New Neighbors?

Local developer Scott Gaeser held an initial community meeting, that is not part of the county’s rezoning process, to share information about a proposed mixed use enclave in Centerville on December 15.

Goochland County created a mixed-use zoning category earlier this year. Because this is a new land use, every square inch of land in a mixed-use project must be rezoned. This process includes at least one officially sanctioned community meeting, and public hearings before the planning commission and Board of Supervisors, which can grant or deny the rezoning.

Despite the proximity to Christmas and frigid temperatures, the crowd at the Centerville Company 3 fire-rescue station was standing room only. In addition to area residents, three county supervisors, a planning commissioner, and several members of the county’s community development staff attended.

Gaeser said that he wanted to share his plans for the 37 acres behind and to the west of Essex Bank at the corner of Manakin and Broad Street Roads and see what people think. He explained that the project name Manakintowne pays homage to historic Three Chopt and Manakin Ferry Roads, which, at one time, intersected on the property. (This also adds to the confusion between Centerville and the Manakin Village, which is on Route 6.)

Mixed use zoning requires a master plan that lays out buildings, roads, parking, landscaping, open space, and amenities in detail. The ordinance language was crafted to provide the maximum flexibility for developers with the expectation that plans will far exceed the minimum requirements.

Gaeser’s initial plan—he said that it might be tweaked before formal presentations begin—includes a heavily landscaped entry boulevard. An open space to be used for the farmers market and other community events is a focal point. Neighborhood scale buildings shown in the elevations had both Tudor and Craftsman details to soften their exteriors. Gaeser said that there will be both retail and office space, to accommodate doctors, dentists, and small business, cafes, and services. The design incorporates all commercial space into a cohesive streetscape, and has no outparcels like Taco Bell.

The housing, as presented, consists of 230 apartments in two buildings, one three story, the other four floors. Gaeser said that the four-story building will be at the back of the site, where the land slopes, softening the height aspect.

Monthly apartment rents are anticipated as high as $2,400 for a three-bedroom unit. Gaeser said that the design and finishes in the apartments will be upscale. Amenities will include a fitness center, elevators, and garages. “It will be a safe and luxurious place to live.”

Prices for the forty townhomes are expected to be in the $400 thousand-dollar range. Gaeser explained that the residential units are not expected to be built before 2020.

Concerns about traffic were widespread. Adding several hundred vehicles to the daily crush was not well received. Gaeser contended that mixed use proposal is somewhat less intense of a use that the current B-1 zoning and that initial traffic studies did not call for a traffic signal.

Residents who live north of Broad Street Road argued that folks from the apartments or townhomes would exit via Manakin Road to make a left turn at the signal, because turning eft onto Broad Street Road would be impossible.

There was some discussion about a road access to Plaza Drive, which would not only move traffic away from Manakin Road, but provide another way for eastbound traffic to move through Centerville. Gaeser said that he would like Plaza Drive access, but so far, his efforts to secure it have been unsuccessful.

In response to the other general question of “why cram all of that housing there?” Gaeser said that is the place for high density housing because public utilities are in place and the roads are some of the best in the county. (Admittedly, the threshold for a good road in Goochland is low.)

The County’s 2035 comprehensive land use plan was mentioned a few times. As written, the Comp Plan expects that 85 percent of Goochland will be rural in twenty years. The other 15 percent, east of Manakin Road between Route 6 and the Hanover line, on the other hand, is destined for intense development. (See http://goochlandva.us/250/2035-Comprehensive-Plan for details)

Questions were asked about the impact of the project on government services, especially schools and fire-rescue. Gaeser contended that, even though Goochland schools get high marks, few people would move to Centerville to put their kids on county schools, but would go to Henrico instead. He said that the apartments at the Notch, opposite Wawa, have added only a handful of kids to the school system.

Residents cited trailers at Randolph elementary school as evidence that care needs to be taken not to overwhelm schools.

Fire-rescue is grappling with a fall-off in volunteer participation and difficulty recruiting paid staff, which would be exacerbated by an influx of new homes.

These points and more will be discussed and examined in detail going forward.
Gaeser expects to hold a “county sanctioned” community meeting on January 4 at Grace Chinese Baptist Church on Broad Street Road, that will have more detail.

The joy of Christmas past

Did you ever wish you could visit your childhood home at Christmas?

