By Heather Michon
Correspondent
The Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a temporary ordinance change at their regular meeting on Wednesday (Oct. 21) that will postpone penalties and interest on second-half property tax payments.
Under the change, second-half bills are still due on Dec. 5 but penalties on late payments won’t be applied until Dec 30. W.ith many residents struggling financially due to the pandemic, the temporary change gives them a little breathing room to make payments without added late fees.
Broadband
Efforts to expand high-speed internet to underserved parts of the county received an unexpected boost as Lovingston-based Nelson Cable said it could bring fiber to parts of Fluvanna.
Nelson Cable has access to power lines operated by Appalachian Electric Power (AEP), which serves a small number of Fluvanna customers near Scottsville. Using these lines, Nelson Cable said it could bring service to 45 homes along Poplar Spring Road.
Fluvanna will pay $60,000 out of Federal CARES Act funding for Nelson Cable to run the lines and the house drops. Customers would then pay between $9.99 and $78.99 per month for service, depending on speed. Parents with school-aged children could qualify for that $9.99 per month rate.
Supervisors passed the motion on a vote of 5-0.
EMS billing
The Board approved a contract with ImageTrend to manage billing for the county’s EMS services.
Purchasing Officer Cyndi Toler said the new contract would result in significant savings. The current provider charges 4.75 percent on net billings, while ImageTrend will take 4.50 percent. Additionally, ImageTrend would waive a $20,500 annual fee the county currently pays for call reporting software used by fire & rescue.
School supplemental
Supervisors also voted 5-0 to accept two supplemental appropriations for Fluvanna County Public Schools (FCPS). The schools will receive $95,296 in federal grant funding and $596,190 in coronavirus relief funds to help with COVID related expenses.
Brenda Gilliam, executive director for instruction and finance for FCPS said these funds could be used for replacement Chromebooks and other technology related to online learning, while $300,000 will go to three 2018 model school buses.
Mutual aid
County Administrator Eric Dahl requested the authorization of an advertisement for a public hearing on a mutual aid agreement between Fluvanna County, the Fork Union Sanitary District, and the Louisa County Water Authority. Under the agreement, if either county needed support to keep water and wastewater systems operating during some emergency or worst-case scenario, they could request temporary staffing, subject to later reimbursement.
The public hearing will be held Nov 18.
