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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1987-04-01April 1, 1987 (Regular Night Meeting) Page 1 35'5 A regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of Albemarle County, Virginia, was held on April 1, 1987 at 7:30 P.M., in the Auditorium of the County Office Building, 401 McIntire Road, Charlottesville, Virginia. BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Mr. F. R. Bowie, Mrs. Patricia H. Cooke, Messrs. Gerald E. Fisher, J. T. Henley, Jr., C. Timothy Lindstrom (arrived at 7:35 P.M.) and Peter T. Way. BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: None. OFFICERS PRESENT: Mr. Guy B. Agnor, Jr., County Executive; Mr. Robert W. Tucker, Jr., Deputy County Executive; and Mr. Ray B. Jones, Deputy County Executive. Agenda Item No. 1. Chairman, Mr. Fisher. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 7:38 P.M. by the Agenda Item No. 2. Agenda Item No. 3. Pledge of Allegiance. Moment of Silence. Agenda Item No. 4. Consent Agenda. Mrs. Cooke offered motion to accept the items on the consent agenda as information. Mr. Way seconded the motion. There was no further discussion. Roll was called and the motion was carried with the following recorded vote: AYES: NAYS: Mr. Bowie, Mrs. Cooke, Messrs. Fisher, Henley, Lindstrom and Way. None. Item No. 4.1. Arbor Crest Apartments Monthly Bond Report for the Month of February, 1987 was received as information. Item No. 4.2. Letter dated March 11, 1987 from Jeanne Finan, Executive Director, The Virginia Discovery Museum, re: Grant. Received as information, "I am also writing to officially inform you that The Virginia Discovery Musuem has successfully met the challenge grant terms given to us by the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors. Our Board of Directors has raised $5,000 to match the County's promised contribution of $5,000. We appreciate the County's generosity and are delighted that so many county residents are enjoying the Museum. In our first four months of operation, over 9,000 children and adults have visited here." Item No. 4.3. Letter dated February 13, 1987, from B. L. McCallister, Area Superinten- dent, Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation, re: List of Gas Pipeline Facilities within this Jurisdiction. Received as information. "Columbia Transmission presently owns and operates the following natural gas pipeline facilities within your governmental jurisdiction: A 20-inch natural gas pipeline that enters Albemarle County, Whitehall District at approximately 2000 feet west of the Skyline Drive and continues on into Greene County leaving Albemarle County, Whitehall District at approximately 4000 feet east of Route 601. Within the above mentioned section, we also own and operate Measurement and Regulation facilities near the pipeline crossing at Route 673, and the pipeline crossing at Route 601. Operation of these facilities is the responsibility of the following Area Office: Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation P. O. Box 467 Herndon, Virginia 22070 (703) 759-2115 Owen Berkebile" Item No. 4.4. Letter dated March 20, 1087 from Mr. William L. Bower, District Engineer, Department of Transportation~ re: Public Hearing on 9th - 10th Street Realignment. Received as information. Item No. 4.5. Copies of Planning Commission minutes for March 10 and March 17, 1987 were received as information. Not Docketed: Mr. Bowie offered motion to reverse the order of the agenda items and to hear item 6 before item 5. Mr. Lindstrom seconded the motion. There was no further discus- sion. Roll was called and the motion was carried with the following recorded vote: AYES: NAYS: Mr. Bowie, Mrs. Cooke, Messrs. Fisher, Henley, Lindstrom and Way. None. 358 April 1, 1987 (Regular Night Meeting) Page 2 Agenda Item No. 6. Public Hearing: Amendment to the 1986-91 Capital Improvements Program. Stone-Robinson Elementary School. (Advertised in the Daily Progress March 17 and March 24, 1987.) Mr. Fisher said that in 1986 the Board had approved unanimously a Capital Improvement Plan for Stone-Robinson School in the amount of $1,500,000 as requested by the School Board. Since that time the price of the project has increased 80 percent, and the Board is now in the process of going through the required public hearing to consider an additional appropria- tion to cover the increased costs. Mr. Agnor said this change was a result of a study made by the Stone-Robinson Planning Committee which indicated that the capacity of the school, which was originally planned to be a 548 student school, should be increased to 570. The enrollment currently is 435 and is estimated to reach the 575 mark by 1991-92. The square footage has been increased from 34,000 square feet to 57,000 square feet. The committee recognized the need for five class- rooms instead of four, rooms for special programs in speech and resource and remedial class- es, a larger gymnasium, a stage and music area adjacent to the gymnasium, storage areas for equipment, office space for staff and some mechanical equipment replacement in the existing building to tie in with the new addition. Site work on the project is $180,000 lower than was estimated for this project. The Planning Commission, on March 24, considered this request and expressed concern about trying to amend a single project in between the cycle of amending all other projects. However, in recognition of the School Board's request and the desire to keep this project on schedule, the Planning Commission unanimously recommended that the Capital Improvement Plan be amended to increase the Stone- Robinson project to $2,714,000. The Planning Commission did not deal with how the project would be financed, leaving that for the Board to decide. Mr. Agnor reminded the Board that it had directed the staff to consider removing funds from other planned projects in order to finance the increase in the Stone-Robinson project. Unable to find extra funds in any other project, the staff cannot even recommend that any project be deferred or moved out of the five year cycle in order to accommodate the increase in the Stone-Robinson project. Memorandums have been prepared by the staff to the Planning Commission concerning the schedule of funding that was approved for borrowed monies in 1986 for the current five year plan, and describing the funding resources available for the revised Capital Plan that is now being compiled and will be considered this month by the Planning Commission. The memorandum which addressed the bor- rowed funds indicated that in the 1986 approval, the school projects, of which there were 25, had borrowed funds for five of those projects totalling $6,000,000 out of a $14,980,000 group of projects. A revised educational division part of the Capital Budget shifted a portion of the Burley Middle School project from 1989-90 funding and secondly, an additional amount for the Stone-Robinson project of $1,214,000. Burley is considered eligible for borrowed funds. Compared to the first schedule, instead of five projects with borrowed funds, there are now six; instead of $6,000,000 in borrowed money, there is now $8,200,000. The revised education part of the Capital Budget also changed local funding for educational projects from the approved amount of $9,000,000 to $8,000,000. The staff has also examined the Virginia Public School Authority method of borrowing funds for school projects as contrasted to the Literary Fund Loan and discovered that the former has a slightly higher rate of interest. Mr. Agnor said Albemarle County had been charged three percent interest on Literary Fund Loans but been moved to four percent and will be moved to five percent if anymore is borrowed from that fund. Mr. Agnor discussed the Virginia Public School Authority's background and method of selling bonds and said it would be an 18 Week process to get to the sale of bonds. The staff recommends that the CIP be amended as recommended by the Planning Commission so the design work can proceed on Stone-Robinson. The Board can decide the particular method of funding both the Stone-Robinson project and the next cycle of the CIP when it examines the revised CIP in early June. Mr. Fisher asked if Mr. Agnor had any comparable interest rates on cost of general obligation bonds. Mr. Agnor replied that the interest rate depends on the rating of the locality. The School Authority bonds are rated double "A", and if the County were able to achieve a triple "A%' rating, the interest rate would be approximately one percentage below the double "A" rating. That would vary with the time of sale as well as the rating bureau's analysis of Albemarle County's financial health. The staff believes that the County has never been rated above a double "A", but that was before the revenue sharing agreement with the City and the threat of annexation always kept the tax base unstable. Staff now believes that Albemarle may be considered for a triple "A" rating. A triple "A" rating would be somewhere between five and five and a quarter percent based on today's market. Mr. Fisher opened the Public Hearing and asked if anyone was present to represent the School System. Mr. N. Andrew Overstreet, Superintendent, was present, but had no statement to make. Ms. Sharon Wood, P.T.O. President at Stone-Robinson School, urged the Board to approve the amendment for the Stone-Robinson portion of the 1986-87 Capital Improvements Program. She said she has been personally involved in pleading the cause for Stone-Robinson for four years. She feels that they have followed all the rules, gone through the proper channels, written letters and offered to help. They do not feel that these are sudden or unexpected increases at Stone-Robinson but long overdue improvements. Some of the situations they are concerned about are: physical education teachers having to give