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GOOD EVENING AND WELCOME TO OUR, UH, SCHOOL BOARD AND BOARD OF SUPERVISORS JOINT TOWN HALL MEETING.
AS YOU ALL KNOW, I THINK SINCE MR. PETERSON AND MS. LASETTE WERE HERE, UH, TWO BOARD MEMBERS, A BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEMBERS, WHAT, SINCE 2012.
WE'VE DONE THIS, UH, EVERY SPRING AND EVERY FALL, AND, UH, WE, UH, IT'S A GREAT OP.
IT'S WORKED OUT WELL FOR WHAT, 11, 11 YEARS AND, UH, 10.
I KNOW YOU TALK ABOUT HU KEN ALWAYS MENTIONS WE'VE DONE HUNDREDS OF THESE AND IT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO, UH, COMMUNICATE TO YOU WHAT'S GOING ON.
AND, UH, MOST IMPORTANTLY, TO GET QUESTIONS FROM Y'ALL.
I'M ON THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS DISTRICT.
DISTRICT TWO WITH THE REDISTRICTING HERE IN THE CENTER OF THE COURTHOUSE.
THIS IS DISTRICT TWO AND DISTRICT THREE.
UM, MEETING NEIL SPOON, HOWER, OUR CHAIR REPRESENTS DISTRICT TWO THERE, SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS HERE.
RAYLEY, OUR SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT, INTRODUCE THEM IN A FEW MINUTES.
UM, AND I, THERE'S A LOT OF COUNTY STAFF HERE.
I'M, I'M NOT GONNA, I'M NOT GONNA GO THROUGH ALL THOSE NAMES, BUT, UH, I WILL DO AN INTRODUCTION.
UH, VIC CARPENTER, OUR COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR'S GONNA SPEAK IN A FEW MINUTES.
I'LL HAND HAND US OVER TO HIM IN JUST A COUPLE OF MINUTES.
BUT CRYSTAL OITS, WE WANNA WELCOME CRYSTAL.
SHE IS OUR NEW YEAH, WE'RE, WE'RE EXCITED TO HAVE YOU.
UM, AT CRYSTAL WAS LAST, I THINK A CITY MANAGER IS WHAT THE TITLE'S CALLED FOR CITIES AND THE CITY OF COVINGTON.
BUT YOU'RE FROM HENRICO AREA AND WE'RE GLAD SHE'S OUR NEW DEPUTY COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR.
THE FIRST DAY IS TODAY, SO WELCOME.
UM, THIS SATURDAY, UH, PAST SATURDAY, WE HAD A MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR DON SHARP IN HIS MOST REAL NOTE.
MR. SHARP REPRESENTED DISTRICT FOUR.
HE PASSED AWAY ON SEPTEMBER 21ST, AND THANK YOU 17TH CONSTITUTION DAY.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17TH, HE PASSED AWAY.
UM, AND WE HAD A NICE MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR HIM.
AND I THINK WHEN, YOU KNOW, AS BUSY AS THINGS ARE, THE MEMORIAL SERVICE WAS A GREAT TIME.
HIS, HIS FAMILY SPREAD AROUND, SO THEY WERE ABLE TO GATHER AND IT, IT IS, IT WAS A NICE, NICE SERVICE AND A NICE MEMORIAL FOR HIM.
AND IT, IT KIND OF HITS YOU AFTER A WHILE WHEN YOU REALIZED, YOU KNOW, THE CHARACTER HE WAS AND, AND THE PERSON WE'VE LOST.
SO, UH, BUT THE STATE LAW GIVES US JUST 45 DAYS FROM A VACANCY TO FILL A POSITION.
SO THE, THIS BOARD OF SUPERVISORS IS, IS, IS, EXCUSE ME, IS ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS.
THE APPLICATION WINDOW IS STILL OPEN.
WE'RE GOING TO MEET TOMORROW IN CLOSED SESSION TO REVIEW THE APPLICATIONS WE'VE RECEIVED.
BUT NOVEMBER 1ST IS OUR NEXT SCHEDULED BOARD MEETING, AND THAT TURNS OUT TO BE THE 45TH DAY.
SO, AND IT'S INTERESTING BECAUSE THIS MORNING, JUST THIS MORNING, I GOT A CALL FROM LANDOWNERS IN DISTRICT FOUR THAT WERE, YOU KNOW, THEY'VE BEEN SAYING WE, WHEN MR. SHARP PASSED, WE, YOU KNOW, WE, I TOLD MY CLIENTS, WAIT A LITTLE WHILE, BUT THEY'RE REACHING OUT NOW TO OTHERS.
I'M SURE OTHER BOARD MEMBERS HAVE GOTTEN CALLS AND THEY'RE LIKE, HEY, YOU KNOW, WHAT DO WE DO NEXT? AND I'M TELLING FOLKS, YOU KNOW, WELL, NOVEMBER 1ST, YOU WILL HAVE A NEW REPRESENTATIVE FOR DISTRICT FOUR.
IN THE MEANTIME, OF COURSE, WE ARE FIELDING THINGS AND, AND TALKING TO FOLKS.
UM, BUT WE CERTAINLY MISS MR. SHARP AND, UH, KEEP HIS FAMILY, CONTINUE TO KEEP HIS FAMILY IN OUR PRAYERS.
WITH THAT, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO, YOU WEREN'T READY, WERE YOU GOT
SOON AS YOU DRIFT AWAY, I CALL ON YOU.
BUT THIS VIC CARPENTER, OUR COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR, WE'RE GLAD TO HAVE YOU HERE.
NOW, HOW LONG YOU'VE BEEN HERE FOR? THREE MONTHS.
IT SEEMS LIKE THREE HALF MONTHS.
SO LOT, LOTS OF THINGS HAPPENING IN GLAND.
I KNOW I TOLD CRYSTAL SHE'LL BE DRINKING FROM A FIRE HOSE.
I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN DOING THE SAME, BUT, UM, THANK YOU FOR, UH, THE GOOD, GOOD MEETINGS.
UH, WHAT THURSDAY WAS THE LAST ONE? AND, UH, LOOKING FORWARD TO TONIGHT, THANK YOU ALL FOR JOINING US AND I THINK YOU'LL TELL, TELL 'EM THAT STAFF IS HERE FOR, FOR QUESTIONS, UH, THAT, THAT IF WE, IF WE DO A DEEPER DIVE INTO TOPICS.
THANK YOU CUZ THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
I'M VIC CARPENTER, I'M YOUR COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR.
BEEN HERE FOR WHAT, WHEN YOU HAVE A HAVE A BABY, YOU KNOW, YOU GO BY WEEKS, SO 14 WEEKS OLD STILL, AND YOU HAVE YOUR LITTLE BENCHMARKS IN LIFE AS AS YOU WATCH.
ARE THEY, ARE THEY WALKING? ARE THEY STUMBLING? YOU KNOW, ARE THEY SAYING THEIR FIRST WORDS? SO I'M STILL THAT STAGE OF, OF MEMORIALIZING WHENEVER ANYTHING SPECIAL HAPPENS TO ME.
AND OF COURSE, CRYSTAL STARTING TODAY IS A VERY SPECIAL THING FOR US AND THE COMMUNITY AS A COUNTY.
I'M HERE TONIGHT AND I'M HERE TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE WONDERFUL THINGS THAT YOUR COUNTY GUCCI COUNTY IS DOING AND THE TEAM THAT YOU HAVE WORKING IN YOUR BEHALF AND FOR YOU AS WELL.
AND, AND IT'S A GREAT THING, AND THIS IS HOW WE TELL US OUR STORY.
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WAYS IS THAT TOWN HALL MEETINGS SUCH AS THIS, NOW WE'VE GOT THREE OF THEM.WE HAD ONE LAST WEEK, AND THEY'LL HAVE ONE NEXT WEEK.
THE ONE NEXT WEEK WILL BE ON THE EASTERN SIDE OF THE COUNTY AT THE NOTCH AT THE HOTEL THERE.
UH, YOU'RE CERTAINLY WELCOME TO COME BACK OUT FOR THAT AS WELL.
YOU PROBABLY WANT TO BECAUSE WE HAVE COOKIES.
AND THE COOKIES ARE MADE BY STUDENTS AT THE HIGH SCHOOL AND THEY'RE AMAZING.
SO FOR ANOTHER REASON THAN COMING OUT FOR THE COOKIES, ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO SO.
UM, IF, IF, IF THE SPEAKER ISN'T VERY GOOD, I UNDERSTAND, BUT THE COOKIES ARE, SO WHAT ARE WE DOING AT GUCCI? WELL, GUCCI COUNTY IS, IS TAKING CARE OF, OF BUSINESS, AND WE'RE GONNA START BY TELLING YOU ABOUT KEEPING OUR COMMUNITIES SAFE.
AND THAT'S ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS THAT A COUNTY DOES, IS KEEP IT CITIZENS SAFE.
SO STARTING WITH OUR FIRE AND RESCUE, AND YOU CAN SEE THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THEY'VE BEEN DOING, BUT I'M GONNA HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE THIS PAST YEAR THAT ARE REALLY, TO ME, VERY IMPORTANT.
FIRST OF ALL, WE HAD JUST A LITTLE OVER A WEEK AGO, OUR FIRE PREVENTION WEEK, AND WE HAD OUR, OUR FIRST IN, I GUESS IT WAS THE FIRST IN A LONG TIME, IF NOT FIRST, UH, IN, IN MANY YEARS WHERE WE HAD ON SATURDAY, WE, WE HAD THE FIRE PREVENTION DAY AND IT WAS OVER, UM, HERE IN GUCCI COURTHOUSE.
UH, WE HAD ABOUT A THOUSAND PEOPLE COME OUT FOR THAT EVENT.
THAT'S A LOT OF PEOPLE TO COME OUT IN A COUNTY THIS SIZE.
UH, FIREARM ALARMS WERE GIVEN AWAY FREE, I'M SORRY, SMOKE ALARMS ARE GIVEN AWAY, UH, TO PEOPLE.
AND, UH, THIS IS BEING FIRE PREVENTION MONTH.
IT'S A VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO SHARE TO YOUR CITIZENS, YOUR NEIGHBORS, YOUR FRIENDS, ABOUT THEIR SMOKE ALARMS. SO PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT, THAT YOUR SMOKE ALARMS ARE WORKING.
UH, OUR FIRE RESCUE ARE ALSO TRAINING FOR THE FUTURE.
RIGHT NOW WE HAVE 15 CADETS THAT ARE IN TRAINING COURSES AND PROGRAMS THAT WHEN THEY GRADUATE, THEY'LL BE CERTIFIED, READY TO GO AS EITHER VOLUNTEER OR CAREER FIRE SERVICES FOR YOU.
LET ME TELL YOU SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR FOR FIRE SERVICE.
UH, OF COURSE, RESPONSE TIMES ARE A CRITICAL MEASURE OF HOW YOU'RE DOING YOUR JOB AND RESPONSE TIMES AT THIS PART OF THE COUNTY WENT UP, I'M SORRY, THEY WENT DOWN.
IT, IT WAS A GOOD UP IT, IT WAS, UH, THEN WENT DOWN.
AND IN, UH, AROUND THE COURTHOUSE, WE ACTUALLY INCREASED OUR, OUR, OUR ABILITY TO RESPOND BY TWO SECONDS FROM A YEAR AGO.
AND FURTHER EAST FROM HERE, WHEN YOU GET OVER TOWARDS CENTERVILLE, UH, WE WENT UP A GOOD, ALMOST, WHAT IS IT? UH, ALMOST, UH, 40 SECONDS FASTER FOR AN AMBULANCE TO GET THERE IN THAT PART OF THE COUNTY.
THOSE ARE THE KINDS OF THINGS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
40 SECONDS IS, IS THE DIFFERENCE IN SOMEONE LIVING AND DYING SOMETIMES.
SO YOUR EMERGENCY SERVICE IS OUT THERE AND THEY'RE GETTING BETTER, BUT IN SPITE OF THAT, AND THAT'S IN SPITE OF THE FACT THAT WE HAD A 15% INCREASE IN CALLS LAST YEAR.
SO THEY HAD MORE CALLS AND THEY STILL GOT OUT THERE QUICKER AND FASTER.
WELL, OF COURSE THERE'S A REASON WHY THAT HAPPENS.
ONE OF THE BIGGEST REASONS, SITTING IN THE BACK OF THE ROOM, WE HAVE FOLKS FROM OUR CALL CENTER, NINE ONE ONE CALL CENTER.
WHEN THAT CALL COMES IN, THEY'RE THE ONES THAT TAKE IT.
THEY ARE THE FIRST FIRST RESPONDER WHEN THAT CALL COMES IN AND YOU'LL BE SINGING AND HEARING ABOUT THEM A LITTLE MORE IN A SECOND.
SO WE'RE TRAINING OUR FIREFIGHTERS, WE'RE RESPONDING BETTER, WE'RE ALSO DOING SOME OTHER THINGS THAT ARE PRETTY IMPORTANT AND WE'RE RENOVATING OUR BUILDINGS.
AND I'LL BE TALKING ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT LATER AS WELL IN THE RELATIONSHIP THAT THIS COUNTY HAS WITH THE FIRE RESCUE ASSOCIATION, THE VOLUNTEER NONPROFIT THAT ACTUALLY OWNS MOST OF THE FIRE STATIONS IN THE COUNTY.
SO THAT'S PART OF THE GOOD STORY I'M GONNA TELL YOU LATER, BUT NOW I'M GONNA MOVE ON TO THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE AND LET CAPTAIN BEAR TELL YOU ABOUT SOME OF THE STUFF THAT THEY'VE BEEN DOING.
I'M CAPTAIN BEAR, UM, THE ADMINISTRATIVE CAPTAIN FOR THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE.
I DON'T NORMALLY USE A MICROPHONE, BUT SINCE WE HAVE PEOPLE WATCHING ONLINE, I GUESS IT'S THE EASIER WAY TO, UH, MAKE SURE THEY CAN HEAR EVERYTHING.
UM, REAL QUICK, UH, THE SHERIFF WANTED TO APOLOGIZE FOR NOT BEING HERE.
HE IS ACTUALLY DOWN AT A CONFERENCE WITH ALL THE OTHER SHERIFFS ACROSS THE STATE DOING, UH, SOME TRAINING, SOME MEETINGS DOWN THERE, LEGISLATIVE STUFF DOWN THERE.
