Newsletter — February 2021

Good morning to my neighbors in Williamsburg!

This month has flown by. I hope you were able to enjoy the couple of 60+ degree days we had this week on a patio or a stroll down DoG Street. Though we are back to the cold this weekend, the temperature change was a nice foreshadowing of beautiful Spring days to come.

I have five updates from the month, so with no further ado:

1. At the beginning of the month, I enjoyed a conversation with Charles Gates on his Local Legislature Live interview series, pictured above. Every week, Charles interviews a Hampton Roads area guest to talk about current events and the role they fulfill. We touched on the City’s COVID assistance, the learning curve of Council, our relationship to the school board, and much more.
2. More recently, the City Council and our fantastic team of department head leadership met for the FY2022 Budget Retreat. This is an ongoing process. In April, there will be opportunities for public comment, before our official budget adoption in May.
3. This month we also began a six-month Affordable Housing Taskforce for the City. This is a personal passion of mine, as time with groups such as Greater City and the House of Mercy as an undergrad showed me just how dire our need for affordable housing is. This article explains the group in greater detail (with a close eye, you may notice the publish date of that article was some time ago. I’m glad to have the opportunity to serve after the taskforce was delayed by the pandemic.)
4. Vaccinations are an ever important topic. Linked there is the City’s central hub for all things vaccine related. And I have a good update here. For those who have kept a close eye on local vaccinations, you may notice that the total number of vaccines administered to Williamsburg residents has grown by thousands. This is a result of the Department of Health correcting a data entry error that was underreporting the vaccinations in certain cities. Thankfully, our numbers are now accurate, with 20% (2,998) of Williamsburg residents having received at least a first dose.
5. Finally, in our regular City Council monthly meeting, we approved a Public Arts Program for Williamsburg. This provides funding for new arts projects, which are proven methods of increasing an area’s vibrancy and tourism product. The soon-to-be created committee will consist of already-serving members of certain boards and commissions, along with two newly-appointed members of the public. If you are interested in learning more, please don’t hesitate to reach out!

I’m looking forward to the increasing warmth and sunshine March will bring. Exiting winter though, I continue to feel particularly concerned for our local businesses, with the decreased tourism winter normally brings drastically furthered this year. So as a final thought, as we enjoy the outdoors with more conducive weather, I hope you’ll keep in mind your favorite shops and restaurants in Williamsburg and plan a visit soon.

With gratitude,

Caleb

**this Newsletter is mine alone and does not represent the input of the entire City Council