REVIEW - The Princess King at King George High School

by Neil Richard

The King George High School Theatre Department put on an amazing show this month with their production of THE PRINCESS KING by Jeff Fluharty. The title is derived from a Princess that enters a contest of feats in an effort to prove herself capable of being King. The Directors, students Lainie Stuart and Blaire Ayers, led a great cast of characters through seven scenes of comedic bliss.

Cast and Crew take a final bow.

For those of you that are unfamiliar with high school acting at King George, Mrs. Wynes and Mr. Mac are the teachers that sponsor the actors and the Theatre Department. But more impressive to me was how the students cheered and chanted them after the show. These adults are having a clearly positive, and great, impact on the future.

The actors taking the stage ranged from Freshmen to Seniors. These young men and women were adept at breaking all the typical rules you see in a play to engage the audience. The play opens with a mother reading a bedtime story to her daughter about a Princess King. Just like THE PRINCESS BRIDE, the story comes alive and we got to see the scenes and characters before us.

As the story progresses, the trope of a contest to win the girl is introduced as the King wants to find the best man to take his place. The King is more focused on finding the perfect Prince than he is his daughter's true love being the cook.

Over the course of the evening, the hilarity ratcheted up a notch every time the lights rose and a new scene was taking shape. And while the main characters performed admirably, there was so much going on in the background that I would frequently find myself looking at the other actors instead. I have that Royal Guard taking a nap and scratching his butt to thank for that. But he wasn't the only one to steal the spotlight. Countless others in smaller roles would cause a stir, whether they were speaking or not.

Aside from the skilled acting and comedic timing on stage, there were also beautifully painted and designed sets ingenious props. On their own, they added to that storybook feel but when labeled, such as the "psychiatric help 5 cents" sign, you could tell a little extra thought was put into their construction. And the props, although only two-dimensional, were used perfectly. From the bugle that was a kazoo to dropping ingredients into the pot of glop, the actors knew how to use the props to get a laugh and move the story along.

Just a few of the set pieces.

In the end, this was the funniest stage production I have seen at King George High School since 1993 when Ben Franklin  and others performed in the incredibly short SHAKESPEARE'S HAMLET IN 15 [which would later go on to receive the only standing ovation at competition]. I would also rank it as one of the top ten funniest stage productions I've seen in the past decade of watching shows at the Riverside Dinner Theater. The entire production was very much a Mel Brooks version of THE PRINCESS BRIDE and certainly earned every laugh it got. My only sour note is that I could only see the show once.

OPINION - A View From Outside The Citizen Budget Advisory Committee

by Neil Richard

In 2018, I was appointed as a member of the inaugural Citizen Budget Advisory Committee. Over the course of eight months, I went to multiple meetings and learned more than I ever expected about how the County's budget is crafted, the hard work staff puts into how money is spent, and the challenging questions everyone faces. Instead of covering these Committee meetings as a member this year, I will be covering them from the outside as a member of the public. I was asked if my participation last year was why I wasn't selected this year but I feel that isn't the case. If it were, I wouldn't have been appointed to the Service Authority's Citizen Budget Advisory Committee.

The citizens serving on the 2019 Committee are Harry Pendleton, Joseph Gaborow, Jeff Stonehill, Gillian Woodring, and Carrie Cleveland. At their first meeting on January 24, 2019, the Committee met with four of the five Supervisors as well as Wilma Ward, the County's Finance Director, and Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator. John Jenkins was out sick.

Randy Jones, Treasurer, was in the audience during the first presentation from Public Financial Management (PFM) employee Kathleen Bowe who gave the audience an overview of the County's financial investments. Although this falls under the control of the Treasurer, the Supervisors asked for the presentation to get a better idea of the financial standing of the County's money. Bowe told everyone that the three guiding objectives were safety, liquidity, and the rate of return. Going through the presentation, she covered market outlook, the basics of the policies that control the investments, and the portfolio.

Dr. Neiman Young then gave his State of the County Briefing. Not to belittle Young's efforts but much of the briefing was similar to last year. There were a few important differences to note such as the eight major retail and industrial projects that resulted in $12 million dollars being invested in the County in 2018. Additionally, Capital Improvement Programs (CIPs) were cash funded to the tune of $2.4 million dollars in 2018. Young noted that the Emergency Services departments generally save more property than they lose, the bean sprout factory fire resulted in an abnormally large loss in 2018. Young listed numerous capital projects that were completed and other major initiatives that helped the County, including a new nuisance or unsafe building ordinance that has already resulted in one prosecution and School Resource Officers at elementary schools.

Another big project that was started in 2018 was the debt mitigation policy. With the first payment being made in December 2018, Young said the County has saved $2.7 million in principle and $1.067 million in interest over the life of the debt owed. This also impacts the revenue side of funding by un-leveraging an additional $600,000 form the expected landfill revenue. He said the landfill is a finite source of revenue for the capital fund and saves residents roughly 28 cents per dollar in taxes. He gave an example of his own mortgage payment, saying the net result would be an increase in roughly $75 per month he would have to pay if the landfill revenue wasn't there to fund capital improvements. Ruby Brabo added that because past leadership decided to borrow against the expected landfill revenue instead of cash funding major projects with the funds already on hand, 18 of the 27 years left at the landfill are already leveraged. In other words, the landfill has a life span that is expected to last another 27 years. Of those 27 years, the revenue for 18 years has already been borrowed against. Brabo said that the current leadership has cash funded projects for the last three years now. These numbers do differ from last year but the ratio didn't change much.

Dr. Young continued his report by noting that the upcoming Nice Bridge replacement on Route 301 will result in increased traffic. He also said that before the bridge is built, traffic is expected to double due to major construction projects on Interstate 95. He called King George the "eye of traffic congestion" and said our community could effectively be split into two pieces, one east of Route 301 and one west. Young did say that looking into the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) revenue sharing program was a great idea for future projects but cautioned it would require the County to fund half of the money.

