The Virginia Association of MPOs (VAMPO) elected Ann Cundy, CSPDC Director of Transportation, as its new Chair on June 23, 2020. The General Assembly established VAMPO in 2009 to provide education, information, and opportunities for cooperation among Virginia’s Metropolitan Planning Organizations, and among state, federal and community officials. Ms. Cundy will serve as Chair for two years.

At the start of 2020, the CSPDC’s unemployment rate was below 3%.  Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic began to impact industries and their workforce in March and by April, CSPDC localities experienced sharp unemployment increases. At 20.8%, Bath County had the highest April unemployment rate in Virginia.  As all CSPDC localities showed an increase from March to April, they also reported a decrease in their unemployment rate from April to May.  The CSPDC’s unemployment rate in May, the most recent data available, was 8.5%, below both the unemployment rate for Virginia (9.2%) and the United States (13.0%).

George Pace, a well-known and highly respected business leader from the Shenandoah Valley, has tenured his resignation from the GO Virginia Region 8 Council.  Mr. Pace will be leaving his post as Chair and member of the Region 8 Council to focus his time and efforts on helping the UVA Health System navigate the challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic where he serves as chair of the UVA Physicians Group Board of Directors. Mr. Chris Kyle, Vice President of Shentel and current Vice Chair of the Region 8 Council, will assume Mr. Pace’s duties as Chair.

GO Virginia – a statewide initiative created by Virginia’s senior business leaders to foster private-sector growth and job creation through state incentives for regional collaboration by business, education, and government – was first launched in 2016. Mr. Pace played an integral role in establishing the Region 8 Council from the very beginning. Region 8 encompasses two planning districts and 16 counties and cities across the Shenandoah Valley, stretching from Winchester to Lexington.

Under Mr. Pace’s leadership, the Region 8 Council funded numerous projects including a certified welding program in Rockbridge County, a cyber security workforce training program at Blue Ridge Community College, the Shihadeh Innovation Center in Winchester, an agricultural enterprise center feasibility study for the Shenandoah Valley and, most recently, the Scale-up the Valley Economic Gardening program being offered through the Shenandoah Valley Partnership.  In total, nine GO Virginia projects totaling more than $1.7 million have been funded by the Region 8 Council.

In response to a Request for Proposal released in March 2020, 14 highly-qualified firms representing 8 states submitted proposals to conduct the Agricultural Enterprise Center Feasibility Study. The CSPDC formed an 8-member Study Team composed of potential Ag. Center users and representatives from businesses and organizations who support local food production, to assist with the review process, and serve as a vital resource throughout the study.

After conducting a rigorous review process, New Venture Advisors (NVA), an agriculturally focused firm based out of Chicago, Illinois was selected. The interview team was most impressed by NVA’s related experience, understanding of agriculture, team cohesiveness, and adaptability. In July, NVA began work on the study that is expected to conclude in May 2021.

Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week, June 6 through 14, is a time to appreciate the culture, history and natural beauty of the Nation’s largest estuary. In the CSPDC region, all precipitation and runoff from Augusta, Bath, Highland, Rockbridge and Rockingham Counties drains into the Potomac and James River basins, making our region part of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

To help ensure that pollution control measures needed to fully restore the Bay are in place no later than 2025, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) contracted with the CSPDC, and 14 other Bay PDCs across the state, to assist with the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP III). Since 2018, the CSPDC has provided technical and administrative assistance to local governments and stakeholders as they implement the WIP III plan and determine best management practices to clean up our rivers and streams.

Celebrate Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week by exploring our region’s scenic rivers, including the Middle, Calfpasture, and South Fork Shenandoah. #BayAwarenessWeek.

The logo for the planned Afton Express transit service connecting Staunton, Augusta County, and Waynesboro with Charlottesville and Albemarle County has been unveiled. The HIVE Creative Group of Crozet presented the Afton Express stakeholder group with three potential logos and two taglines for their consideration. Following the presentation, the stakeholders voted to move forward with the logo and tagline shown above which will be used to brand the buses, the website and printed materials.

Grace Blanchard has been hired as a new planner at the CSPDC. Grace is a recent graduate of UVA’s Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy.  She has interned at The Highland Center and was a 2019 Governor’s Fellow for the Secretary of Commerce and Trade. Grace grew up in Highland County and has a deep appreciation and understanding of our region. Grace will be primarily working on community and economic development projects throughout the region. Welcome Grace!