City Council Formally Sets Goals, Initiatives

By Amber Lester Kennedy Saturday, November 13, 2010

The Williamsburg City Council has officially outlined its goals for the city over the next two years in a document called the Goals, Initiatives & Outcomes.

The council capped a three-month process to develop the biennial document, which was formally adopted at council’s Friday meeting. The Goals, Initiatives & Outcomes (GIOs) were written with input from the Economic Development Authority, planning commission and citizens, who were invited to speak at multiple public forums.

While the GIOs are not used in place of a comprehensive plan, they do help guide the city in its planning for the next two years. Its goals were divided into 10 categories: community engagement, character of the city, economic vitality, neighborhoods and housing, transportation, public safety, education and human services, recreation and culture, environmental sustainability and city organizational leadership.

In each section of the document, which is posted at the end of the Nov. 12 agenda here, the city outlines its specific goals and outcomes. Some will be ongoing after 2012, such as the goals to create visions for the Monticello/Lafayette/Richmond Road area and the Northeast triangle of the city.

Other goals establish a timeline for execution of the goals, such as a plan to move Council work sessions to 7 p.m. on Mondays for a six-month trial, or another goal to complete the planning and funding for expanded elderly housing on the Blayton Building property.

Some notable goals in each category include:

• Community Engagement: Exploring the possibility of a partnership between the city and the Williamsburg Regional Library to replace the existing Stryker Building to meet both organizations’ needs. The center could include a Council chamber and conference room, voter registration, permanent and changing exhibit gallery, and reception space.

• Character of the City: Work toward beautifying the city’s entrance corridors by collaborating with the surrounding localities to enhance the Route 60 east corridor; improve the pedestrian environment on Richmond Road and Scotland/Prince George Streets; initiate the underground utility wires project on Page Street; work with CSX to remove littler; demolish the old fire station building on Ironbound Road; and replace the existing raised median at College Corner.

• Economic Vitality: Invest wisely in tourism promotion through the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the Greater Williamsburg Chamber and Tourism Alliance and the Williamsburg Area Destination Marketing Committee. Also, the city hopes to develop a coherent vision for a vibrant downtown.

• Neighborhoods and Housing: Focus city staff attention on neighborhood stability and social conditions in the Merrimac Trail apartment corridor.

• Transportation: Construct sidewalks and other enhancements, including the installation of enhanced crosswalks with in-roadway-lighting at Ukrops Way; also install bicycle racks and apply for designation as a Bike Friendly Community.

• Public Safety: Train six police officers in first responder medical training to reduce response time for basic medical assistance during the biennium.

• Education and Human Services: Analyze funding and governance formulas relative to the costs of the joint K-12 education system and consider alternatives to the joint system prior to contract renewal, to take effect July 1, 2012.

• Recreation and Culture: Provide leaderships and support for the Civil War Sequicentennial; replace existing docks with a more functional floating dock at Waller Mill Park; designate a “Williamsburg Poet Laureate” for multi-year terms.

• Environmental Sustainability: Design and install a chemical feed system at the Water Plant for drinking water safety; promote water conservation.

• City Organizational Leadership: Review spending and budgetary practices to fit with “the new normal” post-recession revenues.