Road work

 

VDOT

Philip Frasier, Administrator of the Ashland VDOT residency began his monthly update to the Goochland Board of Supervisors at its August 4 meeting with a sobering announcement that a VDOT employee in the Hampton Roads district died after being struck and killed in a work zone on Rt. 460. Frasier urged everyone to respect VDOT construction zones and the people who work there. “They support our transportation network and deserve respect of drivers and space to do their job safely,” said Frasier. VDOT employees’ lives are endangered by people who drive distractedly with their noses in their phones and speed through work zones Some of the bravest people in the world face oncoming traffic armed only with a stop sign on a pole. Frasier asked all to respect work zones so VDOT employees can go home to their families at the end of the workday.

Frasier reported that the Oilville roundabout, at the top of the westbound I64 off ramp. will go to advertisement next week.  This project expected to ease dangerous congestion on the westbound off ramp from I64 onto Oilville Road. (Go to https://www.goochlandva.us/1255/10781/Oilville-RdI-64-Westbound-Ramp-Roundabou for details)

CVTA

You’ve probably seen the “buy your gas in Goochland” messages urging us to fill our fuel tanks locally to help fund road projects and not given it much thought.

Chet Parsons, Executive Director of the Central Virginia Transportation Authority (CVTA), explained how that tax collected from local fuel sales translates into county road improvements.

He began his presentation with an overview about the CVTA, click on  https://cvtava.org/  to watch the video.

In 2020, Parsons explained, the Virginia General Assembly created the CVTA, comprised of nine jurisdictions in the region—Richmond City, Town of Ashland, Henrico, Hanover, New Kent, Goochland, Chesterfield, Powhatan, and Charles City—to “fund critical transportation needs across Central Virginia. CVTA drives priority projects that improve long-term accessibility, economic development, mobility, and quality of life across Central Virginia.”

Goochland roads are built and maintained by VDOT. We compete with jurisdictions across the Commonwealth for scarce road dollars. The CVTA administers revenues generated by wholesale fuel taxes and sales and use taxes to fund transportation projects in its region that are prioritized using data driven scoring.

Since 2023, said Parsons, that revenue, about two thirds from sales and use tax, has grown from approximately $211 million to more than $229 million and continues to increase. Those dollars are divided into three buckets; 50 percent goes to the locality where is was generated. Of the remainder, 15 percent goes to GRTC (Greater Richmond Transit Company) for regional public transportation, and the other 35 to fund projects that benefit the region as a whole, including the diverging diamond project currently in the works on Ashland Road, which cannot be funded in other ways. Regionally, Parson said, 77 regional projects have been funded since 2020, supported by $862.6 million. Funds applied locally include $33,669,829 for the Ashland Road diverging diamond; $606,000 for the Oilville Road roundabout; and $7,500,000 for improvements to the   Rt.288/Rt. 250 interchange.

“Goochland gets a sizable monthly check from CVTA, for use on any transportation project that has been identified by the county,” said Parsons. Since 2021, he reported that Goochland has received $15,738,482 in CVTA funds.

Since 2021, Goochland has received CVTA funding commitments for $59,267, 935, about 7 percent of the total, making the county very competitive for its size, in getting projects funded. The priority now is to get projects shovel ready, which helps move them forward.

In addition to funding projects, CVTA contributes matching funds to support “Smart Scale” applications, one of several competitive VDOT processes used to distribute transportation dollars throughout the Commonwealth. Central Virginia “has done very, very well” in the last round of Smart Scale funding, Parsons said.

The CVTA is also authorized by statute to issue bonds to fund huge regional projects beyond the typical “pay go” scope. CVTA is busily looking forward to future projects.

Tom Winfree, District 3, who currently represents Goochland on the CVTA board, commended Parsons and declared that CVTA is a government program that really works.  He noted that the degree of matching and leverage of funds helps Goochland to pull off significant projects. Winfree commended Neil Spoonhower, District 2, a founding member of the CVTA board for his important work, and significant input that is still bearing fruit.  Winfree also noted that County Engineer Austin Goyne’s leadership role on the Technical Advisory Committee, which does the legwork for CVTA projects, also stands Goochland in good stead on the transportation front.

Prioritizing road improvements and finding ways to pay for them is a complicated process. Kudos to all who navigate the labyrinth move us forward.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Animals

 

During the afternoon session of their August 4 meeting, Goochland supervisors congratulated the Goochland Department of Animal Care and Protection for earning a fourth consecutive no kill award from the Best Friends Animal Society, a national nonprofit dedicated to ending the killing of dogs and cats in America’s shelters. The No-Kill award is given annually to organizations that have achieved a save rate of 90% or higher.

Deputy County Administrator for Operations Elizabeth McDonald said that the Goochland shelter achieved an outstanding 97 percent survival rate. “This is no small accomplishment and reflects the commitment, compassion, and professionalism our staff supported by volunteers and dedicated veterinary partners.”

If you’re looking to add a furry friend to your family, please visit the Goochland Animal Sheler. Go to https://www.goochlandva.us/299/Animal-Protection to learn more. Also visit https://goochlandpetlovers.com/ the site of the local non-profit that works with the shelter.

During its evening session, the Board held a public hearing on proposed animal code ordinance amendments. Job Greene, Director of Animal Protection, explained that the amendments were proposed to restore legal enforceability, decriminalize minor infractions, and maintain officer discretion when dealing with animal control issues.

Greene explained that the revisions would make the ordonnances work the way they were intended, in a clear, fair, and effective way while preserving the department’s ability to educate and work with residents. The ordinance revisions will give animal protection the tools it needs. Over the years, Green explained, ordinances as written, are difficult to enforce, inconsistent with the way that animal protection approaches compliance, or unnecessarily challenging for officers and citizens.

The first three infractions are regulatory. They are failure to inoculate dogs and cats against rabies; dogs running at large without a license fixed to their collar; and failure to pay a license tax for dogs. The proposed amendment revisions change the penalty for these infractions from a Class 4 misdemeanor, which imposes fines, but not jail time and are noted on an individual’s criminal record, to civil penalties with escalating fees for initial and subsequent violations.

The revisions would improve compliance by resolving violations quickly with civil citations; reduce demands on court and related law enforcement resources; allow enforcement resources to focus on cases involving cruelty, neglect, dangerous animals and other threats to public safety; provide penalties proportionate to offenses while maintaining accountability; and preserve criminal penalties for serious or repeat offense that warrant stronger enforcement.

Changes to chapter 3 of the animal ordinance states that “livestock, poultry, and other fowl must remain on the property of owner. It is unlawful for any person to allow or permit any livestock or fowl owned by him or her or under the control of him or her to stray to any highway, public property, or private premises of another.”

The proposed amended removes the requirement for three prior violations and makes each violation separately enforceable. Greene said that animal protection officers would continue to use discretion to issue warnings of violation depending on the individual circumstances. The change would restore enforceability of the ordinance while giving officers the flexibility to seek voluntary compliance whenever possible. Virgina law does not authorize counties to impose a civil penalty for this kind of violation, so explained Greene, retaining criminal enforcement is necessary.

