Supervisors Hear Escalating Opposition to WCSO Firing Range Proposal – But is the Anger Premature?

Following a Closed/Executive Session convened at 6 p.m. on personnel matters related to appointments to the FR-WC Economic Development Authority Board of Directors that lasted a full hour, bumping a scheduled 6:30 p.m. work session, the Warren County Board of Supervisors tackled an open meeting agenda featuring six public hearings scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. And while only one of those subsequent public hearings drew a single citizen public comment other than from applicants invited by the chair to summarize their applications, not so for Public Comments on non-agenda items.

The supervisors and staff leave the closed session as 7 p.m. approaches, as members of the public, some very fired up on one non-agenda item, await the meetings start. Royal Examiner Photos Roger Bianchini

Six of 11 Public Comments speakers were aggressively against the proposed Warren County Sheriff’s Office training/firing range off Shangri-La Road in the South River District in the vicinity of the County solid waste disposal property. No one spoke in favor of the proposed law enforcement training area. In fact, authorization to advertise that firing range development proposal for public hearing before the board was part of a seven-item Consent Agenda scheduled for a vote of approval that night. However, that item was removed from the agenda early in the meeting.

Responding to a Public Comments question on why it was removed from the agenda, during his report later in the meeting County Administrator Ed Daley said that its inclusion was “premature”. He explained that an impact report from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) had not yet been received and that the county planning commission could not hold its public hearing for a vote of recommendation to the supervisors, prior to having that DEQ report. He forecast the matter would not come back for the board’s attention prior to August at the earliest.

Resign why?

During Board Reports, Chairman Cullers was compelled to respond to the first Public Comments speaker, John Jenkins, who called for her resignation for “abandoning the people” of her South River District regarding the WCSO training/firing range proposal. That portion of her report begins at the 1:16:37 mark of the linked County video, ending at 1:21:24. After noting her appreciation for people coming out to state their opinions on the matter, Cullers added, “I don’t know where the concept is that I have issued a position here and that I have forsaken the people of South Warren. I’ve done my due diligence here and will continue to do that just like I’ve done on every project.”

Cullers continued with what may have been a Governmental Processes 101 explanation of the various ways elected officials should undertake to examine the pros and cons of all proposals that come to them collectively. “I do take all this into consideration. I do work for the people and I have not made (a decision) — I keep an open mind — and that’s all I ask anyone that contacted me, I ask them to keep an open mind, come listen and we’ll move on from there. It’s a process,” she noted of board consideration of the firing/training range, and any matter brought before them.

“I’m not going to resign because I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong at this point,” Cullers said of listening to all the information available from all sides of the equation. “I try to do what I think is best for everyone in the county. You can’t please everybody all the time. I can only speak for myself because we really haven’t had discussion as a group about this whole thing because it hasn’t gotten to that point yet. And we’re all still wading through the process,” Cullers observed of reaching the should we approve or not approve point of the process.

First Public Comments speaker John Jenkins calls for Board Chair Cheryl Cullers resignation. – Why? Apparently for doing her job and listening to all sides of proposals brought before the county’s elected officials.

“There shouldn’t be an air of inevitability on the process about this in my opinion,” North River Supervisor Richard Jamieson added in agreement after Cullers finished her comments. “I don’t know where it’s coming from. The process is just getting started. In my mind, there’s no air of inevitability on where this thing ends up. I do believe the county needs it, but there’s a process and it will continue. It just got started,” Jamieson concurred with Cullers on where the board collectively is on consideration of the law enforcement training range proposal.

“We’re listening — that’s what happens … From this listening I made notes, I have questions. I’ll ask the questions of the administrator, the sheriff, of people who know the history,” Jamieson concluded of the process of governmental consideration.

Just prior to Jamieson’s comments, Happy Creek Supervisor and Vice-Chairman “Jay” Butler contributed a lighter moment to the conversation with a reference to former Front Royal Mayor, State Delegate, and current Judge Clay Athey. “Judge Athey used to be my son’s Cub Scout Master, and he was involved in politics. And he told me one time that the mark of a good politician is one who makes a decision that nobody likes. I just wanted to add that in there,” Butler deadpanned.

Public Hearings

The Public Hearings portion of the meeting was much less contentious, as all seven items were approved by 5-0 roll call votes. As noted above, only one generated a non-applicant public comment. That was the Turker Investments LLC, represented by Greenway Engineering, proposal for the rezoning of a 5-acre parcel from Agricultural to Commercial for development of a “mixed commercial” use believed to include a restaurant at the intersection of Cabin Court and Route 340/522 North in the North River District. An adjacent homeowner, Catherine Turner, appeared and expressed appreciation for the notification of the public hearing so she could be present to keep abreast of “what’s happening next door”.

