World sailing venture and Public School use of CARES grant funding dominate supervisors’ public hearings discussion

On Thursday, November 18, the Warren County Board of Supervisors played a double header, leading off with a Special Meeting quickly adjourned into a closed Executive Session at 6:30 p.m. for discussion of investment in a North River District property inside the Front Royal town limits. No action or announcement followed that closed session and the Special Meeting was adjourned at 7:01 p.m.

Down a man, retiring Happy Creek Supervisor Tony Carter absent, the board then convened its second regular meeting of the month to face a 10-public hearing agenda. But not before leadoff batter, County Administrator Ed Daley, suggested the board amend the agenda to remove its last item. That item was another closed session, this one to discuss an “Unannounced Expansion of Existing Business or Industry” located in the North River District outside the town limits. Daley suggested revisiting that topic at the board’s December 14 meeting and the board agreed to the change without dissent.

No one answered a call for Public Comment on matters not on the meeting agenda and it was quickly on to board and staff reports. During member reports, North River Supervisor Delores Oates emotionally thanked the community for its outpouring of sympathy at the recent unexpected death of her 43-year-old brother.

Delores Oates was emotional in recounting community expressions of sympathy for the loss of her brother, including from RSW Jail staff, which she explained led to some lighter moments for family during a very difficult week. Royal Examiner Photos by Roger Bianchini

Board Chairman Cheryl Cullers then commended Vice-Chairman Archie Fox for his representation of the board in her absence at a state conference two days earlier during Governor Northam’s visit for the Nature’s Touch North Corridor business expansion announcement.

Board, administrative, and departmental reports out of the way, a nine-item Consent Agenda, including payment of two more counterproductive according to wildlife experts and county animal control staff, Coyote Bounties of $50 was passed as presented. With nothing else on the agenda except the 10 public hearings, that 4-0 vote at 7:15 p.m. took the board into a 15-minute recess since public hearings are legally announced to begin at 7:30 p.m.

Fortunately, if you were a clock watcher, seven of the public hearings drew no speakers for or against proposals. The other three drew comments from applicants on their requests, and one of those drew one speaker against the application of Gordon Lee Birkhimer for a short-term tourist rental Conditional Use Permit (CUP) on his Massanutten Farms Subdivision home property off a private road. That speaker was closest neighbor Pamela Rhodes, who told the board she didn’t move to the secluded area over two decades ago to find “strange people” traveling in and out on a regular basis.

Sail Away income

Deputy Planning Director Matt Wendling noted that two letters in support and two letters against, apparently including Rhodes’, had been received about the proposed use. Wendling further explained that Birkhimer wanted to utilize his single-family home for short-term tourist rentals while away on a sailing trip around the world he anticipated lasting for two years. Wendling’s written summary of the proposal noted that “The applicant may continue the use after his oceanic global expedition if he doesn’t get swallowed by a whale or gets stranded in Tahiti.”

As to neighbor concerns about disturbances, Wendling said that despite often-expressed neighbor concerns during the public hearing process, the county has “never had” a complaint call once approved short-term rentals have been launched. Board discussion noted that Conditional Use Permits were just that, “conditional” upon adherence to the conditions attached to the permitting, which include protection of neighbors’ interests.

So, I’m going sailing for a couple years and don’t want the house to be an empty money pit, Gordon Birkhimer may have been thinking as he responded to questions about his short-term tourist rental permitting request.

After questioning Birkhimer on a management plan in his absence and safeguards to prevent neighbor concerns about disturbances, including running-loose dogs, trespassing, noise, etcetera, the board approved the request by a 4-0 vote on a motion by Fox, seconded by Oates.

Public School staff grilled

The only speakers at a public hearing on approving County distribution of just over $4 million in federal Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security or CARES Act ($4,012,255) and state grant ($49,985) funding to Warren County Public Schools to help cover expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic were Assistant Superintendent for Administration George “Buck” Smith and Finance Director Rob Ballentine. They explained they were standing in for Superintendent Dr. Chris Ballenger, who was out of town at a schools conference.

However, this ended up being the lengthiest public hearing as Shenandoah District Supervisor Walt Mabe grilled Smith and Ballentine for about 25 minutes of the half-hour public hearing. Mabe sought additional detail on specific uses of the money and specific duties of staff positions augmented by the grant funding. Mabe appeared concerned that in a future budget cycle the county government might be asked to continue at least portions of the supplemental funding. Smith explained that for the most part, the grant money was being used “to help us get from where we are to where we need to be” in providing quality education under the trying circumstance of the past two years and continue capital improvement projects.

