2018 VML Innovation Awards

This year’s winners are:

Category: ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY and PRESIDENT’S AWARD
Winner: City of Falls Church
On August 2017, the City of Falls Church launched Virginia’s first curbside collection program targeting the “last frontier” in recycling: food and organic waste. Data shows that 25-30% of the items in an average Falls Church resident’s trash is food and organic waste and the EPA estimates that this type of waste comprises 22% of all waste in landfills nationwide. Thanks to Falls Church’s initiative – which expanded access to all city households and made food waste composting as convenient as regular trash – participation rose to nearly 20% of all households (and continues to increase). This example shows how local governments can drive community and environmental improvement with the right design and leadership.

Category: LIFELONG LEARNING
Winner: Town of Leesburg
Every city has a story to tell, but the town of Leesburg has taken its storytelling to the next level by creating a walking tour app for residents and visitors who want to immerse themselves in the town’s history. Prior to the app, demand was high but regular tours were sparse; tourists were often unable to participate or had to crowd together on downtown’s narrow sidewalks. Now, with the walking tour app, individuals or small groups can guide themselves through “Highlights of Historical Leesburg” and the “African-American History Tour” at their own pace while enjoying everything Leesburg has to offer.

Category: COMMUNICATIONS
Winner: City of Fairfax
The TV/video team for the City of Fairfax was discouraged that not too many residents were watching their programming. Worse, the programming they did offer was happening after-the-fact and couldn’t be used to raise awareness about coming events. However, during the development of their new municipal website, the team noticed that most people were coming to the site via mobile and that the city’s social media traffic was increasing. Inspiration hit and the FAIRFAX CITY MINUTE – a daily, one-minute (of course), informative, entertaining video about events, issues, happening and programs in the city – was born. The approach is smart and friendly (it is embedded on Twitter and Facebook) and conveys the voice and brand of the city. The FAIRFAX CITY MINUTE has proven popular with residents and officials alike proposing story ideas and its success can be measured most tangibly by the increase in attendance at city events promoted on the program. This is a fantastic example of using existing staff and resources to engage and inform the community in a new way.

Category: COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Winner: Clifton Forge
To make way for a new facility and bring new jobs and business into the area, the town of Clifton Forge needed to remove old buildings and hazardous materials from a former CSX-owned property owned by the town since the 1990s. However, the vendor that had originally agreed to do the demolition at no cost backed out of the deal because they believed the recyclable materials onsite had been significantly depleted over the years by theft. The vendor’s decision came at a crucial point for the project with a lease/purchase agreement from a national brand signed that included a requirement for the removal of the buildings. Not wanting to lose the opportunity so close to being realized, the Town Manager worked with the Public Works Director to chart the best use of local resources to get the buildings removed on time. After prodigious effort from all involved parties, 82 truckloads of recyclable materials were sold which came very close to offsetting the cost of the entire operation. Best of all: the new tenant has invested infrastructure and created jobs in the community. A wonderful case of local government striving and succeeding when it counts.

Category: QUALITY OF LIFE
Winner: Lynchburg
Recognizing a rise in distrust in minority communities across the country, the Lynchburg Police Department (LPD) created the Community Action Team (CAT) to develop and nurture working relationships with the local government agencies, businesses and citizens of Lynchburg. CAT officers are uniquely positioned to address these issues because they do not answer radio calls and can focus on community policing. The creation of CAT did not require any budget allocations, instead it relies upon existing community resources to accomplish its mission of addressing citizen concerns while maintaining positive relationships and building trust in the community it serves. In one instance, following a shooting in a neighborhood, CAT officers canvassed the neighborhood and provided support to the LPD. This engagement resulted in the improved understanding of the citizens’ needs and resulted in dramatically lower crime-related activity in the area. Lynchburg’s CAT is truly an example of local law enforcement putting the community first.

About the Innovation Awards

The VML Innovation Awards celebrate your hometown successes and all that you do to make your city, town or county a great place to live.

The Innovation Awards recognize outstanding achievements in local governments across Virginia. This program-and its successor Achievement Awards- is 40 years old and is recognized as Virginia’s highest honor in local government creativity.

Criteria

Projects and programs are judged on how well they demonstrate the following:

Innovative problem solving
Improved quality of life
Excellence in management
Making the most of local resources
Increased citizen participation
Long-term value to the community
Adaptability to other communities

Award-winning projects typically demonstrate innovative ways of delivering services, address a community need, or significantly improve an existing service.

