[0:00] Good evening. [clears throat] Welcome
everyone to the September
[0:06] planning commission meeting of with
county. And we have a quorum. Determine
[0:12] we have a quorum.
And we will now proceed with the pledge
[0:18] of allegiance.
[0:23] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
United States of America and to the
[0:28] republic for which it stands, one nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and
[0:34] justice for all.
[0:38] [snorts]
[0:41] [cough and clears throat]
Our
[0:50] next item of business will be the public
hearing.
[0:55] Carol Jean Bryant Duncan and Bryant
Compton. Uh I'll entertain
[1:03] report from staff at this time.
>> Okay. Um, Bryant Compton wishes to
[1:10] subdivide approximately 4.5 acres off of
his property located along Beacher Lane
[1:14] in the Fort Chisel Magisterial District
and give it to Carol Jean Bryant Duncan.
[1:19] Simultaneously, Miss Duncan wishes to
subdivide approximately 11.3 acres off
[1:24] of her property um, located along
Beecher Lane and give it to Mr. Compton.
[1:29] Because both parcels do not have 100t
statemaintained road frontage, the
[1:34] proposed division of this property would
leave two non-conforming lots. They are
[1:37] requesting a variance to section 5.3.18
of the ordinance in order to proceed
[1:42] with this proposed division.
[2:01] [snorts]
[2:04] So, as you can see, they're going to
split it off and kind of make it
[2:10] a straighter.
>> Clean it up a little bit.
[2:13] » Yes.
[snorts] So, this is the 4.5
[2:19] that they will be taken off of this
parcel and 11.3 that'll be taken off of
[2:26] this back parcel.
[2:33] And so it looks better. You
>> set up those properties.
[2:40] » So
right now this one doesn't have a
[2:45] rightway. I don't think if I'm not
mistaken.
[2:49] Um Miss Duncan is the one that owns this
parcel. So
[2:56] it this will give that parcel
when they cut it down through here. It
[3:03] will give this parcel the rightway and
then this will be joined with this one
[3:07] which will give it
[snorts] the right away over here.
[3:16] Yeah. Off of this.
Is that correct?
[3:24] » That's my mom's property, but yes, I
>> as well as the one.
[3:38] » Oh, okay. So, this one
>> Yeah, this one's yours, right?
[3:44] » Okay.
[3:50] It didn't have any right away anyway. It
was not any use to them, but it' be use
[3:56] to me because I can put cattle on it and
clean it up and
[4:01] have as much. [clears throat]
>> So, if you with this parcel here, will
[4:08] you take this line out and join it with
this parcel?
[4:12] » Well, I guess it would still go with the
property that's in purple there.
[4:18] Oh, so you're going to add it to this
parcel.
[4:20] » Yes, that's the other land is my mom.
>> Oh, okay. I got you.
[4:25] » Louise.
>> Okay, I got you. So, this will be joined
[4:28] with this parcel and this will be joined
with this parcel. Yes.
[4:32] » Okay, that makes sense.
[4:40] » Do y'all understand that? Okay.
[4:46] [snorts]
[4:59] Anything else from staff?
[clears throat]
[5:02] » No, not at this time. All right, we'll
close the staff report and we will open
[5:07] up the public comment. If there's anyone
who would like to come speak out, put in
[5:13] public on comments on this variance
request, uh, please come up to the
[5:19] podium and state your name and address.
[5:35] Hello,
>> my name is
[5:38] also owner
at top on beach. I just want to make
[5:43] sure this it's not interfering with any
right away through beach land right this
[5:48] division of properties and adding to
taken from whatever it's not interfering
[5:52] with anything there as such because
there there are several people that have
[5:56] rightaway on beacher lane and as long as
everything stays the same everything
[6:00] should be fine you know I don't think I
think uh the land should be divided up
[6:05] however they want it to be divided I
don't you know I don't think anybody has
[6:08] a problem with that so uh as long as
rightway is the same I That's fine with
[6:13] all land owners.
>> They shouldn't change anything with the
[6:15] right way.
>> Right. Right. I didn't think so. I just
[6:17] want to be confirmed. That's all that's
all I have to say.
[6:20] » Thank you.
>> All right. Thank you.
[6:28] Anyone else wish to speak on this? Uh,
[6:39] if not, we'll close the public comment
section and we'll go to the next item of
[6:46] our planning commission discussion and
action.
[6:56] Lane is a private private rideway.
Correct.
[6:59] » Correct.
>> So, no state maintained road frontage.
[7:04] Never had it. Never will.
[7:12] » How wide.
>> Never is a very specific term.
[7:14] » Unlikely.
>> How wide is the beacher lane? 20 foot.
[7:20] 30 foot
[7:24] » 20 ft. Okay.
>> I'm just quoting the late Ron Hughes who
[7:28] used to be on the board. Used to build
houses. That's that was his always
[7:31] comment. Never had never will. So
[7:38] » I personally don't see a problem with
it.
[7:43] » I make a motion to approve the areas as
requested.
[7:46] » It's been so moved to approve. Have a
second.
[7:51] Right. It did.
>> All right. It's been properly moved and
[7:54] seconded. We'll do a a vote from this
side to this side.
[7:58] » I
>> I
[8:00] » I
>> And your variance is is granted. Thank
[8:05] you.
[8:08] [clears throat]
[8:21] And our next meeting,
[8:27] » we do exciting stuff in here. [laughter]
Such a crowd.
[8:35] » What else was going on? [laughter]
[8:40] » Nothing. Looks like a quiet night.
[8:46] » And our next item is citizens time. If
anyone else in the galler gallery would
[8:51] like to speak on any subject, you're
welcome to it.
[8:59] » Okay.
>> If there's no one no citizens time
[9:04] comments, uh I'll we'll go to the next
item. Five minutes of the prior meeting.
[9:15] I didn't see anything wrong with with
them. I moved to approve them, sir.
[9:19] » Yeah, I I read through it also and
didn't didn't find any discrepancies.
[9:27] I'll entertain a motion.
>> I did.
[9:29] » Oh, okay. I have a second. It's been
properly moved and seconded to approve
[9:34] the prior meetings minutes. We'll do a
vote from right to left again.
[9:42] » I
[9:51] » And now we'll proceed with the
subdivision ordinance report.
[9:58] Mrs. ship.
[clears throat]
[10:06] » Um, Roger and Beverly Win recently
conveyed 2.593 acres to their adjoining
[10:10] owner, Michael Jones. Simultaneously,
through a lot line revision, Mr. Jones
[10:15] combined the 2.593 acres with his 12.589
acre parcel um portion of tax map
[10:22] 50-251B
and with his 1.201 2011 parcel 50-2124
[10:29] making a new revised parcel 16.383
acres. Mr. W also through a lot line
[10:35] revision combined his 3.793 acre parcel
remaining tax map 50-251B
[10:42] and his 2.1585
acre parcel 51-128B
[10:47] making the new revised parcel 3.793
acres. Mr. and Mrs. wind through a lot
[10:52] line revision combined their two
remaining parcels of 780
[10:57] 51-251A
and 1.40 acre 51-251 making the new
[11:03] revised parcel of 2.180
acres all partial parcels will be used
[11:09] as residential agricultural and all
parcels will be served by public water
[11:14] and private sewer and this plat was
recorded August the 19th.
[11:20] This was a lot.
[11:27] [snorts] So, not only did they combine
all of this and then these two,
[11:33] then the winds combined their two
parcels,
[11:38] which was
[11:42] right here on that.
>> It was a lot, which is good. I mean,
[11:48] they're cleaning stuff up, but
[12:39] questions
[12:45] » when they're cleaning stuff up. We don't
have too many questions about that.
[12:48] » Okay.
So the next one is the Gross Gross
[12:52] Brothers um recently conveyed 314 acres
to their adjoining owner Buford Sers
[12:57] Sawyers I'm sorry simultaneously through
a lot line revision Mr. Sawyers combined
[13:02] the 314 acres um with 71-86A
making the new revised parcel lot 1.094
[13:11] acres and revised lot two will be
172.193 acre residual. Lot one will be
[13:17] used as residential and lot two will be
used as agricultural. Both parcels are
[13:21] being served by private water and
private sewer. And this plat was
[13:24] recorded August the 12th.
[13:28] This is the property I mentioned during
our joint meeting with the board
[13:36] on the
land use ordinance that that was listed
[13:41] as national forest. this one that lot
two it is not national forest so that
[13:48] was the one I was mentioning
>> okay I think
[13:52] » it's private rather than national forest
>> have we cleaned that up I think we've
[13:56] cleaned that up since that
>> I don't know the GIS has been updated I
[14:00] haven't looked so
[14:30] Yep.
[14:37] » Is the rest of that that's
>> Yes. That in the brown is is a private
[14:41] property, not national forest.
[14:47] They got it's been it's included with
the whole Ravens Cliff Collins Cove
[14:55] area.
>> Huh.
[14:58] » You see that Matt
[15:09] » and that conservation recreation that
that is Craig Gross close house. This
[15:15] should be agriculture or not.
[15:19] The light brown.
>> Yeah, that's the gross close brothers.
[15:28] We'll have to look at that.
