The Patrick County Board of Supervisors approved adjustments to the Transfer Station and took steps to terminate a proposed solar project at its Monday, April 14 meeting.
The board directed the county attorney to proceed with a formal letter to terminate the Fairy Stone Solar project, an estimated 170-acres solar project on Commerce Street in Stuart.
The project was canceled last year when it was considered no longer viable due to interconnection issues.
Fairy Stone LLC, a subsidiary of Energix Renewables, was deemed to have a fatal flaw in its connection to the grid, Energix Vice-President of Development Seth Christman said at the time.
“Unfortunately, the project would have triggered an unacceptable voltage change where it interconnected to the Stuart substation,” he said.
The board had approved a siting agreement for the project in a hotly debated 3-2 vote at its March 11, 2024, meeting.
Transfer Station
The adjustments at the Transfer Station were based on recommendations by Transfer Station Manager Scottie Hylton, and center around adjusting the tipping fee and tire disposal fee, eliminating the line item in general cleanup, and interest charged on nonpayments.
Beginning July 1, Hylton said Republic Services, the current solid waste contract, will implement its annual five percent raise.
As the current cost is $64.19 per ton, the new rate is expected to be $67.39 per ton. Hylton said the county currently charges $65 per ton.
“If we leave it the way it is now, it’ll be a loss of $2.39 per ton. To offset this deficit and provide a more sustainable margin we propose increasing the tipping fee to $69.29 cents per ton. This change results in a positive margin of $1.86 per ton,” he said.
With the average customer disposing of 200 pounds of waste, the cost will be approximately $6.93.
“Right now 200 pounds is $6.50, so it’s not too big of an increase,” he said.
Hylton said the county currently pays around $9,500 annually for tire recycling and operates at an annual deficit of $500.
He proposed increasing the tire disposal fee from $130 per ton to $135 per ton.
Hylton said the county historically charged a flat rate of $2 per tire, which was not sustainable especially for large tires like those from tractors. He believes moving to a per ton rate will also
“By moving to a per ton rate” costs will be estimated more accurately. “The average cost to dispose of a standard tire is now roughly $1.80. Increasing the per ton rate allows the county to recover costs while minimal impact on residents disposing of standard tires,” he said.
Hylton’s third recommendation was to eliminate the general clean up line item, as it’s created confusion and frustration among county residents.
“For example, if a resident cleans out a closet, they’re currently required to weigh that material separately even though it’s clearly household trash. Many residents circumvent this by placing such items in the large, black trash bags to avoid this extra step,” he said.
This policy has led to inconsistent enforcement, Hylton said, and places transfer station attendants in the difficult position of making judgment calls.
“Removing this line item simplifies the process, reduces resident complaints, and treats all household generated trash uniformly — if it comes out of your house such as clothes, books, things like that — it’s just trash that you’re throwing away. If you’re cleaning out your basement and you have items such as this, it’s no longer something that needs to be weighed. It’s just now trash,” he said.
All other separate line items like furniture, appliances, mattresses, construction debris, and home improvement waste will still be weighed at the Transfer Station.
Hylton’s last recommendation was to charge an annual interest rate of 10 percent on past due credit balances. The interest charge will apply to charges made on or after July 1, which are unpaid after 30 days of the statement date.
Doug Perry, of the Smith River District, asked who would be most affected by the interest rate.
Hylton said it would be account holders.
Jonathan Wood, chairman and of the Peters Creek District, asked if the Transfer Station could weigh the lighter tires with its scale.
Hylton said the scale could weigh down to 20 pounds.
“Usually it’s more than one tire, but that’s one of those things that’s more of a judgement call. If it’s four tires, yes, the scales will pick it up, but if one person had one tire it goes back to $2 and no one has complained about that because they understand it costs us to dispose of the tires,” he said.
Wood asked for clarification about whether there would be a charge to get rid of general household trash.
Hylton said no.
“So, if you’re not paying now, you’re not going to be paying in the future. At least not in the foreseeable future,” Wood said.
