by Neil Richard
The Board of Supervisors began their meeting at 6:34pm.
There were amendments to the Agenda to add Closed Session.
Kim Dodge was the only speaker for Public Comment. Dodge said she wanted to speak on the part of the taxpayers and said she knew budget season was coming up. She wanted to thank everyone for their work in getting the County out of debt and keeping taxes low and hoped the Board could continue to do that. She said that when the Board increases property taxes, it takes money from each household and many families do not get pay increases. Dodge said she was proud to see a chart of the 2018 budget and that property tax revenue wasn't being used to pay for everything. Dodge said that the schools seemed like an endless money pit and that they'll ask for money and say it's for the children but there needed to be something else that paid for teacher salaries. She said that when she asks the Board to not increase taxes, she's asking on behalf of the poor, the single family households, and those that don't have dual incomes. Dodge said she gets that a lot of citizens in the County would support a tax increase but said it was because they thought it would increase their salary. She said she saw something on Facebook about the Sheriff's Department hiring and the salary was low but people said they would be willing to pay more in taxes if that meant the Deputy's salary would go up. Dodge said that she would rather see more grants used to pay for salary increases. She said we only hear from the people being paid from taxpayers and not the rest of the population and they would like to keep their taxes low.
Jeff Stonehill thanked Dodge for coming out and speaking and said that nobody on the Board wants to raise taxes if they don't have to. He cautioned though that it's a fine balance that's needed, especially with the mandates from Richmond for schools and that no government can survive on real estate taxes alone. Stonehill said he attended a walking tour of the Lake Caledon property and the group that's trying to facilitate it's purchase by the state to be a part of Caledon State Park. On the 19th and 20th he attended two different events in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. and thanked the NAACP and the Parks and Recreation Department for hosting their respective events.
Jeff Bueche thanked everyone for coming out. He said he was really happy with the new hours and thanked the Service Authority for starting early. Bueche thanked Dodge for coming out to speak and said she was correct, there needs to be a way to not go to the taxpayer every time funds are needed. Bueche also mentioned the unfunded mandates from the state and Federal governments and that the money has to come from somewhere. He said the County needs a diverse economic footprint and that the Economic Development Strategic Plan needs to be more than just pretty words that sit on a shelf. Bueche said he toured the Lake Caledon property last year and thinks it would be a wonderful addition to Caledon. He said he knew they applied for a grant and didn't get it and that he had reservations about the asking price for the property. He said as a taxpayer of the state, he would rather see his tax revenue go towards other things and with all the other needs of the County, he wasn't willing to commit County funds to the purchase. Bueche said he had a great conversation with Chief Moody about the compensation concerns for emergency responders. He said there was a pay disparity and would work to find a way to address it. Bueche also said he has been following the state legislature and the potential impact to localities. He said there's a lot of legislation being looked at but he won't address them at the moment and will instead wait until they produce actual talking points. He said that the rally in Richmond the day before was peaceful and he knew a lot of King George residents attended. He then appointed Guy Booth to the Economic Development Authority.
Bueche said he received correspondence from the National Association of Counties (NACo) regarding a summit for communities with a defense installation and he noted that there was no NACo appointment made at their last meeting. After some discussion, Cathy Binder was approved to be the NACo representative. The Board then discussed the travel expenses since Binder did not have the NACo conferences on her approved spend plan. Annie Cupka said that since she was not planning to attend, the previously approved spend plan for her district could be transferred over to cover Binder's expenses. The rest of the Board agreed and approved.
Annie Cupka said she hosted office hours at the L. E. Smoot Library on the 18th and thanked the residents that came out to speak with her. She will hold more office hours on February 1st and 15th. The Board approved her appointment of Mark Crnarich to the Citizens Budget Advisory Committee and Ian Fox to the Economic Development Authority (EDA). Cupka then recognized Robert "Bob" Fuscaldo for his service on the EDA and his time as base commander and County Supervisor.
After photos, Cupka informed constituents that she will use social media to distribute information but will not "banter" with people. She said that if anyone has a question, issue, or concern, to please email her at atlarge@co.kinggeorge.state.va.us so that she can communicate effectively and easily comply with Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) requests.
