Tuesday, May 6, 2025: Danville City Council to hold many public hearings including two on distribution of casino revenue
Plus: Meetings in Amherst, Campbell, Danville, and Goochland
Today’s edition is quite spare. I got off to a late start today and every inclination in me today wants me to spend time working on the business side of Town Crier Productions. I am trying to do my best to consolidate how people can financially contribute to the work and I spent the first hour of my work day updating this page on Information Charlottesville. I had not done so for years!
If you want to support this work, there are options above. At this point I do not want to turn on paid subscriptions to this publication for reasons I cannot sufficiently explain at this time.
So, today’s edition is going to be a very basic rundown of the meetings with not a lot of information. This is another disclaimer that this is an experiment! See the page above if you’d like to support the work!
Lynchburg City Council to hold joint budget work session with School Board
The seven-member City Council in Lynchburg will meet with the School Board for a joint work session on the budget. They will gather at 4 p.m. in the 2nd floor training room in City Hall at 900 Church Street. (agenda)
There is no posted agenda for the meeting. If you want to learn more about the budget, visit the Budget Engagement page. This meeting is not listed. Council held their public hearings on April 22, 2025.
For more information, perhaps this Lynchburg News & Advance article will help? I can’t read it as I don’t have a subscription.
Light meeting for Goochland County Board of Supervisors
The five members of the Goochland Board of Supervisors will meet at 3 p.m. in the county building at 1800 Sandy Hook Road in Goochland. (agenda)
Proclamations this time around are for:
Business Appreciation Month
Older Americans Month
Public Service Recognition
There are six reports on the agenda including one on financial projections from the third quarter of FY2025. There are no public hearings but two items will come up in closed session.
Danville City Council to hold public hearings on use of special funds from casino
The nine-member Danville City Council will meet at 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers for a regular meeting followed by a work session. (agenda) (work session agenda)
There are five public hearings on the agenda. At least, that’s the heading for several items. Is there really a public hearing for the adoption of the April 1, 2025 meeting? In any case, several of these public hearings are about revenue shared with the city from the recently-opened Caesar’s Palace casino.
The other public hearings are for:
“Consideration of Amending the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Appropriation Ordinance for a Grant and Loan from the Virginia Tobacco Region and Revitalization Commission” and “An Ordinance Amending the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Appropriation Ordinance to Provide for a Virginia Tobacco Region and Revitalization Commission $750,000 Grant and $750,000 Loan to Assist with the City’s Mount Cross Road Battery Energy Storage System.” (learn more)
“Consideration of Amending the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Appropriation Ordinance to Provide Support to the Neighbors Helping Neighbors Program” and “An Ordinance Amending the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Appropriation Ordinance by Increasing Revenues from the Casino Gaming Taxes to Provide Support to Neighbors Helping Neighbors in the Amount of $200,000 and Appropriating the Same.” (learn more)
“Consideration of Amending the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Appropriation Ordinance to Fund a One-Year Utility Customer Credit” and “An Ordinance Amending the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Appropriation Ordinance to Fund a One-Year Utility Customer Credit Using Excess Casino Gaming Taxes in an Amount Not to Exceed $2,400,000 and Appropriating Same.” (learn more)
“Consideration of Amending the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Appropriation Ordinance to Fund the City Residential HVAC/Insulation Project” and “An Ordinance Amending the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Appropriation Ordinance by Increasing Revenues from Casino Gaming Taxes to Fund a City Residential HVAC/Insulation Project in the Amount of $500,000 and Appropriating Same.” (learn more)
Under new business there are several items with more public hearings:
Item A: There’s a consideration of a special use permit for a company that wants to operate a “child therapeutics day support services” business at 119 Cane Creek Boulevard. (learn more)
Item B: A person is seeking a special use permit to operate a 24-hour daycare center at 1218 West Main Street. (learn more)
Item C: The Blackstone Building Group LLC seeks a rezoning of a parcel on Vandola Road from Suburban Residential to Attached Residential. This is for an eventual development with 31 units. (learn more)
Item D: There is a public hearing for the utility rates for FY2026. (learn more)
Item E: There is a public hearing for the school budget for FY2026. (learn more)
Item F: There is a public hearing on adjustments to various fees for FY2026 (learn more)
Item G: There is a vote on consideration of the issuance of Industrial Development Authority bonds. (learn more)
Item I: There is a vote on an update of the noise ordinance. (learn more)
Item J: Consideration of appropriating funding received through the Victim Witness Grant Program (learn more)
Item K: “An Ordinance Amending the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Appropriation Ordinance by Increasing Revenue from Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services–BJA Fiscal Year 2024 Byrne/JAG Program Ballistic Shield Grant in the Amount of $15,381 and Appropriating the Same” (learn more)
Item L: “An Ordinance Amending the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Appropriation Ordinance by Increasing Revenue from Virginia Department Criminal Justice Services – FY 2025 CIT/MARCUS Alert Grant Program in the Amount of $100,000 and Appropriating Same.” (learn more)
Campbell County Board of Supervisors to be briefed on need to create solid waste management plan
The seven members of the Campbell County Board of Supervisors will meet at 6 p.m. in the Haberer Building Boardroom. This is in the lower level of the building. (agenda)
The first item of business is an update on the development of a request for proposals for a solid waste transfer station. In order to meet requirements from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, the county must draft its own Solid Waste Management Plan.
“Until now, the County has been included in the Regional Solid Waste Management Plan,” reads the staff report. “As we move forward independent of that entity, we will be required to draft a plan for DEQ's review and approval. Once approved, the SWMP would address the County’s intent and authorization to construct a Transfer Station.”
There’s a story in here. The regional entity is the Region 2000 Services Authority. I know Nelson County is involved in a lawsuit. It would be interesting to compare different solid waste systems across the entire district. There’s also the application to build a new landfill in Cumberland County. This stuff matters.
But unfortunately I cannot write this today. There’s also plenty more on the agenda but I must move on.
Amherst County Board of Supervisors to adopt FY2026 budget
The five members of the Amherst County Board of Supervisors will meet at 3 p.m. in the public meeting room in the administration building at 153 Washington Street. (agenda)
The main item on the agenda is the adoption of the FY2026 budget. Unfortunately, running out of time to say much. So, I’ll spend the rest of my time allotted to this task to filling out the below section to see what others have written about these topics.
Reading material:
Road improvements near Goochland’s Rockville Opportunity Corridor underway, Sierra Krug, WRIC, May 1, 2025Amherst county boosts industrial growth with new shell building, Mike Gangloff, Virginia Business (paywall), April 30, 2025
Goochland testing water daily after ‘unknown amounts’ of fluoride added to Richmond water system, Ryan Nadeau, WRIC, May 1, 2025
The Scrappy Elephant pops up downtown with creative reuse, Rachael Smith, Lynchburg News and Advance (paywall), May 5, 2025
New hope for Mary Branch Center? SVCC offers proposal, Kristi Sellers, Farmville Herald, May 5, 2025
Agenda Danville: Council to vote on allocating $35 million toward school district budget Grace Mamon, Cardinal News, May 5, 2025
Wards Ferry Road developer sues Lynchburg City Council, Mark Hand, Lynchburg News & Advance (paywall), May 6, 2025