Broadband Expansion, Sheriff’s Office Community Policing options highlight Supervisors evening

The major takeaway from a nearly three hour work session-closed session-meeting trifecta of the Warren County Board of Supervisors Tuesday, July 20, were two proposals presented during the hour-and-a-half work session beginning at 5 p.m. And movement forward on both was approved as part of the board’s 19-item Consent Agenda during the subsequent meeting.

Those proposals were, first, the potential of achieving countywide broadband service within two to three years, as opposed to the six or seven Chairman Cheryl Cullers said she was told to anticipate in seeking to attain such expanded coverage; and second, a Warren County Sheriff’s Office certification proposal to become a “Certified Crime Prevention Community” (CCPC) aimed at prescribed methods, including community-wide cooperation, to achieve a more law-abiding community.

Board Chair Cullers noted that broadband expansion to the county’s more remote areas, some in her South River District, has been a priority since coming to the supervisors just over a year and a half ago. Royal Examiner Photos by Roger Bianchini

The help of citizens in several recent successful Sheriff’s Office busts, including of a regional vehicular theft crime ring, were cited as positive movement in that direction. And while long-term costs, including possible additional staff positions, were a concern, the overall community benefit appeared to win the day

But what happens after you arrest them?

However, it was noted that for such a community policing effort to be truly successful, it needs to include judges and a Commonwealth Attorney’s office dedicated to getting repeat offending criminals brought to them by law enforcement, convicted and off the street. North River District Supervisor Delores Oates cited the recent death of a 33-year-old motorcyclist killed in a head-on collision with a driver who had been convicted 20+ times in the last decade without significant time in jail, who was charged with multiple offenses in the fatal accident, including possession of drugs.

North River’s Delores Oates wondered how effective a community policing effort can be if the judicial system repeatedly fails to incarcerate repeat offenders brought to it by law enforcement, for significant amounts of time. Major Driskill, left, and Sheriff Butler concurred that, not only law enforcement and the community, but the judicial system all need to partner in a community policing effort.

“We don’t control those aspects. Nobody is more outraged than us… It’s our job to get them to the dance,” Major Driskill noted of prosecutorial strategies and sentencing of those convicted after law enforcement turns cases over to the judicial system. He promised conversations with the current County Commonwealth Attorney and staff on such matters as the CCPC program progresses, which it did with the board’s later approval of a “Resolution of Participation and Statement of Support” of the WCSO’s participation in the CCPC program.

The program’s goal statement reads: “To publicly recognize and certify localities that have implemented a defined set of community safety strategies as part of a comprehensive community safety/crime prevention effort.” Partnering agencies listed include “Neighborhood Watch”, the “Community Advisory Council”, the “Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services”, and “Business Watch”. Recertification occurs every three years.

Bring that broadband project on

The board seem fairly impressed with the overall model presented by “All Points Broadband’s” Jimmy Carr in a detailed, lengthy power point presentation. And that two nearby counties generally viewed as more pro-actively forward looking – Frederick and Clarke – were cited, among others in the region, having already bought into what “All Points Broadband” is selling as to a group approach to cost-effective and efficient broadband expansion may have played into approval of buying into at least Phase 1 of the internet service access proposal.

Carr noted that his group had attracted $51 million in grants to co-invest in participating communities efforts. The “All Points Broadband” representative lauded Virginia’s state governmental structure and a new state model announced recently by the governor to oversee broadband expansion, presenting opportunities “not previously possible” in achieving wider access across the Commonwealth.

‘All Points Broadband’s’ Jimmy Carr made a detailed, and apparently compelling case for Warren County to join others, including Frederick and Clarke Counties, in taking advantage of new opportunities for broadband expansion made possible by gubernatorial and state initiatives.

In response to a question, Carr explained that while his company’s expansion plan provides the opportunity for all residents of impacted service areas to tie into the expanded broadband network, participation was not mandatory. But the option to join later is available. And were a property opting out put up for sale, the availability of tying into broadband would likely impact a sales price in a positive direction.

See detailed power point presentations by “All Points Broadband’s” Jimmy Carr and Warren County Sheriff’s Office Major Jeff Driskill, with subsequent board question and answer periods, including Sheriff Mark Butler, at the outset of the linked July 20 County work session/meeting video.

Other Business

Out of a half-hour Closed Session, County Administrator Ed Daley was re-appointed to his seat on the Lord Fairfax Community College Board. No other announcements were made from the Closed Session, which included discussion of a prospective business or industry’s location or expansion in the county.

County Administrator Ed Daley, at table far right, was re-appointed to the Lord Fairfax Community College Board following a closed session convened to by the full board at 6:35 p.m.

The regular meeting’s seven Public Hearings all on Conditional Use Permit (CUP) requests, saw only one speaker, Marlow-Silek Investments, LLC representative and engineer Scott Stickley. Stickley rose to explain a dynamic in the second of three CUP requests on the Marlow-Silek group’s commercial storage facility plan in the Route 340/522 North Corridor, directly north of the Target-anchored Crooked Run Shopping Center. The Marlow-Silek CUP requests in succession, were for an “Enclosed Storage Facility”; the “Storage of cars, boats and recreational vehicles”; and for “a Building in excess of 50,000 square feet. The staff summary noted a two-phased project, the first phase comprised of a 21,000 s.f. building “footprint” with three stories totaling 63,000 s.f., and a second phase building with the same 21,000 s.f. footprint, this time of two stories totaling 42,000 s.f.

With no other speakers, all CUP requests were approved by the board by 4-0 votes, with Happy Creek’s Tony Carter absent after the closed session. Carter was present for the work session and the convening of the Closed Session.

In addition to the three Marlow-Silek Investments, LLC storage facility requests, the board approved three CUP requests for “Non-Commercial, Private Use Camping” in the Mandalay Subdivision off Burma Road, one each from Chad and Charleen Backstrom; Shawn Tsanganelias; and James Humphrey. The final approved CUP was also for “non-Commercial, Private Use Camping” in the Shenandoah Farms Subdivision Riverview Section, to Randall Lewis and Monica Stover.

The supervisors also approved by a 4-0 vote, a Resolution of Support to be submitted to the State Board of Elections for a waiver of the mandate to consolidate split electoral districts within a certain timeframe, for the coming November elections. The involved split districts are: 0101 Fork Town, split between House Districts 15 and 29; 0201 Happy Creek, a Town-County split; 0402 Town West Shenandoah, Town-County split; and 0501 South River, House Districts 15 and 18 and a Town-County split.

These discussions and votes are available for viewing on the linked post Closed Session, County work session/meeting video.