A dozen citizens turned out at James City County’s only public hearing on the proposed fiscal year 2015 budget Tuesday, and comments focused on stormwater and schools — two of the three main sections of the budget.
Tuesday’s budget hearing at the Board of Supervisors meeting precedes three work sessions on the budget and the board’s May 13 meeting, when the budget is slated for adoption.
The supervisors were scheduled to hold three separate public hearings Tuesday night, but decided to hold the hearings jointly so citizens could discuss the James City Service Authority and county budgets as well as a new state-mandated stormwater fee for new developments.
Speakers who discussed the county’s funding for stormwater fell on both sides of the issue, with some saying the funding allotted in the budget is not enough and others saying it is too much.
The county’s Planning Commission Policy Committee reviewed and ranked projects for inclusion in the county’s capital improvements program, which deals with high-dollar projects, during a review process late in 2013. The committee ranked stormwater as a top priority for the county due to state and federal regulations dealing with the cleanliness of the Chesapeake Bay.
In order to meet requirements – of reducing pollution in the Chesapeake Bay by 5 percent through June 2018 – and avoid daily federal fees of $32,000, as well as additional state fees, Stormwater Director Fran Geissler requested $10.5 million in capital improvement funds over five years, with $2.2 million spent in 2015. Those funds would have been used to improve neighborhood drainage in Brook Haven, Grove, James Terrace and Toano neighborhoods, as well as to begin improving county-wide water quality.
“The more we put off later on, the higher costs will be and more difficult it will be,” Geissler said at a December Policy Committee meeting.
Instead of fulfilling the request, the proposed budget allocates $1.5 million to stormwater projects, with nearly $1 million devoted solely to water quality upgrades and the remainder for public upgrades to the county’s stormwater system.
Acting County Administrator Doug Powell recommends suspending the program that deals with neighborhood drainage issues and only proceeding with projects that help reduce water pollution to meet state and federal requirements.
Part of Powell’s recommendation includes coming up with a “clear policy statement … that includes a funding stream, cost-sharing standards with the affected property owners and possible changes in the methodology used to prioritize the projects.”
Powell also suggests the county use remaining funds in the county’s greenspace account – used to protect land from development – to create master plans for the county’s waterways and work toward meeting state and federal requirements.
David Jarmon, member of Citizens for a Better James City County, a newly formed “alliance of James City County citizens interested in promoting effective planning and policies to achieve JCC’s stated vision,” was displeased with the stormwater allocations.
Jarmon said the funds budgeted for stormwater projects were “minimal” and done only to state and federal regulations. He was not in favor of using greenspace funds for water projects, calling it “a serious blow to those who have championed land conservation initiatives,” in a prepared statement provided to WYDaily in advance of the meeting.
Judy Fuss, a member of the James City County Citizens Coalition (J4C) requested the county “stop treading water and once again move ahead in this critical area.”
After hurricane Floyd flooded parts of the county in 2005, J4C began studying stormwater because homeowners were not in a position to pay for everything themselves. The county enacted a stormwater fee, which was later rescinded and the tax rate cut, she said.
“All forward movement addressing stormwater halted. Time, tides and stormwater, however, march on,” Fuss said.
Chris Henderson came down on the other side of the issue. As a developer in the county, he said the county’s stormwater regimen is “by far the most sophisticated and restrictive” as any he has ever encountered, and “this whole notion the sky is falling is simply not true.”
Regarding the budget for schools, specifically funding for a fourth middle school, citizens were not happy.
Jay Everson said the placeholder funding Powell put in place for the fourth middle school — pending a committee gathering additional information — is really placeholder funding for a fifth middle school. Everson said the annex building at James Blair is outfitted with 10 classrooms, a guidance office, an administration office and complete restrooms. The annex could accommodate about 230 students as-is, he said, and if it were expanded, it could accommodate up to 400 students. The expansion would cost about $4 million and solve capacity issues until 2022, he added.
“The building is sitting there ready to rock and roll,” Everson said.
Sue Sadler agreed with Everson’s idea and said his comments prompted her to begin questioning the need for a new middle school.
“Our focus should be on the children,” Sadler said.
The board will take up discussion of the proposed budget at a 4 p.m. work session Monday. The board will hold off voting on the new stormwater fees until its May 13 meeting.
Related Content:
- JCC Budget Proposal Focuses on Schools, Public Safety and Stormwater
- JCC Supervisors Scheduled to Review New Stormwater Fee Structure
- James City County Faced with Covering Increased Stormwater, School Costs
- JCC Residents Can Voice Opinion on Potential Five-Year Plan for County Projects
- JCC Committee Includes Fourth Middle School in List of Priority Projects
- JCC Developers to Face New Stormwater Fees, Regulations
