A public open house will be held on the first of four phases, Cork Street, of the Northeast Infrastructure Project.  The open house will be held:

 

City staff will be available to answer any questions that interested residents/businesses may have about this project.  There will also be design plans, target schedules, and temporary detour routes for citizens to review.  The meeting is informal and interested parties can come anytime between 4:00 and 7:00 p.m.

 

Work is scheduled to begin on Cork Street on September 2.  Cork Street will be closed to through traffic in one block sections while work is occurring.  Initially, Cork Street will be closed between South Loudoun and Cameron Street.  Work will progress east towards East Lane and take approximately two to three weeks to complete each block.  Construction on Cork Street will take place Monday through Saturday, 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and includes replacing the following:
    - watermain pipes;
    - water service to residences and businesses;
    - fire hydrants;
    - sanitary sewer manholes;
    - sanitary sewer services to residences and businesses;
    - main sanitary sewer pipes;
    - sanitary sewer lining; and
    - sidewalks.

 

The City of Winchester wants to thank all the citizens, business owners and the public who utilize this important roadway for their patience and cooperation.  Every effort is being made to complete this much needed project that will replace the very old water and sewer pipes on Cork Street as soon as possible.

 

For more information about the overall project, street closings, construction times, and much more, please visit winchesterva.gov/neip.  Keep checking the site for up-to-date information as the project progresses. 

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The City of Winchester local government offices will be closed Monday, September 1 in observance of Labor Day.  Offices will reopen Tuesday, September 2 at regular business hours.

 

The Winchester Transit system will not be running on Monday, September 1. The regular schedule will resume on Tuesday, September 2.

 

The City’s Refuse and Recycling schedule for the week of September 1 is as follows:

    - Monday's (Northside) recycling collection is rescheduled for Wednesday,

      September 3.
    - Citywide Yard Waste Collection is cancelled on Wednesday, September 3.

 

All street parking in downtown Winchester is free on Monday, September 1. 

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Last week, the Winchester Fire and Rescue Department launched a new program for its career, volunteer and administrative personnel.  The “Active Operational Responder and Administrative Member Program” includes standards for training and certifications, health and fitness programs and requirements, fitness evaluations and identifying member activity levels, while providing rewards and incentives.  In addition, new fitness equipment has been purchased for each volunteer station.

 

In the Active Operational Responder and Administrative Member program, career and volunteer firefighters and EMTs must complete the following:
    1. Medical physical and clearance by the department's physician;
    2. Winchester/Frederick County Fire Academy;
    3. Certification as firefighter or EMT;    
    4. National Incident Management System (NIMS) training;
    5. Minimum of 24 hours of additional training annually;    
    6. Skills drills for certified level annually;
    7. Respond to a minimum of 24 incidents per year or scheduled events    

        coverage;
    8. Member of good standing at one of the four volunteer fire stations; and
    9. Pass the fitness evaluation (effective June 2010) .

 

With the incentive program, a point system is attached to each activity.  At the end of the year, individuals total points are tallied (each point equals $1 and the maximum number of points allowed is 599).  Then the points can be submitted for equipment, tuition assistance, seminars, gasoline gift card, and much more.  The incentive program for the valued administrative personnel follows the same format, but they can earn points for different activities such as holding an administrative position (i.e. Treasurer), assisting with a fundraising event, attending meetings, etc.

 

This program is expected to assist the Fire and Rescue Department maintain a qualified and healthy staff, ready to serve the public at a moment's notice.  Funding for this program is provided by a 2007 Assistance to Firefighters for health and safety grant.  

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Can you answer these questions about historic City Hall?

 

1. What issue held up construction of Rouss City Hall for 14 years?
2. What two non-government uses occupied a large portion of City Hall  

    originally?

3. What famous actress performed in both a live Broadway show and in a

    motion picture in City Hall?

4. What was the lower level of City Hall originally used for?

 

Don't know the answers? Find out more and see the past come back to life with a guided tour through the nooks and crannies of this century old building (photos from the past included). Tours of City Hall by City Planning Director Tim Youmans can be customized for large or small groups on most any day of the week with advanced notice. An illustrated City Hall History PowerPoint presentation ranging in length from 20-60 minutes can also be offered in City Hall or at civic club meetings.

