The Henry County Board of Supervisors will hear an update and consider its legislative agenda for next year at its 3 p.m. meeting on Tuesday, November 26 in the Summerlin Room.
The three page document includes a core agenda, with several broad areas highlighted: land use and preservation of the locality’s authority to address all aspects and options related to utility-scale installations of solar power, wind power, and energy storage facilities; economic development, and increased funding for recruitment incentives and site development; transportation, and funding improvements to U.S. 220, South of Martinsville to N.C. line; education, and providing dedicated funding for School Resource Officers.
Housing, and providing incentives to help with the development of workforce housing; recreation, building Mayo River State Park; Children’s Services Act, and increased state funding for mandated services such as residential and foster care; and public safety, and providing funding support for local fire and E.M.S. as recommended by the workgroup created by the 2023 HB2175.
The county continues to use Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies (CPS) lobbyists to advocate for its interests in Richmond, particularly with respect to items outlined in the legislative agenda. Julia Hammond and Heidi Hertz with Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies will attend the meeting to provide updates and answer any questions. Following the presentation, staff requests that the Board provide input and approve the legislative agenda for 2025.
In other matters, the board will consider:
*A request from Commonwealth’s Attorney Andrew Nester to approve an additional appropriation of $66,200, received through a grant managed by Piedmont Community Services, to cover personnel and office-related expenses for the drug court program, including $59,490 to cover personnel costs of a new attorney and $6,710 to cover various onboarding expenses for this new attorney such as office equipment, office expenses and dues.
*The school board is requesting an additional appropriation of $50,000 to the School Nutrition Budget from funds received through the reallocated of a FY2022-23 National School Lunch Program Equipment Assistance Grant to buy a walk-in freezer for Fieldale-Collinsville Middle School.
*The school board is requesting an additional appropriation of $332,701 received from an Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) III – Grow Your Own – Teacher Apprenticeship Grant Program. Funds would provide an opportunity for current Henry County Public School employees to complete their bachelor’s degree and teacher certification through Longwood University.
*The Henry County Purchasing Department currently has a request for bids for the renovation of six bathrooms on the first floor of the Administration Building. The existing bathrooms are original to the building construction of 1974 and are not compliant with guidelines set by the Americans with Disabilities Act. The deadline for the bid submittals is Thursday, November 21. County staff intend to request the board award a contract on Tuesday, and noted that funding for the renovations is included in the Capital Discretionary Fund.
*Staff is asking the board to approve the carryover of committed funds from the FY’24 budget year to the current FY’25 budget, and prepared the attached list of carryover items by cost center. Items on the carryover list are committed items encumbered or obligated from the prior budget year, but the item was not received, or the service was not performed, before June 30. It also includes unspent grant funds that may have been awarded in the prior fiscal year and other commitments not completed before June 30. This year’s carryover request totals $94,453,402.40, which includes interfund transfers of $14,507,318.80.
*In July, the board approved revisions to the Henry County Investment Policy, which allowed the county to maximize investment returns while remaining within the parameters established by Virginia. As part of this ongoing effort to maximize county investments, staff is seeking approval of the county’s participation in the Virginia Municipal Investment Trust (“VaMINT”), a local government investment pool (LGIP). An LGIP is a short-term investment fund that allows public entities to pool their money and invest it together. LGIPs are designed to provide safe, liquid, and competitive investment options for governments. By joining the trust, the County will have access to lower fees and more investment options, even if it does not put county funds into the trust.
*Meeting in closed session to discuss appointees to the Public Service Authority, Anchor Commission, Building Code Board of Appeals, Fire Code Board of Appeals, and Ninth District Development Financing, Inc.; pending legal matters; the acquisition/disposal of real estate; and as-yet unannounced industries.
At the 6 p.m. meeting, the board will:
*Hear a report on general highway matters from Lisa Hughes, Resident Engineer for the Virginia Department of Transportation.
*Consider a rezoning application filed by Edwin and Iris Gillispie for property located on the south side of Valley Dr, between the addresses of 217 & 319 Valley Dr, in the Blackberry District. The applicant is requesting the rezoning of approximately 2.67-acres from Suburban Residential District S-R to Agricultural District A-1, with plans to use the property for agricultural purposes.
*Consider a rezoning application filed by John K. Adams for property located in the south east corner of the intersection of Stones Dairy Rd and Bittersweet Dr, in the Blackberry District. Adams is requesting the rezoning of this lot from Suburban Residential District S-R to Rural Residential District R-R, with plans to place a manufactured home on the property
