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Story #1 - River, What River?
The news of the Dave Matthews Band (DMB) returning to Richmond for the first time since 1997 was big news this week but quickly overshadowed by the left hook out of nowhere that the city will close off parking and vehicular access to the city’s waterfront (including easy access to Belle Isle, Brown’s Island, and the Potterfield Bridge) on days bands perform at the new amphitheater.
It was recently reported the city will close the 60-space parking lot known as the “Belle Isle lot” as well as closing 5th Street, Tredegar Street and the 2nd Street Connector for the entire day on numerous dates to use as a staging area and for staff and VIP parking for amphitheater shows on those dates. This week, access was closed off for four days to accommodate the two DMB shows and the conventional wisdom from the city is apparently, since the roads are closed, it justifies closing the parking lot too since it is inaccessible.
Photo: Michael Phillips, The Richmonder
It's beyond a shame that in recent years it seems more and more like the city is moving away from ensuring access to the river is a priority. Especially since it is the one thing that binds the region together and is more of a DNA marker of Richmond than anything else (it’s not even close). The Stoney administration ignored the need to repair the Texas Beach pedestrian bridge inside James River Park for years. By the time it was closed in 2022 after being deemed unsafe because maintenance and upkeep were ignored (stop me when this sounds familiar, i.e., the water plant), the city dragged its feet in replacing it and it is scheduled to be open in late 2026. Even though construction is underway, it is inexcusable to take four years to replace a 220 foot pedestrian bridge. There is also the mystery of the Pipeline Walk, which came to light after a leak was spotted leaking into the river last year. The city shut down access to one of the coolest parts of James River Park (or any urban park) and no one seems to think it will ever be reopened.
The amphitheater was built and paid for by one of the biggest and most powerful music companies in the country. Surely during the discussion and approval of the amphitheater incentive package, someone asked about load in and load out and if streets would be impacted. But maybe not. The sights of 18-wheelers all over riverfront streets this week could be because the DMB has a really big stage show; or worse, it is a preview of more chaos to come for decades during concert season (April-October). Sorry James River, lovers.
Beyond music lovers, there are nature lovers who want to stroll and experience Belle Isle and hover over the river on the Potterfield Bridge, and their are were art lovers who loved to stroll down past the murals on that were on the Canal Walk (before they were recently painted over). But I digress.
There are also outdoor companies and outfitters that do rafting trips and fishing trips, there are outdoor education programs and clubs and tours that access the river that will be negatively impacted by the street closures. The amphitheater should not suddenly have the divine right to close the streets and access for those who need it based on their show schedule and force everyone else to plan and work around it. Shutting down access to the James River around here is like shutting down the Vatican to Catholics.
This is a problem for which the city, community, amphitheater and New Market Corporation (which owns the land under and around the amphitheater), who must find a solution how to better stage for concerts. Stat. If that means adding better access to the amphitheater from somewhere else or expand the footprint to make it easier for trunks to load in and out, then please find it because this can't continue.
The discussion over the amphitheater when proposed made clear there would be no parking deck and they encouraged ticket holders to use alternative transportation and ride sharing apps. I understand that given how many lots and street parking there is along Cary, Canal, and Main streets, for example. Some have found it inconvenient and it is no doubt maddening for neighborhoods like Oregon Hill where street parking is already limited and severely encroached by some music fans.
It’s understandable the need for extra security on the streets or to close a street for a couple of hours close to show time, but closing roads and public parking areas down by the river all day for days in a row is something else entirely. Some people have pointed out that the streets and parking lot are closed for the Folk Festival in October and Riverrock in May. However, both of those festivals are free and don’t charge $22 for beer.
If ticket-holders and music fans have to walk a little further to get to the amphitheater, then maybe so should the staff and VIPS’s. Alternatives need to be found. For example, on Tuesday night before the DMB show, the New Market parking lot above the amphitheater was closed off by security with hardly a car in the lot, which is a lot bigger than 60 spaces.
New Market donated Brown's Island to the city eons ago and now they have added the amphitheater to their portfolio. For many years they have had a hand in making the riverfront as vibrant as everyone wants it to be, so maybe solutions are just a matter of sitting down and figuring them out once people see what is clearly at stake. The amphitheater is a nice addition to the city, but it’s not paramount to access to the James River. It is neither right nor fair that the interests of the amphitheater be allowed to trump the interests of river and outdoor lovers and people who want to access our region’s most prized jewel.
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Lost in all the clamor over the street closures this week is the other problem with the amphitheater, and by that I mean the deal the Stoney administration created to get it built. The city’s grant agreement with the amphitheater owner, Red Light Management (RLM), does not charge them admissions taxes for 20 years for the 25-35 shows they host there every year (they will collect it but it will be rebated annually so it is a pass-through). RLM paid to build the amphitheater and got the tax break in return.
The city’s admissions tax for other venues requires the venue or promoter to pay 7% on every dollar of every ticket sold in the city. So if you go see a band or a play and the ticket costs $50 (which would not get you a ticket in the amphitheater!), the city collects $3.50. The ticket price is usually factored in the announced price of the ticket set by the promoter based on the cost of the band/production and other hard costs (security, staff, etc).
So the amphitheater will never pay admission tax but all of the smaller operators in the city’s incredible arts’ community that have sold tickets for years and will sell tickets for the next 20 years will continue to pay the admissions tax on every ticket every month, whether it is The Broadberry, Firehouse Theater, Gallery 5, The National, Richmond Music Hall, The Byrd Theater, Richmond Shakespeare, The Camel, etc.
