by Neil Richard
The King George County Board of Supervisors opened their meeting at 8:04pm.
There were no amendments to the Agenda.
Public Comment began with Renee Parker. Seeing as it turned into what appears to be an attack on me personally and our work at Project94, we will prevent any doubt over what she said by sharing her written letter below.
Don Shelton was next to speak, reminding everyone of two things. First, the King George Historical Society has several artifacts from the Potomac Landing area that was once the site of an Indian village. Secondly, with the 300th Anniversary here, he asks that everyone be part of history and the Historical Society. [EDITOR'S NOTE - Neil Richard, a co-founder of Project94, is a lifetime member of the King George County Historical Society.]
Next was Mike Payne who said his wife was a stakeholder for the work camp from the Arlington Diocese. He said that the group raised over $13,000 to make 160 homes in the area safer, warmer, and drier. He said that word has reached the diocese that somebody on the Board told them to not come back next year. He felt that wasn't fair and wanted a good explanation as to why the County told them not to come back.
Ruby Brabo then read a letter from Peter Karabots stating he and his wife were disappointed in the administration deciding to sacrifice their retirement home. He wrote in his letter that he believes that some on the Board are not aware of the impact and that Supervisors have been unwilling or unable to answer questions regarding a timetable for the planned Wayside Park replacement property. Karabots wrote that he found the lack of plans hard to believe and that there must be proposals available to share. His letter then directed specific questions to each Supervisor except for Brabo and Richard Granger. To Cathy Binder, Karabots asked if she had evidence to prove her public claims that King George residents want the park. He said that according to a YMCA survey, 135 out of 150 polled said they have not used the park because of negative elements from out of state visitors. Karabots said that his research has shown that 70% of cars at the park are from Maryland. To John Jenkins, Karabots asked what protection the town can provide against trespassers and vandals. Karabots wrote that they have been found using their swimming pool, having bonfires on their beach, and leaving beer bottles on their shore. He anticipated violations to increase and asked how the area would be secured. To Jeff Bueche, Karabots wrote that the existing park has shown issues with trash and garbage being left and asked Bueche if there would be daily trash collection. To Dr. Young, Karabots said they have been told that there will be parking lot constructed across the street from them. Karabots asked when this would happen, if it would be lighted, and what the construction costs would be.
John Jenkins began his Board Report by sharing he attended the Caledon Art & Wine Festival and the Founder's Day event at Mary Washington along with a George Washington Regional Commission (GWRC) meeting the day before. Responding to Mr. Payne's comments, he said he didn't recall anyone from the organization coming to the Supervisors but he wouldn't turn down such an organization because of the work they do in the community. Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, said that his understanding was the diocese got approval from the school system, not the Supervisors. He said the last time they visited, they got permission from the Service Authority because they would be using the showers at the school and got permission from the Schools because they would be staying in their building. Young said the County was informed of their project but the County never gave them permission because there was nothing the County needed to authorize. Brabo said the School Board granted permission so it had to have been them that denied the organization's return. Jenkins said, for clarity, that the Supervisors didn't turn anyone down.
Jenkins continued with his report by responding to the Karabots letter stating that as far as vandals and people fishing form their pier, he hoped they called the Sheriff's Office about those issues. Regarding the overall security of the park, he said it's important for any park and that would be something discussed for the park plan. He said he hasn't had direct contact with the Sheriff but doubted there would be an officer posted there 24 hours a day but agreed it would be a good idea to include the Sheriff in the plan for the park.
Richard Granger began his report by thanking Shelton for his information about the Historical Society. He also thanked Payne for the information and asked if they could communicate via email. Granger said it was clear Payne was frustrated and it sounded like he needed to talk to the School Board. Granger said he didn't think the County doesn't want the diocese here so maybe there's a way forward in the future. Granger said he attended the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) meeting on October 23rd and a Fredericksburg Regional Alliance (FRA) meeting on November 7th. At the FRA meeting he said there was a lot of discussion on the skills workforce study and the impact and success of Amazon's HQ2. He said it was nice to see that kind of success where communities that frequently compete with each other instead worked together. Granger also attended the Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) conference over the weekend of November 9th and said education was a focus as well as unfunded mandates. He also attended a breakout work session on broadband and how electric cooperatives are working to put the necessary infrastructure on utility poles. He said it was a slow process but there's at least a plan. Granger ended his report by saying he attended the Founder's Day event and said there were exciting events in the year ahead that should be a lot of fun.