Greene said that officers typically give people time to rectify a violation after issuing a warning before they return to ensure compliance.

A local fourth generation farmer said that it is important to him to own livestock and keep the community safe. He raised concerns about the timeline as most farmers must have jobs that take them away from their farms, making it difficult to immediately correct problems. He cited weather related conditions like destruction of fences that could make it hard to return the animals to their rightful place. Some farmers pasture livestock on widely separated parcels of land that make it hard to check on all of their animals in a timely manner.

Another speaker wondered if it is a per penalty. Owners of animals that damage other people’s property or cause accidents by being on a road must be held accountable. Circumstances of how animals escape might also need to be considered when determining culpability.

Greene said that an officer must see the animal out to justify a summons. “This is for us an issue of people who do not keep their animals contained, repeated negligence. We understand and make allowances for weather related incidents.”

Enforcement is complaint driven to correct problems, like a neighbor’s chickens repeatedly pooping on your porch, or someone else’s pig eating your cucumbers. Cows and horses in the middle of a road are a safety concern, but sometimes, they get out. Citations are given per incident, not per animal.

Greene said that currently animal control has no enforceable code to bring offenders into compliance and that hobby farmers tend to cause more problems than commercial farmers, who value and care for their livestock.

The supervisors took the concerns of the farmers to heart and voted unanimously to reduce all noted penalties to civil violations and encouraged animal control to have further discussions with local farmers, perhaps through Goochland Farm Bureau, to look for other ways to address the matter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Proffers

 

At their August 4 meeting, Goochland supervisors announced that they will hold a strategic planning retreat on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, starting at 9:00 a.m. at Luck Stone, 343 River Road, Manakin-Sabot. See the county website https://www.goochlandva.us/ for details.

Following a presentation by Principal Planner Ramzi Farhat about an update to the county’s capital impact model, which is used to determine cash proffer amounts, the board voted unanimously to deny adoption pending further analysis.

Farhat thanked all who provided input in the almost yearlong update project including department heads, staff, the county attorney, and stakeholders.

The capital impact model is used to determine the real cost burden that new residential development, as the result of rezoning, places on infrastructure including schools, roads, parks, and public safety. These costs are used to calculate impact fees, including “voluntary” cash proffers, paid by developers to offset increased need for public facilities.

Goochland adopted a cash proffer policy in 2002.This is a per home amount a developer may “volunteer” to pay to have a residential rezoning project approved. In theory the policy is voluntary.

Cash proffers are a small part of an overall funding strategy and should not be regarded as a total solution for infrastructure financing needs. Therefore, other strategies and revenue sources are needed to offset the impact on infrastructure from new homes.

Go to https://www.goochlandva.us/1463/Proffers to https:

This policy applies only to residential rezoning. Commercial rezoning applications, which do not add children to the school system, typically proffer site specific upgrades to infrastructure including roads and utilities. Impacts must be attributable to a specific development. For instance, as age restricted communities are prohibited from having residents under 19 years of age, school proffers cannot be attributed to them.

Following a 2016 change in state law, Goochland County compiled a 25 year look ahead capital improvement plan. This included projected needs for schools, fire-rescue stations, roads, parks, and items costing more than $50k with a useful life of more than five years like fire-rescue apparatus. The data in this CIP, which is periodically updated to deal with inflation, is part of the computation of the impact model.

The proposed update to the policy includes a detailed study of all the components and conditions that apply to calculation of proffers. The document begins on page 85 of the August 4 board packet.

Farhat explained that a student generation rate was used to determine residential rezoning impact on schools and that a new category for age restricted multifamily was added. As school funding is a significant part of the county budget, this is important. Age restricted communities have dramatically increased the volume of EMS response, which was underweighted in previous iterations of the impact model. A geographic component was also added to consider the differing demographic trends in each part of the county.

When land is rezoned for a subdivision, the proffer amount in effect on the date of approval becomes part of its creation ordinance and includes an escalator clause. Lots already approved are not impacted by this update. It would apply to future rezonings only.

According to Farhat, the median house price in Goochland in 2019 was $391,000, making the $23,706 average cash proffer 6.1 percent of the house price. In 2026, the median house price is $646,935 making the average cash proffer of $31,704 4.9 percent of the price.

The supervisors commended Farhat and his team for the thoroughness of the report. However, there was discussion about how proffers impact housing prices and residential growth.

Charlie Vaughters District 4 asked how jurisdictions across the country deal with the issue. Virginia explained the consultant from Tischler Bise, which was retained by the county for the study, is unique in the trigger methodology it uses to assess proffers. Other places use a similar mechanism to calculate a static impact fee schedule applied to all new construction. These are dynamic models that analyze both operational and capital expenditures needed by new development. Virginia just looks at capital impacts.

Jonathan Lyle, District 5 pointed out that a developer could decline to offer cash proffers during a rezoning action, leaving it up to the supervisors to decide whether to approve the rezoning without offering any funds for capital impact mitigation. This has never happened. He said that it is appropriate for people moving to the county to help pay for the increase in capital costs generated by their arrival but the should be as little as possible.

Vaughters contended that more detailed discussion about conflicting data on the impact of cash proffers on assessment versus escalating new home costs is needed. “At the end of the day, in my mind, this is a tax. We want to make sure that the taxes are collected appropriately and do not price people out of the market. Assessments are also an ongoing issue. There is a lot to look into. We cannot say that approval of this will solve the problem.”

He commended Farhat and staff for putting together a diverse stakeholder group of residents, developers, and businesses to provide positive meaningful feedback and analysis. He said that the capital impact model data should flow through all development discussions.

Spoonhower contended that this is not the right tool to recover costs and manage growth. “This creates a bad product in my district.”

He said that the cash proffer policy, access management, and other development fees discourage orderly development in the western part of the county. “Instead of having folks clustered together you get driveway after driveway on main thoroughfares. Ending the policy is not going to make or break Goochland’s budget. Let’s get something that ensures that the people move in here pay a fraction of the cost incurred.”

Board Chair Jonathan Christy, District 1 agreed that the capital impact model is a critical tool to analyze the true cost of residential development and the deficit that each new home creates and that the county needs to find a way to fill that hole. He said that the proffer policy does not slow residential growth but incentivizes by right development.

It seems likely that this subject will be addressed during the August 12 retreat.

The next skirmish

 

Ad hominem—look it up—attacks in comment will not be published. The anonymous commenter who called GOMM a coward for not posting their ugly remarks might want to check the definition of irony.

So tired of  the arrogant condescension of people who bought into developer fables that a townhouse in a business park is rural. 

On July 23, we got some details about the pre-application filed by Tract for the Tuckahoe Technology Park (TTP) on approximately 871 acres east of Hockett Road, north of Rt. 6 and west of Mosaic, the 55+ residential enclave in west Creek, at a community meeting.  This is the first step in the process to secure a conditional use permit (CUP) to build a data center campus there.

Go to https://www.tuckahoetechparkinfo.com/ for details.

