Monday, September 12: New school in Mecklenburg County, reversion-related boundary adjustment coming soon in Bedford
One of several newsletters this week about what's coming up in meetings of elected officials in Virginia's new Fifth Congressional District
This week I’m continuing the practice of sending out multiple installments rather than one long scroll. Items get lost when Substack newsletters are very long. So far, at least one of these has been over 5,000 words and that’s not incredibly useful.
This newsletter serves two purposes. The first is pure research for myself as I learn more about a political jurisdiction that makes sense for the first time in my lifetime. I grew up in Campbell County and have spent a big chunk of my career writing up detailed descriptions of public policy in Albemarle County and Charlottesville. I became a journalist to satisfy my curiosity of how things work, and the time I spend doing this work is very useful to me.
The second purpose is to begin to develop an ongoing publication that helps others know what I know. In this case, myself and those who read the whole newsletter will have a sense of what’s going on this week. What you do with it is up to you, but I’m hopeful my enthusiasm for agendas, minutes, and staff reports will over time paint a picture of a vibrant set of communities in motion in a rapidly changing Virginia. I think that also has utility.
This week:
Mecklenburg County Supervisors will learn how the first day of classes went at the new combined middle and high school that opens tomorrow
Charlotte County Supervisors will get an update on solar projects, and consider a letter of support for revitalization of a crumbling public building
Buckingham County Supervisors will hold several land use public hearings, and learn more about those coming next month. These include turning an estate called Oaklawn into an event center.
Bedford County Supervisors will learn about a boundary adjustment with the Town of Bedford that was anticipated in the reversion agreement that resulted in the latter giving up city status.
Check back tomorrow for the rest of the week, with information on Nelson County, Prince Edward County, Lynchburg City Council, Cumberland County, Hanover County, Nottoway County, and Lunenburg County.
Monday, September 12, 2022
Mecklenburg Supervisors to get update on new middle/high school
The nine-member Mecklenburg County Board of Supervisors will meet at 7 p.m. They only offer the agenda online, and not the packet. But, as I don’t think Mecklenburg has had much attention in this newsletter, let’s see what we can learn. (agenda)
Mecklenburg has a population of 30,319 according to the U.S. Census. Population projections developed by the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia predict that number will decline significantly through 2050.
After the usual opening remarks, there will be an update from the Virginia Department of Transportation. Mecklenburg County is within the Richmond District. Supervisors will hear an update on a project they are paying for and VDOT is administering on to expand and widen Old Cox Road. The News-Progress wrote a little about the project back in February.
Next, they will get an update on the middle and high school that us expected to open on Monday. Skanska is the construction firm that’s building the project in Baskerville. The News-Progress had an update in February which stated the project is on track. Superintendent Paul Nichols gave an update on August 17.
After that there will be briefings from the economic development committee and the landfill committee. There will also be a resolution to hold a public hearing on amending the county’s transient occupancy ordinance.
County Administrator Wayne Carter will also give several updates including a monthly report from Southside Behavioral Health, an announcement of an unclaimed property event on September 28, 2022, and a “review of proposed Dominion transmission lines.”
Supervisors will conclude the meeting by going into closed session to discuss solar siting agreements.
Want to know how the meeting goes? The local government meetings are posted on YouTube for anyone to view.
Charlotte Supervisors to consider revitalization support for Shaw building in Keysville
The seven-member Board of Supervisors meets at 1:30 p.m. in the County Administration Building. (agenda packet)
After the invocation, the Pledge of Allegiance, and approval of previous minutes, Supervisors will get an update on school renovations from Brette Arbogast, the executive director of operations for the school system. There will be an update on redistricting from Jenni Booth, the county registrar, as well as an update from VDOT. Charlotte County is in the Lynchburg District.
Then there’s an update from the Crossroads Community Services Board, which serves Amelia, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Lunenburg, Nottoway, and Prince Edward counties with “Mental Health, Intellectual Disability, and Substance Abuse Services.”
After the public comment period, Supervisors will consider a conditional use permit for Love Over Crisis to convert a “fraternal building” at 1839 Thomas Jefferson Highway for “office spaces for human services.” The public hearing was held at the August 8 meeting. The Planning Commission voted 8-2 to recommend the permit at their meeting on June 28.
After that, there’s a resolution of support for the Charlotte Industrial Development Authority’s application for an Industrial Revitalization Fund grant. The IDA seeks to renovate and refurbish the Shaw building in Keysville.
The Board will also refer several items to the Planning Commission for their review.
