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| 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 250th 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 300th 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.
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