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LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE HOUR HAS ARRIVED FOR US TO CALL TO ORDER THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETING FOR OUR PUBLIC HEARING ON OUR BUDGET,
[Call to Order / Moment of Silence / Pledge of Allegiance/ Agenda Adoption ]
24 25.AT THIS TIME, WE WILL OBSERVE A MOMENT OF SILENCE.
LET US STAND FOR THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
I PRESENT UNITED STATES MATTER TO THE RECALL UNDER GOD INDIVISIBLE WITH LIBERTY FILE BOARD MEMBERS WHO ARE PRESENT BY RESOLUTION ADOPTED ON MARCH THE SEVENTH, 2024 IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE VIRGINIA CODE SECTION 2.2 DASH 3 7 0 8 DASH THREE.
I'M NOT SURE IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, BUT I CAN'T HEAR ANYTHING IN THE MEETING.
I HAVE NO AUDIO BOARD MEMBERS ARE PERMITTED TO PARTICIPATE IN MEETINGS FROM A REMOTE LOCATION IF CERTAIN CRITERIA ARE MET.
A REQUEST WERE RECEIVED FROM MS. DRURY TO PARTICIPATE IN TONIGHT'S MEETING ELECTRONICALLY DUE TO A PERSONAL MATTER WHICH PREVENTS HER ATTENDANCE SPECIFICALLY.
SPECIFICALLY, MRS. DREWRY IS TRAVELING OUT THE STATE IN TEXAS.
THERE BEING A QUORUM PHYSICALLY PRESENT AT THIS TIME.
I WOULD ASK FOR A MOTION TO ALLOW ELECTRONIC PARTICIPATION BY MS. DREWRY IN TONIGHT'S MEETING IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE BOARD'S POLICY, UH, BOARD MEMBERS.
COULD WE HAVE A MOTION, MR. I MOVE THAT WE ALLOW MS. JURY TO ATTEND THE MEETING REMOTELY.
ALL IN FAVOR? LET IT BE KNOWN BY THE VOTING SIGN OF AYE.
MR. JURY, YOU ARE PERMITTED ELECTRONICALLY.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO STATE FOR THE RECORD MR. CALHOUN HAS HAD, UH, SURGERY TODAY, SO HE'S NOT ABLE TO MEET WITH US, BUT WE DO HAVE A QUORUM PRESENT TO BE ABLE TO HANDLE, UH, THE BUSINESS AFFAIRS OF RE COUNTY.
SO, BOARD MEMBERS, YOU HAVE BEFORE YOU OUR AGENDA FOR THIS EVENING.
THERE BE NO CORRECTIONS TO THE AGENDA.
WE WOULD ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE OUR AGENDA CHAIR.
WE APPROVE THE AGENDA AS PRESENTED.
ALL IN FAVOR? LET IT BE KNOWN BY THE VOTING SIGN OF AYE.
OPPOSED? THE AGENDA HAS BEEN ADOPTED.
[1. Proposed FY 2024-25 Budget ]
OF BUSINESS TONIGHT IS OUR PUBLIC HEARING AND WE WILL NOW HAVE OUR PRESENTATION BY OUR COUNTY STAFF.UH, MR. CHAIRMAN, VICE CHAIRMAN, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, MS. PERKINS, MR. HARRISON, AND ALL THOSE WHO ARE ASSEMBLED.
UM, WE ARE HERE TONIGHT TO JUST DO A VERY BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE BUDGET AS WAS PRESENTED AT YOUR APRIL MEETING.
UM, SINCE THAT MEETING, WE DID HAVE WORK SESSIONS ON THE BUDGET AND PER THE STATE CODE, OUR BUDGET WAS ADVERTISED.
AND TONIGHT, MR. MORRIS IS JUST GOING TO BRIEFLY GO OVER SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PROPOSED BUDGET AS WE PREPARE TO HEAR, UM, PUBLIC COMMENTS THIS EVENING ON THE PROPOSED BUDGET DURING THE PUBLIC HEARING.
MEMBERS OF THE BOARD AND STAFF.
UH, AS MS. MRS. ROLLINS STATED, I WILL BRIEFLY GO OVER THE PUBLIC BUDGET HEARING.
UM, JUST REALLY HIGHLIGHTING SOME, UH, AREAS THAT WE WENT OVER IN OUR PREVIOUS MEETINGS.
FIRST WAS, FIRST UP IS OUR MAJOR, UH, REVENUE DRIVERS, MAJOR COST DRIVERS IN OUR TOTAL, UH, BUDGET.
