Looking back and forward

 

Happy New Year!!!

It’s that time of year when we look back at the year slipping into history and peek over the horizon to the new year full of promise and unknowns.

December 2023 marks 15 years of GOMM. Thanks to all of you for reading.

In 2023 we finally crawled out from under Covid and tried to get back to something resembling normal.

Intrepid volunteers continued the revival of Goochland Day in May and are planning an even better event in 2024. Go to Goochland Day for more information.

Founded just before Covid closed the world, the Goochland Community Theatre (https://gvatheatre.org/) put on a full schedule of productions in 2023. This grass roots group is working to become a multifaceted cultural resource for the county.

In January, Goochland’s Board of Supervisors appropriated money over and above that generated by the bond issue to build the new Goochland Elementary School. Ground was broken on February 9. Thanks to careful stewardship by the School Division’s Chief Financial Office Debbie White, the new GES, which has been badly needed since the turn of the century, is expected to welcome students at the start of the next school year.

Land use and growth issues generated much citizen engagement during the year. Small area plan studies for both Centerville and Courthouse Village, begun in 2022, bogged down as detailed recommendations by outside consultants met with robust citizen pushback. A scaled down plan for Courthouse Village was approved in the summer, while the recommended plan for Centerville was voted down by the supervisors.

Citizens raised a ruckus when a conservation easement on Cardwell Road was ignored in attempts to create an event venue there. This raised concerns about how the county enforces “stop work” orders and other zoning mandates to protect neighboring landowners.

New residents complained about the location of the new West Creek Fire-Rescue Station on Hockett Road, for a site chosen before most of their homes were built.

Expansion of broadband coverage in Goochland continued. Though the pace of construction was far too slow for those with little or no high-speed internet access, most should be connected by 2025. Not that long ago, this seemed to be an unattainable dream.

Renewable energy, specifically deployment options for solar panels and storage of the power they generate, was discussed. Removing prime farmland from food production to cover it with solar panels is a concern.

The dreaded roundabout at Fairground and Sandy Hook Roads was in operation months ahead of the original October schedule. This project generated a lot of controversy, complaints, and derision. Now it’s a fact of life that keeps traffic moving through the intersection and eliminates the opportunity to “play chicken” while turning left from Fairground to Sandy Hook at busy times of the day.

Economic development had its ups and downs during the year. Project Rocky, the massive e commerce facility on Ashland Road will not be built after all. A speculative office/warehouse project north of the Lanier Industrial Park on Ashland Road is moving ahead. A Honda dealership on the south side of Broad Street Road at the Henrico County line is moving through the development process.

The long-awaited Chick Fil A opened in June.

There were District specific town hall meetings in the spring, but not in the fall.

Jeremy Raley, Ed. D. left the position of superintendent of Goochland Schools, which he held since 2016, in April to take a job at the state board of education. On July 13, Michael Cromartie, Ed. D. was sworn in as his successor.

We had local elections that brought many new faces to local government, three supervisors, four members of the school board, and a Commonwealth’s Attorney. Goochland also has new representation in state government. Former delegate John McGuire was elected to District 10 seat in the Virginia Senate. Tom Garrett and David Owen were elected to represent the 56^th District and 57^th Districts respectively in the House of Delegates.

What will 2024 bring? Who knows? Those elected to office in 2019 inherited a well-run county and school division. Then the black swan of Covid flew into the world and changed everything.

Thanks to careful management and resourcefulness at every level of government, Goochland crawled out from under the pandemic relatively unscathed.

There are many known challenges ahead.

We’re in very good shape financially. Housing prices in the county have held up well in the face of rising interest rates. This means a likely increase in property assessments, which translates into higher tax revenues. Will the supervisors keep the 53-cent tax rate, or lower it? Last year, in the face of ballooning used car values, they lowered the personal property tax rate.

Budget season is in full swing. This is the time for citizens to pay attention to how county tax dollars are spent, not when they get their tax bills in May. Inflation, whose grubby hand is in everyone’s pocket, will impact the county’s costs next year. Salaries must remain competitive to retain the wonderful people that make our schools and local government excellent. The price tag for everything has gone up. Reconciling departmental needs with available funds will be vital to continued success.

Land use and economic development will remain contentious issues needing hard choices. Constructive citizen engagement is vital to good government when considered by elected officials when making decisions.

May our new officials govern wisely and well. May your 2024 be filled with good health, love, laughter, and few surprises!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Getting around

 

Roads in Goochland are built and maintained by VDOT, not the county. For the past year or so, the supervisors have held regular workshops led by Austin Goyne, who oversees all transportation—read road—projects for the county.

On December 12, the latest of these sessions, and the last for outgoing supervisors Ken Peterson, District 5 and Susan Lascolette, District 1, took place.

Aso in attendance were Board Chair Neil Spoonhower, District 2; Board Vice Chair Charlie Vaughters, District 4; County Attorney Tara McGee; and incoming supervisors Tom Winfree, District 3 and Jonathan Lyle, District 5.