It seemed like most of Mosaic and Readers Branch, attired in cute red tee shirts, turned out for the event. At a rally they contended that the county should grow tomatoes not data centers. This illustrates profound ignorance about Goochland—crops here include soybeans, corn, and wheat. There is a large dairy farm in Manakin Sabot. Cattle are raised and a meat processing plant is under construction. These keep much of the county rural, but are taxed at land use rates, a per acre amount determined at the state level; to help them stay in business so they’re not tempted to sell their land to developers.

The initiative to increase the county’s commercial to residential tax ratio from its current roughly 82/18 to 70/30 has been a goal of the supervisors for some time to pay for needed services and infrastructure without increasing tax rates. Until the more than 1,000 vacant, zoned residential lots are built out and the tax ratio is much closer to 70/30, the county needs to “pause” all residential rezoning applications. One more time for the refugees from Long Island, houses consume more in local government services than they generate in real estate taxes.

Goochland has enormous capital needs, something that data center opponents ignore or do not care about.

The July 23 session provided some, but not enough, clarity on the proposal. At least one more community meeting, ideally to share revisions made in response to community input, is needed before a formal CUP application is filed. This is how the process works. There were at least three community meetings for the Highfield subdivision over a period of several years before a final vote was taken.

Kara Bowyer, director of entitlements for Tract, said that data centers built in TTP will be air cooled, a requirement that will be part of the CUP language, making it law. She also estimated that the amount of water used during construction and ongoing operations, for things like restrooms, would be roughly the equivalent of 36 homes, using a 333 gallon per day average. All water servicing TTP will be municipally supplied by the Tuckahoe Creek Service District, which is surface water drawn from the James River. It will have no impact on groundwater. So, opponents can stop posting photos of icky water coming out of faucets on social media.

Speaking of groundwater, how is it affected by the herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, and other “cides” that maintain the sodded lawns and landscaping in the enclaves for the affluent that leach into the soil? Why is no one asking that question?

Bowyer also said that there will be no natural gas power generation on the site, which is curious given that the site is bisected by a natural gas line.

Tract, according to the presentation, is in the business of building pad ready sites for data centers. This was likened to shopping center developers who rezone land, build parking lots, road access, and structures for future tenants. The TTP, as presented in the pre app, is a “conceptual master plan” that applied the requirements of the TOD/TZ to the subject parcels, probably using software. That explains the vagueness of the “conceptual bubble plan”. The exhibits for TTP are “conceptual” in nature, which is why there are no “elevations” to illustrate future buildings or where they will be placed. Bowyer said that the floor area ratio (FAR) of buildings to land area will be low, estimated at about ten percent of the 871 acres.  Even estimates for building locations would be helpful.

 Bowyers explained that vertical construction will not start until a source of adequate power to the site is identified and secured, which will take at least three years.  The power line extension recently approved to service the Eli Lilly facility in West Creek, is the “best guess” for the most likely connection, said Bowyer. Three power substations, each with a 300-mw capacity, would be needed to run the data centers. Potential locations for these are illustrated.

Tract will clear the site, build road access, infrastructure, and maybe pour concrete pads for buildings, whose use, construction, and precise location would be determined by end users as yet unknown. Conditions of the CUP become law. Any changes would require another full CUP process.

What happens in the meantime? If Tract clears the land, puts in roads and other infrastructure, but the demand for data center sites goes away, what will Goochland be left with? How much of the site will be clear cut? We don’t need a Motorola redux.

The zoning will not change from its current A-2. Projections for tax revenue generated by the project suggest that assessed valuation will increase when the use changes from A-2 to “commercial” after the first building is occupied. Does this mean that the county gleans little additional revenue apart from various permit fees on the land in the interim? Tax revenue projections indicate that assessed valuations will increase from the 2025 amount of $13,954 to $22.9 million in “year 1” which is the first year after a building is constructed.  The most significant tax revenue will be generated by personal property tax levied on the equipment in the buildings, again with significant increases after ‘year 1” whenever that is.

No answer was available to the query about land use taxation “clawbacks” for some of the parcels. Typically, when property in land use taxation— used for agricultural or forestal  purposes— is rezoned for a higher use, a “clawback” payment of the difference between land use taxation, based on a per acre rate determined at the state level, and taxes based on fair market valuation for the previous five years is due. If the CUP is approved, the “highest and best use” of the property has changed, and the assessed value should increase accordingly.

Eli Lilly recently closed on the West Creek parcel for about $38 million, an increase of about $13 million over its assessed valuation as of January 1, 2026, which should impact county tax revenue in the coming months.

When will an increase in local tax revenue for the 871 acres kick in? This information needs to be part of the calculus used in the final decision. This land has been designated for economic development for decades.  It was referred to as SPEDA (southern economic development area) for decades and featured prominently in the southern infrastructure study begun in early 2023.

In response to a question about posting bonds to fund decommissioning of data centers at the end of their useful life, as is required of cell towers, the Bowyers contended said that data centers are warehouses full of computer equipment and when that equipment is removed, they can be used for other purposes.

Opponents would prefer the site to be used for office buildings, for which there is little current market demand. For example, the former Federal Reserve facility in West Creek, a beautiful turnkey headquarters, has been on the market for a while.

Serious concerns about sound, including constant humming and especially from generators were raised. The explanation was that generator use is regulated by the state, but data centers must operate 24/7, so in emergencies, generators would run continually, not for intermittent testing. More detail on this is needed. Many of the examples cited by opponents seem to be based on older facilities and those that were retrofitted from other uses.

Concerns about emissions from data centers and generators were glossed over by saying that they will dissipate in the air. Really?  This reply was lame at best. The impact on air quality within perhaps a half mile of generators running for extended periods should be compared to that within the same distance from vehicle emissions on 288 during high traffic periods to put it into perspective.

 

 

 

Group think

 

GOMM has been excoriated for daring to enable comment in support of data centers instead of adhering to anti-data center group think. GOMM supports robust economic development in the designated growth area, including data centers of an appropriate scale and never west of Hockett Road. Doesn’t anyone wonder where the sensational anti-data center “facts” that flood the internet comes from?

Remarks made during citizen comment period for both the afternoon and evening sessions of the Goochland Board of Supervisors’ July 7 meeting were fascinating.

Comments made during the meeting about the rise of artificial intelligence ranged from it will provide transformational improvement to every facet of our lives to that AI is devil’s work. Data center opponents presented comments supporting their viewpoint quoting information gleaned from the internet. The bullying mob even screamed “liar” at a comment that contradicted their narrative. Threats, subtle and overt, were made to the supervisors that if they dare to go against the “will of the people”, which has apparently been decided by about 2/30^th of the county population, they will be thrown out of office.

Some speakers said the quiet part out loud.

One Mosaic resident complained about water issues and contended that purchasing his home “bailed out” a failing business park. He went on to whine that there is nothing here, including schools, and said that Goochland does not even have “real” police. Sheriff Creasey and our fine deputies would be surprised to learn that. This gentleman might want to sign up for the next session of the Sheriff's Academy https://www.goochlandsheriff.com/citizens-academy-information to learn about law enforcement in Goochland.

Homes cost local governments more in services than they generate in real estate taxes. Filling West Creek with homes would make the problem worse. That’s why we need more commercial development.