At the end of his State of the County report, Young again reminded everyone of the two major capital projects that would need to be discussed; the Courthouse and a new accounting system. These are not the only CIPs to be considered, just the more pressing ones. Young finished by listing out the next meeting dates as well as asking the Supervisors which departments they wanted to review line by line. The Supervisors decided to review the IT, Parks and Recreation, and Social Services departments.

Wilma Ward, Director of Finance, then gave a presentation that was also similar to last year where she covered the basics of how a budget was developed for each department. She gave an overview of how each department head creates the budget, reviews it, and presents it to herself and Dr. Young before submitting it to the Supervisors. Ward also repeated that the Courthouse and accounting system were on the list for CIPs as well as new fire stations, new school buses, and decommissioning the Purkins Corner and Oakland Park Waste Water Treatment Plants. She gave preliminary cost estimates for each project but cautioned that every time a project is delayed, the cost estimate rises.

Overall, the evening was almost an exact replica of last year's presentations but with updated figures and with a clearly stated list of accomplishments. Seeing that progress has been made made me feel good but seeing the cost of potential capital projects rise didn't. Learning how the County handles investments made me feel confident that our reserves are being invested wisely. I hope last year's bumpy road for the Committee is much smoother this year and thank the citizens for agreeing to serve.

Future work sessions:

• Work Session #2 - January 31, 2019 at 6:30pm in the Board Room
• Work Session #3 - February 13, 2019 at 6:30pm in the Board Room
• Work Session #4 - February 26, 2019 at 6:30pm Company One

 
For further reading, here are the articles on the 2018 Citizen Budget Advisory Committee meetings and associated Capital Improvement Program meetings.

• Citizen Budget Advisory Committee - Part 1
• Citizen Budget Advisory Committee - Part 2
• Citizen Budget Advisory Committee - Part 3
• Citizen Budget Advisory Committee - Part 4
• Citizen Budget Advisory Committee - Part 5
• Citizen Budget Advisory Committee - Part 6
• Citizen Budget Advisory Committee - Part 7
• Citizen Budget Advisory Committee - Part 8
• Capital Improvement Program - Part 1
• Capital Improvement Program - Part 2
• Capital Improvement Program - Part 3 

2019-01-30 - CORRECTION: The amount of interest saved over the life of the loan from the debt mitigation payment was incorrectly reported as "$1.76 million." The correct figure is $1.067 million.

2019-01-22 - Board of Supervisors Meeting Notes

by Neil Richard

The King George County Board of Supervisors opened their meeting at 7:06pm on January 22, 2019.

There were no amendments to the Agenda.

Public Comment was opened by Michele Darnell of The Belle Grove Plantation. She said she has faced issues with signage on the property since 2013 noting that for their bed and breakfast business it is limited to one sign. She said during the winter months it's easy to see but not so for the other three months. Darnell said they have installed banners and other signs as allowed but they had to be removed due to a recent complaint. She felt that there was a double standard where other businesses, especially those outside of King George, are allowed multiple signs, while they are not. She said she had permission from the land owner and the farmer leasing the cropland to place additional signs there. Darnell said she wasn't there to make it harder for others but rather easier for everyone. She noted that their success at Belle Grove is the success of others. Their business employs many local residents and vendors and their signs from the holidays brought in 360 tour guests, which was enough to employ four people for the entire month of December and earn nearly $1,000 in tax revenue for the County. Darnell continued by noting that the way complaints about signs are handled needs to be changed. She said that at this time, anyone can complain about a sign without giving their name. She felt this was an opportunity for people to harass business owners. She asked that the Board change this policy to collect the name of the complainant. Darnell noted that the name doesn't need to be shared with the other parties, but rather kept by the County as a safeguard against potential harassment.

Next to speak was Rob Neal who came to speak against the proposed shooting facility at the former Cameron Hills Golf Course. He thanked Cathy Binder for her service and support. He said he was there not to offend or insult but was passionate about this. He said many years ago there was a Board of Supervisors meeting where there was a vote to allow the property to be used as a golf course. He said this vote had no impact on the neighbors but the same couldn't be said for the proposal of a gun range. He said around Christmas time he was outside decorating and heard a steady stream of gunfire from the golf course property. He said the high powered rifle would fire every thirty seconds or so. Neal said he became agitated and went inside to calm down and think about how to deal with the noise. He said he could still hear the gunfire inside and the idea of hearing that multiplied by multiple guns on multiple ranges was overwhelming. He said he couldn't live the rest of his life there unhappy. Neal continued by saying he had heard a Supervisor say in the past that the decision would be based on facts. He asked whose facts would be used in this decision. He said no one on the Board, County employees, or the Ognek brothers would be living in the area and said that they wouldn't be subjected to the noise like he would be. Neal said that the decision the Board makes would impact him and the rest of the community. He said his neighbor has over 2,000 acres and all of their future choices on how to use their property would be based on how the Board votes.

John Jenkins was first to give a Board report. He thanked everyone for their comments and for attending the meeting. To Mrs. Darnell he said he appreciated her comments and that she raised valid points about the signs, not just for her business but others too. He said he has heard similar complaints but has also heard complaints about too many signs. To Mr. Neal, Jenkins said he appreciated his comments as well and was confident that the Board would make the right decision "for you and the rest of the community." Jenkins concluded by saying he attended the Economic Development work session on January 16 noting that there was a lot of good discussion. He was excited that they're close to being done. Jenkins then appointed Ross Devries to the Planning Commission and Jeff Stonehill to the Citizen Budget Advisory Committee.

Richard Granger began his report by thanking Mrs. Darnell for coming out. He said they had talked about this before and felt it might be a good idea to have Community Development prepare some information for the next meeting to look at the specific points in her complaint as well as determining how the County ordinances compare to other nearby localities.

Ruby Brabo interrupted and said she was going to recommend sending it to the Planning Commission as she noticed a lot of contradictions and sections that needed updates. She also asked the Board to consider how much they were willing to invest in policing signs in the County. Jeff Bueche asked for a consensus from the Board and they agreed to send the matter to the Planning Commission.

