The James City County Board of Supervisors will meet Tuesday to consider a number of items related to the Forest Heights Road and Neighbors Drive project as well as allocating additional funds toward the ongoing State Corporation Commission case involving Dominion Virginia Power.
An additional $70,000 has been contributed by a number of parties toward the county’s involvement in the ongoing State Corporation Commission case against Dominion Virginia Power over the proposed 500kV overhead power line from Surry to the proposed Skiffes Creek Switching Station.
The board will vote to allocate the additional funds toward the case. Legal fees have reached $373,000; the additional contributions bring the total amount contributed toward the case, including the county’s previously allocated $260,000, to $380,000. There will be a $7,000 cushion for the future of the case.
The board will also vote to allocate $40,000 –consisting $20,000 from state funds through an Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development Fund grant and $20,000 from county funds—toward developing a plan for rural economic development in the county.
Additional funds need to be allocated toward the Neighbors Drive and Richmond Road project for construction activities. Staff is asking the board to allocate an additional $775,486 in additional funds toward the project.
James City County has received Community Development Block Grants to fund the Neighbors Drive and Forest Heights Road projects, which requires the county to come up with a plan to identify and notify minority, female and locally owned businesses of any goods and services to be purchased with the grant funds. The board will consider approving the plan.
Additionally, the CDBGs require the county to come up with a Housing Rehabilitation Program Design and a Residential Anti-Displacement and Relocation Plan to detail relocation plans and ensure demolished houses are replaced with similar dwellings. A Section 504 Grievance Procedure for Disability Nondiscrimination must also be adopted to ensure handicapped residents are not excluded from the project or assistance related to it because of a handicap.
The board will consider adding streets in the Williamsburg West subdivision to the Virginia Department of Transportation’s State Secondary Highway System through the Rural Addition Process. The streets were mapped in 1968 but were never added to VDOT’s system. The Rural Addition Process allows older streets to be taken into the system for VDOT maintenance but the maintenance would be funded jointly by the state and James City County.
Three roads in the subdivision need reconstruction. The county has allocated $200,000 and the state would match that amount to make the improvements needed.
James City County has been working with the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission since 2003 to create a regional stormwater management program along with 17 other localities. An agreement contract between the county and the HRPDC needs to be renewed to formalize the regional program.
An easement will be considered for Leigh Ann Gilley’s property located in the 200-300 block of Neck O Land Road. The easement would cover six parcels and would total more than 240 acres and would eliminate the potential for development on the easement. The water quality of Mill Creek would be protected, neighborhood drainage issues would be avoided and fiscal impacts would also be reduced, according to a staff memo to the board. The county has negotiated a purchase price of $1,175,000 for the easement; the easement has an estimated value of $1,140,000.
Another easement for about 82 acres of property used as Carlton Farms stables on Greensprings Road will also be considered; the property is owned by C. Lewis Waltrip. The easement also includes the purchase of two parcels on the corner of Jamestown Road and 4H Club Road. The easement would prevent additional homes on the property, would restrict the property to agricultural and forestal uses and would control fencing and plants to “preserve scenic vistas,” according to a staff memo to the board. The easement is estimated at $2.4 million with the assessed value of the two parcels of land totaling $211,200. A purchase price of more than $2.61 million has been agreed on.
If the board votes to purchase both easements, $784,992 would remain in the county’s Greenspace and Purchase of Development Rights accounts.
The board will also hold four public hearings on:
- Moving the Stonehouse A precinct’s polling place from Cross Walk Community Church at 7575 Richmond Rd. to Hickory Neck Episcopal Church at 8300 Richmond Rd. The contract with Cross Walk Community Church expired after the June 2013 Primary Election and the church did not want to renew it.
- Adopting changes to the County Code regarding Driving Under the Influence and traffic laws. Amendments made by the General Assembly become effective July 1; the county’s code must reflect those changes.
- Adopting changes to the Solicitation for Noncharitable Purposes section of the county code, including changes to the application.
- Selling property purchased for the Forest Heights Road and Neighbors Drive project. Eleven approximately 4,000- to 5,000-square-foot lots will be sold for $35,000 to $45,000; the county purchased the lots for $28,400 to $37,000. At least five lots will be reserved for sale to Habitat for Humanity.
At the work session, the board will begin discussing its legislative agenda.
The board meets, starting with a work session at 4 p.m. and a regular meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in Building F at 101 Mounts Bay Rd. The meetings are broadcast live on JCCTV Cox Cable channel 48 and online. The meetings are rebroadcast in Community channel 46 at 8 a.m., 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Thursdays. The agenda materials for the work session and meeting are available online.