[15:45] Okay, any more questions?
>> Yeah, that actually helped that out
[15:49] because they found out when they had it
surveyed because they're in the process
[15:52] of selling that lot too, uh, the
property line went through the house.
[15:58] You can see it there.
>> Mhm.
[16:02] » Except far the house.
[16:08] Anything
[16:16] else? Nope.
[16:21] All right. [clears throat]
[16:24] So, the next one is
[16:32] actually lost my folder. There it is.
[16:37] Robert and Jean Lance recently conveyed
1.41 acres to their adjoining owners
[16:42] Mary and William Crossup.
Simultaneously through a lot line
[16:46] revision, Mr. and Mrs. Crosscup combined
the 1.418 acres with their 1.721 acre
[16:53] parcel, making the new revised parcel
3.139 acres. All parcels will be used as
[16:58] residential and all part parcels will be
served by public water and private
[17:03] sewer. And this plat was recorded August
the 24th.
[17:26] Any
[17:44] questions, comments?
[17:59] I don't have any.
>> Okay.
[18:03] » So, the next one um through a lot line
revision, Mr. Paul Go and Mr. Paul
[18:09] Dwayne Go recently resubdivided their
property of 18 parcels totaling
[18:15] 104.28289 28 289 acres located along
Alagany Road in the Fort Chisel
[18:21] Magisterial District to create one
revised parcel. This parcel will be
[18:25] served by private water and private
sewer and this parcel will continue to
[18:29] be used for agricultural purposes.
And this plat was recorded I don't
[18:36] remember
[18:48] August 26th.
[19:13] That's all I have on those.
[19:17] » Yeah, just by the looks of that, that
was one of those
[19:21] [snorts] subdivisions that
Harold Len surveyor did back in the 70s,
[19:27] early 80s,
>> all those small lots
[19:31] of but long.
>> You can see examples of that through
[19:35] that throughout the county.
And
[19:39] » I see them every day
>> in the one lot that cleans up things all
[20:35] I have the subdivision. And
[20:59] our next item, if there's no this shel
is finished, we'll go to the coming
[21:04] events.
[21:12] See the board of supervisors meeting on
September 8th at 6:00 p.m. and September
[21:17] 22nd at 6 pm.
And the planning commission next meeting
[21:24] is October 5th at 6 pm and next Monday
is a Labor Day holiday and
[21:31] on October 12th it's Columbus Day. So
>> just as a reminder, Mr. Chairman, our
[21:38] community input session for planning
commission and the board is Thursday of
[21:42] this
>> Thursday night.
[21:44] » It's not on your calendar, but uh
>> Scott Memorial 6 o'clock.
[21:48] » Yes, sir.
>> And that's going to be in
[21:54] gym.
>> Scott Memorial Gymnasium. Yes.
[21:58] » So that was the former auxiliary gym,
right? No, it's a new
[22:03] » No, they built a new one.
>> New gym.
[22:08] » So, it' be set up so that each district
has a table. Folks can go to their
[22:14] district and talk to their particular
representatives.
[22:18] The um
[22:21] the folks who come are welcome to talk
to any of the supervisors and planning
[22:25] commissioners who are there. Um, but we
particularly want them to talk to their
[22:29] district supervisor
and with their feelings about the the
[22:34] ordinance and the map be known and staff
will be mingling around and answering
[22:40] questions. You know, once folks are done
talking to you if they've got additional
[22:43] questions for staff, they can come and
talk to us or if you all need somebody
[22:47] to answer questions, you can signal to
us and we'll we'll come and respond.
[22:52] » We'll take them way for you then.
[laughter]
[22:55] Fingers are appreciated.
[22:59] » I said wave.
>> You did say wave, but you just say I say
[23:03] California. I said wait. [laughter]
>> Some of us just give one if we're lucky.
[23:16] » And our next item of business will be
our manufacturing home ordinance request
[23:21] for revision of a special permit. Mr.
Scott Horn.
[23:26] » Yes.
So, I sent this memorandum trying to
[23:32] break it down for you all to understand
what what he is asking for. Um, Mr.
[23:38] Scott, Jimmy Scott Horn of 6332 Stony
Fork Road, Whitfield, Virginia, is
[23:42] applying for a revision to an already
established campground located at 5965
[23:47] Stony Fork Road, US Route 52 in the
Black Magisterial District. The special
[23:53] [clears throat] use permit was granted
on November the 27th, 2018 by the
[23:58] planning commission and then the board
of supervisors on December the 11th,
[24:01] 2018. Mr. Horn is proposing to take out
campsites 10, 11, and 12 and a storage
[24:07] building that was on the property. Mr.
Horn would like to leave nine campsites
[24:11] and add one two-bedroom mobile home
site. Attached are maps of the current
[24:15] RV campground and one showing what
changes he is proposing.
[24:20] I spoke with um Stacy Tuck Holiday in
the W with County Health Department
[24:24] concerning the septic. He stated the
requirements for a septic is 150 gallons
[24:29] per day per bedroom and 100 gallons per
day per camper. There are two septic
[24:34] systems on the property and since this
septic system was okay for eight
[24:38] campers, if Mr. Horn takes out three
campsites camper sites, it should be
[24:43] good for two for a two-bedroom mobile
home.
[24:52] So, this is what it was previous.
And he's wanting to take out 10, 11, and
[25:02] 12. And
I think this building's already gone. Is
[25:07] that correct?
>> Yes.
[25:08] » Okay. So, this will be what it's he's
proposing is to take those out and put
[25:15] the double wide trailer right there.
[25:26] I mean, it's the safety people saying
it's going to work. I got
[25:31] I got nothing wrong with that.
>> She's changing this the type of
[25:34] structure there instead of like quantity
versus
[25:41] problem with
>> you. We need a motion for that.
[25:50] Yeah.
>> Yes.
[25:51] » We'll need a motion to approve it
>> to
[25:53] » to approve it.
>> So move.
[25:58] » I I believe your motion is that the
board of supervisors recommend board of
[26:02] supervisors approve. The planning
commission recommends the board of
[26:05] supervisors approve request as
presented.
[26:08] » That sounds good. Thank you, sir.
[26:13] » Who second? It's been moved and
seconded.
[26:16] » We'll have a vote to recommend this to
the board of supervisors.
[26:20] » I
>> I
[26:24] » Motion carries.
[26:37] This will go to the board of
supervisors. Which meeting?
[26:44] probably the second September meeting
because we've
[26:53] » public hearing.
>> No public hearing required. It could be
[26:56] the meeting next week or as you get it
on the agenda.
[27:02] » So, it'll probably be at the September
22nd meeting.
[27:04] » Yeah, think we could do it at the
September 8th meeting next Tuesday.
[27:12] All right. Nothing else on that item.
We'll go to our next item is new
[27:17] business application for creation of a
and for districtformational
[27:23] purposes.
[27:32] [snorts]
>> Whoops.
[27:40] So um I I went ahead and updated this
agon and enforcal district um
[27:46] application for a new this is for a new
agon forestal district um it had said
[27:52] previously
um I can't remember the exact wording
[27:58] but I changed it from uh accompanied by
maps andor aerial imagery or photographs
[28:03] that clearly show the boundaries
I don't remember exactly how it was
[28:08] worded before. I wish I'd brought a copy
of it, but I forgot to.
[28:12] » Um, but it was saying something about
like satellite imagery or something. And
[28:19] so I just fixed it to where we could
actually use our GIS or pictures or
[28:24] » sketches or whatever.
>> Yeah. Something instead of
[28:27] » trying to be too complicated.
>> We did on the last
[28:32] I'm going to guess Eric and Andy and
them. They did theirs back in the 80s.
[28:36] 70s 80s.
>> Yep.
[28:39] » Am I Am I guessing pretty closely? I
know we we did did ours in the 90s
[28:43] » that Yeah. The Crockett Cove was
>> uh there's East Crock East Crockett Cove
[28:49] and Crockett Cove.
>> Mhm. Yeah.
[28:51] » Um and
>> that should have been the 90s or early
[28:53] 2000s.
>> 99.
[28:54] » Okay.
And then uh like I said, Eric and them,
[28:59] they're 10 15 years ahead of us. So, it
might have been in the 70s.
[29:04] » That should be the only ones that I know
of that were that's out there other than
[29:08] the last ones here.
>> Mhm.
[29:17] » Cuz you got about two this I know Doug
Wilson's one two and then the one down
[29:22] eastern end close to where this thousand
acre is at coming to that that they're
[29:29] looking at it. Did anything come out
about that one?
[29:32] » You haven't heard? Okay.
>> Okay.
[29:35] I talked to Ethan Henderson the other
week, whatever. He talked like that they
[29:38] were going to do one the one that the
one person who's a joining land owner
[29:45] toward the site is going to be he didn't
want to join because he says if if it it
[29:51] comes to fruition that this this does
come about, he'll sell his property and
[29:57] move.
>> I don't know who that was.
[29:59] as what what Ethan said that he would
sell his property and move.
[30:11] » So what what do you need from us, Lisa?
Do you need us to
[30:15] » Nothing. This is justformational. Just
letting you know that I changed it.
[30:23] Uh,
did you put here what the fee is
[30:28] [snorts] for that amount?
>> No, that I'm going have to run that
[30:31] through the first meeting.
>> Supervisors.
[30:35] » Yes. So, with the new with the new one,
it's $500. We've already got that
[30:40] established. So, I'm going to have to
run um No, I'll have to run it through
[30:44] the committee when we first meet on the
committee, the aforestal district
[30:48] committee. Okay. Okay,
>> I'll run it through them as to how much
[30:51] they want to do it for.
>> I think
[30:54] » Do you have a committee with that or
not? Or
[30:57] » I'm working on trying to get one. I'm
having a really hard time getting people
[31:01] to want to do it.
>> Eric or something like that there to the
[31:03] Andy or something that ones that been on
it that done it before.
[31:06] » Okay.
>> Yeah. Just tell us.
[31:12] » Yeah. I know a lot of the land owners
[clears throat] over in my area have got
[31:16] conservation easements.
>> Yeah. on their properties now help on to
[31:21] help with tax purposes,
but I don't know whether they want to
[31:25] voluntarily do this or not. And
>> that would be defeating their purpose
[31:29] with that.
>> Yeah. If they've got conservation
[31:31] easements, I wouldn't I wouldn't fool
with this.
[31:33] » I would go backwards
[31:38] » because that's a permanent thing.
>> Yeah, cuz you have to have 250 acres,
[31:42] right?
>> 250 core,
[31:45] » right? And then as much as you want
within a mile
[31:51] » if someone if someone doesn't border you
that they can be a mile down the road.
[31:55] » Correct. Still still attached to your
>> It don't matter if it's five acres,
[31:59] » two acres, they can attach to it,
>> but it would still have to be eggland.
[32:04] » Yes.
>> It couldn't be they if all they had have
[32:09] is just a house site for 5 acres that
wouldn't be considered.
[32:15] I don't know about what they
>> because you can't generate you can't
[32:18] generate any kind of income.
>> Would that be correct?
[32:23] » I don't
as long as you make $1,000 farming if
[32:27] it's considered agricultural
>> if it if you have a five acre house.
[32:31] » So that's for land use
>> to get your land use correct. But with a
[32:36] forestal
that's a tough question.
[32:39] » The small part [snorts] I've done a
forestal district since I've been here.
[32:44] This is plowing new ground for me. But
um I I believe you can include the
[32:49] smaller parcels in your in your
district. Um but you've got to have that
[32:54] core like Lisa's talking about.
>> You still wouldn't include a house site.
[32:58] I wouldn't think.
[33:03] » Wouldn't think.
>> But a house with five acres.
[33:08] » Sure.
>> That's
[33:13] houses are allowed in agriculture
anyway.
[33:16] » So you you could have it all under one
umbrella like that eent you're talking
[33:20] about there. I don't see why they would
could unless they wanted to keep it
[33:25] separate. Guess they want to sell it
separate from the other.
[33:30] » I don't know why you'd want to separate
just put it all together.
[33:38] » I can't imagine somebody residential
would go into the
[33:43] if they decided to move.
>> Yeah. House right in the middle. you
[33:48] know, just sell the property around or
sell the property in the middle the
[33:53] other end of that e
[34:02] see
that one's
[34:07] in the agon forestal district. It's
1.825 acres.
[34:11] » Is that my way?
>> Mhm.
[34:13] » Okay. Or that one.
>> Yeah. See that? They don't own that one.
[34:19] It's Anthony Fodell.
>> Was that at the church or is that
[34:26] located?
>> No, it's it's right here. Right off
[34:28] Smooth Hollow.
>> Okay. It's up on the right hand side.
[34:31] It's
>> not far from my daughter's. [laughter]
[34:33] » Yeah. Okay. Across the street from
there.
[34:36] » Mhm.
>> Yeah.
[34:41] I mean, I don't
these I'm sure is because they're joined
[34:45] with this one, but they're small
parcels, too.
[34:48] » That's They were all house tracks when
they were sold back in the 80s and 90s.
[34:52] » A bunch of those. That's what they were.
That was all Vanar property.
[34:55] » That was all house tracks.
[35:02] I mean,
[35:07] I don't think it really matters if they
want to add it into it. See, there's
[35:10] another one.
>> That's yours.
[35:14] » Mhm.
>> On yours, your parcel.
[35:16] » Thought you was getting close to ours.
Mhm.
[35:22] » Yeah.
I mean, that that's the house site. I
[35:27] reckon that's that house right there is
not not in there.
[35:30] » That's Chuck and Ashley.
>> Yeah.
[35:32] » Yeah.
>> That's all.
[35:33] » But they could put it in there clearly.
>> I mean that
[35:36] » if they wanted to.
>> Yeah. I think it the way I would look at
[35:41] it, you got to look look at the rules. I
I would think you have to generate some
[35:45] kind of income. You can generate
something, but I mean you have to
[35:48] generate that.
>> I have to look into it.
[35:51] » Be considered, you know, even for land
use or even the act forest district.
[36:03] Yeah, I I'll look into it and see. I
don't know that there's any rules that
[36:07] says how much it has to be. I just know
it has to be a core of 250.
[36:11] » Yeah, you have to have that core to
start with. Yes.
[36:17] » Each one of these is a standalone
ordinance, right?
[36:20] » Yes.
>> East Crockett Cove and Crockett Cove is
[36:24] together. And then there's Fair View and
then there's Gutton Park. That's the
[36:28] only ones we've got.
>> But but you have to pass a separate
[36:31] ordinance to institute one.
>> Correct.
[36:33] » And it's not a permanent one. So it's
not codified in our our code of
[36:37] ordinances. U each one would then fall
under its own rules and guidelines.
[36:44] » Correct.
>> As it develops.
[36:45] » And they would be
it it could be four years up to 10
[36:51] years.
>> I know when we did it the first time we
[36:53] did it for four.
>> Yep. I said, "Well, we do it for four
[36:55] and if you like it, you stay with the do
the 10 then." Some of them stayed, some
[37:00] of them did not.
>> Yep.
[37:02] » That's That's what we done.
>> I think that's what all of them's
[37:05] basically done. They started out as
four,
[37:07] » did it?
>> And then moved to 10.
[37:10] » Yep. So, they're all at 10 now.
>> Okay. Guten Park is at 10, too.
[37:16] » Mhm. Okay.
>> Yeah. It's not due. Well, Guten Park and
[37:20] Crocus Cove is due right now. Fair view
is due in 29.
[37:27] » We're due next year, you said.
>> Yes.
[37:30] » Yeah.
>> Uh, one's in March and one's in May.
[37:34] » Okay.
>> I think Gutton Park's in March and yours
[37:37] is in May.
>> Okay.
[37:39] » We'll do it all at the same time,
though.
[37:42] One meeting for all of it.
you we have to have a a special
[37:47] meeting just
or do we have to have a meeting with
[37:51] with us to do that? I mean
uh so
[37:58] well I like I said I have to gather up a
a committee and then we'll go we'll have
[38:04] to have a meeting in January. I I said
I'm not going to start in December,
[38:08] which is
>> no
[38:09] » when we should, but I it's too much
going on in December. So, I'll just
[38:14] it'll be like right after the first of
the year. I'll have a first meeting
[38:19] » and I assume I'll send out a letter to
everyone with the application so that
[38:24] everybody can fill it out and bring it
back to us and then we'll decide whether
[38:29] there's going to be a fee or not at the
first meeting. And then, you know, I
[38:33] have some neighbors there that that may
want to put their parcels in if they do.
[38:37] » Yes.
>> They they're more than welcome to come
[38:39] and add it to it. Yep.
>> I have the the one one the first is Mr.
[38:44] Hutchek. He has 25 acres and he has land
use and then I take and farm his
[38:50] property. Then then the other guy in New
Jersey, he has 200 some acres and
[38:56] there's about 40 50 acres there that I
can that's open to that. We can do do
[39:01] his
>> and we've got to take care of Mr. Mc
[39:05] McNameer.
>> McNamera.
[39:07] » Yeah.
>> Yep.
[39:10] » We got to take care of his at this too.
>> That's it.
[39:26] And there any other discussion on the
agricultural districts?
[39:33] If nothing else on this item, we'll uh
go to the county engineer report. Mr.
[39:39] Ker.
[39:44] Oh,
>> I didn't think you had anything.
[39:48] » Sorry.
[40:33] Huh?
>> You said
[40:36] » that's the new one. Right
[40:42] there.
[40:47] » Yeah.
[41:05] That's good picture.
[41:09] I'm trying.
[41:14] » Johnny, you're having about as much luck
as I did at work today. We had a meeting
[41:17] and uh plug that little thing in the
side of the computer like I s on the
[41:22] screen there and you hit it and it never
would connect to
[41:38] What's that? There
>> you tell it to share.
[41:45] » There you go. You have to tell it.
[41:51] » Thank you.
>> We got a picture of Johnny.
[41:55] » All right. This is lot 35.
Uh this is their construction entrance.
[42:01] Uh this is the giant storm water
management basin, ENS basin. You can see
[42:07] they got the the liner on the outside of
the burn liner on the inside.
