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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1973-12-2012-20-73 43O A regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of Albemarle County, Virginia, was held on December 20, 1973, at 9:00 A.M. in the Board Room of the County Office Building, Charlottesville, Virginia. Present: Messrs. Stuart F. Carwile, Gerald E. Fisher, J. T. Henley, Jr., William C. Thacker, Jr., Gordon L. wheeler and Lloyd ~F. Wood, Jr. at 10:00 A.M.) Absent: None. Officers present: County Executive and County Attorney. The meeting opened with The Lord's Prayer led by Mr. Wheeler. Upon motion by Mr. Fisher, seconded by Mr. Thacker, the minutes of the meetings of September 28, October 4 and October 10, 1973, were approved with the following correction: Page 301, 5th line from the bottom should read, "He said he felt these were separate and different matters; the easement on highway right-of-way and the County's land. Mr. Wheeler said the highway department could not approve this vacation without approval of the Board of Supervisors." The motion carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: Messrs. Carwile, Fisher, Henley, Thacker and Wheeler. NAYS: None. ABSENT: Mr. Wood. On motion by Mr. Carwile, seconded by Mr. Thacker, the following resolution was offered for adoption: BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of County Supervisors of Albemarle County, Virginia, that the Virginia Department of Highways be and is hereby requested to accept into the Secondary System of Highways, subject to final inspection and approval by the Resident Highway Department, the following section of road: WHITEWOOD ROAD - approximately 2,973.95 feet in length running from State Route 743, near Albemarle High School, in an easterly direction and ending at the north end of Greenbrier Drive. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Virginia Department of Highways be and is hereby guaranteed a 50 ft. unobstructed right of way along this requested addition as recorded by plat in the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Albemarle County in Deed Book 487, page 614. Mr. Carwile's motion carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: Messrs. Carwile, Fisher, Henley, Thacker and Wheeler. NAYS: None. ABSENT: Mr. Wood. Motion was offered by Mr. Thacker to adopt the following resolution: BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of County Supervisors of Albemarle County, Virginia, that the Virginia Department of Highways be and is hereby requested to accept into the Secondary System of Highways, subject to final inspection and apprOval by the Resident Highway Department, the following section of road in Westfield Subdivision, Section 2: (Mr. Wood arriving 12-20-73 WESTFIELD ROAD - Beginning at a point common to the centerline of Westfield Road and the eastern right- of-way of U. S. Route 29 North; thence, in a southeasterly and a southwesterly direction approximately 825 feet to a point in the right- of-way of Greenbrier Drive. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Virginia Department of Highways be and is hereby guaranteed a 50 ft. unobstructed right of way and drainage easements along this requested addition as recorded by plat in the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Albemarle County in Deed Book 457, ~ page 541 and Deed Book 539, page 220. Mr. Thacker's motion was seconded by Mr. Henley and carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: Messrs. Fisher, Henley, Thacker and Wheeler. NAYS: None. ABSENT: Mr. Wood. ABSTAINING: Mr. Carwile. Mr. Wheeler asked Mr. R. G. Warner, Resident Highway Engineer, the present status of the roads in Jefferson Village Subdivison. Mr. Warner said the HighWay department had looked at these roads several times and he did not believe there was much addi- tional work which needs to be completed, however, he would have to check his records for this information. Mr. Wheeler then asked about roads in Auburn Hills Subdivison. Mr. Warner said he has never received.any request for these roads to be inspected. Mr. Batchelor said he had checked this morning and the County has no bonds on either of ~hese subdivisions. Mr. Wheeler asked why there is no bond on Jefferson Village roads. Mr. Batchelor said he would have the staff ~report on this matter later in the day. Mr. Batchelor noted that he had on file in his office a copy of the 66th Annual Report of the Virginia Highway Commission for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1973. The following communication was received from the Virginia Department of Highways: "November 28, 1973 Board of Supervisors of Albemarle County Charlottesville, Virginia 22901 Gentlemen: Secondary System Addition and Abandonment Albemarle County As requested in resolution by your Board on September 20, 1973, the following addition to and abandonment from the Secondary System of Albemarle County are hereby approved, effective November 28, 1973. ADDITION ~LENGTH Sections 16 thru 29, 31 and 32 of new location Route 635 and connections between station 104+50 and station 260+50, project 0635-002-131,C501. 1.951 Mi. ABANDONMENT Sections 1 thru 9, 10(A), 10(C), 11 thru 15, and 30 12-20-73 432 of old location Routes 635.and Route 688 between station 104+50 and station 260+50, project 0635-002- 131,C501. Sincerely, (Signed) J. E. Harwood Deputy Commissioner and Chief Engineer" 1.416 Mi. The following communication was received from the Virginia Department of Highways: "November 28, 1973 Route 743 Albemarle County Mr. T. M Ba~chelor, Jr'~_~ ~ . ~ County Executive County Office Building Charlottesville, Virginia 22901 Dear Mr. Batchelor: Reference is made to your letter of October 5, 1973, with regard to the intersection of Route 656 and Route 743. This intersection was studied on Tuesday, October 30, 1973, and again on Thursday, November 1, 1973. As a result of this study the minor street, Route 656, only met the minimum vehicular volume warrant three hours out of the eight highest hours counted. These three hours were from 3 P.M. through 6 P.M. The Technicians when making this directional count noted little delay for vehicles during peak periods on Route 656 when entering Route 743. It should be noted, however, that some delay during peak hours is expected at an intersection of this nature. As a result of the ~studies mentioned we are unable to recommend a traffic signal; however, additional signing is being done to improve this intersection. I am enclosing a copy of the pamphlet "Traffic Lights" which you might find beneficial. Very truly yours, (Signed) R. G. Warner Resident Engineer" Mr. Warner advised the Board that the Highway Department now has a traffic signal in operation for the left turn at the corner of Greenbrier Drive and Route 29 North. Mr. Fisher asked if the highway department has made any determination on his request concerning the new 250 By-pass ramp at-Bellair. Mr. Warner said he has talked with a traffic engineer and they have not decided what should be done at this point. Mr. Thacker asked the status of a request for industrial access funds for an entrance into Stromberg-Carlson's property. Mr. Warner said Dr. Hurt has-decided that he does not want to install sidewalks. Mr. Batchelor said the agreement has been redrafted and this agreement has been returned to Mr. Jim Hill for study. Mr.. Thacker asked the status of the balance of the roads in this request. Mr. Warner said he has now received some plans and has made recommendations on pavement design. Mr. Carwile said he has received complaints about a curve on Georgetown Road near the exit of Inglewood Road. Mr. Warner said a sign should have been placed at this point. 