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New Officers Elected for 2010-2011; New Members and Jurisdiction
Welcomed
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The Rappahannock-Rapidan Regional Commission on February 24 held its annual
election of officers for the coming year, and unanimously affirmed the following slate of
candidates:
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Mr.
Robert Coiner
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Mayor,
Town of Gordonsville
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Chair
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Mrs.
Sue D. Hansohn
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Culpeper
County Board of Supervisors
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Vice-Chair
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Mr.
Thomas Huggard
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Town
of Culpeper Planning Commission
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Treasurer
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Mr.
James L. Arrington
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Madison
County Board of Supervisors
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At-Large
Exec. Committee
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Mr.
Harry C. Hopkins, Jr.
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Town
of Orange Town Council
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At-Large
Exec. Committee
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Mr.
John McCarthy
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Rappahannock
County Administrator
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At-Large
Exec. Committee
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Also welcomed, were five new Commissioners, appointed
by their respective jurisdictions: Ms. Lisa Robertson, Madison County
Administrator; Ms. Julie Jordan, Orange County Administrator; Mr.
Grover Wilson, Orange County Board of Supervisors (returning, following
earlier appointed service from '95-'06); Mr. Roger Welch, Rappahannock
County Board of Supervisors; and Mayor Robert Gurtler, on behalf of
new PD9 jurisdictional member, the Town of the Plains.
With the addition of the above new members, the Commission now stands
complete at 21, in service to a growing Rappahannock-Rapidan Region.
Welcome and congratulations, all!
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Regional All-Hazard Mitigation Plan Update Kicks Off
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Following back-to-back snowstorms of historic
proportions, the kick-off of the R-R Region All-Hazard Mitigation
Plan Update on February 23rd seemed well-timed. Representatives
from member localities including emergency services coordinators,
planners, and engineers joined their counterparts from Shenandoah
National Park, the Virginia Department of Forestry, Rappahannock
Electric Cooperative and others to share recent experiences
and begin the process of updating the plan.
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Amy Howard, Virginia Department of Emergency Management,
reviewed the steps to be followed in completing the revision and reminded
participants that FEMA approval of the resultant document will qualify
participating jurisdictions for federal funding for pre- and post-disaster
hazard mitigation projects. Meeting participants were provided with
a data collection guide, the completion of which will help supply
the framework for the upcoming plan revision.
Next steps include the analysis of event profiles provided by each
locality, research of area hazard information and the integration
of findings, along with input from the public. This will provide the
revision team with an in-depth familiarity with the recent hazard
history of the region. The probability of potential events will be
discussed and evaluated. Following the assessment of regional vulnerabilities
and capabilities, mitigation goals and strategies will be revised.
Information regarding the progress of this initiative may be accessed
at http://www.rrregion.org/mitigation.
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Call for Host Communities- 2010 RRRC Living Towns Planning Workshop
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Above: The
2007 Living Towns Workshop held in Sperryville |
The Commission is currently in the process
of fielding requests by member jurisdictions to serve as host
community of this year's RRRC Annual Living Towns Planning Workshop,
with new member the Town of the Plains having recently elected
to serve as 2011 host.
The popular annual program, now in its 9th year, draws planners,
community organizers, local electeds, Main Street program representatives,
tourism and agency heads from around the state for a day-long,
information-packed series of discussions and networking on timely
topics of local, regional and statewide planning importance.
Stay tuned for information regarding this year's installment,
soon to be announced!
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Exciting Things are Happening in the Virginia
Piedmont!
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Members of
the RRRC Regional Tourism Committee met this past week to put the
finishing touches on a companion tourism brochure to go with its ongoing
regional marketing campaign. An ad placed in the February issue of
Good Housekeeping magazine has already generated over 580 requests
for more information about the region, and the Culpeper Chamber of
Commerce has generously offered to assist by both responding to toll-free
telephone requests, and mailing out the new brochures.
In addition, the Virginia Piedmont website (www.thevirginiapiedmont.org)
highlights a broad range of new and exciting events each month, with
more detailed information about each one, only a click or two away.
Be sure to check out the site on a regular basis, and find out what's happening right here at home!
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Culpeper County/RRRC Energy Proposals Receive
Funding
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Quality, innovative ideas and dedication on the part
of the Culpeper County Building Department (CCBD), along with technical
guidance and grant writing assistance provided by the Rappahannock-Rapidan
Regional Commission, has resulted in the funding of two exciting new
programs here in the region. Culpeper County and RRRC were pleased
to learn recently that their recently submitted proposals had been
among only 26 finalists chosen for funding under the Virginia Energy
Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program (EECBG), with grants
made by the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, and
supported by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Approved for funding in the amount of $447,349 and $16,295, respectively,
for each of the jointly prepared submittals, the proposals focused
on emerging green technologies, calling for the development of a regional
technical resource center to provide training in energy conservation
and green building practices, and the establishment of energy efficient
construction standards with incentives for builders and property owners.
A hearty congrats to Culpeper County Building Inspectors Jeb Paarfus
and Bruce Cornwall, and Building Official Bob Orr, along with RRRC
Regional Planner II Deirdre Clark for their winning submittals.
