AT THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE RAPPAHANNOCK COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS HELD ON THE 1st DAY OF MARCH, TWO THOUSAND AND TEN AT TWO O'CLOCK P.M. AT THE COURTHOUSE IN WASHINGTON, VIRGINIA

Present	Present	Absent
Roger A Welch, Chairman S. Bryant Lee, V-Chairman Ronald L. Frazier I. Christopher Parrish Michael J. Biniek	John McCarthy, Co. Adm. Peter H. Luke, Co. Attorney Margaret R. Ralph, Clerk	None

Chairman Welch called the meeting to order. All members were present.

MINUTES: On motion of Mr. Lee, seconded by Mr. Biniek, the minutes of the February 1, 2010 meeting were unanimously approved. The vote was recorded as follows: AYE: Welch, Lee, Frazier, Parrish, Biniek NAY: None. ABSENT: None.

AGENDA: On motion of Mr. Parrish, seconded by Mr. Lee, the Board voted unanimously to adopt the Final Agenda with one correction: continuation until next month of Ms Wyatt's presentation. She was called to testify before a Congressional Hearing. The vote was recorded as follows: AYE: Welch, Lee, Frazier, Parrish, Biniek. NAY: None. ABSENT: None.

SCHOOLS: Dr. Robert Chappell, Superintendent of Schools, made the following report:

(1) Grades 6 & 7 Science Fair Winners Qualify for Regional Competition at UVA.

(2 Kelsa Settle Qualified for All-District Chorus.

(3) Accomplishments of our Recent Graduates.

(4) Invitation to all to attend all our home Games.

Mr. Frazier asked Dr. Chappell about a memo that was attached to the School's Draft

Budget, specifically how putting employees on unemployment can save the county money. A discussion followed. Mr. Frazier continued with another question concerning the number of employees the schools have on their rolls. Dr. Chappell answered that he would get this information for Mr. Frazier.

PUBLIC COMMENT:

Roger Cordani, Flint Hill commented on the proposed school budget, specifically that if enrollment has fallen why has employment risen. He cited several newspaper articles concerning employment, repairs and expenditures in adjacent counties. Mr. Cordani admonished the Board and said that it is their job to know where all monies are spent.

OLD BUSINESS:

Arts, Cultural, Tourism Zones: This subject was discussed at the last meeting and tabled pending the outcome of several bills before the General Assembly that would have impacted it. All of the bills that Mr. McCarthy was tracking have been passed on indefinitely, resolved, or carried over until next year. Mr. McCarthy requested that this matter be tabled until the April meeting for an additional report

Governor's Budget Reduction Proposals for FY11: Mr. McCarthy reported as follows on the following bills:

1. HB501 & HB503 (Jordan and Hughes Scenic River) both passed unanimously out of the House and have been sent to the Senate. They have been assigned to committee and the expectation is that they will pass without any trouble.

2. HB504 (Maximum Speed of 35mph on unpaved roads) was, as previously reported, passed unanimously out of the House and now passed unanimously out of the Senate. It is now before the Governor.

3. HB777 (Requirement for Open Space Classification) was passed by indefinitely by voice vote and is not before the General Assembly at this time.

Mr. McCarthy commented that the most critical issue before the Board and the public is the issue of the State Budget in general. The topic of the Local Composite Index Relief Bill will be deferred to the Budgetary Policy Issues on the agenda. The House and Senate have competing versions of the budget. Both have been sent to conference committee. Both versions could be detrimental to us.

However, there are several issues that directly impact the county, namely: Regional Jail construction, General District Court Judge positions, and the Extension Office merger. Mr. McCarthy commented on each subject.

Mr. Lee, Mr. Welch, and Mr. Frazier commented on the Extension Office consolidation and the negative impact it will have on the County, especially in the 4-H area.

The Link has offered office space for the Extension Office if the issue of rent comes up.

Discussion followed.