AND CIP THE FY 25 REVENUE HAS INCREASED IN THE MAIN DRIVERS BEING GENERAL PROPERTY TAXES, IMPACT OF THE SOLAR SIGHTING AGREEMENT, SALES TAXES, STATE COMP BOARD, AND STATE COMP BOARD REVENUE.
THE PROPOSED TAX RATE IS, UH, TO REMAIN LEVEL AT 71 CENTS.
AND ALL OTHER TAX TAX RATES ALSO UNCHANGED.
THE TOTAL REVENUE INCREASE FOR FROM FY 24 TO FY 25 IS $1,262,470 OR 4%.
UH, THE PUBLIC SERVICE CORPORATION REVENUE IS ESTIMATED TO INCREASE BY $226,761.
AND OUR REAL ESTATE TAXES ARE PROJECTED TO INCREASE BY $359.
THE MAJOR REVENUE CHANGES, AND I'LL JUST HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE MAJOR ONES, THE MAJOR CHANGES HERE.
UH, AND AS, AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE SCREEN, UH, AS I TALKED BEFORE,
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THE REAL ESTATE TAXES INCREASED BY, UH, 359,000.A CITING AGREEMENT IS AT 260,000.
THE ONE TIME PERMIT REVENUE IS AT 228,300.
AND THE PUBLIC SERVICE CORPORATION TAXES INCREASING BY 226,000.
OUR MAJOR EXPENDITURE CHANGES, UH, AGAIN, HIGHLIGHTING SOME OF THOSE AND, AND AGAIN, THESE WILL OFFSET, UH, THE, UH, REVENUE AS WELL.
OUR MEDIC MEDICAL TRANSPORT CONTRACT AT 243,000.
UH, WE HAVE THE IT SUPPORT SERVICES AND REQUIREMENTS AT 248,000 AGAINST SOME OF THE, THE HIGH DOLLAR MAJOR ITEMS THERE.
AND THEY'RE OFFSET, AS YOU CAN SEE AT THE BOTTOM HERE, UH, WITH THE POSITION REDUCTIONS AT 709,000.
SO, UM, AND THERE'S ONE MORE I WANTED TO POINT OUT.
UH, LOOKS LIKE THE OTHER AGENCY, UH, ADJUSTMENTS THAT INCREASED BY 128,000 AS WELL.
THE REAL ESTATE, REAL ESTATE TAX RATE HISTORICAL TREND.
UH, THE COUNTY REDUCES REAL ESTATE TAX RATE FROM 77 CENTS TO 72 CENTS IN FY 23 WITH AN ADDITIONAL REDUCTION OF 1 CENT IN FY 24, AND AGAIN LEAVES US AT 71 CENTS FOR THE TAX TAX RATE FOR THIS YEAR.
BALANCING THE BUDGET, THIS IS AN OVERALL VIEW OF ALL FUNDS TO INCLUDE THE GENERAL FUND.
OUR TOTAL BUDGET FOR ALL FUNDS IS $69,529,953.
AND OUR CIP, OUR TOTAL OVERALL FOR ALL FUNDS AND THE FUNDING SOURCES IS $14,199,052 BY THE CODE OF VIRGINIA.
THE BOARD IS PROHIBITED FROM VOTING ON THE PROPOSED BUDGET TONIGHT.
THE WORK SESSION IS SCHEDULED FOR MAY 15TH AT SIX 30 IF NEEDED.
AND THE BOARD IS SCHEDULED TO VOTE ON THE FY 25 BUDGET AND CIP AND SET THE TAX RATES ON MAY 16TH, 2024.
AND WE'LL OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS.
MR. MORRIS, CAN YOU GO BACK TO, UM, 1, 2, 3, THE THIRD SLIDE BACKWARDS.
THE, UH, THE TOTAL ALL FUNDS? YEP.
UM, MR. CHAIRMAN AND BOARD MEMBERS, THE ONE THING I WANNA POINT OUT IN TERMS OF JUST THE BUDGET FOR ALL FUNDS, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, THE GENERAL FUND, THE GENERAL FUND IS A 4% INCREASE.
OKAY? THAT'S THE INCREASE IN THE GENERAL FUND AS MR. MORRIS HAD HIGHLIGHTED, THE $1.26 MILLION CHANGE, WHICH DID INCLUDE SOME INCREASES, BUT IT ALSO DID INCLUDE SOME DEDUCTIONS IN THE BUDGET.
