WYDaily sent an identical questionnaire to each candidate running for James City County Board of Supervisors.
Tom Phillips, a 63-year-old engineer at Lane Construction Corp., is the Republican candidate for the Jamestown District Supervisor of James City County.
Phillips’ answers are unedited and presented below.
The election takes place Nov. 7.
Read a completed questionnaire from the other candidate for Jamestown District, Jim Icenhour.
What’s the one sentence that properly describes James City County?
Economical for families and retirees, centrally-located geographically within the state, recreational with relatively low crime rate.
What are the two biggest opportunities in James City County?
- Housing
- Repurposing failed retail business including redevelopment.
What are the two biggest challenges in James City County?
- Securing an economical and viable long-term potable water supply solution for JCC.
- Establishing EMS response period compliance throughout the County, minimizing dependency on mutual assistance and providing adequate resources.
In 2010 James City County’s population had roughly 13,800 people aged 65+. In 2016 that number increased to more than 18,000 people aged 65+. How are you going to help the county and Greater Williamsburg to prepare for a rapidly aging population? What are you going to do to help bring younger folks here?
Greater Williamsburg and JCC should encourage new facilities to provide adequate housing for the elderly and to facilitate the approval process for developers offering to provide the elderly
housing solutions. In order to bring younger folks here, the County should encourage economies for its millennials which will likely be service sector jobs but direct investing in startup of a market or an economy is not advised. By developing the light industrial, manufacturing and research market sectors, economies will develop to support our millennials and the free market economy approach should be allowed to develop which will serve the job interests of our millennials.
More than 12,000 people in Greater Williamsburg are living in poverty. More than 5,500 of those people live in James City County, according to U.S. Census estimates. How are you going to help bring better paying jobs to the county and to the area?
JCC can grow and diversify through economic development that helps businesses with their problems and by proposing and encouraging reuse in areas that are currently suffering and declining to promote better paying jobs. Collaborating with other counties and economic centers will prove fruitful in encouraging new business to locate to JCC. However, the County should screen and qualify proposed investors and businesses to ensure they have performed sufficient diligence through market and feasibility studies, have a viable business plan, are sufficiently capitalized and there exists a high probability of success. Streamlining the process will also help. JCC should not provide economic assistance except in special cases.
Stormwater issues have been at the forefront of budget discussions and Board of Supervisor’s discussions for several years now. County stormwater officials identified several communities that lack the drainage infrastructure needed to deal with runoff. How would you direct the county to manage drainage issues?
In many cases storm water problems are beyond responsibility and capability of individual homeowners and a regional or neighborhood solution is required. In those cases, projects by the County to rectify or improve runoff if essential.
The James City Service Authority is exploring alternative water sources in response to declining water levels in underground aquifers. One option is a multi-million deal JCSA first signed in 2008 to purchase water from Newport News Waterworks. Another would be the construction of a desalination plant on the Chickahominy River, and another option is direct-water injection into the Potomac Aquifer. Which of these options will provide for the county’s needs in light of a depleting groundwater supply? Would you look to renegotiate the deal James City County has with Newport News Waterworks? Why or why not?
Having a background in the water industry this question falls within my specific career experience as an engineer. My strategy for providing a long-term potable water (PW) supply solution for the County residents includes a graduated departure from the NNWW agreement and we should consider renegotiating the existing agreement in favor of JCC. This approach is based on the high rates and increased capital costs should JCC continue with the NNWW agreement beyond 2019 (approximately $60 million which includes network upgrades) and the opportunity to become self-sufficient and independent from widespread dependence on groundwater withdrawals (wells) which DEQ has recently capped. I favor developing a comprehensive strategic plan addressing a long-term PW solution that evaluates all the options and alternatives that are available and which obviate and render redundant many of the groundwater withdrawals. In this regard, I have prepared a 12-pt Strategic Plan for Potable Water for James City County (see attached) that would form the basis of the study. This study would evaluate a proposal to provide design and construction of a new desalination treatment plant employing reverse osmosis technology located on one of two rivers, either the York or the Chickahominy, designed and constructed in phases over 10-15 years to keep pace with projected demands based on population growth and focused on actual growth centers. Along with consideration of a desalination plant, modifications and extensions to the existing PW distribution network would also be required. Additionally, the Cranston’s Mill Pond raw water source located in the County may prove to be a viable secondary supply and should be considered since there would be approximately 10-mgd available through this impoundment, once treated.
I have numerous doubts about aquifer injection using the SWIFT injection technology but it is too early to conclude since the results of HRSD’s pilot tests that are currently underway in Nansemond County also remain pending and not all the data on the rate of recharge or seepage via injection is known at this time. Some believe it may take decades to recharge. Also, the proposed cost of SWIFT technology has yet to be addressed by HRSD and JCC. An additional option included in my proposed plan would be to investigate and pursue as an alternative delivery method a desalination plant cited on one of the rivers under an IWP solicitation. This solicitation would go out on the private sector water market with intent to attract water companies providing design-build-finance-operate-maintain (DBFOM) services in lieu of plant development by the County thereby avoiding substantial capital costs by the County.
In summary, there needs to be an overall study providing a review of all options available to the County to enable the Board of Supervisors to adopt the best solution for the County. This
approach is in line with the actions emanating from the 2035 Strategic Plan.