Another speaker contended that Goochland is doing just fine with minimal resources so there is really no hurry to build any capital projects until revenue from the Amazon and Eli Lilly facilities kicks in. The county will finance $114 million capital projects in the next three years. This year’s operations budget could not fund many items, including 11 additional fire-rescue providers needed to keep up with increasing demand for service. When station 8, under construction, and station 7 soon to follow, go online more people will be needed to staff them 24/7. Real estate taxes, at the current rate, will not fund those.

As this was the first meeting since the announcement that a pre-application for conditional use permit had been filed to build a data center campus

( https://www.goochlandva.us/1480/Tuckahoe-Technology-Park) on more than 870 acres between Hockett Road and West Creek, it was no surprise that anti data center sentiments were plentiful and angry. Keep an eye out for updates to  https://www.tuckahoetechparkinfo.com/ a site put up by the applicant. The first community meeting on this proposal will be held on July 23 beginning at 6 p.m. at Goochland High School. Ideally, it will provide specifics to help citizens understand what is really being proposed and counter hysteria with fact.

GOMM was not in favor of adding the 871 acres to the TOD/TZ. However, the stipulation that any data center there must obtain a conditional use permit is an opportunity for Goochland to prove its intention of “doing data centers right” with minimal impact on residents. The CUP process can impose site specific standards.

Bus trips to real data centers should be provided by the applicant so people, especially Mosaic residents, can see and hear what they look like instead of relying on sensational, probably AI generated, photos and articles pulled from the internet.

The application has a lot of information which could be clearer.

For instance, we need tangible local examples of existing 60- and 80-foot-high buildings to gauge their impact on the view shed. How big is a 500-foot buffer? Even using the setback of the high school from Rt. 6 would help.  Will the land in question be clear cut, or will just enough trees be cleared for the structures? A graphic that clearly illustrates the topography of the parcels without the trees to illustrate if the proposed structures will be level with, higher than, or lower than Mosaic is needed. Surely, software exists to provide this.

Will the data center buildings blend into the trees like the CarMax headquarters?

Sound is a huge concern. Baffles and significant mitigation measures to contain continuous hums and noise from internal equipment and external generators must be mandated to minimize if not eliminate sound.

Does the project need eight buildings? Could it function with as few as three, no higher than 60 feet well away from Mosaic hidden in the trees?

The main access from Rt. 6 seems to be in the dip east of Hockett Road. Will log trucks use this to access the site during construction and how will traffic disruption be mitigated? The Rt. 6/Hockett Road intersection is a mess at afternoon rush hour; will the project improve this area?

Water will be provided by the Tuckahoe Creek Service District, not ground water. The applicant needs to provide a clear estimate of how much will be used.  

If the project releases emissions, mitigation to prevent adverse health impacts must be mandated.

 

 

 

 

 

July board highlights

 

Gary, Darcy, and Oliver Kiesinger, guardians of  a witness tree that dates from 1776 with Robin Lind and Manny Alvarez (r)

Basking in the cool down—90 instead of triple digits—Goochland’s board of supervisors began its July 7 meeting with reflections about the late Susan Lascolette, who served as District 1 supervisors for 2012 to 2023.

County Administrator Dr. Jeremy Raley gave a wrap up on Goochland’s observances of the nation’s 250^th birthday. “Mother Nature was on our side as we waited and waited to shoot off the fireworks when it cooled off, to make it a very special day,” he said of the county’s exquisite pyrotechnic display. Raley recognized and thanked the Parks &Rec staff for its many hours of hard work setting up, painting the field, putting up banners, and the tear down. He commended the purchasing staff for its role in the special fireworks show and expressed profound gratitude to our public safety team, fire-rescue and the sheriff’s office for keeping people safe and handling traffic. “It was a testament to the excellence of Goochland County and how we all can come together and do something special.”

Some stats about the day. In the afternoon 120 people attended the Goochland 250 event at the sports complex gym, which included a reading of the Declaration of Independence. An estimated 6,546 people watched the fireworks in person. There were more than 22,000 combined views of the two fireworks’ livestream. More than 1,100 fireworks lit our night sky.

As is his custom, Raley recognized achievements of staff members including Scott Foster, Director of General Services who recently earned his Facility Management credential; Jon-Mikel Whalen and Ramzi Farhat for earning the certified zoning administrator credential; and Adam Barber. Raley said that these staff members have earned these credentials outside of normal working hours to further the county commitment to excellence.

The Goochland Day Foundation reported that feedback from vendors and participants was positive, indicating that the event was successful. Goochland Day cost about $40k and generated a profit of approximately $14k. That will enable the Goochland Day Foundation to fund scholarships and contribute to the Goochland Cares domestic violence response program. Most county departments participated in the success of the day, which was attended by 6,000 people. Parks & Rec and building inspection got special notice for their contributions.

Goochland Day 2027 will be on more level surfaces to deal with ADA issues, and the “old GES field”, which needs a new name, to increase enjoyment for all. It will be a lead up to the county’s 300^th anniversary and have a theme of “hometown heroes” to honor people, businesses, and entities who have made a positive impact on Goochland.

The Hon. Manuel Alvarez, chair of the Goochland 250 Commission echoes Raley’s thanks to Park& Rec, as well as Jessica Kronberg, Paul Drumwright, and Raley who read part of the Declaration. He also recognized donors including Short Pump Honda (it’s in Goochland!), PFG, Wegmans, and the Chamber of Commerce

Robin Lind, President of the Goochland Historical Society https://goochlandhistory.org/ reported on the results of the Witness Tree Challenge, started earlier in the year, to identify trees at least 250 years old. Tree nominations were evaluated by drilling a core into the center of the tree and counting rings, one for each year of growth. The “Thomas Knarr poplar” was determined to have started to grow in 1752. The “Boyle white oak” dated to 1740. The “Luke Knarr Oak” dates to 1677. The Kiesinger White oak started its life in 1776, the same year as our nation. This tree is epical, said Lind, because the family that owns this tree has loved it and created a montage of the tree in all seasons. Gary, Darcy, and Oliver Kiesinger, owners of the tree were presented with a certificate of recognition.

The supervisors approved a proclamation declaring July Parks and Recreation month. In addition to its support for special events, the department provides facilities and program to improve the health and well being of our citizens years round. In FY26, the department provided services for over 5,000 program registrants, and over 400,000 visitors. The parks & rec team under the leadership of Tom Cocke received well deserved recognition as county team of the quarter.

Rookie of the quarter was Marcello Forehand, who, on Tuesday, was assistant director of public utilities but has since been promoted to director of the department. Since joining the county in March, he has hit the ground running and pitched in to solve a tricky connection issue.

Barbra Ransome from Social Services was named employee of the quarter. Transportation Manager Patrick Longerbeam was named customer service leader of the quarter for, among other actions, his work with a local HOA to solve a traffic issue to make roads safer.

Fire-rescue battalion chief Brandon Proffitt was named leader of the quarter. Among his many accomplishments, Proffitt spearheaded installation of a new ‘burn building” at the Henley Fire-Rescue Training center.

