Thursday, February 8, 2018
Wednesday, February 7, 2018
2018-02-03 - Jeff Bueche Town Hall Notes
Jeff Bueche, James Monroe District Supervisor, hosted a Town Hall meeting at the Fairview Beach Fire Department building. The meeting was scheduled to last two hours but ended up going well over three. While there were presentations given by a bevy of County leaders, the bulk of the discussion was focused on the Service Authority and the water issues residents were experiencing.
Jeff Bueche started things off by welcoming everyone to the first James Monroe Town Hall. He was aiming for a "conversation amongst neighbors" but reminded everyone that while Facebook is home to many comments and discussions, it isn't actively monitored by those in the County that make decisions. In other words, talk to your representatives via email, phone, or in person if you want to be heard. Bueche also said he filled his campaign promise of appointing someone that was non-political to the Service Authority Board of Directors. He said he wanted to work on his personal goals that included connectivity, a solution for the old Middle School, an emergency medical center, and budget goals that address the County's debt. He said that while "our growth is inevitable," we needed to be proactive to help guide the growth instead of reacting to what is happening to us.
Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, spoke a little about the local news in The Free Lance-Star trending towards more positive news compared to the negative stories of the past. He said things are not as "doom and gloom" as the paper may have it seem and that there is hope.
Ruby Brabo, At-Large Supervisor, started with a reminder that the budget work sessions are open to the public and that public comment is allowed. However, unlike regular Board meetings, they are not televised. She offered one potential solution for Service Authority debt in the pending legislation that would allow localities to collect an 8% meals tax. Brabo said all conversations point to everyone at the County level supporting the additional income from the increase going towards paying down the debt. But she cautioned that the meals tax increase wasn't a done deal yet and that without local citizens speaking up to their state representatives, namely Senator McDougle, Senator Stuart, and Delegate Ransone, the bill may not pass. She repeated her plea to contact state representatives about legislation that may block local authorities and land owners from having a say in broadband access.
TC Collins, James Monroe District representative on the School Board, was next and, despite getting the signal to hurry up, gave a long list of positive news and accomplishments for the school system. These included, but weren't limited to:
Chief Dave Moody of Fire, Rescue, and Emergency Services, gave a brief history of the department, an overview of the department as it stands now, and a list of services provided in 2017. With 51 full-time and 14 part-time employees along with 42 volunteers, the department covers everything from fires to automobile accidents to medical transports. In 2017, he said there were roughly 126,000 man-hours worked and about 3,500 calls for service answered. He also said that all three stations are manned 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. He said if the station is ever empty, those that would have been there are likely out answering a call and that an emergency call box is present that will put you in touch with a 911 dispatcher. He said department's future goals include replacing the facility at Company 2 in Dahlgren and creating a new Company 4 in the Shiloh District.
Michael Bennett got his turn to talk next and joked that he may have been a little insane for volunteering to serve on the Service Authority Board of Directors. He said he's also the President of the Fairview Beach Residents Association and a former lawyer. He was upfront in saying he had no "magic wand" to get clean water tomorrow but reminded everyone that he is a customer too and, as many in the audience would mention later in the meeting, gets the same dirty water others do. Bennett said the current situation is a complicated issue but thinks it's a systemic problem and that it's not fair to have people buy bottled water when they're already paying for it.
Chris Thomas, General Manager of the Service Authority, was last to speak and kept his presentation short. He simply reminded everyone that he's been tasked with operating the Service Authority as a business and that a Utilities Master Plan is coming.
The presentations took only an hour and then the floor opened for the audience to ask questions, make comments, or give suggestions. The discussions were open, honest, and just that, discussions. Audience members had an open and two-way discussion with the leadership present unlike a typical Service Authority Board meeting where the public can only speak to the Board, not with them. Nearly everything brought up by the crowd was related to the water quality issues. A few highlights unrelated to the water issues included:
A few points that stood out about the Service Authority were the history behind its formation. In 1991, the State mandated that the County buy the private water systems and then mandated improvements be made. It was unclear how this was possible or legal. It was also noted that part of the recent, and large, increase in the Debt fees for Service Authority customers was that in years past, the Service Authority Board only approved debt payments to be made on the interest and not the principal. Once the principal amount of the payment came due, the bills customers received, reflected that large increase. There was also a suggestion or mention of all County citizens paying down the Service Authority debt. While non-customers of the Service Authority may enjoy the benefits of Service Authority services, such as those at all the schools, Courthouse, YMCA, or Smoot Library, this was not possible, yet. The discussion led to the revelation that it would impact the County's credit rating negatively, as would any outside funds being sent from the County to the Service Authority. In other words, until the County is financially out of debt far enough to absorb the Service Authority debt, this likely won't happen. Which is another reminder that the Service Authority and the County are two separate entities, even though they have close ties with each other.
The meeting ended around 1:30pm but there are still questions to be answered. Nearly all of the residents present were from Fairview Beach but they represent just a portion of the Service Authority customer base. The audience stayed civil but it was clear that many of them were angry about the current state. Be it the large debt or the poor water, the general consensus was not a happy one. The only shining light was the willingness to make positive changes by the current leadership on the Board of Supervisors and Service Authority Board as well as the County Administrator. The changes won't be immediate and things won't be fixed overnight but Dr. Young was willing to say that the light at the end of the tunnel looks to be only 4 or 5 years away. He didn't go into details as discussions were still being held in private but everyone seemed to have a positive view on the near future.
[All photos (c) 2018 by Yvonne Richard. Used with permission.]
 |
| Jeff Bueche, James Monroe District Supervisor |
Jeff Bueche started things off by welcoming everyone to the first James Monroe Town Hall. He was aiming for a "conversation amongst neighbors" but reminded everyone that while Facebook is home to many comments and discussions, it isn't actively monitored by those in the County that make decisions. In other words, talk to your representatives via email, phone, or in person if you want to be heard. Bueche also said he filled his campaign promise of appointing someone that was non-political to the Service Authority Board of Directors. He said he wanted to work on his personal goals that included connectivity, a solution for the old Middle School, an emergency medical center, and budget goals that address the County's debt. He said that while "our growth is inevitable," we needed to be proactive to help guide the growth instead of reacting to what is happening to us.
 |
| Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator |
Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, spoke a little about the local news in The Free Lance-Star trending towards more positive news compared to the negative stories of the past. He said things are not as "doom and gloom" as the paper may have it seem and that there is hope.
 |
| Ruby Brabo, At-Large Supervisor |
Ruby Brabo, At-Large Supervisor, started with a reminder that the budget work sessions are open to the public and that public comment is allowed. However, unlike regular Board meetings, they are not televised. She offered one potential solution for Service Authority debt in the pending legislation that would allow localities to collect an 8% meals tax. Brabo said all conversations point to everyone at the County level supporting the additional income from the increase going towards paying down the debt. But she cautioned that the meals tax increase wasn't a done deal yet and that without local citizens speaking up to their state representatives, namely Senator McDougle, Senator Stuart, and Delegate Ransone, the bill may not pass. She repeated her plea to contact state representatives about legislation that may block local authorities and land owners from having a say in broadband access.
 |
| TC Collins, James Monroe District School Board |
TC Collins, James Monroe District representative on the School Board, was next and, despite getting the signal to hurry up, gave a long list of positive news and accomplishments for the school system. These included, but weren't limited to:
- being accredited at the state, national, and international level
- vertical math and literacy program
- e-learning backpack program at the high school
- nurses aid program at Heritage Hall
- updated division branding
- increased social media presence
- Honeywell energy partnership
- track improvements
- middle school expansion
- decreased teacher turn-over
 |
| Chief Dave Moody of Fire, Rescue, and Emergency Services |
Chief Dave Moody of Fire, Rescue, and Emergency Services, gave a brief history of the department, an overview of the department as it stands now, and a list of services provided in 2017. With 51 full-time and 14 part-time employees along with 42 volunteers, the department covers everything from fires to automobile accidents to medical transports. In 2017, he said there were roughly 126,000 man-hours worked and about 3,500 calls for service answered. He also said that all three stations are manned 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. He said if the station is ever empty, those that would have been there are likely out answering a call and that an emergency call box is present that will put you in touch with a 911 dispatcher. He said department's future goals include replacing the facility at Company 2 in Dahlgren and creating a new Company 4 in the Shiloh District.