OBVIOUSLY, WE WANTED TO BALANCE THE BUDGET THIS YEAR PER YOUR DIRECTIVES TO NOT CHANGE THE TAX RATE, AND THAT WAS ACCOMPLISHED.
UM, IN TERMS OF THE CIP, UM, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, THE MAJORITY OF THE INCREASE BOTTOM LINE IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE CIP.
UM, THE $10 MILLION THAT WAS JUST WAS INDICATED, UM, FOR THE MAJOR INITIATIVE IN THE CIP.
UM, WE SPOKE IN THE WORK SESSION IN TERMS OF THE BOARD'S POLICY TO ALLOCATE, UH, 3 CENTS TO YOUR TAX RATE TO TAKE TO, UH, TAKE CARE OF CIP NEEDS.
SO THAT IS, UH, THE INFORMATION THAT WAS SHOWN ON THE ENSUING SLIDE IN TERMS OF THOSE TAX DOLLARS BEING ALLOCATED.
UM, FOR CIP, AND THAT IS YOUR ONGOING REVENUE FOR THE, THE MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.
UM, THAT IS PER YOUR POLICY AS WAS ADAPTED THE RECOMMENDATION FOR MY FINANCIAL ADVISORS.
SO THERE'S GOOD THAT WE ARE DEDICATING 3 CENTS TOWARDS PROJECTS THAT WE KNOW ABOUT AND ALSO PROJECTS THAT MAY COME UP IN THE YEAR AS WE KNOW THAT HAPPENS, WE'RE ABLE TO TAKE CARE OF THOSE WITHOUT DIPPING INTO OUR FUND BALANCE.
SO WITH THAT STATED, UM, MR. CHAIRMAN, IF YOU'RE READY TO OPEN THE FLOOR FOR COMMENTS, THANK YOU STAFF, UH, AT THIS TIME.
AT THIS TIME, WE OPEN UP THE FLOOR FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS.
WE DO HAVE TWO THAT HAVE SIGNED UP FOR COMMENTS.
AND FIRST WOULD BE MR. GEORGE FONDLE ROY.
UM, I COME TO THESE MEETINGS EVERY YEAR.
UH, I DON'T, YOU DON'T SEE ME TOO MUCH DURING THESE SCHOOL YEAR.
I JUST WANT TO SEE IF OUR, OUR MONEY THAT WE ARE INVESTING IN OUR COUNTIES IS GOING WELL.
I HAD A, I GOT THE SCHOOL BOARDS COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
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FROM LAST YEAR.OUR KIDS ARE DOING OUTSTANDING.
I WAS REALLY IMPRESSED WITH THIS.
THE MONEY THAT YOU INVESTED IN OUR SCHOOLS, THOSE KIDS ARE DOING GREAT.
AS YOU ALL KNOW, I'M THE CHAIRMAN OF THE RECREATION DEPARTMENT.
UH, WE ARE DOING GREAT THINGS.
THE MONEY THAT YOU PUT INTO OUR RECREATION DEPARTMENT, WE ARE DOING OUTSTANDING.
I WANT YOU ALL TO CONTINUE AND I REALLY COMMEND YOU ALL ON PUTTING MONEY WITH THE SHERIFF DEPARTMENT.
WE HAVE ONE OF THE SAFEST COUNTIES IN THE STATE.
AND BECAUSE THAT YOU ALL ARE PUTTING MONEY TOWARDS, UH, THIS COUNTY TO KEEP US SAFE AND OUR KIDS ARE DOING GREAT, I JUST WANT TO COMMEND YOU ALL AND, UH, THANKS FOR LEVEL FUNDING THE BUDGET.
NEXT HAVE, UH, MR. SUSAN COVEO.
HI, SUSAN COVEO CLAREMONT DISTRICT.
I KNOW IT'S A DIFFICULT THING TO PUT A BUDGET TOGETHER FOR A COUNTY, AND THERE'S MANY PARTS TO IT.
I THANK YOU FOR UPDATING THE CHARTS FOR THE BUDGET.
WITH THE CORRECTIONS ON THE DIAGRAMS, UM, I HAD NOT HAD TIME TO DIVE INTO THE WHOLE BUDGET, BUT VERY CLOSELY, HOWEVER, THE ONE CONCERN I HAVE IS ADDING THE 10 MILLION DEBT THAT PERTAINS TO THE PARKS AND REC.
WOULD I LOVE ALL THESE ITEMS THAT YOU'RE PRESENTING WITH US? OF COURSE I WOULD DO.
YOU HAVE PARKS AND RECS THAT HAS A STAGE FOR ENTERTAINMENT THAT'S USED DURING 4TH OF JULY.