SO HE IS, SORRY HE CAN'T BE HERE, BUT HE DID WANT ME TO MAKE SURE THAT I LET EVERYBODY KNOW THAT THE FACIAL HAIR THAT YOU SEE ON DEPUTIES IS NOT A PERMANENT THING.
THIS IS, WE NORMALLY DO NO SHAVE.
UM, THIS YEAR WE INCREASED AND DID NO SHAVE OCTOBER AS WELL.
UM, OCTOBER, WE'RE DOING FOR THE MATTHEW SMILES FOUNDATION, UM, IN RE AND RELATED TO A, A GENTLEMAN THAT WE HAD HERE, A JUVENILE THAT ENDED UP TAKING HIS OWN LIFE IN A TRAGIC ACCIDENT.
UM, SO WE'RE RAISING MONEY FOR THE, UH, MATTHEW SMILES FOUNDATION.
UM, AS OF RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE ABOUT $1,400 FROM THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE TO DONATE TO THE FAMILY.
AND THEN IN NOVEMBER WE MAY OR MAY NOT CONTINUE TO NO SHAVE NOVEMBER FOR SOME OTHER ORGANIZATION.
BUT AFTER NOVEMBER, REST ASSURED EVERYBODY WILL BE CLEAN SHAVING, IF NOT BEFORE.
CUZ IF YOU'RE NOT USED TO HAVING IT, IT GETS, UH, PRETTY ANNOYING PRETTY QUICK.
UH, BIGGEST THING IS THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE APP.
SO IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE APP, IF YOU HAVE A SMARTPHONE AND YOU DON'T HAVE THE APP YET, THERE IS A TABLE BANNER OUTSIDE IN THE LOBBY THAT HAS QR CODES FOR BOTH ANDROID AND UH, IOS APPLE SYSTEMS. SO IF YOU WANNA SCAN THAT REAL QUICK AND
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YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE APP.ON THE APP, YOU'LL GET UPDATES, NOTIFICATIONS FOR ANY ROAD CLOSURES, UH, ANY ANY BIG EVENTS GOING ON IN THE COUNTY THAT YOU MIGHT NEED TO AVOID OR TRY TO AVOID IF POSSIBLE.
AS WELL AS COMMUNITY EVENTS ARE LISTED ON THERE, DATES AND TIMES OF THE EVENTS, STUFF LIKE THAT.
UH, ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT'S ON THE APP IS THE VACATION WATCH.
AND IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THAT, THE VACATION WATCH IS A PROGRAM THAT SHERIFF STARTED.
SO IF YOU WERE LEAVING TO GO OUTTA TOWN FOR ANY LENGTH OF TIME, YOU CAN GO ON THE APP OR ONTO THE WEBSITE.
YOU CAN FILL OUT AN APPLICATION FOR VACATION WATCH, YOU LIST ALL YOUR INFORMATION BY STEP FORM THAT YOU FILL OUT.
AND THEN WHILE YOU'RE GONE, DEPUTIES AS TIME ALLOWS, WILL ACTUALLY GO TO YOUR PROPERTY, WALK AROUND YOUR HOUSE, CHECK YOUR DOORS, CHECK YOUR WINDOWS, MAKE SURE EVERYTHING'S IN PLACE, AND, UH, EVERYTHING SEEMS TO BE IN ORDER.
IF ANYTHING IS OUT OF THE ORDINARY, THEN THEY WILL CALL YOU AND TRY TO FIGURE OUT IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WAS LIKE THAT WHEN YOU LEFT.
AND IF NOT, THEN WE'LL, UH, LOOK INTO IT AND FIGURE OUT WHAT'S GOING ON.
BUSINESS WATCH IS PRETTY MUCH THE SAME PROGRAM JUST FOR BUSINESSES IN THE COUNTY.
UM, THAT'S KIND OF UP AND GOING.
SO UPCOMING EVENTS, JUST REAL QUICK, UH, COPS, COSTUMES AND CANDY.
IT'S THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE, DRIVETHROUGH TRUNK OR TREAT.
BASICALLY, UH, WE'RE GONNA DO THAT AGAIN THIS YEAR.
IT'S AT THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE AND THAT'LL BE SUNDAY, OCTOBER 30TH.
UM, YOU CAN GO ONLINE OR ON THE APP, YOU CAN FIND THE TIMES FOR ALL THE EVENTS.
KIDS' FISHING DAY NEXT YEAR IS ALREADY, THE DATE'S ALREADY ESTABLISHED FOR THAT.
SO YOU CAN SEE THAT DATE ONLINE AS WELL.
AND THEN ANY OTHER DATES THAT WE PUT OUT FOR ANY OTHER PROGRAMS. UH, WE DID A CAR SHOW IN THE FALL A COUPLE MONTHS AGO, UH, WAS REALLY GOOD, HAD A GOOD TURNOUT.
WE MAY EVEN PUSH IT UP AND DO LIKE A SPRINGTIME EVENT.
SO JUST KEEP YOUR YOUR EYES OPEN FOR THAT.
AND THEN THE OTHER THING IS THE, UM, CITIZENS ACADEMY.
SO IF YOU HAVE NEVER HAD A CHANCE TO ATTEND THE CITIZENS ACADEMY, WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO SO.
UM, IT'S 11 WEEKS AND YOU GET TO LEARN A LITTLE BIT ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE DOES.
SO IF YOU HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO, UH, ATTEND THAT, PLEASE GO ONLINE, KEEP AN EYE OUT ON THE APP OR ON FACEBOOK AND, UH, WATCH FOR THOSE DATES.
THEY WILL BE STARTING LAST WEEK OF FEBRUARY, I BELIEVE.
SO JUST KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR THE APPLICATIONS FOR THAT AND YOU CAN SUBMIT AN APPLICATION FOR THAT AND, UH, HOPEFULLY WE'LL SEE YOU THERE FOR THAT.
OTHER THAN THAT, UH, MYSELF AND CHIEF DEPUTY MAJOR MIKE EAST, WE'LL BE HERE UNTIL THE END.
SO IF YOU DO HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I WON'T TAKE UP A WHOLE LOT OF TIME FROM MR. CARPENTER, BUT IF YOU DO HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE GRAB US AND, UH, WE'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE.
YOU KNOW, I UNDERSTAND THAT, UH, FOR THE, UM, HALLOWEEN, UH, TRUNK OR TREAT THAT THEY GOT TOGETHER SIDE THIS YEAR, ALL GOING AS DEPUTIES.
SO ANOTHER PART OF YOUR PUBLIC SAFETY IS YOUR ANIMAL CONTROL AND YOUR ANIMAL SHELTER STAFF.
YOU KNOW, GUC AND COUNTY IS A COMMUNITY THAT THAT IS VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT.
AND OUR ANIMAL SHELTER IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF THAT RELATIONSHIP.
IT'S ALSO A GREAT EXAMPLE OF SOMETHING THAT IS, I TELL YOU, VERY UNIQUE TO GHAN COUNTY.
AND THAT IS THE PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS THAT WE HAVE IN THIS COMMUNITY.
UM, GUC AND PET LOVERS, A GPL IS A A AN ORGANIZATION THAT CAME TOGETHER, I UNDERSTAND BACK ABOUT FIVE, SIX YEARS AGO, UH, IN ORDER TO, TO HELP CARRY OUT THE VISION OF THE DREAM OF A FORMER COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR.
UM, MS. BECKY DIXON, WHO, WHO, WHO HAD A VISION FOR WHAT THIS COUNTY COULD PROVIDE ITS ANIMALS AND ITS PETS.
AND OUT OF THAT, THE FUNDRAISING FROM GSON PET LOVERS RESULTS IN US BEING ABLE TO NOT JUST BUILD THE COUNTY'S PORTION OF ANIMAL SHELTER, BUT ALSO THE ADOPTION SIDE AS WELL.
UH, HOPEFULLY WE'VE HAD A CHANCE TO GO IN THERE AND, AND SEE PART OF IT.
BUT, UH, IT'S NOT JUST AN ANIMAL SHELTER, IT'S ALSO ANIMAL CONTROL.
PART OF WHAT WE DO IN THIS COUNTY AS WELL, IS WE'VE GOTTA PROTECT OUR CITIZENS AND, AND TAKE CARE OF THINGS WHEN IT HAPPENS.
UH, LAST WEEK OR SO, WE HAD A RAPID RACCOON AND, UH, IT ACTUALLY STARTED BECOMING SOMETHING POTENTIALLY SERIOUS AS IT BIT OTHER ANIMALS.
SOME OF THOSE ANIMALS BIT, SOME PEOPLE, IF THEY HAD NOT MANAGED THAT VERY QUICKLY, EFFICIENTLY AND SAFELY, IT COULD HAVE TURNED INTO SOMETHING VERY SERIOUS.
BUT IT DIDN'T BECAUSE THEY WERE THERE.
THEY WERE QUICKLY ABLE TO FIND THE RACCOON.
THEY WERE QUICKLY ABLE TO, UH, DETERMINE THAT IT WAS IN FACT RABID AND TAKE ALL THE PROPER PROTOCOLS THAT YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO DO.
SO AGAIN, THAT KIND OF OF SERVICE THAT YOU'RE GETTING IS EXAMPLE OF THE AMAZING KIND OF PEOPLE THAT WE HAVE HERE.
BUT ALSO LOOK AT THE CUTE KITTENS AND PUPPIES THAT ARE THERE.
SO, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE OPEN, YOU KNOW, UM, BASICALLY FROM TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAYS, THE HOURS CHANGE A LITTLE BIT, BUT ENCOURAGE YOU IF YOU HAVEN'T GONE BY, JUST GO BY.
IT'S AMAZING TESTIMONY TO WHAT, WHAT THIS COMMUNITY DOES WHEN IT PUTS ITS HEART AND ITS MIND TO SOMETHING.
SO, MOVING ON, WE'VE ALSO INVESTED IN OUR FACILITIES TO SERVE YOU.
THAT'S ANOTHER ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS YOU'LL SEE IN GUCCI COUNTY.
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AND LEMME GIVE YOU SOME UPDATES TO SOME OF THE PROJECTS THAT YOU'RE SEEING OR YOU WILL BE SEEING SOON, UH, LOCALLY, REALLY RIGHT AROUND HERE.FACT, THE SPORTS COMPLEX, THE LIGHTING, THE LIGHTING ON THE SPORTS COMPLEX IS BEING UPGRADED RIGHT NOW, HAPPENING OCTOBER, NOVEMBER.
IT'S GONNA BE ALL NEW POLES, ALL NEW WIRES, ALL NEW LIGHTS.
IT'LL BE ABLE TO BE CONTROLLED OFF YOUR PHONE APP.
EVERYTHING HAS GONE TO A PHONE APP, AS YOU'RE HEARING WITH THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE.
AND WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT MORE LATER FROM THE COUNTY.
SO THEY'LL BE ABLE TO CONTROL THESE LIGHTS.
THESE ARE ARE STATE-OF-THE-ART MUSK GO LIGHTS.
AND THESE LIGHTS ARE DARK SKY COMPLIANT.
AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT YOU'LL SEE THE LIGHTS ARE ON THE STADIUM, BUT THE BLEED OVER IS ALMOST NONEXISTENT.
YOU CAN BE A HUNDRED YARDS AWAY AND, AND, AND IS IS BLACK AROUND YOU.
YOU KNOW, YOU GO UNDER THE LIGHTS AND IT'S BRIGHT, ILLUMINATED, VERY SAFE FOR THE PLAYERS.
SO THAT'S ONE OF THE EXAMPLES THAT WE'RE DOING.
ANOTHER THING IS THE SKATE PARK.
YOU KNOW, THE SKATE PARK IS ALSO BEHIND HERE.
AND THAT WAS, AGAIN, A PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP WHERE PEOPLE WANTED TO INVEST AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
THE PARK IS CLOSED, IT'LL BE CLOSED BY ANOTHER THREE WEEKS WHILE PHASE ONE IS COMPLETED.
AND THE WHOLE FRONT PART WILL BE CONCRETE AND METAL WHEN THEY'RE DONE.
THE KIND OF SURFACE IS NOT WOOD.
THINGS THAT'LL SPLINTER AND BREAK AND CAUSE CAUSE HARM TO SOMEONE, BUT, BUT SOLID SURFACES.
SO, UH, THAT'S ANOTHER EXAMPLE AGAIN OF, OF A PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP WORKING TOGETHER IN GUCCI COUNTY.
UH, THE CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL, THE GENERATORS, IF YOU'VE HAD REASON OR NEED TO GO THERE, OF COURSE THAT'S A GREAT COMPLEX.
IT'S A FACILITY WHERE WE HAVE, AGAIN, UH, SEVERAL PUBLIC SECTOR ENTITIES THERE, PLUS OUR PARKS AND REC PROGRAMS. THEY'LL TALK ABOUT THEM IN A LITTLE BIT.
BUT PUTTING THE GENERATORS IN ALLOWS US NOW TO MAKE THAT A SHELTER.
SO IF WE HAVE ANOTHER CASE WHERE ICE STORMS OR TORNADOES AND PEOPLE HAVE NO POWER, WE'LL BE ABLE TO OPEN THAT AS A SHELTER GOING FORWARD.
SO IT CAN THEN GIVE US THAT LEVEL OF, OF SECURITY THAT WE NEED TO KNOW.
YOU KNOW, ICE COMES IN, IT'S 12 DEGREES, YOU GOT NO POWER, WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO? NOW WE GOT A PLACE THERE THAT YOU'LL BE ABLE TO GO AND SEE.
UM, I MENTIONED EARLIER ABOUT THE FIRE STATIONS, AND AGAIN, MOST OF THE FIRE STATIONS AT GOAN COUNTY ARE OWNED BY, NOT THE COUNTY, BUT BY THE PRIVATE ASSOCIATION THAT HAS PROVIDED FIRE SERVICE FOR SO MANY YEARS TO THIS COMMUNITY.
AND THEY'RE CURRENTLY UPGRADING.
FIVE OF THE STATIONS WE'RE IN DIFFERENT STAGES OF 'EM.
TWO OF THEM ARE VERY VISIBLE AND NOTICEABLE.
UH, STATION ONE OVER IN, UM, CROZIER, NO, NOT CROZIER, UM, MANNEQUIN, SORRY, I STILL TRIP UP A LITTLE BIT.
STATION ONE AND, UH, STATION FOUR OVER IN, UH, FIFE ARE SEEING SOME SIGNIFICANT EXTERIOR WORK.
