March Goochland Democrats Debrief/Newsletter
Emailed March 10, 2020 by Outreach Chair Crystal Neilsen Hall
You will find my notes in RED. Email be back if you have any questions.
Important Dates:
County Town Halls:
• District 2 & 3 – Monday, March 16, 7:00pm, Central High School
• District 4 & 5 – Thursday, March 26, 7:00pm, VA Farm Bureau
Other Meetings, Events:
March 21st – 9:30am - Goochland Democratic Committee Meeting – Goochland Library
March 21st – Taste of the 7th POSTPONED
April 7th – April Board of Supervisors Meeting
2 pm – Budget, Administration, Department Reports Meeting 6:00pm – Public Hearings
April 9th - 7:30pm – NAACP Meeting – Goochland Rec Center
This is a special post card writing meeting. See details further down in this newsletter.
Proposed 2021 Fiscal Year County Budget. The county has released the proposed budge for fiscal year 2021. This is the budget that John Budesky and his team have designed. The board will now go through it and make any changes they feel need to be made
To see the proposed budget in more detail go here: http://www.goochlandva.us/civicalerts.aspx?AID=424
March Board of Supervisors Meeting:
County Corona Virus Update –
• Mike Watkins is keeping up with the corona virus.
• At the time of the meeting there had been no confirmed cases in VA but there has since been two.
• 911 is screening calls to determine if the caller fits the criteria to test for Corona.
• “It is difficult to tell the difference between the corona virus and the flu”
• The county is getting daily updates
Central Virginia Electrical Co-op is looking to eventually expand their broadband services outside of their current customer base but there isn’t a timeline or plan for this yet.
The vast major of the information covered during this meeting was about the budget. The school, the county’s social services, and other county departments presented their needs for the next fiscal year
School Budget Proposal:
• New Instructional Positions Requested - GCSP is asking for a part- time counselor for RES, a part-time reading specialist for RES, a part- time work-based learning coordinator (to help the students take what they have learned in the classroom and use it in the real world), upgrade a part time art teacher position at the GHS to full time, and a division wide school social worker
o Throughout the presentation I was asking myself “why so
many part-time positions.” That question was answered later during the question and answer portion... They don’t pay benefits to the part-time employees. Why would any of these people want to come work for the county “part time” if they are not receiving benefits? They also told the supervisors that they have trouble finding people to fill the part time positions (especially bus drivers) because of this because counties like Henrico do offer benefits. It was obvious that our school board is fighting hard for our schools and school employees. We need to make sure the Board of Supervisors gives the schools what they need. Benefits for the “part time” employees would go a long way!
• They would like to add several camps to help prepare students with readiness for the next school year. This is also available to students who were not able to attend preschool. It will get them up to speed with their shapes, colors, etc. This is funded by United Way and will not cost the county anything.
• The school board has a goal to retain teachers by providing a benefits package that is more competitive. They are trying to get the county above the median. We are currently below many systems in the area.
o They want to fix compression issues o Trying to make substitute teacher rates more competitive (we
are much lower than surrounding counties)
Social Services: (GPCSB, Goochland Cares, Health Department, Regional Library, Social Services, Children’s Services, Contracted Services Support)
• Most of these organizations are asking for additional funding for salaries and staffing.
• Goochland Cares is asking for an additional $10K for their fund that runs out the fastest each year – Emergency home repair.
o The board was not pleased that they were asking for these funds and
basically told them they needed to be fundraising from the community. Goochland Cares provides a very important service to our community and is CONSTANTLY fundraising. This is a service they provide so the county does not have to. They were not asking for much and the board needs to be grateful for the service they provide.
• Social Services is having trouble with staffing because nurses and staff can get paid better in other counties ($10K more when you are comparing Goochland and Henrico)
o When told this one of the board members responded by saying “but
Goochland is such a beautiful place to live so there’s that benefit.” The woman with social services responded “They don’t live here. They can’t live here.” 1. The cost of living is extraordinarily high in Goochland. 2. Goochland is beautiful but not so beautiful that you would pass up being paid an additional $800+ a month.
• Children’s Services is staffed by ONE PERSON. If that person is sick or on vacation the department is shut down!
• Contracted Services – This is where the county partners with groups to provide services that the county itself doesn’t provide (Feed More, CASA, JSarge, Senior Navigator). The county is recommending a flat budget this year.
