Welcome to The Maysville Voice, the newsletter for those who reside and vote in the Maysville District in Buckingham County. I am pleased to bring you lots of information, links, and resources to inform and engage with you as your County Supervisor. This newsletter is filled with lots of resources and information for our upcoming Monday, May 9, 2022 Board Meeting.

***Please note that this newsletter has much NEW information on
the proposed 114-acre mixed use housing and industrial development being
proposed on property owned by the county known as the county industrial park,
which lies behind Wingo Road, around the Central Virginia Christian School and
John Deere Store, and along LeSueur Street. I want to hear from you on this
issue so please give me your opinion on this matter!***

We also will be considering and possibly taking action and
considering the following items: A public hearing regarding a Special
Use Permit at 257 Sprouse’s Lane requesting use for a sawmill (this is off of
Route 20 across from the Prison); potentially purchasing speed readers for both
ends of the Court House Village and the Town of Dillwyn; presentations of
appreciation and congratulations to the Buckingham Health Department, Central
Virginia Community Health Center, and the Women’s Varsity Basketball Team; a
public hearing on our Secondary Six Year Road Improvement Plan for VDOT-maintained roadways; several appropriations for the Sheriff’s Office and Emergency  Services; and consideration of continuing with the repair and restoration of the older, original portion of the courthouse, among other items. Staff will get the board’s direction on a policy that would regulate the amount of tires one can have on their property (this is an issue that I have been hearing about for years).

Our upcoming Board of Supervisors regular meeting will be held at 6
p.m. on Monday, May 9, 2022, in the Peter Francisco Board Room in
the County Administration Complex on Route 60. I encourage you to attend to
learn more about your County Government and how your tax dollars are spent. If
you’re unable to attend in person, you can view our meeting live here: https://youtu.be/TDuVuDWskvo.

Here is a link to our agenda and full Board Packet: https://buckinghamcountyva.org/administration/boards___commissions/board_of_supervisors/board_agenda_minutes_youtube.php.
Should you have any questions or concerns about anything contained in the packet or on the agenda, please reach out to me. My contact information is below at the end of this newsletter.

Public Comments may be made in person by using the following method:  In person Public Comments must sign up to speak.  Sign up times are 5:30 p.m. to 5:55 p.m.

When you speak, please state your name, district, address, and which hearing you are commenting on. The three (3) minute rule will apply to public comments.

AGAIN, I ask that you read this carefully and in its entirety. This information is according to the developer and county documents. Again, I REALLY want to hear from you on this proposal.

NEW Update on Proposed 114-acre Mixed Use (Housing and Business) Proposal

As the Board of Supervisors continues to consider the sale and potential development (by a private corporation,
Atlantic Investment Corp. with Ted Lloyd as its principal) of 114 acres of the 136.438 acre county-owned industrial park, there has been a compromise/change in the number of single family dwellings and townhomes, which I was at the table for, bringing your concerns to the developer.

The developer is NOW seeking to see only around 67 town homes (about half what was originally proposed) constructed (opposed to 124 as earlier mentioned), 28 single family dwellings (1,800 sq. ft. minimum on half
to 2.3 ac. Lots), and NEW 20 smaller (1,600 sq. ft. homes on 1.4 ac. Lots), which would replace the Third Phase (in the southern footprint of the original town home footprint) of the previously proposed town house development. Breaking this new proposal down:

·        The 67 town homes, selling at about $275,000-350,000 each, would add $16.75 million in value to the tax rolls of the county.

·        The 28 single family dwellings, selling at about $360,000 each, would add $10.8 million in value to the tax rolls of the county.

·        The 20 smaller single family homes, selling at about $345,000 each, would add $6.9 million in value to the tax rolls of the county.

This is a conservative total value added of $33.73 million to the county’s tax rolls. Again, this does not include sales tax revenue increases (more sales), personal property tax revenue (more vehicles, etc.) increases, and more investment by the business community in the county. This would equate to $175 thousand dollars in tax revenue increase, and, again, conservatively forecasting.

As noted before, before anything substantial happens, the Board must hold a public hearing on the sale of the
property as it is owned by the County. If that passes, the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors must also hold hearings on rezoning the property, so there is ample time for public comment. I want to hear from you on this matter during our hearing.