Cathy Binder said she did a lot of things over the last month and thanked all of the staff for their hard work on Founder's Day. She said the speeches were great and she had a good time. She thanked everyone that came out to celebrate. Binder also attended the VACo conference and enjoyed attending a session on agritourism and sports tourism. She said that Tazwell County has used sports tourism to go from a nearly bankrupt county to a financially stable one. She said younger generations don't take pictures but prefer to experience things. Binder also met with Lisa Hull about tourism in the Northern Neck. She thanked Shelton for coming out and said she enjoys visiting the Historical Society every week because the stories shared are amazing. Responding to Payne's comments, she said the work camp was great from what she heard and was sorry to hear it wasn't renewed. Binder said her nephews have had great experiences because of mission trips and they have made a positive impact on their lives. To the Karabots, Binder said she sent an email welcoming them, and others, to her upcoming Town Hall on December 10th at the University of Mary Washington campus in Dahlgren. She said the infrastructure issues, including Wayside Park, will be the primary topic of discussion. Binder also said there is a lot of misinformation out there. To Parker's comments, Binder thanked her for her opinions and her interpretation.
Ruby Brabo began her report stating she attended the final Capital Improvement Program (CIP) meeting as well as the local government tour of the waterways. She said the tour was funded by a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation so there was no cost to the County. She also corrected her earlier claims that a Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit would be necessary soon, especially in Dahlgren. Brabo said that when she spoke to Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) staff, they were not aware that King George did not own any storm water facilities. She said that unless the County did own such facilities, there was no need to have an MS4 permit. Brabo said that DEQ assumed the County did own some and then gave words of caution that the County needed to ensure those that property owners were maintaining the storm water facilities or DEQ may make the County take them over. She said part of the tour also included Warsaw that used eminent domain to address blighted property. Brabo then gave a list of events and meetings she attended including the Sheriff's candidate forum, emergency training, Town Hall, and more. After reading part of her long list, she said that the reports tonight were a clear demonstration of why it's important to have so many people attend conferences. Brabo continued her report saying she attended a meeting with Ann Jennings, went to the Founder's Day event, and the GWRC meeting. She said that there were many changes coming to GWRC and it will be challenging to whoever fills her position for King George. Brabo said Stafford is considering leaving the group and Spotsylvania is considering leaving the Fredericksburg Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (FAMPO). She said she also learned that there was a vacancy left on an emergency planning board that has been unfilled for two years since Jim Howard left the Board. [EDITOR'S NOTE - Ms. Brabo usually shares her detailed Board Report prior to the meeting's start. Because I have still not received a copy of her Board Report since I spoke at the October 15th Board meeting, the list of events she attended since then may not be complete.]
Brabo moved to appoint Apollonia Ward to the Smoot Library Board of Trustees and the rest of the Board approved. Brabo then moved to appoint Carol Rollins and Max Lufton to the Infrastructure Committee and Binder asked to discuss the issue before making appointments. Binder said she felt it would be better to wait until January so the new Supervisors could pick members. Bueche said the topic was brought to his attention and he chose to move forward anyway. He felt the committee was a product of the current Board from previous CIP discussions and felt the current Supervisors should make the appointments. He said any decision made by the committee would be entertained by the new Board of Supervisors. Bueche then asked if Dr. Young had been tasked to create the Charter for the committee and Young said he had a draft but it was not ready yet.
Binder said she felt there was still some misunderstandings about the phased approach she presented earlier. Brabo attempted to interrupt but Binder kept speaking and said that there needs to be a study or review of the existing buildings done to determine if they can even be repurposed. She felt this needed to be completed before the committee was formed so that they would have the necessary information to make decisions. Binder also said that it may be necessary to extend the life of the committee beyond the proposed six months. Bueche said he understood that but said the committee wouldn't make decisions but rather recommendations. He also said that if the Board felt it necessary to extend the life of the committee, they could do so.
Granger asked if nominations could be made before a charter was even created and Eric Gregory, County Attorney, said that it would be a policy decision for the Board to make and that some people may not want to serve if they don't know what the committee charter states. Dr. Young said he could have the charter ready by the December 3rd meeting. With that, the Board approved the appointments made by Brabo. Binder added after the vote that her concerns had nothing to do with the members and that they were outstanding individuals.
Brabo continued her report by saying that one county has halted housing developments. Regarding the Karabots letter, Brabo said they raise good concerns that she hoped were taken into consideration after she's gone. She said maybe Sheriff Dempsey can clarify how many reports there have been. To Payne's comments, she said it sounded like the School Board was the one to ask and that maybe he could have a conversation with Dr. Young about using a County building instead of a school.
Jeff Bueche began his report by addressing Mrs. Parker's comments. He said he never had a County credit card. He said reservations were made at the hotel and included his wife. He didn't know there was an additional charge for his wife. Bueche said the higher rate wasn't because of the number of people but rather the type of room. He said the day after learning about the additional cost, he wrote a check to the County to cover the overage and the check had cleared so there was no doubt that the County was reimbursed. Responding to the Karabots letter, Bueche said King George County didn't purchase the property in question. He said the concerns of residents in the area will be addressed and that the statement about residents not wanting the property is false. He said the Economic Development Strategic Plan was based on feedback from residents in person and via survey and one of the top requests was more water access. Regarding the trash pickup, Bueche said he assumed it would be treated the same as the plethora of other County parks where trash pickup already exists.
Bueche also attended the CIP meeting, a ribbon cutting, and the Founder's Day event. He thanked everyone that had a hand in the 300th Anniversary celebration and said it was an honor to preside over that. Bueche said he also attended the VACo conference and has said on numerous occasions that VACo does a lot of things he agrees with and a lot of things he doesn't agree with. Despite this, he said VACo was a strong lobbying power for counties and they are important. Bueche said he also attended the rural caucus meeting and a lot of things came up, including the digital divide and telemedicine. He said the new Mary Washington Hospital Urgent Care had telemedicine capabilities. He said they also discussed upcoming mandates, agritourism, and transients, meaning people moving through the area, not the homeless.
At a meeting related to school and campus safety, Bueche said there were new measures coming up from the state regarding Sheriff Deputies. He said that it is becoming an increasing burden on localities to hire the number of deputies needed and to pay them the wages they deserve. He felt the compensation board needed to review and update their numbers. He then moved to appoint Carrie Cleveland and Neil Richard to the infrastructure committee. The Board approved with Binder casting the sole nay vote just as she did with Brabo's appointments.
Bueche continued and said he had concerns and had been contacted by other residents with concerns about Second Amendment rights and that he was working to draft a resolution to make King George County a Second Amendment Sanctuary. He said it was his intention to attempt to pass the resolution in the near future. Bueche said it was pointed out to him that King George was the home to the author of the Bill of Rights and he felt the proposed legislation at the state level would attack the Second Amendment.
Brabo said that the first county to pass a resolution related to this was Rio Blanco, Colorado several years ago. She said the resolution was presented by her friend and Brabo circulated it to her peers at the time. She warned Bueche that bringing this type of resolution forward would create a circus and divisiveness in the community. She said there are just as many people that are passionate about gun rights as there are gun control.
The Consent Agenda was approved.
The County Attorney, Eric Gregory, had a report on a national opiate lawsuit that included King George County and just about every other county in the nation. He said the Board had two different options on how to proceed. The Supervisors could do nothing which would mean they would remain part of the lawsuit and could potentially receive a benefit from the settlement or the Supervisors could vote to remove the County from the class which would require paperwork to be submitted by November 22nd. Brabo asked if there was any cost involved and Gregory said no and that he recommended doing nothing. Consensus was reached to do nothing.
Gregory then spoke on a more personal item, stating that he was hired by the County in 2012 and has been privileged since then to continue doing so. He said that for three years he was a direct employee of the County and when he joined the law firm he expected his assignment with the County to become temporary. That turned into four more years with the County. Gregory said he felt the County has grown and developed enough to require it's own dedicated attorney and that he was happy to help in vetting potential candidates. Jenkins thanked him for everything he's done since joining the Board.
The Board then heard from Kate Gibson of the Unsheltered Homelessness Initiative and the Coalition of Care. Gibson said that GWRC was the lead agency and that they also worked with countless other agencies in the area to work towards their goal of ending homelessness. She said that King George has about 25 households that are homeless and there are over 300 in the immediate area. With a $40,000 grant that covered two years, the Coalition of Care was able to move homeless households into homes or apartments resulting in 11 people having a place to live. Of those 11 people, all of them have a disability yet the majority are now financially stable enough to pay housing expenses. Gibson said that they would ask King George for $5,000 via GWRC in the coming year in an effort to continue their success at reducing homelessness.
Binder said she has visited local shelters and said they do good work. Brabo said King George hasn't funded this in the past because of a lack of data showing how it impacted King George residents and they have now done so. She asked the rest of the Board to keep that in mind next year during budget discussions. Dr. Young asked if they wanted a decision on the money tonight and Gibson said no, they were asking for it to be part of the County's regular budget process.
Nick Minor, Director of Economic Development and Tourism, and Dylan Teaford, a member of the Economic Development Authority (EDA), were next to the podium to discuss the EDA's Small Business Incentive plan. The grants would range from $500 to $20,000 and the EDA would front the money and then get reimbursed by the Supervisors through tax revenue over an agreed period of time. The EDA could also seek reimbursement of the funds if the grantee doesn't meet all of the terms of the agreement. Brabo said this was a good recruiting tool and thought the Dahlgren tech transfer would pair nicely with it. Brabo asked if there was going to be a maximum number of employees allowed for a business to qualify and Minor said no but most people looking for this type of incentive would be small businesses. Brabo wasn't sure how that would be controlled with no maximum employee count and also noted the lack of a defined maximum term for the payment. Minor said every business is different and that a tech company may have more employees than something else but that didn't mean it wasn't a small business. Teaford and Minor also explained that the goal was to give the grant money out but treat each business on a case-by-case basis for repayment through taxes. Brabo said a lot of businesses don't last long and asked what would happen if they went belly-up in 18 months. Teaford said there was a clause that said if the business didn't meet the benchmarks that they set, they could get the money back.
