by Neil Richard
The Board of Supervisors began their September 18, 2018 meeting at 7:51pm.
First to speak during Public Comment was myself. You can read the lightly redacted comment here.
Next to speak was Jim Hanson who spoke about the same law firm being used to represent the County and the developer in a re-zoning request. He said it "doesn't smell good" and wants to know who's looking out for the County's best interest. He said it was apparent that a law firm can't serve two masters and wondered why they haven't recused themselves or why they haven't disclosed any apparent conflict of interest. He said it was starting to sound like Capital Hill.
Next to speak was Eric Kessler, who had previously spoken during the Service Authority meeting. He said he shared the same concerns as the previous gentleman about the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors and a potential conflict of interest.
Carol Werle approached the podium to speak but got clarification from Richard Granger, Chairman, that there would be an opportunity for Public Comment on the proposed Mixed Use Development (MUD) later in the evening.
Thus concluded Public Comment.
John Jenkins began his Board report by thanking everyone for their comments. He appreciated my suggestions but didn't know the legalities of it and would leave that to the professionals. Regarding the comments about a potential conflict of interest, he said he didn't have any relationship with the developers other than speaking with them which is essential in his role. He said they had no impact on any of his decisions and he had no personal relationship with them.
On September 11th, he attended the Capital Improvement Project (CIP) meeting and felt it was very productive. He said a lot of people spoke and the big topic was the Courthouse which he felt was very high on the priority list. He then joked that saying this was a bit of a Captain Obvious comment.
On the 17th, he attended a George Washington Regional Commission (GWRC) meeting and Fredericksburg Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (FAMPO) meeting. He said broadband connectivity, or the lack of, was a popular topic and that four out of five jurisdictions in the state were not being provided with adequate broadband service. He also said the ability for a County to assess a cigarette tax was discussed but it feels like beating a dead horse because there's always a lack of progress being made.
Jenkins ended his report by reminding everyone that the King George YMCA was hosting a 10th Anniversary Gala on September 21st and it would be a great opportunity for everyone to come out and see him dressed up as Great Gatsby, but he probably wouldn't be dancing.
Jeff Bueche began his report by saying he also attended the CIP meeting on the 11th and that everybody had great presentations. Despite that, he felt that, at the end of the day, there's only so much money to spend. He encouraged citizens to speak up about how that money is spent.
Bueche reminded everyone that in addition to the YMCA anniversary was the Que-Fest on October 6th and 7th at Sealston Park with the Fall Festival the following weekend. Regarding the comments from Kessler, he said thank you for coming out and showing a visual of the water issues in Fairview Beach. He thanked Mike Bennett and the rest of the Board of Directors for their hard work. Bueche said that Ruby Brabo has often said it takes a long time to turn a big ship but he thinks it's turning pretty fast now and they're making good progress. Regarding my comments, he said he concurred with my point that appointees from the Supervisors are extensions of the Board and should be held to the same standards. Regarding the potential for conflict of interest, he said it's currently under legal review and while he wasn't an attorney, the County has a capable one in place with Eric Gregory and he planned to follow his advice. Bueche said that in layman's terms, their representative was advising them on the future Comprehensive Plan while the developer's representative was working on a project under the current Comprehensive Plan.
Ruby Brabo's report began with a long list of meetings she attended, including the Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center Board of Directors on the 5th, National Association of Counties (NACo) on the 7th, and the CIP meeting on the 11th. Also on the 11th, she attended the County employee's picnic and met with Wilson Greenlaw regarding the plans for the former Cameron Hills Golf Course. On the 12th she attended the Emergency Operations Command meeting for Hurricane Florence and on the 17th she attended a COMREL meeting. She said Dahlgren's base command staff is working with her to schedule a Town Hall meeting in the near future to discuss the declassification of the runway and the Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program. Additionally, she was informed that the new bridge design for Route 301 was not approved by the Coast Guard.
Brabo said she also attended the same GWRC and FAMPO meetings already mentioned and asked Dr. Young, County Administrator, to see if the County could begin making payments to GWRC twice a year instead of monthly. Brabo said that Federal law now mandates weekend data be included in traffic studies, thus providing better analysis, however Virginia law does not allow this as of yet and will need to be updated to reflect the change. She said another topic of discussion was the inclusion of an estimated cost on a Request For Proposal (RFP) and that it might be a better idea to not include that as it may allow contractors to inflate their prices when not necessary. In other words, she said, costs should be based on materials and labor and should largely be similar across the state.
