October Board notes

October Board notes

Goochland Supervisors’ October 2 meeting addressed routine matters. They approved a resolution declaring October Domestic Violence Awareness month and recognized local agencies working to eradicate this social scourge.

County Administrator John Budesky reminded all of the upcoming Town Hall meetings, the first of which was held on October 3. Two more are scheduled, one for District 1 at the Hadensville Company 6 Fire-Rescue station on October23, the other for Districts 2 and 3 on October 29 at the Central High School Cultural Arts and Education Center. Both begin at 7 p.m.

Budesky also said that the county fall festival will be held on Saturday, October 27 at Goochland Elementary School from 12 to 4 p.m. Volunteers are still needed, call 556-5854 for more information.

Fire-Rescue Chief Bill MacKay once again reported that call volume for his agency rose approximately 15 percent from last year. He said that, although Goochland is actively recruiting new fire-rescue employees, filling vacancies is difficult and volunteer participation continues to decline. Fire-rescue and Goochland are not alone in this dilemma, MacKay said. The Sheriff is also having difficulty filling vacancies and public safety and law enforcement agencies cross the country are in the same boat.

October is fire prevention month. Fire prevention week begins on October 8, the anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Please visit https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Education/Campaigns/Fire-Prevention-Week/About for a lot of great information about fire safety presented in video form.

MacKay said that while there are virtually no fire fatalities at American schools, our homes are a different story; our country has a “terrible track record” for survival or house fires. Every home should have at east one working smoke alarm that is checked often to ensure that its battery is operable. Family fire drills, where escape routes are identified and practiced, also save lives. Given that materials used to build and furnish homes are very flammable, MacKay said that there is a three minute time frame in which to safely escape a home after the smoke alarm sounds. Do  not take chances, if your smoke alarm  goes off get everyone out and call 911.

The chief said that the EMT class underway has 14 students, most from other jurisdictions. Used in the past as a recruitment tool, this class now provides a cost effective way for others to obtain certification, with little or no benefit to Goochland fire-rescue. The Chief suggested that it may be time to rethink offering this course.

Three Goochland Fire-Rescue members have been chosen by the Richmond Retail  Merchants Association to receive the Bronze Medal of Valor for their actions during a water rescue event Dean Dunn, Christopher Ferguson, and Kevin Hatcher will be recognized at an event in November. This is the first time that any member of Goochland Fire-Rescue has earned this award.

Although Hurricane Florence brought only rain to central Virginia, the county’s emergency response team was ready. MacKay thanked county staff for its hard work and the Sheriff’s Office for coordinating activities at the new emergency  operations center. The supervisors approved a resolution  ending the state of emergency preparedness declared last month.

Installation of the traffic signal at the intersection of West Creek Parkway and Route 6 is in progress, according to the monthly VDOT report. It should be operational soon. Improvements to the Rt. 288/Broad Street Road interchange are on track for completion sometime in the next three to four years.

Central Virginia Waste Management Authority, which is contracted to handle the county’s trash, presented an annual update. The CVWMA works with localities it serves to ensure that capacity for handling solid waste keeps pace with population growth. It uses EPA estimates of 4.34 pounds of trash per person per day and population counts based on numbers from the Weldon Cooper Center.

Recycling keeps a significant amount of solid waste out of landfills; 59 percent is recycled in central Virginia, well above the state mandate of 25 percent. There had been a seven percent decline in the volume of trash collected by Goochland’s two convenience centers over the past few years. Goochland’s CVWMA annual operating assessment is 48 cents per capita.

The price of mixed paper and glass, which accounts for approximately 67 percent of recycled materials, has dropped to zero, so the cost of recovery is no longer offset by the sale price. Going forward, this could cost Goochland about $15,960 annually. If and when prices for recycled materials recover, the county could recoup this amount.

Recycled material needs to be clean to ensure highest cost recovery. The biggest culprit is plastic grocery bags, which CVMA does not accept. DO NOT BAG your recyclables, just put the loose items in the bins. Plastic bags are one of the top contaminants at local material recovery facilities; they wrap around sorting equipment and cause damage; prevent materials from being properly sorted; and add additional disposal costs. If you use plastic bags, recycle at local grocery/retail stores. Materials will not be recycled if in plastic bags. Paper grocery sacks are recyclable with mixed paper.

Please visit http://cvwma.com/ for lots of interesting information on recycling and how you can help.