Animals

 

During the afternoon session of their August 4 meeting, Goochland supervisors congratulated the Goochland Department of Animal Care and Protection for earning a fourth consecutive no kill award from the Best Friends Animal Society, a national nonprofit dedicated to ending the killing of dogs and cats in America’s shelters. The No-Kill award is given annually to organizations that have achieved a save rate of 90% or higher.

Deputy County Administrator for Operations Elizabeth McDonald said that the Goochland shelter achieved an outstanding 97 percent survival rate. “This is no small accomplishment and reflects the commitment, compassion, and professionalism our staff supported by volunteers and dedicated veterinary partners.”

If you’re looking to add a furry friend to your family, please visit the Goochland Animal Sheler. Go to https://www.goochlandva.us/299/Animal-Protection to learn more. Also visit https://goochlandpetlovers.com/ the site of the local non-profit that works with the shelter.

During its evening session, the Board held a public hearing on proposed animal code ordinance amendments. Job Greene, Director of Animal Protection, explained that the amendments were proposed to restore legal enforceability, decriminalize minor infractions, and maintain officer discretion when dealing with animal control issues.

Greene explained that the revisions would make the ordonnances work the way they were intended, in a clear, fair, and effective way while preserving the department’s ability to educate and work with residents. The ordinance revisions will give animal protection the tools it needs. Over the years, Green explained, ordinances as written, are difficult to enforce, inconsistent with the way that animal protection approaches compliance, or unnecessarily challenging for officers and citizens.

The first three infractions are regulatory. They are failure to inoculate dogs and cats against rabies; dogs running at large without a license fixed to their collar; and failure to pay a license tax for dogs. The proposed amendment revisions change the penalty for these infractions from a Class 4 misdemeanor, which imposes fines, but not jail time and are noted on an individual’s criminal record, to civil penalties with escalating fees for initial and subsequent violations.

The revisions would improve compliance by resolving violations quickly with civil citations; reduce demands on court and related law enforcement resources; allow enforcement resources to focus on cases involving cruelty, neglect, dangerous animals and other threats to public safety; provide penalties proportionate to offenses while maintaining accountability; and preserve criminal penalties for serious or repeat offense that warrant stronger enforcement.

Changes to chapter 3 of the animal ordinance states that “livestock, poultry, and other fowl must remain on the property of owner. It is unlawful for any person to allow or permit any livestock or fowl owned by him or her or under the control of him or her to stray to any highway, public property, or private premises of another.”

The proposed amended removes the requirement for three prior violations and makes each violation separately enforceable. Greene said that animal protection officers would continue to use discretion to issue warnings of violation depending on the individual circumstances. The change would restore enforceability of the ordinance while giving officers the flexibility to seek voluntary compliance whenever possible. Virgina law does not authorize counties to impose a civil penalty for this kind of violation, so explained Greene, retaining criminal enforcement is necessary.

Greene said that officers typically give people time to rectify a violation after issuing a warning before they return to ensure compliance.

A local fourth generation farmer said that it is important to him to own livestock and keep the community safe. He raised concerns about the timeline as most farmers must have jobs that take them away from their farms, making it difficult to immediately correct problems. He cited weather related conditions like destruction of fences that could make it hard to return the animals to their rightful place. Some farmers pasture livestock on widely separated parcels of land that make it hard to check on all of their animals in a timely manner.

Another speaker wondered if it is a per penalty. Owners of animals that damage other people’s property or cause accidents by being on a road must be held accountable. Circumstances of how animals escape might also need to be considered when determining culpability.

Greene said that an officer must see the animal out to justify a summons. “This is for us an issue of people who do not keep their animals contained, repeated negligence. We understand and make allowances for weather related incidents.”

Enforcement is complaint driven to correct problems, like a neighbor’s chickens repeatedly pooping on your porch, or someone else’s pig eating your cucumbers. Cows and horses in the middle of a road are a safety concern, but sometimes, they get out. Citations are given per incident, not per animal.

Greene said that currently animal control has no enforceable code to bring offenders into compliance and that hobby farmers tend to cause more problems than commercial farmers, who value and care for their livestock.

