Coraggio Consulting
Albemarle County Board of Supervisors Regular Second Meeting, Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Date: Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Place: Albemarle County Board of Supervisors, Virginia
Length: 3h 54m (video)
Official meeting video (Granicus): https://albemarle.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=1126
Official agenda: https://albemarle.granicus.com/AgendaViewer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=1126

Machine transcript (speech-to-text) produced by Coraggio Consulting. Not an official county record. Names and numbers may be misspelled; check the video at the timestamp before quoting.
Speech-to-text: whisper.cpp, model large-v3-turbo. Produced 2026-10-15. Timestamps are [HH:MM:SS] into the meeting video.

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[00:00:04] 30, three of them are attorneys. We can't do a Chinese screen. So they've just... Yeah, I'm fine. We're going to sue in this. Good afternoon. I am pleased to call to order this regular meeting of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors on this 18th of September, 1 p.m. in Lane Auditorium.

[00:00:24] I'd like to note that at the dais we have Supervisor Mike Pruitt of the Scottsville District, Supervisor B. Lepisto-Kirtley of the Ravana District, Supervisor Diantha McKeel, here, from the Jack Jewett District, Supervisor Ned Galloway of the Ryo District, Supervisor Ann Malick of the Whitehall District, and myself, Jim Andrews, representing the Samuel Miller District.

[00:00:41] The quorum is present. We're also joined by our county executive, Mr. Jeff Richardson, our interim county attorney, Mr. Andy Herrick, and our clerk, Ms. Claudette Borgerson, and senior deputy clerk, Mr. Travis Morris. Also, let me please welcome Albemarle County police officers present, Master Police Officers Paul Quillen and Steve McCall.

[00:01:00] Thank you for your service today and the work you do and your colleagues do every day on behalf of our community. We very much appreciate it for all. If all present now could stand as you are able and join us in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

[00:01:30] Thank you. If you'd now join us in a moment of silence. The word, as always, our first item is to adopt the final agenda.

[00:02:03] And I would note that we have added item 17 from the board, authorization to sign a letter of support for the St. John Family Life and Fitness Center grant application to the Commonwealth History Fund. Other than that addition, I know of no other changes.

[00:02:19] Do we have a motion to accept the final statement? So moved. Second. We have a motion from Supervisor LaPiesto-Curtley, a second from Supervisor McKeel. Without objection, the clerk will call the roll. Ms. LaPiesto-Curtley? Aye. Ms. Mallett? Yes. Ms. McKeel? Yes. Mr. Pruitt? Aye.

[00:02:34] Mr. Andrews? Yes. Mr. Galloway? Yes. Thank you. Board will now move to brief announcements from board members. And our order today begins with Supervisor Malik. Well, thank you. Each one is brief, but I have several, so I'll be quick.

[00:02:50] Sunday, September 22nd, seize the day at Walnut Creek. The storms should all be gone, and so this is a great opportunity with beautiful weather to visit the park and connect with neighbors and veterans and learn about veteran services. Sunday evening, 150 conferees of the National Lewis and Clark Organization arrive in Albemarle for several days of visits about the trail, and the conference is hosted by Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center.

[00:03:16] So they're bringing lots of good hotel rooms being used here. Friday, September 27th, Rybanna River Basin Commission Conference, 930 to 1 at the Jefferson School, and this will be centered around updates on the Rybanna River Corridor Plan. Registration is at rybannariverbasin.org, And following the day, Saturday the 28th, there is a river walk shuttling from River Park to somewhere upstream and then ending at Ravana River Company for Ice Cream Social.

[00:03:49] That's 4 to 5.30 on Saturday the 28th. Also on Saturday the 28th at 10 a.m., the 45th anniversary of the Green Olive Tree Thrift Shop in Crozet will be occurring and recognizing the surviving members of their seven founding ladies from 45 years ago.

[00:04:06] Parking is across the street. They are now in the extra space in the Star Hill building, which is wonderful. Their success is all due to the community donating for resale over $1 million of clothing and furnishings and diverting hundreds of tons from the landfill in that 45 years.

[00:04:23] Dark Skies, as you know, has been a topic of our comprehensive plan discussions for many months, and there is a Dark Sky party. It's Saturday, September 28th again. The 2024 Central Virginia Star Party will be held 6.30 to 10 at Amaral Cider Works in North Garden.

[00:04:44] Admission is free, open to the community. There will be telescopes to look through, hands-on activities, and adult cider tastings. And this is sponsored by the Central Virginia Astronomy People. Crozet Arts and Crafts Festival is Saturday, October 12th and 13th, 10 to 5, at the Crozet Park.

[00:05:05] And advance tickets, our best, can be available through Googling the park. Saturday, October 26th, is the 10th anniversary of the Earliesville Exchange thrift shop. In their short time, they have received donations for resale and donated over $300,000 of value to the community while supporting veterans' recovery activities, the local food pantry, and providing a gathering place for the community.

[00:05:29] And that veterans' community is also invited to participate, and neighbors as well, in the Saturday, November 9th, Rock the Ridge Family Hiking Outdoor Adventure at Blue Ridge School to benefit the veterans' activities of living free together. So please Google for more information about those, and I hope to see you there.

[00:05:47] Thank you. Thank you. Supervisor McKeel. Just one thank you to the Almar County Police Department for their very purposeful monitoring of speed in our school zones.

[00:06:03] As school was starting, specifically at the beginning of the school day and the end of the school day, I will comment from, this is from a press release, that 96 tickets of the tickets, 156 tickets that were given the first week of school, 96 of those tickets were for speeding in a school zone, and eight of those offenders were going 20 miles or more over the speed limit. We have children walking to school. We have faculty and staff

[00:06:40] and employees walking. It is critical that folks slow down. And I will say that, you know, we've implemented on the Lanslane campus on Hydraulic Road, the new school zone speed cameras, and those are in effect right now. Tickets will not be issued. Warnings are being given now.

[00:07:06] tickets will be issued starting Monday, October the 21st. But it is interesting that in similar programs throughout Virginia, they have observed a 55% decrease in speeding violations within the first three months. So that's good. And I hope we exceed the 55%. But thank you. A big shout out to Elmore County Police Department for their help in keeping us safe by our schools and our roads.

[00:07:33] That's it. Thank you. Supervisor Pruitt. Thank you. I have one word of thanks and then two events that I want to share. First, the word of thanks. The county has already released a press bulletin to this effect, but I want to just say it from the dais that I'm delighted to hear that we've finally settled on a new MOU with the Sheriff's Department, and I really want to thank Colonel Reeves as well as Sheriff Bryant for really leaning into that and getting a final agreement that I think is going to serve all parties better, iron out what we want as far as SAR responsibilities, search and rescue

[00:08:09] responsibilities, and get TDO transports back in the arms of the county police department and potentially being more economically viable in the future. And I think that is just great. So I want to just thank firmly all the parties that went into making that happen and make sure that the public knows that this has been ironed out. Additionally, Supervisor Malik stole quite a lot of the things I had written down, but I do believe it's important that we also recognize that the Cebroso Festival at Ting Pavilion, this is celebrating Latino culture in our community, is going to be this Saturday.

[00:08:43] I believe myself and Vice Chair McKeel are going to be in attendance, and that starts at 1,300 at 1 o'clock and runs till late. They say notionally at 10. Goodness, it's a party. And lastly, perhaps most importantly, the thing I try and mention every meeting, election.

[00:09:02] Now it's actually happening. This Friday is the beginning of in-person early voting. You can go in-person at the 5th Street County Office Building during normal working hours during the work week and begin voting this Friday.

[00:09:18] There will be a tent that will help you understand who your candidate options, and I will also explain them very quickly right now. You are going to be voting for president, where the vice president, Kamala Harris, is going to be running against our former president. You are going to be voting for Senate, where Senator Kaine is going to be defending against a challenger.

[00:09:36] You are going to be voting for Congress, where Gloria Witt is going to be facing down the winner of a very contentious Republican primary. If you live in the town of Scottsville, you have a few other choices. You are going to be voting for the mayor. Ron Smith is running for re-election against a member of town council.

[00:09:54] and you're going to be voting for three members of town council although only one is going to appear on your ballot that's alex beset the other two are basically going to be whoever can get the most votes so if you got a large extended family you can win scottsville town council lastly uh the member of the school board representing rio chuck pace is running for re-election um he was appointed by our school board from a pretty uh heavily contested field and is a quite talented guy So keep that in mind if you are out in Rio.

[00:10:24] That's all I have. Thank you. Supervisor Calloway. I have no announcements. Supervisor Lupisto. Yes, I just have a couple of announcements. I did want to make sure that everyone knows that on September 27th at 7 p.m. at the Double Tree Hotel, we have a table, actually, the county has a table for the Minority Business Alliance.

[00:10:47] It's going to be Harlem Nights. So it's going to be, you talk about party. They, I went last year, and it was party time. It was wonderful, frankly. And I also wanted everyone to know I attended an event Tuesday night, the CACVB, the Visitors Bureau.

[00:11:10] They had a group of people there, an international group of people there, coming to visit Charlottesville, coming to visit Avamoral County. And just to let you know, the CACBB, we've brought in nearly $1 billion each for the past two years, nearly that much for our area.

[00:11:34] 3% of total visitors in Virginia come here. And in local taxes, the CACBB generates our tourist bureau. The tourists generate $47 million in local taxes every year.

[00:11:49] So they're doing a great job, and remember the MBA Gala Awards, that will be on September 27th. That's all. Thank you, and I have most of the announcements I would have made that have been made.

[00:12:09] Of course, just a reminder, as always, that the Ravana Solid Waste Authority is continuing their special collection days with household hazardous waste this Friday and Saturday, And then the week following, September 28th, the furniture and mattresses, then October 5th, appliances, and October 12th, tires.

[00:12:28] This is a great opportunity to do a little fall cleaning a couple times a year. So thank you. Board, our next item is proclamations and recognitions, and I believe there are none today. So that will take us to matters from the public, matters on the agenda but not listed for public hearing, or on matters previously considered by the board or matters that are pending before the board.

[00:12:49] Do we have anyone signed up to speak? Okay. Thank you. Which brings us to our consent agenda. I have not heard of any items suggested to be pulled from the consent agenda. So if we have a motion to accept the consent agenda.

[00:13:10] So moved. Second. We have a motion from Supervisor Malik, a second from Supervisor McKeel. Without objection, the clerk will call the roll. Ms. Lekista-Kirtley? Aye. Ms. Malik? Yes. Ms. McKeel? Yes. Mr. Pruitt? Aye. Mr. Andrews? Yes. Mr. Galloway? Yes. Great. Thank you. Board, our first action item today is a septic to sewer program update led by Ms. Kaki Dimmick, Chief Human Services Officer.

[00:13:38] Welcome, Ms. Dimmick. Good afternoon. Pull the presentation up. There we go. Yes, Kaki Dimmick, Chief Human Services Officer, here to provide an update on the septic to sewer program and ask your guidance on a couple of items about remaining funds. I'm delighted to be supported by the very competent Andy Bowman, who's lurking behind me here and will stand when he thinks it's time for

[00:14:15] me to stop talking and for him to answer the question. Appreciate that about him very much. As you may recall, for the fiscal year 23 budget process, the Board of Supervisors authorized a million dollars for a project called Septic to Sewer, whose intention was to support the conversion of certain septic systems to hook up to the sewer systems.

[00:14:39] The county contracted with Albemarle Housing Improvement Program after working with procurement in a competitive process for this work and entered into a contract for the period of January 10, 2023, through December 1, 2024.

[00:14:56] A reminder that this was originally ARPA funding and so had a deadline around its expenditure and some guidelines around what it could be used for. At the time, the program goals were identified as supporting residents who had failing septic systems or systems that were at imminent danger of failing to protect the general public from environmental harm, improve wastewater management, and preserve and improve the environment for fish and wildlife quality.

[00:15:22] The eligibility criteria for households were households within the ASCA district who did not already have a sewer account. They were within reasonable proximity to services, to existing sewer systems.

[00:15:38] We did not define what that was because we weren't sure what we were going to find in terms of the need. Household income was below 80% area median income. The property was owner-occupied and was within proximity to an environmental impact, such as an endangered waterway or a playground.

[00:15:57] Existing septic was failing or substandard. This was both a potential intervention around wastewater management, around public health, around stream health, and also around poverty.

[00:16:13] It had the potential to have pretty significant impact for the households that were chosen. Notice of potential eligibility was sent to over 250 households within the service district. At the current moment, there are five septic to sewer conversions that have been completed at the cost of $313,702.13.

[00:16:37] Initially, I think we imagined that the average cost would be between $28,000 and $30,000, and it's been closer to $45,000 for this work to get done. Four additional households are in the contract development phase for an estimated addition of $186,297.87, which would bring the total to $500,000 of the initial appropriated $1 million.

[00:17:03] There are six additional households that have expressed interest. Of those households, five meet the income eligibility threshold. One is near a waterway or a playground. None of them have existing failing systems or systems at imminent risk of failure. And only three have more than one person actually using the septic system in the household. We're before you today to request guidance about the best and highest use for the remaining $500,000 of this originally

[00:17:39] appropriated $1 million. Staff's recommendation for your consideration is using the lens of serving the most vulnerable and using limited dollars to serve those who need it most, That we use $150,000 for AHIP to serve the three additional households at the highest risk of that pool as yet to be served.

[00:18:06] That we move $80,000 to continue housing navigation services that are currently provided by the Financial Opportunity Center for County residents. That we fund $170,000, move $170,000 to the Albemarle County Emergency Relief Program, providing funds to residents with an eviction or shutoff notice.

[00:18:28] With up to $100,000 of that being used for security deposit assistance for residents facing imminent displacement. And $100,000 to a homelessness service contingency account to support efforts to develop a low-barrier year-round shelter.

[00:18:49] Mr. Bowman, would you like to say something about the money? thank you uh this funding will be you know carried forward as part of the county's reappropriation process it's already been considered by the board it's really just a redirection of how that is used really with the intent of the board may recall with our arpa funding there was really a desire to continue to use it for the same purpose as it was intended and to get the money out the door in a reasonable time manner this funding is actually not arpa

[00:19:26] but there's a subset of arpa where the county reimbursed itself for revenue loss and so this is really just continuing that spirit the board's approved before but we wanted to bring this back because of the different programming that was originally approved and approved in the budget two years ago. I knew he was going to have something to correct. So we're before you now with a recommendation for the consideration of this additional $500,000 that is had by the time we came here has yet to be spent by Admiral Housing Improvement Program and they did not think they would be able to spend it in time before the existing contract. They had limited

[00:20:05] response to our solicitation around the septic to sewer program. They just didn't have the kind of volume of number of people come forward who are both qualified and interested in making this conversion happen. Since that time, there were these additional six households that have expressed an interest who are sort of in an on-deck kind of capacity, and of them, there are only three that sort of meet more than one criteria for eligibility. And so we're recommending that we essentially leave $150,000 in the pool for AHIP to do septic-to-sewer conversions for those three higher-risk households, and then reprogram the remaining funds as described.

[00:20:43] Thank you. If you could put the slide up with the recommendations, I think that will help as we go through our order. We'll start with Supervisor Mack. Thank you. So just so I understand, we don't have the December 31st deadline to use this because it has been put into the revenue replacement category.

[00:21:06] So I just want to make sure I, at first I thought it was hurry up and do it now, which is what I understood at the beginning, but now it's not. So we could, if we chose, direct that it stay in the same bucket. And as more people come forward, six a year or whatever it is, in this very, very important element of getting more people onto the safer sewer, we have the option to do that without penalty.

[00:21:30] You could. That's correct, right? Okay. Excellent. good start. On all of these other disbursements you propose, how much of all this money is going to administration as opposed to direct help to people? Because when I see things like starting up stuff, I'm just worried that it's really starting an agency and not getting help to people.

[00:21:53] So if there's any more definition you can provide. Yes, the Financial Opportunity Center provides housing navigation services for county residents who are struggling with housing. Either they could have a housing voucher and not know how to find a suitable appropriate place they could need help with applications they could need help trying to find money for security deposits or some of the other things they could just be overwhelmed by the system of care and frankly we don't have the capacity to provide housing navigation services and so during the pandemic money was used to support housing navigation services at the financial opportunity center and has been funded

[00:22:30] for the last two years, and so this funding would allow that service to continue through the current fiscal year. And that's in DSS? It's not. It's an outside agency. Piedmont Housing Alliance and United Way together created the Financial Opportunity Center. Okay, so United Way is running that. Okay. And fiction showed up. No, that makes sense. Okay, well, I guess I'll stop asking questions and learn what others think as well. Thank you. Thank you. Supervisor McHugh. So we I'm just asking questions now.

[00:23:05] What Ann was. Yes. I'll follow Ann's lead. Well, okay. Fine. Just answering or asking questions. That was my question based on Andy's. So the timing is not critical right now. Apparently not. I mistook this for pure ARPA money and therefore was required to be completed by the end of this calendar year.

[00:23:27] So that's really helpful for clarity. We could certainly revise this contract and use these funds ongoing. True? Yeah. Yes, just to clarify, this is not for the December 31st deadline, but part of this recommendation is the intent of the funding was to get it out to the community and provide those services in a timely way.

[00:23:45] So this was our human services team considering what is the best way we can utilize for people who may be able to receive assistance from this program, both in terms of number and quantity beyond what we've seen to date in the first two years of the septic sewer program. So I think right now that is the only question I have.

[00:24:08] I'll have some comments when we come back around it and a thought, but. Supervisor Prout. Could you help us get a better understanding of kind of what's in the water currently on the future of the possibility of a year-round shelter?

[00:24:27] When we set this money aside, do we have maybe a sense of what the opportunity that's shaping around that looks like? Yes. I believe that there are three organizations that have historically not collaborated with each other that have come together to collaborate to create a year-round shelter that would be 50 beds that would be operated as a low-barrier shelter with a target of opening in Winter 25.

[00:24:54] I think it's moved beyond the conceptual phase into some practical reality phase, which is pretty exciting. And with winter 25 as their target, does that also mean there's a reasonable likelihood that a clearly articulated ask could be coming before we were actually in a position to have a finalized 2026 budget? I'm not sure if I could speak to this specifically around the timing. I anticipate that you all will have a specific ask coming from the community relatively shortly. Sure. I just

[00:25:29] kind of lead this line of questioning board because I was given pause by you know a lot of these are urgent needs uh things that are doing immediate service delivery and then there's setting aside money as as a contingency as a wait and see which we know is generally not my strategy uh patch the urgent need that's in front of you um I do just want to clarify I I do see that still as an urgent need based on kind of the shape of what the opportunity is moving at and the pace is moving it. So I do think it's very helpful that that is set aside there. And I just bring that up to kind of clarify that this could be just as easily seen as an emergent need

[00:26:08] rather than setting aside for a fund. Help us understand, are there, when I think housing navigation, I also see that it's going through a third-party organization through PHA with the United Way's assistance. I also know that there are elements of the housing navigation and the kind of housing ladder pipeline that county staff assist with.

[00:26:32] And I also wonder if maybe some community organizers at local legal nonprofits have some kind of hand in this. There is always the concern at times that there is a duplication of services. Could you speak momentarily to kind of what the landscape for navigation services looks like and whether or not you see this as a duplicative service in any capacity?

[00:26:55] Sure. I don't see it straight up as a duplication of service. I see actually the existing need vastly outstripping the available services, whether that's anyone at the Department of Social Services who finds time to help somebody with housing or the Financial Opportunity Center or any of the other folks who have housing as sort of an add-on to their traditional job descriptions.

[00:27:21] The market is so tight, and as you all know, we have over 50 percent of our renters are paying more than 30 percent for their housing, so we know that we have a tremendously housing burdened population with a number of folks who are incredibly and unstably housed, in addition to folks who are currently facing eviction and some of these other folks.

[00:27:42] And we know, I think we know that prevention of all kinds is needed in order to help folks not um not lose their existing housing the best housing for somebody is the place where they're right now um and so the cost of the system and to the individual for losing housing even if they get some of our best resources like a housing voucher or something like that is still tremendously grave for them is the um is there currently is it common for you to conduct warm handoffs with the financial opportunity system or center with uh with clients that you don't necessarily have

[00:28:19] the capacity for all the time yes very good could you napkin math and and maybe this is better a question for mr bowman um what the comparative cost if we did that using a um a full-time equivalent an fte what would an fte doing this role cost the county i'll i'll let mr bowman answer because he's smarter than i am but um but i'll tell you eighty thousand dollars wouldn't cover the cost of the fte i will need to correct ms dimick on being smarter than her

[00:28:53] it would really depend on the grade but i would say you know to have a typical county salary would be in that you know in that ballpark so it would would not surprise me if not knowing the full benefit that could be more we could take that as a follow-up if that was important for the board to kind of weigh those two items but we would need to do a little more work on that actual administrative cost but in addition to the cost the benefit of a partner in terms of the administrative work just beyond the actual cost of the position as well sure thank you so much That's all I have for questions.