Earlier that morning, RichmondBizsense.com published an article explaining that “Project Rocky,” the huge distribution facility approved on Ashland Road in 2022, was cancelled when the end user decided not to move forward with the project. https://richmondbizsense.com/2023/12/12/project-rocky-developer-scraps-planned-fulfillment-center-goochland-county-says/

Goyne said that the approval of a second Ashland Road bridge over I64 was secured as the result of a traffic study there, not because of Project Rocky, and will move forward. He said that timing of those improvements, which were initially tied to the completion of Project Rocky around 2028, could change. The funding for those improvements, said Goyne, has been approved. He expected more details about the design of the improvements would be shared at meetings with VDOT later in December.

The temporary measures proffered by Project Rocky, including a traffic signal at the south end of the existing Ashland Road bridge over I64, will not be built without private funding. “For the next four or five years, we’ve just got to live with what we’ve got,” Goyne said of traffic conditions in the Ashland Road corridor.

Conceptual plan for Ashland Road diverging diamond

The park and ride on the east side of Ashland Road north of I64 will be moved and enlarged, perhaps beginning in 2026, but details are still in the works. This project, initiated and fully funded by VDOT, is separate from the interchange improvements. Goyne said that there are no current plans to add charging stations for electric vehicles at the park and ride.

General transportation funding was discussed. Goochland competes with the rest of Virginia for road dollars. Areas where congestion is constant, unlike Goochland, where we have morning and evening rush hours, tend to get more road funds. Goyne navigates 12 to 15 different funding sources and mechanisms to pay for county road projects.

The Courthouse Village Sandy Hook/Fairground Road roundabout is not quite finished, explained Goyne. Discussions about maintenance of its center and what, if anything, should be put there followed. While there has been no formal “community conversation” about this, unsolicited suggestions, “some great, some not so great”, have been made by citizens. The roundabout at 522 and 250 has been landscaped.  Goyne said he believes its maintenance costs may be shared by Louisa County and the state.

Landscaping could require irrigation, which could further complicate things, or it could be paved over needing no maintenance. Discussions about this could be held in the new year.

The Hockett Road realignment was the next topic. This will connect Hockett and Ashland Roads at the existing stub on the south side of 250 via a roundabout on Hockett roughly opposite the veterinary office just north of Holly Lane. Initial design concepts that removed the existing traffic signal at Hockett and 250 and closed off the ability to proceed north to St. Matthews Lane generated robust protest from area residents. While official word on this has not been received, Goyne believes that the existing traffic signal will remain in place. The time frame for this is around 2028.

The single lane roundabout planned for the westbound I64 Oilville Road interchange, is desperately needed to deal with the dangerous queuing in the afternoon rush hour, said Goyne. As the interstate is a federal road, $4 million was for the project through the House of Representatives Appropriation Committee. Funding for the remainder of the cost is being pursued through revenue sharing and other sources. The rights of way for this project are already owned by VDOT, which will shave about a year off the construction timeline.

Goyne discussed complicated mechanisms involved in securing funding for road projects. His focus on this and good working relationships he’s built with VDOT, are bringing long needed road improvements to fruition.

Criteria used by the state to prioritize road funding puts public safety first and economic development second.

The bridge over Whitehall Creek on Whitehall Road has been declared structurally deficient. Several other bridges in the county have weight limits. Fire-Rescue Chief D. E. “Eddie” Ferguson said that there are three bridges unable to support the weight of fire engines—at least 30 tons—that require using longer routes, which adds three to five minutes to fire response time. This also slows water shuttle operations during a working fire in areas not served by public water with fire hydrants. The bridge on Old Columbia Road, which is limited to 13 tons, said Ferguson, is a good example. Ambulances are lighter than fire trucks and are not affected by the situation.

Goyne said that bridges are a tricky scenario for funding. Unless a bridge is declared structurally deficient, like the bridge on Whitehall Road, it’s hard to fund money to fix or replace them, but he will keep looking for ways to get the bridge replaced. Funding criteria for bridge funding tends to give priority to heavily used structures in highly populated areas. The cost of replacing bridges, some of which are built of timber, with concrete structures is too expensive to fund with maintenance dollars, further complicating the matter.

Goyne contends that the county’s transportation priority list is one economic development project away from a reshuffle. The list is fluid.

Peterson said that while the Hockett Road realignment will address congestion at the northern end of that road, expected economic development for thousands of acres, will put pressure on weak spots at the southern end where it “tees” at Rt. 6. This, said Peterson, is already a “failing” intersection. When Capital One lets out in the afternoon, there can be as many as 30 cars waiting to turn left toward Rt. 288. Before more traffic is added there, suggested Peterson, plans for a right turn lane, a traffic signal, or other mitigation, should be addressed. This could cause a priority shuffle.

