Slipping into summer

After busy start to 2018, Goochland’s Board of Supervisors began summer with a light agenda at its June 5 meeting. As no public hearings were on tap, there was no evening session.

Perhaps the most interesting factoid in the Board packet was the notice that Hermitage Gardens, LLC has withdrawn its rezoning application to build 438 homes on 176.34 acres the east side of Hockett Road. Vigorous push back to the proposal at a May 14 community meeting may have given the applicants second thoughts. Adding more traffic to Hockett Road; impact on county schools; and erosion of the county’s rural character were the main objections voiced by citizens.

Other landowners eyeing dense residential development in the Hockett Road corridor must understand that they need to devise a more concrete solution to the Hockett/Broad intersection than paying full cash proffers and letting the county and VDOT figure out how to mitigate traffic impact.

According to VDOT Ashland residency administrator Marshall Winn, the traffic signal at West Creek Parkway and Route 6, opposite Hope Church, is on the VDOT construction schedule and should be in place by the end of 2018.

Winn also reported that utility conflicts and  easements needed for upgrades to the Rt. 288/Broad Street Road interchange have been secured. The target date for this road work has moved up from September 2020 to January 2020. He speculated that further acceleration of the project is possible.

Paving of the stretch  of Manakin Road mangled by gas line installation is under way and  should be finished by June 8, said Winn. The gas company will then begin installing the gas line along Broad Street Road east of Manakin Road. The right lane will be closed on Broad Street Rd. (Rt. 250) between Manakin Rd. and Hockett Rd. from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. June 11-15 for utility work.

Board Chair Ken Peterson, District 5, welcomed, in absentia, Vern Fleming to the District 3 seat school Board seat. Fleming succeeded John Lumpkins, Jr. who was appointed to the District 3 supervisor in April. They will both serve until replacements are elected in November.

County Administrator John Budesky said that the annual fireworks display will be held on July 4 in Courthouse Village as usual. He thanked the Sheriff’s Office in advance for doing an excellent job of controlling traffic and keeping everyone safe during and after this event. He also asked those attending to pack their patience and be considerate of others traveling to and from the event.

The fireworks are delightful. However, as more people from outside Goochland clog our roads to attend the display, fewer Goochland residents, whose tax dollars pay for the pyrotechnics and public safety costs, decline to participate in the countywide traffic jam to watch “the bombs bursting in air” as we celebrate America. It may be time to rethink this annual event.

Goochland Fire-Rescue Chief Bill MacKay reported that EMS crews recently used the LUCAS © chest compression system to deliver two patients to hospitals with a “fighting chance” to recover. Providing manual CPR is physically demanding and difficult to perform consistently for long periods of time. Once CPR compressions have begun, they must continue until either the patient responds; reaches a hospital; or CPR is terminated on the orders of a doctor. Goochland ambulances are equipped with telemetry that transmits patient information to a hospital during transport. MacKay thanked the supervisors for funding this lifesaving equipment.

MacKay gave a shout out to Goochland schools for getting through the academic year with no school related student traffic accidents.

He also commended fire-rescue providers for actions during the recent flooding on Riddles Bridge Road who responded to the scene in the middle of the night and waded into rushing water to save trapped motorists

Two additional Fire-Rescue folks completed paramedic certification, MacKay said. Two career providers have completed tactical medic training to support law enforcement operations in uncontrolled environments.

The Hon. Dale W. Agnew, Clerk of the Goochland Circuit Court, gave the Board an update on her office. She thanked Budesky and Barbara Horlacher, Director of Financial Services for  making  the budget process easy.  She reported that her office received a clean audit.

A new system that electronically enters real estate information upon recordation will speed and simplify title searches.   As new condos and other properties are sold, this is an important time saver.

The record room has been reorganized to maximize space and ensure that public records can be easily accessed.

Agnew also said that probate activities have increased approximately 25 percent in the last two years. She expects this trend to continue as people move into the recently approved senior communities in the county.

The criminal court case load has remained level, but civil actions, especially those to collect unpaid taxes, have risen about 25 percent.

Dr. Gary Rhodes, President of Reynolds Community College, announced that he is retiring at the end of August after 16 years at the helm of the college. His successor is Dr. Paula Pando.

Rhodes said that in May, 21 Goochland High School students earned Associate’s Degrees about a month before their high school diplomas thanks to the dual enrollment program. Next year, 31 local students are expected to follow suit.

He reported that community college enrollment tends to fall in good economic times. He also said that he would like to see the Goochland campus expand programs offered, perhaps to include additional career and technical opportunities. Community colleges are a vital tool in fixing the mismatch between open jobs and lack of skilled employees to fill them.

The consent agenda, routine items that require supervisor approval, included amendments of the school budget that have no impact on the county transfer amount. (See Board packet beginning on page 91 for details.)

More amendments to the school budget were necessitated by funding for the Junior ROTC program being picked up by the Marine Corps. Goochland is one of a very few similar programs nationwide to achieve this. Thanks to everyone who made this happen and kudos to our Marine cadets and school staff who make the program a success.

Additional funds, some made available when bids for paving at Byrd Elementary School came in less than budgeted, were allocated for capital projects, including security upgrades and improvements to the high school football field.

Capital Improvement funds were also allocated for purchase of a new animal protection vehicle and fund design of improvements to the Rt. 6 sidewalk, which was damaged by erosion during our rainy spring.

The Board authorized Budesky to execute a license agreement and memorandum of understanding to relocate the Virginia Cooperative Extension office to the Central High School complex. This would occur after anticipated renovations to the complex are completed later in 2018.

Several public hearings were scheduled for the July 3 meeting.

Application to add 12 parcels of land totaling 56.365 acres, which are part of the recently approved Mosaic senior residential enclave, to the Tuckahoe Creek Service District.

Other July public hearings on changes to county code to align with state law include: an ordinance to amend the number of members of the Economic Development authority from seven to five, with three constituting a quorum; changing the local health director’s discretion about quarantining a police dog; what work on an onsite sewage treatment system constitutes maintenance; when real estate taxes are due; changes to the law regarding variances; prohibiting a planning commission from delaying of any proposed plant, site plan, or plan of development. (see the board packet for details.)