In other matters, the board:
*Heard from Trena Anderson, who requested the board censure supervisor Steve Marshall, of the Blue Ridge District.
“For 15 months Patrick County citizens have been trying to get this board to listen to us and to work for our benefit. Taxpayers desire and expect a return on our forced investment of tax money. We are forced by law to fund the needs of Patrick County. We will not be silenced and ignored while our money is spent or wasted on the desires of a few,” she said.
Anderson said county residents have the Constitutional right to speak their minds at the meetings even if some board members or county employees find their speech offensive.
While as the board’s chairman, Wood can ask people speak civilly, Anderson said he can’t require speakers to comply with a set of rules written by the county administrator.
“I am well aware that I caused those ‘rules’ to be written because I exposed available public information about a supervisor. Fifteen months later, I would do it again and I may do so in the near future. This board insists on ‘civility’ from citizens but not from individual supervisors themselves,” she said.
Anderson said Marshall has subjected county residents who pay him to constant verbal abuse, called private citizens liars and worse, and disparaged the media whose job it is to hold the board accountable.
She believes board members and county employees have retaliated against people who’ve spoken out, and noted some Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests have been denied for inappropriate cause or charged fees for work product that was unnecessary or wasn’t done.
“Such retaliation is improper, unprofessional and in some cases illegal. These employees should be thoroughly investigated by this board and held accountable,” she said, adding the board has the legal ability and authority to investigate improper actions.
Months ago, Anderson asked the board to censure Marshall.
She believes progress has been limited and impaired at every juncture, and that the situation must be dealt with by holding those accountable for behavior.
While some supervisors use social media to communicate, Anderson said Marshall uses it as a weapon.
“At least three supervisors on this board have been individually victimized by another supervisor. This supervisor disparages other supervisors, volunteer appointed board members, taxpayers, and citizens of this county. He threatens bogus legal actions against the same people,” she said.
Anderson also provided the board with packets of printed examples of emails, posts, publications, and articles, and alleged Marshall has a habit of denying citizen comment on his official postings, deletes comments he disagrees with, and blocks individuals who confront his behavior.
“These actions and behaviors are unprofessional, unethical, unconstitutional, and in some cases quite possibly criminal. He has chosen to open this board and county government to civil liability lawsuits due to his chosen actions and behavior. It is unfathomable that this behavior has been allowed to continue for 15 months,” she said.
*Heard from Steve Ferring about the county’s budget and the expense figures various departments provided. While he would like to assume that no favoritism is given during this budget process, Ferring said it wasn’t a valid assumption in the past.
“There are questions outstanding regarding some of the budget numbers put forth by the Sheriff’s Department that need to be justified before you pass the current proposed budget,” he said.
E-911 expenses for communications seems extensive, Ferring believes, and noted there’s no mention of applying for the state grant program to modernize all 911 operations in Virginia.
“This is a grant of up to $150,000 we should qualify for and has been available since 2023. Why haven’t we applied? We spend our funds to maintain the current radio system rather than use state funds to migrate to a digital system that is much cheaper to operate, has better coverage, and is easier to maintain,” he said.
Ferring said the cost to feed inmates at the jail is also much higher compared to other jails in Virginia, with costs between $3-$6 per day per inmate, while Patrick County spends more than that.
“The contract for food has not been rebid in years. Why? The current budget is $235,000. If we allow $5 per inmate per day the amount of the budget should be $146,000, which is $89,000 in savings,” Ferring said.
He also believes the jail, county and school division should combine to purchase janitorial products, which would allow each entity to take advantage of bulk discounts. He suggested the same strategy should also apply to paper and stationary requirements, and the county should implement a fleet management program that serves the county, school division, and sheriff’s office to save money on maintenance, fuel, and insurance.
“You have objected to the county employees having bottled water but have not been willing to query the second largest budget the county supports. Why? Is the board of supervisors not up to the task? Biased? The actions we are requesting you take in no way ‘defund’ our police. They only make the department fiscally and managerially effective,” he said.
