November meeting minutes

11/3/21

• HFW
  • Turbidity curtain installed / in place (Bryce) since last week or week before 
  • $145,000 from JROC: City can now accept
• JRPS
  • Superintendent position closed this past Thursday. Interviews setting up soon.
  • Volunteering
    • Tree plantings: Wetlands (120 planted) 
      • Soon at other parks (all grant-funded through RVA H2O / Forestry dept, native habitat restoration). 
      • 1,500 planned, all locally sourced and native species
    • Revitalization of natives garden at Reedy Creek HQ.
  • Reinterpretation of Belle Isle signage: funding from grants and Friends. Will create standard for signs going forward.
  • James River ARPA funding: $78 million to parks 
    • River impacts- trails, greenway, and working on city-wide parks master plan
  • Dock St property 5 acres (~$5 million) coming to parks eventually. Part of the area opened up for InLight Fest (same weekend as King of the James).
  • $888 million to fix CSO altogether
  • Tour de Fall Line (RVA More fundraiser): Sat., 11/6
  • Pumphouse 
    • Friends of Pumphouse w/Abandoned in Virginia tour and presentation coming up
    • ADA ramp @ Pumphouse Dr: $206,000 through Capital Improvement budget, DCR, and others. 
    • DPU fixing issues with the canal 
  • 100+ acres into conservation easement since Bryce began as JRPS superintendent
    • Matched maps w/parcel IDs: closer to 408 total acres under conservation easement (Williams and Vauxhall Islands a big part), meaning we’re not as close as we thought to the impervious surface limit. 
    • Dock St property will be protected under this or a new easement.
  • T Potts bridge challenges
    • Some grates have shifted
    • Brackets under the bridge can’t be accessed unless certified bridge professional
    • Costs $15-20,000 per year to maintain
    • This bridge and Belle Isle suspension bridge were both inspected recently and are structurally sound.
• JRA plans
  • Whitewater hall of fame TBD
  • 0.8 of 5-acre Dock St property will be a JRA education center with rooms above flood path, ADA ramps
• Katie’s flip sign designs
  • Will be sent to Office of Multicultural Affairs for Spanish translation
• King of the James
  • Only 67 racers registered vs. 140 this time last year, but due to many factors. Smaller race is acceptable; sponsorships ($13,000) / overall revenue is comparable to last year. 
  • Registration Friday and Saturday before the race (Sun., 11/14) and check-in all at Forest Hill Park Shelter 1. Still need some volunteers for this.
  • Raft support: registrants indicate whether or not they need it. Currently 2-3 rafts only.
  • 7AM show-up time for volunteers, 8AM for racers. 10AM Farmer’s Market starts.
• Falls of the James
  • Nov. 18 meeting on Zoom
  • New sign on I-95 about the James being a state scenic river.
  • Uncertainties about program’s continuation; VCU could get involved- scenic river visibility studies
• Projects 
  • Met on 10/16
  • Several projects for next few months:
    • Paint floodwall
    • Keep Virginia Cozy and Black Girls Hike Dec. 11 cleanup and adopting the Slave Trail
    • Dec. project would be cleaning down by pipeline; Friends interested; Bryce getting more input on date; include boats; need lots of volunteers for this
    • Solstice gathering on Belle Isle through JRPS
    • Sportsbackers funding helped some revitalization
    • January (may move to December)
      • Tredegar: cement and stabilization of canoe steps, invasive plant removal, pruning, bike rack rehab, trash cleanup
    • February
      • Outdoor classroom at HQ got VDF funds. Benches and kiosk next to garden; steps/ramp to river (currently very steep)- JROC could help with this
    • February or March
      • Water access under I-95? Level off with riprap. Steep drop off where people fish. Sand and pea gravel dump (will need to be replenished). Restore part of Slave Trail, too. Trimming; need to do this before shad run in March and before high water events become more likely.