so if you have signed up
to comment
s
first on the list I have Mr Sunny Austin
Creek Ford department and also boxing
Volunteer Fire Department
I'm in Mr Lester talked
a little bit about some water tanks for
the auction building down there I sort
of won't know how that was coming along
if
if the tanks have been ordered or
the tanks have been ordered sir yes they
have all right
another thing I just want to talk to you
about was we've got a landing Zone in
Copper Creek
and it's really hard to get a gurney
through him gravel
I'd like to see if we can get some help
putting some concrete in
uh like
probably 20 but 20 with a sidewalk
coming off of it to where we roll up
Gurney up to the helicopter
but it's really hard on patients while
it bounces and stuff and we've got
one thing got to do is form it up put
the concrete down
everything is ready
and I'd like to put a uh Landing Zone on
moccasin
we're talking in
uh Mr Lester talked about that
maybe putting it over about where the
landfill was at or the dumpster was
there in that field
of County already owns it we don't have
to have no right-of-ways or nothing
it wouldn't it wouldn't take a lot to
put one in there because it's it's
pretty much got some good level spots
that's all I've got
well thank you sonny and and one of the
things that before the meeting was
talking about lighter trucks well one of
the other things that we're trying to
implement is LTZ there's Landing zones
right now in Russell County to be able
to try them out if you're on the back
side either honig or New Garden daint or
Cleveland it's hard to get a patient out
in a trauma either a heart attack or a
wreck or something this so we're looking
at ltzs around the county that way they
got a 15-minute tram time to be able to
fly in and fly out quickly that way
we're within 15 minutes of an LTZ
at any time we're also working with the
Honaker side at the Rosedale and we're
also looking at at the Swords Creek area
too to be able to get in the backside of
the county to be able if an emergency
occurs that way we can have ltzs in
place to where they can fly in and fly
out quickly and not have to trim an hour
an hour and a half depending upon the
trauma into Bristol or Johnson City
so we're looking at that concept so
thank you good deal next on our list I
have a Mr Hugh O'Donnell
thank you
thank you for the opportunity to speak
uh I also have some materials
thank you
okay
yeah
okay I hope that didn't count against my
three minutes it did not
uh I'm here on behalf of
some friends of mine that I'm also
sort of representing in that she has a
legal problem and this year is my 50th
year as a lawyer
which is one of the dates that we want
to talk about
1973. my clients
run the El Palenque Restaurant in
Castlewood
and
um
um approximately a month ago somebody
from the board of
alcoholic whatever showed up and told
them that they were in violation of an
ordinance
concerning selling beer oil and wine on
Sunday
and he immediately they immediately
complied with what they were told uh I
my wife and I
um frequently
go to their restaurant and like it it's
a very popular restaurant in in Saint
Paul Castlewood it's one and uh it's a
family restaurant
and um anyway the documents I gave you
um
uh
I mentioned 73 is my 50th year as a
lawyer
this ordinance that
my clients have implemented
was passed two years before I was born
I was I was in vitro as it were
uh I was born in January of 46.
this was passed in
November of 45.
