12-14-23 - Work SessionWORK SESSION OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS HELD IN
THE ROBERT C. CLAUD, SR. BOARD ROOM OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY
COURTHOUSE LOCATED AT 17090 MONUMENT CIRCLE, ISLE OF WIGHT, VIRGINIA
ON THURSDAY, THE FOURTEENTH DAY OF DECEMBER IN THE YEAR TWO
THOUSAND AND TWENTY-THREE AT 3:00 P.M.
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT:
William M. McCarty, District 2, Chairman
Joel C. Acree, District 4, Vice -Chairman
Richard L. Grice, District 1
Don G. Rosie, II, District 5
Rudolph Jefferson, District 3
STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT:
Randy R. Keaton, County Administrator
Donald T. Robertson, Assistant County Administrator
Robert W. Jones, Jr., County Attorney
Carey Mills Storm, Clerk
CALL TO ORDER
Chairman McCarty called the work session to order at 3:00 p.m.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Supervisor Rosie moved that the agenda be approved with the invocation to be
delivered at the 5:00 p.m. regular meeting. The motion passed unanimously (5-0)
with Supervisors McCarty, Acree, Rosie, Grice and Jefferson voting in favor of the
motion and no Supervisors voting against the motion.
COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT
Jamie Oliver, Transportation Manager, provided an overview of VDOT's
alternatives for the Route 17 Arterial Plan. The Board was advised that VDOT will
be requesting action from the Board at its 5:00 p.m. regular meeting under Old
Business.
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County Administrator Keaton notified the Board about two accidents that had
occurred on Route 620 within two hours of each other, one of which resulted in a
fatality.
Ms. Oliver was requested to contact the State Police's crash reconstruction team
and inquire what potential improvements can be made to Route 620 to make it
safer for motorists to pull out onto Highway 258. She was further requested to
contact local law enforcement and the State Police to look at enforcement
(trending).
Mike Frickanisce, Director of Parks & Recreation, provided an overview of the
proposed landscaping improvements to the front of the Courthouse complex which
has overgrown shrubs that are creating safety issues. Said work will begin in March
and end in April with all improvements going through the Historical Architectural
Review Committee.
The benches are to be preserved, if possible, due to their historical value.
Garry Windley, Chief of Emergency Services, reviewed the current policy of
replacing apparatus. The consensus of the Board was to accept the policy and add
a condition for wrecked vehicles for continued discussion at the Board's January
meeting.
Don Jennings, Director of Utility Services, addressed the issue of stormwater utility
fee billing for solar farm developments. He advised that the Stormwater Advisory
Committee has discussed alternatives to the County's approach on solar farm
development projects as related to stormwater utility billing. The County's
Stormwater Division, to date, has billed solar farm facilities based on the
impervious area needed for access roads, parking areas, buildings, etc. The
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solar panel surface area itself has been included as pervious cover. This
categorization was allowed in concept since the surface beneath the panel can
be pervious and the overland flow can travel unobstructed beneath the panel.
On March 29, 2022 DEQ issued a Memorandum that changed the stormwater
design parameters used for defining the panel cover itself to be considered
impervious. This definition change, coupled with the mandatory Stormwater
Ordinance requirement to bill the owner of all developed properties based on
impervious cover, prompted the Stormwater Division to consider whether all
(existing and future) solar farm projects should be subject to increased
stormwater utility fee billing to include the effective impervious solar panel
surface area itself. On April 14, 2022, DEQ issued a subsequent memo that
softened its position for design purposes to allow an extension of the effective
date where panels must be considered as impervious. The County attorney
provided the attached legal opinion on March 9, 2023 regarding the potential
to bill the panel areas as impervious. The County bills all developed properties
based on their impervious cover.
The Stormwater Advisory Committee recommends solar panel surface areas
be billed at the current stormwater utility billing rate as all other developed
commercial properties within the County for the following reasons: 1.) the
DEQ defined solar panel surface areas as impervious based on the
memorandum dated March 29, 2022; 2.) the ordinance requires impervious
areas on developed properties to be billed for stormwater management per the
attached excerpt from the County's stormwater management ordinance; 3.) by
the use of the word shalliby virtue of the property being developed/as it's not
subject to any exceptions; 4.) the County bills other entities, such as churches,
per their impervious area; 5.) a subsequent memorandum was released on April
14, 2022 that softened the definition for design purposes to a future date in
2025 when they will be considered impervious; and, 6.) it did not change the
definition and both memos are silent on stormwater utility billing.
ADJOURNMENT
At 5:00 p.m., Chairman McCarty declared the work session adjourned.
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William M.M4
rty, Sr., Chairman
Carey iIOStorm, Clerk