MY SUGGESTION IS TO TRY A FEW YEARS TO DO SOME EVENTS USING THE STAGE AS YOU WOULD BEFORE BUILDING A LARGE AMPHITHEATER AND SEE WHAT KIND OF CROWD YOU WOULD DRAW.
4TH OF JULY IS A SPECIAL EVENT WITH FIREWORKS AND ALL.
IS IT WISE TO SPEND THAT KIND OF MONEY WHEN YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT THE RETURN'S GONNA BE FOR THE POOL? WE ALREADY KNOW THAT CHIP OAKS IS NOT FIXING THEIR POOL DUE TO COST.
HOW MUCH WILL IT COST TO BUILD A POOL? WHAT IS THE COST TO MAINTAIN, EMPLOY, ENSURE THE ELECTRICITY, AND WILL YOU BE CHARGING THE CITIZENS FOR THE USE OF THE POOL? WE NEED TO BE SHOWN THESE NUMBERS BEFORE YOU ASK THE CITIZENS TO FUND A $10 MILLION PROJECT LIKE THIS.
AS FOR THE BANQUET HALL BEING DONE, HOW MANY SPECIAL EVENTS ARE BEING HELD ALREADY AT PARKS AND REC, AND HOW MUCH INCOME ARE WE GETTING FROM THAT? YOU'VE TOLD US THAT ALREADY.
LOOKING INTO THE OPEN SPACE AT THE REGISTRAR'S OFFICE FOR SPECIAL EVENTS, HAS THAT BEEN APPROVED? I DO NOT THINK WE NEED TWO DIFFERENT ONES.
THERE NEEDS TO BE SOME MORE INFORMATION BROUGHT TO THE TABLE BEFORE JUST ADDING 10 MILLION TO OUR DEBT.
WE NEED TO INVESTIGATE AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR THOSE FIRST TIME BUYERS.
AND FOR THE YOUNGER CROWD WITH INFLATION THE WAY IT IS RIGHT NOW, AND PEOPLE NOT BUILDING AS QUICKLY AS THEY HAVE IN THE PAST.
WE NEED TO SLOW DOWN ADDING DEBT TO OUR BILL.
WE NEED TO LOOK AT INFRASTRUCTURE ON OUR ROADS TO BRING CITIZENS IN HERE BECAUSE OUR BACK ROADS ARE TERRIBLE.
MOONLIGHT ROAD HAS BEEN ASKED ABOUT MANY TIMES AND HAS BEEN DENIED BECAUSE THE COUNTY NEEDS TO INVEST IN SOME ROADWAYS.
THERE'S SOME INFRASTRUCTURE THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE.
I BELIEVE BEFORE WE SPEND $10 MILLION ON IMPROVING THE PARKS AND REC.
WE HAVE A 10, A $27 MILLION REVENUE PROJECT COMING TO THE COUNTY.
LET US USE THIS TIME TO SEE HOW THE COUNTY CAN RUN THE EVENTS YOU WANNA HAVE AND SEE WHAT KIND OF CROWDS YOU GET, AND MAYBE USE THE MONEY FROM THE DATA CENTER TO FUND THESE EXPENSES.
WE SHOULD BE SETTING ASIDE ALL THIS MONEY THAT WE'RE GETTING FROM THE SOLAR AND THE NEW DATA CENTER FOR THESE CIP PROJECTS.
IT WAS STATED THAT THE SOLAR PROJECTS WOULD HELP OUR TAXES.
HOWEVER, WE'VE NOT SEEN ANY HELP.
SOMEONE TOLD ME THAT I SHOULD NOT HAVE SAID THAT THE BOARD NEEDS TO LOOK AT THE LINE ITEMS OF THE BUDGET BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY HAVE DISCUSSED ALREADY.
WELL, THAT'S THE KEY POINT, WHY MORE CITIZENS DON'T SHOW UP TO THE MEETINGS.
WE AS CITIZENS DO NOT KNOW BECAUSE INFORMATION'S NOT BEING BROUGHT BACK TO US.
IT WOULD BE NICE TO KNOW THAT THE BOARD'S COMMENTS HAVE BEEN, WHAT THE BOARD'S COMMENTS HAVE BEEN, SO WE CAN SEE IF YOU HAD QUESTIONS OR IF YOU HAD CONCERNS, HAVE ONE MINUTE, OR IF YOU NEEDED CLARIFICATIONS ON PROJECTS OR JUST AGREED WITH THE WHOLE PROJECT WITH NO QUESTIONS.