Jenkins said that setting an employee limit would be a mistake because there is such a wide base for the definition of a small business. He felt the application process would mitigate the process so that a large company like Walmart couldn't come in and get assistance. Dr. Young said that if the EDA is going to be reimbursed with tax dollars, the plan isn't ready yet because it would mean the EDA is committing the Supervisors to pay for something without having a voice in the process.
Minor said he was under the assumption that it would come before the Board like a funding request from the Tourism Advisory Committee (TAC). Brabo said they've had this discussion before about using some of the tax revenue from a new restaurant to help fund the program. Bueche said he would like to carry over the discussion to a work session since it impacted the budget and apologized to Jenkins for delaying his idea. Jenkins said it shouldn't impact the budget but Young said the budget has figures based on the predicted number of new businesses in the County and this could potentially impact that expected revenue. After some more discussion it was decided to defer a decision until the next meeting to see if the plan could be a little more polished.
Next was an action item to adopt and appropriate the King George County FY 2019-2020 Capital Budget. Thus ensued another heated discussion about the size of the future Courthouse. Binder made it clear that she still felt like 63,000 square feet was the appropriate size for the new Courthouse. Granger said after thinking about it more he felt like the 50,000 square foot option would be akin to kicking the can down the road and felt 63,000 square feet was the right option. After more deliberation, and some arguing between Binder and Brabo, the Board voted to approve everything in the Capital Budget and set the new Courthouse size at 50,000 square feet. Binder and Granger voted against the smaller Courthouse. The adoption of FY 2019-2020 to FY 2023-2024 Capital Improvement Plan was less contentious.
The Change Orders for the King George Middle School Expansion Project once again riled many of the Supervisors as they debated several points in the request. From the relocation of the softball field to the projectors to the the dugouts on the softball field. A representative from the architecture firm was present to explain some of the reasons behind the change order request but it appeared nearly all of the reasons fell on deaf ears. The Supervisors took exception to several parts of the request but seemed to focus on the fact that much of the work in the change order was completed, and paid for, prior to the Supervisors approving the funding. Granger noted that the dirt needed to relocate the softball field was dumped over a year ago but was just now being brought forward for approval of funds. Brabo noted that the dugouts were partially built before the Supervisors approved them. Gregory eventually recommended that the Board defer a decision until the next meeting so staff can discuss things with himself, Dr. Benson, and the architects to get more clarity.
Nick Minor returned to the podium to ask for funding for the Caroline County/King George County Visitor’s Guide. Minor said the guide was distributed across numerous areas and visitor's centers in the state and the County got several copies as well. Supervisors approved funding.
Chief Moody came before the Board to seek approval of mutual aid agreements with Colonial Beach, Westmoreland County, and Spotsylvania County. The Board approved.
Dr. Young then presented a request to lease office space in the building in front of the El Charro restaurant citing changes in the needs for the Registrar's office and a lack of space in the Revercomb Building. Binder said she felt that the Registrar should be in a different building and was concerned about the arrangement in their proposed new office space. Dr. Young said he had detailed conversations with the Treasurer's Office, Registrar, and Electoral Board and even though he recommended moving to the second floor, it was their decision to switch offices. The end result of the changes would mean the Registrar's Office and Treasurer's Office would swap offices. The IT Department, Engineer, and Inspector would move to the newly leased offices. The Board approved.
Dr. Young then began his report by responding to Parker's comments earlier in the evening. He said the additional cost to bring his spouse was due to the room type, not the additional person. He said he can make a copy of the processed money order available to her if she would like to see it. He said that in regards to the vacancy on the emergency planning committee Brabo mentioned, there are only two seats available for five localities. Brabo agreed but said the seat sat empty for two years and there was nothing put out by the County that the seat was available. Young said the Supervisors served on 19 other boards and committees and he felt that was a lot. Brabo recommended the new Board make their own decision on if they want to keep a seat on the committee or not. Binder said she would volunteer to fill the vacancy.
Young continued his report asking for the Board's feedback on the staff holiday party. The Board agreed to the staff preference of the 18th. Young also notified the Board of the resignation of Sheila Fincannon from the Community Policy and Management Team. He also notified the Board that Davenport has closed on the debt refinancing.
The Board went into Closed Session at 10:32pm and invited Dr. Young, Eric Gregory, and Chief Moody to attend. They returned from Closed Session and adjourned at 10:48pm.
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 December 3, 2019 at 7:00 pm at the Revercomb Building.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Board of Supervisors Meeting.
The King George County Board of Supervisors opened their meeting at 8:04pm.