 |
| Michael Bennett, James Monroe District Service Authority Board of Directors |
Michael Bennett got his turn to talk next and joked that he may have been a little insane for volunteering to serve on the Service Authority Board of Directors. He said he's also the President of the Fairview Beach Residents Association and a former lawyer. He was upfront in saying he had no "magic wand" to get clean water tomorrow but reminded everyone that he is a customer too and, as many in the audience would mention later in the meeting, gets the same dirty water others do. Bennett said the current situation is a complicated issue but thinks it's a systemic problem and that it's not fair to have people buy bottled water when they're already paying for it.
 |
| Chris Thomas, Service Authority General Manager |
Chris Thomas, General Manager of the Service Authority, was last to speak and kept his presentation short. He simply reminded everyone that he's been tasked with operating the Service Authority as a business and that a Utilities Master Plan is coming.
 |
| Audience |
The presentations took only an hour and then the floor opened for the audience to ask questions, make comments, or give suggestions. The discussions were open, honest, and just that, discussions. Audience members had an open and two-way discussion with the leadership present unlike a typical Service Authority Board meeting where the public can only speak to the Board, not with them. Nearly everything brought up by the crowd was related to the water quality issues. A few highlights unrelated to the water issues included:
- someone in the audience asked Dr. Young about a survey he had mentioned during his presentation. Dr. Young replied that the "survey says we need internet."
- several Fairview Beach residents thanked Chief Moody and the fire and rescue workers that helped during the recent power outages and storms
- all fire and rescue personnel, and Sheriff's Deputies, carry naloxone
A few points that stood out about the Service Authority were the history behind its formation. In 1991, the State mandated that the County buy the private water systems and then mandated improvements be made. It was unclear how this was possible or legal. It was also noted that part of the recent, and large, increase in the Debt fees for Service Authority customers was that in years past, the Service Authority Board only approved debt payments to be made on the interest and not the principal. Once the principal amount of the payment came due, the bills customers received, reflected that large increase. There was also a suggestion or mention of all County citizens paying down the Service Authority debt. While non-customers of the Service Authority may enjoy the benefits of Service Authority services, such as those at all the schools, Courthouse, YMCA, or Smoot Library, this was not possible, yet. The discussion led to the revelation that it would impact the County's credit rating negatively, as would any outside funds being sent from the County to the Service Authority. In other words, until the County is financially out of debt far enough to absorb the Service Authority debt, this likely won't happen. Which is another reminder that the Service Authority and the County are two separate entities, even though they have close ties with each other.
The meeting ended around 1:30pm but there are still questions to be answered. Nearly all of the residents present were from Fairview Beach but they represent just a portion of the Service Authority customer base. The audience stayed civil but it was clear that many of them were angry about the current state. Be it the large debt or the poor water, the general consensus was not a happy one. The only shining light was the willingness to make positive changes by the current leadership on the Board of Supervisors and Service Authority Board as well as the County Administrator. The changes won't be immediate and things won't be fixed overnight but Dr. Young was willing to say that the light at the end of the tunnel looks to be only 4 or 5 years away. He didn't go into details as discussions were still being held in private but everyone seemed to have a positive view on the near future.
[All photos (c) 2018 by Yvonne Richard. Used with permission.]
Monday, February 5, 2018
Friday, February 2, 2018
OPINION - Citizen Budget Advisory Committee - Part 1
For those of you that may have missed it in my previous coverage of the Board of Supervisors meeting on January 23, 2018, I was appointed to the Citizen Budget Advisory Committee by the Board of Supervisors. On January 31, 2018, I attended our first meeting and was generously granted the opportunity to sit at the table with the Board of Supervisors, County Administrator (Neiman Young), several County employees, and fellow citizens serving on the Committee. What follows will be my report from that meeting.
But before I get into the report, I want to get a few things cleared up. First, I'm labeling this article as an opinion piece because I will be including a lot of my opinion in it. Second, unlike my coverage of the Board of Supervisors and Service Authority meetings, I'll try not to be so dry and technical in my writing style. But it will still be a long report. Finally, if anyone has questions, comments, or concerns, I recommend you reach out to your representative on the Board of Supervisors or on the Citizen Budget Advisory Committee. I'll list their names at the end. And before you reach out to your representative, keep in mind that this Committee is ONLY for the Board of Supervisors budget and NOT for the Service Authority budget NOR the School budget. While all three budgets may be related and linked together, they are handled differently.
The first thing that I noticed about the meeting, and was able to confirm later at the end of the meeting, was that this was an open discussion, productive, and educational. Unlike most meetings I've attended in my life, I was able to walk away feeling like I not only contributed but also learned something. I hope to share as much of what I learned as possible.
Before the meeting progressed very far, Ruby Brabo nominated and the Board voted and approved Renee Parker as the citizen representative on the Committee for the At-Large district.
The first thing Dr. Young, our County Administrator, did was give a State of the County presentation. As he does at a regular Board meeting, he read from his notes and gave a solid presentation. But unlike at Board meetings, several of us interrupted him at various points to ask questions, to raise concerns, or to make statements.
Breaking into a few of the key takeaways from his presentation, it was interesting to note that the metrics he listed for 2017 included four capital projects. Of those, three of them (Route 3/301 water extension, High School track, and a new fire engine) were cash funded and incurred no new debt to the County. Only the Middle School expansion added to the County's debt (roughly $20 million). I'll get more into the debt situation in a minute.
Dr. Young then explained how the County's credit rating was obtained. It wasn't strictly finances as I had assumed but instead looked at the County as a whole. Yes, finances were part of the math, but the credit agencies also looked at the stability of the County. In other words, things like the leadership, employees, cooperative relationships with other entities, etc. The overall theme though was "develop or die." The best analogy I could walk away with was something my parents always told me when I was growing up as a teenager. While they wanted me to go to college, even expected me to go, they would be okay if I didn't. But if I wasn't in school, I had to be working a job. I had to contribute to the family in some way, either financially or by bettering myself. Very similar to what I mean by "develop or die" in that the credit agencies expect the County to grow or make improvements in some form or fashion. And when that doesn't happen, lower credit ratings happen.
Getting into the financial aspect of the presentation, the key word was debt. Young looked at comparable Counties both in our region and of a similar size and found that despite how bad our debt may seem, it's not as bad as many people think. As he summarized at the end, he said our "house is not on fire" and that the debt was manageable but cautioned that our "appetite for capital projects is insatiable." In other words, there is hope of getting out of debt. But just like paying off that credit card debt or home mortgage, there are trade-offs and costs associated with that.
Comparing the County debt to my home mortgage was the best way I could think of to make sense of it all. Most, if not all, mortgages have a principal portion and an interest portion of the payment. In other words, for every $100 you pay on your house payment every month, $80 goes to pay off interest and only $20 pays off the principal. The same thing with the County debt, except the numbers are much larger. So while we have about $80 million in debt, we have $33 million in interest. And just like a home loan, we can pay down on the principal to reduce the interest, therefore reducing our overall debt. One shocking tidbit of information was that if we did not use our landfill income to fund our projects, we would need to raise our tax rate 23 cents to cover costs. That goes back to support his comment about that insatiable appetite for capital projects.
As he progressed into his presentation, my education level about County finances increased ten-fold. Sure, I knew some of the County expenses were mandated by Federal or State law, but some payments are also mandated by previous agreements or contracts. But things got interesting when he began talking about income. First, I learned that the Capital Fund and the General Fund could not be combined or cross-pollinated. In other words, they aren't allowed to play with each other. But the landfill income portion of the presentation was what scared me the most.
Currently, the landfill has a lifespan of another 29 years. That's 29 more years of income the County can expect to get. Except 20 years of that income is already spent or allocated to be spent. In other words, we've already borrowed against two-thirds of that income. Not at all ideal. Especially when you consider that because the landfill income is funding the Capital Fund, we're looking at a dim view of capital improvements in 30 years. Unless we look at other sources of income before that well runs dry.
