Chesterfield Government

County looking to create five new voting precincts

By Caleb M Soptelean on January 15, 2019 Board of Supervisors, Chesterfield Government

New Board of Supervisors Chair Leslie Haley Five new voting precincts could be in effect for elections later this year if a proposal from the county registrar is approved by the board of supervisors. Following long lines at several county precincts on Nov. 6, Chesterfield registrar Constance Tyler recommended that five of the largest precincts be split. The supervisors scheduled a public hearing on the matter at their Jan. 23 meeting. A moratorium on precinct splits goes into effect Feb. 1 and runs until May 15, 2021, so the supervisors are required to act before then to make any changes.…

Chesterfield County names Hughes community corrections services director

By Press release on December 24, 2018 Chesterfield Government

Gary Hughes Chesterfield County recently named Gary Hughes its new director of community corrections services. Hughes has 20 years of experience in the community corrections services field. He has been director of Henrico County’s community corrections services department since 2016. Hughes has overseen Henrico’s probation, pretrial and adult drug treatment court operations. Prior to Henrico, Hughes was with Chesterfield County’s community corrections services for 10 years. He first joined Chesterfield in 2006 as a probation officer, and he became a probation supervisor in 2010, overseeing a staff of 10. Before coming to Chesterfield, Hughes was an adult probation officer in…

County not following court’s recommendation on cell phones: Two remedies already in place, officials say

By Caleb M Soptelean on December 24, 2018 Chesterfield Government, Courts

Storage lockers are located outside the courthouse. A recent recommendation from the Virginia Supreme Court that would allow electronic devices in courthouses will not be followed in Chesterfield, but a couple of proactive steps have already been made, county officials said. In a press release dated Dec. 14, state Supreme Court Chief Justice Donald W. Lemons said that he and his fellow justices adopted a “model policy” for use in courthouses across the state. The policy recommends that portable electronic devices – including cell phones, personal computers, tablets, e-book readers and smart watches – be allowed in courthouses, subject to…

State of the county: New transportation, schools, ‘Uber-esque’ services discussed

By Caleb M Soptelean on December 18, 2018 Chesterfield Government

Joe Casey speaks Dec. 12 about the ‘state of the county.’ Chesterfield County is a great place to live. That’s the word from county administrator Joe Casey, who spoke to a large crowd at the Chesterfield Career and Tech Center last week. Casey highlighted a number of items in his 25-minute “state of the county” speech, including the fact that the county was the only one in the region to reduce its real estate property tax rate this year. The tax was reduced by a penny to 95 cents for $100 of assessed value. In addition, he noted that the…

Good economic outlook projected to continue

By Caleb M Soptelean on December 18, 2018 Chesterfield Government

Everything’s coming up roses, economically speaking, county officials say. In a quarterly key financial indicators report that was presented to county supervisors Dec. 12, senior budget analyst Gerard Durkin said the county is partaking in the second largest economic expansion in the nation’s history (114 months). The county’s unemployment rate is 2.7 percent, he said, and noted that the sales tax revenue for the year is up 5.4 percent from last year. “We expect strong performance throughout Fiscal Year 2019 and heading into Fiscal Year 2020,” he said. Durkin sounded a note of caution, however, and noted that corporate and…

Supervisors approve grant funding for multiple projects

By Caleb M Soptelean on December 18, 2018 Board of Supervisors, Chesterfield Government

The consent agenda approved last week by the Chesterfield County supervisors contained several items of note representing various interests.School safety Those concerned about school security may be pleased to learn that the county accepted a $500,000 federal grant that will result in electronic access control being added to 26 elementary schools that do not currently have it, along with nine elementary schools that have limited electronic access technology. The grant requires a $220,500 local match that will come from Chesterfield County Public Schools Safety and Security Capital Improvement Plan funds. The federal funds are from the U.S. Department of Justice…

Chesterfield begins academy for adults with disabilities

By Press release on December 18, 2018 Chesterfield Government, Community

ABOVE: Travis Akins shakes the hand of a recruit for the county’s new Growth Through Opportunity Academy during an event Dec. 4. Chesterfield County’s public safety and general services departments recently kicked off the inaugural 16-week Growth Through Opportunity cadet academy, the first such academy in the Richmond region. The program will provide five adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities the opportunity to learn job skills from county employees. The goal is to enhance safety and understanding among the cadets and first responders, and to help cadets develop transferable knowledge, skills and abilities to earn competitive employment upon completion of the…

Where legislation begins? School board asks legislators for help

By Caleb M Soptelean on December 4, 2018 Politics, Schools, State News

ABOVE: Matoaca District school board rep Rob Thompson, center, speaks while state Sen. Rosalyn Dance and House Speaker Kirk Cox listen. Adding school resource officers at each of the 38 elementary schools in Chesterfield County was one topic discussed at a joint meeting of school board members and local state legislators last week. The school board made some of their requests known during the Nov. 27 meeting with seven state legislators at the Chesterfield Career and Tech Center. “We would be grateful for any help,” board member Dianne Smith said. The SRO funding is part of a list of recommendations from…

Wedded bliss? County approves permit for wedding venue

By Caleb M Soptelean on November 27, 2018 Board of Supervisors, Business, Chesterfield Government

A wedding venue was given permission to keep operating last week. The Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a conditional use permit for the Little Wedding Garden. Cecelia LePage, a licensed Baptist minister, has been performing wedding ceremonies in her backyard since January 2017. She applied for a permit after a neighbor made a noise complaint in March 2018, a county staffer said. “It’s my ministry,” LePage told the supervisors on Nov. 14. “I’m here to help these women. I serve an underserved part of this population.” LePage charges $95 for a service Monday through Thursday and $120 for…

Miles names Darji chief deputy, fires Childrey, McKenna

By Caleb M Soptelean on November 20, 2018 Chesterfield Government, Courts

ABOVE: Upper left, Sangeeta Darji; Upper right: Tom McKenna; Bottom: John Childrey Chesterfield County’s new commonwealth’s attorney, Scott Miles, was sworn in to the position Tuesday, Nov. 13. Miles, a Democrat, upset Republican John Childrey for the seat created when longtime commonwealth’s attorney Billy Davenport retired July 1. Miles, who won by 2,731 votes, or 1.9 percentage points, named Sangeeta Darji his chief deputy. An alumna of Chesterfield County Public Schools, Darji graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a bachelor of science degree in 1997 and earned a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh. She previously worked for the…

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