From the report from County Administrator Daniel Witt, we learn more about several utility-scale solar projects in the county including the Tall Pines Solar that Supervisors approved in August.
“The 30-day appeal time period passed without a lawsuit being filed against the Tall Pines project,” Witt wrote.
We also learn that Charlotte County has put $1.938 million from its $2.3 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds toward successful broadband expansion projects.
The final item in the packet is an update on the Comprehensive Plan review which is being shepherd by the Commonwealth Regional Council. The Charlotte Planning Commission had a work session on August 23 and will have another on September 27.
Buckingham Supervisors tp preview special use permit request for Oaklawn
The seven-member Buckingham County Board of Supervisors will meet at 6 p.m. in the Peter Francisco Auditorium at the County Administration Complex on Route 60 in Buckingham Courthouse.
At the top of the meeting, Supervisors will get a presentations from:
The Buckingham County Coach Pitch team which placed 3rd in the World Series in Dothan, Alabama and won the Sportsmanship Award.
Dr. Melba Moore, executive director of the Crossroads Community Services Board
Ted Rieck, executive director of Jaunt
Joyce Gooden, Buckingham’s appointee to the Board of Directors for Piedmont Virginia Community College
Following that, Supervisors will get an update from VDOT. Buckingham County is in the Lynchburg District.
There are four public hearings and three of them are on land use matters:
There’s an amendment for the 2022-2023 operating budget
A landowner in Dillwyn in the Slate River District seeks a special use permit for a sawmill
A landowner near Farmville in the Curdsville District seeks an amendment to the zoning code to allow for firearms and ammunition to be sold in agricultural districts with a special user permit.
A landowner on Slate River Mill Road seeks a special use permit for a commercial repair shop and to amend the zoning ordinance to allow rental yards with a special use permit.
There are three introductions to three “zoning matters” for future public hearings:
A landowner on Pattie Road in James River District seeks a special use permit to have an AirBnB, campsite, and event center. This is at Oaklawn, which was established in 1839 and according to the application, Thomas Jefferson went there once, despite having died in 1826. I have questions.
A landowner closer to Scottsville on the South Constitution Route also seeks a special use permit to have an AirBnB, campsite, and event center.
The county is also seeking a review of the zoning ordinance and wants to form a committee to do so. There is also a possibility of hiring an outside agency to complete the Comprehensive Plan.
Bedford County to learn what’s next for Montvale School
The seven-member Board of Supervisors will meet for a work session at 5 p.m. followed by a regular meeting at 7 p.m. (meeting info)
There are two discussions queued up for the work session. In the first, the Montvale School Preservation Foundation will give an update on their efforts to convert the former Montvale Elementary School into some new use.
In the second, there’s a discussion about a boundary adjustment with the Town of Bedford related to the reversion agreement that saw the former City give up that status on July 1, 2013, and the agreement from September 2011 which anticipated a redrawing of borders in 2013 with an option for a second in 2023. The Town Council exercised that option on August 9, according to the staff report.
“While the boundary is mostly based on recognizable physical features such as roads and waterways, there is a portion of the area which is defined by an electrical transmission line,” reads a staff report for the Town Council dated August 5.
That would mean split lots for several parcels along Highway 122 near Liberty High School.
In the regular meeting, there is one public hearing for a rezoning. A landowner is seeking the rezoning of 27 acres in Election District #3 from Agricultural Rural Preserve (AP) to Agricultural / Residential (AR) in order to create eight lots for single family home, with all but one on two acres. The Comprehensive Plan designates the land as “Agricultural / Natural Resource Stewardship.
The Planning Commission voted 5-0 to recommend approval on August 2 after the landowner proffered the construction of the homes on foundations.
There are also several action and discussion items. These include various zoning text amendments requests and authorizations of funding for the courthouse patio repair and the exterior of the Bedford Museum.
One item on the consent agenda that’s worth noting is a letter of support for a local farm’s request for state funding. Supervisors had a work session on one opportunity last November.
“The Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development Fund (AFID) Infrastructure Grant program provides grants to political subdivisions for community infrastructure development projects that support local food production and sustainable agriculture,” reads the staff report.
In Albemarle County, Potter’s Craft Cider was able to secure an AFID grant to help move its operations to historic Neve Hall on U.S. 29 just south of Charlottesville.
Bramble Hollow Farm in Montvale seeks a total of $18,000 in funding to finance expansion of its commercial kitchen. Bedford County would pay half.
Concluding notes of information
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