[00:29:24] Thank you. Supervisor Calloway, my questions have been answered. Supervisor Lapisto Kirk. Yes, I had a following up on what Supervisor Malik said. My understanding is we don't need to do this right now. We could wait, correct, $500,000?

[00:29:40] You could, yes. You could wait. You could make no decision about it today. You could make a decision to keep it with Admiral Housing Improvement Program. As Mr. Bowman has suggested, the urgency is around the highest and best use of the money using the lens around the most vulnerable and the people who need it the most correct but it looks like you've gone through according to your list the most vulnerable because we have the smaller list now and you said that none of them even they all have um working septic systems that's true of the six who are eligible by income all of them none of them have failing septic right so i get

[00:30:18] pardon of those six though i want to make sure i'm understanding there were six who were um and who expressed interest at five who were income qualified so one of them is not qualified at all so there's remaining five who are qualified for consideration and of those none of them have a failing septic that's that's what i understood none of them have a failing septic system i guess my thought process is that as this becomes better known there will be additional people who have failing septic systems who just don't know what's out there yet they don't know

[00:30:52] what we're doing so in a way I almost I feel give someone a hookup where their septic system is not failing and yet someone else in another location their septic system is failing but they're just not aware of our resources I mean I'd almost be in favor of a wait and see may or may not be a good approach or some other kind of because I go from this supervisor McKeel has been saying

[00:31:28] for years now that in the urban area there are a lot of failing septic systems and they could be hooked up to our sewer and water so I'm kind of disappointed I'm not disappointed in your outcome but to see that there are not more people taking advantage of this and maybe it's because they just don't know i think we were surprised as well so two notices went out to folks and some follow-up calls to remind them that this was something that they were eligible for consideration for just did not get the takers many people said they felt like they were going to be taking on an

[00:32:04] additional cost for the water to be on the formal water system and preferred to take the risks was what they had so we were i think we were somewhat surprised too at the lack of immediate interest in And my thinking is maybe if we wait a little bit longer, I don't know, a few more months, it might work.

[00:32:23] And it may not. And then we have the opportunity to use that for the additional funding for what you're suggesting or something else. Thank you. Thank you. Can I look at slide three again quickly? I just want to make sure I understand the criteria.

[00:32:41] Well, slide three. Sorry, I can see it, but you can't. I'm sorry. Disappeared. There we go. Okay. So, and these eligibility criteria are ranked, but they're not cumulative.

[00:32:58] You can meet one, two, or more. This eligibility is threshold eligibility. Threshold. So in order to be considered for the project at all, you have to meet all of these. All of them. Okay, okay. Just want to make sure I understand that. Which means that we were saying existing septic is failing or substandard.

[00:33:17] They're not meeting the failing, but they are meeting the, or not meeting this at all. I think it's hard to define for these folks. I consulted with the folks at Albemarle Housing Improvement Program, and these are septic systems that haven't had regular maintenance but are not failing and not in danger of failing.

[00:33:32] So they're sort of, you know, I think with time that goes by, likely going to be at a failing point, as all would be, but not at a place where they're sort of imminent. I think because we predicted that we'd have more interest in the program than we had available funding, we created sort of a prioritized list of threshold criteria and then said after that we would look at somebody who had a sort of catastrophic failure. We would look at households with the presence of children under five. We would look based on the lowest sort of AMI. We would sort of we anticipated

[00:34:07] having to prioritize existing eligible applications and we just didn't get to that place. And then When a household is eligible, this covers the entire cost of the conversion, which includes both the actual construction costs and connection fees associated with this.

[00:34:28] It includes the removal of the existing septic, the new construction to link to the existing, and then the hookup fees, all of it. And have we looked into, I guess this is ARPA funding that's been used for this, whether those different activities have different eligibility criteria for other sources of funding or whether ACSA has sources of funding for connection fees or others?

[00:34:56] So far, ACSA hasn't been forthcoming about additional dollars or discounted rates for this service. And there was additional dollars that came from the Department of Environmental Quality last year using federal ARPA money to help with broad sort of big neighborhood-based septic-to-sewer projects, but not for this kind of house-by-house project. So I'm not aware of additional dollars.

[00:35:24] Okay. Thank you. We should go through our order to get some comments on... Oh, one more question. So in the contact with the owners was it offered that sometime in the future they're going to be required to hook up because that may be coming from the state anytime and they just and I guess my concern about if there's no stream within x number of feet there's still a huge amount of damage when something does overflow that has nothing necessarily to do with a stream but it certainly has to do with the impact of the health for all the neighbors around so I guess that's one

[00:36:03] question how do we know that a system is not failing because that's a whole lot more complicated in my experience over 50 years of living in my house then um then people might guess i'm i'm certain i couldn't answer the latter question we had contractors go out and look at the systems to make sure that they were both eligible in terms of the being at the failure point i'm certain that there's a continuum and i i wouldn't place any money in my capacity to understand that continuum i didn't know if that was at risk or failure they had to look at the lines and they had to open the de-box and look and see that things were actually functioning. I cannot tell you what the details of

[00:36:41] that assessment were, but there was an assessment of those eligible households to make that determination. And I'm certain that the Admiral Housing Improvement Program did not identify any future legislation from the state when they had their contact with families. Because I know, I mean, the monthly cost is, I think, what people may be afraid of. Certainly that's what they said.

[00:37:02] If they miss this window and then it fails, they will have no option. So that's a concern that is hard and as i said i had a personal experience of not even knowing that there was a d-box failure until they came to clean it out and they went uh by the way you know two of your lines aren't even open anymore we went whoops so hurrying up to get that fixed was really important and there was no evidence at all of any surface problem so that's why i was asking a more detailed question on that and i guess since i'm here i'll just start off by saying i i think trying more to identify

[00:37:38] Because we've heard so many comments over many years dispersed throughout neighborhoods, we've had some spectacular failures that have required emergency connection at county expense, then I'm tempted to sit tight for a while.

[00:37:57] Sit tight meaning not use the funds at all? Not redistribute them right now until we make more of an effort to find out. I mean, I don't know where the list is. We'll put the slide up again. No, I mean, as far as Virginia Department of Health, I would assume, has information or somebody has information that could be shared about.

[00:38:18] And maybe you've already contacted all the people on that list. I don't know. We have. All the people have been contacted twice. Okay, and that came from VDH or someplace? That came from the Admiral Housing Improvement Program to say the county has a septic to sewer program for which you appear to be initially eligible.

[00:38:36] Okay, so it did not come from the health department as far as verification. Okay. Questions? Thank you. Supervisor McKeown? Yes. And I'm following Ann anyway, so this is the right order. Just to make sure I'm not interrupting anybody. My understanding from talking to two of the Almar County Service Authority representatives that it is very difficult to get the attention of folks when you just send a letter to them.

[00:39:03] They have struggled with some of the neighborhoods over the years. You have a mix of renters. You have a mix of owners. You also have, we know, I think this list, the 254, 256, we saw a map of where they were.

[00:39:19] They were mostly in the Jewett and the Rio District in the very old neighborhoods. Those neighborhoods are 40, 50 years old, many of them. Anecdotally, and I'm saying just anecdotally, I hear all the time from real estate agents that people don't even know they have a septic system until they put the house on the market.

[00:39:44] And if you're talking, and I can give you the names of those real estate agents to talk to, then they find out they have a septic system. If you're talking 30, 40, 50-year-old septic systems, I'm just saying. And I lost my train of thought because I had something else I wanted to say, but that's okay.

[00:40:07] It seems like to me, given the concern that I've heard from the service authority representatives that they send out mailers, they don't get a response, I would like to try another round of outreach at some point.

[00:40:23] I recognize we've had two years, but two reach-outs may not be enough. And we're talking about critical watershed areas. We're talking about neighborhoods. This is really critical. and to be perfectly honest with you and this is not you're making a great suggestion you have a great list of suggestions i think we ought to be able to deal with those but i don't like pinning affordable housing and housing for folks and homeless people against water and sewer infrastructure because that's the way the sort of the dialogue that i feel like i'm in right now

[00:41:00] and i guess i want to do it all right we need to be able to do it all a lot of what you had on the list those are not huge amounts of money right we're going to have some opportunities um to to deal with some of these issues i would hope coming up or in budget cycle but i would prefer to give this five hundred thousand dollars that's left another chance to get some outreach from folks and see if we can't um hook up some more of these folks um i think you're right about the

[00:41:32] the expense. That's a shocker. But it tells you why we have people that are not reaching out for their particular hookup to some degree. Anyway, so I would prefer to hold this for, I don't know, another year, try another outreach, see if we have some folks that come forward.

[00:41:54] But I appreciate this work and what we're suggesting here and the critical nature of it. It's very hard in my head to compare this and comparing the need here to infrastructure.

[00:42:10] An infrastructure that you're not sure has even failed. My understanding from those, and that's what I was going to say, those 254, we don't know whether those are failing or not. We just know where they are in the older neighborhoods.

[00:42:27] The ones that you were talking about that have not failed are the ones that people reached out to us and said they'd like to have them fix the eight or nine or whatever it was. Is that correct? Can you say the question? Okay, so you're talking about how they were not failing.

[00:42:42] Those systems were not failing. You're referencing the ones that are in the system to be hooked up. There are six households that have reached out after we had started this process to get ready for today that have since reached out.

[00:42:58] And of those, five are income eligible, and then the remaining. So of those five, there's only three that have more than one person in the household using the septic system, and only one is next to an endangered water line.

[00:43:14] But we have identified on a map 254. Yep. We don't know. You're only talking. We don't know of those 254 how many of those systems are possibly failing. Right. That's my question. Of those 254 households, how many of them would be income qualified?

[00:43:30] How many people live in the household? You're absolutely right. All we knew was that they were on septic and could be on sewer. Right. And most of them are in very old neighborhoods. Yes. Okay. Thank you, sweetheart. So I prefer to hold this money for a while longer. Supervisor Pruitt. Board, I came to you all last session describing a crisis that's facing my district where a redevelopment of an affordable housing complex into a luxury housing complex is resulting in the unjust and undeserved eviction of dozens and dozens of families, over 300 people living in that development currently who are going to be displaced.

[00:44:07] Overwhelmingly, they are having a hard time finding any place to live because they cannot afford a security deposit even when they can afford rent because that is going to be first last month's rent plus their rent for the month they're going to be living there, right? Security deposit assistance and increased funding to ACERP, the Elmorrow County Emergency Relief Program, is the number one thing that when people have canvassed these complexes, which I'm talking about Cavalier Crossing, but this also applies to all of the low-income housing complexes that we have that are potentially undergoing redevelopment.

[00:44:42] We know that Mallside is about to experience this, and we know that several low-income housing tax credit properties are potentially going to fall off and be sold for redevelopment this year and in the coming years. This is overwhelmingly what tenants are saying they need and what tenant organizers and legal service providers and the housing coordinator, the housing navigator at the Financial Opportunity Center say they need to be able to keep people from being homeless.

[00:45:09] People who are currently housed, people who are currently working in Albemarle County, who are going to be homeless without security deposit assistance. When this came to my attention, I reached out to Human Services and learned, manna from heaven, a complete serendipitous occasion that this pool of money was coming available and that this was going to potentially solve this problem for dozens of families.

[00:45:33] Dozens of families will not be homeless because of this allocation of funds that we're looking at today. So this is an urgent need. This is a community that is directly in front of us, and we have an identified and clearly articulated demand.

[00:45:49] that this is going to truly and directly and meaningfully alter people's lives. And it is not a questionable or unquantifiable or undefined series of points on a map who may or may not want this.

[00:46:04] These are people who have come to us and asked for it. I thought that was amazing. Like, truly, there couldn't be a more serendipitous way that this funding could arrive in this moment. I've said this before during budget season. I want to reiterate, county government is not a bank. We deliver services to needs that are in front of us based on the calendar year that we find ourselves and the services that we are able to deliver at that time and the community needs that come to us at that time. We, I think, collectively would all balk and maybe even audibly laugh if there was a request that came to us that

[00:46:42] said, I would like to allocate half a million dollars for the possibility of sewer replacement, or sorry septic replacement in one to two years not in this budget year but in one to two years that would be laughed out of the room it would not come to uh the budget we would never approve that that is what we're kind of discussing now potentially doing setting aside money for one to two budget years ahead of us as we identify additional things in an allocated pot which is a a baffling thing and i i respect and appreciate my peers who are bringing this concern but it is

[00:47:17] outrageous to suggest that we would not allocate this money to a need that is urgent in front of us, that is displacing people and putting them into homelessness, and instead allocate it and set it aside for an undetermined amount of future need when AHIP and Human Services have already come to us and said that they are not realizing this need. They are not having people coming to them and saying they have this need after they have done multiple rounds of outreach. It would be outrageous to continue to set that money aside for them that is not requested wanted and in doing

[00:47:51] so not fund an urgent need that is in front of us i am very excited to support the uh the county's recommendations that are in front of us and we'll be voting that way supervisor galloway yeah i'd like to just clear up the number first off because in the recommendation 150 is going to the program so it's really 350 000 we're talking about not a half a million right um because i don't think Anybody, even though you might not be for staff's recommendation, is going to be against the first item there because that continues this program.

[00:48:22] This sounds like one of these classic ARPA things we funded that we didn't do prior, but then we have to take on because it's a good program and we're going to have to continue. For $350,000, well, by the time you do the outreach to potentially get more people or change your criteria, we'll have gone through the next budget cycle.

[00:48:42] If this had been wildly successful and you didn't have the issue, you'd be back before us saying this is a program we'd likely need to continue and here's the ask for the budget. So to me, this just seems more like an accounting exercise of how to move the money and when to make it available. The low barrier shelter piece is a critical need.

[00:49:02] You know, year-round homelessness shelter, but the phrase low barrier is what's key in that. That's the, that's the, that's a conversation nobody's comfortable really having sometimes when we're talking about, because there's our folks that are not even here advocating for anything, let alone trying to be reached out to.

[00:49:22] So that's something that I'd be happy to support this because I know by the time you reached out to the colleagues who would like to hold and wait, by the time that you probably got the response you needed, we'll probably be already into the next budget cycle and can probably solve both of these needs.

[00:49:38] It's just a matter of moving the dollars around on the spreadsheet of when we can access them so you guys feel comfortable in setting them out there. So my challenge would be we can do all this without one competing against the other. Appreciate the conversation about do I really need to be choosing between septic and sewer and watershed and housing?

[00:49:59] This is, I think we do a reset here and just go, all right, really when would the timing be? How long did it take to get what we did get? If we had to do that again, is that six months, is that four months, is that eight months, what is it? I'd be in favor of releasing this money for the purposes you all recommended, knowing that you'd likely be coming forward and saying the septic to sewer program is something we should make a permanent program, and then say, you know, in addition to this $350,000, let's start doing $500,000 a year or whatever the reasonable money is, and then we work it into the budget.

[00:50:33] But in the meantime, this $350K, in the spirit of what ARPA was designed for, gets out there and released and isn't just sitting in a bucket. I don't see this as a lost opportunity. I see this as one that gains us a lot moving forward.

[00:50:49] So I'm happy to support staff's recommendation. Supervisor Lupista? I like staff's recommendation also with a better understanding. However, I'm going to push back a little bit on A, which is for three additional households.

[00:51:07] That's a lot of money in these. My understanding is these three households still have working septic systems, correct? They do. Okay. So what I was thinking of is what if we use that amount of money or some amount of money there that we, I'm going to backtrack a little bit.

[00:51:27] We understand that some people don't want to go from septic to water and sewer because of the fact that increased water costs. So what if we use these monies, and I'm just throwing this out, guys. Don't think I'm net so, but what if we use these monies and offer people with low incomes that qualify to empty their septic systems?

[00:51:52] Because I think, as we've seen in Southwood, There are a lot of them who they didn't empty out the septic systems. And that's how it overflows or leaks, gets out. And I'm just wondering if we use some of these monies. It's got to be less than, what did you say, $28,000 for the conversion septic to sewer?

[00:52:12] We thought it was going to be $28,000, but it's been closer to $45,000. $45,000, okay. So instead of three homes, we can hit all these people with a low income who maybe can't afford. They're holding off, emptying out their septic system because of the fact that they can't afford it.

[00:52:31] And how many homes could we help there? And we could still be able to do B, C, and D. One of AHIP's suggestions around this was to convert the money to use for emergency situations when, in fact, a failure point had already been reached and the family was reaching out for support.

[00:52:49] And for regular maintenance for low-income households with septic. Okay. You have a question? I'm sorry. Based on what I just heard, was there a particular section of this, A, B, C, or D, or just that's how they would prefer to keep using money for the cost?

[00:53:10] That's one of the recommendations to us for ongoing sort of support for this kind of issue, that we would identify money that could be used for emergent situations or for regular maintenance for existing septic. And I wanted to follow up a question, even though I know we were past questions, because this was prompted by these comments, is that my understanding is we don't really have any kind of inspection requirement in the county for septic systems or evidence of maintenance of systems that has to be shown.

[00:53:41] So we really don't know what the status is. I think that's accurate. And we just had, in our place, nearly five inches of rain, and that can affect these things and other. So my expectation is we're going to have some failing septic systems. But with that, I don't think we have the evidence right now of people who are willing to say, I need this and I qualify in all respects and am interested in doing it.

[00:54:11] We have three households, maybe five, that are close. So I support the staff's recommendations. I think that we have some great needs, as have been identified, that relate to housing and that we have an opportunity here that is an accounting matter.

[00:54:30] It is a question of saying, well, these things are important to us, and they're important to us right now. And we can come back in the budget season and look, okay, now do we see more septics failing? Do we need to continue this program? Will there be money available in the next budget for this?

[00:54:48] We don't know. But that's something I'd rather take up at that time rather than letting this opportunity go. I will just add that for 15 years, this has been on the docket, this kind of program, because this need and this issue has been forefront all across everywhere, where there's rural people and urban older communities who just were built before all this, who were started in the 70s, I guess.

[00:55:20] So it's not, we may not know, we don't even know what we don't know at this point, but it's not, I will, I hope that people will have this in mind in the spring when there is also tremendous demand on the budget for a lot of different things.

[00:55:39] And this would be money that, I get it, every one of these topics is incredibly important. And the security deposit issue is important, the eviction prevention, you know, all those things are important.

[00:55:56] So I think also even if there's only one person, all the grandchildren may move home tomorrow, in which case that will totally change the whole frame of reference that was used there. Or the property moves on to the next generation who has a whole bunch of bigger family.

[00:56:15] So that does make a difference. Let me see if there's a way that we can work through this. And I'm going to turn to Jeff, I think, because as a supervisor of the Jewett District, I had several years ago a home with a failing septic system, and they had bubbling up in their front yard for over a year, raw sewage.

[00:56:39] I mean, I saw it, I smelled it. So I'm going to turn to Jeff and say, if we support this today, can we look at, during the budget cycle that's coming up, a way to put some money into or replacing some of that $500,000 or $350,000?

[00:57:00] I don't know how much it might be. but I would like to see a contingency fund that we could go to in an emergency when we had a situation like that, Jeff. And that's, correct me if I'm wrong, you're basically picking up Mr. Galloway's points that he made where he said, Lord, we can do both of these programs.

[00:57:22] It's a timing thing with going back out and re-advertising with the number of homes that were identified during COVID that were in the urban ring, that were in the development area, close enough to connect water and sewer, but they were on well and septic, to go back through to re-advertise, to work with ACSA, you're saying, could we get a commitment from staff that as we enter the budget process that we could earmark an amount of funding in the case that we identify additional homes?

[00:57:56] Yes. Because as I said when I made my first remarks, I appreciate this list. Yes. But there are going to be times when we need that, and we've never had before a pot of money that we can use towards those failing septic systems. So could we do that? I want it all, too.

[00:58:13] Yes, ma'am. I understand. And this is a super helpful discussion. Do I have an informal level of guidance? I've got Mr. Galloway. I've got Ms. McKeel. I've got a thumbs up from Ms. Malik. Is that something, and Mr. Andrews, so I've got it. And that's something that would be a priority. And I've got four votes to move forward on that.

[00:58:33] I wonder if I could ask a clarifying question, and I do like the direction this is going, but AHIF is providing this service currently. They are a contracted service provider for a pot of money that we have given to AHIF with a very specific set of our defined criteria.

