We’re LIVE! at today’s RIFA meeting at Danville Regional Airport. This article is now complete.
It’s 11:50 AM, so everybody starts with lunch.
You can’t go wrong with a sandwich from Main Street Coffee Emporium.
We’re almost ready for the meeting to start.
We start with the letter from the Army Corps of Engineers that we published earlier today.
Ric Drazenovich talks about the Army Corps of Engineers’ letter.
Ric Drazenovich talks about the letter. He says the Burlington Hurt site is an EPA Superfund site. He says there’s an exception process that lets the Department of Environmental Quality issue the permit that allows up to 1 acre of wetland removal. This would require a change in the land plots.
Lee Vogler expresses his frustration and says “we’re back to where we started” and encourages lobbying to get legislation to stop the corps’ objections. Fred Shanks says that some of the answers that RIFA gave could have been better. Drazenovich urges the DEQ permit option because time is ticking on the Tobacco Commission money to clear and grade the lot.
Later in the meeting, Telly Tucker said that the time limit on the site preparation grants had been extended to 1/1/2017, so the clock isn’t ticking as fast anymore.
Fred Shanks does an awesome Horatio Caine impression.
It will take 3 weeks to get the application for the bypass permit and there’s a 90 day time limit on the answer. But the Corps would have to agree to the bypass, and I don’t like those chances.
Brenda Bowman speaks her mind.
There’s unanimous board support for notifying our congressional delegation of these specific issues. No official action taken. Coy Harville asks for the Danville City Council, the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors and the RIFA board to pass a joint resolution endorsing congressional action to get this problem taken care of.
Telly Tucker is always the center of attention.
Telly Tucker says that the Tobacco Commission approved the $2.2 million grant request for running water lines to the MegaPark. Extensions were also granted for the lot grading grants until 1/1/2017.
Next, the board renews a hunting lease on the Berry Hill property with Jay & Brent Clodfelter for an annual payment of $2,000. Fred Shanks notes that RIFA has made over $50,000 in hunting leases and credits Coy Harville with the idea. Hey, if the land can’t be graded for site preparation, you might as well get some money from the property. Mike Adkins goes over the financial reports, and that’s it for the business section of the meeting.
The board moves into closed session and back out in less than 15 minutes. The around the horn session is nothing, and Sherman Saunders adjourns the meeting.
That’s the most detailed media coverage of this meeting that you’ll find anywhere! We’re heading to the Danville Planning Commission meeting next, and that’s coming up here on SouthsideCentral!
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