Mary File Clem and her lifelong friend Ellen Bain Smith do just that each year when they decorate the Bolling Hall dollhouse for the holiday.

The dollhouse, an exact replica of the stately home off of Rock Castle Road, was built by Mary's mother, Shirley File, many years ago. The one inch to one foot scale model offers a glimpse into the way it looked in the mid 20th century.

Mary said that her family bought Bolling Hall in 1947 and sold it in the mid-90's.

Mary and Ellen recalled the fun they had inside the house and on the grounds, as well as playing in a small cemetery, which is not depicted.

Mrs. File, who passed away in 1990, painstakingly collected tiny furniture, bedspreads, drapery, and carpets to recreate the way the inside of the home looked when her family lived there. She even made the tiny quilt that peeks out of a blanket chest in a bedroom.

From roof shingles fashioned out of sandpaper to the tiny pink slippers just like the ones that Mary wore as a child now sitting on the rug in "her" bedroom, the details bring the house to life.

Mary File Clem places slippers just like those she wore as a child on the floor in "her" bedroom.

The kitchen is equipped with a wood burning stove and Christmas treats on the table.

Miniature shopping bags strewn in a hallway make it seem like someone just got home from a trip to Miller&Rhodes. Milk bottles sit outside the door as if the milkman just dropped them off.

"This is such a part of Goochland history," Ellen said as she adjusted a tiny toy.


The Bolling Hall dollhouse is permanently displayed in an attractive glass case just outside the Registrar's Office on the main floor of the Goochland County administration building.

December Board HIghlights

The year 2016 brought a lot of change to Goochland County government. At the December 6 meeting of the Board of Supervisors, its last of the year, even more changes were announced.

*Since taking office as Goochland’s chief executive officer in July, County Administrator John Budesky seems to have been evaluating the leadership structure and organizational needs. Vacancies created by retirements and departures provided an opportunity to restructure county administration.

Derek Stamey

Budesky announced that Derek Stamey, Director of Parks, Recreation and Facilities Management, will assume the position of Deputy County Administrator for Operations. Stamey will serve in Budesky’s absence and oversee parks and rec; animal protection; convenience centers; major capital construction; building maintenance and grounds operations; a consolidated fleet management effort; and other duties and projects as assigned.


Todd Kilduff, who had been director of utilities, has been promoted to Assistant County Administrator. He will continue to lead the utilities department; oversee the Community Development Department; and undertake additional tasks as assigned.

Paul Drumwright, who began his career with Goochland County as an intern eleven years ago, was promoted to Administrative Services Manager. He will provide oversight to the Office of ‘Children and Family Services and interface with other health and human services providers. Drumwright will continue to serve as legislative liaison, and increase his activity in public information activities, including posting to the county Facebook page and Twitter account.

Paul Drumwright

These changes to county administration, as well as the appointment of Barbara Horlacher as Director of Financial Services, bode well for the future by retaining familiar faces in expanded roles.

*At the end of the afternoon session of the December 6 meeting, the supervisors met in closed session to discuss a successor to County Attorney Norman Sales, who is expected to retire at the end of 2016.

*Goochland Electoral Board Secretary Robin Lind reported that, once again, Goochland County had the highest voting percentage in the Commonwealth for the 2016 presidential election. Goochland’s 85.2 percent turnout bested the statewide average of 78.6 percent. Commonwealth’s Attorney D. (does not indicate he’s a democrat) Michael Caudill netted 97.27 percent of votes cast.

Lind credited Goochland’s high turnout to the diligence of Director of Elections Frances Ragland and her deputies Phyllis Platt and Toni Holcombe. Lind also credited the consistent high voter turnout to the supervisors whose unstinting support telegraphs the value and importance of the electoral process.

But wait, there’s more! Goochland voters will have another opportunity to go to the polls on January 10 to participate in a special election to fill the 22nd District seat in the Virginia State Senate left vacant when incumbent Tom Garrett was elected to the United States Congress. So far, Republican Mark Peake of Lynchburg and Democrat Ryant Washington of Fluvanna are candidates for the seat. Lind said there was a possibility that there may be some independent candidates.

Board chair Bob Minnick, District 4, thanked Lind and who make elections successful in Goochland for all the work they do to make it happen. “It’s not easy to do that,” said Minnick.