Brabo said she also attended a Joint Land Use (JLUS) meeting on the 18th and they discussed the possibility of a military overlay district to better control development. They also discussed the need for more housing for transient students on base and that Department of Defense housing requirements make it difficult for local developers to be included in approved housing lists, thus making it difficult for developers to build a viable project such as apartments or condos.
Brabo also presented a slide that showed how much staffing has increased in the Fire, Rescue, and Emergency Services Department. She said the employee count rose from 3 in 1999 to 33 in 2014 and the projected number of employees for 2020 is going to be 65. She said there are employees there, available for staffing but the Supervisors were not in charge of scheduling.
Responding to the conflict of interest comments earlier, Brabo added clarity that the firm in question was not a law firm, but rather a consulting firm. She said the firm, Bagby, Foroughi, and Goodpasture, was hired by the County because the Community Development Department was unable to handle the heavy workload. She added that the Board was unaware of the potential for conflict of interest until they attended the joint meeting with the Planning Commission. She said they were all shocked but they had the County Attorney, Eric Gregory, looking into the situation.
Cathy Binder started her report by stating she also attended the employee picnic and CIP meeting on the 11th. She said the Courthouse project is important and that she's continuing to hear from residents about the potential future use of Cameron Hills. She also thanked everyone that came forward and spoke at Public Comment.
Richard Granger thanked everyone for their public comments and discretion. He thanked me for my email and said he would review it later and entertain recommendations. Jenkins briefly interrupted and asked if it would be good to have Chief Moody come before the Board and discuss staffing and elaborate on scheduling. Brabo said it may be better to have Dr. Young reach out to him first before calling him in front of the Board.
Granger concluded his report by saying he also attended the CIP meeting and that he would defer to Gregory's input regarding any conflict of interest.
The Consent Agenda was approved.
The County Attorney, Eric Gregory, had no report.
Next was the Public Hearing on the proposed Zoning Ordinance text amendment to add Article 14 - Mixed Use Development (MUD) District. Darren Coffey of the Berkley Group presented the end result. It included several highlights such as minimum lot sizes of ten acres, maximum density of 18 units or five single family homes per acre, and various landscaping and architectural requirements. Coffey said certain things would be allowed by right, such as a convenience store, but that there would be certain restrictions like roof height, set backs, and parking.
There were some questions from the Board regarding structure height in relation to what the Fire Department could manage as well as how much open space or commercial space was required. Coffey said despite the Planning Commission voting against the MUD proposal, they did have a lot of effort involved.
Carol Werle opened Public Comment stating that, as the James Madison representative of the Economic Development Authority (EDA), she felt the MUD ordinance needed to be passed. She said that certain businesses, such as a service business, needed a certain level of density to be viable. She said zoning in the County has always been reactive and that project off Indiantown Road was still waiting on zoning after a year. She ended her comment by saying that we have to increase all businesses, not just developments and private residences.
Kim Dodge was next to speak and said she wanted to look at the financial impact. She said there were a lot of places available for her to run her business out of but many of them were too expensive. She said those that were more reasonably priced looked like they should be condemned. Dodge said she wished developers would instead rehabilitate older properties and rent them at affordable rates for a start-up business. She also said she was afraid a MUD project may mean higher taxes for residents as they would need to pay to maintain parking lots and landscaping.
Jim Hanson spoke again, this time citing his concern over a lack of infrastructure in the County. He said after leaving Northern Virginia, King George is like Heaven but it felt like the Supervisors were trying to stuff a ten pound cake in a five pound can. Hanson said the infrastructure isn't there to support Mixed Use and that we needed to manage growth the right way.
Thus ended Public Comment.
Granger said that the overlay district was for the Courthouse Settlement District and that the motivation for the MUD was to bring more commercial activity to the County. He also said that there wouldn't be an increase in taxes because it would not be the County that maintains the property.
Bueche responded to Dodge's comments saying there are a lot of places available to be leased and some are not appealing but this was something different. He also reiterated that it would be the property owner's responsibility to maintain the property, not the taxpayers. Additionally, he said the property owners would need to pay taxes to the County, even if there were no tenants. He said it was simply a tool for a developer to use, but not a requirement.
Jenkins said he felt like it gave the County a chance to create an identity. As far as prices and conditions of what was available, he said it wasn't within their control. Jenkins did say he wanted to see more small business in the County and that this might help with that.
