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Tuesday, December 24, 2019

2019-12-17 - Board of Supervisors Meeting Notes

by Neil Richard

As the Board of Supervisors prepared to open their last meeting of the year, someone muttered "the mob's getting ready to start." The audience was large, though not as large as the previous Board meeting. And although they would be fairly polite, there were a few moments during the evening when they got a little unruly. Thankfully, it was nothing that required the two Sheriff's Deputies present to take any action.

The meeting began at 7:40pm. There was an amendment to the Agenda to add a change to the County Administrator's contract.

Jeff Bueche then opened the floor to Public Comment. He clarified that it was for County related issues, not for the Public Hearing later in the evening.



Dreda Newman came forward with a small complaint regarding the Convenience Center off Route 205 (Ridge Road). She said it was hard to see the entrance off the main road and asked if there could be a street light installed. Newman said it wasn't so bad during the summer months but during winter when it got dark early, it was hard to see where to turn sometimes. Newman also asked if there was a way to install a camera in Cedell Brooks Park as she's noticed several cars come to the park in the evening and just hang out. She said it was a little suspicious when people come to the park but don't walk on the trails or use the playground.

With no other public comment, Bueche then said he was going to re-order the normal flow of the Board Reports and have Ruby Brabo and John Jenkins go last.

With that, Richard Granger began his report, thanking Newman for her suggestions. He said he attended the tree lighting on the 8th and it was a lot of fun. He thanked the staff for everything they did to make it go well. On the 12th he attended the ground breaking for the new Cyber Warfare Engineering Lab and said there was a good partnership with the base. Slightly unrelated to the Board, Granger said he attended Mrs. Richard's Today Show broadcast from the Board Room on the 13th. He said it was neat to be a fly on the wall while the students did their show. He felt it was a good chance for the kids to see and meet County officials and staff and that even he learned a little bit during the tour. Granger then appointed Jordan Teaford to the Landfill Advisory Committee to replace the current appointee who will be resigning. Granger also reappointed Carol Sparbel to the Smoot Library Board of Trustees and appointed Keith Conner to the Infrastructure Advisory Committee. He said he was still looking for a second person to serve on the Infrastructure Advisory Committee. Granger then thanked Brabo and Jenkins for their service on the Board and appreciated their hard work. [EDITOR'S NOTE - Neil Richard, a co-founder of Project94, is the spouse of Yvonne Richard. Neil Richard is also the Chair of the Landfill Advisory Committee and a member of the Infrastructure Advisory Committee.]

Cathy Binder also thanked Brabo and Jenkins for their hard work. She also attended the tree lighting and Sheriff Dempsey's retirement lunch. Binder thanked Dempsey, who was in the audience, for his long service to the County and felt he was handing things off to a great man. Binder said she held a Town Hall on the 10th and presented an updated version of her infrastructure plan as well as discuss the replacement of Wayside Park with residents. She said she promised the residents of Roseland Road that she would talk to them about the land exchange and thanked Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, for his presentation as well. She also thanked Chris Clarke, Director of Parks and Recreation, and Bueche for being on hand to answer questions from residents. Binder said she wished she had a magic wand to make everything perfect and that King George didn't ask to give the land away. She ended her report by wishing everyone Merry Christmas and thanked Newman for coming out to talk.

Jeff Bueche then began his report by also thanking Brabo and Jenkins for their service. He said it has been a pleasure serving with both of them. He said it was also the last night for him to drop the gavel as Chair and wanted to thank his peers for the honor of representing his district and for their trust in him. He attended the tree lighting, Town Hall, and groundbreaking as well. He also attended Dempsey's retirement lunch and thanked him for everything he's done for King George County. To Captain Giles, who was also in the audience, he said he had large shoes to fill but knew he was up to the task.

Bueche then asked if his colleagues would consider his idea to give County employees two additional days off work around the upcoming holidays. He said this wouldn't cost the County and felt it would be a way to compensate staff in lieu of a bonus. Brabo asked if he discussed this with Dr. Young and Bueche said he did. There was some discussion as to how it would not cost the County money and Young said there would even be a potential savings in a few cases. Brabo asked about those employees that would lose income for not working and Young said he was willing to work with Human Resources to find a way to make it work. The Board approved the measure.

Binder chimed in that she forgot to make two appointments and proceeded to appoint Becky Gallamore to the Infrastructure Advisory Committee and Jean Fraysse to the Rappahannock Agency on Aging.

