The King George County Board of Supervisors began their meeting at 8:05pm and amended their Agenda to add a Closed Session at the end of the meeting.
Public Comment opened with Howard Yarus reading the same letter he had Mike Bennett read during the Service Authority meeting earlier in the evening. He said that the letter was for the Service Authority's information and for the Board of Supervisors' action. Mr. Yarus' letter stated that the article by Cathy Dyson regarding the the Service Authority was embarrassing. He said that "the Board of Supervisors are responsible" for the inadequacies of the Service Authority and DEQ fines and asked to bring the sewer and water systems under the control of County Administration.
Renee Parker was next to speak. She said she was there to speak about the recent recusals of Board members from voting on the Resolution related to the chem-bio move. She said her comment wasn't necessarily specific to the chem-bio move but rather the perception by the public that the Board won't vote or that they may be apathetic towards an issue. She said in the past, the Board has taken advantage of the County Attorney and asked the Board to do the public the courtesy of asking him for help with any potential conflict of interest.
John Jenkins began his report by thanking Yarus and Parker for their comments. He said he would defer to those on the Board that did recuse themselves to answer but he believed they did seek legal counsel. On June 3rd he attended the Some Gave All rally despite the terrible weather conditions. He said there was a good turnout and a really great event. He said it meant a lot to the community and the amount of money they gave to charity was unbelievable. On June 4th, he met with the YMCA to discuss upcoming programs. He thought there were some good things coming down the pike.
Jeff Bueche thanked Yarus and Parker for their comments and thanked everyone that came out for the meeting. He also thanked his colleagues on the Service Authority Board of Directors for making a hard and tough decision. He said he heard from many constituents about accountability and thinks it's been addressed appropriately. He said it won't be an easy way ahead but thinks the Board of Directors is taking it seriously and thinking about how it will impact customers. Bueche then addressed Parker's comments about his recusal and said spoke with both legal counsel and his ethics counsel and both said there was no conflict of interest bu there was the potential for a perception of such. He said while he did express concerns about the original language in the Resolution, he realized there may be a potential conflict of interest and then recused himself from further discussions. Bueche said he also attended the Some Gave All ride and it was very impressive. He said that while he has never been deployed or in a forward area or in combat, others have and it was very moving to see them. He also reminded everyone that he is hosting a Town Hall at the Company 1 firehouse on Route 3 on June 7th at 6:30pm. While his focus will be the James Monroe district, he did say it would be open to everyone and that he would give everyone a chance to speak.
Ruby Brabo's report said that on May 16th she was part of a conference call with Senator Warner's advisor regarding the chem-bio move. She said after this call and after visiting Dahlgren, Senator Warner had even more concerns about the decision to move the department to Indian Head. From May 22nd to May 25th Brabo attended a National Association of Counties (NACo) conference where they worked on a new course for future leaders. She said NACo is willing to pay for a large portion of the cost of the class, but asked for the future leader to be somebody from within County staff and not somebody that's already a leader or ready to retire. In other words, they were looking for somebody that would benefit the most from the course. Brabo said the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), which regulates equipment for firefighters, has finally agreed to give the County some leeway in how it tracks equipment and when it should be replaced. As an example, she said a Fire Chief may not use their turn-out gear for a fire for years but is still required to replace them based on their manufacture date. Brabo said the County could save money by using the first issue date, or better the first use date, in determining when to replace equipment. She also said that during negotiations of this new language, the NFPA realized that having a local official serve on their Board would be beneficial. She also asked that Dr. Young review the fire equipment purchases to see if there were any potential cost savings that could be applied immediately based on the new language.
Brabo continued her report by saying NACo was updating their educational curriculum and that it was a great tool for schools to use in their Civics studies. On May 30th she met with NACo staff members as they toured the County and thanked Dr. Young, Ryan Gandy, and Annie Cupka for their help in hosting them. She also thanked Michelle Darnell of Belle Grove and Marcel of Bloomia for providing tours as well as Mike Bennett for his help in the tour of Fairview Beach. She said she also attended the May 31st meeting to adopt the budget. Brabo then nominated Rob Harling to the Economic Development Authority to replace James Hall who tendered his resignation. The appointment was approved.