*Heard from Kurt Bozenmayer about a proposal for an updated county budget financial policy. Over the past few months, Bozenmayer said people have called on the county to prepare a comprehensive budget to replace the “hit or miss” budget process that’s occurred over the past few decades.
“While there are a number of areas where such a policy can benefit the county and its citizens, I would like to address just one issue that has been raised several times in the past few months. Specifically, the budget proposals for ‘capital improvements’ recently included a line item for $400,000 for a new ambulance,” he said.
Bozenmayer believes the budget process needs to face a reality, that with eight rescue squads and multiple fire departments, it’s reasonable to expect that the county will need to replace at least one ambulance and fire truck per year.
With the assumption that each rescue squad has at least two ambulances, this suggests that the oldest ambulance in the county would be 16 years old.
“Given this annual replacement need, I maintain that ambulance and fire truck purchases should not be capital improvement issues, but rather annual maintenance costs, well planned in each budget cycle,” Bozenmayer said.
Before moving to Patrick County over two decades ago, Bozenmayer served as a volunteer firefighter and line captain for 20 years in New Jersey. He believes his experience highlights the perils of poorly planned financial policy.
“Our town realized that they needed to buy a new fire truck each year, on a rotational basis, for the six companies. That started out at around $85,000 forty years ago, and it had reached $875,000 for a ladder truck at last report. The insurance writers declared that once a fire truck reached seven years old, it was no longer considered adequate for service,” he said.
The town government, Bozenmayer said, chose to finance the purchases by issuing 25-year bonds, which meant they were still paying for trucks 17 years after they had been taken out of service with interest.
“I hope that Patrick County adopts a better financial plan than that. Our volunteers need adequate equipment; let’s develop a practical means of providing it without straining the taxpayers,” he said.
*Heard from Galen Gilbert about the intersection of U.S. 58, South Mayo Drive, and Spring Road.
“I know they’ve done a study saying that a stoplight is not feasible. They’ve also done a study down there that said that the intersection needs to be daylit with lights, the curbs need to be fixed, and this was done many years ago and it has not taken place yet,” he said.
Gilbert requested the board put some pressure on Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to follow the study recommendations, or at least provide additional safety measures to the area considering another wreck at the intersection.
“I don’t know when it’s going to stop. Until another person is killed or what? I don’t know, but something needs to be done,” he said, adding he believes getting rid of a few of the turning spots around the intersection would be a good idea because there are so many of them.
Gilbert also spoke about the recently conducted fire and rescue report, Public Safety Authority (PSA) rules about public comment, and handicap sidewalk access to the Administration Building.
*Heard from Brenda Payne and Brett Boothe who supported a leash law for dogs in the county.
*Heard from Crystal Harris who invited the board to the Patrick County Fire and Rescue banquet, and spoke about her issues with BrightSpeed.
*Heard from Virginia Department of Agriculture (VDACS) STS Project Supervisor Ben Templeton about aerial spray treatments.
*Approved giving the annual fire and rescue capital improvement funds of $154,000 to Patrick Henry Volunteer Fire Department for the purchase of a brush truck. The department will pay for the remaining cost of the truck themselves.
*Approved giving the annual fire and rescue capital improvement funds of $76,000 to CCDF Volunteer Rescue Squad to replace their LifePack 15 with LifePacks 35. The remaining funds will be used to make the department Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant, and upgrade its Unit 10.
*Approved the West Piedmont Planning District Commission (WPPDC) Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC)/Virginia Telecommunication INitiative (VATI) 2023 Universal Broadband Project.
*Approved the moving of the Russell Creek Voting Precinct from 180 Ayers Orchard Road to New Hope Community Church at 1863 Clark House Farm Road.
*Approved a proclamation naming April 2025 as child abuse prevention month.
*Approved the March 10 and March 24 meeting minutes.
*Approved the bills, claims, and appropriations.
*Heard the supervisors’ reports.
*Approved to enter Marshall’s report into the meeting minutes without hearing it.