SO IF YOU DROVE BY THOSE, YOU WOULD'VE NOTICED, YOU KNOW, UM, STATION FIVE LOOKED LIKE A BOMB HAD GONE OFF CUZ THE WHOLE FRONT OF THE BUILDING WAS REMOVED AND A NEW FRONT WAS PUT IN AND EXTENDED OUT.
SO OUR NEW EQUIP NEW EQUIPMENT AND APPARATUS WOULD FIT IN THERE.
UH, STATION HERE IN THE COURTHOUSE AREA.
IT'S UNDER PLANNING RIGHT NOW FOR INTERIOR RENOVATIONS THAT'LL MAKE IT MORE USABLE AND FEASIBLE FOR SLEEPING.
AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE HAVING TO DO IS UPGRADE THESE FACILITIES SO THAT THEY CAN BETTER PROVIDE SLEEPING ACCOMMODATIONS THAT ARE SAFE AND HEALTHY TO THE PROFESSIONALS THAT ARE WORKING IN THERE.
SO ALL FIVE OF THOSE STATIONS ARE CURRENTLY UNDER SOME KIND OF CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS THAT ARE BEING DONE TO THEM.
AND AGAIN, THAT'S A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE COUNTY AND, AND THE CITIZENS WHO ARE THE VOLUNTEERS AND WORKING FOR THIS COMMUNITY AS VOLUNTEERS, MAKING A DIFFERENCE.
WELL, MOVING ON FROM THERE, THEN WE MOVE TO THE OPPORTUNITIES OF BROADBAND.
AND BROADBAND IN, UH, GUCCI COUNTY IS SOMETHING THAT GOES BACK ABOUT, I GUESS ABOUT THREE YEARS OR SO.
UH, WHEN IT WAS ANNOUNCED, UM, THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WAS GONNA START MAKING A MAJOR EFFORT TO PROVIDE SUPPORT TO BROADBAND IN OUR STATE AND OUR COUNTRY.
UH, WESTERN AND CENTRAL WE'RE PART OF A 13 COUNTY GRANT.
UH, $80 MILLION WAS AWARDED, UM, FOR THAT GRANT IN ORDER TO BRING BROADBAND FIBER.
AND FIREFLY IS THE, THE KIND OF THE BROAD NAME OF THE ASSOCIATION, AND IT'S MOSTLY ELECTRIC PROVIDERS.
SO C V, UM, UH, DOMINION, UH, AND, AND VARIOUS, UM, CO-OPS ACROSS THE STATE AND THE REGION HAVE BANDED TOGETHER TO PROVIDE US.
SO WHAT'S HAPPENED? WELL, IN THE LAST YEAR, OVER 110 MILES OF FIBER HAS BEEN BURIED IN GUCCI COUNTY.
NOW, JUST BURYING THE FIBER DOESN'T GET IT TO YOUR HOUSE, BUT UNTIL IT'S BURIED, YOU CAN'T GET IT TO YOUR HOUSE.
SO 110 MILES HAS BEEN BURIED IN THE COUNTY ALREADY OVER 1,250 HOMES AND BUSINESSES ARE NOW WHERE THEY CAN HOOK UP IF THEY WANT TO IN THE COUNTY THAT WERE NOT THERE, UH, TWO, THREE YEARS AGO.
SO PROGRESS IS BEING MADE IN THAT.
UH, WE'RE TOLD THAT IT'S, UH, ABOUT ANOTHER TWO YEARS OR SO.
IT SHOULD BE DONE IN, UH, THE END OF 2024 AND OF 2025 AT THE LATEST.
UH, GUTZON COUNTY HAS BEEN A BIG PART OF THAT.
UH, YOUR COUNTY HAS CONTRIBUTED $3.6 MILLION TO HELP MAKE THIS HAPPEN AS WELL.
SO THE COUNTY IS PART OF WHAT'S HAPPENING AND THE COMMITMENT TO THE CITIZENS TO ENSURING, YOU KNOW, I'M MOVING HERE, SO I'M, I'M, YOU KNOW, MOVING TO PART OF THE COUNTY THAT DOESN'T HAVE IT.
SO PERSONALLY, I SEE THE IMPORTANCE OF THAT.
I'VE GOT THREE KIDS IN THE MIDDLE TWENTIES AND THEY'VE TOLD ME UNTIL THEY HAVE BROADBAND, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE GONNA STAY AT THE HOTEL WELL WHEN THEY COME.
SO, UH, BROADBAND IS A CRITICAL PART OF WHERE WE'RE GOING.
AND THE COUNTY'S MADE A SIGNIFICANT COMMITMENT OF FINANCIAL RESOURCES AND OUR PARTNERS WITH DOMINION AND CVEC AND OTHERS ARE WORKING TOGETHER AS WELL.
WHAT OTHER KIND OF THINGS ARE WE
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DOING? WELL, LET'S TALK ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES.THE OPPORTUNITIES, THERE'S THE MAPS FOR THAT.
UH, THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE'RE PROVIDING TO THE COUNTY FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF GUCCI COUNTY TAKES A VARIETY OF, OF FORMATS.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COULD BE A, A BIG INDUSTRY LOOKING TO COME IN AND PROVIDE JOBS, OR IT COULD BE A RESTAURANT OR IT COULD BE A SERVICE PROVIDER OR A DOCTOR'S OFFICE BECAUSE IT'S CRITICAL FOR OUR CITIZENS TO BE ABLE TO GET THE SERVICES THEY NEED AND NOT HAVE TO DRIVE AS FAR, UH, WE'RE FORTUNATE THAT WE'VE GOT A, A VERY VIBRANT PROGRAM GOING ON.
I'M GONNA TELL YOU ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING.
FIRST OF ALL, UM, WITH RECENTLY COMPLETED PROJECTS OVER IN THE EASTERN PART OF THE COUNTY, YOU MAY HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, SEE THE, UM, GREENSVILLE GROWERS.
GREENSVILLE GROWERS IS AN INDOOR HYDROPONIC FACILITY, ONE OF THE FEW ON THE EAST COAST GROWING LEAFY GREENS, LETTUCE.
UM, THEY'VE OPENED UP IN THE LAST YEAR AND THEY'VE ALREADY SOLD OUT THEIR ENTIRE PRODUCT LINE.
THEY, THEY HAVE NO MORE TO SELL.
IT'S ALREADY BEEN BEEN SOLD TO THE GROCERY STORES.
SO NOW THEY'RE LOOKING TO EXPAND, IF YOU'VE HAD A CHANCE TO SEE IT.
IT'S, IT'S AUTOMATED, IT'S HIGH TECH, IT'S STATE OF THE ART AND NO POLLUTION.
IT'S JUST THE NEAT KIND OF THING, KIND OF INDUSTRY THAT, YOU KNOW, KIND OF MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD WHEN YOU SEE IT.
IT DOESN'T HAVE A A, A HEAVY FOOTPRINT ON OUR COUNTY, UH, BUT IT MAKES A BIG, BIG DIFFERENCE WHEN THEY DO COME IN.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE WT CURTIS HAS OPENED A NEW FACILITY.
THEY'RE A LOCAL HVAC CONTRACTOR BUILDING A NEW OFFICE FOR THEIR SELF AND THEIR EMPLOYEES.
OUR COURTHOUSE CREEK SITE IS EXPANDED ADVANCED AUTO, AUTO PARTS.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING YOU MAY NOT THINK IS ECONOMIC VE UNTIL YOU NEED TO GET SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
AND THEN YOU REALIZE HOW CRITICAL IT IS.
WE HAVE SOMETHING LIKE THAT CLOSE TO US.
UH, THE BROAD MILLS MEDICAL OFFICES, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, HAVING OFFICES THAT ARE REASONABLY LOCATED SO WE CAN GET TO THEM IS IMPORTANT TO A COMMUNITY AND DOLLAR GENERAL IN HAYDENVILLE JUST RECENTLY OPENED AS WELL, UH, CITIZENS UP THERE, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE A LOT THAT, THAT LOOK FOR THAT, THE NEED FOR THAT.
THEY HAVE FRESH FOODS AND, AND, YOU KNOW, LIMITED ITEMS, BUT THEY HAVE, UH, IT'S, IT'S A SMALL LITTLE GROCERY STORE.
OTHER THINGS THAT ARE NEAR IN COMPLETION.
EVERY POINT ON THE EASTERN PART OF THE COUNTY, EVERY POINT IS GONNA BE A LARGE 55 PLUS CONTINUING CARE FACILITY.
UH, THE KIND OF FACILITY THAT IS YOU AGE, YOU CAN AGE IN PLACE, YOU CAN GET A NICE APARTMENT, A NICE HOUSE, AND THEN SLOWLY GO THROUGH AS AS, AS YOUR HEALTH AND CIRCUMSTANCES ALLOW.
WHEN IT'S DONE, IT'S GONNA GONNA BE ABOUT 11 BUILDINGS.
RIGHT NOW THEY'RE WORKING ON THE FIRST FIVE AND THEY HOPE TO HAVE THOSE OPEN.
STARTING IN NOVEMBER IS WHEN IT LOOKS LIKE THEY MIGHT BE GETTING OPEN.
UH, THEY'RE STILL IN SOME OF THE FINAL STAGES OF CONSTRUCTION.
ALSO, TOMMY'S CAR WASH AND LING AGAIN, AUTOMOTIVE'S PRETTY IMPORTANT TO PEOPLE IN, IN THE COMMUNITY SUCH AS GOLAND.
UH, CURRENTLY UNDERWAY, UH, IS ANOTHER MEDICAL OFFICE IN THE CREEKMORE, UH, THE OAK HILL COMPLEX, OR RETAIL AND OFFICES, UH, FOR US.
UM, BRISTOL OAKS APARTMENTS OVER IN THE EASTERN PART OF THE COUNTY.
UH, THE PARTNER VER YEAH, THE VETERINARY EMERGENCY AND SPECIALTY CENTER, AND RICHMOND MACHINERY.
SO THESE ARE EXAMPLES OF, AGAIN, BUSINESSES THAT ARE BEING LOCATED AND BUILT IN GOON COUNTY PROVIDE SERVICES AND JOBS FOR OUR CITIZENS UNDER REVIEW.
ANOTHER OFFICE, A MEDICAL OFFICE BUILDING, A CHICK-FIL-A.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S ALWAYS ONE OF THE FIRST QUESTIONS PEOPLE SAY IS LIKE, WHEN ARE WE GONNA GET A CHICK-FIL-A? WE'RE GETTING A CHICK-FIL-A.
UM, PUBLIX'S IN TARGET, YOU KNOW, SOME PEOPLE WANT THAT.
I CAN'T TELL IF WE'LL EVER HAVE ONE OF THOSE, BUT WE'RE GETTING A CHICK-FIL-A AND THAT IS A BIG THING FOR US.
UH, INDOOR TENNIS FACILITY IN CENTERVILLE.
UH, TENNIS IS BECOME A GROWING INDUSTRY.
WE'VE GOT SEVERAL OTHERS OF THOSE LOOKING AT THIS COUNTY TO BUILD FACILITIES HERE.
HG MEETS IS A FACILITY THAT'S LOOKING TO LOCATE UP IN THE HAYDENVILLE AREA OF THE COUNTY.
UM, A SMALL MEAT PROCESSOR FOR, FOR LOCAL GROWERS.
UM, PEOPLE WHO, WHO ARE IN GUCCI COUNTY, OUR AREA, UM, WHO RAISE CATTLE WHO, WHO, WHO, WHO RAISE, RAISE PIGS.
UH, RIGHT NOW, IF YOU DO THAT, YOU'VE GOTTA SHIP IT.
WHO KNOWS HOW FAR MANY HOURS AWAY.
IN SOME CASES, UH, YOU MIGHT HAVE A SIX, EIGHT MONTH WAIT BEFORE YOU CAN EVEN SEND YOUR ANIMALS THERE.
SO THIS IS GONNA OPEN UP ONE IN OUR COUNTY.
VERY SMALL SCALE, NOT ONE OF THOSE BIG HUGE THINGS YOU SEE ELSEWHERE.
UH, IT'S GONNA BE LIMITED IN SIZE, BUT IT'S GONNA SERVE A NEED THAT WE CRITICALLY HAVE IN THIS COUNTY.
OF COURSE, PROJECT ROCKY, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE, UH, PROBABLY IF YOU HAVEN'T HEARD OF PROJECT ROCKY, THEN YOU JUST MOVED HERE.
SO PROJECT ROCKY IS GONNA BE A VERY LARGE DEVELOPMENT.
UH, IT'S, IT'S A, UM, 500 PLUS MILLION DOLLAR INVESTMENT FOR AN E-COMMERCE, UH, FULFILLMENT CENTER.
A LOT OF THOSE JOBS WILL GO TO RESIDENCE OF GSON COUNTY.
UM, A LOT OF THEM WILL COME IN AND THEY'LL DRIVE.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IS BEING DONE IS WE'RE WORKING ON THE TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE TO SERVICE THAT.
I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT IN A MINUTE OR TWO.
UH, BUT THE IMPACT PROJECT ROCK IS GONNA HAVE IS LOCATED UP ON, UH, AS ROAD NORTH OF I 64 IN THE INDUSTRIAL SECTION OF THIS COUNTY.
SO YOU GOT QUARRIES, YOU GOT LANDFILLS, YOU'VE GOT MINES ALL AROUND IT ALREADY.
YOU'VE GOT AN INTERSTATE RIGHT THERE.
IT'S JUST A VERY SHORT DISTANCE FROM THE INTERSTATE.
SO THAT'S THE PERFECT PLACE FOR FACILITIES SUCH AS THIS.
SO THAT'S THE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S OUR, OUR TODAY.
[00:25:01]
TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE JOBS AND THAT WE HAVE, HAVE, HAVE A GROWING COMMUNITY ECONOMY.BUT NOW WE GOT A PLAN FOR TOMORROW.
AND SO I'M GONNA TELL YOU WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING WITH THAT, AND THAT'S A VERY IMPORTANT TOPIC IN A COUNTY SUCH AS THIS.
UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS, OF COURSE, IS OUR VILLAGE PLANS.
AND WE HAVE TWO VILLAGE PLANS OR SMALL AREA PLANS.
WE'RE REALLY CALLING THEM BECAUSE, UH, A VILLAGE KIND OF BRINGS TO MIND CERTAIN THINGS.
AND, UH, SOME CASES GUC AND COURTHOUSE IS CONSIDERED A VILLAGE.