12-20-73 433 Mr. Carwile said several citizens have complained about Barracks Road where it narrows into two lanes at the 250 underpass. Mr. Warner said he will check with the City about the installation of an approach warning. He said this project will be ._'-'~ advertised in January for widening of the road at this point. Mr. Carwile asked Mr. Warner if he-had received any requests to hold a design hearing on this project. Mr. Warner said there have been requests, but to his knowledge there has never been a hearing. There may need to be a hearing before the project is advertised. Mr. Henley inquired about placing a sign on 1-64 at Yancey's Mill. Mr. Warner said the highway department is working on this sign; they hope to incorporate this with other work. Miller School is now listed in the historical register, and since they have their own post office they can also be l~sted on this sign. Mr. Wheeler said he had removed from the agenda a request to abandon the short section of Rt. 729 between Milton-and the Rivanna River from the junctions of Rts. 729 and 732. He felt the proper time to consider this request will be after comple- tion of the new Milton Bridge and improvements to the approaches. Mr. Warner agreed. Mr. Wheeler said the Board may want to keep one of these approaches as access to the water for fishermen. Mr. Fisher said-the Board had talked about this during the public hearing on this project last year. At the time, the Board was told that the-highway department does not handle such requests and the Board would need to solicit help from the Division of Game and Inland Fisheries. He felt that since the river is a public waterway, citizens should have access to the water for fishing and boating. Mr. Wheeler suggested that this matter be deferred until after completion of the project. Mr. Warner said the citizens had been very understanding during the recent snow storm and he had received few complaints about roads. The following request was received from George Gilmer, Attorney for William A. Orr: "To: The Honorable Board of Supervisors of Albemarle County Your petitioner William A. Orr resPectfully represents that he is the owner of a tract of 11.04 acres in Albemarle County, Virginia, shown on.old Tax Map 80 as parcel 5, and shown on plat of William S. Roudabush, Jr., dated October 30, 1961, and recorded November 1, 19.61, in Deed Book 373, page 107, ~long with a deed to William H. knight and wife dated October 13, 1961, and recorded November 1, 1961, in Deed Book 373, page 106. A copy of this plat is hereto att~ached and marked Exhibit A. This property lies on the north side of State Route 731 and extends north to the old Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad right of way. This property was subsequently subdivided into seven lots and one tract of 6.23 acres by a subdivision plat approved by the County Planning Commission April 4, 1966, recorded April 26, 1966, in Deed Book 417, page 78, ..... with a deed dated April 26, 1966, from William H. Knight and wife to Robert M. Miller and wife. A copy of this plat is hereto attached and marked Exhibit B. The tract of 6.23 acres is given a Tax Map number of 80-5, and the other lots are given Tax Map numbers of 80-5-1, 80-5-2, 80-5-3, 80-5-4, 80-5-5, 80-5-6, and 80-5-7, respectively. The property was formerly owned by several different parties, but it has all been acquired by William A. Orr. See Deed Book 488, page 531, Deed Book 507, page 487, and Deed Book 531, · page 189. Your petitioner prays that leave will be granted him under Virginia Code Section 15.1-481 and 15.1-482 to vacate subdivision plat Exhibit B in Deed Book 417, page 78. He prays that the Planning Board and any other Board 12-20-73 having cognizance of the matter will approve of this petition and that the Clerk for the Circuit Court of Albemarle County will be directed to mark the plat in Deed Book 417, page 78, "vacated" and to refer to the order of the Board of Supervisors entered on this petition as her authority. Given under my hand this 6th day of December, 1973." Mr. JohnHumphrey, County Planner, was present. He said the staff could see no reason from a planning viewpoint to recommend against this petition. Mr. Thacker offered motion that in accordance with Section 15.1-482 (a) of the Code of Virginia (1950), that the Board approve the vacation of the plat of subdivision of 11.04 acres, recorded in the Clerk's Office of the Circuit Court of Albemarle County, Virginia, at Deed Book 417, page 78; provided, that upon and as a condition of the vacation of said plat of subdivision, William A. Orr shall rededicate to 'public use all streets, roads and other areas thereon shown as dedicated to public use. Mr. Thacker's motion was seconded by Mr. Fisher and carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: Messrs. Carwile, Fisher, Henley, Thacker and Wheeler. NAYS: None. ABSENT: Mr. Wood. Mr. Humphrey gave a report on Jefferson Village roads. He said that on March 6, 1969, Mr. Williams had obtained a loan of $84,000 to develop Jefferson Village. This included road and waterline work. The contractor was A. B. Torrence. The county's file includes a copy of a contract between Jefferson Village, Inc. and A. B. Torrence Co., Inc. to accomplish the work. The county also has a personal check dated 1969 for $49,000 and a contractors bond guaranteeing the work. Mr. Wheeler said the roads are not in the system and the lots are almost 100% completed. He felt the Board should call for a reasonable time to have the roads taken into the system or call for the personal check to be made good. He asked that the staff make a full report at the January meeting. Mr. Wheeler said Mrs. Grady Covington was present to discuss mass transit with the Board. Mrs. Covington said she would like to have on the record that she had dis- cussed this with Mr. Thacker some time ago. Mr. Thacker said the Board had discussed this and felt the request was premature. Mrs. Covington said the Board did not think there is much traffic in the Scottsville-Howardsville-Keene area and she requested that a traffic count be conducted to see if there is a need for public transportation. Mr. Wheeler said ~the- Board would not discuss this ma~ter any further today since the Board had discussed this matter and they could not fin~ anyway to carry out this request in the near future. Mrs. Covington asked that a traffic count be made this spring. Mr. Wheeler said the highway department conducts these counts on a certain schedule and the last count was made in the summer of 1973 and they will be making another count in either the summer of 1974 or 1975. Mrs. Covington said Route 20 was under construction 12-20-73 -435 this past summer and there would not have been an accurate count made. Mr. Thacker said he would be glad to discuss this request with Mr. Warner to find out when the ~-~_.hig~hway~department will conduct~the next count. On motion by Mr. Thacker, seconded by Mr. Carwile, December 24 and December 31, 1973, were granted as holidays for all county employees~. The motion carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: Messrs. Carwile, Fisher, Henley, Thacker, Wheeler and Wood. NAYS: None. Mr. Thacke-r said at the October meeting the Board started with a quorum but for various reasons several members left the meeting and there were only three members preselt and voting. He asked if this was proper. Mr. St. John said he had looked at the Attorney General's reports back to 1960 on this question and he could not find any authority for same. He felt any official action taken would have no effect with- out a quorum present. Mr. Batchelor asked if there were four members present, and one wanted to kill the issue before the Board, if he could walk out of the meeting and kill the vote on that issue if the other three were voting in favor. Mr. St. John said if all were here and you want to kill something, four could get up and walk out. Mr. farwile said Roberts Rules of Order states that if there is a quorum present and one ~.ember abstains, it does not kill the quorum. Mr. St John said he could~ f-ind no definite rule and he would look further into this matter. Motion was offered by Mr. Carwile to reaffirm action taken on November 15, 1973, in payment of a Dog Tax Fund claim for Ollie Dean for one (1) lamb killed by dogs. The;motion was seconded by Mr. Thacker and carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: Messrs. Carwile, Fisher, Henley, Thacker, Wheeler and Wood. NAYS: None. Motion was offered by Mr. Fisher to reaffirm action taken on November 15, 1973, in payment of a claim aginst the Dog Tax Fund for ~.~-:L. Bailey for one (1) ewe and~ - - one (1) lamb killed by dogs. The motion was seconded by Mr. Thacker and-carried by,~ the following recorded vote: AYES: Messrs. Carwile, Fisher, Henley, Thacker, Wheeler and Wood. NAYS: None. ~---- Motion was offered by Mr. Thacker to reaffirm action taken on November 15,-1973, in payment of a claim against the Dog Tax Fund for R. L. Bailey for one (1) lamb killed by dogs. The motion was seconded by Mr. Carwile and carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: Messrs. Carwile, Fisher, Henley, Thacker, Wheeler and Wood. NAYS: None. Mr. Fisher said he had heard a nUmber of complaints about dog damage in North Garden. He has talked with the Sheriff and the Dog Warden and found that unless there is a kill, no claim is brought to the Board. There have been some registered 12-20-73 '436 cows that...have~had.