Greener pastures, where men and horses save each other

The barn is home to Greener Pastures

The beautiful horses you see running on the south side of Rt. 6 just west of Crozier are retired thoroughbreds—who chased each other around race tracks in former lives. Thanks to the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF) these horses are enjoying retirement saved from a trip to what used to be called “the glue factory”.

If you look a little closer, you’ll notice that the fence that keeps the horses out of the road is the same fence that surrounds the James River Work Center, part of the Virginia Department of Corrections, a prison.

The Second Chances program of the James River chapter of the TRF provides a place for retired race horses to live happily ever after, be it in a new a forever home, or at JRTRF and gives offenders the opportunity to learn new skills—including equine care; anatomy, physiology; farm management; and personal discipline—so they can be productive citizens when their sentence is completed. Some become certified in the nationally acclaimed “Groom Elite” program. Participants must apply to join the program and complete an interview process.

Offenders learn useful equine care skills.

On September 18, the JRTRF held an open barn to celebrate the program. Visitors saw happy, well cared for horses and their caregivers enjoying each other’s company. One offender declared that he has “the best job in DOC” while explaining his duties to open barn visitors. He is learning farrier skills and hopes to pursue that line of work after release. The approximately 30 horses in the program are rotated into the barn for grooming and other care on a regular basis. The rest of the time, they roam free on the property.

The horses in the barn included Covert Action, grandson of Virginia’s own triple crown winner Secretariat. Each equine put on a “cute horse act” in hopes of getting treats. They were all quite successful.

Give a horse a treat

Secretariat's grandson, Covert Action

Horses may be adopted for performance work; pleasure riding; or pasture mates to act as companions for other horses. As adopted horses leave the JRTRF, new spots for retirees open up. Visit http://www.trfinc.org/adopt-a-horse/ for details.
Visit http://www.jamesriverhorses.com/ and be sure to watch the video clip.

Follow the money

Emergency Communications center under construction


You may have noticed the new communications towers going up around the county or the building under construction behind the Sheriff's Office. They are part of a massive upgrade of Goochland County's emergency communications capabilities mandated by the Federal Government. The price tag for the project, which is expected to be completed in the next year, is approximately $10 million. Initial costs were paid for out of the General Fund.

While there is enough money in the county coffers to pay for the entire project, finance staff and consultants recommended borrowing to pay for the project to avoid depleting reserves and take advantage of the current favorable borrowing climate.

Since taking office in 2012, this Board has spent money carefully, operating on a pay as you go basis to fund smaller projects in the capital improvement plan, which addresses items that have a relatively long useful life and cost more than $50,000.

As part of the overhaul of county finances, the Board of Supervisors adopted policies in 2015 to establish thresholds to prevent the county from getting in over its head. *

A resolution outlining parameters for a lease purchase strategy suggested by staff and financial advisors was adopted by the supervisors at their September 6 meeting following a public hearing, at which no one spoke. County Administrator John Budesky, Board Chair Bob Minnick, and Vice Chair Ned Creasey were tapped to negotiate the final details.

Under the proposed financing strategy, a third party will lease the land from the county and lease it back to the county for an amount to be paid out of the annual budget. This does not create indebtedness for the county. (See the Board packet on the county website goochland.va.us for the documents, and the live stream of the presentation.)

Virginia localities may not issue bonds without a referendum, explained the county's bond counsel, George L. Scruggs, Jr. of Kutak Rock LLC. They may, however, borrow via lease purchase. Scruggs said that vendors, in this case banks, which responded to the county’s request for proposals, view these situations as sound investments because localities are not likely to default on the debt.

This is a legal and reasonable way for the county to finance the communications project, even though it seems a bit convoluted. Although the duration of the arrangement is not expected to exceed 15 years and the interest rate to be no more than 1.93 percent, the resolution uses “not more than” language to give negotiators both flexibility and limits.

Ken Peterson, District 5, whose private sector finance expertise helped the county avoid the fiscal cliff of the TCSD debt, was assured that communications equipment with a relatively short useful life, is funded with shorter term instruments, the remainder, longer term. The lease may be paid off at par value after seven years, or at a 1.03 percent penalty before then.

Many GOMM posts have lauded the Goochland Board of Supervisors for its prudent and open oversight of public funds. Transparency in money matters keeps everyone honest. It also provides the opportunity for citizens to learn how their tax dollars are spent, but only if they pay attention.


