Into the new year

 

After months of endless lockdown and quarantine we’ve finally stumbled into 2021. Trouble is, it looks a lot like last year. Life goes on, albeit masked, socially distant, and virtual.

The Goochland County Board of Supervisors held its first meeting of the year on January 5.  The session was open to the public, and live streamed with remote access available for citizen comment and remarks during evening public hearings. (The county information technology department has done a great job making meetings accessible online during the pandemic.) Since the supervisors’ December meeting, brighter lighting has been installed in the board room. Additional screens have been placed on the walls so the audience can better see presentations, and the microphone system has been upgraded so everyone can hear all comments.

Interactive data kiosk outside board meeting room.

Interactive informational touch screens have replaced the desk outside the boardroom.

As has been its custom since 2012, board members rotate serving as chair. Supervisors unanimously elected John Lumpkins, Jr., District 3, Chair, and Ken Peterson, District 5, vice chair. The afternoon session was short.

John Lumpkins, Jr. (l) Ken Peterson (r)

Lumpkins said he is honored to be elected chair and thanked the board for their confidence and the trust placed in him. “The good news is that Goochland is tending to business and we are looking forward to a good year. There’s a lot of good things going on.” He commended county staff and schools who did yeoman’s work to navigate through a challenging year.

In 2000, the Goochland Board of Supervisors adopted a code of ethics and standards of conduct, which have been readopted and amended each year. These documents outline principles and values that elected and appointed officials must embrace to be worthy of public trust. This year, the supervisors amended these documents to include a stronger statement prohibiting discrimination in any form, to ensure that everyone is treated with respect and the rights of all are protected.

Paragraph 5 of the Code of Ethics was strengthened by adding these words “Adopt policies and programs that support the rights and recognize the needs of all Goochland County citizens and avoid adopting policies or engaging in activities that discriminate against Goochland County citizens because of race, sex, age, religion, creed, country of origin, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity. We do not tolerate discrimination based on race, sex, age, religion, creed, country of origin, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity.”

The notice requirement for five days’ public notice was waived to permit addressing this issue. Susan Lascolette, District 1, said she does not normally support suspending rules but as these changes benefit the public she voted in favor.

The supervisors also adopted codes of behavior and standards of ethics for appointees to board and commissions.

The rules of procedure were amended to codify the practice of allowing people to cede their allotted minutes to another speaker during citizen comment and public hearings for a maximum of ten minutes. Additional clarity was added to rules governing electronic meetings, which, until Covid, were a rarity.

See the January 5 board packet on the county website https://www.goochlandva.us/ beginning on page 8 to read these documents in their entirety.

 

County Administrator Kenneth A. Young welcomed the board to the new year. He said that he expects to be spending a lot of quality time working on the budget for FY 2022, which begins on July 1. In February he will introduce a recommended balanced budget. As largest expenditure in the county budget is public education, Young is working closely with Director of Finance Barbara Horlacher and Dr. Jeremy Raley, superintendent of schools, to monitor changes in state funding that will have an impact on the school budget. He said that the major challenges for the next budget are capital improvement plan and funding public safety.

Young announced that the lighting at the Oilville Road park and ride is operational. He commended Derek Stamey, Deputy County Administrator for Operations, for shepherding this project, and the recent installation of the Welcome to Goochland sign on Rt.6, through complicated processes with partner agencies, including VDOT.

Lighting at the park and ride on Oilville Road is operational.

Citizen comment

Jeremy Raley, speaking as a citizen, thanked he board for its consideration of bonuses for county staff and school employees.

Jonathan Lyle Director of the Monacan Soil and Water Conservation District invited board members to spend time with members of the Goochland Farm Bureau to learn more about local agriculture, which is what keeps Goochland rural. Lyle expressed optimism that the state would increase its monetary support for soil and water programs. He thanked board members for their service and their willingness to look out for Goochland County.

Due to Covid restrictions, no representative of VDOT was present at the meeting. The report is on page 59 of the board packet.

The board approved the consent agenda, which included authorizing Young to execute a purchase order with “Musco Sports Lighting, LLC in an amount not to exceed $267,600 for the removal of existing ballfield lighting and installation of replacement lighting at the Central High Cultural and Educational Complex.” This is the latest upgrade to the many community amenities at this facility. This is part of the relocation of the existing ball field at the intersection of Fairground and Sandy Hook Roads, necessitated by construction of a round-about scheduled for 2022.

A request for VDOT to add an extension of Wilkes Ridge Parkway, located south of Broad Street Road, roughly opposite Wawa, leading to the Avery Point continuing care community, into state maintenance was approved.

The board approved amendments to the charter of the Richmond Regional Planning District Commission, PlanRVA. It is “the one (and only) organization where representatives from each of the region's nine localities can come together to analyze, plan, consult and collaborate on issues and opportunities that impact every citizen and every community.” It is governed by a 33-member board of commissioners allocated by population. Goochland, with three commissioners, tends to get out voted by jurisdictions like Henrico, which has seven and eight for Chesterfield. This is why the bridge over Tuckahoe Creek connecting Ridgefield Parkway with Tuckahoe Creek Parkway will never happen. At least we have a very small seat at a big table. Go to https://planrva.org/ for more information.

 Public hearings

During the evening session, the supervisors held public hearings and approved bonuses for all employees of the county, school, and constitutional officers and their employees. Full time employees will receive $1,500, permanent part- time employees $750, costing $387,540 for the county and $661,240 for schools. The supervisors will not receive a bonus. This is a way of thanking the people who kept things running through the pandemic, in some cases changing assignments and finding creative ways to perform tasks safely. Planned salary increases included in the initial FY 2021 budget were removed to deal with expected revenue shortfalls caused by Covid lockdowns.

Kudos to all county and school employees. The folks who clean and sanitize public buildings, keep the convenience centers operating, and prepare and distribute food to kids across the county are too often overlooked for doing their less than glamorous jobs with grace and enthusiasm.

Lyle thanked the board for considering bonuses. He said as a citizen he feels well served by county government and is pleased at how issues are promptly addressed and happily resolved, which he contended is the result of having a good team. “I live in Goochland because I want to, not because I have to,” he said in support of the bonuses.

Peterson commended county and school staff for displaying immense courage during the unknowns of the pandemic. He thanked them for all of their efforts.

Neil Spoonhower District 2 said he has been incredibly impressed by the way that staff and school employees have gone out of their way to serve the citizens. He thanked the citizens for paying their taxes to make the bonuses possible.

The board also amended the FY 21 budget by approximately $1,331,551, which is approximately 1.5 percent of the $94,289,023 budget. Virginia law requires a locality to hold a public hearing on budget amendments greater than one percent of the total budget. Actual receipts from taxes and other revenue streams have proven to be more robust than anticipated when the FY 21 budget was adopted in April. Each month Horlacher makes recommendations to reinstate expenditures that were removed in the spring.

She reported that real estate and personal property taxes were collected at a rate 95.05 last year, this year 94.06. Horlacher expects the county will meet and exceed expected budget revenues. Other budget supplements were approved and appropriated for the schools and clerk of the court.

CARES Act transfers, whose spending deadline for using money has been extended to December 31,2021, were also approved. Horlacher said that revenues exceed budget expectations. She will update the board on the first two quarters on FY 2021 in February.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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