I was unable to attend the evening meeting but there was nothing too importance... zoning changes on a particular property, etc.
Other Important Information
The NAACP will be having a letter writing party for their next meeting. One of Wendy Hobb's biggest goals this year is voter registration. Step one of that goal is to re- register those who have been purged from the voter rolls. We will be sending them post cards to make sure they are aware that they have been purged with instructions for re-registering. There are 288 people of color who have been dropped from the voter roll in Goochland alone! Bring light refreshments to the writing party.
Wendy Hibbs was at a meeting at Goochland Cares for affordable housing this past month. The “average starting price” for housing is now $448K!!!
Hot Spots throughout the county are now live. They have specific parking spaces for those using the Internet at each location.
Paul Drumwright contacted me on Monday. CVEC’s Firefly is starting to plan for extending their broadband service outside of their current customer base in Western Goochland. They are collecting data on small businesses in the area for the
USDA grant they are applying for. Showing that they will be expanding to businesses helps their case for the grant. If you own a small business in Western Goochland and would like to submit your information please let me know and I will send you the pre-registration form.
Emailed March 10, 2020 by Outreach Chair Crystal Neilsen Hall
You will find my notes in RED. Email be back if you have any questions.
Important Dates:
County Town Halls:
• District 2 & 3 – Monday, March 16, 7:00pm, Central High School
• District 4 & 5 – Thursday, March 26, 7:00pm, VA Farm Bureau
Other Meetings, Events:
March 21st – 9:30am - Goochland Democratic Committee Meeting – Goochland Library
March 21st – Taste of the 7th POSTPONED
April 7th – April Board of Supervisors Meeting
2 pm – Budget, Administration, Department Reports Meeting 6:00pm – Public Hearings
April 9th - 7:30pm – NAACP Meeting – Goochland Rec Center
This is a special post card writing meeting. See details further down in this newsletter.
Proposed 2021 Fiscal Year County Budget. The county has released the proposed budge for fiscal year 2021. This is the budget that John Budesky and his team have designed. The board will now go through it and make any changes they feel need to be made
To see the proposed budget in more detail go here: http://www.goochlandva.us/civicalerts.aspx?AID=424
March Board of Supervisors Meeting:
County Corona Virus Update –
• Mike Watkins is keeping up with the corona virus.
• At the time of the meeting there had been no confirmed cases in VA but there has since been two.
• 911 is screening calls to determine if the caller fits the criteria to test for Corona.
• “It is difficult to tell the difference between the corona virus and the flu”
• The county is getting daily updates
Central Virginia Electrical Co-op is looking to eventually expand their broadband services outside of their current customer base but there isn’t a timeline or plan for this yet.
The vast major of the information covered during this meeting was about the budget. The school, the county’s social services, and other county departments presented their needs for the next fiscal year
School Budget Proposal:
• New Instructional Positions Requested - GCSP is asking for a part- time counselor for RES, a part-time reading specialist for RES, a part- time work-based learning coordinator (to help the students take what they have learned in the classroom and use it in the real world), upgrade a part time art teacher position at the GHS to full time, and a division wide school social worker
o Throughout the presentation I was asking myself “why so
many part-time positions.” That question was answered later during the question and answer portion... They don’t pay benefits to the part-time employees. Why would any of these people want to come work for the county “part time” if they are not receiving benefits? They also told the supervisors that they have trouble finding people to fill the part time positions (especially bus drivers) because of this because counties like Henrico do offer benefits. It was obvious that our school board is fighting hard for our schools and school employees. We need to make sure the Board of Supervisors gives the schools what they need. Benefits for the “part time” employees would go a long way!
• They would like to add several camps to help prepare students with readiness for the next school year. This is also available to students who were not able to attend preschool. It will get them up to speed with their shapes, colors, etc. This is funded by United Way and will not cost the county anything.
• The school board has a goal to retain teachers by providing a benefits package that is more competitive. They are trying to get the county above the median. We are currently below many systems in the area.
o They want to fix compression issues o Trying to make substitute teacher rates more competitive (we
are much lower than surrounding counties)
Social Services: (GPCSB, Goochland Cares, Health Department, Regional Library, Social Services, Children’s Services, Contracted Services Support)
• Most of these organizations are asking for additional funding for salaries and staffing.