~the ears chewed.A-off, and this causes a significant amount of damage because the registration is lost through~this. At 10:00 A.M~, the Chairman called for a public hearing to amend and reenact Section 4-20, Chapter 4, Article II of the Albemarle CQun~y Code relating to dogs and entitled "Amount of License Tax." Notice of this public hearing was.published_. in the Daily Progress on October 31, November 7, November 14 and November 21, 1973. Mr. Batchelor said the request before the Board is to raise the cost of male and unsexed female dog tags by $1.00 each. Mr. Thacker asked if this is the maximum chargeable under State law. Mr. Batchelor said the maximum is $5.00. Mr. Thacker said the Board has established a number of leash law areas in the County. He said the administration of this law will cost more in the future and he would support this increase, but felt that in the future the tax may have to be increased further. Mr. Bob Sampson said this increase will not support the addition of one more dog warden. He said the County may be able to fund the additional dog warden through the P.E.P. Program. No one from the public spoke for or against the amendment. Mr. Carwile offered motion to amend and reenact, effective January 1, 1974, Section 4-20, Chapter 4, Article II of the Albemarle County Code, SBbsections (a) and (b) as follows: (a) Male. For a male dog~ three dollars. (b) bnsexed female. For an unsexed (successfully spayed) female dog, three dollars. The motion was seconded by Mr. Wood and carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: Messrs. Carwile, Fisher, Henley, Thacker, Wheeler and Wood. NAYS: None. Mr. Wheeler said he felt that if the Board did not hire an additional dog warden, the Sheriff will be asking for an additional deputy. Mr. Henley said he felt it was wrong to give the citizens the impression that if the County hires an additional dog will warden that it solve all of their problems with dogs. Mr. Thacker said when the Board adopted an ordinance imposing a leash law they also obligated the County to enforce that ordinance. Mr. Fisher felt the main purpose in requiring a dog license is to have dogs vaccinated against rabies. Mr. Robertson has told the Board that he has not had time in over a year to check and make sure that dogs are licensed and vacci- nated. Mr. Fisher said spot checks should be made occasionally throughout the County and he felt that if the fee is raised too high, fewer may buy dog licenses unless this is checked. Mr. Henley said he thought the county was going to hire another dog warden after -~ the first of the year. Mr. Wheeler said in order to have this person working by the first of March, the Board would .need to authorize this today. Mr. Henley said he would support this. Mr. Batchelor said the County would use the PEP program for funding if possible, but the addition of one more person would not cure all the dog problems in the County. Mr. Fisher offered motion to authorize the staff to proceed with the hiring and Z2-20-73 437 equipping of one additional deputy dog warden, as soon as possible. was seconded by Mr. Wood and carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: Messrs. Carwile, Fisher, Henley, Thacker, Wheeler and Wood. NAYS: None. The motion At 10:05 A.M., the Chairman called for a public hearing on a resolution to amend the admission charges for swimming areas in County Parks. Notice of this public hearing was published in the Daily Progress on December 5 and December 12, 1973. Mr. Sampson said the parks had collected approximately $27,000 last year in the swimming areas and he projects that $35,000 will be need.ed to cover these costs in the next year. Mr. Fisher asked what policy was adopted last year for those not able to pay the fees charged. Mr. Sampson said this was restricted to welfare reci- pients. Mr. Michael Carroll said there were two programs. Regular welfare recipients were allowed to purchase a season pass for $1.00 and the people on food stamps were charged on the same basis as they were allowed to purchase food stamps. These passes cost from $1 - $10. Mr. Wheeler asked if there was a large usage of these permits. Mr. Carroll said they-were not used a great deal, principally becauSe it~Was not pub- lished and the program did not.start until July. Mr. Wheeler asked how the usage of the parks compared in 1973 with 1972. Mr. Sampson said the usage at Mint Springs doubled and the attendance at Chris Greene dropped off. ~Together there was an approximate increase of 20%. Mr. Fisher asked if the passes issued to. welfare r~cipients were blind passes. Mr. Sampson said they were identical to others except for one small mark used for counting purposes. Mr. Fisher said he is in favor of raising the rates to cover the cost of operav~ tional expenses, but he is also in favor of making these facilities available to everyone in the County. Mr.~Sampson said there may be some poor in the County who cannot use the parks because of the new rates. He felt it would have to be left to the pa~ks~-~director as to how to handle charging of these fees. Mr. Batchelor said it had been recommended that school buses be used during summer months to pick up people, rather than having so many people drive. No conclusion has been reached on this recommendation. Mr. Wheeler said the Board should take action on increasing these charges and if the Parks Committee wants to bring further recommendations to the Board, they ~ should do so. Mr. Fisher asked if this increase will bring the rates charged in line with what is being charged by private operators. Mr. Sampson said their charges are still a little higher. Mr. WOod said he felt the County price structure should be brought into line with wh~t is being charged by private ~enterprise in the same field, taking into consideration special exceptions. He said the County does not want to exclude anyone from using the County's parks, but they~ should not be in direct competition with private enterprise in the County. He felt the Board has time between now and 438 12-20-73 the next operating season to correct this situation. Mr. Wood then offered motion to adopt the following, resolution: BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Supervisors of Albemarle County, Uirginia, that the following rates be charged for admission to swimming areas in .County parks. DAILY RATES, SWIMMING. A. Adults, $1.00 per day. B. Children (4-12 years of age), $0.50 per day. SEASONAL RATES, SWIMMING. B. Family rates: 1. For families of-two to four members, $35.00. 2. For families of five or more members, $40.00. NOTE: A. Individual rates remain the same as those set out in the County Code. Mr. Wood's motion was seconded by Mr. Carwile and carried by the ~following~recorded vote: AYES: NAYS: Messrs. Carwile, Fisher, Henley, Thacker, Wheeler and Wood. None. Mr. Batchelor said if it is the intent of the Board to raise_the rate further, he felt they should not have voted on this resolution. Mr. Wheeler said these were the rates recommended by the Parks Committee and he asked the intent of the other Board members. Mr. Carwile said it was not his intent to further raise the rates. Mr. Fisher said doubling the rate for children in one season is enough. Mr. Sampson said under the present code, no discretion is written in. He thought the Board may want to consider changing the code in the future, to allow for the issuing of passes to poor families in the County. Mr. Wheeler suggested that if it becomes a problem, that this matter be brought back to the Board. At 10:30 A.M., the chairman called for a public hearing to amend Section ~9~34(b)~, Chapter 9, Article VIII, of the Albemarle County Code. Notice of this public hearing was advertised in the Daily Progress on December 5 and December 12, 1973. No one from the public spoke for or against the amendment. Motion was offered by Mr. Henley to adopt the following amendment: Section 9-34(b), Chapter 9, Article VIII. The application fee under this ordinance shall be figured at 15¢ per acre on total acreage with a minimum charge of $15.00 per individual owner and shall be paid to the Director of ~Finance, Albemarle County. These fees may be changed from time to time by Resolution of the Board ..... ~. Mr. Henley's motion was seconded by Mr. Carwile and carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: NAYS: Messrs. Carwile, Fisher, Henley, Thacker, Wheeler and Wood~. None. On motion by Mr. Fisher, check No. 1-001447, dated November 28, 1973, payable to Moorefield Parts Corporation, in the amount of $2.12, was ordered cancelled, paid check being returned as wrong payee. The motion was seconded by Mr. Wood and carried by the following recorded vote: J 12-20-73 439 AYES: Messrs. Carwile, Fisher, Henley, Thacker, Wheeler and Wood. NAYS: None. Motion was offered by Mr. Fisher to reappoint Dr. Avery Catlin to another full term as a member of the County Planning Commission, said