By Heather Michon
Correspondent
The Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors approved 2021 Strategic Initiatives during its meeting on Wednesday (April 7).
First introduced in 2018, the Strategic Initiative document set out a list of goals focused on improving county services in areas like communications, service delivery, community development and tourism, and financial stewardship and efficiency.
COVID prevented supervisors from updating the list with new priorities in 2020, but they did have the opportunity to hold a work session in February of this year and add some items based on both their concerns and those raised by citizens.
Some of the new initiatives include:
- Implementing an annual recognition ceremony for community volunteers;
- Assessing the need for a professional fire chief;
- Adding a Frequently Asked Questions page to the county website;
- Enforcing the Spot Blight Abatement program;
- Reviewing county subdivision ordinance on cluster subdivisions;
- Planning for the implementation and standardization of capital improvement programs.
Supervisor Mozell Booker (Fork Union) raised concerns that the wording of the document was vague in terms of when items would be completed, saying that “unless you’re going to have an implementation schedule somewhere to say when we will get this done, [and] who is pushing it forward, it’s a good statement,” but doesn’t give the community a feel of when things might happen.
County Administrator Eric Dahl said that, in general, the initiatives would be completed by the end of 2021, but it might not be possible to get all items on that list cleared in just eight months.
Supervisors voted 5-0 to accept the plan.
TRANSFER OF FIRE TRUCK
The delivery of a new fire truck for the Kent’s Store Fire Department has left one truck as surplus, and the supervisors were asked to forgo the usual practice of selling the vehicle at auction in favor of transferring it directly to the Cartersville Volunteer Fire Department for $30,000.
Cartersville, located in Cumberland County, has an urgent need for a truck and reached out when they heard one might become available some months ago. Purchasing Officer Cyndi Toler said transferring the vehicle, rather than auctioning it, was outside the county’s normal procedure but did not violate any regulations.
Asked by Supervisor Donald Weaver (Cunningham) if they could get a better price at auction, Toler said “finding a value for a used fire truck is really difficult,” and while they could theoretically get more at auction, they could also get far less. Dahl added that there was some benefit to helping a neighboring county if possible.
Weaver was concerned about stepping outside their normal procedures and perhaps getting less for the vehicle than they could but said he wouldn’t vote against the resolution.
The final vote for 4-0-1, with Chair Mike Sheridan (Columbia), a volunteer with the Kent’s Store Fire Department, abstaining.
BUDGET TRANSFERS
Supervisors approved a $6,500 transfer from remaining CARES Act funds to the Children Services Act office for a new DocuSign system. CSA coordinator Bryan Moeller said that being able to sign and approve purchase orders and other documents electronically would not only be safer in terms of COVID, but would also save the office a significant number of staff hours in the processing of documents.
They also approved a transfer of $88,527 in leftover funds from a roofing project at Carysbrook Elementary School to a smaller roofing and window repair project at Fluvanna Middle School.
AWARDS AND PROCLAMATIONS
At the top of the meeting, supervisors voted unanimously on a community service award for Shawn O’Neal Collins. The late Mr. Collins was “a true gift to Fluvanna County’s community,” noted the proclamation, having devoted years to mentoring children and helping families across the county.
The Board also passed a resolution observing Child Abuse Prevention Month.
In a recent story on the proposed $25 million capital improvement package, the Fluvanna Review reported the cost of a new county office complex at an estimated $16.5 million.
At Wednesday’s meeting, Eric Dalh broke down the costs for the entire project, with the cost of a new county administration building estimated at $5.5 million and a new social ser vices building estimated at $7.4 million. Renovations to the current county administration and social services building would cost $1.6 and $2 million, respectively.
