Back together

 

Ken Peterson talks money

Goochland County resumed its practice of holding in person town hall meetings, with a western session for Districts 1, 2, and 3 on October 14 and a second for eastern districts 4 and 5 on October 19. The purpose of town halls is to update residents about the county and schools and provide an opportunity for citizens to raise concerns and ask questions of elected and appointed officials.

The eastern town hall at Salem Baptist Church, had a fairly good turnout considering it competed with the Atlanta Braves’ playoff game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Interim County Administrator Manuel Alvarez, Jr. welcomed the group. He invited all to attend the County’s Fall Festival on October 30 from 12 to 4 at the Goochland Sports Complex (behind the county administration building at 1800 Sandy Hook Road in Courthouse Village. This will also be the last day for early voting at the same place.

Vice Chair of the Goochland Board of Supervisors, Ken Peterson, District 5 gave a brief overview of the county’s financial position. He said that Goochland’s recently earned AAA credit rating from Fitch Ratings, Inc., joined similar ratings from Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s to complete a hat trick of fiscal soundness. This places the county in the rarefied position of being perhaps the only jurisdiction of its size, 25,000, to achieve this feat.

These bond ratings, said Peterson, put Goochland in an excellent position to finance badly needed capital projects including a new elementary school; improvements to the high school/middle school complex; a new courthouse complex; and fire-rescue station in West Creek. If voters approve the two bond referendum questions on the current general election ballot, the county will be authorized to issue general obligation bonds at the most favorable interest rates. This will save taxpayers money and NOT INCREASE THE REAL ESTATE TAX RATE FROM ITS CURRENT 53 CENTS PER $100 OF VALUATION.

Peterson also discussed the Tuckahoe Creek Service District (TCSD). When first created in 2002, an ad valorem tax was levied on all property in the TCSD (go to https://www.goochlandva.us/Faq.aspx?TID=41, for detailed information) to service debt on funds borrowed from the Virginia Resources Authority to build utility trunk lines. For a variety of reasons, optimistic estimates of growth in the TCSD did not materialize, so the ad valorem tax rate was increased to keep up with escalating interest payments. Thanks to two refinancings, one in 2012 the other last year, the ad valorem tax has held steady at 32 cents per $100 of assessed valuation for the last several years.

A resident of Parkside Village, an age-restricted community in the northeast corner of the county, said that the ad valorem tax places a burden on retired people. She contended that, because their community has no impact on the schools, it should not have to pay full real estate tax and the ad valorem tax.

This comment highlights the failure of developers and realtors to disclose information about the ad valorem tax when homes are sold. Many new TCSD residents are shocked to find a line item on their real estate tax bill for the additional 32 cents. If there is a way for the county to mandate disclosure of the extra tax to potential buyers, it should be put in place.

Age restricted communities are exempt from the school portion of cash proffers paid on homes built as the result of rezoning. When the county crafted a 25-year capital improvement plan in 2018 to gauge the impact of development, it was noted that age-restricted communities generate more calls for emergency medical services than the general population.

Another citizen observed that recent “improvements” to the intersection of River Road and Route 6 near the Richmond Country Club did little to mitigate road hazards there. Instead of squaring off the intersection to provide better visibility of oncoming traffic, VDOT—the state agency whose motto is “Oops!”—added more storage in the turn lane but did not square off the intersection to provide better site lines for turning vehicles. This, he contended, was a waste of money.

Broadband

Broadband expansion is happening in Goochland. The county has partnered with a number of private providers include RISE (https://www.fireflyva.com/rise/) and Port80 (www.port80.us) to bring affordable high speed internet via fiber optic cable, to all of the county by the end of 2023. Alvarez said the total estimated cost of installing 276 miles of fiber to connect 2,765 “unserved passings” is $25,220,000. Of that $17,532,500 will be paid by the Firefly Broadband Project); $4,050,000 from Virginia Telecommunication Initiative (VATI) grants; with the $3,637,500 remainder being contributed by Goochland. The county will use a portion of the Covid relief money it received from the federal government for this purpose.

Redistricting

The results of the 2020 Federal Census are in. To no one’s surprise, Districts 4 and 5 saw the greatest growth in population in the last decade. The total county population in 2010 was 21,717, in 2020 it rose to 24,727. The county is waiting for the state to complete its redistricting maps before making any local changes. There will be community meetings as a public hearing on the realignment of voting districts before they are adopted.

Economic Development

At long last, Chick-fil-a is coming to Goochland! It will be located near the Audi dealership on Broad Street Road in Centerville. No time line was given. Other new businesses either here or on the near horizon include Dollar General stores in both Hadensville and Georges Tavern; Advance Auto Parts in the Broadview Shopping Center; Greenswell Growers hydroponic farm on Hockett Road; and Valvoline and Tommy’s Car Wash next to Wawa.

 

Schools

Mike Newman, District 4, vice chair of the Goochland School Board, said that his four-year tenure as principal of Goochland High School was the best experience of his 40-year education career. “Our school board works hard to make our schools the best they can be for all of our kids,” Newman said.

Superintendent of Schools Jeremy Raley told the assemblage that for the fourth consecutive year the Goochland School District has been ranked as the best in the Richmond Metro region by Niche.com(https://www.niche.com/k12/d/goochland-county-public-schools-va/) with the best teachers.

He said that, if the stars align on financing, design, permitting, bidding, and the thousand other things needed to build a school, the new Goochland Elementary School will welcome students at the start of the 2024 school year. The facility will be designed to provide a positive learning environment and serve the county for the next 75 years.

Raley outlined the many programs offered to prepare students for the next step in their lives be it college, a job, or the military. The graduation rate is at 97 percent, Raley wants to get to 100. Our excellent career and technical education (CTE) program offerings include heavy equipment operator; culinary arts; health care, and a renewable energy program teaching industry skill for wind turbine and solar panel maintenance. (Go to goochlandschools.org for more information).

Raley touched briefly on the balanced calendar being investigated as a possible strategy to enhance the learning experience for students.  Several in person and virtual meetings on this topic have and will be scheduled. (Go to https://www.goochlandschools.org/article/525795 for details)

Monacan Soil and Water Conservation Director Jonathan Lyle asked Raley about changing the status of CTE classes in agricultural subjects. He contended that students shy away from them because their academic weighting could have a negative impact on grade point averages. Ag education is crucial to creating the next generation of farmers, which are necessary for that rural character we all want to preserve. Raley agreed to look at the matter District 5 School Board member J. D. Wright pointed out that most school systems do not have this kind of constructive interaction between school administration and an outside agency. Another reason that Goochland Schools are special.

The “slides” used in the presentations are available at https://www.goochlandva.us/DocumentCenter/View/8146/Goochland-County-and-Goochland-County-Public-Schools---Town-Hall-October-2021---Eastern-Town-Hall.

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