term expiring on December 31, 1977. Motion was offered by Mr. Carwile to reappoint Mr. M. Jack Rinehart, Jr. to a full term as ,a member of the County Planning Commission, said term expiring on December 31, 1977. Both motions were seconded by Mr. Henley and carried by the ~. following recorded vote: AYES: Messrs. Carwile, Fisher, Henley, Thacker, Wheeler and Wood. NAYS: None. Mr. Batchelor said the Board had received a request from the School Board to hold a referendum on-a 6.5 million dollar bond issue. Pursuant to a resolution dated October 8, 1973, and adopted by the Albemarle County School Board, motion was offered by Mr. Wood to adopt the following resolution: _. BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of County Supervisors of . Albemarle County that the County shall contract a debt and issue general obligation bonds of the County for the following purpose and in the following amount: The purpose for construction of a high school in the western part of Albemarle County to be known as the Western Albemarle County High School. The maximum amount of the debt and of the proposed bonds shall be six and one-half million dollars. The Circuit Court of Albemarle County, or the Judge thereof in vacation, is hereby requested to order an election upon the question of contracting the debt and issuing the proposed bonds on March 5, 1974, in accordance with Virginia Code Section 15.1-186. The foregoing motion was seconded by Mr. Henley and carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: NAYS: Messrs. Carwile, Fisher, Henley, Thacker Wheeler and Wood. None. Mr. Clarence McClure, Superintendent of Albemarle County Schools,~said after the Board meeting last month, he had sent a memorandum to Mr. Batchelor and asked him to forward this to the Board. The School Board's architect, Mr. D'earcy Davis has agreed to go as far with the preliminary plans as the Board wishes him to go charging only for out-of-the-pocket expenses. This should not exceed $25,000 to the State Depart- ment of Education level. Mr. Thacker asked if Mr. Davis had indicated a time frame on the preparation of preliminary plans. Mr. McClure said this would take about one year. The School Board had asked for nine months. Mr. Thacker asked if this were on preliminary or working drawings. Mr. McClure said working drawings. Mr. Thacker asked how long it will take for the preliminary plans. Mr. McClure said about three months. Mr. Thacker asked if Mr. Davis had indicated his total fee for completed working drawings and specifications. .Mr. McClure said this is based on 5% less super- vision costs. Mr. Batchelor asked if that was figured on a scale. Mr. McClure said 440 12-20-73 this is what Mr. Davis charges the County; the State scale allows him to charge 6%. Mr Thacker agreed that 5% is lower than the established AIA fee by 1%, but he asked if any other architects were contacted. Mr. Fisher said he ~felt the County could have --~ their own architectural staff and ~equipment for considerably less than what is being ~ paid each time the County builds~a school. ~Mr. Batchelor said the Board must realize that a lot of this work would still have to be done by engineers even if the County hired an architectural staff. Mr. Fisher did not feel it would cost more than $100,000 a year to have a top staff and he said it concerned him that the County is spending over $500,000 a year in architectural plans. Mr. Thacker said he could not agree with some people that Mr. Davis is doing a fine job for the County. He would prefer to see local funds spent locally; someone involved in the local tax structure. He feels that the proposed western high school will cost more than the proposed cost of 6.5 million. Mr. Fisher said the Board was notified some months ago that a committee had been appointed to study all phases of construction. He asked if they had met. Mr. McClure said they have a meeting tonight and there will be a report within, the month. Mr, Fisher said if the Board commissioned the architect to start preliminary plans on this school before the committee reports if he would start plans in a different direction from their recommendations. Mr. McClur.e said at this stage .they need to plan for the.type of space needed. This is the~first step. At this point no decision is needed on the types of materials, etc. ~ Mr. Fisher asked if the board Would consider having the staff make a brief study as to their recommendations for a County architectural staff. Mr. Batchelor said there are some fairly large Counties that do have their own staff, but they have to hire out- side help on special projects. He did not know of any locality doing their own school work. Mr. Fisher said it was .not his intent to have a double .staff. Mr. Batchelor said that~iS u'suallY~,the-,case. The County staff would do some small work and they would have to look to someone doing the large technical work. Mr. Fisher felt the County should look at all alternatives. Mr. Batchelor said if the County has extreme repetitives they could possibly do this. But, for a one-time job, such as a high school, every~ten or fifteen years, outside help would be needed. Mr. McClure said this is a bad time to talk about adding an architectural staff. The County has spent eight to ten million doliars~since 1966-in school construction. In his opinion, this is the last major pro- ~ ject that the County will have for several years. He said the School Board is going to ~ an organization where they will have kindergarten through the fifth grade in one school, the sixth, seventh and eighth grades in another school, and the ninth through twelfth grades in high school. He said the School Board has built in extra spaces and. this is be continually building schools. Mr. Thacker said this is ~ 1 the o~ly way and not a wise move. Mr. McClure said 2 of the 5% will go to engineering fees. Mr. Fisher said it would be interesting to have the expenditures that have gone into architects and engineers for special projects over the last eight years. He said an enormous 12-20-73 amount of money has gone into these fees and he did not feel this will be the last school built, but maybe the last major project. Mr.. Thacker said he is concerned, because three of the last schools built in the County have used three different mechanical systems. If they had similar systems, he felt the County could service their own mechanical systems and achieve a consider- able savings. Mr. McClure he did not agree. With the kind of equipment in use today, they would need maintenance cont~acts.~anyway. He said the County would have $25,000 maintenance men working on the staff if they~,?emPlo~ed~.~he kind of person needed to maintain this equipment. He said there are as many as three or four different systems in one building because of the needs of the space. Mr. Thacker said he was concerned because at Hollymead there is a four pipe system. He has been informed that several hundred thousands of dollars could have been saved on that system alone if they had used a roof mounted unit. He said the architect had said he did not like roof mounted systems and he agreed that it was possibly not as good a system, but it is adequate. He said the Vocational Technical school was designed with a roof mounted system and a lot was spent to screen it. The Southside school is using a dual duct electric heat system. He said there are three different systems on three different schools. He said if the schools we had similar systems on all schools the maintenance could be performed internally and he felt this should be investigated. Mr. McClure said the committee is looking into this. Mr. Thacker said there are other aspects_which con- cern him, but this is his major concern. Mr. Fisher said in asking-the architect to do the preliminary plans at an amount not to exceed $25,000 is the School Board is making a commitment to him that he will get the final job. Mr. McClure said he will not do the job for ~this amount if he is~ not sure he will get the job. Mr. Thacker said the County would be tied to his design should they change architects, either that or a loss of time and money. Mr. Wood said he agreed with what had been said, however, the Board has been advised of a time schedule and the increase in the cost on a monthly basis and the savings that the Board can realize on the 6.5 million dollar bond issue at the proper time.