• Goochland Cares is asking for an additional $10K for their fund that runs out the fastest each year – Emergency home repair.
o The board was not pleased that they were asking for these funds and
basically told them they needed to be fundraising from the community. Goochland Cares provides a very important service to our community and is CONSTANTLY fundraising. This is a service they provide so the county does not have to. They were not asking for much and the board needs to be grateful for the service they provide.
• Social Services is having trouble with staffing because nurses and staff can get paid better in other counties ($10K more when you are comparing Goochland and Henrico)
o When told this one of the board members responded by saying “but
Goochland is such a beautiful place to live so there’s that benefit.” The woman with social services responded “They don’t live here. They can’t live here.” 1. The cost of living is extraordinarily high in Goochland. 2. Goochland is beautiful but not so beautiful that you would pass up being paid an additional $800+ a month.
• Children’s Services is staffed by ONE PERSON. If that person is sick or on vacation the department is shut down!
• Contracted Services – This is where the county partners with groups to provide services that the county itself doesn’t provide (Feed More, CASA, JSarge, Senior Navigator). The county is recommending a flat budget this year.
I was unable to attend the evening meeting but there was nothing too importance... zoning changes on a particular property, etc.
Other Important Information
The NAACP will be having a letter writing party for their next meeting. One of Wendy Hobb's biggest goals this year is voter registration. Step one of that goal is to re- register those who have been purged from the voter rolls. We will be sending them post cards to make sure they are aware that they have been purged with instructions for re-registering. There are 288 people of color who have been dropped from the voter roll in Goochland alone! Bring light refreshments to the writing party.
Wendy Hibbs was at a meeting at Goochland Cares for affordable housing this past month. The “average starting price” for housing is now $448K!!!
Hot Spots throughout the county are now live. They have specific parking spaces for those using the Internet at each location.
Paul Drumwright contacted me on Monday. CVEC’s Firefly is starting to plan for extending their broadband service outside of their current customer base in Western Goochland. They are collecting data on small businesses in the area for the
USDA grant they are applying for. Showing that they will be expanding to businesses helps their case for the grant. If you own a small business in Western Goochland and would like to submit your information please let me know and I will send you the pre-registration form.
February Goochland Democrats Debrief/Newsletter
Emailed to members Feb. 9, 2020 by Outreach Chair Crystal Neilson-Hall
We have had a very busy few weeks in the county. Below I have broken down the outcomes of the Board of Supervisors meeting this past Tuesday, 2/4/20, as well as any information I have come across over the last few weeks that I felt would be helpful to the GDC. You will find my notes in Red. It is A LOT of information. Email me back if you have any questions.
Important Dates:
Feb. 11th -- School Board Meeting - Room 250, County Administration Building
Feb. 15th -- Goochland Democratic Committee meeting, Goochland Library
Feb. 22nd -- 8 a.m. - Noon -- Community Cleanup (Details Below)
Feb. 22nd --3 p.m. -- Sekoy Shanaka will present a Black History Program at Goochland High School, $10 per ticket. Kids 18 and younger free.
Feb. 29th -- 10 a.m., GCPS Education Job Fair "Meet the Family" at Drive Shack. This job fair is for all the jobs needed in school system, not just for teachers. If you know someone looking for a job, please pass this information along
March 3rd -- Primary Day/Super Tuesday
***We need volunteers to work the GDC table at the polls. Contact Jen to get in contact with your precinct captain. Make sure your friends and neighbors know to vote in the primary! We want a big turnout!
March 4th -- March Board of Supervisors Meeting
Feb. 11th -- School Board Meeting - Room 250, County Administration Building
- 5:30 p.m. - Policy Workshop, open to public
- 6 p.m. - Closed Meeting
- 6:30 p.m. - Main School Board Meeting, open to public
Feb. 15th -- Goochland Democratic Committee meeting, Goochland Library
Feb. 22nd -- 8 a.m. - Noon -- Community Cleanup (Details Below)
Feb. 22nd --3 p.m. -- Sekoy Shanaka will present a Black History Program at Goochland High School, $10 per ticket. Kids 18 and younger free.
Feb. 29th -- 10 a.m., GCPS Education Job Fair "Meet the Family" at Drive Shack. This job fair is for all the jobs needed in school system, not just for teachers. If you know someone looking for a job, please pass this information along
March 3rd -- Primary Day/Super Tuesday
***We need volunteers to work the GDC table at the polls. Contact Jen to get in contact with your precinct captain. Make sure your friends and neighbors know to vote in the primary! We want a big turnout!
