Board of Supervisors holds February meeting, recognizes Dr. Rupert Cutler

By Matt de Simone

 

The Botetourt County Board of Supervisors held its monthly meeting last Tuesday at the Botetourt County Administration Offices in Daleville.

Amsterdam District Supervisor Steve Clinton offered a resolution for Dr. Rupert M. Cutler in recognition and appreciation for his help in creating the Colonel William Preston Memorial and his contributions to Historic Greenfield restoration projects. The board adopted this resolution.

“It’s my parting wish that you all treat the historic Greenfield preservation area as an official county historical park with adequate support and staffing because it is a jewel of a county asset,” Dr. Cutler stated to the board.

Dr. Cutler served as an assistant professor at Michigan State University, Senior Vice President of the National Honor Society, Managing Editor of National Wildlife Magazine, Assistant Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture, and President and Chief Executive of the Defenders of Wildlife. His dedication to Western Virginia’s history and heritage led to the construction of Greenfield’s William C. Preston Memorial. Dr. Cutler recently chose to reduce his activities and relinquish his membership in the Greenfield Advisory Council.

Clinton made an annual report about the Greenfield Advisory Council’s activities. He reviewed the 29.7-acre preservation site’s scope and stated why the ongoing Greenfield restoration project is so vital to Botetourt County. Clinton also made mention of the value of the Historic Greenfield Preservation Advisory Council (HGPAC) and their recent accomplishments volunteering and raising funds. The board approved the HGPAC by-laws.

The board recognized new employees to Botetourt County. Library Director Julie Phillips introduced the new Blue Ridge Branch Manager Amanda Taylor. Taylor comes to Botetourt from Roanoke City Public Libraries, where she assisted in multiple branch renovations, public programs, and social media initiatives. Taylor is a Blue Ridge native.

Fire & EMS Chief Jason Ferguson introduced recent Fire & EMS Academy graduate Elliot Emerick and the latest batch of Virginia Fire Officer Academy graduates, Gary Fisher and Kourtnie Orth. The Virginia Chief Officer Academy is a week-long residential leadership course designed to prepare the newly appointed or prospective chief officers for various aspects of leadership challenges they may face.

County Administrator Gary Larrowe introduced VDOT Resident Engineer Brian Blevins, who replaced the recently retired Ray Varney. Previously, Blevins served as Assistant Regional Engineer and is a licensed professional engineer in Virginia and West Virginia.

The public comments period heard a group supporting the Board of Supervisors to fully fund the proposed school board budget for Botetourt County Public Schools (BCPS). Another comment mentioned possible issues with the 2021 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report.

During the public hearings, Buttons Bluff, LLC previously requested to remove an approximate 0.75-mile portion of Buttons Bluff (State Route 690) from Map 12 of the Botetourt County transportation map. The applicant requested that the request for the amendment to the comprehensive plan and for the abandonment be withdrawn. The board voted to accept both requests to withdraw these applications.

The board unanimously approved documents in connection with the issuance and sale of lease revenue bonds by the Economic Development Authority of Botetourt County. The Botetourt County Administrative Offices expansion and the Botetourt County Courthouse project benefit from these bonds.

Deputy County Administrator David Moorman and County Registrar Traci Clark presented the recent redistricting in Botetourt County, asking for the board’s consideration of the proposed amendments to Chapter 9 Elections of the Botetourt County Code. Moorman mentioned that no one-county voting district will be more than 1% larger or smaller than another district and that none of the changes will affect any polling places in Botetourt County. The board authorized a public hearing at its March 22 meeting.

Parks & Rec Director Mandy Atkins made a presentation asking for the approval of an outstanding Recreation Incentive Fund application to include Colonial Elementary School needs. The application asks for new outdoor play area equipment at Colonial, including new picnic tables, a “pedal path & trike path,” and new soccer goals. The board approved adding Colonial Elementary’s new outdoor play equipment into the FY 22 Incentive Funds Overview. Atkins also updated the status of Parks and Recreation’s county booster clubs.

Assistant County Administrator Jon Lanford updated the board on the old Colonial Elementary School facility assessment in Blue Ridge. The board gave Lanford the approval to move forward with a surplus of the property as the county continues to look into the future repurpose and reuse of the building.

Vice-Chair Dr. Mac Scothorn presented an update on the county’s recent activity and partnerships related to the broadband fiber Internet expansion. He mentioned that the project’s completion bringing universal broadband to the entirety of Botetourt County would be at the end of 2023/the second quarter of 2024, at the latest.

The board held a public hearing about a new dog kennel on Etzler Road, the Kindred Souls K9 Sanctuary, with no more than 20 dogs and will comply with the Botetourt County noise ordinance. The board unanimously approved the new kennel.

Another public hearing saw the board unanimously approve the rezoning for a homestay/short-term rental on Ottaway Road.

The last public hearing saw the board voting to table the request for a text amendment to the Botetourt County zoning ordinance for a “convenience store highway” in Buchanan for 90 days. These text amendments are not tied to a project or pending project and were related only to the text amendments as no application for a specific project has been made.