The supervisors took the concerns of the farmers to heart and voted unanimously to reduce all noted penalties to civil violations and encouraged animal control to have further discussions with local farmers, perhaps through Goochland Farm Bureau, to look for other ways to address the matter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Proffers

 

At their August 4 meeting, Goochland supervisors announced that they will hold a strategic planning retreat on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, starting at 9:00 a.m. at Luck Stone, 343 River Road, Manakin-Sabot. See the county website https://www.goochlandva.us/ for details.

Following a presentation by Principal Planner Ramzi Farhat about an update to the county’s capital impact model, which is used to determine cash proffer amounts, the board voted unanimously to deny adoption pending further analysis.

Farhat thanked all who provided input in the almost yearlong update project including department heads, staff, the county attorney, and stakeholders.

The capital impact model is used to determine the real cost burden that new residential development, as the result of rezoning, places on infrastructure including schools, roads, parks, and public safety. These costs are used to calculate impact fees, including “voluntary” cash proffers, paid by developers to offset increased need for public facilities.

Goochland adopted a cash proffer policy in 2002.This is a per home amount a developer may “volunteer” to pay to have a residential rezoning project approved. In theory the policy is voluntary.

Cash proffers are a small part of an overall funding strategy and should not be regarded as a total solution for infrastructure financing needs. Therefore, other strategies and revenue sources are needed to offset the impact on infrastructure from new homes.

Go to https://www.goochlandva.us/1463/Proffers to https:

This policy applies only to residential rezoning. Commercial rezoning applications, which do not add children to the school system, typically proffer site specific upgrades to infrastructure including roads and utilities. Impacts must be attributable to a specific development. For instance, as age restricted communities are prohibited from having residents under 19 years of age, school proffers cannot be attributed to them.

Following a 2016 change in state law, Goochland County compiled a 25 year look ahead capital improvement plan. This included projected needs for schools, fire-rescue stations, roads, parks, and items costing more than $50k with a useful life of more than five years like fire-rescue apparatus. The data in this CIP, which is periodically updated to deal with inflation, is part of the computation of the impact model.

The proposed update to the policy includes a detailed study of all the components and conditions that apply to calculation of proffers. The document begins on page 85 of the August 4 board packet.

Farhat explained that a student generation rate was used to determine residential rezoning impact on schools and that a new category for age restricted multifamily was added. As school funding is a significant part of the county budget, this is important. Age restricted communities have dramatically increased the volume of EMS response, which was underweighted in previous iterations of the impact model. A geographic component was also added to consider the differing demographic trends in each part of the county.

When land is rezoned for a subdivision, the proffer amount in effect on the date of approval becomes part of its creation ordinance and includes an escalator clause. Lots already approved are not impacted by this update. It would apply to future rezonings only.

According to Farhat, the median house price in Goochland in 2019 was $391,000, making the $23,706 average cash proffer 6.1 percent of the house price. In 2026, the median house price is $646,935 making the average cash proffer of $31,704 4.9 percent of the price.

The supervisors commended Farhat and his team for the thoroughness of the report. However, there was discussion about how proffers impact housing prices and residential growth.

Charlie Vaughters District 4 asked how jurisdictions across the country deal with the issue. Virginia explained the consultant from Tischler Bise, which was retained by the county for the study, is unique in the trigger methodology it uses to assess proffers. Other places use a similar mechanism to calculate a static impact fee schedule applied to all new construction. These are dynamic models that analyze both operational and capital expenditures needed by new development. Virginia just looks at capital impacts.

Jonathan Lyle, District 5 pointed out that a developer could decline to offer cash proffers during a rezoning action, leaving it up to the supervisors to decide whether to approve the rezoning without offering any funds for capital impact mitigation. This has never happened. He said that it is appropriate for people moving to the county to help pay for the increase in capital costs generated by their arrival but the should be as little as possible.

Vaughters contended that more detailed discussion about conflicting data on the impact of cash proffers on assessment versus escalating new home costs is needed. “At the end of the day, in my mind, this is a tax. We want to make sure that the taxes are collected appropriately and do not price people out of the market. Assessments are also an ongoing issue. There is a lot to look into. We cannot say that approval of this will solve the problem.”

He commended Farhat and staff for putting together a diverse stakeholder group of residents, developers, and businesses to provide positive meaningful feedback and analysis. He said that the capital impact model data should flow through all development discussions.

