Emergency Planning Workshop Held for Daycare Providers
On May 22nd, CSPDC staff presented the workshop, "Multihazard Planning For Childcare" in partnership with the Virginia Department of Social Service's Division of Licensing. Childcare is required to develop and maintain an emergency plan to meet requirements of the Medicare program. The workshop used a
curriculum from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist childcare providers with tools to create, implement, and update an emergency plan that covers a variety of hazards. Over 45 childcare providers participated in the workshop.
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Broadway and Staunton Complete Comprehensive Plan Updates
CSPDC staff have been assisting the City of Staunton and the Town of Broadway with the review and update of the comprehensive plan for their respective communities.
Comprehensive plans serve as a general guide to future development within a community and are required by the Code of Virginia, as outlined in Section 15.2-2223. Every locality in the Commonwealth must prepare a comprehensive plan and review it every five years.
In Broadway, the 2040 Comprehensive Plan update has been underway since April 2017, under direction of the Town Planning Commission and Town Staff. The Comprehensive Plan explains the current conditions for major topics such as demographics, economic development, housing, transportation, future land use, and more. The updated plan will be released this month and will be considered for adoption at a joint public hearing between Town Council and the Planning Commission to be held on July 10.
In Staunton, the update of the comprehensive plan has been overseen by a Citizen's Advisory Committee and City Staff. The Committee has been meeting since September 2016. After receiving input from citizens at the Public Input Open House, the Committee incorporated a revised format for the comprehensive plan. A draft of the updated plan will be presented at the Planning Commission meeting to be held June 18. The public hearing process for the Planning Commission and City Council will be held at a later date.
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GO Virginia Approves Cyber Security Proposal
The GO Virginia State Board met on June 12 and approved Region 8's proposal to fund a Cyber Security Workforce and Jobs Program. GO Virginia funding in the amount of $200,000 and matched with $200,000 in local funds will be used to develop a self-paced hands-on cyber security training program at Blue Ridge Community College. The goal of the program is to train and credential 50 Tier I cyber security analysts over a 2-year period. Graduates of the program will be placed in jobs that have an average wage of $54,000.
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Region Submits 30 SMART SCALE Pre-Applications
Thirty pre-applications were recently submitted from the CSPDC region to be screened into the Virginia Department of Transportation
SMART SCALE program. The program is used to prioritize, select, and fund transportation projects by ensuring the best use of limited tax dollars. SMART SCALE is a competitive, performance-driven evaluation program focused on the areas of safety improvement, congestion reduction, accessibility, land use, economic development, and the environment. Eleven applicants included the Staunton-Augusta-Waynesboro and Harrisonburg-Rockingham MPOs, Augusta, Rockingham and Bath counties, the cities of Staunton, Waynesboro, Lexington and Harrisonburg, the Town of Broadway, BRITE Bus Transit System, and the Harrisonburg Department of Public Transportation. The CSPDC provided localities with support in completing their applications and offering resolutions of support. Applications are expected to be scored in late 2018, with project selection and final adoption of the
Six-Year Improvement Program projected to be completed by June 2019.
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I-81 Public Meeting Scheduled for June 13
The Office of Intermodal Planning and Investment, VDOT, and the Department of Rail and Public Transportation are hosting a public meeting for the I-81 Corridor Improvement Plan on June 13, from 4-7 PM, at the Blue Ridge Community College Plecker Center. There will be a brief presentation at the start of the meeting, followed by an open house where attendees can provide input and discuss the project with the study team. This is the first in a series of public meetings planned for the study team in their effort to gather public input regarding safety and congestion concerns on I-81. Comments may be provided at the meeting. Additional comment opportunities will be available throughout the study.
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Chesapeake Bay WIPIII Development Underway
The Commonwealth will soon begin the Phase III
Watershed Implementation Plan
(WIP) to determine pollution control measures needed to fully restore the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal rivers to ensure they are in place no later than 2025. A major component of this process is the engagement of localities, Soil & Water Conservation Districts, and many other stakeholders in order to provide them with the opportunity to refine and identify best management practices and programmatic actions, at regional scales, that will meet local area planning goals. The CSPDC will be working in conjunction with Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to develop the District's implementation of the Phase III WIP based on coordination with localities within the District. The development of the plan will begin in June 2018 and wrap-up in December 2018.
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Recycling Rate Report for Augusta County
The annual recycle rate report for the Augusta-Staunton-Waynesboro Solid Waste Planning Unit was submitted to Virginia Department of Environmental Quality in April 2018. State regulations require solid waste planning units to meet a 25% recycle threshold for those that have a population density of more than 100 people per square mile. The CSPDC collected the recycling tonnage for the area and determined the 2017 recycling rate to be 33%.
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2018 Draft Virginia Outdoors Plan Available for Comment
The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) has announced the release of the
draft 2018 Virginia Outdoors Plan
,
which is Virginia's comprehensive planning document for land conservation, outdoor recreation, and open-space planning.
DCR is accepting comments until June 29. For comments to be considered, they must be submitted through the
DCR web portal.
Please be aware that this is a draft document and still has additional formatting to occur. DCR requests that comments be focused on content only.
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Bike Virginia - June 22-27
The annual
Bike Virginia Tour, a 6-day cycling festival and adventure that travels around the Commonwealth, draws up to 2,000 visitors to the host region each year, where they spend an average of $1.2 million. This year, the Tour takes place June 22-27, in the New River Valley, with Radford and Claytor Lake as the host communities. Bike Virginia works to make Virginia great through cycling initiatives such as events, education, working with elected officials, advocacy programs, grants, and consulting.
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