Brabo said she recognized there was an infrastructure issue but that this could be an opportunity to get a developer to pay for capital improvements, just like the Board did with the Walnut Hill developer paying to connect the Owens and Dahlgren water systems. She said with any private property, the owner can set their own rates but even if it sat empty, they still had to pay the County taxes. Brabo said the Board can't make a property owner paint their building a certain color or cut their grass, but the goal was to address complaints from citizens about the lack of a downtown area. She said the Courthouse area doesn't really look like anything and people wanted improvements.
Brabo continued, stating it was the EDA's job to create a program for entrepreneurs and small businesses in the community. While the Economic Development office focuses on larger projects and larger businesses, she said the EDA should focus on smaller businesses.
Brabo then asked the County Attorney if any amendments could be made to the proposed ordinance and at what point would changes require a new Public Hearing process. Gregory said it would depend on what was changed but the removal of the Dahlgren District from the MUD ordinance would be fine along with other minor changes. Gregory said any large, whole-sale change would require starting over.
Brabo said she wanted to change some of the language on Page 12 regarding the application for rezoning. After some discussion among the Board, Gregory, and Coffey, they agreed that changing the wording to require the Zoning Administrator to provide written justification on waivers would be a minor clarification that wouldn't require the process to start over. With that clarity provided, the Mixed Use Development ordinance was approved with the two amendments, one to clarify the written justification needed for waivers and the other to remove the Dahlgren Primary Settlement District.
Next on the Agenda was the Debt Mitigation Plan presented by Kyle Laux of Davenport and Associates. Laux reviewed the plan and suggested language for the financial policy changes. He said that early discussions had 25% of year-end surplus going towards debt mitigation but the Board had reduced that to 10% with the theory that it could always put more towards the debt if needed. Laux said there were some modifications made due to tax code rules which brought about a discussion regarding cash funding versus creating new debt. Primarily due to tax code, the clause in the proposed policy states that funds could be taken from debt funds and used to cash fund a project.
This seemed to cause some confusion among the Supervisors who felt the debt fund should only be used for debt. Laux explained that it was just language that was needed for tax definitions in a rare scenario when it would be better to use those funds to cash fund a project versus taking on new debt which would in turn negate any positive impact the debt fund payment would have. Brabo said that a vote wasn't needed tonight and asked Laux to clarify that the goal is to pay down the debt. Laux said he could certainly take another try at the language and present the changes in the future.
Next was the approval of Hopyard Farm Section 4. Brabo said she thought this policy had changed, meaning the need to come before the Board again, but then she realized the ordinances had not been updated yet. The Board approved the plat.
Next was Lavita Cobb from the Department of Finance who presented a Change Order for the King George Middle School Expansion Project. She said the developer determined that the softball field lights needed to be removed and the cost would be $18,418.31. Cobb said funds were available in the contingency fund of the project to cover the costs. The Board approved the request.
Jeff Jenkins from the Solid Waste and Recycling Department then presented his request to have the County take control of the convenience centers. He said it takes a long time to address complaints as they come to him, then go to Waste Management, then the contractor, then back around again. He said he discussed the issue with Dr. Young and would have taken the proposal before the Landfill Advisory Committee but their meeting had been postponed. He said there was a need for a decision because the current contract ends on November 1st.
Brabo clarified that it wouldn't be an additional line item in the County's Budget because Waste Management would pay the County instead of paying the contractor. She said this would give accountability and service to the citizens of King George.
Bueche asked if these would be full time County employees with benefits and Dr. Young said yes. He said it also means that when he hears complaints from citizens, he can call Jeff Jenkins directly and have the issue addressed quickly. Bueche said "like when I complained about them closing ten minutes before 6pm."
The Supervisors approved the proposal.
Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, then asked the Board to adopt the Declaration of Local Emergency Resolution as required by code to end such a declaration. The Board approved.
Dr. Young then addressed the earlier comments about conflict of interest and said the firm in question was not a law firm but a firm that provided planning and engineering services. He said the integrity of his staff and himself were intact and that there have been no gifts or favors. He said the County has a small staff and it was necessary to creatively augment that staff with this firm. In turn, the firm has helped the County save money with the prime example being the increase in fees the County charges. Young said that he and Gregory were looking into the issue and were making plans for a blind review and that a letter was sent to the firm asking them to address the concerns. He said the response is also being reviewed by Gregory so that the issue can finally be put to rest.
