June 3, 2025: Campbell County Supervisors to adopt emergency ordinance to allow for temporary move of Gladys voting precinct
Plus: A very full agenda at Danville City Council
Today’s edition will be remarkably terse. I’m giving myself a maximum of an hour to produce the work. No advanced computer technology will be used in the production of this edition. I’m a human being with over 30 years of experience. Unless I’m in a simulation. That seems possible. If so I am glad to be in a world where everything is interesting.
Amherst County Supervisors to consider special fund for Route 29 beautification
The five members of the Amherst County Board of Supervisors will meet at 3 p.m. in the administration building at 153 Washington Street in Amherst. (meeting agenda)
One item on the consent agenda is a draft set of minutes from the May 20, 2025 meeting. Most jurisdictions allow the public to see the draft minutes, but for some reason Albemarle County doesn’t follow this practice.
As a journalist who covers a lot of ground, I rely on meeting minutes to give me a sense of what happened at an event I may not have been able to view yet. Simply having access to the video is not enough, especially when the video is not available. Check back tomorrow.
One thing to note from the minutes is that the Amherst County Fair will be held September 4 through September 7 this year.
Under old business there is a presentation on the Gateway Project from the director of the Amherst County Service Authority. There are no details in the presentation but this is related to a capacity expansion to support a development. I searched on the ACSA’s website and nothing came up, but there are many articles about its development.
The first item under new business is a request from staff to create a special fund to help cover the cost of projects recommended by the Route 29 Business Beautification Committee.
“Since FY 2019, the committee has received annual funding from the Planning Department's operational budget,” reads the staff report. “At the end of each year, unspent funds are rolled forward for use on projects as needed.”
The committee wants to create a special fund with those unspent funds. The report states that this would make it easier for the committee to track expenditures over multiple years.
“The purpose of the Route 29 Business Beautification Committee is to beautify the roadways of Amherst County so as to instill pride and appreciation of the citizenry and the attractiveness of their community,” reads the website.
Next up the Amherst County Sheriff’s Office seeks permission to apply for a grant for $33,175 to allow purchase of firearms storage vaults for the ten county schools. (learn more)
The Department of Social Services has a request to carry over $50,000 from FY2025 into FY2026. This is to augment a state-funded bonus for employees and other items. (learn more)
The Amherst Board of Supervisors will return on June 17, 2025.
Stories about Amherst County:
Monacan Indian Nation powwow returns to Amherst County, celebrating heritage and community, Rachel Branning, WSET, June 1, 2025
Old Dominion Job Corps Center pause leaves over 100 staff, 80 students facing uncertainty, Rachel Tillapaugh, WSET, June 2, 2025
Warner, Kaine condemn closure of Job Corp centers, Josh Janney, Virginia Business, June 2, 2025
Campbell County Supervisors to vote on emergency ordinance to temporarily relocate Gladys precinct
The seven members of the Campbell County Board of Supervisors will meet at 6 p.m. in the lower level of the Haberer Building Boardroom in Rustburg. (agenda packet)
Tonight is a meeting where public comment will be taken on any matter.
“The Campbell County Board of Supervisors provides the opportunity for general public comment at a public meeting at least once per quarter, pursuant to Virginia Code Section 15.2-1416,” reads the agenda.
There were no general public comment periods at the April meeting or the May meeting.
County Attorney F.E. “Tripp” Isenhour III is seeking action on an emergency ordinance to move the Gladys Precinct for the June 17 primary.
“The Board has established Kedron Baptist Church in Gladys as the voting precinct for the Gladys precinct of the Brookneal Election District,” reads the agenda. “Recently, the Church advised that it would be unavailable to serve as the voting precinct for the June 2025 primary election due to an unavoidable scheduling conflict. The Church remains available for future elections and has agreed to work with the Registrar to attempt to avoid future scheduling conflicts.”
The primary is in two weeks.
The second matter from Isenhour is a request to advertise a routine update of the county’s zoning ordinance.
“Some of the proposed amendments to the County Code for the regular summer update are mandated changes to mirror state law changes that become effective July 1,” reads the agenda. “Others are discretionary changes requested by staff, or are minor amendments clarifying certain aspects of the Code.”
Details are not in this agenda because the Planning Commission has not yet reviewed them. That will take place on June 23. The public hearing before the Supervisors would be held on July 15, 2025.
