October in the board room

 

The Goochland Board of Supervisors had a full and varied agenda for its October 5 meeting.

Interim County Administrator Manuel Alvarez, Jr. announced upcoming in person town hall meetings. During these sessions, the county and schools will make presentations and listen to district specific concerns from citizens on any topic. Staff will be present to answer questions and share information. On October 14, the western town hall meeting for Districts 1, 2, and 3 will be held at the Central High School Educational and Cultural Center 2748 Dogtown Road. On October 19, the District 4 and 5 meeting will be held at Salem Baptist Church 465 Broad Street Road, Manakin Sabot. Both meetings start at 6:30 p.m.

Trick or treat on October 28 at the county administration building from 3:30 to 4:30. Children are encouraged to wea their costumes and meet county staff to safely trick or treat at each department.

The County’s annual fall festival will take place on Saturday October 30 at the Goochland Sports Complex—behind the county administration building in Courthouse Village. Attractions will include live music, a petting zoo, pony rides, a children’s costume contest, and an apple pie contest. Alvarez encouraged anyone with a flair for making apple pies to enter the contest. He is one of the judges and hopes for the opportunity to taste many pies. This will also be the last opportunity for absentee in person early voting at the voter satellite office located in the sports complex gym.

A proclamation recognizing October as domestic abuse aware month was adopted. GoochlandCares has a comprehensive program dealing with domestic violence that helped 84 people in 2020. The program includes a 24-hour hotline; facilitating safety plans; shelter; counseling; and help seeking protective orders. See http://www.goochlandcares.org/ for details. Sally Graham, Director of GoochlandCares, thanked the supervisors for their support. “This is a pervasive problem in our area, it doesn’t matter what your income is,” Graham said of domestic violence.

Alvarez commended Goochland County Building Official Gary Fisher on his appointment to the International Code Council (https://www.iccsafe.org/), which, according to its website is “..the leading global source of model codes and standards and building safety solutions that include product evaluation, accreditation, technology, training, and certification. The Code Council's codes, standards, and solutions are used to ensure safe, affordable, and sustainable communities and buildings worldwide.”

 

“The appointment speaks volumes for Gary’s expertise and our commitment to our employee’s growth into becoming leaders at the state, federal, and international level,” said Alvarez. “Congratulations to Gary and his department for the great work they are doing here, and which has been recognized beyond our borders.”

For a nice change of pace, Goochland Elementary School Librarian Sarah Smith and some fifth graders showed the supervisors how they use a genre café to broaden their literary horizons.

On library day, Smith explained, students do a “tasting” of books in unfamiliar areas. The students distributed menus to the supervisors that included appetizers, entrees, and desserts for different genres and a “test” to identify their reading “type”.  As with unfamiliar foods, after “tasting” new genres, the students reflect on what they liked or did not prefer in subject matter. This creative method encourages students to read for enjoyment starting a satisfying lifelong habit of reading for fun and to learn new things.

The supervisors set a public hearing for its Wednesday, November 3 meeting on an ordinance amendment removing language that allows certain persons to kill a dog when chasing poultry. The current ordinance, according to County Attorney Tara McGee, is not in accordance with state law, which only authorizes such actions for dogs chasing livestock. She said that state law only authorizes such action when a dog is chasing livestock, not poultry, the county ordinance is not legally permitted to include this (poultry) provision, which exceeds state law authority. (See page 61 of the October board packet available on the county website https://www.goochlandva.us/ for details)

The supervisors got a look at the county’s proposed legislative agenda for the 2022 session of the Virginia General Assembly. As Virginia is a Dillon Rule state—localities have only those powers ceded to them by the Commonwealth—working closely with out delegation to the GA is vital to ensure that the interest of the county and schools is protective from overreach from Richmond.

In September, the supervisors, school board, constitution officers, and representatives from the Monacan Soil and Water Conservation Board met with our delegation to discuss recent actions of seemingly never ending 2021 session and look ahead to next year. All members of the House of Delegates are up for election along with the governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general.

Paul Drumwright, administrative services manager, who keeps a watchful eye on the doings at the state capital, presented the proposed 2022 legislative agenda. The county’s priority positions are” prohibit marijuana retail stores unless approved by local referendum; prohibit marijuana cultivation facilities from selling directly to customers; give localities the authority to prohibit or regulate the use of binary explosive kits containing an oxidizer and fuel source; and provide reimbursement for the compensation and expense of the electoral board.

Priority requests for the school division include support for legislation that “...allows for local autonomy on education issues impacting Goochland County students, staff, and families;” repeal of legislation the removed flexibility for school divisions to maintain teacher quality through performance evaluations; advocate for legislation that reduces the total number and type of SOL assessments; and create and establish a school construction fund.

Priority requests from the school division  include support for broadband expansion; support for early childhood education and preschool opportunities for students; repeal of legislation that supports collective bargaining efforts; adjust the funding formula for regional governor’s schools to accommodate the needs of full day programs; support for legislation that moves the state closer to fully funding standards of quality; and oppose any bill that creates parental choice educational savings accounts.

The 2022 legislative agenda is expected to be adopted by the supervisors at their November 3 meeting.

At the end of their afternoon session, the supervisors went into closed session to discuss recruitment for the vacant county administrator position.

Report on election integrity and early voting.

At the start of the board’s evening session, Secretary of the Goochland Electoral Board Robin Lind and General Registrar Ryan Mulligan explained how the electoral process is administered in Goochland. Go to https://goochlandva.new.swagit.com/videos/141202 at about the 4:04 mark to hear the entire presentation. It is well worth a listen.

Lind said that accuracy is the watchword of those involved in Goochland’s electoral process. In 2020 Goochland voters had the highest percentage turnout in the state. “They are rightly proud of their turnout, the demonstration of their civic engagement. They should be equally proud and confident of the accuracy of their results. A virtuous citizenry deserves nothing less.”

Lind went on to praise the work of all involved in elections to guard against any fraudulent activity. Lind and Mulligan responded to several questions posed by the supervisors.