The I Love CVille Show With Jerry Miller! - Here's What I Explained To The Mayor & City Manager; CVille Sales Tax $$ Down 2.3% In 2025 v 2024

Episode Date: September 22, 2025

The I Love CVille Show headlines: Here’s What I Explained To The Mayor & City Manager CVille Sales Tax $$ Down 2.3% In 2025 v 2024 Council & City Manager Should Be Concerned W/ This… Charlottesville Schools Now Talking Fewer SROs Vinnie’s Pizza Closes After 37 Yrs In Ruckersville Florida St (-7.5) At UVA (3-1,1-0), 7PM, Fri, ESPN Ready To Invest In F&B or Experiential Biz (DM Me) Exec Offices For Rent ($350 – $2600), Contact Jerry Read Viewer & Listener Comments Live On-Air The I Love CVille Show airs live Monday – Friday from 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm on The I Love CVille Network. Watch and listen to The I Love CVille Show on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, iTunes, Apple Podcast, YouTube, Spotify, Fountain, Amazon Music, Audible, Rumble and iLoveCVille.com.

Welcome to the I Love Seville Show, guys. My name is Jerry Miller. Thank you kindly for joining us on the program. A lot to cover on the Monday edition of the show. We were off this past week. Judah Wickauer, director and producer of the show, with his family in the Outer Banks. He takes a September trip every year and comes back,

you know, sun-kissed and bronzed and just invigorated to contribute at the Miller organization at his peak perform its capacity. And I think you see that every day on the I Love Sevo show. I took this past week, ladies and gentlemen, to work on a deal that I'm trying to put together as we speak. And it's even more skin in the game in downtown Charlottesville. At a time where there's trepidation and concern, but at a time where there could be upside and potential.

Such a fine line. This past week, there was a question and answer session at Violent Crown, the movie theater on the downtown mall this past Tuesday. And probably somewhere between 100 people were there. And of those 100 people, Chief Mike Kachis, Mayor Juan Diego Wade, and city manager, Sam Sanders were at the front of the theater. in the in the hot seats and the folks in attendance real estate owners uh business owners will cut to the chase folks of influence in the business community in particular in downtown

charltsville chamber of commerce uh ceo was there neil williamson was there um you know i was uh i had to make a promise that what i talked about on this show only pertain to what I had to say in the Q&A and not what anyone else in the room said. And I'm a man of my word, so I'm going to keep that promise. The extent of what I'm going to offer perspective-wise from that question-and-answer session, this closed-door session, was what I said to my conscious, Juan Diego Waite and Sam Sanders. And I had the microphone for, I'd probably say the longest time, and straightforwardly took the mayor, Juan Diego-Waid to task.

and was very pointed with my questions with Sam Sanders, who I think is doing a great job. I think by now, you know, Mike Kochus, the George Clooney of policing, is an A-plus-plus guy in my book. In fact, I called him a fine person and a fantastic police officer. But I took the mayor to task to the point where he interrupted me or interjected and said, what do you expect me to do? And then I gave him that answer. and then asked Sam Sanders some questions. We'll highlight what I said in that meeting.

We'll highlight a report that came out last week. Neil Williamson, the Chamber of Commerce, put this report out. And it's pretty ugly. The trend line continues downward. This trend line, and Judah's got a bar graph that he can put on screen. Might as well put it on screen now if you can, J-dubs. It's on screen. Look at the screen.

I don't know why legacy media is not reporting this. Why is this not in the news cycle with print, radio, and television? Why is this not out in the conversation? City Council and City Hall would like this to be far from the new cycle, but we're going to smack it right in the middle of it. This is the halftime report for 2025, first quarter and second quarter, year-over-year local sales tax revenue collection. This does not include meals tax, Judah,

but it does include Internet sales in Charlottesville. gray bar there, the down one is the city of Charlottesville. In 2025 through the first two quarters of the year, sales tax collection and city of Charlottesville was down 2.3%. What's particularly concerning about this, Judah, is that 2.3% is a number that was based on a downward trend from 2024. Charlottesville continued a downward trend. Its 2024 sales tax revenue was already 4.3% lower. than 2023. So in 2024, Judah, sales tax collection, 4.3% lower than 2023.

