Inside A5 Event strengthens veteran community
Powhatan, Virginia B1 For Menger, the court is a 2nd home
Vol. XXXIII No. o. 28
January 8, 2020
New board of supervisors takes oath of office By Laura McFarland Editor
P
OWHATAN – The four-year term of the Powhatan County Board of Supervisors officially began last week as all five members were sworn into office. The two returning supervisors and three new board members were sworn in during an oath of office ceremony held on Thursday, Jan. 2 at the Powhatan County Courthouse. Circuit Court Judge Paul Cella administered the oath of office. In a simple ceremony that lasted about 10 minutes, Cella completed the oath of office with David Williams, District 1; Larry Nordvig, District 2; Mike Byerly, District 3; Bill Cox, District 4, and Karin Carmack, District 5. The ceremony was
PHOTO BY LAURA McFARLAND
The members of the Powhatan County Board of Supervisors sworn in Jan. 2 are, from right, David Williams, District 1; Larry Nordvig, District 2; Mike Byerly, District 3; Bill Cox, District 4, and Karin Carmack, District 5.
attended by a few dozen family members, friends, and local residents.
The board members’ first meeting was on Monday, Jan. 6, which happened after press
time. After taking the oath, Carmack said she was excited to
take on this new role serving Powhatan residents. She talked about some of the board members’ upcoming goals and issues that are likely to arise, starting with the fiscal year (FY) 2021 budget. Other issues likely to come up in the coming months include developing a strategic plan; updating the proffer policy; looking at the county’s transportation network, and revisiting some of the Comprehensive Plan and Future Land Use Map. “That’s a good start for the first six months,” she said. Carmack, who previously served as a planning commissioner, said her new role definitely represents more of a workload, but she felt the planning commission was good training for her new role in regard to understanding planning see SUPERVISORS, pg. 6
Rotary Club ready to roll the dice on Proposed bill seeks to annual Casino Night fundraiser curb affordable By Laura McFarland
housing discrimination
Editor
POWHATAN – If you know when to hold them and know when to fold them, the Rotary Club of Powhatan has a fun night out planned that also does some good in the community. The local civic group will hold its fourth annual Pair-a-Dice Casino Night with Massino’s Casinos providing professional dealers and Los Vegas-style games from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 17 at the Memorial Cultural Arts and Community Center on Skaggs Road. As well as being a great community event that helps accomplish
Prsrt. Standard U.S. POSTAGE PAID Powhatan, VA Permit No.19
see CASINO, pg. 7
By Laura McFarland Editor
FILE PHOTO/ POWHATAN TODAY
The Rotary Club of Powhatan’s fourth annual Casino Night will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 17.
Richmond Symphony Orchestra to perform eclectic concert
DELIVER TO: Postal Patron Powhatan, VA 23139
Benefit for Powhatan Education Foundation
PHOTO COURTESY OF RICHMOND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Chia-Hsuan Lin, associate conductor, will lead the Richmond Symphony Orchestra in its concert at 3 p.m. on Jan. 26 at Powhatan High School.
By Laura McFarland Editor
POWHATAN – The Richmond Symphony Orchestra is coming back to the county for a concert benefiting the Powhatan Education Foundation (PEF) and the music program in Powhatan County Public Schools. Returning for a fourth time, the symphony orchestra brings a wonderful cultural night out for people of all ages while also doing a major service for the community, said PEF board member Patti Mulherin. One of two major fundraisers the foundation holds each year, the concert helps pay for teacher grants, student
scholarships, and the Teacher of the Year dinner. “This is promoting music with our students in the county. It is a very special opportunity for our young people and people in general to attend a real symphony,” she said. “The Richmond Symphony Orchestra comes out and works with our students in a number of programs, so there is an exchange going on. I would call it a cultural event for Powhatan.” The concert will be held at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 26 at Powhatan High School, 1800 Judes Ferry Road. Tickets are $25. see SYMPHONY pg. 6
POWHATAN – When the General Assembly convenes today, Jan. 8, for the 2020 session, among the more than 650 bills legislators will consider is one that would make it illegal for any locality in Virginia to discriminate against affordable housing developments. Senate Bill 97 was prefiled in December 2019 by Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-9, who said she has been concerned for a number of years about the shortage of affordable housing in the state and the negative stereotypes about affordable housing projects that have led many loMcClellan calities to say “not in my backyard.” If passed, the bill would make it an unlawful discriminatory housing practice for any political jurisdiction, its employees or appointed commissions to “discriminate in the application of local land use ordinances or guidelines, or in the permitting of housing developments, on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, elderliness, familial status, handicap, or because the housing development contains or is expected to contain affordable housing units occupied or intended for occupancy by families or individuals with incomes at or below 80 percent of the median income of the area where the housing development is located or is proposed to be located.” McClellan said she previously introduced a similar bill in the State Senate last year and when she served in the House of Delegates in previous years because the anti-discrimination measures in the Fair Housing Act weren’t expressly applied to local governments when making land use decisions. Discussions about land use in Powhatan County have been a hot topic for several years, especially as the Powhatan County Board of Supervisors updated and finally adopted its 2019 Long-Range Comprehensive Plan. In the midst of those discussions, there have been several land use cases that have drawn a great deal of attention and feedback from local residents, including an application to build an affordable housing apartment complex in the county. On Feb. 26, 2018, the board of supervisors voted 4-1 to deny KCG Development LLC’s application to rezone a 26-acre property so it could build a 204 multi-family apartment complex in Powhatan. The project, known as The Reserve at South Creek, would have been situated on land located at the crossroad of Old Church Road and Carter Gallier Boulevard. The developer proposed to finance the project using housing tax credits. A good portion of the arguments against the apartment complex included increased traffic on already congested roads, negatively impacting the rural feel of the county, extra burden on the schools, and increased crime. But some of the stronger rhetoric against the see AFFORDABLE, pg. 8