Cathy Binder also thanked Yarus and Parker for speaking. She said she also spoke to the attorney about the conflict of interest and although there was none, she did not want there to be any perception of a conflict and therefore recused herself. She attended the Evening of Excellence and congratulated everyone that was honored. On May 24th she attended the Small Business Appreciation dinner, the budget meeting on the 31st, and the kick off celebration for Smoot Library on June 1st. She said it was great to see so many smiling faces. Binder said the turnout was larger than expected and they ran out of hot dogs. On the 5th she attended the Fredericksburg Area Association of Realtors meeting about affordable housing and finally wanted to give a shout-out to her son who graduated from high school. She then nominated Roger Knicely for reappointment to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and it was approved.
Richard Granger thanked Yarus and Parker for speaking as well. He said he also met with Eric Gregory, County Attorney, and the Director of Public Communications. All agreed that there was no conflict of interest but because of a potential perception of such, they all felt it best that he recuse himself. Renee Parker interjected from the floor and said that although no back-and-forth conversation is really allowed, she would respond to them via email later. Granger said he also attended both special Board meetings regarding the budget and the Small Business Appreciation Dinner. He also said he was still working with the base to schedule a tour for the Supervisors.
The Consent Agenda was approved.
The County Attorney, Eric Gregory, had no report.
The Board then heard from T. C. Collins, Chairman of the Board of Equalization, and Judy Hart, Commissioner of the Revenue. Collins said assessments are done every four years and this recent round resulted in 50 appeals, of which 34 were residential. He said several were dismissed do to insufficient or incorrect information but that all could appeal to the Circuit Court.
Next, Annie Cupka, Grant Writer, gave the Board an update on the FY2024-2025 SMARTScale Projects. She highlighted the four projects being submitted for this round. The first project was a pedestrian crosswalk across Route 301 to allow passage of hotel guests from one side to the other along Commerce Drive. The second project was a new turn lane at the Route 206 and Route 218 intersection that would allow traffic leaving Dahlgren to make a right turn onto Route 218 towards Fredericksburg. The third project was the use of the new Median U-Turn (MUT) design at the Route 206 and Route 301 intersection. The fourth project was also the usage of a MUT design, this time at the Route 3 and Route 301 intersection. These last two projects were chosen based on feedback from the public at recent VDOT meetings as well as feedback from base leadership in Dahlgren. Cupka said in order to complete the SMARTScale application process, the Board need to approve a Resolution.
Granger asked about the 206/301 intersection and how it would impact those attempting to enter or leave the base. Brabo said that the base has been involved in all of the meetings and that VDOT wasn't willing to install the Captain's ideal solution of a fly-by. Bueche asked if they looked at the impact to Owens Road and access to B-Gate. Brabo said that VDOT studied all of the impacts and that this was the best scenario. Cupka added that the Route 301 intersections were all studied in detail as part of the Route 301 and Route 207 Corridor Study and that everything, including each cross-over, was part of their final presentation. Brabo said that there was even a fairly large turnout at their informational meeting in April. Binder asked if any land would need to be acquired to which Cupka said if any, it was much less than the alternatives. She said some of the VDOT proposals included taking large swaths of land to make traffic flow easier and that the projects she presented would cost much less, even without factoring in the purchase of land.
The SMARTScale Projects and Resolution were approved.
Lavita Cobb, Purchasing Manager, was next to present, requesting to renew the contract for planning and zoning purposes. She said that due to the continued surge in their workload, this would allow the department to continue to provide services while updating the Comprehensive Plan, Zoning Ordinances, and Subdivision Ordinances. Brabo said she was trying to understand why there was a need for this change order and why there was a need to take money away from a position that was just added to the budget. She said the Board was told the position was needed but now we're being asked to eliminate it. Cobb said not exactly. She said the $75,000 that was earmarked for the Comprehensive Plan update would cover part of the $163,800 she was asking for. She said the remaining amount, $88,800, would come from the $93,000 that was earmarked for the new planner position. Brabo suggested hiring two individuals with the requested $163,800 instead but Granger said one would need to be let go next year because the $75,000 for the Comprehensive Plan update won't be in the budget next year.