CENTERVILLE MAY OR MAY NOT BE, BUT THEY'RE ALL PART OF THE SMALL AREA PLANS THAT THE COUNTY'S ENGAGED IN.
SO TELL YOU WHERE WE ARE WITH THAT RIGHT NOW.
WE STARTED THE PROCESS BACK IN FEBRUARY WITH KICKOFF MEETINGS FOR THE COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITY FOR CITIZENS TO COME LISTEN AND START GIVING US INPUT.
UH, FROM MARCH, WE THEN STARTED ROUND TABLE MEETINGS WITH, WITH STAKEHOLDERS, WITH BUSINESSES, WITH, WITH, UH, NONPROFITS, WITH, WITH ENTITIES, CHURCHES, ANYBODY WHO, WHO HAD REASON TO HAVE AN INTEREST IN THE PROCESS.
APRIL TO JUNE, WE STARTED DOING SURVEYS.
AND YOU CAN SEE WE GOT OVER 400 SURVEYS OF PEOPLE, OF CITIZENS TELLING US DEEPER DETAIL, WHAT THEY WANTED, WHAT THEIR THOUGHTS WERE, WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR.
UH, JUNE AND JULY, THEN WE HAD OUR MIDWAY COMMUNITY MEETINGS.
SO WE STARTED REVEALING SOME OF THE FINDINGS THAT WE'D HAD, UH, FROM ALL OF OF THOSE SURVEYS AND THOSE DISCUSSIONS THAT WE'D HAD.
SO NOW WHERE ARE WE GOING NOW? WELL, THE BOARD WANTS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DO THIS RIGHT, SO, SO RIDGE THAT WE TALK ABOUT MAYBE BEING DONE IN THE WINTER, BUT NOW WE'RE LOOKING TO EXTEND IT TO, UH, LATE WINTER INTO THE SPRING EVEN.
SO NEXT STEPS ARE THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A DRAFT PLAN THAT'LL BE AVAILABLE IN RELEASE TOWARD THE END OF NOVEMBER.
THAT DRAFT PLAN IS SOMETHING THAT THE CITIZENS WILL BE ABLE TO LOOK AT AND START DRAWING THEIR CONCLUSIONS ABOUT WHERE WE ARE, ABOUT THE HALFWAY POINT.
FROM THERE, WE'RE THEN GONNA HAVE COMMUNITY MEETINGS AGAIN, THE DRAFT PLAN WILL, WILL BE AVAILABLE.
PEOPLE HAVE HAD IT, THEY CAN START GIVING FEEDBACK ONCE MORE ON WHAT THEY'RE SEEING, WHAT THEY LIKE, WHAT THEY DON'T LIKE.
SO WE CAN CONTINUE FORWARD WITH ADDED COMMUNITY MEETINGS.
THERE'LL BE TWO, ONE HERE AND THEN ONE OVER IN THE CENTERVILLE AREA AS WELL.
THOSE AT THE END OF NOVEMBER IS WHEN THOSE ARE LOOKING TO BE HELD AFTER THANKSGIVING.
THEN ONCE WE GET THAT INPUT, AND THEN THERE'S GONNA BE A JOINT WORK SESSION WITH THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS IN THE PLANNING COMMISSION.
AND THAT'S THE CHANCE FOR THEM TO TALK.
YOU KNOW, THEY'VE BEEN LISTENING TO YOU GUYS NOW FOR ALMOST A YEAR.
SO THAT GIVES THEM A CHANCE TO SIT DOWN AND START TALKING AMONGST THEMSELVES OVER WHAT THEY SEE, WHAT THEY HEAR, AND THEIR THOUGHTS ON THE MATTER.
UH, GOING FROM THERE, THEN WE'LL HAVE PUBLIC HEARINGS WITH THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
UM, AND AFTER THAT, THEN IT'LL, IT'LL MOVE FORWARD TO A PROCESS OR THE BOARD WILL DECIDE, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER THEY'RE GONNA DECIDE.
SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE NUMEROUS PUBLIC MEETINGS STILL AHEAD OF US.
WE'VE GOT OPPORTUNITIES FOR INPUT.
WE'RE GONNA DO THIS RIGHT, AND WE'RE GONNA MAKE SURE THAT, THAT, THAT WE'VE GOT THE INPUT WE NEED FROM THE CITIZENS.
AND ANY DECISION THAT WE MAKE IS GONNA BE BASED ON COLLECTING ALL THE DATA.
SO IT'S NOT GONNA BE A RUSHED OR HURRIED PROCESS.
SO WHAT ELSE DO WE DOING? WELL, OUR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, YOU KNOW, OUR PLANNING AND ZONING, UH, BUILDING PERMITS, UM, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, THAT IS A BUSY ORGANIZATION RIGHT NOW.
SO EVEN THOUGH WE START TO HEAR THAT THE ECONOMY IS MAYBE STARTING TO SLOW DOWN, IT'S NOT SLOWING DOWN IN OUR BUILDING AND CODES IN OUR PERMITTING SECTION BECAUSE ALL THESE THINGS THAT I JUST WENT OVER FOR YOU, ALL THE BUILDING'S HAPPENING, WELL, THOSE, THOSE GUYS TAKING PART IN IT.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO DO IS WE'RE, WE'RE ROLLING OUT A, A NEW SOFTWARE SYSTEM CALLED INTER GOV.
AND THE REASON WHY I'M TELLING YOU IN TALKING TO YOU ABOUT THAT IS IT'S GONNA TOTALLY CHANGE THE WAY BUSINESS IS DONE IN THE BUILDING COMMUNITY IN GHA COUNTY.
AND IT'S GONNA GO ALL VIRTUAL, ALL ONLINE RIGHT NOW.
IT'S PRETTY MUCH A PAPER AND PENCIL PROCESS.
YOU'LL BE ABLE TO PAY EVERYTHING ONLINE.
SO IF, IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE TIME OR THE ABILITY TO RUN TO THE HERE, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO GO ONLINE TO MAKE ANY PAYMENTS YOU HAVE TO DO.
BUT AS, OR MORE IMPORTANTLY, IS THE FACT THAT NOW CITIZENS WILL BE ABLE TO LOG INTO THIS THROUGH PORTALS AND SEE THE STATUS OF EVERY SINGLE PROJECT.
BECAUSE RIGHT NOW THAT'S WHAT CITIZENS WANT TO KNOW, IS THEY JUST WANT TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON.
AND IF YOU GO ONLINE, YOU'LL SEE PEOPLE ASK, WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE? WHAT'S HAPPENING THERE? WELL,
THEY CAN SEE WHERE IT IS IN THE PROCESS.
THEY CAN SEE WHAT'S BEEN TURNED IN, WHAT HASN'T BEEN TURNED IN.
SO IT'S A GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR TRANSPARENCY TO MAKE SURE THAT, AGAIN, WHAT WE DO, WE DO IT IN THE LIE TODAY.
AND YOU, OUR CITIZENS KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING AS WELL BECAUSE IT'S YOUR COUNTY AND YOU NEED TO KNOW AND YOU NEED TO SEE THESE KINDS OF THINGS.
SO INTER GOV IS SOMETHING WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT WHILE WE'RE DOING, WE'RE GONNA BE GOING LIVE ON THE 15TH OF NOVEMBER.
ANY OF Y'ALL WHO'VE EVER BEEN INVOLVED
WE HAVE BEEN TRAINING FOR THIS, UH, FOR A WHILE.
UM, BUT I WOULD STILL SAY, PLEASE HAVE SOME GRACE CUZ YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN.
UM, WE, WE, UH, ARE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN.
WE BELIEVE THAT IT'LL ROLL OUT SMOOTHLY, BUT IF THEY'RE GLITCHES, IF THEY'RE BUGS, WE'LL FIX THEM.
AND THAT'S OUR COMMITMENT THAT, UH, BUT WHAT IT'S GONNA DO FOR, FOR OUR EMPLOYEES IS HUGE.
AND WHAT IT'S GONNA DO FOR OUR CITIZENS ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT'S HAPPENING IS HUGE.
AND FOR THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY IS HUGE.
WELL, NOW LET'S GET INTO TRANSPORTATION ROADS.
UM, I WAS TELLING SOMEONE A LITTLE BIT AGO, UH, KIND OF JOKING THAT I'VE BEEN HERE NOW FOR, YOU KNOW, THREE AND A HALF MONTHS THAT MAKES ME NATIVE SO I CAN COMPLAIN ABOUT THE TRANSPORTATION OF THE
[00:30:01]
TRAFFIC PROBLEMS LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE.BUT THERE'S A LOT OF PROJECTS GOING ON RIGHT NOW AND I'M GONNA TELL YOU ABOUT 'EM.
UH, ONE OF THEM, OF COURSE, YOU SEE IT RIGHT NOW THAT'S RIGHT HERE.
IT'S THE ROUNDABOUT BEING BUILT OVER AT FAIRGROUNDS OF SANDY HOOK ROAD.
AND THAT STARTED, IT'S GONNA GO ON FOR ABOUT ANOTHER YEAR OR SO BEFORE THEY'RE COMPLETED WITH IT.
IT'S ABOUT AN 18 MONTH PROJECT IN TOTAL.
UH, THE GOOD NEWS IS AT NO POINT IN TIME WILL 5 22 CLOSE, IT'LL STAY OPEN THE ENTIRE TIME.
UH, FAIRGROUNDS ROAD WILL PROBABLY CLOSE FOR ABOUT A MONTH IN FEBRUARY.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A ROUND, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, THE WORKAROUNDS FOR ARE FAIRLY SIMPLE.
YOU'LL JUST EITHER GO BY THE COLLEGE AND GET ON, UH, ROUTE SIX THERE, OR YOU'LL GO AND GET ON BULLDOG WAY BY THE HIGH SCHOOL AND GET OUR ROUTE SIX THERE.
BASED ON WHAT SIDE YOU'RE COMING FROM IS, UM, HOW YOU WOULD GET ONTO IT.
IF YOU NEED TO, UM, YOU KNOW, FIRE AND RESCUE WITH STATION FIVE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE, UH, WORKING WITH THE, UH, FOOD LINE SHOPPING CENTER TO ALLOW THEM TO KIND OF CUT THROUGH THE PARKING LOT.
I KNOW A LOT OF CITIZENS PROBABLY WILL, BUT YOU KNOW, THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY THE SAFEST WAY TO DO IT.
BUT FOR OUR GUYS, YOU KNOW, IT'S GONNA BE SET UP SO THEY CAN DO THAT.
SO THE BRO, SO THE ROUNDABOUT IS UNDERWAY RIGHT NOW.
ANOTHER THING IS A CORRIDOR STUDY WE'RE DOING ON FAIRGROUNDS ROAD.
AND PART OF THE DEVELOPMENT CONCERNS THAT WE'VE HEARD RECENTLY IN THIS AREA ARE THAT, IS AS WE BEGIN DEVELOPING AND REDEVELOPING AND ADDING MORE COMMUNITIES AND NEIGHBORHOODS, WHAT IS THAT DOING TO FAIRGROUNDS ROAD AS A MAIN CORRIDOR? AND SO, UH, VDOT IS DOING A TRAFFIC STUDY, A CORRIDOR STUDY THE ENTIRE ROAD FROM, UM, TWO 50 ALL THE WAY DOWN TO 5 22 AND STUDYING THE IMPACTS AND THE FUTURE NEEDS AND THE FUTURE EXPECTATIONS THAT'LL BE DONE IN DECEMBER.
ONCE WE HAVE THAT, THAT'S ANOTHER ONE OF THE REASONS WHY THE, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE SLOW DOWN A LITTLE BIT ON THE COURTHOUSE STUDY BECAUSE THAT'S AN, A PRETTY IMPORTANT PART OF THAT STUDY IS KNOWING WHAT THE TRAFFIC NEEDS AND THE IMPACTS OF TRAFFIC ARE GONNA BE IN THIS AREA.
SO THE FAIRGROUNDS ROAD CORRIDOR STUDY IS SOMETHING THAT'S A VERY BIG PIECE OF THE FUTURE AND WHERE WE'RE GOING BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T HAD THAT.
AND THIS WILL BE THE FIRST TIME WE'LL HAVE SOME OF THAT INFORMATION.
WELL, NOW WE GET INTO, UH, THE ROUTE 2 88 INTERCHANGE STUDY AND ROUTE 2 88 ON THAT TO EASTERN SIDE OF THE COUNTY.
CURRENTLY IT HAS, I GUESS, FOUR EXITS IN GUCCI COUNTY, BUT FOR MANY YEARS THERE'S ALWAYS DISCUSSION OF, OF, OF A FUTURE INTERCHANGE AND WHAT THIS, UH, INTERCHANGE WOULD DO.
I GUESS I HAVE TO, WELL, RIGHT, WELL, THAT DIDN'T WORK.
UM, SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE MAP RIGHT THERE WHERE IT'S, WHERE IT SAYS WILKES RIDGE PARKWAY, IT'S A STUDY RIGHT NOW JUST TO SEE WHETHER IT MAKES SENSE AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE, 10, 20, 30 YEARS TO HAVE ANOTHER INTERCHANGE BUILT.
AND IT WOULD GO FROM 2 88 TY TO WILKES RIDGE ROAD UP INTO BROAD STREET, AND IT WOULD BE A MAJOR ABILITY TO DIVERT TRAFFIC THAT CURRENTLY CLOGS UP THE 2 88, 2 50 INTERCHANGE, AS WELL AS PEOPLE COMING GOING FROM WORK IN HENRICO IN, UH, HANOVER, UM, FROM MYTH, YEAH, MIDLOTHIAN COMING UP HERE.
SO THIS STUDY'S UNDERWAY AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT'LL GIVE US IDEAS.
SO AGAIN, FOR THE FUTURE, 10, 20, 30 YEARS FROM NOW, THE ORACLE ROAD HIGHWAY 64 ROUNDABOUT, THAT'S ANOTHER ONE THAT'S PARTIALLY FUNDED.
WE'RE WORKING ON GETTING IT COMPLETED.
WE'D LIKE TO THINK THAT THAT'S ONE THAT WE CAN START HOPEFULLY THE, THE ENGINEERING IN THE NEXT, YOU KNOW, YEAR TO TWO YEARS ON THAT.
