Evening session July 7

For the first time since March, the Goochland Board of Supervisors held an evening public hearing session that was open to the public, as opposed to livestreamed meetings.

During citizen comment, time set aside for comments about subjects not on the agenda, Wendy Hobbs, President of the Goochland NAACP lambasted the board for its failure to make a statement condemning circumstances surrounding the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and racism. She took most of the board to task for failing to attend the peaceful rally held at the county administration building on June 6. Don Sharpe District 4 did attend. Hobbs’s remarks included chastising the entire bord for its failure to participate in a more than 200-person peaceful march on June 19 to mark Juneteenth, the true celebration of the end of slavery. Go to https://www.goochlandva.us/943/Video-of-Past-BOS-Meetings at about the 1 hour mark to hear these remarks in their entirety.

Rev. Adlai C. Allen, Pastor of Chief Cornerstone Baptist Church, read a public proclamation signed by pastors of many Goochland Churches and the Goochland Christian Churches Association, dated June 22, denouncing racism in all its forms as a destructive force that harms individuals and divides communities.  (This follows Hobbs’ statement on the recording.)

Larry Hine, who is building a home on Cedar Plains Road, contended that there is an “Amazon Prime infection” in Goochland County. He said that between two and twenty contract Amazon delivery vehicles drive through his private property every day. The Sheriff’s office has responded to trespassing complaints at least five times. He said that Amazon uses an “uber” model for independent contractors based on Google Earth routes, which do not differentiate between public and private roads.  He contended that the drivers do not get paid if they deviate from the proscribed route. He said this is dangerous and asked the county to contact Amazon to tell them to stop trespassing.

Public hearings:

Benedictine Society of Virginia- Amendments to a 2011 conditional use permit to allow construction of additional buildings at its site at 12829 River Road, just east of Rt. 288 to accommodate additional students from St. Gertrude high School, a monastery, and allocate an additional 10,000 gallons per day of water was approved. Staff said that there is more than 125 k gallons per day of available water capacity. The total number of students, staff, and monks remains below the numbers approved in the original CUP. A road bond, established in 2011, part of the original CUP, will be used in the near future to offset the cost of improvements to the intersection of Route 6 and River Road, which are expected to be completed this year.

GCJ Holdings, LLC- A CUP application to operate a campground and place of public assembly at 1978 Cardell Road, north of Randolph Elementary School was approved for five years. The site was formerly Camp Little Hawk, operated by the Boys and Girls Club of Richmond.

The event venue would be limited to 75 guests, with the usual prohibition against fireworks, amplified music, requirement to obtain an ABC license when alcohol is served: and ending events by 9 p.m. on Sunday, 10 p.m. on other days. A schedule of events must be submitted to the county zoning administrator.

No more than 24 guests may stay overnight at the campground. A maximum of five campsites including those for RVs may be used. No guests may stay on the site for more than 30 days. Guests must be informed in writing of conditions that include no trespassing; no discharge of firearms or hunting; no amplified sound outdoors and no music after 10 p.m. The applicant must obtain approval from the Virginia Department of Health before RVs are allowed to stay overnight.

Salem Baptist Church Electronic message board- The supervisors approved a CUP to place an electronic message board on the site of Salem Baptist Church, 465 Broad Street Road, west of Centerville. This will be the first such sign approved since these were included in the zoning ordinance rewrite. (Similar signage for Reynolds Community College is on state property and exempt from local regulations.)

As filed, the CUP application requested special exceptions to allow the sign to be lit around the clock and to change the message every five seconds. County regulations require signs to be turned off overnight and that messages may not be changed more than once per minute. The Planning Commission recommended approval of the CUP but not the special exceptions. Pastor Zack Zbinden, speaking as the applicant before the supervisors, agreed to turn off the sign at 11 p.m. as well as a 15 second interval for message changes.

Ordinance changes

The supervisors approved several changes to county ordinances to bring some of them into comportment with state law.

Animal Abandonment- the penalty for abandoning a companion animal was changed from a Class 3 to a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Agricultural Equipment Tire Disposal Fee- a $30 per large agricultural equipment tire was added to the county’s fee schedule. This will cover costs incurred to dispose of these tires between 19 and 24 inches off rim, which has posed a problem for local producers. The amount was agreed to by the agricultural community and will be cost neutral to the county.

Competitive Sealed Bidding-this changed the time frame for action against a surety on a performance bond from one to five years from completion of a contract and defines when a contract has been completed. This gives the county a bit more authority and gives the county additional time to sue. County Attorney Tara McGee said the longer period gives the county time to accurately assess any damages that may result from the breach of a contract but does not increase the term of the bond. Five years, she said, is the standard in Virginia.

Sharpe raised concerns that this would place smaller contractors at a disadvantage, forcing the county to use larger, and more expensive, contractors. Neil Spoonhower, District 2, asked if this would increase the cost of a contract. John Lumpkins, Jr., District 3 said this could increase the cost of a bond. He too was concerned about placing an extra burden on smaller contractors.

 Director of Purchasing Wanda Tormey said the length of a bond can increase its cost. She said that on larger projects, like the courthouse, the longer period is to the county’s advantage

The supervisors voted to defer a decision to their August 4 meeting to gather more detailed information on the consequences of the change.

Small purchase maximum- this increases the maximum amount of small purchases from $100,000 to $150,000 and changes to amount of capital projects needing board of supervisors’ approval from projects over $100,000 to projects over $150,000.

Farm equipment- adds farm equipment used for forest harvesting and silvicultural activities to the list of personal property tax exemptions, effective January 1, 2021.

Court fees- increases the courtroom security fee from $10 to $20. These fees are available to be used for courthouse security or equipment expenses, but their use must be approved by the board of supervisors. This is part of court costs levied on convictions in addition to a $5 fee for courthouse maintenance and construction.  The $10 fee has generated about $50,000 historically. Past practice has used these finds to cover the cost of courthouse security personnel. The effective date is August 1, 2020.