Now in 2025 through the first six months of the year, that collection, Judah, is down 2.3%. And it's happening at a time

where median home values we learned from Keith Smith last week. Sales in Charlottesville City, the first eight months of the year, we're down 4.7% in 2025, verse 2024 in the first eight months of the year. That's about 530,000 to 505. We learned from Travis Wilburn, the hospitality and tourism, virtuoso, that foot traffic in Charlottesville, 2017, verse 2024, was down a million unique IP addresses,

cell phone data, 2017 versus 2024, a million visitors less. on the downtown mall. Yeah. We know meals tax is down. All these key performance indicators are suggesting a red flag of concern. Yet print radio

and television either doesn't have the nuance, the sophistication, or the depth of content coverage to assess what's going on. I'm going to ask you the viewer and listener this question. Is this rock bottom? Or is this a bottom that will continue for some time? I'm going to ask you the viewer and listener, who's to blame? Are we

blaming the city manager? Are we blaming Juan Wade in council? Do we blame the haven? Do we blame policy? Or do we give props to Al Morrow County for eating the city's lunch? Al Morrow County is way up to you. Did you see that? Bargraf? Oh, yeah. Put it back on screen. Al Morrow County, the halftime report 2025, up 6.3%. Goodness gracious, great balls of fire. Yeah, they're doing something right. Doing something right. Does Chris Engel get the blame? Economic Development Director. What needs to be done to solve this?

That topic on today's program, ladies and gentlemen. gentlemen. I think the fingers pointed at the mayor and at council because Sanders works as counsel empowers him to do so. We'll talk about that on today's program. There's still appeal for people wanting to be downtown. I'm meeting later today with a team that's behind a beloved coffee brand where we're talking potential joint venture for for a point of sale for them in downtown Charlottesville. Got two other coffee brands locally that are beloved that I've touched base with that are excited about the upside

of a point of sale in downtown Charlottesville. So three potential candidates for this opportunity that I'm pursuing in downtown Seaville for a point of sale coffee-wise. All of them have the same concern. And what's the chatter on the street, the conversation at the deal table, at the closing table is in the city is in conversation right now for a homeless shelter

to purchase real estate locally off the mall to move its homeless shelter to one location close to the Rivana Trail near the bypassed in the heart of town and and the negotiation is is they're close they're very close the city trying to buy this real estate for this shelter from a private owner. They're very close. I will really hold the city accountable if this deal does not materialize. I'd characterize them in probably like the top of the seventh inning. The property owner understands he has leverage.

The city understands that they may be desperate. But in times like this, a delta of a million in change, for a real estate purchase isn't that much because the incremental upside, the incremental value of tax collection, should you move this shelter to a strategic spot away from your business district is considerably more than a million dollars. This seems like common sense to business people. Is it common sense to Juan Wade? We'll talk about that on today's program.

I want to highlight Conan Owen of Sir Speedy of Central Virginia. I'm going to meet with him tomorrow at 8.30. AM. He's helping us with signage and branding here at our building, the Macklin building and at this second location in downtown Charlottesville that we're pursuing. Conan Owen Sir Speedy of Central Virginia is a Darden graduate. His business is locally owned and operated Sir Speedy of Central Virginia and Conan Owen is a stand-up honest guy who delivers on what he says he's going to do. So as we look to expand our executive office, his portfolio and need some branding and signage done, I thought of him for that business

because he's done well by me with this banner and some of our executive offices here where we have a waiting list. Sir Speedy of Central Virginia for any signage needs, direct mail needs, stickers, window decals, lanyards. A lot we're going to cover on the program. I see Neil Williamson, the president of the Free Enterprise Forum watching the program. He was at that meeting this past week at Violent Crowd. And boy, oh, boy, I trust Neil Williamson.

And I think we should start there. And maybe we weave Judah Wickhauer with a studio camera and a two shot in. He helped put together the halftime report in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce. I'm going to give my take and how I held Juan Diego Wade accountable six days ago. I'll open it up for your conversation. Man, you had a good time in the Outer Banks. Yeah, it was good. It's always good.

I mean, it's just a, it's just a chill spot. We go in between the seasons, so it's not, you know, we're not... I think it's genius. When the beaches are packed, we occasionally run across a little weather like we did this time. Not a whole lot of sun coming our way, but the beach isn't the only thing we go for. It's, you know, family and relaxation. Conan Owen watching the program, downtown was great. It could be great again.

He's going to help us make it great. Conan Owen. We spent a lot of time in Southampton, New York, our family. And personally, my favorite time is to go in the off-season when the tourists aren't there. In South Hampton, they call them the city-its, because a lot of them coming from Manhattan when the city it's aren't there. And you can truly understand what it means to be a Southamptonite. And you can truly understand what it means to be local and to enjoy this beach community without bumper-to-bubper traffic and, you know, the who's who. of the East Coast trying to take their selfie in front of an iconic cookie store, if you may.