*
" Net debt as a percentage of estimated market value of taxable property should not exceed 2.5%. Net debt is to include general obligation, capital leases, and revenue bonds.
•The ratio of debt service expenditures as a percent of total general fund expenditures (including transfers to other funds) should not exceed 12%. While 12% is the ceiling, the capital improvement plan is prepared using a target of no more than 10% of debt service to expenditures.

Fund Balance Ratios
•Unassigned fund balance at the close of each fiscal year should be at least 20% of the total annual adopted general fund budget of the subsequent fiscal year, plus the non-local portion of the school operating fund budget.
•The County will maintain a Revenue Stabilization Reserve of at least 1% of the total annual adopted general fund budget of the subsequent fiscal year, plus the non-local portion of the school operating fund budget"

On a perfect Tuesday morning

On a perfect Tuesday morning, fifteen years ago today, nearly 3,000 people were assassinated by agents of evil in Virginia, New York, and a Pennsylvania field. Their only crime was going about their daily business. Our word stopped for days as details about the horrific attacks came to light. We all remember what we were doing when we heard the incomprehensible news.

More than 400 law enforcement officers (LEOs) and first responders—who see us at our worst and give us their best—died running toward, not away, from danger. We can never forget the images of mounds of mangled emergency apparatus, nor the lines of waiting ambulances that were never needed. The dirge of funereal bagpipes became the music of our sorrow.

We mourned with a single heart, heedless of color, creed, or national origin, crying together for the lost lives, and the innocence of our country. Old Glory was everywhere and treated with love. We still cannot fathom the hate that inspired Islamic terrorists to carry out these vile acts.

Our sons and daughters joined our all-volunteer military to vanquish an elusive but lethal enemy. We honor their service and sacrifice—even Boomers who spit on those returning from Viet Nam found their manners—but less than one half of one percent of our population wears the uniform.

We cried and eventually returned to a new normal, refusing to cower in fear, yet anxiously looking over our shoulders.
America today is a different place.

The war to vanquish those who would do us harm has dragged on for most of a generation with no real end in sight. Our kids come home with dreadful wounds, visible and hidden to be slighted by a badly broken Veteran’s Administration.

The LEOs we honored and respected after 9/11 are now, in some quarters, fair game for the disenchanted. We are more divided than ever.

We thought taking the fight “to them” would protect our homeland. Then came attacks at Fort Hood, San Bernardino, and Orlando that were echoed in Europe. We endure intrusive airport security screenings by TSA agents who all seem to be foreigners, and pray that any bad guys are on another flight. Some argue the remedy for the violence is to ban guns, others to arm citizens to defend themselves.

We can’t help wonder if that woman in the burka at the grocery story is buying food for her children, or cooking for a local terror cell. We want to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, to believe that there is good in all people, but justifiably fear being victimized for our generosity.

Free speech, one of the bedrocks of American culture, has come under attack on college campuses, where all points of view used to be welcome. For people to govern themselves—the revolutionary notion that set American apart from the rest of the world—differing, sometimes distressing, viewpoints must be shared and discussed to arrive at consensus. Dictatorships crush dissent, democracies embrace it and that must not change.

We remember the devastation at the Pentagon and in lower Manhattan though it has been repaired and rebuilt. The field in Pennsylvania will forever honor the souls who rest there.

America has found its way back from dark times before and we will again. God bless America.

Doing the people's business

Goochland’s supervisors address a wide range of matters at their monthly meetings. They began their September 5 meeting by recognizing five-year service anniversaries for county employees who were feted earlier at a celebratory luncheon. These are the good people who work hard every day to make our county a good place to live.

There will be two local observances of the 15th anniversary of 9/11, both on Sunday:
The first, at 9:45 a.m. at the Courthouse Company 5 fire-rescue station on Fairground Road, will read the names of the more than 400 fallen law enforcement officers and first responders. A bell will be rung to signify the loss of a comrade in the line of duty. Members of Goochland Fire-Rescue and the Sheriff’s Office will participate.

At 7 p.m. at the Manakin Company 1 fire-rescue station at 180 River Road West, a special ceremony to honor all who lost their lives on 9/11 will be held. Members of the Goochland High School Marine Junior ROTC and the Freedom Flag Foundation will offer words of remembrance and reflection. The public is invited to attend both events.

The Goochland Historical Society will celebrate completion of renovations to the Old Stone Jail on the Courthouse green at 3 p.m. Everyone is welcome.

