We'll be back

Ross and I have been totally overwhelmed with work lately and haven't, for one reason or other, been able to go to the meetings.  We do hopefully plan to get back to the meetings, probably in November.  We've been somewhat discouraged that even knowing what was going on in the meetings - the number of citizens at the meetings was the same as ever.  The way that the government of this county is going, we needed a courtroom full and we needed people to come and speak up.  It just didn't happen.  Too much apathy.  We are really tired of even trying to deal with it - but we probably will again anyway. 

Until we are back please visit the site listed in the posting below.

A Site for ALL Citizens and their Opinions

This blog is now evolving into a discussion panel for those who would like to voice their thoughts and ideas, without having to leave a "comment".  You will be able to openly post your ideas, thoughts and opinions.  To go to this blog, please use the link:  http://www.pittsylvaniavoice.blogspot.com/.  The sign in information is on the front page.  Please remember to use "online manners" - as we have created this site for all citizens to use, we ask that all discussions remain courteous.  Thanks for your support, and "we'll see on the new site"!

Lots of conversation

Check out the comments under the post below from the August 18th meeting....lots of intelligent conversation going on there....it's especially interesting because these people understand more of what's going on than I do....and they are putting it out there for all....Great job guys!

"V" - are you gone?

Anyway....here's the rest of the meeting on the 18th

There was a great deal of citizen discussion over one of the zoning cases, which is unusual. Usually, they fly right through, but Charles and Nancy Eanes wanted to zone their property over in the Rt. 58 area from residential to business (understandably, on their part, since that area is really starting to boom.) But many of the residents near that property didn't want it, because they said that the area was heretofore a quiet neighborhood without a lot of traffic. Hank Davis questioned this, since there was a trailer park on that road - he said there had to be a reasonable amount of traffic back and forth from that park. There was not a decision made that evening.

Yorktowne has not lived up to the requirements of their performance agreement - instead of the several hundred jobs that they promised by this time, they have only employed 87 people. The county is asking to re-establish their performance agreement to let them have more time. I personally think the more time the better, because the national econonomy has devastated businesses such as Yorktowne, who's cabinet business is almost totally dependent on the housing market.

The Tobacco Commission will finance bond payments for 10.5 million, for the Mega Park.

Mr. Ecker wants the waterline in the Grit area to be extended. There was some negative discussion on this, and finally Mr. Ecker said, "I supported waterlines for Whispering Pines, and I supported waterlines on Rt. 40 - why can't you support my constituents...this line is needed." The board finally agreed to have a feasibility study done and go forth from there.

The Board motioned to have a public hearing on the issue of freezing car taxes for disabled vets (surely that will be a no-brainer) and the entire board was, by the way, in favor of that.

The Northern Pittsylvania Food Bank wants a land donation - the 2 acres that was formerly the football field at the old Gretna Middle School. They want land to build a building for food storage. The board seemed to be in favor but wanted assurance that the Food Bank would build at some point, so the agreement should contain a stipulation that if a building was not built, the land would revert back to the county. A public hearing will be held at the next meeting on this issue.

The county hiring freeze (ha ha ha ha ha) was once again waived so that the Economic Development Director could hire a secretary. BTW, the Economic Development director was recently sent to the "Basic Economic Development" course. This course is held in Oklahoma or Chapel Hill. I assume he and Greg Sides were sent to Chapel Hill. Just for your information, most localities that hire directors look for people that have achieved economic development certification, which takes years and years. Basic is just the beginning. Why is the county paying $80K+ for someone that is so inexperienced that he has to be sent to Basic? Just so ya know - the old project manager for Econ Dev, Kyle Butler, had Basic under his belt, but he was thrown out with the bath water, and now he and his family are leaving for Hagarstown MD, where he has obtained a wonderful career opportunity. Once again, the county threw out a bright, intelligent young man and has the expense of starting all over - primarily because, in my opinion, Coy Harville wanted no one who knew more about Econ Dev than he thinks he does.

Opinion:
Two things - there is a lot of networking in the econ dev business, like it or not....and the old office employees had a lot of that already in the system...the new director will have to learn who's who and start all over making connections. This guy had to be hired because he sucked up to Coy and the four block.

And - the county complains about our intelligent young people leaving the area - but then they help throw them out, with their stupid decisions and egotistical self indulgences.

Aug 18 Board Meeting

I just wanted to let you know that I haven't forgotten you. I have just been to busy with my job this week, I haven't had time or energy to post anything. The meeting ran long, and I was just mind-boggled (as always) at the dog tag issue. I really thought that was a "no brainer" - I mean a lower cost for a longer time....what's not to love. It's a pain in the butt to have to go to Chatham every year to get that dog tag, especially when you work. I work in Danville - when am I supposed to go?? So I thought that would be a "non-issue" but boy was I wrong....there was more discussion over this stupid, stupid subject than I believe there was over refinancing the bonds....