Dr. Young asked the Board to appoint Jacque Kobuchi to the Rappahannock Area Community Service Board (RACSB) and the Board approved.
Dr. Young also wanted to publicly praise Lavita Cobb for her hard work. Young said she implemented a new process to auction items off, including several non-functional vehicles and many items at the old Middle School, that resulted in the County seeing over $14,000 in revenue. Binder added her thanks for helping clean up the old school.
Young continued, stating that there was a NACo initiative to help pay for leadership training for employees and the Board had previously agreed to send two employees. Young said he didn't ask for a Board vote at the time but was doing so now. They approved.
Young then came to a confusing scenario that he said arose. He said that in meeting with County staff and developers, they discovered a clerical error in recording plats in Dahlgren. Young said that Hertenstein sold five of twelve lots to Augustine Homes. Augustine Homes began making improvements but then learned that the plat was incorrect. When the plat was previously recorded, it split the large area into 12 lots however, the plat was vacated and should have reverted to the original 120 acre single lot. Because that vacation was improperly recorded, the County continued to assess tax on twelve individual lots. While it sounds confusing, Dr. Young said that he was asking the Board to vacate the original vacation to allow the single 120 acre lot to become the 12 ten acre lots it should be.
Bueche said he wanted to clarify for everyone that his had nothing to do with the previous re-zoning request from Hertenstein and that this was just a clerical error that needed to be corrected. He said it was an administrative error that could be corrected administratively. Gregory concurred, stating it was never intended to record the plat in such a way and that it was a mistake. Gregory again agreed that it was unrelated to the re-zoning request and he didn't see a problem in correcting the mistake.
Brabo asked if there needed to be a vote and Gregory said no, that under state code, things could be handled administratively.
The Board then went into Closed Session at 9:46pm, inviting Dr. Young and Eric Gregory. They returned at 10:00pm.
Brabo added one final comment that the JLUS meeting regarding compatible development could result in a need to hire an outside consultant.
The Board adjourned at 10:01pm.
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 September 20, 2018 at 6:30 pm at Company 1.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Board of Supervisors Meeting.
The Board of Supervisors began their September 18, 2018 meeting at 7:51pm.
First to speak during Public Comment was myself. You can read the lightly redacted comment here.
Next to speak was Jim Hanson who spoke about the same law firm being used to represent the County and the developer in a re-zoning request. He said it "doesn't smell good" and wants to know who's looking out for the County's best interest. He said it was apparent that a law firm can't serve two masters and wondered why they haven't recused themselves or why they haven't disclosed any apparent conflict of interest. He said it was starting to sound like Capital Hill.
Next to speak was Eric Kessler, who had previously spoken during the Service Authority meeting. He said he shared the same concerns as the previous gentleman about the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors and a potential conflict of interest.
Carol Werle approached the podium to speak but got clarification from Richard Granger, Chairman, that there would be an opportunity for Public Comment on the proposed Mixed Use Development (MUD) later in the evening.
Thus concluded Public Comment.
John Jenkins began his Board report by thanking everyone for their comments. He appreciated my suggestions but didn't know the legalities of it and would leave that to the professionals. Regarding the comments about a potential conflict of interest, he said he didn't have any relationship with the developers other than speaking with them which is essential in his role. He said they had no impact on any of his decisions and he had no personal relationship with them.
On September 11th, he attended the Capital Improvement Project (CIP) meeting and felt it was very productive. He said a lot of people spoke and the big topic was the Courthouse which he felt was very high on the priority list. He then joked that saying this was a bit of a Captain Obvious comment.
On the 17th, he attended a George Washington Regional Commission (GWRC) meeting and Fredericksburg Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (FAMPO) meeting. He said broadband connectivity, or the lack of, was a popular topic and that four out of five jurisdictions in the state were not being provided with adequate broadband service. He also said the ability for a County to assess a cigarette tax was discussed but it feels like beating a dead horse because there's always a lack of progress being made.
Jenkins ended his report by reminding everyone that the King George YMCA was hosting a 10th Anniversary Gala on September 21st and it would be a great opportunity for everyone to come out and see him dressed up as Great Gatsby, but he probably wouldn't be dancing.
