Following a closed meeting Tuesday night, the Gloucester Board of Supervisors voted to approve an amendment to its contract with Waste Management of Virginia, Inc.
The amendment was approved by a 5-2 margin; board members Mike Winebarger and Phillip Bazzani were the two against.
The amendment allows Waste Management to begin charging the county for some solid waste collection and disposal services that were previously done at no additional charge. The new charges are for waste pickup at Gloucester County’s volunteer fire and rescue squad locations and at charitable organizations.
Prior to this amendment, the contract did not require services to those locations.
The amendment also requires Waste Management to collect waste from special county events that are open to the public, and changes the tonnage of the collection limit from 2,000 tons a day to 660,000 tons a year. The amendment also absolves Waste Management from having to collect recycling from locations other than the landfill and convenience centers.
Public hearings
Supervisors unanimously approved two matters following a pair of public hearings. The first was to consider an ordinance to amend the zoning map to reclassify 1.85 acres in the Ware District from B-1 Business to B-2 Village Business. The building on the 1.85 acres is a vacant medical office located along Meredith Drive, owned by Dr. Robert and June Klink. The rezoning will allow the Klinks to remodel the office into a residence.
The second public hearing was to approve the proposed secondary six-year plan for fiscal year 2022 through 2027 and the secondary system construction budget for FY22 through FY27 that the county has with the Virginia Department of Transportation.
The six-year plan included five paved projects and one unpaved project. The paved projects included Pedestrian Improvements on Greate Road and the construction of right-turn lanes on Fiddlers’ Green, Meredith Drive at Route 17 and 1019, Providence Road and Brays Point Road. The unpaved project is on Belleville Road. The paved road projects are estimated to total $1,050,000 and the unpaved project will cost an estimate of $102,000.
Also during the meeting, a request for a public hearing was made to obtain input from Gloucester residents for a proposed agreement with Open Broadband, LLC. The agreement will have wireless broadband equipment placed on county-owned properties. Using the existing structures will eliminate the need for any construction, which will reduce the time and cost of the project.
The county was awarded a Virginia Telecommunications Initiative, or VATI, grant recently and in order to proceed with its use the Telecommunications Committee has to hear public input. The board approved holding the hearing later this month.
CARES Act Funding
The board also appropriated $70,058 in CARES Act funding to various eligible expenses. $27,614 was given to Parks, Recreation and Tourism for COVID-19 related duties. Unemployment gained $1,560 while the Sheriff’s Office received $40,884 for COVID-19 related duties. Gloucester has $472,126 remaining in CARES Act funding.