~ He said the Board has the experience of the City in trying to build a high school and he did not want this Board to take the blame for an ncrease of several million dollars in building a high school. He said if the Board delays the intent of starting the pre-~ : liminary plans beyond this point, they are offsetting any savings that wo~ld be realized from what has been discussed. He fe~t the Board should stste its' intent today to do the preliminary drawings and do the other studies at the same time. Mr. Wheeler said it may be this Board's fault and the previous Board's fault that ~ %hey have not conveyed their tho~ ~0 ~e Scb00~ Board On the architect. He said he is concerned about this beCause during this last week he was contacted by a former Board member who said that he objects to this architect and now there 442 is another Board member who also objects. He said he felt the Board had waited to a late date to inform the School Board of their thoughts. He also did not want to build another school and the Board not be satisfied. He did not feel the Board should delay. Mr. Thacker said ha would like to have the School Board interview other architectural firms and maybe wait until January for any action. Mr. Fisher said Mr. Thacker had conveyed this to the School Board many months ago' and this is not something new. Mr. Carwile asked Mr. McClure if the School Board had discussed the possibility of changing architects. Mr. McClure said they did discuss this but there was no formal action; only a concensus. Mr. Wood said he felt this was a very serious matter. He said this was discussed w~th the School Board some two years ago, and if the Board is going to delay giving approval for this project, a meeting should be set immediately between the Board of Supervisors and the School Board to bring this matter to a conclusion. He did not want to wait for reports to come back in January and absorb that information until February, and it would then be February before a decision is made on the high school~ He hopes that a bond referendum will be held in early spring. He said he shares the concerns of Mr. Thacker and Mr. Fisher, but he feels a meeting should be held with the School Board immediately in order to get this project started. Mr. Thacker agreed that there should not be undue delay, however, he said every school project the Board had encountered, had come in on a rush, priority basis. He said everytime the Board receives a request from the School Board it has to be acted on immediately and he feels the Board would be remiss in their responsibility if they did not indicate their concern about the architectural firm employed in the past. He is not convinced that this firm has saved the County money and it is a vital concern of his and he felt this should be investigated and if it takes a month or more before resolving the problem, he was willing to take that time. Mr. McClure said the County bought a site for the western high school two years ago and requested over one year ago that action be taken on this matter. It is not a matter of the School Board bringing this request in at the last moment. Mr. Fisher said the point of contention is that if this is to be the largest, single expenditure for school construction that will occur over a ten year periOd, at least three archi- tects should be interviewed to get some different ideas and competitive bidding as to what the job will cost. He did not feel there is any indication from the school administration of interest in talking with anyone else. Mr. McClure said, in the past, the Board has been informally questioned and the School Board has not received very much negative feedback. He said he knows Mr. Thacker is concerned about mechan- ical systems and that is one area under investigation. Mr. Thacker said that is only part of his concerns. He said he felt the County can build relatively economic schools, but if more economical~.~schOols, consistent with the quality wanted, can be built, we should do this. He was convinced that even though he has made this request several 12-20-73 443 times during the last eighteen months, very little has been accomplished. He is not convinced that in saving 1% in architectural, fees, that the County is not spending more in the overall package. Mr. Batchelor said, in the past, there was a committee of the Board, the School Board and staff members who selected sites. Mr. Davis was originally hired by a committee such as this. He suggested that a committee be appointed to interview architectural firms and this should not take a long period of time. Mr. Wheeler asked if the Board should approve the appropriation. He said the Board could appoint Mr. Wood, Mr. Thacker and Mr. Fisher to meet with the School Board and others to find.~an architect. Mr. McClure said he was not sure much can be accomplished with- but an architect. He did not want to ask Mr. Davis to go further. Mr. Thacker said it might be possible to act on this at the next meeting of the Board on January 9. Mr. Henley said he felt anyone who designs a school must be a specialist and since the School Board has worked with Mr. Davis in the past, it might be easier to correct some of.the problems that we have with him instead of someone new. Mr. Thacker said he felt the Board's concern has been conveyed to Mr. Davis and no attempt has been made to rectify it to this point. Mr. Wheeler said he is ready to appropiate the $25,000, but in going into a major undertaking, he feels the Board and the School Board must be satisfied with the architect. He said the Board will have to support the bond referendum and it will not pass unless it has the support of the entire Board of Supervisors. Mr. Fisher said he was willing to support this, but also have the staff investigate what other communities are doing and whether or not there is any possibility that the County could save money by adding their own staff. Mr. Wheeler said this would not be possible for this project. Mr. Carwile offered motion to adopt the following resolution: BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Supervisors of Albemarle County, Virginia, that $25,000 be, and the same hereby is, a~ Sc dz of Mr. Carwile priation wa the followin AYES: Messz NAYS: Mr, Motion to a committ architect fo 30 days. vote: AYES: propriated from the General Fund and transferred to the hool Operating, Construction Fund, for preliminary architectural awings for the western Albemarle high school, and expenditure same is hereby approved. s motion was seconded by Mr. Wood. Mr. Thacker said he felt this appro- premature until a architect has been approved. The motion carried by g recorded vote: s. Carwile, Fisher, Henley, Wheeler and Wood. hacker. was offered by Mr. Carwile to appoint Mr. Wood, Mr. Thacker and Mr. Fisher ee to work with the School Board in trying to resolve the question of an r this project and asking that a report be returned to this Board within The motion w&s s~Qo~d~ by Mr. Henley and carried by the following recorded Messrs. Carwile, Fisher, Henley, Thacker, Wheeler and Wood. 12-20-73 444 NAYS: None. Mr. Thacker said he did not want Mr. McClure to misunderstand his concern. He said Mr. McClure and the School Board are doing an excellent job. He said he is not an education expert and does not pretend to be one, he is completely satisfied with every aspect of the Albemarle County education system, with this one exception. At 11:00 A.M. the Chairman called for a public hearing on an ordinance postpon- ing penalty date for payment of real and personal property taxes for the year 1973. Notice of this public hearing was published in the Daily Progress on December 5 and December 12, 1973. No one from the public spoke. following ordinance: Motion was offered by Mr. Carwile to adopt the ORDINANCE Postponing Penalty Date for Payment~ of Real and Personal Property Taxes BEiIT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY SUPERVISORS OF ALBEMARLE COUNTY: Pursuant to Virginia Code. Section 58-963.1, date on which penalty is imposed under Virginia Code Section 58-963 in connection with the payment of real and personal property tax levies shall be and is hereby extended to January 5, 1974. ' 2 .... ~ .... An~emergency existing, this ordinance shall take effect immediately. Mr. Carwile's motion was seconded by Mr. Wood and carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: NAYS: Messrs. Carwile, Fisher, Henley, Wheeler and Wood. None. ABSENT: Mr. Thacker. Upon motion by Mr. Wood, lottery permit application of the Woodbrook Parent and Teacher Organization, was approved for operation of games on March 30, 1974, or in the event of bad weather, on another day, at the option of the applicant; hours of operation to be 12:00-6:00 p.m. The motion was seconded' by Mr. Fisher and carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: Messrs. Carwile, Fisher, Henley, Wheeler and Wood. NAYS: None. ABSENT: Mr. Thacker. A request was received from the director of the McIntire Library asking for a special appropriation of $1,140 for