Your City Council representative may be hosting a ward meeting this week. Will you attend?

Allie Pitchon, Petersburg Progress-Index
·6 min read

Welcome to The Agenda! This weekly feature will cover all the public meetings in Petersburg, Hopewell and Colonial Heights that may be important to you.

City Council meetings are on the books this Tuesday for Petersburg and Colonial Heights.

CDBG Public Hearing during Petersburg City Council meeting

In Petersburg, the City Council meeting on Tuesday will include special time for a public hearing on the recommended Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding recipients.

Petersburg's CDBG Advisory Board announced its recommendations for CDBG funding during the city's regular City Council meeting on June 4. The Advisory Board reviewed 21 applications and selected12 recipients. Now, the Petersburg City Council will hear public comments before voting to select and approve FY25 CDBG funding recipients during their regular meeting at 5 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room of the Petersburg Public Library.

The CDBG Federal Program provides annual grants to states, counties and cities — including Petersburg— for infrastructure and community development. The CDBG Advisory Board in Petersburg reviews application for CDBG funding, conducts public hearings and makes recommendations to the City Council regarding requests for projects to be funded from the city’s annual CDBG fund.

Last month, local non-profit organizations and departments applying for CDBG grants presented their proposals for funding to the CDBG Board. They included a wide array of advocacy groups, city departments and other projects working to improve the community.

On June 4, the Board presented its official recommendations for funding to City Council. Several of the organizations selected to receive funding from the CDBG this year included local non-profits providing crucial public services to the community. These public services include everything from providing free childcare to Petersburg's residents, feeding and clothing the community, providing programs that support students, sheltering the city's unhoused community and much more.

This year, the CDBG recommended that City Council provide a total of 6 public service groups in Petersburg with a total of $87,360 in funding.

They also recommended that City Council grant the same amount of funding to every non-profit organization that applied for funding. The allocation they recommended is as follows:

6 non-public service groups also received funding from the CDBG this year, including local organizations and city departments that provide valuable services to residents.

This year, the CDBG recommended that City Council provide non-public service groups in Petersburg with a total of $494,482 in funding, nearly 6 times as much funding as they recommended for public service groups in the city.

The allocation they recommended is as follows:

The CDBG federal program allows each community to utilize a certain percentage of CDBG funds to support the administration of the program, which is why the CDBG is listed as a recommended recipient of its own grant money. This money would go towards the salary of employees, office supplies, advertising for the program and similar costs.

Want to provide feedback on the recommendations? You can do so here.

Any questions can be directed to Jennifer Murphy-James, CDBG Administrator, at jmjames@petersburg-va.org.

Ward 1 and 4 meetings in Petersburg

Two ward meetings are also coming up in Petersburg this Thursday, June 20. Are your representatives on the list?

Ward 1 Councilman Marlow Jones will host his ward meeting from 6 to 8 p.m. at local Petersburg restaurant Finger Taste, located at 1600 E Washington Street. The ward meeting will largely be focused on how Petersburg's residents can be more self-sufficient. "Some of the things we're going to talk about is what we can do as citizens, what we can do on our own without waiting for the city to do it for us," said Jones at a June 4 city council meeting.

Ward 4 Councilman Charlie Cuthbert, Jr., will host his ward meeting starting at 5:30 p.m. at Pocahontas Chapel, located at 134 Witten Street. The focus of the meeting will be future use of the Jarratt House and eliminating heavy truck traffic on Sapony and Rolfe Streets, as well as any other matters of local government concern that those attending would like to discuss. Representatives of the City’s Manager’s Office, the Petersburg Police Department, the Public Works Department, and Code Enforcement have been invited to attend to address issues and answer questions. This meeting is open to all citizens and property owners in Petersburg, regardless of Ward.

Upcoming public meetings

This week's public meetings in Petersburg, Hopewell and Colonial Heights are as follows:

Tuesday, June 18

Petersburg City Council City Council Closed Session Meeting, 3-4 p.m., Multipurpose Room of the Petersburg Public Library. See the agenda for this meeting here.

Petersburg City Council Regular Meeting, 5-6 p.m., Multipurpose Room of the Petersburg Public Library. See the agenda for this meeting here. This meeting is open to the public and will be live streamed here.

CDBG Public Hearing announcing funding recipients at Petersburg City Council regular meeting (see above for time and location.)

Hopewell Water Renewal Commission Meeting, 4:30 -5:30 p.m., Hopewell Water Renewal Grtc Building, 231 Hummel Ross Road. Inquiries? Contact Administrative Support Manager Amber Davis At (804) 541.2210 Ext. 501.

Hopewell Board of Zoning Appeals Meeting, 6-9 p.m., Municipal Building (City Council Chambers), 300 N. Main Street. Inquiries? Contact Director of Planning Christopher Ward at (804) 541-2221 or cward@hopewellva.gov.

Colonial Heights City Council Special Meeting, 6-9 p.m., City Council Chambers, 201 James Avenue. Find the agenda for this meeting here.

Wednesday, June 19

Petersburg CDGB Advisory Board Meeting, 6 p.m., Multipurpose Room of the Petersburg Public Library.

Thursday, June 20

Petersburg Ward 1 meeting, hosted by Ward 1 Councilman Marlow Jones, Thursday, June 20 from 6 to 8 p.m. at local Petersburg restaurant Finger Taste, located at 1600 E Washington Street. This ward meeting will largely be focused on how Petersburg's residents can be more self-sufficient.

Petersburg Ward 4 meeting, hosted by Ward 4 Councilman Charlie Cuthbert, Jr., Thursday, June 20, 5:30 p.m., Pocahontas Chapel, 134 Witten Street. The focus of the meeting will be future use of the Jarratt House and eliminating heavy truck traffic on Sapony and Rolfe Streets, as well as any other matters of local government concern that those attending would like to discuss.

Tuesday, June 25

Keep Hopewell Beautiful Committee Meeting, 6 p.m., Hopewell Library, 209 E. Cawson Street. Inquiries? Contact Senior Planner Kelly Davis at (804) 541-2269.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: THE AGENDA: Petersburg Ward Meetings, city council sessions and more.