CTB Approves New Six Year Plan
The $7.5 billion Six Year Transportation Improvement Plan (SYIP) approved by the Commonwealth Transportation Board on June 18 for FY 2010 to 2015 is $4 billion lower than the SYIP approved for FY 2008-2013. According to VDOT, the dramatically shrunken size of the newly approved SYIP places "in question" the "sustainability" of the Six Year Improvement Program.
A presentation on the newly approved SYIP was made on June 18 by Secretary of Transportation Pierce Homer to the Senate Finance Committee. A copy of that presentation is here.
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Click here to view the newly approved Six Year Improvement Plan.
The Safe Routes to School Program with the Virginia Department of Transportation has released new guidelines for funding. Local governments interested in making walking and/or biking to school a safe transportation option for students in kindergarten through eighth grade are welcome to apply.
Cities, counties and towns seeking to build more walkable and bikeable communities are encouraged to create a School Travel Plan for one or many schools and then to implement planned education, engineering and other strategies. Funding for sidewalk connections, crosswalk improvements, and other bicycle and pedestrian facilities is available through a competitive two-step application process.
The maximum funding award is $500,000 (per locality) and no local match is required. Completed School Travel Plans are due no later than Nov. 27 and applications are due Dec. 28. For more information including upcoming SRTS workshops, contact VDOT SRTS Coordinator, Sarah Weisiger at 804-371-4868 or visit www.virginiadot.org/saferoutes.
Stormwater economic analysis
June 22 will be the first day of the public comment period on proposed amendments to Virginia’s Stormwater Management Program (VSMP) Permit regulations. These proposed rules received preliminary approval by Virginia’s Soil and Water Conservation Board last September. Since then, the proposed rule has been undergoing administrative review, but will soon be published in the June 22 issue of Virginia Register. The public comment period will close on August 21. The proposed rule can be reviewed and downloaded from this link.
An economic impact analysis on the proposed rule has also been prepared Kurt Stephenson, Economist with VA Tech and Bobby Beamer, Economist with BBeamer, LLC. Read it here.
President's Executive Order on Chesapeake Bay
On May 12, President Obama issued an important executive order that will serve as a foundation for a more aggressive approach toward improving water quality in the Chesapeake Bay.
The President’s executive order was released in conjunction with an important meeting held the same day in Mount Vernon by the Chesapeake Executive Council. The meeting’s purpose was to lay out a new strategy for achieving desired improvements in the Bay’s water quality by 2025. This shift in strategy could have significant impacts upon urban stormwater programs, agriculture and wastewater treatment plants.
A copy of President Obama’s May 12 executive order is here.
Read an ARRA education piece by Michael L. Edwards, VACo deputy director for legislative affairs, and Mary Jo Fields, VML director of research. The article rebuts a recent column by Robley Jones, director of government relations at the Virginia Education Association.
July 1
Page 1
Supreme Court ruling could impact local budgets-K12 and CSA
By Dean Lynch
Page 2
Conference update: Why we hold it at the Homestead
Page 3
Caroline County wins National Civic League prestigious All America Cities title!
Page 5
Where George Washington was born
Page 7
Cumberland County receives NACo Achievement Award
Page 9
Meadows appointed county administrator for Montgomery County
Plus Mark Your Calendars and the ever popular Employment Opportunities.
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