February 10, 2020 Board Meeting Summary and Updates

We had a long but very productive Board of Supervisors meeting on Monday, Feb. 10, 2020! We heard from many, many people, and took actions to continue to promote business growth and better protect the citizens of our county. Below is a summary of actions we took. If you want more information from the full board agenda, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

• I offered the motion, which passed unanimously, to appoint myself, District Three Supervisor Don Matthews, key county staff, Ron Hudgins (representing Kyanite), and businessmen and woman Sandra Moss, Keith Steger, Pete Kapuscinski, and Gary Cline to the newly-appointed Buckingham Business Development Committee. Zoning and Planning Administrator and Community Development Director Nicci Edmondston will serve as chairman of this facility. I am very proud of this initiative that Supervisor Matthews and I have been working on over the past several weeks. As I said Monday night, in Buckingham, though we face challenges like any other rural Virginia locality, we have lots to be excited for, and that is our upcoming review and rewrite of the Comprehensive Plan, which guides our future and details what we want the county to look like; the great potential of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, especially with regards to the gas tap; and the new position that Nicci Edmondston is filling in terms of her role in growing our economic development.
• We graciously accepted another $200,000 donation from CAT Action Team to go toward efforts to improve our current Animal Control Facility.
• Katie Lewis, who lives on Knights View Lane in the subdivision between the high school and middle school off of High School Road, proposed that the county take in the private road into the VDOT State Roadway System. VDOT will review this and report back.
• My motion to adopt a resolution in honor and memory of the late Sallie Atkinson Mowbray passed unanimously.
• The board unanimously adopted a motion I offered to allow the Sheriff’s Office to use a small portion of the former Love Landfill off of Andersonville Road for the purposes of a Shooting Range for only law enforcement officers. See details on the proposal on page 69 here. I visited all 20-plus homes that would be closest to the proposed shooting range along Andersonville Road, and an overwhelming majority were supportive of the Shooting Range, but some were concerned about noise. We did not vote on any funding or funding mechanisms, but only to allow permission to use the property (county owned) for this purpose. See below for answers to questions you all who I visited over the weekend posed.

I would like to thank you for the support you are giving to the Sheriff’s Office and the time you’ve taking to speak with the citizens along Andersonville Rd. This email is to address your concerns about the proposed firing range. 

The noise issue will be dampened greatly by the 12’ feet tall berms and the trees surrounding the range. The closest residence to the range is 718 yards away. At that distance, only a faint “pop” will be heard from each round fired. No training at the proposed range will violate the county noise ordinance. Aside from building an indoor shooting range, the design of the range is the best we can do to eliminate as much noise as possible. As for notifying the residents surrounding the range when is in use. The standard operating procedure is to place a red flag and signage indicating “Range In Use” at the front entrance to the landfill on Andersonville Rd.  

All Sheriff’s Deputies are issued a pistol (40 cal.), patrol rifle (223 cal.) and a shotgun (12 Ga). As directed by DCJS, each Deputy most qualify with all three firearms. Firearms qualification will take place 4 times a year that will also include night time qualification. However, specialized firearms training will be conducted as well. This type of training will include training with other Law Enforcement Agencies such as Virginia State Police and Conservation Police as well as Animal Control Officers. Other types of range use will consist of test firing firearms that have been repaired prior to re-issue and required firearms re-qualification once a Deputy has returned to duty after an injury. Also testing of new firearms and ammunition. In the event a new Deputy is hired, that Deputy will have to qualify with all three firearms prior to duty assignment or prior to attending the Police training academy. 

Unless things change in the future, only Law Enforcement and Animal Control Officers will be training on the range and a DCJS certified firearms instructor will be on site during all range use. According to EPA guidelines, no vapor barrier is needed unless we decide to construct a permanent structure that will be inhabited by humans. 

As to lead deposits at the range, the EPA does not consider lead discharged into dirt berms as hazardous waste until the range is no longer in use and the lead is not cleaned up. A lead abatement process needs to be in place in the event the range is shut down for whatever reason. The EPA has addressed this issue in the Best Management Practices guidelines. This abatement can be handled in a few different ways. First, a lead abatement company can be hired to separate the lead from the soil. Once cleaned up the soil will be redeposited on the berms and the lead sold to a recycling center. Average cost for an abatement company is upwards of $30,000 for berms containing at least 1 million rounds of ammunition. At the current staff of the Sheriff’s Office, it would take approximately 20 years before the agency would fire a million rounds into the soil. Second option is to rent a shakerscreener on an 8 to 10 year interval and use county employees as well as county equipment to recover the lead and redeposit the soil. This will  allow for the county to sell the lead to a recycle center. Rental costs for the shaker varies. Third option is to purchase our own shaker and use county equipment and manpower to clean the berms as needed. The cost of a shaker the size we would need is approximately $12,000.

• The board approved Stephanie Rainey Roach, a realtor and former construction business owner, to serve on the Board of Zoning Appeals, representing the Maysville District. I am proud to have nominated her.
• The board made additional appointments to our Ad Hoc Noise Ordinance Committee, which include Supervisor Joe Chambers and Supervisor Donnie Bryan, the sheriff, citizen Eddie Slagle, and other county staff. We have heard from you on this subject and are taking action.
• During discussion on inviting the School Board to a joint meeting at 5 p.m. on March 18, 2020, I noted that I would like school officials, not only to bring budgetary plans and narratives, but also to offer the Board of Supervisors insight into their past and foretasted division enrollment of students, along with efforts for all schools to reach full accreditation. I think these factors are crucial and vital when planning ahead for the future and budgeting. I am very much-pro education and I think public education is the great equalizer, and I want to see the successes of our schools and how they can be aided as well. I look forward to a robust conversation with the school board in March.

• During the VDOT portion of the meeting, I brought up the following road issues:

Median sign down on 15 head north at Sprouse’s Corner

Walton’s bridge status on 602

Red Road project (the other half of the roadway will have to come from Rural Rustic funds, which I plan on putting forth for consideration in the Six Year Improvement Plan).

Rough patches and pot holes on Spencer road at Ranson Road and at bridge on Spencer road 

Width of bridge over Rosney Creek. VDOT says the bridge was built to VDOT Specs.

• Ten people spoke during the public comment period. Topics included our Second Amendment Rights, which I support, the solid waste facilities, the new library, litter and junk cars, and the Colonial Pipeline improvement project that is resulting in the detour this week.

Other items

CTE & Electives Open House –Buckingham County High School is having a CTE and Electives Open House for 8th graders and their parents on Wednesday, February 12, 2020, from 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM. Click on the Read More link for details.

Buckingham Preschool Registration — Buckingham Preschool is holding its registration on Friday, March 13, 2020, and Friday, March 20, 2020. For times and additional requirements, please click on the Read More link.