Spoonhower contended that this is not the right tool to recover costs and manage growth. “This creates a bad product in my district.”

He said that the cash proffer policy, access management, and other development fees discourage orderly development in the western part of the county. “Instead of having folks clustered together you get driveway after driveway on main thoroughfares. Ending the policy is not going to make or break Goochland’s budget. Let’s get something that ensures that the people move in here pay a fraction of the cost incurred.”

Board Chair Jonathan Christy, District 1 agreed that the capital impact model is a critical tool to analyze the true cost of residential development and the deficit that each new home creates and that the county needs to find a way to fill that hole. He said that the proffer policy does not slow residential growth but incentivizes by right development.

It seems likely that this subject will be addressed during the August 12 retreat.

The next skirmish

 

Ad hominem—look it up—attacks in comment will not be published. The anonymous commenter who called GOMM a coward for not posting their ugly remarks might want to check the definition of irony.

So tired of  the arrogant condescension of people who bought into developer fables that a townhouse in a business park is rural. 

On July 23, we got some details about the pre-application filed by Tract for the Tuckahoe Technology Park (TTP) on approximately 871 acres east of Hockett Road, north of Rt. 6 and west of Mosaic, the 55+ residential enclave in west Creek, at a community meeting.  This is the first step in the process to secure a conditional use permit (CUP) to build a data center campus there.

Go to https://www.tuckahoetechparkinfo.com/ for details.

It seemed like most of Mosaic and Readers Branch, attired in cute red tee shirts, turned out for the event. At a rally they contended that the county should grow tomatoes not data centers. This illustrates profound ignorance about Goochland—crops here include soybeans, corn, and wheat. There is a large dairy farm in Manakin Sabot. Cattle are raised and a meat processing plant is under construction. These keep much of the county rural, but are taxed at land use rates, a per acre amount determined at the state level; to help them stay in business so they’re not tempted to sell their land to developers.

The initiative to increase the county’s commercial to residential tax ratio from its current roughly 82/18 to 70/30 has been a goal of the supervisors for some time to pay for needed services and infrastructure without increasing tax rates. Until the more than 1,000 vacant, zoned residential lots are built out and the tax ratio is much closer to 70/30, the county needs to “pause” all residential rezoning applications. One more time for the refugees from Long Island, houses consume more in local government services than they generate in real estate taxes.

Goochland has enormous capital needs, something that data center opponents ignore or do not care about.

The July 23 session provided some, but not enough, clarity on the proposal. At least one more community meeting, ideally to share revisions made in response to community input, is needed before a formal CUP application is filed. This is how the process works. There were at least three community meetings for the Highfield subdivision over a period of several years before a final vote was taken.

Kara Bowyer, director of entitlements for Tract, said that data centers built in TTP will be air cooled, a requirement that will be part of the CUP language, making it law. She also estimated that the amount of water used during construction and ongoing operations, for things like restrooms, would be roughly the equivalent of 36 homes, using a 333 gallon per day average. All water servicing TTP will be municipally supplied by the Tuckahoe Creek Service District, which is surface water drawn from the James River. It will have no impact on groundwater. So, opponents can stop posting photos of icky water coming out of faucets on social media.

Speaking of groundwater, how is it affected by the herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, and other “cides” that maintain the sodded lawns and landscaping in the enclaves for the affluent that leach into the soil? Why is no one asking that question?

Bowyer also said that there will be no natural gas power generation on the site, which is curious given that the site is bisected by a natural gas line.

Tract, according to the presentation, is in the business of building pad ready sites for data centers. This was likened to shopping center developers who rezone land, build parking lots, road access, and structures for future tenants. The TTP, as presented in the pre app, is a “conceptual master plan” that applied the requirements of the TOD/TZ to the subject parcels, probably using software. That explains the vagueness of the “conceptual bubble plan”. The exhibits for TTP are “conceptual” in nature, which is why there are no “elevations” to illustrate future buildings or where they will be placed. Bowyer said that the floor area ratio (FAR) of buildings to land area will be low, estimated at about ten percent of the 871 acres.  Even estimates for building locations would be helpful.

