Getting to know you

Goochland Supervisors and staff gather

 

Our new supervisors gathered on the frosty morning of January 20 at the Goochland Residence Inn at the Notch, opposite Wawa, for an all-day retreat. The session, facilitated by Grant Neely and Rachel Yost of SIR https://www.sirhq.com/, let the newly elected board to explore and discuss a variety of topics that fall under their purview. A number of engaged citizens also attended.

No decisions were made, no votes taken, but the supervisors, Jonathan Christy, District 1; Neil Spoonhower, District 2; Board Vice Chair Tom Winfree, District 3; Board Chair Charlie Vaughters, District 4; and Jonathan Lyle, District 5 obtained much food for thought. Excerpt for Spoonhower, who is starting his second term, the other supervisors are new to government. Vaughters was appointed in November 2022 to complete the term of the late Don Sharpe.

This post will hit some of the highlights of the morning portion of this six plus hour event. Thanks to the superb work of the county IT folks, it was live streamed, and the recording is archived on the county website at goochlandva.new.swagit.com/videos/295357 for your viewing pleasure.

County Administrator Vic Carpenter said the retreat was designed to provide an opportunity for the board to start thinking about goals and understand the parameters and frameworks of local government.

Presentations by Jamie Sherry, Director of Community Development; Sara Worley Director of Economic Development; and D. E. “Eddie” Ferguson, Jr. Chief of Fire-Rescue and Emergency Management shared what they consider to be existential issues and “things that keep them up at night.”

The most important job of a governing board contended Neely, is to bring people together and arrive at a consensus among differing viewpoints. He said that each supervisor represents about 5,000 people and was elected by about 1,500. Their duty is to those who voted for them, those who voted against them, and those who didn’t vote at all.

“There is a lot of goodwill in Goochland,” said Neely. “We don’t see that with a lot of our clients.”

Neely discussed what exactly is the job and function of a supervisor.  He shared a list of duties and powers that included review and approve the annual budget; establish long-and short-term priorities and objectives; set tax rates; borrow funds; enter into contracts; regulate land use through zoning laws; regulate business activity through licensing; communicate policies and programs to constituents; and respond to constituent needs and complaints.

Six roles of an effective board of supervisors.

·         Provide oversight.

·         Set the county’s strategic direction.

·         Be a fiduciary trustee.

·         Engage the community.

·         Set policy.

·         Represent everyone.

Citing the Declaration of Independence clause “governments derive their just powers from consent of the governed”, Neely said that the supervisors delegate authority to ensure delivery of public services but have no operational authority and operate at a high level. It’s not their job to fill potholes. “Government doesn’t work without public trust,” said Neely.

Community engagement is vital for successful government, Neely contended. He urged the supervisors to make sure that their constituents know what their local government is doing and why. He suggested the use of newsletters and face-to-face interaction to accomplish this. Getting the word out in Goochland is a challenge. Spoonhower said that he gets more information about the county from Richmond Bizsense (https://richmondbizsense.com/) than other media sources.

The board, said Neely, needs to identify its long-term vision for Goochland, figure out where it is today, and set a goal to achieve the vision.

Community development

Sherry explained that her department is responsible for protecting the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens and visitors to Goochland County. This includes making sure that rules and regulations and followed. Community development is responsible for ensuring high quality growth and development through planning, enforcement of building codes and plans of development, and land use changes that include opportunities for public input.

She discussed trends. Goochland is graying. Demographic statistics indicate those over age 65 constitute 25 percent of Goochland’s population versus 16 percent under age 18. That is the opposite of neighboring jurisdictions. She attributed this to the high cost of land here and the arrival of several 55+ communities. While this puts less pressure on schools, an older population significantly increases the burden on county EMS resources.

Homes in Goochland are too expensive for young people and families. This impacts economic development efforts and makes it more challenging to hire county staff and attract volunteers. Older residents are more likely to make monetary donations to fire-rescue than volunteer to train and respond to emergency calls. County and school employees like to live and be part of the community in which they work and prefer shorter commutes.

Between 2020 and 2022 the number of dwelling units, mostly owner occupied, increased by about six percent. High mortgage payments driven by interest rates and expensive apartment rents are also problematic for younger people, contended Sherry.

“We could fill the east end of the county with high density apartments if we wanted to,” said Sherry. Her department regularly gets calls from landowners seeking higher density rezoning. Home building in Goochland increased dramatically over 2018 statistics and, while down from its high-water mark, remains robust. “We’re still very, very busy,” Sherry said.

She turned to activity in the General Assembly that could have an impact on Goochland. Bills about accessory dwelling units, tree preservation, data centers, siting of solar facilities, and public meeting notices are working their way through the legislative process.

Recruitment and retention of skilled employees topped her list of departmental challenges. The high cost of housing is a barrier to attracting professional employees who prefer short commutes. The need for additional office space to accommodate employees is another.

She contended that better policies and more detailed development ordinances are tools needed by Community Development to ensure orderly growth.

Economic Development

The vision of Worley’s department is promotion of economic growth in a planned sustainable manner through commercial and industrial development while preserving the county’s rural heritage. Easier said than done. It works in conjunction with the Economic Development Authority to recruit new businesses and help those here thrive and expand.

Making sure that Goochland has a friendly climate for business is key, said Worley. “Businesses want clarity and confidence when they do business with the county. Our ordinances and staff actions should reflect that with on time plan reviews, and prompt county government wide responses to phone calls and emails to show they’re important to the county.”

NIMBYism (not in my back yard) is a major deterrent to business. “High quality development wants to be part of the community, they want to be involved,” said Worley. “When they feel they’re not wanted, they don’t want to be here either.”

She said that creative incentives to offset the high cost of land could go a long way to fix this.

Goochland has limited industrial land and sites for development, said Worley. This kind of economic development provides significant revenue enhancement for the tax base. Currently, there are 25,000 square feet of industrial space on the market.

Residential encroachment on prime industrial locations is another cause for concern, said Worley. For instance, a development was recently approved on Hockett Road opposite West Creek, which is zoned M-1. Another subdivision, in the early days of the rezoning process, is on Rockville Road, opposite a large tract designated for industrial development. The supervisors need to be mindful of this when considering land use applications to avoid unintended consequences down the road.

Goochland, said Worley, needs a more diversified tax base. Capital One currently accounts for 73 percent of the county’s GDP, a lot of eggs in one basket. The county needs more business-ready sites. She listed a few areas that would seem to be prime economic development sites but are not connected to water and sewer or lack adequate road access. She suggested that investment in these areas by the county through the EDA could drive commercial development.

Goochland sites compete with those in other places that are ready for development. Demographics work against Goochland because companies looking to locate here want a nearby workforce.

Goochland does not belong to any of the regional economic development organizations that scour the globe to attract businesses. Joining the Greater Richmond Partnership with annual dues of $355k could change that.  A $50 million project would be a break-even return on that investment, anything more, gravy.

Worley said that her greatest concerns are lack of long-term comprehensive planning. Who will fill those 55+ communities in 55 years? What impact will that have on schools?

Centerville is a designated growth area, but failure to approve its small area plan makes appropriate development there problematic. Currently anything can go into the Centerville business zone. Tools are needed to clearly define the preferred kind of businesses, cheese and wine shops versus gas stations, for instance.

Businesses that are here love being in Goochland, said Worley, but they would like to see more entry level housing stock to shorten their employees’ commute. They’d also like to see more service-oriented businesses, like dry cleaners and childcare, to support their employees. Goochland is not just in competition with Richmond, but rather with Austin and Orlando to attract new businesses that need a nearby workforce.

Fire-Rescue

Ferguson said that community and economic development activities have a direct impact on his department. Total call numbers for fire-rescue have increased by more than a thousand over the last five years. Of those, 80 percent are EMS calls, the remainder fire response.

Sheltering Arms Hospital accounts for about 30 calls a month and the Avery Point Continuing Care Retirement Community is predicted to generate 500 calls annually.

He is kept up at night worrying that Goochland is one emergency away from not enough staff in the right places to handle a call.

Currently, Goochland has nine ambulances staffed to respond to the first call. Subsequent calls for service could be a problem if staffing is not available. Call duration is also an issue. County ambulances transport patients to hospitals in the Richmond area and Charlottesville. Since Covid, “wall time” the period between an ambulance’s arrival at a hospital and when a patient is transferred to care in the emergency department—sometimes several hours—prevents EMS crews from responding to other calls and drains personnel resources. Ferguson attributed wall time concerns to hospital staffing issues beyond his control.

Ferguson and Deputy Chief EMS Mike Watkins went into detail justifying the need for a minimum of five people on duty 24/7 at each station to ensure coverage for both fire and EMS calls. Complex emergency calls require more personnel than ambulance transport. Fire-Rescue must be able to respond in a timely manner to all emergencies.

Ferguson discussed the cost of purchasing and maintaining fire-rescue apparatus. Delivery time for new fire engines, for instance, ranges between 36 and 48 months. (Please try to listen to his presentation about 1.5 hours into the recording.)

Establishing an acceptable level of response, balancing the cost with the risk, is a conversation the supervisors and the community needs to have with fire-rescue and the community.

Carpenter suggested that real estate tax bills contain a breakdown of how public funds are spent using pennies on a dollar. For instance, 42 cents of every tax dollar goes to schools and so forth.

Then they broke for lunch!