Granger continued his report by thanking Mr. Neal and repeating earlier statements that the current zoning ordinances do not specify gun ranges. Granger said he appreciated the concern and getting out early. He continued by adding he also attended the work session on the 16th and that it was good to see citizen feedback.

Granger then commented on the recent alerts from Fredericksburg City about the odor issues in the Ferry Farm area being caused by the King George Landfill. He appreciated Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, Fire and Rescue Chief Moody, Jeff Bueche, and others for their work in determining that the claims were inaccurate and unfounded. He said Fredericksburg later rescinded the alert. Granger also noted that Waste Management has moved up their timeline to install gas wells at the landfill to further assist in reducing odor complaints.

Cathy Binder opened her report by thanking everyone for coming out. She thanked Mrs. Darnell for her input on the signs and told Mr. Neal that she was currently reading the gun range proposal and had concerns. Binder said she attended the Dahlgren Heritage Foundation Board of Directors meeting on January 16 and noted they were working to finalize programs to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Dahlgren [EDITOR'S NOTE - Neil Richard, a co-founder of Project94, is an employee of the Dahlgren Heritage Museum.]. She also attended the work session on the 16th and appreciated the citizens who came out. On January 17, Binder attended the Smoot Library Board of Trustees meeting where she learned a lot about the paintings that a local artist painted and installed in the Courthouse.

Ruby Brabo started her report by thanking Mrs. Darnell for speaking. She said that the current ordinance allows for an additional, temporary banner to be used for an event for 30 days. She said her understanding from Community Development was that the farm area next to the Bed and Breakfast wasn't included in the allowed area which made no sense to her.

Dr. Young interjected that there are two different parcels with one owner. With the Belle Grove house on one parcel, that was the only parcel that could be used for advertising while the second parcel was for agricultural use. Brabo said she didn't see that stipulation in the ordinances so maybe she didn't understand. Granger added that he read it to mean that it was only the business property that could be used for signs. Brabo said it sounded like there needed to be something to clarify that point going forward.

Brabo then thanked Mr. Neal for coming out and said this was a serious issue. She said a lot of times in the past she was the odd man out on votes because she always thought about how it would impact her if the project in question were in her back yard.

Brabo continued her report saying she participated in a National Association of Counties (NACo) conference call on January 11. She said she also participated in a White House conference call on border security and was surprised to hear the President on the call. She quoted the President as saying the "first duty of government is to protect the nation and its borders." She also added the President said the shutdown would continue as long as necessary. Brabo said she also attended the work session on the 16th and the Planning Commission Open House on January 17. She said it was great for them to do this and said it was probably the first time the County has done this.

Brabo also participated in another NACo conference call on January 22 where the upcoming 2020 census was discussed. It was noted that it was aiming to do the majority of the data collection online, leading to a high potential for under reporting in rural counties where internet isn't present. She said this would create inaccurate data. Also discussed was the current Federal Communication Commission (FCC) process where internet service providers self-report their coverage. She said this data is used by Congress to determine funding for broadband but is also not accurate for many rural areas. Brabo said NACo is working to develop an app that can measure internet speeds to give a better picture of any gaps between what is reported and what actually exists.

Brabo continued her report by noting several proposed bills in the Virginia Senate and House. She noted Senator Hanger's proposed bill, SB 1328, would allow more counties to use Stormwater Local Assistance Funds. She asked for a letter of support to be sent and the Board agreed. Brabo also noted HB 2222 which would allow for a School Board to collect revenue from advertisements on a school bus. She asked if the Board would like to send a letter of support and the general consensus was to do so. Brabo also brought everyone's attention to proposed bills SB 1430 and SB 1431 that would require Conflict of Interest and Freedom of Information Act training for elected officials but would also prohibit a Commonwealth Attorney from concurrently serving as a County Attorney. She ended her report by saying Congressman Wittman was named the Co-Chair of the Rural Broadband Caucus.

Jeff Bueche started his report by thanking Mrs. Darnell for coming out. He said he always enjoys going to Belle Grove and noted that his in-laws like tea there, but not so much himself. Bueche said he has enjoyed several events there in the past and thanked Darnell for bringing the issues to their attention. He felt confident the Planning Commission would do their part. Bueche then thanked Mr. Neal for his comments and said they added a personal touch to the issue instead of just looking at things on paper. He appreciated that and encouraged Neal to have his neighbors come out and speak about the potential impacts to them.

Bueche then thanked the Service Authority Board of Directors for what they did earlier in the evening, offering a way to provide assistance to those impacted by the government shutdown. He said he is affected by the closure as a Coastie, a member of the Coast Guard, but was not a Service Authority customer. Regardless, he said, he appreciated that they are doing something for those are are affected.

Bueche said he also attended the work session on the 16th as well as the Open House on the 17th. He thanked Ryan Gandy, Director of Economic Development, Annie Cupka, Economic Development Coordinator, and Dr. Young for all of their hard work and long hours in producing the Economic Development Plan. He also noted that the Open House was highly attended and was surprised at how much interest there was. On January 20, Bueche joined Dr. Young to visit the Route 205 and Sealston Convenience Centers. He said he's been using the Route 205 Center since 2005 and noted the change since then. Gone was the white sludge leaking from the containers and instead he noticed it was clean and the County employees were polite and busy working. He said he could understand how some residents may not always get the help unloading trash like in the past but noted that the employees do have other duties to attend to. Bueche said he spoke to one employee who recently dealt with an individual that came in without a County sticker, a requirement to use any convenience center. Bueche said the employee approached the individual, told them they wouldn't be allowed to dump trash, and was told "you can't stop me." Bueche said the persons information was collected and reported to the appropriate authorities and cautioned everyone that "manhandling our employees" can't happen here. Bueche closed his comments by thanking Delegate Ransone for her comments on the floor of the House of Delegates.