President’s Award for Innovation

One winning project from the category winners will be selected for the top prize – the President’s Award – and will receive this top honor in addition to the award in their category. The President’s Award can come from any of the categories listed above.

Rules for entering

All entries must be submitted electronically via email. Localities must download the entry form and fill in all of the requested information directly on the form. The completed form must then be e-mailed to mtimbreza@vml.org.

The competition is open to all VML local government members.

Entries must cover new projects or programs completed between Jan. 1, 2017 and May 1, 2018, or – for existing projects – entries must cover major enhancements that occurred between Jan. 1, 2017 and May 1, 2018.

Each entry form must be fully completed and must be signed by the local government’s chief administrative or elected official.

A local government can only submit one entry in each of the five categories. The President’s Award for Innovation is not a separate category.

Supporting materials totaling no more than 10 pages, including photos, brochures, charts, or other information, can be included in a separate document. This document must also be e-mailed. If you wish to submit one video as part of your supporting materials, send a link to the location of the video to mtimbreza@vml.org. Maximum length of video is five minutes.

Questions?

For more information about completing your entry or other details, contact VML’s Manuel Timbreza at mtimbreza@vml.org or call 804-649-8471.

The judging

Entries are screened by VML staff and judged by a panel of judges chosen for their expertise in local and state government. The judges generally represent a variety of backgrounds, including small and large localities and state agencies.

The winners

Awards will be presented at the VML annual conference in Hampton, September 30 – October 1. all winning entries will also be featured in articles in the VML Virginia Town & City.

2017 Winners

Category: COMMUNITY HEALTH and PRESIDENT’S AWARD
Winner: City of Lynchburg

In 2012, Lynchburg was named one of the most obese cities in the Nation. Mayor Joan Foster and two local pediatricians took that dubious honor as a challenge, forming Live Healthy Lynchburg to encourage healthy citizens. Rather than creating new entities, the program taps into existing resources and organizations and compiles them under a central umbrella website and campaign. They also signed up Lynchburg for the Let’s Move! campaign to reduce childhood obesity. After four years, in 2016, the city had earned a gold medal in each of five Let’s Move! focus areas. They are one of only 78 communities nationwide to earn this distinction. The campaign also has helped residents lose more than 12 tons of weight.

Category: WORKING WITH YOUTH
Winner: City of Danville

Otters in the Dan River point are a positive sign of the ecosystem’s health. The perception of the river by residents of Danville was not favorable — partially due to a coal ash spill three years ago that made national headlines. Staff decided to change the community’s view through a children’s book with two otters as the main characters. In January, Danville Parks and Recreation and the Danville Public Library released “The Dan River Twins” and distributed a copy to every fourth-grade student in Danville Public Schools. They also coordinate lesson plans, programs, and field trips around the book and plan to install signs along the river. The project was funded by a grant from the Danville Regional Foundation.

Category: INFRASTRUCTURE
Winner: Town of St. Paul

The Town of St. Paul had a forty-year-old wastewater plant compromised by age and accumulated sludge. For a town with less than 1,000 residents, replacing the facility on its own was out of the question. Instead, the town promoted the need for a new plant to its neighbors, Russell and Wise Counties, as a regional improvement. The water and sewer authorities in those counties were receptive, as they faced expansion and upgrade needs as well. St. Paul secured grants and loans for the project and designed and constructed the plant, which it owns and operates. An inter-municipal agreement shares the debt service and cost of operations. Thinking as a region rather than individual localities allowed an affordable debt service for each entity.

Category: PUBLIC SAFETY
Winner: Town of Ashland

In 2014, half of the hotels and motels in the Town of Ashland, population 7,500, were catering to long-term residents. Several ranked in the top-5 for the highest calls for emergency service, usually the result of criminal activity. The town also understood that families and children lived in these blighted motels and were victims of the conditions around them. Town staff, faith leaders, human service providers, and citizens worked to develop a local ordinance restricting long-term residences in motels and improve the health, safety, and welfare of people living in them. The ordinance reduced calls for service to the smallest percentage from motels in over a decade. The town recouped 244 hours of police time. A non-profit organization, Ashland Open Door, found apartments or single-family rental homes for 32 families (119 individuals) who had been living in motels. The town also has commitments for two new hotels to be built on the site of three currently blighted structures.