But let's get to Charlottesville. Tuesday at Violent Crown, there's about 100 of us there. You'd say that number was about 100, right? Now, I've promised, and I was given approval, that I would only talk about what I did in this meeting, what I said. Not anybody else. Promise Greer to that. Who do you need approval from? Greer put it together, Friends of Evil. She says, you, you know, this is closed doors. I said, I'm only going to talk about what I do.

I understand. She said, that's fine. So, self, the microphone goes around. Chief Kautius, Juan Wade, Sam Sanders. Juan Wayne in the center, Chief Kautchus on the left, Sam Sanders on the right as we're looking at them. Chief Kachis was early. Juan Wade was early.

Sam Sanders showed up late. Juan Wade in the center. He starts off the conversation, and Juan's a nice guy. Likeable guy, you know, lovable guy, just kind of like a teddy bear, right? Juan Wade's just like a teddy bear you want to squeeze and give a hug to. Chief Kachis wearing his police uniform, look sharp per usual. Sam Sanders showed up late, but looked distinguished in a very nice suit. I hope Sam Sanders hears this.

And the microphones passed around the audience that were asking questions. Finally got to me, I waited maybe about nine or ten people speaking before I spoke. And I rattled off the following. I said, gentlemen, I'm going to paint a scenario for you of Charlottesville, Virginia, through data that cannot be argued against, data that's supported and documented. I said through the first eight months of 2025 versus the same eight-month period in 2024, the median values for transactions in Charlottesville, residential real estate, is down 4.7%. 530,000 versus 505,000. I passed that metric on to Deep Throatthroat, number one in the family,

later in the week, and he said, I've looked at actually the transacted data, not just in the eight-month period that you presented, but over a more extended period. And my numbers back that up and then some. So we know residential values are declining. Then I said to Juan Wade, Sam Sanders, and Chief Kachis, I said, sales tax collection, and we didn't have the halftime report,

the second quarter report. We just had the first quarter of 2025 versus the first quarter of 2024 sales tax collection. This does not include meals tax. I'm like, one, your sales tax collection is down 2.5, 3% in 2025 versus

24 first quarter, that according to the Chamber of Commerce, and 2024 was down versus 2023. Then I said, one, Virginia Tourism Corporation released the tourism spent for the city of Charlottesville, and the tourism spent in the city of Charlottesville was down

one percentage point in 2024 versus 2023. And then I said, one, your foot traffic in the city of Charlottesville in 2017 versus 2024 is down a million people that sell phone data that Travis Wilburne has collected, I believe, through Placer AI, an aggregator of cell phone IP traffic that helps you determine foot traffic in business districts, down a

million people, 2017, verse 2024. And on top of that, your meals tax. When I presented this on Tuesday, I didn't even mention the meals tax being down. I was then corrected post-meeting by a very influential real estate magnet that you did a hell of a job, Jerry. Your presentation was the best one there, of all anyone that spoke, but you didn't mention meals tax in your presentation and you should have. So it was kind of one of those compliments that also came with a little, hey, you made a mistake. And it was a guy that's an international real estate magnet. So I said, you're right. I should have included the meals tax. So you got median values, sales tax collection, tourism dollars collection, meals tax collection, and foot traffic, all

down. And now we're entering our third year of it, right? And I said, Juan, what's the plan? Mayor Wade, you're a very nice, lovable teddy bear. You enjoy driving around and scooting on your Vespa all over Charlottesville. Where's a helmet? He's on a Vespa

with stickers on it. The Hart Seaville sticker on it. He's Vespa and around and he's scootering around all over the city. What's the plan, Juan? He said, the plan is to plan. The plan is to plan is what he said. Then I grilled him. I said that council meeting where you allowed Chief Kachis and Greer Ackinback to get ripped by the activists in attendance,

you should be disappointed with yourself. Because the extent of what you did moderating that meeting was utilizing the word, please, 200 times, and really not asking anyone to leave council chambers because they were being at best schoolyard bullies. Yeah. And he said, what did you want me to do in that council meeting, Jerry? I said, you should have asked them to leave like other governing bodies do when people speak out of turn. Instead, you allowed your police chief, your top cop, and your head of your business

community to be stigmatized, villainized, and schoolyard. bullied. And when I responded, what did you have me, what should I do when he said that? And I responded that way. He was deflated. Deflated in front of all of us. And I didn't feel bad because that's what he should have done. So now we're in this position where I'm asking this question. I'm asking this question of, of, of, of, of, of, of, of, of, of, of, of, of, of, of, of, of, of, of, of, of, of, of, of, of, of, of, of, For myself, my family and my business pursuits, for folks that watch this program, and Sam said, before I was speaking at that Q&A, he said, look, when you have a following, you've got to be careful of what you say because people listen to it.