Bueche then opened the floor for the other Supervisors to make nominations for the Citizen Budget Advisory Committee. Granger nominated Jillian Wittering. Binder nominated Joseph Gaveraux. Brabo nominated Harry Pendleton. Bueche nominated Carrie Cleveland. Binder also nominated Ted Klopsis to the Building Code of Appeals.

The Consent Agenda was approved.

The County Attorney, Eric Gregory, had no report.

Lavita Cobb, Payroll Specialist, and Travis Self, Building Inspector, then gave the Board a presentation on their recent attendance of the NACo Leadership Course. They took turns during the presentation and started by thanking the Board, Dr. Young, Brad Hudson, Director of Community Development, Wilma Ward, Director of Finance, and Amanda Sumiel, Director of Human Resources for allowing them to attend. They said the twelve week class taught people how to better handle situations and manage teams while adapting to change. Brabo asked if they were put into the same group for their exercises and they said no, they were split up. They said the course leaders wanted each group to have a mix of every region as well as different levels of leaders. Cobb and Self continued that the main pillars or concepts for the course were based on General Colin Powell's 13 Rules of Leadership. The first rule that repeatedly applied to their course, they said, was that "it ain't as bad as you think, it'll look better in the morning."  They also said the principle of "it can be done" applied many times as well as the idea of perpetual optimism. Cobb and Self said this optimism, or "bringing your own weather," really could impact the people around you in a positive way. Self specifically said that the value he gained from the leadership course was that it taught him to develop leadership tendencies and processes that were more positive, even though he wasn't in a position of leadership. They ended their presentation by again thanking them for sending them to the leadership course and hoped two more people would be able to go to the next one. Brabo said that the Board had already approved two more employees to attend and was excited that Cobb and Self got to attend.

Next on the Agenda was an update to the Personnel Policy to add a section on Sexual Harassment and Workplace Violence. Granger said he had already sent some corrections that were reflected in the printed copy they had before them. Brabo said the policy mentions "staff" but does not mention elected officials and felt that they, meaning the Board, should also be included. The general consensus of the Board was to agree. Bueche also noted a minor spelling correction was needed in one section. The Board approved the new policy with the noted corrections.

A discussion of a Cigarette Tax was next with Eric Gregory, County Attorney, starting things off with an overview of the current status. He said that in the State of Virginia, the taxing authority is divided between counties on one side and cities and towns on the other. He said for counties to tax cigarettes, there needs to be a specific statutory authorization and that King George is not one that is currently authorized to levy such a tax. Gregory said the rationale was that cities and towns would need to use such a tax to pay for various services, such as schools, roads, and emergency services. He said bills have been proposed in the past, including two this year, but have been killed. He noted that two more bills are still alive and that a letter of support has been prepared and ready for submission to show the Supervisors' support for the tax. He did caution the Board that a letter of support was not a guarantee that the bills would pass. Gregory did say that if a bill passed, it would not go into effect until 2020 and would need to be studied before then to ensure they didn't conflict with existing laws.

Brabo said her only suggestion was to include an addendum to the letter to add that the Board supported the tax based on what the Sheriff had to say. Bueche said that was part of why he invited Sheriff Dempsey to come out and speak.

With that, Sheriff Dempsey came forward and gave a brief overview of the involvement of the Sheriff's Department in the cigarette industry. He said historically, they've worked to fight cigarette smuggling and have worked with both Federal and New York authorities in the past to solve major cases. Dempsey said King George is one of two counties in the state that is known as a cigarette capital and that 1,714 cartons are sold per day. He said this amounts to over 600,000 cartons sold per year and that doesn't account for what is sold out the back door. Dempsey also said that while Missouri has the lowest tax rate for cigarettes at 17 cents ($0.17) per pack, Virginia is second with 30 cents ($0.30) per pack. Meanwhile, Maryland charges two dollars ($2.00) per pack, DC is a little more at two and a half dollars ($2.50), and New York is over six dollars ($6.16) per pack. He said Virginia is providing a great deal of cigarettes to the East Coast because of how we're geographically located.

Brabo asked Sheriff Dempsey if he felt this was a burden on his resources, especially with the smuggling. Dempsey said it was. He said the large smuggling ring a few years ago as well as multiple break-ins every year at cigarette stores resulted in investigations.

Granger said he felt they should move forward with the letter. Bueche asked Gregory if he could add what the Sheriff contributed, noting that King George is being exploited and that the new bridge would result in even more traffic and more smuggling. Granger said the letter should also make it clear that this isn't just a money grab but that there was a clear negative impact on things from a law enforcement perspective. Brabo also added that safety is paramount and said the big ring that was investigated a few years ago netted nearly 30 arrests with some having ties to terrorist organizations in the Middle East. She said that did not combine well with the proximity to the Navy's premier research and development station in Dahlgren.

Dr. Young then gave a report on the recent complaints about trailers at the Convenience Centers. He noted that on three recent occasions he was told that the Purkins Corner (Route 205) Convenience Center was near or at capacity and would need to close. As a result, he said he and County staff worked to find creative solutions to keep the Convenience Center open for the hours posted. Young said he met with Jeff Jenkins, Director of Landfill Operations and no relation to Supervisor John Jenkins, and discovered that the Convenience Center reached capacity quickly because it was not being used as originally designed. Young said the Purkins Corner Convenience Center was designed for smaller loads and that bulk and oversize loads should be going to the Sealston Convenience Center next to the landfill. Young said this information was posted at the Convenience Center as well as online and that the original intent of the phrases "bulk waste" and "oversized loads" was to include trailers, box trucks, sofas, and more. He said it was impossible to list everything that was prohibited, be that what the garbage consisted of or how it was transported to the Convenience Center.

Young said he later spoke with the County Engineer who confirmed the original intent of the rules, specifically the prohibition of trailers. As it was explained to Young, the Purkins Corner Convenience Center was designed to handle only minor waste that could be carried in a household garbage can, not a bulk load. It was further explained that bulk loads could be inspected at the Sealston Convenience Center before they were dumped to insure any commercial waste was rerouted to the landfill itself.

