New home of the past

 

Goochland County has been around for a while. Depending on which source you cite, it was calved from Henrico in 1727 or 28. Along the way, several other counties were split from Goochland. History includes important events woven into the fabric of people, places, and things or ordinary life.

It's official. The Goochland History Center is open. Board members Vern Fkeming (l) and Scott Johnson(r) watch as Richard Toler cuts the ribbon on the Goochland History Center.

In 1968, a group of people concerned that the cultural heritage of Goochland, the story of its people, places, and past events would be lost, formed the Goochland Historical Society. In addition to publishing a magazine, the Society houses a collection of local history references and artifacts. Other contributions to the community include: refurbished the Old Stone Jail; secured grant money to renovate the Second Union Rosenwald School and Museum (https://secondunionrosenwaldschool.org/), and installed historical interpretative markers on the Courthouse Green.

GHS president Christina Dunn  makes remarks about the new history center to a socially distanced outdoor audience.

During Covid, the Society moved to a new headquarters, named the “Goochland History Center” to better reflect its dynamic focus on preserving and sharing the county’s past. The official ribbon was cut on November 4 on the new space, renovated by and leased from the county.

New shelving will display research materials with ample space to take notes.

The new location, on River Road West adjoining the southern entrance to the Courthouse Complex, is convenient for people involved in genealogical research, who may need to access the records room in the nearby Clerk’s office.  Research materials are displayed on attractive shelving in the light and welcoming space. People also drop in to learn the history of their property. Local artifacts of times gone by are on display.

Local World War II artifacts are currently on display.

Partnering with the County, the History Center will also welcome guests as the Goochland Welcome Center providing information about things to see and do here.

Executive Director James Richmond (r) and Board Member Vern Fleming.

Hours are Wednesday through Friday from 10 to 3 and the second Saturday of month from 10 to 3, face covering required.

The History Center’s gift shop offers books with local themes and Goochland centric merchandise including hats and tee shirts emblazoned with the county seal; Christmas ornaments; “Cat’s Meow” renderings of local landmarks, and the ever popular 2021 calendar featuring photos of the county’s past. (Go to  http://www.goochlandhistory.org/ for details.)

 

The 2021 calendar of historic photos is on sale now.

 

Sheriff's Office update

 

Steven N. Creasey has been Goochland Sheriff since January 1. During his tenure, in addition to dealing with the local consequences of a global pandemic, he and his team have built on the strong legacy inherited from the previous administration to expand and improve service to citizens.

At the November 4 Board of Supervisors’ meeting, Creasey presented the annual report for the Goochland County Sheriff’s office (GCSO).

 For the sixth consecutive time, the GCSO earned full accreditation from the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission. This involves a detailed peer review of all facets of an agency including training, professionalism, delivery of service, and establishment and ongoing evaluation of policies, procedures, goals, and objectives.

Core values to direct daily work of all GCSO employees have been established. Mission and vision statements have been updated. More than 70 percent of operational procedures have been updated and all communications policies and procedures are currently under review.

The GCSO has signed a memorandum of understanding with Goochland Schools for the first time, cementing the cordial and constructive relationship between the two organizations. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jeremy Raley commended school resource officers for their professionalism and acting as positive role models for students in high and middle schools.

Creasey reported that all GCSO employees are members of the Virginia Sheriff’s Association, another first. The GCSO also joined the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program; and, after years of collaboration, officially joined the internet crimes against children task force; the Virginia Crime Clinic; and the Virginia Gang Investigators Association. He explained that these affiliations enable GCSO to anticipate trends in crime to take proactive steps for prevention.

The Sheriff thanked the supervisors for funding cell phones for all deputies. “It’s been a game changer enabling our deputies to spend more time on the road.”

New “traffic trailers” to record actual speeds to determine if speeding in an area is a problem or perception. Prisoner cages, to provide physical separation between LEOs and detainees for the protection of all; bullet proof glass in the General District/Juvenile Relations Courtroom have been added.

To ensure that all voices in the community are heard with respect to law enforcement, a community division has been created.

New hires in the GCSO include a crime analyst; more deputies; communications supervisors; and new K-9 officers both two and four legged, and command staff.

Cultural diversity training to enable our LEOs to interact positively with all members of the community is another new initiative. Creasey said that a recent session facilitated by Lt. Deuntay Diggs of the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office was so successful that he hopes to make it an annual event. Crisis intervention training, to prepare LEOs to deal with individuals experiencing mental health issues is being completed by all deputies. New hire orientation will be further enhanced by the Goochland Recruit Academy, which will include three weeks of training with the Virginia State Police; Goochland County Fire-Rescue; Goochland/Powhatan Community Services Board; Goochland Animal Protections; and GCSO 911 communications, all agencies that partner with the GCSO in daily operations.