And sometimes it's important for you to paint a rosy picture as opposed to this honest picture that you're painting. Pretty much in those words, he said, instructed what I should do with this. platform. I disagree with that. I never want to do a rosy picture instead of an honest picture. I think it's the community deserves to know what's going on, city manager, and it's not a rosy lens. It's a frank lens. And as I'm looking to get more skin in the game downtown and potentially pool resources with other people that I have respect for and ask for their finances and this skin in the game downtown, we are left with asking this question. Are we? Are we in a position in downtown Charlottesville where we're at the bottom of the thermometer,

at rock bottom, like an alcoholic that has had his or her worst case scenario that finally wakes them up and shakes them into rehab, into recovery and to the upside, the upswing of what's going on? Are we just now falling off the wagon for like the 15th time where the wagon's going to continue crumbling and tumbling and getting into accidents down the course as Charlottesville plateaus in this economic, political malaise, if you may. Well, we're definitely not at the bottom.

Judas says we're not at the bottom. You can make that argument. Go ahead. I'd like to hear this. And then I'll maybe take the opposite stance for you, but I respect your opinion. Why are we not at the bottom? I mean, the indication that you've hit the bottom is that you make a decision to write the ship.

and I think the city council meeting of a few weeks ago clearly showed that they're not interested in riding the ship. They've got two broken tools in their toolbox, and that's enough. They don't want anything more. They don't want any help. They don't want any other tools, as was clearly heard repeatedly at the meeting. They've got building houses and a low-income, a low-barrier shelter. and none of those are anywhere near the near horizon but that's all you keep hearing and by the city council's refusal to add another tool that being an ordinance that gives the police the ability to act in regards to the homeless population and I know a lot of people think that that that ordinance is criminalizing them and that it's going to cause the police to

blanket the city and kick out anyone that's that's homeless but that's I mean we most of us I think know that's insanity the police have no appetite for kicking the homeless out of Charlottesville this is just a tool for them to use and the city the city council does not want that tool and if they can give you a timeline for when we'll have enough low-income housing or a low-barrier shelter, I would be extremely surprised. Damn. You came correct from your vacation. Well. You've given this some thought. Obviously, we've talked about it. I've given some thought to the toolbox that they use. They, you know, they're so insistent on

the new zoning ordinance being the, you know, the be-all and the end-all, that they are willing if the ordinance is struck down to put the exact same ordinance into place again. And that's fine. They believe in it. But it's been 18 months, and it's been over a year and a half, and we haven't seen a whole lot of new construction. Judah Wickhauer. Props and kudos to Judah Wickhauer.

It came correct today. First day back from hobnobbing with the rich and famous in the Outer Banks. Was it duck you go to? no we go to the top corolla you go to corolla living the dream you uh the house on the sand you right on the beach no we're not right on the beach it's a different house that we've been in before we've tried a few of them we like this one well welcome back thank you i'll play the devil's advocate for the sake of a talk show

and sincerely i mean that what i'm going to say here and it's not just devil's advocate for the sake of the talk show i think we're at the bottom I think we're at the bottom for the following reasons. Council currently, City Hall, currently in negotiation with a private real estate owner to make a purchase for what could be and will be a hub for the houseless. A purchase that is away from the mall, close to the Rivana Trail, which is important because many in the Houseless community

are using the RT to get around locally. I've often called the Rivana Trail the homeless Route 29 or the homeless 250 bypass. That's what the Rivana Trail is. This purchase on a city bus line. This purchase in the heart of the community. This purchase away from the business district. This purchase with upside for buildings. build out for that recovery, addiction and alcohol, the resume building, the washer dryers,

the laundry, the showers, the beds, most importantly, the beds, the shelter. Yeah. They call it, was it the full tail? What's the word they use for offering all the services for the homeless? It's like the full suite of services. The Delta, the negotiating delta right? now. It's about a million in change. A million in change.

To build it? To buy the land? To buy the parcel. Okay. And the building. The delta is about a million in change. Million plus. The delta. So what is the overall? I'm going to choose my words carefully for acquisition. The acquisition number is not peanuts, but the acquisition number over the course of a budget,

over the course of what's in the coffers, is peanuts. you know i wouldn't say anything that's between five and seven million dollars is peanuts but i also would say something that's between five and seven million to purchase that could be a hub for the houseless is peanuts and the grand scheme of things now that number between five and seven isn't something that is just oh turnkey we're ready to rock and roll that's land it's got an and and and building oh and a building yeah Oh, yeah, and building. You didn't mention that.

Dirt and structure. And then they have to upfit it, right? Right. You have to upfit it with the shelter. You have to outfit it with the beds, with the computers, washers and dryers. Exactly. The showering facilities, the conference rooms for addiction, recovery services,

all the above, right? Five to seven. Then you have to spend some on shelter. Let's say that number to outfit it is maybe another five. Say you're just north of 10 in the neighborhood of 10 to 15 when this is all set and done. It's paramount that Sam Sanders hears this. He watches the program. It's paramount that council hears this.

There's council members watching now. A number between 10 and 15 million to build a houseless, what do you call it, campus? shelter, I think, does it a disservice. I think the first thing government needs to do is considering its word choice. When you're in front of 100 people and you say the plan is to plan and makes you look buffoon-esque, buffoon-esque. When you use phrases like shelter, it marginalizes what you're trying to create. I think what they're trying to do is to create a campus.

campus has connotations of positivity. Campus has connotations of hand up, not hand out, but hand up. You go to the campus, you can get empowered. You can empower to acknowledge, empowered with cleanliness, empowered with look and perception. You're empowered at the campus. Maybe it's like the Charlottesville homeless campus. We'll come up with a phrase for it, right?

We'll come up with an acronym. this negotiation is real close, like real close. And there's some important people that are helping make it happen on behalf of the city, helping make it happen. You get this purchase under your belt. Then you have the leverage to say to the business community and to taxpayers, to the livable Seville, and to the activists, look, man, we gave you what you, what you wanted. We created this campus. We created this low barrier shelter. We created this resource. Now it's time to throw a bone to the business district and to empower them with a clean eight blocks.

And how we can do that is this clean team from Louisville, Kentucky, this 1.2 million we're spending over two years to have ambassadors on the mall. mall we gave them that we got the shelter built let's now revitalize downtown and and and because of that because of the 50 year anniversary and because i know the distaste in charlesville's community for another tax increase and if the data points continued trending this way the sales tax collection the meals tax the tourism collection the home values and the foot traffic on the mall if they continue trending downward, council will have no other choice but to raise taxes. And if city council, who is frequently bullied by those in attendance, thought a couple of weeks ago was bad, wait till they tell roughly 45,000 people that live in the city that we're

going to raise your real estate taxes, and we need to raise a meals tax, and we need to raise the sales tax collection, and you're going to feel this sting from now until the end of time. wait to you see that revolt and how that will stigmatize and villainize counsel because right now in the contingency of the decision makers and the movers and shakers the people of influence and frankly the large majority of people in charlesville council currently looks like they have dunce caps on folks may be afraid to say it because a small contingent of people may yell at them, like they did to Chief Kachis and to Greer Ackinbach. And I was thinking about this. Think about what the business community did in a lot of ways. The business community in a lot of

ways sent one person in to speak before counsel, Greer Ackinbach. And Greer is a white woman from an super-educated background to go on behalf alone and to lobby for a largely white, affluent business community. The strategy or perception that was rolled out on this council meeting to send a white young woman

educated and affluent to represent a party that was not in attendance to support her that is largely wealthy, white, and affluent, that's a recipe for backfire and disaster. So in a lot of ways, especially for the activists that were in attendance. You grimace. Because how many of the activists in attendance were white and affluent?

The fact that we're... Help me understand. what you just meant by that statement. That was a loaded statement. What did you mean by that specifically? And you pointed out the fact that Greer Ackinback is a young white woman who is a fluent connected representing a group of people that are largely white and affluent and connected. And your response was how many of those people and the activists are white and affluent? What did you mean by that? I mean, well, first of all, I mean, are you saying that, saying that there was no one in there that was white and affluent?

Are you saying that meaning that there were people in there that were white and affluent? I'm saying that at least several of the people in there who were making a lot of noise and being rude, to put it kindly, were, I mean, what, we had lawyers. Okay. We had, I'm saying that several of the people in there were white and affluent. Okay. And what I find troubling is the fact that we can't, we still can't get past, we still can't get past color. We can't get past color.

We're going to have a hard time, you know, it's a really angry that a white woman is, is talking in front of city council. I would love to live in a world where everyone in this world's gotten past color. Yeah, that would be nice. Yeah, we all want that. anyways we all want that yeah okay

yeah anyways go ahead I guess the point I'm making which trying to counter respectfully your point for having a conversation on a talk show is I see bottom I see bottom for the 50 year anniversary

for this houseless shelter that's going to be built for the fact that they're going to have to raise taxes if they don't get this figured out immediately? Well, first of all... Then we'll take the comments. Curtis Shaver's got good comments. Jason Howard, Neil Williamson.

Daily progress, radio and television are watching the program. TV, radio and print, you need to start covering this story, okay? You need to... Why has no one interviewed Neil Williamson about the Chamber of Commerce report besides NBC29? Neil, is that the only interview you have done on this? let's wake up let's wake up go ahead judah i appreciate the fact that they're pivoting from uh from the the the fifeville shelter that clearly had a lot of pushback but at the same time i think we can

agree that uh however quickly they move on this land they're not going to have a shelter ready to go by the end of this year. I would love to hear that it'll be fully furnished, fully filled out and ready to go sometime in 2026, but that still leaves, you know, that still leaves this fall and winter. That still leaves, I would say, the planning for the anniversary to still have to work around what's going on in the downtown mall right now. We still have all of that time for the businesses on the downtown mall to be potentially losing money, as Alec Azam stated, they were doing. the reasoning why they are closing their doors. I see your point that we've reached the bottom and we're heading up.

But do you really feel the – reaching the bottom is not just an outside observation, like, oh, they've hit the bottom, they've gotten where to go. hitting the bottom is usually as far as I'm as far as I know about uh you know things like like AA um alcoholics anonymous hitting the bottom is a personal thing it's it comes with a self realization and do you think that the city council is realizing that things need to change or are they just continuing to plan due to wickharris come correct today well said the reason I think that the self-realization, which is a great description, is a month amongst us now, is Natalie Ostrans made the comments on the dais. We have a revenue problem. She said that in the meeting.

You know, we have a revenue problem here. Natalie Oström has said that. Sam Sanders has indicated to this. Deep throats making comments, his photo on screen. He says, you know, this all would be a lot easier if Juan Diego Wade was a jerk. But Juan Diego Wade is a very nice guy, and you know he means well. So it is with a certain amount of chagrin that I have to say that he is

way, way intellectually out of his depth right now. After the meeting at Violent Crown, I realized even more, and this is my words, those were deep throats words, these are my words now. After the meeting at

Violent Crown, when I heard him speak to a business community of sophisticated business owners and real estate owners. People that read P&Ls and balance sheets and people that need to manage budgets. I realized what I already knew

that the mayor is so far out of his depth intellectually and from a business sophistication standpoint that it is red flag concerning. Red flag

concern. And then now that we know Jen Fleischer's replacing Brian Pinkston on council, Pinkston who works in what? Project management at UVA. Fletcher, who's more of the nonprofit community locally, I do have concerns of the five on the dais come January that none of them really except for maybe Lloyd, who's a business owner, have business acumen. but I know after Tuesday that the mayor does not an interesting wrinkle that also happened Tuesday the city manager indicated multiple times that he is considered quitting his job and he's decided not to do it but he has thought multiple times

that he would quitting is the best form of action for him but then he thought otherwise wise. Sam Sanders, I can tell you, and I hope Sam hears this. Sam Sanders, I can tell you, does have business acumen, sophistication and savvy. And he also knows enough to lean on the folks locally that are in the business community when he's uncertain of something, like negotiating a complicated and dynamic real estate purchase for a houseless campus, a campus

for the homeless, which is what he's doing now. Deep Throat also adds this, on the sales tax with the first half of 2025, and this is something for Neil Williamson, he says Deep Throat for the first half of

2025, that doesn't even include the impact of the Emmett Street Kroger grocery store closing. That also is not going to include the impact of some of these other places closing. Right. Right?

Yeah, those impacts will hit us down the road. The seafood joint. Yeah. Al-Qazam, just off the top of our head. Little Johns. Yeah. Another one. Right?

All the ones we've already mentioned. Elwood Avenue closed, although we help sell that restaurant, and there's going to be a new operation opening there, not my news to break. That's my client's news to break. When my client does open the restaurant there, it's going to be significantly more successful than what Kuma was doing. No shade on Kuma, but that's just a fact. It doesn't include the fact that Boyland Heights is choosing to close two days a week on the UVA corner. This is just off the top of our heads here, right? This isn't without even really thinking deep of what's open and closed, and we could. Who's to blame? You know, the tough part about being the mayor, it's like being the mayor of council is like being the long snapper in football. The long snapper and football, for those aren't football fans, is the guy that hikes the ball to the holder who then prepares.

the ball to be kicked. In fact, the long snapper and the holder are akin to what it's like to be mayor. The long snapper and football and the holder that prepares the ball to be kicked through the upright, no one really knows them. But they know them when the operation is botched. And then when the operation is botched,

the long snapper and the holder are the fall guys in a lot of ways for the missed game-winning field goal. And currently the holder and the long snapper are Mayor Wade. And he gets verbal arrows in the chest this past week because he's the sacrificial mayor. He's the, no, the ceremonious mayor who's making 2,000 more than his counselor counterparts, but has to go and take the darts to the chest.

because he has the moniker mayor next to his name. And I hate to say this, but I think he's the one who gets the first amount of blame. And I hate to say this because he's the one who let the meeting go to Dog Doe do with Greer unconscious. He's the one that didn't stand up and say it was us counsel who said we should put this camping ordinance on the books. It wasn't the police chief or the business community, it was us. He never said that. He gets the

accountability because he has the mayor moniker. And then the remaining accountability falls on the four other counselors. And it's yet another reflection of why this job in a lot of ways is so miserable.

18, 20K a year to have half the community you hate your guts and the other half not even know who you are comments are coming in quickly neil williamson shares a link to the free enterprise forum the headline is neither charltsville's unhouse nor businesses are the enemy that's a blog post from oh you published it today neal i didn't even have a chance to read this sir neil williamson i will read this following the show my friend neither Charlottesville's unhouse nor businesses are the enemy.

As a city, some have suggested Charlottesville's in the midst of an existential crisis. The counseling group, space between defines existential crisis as, at its core, an existential crisis is a period of intense self-reflection and questioning about life's purposes, meaning, and value. It's not just about feeling sad or confused. It's a deeper exploration of who you are and why you exist. It's the self-realization that you talked about in AA, Judah. Yeah. The next paragraph in Neal's report,

the significant public outpouring of support for the un-house in opposition to a city council proposed anti-camping ordinance showcase the very real compassion the community has for our un-house friends and neighbors. In his report last week, city manager Sam Sanders provided the homeless intervention plan, which opens up with a position. He talks about the position. Then he highlights some data points from Travis Wilburne, the foot traffic. It talks about the tourism corporation.

I mean, this is what I present in the Tuesday meeting. This is, you know, what I presented in the Tuesday meeting here. I'm looking forward to reading this, Neil. We'll go to the football topic and the fact that Vinnie's Pizza is closed in Rutgersville after 37. years, right? We'll go to that in a matter of moments. We'll close with this. My bet is that we're at bottom. Well, that's a good thing. To Judas point, to Judas point, how long do we stay there? And my bet is that bottom is short-lived because of this deal that's under, that's approaching an agreement for a houseless campus, the 50-year anniversary, the $1.2 million on the clean team, the need to raise taxes and the outcry that will follow. Just, but is any of that solved?

If the houseless deal materializes off the bypass, then counsel has the leverage to empower city hall to clean up downtown. And if downtown's cleaned up, that will spill over into other pockets of the city's business quarters. Sure, but do you really see any of that materialized? before 2027? I think it'll start.

I think this deal could potentially close by the end of the year. But you would still need the outfit of the space? The outfit and outfit. And I think the outfit and the outfit happens fairly

quickly after the deal closes. Okay. Because it's the city clearing its own red tape. And I'll tell you the outfit and the outfit of this structure of this building if the city does this quickly and clears its own

red tape then that better be that efficiency better be offered to developers and remodellers and builders and contractors speculators and entrepreneurs and investors you can't clear your own red tape

and not offer the same efficiency to people in the private sector because that's hypocrisy and I also think that we also have another cherry on top for this and that the cherry that I'm torn upon is this new zoning ordinance lawsuit with the judge saying the default judgment that he's pulling it and the lawsuit can move forward and the city can now fight these plaintiffs in court

we learned at that council meeting that the the city and the law firm that's representing it, they're getting senior partners for pennies on the dollar. That doesn't mean... Senior partners for pennies on the dollar. That means

these nine plaintiffs who are suing the city they just realized that this lawsuit's going to go forward, that it's going to cost a shitload more money that they thought and that their legal team is going to be fighting the best litigators of this law firm

period. The senior partners who have the firm's name on the line. I'm still not convinced there's actually a fight here. The best thing the city can do and the best thing the plaintiffs can do, both parties, is to negotiate a peace treaty out of the courtroom. Oh, 100%. Some kind of peace treaty where the plaintiffs win,

maybe it's taking some of the commercial out of the residential districts, and some kind of peace treaty where the city wins, where they don't have to continue this ugly fight. And if that new zoning ordinance lawsuit comes to some kind of treaty, that further strengthens my argument that bottom with a trajectory upward. Because in that scenario, resolved new zoning ordinance, and that scenario, houseless epicenter off the bypass, and that scenario, 50-year mall anniversary, 1.2 million for a clean team from Kentucky, an outcry from taxes, tax increase potentially, and a need for counsel. to start getting some cahones and some balls to fight the 200 that are in the council chambers and say, we understand you're angry with us, but this is what's best for the city in totality. Look at these KPIs and how they're trending downward.

