The year is all but over. There was plenty of news in James City County in 2014, from numerous changes in key county leadership positions to continued development of residential and commercial projects across the county.
January:
- Toano-based Lumber Liquidators announced it was adding 250 jobs at its 300,000-plus square foot warehouse and corporate headquarters.
- The board of supervisors decided to make election terms uniform, meaning all five members of the board will be elected at the same time starting in 2019.
February:
- Bradley Rinehimer was named chief of the James City County Police Department. He replaced Emmett Harmon, who retired in December.
- Doug Powell, who served as acting county administrator following the firing of Robert Middaugh, was named general manager of the James City Service Authority.
- The county joined a hybrid sewer plan that shifts responsibility for major sewer projects to the Hampton Roads Sanitation District.
- The Williamsburg Regional Library’s Board of Trustees named Genevieve Owens as the library’s new director.
March:
- The State Corporation Commission approved a request by Dominion Virginia Power to build a power line across the James River. If built, the line will affect the viewshed of Kingsmill, Carter’s Grove and other county landmarks.
- A volunteer effort removed 37 tons of trash from the streets of Grove.
- Supervisor Michael Hipple (Powhatan) was charged with property destruction after he allegedly kicked in the door of a house in King & Queen County. He was accused of forcing his way inside the house, which belongs to a male friend of his wife from high school.
April:
- Construction began to replace the old fire station on Olde Towne Road.
- Several upgrades were completed to Forest Heights Road, which had been unpaved and inaccessible to emergency vehicles.
- Adam Kinsman was named assistant James City County Administrator. Though the job is still his, he is currently serving as interim county attorney until a new attorney is hired.
May:
- Hipple received a deferred judgment for the incident in King & Queen County. As long as Hipple does not break the law for two years, two misdemeanor charges filed against him from the incident will be dropped in May 2015.
- The supervisors passed a $175.25 million budget for the fiscal year running from July 1 through June 2015.
- Protesters from Greenpeace blocked the entrance to the Lumber Liquidators headquarters in the Stonehouse Commerce Park less than a week after accusing the company of importing wood illegally harvested in Brazil.
- Improvements to 1.2-mile a trail connecting Freedom Park to Hornsby Middle and Blayton Elementary schools were completed.
June:
- The supervisors expanded backyard chicken keeping to certain residential areas in the county.
- Stephen Rubino was promoted to deputy chief of the James City County Police Department, while Eric Peterson was promoted to major.
- First responders from across the county conducted training to handle oil spills and train derailments in the wake of the Lynchburg derailment that dumped about 20,000 gallons of crude oil in the James River.
- Telly Tucker, the county’s assistant director of economic development, left to become director of economic development for Danville.
July:
- The U.S. Department of Justice began looking into the way the county handled zoning changes to determine if it violated federal law when it barred Newport News Church Peninsula Pentecostals from building on industrial land in Grove.
- Several businesses opened along Monticello Avenue as work finished on Settler’s Market.
- The Supreme Court of Virginia agreed to hear a legal challenge against the proposed Dominion Virginia Power line across the James River.
- Demolition of the Williamsburg Outlet Mall began. The building is now gone, and crews are starting work on a new shopping center called Lightfoot Marketplace.
August:
- Veritas Preparatory School, a new Catholic school, opened for its first school year.
- Peninsula Pentecostals renewed its efforts to build a new church in Grove.
- Hundreds of properties in the county were identified as potential flood risks by the county and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
September:
- Chicken keeping became an acceptable activity in more of the county thanks to a decision by the supervisors.
- Construction is underway on the Village at Candle Station, a community that will feature 142 townhouses and 33 single-family homes near Norge.
- Carter’s Grove was sold by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation to a Chicago businessman for $7.25 million.
- Bryan Hill began work as county administrator, settling into his new job by exploring the county’s finances.
- Assorted groups seeking to block the construction of the power line across the James River spent a day expressing concerns to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers about the project. The corps, which has to sign off on the project, has not yet issued its decision.
October:
- County attorney Leo Rogers took a job in Loudoun County, ending a 10-year run as James City County’s top lawyer.
- Work continues to rebuild the Lightfoot area in the wake of the demolition of the Williamsburg Outlet Mall.
- A vision for widening Longhill Road was adopted by the supervisors, though they criticized the plan as too expensive and extravagant.
- Citizens offered feedback on how Mooretown Road should be extended into the county. The extension would run from between Lightfoot and Croaker roads.
November:
- More than 400 acres of surplus land belonging to Eastern State Hospital was placed on the market. The land has not yet sold.
- County officials working to update the comprehensive plan had several conversations about the need for more affordable housing in the county, something one of the county’s supervisors called “a tough thing to do” in the county.
- Xanterra withdrew its application to build 147 more homes in Kingsmill.
- A proposed plan to alter the meeting schedule of the county’s board of supervisors was not well received by some citizens who spoke at a board meeting shortly after the plan was announced.
- Transportation planners believe several important county roads will become heavily congested in the coming years, though little funding is currently available to remedy the situation.
- John McDonald, the county’s longtime financial and management services director, died unexpectedly at age 67.
December:
- A new development of up to 204 homes was approved by the supervisors to be built behind the Williamsburg Crossing Shopping Center.
- Paul’s Deli & Neighborhood Restaurant opened in New Town.
- Future water costs in the county could pose a challenge as state regulators seek to limit how much water the James City Service Authority can extract from underground aquifers.
- A plan to develop a long dormant industrial site in Grove received its first approval from the county, though much remains to be done before any work can be done.
