Wards Corner Civic League

At last month’s WCCL membership meeting, HRT External Affairs Liaison Joe Dillard spoke to us about their new program Connect Hampton Roads and the Core 20 Plan.  Everybody admits that public transportation is an important piece of what makes our regional area work.  The idea behind the “Core 20” is to deploy a new network of better quality bus routes that will more effectively connect the region.

To learn more about Connect Hampton Roads and the Core 20 Plan visit:

https://connecthamptonroads.com/

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The Department of Human Services is hosting its citywide Spring Career Fair on Thursday, June 7, 2018 from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm at the Workforce Development Center, 201 E. Little Creek Road, Norfolk, VA 23505.

More than 50 top businesses will be accepting resumes and applications in fields such as health care, human services, government, public safety, education, retail, customer service, skilled trades, staffing, and information technology.

The event is free and open to the public. Registration is not required but encouraged. Sign up at https://ndhs_springcareerfair.eventbrite.com to receive Career Fair updates and other important details as they develop.

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NORFOLK, VA – Homeowners have until June 1, 2018 to apply for Norfolk’s Real Estate Tax Relief and Deferral Program for Seniors and Disabled Citizens. To be eligible:

• Residents must be age 65 or over or totally and permanently disabled.
• Homeowners must live in the property.
• The combined income of owners and relatives living in the home cannot exceed $67,000 per year.
• Net worth, excluding the home, cannot exceed $350,000.

For more information, visit:  https://www.norfolk.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=3899

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Norfolk City Council has approved the city’s $1.3 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2019, including a 10-cent increase to the real estate tax rate.

The additional revenue from the tax increase — $18.5 million – will be used to invest in the following initiatives:

• Provide an additional $5 million in funding for Norfolk Public Schools;
• Implement the St. Paul’s plan to redevelop three public housing areas ($3.5 million);
• Restore $1.2 million in funding to the Norfolk Police Department;
• Invest in resilience initiatives to address flooding ($1.8 million);
• Begin to address the backlog of aging city vehicles and equipment ($3.8 million); and
• Provide a salary increase for city employees ($3 million).

City departments helped balance the budget through $8 million in expense reductions and elimination of 82 positions. Increases to certain fees added another $3 million in revenue.

For the proposed budget documents and videos, visit   https://www.norfolk.gov/budgettoolkit

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On Saturday May 5, 2018 Ray Duron USNR, age 87 passed away.  Ray served as the Wards Corner Civic League Treasurer for over 20 years. He stepped down in 2017 only because his health would no longer allow him to continue. A highly engaged Norfolk resident, he was also very active in his church, Blessed Sacrament, was a leader in the Boy Scouts for over 40 years, and participated in many civic events. Ray was also a Navy veteran who spent time in both the Korean and Vietnam wars.  Ray was a truly remarkable citizen of Norfolk, and he will be sorely missed.

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Over the next 12 months, the City will be engaging with residents, property and business owners and developers with a stake in the Wards Corner area.  A new plan that embraces the opportunities presented by Wards Corner, both currently and in the future, is needed.  This study will develop a new vision for the Wards Corner area in Norfolk.

For more information and study materials, go to:  https://www.norfolk.gov/wardscornerstudy

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Budget Toolkit Puts Resources at Your Fingertips

Find links to documents, videos and other materials

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Last week the City Council voted unanimously  to approve the $2.35 million purchases of Greenies and another eatery, the Oceanview Diner.

The rationale: knocking them down will offer greater access to Ocean View’s public beaches and help put a new face on the area.

Fans of Greenies have raved about the back patio atmosphere and the boiled shrimp from their neighborhood bar, but others have called it a dive and an eyesore.

For more information, read the full story at the link below.

https://pilotonline.com/news/government/local/article_538c1262-68a6-5b3a-92a6-426d65797f30.html

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Once the location for the Giant Open Air Market, the Wards Corner location Farm Fresh will be changing hands.  In an agreement between Farms Fresh and many other grocery store brands, our store will become a Kroger Market.  The Kroger location across the street has been slated for closure for many years, and was due to move to the former Kmart location at Norview Avenue and Military Highway.  That move was put on hold late last year when the news on Amazon purchasing Whole Foods put the entire industry in a tailspin.

For more information please refer to the links below leading you to stories published by WAVY10 and Virginian-Pilot.

http://wavy.com/2018/03/14/21-farm-fresh-stores-bought-by-kroger-food-lion/
https://pilotonline.com/business/consumer/article_71b012b0-839e-5d2e-83e6-ee68066ad85e.html

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City to work with Sunlight Foundation to teach residents to use data to problem solve

NORFOLK, VA – Residents now have city data sets at their fingertips to improve neighborhoods, build businesses, and stay informed.

The City of Norfolk’s new open data portal, called NorfolkOpenData, offers a world of information anytime, free of charge, with easy, centralized access. City data sets including call center information, permits and city employee salaries are available with a few simple keystrokes. Find a link to the portal at Norfolk.gov.

Norfolk is also proud to announce that it will immediately begin working with residents to find concrete uses for this data. The City of Norfolk and Austin, Texas have been selected from among cities across the country to work with the Sunlight Foundation. This group will assist Norfolk in creating a pilot project for Tactical Data Engagement – a way for the city and residents to mine open data for solutions to locally pressing issues.

“Norfolk is excited to participate in the next Tactical Data Engagement pilot,” said Douglas L. Smith, Norfolk City Manager. “As we roll out our open data platform, Sunlight’s support will ensure we deliver data that’s important to our residents. I believe in a connected, collaborative and creative community and increasing citizen engagement through data sharing ensures we’re working together to improve our community.”

Both the portal and the collaboration reflect Norfolk’s commitment to providing data that’s useful to everyone. The NorfolkOpenData portal offers data sets that can be sorted, filtered and customized – create and save your own searches to keep tabs on your neighborhood. Residents may also view data with charts, graphs and maps. Need help? View one of the easy to use tutorials on the NorfolkOpenData portal.

Among the countless uses for these data sets, the City of Norfolk hopes residents can more easily find information about the work of the city, to enhance coordination and efficiency among City departments, and that these data will serve as a catalyst for innovation by businesses and education institutions.

Efforts to open this portal began last year when Norfolk developed its Open Data policy and program with assistance from What Works Cities, an initiative of Bloomberg Philanthropies. City staff sprinted through 120 days to create the policy and program framework. These provided the foundation for the marathon of identifying data sets and preparing them for release.

The NorfolkOpenData Portal currently contains the following 4 data sets:

Norfolk Cares Call Center
Employee Salaries
Electronic Permits
STORM – System to Track, Organize, Record and Map incidents as a result of inclement weather, such as flooded streets, damaged trees, disabled vehicles, and damaged utilities.
It also includes links to Crime Mapping, which allows residents to search by address to find incidents, and to restaurant inspections.

The release of these data sets and the opening of the portal mark an important milestone in the City of Norfolk’s Open Data journey. Staff continues to work with city leadership and the Open Data Advisory committee to populate the portal with additional datasets. These groups oversee the collection and dissemination of data and ensure its accuracy as well as identifying and approving datasets for release.

City staff will continue a series of training events for employees and residents in how to use the portal. And the City of Norfolk will embrace its partnership with the Sunlight Foundation to encourage community engagement around NorfolkOpenData to create real world opportunities for data to make a difference.

To learn more about the City of Norfolk’s open data efforts, visit http://www.norfolk.gov/opendata, email opendata@norfolk.gov or call 757-664-4007.

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