um a lot of things have changed since
then
[Music]
um 40 that that year was only 13 years
away from ending of prohibition
um
anyway
this restaurant
has been in existence about with this
management
for 14 years
it's a well-established
Institution
but the problem that has occurred is
not being able to sell any bare or wine
on and they're licensed to sell that of
course
not being able to do that on Saturday
after Sunday afternoon has caused a real
dent in their
um
income
and it's important to note that the
money that they make as a restaurant
a significant portion goes every month
to Russell County
this has hurt their business
um
the the beer they serve
is Mexican beer but other kinds of beer
and it's a popular place
and a popular
institution and the people are
um
just hard-working people
and it's a family operation it's
basically owned by two sisters and one
of the other the
gentleman who manages it is the husband
of one of those sisters
and in their 14 years
of operation they've never had to call
the police about one in anything
and you know tourism is important but
it's also important to try to support
the institutions that are there and this
institution needs
your support
in those documents I gave you
there is a document from 1973
where this Board of Supervisors added an
amendment
and I don't think anybody here is around
I mean maybe Miss Mabry might be able to
know about it but what they did was they
created an exemption for private clubs
um and the Privacy now I'm old enough to
remember
the Vegas club because I came in 1980
and I think it was still going I think
there is another club that was around
and
um in terms of beer and wine they did
sell it
because of that exemption there is a
statute there are statues in in effect
in Virginia
that had been passed in the 90s that
allow
Boards of Supervisors to
regulate
um
this situation and with all you could do
my personal belief is that if this
ordinance serves no real purpose
other than to make things harder for
this business which has The Misfortune
to be in a unincorporated area
it's it's a mile away from the Saint
Paul police if there's ever any uh
problems and I also think this uh
the sheriff's people eat there so I'll
run into them
and if you turn to
um
four one one twenty nine
which is the third document
it talks about local ordinances the
governing body May adopt ordinances but
you can made up effect in prohibiting
the sale
on each Sunday
but it also says that it and
or fixing hours within such period
during which wine or beer are both may
be sold
they do not sell anything after 10 30 on
Saturday night because that's when
apparently if you're serving food with
the rules say once the beer once you
quit shut down the kitchen everything
else
[Music]
um
goes to it so nothing is sold no beers
are sold after 10 30. the problem is
the sad Sunday afternoon
crowd is a significant portion of what
the people and it's not people coming to
drink it's people coming to eat and
having beer on the side
um Mexican food goes well with Mexican
beer I know that personally
I'm a big fan of Dos Equis I saw
something the other day that Modelo has
the place
um
Bud Light is the leading bear and
midnight so anyway I I hope and I'm
happy to meet with anybody who wants to
meet with it but this really does need
to be addressed
we have we've lost a restaurant in
Castlewood
um Pizza Hut close
I also need to mention that not only is
this restaurant affected but there's a
convenience store
two or three ways up that is also
affected there's a convenience store in
hansenville that also cannot sell beer
on Sunday
there's no there's no point to it and it
hurts people who don't need to be hurt
and I would somehow ask that
I understand that you couldn't do that
tonight but I would
um
I would ask that some study committee or
something I you know there's just
no reason for it to continue
and it makes a big difference to these
people and it makes a big difference I
think they probably
sin
three or four thousand dollars a month
to Russell County
[Music]
they have been
but if you want that that income stream
to continue then helping them would be a
difference and like I said
the statute says you can fix
fix it
and if you wanted to say beer before 12
is not allowed I believe they would
accept that that's you know that's when
people generally in my experience are in
charge if there's some church issue but
really
this is not not really a church issue I
mean there's no
there's no crime in drinking beer
with a meal
or one for that matter
um anyway that is the point and I'm sure
I'll use that my three minutes but uh
this is really an urgent matter for
these people and they it sort of came
out out of the blue with this person
showing up and I have what I couldn't
believe it and then I got I got the
actual ordinance and then the you know
something in 1945 I mean it's weird for
me to refer to anything before I was
born I mean
and uh
it really needs something needs to be
done and I appreciate your giving
consideration thank you Mr thank you Mr
and if you if there are any questions
I'd be happy to answer them uh I can uh
I didn't write my phone number on but I
can
if you have any questions
um I'm happy to I have taken the
