Welcome to the first issue of “Talk of the Town” – a new email newsletter that will feature stories and actionable information about upcoming Town initiatives, programs, public meetings, and more.
This newsletter will arrive in your inbox twice per month on the Thursday prior to every regularly scheduled Town Council meeting. The goal is to equip you with the information you need to stay informed and engaged with me, my staff, and most importantly, the issues you care about most.
Going forward, this newsletter will consist of a variety of short stories and informational blurbs about the Town.
But for this inaugural issue, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on 2021 and share my goals as your Town Manager for 2022, specifically around two areas where I hope to make progress this year: economic development and quality of life.
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Despite the pandemic, the Town made great economic development strides in 2021, including the opening of 24 new businesses.
In 2021, we also:
In 2022, we will continue to work toward developing the Holland Technology Park into a high-tech manufacturing hub, which will simultaneously bring high-paying jobs to Ashlanders and reinvest in our public infrastructure, making Ashland the best place to locate a business.
I am also hopeful that our next fiscal year budget will enable further downtown streetscape enhancements to benefit both the community and our businesses.
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We also saw some improvements to quality of life for the community in 2021 including:
In the year ahead, I am focused on creating and increasing connectivity within our community, including:
- maintaining and enhancing our trail and sidewalk network; and,
- improving communication with our residents, businesses, property owners, and visitors.
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"We have lost too much of our ability to connect due to
COVID-19. I love the idea of creating physical connections through public infrastructure and community connections
through information sharing."
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NEW COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MANAGER
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Some of you may already be aware, but we recently hired a Community Engagement Manager, Martha J. Miller (mmiller@ashlandva.gov), using some of our ARPA funding. She is not only responsible for this newsletter and all our communications channels, but most importantly, for helping me and my staff understand what information you want to receive and the best way to deliver it.
I hope the engagement efforts we are undertaking will help you feel welcome to participate and that the infrastructure projects we have planned in the future will make it easier to do so.
Thank you for your interest in your local government and your care for this one-of-a-kind community at the Center of the Universe.
Sincerely,
Josh Farrar
jfarrar@ashlandva.gov
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 18th l 7:00PM
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Agenda Highlights:
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Public Hearing: Haley Court Rezoning (Possible vote.)
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FY23-FY27 Capital Improvements Program Introduction (Introductory discussion. No vote.)
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FY22 2nd Quarter Financial Report (Presentation only.)
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Employee Compensation Plan Update (Presentation only. Possible vote at future meeting.)
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Monthly Reports: Planning, Finance, & Ashland Police Department
How to Participate:
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Attend in person (Town Hall)
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Comcast Channel 17
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Thursday, Jan. 13th
Parks & Rec Committee l 6:00pm
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Monday, Jan. 17th
Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Town offices closed)
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Tuesday, Jan. 18th
Town Council Meeting l 7:00pm
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Thursday, Jan. 20th
Economic Development Authority l 5:30pm
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Thursday, Jan. 27th
Next Issue: "Talk of the Town"
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TOWN TOOLBOX
Looking for more information?
Need to report a streetlight outage or another issue?
Want to receive email reminders for trash/recycling
services or text alerts in an emergency?
Keep helpful information at your fingertips
with these Town resources.
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