March 4th -- March Board of Supervisors Meeting
- 2 p.m. -- Budget, Administration and Department Reports
- 6 p.m.-- Public Hearings
March 5th -- 7:30 p.m., NAACP Meeting, Goochland Rec Center
**If you are not already a member please contact Jen or me to sign up.
County Town Halls:
**If you are not already a member please contact Jen or me to sign up.
County Town Halls:
- District 1 - Wednesday, March 11, 7 p.m., Fife Firehouse Station 4
- District 2 & 3 - Monday, March 16, 7 p.m., Central High School
- District 4 & 5 - Thursday, March 26, 7 p.m., VA Farm Bureau
- These town halls will be more budget focused. (I have gone to these town halls for years and they never change...no matter what is happening in the county. It is always the exact same slideshow (I swear the elementary school kids in the GCPS presentation must be in high school by now.) They spend the entire time talking about how great they are doing and how we are better than all the other counties around us. They do not address the issues that we have and how they plan to combat them. They even had a town hall the week after the big "broadband initiative" release last year and maybe said a whole two sentences about the lack of broadband in the county during the meeting.We need to be showing up to these meetings and make sure we are holding our county administrator accountable. I see the same 5 or so people at the meetings each time. There are maybe 30-40 people at the meeting total but almost everyone is a count employee.)
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETING NOTES
Hot Spots: The county's hot spots were live as of Friday. The county's website should list all of the locations.
(John stressed that this is just the start, but we have not seen any sort of movement or progress in the last few months aside from the hot spots. The county has once again gone another year without applying for the state's grant money for broadband expansion. We need to be in a Private/Public Partnership with an ISP (Internet Service Provider) to apply. They have a lot of excuses for this. None of which are acceptable. Many counties were turned down for funding this cycle, Orange included, but at least they are trying and they have more progress on their own, without the help of the state, than we have. You can't get a grant if you never apply.)
Community Clean-Up: The trash around the county has gotten out-of-control. VDOT is "keeping up with it but has barely out a dent in the issue. The county has organized a clean-up and they are looking for help. This is only the first. They plan for this to become a more regular thing
Hot Spots: The county's hot spots were live as of Friday. The county's website should list all of the locations.
(John stressed that this is just the start, but we have not seen any sort of movement or progress in the last few months aside from the hot spots. The county has once again gone another year without applying for the state's grant money for broadband expansion. We need to be in a Private/Public Partnership with an ISP (Internet Service Provider) to apply. They have a lot of excuses for this. None of which are acceptable. Many counties were turned down for funding this cycle, Orange included, but at least they are trying and they have more progress on their own, without the help of the state, than we have. You can't get a grant if you never apply.)
Community Clean-Up: The trash around the county has gotten out-of-control. VDOT is "keeping up with it but has barely out a dent in the issue. The county has organized a clean-up and they are looking for help. This is only the first. They plan for this to become a more regular thing
- Feb. 22nd, 8 a.m. - Noon, Meeting Locations: Central High, Byrd Elementary, and Administration Building. The county will provide all the bags and other tools.
VDOT Report: 250/288 pre-construction meeting is this month. They are looking to break ground soon!
Fire and Rescue Report:
- They are working with the state on the coronavirus updates.
- We had a rescue vehicle and fire truck at the gun rally on 1/20/20.
- Response times have decreased slightly with the addition of the nine new rescue professionals.
- Call volume continues to slowly increase.
- There was an 18% decline in volunteer hours in 2019. (These hours do not include volunteers responding from home. A volunteer responding from home is more common on the west end of the county.)
County Website Redesign:
- They went over new placement and pictures
- Pages visited the most are now visible on the front page with graphics
- New county spotlight section
- Citizen photo contests are coming to help provide more images for the site. (They will advertise this the website and social media
- They now have a "notify me" module to get updates on things that are happening throughout the county
Economic Development Report (for 2019 calendar year):
- Vacancy rates for commercial properties are low in the county compared to the state and nation, partly because comparatively, we don't have very many of these properties.
- Unemployment is slightly lower than the state
- Job growth higher compared to the rest of the state
- The county is focusing on social media to promote new businesses.
Reassessment Report:
- New assessment based on values on Jan. 1st
- Assessments were mailed out on Jan. 15th
- If you would like to appeal your new assessment it needs to be done before Feb. 18th
- The reassessments went up 5% for everyone.They were forecasting 4%.