Dr. Young then chimed in to clarify the situation. He said the County would in fact be saving money by doing this to the amount of roughly $68,000. He explained that the $163,800 that was being asked for would be funded as previous explained with $75,000 from the Comprehensive Plan update funds and $88,800 from the planner position funds. This was a savings of $4,200 because the position was slated to cost $93,000. In addition to this, the contracted firm, Bagby, Foroughi and Goodpasture, would also update the Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances which were required to be updated in the coming budget year at an estimated cost of over $60,000. He also said the firm has a good working relationship with the County and has said they enjoy working in the County. Granger said that it would be good to revisit this next year when only the planner position needs to be worried about. Brabo thanked him for his clarifications. The Board approved the request.
Next, the Board approved the Resolution for Appropriation and Categorical Appropriation of the FY2018-2019 budget along with authorizing the County Administrator to approve payments of July warrants. This was done because the Board of Supervisors will not meet in July.
The Board then discussed the increased speed limit along certain King George County corridors. Dr. Young said the state approved a bill raising the speed limit on certain roads from 55 miles per hour to 60. Brabo said she spoke with Sheriff Dempsey about this previously and that he had no concerns as to the increase. Dr. Young said that in order for the increase to occur, a speed study would need to be conducted by VDOT. He said VDOT was willing to shoulder the cost of the study as it wouldn't be very expensive. The Board approved the request. Binder added a question regarding Kings Mill Road and if it would be an issue. Brabo said only the identified sections would be studied and Dr. Young said VDOT does track accidents and discusses them with County staff. Based on the bill that was passed, only certain portions of Route 3 and Route 301 would be eligible for the increased speed limit. According to the Agenda for the meeting, only Route 301 south of Office Hall and Route 3 west of Hopyard would be potentially eligible.
Dr. Young then began his report by informing the Board that VDOT and Maryland Transportation Authority would begin pre-solicitation of contractors for the Nice Bridge replacement project. Young then gave an update on the Ralph Bunche project stating that Echelon Resources has decided to back out of the development, citing an "overly onerous rezoning process." Young said he met with Echelon, Brad Hudson and Heather Hall of Community Development, and Josh Colwell of the Planning Commission and compared the King George County process with the one in Culpeper where Echelon is currently working on a similar development. Young said that both localities had similar requirements and processes and that King George had a more than fair rezoning process. Unfortunately, Young said that Echelon still decided to back out of the project. He did offer a glimmer of hope by saying he has discussed the project with local developers and hopes to find a local solution.
Brabo asked if the money that was voted on to be set aside for a new public well at Ralph Bunche should remain appropriated as such and if it was advisable to proceed with the well upgrades or to wait. Dr. Young said it would be best to keep the money appropriated but to not move forward with the well upgrades just yet.
The Board then went into Closed Session at 9:06pm and invited Dr. Young and Eric Gregory to attend. They returned from Closed Session at 9:19pm.
Dr. Young apologized for not mentioning it earlier but he had received correspondance from NACo about appointing a voting member and an alternate. Brabo said that because she and Young were the most active she would volunteer and Dr. Young could be the alternate. The Board approved.
The meeting adjourned at 9:20pm.
Meeting Attendees:
John Jenkins (Board of Supervisors)
Jeff Bueche (Board of Supervisors)
Richard Granger (Chairman, Board of Supervisors)
Ruby Brabo (Board of Supervisors)
Cathy Binder (Board of Supervisors)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)
Meeting Agenda
Next Meeting:
The Board of Supervisors will next meet on June 12, 2018 at co 1 for 2 year budget at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Board of Supervisors Meeting.
2018-06-07 UPDATE: A previous version of this article had an incorrect date for Jeff Bueche's Town Hall. The correct date is June 7, 2018.
Public Comment opened with Howard Yarus reading the same letter he had Mike Bennett read during the Service Authority meeting earlier in the evening. He said that the letter was for the Service Authority's information and for the Board of Supervisors' action. Mr. Yarus' letter stated that the article by Cathy Dyson regarding the the Service Authority was embarrassing. He said that "the Board of Supervisors are responsible" for the inadequacies of the Service Authority and DEQ fines and asked to bring the sewer and water systems under the control of County Administration.
Renee Parker was next to speak. She said she was there to speak about the recent recusals of Board members from voting on the Resolution related to the chem-bio move. She said her comment wasn't necessarily specific to the chem-bio move but rather the perception by the public that the Board won't vote or that they may be apathetic towards an issue. She said in the past, the Board has taken advantage of the County Attorney and asked the Board to do the public the courtesy of asking him for help with any potential conflict of interest.
John Jenkins began his report by thanking Yarus and Parker for their comments. He said he would defer to those on the Board that did recuse themselves to answer but he believed they did seek legal counsel. On June 3rd he attended the Some Gave All rally despite the terrible weather conditions. He said there was a good turnout and a really great event. He said it meant a lot to the community and the amount of money they gave to charity was unbelievable. On June 4th, he met with the YMCA to discuss upcoming programs. He thought there were some good things coming down the pike.
Jeff Bueche thanked Yarus and Parker for their comments and thanked everyone that came out for the meeting. He also thanked his colleagues on the Service Authority Board of Directors for making a hard and tough decision. He said he heard from many constituents about accountability and thinks it's been addressed appropriately. He said it won't be an easy way ahead but thinks the Board of Directors is taking it seriously and thinking about how it will impact customers. Bueche then addressed Parker's comments about his recusal and said spoke with both legal counsel and his ethics counsel and both said there was no conflict of interest bu there was the potential for a perception of such. He said while he did express concerns about the original language in the Resolution, he realized there may be a potential conflict of interest and then recused himself from further discussions. Bueche said he also attended the Some Gave All ride and it was very impressive. He said that while he has never been deployed or in a forward area or in combat, others have and it was very moving to see them. He also reminded everyone that he is hosting a Town Hall at the Company 1 firehouse on Route 3 on June 7th at 6:30pm. While his focus will be the James Monroe district, he did say it would be open to everyone and that he would give everyone a chance to speak.
Ruby Brabo's report said that on May 16th she was part of a conference call with Senator Warner's advisor regarding the chem-bio move. She said after this call and after visiting Dahlgren, Senator Warner had even more concerns about the decision to move the department to Indian Head. From May 22nd to May 25th Brabo attended a National Association of Counties (NACo) conference where they worked on a new course for future leaders. She said NACo is willing to pay for a large portion of the cost of the class, but asked for the future leader to be somebody from within County staff and not somebody that's already a leader or ready to retire. In other words, they were looking for somebody that would benefit the most from the course. Brabo said the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), which regulates equipment for firefighters, has finally agreed to give the County some leeway in how it tracks equipment and when it should be replaced. As an example, she said a Fire Chief may not use their turn-out gear for a fire for years but is still required to replace them based on their manufacture date. Brabo said the County could save money by using the first issue date, or better the first use date, in determining when to replace equipment. She also said that during negotiations of this new language, the NFPA realized that having a local official serve on their Board would be beneficial. She also asked that Dr. Young review the fire equipment purchases to see if there were any potential cost savings that could be applied immediately based on the new language.
Brabo continued her report by saying NACo was updating their educational curriculum and that it was a great tool for schools to use in their Civics studies. On May 30th she met with NACo staff members as they toured the County and thanked Dr. Young, Ryan Gandy, and Annie Cupka for their help in hosting them. She also thanked Michelle Darnell of Belle Grove and Marcel of Bloomia for providing tours as well as Mike Bennett for his help in the tour of Fairview Beach. She said she also attended the May 31st meeting to adopt the budget. Brabo then nominated Rob Harling to the Economic Development Authority to replace James Hall who tendered his resignation. The appointment was approved.