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Preliminary Draft Regional Long Range Transportation Plan Presented on February 3
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In cooperation with the Virginia Department of Transportation, the Rappahannock-Rapidan Regional Commission held a public meeting on February 3rd, 2010 at the Daniel Technology Center campus of Germanna Community College in Culpeper to present a preliminary draft of the Regional Long Range Transportation Plan. Members of the RRRC Rural Transportation Technical Committee and Commonwealth Transportation Board were in attendance, along with area elected officials, planning directors, and interested stakeholders and citizens.
The draft plan focuses on all modes of transportation, including interstate, primary and secondary roadways, railroads, airports, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, transportation demand management, human services transportation and public transportation. The draft also outlines regional transportation goals, inventories and analyzes the existing transportation network and evaluates the future transportation network using forecast projections and models. The result is a comprehensive set of recommendations for the region's transportation infrastructure network.
To date, comments and feedback from the meeting and received by the Commission have been communicated to VDOT and the project consultant for incorporation into the document, with anticipated further review by the RRRC Rural Transportation Technical Committee at its upcoming next meeting on April 7, 2010 at 10:00am at the Regional Commission offices.
For more information, please visit http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/rappahannock-rapidan.asp,
or contact the Regional Commission at (540) 829-7450.
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Local and Regional Responses to Area Housing Challenges
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The ongoing recession, as it has nationwide, needless
to say, has had a significant effect on the area housing market as
well. In 2009, the median sales price, for example, of existing homes
across the region fell to $200,000, 42% lower than the peak of the
market in 2006; and in the month of January 2010, 225 properties received
some form of foreclosure filing, the highest monthly total in a year.
Area homelessness, in which a January 28 count identified 225 adults
and children living in shelters, in cars or on the street, has also
risen increasingly to the forefront.
And yet, the hopeful note has and continues to be the coming together
of area nonprofits, churches, and local governments to provide housing
assistance, counseling, homelessness prevention intervention and related
support to individuals and families in need. Of the 225 individuals
included in the homeless count, 213 received shelter from one of eight
area emergency and transitional housing providers across the planning
district. And many other families have been spared eviction because
of financial assistance programs, such as one operated by Community
Touch, Inc., made possible through a grant from the Virginia Department
of Housing and Community Development.
Local governments are also working to address the impact of foreclosures on area neighborhoods through participation in such efforts as the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP). The Town of Culpeper and Fauquier County, for example, were each awarded NSP grants to purchase, and repair foreclosed homes in hardest-hit neighborhoods, and in turn resell them to qualified low and moderate-income individuals and families.
These are but a few of the efforts currently underway across the region.
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New Mobility Program Coordinator On Staff
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The Foothills Area Mobility System (FAMS), an RRRC-sponsored
regional initiative and comprehensive strategy for serving the unmet
transportation needs of seniors, people with disabilities, and people
with low incomes across Planning District 9, took another key step
forward with the recent hiring of Jenny Biché as Mobility Program
Coordinator. Jenny has extensive nonprofit organization experience
and familiarity with area resources, in addition to a firsthand familiarity
with the mobility needs of older adults and persons with disabilities.
In addition, she will also be responsible for supporting other RRRC
projects in the role of Environmental Planning Technician.
As part of her duties as Mobility Program Coordinator, Jenny will
take the lead in establishing a one-call travel center for the region
and launching a pilot bus service between Culpeper and Charlottesville
to transport persons with disabilities to medical and other appointments.
RRRC will shortly be issuing a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP)
to select a qualified transit provider to operate the pilot bus service,
anticipated to commence service later this summer.
Jenny can be reached at: (540) 829-7450 or jkbiche@rrregion.org.
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Then & Now: Across the
Rappahannock-Rapidan Region
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Main Street
in The Plains
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Then
Source: RRRC Archives
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Now
Source: Jeff Walker, RRRC
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The Regional Commission is very pleased to announce
and welcome the Town of The Plains, VA, as its newest voting member
jurisdiction. The two photos above show Main Street in The Plains
near where Route 245 meets Route 55. The building with yellow trim
in the right photo corresponds with the building in the far right
of the photo on the left.
If you have historic postcards or photographs that you would like
to see in this feature, please contact the Regional Commission at
(540) 829-7450 or planinfo@rrregion.org.
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Regional Stat: Amtrak Ridership Comparison,
October to December 2008 & 2009
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In October 2009, Amtrak began offering daily passenger rail service from Lynchburg to Washington, D.C. and points north. In the Rappahannock-Rapidan region, this service has a daily stop at the Culpeper station downtown Culpeper.
A comparison of Amtrak ridership statistics from the months of October through December in 2008 and 2009 provides a noticeable difference in the number of riders boarding and departing the trains at the Culpeper station.
A promotional rate offering 25% off the lowest published coach fare
on the Northeast Corridor train is available through the Amtrak
website.
Note: The number of passengers includes riders on the
Northeast Corridor (Lynchburg to D.C. daily train) and Crescent train
(New York to New Orleans).
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#
of Passengers |
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Month
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2008
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2009 |
Net
Change |
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Change |
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October
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495 |
750 |
+255 |
+52% |
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November
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497 |
685 |
+188 |
+38% |
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December
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390 |
752 |
+362 |
+93% |
| Totals |
1,382 |
2,187 |
+805 |
+58% |
Source:
http://www.amtrakvirginia.com
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