I HOPE THAT THERE'LL BE SOME DISCUSSION COMING FROM THESE PUBLIC COMMENTS, EVEN THOUGH THERE'S NOT MANY PEOPLE HERE AT YOUR NEXT WORST SESSION WORK SESSION AMONGST THE BOARD.
I THANK YOU AND I REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO POSSIBLY LOOKING AT SOME INFRASTRUCTURE ON THESE ROADS.
THE BACK ROADS ARE TERRIBLE, AND I KNOW IT'S BEEN PUT ON FACEBOOK THAT THESE BACK ROADS NEED
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TO BE LOOKED AT.AND I THINK IF WE'VE GOT THIS MONEY THAT CAN BE PUT TOWARDS THAT, WE NEED TO LOOK AT THAT TO BRING PEOPLE INTO THIS COUNTY AND LOOK AT HOUSING.
I MOVED HERE WITHOUT A PARKS AND REC WITH A POOL IN AN AMPHITHEATER BECAUSE I WANTED THE QUIET, THE TRANQUILITY.
THAT IS A MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE, AND IF YOU'VE GOT THIS $10 MILLION, LOOK AT THAT INFRASTRUCTURE BEFORE YOU PUT A POOL THAT'S GONNA COST YOU MORE MONEY EVERY YEAR.
AND WE DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW MUCH THAT IS.
THOSE ARE THE TWO INDIVIDUALS WHO SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS.
UH, IF BE NO OTHER PUBLIC COMMENTS, WE CLOSE THIS SECTION OF OUR PUBLIC HEARING AT THIS TIME.
ARE THERE ANY COMMENTS FROM BOARD MEMBERS? MS. MS. UH, DREW, ARE YOU ALL THE WAY, UH, VIRTUAL? UH, DO YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS AT THIS TIME? UM, CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES.
AND, AND, UH, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR LETTING ME DO THIS.
THIS IS JUST, YOU KNOW, HUGELY VALUABLE AND I APOLOGIZE FOR NOT BEING THERE IN PERSON.
UM, MY COMMENTS, I'M A LITTLE DISAPPOINTED BY THE LACK OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.
I'VE BEEN RECEIVING LOTS OF EMAILS AND, UH, THE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN REACHING OUT TO ME ABOUT THE BUDGET, BUT IT REALLY WOULD HELP.
AND AND I SAY THIS TO THE PEOPLE WATCHING IN THE AND FROM HOME, THAT IF YOU WOULD COME AND SPEAK TO US, THEN, THEN, UH, YOU KNOW, WE, EVERYONE ELSE WOULD HAVE A BETTER IDEA OF WHAT YOUR CONCERNS ARE AS FAR AS THE, UM, THE WORK SESSION.
DID YOU SAY THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE THE MEETING ON THE 15TH AND THEN VOTE ON THE 16TH? IS THAT CORRECT? THAT WAS WORK SESSION ON THE 15.
WAS THE WORK SESSION WAS, UH, PUT IN THE SCHEDULE ON THE 15TH IF NEEDED? THE BOARD WILL HAVE TO DECIDE WHETHER WE WANTED TO HAVE IT ON THE 15TH THE NIGHT.
AND, AND I WOULD SUPPORT HAVING ONE ON THE 15TH.
JUST SO WE CAN HASH IT OUT JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE.
I, I DO HAVE SOME, SOME CONCERNS, BUT I WANTED TO, UH, ALLOW THIS MEETING TO REALLY LET THE PUBLIC VOICE THEIR CONCERNS.
SO I WOULD, UH, ADVOCATE FOR A WORK SESSION ON THE 15TH AND THEN THE VOTE ON THE 16TH.
UH, I DON'T HAVE MUCH TO SHARE.
UH, I JUST WANNA, SINCE WE ARE HERE TONIGHT, WE DON'T RECOGNIZE, UM, THOSE, UH, TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK AND PUBLIC SERVICE, UH, RECOGNITION, PUBLIC, PUBLIC SERVICE RECOGNITION WEEK, I GUESS.
UM, SO OTHER, AS FAR AS THE, UH, UH, TASK AT HAND HERE.
UM, SO I AM, I DO SIT ON THE BOARD FOR THE, UH, H-R-P-D-C, WHICH IS THE HAMPTON ROADS PLANET DISTRICT COMMITTEE.
AND, UM, WE KNOW HOUSING IS A ISSUE NATIONALLY.
WE ALL KNOW, UM, LOCALLY AND EVERYTHING.
