Albemarle County appoints new director of Facilities and Environmental Services

Albemarle County government has grown rapidly over the last few decades to meet the needs of a growing community. The latest figures from the Weldon Cooper Center at the University of Virginia estimate 117,790 people live in the jurisdiction that surrounds Charlottesville.

With that growth comes more inventory of buildings and lands used for local government. This is the responsibility of the county’s Facilities and Environmental Services Department.

“This includes managing the planning, design, and construction of all major Capital Improvement Projects,” reads a description on the department’s website.

For instance, the FES department is in charge of the construction work to build the Biscuit Run park.

“FES also manages the County’s operations to prevent pollution, ensure compliance with state and federal environmental laws and regulations, and assist residents to minimize waste in the county,” the website continues.

On February 5, 2025, the Albemarle Board of Supervisors appointed Jeffrey Dumars to lead the department.

“The appointment has come as a result of the early departure of the last director, Lance Stewart,” Dumars said. “I am uniquely blessed to take over the department Lance fostered. He focused the department on dedication to service, hard work, and excellence. I have big shoes to fill.”

Dumars was hired as deputy director of the department in January 2024 and has been interim director since September. He earned both a Bachelor’s Degree in Landscape Architecture and a Master’s Degree of City and Regional Planning from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Dumars was introduced to the public by County Executive Jeffrey Richardson.

“He has been with this organization for just under a year,” Richardson said. “He was hired originally as a deputy director of FES and our staff has had an opportunity to work with him for over a year. Two separate stints as interim director.”

Before coming to Albemarle County, Dumars worked as the Director of Campus Planning for Virginia Tech for three years. That appealed to Supervisor Diantha McKeel.

“When I heard you had experience at Virginia Tech I was very excited because they do a lot of good things down at Virginia Tech including their transit system,” McKeel said.

Blacksburg Transit provides service for Virginia Tech, Christiansburg, and other parts of Montgomery County. There is one system as opposed to the Charlottesville area where there are at least three systems.

The department also publishes a quarterly report with the most recent one for the fall of 2024.

Supervisors also appointed Dumars to serve on the Rivanna Solid Waste Authority’s Board of Directors. That was part of a motion that included the following appointments to Boards and Commissions. The links here go to the official descriptions on one of the county’s websites if you want to learn more.

• Amanda Brookman and Naomi Aitken were appointed to the 5th and Avon Community Advisory Committee.
• Anthony Jargowsky was named to the Pantops Community Advisory Committee.
• William Howard and David Mitchell were appointed to terms on the six-member Equalization Board, which “shall hear all complaints and objections to real estate assessments from the taxpayer or his agent.”
• Dennis Hughes has been appointed to the Albemarle Historic Preservation Committee. That group “implements the County’s Historic Preservation Plan” according to the county’s website.
• Robert Jennings was named to the Natural Heritage Committee, a group that “maintains the County’s Biodiversity Assessment; advises the Board of Supervisors, the Planning Commission, and County staff on applying biodiversity information to land-use decision-making; and supports biodiversity education in the County.”

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Before you go: This article was originally sent out as part of the Charlottesville Community Engagement newsletter in the February 6, 2025 edition. Both are functions of Town Crier Productions. You can support the work by purchasing a paid subscription or contributing monthly through Patreon. You can also send in a check or send an email, but drop me a line first!