JAMES CITY COUNTY — The James City County Board of Supervisors approved a special use permit Tuesday to allow construction of its $189.5 million county government center.
The project would consolidate 12 county functions into one building at a location in the center of the county at Longhill Road and DePue Drive, replacing current facilities in the southern end of the county at 101 Mounts Bay Road. Those six individual buildings and several other spaces scattered throughout the county mostly date to the 1970s. The cost of building a new center is comparable to the price of maintaining and updating the current facilities, according to the board, and will last longer.
Recent opposition, in the form of flyers and emails, has brought new scrutiny to the project, which has been in the works for several years and the subject of several public input sessions. Many call for a public referendum on the issue. The board clarified that discussions have been ongoing for some time, and cautioned that some of the information cited was incorrect; however, it welcomed the public’s input.
“I think that it is important for us to understand that we have not made any secret of the need for the space, nor the proposal that came to us. Somehow or another, some people have missed it, but I can recall being in a full house at Legacy Hall with a presentation made on this proposal and where people asked lots of good questions, raised lots of interesting possibilities, but where we did not hear that this was outrageous and impossible to do,” said Vice Chair John J. McGlennon, Roberts District.
Citing the community concerns, as well as misinformation, Board Chair Jim Icenhour, Jamestown District, acknowledged more communication on the project was needed, and urged his colleagues to hold multiple town halls in their districts if necessary.
Icenhour also stressed the land use permit request was not final approval of the project. A final design, contract and funding for the center have yet to be approved.
“There’s apparently some great misunderstanding of folks in the community about what we’re doing here tonight. The impression that was left is that we are actually doing the approval for the government center. This is a special use permit, which is merely a process of land use determination where we have to meet the comprehensive plan requirements,” he explained. “This is not about approving the funding or the final concept for the county complex. That will come later, and it will only come after we have had the final design review complete and the contract prepared for consideration.”
“I want to reassure folks in the community that when that information does become available, it will be much more accurate information than we currently have, that it will be made available to the community and we will hold public meetings,” he continued. “My intention is to hold at least two public town halls on the issue in my district. I would encourage everybody else to do the same, because I think we need maximum citizen participation and understanding of what’s involved in the whole thing before we proceed.”
Supervisors Barbara Null, Stonehouse District, and Michael Hipple, Powhatan District, already have a town hall set for June 30 at 6:30 p.m. at the James City County Library, 7770 Croaker Road. The town hall will include an overview of current issues in the county, followed by a Q&A session, and is open to all county citizens.
“I think that the ongoing benefit of all this is going to be that when we do get the final approval for the final design, and when we do get the final contract language, that I think we are obligated to make an extra effort to engage the community,” Icenhour said, adding that the limitations of a referendum would not necessarily resolve the question. “The referendum would be about the method of financing, not about the project itself. We’re not legally allowed to ask, ‘Do you want to build it or not build it?’ We’re only legally allowed to ask, ‘Do you want to finance it this way, or do you not want to finance it this way?’ There’s a fine distinction there.”
The SUP was approved by a 4-1 vote. Null voted against the permit, citing opposition from constituents.