There were no amendments to the Agenda.
Public Comment began with Renee Parker. Seeing as it turned into what appears to be an attack on me personally and our work at Project94, we will prevent any doubt over what she said by sharing her written letter below.
 |
| Renee Parker's Public Comment with her address redacted. |
Don Shelton was next to speak, reminding everyone of two things. First, the King George Historical Society has several artifacts from the Potomac Landing area that was once the site of an Indian village. Secondly, with the 300th Anniversary here, he asks that everyone be part of history and the Historical Society. [EDITOR'S NOTE - Neil Richard, a co-founder of Project94, is a lifetime member of the King George County Historical Society.]
Next was Mike Payne who said his wife was a stakeholder for the work camp from the Arlington Diocese. He said that the group raised over $13,000 to make 160 homes in the area safer, warmer, and drier. He said that word has reached the diocese that somebody on the Board told them to not come back next year. He felt that wasn't fair and wanted a good explanation as to why the County told them not to come back.
Ruby Brabo then read a letter from Peter Karabots stating he and his wife were disappointed in the administration deciding to sacrifice their retirement home. He wrote in his letter that he believes that some on the Board are not aware of the impact and that Supervisors have been unwilling or unable to answer questions regarding a timetable for the planned Wayside Park replacement property. Karabots wrote that he found the lack of plans hard to believe and that there must be proposals available to share. His letter then directed specific questions to each Supervisor except for Brabo and Richard Granger. To Cathy Binder, Karabots asked if she had evidence to prove her public claims that King George residents want the park. He said that according to a YMCA survey, 135 out of 150 polled said they have not used the park because of negative elements from out of state visitors. Karabots said that his research has shown that 70% of cars at the park are from Maryland. To John Jenkins, Karabots asked what protection the town can provide against trespassers and vandals. Karabots wrote that they have been found using their swimming pool, having bonfires on their beach, and leaving beer bottles on their shore. He anticipated violations to increase and asked how the area would be secured. To Jeff Bueche, Karabots wrote that the existing park has shown issues with trash and garbage being left and asked Bueche if there would be daily trash collection. To Dr. Young, Karabots said they have been told that there will be parking lot constructed across the street from them. Karabots asked when this would happen, if it would be lighted, and what the construction costs would be.
John Jenkins began his Board Report by sharing he attended the Caledon Art & Wine Festival and the Founder's Day event at Mary Washington along with a George Washington Regional Commission (GWRC) meeting the day before. Responding to Mr. Payne's comments, he said he didn't recall anyone from the organization coming to the Supervisors but he wouldn't turn down such an organization because of the work they do in the community. Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, said that his understanding was the diocese got approval from the school system, not the Supervisors. He said the last time they visited, they got permission from the Service Authority because they would be using the showers at the school and got permission from the Schools because they would be staying in their building. Young said the County was informed of their project but the County never gave them permission because there was nothing the County needed to authorize. Brabo said the School Board granted permission so it had to have been them that denied the organization's return. Jenkins said, for clarity, that the Supervisors didn't turn anyone down.
Jenkins continued with his report by responding to the Karabots letter stating that as far as vandals and people fishing form their pier, he hoped they called the Sheriff's Office about those issues. Regarding the overall security of the park, he said it's important for any park and that would be something discussed for the park plan. He said he hasn't had direct contact with the Sheriff but doubted there would be an officer posted there 24 hours a day but agreed it would be a good idea to include the Sheriff in the plan for the park.
Richard Granger began his report by thanking Shelton for his information about the Historical Society. He also thanked Payne for the information and asked if they could communicate via email. Granger said it was clear Payne was frustrated and it sounded like he needed to talk to the School Board. Granger said he didn't think the County doesn't want the diocese here so maybe there's a way forward in the future. Granger said he attended the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) meeting on October 23rd and a Fredericksburg Regional Alliance (FRA) meeting on November 7th. At the FRA meeting he said there was a lot of discussion on the skills workforce study and the impact and success of Amazon's HQ2. He said it was nice to see that kind of success where communities that frequently compete with each other instead worked together. Granger also attended the Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) conference over the weekend of November 9th and said education was a focus as well as unfunded mandates. He also attended a breakout work session on broadband and how electric cooperatives are working to put the necessary infrastructure on utility poles. He said it was a slow process but there's at least a plan. Granger ended his report by saying he attended the Founder's Day event and said there were exciting events in the year ahead that should be a lot of fun.