*During County Administrator comments, Budesky said that he was honored to participate in the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony that took place on December 2. County staff, the Goochland YMCA, Sheriff’s Office, high school musical performers, fire-rescue and others collaborated on a wonderful event. County staff presented a check for $1,061 to Goochland Christmas Mother Wanda Taylor.

*Budesky thanked Dan Schardein, Deputy County Administrator for Community Development for his service to the county. Schardein will retire at the end of December.

*Marshall Wynn of VDOT reported that the traffic study for the Broad Street Road corridor east of Oilville Road to Cardwell Road has been completed. Three solutions have been offered. A meeting will be scheduled to discuss the options.
Wynn also said that the speed limit on Mill Trace Lane will be changed to 35 miles as the result of a speed study.
Manuel Alvarez, Jr., District 2, asked if paving recently applied to Rt. 522 is complete because it is very noisy. Wynn said that he road surface in question was coated with a latex modified seal. He said the noise will mitigate after it has been driven on “for a while.”

*County Assessor Mary Ann Davis reported that the land use revalidation process is 99 percent complete with only 15 parcels having failed to file the necessary forms. Davis said that her staff is continuing to follow up by phone and that she planned to personally make some house calls to help landowners get into compliance. Those who fail to complete the revalidation process by the end of the year will find that their next real estate assessment, and eventually tax bill, will be calculated using fair market rather than land use value. She commended staff members Robin Ellis and Dana Johnson who were on “the front lines” of this initiative to ensure that only properly eligible parcels are in the land use taxation program.

*The Virginia Park and Recreation Society, a private, non-profit professional society, awarded Goochland the best promotional effort for jurisdictions of fewer than 25,000 residents for its Fall “History Edition” Program Guide.

Stamey commended Michelle Swalin and Jessica Kronberg for their excellent work on this project. Parks and Rec publishes a guide of available programs three times each year. Hard copies are available in places like the Admin Building, the library and YMCA. See the Parks and Rec tab on the county website http://goochlandva.us/ for complete information.

*Principal Planner Jo Ann Hunter explained a new conditional use permit (CUP) policy that eliminates required renewals for low impact uses. This applies to CUPs issued after December 1, 2016. These CUPs will run with the land.

High impact CUPS, for uses that carry the potential to generate excessive noise and traffic, or adverse impacts on adjacent properties must still be renewed. The supervisors and staff will deem which uses are high impact.

The policy will also have a “sunset clause” to ensure that CUPs are acted upon within a certain time. Should the CUP expire before actions are taken, say an economic downturn delays application for a building permit, the applicant may apply for an extension. If no action is taken, the CUP is voided.

An enforcement policy in place to deal with willful violation of agreed upon conditions was modified slightly to state that staff will review CUP holders after the first five years to ensure that the conditions are being met.

The Board adjourned to January 3, 2017, for its annual organizational meeting.

Odds and ends

The Goochland County Board of Supervisors met in a special called session on November 29 to approve the certified annual financial report (CAFR) for fiscal year 2016, which ended on June 30, and tend to a few other matters.

Each year Goochland County retains the services of outside accountant firm, currently PBMares, to take a detailed look at its books and how it handles finances and prepare the CAFR. For the past few years, the county has gotten high marks and almost clean reports, yet remains in the “at risk category” it landed in when the county treasurer was convicted of embezzlement in 2011.

The 2016 CAFR was presented to and approved by the supervisors on November 29 to enable filing of Goochland’s CAFR with the state by a November 30 deadline.
PBMares principal Mike Garber said it is unusual for a governing board to hold a special meeting to approve a CAFR by the filing deadline. Most jurisdictions, he said, file their CAFRs by November 30 and approve them at their next regularly scheduled meeting.

The audit committee, whose members include representatives from the county and school division, met with Garber for an informal review of the 2016 CAFR before the meeting. Supervisor Manuel Alvarez, Jr., District 2 chairs the audit committee. Supervisors Susan Lascolette, District 1, and Ken Peterson, District 5 are also on the committee.

The only fly in the ointment, really a metaphorical gnat, is a repeat of last year’s issue with the Department of Social Service failing to fully recertify all Medicaid recipients in a timely manner.

As explained by Kimberly Jefferson, DSS director, the fault lies in the mandated use of state computer systems that are often down or have excruciatingly slow response times. According to the CAFR, available in its entirety under the financial services tab on the county website goochland.va.us, the turnover rate for trained benefit specialists who perform these recertifications is very high due to demands of the job and salary scales. This is a phenomenon that plagues other jurisdictions, and was cited in a recent JLARC report.

