Negotiations continue on library, schools
Good morning! Local governments are negotiating in earnest on the future governance of both the WJCC schools and the regional library. Plus, traffic relief for main Williamsburg roads.
Local officials are at the table negotiating two important regional contracts – the Williamsburg-James City County school system and the Williamsburg Regional Library agreement.
James City County Supervisors held a closed-door session at their meeting this week to talk more about the school system agreement, County Administrator Scott Stevens confirmed.
Stevens, Williamsburg City Manager Andrew O. Trivette and York County Administrator Mark L. Bellamy also met last month to talk about the Williamsburg Regional Library’s future. Both counties have served notice they plan to leave the group.
York Supervisor Doug Holroyd, whose first district borders Williamsburg, explained in a newsletter to constituents that the county’s notice was an opening bid to renegotiate the agreement “ahead of any addition of libraries in (James City County), and possible rebuilding of the downtown library in Williamsburg.”
“It is not our intent to eliminate our partnership with WRL, but we need to be able to fund these services at an affordable cost,” Holroyd said.
York pays the smallest portion of the regional library system’s cost -- $890,0000 this year — but also maintains a separate library system. James City County pays the majority of costs, $6.3 million, and its residents account for 73% of the items checked out of the library. Williamsburg and York County residents almost equally divide the balance of use.
Williamsburg is paying $1.141 million this year.
School Chair Sarah G. Ortego told the school board last week she expects an agreement on funding and operating local schools should be reached in a matter of weeks.
County Administrator Stevens told us he was “hesitant to predict when we might have an agreement, but we are still meeting with the city and school which is good.”
Relief coming for Richmond and Lafayette traffic
Relief is coming for traffic backups along Richmond Road and Lafayette Street, though it’s still at least six months off.
Williamsburg City Council unanimously approved a contract at its Thursday meeting to synchronize the lights and add pedestrian crossing improvements along the two roads.
The $148,000 cost is fully funded by a grant from the Virginia Department of Transportation and will not come from the city budget, Public Works Director Jack Reed said.
“Just being able to drive down Richmond Rd without stopping at every stoplight is a dream,” said council member Stacy E. Kern-Scheerer.
Reed said it will take six months to a year for the contractor, Vanasse, Hangen, Brustlin Inc., to do the data analysis required for the light synchronization.
Governor breaks ground on mental health center
Gov. Glenn Youngkin joined local officials to break ground on Colonial Behavioral Health’s new crisis service center on surplus Eastern State Hospital property in James City County Wednesday.
The ceremony was timed to coincide with world suicide prevention day.
The new Center for Support and Wellness is being fully funded by Youngkin’s Right Help, Right Now initiative, a statewide plan to strengthen Virginia’s mental health system and ensure individuals with mental health crises receive timely, appropriate care.
“This facility will be a cornerstone for crisis response in our community,” said Ryan Ashe, Colonial Behavioral Health Board Chair and James City County Fire Chief. “As first responders, we see the toll of untreated mental illness and addiction every day. This Center represents a new, more effective way forward—one that provides people the care they need, when and where they need it.”
The Center for Support & Wellness will be the only one between Glen Allen in Henrico County and the city of Hampton, according to Executive Director David Coe.
For years, mental health advocates have supported funding to divert people with mental health crises out of prisons and emergency rooms and into facilities that are equipped to care for them. Youngkin’s Right Help, Right Now program was designed to provide such alternatives, Coe said.
The $12.5 million facility is designed to provide a variety of emergency mental health services ranging from crisis intervention for people who are brought in by police to have their mental state assessed, to a walk-in center for people who voluntarily seek help for a mental or substance abuse emergency.
There will also be a longer-term crisis stabilization program to provide a stay of up to 10 days for patients with more intensive needs, Coe said.
It will also serve as a hub for mobile crisis teams, who respond directly to homes, schools, and workplaces to intervene before situations escalate.
“We all understand the heavy toll that mental health challenges take on our communities, our region, and our Commonwealth,” Coe said “But the true weight is carried by the individuals and families who wake up each day and face the harsh realities of serious mental illness. These realities are intensely personal for each of us who have faced or continue to face them — including my family. While there are no easy fixes, we intend to offer new opportunities and support we believe can and will make a difference.
The center is expected to open in September of 2026 and will serve residents across the region.
Regional & state headlines
Potential threats force historically Black Va. universities to lock down
Va. governor says Educational Choice Act ‘hugely’ important; opponents say it hurts public schools
SNAP cuts loom, and nonprofits fear they can’t fill the gap left behind
Fun & Games
Sept. 13. Williamsburg Kiwanis Club all-you-can eat Shrimp Feast. 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. Jamestown Settlement. $40 Adults, $15 children.
Sept. 13. Yorktown Market Days. 8 a.m. – noon. Riverwalk Landing, Yorktown. Free.
Sept. 14. Williamsburg Invitational Car Show. 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Colonial Williamsburg. Free.
Sept. 14. 2nd Sundays Williamsburg Art & Music Festival. 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. 401 N. Boundary St. Free.
Sept. 17. New Town Tunes. 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. New Town. Free.
Passings
Joyce Y’Lando Braxton, 67, Sept. 7.
Ernest "Nuk" Lamont Faulcon, 46, Sept. 4.
Janice M. Bryant, 89, Sept. 2.