Board Chair Bob Minnick, District 3, announced upcoming fall town hall meetings. Districts 4 and 5 will be held on Wednesday, October 12 at the Hermitage Country Club; Districts 2 and 3, Tuesday, October 18 at the Goochland Library; and District 1, Monday, October 24 at Byrd Elementary School. All meetings begin at 7 p.m. These sessions provide an informal way to interact with your elected officials, learn first-hand what is going on in Goochland; and raise concerns about issues in your district.

County Administrator John Budesky said that his first weeks on the job—he started on August 1—have provided a valuable opportunity to get to know the supervisors and staff. He is learning his way around the county and looks forward to getting to know the citizens.

New employees introduced by Director of Human Resources Kelly Parrish included Barbara Horlacher, former county controller who has returned as Director of Financial Services.

Dan Schardein, Deputy County Administrator for Community Development, presented a mid-year update. Renovations to the CD space on the main floor of the administration building are moving along, and, hopefully, will be completed in November. Community Development is temporarily located in Central High School on Dogtown Road.

Utility improvements were discussed. Conversion of the Rivergate Pump Station to a gravity operation was completed for less than the budgeted amount of $269,000. Approximately $152,000 will be returned to the public utilities’ budget. A chloramine injection station is 60 percent complete. This helps to mitigate the “smelly water” issues in the TCSD. A new control valve for the waterline that parallels Rt. 288 is complete.

Schardein reported that the volume of recyclables at the convenience centers is rising. This removes more material from the waste stream and saves the county money. New recycling programs, including those for electronics, are popular with citizens, said Schardein.

Going forward, one of the biggest anticipated challenges for CD will be keeping up with construction inspections in the coming months.

Economic Development Director Matt Ryan reported that the ratio of commercial to residential tax base rose modestly from last year. Bonds are expected to be issued by the EDA for construction of a memory care facility on Broad Street Road in the next few weeks. Parcels in the Midpoint Industrial Park in Hadensville, owned by the Economic Development Authority, have been sold.

Mills Jones, Director of the Office of Children’s Services, gave a brief overview of a new Apple and Android smartphone app that provides information about parent support; disabilities; mental health; substance abuse; education; and transportation.

This free interactive app allows users to browse by category or resource descriptions. The app is linked to maps to provide easy driving directions. Type “community care” into the app search and download. Select Goochland and go. One advantage of the app, said Jones, is that it does not require an internet connection. The app was developed through a regional grant administered by the United Methodist Family Services in partnership with the Office of Children’s Services and a host of local agencies.

The Board unanimously approved amendments to budgets for the Department of Social Services by appropriating an additional $33,750 in federal revenue for the Community Action program. The required 20 percent matching was requirement was fulfilled in “soft” dollars” by the use of DSS space and services.

A budget amendment to increase the budget of the Commonwealth’s Attorney by $39,656 to upgrade a part-time position to full-time using a grant awarded by the state Department of Criminal Justice Services. Budesky said that, in his experience, these grants are ongoing.

Evening session:
The supervisors approved a request to defer a public hearing on a conditional use permit application filed by Donna Reynolds concerning an event venue until their October 4 meeting.

A CUP renewal was granted to Frank Nott for a commercial carpet cleaning business in District 1.

A five-year CUP was granted to Kindle Rayfield to operate a commercial kennel, animal daycare, and grooming enterprise in a warehouse on Briggs Drive, behind the Centerville Food Lion.

Pets in the care of the business, explained Rayfield, will be kept indoors except for brief elimination outings on a portion of the grounds. Careful attention will be paid to sanitation indoors and out. Construction of sound barriers will be triggered should multiple complaints about loud and extended barking be validated by the zoning administrator. This location is close to an existing boarding kennel and an animal hospital. This nice small business expects to bring at least 20 jobs to the county.

The supervisors approved an ordinance amendment to reduce the penalty for stray livestock to a Class IV misdemeanor—the lowest level of offense—after three violations in a six-month period. The penalty is a fine. Previously, the penalty was a Class II misdemeanor for each offence, which carries a stiffer fine and the potential of jail time.

Assistant County Attorney Whitney Marshall explained that the change seeks to abate the nuisance of free running livestock without over punishing while recognizing the safety issue, especially at night, of livestock running free in road ways. Recurring incidents in the following year is also a Class IV misdemeanor.

The change was made on the recommendation of Tim Clough, Director of Animal Protection, whose agency is charged with enforcing the ordinance. Clough said that there are frequent reports of loose livestock.
Other provisions of this ordinance amendment deletes a section dealing with vicious dogs, which are covered by state statute; and removes the requirement to report killing a coyote.