Hiring additional personnel, including experienced retirees on a part-time basis, and use of mandatory overtime has addressed the problem. The state recently added other SS programs to this cumbersome system, which exacerbated the problem for many localities.

Jefferson said that her staff has used creative strategies, including working early in the day and on holidays and weekends when the state computer system responds more quickly, to catch up, and, hopefully, remain in compliance.

Another minor ripple, which Garber said was easily corrected by a journal entry, involved about 17 checks written near the end of the 2016 year, which were erroneously posted to the 2017 year. Additional internal controls were put in place to ensure that this does not happen again.

Please look at the CAFR and try to understand how are tax dollars are used.

The supervisors also reviewed the calendar for the FY2018 budget process, which has already begun.
Next year, County Administrator John Budesky will present his recommended budget on February 21. In following weeks, the public safety budget and school budget, which will be approved by the school board after its own budget process on February 14, will be presented to the supervisors. Other departments will make their budget presentations in February and March to coincide with spring town hall meetings.

A public hearing on the proposed budget, which could be tweaked after all the presentations and hearings, and tax rate is scheduled for April 4. Adoption of the FY 2018 budget and setting of tax rates for calendar 2017 will occur on April 18.

This will streamline the budget process and eliminate many of the marathon budget workshops of the past. According to the document in the November 29 meeting packet, the supervisors established budget priorities in their “November 2 on 2” meetings with Budesky and staff.

The Board set a December 6 public hearing for an ordinance amendment regarding itinerant merchant license fees.

A bright red ribbon was cut to formally celebrate the completion of the new Department of Community Development space. Wasted hallway space was ingeniously converted into welcoming, attractive, efficient, and functional work areas. The project was overseen by DCD office manager Sara Worley and completed on time within budget.

Board Chair Bob Minick, District 4, and DCD Office Manager Sara Worley cut a ribbon to dedicate the newly renovated space. Superivosrs Manuel Alvarez, Jr. and Susan Lascolette to the left and County Administrator John Budesky to the right.



The supervisors then went into closed session to discuss litigation concerning the issuance of a CUP to Bandit’s Ridge for an event venue with counsel and hear staff briefings on the matter.

Where eagles soar

GMS Principal Jennifer Rucker

For those of us educated in the last century, grades 6, 7, and 8—now called middle school—were probably not the best years of our lives. Things have changed for the better.
Principal Jennifer Rucker graciously took time from her busy schedule to give GOMM a peek at the workings of Goochland Middle School, whose mascot is the eagle, as part of American Education Week. Named a “2016 school to watch”, GMS is one of the top 144 middle schools in the country. That is the result of hard work by amazing teachers supported by administrators and our school board.

Each school day morning, Rucker greets the nearly 600 GMS students as they arrive for their daily dose of education. Her career path began in higher education. After working at the high school level to better prepare students for college, she moved to middle school, where, she believes, it all begins.

Students begin their school day by walking under their mascot, the eagle.

At GMS, the old basics of reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic are enhanced by robotics, STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), and more subtle skills including collaboration with other students.

Glimpses into classrooms revealed students—girls and boys— learning about foods rich in Vitamin A, part of a curriculum that includes conflict resolution and other domestic skills.

Students used their iPads—one is assigned to each student at GMS—for a myriad of learning related activities.

Multi charger keeps all the iPads humming.

In a STEM class, students created organisms and habitats that would support them, then presented their work to the class. In another class, Minecraft is used in collaborative “scrums” where complimentary skills combine craft solutions. In yet another, geography came to life on the small screens as young fingers deftly maneuvered images on a screen.

Devices are at the command of dexterous fingers and minds in pursuit of learning.

Gym class, which stretches both muscles and minds is more low tech. Students ran circuits around the gym collecting a clue to a Thanksgiving saying and a letter that is part of seasonal word that would be revealed at the end of the session. The kids were active, let off some excess energy, and had fun.


Tried and true educational traditions are also alive and well in the classroom of English teacher Ms. Ray. Her students diagram sentences on paper the old-fashioned way. They also collaborated on a collection of short stories featuring characters Gooch and Glenda. R them here https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-E15YKnk70sy9lioYU2RR_OgzCgojCHmNLc76gKFUGQ/edit.