Beyond the city figuring out how to resolve not closing access to the James River, they should also finally find a way to level the playing field for the admissions tax by eliminating it. It is only hurting the small venues and only brought in about $3.3 million in revenue annually before the pandemic. The amphitheater has been open for a few weeks and we are shutting down city streets to serve it while many organizations that have been contributing to the artistic DNA of Richmond for decades still have to pay.
It is clear that the city should have two goals — First, figure out a way to service the amphitheater without shutting down a bunch of streets and sacrificing and short-circuiting the people’s access to the river (not everyone likes some of these musical acts or can afford them, they just want to go to the river). Second, create a level playing field by phasing out and eliminating the admissions tax. The river literally put this city on the map and should be accessible as much as possible and the small arts venues and organizations that help put Richmond on the performing arts map should also be treated equally with the removal of the admissions tax. I’m not optimistic either will happen, but hope springs eternal.
STORY #2 — Light on the Horizon
It has been far too long since the City has been able to see the light on the horizon concerning the administration and functioning of some of the keys of the city's most important key positions. However, last week the sun appeared on the horizon and for the first time in years, the city has an experienced Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) at the helm who got here via his resume and not his personal relationship with the Mayor. Another good sign the CAO, Odie Donald, knows what he is doing is that on his second day at the helm, he announced the resignation/firing of finance director Sheila White, whose last day will be July 25th.
White had been in the position for more than four years and her tenure as Finance director was a carousel of incompetence with one disaster after another and zero accountability. No city Richmond’s size should have a Finance department that created and perpetuated the meals tax fiasco, sent 66,000 incorrect personal property tax bills to car owners, and screwed up this year’s tax rebate checks multiple times (they even mailed 156 checks to addresses that don’t exist) and finally mailed them five months late. Not long after, the city sent real estate tax bills that are normally sent to banks or mortgage lenders to the property owners themselves, causing serious confusion about who was responsible to pay the bill. White later blamed a “system error” for the mistake — after 33,000 of the bills were mailed. Add those whoppers to the far-too-many stories about lack of staffing, poor work conditions, lack of training, et al.; the list goes on and on.
Through it all, Mayor Stoney maintained last summer the department was in great shape and running like a Swiss watch. Last August he held a press conference because he was “tired of people shit-talking my city,” at which he also called Sheila White a “fixer” who is “willing to run into the fire” to get things done He claimed White was “…the best finance director the city’s had in over a decade plus.”
Ed. note: (It’s also the press conference where Stoney said, “Don’t compare me to the Almighty, compare me to the alternative.”)
A few weeks later, White gave City Council a pat-herself-on-the-back presentation at the City Council Organizational Committee meeting that talked about all the great results she delivered as Director. A city spokeswoman even said of White and her team, “the city is lucky to have them.” White also warned Council that replacing her and Chief Administrative Officer Lincoln Saunders could (somehow) lead to further disruption.
She said, “We’ve gone more than a decade without stability in the department. Is more change really the answer?,” and added, “Putting in a new finance director will more certainly disrupt the work in progress and revert the to the dysfunction the city has experienced in the past.”
Which is an astonishing statement considering it’s hard to imagine more dysfunction than we have seen from the Finance department exposed by the media in recent years. Not to be outdone on her way out the door, White spoke to Council’s Finance Committee earlier this week and flooded chamber with a tsunami of hubris. White claimed a turnaround was underway and said “the future is bright.” She said they had made substantial progress, but warned that “pockets of secrecy and sabotage” remain, according to Graham Moomaw at The Richmonder.
She also said there will be problems that arise as officials “move through this disruption of systems and cultures that have existed for decades. And at points it’s going to feel like we’re going backwards. I promise you that that is not the case. It takes time to execute on technology and change management. And it is going to be uncomfortable.”
News flash: The future is indeed bright, but that’s because CAO Donald will almost certainly hire someone who is more experienced and competent to fix the Finance department. The last few years have been nothing but uncomfortable and moving backwards.
White claimed she had changed the culture of the department where employees used to operate in “cliques,” showed “diminished professionalism,” an operated with a “lack of urgency.” She claimed the department today is a more cohesive and professional team with a stronger focus on the customer. But there are still “pockets of resistance to adherence to core values,” “pockets of cliques” and “pockets of secrecy and sabotage.” Which is an odd claim since White even conducted a search of Finance employees desks and offices last year without anyone revealing what they were looking for.
The department has faced constant turnover in recent years along with employee complaints of inadequate training and no leadership. In the presentation last fall, White herself noted more than half (53%) of the workers had less than three years of professional experience, which was also, ironically (or perhaps telling) almost the same amount of time she had been in charge of Finance and proved the work environment was less than ideal for multiple media stories like this one.
The hubris was obvious, and White was more than likely painting such a rosy picture of Finance as an audition for her next gig in municipal government; her slides showed a department on rise instead of the reality of the one in ashes. None of the Councilors on the committee even asked any questions, including about the alleged sabotage; it’s possible they know a new hire is imminent and daylight is on the horizon.
CAO Donald knows how important Finance is and he has to get this appointment right. It’s time to stop the carousel of incompetence and fix the dysfunction. There is a lot to do in the Finance department and it starts with the right leadership and accountability. The new leader needs to make sure there is a good environment for employees and that they are properly treated from within and properly trained to better serve the public. There is no more room and no more patience for more of the screw-ups we have been reading about in recent years. We at least now have a reason to be hopeful the right people with the right experience are in (or soon will be) the right positions and are able to right the ship and clean up the mess.
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