ordinance I've given it
County attorney I haven't
the updates now
but
it just would really help this business
thank you Mr O'Donnell thank you
we appreciate you coming thank you
uh Miss Patton I will ask that you have
a look-see at that and see what or if we
can do
um anything to help
the restaurant
okay I can I can report back to the
board thank you options are for the
board to consider at the honest meeting
appreciate it
okay
um any anybody else
um have any comments tonight
I only had those two on the list so I
will entertain anybody else that wants
to make a comment all right I'll close
public comments at this time
we have constitutional officer reports
and requesting none or does anybody have
a report for anybody
also moving on to the county attorney
reports and requests that would be you
miss Patton
yes Madam chair
um the
um Adam that the board added to the
agenda
um was
um in regards to the petition for the
the writ of a special election
um I've I've passed this statute out I
think before and I've looked at it and
subsection a
um at first upon first glance it looks
like that would have been maybe one we
could proceed under and ask
um the court to set the special election
to be held on the next general election
but
um when I when I read that a little bit
more carefully
um that's really sort of really there's
no point because if you if you follow
that section you're setting the special
election on the general election and so
the sheriff is on the ballot this year
this subsection would apply for instance
if say that there had been a vacancy in
a constitutional office next year when
they were not on the ballot and so the
purpose of it to set it on the general
election would just to be able to save
money because the special election that
has to be held countywide for a
constitutional office would cost a great
deal of money so the situation I feel
like that we're in
um at this point subsection C does not
apply because
um the um retirement's already taken
effect
um but it says if a vacancy and an
elected constitutional officer occurs
within 12 months immediately preceding
the end of the term that the governing
body May petition the Circuit Court to
request that no special special election
be ordered and and
um that the highest ranking person would
fill that position and so
um the reason I think that you don't do
it under subsection a is because then
you wouldn't have you wouldn't have
technically an elected person for that
whole that until the general election so
I think that's why there are two
subsections to give that when
um the vacancy occurs when that during
that year that the Constitutional
officer is going to be on the ballot
foreign
basically need a motion to take care of
this
um situation we find ourselves in right
Yes dear because we're in in this you
know after I've read and re-read the
statute um because we are within the 12
months then unless the board wants there
to be a special election at the same
time as the general
um then
um you would you would just say that no
special election and just let the
general election occur
okay well
um I'll take Chairman's privilege here I
really don't want to spend any extra
money and I don't think I don't see any
need to do that so uh Madam chair I'll
make a motion that we go with paragraph
B of
24.2-228.1 which says that the governing
botany May petition the Circuit Court to
request no special election be ordered
and that it'll just be handled at the
general election
yes and that's the petition that I'll
follow in Circuit Court I'll second it I
have a motion in a second any further
discussion
I'll call for the vote all in favor any
opposed any abstentions motion carries
thank you Mr breeding
and and this patent okay do you have
anything else on your
no Madam chair okay
thank you very much next we're moving on
to the County Administrator reports and
requests Mr Lester looks like you've got
the largest bulk of the agenda thank you
madam chair
first on the County Administrator
reports is from the office of the
Comptroller
as uh this is the Russell County
substitute
separate recipient sorry about that
cares review report this is a from the
office of the Comptroller from the
Department of accounts that has
confirmed that Russell County did meet
during our our uh covid our cares review
that we were in compliance with federal
and state regulations so this is uh just
to say that we confirmed we did what we
were supposed to do we did our due
diligence and we did uh our uh reporting
as required
next on the county administrative
reports is again from the Virginia
Department of Agriculture and Consumer
Reports which is beat act which is the
state oversight Agency for our Animal
Control shelters and as you can see in
the packet I it was the last inspection
that we just had on June the 27 2023
that the only uh notation that was cited
for us was actually our 3.2 6575 which
is only an administrative code we we
printed off the forms on the adoption
forms and then we had them reprinted and
the date got mixed and so believe it or
not it was just a date line so
uh since then it has been corrected and
we're and we're moving on next on
account administrator reports is of
course the
