A Tax Decision, Goodbye RYTOWN, and Future Flooding
Cheers RVA!
Today will be sunny with a cool breeze, with a high of 62. Temperatures are expected to dip down to 36 in the evening.
the juice:
City Council is expected to vote tonight on the city property tax.
The current rate is $1.20 (for every $100 of assessed value), with a proposal to lower the rate to $1.16, which would still mean higher tax bills due to rising assessments.
Average assessed values of homes citywide increased more than 13% in both 2022 and 2023.
Mayor Stoney is proposing a one-time rebate that would net the average homeowner about $150. He has also noted the 4-cent reduction would cost the city $16 million from the current budget.
Check out the full meeting agenda here.
the pulp:
Virginia has received $13 million in Federal funding to secure rail services across the state, with $5.8 million going directly to the Staples Mill Station, from channel 12. Two platforms are expected to be upgraded, as well as adding an additional 10 Amtrak trains.
The Carytown sign has been fixed after vandalism caused two of the letter lights to go out. It previously read, “RYTOWN”.
the dive:
What to expect in the future when Richmond sees more flooding?
Rachel Kester from Style Weekly dives into the factors at play when the region sees more precipitation than normal, and what is being done to mitigate the effects of flooding.
The three largest crests of the river have all occurred during Tropical Systems, with Hurricane Agnes causing the river to rise to 26 ft. in 1972.
The Flood Wall was completed in 1995 and is designed to withstand century floods, flooding that occurs once every 100 years on average.
Nature-based approaches also have a mitigating effect, with the Berkely Plantation recently planting 17k native plants to create 1500 linear feet of living shoreline, which minimizes erosion and improves water quality.
Read the full article here.
the vibe:
DrebinDrones posted this morning gem on reddit.
Have a crisp day RVA!
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Those century floods should be referred to as 1% annual chance floods. Or floods that have a 1% chance of occurring in any given year. I say this as a floodplain manager since I routinely deal with people who decide that since a flood recently happened, it can't happen again.
Thanks for these btw! love the roundups
Those century floods should be referred to as 1% annual chance floods. Or floods that have a 1% chance of occurring in any given year. I say this as a floodplain manager since I routinely deal with people who decide that since a flood recently happened, it can't happen again.