Cathy Binder said she did a lot of things over the last month and thanked all of the staff for their hard work on Founder's Day. She said the speeches were great and she had a good time. She thanked everyone that came out to celebrate. Binder also attended the VACo conference and enjoyed attending a session on agritourism and sports tourism. She said that Tazwell County has used sports tourism to go from a nearly bankrupt county to a financially stable one. She said younger generations don't take pictures but prefer to experience things. Binder also met with Lisa Hull about tourism in the Northern Neck. She thanked Shelton for coming out and said she enjoys visiting the Historical Society every week because the stories shared are amazing. Responding to Payne's comments, she said the work camp was great from what she heard and was sorry to hear it wasn't renewed. Binder said her nephews have had great experiences because of mission trips and they have made a positive impact on their lives. To the Karabots, Binder said she sent an email welcoming them, and others, to her upcoming Town Hall on December 10th at the University of Mary Washington campus in Dahlgren. She said the infrastructure issues, including Wayside Park, will be the primary topic of discussion. Binder also said there is a lot of misinformation out there. To Parker's comments, Binder thanked her for her opinions and her interpretation.
Ruby Brabo began her report stating she attended the final Capital Improvement Program (CIP) meeting as well as the local government tour of the waterways. She said the tour was funded by a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation so there was no cost to the County. She also corrected her earlier claims that a Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit would be necessary soon, especially in Dahlgren. Brabo said that when she spoke to Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) staff, they were not aware that King George did not own any storm water facilities. She said that unless the County did own such facilities, there was no need to have an MS4 permit. Brabo said that DEQ assumed the County did own some and then gave words of caution that the County needed to ensure those that property owners were maintaining the storm water facilities or DEQ may make the County take them over. She said part of the tour also included Warsaw that used eminent domain to address blighted property. Brabo then gave a list of events and meetings she attended including the Sheriff's candidate forum, emergency training, Town Hall, and more. After reading part of her long list, she said that the reports tonight were a clear demonstration of why it's important to have so many people attend conferences. Brabo continued her report saying she attended a meeting with Ann Jennings, went to the Founder's Day event, and the GWRC meeting. She said that there were many changes coming to GWRC and it will be challenging to whoever fills her position for King George. Brabo said Stafford is considering leaving the group and Spotsylvania is considering leaving the Fredericksburg Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (FAMPO). She said she also learned that there was a vacancy left on an emergency planning board that has been unfilled for two years since Jim Howard left the Board. [EDITOR'S NOTE - Ms. Brabo usually shares her detailed Board Report prior to the meeting's start. Because I have still not received a copy of her Board Report since I spoke at the October 15th Board meeting, the list of events she attended since then may not be complete.]
Brabo moved to appoint Apollonia Ward to the Smoot Library Board of Trustees and the rest of the Board approved. Brabo then moved to appoint Carol Rollins and Max Lufton to the Infrastructure Committee and Binder asked to discuss the issue before making appointments. Binder said she felt it would be better to wait until January so the new Supervisors could pick members. Bueche said the topic was brought to his attention and he chose to move forward anyway. He felt the committee was a product of the current Board from previous CIP discussions and felt the current Supervisors should make the appointments. He said any decision made by the committee would be entertained by the new Board of Supervisors. Bueche then asked if Dr. Young had been tasked to create the Charter for the committee and Young said he had a draft but it was not ready yet.
Binder said she felt there was still some misunderstandings about the phased approach she presented earlier. Brabo attempted to interrupt but Binder kept speaking and said that there needs to be a study or review of the existing buildings done to determine if they can even be repurposed. She felt this needed to be completed before the committee was formed so that they would have the necessary information to make decisions. Binder also said that it may be necessary to extend the life of the committee beyond the proposed six months. Bueche said he understood that but said the committee wouldn't make decisions but rather recommendations. He also said that if the Board felt it necessary to extend the life of the committee, they could do so.
Granger asked if nominations could be made before a charter was even created and Eric Gregory, County Attorney, said that it would be a policy decision for the Board to make and that some people may not want to serve if they don't know what the committee charter states. Dr. Young said he could have the charter ready by the December 3rd meeting. With that, the Board approved the appointments made by Brabo. Binder added after the vote that her concerns had nothing to do with the members and that they were outstanding individuals.
Brabo continued her report by saying that one county has halted housing developments. Regarding the Karabots letter, Brabo said they raise good concerns that she hoped were taken into consideration after she's gone. She said maybe Sheriff Dempsey can clarify how many reports there have been. To Payne's comments, she said it sounded like the School Board was the one to ask and that maybe he could have a conversation with Dr. Young about using a County building instead of a school.
Jeff Bueche began his report by addressing Mrs. Parker's comments. He said he never had a County credit card. He said reservations were made at the hotel and included his wife. He didn't know there was an additional charge for his wife. Bueche said the higher rate wasn't because of the number of people but rather the type of room. He said the day after learning about the additional cost, he wrote a check to the County to cover the overage and the check had cleared so there was no doubt that the County was reimbursed. Responding to the Karabots letter, Bueche said King George County didn't purchase the property in question. He said the concerns of residents in the area will be addressed and that the statement about residents not wanting the property is false. He said the Economic Development Strategic Plan was based on feedback from residents in person and via survey and one of the top requests was more water access. Regarding the trash pickup, Bueche said he assumed it would be treated the same as the plethora of other County parks where trash pickup already exists.
