Patrick County Board of Supervisors Meeting January 11
January 11, 2010
The following is a report submitted by Tom Bishop of the Patrick County Board of Supervisor's meeting on Monday, January 11, 2010
News report
Patrick County Board of Supervisors-Meeting, Jan. 11, 2010
On Monday, January 11, the Patrick County Board of Supervisors met for their monthly meeting.
Organization
Karl Weiss from the Blue Ridge District was elected as the new Chairman and Ron Knight from the Mayo River District as the Vice Chairman, with a unanimous vote on each.
Monthly meetings will continue to be schedule for the 2nd Monday of each month for the regular session and on the 4th Monday (which will now include a public comment period)
Committee assignments will remain the same with Roger Hayden the new member from Dan River District assigned to the Broadband Committee and Jail Committee. Each member of the board will be included on the Budget Committee.
Sheriff Dan Smith Report
Sheriff Smith reported that burglary and breaking and entering cases had declined from 121 in 2007 to 84 in 2009. Larceny cases had declined from 283 in 2007 to 218 in 2009. Highway safety has been improved due to increased visibility and DUI cases have increased form 35 in 2007 to 48 in 2009. Traffic fatalities have drastically reduced from 9 in 2005 to only 3 in 2009.
City of Danville
Jay Scudder reported that the City of Danville refused to pay the $70,000 payment to Patrick County in lieu of taxes this year, breaking a long standing agreement. The main recourse seems to be to bill them on a line item basis for services provided such as, EMS, Sheriff, search and rescue and refuse disposal.
Patrick Springs Water and Sewer
The first phase will go to bid, as soon as USDA Rural Development gives the release.
A later phase which could add 50-60 users can be funded 75% by Federal Stimulus funding and 25% with a 2% loan over 40 years. This will require $5000 to be paid to Adams and Heath for design work. This was approved with a 4-1 vote, with Crystal Harris voting no.
EMI Donation of Land
Eastern Microfilm Sales and Services, Inc. is willing to donate .02 acres of land for use by the Mayo River Trail and the new Jail.
Restructuring of Office Space 2nd Floor
Jay Scudder proposed the 2nd floor of the County Offices be restructured to allow the DMV office to be in with the Treasurer’s Office and allow increased productivity and thus save personnel costs. Approval was given to allow Jay to continue with design and planning on this project, and come back to the board for final approval of this expenditure. The vote was 3-2, with Crystal Harris and Karl Weiss voting no.
Resolution to Support the Center for Creative Technologies in the Arts at VA Tech.
This requires no money from the County. It was approved 3-2 with Lock Boyce and Roger Hayden voting no, saying they did not believe the State of Virginia would approve of this project.
New GIS System for the County
Jay Scudder announced a contract had been awarded to Interactive GIS to digitize the land plats at the cost of $150,000 which is 100% funded with a grant. This will help with the next re-assessment and can be put on-line with the County web site.
Animal Control Ordinance
Approved the advance to public comment the new Animal Pound Adoption Fees at the next meeting. The adoption fee will be $30 for dogs and $20 for cats. The new owner will be responsible for the cost of spaying and neutering. The vote was 3-2, with Karl Weiss and Crystal Harris voting no. They were concerned with the total cost to adopt a pet being increased by requiring the new owner to spay and neuter at their own expense.
Delinquent Real Estate Tax
Approved the contract with County Attorney to take to court those cases of unpaid real estate taxes that are 3 years past due. The County Attorney will get 20% at auction or $2000 per parcel, whichever is less. Jay Scudder was authorized to execute the contract. This was approved unanimously. This action has never been taken in the past.
Reported by Tom Bishop