up their trailer so it may be used as a regular classroom; there can be no stage productions .because the physical education office and storage will be on the stage; all physical education classes in bad weather will have to be held in the back half of the cafeteria; eighteen special education students are being bused to other schools; the parking area is so small there is not enough space for teachers, parents or visitors; children have to walk in the path of backing buses to get to the play area; cars are parked along the public road in the morning and afternoon; one room houses the Assistant Principal's office, storage, work room, clinic, the after school program's office and its storage; two secretaries share a small office; the small conference room off the rear of the library is the only meeting room in the building and is used by the instructor who teaches English as a second language, the school psychologist and the music teacher and for eligibility study meetings, child studies, parent conferences and the Great Books Program; recently the library had to be closed because six children had to April 1, 1987 (Regular Night Meeting) PaHe 3 -3,57 make up SRA tests; and four portable classrooms are full of children that have to go to the building numerous times a day no matter what the weather. She asked that the fall 1988 target date for the Stone-Robinson project not be missed. She said all Albemarle County schools need to be on a parity level. Mr. Pete Craddock, incoming President of the Stone-Robinson P.T.O., spoke next. He said that the P.T.O. has been~very concerned for the last four years about the~overcrowding in the Stone-Robinson area. He also mentioned areas that need improvement and the need to meet State requirements. He is afraid the children will suffer because of an undetailed, bargain- basement assessment of the school by KDA. Now Stone-Robinson has a detailed, accurate reflection of their basic needs. He said to deny these children these things they need is to keep the door closed on their opportunities and to deny their presence on the doorstep. Mr. Scott Bazzarre, Electrical Foreman for Design Electric in Charlottesville, said he has one child already in Stone-Robinson and has a little girl who will be there in a couple of years. He worked at Stone-Robinson in 1983 on the pneumatic control system and has wired a couple of other County schools. He said that Stone'Robinson doesn't meet the basic code requirements. He stated that he would be willing to personally provide the labor to update the wiring and the pneumatic control system when they rebuild. He also mentioned that the school doesn't have a fire alarm system. Mr. Ed Bauer, from White Hall, suggested that the Stone-Robinson project be postponed. He reminded the Board that a few months ago they were in a similar position with the Meriwether Lewis School project with the same architect involved. At that time the architect promised that Meriwether Lewis School would be done with all the features that parents wanted and on schedule. Recently the deadline arrived for signing the contract, and the architect found that he couldn't get a contract to build the school within the budget and they had to come up with $165,000 worth of deletions. The architect did not have a site plan that would pass the Highway Department's safety requirements so they had to redesign, and the end result was a much less satisfactory school. The whole idea was to get the project done quickly, and now the School Board has no guarantee that it will be done on time. He feels that if there had been more time allotted to that project, possibly the architect could have redone the building and entrances and saved money there instead of deleting desired school features. Mr. Bauer reminded the Board that they are in a situation at Stone-Robinson where they don't have a site plan that's ready for the planning process, and if they try to be hasty, they will probably have the same problems that they have come across at Meriwether Lewis. Mr. Fisher asked the people who were there to show support for the Stone-Robinson School project to stand. (Approximately 35 people were present.) Mr. Fisher asked if anyone else wished to speak about Stone-Robinson. With no one else rising to speak, the public hearing was closed. Mr. Bowie said he had told Ms. Wood it would be better to have two or three concise presentations rather than having a lot of people saying the same thing. One thing he wanted to correct is that it was not the School Committee that caused the alleged increase in price. It was an understating of the requirements. He thinks there is quite a bit of difference between constructing a new school and having some delays with planning, and renovating an existing school on a piece of land where the land and entrances are already there. He believes that the site plan is far enough along that if this appropriation is approved tonight, they can proceed and can get construction and contracts in a hurry and build on schedule. He said he fully intends to support this project. Mr. Way stated that he, along with Mr. Lindstrom, served on the KDA SChool Facilities Committee. He feels that the report totally missed the mark on Stone-Robinson in many different ways. He was not that surprised about the increase over the original estimate. He feels very strongly that the projects that this Committee studied and brought to the Board are necessary projects for the County Schools. The School Board has tried to prioritize them, and the situation at Stone-Robinson is extremely critical in terms of overcrowding. He is anxious to see these projects completed and not delayed. He said his concern is whether the School staff can oversee this many projects at one time. Mr. Overstreet has assured him that his office can handle it. He is supporting the Stone-Robinson project. Mr. Lindstrom said he supports this project. The only difference he has with other members of the Board is the way in which he believes the project might be funded. His concern is that the Board will take public comments tonight on the next fiscal year budget, which proposes a five cent decrease in the real property tax rate. The method of funding the $1,200,000 is to borrow the money. He mentioned that the money that will be lost by cutting the tax rate five cents is just about that amount of money. He wonders about the lack of wisdom of reducing the tax rate at this time. Because of State law the tax rate cannot be raised from what is advertised tonight at 72 cents. He does not propose that action be deferred on the Capital Improvements budget to allow that to happen. He will support the project, but he would like for Board members to consider retaining the current tax rate rather than borrowing extra money. This would not only insure that the money will be there for Stone-Robinson this year but would also provide more flexibility to address other capital needs of the County. He mentioned the Rose Hill Elementary School situation and said he had heard that the School Board has seriously considered building a new facility. This is another example of the lack of wisdom of reducing the tax rate at this time. He supports the Stone-Robinson School project, but not borrowing the additional money. Mr. Bowie moved that the Capital Improvements Plan for 1986-87 be amended to show Stone-Robinson School at $2,714,000. Mr. Way seconded the motion. Mr. Fisher asked Mr. Bowie to put a ceiling on the figure. Mr. Bowie then included in his motion that this is an adjusted figure and a ceiling. Mrs. Cooke asked if this motion also included borrowing the money. Mr. Bowie answered, "no," funding of the CIP will be determined when the Board goes through the revised Capital Improvements Plan in June. The motion does not specify how the funding is to take place. Mr. Fisher stated that he thinks the Board will have to seriously consider going to a public referendum for a general obligation bond for all of the projects. He went on to say 358 April 1, 1987 (Regular Night Meeting) Page 4 that if each project is funded as it can be afforded, and the last projects are delayed for a referendum, there isn't going to be enough support in the County. He said this year's change in the Literary Fund laws has altered his entire thinking about funding these projects. He said he will support the motion. Mr. Way commented that the school projects are a commitment by the County. He said some of the projects that have been proposed have already been funded, and he feels that the Board should continue to do what it said it would do. Mr. Lindstrom responded by saying he will be interested in looking at the Chairman's proposal further, but his first reaction is that the ceiling on the Literary Fund Loan does not make that big a difference. He has not proposed in the past and is not proposing now that all of these needs be paid out of tax revenues, but a portion paid from tax revenues and the balance from borrowed money. By cutting the tax rate, they are insuring that they will be borrowing more, and that doesn't make sense to him. Going to a general referendum is difficult to object to, but having supported and advocated the Meriwether Lewis School project, which was funded without a referendum, he is concerned about the equity now. Mr. Bowie clarified the discussion by saying that if this motion passes, the Stone-Robinson project will be approved, and they will worry later about how to pay for it. There was no further discussion. Roll was called and the motion carried with the following recorded vote: AYES: NAYS: Mr. Bowie, Mrs. Cooke, Messrs. Fisher, Henley, Lindstrom and Way. None. Agenda Item No. 5. Public Hearing: the Daily Progress on March 24, 1987.) FY 1987/88 Albemarle County Budget. (Advertised in Mr. Agnor gave an overview of the proposed budget and then summarized the changes. He explained the Summary