2008.10.29
Blacksburg wins 'Go Green Virginia' award
BLACKSBURG — The town has won second place in its population category in the first annual Virginia Municipal League Go Green Virginia Challenge.
Localities were scored on performance in 11 sustainability categories such as sustainability planning, energy efficiency, green building and waste management and compared to other governments of similar size.
Charlottesville took first place in the 15,001 to 90,000 population category, with Blacksburg and James City County coming in second and third.
Full list of winners
Population under 15,000
1st place – City of Williamsburg
2nd place – Town of Dayton
3rd place – Town of Abingdon
4th place – City of Falls ChurchPopulation 15,001-90,000
1st place – City of Charlottesville
2nd place – Town of Blacksburg
3rd place – James City CountyPopulation over 90,000
1st place – City of Roanoke
2nd place – Loudoun County
3rd place – City of Alexandria
Presentation of the awards last week at the VML conference in Norfolk coincided with the town’s third annual Sustainability Week celebration.
For its second place win, Blacksburg received a plaque, certificate and $2,000 in prize money. $18,000 in cash donated by Richmond-based MoseleyArchitects was given out to this year’s winners. There was no official word Wednesday on how Blacksburg would use its winnings.
At Tuesday’s town council meeting, Mayor Ron Rordam recognized Blacksburg environmental manager Susan Garrison for her work coordinating the town’s day-to-day sustainabilty policies and practices.
Blacksburg officials had hoped to beat out Charlottesville -- home to Hokie football rival Virginia Cavaliers -- in the Go Green competition, Rordam said.
“We’ll work hard to do that next year,” Garrison said.
The city of Roanoke took first place in the over 90,000 population category, beating out Loudoun County and Alexandria.
