A second look at its funding priorities worked out well for Second Street, as the Williamsburg Planning Commission highlighted the street as a top priority for the City of Williamsburg after initially de-emphasizing it.
After a brief discussion, commission members voted 6-0-1 to reprioritize the projects listed in the City of Williamsburg’s 2016-2020 Capital Improvement Plan, giving the installation of underground wiring on Second Street top priority in the coming years.
The CIP lays out the city’s large-dollar construction projects for the next five years, but only budgets funds for the next fiscal year.
Commission member Dan Quarles was not present for the vote.
With the vote, the Planning Commission reordered their preferred priority for underground wiring projects in the CIP to be included in an advisory letter to the Williamsburg City Council. The Planning Commission’s preferences are nonbinding on the City Council.
In the new letter, Commission members marked Second Street as the city’s top priority for underground wiring, followed by Lafayette Street.
The first draft of the Planning Commission’s letter to the City Council included Lafayette Street as the major project for FY 2017, pushing back Second Street to FY 2018.
First Vice Chairwoman Sarah Stafford did not attend the commission’s original discussion of the CIP, but said she disagreed with the order of underground wiring projects initially proposed by the planners.
“When I saw what had happened at the work session, I was surprised – and not happily – by the revision in the priorities for the underground wiring,” Stafford said. “[Second Street] is a primary entrance corridor, especially into the Northeast Triangle.”
Stafford said installing underground wiring on the street would help improve the image of Second Street.
“It really is an eyesore, and it also causes a lot of issues with any attempts to redevelop and beautify the very small set-backs that most of the existing businesses have from the road,” she said.
She also said making it a top priority could serve as a show of good faith by the city toward Second Street businesses that have invested heavily in the street’s economic revitalization over the last several years.
“This is where the city really should be supporting those redevelopment efforts,” Stafford said.
Commission member Jeffrey Klee agreed Second Street should have a higher priority in the city’s eyes.
“I could imagine Second Street merchants who might have had a glimmer of hope last year that they were going to get their underground wiring now seeing this and now seeing it’s being deferred – not just a year because of finances – but then an additional year because Lafayette Street is coming in as a higher priority,” Klee said. “I could see that being – I don’t want to say ‘discouraging’ – but I could see that being discouraging.”
The Planning Commission’s recommendations to the City Council on road construction were untouched from the initial draft.
At their Feb. 4 meeting, Commission members agreed the city should prioritize projects with the highest return on investment potential, specifically reconfiguring the intersections of Ironbound and Longhill roads, and Capitol Landing and Bypass roads.
With the approval of the letter, the Planning Commission’s recommendations will be advanced to the City Council. A new draft of the CIP will be presented to the council on March 27, with final approval scheduled for the council’s May 14 meeting.
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