Earning it

Bryan Rhode of Crozier, resplendent in his Marine Captain’s uniform, addressed the Memorial Day observance sponsored by Goochland American Legion Post 215 yesterday morning on the Courthouse Green.

(Thanks to Doug Kinney for recording and posting the event on YouTube http://youtu.be/JAlgyGiecns. This needs to go viral.)

On the day set aside to honor America’s war dead, Rhode spoke of two particular fallen troopers. One a female helicopter pilot who was killed in Fallujah, Iraq, the other an artillery officer who died in Afghanistan last December.

They are part of a long line of heroes who died in America’s service protecting the freedoms that we all take for granted. Many of today’s troopers come home with terrible injuries that have changed their lives forever.

Rhode then alluded to the film “Saving Private Ryan.” This is the story of a platoon of soldiers assigned to find Ryan in the chaotic aftermath of the 1944 Normandy invasion. The War Department decided to send Ryan home because he was the sole survivor of his parents’ four sons in uniform.

As one of the soldiers sent to find Ryan is dying, he asks the private “to earn it,” meaning that much had been sacrificed for him to survive the war and go home.

Rhode then exhorted the audience to “earn it” too.

What a powerful message for Memorial Day. His remarks followed recognition of veterans who served in World War II and the Koran conflict. It was fitting to honor members of the Greatest Generation who are slipping into history at an alarming pace. We must say thank you to them while we can. They earned it.

But what about the rest of us?

Sure, these are not the best of times for many folks. Families and businesses are struggling to survive and get a little traction to move forward.

Rhode encouraged his audience to give something back as part of “earning it.”

A healthy, supportive and productive society is the result of people across the socio-economic spectrum doing what they can to make their little corner of the world a better place.

We’ve gotten away from the notion of everyone doing their part to keeps things on course and let the other guy, whoever that may be, carry the burden.

The American spirit will endure only if each of us does our bit. We owe the fallen more than ceremonial homage on national holidays. We need to earn their sacrifice that secured our freedoms by the way that we live our lives every day.

A new day in the neighborhood

With luck, the soap opera that was Goochland is history.

The drama is over and everyone is working together to fix the myriad of problems that prevented the county from functioning well.

Signs that a new attitude is in place are all over.

In the past few weeks, County Attorney Norman Sales and his assistant Kelly Kemp guided both the Planning Commission and newly created Broadband Committee through the rules and regulations that govern them. This included Freedom of Information Act requirements for posting public notice of meetings; conflict of interest; what constitutes a meeting (using the “reply all” feature of email to discuss public business is not permitted) and keeping copies of all correspondence, including emails.
Sales explained to the planning commission that closed sessions are permitted only to discuss personnel matters; sensitive financial transactions or receive advice of counsel regarding litigation.

As the planning commission has no employees, does not engage in financial transactions and, so far, has not been sued, it has no grounds for closed session. Sales also made it quite clear that he will ensure that no county boards and commissions operating while he is county attorney disregard closed meeting rules. This is another nice change from past practices.

On May 9, the Broadband Committee held its inaugural meeting. Comprised of citizens with professional experience in information technology and telecommunications, this group will investigate existing high speed internet resources and seek ways to extend broadband access to the entire county.

Peter Martin, the technical director for Goochland Schools is also on the committee. He pointed out that the “digital divide” can be illustrated by drawing a line through the center of the county. Nonexistent internet access for many county students hampers their ability to keep up with assignments.

The lack of high speed internet access in the western part of Goochland is a serious deficit. There is no money to fund broadband infrastructure so any actions taken by the county are likely to fall into creating an environment to attract private investment.

In some areas, a dearth of cell towers makes use of wireless internet devices unreliable at best.
This committee is scheduled to be in existence for about six months and make recommendations on the subject to the Board of Supervisors in October.

The group elected District 2 supervisor Manuel Alvarez, Jr. chair and Marshall Bowden who lives in District 5 as vice chair.
Alvarez explained that his successful efforts to bring high speed internet brought to his Mill Forest home (he is one of two homes in that neighborhood served by Comcast) sparked an interest in and dissatisfaction with local government that led him to seek public office.