The value of that property recently with the Commissioner of the Revenue, and the 136 acres is assessed currently
at $682,200. The land has been owned by the county for about 20 years and it has brought very little business to that property and has stayed off of the tax rolls. Something important to consider is that, based on how that 136 ac. park is currently zoned, a ConAgra industrial facility with massive lighting, smells, and other massive impacts to the community could locate in the industrial park by right, meaning that no special use permit nor public hearing would be necessary.

It is my intent, as the Maysville District Supervisor, to maintain our low real estate tax rate of $.52 cents per
$100 of assessed value (which is less than half of the statewide average of $1.07 per $100 of assessed value), and grow our economic base as not to continue to burden the farmer, small parcel owner, and retiree and those on
fixed incomes as prices continue to increase. Also, once our COVID-19 relief funding is depleted, along with the funding Dominion Energy allocated to the county, we are looking at essentially a $2 million per year need in new revenue to fund our rescue squad/Emergency Management Services, and, again, I do not intend to raise your taxes and it is my opinion that the county should be open minded to new avenues to take the tax burden off of those who own land in the county.

The developer wishes to also develop commercial and light industrial lots in the southwestern portion of the
property. We are already seeing some interest and dialogue regarding this from prospects. There have been questions as to how much it costs the local government to educate a school aged child, and that answer is roughly $3,400 per pupil per year. The remainder is paid for by the Commonwealth. On top of that, our annual average daily membership (AADM) of students is down in terms of percentage per month and on a four year trend, especially at the middle and high schools, demonstrating we have space and will see more space in the lower level grades in our schools for more students.

There has also been concern about the price point for the homes. Looking at our April 2022 building permit report
alone, we issued seven permits for homes valued conservatively at more than $210,000 – most of which are upwards of $300,000. In addition, I pulled permit values from January 2020-March 2022, and missed two months, and during that time frame the County issued 145 permits for new dwellings valued at $100,000 or more. The total value of those permits is $30 million, with the average home constructed at $207,000. This demonstrates a need for housing and the market meeting the price point.

Again, as to the county incentivizing the project, if $15 million of value is added to the tax base within five years from closing, the county will abate the $6,000 per acre sale of the property by $3,000 per acre. Taxes for five years on the developer will be the based taxes for the property without improvements. This will only be for the developer, not those who purchase the lots. As property is sold, the property will be taken at full assessed value. The developer expects to exceeds this forecast.

Also, there has been much discussion  about the temporary tractor pull space off Wingo Road. The 2019 approved hotel on Wingo Road near the Rescue Squad building — which is a totally separate issue, is the reason for moving that tractor pull location, not this proposed mixed use development. The county is activley working with the Buckingham Fire Fighters Association on securing a new location for the pull.

Bridge Road and Red Road Update

Red Road, which lies between Routes 60 and 15, is on schedule to be completed by June 1, and state crews should be working on surface treatment around the second or third week of this month. As for the culvert replacement project on Bridge road, about eight weeks remains until complete.

Exciting Anti-Litter Task Force Campaign Update – More than 120 bags filled!

📌Anti-Litter News! 📌 So far, our Buckingham Anti-Litter Task Force
has seen 122 bags of litter collected, 85 participants, and 10 application of
organizations and participants wanting to join this great effort! With this
being only May 5, this is amazing as we still have about *A FEW* days to go! Here
is a photo of bags of litter picked up by Buckingham Branch Rail Road (BBRR), a
great partner in our efforts!

 

CenturyLink’s Continued Issues

Here is what I am told from CenturyLink is the reason for the most recent massive county outage, which led to days of no telephone for many older adults and small businesses:

“The root cause of the power issue with the switch was due to a commercial power failure. In response to the event, we have submitted a battery replacement request to help power the switch in case of a local failure.” I ask, why was not a backup in place before?

It’s past time for reaction instead of proactive efforts for telephone and internet services in Rural Virginia! I will continue to advocate for those who continue to struggle with the telephone company.

Contact Me

As always, if I can be of any assistance to you, please do not hesitate to call or text me at 434-390-7023, email me at jmiles@buckinghamcounty.virginia.gov, or visit me at 13170 West James Anderson Highway, Buckingham Court House Village on Route 60.

Humbly serving you,

Jordan

Thomas Jordan Miles III

Chairman, Buckingham County Board of
Supervisors

District Four Supervisor (Maysville)

 434-390-7023

13170 West James Anderson Highway

PO Box 188

Buckingham, Virginia 23921

www.MilesforMaysville.com