This week in county government; BOS approves pay hike for LCSO, new staff for Fire/EMS; Electoral Board plans for early voting; PC recommends addition to Yanceyville AFD
Engage Louisa is a community newsletter aimed at keeping folks informed about Louisa County government. It’s free, non-partisan, and powered by volunteers. We believe our community is stronger and our government serves us better when we increase transparency, accessibility, and engagement.
This week in county government: public meetings, July 12-17
Wednesday, July 14
James River Water Authority, Fluvanna County Public Library, 214 Commons Blvd., 9 am. (agenda packet)
On Wednesday, the James River Water Authority will convene for its first meeting since mid-May. The agenda includes the approval and ratification of bills for archeological study, engineering work, and legal counsel. Earlier this year, JRWA paused its efforts to build a water pump station at a controversial site along the James River, which is believed to be Rassawek, the ancestral capital of the Monacan Indian Nation. The authority is conducting due diligence at an alternative location slightly upriver. The agenda also includes an update on the Army Corps of Engineers permitting process.
Louisa County Water Authority, Public Meeting Room, 1 Woolfolk Ave., 6 pm. At publication time, an agenda was not publicly available. (public notice)
Thursday, July 15
Louisa County Industrial Development Authority, Public Meeting Room, 1 Woolfolk Ave., 8:30 am. At publication time, an agenda was not publicly available. (public notice)
Additional information about Louisa County’s upcoming public meetings is available here.
Interested in taking your talents to one of the county’s numerous boards and commissions? Find out more here, including which boards have vacancies and how to apply.
BOS approves pay hike for Sheriff’s Office, additional Fire/EMS staff
Six days into the new fiscal year, the Louisa County Board of Supervisors amended its FY22 budget, doling out $492,700 to the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office for salary increases and $275,756 to Fire/EMS for three new staff positions. Six of seven supervisors attended the meeting in person. Louisa District Supervisor Eric Purcell participated remotely due to illness. (meeting materials/video)
Sheriff Donnie Lowe told the board that adjusting compensation within his department is “an emergency situation,” pointing out that other localities are hiking salaries. He cited neighboring Goochland County who just raised pay for new deputies to $53,000 a year and said that the department recently lost one hire, who it trained for a year, to the Town of Culpeper. Lowe added that the officer received a $10,000 pay hike.
“Other agencies are addressing compression and pay gap issues,” he said. “I wanted to wait until next year but I don’t want to risk what we’ve built here over the last 21 years.”
Lowe noted that the department doesn’t seek to be the highest paid in the area but wants to be competitive, and attract and retain quality officers.
Board members responded enthusiastically to Lowe’s request. Mineral District Supervisor Duane Adams, who has expressed concern about appropriations outside of the normal budget process in the past, joked that neither he nor Lowe like “mid-year appropriations” but “it’s only six days into the new fiscal year.” Cuckoo District Supervisor Willie Gentry told Lowe that he appreciated his “proactiveness.”
Several supervisors asked if the additional funding would adequately address pay issues across the department or, as Patrick Henry District Supervisor Fitzgerald Barnes put it, “I don’t want to use a band-aid to cover big bullet wound.”
Lowe told the board that he took a thorough look at everyone in the department and determined “where they should be” before presenting his request to supervisors and county staff. He also noted that he excluded himself from the pay increase. All county staff including Lowe received a two percent pay raise as part of the FY22 budget.
During his public comments, Lowe provided few details on exactly how he’ll allocate the increased funding. County Administrator Christian Goodwin indicated in an email that the base pay for new deputies will rise to $51,000 a year. The county currently pays deputies with no experience $40,000 a year.
With no public discussion, the board approved Fire/EMS Chief Robert Dube’s request for funding to hire three new Fire/EMS staff at salaries topping $57,000 a year. The board added seven Fire/EMS positions in FY21 and no additional staff during the traditional FY22 budget process. Goodwin said that station assignments for the new personnel are “in process.”
The two supplemental appropriations, unanimously approved by the board, will be drawn from different county funds. The Sheriff’s Office will get its money from the county’s General Fund while Fire/EMS will tap the Revenue Recovery Fund, which derives money from insurance and out of county residential billing for ambulance service.
Other meeting highlights:
Concerns about new county volunteer policy: Two Louisa residents spoke during public comment to express concerns about a new policy that prohibits county staff from volunteering for their employer, a shift that particularly impacts career Fire/EMS personnel who also volunteer at stations in their community.
The board adopted the policy in response to amendments to the Virginia Overtime Wage Act, which passed the General Assembly last session. The new law seeks to fairly compensate salaried employees who also earn overtime pay.
Supervisors contend that the legislation makes Louisa potentially liable for up to three years of back overtime pay for employees who also do volunteer work for the county. Jackson District Supervisor Toni Williams said the locality couldn’t take that risk, calling it “an undue burden on citizens.”
At its June 21 meeting, the board passed a resolution directing the county attorney to seek an opinion from Attorney General Mark Herring regarding provisions in the law related to Fire/EMS staff specifically, how those provisions impact Louisa, and if the county could obtain waivers exempting staff from the provisions. The resolution also says the county will lobby the General Assembly to repeal portions of the amendments that apply to Fire/EMS.
Coumty Attorney Helen Phillips said the Attorney General’s office is currently reviewing her request.
Susan Anderson, acting president of the Holly Grove Volunteer Rescue Squad, told the board that she received letters of resignation from career Fire/EMS staff who were forced to quit their role as volunteers. She went on to explain that off-duty career staff occasionally pick up calls when no ambulances are available and provide life-saving care. But, the new policy bars that practice.
“Forbidding volunteering of any sort is baffling to me,” Anderson said.
Board members reiterated their opposition to the new law and said addressing it would be a priority when they meet with Louisa’s representatives in the General Assembly in October.
“I think this is a case of unintended consequences as so often happens with our friends in Richmond and Washington,” Adams said.
The legislation, carried by Democrat Mike Mullin, passed the General Assembly on a party line vote. Louisa’s representatives, Del. John McGuire and Sens. Bryce Reeves and Mark Peake, opposed the bill.
Approval of incentive agreement with Crossing Pointe developers: The board unanimously approved an incentive and performance agreement with GW & FW Holdings LLC and Get Captive LLC, the developers of Crossing Pointe, a Planned Unit Development off Route 15 at Zion Crossroads.
The board green-lighted the development in 2019. It will include some 138,000 square feet of commercial property and more than 300 residential units. The developers will also construct a waste water pump station to service it and surrounding parcels.
To incentivize the project and pump station, the board agreed to provide the developers with up to $250,000 in tax rebates. Economic Development Director Andy Wade explained that those rebates apply only to “net new” revenue from the development not taxes currently paid. He also said the developers will transfer ownership of the pump station, valued at $650,000, to the Louisa County Water Authority as well as phosphorus and nitrogen credits.
Jaunt funding discussed: Jaunt interim CEO Karen Davis spoke briefly to the board about an ongoing state investigation into the regional transit organization’s finances. The public service corporation, which is jointly owned by Louisa County and several surrounding localities, is under investigation after an audit flagged extravagant spending on travel and meals by its former CEO.
Davis told supervisors that the organization has taken immediate steps to rebuild public trust, hiring an ethics officer to whom staffers can report concerns, working with a consultant to implement best practices regarding financial and accounting policies, arranging quarterly meetings regarding the company’s finances, and creating a direct line of communication between its CFO and Board of Directors.
Davis said that, pending the conclusion of the investigation, Jaunt’s funding for capital projects has been frozen but daily operations continue as normal. She expects to hear an update on the investigation in August and hopes all funding will be restored once it’s complete.
Adams asked Davis if any funding from Louisa and other localities was used for travel and meals expenses flagged in the audit. Davis said the state is investigating the matter.
Jaunt, which operates several buses in Louisa and provides critical transportation service to many elderly and disabled residents, is primarily funded by public dollars. Louisa County allocated $294,000 to Jaunt during the FY21 and FY22 budget cycles.
Electoral Board discusses early voting site, shifts for poll workers
At its July meeting, the Louisa County Electoral Board discussed logistical details for the 45-day early voting period and a possible policy change that could impact some poll workers’ schedules.
News to know from the meeting:
No plans to move Registrar’s office before November’s election: Since at least late last year, county officials have been looking for a larger space to accommodate the Registrar’s office, currently located in cramped quarters on the main floor of the County Administration Building. The office serves as a polling place during early voting.
Registrar Cris Watkins told the board that, according to County Administrator Christian Goodwin, the office would remain in the same location through November’s election. With that in mind, the board made plans to use the Public Meeting Room just down the hall from the Registrar’s office as the lone early voting site for this year’s state and local elections. The early voting period for the November 2 General Election begins September 17.
The county used the spacious meeting room last year to accommodate several thousand early voters during a presidential election heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, the board set up a satellite early voting site at the Louisa Arts Center for a portion of the early voting period.
With the pandemic waning and lower turnout expected in an off-year election, the board voted to eliminate the satellite early voting site this year. Board Chair Curtis Haymore said it didn’t make sense to have two early voting sites located so close together.
The board also discussed a new state law that restricts firearms “within 40 feet of any building, or part thereof, used as a polling place” when voting and vote counting are underway. The new law could impact county officials who carry firearms on the job. The legislation exempts law enforcement officers.
Watkins said that Albemarle County requested an opinion from Attorney General Mark Herring as to whether “polling place” includes early voting sites or just Election Day precincts. She will update the board on Herring’s response.
Considering allowing some election officers to work split shifts: The board discussed changing a longtime policy that requires all election officers work the entire day on Election Day, prohibiting split shifts. State code allows some poll workers to work part of the day but requires that poll chiefs and assistant chiefs remain on duty the entire day. Louisa currently allows split shifts only during the early voting period.
An all-day shift can span more than 15 hours, deterring some folks who may otherwise take on the duties and prompting other longtime poll workers to step away from the job.
“I do think we’d get more people if we allowed for split shifts.” Watkins said.
Haymore said he’d research policies and procedures in case Louisa adopts the change and Watkins said she’d reach out to other localities who use the split shift model. The board will take up the matter at a future meeting.
Planning Commission supports addition to Yanceyville AFD, sends towing yard definition back to drawing board
The Louisa County Planning Commission recommended growing the Yanceyville Agricultural and Forestal District at its July meeting and held a lengthy and spirited discussion about how county code should define towing yard. Six of seven commissioners attended in person while Patrick Henry District Commissioner Ellis Quarles, who was on vacation, participated remotely. (meeting materials, video)
A couple highlights from the meeting:
Yanceyville AFD addition: The commission voted 6-0-1 to recommend to the Board of Supervisors the addition of 96.7 acres off Mount Airy Road (tax map parcel 70-51) to the Yanceyville Ag/Forestal District (AFD). The property belongs to Joshua 19 LLC, an entity owned by Mineral District Commissioner John Disosway, who abstained from voting.
Before supporting the addition, Cuckoo District Commissioner George Goodwin expressed some concern about the sprawling nature of the Yanceyville AFD.
“This seems more like an area than a district,” he said.
Goodwin wondered what parcel constituted the district’s core and how the county could ensure that the core parcel in an AFD didn’t shift over time.
Per state statute, AFDs must have a core of at least 200 acres, comprised of one or more contiguous parcels. Code also stipulates that new parcels should either be within one mile of a core’s boundary, adjoin a parcel already in the district that is within one mile of the core’s boundary, or be deemed by the governing body to contain “agriculturally or forestally significant land.”
After some discussion, planners decided to ask the Ag/Forestal and Rural Preservation Committee, which facilitates the AFD process, to identify a core parcel or parcels in each of the county’s AFDs.
The Board of Supervisors has the final say in adding land to AFDs, in which landowners voluntarily prohibit development on agricultural and forested properties for 10 years. Over the last several months, the county has grown its AFDs by over 10,000 acres.
Debate over how to define towing yard: The commission discussed for nearly an hour exactly how the county should define towing yard in its code.
According to a memo from Community Development Director Robert Gardner, several people approached the county with an interest in establishing a towing yard. However, county land use regulations do not define or address towing yards, thus they aren’t currently allowed. Code does define impound lot but Gardner argued that serves a different function than a towing yard.
Gardner outlined several steps necessary to permit towing yards including defining the term, only allowing them via the Conditional Use Permit process, and determining the zoning districts in which they could be established.
Gardner offered a draft definition of towing yard, designating it for the temporary outdoor storage of “vehicles towed, carried, hauled, or pushed from public or private property for impoundment. This term does not include automobile graveyard, junkyard, salvage and scrap service, or wrecking activity. An outdoor towing yard shall meet required setbacks and shall have adequate visual screening, fencing, and site lighting.”
After a lengthy debate over how to define towing yard, specifically relating to the number of cars held at a lot, how they got there, and their length of stay, and if the county even needed a definition that differentiated towing yard from impound lot, the commission told Gardner to go back to the drawing board on a draft amendment to county land use regulations.
Stay tuned.
Other news of note:
School Board punts on adoption of policy focused on treatment of transgender students: Citing ongoing litigation, the Louisa County School Board didn’t vote on a policy aimed at protecting transgender students at its monthly meeting last Tuesday.
In 2020, the General Assembly passed legislation instructing the Virginia Department of Education to craft a model policy regarding the treatment of transgender students and requiring school divisions adopt a policy consistent with VDOE guidance.
Broadly, the VDOE policy stipulates that schools affirm students’ gender identity, using their preferred pronouns and allowing them access to facilities and opportunities in accordance with that identity.
Superintendent Doug Straley told Engage Louisa that the board doesn’t plan to vote on the policy while it faces legal challenge.
In late March, the Family Foundation, a national nonprofit which lobbies against LGBTQ+ rights and abortion rights, and the Lynchburg-based Christian Action Network filed lawsuits contesting the policy. The Family Foundation’s suit argues that VDOE violated Virginia law by not adequately responding to public comment when crafting the policy and asks the court to immediately stop its implementation.
People donning red shirts attended Tuesday’s meeting to oppose the policy and circulated flyers from the Family Foundation. Several community members also showed up in support of the policy. Check out The Central Virginian’s coverage here.
LCPS receives grant to cover virtual staff, help students recover from pandemic: Louisa County Public Schools received over a million dollars in grant funding from the CARES Act, federal pandemic relief legislation passed in March 2020. The Virginia Department of Education allotted the funds to Louisa to cover the cost of staff for virtual instruction and help the division address pandemic-related learning loss, according to Straley.
The division will return to the classroom for in-person instruction five days a week this fall and continue to offer a virtual learning option via the LCPS Virtual Academy.
Straley said that nearly $600,000 will go to fund six teachers to staff the academy and additional stipends for faculty who will take on both in-person and virtual duties.
Straley also indicated that the division has crafted a two-year “catch up” plan to help children who fell behind when schools limited in-person instruction during the 2020-21 academic year.
Company explores possible natural gas pipeline in Louisa County: The Virginia Mercury reported Friday that Chickahominy Pipeline LLC, a company that appears to be affiliated with a proposed natural gas plant in Charles City County, is exploring construction of a natural gas pipeline in five eastern and central Virginia counties including Louisa.
In a letter to landowners, the company asked for permission to access property to investigate the feasibility of building a 24-inch pipeline along an unspecified route in Charles City, Henrico, New Kent, Hanover, and Louisa counties.
One Louisa County landowner, who owns parcels in both Louisa and Hanover, informed Engage Louisa that they received a letter from the company.
Click here for contact information for the Louisa County Board of Supervisors.
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Click here for contact information for the Louisa County School Board.
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