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| Aerial view of Goochland Courthouse Complex |
At their October 7 meeting, Goochland Supervisors voted 3-2
to deny a rezoning application for Serenity Trail, proposed for land on Maidens
Road; unanimously voted to defer a public hearing on the proposed TOD/TZ to
their November 4 meeting; and unanimously approved the removal of access requirements
for parcels on Pond View Lane, just west of Hockett Road.
Opponents to the proposed TOD/TZ (go to https://www.goochlandva.us/1408/Technology-Overlay-District-Technology-Z
for details) reiterated their objections during citizen comment at both the
afternoon and evening sessions. This followed extensive comments at the October
6 town hall meeting.
County administrator Dr. Jeremy Raley invited all to the
Goochland Fall Festival on Saturday, October 25 on the old GES track field (River
Road West between the old GES and the high school) from 11 to 2. The free event
will feature activities for kids, free pumpkins, face painting, live music,
balloon artists. More than 70 vendors, a mix of local non-profits, artisans,
community groups, and Goochland businesses will be there.
Raley said that the next Board meeting will be held on
Thursday, November 6 with the evening session at the high school. County
offices will be closed next Monday, October 13 and on election day, November 4.
The county will host trick or treat in the admin building, 1800 Sandy Hook Road
on October 31 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. for a safe, fun afternoon.
Highlighting county staff
New employees were welcomed to “team Goochland”. After
taking office in June, Raley began to share the good work of county staff,
whose accomplishments too often fall below the radar. He reported that Parks and Rec managed 4,095
individual facility reservations in FY25. The construction staff of the
department of public utilities cleared 4,436 Miss Utility tickets in calendar
2025 with the year far from over. Goochland’s DMV Select processed 71, 342
transactions in FY25, averaging 5,945 per month.
Raley also thanked staff who supported the community
meetings in past weeks and kept things flowing smoothly.
Domestic Violence Awareness Month
The supervisors
adopted a resolution recognizing October as Domestic Violence awareness month
and thanked staff member from Goochland Cares (https://goochlandcares.org/) which
provides sexual and domestic violence services to all victims regardless of
gender, sexual orientation or income. You do not need to be a Goochland Cares
client to use its sexual assault and domestic violence services.
Schools
Dr. Andy Armstrong, Superintendent of Goochland Schools, gave
a brief update on our schools. The student body has grown by 47, to 2,690, more
than half with special needs, whose individual education plans could require
additional staffing. This will have an impact on the FY27 budget, which is in
development. Watch his full presentation on the county website https://www.goochlandva.us/ under the
“watch county meetings” tab.
The school division’s strategic plan is being updated. This document,
said Armstrong, being developed with assistance from the Luck Company, is
recognized for its concision and effectiveness. Feedback on the strategic plan
is currently being gathered via a survey.
Among the many accomplishments of GCPS is the high school
Marine Corps Jr. ROTC which has an all-time high enrollment of 150 students. Go
to the GCPS website https://www.goochlandschools.org/
to learn more about our schools.
Fire-Rescue
D. E. “Eddie” Ferguson, Jr. Chief of Fire-Rescue and
Emergency Management and Mike Watkins, Deputy Chief EMS gave a brief
presentation on the newly adopted protocol that makes whole blood available for
first responders in field. This advanced capability gets blood quickly to a
patient reverse the dire impact of severe blood loss.
Goochland Fire-Rescue is one of 280 agencies in the nation
that use this protocol. This is especially valuable in a rural area where the
distance to a hospital literally means the difference between life and death
timewise.
This protocol, said Ferguson takes Goochland Fire-Rescue,
known for having top end EMS in the region carrying ventilators, and IV pumps
for use by some of the “sharpest paramedics in the region”.
This is fire prevention week, there will be open houses at Courthouse
Company 5 from 11-2 and Hadensville Company 6 from 1-3 on Saturday, October 11.
This year’s theme is “Charge into fire safety” and explains proper use and
disposal of lithium-ion batteries that power the devices we use every day. Go
to https://www.nfpa.org/events/fire-prevention-week
for safety tips.
The new courthouse
Next year, Goochland’s iconic courthouse will mark its 200th
anniversary. Thomas Jefferson was still alive when this venerable structure was
in the planning stage. We’ve needed a new courthouse for some time and in 2021,
Goochland citizens approved a bond referendum to fund, in addition to other
public facilities, a new courthouse.
For several months, explained Raley, staff has been working
with the people who occupy our judicial spaces, to determine what is needed to
provide security, safety, and functional space going forward.
The county retained the services of court planning consultants
Fentress, Inc. (https://www.fentress.com/) to analyze current
and future needs. Keith Fentress said that courthouses must balance flexibility,
efficiency, and innovation to meet the evolving needs of modern justice
systems. Advances in technology could require less space to store physical
documents, which could translate into additional space for people.
An initial 75k square foot design, said Fentress, includes
four courtrooms. We currently have two. While some could be interchangeable, he
does not advocate jury space in a juvenile and domestic relations courtroom.
The design is based on hard data, not a wish list. Office space for court-related
functions including grand jury and jury rooms.
Fentress said that while Goochland is growing, the population
increase will not be enough to justify full time judges, but rather more
sessions with visiting judges.
The Sheriff, Commonwealth’s Attorney, and Clerk of the Court
are among county officials who have been visiting neighboring counties who have
built new courthouses in the recent past to gather feedback on the process. The
goal is a new courthouse that harmonizes with the character of the vision of the
Courthouse Village small area plan that was adopted a few years ago. Ideally
this will use realistic standards to craft a design with a generational impact
on Courthouse Village and meet the evolving needs of the court.
Next steps will include conceptual designs, potential building
layouts, an exploration of next steps for buildings vacated, and cost estimates.
It will be very interesting to see how the creation of the
new courthouse will unfold.
Go to https://goochlandva.new.swagit.com/videos/357499
to view a recording of the entire meeting.
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