 

Call Tim Youmans, Planning Director, at 667-1815 to schedule your group for a tour of historic Rouss City Hall.  Click here to view the answers to the above quiz.

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The City Treasurer is now able to send data files to the DMV to stop vehicle registration on individuals who are delinquent on their personal property taxes.  Therefore, the individual will not be able to register their vehicle with the DMV until they have paid all past due property taxes to the City Treasurer.  The delinquent collections are increasing and the program is a success.

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The Winchester-Frederick County Metropolitan Planning Organization (WinFred MPO) is currently conducting a Transit Services Planning Study.

 

The purpose of this study is to develop strategies to improve transit services in the WinFred MPO service area. An important task for this planning effort is to solicit input from the residents and businesses of Frederick County, the City of Winchester and the Town of Stephens City concerning transit needs. This survey is one method that is being used to obtain this important public input.  Click here to participate in the survey.

 

The Win-Fred MPO was created as a result of the designation of the Winchester-Frederick County Urbanized Area by the U.S Census on May 1, 2002. Federal regulations require an urbanized area to create and maintain an ongoing transportation planning process that is comprised of representatives of the local jurisdictions as well as state and federal transportation officials. The first meeting of the MPO was held on February 26, 2003. The MPO was created through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that was executed between the local jurisdictions in the urbanized area, including the City of Winchester, Frederick County, and the Town of Stephens City, and the Secretary of Transportation for the Commonwealth of Virginia.

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The City is proud to announce that following the work of the City of Winchester's Mental Health Task Force, a regional mental health task force has now been formed.

 

The City's Mental Health Task Force was created by the Winchester City Council in November 2006 to study issues related to mental health, mental retardation and substance abuse in the City of Winchester and surrounding localities. A precipitating event leading to the creation of the Task Force was the announcement in June 2006 of the closing of the Community House program in Winchester. The program was eventually renamed Our Family and was relocated to its present home at the Salvation Army. That event exposed critical gaps in the provision of mental health services in the Winchester community. Since the Task Force began its work, several other tragic events have highlighted the needs to address these issues, including the Virginia Tech shootings in April 2007 and the local shooting of a mentally ill man by a Frederick County Sheriff’s Deputy.

 

The Task Force met monthly from November 2006 through January 2008 and determined nine areas in which the area was lacking in regard to assisting those with a mental disabilities or substance abuse problems.  Click here to read the entire report detailing their findings and recommendations.

 

An organizational meeting of the Regional Mental Health Task Force will be held on Wednesday, August 27 at 7:00 p.m. in City of Winchester Council Chambers. The public is invited to attend.

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The VIDA program is a state program designed to encourage savings and improve personal financial planning to help low-income individuals build productive assets and self-sufficiency. 

 

Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) provide matching funds for individuals saving into a designed account for a specific purpose, such as homeownership, education, or business start-up.  Matching funds are provided to encourage saving and to help individuals build assets more quickly.  Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) works through local service providers (intermediaries – Office of Housing and Neighborhood Development) who recruit, support, and train the savers.  The Intermediary Application was submitted July 1, 2008 and approval was received August 21, 2008 to administer the program.

 

What is exciting about this program?
The VIDA Program gives another option and avenue to Housing Choice Voucher families to assist them towards becoming economically self-sufficient and achieve their goals/dreams, such as homeownership.  This program will be used in conjunction with the Housing Choice Voucher Family Self-Sufficiency Program and lead to Housing Choice Voucher Homeownership, or unassisted homeownership.

 

Can the program be expanded in the future?
Initially, the City would offer the VIDA program to the Housing Choice Voucher participants. Ultimately, as the program successfully expands, the City could offer the program to City employees, then possibly to Winchester residents.

 

For more information, contact Patricia A. Tippett, Housing Specialist with the Office of Housing and Neighborhood Development at 535-2886.

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