 Bowyers explained that vertical construction will not start until a source of adequate power to the site is identified and secured, which will take at least three years.  The power line extension recently approved to service the Eli Lilly facility in West Creek, is the “best guess” for the most likely connection, said Bowyer. Three power substations, each with a 300-mw capacity, would be needed to run the data centers. Potential locations for these are illustrated.

Tract will clear the site, build road access, infrastructure, and maybe pour concrete pads for buildings, whose use, construction, and precise location would be determined by end users as yet unknown. Conditions of the CUP become law. Any changes would require another full CUP process.

What happens in the meantime? If Tract clears the land, puts in roads and other infrastructure, but the demand for data center sites goes away, what will Goochland be left with? How much of the site will be clear cut? We don’t need a Motorola redux.

The zoning will not change from its current A-2. Projections for tax revenue generated by the project suggest that assessed valuation will increase when the use changes from A-2 to “commercial” after the first building is occupied. Does this mean that the county gleans little additional revenue apart from various permit fees on the land in the interim? Tax revenue projections indicate that assessed valuations will increase from the 2025 amount of $13,954 to $22.9 million in “year 1” which is the first year after a building is constructed.  The most significant tax revenue will be generated by personal property tax levied on the equipment in the buildings, again with significant increases after ‘year 1” whenever that is.

No answer was available to the query about land use taxation “clawbacks” for some of the parcels. Typically, when property in land use taxation— used for agricultural or forestal  purposes— is rezoned for a higher use, a “clawback” payment of the difference between land use taxation, based on a per acre rate determined at the state level, and taxes based on fair market valuation for the previous five years is due. If the CUP is approved, the “highest and best use” of the property has changed, and the assessed value should increase accordingly.

Eli Lilly recently closed on the West Creek parcel for about $38 million, an increase of about $13 million over its assessed valuation as of January 1, 2026, which should impact county tax revenue in the coming months.

When will an increase in local tax revenue for the 871 acres kick in? This information needs to be part of the calculus used in the final decision. This land has been designated for economic development for decades.  It was referred to as SPEDA (southern economic development area) for decades and featured prominently in the southern infrastructure study begun in early 2023.

In response to a question about posting bonds to fund decommissioning of data centers at the end of their useful life, as is required of cell towers, the Bowyers contended said that data centers are warehouses full of computer equipment and when that equipment is removed, they can be used for other purposes.

Opponents would prefer the site to be used for office buildings, for which there is little current market demand. For example, the former Federal Reserve facility in West Creek, a beautiful turnkey headquarters, has been on the market for a while.

Serious concerns about sound, including constant humming and especially from generators were raised. The explanation was that generator use is regulated by the state, but data centers must operate 24/7, so in emergencies, generators would run continually, not for intermittent testing. More detail on this is needed. Many of the examples cited by opponents seem to be based on older facilities and those that were retrofitted from other uses.

Concerns about emissions from data centers and generators were glossed over by saying that they will dissipate in the air. Really?  This reply was lame at best. The impact on air quality within perhaps a half mile of generators running for extended periods should be compared to that within the same distance from vehicle emissions on 288 during high traffic periods to put it into perspective.

 

 

 

Group think

 

GOMM has been excoriated for daring to enable comment in support of data centers instead of adhering to anti-data center group think. GOMM supports robust economic development in the designated growth area, including data centers of an appropriate scale and never west of Hockett Road. Doesn’t anyone wonder where the sensational anti-data center “facts” that flood the internet comes from?

Remarks made during citizen comment period for both the afternoon and evening sessions of the Goochland Board of Supervisors’ July 7 meeting were fascinating.

Comments made during the meeting about the rise of artificial intelligence ranged from it will provide transformational improvement to every facet of our lives to that AI is devil’s work. Data center opponents presented comments supporting their viewpoint quoting information gleaned from the internet. The bullying mob even screamed “liar” at a comment that contradicted their narrative. Threats, subtle and overt, were made to the supervisors that if they dare to go against the “will of the people”, which has apparently been decided by about 2/30^th of the county population, they will be thrown out of office.

Some speakers said the quiet part out loud.

