INSIDE Christmas Mother program loses dedicated volunteer Wendy Bowman > page X
Volume 56, Number 2 • January 14, 2010
Assessments fall 8.2 percent Residential values dropped 7.7 percent; commercial values down to 11.5 percent By Amy Condra acondra@goochlandgazette.com
Property values fell 8.2 percent, or $451 million this year, County Assessor Glen Branham told supervisors last week. Residential assessments dropped 7.7 percent, and property transfers were down 9.5 percent. Commercial values fell even further, to 11.5 percent. Of the county’s 717 commercial properties, 332 are vacant, said Branham. There has been a 68 percent decline in new construction, once a big business in Goochland: In 2008, new construction assessments for the county and the TCSD totaled nearly $116 million; in 2009, that number had fallen to $37 million. Significant vacancy rates, low rents, tight mortgage financing and a negative economy were cited as causes for what Branham called “a pretty big hit.” But that blow could have been harder, said District 5 Supervisor James W. Eads, who had feared that assessments might fall as low as15 percent. “I was surprised with Glenn Branham’s report,” he said, noting turbulence in the real estate market across the region. “In this case, thank God, it’s nice to be pleasantly surprised.” see Assessments> page 3
INDEX
News Calendar Classifieds People Politics
3,5 10-12 13-15 4 2
Letters Education Incidents Sports TV Listings
6-7 7 6-7 8-9 10-12
Photo by Ken Odor
Newly elected Board of Supervisors chairman William E. Quarles Jr. (left) presides at last week’s meeting, flanked by vice-chairman James W. Eads.
Supervisors elect new chairman Vote is split 3-2 By Amy Condra acondra@goochlandgazette.com
At their first meeting of the new year, Goochland’s Board of Supervisors cast a vote for division amongst its five members. As the first order of business at
SPORTS Henry grabs gusto in final year at GHS. > page 8
its annual organization meeting last Tuesday, the board elected, on a 3-2 vote, District 2 Supervisor William E. Quarles Jr. as its chairman and District 5 Supervisor James W. Eads as its vice chairman. They were supported by the current chairman, District 1 Supervisor Andrew Pryor. “It was a shocker,” said District 4 Supervisor Malvern “Rudy” Butler
of the vote that he and District 3 Supervisor Ned S. Creasey lost. “It was embarrassing to me because my wife and son were at the meeting.” Butler expected to be appointed chairman, as this year marked his district’s turn to assume the role. “It’s been a gentleman’s agreement we reached years ago,” said Butler of the longstanding tradition of rotasee Chairman> page 3
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west SERVING EASTERN GOOCHLAND AND WESTERN HENRICO
Deb Gribben wins Education Educator of the Year