Other skills to be imparted include fingerprinting and booking; community policing and interacting with the School Resource Officers; magistrate and investigations training.

Weekly reporting on the GCSO Facebook page has been reformatted and its website is under renovation.

Permanent drop boxes for medical disposal and flag retirement are now at the Sheriff’s Office. In the coming months, Creasey expects to create a safe exchange zone for online transactions and a watch program for homes; worship; and business to deter crime.

To serve county citizens during the pandemic, deputies delivered prescriptions to vulnerable citizens rendered housebound by Covid.  On the lighter side, a Candy, Cops, and Kids event held around Halloween was so successful it will be an annual event.

Creasey thanked citizens for their generous show of support in the form of food, good wishes, and masks.

Chief Deputy Mike East demonstrated Rapid SOS, a secure web-based program, that is the latest technology added to the tool bag of local emergency communications.

Existing 911 infrastructure, in use for approximately 50 years, was designed for land lines and provided little useful data to responders beyond a voice only connection.  Rapid SOS uses cell phone signals in secure web-based network from iPhones with iOS 12+ and Android phones version 4.0+ as well as wearable devices, connected homes and vehicles at no cost. The app, said East, is used by 4700 911 centers across us funded by private partners. When a 911 call is placed, all location apps on devices are activated, whether they are on or not, to provide local 911 center instantaneously with a real time map plot of the location of the device that made the call. This is activated only when a 911 call is placed.

Creasey said that before this app, it was difficult to pinpoint 911 locations, especially for calls made form cell phones. Rapid SOS pings phones every 15 seconds after a 911 call is placed for up to 10 minutes. If someone is in the trunk of a car and unable to respond, the app will trace the device.

Rapid SOS Can pinpoint the location of lost people floating on the river, who have no idea where they are when they call for help. “It’s powerful good stuff. This will save lives in our county,” said East. He said it will also help fire-rescue find accidents, especially those on the interstate, quickly. “It was free of charge, that’s the best part,” said East. (To see a demonstration go to https://www.goochlandva.us/943/Video-of-Past-BOS-Meetings at about the 40 minute mark.)

Creasey explained that the reason that deputies, who normally adhere to a strict grooming policy, are participating in “No Shave November” to raise awareness and finds for cancer research. This year’s program is dedicated to the memory of John Casey, a former deputy, steadfast Marine, Crozier Company 2 representative to the county Fire Board, and, along with his wife Ann, a community treasure.  He was instrumental in getting the county to decorate the light poles in Courthouse Village for Christmas. He is missed.

John Casey

This is not an easy time to work in law enforcement. Goochland is blessed with fine people dedicated to serve and protect us all.

 

 

 

 

 

Next year in the General Assembly

 

 

Social distancing during the legislative information session.

While the whole world obsessed with the presidential election, county government looks toward 2021.

On Monday, November 9, Goochland’s delegation to the Virginia General Assembly—Lee Ware 65^th District Delegate; John McGuire, 56^th District Delegate, and Mark Peake, 22^nd District State Senator—met with the board of supervisors, school board, county administration, economic development authority, and Constitutional Officers. Held in the Central High School Cultural and Educational Center’s auditorium configured to accommodate social distancing, the gathering reflected on the 2020 legislature and looked forward to next year.

As with everything else in 2020, the current year’s General Assembly was “like no other.” In fact, the special session called by the governor in the summer, had not yet adjourned. Ware observed that the “special session” was longer than a biannual “long”60-day session.

Although the alleged purpose of the special session was to address state budget shortfalls caused by the Covid lockdowns, Ware and Peake reported that the legislators instead focused on police reform and social justice matters. “We talked about everything but the budget for six weeks,” Peake said.

Peake thanked Goochland for organizing the meeting—typically held in late summer—to exchange information. “It was a terrible year” for the legislature. After March, said Peake, there was no opportunity for committee discussions and things came up with little notice. He lamented the lack of communication at all levels and contended that house democrats do not even talk to senate democrats.

Ware too thanked Goochland for its annual discussions with legislators in advance of the General Assembly session, which begins in January. “This is a great opportunity to get a sense of Goochland’s priorities for the new year.” He said that the revised state school budget held school funding harmless. Covid underlined the importance of broadband expansion, resulting in a modest $60 million increase in grant funds.

