Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
P. O. Box 3711
204 Broad Street
Martinsville, Virginia 24115
276-638-8801
Toll Free: 800-234-6575
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| To Clearview Business Park |
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Wednesday, December 16, 2009
By DEBBIE HALL - Bulletin Staff Writer
The project to move Henry-Martinsville Social Services to the former Athena/MZM building is on schedule and on budget, Henry County Administrator Benny Summerlin said Tuesday.
Summerlin told the Henry County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that the agency is slated to begin moving from East Church Street to the Clearview Business Park in Martinsville on Jan. 4.
The agency officially will open in the new space Jan. 7, he said. It will be closed Jan. 5-6 to complete the move, he added.
When county and city officials signed a memorandum in April on the move, they speculated it would be early 2010 before the agency could move because building renovations were needed.
At the time, it was anticipated that social services would occupy 30,000 of the 70,000-square-foot Athena Building, and renovations were estimated at $700,000.
The city and county agreed to share renovations costs in a 34/66 split, with the city to pay 34 percent, or $238,000, and the county to pay the balance.
Renovation costs that exceed $700,000 will be paid by each locality using the same 34/66 formula.
The agency’s telephone numbers will remain the same, according to George Lyle, county attorney.
The date and time for a dedication ceremony will be announced later, Summerlin said.
In other matters Tuesday, supervisors:
• Approved using a portion of the $170,000 contingency fund to make a one-time $25,000 donation to social services’ Emergency Fund.
Board Chairman Debra Buchanan said that considering the amount of need and rising electric rates, the emergency assistance fund will be depleted.
Summerlin described the Emergency Fund as a “fund of last resort” for residents who do not qualify for other types of assistance and explained there are separate funds for county and city residents. Funds approved by the supervisors will help county residents “that really have no where else to turn,” he added.
• Scheduled an organizational meeting for 3 p.m. Jan. 7. The meeting will include the election of a chairman and vice chairman and setting meeting dates for the year.
• Approved a resolution authorizing and supporting the county’s application for a Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission grant to help pay for the county’s share of building a segment of the Smith River Trail system known as the Dick and Willie Passage.
Federal funding of $1.2 million was received to help build that section of the trail, and the county was to pay a 20 percent match or about $200,000, he said. The county had hoped to use in-kind contributions to meet its match but was unable to find enough to make up the full amount, Summerlin said.
A $100,000 grant application will be submitted to the tobacco commission to keep from putting local funds into the project, Summerlin said.
• Approved a resolution required by the Virginia Department of Transportation to allow Summerlin to sign documents associated with a project to improve 0.19 of a mile of South Street and 0.04 of a mile of Pleasant Ridge, from Linden Road to Fairystone Park Highway. The project is intended to bring both sections up to state standards and include them in the secondary road system.
• Approved a proposed budget calendar for fiscal 2010-11 that includes a joint budget work session with the school board on Feb. 23 and a work session on the school budget and total county budget on April 6. Both the school and the total county budgets are set to be adopted April 27 and appropriated May 25.
• Presented Iriswood District Supervisor Paula Burnette with a clock for her 16 years of service on the board. Burnette’s term ends Dec. 31, as does the one term of Collinsville District Supervisor Jim McMillian. He has said he wanted no recognition and did not attend the meeting.
Board members who were present praised Burnette’s work and commitment to residents and the county.
The supervisors also thanked McMillian for his service.
• Heard an update from Lois Christensen, executive director of the Gateway Streetscape Foundation.
The agency began in 1990 to plant and maintain trees and shrubs on public lands, Christensen said.
It has an annual budget of $120,660 and receives $13,300 from Henry County for horticulture work, she said, and added the county has given the same amount since 2002.
There are three full-time staff, Christensen said of herself, an office manager and a maintenance and/or project assistant. The agency has 45 county sites to maintain.
• Appropriated a $4,219 reimbursement from the Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services for EMS training-related expenses as requested by the Henry County Department of Public Safety. The funds will be used to replace broken chairs in a classroom at the Emergency Services Training Center.
• Awarded a contract after accepting a grant and appropriating a Department of Justice COPS Technology Grant.
Henry County Sheriff Lane Perry asked supervisors to appropriate a $75,000 grant from the Department of Justice’s COPS Technology program.
When combined with existing funds of $3,160, the grant will be used to buy 16 digital in-car camera systems from WatchGuard Video of Plano, Texas, at a total cost of $78,160.
• Accepted a $13,928.50 grant from a Bulletproof Vest Program through the Department of Justice. The grant will be combined with a local match of $13,928.50 to buy up to 28 replacement vests from PT Armor of Fairfax.
• Awarded a $68,359.08 contract to low bidder Town Police Supply of Collinsville to pay for security rifle mounts in vehicles ($19,735.32) and night vision equipment ($48,623.76) needed at the sheriff’s office.
• Awarded a $64,350 contract to low bidder John Bryant Inc. of Fieldale to replace an HVAC (heating and cooling) system in the former Henry County courthouse using grants provided by the Harvest Foundation and Save America’s Treasures.
• Approved a consent agenda.
• In closed session, consulted with the county attorney on pending legal matters, the acquisition/disposal of real estate and discussed as-yet unannounced industries. The board also discussed appointees to the Patriot Centre Advisory Board, Community Policy and Management Team, Public Service Authority and the West Piedmont Planning District Commission in closed session. |
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