I’ll do it for $6 if you give me the remaining $27 mils.
People, it is stanky down there; some say like raw sewage. Cleaning up the stench is a very expensive endeavor. Do I have any idea why? NO. It’s expensive because it’s a big factory and requires “new” things.
I could not find the results of the actual study on the Rivana Solid Waste Authority website. Does anyone know where to find it?
[via WCAV]
Speaking of Woolen Mills, have you seen the resources about this little area of Charlottesville? It’s pretty cool.
Check out the maps from Cville Design. Look at the Woolen Mills “official” website. Or, just check out the blog which has some really cool pictures from back in the day.
Popularity: 6% [?]
Tagged as: Albemarle County, Charlottesville, Government, Gripes
Odor, dawg. Odor.
/Grammer nerd.
Doh! I mean “Grammar” nerd.
That’s what I get.
No you mean “spelling” nerd.
/can I hear it used in a sentence?
But yeah Ther, that’s a chunky error.
So we just escape water restrictions, and instead of investing in more reservoir capacity we’re cleaning up sewage treatment plants? Unbelievable. That stinks, and not literally.
Hand off my knee Greg.
Bill Emory is the man. He IS Woolen Mills. I think part of the problem with the RSWA is that they haven’t been able to keep up with the housing boom? Think about how many more toilets are being flushed now than there were 5 years ago. Mr. Emory is an expert on all things Woolen Mills and I suggest talking to him about it. He’s the one who spearheaded (among other things) Woolen Mills being on the National Register of Historic Districts. His photoblog is amazing too.
I fixed the odor. Febreeze.
My kids and I bike down there pretty often. Whatever the cost to maintain the character of one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in Charlottesville I say it’s worth it. The history is really cool and it’s one of the only parts of Charlottesville that hasn’t been faux-Jeffersonian bricked to death or fallen prey to strip mall development.
Thanks lil, now I look insane.
We always called that smell “The Belmont Funk”… wafts up hill two or three times a year when the weather conditions are just right. Wreaks havoc on the old factory. Couldn’t imagine tolerating any more than that.
Thor, the full report is on the RWSA’s page here. We also just posted our coverage of it here, which includes a long podcast of the discussion.
Woolen Mills owners claim that stink drops property values. But most owners bought when the treatment plant (and stank) already existed. No stank, they claim, and values go up. Therefore, aren’t owners asking the rest of us to pay to increase their property values through an increase in our sewer bills?
Yes.
Usually I agree with Stokes. Also I don’t like it when people move into the city and want people to behave like in the burbs. One difference here, and I haven’t read the articles, so tell me if this has been addressed. The stink is mainly at night, not when real estate buyers go house hunting.
Spokes.
Thanks for liking our stinky neighborhood, our website, and our blog. The latter two, along with Bill’s and my non-profit Woolen Mills Rd, have been a complete labor of love.
I’ve personally never lived anywhere in my life that is as beloved by its
residents as the Woolen Mills. It’s a pretty close-knit community (obligatory fiber joke there) and the citizens are very active. Many of us have been there for years, and there’s a long and interesting history behind that activism that precedes many of the newer/younger residents. You’d have to be completely ignorant about the neighborhood to characterize our complaints as those of spoiled yuppies whining about our property values.
As the population of Cville, the County and UVA has grown, the stench has worsened. What the press fails to note is how incredibly long we’ve been bringing this to the RWSA’s attention– 15 years for me, decades for others. Yep, the cost to mitigate is high, but that’s what happens when you don’t keep up with things. Why act like this a problem that’s suddenly been discovered?
The real deal is that the Carlton neighborhood has it far worse than the WM, but we’re more politically active, so we’re happy to join them in this. The compost was bad for us, the sludge ponds etc are killing them. Carlton is one of the most underrepresented and marginalized neighborhoods in Charlottesville. The RWSA could have never gotten away with this for so many years if the surrounding neighborhoods weren’t blue-collar. If this was Dairy Rd or anywhere next to UVA, this would have been corrected a long time ago.
Everybody’s got one or more toilets, and they’re flushing them. It’s bad zoning practice (LULU- local unwanted land use) to force one or two communities to pay so dearly for the convenience of everyone. Our neighborhoods predate the arrival of the RWSA by at least 100 years. The onus is on the RWSA to shape up or ship out, not us.
Sorry ’bout the diatribe. Thanks for listening,
Victoria (n’hood co-prez)
BAM! good diatribe, thanks victoria.
you shouldn’t have to share the presidency with anyone.