Louisa County Supervisors to hold public hearing on Love’s Truck Stop 

The Louisa County Board of Supervisors will meet at 5 p.m. in the Louisa County Public Meeting at 5 p.m. for a closed session. They go into open meeting at 6 p.m. (meeting overview)

There are several items on the consent agenda worth reporting. 

• The Circuit Court will get a new audio-visual system with the appropriation of $21,452.07 for funding that will be reimbursed from the Commonwealth of Virginia. (learn more)
• Supervisors will approve a resolution to join an application for a planning grant from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development for creation of a digital equity plan. The other Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission localities are also applying. (staff report) (memorandum of agreement)
• Supervisors will appropriate $10,400 in federal funding to cover the costs of Sheriff’s Office employees being trained on traffic safety enforcement. (staff report)
• Supervisors will appropriate two grants from the Virginia Department of Aviation for the Louisa County Airport. One $805,000 grant will go toward the T-Hanger Taxilane Rehabilitation Construction project and $117,000 will go toward design of the Airfield Lighting and Signage Replacement project. (staff report)
• A third airport-related grant is $72,000 from the Virginia Department of Aviation to relocate a fuel tank. (staff report)
• A fourth airport-related item is the authorization of $60,000 to help build a new storage building for the county-owned airport. (staff report)
• The cost of a project to build a water tank at Shannon Hill are over by over three-quarters of a million dollars and the county’s share to make up the difference is $306,827. (staff report)

There are two items under information and discussion items. The first is a discussion of the county’s legislative priorities heading into the 2025 General Assembly. One set has been put together by the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission. (see that list)

The other will be more specific to Louisa County, such as funding to help prevent harmful algae blooms on Lake Anna. 

“Costs to mitigate HAB in Lake Anna have been estimate at [around] $20 million, and the County is grateful for the $1M in mitigation funds approved by 2023 General Assembly,” reads the 2024 priority list. “Ongoing support in future years is requested to combat this issue.”

They have sought funding for maintenance of buoys on Lake Anna as well as efforts to stop the proliferation of hydrilla. 

“The presence of hydrilla is a statewide issue, and mitigation in each body of water plays an important role in minimizing transference to other resources,” the 2024 list continues. 

There’s one item under unfinished business and that is to amend the Land Development Regulations to amend the schedule of fees for land use applications.

“The current fee schedule does not adequately cover costs, necessitating reliance on general tax revenue, which unfairly burdens taxpayers who may not use these services,” reads the staff report. 

The proposed new fee for a rezoning application will increase from a base fee of $1,000 to $2,500, with an increase in the per-acre fee from $10 to $25. View all of the changes here.

There are two items under new business. The first is a resolution to award a contract to Hawkins Creek Construction to build a synthetic turf field at Louisa County’s school complex. They had the lowest bid of $2,499,000. This represents a lower scope to the project due to higher than expected costs. 

The second is a resolution to purchase pharmaceutical and drug storage boxes for the Department of Fire and EMS to comply with new federal regulations that take affect this November. 

“Local hospitals have handled this in the past, but due to changing policies and protocols, each emergency service provider will be required to manage their own,” reads the resolution. “The cost of the needed software, storage units, and boxes to establish one drug box system in a central location for the County will be $56,385.” 

Then there are four public hearings.

The first is the public hearing for a conditional use permit and rezoning to allow for a Love’s Truck Shop at the Gum Springs exit on Interstate-64. The Planning Commission recommended denial on August 8 on a 6 to 0 vote, according to the staff report. 

Staff has twenty conditions for the Board of Supervisors to consider. Love’s has responded to these in a letter to Louisa County dated August 21, 2024 and is in agreement with most of them except they cannot guarantee to provide a pump for off-road diesel. (read the letter) 

The packet also has an altered conditions letter as a result. (read that letter)