By Heather Michon
Correspondent
The Fluvanna Board of Supervisors had a relatively light agenda, focused mainly on public hearings, during its first meeting at the Carysbrook Performing Arts Center on Wednesday (Sept. 15).
Four hearings were held back-to-back, and all were approved by the supervisors.
KENNEL
First up was a permit for a commercial kennel on Venable Road in Kents Store.
Joseph Bradley has been working with the county in recent months to come up with a design for a small kennel devoted to training dogs for waterfowl hunting.
Neighbors have raised concerns about noise and other potential issues. The final plan will permit him to have a maximum of 10 outdoor dog runs and includes requirements for noise attenuation and screens to hide the facility from the road.
In his agreement with the county, he also agreed that the property could not be expanded beyond 10 dogs and could not later be sold as a commercial kennel.
In his comments to the supervisors, Bradley spoke passionately about his love of waterfowl hunting and the training of hunting dogs. “I’ve been doing this since I got out of the military in 2006,” he said, “and once COVID hit, I had to make a choice: can I do this to make a living since I can’t drive Uber anymore.”
The motion passed 4-1, with Chairman Mike Sheridan (Columbia) voting against the permit.
CIGARETTE TAX BOARD
The county took another step towards a cigarette tax as they unanimously approved a resolution to join the Blue Ridge Regional Tax Board.
The state now allows counties to levy a tax of up to 40 cents per pack. County Administrator Eric Dahl said the county could see an estimated $190,000 to 287,000 annually if the tax is fully implemented.
Fluvanna is now the sixth locality to adopt the ordinance to join the Tax Board, which will manage the collection of taxes and distribute them to the counties, although there are several more steps before any tax would be collected.
SOLAR
Community Development Director Douglas Miles introduced some proposed text changes to the county ordinances related to solar generation facilities.
All Fluvanna schools are now equipped with solar and there are several other solar farms and units throughout the county. The ordinance changes more clearly defines what constitutes a minor facility, a small-scale facility, and a utility-scale facility.
The motion passed 5-0.
SCHOOL BONDS
During budget season, supervisors approved around $3.71 million in capital improvement projects for the Fluvanna County Public Schools, including the purchase of 10 new school buses, a new HVAC system at Carysbrook Elementary, and renovations at S.E. Abrams.
To fund the projects, they unanimously approved a resolution on the issuance of Virginia Public School Authority Series 2021 bonds. Under the resolutions, they can issue up to $4 million in bonds for a period of up to 20 years at an interest rate of up to 3.50%.
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