The City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities (DPU) celebrates National Drinking Water Week, May 5 – 11, 2019. “Protect the Source” is the theme for this year’s campaign and provides the opportunity for partners of the American Water Works Association to highlight the vital role water plays in our daily lives and the quality of life we enjoy.

During National Drinking Water Week, representatives from DPU will be serving Richmond’s award-winning water at various water fill stations in the city. The public is invited to stop by one of three displays at the following locations during the week:

• Mon. May 6, 2019 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.  City Hall 900 E. Broad St. Richmond VA 23219 (corner of 9th & Broad)
• Wed. May 8, 2019 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. – James Center Richmond VA 23219 (corner of 9th & Cary St.)
• Friday, May 11, 2018 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. – Carytown Richmond VA 23221 (corner of Belmont St. & Cary St)

The City of Richmond is one of Virginia’s largest potable water producers, with a modern Water Plant that has the capacity to treat up to 132 million gallons of water a day from the James River.  Through its RVAH2O initiative, the City does its part to protect this vital source water.

The treatment plant, its 1200 miles of water mains, 6,500 fire hydrants and 13 pumping stations and storage facilities provide drinking water and fire protection to more than 62,000 customers in the City. The facility also provides water to the surrounding region through wholesale contracts with Henrico, Chesterfield, and Hanover counties and indirectly to Powhatan and Goochland counties.

To schedule a tour of Richmond’s Water Treatment Plant, call DPU’s Public Information Office at (804) 646-1064.

Mayor Levar M. Stoney on Saturday was named an “OUTstanding Virginian” by Equality Virginia for his advocacy, outreach and progressive policies to champion equality for members of the LGBTQ+ community.

The mayor was among eight honorees who were recognized Saturday night at Equality Virginia’s 2019 annual dinner.

“Every day we work to make the City of Richmond a welcoming, inclusive and equitable place to live, work and play,” the mayor said. “I am humbled and honored to accept this award from Equality Virginia and grateful for the many contributions of the LGBTQ+ community to building One Richmond.”

Under Mayor Stoney, the city raised its Municipal Equality Index (MEI) score from a 42 to a 94 in 2018 – making it the highest MEI score in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Additionally, Richmond was named an MEI All-Star by the Human Rights Campaign for being a city boldly leading the way toward LGBTQ+ equality. The key items that made the score increase possible were:

• Passage of the Human Rights Commission and non-discrimination laws, which protect Richmonders from discrimination based on race, ethnicity, age, economic status, sex, disability, religion, and sexual orientation and gender identity
• Providing transgender-inclusive health benefits for city employees
• Establishing an LGBTQ+ liaison in the Mayor’s Office

Mayor Stoney’s first official act after taking office was to officiate a same-sex marriage. Last year, during LGBTQ Pride Week in Richmond he raised the Pride flag, signifying that ALL are welcome in the City of Richmond. He also installed Virginia Pride artwork by artist Jumper Maybach in his front office.

Later this year, Richmond will host the Diversity Sports Jubilee, a multisport tournament featuring LGBTQ+ athletes from around the world.

To view the Equality Virginia video of Mayor Stoney, click here.

For more information on Equality Virginia, please contact Vee Lamneck, Deputy Director at vlamneck@equalityvirginia.org or call (804) 643 – 4816.

~Scores range from 0 to 100, or failed to good~

The City of Richmond’s Department of Public Works (DPW) is now making Pavement Condition Index Ratings (the PCI Rating) of every street within the city limits available to the public. The interactive map will be updated as paving projects are completed. The PCI Rating is one of several tools the City of Richmond now uses to prioritize and track its paving program and other infrastructure work.
“This is another way we keep the public informed,” said Richmond’s DPW Director Bobby Vincent. “It’s a great tool now available for citizens to use and track the progress of our transportation infrastructure maintenance.”

Other factors that aid in paving prioritization include information about utility projects, economic development projects and closures of streets that play host to multiple special events on an annual basis.
The application is available on the city’s website here.
 

The Facilities Plan adopted by the Richmond City School Board in December of 2017 including the following estimates for new school construction:

    •    George Mason Elementary School:         $25 million
    •    E.S.H. Greene Elementary School:          $35 million
    •    New Middle School on Hull Street:           $50 million

These estimates have been updated now that the procurement process for the design and construction of all three schools has concluded:

    •    George Mason Elementary School:         $36 million
    •    E.S.H. Greene Elementary School:          $42 million
    •    New Middle School on Hull Street:           $62 million

It is now clear the initial estimates, provided in 2017, under-represented the true cost of construction. Both RPS and the city had concerns this might be the case, which is why both entities discussed engaging a third party to evaluate the costs of rebuilding and/or renovating all RPS schools. The RPS administration brought this proposal to the school board on September 4, 2018 (see screen shot below). The cost of such an evaluation was initially estimated at $100,000, to be split evenly between the city and RPS. Upon further investigation, it was found the price would actually be closer to $200,000, or more. Given the higher cost, the school board decided not to proceed.

Not only were the initial cost estimates low, they also did not take into account the following:
    •    Construction costs have increased significantly over the past two years.
    •    The size of Greene Elementary School has been expanded from 650 students to 750 students.
    •    Per the policy adopted by the Richmond City Council (Res. 2015-R8-15), all schools must be LEED Silver certified, which adds significant expense.
    •    The current estimates include a 2% contingency, which if not necessary, will go unspent.

Background on the Joint Construction Team

After the passage of the meals tax last year, the City of Richmond and Richmond Public Schools agreed to develop a joint body, the Joint Construction Team (JCT), to manage the process of building new schools. This group includes the CAO, the mayor’s chief of staff, the superintendent, the RPS board chair and other representatives from each agency. The JCT meets weekly for one hour and only proceeds on key decisions when both parties agree. JCT representatives provide monthly updates to the school board and minutes from all JCT meetings are uploaded to RPS “Board Docs.”