April 8, 2025: Powhatan Supervisors to meet in closed session to discuss next administrator; Prince Edward Supervisors to consider land acquisition
Plus: Lynchburg City Council to get briefing on new deal with Lynchburg Hillcats
I’ve been reporting on Albemarle County and Charlottesville for many years. When I went independent five years ago, I made an early decision to try to include as much as I could about the other localities in the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission. I organize the website Information Charlottesville so you can seek out stories about each locality.
I began this newsletter in the summer of 2022 as an attempt to see if I could move my business south in order to support my parents. This experiment ended just over a year later when my parents moved away from Virginia.
I resumed the newsletter earlier this year because I realize my main interest is to learn more about how other governments work. I want to know how other local economies work. But mainly I want to know if a civic identity can be carved out for an entire Congressional District.
Today I want to highlight that I’m very interested in seeing how different localities handle public notice of closed sessions. Virginia law allows elected bodies to exclude the public if members are briefed talking about something privileged. The full list can be seen here.
Today I’m not going to list any additional demographic details because it’s 10:12 a.m. and my goal is to get these out by at least 10 a.m. each time. Remember, this is an experiment to see if I can actually accomplish the goal.
In any case, let’s get on with it. Next time, Charlotte, Fluvanna, and Hanover counties!
Powhatan Supervisors to hold discuss county administrator position
The structure of local government in Virginia mirrors that of state and federal government except for the lack of an independent judicial branch. Elected officials for bodies like a Board of Supervisors or a City Council are the legislative branch. With some notable exceptions, these bodies then appoint an administrator to make executive decisions. (agenda)
The Powhatan Board of Supervisors appointed Bret Schardein in 2023 as County Administrator after he had served in the position on an interim basis. Schardein began work for the county in 2016 as the Director of Community Development. He is now leaving to take a new position as deputy county administrator of Hanover County.
“It has been an honor to serve this remarkable community and to get to know so many of its incredible residents,” Schardein said in an information release sent out on March 31. “Powhatan is a truly special place. I will remain through the end of the fiscal year to ensure a smooth and thoughtful transition."
That leaves an opening for the Board of Supervisors to fill. Supervisors will hold a special meeting to go into closed discussion to discuss the position as well as two other items.
They are to discuss the Pocahontas Landmark Center and to discuss the court case
Appomattox River LLC vs. Powhatan County. Both sound like interesting stories but there’s no time to get into details and there are none in the packet.
Four solar projects deferred from today’s Prince Edward County Board of Supervisors meeting
Each agenda packet of the Prince Edward County Board of Supervisors includes their mission statement printed in full.
"The mission of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Prince Edward is to represent all citizens, provide leadership, create vision and set policy to accomplish positive change and planned growth and to provide essential services, enhancing the quality of life and maintaining fiscal responsibility."
The body will get together at 5:30 p.m. for a highway work session with Scott Frederick, the VDOT Resident Engineer. Then there will be a budget work session at 6 p.m. (download the agenda packet)
The regular session starts at 7 p.m. After the invocation, the Pledge of Allegiance, disclosures of conflict of interest, recognitions, public participation, and the consent agenda there will be a business partner update from Matt Hurley of The Fishin’ Pig.
There were to have been six public hearings but four related to solar projects have been cancelled due to a request from the applicant to defer their consideration. For more information on those, the paperwork begins here.
The remaining public hearings are both for land use requests. The first is a request to rezone 6.82 acres of land from Agricultural-1 to General Commercial (C-1) so that a mini-warehouse can be built. That will require a special use permit which is the subject of the second public hearing.
After various reports the Prince Edward County Board of Supervisors will go into closed session to discuss a land acquisition project under §2.2-3711(A)(3).
Then they’ll come back and hear more reports.
Light meeting today Cumberland County
The Cumberland County Board of Supervisors will meet at 6 p.m. for a work session on the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Secondary Six Year Plan followed by a regular session at 7 p.m. (agenda packet)
I begin this meeting with the end when Supervisors will go into closed session for a discussion of personnel. The agenda includes this language:
“Exemption: Pursuant to VA. Code § 2.2-3711.A.1: Personnel – Discussion, consideration, or interviews of prospective candidates for employment; assignment, appointment, promotion, performance, demotion, salaries, disciplining, or resignation of specific public officers, appointees, or employees of any public body.”
Now back to the beginning. There are a lot of reports on this agenda. Here are some facts from the agenda packet:
Cumberland County has received $724.64 from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles for their local share of motorists who opted to pay for the Animal Friendly License Plates. This is for Fiscal Year 23 through Fiscal Year 25. The funds must be used for sterilization purposes and the funds will go to the Richmond Ruff House.
Cumberland County has also received $46,914 in local aid funding from the Virginia Department of Fire Programs.
There is a request to provide a personal property tax refund to Pine View Bulk Foods for 2023 and 2024 in the amount of $3,672.54. There’s another one for Opterra Solutions for the 2024 tax year in the amount of $10,136.68.
Under new business there will be a discussion of Cumberland County Communications Initiatives.