rent, telephone and utilites for extra space in the Holy Comforter Annex. Mr. Sampson said Mr. Youngman had informed him that the library would be overexpended on their budget this year and had no funds to cover these expenses. Mr. Wheeler asked that the staff find out if the library had moved into the Annex before discussing the matter. Statements of expenses of the Director of Finance, the Sheriff's Office and the 445 Office of the Commonwealth's Attorney for the month of October, 1973, were presented. Upon motion by Mr. Wood, seconded by Mr. Carwile, these statements were approved. The motion carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: Messrs. Carwile., Fisher, Henley, Thacker, Wheeler.and Wood. NAYS: None. Statements of expenses of_ the Director of Finance, the Sheriff's Office and the Office of the Commonwealth's Attorney for the month of November, 1973, were presented. Upon motion by Mr. Wood, seconded by Mr. Carwile, these statements were approved. The motion carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: Messrs. Carwile, Fisher, Henley, Thacker, Wheeler and Wood. NAYS: None. Statement of salaries of the Director of Finance, the Sheriff's Office and the Office of the Commonwealth's Attorney for the month of December, 1973, were received as information. Statement of expenses incurred in maintenance of the County Jail for the month of October, 1973, was presented along with summary statement of prisoner days. State- ment of the Jail Physician, in the amount of $38.00 was presented, of which two-thirds .~ is reimbursable by the State. Motion to approve these statements was offered by Mr. Carwile, seconded by Mr. Fisher, and carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: Messrs. Carwile, Fisher, Henley, Thacker, Wheeler and Wood. NAYS: None. Statement of expenses incurred in maintenance of the County Jail for the month of November, 1973, was presented along with summary statement of prisoner days. Statement of the Jail Physician in the amount of $35.00 was presented, of which two- thirds is reimbursable by the State. Motion to approve these statements was offered by Mr. Wood, seconded by Mr. Thacker, and carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: Messrs. Carwile, Fisher, Henley, Thacker, Wheeler and Wood. NAYS: None. Hr. Batchelor said the County has available PEP funds for various programs. The staff has taken a survey of the various departments for additional employees who will be needed in the next budget year. The finance department wilL], need one tax examiner for all of the new ordinances adopted by the Board during the last year; the real estate department will need three appraisers and four clerks for additional help in appraisal of new construction and for reappraisals; the education department needs two handymen; the planning department needs two secretaries; the inspections depart- ment, one secretary; ~the parks department, one laborer; the welfare department, one clerk; landfills, one superintendent, and two heavy equipment operators, will be needed whether or not the County continues with their present contract or takes over the opera- tion themselves; for the County building there is a need for one dispatcher, one janitor, 446 12-20-73 one mechanic and one handyman. At the present time, the County pays out to various repair shops, enough money to pay for one mechanic. The advantage of the PEP Pro- gram is that they become familiar with County operations before they go off of the PEP program onto the County's payroll. Mr. Wheeler said. he had no objection to going ahead and approving this program, however as to the people to be employed in the real estate department and the land- fills, the Board should have a work session on this before these people are hired. He did not want the Board to be hasty. Mr. Michael Carroll said it now appears that the Federal government is about to approve a new PEP program which will last longer than one year. If this happens the Board will not have to appropriate any additional monies for those salaries. In addition, several of these employees have already been hired since these, salaries were already contemplated in the current budget. There is no need to make application for these funds until Federal funds are available. Mr. Batchelor said there needs to be a decision made immediately on the hiring of additional staff for the real estate department. Mr. Wheeler suggested that the Board have a work session on this as soon as possible. Mr. Batchelor stated that Mrs. Roy Wheeler has asked for tentative approval of an easement along the side of her property running from East High Street, along the west side of the Elk's Home to the County Jail property. She proposes to use the present County easement of 15 feet and she will give an additional five feet to meet the requirements of the City code. She has on.a plat o~,her property that she can take off 20 feet, but it would hurt her property and it would be advantageous to the County to cooperate and it will not cost the County any money. Mr. St. John said the County is giving Mrs. Wheeler the right to use the alley as it exists and in return she is giving the County the right to use five more feet which are not there now. Both Mrs. Wheeler and the County would have the right to use a 20 foot road in the future. Mr. Carwile asked if the alley would actually be expanded or if there would only be the 20 foot right-of-way to comply with the City code. Mr. Batchelor said he did not know of any such plans. Mr. CarWile offered motion that this be conceptually approved on the.basis that Mrs. Wheeler pay all expenses, legal and construction. The motion was seconded by Mr. Wood and carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: Messrs. Carwile, Fisher, Henley, Thacker, Wheeler and Wood. NAYS: None. At 11:45 A.M. motion was offered by Mr. Wood to adjourn into. executive session to discuss legal matters. The motion was seconded by Mr Henley and~carried by the follow- ing recorded vote: AYES: Messrs. Carwile, Fisher, Henley, Thacker, Wheeler and Wood. NAYS: None. 12-20-73 447 The Board reconvened at 2:50 P.M. Mr. Wheeler gave the following news release on the annual assessment of real ~" estate. The Board has decided that the basis for assessment for the year 1974,-or the assessment that the County will pay taxes on, Will be the 1967 assessment, or the amount shown on corrected tax notices that were sent out in December. New Con- struction and subdivison of land assessments will be carried forward. It is the intention of the Board of Supervisors that if appraisers are available, that a com- ~ plete reassessment of Albemarle County be done during the year, 1974, and that this new reassessment will be the assessment that will go on the books for the year, 1975. Mr. Allen Cooper said he understood that for the year, 1975, there would be a much higher tax rate rather than a County wide assessment. Mr. Wheeler said he could not speak on the question of what the tax rate will be for the budget year, 1974-75, at this time. It is possible that the rate will go up. The 1967 assessment is being brought forward in order to meet the requirements of the Supreme Court decision and the requirements of the law. The County does not have the time to bring forward any different type of assessments for the year, 1974. It is the feeling of the Board that in order to get a proper basis for assessment, that the Board have a complete physicial assessment of the County if the personnel are available and the County can make the necessary arrangements. That decision will be made in January. ~" Mr. Cooper asked if the Board will try to recoup the rebates and abatements · - during the next fiscal year. Mr. Wheeler said that decision has not been made, but will be made at the time the Board sets the tax rate. At 2:45 P.M. Mr. Richard Jones appeared before the Board and made an oral pre- sentation on behalf of the Offender Aid and Restoration organization. He ended by stating that OAR would like to request an appropriation of $6,200 from the Board for the next fiscal year since they will lose the funds they are presently receiving from Law Enforcement Assistance Association in August, 1974. He said this request had been submitted to Mr. Batchelor last July. Mr. Batchelor asked the Board to establish a policy concerning such requests this includ- al items om the staff and then the Board made a decision as to whether or not this should be included. He did not feel it was fair to dismiss this at this point, but should be included as a formal request along with others of the same type. Mr. Batchelor said thst last year certain decisions such as this had been made by the Board before preparation