AT THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE
RAPPAHANNOCK COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS HELD ON THE 1st DAY OF AUGUST, TWO
THOUSAND AND FIVE AT TWO O'CLOCK P.M. AT THE COURTHOUSE IN WASHINGTON, VIRGINIA
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Present |
Present |
Absent |
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Charles K Estes, Chairman Robert P Anderson, V-Chm Roger A Welch S. Bryant Lee Ronald L. Frazier |
John McCarthy, Co Adm. Peter H. Luke, Co Attorney |
Diane Bruce, Clerk |
Chairman Estes called the
meeting to order. All members were
present.
MINUTES: On motion of Mr. Lee, seconded by Mr. Welch, the minutes of the
July 6, 2005 meeting were unanimously approved as published. The vote was recorded as follows: AYE: Estes, Lee, Anderson, Welch, Frazier. NAY: None.
AGENDA: On motion of Mr. Anderson, seconded by Mr. Lee, the revised agenda was unanimously adopted. The vote was recorded as follows: AYE: Estes, Lee, Anderson, Welch, Frazier. NAY: None.
SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK, NEW SUPERINTENDENT: The Board welcomed Charles Cartwright, the new Superintendent of the SNP. Mr. Cartwright emphasized his willingness to work and consult with all SNP neighbors. The Board asked the new superintendent to work to expand the Fire and Rescue Department Mutual Aid collaborative agreements and to closely monitor the sewage discharge into Rappahannock County. Mr. Cartwright noted that the SNP must meet state and federal regulations for sewage discharge.
SCHOOLS: Superintendent Robert Chappell reported as follows:
(1) School opening dates are August 22 for teachers and August 29 for students.
(2) The RCES roof should be complete by August 15.
(3 $1,320,000 of unencumbered VPA funds remain after setting aside $78,000 for change orders and other unforeseen construction costs. Given the insufficient amount of funds to complete the entire construction project, the Superintendent outlined two options that he will present to the School Board on August 2. (See July 20, 2005 weekly message from Superintendent with papers of meeting.)
Option 1 contemplates building the auxiliary gym at a cost of $1.2 million and replacing all three mudular units with new units at a cost of $120,000 and to ask the county to fund the upgrade of the track.
Option 2 contemplates building the elementary addition that replaces all three modular units at a cost of $719,846 and re-bid and build the track for $550,000.
Neither option resolves all the needs originally anticipated. Mr. Chappell will recommend Option 1 to the School Board at its next meeting.
Following discussion regarding costs, on motion of Mr. Lee, seconded by Mr. Welch, the Supervisors voted unanimously to authorize the County Administrator and Superintendent of Schools to work together to simplify and re-bid the track project conditioned upon the understanding that the Supervisors are not agreeing to fund the project at this time and further, that the Supervisors reserve to themselves the right to decide once any bids are returned. The vote was recorded as follows: AYE: Estes, Lee, Anderson, Welch, Frazier. NAY: None.
RAPPAHANNOCK-RAPIDAN COMMUNITY SERVICES BOARD: Brian Duncan outlined the services provided to county residents by the CSB. Three hundred sixty Rappahannock County citizens were served last fiscal year. The annual CSB resolution will be submitted for consideration at the September meeting.
Mr. Duncan also informed the Supervisors that he has met with Bob Lander regarding the possibility of using the old Scrabble School for a Senior Site instead of renting space in Washington.
FIRE LEVY BILLS: Richie Burke discussed the items in the packet of materials and answered Board questions. On motion of Mr. Anderson, seconded by Mr. Welch, the Board voted unanimously to approve payment of the Fire Levy bills for the period January 1, 2005 through June 30, 2005, in the total amount of $75,528.61. The vote was recorded as follows: AYE: Estes, Lee, Anderson, Welch, Frazier. NAY: None. (See Exhibit A attached hereto and made a part of these minutes. Other documents are with papers of meeting.)
Paul Poling: Mr. Burke informed the Board that Mr. Poling has resigned from the Levy Board for health reasons.
Sperryville Rescue and Sperryville Fire Departments: The Board engaged in discussion regarding the operational costs of each company and whether the two companies could be joined into a single unit, as are all the other fire and rescue companies.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Chairman Estes opened the meeting to public comment.
