Chamber News

Patrick County Board Of Supervors Meeting-January 24

The Patrick County Board of Supervisors meeting on January 24, 2011 is covered in this news report.

Board of Supervisors Meeting on January 24, 2011 Patrick County Extension office Report to the Board Carol Byrd introduced Dan Goerlicch, District Director from the Danville, VA office who made a overhead slide presentation concerning the restructuring of the Extension offices statewide. He illustrated the $10 million budget reduction statewide (16%) for Extension offices. They are looking to eliminate duplicate efforts and to eliminate low priority work. This will likely result in reduced staffing in our Patrick County Extension office Olver Incorporated Reports on the Patrick County Landfill Project Manager, Sandra Warner gave a report for Olver to the Board. She is a licensed geologist. She reported there are no risks to residents in the immediate area. Landfill Ground Water: 1.She said they are monitoring decreasing concentrations of Vinyl Chloride, which is on a Corrective Action program. 2. 1,2-Dichloroproane, chloromethane, and tetrachloroethene have been removed from the Corrective Action program because the analytics no longer exceed groundwater standards (effective January 2010) 3. Cobalt is above the revised standards now but current monitoring indicates a decreasing trend in concentrations. Landfill Gas: Landfill gas monitoring indicates the facility is in compliance with solid waste regulations with less than 4% Methane. She says there is no health risk or exposure problem to those at the Shooting Range or the residential neighborhood. Olver has assisted Patrick County in the recent past to negotiate an improved contract with Waste Management to reduce operating cost. Flying POW/MIA Flag on County Flag Poles Local resident David Sheeley made a recommendation that Patrick County fly the POW/MIA (Prisoner of War-Missing In Action) on special days such as Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, National POW/MIA Recognition Day, and Veterans Day. The Board voted unanimously to fly the POW/MIA flag as often as practical underneath the American Flag., which will mean it will fly more than just on Special Days. Renaming Ararat Highway (Rt. 773) After a POW Veteran From Ararat No decision was reached on this matter. There are lot of deserving veterans in the County, and it would be difficult to single out one for this honor. Also, any recommendation made by the Board of Supervisors would still be subject to approval by VDOT, which discourages such action. County Gasoline Pump Tom Rose reported the problem with the County Gasoline Pump requiring constant repair. He will seek bids for repair. Also, there are 85 keys issued to employees which seems excessive. He will get the number of keys reduced when the pump is replaced or repaired. Surfacing Rural Rustic Roads Lisa Price Hughes, VDOT presented the Board Resolutions for paving Kelly Mill Road and Trent Store Road, which must be approved by the Board and returned to her. She expects the work to be done this Summer. After significant discussion, decision was reached on a 4-1 vote with Roger Hayden voting no. Roger was promoting paving of very deserving road, Old Orchard Loop, in the Dan River District, which has paving on both ends of with a section in the middle that is gravel. His contention that the 2 proposed roads are dead-end roads, whereas Old Orchard Loop is a continuous road, connecting to Route 103. Senate Bill 862 Tall Structure Ordinance Sen. Wagoner has proposed that the tall structure ordinance in Virginia be modified to permit wind turbines on mountain ranges to exceed 400 ft. limit. Patrick County has a tall structure ordinance that prohibits towers exceeding 400 ft. Ms. Harris of Smith River District recommended that Board pass a resolution to go on record in opposition to SB 862 and encourage Sen. Reynolds and Del. Armstrong to work to have this bill defeated. The motion passed unanimously. Roger Hayden Statement on Jobs Priority Chairman Roger Hayden, made a statement near the end of the meeting, saying that the “First Priority� of the Board should be promoting Patrick County as a business friendly environment and to reduce dependence on taxpayer supported jobs. Also, to develop a lean County budget, separating the needs from the wants, and starting no new County projects. Dr. Lock Boyce said we should seek to obtain a Medium Security or Geriatic Prison from the State of Virginia. Also we should seek a free-standing University and he would personally donate the land for it. The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 p. m. Report prepared by: Tom Bishop