of the budget. He said if some commitment could be made before preparation of t~e budget, it~would help the staff. Mr. Wheeler said he felt that the County would be in a very tight situation during budget time and unless the request was extraordinary, he would not support any such request. Mr. Carwile asked if OAR had approached the and their inclusion in the budget. Mr. Wheeler asked if the Board wanted ed with other budget requests. Mr. Fisher said last year there were sever put in the budget, in the request column, with a recommendation on same fi 12-20-73 448 United Givers Fund. Mr. Jones said yes, also the City and the County and are also trying to raise funds on their own. Mr. Carwile agreed with Mr. Batchelor. Mr. Wheeler said if the Board will definitely not recognize this request, they should tell Mr. Jones at this time. Mr. Henley said he would like to see how the money will be spent. Mr. Batchelor was ordered to send a copy of the OAR budget request to each Board member. Mr. St. John said he had talked with Judge Berry concerning refunds of taxes ordered by the State Supreme Court. Judge Berry said he is going to enter an order requiring the County to make refunds to those people who brought the suit against the County. He also said he will entertain a declaratory judgement and give an opinion as to the legality or illegality of all of the County's proposed refunds. Mr. St. John said the Virginia Code provides three means of making refunds. He said the County should utilize all three procedures, although some of these procedures are duplicates. He said these would not involve duplication of monies, however, there are different ules for different years. Ail of this will be subject to approval of the Albemarle County Circuit Court. Mr. St. John then read the following ordinance for adoption as an emergency measure and stated that the ordinance would need to be advertised and reenacted within 60 days. ORDINANCE Stating repayment dates for all real estate taxes in excess of the amount lawfully assessed and collected during the years 1970, 1971, 1972, and 1973 BE IT HEREBY ORDAINED by the Board of County Supervisors for Albemarle County: WHEREAS, the County in 1967 adopted a cyclic method of assessing real estate taxes~ and WHEREAS, the Supreme Court in the case styled Perkins v. Albemarle County has declared this method of assessment to be unconstitutional, unlawf'ul and erroneous; and WHEREAS, taxes collected for the years 1970, 1971, 1972, and 1973, pursuant to such cyclic assessments are, under the terms of the decision of the Supreme Court in said case of Perkins v. Albemarle County, local levies erroneously paid within the scope of Section 58-1152.1 of the Code of Virginia (1950) as amended; and WHEREAS, it is the desire and intent of the governing body of Albemarle County that any and all real estate taxes collected in Albemarle County under the method of assessment declared by the said Supreme Court to be unlawful, shall be refunded as soon as practicable; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED that all real estate taxes in excess of the amount lawfully assessed and collected, from any and all taxpayers of Albemarle County, during the years 1970, 197I, 1972, and 1973, be refunded to such taxpayers according to the following time schedule: Ail 1973 real estate taxes which have been paid and which are in excess of the amount lawfully assessable and collectable shall be refunded within~the first slx (6) months of the year 1974; Ail taxes above the amount lawfully assessable and collectable for the years 1970, 1971, and 1972, shall be refunded no later than December 31st, 1974. 12-20-73 449 In lieu of direct refunds, the Commissioner of Revenue and the Director of Finance are empoWered to give taxpayers abatement or credit on.1973_or 1974 real estate taxes where practicable. An emergency existing which requires immediate adoption of this ordinance it shall take effect immediately and shall require a rehearing within 60 days in conformity with Virginia Code Section 15.1-504, as amended. Motion was offered by Mr. Carwile, seconded by Mr. Wood to enact this ordinance as an emergency measure and to advertise the ordinance for reenactment at a public hearing on January 17, 1974, at 10:00 A.M. in the Board Room of the County Office Building. Mr. Thacker asked who determines if it is practicable to give abatement or credit. Mr. St. John said the staff would determine this. However, they can disregard the entire paragraph if they do not think it is practicable. Mr. St. John said there was doubt in his mind as to whether this can be done with respect to all of the 1970 taxes. The Court will review and tell the County if this can be done. He said if it cannot be done, the status of the case has been such that there was nothing that could have been done earlier and nobody has been injured ~y any delay on the part of the County. Vote was taken at this point and the motion carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: Messrs. Carwile, Fisher, Henley, Thacker, Wheeler and Wood. ~AYS: None. Mr. St. John said he also had another procedure to propose. This, a petition to be signed by T. M. Batchelor as Director of Finance of this County to get the Court to order a refund for the years, 1971, 1972, and 1973. He said there is a two-year statute of limitations on- this procedure so it will not cover refunds for 1970. It only requires that Mr. Batchelor sign the suit. Motion was offered by Mr. Carwile to authorize Mr. Batchelor to file the following Suit: VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF ALBEMARLE COUNTY THOMAS M. BATCHELOR, JR. Commissioner of the Revenue for Albemarle County Petitioner Us ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Defendant PETITION TO-THE HONORABLE JUDGE OF THE ABOVE STYLED COURT: The undersigned petitioner, pursuant to Virginia Code Section 58-1145, respect- fully relates as follows: 1. That the petitioner is the Commissioner of Revenue for Albemarle County, Virginia. 2. That as such Commissioner, the petitioner, pursuant to the direction of the Board of Supervisors for Albemarle County, during the years, 1968 through 1973, caused all real property in Albemarle County to be reassessed for taxes on a cyclic basis with districts being assessed on a rotating basis from year to year, but with the different districts not all being assessed in the same year: 450 12-20-73 3. The Supreme Court of Virginia in a suit styled Perkins v. County of Albemarle recently declared this method of assessment to be unlawful, improper, and incorrect. 4. It is the intent of the petitioner and the Board of Supervisors of_ Albemarle' County to avoid forcing or encouraging taxpayers of the County to go to the expense and effort of filing separate suits to correct the assessments and obtain refunds, insofar as possible. 5. The petitioner is advised that under the provisions of Virginia Code Section 58-1145 (1950) as amended, it is possible for the petitioner to initiate this application, in behalf of all taxpayers of Albemarle County, to establish their rights as of the time this application is filed just as well as each taxpayer filed a separate proceeding under said Code Section. 6. Accordingly this application is filed pursuant to said Code Section for the purposes stated above, in behalf of each and every taxpayer of Albemarle County, listed on the Albemarle County land books for the years, 1970, 1971, 1972, and 1973, as pro- vided by law; the taxpayers and the tax parcels involved and on whose behalf this petition is filed, are as listed in the land books for those years which land books are hereby filed as an exhibit to this petition. WHEREFORE, the petitioner prays that this application with exhibits be filed;.that notice be served upon the County Attorney as by statute provided; that the Court take jurisdiction of this matter and adjudicate such issues as are raised by this application; and that the Court empower and direct the petitioner to correct the said erroneous assessments and make refunds to all taxpayers entitled thereto, by direct, payment or by abatement of or credit toward present or future taxes. THOMAS M. BATCHELOR, JR. Commissioner of the Revenue for Albemarle County, Virginia By Counsel GEORGE R. ST. JOHN Counsel for Petitioner The foregoing motion was seconded by Mr. Wood and carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: Messrs. Carwile, Fisher, Henley, Thacker, Wheeler and Wood. NAYS: None. Mr. St. John said he also had a certificate, as the third procedure, to be signed. This certificate states that certain taxes for the years 1970, 1971, 1972, and 1973 were erroneous and suggests that these be refunded. He