Supervisors Briefed on Operations, Pending Lease Agreements, and Software Upgrades

At its work session of Tuesday, December 19, the Warren County Board of Supervisors, minus outgoing members Delores Oates and Walt Mabe, and with their replacements Richard Jamieson and John Stanmeyer seated on the board dais, got staff reports on a number of operational and departmental topics in progress as the new year approaches.

Those included in the order presented:

Warren County Solid Waste Total Cost & Tipping Fee Review — Public Works Director Mike Berry’s advice — keep an eye on evolving circumstances and costs;

A realigned board of supervisors, from left, Jay Butler, Cheryl Cullers, nobody, Vicky Cook, John Stanmeyer, and Richard Jamieson listen as Public Works Director Mike Berry, at podium and below, begins the evening’s presentations with a report on solid waste disposal costs and processes. Royal Examiner Photos Roger Bianchini

Award Recommendation: Golf Course Management & VA Golf, LLC Lease Agreement for Front Royal Golf Course — It appears that after putting an RFP (Request for Proposal) out due to the expiration of the existing FR Golf Course management contract, and receiving two responses, the County will award the new contract to existing course management company VA Golf, LLC. It was noted the County pays Va. Golf LLC $1,750 a month, $21,000 a year, to manage the FR Course, as opposed to spending from $200,000 to $250,000 annually when it was managing operations at the course itself.

Discussion of the Reaching Out Now (RON) Lease for a Student Union and Leadership Center to be housed at the County’s former Raymond E. Santmyers Youth Center located at 200 East 8th Street in Front Royal (see details below);

Demonstration of Civic Plus Software on online access for board members, staff, and the public to meeting Agendas and other county government operational information, largely available on the County website – IT Director Todd Jones advice was that viewing the County’s increasingly large informational packets online was an advisable alternative to destroying all the world’s forests to put them out on paper;

And a perhaps related presentation on Budget Software Training.

Finance Director Alisa Scott, at podium, introduces Budget Analyst Megan Cheshire for a report on Budget Software Training. Below, preceding Scott and Cheshire to the podium was IT Director Todd Jones, introducing the County’s new Civic Plus Software to handle the growing number of operations informational and meeting agenda pages online and through the County website.

The meeting wrapped up with a review of the board’s schedule of meetings, work sessions, and anticipated actions related to departmental and outside agency reports in the coming year. Some concerns were expressed over a seemingly light November 2024 schedule, compared to a more loaded December schedule sandwiched into the Christmas/New Years holiday season. County Administrator Ed Daley explained that December schedule was related to work sessions in anticipation of coming fiscal year budget presentations by both departments and outside agencies. In fact, a nod was given to a coming scheduled January 9 work session presentation by the Samuels Library Board. Daley pointed out that only one regular meeting was scheduled for the board in December, the rest being work sessions as is the case this year. He also acknowledged the impact of the 2024 Election Day, conflicting as it does with the board’s normal Tuesday meeting day, on the November 2024 schedule.

Rah, Rah, RON ‘Student Union’

As Tuesday’s meeting was a work session there was no board action on the above list of topics, just the presentation of details of the various topics. From one of those discussions it seemed apparent that the board would proceed with the “RON” lease agreement to resurrect a county-wide youth center and program now identified as the Student Union and Leadership Center (“Student Union”), which a staff summary noted will offer “leadership, empowerment, and service programs constituting public recreation activities for youth.”

While saying she was in support of the agreement, board Chairman Vicky Cook expressed some concern at the open-ended nature of the agreement in which it appears Reaching Out Now will not be charged rent by the County after a two-year rent-free initial grace period on the previously vacant facility located in the former Raymond E. Santmyers Youth Center located at 200 East 8th Street in Front Royal.

County Administrator Ed Daley had Reaching Out Now founder and President Samantha Barber present at the staff table to respond to any questions on the planned RON-overseen ‘Student Union’ in the vacant-in-recent-years Santmyers Youth Center building on 8th Street. Board Chairman Vicky Cook, below, led the questioning about the proposed WC-RON lease. However, rather than operational plans Ms. Barber might have responded to, those questions revolved around potential future rental charges the County might impose.

“The intent in part is to let them have the opportunity to see how they get this set up and off and running,” County Administrator Daley said in support of Deputy County Administrator Jane Meadows summary of the lease parameters. Daley continued: “And what the board would look at, what RON would look at in two years, would be able to say, ‘This is how far we’ve come, and now this is where we want to go.’ And be able to look at that to determine in three years whether you want to continue to lease the building, you want to transfer it. — Whatever you wanted to do, you would have two years of experience to see how that works for the County and how it works for RON.”

However, Chairman Cook then quoted from the lease on its “Terms”, leaving out the (parenthesis words) from the staff summary: ” ‘The County (hereby) agrees to lease the Facilities for (a) one-year (term) beginning (on the) Start date and ending one year later …’ — That’s the two years from the original proposed year,” Cook said, as Meadows injected, “It will be one year from the signing. And it will be eligible for auto-renewal at the end of that one year.”

“Right,” Cook responded, adding that the lease further states: ” ‘This Agreement shall automatically renew for successive one-year terms unless either party provides the notice of termination …’ — So then that’s saying in two years we re-access” to which Daley replied, “Yes.”

One passage in the lease left out of the conversation regarding “Rent” that seemed to indicate a motive for the rent-free option continuing indefinitely was: “The County shall not charge Reaching Out Now rent during the term of this Agreement or any renewal term, if Reaching Out Now uses the Facilities to provide leadership, empowerment, and service programs constituting public recreation activities for youth for free or at a reduced cost.” It was noted during conversation that the building’s original gift to the County mandated that it be used as an active youth center.

The draft lease also notes that RON would assume responsibility for paying all utilities on the facility after the first year: “The County shall pay all reasonable and normal utility expense for water, sewer and electricity during the first one-year term, subject to appropriation after June 30, 2024. Thereafter, Reaching Out Now shall be responsible for all utility expenses … Any other utilities, such as internet, are the responsibility of Reaching Out Now.”

The lease also notes that RON will be responsible for insurance on the County-owned facility at “not less than $1,000,000” from the outset and that the policy “shall name the County as an additional insured party … in addition to any and all insurance carried by the County on the Facilities.”

So, despite the chair’s concerns about the open-ended nature of the rent free wording, the consensus, apparently including the chairman, was to proceed with the lease agreement and hope that Reaching Out Now’s vision for its “Student Union and Leadership Center” reaches the desired goal of presenting a constructive and creative activity center that will be embraced by the youth of the community for years to come.

In fact, the county administrator injected a lighter moment as the discussion wound down, observing, “They’re going to be so successful in two years that they’re going to come back and say they won’t need to have it rent free.”

See the RON Student Union lease discussion beginning at the 46:55 mark, and all the other presentations and board comments in the linked County work session video.