field by treating ‘friends’ or ‘family’ or ‘good old boys/girls’ differently from other people when the overall situations may be exactly the same. But, hey! We all know that kind of stuff doesn’t happen, right? There is no way any local jurisdiction in Virginia would slap a civil fine of $100 on someone who is a friend of one of the Supervisors/Council members and a $1000 fine on someone else that someone didn’t like or was new to the area, etc. We all know that codes are fairly and equally applied in the area of enforcement. I can see where this could get interesting.

Take the time to go to the Richmond Sunlight site and look at the changes between those two bill (just click on the View Full Text link). Take time to vote on what you think while you’re there. If you have feelings about this, either pro or con, now is the time to start contacting your State Senator and let him/her know what you think and what you would like to see happen. I would prefer that the fee be based upon the amount of surface area involved so that those doing the most damage will pay the highest fees. I would also like to see that the money collected for this would be mandated to be used for restoration efforts. But…that’s just my opinion.

Wonder what, if anything, the Town of Christiansburg will do with this if it passes at the State level.

I just love the Richmond Sunlight site, not only can I see the bill, I can choose to track it and put it in a list that I can quickly access to see what progress has been made.

There is another part of the problem. There are a heck of a lot of people who simply do not understand the basic of our financial systems. Back in the ’60′s I had to take Economics and Civics as part of my high school curriculum. It was not my favorite subject, but I still use some of the things I learned there on a routine basis. Such things as dealing with a budget, comparison shopping, balancing a checkbook have become a part of daily living.

Now days, the financial system has become much more complicated. A ‘simple’ agreement for a credit card has become some convoluted and filled with legalese that many people do not understand everything that they are committing themselves to as partners in an agreement, OR that to which the bank can be held accountable, OR what the citizen’s basic rights are within that agreement.

IF more of the customers of those institutions had had a clearer understanding, would they have made different choices? My guess is that they would have. With greed at the top of the pyramid and lack of knowledge at the bottom, the current collapsing structure is certainly understandable.

Now, is the State of Virginia about to complicate that problem further? HB 196 Economics education and financial literacy: repeals requirement for instruction in certain schools is a bill that will remove economics education and financial literacy instruction in middle and high schools.

This bill effectively repeals § 22.1-200.03 of the Code of Virginia which states: § 22.1-200.03. Economics education and financial literacy required in middle and high school grades; Board of Education to establish objectives for economic education and financial literacy; banking-at-school programs.(Use the link to see the full text).

Now this is suppose to make sense? We are in a financial crisis and rather than working to improve the education of individuals to better manage their personal/business finances, the State would get rid of what we have? What should be happening is that we should be expanding that program not getting rid of it. We need to be adding to the knowledge that people have so that they can make better decisions, not weakening their resources!!!

I find myself wondering just who this bill is suppose to be helping. I certainly do not see it helping citizens. Now, all those big financial institutions should be loving this. The less people know, the easier it is to manipulate them. Looks like it is time for me to start doing some phone calling and letter writing.

Along with your local Delegate, some of those to contact would be members of the Sub-Committee: #1 Standards of Quality (I put in the link to make contact information easier to find:) where the bill is currently on schedule. Their next meeting is 1/26/10 at 7:30 AM in Meeing Room 4 West.

You will now find RSS feeds offered by the RichmondSunlight which is a site that tracks legislative activity. At http://www.myvaresources.com/blogs/depotdazed, you can now find 4 new features:

1. RSS feeds for comments made by citizens on different bills.
2. RSS feeds containing those bills sponsored by Del. Dave Nutter.
3. RSS fees containing those bills sponsored by Del. Jim Shuler.
4. RSS feeds containing those bills sponsored by Sen. Ralph Smith.

One of the first things I noted was as comment: Kathleen SB1065. Following the links on that brought me to where I found that the bill was to prevent Associations from restricting people from saving energy by utilizing wind driven drying devices …..CLOTHESLINES. Del. Nutter voted against the bill, Del. Shuler voted for it.

Home all those Associations feel safe knowing that they will not have to tolerate some neighbor hanging bloomers in their backyards! Oh…my…gawd….this was just too much. I can see I am going to be spending a lot of time looking at what elected officials are doing here.

Candidates Forums & Voters Guides 2009

When you go in to cast your vote, you are affecting:

• What laws will be made.
• How laws will be enforced.
• How and WHERE tax money will be spent.
• What businesses are likely to choose to come to your area.
• Your property taxes.
• The quality of education provided to your community’s children.
• Accessibility of a higher education.
• The value of your property.
• Who serves on citizen committees.
• What roads are repaired or expanded.
• Tuition rates of universities and community colleges.
• Access to services such as DMV (if money is cut so are days and hours)
• Rest areas on I-81.
• Law Enforcement.
• Fire and Rescue.
• Social Services.
• What types and where trails and bike-ways are built.
• What types of businesses are available to you locally.
• Funding cuts at State level result in increases at the local level.
  • Services that must be provided are often supplemented by State funds. When that money is cut, it falls upon the local jurisdictions to pick up the slack or else it doesn’t happen.
• Quality of drinking water.
• How stormwater issues are dealt with.
• Sewer and garbage issues.
• Maintenance of state and local parks.
• Quality and availability of recreational facilities.
• Health insurance.
• Unemployment insurance.
• Car insurance rates.
• Product safety (agricultural in particular).
• Fraud protection.
• Child welfare and safety.
• Economic Development (creation of JOBS!
• WHEN ELECTIONS ARE HELD!!!!! ( Are they convenient for voters and do they cost or save money for taxpayers.)

And, the list goes on for a long, long time. Your vote is important because the outcome of elections will have a long term effect on your quality of life, your financial resources, your community, and your state.

Please take the time to go vote on November 3rd. And remember that a vote to move the elections to November in Christiansburg will mean a saving of approximately $5000/election (at the minimum, that could double in the next couple of years). Could you think of a better use for that money? Maybe a local farmer’s market? Maybe to apply to the Aquatic Center interest payments? Maybe host another baseball or basketball tournament to bring more business in to the community? Maybe help support the Library or the Free Clinic? Maybe to use as the ‘matching funds’ to help develop sidewalk-trail systems that actually connect with something? Think about it!

YOUR VOTE IS YOUR VOICE! USE IT! DON’T REMAIN SILENT!

I just did a google search on Virginia delegate voting records and the second site on the list was:

Virginia Delegates Voting Record

If you click on that link you are taken to a site that is related to something called searchand protect.net. You will immediately get noticed that your computer has a serious virus problem and is immediate danger.

The authors of the webpage have designed webpages that look almost identical to the Windows security page warning you would see if you have an actual problem. You will be prompted to continue by clicking buttons in order to save your computer.

DON”T DO IT!!!! I stayed only long enough to verify that this was a simulation of the security prompts before I hightailed it out of there.

I can’t believe that ANYONE would use something as important as voting records in this manner. Whoever is doing this needs to go to jail for a very, very long time!

Watch yourself when surfing the web. Take the time to look and if anything comes up looking funny. Get out of the site as quickly as possible WITHOUT clicking on anything within that site!

Think about it for a minute. How many times would you return to a doctor who’s responses were “Yes, you are sick but I have some medicine to make you better.” Me, I would have a few little questions to ask: (1) If I’m sick, what is the ‘sickness’ called? (2) Is it a terminal, chronic, or short term illness? (3) Are the symptoms I have now likely to get better or worse? Will I get new symptoms also? (4) What is the prognosis? (5) This medicine you want to give me, how will it affect me? (6) Are there any other treatment options?

When you talk to your doctor, you know that you are talking about things that have a direct effect upon your life and your family. You, quite naturally, want to know a reasonable amount of what the issues are so that you can begin wrapping your brain around how to deal with things. Well, when you talk to government representatives (elected, appointed, or otherwise) about government issues in your area (city, town, county, or country), you are also talking about things that will have an impact upon your life and the lives of your family, friends, neighbors, and other citizens you do not even know.

It only makes sense to me that asking for all the information that you need to feel comfortable with what is going to happen should be a right that you exercise often. In a May 20, 2009 article on the New York Times Opinion Section, Happy Days, The Pursuit of What Matters in Troubled Times, is an blog article by Daniel Gilbert, What You Don’t Know Makes You Nervous.

The author discusses some of the current issues facing Americans and some historical eras that are similar to what is faced today. Then, he moves into addressing what it is that people are ‘really’ upset about. In paragraph 8 of the blog article, he begins to identify the real culprit:

Then in the last paragraph, he sums up this theme again:

This ‘not knowing’ or ‘uncertainty’ can exist in all levels of government. The less people are told, the more they are likely to worry about the possible outcomes. We Americans are a pretty tough group. We have survived bad times, tough economic times, war, internal strife, disease, floods, hurricanes, volcanoes, earthquakes, the untimely loss of some of most beloved citizens, and a myriad of other challenges. I believe we can survive most anything IF WE KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT!

I understand it is not possible for government to give us clear and concise answers on every issue. Where it is possible to do so, then it should be done. Where it is not possible, then simply be honest enough to say that you do not know, but this is what we are doing about the issue.

Keeping people informed helps to keep people grounded in facts NOT in perceptions that may not accurately reflect the facts. Most of us know that elected officials are just as human as the rest of us and can make mistakes. Acknowledging and owning the mistakes allows all of the gossip and rumors to die off and we can all get on with the business of living our lives to the best of our ability.

Most people that know me know that if I am given a few minutes, I could apply Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to eating a tuna fish salad. I am a firm believer in that Hierarchy and the relationship to was I have just discussed is clear.

In Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, there are established levels of ‘Needs’ that most people have in common. These needs begin at a very basic survival level and progress into the very alturistic. The government (whether town, city, county, state, our federal) is directed by the U.S. Constitution to insure certain of these needs: Health, Welfare, Safety & Convenience. (See Wikipedia’s: Supreme Court Case Mugler V. Kansas, 123 U.S. 623 (1887)). (See also: Health, Safety, Welfare & Convenience.)

Citizens not only have a right to know, but it is good for them to know, the good and bad of government. Not knowing leads to uncertainty and fear. Those, in turn, lead to misperceptions, rumors, gossip, and misinterpretations. The more open government is the more likely it will be that citizens will come together and strive to work through any problems that we have. Open government IS good government because it reduces the fear and uncertainty.

Happy Birthday to the Freedom of Information Act! As it has grown, it has now become a tool for everyone, not just the media. FOIA helps to keep government open in much the same way putting a lock on a door protects your home. It serves to keep honest people honest. Just as there will be those who will break into your home regardless of the presence of locks, there will be those who will try to keep things ‘hidden’ from the public. Having some safeguards in place (lock on the door, the FOIA) helps to prevent that scenario from becoming the status quo.