Archives

Court House Plan Approved: Charlotte County Sets Sights On Next Step of Court House Project

   Written by on April 17, 2015 at 11:04 am

The Charlotte County Board of Supervisors convened the April meeting in front of a full gallery this past Tuesday. A group of students from one of Supervisor Guill’s Criminal Justice classes at Randolph-Henry were in attendance. Shortly after the meeting was called to order, Russell Clayton, the attorney for the Board, took the floor to speak on matters pertaining to the proposed new courthouse. According to Mr. Clayton, an architectural plan has finally been accepted by the Board. The acceptance, in his words, “ …marks the end, we hope, of litigation over the matter.”  He went on to remind everybody, “ This was, after all, a court proceeding that began in 2012.”

     sheriff jones awardThe next order of business was a public hearing for a conditional use permit. Tobias Stolzfus, of Rolling Hill Road, sought approval of the permit to operate a sawmill on his property. There was some concern on the part of the Board because construction of the sawmill building had actually begun before the proper permits had been purchased or approved by the county. Additionally, the  property setbacks for the sawmill were not correct, according to county codes. Eventually, the Board did approve the conditional use permit on the condition that Mr. Stolzfus remove any and all equipment from the current site and all other requirements pertinent to the sawmill be met before operating the mill again.

Charlotte County treasurer, Patricia Berkeley, recommended a change to the penalty that is imposed on late payment of property taxes. The proposed change would reduce the penalty from 10% to 2% for payments made after the end of the month in which they are due. With very little deliberation, the Board moved to accept the penalty change. An email from Treasurer Berkeley to the Southside Messenger clarified, “The change will go into effect on July 1, 2015. This penalty change will not be in effect for the June 5, 2015 billing.” More information on this penalty change will be posted by the Southside Messenger as it is received from the Charlotte County Treasurer’s office.

     A highlight of the meeting was the announcement that the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office had met all of the requirements to receive its accreditation. Sheriff Brian Roberts of Brunswick County and Chairman of the Accreditation organization briefly explained that the three-day-long approval process considers 180 different standards and 720 areas of compliance. “…it is exactly the same process for a large, densely populated county like Fairfax as it is for Charlotte,” he said.

The entire process, once started, took an estimated two years to achieve for the Charlotte County Sheriff’s office. “Some offices take four or five years to get their accreditation. I think we did a good job,” Sheriff Jones told the Southside Messenger in a short telephone interview. “I believe it is a good thing because it puts every one of us on the same page.”

A request for the use of the Thomas Jefferson building by Central High was made by Mrs. Foster. Her request was very closely tied to the Earth Day Celebration and the 250th anniversary of the creation of Charlotte County. A related request for funding came to the Board for the same reason: combining Earth Day and the Charlotte County anniversary. The funds would be used to offset expenses incurred while organizing the event, which would be a celebration of Earth Day and a celebration of the history of Charlotte County, combined.  Supervisor Hamlett motioned that the funding request be met by the county. His reasoning was stated simply, “ If we don’t know our history, we are doomed to repeat it.” The motion was seconded by Supervisor Weston, with the stipulation that it be handled the same as any other request for funding over $1000. The organization, in those cases, is required to submit paperwork outlining the request and the reason for it.

Leave a Reply