The next item is an update of the covenants for the county-owned Seneca Commerce Park.
“The changes made reduce the oversight exercised on new business development and mainly focus on the transfer of property and requiring certain types of uses permitted in I-H Heavy Industrial zoning to go through an additional review process before they can locate in the park,” reads the staff memo.
After that is Highway Matters. I like the clear written communication that is part of this which documents requests from Supervisors.
There are no public hearings at this meeting and two reasons for a closed meeting. I’ll list how they’re listed in the agenda:
Staff is requesting the Campbell County Board of Supervisors enter into Closed Session in accordance with Section 2.2-3711 (A)(5) of the Code of Virginia to discuss a prospective existing business or industry expansion.
Staff is requesting the Campbell County Board of Supervisors enter into Closed Session in accordance with Section 2.2-3711 (A)(1) of the Code of Virginia to discuss matters related to personnel.
Stories about Campbell County:
Flooding in Campbell County closes Simons Run, Thad Randazzo, WFXR, May 13, 2025
Daly Seven announces new Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Virginia, Hotel Management Network (press release), May 23, 2025
Brightspeed plans fiber expansion in Campbell County to address connectivity issues, Sarah Weitzman, WSET, May 28, 2025
Lunenburg 18-year-old killed in crash on his graduation day, Ryan Nadeau, WRIC 8 News, May 29, 2025
Danville City Council has a very full agenda with many rezonings, adoption of FY2026 budget
The nine members of the Danville City Council will meet this evening at 7 p.m. in City Hall Chambers to go through a full agenda. (agenda packet)
This is a fairly full meeting so I’m going to resort to bulleted points.
Item A is a rezoning request for a property on North Ridge Street from Old Town Residential to Central Business. The requested use is for a parking lot. (Council Letter)
Item B is a rezoning request for a property on Mount Cross Road from Highway Retail Commercial to Conditional Transitional Office to become compliant with the rules. The residential structure has been used as a golf clubhouse and athletic office for Averitt University but that is not a use allowed under existing classification. (Council Letter)
Item C is a request to change the zoning code itself to allow for a property to apply for a special use permit to waive the maximum density for specific projects. Specifically this is to allow for more units at 18 Floyd Street. (Council Letter)
Item D is a request for a special use permit for multifamily apartments at 18 Floyd Street, related to Item C. (Council Letter)
Item E is a request for a special use permit for a 175 foot communications tower at 680 River Park Drive. (Council Letter)
Item F is a request for a special use permit for a contractor’s storage yard at 810 Industrial Avenue. (Council Letter)
Item G is a request from the Blackstone Building Group to rezone several parcels of land from Suburban Residential to Attached Residential. This is to allow for a development of up to 303 units in townhouses. (Council Letter)
Item H is also a request from the Blackstone Building Group for an additional two parcels. However, this request is to convert from Suburban Residential to Conditional Neighborhood Commercial. This is for a commercial use. (Council Letter)
Item I is another request from the Blackstone Building Group to rezone one parcel from Suburban Residential to Highway Retail Commercial. This is for “a small-scale, multi-tenant retail building on the property located at the corner of Kayewood Lane and Riverside Drive to serve the existing community as well as the development planned for the surrounding vacant parcels.” (Council Letter)
Item J is a request for a special use permit to allow more than one short-term rental at 1021 Main Street. (Council Letter)
Item K is to amend the city’s personnel system. (Council Letter)
Item L is to authorize a lease agreement for a health and wellness center for city employees. This is to renew space at Pemberton Lofts. (Council Letter)
Item M is to authorize the budget for FY2026. (Council Letter)
Item N is to allocate additional revenue from casinos to fund Danville utilities. (Council Letter)
Item O is related to pass-through money from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation related to improvements to Pumpkin Park. (Council Letter)
Quite a full meeting. A fully staffed Fifth District Community Engagement would cover as much of the above as possible.
Stories about Danville:
Danville developers unveil plan to transform historic school into much-needed housing, Cherisse Hoffman, May 29, 2025
Former Lidl building sold in Danville; major retailer expected to open there, John Crane, Danville Register & Bee (paywall), June 1, 2025
Five shot in Danville, one killed, one arrested, Chuck Vipperman, Chatham Star-Tribune, June 1, 2025