I mean we're talking $10 here. People were like "what if my dog dies, and I don't get my 10 bucks worth?" Coy pulled out a letter similar to that and read it....I mean, he never read any letters since I've been there about "real" county issues. It was the craziest thing I have ever seen. I mean, what do these people want - a rebate. My dog died and I still had a year and 2 months left, so give me back part of what I paid for my tag.

I'll tell you something: I have a dog, and if anything happened to her, the last thing on my mind would be the lousy $10 that I paid for a dog tag. I'd be devastated over the death of my dog, not worrying over the tag.

I felt sympathy for Teresa Easley who got up and said that she was trying to simplify one thing in the treasurer's office, but if she had known it was going to cause this much controversy, she wouldn't have done it, and so just leave it the way it is, which is what they did.

And I'm telling you folks something else: if you all don't tell everyone you know that Sunday Beer Sales and Liquor by the Drink are not moral issues - they are revenue issues, that battle will be lost as well....

Write letters to the paper and tell people it has absolutely nothing to do with drinking - it has to do with restaurants and stores not locating here; it has to do with people driving out of the county to shop and eat....

I'm just about done with all this. In just the short time that we have been going to the board meetings and seeing what is going on in this county, I'm ready to surrender. I have never in my life personally witnessed such blatant ignorance on all sides.

Ready for Tuesday night's meeting?

Come out and support our effort to provide a "presence" at these meetings. It's a real opportunity to have our own "town hall" meetings - twice a month! Get your friends and come to Chatham and support this initiative. 7:00 pm

A few things on the agenda are Extension of the Grit waterline, freezing taxes for disabled veterans (per the board packet, this is the license fee), and a waiver of the county hiring freeze...

Also there is a new link to get to the Board Packets, agendas, etc. I will put a new link in the right column. Here it is:

http://www.pittgov.org/weblink7/Browse.aspx

Thanks Mr. Ecker

Mr. Ecker Posted the names of the Planning Commission under the post about pertaining to the Commission (below). If you want to see the names, you can open his comment and look.

Planning Commission

I wanted to clear up some information about our County Planning Commission. It is made up of regular citizens from each district. Each Supervisor appoints one person from his/her district to represent the district on the Planning Commission. I think there was some misinformation out there pertaining to this, and I wanted to set it straight. I don't know the names right of the top of my head, but if you all want to see the names I can get them. Let me know.

BOS Meeting Aug. 3 09

My apologies to everyone that reads this, for the lapse in time of posting this. Actually, there isn't much to post for a change....the meeting was quite uneventful. There were a few citizens that spoke about restricting the 18-wheeler traffic on Ringgold Road, since there is now an alternate route (Cane Creek Parkway) into the Industrial Park. This was a done deal before it started though, and steps will be taken to complete the process. Mr. Ecker also asked to put the same basic issue on the next agenda to have a public hearing on restricting truck traffic on Blue Ridge Drive (Old 29). Basically, there were nothing but basic operating issues that were ok'd by the full board and everyone went home early. (yay)

Recording Meetings

We are starting to record the entire BOS meeting and burn it to a DVD. What do you think we should do with our DVD's?

State of the County Address

We were at the Business at Breakfast this past Tuesday to hear the State of the County address. Coy Harville drug out a slide presentation that needed some updating, and proceeded to speak ("and this slide says....") It was excrutiating boring, because he didn't cut it to about 15 or 20 minutes like most other speakers....he drug it out for over 45 minutes - and after he was done, I still didn't know the main question: WHAT is the state of the county. When Mayor Saunders did the same address on the State of the City, he only spoke for about 15 minutes and he told us some of the bad, some of the good, some of the expected - and many times during the speech he said "The City of Danville is doing well." He gave us a synopsis, in other words. After Coy's lengthy presentation, he still never answered the question clearly - what does he say is the state of the county....I mean we heard about all the wonderful "Coy" slanted things that are happening....water lines, My Twinn moving from the bankrupt eToys to the Pluma building in Chatham....and how they put in a water line up route 40 (nevermind it doesn't have enough pressure for anyone to be able to reasonably hook up to it)....in other words, I guess the best thing I can say is it was the same old, same old soundbites that the citizens usually get, not a realistic portrait of what is happening, has happened and what's in store for the county. All we heard was a laundry list of projects - and not anything about any concerns....Admittedly, these breakfast things are for giving the speech in a glossy light, but we do expect to hear a little reasonable truth - I mean we all know that our county, like many others in the country today, is being squeezed financially - so tell us - and tell us the truth...It was obvious that no one wrote Coy's speech - all he did was read slides....he didn't have a speech prepared and it was all too obvious he wasn't really prepared for a Breakfast Presentation. Of course, this is my opinion - and it's a mean opinion, but I go to most Biz at Breakfasts, and they are normally interesting....normally.