McGuire added his thanks to the county for the meeting. “This helps us to be your voice in the General Assembly.” He too lamented the focus of the special session on criminal and social justice reform as the state looked at a several billion-dollar shortfall in state revenues. The Commonwealth is required to have a balanced budget. “If you have $20, you can’t spend $40,” McGuire said.

Peake reported that this year, when budget matters were addressed, no amendments were accepted, there was no input from many members of the GA.

Each year our county and school division prepare a legislative agenda that lists matters of concern and requested actions and a list of policy positions. A first draft of this was discussed on November 9. The list will be honed and presented to the legislators before the GA convenes next January.

Broadband expansion topped the list. Covid highlighted the crucial importance of universal access to hi speed internet. While money to build the physical components of broadband is a significant obstacle, so are regulatory impairments. Goochland “supports improvements to existing state law to make it easier for wireless communication companies to either use existing tall structures or build communication structures so long as localities’ ability to regulate land use is preserved. The county supports the adoption and implementation of new technology that will improve and expand citizen access to broadband internet,” the draft said in part.

Reimbursement for the compensation of the electoral board and general registrar is an evergreen item on the county’s legislative agenda. Funding from the federal CARES act helped to offset the extraordinary expenses of the 2020 general election. State monies appropriated for this has dwindled over the years shifting the cost burden for elections, including partisan primaries, to localities. Robin Lind, secretary of the Goochland Electoral Board said he has no idea how much the 2020 general election will cost.

Redistricting will also increase local election costs next year. Lind opined that primaries—Virginia elects a governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and the entire house of delegates in 2021—will not be held before August as new districts will not be defined and approved by the traditional June primary dates.

Our school division had a longer list of priority requests, including support for legislation that increases early childhood education and preschool opportunities for students to lessen the discrepancy of kindergarten-readiness in preschool children. Schools generally oppose erosion of local control, including the ability to maintain teacher quality through performance evaluation.

Assorted other subjects were discussed. Transporting out of state refuse to landfills in Virginia is protected by the commerce clause of the United States Constitution.

McGuire spoke to criminal justice reform. “If we have no law enforcement, we have no country,” he said.

Board of Supervisors’ chair Susan Lascolette, District 1, said she was concerned about efforts to eliminate qualified immunity, which protects a government official from civil lawsuits alleging that the official violated a plaintiff's rights, only allowing suits where officials violated a “clearly established” statutory or constitutional right—for law enforcement officers.

McGuire said that if LEOs hesitate to take appropriate actions, the results could be deadly. Recruitment for these jobs is very difficult as it is.

Peake said there needs to be some parole reform, but an omnibus bill presented in the GA did not help. “There were some poorly worded sections mixed in with good ideas,” he said of the legislation. “Adding social workers to law enforcement is a bad idea. LEOs don’t want to kill innocent people but they don’t need to be concerned about unintended consequences.”

Lascolette said that more resources are needed for mental health issues.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jeremy Raley said that he is very thankful for our school resource officers (SROs) who are doing exemplary work and acting as roles models for students in the high and middle schools. Deputies visit our elementary schools as they patrol.

Peake said that some members of the GA want to eliminate SROs.

No discussion of state budgets and departments would be complete with at least touching on VDOT—the state agency whose motto is Oops!”. In Goochland, roads are built and maintained by VDOT (Note: the wonderful folks who cut grass, plow snow, fill potholes, and remove downed trees and dead deer are not part of the OOPs! Division)

County Administrator Kenneth Young reported that several bridges in the county—on Haskins, Old Columbia, and Whitehall Roads—are structurally deficient and unable to support the weight of fire-rescue vehicles. Fire-rescue chief D.E. “Eddie” Ferguson, Jr. explained that, because we are a rural area, our fire apparatus carries a great deal of water. A fire engine can weigh upwards of 60k pounds and an ambulance up to 14k pounds. A loaded school bus up to 30k pounds.

Ferguson said that using alternate routes to avoid these bridges can add at least three to five minutes to already lengthy response times in the western end of the county.

Peake said that in addition to Covid related revenue shortfalls, declines in gas taxes caused by reduction in travel during the pandemic have put VDOT in a spending bind. He predicted that there will be no more money for roads or transportation projects until revenues increase.

Lascolette said that more than half of the calls she receives from constituents concern transportation issues.

Jonathan Lyle, Director of the Monacan Soil and Water Conservation District raised concerns about legislation that impinges on a property owner’s right to farm. He cited instances where residents of subdivisions built in agricultural areas petitioned to regulate the kind of crops that could be grown around them. “Cows don’t call 911 or show up in classrooms,” Lyle said. He opposes any legislation or regulation that makes farming impossible.

