Supervisors OK public hearing ad for expanded services at local golf club

With no speakers during the public comment period, and only a few making comments during the public hearing portion, the Warren County Board of Supervisors (BOS) swiftly rolled through what resulted in an hour-long regular meeting held on Tuesday, February 16.

“That’s a record!” said BOS Chairwoman Cheryl Cullers, who adjourned the regular meeting at 8:15 p.m., which was preceded by a BOS work session with Warren County Public Schools on the latter’s fiscal year 2021-2022 annual budget.

Following the work session, the BOS got down to business, unanimously approving a lengthy Consent Agenda with ayes from Cullers, Vice Chairman Archie Fox, and BOS members Delores Oates, Walter Mabe, and Tony Carter.

Among the approved Consent Agenda items were several to authorize advertisements for public hearings on requests for conditional use permits.

For example, the Shenandoah Valley Golf Club, which has authorized use for a 27-hole golf course and related facilities at its 134 Golf Club Circle location, wants to modify its conditional use permit to add uses for canoe, kayak and tubing rentals, and transport service, according to County Planner II Matt Wendling.

Current club owner Richard L. Runyon, Jr. wants to diversify the services and outdoor recreational activities at the Shenandoah Valley Golf Club for both tourists and Warren County residents and plans to offer canoe transport services to Morgan Ford Bridge and Farms Riverview Road boat landings and Berry’s Boat Ramp off Rt. 50 in Clarke County, Wendling said.

The golf club’s existing barn will be used to store and maintain inventory and the hard-surfaced parking lot has sufficient overflow areas to accommodate the additional use, Wendling added, noting that the parcel currently is zoned Agricultural (A) and is in the Shenandoah Magisterial District.

Warren County Code Section 180-21(0)(2) identifies “Canoeing, boating, and fishing equipment rental and sales” as a use allowed by conditional use permit, according to Wendling’s written summary, which states that “no material changes in permit conditions or uses shall be approved until a public hearing is held on the proposal.”

In a Feb. 5 letter Runyon sent to the BOS, he said there is increased need for outdoor recreation, which can be offered at the Shenandoah Valley Golf Club due to its proximity to numerous boat landings. He wrote that trips would be done by reservations “utilizing our existing staff to process reservations, payments, and transportation,” but that the golf club would be hiring four to six new employees to help with the transport and care of the inventory.

“The existing barn on the premises will be used to house and repair the canoes, kayaks and tubes,” Runyon wrote. “Our parking lot, of 200 plus spaces, will more than adequately accommodate without having to do additional construction. This will allow minimal impact to our community and will bring additional needed revenue to our area (i.e., tourism, gas stations, lodging, restaurants).”

More ads authorized

The BOS also unanimously approved authorizations to advertise public hearings that will be held on three separate conditional use permits for three short-term tourist rentals and another for a one-bedroom cabin guesthouse.

Among other approved Consent Agenda items, the BOS unanimously agreed to amend its agreement with the Town of Front Royal regarding the allocation of funds through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act for the Municipal Utility Relief Program. The BOS approved the original agreement between the Town and County on December 14, 2020. Since then, the CARES Municipal Utility Relief Program time period was extended from December 30, 2020 to December 30, 2021. The approved amended agreement only extends the timeframe involved; no other substantial changes are made to the amended agreement.

“This will give the Town more time to expend all of the associated funds, and the County more time to close-out the associated funds,” Interim Warren County Administrator Edwin Daley told the BOS. Front Royal Mayor Chris Holloway already has signed the amended agreement.

Also as part of the Consent Agenda, the BOS unanimously approved the purchase of two Kubota M5-111 4×4 tractors with loaders for the Shenandoah Farms Sanitary District and for the Public Works Department totaling $114,246.88. Both tractors, which will be purchased from Sourcewell Cooperative, will be used for snow removal, loading abrasives, routine maintenance, and daily drainage work.

Public hearing

Following a 12-minute recess, the BOS held its public hearing portion of the meeting and unanimously authorized several items.

For example, an Option Agreement was authorized with APV Cardinal Energy LLC of Bernardsville, N.J., to purchase a three-acre portion of County-owned property at 261 Country Club Road, Front Royal, where the company will build an energy storage facility.

The sale price is $90,000 per acre, and the APV Cardinal Energy Option Agreement provides for payments to Warren County of $2,500 per six-month period for the first three years, and then $2,500 per three-month period for the final year of the agreement, according to Jason Ham, Interim County Attorney. The agreement was made possible by a previous letter of intention that Warren County entered in June 2020 with American Power Ventures LLC that permitted the company to assign the letter of intention to an affiliate, in this case, APV Cardinal Energy.

John Seker, president of APV Cardinal Energy, attended the BOS public hearing virtually and said the project build will take approximately 18 months. “We think it will be an attractive opportunity for the grid, especially as the state moves toward using more renewables,” Seker said, adding that such a facility would help Virginia reach its zero-carbon goals. Ham said that County staff are excited about the project and no one spoke in opposition to it.

During the public hearing portion of its meeting, the BOS took no action Tuesday night on the County’s receipt of a letter of intent for the sale of roughly 1.42 acres at the McKay Springs site located at the corner of U.S. Route 340/522 and Reliance Road, which is owned by three entities: Warren County, the Front Royal/Warren County Economic Development Authority (EDA), and the Town of Front Royal.

The letter of intent from Rocky Mount, N.C.-based Boddie-Noell Enterprises Inc. offers $475,000 for the property, which is currently appraised at $310,000. Boddie-Noell — known for brands such as Highway Diner, Hardee’s, and BNE Land & Development — plans to build a fast-food restaurant on the parcel.

The BOS withheld action because the County first must enter into an agreement with the Town to allocate the sales proceeds of the property and the other lots. Ham said that the County has presented an agreement to the Town for its review.

Additionally, various lot lines and rights-of-way must be vacated and adjusted prior to the sale, said Ham, who added that further public hearings and action from the BOS will be required to complete the transaction.

The property was purchased by Warren County and the Town of Front Royal under a Memorandum of Agreement dated November 30, 2011, according to EDA Executive Director Doug Parsons, who added that the project will create jobs and new tax revenue for both the Town and County.

BOS member Oates asked about the potential for increased traffic on Reliance Road, which is located in her North River District. Warren County Planning Director Taryn Logan said that no formal site plan has yet been submitted.

Among other Public Hearing items that received unanimous approval from the BOS was an ordinance to amend and re-ordain Section 82-4 of the Warren County Code so that Shannon Woods Sanitary District is authorized to apply a new construction road use fee of $2,500 to provide funding to repair the roads that are used to access the construction site. The current fees vary from $1,500 to $5,000 and are currently collected in 10 of the County’s 14 sanitary districts. No one spoke in opposition to the request.

To view the BOS February 16 agenda and meeting in its entirety, go online here.