02/16/2012

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INSIDE Supervisors hear school budget > page 4

Volume 57, Number 7 • February 16, 2012

Chief MacKay requests funds for more full and part-time Firefighters/EMTS By Ken Odor jodor@goochlandgazette.com

Goochland County’s population is stable but with an aging population, calls for service are increasing, said Fire/EMS Chief Bill MacKay last week in a Thursday interview. “We have asked for some additional career staff,” said MacKay of his budget request, which shows an almost 16 percent increase in the operating budget from $1,719,155 last year to a requested 1,993,464 for Fiscal Year 2013. Goochland spends $79 per resident for Fire/EMS services, said MacKay, compared to $122 per resident in Louisa County. MacKay would like to increase his department’s spending level to $93 per resident. MacKay wants two more full-time paid Firefighter/EMT positions and two part-timers to help staff the department, to offset the decline in volunteer hours as the county population demographics change. “Our resident labor pool is changing,” said MacKay. “They may not come from an environment where they understand the need for volunteers,” explained

INDEX

Calendar Classifieds Letters Obituaries

Photo by Ken Odor

The Goochland Planning Commission meets in a work session last week to discuss a multi-family zoning ordinance amendment for West Creek Office Park.

Multi-family zoning decision Thursday? By Ken Odor jodor@goochlandgazette.com

Photo by Ken Odor

Goochland Fire/EMS Chief Bill MacKay holds a map of the county which shows how housing patterns have changed, leaving some areas underserved by the current system. MacKay said the county hasn’t built a fire station since 1973.

MacKay of newly arrived residents. “Or they just may not have the time.” So some companies are finding it difficult to provide cov-

16 17-19 6 8

Opinion 6 Sheriff’s Reports 10 Sports 12-13 TV Listings 14-16

erage during daytime weekday west and in the east and Monday hours and MacKay wants to through Friday 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. change that. in the center of the county,” he “We’re hoping to have career staffing 24/7 coverage in the see MacKay > page 4

Multi-family development appears a step closer after a Goochland Planning Commission workshop meeting last week. While expressing numerous reservations, by the end of the meeting the commissioners seemed to have reached a consensus that they could live with an amendment that would allow one multi-family development on a maximum tract of 30 acres in West Creek Office Park. “We ought to be prepared to act on this next Thursday,”

SPORTS

NEWS

Snowball-baseball RMC gets first win

Young delegate has open door policy

> page 12

> page 2

said chairwoman Courtney Hyers near the end of the twohour meeting at the Goochland Library. Only a handful of people attended the meeting in addition to the commission and there were no public comments. The original proposal from the planning department recommeded a 75 acre maximum which could accommodate two developments. At the January meeting, the commissioners declined to endorse that concept, sending it back to staff for revision. see Multi-family > page 4


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