Which ties back to the debt and paying off the principal early. If we can manage to pay down the debt early, then we can use the landfill revenue early. Or save it for a rainy day. But it gives us more opportunities to be fiscally and financially stable going forward.
The hardest pill to swallow though was one of the options to paying down that debt early. As I said at the start, it'll cost us as citizens. And one of those costs may be no equalization. While many developers will tout our low real estate tax rates as a way to attract home buyers, it means lower income for the County coffers. While many citizens will tout our history of equalizing tax rates based on assessments, it's not necessarily true for the last decade. Although, admittedly, the last decade has been rather hard on real estate values in general. But if the County didn't equalize rates this year, it would mean higher mortgage bills for residents. It would mean, however, more debt principal being paid off for the County.
Now before anyone goes ballistic about increased bills, be patient. Remember, this was just a presentation and a discussion. Nothing is set in stone. It's just an option on the table. And as I learned, the County is required to hold a Public Hearing if their income is more than one percent over their projected amount. In other words, something like this (meaning no equalization) would require a Public Hearing. So residents can voice their opinion for or against that option. Currently, our tax rate is $0.70 cents per $100. If the County equalized, it would drop to $0.67 cents. But just like raising rates, a Public Hearing would need to be held and the County would need to hear from residents on what that extra money is spent on. This was wildly educational for me as I always just assumed the County needed my permission, as a resident, to increase rates. I never knew it worked the other way too.
Transportation was another key discussion topic and Dr. Young said we were in what he called the "eye of the traffic congestion hurricane." In other words, that Route 301 corridor is forecast to have twice the amount of traffic in the coming decade and there are few, if any, plans to maintain or improve the road. So even though the Board of Supervisors is exploring the option of creating a Regional Transit Authority (RTA), as the home of a major thoroughfare, we need to plan for the future.
And that was probably the most important takeaway from the presentation. Future planning. It was again emphasized in discussing County Staff needs, capital improvement priorities, and potential future projects. I think most residents can agree that our County needs certain things such as a well staffed fire department but there are other needs that may be a little more obscure like a new accounting software system.
Wilma Ward, Director of the Finance Department, then gave her presentation on the County Budget. It was a fairly straight-forward overview of how each department completes a line-item budget and submits it to the County Administrator for review. From there, the Board of Supervisors reviews it before everything gets approved. As with any budget this complex, there are certain variables and changes that need to be made throughout the year as well as during the budget creation. The best example I know of is actually the School's budget. They may have a pretty solid guess on how many students will attend every year, but they don't know how many kids will move into or out of the district during the school year. And because their budget is partially based on their Average Daily Membership (ADM), it's hard to set certain amounts in stone for the entire year. The County is the same way. This is also true for income, largely from the State and Federal governments as their respective budgets are not finalized yet. In simple terms, we can't finalize our numbers until we get their numbers. And even when we do get their numbers, they may change them during the year thus requiring us to change ours.
Ryan Gandy, Director of Economic Development and Tourism, gave his presentation next. It was largely focused on reviewing feedback from County leadership, staff, and citizens in an effort to develop a vision for the future. Again, future planning was the cornerstone of the night. By reviewing his SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats), the goal was to create a Vision Statement.
It was important to differentiate the Vision Statement from the Mission Statement as they are technically two different things. Personally, I've never seen much of a difference between them and have found common sense to be a much better mission in life. But over the years I've found that common sense doesn't always work and isn't very finite. So like civil, criminal, and tax law, there needs to be a concrete measuring stick to use. The current Mission Statement reads:
From 2018-2023, King George County will maintain a comprehensive economic development program that encourages controlled development and diverse revenue streams in order to manage our inevitable growth while preserving the historical, cultural, and rural character of our community.
While it may look like a boiler-plate mission, there are some key focal points that stood out to me like "diverse revenue streams" and "inevitable growth" and "controlled development."
One last thing I noticed during the meeting was that the mood was cooperative. While there were disagreements, I wouldn't say they were heated or disrespectful. They were simple discussions about complex topics where there were many sides to be seen. And as with any meeting dealing with complex issues, there's bound to be a difference of opinion. But the fact that everyone at the table was willing to listen and given the opportunity to voice their own opinion in turn gave me hope for our future work sessions.
In conclusion, or the tl/dr if you prefer, the meeting was productive and educational. Our debt is large but there are solutions. There are a lot of myths to be dispelled about our County's Budget. Future planning and a forward-thinking vision is key to our County's survival.
But before I get into the report, I want to get a few things cleared up. First, I'm labeling this article as an opinion piece because I will be including a lot of my opinion in it. Second, unlike my coverage of the Board of Supervisors and Service Authority meetings, I'll try not to be so dry and technical in my writing style. But it will still be a long report. Finally, if anyone has questions, comments, or concerns, I recommend you reach out to your representative on the Board of Supervisors or on the Citizen Budget Advisory Committee. I'll list their names at the end. And before you reach out to your representative, keep in mind that this Committee is ONLY for the Board of Supervisors budget and NOT for the Service Authority budget NOR the School budget. While all three budgets may be related and linked together, they are handled differently.
The first thing that I noticed about the meeting, and was able to confirm later at the end of the meeting, was that this was an open discussion, productive, and educational. Unlike most meetings I've attended in my life, I was able to walk away feeling like I not only contributed but also learned something. I hope to share as much of what I learned as possible.
Before the meeting progressed very far, Ruby Brabo nominated and the Board voted and approved Renee Parker as the citizen representative on the Committee for the At-Large district.
The first thing Dr. Young, our County Administrator, did was give a State of the County presentation. As he does at a regular Board meeting, he read from his notes and gave a solid presentation. But unlike at Board meetings, several of us interrupted him at various points to ask questions, to raise concerns, or to make statements.
Breaking into a few of the key takeaways from his presentation, it was interesting to note that the metrics he listed for 2017 included four capital projects. Of those, three of them (Route 3/301 water extension, High School track, and a new fire engine) were cash funded and incurred no new debt to the County. Only the Middle School expansion added to the County's debt (roughly $20 million). I'll get more into the debt situation in a minute.
Dr. Young then explained how the County's credit rating was obtained. It wasn't strictly finances as I had assumed but instead looked at the County as a whole. Yes, finances were part of the math, but the credit agencies also looked at the stability of the County. In other words, things like the leadership, employees, cooperative relationships with other entities, etc. The overall theme though was "develop or die." The best analogy I could walk away with was something my parents always told me when I was growing up as a teenager. While they wanted me to go to college, even expected me to go, they would be okay if I didn't. But if I wasn't in school, I had to be working a job. I had to contribute to the family in some way, either financially or by bettering myself. Very similar to what I mean by "develop or die" in that the credit agencies expect the County to grow or make improvements in some form or fashion. And when that doesn't happen, lower credit ratings happen.
Getting into the financial aspect of the presentation, the key word was debt. Young looked at comparable Counties both in our region and of a similar size and found that despite how bad our debt may seem, it's not as bad as many people think. As he summarized at the end, he said our "house is not on fire" and that the debt was manageable but cautioned that our "appetite for capital projects is insatiable." In other words, there is hope of getting out of debt. But just like paying off that credit card debt or home mortgage, there are trade-offs and costs associated with that.
Comparing the County debt to my home mortgage was the best way I could think of to make sense of it all. Most, if not all, mortgages have a principal portion and an interest portion of the payment. In other words, for every $100 you pay on your house payment every month, $80 goes to pay off interest and only $20 pays off the principal. The same thing with the County debt, except the numbers are much larger. So while we have about $80 million in debt, we have $33 million in interest. And just like a home loan, we can pay down on the principal to reduce the interest, therefore reducing our overall debt. One shocking tidbit of information was that if we did not use our landfill income to fund our projects, we would need to raise our tax rate 23 cents to cover costs. That goes back to support his comment about that insatiable appetite for capital projects.
As he progressed into his presentation, my education level about County finances increased ten-fold. Sure, I knew some of the County expenses were mandated by Federal or State law, but some payments are also mandated by previous agreements or contracts. But things got interesting when he began talking about income. First, I learned that the Capital Fund and the General Fund could not be combined or cross-pollinated. In other words, they aren't allowed to play with each other. But the landfill income portion of the presentation was what scared me the most.
Currently, the landfill has a lifespan of another 29 years. That's 29 more years of income the County can expect to get. Except 20 years of that income is already spent or allocated to be spent. In other words, we've already borrowed against two-thirds of that income. Not at all ideal. Especially when you consider that because the landfill income is funding the Capital Fund, we're looking at a dim view of capital improvements in 30 years. Unless we look at other sources of income before that well runs dry.
Which ties back to the debt and paying off the principal early. If we can manage to pay down the debt early, then we can use the landfill revenue early. Or save it for a rainy day. But it gives us more opportunities to be fiscally and financially stable going forward.
The hardest pill to swallow though was one of the options to paying down that debt early. As I said at the start, it'll cost us as citizens. And one of those costs may be no equalization. While many developers will tout our low real estate tax rates as a way to attract home buyers, it means lower income for the County coffers. While many citizens will tout our history of equalizing tax rates based on assessments, it's not necessarily true for the last decade. Although, admittedly, the last decade has been rather hard on real estate values in general. But if the County didn't equalize rates this year, it would mean higher mortgage bills for residents. It would mean, however, more debt principal being paid off for the County.
Now before anyone goes ballistic about increased bills, be patient. Remember, this was just a presentation and a discussion. Nothing is set in stone. It's just an option on the table. And as I learned, the County is required to hold a Public Hearing if their income is more than one percent over their projected amount. In other words, something like this (meaning no equalization) would require a Public Hearing. So residents can voice their opinion for or against that option. Currently, our tax rate is $0.70 cents per $100. If the County equalized, it would drop to $0.67 cents. But just like raising rates, a Public Hearing would need to be held and the County would need to hear from residents on what that extra money is spent on. This was wildly educational for me as I always just assumed the County needed my permission, as a resident, to increase rates. I never knew it worked the other way too.
Transportation was another key discussion topic and Dr. Young said we were in what he called the "eye of the traffic congestion hurricane." In other words, that Route 301 corridor is forecast to have twice the amount of traffic in the coming decade and there are few, if any, plans to maintain or improve the road. So even though the Board of Supervisors is exploring the option of creating a Regional Transit Authority (RTA), as the home of a major thoroughfare, we need to plan for the future.
And that was probably the most important takeaway from the presentation. Future planning. It was again emphasized in discussing County Staff needs, capital improvement priorities, and potential future projects. I think most residents can agree that our County needs certain things such as a well staffed fire department but there are other needs that may be a little more obscure like a new accounting software system.
Wilma Ward, Director of the Finance Department, then gave her presentation on the County Budget. It was a fairly straight-forward overview of how each department completes a line-item budget and submits it to the County Administrator for review. From there, the Board of Supervisors reviews it before everything gets approved. As with any budget this complex, there are certain variables and changes that need to be made throughout the year as well as during the budget creation. The best example I know of is actually the School's budget. They may have a pretty solid guess on how many students will attend every year, but they don't know how many kids will move into or out of the district during the school year. And because their budget is partially based on their Average Daily Membership (ADM), it's hard to set certain amounts in stone for the entire year. The County is the same way. This is also true for income, largely from the State and Federal governments as their respective budgets are not finalized yet. In simple terms, we can't finalize our numbers until we get their numbers. And even when we do get their numbers, they may change them during the year thus requiring us to change ours.
Ryan Gandy, Director of Economic Development and Tourism, gave his presentation next. It was largely focused on reviewing feedback from County leadership, staff, and citizens in an effort to develop a vision for the future. Again, future planning was the cornerstone of the night. By reviewing his SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats), the goal was to create a Vision Statement.
It was important to differentiate the Vision Statement from the Mission Statement as they are technically two different things. Personally, I've never seen much of a difference between them and have found common sense to be a much better mission in life. But over the years I've found that common sense doesn't always work and isn't very finite. So like civil, criminal, and tax law, there needs to be a concrete measuring stick to use. The current Mission Statement reads:
From 2018-2023, King George County will maintain a comprehensive economic development program that encourages controlled development and diverse revenue streams in order to manage our inevitable growth while preserving the historical, cultural, and rural character of our community.
While it may look like a boiler-plate mission, there are some key focal points that stood out to me like "diverse revenue streams" and "inevitable growth" and "controlled development."
One last thing I noticed during the meeting was that the mood was cooperative. While there were disagreements, I wouldn't say they were heated or disrespectful. They were simple discussions about complex topics where there were many sides to be seen. And as with any meeting dealing with complex issues, there's bound to be a difference of opinion. But the fact that everyone at the table was willing to listen and given the opportunity to voice their own opinion in turn gave me hope for our future work sessions.
In conclusion, or the tl/dr if you prefer, the meeting was productive and educational. Our debt is large but there are solutions. There are a lot of myths to be dispelled about our County's Budget. Future planning and a forward-thinking vision is key to our County's survival.
Meeting Attendees:
Jeff Bueche (Board of Supervisors)
Richard Granger (Chairman, Board of Supervisors)
Ruby Brabo (Board of Supervisors)
Cathy Binder (Board of Supervisors)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Wilma Ward (Director, Finance Department)
Neil Richard (Citizen)
Sherry Allwine (Citizen)
Renee Parker (Citizen)
Keith Conner (Citizen)
Ryan Gandy (Director, Economic Development and Tourism)
*Others were present at the table but I did not catch their names.
*Other County officials and members of the public were also present in the audience.
*Others were present at the table but I did not catch their names.
*Other County officials and members of the public were also present in the audience.
Thursday, January 25, 2018
2018-01-23 - Board of Supervisors Meeting Notes
The January 23, 2018 Board of Supervisors meeting began at 7:21pm and opened with a public comment from Jim Lynch. He brought before the Board two items of interest, the first being an upcoming meeting of the Northern Neck Land Conservancy. The meeting will be on January 31, 2018 at St. Paul's Church [5486 St. Paul's Road] at 6pm and will cover how the conservation easement process works. His second comment was related to the new Route 301 bridge crossing at the Potomac River and was happy to report that cyclists would be allowed to cross the new bridge according to the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA). He also reminded the Board that the comment period on the new bridge is open through February 20, 2018 and encouraged everyone to submit their opinions.
The Board then began with their reports. John Jenkins did not arrive until shortly after 8pm so was not present to give his report.
Jeff Bueche met with Sheriff Dempsey on January 18, 2018 to discuss operational needs and was given a tour of the facility by Captain Giles. On January 19, 2018, Bueche attended the fire and rescue award ceremony in Fairview Beach and was shocked by the number of calls for service that were answered and said county residents were certainly getting their money's worth. He also noted that one volunteer accumulated over 1,300 service hours on top of their job at school. On January 22, he attended a Chamber of Commerce meeting and was excited for a future that is more business friendly. On the 23rd he met with Chief Moody and was given some background information on the fire and rescue services. On February 3, 2018 at 10am, Bueche said he will be hosting a Town Hall meeting at Company 3 in Fairview Beach. He said there will be no formal presentations, just briefs on some of the county services provided and would focus on mostly on Q&A and open discussions. Invited to attend the Town Hall will be Chief Moody (Fire and Rescue), T.C. Collins (School Board), Ruby Brabo (Board of Supervisors), Michael Bennett (Service Authority Board of Directors), Chris Thomas (Service Authority General Manager), and Neiman Young (County Administrator). Bueche concluded his report by stating that even though he appointed a citizen to the Service Authority Board, he was still going to be engaged in the community. TO that end, he was seeking someone to fill a vacancy in the Recreational Advisory Committee and asked to be invited to any Homeowner Association (HOA) that holds regular meetings.
Ruby Brabo's report started with attending a military affairs meeting on January 18 where a future military spouse job fair was discussed. She attended the National Association of Counties (NACo) conference call on January 19 where the opiod crisis was discussed. She also commented that the conference has historically only filled two hotels but has now booked a fourth due to popularity. Regarding the new Nice Bridge, she concurred that it was good that bike lanes are back in the plan and would like to request the Board submit a letter to MDTA voicing their pleasure to this point. Brabo then commented on the sign ordinance and has heard a lot from local business owners regarding it. Specifically she mentioned that Belle Grove Plantation has miles of road frontage but is limited to only having a single sign. She recommended the Planning Commission review the sign ordinance and seek input from the Chamber of Commerce to ensure it's beneficial for current and future businesses. A motion was made to this effect and approved. Brabo then commented on the meals tax legislation that is currently being proposed that would allow localities to increase their rates to 8%. She proposed that a letter from the Board be written to the County Attorney to allow him to lobby for these potential bills. Bueche questioned if the funds could be used for certain things, such as the county debt and Brabo clarified that yes it can be but the County would need the permission granted by the proposed bill first. In other words, the bill needs to be passed before the County can collect the increased tax.
Cathy Binder said she spent about three hours with Chris Thomas, Service Authority General Manager, learning about the county systems, including the one in Canterbury. She then commented she was contacted by residents of Alden Drive about the difficulty they were having traveling on the road due to a spring running underneath it. Binder said she contacted VDOT on January 23 and they responded the same day by applying gravel to the road. She said VDOT would return in one or two weeks with larger gravel. She said she also attended the fire and rescue awards on January 19th and enjoyed seeing people she coached in the past working hard for the county. She concluded by asking anyone who is interested in serving on a board or committee or if anyone has any issues, to send her an email. She reiterated her comment from the earlier Service Authority meeting that she does not use Facebook or social media.
Richard Granger's report began with him thanking Mr. Lynch for his comments. He also attended the awards ceremony on January 19, 2018 and thanked everyone who serves, both paid and volunteer. He said he hopes we never have to see you in the line of duty. He then presented Barbara Howard Johnson, Accounting Manager, with the Government Finance Officers Association Budget Presentation Award.
The Consent Agenda passed without comment and the County Attorney had nothing to report.
Next was the Duff McDuff Grant presentation by Tim Smith, Director of the Parks and Recreation Department. Smith reminded the Board that the project, previously discussed in Board meetings, was an ADA (American with Disabilities Act) compliant observation deck in the Brooks Park off Ridge Road. Daniel Merigan, an Eagle Scout candidate, said he has already worked with Lowe's and will be working to get funding from local organizations. He said construction is expected to begin in April 2018. Smith further said the observation deck would have two viewing binoculars, similar to what's found at National Parks, with one being lower for handicapped access. He also said four interpretive signs would be installed.
Brad Hudson of the Department of Community Development gave a presentation regarding the Planning Commission being asked to update their public notification process. He said currently, they follow the process as written by state law but that the public is asking for more notices. He commented that localities can make their own public notice requirements but they cannot contradict or replace the state laws. He said the request for more notices was partly driven by the loss of the local newspaper [The Journal] and the recent solar farm discussions. He said the new web site could help. A motion was made and approved to have the Planning Commission look at the issue.
Next, a motion was made and approved to appoint Heather Hall the Zoning Administrator and Subdivision Agent for King George County.
The Tourism Advisory Committee then presented their request for the Board to approve a LOVEwork Design Contest to create two LOVE signs to help promote tourism in the County. The signs would be paid for in whole or part by a grant of $1,500 from Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC). The Tourism Committee was looking at placing one at the Dahlgren Heritage Museum and another elsewhere in the County [EDITOR'S NOTE - Neil Richard, a co-founder of Project94, is also an employee of the Dahlgren Heritage Museum]. The Committee will ask the Board to select locations and finalists or winners and also said that the Committee would be funding any extra cost over the $1,500 grant from tourism funds. Brabo clarified some confusion that there could be more than one grant request. She also said that even though the average cost of each sign is $1,500, it was possible for it to cost less. She expressed her concern that the contest didn't have a maximum cost for the sign. Annie Cupka said a maximum cost wasn't included in the contest details but that the VTC, Board, and Tourism Committee would all need to approve the project. The Board seemed to be in favor of a maximum cost of $3,000. It was also clarified that the grant was a reimbursement, meaning the signs would be paid for from tourism funds and then the VTC would reimburse the County. Brabo also mentioned that the idea behind the sign was community and that VTC wanted citizens to be invested in the project.
Next, the Local Emergency Planning Committee was appointed as presented in the Agenda with Jeff Bueche being the representative for the Board. Neiman Young, County Administrator then discussed the request from the General Properties department to lease a property off Bloomsbury Road to store equipment, house personnel, and provide work space for employees. Granger clarified that this did not include school buses. Bueche asked if this included the Parks and Recreation Department. Young said it did not but by moving equipment out of its current location, space in various sheds would be freed up for the Parks and Recreation Department to use. The lease was approved.
The Citizen Budget Advisory Committee Charter was approved as presented in the Agenda. Nominated and approved as the citizen representatives were Jeff Stonehill (Dahlgren), Neil Richard (James Monroe), Sherry Allwine (Shiloh), and Keith Conner (James Madison) [EDITOR'S NOTE - Neil Richard is a co-founder of Project94]. Ruby Brabo said the citizen she had planned to nominate still had a few questions about the role and wasn't ready for the appointment yet.
Wilma Ward, Director of the Finance Department, presented the current status of the County's revenue and expenditures for the fiscal year. She noted that historically the County is in a deficit at this stage of the year due to the timing of certain large payments.
Neiman Young then opened discussion about the creation of a Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) for neighboring counties (Westmoreland, Caroline, Richmond, and Lancaster). The idea behind the creation of this RTA is to protect the major corridor of Route 301 and 207. Brabo volunteered to serve on the RTA but commented that the Chair of each Board should send a letter to local legislators requesting a bill to allow for the creation of the RTA.
Dr. Young continued into his report as County Administrator that he had received a letter from Eldon James regarding pending legislation that would eliminate a locality's ability to control the wireless industry within their jurisdiction. The legislation, HB1258 and SB405, would eliminate the County's control over the construction and operation of wireless facilities and remove the ability of citizens and businesses to provide input. Eric Gregory, County Attorney, concurred that the bills would limit or remove wireless and broadband authority at the local level, including local zoning ordinances. A motion was made and approved to adopt a resolution that voices the Board's displeasure at the legislation. Brabo "respectfully requested" that the letter also go to Senator McDougle, the bill's sponsor, Delegate Ransone and Senator Stuart. She also expressed shock that McDougle would introduce legislation that could potentially further restrict access to broadband internet in the Shiloh District, that he represents, one of the most under-served portions of King George County.
Dr. Young concluded with a reminder to the Board that their conflict of interest filings were due by the end of the month.
The Board then went into closed session at 8:29pm and returned at 9:10pm. A motion was made and approved to adopt the employee agreement first amendment for the County Administrator. The meeting adjourned at 9:11pm.
The Board then began with their reports. John Jenkins did not arrive until shortly after 8pm so was not present to give his report.
Jeff Bueche met with Sheriff Dempsey on January 18, 2018 to discuss operational needs and was given a tour of the facility by Captain Giles. On January 19, 2018, Bueche attended the fire and rescue award ceremony in Fairview Beach and was shocked by the number of calls for service that were answered and said county residents were certainly getting their money's worth. He also noted that one volunteer accumulated over 1,300 service hours on top of their job at school. On January 22, he attended a Chamber of Commerce meeting and was excited for a future that is more business friendly. On the 23rd he met with Chief Moody and was given some background information on the fire and rescue services. On February 3, 2018 at 10am, Bueche said he will be hosting a Town Hall meeting at Company 3 in Fairview Beach. He said there will be no formal presentations, just briefs on some of the county services provided and would focus on mostly on Q&A and open discussions. Invited to attend the Town Hall will be Chief Moody (Fire and Rescue), T.C. Collins (School Board), Ruby Brabo (Board of Supervisors), Michael Bennett (Service Authority Board of Directors), Chris Thomas (Service Authority General Manager), and Neiman Young (County Administrator). Bueche concluded his report by stating that even though he appointed a citizen to the Service Authority Board, he was still going to be engaged in the community. TO that end, he was seeking someone to fill a vacancy in the Recreational Advisory Committee and asked to be invited to any Homeowner Association (HOA) that holds regular meetings.
Ruby Brabo's report started with attending a military affairs meeting on January 18 where a future military spouse job fair was discussed. She attended the National Association of Counties (NACo) conference call on January 19 where the opiod crisis was discussed. She also commented that the conference has historically only filled two hotels but has now booked a fourth due to popularity. Regarding the new Nice Bridge, she concurred that it was good that bike lanes are back in the plan and would like to request the Board submit a letter to MDTA voicing their pleasure to this point. Brabo then commented on the sign ordinance and has heard a lot from local business owners regarding it. Specifically she mentioned that Belle Grove Plantation has miles of road frontage but is limited to only having a single sign. She recommended the Planning Commission review the sign ordinance and seek input from the Chamber of Commerce to ensure it's beneficial for current and future businesses. A motion was made to this effect and approved. Brabo then commented on the meals tax legislation that is currently being proposed that would allow localities to increase their rates to 8%. She proposed that a letter from the Board be written to the County Attorney to allow him to lobby for these potential bills. Bueche questioned if the funds could be used for certain things, such as the county debt and Brabo clarified that yes it can be but the County would need the permission granted by the proposed bill first. In other words, the bill needs to be passed before the County can collect the increased tax.
Cathy Binder said she spent about three hours with Chris Thomas, Service Authority General Manager, learning about the county systems, including the one in Canterbury. She then commented she was contacted by residents of Alden Drive about the difficulty they were having traveling on the road due to a spring running underneath it. Binder said she contacted VDOT on January 23 and they responded the same day by applying gravel to the road. She said VDOT would return in one or two weeks with larger gravel. She said she also attended the fire and rescue awards on January 19th and enjoyed seeing people she coached in the past working hard for the county. She concluded by asking anyone who is interested in serving on a board or committee or if anyone has any issues, to send her an email. She reiterated her comment from the earlier Service Authority meeting that she does not use Facebook or social media.
Richard Granger's report began with him thanking Mr. Lynch for his comments. He also attended the awards ceremony on January 19, 2018 and thanked everyone who serves, both paid and volunteer. He said he hopes we never have to see you in the line of duty. He then presented Barbara Howard Johnson, Accounting Manager, with the Government Finance Officers Association Budget Presentation Award.
The Consent Agenda passed without comment and the County Attorney had nothing to report.
Next was the Duff McDuff Grant presentation by Tim Smith, Director of the Parks and Recreation Department. Smith reminded the Board that the project, previously discussed in Board meetings, was an ADA (American with Disabilities Act) compliant observation deck in the Brooks Park off Ridge Road. Daniel Merigan, an Eagle Scout candidate, said he has already worked with Lowe's and will be working to get funding from local organizations. He said construction is expected to begin in April 2018. Smith further said the observation deck would have two viewing binoculars, similar to what's found at National Parks, with one being lower for handicapped access. He also said four interpretive signs would be installed.
Brad Hudson of the Department of Community Development gave a presentation regarding the Planning Commission being asked to update their public notification process. He said currently, they follow the process as written by state law but that the public is asking for more notices. He commented that localities can make their own public notice requirements but they cannot contradict or replace the state laws. He said the request for more notices was partly driven by the loss of the local newspaper [The Journal] and the recent solar farm discussions. He said the new web site could help. A motion was made and approved to have the Planning Commission look at the issue.
Next, a motion was made and approved to appoint Heather Hall the Zoning Administrator and Subdivision Agent for King George County.
The Tourism Advisory Committee then presented their request for the Board to approve a LOVEwork Design Contest to create two LOVE signs to help promote tourism in the County. The signs would be paid for in whole or part by a grant of $1,500 from Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC). The Tourism Committee was looking at placing one at the Dahlgren Heritage Museum and another elsewhere in the County [EDITOR'S NOTE - Neil Richard, a co-founder of Project94, is also an employee of the Dahlgren Heritage Museum]. The Committee will ask the Board to select locations and finalists or winners and also said that the Committee would be funding any extra cost over the $1,500 grant from tourism funds. Brabo clarified some confusion that there could be more than one grant request. She also said that even though the average cost of each sign is $1,500, it was possible for it to cost less. She expressed her concern that the contest didn't have a maximum cost for the sign. Annie Cupka said a maximum cost wasn't included in the contest details but that the VTC, Board, and Tourism Committee would all need to approve the project. The Board seemed to be in favor of a maximum cost of $3,000. It was also clarified that the grant was a reimbursement, meaning the signs would be paid for from tourism funds and then the VTC would reimburse the County. Brabo also mentioned that the idea behind the sign was community and that VTC wanted citizens to be invested in the project.
Next, the Local Emergency Planning Committee was appointed as presented in the Agenda with Jeff Bueche being the representative for the Board. Neiman Young, County Administrator then discussed the request from the General Properties department to lease a property off Bloomsbury Road to store equipment, house personnel, and provide work space for employees. Granger clarified that this did not include school buses. Bueche asked if this included the Parks and Recreation Department. Young said it did not but by moving equipment out of its current location, space in various sheds would be freed up for the Parks and Recreation Department to use. The lease was approved.
The Citizen Budget Advisory Committee Charter was approved as presented in the Agenda. Nominated and approved as the citizen representatives were Jeff Stonehill (Dahlgren), Neil Richard (James Monroe), Sherry Allwine (Shiloh), and Keith Conner (James Madison) [EDITOR'S NOTE - Neil Richard is a co-founder of Project94]. Ruby Brabo said the citizen she had planned to nominate still had a few questions about the role and wasn't ready for the appointment yet.
Wilma Ward, Director of the Finance Department, presented the current status of the County's revenue and expenditures for the fiscal year. She noted that historically the County is in a deficit at this stage of the year due to the timing of certain large payments.
Neiman Young then opened discussion about the creation of a Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) for neighboring counties (Westmoreland, Caroline, Richmond, and Lancaster). The idea behind the creation of this RTA is to protect the major corridor of Route 301 and 207. Brabo volunteered to serve on the RTA but commented that the Chair of each Board should send a letter to local legislators requesting a bill to allow for the creation of the RTA.
Dr. Young continued into his report as County Administrator that he had received a letter from Eldon James regarding pending legislation that would eliminate a locality's ability to control the wireless industry within their jurisdiction. The legislation, HB1258 and SB405, would eliminate the County's control over the construction and operation of wireless facilities and remove the ability of citizens and businesses to provide input. Eric Gregory, County Attorney, concurred that the bills would limit or remove wireless and broadband authority at the local level, including local zoning ordinances. A motion was made and approved to adopt a resolution that voices the Board's displeasure at the legislation. Brabo "respectfully requested" that the letter also go to Senator McDougle, the bill's sponsor, Delegate Ransone and Senator Stuart. She also expressed shock that McDougle would introduce legislation that could potentially further restrict access to broadband internet in the Shiloh District, that he represents, one of the most under-served portions of King George County.
Dr. Young concluded with a reminder to the Board that their conflict of interest filings were due by the end of the month.
The Board then went into closed session at 8:29pm and returned at 9:10pm. A motion was made and approved to adopt the employee agreement first amendment for the County Administrator. The meeting adjourned at 9:11pm.
Meeting Attendees:
Jeff Bueche (Board of Supervisors)
Richard Granger (Chairman, Board of Supervisors)
Ruby Brabo (Board of Supervisors)
Cathy Binder (Board of Supervisors)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)
Absent:
John Jenkins (Board of Supervisors) (late - arrived at 8:07 pm)
Next Meeting:
The Board of Supervisors will next meet on January 31, 2018 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Board of Supervisors Meeting.
2018-01-23 - Service Authority Meeting Notes
The Service Authority Board of Directors began their meeting at 6:31pm with a relatively large audience of citizens. Despite the large turnout, nobody spoke during public comment.
Michael Bennett was absent as expected so the Board reports moved to Richard Granger who had nothing to report. Ruby Brabo began her report by talking about the outages and issues in the Canterbury subdivision. She said that the Service Authority employees have worked hard after hours and over the holidays to fix issues and, in hearing directly from residents, they were always professional. Brabo said residents have been dealing with issues in this neighborhood for seven months and "with each fix, we are assured this time we are good to go." She said with new infrastructure there is more certainty and confidence. She continued by saying money can be spent a little here and a little there to fix the small issues or it can be spent all at once to fix the issue permanently, implying that the Canterbury system could be connected to the Courthouse system. Brabo said the ongoing disruptions continue to undermine resident's faith in the Service Authority infrastructure, but not the Service Authority employees. She concluded that while some would rather wait to get a Master Plan, sometimes common sense dictates immediate change.
Cathy Binder had a short report and said she spent a lot of time over the last few weeks catching up on the issues in Canterbury and learning about the Service Authority. She asked those residents in her district to reach out to her with any issues they may have but gave a warning that she does not do Facebook or social media and to instead contact her via email. She also said she is working on setting up a Town Hall meeting in the near future.
Christopher Werle then ran through his update beginning with his attending a meeting on January 10, 2018 with Annie Cupka to discuss a Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) grant that would fund a sanitary survey and educational program for trailer park residents in Fairview Beach. He said it would only require the Service Authority Board to support it and the Service Authority staff to oversee the execution. On January 19, 2018, Werle toured the Canterbury treatment plants with Chris Thomas, Service Authority General Manager. Werle said the facilities are clearly showing their age and the water storage tanks and pump house exterior need improvements. He said operational issues must be immediately addressed and has asked the General Manager to detail what the issues were, what has been done to fix the issues, and what actions are planned for the future to prevent more issues. He concluded his report by apologizing for the interruptions of service.
The Consent Agenda was passed without comment and the County Attorney, Eric Gregory, had no report. The Citizen Budget Advisory Committee Charter was approved as presented in the Agenda and a few citizens were appointed to the Committee. Richard Granger and Cathy Binder asked anyone living in their district (James Madison and Shiloh respectively) to please contact them via email if they were interested in serving on the committee. Granger further clarified that this committee would only work on the Service Authority budget and meetings would start at 6:30pm on Tuesday or Wednesday and hopefully only last an hour or two. He also said they would hopefully only need about four meetings. Ruby Brabo nominated Stephen Dawes who was approved. Michael Bennett was absent but previously sent an email to Christopher Werle with his nomination for Rob Harling who was approved. Christopher Werle nominated Howard Yarus who was approved.
Ruby Brabo then recommended the first committee meeting be more of an orientation for the appointees and newly elected Supervisors to give everyone a better idea of the inventory, age, and operation of the system.
From there, the Board of Directors then began their discussion of the Utilities Master Plan. Chris Thomas said the Service Authority is creating a Master Plan in conjunction with the King George County Comprehensive Plan and the Economic Development Plan. He said they did not do a Request For Proposal (RFP) publicly because they used the on-hand, contracted engineers. The idea of the plan is to focus on efficiencies in the Service Authority as well as look at potentially consolidating systems. Thomas gave an example of adding Canterbury to the Courthouse system or even the Circle system. He said before making those types of consolidating connections, the changes need to be reviewed to see what the impact of the increased demand would be. He then concluded by saying he felt it was important to let the Master Plan take its due course before just making the jump to connecting the two systems. He felt there was sufficient time to allow the Master Plan to work.
Brabo then said waiting for the Master Plan would be ideal but questioned Thomas on when it would be up for approval by the Board. Thomas said it should be ready by March 2018 and that the Master Plan itself would take nine months to a year to complete because it requires a lot of data to be processed. In the end, Thomas agreed with Brabo that the Master Plan process would take at least a year to complete.
The Board then discussed the water problems in the Canterbury subdivision. Thomas said he appreciated Brabo's earlier comments. He said the system was installed in the 1980s by a private company and the Service Authority began operating the system around 1994. He said operations went smoothly in the 1990s and 2000s. Thomas said over time that well pumps and pump controls have been replaced but the issues over the past year were numerous and varied. He said a traffic accident in July 2017 caused a power surge which ruined a well pump. Thomas said the most recent incident has shown the Service Authority that there was a leak that didn't present itself earlier during the cold weather. The leak caused the booster pump, well pump, and storage tank to fail. He said there was no one single cause for the recent issue but it does show that there are fixes needed. He said the booster pump and pressure switch have been replaced but the biggest problem was communication between the two wells, "one being located by the stable and the other by the court" [presumably the well on Canterbury Court]. Thomas said they should communicate via radio wave. There was an intermittent outage in October and November 2017 and they suspected a radio issue then but it wasn't until the current situation that they were able to confirm it. The radios have been replaced. An auto-dialer will also be installed to monitor the pressure tank and it will call staff when an issue arises, as well as before a customer experiences an issue, to give the Service Authority staff time to makes repairs. After repairs are completed this week, the auto-dialer is the only equipment left to install and that will need to wait for Verizon to complete their work and that he was working with them to make it happen as soon as possible. Thomas also noted that new wiring and conduit was installed in the pump house and, due to the harsh environment inside caused by the chlorine, they planned to move the chlorine tank and mixing tank outside to prevent future corrosion.
Werle then added that pretty much the entire well house has been gutted and replaced with new equipment. Granger commented that he assumed there was a high level of confidence that the issues are now solved. Brabo asked why an auto-dialer would be needed to warn of low pressure if the problem has been fixed. Thomas said that hardware does fail but the auto-dialer would give the Service Authority early warnings of potential issues and call if there was a high level in the storage tank, low level in the storage tank, or low pressure in the pumps. Brabo asked what guarantee customers have that there won't be more issues before the next meeting. Thomas said he was confident things were fixed. Brabo asked about any long term guarantees, but noted that she didn't expect a 100% guarantee. Thomas said the alarms will help prevent issues and speed up KGAlerts if they are needed. He also said that Canterbury does not have an elevated storage tank while the Courthouse system does. By connecting the two or providing Canterbury with its own elevated storage tank, it would help with pressure if the well or the pumps fail. Brabo asked how long Canterbury customers were without water during this last outage but Thomas wasn't sure. He did say that a KGAlert notifying customers that the water was back in service was created but doesn't appear to have been sent. Binder asked about the response time of Service Authority employees if the auto-dialer calls. Thomas said it would vary on the technicians location and what they were currently working on but the average response time was about 30 minutes.
The crux of the Canterbury water issue discussion came when Brabo asked, and Thomas confirmed, that any vote tonight to connect the Canterbury and Courthouse systems would take just as long to execute as the Master Plan would take. Brabo noted that she trusts the Service Authority employees and Thomas as the General Manager but does not want customers to be without water again and asked Werle to make sure this issue would be on the agenda for the next meeting. Werle assured her it would be. Thomas said he would provide a ball-park figure of the amounts invested in the Canterbury issue but did state that contingencies like this were part of the budget. Thomas then said some customers may experience discolored water and they may need to flush their lines. He said customers can always contact the Service Authority with issues and if they do need to flush their lines extensively, they should call to get their bills adjusted. Brabo did ask Thomas if the Service Authority kept cases of water on hand in case of outages and Thomas said no, not typically but was willing to provide them if needed. Brabo then suggested citizens contact Binder to work with Thomas to get a tour of the facility if they were interested. Binder then reminded everyone that she was working on organizing a Town Hall meeting. Brabo then reminded everyone of the upcoming Town Hall hosted by Jeff Bueche on February 3rd at 10am at the Fairview Beach Company 3 fire station.
When it came time for the General Manager's report, Thomas said he had pretty much covered everything in the previous discussions. There was no closed session so the meeting adjourned at 7:12pm.
