The following is a news report prepared by Tom Bishop for WHEO news, documenting the meeting on Monday, June 13, 2011

Board of Supervisors Meeting June 13, 2011 Plaque In Memory of Lt. Levi Barnard A plaque/picture of Lt. Levi Barnard, of Ararat, who was killed in action May 21, 2009, was presented to the County by University of North Carolina-Charlotte. The Board made a decision to hang this in the County Administration building lobby. Decision was unanimous. Public Comment Roger O. Rouellier, from Mountain Home Masonic Lodge, spoke against the $75 fee charged for use of the John D. Hooker Building at Rotary. He was representing the Red Cross, a non profit, whose goal is to save lives. He recommended the fee be waived for the Red Cross. He presented a petition that the fee be waived with 600 resident’s signatures. Doss Cumming from the Skate Board Park Committee spoke in favor of the site for the new Skate Board Park be located on the asphalt portion of the basketball court which is not routinely used. This would allow the project to be put in place quicker and be more visible. His committee has raised $14,000 toward a goal of $65,000. Missy Cummings spoke in favor of the Skate Board Committee. She expressed concern because it was taking a very long time to get the skate board park built. She disagreed with the Recreation Board’s designated location. Danny Foley, Mayo River District, spoke about the fee charged for the Taxpayer Watchdog Group using John D. Hooker building. He spoke in favor of the skate board park. Sydney Kirk, President of the DeHart Park Association, spoke in favor of the 60 X 100 space given for construction of a skate board park. He said the basketball court is used for various things like: Corn hole tournaments, Vendors, Activities for kids, Peach Festival, and Relay For Life. Frank Petteway, Member of the DeHart Park Board of Directors, said the asphalted basketball court would not be friendly with the skate board park. The asphalt had cracks and grooves in it which would not make it desirable. He said the skate board park needs to be done right for safety. He reminded that DeHart Park had donated $2000 toward the skate board park. Chad Collins spoke in favor of the skate board park because it would bring in people from outside the County. Rev. David Henry, Pastor of Five Forks Wesleyan Church, recommended the agenda for the skate board park be moved forward and use the asphalted basketball court. Galen Gilbert, Patrick Springs, spoke in favor of a new stop light at the intersection where many people have been injured and killed. Clayton Kendrick, Mayo River District, spoke in favor of non-profit organizations not paying for use of the John D. Hooker building. He felt the Cancer Fund raising and Taxpayer Watchdog groups should not have to pay the fee. He emphasized the importance installing a stop light at Patrick Springs. He had relatives that had been killed. Charles Vivier representing Patrick County Taxpayer Watchdog group spoke concerning the 49% increase as a result of the 2009 reassessment. He said the Reassessment shifted the burden to rural land. The increase in tax collections was about $2.7 million. He suggested making comparisons at June 30, 2011 to find out how the $2.7 million is used. Public comment ended at 7:27pm. The Board took a break and reconvened at 8:50pm. Rotary Building Rental Fee Karl Weiss made a motion to rescind the $75 fee charged for use of the Rotary Building. He asked that the Recreation Department redo their guidelines for usage. His motion was 2nd by Dr. Lock Boyce. The motion passed unanimously. Bonus for County Employees-Funding the Skate Board Park Ron Knight made a motion to give County employees a one time bonus excluding school board employees. Of the amount $102,000 use 2/3 for bonuses and use 1/3 to fund the building of the new skate board park. It was seconded by Karl Weiss. Before the motion was voted on, Crystal Harris made a motion to table the motion until the June 30 financial report is available. The vote was 3-2 to table the motion. Voting negative was Ron Knight and Karl Weiss. Line of Duty Act Tom Rose reported on the insurance for “line of duty act� personnel is being pushed back on the County by the State, resulting in the County having to select an insurance program. Patrick County has 49 paid employees and 493 volunteers covered by the program. The annual cost to the County will be $43,552 per year for the Virginia Association of Counties Group Self Insurance. By consensus the Board decided to go with the VACO plan for now. Later they can look at the VRS plan to see if it turns out to be more cost effective. Resolution – Policy for Fund Balance Management The Board unanimously passed a resolution to implement the Government Accounting Standards Board statement number 54, authorizing the establishment of policy for Fund Balance management. Old Business – Audits for Non-Profits Receiving Budget Allocations from the County Tom Rose reported that some Non-profits do not require an audit. He suggested that instead of an audit, they provide their IRS Filing Report. Executive Session The Board went into Executive Session to discuss Board Appointments at 9:45 p. m. They returned from Executive Session at 9:50pm and voted unanimously to appoint Dean Gilbert and Victor Williams to the Patrick Henry Community College Board. West Piedmont 25-30 Year Road Improvement Plans They voted to add Roger Hayden’s recommendations for dangerous intersection improvements in the Dan River District to the 20-35 year West Piedmont Planning District plan that was not in the plan approved at the May 9 meeting. The vote was unanimous. Meeting concluded at 10:00pm. Reported by Tom Bishop