September 2010 Supervisors report

The Board of Supervisors voted 7 to 0 to place $900,402.11 in the instruction category of Pittsylvania county School budget. The School system wanted the Supervisors to place this money into construction so they could build storage buildings at the four High Schools. I know buildings cost money to build but I know the ones the School system wanted was too extravagant and could be done at much lower cost. If they were located in front of the School buildings then I could understand for them to look good. They will be located mostly out of sight from main entrances. I supported placing this money in instruction. We need to take care of our teachers first, buildings can be constructed later when the economy improves or build less extravagant ones now. I have done my homework as I do before all meetings and I don’t rubber stamp projects just because the county Administrator or School system says we need to do this.

The Board of Supervisors meeting was well attended at September 21 meeting. There were many young citizens along with parents and coaches; they overflowed in the hallways of the court house. Most were under the impression that the Board of Supervisors was going to shut down all sports programs in Pittsylvania County by not funding their programs. We as a Board had never intended to withdraw funding it was the School system who decided to start charging for non School related sports programs using the Schools facilities. I wish these parents and children would show up at the School Board meeting and present their case where the problem lies. The question is why did the School system stop outside activities in public buildings paid for with taxpayer dollars? The Board of Supervisors did vote to appropriate $4,000 to keep sports programs running till November of this year. The matter of remaining funds will be discussed at Finance committee meeting to be held before next Board meeting on October 4, 2010.The money saved on constructing lower cost storage buildings would pay the $61,000+ fee they are asking the Youth sports to pay.

The Board voted to hold several Public hearings and we took action at September 21, 2010 Board meeting. Proposal to move Swansonville Voting Precinct no action taken at this time till after redistricting takes place next year; Amend Pittsylvania county code flood plain management chapter 23; Lease of county property by Mid-Atlantic Broadband; Enterprise Zone application to Virginia Department of Housing & community Development to place Mega Park in order to aid in locating industries & businesses in industrial parks The vote was 7 to 0 on the above public hearings

We did have one person speak on Public hearing on Chapter 12 - new amendments to Moral Decency & Community standards. She was concerned for her children and potential to be exposed to clientele such clubs could attract to our county. With the amendment that passed with 7 to 0 vote all obscene material sold in stores will be breaking the law in Pittsylvania county. I raised the question of how it would be enforced. If you have an issue with such material call the Sheriff’s department to start the process of correcting the issue.

The Board of Supervisors voted 7 to 0 on the following items-To purchase 20.13 acres next to Pittsylvania county landfill for $75,000; Engine replacement roll off truck $15,380; Surveying, bidding & construction administration for phase II cell-B construction at landfill; Made modifications to open space agreement with Board of Supervisors; Approved lifting hiring freeze and advertize to hire Recreation Director at county grade 15 and to hire a full time county attorney.

We have been trying to repair the basement of Mosses building for some time. There is mold, mildew problems and water is seeping into the basement area, this is where most of Sheriffs staff is located. We are trying to fix the problem and it will cost $225,770 to dig down to footers along the walls on the outside, regrade and concrete the front .Then remove all ceiling tiles and all lead paint and asbestos on the inside, then they will coat the walls with sealer. If we do not fix this problem it will work its way to 1^st and 2^nd floors. Plus the sidewalks that weren’t replaced will be taken up and replaced. This will cost $9,570 for a total of $235,340 this requires a 10 day layover and will be voted on October 4, 2010 meeting.

Update on no-thru truck traffic on Blue Ridge Drive, Prospect Road and East hurt Road a total of 424 responses were made to Virginia Department of Transportation only 8 of those were opposed to our request. I will keep up posted as I get information.

I will be holding a citizens meeting on October 5, 2010 at Hurt Town Hall from 5:45 to 7 PM.Please stop by during that time to express concerns or ideas to make local Government better in person to me.

To get the Board of Supervisors packet or other information, you need to go to Pittsylvania County Home page www.pittgov.org; this is a tool for all citizens to use and help to keep a watchful eye on County business. Feel free to contact me by telephone (434-335-5967) please no phone calls after 9 PM or you can e-mail me at any hour marshall.ecker@pittgov.org I want to know your thoughts or ideas on issues that are important to you.