Kudos to Alvarez for putting the committee together and thanks to all of its members for donating their talents and time to the community.

The county has done little on the broadband issue since a 2008 study, which cost about $50,000. Bowden suggested its information be used as the jumping off point for the committee’s work. He suggested that an assessment be made of what’s in place because some towers that had been approved were never built due to the economic downturn.
County staff will provide the initial background data.

Once the preliminaries were dealt with, the discussion began in earnest and the intellectual synergy among the participants blossomed. This will only get better going forward.

One pointed out that bandwidth should be considered because satellite systems do not provide sufficient bandwidth to stream movies, or meetings of the committee. This is ironic because those most interested in improving broadband access are probably unable to access the meetings this way.

Others said that reasonable cost is important without quite defining “reasonable.”

Kevin Hazzard, who is also the District 2 school board member, suggested basic criteria of high speed, low latency and reasonable cost. Latency is the maddening delay that occurs between the time that a URL is entered and a page begins to load.
Alvarez said that a diverse set of solutions may be the answer as Goochland is not a “one size fits all” kind of place. This could include requiring new subdivisions to install cable or fiber to entice providers and identifying prime sites for additional tower wireless applications.

The new, improved planning commission has met twice and is focusing on the business of sound land use practices. Recently appointed members come to meetings prepared and offer thoughtful, informed comments on agenda matters.
In addition to organizational information provided by Sales, principal planner Tom Coleman walked the planning commission through an overview of land use in Goochland at its May 17 meeting.

At its June meeting, the planning commission will hold a workshop on “dark sky” lighting regulations and electronic signs. Both subjects have been overlooked for too long.

As the planning commission grapples with the intrusive nature of light and high tech signs, perhaps it will also attempt to define “rural.”

To protect the “rural character” everyone loves, it must be clearly defined to craft protective measures.
Goochland’s problems have not changed, but the new perspective and energy directed to finding solutions instead of moaning about our troubles is cause for optimism.

Team players

Crafting more effective government

The imminent departure of Goochland Superintendent of Schools Dr. Linda Underwood is the latest of many in the school system and county government in the past three years.

Even before last November’s election, which replaced the entire school board and 80 percent of the board of supervisors, new faces had become the norm rather than the exception.

These new folks are dramatically, and for the better, bringing new attitudes and expectations to Goochland. This is a good thing. However, all of that new blood makes citizen collaboration with public servants more important than ever.
Now that the budget is done, our new supervisors, who campaigned on promises of more effective yet responsive government, have turned their attention to appointed internal boards and commissions.

At their last meeting, the supervisors learned about these ancillary bodies from County Attorney Norman Sales. Once again, the new supervisors were well prepared for the discussion and asked pertinent questions. The cordial demeanor among the supervisors was a nice change from the past.

Board vice chair Ken Peterson District 5 pointed out that there are around 100 positions on the ancillary boards and commissions and wanted to ensure that they all currently have enough members to conduct ongoing business. County administrator Rebecca Dickson stated that this is not an issue.

(A list of these boards and commissions is part of the May 1 board packet, which is available in its entirety on the county website www.goochland.va.us on the supervisors’ page.)

Some of these groups, like the planning commission, are mandated by the state. The Board of Equalization and Board of Zoning Appeals are appointed by the Circuit Court, while other groups are appointed by the supervisors.

The matrix used by Sales includes the duties of each group and skill sets needed to ensure that its goals can be achieved.
Basic qualifications, county residency, for instance, and desired skills are listed for each body. Some require professional qualifications, others an interest and willingness to serve. Some of these groups provide specific training for their members.
Many citizen appointees have given countless and extremely productive hours serving the county in a wide range of functions from the Social Services Board to the Recreation Advisory Commission.

Goochland is blessed with a gracious plenty of talented, skilled and generous people willing and able to contribute their abilities to the public good. Too bad in the past, few of them were recruited to these boards and commissions.
Recent appointments to the planning commission and a temporary committee formed to study the broadband issue have tapped some of this talent. This bodes well for the future.

Some, like the Design Review Committee, charged with ensuring adherence to standards in the county’s overlay districts and the Tuckahoe Creek Service District Advisory Committee (TCSDAC) have generated controversy.