um the VDOT uh monthly Road system
report as as you all can read through
your package those are the roads that
are you know being maintenance we're
coming into the paving system etc etc
please take a look at that next one is a
very important this is this is the
annual one in Russell County that only
has 11 canneries in the whole state of
Virginia so we're getting ready to open
up the Castlewood and the honacre
canneries on July the 25th of 2023. so
there were my staff has tested them they
are moving in to do their lace mini
cleaning the boilers have been and
Equipment has been tested jars have been
ordered we're getting ready to pick them
up yes you can what about cans and cans
and cans what about like I had a lot of
people wanting the smaller cans pints
I've got pants I mean not pants but I
got cords yes and
the cut the Pines are but they're very
they're they actually cost as much as a
cord so I that's why we chose we got
five thousands in courts so
with Leah so if you run I think there's
like a few sets of variants between the
pines and the courts so I figured for
the bang for the buck you know we could
work those numbers out so
next on account administrators is the
county Ministry request
uh as
as we had seen at our budget meeting
before the Russell County Recovery Inc
on the opiate application for 2223 for
26 000 and 23 24 for a hundred and
eleven thousand two hundred as y'all
seen in the application I'll I need the
formal motion for that Grant application
but for both fiscal year 22 23 and 23
24. I'll make that motion stuff
have a motion in a second to um for the
application grant for the opioid any
further discussion
hearing none I'll call for the vote all
in favor any opposed any abstentions
motion carries thank you very much thank
you ma'am chair next on the county
Ministry request is from the Department
of Criminal Justice Services for the
rso's incentive Grant programs this is
Grant
24-290b for 222 210 dollars uh in a
sense uh and then also Grant number 24
422 Alpha for 220 to 222 208 dollars I
need a motion for both uh Grant a and
Grant B I'll make that motion
I'll second it thank you I have a motion
and a second to accept both of those
grants A and B uh any further discussion
hearing none I'll call for the vote all
in favor
um and you posed any abstentions motion
carries
thank you ma'am chair next is again a uh
another Grant which we have quite a few
tonight this and also is from Department
of Criminal Justice this is uh a arpa
law enforcement equipment grant for 481
thousand dollars uh for the sheriff's
department to purchase equipment with I
needed a motion and approval for 481
thousand dollars I'll make it I'll
second it thank you I have a motion in a
second any further discussion on that
all in favor anyone
carries thank you madam chair next is
another grand on the Well Spring
Foundation of Southwest Virginia this is
the day steam building renovation
project and the Bernie Williams
Workforce Center that uh that has been
proposed in a partnership between that
and the Workforce Development board this
is a grant from the Wellspring uh for a
hundred and thirteen thousand eight
hundred seventy seven dollars I need a
motion and approval on that one I'll
make that motion I'll second it thank
you Mr Eaton and Mr Christian uh any
further discussion on this
hearing none I'll call for the vote all
in favor
any opposed any abstentions motion
carries thank you
thank you madam chair again another
Grant Virginia from the Virginia
coalfield economic Economic Development
Authority of aceta grant for 25
000. this is a uh Lord a lower bed Lake
feasibility study request and also for
the public notes for requests for
proposals for the Lord bed Lake access
development feasibility study for
engineering technical conservative
Consulting Services I need an approval
for the 25
000 and release of the request for
proposals for the engineering technical
I'll second
thank you very much I have a motion and
a second from the committee members
that's moving this very fast thank you
very much all right all in favor
any opposed any abstentions motion
carries thank you ma'am chair next one
is a also another Grant from the
Department of Criminal Justice this is
the victim witness grant for 65 100 I
needed approval and a motion for that
appropriation I'll make that motion I'll
second it I have a motion in a second
for the victim of witness Grant of 65
won all in favor
any opposed
any abstentions motion carries
thank you ma'am chair next on the
request is for the mark O'Mara the
champion of choices this is for the
Russell County school events for six
thousand dollars from the opiate program
Grant I need a motion for the approval
under that program uh for six thousand
dollars I'll make it six
oh gosh I have a motion and a second a
real quick one
um any discussion
I will add that we did reach out to the
opioid folks um that we're supposed to
and it met the gold standard so um we're
ready to move on that all in favor any
opposed
motion carries thank you madam chair
next is as you can see in your packet
this is a partnership that we do with
the highlands Juvenile Detention
Alternatives program that we uh
um partner with between uh Washington