Tourism: This subject was tabled from the February meeting pending the receipt of applications to the Tourism Advisory Group. Several applications were received (filed with the papers of the meeting). Applications and offices are as follows:

History/Heritage Judith S. Tole

Outdoor Adventure/Equestrian/Sports Jim Offutt

Accommodations Sheri Fickel

Restaurants Debbie Donehey

Wineries and Distilleries Bill Gadino

Farms/Orchards/Farm Markets Cliff Miller

Performing Arts/Entertainment Kevin H. Adams

Retail and Galleries Rachel Hayden

Artists/Artisans Esther G. Schmidt

2 At-Large Phil Irwin & Barbara Adolfi

On motion of Mr. Biniek, seconded by Mr. Lee, the Board voted unanimously to appoint these applicants to the Tourism Advisory Group.

BUDGETARY POLICY ISSUES This discussion was begun last month and Mr. McCarthy was directed to determine the metrics of school spending. He continued with a summary of the requested information.

All the information in the memo dated February 20 was taken from the Superintendent's Report of Public Education and the Auditor of Public Accounts and concern revenues and expenditures. The required local effort is outlined on the first page – the 2007 to 2009 actual and the 2010 budget. The second page shows the required local match. The required local match is dictated by the composite index. Mr. McCarthy pointed out that these are state measures and do not attempt to measure total school expenditures, but spending on state-mandated programs, i.e. SAT and SOL programs. They also measure what is spent above those, but don't attempt to segregate out what it's for or what purpose is served by it. Mr. McCarthy continued and explained about state averages and percentages – Rappahannock County compared to the state. He pointed out that the Senate and House versions of the budget as well as the governor's original proposed budget did include the funding of the local composite index adjustment that we sought from the Gen Assembly two years ago. Most important is that there is a requirement that the local school board receiving any adjusted LCI funds shall use these funds solely for education purposes and shall not be used for operational expenditures.

Peter Luke spoke on Section B of the memo. This section is directed to the School Board and does not put any requirements on the County. However, since the Board appropriates to the School Board, it does affect the Board indirectly. If the Board decides not to use the Madison Composite Index, the Board has options, but if it uses the index the Board would be locked in to certain requirements.

A discussion followed. Mr. Frazier suggested that the Board request an Attorney General's opinion concerning the issue. Mr. Luke commented that (1) only a few people can request an AG opinion (2) That an AG opinion often sets a precedent and may adversely affect other counties and even affect Rappahannock negatively (3) As a policy matter the Board would have to instruct him to seek an opinion on a precise question (4) An AG opinion would not be given in a timely manner, thus not helpful to us.

In further discussion, Mr. Frazier thanked Mr. McCarthy and Mr. Luke for this further clarification and that he would hope that this money will be used only for educational purposes. Money for repairs should be found elsewhere in the budget.

Mr. Lee commented that it should be remembered that the people in our community put forth a lot of effort to get us to this point and that it would be unfortunate if we should lose this money. He agreed that this money should be used solely for educational purposes.

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Further discussion ensued concerning the use of these funds, appropriations, and local match requirements. Mr. McCarthy explained that this bill was originally proposed by Highland County and how Rappahannock became involved with it.

Mr. McCarthy will report to the Board on situations as they develop.

Mr. Parrish asked that if the school budget is not increased would Rappahannock then be eligible for this money. Mr. McCarthy explained that the requirement is that we not replace our money with their money, thus if the school budget were adopted today and the local dollars were the same as the last two years, then we would be in compliance and eligible to receive the $250,000.00. He also explained how we can and cannot apply these additional funds. Mr. McCarthy cautioned that all of the numbers are subject to the decisions made by the General Assembly in the next few weeks.