Peterson said that the major thoroughfare plan, created at least five years ago, included all county roads and highlight trouble spots. This enabled the county to allocate scarce transportation resources to fix the worst places. He cited the intersection of Broad Street Road and Rt. 288 in Centerville, which was built with no traffic signals creating a deadly dysfunction. This was given top funding priority and now safely manages traffic.

He said that the major thoroughfare plan needs to be updated but not until the county strategic plan, which he characterized as the “umbrella” plan under which all other strategic plans fall, is updated. This will identify gaps in service and ensure that services are expanded to meet increased demand for them.

Peterson said that the fresh eyes brought to these matters by the incoming board will bring new perspectives to the issues facing Goochland.

To watch the video of this meeting go to the county website https://www.goochlandva.us/ click on “watch county meetings” and under BoS choose December 12.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Turning a page

 

On Tuesday, December 19, the Hon. Timothy K. Sanner, presiding judge of Virginia’s 16^th Circuit, welcomed recently elected county officials, constitutional officers, their staffs, and a full house of family and supporters to Goochland’s venerable—in operation almost 200 years—circuit court to take their oaths of office. Also in attendance were Superintendent of Schools Michael Cromartie Ed. D. and David Owen, newly elected 57^th District Delegate to the Virginia General Assembly.

The Hon. Timothy K. Sanner administering oaths of office

As the swearing in is considered a ceremonial occasion, Sanner suspended the normal rules of court decorum to permit, and encourage, the taking of photographs and applause during the proceedings.

The judge commended those who seek public office for their service to the community. He also recognized the sacrifice they make in fulfillment of those offices to earn the public trust. “It is entirely appropriate on this ceremonial occasion to assemble in this place to honor those who choose to seek elected office and enter public service,” said Sanner. “They take a solemn oath to serve those who placed their faith in them by electing them to office.”

The oath “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge all the duties incumbent upon me as ...................., according to the best of my ability (so help me God)."

Sanner also noted the sacrifice that those who hold public office, and their families, make to serve citizens in the fulfillment of their duties.

Except for Clerk of the Court Amanda Adams and her deputies, who serve an eight-year term, all were sworn in for four-year terms of office. All begin on January 1, 2024.

Sanner administered the oath in the following order:

 Monacan Soil and Water Conservation District Directors Sebastian Volcker and Kate Anderson.

Board of Supervisors, Jonathan Christy, District 1; Neil Spoonhower, District 2; Tom Winfree, District 3; Charlie Vaughters, District 4; and Jonathan Lyle, District 5.

Your new supervisors (ltr) Christie, Spoonhower, Winfree, Vaughters, Lyle (Goochland County photo)

School Board Members, Lucy Meredith Moses, District 1; Karen Wirsing, District 2; Faith Maxwell, District 4; and Ellen Robinson, District 5. Angela Allen, District 3, was not present.

Clerk of the Court, Amanda Adams, resplendent in a sparkly dress appropriate to the exuberance of the occasion, and her deputy clerks.

Amanda Adams and John Lumpkins, Jr.

Commonwealth’s Attorney John Lumpkins, Jr., and his deputy Bernard “BJ” McGee. The husband of County Attorney, Tara McGee, BJ comes to Goochland after serving as a Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney in Henrico. (For those inclined to get their knickers in a twist about conflict of interest, Constitutional offices function separately from county government.)

Tara and BJ McGee 

Sheriff Steven Ned Creasey and his deputies.

Deputies take oath (Goochland County photo)

Commissioner of the Revenue Jennifer Brown and her deputies.

Treasurer Pamela Duncan and her deputies.

These fine people were elected to serve all the citizens of Goochland including, and especially, those who did not vote for them.

Our new leaders inherit a well-run government.  Leave Goochland a better place than you found it and don’t mess it up!

 

Goochland Sheriff's  and Commonwealth's Attorney's  office (Mark Goyne photo)

 

Stewardship

 

On December 5, Ken Peterson, who has represented District 5 on the Board of Supervisors since 2012, presided over his last meeting as chair of the Goochland Finance and Audit Committee. Comprised of three supervisors, the county administrator, and the Director of Financial Services, this committee meets quarterly, usually before a regular board meeting. Peterson was joined by supervisors Neil Spoonhower, District 2, Charlie Vaughters, District 4, County Administrator Vic Carpenter, and Director of Financial Services Carla Cave. Also, present were Dr. Michael Cromartie, Superintendent of Schools, Debbie White, GCPS Chief Financial Officer, and Tara McGee, county attorney.

The audit committee was created in 2013 to assist the Board of Supervisors in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities for financial reporting, internal control systems, and audit processes.  The Committee meets quarterly, or as needed to:

• Consider the independent auditor's proposed audit scope and approach and provide input on areas for special attention.
• Review annual financial statements and the results of the independent audit.
• Review the independent auditor's findings and recommendations, together with management's responses, regarding internal controls.
• Recommend appointment, reappointment, or dismissal of independent auditors to the Board of Supervisors.
• Request regular/periodic financial reports on potential areas of concern, as needed.
• Monitor any areas of concern regarding internal controls over financial reporting, as needed.