Director of Strategic Communications Jessice Kronberg presented the newly implemented civic clerk system to provide greater access to county information including agendas. Lisa Beczkiewicz and Ashley Parker worked really hard behind the scenes collaborating with Kronberg, Dan Stowers and Treanor Oliver to bring this to fruition. Go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evY2miOCdVA for a short video showing how to use the new system.

The consent agenda included authorization to set public hearings for August 4. These include an ordinance amendment about livestock “running at large”, an ordinance amendment for sewer connections; various budget transfers and appropriations; endorsement of applications for VDOT Smart Scale funding; and land acquisition in Crozier for a replacement for the Company 2 fire-rescue station.

Public hearings

·         A conditional use application for a short-term rental at 443 Woods Acres Road in District 4 was approved

·         A real estate easement across the fire-rescue training center to provide road access to a land locked parcel was granted.

·         An amendment to the FY 27 budget to transfer and appropriate up to $2.7 million for architecture and engineering services and owner’s representative services for improvements to the high school middle school complex, including for career and technical education, declaring the county’s official intent to reimburse these expenditures from the proceeds of future bond issues was approved.

Closed session

The board met in closed session in the afternoon to discuss specific plans to protect public safety with legal counsel and law enforcement officials as permitted by Virginia Code § 2.2-3711(A)(19), for the purpose of discussing specific plans to protect public safety by legal counsel and law enforcement officials

The board met in closed session in the evening in accordance with the provisions of Virginia Code §§ 2.2-3711(A)(7) and 2.2-3711(A)(1), for the purpose of discussing pending litigation, and the performance and duties of the County Administrator and County Attorney.

 

 

 

A Goochland Fourth

What July 4th is all about

Joint Sheriff's Office and Fire-Rescue honor guard

Kendall Hutchinson sang National Anthem

Taps played after volley by American Legion Post 215

 

Manny Alvarez (at podium) Master of Ceremonies

Hunter Wilson, Mike Wilson, Manny Alvarez, Robin Lind, Amanda Adams, Jeff Mabry, Rhonda Shannon, Bob Warwick some speakers

Blistering heat did not stop Goochland on July 4. Our celebration was wonderful, made possible by many people who worked long and hard on a holiday. Some random observations on the day.

Special gratitude, above and beyond that which they deserve every day, goes to our public safety team. Instead of marking our nation’s 250^th birthday with friends and family, our dispatchers; deputies; fire-rescue providers, both career and volunteer; and parks and rec staff worked tirelessly, many on just a few hours’ sleep, to make Goochland’s celebration our nation memorable.

The Goochland 250 Commission, lead by Manuel Alvarez, moved Independence on the Green, a celebration of the Declaration of Independence, to air-conditioned comfort in the sports complex gym with the extensive help of Parks & Rec. For Alvarez, who emigrated to our country as a teenager fleeingcommunist oppression in Cuba, the freedoms we enjoy as Americans are not an abstraction.

Thanks to the many intrepid citizens who braved the heat to attend.

A joint Sheriff’s Office Fire-Rescue honor guard presented the colors, resplendent in exquisite dress uniforms.

The Declaration of Independence, written by Goochland’s own Thomas Jefferson, was read in its entirety by members of the community: Dr. Jeremy Raley, Andrew Meiller, Ellie Creasey, and Rhonda Shannon. The deleted passage dealing with the selling of slaves, was read by Jeff Mabry, a descendant of a revolutionary war soldier. Ms. Shannon’s passionate delivery channeled the anger and frustration of the colonists with King George III.

Bob Warwick gave a simple inclusive invocation and benediction.

Reenactor Mike Wilson, in Revolutionary war uniform, spoke about Goochlanders who participated in the struggle for independence. Their names are listed in the latest issue of the Goochland County Historical Society Magazine.

Robin Lind, President of the Goochland Historical Society announced the winners of the Witness Tree Challenge, which identified three trees that have been growing in the county for at least 250 years and been witness to the history of our nation.

Clerk of the Court Amanda Adams assisted by Kendall Hutchinson, who also sang the National Anthem, read the names and rang a bell for each of the 13 original colonies at 2:50 p.m. as part of the National Bell Festival.

There was ice cream, introduced to America by Mr. Jefferson, for all at the conclusion of the program. Kudos to the GVA 250 Commission members for staging the program including many behind the scene contributions of James Richmond, Executive Director of the Goochland Historical Society.

The VA250 “America Made in Virginia” program in Williamsburg was livestreamed in the gym beginning at 8 p.m.

Saving the best for last, Goochland fireworks were shot off beginning at 9:15 p.m. The display was better than ever! Go to https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1JcTny6Wdx/  to watch.

The superb cat herding skills of our amazing deputies deftly guided fireworks watchers on their way.

It was truly a day to savor and remember.

 

 

 

Celebrate America!

 

Please join the Goochland 250 Commission to celebrate America's 250th birthday.

Citizens will read the Declaration of Independence, results of the Witness Tree Challenge will be shared, Goochland Patriots who participated in the Revolution will be recognized, and a bell will be rung 13 times in concert with bells across the nation.

Due to the forecast of extreme heat, the program will be held inside the Sports Complex gym.

A leader passes

 

"Cutting the ribbon" on Station 6 
 in 2017

Our world became a little emptier on June 21 when the Honorable Susan Lascolette went home to her Lord.

Susan represented District 1 on the Goochland Board of Supervisors for 12 years. She was a member of the “revolution board” that metaphorically held hands and walked through fire to move the county from the brink of bankruptcy to being the smallest county in the country to earn three AAA bond ratings.

She understood that decisions should be made to benefit the entire county. Susan knew that holding elected office was not a popularity contest and that no matter how hard she worked, she could not make everyone happy. Susan was ever faithful to her conservative principles.

Getting the county’s fiscal house in order while preserving the rural nature of most of Goochland, especially her district, and providing excellent core services of law enforcement and fire-rescue were her priorities.

During her tenure as a supervisor, Susan served as board chair and vice chair reflecting the confidence others had in her leadership.

Her funeral service, held at Goochland High School on June 27, was well attended by friends, supporters, neighbors, many dignitaries including the entire board of supervisors, and District 10 State Senator Luther Cifers.

“Susan was one of the first people I talked to when considering a run for office. She freely gave me her time and wisdom, for which I am eternally grateful,” said Cifers.

Goochland Steven N. Creasey recalled sharing many conversations with Susan about how good decisions are made. “Whether we agreed or disagreed, I always walked away having learned something. Susan challenged people to think differently. She understood that public safety is the strong foundation of our community. She respected the work and sacrifices made by our deputies, dispatchers, and fire-rescue personnel and did not take them for granted. She never forgot that public service is, and should be, all about the people. Goochland County is a better place because of Susan’s leadership. Her legacy is not in decisions but leaders she mentored and countless lives she touched. Susan never stopped believing that tomorrow would be better if people were just willing to work together with respect and purpose.

Creasey thanked Susan for her support, which enabled the Sheriff’s Office to grow and better serve the community.

Sheriff Creasey presented a flag of his department that flew over the Courthouse to Susan’s family.

 Goochland Fire-Rescue Chief D. E. “Eddie” Ferguson, Jr. recalled Susan’s steadfast support of fire-rescue.