[42:12] Um
of course this is a
[42:18] that's the same pond. It's just a little
I'm going around taking pictures. This
[42:22] is the other little pond. Well, actually
a pretty good size pond as well that
[42:25] they're constructing over here.
[42:30] Right here's the other pond. And of
course, they've got uh
[42:35] big old top soil stockpile right here.
The silo is still standing.
[42:41] This is coming on around. This is
Gatorade and Amcore,
[42:45] y'all. Yeah, y'all can see my cursor,
can't you? They got a big old uh stock
[42:50] top soil stockpile here as well. They
got a lot of their materials and uh car
[42:57] parking and gravel and stuff over here.
the little trailers and everything.
[43:07] So anyway, just wanted to show you what
what's going on on the site.
[43:12] » Where's the structure going to be
exactly? Right there near the solid on
[43:16] this side of the solid.
>> The structure the building
[43:21] » the building is going to be uh basically
right in here.
[43:29] Let me get my bearing. Yeah, the
building's going to be like right in
[43:32] through here.
[43:36] Kind of at a little bit of an angle like
this because it's kind of squared up
[43:40] with the basins down here.
[43:47] Here's the other little basin that they
constructed.
[43:51] This is, of course, you can see the
railroad in Kinslane.
[43:55] If you look off in the distance, I think
Bottomley has more equipment uh going
[44:00] picking corn back there than they got on
this site.
[44:05] We couldn't figure out what it was for
the longest time, but say they're doing
[44:09] a pretty good job on the ENS. They've
got the outlet protection. They've got
[44:12] their silk fence. They got the matting.
So, so far so good. This one here is
[44:19] telling
>> them about the silk fence.
[44:23] » The silk fence is is a reinforced silk
fence. It has a chain link fence on the
[44:29] back side of it. It's not your stuff
that you see at Lowe's. It's uh a lot
[44:35] stronger. Plus, it's reinforced with
chain link fence on the back side. Uh I
[44:40] don't think I can zoom in close enough
so you can see it, but it's it's it's a
[44:47] very strong uh silt fence. It's not
super silk fence. I think it's actually
[44:53] stronger than super silk fence.
What was the reason for putting it
[44:56] there?
>> They wanted to make sure that nothing
[44:59] was going to get away from them.
>> It's a It's about that tall, but it's
[45:03] silk fence that, you know, you see sil
fence on jobs gets hit with water, blows
[45:08] out.
>> Uh I don't think this is going to do
[45:10] that. The chain link fence behind it
plus the spacing on the post is
[45:14] » closer than it should be or closer than
required.
[45:22] This is the outlet structure. Um,
they're not quite finished with it, but
[45:27] it's really close. You can see it has
the anti- vortex, so it doesn't vortex.
[45:31] When it vortex, it slows the water down,
actually. So, these little baffles in
[45:35] here keeps it from creating a vortex.
And also, this is the trash rack. It
[45:42] keeps all the trash from getting out. It
goes up and under, the water will go
[45:45] underneath and then over the crest of
the spillway.
[45:50] This is a
uh slope protection. This is a slope
[45:55] drain coming into the basin. You can see
it's got outlet protection. It's got the
[45:59] slope drain. It actually has inlet
protection as well. So, this is to
[46:03] protect the slope of your pond. A lot of
people will run ditches right into the
[46:06] pond. And then once it gets to that
slope on the pond, it'll eat it out.
[46:10] » That one will be grassed over
eventually.
[46:13] » It's they've really, if you can see,
some of these areas are getting green.
[46:18] But that's what that's what you'll have
eventually that they'll all be grassed,
[46:21] right?
>> Yeah.
[46:28] And that's me and Will. [laughter]
But that's all I have. We did go around
[46:32] and verify that was bottomly picking
corn. There was a lot of dust coming off
[46:36] that site. We couldn't figure out what
it was, but it was it was bottomly
[46:41] picking corn down Kitten Lane, not Kint
Lane. Back behind State Police
[46:45] Headquarters.
Y'all got any questions?
[46:55] » Did you get all the um railroad ties and
all that kind of stuff fixed down there?
[47:01] You was going to fix
>> We've got the railroad fixed at crossing
[47:07] uh re-auged. We still have some issue.
Um
[47:12] uh we've talked to some engineers and
stuff about what we can do to fix that
[47:16] curve so it'll stay engaged longer.
We've got gauge rods all the way around
[47:19] it. Uh seems like the tangent section
stay uh engaged a lot better than the
[47:25] curve. So we're looking at options
there. Um I just sent Stephen a internal
[47:31] cost estimate on what I think it'll
cost. It's It's pretty expensive, but
[47:36] um I think we can probably do it a
little bit cheaper, but
[47:41] um I got to talk to some of the railroad
folks. What they're recommending is, uh
[47:45] heavier gauge rail in the curve with the
wider plates, uh mainline ties, which
[47:52] are a little bit bigger, more robust.
And uh to replace that, we would have to
[47:57] do it a little bit at a time so we keep
Gatorade running. You can tie it to the
[48:01] existing rail. So, it just takes a a
different kind of plate because the
[48:06] heavier gauge rail is a little taller,
but that's what we did at the crossing
[48:10] when we fixed it.
[48:14] We're still looking at options there,
though, to try to long-term fix. Save
[48:18] the county a bunch of money hopefully
because we're spending quite a bit of
[48:22] money keeping that thing engaged right
now.
[48:30] that the data center you just had up on
the screen. How many acres is the
[48:35] building?
>> 11 acres, 500,000 square feet somewhere
[48:40] around there. Uh the site itself is 68
acres. Uh that's the limits of
[48:45] disturbance. They've actually reduced
that a little bit because uh they
[48:50] shifted the pond away from the trees so
they wouldn't have to get into the trees
[48:54] and get into the bat migration stuff.
So, the pond's going to stay the exact
[49:01] same volume, exact same elevations and
everything. It just won't be uh it'll be
[49:04] a 52 feet closer to the building
so they can save the trees.
[49:12] The total property in the lot is 99
acres.
[49:15] » Yeah.
[49:19] » Essentially
half a Gatorade.
[49:25] » Yeah. Gatorade's about a million square
feet, I think. Any
[49:33] other questions for Mr. Cancer?
[49:40] [clears throat]
[49:42] If if no more questions for Mr. Ker,
we'll have our exeicio report with Mr.
[49:50] Bernett.
[49:53] » I have a few things.
one, we've uh approved the 1% tax to be
[50:01] voted on this fall. And so I went around
to the school says the school is
[50:08] havingformational session. So I went to
Fort Chisel, listened to uh Dr. Street
[50:14] do the presentation. He does a very good
presentation. There wasn't anything that
[50:18] I could add. Um,
so basically the 1% during the lifetime
[50:25] would do $73 million worth of school
construction that we could start this
[50:31] spring and and do all the school
constructions all at once and and and so
[50:38] in about a three to four year period
we'd have all of our schools done for
[50:43] Chisel, the new Scott Spiller School,
however they're going to call that um
[50:50] ball fields, lights, tracks,
just about anything that uh not just
[50:57] about anything but I mean you know the
fair amount u
[51:01] just forformational purposes we are
carrying right now that wouldn't do the
[51:07] 1% would do nothing with this because
it's only for future school but right
[51:11] now we have roughly $26.7 million of
school school debt that would
[51:19] as the one if the 1% passes, we would
start Fort Chisel and well, we'd start
[51:24] the the new elementary school in Fort
Chisel, but we'd be paying that debt
[51:29] down and it would almost be over with by
the time the 1%'s over with. So, so we
[51:36] conceivably see it our debt being paid
down normally and then the 1% being u
[51:44] taken care of future school
construction.
[51:48] We estimated that 40% of the 1% would be
paid for by travelers. So, so that's
[51:56] better than just about any other county
around us that only has one interstate
[52:00] going through them like Pilaski or or
Smith or you know. So uh so we are in a
[52:06] very good position. School board
actually has almost everything in place
[52:10] to be able to move really quickly on the
new Scott Spiller Elementary School. So
[52:17] I mean that would be once they knew they
could do that. I mean they've done got
[52:23] preliminary drawings. They've done I
mean I don't know how much more they
[52:27] would need but they're super close to
that. Um, so tell people about the 1%.