said this should be made a part of the minutes of this meeting. CERTIFICATE Pursuant to Section 58-1142 of the Code of Virginia (1950) as annotated, the undersigned Commissioner of Revenue and Director of Finance for Albemarle County hereby certify that the following real estate assessments for the years indicated were and are erroneous, and that the designated taxpayers having paid their taxes are entitled to refunds and those taxpayers with unpaid taxes are entitled to abatements as follows: For the tax years 1970, 1971, 1972, and 1973, all those 2913 taxpayers or property owners lOcated primarily in the old Charlottesville District prior to redistricting of which reappraisals were made under the annual assessment program and included on the land book for 1970, 1971, 1972, and 1973. For the tax years 1971, 1972 and 1973, all those 1891 taxpayers or property owners located primarily in the old Ivy ~istrict prior to redistricting of which reappraisals were made under the annual assessment program and included on the land book for 1971, 1972 and 1973. For the tax years 1972 and 1973, all those 3342 taxpayers or property owners located primarily in the old Rivanna District prior to redistricting of which reappraisals were made under the annual assessment program and included on the land book for 1972 and 1973. 12-20-73 z 51 For the tax ye~ar 1973, all those 4070 taxpayers or property owners located primarily in the old White Hall and Samuel Miller Districts prior to redistricting of which reappraisals were made under the annual assessment program and included on the land book for 1973. I consent: Charles R. Haugh Commonwealth Attorney For Albemarle County Thomas M. Batchelor, Jr. Commissioner of Revenue and Director of Finance for Albemarle County Mr. St. John said he also had a resolution, pursuant to Section 58-1142 where the Commissioner of Revenue certifies to the Board that certain taxes were based on erroneous assessments and having received the certificate just read, the Board directs him to make refunds. Mr. Thacker then offered motion to adopt the following resolution: BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of County Supervisors for Albemarle County as follows: THAT,-WHEREAS, the Commissioner of Revenue and the Director of Finance have certified pursuant to Virginia Code Section 58-1142, as amended, that the following assessments are and were erroneous and that the real estate assessments and taxes collected thereunder exceeded the proper amount according to the following table, the Treasurer is hereby directed to ~efund the excess of taxes actually collected and abate those uncol- lected over the amount which was properly collectable: Table The amount of refunds or abatement is represented by the difference in tax between the original 1973 Land Book (Exhibit A to this resolution) and the corrected 1973 Land Book (Exhibit B to this resolution) both of which are on file in the Albemarle County Finance Office. The foregoing motion was seconded by Mr. Fisher and carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: NAYS: Messrs. Carwile, Fisher, Henley, Thacker, Wheeler and Wood. None. Mr. St. John said he had prepared a bill for declaratory judgement to file in Circuit Court in the name of the Board of Supervisors. He said this would not need to be a part of the record if the Board gave him authority to file such a suit. Motion was offered by Mr. Carwile, seconded by Mr. Thacker, authorizing the County Attorney to file the suit. The motion carried by the following recorded_vote: AYES: Messrs. Carwile, Fisher, Henley, Thacker, Wheeler and Wood. NAYS: None. Reports of the Department of Social Services for the month of October, 1973, were presented in accordance with Virginia Code Sections 63-67.1 and 63-67.2. Mr. Batchelor reported that the Library had not yet moved to the Holy Comforter Annex. He was instructed to have the Chairman of the Library Board and the Director of the Library appear a% the January meeting to bring updated figures on the current year's budget. Appointment to the Ancillary Manpower Board was carried forward. 4152 12-20~-73 ' . _ Appointments to the Insurance Committee were carried over to the January 9, 1974, meeting. The Chairman announced that the regular meeting of the Board to be held on December 26, 1973, had been cancelled. Motion was offered by Mr. Carwile to adopt the following resolution: WHEREAS, the Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport Board believes that formalizing the existing informal relationships between the City Attorney for the City of Charlottesville and the aforementioned Board, and the County Engineer for the County of Albemarle and the aforementioned Board, would facilitate the Board's ability to perform its duties; and WHEREAS, It is clearly understood that this resolution is purely for the purpose of clarifying the lines of communication between the aforementioned parties, and is not intended to change the existing duties and obligations of any of the parties; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of Charlottesville and the Board of Supervisors of the County of Albemarle that the City Attorney and the County Engineer are directed to handle all legal and engineering matters, respectively, for the Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport Board; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in handling these legal and engi- neering matters, the City Attorney and County Engineer are to work directly for the Charlottesville~Albemarle Airport Board and coor- dinate all engineering and legal matters pertaining to this airport with the Airport Manager; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the Council and the Clerk of the Board of County Supervisors be directed to send a copy of this resolution to the City Attorney, the County Engineer, and the Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport Board. The foregoing motion was seconded by Mr. Thacker and~carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: Messrs. Carwile, Fisher, Henley, Thacker and Wheeler. NAYS: None. ABSENT: Mr. Wood. Mr. Wheeler asked Mr. St. John if the suit against the Albemarle Development Cor- poration and the City of Charlottesville had been filed. Mr. St. John replied yes. Mr. Wheeler announced that the organizational meeting of the Board for the 1974 year had been set for January 9, 1974. Mr. Thacker said he had received a letter from Virginia Moore, President of the Scottsville Museum and Historic Landmarks Foundation's Board of Directors, asking for a special appropriation of $2,500 for restorations to the Barclay House in Scottsville. Miss Moore said that Mike Gleason of the Bicentennial Commission feels that one-half of the cost of this restoration will be approved by the National Trust, however, this can only be obtained if. the locality will pay matching funds. Mr. Thacker said he felt that the work done to this point is a tremendous help to the Town of Scottsville and he asked the feeling of the other Board members on this question. Mr. Wood did not feel the Board should make a commitment until they knew from where the balance of funds would be received. Mr. Fisher suggested that if any funds are to be given that they be~taken from revenue sharing funds. Mr. Wheeler asked Mr. Thacker to notify Miss Moore that this matter has been taken under advisement and the Board would 3 12-20-73 4B3 like to know the position of the town of Scottsville in this matter. Mr. Wheeler said the Board had received a report on SP-304 approved for T. J. Snead. He said in light of the facts contained in that report he would like to have this matter put back on the zoning agenda for discussion and that Mr. Humphrey should conduct a thorough investigation of this matter before January 9. Mr. Wheeler asked for updated reports from the architects working on plans for renovation of the Court House and the Levy Opera House. Mr. Wheeler thanked Mr. St. John for his work for the Board during the past year and asked Mr. Batchelor to convey to all County employees the Board's thanks for their fine performance during 1973. Claims against the County amounting to $1,726,919.08 were examined, allowed and certified to the director of finance for payment and charged against the following funds: General Fund General Operating Fund School Operating Fund Cafeteria Fund Textbook Rental Fund School Construction - Capital Outlay Fund General Operating - Capital Outlay Fund Town of Scottsville Local Sales Tax Commonwealth of Virginia - Current Credit Account Upon proper motion, the meeting adjourned at 4:10 P.M. 409.86 329,150.50 958,186.41 25,220.80 1,383.52 408,794.85 2,638.00 176.90 958.2'4 $.1,726,919.08 Chairman