Patrick County Board of Supervisors held their monthly meeting on Monday, August 8, 2011. This news report was compiled by Tom Bishop

Board of Supervisors Meeting August 8, 2011 Public Comment Period Pat Luce- Waste Industries (Wytheville) He announced he was there to answer questions about their proposed garbage contract. Danny Foley – Mayo River District He represented the Taxpayer Watchdog Group. He talked about the 449 households in Stuart and 9374 households in Patrick County that would be potential residential garbage customers. Less than 1000 residents use Rural Services. He questioned why garbage cost in 2006, $222,000 that went to $263,600 in 2007. Why the $41,000 increase. He reminded the Board that in the Olver consultant report that the closer landfills had lower cost. He recommends a Solid Waste committee be formed to advise the Board. Tom Bishop-Patrick County Chamber of Commerce Tom gave a brief presentation on the background of the Peach Festival, spanning 24 years. He showed the Board local produced peaches and local peach products produced and sold by our local businesses. He encouraged the Board and the general public to attend this year’s events on Aug. 19 and Aug. 20. He handed out a list of our Patrick County Peach Orchards and local produce and farm markets. Johnny Marion – Rural Services (Claudville) Johnny explained while they had approximately 1000 residential customers, they had 250 dumpsters shared by approximately 3 families. In our County, residents can 1. Take their trash to work, 2. Illegally dump the trash, or 3.Take it to the County landfill. Congressman Morgan Griffith and Del. Charles Poindexter These representatives came to the Board meeting and spoke briefly, indicating hey were at the service of the Board. At 6:50 pm the Board took a 10 minute break to allow the public to stop and greet the representatives. At 7:05pm the Meeting reconvened Lisa Price Hughes of VDOT-I-73 Relocation Plan Ms. Hughes asked the Board to give their blessing on the I-73 Corridor plan that has been relocated 1-2 miles closer to the City of Martinsville and utilizing parts of the U. S. 58 bypass and making it closer to Patrick County. Motion was made by Dr. Lock Boyce and 2nd by Ron Knight to support the realignment. This motion was defeated with a 3-2 vote, with Weiss, Harris and Hayden voting no. Ms. Hughes explained that both I-73 and US 58 projects had been “federalized�, meaning they were both eligible for Federal funding. Karl Weiss expressed concern I-73 was in direct competition for funding with Rt. 58. Roger Hayden was still hoping for funding for Rt. 58, and the improvement of safety to our school children. After further discussion led by Ron Knight, he encouraged the Board to reconsider their action. He explained this was only a change in the planned routing of I-73, not funding for this project. He said Henry County had put completion of Rt. 58 as their No. 1 priority over I-73. He felt we should be supportive of them. Ron Knight made a motion to reconsider their action. 2nd by Lock Boyce. The vote tally was 4-1 approving the motion, with Karl Weiss the only one voting no. Later in the meeting the Board decided they needed to have a motion to rescind their first action on I-73. Motion was made to rescind their first action to reject relocation of I-73 by Lock Boyce, 2nd by Karl Weiss. The vote passed unanimously. Ms. Hughes gave update on several bridge replacement projects in Patrick County. When asked the status of the intersection of Rt. 58 and 680 at Patrick Springs, where 5 fatalities have occurred, Ms. Hughes, said a study had been completed, and that this intersection did not meet the warrants for a traffic signal. She said different approaches to the problem will be considered, such as moving the caution light closer in, activating caution light by a vehicle, or limiting the commercial entrances to the highway. Lock Boyce suggested lowering the speed limit first to 45 MPH and then to 35 MPH. Proposed Bridge Replacement Projects Rt. 844 and Rt. 701 The 2012 proposal by Ms. Hughes, was approved unanimously by the Board. Carol Tatum- Treasurer Year End Financial Report Ms. Tatum gave a fiscal year end report on the money left over in the amount of $1,758,267, which was carried forward into fiscal year 2011-2012. She explained this is caused by a combination of factors, 1. Unspent funds, 2. Revenues being higher and 3. Unspent carryovers from the previous year. They have already used $410,000 of these funds for July monthly bills and payroll. She predicts they will use $300,000-400,000 for August expenses. The Board approved moving $800,000 of this money from the General Fund to the Contingency Fund. Vote was unanimous. Ms. Tatum explained that if this money was needed, they would have to vote to return it to the General Fund. With the previous balance of the Contingency Fund of $2,670, 590 and adding $800,000, the fund now stands at $3,470,590. Tax Collection Rate Ms. Tatum reported tax collection rate in Patrick County was 97.5% in 2011, compared to 96.5% in 2010. Collections are made by taking the following actions on delinquent accounts: 1. Letters and notices 2. Demands 3. DMV stop on personal property 4. Debt set off on State Income Tax returns 5. Wage liens 6. Monthly payment agreements. In the past they have not published the delinquent accounts. Piedmont Community Services Contract The Board voted unanimously to approve the 2012 Performance Contract with Piedmont Community Services, with very few comments. Aaron Burdick – Executive Director – West Piedmont Planning Commission He reported to the Board they would need to need to approve the Regional Water Supply Plan and the Drought Management Ordinance and have it completed by November. The Board voted unanimously to have a public hearing on the Drought Management Ordinance at 6:30pm on September 12 and a public hearing on the Regional Water Supply Plan at 6:30pm on October 17. Uranium Mining The West Piedmont Planning Commission is not taking a position this at this time and will not until the environmental review is complete. This will take approximately 2 years. Garbage Collection Bids Considerable discussion took place by Board members and representatives of Waste Industries, and Johnny Marion of Rural Services concerning the two opposing bids for residential and commercial garbage collection. No conclusions were reached by the Board. At Tom Rose’s recommendation, the decisions on this should be postponed until more clarity on the matter is received. No motions were made on this. Resolution on Restoration of State Funding cuts The Board voted to approve the resolution to restore the funding cuts by the State unanimously. CSA Allocation for Year 2012 The Board unanimously approved the expenditures for risk youth from July 2011 through December 2011 in the amount of $80,644 and Community Policy and Management Team to cover administrative costs for fiscal year 2012 in the amount of $19,334. This was approved as already budgeted. Personal Property Tax Relief Act Resolution The Personal Property Tax Relief Act resolution was approved 4-1, with only one no vote. Appointments. Sally Smith was appointed to the Southern Agency on Aging. Vote was unanimous. Mary Hill of Ararat (Dan River District) was appointed to the Tourism Advisory Committee, as the Agri-Tourism Representative. Vote was 4-1 with Ron Knight voting no. He said he did not know Mary. Glen Roycroft was re-appointed to the Economic Development Authority (he has served 3 terms already). The vote was 4-1 with Dr. Boyce voting no. Meeting Adjournment At 10:00pm the meeting was adjourned until Aug. 16 when a joint meeting will be held with the Social Services Board.