Young said he also spoke with Waste Management who provided additional confirmation that during their management of the Purkins Corner Convenience Center, bulk waste was not allowed. Waste Management contracted out the management of the facility in 2013 and the enforcement of the policies became lax.

Young continued by saying the restriction against bulk waste at the Purkins Corner Convenience Center was a standing policy historically and was included on signs at the site itself as well as online. He conceded that there was no policy in the County's Code or ordinances and said that the operation of the Convenience Center is hardly mentioned. Young said the Board is allowed to adopt ordinances and operating procedures for the Convenience Centers. He said this was never done in the past because the County was never directly in charge of the facilities. Because of a lack of existing and clearly defined codes and ordinances, Young said he felt obligated to enforce the existing policies but would defer to the Board's judgement if they felt inclined to have him modify or rescind them. Young also added that it wasn't just a capacity issue at the Purkins Corner Convenience Center, noting that the extra length of the trailer could cause a traffic hazard on Henry Griffin Road or Route 205 (Ridge Road).

Granger said that until such time as the Board codifies a policy, he felt the subject fell under the day-to-day operations and that Dr. Young was well within his purview. He said the Board can look at it when it comes before them as a policy to adopt but until then it fell to Dr. Young to enforce the rules.

Brabo said she concurred and that, as already discussed, there will be extenuating circumstances for some residents and that they can call the Director, Jeff Jenkins, to ask for a one-time exemption. She also said she wanted to make sure the Landfill Advisory Committee was being tasked with creating a Standard Operating Procedure [EDITOR'S NOTE - Neil Richard, a co-founder of Project94, is a member of the Landfill Advisory Committee.].

Young said that Jeff Jenkins had already spoken to the Chair of the Landfill Advisory Committee and they expected to have something before the Board by February.

Brabo said she appreciated the clarifications.

Next on the Agenda was a discussion about a good date and time for a joint meeting with the Tourism Advisory Committee and a leadership summit. There was a general consensus among the Board to invite the chair and vice-chair of the various committees to the leadership summit. The Board also agreed to meet with the Tourism Advisory Committee on February 4 at 6:30pm.

Dr. Young then commended Annie Cupka, Economic Development Coordinator, for her hard work on the SmartScale project submissions. Young said the University Drive Double R-Cut project earned the highest score in the Fredericksburg District and the Route 301 and Route 3 Median U-Turn project ranked fourth out of ten. Brabo added that if the University Drive project had any sort of beneficial impact on the Navy base, she recommended asking Captain O'Leary for a letter of support.

The Board then went into Closed Session at 8:26pm and invited Dr. Young and Eric Gregory to attend.

The Board returned from Closed Session at 8:39pm.

Granger then attempted to appoint Gina Panciera to the Building Code of Appeals but Brabo noted that she was an elected official, she serves on the King George County School Board, and thus may not be eligible. Gregory said he would look into it.

The meeting adjourned at 8:40pm.

Meeting Attendees:
John Jenkins (Board of Supervisors)
Jeff Bueche (Chairman, Board of Supervisors)
Richard Granger (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 January 24, 2019 at 6:30 pm at Company 1 Headquarters.

Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Board of Supervisors Meeting.

2019-01-24 - Planning Commission Public Hearing

2019-01-22 - Service Authority Meeting Notes

by Neil Richard

The King George County Service Authority started their second meeting of the new year at 6:30pm.

There were no amendments to the Agenda and no Public Comment.

Chris Werle stated that on January 14th, he met with Jonathon Weakley, General Manager, and the senior staff of the Service Authority to work on an initial budget.

Richard Granger, Ruby Brabo, and Cathy Binder had no report.

Mike Bennett was absent.

The Consent Agenda was approved.

The County Attorney, Eric Gregory, had no report.

The meeting then heard from Andrew Grossnickle, CPA, CFE regarding the 2018 Annual Audit that was performed. After a few minutes of technical issues, Grossnickle went through his presentation stating that there were no major issues found. He said there were two types of reports presented, the Independent Auditors Report and the Yellow Book Report. He said they were unmodified or clean and showed no material weaknesses or deficiencies.

Werle asked about the lack of policy on interest rate risk that was noted on Page 20 of the Audit. He asked Grossnickle if that was something the Service Authority should have to which Grossnickle said many government agencies do not have one but that it was never a bad thing. Werle asked if the County had such a policy but nobody on the Board knew for sure. Grossnickle said he could certainly look at that and see if it was something the Directors wanted to adopt.

Weakley then began his General Manager's report by thanking the staff working outside in the cold weather due to power surges that happened over the weekend. He said Hopyard's water pressure was impacted and they were looking into why auxiliary power didn't kick in as needed. He also said they were working to thaw out valves and creating a list of things that were impacted, specifically the heat trace concerns.

He continued with an update of the water side of the Service Authority saying there would be a meeting with the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) this week to begin working on the business operations plan. Weakley said a new distribution pipe was installed at Sealston and it should go online this week. He also said repairs to the Arnold's Corner Well #2 were ongoing. Weakley also gave additional information regarding the air imbalance that occurred in Cleydael. He said it was repaired by a new mercury switch and electrode controller.

Continuing with the sewer side of the Service Authority, Weakley said he has submitted the required Standard Operating Procedure to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). He also created schedules for sludge hauling and wastewater sampling. Weakley said he visited pump stations to observe locations and operations and found that some locations may not have enough room for a generator. He informed the Directors he would set up usernames and passwords for them for the new alarm system that was installed at Potomac Landing. Weakley then reviewed the nutrient reports for the last year noting that it was obvious that the amounts were over the limits in early 2018. He said because of these overages, it was difficult to get back into compliance. Weakley also said he planned to include these nutrient reports online.