For much of its existence, most of the five members of the DRC have been concurrently planning commissioners. While this gives them greater understanding of the details of an application, some contend that planning commission attitudes spill over on the DRC.

Property owners believe, with some justification that the DRC exists to increase costs and slow completion of any project. It rules on matters from signage to colors, materials, architectural design, landscaping and setbacks.
Others feel that the DRC simply rubber stamps whatever comes along.

Some folks believe that the DRC should be eliminated and its function folded into the plan of development review and the building permit process, which is done at the staff level by county employees.

Everyone seems to agree that the requirement to obtain a certificate of appropriateness impedes development in overlay districts. Developers also contend that it makes doing business in Goochland cumbersome and expensive and take their business elsewhere.

But what about input from the citizens who must live with the result? That needs to be a part of the process.

The TCSDAC, which is comprised of major TCSD landowners, has also drawn flak. The old regime treated the TCSDAC like mushrooms —kept in the dark and fed manure. Most of the previous board believed that the TCSD had outlived its usefulness once the TCSD was completed and refused to even discuss filling vacancies.

That lack of trust and communication served no one, except those trying to hide their incompetence.

It makes sense to add representatives from the TCSDAC to the Economic Development Authority because both groups are focused on attracting growth to eastern Goochland. Adding TCSD homeowner representatives to this group would add input from those who will live with the consequences of development there.

The question here is how much regulation and citizen input is too much? We’re still dealing with the results of a dearth of professional detachment in county government. However, leaving everything to the hired hands that live elsewhere may be going too far in the other direction.

The supervisors will need to make that call. They’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter. Also, if you are interested in serving on a board or commission, an application is on the county website under the “Serving Goochland” tab.

Numbers

The last GOMM post contained incorrect information.

At the April 17 meeting of the Goochland Board of Supervisors, the 32 cent ad valorem tax adopted for 2012 was one rather than two cents less than the proposed rate.

On May 1, the supervisors unanimously voted to “replace” the $60,000 that the penny budget change represents by reducing a TCSD loan repayment to the county and the transfer to the capital improvement fund for parks.

Homeowners in the TCSD are justifiably angry about the situation. They’re losing patience with the situation and want the ad valorem tax abolished now.

Explaining the changes to the FY ‘13 budget County Administrator Rebecca Dickson said that, for planning purposes, staff would like to continue the 32 cent rate into the FY’14 budget. She said that the board will need to reconsider the rates next year based on changes in assessed valuation and other factors.

The opening of the West Creek Emergency Medical Center on May 1 should increase the total TCSD valuation and generate a lot of ad valorem tax. Expected Capital One construction could have an impact in FY ’14. Perhaps these factors will help to at least hold ad valorem tax rates steady in the future.

Dickson introduced Mathew Ryan the county’s new director of economic development. Ryan, who started work on April 30, seems to have, pardon the sports analogy, hit the ground running.

Ryan has the strategic plan for economic development, approved last fall, to use as a starting point. He will work closely with staff and the supervisors to market Goochland, especially the TCSD, to the world. In the next few weeks, according to Dickson, Ryan will meet with the board and administration to set priorities.

The most important task on Ryan’s agenda is building trust with TCSD landowners and the development community.
This is yet another step in the right direction for Goochland. Ryan will have full board support for all initiatives that benefit the county. This is a radical change from past practices.

New faces on the board and staff coupled with positive new attitudes toward economic development and the urgent need to get a handle on the TCSD debt situation bode well for the future.
We just need to stick it out for the short term.

Squeaky wheels

Goochland’s newly elected supervisors have truly kept their campaign promises to be accessible and responsive to constituents.
They return phone calls, attend a wide range of public meetings and are working hard to transform a county government fashioned like a house of cards into one built on a firm foundation for the future.

Moving the county forward is a complex task.

Elements of challenges facing the county will take some time to bear fruit.

The Tuckahoe Creek Service District debt challenge is the quarter billion octopus in the corner that casts its shadow on every action the board takes.

Moving with great caution yet all deliberate haste, the supervisors and staff crafted a budget for fiscal 2013 that included an increase of the dreaded ad valorem, tax levied only on property in the TCSD, to 34 cents. One penny of the tax generates $60,000 in revenue.

