by Neil Richard
The King George County Board of Supervisors began their meeting a few minutes later than normal due to some technical difficulties. They finally began the meeting at 7:44pm.
There were no amendments to the Agenda and there was no Public Comment.
John Jenkins was absent due to a death in the family.
Jeff Bueche began his Board report by saying he attended the water contamination meeting in Fairview Beach that was organized by Mike Bennett. Bueche said he was optimistic that there would be progress towards finding the source of the contamination. On the 30th, he celebrated his 18th wedding anniversary with his wife Anne. He felt it was appropriate to share because not only was she his wife and the mother of their children, but she was also his best friend and confidant.
Bueche then said he felt the Service Authority meeting held earlier was informative and that he was happy to see the duration of the meetings increase over what they were in the past. He said there was a lot of business to conduct that was important but felt a discussion should be had about separating the two Board meetings into two different nights. He said some citizens come only for the Service Authority meeting and some come only for the Supervisors meeting. Bueche said he didn't need a consensus tonight, just that he wanted the options explored and discussed.
Brabo interrupted and said the bylaws of the Board state that Supervisors have to be available until midnight and that, thankfully, they haven't needed that much time. She also said that, personally, she was unwilling to give up another night due to her numerous other commitments and meetings. Bueche said he understands that it makes it difficult but the two Boards are two separate bodies and hopefully in the future it wouldn't impact the Supervisors, meaning that hopefully in the future, Supervisors wouldn't sit on the Service Authority Board.
Bueche concluded his report by reminding everyone that the first annual KG QUE-FEST would be held on October 6th and 7th at Sealston Sports Complex and the Fall Festival will be on the 13th.
Ruby Brabo began her report by saying she attended the Local Government Advisory Committee (LGAC) meeting on the 20th, a National Association of Counties conference call on the 21st, and the YMCA 10th Anniversary Gala on the 22nd. On the 24th she attended the contamination meeting in Fairview Beach and thanked Mike Bennett for the time and dedication he has invested in his role on the Service Authority Board. From the 25th to the 27th, Brabo attended the LGAC forum and assisted in the Community Clean Up Day on the 29th. She thanked Annie Cupka for her work in coordinating things and hopes that it will become an annual event.
Brabo also attended the memorial service for Ed Veazey on the 29th. She said "he will be missed but his influence lives on through everything he touched within the County." She also attended the 20th anniversary celebration at Mary's Cakery on the 29th and went to a Chem-bio meeting on October 1st. At this meeting she felt the bulk of the meeting was related to the lack of communication and was thankful for the base leadership being willing to sit down and talk. During the meeting she learned that the base hired 600 employees last year and about 500 more next year but their capacity is limited in their existing facilities. Brabo said she also learned that many of the contractors working on base are doing so because of current issues with the Virtual Private Network (VPN) making it cost prohibitive for them to be located off base.
Cathy Binder reported that she attended the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) workshop on the 20th, the Rappahannock Area Agency on Aging on the 26th, and the Rappahannock Regional Jail Authority on the 27th. She said residents can attend an open enrollment event hosted by Rappahannock Area Agency on Aging to enroll in Medicare Part D. It will be held at the Citizen's Center on November 27th from 9am to 4pm. She said King George was also given the title to a van that can be used to transport prisoners to the Rappahannock Regional Jail. On October 2nd, Binder visited Brooks Park to see employees from Hilldrup Moving work as part of the United Way Day of Caring volunteer event. She also learned how to mulch and prune trees and shrubs from Master Gardener Linda Kline.
Richard Granger also attended the CIP meeting on the 20th as well as a meeting on the 26th regarding river gauges in the state. He said these gauges will improve safety for those using rivers and streams as heavy rains in one part of the state will impact those downriver. On October 1st, Granger attended the same Chem-bio meeting with Brabo and said that attrition on base is about 6%. He also said it was important to note that the Chem-bio move to Indian Head was mainly motivated by it being a better fit to that base's mission compared to Dahlgren's mission.
The Consent Agenda was approved.
The County Attorney, Eric Gregory, reported that he has been working with David Brickley and representatives from the Friends of Dahlgren Railroad Heritage Trail (DRHT) to work on a cooperative management plan for the trail [EDITOR'S NOTE - Neil Richard, a co-founder of Project94, is the Treasurer of the Friends of DRHT.]. Gregory said things are under development and he is in communication with those parties and hopes to have something to present at the next Board meeting.