The two-hour meeting was chock full of constructive interaction among attendees on a wide range of topics. Goochland’s delegation understands the county’s position on nuts and bolts issues. The bottom line seemed to be that the next session of the Virginia General Assembly will be challenging at best.

 

 

 

 

 

Covid testing in Goochland

On November 11, Goochland County working with the Chickahominy Health District; Henrico and Chickahominy Medical Reserve Corps volunteers; Goochland Fire-Rescue; and the Goochland Sheriff’s Office held a free drive through Covid testing and flu shot clinic at the Hadensville Company 6 Fire-Rescue Station.

Deputies Leabough and Carrier organized the queue.

In spite of dreadful weather, 70 Covid tests were performed and 53 seasonal flu shots administered between 4 and 6 p.m.

Deputies Leabough and Carrier did a masterful job of organizing the queue of vehicles waiting to participate. “Our numbers are terrible,” declared a Chickahominy Heath District doc. “Stay home for another two weeks. Don’t go to restaurants, don’t go to church.”

Health professionals registered participants and answered questions

Healthcare professionals provided information about the testing and virus as they completed registration. Free masks and hand sanitizer were distributed to participants.

Prepping the Covid test swab

Testing technicians were pleasant and cordial as they explained the procedure, in which a long, thin swab was inserted deeply into a nostril.

The test. 

The Hadensville Fire-Rescue station—the county’s newest—was ideally suited to the event. Emergency apparatus was removed from the bays permitting all testing to take place under roof while participants remained in their vehicles.

Thanks to all who made this event accessible to citizens.

 

Goochland Public Hearings for November

 

 

The monthly agendas of the Goochland County Board of Supervisors contain a wide array of matters that require board action. Many of these are addressed in the afternoon session, but public hearings on subjects including budget amendments; conditional use applications; and ordinance amendments take place in the evening beginning at 6 p.m.

At its November 4 meeting—held on a Wednesday to avoid interfering with election day—the board held seven hearings with only a few “members of the public” present. The meeting was livestreamed.   Sadly, people seem to attend these opportunities to weigh in on local government actions only when they oppose an agenda item.

FY 2021 budget amendments

The first hearing on November 4 dealt with amendments to the FY2021 county budget. Virginia law requires a locality to hold a public hearing if the amount of proposed changes to the budget for its current fiscal year exceed one percent of total expenditures in the currently adopted budget.

Anticipating a serious decline in revenues due to Covid, the supervisors revised the FY2021 proposed budget downward last spring. Since March, Director of Finance Barbra Horlacher has presented updates on the county’s financial condition. The proposed budget amendments total $3,237,475, representing approximately 3.5% of the current Fiscal Year 2021 amended $91,051,548 budget. (See page 71 of the November 4 board packet available on the county website at http://goochlandcountyva.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1276&Inline=True)

This amount includes $63,734 for a transportation engineer funded with FY21 real estate taxes; $49,480 from CARES act funds for extraordinary expenses incurred by the registrar; $733,280 for east end trails from cash proffers, a VDOT federal grant, and fund balance; $700k from fund balance to purchase one new and replace chassis on two ambulances,; $873,325 for assorted school expenditures and $616, 556 turnback to schools from the general fund balance. The supervisors unanimously approved the amendments and appropriated the requested funds.

Update of parks and recreation master plan

An amended parks and recreation master plan was added to the county 2035 comprehensive land use plan after a unanimous vote by the board. (See the 2035 comp plan at https://www.goochlandva.us/250/2035-Comprehensive-Plan)

Jessica Kronberg, Recreation Services Director, explained that the amendment will allow the next update to coincide with the next comp plan update and use this year’s census data. Goochland has received many awards for excellence in recreational and cultural facilities from state, and national organizations.

The report card, needs assessment, inventory of existing facilities, and needs assessment were updated in the newly adopted master plan. The inventory includes diversified amenities; top quality athletic facilities; and multi-use trail systems. Partnerships with local groups, grant funding, in kind services, and creativity saved the county $1.4 million in parks and facility development costs over the last eight years.

 

 

Land donation for Courthouse Village roundabout

The board voted 4-1, with Board Chair Susan Lascolette District 1 in dissent, to donate land for rights of way to build a roundabout at the intersection of Fairground and Sandy Hook Roads in Courthouse Village. Todd Kilduff, Deputy County Administrator for Community and Economic Development said that the projects is scheduled for advertisement in early 2022. Rights of way from private land owners have been secured.

 Ken Peterson, District 5, expressed concern about storm water outfalls being place in what he considered prime economic development areas impinging the ability to build there. Kilduff said those areas are strategically placed in low lying areas, some of which are swampy and unsuitable for building. VDOT engineers said that “drain fields” were placed in low spots but that other options were not considered. VDOT will have its hydraulic engineers take another look to determine if the drainage areas could be moved.