of Appropriations and said that it was a $64,420,000 budget, almost a $6,000,000 increase and a percentage increase of 10.26 percent. The major categories are the General Government, which has a $17,320,000 budget for 1987-88 representing an increase of $1,070,000 and an increase of 6.6 percent. Of the total budget it's approximately one-fourth of the grand total, or 26.88 percent. The School Division Education Budget is $41,790,000, which is an increase of $4,530,000 and 12 1/2 percent, representing approximately two-thirds of the total budget or 64.87 percent. Debt Service is a little over a million dollars and is increasing about $60,000, or 2.7 percent and 3.16 percent of total. Each year the General Fund makes a contribution from current revenues to the Capital Program. This year, it is $1,000,000 and is recommended for no change next year and is slightly more than 1 1/2 percent of the total budget. The last item is the Revenue Sharing Agreement with the City of Charlottesville which has a $2,280,000 payment scheduled for next year. This represents an increase of $340,000 or 17.27 percent increase and 3 1/2 percent of the total budget. Next, Mr. Agnor went over the summary of the Revenues. The local revenues show property taxes of $28,700,000 for next year, which is an increase of $3,470,000 or 13.75 percent and almost half of the total budget at 44.55 percent. It is calculated on a five cent real estate reduction from its current rate of 77 cents to 72 cents. He pointed out, however, that there is actually an increase in the real estate tax due to the biannual reassessment. If the budget were level-funded next year, the real estate revenues would drop from 77 cents to 70 cents. That would offset the amount of the reassessment. The budget was calculated and advertised with the 72 cent tax rate, therefore, the effective real estate tax increase is two cents next year or a 2.86 percent increase. In local revenues there is a dramatic increase in the number of vehicles registered in Albemarle County; personal property taxes and sales of vehicle licenses reflect this increase. The total local revenues are $40,900,000, which is an increase of $4,000,000 or 10.9 percent, representing 63.49 percent and almost two-thirds of the budget. State revenues show the largest increase in the School Fund with an increase of $1,690,000 or 11.9 percent for next year. State revenues are totalled at $19,140,000, an increase of slightly less than $2,000,000 or a percentage in- crease of 10.69. It represents almost 30 percent of the total budget. The last one is Federal Revenues which are directly received by the County. They total $860,000, and show a very small increase. The total revenues are $64,200,000. Mr. Agnor summarized some of the significant items and said that Administration in General Government includes ten departments and agencies. The largest increase is $126,000 in the Board of Supervisors' budget which comprises three items. One is a $74,000 allocation for dispatching rescue squads through the 911 Emergency Dispatch Center. There is $13,000 reserved for an historic book collection at the Regional Library. Both of these amounts are being held until the City Council has finished its budgeting and approved its share of these items. The third item is funds for studying with the City and the Chamber of Commerce the continued operation of the Visitor's Bureau. Mr. Agnor next discussed the Electoral Board appropriation which represents a $22,000 increase for a Presidential Primary next May, funded by State revenues of $5,000, a net local cost of $17,000. The total budget increases to $294,813 or 8.37 percent representing about six cents on every dollar of the budget. The next item that Mr. Agnor discussed was Human Development which has 24 departments and agencies, 19 being funded. The Regional Library has an increase of $86,700, which does not include the historic book collection, but does represent expanded hours of operation for Scottsville and Crozet Branches, and an increased usage of the Regional Library System by Albemarle County residents. The Parks and Recreation budget line item is $131,227; $94,000 is also included for the new Rivanna Park scheduled to open next year. Social Services has an increase of $88,991, primarily due to expanded program costs. There are no new programs but one staff position is being added. The total budget is $369,000, 9.74 percent, repre- senting approximately 6 1/2 cents of every dollar. The School System 42 cost centers. The School Board this year has three major priori- ties: the Teacher Career Incentive Program, increased funding of instructional programs, and improvement of facilities. The School Budget is calculated on an enrollment increase of 112 April 1, 1987 (Regular Night Meeting) Paq9 5 students next year that creates the need for 10.6 teaching positions, 18 classroom aides, and a continuing program of bus replacements which are on a ten year cycle. The total increase is $4,580,000 or 11.67 percent, representing almost 65 cents of each dollar. Mr. Agnor next talked about Community Development which has eight departments and agencies. There are no significant changes, but there is a $220,000 decrease in refuse disposal. This is because there is a cycle of development of cells at the Ivy Landfill which doesn't occur every fiscal year and is not needed next year. The total budget shows a reduction of $165,000 or 7.9 percent, representing three cents on each dollar. Public Safety and Justice was discussed next with 21 departments and agencies, such as police, fire, rescue, court system, jail, etc. The largest increase is in the Police Depart- ment, scheduled for $338,758, representing almost entirely the cost of adding nine additional officers with the equipment and training needed for that department. The Clerk of the Circuit Court and the Inspections Department are each adding one staff position. The total slightly exceeds $500,000 or 13.2 percent and represents 6 1/2 cents of every dollar. Mr. Agnor said that nothing significant is in the non-departmental grouping except for the Revenue Sharing Agreement with the City. The category of Refunds is primarily the cost of the land use deferral program, representing a total of $2,580,000 in that refund category and $2,460,000 in land use deferrals. The total increases about $354,000 or 6.43 percent. It represents nine cents of every dollar. Mr. Agnor referred to pie chart type illustrations to show relative costs of major functions. The first one showing where the money will be spent shows a total in a five year comparison of an increase of almost 60 percent. Education, five years ago near 62 percent or 62 cents of each~dollar, has moved to 65 cents for each dollar. Public Safety is up nine- tenths of one percent in that period of time. Human Development is down about one cent. The graph showing the revenues indicates that State funds decreased about one cent. also shows a decreased reliance in Federal funds which is almost down three cents, and an increased reliance on local revenues of 3.19 cents. It Mr. Agnor thanked all the participants involved in the budget process, and explained that it is a six month process. Mr. Fisher began the Public Hearing with the General Government section of the budget. There were no comments from the public. Mr. Fisher then asked if there were any remarks about Human Development. Ms. Debbie Cruz, Director of the Thomas Jefferson Adult Day Care Program and a County resident, said she was there to answer any questions about the Adult Day Care Program. She said she thought the Board would find their request for an additional $3,000 modest, when it is considered that they have six people on a waiting list for their program and four people who are under-served at this time. She then turned the meeting over to the families and participants at the Center. First to speak was Ms. Ann Rooker who stated that she is a County resident and President of the Junior League of Charlottesville. She said that the Junior League of gives its full support to the Adult Day Care Center, and on behalf of the League, she strongly urged the Board to fund fully the Center's budgetary request for the 1987-88 year. She discussed the history of the Center and said that the Association of Junior Leagues has been impressed with the organization and implementation of the Thomas Jefferson Adult Day Care Center and chosen the center to be a model program that epitomizes a community's collabora- tive efforts on aging at its annual conference in May. Members of the League strongly believe that the Center offers a special, unique service to residents of the community. Mr. Tom Wynn spoke next about the Adult Day Care Center. He said his mother had been at the Center for approximately a year. Before that time she was admitted to a hospital three times; the costs were about $10,000 each time. She has not had to go to the hospital since she has been at the Center. She has social contacts there and other health services. He hopes that the Board will give this program full funding. Ms. Mary Forbes has a husband who attends the Center and she stated that she and her husband are also residents of Albemarle County. Her husband has had Alzheimer's Disease for the past sixteen years, and the only rest she gets is through the Day Care Center. She urged the Board to support the funding. Ms. Ruth Gibson, a volunteer at the Center and also a County Resident, said that she feels that the Adult Day Care Center is a crucial part of this community. She has been at the Center when the clients are there and has seen the special way the clients respond to the daily care given to them. Mr. A1 Lowry, a resident of Albemarle County, said that his wife and he had lived in California until August of 1984. Just before they moved back to Virginia, she had a mini-stroke and then was diagnosed as