Keep Hopewell Beautiful Committeemeeting, 6 p.m., Appomattox Regional Library, 209 E. Cawson St. For meeting entry info, contact Senior Planner Kelly Davis at (804) 541-2269. Petersburg City Council to consider setting aside additional $1.9M for new community recreation center by local high school During Tuesday’s meeting, the Petersburg City Council will hold a public hearing […]
Keep Hopewell Beautiful Committeemeeting, 6 p.m., Appomattox Regional Library, 209 E. Cawson St. For meeting entry info, contact Senior Planner Kelly Davis at (804) 541-2269.
Petersburg City Council to consider setting aside additional $1.9M for new community recreation center by local high school
During Tuesday’s meeting, the Petersburg City Council will hold a public hearing to consider an ordinance that would set aside ,900,000 in unspent city money to fund the Petersburg Sports Training Facility (Fieldhouse), a new community recreation center adjacent to the outdoor athletic field at the Petersburg High School.
In addition to the tree donations, city council will consider a resolution that would help cover the cost of a brand new trolley system in Petersburg to connect residents to healthy food and green spaces in the city, including the Petersburg National Battlefield.Hopewell Community Policy and Management teammeeting, 1:30 p.m., CSA Conference Room, 316 E. Cawson Street Suite 119. Inquiries? Contact Bridetta Williams, CSA administrative assistant, at (804) 541-2470 or by email at bwilliams@hopewellva.gov.
Petersburg to accept donations for trees, new trolley system
Petersburg will also consider multiple resolutions on Tuesday that would allow the city to accept donations from various sources. This includes a resolution supporting a partnership between Petersburg and Virginia State University (VSU) that would grant the city ,000 to “enhance the city’s tree canopy” and “provide educational opportunities” in Poplar Lawn park, according to the city council meeting’s agenda. The funds would come from both VSU and the Virginia Department of Forestry.
Sixth Ward Councilwoman Annette Smith-Lee will hold a Ward 6 meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 29 beginning at 6 p.m. at Cool Spring Elementary School, located at 1450 Talley Ave. Representatives of the City Manager’s Office, Commissioner of Revenue, Fire, Police, Public Works, Social Services, Utilities and other city departments have been invited to attend the meeting to address issues and answer questions from constituents. The Petersburg City Council will hold their regular meeting this Tuesday evening. Also, the Hopewell City Council will hold a joint meeting with Hopewell Public Schools and the city’s Finance Committee on the same day to discuss capital budget requests from the school system for FY 26. Plus, more. Check out this week’s public meetings in Petersburg, Hopewell and Colonial Heights below.
Petersburg Economic Development Authority meeting, 6-8 p.m., Petersburg Public Library, 201 West Washington Street.
Next Wednesday, Jan 29: Petersburg Ward 6 meeting
Petersburg City Council Closed Session meeting, 3-4 p.m., Multipurpose Room of the Petersburg Public Library, 201 W. Washington St. View the agenda for this meeting here.The center, dubbed the Fieldhouse Sports Training Facility, would primarily serve the local high school students, but would also be open to the public. The proposed amenities at the community recreation center include an indoor practice facility with a turf surface, a weight room, a varsity locker room, a visiting locker room, a fitness room, a wrestling space, coaches’ offices, conference rooms, multipurpose areas, classrooms and more.
Upcoming public meetings
This partnership is part of an ongoing effort by Petersburg to develop new policies to make the city greener and more resilient to the effects of climate change, such as flash floods and heat waves. One of these policies includes the development of a city-wide Strategic Tree Canopy Plan to help absorb excess heat, pollution and rainfall. The plan emphasizes preserving existing tree canopies and adding new green spaces throughout Petersburg, particularly in low-income and historically disadvantaged neighborhoods. Currently, Petersburg’s tree canopy is spread over 45 percent of the city, although the tree distribution is not equitable — there is a 76 percent difference in tree coverage between the highest and lowest-income neighborhoods in Petersburg, according to the city.
Tuesday, Jan 21
Petersburg City Council meeting, 5-6 p.m., Multipurpose Room of the Petersburg Public Library, 201 W. Washington St. View the agenda for this meeting here.This meeting is open to all citizens and property owners in Petersburg, regardless of Ward. Questions? Contact Councilwoman Smith-Lee at her city email, alee@petersburg-va.org, or via phone at 804-733-2323.Hopewell Finance Committee jointmeeting with Hopewell City Council & Hopewell Public Schools, 6 p.m., Municipal Building (City Council Chambers), 300 N. Main St. The meeting will discuss capital budget requests from the school system for FY 26. Inquiries? Contact City Clerk Brittani Williams at (804) 541-2408. This week’s public meetings in Petersburg, Hopewell and Colonial Heights are as follows:
Thursday, Jan 23
City council will also consider a seperate resolution on Tuesday to accept a donation that would help develop and implement a pilot tree planting project on E Washington Street, according to the agenda. This project would be funded through a grant from the Crater Planning District Commission.
Tuesday, Jan 28
Previously, People’s Advantage Federal Credit Union gifted the city 0,000 to go toward the completion of the new community recreation center. The city also contributed 0,000 in funding towards the Fieldhouse from unspent city funds set aside for Petersburg’s public schools this past summer. The additional ,900,000 would come from the same source. According to Tuesday’s city council meeting agenda, the city estimates that the entire project will cost around .4M in total to complete.
