The State of Prince Edward County: P.E. Co. Supervisors Give Report at July Meeting

A request had been made by residents during past meetings for the Prince Edward County Board of Supervisors to provide a State of the County Report to the residents of Prince Edward. During the July meeting the Board of Supervisors not only complied with the request, but did so in a presentation in which all members of the Board took part. Each Supervisor read an assigned portion of the report to the gallery.

The report itself was divided into ten sections: Financial Analysis, Economic Development, The Manor, Public Safety, Piedmont Regional Jail, Landfill Waste and Collection, Reassessment, Planning and Community Development, VDOT and finally, Schools. Each of the sections provided a good overview of their respective categories and the report on the whole was positive with regard to the County’s stance now as it looks to the future.

Prince Edward County is no different than any other in the respect that it has had to make strategic changes in order to cope with the economic uncertainties that have affected the entire Commonwealth of Virginia, even the entire nation. The Board of Supervisor’s creation of a Finance Committee, whose responsibility it is to oversee county spending in the wake of the Federal and State budget cuts over the last several years, has proven to be an astute and insightful response to a severely stressed economy. While the report does speak favorably of the positive balance in the current budget, it does not deny that it could be better and work needs to be done in 2016.

Prince Edward is developing economically at a good pace, according to the State of the County Report. New businesses such as Centra, Tharpe Trucking, Adams Asphalt, Lapp Metals, Wilck’s Lake Sheds, Walk to Campus and Power Secure were all named specifically as having made large economic contributions to Prince Edward by either moving into the county or expanding their businesses. The report states that Hampden-Sydney College and Longwood University, along with Centra Southside Hospital, all three together, continue to provide a strong economic anchor for the County.

Public Safety, as it should, held a spot of high priority not just in the report, but in the minds and efforts of the elected officials and volunteers that work in those areas. Fire and Rescue calls combined amount to between 4,900 and 5,000 per year, “with an average response time of eleven minutes.” Firefighters receive between 120 and 240 hours of training above the 146 hours required to be a Class 1 Firefighter. “A basic EMT in Prince Edward must have a minimum of 150 hours of training, a paramedic, 1,000 hours.

Reported statistics for the Sheriff’s office are impressive, as well. In 2014, the Sheriff’s office responded to nearly 8,200 calls and made over 3,800 arrests, served almost 5,500 combined summons (Uniform and Traffic), and over 8,500 civil papers.

They have worked hard to create strong and lasting bonds with the public, the report stated, using programs such as DARE, TRIAD Neighborhood Watch and others to assist in achieving the end goal of a solid and respectful relationship with the residents of the County.

      According to the State of the County Report, the roads in Prince Edward are in good shape thanks to the dedicated work of VDOT. All of the graded categories that VDOT uses to score the conditions of the roadways in an area were at or above the target score for that category. Plans for 2016 include projects like the Back Hampden-Sydney Road and Watson Blvd. The Rural Rustic Roads program will continue to help eliminate unpaved roads in the County.

“There is no question the Prince Edward County Public Schools have failed to reach the level of achievement we would like. Currently, all three of the schools are accredited with warning and the middle school is designated a focus school.” So began the last portion of the report.  While it was not entirely favorable, it was met directly and not glossed over in the report. The high school missed accreditation by only one point in one subject, mathematics. The middle school has more work to do, as does the elementary school. Each missed accreditation by several points in two subjects each. Steps are being taken to aggressively solve the problems in the Prince Edward School System, one example of which is a partnership with Longwood University. One huge problem has been a decline of students in the county’s school system, over 550 students in ten years. This reduction, along with state and federal cuts, has reduced the budget by $4,000,000.  The compensation: 78 positions eliminated in six years. The snowball effect has been evident and must be stopped.

      For more information on the State of the County, contact the Prince Edward County Administrator or your Board member with your questions.