Next was a presentation by Steve Marzolf of Virginia Information Technologies Association (VITA). Marzolf said he was happy to hear he has until midnight to go through his presentation to which everyone laughed. His presentation was about the pending changes to the 911 system in the state and how it would impact King George County. He said the current network, which is analog, is going away and there's nothing anyone, himself included, could do about it. He was careful to emphasize that it wasn't Verizon's fault or anybody else's fault, it was just the nature of the the change in technology. He equated it to not being able to buy new movies on VHS tapes anymore. With that said, Marzolf said Fairfax County was the first to adopt the new system last year. After an intensive process, Fairfax found AT&T to be the best provider for the project.
Marzolf cautioned that deployment needed to be coordinated and that King George was part of the system that covered Fredericksburg and Winchester. He said there would be a period of time where both networks, analog and digital, would need to be supported as things are transitioned. The proposed schedule was for our region to make the change between January and June 2020, which was roughly in the middle of the schedule for the whole state.
Marzolf continued by complimenting the County's Geographic Information System (GIS), saying that only a few minor issues would need to be addressed. He said the new system would allow text-to-911, something that's important for the deaf and hard of hearing.
He then got down to the important part of the presentation, the cost. He said the current cost of the County's 911 system was roughly $368 per month. The new cost would be $5,481 per month. The good news is that the 911 Services Board would cover the cost increase for two years. He also said the 911 Services Board would cover the cost of the overlap between the new and old systems for six months and they were open to discussions if the County wanted to extend the newly installed fiber lines to schools, libraries, or government buildings. The 911 Services Board would also cover the cost of the new fiber being installed.
Marzolf said he was asking the Board to review the proposal and the contract Fairfax used. He said King George was able to do their own proposal request or use a vendor other than AT&T. He also said that if the County decided to work with AT&T and change their mind later, it was possible to do so, just like changing cell phone service providers.
He concluded his presentation by saying the new 911 system was here and not going away. He said everyone in the state and in the country would eventually need to switch to it.
Brabo asked about the cost of the new monthly fee and if that was based on the infrastructure that doesn't exist in the County from AT&T, noting that Verizon is the area's main service provider. Marzolf said no, it was just for the service being provided and that Verizon would actually be making the connection over the last mile. Brabo again noted the lack of AT&T infrastructure in the area and wondered if a regional procurement with Caroline County and other Northern Neck counties may be a benefit. Marzolf said Northern Virginia is experiencing the same issue with a lack of AT&T infrastructure and that was why Verizon was involved. In simple terms, he said that AT&T provides the service across the national network and pays Verizon for their local infrastructure.
Binder asked for clarity on the diverse connectivity and Marzolf explained it was a way to ensure the connection was safe from any harm. He said there are options for one connection, two connections in one path, or two connections in two paths. He said the latter was recommended because it provides for redundancy should something happen. He provided an example of an auger bit taking down the entire 911 system where a diverse connectivity system would bring the 911 connections into the building in two different locations.
Steve McKeever from Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) was next to present to the Board, regarding the Route 207 and 301 Corridor Study. He came before the Board to ask for their approval of the study. Brabo asked if a vote was needed and Dr. Young said he and Eric Gregory felt it was necessary to vote. The Board approved VDOT's Study.
Wilma Ward from the Finance Department was next before the Board, asking for their approval of a change order related to the Potomac Elementary School modular units. The Board approved.
Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, then asked the Board to authorize him to sign the Agreement related to the King George Middle School Turn Lane Project. Brabo interjected and said it was about time that we applied for revenue sharing. The Board approved.
Dr. Young gave his report by starting off with an offer from Bill Robie, a professor from George Washington University, to give a brief course on Public Policy for the Supervisors. Brabo said this topic came up because as a new Supervisor, she was given no guidance or mentorship. As the most senior Supervisor now, she said she's doing the best she can but felt a course like this would help everyone. There was a discussion on scheduling the course later this month. Dr. Young also reminded the Board that there would be a team building event later this month for the Supervisors.
The Supervisors went into Closed Session at 8:39pm and invited Eric Gregory, Dr. Young, Chris Werle, and Mike Bennett to attend. They returned from Closed Session at 9:22pm and adjourned.
Meeting Attendees:
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)
Absent:
John Jenkins (Board of Supervisors) due to a death in the family
Meeting Agenda
Next Meeting:
The Board of Supervisors will next meet on October 9, 2018 at 6:30 pm at Company 1.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Board of Supervisors Meeting.
