Good evening, Floyd Forum subscribers! Phew…I know this email is coming a bit late. (Both literally, and in the sense of meeting the obligations of this newsletter.) I promised you all coverage of public meetings within 24 hours of meeting’s end, and I didn’t quite meet the mark today. The Floyd County Board of Supervisors met yesterday morning.
It’s been a very busy few days, but the good news is, I’ve been able to cover the wonderful Floyd even in my work outside of Substack. I thought some of you might be interested in this piece I wrote about job training in SWVA, featuring Floyd County High School teacher Doug Thompson and Floyd County EDA board member Marty Holliday.
Anyway, below you’ll find coverage of the Supervisors meeting. (Side note: *Huge* kudos to Tabitha Hodge and all those who coordinate livestreams of the meetings. I was double-booked Tuesday morning, and was able to do all this reporting after-the-fact, via Youtube.) Thanks for following along. I’ll see you again Friday with a wrap-up of the Town Council meeting.
-Ashley
New housing development planned for Floyd; Terri Morris honored by CoC
The Floyd County Chamber of Commerce will not hold its annual membership dinner this year, Executive Director John McEnhill told the Board of Supervisors Tuesday morning. “We’re doing things differently this year,” he said, because of safety concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic. Each year, the chamber presents several awards to members of the community, including an award for “Business Leader of the Year.” This year, that honor belongs to retiring Floyd County Administrator Terri Morris. Morris will leave her job with the county at the end of 2020.
McEnhill offered brief remarks about Morris’ many contributions to the county’s economic development over her 30-year career during Tuesday’s meeting, as well as presenting her with a plaque. McEnhill credited Morris with facilitating the expansions of Crenshaw Lighting and Hollingsworth & Vose; helping the county become financially stable enough to fund several school projects, including construction of the Collaboration and Career Development Center; being a strong supporter of entrepreneurial programs in the county and working with the Cooperative Extension to support the region’s hundreds of farmers.
McEnhill also offered an update on the Chamber’s Visitors Guide, which will be printed with the support of CARES Act funding from the county. McEnhill said the extra money “made a huge impact” by “making it accessible and affordable for a large number of businesses” to participate. The Chamber set a target of recruiting 70 businesses for the guide and currently has 91 signed up. The guide will also include a full page ad for the new ShopFloydVA website, to encourage folks to safely shop for their favorite local wares online. Another full page ad will detail COVID safety practices.
Craig Chancellor, who is also the president of the local Chamber of Commerce, spoke to the Supervisors in his capacity as a member of WSC Development during Tuesday’s meeting. He announced that the development company has acquired the property at the corner of Parkview Rd. NE and Needmore Ln. NE, across from Legacy Linens, and intends to build several houses there. The Floyd Planning Commission, Floyd County PSA and Virginia Department of Transportation have already approved the plans. WSC has begun clearing the land and plans to break ground by the end of 2020.
Chancellor was there to ask for the Board’s support in planting a row of cypress trees along the property line at Legacy Linens. The business sits on land that the county owns. Chancellor said WSC would purchase and deliver the trees, and asked that the county then water and maintain them. The goal is to provide a visual screen between the county property and the new residential neighborhood, as well as generally improving the aesthetics of the area.
Locust Grove District Supervisor Lauren Yoder said he was fine with the plan, but wanted to double-check with VDOT that the tree line wouldn’t impede the right-of-way. The consensus of the board was to check in with both those who lease the property at Legacy Linens and with VDOT prior to approving the plan.
The board also spent significant time discussing legislative recommendations it would make to the Virginia General Assembly prior to the assembly’s next session in January. Supervisors mentioned the possibility of restructuring VDOT in some way, in order to expedite projects, particularly in more rural areas. The county regularly generates a Six-Year Road Plan for improvements of various roads and ditches, but VDOT seldom implements more than a couple items each year.
Courthouse District Supervisor Jerry Boothe also suggested discouraging the Assembly from adjusting the state funding formula in any way that reverts more financial responsibility back to the localities.
Indian Valley Supervisor Justin Coleman, who serves as a deputy in the Floyd County Sheriff’s Department, suggested notification of localities in the event of legislation affecting Second Amendment rights or that may affect the funding of local police departments. “Should they take up some of these bills about law enforcement, qualified immunity, or defunding…There’s fear across the Commonwealth from people doing this job,” Coleman said. “If some of these pass, we could be looking at perilous times for those who protect and serve.”
Yoder agreed, and said he worries that if local law enforcement faces too much scrutiny or new burdens, it will be difficult to recruit talented people to serve in those jobs. “I’ve said it several times—just like it takes a special person to teach our children, it takes a special person to do the job of law enforcement,” added Boothe. “I think we’re all grateful to those people. And I’m fine with adding something in (about that.)”
Floyd County Sheriff Brian Craig happened to be in the audience during this discussion. He was at the meeting to present a thank you card on behalf of his department, to the Board of Supervisors. The Supervisors recently approved hazard pay for local law enforcement officers and first responders. Craig thanked the board for “the constant support that we know we receive from you all,” adding that “it’s tough times right now for law enforcement.”
Craig said he hadn’t planned to speak to the political issues surrounding LEOs, but wanted to weigh in since the board had raised them. Craig said he too worries about filling open positions in the face of new regulations from the General Assembly. He spoke at length about the potential consequences of eliminating qualified immunity for police. Qualified immunity grants government officials performing discretionary functions immunity from civil suits, unless the official violated clearly established statutory or constitutional rights.
“The qualified immunity is something that potentially you need,” he said, adding that losing it may mean the county incurs much higher insurance costs for the department. “Qualified immunity is something that keeps, for the most part, frivolous lawsuits from happening. Law enforcement officers can still be sued—if we’re negligent,” he said.
Outside of politics, Craig offered a recap of the department’s assistance with safety and security on Election Day. He praised the work of Floyd County Registrar Amy Ingram and said with regard to the security of the ballots, “I thought it was just wonderful how they did it, and kept all our ballots and the integrity of the election.” The Supervisors also certified local vote counts at the meeting.
Finally, the Board granted multiple requests for additional CARES Act funding. Boothe reported that the PSA needs $115,000 to ensure that all the digital meters (intended to limit contact between water system employees and equipment) can be installed prior to the Dec. 31 deadline. At the end of the year, localities must return any unused CARES funds back to the federal government. The Town Council, Boothe said, is likely willing to kick in $35,000, leaving the Supervisors to contribute $80,000.
The board approved the allocation, with the caveat that any unfinished work as of Dec. 31 had to be paid for by the PSA, and wouldn’t be covered by the county’s general funds. The Supervisors also approved a supplemental allocation of up to $150,000 for the RISES grant program, which supports local businesses that have faced losses due to the pandemic. To date, the RISES program has spent $312,000 of its allotted $350,000.
The Board of Supervisors next meets on Dec. 8, its sole meeting next month.