You guys are wrong here. That's what it takes. That's why I think we're on the up and up. That's why I'm willing to bet on it personally and financially and ask others to do the same. And I hope they're listening. I'll close with this. I'll close with this.

There's this interesting, there's this interesting crossroads, Judah, with like, what's the diagram? Is it the Venn diagram with the overlapping circles? Yeah. Part of that Venn diagram with the overlapping circles, if the overlapping circles is a healthy economy for Charlottesville, part of that Venn diagram is a circle for city council. A circle for City Hall. Part of that Venn diagram is a circle for the business community, a circle for the real estate community,

a circle for the activist, and part of that Venn diagram is a circle for Virginia and UVA sports. And goodness gracious, this football team's got some talent. And on Friday, they got the Florida State Seminoles. National TV ESPN. Do I think Virginia is going to win? I don't think they're going to beat the Seminoles, the top 10 team on national TV.

But Vegas has them at, was it, a 7.5 point underdog? Is that what the lower third says? Is it minus 7.5. I believe you're right. UVA is a 7.5 point underdog to a top 10 football team, ladies and gentlemen, at home. 7 and a half. You get three for playing at home.

So they call that 10.5. This football team, if it continues to do what it did against Stanford and William and Mary in Coastal Carolina and hangs tight against Florida State, it's going to start putting 60,000 people in the stands over there. And that's going to spill into basketball and Ryan Odom's program. And that's going to dovetail into Paul Manning Biotech Institute and the ecosystem that shoots off it

and AstraZeneca and Eli Lilly and Jeffrey Woodruff's Data Center. And that's going to dovetail into Rivana Station and Rivana Futures. And that's going to dovetail into what Almore County is doing well. And everyone's going to need some kind of office space and everyone's going to need some kind of business district and everyone's going to want some kind of quality of life and they're going to have some disposable income to work with. On top of that, Weldon Cooper says by the year 2050, the population, the population, now Morrill County is up ticket to 150,000 people. We're less than 120,000 right now. Where are 23, 24,000 people going to live? Scratch that. Where are 32, 33,000 people going to live?

That's better math. Where are they going to work? Trajectory's up. And some sad years, lower third on screen. 37 years later, Vinnie's Pizza is closing in Rutgersville. 37 years later, Vinnie's pizza is shunning its doors, a place where a man bled, cried within, birthed his dreams within. 37 years. Vinnie's in Rutgersville announced its closing yesterday. Sad time for the Green County community. but I'm told new life might be huffed into Vinnie's very soon

with potentially a brokered business deal that can resuscitate an iconic pizzeria in Green County. My name is Jerry Miller and it's the Monday edition of the I Love Seaville show. Jason Howard, a couple of comments. Good thing the city still has a tap into county tax revenue under the revenue-sharing agreement.

Even if they push businesses and their tax revenue out of the city, Charlottesville City can still get a taste because of that agreement. Has it been legal to annex for decades, but county residents still get taxation without representation under this grandfathered compromise. Jason Howard responds to Deep Throat, the Kroger Emmett closing will be a big blow. Has to be tens of millions in law sales, and I think we have all. the grocery stores we are going to get in this market. The odds of that space flipping into a public's doing the same sales volume and the same

tax year, if ever, are close to zero. One little tidbit, I would love to see that closed Kroger turn into potentially a homeless epicenter or campus as well, because the facility they're looking at it right now to buy is really close to that closed Kroger. Those are my words. Georgia Gilmer says this. Jason Howard was thinking the same thing, but some might start shopping at the Kroger at Barracks.

The others will be shopping in the county. The little mom-and-pop stores closing down in the past three years didn't help. It all adds up. Rose Hill Market reads, Rebecca's just to name a few. Georgia Gilmer's quality in our family. And Vanessa Parkhill says, goodness gracious, it's great to have you guys back. We love you, Vanessa Parkill. That's the Monday edition of the show.

60 minutes of content, local to your community, without taking a break for commercial to use the restroom or to catch your breath. There's only one place you get this. And it's Judah Wickower and me, Jerry Miller, and the I Love Seville Show. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.