During this year’s open an extensive budget process which provided ample opportunity for public comment and input, residents who pay the extra tax, especially those who live in Kinloch and The Parke at Centerville, urged the supervisors to eliminate the tax and spread the debt service burden to the entire county.

They contend that, because the whole county will benefit from economic development in the TCSD, everyone should pay for it. They also complained that the whole county is not chipping in to pay for the project. They fail to understand that the county general fund does support the TCSD to the tune of more than $1 million annually.

On April 17 when the board voted to set 2012 tax rates, District 4 supervisor Bob Minnick, whose constituents include most TCSD residents, put forth a motion for a 31 cent tax. That effort failed.

A second motion for a 32 cent tax passed 3-2 with Minnick joined by Susan Lascollette District 1 and Manuel Alvarez District 2 to approve that rate. Board chair Ned Creasey District 3 and vice chair Ken Peterson District 5 voted against the measure.
Staff will bring options to the supervisors at their June meeting for ways to cut another $120,000 from an already lean county budget.

All supervisors made it clear that they are very concerned about resolving the TCSD debt problem.
Peterson said that the TCSD situation will not be resolved by a silver bullet but rather by silver buckshot comprised of initiatives small and large that will work together to “fix” the problem.

It’s a good thing and a nice change that the new supervisors want to be responsive to the needs of the citizens. However, they must also take care not to let the good feelings of these actions overshadow the needs of the entire county. Sometimes, the best answer is no, even though that may be difficult and unpopular.

Spring events in Goochland

There are lots of things to do in Goochland in the next few days.

On Saturday, April 28, the Master Gardeners are holding their Spring Fest at the Goochland campus of J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College in Courthouse Village. The plant sale starts at 8 a.m. Come early for the best selection of great plants for your garden. With luck, you can get them in the ground between raindrops!

Also on the 28th the new West Creek Emergency Center is holding a community open house from 9-1. This is the first phase of the hospital project we all supported a few years back. Be sure to visit the new ER and welcome this fine facility to Goochland. Go to westcreekER.com for details.

As the presidential campaign heats up both sides are claiming attitudinal connection to the Founding Fathers, especially in the area of religion. On Sunday, April 29, the Goochland Historical Society will host Dr. John Fea, chairman of the history department at Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania. Fea will deliver a talk titled “Religion and the Founding Fathers: A historical perspective.” Fea has written extensively on the role of religion in American History. The meeting will be held at Goochland Baptist Church 2454 Manakin Road, which is located north of Broad Street Road.

The annual Kates Day celebration at the Virginia Correctional Center for Women AKA “The Women’s Farm” will take place on Wednesday May 2.

Founded to honor Elizabeth Kates, the first warden of the VCCW, the Kates Foundation works to help offenders turn their lives around and enable them to return to society as productive citizens.

Sales of crafts and baked goods run from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Guided tours of the facility are also offered at this time. The annual plant sale runs from 3 to 6 p.m. Grown by the offenders onsite, these plants, like those from the Master Gardeners, are beautiful and reasonable in cost. A shuttle is available to transport plants from the greenhouse area to your vehicle.

Dinner will be served at 6 P.M. following the annual meeting of the Kates Foundation at 4:30. Reservations for the dinner, which costs $6.00 per person paid at the door, must be made by April27. Call Reba Myers (804)784-3582 ext. 3656 to save your place. A picture ID is required at the security station sign in. Lock valuables in your car. No cell phones allowed. Clear plastic bags will be provided to hold your keys and checkbook.

Come out and support these local activities.

Hard choices

Goochland supervisors conducted their regularly monthly meeting on April 17 instead of the customary first Tuesday of the month. Although there was discussion of holding all board meetings twice monthly in the evening to make it easier for citizen to attend, that option costs more than a single session. The board wants to know if citizens would prefer if it conducts all public business at two evening sessions or if one meeting per month streamed live over the internet is sufficient.

They want to hear from you on the subject. Contact information is available on the county website www.co.goochland.va.us.