A little different information

We usually don't deviate too far off of the political news of the county, but as a favor to a wonderful organization, we have decided to make an exception for none other than "Big Brothers, Big Sisters"....Ross is a full fledged Big Brother, and I am not as worthy, and struggle with my time management, but I do the lunchtime mentoring - all I do is go to lunch with a little girl twice a week....so if you know of anyone who can help tell them to look at this:

We NEED You!

Big Brothers Big Sisters is urgently seeking mentors to fulfill its goal of 40 mentors before Sept 1st.
All you have to do is eat lunch with a child at a local school, twice a week.

Without mentors, our program will not last.

Things to know:
· There’s almost no one so busy that they can’t find a way to fit in an hour a week.
· You can always help by spreading the word at your workplace, neighborhood, church, etc…
· Anyone over the age of 18 can be a mentor. No special skills required.
· These meetings take place during your lunch break from work.
· This is a great volunteer experience for retirees.

Some Facts:
· A new study finds that adults mentored as children through Big Brothers Big Sisters are more likely than peers with similar backgrounds but who were not involved in the program to have a four-year college degree, household incomes of $75,000 or greater and strong relationships with their spouses, children and friends.
· School-based mentoring is not a tutoring program. However, research has shown that of all children matched with a Big in school:
o 58% improved their school performance
o 65% showed higher levels of self-confidence
o 55% had a better attitude toward school

Contact Info:
Tiffany Johnson
In- School Match Specialist
Big Brothers Big Sisters
1225 West Main Street
Danville , VA 24541
434-334-7622
Fax: 434-791-3781
Email: Tiffanybbbs@dancom.com

Keep it up and Pass it On!!

Marshall Ecker's Blog is getting some attention, with his question to the citizens about whether or not they would like to see the Sunday Blue laws abolished. If you haven't left a comment, please go to his blog and do it - and then pass it on to all your friends and tell them to do the same...let's get this question out to the citizens....we can grow this thing - but we all have to help!

Please Go to Marshall Ecker's Blog

Marshall has a very relevant question on his blog regarding the Sunday Blue Laws. This is a very important issue in our county and will have critical effects on our revenue and tax rates in years to come. Please take time to answer his question, and also ask your friends to go there and answer his question, even if they don't normally follow these blogs. This is a way to interact with local government, and it is vital to our county. The link to his blog in on the right hand side of this blog under "Marshall Ecker's Reports" - don't click on his email - click on the link to his Reports. Please, please go there and give him a comment. Thank you.

Meeting July 21, 09 - A small WIN!

I had to come right home and post a small bit of information about the board meeting tonight....Fred Ingram put Beer & Wine Sales on Sunday back on the floor and motioned that it be put on the November ballot for the Callands-Gretna district only. It was seconded this time by Hank Davis and the vote went as follows:
Ingram - Yes
Barber - No
Snead - No
Harville - No
Pritchett - Yes
Davis - Yes
Ecker - Yes

This is a WIN for the Callands-Gretna District! As I have said before, to me it's not about John Doe running to the Quickie Mart on Sunday for a beer - this is about Economic Development and revenue.

Most of the people that are so vehement about Sunday beer and wine sales don't mind leaving church and going to Danville to Applebees - or Altavista or Lynchburg....they are leaving the county to give revenue to another locality....

I realize that Sunday Beer and Wine Sales still won't allow a chain restaurant to locate in the Callands-Gretna district - this will take liquor by the drink. But it's a step in that direction. A step toward a growing future for the county - and initially Gretna; a step towards keeping revenue in the county on Sunday...

So if you see Fred Ingram, or any of the other Supervisors that supported him in seeking development of his district - tell them thank you.

The Next Meeting for the Board of Supervisors...

Is this Tuesday, July 21st at 7:00 p.m. As always we plan to attend and get some of this on video...but we encourage you to try and attend....get a group together and come. The more people that attend, the more that issues will be better understood, and the word about our county governing processes can be spread to the citizens. The most difficult battle that is faced is not that of any particular supervisor, or a particular issue...it is that of apathy of the citizens...if the citizens don't care about what happens in their own government, then it's more than an uphill battle.