The King George County Board of Supervisors began their meeting a few minutes later than normal due to some technical difficulties. They finally began the meeting at 7:44pm.
There were no amendments to the Agenda and there was no Public Comment.
John Jenkins was absent due to a death in the family.
Jeff Bueche began his Board report by saying he attended the water contamination meeting in Fairview Beach that was organized by Mike Bennett. Bueche said he was optimistic that there would be progress towards finding the source of the contamination. On the 30th, he celebrated his 18th wedding anniversary with his wife Anne. He felt it was appropriate to share because not only was she his wife and the mother of their children, but she was also his best friend and confidant.
Bueche then said he felt the Service Authority meeting held earlier was informative and that he was happy to see the duration of the meetings increase over what they were in the past. He said there was a lot of business to conduct that was important but felt a discussion should be had about separating the two Board meetings into two different nights. He said some citizens come only for the Service Authority meeting and some come only for the Supervisors meeting. Bueche said he didn't need a consensus tonight, just that he wanted the options explored and discussed.
Brabo interrupted and said the bylaws of the Board state that Supervisors have to be available until midnight and that, thankfully, they haven't needed that much time. She also said that, personally, she was unwilling to give up another night due to her numerous other commitments and meetings. Bueche said he understands that it makes it difficult but the two Boards are two separate bodies and hopefully in the future it wouldn't impact the Supervisors, meaning that hopefully in the future, Supervisors wouldn't sit on the Service Authority Board.
Bueche concluded his report by reminding everyone that the first annual KG QUE-FEST would be held on October 6th and 7th at Sealston Sports Complex and the Fall Festival will be on the 13th.
Ruby Brabo began her report by saying she attended the Local Government Advisory Committee (LGAC) meeting on the 20th, a National Association of Counties conference call on the 21st, and the YMCA 10th Anniversary Gala on the 22nd. On the 24th she attended the contamination meeting in Fairview Beach and thanked Mike Bennett for the time and dedication he has invested in his role on the Service Authority Board. From the 25th to the 27th, Brabo attended the LGAC forum and assisted in the Community Clean Up Day on the 29th. She thanked Annie Cupka for her work in coordinating things and hopes that it will become an annual event.
Brabo also attended the memorial service for Ed Veazey on the 29th. She said "he will be missed but his influence lives on through everything he touched within the County." She also attended the 20th anniversary celebration at Mary's Cakery on the 29th and went to a Chem-bio meeting on October 1st. At this meeting she felt the bulk of the meeting was related to the lack of communication and was thankful for the base leadership being willing to sit down and talk. During the meeting she learned that the base hired 600 employees last year and about 500 more next year but their capacity is limited in their existing facilities. Brabo said she also learned that many of the contractors working on base are doing so because of current issues with the Virtual Private Network (VPN) making it cost prohibitive for them to be located off base.
Cathy Binder reported that she attended the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) workshop on the 20th, the Rappahannock Area Agency on Aging on the 26th, and the Rappahannock Regional Jail Authority on the 27th. She said residents can attend an open enrollment event hosted by Rappahannock Area Agency on Aging to enroll in Medicare Part D. It will be held at the Citizen's Center on November 27th from 9am to 4pm. She said King George was also given the title to a van that can be used to transport prisoners to the Rappahannock Regional Jail. On October 2nd, Binder visited Brooks Park to see employees from Hilldrup Moving work as part of the United Way Day of Caring volunteer event. She also learned how to mulch and prune trees and shrubs from Master Gardener Linda Kline.
Richard Granger also attended the CIP meeting on the 20th as well as a meeting on the 26th regarding river gauges in the state. He said these gauges will improve safety for those using rivers and streams as heavy rains in one part of the state will impact those downriver. On October 1st, Granger attended the same Chem-bio meeting with Brabo and said that attrition on base is about 6%. He also said it was important to note that the Chem-bio move to Indian Head was mainly motivated by it being a better fit to that base's mission compared to Dahlgren's mission.
The Consent Agenda was approved.
The County Attorney, Eric Gregory, reported that he has been working with David Brickley and representatives from the Friends of Dahlgren Railroad Heritage Trail (DRHT) to work on a cooperative management plan for the trail [EDITOR'S NOTE - Neil Richard, a co-founder of Project94, is the Treasurer of the Friends of DRHT.]. Gregory said things are under development and he is in communication with those parties and hopes to have something to present at the next Board meeting.