[52:34] Uh, the other week, uh, four of us and
and a bunch of county staff went to
[52:39] visit data centers in Hero County. We
met with their economic development
[52:45] authority and they told us that they
started building data centers in the
[52:50] late 90s and they have continue to
building them. They're uh they have one
[52:55] main industrial park that has right now
about 24 data centers. When they get
[53:01] done, they'll have about 35 data
centers. And so they it stretches over
[53:06] almost 30 years. Uh we asked them
numerous questions of of of
[53:12] water usage. Uh they said their water
usage was about 2% of what Henrio County
[53:18] uses, which was about 57,000 gallons a
day on last year's numbers. We couldn't
[53:25] find this year's current numbers. U we
actually went and visited 14 data
[53:32] centers. We went around and looked. They
do use enormous amounts of electricity,
[53:37] but as far as noise, u we couldn't
determine any additional noise. The road
[53:44] noise behind us was more louder than
than the the data centers. We um didn't
[53:50] have any really good ma metrices to to
determine temperature, but 15 miles away
[53:56] was the same temperature as it was right
next to them. So, I don't know how well
[54:02] that was. Um we asked them about water
discharge if they noticed over the years
[54:07] any additional water discharge going to
their sewer system. So so a lot of good
[54:11] information as far as you know the data
centers and and and some of the concerns
[54:17] that uh we
had that we read same as as everybody
[54:23] else reads. And um so you know we came
back uh I I shared the information with
[54:32] uh at the data center out on the east
very eastern end of the county. They're
[54:37] wanting to uh be open and they they
expressed interest. That's the reason
[54:41] y'all all have their contact information
and they want to do community meetings
[54:46] and they want to talk to everyone and uh
they want to talk to the homeowners and
[54:51] and and be as open and approachable as
possible is what they indicated to us.
[54:59] And um
so
[55:03] some of the things that that u even
though we don't want to count our
[55:08] chickens uh for the X hatch
is some of the possible thoughts of
[55:15] using the money from the one in Progress
Park is uh to help pay that school debt
[55:24] that we uh we was talking about just
earlier of the 26 million, but we also
[55:30] carry about 25 26 million of debt in the
water services and um that money could
[55:38] be applied to that. so that we can pay
that debt down and try to lower our
[55:43] water costs at the same time and do
additional projects to get water to more
[55:48] county citizens. Those are just some
things that's being tossed out. We we've
[55:53] indicated that we was going to do some
uh task force groups with like u school
[56:00] board members and and community members
just to get a plan in place for the
[56:07] additional revenue from the
progress park. um that way. And again,
[56:16] uh I remember the glove factory and we
still get no money from it and probably
[56:21] never will at this point. And so until I
actually start seeing money come in, I'm
[56:26] not going to say, you know, because we
can get to the point they could build a
[56:30] building too and then disappear. So, and
that Oh, and I just realized that
[56:37] Sheriff Klein announced that he is
canceling a contract with the flock
[56:43] cameras.
>> Yep. I got I got that notice on my phone
[56:46] while I wanted to know that was
literally he posted that on the
[56:49] sheriff's during this meeting. So, about
30 minutes ago
[56:52] » and that consists of
>> four cameras.
[56:55] » Four cameras. I know the town of Whiff
has
[56:57] » one max is going into town going toward
>> one on 21 at the carpet outlet.
[57:05] » There's three
townreat's
[57:14] involved in this stuff too.
>> Well, there's three there's three flock
[57:18] cameras at Lowe's pointed inside the
parking lot. It's the Lowe's owns those
[57:25] cameras.
>> So that's all I had unless y'all had
[57:29] questions.
>> I got one for you on this AI place down
[57:33] in [clears throat]
K Eastern Pan. How far along are they
[57:38] with this? Are they in the plan stage
turning in plans or
[57:42] » right now? They do not own any property
>> and they have no permits
[57:48] » just testing water. Well, they they've
done their geotech. They've submitted a
[57:54] 288 page plan set to the county engineer
for review and DEEQ as well. They've
[58:00] submitted for their storm water plans
and their [clears throat] their ENS
[58:05] plans will follow that. So, but they're
they're pretty far along.
[58:12] » They they have until bas based on the
document that they filed with the court.
[58:16] uh that their option runs through
January 4th of 2027. So they have
[58:23] another three months, four months to u
finalize their land transaction.
[58:29] » And this this will be grandfathered if
this would happen any zoning stuff that
[58:34] would bar in the works.
>> If there is an affirmative government
[58:38] act between now and uh the time that the
zoning is implemented, then yes, they
[58:44] would be grandfathered.
>> But have their permits between now and
[58:47] then they have to come
>> it would go before the zoning. So
[58:53] » other question the data center that's
coming in at Progress Park, do we know
[58:57] who the consumer is going to be for that
data center?
[59:00] » Uh they have not publicly indicated
that. Um if you do some research on
[59:05] Fluid Stack and their connections, you
can probably
[59:08] probably infer who that's going to be.
uh and it is a compute campus as I
[59:14] understand not a storage campus. So it's
you know compute campuses generally
[59:19] support AI or uh computing functions.
>> I think there's some concerns with the
[59:25] not knowing because other projects that
have been done in the past have not come
[59:30] to fruition. So I think if we're going
to do other projects we need to think
[59:35] about the stability of jobs that are
coming in for our community because
[59:38] several projects fall by the wayside and
didn't have a lot of good information
[59:43] about consumer
consumer
[59:47] » when we met with the uh
[59:54] I can't say that publicly yet
>> um
[59:59] so generally if you look at the the
industry um
[1:00:04] you have
companies like Anthropic or GBT, you
[1:00:10] know, some of those that are on the AI
side
[1:00:14] along with your big four, you know, your
Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and
[1:00:21] » Google. Um, so
those are your main players. And what
[1:00:26] happens frequently is that you'll get a
company that will come in, they'll
[1:00:30] identify a site, they'll they'll make
all the arrangements for the the power
[1:00:34] and any utilities that are needed. they
they'll develop that initial plan and
[1:00:38] then those get bought out by a secondary
and then there's a final user that will
[1:00:43] be that third transaction. It's a lot
like it's a lot like the solar farms
[1:00:48] that the ones that show up first are not
the ones that are going to operate it.
[1:00:59] » Uh m Mr. Burn it. Of the 14 data centers
you went and visited,
[1:01:05] was any of those a Google data center
or Alphabet?
[1:01:12] That's the parent company of Google?
>> I remember the only one that I remember
[1:01:17] specifically was the the Meta and there
were several of those
[1:01:22] » and it's one of Meta's largest campuses
in in the world.
[1:01:28] Yeah, Meta is the parent company of
Facebook and Instagram.
[1:01:33] » That's the only one I can remember
specifically.
[1:01:35] » See, that's the fuss. That's the fuss
they had down in Ron Oak about the water
[1:01:39] » because Google uses
they don't use a closed loop. They use
[1:01:44] they just bring the water in, run it
across their chillers, and put it back
[1:01:47] out in the in the wastewater. And I know
they announced they're going to do a
[1:01:53] closed loop system down the bottom top
because Carman's Cove cannot take that
[1:01:58] much water out every day. 13 to 14
million gallons I think is what it was.
[1:02:03] So
I was just wondering if you that was one
[1:02:09] of the things that they they indicated
that every one of their data centers u
[1:02:15] was closed loop or recycled their water.
and uh and that was the reason their
[1:02:21] water usage was only 2% of what the
county used. Um
[1:02:28] and and they did indicate that their
covenants and their zoning uh helped in
[1:02:38] controlling how they built those data
centers because some of the data centers
[1:02:42] are required to be built to a certain
energy level. Um and and so of course
[1:02:48] the higher energy level you go, the more
expensive it is. And the buildings was
[1:02:52] actually really attractive. I mean, they
they wasn't they didn't look like jail
[1:02:56] prisons or I mean, they looked, you
know, really nice structures. The
[1:03:01] grounds around it was kept really nice.
Um because it was all flat. You really
[1:03:06] didn't know there was anything there
until the driveway opened up between the
[1:03:09] trees and then you could see. And uh
they like planting lots of vegetation
[1:03:14] around them for various reasons. one,
they're very secure areas. I mean, they
[1:03:19] all have security guards and and nice
big tall fencing and and that kind of
[1:03:25] thing. And um and and true, they do use
a lot of power and they did have long
[1:03:31] lines of generators sitting there. Um
but
[1:03:37] » were most of these in industrial parks
or just house?
[1:03:40] » There was there was a big industrial
park. Um,
[1:03:44] and then the 600 there there was a few
that scattered out in the county. They
[1:03:48] said, uh, that of course we didn't go
see. Uh, what I did notice they building
[1:03:53] several in the main industrial park and
the dump truck traffic was crazy. It was
[1:04:00] bumper to bumper worse than what was
actually out on the interstates and and
[1:04:04] around the you know where you you know I
don't know how many people went to
[1:04:09] Richmond but you know the traffic was
worse with dump trucks in the industrial
[1:04:14] park than it was out in in the county.
Um, and you know, it was one of the
[1:04:19] things that that I thought about when
they leased the lot right next to the
[1:04:24] one in Progress Park to move that dirt
to keep those dump trucks off of our our
[1:04:30] VOTE roads. U because I mean it it was
just unbelievable. I mean it was and it
[1:04:36] wasn't just dump trucks. I mean it was
road tractors, dump trailers. I mean
[1:04:40] bumper to bumper. I mean it it's hard to
explain how many dump trucks there was.
[1:04:44] a lot of equipment moving from sight to
sight.
[1:04:54] » I I'll follow up on that if you don't
mind. We've had a lot of questions about
[1:04:58] water and water usage. And just one
thing for for folks to keep in mind for
[1:05:02] the water that gets distributed through
most of the the town or most of the
[1:05:06] county system, our maximum lure at the
near river water treatment plant in my
[1:05:12] neighborhood is 6 million gallons a day.
How long does it take six million
[1:05:17] gallons to flow by the Ivanho River
gauge on the New River?
