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Board of Supervisors work session November 7, 2007.
These are not minutes of the meeting. They are the personal notes of a citizen who attended.

The Board started with closed session for Acquisition of Real Property.

Open session:

*Appointment of Advisory Committee for the Future Land Use Map and Comprehensive Plan Kevin Henry asked the board to appoint 6 more people to the advisory committee. The Board agreed to work on that.

*Focus Group Meetings for Advisory Committee for the Future Land Use Map and Comprehensive Plan. Mark Belton talked about the Focus Groups and how they were broken down into 4 groups. Agriculture, Development, Business and Environmental.

*Discussion to the New County Office Building Mark Belton talked about purchasing 10 acres of land along Hwy 211 and Hawksbill Street near LFCC for the new county office buildings. The cost for the land would be $600,000.00. The Rescue Squad may also want to build in that area.

*Update on the Northern Shenandoah Valley Regional Commission Activities.

Nora Belle Comer talked about the different concerns of the Commission which include: Water, Clean Air, Transportation, Waste Water, Housing Plans and River Use. Then Maggie Weaver talked about the Valley Commuter Assistance Program. This program helps county residents commute to other areas to work. It includes van pools, car pools and ride share data.

*Pump and Haul Permit Guidelines. Gerald Dovel asked the board to consider writing a policy on pump and haul septic system that would require the owners to give usage updates. Mark Belton said he would work on that policy.

*Health Department Staff Rotations Someone - I didn't get his name. I think he is an Environmental Manager with the state talked to the board about an additional fee of $25,000.00 to be paid from Page County to help support the State Health Department because of budget cuts. He also asked that one employee be transferred to Front Royal to help with septic inspections. The Board did not agree with this.

*Monthly Report from the Public Works Department Henry Mikus talked about tonnage and finances which he said were the usual. He reported that DEQ had done their quality inspection and that they had passed without any negative comments. He also told the Board that he had found a new place to take our paper.


*Solid Waste Policy Henry Mikus said that some people had complained about paying for bringing in clean recycling. The Board discussed dropping the fee in hopes of encouraging more recycling.


*Increase in Cat/Dog Adoption Fees Mark Belton asked the Board to consider raising the cat adoption fee from $20 to $25 and the dog adoption fee from $35 to $40.


*Review of Recent Legislation for CSA Georgia Sours talked about the new legislation which may affect the Foster Care Prevention Guidelines. She said the new policy would be out on November 20.

*Board of Zoning Appeals Appointment Regina Miller said someone from the Board of Zoning Appeals was coming to the end of their term. I believe the issue will be handled after JD Cave takes office since the person is from his district.

The Board went into closed session for Consultation with Legal Counsel and Personnel Matters.
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This is what Page County Watch is all about. Watching the process of our government. This is where the process takes place. At the Board of Supervisors' meetings.

This is who runs our county.

When you read this, do you hear the KaChing KaChing of your tax dollars at work? The Advisory Committee for the Land Use Map of the Comprehensive Plan is a very big deal. This is what will decide many of our future issues regarding our homes here in the land we love. When they talk about Focus Groups for this plan, they are saying that people will be getting together to talk about the vision for the county's future in each of those areas. Who are these people? Are they you, your neighbors, your family, your friends? Whoever they are, they will be guiding and giving input to the direction of the county.

If you care about making the county a good place to live and raise children, WATCH THIS SPACE. It's the devil in the details that make our lives calm and happy, or stressed and burdened. These little details, discussed at these meetings, add up to our quality of life.

If the issues you care about aren't being discussed in these meetings . . . they aren't being addressed by our local government.