THERE ARE, THERE ARE STUDIES THAT ARE BEING FUNDED CURRENTLY, AND IF YOU SAW THE NEWS, THE, UH, I THINK SENATOR KANE AND WARNER DID, UH, DISTRIBUTE 98 MILLION BUCKS TO STATE OF VIRGINIA, I THINK, UH, 17 MILLION, UH, FOR THE HAMPTON ROSE DISTRICT.
UH, OF COURSE, UH, FOR THIS SERIES, I'D INCLUDED.
BUT FROM THE NATIONAL LEVEL, THINGS ARE HAPPENING.
OF COURSE, YOU GOT THE TRICKLE DOWN EFFECT WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO SEE THE TABLE AND OBVIOUSLY GET INVOLVED.
BUT WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW AS FAR AS HOUSING IS THE COUNTY.
WE'RE IN THE STUDY PROCESS, MEANING HRPC AS WELL AS CRATER.
SO, UM, WE KNOW IT'S A HOUSING CRISIS, AND SO THINGS ARE BEING ADDRESSED.
AGAIN, THAT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS, UH, THAT I GUESS HAPPENED BEHIND THE SCENES WHERE IT'S NOT REALLY PUBLICLY, UM, ACKNOWLEDGED OR ADDRESSED, BUT, UH, MAYBE WE DO A BETTER JOB OF THAT.
YOU KNOW, I TRY TO COME BACK FROM MY MEETING SOMETIME AND, UM, WITHOUT THE, UM, PROLONGING OUR MEETINGS, TRY TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WERE ADDRESSED AT THOSE MEETINGS.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE MONTHLY, AND, UH, SO THINGS ARE HAPPENING BEHIND THE SCENES TO ADDRESS THESE ISSUES.
UH, OTHER THAN THAT, UH, I THINK THAT'S PRETTY MUCH ALL I HAVE.
EVERYONE IS, UH, VIEWING AT HOME.
AND, UH, JUST WANNA THANK EVERYONE FOR THEIR COMMENTS TONIGHT.
UM, LIKE MR. HARDY SAID, I SIT ON THE, UH, VIRGINIA GATEWAY REGION, UM, AND WE TALK ABOUT VARIOUS THINGS SUCH AS HOUSING AND INFRASTRUCTURE AND, UH, KNOWING THAT THAT IS THE ISSUE THAT'S GOING ON.
SAME THING, THE MONIES IN FEDERAL, IT GOES DOWN TO US, BUT GOOD THING THAT WE HAVE, UM, BOARD MEMBERS THAT ARE SITTING ON THESE BOARDS AND DILIGENT AND TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE CAN GET THESE FUNDS IN SARA COUNTY.
SO AGAIN, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, AGAIN, IT'S, IT'S, UH, THIS IS A LONG PROCESS.
HOWEVER, YOU KNOW, WE, IT'S A, IT'S A, A, A
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CONSISTENT PROCESS THAT WE ARE, ARE DEDICATED TO GETTING THINGS THAT WE NEED IN THE COUNTY.UH, THANK YOU MR. RO, FOR YOUR COMMENTS AS FAR AS THE COMMENDING US FOR THE THINGS THAT WE TRIED TO, UH, ESTABLISH LAST YEAR AND SEEING THE BENEFITS OF IT.
AND MS. CARLA, I THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS AS WELL.
UM, AND AGAIN, UH, WE ARE JUST GONNA CONTINUE TO WORK HARD AND TRY TO KEEP, CONTINUE TO PUSHING THE COUNTY FORWARD IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
SO THANK YOU AGAIN, EVERYONE FOR YOUR COMMENTS.
UH, THERE WAS A, UH, COMMENT MADE AND, AND WE WANT TO ADDRESS IT.
THIS IS NOT REALLY A QUESTION ANSWER SESSION, BUT, UH, MS. COVEO MADE SOME COMMENTS ABOUT THE ROADWAY.
AND, UH, MR. MR. HARRISON, I BELIEVE, CAN ADDRESS THAT ISSUE RIGHT NOW SO WE CAN GET SOME CLARITY ON THE, ON, ON HOW WE HANDLE THE ROADS IN THE COUNTY.
AND SO I WOULD SAY THAT VDOT HAS DOMINION OF ALL ROADWAYS IN THE STATE OF VIRGINIA, AS WE ALL KNOW.
UM, JUST TO GIVE A IDEA OF COST FOR ROAD CONSTRUCTION, WE PREVIOUSLY HAD A GRANT FOR ABOUT $9 MILLION FOR A, UH, EXTENDING THE ROADWAY FROM THE, THE STOPLIGHT TOWARDS THE FERRY.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WHAT THAT STRETCH WOULD DO.