Jeff Bueche began his report by saying he also attended the CIP meeting on the 11th and that everybody had great presentations. Despite that, he felt that, at the end of the day, there's only so much money to spend. He encouraged citizens to speak up about how that money is spent.
Bueche reminded everyone that in addition to the YMCA anniversary was the Que-Fest on October 6th and 7th at Sealston Park with the Fall Festival the following weekend. Regarding the comments from Kessler, he said thank you for coming out and showing a visual of the water issues in Fairview Beach. He thanked Mike Bennett and the rest of the Board of Directors for their hard work. Bueche said that Ruby Brabo has often said it takes a long time to turn a big ship but he thinks it's turning pretty fast now and they're making good progress. Regarding my comments, he said he concurred with my point that appointees from the Supervisors are extensions of the Board and should be held to the same standards. Regarding the potential for conflict of interest, he said it's currently under legal review and while he wasn't an attorney, the County has a capable one in place with Eric Gregory and he planned to follow his advice. Bueche said that in layman's terms, their representative was advising them on the future Comprehensive Plan while the developer's representative was working on a project under the current Comprehensive Plan.
Ruby Brabo's report began with a long list of meetings she attended, including the Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center Board of Directors on the 5th, National Association of Counties (NACo) on the 7th, and the CIP meeting on the 11th. Also on the 11th, she attended the County employee's picnic and met with Wilson Greenlaw regarding the plans for the former Cameron Hills Golf Course. On the 12th she attended the Emergency Operations Command meeting for Hurricane Florence and on the 17th she attended a COMREL meeting. She said Dahlgren's base command staff is working with her to schedule a Town Hall meeting in the near future to discuss the declassification of the runway and the Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program. Additionally, she was informed that the new bridge design for Route 301 was not approved by the Coast Guard.
Brabo said she also attended the same GWRC and FAMPO meetings already mentioned and asked Dr. Young, County Administrator, to see if the County could begin making payments to GWRC twice a year instead of monthly. Brabo said that Federal law now mandates weekend data be included in traffic studies, thus providing better analysis, however Virginia law does not allow this as of yet and will need to be updated to reflect the change. She said another topic of discussion was the inclusion of an estimated cost on a Request For Proposal (RFP) and that it might be a better idea to not include that as it may allow contractors to inflate their prices when not necessary. In other words, she said, costs should be based on materials and labor and should largely be similar across the state.
Brabo said she also attended a Joint Land Use (JLUS) meeting on the 18th and they discussed the possibility of a military overlay district to better control development. They also discussed the need for more housing for transient students on base and that Department of Defense housing requirements make it difficult for local developers to be included in approved housing lists, thus making it difficult for developers to build a viable project such as apartments or condos.
Brabo also presented a slide that showed how much staffing has increased in the Fire, Rescue, and Emergency Services Department. She said the employee count rose from 3 in 1999 to 33 in 2014 and the projected number of employees for 2020 is going to be 65. She said there are employees there, available for staffing but the Supervisors were not in charge of scheduling.
Responding to the conflict of interest comments earlier, Brabo added clarity that the firm in question was not a law firm, but rather a consulting firm. She said the firm, Bagby, Foroughi, and Goodpasture, was hired by the County because the Community Development Department was unable to handle the heavy workload. She added that the Board was unaware of the potential for conflict of interest until they attended the joint meeting with the Planning Commission. She said they were all shocked but they had the County Attorney, Eric Gregory, looking into the situation.
Cathy Binder started her report by stating she also attended the employee picnic and CIP meeting on the 11th. She said the Courthouse project is important and that she's continuing to hear from residents about the potential future use of Cameron Hills. She also thanked everyone that came forward and spoke at Public Comment.
Richard Granger thanked everyone for their public comments and discretion. He thanked me for my email and said he would review it later and entertain recommendations. Jenkins briefly interrupted and asked if it would be good to have Chief Moody come before the Board and discuss staffing and elaborate on scheduling. Brabo said it may be better to have Dr. Young reach out to him first before calling him in front of the Board.
Granger concluded his report by saying he also attended the CIP meeting and that he would defer to Gregory's input regarding any conflict of interest.
The Consent Agenda was approved.
The County Attorney, Eric Gregory, had no report.
Next was the Public Hearing on the proposed Zoning Ordinance text amendment to add Article 14 - Mixed Use Development (MUD) District. Darren Coffey of the Berkley Group presented the end result. It included several highlights such as minimum lot sizes of ten acres, maximum density of 18 units or five single family homes per acre, and various landscaping and architectural requirements. Coffey said certain things would be allowed by right, such as a convenience store, but that there would be certain restrictions like roof height, set backs, and parking.
