T he Volume 38, Number 18
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King George
Wednesday, April 30, 2014 50 Cents
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Annual King George Special Olympics Torch Run set for May 1 Richard Leggitt The annual King George County Sheriff ’s Office Law Enforcement Torch Run for Virginia Special Olympics is scheduled for Thursday, May 1, and, according to Deputy Sheriff Rod Shriver, it will be the biggest ever. The three-mile run will be held on Thursday, starting at the King George Sheriff ’s Office, and ending at the King George High School football field. “We are expecting 275 to 300 runners to participate,” said Shriver, who is coordinating the event. “All of the proceeds go to Virginia Special
Olympics,” Shriver said. “Getting the athletes to the games, getting them training, as well as free medical and free dental exams.” Shriver, a retired Marine, said he has been involved in Special Olympics Torch Runs, “At pretty much every duty station I have ever had. When I came to the King George Sheriff ’s Office, they had never had a run here, so with help from the Sheriff ’s Office, businesses and residents, we started one.” The first run in 2012 had 140 runners, Shriver said. “But we have been able to build on the competition and the sportsmanship.” And, he is getting plenty of help from his
US 301 rezoning to be reconsidered at May 6 Supervisors meeting Phyllis Cook The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to next week reconsider a rezoning request in Dahlgren adjacent to the Bayberry subdivision. The meeting is on Tuesday, May 6. A vote may or may not be taken on the case at that time. A public hearing was held on March 18, with the formal public comment time now closed on the issue, though one or more opponents have continued to provide additional comments in opposition to the project at each regular meeting. Chairman Joe Grzeika has so far graciously allowed those comments to be heard, though the Board’s Rules & Procedures, adopted and re-adopted annually at the first meeting in January each year, bar public comment on “an item or issue which has been advertised for public hearing” to be heard during the general public comment period. The biggest objection has appeared to be to a commercial enterprise that might be disruptive to the adjacent residents’ quiet enjoyment of their property. For some, that has seemed to translate to no changes at all to the property owned by the applicant. Since the March 18 hearing by Supervisors, the applicant had revised the proffers in an attempt to accommodate the concerns of members of the Board of Supervisors and Bayberry subdivision residents to eliminate noisy, late-night and brightly-lit uses, as well as to increase the size of the buffer and proffer to keep it in its natural state. The request from JPI Walnut Hill LLC by Jay Jarrell is a proposal to rezone a 6.75-acre site on US 301 (James Madison Pkwy) from Rural Agricultural (A-2) to General Trade (C-2). PROFFER CHANGES The applicant’s changes to the proffers and the project’s general development plan would now prohibit a total of 17 uses in a “Restricted Area” on the property subject to the proposed rezoning. The proposal has converted a proposed 30-foot wide “landscaped buffer” to a 100-foot wide “natural vegetative buffer” that would retain the woods and existing growth currently on the strip of land and be preserved in perpetuity. All proffers, if accepted, run with the land, no matter who becomes the owner in the future. The applicant has also revised the general development plan to indicate that it would widen the “Restricted Area” from 132feet wide at the back of the parcel proposed for rezoning, to 150-feet wide, though it would also narrow the “Restricted Area” at the front of the property along US 301 from 223-feet wide to 150-feet. PROHIBITED USES Should the rezoning be approved, the newly-revised request would include proffers that would increase the list of prohibited uses from five to 17 uses that are normally allowed in C-2 zoning districts. The previous five commercial
fellow Marines, including more than 200 who will travel from the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Indianhead, MD for the May 1 event. “There is nothing more impressive than Marines running in formation and singing in cadence,” Shriver said. “And all the runners, including those from the Sheriff ’s Office, will spend time with the athletes and provide them with help and encouragement.” The Torch Run will begin at 10 a.m. at the Sheriff ’s Office at 10445 Government Center Blvd. Then, the runners will carry a Special Olympics torch 2.7 miles from the Sheriff ’s
Office to King George High School. Food, beverages and T-shirts will be provided for the athletes and the participants during the event. Shriver expressed his appreciation and the appreciation of the King George County’s Sheriff ’s Office to the many sponsors, organizations and businesses who have made donations or helped with the event, including Roma’s, Radley Automotive Group, Rick’s on the River, Rosner Automotive, Rocky Top, Walmart and CBIRF. Other contributors and sponsors include Big Dog Outfitters, Walker Sand and Stone,
Peoples Community Bank, Lock it up Self Storage, C&S Auto, The Dance Box, A Unique House, EXIT Realty Expertise, Gautier’s Auto Body, King George Domino’s Pizza, Dahlgren Domino’s Pizza, King George Subway, Dahlgren Subway, Steamers, Chickfil-a, CVS, Sheetz, NARFE Premier FCU and BB&T bank. “We are very grateful for the generous donations that have made this a very important charitable event a huge success,” Shriver said. The Virginia Special Olympics statewide competition is scheduled for June 6, 7 and 8 in Richmond.