John Jenkins then began his final Board Report by saying he didn't think Bueche needed to put him second to last but he appreciated it. To Sheriff Dempsey, he apologized for not attending his party but wanted to thank him personally for all he has done for the community. He said Dempsey has made a lot of sacrifices and he appreciates it. He thanked everyone in the audience for coming out and said he thought they were all there for the Service Authority which drew laughs from the crowd. Jenkins said he recently talked to Congressman Wittman about the Dahlgren base security and traffic issues and both agreed that moving the gates back would be a good long term solution. Jenkins said that it would need to go through a lot of channels but it was a possibility. In the short term, he said there was talk of other solutions to help alleviate traffic.

Jenkins said he wished there was something profound and impactful he could say about his four years of service on the Board but he wasn't really proud of individual accomplishments because there wasn't really such a thing. He said the entire Board and County staff did all the work together and he appreciated the passion from residents. Jenkins said he simply wanted to thank everyone but most of all his family and friends, especially his wife and daughter. He then made a motion to adjourn which drew even more laughs.

Ruby Brabo began her last Board Report by saying she attended a National Association of Counties (NACo) meeting from the 4th to the 7th where there was a lot of discussion about entrepreneurs producing a product that would be viable for counties to use. She said she shared some contact information with Nick Minor, Director of Economic Development and Tourism, about the tech transfer but he hadn't followed up on it. She asked Dr. Young to follow up on that.

Brabo said she has enjoyed serving on the Board despite the many challenges. She then went on to list numerous accomplishments from her eight year tenure. These included being the first female At-Large Supervisor, the first Supervisor to use social media, and the first Supervisor to host County documents on her own website. Brabo said she also held Town Halls, published a regular newsletter, and more. Brabo said she cut $50,000 to meet a budget shortfall in her first year in office, convinced her fellow Supervisors not to contribute to charities with taxpayer money, and found more savings to help trim the budget. She said she shared information on how to catch drivers illegally passing school buses but it was never used for some reason. She also passed resolutions to get additional funds from Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), had several editorials published in the Free Lance-Star and Journal, and created a leadership committee. Brabo also started a candidate workshop, helped address the County's debt, and worked on tax relief. She said she spent two years learning about fracking and would eventually be invited by other groups and counties to speak on the topic. She campaigned on an updated County website and live streaming meetings and would also campaign on giving raises to County staff and teachers. Brabo said she worked to cash fund projects over the last four years and was named one of the top 25 leading women in government in the country. She also served on numerous committees in the Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) and NACo and as a result put King George on the map not only in Virginia but across the country. Brabo continued, saying she was told her lone voice could not make a difference but did so by getting a memorial placed at the landfill for the military remains that were sent there. She said she met fascinating people over the last eight years and is proud of the legacy she leaves behind because her heart was in it to serve and help people. She said her next chapter begins in January and has already heard from several counties asking about her expertise. To her colleagues she thanked them for their support and wished them well in the future.

Brabo and Jenkins were then presented with a photo album of photos from their tenure as well as a resolution thanking them for their service.



The Consent Agenda was approved.

The County Attorney, Eric Gregory, was not given a chance to say he had no report.

Sheriff Dempsey was next on the Agenda as he presented a request for funding. First, he thanked Brabo and Jenkins for their service and time and thanked the whole Board for their support of the Sheriff's Department. Dempsey said his request for funding was for increased wages for 911 Operators. He said neighboring jurisdictions have increased their salaries and as a result, King George has seen a turn over rate of 50% with a loss of eight people.

Sheriff Dempsey sharing that half of his 911 Operators have left for higher pay.

Jenkins added that the 911 Operators are extremely important and are the lifeline to the guys in the field and deserve every dollar they get. Brabo said it felt like they had come full circle and it was important to remain competitive. Bueche thanked Dempsey for bringing it to their attention, especially in a public venue, and wanted to say he doesn't harbor any ill feelings towards public safety officers leaving to work somewhere else for more money. With that, the Board approved the additional funding.

Next was the proverbial elephant in the room, the Public Hearing on the Special Exception Permit request for Campground with Ancillary uses by Freedom Hunt Outdoor Club. Heather Hall gave a detailed overview of the process so far and then the Ogneks were given a chance to give their presentation. Chris Ognek then gave a similar presentation to what he gave during the Planning Commission meeting but spent some extra time detailing the impact to economic development and took some members of the Planning Commission to task for, as he said, not reading the application. He said the line of questions from the Planning Commission made it "painfully obvious" many didn't read the application before the meeting. He said the application cost them $15,000 and it was hard to take when it felt like many didn't even read it. Ognek said he and his brother, Mike, have been called a lot of things and attacked in many ways but they have been relatively quiet about it because they felt their plan for the property would speak for itself and thought that would be proven at the Planning Commission meeting.