Walt Mabe seeks more detail on where the federal and state grant money will go from the witnesses, I mean county public school officials ‘Buck’ Smith, left, and Rob Ballentine, below.

And while there was a four-category general breakdown in the written presentation of the request in the board packets: Instruction, $2,907,875; Operations and Maintenance, $9,721; Facilities, $1,042,644; and Technology, $102,000; accompanied by a 16-category “Detail” of those categories that included Elementary Teacher and Supplements ($163,600); Teacher Uppport (sic) of Quarantined Students ($29,190); Social Emotional Materials ($13,799); and Technology Hot Spots ($102,000), among others, some of those categorizations appeared to raise more questions than answers for Mabe.

It was numbers like $1,042,644 for LFK and BRTC Architect Fees; $566,216 for Student Support Assistants; and $515,994 for Additional Assistants that Mabe sought more specificity on. Smith said he would have to defer to the absent Superintendent Ballenger on some of those questions, particularly staffing ones. While saying he wasn’t “throwing stones” at the public school officials, Mabe said he worried that money was being “thrown” at what he said weren’t “money problems” but rather “people problems”.

However, when Mabe made a motion to delay approval of the grant funding until more detail could be provided, the chair’s call for a second was met by silence. North River Supervisor Oates then wondered if the board wouldn’t risk losing the grant money if it ultimately decided not to appropriate it as planned, to the county’s public school system.

“I personally think that tabling it is not in the best interest of the children we’re trying to educate,” Oates continued, noting, “The funds are there, the government has appropriated them, whether I agree with that or not. And at this point I think it would be prudent to just go ahead and appropriate the funds.”

That would not preclude asking Superintendent Ballenger to return in December with some of that additional detail Mabe was seeking, Oates pointed out. Mabe’s motion having died without a second, Oates made a new motion to approve the CARES and state grant funding to the public school system. Seconded by Vice-Chairman Fox, the motion then passed by a 4-0 vote, with Mabe, after a few seconds of thought, voting with the majority.

Other business

In other business the board first approved a Zoning Text Amendment presented by Planning Director Joe Petty adding gunsmithing services as a use by Conditional Use Permit in Residential-1 zoning districts. It is already a use allowed in Agricultural District. However, as staff noted in the agenda packet “currently there is no definition or supplemental regulations for such use”. The proposed amendment adds a definition and list of conditions for gunsmithing services into the county code.

That text amendment approval was followed by approval of Lorne Cooper’s CUP request for such gunsmithing services in a Residential-1 District. Cooper also responded to In response to a question from Vice-Chairman Fox, Petty said that a walk-up shooting range aspect would not be allowed in a Residential District, but with certain conditions met on adequate-sized properties, it could be in Agricultural Districts.

Also approved by the board after public hearings on Thursday were two ordinances related to one-time $3,000 bonuses to Sheriff’s Office deputies, including the sheriff, for both state Compensation Board-covered employees and non-Comp Board-covered employees. The bonuses for part-time employees will be $1500. While the state will cover the Comp Board employee bonuses, it was explained that the estimated $92,055 cost of the non-Comp Board employee bonuses will be covered by the County’s allocation of funding from the American Recovery Act Plan of 2021.

After some explanation by Assistant County Attorney Caitlin Jordan and subsequent discussion of variables, the board passed an ordinance amendment regarding the collection of a transient occupancy tax on rooms rented out for less than 30 days. The emergence of short-term tourist rentals out of homes led to an ordinance language change deleting “motel” for “accommodation” to assure all rental units used in this way are included. It was estimated that the County will realize about $18,000 in new revenue from the change.

Other matters approved included Terra Site Constructors LLC’s CUP request for a Contractor’s Storage Yard at 6986 Winchester Road in North River District; Michael and Leslie Hofbauer’s CUP request for a short-term tourist rental at 223 Chapel View Drive in the Shenandoah District; and Michael Blevins CUP request for a short-term tourist rental at 267 Trillium Trail Road in the Shenandoah District.

And with the Blevins CUP approval after public hearing number 10 and no response to the chair’s call for any new business, the board adjourned at 9 p.m.

Watch the meeting here: