Colonial Place/Riverview Civic League
COMMUNITY NEWS
Guest Speaker, Mr. Ron Tola, Assistant Vice President of Facilities, Old Dominion University
NEXT BOARD MEETING will be August 19, 2002, at 7:00 pm.
DEADLINE for the September issue is Tuesday, August 27, 2002.
THIS MONTH'S MEETING AGENDA: Monthly police report - Code enforcement update - Mr. Ron Tola, Assistant Vice President of Facilities, ODU will speak - Annual Budget.
If you missed our last Civic League meeting, then what you really missed was a three-ring Circus! That’s Right! A three-ring Circus with a Ringmaster, Clowns, Acrobats, Animals and Jugglers. Oh, what a show! Thanks go out to Sandi Caldwell and her troupe of stars for a wonderful performance. And while I am dishing out the Thanks I certainly have to dish one out to Ann Fitzgibbon for dishing up the Ice Cream Social. The Ice Cream Social was very well attended and if you didn’t get enough ice cream it was your own fault. Vanilla or chocolate in sugar cones or bowls with sprinkles or syrups, it was decadent, but oh so good!
For our August meeting we have some important Civic League business to attend to. The CPRV league board members have been busy preparing a proposed budget for next year. Our treasurer, Deborah Williams, has been tracking funds and crunching numbers to provide us with a viable operating budget. Spending civic league funds is something that we should all take very seriously, so let us hear from you. Remember these are your dollars. We will submit the budget for a league vote and present an audit of the 2001-2002 budget. I hope everyone will come to our August meeting to review the new budget. See you there!
Mr. Ron Tola, Assistant Vice President of Facilities, will address the Civic League on August 12. His presentation will include the Old Dominion Village and the Maglev System.
Since joining ODU in 1999, Mr. Tola has been responsible for over $100 million worth of construction for the University, including the new 10,000 seat Convocation Center, the First Magnetic Levitation Transportation System in the United States, the 75-acre University Village Redevelopment Project, the new Constant Hall College of Business, and the new Computational Sciences and Engineering project.
Prior to joining Old Dominion University, Mr. Tola was the Director of Facilities at the College of New Jersey for 15 years.
So come on the 12th with your questions and find out what our approaching neighbor from the west is planning.
In a joint effort, The Garden Gate, Everafter, and the Riverview Coffee Parlor are joining hands with the Red Cross to hold a blood drive in the parking lot at the Garden Gate, 4117 Granby Street (Historical Riverview) on Thursday, August 22, 2002, from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Please come in or call 625-8101 to sign up in advance. Each of the businesses is offering a free raffle ticket to each person who signs up and donates. The drawing(s) will be held on Friday, August 23rd. Additionally, the Riverview Coffee Parlor is offering resting space for refreshments after your donation. Let’s show the residents of Norfolk how Riverview, Colonial Place, and the Riverview Village businesses can shine when it comes to caring for the needs of others.
Two years ago, Norfolk residents were asked their opinion about whether they wanted to elect their mayor. Over 80% of us who went to the polls voted in favor of a mayor chosen by, well - us. Today, two years later, we have a mayor that is chosen by our city council members.
In Norfolk, as you probably know, we have seven city council members representing geographical areas of the city referred to as wards. Five members represent smaller areas, while the other two council members serve separate larger areas referred to as super wards. Each adult resident has the opportunity to vote for two council members. One represents the smaller ward, and one represents the super ward. Colonial Place and Riverview are located in Ward 2, which is served by Councilman Barclay Winn and Mayor Paul Fraim. When a resident brings an issue before our seven city council members to be voted on today, it takes four council votes to constitute a majority vote.
Why are council members still discussing how to elect the mayor two years after Norfolk residents voted in favor of having a mayor chosen by them? I’ve been told that this is a complicated issue. I’ve also been told that there’s been no push lately by residents to make this a reality. And, in the absence of pressure from residents, the issue has been put on the back burner. But time continues to march forward, folks.
If you and I want to vote for our next mayor during the council election in May 2004, the council must endorse and send a plan to the Virginia General Assembly by December of this year to allow enough time to win state and federal approval.
Council members have been discussing the following five scenarios.
A seven-member council with a mayor, four small wards, and two superwards
A seven-member council with a mayor and six small wards
A nine-member council with a mayor and eight wards, including two or three superwards
An eight-member council with a mayor and seven council members
A seven-member council where council members would compete to become mayor in a special runoff election
Council members will discuss this issue at their September retreat. Before a decision is made, our council members should involve residents in this conversation. Let’s have an open discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of each option. In order to have an intelligent conversation about this issue, residents need more information. One of the responsibilities of our elected leaders is to educate its citizens about issues that they, the leaders, will be voting on that will have a profound effect on the citizens they serve. This issue fits the bill since it will determine how our city’s governing body will be structured. Two years have gone by with no discussions. It would be a real shame if this issue is delayed again and we’re still talking about this two more years from now. It would be an even greater shame if you miss the opportunity to have this conversation with your council members now.
| Mr. Paul D. Fraim, Mayor | Mr. Paul R. Riddick | Mr. W. Randy Wright | ||||
| Ward 2 | Ward 4 | Ward 5 | ||||
| 700 Newtown Road | 1225 Norview Avenue | 410 Briar Hill Road, Suite 102 | ||||
| Norfolk, VA 23502 | Norfolk, VA 23513 | Norfolk, VA 23502 | ||||
| 461-2500 Fax 461-2341 | 855-9010 Fax 855-2883 | 466-1476 Fax 466-1498 | ||||
| Mrs. Daun S. Hester, Vice Mayor | Mr. Donald L. Williams | Mr. Anthony L. Burfoot | Mr. Barclay C. Winn | |||
| Superward 7 | Ward 1 | Ward 3 | Superward 6 | |||
| 3728 Wedgefield Avenue | 809 W. Ocean View Avenue | 4823 Winthrop Street | 1201 Liberty Street | |||
| Norfolk, VA 23502 | Norfolk, VA 23503 | Norfolk, VA 23513 | Norfolk, VA 23523 | |||
| 466-8570 Fax 466-8571 | 587-5305 | 725-1053 | 494-1400 Fax 494-1217 |
All members are reached by e-mail at ccouncil@city.norfolk.va.us
Stick these numbers on your refrigerator, you never know when you might need them!
Last month I made a few errors, some easily spotted that do not need clarification. Two in particular that do need to be corrected are I mis-identified our PACE officer and listed the wrong number for the police non-emergency number. Our PACE Officer is Jim Prentice and the non-emergency number is 441-5610. Thanks to you who let me know.
After the ice cream social last month, a few neighbors lingered and talked about recent events that impact Colonial Place and Riverview. The topic of the city’s proposal to close Llewellyn Avenue came up, and they discussed how we need to take control of the future of our neighborhoods by acting rather than reacting to external events and forces. That makes sense. I happened to be standing near the conversation and in the twinkling of an eye I had agreed to head up a project to open up a process to include the residents of Colonial Place and Riverview as well as other stakeholders to examine what our future should be.
You may ask, what are we talking about? Land development? Commercial corridors? Relations with other neighborhoods and Old Dominion University? The answer is, as a group we will determine what we want the agenda to be. There are no limits or restrictions unless we place them on ourselves. We are forming a planning committee to determine how we can convene a group to study the issues and come up with recommendations for proceeding and communicating the desires of the Colonial Place and Riverview community to the city.
Mr. Sidney Prentice, the father of our PACE Officer Jim Prentice, lost his battle with cancer early on the morning of Friday August 2nd. Mr Prentice is survived by his wife of 37 years, Sharon Prentice. Our thoughts and prayers are extended to the Prentice family. In lieu of flowers much appreciated donations may be made to Chartway Federal Credit Union, 340 Battlefield Blvd South, Chesapeake, Va 23322-5312. On the back of your check write: Payable to the Sidney Prentice Memorial Fund, account number 847555.
This year's Front Porch Art Walk is scheduled for the second Sunday in October. If you are an artist living in Colonial Place or Riverview and would like to participate, contact Sheila Robinson at 625-2880.
We're also looking for volunteers to help in a variety of ways. Contact Sheila Robinson if you'd like to be a part of this neighborhood tradition.
The Colonial Place/Riverview Civic League
P.O. Box 6347
Norfolk, VA 23508
E-MAIL: president@cprv.org (checked weekly)
WEB PAGE: www.cprv.org
Community News Editor: Kelly Sorensen, Phone 622-0437
Community News Distribution: Margaret Bright, Phone 627-2815
Advertising: Kelly Sorensen, Phone 622-0437
Please deliver typewritten newsletter items to:
Kelly Sorensen
Phone: 622-0437
e-mail: cprvnews@earthlink.net