SO $10 MILLION IN OUR BUDGET RIGHT NOW WOULD NOT TOUCH THE SCRATCH, SCRATCH THE SERVICE ON IMPROVEMENTS ON ANY SECONDARY ROADWAY.
UM, VDOT CONSTRUCTION COSTS RIGHT NOW ARE ASTRONOMICAL.
THEIR BUDGETS ARE LIMITED, AS WELL AS MR. CARROLL, I'M SURE IF HE WAS HERE, HE WOULD ECHO THE SAME SENTIMENTS.
SO, UM, WHEN IT COMES TO ROAD CONSTRUCTION AND IMPROVEMENT, WE ARE REALLY RELYING ON VDOT AND FEDERAL FUNDING AND FEDERAL ASSISTANCE AND AID.
WE DON'T HAVE THOSE TYPE OF FUNDS LOCALLY TO, UM, TO TACKLE ROAD IMPROVEMENTS.
MR. CHAIRMAN, MAY I ADD TO THAT? YES.
NOT ONLY DO WE NOT HAVE THE FUNDS, BUT COUNTIES DO NOT MAINTAIN THE ROADS AND COUNTIES DO NOT PUT MONEY IN THEIR BUDGET FOR ROAD IMPROVEMENTS.
AGAIN, THAT'S AT THE STATE LEVEL.
UM, SO THE ONLY THING THAT I CAN ADD TO THAT IN TERMS OF, UH, TRANSPORTATION, IF YOU REMEMBER AT THE LAST MEETING, I INDICATED BASED ON THE ATTENDANCE AT THE, UH, VACO REGIONAL MEETING, THAT IT IS RECOGNIZED AT THE STATE LEVEL THAT MORE MONEY NEEDS TO GET TRICKLED DOWN TO VDOT.
ONCE THE MONEY GETS TO VDOT, THE MONEY CAN BE PUT INTO THE SECONDARY ROAD SYSTEM.
COUNTIES DO NOT PUT MONEY IN THEIR BUDGETS FOR ROAD IMPROVEMENTS.
UH, MY, UM, MY COMMENTS ARE AS FOLLOWED.
UH, I WANT TO THANK ALL WHO PARTICIPATED TONIGHT, AND IT IS ALWAYS GOOD TO SEE MR. FROY.
MR. FOLEY WAS MY FIRST GRADE MUSIC TEACHER, SO IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO SEE HIM COME BACK AND STILL BE A PART OF WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE COUNTY, AND TO GET KUDOS FROM HIM.
I, I THANK HIM FOR BEING SUCH A STRONG SUPPORT OF S COUNTY AND, UH, WE THANK HIM FOR HIS COMMENTS TONIGHT.
AND, UH, I DO UNDERSTAND, UH, SOME OF THE CONCERNS THAT WE HAVE.
UH, BUT WHEN WE MEET AS A BOARD, YOU DO NOT AS CITIZENS GET THE PRIVILEGE TO KNOW EVERYTHING THAT'S HAPPENING WHEN IT IS HAPPENING.
BUT YOU DO GET THE INFORMATION BEFORE ANY MAJOR PROJECTS ARE HAPPENING IN THE COUNTY.
THAT'S WHY YOU HAVE PEOPLE IN PLACES AND POSITIONS TO BRING UP PROJECTS AND WORK ON PROJECTS.
BUT BEFORE ANYTHING CAN BE APPROVED, THEY DO COME BEFORE THE CITIZENS.
THAT'S WHY WE ARE HAVING A PUBLIC HEARING ON TONIGHT.
BUT I'M JUST SAYING THAT TO LET THE CITIZENS OF S COUNTY KNOW THAT WE ARE WORKING DILIGENTLY AS A BOARD TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE, OF THE CITIZENS, OF SERE WITHOUT OVERTAXING THE CITIZENS OF SERE.
UH, JUST HAVING THAT IN MIND TO KNOW THAT WE ARE HERE TO TRY AND DO THE BEST THAT WE CAN.
AND WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS TONIGHT AS WE GO FORWARD TO MOVE SRA COUNTY FORWARD.
UH, NEXT ON THE AGENDA WOULD BE CLOSING REMARKS BY STAFF.
THERE ARE NO CLOSING REMARKS OTHER THAN THE FACT THAT THE BOARD NEEDS TO ADJOURN.