Bueche also attended the CIP meeting, a ribbon cutting, and the Founder's Day event. He thanked everyone that had a hand in the 300th Anniversary celebration and said it was an honor to preside over that. Bueche said he also attended the VACo conference and has said on numerous occasions that VACo does a lot of things he agrees with and a lot of things he doesn't agree with. Despite this, he said VACo was a strong lobbying power for counties and they are important. Bueche said he also attended the rural caucus meeting and a lot of things came up, including the digital divide and telemedicine. He said the new Mary Washington Hospital Urgent Care had telemedicine capabilities. He said they also discussed upcoming mandates, agritourism, and transients, meaning people moving through the area, not the homeless.
At a meeting related to school and campus safety, Bueche said there were new measures coming up from the state regarding Sheriff Deputies. He said that it is becoming an increasing burden on localities to hire the number of deputies needed and to pay them the wages they deserve. He felt the compensation board needed to review and update their numbers. He then moved to appoint Carrie Cleveland and Neil Richard to the infrastructure committee. The Board approved with Binder casting the sole nay vote just as she did with Brabo's appointments.
Bueche continued and said he had concerns and had been contacted by other residents with concerns about Second Amendment rights and that he was working to draft a resolution to make King George County a Second Amendment Sanctuary. He said it was his intention to attempt to pass the resolution in the near future. Bueche said it was pointed out to him that King George was the home to the author of the Bill of Rights and he felt the proposed legislation at the state level would attack the Second Amendment.
Brabo said that the first county to pass a resolution related to this was Rio Blanco, Colorado several years ago. She said the resolution was presented by her friend and Brabo circulated it to her peers at the time. She warned Bueche that bringing this type of resolution forward would create a circus and divisiveness in the community. She said there are just as many people that are passionate about gun rights as there are gun control.
The Consent Agenda was approved.
The County Attorney, Eric Gregory, had a report on a national opiate lawsuit that included King George County and just about every other county in the nation. He said the Board had two different options on how to proceed. The Supervisors could do nothing which would mean they would remain part of the lawsuit and could potentially receive a benefit from the settlement or the Supervisors could vote to remove the County from the class which would require paperwork to be submitted by November 22nd. Brabo asked if there was any cost involved and Gregory said no and that he recommended doing nothing. Consensus was reached to do nothing.
Gregory then spoke on a more personal item, stating that he was hired by the County in 2012 and has been privileged since then to continue doing so. He said that for three years he was a direct employee of the County and when he joined the law firm he expected his assignment with the County to become temporary. That turned into four more years with the County. Gregory said he felt the County has grown and developed enough to require it's own dedicated attorney and that he was happy to help in vetting potential candidates. Jenkins thanked him for everything he's done since joining the Board.
The Board then heard from Kate Gibson of the Unsheltered Homelessness Initiative and the Coalition of Care. Gibson said that GWRC was the lead agency and that they also worked with countless other agencies in the area to work towards their goal of ending homelessness. She said that King George has about 25 households that are homeless and there are over 300 in the immediate area. With a $40,000 grant that covered two years, the Coalition of Care was able to move homeless households into homes or apartments resulting in 11 people having a place to live. Of those 11 people, all of them have a disability yet the majority are now financially stable enough to pay housing expenses. Gibson said that they would ask King George for $5,000 via GWRC in the coming year in an effort to continue their success at reducing homelessness.
Binder said she has visited local shelters and said they do good work. Brabo said King George hasn't funded this in the past because of a lack of data showing how it impacted King George residents and they have now done so. She asked the rest of the Board to keep that in mind next year during budget discussions. Dr. Young asked if they wanted a decision on the money tonight and Gibson said no, they were asking for it to be part of the County's regular budget process.
Nick Minor, Director of Economic Development and Tourism, and Dylan Teaford, a member of the Economic Development Authority (EDA), were next to the podium to discuss the EDA's Small Business Incentive plan. The grants would range from $500 to $20,000 and the EDA would front the money and then get reimbursed by the Supervisors through tax revenue over an agreed period of time. The EDA could also seek reimbursement of the funds if the grantee doesn't meet all of the terms of the agreement. Brabo said this was a good recruiting tool and thought the Dahlgren tech transfer would pair nicely with it. Brabo asked if there was going to be a maximum number of employees allowed for a business to qualify and Minor said no but most people looking for this type of incentive would be small businesses. Brabo wasn't sure how that would be controlled with no maximum employee count and also noted the lack of a defined maximum term for the payment. Minor said every business is different and that a tech company may have more employees than something else but that didn't mean it wasn't a small business. Teaford and Minor also explained that the goal was to give the grant money out but treat each business on a case-by-case basis for repayment through taxes. Brabo said a lot of businesses don't last long and asked what would happen if they went belly-up in 18 months. Teaford said there was a clause that said if the business didn't meet the benchmarks that they set, they could get the money back.
Jenkins said that setting an employee limit would be a mistake because there is such a wide base for the definition of a small business. He felt the application process would mitigate the process so that a large company like Walmart couldn't come in and get assistance. Dr. Young said that if the EDA is going to be reimbursed with tax dollars, the plan isn't ready yet because it would mean the EDA is committing the Supervisors to pay for something without having a voice in the process.
Minor said he was under the assumption that it would come before the Board like a funding request from the Tourism Advisory Committee (TAC). Brabo said they've had this discussion before about using some of the tax revenue from a new restaurant to help fund the program. Bueche said he would like to carry over the discussion to a work session since it impacted the budget and apologized to Jenkins for delaying his idea. Jenkins said it shouldn't impact the budget but Young said the budget has figures based on the predicted number of new businesses in the County and this could potentially impact that expected revenue. After some more discussion it was decided to defer a decision until the next meeting to see if the plan could be a little more polished.
Next was an action item to adopt and appropriate the King George County FY 2019-2020 Capital Budget. Thus ensued another heated discussion about the size of the future Courthouse. Binder made it clear that she still felt like 63,000 square feet was the appropriate size for the new Courthouse. Granger said after thinking about it more he felt like the 50,000 square foot option would be akin to kicking the can down the road and felt 63,000 square feet was the right option. After more deliberation, and some arguing between Binder and Brabo, the Board voted to approve everything in the Capital Budget and set the new Courthouse size at 50,000 square feet. Binder and Granger voted against the smaller Courthouse. The adoption of FY 2019-2020 to FY 2023-2024 Capital Improvement Plan was less contentious.
The Change Orders for the King George Middle School Expansion Project once again riled many of the Supervisors as they debated several points in the request. From the relocation of the softball field to the projectors to the the dugouts on the softball field. A representative from the architecture firm was present to explain some of the reasons behind the change order request but it appeared nearly all of the reasons fell on deaf ears. The Supervisors took exception to several parts of the request but seemed to focus on the fact that much of the work in the change order was completed, and paid for, prior to the Supervisors approving the funding. Granger noted that the dirt needed to relocate the softball field was dumped over a year ago but was just now being brought forward for approval of funds. Brabo noted that the dugouts were partially built before the Supervisors approved them. Gregory eventually recommended that the Board defer a decision until the next meeting so staff can discuss things with himself, Dr. Benson, and the architects to get more clarity.
Nick Minor returned to the podium to ask for funding for the Caroline County/King George County Visitor’s Guide. Minor said the guide was distributed across numerous areas and visitor's centers in the state and the County got several copies as well. Supervisors approved funding.
Chief Moody came before the Board to seek approval of mutual aid agreements with Colonial Beach, Westmoreland County, and Spotsylvania County. The Board approved.
Dr. Young then presented a request to lease office space in the building in front of the El Charro restaurant citing changes in the needs for the Registrar's office and a lack of space in the Revercomb Building. Binder said she felt that the Registrar should be in a different building and was concerned about the arrangement in their proposed new office space. Dr. Young said he had detailed conversations with the Treasurer's Office, Registrar, and Electoral Board and even though he recommended moving to the second floor, it was their decision to switch offices. The end result of the changes would mean the Registrar's Office and Treasurer's Office would swap offices. The IT Department, Engineer, and Inspector would move to the newly leased offices. The Board approved.
Dr. Young then began his report by responding to Parker's comments earlier in the evening. He said the additional cost to bring his spouse was due to the room type, not the additional person. He said he can make a copy of the processed money order available to her if she would like to see it. He said that in regards to the vacancy on the emergency planning committee Brabo mentioned, there are only two seats available for five localities. Brabo agreed but said the seat sat empty for two years and there was nothing put out by the County that the seat was available. Young said the Supervisors served on 19 other boards and committees and he felt that was a lot. Brabo recommended the new Board make their own decision on if they want to keep a seat on the committee or not. Binder said she would volunteer to fill the vacancy.
Young continued his report asking for the Board's feedback on the staff holiday party. The Board agreed to the staff preference of the 18th. Young also notified the Board of the resignation of Sheila Fincannon from the Community Policy and Management Team. He also notified the Board that Davenport has closed on the debt refinancing.
The Board went into Closed Session at 10:32pm and invited Dr. Young, Eric Gregory, and Chief Moody to attend. They returned from Closed Session and adjourned at 10:48pm.
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 December 3, 2019 at 7:00 pm at the Revercomb Building.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Board of Supervisors Meeting.
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2019-11-27 - UPDATE - Corrected a spelling error to read "eminent domain" instead of "imminent domain."
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