August 2010 Supervisors report

Many citizens in Northern part of Pittsylvania county have notice new signs installed by Virginia department of Transportation requesting your input on no thru-truck traffic on Blue Ridge Drive ,Prospect Road and East Hurt Road. I encourage everyone to write to Virginia Department of Transportation and express your thoughts on restricting thru tractor trailers on these roads. Please get your letters in before September 3,2010 to this address : Director of Programming and Investment Management Randy Hamilton, 4219 Campbell Ave.,Lynchburg Virginia 24501 make your voice be heard at VDOT.I was told that after the cutoff date it might be several weeks before a final decision is made on our request.

Here are some high lights from August 7,2010 Board of Supervisors meeting ,I was absent from that meeting .The Board removed $900,402 in State funds from the amended School budget and approved all other School carryovers to 2010/2011 School year budget by seven classifications and a request to change any of those totals will require Board of Supervisor action. This should create a better checks and balances of how money is moved around in School system. The Board also voted to fund $53,307 from Economic Development for Pittsylvania counties share of $600,000 to start Southside marketing plan, $200,000 will come from Governor of Virginia (state money), $200,000 from Tobacco commission and remainder from Southside counties. The Board voted to approve Regional –one contract for another year and locate a unit in Gretna area with hours from 7 am to 7 pm.

At August 17,2010 Board meeting Mr. Randy Hamilton ,Virginia Department of Transportation’s local Government Liaison for Pittsylvania county introduce Mr. Joe Barkley,III Residency Maintenance Manager ,Virginia Department of Transportation for Pittsylvania county and Halifax counties.Mr. Barkley explained how the new way of doing business with VDOT will affect you when a call is placed to VDOT. There is 1-800-367-7623 to “One Stop Call center “located in Salem Virginia (this center is for the whole state of Virginia) your request will be forwarded to a local VDOT maintenance center located nearest your home and someone will be dispatched to handle your request. I requested that they give each caller a reference Number so that your request can be tracked through the system in case for some unknown reason it got lost and you need to call again. All VDOT‘s local telephone numbers will be forward to this new 800 number.

I tried to increase the fee that the Treasures office charges for administrative fee to place a Stop order to DMV for those who fail to pay their taxes. The Pittsylvania county ordinance sets that fee at $20, the treasure has been charging $25 dollars since 2009.I tried to raise that fee to $30 to cover all expenses incurred by the treasurer’s office. Since many of these stop request are repeated offenders it only made sense to set administrative fee at $30 but 6 Board members decided to set the administrative fee back to $20 and let all taxpayers pick up the extra cost for those who don’t pay their taxes.

The Board voted 6 to 0 with Mr. Pritchett abstained to send a request to Pittsylvania county School Board to drop all fees charged for outside recreation at School facilities. The taxpayers paid for these facilities and if the School system can spend almost $1 million for storage buildings citizens should have free access to School buildings for recreation after School hours. I did ask at the Board meeting if the Board of Supervisors could take back the $600,000 given for Instruction purposes the answer was yes it can be done through a lengthy process. Is it worth it? I need more information on ratifications if this was to take place.

The Board of Supervisors voted 7 to 0 for the following: To create a new $25 fee for recordation of a list of heirs with Clerk of Circuit Court collecting this fee; tax exemption given to Northern Pittsylvania county Food center for vehicle and property; application for Justice Assistance grant $11,348;approve penalty and fees for unlawful and Illegal use of Fire Hydrants in Pittsylvania county; approved a 15’ easement to Pittsylvania county service Authority located at compactor site near Chatham Middle School; Amend Service agreement with Dewberry and Davis Phase 1 ground water well installation for $65,615;bid award for Sheriff’s department uniforms $29,762;approve carryover line item in Sheriffs budget $20,000 to create a auxiliary Deputy Sheriffs program; Not approve funding for any private day placements from the Comprehensive Plan Management Board program until an audit is completed by the State Auditors office; Gave approval to clear lot 7 Ringgold West Industrial Park; Renew Agreement with Tri-Lake Administration commission.