Courthouse Grounds Plantings: Carol Miller, Betty Wood and Lucia Kilby urged the Board to review the RLEP plans for plantings around the Courthouse grounds with a more critical eye. These ladies all agreed that the plantings are not appropriate for the historical and architectural setting of the courtyard and that this plan will result in high maintenance costs. Mr. McCarthy noted that the plans had been reviewed by the Garden Club and have been on file in his office for several months. The implementation of the plan has already begun.
Farm Services Agency: Monira Rifaat informed the Board that due to cutbacks imposed by the USDA, the Farm Services Agency in Culpeper will be closing. After closure, county farmers who want to enter into "cost sharing programs" through NRCS and FSA will have to travel to either Warrenton or Orange.
RCHS Track: Sharon Kilpatrick urged the Board to re-bid the track and to commit surplus General Funds to building the project.
Surplus: Mr. McCarthy reported that the county maintains a 10% surplus. Twenty years ago, a 10% percent surplus equaled $700,000. The surplus in today's budget is approximately $1.8 million. Of that amount, $400,000 has been earmarked for purchasing adjacent land in the Town of Washington and approximately $500,000 for landfill closure and solid waste operational expenses.
Jim Blubaugh introduced himself as a candidate for the House of Delegates from this district.
Gwen Hayes expressed appreciation to the volunteer fire and rescue departments.
There being no further comments, Chairman Estes closed the meeting to further public comment.
Rappahannock County Conservation Alliance: Sharon Pierce presented the county with a check in the amount of $15,000 to be placed in the Preservation Program. These funds were raised by RCAA whose mission is to preserve the scenic nature of the county. She expressed special appreciation to the Old Dominion, Rappahannock County and Thornton Hill hunt clubs for their help.
OLD BUSINESS:
Tapp's Ford Rd, Rt 645: The bidding resulted in two bids that were below the engineer's estimates. VDOT will review the bids and let the contract within the next 30 days.
Courthouse Grounds Plantings: Mr. McCarthy reported that only the plantings already in the ground have been approved and before further phases are approved, the offices of the Treasurer and Commissioner of Revenue must be re-parged to prevent water from seeping into those offices through the old and porous bricks. He suggested that the plantings project be put on hold for the time being.
APPOINTMENTS:
Water & Sewer Authority: This appointment will be made at the October meeting.
CORRESPONDENCE:
(1) Work Camp: Letter of thanks for WorkCamp 2005.
(2) VDOT Report: Year-end quarterly report filed.
INFORMATION:
Building Office Report: Total construction from June 21, 2005 to July 22, 2005 was $4,232,180.00. Year to date totals: (See papers of meeting for more detail.)
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Year to date totals: |
2004 |
2005 |
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New Home Construction |
36 |
33 |
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Commercial Buildings |
9 |
10 |
John Jackson Marker Dedication: The ceremony will take place August 20, 2005 at Woodville. Family and friends of John Jackson, his manager and members of his record label and Blues musicians will be present to celebrate. The public is invited.
Congressman Eric Cantor will visit the Library on August 11, 2005 at 10:00 a.m.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: On motion of Mr. Frazier, seconded by Mr. Welch, the Board voted unanimously to retire into executive session pursuant to Virginia Code ¤2.2-3711A.. to discuss, consider or interview prospective candidates for employment; to discuss the assignment, appointment, promotion, performance, demotion, salary, discipline or resignation of specific public officers, appointees or employees of the Board of Supervisors under ¤2.2-3711 A.1 and to protect the privacy of individuals in personal matters not related to public business under ¤2.2-3711 A.4. The subject matter of the closed meeting was to discuss personnel relative to discipline) The following roll-call vote was taken. AYE: Estes, Anderson, Frazier, Lee, Welch. NAY: None.
At the conclusion of the Executive Session, 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. AYE: Estes, Anderson, Frazier, Lee, Welch. NAY: None.
7:00 PM Session Continued: Mr. McCarthy advised the Board that the previously scheduled public hearing regarding proposed amendments to Family Apartments has been continued until the September 7 meeting.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 4:30 o'clock p.m.
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Charles K. Estes, Chairman