County Smith Lee Scott Wise Buchanan
Dixon Tazewell and Russell and the City
of Bristols and city of North as you see
this is a traditional resolution in
place that we keep a partnership in
place with this program I need approval
for this resolution I'll make that
motion so
I've got a motion in two seconds I'll
take either one of those any further
discussion
hearing none I'll call for the vote all
in favor any opposed any abstentions
motion carries thank you ma'am chair
next on the counter administrator
request is for a tire shredder for uh
from BCA Industries this is a portable
semi tire shredder cutter that we have
to do by DEQ and code for our tires
rating uh our industrial side I've got a
bid here for 36.5 for the landfill I
need approval for this uh sidewall
cutter and Shredder I'll make that
motion
I'm gonna take Carl's and I'll take a
second from Mr
all right so I have a motion and a
second any further discussion yes ma'am
I've got a question of I know that uh
the Waste Management Authority had
purchased the big red unit that does the
tires ready and that was supposed to be
going from
County to county is that is this a
secondary unit that we have to purchase
this is a unit that will maintain the at
our landfill with it trimming between
three of the waste management
authorities David you said on the board
uh
we have so many tires between the three
counties that you we can't get our
services and they're starting to back up
and we're starting to become almost in
violation DEQ regulations so thanks to
that information I just wanted to know I
knew we had purchased we still got it
but it's still traveling
but we're getting so many
[Music]
I mean
oh I'm in favor of this just yes
absolutely this is a this is a big
Dollar Saver this keeps us from trimming
it down and paying you know the bluntful
landfill yes absolutely can we pass any
just savings back to our citizens
this this savings on this is more on the
commercial retail side we are working
with garages and tire service companies
this is at that level stood at the
residential level we still have one of
the small ones up there that do the
small tires for the automobiles but
these are the big truck tires that have
to be cut and wheeled down yes yes
okay I'm with Tim on that one because I
have no problem at all
uh giving my my support to this but I do
think that it's
proper that we look at helping I've had
several citizens ask about the tire rate
and the cost to get rid of their tires
and they really want to do the right
thing so if we could offer some sort of
a discount I don't know how you do that
I don't want to get into that tonight
but I do think that we need to look at
that well it keeps them from going over
the hill yes and Madam chair we're
actually talking with the the retailers
and we've got a company that's going to
pick is trying to work out a partnership
with the tire companies and the auto
shops to where they pay him to pick them
up so that way they stay out of of the
when you take one out if you go have
your tires changed he picks them up and
he'll come in and shred them in in in
the retailer will pay for that cost per
turn so now if you take them off
yourself that would be only time it'd be
applicable but our bigger service
centers are our automobile bills are
retailers our tire services we're going
to be working with them to be able to
pick these up and have them District JJ
is looking at Contracting with services
and he's got a many of them already in
the news already most of the tire
companies charge a fee for disposal
returns yes they do and what he's going
to do he's going to charge them that
same fee to pick it up and he can make
it on volume because he's picking up all
those tires and we'll be able to convey
that well I think they got a great ideal
as far as the residential side you know
we have that one a year we have that
trash day or where people can bring
their old laptops computers and stuff
and throw them away I mean I don't know
why we couldn't have like a tire day and
have a dumpster sitting there for the
same opportunity for residential people
just to get them there and bring them
out here and unload them and we'll just
take them down and okay process them I
mean we'll include that again we'll
include that in it have a tire day well
I think we need to go to two times a
year instead of just one after that fact
why couldn't you have a dumpster sitting
here that's what I'm saying I mean
constantly why just one day or two days
a week okay I know we have a motion on
the floor and we're discussing so let's
stay on topic but uh I do want to point
out that the didn't somewhere we have a
conversation about a dumpster a free
dumpster to a community yes yearly and
we're in the process of buying those
additional ones there are actually
they're they're coming in now so I mean
and yeah okay yeah are these going to be
solely for tires well now unless you're
going to be one of the problems
I will have another trash site but also
you can't mix the tires with the regular
household trash because then I've got to
take it to the floor and separate it
which is handling it too much it's
easier to
after we look at the tire services look
at the residential what comes across the