The Board of Supervisors did approve to create a position for Recreation director and approve Phase 1 of Pittsylvania county Recreation Board Comprehensive Master Plan which will create a county run recreation department along with a director to organize all recreation on county owned property along with developing a user agreement between the recreation department and Pittsylvania county School Board. I voted for this if we can find funds to pay for a director and Northern part of Pittsylvania County can be included in this program and not all going to Danville side of Pittsylvania County.

To get the Board of Supervisors packet or other information, you need to go to Pittsylvania County Home page www.pittgov.org; this is a tool for all citizens to use and help to keep a watchful eye on County business. Feel free to contact me by telephone (434-335-5967) please no phone calls after 9 PM or you can e-mail me at any hour marshall.ecker@pittgov.org I want to know your thoughts or ideas on issues that are important to you.

July 2010 Supervisors report

When you are in Chatham please take note of the new sidewalk in front of old County Court house. It is a great improvement .The County has started a new process of saving trees, we have started to cut down on paper in the Board packet, I would hope that we could eliminate most of the paper we get and place it in electronic form that’s why we were issued laptops, every Board member could help make this change if they wanted to, so far I haven’t gotten any support for this change so we will destroy many more trees.

Their seems to be some disagreement on setting a public hearing on fees that the Treasurer sets to charge those who fail to pay their taxes and personnel property taxes when she initiates a stop order to Department of Motor Vehicle on any future transaction initiated by that delinquent tax payer. I believe that everyone has a chance to work with the treasurer if they are experiencing financial troubles and can’t meet their tax obligations. The Treasurer told me that many are repeated offenders and I want to make sure that those taxpayers who pay on time don’t have to foot the bill for those who don’t. I along with 3 other Board members voted to set a public hearing on this issue.

I had been trying to find anything in the Code of Virginia to stop thru-truck traffic on our secondary roads mainly Blue Ridge Drive, I did find some information but we have to own the secondary roads to place any restrictions, I did vote along with 3 other Board members to have County attorney draft ordinance on roads that Pittsylvania County owns. Mainly in our Industrial Parks.

I was the lone vote against a change order for the Route 40 water line /Fire Hydrant. This change order was to move the existing Fire Hydrant out of VDOTs ditch and additional pipe at a cost $2,160. I question why we didn’t bill the Engineering firm for such a mistake instead of charging the taxpayer for this error. Our County Administrator was going to look into this matter.

I was the lone vote against giving Regional –one a one year extension on their contract to pay them $70,000 for a back-up service in Pittsylvania County. They are a “for profit” company that provides a service to Pittsylvania County, how many business in Pittsylvania County would like local taxpayers to help fund their operations? The Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance to start County wide billing nothing has happen except confusion ,so here we are with no county back-up service started and we are paying Regional-one. I believe that the Fire & Rescue association needs to get “off center” and start this process rolling.

The Board of Supervisors did vote 7 to 0 for the following: Resolution to change Jet broad /band LLC to Shentil;Resolution to Richmond to prohibit all predatory lending practices in Virginia; Amend local ordinance on Probate fee to increase by $25;Approve engagement letter to represent Pittsylvania County regarding Verizon’s request for reassessment of property owned in Pittsylvania County; Contract amendment to Dewberry & Davis Groundwater and Gas monitoring for $70,200 and $6,800;Livestock claims for $690;Award engineering contract Ringgold East Industrial Park water & sewer Dewberry & Davis $105,700;Set Public hearing budget carryovers to 2010/2011 year; Set Public hearing to revise ordinance on Fire Hydrants and fines for taking water; Set Public hearing to clean air ducts county jail-Jag grant.