having Parkinson's Disease. After moving here, doctors determined that she had Alzheimer's Disease. She is now dependent on him for dressing, feeding, etc. He said that the care giver must have some relief from these tasks. He receives this relief two days a week when he takes his wife to the Day Care Center. He said that it is not only help for him, but it is also a change of pace for his wife. Mr. Lowry said the Center is staffed with loving, understanding personnel who care for their partici- pants. He sincerely urges the Board to consider the requests of the Center in full. Mr. Ed Eidelberg, resident of the County, Stated that he is not personally connected with the Day Care Center but he is a past president of the Thomas Jefferson Lodge of B'nai B'rith and at the present time is a vice president. He said that their local lodge had donated approximately $500 to the Day Care Center. He believes that the Center is a stepping stone toward the nursing home. His mother spent the last eight years of her life in a nursing home because where they lived there were no senior day care centers. He believes that six or seven of those eight years could have been in a day care center. It would have been a pleasure for them to have been able to drop her off at the center on their way to work 36O April 1, 1987 (Regular Night Meeting) Page 6 and pick her up in the evening and take her home. Even if his wife had not worked, she didn't have the expertise to care for her at home. His mother also lost all of her money inside of a year, and she was on welfare for the rest of the time. She was unhappy in a nursing home. He said that the Center is affordable. He summarized by saying that there are a lot of people who are going to nursing homes today ~and spending many, many years there, going broke when they could be using a senior Day Care Center. Mr. Walter Herd, is a resident of Albemarle County and has been a member of the Jeffer- son Area Board of Aging, Virginia Association of Aging, and Virginia Coalition of Aging, so he has been exposed to the problems of the older American. He thinks that the current demo- graphics indicating that the age group 80 and above is the most rapidly growing group in the nation underscore the importance of organizations like adult day care centers. He and the people he is associated with support the full funding of this program by the County and he stated that the City has already voted to fully fund its share. Everyone benefits from the program: the older American, the family and the community. He asked the people who were present to express their support for the Center's request. Mrs. Rellen Perry stated that the Albemarle Housing Coalition had asked her to appear to thank the Board of Supervisors and Staff for their support of the housing needs of low income and disabled constituents. They appreciate the gains of the year which include some extra funding for emergency home repair, extension of the contract of their low income housing specialist at the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission and active support of the extension of the HUD Moderate Rehabilitation program to put into use each of the very last Section 8 subsidies available to Albemarle CountY. She stated that these incremental steps show that the Board recognizes low income families and the disabled to be integral parts of the County constituency, with a legitimate claim to be included in its planning and develop- ment. Ms. Sandy Snook spoke for the Piedmont Council of the Arts. She asked that the Board reconsider the Council's request for a County appropriation of $5,000. She said it would attract a matching amount of money from the Virginia Commission of the Arts, but also local government support is a key factor in eligibility for State grants that do not include a local government match. She said the Council represents 41 organizations that enhance the quality of life for people in the City and the County. More than 60 Virginia cities and counties have applied for matching funds this year and last year, 37 local governments, including many with small budgets, shared in $145,000 from the Commission for the Arts. Albemarle could be included in the distribution this year if the Council gets a local govern- ment grant. The money will help make the local visual and performing arts available to a greater number of people, particularly the handicapped, the elderly, young children, low income and minority citizens. Although the Piedmont Council of the Arts does not deal with life and death situations, it does enhance the quality of life for many disadvantaged people. She said she had sent letters to the Board detailing some of this information and the kinds of counties and cities in the State that have found ways to fund the arts and so have re- ceived the matching funds from the State. Ms. Annette Grimm, Executive Director of the Charlottesville Rape Crisis Group, made a final plea for approval of their request. She discussed the 24 hour a day hotline available to sexual assault victims, and said they have found the telephone to be especially effective in working with rape victims. The telephone allows the victim to reach help quickly, without having to travel to an office to see a crisis worker. More importantly, the telephone guarantees anonymity for the victim. Anonymity is important because rape provokes feelings of guilt and shame in the victim. The telephone allows the victim to talk about his/her feelings of guilt and shame with someone trained to understand the impact of the experience, which eliminates further humiliation and the fear of public disclosure. She said that it is very difficult to get victims to reveal anything about themselves; the fact that so many victims are calling the Rape Crisis Center reinforces that what they are doing to aid victims is right. Confidentiality is guaranteed and mandated through Federal policy. Without the victim's consent, the Group cannot provide any information other than numbers. The Rape Crisis Group os requesting the County and City to each fund one-fourth of the victims' service coordinator's position, bringing this to a full-time position. Ms. Grimm said that the City has approved the request and she hopes the County can fund the remaining one-fourth. Mr. Fisher asked Ms. Grimm how many calls the Rape Crisis Group receives. that they received 297 calls during the last quarter of 1986. She replied Ms. Lois Rochester, President of the League of Women Voters, said that their statement addressed many different categories as well as the budget process. She noted the attempt that the Board has made to allow County citizens to participate in the budget making process. The League finds the 1987-88 budget overview to be a large step in the right direction and suggested that the budget overview be more widely publicized in the future. Observers from the League of Women Voters have attended all general work sessions and hearings on this year's budget. They feel that the entire process was an improvement over last year. To improve the process still more, they support increasing the staff for the County Executive and agree with Mr. Agnor that because of the rapid growth and other changes in the County, the County budget and other operations have become complex enough to warrantsuch an increase in staff. They also support the development and use of a program budget, preferably zero- based, because a program budget would tell the taxpayers in a coherent, comparative format what they can expect for various levels of expenditure in each category~ In addition, a program budget would clarify budgetary matters for the Board and the Staff, would provide a useful document for long-range financial planning, and could identify for everyone where the responsibilities for each program are located within the government. She said the League wishs to emphasize its support for the increase~in police officers as well as most of the other increases recommended by the County Executive. They are happy that the County is challenging the City to do the right thing about the rescue squads and the 911 Center. They support the increases requested for the programs of JABA, the Monticello Area Community Action Agency, Jefferson Area United Transportation, Charlottesville-Albemarle Legal Aid Society, the Albemarle Housing Improvement Program, Offender Aid and Restoration, Outreach Counseling, Region 10 Community Services Board, Shelter for Help and Emergency, the Planning and Community Development Department, and especiallythe Thomas Jefferson Planning District 36i April 1, 1987 (RegUlar Night Meeting) Page 7 Commission. In general, the League is happy with most of the program review committees' recommendations and recommend that in the future, names and departmental affiliations of the members of that committee be listed in the report. The League believes that the County ought to fund the position of victims' services coordinator requested by the Rape Crisis Group. The League regrets that the Central Virginia Child Development Association's request has not been recommended for funding. The current system of charging County residents for informa- tion about child care prevents citizens from finding out about resources available to help them stay in the work force. As for the United Way Child Care Scholarship Program, the League hopes the County will support it, if the criteria that the County's Social Services Department is using to determine scholarship eligibility cannot be changed. Those criteria discourage people from working. The League believes the County should use funds to help people become productive citizens and improve their quality of life. As for the School Board's suggested operating budget, the League thinks the document is lacking in information for both the public and the decision makers. They suggest again the use of a program