Guest post on Bacon's Rebellion blog

GOMM is honored to be included in http://www.baconsrebellion.com/ This excellent blog addresses a wide range of issues that challenge the Commonwealth. Please visit. Thanks to Jim Bacon for his interest in Goochland County.

What's in a name?

It’s kind of interesting to hear someone say that they live near Rt. 250 in Manakin, because Manakin is on Rt. 6. They probably mean that they live in the Manakin-Sabot zip code, which encompasses a large part of eastern Goochland. According to a recent item posted on richmondbizsense.com it has the highest per capita income in the region.

This water tower, which rises just north of Broad Street Road, welcomes all to Centerville.

To further confuse matters, many people whose homes are geographically in the Centerville Village, have zip codes for Rockville, which is in Hanover County, or Richmond. Part of the River Road enclave also has a Richmond zip code.

Thanks to the United States Postal Service, folks who live in Goochland may have mailing addresses in Hanover, Louisa, and Fluvanna counties too. Some people who live in Hanover and Louisa have Goochland zip codes. Telephone exchanges are just as confusing.

There are lots of places in the county, that use the Goochland 23063 zip code, including Othma, Bula, Georges Tavern, and Fife, that no longer have post offices. Sabot, which was once a thriving village near what is now Route 6, with its own train station, ferry crossing, and church, is just a memory. Then there is Deep Run Hunt Country, in the middle of the Manakin-Sabot zip code, that is defined in the county’s comprehensive land use plan, and the hearts and minds of the Goochland’s equestrian community.

This is the heart of Manakin. The post office is at the right.


Goochland has no incorporated towns. Courthouse Village, which contains government offices, a church, schools, and commercial activities, elements of what is traditionally considered a town, is just a place. Centerville is trying to figure out what it will be when it grows up, but the zip code matter confuses things, as do local enterprises physically located in Centerville that use Manakin in the name.

For instance, McDonald’s and Taco Bell list their location as Manakin-Sabot, even though they are in the shadow of the water tower that welcomes you to Centerville. Many people navigate by GPS, which uses zip codes to find things. Business owners don’t care what the Postal Service calls their location, they just want customers to find them.

The Audi dealership soon to take shape inside the boundaries of the Centerville Village, seems to be having an identity crisis. One sign on the property announces the pending arrival of West Broad Audi, another Audi of Richmond. As the property is located in the "Richmond"23233 zip code, either would be correct.

Our six fire-rescue stations have names that match their location. Manakin Company 1 is on Route 6 in, well, Manakin. Centerville Company 3 is right next to the Broadview Shopping Center on Broad Street Road and so on.

Manakin Company 1 is on Route 6.


A great deal of time and energy has been expended over the past few years to determine exactly how the Centerville Village will develop. Market forces and private sector investment, not the county, will ultimately determine what springs up there. Will lacking an identity hamper that?

Centerville has been designated as ground zero for economic development in Goochland. It has public utilities, good road access, and in the path of westward bound growth as Henrico builds out. Differentiating Centerville from Short Pump is a tricky task. Efforts to create a unique sense of place for Centerville have been ongoing with limited success.

Placing a “Welcome to Centerville” sign at street level, is not an option. VDOT—the state agency whose motto is “Oops!”—does not permit welcome signs for places that are not incorporated political subdivisions. That’s why there is a “Welcome to Henrico County” sign in the middle of Broad Street east of the county line in what is clearly perceived as Short Pump.

Sometime this fall, the county will begin installation of the first phases of the Centerville streetscape project, intended to visually unify the Broad Street Road corridor in the core of the Centerville Village, between Ashland and Manakin Roads. Improvements will include cobblestone “noses” on the median ends accented with low maintenance drought tolerant landscaping. A more ambitious design, which included street trees, white spilt rail fencing, and street furniture, was modified due to concerns about cost of installation and maintenance.

County Staff is looking for sort of “feature” to capture the rural nature of Goochland in lieu of a sign in entrance corridors. Perhaps something as simple as the county logo without words would suffice and might pass muster with VDOT.

The Centerville Village overlay district has stringent design standards to ensure that new businesses are attractive and harmonize with their surroundings. Perhaps just having lower density than the residential and commercial development just over the county line will send a clear signal that you’re not in Short Pump any more.

Does the name of a place really matter? If so many people refer to Centerville as Manakin because of its zip code, maybe the county should just follow suit and stop using the name Centerville altogether. Does the cachet of a Manakin-Sabot zip code attract business? Maybe Manakin on Route 6 could become Sabot—no one seems to be using that name and it would help things come full circle.