- ***Everyone's assessment went up because of the new construction in the county including things like Drive Shack and other grown on the east end of the county. The increased value for for those things are applied to all properties throughout the county. So those of us who live 40 minutes from Drive Shack and completely lack basic service like broadband are having the same increase applied to us as those who live right near the growth. This is unfair and just a back door way of raising our taxes without raising our tax rate so they can continue to tout that that statistic. If you feel like your assessment is wrong, please go through the appeal process. We saw a HUGE jump in our assessment last year and it raised our tax bill by $160. We saw another 5% jump this year like everyone else. There hasn't been any growth in our area to justify these jumps.
We are apparently in a sellers market according to the county
***I spoke with several realtors during my campaign and they said they were having a very hard time selling houses in Goochland for the price the county is assessing them for...especially on the west end of the county. There have been many houses that have been on the market forever out there.
***I spoke with several realtors during my campaign and they said they were having a very hard time selling houses in Goochland for the price the county is assessing them for...especially on the west end of the county. There have been many houses that have been on the market forever out there.
Legislative Update from the County
- They went over the bills that are affecting the county
- Currently, $19 million is being awarded per year for broadband; $48 million was requested. Governor has asked to be able to award $35 million per year. Paul made the point that the county doesn't have the partnership necessary to request these funds.
- There are bills allowing the use of utility easements of broadband. Utility companies will be allowed to lease out their space and equipment.
- HB 1514 -- Will give the county more leverage to get money for roads and transportation.
PUBLIC HEARINGS - EVENING MEETING
District 1: Application by Big Dawg Resources LLC requesting a CUP to practice gold mining in the Shannon Hill area:
- Planning to mine 45-acre property
- This is the old Mass Mine Property that was active between 1835-1939. The shafts have been filled
- Won't dig more than 10-12 feet, but is planning on staying in the 2-foot range
- They will not be digging new pits or shafts
- No acids or blasts will be used
- The process being will actually be cleaning up the mercury left in the land from the last mining operation. The old process used mercury to attract the gold. This process will remove the left over mercury, which should have gold attached to it. The mercury they find will be taken to a recycling plant.
- Because they are only doing work on the surface, it will not affect the ground water
- No mining can happen within 1000 feet of the residents around the property.
- This is for a 5-year permit, but he expects to be done within a year.
- Mining can take place Mon-Sat, 7 a.m.-7p.m. No mining on Sunday. They had a community meeting -- Manny Alvarez and 10 citizens showed up. Susan Lascolette, District 1 Supervisor, was not there. It is customary for the supervisor who represents the district to show up. We do not have many things happening on this end of the county. There is no excuse for her missing one of the few things that come through.
CUP Approved 5 to 0
District 5: Application by Beacon Towers to put a tower up at Manakin Road and Hermitage Road
- They said there needs to be towers every 3 miles to have full and reliable service. This tower is in a "cell dead zone."
- AT&T will be using this tower
- In the balloon test, only one location could see the balloon. This location was in someone's backyard and it seems like the tower will not be very for the residents.
- The neighbors were against the tower. I understand not wanting a tower in your backyard but we need to be careful not to have a NIMBY attitude. We can't complain about the poor cell reception, lack of broadband, and other issue within the county, but expect the resolution to be done in someone else's backyard.
- Approved 3-2. (Ken and Susan voted against)
District 4: The Rezoning and CUP for ManakinTowne
- This is for a mixed use property located on 250 around the Manakin Farmers Market. It will be a mix of offices, businesses, abd 245 residential units.
- This project has been deferred many, many times over the last few years. Three times last year, at least. Each time the community com es out to speak for and against the project.
- Road construction starts in the next 6 months and the retail space with the lofts near the front will start this fall. It will be 2 years before the area where the farmers market is located will be affected.
- They have carved out a spot for the market. It's not going anywhere.
Other Important Information from the Last Few Weeks
- Census Takers Needed: Eric Vaughan, Census Bureau, contacted Wendy Hobbs, saying they need 57 census takers in Goochland County. Pay is $19 per hour, paid weekly. Also paid training and mileage reimbursement, hours flexible and able to set your own schedule. Must be age 18 or older and know the community so can more easily get information needed. We cannot emphasize enough importance of the census!
- Voter Registration: The NAACP's biggest goal this year is voter registration. Let Wendy Hobbs or me kn ow if you would like to help.