[00:58:53] But my understanding is, I mean, septic replacement and repair and conversion is already a service that AHIP is within their ambit, absent a discretionary set-aside. I wrote down to actually find out how much we already give to AHIP and for what, because we do have several existing contracts with AHIP, because they're the only organization in town that does housing preservation services, and that's a critical part of our housing continuum, is to preserve existing housing.

[00:59:27] I don't think any of it has traditionally been used for septic to sewer conversions. I think that there's been a couple of septic repairs under certain circumstances, but the idea of moving towards a sort of longer-term solution around wastewater management has not been part of what we've asked them to do.

[00:59:45] And so one of the things right off the bat we could do without discussing additional dollars is to include that as part of the set of obligations we ask them to do on behalf of the county. so if a firefighter goes to a household and identifies that there's a failing septic system that they can make a referral internally and we can call a hip and say part of the money we give you every year we'd like you to use to repair this or to do a hookup for this septic system that's failing in this jurisdiction there are other ways that we could obviously get additional

[01:00:20] sort of do additional outreach for the existing households but but i don't think right now that we that's part of why this was a unique approach is that i don't think we've used the the traditional monies around housing preservation for this purpose board if i could ask a question just to clarify because i heard a comment about sewage in somebody's front yard and this is a terrible situation are we in a situation where we we allow this to happen and continue i'm not trying to put

[01:00:53] the onus completely on people who can't necessarily pay for it. But, you know, if someone has a failed system, is that a tolerable situation where we just say, oh, that's terrible to have a failed system? Or do we say, no, you have to fix this or something happens? I'm quite certain the Virginia Department of Health would say it's a completely intolerable situation for both public health and environmental health. I don't know what the compliance function is there, what happens if somebody doesn't do the repair whether that's sort of more administrative like we told you you have to do this this is dangerous i don't think there's a mechanism around compliance and i think it's

[01:01:33] worthy of us sort of pursuing that with cdd right so we could get notices of these non-compliant systems we could be able to approach people who are in these situations if they're identified and say look you know this needs to be fixed but what are your resources for fixing it then we then we identifying real needs. Are we going around our orders? I just want to respond to what you just said, and that is, it is, VDH is not confrontational, and it took me six weeks and involved the Commonwealth's attorney threatening to arrest or start an action against a person who had cut

[01:02:09] their neighbor's sewer line, and for six weeks in Greenwood, in a very small lot neighborhood with dozens and dozens of houses all close together, this was running across the road. So, It is not within, as far as I understand today, within the county's enforcement ability, and BDH is not there.

[01:02:33] Let's put it that way. So it's really a challenge, and I just don't want us to think that we can just pass the buck to somebody else and they will take care of it because they won't. And I would just remind folks, and I think I speak after Ann, but keep our order.

[01:02:49] We've answered our order right now. I think we're just trying to finish up. Well, I would say that you have to remember you get into owners and renters, and that creates another challenge. And I'm not saying that all landlords are bad landlords. We have some wonderful landlords in this community, but that creates a challenge.

[01:03:05] I know even in my neighborhood, many of the people that own houses in my neighborhood and rent them don't even live in this area. They're in Florida or they're in North Carolina or they're somewhere else in Virginia. So that's a challenge.

[01:03:21] And it adds to the problem of getting people's attention, and it adds to the problem of repairing failing systems. It would be interesting to have a conversation at some point with some of the real estate people about when they're selling these houses and they're selling them and they realize they're septic systems and they're not hooked up to public sewer, what the process is.

[01:03:46] But this takes us down into much more than we can handle today. I would just like to see if we could compromise on supporting this and then coming back during the budget cycle and asking staff to take a look at this. And during budget cycle, could we establish a process, a pot of money to use?

[01:04:06] Because there are obviously sometimes people that can pay for this that maybe don't even know about it. But then there are criteria we've established for people that probably couldn't pay for it. Absolutely, and I think we've got research to do about what we ask AHIP to do for us already and how much that is, and we can certainly compile all that information and share it with you in advance of the 26th budget process.

[01:04:31] I just worry sometimes, Kaki, AHIP has a lot on their plate, and I don't want to, I mean, I think they are a great organization, and they do really good stuff, but I want to make sure that whatever we do with this process, that we make sure that they have the ability and the time, you know, because we talk about our work plan all the time, and just to throw something else at AHIP may not be fair.

[01:04:57] I don't know. It's just something to think about. That is kind of getting at the point I was trying to clarify a little earlier, which is I agree I think we should look at this during the budget process and actually see what the long-term solution is so that we can actually address these problems as they emerge rather than setting aside.

[01:05:17] I also want to make sure we're not getting ourselves into a replication of the same problem where we allocate a discretionary, a pot that is set aside specifically for this that doesn't get spent down every year, which would also put the additional obligation on AHIP of doing that vetting and certification to see if it's eligible every year.

[01:05:37] And I wonder if maybe the solution that makes more sense is to work with AHIP to see what additional level of resources they would need to be able to take this on as part of their recurring core mission if it's not part of their core mission currently. That way we don't have unspent fun, the unspent sewer tag, you know, like maybe we put in half a million to sewer every year and they consistently spend down 200.

[01:06:02] Maybe it would make more sense if we just give them half a million so that they could spend what they need to on what they need to. And I will just add to what Mike said. I see this as part of our climate change work, our environmental work. We have watersheds. We want to protect our development area.

[01:06:21] Maybe there's a tie-in to our climate change and our environmental work because 20 years ago we were not thinking about this, and we are thinking about it now in many ways. The other tie-in is helping people stay in their houses because the final straw for the BDH is they declare the house uninhabitable.

[01:06:44] Yes. And then the person with limited means has no place to live and no resources to fix it and that's what i'm really concerned about avoiding uh is that we're we're losing a noah right there an noah so um and to add to that and i know a house in my neighborhood that is a great house for affordable housing and it's not and it's not rented it's not occupied it's sitting empty and vacant right now because of a failed septic system and it's on public sewer. I'm failed septic system. It's on public sewer. I'm sorry, but it's never been

[01:07:21] repaired. So as Ann said, it's just sitting there as an empty house that could be. And the health department came and put a big sign on the door at one point and said, no inhabitants because the owner has not fixed the problem in the house. And it is hooked up to public sewer, right? But no, but the owner has refused to fix it.

[01:07:45] So it's just an affordable house that's sitting there, could be an affordable house that's sitting there empty. Kind of gets to what you're talking about, Ann. So we have all kinds of... We have a lot of problems, and I think we're getting a little bit further and further. We are, and I apologize. We will, I hope, have an opportunity to address more of these issues in the future.

[01:08:03] Do you have an additional comment? I did. I've been waiting patiently. I would still like... I mean, I support this and going forward with the budget, But I'd also like to see something in there where it says that for those who cannot afford it, that we actually empty out their septic system, that we pay for that, which is a fraction.

[01:08:26] I mean, a huge fraction of the cost. You're talking about $28,000. I don't know. Do you have any idea how much it costs to empty out a septic system? Probably less. What? About $500. About $500. Okay. I mean, I would look for different eligibility criteria in that case.

[01:08:43] and this isn't something that... No, exactly, but think about, I'm thinking about what Supervisor McKeel brought up, is that that home where it was bubbling under, if you go back a few years earlier, and maybe they can't afford it, and maybe there was a program where we would empty out their septic system, because you only do it once every, how many years?

[01:09:05] Five? Five years, you know, that could have really helped it. And it's dependent upon how much money you make, poverty level you know that kind of thing but for example we're paying for three people and their septic system works but yet we're paying to have them hooked up to sewer and water when in reality maybe they just need their septic system emptied out because and they just can't afford to do it if it's special if it's 500 i didn't know it was that much wow so yes so throwing that out mr chair i'm gonna i'm gonna summarize what i think that i hear from the board and it'll give

[01:09:45] the board an opportunity to make sure that they believe before you take your vote that staff is in alignment with the board. I know Ms. Dimmick, Mr. Bowman are also near the mic if they have anything to add. I believe what I saw was support for the staff recommendation that was provided by Ms. Dimmick in her presentation. What that would do with this is it redirects an amount of money to the programs that Ms. Dimmick suggested.

[01:10:16] On a parallel track to that, I had Mr. Galloway and Ms. McKeel, and I saw support from the board suggest that Ms. Dimmick go back and re-advertise, re-canvas, and let's see between now and the budget process if there are additional homes that would qualify, and by the budget process, an effort by Mr. Bowman's office, myself, Ms. Dimmick, with our outside agency funding, to earmark money that would go back into the septic sewer program to continue that program after re-advertising if we can identify additional need.

[01:10:56] Is there a commitment from staff to do that? There would be. We would prioritize that accordingly. And then finally, with Ms. Villapisto-Curley, she said, and also look at the qualifications with an earmark on, It could be that homes don't need to move to public water and sewer.

[01:11:14] They may need help with a system that just needs to be cleaned out. We can look at that. We can explore that with our work with the contractors. Ms. Demick has taken notes. But we'd be prepared in the budget process to talk about what our effort has been with this program since today's discussion.

[01:11:31] Are people proposing, arguing with the number one on the staff recommendation? because the people who are in the sign-up and going through, I would hate to yank them out of this.

[01:11:48] You had said to continue with the three houses that are already in the process. Okay, I don't want that to be changed. I mean, I would not support that being changed. Let's put it that way. And you're not suggesting that? No, I mean, others were, so I just want to make sure where we all are. The reality is that everybody in the development area should be hooked up to public sewer.

[01:12:07] I'm just saying. But that's not where we are now. Do we need a formal motion? We should have. Yes, there should be. And if I could just clarify with Mr. Bowman, is a reappropriation being sought at this time?

[01:12:25] No, that will, sorry. No, that will come back to the board through a different action. But this gives us the intent to move forward. Okay. So a motion could be as simple as what's put in the staff recommendation. To approve the proposed redistribution of those previously appropriated funds as recommended by staff.

[01:12:41] Yes, sir. Is that a motion? Second. So moved. Second. Okay, we have a motion from Supervisor Malik, second from Supervisor Lupisto-Kirtley, without objection if the clerk will call a roll. Ms. Lupisto-Kirtley? Aye. Ms. Malik? Yes. Ms. McKeel? Yes. Mr. Pruitt?

[01:12:57] Aye. Mr. Andrews? Yes. Mr. Galloway? Yes. Thank you. Thank you very much. It was a difficult issue, and I appreciate your consideration. More to come in budget cycles. Right. Board, that brings us to our only other major item this afternoon as a work session on legislative priorities and legislative positions and policy statements led by our Interim County Attorney, Mr. Andy Herrick, and Emily Kilroy, our Interim Director of the Economic Development Office, assisted by Mr. David Plunk, I believe.

[01:13:28] Welcome. Very good.

[01:13:44] Good afternoon, Mr. Chair, members of the board. I'm Andy Herrick, the Interim County Attorney. And though I'm kicking us off today, I'm pleased that this is a team effort today. With me is Emily Kilroy, the Interim Director of Economic Development, as well as David Blunt, who is our legislative liaison with the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission.

[01:14:03] And though he's not included on the slide, I definitely want to recognize James Douglas in our office, who does a number of things well, but among them is supporting our legislative efforts. So this is definitely a team effort, and again, I'm just leading us off here today. Today's presentation, we're going to go over several items.

[01:14:20] We're going to start by discussing the draft 2025 legislative priorities. We'll also talk about legislative positions and policy statements, and then we'll take a look ahead to the 2025 General Assembly session. So on this chart, you see basically the two basic components of the county's legislative program, the first of which is legislative priorities and budget amendment requests.

[01:14:42] These are our top-level asks of the General Assembly. These are the things that are the most important that we're going to be especially advocating for going into the session. The legislative positions and policy statements are a guideline for people like Mr. Blunt when he's in Richmond. If an issue comes up is what is the county's position on issue X or issue Y. The legislative positions and policy statements are sort of overarching themes, maybe not as high priority as our legislative priorities, but they give guidance to folks that are advocating on the county's behalf in Richmond. So I'll start off by discussing the draft legislative priorities, and again, I'll be handing off at various points in

[01:15:22] the presentation to our other presenters today. So we'll start by looking at the legislative priorities. There are three of them in the realm of legislation and two of them in terms of budget requests. We'll be discussing briefly expanded authority for photo speed devices, a one-cent sales tax option for schools capital, and reimbursement for responding to community threats. We'll also be looking at a couple of budget requests regarding Rivanna Futures and the Biscuit-run park project. So the first legislative priority that I want to address

[01:15:56] today is expanded authority for photo speed enforcement. As you may know, in the Virginia Code currently, there is special authority for photo speed enforcement in construction zones and school zones. There have been passed proposals before the General Assembly to allow local ordinances to specify other places where photo speed enforcement is enabled.

[01:16:21] This was something that was proposed with last year's General Assembly. Unfortunately, it didn't get out of committee, but this is something that we understand the board wants us to continue pursuing, is to allow by local ordinance photo speed enforcement to take place in other areas aside from construction zones and school zones.

[01:16:39] Another legislative priority that we've heard the board is interested in is continuing to seek a one-cent sales tax referendum. As you know, there are many localities across the state that currently have the special one-cent add-on sales tax. It's dedicated for school capital projects. Right now, the law is structured so that there's only designated localities that have that, I believe, about a half dozen or so that are specifically named in the statute that said these specific localities aren't able to have sales tax referendums. Albemarle is not currently on the list. There'd be two ways of amending the state law, one of which would be to give that

[01:17:16] authority to any locality that wants to have a referendum. Or another, sort of a lesser alternative, but one that would serve Albemarle equally well, is if Albemarle was simply added to the list of existing localities that already has that authority. And this, by the way, got significant support in the last session of the assembly. My understanding is that it actually passed and was vetoed by the governor and the veto override failed by a narrow margin. So this is something, one of our priorities, that came very close to actually being enacted within the last session.

[01:17:52] And finally, this is an item that may be familiar to you from recent history. This was a discussion that the board actually had at its last session in August regarding reimbursements for responding to community threats. As the board discussed at that August meeting, right now there are currently limits on the amounts that localities can recover in responding to false alarms, hoaxes, and terrorist threats.

[01:18:17] It's limited to either a flat fee of, I believe it's $250 is the current amount, or you can have a line-by-line itemized bill, which also has a cap. What the board discussed in August before deciding not to adopt such an ordinance locally is that these amounts really are insufficient to justify the county's efforts at this point.

[01:18:41] So I did want to correct the legislative package that you have, incorrectly identified that the board had adopted an ordinance, when in fact the board chose not to. That package was prepared before the board's discussion. So the county currently does not have such an ordinance, in part because the enabling authority is so limited.

[01:19:01] So with that, I'm going to turn it over to Ms. Kilroy to discuss the budget request, and then I'll be back up here later in the presentation. Thank you. Thank you, Andy, and good afternoon, board. Emily Kilroy. So last time we were here in June, we had talked about two budget amendment requests that the board could include as part of its legislative priorities.

[01:19:24] The first is the Rivanna Futures Project, which you are very well familiar with. Last year, as part of the package in work with the state, we had put forward a budget amendment request for $58 million to signal a one-to-one partnership between the County of Albemarle and the Commonwealth of Virginia for the next phase of work for the project out there for site readiness.

[01:19:47] We felt like there was at least that much money of investment opportunities for site readiness, which would include grading, infrastructure, and road extensions. With some feedback in working with the local delegation and also some of the conceptual engineering work that we presented at the joint meeting with the Economic Development Authority earlier this year, we've developed now sort of a phased roadmap for how the future development of the Ravana Futures land could proceed.

[01:20:19] And this year, staff's recommending that the board put forward a budget amendment request for the work associated with phase one. And so that would be, again, 650 feet of road and 4,650 feet of water and sewer pipes to provide the sort of minimum level of service out there that would really shorten the development timeline for any potential future user out there from years to months, which is really incredible.

[01:20:50] So that would be the first budget amendment request that would be part of the package for this year. And then the other was a new idea that we've not pursued this before. It's not a new idea, though. So Biscuit Run Park is a park that the county is leasing the land for from the Commonwealth on a 99-year lease.

[01:21:12] And was originally, well, originally it was going to be residential development. The state purchased that land, and the plan was to turn it into a state park. There was not state funding to turn it into a state park, And so that's what led the county to pursue the lease agreement to be able to control the park's development locally.

[01:21:30] The Commonwealth has not provided any financial support to develop the park. And so the idea that we discussed with you all in June was to put forward a discrete project that we could pursue some state funding for. This is a project that is not otherwise funded in the county's capital improvement plan.

[01:21:49] But it is part of the park's master plan, and we had discussed identifying a project that would be around a million dollars in order to keep that ask at a reasonable level. So working with the park staff came up with a proposal for a trail segment that is not currently funded but part of the plan.

[01:22:12] And it's a really interesting project in that the main entrance to the park is at Avon and 20. This would be on the other side and would provide ADA trail access from Southwood, and it would connect Biscuit Run Park and what would be the future Monacan Nation Tribute Park.

[01:22:32] and so it would connect those two future parks, so they're both parks that aren't open today, but would provide a level of access that would meet all ADA requirements and open a part of the Biscuit Run Park to the public that is not currently part of the initial Phase 1A Biscuit Run Park.

[01:22:52] So this is a new concept for you all as a potential second budget amendment, And that brings us to the end of the legislative priorities, and Andy and I are available to respond to any questions or receive any feedback on all five items.

[01:23:11] Thank you. We will go through our order, questions and feedback. Supervisor Mal. Full speed ahead. Thank you. Okay. Supervisor McHugh. I have a question about the – when you talk about a circular trail, and there's an – I see an ADA trail.

[01:23:32] Yes. So help explain. Yeah, so the Biscuit Run Park master plan has a trail that is not part of the initial trail that would be open when the park opens later this year. But the Grand Master Plan has a circulator trail that would go basically around the perimeter of the entire park.

[01:23:53] This would be a segment of that circulator trail, so it wouldn't be connected because the broader trail is not built. but it would be a segment of that trail that as we continue to develop the park over time, it would ultimately connect in with that circulator trail.

[01:24:13] Okay, so you're talking about just starting it. But this is a one-mile first segment. So a portion of it, right. And when you use the word circulator, I was just a little confused, but it's just another word for saying the trail that goes around. Yep, yep. Okay, that's helpful. All right, and so for that one mile, we would spend $1.37 million.

[01:24:33] We would be seeking state funds. Oh, wait, that's what it would cost, isn't it? Okay, interesting. And I think that's the only question I have about your presentation right now. Thank you. Supervisor Pruitt. First, just a format clarifying question. Are we also going to be in this block of time presented on the positions and policy statement section, or is that later?

[01:24:55] Those slides are in a moment. We wanted to pause here. Outstanding. Okay, good. Wanted to make sure I understood what I had to actually comment on. So can you help me position the Biscuit Run funding piece kind of in the broader infrastructure of this project?

[01:25:13] And I recognize that this might be a little unfair. I'm looking. I don't see Mr. Krickenberger in the room. But I know that there was previously discussion of a stream restoration project that had to precede any development of the Southwood connector.

[01:25:29] And that had been moved forward in the development cycle, I thought. but I wanted to, I guess, seek clarification. Is that actually completed and this is just the next piece, or is there going to be a timing element that we have to make sure that we hit with any General Assembly funding?

[01:25:45] I'm looking at Ms. Wall. I'm willing to start if you're willing to bail me out. So this is actually on a completely different part of the park than the stream restoration project and the initial park access. So that's on the, again, sort of closer to Avon and 20 intersection, And this is on the Southwood side.

[01:26:06] So my understanding is that this project is not connected in any way to that one. And this would be more of a pedestrian access point into the park. Supervisor Pruitt, and just to indicate, the stream restoration project is underway right now.

[01:26:22] And, in fact, in the partnership report that the board received last evening at the joint meeting, there is information in there about the stream restoration project and some partnership with the city of Charlottesville as well. And so is this a miswiring in my brain memory that the stream restoration was in some way contingent on how we structured a...

[01:26:43] I truly do remember talking about this in 2023, I thought, that part of the planning had to shift to make sure we were able to break ground on the Southwood connector line. I guess either way, it sounds like we're ready for it now. So I suppose my point is moot.

[01:27:02] Yeah, I'm excited about this set of recommendations. I recognize that there's some path dependence that goes in with a lot of these. And I just want to briefly comment on the, because I'm not even sure I'm happy with the final product, but the reimbursement bill is somehow my baby.