Weakley said he continues to hold management meetings weekly and has finalized the lease on a vehicle. He also said that he was working with customers impacted by the government furlough to see if they could develop a payment plan. Brabo said she would report on it more during the Supervisors meeting, but she had participated in a conference call where the President said the shutdown would "last as long as it needs to." Weakley added that the Service Authority would ask those impacted customers for some sort of proof that they are impacted.

Weakley then asked the Directors what dates and times worked for them for the upcoming Budget Work Sessions. After some discussion, it was decided that February 11th, 20th, and 25th would work and they would meet at 6:30 pm.

Ruby Brabo then moved to appoint Neil Richard as the At-Large representative on the Service Authority Citizen Budget Advisory Committee. Richard Granger said he did not have a candidate yet. Chris Werle appointed Rob Gates. Mike Bennett, via email, appointed Jim Lynch. Cathy Binder appointed Harry Pendleton [EDITOR'S NOTE: Neil Richard is a co-founder of Project94. Sean Gates, a co-founder of Project94, is the son of Rob Gates].

Weakley also said that they would be hiring wastewater treatment staff soon and that they were looking for energetic folks that could be trained. He then said he emailed the Directors a feasibility study regarding the potential closure of the Oakland Park and Purkins Corner Waste Water Treatment Plants by pumping their waste to Hopyard. Brabo asked how much detail they needed because that would determine if it would be a regular meeting or a work session. Werle said they would be looking at the recommended solution, the financial cost of it, and the economic feasibility. Brabo suggested a work session may be best to better engage with them and ask questions. Weakley said Dr. Young suggested using an upcoming work session and Werle agreed.

The meeting adjourned at 7:01 pm.

Meeting Attendees:
Christopher Werle (Board of Directors)
Jonathon Weakley (General Manager of Service Authority)
Richard Granger (Board of Supervisors)

Ruby Brabo (Board of Supervisors)
Cathy Binder (Board of Supervisors)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)

Absent:
Michael Bennett (Chairman, Citizen)

Meeting Agenda

Next Meeting:
The Service Authority will next meet on February 5, 2019 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.

Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Service Authority Meeting.

OPINION - Planning Commission Open House

by Neil Richard

The King George County Planning Commission hosted an Open House on Thursday, January 17, 2019 in an effort to gather more feedback on the proposed changes to the County's Comprehensive Plan. No specific details were given on the entirety of the changes proposed for the new Comprehensive Plan, however it was clear at the Open House that the main focus was on the proposed changes to the Primary Settlement Areas in the County.

The current Comprehensive Plan was created and approved in 2013. It included seven Primary Settlement Areas where development was "...encouraged to be in the form of traditional compact form of development with connected neighborhoods and pedestrian-oriented local streets." These areas were:

• Courthouse
• Dahlgren
• Route 3 West
• Fairview Beach
• Hopyard
• Cleydael
• Oakland Park

With the proposed updates, only two Primary Settlement Areas were impacted; Dahlgren and Courthouse. With the Dahlgren Primary Settlement Area, the original map shows that it extends to the Highway 301 Bridge and ends at Route 218 (Windsor Drive). The updated map, which is still a proposed version, shows the area ends at roughly the truck scales on Highway 301, extends to include the property on the south side of Owens Drive, and extends beyond Windsor Drive to include the area of the Hillcrest Motel.

PROPOSED Dahlgren Primary Settlement Area

The Courthouse Primary Settlement Area showed the most radical change by being split into two sections and a much different selection of properties. The original map for the Courthouse Primary Settlement Area included a massive area along Route 3 (Kings Highway) from Comorn Road to Highway 301. It also included everything north of Route 3 along Route 206 (Dahlgren Road) all the way to Route 611 (Eden Drive). The new proposal splits this into two pieces that is currently being dubbed "Courthouse East" and "Courthouse West."

Courthouse East, also called the "Route 3 and 301" area, includes the areas directly north and south of Route 3 from Colbys Lane (across from Uncle Dave's restaurant) to Canterbury Loop. It extends along Highway 301 south to the current School Bus Garage and north to State Road, just past Ralph Bunche High School. It also includes the property north west of Route 205 (Ridge Road). Essentially, the newly proposed Courthouse East Primary Settlement Area is everything in and around the triangle formed by Routes 3, 205, and 301.

PROPOSED Courthouse East Primary Settlement Area

The proposed Courthouse West Primary Settlement Area includes everything along Route 3 from Millbank Road west to Comorn Road. Much of this area is already developed by Presidential Lakes and the area of the old lumber mill where the current Post Office stands.

PROPOSED Courthouse West Primary Settlement Area

Standing out as a specific area that is missing from the proposed split are two large sections of the County. First, the roughly half mile section of Route 3 (Kings Highway) that is two lanes through, dare I say, Downtown King George. Second, the area along Route 206 (Dahlgren Road) that extends three miles to Route 611 (Eden Drive) and includes the currently growing Oakwood Estates development.

Below are the remaining proposed Primary Settlement Area.

PROPOSED Cleydael Primary Settlement Area

PROPOSED Fairview Beach Primary Settlement Area

PROPOSED Hopyard Primary Settlement Area

PROPOSED Oakland Park Primary Settlement Area

PROPOSED Route 3 West Primary Settlement Area

Residents were given two documents and a survey when they entered the Open House. There were also several large format maps on display showing the proposed changes to the Primary Settlement Areas. Tables were set to the side where residents could complete the survey along with copies of the current Comprehensive Plan. Water and cookies were also on hand for those looking for a light snack.

While the Planning Commission was the official host, other County staffers and various officials were present. Over the span of about two hours, roughly twenty or so residents filtered in and out asking numerous questions and giving feedback on the proposed changes. Several individuals were also on hand to collect signatures for their upcoming campaign to be elected in November.

Another Open House will be held on February 13, 2019 from 4pm to 6pm at Fire Company 1. You can see the County Alert here as well as take the survey online.

2019-01-09 - Meeting Schedules Public Notice

An Interview With Dr. Neiman Young - Local Leaders #2

by Neil Richard

Introduction

The basic idea behind this interview series is to interview local leaders that live, work, or have an important impact on King George County. We have asked various citizens for recommendations on who they see as a local leader. Additionally, we feel that everyone has a story and it deserves to be told. So we want to know their story. As you can see with the questions below, we want to share their  story with the rest of the citizens in King George County. If you have somebody you would like to nominate for a future interview, please contact us.

Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, King George County

Basic Biographical Information

Dr. Young's educational background is as extensive as you would expect for someone with a PhD. He put the GI Bill to good use while he served in the Army and started with a Bachelor's degree in Business from Excelsior College in Albany, New York. His MBA was earned from Liberty University right here in Virginia and his PhD in Public Policy and Administration came from Walden University in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Additionally, he is a graduate of the Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Dr. Young said that it may sound like a hodge podge of places but he took pride in being a product of the military education system. He said he highly recommended these universities to those in the military as an ideal option to further their education.


During his time in the military, Dr. Young was deployed several times with Special Operations in Africa and South America as well as two tours in Afghanistan and a tour in Iraq. He retired as a Major.

Dr. Young currently serves on the Executive Committee of Virginia Local Government Manager's Association and is the Vice Commander of American Legion Post 329.

Personal Questions

What do you remember about your grandparents?

I have one grandmother on my father's side that's still alive. She's like the matriarch of the family. What I remember about her is that she always treated the males in the family differently by being tougher on them and holding them to higher standards. So a lot of her morals and values were passed along to myself and all the men in my family.

On my mother's side, my grandmother died when I was real young, like six or seven years old. My mother's father, there's not a lot that really stands out. He didn't really talk to us much.

But as far as grandparents as a whole, my grandmother on my father's side was a character developing individual in my life. She believed strongly that men don't cry, that if they have babies, then you take care of them. That you take care of your children. She wouldn't be as forgiving of our mistakes versus the girls in the family. But at the same time, you could see she showed a favoritism to the males in the family. It's an ongoing critique among my cousins now, who gets bragged about the most, and it's usually the grandsons.

What historical events influenced your life the most?
I know everyone says 9/11 but for me 9/11 was the marker that changed the whole trajectory of my life. I remember sitting in my trailer in Fort Polk, Louisiana, watching the events unfold and then eight months later I was in Iraq. If you remember, after 9/11, there was a shift in focus to Iraq and that's when they started the Shock and Awe Campaign. I remember watching that, Iraq was on the television on CNN, it was night, and we were watching it at Fort Polk in the office during the day. And they were blowing up buildings in downtown Baghdad. It was amazing. Well, 90 days later I was living in one of those buildings that we had bombed and it was surreal to me.

I think that when I say it was a trajectory change in my life, it was because prior to 9/11 and post Desert Storm, the Army was like what I called green welfare. You signed up, but there wasn't much activity going on across the world. You'd go to the motor pool, fix trucks, and then go home. Get up in the morning, do PT, go to the motor pool, maintain trucks, clean weapons, and go home. So it was basically easy. And I think that at one point our military had really grown rusted and complacent.

Once 9/11 hit, we had never seen anything like that before. Now there was a threat of death and war and sacrifice and it became a reality to everyone in the military. So we had to make that choice, either get out, try to dodge the war, or raise my hand and get overseas to fight. I made that choice that I was going to raise my hand and go fight. As a Staff Sergeant in Fort Polk, I deployed to Iraq, completed my first tour, and earned a commission for Officer's School. When I became a Lieutenant, I stayed stateside for three or four years with no chance of deploying because there had been so much collateral damage, they quit using artillery in Iraq and Afghanistan. So everybody on base wasn't deploying. I felt like I was stuck even though they were increasing the number of troops. And here I was back to going to the motor pool and then home.

So I told my wife that I was going to join Special Operations because it was a way to get back into the fight. But I felt that the military had been so good to me, I had an MBA by then, had a good family life, good quality of life, and I had been in nearly eleven years. Military had given me everything I had asked for and now they're asking for people to come help fight and so I joined Special Operations. After training, it was six months home then six months gone.

But all of that was built off of the towers falling in 2001.

I never knew because of 9/11 how many times I would be in a combat zone. How many friends I would gain. How many friends I would lose. How much it would touch our lives. It was life-altering.

Outside of work and home, what is your favorite place in King George?
I really don't spend a lot of time outside of those venues. I'm either at work or at home. I don't have a lot of hobbies. There's no place I feel that I can commit a lot time to outside of work and home because I spend so much time at work, by the time I get home, I try to extend it out to the fullest.

Now, my favorite place in King George is the landfill. I love the landfill. Every time I have a new visitor come to the County, you'd be surprised how many people I take to the landfill. They'll ride out there with me to the landfill and that's a place of pride for me simply based on the fact that I find it interesting. They say that King George is known for the eagle population but the majority are at the landfill because it's a food source. Then you have a conversation with people that they don't know what happens to their trash. But being able to see the whole process is interesting. I use that as an ice-breaker for when visitors come to the County.

It's interesting. The engineering, the environmental considerations, to see the tipper, the monster trucks they have. You have somebody come visit and you don't know what to do with the day, that's a good few hours to spend touring out there. It's my go to place for visitors that come from out of the County.

What person, place, or thing do you think is the most underappreciated in King George County?

What's underappreciated and another favorite place of mine is the old Middle School. That building is underappreciated. You're aware that we're in the middle of determining what we're going to do with it. A lot of people have not been in there and I've spent some significant time in that building and if you go see the stage and the rooms and all the space, I can't believe that we haven't done anything with it. So I started using it for the military exercises and I think that it is underappreciated and it's been neglected and I don't want to let such a beautiful building go to waste.