James City County has sought state grants from the Virginia Department of Transportation to help fund some of its major transportation initiatives and road projects. Which transportation issues do you think should be priorities for the county and what will your role be in improving transportation regionally?
As part of the regional transportation focus the widening projects on I-64 are important and need to continue the entire length of I-64 to Richmond. A replacement to the now defunct US 460 project should be revisited by VDOT as both I-64 and US 460 are aimed in part at improving efficiency of freight transfers and connection to the I-95 freight corridor serving to make the Hampton Roads ports key global port destinations. My career experience in major transportation projects and my current involvement with my company (employer) with upcoming projects in the Hampton Roads area including the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel Project are
very relevant to JCC’s interests in providing efficient regional networks. I’m in position to voice and effectively express concerns to both VDOT and HRTAC. As for local county roads, improvements on Longhill Rd. are needed and are now programmed and portions of Rt. 60 and Croaker Rd. need attention to avoid level of service failure.
The Board of Supervisors has discussed for years whether or not supervisors should be elected in a staggered-election-cycle. How long should a supervisor’s term be? How often should they be elected e.g. a staggered-election-cycle or a uniform-election-cycle?
I’m in favor of uniform-election-cycle as there is cause for voter disenfranchisement with the alternative and I’ve heard this from several voters during this election campaign. Four (4) year terms are appropriate.
What sort of experience are you going to bring to the county?
My background and experience lends itself to strategic policy, planning and problem solving with primary focus and experience in municipal infrastructure and land development projects and issues from the perspective of private industry. I bring proven skills in budget management and throughout my 40-year career experience I maintain a firm commitment to health and safety values and quality metrics with demonstrated expertise in project delivery, life-cycle cost analysis, execution planning and management, contracts administration, claims management, public-private partnerships and project planning.
Highlighting 32-years as a senior manager on major construction and engineering projects are significant projects, including:
• Development of Planned Unit Developments (PUDs), master planning of new cities
using Smart City concepts, transportation and infrastructure design and construction for private
and public customers,
• Major project strategy development for potable water supply and distribution networks,
design/build delivery of desalination (RO) water plants and sewage treatment plants,
• LNG plant project (Chevron) in Australia working for Bechtel Corp with bottom-line
responsibility for delivery of $4.5 billion in civil work,
• Major transportation projects including highways and bridges,
• Marine facilities including marinas and a major port,
• Project management of a university campus project in Pakistan.
The military and federal government are preparing for sea-level rise and increasingly volatile weather. Should the county government do more to prepare: increase environmental regulations (stormwater) or require new homebuilding standards?
Building codes and regulations in Virginia are comprehensive and strict enough to handle severe weather conditions but it may be appropriate to review carefully against the predicted weather patterns and consider necessary improvements. Storm water system designs should be robust to handle increased flows and to mitigate flooding.
Should recipients of social welfare or tax relief be tested for drugs? Why or why not?
I favor a graduated incentive approach to discourage drug use rather than to deny benefits since denial of social welfare benefits can easily lead to a life of crime. Drug testing should be performed.
Should the county increasing taxes on its wealthiest residents to pay for more social programs? Why or why not?
It would be onerous to impose additional taxation on the wealthiest residents who are already subject to exceptionally high Federal tax rates. We should maintain social programs at the level
that we are currently able to afford.
Should property rights ever trump an individual’s gun rights? Why or why not?
Each case would need to be considered on its own conditions and issues however public safety always trumps gun rights. Public safety in the context of property rights is first in all cases.
Should gerrymandering or political redistricting be made into a non-partisan process? Why or why not?
The Board’s proposal (defeated) earlier this year to have redistricting plans prepared by staff was not a good solution. Not only does that create an automatic conflict of interest, but previous staff efforts at preparing redistricting plans demonstrated staff’s priorities were geared toward those incumbents they felt had been most supportive of staff.
James City County’s most recent redistricting of Supervisor districts:
a. Was approved by the Obama Administration’s Department of Justice without objection,
question, or comment;
b. Contributed toward James City County being relieved of the pre-clearance requirement (before the Supreme Court struck down that portion of Article V of the Voting Rights Act);
c. Produced the most compact districts in the County in 30 years; and
d. Made James City County one of the only jurisdictions in the Commonwealth to have been divided at the state legislative level to have no split precincts (unlike York) – until the Court decided to split us into two Congressional Districts.
What are your top three policy goals?
a. Securing a viable and cost effective long-term potable water supply solution (along the lines of my Strategic Plan for PW).
b. Public safety in the area of EMS resourcing and prioritization.
c. Review of ordinances with a view to improving economic growth and expansion of industry and jobs.
Are you a member of any political organizations? Which political organizations are you a member of and what have they taught you?
I’m a member of James City County Republican Committee and the Colonial Area Republican Men’s Association which have taught me the value of kinship and support in a political system and the importance of sharing views and ideologies.
Will you be participating in any forums or public debates? When and where?
I will be participating in the Candidate Forum to be held on 12-October as sponsored by the League of Women Voters.
What is a question you wish we had asked?
The question you may have asked is: “What accomplishments do you have in the area of ethics and transparency in the public arena?”
What is the answer?
To this question I would explain that over a period of 6 months I had a key role in 1994 in the Federal government’s action to cease excessive RIF payments to third world national employees of USAID while working in conjunction with the late Representative Herbert Bateman of the 1st District of VA and USAID’s Office of Inspector General. Through our combined efforts the US Government saved taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.