[01:27:23] So I recognize the path dependence. So what we're doing is kind of what is within the realm of the feasible, consistent with a previous bill that was brought by Delegate Reed. By way of update and I neglected to mention this during my initial comments Since the board's meeting in August regarding this proposal Miss Farley and I in our office have had conversations with with other localities to see if there might be alternatives And we have also been considering alternatives to simply seeking reimbursement Those proposals aren't yet ready to move forward It may be that when we get to the session that we've got other alternatives that in the end are more effective than this

[01:28:02] And we will certainly, if it's the board's direction, we'll certainly pursue more effective alternatives. But along the lines of enhancing the deterrent to make it such that those sorts of threats are better deterred in the future. Thank you. I appreciate that. I think we all kind of agree, yes, seeking costs is an immediate part of this, but the core undergirding piece of this is deterrence.

[01:28:24] We want to make sure we have adequate deterrence. I don't know about my peers on the board, but it is hard not to resonate with the situations that we saw and what we're seeing in Springfield currently, where city government has ground to a standstill.

[01:28:40] Children are sent home from school because there are social media incited rampant bomb threats and also an actual firebombing of an apartment building. whatever gets us that broader toolkit i mean something i would be really juicy about is you know actually being able to have a cause of action to pursue uh an instigator directly in tort that is a messy thing and i know that's not where we're at but i i'm glad to hear that the attorney's office is looking at more creative solutions recognizing that those are messier and don't have the convenience of kind of the path that we're already on but that that is still in y'all's

[01:29:19] that is exciting I will also just say and we'll discuss this I think on the next deck consistent with kind of the promise and wait and see I discussed when discussing the Cavalier Crossing issue a few weeks ago there are elements that I think would probably be better suited in the second half of the show that I would like to address on that but maybe one or two that I would wonder if the board would entertain elevating to one of our core priorities but I'll save that for the next half okay supervisor galloway i guess i didn't know there was another half coming so that's probably

[01:29:58] where my remarks will be so i'll wait for that okay supervisor lapisto curtney i like what has been already what everything's been suggestion suggested i like that so we'll see what the second half brings and i like everything that's suggested although i recognize that you were taking a big ask for Ravana Futures that I thought was justified, dramatically reducing it to this phase one.

[01:30:25] I would hope that we keep that phase two in sight and recognize as we go for this that we've got big projections and big needs that won't be met just by this first phase that are very important to us as a project.

[01:30:41] Yes, sir. And I'll just take a moment to share that we are working right now. We've been taking the project in chunks, and so the conceptual engineering study has given us a real clear roadmap of what, you know, sort of a 15-year development timeline might look like. And so now we are working to understand how would we actually implement.

[01:31:02] So if you just took phase one and said how would we actually implement that and aligning the different projects that would comprise that with grant opportunities. And so that's the work that we're doing now to figure out, you know, state funding is an incredibly flexible funding opportunity for us, but there's some other more structured opportunities at the state and federal level.

[01:31:22] And so we'll be continuing to work at what are some other streams that we could bring in to help continue to make sure that we're making good progress. Thank you. I think we can go to the next part of the presentation. Oh, that is my slide. I'm so sorry. One thing that we discussed in June that is not part of the priorities is there had been a discussion about the enabling authority for funding a transit authority as part of what we might pursue this year.

[01:31:50] And as Ms. Wall and Mr. Chambers presented last night at the joint city-county meeting, there's a lot of really positive movement with enabling the current authority or activating the current authority to stand up the authority that we're calling Carta.

[01:32:11] And that what we would plan to do is to just sort of start talking to our legislators as part of the legislative forum and some of the work that we do in Richmond and throughout the session to just bring to light all the positive momentum that is really building here in the hopes that in a future year that we would be in a position to be seeking that actual funding authority.

[01:32:31] So I just wanted to close the loop on that item that we discussed back in June. Okay. And now I'm going to turn it back to Mr. Herrick. Thank you, Ms. Gilroy. So I get to kick off the much-anticipated second half, but in the spirit of Andy Bowman, the second half is a single slide.

[01:32:53] So I know you'd be pleased with that. So the second half is discussing the legislative positions and policy statements, and this document is a little longer in the sense of it has, I counted, 44 different positions. Again, this is on various bills that may come to legislators' attention in Richmond.

[01:33:13] It's primarily an aid to Mr. Blunt and others in sort of advocating on our behalf for issues as they arise. So among the 44 priorities or, excuse me, positions listed in the document, seven are additions from last year. And the common element of five of those is basically increased funding or support.

[01:33:33] So the county is seeking increased support for economic development and site readiness, for community services board, for mental health services, for housing Albemarle, for public schools funding. I realize I'm oversimplifying the county's position in each of these cases, but the gist of it is that the county is seeking additional financial or state support for each of those five.

[01:33:56] The two items on this list that are aside from funding are a position regarding the local authority concerning land use matters. As the board is probably aware, it's a constant struggle in the General Assembly to keep away from preserving or to fight incursions onto local land use authorities.

[01:34:15] There have been various bills proposed that would limit local authority in the realm of solar utility approvals. There have been various bills that would extend sunset provisions, excuse me, allow certain approvals to be grandfathered due to the housing recession from 2008 due to COVID and so forth.

[01:34:36] So there's various bills in the Assembly every year that would seek to limit the land use authority of localities. And again, we want to, or we're suggesting a position statement in the county's legislative position and policy statements that the county's opposed to any sort of incursion on the county's or localities in general, land use authority.

[01:34:56] And then there's also a statement in there opposing the ban on skill games, or excuse me, opposing any effort to repeal the ban on skill games. So I know, I realize there's a lot of negatives packed into that statement. But that we would seek for the ban on skill games to continue, and we would oppose bills that would seek to repeal that ban on skills games.

[01:35:16] Also, in a late-arriving development that was just shared with me literally earlier this afternoon, I understand that the Broadband Authority Office had reached out to Ms. Kilroy and is willing or is asking that a statement in favor of digital equity be added to as a position statement.

[01:35:36] I don't have much other detail on that, but that's something that can be added, and Ms. Kilroy might address any questions that the board has about adding that. We've made other edits to the positions and policy statements. We've reorganized the document, and we've made minor updates and adjustments for accuracy.

[01:35:56] But at this point, I'll take another pause and see if there's other questions regarding this shorter second half. Would you bring that back up? Yeah, thank you. We'll go through our order. Supervisor Malek. Thank you. I'm looking on page two at the bottom. Stop extending the sunset provisions for certain development approvals.

[01:36:15] I just want to make sure that I understand all these negatives in here. It says allow expiration of the sunset provisions. We want sunset provisions. Why would we be asking for them to expire? So you may be misunderstanding sunset provisions because the default is that after a certain number of years, that the approvals expire after a certain number of years.

[01:36:38] However, by special legislation during the housing crisis of 2008 and, again, during the COVID emergency, the General Assembly said notwithstanding the general two-year limit or five-year limit or whatever applicable limits existed, these can continue going on.

[01:36:54] And we've seen since then there's been – every year it seems like the Assembly wants to extend it a little further and a little further and a little further. And at some point, that deadline needs to be a hard deadline so that we go back to the default provisions of a fixed number of years rather than saying we're extending it, recognizing an emergency that's long since passed.

[01:37:14] Okay, great. So there's no issue with what I was asking. Thank you. Thank you. Supervisor McHugh. Yes. And this is a time when we can bring up additional. This is March 2 and this is it. Okay. Well, there'll be, and as I indicated, Mr. Blunt will give a preview of what the 2025 session holds.

[01:37:34] But this is it if you have suggestions for either the priorities or the policy statements. Well, I am would be in support of what was recommended for the broadband. I mean, don't have any problem with that at all. I think that would be a great addition. Like Ann, we need that sunset, that not a sunset clause.

[01:37:58] You can word it however you want, but over on Hydraulic and Georgetown Road, We have a building right now that has been sitting mostly empty that was built within the last two years that was approved in 2004 and was built just within the last.

[01:38:14] And it's in the wrong place, wrong time now with all. So we need to really have some sunset clauses, period. If we look at that, so just going through this list, and I think that's what you probably want us to do. Economic development, site readiness, that's great.

[01:38:32] Obviously, local authority for land use matters should be in our wheelhouse. I am adamantly opposed to gambling and skill games. We have way too much of that right now, and we have folks that, anyway. We're now trying to figure out how to help folks get out of the gambling habit, and it's causing mental health issues.

[01:38:57] So why we would be going to approving more of this is beyond me. Having said that, community services boards, absolutely, there's a JLARC study with recommendations. We should be using that JLARC study to bounce off on those recommendations, and they were very reasonable for the communities, for the CSBs, right?

[01:39:17] I mean, that's our Region 10. Mental health services, absolutely. Housing in Albemarle, absolutely, and public schools funding, there's a JLARC study about that, too, and how we could bounce off of the JLARC study and the recommendations in that JLARC study.

[01:39:33] And I appreciate always when we're going through our documents and cleaning them up and making sure that they are in easy-to-read language and accurate. But can I take the time to mention a couple of others?

[01:39:49] Please. Yeah. So Anne and Ned and I went to Vaco to – oh, sorry. Ann and Ned and I were at VACO in Richmond where the committees were meeting to discuss their proposals that might be coming forward.

[01:40:11] I don't know that they, Ann, and I'll have to turn to you and ask, I don't think all of those committees have voted on their proposals at this point. The votes will be at the November meeting. That's what I thought, in November. I was very interested, though, and I don't want to miss the timing on this, very interested.

[01:40:26] I managed to, Ned had conflict, and so I went to the transportation meeting for Ned, and he and I have talked about this, but VACO, the transportation committee for VACO was supporting at that point, it hasn't been finalized yet.

[01:40:46] general authority for counties to adopt ordinances regulating, including prohibiting the parking of boats, RVs, utility trailers, campers on residential streets. We already have that ordinance. We passed that ordinance several years ago. That is in place. So we have part one of this parking proposal.

[01:41:08] In addition, VACO supports additional authority that would allow localities with parking ordinances the ability to enforce such ordinances using law enforcement, uniform local employees, or uniform personnel under contract with the locality.

[01:41:23] That is critical for our community. We had a discussion about this at the Almar County Police Department CAC meeting because Chief of Police Sean Reeves has said that his staffing really does not allow good enforcement of our ordinance.

[01:41:42] That's the problem he's having, and this would allow it. And he has feelings about how he would want to implement that, but there are ways that are this list of different implementations. I would just like, I'm taking the time right now to say, if the Transportation Committee, if this becomes a part of the VACO transportation bills, suggested bills, I would like to make sure that we are in support of this bill.

[01:42:08] I think it would help our police department a lot. And the CAC, the Elmar County Police Department, CAC, voted unanimously, said yes, they would like to go on record because we only meet every other month.

[01:42:25] And they were afraid the timing would go by and they wouldn't be able to weigh in. So we have the CAC supporting it. My understanding is Chief Reeves, he was pretty adamant at the meeting that he would be supportive of this.

[01:42:41] So I just want that to be on our radar screen. If that's something that the board supports, we can certainly discuss with the chief and others about working that in. And it's worded generally enough that I think he was comfortable with the options that were in that particular proposed bill.

[01:42:58] The other one that I would like to mention, our landlord-tenant bills. And I know this is probably dear to your heart as well because you all have a list of that I was going to mention. You and I can piggyback on this one if you want, but certainly we have had bills in the General Assembly.

[01:43:21] Some of them actually passed, but I understand that the governor vetoed, the one that made it through completely. And so I'd like to go back to making sure in our packet that we have some support listed for these landlord-tenant bills so that if it comes up at the last minute, the people that would be representing us in the General Assembly would know where we stand on these bills.

[01:43:49] And I'll let you – you probably have it more clearly. I have a few of them. I'm not sure I have the whole list that you have. Yeah, and I'm looking specifically at last year we had House Bill 597 and Senate Bill 497. Oh, I don't have their numbers.

[01:44:05] Oh, there you go. Goodness, you're more prepared than I. Okay. So, Ms. McKeel, if I understand your request correctly, those bills last year would have allowed localities to have enforced violations of the Residential Landlord Tenant Act. Typically, the Residential Landlord Tenant Act involves suits involving just the landlords and the tenants.

[01:44:23] That bill, that as you indicated, passed but was vetoed ultimately, would have allowed localities the right to enforce violations under the Residential Landlord Tenant Act. And this particular, what I want to make sure is that we're supporting bills that don't create the need for Almar County to have another department.

[01:44:43] Right. We need to be very careful about it. And this particular bill would allow, I'm just catching here very quickly, but it would allow us to have the power to do some things that we don't have the power to do right now without actually having to go in and create a whole other department of inspection levels for Almar County.

[01:45:10] Well, any sort of efforts, if that bill were to become law, And if Albemarle chose to make enforcement of Residential Landlord Tenant Act violations something that the county did, it would require additional staffing. The difference between this and adopting the Virginia Maintenance Code is that this could be done perhaps on a more limited or selective basis.

[01:45:33] Yes, and that's what I'm getting at. I just want to be careful that we're not creating a situation where we're having to do the work that I think the landlords and the property management companies need to be doing. And we need the ability to charge those particular groups with the work.

[01:45:52] And I just want to be careful not to overpromise to the board as to what the county is going to be able to do under that. That, again, it would require additional. Yes, and I get that. We'd have to have somebody, obviously, working at it. And I'm going to let Mike take the lead because I know that even before you were elected, you were doing a lot of work in this area.

[01:46:12] So I'm going to let you take the lead on it. But I just want to make sure that we have that parking ordinance so we could support it if it comes forward. And then some landlord-tenant bills because I'm dealing all the time with property management companies and concerns and the inability to require the property management companies and or the landlords in some cases, not all of them, but in some cases, to provide responsible housing for their tenants.

[01:46:45] and react to concerns and complaints. And if that's the consensus of the board, we can certainly add those when we bring the final proposed project back to the board here in a few weeks. Yeah, that'd be great. Thank you. And I'm going to let you handle that one for me, Mike. Kind of just to further reiterate this point, I know this is something I think we've been briefed on in our previous as something that the board had entertained and that you all had looked at.

[01:47:09] I would like to just share in Vice Chair McKeel's support of supporting the bill that allows for local enforcement. Board, I think this does allow a much more limited and also effective and powerful tool. We can use it very discretionarily.

[01:47:26] I see it as quite akin to the blight ordinance. We've used it once, I believe, for five properties at the same time, but once. But it was a power that we did not previously have that allowed us to enforce it. I would also point out that this gets us a better result, an end result for the tenant in these cases.

[01:47:46] than an inspection program would an inspection program the the final hammer that you can drop is going to be a revocation of certificate of occupancy which is effectively an eviction of the tenant who's having to suffer through poor conditions the final result here could be a court order mandating mandating repairs or damages both of which would be much better actual results so i would be very excited to support that and i would hope this would be a power we can add to our toolkit um before i get to a few other tenant landlord things i just want to talk to a few of the items i know are on the page um i was excited to see the inclusion of the language about skill

[01:48:23] games i think this is something the board came in a little neutral about thought about for a few seconds from the dais and we're like actually no this is this is harmful to our community um i would also like to maybe drill in slightly uh about how this situation is unfolding on the ground and see if either Mr. Blunt or yourself know anything that is being proposed to address a specific concern, which is we know there's some very unscrupulous lobbyists for the gaming industry that are actively deploying gaming consoles to, that is to say, skill games to service stations across Virginia despite the ban.

[01:49:02] There's a thorough report on it in the Virginia Mercury recently and I'm sure other venues. I can go to the Green Mountain Country store right now and see some i can go to the goco food market in scottsville and see some they are uh popping up at all the like independently owned service stations throughout the scottsville district i have a lot of concern about this in part because these are minority-owned small businesses uh more than 60 percent of all um service stations in the united states are owned by uh immigrants and people of color this is a fairly uh small holder that does not have access to a lot of capital to defend themselves and the gaming industry has effectively used them as a

[01:49:40] liability shield when someone drops the enforcement hammer if it's going to drop it's going to take out the family that owns goco food market it's not going to talk out take out pay somatic or whatever it's called um i'm wondering if we are aware of anything uh any kind of i guess liability shifting mechanic that has been proposed or discussed on this if there is something i would I would be excited to look at what kind of assistance we could provide our minority small business owners who have been duped and have been kind of put in the position of being a human shield for the gaming industry

[01:50:18] as they continue a really unethical rollout of these systems. I don't know what that would look like. So I'm looking, Mr. Blunt, and it looks as though that's not where the state law debate is right now. It's simply as should this ban on skill games be revoked or not.

[01:50:35] And it sounds like the debate has not proceeded to what the liability shifting might be. All right. I just bring that up for your attention. It sounds like there's not enough meat on that bone for the board to take any action on it. But this is something I'm going to continue looking at. I might have some conversations with our Commonwealth attorney about kind of how he's looking at this issue, because I think he's the person who holds the proverbial hammer.

[01:50:54] I keep saying hammer. I'm really excited to see the very clearly articulated ask around CSB funding here in conformance with the JLARC study of 2022. I said in our previous meeting, I think there's probably not a single more impactful dollar that can be spent at the state level in Virginia right now than on CSBs.

[01:51:13] It is an urgent issue. It's radically underfunded, and the state knows it's radically underfunded. It's just not doing anything about it. So I'm excited to see us carrying that water. And last, I had promised the board that I was exploring a few things to address the possible loss of low-income housing that we're facing.

[01:51:31] This is naturally occurring low-income housing that we have and also units that are falling off subsidy. This is something that I know the board takes seriously. And also when I look at our housing list of legislative priorities, it's all funding-based. We don't have actually any landlord-tenant concerns.

[01:51:51] We don't have any specific code modifications that we're looking at. So there are a series of things that have come up in previous years that I am hopeful that the board might support as things that we could just tack on our support if and when they come before the General Assembly again. I've previously talked about rent stabilization, something that would be pegged to the Consumer Price Index and would apply when tenants have to re-up their rent.

[01:52:18] It would limit the amount that they can be charged in addition on renewal to a fair market to essentially prevent rent gouging just because someone's rent has come or their tenancy period has ended.

[01:52:34] I believe Delegate Darius Clark has previously championed a pilot of this that did not make it to signature. I would additionally be interested in supporting a local government right of first refusal, ideally one with a longer window that could be kept open to allow us to actually act when units are being put on sale.

[01:52:57] We've seen how we kind of have to scramble, and we often don't have the time to get our ducks in a row and actually make a more compelling offer together with our nonprofit partners and our city partners. A longer right-of-first refusal window could help us do that. Additionally, talking with some of our community and nonprofit partners, they have indicated that the current way that the right-of-first refusal is drafted for them does not actually give them enough tools.

[01:53:23] All they see is a top-line dollar amount as far as what the competing ask is. They are given the opportunity to match that, but they don't know what the conditions on that are. They don't know really what the bid they're competing against is, and I think they also have 30 days. It is an almost unworkable solution.

[01:53:42] I believe there has been modifications and improvements offered in past sessions. If such come before the General Assembly again, I would be interested in supporting it. Lastly, those are all, I think, fairly straightforward. These are things that come every year. I also know there are things that are supported by a lot of our county and locality peers that are Democrat-led across the state.

[01:54:05] The one novel thing I might suggest for the board's consideration, there is nothing currently that applies in the context of a redevelopment to try and preserve affordability. I express an interest in looking into something that resembles rent stabilization but would still allow developers to recoup redevelopment costs.

[01:54:26] That being said, that's a complicated math question. It is also one, and I'm someone who is familiar with this literature, I then went to the libraries at UVA and explored. I then talked to quite a lot of advocates who do this for a living. It is not a question that has ever been explored in a formal capacity before, whether or not redevelopment price controls that specifically attach before redevelopment and then after redevelopment have been explored, basically making sure that if you redevelop an affordable unit, you have to keep it a relatively affordable unit rather than making it a luxury unit.

[01:55:00] I would be open to recommending a General Assembly study on the possibility of such a type of price control to actually create some literature on this and insert the possibility into the public mind.

[01:55:18] That would be, I think all of these are pretty light-touch bills. The first three do not have a cost requirement for the General Assembly to consider, and the last one would only be JLARC staff. So I submit that to the board's consideration. That last one, because it's novel, I do think would not really be in this second stack of things, but would probably be shifted up to that first because that is where we put our original ideas.

[01:55:41] But I might be misconstruing how staff puts together and conceives of this list. So that would be a JLARC study? That would be a JLARC study. Mr. Galloway, the only, I guess, substantive change in here is we're using Housing Albemarle.

[01:56:00] I don't know if our audience knows Housing Albemarle. Okay. So there could be, and I don't need to wordsmith it, but we could say Housing Albemarle, but then, in parentheses, maybe hit some high-target items that would be relevant.

[01:56:15] Okay. Affordable housing more generally, a term that might be more familiar to the General Assembly. Because, you know, at the national level, it's the first time I've been hearing affordable housing seeming to get some actual play or airtime with the presidential election.

[01:56:32] And there's general statements of affordable housing. But when we say Albemarle, housing Albemarle, I don't know if our local delegation even knows. If they do, I don't know if they're, you know what I mean? It's just a matter of saying we either have to provide housing Albemarle to them or we just have to do a little bit of education there.