Category: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Winner: Roanoke County

In 2013, Roanoke County acquired the property of a failed living history museum adjacent to the Blue Ridge Parkway. The county re-opened Explore Park as a passive recreation facility but saw greater opportunity. After significant community outreach, Roanoke County developed a master plan to spur economic development through adventure- and recreation-based tourism on the property. In addition to a business plan and an environmental study, the plan has maps, renderings, and conceptual placements of desired attractions. A phasing report depicts a timeline for planning, design, and construction of amenities within the park over the next 20 years. These efforts have already yielded positive returns for Roanoke County. A request for proposals to develop the park generated substantial interest from local and national businesses.

Category: COMMUNICATIONS
Winner: City of Danville

Communication with citizens is a necessary and challenging part of every government entity’s operations. The City of Danville has achieved success live-streaming events on the Facebook page of River City TV, its government access channel. In addition to covering city meetings, Danville employs Facebook LIVE for economic development announcements, ribbon-cutting ceremonies, police incidents, and severe weather events. They also hosted a LIVE interview with the city manager on the FY2018 budget and share recordings with local media. Views per video can number in the thousands and higher. In the year since adding Facebook LIVE to its communication strategies, the number of followers to the City’s page has grown to 11,000 followers, one-fourth of the city’s population. The page also has received 2.7 million video views.

2016 Winners

Economic Development Award AND President’s Award
The Town of Bridgewater for Generations Park

Bridgewater’s Generations Park is an example of a small town thinking bigger than its size. Completed just last year, the park provides a first class destination for visitors and locals – the Shenandoah Valley’s only public ice skating rink. In warm weather, the rink is used for farmers’ markets, concerts, movies and other events. The town provided space for a restaurant which is projected to generate enough meals tax to nearly pay for the park. More retail spaces are in the works. Generations Park has given this small community a great place to gather while also drawing crowds from beyond its borders.

Infrastructure Award
The City of Norton for Community Gateway and Walking Trail

The City of Norton turned a community threat into an opportunity when an abandoned mining highwall began to deteriorate. In the process of replacing the wall, the city not only ensured a safe route between schools and downtown, but also created a beautiful entrance to the city and added a multi-use walking and biking trail.

Public Safety Award
The City of Newport News for the Summer Training and Enrichment Program

As part of the city’s Youth and Gang Violence Prevention initiative, the STEP program has provided summer employment training and placement for hundreds of at-risk youth ages 16-24. The city budgeted general fund dollars to secure all of the wages and partnered with 64 private sector businesses, non-profits and other groups to provide the summer jobs for youth.

Working with Youth Award
The Town of Warrenton for the Student Postcard Project

Warrenton’s Student Postcard Project was based on the simple principle that students of today are the community leaders of tomorrow. Through the project, the town meaningfully engaged children from kindergarten through high school in planning for its future as part of the public input process for its comprehensive plan. In civics, art and English classes, students were asked to identify their favorite places in town and what they hoped their town could be like in 25 years. More than 1,000 students contributed to a stunning display. The project succeeded in educating the next generation about their role in local government and gave them a voice in planning for its future.

Communications Award
City of Harrisonburg for the Safety Sally Campaign

Creative minds within the Harrisonburg Fire Department capitalized on the popularity of the “Elf on the Shelf” holiday tradition and introduced Safety Sally last December. In 24 days of mischief, Sally was featured on social media showing the troubles she had gotten into along with tips on how to avoid danger and prevent injuries. The campaign targeted children and their parents with these fun safety lessons. In addition to the social media sensation, Sally was interviewed by all of the local media and captured a following among young and old alike.

2015 Winners

President’s Award (top honor)
The Town of Halifax for the Banister River Gateway Project

Population under 5,000
The Town of Shenandoah for its Community Computer Center

Population 5,000 – 10,000
The Town of Marion for Pop Up Marion – a downtown economic revitalization program

Population 10,000 – 35,000
The City of Fredericksburg for its Gun Give-Back Program

Population 35,000 – 90,000
The Town of Leesburg for Dept. of Utilities customer service enhancements

Population 90,000 +
The City of Portsmouth for an Area Report Card

The Communications Award
The City of Virginia Beach for rebranding of the Virginia Beach Landfill and Resource Recovery Center