Indeed, our supervisors need to realize that they are "public servants" and they are not placed in our government simply to satisfy their own agendas - but the citizenry must step up to the plate as well, to oversee and monitor their own government....

Our taxes are set to go up, to 13 or 14 cents on the dollar in just a couple of years...and it's a done deal....there was little argument - at least in relationship to the citizen popluation...and, basically, in my eyes, the Four Block did what they wanted anyway, which was to put a bandaid on the problem, for now, and let it hit a couple of years down the road, costing the public about 4.9 million to refinance bonds....yes, folks, the refinance Cost the county citizens that much...on top of what was already owed.

Do the citizens have a voice in this government - I can tell you that some of them do not. There seems to be too much rivalry between board members and it allows little room for true compromise and working together for the good of all the people.

Again, please try to make the meetings on the first Monday and third Tuesday of each month at 7:00 pm in the Edwin Shields Courthouse. Tell everyone you know...tell the public to start attending these meetings and voice their opinions to their Supervisor.

Anonymous Comment

Following is a comment left on this site from an anonymous reader:

Anonymous said...
You missed out on the whole disussion over Tim Barber steering the new water line away from Whispering Pines to Inman Road where his busines partners have a bunch of residential lots for sale. Why do you think the gang of four is now backing off the Whispering Pines water diversion, after voting on it last meeting? It's because the cat got out of the bag two weeks ago and Barber went scrambling to the Commonwealth Attorney to find out if he should have made public disclosure about steering the water line to benefit his business partners.

And don't you think Snead, chariman of the BOS Personnel Cttee, should have made public disclosure that he was appointing his own brother to be acting director of the PCSA? Keep posted; more coming.

Here are some clips from the meeting

Editorial: To go along with these three clips from Monday night's meeting, I want to say I am apalled that Fred Ingram's motion to put Sunday Beer and Wine Sales on the Ballot died a slow "death by Board" at the meeting on July 6. What is the problem? Put it on the ballot - let the citizens decide. It's not up to the Board to guess. I personally feel like it will add much needed revenue to the county - it's not going to promote drunkeness - if people want to drink, they are going to the surrounding localities on Sunday and spending their money in another county, city or town. Corky Medaglia also spoke at the meeting as to why this is now becoming an important issue to Tomahawk Mills Winery. Seems to have fallen on deaf ears, for the most part. Why is this happening? The Board of Supervisors is impeding business and losing revenue to the surrounding counties.

And, when C&E's Restaurant told the Board that the water line up Rt. 40 was inadequate, watch the snide comment made later in the meeting:

Meeting July 6, 2009

Well, I'll be brief...most of the meeting was routine - general county business. All supervisors were in attendance except Mr. Ecker, who was on vacation.

Mr. Allan Gross and Mr. Phillip Lovelace spoke as did a few others, about the lead levels in Mr. Gross's well. In short, the history of the well is as follows: Before the drilling, his water was fine. The exploratory drilling started, and Mr. Gross's well water became contaminated. The drilling stopped and the holes were topped off, and his well water became alright again. This speaks to the point that the drilling was, indeed, responsible for the contamination of his well. Mr Lovelace also brought up a good and valid point. If a small drilling could cause that much water damamge, what will happen if uranium mining is allowed and a site that is 250 acres is mined...

Mrs. Carolyn Pritchett asked to speak to the Board, and asked that Ross Johnson read her statement, because she was very hoarse. Mr. Johnson did so. Her statement asked several questions and also asked that each supervisor answer her in written letter. She stated that although the water line had been run up 40, the pressure was too low to sustain use, and that three fire hydrants that were supposed to be installed had not been, due to the fact that they could not operate with such low pressure. She asked why there was so much money spent on the southern end of the county and wondered why the water and sewer could not be put in and made to work properly on the line up Route 40.

There are a number of businesses that need the water pressure and the sewer line or they will not be able to expand - or even operate properly - Centra Health Medical Center being one of these businesses.

There were a couple of moments, though, during the Board meeting that were mind-stunning. Fred Ingram motioned to put Beer and Wine Sales on Sunday on the ballot for each district. A second was needed and none was given. There was a heavy silence in the room as time was given for someone to second the motion. Nothing.

Then, when the Board was discussing water lines in another part of the county, Mr. Harville made a comment along the lines of "Why do we do this, when we give them what they want - they don't appreciate it" and he was referring to Mrs. Pritchett's questions about the water and sewer.

The rest of the meeting was generalized - alotting money for Camp 15 renovation; moeny for the sheriff's dept. which we are glad they agree to this.

Then the meeting went into closed session, where a new business or industry is interested in the county, that has made no prior announcement.