[1:05:23] Today with a lower water level, it took
about 16 minutes for that maximum to
[1:05:27] flow by the the Ivanho gauge. So the
water that we actually used today
[1:05:33] probably took about nine minutes to to
flow by. Well, we don't take all that in
[1:05:37] at one time, but it gives you some
perspective on how much water we have um
[1:05:43] how much capacity we have here.
>> How much would Blue Star want to use
[1:05:48] water
quantity? How much was Blue Star on on
[1:05:53] the books before they left the town?
>> Much much more than any any
[1:06:00] » because I mean and that wasn't going to
be treated that was going to be
[1:06:03] processed and somewhat treated or
released right back into the sewer
[1:06:07] system.
>> Right. Uh we were going to have to
[1:06:09] expand we actually did expand our sewer
system capacity. We have a a pump
[1:06:14] station that if they were to start
operating tomorrow, we could handle the
[1:06:17] sewage that they send to us. But um
you're also going to have to expand the
[1:06:22] wastewater treatment plant on Log and u
since the that project hasn't advanced,
[1:06:29] we haven't proceeded with expanding the
treatment capacity. Um we have the plans
[1:06:35] um but we we could probably get that bid
out within a couple months and get that
[1:06:40] project back underway, but um we're not
having to do that. the um the data
[1:06:47] center in Progress Park has filed a
permit for 3,000 gallons of waste water
[1:06:51] a day. So, it's not even a lip on the
radar for what what passes through the
[1:06:56] U.
>> They're going to pre-treat that or just
[1:06:58] go spread out raw.
>> There's no need for pre-treatment. It's
[1:07:01] u it's all domestic. So, it's flushing
toilets. It's, you know, running sinks
[1:07:07] and kitchens. It's washing hands. It's
filling water bottles. Just
[1:07:11] » gray water.
Any
[1:07:19] other questions for Mr. Bernett?
>> Thank you for going and bringing it
[1:07:24] back.
>> It was a long day.
[1:07:29] » It was a long day.
[1:07:35] » And our next item of business is our
deputy county administrator report.
[1:07:41] » I don't have an awful lot to report.
I've been working on things related to
[1:07:44] um your project and a couple of other
projects. Um
[1:07:50] so I I have made some changes to the um
the ordinance as as you directed in your
[1:07:55] joint work session with the board of
supervisors been making map changes and
[1:08:00] I think we've gotten most of them. There
are still a few that um
[1:08:06] we may have to do some further sorting
out on. Um,
[1:08:10] one of the properties that uh, you all
asked to be moved back from industrial
[1:08:15] to agricultural,
the property owner would prefer that it
[1:08:19] remain industrial.
>> Mr. Mr. Bberger,
[1:08:23] » no. Okay.
>> Mr. Marshall.
[1:08:26] » Okay.
>> Think I think owns more acreage.
[1:08:30] » Okay. Well, I' I've talked to him twice.
Um
[1:08:36] so there there are a few of those that
that you know we we may yet still have
[1:08:40] to work on. Um there is a draft online u
you know with the the changes uh that
[1:08:48] have been directed so far. Um
we've had three or four additional
[1:08:55] comments come in. Um,
one gentleman in particular submitted
[1:09:02] very lengthy, probably three or four
pages of requested changes. Um,
[1:09:09] we will when the time is right and we
have further direction on how to
[1:09:12] proceed, we will come back to you with
those and see if you wish to pursue any
[1:09:17] of them. At this point, staff hasn't
gone in depth. Um the ones that I have
[1:09:23] looked at I I haven't haven't seen a lot
that I would recommend that you change.
[1:09:28] Um
but um
[1:09:32] we will see what happens Thursday uh
with that. Um we'll see what sort of
[1:09:37] turnout we have. Uh you all may have got
a citizen alert on your phones earlier.
[1:09:42] Um just reminding folks of that meeting.
um our staff Lisa Allison Williams um
[1:09:52] Leanne Nester in the administration
office um several others have gone
[1:09:56] around the county they've distributed
flyers and a lot of the convenience
[1:10:00] stores um you know different areas
around you parks um you know just if
[1:10:07] there was a venue that we thought we
could reach people our staff has gone
[1:10:10] out and and they've done outreach just
trying to publicize this meeting trying
[1:10:15] to get as participation as we can. Um I
would remind you that so far the the
[1:10:21] public participation that we've had is
still less than 1% of the county
[1:10:24] population.
Um we'd like to hear from people, but if
[1:10:30] we don't hear from people, what do we
assume?
[1:10:33] Either they don't care or they don't
think it's going to matter. Um
[1:10:38] I know which one I tend to fall on. You
know, most people this isn't going to
[1:10:41] touch their lives, so it's probably not
going to bother them that much.
[1:10:45] Um,
[1:10:48] but I think that people need to realize
that, you know, it does have some
[1:10:52] long-term bearing in how we're able to
manage uh the development of of the
[1:10:57] county. So, we we need to be mindful of
if there's a tool that we can use, it's
[1:11:02] not going to bother most people.
Let's talk about, you know, what it
[1:11:06] takes to get that in place.
[1:11:14] Um,
moving on to broadband. Uh, I did go
[1:11:18] around on a tour last week with Citizens
Telecom. So, they had their um physical
[1:11:26] plant manager, their CEO along with
staff from the Mount Rogers Planning
[1:11:31] District Commission, which is the the
grant holder for this project. Um, and
[1:11:36] DHCD. Um so I I tagged along looked at
the areas that they are wrapping up.
[1:11:42] They are almost through with the uh VD2
project. Um they have uh completed at
[1:11:48] Miller's Creek. They completed all the
way out Connors Valley Road. Uh they
[1:11:53] they we went up Stillwell. Um we we we
saw a lot of areas on the eastern end of
[1:11:58] the county that they were still working
on. Uh they they were um back up in
[1:12:02] Bertha Farms um trying trying to get um
a lot of that work finished. Um they
[1:12:09] finally were able to find a rightaway
easement that they were able to attach
[1:12:14] to and dig their trenches and take their
cable up in there even if they couldn't
[1:12:18] get land owners to respond uh to request
for easements. So um much of the eastern
[1:12:24] end of the county will have access to
fiber by the end of September. So they
[1:12:31] do have some additional funding made
available um in the bead project. Uh so
[1:12:38] the folks who are in those scattered
sites that were maybe too far from the
[1:12:43] fiber line to to be served that they
will you know be eligible to to get some
[1:12:49] funding uh from this particular grant.
Um
[1:12:55] so hopefully the folks that want to have
some highspeed access uh will will have
[1:13:00] access to it by the end of 2027. Are
they doing any Wi-Fi hubs like local
[1:13:07] community Wi-Fi hubs?
>> Uh they have been trying to they haven't
[1:13:11] had a lot of success.
>> Yeah, I read some but I didn't hear the
[1:13:15] whole
>> um so some of the grant funding required
[1:13:19] that they make publicly uh accessible
nodes. Um, so they they've looked at
[1:13:25] places like fire departments, rescue
squads, uh, convenience stores, uh,
[1:13:29] community gathering locations, just
trying to make sure that if we go
[1:13:34] through another pandemic and something
happens that, you know, folks who don't
[1:13:38] have any access at all aren't all having
to gather in the McDonald's parking lot
[1:13:41] to get Wi-Fi.
>> I just wonder how that was going.
[1:13:45] Anything else?
>> I'll ask for an update on that. Um, I
[1:13:49] know that they have uh done quite a bit
of outreach to folks that they thought
[1:13:52] might be receptive to it, and I know
they've installed some, but I don't
[1:13:55] remember what those locations are. So,
I'll ask for an update on them.
[1:14:02] I would think that anywhere that you
have to provide shelter for people,
[1:14:06] power outage, snow,
something at your fire departments or
[1:14:12] schools, that'd be a good place to have
have that, I would I would think.
[1:14:17] » Yep. We're trying to make that happen.
Um they will be installing uh fiber
[1:14:23] either late this week or sometime next
week at the um with county east station,
[1:14:28] the old lead nine station. Um that
that's currently served by cable and the
[1:14:33] bandwidth isn't what we need it to be.
So they're going to run fiber there and
[1:14:37] that's one of the last um public
locations that they'll they'll have to
[1:14:41] get to to reach.
>> That was citizens on coax there, was it?
[1:14:45] [clears throat]
Oh, what's central link now? They're
[1:14:48] called broadband.
>> Um that that coax uh is generally
[1:14:53] capable of 100 megabit downloads and 20
megabit uploads. Um
[1:14:59] our camera system uh that we use for
security there needs more bandwidth on
[1:15:04] that. Not to mention all the providers
and that their reporting that they're
[1:15:08] able to do electronically now. Yeah, we
we we need
[1:15:11] » an upgraded capacity there. It's no
that's probably Pioneer Cable Ed Arnold
[1:15:16] installed with that. So that's some of
the original stuff he installed with
[1:15:19] probably. So it has been there a while.