budget with two levels of proposed funding, one level complying with the Board of Supervisors' school budget guidelines and the other level reflecting the School Board's projections of the needs of the School System. The League thinks that such an approach would be more informa- tive for the Board of Supervisors, enabling it to oversee the budget effectively without infringing on the School Board's powers to make line item decisions. Ms. Rochester said that the League supports the Teacher Career Incentive Program because it is an improvement over the present pay system, because it is more equitable and because it addresses many of the concerns raised by the Supervisors, the County Executive and citizens. Based on a League study of teacher incentives completed in December, 1984, they support increased pay for all teacherS and extra pay for extra duties and responsibilities, compensation and/or evaluation plans that teachers help develop and support, and the concept of professional career ladders. Finally, the League wants to express its belief that the County has the money to fund these programs and other activities to meet other essential needs of County citizens. They are happy that the revenue picture is still good but wish that the Supervisors had not announced their intention to lower the tax rate until after all the Public Hearings. It appears that choices may have been made before taking all the evidence from the public into account. Mr. Clem Sanford spoke about the Parks Department budget, and said he was present with several officers and directors and a number of BMX racers to ask the Board to reconsider the proposed $1500 appropriation in next year's budget for the Riverbend BMX track. He appreci- ates the difficulty of the budget process, but he asked that the Board members consider the following information. Riverbend BMX is a dirt-bike race track located behind Pantops Sho- pping Center and has been in operation over a year. Many local children and parents support it. Riders have been divided between City and County residents. The track is open to anyone all week and the kids can ride, practice and race each other as long as they wear appropriate safety equipment. The City Parks Department will be conducting BMX bicycle riding classes at the Riverbend Track April llth and 18th. Use of the land has been donated by private indi- viduals and businesses and the track was constructed by the donation of private funds and donation of time and equipment of several contractors. It was maintained all last year by the kids, their parents and other interested individuals. Four local businesses donated money for race jerseys for 24 riders and also paid entry fees for ten races for each of the 24 kids. Loaner helmets are provided for new riders and kids who cannot afford them. Bikes are safety checked before every race, and free help is provided to riders who need minor and field maintenance and adjustments. He said that they are not asking for a new facility; what they need help with is major maintenance two or three times a year after heavy rain fall. Heavy equipment is needed to put the track back into shape. Race fees pay for insurance which is $500,000, 24 hour liability coverage. The trophies are a minimal administrative cost. Track officials are volunteers and day to day maintenance is done by parents and kids. This year the track will be affiliated with the National Bicycle League in Columbus, Ohio. Their program allows children to race without joining the organization. Accident insurance is provided for $10 a year, and a $3.00 entry fee buys trophies, etc. Riders may join the NBL as full members, if they wish, and compete on a points basis state and nationally and their entry fee will be $6.00. The fee structure along with substantial donations will allow the track to operate at a break-even level. Both City and County are looking for activities that will appeal to young people, and Mr. Sanford feels that BMX racing is one of these activities. He pointed out that several other tracks in the State are on public parks property and are fully maintained by public funds. The City has put a $1500 appropriation in its budget and he hopes that the County can match it. Mrs. Cooke said that it was her understanding that the BMX track was going to be a privately run organization open only to members who were qualified to participate and super- vised by parents of the participants. She asked if she misunderstood when Mr. Sanford said it was open to the public. Mr. Sanford answered that the races supervised by parents and volunteers but there is no fence around the track so anyone can go down there and ride on it. He said that now they can open it to more children because NBL provides supervision forms and insurance for much less money. Mrs. Cooke said that she thought they were to have a fence around the track and people could use it only under supervision. Mr. Sanford said they hoped to have a fence some day, but it is about a $5,000 expense. Mr. Barry Lippincott, County resident, spoke in favor of the $1500 for Riverbend BMX. He said that when they came before the Board before, they had slightly over one year of operations and 84 participants. They have already had 87 participants in the last two weekends that they have raced this year from both County and City. He mentioned that several times before they had been turned down when they asked for help to get the track started because of vehicle congestion or too much noise, etc. Now they have a place that has proven to be very satisfactory. The track is in the flood plain, and so the property is not planned to be developed. The Zoning Department is looking into that to see if it is possible to have a fence in a flood plain. He said they had accomplished everything they needed to run the track except for the heavy equipment and would appreciate the Board's help. Mr. Fisher asked Mr. Lippincott if the land actually floods when it rains more than once a year. Mr. Lippincott replied, "no," that it had flooded once last year, but that it is back up water and not flowing water. It doesn't really present any construction problem except that it has to be smoothed out with rakes and shovels. 362 April 1, 1987 (Regular Night Meeting) Page 8 Mr. Fisher stated that the next category of the budget to be discussed would be the Education section. Ms. Louise Greer, parent, spoke strongly in favor of one teacher's aide for each kinder- garten teacher. She said that she presently has a son in kindergarten at Stony Point Elemen- tary School. Stony Point has two kindergarten classes, each consisting of 21 children. A part-time aide is shared by the two kindergarten teachers. Ms. Greer said the kindergarten - program is unique compared to the other grades. Its curriculum consists of different kinds of developmental activity requiring much preparation. The aides should do the preparation so that the teacher can teach. She stated that secondly, in kindergarten classes, there is a wide range of abilities among the children. The children are ages four, five and six and come from a diverse socio-economic background. Some have never been to a pre-school, and others have been to pre-school and private kindergarten. There is a need for individualized programming in order 'to provide a developmentally appropriate curriculum and this would require the assistance of a full-time aide. Finally, in kindergarten there are situations that require one-to-one attention which could be managed by the teacher's aide without disrupting the rest of the class. The National Association for the Education of Young Children recommends for the kindergarten age group a ratio of two adults for a group of 20 - children. This ratio is consistent with her recomendation of a full-time teacher's aide for each kindergarten class in the County. Ms. Constance Palmer spoke on behalf of the Virginia Discovery Museum. She said they requested to be included in the 1987-88 County budget for funding in the amount of $7,000. The money is needed to help fund the staff position of Education Director at the Museum. This person is responsible for visitors from school groups to the Museum and they estimate that 7,000 children will visit there next year. She went on to describe other responsibili- ties of the Education Director. She mentioned that the Museum is becoming an attraction to tourists as well as local residents. She said that the Museum is an asset to the community and that over 10,000 people have visited the Museum in its first five months of operation. She said that, since the Board's gift of $5,000 to their capital campaign, they have noticed that people who give to the Museum look very favorably on the community's backing. Public support from local government is an important and valued endorsement for any community organization. To date, they have over 1400 Museum members. At current rates of attendance, they will serve 30,000 people in the coming year. They have approached the School Board for funding and have been informed that the only potential for funding this year would be through a special appropriation from the Board of Supervisors to the School Board. She reported that they are above average in being self supporting in a Museum's first year. In their last month of operation their financial statement showed that the Museum earned $4,765 in admis- sions, memberships, gift shop sales, special events, etc. They will launch a fund drive in the fall to raise approximately $50,000 and their budget will be $125,000 for 1987-88. She said that other local community governments support museums and pointed out from a 1983 study that local funds comprised 20 percent of the museums' operating budgets. She then described how different cities and counties were providing help for museums. They have asked the City of Charlottesville for a $7,000 grant to cover the