Lynchburg City Council to enter into new agreement with new owner of Lynchburg Hillcats
I wonder what the world would have been like if I had managed to move to Lynchburg two years ago. From a distance, Lynchburg City Council has seemed like a fairly contentious body. Things were heating up when I first started this newsletter but I missed a lot of drama.
Picking up, we find ourselves in budget season and there’s a work session at 4 p.m. in the 2nd Floor Training Room in City Hall. There will also be briefings on items that will be before Council at a later time. (meeting overview)
Those items:
There will be a public hearing on May 13, 2025 for the Community Development Block Grant and HOME Program Entitlement Funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. (summary) (presentation)
The second is a briefing on the process by which the next round of School Board appointments will be made. (summary) (presentation)
I grew up watching baseball games in the municipal stadium now named after a bank but still owned by the city. There’s a new ownership group in charge of the Lynchburg Hillcats and there’s an agreement where the city will invest $5.2 million in the stadium. The new deal also removes an exemption where the Hillcats do not pay local admission taxes. That revenue will cover the cost of the city’s investment. I’m going to have to travel down to see a game soon. It’s opening night today and I’m very tempted to drive down. (summary)
There are a series of budget adjustments for the city’s third quarter. This will go to a public hearing on May 13. (summary) (presentation)
There is also a briefing on a new agreement with CertainTeed, the latest company to have an industrial presence at 1801 Concord Turnpike. They’re the largest user of public water and sewer and there’s a new contract to reflect the high costs to also treat the effluent that results from gypsum production. There will be a public hearing on May 13. (summary) (presentation)
The regular meeting begins at 7 p.m. with an invocation, a recognition for telecommunicators, a consent agenda with three items, and a public hearing regarding an amendment of the conditions that allow a pawn shop at 2811 Campbell Avenue. (regular meeting agenda)
Remember up top when I said I want to do this newsletter to compare different examples? To speak at the Lynchburg City Council you have to register in advance with the clerk. See the image below for some of what will be discussed. Then there will be a second reading of an amendment to the FY2025 budget.
Then a closed session. There’s no resolution listed.
Move Safely Blue Ridge initiative to go before Nelson Supervisors
The five-member Nelson County Board of Supervisors will meet at 2 p.m. in the General District Courtroom for their regular meeting of the month. (agenda packet)
There are several items on the consent agenda worth noting.
There is a resolution to amend the budget for the current fiscal year related to Sherriff’s overtime, primary election expenses, and additional funding for the Commonwealth’s Attorney. (learn more)
There is a resolution to set the tax rates for 2025. They will remain the same as 2024 and see the image below for details. (learn more)
There is a resolution to provide a tax refund of $7000.50 to a property owners. (learn more)
There is a resolution to mark Public Safety Telecommunicators Week (April 13 through April 19)
There is a resolution acknowledging Animal Care and Control Appreciation Week. (April 13 through April 19)
There is a resolution honoring April as Fair Housing Month. (learn more)
There is a resolution recognizing April as Child Abuse Prevention Month. (learn more)
Then there’s a proclamation marking the Month of the Military Child. (learn more)
There are three reports beginning with one from the Virginia Department of Transportation. This part isn’t in the packet.
Then PMA will present the final design for the new Social Services Building. There’s a new budget estimate that is slightly down from October. See the details here.
Then there will be a presentation on the draft comprehensive safety action plan for the Move Safely Blue Ridge initiative. This is a federal safety initiative that was a priority in the Biden administration. The local effort spans the entire Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission and the idea is to create projects that will improve safety and reduce the number of people who get killed.
“WHEREAS, 173 people were killed or seriously injured in crashes in Nelson County from 2018 to 2022, underscoring the urgent need for coordinated safety improvements,” reads a resolution of support.
“Nelson County reaffirms its commitment to reducing roadway fatalities and serious injuries by 50 percent by 2045, with the ultimate goal of eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries entirely,” the resolution concludes.
I was able to get a story out last February when this was last before the Nelson Board of Supervisors as well as Greene County. Elected officials in the latter were more skeptical.
Under new business, there will be an authorization to set the public hearing for the FY26 budget for May 13, 2026. There will be a resolution to set the level of personal property tax relief for 2025 which you can read more about here. The Lovingston Volunteer Fire Department is seeking $12,000 in funds for fireworks and you can read the request here.
The evening session begins at 7 p.m. There are three public hearings.
The first is a request for a special use permit for a banquet hall at an existing structure at 99 Morse Lane. The Planning Commission recommended approval on a 4-0 vote in late February. (staff report)
The second is on the Secondary Six Year Road Plan which is mostly used for the paving of rural roads. (information here)
The third relates to the calendar for candidates for school board related to getting their nomination papers in order. (staff report and more)
Reading material for F205:
Lynchburg committee finalizes 6 key recommendations for city council and school board, Hayden Robertson, April 4, 2025
Historic Danville building poised for transformation into modern apartment complex, Cherisse Hoffman, WSET, April 7, 2025
DEQ expands drought watch advisory, CBS19 News, April 7, 2025