One Mosaic resident complained about water issues and contended that purchasing his home “bailed out” a failing business park. He went on to whine that there is nothing here, including schools, and said that Goochland does not even have “real” police. Sheriff Creasey and our fine deputies would be surprised to learn that. This gentleman might want to sign up for the next session of the Sheriff's Academy https://www.goochlandsheriff.com/citizens-academy-information to learn about law enforcement in Goochland.

Homes cost local governments more in services than they generate in real estate taxes. Filling West Creek with homes would make the problem worse. That’s why we need more commercial development.

Another speaker contended that Goochland is doing just fine with minimal resources so there is really no hurry to build any capital projects until revenue from the Amazon and Eli Lilly facilities kicks in. The county will finance $114 million capital projects in the next three years. This year’s operations budget could not fund many items, including 11 additional fire-rescue providers needed to keep up with increasing demand for service. When station 8, under construction, and station 7 soon to follow, go online more people will be needed to staff them 24/7. Real estate taxes, at the current rate, will not fund those.

As this was the first meeting since the announcement that a pre-application for conditional use permit had been filed to build a data center campus

( https://www.goochlandva.us/1480/Tuckahoe-Technology-Park) on more than 870 acres between Hockett Road and West Creek, it was no surprise that anti data center sentiments were plentiful and angry. Keep an eye out for updates to  https://www.tuckahoetechparkinfo.com/ a site put up by the applicant. The first community meeting on this proposal will be held on July 23 beginning at 6 p.m. at Goochland High School. Ideally, it will provide specifics to help citizens understand what is really being proposed and counter hysteria with fact.

GOMM was not in favor of adding the 871 acres to the TOD/TZ. However, the stipulation that any data center there must obtain a conditional use permit is an opportunity for Goochland to prove its intention of “doing data centers right” with minimal impact on residents. The CUP process can impose site specific standards.

Bus trips to real data centers should be provided by the applicant so people, especially Mosaic residents, can see and hear what they look like instead of relying on sensational, probably AI generated, photos and articles pulled from the internet.

The application has a lot of information which could be clearer.

For instance, we need tangible local examples of existing 60- and 80-foot-high buildings to gauge their impact on the view shed. How big is a 500-foot buffer? Even using the setback of the high school from Rt. 6 would help.  Will the land in question be clear cut, or will just enough trees be cleared for the structures? A graphic that clearly illustrates the topography of the parcels without the trees to illustrate if the proposed structures will be level with, higher than, or lower than Mosaic is needed. Surely, software exists to provide this.

Will the data center buildings blend into the trees like the CarMax headquarters?

Sound is a huge concern. Baffles and significant mitigation measures to contain continuous hums and noise from internal equipment and external generators must be mandated to minimize if not eliminate sound.

Does the project need eight buildings? Could it function with as few as three, no higher than 60 feet well away from Mosaic hidden in the trees?

The main access from Rt. 6 seems to be in the dip east of Hockett Road. Will log trucks use this to access the site during construction and how will traffic disruption be mitigated? The Rt. 6/Hockett Road intersection is a mess at afternoon rush hour; will the project improve this area?

Water will be provided by the Tuckahoe Creek Service District, not ground water. The applicant needs to provide a clear estimate of how much will be used.  

If the project releases emissions, mitigation to prevent adverse health impacts must be mandated.

 

 

 

 

 

July board highlights

 

Gary, Darcy, and Oliver Kiesinger, guardians of  a witness tree that dates from 1776 with Robin Lind and Manny Alvarez (r)

Basking in the cool down—90 instead of triple digits—Goochland’s board of supervisors began its July 7 meeting with reflections about the late Susan Lascolette, who served as District 1 supervisors for 2012 to 2023.

County Administrator Dr. Jeremy Raley gave a wrap up on Goochland’s observances of the nation’s 250^th birthday. “Mother Nature was on our side as we waited and waited to shoot off the fireworks when it cooled off, to make it a very special day,” he said of the county’s exquisite pyrotechnic display. Raley recognized and thanked the Parks &Rec staff for its many hours of hard work setting up, painting the field, putting up banners, and the tear down. He commended the purchasing staff for its role in the special fireworks show and expressed profound gratitude to our public safety team, fire-rescue and the sheriff’s office for keeping people safe and handling traffic. “It was a testament to the excellence of Goochland County and how we all can come together and do something special.”