IF YOU DECIDE TO HOLD YOUR WORK SESSION ON THE 15TH, YOU WOULD NEED TO ADJOURN TONIGHT TO, UM, THAT TIME.
AND I THINK TO ACCOMMODATE MR. CALHOUN'S SCHEDULE, IT WAS, UH, 6:30 PM FOR THAT WORK SESSION ON THE 15TH.
UH, FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS, WHAT IS YOUR PLEASURE ON, UH, WORK SESSION? IT IS, IT IS BEEN SCHEDULED AS IF NEEDED.
WE HAVE, UH, MS. JURY STATING THAT SHE WOULD LIKE A WORK SESSION.
WHAT WOULD BE THE PLEASURE, THE REMAINING OF THE BOARD MEMBERS ON THE WORK SECTION? DO WE FEEL LIKE WE NEED ONE ON THE 15TH OR ARE WE COMFORTABLE WITH DISCUSSION OR FROM WHAT WE HEARD TONIGHT AND GOING FORTH ON THE, ON THE 16TH? UH, MR. CHAIR PERSONALLY, UM, JUDGE, FROM THE COMMENTS WE HEARD FROM TONIGHT AND, UM, THE STAFF PRESENTATIONS AND EVERYTHING, I
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THINK THAT, UM, HAVING THE WORK SESSION ON THE, UH, 15TH ISN'T NEEDED, MR. HARD, YOUR HAVE SENTIMENTS ON WORK SESSION.UH, I'M EITHER WAY CHAIR, UM, HAVE, IF SOME, IF, IF, UH, IF WE HAVE A MEMBER WHO FEEL LIKE IT'S NEEDED, THEN I THINK WE, WE CAN HEAR 'EM OUT.
HAVE TWO TO TWO AT THIS TIME BECAUSE I, I MEANT PUT THE PERSUASION THAT WE DO NOT NEED A WORK SESSION.
WE HAVE, UH, PUBLIC COMMENTS COMING FROM MS. COVEO AND WE HAVE, UH, ACCOMMODATIONS AND, AND, UH, FROM MR. RO, AND WE'VE HEARD THE CONSENT OF THE CITIZENS ON THIS MATTER.
I DON'T KNOW IF A WORK SESSION IS GONNA MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND WHERE WE ARE, I DON'T KNOW IF WE CAN HAVE DISCUSSION AS BOARD MEMBERS AMONGST OURSELVES, TWO AT A TIME TO DECIDE WHERE WE WANT TO GO.
BUT IT'D BE MY OPINION THAT WE DO NOT STAND IN NEED OF A WORK SESSION AT THIS TIME.
I THINK A MOTION NEEDS TO BE, NEEDS TO BE MADE.
UM, THEN FROM THERE WE CAN VOTE ON WHETHER, UH, TO PROCEED.
UM, BUT LISTENING TO, UH, COMMENTS AND EVERYTHING, UH, I WILL MOVE THE MOTION.
UH, I WON'T MAKE A MOTION TO ADJOURN UNTIL MAY 15TH FOR OUR WORK SESSION.
WE WILL BE ADJOURNED UNTIL MAY.
AND I'M HAVING A LITTLE BIT OF PART-TIME HEARING, BUT I, I DON'T THINK, I THINK IT'S JUST THE TECHNOLOGY.
SO, UH, MR. PIERCE, SO YOU VOTED THAT, UH, YOU MADE A MOTION THAT WE WOULD, WOULD HAVE A WORK SESSION ON THE 15TH? ON THE 15TH AT SIX, YES OR NO, ON THE 15TH, AT SIX 30? UM, IN THE, UH, AT 15TH, AT SIX 30, YES, MA'AM.
THAT WE WOULD HAVE A WORK SESSION.
WHAT WOULD BE THE LOCATION OF THE MEETING? UM, I THINK WE HAVE IT SET FOR THE AUXILIARY CONFERENCE ROOM.
WE HAVE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR TO ADJOURN UNTIL MAY THE 15TH AT SIX 30 AT THE AUXILIARY CONFERENCE ROOM FOR A CALL WORK SESSION.
ALL IN FAVOR? IT'S BEEN, IT'S BEEN, IT'S BEEN PROMPT MOVING SECOND.
ALL IN FAVOR? LET IT BE KNOWN BY THE VOTING SOUND OF AYE.
OPPOSED? WE WILL BE ADJOURNED UNTIL MAY THE 15TH AT SIX 30 HERE AT THE AUXILIARY CONFERENCE CENTER.
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR ATTENDANCE ON TONIGHT.