County looks to strategic plan

Albemarle Supervisor Kenneth C. Boyd told county staff he’d like the Board of Supervisors to get more frequent updates on capital improvement plan projects during an update on the county’s strategic plan Wednesday.

The board also asked county staff to look into adding the county’s PhotoSafe red-light camera system to more intersections.

Boyd said he was particularly interested in hearing more detailed reports on value engineering for CIP projects.

“I’d like to see a little more interaction with the Board of Supervisors on specific projects in the CIP,” he said. “On things like the Crozet Library … I’m particularly concerned about value engineering.”

Boyd said he wanted the board to be more involved in processes revolving around CIP projects. With projects like the Hollymead Fire Station and the Crozet Library, he said, having reports dealing with value engineering could help answer questions from residents about a given building’s size or features.

“I just think with something like the Crozet Library, we are already starting to get questions about that,” he said.

County Executive Thomas C. Foley said staff could explore updating the supervisors, but warned against mentioning specific projects.

“The danger is that we start talking about the Crozet Library and not the process,” he said.

County spokeswoman Lee Catlin told the board staff will also continue looking into ways to provide incentives to bring businesses into the county. Catlin also said staff will be looking to establish an economic development program for the county.

Supervisor Dennis S. Rooker said the county should do careful studies before committing to business incentives.

“We don’t want to be spending money that isn’t doing what we want it to be doing,” he said.

Supervisors Ann H. Mallek, Christopher J. Dumler and Rooker asked staff to see if the strategic plan could include language in the plan aimed at preservation of green spaces and natural resources in the county.

Rooker asked that the plan contain specific language to include maintaining parks in the county. Mallek and Dumler asked that staff to include a separate objective in the plan to protect and raise awareness of natural resources.

“I think the third objective is just kind of touching historic assets, and I think it is important to have a separate objective that protects natural resources,” Dumler said.

The Board of Supervisors asked county staff to look into expanding the county’s PhotoSafe red-light camera system after hearing a report from Albemarle County Police Chief Col. Steve Sellers.

In a report to the board, Sellers revealed that violations at the camera location at West Rio Road had dropped from more than 900 in January of last year to fewer than 600 last month.

Sellers told the board he would like to see the program left in place for another year at its current locations on U.S. 29 South and West Rio Road to make sure the downward trends in violations continue.

“Another year of study will give a better idea of those trends,” he said. Expanding the program was not in Sellers’ formal recommendation, but he asked the board to consider it. Supervisors were in consensus that expansion of the program made sense.

“Personally, he made a recommendation that we look at expansion of the program, and, looking at the studies … We need to think about expanding into a second location,” Rooker said.

County resident Gene Chase told the board that the program had made the intersections much safer.

“My husband and I are survivors of that intersection, because in July of 2007, our van was destroyed in that intersection,” she said. “The intersection at Rio has been made extremely better in that all of us feel safer and that we have a chance to make it through that intersection.”

Foley told the board that staff would look into the expansion and bring back a report at a later meeting.