AGAIN, IT'S NOT THE, UH, UM, IT'S THE WESTBOUND SIDE OF THE INTERSTATE, UH, WHEN YOU GET OFF, UH, AT, UM, OILVILLE EXIT AND IT WOULD PUT A ROUNDABOUT IN THERE AS WELL.
SO THAT'S ONE THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN BECAUSE WE KNOW WE'VE GOT MOST OF THE FUNDING ALREADY SECURED FOR IT.
THE ASHTON ROAD, DIVERGENT TIME, WHEN I WAS TALKING ABOUT PROJECT ROCK, I SAID I WAS GONNA COME BACK TO THE TRAFFIC THERE.
IF YOU'VE BEEN ON ASHTON ROAD AND YOU PROBABLY HAVE, UH, IT'S ALREADY A MESS.
OKAY? IN FACT, I THINK THE TERM THAT VDOT USES, ITS FAILING AND WE ALL KNOW THAT IT'S A FAILING ROAD, IT'S A FAILING INTERSECTION.
SO THE COMMITMENT OF THE COUNTY AND WORKING WITH PROJECT ROCKY IS TO ENSURE THAT THE PROBLEMS THAT ARE IDENTIFIED WILL BE FIXED.
AND WE'VE COMMITTED TO FIXING THOSE PROBLEMS. AND THERE'S A COUPLE THINGS THAT ARE GONNA HAPPEN THERE.
FIRST THING IS PROJECT ROCKY IS GOING TO PUT IN, UM, DOUBLE TURN LANES THAT LEAD INTO THEIR PROJECT SO THEY CAN GET THEIR TRAFFIC OUT OF THE, THROUGH TRAFFIC.
UH, THERE'S ALSO GONNA BE AN ACCELERATION LANE COMING OFF THE INTERSTATE SO THAT PEOPLE CAN, CAN PULL OFF THE INTERSTATE EASIER.
IMPORTANTLY, THERE'S GONNA BE A STOPLIGHT PUT ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF IT SO THAT AS TRAFFIC EXITS COMING FROM THE WEST, THERE'LL BE A STOPLIGHT NOW TO ALLOW YOU TO PULL INTO TRAFFIC RIGHT NOW THAT'S NOT THERE.
AND IF YOU'VE HAD TO GET OFF, THEN YOU KNOW THAT SOMETIMES YOU CAN SIT THERE FOR QUITE A WHILE.
SO THAT STOPLIGHT WILL MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE IN WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN.
BUT THE BIG CHANGE THAT'S GOTTA HAPPEN IS THE DDI, THE DIVERGENT DIAMOND.
IF YOU'VE BEEN TO ZION'S CROSSROADS, YOU'VE SEEN A FOUR-LANE DDI, AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE BUILDING.
WE'RE GONNA BE BUILDING A FOUR-LANE DDI.
UH, THE CHAIRMAN WENT TO, UH, RICHMOND AND BROUGHT BACK A LOT OF MONEY, UM, YOU KNOW, GOT COMMITMENTS FROM OUR REGIONAL PARTNERS IN HANOVER, IN HENRICO, WELL NOT IN HANOVER, BUT IN IN HENRICO AND OTHERS, THE CITY OF RICHMOND THAT SUPPORTED OUR EFFORT.
[00:35:01]
UH, WHAT WE NEED TO DO.SO WE WILL BE BUILDING THIS DDI.
THAT'S THE COMMITMENT OF THE COUNTY THAT WE WILL BUILD IT.
UH, THE STATE WILL SUPPORT US.
IT TAKES A COUPLE YEARS THOUGH FOR SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO HAPPEN.
THE ENGINEERING, THE DESIGN, THE LAND ACQUISITION, THE RIGHT OF WAY ACQUISITION, IT'S NOT A SHORT TERM PROJECT TO DO.
IT'D BE THE BIGGEST ROAD PROJECT PROBABLY EVER DONE, UM, IN GUCCI COUNTY, BUT IT'LL, IT WILL MAKE THE DIFFERENCE.
SO THE COMMITMENT TO THIS COMMUNITY IS THAT, UH, PROJECT ROCKY WILL BRING WITH ITS SUCCESS BECAUSE IT WILL BRING WITH US THE ABILITY TO FINALLY FIX A ROAD THAT WAS ALREADY FAILING.
AND IF WITHOUT ROCKY, WE WOULD NOT HAVE THE ABILITY TO FIX THAT ROAD, AND IT WOULD STAY FAILING BECAUSE THERE'S NO WAY TO PAY FOR IT ANY OTHER WAY.
SO THEY BRING TO US SOME GOOD STUFF.
UM, ANOTHER PART, IT'S NOT PART OF THIS PROJECT, BUT IT'S THE SAME AREA, IS VIDO IS RELOCATING THE PARK AND RIDE ALSO AT ASHTON ROAD INTERSECTION.
SO IF YOU USE IT OR KNOW PEOPLE WHO DO, THEY'RE GONNA BE BUILDING A NEW ONE.
UH, THAT'S, AGAIN, THAT'S NOT CONNECTED TO ROCKY, BUT IT IS IN THE SAME AREA.
THE HOCKET ROAD REALIGNMENT, IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH HOCKET ROAD, IT CURRENTLY TAKES YOU UP TO TWO 50, UH, IN ST.
AND THEN YOU GOTTA JOG OVER AND THEN GET ON ASHTON ROAD TO GET TO THE INTERSTATE.
SO YOU GOT THAT WEIRD LITTLE JOG THAT TAKES YOU FROM ONE TO THE OTHER.
THE REALIGNMENT WILL CONNECT HOCKET TWO ASHTON ROAD.
SO ESSENTIALLY YOU'D BE ABLE TO GO FROM ROUTE SIX ALL THE WAY TO THE INTERSTATE WITHOUT HAVING TO GO THROUGH THOSE WEIRD LITTLE JOGS THAT, THAT, THAT WERE CAUSING ACCIDENTS THAT WERE DANGEROUS TO PEOPLE.
UH, SO YOU CAN SEE THE BOTTOM OF THAT PICTURE THAT WOULD KIND OF SHOW JUST A NEW, UH, REALIGNMENT TO HAE ROAD.
UM, WE'RE GONNA START THE ENGINEERING ON THAT NEXT YEAR WITH A GOAL OF, AGAIN, IT BEING COMPLETED SOMETIME THE NEXT FEW YEARS AFTER THAT.
SO THOSE ARE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE INFRASTRUCTURE, THE HARD STUFF, UH, THAT WE DO.
WE DO A LOT OF GREAT THINGS IN THIS COUNTY.
I'M GONNA TELL YOU ABOUT SOME OF THOSE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW.
AND WE'RE GONNA BE DOING PARKS AND REC.
WE STARTED OUR NIGHT AT TUCKER AND NIGHT AT TUCKER, WE STARTED AND, UH, WE DID IT IN AUGUST, OUR FIRST ONE.
UH, AND IT WAS HAD OVER 400 PEOPLE SHOW UP, LOCAL BANDS, UH, FOOD TRUCKS, UM, LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS OUT THERE, PEOPLE WITH THEIR DOGS, PEOPLE WITH KIDS.
IT WAS JUST A NEAT, NEAT NIGHT THAT WAS OUT THERE.
UH, WE WERE SUPPOSED TO DO IN SEPTEMBER, BUT IT GOT RAINED OUT, SO WE WERE SUPPOSED TO DO IN OCTOBER, BUT WE GOT RAINED OUT, SO NOW WE'RE GONNA DO IT IN NOVEMBER.
AND, UH, THE SCHEDULE FOR DOING IT IS GONNA BE NOVEMBER THE FOURTH.
AGAIN, LOCAL BANDS, UH, FOOD TRUCKS, UH, COME ON OUT.
IT'S A GREAT EVENING AT A BEAUTIFUL PARK AND FACILITY AS WELL.
UH, WE JUST DID, UH, CAPTAIN BEAR WAS MENTIONING, UM, WHEN HE WAS UP HERE, UH, JUST THIS PAST WEEKEND, WE DID A COLOR RUN AND THE COLOR RUN WAS IN SUPPORT OF THE MATTHEWS MILES FOUNDATION, AND IT WAS A VERY EMOTIONAL EVENT, UM, BECAUSE A VERY EMOTIONAL TOPIC AND THE FAMILY WAS THERE AND WE HAD ABOUT 50 PEOPLE PARTICIPATE IN THIS FIRST ONE.
AND IT'S, IT'S, IT'S AN EXAMPLE OF THE KIND OF STUFF AGAIN THAT WE DO AS A COMMUNITY, UM, TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND YOUR COUNTY DOES FOR YOU.
UM, ALSO COMING UP, WE HAVE THE GUC AND FALL FESTIVAL.
UH, YOU HEARD THAT MENTIONED A LITTLE BIT.
UH, THE FALL FESTIVAL WILL BE AGAIN, RIGHT BEHIND HERE IN THE, UH, SPORTS COMPLEX.
BRING YOUR KIDS OUT FROM 12 TO FOUR.
UM, IT'LL BE, YOU KNOW, UH, JUST FUN, FUN STUFF, YOU KNOW, PUMPKINS AND TRICK OR TREATING AND MUSIC AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
SO THAT'S GONNA BE THE FALL FESTIVAL ON OCTOBER 29TH COMING UP.
UH, OUR SECOND ANNUAL, WHAT WE CALL COMIC FEST AND COM FEST IS A, A MODERN POP CULTURAL FESTIVAL.
A FEW, UH, COMIC BOOKS, UM, ANIME, UM, MOVIES, UH, BOARD GAMES.
IT'S, IT'S, IT'S GEARED TO A, A PART OF THE COMMUNITY.
WE DID OUR FIRST ONE LAST YEAR, WE HAD HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE COME OUT.
NOW THEY HAVE COSTUME CONTESTS.
SO AGAIN, I GOT KIDS IN THEIR TWENTIES AND, AND FOR THEM, THIS IS ALL STUFF THAT, THAT FOR THEM IS VERY MUCH PART OF THEIR CULTURE, PART OF THEIR LIFE.
AND SO THIS KIND OF THINGS WE DO, AND IT IS FUN, ENCOURAGE YOU TO, UH, COME OUT AND SEE IT.
UM, YOU KNOW, I'VE GOT SOMEWHERE, A PICTURE I WENT TO ONE LAST YEAR OF ME BEING, UH, TAKING A PICTURE WITH A GIANT PIKACHU.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S, YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GONNA SEE AT ONE OF THESE.
AND IT'S A NEAT EXAMPLE OF, OF REALIZING THAT, UM, THAT, THAT OUR COMMUNITY FROM, FROM YOUNG TO OLD HAS GOT DIFFERENT WANTS AND DIFFERENT INTERESTS AND US PROVIDING FOR IT.
I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY OF YOU PLAY PICKLEBALL, BUT AGAIN, WE'VE BEEN DOING OUR PICKLEBALL TOURNAMENT FOR SIX YEARS NOW, AND THE PICKLEBALL TERM IS COMING UP NOVEMBER 5TH.
UH, IT'S GONNA BE OVER AT THE HIGH SCHOOL GYM.
UH, THERE'S A $15 FEE TO PARTICIPATE.
PICKLE BALL IS A NEAT SPORT AND WE'RE GETTING MORE AND MORE ENGAGED TO IT.
IT'S, IT'S THE, UM, ANYBODY CAN PLAY, BUT IT'S VERY POPULAR WITH PEOPLE OF A CERTAIN AGE, SUCH SHALL WE SAY, UM, WHOSE KNEES MAYBE AREN'T QUITE AS GOOD AS THEY USED TO BE.
UM, SO IT'S A FUN SPORT FOR EVERYONE TO DO, BUT I'D ENCOURAGE YOU TO BE PART OF THAT AND TO SEE, YOU KNOW, WE ALSO THOUGH, YOU KNOW, I KEEP TALKING ABOUT THE VOLUNTEER AND THE PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS AND PARK RECS A GREAT EXAMPLE.
UM, MOST OF OUR YOUTH LEAGUES ARE RUN BY PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS.
SO OUR BASEBALL, OUR SOFTBALL, OUR CHEERLEADING, UM, UH,
[00:40:01]
OUR, UH, WE'RE STARTING LACROSSE THIS YEAR, UH, FOR THAT.UM, FOOTBALL, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE ALL SPORTS THAT THE COUNTY DOESN'T RUN.
PRIVATE NON-PROFIT GROUPS RUN THESE AND PROVIDE THESE OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR KIDS.
UM, GUCCI UNITED SOCCER IS A SPRING AND FALL SOCCER LEAGUE FOR OUR KIDS.
SO AGAIN, GREAT EXAMPLES OF THINGS.
YOU'LL SEE REC BASKETBALL IS SOMETHING THE COUNTY DOES RUN.
GOT OVER 175 YOUTH AND OVER A HUNDRED ADULTS PARTICIPATING IN THE SO IN THE BASKETBALL.
SO NEAT THINGS, FUN THINGS THAT WE DO IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO I'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT ALL THE STUFF THAT THIS COUNTY, YOUR COUNTY, YOUR TEAM DOES TO MAKE THIS COUNTY AS GREAT AS IT CAN BE.
WE GOT A JOB TOO, AS CITIZENS.
AND THAT'S ELECTIONS COMING UP.
SO I JUST WANNA REMIND YOU WHAT OUR JOB IS.
OUR JOB FOR THE ELECTION IS THIS, NOVEMBER 8TH IS ELECTION DAY.
UH, EARLY VOTING IS ALREADY STARTED.
IT'S RIGHT BEHIND HERE, AGAIN IN THE REC IN THE SPORTS CENTER RIGHT NEXT DOOR TO THE REGISTRAR'S OFFICE.
UM, THEY'LL BE, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO VOTE THERE ALL THE WAY UP UNTIL, UM, JUST BEFORE AN ELECTION DAY.
AND THEN ELECTION DAY, OF COURSE, ALL THE PRECINCTS WILL OPEN, UH, THE LAST DAY TO REQUEST AN ABSENTEE BALLOT IS GONNA BE THE 28TH OF OCTOBER.
NOW, IF YOU ARE, UM, BEEN HERE FOR A WHILE AND YOU KNOW YOUR PRECINCTS, PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU KNOW YOUR CURRENT PRECINCTS BECAUSE WITH REDISTRICTING NOW WITH THE CENSUS PRECINCT LINES HAVE SHIFTED.
THERE'S INFORMATION AT THE BACK AS WELL THAT YOU, YOU CAN GET TO SEE TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR PRECINCTS ARE.
