Nelson County Supervisors to consider one campground, one vacation house, and a budget amendment

The five-member Nelson County Board of Supervisors will meet at 2 p.m. for their  regular session and also have a separate session scheduled for 7 p.m. Both are in the General District Courthouse in Lovingston. (meeting packet)

After the call to order, public comments, and the consent agenda, there will be a proclamation recognizing October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. 

“The Shelter for Help in Emergency and the Nelson County Victim/Witness Program have led the way in the County of Nelson in addressing domestic violence by providing 24-hour hotline services to victims/survivors and their families, offering support and information, and empowering survivors to chart their own course for healing,” reads the proclamation. (page 46)

The Virginia Department of Transportation is the only presentation. This isn’t in the packet. 

“There are two items under new and unfinished business. The first is a request for a special use permit for a campground at 2601 Falling Rock Drive. 

“The narrative provided by the applicants indicates that they own a camper that they are requesting to utilize as a short-term rental while their family lives in the existing dwelling,” reads the staff report. (page 47)

The second is a funding request from the Rockfish Valley Volunteer Fire and Rescue for half the cost of an ambulance replacement. 

“The truck that would be replaced is a 2010 Ford F450 that currently has 88,376 miles on it, and had the motor replaced about five years ago,” reads an undated letter from EMS Captain Robert Reid. “We are one of three remaining volunteer rescue squads in the county and so far this year we have covered 170 calls with 35 of these calls being outside of our first due area and we have also over the last couple of years have done all of the coverage for Nelson County High School sporting events and handle most of the standbys for fires.”

There are a few bids in the packet. 

FESCO Emergency Sales has named a price of $299,730 for the vehicle which would be a “Horton Model #603 ambulance (#21518) mounted on a Ford F-550 4×4 diesel cab and chassis.”  They also quoted $289,338 for a Medix 170 Stock Unit also on the same vehicle. 

Northwestern Emergency Vehicles nas named a price of $269,204 for a 2024 Chevy 3500 4×4 and $334,270 for a 2024 Ford F-550 4×4 Type 1 AEV Ambulance. 

The afternoon session ends with reports, appointments, directives and correspondence. No closed session is indicated. 

Nelson County Administrator Candace McGarry reports that additional feedback on the Comprehensive Plan will be taken through October 26. A final draft will be available for review by December 7 with the Planning Commission’s public hearing in late January and the Board’s public hearing in February. 

We also learn from McGarry’s report that the Nelson County Service Authority will soon hire a firm to conduct engineering tasks as needed beginning with a preliminary engineering report for water and wastewater systems that serve Lovingston. This will include evaluation of the Dillard Creek area for a potential reservoir. 

The Virginia Department of Transportation continues to work on the Route 151 Corridor Study with a second in-person meeting scheduled for November. Cost estimates for potential projects will follow with an appearance before the Board of Supervisors. 

“This schedule flows well with that of the Comprehensive Plan, allowing for its consideration and inclusion in the final draft to be presented for public hearings in early to mid-winter 2023,” McGarry wrote in her report. 

The evening session features three public hearings.

One is a special use permit for a vacation home at 2617 Rockfish Valley Highway on property zoned residential. 

“The narrative provided by the applicants indicates that this is one owner’s primary residence, and the other owner’s part time residence until she retires,” reads the staff report (page 72). “They are requesting to utilize the dwelling as a vacation house, or short-term rental, 2-3 weekends per month.”

The Planning Commission failed to pass a recommendation to approve at their meeting on August 23. 

The second is a correction to the adopted FY24 budget to appropriate $2.111,079 to the Department of Social Services. This is to fix a clerical error. 

The third is for an amendment to the adopted FY24 budget to reflect the receipt of $2,451,703 from Virginia’s School Construction Assistance grant program. 

The two resolutions will be reconciled and brought back to Supervisors at their November 16 meeting for adoption. That meeting will be on a Thursday. 

The consent agenda has another budget amendment that is below the threshold for a public hearing but nonetheless has some interesting items worth mentioning. 

• The Clerk of Circuit Court has requested $1,600 for a video docketing system that will display what cases will be heard that day on monitors outside of each courtroom. 
• Nelson County has increased funding for meals at the Gladstone Senior Center from $2,250 a quarter to $5,000 a quarter. 
• A total of $21,389 has been requested to serve as a match for Nelson County’s participation in the greater Safe Streets and Roads for All grant that the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission is overseeing. The TJPDC was awarded $857,600 for the project in February. The firms Kimley Horn and Avid Core have been hired by the TJPDC to conduct the work. 

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