Local departments pitch CIP needs to New Kent supervisors at retreat

The growth of New Kent County is having adverse effects when it comes to future of supporting the needs of citizens. Friday morning’s work session at the New Kent Forestry Center consisted of discussion when it comes to Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) that several departments are hoping to receive support for within the upcoming years.

New Kent Superintendent of Schools Brian Nichols began the meeting, speaking about the enrollment bounce back after a year of buildings closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nichols expects the growth to continue, saying that five new buses will be needed for the future. He also commented that replacing the roof at the high school now would provide an additional 15 years of coverage. HVAC projects at New Kent’s Middle School are expected to be grant funded, with the locality providing a match of $617,000.

After the school’s discussion, New Kent County Administrator Rodney Hathaway spoke about projects the county desired in the past and the desire to bring them into fruition. In 2016, Hopkins and Associates were hired to do preliminary architectural work of the west wing at New Kent’s Historical School. The design of the facility included renovation, the creation of an outdoor amphitheater, demolition and construction of a new school maintenance building, and other management costs. In total, the project would cost the county $6,936,500 according to Hathaway.

The county administrator continued, mentioning the continuing need to bring broadband to the county. With $12 million already allocated to the project, Hathaway said he will ask for an additional $4 million to be placed towards the cost. The county is planning to commit $25 million towards the project, and Hathaway expects the other $9 million to be the result of future revenue coming into the county.

New Kent Fire and Rescue Chief Rick Opett started the public safety portion of discussion with county supervisors. Opett spoke about two projects that would see the renovation of one station and the construction of another as a replacement.

Opett’s first proposal was the replacement of the Lanexa Fire Station in District 4. According to the fire chief, the foundation along with poor HVAC operations is causing several issues at the site. Along with only two beds for staff, response times are long from that station. Opett said that a replacement station could be built on county land at the 15000 block of Pocahontas Trail at a cost of $3.824 million.

The fire chief’s second proposal centered about the creation of a new fire station in District 2. Opett commented that the current station 2 in Quinton is not owned by the county and that space inside the facility was extremely limited. Opett recommended possible locations to build a new station on Pocahontas Trail behind the current Walgreen’s store in Quinton, or in the area of Quinton Park. Cost of that project is estimated at $4.424 million.

In the other portion of the public safety realm, New Kent County Sheriff J. Joe McLaughlin Jr. talked about the growing needs to develop the department as well as new facilities.

McLaughlin opened up with dialogue about the replacement of seven vehicles for his department. He added that camera operations and updates are needed in the vehicle, as well as a local tactical vehicle would be needed as the response time from the Virginia State Police tactical team could be upwards of three hours. McLaughlin also added that his department has responded to 47,152 calls this year, with 18,843 calls being answered since July 1 (start of new budget year).

Finally, the sheriff commented about the need of a new animal shelter facility. McLaughlin said that he was concerned about the building and that it has been needed for the last 11 years. The sheriff added that he did not want to meet the same fate as neighboring Henrico County, who had to open up another facility to store animals and pay the bill. McLaughlin said the current cost for a new facility will be about $5 million but expects that cost to rise as well.

New Kent County leaders met with other departments on their requested CIP. Supervisors are in the opening phases of preparing their budget for the FY2022-23 fiscal year.