Gloucester Board of Supervisors increased funding available for the Back to Business grant program by another $500,000, while also allowing Gloucester nonprofit organizations to apply during a meeting Tuesday night at the T.C. Walker Education Center.
The board voted to use CARES Act funds for that small business assistance program, as well as providing support for several other county expenses and organizations following a closed session.
Supervisors also put a cap of $30,000 per applicant in place for the third phase of the Back to Business program, which is currently underway. Board member Robert “JJ” Orth said that between now and the end date of Dec. 31 the board can continue to add more funds if needed. Members approved this unanimously.
The board also allocated $61,140 to the United Way of the Virginia Peninsula for child care support. The concern raised by board chair Phillip Bazzani was that this request wouldn’t guarantee that Gloucester funds would be used in the county. However, County Attorney Ted Wilmot did confirm that the funds given to the United Way would be used only for Gloucester residents.
County Administrator Brent Fedors clarified that residents who work outside the county can use vouchers from the United Way at facilities located close to their work. The goal, he said, is to meet the needs of Gloucester residents. The board voted to approve the funding with a vote of 6-1, with Mike Winebarger casting the lone no vote.
The Boys and Girls Club received $341,559 in CARES Act funding. The Boys and Girls Club requested money to help support its new programs that allow students to use their facilities for distance learning. The funds will be used for PPE, new staff support, refrigerators for food storage, and other supplies. The board unanimously approved the request.
The board unanimously voted to provide CARES Act funding of $89,141 for county facilities management and $149,788 for information technology services.
Debris management
Director of Emergency Services Brent Payne provided an update on debris removal from Taliaferro Lane. As reported last month, Taliaferro Lane was struck by a tornado caused by Tropical Storm Isaias.
During an August meeting, the board approved allocation of a maximum of $50,000 of contingency funds to provide relief for the neighborhood. This was due to the damage not qualifying for a disaster declaration from the governor.
Payne reported to the board that $38,000 of work was completed by the hired contractor. He said that the other $12,000 was currently tied to the disposal of debris that was too large for the landfill to take.
Board member Chris Hutson expressed his disappointment to Payne explaining that he did not believe the job was done. Hutson said that he had visited the neighborhood when he was told that the job was completed, and saw high volume of debris still in front of people’s homes. He said that he wasn’t suggesting cleaning up 100 percent of the debris, but that what was left was unacceptable.
Hutson had invited Taliaferro Lane resident David King to attend Tuesday’s meeting and give his thoughts on the matter. King said that the contractor started with the removal of all the debris from the first few houses, then took some from all the homes when time and money became short. He said that there was still a lot of large pieces of debris left behind because of this.
King said that he plans to burn his pile of debris, and that some of his neighbors may do the same. However, he also said that some piles were too close to power lines for burning.
Wilmot also said that the board needed to clarify that the county does have a burn ordinance in its code, and that it won’t encourage unlawful burning.
The board decided to move forward with removal of debris by using the remaining $12,000 and that Fedors would use an additional $12,000 from his contingency funds to address the disposal. The next meeting of the Gloucester Board of Supervisors will be on Oct. 6 at the T.C. Walker Education Center.