[01:56:52] Speaking in language that the delegation would understand. Last year when we were prepping for the legislative thing, the sunset debate clause came up and they were talking about how well it was really going to get passed to this year. I'm just noting that I remember that, David, that this year is the year that we would really have to press on that.

[01:57:13] So individual advocacy, as Ann often reminds us, is going to be important on that one. And the same for what was discussed last night relative to not just Albemarle and Charlottesville pushing on the regional transit authority items, but trying to not to loop in the wait and seers and let them be wait and funders, not wait and seers.

[01:57:35] VACO, I'm sure after it's adopted, the VACO legislative packet will get sent out. There's lots of stuff in there, and Diantha mentioned the transportation. The one that I was in, the Workforce Community Economic and Workforce Development Committee, in their piece, you all might be interested to know that they have a maintained public sector role in on-site sewer program.

[01:58:02] Oh, there you go. I'm somehow remembering a conversation like that. I'm excited. But it says, VACO supports, the Commonwealth should give special focus to addressing the challenge of failing septic systems and allow localities authority to develop and implement policies that support the state's program.

[01:58:19] Later, in the same statement, they say, supports legislation ensuring that potential buyers of real property are told about the type, size, and maintenance requirements and associated costs of the wastewater systems on the property prior to the signing of the initial sales contract. And it goes on and on.

[01:58:34] so a lot of times hidden in vaco and other localities efforts are things that seem to be important to us so this is one that when that vaco piece comes out just as a strategy as we're all prepping to do what we do not just with our local delegation but with others find out who was pushing this item to make it into this committee's focus point and then go after those delegates and give them some advanced support and sometimes you get returned favors if you're going for their priority for yours so that i'm just throwing all that out there as strategy thank you and i'm sure

[01:59:10] mr blunt is taking notes that's a great catch net thank you supervisor lapisto kirk yes i have a couple questions and it might be either yourself or um mr blunt regarding uh land use matters Okay, because it's stated on page two and it talks about making sure, opposed legislation that erodes local authority over land use matters, including permissibility and standards applicable to data centers.

[01:59:44] I thought data centers that I learned from the VACO conference that those were by right. Well, data centers are addressed in individual local ordinances, and what this is designed to do is to ensure that localities still have the ability to address them in local ordinances, as opposed to those decisions being made at the state level.

[02:00:04] Which I totally support, and I'm hoping that we have something either, I don't know if it's appropriate for our comp plan or a separate ordinance regarding data centers, because, you know. And, again, that's something we can address on the local level, provided it's not constrained, to the extent it's not constrained by the General Assembly.

[02:00:23] And so we'd have to get that passed. Did you want to say something, Mr. Richardson? I've heard several times board members express some interest in learning more about that, and we can flag that for consideration for future discussion. Thank you. And then also under land use matters, would that also include our homestay issue, which we brought up in the past, that the homestay or the permit goes with the owner, not with the land?

[02:00:49] So that was actually a rare expansion, actually, of local government authority in last year's assembly that now allows localities to do that so that we can put conditions on special use permits, special exceptions. We're explicitly now enabled to put time limits on those.

[02:01:07] And so that was actually, like I said, an expansion that resulted from last year's assembly. You say a time limit, but not a ghost. Because right now, or the way it was before, the homestay, we give a special use permit and rezoning.

[02:01:23] And then it goes with the land, but not with the owners. Well, I mean, we could craft a time restriction on it that would correspond with the ownership. I mean, that's something that... We have what we need. Okay, got it, got it. Although I will say that's not typically been done in Albemarle, but that is an option that's now available to the board.

[02:01:42] Okay, so that would be done. That's something that we could do in the future. Should we? Okay. Right, again, and that would not require any sort of change in state law. Perfect, okay. Last item. I just found out recently, because I know I bring up about photo speed cameras and such, but I recently found out through the police department that on 22-231, which is Gordonsville Road, I know they've done a number of sting operations.

[02:02:14] And the last time they were out there, which I think was in July or August, they stopped 17 oversized trucks in one day, which are not allowed. So I'm thinking of Plank Road also, but which are not allowed. I said, did you give them, were there speeding tickets or did it go points?

[02:02:34] I found out recently that on that road, and there's also one in Ivy, there's a road in Ivy where they are not allowed. The police department cannot give oversized trucks, stop them, and they're not supposed to be there, but give them points, which would definitely stop all trucks from using those roads if they were given points.

[02:02:59] I think we had a previous delegate from this area that may have had something to do with that, I'm thinking. That's what I understand. So I would love to see something in our proposals that would ask that these roads, the one in Ivy and then the one in Keswick, be removed so that we could have enforcement that makes a difference.

[02:03:29] I mean, we've had near crashes. We've had a number of crashes, deaths. And, you know, those big, those large oversized trucks do not belong on rural roads, two-lane roads that are windy and everything.

[02:03:45] Are you suggesting that that be a priority or a position statement? And if a position statement, I guess I'd look to Mr. Blunt as to how that might be worked into other bills that are currently pending before the assembly, or that we anticipate pending before the assembly. Well, I would suggest whatever Mr. Blunt thinks he's the expert and the best way to navigate that, if the board approves.

[02:04:08] What are you thinking? You have a question? Whenever you're ready. Okay, go ahead. Go ahead. All right. So is the issue that the locality has no authority to assign points, period? Nobody does, except the DMV or something.

[02:04:26] I'm afraid I'm not prepared to address that today. So I think that may be the issue, as opposed to the Morgantown Road and 231. Right. There are no trucks allowed, both because of the school on Morgantown Road and the more recent truck ban out your way. Right, mop. So I think that's the distinction that I don't know any more about than what I just asked.

[02:04:45] Yeah, my understanding from the police department is that there was some kind of legislative action that there are two roads, the one in Keswick, the one out in Ivy, that if you stop a truck, an oversized truck or whatever is not allowed in Keswick, it's oversized trucks.

[02:05:03] over 65 feet, that you cannot issue points on the ticket. And that would definitely stop truck traffic once they knew that if they got caught and they were given a point, then – because what's happening right now, they're given tickets, speeding tickets, and the owner pays.

[02:05:24] Yeah, they just pay it. It's the same issue with the speed cameras in the school zones. So I don't – that may be another animal, but, I mean, it's the same thing. They get a reduced fine, and they don't get points against the record if they're caught speeding by the speed camera. That was the BS part of that whole state.

[02:05:42] And I agree with that. I agree with that. I'm just shocked that it's like just two areas here that protect, frankly, they're protecting oversized trucks that should not be on there. And there are big signs saying no trucks over 65 feet. But however that can be managed into anything, that would be great.

[02:06:06] That would be very, very helpful. That would, frankly, solve the problem. Because, and I'm just going to go one step further, when you go from Keswick, you go through Orange, you go into Gordonsville, and then Orange is that stretch of the road where it goes from, I think, 45 to 35 to 25.

[02:06:25] You don't see anybody speeding. Nobody. Thank you. I'm going to continue this and wrap it up. I hope that I'm also in agreement with the list that's on here and many of the things that have been added, the digital equity, the parking issues, the land book tenant issues, and looking into some of these other things, including rent stabilization, and I'm not fully up on the truck issue, but certainly with something to look into.

[02:06:58] The only one that I'll add, and I know we're adding, which is a lot, but this is our first big look before we come back later and look at it another time. But the Solid Waste Alternatives Advisory Committee has been discussing environmental aspects of recycling.

[02:07:19] And I know in our statement of positions, we just simply refer to bottle deposits and disposable plastic bags, whereas I think they've got some views that I would endorse that include further extended producer responsibilities for things like mattresses and other large items that end up being just filling landfills.

[02:07:38] and I would hope that we could support positions that would put that liability on the producers or otherwise help to deal with those issues. Okay. All right. I would agree with that. Me too, especially the mattress. We have a way of handling those right here locally.

[02:07:54] So by way of staff direction, so I sense consensus on the proposed additions of Supervisor McKeel regarding enforcement of the Residential Landlord Tenant Act, additional parking restrictions. I'm hearing a request for additional provisions regarding enforcement of oversized trucks.

[02:08:14] I'm struggling. I understand Supervisor Pruitt was suggesting that the variety of affordable housing alternatives that he was suggesting be on the priority list. And I guess I'm looking for board direction as to how staff should come back with that package, whether it should be in the form of an addition to the legislative position statement, whether it should be elevated to a priority, and if so, how that would be stated.

[02:08:41] I think it would be helpful to staff to have board direction on that. Let's go around to Professor Malek. Other thoughts on that? Whether it's something that we would put as a position statement or try to elevate?

[02:08:56] If I had a sort of symbolic thing. I think we're talking just about the JLARC study at this point. Yeah, I think it was the JLARC study. The only one I had suggested could be elevated was the JLARC study, just because I see our policy positions, I see things that we know are going to come or that already have preexisting momentum, and I see our priority, or I'm sorry, I keep getting lost in the terminology.

[02:09:18] Our list of three things, I see our list of three things as, frankly, more novel things, things that we recognize that we might be first movers on. That is the reason I discussed the JLARP study specifically as possibly being elevated to that level because I'm not sure it would receive any traction otherwise.

[02:09:36] The other items I mentioned that was rent stabilization in the existing model and local government right of first refusal and expanding the existing right of first refusal that tenants and tenant organizations have.

[02:09:53] Those are all bills that get proposed every year and have failed. I would just ask that that be added to our 40-something long list as policy positions for us to support if and when they come. Well, what I would suggest based on what I've heard from Supervisor Galloway and Supervisor Pruitt is that those just be added to, right now we've titled it Housing Albemarle.

[02:10:15] Perhaps that should be recharacterized as affordable housing to include Housing Albemarle, to include these other items that you're suggesting, and then to add, if there's consensus on the board, to add the JLARC study to the priorities list. I see Ms. Kilroy's approach, so do you have something to add?

[02:10:34] Only a suggestion for the board's consideration that staff take a little bit of time to study that ourselves, a JLARC study ourselves, to understand a little bit better the mechanics of how that would work and what the best format to bring that forward could be. And so we could take that package of items and bring a recommendation back to the board when we're before you in October, if that is helpful.

[02:10:59] That would help me with comments because my brain is a little fried about all these different things right now. The one thing I will pounce on, though, is the producer pays element of the recycling, the production, crosses over so many different elements of pollution that we have from the sewage sludge to the PFAS and the drinking water.

[02:11:17] And federally and state is really focusing on this element now. And the more time we can use that term, the better I think it is to get it into people's minds.

[02:11:27] I do, I'm happy to learn more and support the study, very taken by the notification somewhere in the notes that talked about notifying about, I guess it was relating to the septic things that purchasers, it took five years to get that notification adopted when it was involved with alternate on-site septic systems because they require thousands of dollars of annual maintenance, not a pump out every five years.

[02:12:01] And other counties around us who had adopted or been more liberal about allowing them got into all sorts of terrible pollution problems where when they fail, they fail catastrophically and they have to be done. So this is one of these things that really needs to be supported, I think, wholeheartedly.

[02:12:20] And I'm really glad to know that it's in the Baco thing and we hopefully can find a way to push that even harder. Are you, Mike, are you on the Housing Steering Committee by any chance, or could you sign up for that? That would be really good.

[02:12:36] The State Committee? Oh, on VACO. So I'm not, actually, I don't believe, but. It would be good for you. Please sign up. That would be good. And you have a chance to go to a meeting in November. That's right. That's great. And so anyway, I guess I don't have anything else to contribute except the landlord-tenant issue.

[02:12:57] I just will throw out one particular benefit of getting some more authority is that right now I sense the tenants are completely at a loss for doing anything because they are currently required to complain.

[02:13:13] The most recent one, a month ago, a person out living north of Airport Road in a place that has been inherited by a new generation. And the son is refusing to maintain. She's got standing water in her kitchen and her ceiling's falling in.

[02:13:32] And no one will help because she's afraid to complain. Because when she has asked him about this for months, he says, you don't like it, you can leave. And she has nowhere to go. so that is a crisis situation that i have no idea how to solve i did share it with jeff to share with staff to see if anything could could be done to help her out but i think that authority is incredibly important to figure out a way to be able to help people in that circumstance um we're going to go through our order i've just looked to right left so supervisor mckeel there's additional

[02:14:08] comments or i don't think so i think i think i understand where we are i hope andy does because we have had a lot of. Well, I see that Ms. Kilroy is taking copious notes here. So, Andy, think about it this way. What we do right now in this country is we privatize the profits and socialize the costs. And what we're trying to do in some of this is get away from that. I'm just simply saying that's the landlord issue. It's the septic issue. It's a lot of issues. Just a general comment.

[02:14:39] Affordable housing issue. Affordable housing issue. That's exactly right. So, I guess i don't want to have anything i want to add i do think it would be interesting to look into how you i'm sure that our representatives can help us with the jlark study piece how you go about that um the only other comment i would make is we always meet with our legislators we need to get that date on the calendar and i'm sure claudette's working on it but it always takes a long time to get that date on the calendar yes it does so we we wanted to make sure that today went well and

[02:15:18] that we were in a good position to get through what we expect will be adoption um at your second october meeting um so we'll be reaching out later this week to get dates on the calendar for um hopefully sometime in november because what we always hear during an election year is oh we have to wait till after the election so i'm just saying but we'll start we'll start now to get a date right for after the election.

[02:15:38] And the only other thing I would ask is to please reach out to the schools because sometimes we can use their help and they can use our help if there's something that we both need to be supporting on behalf of the other. That's great. Thank you.

[02:15:54] However, the General Assembly is not up this year, so we shouldn't be waiting for them unless I'm completely bonkers about this. But every year we hear them say, it's an election year. Well, we always have an election year. We won't be able to do this until November. But we also hear, where were you in August or September when you should have been bringing this forward?

[02:16:13] And I will just encourage all of us to think about the benefit of having smaller meetings with fewer at once. You know, that the personal attention of a single meeting with a single representative, I think, would be very valuable and worth our time tremendously.

[02:16:31] Thanks. Mr. President. I don't have any additional major substantive comments other than to offer my thanks to the board and also to staff for what was a productive meeting and also just for your patience. I have been trying to be someone who brings less new business before the board that has not been discussed with folks prior.

[02:16:52] But a lot of these things have been urgent and emergent in my eyes in my district and have been spinning as quickly as I can to kind of consolidate out what those specific asks would be. So I appreciate the board's patience in kind of receiving them in this moment rather than in writing earlier.

[02:17:12] Mr. Galloway? I would just simply say that we have to remember that staff is not here to just do our bidding on all of this stuff, that the board has to support what the board says our board legislative priorities are. But there are a lot of things we can do as individual supervisors in our own advocacy to the General Assembly to advance things that are priorities of ours that don't necessarily meet the board prioritization.

[02:17:39] Thank you. And I agree with our legislative positions. I did want to make a point of clarification. I want to make sure that the board understands when I brought up about the, because it was brought up by a supervisor, Malik, septic and sewer, cleaning out the septic tank, that I'm definitely a huge proponent of hooking up to water and sewer.

[02:18:04] But I'm also thinking that it's more cost-effective until we can hook up everyone to water and sewage. It seems to be more cost-effective if we can help out. When Supervisor Malek said $500 to empty out a septic tank, that $150,000 would give us 500 homes to be able to do that for.

[02:18:26] That doesn't mean that we shouldn't hook it up to sewer and water, but kind of like doing both to get, frankly, the best bang for a buck. Thank you. I'm just going to simply ask if we have made this sufficiently clear to go back.

[02:18:44] I know we're coming back in October to finalize, so... That's correct. I know there's still one more slide to go. That's correct. But again, I unfortunately didn't have the benefit of taking notes while I was standing at the podium. I see that Ms. Gilroy did. Obviously, we'll go back and recap. And then, as was indicated, the final step would be for us to bring a proposed final package to the board at the second October meeting, so about a month from now.

[02:19:12] Did you have anything to add? By way of introduction of Mr. Blunt, I'll just say that he has already, he follows this stuff so closely, he follows it without us knowing, and also we've been working with him all year. And so he has already begun socializing the items that you all flagged as high priorities from last session in his conversations and the work that he does.

[02:19:34] I don't know that he would tell you that, but he is a wonderful ally in this work, and he's already beginning to sort of plant the seeds of the things that are very much most important to you. And I will turn it over to him to just give us a little bit of a preview of the 25 session. Thank you. Mr. Blunt, your reputation precedes you.

[02:19:51] Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, members of the board, David Blunt with TJPDC, and I think that I'm very conscious of the time, and so rather than going through this, because I think this is a very similar slide to what we had when we were here before you in June, I will add a little bit to some of the conversation you've been having in the last 20 to 25 minutes or so.

[02:20:15] But the only thing I think I would point out on this slide, actually maybe two things for you, with regard to the budget, we're really just into the start of the state's two-year biennial general budget. I think that when you see the governor's amendments to that budget in December, you're going to be looking at a budget that has some enhanced revenue projections.

[02:20:39] Secretary of Finance spoke to the money committees in Richmond yesterday. August was up 2% from what had been estimated for July and August, already 8%. Now, granted, these are estimates that were made, you know, months and months ago, but I think just, you know, looking at least where the staffs appear to be looking at trends, you're probably going to see a bump up in that, and so that will, you know, have an impact on what the governor proposes, and then, you know, there will be decisions then that the General Assembly would be making, you know, when they're considering the governor's amendments in January. The second thing I would say, and you all have touched on a number of these, but there's so

[02:21:16] much that's been going on here during the interim at the state level with ongoing JLARC studies that are going to be reporting out in the next few months, study commissions, individual legislators, STAKEHOLDER GROUPS THAT ARE TALKING ABOUT SOME BIG ISSUES, WHETHER IT'S THE K-12 FUNDING STUDY, AND IT WAS JUST THE FIRST MEETING OF THE JOINT SUBCOMMITTEE, LOOKING AT THOSE JLARC RECOMMENDATIONS FROM LAST YEAR THAT MET THE OTHER DAY, DATA CENTERS, SOLAR, HOUSING COMMISSION IS LOOKING AT A LOT OF THE LEGISLATION THAT WAS NOT SUCCESSFUL THIS PAST YEAR.

[02:21:50] SO I THINK THERE ARE A NUMBER OF THINGS THAT WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO MONITOR CLOSELY that in terms of local government interest in the next General Assembly session are really going to drive some of the discussion. So that is kind of an ongoing process that I, VACO, VML, you'll continue to hear a lot about that, I think, as we get deeper into the fall.

[02:22:09] If I could just fill in some additional information for some of the things that came up. With regard to school games, there had been some thought, I'll use that word, Earlier, a couple of months ago, that the behind the scenes working to, as Mr. Herrick referenced, you know, deciding what a framework for, you know, for state legislation with regard to skill games may look like, that that might be ready to come back before the General Assembly sometime this fall.

[02:22:42] As you know, they are still in a special session, which they had to go into to deal with the budget back in the spring. I haven't heard anything on that lately, and we have litigation that's out there. So I think that's continuing in terms of where we might land with that still remains to be seen.

[02:23:01] I'm going to send to all of you all two lists that I have of bills in the landlord-tenant space from this past session. One's a pretty lengthy list of some bills that passed. The other's a pretty lengthy list of bills that were vetoed.

[02:23:17] But I think a number of the things that you all have talked about today, the rent stabilization, right of first refusal, have been addressed in legislation this past session. Again, probably some of the key ones were not as successful in reaching, you know, crossing the finish line as we would have hoped.

[02:23:35] But I think that information will be helpful for you. These types of bills, I think, do remain a priority, particularly among the House Democratic Caucus. I know Delegate Cawson was very involved with some of those discussions this past year and I think would be, you know, continuing to be part of those discussions.

[02:23:55] And I would anticipate that a number of those bills that were not approved, ultimately, that were vetoed, you're likely going to see them coming back again. I would also say, and you probably know this individually as well, Virginia Poverty Law Center, very, very influential, you know, in this area as well and is involved much deeper in those discussions.

[02:24:16] Data centers, JLARC study report is due out in December. I have had some communication back and forth with your staff. Know that you all are interested in that. So when that report is out and available, certainly we'll be providing information to you all on that. The trucks issue, I think probably need to do a little research on that, as was indicated.

[02:24:35] I'm going to get you more information. Yeah, I would appreciate that, knowing what's in place now and where those prohibitions, you know, beyond Albemarle County, lie in terms of what the standards and criteria are for those. And then I guess just finally with the timing of conversations on bills, again, as Ms. Kilroy said, getting through today, seeing where you were going to land for sure, we'll continue to build on some of those previous conversations with your legislators individually where there may be the need to get them to start processing a request for a draft of legislation.