Some stats about the day. In the afternoon 120 people attended the Goochland 250 event at the sports complex gym, which included a reading of the Declaration of Independence. An estimated 6,546 people watched the fireworks in person. There were more than 22,000 combined views of the two fireworks’ livestream. More than 1,100 fireworks lit our night sky.

As is his custom, Raley recognized achievements of staff members including Scott Foster, Director of General Services who recently earned his Facility Management credential; Jon-Mikel Whalen and Ramzi Farhat for earning the certified zoning administrator credential; and Adam Barber. Raley said that these staff members have earned these credentials outside of normal working hours to further the county commitment to excellence.

The Goochland Day Foundation reported that feedback from vendors and participants was positive, indicating that the event was successful. Goochland Day cost about $40k and generated a profit of approximately $14k. That will enable the Goochland Day Foundation to fund scholarships and contribute to the Goochland Cares domestic violence response program. Most county departments participated in the success of the day, which was attended by 6,000 people. Parks & Rec and building inspection got special notice for their contributions.

Goochland Day 2027 will be on more level surfaces to deal with ADA issues, and the “old GES field”, which needs a new name, to increase enjoyment for all. It will be a lead up to the county’s 300^th anniversary and have a theme of “hometown heroes” to honor people, businesses, and entities who have made a positive impact on Goochland.

The Hon. Manuel Alvarez, chair of the Goochland 250 Commission echoes Raley’s thanks to Park& Rec, as well as Jessica Kronberg, Paul Drumwright, and Raley who read part of the Declaration. He also recognized donors including Short Pump Honda (it’s in Goochland!), PFG, Wegmans, and the Chamber of Commerce

Robin Lind, President of the Goochland Historical Society https://goochlandhistory.org/ reported on the results of the Witness Tree Challenge, started earlier in the year, to identify trees at least 250 years old. Tree nominations were evaluated by drilling a core into the center of the tree and counting rings, one for each year of growth. The “Thomas Knarr poplar” was determined to have started to grow in 1752. The “Boyle white oak” dated to 1740. The “Luke Knarr Oak” dates to 1677. The Kiesinger White oak started its life in 1776, the same year as our nation. This tree is epical, said Lind, because the family that owns this tree has loved it and created a montage of the tree in all seasons. Gary, Darcy, and Oliver Kiesinger, owners of the tree were presented with a certificate of recognition.

The supervisors approved a proclamation declaring July Parks and Recreation month. In addition to its support for special events, the department provides facilities and program to improve the health and well being of our citizens years round. In FY26, the department provided services for over 5,000 program registrants, and over 400,000 visitors. The parks & rec team under the leadership of Tom Cocke received well deserved recognition as county team of the quarter.

Rookie of the quarter was Marcello Forehand, who, on Tuesday, was assistant director of public utilities but has since been promoted to director of the department. Since joining the county in March, he has hit the ground running and pitched in to solve a tricky connection issue.

Barbra Ransome from Social Services was named employee of the quarter. Transportation Manager Patrick Longerbeam was named customer service leader of the quarter for, among other actions, his work with a local HOA to solve a traffic issue to make roads safer.

Fire-rescue battalion chief Brandon Proffitt was named leader of the quarter. Among his many accomplishments, Proffitt spearheaded installation of a new ‘burn building” at the Henley Fire-Rescue Training center.

Director of Strategic Communications Jessice Kronberg presented the newly implemented civic clerk system to provide greater access to county information including agendas. Lisa Beczkiewicz and Ashley Parker worked really hard behind the scenes collaborating with Kronberg, Dan Stowers and Treanor Oliver to bring this to fruition. Go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evY2miOCdVA for a short video showing how to use the new system.

The consent agenda included authorization to set public hearings for August 4. These include an ordinance amendment about livestock “running at large”, an ordinance amendment for sewer connections; various budget transfers and appropriations; endorsement of applications for VDOT Smart Scale funding; and land acquisition in Crozier for a replacement for the Company 2 fire-rescue station.

Public hearings

·         A conditional use application for a short-term rental at 443 Woods Acres Road in District 4 was approved

·         A real estate easement across the fire-rescue training center to provide road access to a land locked parcel was granted.