other half of the Education Director's salary. They are behind in establishing their applications for funding from the City and County because they had not opened when applications were due. The money from the County will make them eligible for a matching grant of up to $5,000 from the Virginia Commission of the Arts. They hope to become part of the School Board budget in the future. She asked the people who had come to support the Museum to stand. Ms. Courtenay Stanley, teacher at Albemarle High School and Vice President of the Albemarle Education Association, urged the Board's support of the budget that relates to Education. She said there are a number of initiatives in the budget that they have long supported. She stated that they are still not happy with the KeyCare Health Insurance Plan, but they do appreciate the fact that monies have been included to continue full coverage for employees and are delighted with the addition of the dental insurance rider. The addition of 18 aides for five hour per day will provide a duty free lunch for all teachers. An increase to $40 a day for substitute teachers will make the County much more competitive in the area. A staff development voucher of $100 for all teachers will allow a wide range of activity. The increase in monies for instructional supplies is always welcome and may make it possible to discontinue the use of ditto masters. Funds to continue the replacement of all buses and funds to provide proper maintenance of vehicles will help to protect and increase the invest- ment in those areas, but the major thrust is the Teacher Career Incentive Plan. The Albemarle Education Association believes that it has finally met the Board's challenge and produced a plan that meets its criteria. She highlighted several key elements to the plan. She said it was the Board's turn now to work with them to provide the best possible education experience for Albemarle County youth. Ms. Stanley noted that obviously there are people who are not satisfied with this budget. She said that the budgeted increases in teachers' salaries will do little more than bring them a little closer to the state and national averages. She pointed out, also, that the significant pay increases are going to the people with the least experience in the County; teachers with the most experience in the County are not even getting the state mandated increase of ten percent. Another concern Ms. Stanley addressed was the maximum four and a half percent increase for administrative and classified employees. Mr. Fisher commended Ms. Stanley and the teachers who worked with the administrators and the School Board to prepare the Teacher Career Incentive Plan. The Board will not take a position on this part of the budget until next week, but he wanted to make sure that the teachers understood that this will be the end of the ten percent increases, that next year and the year after the scale will be the same. That is the pay plan the School Board pre- sented to the Board of Supervisors: a base scale, prehaps adjusted for inflation only. This will be the teachers' pay scale for five years at least; there won't be ten percent adjust- ments every year. He asked Ms. Stanley if they understood this. Ms. Stanley answered that it was quite clear to everyone that the sooner you get a significant raise, the further it's going to go. She said that she had seen the projections that Mr. Papenfuse had made. Mr. Fisher stated that the idea is to get the salaries above the national median or whatever is necessary, and therefore it will not be controlled by the ---363 April 1, 1987 (Regular Night Meeting) Page 9 ten percent state mandate. Mr. Fisher said that whether he supported this proposal will depend on whether he feels the teachers really understand what has been proposed. Mr. Jerry Donowitz, a representative of the Meriwether Lewis Parent Advisory Committee and a parent of children in the County, spoke about the impact of the proposed tax rate decrease on County Education. He said it is unclear to him if all the effects of this tax decrease have been fully evaluated, so he would like to ask questions instead of make a statement. He said that Mr. Agnor and others have said that the present educational program can be maintained even with the tax rate decrease. He asked what is meant by "maintained?" He stated that there are plans for approximately a $20,000,000 program for replacement of facilities over the next several years. If estimates for buildings increase or the popula- tion increases, what's the elasticity of the program with the decreased tax rate to meet the increased needs? With the dollars allocated, are they really building the best schools that can be built for this County? He feels that even the new school may be filled the first day it opens. If new rooms are needed, can new classrooms be built, and if so, will another part of the County have to be sacrificed? To keep within budget for the Ivy Area School, a proposal to use a very safe, rubberized floor for the new gym had to be scratched. He feels that the County should build the safest schools money can buy without sacrificing classroom and student teacher ratios, without changing the size of the library, etc. He said he is talking about the Ivy Area School because he knows it best, but his concerns are for the whole County. He feels that the Teacher Incentive Pay Plan is the major thrust of the budget, and thinks that this should be the top priority. He noted that, in order to stay within the budget, no new educational programs were introduced in this year's budget, or last year or the year before. He asked if anyone in the room could really state that everything is being done, as far as educational programs, for those who need special education, best reading and math programs, etc? He said that people with children represent a minority in the County, but can anyone really say that it is not within the best interest of the County as a whole to provide the best education possible for children? He says he respects the Board very much in the way it does its business. What he really is questioning is whether all of these points have been considered in proposing to decrease the tax rate. If the full impact of decreasing the tax rate on the educational system has not been reviewed, then it seems to him the proposal is not one of practicality but of politics, and he as a parent is not willing to have the most valuable resources of this County sacrificed. He presented Mr. Fisher with a group of signatures of parents who feel the same way he does. Mr. Lindstrom mentioned that he and Mr. Way had served on the Meriwether Lewis School Committee and said that they had spent a great deal of time deliberating about the size of schools, and the school has been designed to accommodate 600 pupils. If the School Board finds after opening that the school is not big enough, he feels that they will have to consider how students are allocated rather than building a bigger building. He said this is not an economic decision, but an educational one. Mr. William A. Woodruff, a parent and President of the Henley Middle Parent Teacher Support Organization, urged the full funding of the School Budget as proposed. He said that the Teacher Career Incentive Plan is long overdue. He presented the Board with two and one-half pages of signatures that support the School Budget as proposed and raised concerns about the wisdom of the tax rate reduction at this time. He asked that importance not be sacrificed on the alter of the expedient. Mr. George Dellaganna, from Earlysville, wanted to add his voice to those who are concerned about reducing the tax rate at this time. He said he came to his conclusions by looking at the school day the school children have, with no scheduled recess. He said that if the teachers were going to have a 20 minute duty free break, he thought it also appropri- ate that the students have a scheduled break. He feels that this can be done by lengthening the school day, but this requires more school buses. He would like to add this-to the other reasons that have been brought out for maintaining the tax rate at its current level. Mr. Pete Craddock commended the Board for its review of the tax rate and the energy to promote responsible fiscal management, but he was disappointed when the Board lowered the tax rate before the final Public Hearing. He is a member of the Albemarle Alliance for Quality Education, which is the County P.T.O and which supports the 77 cents tax rate and the Teacher Career Plan. To base a tax decrease on a windfall such as new car registrations in the County leaves the Board open for reversal and a tax increase next year when those cars have a lower tax value. The pay scale is also disappointing for general County employees. With inflation running at 6.7 percent in 1987, it is a disappointing offer of 2.5 percent to the employees with the State and City giving higher increases. He said the employees and facili- ties are the two best investments the County can make for its future and asked the Board to go back to the 77 cents tax rate. Mr. Keith Rittenhouse, President of the Rose Hill P.T.O. and also a member of the Albemarle Aliance for Quality Education, personally endorsed Mr. Craddock's statement about maintaining the tax rate at 77 cents. He said that they should look at the Teacher Incentive Plan from two viewpoints. First, they need to consider what it has to offer the teachers. This year's proposed budget would provide a 16 percent basic salary increase to the teachers and establish the basis upon which the career incentive ladder would be built in consequent years. Secondly, they need to look at what this plan has to offer the County. The School System opened its doors last fall without a complete staff of faculty members. They have lost and continue to lose quality teachers to higher paying jobs in industry and other school systems. Low salary schedules make it difficult to replace those teachers or to retain the teachers currently within the system. He said the County Personnel Director must be able to compete for the brightest Education graduates. In addition, the teachers must be treated as professionals: openings must be provided within their professions so that they might advance as result of their efforts and abilities; and they must be rewarded for their ef- forts, abilities and progression. He believes that the Incentive Plan that's based primarily on performance is the best method to attack these problems and feels that a positive vote on this plan will show the Board's support for quality and excellence in education in Albemarle County. 