Last week, members of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors sent a March 15 work session on the capital improvements budget into a two-day, sudden death overtime scramble. And, a month out from an April 24 meeting between city and county officials proposed by Delegate David Toscano, Team Albemarle may yet find itself competing against Team Charlottesville over issues like that meddlesome revenue-sharing agreement.
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“We are pleased that the Supervisors recognized the importance of honoring the County’s long-standing commitment to the Y,” said YMCA Board Chairman Kurt Krueger following last week’s work sessions. |
However, supervisors’ decision to stick by a $2.03 million funding commitment for the 72,000-square foot McIntire Park YMCA seems like a point for city-county collaboration.
“I think there was simply a need for the current people on the Board to understand the background and the commitment that had been made to the Y,” Supervisor Dennis Rooker told C-VILLE. “And we had an opportunity to discuss that contract.” Both Duane Snow and Rodney Thomas were elected to the Board after the county committed funds to the YMCA.
Here’s the replay: Supervisors Ken Boyd, Snow and Thomas raised questions about the county’s appropriated funding of the YMCA during the March 15 work session. The Board then moved to a closed session to discuss legal options pertaining to the county’s agreement with the city and the YMCA.
Meanwhile, the crowd sweats it out.
“Everybody is forgetting about the people who need this most, which is the underprivileged in this community, who cannot afford a Farmington membership or a Boar’s Head membership or an ACAC membership,” said YMCA Board Chairman Kurt Krueger following the first work session. “Those people are being completely forgotten here.” Denny Blank, CEO of the Piedmont YMCA, added that the Piedmont YMCA awarded $214,000 in financial support last year to people who “never would’ve had access” to a recreational facility without it.
By a follow-up work session on March 17, however, Team County recommitted to its game plan—along with a 4-2 vote in favor of advertising a real estate tax rate of 74.2 cents per $100 of assessed value. The first public hearing on the county’s proposed budget raised many citizen requests for an increased tax rate to support schools.
“This was not something that would really bridge the gap for schools,” said Rooker of the YMCA money. He added that “there was a significant advantage to the county in making a one-time capital contribution to see these facilities provided in the community and not have an ongoing operating expense tied to it.”
What will the county’s brief reconsideration of funds forecast for the April 24 city-county meeting? Thomas said that city and county officials alike are involved in their jobs “because of compassion,” and next month’s meeting could produce “some interesting things.”