[02:25:13] Again, I think some of the other things, whether it's the one sales tax for school construction, I think maybe even on the photo speed, some of the landlord-tenant bills probably are already going to be in the mix by other legislators and would not necessarily need to have one of your local delegation members to carry that bill.

[02:25:33] And they are limited this year because it is a short session, delegates 15 bills, senators 20 bills. So they're going to be looking, I think, very carefully at what their agenda is and what the requests have that they have from local governments and their other constituencies as to what they want to introduce.

[02:25:54] So that was a lot. But, again, it's a pleasure working with you and your staff. Any questions for me, I'm glad to try to answer. Supervisor Malek. Thank you. So you mentioned there's a housing report. Is it out already? The summer housing study?

[02:26:12] Housing Commission, Virginia Housing Commission, they divide their work based on the bills that were not successful. They divide the work up into various subcommittees or work groups. And they're having discussions probably going to be November, December, before you probably see it.

[02:26:30] Great, at the last minute. I think some of the things that I think cause some consternation with local governments this past session seem to be moving in a more positive direction. Okay. And any update on the BCEA for Dave Marston? I'm going to see him on Friday, but I didn't know if there was any update on his study committee.

[02:26:49] I do not have one per se. Again, I think there's just a lot of conversations that are going on. I think some of the things that he has talked about, has been talking about, and talking with stakeholders about are also starting to be discussed here over the summer within the kind of reconstituted commission on electric utility regulation because they're getting into some of that discussion as well.

[02:27:15] But I will put that down as a follow-up for myself and see what I can find out. I mean, there is a new reorganization of the Department of Energy, and this woman whose name I can't remember right now is involved with that. But having been at the two previous committee meetings that he held, there were three of us from local government.

[02:27:34] Everybody else was industry. And they're running the table on this. So there's going to be a really serious effort needed this year for defense on this because the profit, the out-of-country capitalists who are investing in these things, it has nothing to do with local people, local owners.

[02:27:55] It's all about big dollars from elsewhere. And they're using any time a government subsidy or a government tax project comes up, a whole new industry jumps out of the ground about how they can take the opportunity to make a million bucks on this. And so it's going to be harder for us this coming year.

[02:28:14] The budget amendments do not count in the 15 and 20. That's correct. It's a separate process. Yes, ma'am. That's good. I just wanted to verify. Thank you very much, David. Thank you. Supervisor McKeel. I'm fine. Thank you very much, David. Supervisor Proulx. Thank you so much for the update. Supervisor Galloway.

[02:28:29] Thank you, David. Always a pleasure, David. And I am also appreciative of all you're doing for us. Great. Thank you all. Board, I believe that brings us to item 11, which is a closed meeting, unless there's something further.

[02:28:47] Okay. Supervisor Brew. Yes, Mr. Chair, I'd like to move that the Board of Supervisors convene a closed meeting pursuant to section 2.2, tech 3711, Perrin's Alpha, of the Code of Virginia. First, under subsection 1, to discuss and consider appointment of the county's director of economic development.

[02:29:05] And second, under subsection 22, to discuss the renegotiation of a public contract between the county of Albemarle, Virginia, and the Charlottesville Albemarle Society for the prevention of cruelty to animals involving the expenditure of public funds for the provision of shelter services, where discussion in an open session would adversely affect the bargaining position or negotiating strategy of the county and the board.

[02:29:26] Second. We have a motion from Supervisor Pruitt. Second from Supervisor Malik, without objection, if the clerk will call the roll. Ms. Lopisto-Kirtley? Aye. Ms. Malik? Yes. Ms. McKeel? Yes. Mr. Pruitt? Aye. Mr. Andrews? Yes. Mr. Galloway? Yes. Thank you.

[02:29:41] Good evening.

[02:30:07] Back from our closed session, I believe Supervisor Lopisto-Kirtley, you have a motion? I do. I move that the Board of Supervisors certify by a recorded vote that, to the best of each supervisor's knowledge, only public business matters lawfully exempted from the open meeting requirements of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and identified in the motion authorizing the closed meeting were heard, discussed, or considered in the closed meeting. Second.

[02:30:36] We have a motion from Supervisor Lupisto-Kirtley, a second from Supervisor Malek, without objection if the clerk will call the roll. Ms. Lupisto-Kirtley? Aye. Ms. Malek? Yes. Ms. McKeown? Yes. Mr. Andrews? Yes. Mr. Galloway? Yes. Yes. And a note that Mr. Pruitt will be here, I think, in a few minutes, but we'll proceed with that.

[02:30:54] Okay. We have a motion coming out. I'll close me. I do. I have a motion. I move approval of a resolution appointing Emily Kilroy as the Director of Economic Development, effective immediately. Second. We have a motion from Supervisor McKeel and a second from Supervisor Lapisto-Kirtley.

[02:31:14] Without objection, if the clerk will call the roll. Ms. Lapisto-Kirtley? Aye. Ms. Mallett? Yes. Ms. McKeel? Yes. Mr. Andrews? Yes. Mr. Galloway? Yes. Great. Well, we'll call you up here to put you on the spot while we celebrate your new position.

[02:31:33] From my previous position, I came prepared with talking points, if you believe it. Thank you all so much. It has been economic development was not on my local government public service bingo card.

[02:31:52] But it has been such a fun 100 days in the seat, and I'm just thrilled that you all have the faith to have me take this position more permanently. Albemarle County is on the leading edge of some incredible opportunities that will anchor the regional economy for the next 20 years.

[02:32:10] Biotechnology, intelligence and national security, clean energy. These are disparate sectors, but they're bound by our community's impressive drive for innovation and discovery. I'm excited to support this ecosystem and work to develop pathways for our local learners to be ready and equipped to take these jobs in these fields as we move forward.

[02:32:27] I want to thank the board first and foremost for entrusting this important role for the county to me. Your leadership and the leadership of those who sat there before you have created an incredibly special community, and I'm really grateful to serve here. I also want to thank the organization, which invests in its employees' professional development and gives staff the space to grow into new roles and trust them with new opportunities.

[02:32:49] I've been allowed to take countless, though measured, risks over the past decade, and I want to thank Jeff Richardson for his unending patience and wisdom as a boss, and Trevor Henry for seeing potential outside of convention. I've learned a lot over the past hundred days, most of all how much economic development is buoyed by the expertise across the departments here.

[02:33:10] We have an amazing team of professionals, and we are all working to achieve shared success. There is great opportunity ahead, and thank you for the chance to help guide it. thank you take a moment to congratulate you supervisor mallard i was just saying to emily earlier i can't believe that it's been 10 years because i mean her babies were babies and now they're all big and now they're big they're here hello hello babies welcome congratulations uh supervisor mckill oh i'm going to give you this can you come up sure your your your babies would like to have this copy just for fun

[02:33:48] oh you're right good good excellent faculty and congratulations we're thrilled to have you in the position thank you all good supervisor galloway um you mentioned having faith in you if we just took your experience prior to your interim role it would have been enough to probably put you into this position but what's truly impressive is what you've done over the last four months which just solidified the faith that we have so it's easy to have faith when you have a quality an employee like this.

[02:34:16] So good luck in the role. Thank you, Supervisor Calloway. Supervisor Lupito-Kirtley? I have so enjoyed working with you on the EDA and the years prior, but you're definitely the right person for the organization, and we're so proud of you.

[02:34:31] You guys, you should really be proud of your mom, because she has done a great job. She's an outstanding person, and we really like her a lot. And I check out that you're a rock star, and I'm glad you're with us and in this position.

[02:34:49] So we look forward to working with you. Thank you. Thank you all so much. Thank you. With that, board, we will turn to the county executive for a report.

[02:35:10] Thank you so much. Board, thank you for the opportunity.

[02:35:27] Always at our second meeting of the month, our second meeting of the month, we try to bring you a report, a county executive's report, that is tied to your strategic plan. It's tied to the work of all of the departments in the county. And we'll just give you a quick snapshot tonight of some things that are going on across the organization.

[02:35:46] I think what you see in front of you is our recent annual employee recognition event. It occurred right here in Lane Auditorium. The event recognized employees for their milestones, including years of service. We give that recognition out from 5 to 50 years, highlighting the enduring commitment to Albemarle County.

[02:36:07] And I would recognize, I think we recognized previously, Mr. Bob Crickenberger, one of our department heads in Parks and Recreation, who did reach a milestone at this event, and he was recognized for 50 years of service with Albemarle County government.

[02:36:23] And that's the first time in my career that I've seen an employee, you know, in his case, he must have been hired right in high school and then came straight in. And he literally worked his way up through the department. We had a total of 105 employees that were recognized for years of service milestones, including nine employees who were recognized for 30 years or more of service to Albemarle County.

[02:36:49] Pretty amazing. I really enjoyed being with those employees. In addition to that board, we also recognized employees who demonstrate our core values, and that's community, innovation, learning, integrity, and stewardship. They were also celebrated for outstanding contributions.

[02:37:07] They were nominated by their peers in their department. I'll quickly read the names. The employees recognized were Brenda Traylor, Shaquille Reynolds, Devon Thompson, Sean Ryan, Jen Lynn, Sherry Turner, Amanda Stevens, Brandon McCollum, Amy Cassie, Tammy Kreitzer, Mike Culp, and Shanandra Usher.

[02:37:31] And so these were our recipients of our Living Our Values Award recipients for this past year. We always take a minute during these presentations to say a little bit something about what is special, about what this person has done, and we hear some really good stories.

[02:37:48] The celebration reinforced the importance of teamwork, dedication, emphasizing Albemarle County, and all the success that we have, and this board knows it well. it can be traced back to the talent and to the commitment of our staff. So this certainly ties in with goal number six, which has to do with strengthening our workforce, recruiting and retaining engaged public servants who are committed to serving the wonderful citizens and community members all throughout our community.

[02:38:17] So I also want to recognize in goal number one, which is our safety and well-being, that our police department and our fire rescue department both paid tribute during the 9-1-1 memorials. And that's what you see pictured in front of you. Members of our police department ran the Arlington 9-11 Memorial 5K on September the 7th. The race follows a course around the Pentagon. It proceeds from the 5K, are donated to charities that focus on the healing of our

[02:38:51] military personnel and the civilians directly affected by the attacks on September the 11th, 2001. Since the inception, the memorial race has raised just shy of $1 million for 9-11 related charities. Also pictured here, we have members of the Almar County Fire Rescue, along with counterparts from Charlottesville Fire Department. They hosted a stair climb event on September the 14th at John Paul Jones Arena. I believe we got some local media attention for this. The event was

[02:39:25] a memorial to track first responders, the track that they made up into the World Trade Center buildings. Participants climbed the equivalent of 110 stories or 2,200 steps. Over 60 firefighters, their families and friends, and community members took part in the event, and we do appreciate the University of Virginia partnering with us and and loaning us the John Paul Jones arena for this event board you're in the building quite a bit and you notice things and I appreciate the fact that you do you may have seen recently that

[02:40:04] Albemarle County staff both from 5th and Cobb our location across town in this building we did a we did a dedicated effort to collect school supplies to support our local families starting school this year this was an opportunity for our staff across all departments to come together and support our students in the Bright Stars program, the family support program, the foster care program, all of those programs by providing essential tools for these kids as they start the school year. We collected over 70

[02:40:36] backpacks, 135 notebooks, 75 pencil boxes, along with lots of other supplies, crayons, markers, cleaning wipes, water bottles, all of this stuff that went to these programs. We had people from social services coming over several times to empty the bins.

[02:40:55] This showcases the, showcasing some collected materials in the picture are a few staff members from the Bright Stars and family support programs. Kelly Knight, Kim Statton, and Kimberly Electron. So thank you so much to the leadership of these folks over in social services.

[02:41:14] It's a wonderful program, and I think our staff got pretty excited about working in coordination with getting these kids back to school. Winners of the Community Climate Action Grant Program have been announced. Earlier this year, nonprofits and community groups were invited to apply through a competitive process for grants to support projects that advance the goals, the strategies, and the actions of the county's Climate Action Plan.

[02:41:40] This program was designated to support creative local projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A total of $100,000 will be distributed to the following projects. They are Charlottesville Community Bikes to expand its bike recycling, refurbishment, and redistribution programs to provide affordable, sustainable transportation to underserved communities in Albemarle County.

[02:42:05] Community Climate Collaborative to conduct climate action workshops for leaders of community gathering spaces and it's focusing on reducing greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency, solar power, and waste management. The International Rescue Committee will begin a major redesign and expansion of its new roots farm while phasing out fossil fuel-based equipment.

[02:42:29] Local Energy Alliance Program will provide roof repairs and energy efficiency upgrades to low-income households. And then finally, Wild Rock will install a composting system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from food waste generated by visitors and develop educational curriculum on composting, soil health, and nutrient cycling.

[02:42:51] Again, this ties in with our second goal and our strategic plan where we're designing programs and services that focuses on climate resiliency. So congratulations to all of these winners. Board, this is something that we talk about with some frequency. Speed cameras are now installed and functioning on hydraulic road. So I want to give you some data. Warnings, as you know, board, you know this, warnings are being issued for speeding anytime that our police department

[02:43:24] is involved. And we are identifying speeders at 10 miles an hour over the speed limit during school zone hours that that we're going to continue to issue warnings up until august up until october 21st beginning on october 21st is when full enforcement will start the warnings will issue will transition to citations citations will be 100 the goal is to improve driver behavior reduce speed related crashes since 25 of albemar county public school students attending schools

[02:44:01] or at the lambs lane campus so data that's what you're interested in in the first nine days of operation 1400 violations were captured by the school zone speeding cameras so nine days 1400 violations all warnings to this point which i fully support let's give our public an opportunity to learn new behavior as they move through these school these school zones and then by the end of October hopefully we'll see a significant decrease in that number. Okay so let me give you a quick

[02:44:41] recap of the Parks and Recreation Summer Swim 2024 Summer Swim stats. 31,500 total guests this summer at our swimming beaches. 12,500 more guests than one year ago. That's a significant increase in the activity at our Summer Swim beaches. We were open seven days a week for the first time since 2019. Our Human Resources Department and Parks and Rec Department did an excellent job working on staffing and getting everything in place to be able to run full summer seven days

[02:45:18] a week. Very, very appreciative of the hard work. Thanks to the ongoing mitigation efforts, there were no closures due to algae blooms. We are conducting a community survey at engagealbemara.org to gain insight and feedback on how we can improve next summer's swim experience.

[02:45:36] The survey will be open until October the 7th. And so my final slide, let me see, nope, I've got a couple more. Yep, this is the final slide. I'm going to recognize Trevor Henry, and I'm going to ask Trevor to come up.

[02:45:53] And, board, I'd like for him to walk you through a little bit of the work that we're doing regarding election security planning. Trevor, thank you. Thanks, Mr. Richardson, members of the board, Trevor Henry, Deputy County Executive. Part of my role is working with public safety. This picture represents a tabletop exercise that we did a week ago, Tuesday, regarding elections and responding to events that could come, anything that would be untoward on election day that would prevent voting or worse.

[02:46:23] And so we had representations. I counted, you know, a guesstimate between the participants, the observers, and those conducting close to about 100 people from the region. UVA had a strong presence, including UVA Hospital, Elmore County, of course, police, fire, emergency management, city also, we had state folks there, and then we had the folks that kind of put the scenario together, Elmore County Public Schools as well.

[02:46:53] And really, if you've experienced a tabletop, they do it in a way that kind of stresses the system, and it was an escalating scenario, and really, it was good. We were able to do a hot wash, and I think there's some follow-up that came out of that.

[02:47:11] So I think the timing of that was really good, and it was effective. I shared with the board about a month ago, the work to support elections was started back in the April time frame. We had the Department of Homeland Security come in, and they did audits, physical audits of our election sites, including the city.

[02:47:31] They got reports out of that. Some corrective action has been taken to make sure that the sites are in the shape that they need to be in. The work locally has been led out of our emergency management office. We've had fire, police, county exec's office, county attorney's office, our facilities group, schools, and the registrar have all been very active in that.

[02:47:52] We've had policy meetings every few weeks since June, doing everything that we can to get ourselves as ready as we can to make sure the elections go as smoothly as possible. Mr. Pruitt mentioned in matters from the board, I want to say this morning, early afternoon, it feels like this morning, that early voting starts on Friday, and it's here.

[02:48:17] So we already have an incident action plan that will be finalized probably tomorrow that kind of gets us through this, you know, this early voting period. It's done in a way that allows us to probably, we will update it for the day of election and the days after.

[02:48:35] We also have a virtual emergency operating center software that will create a room. And so it allows us to communicate if, you know, if things are popping up, we can easily kind of assemble and be responsive. And so that, you know, we've been doing that work.

[02:48:51] We've been doing it quietly. Elections are here. And now I just wanted to make sure the board and the public was aware of that work and that we're staffed and we'll be ready to respond in any way that we need to. Hopefully we won't. But, you know, hope is not a plan.

[02:49:07] So we have a good plan and we're ready to execute. Yes, sir. I'm going to ask Trevor to stay at the podium in case there's questions about the work that he and the staff have been working on with election security. But, Mr. Chair, that is the report. We'll be happy to answer any questions that the board may have.

[02:49:24] Thank you. We'll go through our order. Supervisor Malek. Thank you very much. And my only question is, is it possible to gather data regarding the hydraulic road area for speed cameras between the times when the cameras are not issuing tickets?

[02:49:42] Because I love the fact that people are slowing down between 7.15 or whatever it is at the end. But it's still a drag strip on beautiful, smooth pavement for eight hours in between. So that might be some really helpful data so that when we go back to the legislature, we have this is great, but this is also the risk that still exists.

[02:50:04] Thank you. Thank you. Supervisor McKeel. And that's a really good idea, just to say that I think that's a really outstanding idea because those of us that drive that road routinely know how dangerous it is, and it is a speedway.

[02:50:20] So I don't know if we can do that, but if that's possible. While you both are talking about that topic, I do want to tell the board something that yesterday morning, Ms. Shifflett and I went to PVCC for ribbon cutting of the new Bullock Center at PVCC.

[02:50:37] and one of our local delegation members did ask for the data on what I provided the board tonight. She said it would be extremely helpful, so I'm going to ask Ms. Stump and take responsibility in the county executive's office that we will package the information that we've got to this point and we will get it to all three of the delegation members and earmark that one of the members specifically asked for this information, said it would be very helpful as she moves forward into this coming session.

[02:51:06] You know, and we just talked about in our legislative packet, cameras being needed in other targeted areas. So thank you. Trevor, it's amazing how many of my constituents, as I've been places, have come up to me and ask about election security.

[02:51:27] It's obviously on folks' minds. So it's really great that we knew work was going on. But I really am appreciative of you putting that out front and center tonight. It's really important work. And, of course, most people know in this community that many of our polling sites are in schools.

[02:51:47] Now, schools don't have – the schools' buildings have people in them. School is not going on during those days. But still, it is really critical that we maintain order and safety for everybody. Schools leadership have been part of this process and are a good partner with us.

[02:52:03] I saw you mention schools, so that's really great. So that's wonderful information. I really did appreciate, Jeff, the climate grants, the community climate grants, which is a little different take on grants that we gave away several decades ago, but really good idea to get the community and different organizations and folks involved.

[02:52:26] So that was really great. And I have to say that our recognition of employees this year was really, it gets better and better as we do it and do it, but it really does show you the loyalty of our staff and the quality of our staff and our appreciation, I think, for all those staff members.

[02:52:50] Bob Crickenberger, 50 years with Alarmar County, and I will say, and I have his permission to quote him, but I said to Bob as I walked in, Bob, you look really good for somebody that has been with us for 50 years.

[02:53:05] And he said, Diantha, I started in Alarmar County in diapers, and I'm going to leave in diapers. and i said can i quote you and he said yes i thought that was great and that is typical bob it is typical bob so on that i'll stop supervisor uh thank you both um i would like to just echo my peers uh that it would be any opportunity we can take to squeeze more data out of uh the existing camera setup uh the better so if there is a possibility to capture that offline offline

[02:53:42] data as well from a pure data collection standpoint for use in in legislative advocacy i think that'd be excellent um especially because you know i'm very interested in how we deploy this to the rural area and they're often the concern is how people drive in the dead of night around these blind curves on 20. um i personally was really thrilled to see the the numbers from uh from our swimming parks um i remember being very excited earlier when uh you know we're gonna keep saying his name when Bob came and discussed that they, for the first time in many years, were going to fully staff all their lifeguards for that, and it's great to see that that has actually paid dividends.

[02:54:21] I know when I am talking to my constituents in the southern part of the county and the more rural parts of our county, our parks and recreation services that we offer in parts of the rural area are one of the most beloved and essential services and a real way that we connect to a lot of our communities in the county.

