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| Magical times coming soon! |
The Goochland Board of Supervisors’ November meeting was
held on Wednesday the fourth and starting the afternoon session at 1:30 p.m.
Board Chair Jonathan Christy, District 1, was not in attendance. In his
absence, Board Vice Chair Neil Spoonhower, District 2, conducted the meeting. They
went into closed session at 3:30 to consult with legal counsel about pending
and probable litigation.
In his comments, County Administrator Dr. Jeremy Raley said
that county offices will be closed on Wednesday, November 11 in observance of
Veterans’ Day, and from noon on November 25 through Friday November 27 for
Thanksgiving.
A Veterans’ Day observance will be held at 9:30 a.m. in the
high school auditorium, which is open to the public. Document shredding and
tire amnesty will take place on Saturday, November 14 from 9-1:00 at the Fairground
lot near the roundabout at the intersection of Fairground and Sandy Hook Roads
in Courthouse Village.
A community meeting on proposed amendments to the Technology
Overlay District zoning ordinances will
be held on Tuesday, November 10 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the high school auditorium.
Go to https://www.goochlandva.us/1490/2026-Ordinance-Update
for details.
Visit the county website https://www.goochlandva.us/ for upcoming
events. Raley encouraged all to sign up for Goochland at a Glance a
weekly newsletter delivered to your inbox every Friday.
Spoonhower thanked the Electoral Board, all election officials,
and everyone who worked hard to conduct free and fair elections on November 3.
Once again, Goochland seems to have had the highest percentage voter turnout in
the Commonwealth.
Human Resources Director Cliff Heller introduced new employees,
Niobe Smith as assistant director of utilities and Tess Lynch as a planner two.
The county is already working on its budget for FY28, which
begins next July 1. As part of the process, department heads make presentations
to the supervisors, and the public to provide insight into what they do.
Human Resources
Heller then gave an update of HR operations and initiatives
to build a stronger “team Goochland” by making operational adjustments to continue
to attract and retain the best people to serve our citizens. His department,
said Heller, includes payroll, recruitment, hiring, compensation
classification, HR policy development and review, all employee relations
issues, performance management, and employee recognition programs.
The number of budget approved county positions is 352, of
which 342 have been hired. Turnover was lower in the last three years than in
previous years. Heller contended that reduced employee turnover is an indication
of how well the county is run.
An electronic onboarding process has been put in place replacing paper form
with digital ones that go directly into an employee’s electronic file without scanning.
The performance evaluation system has been overhauled using
clearly defined terms.
Employee recognition, including heart of service awards to
show appreciation for a job well done has been well received, A tuition
reimbursement program is another incentive.
Challenges going forward are state mandated parttime sick
leave and the possibility that the state will mandate collective bargaining for
government employees, whose cost and implementation are not yet known.
Because Goochland competes with our deep pocketed neighbors
for the best people, regional bench marking comparing Goochland compensation
and health plan schedules is underway.
VDOT
VDOT Ashland Residency engineer Phillp Frazer reported that significant
work has been underway to repair deficiencies in roads in the Parkside Village subdivision.
He said that to address rutting, bad pavement, and subgrade issues VDOT cut out
three feet of pavement to subgrade and discovered “just muck” which is being replaced
with appropriate paving materials to fix the problem. Frazer explained that new
layers of ashplant stopped short of some manholes, marked by barrels until a subcontractor
installs final paving for a “nice smooth finish.”
Environmental
County Engineer Austin Goyne explained that the mission of
the environmental department is to protect the county’s natural resources by
ensuring that all state code rules and regulations are adhered to during
development. It was established to implement the state stormwater program,
which resulted in more local control over the development process.
Environmental, explained Goyne, reviews every set of construction plans submitted to the county to
ensure that they adhere to all regulations imposed by state and county code
before any dirt is moved. Site inspections are performed every two weeks and
following rainfall more than one quarter inch in a 24 hour period. The department
must ensure that construction in process meets approve d plans and mitigates any
negative environmental impacts. This includes keeping trac of related bonds in
case the developer “goes belly up”.
Currently, 973 acres are in active land disturbance activities
in the Goochland. Goyne commended his staff for remarkable work in reducing average
permit review time from 44 to 19 days. He thanked the board for providing resources
to enable improvement.
Th environmental department oversees the application of
biosolids, decommission the closed landfill at Hidden Rock Park, acting as a
liaison with the Monacan Soil and Water Conservation District, and overseeing
conservation easements held by the county, which can require frequent inspections
to ensure that any development adheres to deed restrictions.
Goyne sketched out additional regulations that will be imposed
on the county in the next few years, which will require additional funding and
employees. He suggested that the supervisors consider increasing stormwater
permit fees, especially for large projects, and reviewing the fee structure going forward keep
up with the cost of regulatory changes.
Parks and Rec
Director of Parks and Recreation Tom Cocke gave his
department’s quarterly update. Don Leftwich is now park superintendent overseeing
grounds management. Cocke and Assistant Director of Recreation, Angelia Miller
have become certified CPR/AED instructors enabling them to train full and part-time
staff in these skills.
The 2025 holiday tree lighting event and narrative won an
award at the state conference.
Between July and September, more than 50 k people visited one
of Goochland’s parks, about a ten percent increase over last year. The total
for FY26, which ended on June 30, was 194,444, 6.7 times the total county
population.
The Fourth of July fireworks, which Goochland unlike many of
our neighbors, did not cancel, drew a good crowd as did the celebration of the 200th
birthday of our iconic courthouse in
September.
There were 100 animals exhibited in this year’s ag fair,
which continues to grow.
Parks & Rec partnered with the tourism arm of economic
development to make a promotional video highlighting Leake’ Mill Park and our
great mountain bike team, and Tucker Park.
A partnership with a non-profit, Power of Parkinson’s, provides
therapeutic offerings for residents with Parkinson's disease at no cost to the
county.
Cocke spoke about an efficient new employee, the painting robot, able to
paint the football field in hours instead of days freeing employees for other tasks.
Appointments
Matt Brewer was appointed to fill the district 2 planning
commission seat from November 1, 2026, through
March 31, 2028. A lifelong Goochland and local business owner, Brewer previously
served as a planning commissioner for 12 years. He brings experience and sound
judgment to the position. Spoonhower thanked Amanda Kowalski, who resigned earlier this year, for her service
to the county and being a great partner to him. Spoonhower thanked all four
people who expressed interest in the position and hopes they would stay engaged.
Tom Winfree said that his appointee for the district 3 seat
on the planning commission, Josh McMahon got his attention wit the following
words “I'm interested in serving on the planning commission because I care
about how thoughtful growth and development shape our community for
generations. As a local home builder, I have firsthand experience with land
development, construction, infrastructure permitting, and the challenges that
come with balancing growth with the character of a community. I believe I can
bring a practical, solutions oriented perspective to the commission, while also
learning from other members and listening carefully to residents. My goal would
be to help make thoughtful, responsible decisions that support appropriate
growth, protect what makes our community a great place to live in a position,
it will, and position it well for the future.”
Winfree thanked Jess McLaughlin for doing an excellent job
during his service on the planning commission and wished him well.
Go to https://goochlandcova.portal.civicclerk.com/event/3419/media
to watch the entire meeting.
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