BUT SOME OF, OF THE CHANGES, UM, YOU KNOW, BIRD SCHOOL IS NOW, UM, THE LOO IS THE NEW LOCATION FOR 1 0 1, UH, CHIEF CORNERSTONE BAPTIST, THE NEW LOCATION FOR 2 0 1, UH, CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL IS A LOCATION FOR 2 0 2.
YOU KNOW, HERE IN IN THE COURTHOUSE AREA, UH, LOCATIONS WOULD BE OVER AT, UH, THE, UM, ANIMAL SHELTER IS ONE OF THE LOCATIONS FOR THEM.
AND I GUESS, AND THE FIRE STATION CHIEF IS ANOTHER ONE.
IT'S RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF ME, FOLKS, JUST LOOK AT IT, I'D SEE IT.
UM, PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR PRECINCTS ARE, UH, SO YOU DON'T GO TO THE WRONG PLACE.
AND PLEASE, PLEASE ENCOURAGE EVERYBODY OVER THE H 18, THEY CAN STILL REGISTER TO VOTE, UM, AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO COME OUT AND TAKE PART OF THAT.
IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US, THE COUNTY TO KNOW HOW WE CAN COMMUNICATE WITH YOU.
THIS IS JUST ONE OF THE WAYS WE COMMUNICATE.
THE COUNTY COMMUNICATES WITH YOU THROUGH OUR SOCIAL MEDIA.
WE COMMUNICATE THROUGH NEWSPAPER, WE COMMUNICATE THROUGH MEDIA.
THERE'S AN ENGAGEMENT SURVEY THAT WE ASK YOU.
THERE'S INFORMATION IN THE BACK AGAIN, UM, YOU CAN USE YOUR PHONE, IT'S GOT A QR CODE, UH, OR YOU, YOU CAN GO ONLINE AND FILL IT OUT.
UM, IT'S JUST A SURVEY TO TELL THE COUNTY HOW YOU LIKE TO BE COMMUNICATED WITH THE KINDS OF WAYS YOU GET INFORMATION SO WE CAN DO A BETTER JOB TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE GETTING THE INFORMATION YOU WANT AND YOU NEED.
SO PLEASE, IF YOU DO TAKE A CHANCE TO FILL IT OUT, UM, WE JUST WENT LIVE WITH IT.
WE'VE ALREADY GOT, I THINK A HUNDRED PEOPLE HAVE ALREADY, ALMOST A HUNDRED PEOPLE HAVE ALREADY SIGNED UP AND PARTICIPATED IN THIS SURVEY.
SO PLEASE DO SO WE CAN GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO YOU, OUR CITIZENS.
AND WITH THAT, I JUST WANT TO, UM, THANK YOU AND ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS THAT ANYBODY HAS, UH, MYSELF OR STAFF ON, UH, GUGEN COUNTY COOKIES? REMEMBER
SO AT THAT POINT, THE COUNTY WILL IN TWO STATIONS, AND I CAN'T TELL YOU GOING FORWARD, WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN, YOU KNOW, WITH, WITH THE REST OF THE STATIONS AT SOME POINT IT GETS AWFUL EXPENSIVE TO OWN BUILDINGS AND, YOU KNOW, SO THE REALITY IS WE ALL KNOW.
SO, UH, RIGHT NOW THE VOLUNTEER ASSOCIATION IS, IS DOING AN AMAZING JOB TO TAKE CARE OF THEM AND KEEP UP WITH THEM.
UM, BUT THE COUNTY IS MORE AND MORE MOVING IT TO OWNING FIRE STATIONS.
UH, WE'LL SEE YOU, NO QUESTION THEN.
RAYLEY, I WILL TURN OVER TO YOU.
I LIVE IN AN AREA THAT CHANGED WHEN THE DISTRICT CHANGED, SO I WAS TO DISTRICT THREE.
UM, AND WHEN WE, UH, GO TO, TO POLLS IN 23, I WILL BE DISTRICT TWO.
UM, THIS EVENING ALSO, ANGELA ALLEN IS HERE AND SHE LIVES IN DISTRICT T TWO, BUT HER NEW DISTRICT WILL BE THREE.
SO THERE WAS A LITTLE FLIP FLOP.
UM, SINCE 2016, WE HAVE HAD THREE UNITED STATES PRESIDENTS, THREE VIRGINIA STATE GOVERNORS,
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THREE SUPERINTENDENTS OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION, MULTIPLE CONGRESSMEN, HOUSE OF DELEGATES, SENATORS AT THE STATE AND FEDERAL LEVEL.BUT GUESS WHAT, WE'VE HAD ONE SUPERINTENDENT OF GOLAND COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS THIS EVENING.
JEREMY RAYLEY, SUPER SPECIAL MAN WHO LEADS A SUPER SPECIAL TEAM AND THEY STAY FOCUSED ON OUR WHY.
AND THAT IS OUR TRUE MOTIVATION EVERY SINGLE DAY.
AND I WILL LET HIM SHARE MORE ABOUT THAT AND THE GREAT THINGS THAT THAT TEAM IS DOING FOR OUR WHOLE COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY OUR CHILDREN.
MS. ALLEN, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHARE ANY REMARKS BEFORE WE GET STARTED? OKAY.
A LOT OF FAMILIAR FACES IN THE AUDIENCE TONIGHT.
UM, BUT I DO WANNA WELCOME OUR NEW DEPUTY COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR.
I THINK WHAT YOU'LL FIND IN GOLAND IS A PRETTY SPECIAL PLACE, AND WE DON'T SAY THAT LIGHTLY BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF SYMBOLISM ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THIS ROOM TONIGHT.
IT COULD JUST BE THE COUNTY'S GOING TO HAVE THEIR TOWN HALL AND SCHOOLS ARE GOING TO HAVE THEIR TOWN HALL, BUT WE DO IT TOGETHER AND IT'S BEEN HAPPENING LIKE THAT FOR MANY, MANY YEARS IN THIS COMMUNITY.
AND IT'S, IT'S REALLY SOMETHING SPECIAL.
UH, SO I'M, I'M THANKFUL TO BE ABLE TO SERVE IN THIS COMMUNITY NOW ENTERING MY SEVENTH YEAR AS SUPERINTENDENT.
AND I'M HERE TONIGHT TO, TO SHARE SOME OF THE POSITIVES THAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR SCHOOL DIVISION BECAUSE, UM, I GET THE PLEASURE AND IT TRULY IS A PLEASURE TO GO IN OUR SCHOOLS AND BE A PART OF WHAT IS HAPPENING EVERY DAY IN THIS AMAZING SCHOOL DIVISION.
OUR CITIZENS DON'T GET THE CHANCE TO DO THAT.
SO I'M HOPING TO PROVIDE JUST A LITTLE BIT OF A GLIMPSE INTO WHAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR SCHOOL DIVISION ON A REGULAR BLA BASIS.
SHARE SOME CELEBRATIONS WITH YOU BECAUSE ULTIMATELY THIS COMMUNITY INVESTS A LOT OF MONEY IN PUBLIC EDUCATION.
UH, THIS COMMUNITY VALUES PUBLIC EDUCATION GREATLY.
AND SO I WILL TELL YOU THAT WHAT THIS COMMUNITY INVESTS IN US IS CERTAINLY PROVIDING A SIGNIFICANT POSITIVE RETURN ON ITS INVESTMENT.
SO WE ARE NOW ENTERING THE SECOND QUARTER OF OUR ACADEMIC YEAR, AND WE ARE OFF TO AN EXTREMELY STRONG START.
I WILL TELL YOU THERE ARE A LOT OF LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE PAST.
AND I'LL TELL YOU, WE ARE HUMMING ALONG, UH, ENTERING THE SECOND QUARTER, LIKE I SAID, AND A LOT OF GREAT THINGS HAVE HAPPENED AND WE'RE POISED AND READY TO CONTINUE A STRONG START.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS I WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU INITIALLY ARE A FEW ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
AND THE FIRST BEING THE FACT THAT MOST RECENTLY WE ARE RECOGNIZED FOR OUR USE OF TECHNOLOGY TO SUPPORT INSTRUCTION IN OUR CLASSROOMS. AND I WANNA HIGHLIGHT THIS BECAUSE THIS COMMUNITY INVESTS A WHOLE LOT OF MONEY IN THE TECHNOLOGY THAT OUR STUDENTS AND STAFF USED ON A REGULAR BASIS.
DEVICES ARE EXPENSIVE, AND I WILL TELL YOU THAT THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN OUR SCHOOL DIVISION IS NOT JUST SOMETHING THAT WE PUT STUDENTS ON AND THEY WORK INDEPENDENTLY AND YOU OVER, THEY'RE ALL BY YOURSELF.
IT'S FULLY INTEGRATED INTO WHAT WE DO AND WE'VE BEEN RECOGNIZED FOR THAT TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION THROUGH APPLE.
UH, THERE ARE ONLY 700 SCHOOLS WORLDWIDE WHO HAVE BEEN DESIGNATED AS AN APPLE DISTINGUISHED SCHOOL.
ALL FIVE OF GUCCI AND COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS HAVE RECEIVED THAT RECOGNITION.
CERTAINLY AN ELITE RECOGNITION AND SOMETHING THAT WE'RE VERY PROUD OF.
AND SO NOT FOR THE FIRST YEAR, THE SECOND YEAR, BUT NOW FOR FIVE YEARS IN A ROW, NICHE.COM, WHICH IS A PLACE WHERE A LOT OF FOLKS GO WHEN THEY'RE CONSIDERING WHAT SERVICES THEY WANT, WHETHER IT'S HIGHER EDUCATION, PUBLIC EDUCATION, A VARIETY OF SERVICES.
IT'S A PLACE WHERE YOU GO TO DO A LITTLE RESEARCH.
AND SO OUR WORK HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED BY NICHE AS CERTAINLY BEING THE, THE BEST PUBLIC SCHOOL DIVISION IN THE REGION.
UH, BEST SECOND, BEST TEACHERS IN THE REGION.
I DO CHALLENGE THAT ONE JUST A LITTLE BIT.
BUT ANYWAY, A LOT OF PROUDS AND SUCCESS WHEN IT COMES TO WHAT WE'RE DOING IN OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
AND SO REALLY PROUD OF WHAT THAT MEANS FOR US AS WELL.
AND SO WE'RE GETTING REC NATIONAL RECOGNITION, WE'RE GETTING STATEWIDE RECOGNITION.
AND THIS IS ANOTHER NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED PROGRAM THAT WE HAVE.
AND SO YOU MAY NOT KNOW THAT WE HAVE STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES IN OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS WHO ARE COMPETING AS GLAND BULLDOGS ALONGSIDE THEIR NON-DISABLED PEERS AND WHAT WE CALL OUR UNIFIED SPORTS PROGRAM.
SO THE NATIONAL CHAPTER OF THE SPECIAL OLYMPICS HAS RECOGNIZED GUCCI AND HIGH SCHOOL FOR WHAT WE'RE DOING TO PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS.
AND I SHARED THIS ON THURSDAY NIGHT, AND IT'S REALLY AMAZING WHEN YOU SEE OUR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES AND THEY'RE NON-DISABLED PEERS COMPETING TOGETHER IN BOWLING, MACHI, KICKBALL, BASKETBALL.
AND IT'S REALLY, REALLY AMAZING.
YOU KNOW, FOR SOME OF THESE STUDENTS, THEY WOULD NOT EVER HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A JV OR VARSITY ATHLETIC TEAM, BUT THEY'RE WEARING THE BULLDOG UNIFORM, THEY'RE COMPETING JUST LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE.
AND, UH, THEY'RE CERTAINLY, UH, A PROUD MEMBER OF THE ATHLETIC TEAMS AND, AND THANKFUL FOR THE OPPORTUNITIES WE'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE THERE.
AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, THIS COMMUNITY INVESTS A LOT OF MONEY IN PUBLIC EDUCATION, AND WE TAKE OUR
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RESPONSIBILITY EXTREMELY STRONG.UH, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE DO NOT EVER TAKE LIGHTLY, AND WE ARE ENTRUSTED WITH PRECIOUS TAXPAYER DOLLARS.
OUR RESIDENTS GO TO WORK EVERY DAY.
THEY WAKE UP, THEY GO TO WORK, AND THEY TOIL AND THEY, THEY WORK HARD FOR EVERYTHING THAT THEY GET.
AND SO CERTAINLY WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE MANAGING OUR TAXPAYER DOLLARS WISELY.
WE'VE BEEN RECOGNIZED BY THE GOVERNMENT FINANCE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION FOR OUR STRONG FISCAL STEWARDSHIP, MOST SPECIFICALLY THE DISTINGUISHED BUDGET AWARD.
AND WE'VE RECEIVED THAT SEVERAL TIMES OVER THE COURSE OF THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS.
AND AGAIN, IT'S AN EXAMPLE OF THE WELL-ROUNDED WORK THAT OUR SCHOOL DIVISION IS DOING TO SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITY.
BUT HOW ARE WE PERFORMING ON METRICS THAT MOST EVERYBODY KNOWS AND HOW ARE WE DOING IN COMPARISON TO OTHER SCHOOL DIVISIONS IN THIS COMMONWEALTH? AND SO IN VIRGINIA, UH, SCHOOLS ARE EITHER ACCREDITED, ACCREDITED WITH WARNING CONDITIONALLY ACCREDITED.
THERE'S A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT WAYS THAT YOU CAN RATE HOW WELL A SCHOOL DIVISION IS DOING ON ACADEMIC MEASURES.
AND SO GLAND'S NOW ONE OF 10 SCHOOL DIVISIONS FOR MANY, MANY, MANY YEARS NOW THAT HAVE BEEN FULLY ACCREDITED.
AND SO WE ARE AMONG ELITE COMPANY IN A LOT OF WAYS.
THE RECOGNITIONS ARE PREVIOUSLY REFERENCED, BUT ALSO WHEN IT COMES TO MEASUREMENTS OF ACHIEVEMENT ON THE STANDARDS OF LEARNING ASSESSMENTS, WE'RE UP THERE IN THE TOP 10% AND CERTAINLY VERY PROUD OF WHAT WE'RE DOING.
I'M COMPETITIVE, SO I WANNA KNOW HOW WE'RE DOING NOT ONLY STATEWIDE, BUT WHAT ABOUT OUR BORDERING NEIGHBORS TO THE NORTH, SOUTH, EAST AND WEST? AND YOU CAN SEE THAT WE'RE, AGAIN, GETTING VERY STRONG RESULTS WHEN IT COMES TO ALL CONTENT AREAS, UH, WITH HIGH RATINGS COMPARED TO EVERYBODY ELSE IN THE REGION.
SO VERY, VERY PROUD OF WHAT WE'RE DOING ON AN ACHIEVEMENT MEASURE.
AND THEN WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT ON A STATEWIDE MEASURE, UH, WE ARE EXCEEDING STATE AVERAGES ON ALL CONTENT AREA TESTS.
AND I WILL SAY THAT WE ARE NOT EVER COMPLACENT.
UH, THERE ARE CONTINUED OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO GROW.
NOT EVERYTHING IS RAINBOW SUNSHINE AND UNICORNS.
OKAY? WE'RE DOING EXTREMELY WELL IN A LOT OF WAYS, BUT WE HAVE SOME GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES TOO.
WE HAVE SOME AREAS WHERE WE NEED TO LOOK INSIDE AND SEE WHAT WE CAN DO TO MAKE SOME IMPROVEMENTS.
AND SO WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO BE STRONG IN AREAS, BUT WE HAVE SOME AREAS WHERE WE NEED TO WORK A LITTLE BIT HARDER TOO.
BUT ALL IN ALL, WE'RE EXCEEDING STATE AVERAGES IN ALL CONTENT AREAS.
AND THIS IS A MEASUREMENT THAT IS EXTREMELY, UM, GETS A LOT OF ATTENTION AS WELL.
AND THAT'S THE PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS THAT ARE GRADUATING ON TIME, WALK IN AS A FRESHMAN.
FOUR YEARS LATER, YOU'RE WALKING OUT THERE WITH A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA.
AND OUR, OUR, OUR RATES EXCEED THE STATE AVERAGES.
AGAIN, I THINK THE STATEWIDE AVERAGE IS 92%.
SO WE'RE BLOWING THE STATE AVERAGE OUT OF THE WATER AT 97%.
ULTIMATELY, OUR GOAL IS TO GET TO 100.
AND I'M IN ROTARY, AND SOMETIMES ROTARY SAYS WE'RE THAT CLOSE TO SOLVING POLIO.
WE'RE THAT CLOSE TO GETTING A HUNDRED PERCENT OF OUR GRADUATES ACROSS THE STAGE ON TIME.
IT'S ABOUT ONE OR TWO STUDENTS.
AND SOMETIMES JUST IN TRANSPARENCY, THESE STUDENTS LEAVE OUR SCHOOL DIVISION GO ELSEWHERE, AND WE DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY GO.
AND THAT'S HELD AGAINST US ON A REPORTING STANDPOINT.
SO, UM, ULTIMATELY WE'RE JUST A FEW STUDENTS AWAY.
WE WANNA GET TO A HUNDRED, BUT WE'RE REALLY PROUD OF THE FACT THAT WE'RE EXCEEDING THE STATE AVERAGE.
SO LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT WAS ALL PASSED.
WHERE ARE WE NOW AND WHAT DOES THIS NEW YEAR LOOK LIKE? AND I WILL TELL, TELL YOU, WE'RE COMMITTED THIS YEAR, AND THE THEME OF OUR SCHOOL DIVISION IS TAKING THIS ALREADY STRONG SCHOOL DIVISION BECAUSE WE'RE STRONG IN SO MANY WAYS.
AND IT'S NOT JUST THE NUMBERS, BUT IT'S THE EXPERIENCES THAT STUDENTS ARE HAVING.
HOW CAN WE MAKE OUR STRONG SCHOOL DIVISION EVEN STRONGER? AND SO WE'RE COMMITTED TO DOING THAT BECAUSE, UH, WE NEVER WANNA BE COMPLACENT.
WE ALWAYS WANNA BE RELEVANT AND CURRENT AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALWAYS PUSHING OURSELVES TO STRIVE HARDER AND MAXIMIZE THE POTENTIAL OF ALL OF OUR STUDENTS.
SO JUST A GLIMPSE INTO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT YOU'LL SEE IF YOU WERE EVER VISIT OUR SCHOOLS.
WE HAVE SOME STRONG PROGRAMS, AND IT'S NOT JUST EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES, IT'S CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES, STRONG VOLLEYBALL TEAM.
OUR FOOTBALL TEAM IS NOW ON A THREE GAME WIN STREAK.
YOU PROBABLY HEARD THE CANNON GO OFF A WHOLE LOT ON FRIDAY NIGHT.
SO WE BEAT, UH, ELLO 42 TO 14 ON A HOMECOMING WIN.
IT WAS REALLY A SPECIAL NIGHT.
SO FOOTBALL TEAM'S DOING WELL ON A THREE GAME WIN STREAK.
LOTS OF OTHER FALL ACTIVITIES THAT OUR STUDENTS ARE INVOLVED IN FROM CROSS COUNTRY TO CHEERLEADING TO GOLF.
AND HERE'S A PICTURE OF OUR UNIFIED SPORTS TEAM AND REALLY PROUD OF OUR BULLDOGS WHO ARE COMPETING IN THE UNIFIED SPORTS PROGRAM.
AND THEN WE HAVE AMAZ AN AMAZING BAND.
AND, UH, ONE OF THE TAKEAWAYS I HAD FROM HOMECOMING FRIDAY NIGHT WAS NOT TO WIN.
IT WASN'T THE DANCE, IT WAS THE FACT THAT IN THAT ENVIRONMENT ON A FRIDAY NIGHT, YOU HAD STUDENTS THAT WERE INVOLVED IN THE SECTION CHEERING ON THEIR PEERS.
YOU HAD MEMBERS OF THE FLAG SQUAD, MUSICIANS, FOOTBALL PLAYERS, CHEERLEADERS, CADETS IN THE MARINE CORPS, JUNIOR ROTC PROGRAM.
YOU HAD ATHLETIC TRAINERS, YOU HAD STUDENT VOLUNTEERS, YOU HAD SO
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MANY DIFFERENT STUDENTS THAT WERE PARTICIPATING IN JUST THAT ONE EVENT.SO THERE'S A PASSION FOR EVERYBODY, AND WE'RE PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR THOSE STUDENTS TO FOLLOW THEIR PASSION.
SO BAND IS JUST ONE OF THOSE MANY EXAMPLES.
UH, WE'LL PAUSE HERE FOR A MOMENT AND TALK ABOUT CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION.
THIS COMMUNITY HAS MADE A SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT IN CTE.
WE'VE BEEN STATEWIDE, UH, RECOGNIZED ON A STATEWIDE BASIS AND ON A NATIONAL BASIS FOR WHAT WE'RE DOING IN CTE.
AND WE CONTINUE TO TRY TO EVALUATE WHAT'S NEXT, WHAT DOES THE MARKET NEED? WHAT ARE WE DOING WELL TO PREPARE OUR STUDENTS FOR THE FUTURE AFTER THEY LEAVE GLAND HIGH SCHOOL? WE FULLY RECOGNIZE THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE A LOT OF STUDENTS GO INTO A TWO YEAR SCHOOL OR A FOUR YEAR SCHOOL, BUT WE HAVE STUDENTS WHO WANT TO ENTER DIRECTLY INTO THE WORKFORCE.
AND WHAT ARE WE DOING TO PREPARE THEM TO BE GAINFULLY EMPLOYED? WE HAVE A MULTITUDE OF PROGRAMS FROM PROGRAMMING, CODING, USING VIRTUAL REALITY SUPPORT INSTRUCTION.
WE ALL KNOW THAT WE HAVE THE BEST HEAVY EQUIPMENT PROGRAM IN THE COMMONWEALTH.
UH, WE'RE DOING A LOT OF GREAT THINGS WHEN IT COMES TO PREPARING THIS NEXT GENERATION FOR SUCCESS WHEN IT COMES TO THEIR FUTURE WORKFORCE.
UH, MOST NOTABLY, WE HAVE A SPANISH IN THE WORKFORCE, UH, CLASS THAT WE JUST GOT OFF THE GROUND THIS YEAR.
AND WE HAVE OUR STUDENTS WHO ARE LEARNING VOCABULARY THAT'S RELEVANT TO THE WORKFORCE AND WHAT THEY CAN DO TO LEAD A FUTURE CREW OF WORKERS.
AND WE HAD SOME THINGS HAPPEN, HAPPENED JUST LAST WEEK ACROSS THE ROAD HERE THAT WAS REALLY, REALLY POSITIVE.
SO AGAIN, CONTINUALLY TRYING TO BE RELEVANT AND CURRENT, MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PREPARING OUR STUDENTS FOR WHATEVER MAY BE NEXT DOWN THE ROAD.
UM, WE FULLY RECOGNIZE THAT WE ARE JUST ONE PART OF THE MANY PIECES AND PARTS THAT ARE MOVING IN THIS COMMUNITY ON A DAILY BASIS.
UM, I'M THANKFUL FOR THE PARTNERSHIPS THAT WE HAVE, NOT ONLY WITH MY COLLEAGUES AND PEERS AND COUNTY GOVERNMENT, BUT THE RELATIONSHIPS THAT WE HAVE WITH FIRST RESPONDERS, FIRE AND RESCUE, LAW ENFORCEMENT, AND MANY OTHER COMMUNITY AGENCIES.
AND SO, AS WE KNOW, THERE HAVE BEEN SOME TRAGIC EVENTS AND PUBLIC SCHOOLS OVER THE COURSE OF THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, MOST NOTABLY WHAT HAPPENED IN TEXAS RECENTLY IN, IN THE SPRING.
AND SO WE, WE CERTAINLY ARE NOT GONNA BE COMPLACENT WHEN IT COMES TO SAFETY AND SECURITY.
UH, WE HAVE SPENT EXTENSIVE HOURS WORKING TOGETHER WITH EDDIE FERGUSON AND HIS TEAM, SHEREE AND HIS TEAM, UH, TRAINING WHEN IT COMES TO SUPPORTING OUR ADMINISTRATORS, LOOKING AT WHAT WE'RE DOING FROM A PHYSICAL FACILITY STANDPOINT, PROCESSES AND PROTOCOLS.
YOU MAY OR MAY NOT KNOW THAT WE HAD A LIVE, IT WASN'T A LIVE FIRE EVENT.
THERE WEREN'T LIVE ROUNDS, BUT THERE WAS A SIMULATED EVENT AT THE HIGH SCHOOL WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT AND FIRE AND RESCUE WHERE WE WERE LOOKING AT OUR CRISIS PLANS.
UH, A LOT OF GREAT WORK IS HAPPENING BEHIND THE SCENES TO PROTECT OUR STUDENTS, OUR STAFF, AND OUR VISITORS WHILE THEY'RE ON SITE AND THANKFUL FOR THE STRONG PARTNERSHIP AND RELATIONSHIP THAT WE HAVE.
WE HAVE A GREAT PARTNERSHIP WITH THE Y M C A PARTNERSHIP THAT RESULTED IN STUDENTS GETTING FREE DENTAL CARE THROUGH VIRGINIA FAMILY DENTISTRY.
SO AGAIN, RECOGNIZING JUST THE PART THAT WE PLAY IN THIS ORGANIC SYSTEM THAT WE'RE ALL LIVING IN.
AND THEN WE ARE PARTICIPANTS IN THE NINE 11 CEREMONIES.
WE'RE GOING TO SUPPORT A VETERAN'S DAY ASSEMBLY IN NOVEMBER.
WE WOULD ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO BE A PART OF THAT.
IT'S GONNA BE AT THE HIGH SCHOOL AND WOULD LOVE TO HAVE OUR CITIZENS AND COMMUNITY BE THERE.
BUT I LOVE THIS PICTURE BECAUSE IT SHOWS THE STRENGTH OF THESE CADETS IN THE EXPERIENCES AND OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE'RE GIVING THEM TO HONOR AND RECOGNIZE WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN OUR PAST.
AND CERTAINLY THEY'RE A PART OF THAT BECAUSE EDUCATION IS NOT ALWAYS WHAT HAPPENS IN THE FOUR WALLS OF THAT CLASSROOM.
AND HERE'S AN EXAMPLE OF ONE OF THESE EXPERIENCES FOR STUDENTS.
AND THEN WE HAVE A REALLY AMAZING PARTNERSHIP WITH ONE OF OUR TEACHERS AND VETERANS IN OUR COMMUNITY WHERE OUR STUDENTS ARE PARTNERED WITH VETERANS WHO HAVE, UM, SERVED OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR, AND OUR NATION VERY, VERY WELL AND ADMIRABLY.
AND SO OUR STUDENTS HAVE PAIRED WITH VETERANS, UH, THEY HAVE INTERVIEWED THEM, GETTING TO KNOW THEIR STORY, LEARN MORE ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES AND WHAT THEY'VE DONE TO MAKE A SACRIFICE FOR THIS NATION.
OUR VETERANS HAVE BEEN A PART OF THE COIN TOSS ON FRIDAY NIGHT, FOOTBALL GAMES ON THE SIDELINE.
AND THEN THESE SAME STUDENTS ARE GOING TO GO WITH OUR VETERANS TO WASHINGTON, DC IN THE SPRING OF THE YEAR AND BUILD THAT RELATIONSHIP FURTHER AS THEY VISIT SOME OF THE MEMORIALS UP THERE IN DC.
AND HOPEFULLY WE CAN HAVE A CULMINATING EVENT TOO.
BUT THIS IS WHERE WE'RE DEVELOPING YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN WHO ARE LEARNING MORE ABOUT LIFE THAN JUST HOW TO READ, HOW TO WRITE AND HOW TO DO MATH.
BECAUSE EDUCATION IS MORE THAN JUST THE THREE RS.
IT'S ABOUT BEING A STRONG CITIZEN, BEING INVOLVED IN YOUR COMMUNITY.
AND THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT WE'RE DOING TO SUPPORT THAT ENDEAVOR LONG TERM.
SO LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ENROLLMENT.
UH, WE, UH, CERTAINLY SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING IN OUR COMMUNITY, AND I THINK FOLKS ARE WONDERING HOW MANY OF THOSE CHILDREN IN THOSE HOMES THAT ARE BEING BUILT ARE COMING TO OUR SCHOOLS.
AND THIS IS JUST A SNAPSHOT IN TIME.
IT'S PROBABLY A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT TODAY THAN IT WAS ON SEPTEMBER 30TH.
BUT OUR OVERALL ENROLLMENT HAS INCREASED OVER TIME.