There were some questions from the Board regarding structure height in relation to what the Fire Department could manage as well as how much open space or commercial space was required. Coffey said despite the Planning Commission voting against the MUD proposal, they did have a lot of effort involved.
Carol Werle opened Public Comment stating that, as the James Madison representative of the Economic Development Authority (EDA), she felt the MUD ordinance needed to be passed. She said that certain businesses, such as a service business, needed a certain level of density to be viable. She said zoning in the County has always been reactive and that project off Indiantown Road was still waiting on zoning after a year. She ended her comment by saying that we have to increase all businesses, not just developments and private residences.
Kim Dodge was next to speak and said she wanted to look at the financial impact. She said there were a lot of places available for her to run her business out of but many of them were too expensive. She said those that were more reasonably priced looked like they should be condemned. Dodge said she wished developers would instead rehabilitate older properties and rent them at affordable rates for a start-up business. She also said she was afraid a MUD project may mean higher taxes for residents as they would need to pay to maintain parking lots and landscaping.
Jim Hanson spoke again, this time citing his concern over a lack of infrastructure in the County. He said after leaving Northern Virginia, King George is like Heaven but it felt like the Supervisors were trying to stuff a ten pound cake in a five pound can. Hanson said the infrastructure isn't there to support Mixed Use and that we needed to manage growth the right way.
Thus ended Public Comment.
Granger said that the overlay district was for the Courthouse Settlement District and that the motivation for the MUD was to bring more commercial activity to the County. He also said that there wouldn't be an increase in taxes because it would not be the County that maintains the property.
Bueche responded to Dodge's comments saying there are a lot of places available to be leased and some are not appealing but this was something different. He also reiterated that it would be the property owner's responsibility to maintain the property, not the taxpayers. Additionally, he said the property owners would need to pay taxes to the County, even if there were no tenants. He said it was simply a tool for a developer to use, but not a requirement.
Jenkins said he felt like it gave the County a chance to create an identity. As far as prices and conditions of what was available, he said it wasn't within their control. Jenkins did say he wanted to see more small business in the County and that this might help with that.
Brabo said she recognized there was an infrastructure issue but that this could be an opportunity to get a developer to pay for capital improvements, just like the Board did with the Walnut Hill developer paying to connect the Owens and Dahlgren water systems. She said with any private property, the owner can set their own rates but even if it sat empty, they still had to pay the County taxes. Brabo said the Board can't make a property owner paint their building a certain color or cut their grass, but the goal was to address complaints from citizens about the lack of a downtown area. She said the Courthouse area doesn't really look like anything and people wanted improvements.
Brabo continued, stating it was the EDA's job to create a program for entrepreneurs and small businesses in the community. While the Economic Development office focuses on larger projects and larger businesses, she said the EDA should focus on smaller businesses.
Brabo then asked the County Attorney if any amendments could be made to the proposed ordinance and at what point would changes require a new Public Hearing process. Gregory said it would depend on what was changed but the removal of the Dahlgren District from the MUD ordinance would be fine along with other minor changes. Gregory said any large, whole-sale change would require starting over.
Brabo said she wanted to change some of the language on Page 12 regarding the application for rezoning. After some discussion among the Board, Gregory, and Coffey, they agreed that changing the wording to require the Zoning Administrator to provide written justification on waivers would be a minor clarification that wouldn't require the process to start over. With that clarity provided, the Mixed Use Development ordinance was approved with the two amendments, one to clarify the written justification needed for waivers and the other to remove the Dahlgren Primary Settlement District.
Next on the Agenda was the Debt Mitigation Plan presented by Kyle Laux of Davenport and Associates. Laux reviewed the plan and suggested language for the financial policy changes. He said that early discussions had 25% of year-end surplus going towards debt mitigation but the Board had reduced that to 10% with the theory that it could always put more towards the debt if needed. Laux said there were some modifications made due to tax code rules which brought about a discussion regarding cash funding versus creating new debt. Primarily due to tax code, the clause in the proposed policy states that funds could be taken from debt funds and used to cash fund a project.