Ognek also said they have tried to over communicate through the entire process but felt the narrative had been hijacked as a shooting range and not a campground. He apologized for reading from his scripted comments and for taking a terse tone but felt the tone was needed after their treatment at the Planning Commission meeting. Ognek said there was a reason there was no attorney before the Board tonight, it was because he and his brother wanted to work with the community. He said he tried to find public email addresses for the Planning Commission but wasn't able to do so. Ognek said some emailed him later and apologized for how they were treated. Ognek said a single page was all that was needed for a campground application but the extra documentation on the gun range was included in an effort to address safety concerns.

Ognek continued that the Cameron Hills Golf Course has been a recreational asset for nearly 30 years and they planned to continue that for another 30 years. He said of the 700 people polled, 90% of them listed camping as their primary desire. He felt that everything he said up to now was good enough for the Planning Commission but, because it wasn't, he wanted to give additional information to the Supervisors.

First, he said they were not asking permission to lawfully discharge firearms. Ognek said they were asked to do so but they said no because it's a by-right use. He said the sound of firearms is already present in the area of their property and the true narrative is that neighbors are using firearms and exploding targets. This drew some laughter and rude comments from the audience. Once they quieted, Ognek continued by saying a commercial lawn mower operates at about 90 decibels and the state guidelines say 57 decibels is considered rural. Ognek's initial tests showed no measurable noise in one location on their property and near 57 decibels at all other locations. When they measured the noise at the nearby Salem Baptist Church two miles away, Ognek said there was no measurable noise. Ognek said they reached out to the church but never heard back. [EDITOR'S NOTE - Salem Baptist Church is less than a mile from the Cameron Hills Golf Course property and roughly a mile and a half from the proposed gun range location.]

Ognek's second point was about the requirement to have three different permits, one for firearms, one for the campground, and one for special events. Ognek again repeated that no permit is needed for the lawful discharge of firearms and that parking on grass is what limits them to 24 special events per year.

For his third point, Ognek said that camping was the primary use. He said there is indeed a metric for monitoring how much the camp site is used and it's the state law that dictates usage is recorded. He said using the property as a gun range as a primary use isn't a working business model and there are no stand alone gun ranges that work like this. He said ranges are used to support gun sales, training, and services. He said they would not have wasted $850,000 buying a golf course just to turn it into a gun range. Ognek said the addition of marksmanship is what gives the campground a competitive advantage and said that none of the groups that reached out to them have asked about firearm usage.

Ognek then said it would cost an estimated $2 million to build what is there on the property and that their idea is not a new concept with existing properties in the state that offer both camping and gun ranges. He said the demographic for camping also includes marksmanship as evidenced by catalogs from Cabela's, Field and Stream, Bass Pro, and more. He ended his presentation by saying the special exception application asks for only one thing, approval as a campground.

Bueche then allowed Carrie O'Malley, an attorney representing area residents, to speak on their behalf first. O'Malley said she represented over 50 residents and others that opposed the proposed plan. She said that County residents had done their research and are correct. She said it was a shame they had to pay her thousands of dollars to hire her to state their case. O'Malley said this was not a Second Amendment issue but rather an issue about land use regulations, property owner rights, and the obligation of the Supervisors to comply with zoning ordinances and the Comprehensive Plan.

O'Malley continued by saying the plan fails to meet Comprehensive Plan and Special Exception requirements and that the proposed shooting ranges are not ancillary. She also said the Ogneks failed to address the health, safety, and welfare of the surrounding property owners and the negative impact on property values. She said the Comprehensive Plan discourages development in the area and the proposed development would have a negative impact. O'Malley added that there are no local regulations governing shooting ranges which means there is potential danger to residents and the environment.

O'Malley said that the campground is only allowed by special exception and that uses that are not listed are expressly prohibited, which includes shooting ranges. Additionally, she said that 30 camp sites with a proposed membership of 1,000 members doesn't add up. She said the name of the company, Freedom Hunt Outdoor Club even references firearms in the name. She summed things up by using the adage of "if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck." She said in this case, it's a shooting range.

With the time now being 9:42pm, Bueche gave the ground rules for Public Comment. Similar to his plan for the meeting with the Second Amendment Sanctuary, he said each person would be limited to three minutes and the overall Public Comment would be limited to one hour. Halfway through the hour, he said he would allow the opposition to speak if the first half hour was dominated by a particular leaning. He also added that numerous emails were sent regarding the topic and they would be added to the public record, however, in deference to those residents who were there in person, he would not read those.

Thus began thirty minutes of ten speakers speaking against the proposed campground. Three residents yielded their time. This being the halfway point, Bueche allowed those supporting the campground a chance to speak. Four did so. With no more supporters willing to speak for the campground, Bueche opened the floor for the remainder of the hour for those speaking against it. Another six residents did so.

Those against the campground.

Those for the campground.

The time now being 10:45pm, the Supervisors took their turn to speak and ask questions.

Granger thanked everyone for speaking on both sides of the matter. He said even though there was a large number against the project, he appreciated those speaking in favor of it and appreciated the cordial behavior of the audience. In regards to the matter at hand, Granger said his main point was if the gun range was incidental or customarily found in relation to a campground. He said he agreed with the Planning Commission and believed it was not an ancillary use.

Binder said, as the Shiloh representative, she has frustrated a lot of the residents in her district by not saying one way or the other where she stood on the issue. She said she did what she promised residents she would do, even if her research annoyed her peers, and spoke to a hundred residents in person and many more beyond that. She said in the end she has to respect her constituents and vote no.

Jenkins said he had to echo much of what his colleagues already said and thanked everyone for speaking and being compassionate. For him, he said when the Planning Commission asked if the gun range could be removed from the campground application and the Ogneks said no, that he felt it wasn't a secondary use. He said he respects the Planning Commission members and, if he's representing the community, he has to vote no.

Brabo thanked the Planning Commission for doing their due diligence and felt they did their research too. She said a lot of the time there are no questions asked because the material was read beforehand. She thanked Gregory for his clarity in the process and told the citizens that if they wanted to see the County run the way they want, they need to stay engaged. She said the last two meetings has produced the largest crowds she has seen at a Board meeting in eight years and hoped the trend continued.

Bueche thanked everyone for coming out to comment on both sides. He said he did have questions and thanked staff and Gregory for giving clarity. He said he had a difference of opinion on the questions but not the vote of the Planning Commission. He asked why there are no County regulations on firing ranges and if there was anything preventing the Ogneks from creating a backstop and shooting guns anyway. Gregory said he would defer to Heather Hall but there was a difference between the discharge of firearms by a private individual, which is not prohibited, and the discharge of firearms by a commercial shooting range which is what the applicants are proposing. He added that the difference between primary and secondary use is also a distinction.

Bueche said that he liked the overall concept, just not the location. He said the activities associated with it fit but he has issues with the ranges. He said he saw nothing about a range master or line judge. Bueche said he had to make a difficult vote regarding the Potomac Overlook development because it was something allowed by-right. However, the Ogneks have a rezoning request and he needed a clear demonstration of a positive impact to the County. He said he has had a lot of correspondence regarding the issue prior to the Planning Commission meeting and the residents in the James Monroe District were in support of the campground. After the Planning Commission meeting however, he said his constituents were against the project.

The Board then voted to deny the application. After the applause died down, Bueche called for a three minute Recess at 10:59pm. They came back from Recess at 11:05pm and quickly began to move through the remaining Agenda items as quickly as they could before midnight.

Next on the Agenda was the award of a contract for work in the Courthouse. It was approved.

Next was a budget transfer to cover the lease for new offices on Kings Highway. It was approved.

Next was a request to extend the preliminary plat approval by Port Conway Solar. It was approved.

Next was the MuniBilling funding request for the Service Authority. It was approved.

Dr. Young then asked for funds for the 300th Anniversary. It was approved.

The amended contract for Dr. Young was next. It was approved.

Dr. Young then had a brief report and said the Fredericksburg Area Associations of Realtors (FAAR) requested the County's support on a higher ceiling for FHA loans. After some discussion, consensus was reached to send a letter of support for FAAR as well as an additional one to NACo in an effort to get more support.

Dr. Young then said VACo has asked for a letter of support for their initiative to allow for more time to review legislation at the state level. The Board approved the resolution.

Bueche then thanked everyone again for the honor and privilege to work with everyone and said he looked forward to January.

The meeting adjourned at 11:22pm.

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 7, 2020 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.

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

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