UH, IT'S BEEN RELATIVELY STEADY AT RANDOLPH
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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, AS YOU CAN SEE THERE ON THE LEFT, BYRD HAS INCREASED 30 STUDENTS, WHICH IS A, A PRETTY BIG SURPRISE TO MANYUH, BUT WE'VE SEEN SOME INCREASES AT THE HIGH SCHOOL AS WELL.
SO WE'RE UP ABOUT 50 STUDENTS OVERALL.
SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2022 TO SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2021.
SO ULTIMATELY SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO MONITOR AND, UH, SEE HOW IT, IF THIS IS A TREND, IT CONTINUES OR IS THIS JUST SOMETHING THAT WE'RE EXPERIENCING AS A RESULT OF COMING OUT OF COVID? UH, WE DO HAVE A LOT OF STUDENTS WHO ARE RETURNING FROM HOMESCHOOL AND PRIVATE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENTS TO BE A PART OF OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO MONITOR THIS AND SEE WHAT THE FUTURE MAY HOLD THERE.
DO WANNA SPEND A MOMENT TO TALK ABOUT CAPITAL PROJECTS BECAUSE THIS COMMUNITY, UM, HAS GIVEN THEIR TRUST TO US AS A SCHOOL DIVISION, UH, FOR SOME PRETTY SIGNIFICANT EXPENDITURES IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND WE KNOW THAT 85% OF THE VOTERS SAID YES.
WE FEEL THAT IT'S APPROPRIATE NOW TO GO TO THE PUBLIC MARKET AND SECURE BONDS WHEN IT COMES TO $60 MILLION WORTH OF SCHOOL DIVISION PROJECTS AND $36 MILLION WORTH OF COUNTY PROJECTS.
AND SO WE CERTAINLY DON'T WANT TO, UH, UH, WE, WE DO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE FOLLOW THROUGH WITH THAT TRUST AND WE DO THESE PROJECTS VERY, VERY WELL.
SO THIS TIME LAST YEAR, THIS IS A MAJOR TOPIC CONVERSATION, AND I'LL TELL YOU, WE'VE COME A LONG WAY IN MAKING REALLY GREAT DECISIONS ON THIS.
AND MANY THINGS HAVE MANIFESTED ITSELF IN COMPLETED PROJECTS.
THE PARKING LOT IN FRONT OF THE HIGH SCHOOL IS DONE.
AND SO IT'S REALLY BEEN A GREAT BENEFIT TO OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, RESIDENTS ARE ABLE TO GET IN AND DROP OFF THEIR CHILDREN A LOT EASIER IN THE MORNING AND PICK THEM OFF IN THE AFTERNOON.
SO IT'S BEEN VERY, VERY POSITIVE.
AND SO THIS IS A GREAT INVESTMENT THAT IS PAYING DIVIDENDS, TIME AND DIME AGAIN WITH A SAFE ENVIRONMENT.
UH, WE'RE BUILDING THE TURN LANE TO HEAD WEST ON THE ROUTE SIX.
SO THAT'S, WE'RE MAKING PROGRESS THERE.
SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION ON THE TURN LANE AT THE OTHER END.
THE BULLDOG WAY WILL BE DONE BY APRIL.
SO A GREAT INVESTMENT BY OUR COMMUNITY.
THANK YOU TO OUR COMMUNITY FOR MAKING THIS HAPPEN.
UH, CERTAINLY THIS HAS BEEN VERY, VERY POSITIVE FOR EVERYBODY.
AND JUST ANOTHER VIEWPOINT, UH, MUCH SAFER EXPERIENCE FOR EVERYBODY WHO IS ACCESSING OUR CAMPUS.
SO THE OTHER MAJOR PROJECT THAT, UH, IS REALLY IN A, IN A, AN AMAZING PHASE RIGHT NOW, I'LL, I'LL SHARE THAT TODAY.
WE SENT BID DOCUMENTS TO EIGHT PRE-QUALIFIED BIDDERS.
WE PRE-QUALIFIED THESE BIDDERS BECAUSE WE WANT THIS TO BE A QUALITY PROJECT.
ULTIMATELY, WE WILL NEED TO GO WITH THE LOWEST BIDDER THROUGH A COMPETITIVE PROCUREMENT PROCESS.
BUT WE PRE-QUALIFIED THESE BIDDERS BECAUSE WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT WE GET A QUALITY PROJECT.
BIDS HIT THE STREET TODAY, THEY'LL BE ON THE STREET FOR 30 DAYS, UH, WITH A BID OPENING ON NOVEMBER THE 17TH.
SO ON NOVEMBER 17TH, WE'LL KNOW WHAT THE LOWEST BIDDER IS, AND THEN DECISIONS WILL NEED TO BE MADE BY BOTH THE SCHOOL BOARD AND THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ABOUT WHAT THE NEXT STEPS ARE.
SO WE'RE REALLY AT A VERY CRITICAL PHASE FOR THIS PROJECT AND ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO STAY TUNED FOR WHAT'S NEXT.
SO I WANTED TO SHOW THE PUBLIC WHERE WE ARE WITH OUR CURRENT DRAWINGS.
AND, UM, OUR CURRENT, UH, FOOTPRINT FOR THE NEW BUILDING IS A VERY SIMPLE DESIGN.
UH, YOU HAVE A WING OF THE BUILDING WHERE A LOT OF THE CORE SERVICES WILL BE WITH YOUR OFFICE, YOUR FOOD SERVICE, YOUR CAFETERIA, AND YOUR GYMNASIUM.
THAT'S ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE.
AND IT'S DEPICTED IN THE GREEN AND THE SALMON COLLARS.
AND THEN THE REST OF THE BUILDING IS THE ACADEMIC WING.
SO IT'S A VERY, UH, SIMPLE FOOTPRINT.
WE HAD TO DO SOME THINGS FROM A GEOTECHNICAL STANDPOINT BECAUSE OF THE FOOTPRINT OF THE LAND THAT WE'RE BUILDING ON.
UH, BUT ANYWAY, THIS IS, THIS IS THE FLOOR PLAN OF THE FACILITY.
SO WE WANTED TO GO UP SO THAT WE COULD SAVE SOME, SOME FOOTPRINT.
BUT THIS IS A PICTURE OF WHAT THE OUTSIDE OF THE BUILDING MOST LIKELY WILL LOOK LIKE.
WE DO HAVE BUS TRAFFIC AND CAR TRAFFIC THAT'S SEPARATED ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE.
THAT WOULD BE THE BUS TRAFFIC ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE WOULD BE THE CAR TRAFFIC.
AND THEY WOULD ALL ENTER THROUGH ONE DOOR, KIND OF A COMMON MEETING AREA FOR STUDENTS REGARDLESS OF THE WAY THAT THEY GET TO SCHOOL.
UH, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT IT IS A TWO STORY DESIGN THERE.
AND, UH, WE'D WELCOME STUDENTS THROUGH THAT MAIN DOOR.
AS I SAID, IT IS A BRICK EXTERIOR.
AND ULTIMATELY WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THIS SCHOOL WAS BUILT WITH LONGEVITY, THAT IT'S FLEXIBLE IN DESIGN THAT MEETS THE NEEDS OF THIS COMMUNITY FOR THE NEXT 50 PLUS YEARS.
WHILE AT THE SAME TIME MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE STRONG STEWARDS OF THE FISCAL DOLLAR AND THAT WE ARE MAKING SURE THAT IT'S NOT EXTRAVAGANT IN ANY WAY AND ULTIMATELY MEETS OUR COMMUNITY'S NEEDS FOR THE FUTURE.
SO JUST A PICTURE OF THE INSIDE OF THE BUILDING.
THIS IS THE, UH, DEPICTION OF THE FRONT OFFICE.
AND THEN THIS IS WHEN SOMEONE WOULD WALK OUT OF THE OFFICE INTO THE MAIN PART OF THE BUILDING.
THE TWO-STORY VOLUME HERE WITH, UH, SOME PRETTY GOOD OUTSIDE LIGHT THAT'S COMING INTO THE SPACE.
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CAFETERIA WHERE YOU SEE THE TABLES ARE TO THE RIGHT.THERE'S A GYMNASIUM TO THE FAR BACK, RIGHT? WOULD BE THE CAFETERIA SERVERY WHERE THAT STUDENT IS ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE.
THEY'RE WALKING TOWARDS THE ACADEMIC WING.
AND THERE'S ANOTHER SET OF, THERE'S ANOTHER HALLWAY, UH, TOWARDS THE BACK OF THIS STRONG AS WELL.
THIS IS, AS THE STUDENTS WALKING DOWN THE HALLWAY, UH, THEY CAN GO UP TO THE SECOND FLOOR USING THE STAIRS ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE.
THE LEFT HAND PART OF THOSE STAIRS IS A PLACE WHERE WE COULD HAVE SOME STUDENTS, UH, DO A LITTLE BIT OF A PERFORMANCE OR SOME SMALL GROUP WORK.
WE REALLY TRIED TO THINK ABOUT FLEXIBLE DESIGN AND USING THIS SPACE WELL INTO THE FUTURE AND HAVING OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS TO COLLABORATE, WORK TOGETHER AS A TEAM, AND BE A PART OF THE INSTRUCTIONAL UNIT.
THIS IS A PICTURE OF A PERFORMANCE SPACE.
UM, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AT COST CONTAINMENT, WHEN YOU BUILD A STAGE, AN AUDITORIUM THAT'S USED THREE OR FOUR TIMES A YEAR, THAT'S A WHOLE LOT OF SQUARE FOOTAGE THAT ADDS COST AND MAY NOT GET YOU THE VALUE THAT WE WANT.
SO WE CARVED THE SPACE FOR A PERFORMANCE INTO, UH, THE MIDDLE PART OF THIS BUILDING.
SO WE CAN HAVE MAYBE A GRADE LEVEL PERFORMANCE, A CEREMONY OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
AND THE FURNITURE IS BE FLEXIBLE AND WE CAN MOVE FURNITURE IN AND OUT, CAN BE ABLE TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THAT SPACE.
SO AGAIN, FLEXIBLE IN ITS DESIGN, STUDENTS ARE WALKING ON THE SECOND FLOOR, WILL BE ABLE TO PEEK DOWN INTO THE HEART OF THE BUILDING WHERE WE HAVE OUR LIBRARY.
AND SO THE LIBRARY IS TYPICALLY THE HUB OF THE SCHOOL WHEN IT COMES TO OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.
AND STUDENTS, REGARDLESS OF WHERE THEY'RE WALKING IN THE BUILDING, WOULD HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE A PART OF WHAT IS TAKING PLACE IN THE LIBRARY.
AND THIS IS THE VERY END OF THE BUILDING.
UH, THIS IS NEAR THE MUSIC ROOM.
IT WILL HAVE A DEDICATED ME MUSIC ROOM AND A DEDICATED ART ROOM.
AND AGAIN, YOU SEE A COLLABORATIVE SPACE HERE ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE.
THIS IS THE VERY BACK OF THE BUILDING.
SO STUDENTS WILL BE WALKING INTO THE CAFETERIA ON THE OTHER SIDE.
ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, WE HAVE A COUPLE PLAYGROUNDS, UH, PLAYGROUND SPECIFICALLY FOR PRESCHOOL STUDENTS, A PLAYGROUND SPECIFICALLY FOR OUR LOWER, OUR LOWER ELEMENTARY STUDENTS.
BUT THIS IS WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE ON THE BACKSIDE.
SO I TOO ENCOURAGE OUR COMMUNITY TO STAY IN TUNE WITH WHAT WE'RE DOING THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA.
FACEBOOK, WE HAVE AN APP AS WELL, SO CHECK THAT OUT.
UM, BUT ANYWAY, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SHARING INFORMATION WITH OUR COMMUNITY AND WE ALSO HAVE THE CHANCE TO ENGAGE IN TWO-WAY DIALOGUE, BECAUSE ULTIMATELY THIS IS OUR SCHOOL DIVISION WORKING TO SUPPORT THIS COMMUNITY AND PREPARING OUR STUDENTS TO BE, UH, FUTURE CITIZENS IN THIS COMMUNITY AND BEYOND.
SO I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.
SO, UM, THINKING THE BOND WAS FOR, OH GOSH, HATE THESE THINGS.
UM, THE BOND RULES FOR THE, A NEW SCHOOL IN HOLLAND HILLS, AND THAT'S WHAT THIS IS, IT'S NOT A REDO OF OUR CURRENT.
THIS, THIS IS NEW CONSTRUCTION ON A NEW SITE.
ON THIS SITE IS AT THE CORNER OF BULLDOG WAY AND STEEPLECHASE.
SO IT'S, UH, AT THE NORTH END OF BULLDOG WAY.
AND THEN THE CURRENT GIN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, WHAT IS THAT BECOME? YES, MR. CARPENTER AND I HAD THIS CONVERSATION LAST WEEK ACTUALLY, IS, YOU KNOW, TALKING ABOUT WHAT THE PLANS ARE FOR THAT.
UH, I KNOW THAT THERE WAS A SPACE STUDY DONE BY THE COUNTY, I THINK IN 17 OR 18.
UM, SO IDENTIFYING WHAT THAT SPACE STUDY ENTAILED AND WHO'S GOING TO, WHO'S GONNA ARM WRESTLE FOR THAT SPACE, QUITE HONESTLY.
CAUSE I THINK THERE'LL BE A LOT OF FOLKS WHO WANT TO USE THAT SPACE.
AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THE COUNTY AND SCHOOLS WOULD HAVE TO COLLABORATE ON.
WELL, I'LL STICK AROUND IN CASE ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS.
WELL THEN AGAIN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR TAKING YOUR TIME TONIGHT TO COME OUT.
UH, YOU KNOW, IT IS, UH, IT MEANS A LOT TO US TO SEE THE CITIZEN REENGAGE.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE PUT A LOT OF TIME AND EFFORT AS, AS YOUR STAFF, AS YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS IN DOING THE BEST JOB WE CAN.
AND, UH, WHEN YOU LOOK AT AND YOU SEE CITIZENS WHO CARE WHAT YOU'RE DOING, WHO TAKE THE TIME TO, TO COME TO MEETINGS OR FOLLOW MEETINGS, UH, THAT DOES MEAN A LOT.
SO THANK YOU FOR TAKING YOUR TIME TO COME OUT TO ELECTED OFFICIALS AND STAFF AS WELL.
WE'RE HERE FOR, UH, QUESTIONS AND COOKIES.