At the inaugural meeting of the Central Virginia Transportation Authority (CVTA) Mayor Stoney was elected as chair of the body’s finance committee.
 
The CVTA Finance Committee is charged with reviewing and recommending the annual budget and reviewing revenue estimates, among other financial management tasks.
 
“Richmond fought hard to ensure the CVTA would offer an unprecedented opportunity for regional collaboration,” said the mayor. “The authority is designed to ensure meaningful discourse and cooperation, resulting in a stronger transit network for all of the localities involved.”
 
The City of Richmond, as a central locality represented on the body, has veto power so all of the body’s actions achieve buy in from key players. The city utilized its veto once during this inaugural meeting. 
 
During the meeting, the CVTA accepted the bylaws and guidance documents, established key priorities, approved of an ongoing board meeting schedule, accepted support from Plan RVA and confirmed Frank Thornton (Henrico) as chair and Kevin Carroll (Chesterfield) as vice chair.
 
Background on the CVTA

Established by the 2020 session of the General Assembly of Virginia, the newly created authority provides new funding opportunities for priority transportation investments across the Central Virginia region.
 
The General Assembly voted to impose an additional .7 percent sales and use tax and wholesale gas tax of 7.6 cents per gallon (or 7.7 cents per gallon of diesel fuel) to fund new investments in regional transportation. The body also set a minimum local maintenance standard, ensuring all participating localities continue to invest in their requisite transit infrastructure.
 
To view the meeting record, agenda and other materials, click here.

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The City of Richmond announced the launch of the Richmond Recovers Grant Program for small businesses and non-profit organizations. The program is funded with $3 million from the City’s CARES Act appropriation and will be administered by the Economic Development Authority of the City of Richmond.
 
“Richmond’s small businesses and non-profit organizations have proven resilient through the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic,” said Mayor Stoney. “They have worked relentlessly to safely keep their doors open and serve customers and clients. The Richmond Recovers grants will provide much needed and deserved financial relief.”
 
Grant amounts for the program will range from $10,000 to $15,000 based on the organization’s number of current active full-time employees. Grant funds can be used to reimburse the costs of employee wages, including the cost of benefits; rent and utilities for commercial workspaces; and working capital.
 
Full program guidelines and eligibility requirements can be found at RVAStrong.org/richmondrecovers. Applications can be submitted online from September 1, 2020 to September 30, 2020.
 
Inclusive of the funding for the Richmond Recovers Grant Program, the city has allocated over $4.1 million to support businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Click here to read the ordinance.

At the August 10 meeting of the Richmond City Council, the Stoney administration introduced an ordinance to modify current Richmond City Code section 19-334.1; Carrying Firearms in Certain Places.
 
Currently, the code bans firearms in city-owned and -operated parks and facilities. The newly introduced ordinance would also prohibit the possession, carrying or transportation of any firearms in any public street, road, alley, sidewalk, public right-of-way or any open public space when it is being used by, or is adjacent to, an event that requires a city permit. 
 
This ordinance does not broadly ban firearms in these public spaces. Rather, it bans firearms when a permitted event, or an event that should be permitted, is taking place.
 
The expansion to the existing ordinance is intended to promote the health and safety of event attendees and city residents as a whole.
 
“The City of Richmond proudly hosts hundreds of public events each year, but I believe it’s in the interest of everyone’s safety to take guns out of these spaces when neighbors, visitors and families gather,” said Mayor Stoney. “Under this proposed change, Richmond residents will be able to attend public events with a greater sense of security, knowing that the city is actively prioritizing their safety.”
 
In 2019, the mayor introduced the ordinance that prohibits the carrying of firearms in city-owned and -operated parks and facilities. As soon as the General Assembly adopted legislation granting that authority to localities, the ordinance went into effect.
 
This most recent proposed change is also made possible by a recent amendment by the Virginia General Assembly to the Code of Virginia, which now authorizes localities to prohibit firearms in this instance.
 
“As a city, we must exhaust all possible options to reduce gun violence in our communities and neighborhoods,” said Mayor Stoney. “I’m thankful the state has finally given us a vital tool in building a safer Richmond.”
 
The proposed ordinance, which must be approved by Richmond City Council to take effect, does not apply to authorized military personnel in the performance of their lawful duties, law enforcement officers or security guards contracted or employed by the City of Richmond.

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The Economic Development Authority (EDA) of the City of Richmond authorized giving participants who have already received a loan through the Richmond Small Business Disaster Loan Program the option to convert those loans to grants. 
 
The city has allocated $1 million of its total $20.1 million federal CARES Act appropriation to the EDA to pay for the program.
 
“Earlier in the year, the EDA stepped up in a big way and provided a loan program to help small businesses keep employees on payroll during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Mayor Levar Stoney. “With this funding from the city, the EDA will be able to forgive those loans, hopefully relieving some stress on those same businesses.”
 
To date, the EDA has approved 48 loans, totaling $934,920.
 
John Molster, Chair of the EDA stated, “The EDA enthusiastically provided a zero percent interest rate solution to help small business in the city, and we’re glad that those loans can now be repaid with the CARES Act appropriation. We look forward to figuring out how to deploy more financial resources to help our business community.”
 
The city and EDA are finalizing plans to launch a new grant program, using $3 million CARES Act funding, for small businesses that experienced financial losses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Created in April, the Richmond Small Business Disaster Loan Program provided loans of up to $20,000 to eligible small businesses in the city to help pay employee wages.  Under the original program guidelines, payments were deferred for the first six months, with zero percent interest to repay the loan over 48 months.
 
The City of Richmond’s Department of Economic Development is contacting all borrowers under the program to inform them that the loan can be converted to a grant.

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First investment of $3.5M to fund Shockoe Area Memorial Park campus

Surrounded by members of the Shockoe Alliance, Mayor Stoney committed to funding a capital improvement budget amendment of between $25 and 50 million in the city’s five-year CIP plan specifically for the commemoration and memorialization of Richmond’s complete history.

The mayor asserted that the shared priority of the Shockoe Alliance and city leadership is embracing and telling the truth about Richmond’s history, centralizing the turmoil, resistance, resilience and triumphs of Black Richmond. 

“Black lives built this city. Black lives have defined Richmond’s history. They matter,” said the mayor. “The story of Black lives should span our skyline, our landscape and our textbooks accordingly.”

Priority investments will include the Shockoe Area, various African American burial grounds and the Slave Trail. The effort will begin with a $3.5 million investment in the Shockoe Area Memorial Park. 

The memorial park, a vision developed by the Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project – a member of the Shockoe Alliance – and informed by years of community work in the area, will use greenspace and structural sites to create a space of memorialization, education and atonement. The Shockoe Alliance is currently preparing a Small Area Plan for Shockoe which includes the Shockoe Campus concept as part of a larger preservation and memorialization-focused vision which will incorporate the memorial park, a museum and other features. 

The space will encompass the African American Burial Ground, the Devil’s Half Acre site and the two blocks east of the railroad tracks that may constitute a future archeological site.

“In this city, we care about our history. We are our history, no matter how painful that may be to confront, and we are committed to telling our full story,” said Mayor Stoney. “That story, and so rightfully that investment, begins here. On the ground of Shockoe, and in honor of our ancestors.”

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