Next was a presentation by Steve Marzolf of Virginia Information Technologies Association (VITA). Marzolf said he was happy to hear he has until midnight to go through his presentation to which everyone laughed. His presentation was about the pending changes to the 911 system in the state and how it would impact King George County. He said the current network, which is analog, is going away and there's nothing anyone, himself included, could do about it. He was careful to emphasize that it wasn't Verizon's fault or anybody else's fault, it was just the nature of the the change in technology. He equated it to not being able to buy new movies on VHS tapes anymore. With that said, Marzolf said Fairfax County was the first to adopt the new system last year. After an intensive process, Fairfax found AT&T to be the best provider for the project.
Marzolf cautioned that deployment needed to be coordinated and that King George was part of the system that covered Fredericksburg and Winchester. He said there would be a period of time where both networks, analog and digital, would need to be supported as things are transitioned. The proposed schedule was for our region to make the change between January and June 2020, which was roughly in the middle of the schedule for the whole state.
Marzolf continued by complimenting the County's Geographic Information System (GIS), saying that only a few minor issues would need to be addressed. He said the new system would allow text-to-911, something that's important for the deaf and hard of hearing.
He then got down to the important part of the presentation, the cost. He said the current cost of the County's 911 system was roughly $368 per month. The new cost would be $5,481 per month. The good news is that the 911 Services Board would cover the cost increase for two years. He also said the 911 Services Board would cover the cost of the overlap between the new and old systems for six months and they were open to discussions if the County wanted to extend the newly installed fiber lines to schools, libraries, or government buildings. The 911 Services Board would also cover the cost of the new fiber being installed.
Marzolf said he was asking the Board to review the proposal and the contract Fairfax used. He said King George was able to do their own proposal request or use a vendor other than AT&T. He also said that if the County decided to work with AT&T and change their mind later, it was possible to do so, just like changing cell phone service providers.
He concluded his presentation by saying the new 911 system was here and not going away. He said everyone in the state and in the country would eventually need to switch to it.
Brabo asked about the cost of the new monthly fee and if that was based on the infrastructure that doesn't exist in the County from AT&T, noting that Verizon is the area's main service provider. Marzolf said no, it was just for the service being provided and that Verizon would actually be making the connection over the last mile. Brabo again noted the lack of AT&T infrastructure in the area and wondered if a regional procurement with Caroline County and other Northern Neck counties may be a benefit. Marzolf said Northern Virginia is experiencing the same issue with a lack of AT&T infrastructure and that was why Verizon was involved. In simple terms, he said that AT&T provides the service across the national network and pays Verizon for their local infrastructure.
Binder asked for clarity on the diverse connectivity and Marzolf explained it was a way to ensure the connection was safe from any harm. He said there are options for one connection, two connections in one path, or two connections in two paths. He said the latter was recommended because it provides for redundancy should something happen. He provided an example of an auger bit taking down the entire 911 system where a diverse connectivity system would bring the 911 connections into the building in two different locations.
Steve McKeever from Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) was next to present to the Board, regarding the Route 207 and 301 Corridor Study. He came before the Board to ask for their approval of the study. Brabo asked if a vote was needed and Dr. Young said he and Eric Gregory felt it was necessary to vote. The Board approved VDOT's Study.
Wilma Ward from the Finance Department was next before the Board, asking for their approval of a change order related to the Potomac Elementary School modular units. The Board approved.
Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, then asked the Board to authorize him to sign the Agreement related to the King George Middle School Turn Lane Project. Brabo interjected and said it was about time that we applied for revenue sharing. The Board approved.
Dr. Young gave his report by starting off with an offer from Bill Robie, a professor from George Washington University, to give a brief course on Public Policy for the Supervisors. Brabo said this topic came up because as a new Supervisor, she was given no guidance or mentorship. As the most senior Supervisor now, she said she's doing the best she can but felt a course like this would help everyone. There was a discussion on scheduling the course later this month. Dr. Young also reminded the Board that there would be a team building event later this month for the Supervisors.
The Supervisors went into Closed Session at 8:39pm and invited Eric Gregory, Dr. Young, Chris Werle, and Mike Bennett to attend. They returned from Closed Session at 9:22pm and adjourned.
Meeting Attendees:
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)
Absent:
John Jenkins (Board of Supervisors) due to a death in the family
Meeting Agenda
Next Meeting:
The Board of Supervisors will next meet on October 9, 2018 at 6:30 pm at Company 1.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Board of Supervisors Meeting.
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