THE AGENDA: School Board meetings, Community Development and more.

Allie Pitchon, Petersburg Progress-Index

19 March 2024 at 4:00 am·3-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.

School Board meetings are on the books this week for Petersburg, Hopewell and Colonial Heights. A regular City Council Session will be happening in Colonial Heights this week. In Hopewell, the Keep Hopewell Beautiful (KHB) Committee - a forum to influence residents of Hopewell to keep the city clean and aesthetically appealing - will be meeting at the library to plan litter cleanup and education events. Currently, the KHB Committee has three cleanup events planned for the spring, including a spring cleaning in Downtown Hopewell on March 23, a community cleanup on March 24 and an Earth Day cleanup on April 19. Meanwhile, in Petersburg, the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Advisory Board will be meeting at the Petersburg Public Library.

The Community Development Block Grant Federal Program provides annual grants to states, counties and cities - including Petersburg - "to develop viable urban communities by providing decent housing and a suitable living environment, and by expanding economic opportunities, principally for low- and moderate-income persons." Petersburg's Community Development Block Grant Advisory Board - which serves as a recommendatory body to the City Council - 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.

On Wednesday, the Board will be hearing public proposal presentations by Petersburg residents, organizations and non-profits applying for CDBG grants. Organizations will be allotted 5 minutes to present their proposals. Petersburg residents who are interested in submitting a grant proposal for the CDBG program can do so here, whether they attend the March 20th meeting or not. Organizations who do not submit a presentation but still show up to present will be called as/if time permits. More information about grant proposal requirements and eligibility can be found here.

In addition to the public proposal presentations, there will also be a review of notes from a 2/21/2024 Public Comment Period, during which Petersburg residents were allotted three minutes each to present on what they believe the financing needs of the city are in the following areas: 1) low-mid income, 2) blight, and 3) urgent needs. Among other funding needs, residents spoke on the important of funding programs for Petersburg’s youth, grants to help homeowners with costly repairs and renovations to make housing more affordable and tackle blight in the city, and increasing funding for infrastructure— such as paving crumbling roads and adding more street lights for safety.

Wednesday, March 20

Colonial Heights City Council Work Session, 6 to 8 p.m., City Council Chambers.

Petersburg Community Development Block Grant Advisory Board meeting, 6 p.m., Multipurpose Room at Petersburg Public Library.

Petersburg School Board meeting, 6 p.m., School Board Office (255 South East Blvd.)

Thursday, March 21

Hopewell School Board Meeting, Regular Session, 7:30 – 9:00 p.m.

Tuesday, March 26

Colonial Heights School Board regular open session meeting, 6:30 p.m., audio-visual room of the Technical Building at the Colonial Heights Technical Center.

Keep Hopewell Beautiful Committee meeting, 6 p.m., Hopewell Public Library (209 E. Cawson St.) For more information on the meeting and how to attend, please contact Kelly Davis, Senior Planner for the Keep Hopewell Beautiful Committee, at (804) 541-2269.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: THE AGENDA: School Board meetings, Community Development and more.

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