>> Is citizens turning some people on to
[1:15:26] the I mean getting hooked them hooked up
and getting
[1:15:29] » they are and they've been making a
really good effort to do outreach. Um
[1:15:33] » you all may have met the CEO. She was at
the first meeting at Fort Chisel
[1:15:38] just to connect people. We we've
suggested several things that they could
[1:15:41] do to get out and meet people who are
more specifically on the eastern end of
[1:15:45] the county. Uh so they reached out to
ruran clubs and
[1:15:51] churches and social groups and um you
just tried to get the word out that
[1:15:56] folks do have another option now uh for
their their speed and for the areas that
[1:16:01] have have been connected by fiber you
can get gigabit service. So
[1:16:05] » I'm only at fiber and I've not
recognized any
[1:16:09] and decay of service. It's still just
like it always is. We have every tablet,
[1:16:14] television all we want in the house and
it never buffers. So they got very good
[1:16:19] system and just kind of surprising that
I we ain't see little jumps or
[1:16:23] something.
With most of the providers I've had in
[1:16:26] my life, I was happy if I got 80% of
what they promised me. And generally
[1:16:32] with citizens, it's it's closer to 100%
they offered.
[1:16:41] what you said
[1:16:46] and we have a help successfully. I think
it's a good thing to do. The other thing
[1:16:52] I was thinking about what Jesse said
about utilizing money for certain
[1:16:56] things.
Fire
[1:17:03] in the county.
[1:17:06] » We had one of those discussions today.
Um we're we're getting ready to do roof
[1:17:10] repairs at um Baron Springs Fire
Department and at the with county east
[1:17:14] station that they both have a water
infiltration problem. Um
[1:17:19] those fire stations and rescue squads
are around 30 years old, not getting any
[1:17:24] younger. Um the some of them have have
been treated better than others. Uh but
[1:17:30] as we look forward, do we need to
replace our fire stations and um EMS
[1:17:36] buildings um you know in line with what
we're doing with the schools? And so
[1:17:41] certainly that we have plans for that in
our capital improvement plan. Um the the
[1:17:47] timing will be up to when does the money
start coming in and how much of it uh do
[1:17:51] we apply to that specific area. Um as
far as equipment goes, we're generally
[1:17:56] in pretty good shape. Our our EMS folks
will take possession of a new ambulance
[1:18:00] within the next six weeks. Um and we
have several newer ambulances purchased
[1:18:06] within the last four years. Um fire
departments are generally in good shape.
[1:18:10] Uh we we've invested um in in several
new apparatus since I've been here. Uh
[1:18:16] but you've got to keep that going and uh
>> you might have to look at a ladder truck
[1:18:20] if that other
>> that comes in. That would be a definite
[1:18:24] need.
>> We we've already had conversations with
[1:18:26] the developer for that project that they
have asked us what do you need? Uh and
[1:18:32] one of my first responses in emergency
services was to tell them that the fire
[1:18:36] station that will serve that location uh
is not big enough for an aerial
[1:18:40] apparatus even if we had it.
>> So uh we may be able to squeeze a quint
[1:18:44] in the Max Medit Station, but we'd have
to give up
[1:18:47] » have to give up two other trucks and
it'd be tight. Um so you we're
[1:18:52] realistically going to have to look at
what our options are on some of those
[1:18:55] stations going forward. I'm not
advocating for building $10 million fire
[1:18:59] stations, but we can probably do better
than metal buildings.
[1:19:15] those kind of things.
[1:19:23] » Um it would be of particular interest
too if there was an expansion into
[1:19:28] battery energy storage. Um you know
you've got to be mindful of while the
[1:19:33] odds of a thermal runaway are low,
they're never zero. So we would have to
[1:19:39] know how to fight that. And so it's not
just providing the equipment, but also
[1:19:42] providing the training necessary. And
that shouldn't be on the county to
[1:19:47] provide that training. It should be on
the developer of the the project to to
[1:19:51] provide the training so that we can
fight it the right way.
[1:19:59] [snorts]
[1:20:01] Anything
[1:20:11] else for Mr. Henkins?
[1:20:18] Those hand sign those hand signals are
still better than most of the ones I
[1:20:21] get.
[1:20:26] If nothing else for Mr. Henkins, we'll
go to commissioner concerns.
[1:20:32] I was going to bring up can we get rid
of the block cameras but see the Mr. the
[1:20:36] sheriff has picked me to it. So
I'm a small government guy but there
[1:20:43] have been instances where those cameras
did um point us in the right direction.
[1:20:49] Um, you know, the very first week they
were up when Sheriff Foster was still
[1:20:53] the sheriff, um, there was a lady with
Alzheimer's, um, from North Carolina who
[1:20:59] drove through the the camera closest to
Jackson and our folks were able to
[1:21:05] locate her and get her back home safely
by by the use of that technology. But I
[1:21:11] get that a lot of folks are fearful of
that technology and what it can do. Um
[1:21:16] it it like any other technology can be
abused. Um but I have not known our law
[1:21:21] enforcement folks to do that.
>> And um
[1:21:25] also I've took a lot of phone calls and
inperson
[1:21:32] I would say some of them are
confrontational
[1:21:35] over the last two weeks.
It's not over the land use ordinance is
[1:21:40] over this 1% sales tax. people raising
cane over this one 1% sales tax. I've
[1:21:47] had to explain to them I said
you
[1:21:52] got to if the 1% passes
uh
[1:21:57] travelers and out of state and out of
county people will help pay for the
[1:22:02] schools. If not, your real estate could
go up 20 cents on the hundred and I said
[1:22:07] you're going to be paying for all of it.
>> Exactly.
[1:22:10] » And that's happened two times before. If
people are ignorant, I mean, a lot of
[1:22:15] people are ignorant. They just say tax
no
[1:22:18] » if the 1% local option doesn't pass,
we would have to do those upgrades 100%
[1:22:26] based on property taxes that we receive.
Um, and as Mr. King pointed out and Mr.
[1:22:33] Bernard did, you you can't rely on that
revenue before it starts coming in. And
[1:22:38] even once it starts coming in, you need
to be mindful that it can go away just
[1:22:42] as quickly as it got here. Um, so the 1%
would give us the option of um having a
[1:22:49] pretty significant discount. I don't
know about y'all, but I still use
[1:22:52] coupons. Um, you know, I'll open up my
food line app and I'll I'll pick out
[1:22:57] which coupons I'm I'm going to use this
week. Uh, we're getting a pretty
[1:23:01] significant discount on new schools if
we use this local option. Um, you know,
[1:23:07] it's like getting 40% off and I'll take
that bargain just about anytime.
[1:23:12] » Yeah. I've been explaining to people I
said that 1%
[1:23:16] will be the fairest tax there is.
>> If you don't use it, you don't get
[1:23:21] charged for citizens.
>> Have you all had any people complain?
[1:23:25] » I've had a couple. I've had a couple
didn't understand why. And after I
[1:23:29] explained to them the 20% deal, I said,
"Would you really pay 52?" What is it?
[1:23:34] 52 53% now.
And I said, "Would you like to pay
[1:23:37] 7172?"
They said, "No." I said, "Well, at 1%
[1:23:41] all these people come here eating wine."
I just wish we get some more restaurants
[1:23:45] like Chick-fil-A,
Roadhouse. Because I'll tell you, I did
[1:23:49] I did a little research. There's 58,000
cars come through this intersection
[1:23:54] today. You know how much how many Rhino
Cats? 57. We've got a thousand more
[1:23:59] comes through this intersection here
than Ron does.
[1:24:02] » Yeah. But they got
>> We can't get a chicken.
[1:24:03] » Yeah. They got 250,000 people live down
in that bowl, too, and we only got
[1:24:07] 28,000.
I
[1:24:10] » I've I've done a lot of work with those
um those restaurants and hotels over the
[1:24:15] years that base their metrics on any
number of things. A lot of them do base
[1:24:20] it on number of cars passing by, but
they also u look at your local
[1:24:24] population. And if your local population
is not big enough that they're not
[1:24:28] coming.
>> Yeah. And I remember I don't know how
[1:24:31] many years ago it was when Chick-fil-A
said that we did not have enough lunch
[1:24:36] crowd for them to locate here. Well,
Chick-fil-A also looks at at other
[1:24:40] metrics. Um,
median household income
[1:24:45] is one. Chick-fil-A is not going to let
somebody locate somewhere where it's
[1:24:49] going to possibly fail. So even if a
franchisee were to say I want to put one
[1:24:54] in withful Chick-fil-A as a corporate
entity has to sign off on that and they
[1:24:59] won't sign off on it if if it's not
going to meet their metrics.
[1:25:02] » If you don't put it they won't cut them
problem. You don't get I mean we got a
[1:25:06] corridor for for women with fortunes on
both sides that you can have it lined up
[1:25:11] and you put them over there. I guarantee
you roll in some people because people's
[1:25:15] hungry. They come through here they get
gas. Look the tax review on gas. I get
[1:25:20] y'all get pretty good on gas. If you did
that same thing with the food, you know,
[1:25:23] they stop and eat when they fueled up.
>> There's a reason why Starbucks built on
[1:25:28] a sea park.
>> Absolutely.
[1:25:31] » And just just remember, we got three
Taco Bells within a three mile radius of
[1:25:34] one another.