You can almost hear the hum of young neurons firing as they seize knowledge from these experiences. Cross disciplinary instruction is in every classroom. The ruler straight rows of desks of yore have been replaced with groupings of students sharing skills and encouraging each other to the conclusion of a problem. Students were engaged as they sought the satisfaction of a task well done. Best of all, it seemed like pretty much everyone was having a good time.

But it’s not all tapping on computers. Robotics students learn to use the lathe by making beautiful wooden pens. Crafting paper airplanes with rubber band propellers teach aerodynamics. Band saws and power tools are used in many classes.

These pens are a part of the robotics curriculum.

Band saws and power tools are used in several disciplines. This is not your father's shop class.

Rucker acknowledges that middle school can be a difficult time for students, but the entire staff at GMS works hard to help every student thrive. Counseling and testing is used to identify students struggling in an area and provide appropriate remediation. Posters cautioning against the evils of drugs and alcohol are prominently displayed, hopefully planting the seeds of an important message in impressionable minds.

Academic excellence is only part of the GMS educational experience. Rucker said that GMS aims to create a supportive environment that does not tolerate bullying and encourages kindness.

The world is changing at a whipsaw pace. Learning to learn may be the most important skill our kids need to thrive in their future. Many will have careers that have not yet been invented. GMS is pointing our kids in the right direction.

Please visit the GMS website http://gms.goochlandschools.org/ to learn more.

Highlights of November Board of Supervisors' Meeting

Goochland’s Board of Supervisors began its November 1 meeting by formally voting to permit Ned Creasey, District 3, to participate electronically from his hospital bed. Creasey reportedly was responding well to treatment and sounded chipper over the speaker phone as he made comments and voted.

-During public comment period, two Hadensville residents who own homes on the Royal Virginia golf course raised concerns about the sale of the property to a Charlottesville company that plans to close the course and place a conservation easement on the property so that investors can take advantage of tax breaks. They contended that the previous owner of the course spent a lot of money to put it into pristine condition. Employees of Royal Virginia, they said, have been notified that the course is closing at the end of November.

Closure of the golf course, they contended, will reduce the assessed value of their homes, and in turn, county real estate tax revenues.

These gentlemen suggested that the county take over the course and run it as a revenue producing enterprise. Petersburg, they said, runs a golf course and is pursuing an ABC license to make it more profitable.

After the meeting, County Administrator John Budesky said that the county may have no say about the conservation easement. The supervisors, who learned about the sale of Royal Virginia from the media, may try to arrange a meeting with homeowners to discuss the matter.

It seems unlikely that the Board has any interest in owning or running a golf course.

-Budesky thanked all who made the county’s Fall Festival on October 28 a success. He commended Derek Stamey, Director of Parks, Recreation, and Facilities Management and his staff for a job well done. Deputies, fire-rescue and other volunteers also contributed to a great day that was well-attended.

-Marshall Wynn of VDOT reported that the speed study on Mill Trace did not recommend a 35 MPH limit. Manuel Alvarez, Jr. District 2, said he was disappointed in the result. River Road West through Courthouse Village has a 35 MPH limit. Mill Trace is a residential road, where people run, walk, and ride bikes. Deer are a hazard there too. Deputies recently issued 11 speeding tickets in a two-hour period on that road.

Wynn said that a traffic study for the Rt. 250/Fairground Road area recommended additional signage be deployed. Really? Signs imply that drivers zipping along way over the speed limit pay attention to signs and can read English. A more visceral indication of an impending hazard, like a very low profile rumble strip, would do a better job of getting drivers to pay attention. The eastbound approach to Fairground Road is a blind hill, by the time you get to the top and are able to see traffic turning into the eastbound lane, it could be too late to slow down. But signs are cheap and easy to deploy.

Alvarez requested a copy of the Fairground/250 study.

Wynn also reported that another VDOT study found that the River Road/Rt.6 interchange “is not close” to needing a traffic light at this time.

-County Assessor Mary Ann Davis declared the recertification of property in the land use program a success. She said that 94 percent of the required forms had been received and an additional 117 were expected before the end of the day, meeting the November 1 deadline. Her staff kept up with the influx of documentation, and were calling those who had not submitted recertification forms. Bills for the $25 late fee will be sent out for those who do not comply.