Yet another election

Ken Peterson

About six and one half years since he first threw his metaphorical hat into an election race, Ken Peterson, who represents District 5 on the Goochland Board of Supervisors, is doing it again.

Should Tom Garrett, who represents the 22nd Distract in the Virginia Senate, be elected to the Virginia 5th District U. S. Congressional seat in November, Peterson will vie for the republican nomination to replace him. The senate seat will likely be filled by a special election between November and the January start of the 2017 General Assembly session.

Peterson announced around the beginning of August. On the 16th, he spoke at the Goochland Republican luncheon, held at Enzo’s Chophouse in Centerville, coming full circle to where it all began.

With the face of a choir boy, soul of a paratrooper, and a keen analytical mind, Peterson moved to Goochland after leaving the world of New York finance to manage a local private investment operation a decade or so ago.

He said that electing a republican to replace Garrett is vital for the GOP to retain its razor thin (19-21) majority in the 40 member Virginia Senate as the current lieutenant governor—and senate tie breaker—is a democrat, Ralph Northam.

Peterson said that of the three people who have expressed interest in succeeding Garrett, only he has never lost an election, has a proven track record of hands-on experience governing, and understands how money works. Currently, there are 17 lawyers and no “finance guys” in the Virginia Senate, he said.

Also, if Garrett moves up the road to Washington, there could be one fewer veteran in the General Assembly in a time when public safety issues both domestic and foreign are moving front and center in importance. Peterson is a West Point graduate and Army veteran.

He gave a brief summary of the remarkable turn-around that he and his fellow supervisors engineered after first taking office in 2012. At that time, Goochland’s bond rating was worse than that of Detroit. County government on the whole was dysfunctional. Without intervention, Goochland would have had many of the embarrassing problems that currently plague Petersburg.

“The Goochland Revolution” was the result of the application of conservative principles of fiscal responsibility, transparency and accountability to those governed. The supervisors elected in 2011, all newcomers except Ned Creasey, District 3, had no experience in government, but varied and complementary business-related skill sets. They worked with each other and the school board to fund core services and cut unnecessary items from the county budget.

Most importantly, they got the county finances straightened out. The 2009 audit, conducted by a new firm for the first time in too many years, found about 40 material restatements—errors—in Goochland’s money handling. Then the treasurer was marched off to prison for embezzling public funds.

While running for office, Peterson read the documents about the bonds issued to finance construction of the Tuckahoe Creek Service District. The county borrowed more than its annual budget to install water and sewer lines in the northeast end of the county on an “if we build it they will come” scheme with only raw land as collateral and an assumption of 11 percent annual growth, which did not materialize. The terms of the agreement did not include an option for early redemption, which Peterson likened to a mortgage that cannot be paid off before the end of its term. To keep up with debt service, the county would be forced to raise the ad valorem tax paid by landowners in the TCSD to a level resulting in the highest tax rates in the region. Default on the debt would result in the Virginia Resource Authority, issuer of the debt, “intercepting” money that Goochland gets from the state for schools, law enforcement, and constitutional offices.

When the current board took office, Peterson spearheaded the effort to get control of the TCSD debt. Long story short, after many hours of research, discussion with the VRA and bond counsel, the debt was tamed, saving the county $26 million. The ad valorem tax was stabilized at 32 cents per $100 of valuation. In 2015, Goochland obtained a AAA bond rating from Standard and Poor’s, the only county of its size in Virginia to ever do so.

In the interim, county audits have been squeaky clean. Policies and procedures have been streamlined to better serve the citizens while keeping the real estate tax rate at 53 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.

Peterson contended that his real world experience of making hard fiscal decisions and finding solutions to seemingly insurmountable problems is badly needed at the state level. He understands the consequences unfunded state mandates “like throwing a hand grenade over the fence” have on localities that work hard to be good stewards of local tax dollars.

He wrote a book, In Search of Good Government: From the Grand Experiment to the Goochland Revolution, produced by Goochland’s own Dementi Milestone Publishing, outlining his views on effective government and how it translates into practice in Goochland County.

The 22nd District includes all of Amherst County, Appomattox County, Buckingham County, Cumberland County, Fluvanna County, Goochland County, part of Louisa County, and part of the City of Lynchburg. Its boundaries were redrawn in 2011 as a result of the 2010 census and the usual partisan kanoodling.

Goochland is in the 7th US Congressional District, which is currently represented by Dave Brat.