“She was a true leader in every respect on so many levels for so many people,” he said. When she was first elected to the Board of Supervisors, Susan toured all fire-rescue stations including what was then station 6, a small garage that had been repurposed and barely adequate. She joined Hadensville Company 6 fire-rescue auxiliary 2013 and became the driving force for building the first county-owned fire-rescue station, Hadensville Company 6, which opened in 2017, and became very protective of it.

The new Company 6 said Ferguson “changed the way that we serve the entire county. In the aftermath of the 2022 winter storm that paralyzed the region we received first priority to get National Guard resources deployed there to help clear the trees in Goochland and Louisa”.

Support under Susan’s watch enabled increasing fire-rescue career staff, improving volunteer incentives, upgrades of existing stations and the training center and new stations in Sandy Hook and West Creek.

“I recall how proud she was in 2019 when we were able to staff all six stations with two career providers 24/7, “said Ferguson. “Susan was a guiding star and champion of all things fire-rescue. We are the fire-rescue department, but the truth is that she rescued us so we can rescue others. Leaders are much like eagles, they don’t flock, you find them one at a time.”

Rest in peace Susan.

 

June board meeting highlights

 

Goochland Delegation to 2026 Special Olympics USA Games (Goochland County image)

At their June 2 meeting, Goochland supervisors approved a resolution honoring the Goochland Delegation to the 2026 Special Olympics USA games to be held in Minneapolis from June 20-26. (Go to https://2026specialolympicsusagames.org/about/about-2026-usa-games for details.)

The Goochland delegation to this event includes four athletes; four Goochland high school student partners; and two coaches.

The athletes, all GHS students, are Destiny Brent; Conner Emmert; Dymontrie Hopkins; and Owen Powers. Each will compete in several different events.

The student partners, Ailey Black, Sam Farkas, Ava Freeman, and Jack Stern serve as leaders, role models, and ambassadors of inclusion and teamwork.

Coaches Wes Farkas and Melissa Black use commitment, encouragement, and leadership to guide the athletes to excellence.

The supervisors also recognized the achievements of 11 young men for earning the highest rank of Eagle Scout through years of dedicated community service and adherence to the principles of scouting. They are Rafael Smith, August Kowalski, Samuel Farkas, Adam Seltzer, Luca Gardner, Kyhl Pace, Noah Wensel, Calvin Gibbons, Isaac Schelin, Aedan Curry, and Tucker Smithson.  

Board Chair Jonathan Christy, District 1 thanked everyone who attended meetings about the proposed Valley Link electric transmission line (https://www.goochlandva.us/1454/Valley-Link-Transmission-Project).  “You voice does matter,” he said and encouraged citizens to continue to provide feedback on the project and stay engaged.

County Administrator Dr. Jeremy Raley Ed.D. echoed Christy’s appreciation for citizen engagement in the Valley Link issue.

He also said that recently Community roundtables, conversations about topics of interest in Goochland, have been successful. “These truly are kitchen table conversations where we share ideas, thoughts, and perspectives.” The next roundtable will be on June 25. All are welcome to sign up, but attendance is limited. Go to https://www.goochlandva.us/1474/Community-Engagement-Initiatives for details.

Fourth of July

Goochland will be celebrating the 250^th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, written by son of Goochland Thomas Jefferson, on July 4th.

Independence on the Green will begin at 1 p.m. on the lawn of our venerable courthouse and include a reading of the Declaration, mention of some Goochlanders who fought in the Revolution, participation in the National Bell Festival by ringing the courthouse bell 13 times, one for each colony, at 2:50 p.m. eastern time. Bring a chair. In case of rain, this event will be held in the sports complex gym at 1800 Sandy Hook Road.

Fireworks will be shot off behind the sports complex in Courthouse Village beginning at 9:15 p.m. Come early to get a good parking spot. Rain date July 5.

Good work

Raley lauded the animal protection department for processing a record 94 adoptions in May, up from its previous record of 91. If you are looking for a furry friend, please visit https://www.goochlandva.us/299/Animal-Protection for more information.

Goochland is once again honoring our veterans—their service and sacrifice made the Fourth possible—by displaying banners on light posts lining River Road West in Courthouse Village. Raley commended Scott Foster, Wendy Grady, and the whole general services team for making this possible. The program, which began a few years ago with six banners, has blossomed to 136 this year.

Heart of Service awards recognize county employees who exemplify honor, empathy, accountability, transparency, and respect in their jobs. Those recognized were Fire-Rescue provider Will Shifflet; Larry Hicks, assistant director of general services who is retiring after 30 years with the county; Ashlea Koch, public utilities business manager. Honorees are nominated by their peers.

The following employees were welcomed to team Goochland.

Tommy Parmenter recently joined the building inspection team as a special projects plan reviewer. Among his many professional credentials, Parmenter holds the coveted master code professional certification, of which there are fewer than 1,000 worldwide.

Christy Gilliam is the county’s newest custodian.

Matt Parker was promoted to Assistant Director of Geneal Service and Elizabeth McDonald, to Deputy County Administrator for operations.

Dashboards

To enhance transparency Goochland has created dashboards “intended to serve as a centralized resource for residents seeking information about county data, performance measures, and operational trends.” They will be updated three times annually with potential for added data points. Values in the dashboards are accurate for the date range shown.  Go to https://goochlandva.us/1477/Dashboards  also accessible from the county website transparency tab. Fire-Rescue, social services, and Office of Children’s Services have their own dashboards.

Jessican Kronberg, Director of Strategic Communications, collaborated with county departments, especially Dan Stowers and Elliott Waugh of the Information Technology department and Tegan Ulis of the CSB, to translate a wide range of data into this digestible and accessible format.

Kronberg wants feedback about the dashboards to ensure that they have information that citizens want and are easy to use.

Consent agenda

The consent agenda is a list of housekeeping items that require supervisor approval. The following actions were takin on June 2.

·         Setting a public hearing for July 7 to consider aFY27 budget amendment that would transfer and appropriate up to $2.7 million for architecture and engineering services for the high and middle school campus addition for the career and technical education center and declare the county’s official intent to reimburse itself for these expenditures from the proceeds of future bond issues.

·         Setting a public hearing for the disposition of real property to grant an access easement across the fire-rescue training center.

·         Approving a resolution to adopt the VDOT secondary six-year plan priorities from 2027-2032

·         Authorize the county administrator to execute a contract with McDouough Bolyard and Peck for county courthouse owner representation. This includes an amendment to the county FY26 budget transferring and appropriating $799,952 from the future capital projects assigned fund to the capital improvement fund to pay for these services and declaring the county’s official intent to reimburse itself from future bond proceeds. (The contact is included in the June 2 board packet.)

·         A resolution amending the FY 26 budget by accepting and appropriating funds from state funding and sales tax revenue; school improvement grant; and a categorial transfer of $55k from transportation to maintenance facilities in the school operations fund. This does not include any additional local funding.

 

Public hearings

The board approved a conditional use permit for a detached accessory family housing unit at 1884 Broad Street Road.

Donation of land and related easements to VDOT for the right-of-way extension of Fairground Road to Rt6. And authorization for the county administrator to execute deeds of this donation was also approved.