The staff summary by Planning Director Matt Wendling noted that the proposed use met the County Comprehensive Plan future land use criteria. There was some confusion over an early draft reference to a restaurant drive-thru where alcoholic beverages could be purchased. Discussion surrounded whether such a sales method of alcoholic beverages was legal in Virginia. The Greenway Engineering representative, Martha Whitacre, present for the applicant expessed confusion at the drive-thru reference, indicating the idea may have been abandoned early in the project’s development. With assurances nothing not legal would be included in the development plan, on a motion by Butler, second by Jamieson, approved 5-0.

The supervisors listened as Zoning Administrator Chase Lenz and Planning Director Matt Wendling took turns handling the bulk of staff summaries of Public Hearing proposals.

The other public hearing project Agenda Packet staff summaries are listed below, with the motions and votes:

1. Public Hearing – Lease Agreement of 262 Fishnet Blvd. – Mike Berry, Public Works Director – approved by 5-0 vote at price of $900 per month on a motion by Cook, 2nd by Stanmeyer.
2. Public Hearing – Lease Agreement of Hangar A5 to Rich Payne – Mike Berry, Public Works Director – approved by 5-0 vote at a price of $350 per month on a motion by Cook, 2nd by Butler.
3. Public Hearing – Z2024-05-01 – Storage of Cars, Boats and RV’s – Pennoni, Inc. – Robert & Vivian Lake – A request to amend Chapter 180 of the Warren County Code to amend §180-8C to add a definition for Storage of Cars, Boats and Recreational Vehicles, to amend §180-21D to add Storage of Cars, Boats and Recreational Vehicles as a use allowed by conditional use permit in the Agricultural zoning district, and to enact §180-56.5 to add supplementary regulations for Storage of Cars, Boats and Recreational Vehicles. – Chase Lenz, Zoning Administrator – approved by 5-0 vote on motion by Jamieson, 2nd by Butler.
4. Public Hearing – CUP2024-05-01 – Pennoni, Inc. – Robert and Vivian Lake – Owners – A request for a conditional use permit for Storage of Cars, Boats, and Recreational Vehicles. The property is located at 3434 Guard Hill Road and identified on tax map 12 as lot 41-1. The property is zoned Agricultural (A) and located in the North River Magisterial District. – Matt Wendling, Planning Director – approved by 5-0 vote on a motion by Butler, 2nd by Stanmeyer.
5. Public Hearing – SV2024-05-01 – Subdivision Variance – Samuel & Margaret Smith – A request for a variance from Warren County Code §155-3.B(1)(b) of the Subdivision Ordinance to allow the voluntary transfer of a proposed family subdivision lot to an immediate family member within the required five (5) years of having held fee simple title to the property. The property is located at (0) Coe Drive and identified on tax map 19 as lot 120D. The property is zoned Agricultural (A) and located in the Sam-Mag Properties subdivision adjacent to the Twin Oaks Mobile Home Park in the North River Magisterial District. – Matt Wendling, Planning Director – approved by a 5-0 vote on a motion by Janieson, 2nd by Stanmeyer.

Consent Agenda

The Consent Agenda was approved as amended by a 5-0 vote on a motion by Jamieson, 2nd by Butler. In addition to the withdrawn Item number 4, authorization to advertise for public hearing the proposal to develop a training/firing range for the WCSO, the chairman pulled Item number 5 for some clarification. That item was the “Revised Job Description for Director of Parks and Recreation” as the County scrambles to search for a replacement for the soon-to-be-retired Dan Lenz. With questions on the description answered by Human Resources Manager Kayla Darr, the item was approved by a 5-0 vote on a motion by Jamieson, 2nd by Butler.

Opioid Settlement

Also approved was acceptance of the County’s portion of a “Kroger National Opioid Settlement Agreement.” In response to a question, County Attorney Jason Ham indicated a settlement amount of “approximately $80,000” to the County over a multi-year period. Ham noted that while Warren County did not bring specific legal action against Kroger, the company was offering a “National Opioid Settlement,” which the board would have to approve in order to receive its share of that blanket settlement agreement. Ham also noted that 95% of the settlement amount had to be spent on “Opiod remediation.”

Deputy County Administrator Jane Meadows elaborated that over a 20-year payment period, the County would receive “a little more than $2 million that we’re allocating … for opioid remediation.” With that information in hand, on a motion by Butler, 2nd by Cook, the board unanimously approved the agreement.

See the full meeting discussion and public comments in this County video.