Listening

Listening

The April 3 meeting of the Goochland County Board of Supervisors was short and involved lot of listening.

No citizens came forward during the afternoon session to express interest in the interim appointment to the District 3 supervisor seat, to take the place of the late Ned Creasey until a special election to fill the seat for the remainder of the term is held on November 6.

During the evening session, two District 3 residents Shawn Creasey and Charles Lyda, expressed interest in the appointment.

Lyda, a recent graduate of the University of Virginia, recognized that Ned Creasey’s strong sense of morality and leadership was a great asset to Goochland. Lyda said that community service has long been his passion. He is an enrolled Native American and served as president of the Native American Student Union while at UVa. He contended that he is not a stranger to working on a board and has experience interacting with local government in Charlottesville. He served on Board interacting with various bodies while at UVa. He pledged that nothing less than his greatest effort would be put forth if he were chosen to fill the vacancy.

Shawn Creasey is a son of the late supervisor. He is currently a Goochland Deputy and said that he has lived in the county for more than 40 years, and District 3 for 27. He said that he would like to see whoever is selected will support the same programs as his father and continue to move Goochland in the right direction. He said he was available if needed and expressed confidence that the supervisors will choose the right person to fill the interim vacancy.

Kudos to both of these men for  speaking up., It is believed that other applications were receive by the county before the 5 p.m. April 2 deadline.

The supervisors met in closed session at the end of their afternoon meeting to discuss the vacancy. They plan to again meet in closed session at 6 p.m. on April 17. At the following 7 p.m. open meeting, they could announce the interim appointment, but have, by law, until April 24 to fill the empty seat. The voters will select  a successor to serve for the remainder of Creasey’s term of office, which expires at the end of 2019. All board seats will be up for election in 2019.  Our supervisors, who earn $1,000 per month, a bit more for the chair, put in many more hours than those of public meetings.

Board Chair Ken Peterson, District 5, indicated that the county received several applications for the position, but declined to elaborate further.

Proclamations recognizing April as Child Abuse Prevention Month; April 22-28 as Hunger Awareness Week; and April 8-14 as National Crime Victims’ Right Week were approved.

Although many groups are working to eradicate the societal scourge of child abuse, it remains a serious problem. Goochland’s Department of Social Services; Court Appointed Special Advocates for children(CASA);  16 District of the Juvenile and domestic relations court service unit; Goochland CARES; Goochland Council of Churches; Goochland Branch of the Pamunkey Regional Library; Goochland Chamber of Commerce; YMCA; Goochland Public Schools; and County Parks and Rec all work hard to eliminate this.

Blue and silver pinwheels in honor of Child Abuse Prevention Month

Citizens are encouraged to participate in food drives around the county in coming weeks to restock the shelves of  various food pantries in the community.

Peterson remarked that all too often, the rights of crime victims are overlooked as the rights of the perpetrators of crime are protected.

The Board adopted a resolution honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

on the 50^th anniversary of his assassination.

County Assessor Mary Ann Davis reported on assessment appeals. In January, 15,028 reassessment notices were sent to property owners. During the appeal period, between January 12 and February 15, 205 inquiries were received by Davis’ department. Of those, 98 were given a value decrease, 10 an increase, and 97 remain unchanged. As of the meeting, nine properties—eight residential and one commercial—had filed appeals with the Board of Equalization. As the BOE expects to meet in June, and property owners have until the end of April to file an appeal, these numbers could change.

Fire-Rescue Chief Bill MacKay said that a barn safety class is in the planning stage and a Survivor Day, to help residents learn disaster mitigation skills, will be held at Manakin Company 1 on April 21.

A public hearing on the sale of a portion of the Fairground property to the owners of Courthouse Commons Shopping Center for retail use was set for May 1. The sale price is $850,000, in line with an independent appraisal performed last year.

An update was given VDOT about the secondary six year road plan. A public hearing on this will be held on May1. There will be a Design Public Hearing for Route 288/Broad Street Road Interchange Improvements in Goochland County on Wednesday, April 11th from 5 - 6:30 p.m. at Fire-Rescue Station 3 - Centerville, 52 Broad Street Road, Manakin-Sabot, VA 23103.

Find out about the proposed improvements at the Route 288 north and south interchanges at Broad Street Road/Route 250 in Goochland County. These modifications will increase the capacity and operational safety of the interchange. The meeting will be held in an open house format from 5 – 6:30 p.m. where individuals can talk one-on-one with project staff. This flexible format allows participants to arrive whenever their schedule will allow. 

Give your written comments at the meeting or submit them by April 21, 2018 to Adam Brooks, project manager, Virginia Department of Transportation, 2430 Pine Forest Drive, Colonial Heights, VA 238349002, 804-524-6324, 800-367-7623 or TDD/TTY 711. You may also email your comments to Adam.Brooks@vdot.virginia.gov. Please reference “Route 288/Route 250 intersection improvements comments” in the subject line. 

State Project: 0288-037-771, P101, R201, C501 

Federal Project: NHPP-5A27(456) 

Maybe we will finally learn why it will take more than three years to get this fixed.

The supervisors held public hearings on the proposed real estate tax rate for calendar year 2018; proposed county budget for fiscal year 2019, which begins on July 1; proposed Ad Valorem tax rate for property in the Tuckahoe Creek Service District; and capital improvement plan.

A public hearing was also held on a proposed increase in public water and sewer charges. The supervisors approved an ordinance amendment to allow the public hearing on the TCSD ad valorem tax to be held on the same day as other fiscal public hearings.

Voting to adopt the budget and set the tax and fee rates will be held on April 17.