by Neil Richard
The Board of Supervisors began their meeting at 6:30pm.
There was an amendment to the Agenda to add a Closed Session.
Mike Maldonado was the only speaker during Public Comment. He wanted to tell the Board about two things. First, he attended the Father and Daughter Princess Ball with his daughter. He said the dance, hosted by the Parks and Recreation Department, was fantastic. Second, his daughter attends Potomac Elementary School and she asked him who the Mayor of King George was. He thought this meeting was the perfect place to ask.
In breaking from the usual process of being a one-way comment period, Cathy Binder addressed Maldonado's daughter who was in the audience. Binder said there were five people up here and four represent a specific voting district and one represents the whole County. She added that there's no one person that's the head but that every year they elect a Chairperson. Binder said she would love to come to Potomac and talk to the kids there and asked the young Maxie Maldonado what grade she was in. The young lady said "my grade is Kindergarten" and her teacher was Mrs. Brinkman. Binder said her daughter goes to Potomac too but she had Mrs. Shaw for Kindergarten.
Jeff Bueche began his report by thanking everyone for coming out. He said today was National Anthem Day and that the Star Spangled Banner was adopted on this day in 1931. On the 19th, Bueche attended the organizational meeting of the Infrastructure Advisory Committee (IAC) and thanked everyone for volunteering their time. Bueche read some of the IAC Charter and said he looked forward to their recommendations at the end of the year on how to handle County property. On the 20th he attended the budget work session and reminded everyone that public comment was allowed before these meetings as well as regular meetings. On the 24th, Bueche attended the Chamber of Commerce meeting and thanked Don Smith, President, for allowing him to say a few words. [EDITOR'S NOTE - Neil Richard, a co-founder of Project94, is a member of the Infrastructure Advisory Committee.]
Annie Cupka addressed Maldonado by saying she represents the whole County but lives in the Dahlgren District. She said her son also had Mrs. Brinkman for Kindergarten. Cupka continued with her report, stating she attended the budget work session on the 20th and thanked the Department Directors for going through their budgets line by line and thanked Dr. Young, County Administrator, and Wilma Ward, Director of Finance, for their work in guiding everyone through the budget process. On the 24th, Cupka attended the George Washington Regional Commission (GWRC) and Fredericksburg Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (FAMPO). She reminded residents that there is still a vacancy on the FAMPO Citizens Transportation Advisory Committee (CTAC). On the 27th she attended the Rappahannock Regional Jail Board meeting where former Sheriff Dempsey was presented with a plaque honoring his service. On the 29th she attended the Evening in the Stacks event at the L. E. Smoot Memorial Library. Cupka thanked the library's Board of Trustees, Friends of Smoot Library (FOSL), library staff, and others for their hard work in making the event enjoyable. On March 1st, Cupka attended the memorial service for Richard Snow, the founder of Exit Realty Expertise. She said the Snow family has given a lot back to the community in many ways and were advocates of outdoor activities and the school system.
Cupka then asked to appoint Bob Baird to the Infrastructure Advisory Committee and Julie Boucher to the Social Services Board. Both appointments were approved.
Cupka then read a Resolution declaring March 16th as the 269th birthday of James Madison and said that, once adopted, the Resolution would be read at the 300th Anniversary event at Belle Grove Plantation on March 14th. The Board approved the Resolution.
Cupka reminded residents that there would be a Community Cleanup Day on March 28th from 9:00am to noon. The event will focus on Cedell Brooks Park, Sealston Sports Complex, the Citizen's Center, Wilmont Landing, and Barnesfield Park. Cupka said she would split her time between Wilmont Landing and Barnesfield Park and that the County was working with a local restaurant to supply participants with lunch afterwards. You can use this link to volunteer.
Cupka ended her report by again thanking everyone for allowing her to serve the community. She said she would be holding office hours at the library on March 14th from 10:00am to noon and would also be attending the Home Show on Sunday the 8th.
Richard Granger thanked the Maldonados for coming out and being involved. He said he was glad to hear the Princess Ball was a hit. On the 20th, Granger attended the budget work session and the COMREL meeting on the 26th. At the COMREL meeting, Granger said they heard about the new 301 bridge as well as a passing grade for recent security measures on base. On the 29th he attended the Evening in the Stacks at the library and felt it was a really nice evening. He thanked the staff and everyone else that came out. Granger then asked to appoint Ken Stroud to the Infrastructure Advisory Committee and the Board approved.
Harry W. Nice Memorial/Senator Thomas “Mac” Middleton Bridge Replacement Design-Build Project from TheMDTA on Vimeo.
Cathy Binder said she didn't have time to prepare a more formal report as she just, literally, got back from the National Association of Counties (NACo) conference in D.C.. She said it was important for the Chair to attend the event every year as there was a lot of news and information coming from Federal and state governments. Binder said there was a lot of things on the radar at the legislature level that would eventually impact King George and it was good to learn about it early. She also said that, no matter what side of the aisle you're on, it was incredible to hear the President speak. Binder thanked everyone for organizing the Evening in the Stacks and that she heard it was a great event. Being on the Smoot Board of Trustees, she also wanted to thank everyone that attended and supported the library. She said some people in D.C. even knew who Mr. Smoot was because of his involvement in building the Pentagon and several Embassies. She also said that she would ask Potomac Elementary School if they'd like to invite the Board to the schools to talk. She noticed a lack of younger people involved in the governmental process when she was in D.C. and felt that it may be a good thing to teach kids about it early in their education.
The Consent Agenda was approved.
The County Attorney pro tempore, Eric Gregory, had no report.
Curry Roberts of the Fredericksburg Regional Alliance (FRA) then gave a presentation on a Regional Industrial Facility Authority (RIFA). Roberts said a RIFA is not an entity that can require a locality to participate in a project or even tax or regulate. He said RIFAs also do not replace the local Economic Development Authority (EDA). In essence, Roberts said a RIFA would be two or more localities working together to share the expense and revenue of an industrial project. Each project is handled on a case by case basis and each locality in the RIFA can choose to participate, or not, in each project as it comes along. During the discussion with the Board, he also explained that the terms of each project would differ depending on what the project was and who was involved. He said that being part of a RIFA allows the County another tool to use but without any mandates that it must be involved in any project.
In answering questions from the Board, Roberts gave a hypothetical example of an industrial company coming to the area. King George may have the land but not the money to build the infrastructure. Fredericksburg may have the money for the infrastructure but not the land. Both localities, if they were in a RIFA together, could work out terms between each other to share the cost of the project and the tax revenue from the project. Roberts said that since each project was different, the terms would be different each time. Nick Minor, Director of Economic Development and Tourism, added that another hypothetical example would be using waterfront property for industry. He said he wasn't aware of any company wanting it or any landowners willing to sell but water access was a unique asset for King George. Young added that he felt it was a good investment in the County's money and was very low risk. The Board approved funds up to $3,000 to begin the process.
Next on the Agenda was an amendment to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee Bylaws. Dr. Young said the primary change was to the meeting date which would allow better attendance and allow Chris Clarke, Director of Parks and Recreation, to attend both this Committee meeting and the Infrastructure Advisory Committee meetings. Cupka added one other edit to change "country" to "county" and with that, the Board approved.
Although the Execution of County Attorney Contract was on the Agenda, Gregory said that action would be deferred to the Closed Session.
Dr. Young then gave a presentation on the Courthouse Construction, specifically the method used to handle the project. Young said the traditional method, design-bid-build, presented some issues with the current Middle School Expansion Project and he felt the newer method, Construction Manager At Risk (CMAR) would be better suited to the Courthouse Project. Although he listed pros and cons to each method, Young said the CMAR process should reduce the Change Orders during construction. He said that should a change order come from the owner, the County in this case, it would fall to the County to pay the additional costs. However, should a change order come from the builder, it would be their responsibility to pay the difference. In essence, this incentivizes the construction manager to not spend additional money to make up for a low bid. Additionally, the construction manager shares with the County any cost savings that the project may have. Young also said the CMAR process is typically six months shorter but could cost a little more up front.
Bueche asked if there were specific examples Young looked at for this new process and Young said Chesterfield schools was one example of the CMAR process being faster. Gregory added that the state didn't approve CMAR until 2017 so it's a fairly new process and not a lot of examples are out there. Binder wanted to make sure the end users were still involved in the process and Young assured her they were and are. He added that he met with several members of staff at the Courthouse and Administration building and they concurred that CMAR was the better process to use. Gregory added that even if the County adopts a procedure to use CMAR, it's not going to be required but can be used on a project by project basis. The Board came to a consensus to proceed with CMAR.
Dr. Young then gave a brief report on the budget for the Rappahannock Regional Jail. He said while working on it, he came across their audit which mentioned inmate road crews. Young said the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) was using 54 hours of work from the road crews. When he inquired how VDOT was getting time but King George wasn't, Young said he worked with the Jail to create a proposal for 192 hours of inmate labor to help pick up trash along Birchwood, Bloomsbury, and other roads in the County. He said the it would cost the County $6,336 per year to use the inmates and asked the Board to approve the funds. Bueche asked how much VDOT pays and Young said he didn't know but he was told that King George was given the opportunity in the past to participate but the County declined. The Board approved of the funding.
Closed Session began at 7:35pm and Gregory and Young were invited to attend. They returned from Closed Session and the meeting adjourned at 8:07pm.
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)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)
Absent:
Jeff Stonehill (Board of Supervisors)
Meeting Agenda
Next Meeting:
The Board of Supervisors will next meet on March 17, 2020 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Board of Supervisors Meeting
The Board of Supervisors began their meeting at 6:30pm.
There was an amendment to the Agenda to add a Closed Session.
Mike Maldonado was the only speaker during Public Comment. He wanted to tell the Board about two things. First, he attended the Father and Daughter Princess Ball with his daughter. He said the dance, hosted by the Parks and Recreation Department, was fantastic. Second, his daughter attends Potomac Elementary School and she asked him who the Mayor of King George was. He thought this meeting was the perfect place to ask.
In breaking from the usual process of being a one-way comment period, Cathy Binder addressed Maldonado's daughter who was in the audience. Binder said there were five people up here and four represent a specific voting district and one represents the whole County. She added that there's no one person that's the head but that every year they elect a Chairperson. Binder said she would love to come to Potomac and talk to the kids there and asked the young Maxie Maldonado what grade she was in. The young lady said "my grade is Kindergarten" and her teacher was Mrs. Brinkman. Binder said her daughter goes to Potomac too but she had Mrs. Shaw for Kindergarten.
Jeff Bueche began his report by thanking everyone for coming out. He said today was National Anthem Day and that the Star Spangled Banner was adopted on this day in 1931. On the 19th, Bueche attended the organizational meeting of the Infrastructure Advisory Committee (IAC) and thanked everyone for volunteering their time. Bueche read some of the IAC Charter and said he looked forward to their recommendations at the end of the year on how to handle County property. On the 20th he attended the budget work session and reminded everyone that public comment was allowed before these meetings as well as regular meetings. On the 24th, Bueche attended the Chamber of Commerce meeting and thanked Don Smith, President, for allowing him to say a few words. [EDITOR'S NOTE - Neil Richard, a co-founder of Project94, is a member of the Infrastructure Advisory Committee.]
Annie Cupka addressed Maldonado by saying she represents the whole County but lives in the Dahlgren District. She said her son also had Mrs. Brinkman for Kindergarten. Cupka continued with her report, stating she attended the budget work session on the 20th and thanked the Department Directors for going through their budgets line by line and thanked Dr. Young, County Administrator, and Wilma Ward, Director of Finance, for their work in guiding everyone through the budget process. On the 24th, Cupka attended the George Washington Regional Commission (GWRC) and Fredericksburg Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (FAMPO). She reminded residents that there is still a vacancy on the FAMPO Citizens Transportation Advisory Committee (CTAC). On the 27th she attended the Rappahannock Regional Jail Board meeting where former Sheriff Dempsey was presented with a plaque honoring his service. On the 29th she attended the Evening in the Stacks event at the L. E. Smoot Memorial Library. Cupka thanked the library's Board of Trustees, Friends of Smoot Library (FOSL), library staff, and others for their hard work in making the event enjoyable. On March 1st, Cupka attended the memorial service for Richard Snow, the founder of Exit Realty Expertise. She said the Snow family has given a lot back to the community in many ways and were advocates of outdoor activities and the school system.
Cupka then asked to appoint Bob Baird to the Infrastructure Advisory Committee and Julie Boucher to the Social Services Board. Both appointments were approved.
Cupka then read a Resolution declaring March 16th as the 269th birthday of James Madison and said that, once adopted, the Resolution would be read at the 300th Anniversary event at Belle Grove Plantation on March 14th. The Board approved the Resolution.
Cupka reminded residents that there would be a Community Cleanup Day on March 28th from 9:00am to noon. The event will focus on Cedell Brooks Park, Sealston Sports Complex, the Citizen's Center, Wilmont Landing, and Barnesfield Park. Cupka said she would split her time between Wilmont Landing and Barnesfield Park and that the County was working with a local restaurant to supply participants with lunch afterwards. You can use this link to volunteer.
Cupka ended her report by again thanking everyone for allowing her to serve the community. She said she would be holding office hours at the library on March 14th from 10:00am to noon and would also be attending the Home Show on Sunday the 8th.
Richard Granger thanked the Maldonados for coming out and being involved. He said he was glad to hear the Princess Ball was a hit. On the 20th, Granger attended the budget work session and the COMREL meeting on the 26th. At the COMREL meeting, Granger said they heard about the new 301 bridge as well as a passing grade for recent security measures on base. On the 29th he attended the Evening in the Stacks at the library and felt it was a really nice evening. He thanked the staff and everyone else that came out. Granger then asked to appoint Ken Stroud to the Infrastructure Advisory Committee and the Board approved.
Harry W. Nice Memorial/Senator Thomas “Mac” Middleton Bridge Replacement Design-Build Project from TheMDTA on Vimeo.
Cathy Binder said she didn't have time to prepare a more formal report as she just, literally, got back from the National Association of Counties (NACo) conference in D.C.. She said it was important for the Chair to attend the event every year as there was a lot of news and information coming from Federal and state governments. Binder said there was a lot of things on the radar at the legislature level that would eventually impact King George and it was good to learn about it early. She also said that, no matter what side of the aisle you're on, it was incredible to hear the President speak. Binder thanked everyone for organizing the Evening in the Stacks and that she heard it was a great event. Being on the Smoot Board of Trustees, she also wanted to thank everyone that attended and supported the library. She said some people in D.C. even knew who Mr. Smoot was because of his involvement in building the Pentagon and several Embassies. She also said that she would ask Potomac Elementary School if they'd like to invite the Board to the schools to talk. She noticed a lack of younger people involved in the governmental process when she was in D.C. and felt that it may be a good thing to teach kids about it early in their education.
The Consent Agenda was approved.
The County Attorney pro tempore, Eric Gregory, had no report.
Curry Roberts of the Fredericksburg Regional Alliance (FRA) then gave a presentation on a Regional Industrial Facility Authority (RIFA). Roberts said a RIFA is not an entity that can require a locality to participate in a project or even tax or regulate. He said RIFAs also do not replace the local Economic Development Authority (EDA). In essence, Roberts said a RIFA would be two or more localities working together to share the expense and revenue of an industrial project. Each project is handled on a case by case basis and each locality in the RIFA can choose to participate, or not, in each project as it comes along. During the discussion with the Board, he also explained that the terms of each project would differ depending on what the project was and who was involved. He said that being part of a RIFA allows the County another tool to use but without any mandates that it must be involved in any project.
 |
| Curry Roberts presenting information on a Regional Industrial Facility Authority. |
In answering questions from the Board, Roberts gave a hypothetical example of an industrial company coming to the area. King George may have the land but not the money to build the infrastructure. Fredericksburg may have the money for the infrastructure but not the land. Both localities, if they were in a RIFA together, could work out terms between each other to share the cost of the project and the tax revenue from the project. Roberts said that since each project was different, the terms would be different each time. Nick Minor, Director of Economic Development and Tourism, added that another hypothetical example would be using waterfront property for industry. He said he wasn't aware of any company wanting it or any landowners willing to sell but water access was a unique asset for King George. Young added that he felt it was a good investment in the County's money and was very low risk. The Board approved funds up to $3,000 to begin the process.
Next on the Agenda was an amendment to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee Bylaws. Dr. Young said the primary change was to the meeting date which would allow better attendance and allow Chris Clarke, Director of Parks and Recreation, to attend both this Committee meeting and the Infrastructure Advisory Committee meetings. Cupka added one other edit to change "country" to "county" and with that, the Board approved.
Although the Execution of County Attorney Contract was on the Agenda, Gregory said that action would be deferred to the Closed Session.
Dr. Young then gave a presentation on the Courthouse Construction, specifically the method used to handle the project. Young said the traditional method, design-bid-build, presented some issues with the current Middle School Expansion Project and he felt the newer method, Construction Manager At Risk (CMAR) would be better suited to the Courthouse Project. Although he listed pros and cons to each method, Young said the CMAR process should reduce the Change Orders during construction. He said that should a change order come from the owner, the County in this case, it would fall to the County to pay the additional costs. However, should a change order come from the builder, it would be their responsibility to pay the difference. In essence, this incentivizes the construction manager to not spend additional money to make up for a low bid. Additionally, the construction manager shares with the County any cost savings that the project may have. Young also said the CMAR process is typically six months shorter but could cost a little more up front.
Bueche asked if there were specific examples Young looked at for this new process and Young said Chesterfield schools was one example of the CMAR process being faster. Gregory added that the state didn't approve CMAR until 2017 so it's a fairly new process and not a lot of examples are out there. Binder wanted to make sure the end users were still involved in the process and Young assured her they were and are. He added that he met with several members of staff at the Courthouse and Administration building and they concurred that CMAR was the better process to use. Gregory added that even if the County adopts a procedure to use CMAR, it's not going to be required but can be used on a project by project basis. The Board came to a consensus to proceed with CMAR.
Dr. Young then gave a brief report on the budget for the Rappahannock Regional Jail. He said while working on it, he came across their audit which mentioned inmate road crews. Young said the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) was using 54 hours of work from the road crews. When he inquired how VDOT was getting time but King George wasn't, Young said he worked with the Jail to create a proposal for 192 hours of inmate labor to help pick up trash along Birchwood, Bloomsbury, and other roads in the County. He said the it would cost the County $6,336 per year to use the inmates and asked the Board to approve the funds. Bueche asked how much VDOT pays and Young said he didn't know but he was told that King George was given the opportunity in the past to participate but the County declined. The Board approved of the funding.
Closed Session began at 7:35pm and Gregory and Young were invited to attend. They returned from Closed Session and the meeting adjourned at 8:07pm.
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)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)
Absent:
Jeff Stonehill (Board of Supervisors)
Meeting Agenda
Next Meeting:
The Board of Supervisors will next meet on March 17, 2020 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Board of Supervisors Meeting
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