way station there's scales on a
residential for the tires we can look at
that maybe setting you know one outside
that way they can just just just commit
we're trying to get a handle on because
all of us got so backed up on the
industrial side well what about this pre
dumpster per Community huh first I've
heard about it when did we did we talk
about that did I just miss something
yeah we talked about buying dumps extra
jobs and that was the one per community
that the motion yes yes
yes like Earth Day clean up day when
communities are coming together to clean
up their communities and then we don't
have a way to get this to the sites
which brought in the tires and I know
we've run a rabbit here tonight and I
apologize we still have emotion on the
floor so let me dispense with that all
in favor
any opposed motion carries Mr Lester
yeah
she's so weird
Steve if you're it actually started at
the same time that Honaker we done we
put dumpsters at home acre in each one
of the communities we just drop them off
they get two or three days to be able to
dump into it clean up their
neighborhoods we come in full and dump
it Forward yes
okay that last thing on the County
Administrator request is the Russell
County I'm sorry let me back up next on
it is the travel request for the
Commission of Revenue the library and
Emergency Management travel request I'll
make it motion so I have a motion and a
second for travel with Chris uh any
discussion on this
hearing that I'll call for the vote all
in favor any opposed motion carries
thank you madam chair last one is the on
the County Administrator request is the
Russell County Planning Commission plan
this is a request from the plant
commission uh for the Lots one through
six being combined in the banner heights
subdivision I need approval uh on the on
the Planning Commission plans
say
I have a motion and a second to take
care of the Planning Commission plants
for the banner Edition down in I think
the Castlewood magisterial District all
in favor
any opposed
motion carries Madam chair that
concludes the county administrative
reports and requests
very good
um at this time I'm going to ask for a
board member discussion and reminders
I'll start with Mr Lovelace I'm good
thank you madam chair Mr Ray yes
uh I've been a lot of people's been
contacting me about uh they can't get
their uh household I mean not their
household trash but they're like
building materials and stuff down there
because they don't they working Monday
through Friday and they're just wanting
us to check and see if we could open up
uh like a half a day on Saturday close
on Sunday and Monday
so like just been asking so I'm just
asking to check that out see what we can
do there and
again back to the Waste Management
Authority that that's under their
autonomy on the landfill so we would
have to wait ask you you guys said on
the board so
so this
it's it's hard so let us go with that
request to the Waste Management
Authority
Mr Eaton yeah I'll just have one thing I
would like to uh
thank Maxine and this is a great book uh
we have people in our County that have
really committed their life to Public
Service I don't want to take it for
granted but this book was published it's
called Johnny the ambulance it's in uh I
guess I don't know if I'm gonna say
memory or whatever to her husband but
dedication thank you and I want
everybody that gets an opportunity to
get a book and read it and to purchase
one uh this is uh it's just amazing and
I admire them for taking this step to do
this and I just uh wanted to actually
give them some kudos for this and and
thank you thank you Madison thank you
Mr braiding no ma'am
Mr
just a couple things wanted to say yeah
thanks of PSA for finishing up the water
project all the way to the county line
and to thank uh Point Broadband they are
bringing it through Green Valley corn
Valley and throughout Gardens so we're
moving right along thank you Mr
Christian
talking about finishing up the water
line I was asked to bring before the
board
the request of putting a tank one tank
up in that area because they said what
the ones that's on public water they
have such a low pressure they was hoping
they'd get a tank located in that area
your PSA member oh you're at large so um
we'll just put that out as a public
service announcement tonight here that
we need to think about that in our PSA
folks can think about that
supposedly
that'll that'll all be controlled but
that'll do a Hydraulics analysis
to make sure that it because once you
put a tank in it affects the entire
system we're sending it to the PSA right
yeah okay all right at your request
you can be too hard
to use
program they've got a program they can
plug it in there and look they don't
have to at least
thank you Mr Christian anything else
okay and I have nothing further that I I
need to comment on but thank everybody
for coming I'm pleased that I want to
say one more thing about Miss Velma
house uh it's Velma house week and uh
Wednesday is her big day so we
appreciate citizens like that Mr Castle
we're looking for your 100th resolution
very soon thank you at this time I'll
adjourn the meeting of the Russell
County Board of Supervisors July meeting
thank you