Richard Granger thanked Dodge for her comments and said he appreciated her coming to speak. Granger said the Board doesn't enjoy raising taxes and he appreciated the challenges she mentioned. He cautioned though that there were unfunded mandates that will need to be addressed. Granger asked to appoint Frank Fronzo to the Citizen Budget Advisory Committee and the Board approved.
Cathy Binder said that she attended the Dahlgren Heritage Museum meeting on the 15th which was followed by a joint meeting between the Dahlgren Museum, the Ralph Bunche Alumni Association, and the King George County Historical Society. Binder said the three groups met to discuss how they can best collaborate. She also attended the Purkins Corner Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) kick-off meeting where they discussed adding about 1,000 feet to Government Center Boulevard to provide better, safer access to the facility. At the Rappahannock Area Agency on Aging meeting, Binder said they discussed dementia and how to better educate the public on how to interact with those that have dementia. Binder also attended the tour of the Lake Caledon property and a Martin Luther King, Jr. event on the 19th at James Monroe High School. She said Phyllis Ashton, former teacher at King George County schools, was presented an award for being a hidden figure in the community. Binder said that Ashton witnessed first hand the local lawsuits that would eventually lead to the seminal Brown v. Board of Education decision. Ashton was also the first full-time African American teacher at King George High School and developed an African American History curriculum in 1974, long before it was popular across the country. Binder quoted Ashton as saying "people died so this could happen, it was not easy." Binder said that Ashton truly has been a hidden figure in the preservation of African American history. Binder also thanked Dodge for speaking and asked the Board to approve Joseph Gaborow's appointment to the Citizen Budget Advisory Committee. The Board approved. [EDITOR'S NOTE - Neil Richard, a co-founder of Project94, is an employee of the Dahlgren Heritage Foundation and is a lifetime member of the King George County Historical Society.]
Stonehill said he forgot to mention that he was also looking for a resident in the Dahlgren District to serve on the Infrastructure Advisory Committee and Planning Commission. He also said he has a Facebook page now and that it would largely be used for outgoing messages since he wasn't a huge Facebook person. Binder added that she was looking for a resident to represent the Shiloh District on the Service Authority Citizen Budget Advisory Committee as well.
The Consent Agenda was approved.
The County Attorney pro tempore, Eric Gregory, had no report.
[EDITOR'S NOTE - In an effort to keep the coverage of the three Public Hearings easier to digest for readers, only highlights and salient points from the hearings will be covered.]
The first Public Hearing was for a Special Exception Permit that was requested by Rodney Rollins to amend his existing Special Exception Permit as it related to his storage of biosolids on his farm in Dogue. The main point of the hearing was to ask the Supervisors to approve amending the old permit from 1990 to remove a specific condition that stated the sludge could only be used on the farm in Dogue and no other properties. The Planning Commission and County staff both recommended approval of the amendment and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) representative, Neil Zahradka, neither spoke in favor nor against the amendment but the general feeling was DEQ was okay with the amendment as long as all the rules were followed. Rollins' attorney and the engineer that designed the facility also spoke in favor of the amendment. There was only one Public Comment against the amendment which was read by staff. With that, the amendment was approved.
The second Public Hearing was for the amendment of the King George County Zoning Ordinance to allow microbreweries in the Retail Commercial District and General Trade District, and to allow breweries in the Industrial Light District and the Industrial District. Microbreweries were defined as producing less than 15,000 barrels per year while breweries produce 15,000 barrels or more each year. Again, the Planning Commission and County staff both recommended approval of the amendment. Stonehill asked about why this never came up before and Cupka said that when she was on County staff, a business was courted by the County and a full day was spent driving them around the County showing them potential locations. Later, it was discovered that the business wouldn't be allowed to operate in King George because of the lack of this particular section not being in the Zoning Ordinance. Bueche summed things up nicely by saying a glitch was fixed. The Board approved the amendment.
The third and final Public Hearing was for a Special Exception Permit that was requested by the Estate of White Hall to be an Event Venue. Unlike the two previous Public Hearings, the Planning Commission recommended approval of the permit while County staff recommended denial. Bethany and David Cassell, owners of White Hall, had their attorney, Clark Leming, do most of the talking for them although Mr. Cassell did come to the podium for a time to help plead their case. Leming, a real estate attorney well known for winning his cases, said the Cassells began their business after talking to Jack Green, former Director of Community Development. Cassell argued that Green gave the Cassells the go-ahead to run a winery and hold weddings and that no other permits were needed. In addition to this, the legal basis of weddings being a normal part of winery operations is still up for debate. Leming also said that the Cassells want to cooperate with the County and are happy to do so.
The Supervisors had some questions and concerns about the potential safety issues with the winery being on such a narrow road with a sharp curve near the main entrance. The Supervisors appeared to do their best to avoid mentioning the history of violations and lack of cooperation County staff noted in their previous presentations with Bueche even saying "I'm not going to rehash how I heard about this." The Board also had some questions and concerns about the serving of alcohol, noise, and parking, all of which seemed to be sufficiently answered by Leming or Cassell.
When the floor opened for Public Comment, Justin Grimes, who lives across the road from White Hall, again stated his opposition to the permit. His concerns were centered around the level of noise, the impact of extra traffic on the road, and the precedent it would set for future businesses. Grimes said that if a business can ignore a notice of violation from the County and still get a Special Exception Permit approved, it would give everyone de facto permission to break the rules. Grimes also quoted the former Supervisor John Jenkins from the controversial attempt to convert the former Cameron Hills Golf Course to a campground with a gun range where Jenkins said that if the campground could not operate without the gun range, it wasn't a secondary or ancillary use. Grimes said the same applied here where if the winery could not operate without the weddings, they were not a secondary use to the facility.
Five other members of the public, three living near the winery, spoke in favor of the permit being approved. Only one other nearby resident spoke against the permit. Supervisors also had a few emails from residents, some in favor and some against. After a little more discussion, mostly about how the County will police the limit of 24 events per year and the safety of the curve near the entrance, the Board approved of the Special Exception Permit with only Granger voting against it.
Andrew Grossnickle of Robinson, Farmer, Cox Associates then gave the Board a presentation on the County's audit. He said that they issued an unmodified or clean opinion on the report and that there were no material weaknesses nor any significant deficiencies reported.
Nick Minor, Director of Economic Development and Tourism then presented potential SMART SCALE projects to the Board. Minor said the proposed projects included improvements to the James Madison Parkway (Highway 301) corridor however those would be part of the George Washington Regional Commission (GWRC) submissions. The other projects considered would be a median u-turn for the James Madison Parkway (Highway 301) and Ridge Road (Route 205) intersection, a quadrant roadway for the James Madison Parkway (Highway 301) and Dahlgren Road (Route 206) intersection, and a roundabout for the Dahlgren Road (Route 206) and Indiantown Road (Route 610) intersection.
It should be noted that these are preliminary plans and not set in stone. However, as residents have learned from the Wayside Park land swap, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) doesn't always give localities a choice when it comes to big projects. You can read more about the Route 301/Route 207 Arterial Preservation Plan here. It should also be noted that the proposed VDOT changes do show projected improvements. The grading scale mentioned by Minor was an A to F scale with A being the best and F being the worst. As an example, in the images above, the Median U-Turn (MUT) proposed for the 301 and 205 intersection shows it currently has a score of D in the morning and F in the afternoon. With the MUT, the projected scores would be D in the morning and D in the afternoon. Thus, the MUT would improve the afternoon score two steps, from a D to an F because, unlike grades in school, they use the letter E in their scoring.
Binder took issue with the elimination of crossovers on James Madison Parkway as she lives directly off the road and has seen many near misses with her neighbors and school buses. She also said there are several businesses in that section of roadway near Unique Antiques that would be impacted as well as new homes in Oakwood Estates being built. When Minor got to the proposed Quadrant Roadway in Dahlgren, the Supervisors wondered how much property would be needed and if eminent domain would need to be exercised if the landowner didn't want to sell. Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, added that he got the impression that VDOT was pushing for improvements in Dahlgren because of the weight the base was throwing around and it may have artificially pushed the quadrant proposal higher in rankings. Minor also noted that the Dahlgren Road (Route 206) and Indiantown Road (Route 610) intersection is ranked 54th on the Potential Safety Improvement list in the state, meaning that it ranks quite high when ranked against every intersection in Virginia and that just being ranked puts it on the VDOT radar.
Eric Gregory then presented the same resolution from the Wireless Authority meeting to dissolve the authority. He reminded the Board that the funds previously held by the Wireless Authority would be transferred to the County's General Fund. The Board approved the resolution.
Dr. Young then presented a request for funds for an upcoming 300th Anniversary event to hold a sunrise service. The event would be hosted at the Mt. Bethel Retreat in Mathias Point and would include a breakfast afterwards. Young's request for $6,040 in funds from the Tourism Fund was approved.
Dr. Young then gave a brief report stating that it had been requested that Danielle Hicks be appointed to the Comprehensive Policy and Management Team. The appointment was approved by the Board. Young also said he had received correspondence from the Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) about their plan to lobby for taxing parity and their request for King George to approve a resolution in support of that effort. Bueche said that despite supporting VACo's efforts in general, he wanted to wait until he had time to review the finer details. Granger said he was okay to wait as well but wondered if there was a specific time crunch. Gregory said that legislation moves quickly and everything is time sensitive but also said that it wouldn't be the end of the world if King George sat on the sidelines for this one. Bueche said he wasn't going to be the only voice of dissent on a resolution and with that, the Board approved of the resolution.
Closed Session began at 9:23pm and Gregory and Young were invited to attend although Gregory never attended. They returned from Closed Session at 9:40pm and the meeting adjourned at 9:41pm.
Meeting Attendees:
Cathy Binder (Chair, Board of Supervisors)
Jeff Bueche (Board of Supervisors)
Annie Cupka (Vice Chair, Board of Supervisors)
Richard Granger (Board of Supervisors)
Jeff Stonehill (Board of Supervisors)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)
Meeting Agenda
Next Meeting:
The Board of Supervisors will next meet on January 28, 2020 at 6:00 pm at the Company 1.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Board of Supervisors Meeting.
The Board of Supervisors began their meeting at 6:34pm.
There were amendments to the Agenda to add Closed Session.
Kim Dodge was the only speaker for Public Comment. Dodge said she wanted to speak on the part of the taxpayers and said she knew budget season was coming up. She wanted to thank everyone for their work in getting the County out of debt and keeping taxes low and hoped the Board could continue to do that. She said that when the Board increases property taxes, it takes money from each household and many families do not get pay increases. Dodge said she was proud to see a chart of the 2018 budget and that property tax revenue wasn't being used to pay for everything. Dodge said that the schools seemed like an endless money pit and that they'll ask for money and say it's for the children but there needed to be something else that paid for teacher salaries. She said that when she asks the Board to not increase taxes, she's asking on behalf of the poor, the single family households, and those that don't have dual incomes. Dodge said she gets that a lot of citizens in the County would support a tax increase but said it was because they thought it would increase their salary. She said she saw something on Facebook about the Sheriff's Department hiring and the salary was low but people said they would be willing to pay more in taxes if that meant the Deputy's salary would go up. Dodge said that she would rather see more grants used to pay for salary increases. She said we only hear from the people being paid from taxpayers and not the rest of the population and they would like to keep their taxes low.
Jeff Stonehill thanked Dodge for coming out and speaking and said that nobody on the Board wants to raise taxes if they don't have to. He cautioned though that it's a fine balance that's needed, especially with the mandates from Richmond for schools and that no government can survive on real estate taxes alone. Stonehill said he attended a walking tour of the Lake Caledon property and the group that's trying to facilitate it's purchase by the state to be a part of Caledon State Park. On the 19th and 20th he attended two different events in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. and thanked the NAACP and the Parks and Recreation Department for hosting their respective events.
Jeff Bueche thanked everyone for coming out. He said he was really happy with the new hours and thanked the Service Authority for starting early. Bueche thanked Dodge for coming out to speak and said she was correct, there needs to be a way to not go to the taxpayer every time funds are needed. Bueche also mentioned the unfunded mandates from the state and Federal governments and that the money has to come from somewhere. He said the County needs a diverse economic footprint and that the Economic Development Strategic Plan needs to be more than just pretty words that sit on a shelf. Bueche said he toured the Lake Caledon property last year and thinks it would be a wonderful addition to Caledon. He said he knew they applied for a grant and didn't get it and that he had reservations about the asking price for the property. He said as a taxpayer of the state, he would rather see his tax revenue go towards other things and with all the other needs of the County, he wasn't willing to commit County funds to the purchase. Bueche said he had a great conversation with Chief Moody about the compensation concerns for emergency responders. He said there was a pay disparity and would work to find a way to address it. Bueche also said he has been following the state legislature and the potential impact to localities. He said there's a lot of legislation being looked at but he won't address them at the moment and will instead wait until they produce actual talking points. He said that the rally in Richmond the day before was peaceful and he knew a lot of King George residents attended. He then appointed Guy Booth to the Economic Development Authority.
Bueche said he received correspondence from the National Association of Counties (NACo) regarding a summit for communities with a defense installation and he noted that there was no NACo appointment made at their last meeting. After some discussion, Cathy Binder was approved to be the NACo representative. The Board then discussed the travel expenses since Binder did not have the NACo conferences on her approved spend plan. Annie Cupka said that since she was not planning to attend, the previously approved spend plan for her district could be transferred over to cover Binder's expenses. The rest of the Board agreed and approved.
Annie Cupka said she hosted office hours at the L. E. Smoot Library on the 18th and thanked the residents that came out to speak with her. She will hold more office hours on February 1st and 15th. The Board approved her appointment of Mark Crnarich to the Citizens Budget Advisory Committee and Ian Fox to the Economic Development Authority (EDA). Cupka then recognized Robert "Bob" Fuscaldo for his service on the EDA and his time as base commander and County Supervisor.
 |
| Bob Fuscaldo is recognized for his service to the County. |
After photos, Cupka informed constituents that she will use social media to distribute information but will not "banter" with people. She said that if anyone has a question, issue, or concern, to please email her at atlarge@co.kinggeorge.state.va.us so that she can communicate effectively and easily comply with Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) requests.
Richard Granger thanked Dodge for her comments and said he appreciated her coming to speak. Granger said the Board doesn't enjoy raising taxes and he appreciated the challenges she mentioned. He cautioned though that there were unfunded mandates that will need to be addressed. Granger asked to appoint Frank Fronzo to the Citizen Budget Advisory Committee and the Board approved.
Cathy Binder said that she attended the Dahlgren Heritage Museum meeting on the 15th which was followed by a joint meeting between the Dahlgren Museum, the Ralph Bunche Alumni Association, and the King George County Historical Society. Binder said the three groups met to discuss how they can best collaborate. She also attended the Purkins Corner Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) kick-off meeting where they discussed adding about 1,000 feet to Government Center Boulevard to provide better, safer access to the facility. At the Rappahannock Area Agency on Aging meeting, Binder said they discussed dementia and how to better educate the public on how to interact with those that have dementia. Binder also attended the tour of the Lake Caledon property and a Martin Luther King, Jr. event on the 19th at James Monroe High School. She said Phyllis Ashton, former teacher at King George County schools, was presented an award for being a hidden figure in the community. Binder said that Ashton witnessed first hand the local lawsuits that would eventually lead to the seminal Brown v. Board of Education decision. Ashton was also the first full-time African American teacher at King George High School and developed an African American History curriculum in 1974, long before it was popular across the country. Binder quoted Ashton as saying "people died so this could happen, it was not easy." Binder said that Ashton truly has been a hidden figure in the preservation of African American history. Binder also thanked Dodge for speaking and asked the Board to approve Joseph Gaborow's appointment to the Citizen Budget Advisory Committee. The Board approved. [EDITOR'S NOTE - Neil Richard, a co-founder of Project94, is an employee of the Dahlgren Heritage Foundation and is a lifetime member of the King George County Historical Society.]
Stonehill said he forgot to mention that he was also looking for a resident in the Dahlgren District to serve on the Infrastructure Advisory Committee and Planning Commission. He also said he has a Facebook page now and that it would largely be used for outgoing messages since he wasn't a huge Facebook person. Binder added that she was looking for a resident to represent the Shiloh District on the Service Authority Citizen Budget Advisory Committee as well.
The Consent Agenda was approved.
The County Attorney pro tempore, Eric Gregory, had no report.
[EDITOR'S NOTE - In an effort to keep the coverage of the three Public Hearings easier to digest for readers, only highlights and salient points from the hearings will be covered.]
The first Public Hearing was for a Special Exception Permit that was requested by Rodney Rollins to amend his existing Special Exception Permit as it related to his storage of biosolids on his farm in Dogue. The main point of the hearing was to ask the Supervisors to approve amending the old permit from 1990 to remove a specific condition that stated the sludge could only be used on the farm in Dogue and no other properties. The Planning Commission and County staff both recommended approval of the amendment and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) representative, Neil Zahradka, neither spoke in favor nor against the amendment but the general feeling was DEQ was okay with the amendment as long as all the rules were followed. Rollins' attorney and the engineer that designed the facility also spoke in favor of the amendment. There was only one Public Comment against the amendment which was read by staff. With that, the amendment was approved.
The second Public Hearing was for the amendment of the King George County Zoning Ordinance to allow microbreweries in the Retail Commercial District and General Trade District, and to allow breweries in the Industrial Light District and the Industrial District. Microbreweries were defined as producing less than 15,000 barrels per year while breweries produce 15,000 barrels or more each year. Again, the Planning Commission and County staff both recommended approval of the amendment. Stonehill asked about why this never came up before and Cupka said that when she was on County staff, a business was courted by the County and a full day was spent driving them around the County showing them potential locations. Later, it was discovered that the business wouldn't be allowed to operate in King George because of the lack of this particular section not being in the Zoning Ordinance. Bueche summed things up nicely by saying a glitch was fixed. The Board approved the amendment.
The third and final Public Hearing was for a Special Exception Permit that was requested by the Estate of White Hall to be an Event Venue. Unlike the two previous Public Hearings, the Planning Commission recommended approval of the permit while County staff recommended denial. Bethany and David Cassell, owners of White Hall, had their attorney, Clark Leming, do most of the talking for them although Mr. Cassell did come to the podium for a time to help plead their case. Leming, a real estate attorney well known for winning his cases, said the Cassells began their business after talking to Jack Green, former Director of Community Development. Cassell argued that Green gave the Cassells the go-ahead to run a winery and hold weddings and that no other permits were needed. In addition to this, the legal basis of weddings being a normal part of winery operations is still up for debate. Leming also said that the Cassells want to cooperate with the County and are happy to do so.
The Supervisors had some questions and concerns about the potential safety issues with the winery being on such a narrow road with a sharp curve near the main entrance. The Supervisors appeared to do their best to avoid mentioning the history of violations and lack of cooperation County staff noted in their previous presentations with Bueche even saying "I'm not going to rehash how I heard about this." The Board also had some questions and concerns about the serving of alcohol, noise, and parking, all of which seemed to be sufficiently answered by Leming or Cassell.
When the floor opened for Public Comment, Justin Grimes, who lives across the road from White Hall, again stated his opposition to the permit. His concerns were centered around the level of noise, the impact of extra traffic on the road, and the precedent it would set for future businesses. Grimes said that if a business can ignore a notice of violation from the County and still get a Special Exception Permit approved, it would give everyone de facto permission to break the rules. Grimes also quoted the former Supervisor John Jenkins from the controversial attempt to convert the former Cameron Hills Golf Course to a campground with a gun range where Jenkins said that if the campground could not operate without the gun range, it wasn't a secondary or ancillary use. Grimes said the same applied here where if the winery could not operate without the weddings, they were not a secondary use to the facility.
Five other members of the public, three living near the winery, spoke in favor of the permit being approved. Only one other nearby resident spoke against the permit. Supervisors also had a few emails from residents, some in favor and some against. After a little more discussion, mostly about how the County will police the limit of 24 events per year and the safety of the curve near the entrance, the Board approved of the Special Exception Permit with only Granger voting against it.
Andrew Grossnickle of Robinson, Farmer, Cox Associates then gave the Board a presentation on the County's audit. He said that they issued an unmodified or clean opinion on the report and that there were no material weaknesses nor any significant deficiencies reported.
Nick Minor, Director of Economic Development and Tourism then presented potential SMART SCALE projects to the Board. Minor said the proposed projects included improvements to the James Madison Parkway (Highway 301) corridor however those would be part of the George Washington Regional Commission (GWRC) submissions. The other projects considered would be a median u-turn for the James Madison Parkway (Highway 301) and Ridge Road (Route 205) intersection, a quadrant roadway for the James Madison Parkway (Highway 301) and Dahlgren Road (Route 206) intersection, and a roundabout for the Dahlgren Road (Route 206) and Indiantown Road (Route 610) intersection.
 |
| Median U-Turn at 301 and 205. |
 |
| Median U-Turn at 301 and 206. |
 |
| Quadrant roadway at 301 and 206. |
 |
| Roundabout at 206 and Indiantown. |
It should be noted that these are preliminary plans and not set in stone. However, as residents have learned from the Wayside Park land swap, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) doesn't always give localities a choice when it comes to big projects. You can read more about the Route 301/Route 207 Arterial Preservation Plan here. It should also be noted that the proposed VDOT changes do show projected improvements. The grading scale mentioned by Minor was an A to F scale with A being the best and F being the worst. As an example, in the images above, the Median U-Turn (MUT) proposed for the 301 and 205 intersection shows it currently has a score of D in the morning and F in the afternoon. With the MUT, the projected scores would be D in the morning and D in the afternoon. Thus, the MUT would improve the afternoon score two steps, from a D to an F because, unlike grades in school, they use the letter E in their scoring.
Binder took issue with the elimination of crossovers on James Madison Parkway as she lives directly off the road and has seen many near misses with her neighbors and school buses. She also said there are several businesses in that section of roadway near Unique Antiques that would be impacted as well as new homes in Oakwood Estates being built. When Minor got to the proposed Quadrant Roadway in Dahlgren, the Supervisors wondered how much property would be needed and if eminent domain would need to be exercised if the landowner didn't want to sell. Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, added that he got the impression that VDOT was pushing for improvements in Dahlgren because of the weight the base was throwing around and it may have artificially pushed the quadrant proposal higher in rankings. Minor also noted that the Dahlgren Road (Route 206) and Indiantown Road (Route 610) intersection is ranked 54th on the Potential Safety Improvement list in the state, meaning that it ranks quite high when ranked against every intersection in Virginia and that just being ranked puts it on the VDOT radar.
Eric Gregory then presented the same resolution from the Wireless Authority meeting to dissolve the authority. He reminded the Board that the funds previously held by the Wireless Authority would be transferred to the County's General Fund. The Board approved the resolution.
Dr. Young then presented a request for funds for an upcoming 300th Anniversary event to hold a sunrise service. The event would be hosted at the Mt. Bethel Retreat in Mathias Point and would include a breakfast afterwards. Young's request for $6,040 in funds from the Tourism Fund was approved.
Dr. Young then gave a brief report stating that it had been requested that Danielle Hicks be appointed to the Comprehensive Policy and Management Team. The appointment was approved by the Board. Young also said he had received correspondence from the Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) about their plan to lobby for taxing parity and their request for King George to approve a resolution in support of that effort. Bueche said that despite supporting VACo's efforts in general, he wanted to wait until he had time to review the finer details. Granger said he was okay to wait as well but wondered if there was a specific time crunch. Gregory said that legislation moves quickly and everything is time sensitive but also said that it wouldn't be the end of the world if King George sat on the sidelines for this one. Bueche said he wasn't going to be the only voice of dissent on a resolution and with that, the Board approved of the resolution.
Closed Session began at 9:23pm and Gregory and Young were invited to attend although Gregory never attended. They returned from Closed Session at 9:40pm and the meeting adjourned at 9:41pm.
Meeting Attendees:
Cathy Binder (Chair, Board of Supervisors)
Jeff Bueche (Board of Supervisors)
Annie Cupka (Vice Chair, Board of Supervisors)
Richard Granger (Board of Supervisors)
Jeff Stonehill (Board of Supervisors)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)
Meeting Agenda
Next Meeting:
The Board of Supervisors will next meet on January 28, 2020 at 6:00 pm at the Company 1.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Board of Supervisors Meeting.
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