[02:54:37] So it's great to see that that is exceeding. That's a place where we're thriving. And also, I'd just like to say, you know, I learned a lot about the election security process from the outside as being the guy running for it, and then also before that the guy out there doing poll watching in my role in the party.

[02:54:55] But boy, howdy, it has been really exciting to see it from both sides. And it gives you a lot of confidence, the more on this side of the veil of government, seeing all the energy that goes into election security. So thank you all for your work. Thank you. Supervisor Calloway? The 1,409 days was, is that what you said, right, for the violations?

[02:55:16] I mean, that just baffled me when I heard that. And those had cameras early on for, what, an hour, hour and a half in time? Yeah, two times a day. Morning and afternoon. I mean, that's 40 violations a morning and 40. I mean, that's just, and I appreciate that you're saying warnings while they learn behavior, but that's behavior they should have already damn learned.

[02:55:37] And I forget what my other comment was. And that just threw me off. So I hope it just makes me wonder then, not just where we put these speed cameras in in front of what the two schools will eventually be in front of two, that it needs to be in front of more than just the two.

[02:55:56] Thank you for the report and the other information. Thank you. Supervisor Lupita-Curvin. Yes, thank you for the presentation. It was excellent. I've learned so much. And, well, I'm going to go off on photo speed cameras because that's my favorite topic.

[02:56:11] And hopefully we can get something through the legislature and for the rural areas, for the windy roads and everything. I do believe, from my understanding, is there is a way to collect the data on cars that are speeding without giving them tickets outside of the hours that we designate.

[02:56:30] I think you can do that. Am I positive? Nope. But that's my understanding when I was working with those photo speed cameras. So great job. Thank you very much. Great report, very useful and helpful information with great things going on.

[02:56:49] The one thing that hasn't been mentioned, almost touched on by Supervisor Pruitt, is not just that there was such great staffing of the parks, but the idea that you had no algae blooms or other issues with the kind of temperatures we saw this summer and the rest.

[02:57:07] Hats off. That's amazing. To Bob, young Bob, who was obviously hired in violation of child labor laws, I think. Thank you.

[02:57:27] Board, the next item is from the public. Matters on the agenda but not listed for public hearing are matters previously considered by the board or matters that are pending before the board. Do we have anyone signed up to speak? We do not. Okay. Then this brings us to our two public hearings tonight. The first being Fiscal Year 2024, Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing Grant.

[02:57:49] And this is being presented by Dr. Stacey Pethia, Assistant Director of Housing. Welcome. Good evening. I think this needs to be, can you hear me? Am I close enough? Yeah. Perfect. Good evening again, Stacey Pethia, Assistant Director of Housing.

[02:58:14] And I am here this evening to discuss a draft application that the Office of Housing is going to submit. It's for the, again, really long name that I just lost. The Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing or the Pro-Housing Grant.

[02:58:35] I will stick with Pro-Housing Grant this evening because that's easier to say. We'll go quickly over the purpose of the grant and eligible applicants. eligible activities that can be funded under the grant, and then the activities that are proposed in the grant. The pro-housing grant is being offered through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD. The purpose of it is the identification and removal of barriers to affordable housing production and preservation. Eligible applicants for the grant this round are states, local governments, metropolitan planning organizations,

[02:59:13] and multi-jurisdictional entities. There are a wide range of activities that are eligible to be funded under this grant. Really, HUD is looking for housing-forward actions to develop, evaluate, implement housing policy plans, address restrictive zoning or land uses, improve housing strategies that are already in existence, and many activities to facilitate affordable housing production and preservation.

[02:59:42] Again, huge, about two pages of eligible activities are listed in the grant, so it covers a wide variety of things. For this particular grant application, staff is recommending that the county apply and request $6.5 million total, which will, those funds would be used to fund three specific activities.

[03:00:07] The first would be the creation of an affordable rental housing revolving loan fund. Funds through this revolving loan program would be awarded through an annual competitive application and review process.

[03:00:24] To be eligible for funding, projects must conform to the county's housing policy objectives. So, in other words, they would need to include at least 20% of the units as affordable housing, affordable to families at 60% of area median income, and be affordable for a 30-year period.

[03:00:42] The projects must also meet at least one of three national objectives, which are projects that benefit low- and moderate-income persons, the projects that work to eliminate slums or blight, and projects that address an urgent community need.

[03:00:58] The loans would be provided interest-free to nonprofit developers or with a 2% simple interest rate for private market developers. As the loans are repaid, the monies would be returned to the fund to be used for future projects. This grant program follows the same regulations as the Community Development Block Grant program, with some exceptions.

[03:01:22] One of those exceptions is that as the revolving loan funds would be repaid, the county would not need to return those to HUD. They could stay with us for as long as we operated the housing fund, the revolving loan fund. Excuse me.

[03:01:41] The next activity that is proposed in the grant is the creation of a small landlord fund that would use $1 million of the requested grant funding if awarded. Loans would be provided to small landlords, and small landlords are landlords that own 10 or fewer rental units.

[03:01:59] Those could be in one building or in total in separate properties. Loans would be provided up to $20,000 per unit or up to $10,000 per project. So that would be five units in one building could be worked on at one time.

[03:02:17] Uses for the loan funds would be unit repairs or renovations, weatherization, energy efficiency upgrades affordability period would be for 15 years and in exchange for the loans landlords would agree to rent those units to either housing choice voucher holders for that 15-year period or households with incomes up to 60 percent of area median income again as those loans are repaid that funds would go back into the loan fund and be recycled and I did leave out the interest rate

[03:02:49] that would be 1% simple interest on those loans and sorry about that $435,000 of the six and a half million dollars being requested would be to support an affordable multi-rental housing development that would be a development on county-owned land over the last several years county staff from several departments have had several discussions about a few parcels that the county owns this would really look at one specific one on mill creek drive it sits between the parcel sits between the high school bonicello high school and the shopping center with the food line

[03:03:29] the funds some of those 435 000 would be used to hire a consultant who would assess the site to determine whether or not something could actually be built there total number of units could be done if a rezoning needs to happen so get all of those things together the county would then work with sorry would work to develop a request for proposals that would go out to developers to get proposals to come in to actually develop the site the remainder of the funds that

[03:04:01] does not go to the consultant would be used to support the project itself ideally helping to cover the cost of connection to water and sewer and again the project would conform with the objectives in housing Albemarle. So the units will be affordable for 30 years, available to households with incomes at 60% AMI or less. The remaining $65,000 from the $6.5 million being requested would be used for grant administration fees. A large portion of that would go towards

[03:04:38] covering an annual cost of an online application system and grant management system. We currently use that now for it used to be abrt and it's now changed its name human services funding program i believe um we currently use that now in order to add an additional program on there it would be an additional cost each year so a lot of the sixty five thousand dollars would go to cover that along with staff time to uh track compliance and reporting and that is everything i am happy to

[03:05:14] take any questions. Great. We'll go through our order. Supervisor Bell. Thank you very much. This is exciting. The term of the revolving loans, how long does a recipient have to pay it back? That would be worked out on a case-by-case basis. A lot of that would depend on the type of project it is and how much income is going to be coming in each year. Because it wouldn't take long for the grant money to be dispersed and that would be the end until the repayment started. Correct. So 10 years or whatever. Okay. Thank you very much. More to learn on that.

[03:05:48] Supervisor McHugh. Yeah, this is really exciting. I'm happy to see this. And I must admit, I read this, but I know I missed a lot in it because, anyway, I noticed that the, I guess my question is, this really would not be applicable to a single, someone who owns a single home. Correct. Okay. Because I have some of those in my district that could use fixing up and it would be but if there were multiple ones that

[03:06:21] were owned by the same person help me yeah maybe i miss out so if you if they are rental properties and they are an individual owns one single rental property that's fine they could access that small landlord fund they would just not be able to own more than 10 rental properties whether those 10 were in one single building or they were 10 single family homes okay so what if they were currently just sitting empty but could be rental that would qualify correct they don't currently have to be rental right now suppose they're just empty correct that that would also be a fine as

[03:06:59] long as the the property owner agreed to rent those units to a housing choice voucher holder or an income qualified family okay and i guess another follow-up question i have is how are people going to find out if i had someone like that in my district right could i say call stacy or yes um but the staff would be creating some marketing materials to once uh we have to get the grant first okay sure so we don't want to do any of that before we know we get some money um but yes once once once we if we were to get a grant award then there would be marketing materials

[03:07:36] created okay you'll let us know absolutely because some of us might in our district yes know some folks that's great um the other thing I'm interested in is at some point if we get this grant reaching out to schools because I had a conversation not long ago with Matt Haas with the superintendent that he was rethinking and I'm not I don't want to commit Matt but he was rethinking some of his county school property for affordable housing for teachers fire whatever So I would very much, if we get this, I think we should notify Matt.

[03:08:15] I don't know where he is on that, and I'm not trying to commit him. But we had a discussion about that a few years ago, and he indicated to me not too long ago that he was coming back to thinking about that. And schools do own some properties. Do we have a list, though, of where our county, the properties that we own?

[03:08:34] Yes, we do. I've seen the properties that the foundation, the University of Virginia Foundation owns. Sure. But could you send that out again? We would be happy to. Yeah. Now I want to make sure that I do what you're asking. You're asking for us to provide the Board of Supervisors with a listing of county-owned property.

[03:08:53] Yes. Yes. And I remember very clearly getting, because we requested the property that the University of Virginia Foundation owns, and I remember going through that page after page after page. But I don't remember the other one, Jeff. So if you could send out to everybody, that would be great.

[03:09:09] Yes, ma'am. All right. And that's all I had. Thank you. This is a great time. This is exciting. Supervisor Pruitt. Thank you. So I am also very excited about a lot of the things that you brought before us. I want to begin by just kind of situating this within where it fits within the universe of the possible.

[03:09:31] I know we're applying for round two of pro-housing. Is there, would you be able to generally characterize what the type of grants that did see award in round one looked like and how we might rack and stack to them? They have not really, I don't have that list.

[03:09:49] I've not been able to find it. I can say that this is a highly competitive grant. There's a lot of money that's been put into this by the federal government and everybody wants a piece of it. So it's going to be tough. Sure. I know that we have an incredibly competitive team.

[03:10:08] I just hope that the federal government sees it in us as well. I want to first, I'm not sure I caught the $5 million fund, the revolving loan fund that's not for small landlords. I think you said it, but is that a zero-interest loan or is that a low-interest loan?

[03:10:25] It's both. So it would be a zero-interest loan to nonprofit developers and then I believe I said 2% simple interest for market rate. And the small landlord, I think you said, is a 1% simple interest, which is still, like, radically beating the market.

[03:10:42] It is free money when you compare it to cost of capital, but sure. Thank you. So I want to begin by just saying this is something I'm really excited about. I know when I talk with you sometimes and when I've shared with the board the idea of a revolving loan fund, either as part of what we do with our overall housing investment fund or a second part of it, or I even have suggested what if that was the whole way we did it, can be very valuable.

[03:11:09] It helps us avoid a lot of the issues that we're seeing with our LIHTC crisis that I've been talking about for the last few board meetings, because when LIHTC is being built by nonprofits who are relying heavily on a fund like this, what they know is that they can revisit that well in a recurring way.

[03:11:27] So it creates kind of a self-watering field there. So you have a self-sustaining pool of affordable housing. It can be really awesome. It can be scalable in a way, especially when you actually start getting that minor, but getting actual interest on it.

[03:11:44] It is a pool that naturally scales. It would be very exciting if we can actually fund this. I do have some questions about identification of owners, and this is maybe a question that's more complicated than we need to get into here. but I know when I've talked with housing advocates at the state level sometimes about things that are based on, this was specifically in the context of an anti-oligopoly law, but they will sometimes say, actually, it's very challenging to talk about who owns what. To use a very simple real world example, he'll be tickled to hear that I referenced this, right? Like, I almost ran against Jerry

[03:12:18] Miller, who owns a lot of property. Does he own a lot of property? No. The Miller organization owns a lot of property. And I Love Seville Management owns a lot of property. And maybe one or two pieces of property are owned in his name but i guess i'm saying how how do we pierce those veils or is that just a question that we have not come to yet in this process we have not come to that yet okay um i will say it's it's many of the the the landlords that we work with through the housing choice voucher program are those small landlords um and they do own one or two properties um so it's it's going to take a bit to figure it out but but we will we will do that if we get the funding

[03:12:57] Sure. And just as a closing round on this, something that does make that problem a lot easier for our staff, so long as we're thinking legislative things and maybe put this in the back pocket for a future year, tenant registries, or sorry, landlord registries, are kind of critical when we start talking about who owns what and if we're going to have things based on who owns what.

[03:13:20] Realistically, at the end of the day, someone can just lie to us, and it's very hard to catch them unless we have some kind of registration process for landlords, some kind of licensing process. So a lot of these systematic things we do that look at landlords become borderline non-enforceable unless we have a way of tracking that.

[03:13:37] We don't have a way to do that now, and it's probably DOA at the moment in the General Assembly, but I just mention that for the board's kind of awareness and thinking. Thank you. Supervisor Calloway. Yeah, this is, as others have expressed, this is exciting that we are trying to get some more quivers.

[03:13:55] As we've all heard Keith Smith say that it's not a silver bullet that's going to solve this. It's a silver buckshot, and this is clearly more bucks in the shot, I guess. Is that the rest of it? Yes, that's right. The county-owned land that you referenced over, is the idea for that money is to get it all the way through the rezoning or just up to the rezoning request?

[03:14:20] That would be determined if we were to get the money. The idea right now is it could certainly use some of those funds to get through the rezoning. Or if necessary, we could try to get the county to do that part itself. I mean, I see the benefit of understanding of the properties, what's possible, et cetera.

[03:14:40] But, yeah, I guess for future conversation, if, you know, because we don't have the money yet, if we get the money, to get that all the way through the rezoning process would probably be the ideal. so that a developer could then pick up and just do the project. So just throwing that out there.

[03:14:59] I guess I didn't realize we owned that little parcel there between. And that's actually the county, not the schools? Correct. So the county owns that property. I didn't know that. And my only other comment was, well, it was mentioned about the low rates versus the market rates, so understood on what that's all about.

[03:15:17] So good stuff. Thank you. Thank you. Supervisor LePistro-Crick. So we're talking about $6.5 million in grants that are available, correct, that we have to apply for approximately? Correct.

[03:15:32] So there's a hundred-some million available, so this is what we would be asking for. But we would be asking for the $6.5 million. Correct. And then $5 million of that would be on a revolving basis. Okay, so we help the builders bill something, then that money is eventually returned and it goes back into the pot.

[03:15:56] We can use it again for more housing. Okay. And could you go to page six, please, if I can remember my question? Okay, I had a question and now it slips my mind.

[03:16:21] But, you know, are these for rentals or that was it? Are these for rentals or homeowners? No, these are for rental properties. These are all, okay, so everything we're talking about, we're talking about rental properties. Correct. None of these, none of the monies that we're applying for will apply to home ownership, but just to rentals.

[03:16:42] Correct. Okay, good. Thank you very much. That's all. Thank you. Do you have a question? You go ahead. Okay. Yeah, I'm, you know, real excited about this opportunity. Not, and not particularly familiar with the grant process for this type of grant, but i know a lot of grants that i've written there's been a lot of emphasis on assessment and how you report and i guess that is that already in the front end of this or do you have to explain how you're going to evaluate things and and the marketing materials you mentioned i thought that was a great point to bring up and i and i want this to be as competitive as possible because

[03:17:18] obviously we all want this to be successful so just looking at those if if if the county is awarded grant funding there would be an opportunity there would be a time period that we would provide more details to hud we do not need to do that the evaluation process doesn't look at whether you've whether you've actually started to look at how you're going to market it or how you're going to assess it and things like that correct okay just wants to know what you're going to use it for okay great um i'll ask if there are any more questions before we open one more quick one at the risk of

[03:17:54] mentioning this topic. So in my district I have a moderately sized apartment complex, multiple buildings apartment complex, that is absolutely affordable and trying to stay affordable with a failing septic system. And I saw something on here about repair or septic. Could that, something like that that one of these grants be utilized for a situation like that um absolutely the the

[03:18:29] affordable rental housing revolving loan fund could most definitely be used for that purpose okay all right i'm going to send you absolutely get in touch with you and assuming we get this this is really great um and what did i miss the timeline of when you're expecting to hear back on this maybe i didn't miss it the the applications are due october 15th yeah um they they estimate having um announcing awards at the end of this year so in december um however i will say if you

[03:19:04] remember um earlier this year uh not hud um habitat had submitted uh an application for another round of pro-housing grants they were um submitted in september the i believe the announce award announcements were supposed to happen next month um habitat has recently received news from hud that they should not expect those announcements until maybe january so um i would say the the announcement of this award might get pushed back back until next year interesting very good thank

[03:19:42] you maybe i'll have some good news on my septic thank you thank you board i want to open the public hearing at this point do we have anyone signed up we do not then i will close the public hearing and the matter is back before the board i i just like to look around the go through the order supervisor malik any additional comments no thank you supervisor mckeel no thank you i'm fun. Supervisor Pruitt? I like free money. Let's get it. Supervisor Galloway? Also. Supervisor

[03:20:17] Lopisto Curley? No, thank you. Okay. Board, we are looking for a motion in the form of attachment B, I believe. A resolution, that is, in support. I move that the board adopt the attached resolution an attachment be? Second. We have a motion from Supervisor Galloway, a second from Supervisor McKeel. Without objection, the clerk will call the roll. Ms. Lapista-Kirtley? Aye. Ms. Malick? Yes.

[03:20:50] Ms. McKeel? Yes. Mr. Pruitt? Aye. Mr. Andrews? Yes. Mr. Galloway? Yes. Great. Thank you. And we will wait with anticipation. Much success, we hope. Board, this brings us to our second public hearing this evening sp 2024 6 piedmont grounds management landscape contractor and this is being led by

[03:21:16] kevin mccollum senior planner too welcome mr mccollum good evening chair andrews members of the board my name is kevin mccollum i'm a senior planner with the planning division of almar county community development and tonight i'll be giving staff's presentation for piedmont grounds management this is a special use permit application for a landscape contractor the subject property for this request is located at 4842 Richmond Road. It's about a half mile from the Fluvanna County

[03:21:55] border. The property and surrounding area is zoned rural areas and subject to the entrance corridor guidelines. The surrounding area is mostly rural area residential with single-family detached houses. This slide shows the existing conditions of the site from Richmond Road. The property is a little over three acres. About a half of an acre has been developed with a class A country store formerly known as the Boyd Tavern Market, and briefly Lakeside Market. To the right of this building is the proposed location of the landscape contractor business. It's mostly undeveloped,

[03:22:34] but some of that land has been cleared. On the screen here is the conceptual plan for the development. The proposal is to establish a landscape contractor business on the site. It includes a storage building with an office, parking area, and landscape materials storage area.

[03:22:54] Typical business operations include employees arriving at the site in the morning, gathering materials and equipment for off-site work during the day, and then returning to the site in the evening to drop off equipment and materials and leave in their own personal vehicles. This is the illustrative plan.

[03:23:14] So in addition to the building, parking area, and storage area, this plan shows entrance corridor street trees and a 30-foot screening buffer. The use buffer is something staff is recommending as a condition of approval. The use will be required to be screened, but the 30-foot buffer and 50-foot setback are additional regulations.

[03:23:34] Given the proposal is in the entrance corridor, the development will be required to go through architectural review board review, which will review the proposed landscaping and the building design. Since this is a new commercial use, the project will also need a site development plan and Virginia erosion and stormwater management program plan.

[03:23:55] Approvals from the health department will be needed for proposed rain fields or wells, and VDOT approval will be required for the proposed entrance. At this time, these reviewers and staff have provided no concerns or objections. The special use permit was reviewed under the factors for consideration as outlined in the zoning ordinance.

[03:24:17] Generally, staff believes that the proposed landscape contractor will not be detrimental to adjacent parcels, not change the character of the nearby area, will be in harmony with the zoning district and is consistent with the comprehensive plan. These are the recommended conditions.

[03:24:36] The first is pretty standard development of the site must be in general accord with the conceptual plan. This is to ensure the buildings, parking areas, and storage areas are in the same general location as provided. The second is to apply industrial setbacks and buffer requirements.