>> Three, four wins in Canada.
[1:25:38] » The the 1% if it does pass is 20 years
or 25 years.
[1:25:42] » It's 20 years. So, uh if it were uh
passed this year, it would expire in
[1:25:47] 2046.
and it could be redone again if you so
[1:25:54] if you if you thought you had a need
>> that's not in the enabling legislation
[1:25:59] that the general assembly passed.
>> So do do it just one time and then then
[1:26:03] » that that that could change between now
and 2046.
[1:26:07] Um one of the other considerations is
that this is
[1:26:13] just for school construction
rehabilitation.
[1:26:17] Um, it is not for teacher salaries. It's
not for operating. It's not for buses.
[1:26:22] It's for those major projects. It's it's
for construction. Um,
[1:26:27] » how many other counties around that
that's going to that's going to try to
[1:26:30] pass this?
>> There's quite a few. Um, some have opted
[1:26:35] not to. Bland opted not to. Okay.
[1:26:40] » You don't have you don't have nearly the
number of businesses over there, so it
[1:26:43] wouldn't have that big an impact. I
still argue it would have some impact,
[1:26:48] but they could do something with those
funds, but they've opted not to and that
[1:26:52] that's the right of their board to
decide to to go that way. Um, so a lot
[1:26:57] of other localities have reached out to
us. Um, they have seen some of the
[1:27:01] publications that we've put out and
they're interested in using similar
[1:27:05] materials because um,
while their circumstances aren't
[1:27:09] necessarily the same, some of the thing
same things hold true. So, they want to
[1:27:13] use some of the materials that we've
produced.
[1:27:16] I seen this morning on the news that
there will be three statewide
[1:27:20] constitutional amendments on our on our
your ballot this winter this November.
[1:27:25] » Yeah. Plan on spending a little longer
in the ballot box this time than you
[1:27:28] usually do.
>> Yes. Yeah. We don't have any countywide
[1:27:33] elections, but we'll have
n nationalationwide. So,
[1:27:38] » yep. We have a US Senate and US House
both up this time.
[1:27:43] » But, uh I know
>> and Some people may ask why we're not
[1:27:48] as a county actively out there vocal and
promoting the 1% tax. We can't by state
[1:27:56] code um assert that people should vote
one way or the other. I can individually
[1:28:01] tell you how I'm going to vote. I'm
going to vote for it.
[1:28:04] » Um
but I I can't tell people, you know, how
[1:28:08] they ought to vote. uh we have to
present it in a neutral sort of format
[1:28:12] and let people make up their own minds.
>> That's why I was going to ask on
[1:28:16] likeformational
meetings and stuff because I think a lot
[1:28:21] of people are confused
over what the wording is.
[1:28:25] » Well, Dr. Street uh spoke to the joint
governing bodies last night, made a very
[1:28:29] compelling argument. Um he has done
informational meetings in he did Fort
[1:28:35] Chisel Friday night before the football
game I think and he was doing tonight at
[1:28:39] Sheffy um you know while this meeting is
going on otherwise I would have gone to
[1:28:43] Sheffy. Um you know he's doing some of
those around the county just to help
[1:28:47] people get a better understanding of of
what we're asking or the ballot question
[1:28:52] they'll be asked to to vote on this
fall. Um he has some really great
[1:28:58] pictures of the architectural render
renderings for uh the new elementary
[1:29:04] school here uh in town and uh the Fort
Chisel High School renovations. Um as
[1:29:12] well as the athletic fields uh that
would be done as part of this
[1:29:17] initiative. So
he points out rightly so that we cannot
[1:29:22] host a regional uh sporting tournament
or sporting event. Our tracks are not
[1:29:28] big enough. They don't have the right
surfaces. Um we don't have lights on
[1:29:32] most of our athletic fields. So the
games that we go into the night, we have
[1:29:36] to play somewhere that has lights. So
that means our athletes are traveling
[1:29:40] further uh away, spending longer away
from their studies while they're
[1:29:44] traveling to ball games. Um he also
points out that um because we will be
[1:29:51] addressing some of this aging equipment
including some some chillers and air
[1:29:55] conditioning equipment um you know
getting our schools air conditioned and
[1:29:59] climate comfortable um because we will
be spending less on maintenance that
[1:30:03] will give them less fun uh give them
more funds for operations. So teacher
[1:30:08] salaries, teacher benefits, uh school
supplies, um you know, student activity
[1:30:12] supplies, all those things will have
more money because we'll be spending
[1:30:16] less on maintenance than they have.
>> Yeah, I do know like I've seen the the
[1:30:22] board meetings, Mr. Mr. Joe Deour
talking about the lights at Speed
[1:30:26] Elementary School. That's the only
baseball field in the county that has
[1:30:30] lights.
>> You you may know a lot more about those
[1:30:34] lights than we do. We don't know who
installed them or when they were
[1:30:38] installed.
>> Mr. Joe Bass and the community installed
[1:30:41] them.
>> Okay.
[1:30:44] I think I owe somebody some money. They
they bet today that uh the Basses were
[1:30:49] involved in that.
And I got an email the other day asking
[1:30:55] us to I know Whifffield the town they're
doing their comprehensive plan and they
[1:31:00] want they want people in the county to
to to answer that or not or
[1:31:05] » I got the same email. Um I'm a little
conflicted about whether I should answer
[1:31:10] or not. Um I I tend to think that it's
more for the folks in to help make those
[1:31:16] determinations. If they want my help,
I'll be glad to to offer my opinions.
[1:31:21] Did you get one, Rusty?
>> I did. Good.
[1:31:25] [snorts]
>> I just I just I just I just was curious.
[1:31:29] I mean,
>> that's what we build.
[1:31:32] » Pretty good size cabins.
[1:31:40] It's 168 in.
>> Any any other concerns for the
[1:31:46] commissioner concerns at this time?
>> My mic. I'm done. I run my mouth in
[1:31:51] this.
[1:31:55] Our next item will be our land use
ordinance review.
[1:32:00] » I've already talked about that unless
you all just have something that you
[1:32:03] found that's wrong or that needs to be
corrected or updated or changed.
[1:32:07] » I'm good.
[1:32:14] » Yeah.
>> Don't have stuff like that. I mean that
[1:32:19] that's not not updated.
>> Yeah, you there's only about 19,000
[1:32:25] parcels. So I'm only get one or two of
them wrong.
[1:32:29] » Is there a large quantity of people
comment about it or just a few?
[1:32:33] » We really have haven't had much in the
way of calls. Uh we we've had like I say
[1:32:37] maybe three or four additional online
submissions.
[1:32:41] That would be worth probably just seeing
if the board wants to bring it back and
[1:32:45] just say, "Okay, if that's what they
want,
[1:32:48] do it. It's done. Then we move on." I
mean, that's just my thought. I mean, I
[1:32:53] could be totally off base.
>> Well, you know, this this thing Thursday
[1:32:56] night is not the last opportunity for
the public to to be engaged. Uh, if if
[1:33:02] you all are ready and the board's ready
to move on to public hearings, uh, that
[1:33:06] there will be opportunity, and I'm I'm
willing to bet that we won't have it in
[1:33:09] this room. Um
>> as of right now,
[1:33:17] » right? So you all would need to make a
recommendation that the current draft or
[1:33:22] any subsequent draft
be adopted by the the board. Um so
[1:33:31] » and the board still may have something
to bring back to change. Well, it it may
[1:33:36] mean another joint meeting, you know,
just to to wrap it up and make sure that
[1:33:40] y'all are on the same page. Um, you
know, about the earliest that you could
[1:33:44] expect to even consider passage is maybe
November, just based on when it would
[1:33:51] take, you know, you all have to set your
public hearing. The board has to set
[1:33:56] its. We have to meet the advertising
requirements for that. Um, and then we
[1:34:00] have to actually have the public
hearings. So it's it's too late for you
[1:34:04] all to set one now for October. So the
first window I think would be November.
[1:34:10] Um
that's at the very earliest.
[1:34:15] » You'd have to do it by the our normal
business meeting. Correct. You could
[1:34:19] just add another meeting at the end of
the month like in October, end of
[1:34:23] October.
>> You could if you saw value in that.
[1:34:27] » Well, I I guess that would just move the
process on faster.
[1:34:32] Well, that's one thing that I think that
you and the board need to reach
[1:34:36] agreement on and we can help facilitate
that.
[1:34:39] » I think another meeting between us and
the supervisors to make sure we're on
[1:34:44] the same page and that they want it then
we
[1:34:49] » and it it may be that the board has some
conversation about this Tuesday at their
[1:34:53] meeting. uh if they want to follow up
from that. Um
[1:34:59] I I can't say until the agenda is done
or we see what the board members have to
[1:35:04] say next week.
>> Um
[1:35:09] well, we'll find a little more after
Thursday, too. So,
[1:35:13] » yes, sir. I don't want to step on their
hel.
[1:35:29] » If nothing else, I'll entertain a
motion.
[1:35:33] » Motion to journ.
>> Second.
[1:35:37] » It's been properly moved a second
>> to adjourn the September meeting of the
[1:35:42] W County Planning Commission. I'll take
a roll call vote from this way.