Cathy Binder also thanked Yarus and Parker for speaking. She said she also spoke to the attorney about the conflict of interest and although there was none, she did not want there to be any perception of a conflict and therefore recused herself. She attended the Evening of Excellence and congratulated everyone that was honored. On May 24th she attended the Small Business Appreciation dinner, the budget meeting on the 31st, and the kick off celebration for Smoot Library on June 1st. She said it was great to see so many smiling faces. Binder said the turnout was larger than expected and they ran out of hot dogs. On the 5th she attended the Fredericksburg Area Association of Realtors meeting about affordable housing and finally wanted to give a shout-out to her son who graduated from high school. She then nominated Roger Knicely for reappointment to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and it was approved.
Richard Granger thanked Yarus and Parker for speaking as well. He said he also met with Eric Gregory, County Attorney, and the Director of Public Communications. All agreed that there was no conflict of interest but because of a potential perception of such, they all felt it best that he recuse himself. Renee Parker interjected from the floor and said that although no back-and-forth conversation is really allowed, she would respond to them via email later. Granger said he also attended both special Board meetings regarding the budget and the Small Business Appreciation Dinner. He also said he was still working with the base to schedule a tour for the Supervisors.
The Consent Agenda was approved.
The County Attorney, Eric Gregory, had no report.
The Board then heard from T. C. Collins, Chairman of the Board of Equalization, and Judy Hart, Commissioner of the Revenue. Collins said assessments are done every four years and this recent round resulted in 50 appeals, of which 34 were residential. He said several were dismissed do to insufficient or incorrect information but that all could appeal to the Circuit Court.
Next, Annie Cupka, Grant Writer, gave the Board an update on the FY2024-2025 SMARTScale Projects. She highlighted the four projects being submitted for this round. The first project was a pedestrian crosswalk across Route 301 to allow passage of hotel guests from one side to the other along Commerce Drive. The second project was a new turn lane at the Route 206 and Route 218 intersection that would allow traffic leaving Dahlgren to make a right turn onto Route 218 towards Fredericksburg. The third project was the use of the new Median U-Turn (MUT) design at the Route 206 and Route 301 intersection. The fourth project was also the usage of a MUT design, this time at the Route 3 and Route 301 intersection. These last two projects were chosen based on feedback from the public at recent VDOT meetings as well as feedback from base leadership in Dahlgren. Cupka said in order to complete the SMARTScale application process, the Board need to approve a Resolution.
Granger asked about the 206/301 intersection and how it would impact those attempting to enter or leave the base. Brabo said that the base has been involved in all of the meetings and that VDOT wasn't willing to install the Captain's ideal solution of a fly-by. Bueche asked if they looked at the impact to Owens Road and access to B-Gate. Brabo said that VDOT studied all of the impacts and that this was the best scenario. Cupka added that the Route 301 intersections were all studied in detail as part of the Route 301 and Route 207 Corridor Study and that everything, including each cross-over, was part of their final presentation. Brabo said that there was even a fairly large turnout at their informational meeting in April. Binder asked if any land would need to be acquired to which Cupka said if any, it was much less than the alternatives. She said some of the VDOT proposals included taking large swaths of land to make traffic flow easier and that the projects she presented would cost much less, even without factoring in the purchase of land.
The SMARTScale Projects and Resolution were approved.
Lavita Cobb, Purchasing Manager, was next to present, requesting to renew the contract for planning and zoning purposes. She said that due to the continued surge in their workload, this would allow the department to continue to provide services while updating the Comprehensive Plan, Zoning Ordinances, and Subdivision Ordinances. Brabo said she was trying to understand why there was a need for this change order and why there was a need to take money away from a position that was just added to the budget. She said the Board was told the position was needed but now we're being asked to eliminate it. Cobb said not exactly. She said the $75,000 that was earmarked for the Comprehensive Plan update would cover part of the $163,800 she was asking for. She said the remaining amount, $88,800, would come from the $93,000 that was earmarked for the new planner position. Brabo suggested hiring two individuals with the requested $163,800 instead but Granger said one would need to be let go next year because the $75,000 for the Comprehensive Plan update won't be in the budget next year.