 

 

 

Take a deep breath

 

Goochland announced last week that a pre application has been filed for Tuckahoe Technology Park, a multi building data center campus on 871.89 acres between Hockett Road, West Creek, and Rt. 288. The land in question, referred to as TOD West, not part of West Creek, consists of 13 separate parcels whose owners include Forth Estate, LLC., Stern Arenstein Properties, Inc., Tuckahoe Group LLC., and Dr. Sheppard, LLC. These entities have owned the land for decades if not generations.

Owners of TOD west have had a contentious relationship with the various—there have been at least three—owners of West Creek since its creation almost 40 years ago about access to internal roads in the business park. The latest skirmish occurred about a year ago when the county granted Mosaic permission to add three lots near the intersection of Mosaic Creek Boulevard and Broad Branch Road preventing access to West Creek roads from the landlocked parcels.

The county has created a website specifically for the project at https://www.goochlandva.us/1480/Tuckahoe-Technology-Park to help citizens understand the proposal. There are many details to unpack here. Please take the time to review each part of the application, especially the parts about water usage, which will come from the TCSD, not ground water.

TOD west was added to the TOD/TZ footprint in the late stages of last year’s debate on the topic. It adjoins Mosaic, the 55+ community in the West Creek business park. Unlike other parcels included in the TOD, zoned M-1, land in TOD west is zoned either A-2 or R-3, which under TOD rules requires obtaining a conditional use permit (CUP) to build a data center.

The CUP process, which is very similar to rezoning, mandates at least one public community meeting where the applicant explains the proposed project, answers questions, and obtains feedback, which ideally is used to improve the proposal. The application then goes to the planning commission for a public hearing and recommendation and to the board of supervisors for final determination.  This means that every facet of the application will have a thorough and public review. It is likely that the final version of the Tuckahoe Technology Park, if approved, will be different from that in the pre-app.

Since the TOD concept was announced last summer, virulent anti-data center rhetoric has flooded social media and other forums. The frenzied opposition is reminiscent of the fear mongering that had the world sheltering in place, wearing useless masks, and disinfecting everything during Covid. A lawsuit seeking to void the TOD is working its way through the courts.

Goochland seems to have its own chapter of the national anti-data center movement whose members spend every waking moment mining the internet—made possible by data centers—for the latest "study” documenting their harmful effects. They ignore anything that contradicts this narrative and use an “I’m right and you’re evil” mindset to shut down conversations vaguely resembling civil dialog on the topic.

Who benefits if America stops building data centers? Opponents answer in loud lockstep that the world will be a better place without them. Their comments are consistent and carefully curated to support the thesis that data centers destroy land, water, poison the air, ruin wildlife habitat, and cause all sorts of mayhem.

Data centers are an integral part of our daily lives enabling everything from sensitive financial transactions to cat videos, they’re not going away. Are foreign bad actors planting these seeds of negativity with a flood of “facts” to convince naive Americans to oppose data centers them so they can control our lives and corner the AI market to stifle innovation? Ceding data center construction to foreign powers puts our national security at risk.

Goochland needs more revenue to provide high quality government services without raising tax rates. Homes do not pay their way tax wise. We must be able to pay our deputies, fire-rescue providers and teachers well, so they are not tempted to go elsewhere for more money. Our county has enormous capital needs, including a new courthouse, schools, and parks that cannot be funded with fairy dust.

Anti data center conspiracy theorists ignore Goochland’s long-held land use strategy to confine economic development in the designated growth area, east of Hockett Road, and leave the rest of the county rural.

Their rumor mill now contends that because M-1 zoning allows data centers by right (the Tuckahoe Tech Park is zoned A-2 and R-3) every morsel of land zoned M-1 anywhere in the county will soon sprout a data center. The new county utility master plan, for instance, found that bringing public water to the Oilville I64 exit, which is ripe for economic development, was cost prohibitive. No water, no data center.

What else could be built on the heavily wooded almost 900 acres, which will be developed at some point. Maybe thousands of apartments or hundreds of houses, which would clear cut all the trees and displace wildlife. That many dwelling units would dramatically increase the need for capital projects like schools, fire-rescue, law enforcement, parks, roads, and public utilities without any way to pay for them except raising tax rates.  A solar collection facility, they’re not farms, would deforest the land and increase the temperature nearby. The Tech Park as proposed clears a relatively small part of the acreage, leaving the rest undisturbed.

Data centers are not potato chips. Perhaps Goochland can eat just one to nourish our bottom line.

 

 

 

Another new fire-rescue station

 

Station 7 floorplan

Station 7 exterior to be determined

Seventy-five years ago, a group of intrepid Goochlanders formed the first volunteer fire company in the east end of the county after a local church burned to the ground. Over the years, this fire company became the Goochland Volunteer Fire Association, Inc., later becoming the Goochland Volunteer Fire-Rescue Association when rescue squads were added in 1966, eventually expanding to six companies. These: Manakin, Crozier, Centerville, Fife, Courthouse, and Hadensville were built by volunteers with the financial support and physical help—residents often spent their free time helping the construction however they could—of the community. They knew that without these volunteers, stations, and equipment, no one would come to their aid in emergencies.

In 2017, Goochland dedicated Hadensville Fire-Rescue Company 6, the first county-owned fire-rescue station, to replace an aging and inadequate—its brush truck “lived” in its kitchen—station that saved lives and protected property for decades.

The second county owned fire-rescue station—the others are still owned by the Association—Sandy Hook Station 8, long needed, is rising from the ground.

Scott Foster, Goochland Director of General Services, gave the supervisors a brief progress report on Station 8 construction at their June 2 meeting. Following ceremonial groundbreaking on April, 7 dirt has been flying. Foster said that the expected substantial completion for Station 8 in May 2027 is on target.

He said that “a lot of thought went into making sure that this station will last for decades, is low maintenance, energy efficient, visually appealing, and match the community.”

The interior is all cinder block, and the exterior is brick and cement board, which is more durable than other types of siding. Floors will be polished concrete, again for ease of maintenance and durability. Station 8 will have three drive-through apparatus bays with horizontal folding doors, which, said Foster, are faster less prone to malfunction than overhead doors.

In response to a question from Jonathn Lyle, District 5, Foster said that two wells have been drilled on the Station 8 site, one will be “capped” for backup use as needed.

Charlie Vaughters, District 4 said that Station 8 benefits the entire county, not just District 2, by enhancing service to our citizens with better response time for emergencies in all parts of the county. (See GOMM Station 8 groundbreaking.)

Go to https://goochlandva.new.swagit.com/videos/389821 to watch Foster’s presentation.

In the past few months, the supervisors authorized approval of a contract with HBA Architecture & Interior Design (https://www.hbaonline.com/)  for architectural and engineering work on West Creek Station 7 to be built on the east side of Hockett Road north of its intersection with Tuckahoe Creek Parkway.

At their June 2 meeting, the supervisors discussed funding mechanisms for the estimated $13.2 million project (see GOMM Money Matters) whose completion could be as early as mid-2028.