Lascolette asked about the value of the 1.6 acres I question. That information was not available. VDOT does not value land if it will be donated. Most of the land, said the VDOT rep, is already roadway with little value.

Peterson said he was not comfortable donating the land without more information about alternatives for drainage areas. The VDOT engineer was confident that hydraulic specialist could explore other storm water locations in a short time.

John Lumpkins, District 3 drafted a new motion to approve the donation of land with all related easements except those dealing with drainage to allow VDOT to move forward on the project while obtaining more detailed hydraulic information about the site. Lascolette said she was opposed to the roundabout since it was first discussed, and voted no accordingly.

 

Hilltop Distillery

The board unanimously approved an amendment to the Hilltop Distillery conditional use permit to allow them to be open from 1 to 7 p.m. on Sundays. The initial CUP included operating hours on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

CUP for detached accessory family housing unit

An application filed by Jorge Mendoza to build a free-standing garage with living quarters above at 691 Manakin Road was unanimously approved. Mendoza intends to renovate the main residence on the property and live in the accessory space during construction.

Bellview Gardens Medical, LLC

In order to develop property on the east side of Mills Road north of Broad Street Road, fill must be added to eliminate a flood plain, that, thanks to a change in environmental regulations, was not identified as such when the land was rezoned in 2012. Tom Kinter, applicant and owner explained that all technical approvals to add the fill have been obtained from FEMA, which requires approval from local government. Kinter said that the property falls off to the south, so if any drainage problems should occur, there will be no impact on the residential properties to the north. The board approved the CUP unanimously.

HHHunt Mosaic

HHHunt Mosaic, the 55-plus restricted age community under construction in West Creek, filed a request to amend a county ordinance to change when street trees and sidewalks must be installed.

The existing law requires sidewalks and streets trees to be installed when building permits have been issued for 50 percent of the approved dwelling units. The amendment would change the timing to prior to issuance of a certificate of occupancy for each home and apply county wide.

Counsel for HHHunt contended that installing sidewalks and trees under the existing rules results in sidewalks being damaged during construction requiring them to be repaired with concrete that might be a different color from adjacent sidewalks. He also contended that street trees die of neglect if planted before homes are occupied. The current rules would generate additional costs, which would increase the price of homes. Under the proposed amendment, a third-party inspector, unaffiliated with the developer, would be responsible for proper installation of the sidewalks and relieve the county of additional inspections. The third-party inspector would be liable for any errors.

Lascolette asked Director of Community Development Jo Ann Hunter if sidewalks installed in a patchwork manner recommended by the amendment would be also be different color. Hunter said no.

Jonathan Lyle, a regular attendee of board meetings, wondered if the amendment was proposed for the benefit of the county or convenience of the developer. He asked if HHHunt knew about this provision in the ordinance when Mosaic was approved in 2018. He opposed the change contending that costs generated by contractors should not be passed on to the county. “I don’t see what the rules have to be changed, they knew what they were when they came here.”

Neil Spoonhower, District 2, moved to deny the application.

Peterson could see no county wide benefit of the proposed change.

Don Sharpe, District 4 pointed out that small lot subdivisions with sidewalks and curbs are new to the county. “I don’t know that it’s that bad a concept.” He asked how neighboring jurisdictions handle this.

Hunter explained that larger counties have more staff to handle these tasks. She also reported that the number of certificates of occupancy issued by Goochland have almost doubled since 2019.

Spoonhower said that the citizens expect the supervisors to hold developers to the rules in place when their projects were approved. “I get calls from developers all the time about a lot of things, they have never mentioned this.”

Hunter contended that the county’s existing ordinance works. The application was unanimously denied.

 

Goochland Votes

 

Goochlanders who had not cast early, or absentee ballots took advantage of the glorious weather on election day 2020 to go to the polls.

GOMM visited each county polling place in midafternoon. Most precincts reported heavy activity in the morning with a fall off during the day. They expected the pace to pick up in late afternoon before the polls closed at 7 p.m. Only the temporary precinct at Hadensville Company 6 fire-rescue station, relocated for this election from County Line Baptist Church, reported a steady stream of voters throughout the day.

Party representatives stationed outside precincts, reported a strong turnout. In past elections, Goochland has been recognized for having the highest percentage of voters turnout in the Commonwealth. There is lots of competition for that honor this year.

It was nice to see young people participating, as both poll workers and election officials. The final vote tally may not be in for several days.

Here are some photos of the day: