This week in county government; Firefly update highlight of brief agenda for BOS meeting
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, June 20 through June 25
For the latest information on county meetings including public meetings of boards, commissions, authorities, workgroups, and internal county committees, click here.
Tuesday, June 21
Louisa County Electoral Board, Executive Board Room, Louisa County Office Building, 1 Woolfolk Ave., Louisa, 10 am. The public is invited to attend in person or via telephone (540-967-4565). (agenda)
Louisa County Board of Supervisors, Public Meeting Room, Louisa County Office Building, 1 Woolfolk Ave., Louisa, 6 pm. The board will convene in closed session at 5 pm. (agenda packet, livestream)
With county offices closed Monday in observance of Juneteenth, supervisors will convene a rare Tuesday night meeting. They’ll consider a relatively light agenda that includes an update on Firefly’s county-wide fiber project. See below for more information.
Wednesday, June 22
Ag/Forestal and Rural Preservation Committee, Public Meeting Room, Louisa County Office Building, 1 Woolfolk Ave., Louisa, 7 pm. At publication time, an agenda was not publicly available. (public notice)
Thursday, June 23
Industrial Development Authority, Public Meeting Room, Louisa County Office Building, 1 Woolfolk Ave., Louisa, 8:30 am. At publication time, an agenda was not publicly available. (public notice)
Finance Committee, Administrative Conference Room, Louisa County Office Building, 1 Woolfolk Ave., Louisa, 1 pm. At publication time, an agenda was not publicly available. (public notice)
Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission, Regional Transit Vision Plan, Virtual Meeting, 6:30 pm. (register)
The Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission will host a virtual meeting to share information and gather public input about the Regional Transit Vision for the Charlottesville area, a collaborative effort to evaluate transit service in Charlottesville and the surrounding region and to establish a clear long-term vision for efficient, equitable, and effective transit service in the region. To learn more about the plan, click here. Fill out the Transit Visioning Concepts Survey here.
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.
Firefly update highlight of brief agenda for supervisors’ June 21 meeting
With county offices closed Monday in observance of Juneteenth, the Louisa County Board of Supervisors will convene for a rare Tuesday night meeting. The board will consider a relatively light agenda including an update from Firefly on its county-wide fiber project, a discussion about a Lake Anna specialty license plate, and a resolution authorizing the county’s Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department to hire a full-time employee in charge of volunteer recruitment and retention. Check out the agenda highlights below.
Firefly to provide update on fiber project: Representatives from Firefly Fiber Broadband will update the board on its efforts to bring universal fiber access to the area. Firefly, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Central Virginia Electric Cooperative, last updated supervisors on its multi-pronged approach to connect the county at their March 21 meeting.
A Firefly representative told the board at the meeting that the company expects to have fiber access available to every customer in CVEC’s service area by the end of the year. The company began work to connect CVEC customers in 2018, a project aided by a $550,000 tax abatement from Louisa County and federal CARES Act funds. As of March, Firefly had laid 320 miles of fiber in CVEC territory, investing about $12 million. It had provided fiber access to roughly 3,400 accounts with more than 1,500 accounts actively using the service.
Firefly’s Regional Internet Service Expansion Project is the main vehicle the company is using to connect the rest of the county. The RISE project is a partnership between Firefly and the area’s two other electric providers, Rappahannock Electric Cooperative and Dominion Energy, as well as local governments and the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission. It aims to deliver fiber access to some 36,000 unserved homes and businesses across 13 central Virginia counties by 2025. Firefly will act as the internet service provider and lease fiber lines from Dominion and REC.
In December, the Virginia Telecommunications Initiative awarded $79 million in state grant funding to the RISE project. Firefly representatives told the board that Louisa’s portion of RISE is expected to cost about $70 million with nearly $22.4 million of that coming from VATI funds. Louisa County committed nearly $9 million in local matching funds with the first roughly $3 million installment included in the FY23 Capital Improvement Plan. The company said the project would require 1,100 miles of fiber in Louisa County alone and provide broadband access to more than 11,000 homes and businesses.
The company recently inked a deal with Louisa County and the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission, the grant’s administrator, laying out each party’s obligations under the VATI program’s guidelines. Even before the agreement’s execution, the RISE project was underway in the county, according to Firefly executives. CEO Gary Wood told the board in March that the company had already begun tackling the project’s “soft costs” including design work and make-ready work in some areas.
Firefly is overseeing fiber construction in REC territory while Dominion is laying middle mile infrastructure in its territory with Firefly providing last mile service. Wood said that Dominion expects to complete its work by the end of 2022. He noted that Dominion’s portion of the project still requires approval from the State Corporation Commission, which it’s expected to receive later this year.
Beyond RISE, Firefly has committed to offer fiber connectivity to homes and businesses in areas that may not qualify for VATI funds either because they received government aid in the past or they’re served by an incumbent provider who already offers broadband access that exceeds 25 megabits per second for downloads and 3 mbps for uploads. Wood said in March that the company plans to deliver fiber access to anyone in the county who wants it but connecting unserved areas is the company’s top priority. He said delivering fiber to some residents who already have high-speed internet access could take until 2026. Wood also noted that Firefly is developing a process to ensure that residents who don’t have access to high-speed internet but live in areas not eligible for VATI funds aren’t left behind.
Firefly is in the process of setting up county-specific websites with detailed maps to provide updates and information on its progress, Wood said at the March meeting. For more information about Firefly, click here.
Board expected to discuss proposed bond referendum for sports complex, other projects: Though it’s not explicitly listed on the meeting agenda, Patrick Henry District Supervisor Fitzgerald Barnes and Cuckoo District Supervisor Willie Gentry are expected to update the board on their efforts to reconfigure a proposed referendum that could empower supervisors to issue up to $16.5 million in bonds to fund construction of a multi-field sports complex, field house at the high school, and renovations to other county-owned sports facilities.
The board discussed the referendum at its June 6 meeting and several supervisors noted that the draft ballot question asks voters if they want to fund projects that aren’t necessarily related. They suggested that the question should be broken into at least two referendums to offer voters options on what projects they want to fund, if any at all.
“I would be much more comfortable if our referendum broke it down into, at a minimum, two but possibly three (questions). One would be the sports complex, one would be the field house, and one would be the renovation of the existing fields…I think they are separate projects. You can talk about the merits, up or down, of each project either way and then list the cost,” Board Chair and Mineral District Supervisor Duane Adams said.
Barnes and Gentry, who form a committee tasked with scouting potential locations for the sports complex, agreed to take a crack at breaking down the ballot question and report back to the board at Tuesday’s meeting.
Supervisors have discussed building a sports complex for the last several months and indicated they’d ask voters if they want to pay for it. A field house at the high school and upgrades to fields around the school are new additions to the proposal that hadn’t been publicly discussed prior to the June 6 meeting. Barnes said that the sports complex would provide much-needed fields for youth sports while also enabling the county to host tournaments that could lure visitors who spend money in shops and restaurants. He said that some of the county’s current fields should be upgraded to synthetic surfaces that don’t require watering or routine maintenance.
Supervisors face a tight timeline to rework the ballot question. According to County Attorney Helen Phillips, a circuit court judge must issue a Writ of Special Election by August 18 for any referendum to appear on the ballot for the November 8 general election. Phillips said the board needs to decide if it wants to move forward with one or more referendums no later than its August 1 meeting.
Supervisors to consider resolution enabling FEMS to hire full-time volunteer recruitment and retention coordinator: Like many localities, Louisa County has struggled in recent years to recruit and retain volunteer firefighters and EMTs. The county is hopeful that a new full-time recruitment and retention coordinator can help grow its volunteer ranks.
Supervisors will consider a resolution Tuesday night that authorizes FEMS to use over $33,000 in county funds to hire a full-time coordinator. The department received a nearly $500,000 federal grant last August that funds a volunteer recruitment and retention program for four years. The grant allots $35,000 a year to pay a part-time volunteer program coordinator. The county will combine its funding with the grant money to pay and provide benefits to a full-time staffer.
According to a funding request submitted by FEMS Chief Robert Dube, the staffer would also teach an introductory firefighting class at Louisa County High School, a duty previously covered by a training officer. Dube said that the department’s growth on the career side has placed increased demands on the officer and they no longer have time to teach the course and train career and volunteer staff. He also noted that the department attracted several qualified applicants interested in applying for the volunteer coordinator position but they weren’t interested in part-time employment.
Beyond providing funds for a volunteer program coordinator, the grant allots money to recruit, train, equip and retain volunteers, according to Dube. Specifically, it covers the costs of entry-level physicals, background checks, personal protective equipment, and training. It also funds a marketing program and enables the department to offer tuition assistance to volunteers attending college. If the department meets certain parameters, the grant could be renewed beyond the initial four-year allotment.
Board to consider resolution authorizing FEMS to apply for grant to purchase fire and rescue boat: Supervisor will consider a resolution authorizing the Fire and EMS Department to apply for a $391,475 Port Security grant to purchase a fire and rescue boat. The grant would fund 75 percent of the cost of the boat while requiring a 25 percent local match. If approved, the resolution authorizes the department to spend about $98,000 in county funds on the boat.
The department owns a 2008 Kenner fishing boat that was purchased used and has no fire and rescue capabilities. The canopy on the boat is unable to handle rough water and maintaining the craft is expensive, according to the proposed resolution. The grant and matching local funds would enable the county to buy a boat that includes a firefighting pump and patient care area.
Board to consider letter of support for proposed Lake Anna specialty license plate: The Lake Anna Business Partnership is hoping to add a Lake Anna-themed license plate to the more than 200 specialty plates currently offered by the Virginia Department of Motors Vehicles. Supervisors will discuss the license plate Tuesday night and consider sending a letter of support to DMV that green-lights the use the county’s name in its design. The partnership also plans to list Spotsylvania and Orange counties on the plate, the two other localities home to Lake Anna shoreline.
According to the LABP, Delegate John McGuire agreed to sponsor legislation during the 2023 General Assembly session authorizing DMV to issue the plate. Most specialty plates require 450 pre-orders prior to a bill’s introduction. The Lake Anna plate will cost $10 and LABP is tasked with collecting pre-order applications.
LABP launched a contest late last week to solicit designs for the plate. The winning design requires DMV approval. For more information about the license plate and the design contest, click here.
Click here for contact information for the Louisa County Board of Supervisors.
Find agendas and minutes from previous Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission meetings as well as archived recordings here.
Click here for contact information for the Louisa County School Board.
Click here for minutes and agendas for School Board meetings.
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