Michael Bennett was absent as expected so the Board reports moved to Richard Granger who had nothing to report. Ruby Brabo began her report by talking about the outages and issues in the Canterbury subdivision. She said that the Service Authority employees have worked hard after hours and over the holidays to fix issues and, in hearing directly from residents, they were always professional. Brabo said residents have been dealing with issues in this neighborhood for seven months and "with each fix, we are assured this time we are good to go." She said with new infrastructure there is more certainty and confidence. She continued by saying money can be spent a little here and a little there to fix the small issues or it can be spent all at once to fix the issue permanently, implying that the Canterbury system could be connected to the Courthouse system. Brabo said the ongoing disruptions continue to undermine resident's faith in the Service Authority infrastructure, but not the Service Authority employees. She concluded that while some would rather wait to get a Master Plan, sometimes common sense dictates immediate change.
Cathy Binder had a short report and said she spent a lot of time over the last few weeks catching up on the issues in Canterbury and learning about the Service Authority. She asked those residents in her district to reach out to her with any issues they may have but gave a warning that she does not do Facebook or social media and to instead contact her via email. She also said she is working on setting up a Town Hall meeting in the near future.
Christopher Werle then ran through his update beginning with his attending a meeting on January 10, 2018 with Annie Cupka to discuss a Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) grant that would fund a sanitary survey and educational program for trailer park residents in Fairview Beach. He said it would only require the Service Authority Board to support it and the Service Authority staff to oversee the execution. On January 19, 2018, Werle toured the Canterbury treatment plants with Chris Thomas, Service Authority General Manager. Werle said the facilities are clearly showing their age and the water storage tanks and pump house exterior need improvements. He said operational issues must be immediately addressed and has asked the General Manager to detail what the issues were, what has been done to fix the issues, and what actions are planned for the future to prevent more issues. He concluded his report by apologizing for the interruptions of service.
The Consent Agenda was passed without comment and the County Attorney, Eric Gregory, had no report. The Citizen Budget Advisory Committee Charter was approved as presented in the Agenda and a few citizens were appointed to the Committee. Richard Granger and Cathy Binder asked anyone living in their district (James Madison and Shiloh respectively) to please contact them via email if they were interested in serving on the committee. Granger further clarified that this committee would only work on the Service Authority budget and meetings would start at 6:30pm on Tuesday or Wednesday and hopefully only last an hour or two. He also said they would hopefully only need about four meetings. Ruby Brabo nominated Stephen Dawes who was approved. Michael Bennett was absent but previously sent an email to Christopher Werle with his nomination for Rob Harling who was approved. Christopher Werle nominated Howard Yarus who was approved.
Ruby Brabo then recommended the first committee meeting be more of an orientation for the appointees and newly elected Supervisors to give everyone a better idea of the inventory, age, and operation of the system.
From there, the Board of Directors then began their discussion of the Utilities Master Plan. Chris Thomas said the Service Authority is creating a Master Plan in conjunction with the King George County Comprehensive Plan and the Economic Development Plan. He said they did not do a Request For Proposal (RFP) publicly because they used the on-hand, contracted engineers. The idea of the plan is to focus on efficiencies in the Service Authority as well as look at potentially consolidating systems. Thomas gave an example of adding Canterbury to the Courthouse system or even the Circle system. He said before making those types of consolidating connections, the changes need to be reviewed to see what the impact of the increased demand would be. He then concluded by saying he felt it was important to let the Master Plan take its due course before just making the jump to connecting the two systems. He felt there was sufficient time to allow the Master Plan to work.
Brabo then said waiting for the Master Plan would be ideal but questioned Thomas on when it would be up for approval by the Board. Thomas said it should be ready by March 2018 and that the Master Plan itself would take nine months to a year to complete because it requires a lot of data to be processed. In the end, Thomas agreed with Brabo that the Master Plan process would take at least a year to complete.
The Board then discussed the water problems in the Canterbury subdivision. Thomas said he appreciated Brabo's earlier comments. He said the system was installed in the 1980s by a private company and the Service Authority began operating the system around 1994. He said operations went smoothly in the 1990s and 2000s. Thomas said over time that well pumps and pump controls have been replaced but the issues over the past year were numerous and varied. He said a traffic accident in July 2017 caused a power surge which ruined a well pump. Thomas said the most recent incident has shown the Service Authority that there was a leak that didn't present itself earlier during the cold weather. The leak caused the booster pump, well pump, and storage tank to fail. He said there was no one single cause for the recent issue but it does show that there are fixes needed. He said the booster pump and pressure switch have been replaced but the biggest problem was communication between the two wells, "one being located by the stable and the other by the court" [presumably the well on Canterbury Court]. Thomas said they should communicate via radio wave. There was an intermittent outage in October and November 2017 and they suspected a radio issue then but it wasn't until the current situation that they were able to confirm it. The radios have been replaced. An auto-dialer will also be installed to monitor the pressure tank and it will call staff when an issue arises, as well as before a customer experiences an issue, to give the Service Authority staff time to makes repairs. After repairs are completed this week, the auto-dialer is the only equipment left to install and that will need to wait for Verizon to complete their work and that he was working with them to make it happen as soon as possible. Thomas also noted that new wiring and conduit was installed in the pump house and, due to the harsh environment inside caused by the chlorine, they planned to move the chlorine tank and mixing tank outside to prevent future corrosion.
Werle then added that pretty much the entire well house has been gutted and replaced with new equipment. Granger commented that he assumed there was a high level of confidence that the issues are now solved. Brabo asked why an auto-dialer would be needed to warn of low pressure if the problem has been fixed. Thomas said that hardware does fail but the auto-dialer would give the Service Authority early warnings of potential issues and call if there was a high level in the storage tank, low level in the storage tank, or low pressure in the pumps. Brabo asked what guarantee customers have that there won't be more issues before the next meeting. Thomas said he was confident things were fixed. Brabo asked about any long term guarantees, but noted that she didn't expect a 100% guarantee. Thomas said the alarms will help prevent issues and speed up KGAlerts if they are needed. He also said that Canterbury does not have an elevated storage tank while the Courthouse system does. By connecting the two or providing Canterbury with its own elevated storage tank, it would help with pressure if the well or the pumps fail. Brabo asked how long Canterbury customers were without water during this last outage but Thomas wasn't sure. He did say that a KGAlert notifying customers that the water was back in service was created but doesn't appear to have been sent. Binder asked about the response time of Service Authority employees if the auto-dialer calls. Thomas said it would vary on the technicians location and what they were currently working on but the average response time was about 30 minutes.
The crux of the Canterbury water issue discussion came when Brabo asked, and Thomas confirmed, that any vote tonight to connect the Canterbury and Courthouse systems would take just as long to execute as the Master Plan would take. Brabo noted that she trusts the Service Authority employees and Thomas as the General Manager but does not want customers to be without water again and asked Werle to make sure this issue would be on the agenda for the next meeting. Werle assured her it would be. Thomas said he would provide a ball-park figure of the amounts invested in the Canterbury issue but did state that contingencies like this were part of the budget. Thomas then said some customers may experience discolored water and they may need to flush their lines. He said customers can always contact the Service Authority with issues and if they do need to flush their lines extensively, they should call to get their bills adjusted. Brabo did ask Thomas if the Service Authority kept cases of water on hand in case of outages and Thomas said no, not typically but was willing to provide them if needed. Brabo then suggested citizens contact Binder to work with Thomas to get a tour of the facility if they were interested. Binder then reminded everyone that she was working on organizing a Town Hall meeting. Brabo then reminded everyone of the upcoming Town Hall hosted by Jeff Bueche on February 3rd at 10am at the Fairview Beach Company 3 fire station.
When it came time for the General Manager's report, Thomas said he had pretty much covered everything in the previous discussions. There was no closed session so the meeting adjourned at 7:12pm.
Meeting Attendees:
Christopher Werle (Chairman, Board of Directors)
Christopher Thomas (General Manager of Service Authority)
Richard Granger (Board of Supervisors)
Ruby Brabo (Board of Supervisors)
Cathy Binder (Board of Supervisors)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)
Absent:
Michael Bennett (Citizen)
Next Meeting:
The Service Authority will next meet on February 6 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Service Authority Meeting.
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