Another place that's not noticed. I'm a big fan of King George Cleaners right next to Food Lion. Love them. Great service. Prices are outstanding. It's amazing the cost to get a suit dry cleaned there versus what I was paying in North Carolina. The first time I ever went there, I said I needed a suit cleaned and they told me it was just six dollars. I love those guys and have come to know them well. They're Korean and in military communities there's always a heavy Korean population. Not so much when I came to King George. So after talking to them some and getting to know them a little better. Finding out they were Korean, they found out I liked Korean food like kimchi and that I speak a little Korean. So we really developed a tight relationship over there.

Professional Questions

Who is your inspiration or mentor?

I don't really have one but I'm in search of one. That's based off the fact that I've changed professional fields and naturally when you change professions, your personal life shifts as well. So all of my mentors prior were military personnel. By far my greatest inspiration at that point was General Colin Powell. I was inspired by him and tried to mimic his career path which didn't work out too well for me. But you shoot for the stars and wherever you land is still higher than where you took off. But he was a great inspiration. I've read My American Journey, his autobiography, six times and I still think if I read it tomorrow, there are some leadership lessons in his book that will still be relevant to my professional life here.

But I'm looking for a professional mentor. You would think that you could talk to city managers or other county administrators but that's not likely because they're pretty busy. So I'm kind of in a void right now.

Instead what I do is try to learn a little bit from a lot of people that I feel are especially impressive, whether there are good things about them or bad things about them. I try to take a piece from individuals I come across in my professional and personal life. In addition, when I seek counsel on things I'm thinking about to make sure they're not too far out there, I spend time with Mike Bennett and Eric Gregory. I really utilize their counsel and rely on their confidence and don't have to worry about our discussions leaking out. And if it's too far out there, they'll give me a fair critique and advice on how to polish or another direction to take. I view that as mentorship. I really appreciate having a relationship with those two gentlemen.

What is your ideal vision for King George County in the future?
Professionally, I would like the future of King George to be a financially stable community that is not dependent on the landfill revenue nor consumer retail revenue. I would like to see our County nab some strong industrial businesses to bring in. I would like to see us come up with creative and responsible solutions to unleverage our landfill and not remain dependent on its existence. I think that's one of the greatest threats to future generations of King George County. That's why I have a big push to pursue the debt mitigation plan and if we're going to build big buildings, then we're going to tax for them. Unleverage, unleverage, unleverage. Let's put that money away for investments and make the County stable for future generations.

You said "professionally." Do you have a personal opinion?

Personally,  I'd like to see a downtown area for King George County. I know there's a lot of talk about an inter-modal path and and pedestrian paths. I'd like to see something similar but it would have to be something that adheres to the culture of King George. Not an old town Fredericksburg. Something that's unique to King George that fits our culture. Where I can take my wife out to dinner then after dinner there are some options to go walking or some type of entertainment. I'd like to do that in my own community rather than in Fredericksburg or somewhere else.

What do you feel are the top 3 issues to address in King George?
Top three issues? Water, internet, and I won't say debt anymore simply because we're working to address it now. So I'd say the Courthouse issues are something that we have to figure out. Those are the issues in the County.

I don't mind mentioning that because I feel we have to be honest with ourselves. What are our community's problems. But more importantly, don't stick our heads in the sand, let's address them. I have been working with the Board and others inside and outside the County and we're really starting to take a hard look at these problems and working to come up with solutions to address them so we're not facing the same issues five years from now.

What do you feel are the top 3 successes in King George?
The landfill. It was very smartly crafted, smart fiscal policy was put into place to restrict those funds to capital improvements. Additionally, we worked with a private partnership to manage the facility as well as a very favorable tipping fee. Our tipping fee is $5 per ton but other localities, the highest I've seen is only $2.20. So we're already twice anything I've seen in Virginia. The smartest thing the past leadership has done was the financial policy that took all the revenue from the landfill could only go to the capital fund for capital projects. They made it fiscally impossible to depend on that money to fund County operations, services, salaries. I thought that was genius because if we had made that mistake back then, we would be in serious trouble now and especially in 22 or 23 years when the landfill closes. That was on the level of being called the forefathers of King George County. I just pray that we get opportunities like that in King George County and I pray that when they do come, myself and the Board and other leaders in the County have that insight to make and craft those smart agreements. Big fan of that.

I think the YMCA is another success story in King George County. Not only because of the great things they do for the community but I think a real problem that we have in the County is our regional reputation. We're viewed as the little guys in the region, the county guys, the rural guys. And I'm always a fan of putting things in the County that show the rest of the region that King George is here and we're a regional competitor. And the YMCA is across all these other localities and to have them invest in our community shows the rest of the region that King George is a major player. I'm always sensitive to that and I think that was smart for the Board of Supervisors to support that.

Third success, I originally thought the debt mitigation plan but the reality is we haven't seen it to fruition yet. We can say how great it is but until we start seeing some numbers and some hard quantifiable data, I'm kind of hesitant to call it a success.

Rather, I think that we have a lot of great initiatives on the horizon that we're working towards. Once they're in place and complete, I think they're going to be success stories and set up King George for success over the next 25 years.

What person, place, or thing do you think we lack in King George?
Number one, I think we're lacking medical infrastructure. I hear people say we need a hospital but what I'm looking at is five, ten, fifteen years from now and I'm depending on the Weldon Cooper studies and projections for our population that it will grow eight to ten percent. But what's interesting in those numbers is that our population will be an aging population with retirees from Northern Virginia taking advantage of the tax rates and a slower pace of life. And we don't have that infrastructure in place to support our projections so I think that's something we need to work on or we might get in trouble in ten or fifteen years.

Anything else we're lacking?
A lot of people say Chik-fil-A or that type of business. All of that is great but what keeps me awake at night are the necessities. I'm always concerned about what are the necessities and how do we get them. I think we're lacking one major investor in our community to help us stabilize. All it will take is one major investor to invest in King George County and everybody else will follow suit. Of course we're not going to get Google or Amazon but I think it's only a matter of time before we do get a national player that comes and spots King George County and it's really going to set us up for success for the next three to five decades. I guess how to wrap that up into a nice package is a major, a national-level investor in the community.