Good evening, everyone! In this edition of the newsletter, I have coverage of Tuesday morning’s Board of Supervisors meeting. It was a fun one for me, because Supervisors revisited some topics from big news stories of yore—including the Habitat for Humanity project to build low-income townhouses in Floyd; the major house fire in December 2019 and revision of the county’s subdivision ordinance.
Outside of this newsletter, I’ve worked on a couple other stories this week that may be of interest. The Dogwood is working on a series about the return to in-person learning, and I covered Floyd County Schools. Later this week, I’ll cover Montgomery! There also may be a few of you who live in District 38, Sen. Ben Chafin’s former district. The special election to choose his successor is coming up, as is the registration deadline to vote.
I want to thank you all again for subscribing to this newsletter and supporting my endeavors—journalistic and otherwise. I appreciate you! As always, you can reach me with comments/questions/etc. at aspinksdugan@gmail.com.
-Ashley
Supervisors hear updates on schools, housing, subdivision ordinance
The Floyd County Board of Supervisors heard from a number of delegations on Tuesday morning. Their meeting began with an update from Department of Social Services Director Chad Alls, who introduced his new colleague, Linda Puckett. Puckett previously served at a social services organization in Roanoke and is now leading adult protective services in Floyd.
Alls said addressing some of the challenges with adult protective services in the county is a goal he will pursue with Puckett. Alls cited connecting adults in need with service providers as one example. Social Services professionals can administer a UAI (uniform assessment instrument) to determine whether Medicaid will cover in-home care for an incapacitated person, rather than sending them to a nursing home or assisted living facility.
Alls said although Floyd County does have in-home care providers, those service providers struggle to stay fully staffed. He added that COVID has introduced another level of complexity, since the virus precludes in-person assessments. Now, Alls said, most assessments of a person’s capacity to care for themselves are happening over the phone.
Floyd County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. John Wheeler also presented during Tuesday’s meeting. He said “there has been a shift” among public officials with respect to in-person learning. “Before, we were worried about hospitals being overrun with COVID patients,” Wheeler said. Now, they’re worried about children’s mental health.
As of March 9, Wheeler said, 11 school districts in Virginia were offering no in-person instruction at all. Of course, this isn’t the case in Floyd, which has been at least partially in-person since August. “People will not know how fortunate Floyd County is, until maybe 15-20 years from now when we see the impact,” Wheeler said. He added that CARES Act funds will help the district address learning loss and students’ mental health needs. The influx of extra funding was also able to be used for the county’s project to install A/C units in all the schools.
The funds were eligible because the new A/C systems will help provide better ventilation, Wheeler said, which is an important COVID mitigation strategy. Furthermore, the new units will replace coal-powered units that polluted school air. “A clean environment is a good learning environment, that’s the bottom line,” Locust Grove District Supervisor Lauren Yoder said. The A/C project is scheduled for completion in April.
After a report in the Floyd Press last week about his office’s inordinately expensive phone bill, Commonwealth’s Attorney Eric Branscom offered Supervisors an update on the situation Tuesday.
He invoked the data hack his office suffered last summer. Branscom explained that following the hack, the Commonwealth’s Attorney office was transferred to a phone system separate from the rest of the county offices. Citizens Telephone Cooperative promptly installed the new system, Branscom said, with seven lines. The office has only five employees. Citizens provided dedicated lines for internet and the fax machine, plus one per staff member.
Branscom said that was likely excessive and that he would try to alter the contract with Citizens so his office has only four phone lines. Little River District Supervisor Linda DeVito Kuchenbuch said the incident is a learning experience, and that various county departments should be more communicative about their plans in the future. She suggested that county staff work “with a little more care to try and do things.” She added, “Because now you’ve (already) spent a good amount of money.”
Near the end of his conversation with the Supervisors, Branscom was asked about the investigation into a major house fire in downtown Floyd in December 2019. Courthouse District Supervisor Jerry Boothe raised the issue, and Kuchenbuch said she was concerned that the condemned house has become a safety hazard.
“I think we’ve had one successful prosecution,” Branscom said. He pointed out that because all those allegedly involved with the fire are juveniles, the proceedings were not public. Furthermore, he said, “in any kind of juvenile situation where you have a massive amount of damage, the restitution part (is difficult)—the law doesn’t let us go after the parents and make them pay, and the juveniles don’t have any money.” Since the house is within town limits, the Town Council has jurisdiction over the property. Per town code, the homeowner has up to two years from the date of the fire to restore or demolish the house.
Resident Engineer David Clarke from VDOT also took part in Tuesday’s meeting. Yoder told him that he’s had several more constituents reach out to him about punctured tires resulting from VDOT’s road treatments. “One guy had two flat tires on the same car. It kind of defeats the purpose of carrying a spare,” Yoder joked.
Clarke said the agency is still trying to figure out the issue. Boothe pointed out that residents of other jurisdictions haven’t complained about punctured tires, and asked whether it was possible there’s something wrong with Floyd’s stockpile of gravel. He also recommended that a representative from VDOT visit with local tire shops and talk with those who made repairs. They may be able to offer insight into what punctured the tires, or how.
Finally, the issue of affordable housing came up in two separate contexts on Tuesday morning. First, Susan Icove from the Floyd Initiative for Safe Housing requested that the Board of Supervisors waive certain building and townhouse review fees. She said there are several projects going on in the county right now, including Habitat of the New River Valley’s effort to build several affordable townhomes in the Town of Floyd, that could benefit from the elimination of these fees.
Icove said project budgets will be tighter than expected because of the increased price of lumber right now. She added that Habitat has volunteered members of its staff to complete several home rehabilitation projects in collaboration with FISH. These projects have been on hold during COVID, as FISH volunteers didn’t want to enter residences.
Boothe said the Supervisors have to be careful about setting precedents for waived fees. The Board did not vote on the measure but said they’d consider it.
Near the end of the meeting, Planning Commission Chairman Mike Maslaney, Community & Economic Development Director Lydeana Martin and County Planner Karla Turman offered updates on efforts to revise the county’s subdivision ordinance. The group reviewing the ordinance formed all the way back in summer 2019, Mulvaney said, and has reached the point where they need further input from the Supervisors and County Attorney Steve Durbin on how to proceed.
The primary goals of the ordinance revision, Maslaney said, are to “streamline the ordinance (and) rebuilding clarity.” However, the issue of affordable housing was raised again.
“We know that we need more affordable housing within the county, so we’re trying to make it easier for folks to develop property,” Maslaney said. Floyd also values its rural landscape. Maslaney explained, “We want to preserve the good of what we have, recognizing that everyone is moving forward and we need changes that make sense for us.”
After hearing about the group’s progress so far, Maslaney (supported by Kuchenbuch) said it would be a good idea to hold a community forum or town hall-type event to garner feedback on the county’s priorities for the ordinance and future development.
Also during Tuesday’s meeting:
The Board approved a lease agreement to establish a new Green Box site in Indian Valley.
Supervisors voted to designate one of the PSA’s “prepaid” water lines for Lot 8 at the Commerce Park.
The Board approved applying for a Virginia Commission for the Arts grant on behalf of the Floyd Center for the Arts. The grant requires $4,500 in matching funds from the county.
The Board opted to rebid mowing services at several county sites after its current contractor raised his rates.
The Floyd County Board of Supervisors will next meet Tuesday, March 23 at 7 p.m.
Editor’s note: This story was updated March 12 to correct a misspelling of Mike Maslaney’s surname.