NEW BUSINESS:

February Snow Emergency Management Report: Mr. Burke reported on the recent snow emergency with the County. Everyone worked extremely hard, receiving 52 calls at the height of the storm, for services. Rappahannock County was the only County in surrounding jurisdictions not to request National Guard help. The Shelter was opened and basically all squads were operational and well staffed. There was direct communication with VDOT. There was $8700.00 in expenses, which were reported to the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, so if the Federal Government declares this storm a disaster the report of these funds will go to FEMA and we will be able to get some of our costs back. Many lessons were learned during this storm and as a result the Emergency Plan will be re-written to address some of the issues we faced during this event.

Mr. Welch congratulated Mr. Burke and all the workers for a smooth operation and excellent job. There were few complaints and many compliments

Fire and Rescue Needs Assessment: Mr. Frazier commented concerning the Fire Levy and the fire and rescue needs in the County. He understood that an assessment was done about 20 years ago, but he had never seen it. Currently, there is no plan for such an assessment. Mr. McCarthy will consult with neighboring counties to determine how they are handling this and report back to the Board.

Appropriation for Shop with a Deputy Program: Donations in the amount of $11,110.00 have been received for the Shop with a Deputy Program. It is requested that the Board approve a check in this amount payable to Kelly Settle, treasurer of the organization. It is Mr.McCarthy's understanding that the Sheriff is seeking an IRS 501(c) 3 designation for this group. If this is accomplished funds will then go directly to the program. At this time Mr. McCarthy requested an appropriation in the amount of $11,110.00 payable to Kelly Settle for the Shop with the Deputy Program. Motion to approve an appropriation to Ms. Settle in the amount of $11,110.00 by Mr. Frazier and seconded by Mr. Parrish. All in favor, motion carried. Check is to be written from account code 9103-5899.

National County Health Ranking: We are healthy – so say The National Health Rankings Survey for counties throughout the United States. It measures two things: Health Outcomes and Health Factors with the outcomes representing how healthy a county is and the factors measuring what influences the health of a county. In Outcomes, the county ranks 46 out of 133 and in Factors, 44 out of 133. In general we are at or above neighboring jurisdiction.

APPOINTMENTS:

CORRESPONDENCE:

INFORMATION:

Magazine Connections included with the Meeting Packet

Monthly VDOT Report

Building Permit Report

Plant-A-Row Update

(all found with papers of the meeting)

Mr. McCarthy requested a Closed Session on potential litigation - the Aileen factory

Accounts will be taken up before Closed session.

ACCOUNTS:

On motion of Mr. Lee, seconded by Mr. Parrish, the Board voted unanimously to approve the Accounts Payables dated March 1, 2010. The vote was recorded as follows: AYE: Welch, Lee, Frazier, Parrish, Biniek. NAY: None. ABSENT: None.

EXECUTIVE SESSION: On motion of Bryant Lee, seconded by Mr. Parrish, the Board voted unanimously to retire into executive session pursuant to Virginia Code Section 2.2-3711A.(1) to consult with legal counsel employed or retained by the Board of Supervisors regarding specific legal matters requiring the provision of legal advice by such counsel under Section 2.2-3711A.7. The subject matter of the closed meeting will be: the Aileen property. Record of the vote was as follows: Ayes: Mr. Welch, Mr. Frazier, Mr. Lee, Mr. Biniek, Mr. Parrish. Nays: None

Open Session: On motion of Mr. Biniek, seconded by Mr. Lee, the Board voted unanimously to reconvene into open session. The following roll-call vote was taken: Ayes: Welch, Frazier, Lee, Biniek, Parrish. Nays: none

Certification: The Chairman polled the members of the Board as follows: "To the best of your knowledge, do each of you certify that only public business matters lawfully exempted from the open meeting requirements under existing Virginia law, and only such public business matters as were identified in the motion by which the executive meeting was convened, were heard, discussed or considered by the Board in the executive meeting just held?" The following roll-call vote was taken: Ayes: Welch, Frazier, Lee, Biniek, Parrish. Nays: none

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 3:45 o'clock p.m.

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Roger A. Welch, Chairman