On June 8, a community open house to gather feedback on design and appearance of Station 7 was held at Manakin Company 1. Supervisors Tom Winfree, District 3; Charlie Vaughters, District 4; Jonathan Lyle, District 5; Martin Dean Manakin Volunteer Fire Captain and District 5 Planning Commissioner attended.

County Administrator Dr. Jeremy Raley welcomed the group and said that the meeting was a part of an ongoing process and welcomed all public engagement. “This is an important community asset.” He said that when he first took office, he met with some residents of Kinloch Villas, located near the site, which was designated in 2019, and pledged that the county will be very good neighbors.

Goochland Chief of Fire-Rescue & Emergency Services, D. E. “Eddie” Ferguson, Jr., echoed Raley’s welcome. “It is fitting that we hold this meeting here, where it all started,” said Ferguson giving a brief recap of his department’s history.

Ferguson said that expansion of fire-rescue to meet the emerging demands of the county is important.  Growth of county population—nearly 30k— is only partly responsible for the increase in call volume. At least 6,000 people from outside Goochland work here daily. Fire-Rescue also responds to emergencies and wrecks on I64 and Rt. 288, whose number and complexity are increasing. The department has water rescue units that respond to emergencies on the county’s 40 or so miles of its James River frontage.

When West Creek business park was created in the late 1980’s, said Ferguson, it was understood that there would be a station in West Creek.

Ferguson thanked all involved in the design of the station that will serve the county well for decades. A great deal of the thought and analysis used to design Station 8 will be used on the Station 7, which will have a similar floor plan. Unlike Station 8, it will have space dedicated to the Sheriff’s Office where deputies can perform administrative functions without going to the Sheriff’s Office in Courthouse Village. THIS SPACE WILL NOT BE USED TO DETAIN PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN ARRESTED.

Each of the county fire-rescue stations has its own character. Go to https://goochlandfire-rescue.org/ and click on stations to see.

Attendees were asked to indicate their preferences from displays of fire house elevations and building materials to help HBA design a unique exterior for Station 7 that harmonizes with its surroundings.

David Smith of HBA explained that the firehouse illustrations ranged from traditional to contemporary and included photos of existing buildings in the area.  “This is a process and your feedback will be used in the design phase,” he said. Sticky dots were used to indicate preferences for building forms and materials.

Construction of Station 7 is long overdue.

Money matters

 

The Goochland County audit and finance committee held its quarterly meeting on June 2. These sessions provide the committee with current fiscal positions and the opportunity to discuss related matters.

First on the agenda was the kickoff for the county’s Annual Certified Financial Report (ACFR) for FY26, which ends on June 30. State law requires that the ACFR be completed and approved by the supervisors in December. In previous years, this process began in the summer. This is one of many procedural changes made by Dr. Jeremy Raley, Ed.D., since becoming county administrator about a year ago.

The FY2025 ACFR is available at https://www.goochlandva.us/Archive.aspx?AMID=43 This document has a wealth of general information about the county and its fiscal condition. Last year, there were some issues with procedures in the finance department resulting from “compression,” catching up at the last minute rather than performing necessary tasks throughout the year. Raley hired an interim director of finance to reconcile the errors before Denise Sandlin was named Director of Finance earlier this year.

Sandlin assured the supervisors that new and more robust financial procedures and controls have been put in place and will be continually improved. She and her team will be ready to greet the PBMares team when it arrives to begin work on the FY26 ACFR on June 8. Her report included a preliminary check list of tasks, many of which have been completed, to start the audit process.

Mike Garber, https://www.pbmares.com/people/michael-garber/  a principal of PBMares, https://www.pbmares.com/ which has been retained by the county for many years to conduct its annual audit, talked about his firm, the audit team assigned to Goochland, and items that are “tested” during the process. (Go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkh34L-vWnc for the video of the meeting.)

Representatives of PFM (https://pfm.com/), which advises the county on capital funding matters including bond issuance, discussed the county’s financial position regarding assumption of additional debt.

Capital projects that have been on the county radar screen for a while include a new courthouse—our current circuit courthouse will celebrate two centuries of continuous operation in September—fire-rescue station 7 on the east side of Hockett Road; upgrades to the secondary complex, including an addition to house the career and technical education department; and renovation of the old Goochland elementary school. Estimated cost for these projects, most planned for completion in the near term, is $114.5 million.

A chart included in the PFM presentation estimated the cost of  Station 7 at $13.2 million, with an expected start date of April, 2027, completion in June 2028; $56 million for the courthouse with an expected start date of April, 2027, completion  in July,2030; $30 million for the secondary complex upgrades with an expected start date of June, 2027 to be completed by August, 2028. A $15 million amount for old GES renovations, essentially a place holder with no projected timing as options for this site are under discussion. Not included in the chart is approximately $30 million for parks and rec projects “in the planning horizon over the next ten years ($18 million over the next 3 years. $12 million thereafter through year 10.)”

Issuing the $46 remainder of the approved general obligation bonds is the lowest cost option, said PFM. Discussion with bond counsel will be necessary to determine if any of these funds may be used for Station 7. These could be issued in FY27.

PFM presented an analysis of conservative “tried and true” funding mechanisms and how they relate to county. They discussed the budgetary impacts of debt funding these projects.

 If the county chooses to finance the entire $114.5 million for projects planned in FY27, the peak debt service ratio would hit the policy limit as a percentage of general fund expenditures in FY28 but would be well below its target percentage of debt to assessed valuation. This would be allowable under policies but could limit future borrowing.

PFM also illustrated the impact of revenue generated by new projects nearing completion. When the Ashland Road Amazon facility, Axial, and West Creek commerce center, hit the tax rolls, the ratio of debt service to general fund expenditures could drop from 11.4 percent to 11.2 percent.

PFM suggested funding the other $68.5 million with an appropriation bond issuance, which would be AA+ rated, a notch below Goochland’s triple triple rating, in mid FY2028. The rate is slightly higher than the triple triple but still very attractive and does not require a referendum. When all the debt is layered on, the total annual debt service was estimated at $13.3 million. New bonds will have the option to refinance at lower interest rates.

Committee chair Charlie Vaughters, District 4 said one rating notch lower, which equates to an approximately 15-20 basis points higher interest rate, is not significant. (A basis point is one hundredth of one percentage point.)

Raley pointed out that the PFM analysis is based on assumptions and that the county has many levers to pull. It can decide not to do all projects, use cash capital funds, or proffer dollars to reduce the debt amount. Next steps are to decide which projects will go forward and how they will be financed.

Proffers

In response to citizen queries about cash proffers—amounts paid by developers to mitigate the impact of residential rezoning on county infrastructure—a proffer data base has been added to the county website. Go to https://www.goochlandva.us/1463/Proffers

Raley said moving all the proffer data to one place from various sources was a heavy lift but now it has been reconciled in the name of transparency. He said it was a very worthwhile undertaking and will help with funding decisions going forward providing flexibility and nimbleness.

 

 

 

 

Raley said that a dashboard for cash proffer collected by the county resulting from residential rezoning had been updated as is on the county website as to amount and how the funds were uses. Cash proffers help to mitigate the impact on county facilities including schools, law enforcement, and fire-rescue. The website improves transparency and disclosure. The next meeting will be on September 1.