The first order of business was the presentation of the county’s annual certified financial report (ACFR) by Mike Garber, a partner with PBMares, LLP, the outside auditing firm retained by Goochland to perform the county’s annual audit. Garber made the formal presentation to the entire board later in the day.

As has been the case for the past several years, the ACFR was unmodified, or “clean” and the financial condition of the county is good. Garber pointed out that this does not happen by accident but is the product of hard work and attention to detail by the finance staff. The annual audit will be posted in its entirety on the county website after submission to the state. (Go to https://www.goochlandva.us/ on the financial services tab for details.)

Garber noted that several accounting standards and policies are used when completing the ACFR. He said that it is the auditor’s job to make sure that those are working, but it is the supervisors’ job to make sure that those standards are in place and applied to county finances.

Garber said that Goochland staff works well with PBMares auditors supplying input that makes the county financial operations better. He said that when his firm began to work with Goochland, our county was a “high risk” auditee due to the 40 material findings of a previous audit. It took Goochland several years to work its way out of that category, which involved deeper dives into procedures and controls. Over the years, he said, Goochland has demonstrated its commitment to financial excellence.

PBMares has been the county auditor for several cycles, rotating its personnel assigned to the Goochland account every few years to ensure that county finances are scrutinized by “fresh eyes”. Next year, the county will seek new auditors as part of best practices.

At the afternoon Board meeting, Garber “jumped in to the celebration” of the three outgoing supervisors, Peterson, Susan Lascolette, District 1, and John Lumpkins, Jr. District 3. He said that he enjoyed working with them over the years on the audit committee and entire board. Some of his other clients merely listen to his presentations. Goochland supervisors, however, have comments and questions to better understand the audit process, and what the reports mean.

“For those who had no political aspirations and didn’t know this is where you would end up, kudos to how well you always represented yourselves and Goochland County,” said Garber.

He pointed out that AAA bond ratings are not handed out easily. Citizens do not understand how much money those ratings save the county. The process starts at the top by adopting policies and procedures that make a county stronger.

Back to the Audit Committee meeting. In November 2013, the supervisors formally adopted Financial Management Policies crafted by the audit committee, which were refined every few years. On December 5, the committee proposed further amendments, which were adopted by the supervisors later in the day.

The importance of adopting, and following, financial policies that require detailed accounting and careful use of public funds cannot be overstated. Having strategies in place to navigate economic “bumps in the road” to make raising tax rates to meet the county’s obligations a last resort cannot be overstated.

The financial management policies provide clear guidelines about how the county will spend its money and insulate itself from financial crisis and economic disruption. Other objectives include promotion of long- and short-term financial stability by establishing clear and consistent guidelines; focus on the financial condition of the whole county rather than single item issues; and link long term planning with day-to-day operations.

Peterson often used the term “smoothing” to describe dealing with the impact of external ups and downs of county finances. Among these practices is a requirement to adopt structurally balanced budgets whose expenditures do not exceed expected revenues.

Creation of a revenue stabilization reserve policy—sometimes called a “rainy day” fund—was also established with threshold triggers for its use and replenishment.

Amendments made on December 5 were the expectation of a structurally balanced budget without using fund balance; inclusion of potential funding sources for all items in the capital improvement plan; inclusion of  both assigned and unassigned amounts to determine available fund balance; and better definition of terms governing use of the revenue stabilization reserve if actual general fund revenues, excluding the use of prior year fund balance, decline by more than three percent of revenues collected at the same time in the prior year; or if real estate assessments have declined by more than three percent from the previous year.

To read the entire policy go to policy This is the 2018 version, hopefully, the county will replace it with the latest version soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deja vu all over again

 

In 1995, Motorola bought approximately 230 acres of land in West Creek to build a computer chip plant, valued at $3 billion. It was touted as the largest single investment in Motorola’s history. The facility was planned to be a 1.5 million square-foot five-building semiconductor manufacturing center projected to employ 5,000 people. The company spent at least $20 million to buy the land and do site work in the next year. In September 1998, the company announced that, due to weak demand for semiconductors, it was suspending construction on the site, which was mostly parking lots.

The good news is that the plant was not built and abandoned leaving Goochland with an expensive white elephant.

Motorola road and parking

Soccer Complex on chip plant site

Motorola officially terminated the project in September 2002, citing changes in the industry. The property was sold to Markel Corporation in 2005 for $18.1 million. Markel has leased a portion of the property to the Richmond Strikers for a soccer facility and, for a time, some of the parking lots to Capital One for employee use.

Fast forward to 2022 when a rezoning application for approximately 94 acres on the west side of Ashland Road north of I64 was filed by California based Panattoni Development Company for an entity code named “project Rocky” appeared on Goochland land use radar. Though never formally acknowledged, the end user of the 650k square foot e-commerce distribution center, was believed to be Amazon.

Although located in an area of Goochland that, for decades, has been designated for industrial use, the project drew robust opposition from area residents who travel in the already congested Ashland Road corridor. Objections included contentions that more traffic, especially tractor trailers, would threaten their lives by drastically increasing EMS response times, and increased air pollution from more vehicles would cause health problems.

Traffic congestion was the biggie. Even without Rocky, the Ashland Road corridor is often clogged with dump trucks moving rock from the three area quarries, and tractor trailers accessing the 623 landfill. Traffic signal queues at busy times of the day can extend for a mile.

The project attracted the attention of the state government that supported approval for construction of a second bridge over I64 to construct a four-lane diverging diamond, which will vastly improve traffic flow.

Following community meetings, and public hearings, the supervisors approved the project in August 2022. Though permits were filed, and initial engineering and site design began on what was characterized as a “very complicated project” soon after the rezoning was approved, the property never changed hands.

At a December 12 transportation workshop attended by present and future supervisors, County Engineer Austin Goyne, said that the demise of Project Rocky will not have an impact on the diverging diamond project.

Conditions on Ashland Road were so bad, that, while Rocky got the state’s attention, it met VDOT Smart Scale funding threshold criteria on its own merits. Details of the interchange design are expected to be revealed at a December 20 meeting, said Goyne. Engineering will follow. Construction is expected to begin in June 2028. The rezoning of the Project Rocky site, which is still valid, was the main consideration in the Smart Scale ranking. “The funding for this project is 100 percent approved,” Goyne said of the new I64 bridge and DDI project.

Board Chair Neil Spoonhower District 2 said that, due to the demise of Project Rocky, the timing of the interchange improvements could change. He has a meeting with Panattoni later this week to discuss their plans, if any, for the site.

Goyne said that a study of the entire Ashland Road corridor—from Broad Street Road to north of the Lanier Industrial Park—transportation issues will be part of a report to the Federal government in the spring, with recommendations following in the summer.

Where do we go from here? The M-2 zoning for the Project Rocky site remains in place, removing what can be a complicated and lengthy step in the development process. The Goochland Economic Development Department is working with the landowner to market the property. Earlier this year, land a bit to the north on Ashland Road was rezoned for speculative warehouse/office use to attract smaller companies.

The good news is that Rocky was shut down before anything was built. The next buyer of the land has a clean slate.

 

 

 

Hail and farewell

 

The last Supervisors who led “the Goochland Revolution” complete their terms at the end of the month.

Twelve years ago, Goochland County was in trouble. The biggest elephant in the room, the Tuckahoe Creek Service District, had diarrhea, which could have put the county into bankruptcy. Real estate assessments, the county’s primary source of tax revenue, continued to decline. The treasurer had just been convicted of embezzling public funds.

In the spring of 2011, four people Susan Lascolette District 1, Manuel Alvarez District 2, Bob Minnick District 4, and Ken Peterson District 5 threw their hats in the ring to run for supervisor. All but Peterson faced opposition from long-entrenched incumbents. They hoped to join the late and Very Honorable, Ned Creasey who was running for his second term as District 3 Supervisor, and then County Administrator the late Rebecca Dickson, to turn the county around. The election was a clean sweep. The rest is history. (For details, read GOMM posts from those times to see just how bad things were.)

Soon after taking office, the new board realized that no matter how hard they worked—and they did work very hard—they couldn’t make everyone happy. Nevertheless, these fine public servants transformed Goochland from an embarrassment to an exemplar. Under their leadership, our county earned three AAA bond ratings, becoming the smallest jurisdiction in the United States to do so.

They were all re-elected in 2015. In March 2018, Creasey passed away and John Lumpkins, Jr., who had been elected to the school board in 2011 and 2015, was appointed in April 2018 to complete Creasey’s term. Lumpkins was elected in his own right in 2019.

Minnick and Alvarez stepped down four years ago, succeeded by the late Don Sharpe and Neil Spoonhower, respectively. In 2019, Lascolette and Peterson ran for third terms, Lumpkins a second full term. This year, none sought another term on the board. Lumpkins was elected Goochland Commonwealth’s Attorney in November.

At the December 5 board meeting, resolutions commending and thanking the outgoing supervisors mentioning some of the many accomplishments made while they were in office, were approved, (See the board packet available on the county website goochlandva.us for details)

Beginning in 2012, the “new” board brought differing gifts, skill sets, and profound common sense to the task of governing and serving the citizens of Goochland.

Refinancing the TCSD debt, which has and will save the county millions of dollars, and crafting and adopting sound financial management practices, led to Goochland securing the “triple triple” bond ratings. These financial policies not only kept the county’s money under careful control but earned many awards for excellence in financial reporting.

Their thoughtful engagement with citizens resulted in renovating Central High School into a cultural and educational center, instead of demolishing this iconic structure. Strong support for public safety led to building the first county owned fire-rescue station in Hadensville and construction of the Sheriff’s Emergency Operations and Communications Center.

The first county budget approved by Lascolette and Peterson in the spring of 2012 was $67.6 million, the budget for the current fiscal year, approved last April, totaled $141.05 million, all while keeping the real estate tax rate at 53 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.

These dedicated public servants attended hundreds of regular meetings, and even more public hearings, many on controversial matters.  There were also thousands of phone calls, emails and in person conversations with constituents. They also held many district specific town hall meetings and represented Goochland on many regional boards. They always treated citizens with dignified courtesy even while being castigated for pending or previous actions. They made the difficult seem easy and never failed to make hard choices, even when they knew their decisions would not be popular.

This “new” board changed county government’s attitude from “we can’t” to “how can we?” For instance, bringing high speed internet access to the entire county was seen as impossible. Though it was a long road, establishment of the Goochland High Speed internet committee led to the county’s partnership with Firefly Broadband that is connecting users to broadband every day.

After decades of dispute the boundary between Goochland and Louisa counties was agreed upon and memorialized.

Their enthusiastic support for the Sheriff’s Office and fire-rescue by funding personnel including deployment of career fire-rescue providers at each county station 24/7, equipment, and salary enhancements has kept citizens safer.

After holding a bond referendum in the 2021 election supported by a majority of voters, the county issued general obligation bonds in 2022 before interest rates exploded. Bond proceeds will fund capital projects including the new Goochland Elementary School currently under construction, a fire-rescue station, and a new circuit courthouse.

Peterson contributed extensive professional experience in the world of finance to his service as a supervisor. The importance of his instrumental role in the restructuring of the TCSD debt, advocating for and creating sound fiscal policy and operational standards for Goochland government cannot be overstated.

Goochland Sheriff Steven Creasey, who was joined at the the meeting by several deputies and dispatchers, told the outgoing supervisors “it’s been a great ride serving with y’all. We could not have done what we accomplished in the past years without your complete support. It has been amazing.”

Creasey presented Lascolette, Lumpkins, and Peterson with plaques expressing greatest appreciation for their steadfast commitment to public safety.

Board Chair Neil Spoonhower, District 2, said that the board of supervisors’ team is the best he’s ever worked with, especially because of the collaboration among members. Spoonhower also recognized the work of the late District 4 Supervisor Don Sharpe.

“For the last years you have put Goochland first, put egos aside and worked together well. We disagreed, didn’t always have 5-0 votes, but got the job done for the citizens. What I really appreciate about this board is that we never did the easy thing, we did the hard. There were times when we could have done the easy thing, but this board, through its leadership, showed us how to do the right thing. Thank you for that. I’m going to miss you.”

Lascolette recalled election night 2011 and the exhilaration of the team when they realized that they won. “It didn’t take very long for us to realize uh-oh, we won. Fortunately, we had great mentors in Becky Dickson, Ned Creasey and Lisa Beczkiewicz, who had our backs and watched out for us. Our new board was looking to fulfill the mandate given it by the citizens. There was no ego involved, we just worked for the common good.”

 

Susan Lascolette and Vic Carpenter

She said that “this twelve years has given me a great appreciation for the diversity and beauty of this county and its people. I’ve made a lot of great friends and met people that I don’t agree with, but I’ve learned from every single person.  Staff has been wonderful. I’d like to thank the rest of the board who have always been friends and mentors, especially Ken. It’s been my personal joy to support the priorities of this county, public safety, and education. It’s time for a new generation to take over and I truly appreciate the opportunity to serve.”

 

Peterson said it is the right time to “thank those who helped us along the way.” He thanked the citizens for putting their trust and faith in him that he would take the job seriously, give it a hundred percent and do a good job to the best of his ability. He too thanked his fellow supervisors and staff for support along the way.

 

Ken Peterson and Vic Carpenter

“Maybe we didn’t change the world, but I think we did manage to make our little corner of it better. Twelve years ago, the citizens of Goochland decided change was in order and asked ten citizens with no pollical experience or ambitions to step forward as citizen legislators on the board of supervisors and school board to change things for the better. After fulfilling their commitment and accomplishing their mission, the last remaining members of both boards will exercise self-imposed term limits and leave office voluntarily after no more than 12 years in office. Balanced budgets and term limits are possible.”

 

Peterson honored the memory of those no longer with us, Becky Dickson and Supervisors Ned Creasey and Don Sharpe, “who were so instrumental in taking this county from where is was to where it is and could be.”

 

Peterson said he will miss most the people and relationships he’s established during his tenure in office. “We’ve worked some very long days in short years and during that journey we’ve made history. We set very high standards and inspired others by demonstrating the art of the possible. If we can do it, perhaps others can.”

He wished the incoming board well as they take Goochland to levels not yet achieved. “They will all make us feel blessed to call Goochland home, I sure do because this is a very special place.”

 

He also thanked his wife Joan, the First Lady of District 5, “for graciously sharing me with the county and her unwavering support. I could not have done it without you. Sweetheart, thank you for always being there. And thank you Goochland County. It has been a true honor and distinct pleasure to serve you.”

 

Lumpkins said, that having begun public service on the school board, he has a somewhat different perspective. He said that while he has fond memories of his days on the school board, it has been an honor and privilege to serve as a supervisor. He said that Goochland is a special place. “I’ve had a chance to observe that from this perch. He too wished the incoming board well and looks forward to working with them as Commonwealth’s Attorney.

John Lumpkins and Vic Carpenter

 

Former District 2 supervisor the Honorable Manuel Alvarez, who was elected in 2011, served two terms as a supervisor and ten months as interim county administrator before Vic Carpenter was hired, thanked Lascolette, Lumpkins, and Peterson for their leadership and the honor of working with them.

 

“We were a perfect team. When we first got elected it was like drinking from a fire hose. We were able to meet before we were sworn in to set priorities. We all agreed that the Tuckahoe Creek Service District had to be fixed. We worked on other things at the same time including agriculture and broadband.”

 

The old saying “if you love what you do you will never work a day in your life,” applies to his time on the board. “There were issues and difficult meetings. We were here until two o’clock one Tuesday. Overall, it’s been great. The bond ratings set a bar for the future. If those become suspect, the people will know.”

Alvarez thanked the board for approving funds for the temporary Sandy Hook Fire-Rescue Station, another of his goals twelve years ago.

 

There are no adequate words to express the gratitude Goochland County owes to these fine people.

 

This is truly a passing of the torch to new ideas and viewpoints. Incoming supervisors, you inherit a well-run government. Don’t mess it up!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

December Board highlights

 

Goochland Supervisors held their last regular monthly meeting on December 5. The day was bittersweet as it began with tributes to outgoing supervisors Susan Lascolette, Ken Peterson, and John Lumpkins, and moved on to more routine matters.

County Administrator Vic Carpenter reported that the annual Christmas Tree lighting was a well attended magical event enjoyed by all.

Last month, a resident of the Reed Marsh community contended that the Board needed to revisit its decision to allow construction traffic to use Reed Marsh Lane as the primary access road for the Rural Hill subdivision. Carpenter said that staff considered the impact of new construction traffic, as well as the traffic impact analysis studies commissioned for that project and that Reed Marsh residents attended that meeting. Carpenter said that the supervisors weighed all pertinent information before making their decision and the matter is closed.

Santa will call at least 110 kids next week to make their holidays extra special.

County offices will close at noon on December 22 and reopen for normal hours on December 26. Convenience centers will be closed on Christmas, but reopen on December 26, which Carpenter said, “is the busiest garbage day of the year.”

A public hearing on zoning ordinance amendment was deferred until February 6 for additional fine tuning.

Fire-Rescue

D. E. “Eddie” Ferguson Jr., Goochland’s Chief of Fire-Rescue and Emergency services made his bimonthly report, which can be viewed in its entirety beginning on page 52 of the board packet https://goochlandcountyva.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1417&Inline=True

Goochland Fire-Rescue is looking for new volunteers. He reminded everyone to use caution with Christmas decorations and that every home should have at least one working smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detector in place. If you need a smoke alarm, call the fire-rescue office at 1-804-556-5304 to request one at no charge.

Ferguson thanked the board for the initiative to start the Sandy Hook Fire-Rescue Station on Whitehall Road. EMS units deployed from that location have drastically reduced response times.

Santa Runs, when the Jolly Elf tours parts of Goochland on Fire Engines are coming up in the next few weeks.

Elections

Goochland’s General Registrar Ryan Mulligan, with Electoral Board Chair Pamela Johnson and Vice Chair Robert Walker, reported on last month’s elections. Of Goochland’s 22,328 registered voters, 12,884 cast ballots for an approximately 58 percent turnout. Mulligan said that the election went pretty smoothly. Precinct 402, St. Mathew’s Church in District 4 reported long lines on election day. That poling place, said Mulligan, currently has about 3,980 voters and is growing fast as people move into District 4. He indicated that something has to be done about adding a new polling place in District 4 before next year’s presidential election.

 

Mulligan alluded to “some pretty unacceptable behavior by candidates on election day and the day before while setting up tents. It was just not a good look for Goochland County.” He said it may cause a polling place to decline to participate in future elections.

Absentee voting beings January 19 for the presidential primary; with Congressional primaries later in the spring and the general election in November.

Board Reports

Finance Committee The county finance committee met before the board meeting to receive the completed Annual Certified Financial Report for fiscal year 2023, which ended on June 30, from external auditors PBMares. As has been the case for the last several years, the audit was clean and will be filed with the state by its December 15 deadline.

Central Virginia Transportation Authority

Board chair Neil Spoonhower, District 2, who represents Goochland on the CVTA, a regional board that prioritizes transportation projects and funding, said that there will be a significant amount of turnover on that agency in the coming year. He said that a member of that Board Patricia Page, a New Kent County supervisor who recently passed away will be missed. “She was a great friend of mine and a force to be reckoned with. She got to see the shovel go into the ground for the I64 widening through New Kent. Our prayers go out to her and her family. She was a great ally for us and the region as well as a hell of a biker and wonderful fisherman.”

ACFR

Mike Garber, a principal with PBMares, presented the county’s annual certified financial statement, which had no findings, a clean audit. Garber commended Director of Finance Carla Cave, her staff and county staff in general for their fine work in managing the county’s fiscal affairs.

Garber also bid farewell to Lascolette, Peterson, and Lumpkins. He said that, unlike some of his other governing board clients who rarely comment on financial reports, Goochland’s outgoing supervisors always asked questions for clarification and learning. Garber also said that he believes that citizens do not fully understand how much money the county’s “triple triple” earning three AAA bond ratings saves them when debt it issued. He pointed out that those bond ratings are not “handed out easily” and starts from the top with the county administrator and supervisors adopting fiscal policies that make the county stronger.

Broadband

The monthly broadband update included a presentation by Gary Wood, President and CEO of Firefly Fiber Broadband. Wood gave a brief update on progress being made expanding Firefly broadband availability in Goochland. (See the board packet, starting on page 67 for details).

Dominion Energy is awaiting approval by the State Corporation Commission to get permission to lease their lines to Firefly for connection to users. Wood estimated that this would happen by next April. Now that elections are over, the General Assembly needs to get its act together and appoint new commissioners to the SCC so it can end these regulatory log jams.

Wood then discussed other opportunities to connect those without broadband access in all parts of the county. He displayed this map (insert screen shot). The blue areas are covered by the various broadband expansion projects. The red dots, however, represent other areas with no service. Some of these dots are locations with very long driveways that Comcast will not serve.

Red "freckles" are underserved locations

Wood said that they’re looking at a way to connect those “freckles”, which are between 800 and 1,000 that Comcast cannot serve. Wood asked the board for a letter of support for this initiative and “a little bit of money” to lay fiber and connect those locations. Wood said the request from Goochland would be about $250k, which is about $260 per “passing”. He expects that enough new customers who have no other broadband options will connect so that Firefly can break even. This will put fiber on most major roads and allow Firefly to pick up these users. This would also include an additional application for grant funding from the Virginia Telecommunications Act (VATI). Wood said that Firefly will not ask Goochland for more money.

 

The Board voted unanimously to authorize the county administrator to execute a letter of support for the 2024 VATI grant, which is due December 19, 2023.

Lascolette thanked Wood. “I personally feel this is the best partnership that Goochland could have wished for.”

First quarter general fund projections

Cave said that projections indicate that revenues for the first quarter of FY 24, which ended on September 30, will be approximately $700k higher than estimates. This is due to an increase in real estate tax receipts and interest being higher than expected.  Numbers will be clearer in February after December tax payments are recorded.

Eagle Scouts

The supervisors commended Rainer Schmitz, Noah Wensel, and Luca Gardner, members of Boy Scout Troop 710, for attaining the rank of Eagle Scout. Troop 710 was also recognized for installation of its 100th Eagle Scout.

 

Public hearings

·       Amendments to the FY24 budget required public hearings under state law because they total more than one percent of budgeted expenditures. The items are appropriation of $589,058 in the capital improvement fund for sidewalks on both sides of the Fairground Road extension; appropriation of $744,860 in the capital improvement fund for the Hockett Road realignment fund; and appropriated of $1 million for site improvements to the property serving as the future location of the Sandy Hook Fire-Rescue station we approved.

·       Renewal of a conditional use permit for a place of public assembly and wedding venue on Sheppard Town Road for 15 years was approved.

·       Renewal of a CUP by Andrew Swift to operate sales and service for automobiles and farm equipment at 1269 Broad Street Road in Oilville was approved.

·       Rezoning application filed by Boone Homes for three acres on Blair Road from A-2 to R-3 to essentially add three lots to the Blair Estates subdivision was approved.

·       A rezoning application filed by Raymond Moore for 16.059 acres on Rockford Road from A-2 to R-1 to create a six-lot subdivision was denied.

·       A rezoning application filed by Towne & Country Realty Partners LLC for 55.207 acres on the west side of Hockett Road from A-2 to RPUD to create a 51 single family subdivision was approved.

·       Addition of the parcels in the Hockett Road subdivision to the Tuckahoe Creek Service District was approved.

·       

A recording of the meeting in its entirety is available on the county website https://www.goochlandva.us/ under “watch county meetings.”