Dr. Young then chimed in to clarify the situation. He said the County would in fact be saving money by doing this to the amount of roughly $68,000. He explained that the $163,800 that was being asked for would be funded as previous explained with $75,000 from the Comprehensive Plan update funds and $88,800 from the planner position funds. This was a savings of $4,200 because the position was slated to cost $93,000. In addition to this, the contracted firm, Bagby, Foroughi and Goodpasture, would also update the Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances which were required to be updated in the coming budget year at an estimated cost of over $60,000. He also said the firm has a good working relationship with the County and has said they enjoy working in the County. Granger said that it would be good to revisit this next year when only the planner position needs to be worried about. Brabo thanked him for his clarifications. The Board approved the request.
Next, the Board approved the Resolution for Appropriation and Categorical Appropriation of the FY2018-2019 budget along with authorizing the County Administrator to approve payments of July warrants. This was done because the Board of Supervisors will not meet in July.
The Board then discussed the increased speed limit along certain King George County corridors. Dr. Young said the state approved a bill raising the speed limit on certain roads from 55 miles per hour to 60. Brabo said she spoke with Sheriff Dempsey about this previously and that he had no concerns as to the increase. Dr. Young said that in order for the increase to occur, a speed study would need to be conducted by VDOT. He said VDOT was willing to shoulder the cost of the study as it wouldn't be very expensive. The Board approved the request. Binder added a question regarding Kings Mill Road and if it would be an issue. Brabo said only the identified sections would be studied and Dr. Young said VDOT does track accidents and discusses them with County staff. Based on the bill that was passed, only certain portions of Route 3 and Route 301 would be eligible for the increased speed limit. According to the Agenda for the meeting, only Route 301 south of Office Hall and Route 3 west of Hopyard would be potentially eligible.
Dr. Young then began his report by informing the Board that VDOT and Maryland Transportation Authority would begin pre-solicitation of contractors for the Nice Bridge replacement project. Young then gave an update on the Ralph Bunche project stating that Echelon Resources has decided to back out of the development, citing an "overly onerous rezoning process." Young said he met with Echelon, Brad Hudson and Heather Hall of Community Development, and Josh Colwell of the Planning Commission and compared the King George County process with the one in Culpeper where Echelon is currently working on a similar development. Young said that both localities had similar requirements and processes and that King George had a more than fair rezoning process. Unfortunately, Young said that Echelon still decided to back out of the project. He did offer a glimmer of hope by saying he has discussed the project with local developers and hopes to find a local solution.
Brabo asked if the money that was voted on to be set aside for a new public well at Ralph Bunche should remain appropriated as such and if it was advisable to proceed with the well upgrades or to wait. Dr. Young said it would be best to keep the money appropriated but to not move forward with the well upgrades just yet.
The Board then went into Closed Session at 9:06pm and invited Dr. Young and Eric Gregory to attend. They returned from Closed Session at 9:19pm.
Dr. Young apologized for not mentioning it earlier but he had received correspondance from NACo about appointing a voting member and an alternate. Brabo said that because she and Young were the most active she would volunteer and Dr. Young could be the alternate. The Board approved.
The meeting adjourned at 9:20pm.
Meeting Attendees:
John Jenkins (Board of Supervisors)
Jeff Bueche (Board of Supervisors)
Richard Granger (Chairman, Board of Supervisors)
Ruby Brabo (Board of Supervisors)
Cathy Binder (Board of Supervisors)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)
Meeting Agenda
Next Meeting:
The Board of Supervisors will next meet on June 12, 2018 at co 1 for 2 year budget at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Board of Supervisors Meeting.
2018-06-07 UPDATE: A previous version of this article had an incorrect date for Jeff Bueche's Town Hall. The correct date is June 7, 2018.
To the recusal question, it doesn't take much imagination to realize that we could have everyone on the board meet the test that caused the three members to recuse themselves. What happens when the full board recuses itself?
ReplyDeleteThe same thing that happens when this resolution passes: nothing.
Delete