364 April 1, 1987 (Regular Night Meeting) Page 10 Mr. Ken Hollett, President of the Broadus Wood P.T.O., said that they are very grateful for a recently renovated Broadus Wood School. They would like to see that kind of oppor tunity exist for everyone in the County. He announced that the Broadus Wood P.T.O. unani- mously voted to support the Teacher Career Incentive Program at the full funding and basic salary rate increase of 16 percent. In addition, they also unanimously voted in favor of keeping the current tax rate primarily for capital improvements. They have identified busing issues that need to be addressed. Broadus Wood School does not have official recesses for their students. The students do get recess, but only because teachers have found ways to call it something else because the current school day is at the minimum duration allowed by State mandate. Next year, they will be audited by the State, not on the basis of quality education provided, but on the amount of time students spend in the classroom. He has been informed that it will take 42 additional school buses to eliminate the problem of taking students to elementary schools and then using the same buses for high school students. If the day is started earlier, additional buses would not be needed. But, speaking personally, his daughter commutes to Henley School, and her day already starts with meeting the bus at 7:30 a.m. They have already identified busing safety issues that need to be addressed and they suggest providing monitors on the buses. He discussed changing the tax rate and stated that if it has to be changed back it could be very costly and time consuming, and in the meantime everyone will suffer. They think it is inevitable that the rate will go back to $0.77 and they urge the Board to consider the Teacher Career Incentive Plan at its fully funded level but also to continue the tax rate at the $0.77 percent level. Mr. Fisher moved to the Community Development Section of the budget. No one spoke about that section. The next category was Public Safety and Justice. Mr. Brad Luxford, Police Officer with Albemarle County and President of the Albemarle Law Enforcement Association, described how the Association was started and said they were there to voice their concern over the current shortage of police officers. He asked that the nine new police officer positions be funded, basically because of safety. Many midnight shifts are handled by two or three officers and a commander and lots of times there are no back-ups. Mr. John Teixeira, County Police Officer and member of the Albemarle Law Enforcement Association, said it is really important that the nine officer positions be funded. He said they look at it as a quality type of addition. He pointed out that it is very dangerous when there are not enough officers, and also there is a morale problem because of this. He is also a part-time DARE officer and goes into the schools to teach children about drugs. He said he has empathy for the teachers, and he supports their Career Incentive Plan. He stated that it is unfortunate that the police officers don't have something like this, also, because they have lost over ten percent of their uniformed patrol bureau in the past three or four months. He said they need to retain experienced police officers, and to recruit highly qualified officers. He described experiences officers in the County have had because of a shortage of manpower. He said that now they are simply trying to respond to the calls and are having a hard time taking care of the problems. Mr. Edward Strauss, citizen of Albemarle County, said he had always believed that the level of County government should be the most responsive to people's needs. Albemarle County citizens depend on volunteers for fire and rescue and there are no free parks and there is enough heard about the school issue, but the children still have to pay for their school books. He commented that to spend over $2,500,000 on a dual police force and a Sheriff's department is not the way to go. He said that there are definitely police problems and more men are needed, so there should be either a police force or the Sheriff's department. He said there is not yet a dual school system. He pointed out that the Sheriff is up for election this year, and he feels that it would be very easy to go back to a Sheriff's depart- ment and get the State mandated ratio of men, and it would cost $1,000,000 less. He said that safety cannot be guaranteed but felt that if someone is doing a good job, he should be given a raise. Mr. Ralph Smith, with the Albemarle County Police Department, stated that they had made a commitment to the Police Department and that now they should make the best of it. He said if it takes more money, then decisions will have to be made on that basis, because they want to be proud of it. Mr. Fisher responded that they also want to be proud of it, and that is why they want professionals, not political appointees. They want people who are going to be trained and proud of what they do, and they expect excellence from them. He stated that the Board is behind the police officers. Mr. Ken Richardson, with the Albemarle County Police Department, wished to express some views that are important to him. He said he was one of the first police officers in Albemarle County. At that time he expressed an interest in expanding his career and expand- ing the Police Department as far as professionalism goes. He said that he thinks that has been attained there today. The officers have come to the Public Hearing to represent their department, have shown pride in themselves, and have expressed interest in their department. They want to see it grow with better officers. He said he would like to go home at night and see his family. He described how shifts hold over to help other shifts. He said they would appreciate anything the Board of Supervisors could do for them. Mr. Fisher then moved on to non-departmental categories. Mr. Layton McCann said he had delayed speaking tonight because people tend to confuse wants and needs. He said that everybody who has spoken tonight has wanted something. He said it is easy to get people to come ask for things that they want the taxpayers to support. He commented that he does not like to pay for a lot of things that other people want that are not necessary. He is very happy with the educational part of the budget this year. He stated that the overall increase of the budget is ten percent. He said cost of living and rate of inflation is way under that. He thinks the budget is well thought through and Mr. Agnor did a good job, but there are some things he would change. He responded to Mr. Fish- er's comment about the Police Department and no more political appointees. He said that he APril 1, 1987 (Regular Night Meeting) Page 11 365 was very happy with the Sheriff, and he has not seen much improvement with police protection in his area. He supported the budget as presented and lowering the tax rate. He said he didn't think taxpayers should ever be taxed more than is necessary to carry out the general obligations of government. Mr. Fisher asked if there were any more comments on anything in the budget. There were none, so he closed the Public Hearing at 10:26 P.M. He explained that by State law, the Board of Supervisors may not vote until seven days after the hearing. He asked if Board members had any comments. Mrs. Cooke stated that she would like to say something in support of the Police Depart- ment. Speaking for her district in particular, she said that more often than not she is confronted by constituents who say thank you very much for forming the Police Department. They feel that in their very urban area the police protection has improved immeasurably. They are most grateful for the level of service that they have attained as a result of the Police Department. Mr. Fisher commented that when the tax rate was set it was not an easy decision, and that very possibly the Board of Supervisors could be faced with raising it next spring after elections. He stated that one of the problems is because appraisals are done every two years. Mr. Lindstrom responded to Mr. McCann that he believes Albemarle is a rapidly suburban- izing County, if not an urbanizing County, and a lot of attitudes about government are hold-overs from years ago. He said that a limited government can only go so far in dealing with a county with a fairly dense population in some parts of it. Although the cost of living may not have changed, the population has changed. Because of this transition, the County is playing catch up ball particularly in the area of law enforcement. For many years there were no significant increases, but there was significant population growth. They simply did not have the people to cope with it. He doesn't feel that even with nine extra- men that it is enough. He said that there are a number of needs that seem to be major increases, but in his opinion there are changes that have come about because of the urbaniz- ing population. The character of the needs changes and costs get higher. He