-Goochland received the Virginia Recycling Associations 2016 outstanding rural innovations award. This honor recognizes the many recycling invitations sponsored by the county, usually under the direction of Leigh Dunn, curbside recycling and GARC coordinator, including electronic and curbside recycling and community shredding and tire amnesty events. (The next of these is scheduled for November 19 on the corner of Sandy Hook and Fairground Road in Courthouse Village.)

- Goochland Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jeremy Raley, presented an update on fiber optic cable being run along Rt. 6 from the county administration building to Byrd Elementary School.

Efforts to provide BES with high speed internet access have been disappointing and increasingly expensive. The fiber’s approximately $500,000 cost is funded mostly by a grant from USAC e-rate and $99,680 from the county. The fiber will also connect to the Company 4 fire-rescue station. Leasing cable from Comcast would cost more than $3 million over a twenty-year period. For an additional ten thousand dollars, the county will be able to run additional strands of fiber, which it will own, through the conduit. These strands would be available for lease by the county to service providers at a future time to recoup the cost and expand broadband west of Courthouse Village. Still in the planning stages, this fiber project holds great promise for extension of high speed internet into the communication desert of western Goochland.

Who ya gonna call?

The agenda of the Tuesday, November 1 meeting of the Goochland Board of Supervisors contained an item that will sadden the hearts of many. Goochland Fire-Rescue asked to accelerate hiring of two additional fire-rescue staff from July 1, to January 1, 2017.

The request was prompted by letters received earlier in the year from the volunteer District Chiefs of Manakin Company 1 and Centerville Company 3 that they can no longer supply core levels of staffing. They asked to have career providers deployed at their stations to supplement volunteers.

In 2013, the supervisors approved a ten-year staffing plan that would gradually add paid fire-rescue providers on a schedule predicated on volunteer participation levels remaining steady at 2013 levels. According to Goochland Fire-Rescue Chief Bill MacKay, volunteer participation has declined 38.35 per cent in the last three years.

MacKay said that in 2013, there were 412 volunteers on the books countywide, including auxiliary members and drivers. By 2015, the number had dwindled to 346, with only 55.96 percent of those in call responding positions.

Fire-Rescue volunteers are the embodiment of community self-reliance, a hallmark of rural character. Transitioning to career life safety service is a sign that things are changing.

Reasons for this decline are many. Fewer people have the time or inclination to commit to what is essentially a demanding second unpaid job. Newcomers to the county are less likely to volunteer for fire-rescue service, and most volunteers work elsewhere. It’s hard to be up half the night responding to 911 calls and be on your job bright and early the next morning. There are other reasons for the volunteer fall off. Visit your local fire-rescue station and talk to the incredible people who freely give of their time and talents to save lives and protect property in Goochland.


Before the discussion on staffing, the supervisors approved a fire-rescue request to use cost recovery funds to purchase video laryngoscopes for each of the county’s front line ambulances. These devices help advanced life support EMS providers quickly and safely intubate patients to establish an airway and keep them breathing during transport to a hospital, which can be a long trip from Goochland.

This illustrates that the pre-hospital emergency care delivered by our amazing EMS volunteers is increasingly complex, requiring many hours of training over and above on duty hours.

As MacKay told the supervisors, Goochland is not alone in its volunteer staffing predicament. Last year, Rockville’s volunteer fire company closed. Residents of northeastern Goochland/western Hanover have raised concerns about the dearth of available EMS units in this area.

MacKay said that filling career fire-rescue positions has been challenging as Goochland competes with Henrico and Chesterfield Counties, which have large departments and deeper pockets. The recruitment process includes written and agility testing and a stringent background investigation. MacKay said that there are often many “no shows” for the testing, but those that do participate have high pass rates; the background check, not so much.

Due to two existing vacancies, money is available to fund the additional positons with no extra funding needed from the county. Revenues generated by the cost recovery program, which charges insurance for EMS hospital transport based on distance and level of care, help fund career positions.

MacKay said that approval of additional providers will enable deployment of 24/7 EMS crews at four of the county’s six fire-rescue stations, to be augmented by volunteers when possible. He hopes to have all approved positions filled early in 2017. The Chef hopes that the current pool of 71 applicants will yield at least four well-qualified employees.

Supervisor Ned Creasey, District 3, hospitalized to attend to health matters attended the meeting electronically. Creasey, who is also a Fire-Rescue life member, offered to work with MacKay to expedite background checks.

A request for additional career fire-rescue providers in the budget for fiscal year 2018, which begins next July 1, seems likely.