Unlike the Virginia legislature, Goochland County approved a budget for FY2013 on the first try. On April 17 the supervisors voted to approve a budget that retains the 53 cent per $100 of assessed valuation real estate tax and keeps most other tax rates the same as last year.

The ad valorem tax levied on the Tuckahoe Creek Service District was set at 32 cents after an attempt by District 4 Supervisor Bob Minnick to go to 31 cents failed. The vote on this tax was 3-2 with Board Chair Ned Creasey District 3 and Board Vice- Chair Ken Peterson District 5 casting dissenting votes.

In office for a little more than three months, the new board made it clear that they heard all of the objections from TCSD homeowners about the ever increasing ad valorem tax and utility rates. They again asked for time to address the very complicated issues that drive TCSD financing.

Adopting an ad valorem tax lower than that reflected in the adopted budget means that the supervisors will revisit the county spending plan in June to determine how the reduction will be “paid for.” A penny of ad valorem tax generates $60,000.

Susan Lascollete District 1 asked for citizen suggestions about where additional funds should be cut.

An agenda item to approve timbering the site of Leake’s Mill Park on Route 6 near Rock Castle Road and selling the timber sparked much discussion among the supervisors. Lascollette questioned the advisability of building the park during lean fiscal times. County administrator Rebecca Dickson said that the park is funded primarily by grant dollars.

Creasey said that he feared loss of the grant funds if they are not used in a timely manner.

This may be the first installment of an ongoing discussion of the role of local government in providing amenities and services to the citizens and what should be funded by taxpayers.

The long range rural transportation plan, which prioritizes needed road improvements in the western portion of Goochland, was approved. Both Lascollette and Manuel Alvarez, Jr. District 2 indicated that they believed the plan was sound. Sadly, no money is available to fund these improvements.

Alvarez reported that the high speed internet committee has been established. It plans to stream its meetings on the internet to ensure Freedom of Information Act compliance. Alvarez explained that the committee will figure out what sort of broadband access options Goochland has and determine possible strategies going forward. The committee will make recommendations, which must have board approval before any action is taken.

This is such a nice change from the “we can’t do anything” attitude of yore. Look for this group to craft common sense workable strategies to help as many Goochlanders as possible get decent internet access.

With the bulk of budget decisions behind them, at least for the time being, the board can turn its attention to other matters. Among them are filling vacancies on boards and commissions. The supervisors will hold a workshop to learn about the duties of these bodies preceding their May 1 meeting.

Creasey said that the board will determine if some of these groups could be logically merged or eliminated. This is yet another overdue effort to streamline county government.

In addition to approving tax rates at the evening session, the supervisors approved moving to twice yearly collection of personal property tax on items like cars and boats. The rate will remain unchanged, but half is due in June, the remainder in December.

The school budget was approved without comment from the public after having been presented by School Board Chair Beth Hardy District 4. Superintendent Dr. Linda Underwood was out of town, according to Hardy.

Both the supervisors and school board are to be commended for conducting an open and responsive budget process. Since the first of the year both boards freely shared information as well as listening and, more importantly, responding to citizen feedback. In addition to crafting fiscally responsible budgets, both boards have gone a long way in restoring the badly bruised bond of trust with Goochland citizens.

Looking toward bolstering the county’s economy, the supervisors addressed three zoning matters that will encourage greater economic activity on the county.

A conditional use permit was granted to Joseph Liesfeld, Jr. to allow Rassiwek Vineyard to hold special events at the property in western Goochland. This enterprise will be a handsome addition to county amenities.

Yardworks was granted a CUP to operate a landscaping business on Route 6 on wetlands fringe. This property is in the TCSD and puts vacant land to a good use.

Approval was also given to an amendment of the M-1 zoning ordinance applying only to West Creek to build multifamily housing on no more than 60 total acres (less than two percent of usable land.)

This opens the door to apartments in the TCSD. However, it will also be a catalyst to development on the northern edge of West Creek that lies in the Broad Street Road corridor.

Construction of 2,000 feet of a four lane divided road that is part of the apartment project will provide access to landlocked parcels in West Creek. Hopefully, this will be the start of an extended internal road network on the eastern side of Route 288 that will attract businesses to the county.

Recordings of the entire meeting in audio and video format are available on the county website.