Attendance.
The following members of the Board of Supervisors were present: Sheila
S. Noll, James S. Burgett, and Thomas G. Shepperd.
Also in
attendance were James O. McReynolds, County Administrator; and James E.
Barnett, County Attorney.
RETREAT SESSION
2003 CALENDAR
The Board of
Supervisors members were provided with a listing of pending Zoning
Ordinance Text Amendments, and were asked to review the list for
possible work session meeting dates.
Mrs. Noll
stated she did not see Route 17 on the list.
Mr. McReynolds
stated that issue would come under the Board’s discussions on economic
development.
Mr. J. Mark Carter,
Assistant County Administrator, noted that VDOT was about to start the
scoping for the widening project, and staff will need to come back to
the Board with some information in terms of the widening.
Discussion
followed on sidewalks from Route 17 interconnecting subdivisions.
Mr. Wiggins
arrived at 8:20 a.m.
Mr. Carter
then indicated that some of the issues were time sensitive. He stated
the State has issued a reprieve on the deadline dealing with the
Chesapeake Bay regulations, and the County now has until December 1.
Staff recommends that the process keep moving, and a draft is
circulating that will be sent to the Board as soon as the Planning
Commission has reviewed it.
Chairman Burgett
asked if the County was operating under the old regulations or the new
ones.
Mr. Carter
noted that the County’s current regulations don’t need to change much
because it has been doing things pretty much the way the State wants
them done. He then reviewed the issues outlined on the handout,
beginning with Flood Hazard Management Overlay. He stated the amendments
were very minor, and it would be good to adopt them as soon as possible
to allow the County to participate in the CRS program for reduction to
flood insurance premiums to the citizens.
Mr. Shepperd
asked if any of these flood hazards or Chesapeake Bay regulations
address regulations for drainage.
Mr. Carter
indicated they did not.
Mr. Shepperd
stated drainage will be a major issue that the Board may wish to
address.
Mr. McReynolds
indicated the Phase II regulations won’t require the County to take over
any of the ponds. The regulations are still being developed, and it is
unclear where they will lead at this time.
Mr. Wiggins
stated the County was way ahead any of the other areas in terms of
stormwater management. One of the requirements will be that the locality
have a committee that goes out to inform the public on what they should
be doing and looking for, and York County already has this committee in
place. He stated York County doesn’t have the industrial development
that requires a lot of treatment.
Discussion
followed on the responsibility of the homeowners associations for BMPs.
Mr. Carter
noted that the issue of accessory apartments would be on the Board’s
March 4 Regular Meeting agenda. He then addressed the Yorktown
architectural guidelines, stating the draft has cleared the Planning
Commission, and staff recommends that the Board conduct a work session
before taking up the issue for action.
Mr. Wiggins
stated he felt the Board needed to address this issue as soon as
possible.
Mr. McReynolds
suggested that the Board consider having some 5:30 p.m. work sessions
prior to the regular meetings.
By consensus,
the Board scheduled the following meetings:
March 4 5:30
p.m. Architectural Guidelines
May 6 5:30 p.m.
(Tentative) Parking, Signs, Landscaping
May 13 6:00
p.m. Senior Housing
June 10 6:00
p.m. Route 17 Beautification
Mr. Zaremba
arrived at 8:43 a.m.
GOALS AND
OBJECTIVES
The Board
reviewed the mission statement, and no changes were made.
Mr. James W. Noel, Jr.,
Director of Economic Development, reviewed with the Board members a
handout depicting the major business announcements that have been made
in York County since 2000.
Discussion
followed on County government using local York County business services
wherever possible. Discussion also ensued concerning development at
Victory Industrial Park.
Mr. Noel
stated that without an office park in the County, the County will
continue to struggle for the larger white collar industries.
Mrs. Noll
asked if there was any movement on the golf course.
Mr. Noel
explained the problems being encountered with finalizing the lease. He
stated he felt the negotiations were over the worst hurdles, and he was
in constant contact with the attorneys handling it.
Chairman Burgett
stated the County needs an office park in the southern end of the
County.
Mr. Noel
explained the problem is that there isn’t much land for such a purpose
in the southern end. Kiln Creek is played out. The property staff
continues to wrestle with is the Keener/Cupp/Berrane tract.
Mrs. Noll
asked what the possibility was of purchasing the salvage yards on Route
17.
Mr. Noel
stated some of the owners want other sites before they would agree to
sell and move, but there is no where in the County to move. He stated
the owners also don’t want to acknowledge there will also be
environmental costs. He then discussed the proposed Route 17 corridor
and a targeted commercial property redevelopment program for individual
parcels or areas where there are vacant, deteriorating commercial
structures. He noted examples of this include Heritage Square Shopping
Center and the corner of Oriana Road and Route 17. He reviewed three
suggested alternative plans of action:
- Offer low interest loans or
grants funded through the economic development funds for approved
redevelopment projects. Program elements could include design
assistance,, façade improvement, sign assistance, or general property
improvement.
and/or
- Acquire selected properties,
demolish structures, landscape the lots, and selectively market the
property.
and/or
- Negotiate a redevelopment
plan with selected property owners through a public/private
partnership.
Mrs. Noll
suggested that a meeting be held with the Route 17 property owners to
let them know what the Board and staff are thinking about and having
them share in it.
Mr. Noel
expressed his agreement about getting input from the private sector. He
suggested that the County supplant the technology zone with one of the
listed recommendations doing a public/private partnership. He stated the
problem that will be encountered is that it goes against natural market
forces. He stated the Board might want to think about changing the
technology zone effort to some type of redevelopment effort on Route 17.
Chairman Burgett
agreed it was time to come up with some plan, stating the technology
zone isn’t going to work for York County. He stated he felt Mr. Noel’s
proposal answers some of the questions the Board gets phone calls about,
and it fits in with improving the County’s tax base.
Discussion
followed on the proposals as set forth by Mr. Noel.
Mr. Zaremba
suggested that the Industrial Development Authority be tasked with
reviewing the issue, identify segments or parts of a program, set
priorities, and come to the Board with a proposal for it to consider. He
also suggested that a meeting be held with the property owners to see if
there is any interest in a public/private partnership. Mr. Zaremba
stated if the Board wants to get on with cleaning up these vacant sites,
it won’t cost a lot initially, but ultimately will cost a lot. If the
Board likes the proposal developed by the IDA, it will set it in motion
and go at whatever speed possible under budget constraints.
Discussion then
took place concerning the communications portion of the Board’s Goals
and Objectives, and the County’s relationship with the press.
Meeting Recessed.
At 10:12 a.m., Chairman Burgett declared a short recess.
Meeting Reconvened.
At 10:22 a.m. the meeting was reconvened in open session by order of the
Chair.
The Board then
continued its review of its Goals and Objectives, addressing Goal 3
regarding customer service and the staff’s continuing efforts to provide
the highest quality of customer service to the citizens of York County.
They discussed the results of the last survey as well as possible
timeframes for a new survey to be conducted.
Mr. Wiggins
stated he felt the County was strong with its Boards and Commissions and
its volunteers, but indicated he had read a recent article concerning
payment to these members of the County’s boards and commissions, and
asked if there were any inequities in these payments.
Chairman Burgett
stated the Board needed to look at the matter and discuss it further.
Mrs. Noll
stated York County is very fortunate with its volunteers, noting other
jurisdictions have many problems getting individuals to volunteer. He
indicated the County has a recognition program for its volunteers which
is why the County is fortunate to have so many volunteers.
The Board
members then addressed Goal 4 concerning educational opportunities,
indicating they felt the County provided adequate funding for the school
division. Discussion took place concerning possible future reductions in
Federal Impact Aid.
Discussion on
Goal 5 concerning the provision of services to the citizens while
balancing increases in expenditures with the expansion of the tax base
indicated the Board members felt the Board had been historically very
prudent in its fiscal responsibilities.
RULES OF
PROCEDURE
Chairman Burgett
discussed the Matters Presented by the Board portion of the Regular
Board Meetings, stating that sometimes it went on for an hour or more.
He suggested that the Board members voluntarily agree to limit their
individual speaking time during this period of the meeting to 6 minutes
so that the total Matters portion only takes approximately 30 minutes.
Mr. Wiggins
stated he did not have a problem with Chairman Burgett’s proposal as
long as there was no intention to limit the content. He stated he felt 6
minutes was very reasonable.
Mrs. Noll
expressed her agreement.
Mr. Wiggins
also noted that if a Board member continues speaking longer than 6
minutes, he did not feel the Chair should cut the member off. He should
have a private conversation with the member afterwards.
By consensus
the Board agreed to a voluntary time limit of 6 minutes for each to
speak during Matters Presented by the Board.
Mrs. Noll
requested that when a Board member plans to bring up a controversial
issue during Matters the member let the other Board members know about
it ahead of time. She stated if all the Board members do their homework
on the agenda, most of these issues would be addressed and the problem
found prior to the actual meeting. She also asked that if an issue is to
be removed from the agenda that it be done by Monday so that adequate
notification can be made to all the Board members. Mrs. Noll also asked
that the Board members agree to keep their comments during Matters from
being campaign-based.
Chairman Burgett
also noted that the Board members needed to remember that their
individual comments do not necessarily represent the feelings of the
entire Board.
Mr. Wiggins
noted that the County Attorney’s comments are sometimes quite long, and
he asked that the Board consider requesting him to streamline his
remarks.
Chairman Burgett
indicated he would speak with Mr. Barnett.
Mr. Shepperd
asked Mr. Burgett to ask Mr. Barnett to put his remarks in language that
everyone can understand.
Mrs. Noll
stated she felt the staff should be asked to streamline their
presentations as well.
Discussion
followed concerning differences in the County’s districts and the issues
impacting each of them.
Mr. Zaremba
suggested the implementation of a once-a-month lunch date among the
Board members, two at a time, to discuss some of the issues affecting
their respective districts.
Mrs. Noll
suggested the Board meeting once a month before a work session for
dinner to share what is going on in the five districts.
Meeting Adjourned.
At 12:18 p.m. Chairman Burgett declared the meeting adjourned
sine die.
_______________________________
________________________________
James O. McReynolds, Clerk
James S. Burgett, Chairman
York County Board of Supervisors
York County Board of Supervisors