said there has been a significant change in the County in the last ten to fifteen years and it will keep going on. He thinks there are some significant expenditures that the County has procrasti- nated on and the price will have to be paid. He feels that the Board can define the needs for the existing tax rate and future needs will become more apparent. Agenda Item No. 7a. Statement: Virginia Department of Transportation's Pre-allocation Hearing in Culpeper. (Mr. Bowie left at 10:33 p.m.) Mr. Agnor said the staff drafted a statement either to be sent or taken to a hearing in Culpeper and it essentially restates the requests made at earlier allocation hearings for primary road funds with the exception of the interchange at Avon Street and Interstate 64. That has been removed primarily because of the response that this project does meet standards for separating interchanges on interstate highway systems. He said the decision is whether to mail the statement or send someone with it to Culpeper for tomorrow morning's meeting. Mr. Lindstrom said that he thinks the statement touches all the bases and obviously the Highway Department knows of the County's particular interests. Mr. Fisher thanked the staff for putting the statement together. Since no one volun- teered to go to Culpeper, Mr. Fisher suggested that the statement be prepared as a letter and forwarded in time to be considered as part of the record. (Note: The contents of the statement follow.) ". . . our highest priority for improvement is Route 29 North, and we appreciate your efforts in reviewing the geometrics of the expressway concept for Route 29 North, as well as our direct involvement in the Envi- ronmental Impact Study for the 29 North corridor in our community. We look forward to continuing the analysis of U. S. Route 29 North with Commissioner Pethtel and his staff. With regard to other improvements proposed in the revised Six-Year Improve- ment Program, the Albemarle Supervisors continue to support the widening of Free Bridge and the four-laning of U. S. Route 250 East to Interstate Route 64 as shown in the revised six-year program document as well as the follow- ing: Alignment improvements to Route 20 South; Improvement to Route 240 in the Crozet community from its intersection with Route 635 and U. S. Route 250 West, northward to its intersection with Route 810." (Mr. Bowie returned to the meeting at 10:38 P.M.) Agenda Item No. 7b. Statement: Twenty-First Century (COT-21). Governor's Commission on Transportation in the Mr. Lindstrom said that it would be nice to have the authority to assess impact fees, and he does not object to asking for it. Mr. Fisher stated that the Northern Virginia counties have a lot more authority. This Commission can recommend something to the General Assembly and it might help bring about a change if it bears directly on transportation issues. Mr. Fisher commented he heard of a hearing in Northern Virginia with people support- ing a transfer tax on real estate. There is approximately a billion dollars worth of real April 1, 1987 (Regular Night Meeting) Page 12 estate in Northern Virginia that changes hands on an annual basis, and a very low tax rate would generate substantial funds which might be used for transportation. At this time, Mr. Lindstrom moved that the following statement be adopted. Mr. Way seconded the motion. "Thank you for this opportunity to offer comments and suggestions relating to Phase II of your overall task of improving the State's transportation network. We in Albemarle are very appreciative of your efforts to increase the revenues needed for maintaining and improving our state maintained roads. Beyond that initiative we would offer the following suggestions to focus on local options which would complement Phase I's revenue emphasis. It is our feeling that localities should at least be given the authority or enabling legislation to be creative in finding solutions to our transportation problems. It then becomes the decision of the local governing body to ultimately adopt the best option for its specific needs. Specific options are: Conditional Zoning - We need the same authority afforded Northern Virginia and Easter Shore localities with regard to conditionaly zoning. Section 15.1-491(a) of the Code of Virginia permits those specific localities memtioned above to accept cash contributions for road improvements, allows dedication of property for public facilities and permits off-site improvements for roadways. This all occurs during the rezoning process and may be voluntarily profferred by the preperty owner. Section 15.1-491.1 of the Code permits conditionaly zoning for all other localities of the Commonwealth but specifically prohibits those types of conditions listed above from being accepted as a volun- tary proffer of the property owner's rezoning. Impact Fees - Impact fees would permit the locality to levy a reason- able charge on development as it occurs to help defray the cost of services or public improvements that are generated by the development. This could be accomplished through an increase in recordation fees, property transfer fees, or by a flat rate applied to each new dwelling unit permitted or based on a square footage basis for nonresidential uses. While the impact fee approach is used in other states success- fully, the Code already permits a similar approach in Section 15.1-466(J) which requires a developer to pay a pro-rate share of off-site sewerage and drainage facilities necessitated by his subdivi- sion.'' There was no further discussion. following recorded vote: Roll was called and the motion carried with the AYES: NAYS: Mr. Bowie, Mrs. Cooke, Messrs. Fisher, Henley, Lindstrom and Way. None. Mr. Fisher asked if there were any volunteers to go to Roanoke and when no one volun- teered, he asked if any member of the staff could go. Mr. Agnor said it would be hard for a staff member to go on that date. Mr. Fisher asked if the Commission keeps its files open for a week after the hearing. Mr. Agnor answered yes. Mr. Fisher instructed that the statement be mailed. Agenda Item No. 8a. Appointment: BOCA Board of Appeals/Fire Prevention Code Board of Appeals. Mr. Agnor said the Jefferson Country Firemen's Association has submitted the name of John Hood, as was requested of them, for the appointment to the Fire Prevention Code of Appeals and also the Building Code Board of Appeals. This is a dual appointment. Mr. Agnor said that Mr. Hood is an electrical engineer employed by Sperry Marine System. He lives in Key West Subdivision and is Assistant Chief of the East Rivanna Fire Department and a member of the Charlottesville-Albemarle Rescue Squad. Mr. Lindstrom moved that Mr. Hood be appointed to the BOCA Code Board of Appeals (term to expire on August 21, 1989), and the Fire Prevention Code Board of Appeals (term to expire on November 21, 1990). Mrs. Cooke seconded the motion. There was no further discussion. Roll was called and the motion was carried with the following recorded vote: AYES: NAYS: Mr. Bowie, Mrs. Cooke, Messrs. Fisher, Henley, Lindstrom and Way. None. Agenda Item No. 8b. Appointment: School Board. Mr. Fisher read Mr. John Baker's letter of resignation to the Board. He asked the Board if they wanted to advertise the vacancy. If so, are there any qualifications that need to be advertised? Mr. Way said he thought it should be advertised. Mrs. Cooke said that as far as quali- fications go, she felt that they should have an educational background. Mr. Way was reluc- tant to say that someone has to have a certain degree to serve on the School Board. Mr. Lindstrom suggested that the advertisement only state that the person has to be an Albemarle County resident. Mrs. Cooke reminded the Board members that Mr. Baker had excellent educa- tional credentials, and she thought he did an excellent job and brought a great deal to the position that he filled. Mr. Way said he believes that the person appointed should be a minority, either female or black. He asked if the ad should say that. Mr. Lindstrom said he is willing to talk to April 1, 1987 (Regular Night Meeting) Page 13 367 and consider anybody who makes an application for School Board membership regardless of race, creed or color. But, if the Board's position is that they are only interested in a minority, then it is not fair to others to go through the process. Mrs. Cooke said she thinks people are eliminated from the beginning and probably some are people who could have contributed significantly to the position. She does not think it should be advertised just for minori- ties. Mr. Fisher stated that appointing a School Board member would be an open process and an open advertisement and there would be no qualifications other than being a County resident registered to vote. Agenda Item No. 9. Approval of Minutes: May 1, June 5 and June 12, 1985; February 12 and December 3 (Afternoon), 1986. Mrs. Cooke said that she had reviewed pages one through eight of May 1; pages eight through 13 of June 5; and page nine, item nine through page 18, item 20 of June 12. She finds them in order and suggests their approval. Mr. Bowie said he had reviewed June 5, pages one through seven, and February 12, page 18, item 19 at the end and found them satisfactory. Mr. Henley said he had read June 12, pages one through nine, and they appear to be in order. Mrs. Cooke moved that the above minutes be approved and Mr. Way seconded the motion. There was no further discussion. Roll was called and the motion carried with the following recorded vote: AYES: NAYS: Mr. Bowie, Mrs. Cooke, Messrs. Fisher, Henley, Lindstrom and Way. None. Agenda Item No. 10. Other Matters Not Listed on the Agenda from the Board and Public. There were no other matters discussed. Agenda Item No. 11. Adjourn. Since there were no other matters to come before the Board, Mr. Fisher adjourned the meeting at 10:50 p.m.