The Central Virginia Transportation Authority approved three formal actions at its meeting: a project agreement for a Chesterfield-administered Otterdale Road project, acceptance of the authority’s annual audit with a clean opinion, and a vote to begin the off‑cycle review of a City of Richmond funding request for the Diamond District redevelopment.

The votes affect projects and finances across the Richmond region. The Chesterfield project agreement covers improvements between Otterdale Road and Woodlake Village Parkway with a listed total project cost of $32,801,076 and will be administered by Chesterfield County. Auditors presented an unmodified (clean) opinion on CBTA’s financial statements and reported no findings in internal controls or compliance. Separately, the CBTA directed its Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) to validate a City of Richmond off‑cycle funding request and asked staff to explore potential funding sources for that request, which the city estimates at $12,900,000 for FY 2026–27 for Phase 1a of the Diamond District.

The Chesterfield project agreement was introduced as the first action item and came to the full authority with a recommendation from the finance committee and the Technical Advisory Committee. The motion approved the project agreement for construction and reimbursement scheduling; staff noted the project will be administered by Chesterfield County and that Chesterfield has additional matching funds for the work. The roll call vote recorded affirmative votes from members present and the motion carried.

Auditor Michael Garber of PB Mears presented the audit. Garber said the authority received a “clean opinion” on its financial statements and reported no findings in the internal control and compliance review. Garber also noted that, in the most recent fiscal year, roughly $33 million of CBTA regional expenditures—of about $36 million total regional spending—went to VDOT for the Route 64 widening project, as described in the audit footnotes.

On the City of Richmond request, staff described the $12.9 million request as an off‑cycle submission to help fund transportation infrastructure tied to the Diamond District Phase 1a, including traffic signals, water infrastructure and streetscaping on streets labeled in the packet as “Road J” and “Road C.” Staff said the request is timely for FY 2026 and FY 2027 and recommended that TAC validate the off‑cycle need while CBTA staff explore funding sources. The body voted to send the request to TAC for validation and to have staff research potential sources, a procedural step that preserves the authority’s formal regional evaluation process for projects outside the regular application cycle.

Votes at a glance:
- Chesterfield project agreement (Otterdale Road between Otterdale Road and Woodlake Village Parkway): motion to approve project agreement; administration by Chesterfield County; total project cost listed as $32,801,076; recommended by TAC and finance committee; outcome: approved (roll call vote recorded).
- Audit report (fiscal year audit by PB Mears): motion to accept the audit report and the auditor’s unmodified opinion; auditor reported no findings in internal controls or compliance; outcome: approved (roll call vote recorded).
- City of Richmond off‑cycle funding request (Diamond District Phase 1a): motion to direct TAC to validate the off‑cycle request and for staff to explore funding sources for a $12,900,000 regional funding request needed in FY 2026–27; outcome: approved (roll call vote recorded).

The authority’s actions leave several follow‑up tasks. Staff will work with the administering localities to schedule reimbursements and confirm project spend‑down plans for regional allocations; TAC will begin the off‑cycle validation for Richmond’s request and report back; and CBTA staff and the finance committee will continue to monitor investment and interest income that staff flagged separately. The audit approval does not require further action beyond standard follow‑up on any routine auditor recommendations (none were identified in the presentation).

Meeting observers and members noted the votes were taken by roll call. The authority’s packet and staff reports include the detailed project descriptions, the audit report and supporting materials for the Richmond request.