[03:24:53] So this condition is consistent with Arbor Life, which was the one previously approved landscape contractor. that we had approved in the rural areas and then the last condition is to address some previously unapproved clearing that was done in the wpo buffer specifically and this condition is to ensure that the applicant replants that important natural resource so to conclude staff found that the proposed use is consistent with the comprehensive plan and no detrimental impacts to adjoining properties are anticipated staff has no additional concerns that aren't addressed by

[03:25:29] the proposed conditions or existing regulations so staff recommends approval of the special use permit application with the conditions as recommended with that are there any questions i have a suggested motion on the following slide thank you thank you we'll go through our order supervisor malik oh thank you from the maps uh i guess my only concern is crowding the driveway of the next neighbor so that's something engineers will have to work on but it's as if we're pushing all the traffic right over onto somebody else so yeah the applicant can touch on that further but

[03:26:06] essentially they propose that entrance at the best possible location based on the grade and site distance so it kind of comes up to a hill there so they i think they felt that was the best location v dot will need to approve that entrance with the site plan so you know open to further discussion on that as needed and if i'm looking at gis correct or your map correctly there There are still six or seven parcels before the county line to the east.

[03:26:33] Yes. Because another big farm beyond there. Okay. Is in Florida. Thank you. Thank you. Supervisor McHugh. No questions. Thank you. Supervisor Pruitt. I have no questions. Thank you. Supervisor Galloway. The building, the structure, is the idea the equipment would be inside the building or would it also be stored?

[03:26:52] You mentioned people come in the morning, pick stuff up, leave, and come back. But the stuff that's there from end of shift to beginning of next shift is all parked inside. Yep. In the applicant's narrative, they discuss, you know, the use of the building. My understanding is the majority of what's in that building will be equipment, you know, vehicles that they use, lawnmowers, things like that.

[03:27:13] But there's also that storage area for, you know, materials to be stored outside. But my understanding is that big equipment will be in the building. Thank you. Supervisor LaPiesto-Curney. And my understanding is that the gas pumps and the small market, those are all being removed?

[03:27:32] no the site will to be developed as a landscape contractor and it will actually be separate from the existing class a country store so that will remain um so this site plan theoretically would be just a site plan for the landscape contractor use um and that class a country store is separate you could kind of think about it as being on a separate parcel it is all one parcel but that is going to continue they did receive a recently a approved zoning clearance to operate that use so i'm not sure if it's open yet but they did receive zoning clearance to open that

[03:28:09] class a country store oh to reopen it okay which would be great because i remember 17 years ago when liz was a great cook and they had really good food there which is not far from my home so That's why it was so important to me. The other question is, will the gas, because there was a gas pump there, gas, will that be removed?

[03:28:31] Because I'm concerned about it because it was there. It was used years and years ago. And any leakage or anything like that, any contamination? The applicant can touch on that further. My understanding is that the gas pumps will remain and won't be removed as part of this application.

[03:28:50] Okay. Thank you. That's all. Thank you. And I have no questions of staff. So with that, I think we can open the public hearing. No one signed up to speak, but the applicant is here, and so you'll have an opportunity to speak.

[03:29:08] And the rules will be read by Vice Chair McKeel. I'll just read those for you. Applicants are limited to a 10-minute presentation of their proposal and are allowed a five-minute rebuttal at the close of the public hearing. Timekeeping is conducted through a timer and a light system at the podium.

[03:29:24] The green light will go on when you begin speaking, which begins your allotted time. The yellow light indicates you have one minute to finish speaking. The red light indicates your time has expired, and you will be asked to end your comments. All comments are live streamed, recorded, and published on the Almar County website. Welcome, Ms. Schlein.

[03:29:41] Thank you. Good evening, Chair Andrews and members of the board. My name is Kelsey Schlein. I'm a planner with SHIMP Engineering. Let me drag this up here. You have half of a presentation.

[03:30:11] All right. I am here tonight representing Jordan Kaufman, who is the property owner and also the owner of Piedmont Grounds Management. And he's here with me tonight. So he's available for any questions that you might have, specifics to the business.

[03:30:29] But we're excited to present this proposal to you, and especially because of the zoning text amendment back in 2020, which gives us the opportunity to even have this type of business in the rural area. So really excited to bring this before you tonight.

[03:30:45] And I know Jordan is excited to hopefully have a permanent home for his landscape contracting business where he has ownership control of the property itself. So as Kevin described, thank you for the staff report, by the way, This property is located approximately 1,400 feet east of the intersection of 250 and Union Mills Road, has direct frontage on Route 250 in very close proximity to I-64 and exit 129.

[03:31:17] This is a really ideal location for Jordan and his business and to be able to serve his clients, his residential and commercial clients, who are primarily located in Charlottesville and Albemarle. So a little bit of background about the business.

[03:31:33] Been in business for 21 years. They have plus or minus seven employees depending on the season and demand. They serve both residential and commercial clients who are primarily located in Charlottesville and Albemarle. And they're looking for a permanent home in a convenient location where they currently operate their business.

[03:31:52] That property is for sale. And so we have hoping to locate here and so that Jordan can have some stability and certainty in his location and business operations. So Kevin went over this, but this is the property looking east.

[03:32:11] And so the site of the former Boyd Tavern Market, all of those structures are proposed to remain, including the gas pumps. I believe Jordan's been working on a kind of a temporary sealing of the underground storage tanks, and those have been temporarily sealed.

[03:32:30] But I think he's hoping to one day operate the gas pumps again at some point in the future, if he can get all the permits and make that happen. So this is the portion of the site where the proposed building and parking area will be located largely clear.

[03:32:48] and looking at our concept plan here. So as far as the entrance location, the grade here, this is the low point on the property. We're going up grade here, and there is a crest in 250. And so we are just trying to get to the highest point on the property so that we have the greatest visibility and site distance for ease of access and to comply with VDOT standards to get in and out of the site.

[03:33:13] So that's why we put this entrance in this location. But obviously, we'll continue working on that through the site plan process and final VDOT approvals. Some other elements of the concept plan that I wanted to call out.

[03:33:31] So it is a condition of approval to have a mitigation planting done in the stream buffer. A prior owner of the property had cleared this portion of the property and then also had cleared some vegetation within that stream buffer area.

[03:33:47] And so with a future site plan on this property, we would propose mitigation planting, which is pretty robust. And one note on that, I will say that the conditions reference 1406, 17-1406, and we should be referencing 17-604 in the approved conditions.

[03:34:06] I just wanted to note that. But so we will be replanting all in this area, and Jordan certainly has the guys and the equipment and the resources to do it. And some other elements of the concept plan that we've worked through with staff to get here before you tonight and have made some modifications over time is having the industrial setbacks apply.

[03:34:32] So we do have a 50-foot side setback adjacent to the rural areas districts that surround this property. And we'll also have a 30-foot use buffer. And so that limits grading, land-disturbing activity, buildings, et cetera, all within 30 feet of the property line.

[03:34:53] So that's kind of going to be a no-disturbance area to ensure that we've kind of limiting impacts and keeping all the activity on the site really internal into the central portions of the site. We have the landscape materials storage sited behind the building.

[03:35:08] This is an entrance corridor, as Kevin noted. And so that will all be screened and relegated and not visible from Route 250. As far as operational details, there is no retail component to this application.

[03:35:28] Employees come to the site in the morning. They come in their personal vehicles. They get in company vehicles. They go out to their job site for the day. At the end of the day, they come back, drop off all their equipment, and then get in their personal vehicles, head out for the evening.

[03:35:47] And so as far as storage on the site, in the building itself, primarily mowers, company equipment, all that, material storage on site, we're really just looking at mulch and gravel. There's really no other large amount of other materials that are stored on site as part of this business.

[03:36:07] And this is just an equipment building precedent. Obviously, this is subject to ARB review. And so we'll be, as Jordan moves through that process, adding some elements here to work within the ARB guidelines and avoiding blank facades, having robust landscaping along Route 250.

[03:36:30] but just kind of wanted to put a precedent of this is going to look pretty much like a lot of farm structures that you would see in the rural areas of Albemarle County. It's just serving this business that requires a special use permit. The consistency with the comprehensive plan, this proposal is directly consistent with the comprehensive plan.

[03:36:50] And the 2015 comp plan provided the recommendation that ultimately resulted in the 2020 zoning text amendment that enables us to be before you tonight and enables Jordan to have his business in the rural areas of Albemarle County. So we're appreciative of the opportunity. And if there's any additional questions or comments, we'd be happy to respond. Thank you. Thank you. Supervisor Malek. I do not have any questions. Thank you. Thank you. Supervisor McKeel. Thank you, Kelsey. No questions.

[03:37:18] Supervisor Pruitt. I have no questions. Thank you. Supervisor Galloway. Thank you, Kelsey. I'm all it. Okay, I'm breaking the trend. I'm just very happy to hear you're retaining the little market, and if that ever opens, and frankly, if you can get Liz back, that'd be great, but the little market, if you can open that up, and then really, eventually, if you can open up the gas pumps, one or two, I think the neighborhood, they're just going to go crazy wild for that whole idea, because that's exactly what they've had in the past and they'd like.

[03:37:54] Crazy wild. Crazy wild. That's right. And I've seen them. They do go crazy wild. So anyway, thank you. Thank you. Since you mentioned the gas pumps, I'm just going to ask the question about the, you said material storage, but I would imagine as a landscape contractor, you go through a lot of fuel in a day.

[03:38:16] And whether the gas pumps or the storage tanks would be used for any of that or whether it's all stored in some other way. I'm not sure. Yeah, and Jordan, feel free to come and speak to this if you'd like. Yeah, this is a...

[03:38:31] Come on up and identify yourself. Thank you. For the folks at home to hear. Jordan Kaufman. We use bulk tanks from Holtzman Oil storage tanks that they provide with us, so it's all contained and stored properly. They come and fill weekly for us.

[03:38:47] Okay. I just wondered whether there was any appeal to having existing. Eventually, yeah, but I think it would be a little too congested for us to come in there and fill with those, so we'll just use separate self-contained tanks. Sounds good. Thank you. And I appreciate the replanting of the buffer, which I realize was a prior owner.

[03:39:09] This water feature next door is just a dammed pond where the previous stream had run through. Yeah, and it was permitted a long time ago. Right. Okay. Thank you. I have no other questions. Just a note, while Jordan is here, I am so impressed.

[03:39:27] You started this business when you were 16 years old. Yes, ma'am. I was pretty young. Wow. I can't tell you how impressed I am. This is part-time. I worked at UPS for 12 years and figured I'd take a leap of faith and worked out well. Very cool.

[03:39:43] Yeah, the Delaney's are selling Moore's Creek, so I need to find somewhere else to go. Yeah, just congratulations. That's really cool. It said 20 years in business up there. I'm like, either that was his dad or he was in diapers. I guess it was the latter. I stole it in diapers and I'll finish this in diapers.

[03:40:00] I was going to say, he came to Al Marl in diapers. Five minutes for rebuttal. No rebuttal, but actually just one quick clarification. I just double-checked myself on the code. The 1406 is correct.

[03:40:16] Yeah, the 17406 is actually the one we want to reference. We have the correct reference. We have the correct one. Thank you. I was worried about needing to make that correction. Well, I'm hearing not a lot of questions or further, so I'm going to close the public hearing.

[03:40:34] The matter is back before the board. I will go through the order real quickly. Supervisor Malik, in addition to Supervisor McKeel, Supervisor Bruit. You know, I attended the community meeting for this, and I honestly expected some pushback just because of the location. There's a historic and well-loved community asset involved.

[03:40:52] I was expecting to see some pushback, and there were a lot of people at the community meeting. um and frankly there there were a few concerns but mr kaufman i thought handled it immensely well and really laid a lot of the community concerns and the thing that we did here was a lot of people saying well i'm glad that there's going to be some kind of economic activity in this area i'm glad that there's going to be something that we're actually got to potentially be able to use it's going to be able to help side of the communities out here um and i was frankly surprised and really excited um and i thought it was uh really impressive just seeing how the community actually did support this in its way.

[03:41:25] So I am also going to be supportive. Thank you all. Supervisor Calloway? I'm all set. And Supervisor LePistro-Curtley? I'm very supportive. As I am as well. So we're looking for a motion. It's in the Scottsville District. Oh, yes. Do we have that for the screen? Because I know we mentioned it.

[03:41:41] We mentioned that we had it for the screen. No, we don't? Okay. It's coming up. It's coming up. There you go. Bless. Yes, I would like to move to adopt the resolution attached to the staff report as attachment E. Second. We have a motion from Supervisor Pruitt, second from Supervisor Lupisto-Curtley.

[03:41:57] Without objection, if the clerk will call the roll. Ms. Lupisto-Curtley? Aye. Ms. Mallett? Yes. Ms. McKeel? Yes. Mr. Pruitt? Aye. Mr. Andrews? Yes. Mr. Galloway? Yes. That was easy. Thank you. Congratulations.

[03:42:13] Yeah, congratulations. Great. Try to find Liz. So, there you go. But she needs dinner every night. Every night, right. So, good customer. really good customer uh board this brings us to item 17 matters from the board committee reports and other matters not listed on the agenda um and i believe we have uh from well we go through but the last one is surprised if he still currently has a motion so uh supervisor malik do you have anything thank you um i guess what a couple things i was just thinking uh wrote down in my

[03:42:51] So, Map 46, Parcel 26 is the school site that was offered as a proffer in Brookhill. So, that might be something that could be used for possible, this housing grant thing if it comes up. So, there's something in the Rio District that, no, it's in Ravana, sorry.

[03:43:11] Excuse me. That might be good. Secondly, someone mentioned, oh, no, Stacy mentioned about the Habitat HUD grant and how the award has been postponed. which jogged my memory that last spring, when this award was before the board, there was a request, which I thought had been accepted, that the contingency for getting the HUD award was going to be removed.

[03:43:40] And then it wasn't. And the discussion was, well, if it turns out there's another law and postponement from HUD, then we need to bring it back before the board so that the money can be released and it can get to work, which is like a million five, that had been awarded to Habitat but not yet appropriate.

[03:43:59] So I would like to put that back onto the agenda so that we can get that reconsidered quickly and not all of a sudden have six more months get lost. Because I remember Ned affirming it during the discussion that, well, we can just get it back on the agenda if we don't get it fixed today.

[03:44:17] So that's what I'm requesting is that we can get somebody to dig around and find out how to get that back on the agenda it for consideration. And the last thing, I sent an email for your information about the Flavana's request to reach out to DCR and designate or have DCR do this study to designate the hardware as a scenic river in the Flavana part. And they have asked if Albemarle would like to participate for the Albemarle part. And so thank you, Attorney Herrick, for sharing out the previous considerations that came in an email today.

[03:44:52] So I would ask you all to, if you have other questions about this, let me know so I can dig up the answers so that we can have something ready for October to consider for going forward. So whether we would send a letter of support to accompany the Flavana request, as is seen in the attachments where we have sent previous ones, or whether the county wants to join in and have both segments be done at the same time.

[03:45:22] then we'll know how to go forward all right and the clerks can figure out a way to list it on the agenda somewhere all right thank you supervisor mckeel um i don't have anything myself i'm just going to push back a little bit at ann to remind you that that land that's proffered the school division and the county that we've already seen drawings on how the that property can take the Lambs Lane campus, bus station, car wash, and storage for their school buses.

[03:45:57] I thought that was on the west side of 29. Maybe we're talking about different pieces of property. I'm talking about right in the heart of Brook Hill, where this elementary school building was going. Oh, good, where the elementary school was going, because I'm talking about the other side. No, I was not trying to preempt that, but I thought that would be, you know, think about this one, too.

[03:46:13] No, that's okay, because they said that's too small for a school. Okay, 27 acres or something is what it is, yeah. Yeah, anyway. Anything else? Great. That's it. Supervisor Pro? Just a few things, board.

[03:46:28] So this Monday I had the pleasure of making it down to Scottsville to join my colleagues down at the town of Scottsville for their regular business meeting and also have been in some early preliminary discussions with the chair and vice chair about how we might be exploring potentially having another maybe recurring on a biannual basis, that is, every other year, joint meeting with the town of Scottsville.

[03:46:56] They are interested in seeing how we might be able to schedule that and what might take place. I know something that spins particularly on the town's mind is how we do emergency management and disaster coordination with the county. They highlight that basically anything that a major crisis that happens all up and down 20 is going to directly impact their own operations significantly, and that is something that they are eager to figure out how they can work through with us in the future.

[03:47:22] I also did this Thursday, happened to be in Richmond for work and had the opportunity to attend an event hosted by I believe it's called the Global Leadership Council Conference and was surprised to see my colleague and friend, Supervisor Galloway there, so I'll let him talk maybe in more depth about it, but a lot of great learnings for kind of the role that Virginia plays in the global economy and how things that are happening in Djibouti can really touch us right back here in Albemarle County.

[03:47:49] Thank you. Supervisor Galloway. My takeaway from attending that was that just that the work that's being done here, which at INGIC and the intelligence community, is certainly on the radar plus of what Senator Warner, who was the keynote speaker there, was highlighting as major concerns from around the world.

[03:48:12] So if others are interested in what else was there, there's some follow-up materials and stuff that we walked with that we could all share. And I think just to piggyback on what Supervisor Malik mentioned about the Brookhill site, because the schools did pick the North Point site for the elementary school, because there was also, I thought, an area, I don't know if it ended up still being proffered or not, but a smaller site out there in Habitat when that was all done.

[03:48:45] That in that area, I could have swore I remember a small site being considered initially, where if they chose to put a school, it would have to level up. it had to be levels because it wasn't a real big expansive site but if that site is still proffered because i remember having the conversation going well can it be proffered to the schools and the county does it have to be proffered specifically to the schools because at the time the schools were already saying they weren't interested right and i can't remember now if that remained ended up being a proffer or not if it did then that would be a prime site it would be for that type of grant work type stuff too i think it was like six acres and i would just say that i have a

[03:49:24] copy of that proffer at home or somewhere in my laptop um and there's a timeline on on accessing these proffers and it had something to do with and i don't want to but something to do with after the first occupancy we should go back and take a look at that i think it was very clearly laid out that if it were not going to be used for a school and there were x number of years for the schools to decide, which they've already decided, so that's taken care of now, then it could be turned into more affordable units, which is great.

[03:49:56] And Supervisor, please take care of it. I have nothing. Thank you very much. No, I do have something. Excuse me. I thought we were going. No, you're the last on the list, but I'm going to follow you with just a little sum up. I would like to make a motion that we endorse the St. John family life and fitness center grant application uh to the commonwealth history fund second we have a motion from supervisor lapisto kirtley second from supervisor mikhiel uh is there any discussion

[03:50:34] without objection that's the call roll miss lapisto kirtley hi miss mallet yes miss mikhiel yes mr pruitt hi mr andrews yes mr galloway yes great and i thank you very much for it very much i appreciate it um i hope it's successful me too and with respect to some of these other matters that were brought up i hope that uh we can learn more about what we would need to do to join in with the hardware river scenic designation i'm interested in that good and um i'm also of course we're working towards trying to figure out when we can schedule a meeting with the scottsville

[03:51:13] town council but an important part of that is to understand that you mentioned your emergency management what agenda topics uh particularly interested to put focused on so yeah if you could provide that that has been related to council and they are working on getting us a list thank you okay thank you thank you very much um county executive is there anything further mr richardson uh just one thing board and you'll get an email on this probably tomorrow evening

[03:51:42] um trevor henry myself christy shiflett jacob sumner uh we are we will be traveling to pittsburgh for the icma national conference and that conference starts saturday morning mr sumner miss shiflett will both be presenting with um dr cheryl bailey from virginia tech she will be here in October to talk about the work that she does with our finance team. Dr. Bailey and Mr. Sumner

[03:52:21] and Ms. Shiflett will be presenting at our national conference on the work that they do. I will be presenting on Saturday at the national conference with two professors at UNC Chapel Hill and we'll be presenting on the work that we do on board orientation, orienting new board members. I will also be presenting with a city manager from North Carolina who will also be providing some information. So we will have a large contingency at the conference working with both Virginia Tech and UNC Chapel Hill. And so we also will be traveling with our city, city of Charlottesville

[03:52:59] comrades, and we'll be eating dinner with them on Sunday night. And Sam will have a contingency probably three or four folks so we'll have a nice dinner together on Sunday night mr. Henry's put together some stuff for us lots of education on Saturday Sunday Monday this wall will be back here working in the county executive's office so she she'll be staying thing here locally while we while we go for our national conference we're really excited about getting to do that So thank you for your support.

[03:53:31] It's a great opportunity. I'm thrilled. Oh, very good. Yes. Excellent. Well, board, we will adjourn to our next meeting, which is October 2nd, 2024, here at 1 p.m. in the auditorium. Opportunities for the public to access and participate in that meeting are posted on the Albemarle County website, on the Board of Supervisors' homepage, and on the Albemarle County calendar.

[03:53:53] Participation will include the opportunity to comment on those matters for which comments from the public will be received. Thank you, and good evening.

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