On the cusp of summer

 

The June 3 meeting of the Goochland Board of Supervisors on the cusp of summer was brief, perhaps in anticipation of the arrival of new County Administrator Jeremy Raley on June 9.

Board Chair Tom Winfree, District 3, and Jonathan Lyle, District 5, attended the Goochland High School graduation on June1. Winfree complimented 197 graduates on their many accomplishments and wished them success and happiness on life’s journey.

There will be a “meet and greet” with Raley in the board room on Thursday, June 12 from 2:30 to 4 p.m. This is a wonderful opportunity to welcome Raley to his new role in county government.

Winfree profusely thanked the Hon. Manuel Alvarez, Jr., for stepping in, on February 24, as interim county administrator to keep the ship of local government going in the right direction and afloat to allow the supervisors to methodically and deliberately select a new county administrator.

County Administrator comments

Alvarez said that the deadline for the veteran tribute banner program has been extended to June 15^th.  The banners, featuring photos of local veterans, free of charge, will be displayed on light posts in Courthouse Village through Veterans’ Day, November 11. Go to https://militarytributebanners.org/virginia/goochland-va.html for details.

Independence Day fireworks will be held on Wednesday, July 3 at 9 p.m. at the Goochland Sports Complex, roughly behind the county administration building, rain date, July 5. The date was chosen due to an increase in costs.

The next Night at Tucker outdoor music event will be held at Tucker Park on Friday, June 27^th, featuring the band “Permanent Vacation”. Visit https://www.goochlandva.us/236/Parks-Recreation for more information.

Document shredding will be held on the Fairground lot near the intersection of Fairground and Sandy Hook Roads on Saturday, June 7 from 9-1. Visit the county website for details.

Alvarez congratulated the organizers of last month’s Goochland Day, the Goochland Day Foundation, for the wonderful job they did staging the event, which he said attracted approximately 7,500 people and was well done.

He explained that the county waived more than $4,000 in event associated fees; the parks and rec department donated a lot of time to the event; the Economic Development Authority  contributed $5,000; fire-rescue did not charge for its  participation; one part time and six full time county employees staffing the Friday night concert; there were two full-time county staff at both the parade and festival on Saturday; the county promoted the event; provided dumpsters; and all of the tables and chairs.

Alvarez explained, that contrary to some contentions, the county has never “run” Goochland Day. It was started by the Volunteer Fire-Rescue Association as a community event to raise funds to build fire-rescue stations. He said that he does not believe that the county could do as good a job as the Goochland Day Foundation does, attracting volunteers and energizing community support. He thanked the GDF for its fine work and hopes that next year’s Goochland Day will be even better.

 

VDOT

As June 3 was the last time that Marshall Winn, Director of the Ashland VDOT Residency, would speak to the board, the supervisors thanked and commended him for his 48 years of service with the agency.  Winn announced that he will be succeeded by Philip Frasier. Winn has overseen the daily operations of VDOT, including cutting grass, plowing snow, removing dead animals and fallen trees, fixing potholes, and a myriad of other road related maintenance tasks. The supervisors commended Winn for his role in maintaining a good relationship between Goochland County and VDOT. In addition to a letter of appreciation signed by each supervisor, Lyle presented Winn with a selection of baseball themed videos. Winn continues to follow the professional baseball career of his son, a former player with the Richmond Flying Squirrels. We wish Winn every happiness in his next chapter.

Board Chair Tom Winfree (r) congratulates Marshall Winn on his retirement

Reports on fire-rescue; broadband; and planning and zoning activity were in the board report. Although there have been new additions to county staff, their introduction was not part of the agenda.

Neil Spoonhower, District 2, who represents Goochland on regional transportation boards, reported that the Central Virginia Transportation Authority rotates leadership, and that Jody Rogesh from Henrico is its new chair, with John Hodge from the Town of Ashland is vice chair. Spoonhower said that the CVTA will be looking for a way to combine the disparate plans of all of the regional partners into a single 2050 long range plan.

He also represents Goochland on the Central Virginia Transportation Authority, which hopes to meet with Goochland to explore micro transit options in the county.

Spoonhower reported that three of the four applications made by Goochland for “smart scale” funding, including the roundabout at Fairground and Maidens Road were approved. He thanked our VDOT partners for their help in making Goochland’s applications as robust as possible to increase chances of success.

On Monday, June 2, Spoonhower and Lyle attended groundbreaking ceremonies for the new Goochland-Powhatan Community Services building in Powhatan County that attracted more than 100 people. A larger facility will enable the CBS to better serve its clients. The CSB provides a range of services to help with mental health, behavioral, developmental, and other concerns. Go to https://gpcsb.org/ for more information.

The consent agenda included items amending the school budget for FY26, which begins on July 1, due to approval of the state budget after the county budget, and for FY25. Both amendments resulted in additional funds being appropriated to the school division.