By Kasey Trapuzzano
The Botetourt County Board of Supervisors held its monthly meeting at the Botetourt County Administrative Offices in Daleville on July 26.
A closed session began at 12:30 p.m., followed by a public session at 2 p.m. The meeting started with introductions to the board. Donna Boothe, the new treasurer of Botetourt County as of July 1, was introduced to the board first. Mahesh Tailor, the county’s director of technology services, introduced Travis Hipes, who joins the county as a desktop support technician II. Leigh Martin, Botetourt’s family services specialist supervisor, introduced Laura Mays-Smith, who joins the county’s social services department as the new director of Social Services.
Afterward, the board unanimously approved the consent agenda. Tony Zerrilla, director of finance, presented the transfers and additional appropriations for July and accounts of payable and ratification of the short accounts payable list for July to the board, which the board unanimously approved. The board also unanimously approved the supplemental appropriation resolution to fund projects not completed in FY22 in the FY23 budget.
Mallory White, president of the Botetourt Farmers Market, presented the board with an update on the farmers market. White said the Botetourt Farmers Market began 15 years ago in the parking lot of Ikenberry Orchards but has since moved to the Daleville Town Center. Since last season, 15 new full- and part-time vendors have joined the Botetourt Farmers Market, which White said has contributed to increasing guest attendance and sales.
This summer, White said the farmers market had introduced market tokens to help overcome the technology barrier for vendors that don’t accept credit cards. Instead of going to an ATM, any visitor that doesn’t have cash can now come to the market tent, White said, and purchase market tokens to be used as “cash” at any vendor. At the end of the month, White said the vendors would turn in all the market tokens they received, and the farmers market would write them a check for their sales.
“In the past month, we have sold $1,500 worth of tokens at our market that people might not have otherwise spent at the market because they didn’t have cash on hand,” White said.
During the 2021 season, White said the farmers’ market had over $200,000 in sales. This season, the market has tracked that it’s ahead in sales, with $85,000 in sales to date, compared to $71,000 in sales this time last year. On average, the market has made roughly $6,500 in sales each week this season, with customers spending about $10 a visit, White said, compared to last season’s $6,300 in sales each week, with customers spending $13 a visit.
“It is down three dollars,” White said, “but overall, we are seeing more sales because we’re getting more people.”
On average, White said, two to three more vendors are participating in the market each week, with an average of 860 visitors a week. Last season, the market had roughly 550 visitors a week.
White said the farmers market held its annual Tomato Festival on July 23, which consisted of different vendors, an Oscar Meyer Weinermobile, live music, free heirloom tomato tastings, a tomato sandwich contest, fresh local tomatoes, raffles, and other giveaways, and history of tomatoes in Botetourt County. The festival made approximately $15,000, as compared to $18,000 last year, White said.
“We think the economy is being reflected in the [tomato festival’s] sales,” White said.
On August 20, the Farmers Market is partnering with the Botetourt Beekeepers Association to host the Honey Festival at the Daleville Town Center from 8:30 a.m.-12 p.m.
Looking toward the future, White said the farmers’ market hopes to build a permanent building structure at the Daleville Town Center to include 32 vendor spots, a commercial kitchen, and bathrooms for both the farmers market’s use and other businesses that wish to rent the building for events.
“We envision this being a more multi-purpose facility,” White said. “We don’t want it to sit empty every day of the week except Saturdays.”
Afterward, the board adopted a resolution of support for the 2022 SmartScale project applications. Jon McCoy with Community Development presented it to the board and said the purpose of SmartScale is to fund transportation projects through a prioritization process that evaluates each project’s metrics using key factors like improvements to safety, congestion reduction, accessibility, land use, economic development, and the environment. The evaluation focuses on the degree to which a project addresses a problem or need relative to the requested funding for the project itself. McCoy said SmartScale is on a two-year funding cycle and that the county’s projects require resolution support from the board to ensure each project is entirely in the locality’s best interest.
The board unanimously approved the appointments of John Williamson and Ed McCoy as members of the Craig Valley Railroad Bed Committee.
Additionally, the board discussed the terms of the Community Policy Management Team (CPMT) — a group consisting of at least one elected or appointed local government official and agency representatives from the department of social services, the school system, Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare, Court Services, a parent representative, law enforcement, and a private provider — that will expire September 1, 2022. This includes CPMT members at the Botetourt School Division, Alleghany Health District, Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare, private providers, Juvenile Probation Court Services, and the Sherriff’s Separtment.
Richard Bailey, chairman of the board and board member for the Fincastle District, said these are all two-year terms and that the board will either re-appoint willing members or appoint new members to the roles next month.
Amy White, board member for the Buchanan District, reminded the board that the Botetourt County Fair would take place on August 5 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. and August 6 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Buchanan Fair Grounds on Lowe Street. The fair will consist of livestock and poultry auctions, a beer garden, food trucks and vendors, live music, and more.
The board unanimously approved White’s motion to direct the office of planning and zoning to begin looking into an ordinance for electric vehicle charging stations.
“A number of recent requests that we’ve received for zoning and projects involved electric cable charging stations, and we don’t currently have a policy in place to govern that,” White said. “When these requests come, [I want us to] have some metric in place to know that if we’re going to do this technology, we’re going to do it well.”
At 3 p.m., there was a public hearing for revisions to Chapter 11, Article IV: Participation of Minors in Volunteer Fire Companies. The board unanimously approved the revisions. As explained by Jason Ferguson, Fire & EMS chief, at the June Board of Supervisors meeting, the current code of the county’s Fire & EMS Department doesn’t allow junior members under 18 years old to enter a burning building regardless of their credentials or qualifications. Revisions to this code will allow junior members to enter a burning building alongside two adult firefighters 18 years or older, but not solely by themselves.
During the public hearing, Ferguson said, to date, that he had received no emails, phone calls, or visits with any questions, comments, or concerns regarding the revisions. There were no comments from Botetourt County residents during the public hearing.
In further public hearing later in the day, the board unanimously approved an SEP to increase the maximum building height above 45 feet in the Traditional Neighborhood Use District. This 1.459-acre lot is located across from the Daleville Town Center apartments at the intersection of Town Center Street and Shenandoah Avenue.
The board tabled a request for an SEP for a private airport in Eagle Rock located on a 33.79-acre parcel at Shiloh Drive and Shiloh Church Road. The next hearing on this permit will be held on August 23 at 6 p.m.
The board unanimously approved an SEP for a medical care facility in the Business (B-2) Use District. The office is proposed within a portion of the existing building on a 2.053-acre lot at 23 Wendover Road in Daleville.
The board unanimously approved an SEP for a convenience store located at the corner Frontage Road and Greyledge Road in Buchanan with Planning Commission recommendations along with these additional recommendations from staff:
- No clearing of existing vegetation or grading shall occur within the 25-foot building setback along the western property boundary that is adjacent to tax map parcel 52(2)1.
- Snow cleared from the parking lot shall be placed in an area within the parking lot whereby the runoff from the melt is channeled through the stormwater detention basin and not discharged directly into the regulatory floodplain. The hours of operation for the convenience store shall be limited to no more than 18 hours per day.
The next public session Board of Supervisors meeting will be held on August 23 at 2 p.m. To read this month’s Board of Supervisors agenda package, visit https://www.botetourtva.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_07262022-303.