·         An amendment to the FY 27 budget to transfer and appropriate up to $2.7 million for architecture and engineering services and owner’s representative services for improvements to the high school middle school complex, including for career and technical education, declaring the county’s official intent to reimburse these expenditures from the proceeds of future bond issues was approved.

Closed session

The board met in closed session in the afternoon to discuss specific plans to protect public safety with legal counsel and law enforcement officials as permitted by Virginia Code § 2.2-3711(A)(19), for the purpose of discussing specific plans to protect public safety by legal counsel and law enforcement officials

The board met in closed session in the evening in accordance with the provisions of Virginia Code §§ 2.2-3711(A)(7) and 2.2-3711(A)(1), for the purpose of discussing pending litigation, and the performance and duties of the County Administrator and County Attorney.

 

 

 

A Goochland Fourth

What July 4th is all about

Joint Sheriff's Office and Fire-Rescue honor guard

Kendall Hutchinson sang National Anthem

Taps played after volley by American Legion Post 215

 

Manny Alvarez (at podium) Master of Ceremonies

Hunter Wilson, Mike Wilson, Manny Alvarez, Robin Lind, Amanda Adams, Jeff Mabry, Rhonda Shannon, Bob Warwick some speakers

Blistering heat did not stop Goochland on July 4. Our celebration was wonderful, made possible by many people who worked long and hard on a holiday. Some random observations on the day.

Special gratitude, above and beyond that which they deserve every day, goes to our public safety team. Instead of marking our nation’s 250^th birthday with friends and family, our dispatchers; deputies; fire-rescue providers, both career and volunteer; and parks and rec staff worked tirelessly, many on just a few hours’ sleep, to make Goochland’s celebration our nation memorable.

The Goochland 250 Commission, lead by Manuel Alvarez, moved Independence on the Green, a celebration of the Declaration of Independence, to air-conditioned comfort in the sports complex gym with the extensive help of Parks & Rec. For Alvarez, who emigrated to our country as a teenager fleeingcommunist oppression in Cuba, the freedoms we enjoy as Americans are not an abstraction.

Thanks to the many intrepid citizens who braved the heat to attend.

A joint Sheriff’s Office Fire-Rescue honor guard presented the colors, resplendent in exquisite dress uniforms.

The Declaration of Independence, written by Goochland’s own Thomas Jefferson, was read in its entirety by members of the community: Dr. Jeremy Raley, Andrew Meiller, Ellie Creasey, and Rhonda Shannon. The deleted passage dealing with the selling of slaves, was read by Jeff Mabry, a descendant of a revolutionary war soldier. Ms. Shannon’s passionate delivery channeled the anger and frustration of the colonists with King George III.

Bob Warwick gave a simple inclusive invocation and benediction.

Reenactor Mike Wilson, in Revolutionary war uniform, spoke about Goochlanders who participated in the struggle for independence. Their names are listed in the latest issue of the Goochland County Historical Society Magazine.

Robin Lind, President of the Goochland Historical Society announced the winners of the Witness Tree Challenge, which identified three trees that have been growing in the county for at least 250 years and been witness to the history of our nation.

Clerk of the Court Amanda Adams assisted by Kendall Hutchinson, who also sang the National Anthem, read the names and rang a bell for each of the 13 original colonies at 2:50 p.m. as part of the National Bell Festival.

There was ice cream, introduced to America by Mr. Jefferson, for all at the conclusion of the program. Kudos to the GVA 250 Commission members for staging the program including many behind the scene contributions of James Richmond, Executive Director of the Goochland Historical Society.

The VA250 “America Made in Virginia” program in Williamsburg was livestreamed in the gym beginning at 8 p.m.

Saving the best for last, Goochland fireworks were shot off beginning at 9:15 p.m. The display was better than ever! Go to https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1JcTny6Wdx/  to watch.

The superb cat herding skills of our amazing deputies deftly guided fireworks watchers on their way.

It was truly a day to savor and remember.

 

 

 

Celebrate America!

 

Please join the Goochland 250 Commission to celebrate America's 250th birthday.

Citizens will read the Declaration of Independence, results of the Witness Tree Challenge will be shared, Goochland Patriots who participated in the Revolution will be recognized, and a bell will be rung 13 times in concert with bells across the nation.

Due to the forecast of extreme heat, the program will be held inside the Sports Complex gym.