The Board vote to send the Schools systems request for $1.7 million to build 4 storage buildings and redo Chatham High School Track and Athletic fields back to Finance committee. The School system in my opinion is trying to blackmail the Board of Supervisors by attaching all or none conditions, I care what happens to our children’s education but not one item the school system is asking for would improve your child’s mind this has nothing to do with education only feel good items. We need to approve the $1, 7 million and they will drop the fees charged to Recreational groups for School property use. The County would be better off if we spent the estimated $50,000 cost to those groups than $1.7 million that School system is requesting we approve, about $500,000 from taxpayers. This money should be used to pay down the School Bond debit -end of story.

The Board made two recommendations to Planning commission to establish new category for special use permits called Internet Sweepstakes and set up new category for special use called non-emergency medical transport.

The support to Altavista EMS additional funding request was with a 7 to 0 vote, it increased the Block funding from $15,000 to $20,000 and will pay fuel cost related to all calls in Pittsylvania County upon receipt of those calls and miles traveled.Altavista EMS has went to a 24/7 operation which will give Northern Pittsylvania County citizens better service.

To get the Board of Supervisors packet or other information, you need to go to Pittsylvania County Home page www.pittgov.org; this is a tool for all citizens to use and help to keep a watchful eye on County business. Feel free to contact me by telephone (434-335-5967) please no phone calls after 9 PM or you can e-mail me at any hour marshall.ecker@pittgov.org I want to know your thoughts or ideas on issues that are important to you.

June 2010 Supervisors report

I had been trying for over a year to have a resolution from the Board of Supervisors to ban mining and milling at and near the Berry Hill Mega Park. We started out with a 25 mile radius than finally restricted mining and milling to just the Mega Park. I wanted to protect the tax payers investment in this project, Delegate Mr. Danny Marshall was able to get a resolution through the Tobacco commission that stated Pittsylvania County and Danville City would repay $13.1 million back to the Tobacco commission if mining and milling took place in the Mega Park. Guess what happen at the June 7 board meeting? Mr. Barber finally saw the light and proposed a resolution to do just that. He stated that he wanted to protect the taxpayer’s investment. I’m really glad that Mr. Barber finally wanted to do something for the taxpayers. Some members of the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors were trying to do this for over one year. Even more surprising all seven of the board members voted for this resolution. I believe there is still hope for Pittsylvania County after all. I want to thank those citizens who took time out of their busy schedule to attend my second quarterly citizens meeting of 2010.Its good to discuss issues and meet with the citizens. We are still working on Pittsylvania County first unlicensed dog round up which should begin in July or August .There will be advertisements in the local papers stating what areas Animal control will be picking up dogs and the dates. The county will be divided into 4 areas with about 3 weeks dedicated to each area. Dogs that have license displayed on their collars will not be required to be confined during the round up, just make sure you dog has current license. I support this because too many dogs do not have a license and in turn no rabies shots. This is for the protection of all citizens. I supported a Resolution to Centra Health stating that we would support a Certificate of need and give them support in finding a spot to locate in Pittsylvania County. The local EMS providers also are in favor of having Centra Health here in Pittsylvania County. This would cut turnaround time down for Emergency’s instead of over two hours to Lynchburg or to Danville hospitals. The Board voted 7 to 0 in favor of this Resolution.

The Board vote 7 to 0 to support South Central Area Health Education center in the amount of $8,000 on the condition they provide the County Administrator with a sign contract that shows they are locating in Pittsylvania County. They will be in the town of Hurt located at the English Building. This will be a plus in the town of Hurt and for local business.

The Board of Supervisors voted 7 to 0 for the following-Transfer two surplus vehicles to Pittsylvania County Service Authorty;Cancellation of Performance agreement with Premier Racing LLC;Turn down loan request of $200,000 to Tunstall Volunteer Fire Department; Change order #2 in the amount of $9,872.90 to complete Whispering Pines water project; approved $1,500 training and travel for Grants administrator; set Public hearing on renewal for Cable television franchise and for surplus School property at July 6 Board meeting; request from Sheriff’s Department to carry over Funds for Employee Physical Examinations to 2010/2011 budget year; approved easement to Danville City for power right away

May 2010 Supervisors report

There has been no news on Virginia Department of Transportation’s decision on No-Thru truck traffic on Blue Ridge Drive. Many citizens are waiting for this decision. The County and I have done all we can at this time and we ask that you be patient till we receive an answer on this issue from the Virginia Department of Transportation.

The Board voted 7 to 0 to approve the School Board budget for fiscal year 2010/2011.This budget included $600,000 from interest earned on High School bonds. The other $600,000 was applied to Pittsylvania County general fund to help with this year’s budget short fall. I voted for this budget, as long as the bond money was applied to the Teacher Instruction line item. This would save jobs for our teachers. I believe that citizens need to address the School budget at the School Board meetings. The Board of Supervisors has limited input on how money is spent by the School Board that is allocated to them by the Board of Supervisors. The Pittsylvania County budget was approved with 6 to 0 vote Mr. Harville was absent. I’m glad that we were able to avoid layoffs or pay reductions with 2010/2011budget.The budget was cut by 12% from last year’s budget, it took a lot of work by all Departments to obtain this goal and I want to thank them for their efforts to reach it. Let’s hope that the economy picks up by next year to avoid drastic cuts.

Pittsylvania County is planning on having its first roundup of unlicensed dogs .This was planned to take place in June, but we have some legal issues to iron out before this can happen. The vote was 6 to 1 in favor of the roundup, this is a good way to pick up all unlicensed dogs that are running around without rabies shots or tags and allowed to breed at will and create more problems.

I tried to have a resolution to protect your money in the Mega Park, I thought this would be a no brainer .You never know what some members of the Board think on issues that would protect your investments, especially when the Tobacco Commission passed a resolution that requires Pittsylvania County to repay over $13.5 million dollars if they allow mining at the Mega Park. The vote was 4 to 3 to not protect your investment ,Mr. Davis,Mr. Snead and myself voted to protect your money, if you get a chance thank them for standing up for what is right.

I’ve been trying to have sidewalks repaired around the Court House for some time. There was even a petition from Staunton River District citizens to have the sidewalks repaired, after going around the block several times with the Virginia Department of Transportation, Town of Chatham and Pittsylvania County it had been determined that Virginia Department of Transportation was responsible for the sidewalk repairs, after several accidents the Board of Supervisors has taken the initiative to have one time repair 75 feet of side walk from Court House to Mosses building and stated that this was not to set a precedent for future repairs or responsibality.This passed by 7 to 0 to spend $4,200 for one time repair of sidewalk.

The Board of Supervisors voted 7 to 0 on May 3 Board meeting for the following=Group Long term care Insurance with all cost paid by employees; Letter of support EMS certification; Award Audit services contract for one year for County audits ; Request for proposal Ringgold East Industrial park; Request for proposal Mega Park sewer; Register with State Corporation commission to participate in Public Hearings on Verizon’s request to lower tax burdens in Virginia localities; Administration agreement for Chatham Railroad Depot amendment #4

The Board of Supervisors voted 6 to 0 at the May 18 Board meeting (Mr. Harville absent) for the following=Bond closing costs of $39,000 High School Bonds; Roanoke River basin Kerr Dam allocation letter of support; Allocate $8,000 for Danville Community College off site class location at Cascade Ruritan’s center, a portable class room will be refurnished for this project; Reduction in price of $18,000 for Chatham Railroad Depot; Additional $800 dollars for pipe fittings Route 40 water line.

A lot of work went into updating the Pittsylvania County Comprehensive plan, this plan carries as much weight as any county ordiance.We need to stick to the guidelines set by this plan and not deviate from it. I want to thank all who help prepare this plan and citizens who presented their ideas to make it better. The board vote 6 to 0 to adopt this 2010 Comprehensive plan. I encourage all citizens to look at this plan by going to Pittsylvania County web site or stopping by the County office (Mosses Building).

To get the Board of Supervisors packet or other information, you need to go to Pittsylvania County Home page www.pittgov.org; this is a tool for all citizens to use and help to keep a watchful eye on County business.

Feel free to contact me by telephone (434-335-5967) please no phone calls after 9 PM or you can e-mail me at any hour marshall.ecker@pittgov.org I want to know your thoughts or ideas on issues that are important to you.