This seemed to cause some confusion among the Supervisors who felt the debt fund should only be used for debt. Laux explained that it was just language that was needed for tax definitions in a rare scenario when it would be better to use those funds to cash fund a project versus taking on new debt which would in turn negate any positive impact the debt fund payment would have. Brabo said that a vote wasn't needed tonight and asked Laux to clarify that the goal is to pay down the debt. Laux said he could certainly take another try at the language and present the changes in the future.
Next was the approval of Hopyard Farm Section 4. Brabo said she thought this policy had changed, meaning the need to come before the Board again, but then she realized the ordinances had not been updated yet. The Board approved the plat.
Next was Lavita Cobb from the Department of Finance who presented a Change Order for the King George Middle School Expansion Project. She said the developer determined that the softball field lights needed to be removed and the cost would be $18,418.31. Cobb said funds were available in the contingency fund of the project to cover the costs. The Board approved the request.
Jeff Jenkins from the Solid Waste and Recycling Department then presented his request to have the County take control of the convenience centers. He said it takes a long time to address complaints as they come to him, then go to Waste Management, then the contractor, then back around again. He said he discussed the issue with Dr. Young and would have taken the proposal before the Landfill Advisory Committee but their meeting had been postponed. He said there was a need for a decision because the current contract ends on November 1st.
Brabo clarified that it wouldn't be an additional line item in the County's Budget because Waste Management would pay the County instead of paying the contractor. She said this would give accountability and service to the citizens of King George.
Bueche asked if these would be full time County employees with benefits and Dr. Young said yes. He said it also means that when he hears complaints from citizens, he can call Jeff Jenkins directly and have the issue addressed quickly. Bueche said "like when I complained about them closing ten minutes before 6pm."
The Supervisors approved the proposal.
Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, then asked the Board to adopt the Declaration of Local Emergency Resolution as required by code to end such a declaration. The Board approved.
Dr. Young then addressed the earlier comments about conflict of interest and said the firm in question was not a law firm but a firm that provided planning and engineering services. He said the integrity of his staff and himself were intact and that there have been no gifts or favors. He said the County has a small staff and it was necessary to creatively augment that staff with this firm. In turn, the firm has helped the County save money with the prime example being the increase in fees the County charges. Young said that he and Gregory were looking into the issue and were making plans for a blind review and that a letter was sent to the firm asking them to address the concerns. He said the response is also being reviewed by Gregory so that the issue can finally be put to rest.
Dr. Young asked the Board to appoint Jacque Kobuchi to the Rappahannock Area Community Service Board (RACSB) and the Board approved.
Dr. Young also wanted to publicly praise Lavita Cobb for her hard work. Young said she implemented a new process to auction items off, including several non-functional vehicles and many items at the old Middle School, that resulted in the County seeing over $14,000 in revenue. Binder added her thanks for helping clean up the old school.
Young continued, stating that there was a NACo initiative to help pay for leadership training for employees and the Board had previously agreed to send two employees. Young said he didn't ask for a Board vote at the time but was doing so now. They approved.
Young then came to a confusing scenario that he said arose. He said that in meeting with County staff and developers, they discovered a clerical error in recording plats in Dahlgren. Young said that Hertenstein sold five of twelve lots to Augustine Homes. Augustine Homes began making improvements but then learned that the plat was incorrect. When the plat was previously recorded, it split the large area into 12 lots however, the plat was vacated and should have reverted to the original 120 acre single lot. Because that vacation was improperly recorded, the County continued to assess tax on twelve individual lots. While it sounds confusing, Dr. Young said that he was asking the Board to vacate the original vacation to allow the single 120 acre lot to become the 12 ten acre lots it should be.
Bueche said he wanted to clarify for everyone that his had nothing to do with the previous re-zoning request from Hertenstein and that this was just a clerical error that needed to be corrected. He said it was an administrative error that could be corrected administratively. Gregory concurred, stating it was never intended to record the plat in such a way and that it was a mistake. Gregory again agreed that it was unrelated to the re-zoning request and he didn't see a problem in correcting the mistake.
Brabo asked if there needed to be a vote and Gregory said no, that under state code, things could be handled administratively.
The Board then went into Closed Session at 9:46pm, inviting Dr. Young and Eric Gregory. They returned at 10:00pm.
Brabo added one final comment that the JLUS meeting regarding compatible development could result in a need to hire an outside consultant.
The Board adjourned at 10:01pm.
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 September 20, 2018 at 6:30 pm at Company 1.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Board of Supervisors Meeting.
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