Planning Commission gets 5-year capital projects list
Some dogs have all the love
by-right uses that were proffered out earlier remain on the list of prohibited uses that could not extend onto a portion of the property, which is designated as the 150-foot wide “Restricted Area.” The prohibited list now includes the following uses that would not take place on property designated as the “Restricted Area” immediately adjacent to Bayberry subdivision lots, now proposed to be 150-feet wide. Those are auto repair facility, boat sales, contractors equipment yard, commercial garage, commercial parking lot, building supply/lumber sales, commercial cemetery, fastfood restaurant, commercial marina, vehicle sales, construction material supply business with storage under cover, but not to include fabricating, farm supply sales including vehicular equipment, hospital, mobile home and modular home sales, radio/ television station, vehicle sales & service, and mini warehouse. The 17 prohibited uses proffered out would not be prohibited on the rest of the 6.75-acre site which is the subject of the request. DETAILS OF REQUEST JPI Walnut Hill LLC is requesting to rezone from Rural Agricultural (A-2) to General Trade (C-2), with proffers, a 6.75-acre portion of a 128.95-acre parcel, identified as Tax Map 9 Parcel 34. The property is on the west side of US 301 about .2 miles south of the intersection with Danube Drive (Route 1101). It would be served by public utilities to be provided by the King George County Service Authority. It is located in the Dahlgren Primary Settlement Area in the county’s Comprehensive Plan. The 6.75 acre parcel is currently part of a larger parcel to its north with A-2 zoning. That 128.95acre parcel is currently in open land and woodlands, and is the subject of a cluster subdivision application currently under review by the Department of Community Development as a by-right use under the existing zoning. The applicant’s proposed cluster subdivision is planned to be retained as a large common area behind the 6.75-acre parcel that would be undeveloped in perpetuity as a large wooded buffer adjacent to other abutting Bayberry subdivision lots. The small parcel requested for rezoning abuts two residential properties in the Bayberry subdivision and is an irregular shape. The purpose of the rezoning is to consolidate it with a smaller triangularly-shaped parcel 37A, which contains 1.91 acres adjacent to it. That adjacent property to which it would be added is already commercially-zoned and also fronts on US 301. A boundary line adjustment would be made to result in a rectangular parcel with frontage on US 301. The complete rezoning submission with the newly-revised proffers, traffic analysis and the staff report are available for review in the office of Community Development, on the ground floor of the Revercomb Administration building, located behind the Courthouse on Route 3.
Public hearing set for May 13 Phyllis Cook The Planning Commission got its first look at $28 million in projects proposed for an updated five-year Capital Improvements Program (CIP) for 2014-15 through 2018-19 at its meeting on April 8. The group scheduled a public hearing to take place next month to hear from requestors and take public comment on the proposals. That hearing will be on May 13 at a meeting starting at 7 p.m. in the ground floor board room of the Revercomb Administration building, located behind the Courthouse. The requested projects are listed below.
budget for 2014-15, and while both sides appear to be entrenched in their positions over Medicaid expansion, the Governor and the General Assembly are expected to come to some compromise agreement and take action prior to July 1.
PARKS & RECREATION Seven projects requested totaling $1,896,000, with four of them requested for funding in the upcoming fiscal year, estimated at $707,000. 1. SHILOH PARK-PHASE 2 $473,000 requested in 2014-15 to include restrooms/concession facility, picnic shelter, and water and sewer lines and connections. 2. BARNESFIELD PARK UPGRADES PHASE 1 - $112,000 requested in 2015-16 and $152,000 requested in 2016-17 for conducting a park master plan, installation of a well and irrigation to the fields, relocation of Field C, expanded
See Budget, page 6
See cip, page 6
Leonard Banks
During the obstacle course portion of the Dog Gone Family Fun Day event at the Navy base in Dahlgren, dogs and family members alike enjoyed a day filled with memorable moments. See the story on page 8.
King George approves $68.2M budget Phyllis Cook The King George Board of Supervisors held a planned special meeting last week on April 24 to approve the budget as proposed for next fiscal year, 2014-15. Four of the five board members were present and voting in the affirmative, with
Ruby Brabo absent. The budget approval action took place more than a week following a public hearing, with three members of the public commenting at the meeting on April 15. The new fiscal year begins on July 1, when the new budget will kick in. The state has not yet approved a
Martial Arts Championship
Revercomb building to get new carpet and floor tile this spring Phyllis Cook
Leonard Banks
Martial art enthusiasts from every corner of the eastern seaboard gathered to compete and showcase their Karate skills at the 11th annual King George Karate Isshin-Ryu Open Championships.
The Board of Supervisors took action on April 1 to award a bid totaling $92,494 to JLM Enterprises of VA, Inc. doing business as Walker’s Carpets and Interiors, of Glen Allen, for the purchase and installation of new carpet and floor tile in the Revercomb Administration Building. The existing carpet and floor tile was installed when the building was constructed and opened in 1994. The project is expected to commence by mid-May and be completed by the end of June. The installation is expected to be done largely after business hours and on weekends. The carpeting will be replaced with “carpet tile,” which are large squares of carpeting. That installation does not require all furniture to be completely removed from each room, but only shifted from one section of the room to another. BIDS On March 18, bids were publicly
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opened for the carpet and tile replacement project. A total of five bids were received, with two rejected for being non-responsive. The other two bids were received from Continental Flooring of Scottsdale, AZ, licensed to do business in Virginia, with a bid price of $98,380; and DMA Floors of Richmond, with a bid price of $183,311. The selection was made following a review of the bids by county staff and its determination that the low bidder is a qualified, responsible and responsive contractor. The scope of work includes replacement of all carpeting and floor tile on both floors, including the stairwell and the elevator. The project was planned for several years and funded in the last county Capital Improvements Program (CIP).