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Camp participants work on dribbling skills at the Coolwell Recreation Center in this 2020 file photo. Resurfacing the center’s basketball court, a projected $62,000 cost, is among line items in Amherst County’s draft capital improvements list for the fiscal year 2023-24 budget. Long Reach Excavator
Youth soccer is seen here at the Coolwell Recreation Center during April 2022. Amherst County's draft 2023-24 capital improvements list includes $50,000 for improving access for handicapped individuals at the park, as well as $115,000 for paving an access road.
The trail at Riveredge Park in Madison Heights.
In a Jan. 3 work session to prioritize capital improvements spending in the upcoming 2023-24 fiscal year, the Amherst County Board of Supervisors discussed funding for just more than a dozen projects and line items that combined are $4 million.
With the use of grant funding, though, that total is projected to range from $1.4 million to $1.6 million in county spending.
Capital improvements are projects or spending on non-personnel needs that exceed $50,000. The board reviewed a list of 15 line items for potential inclusion in the capital improvement plan (CIP).
Tom Martin, the board’s chair, asked Stacey McBride, the county’s finance director, what is feasible as far as funding in the CIP. McBride said the board typically aims for $1.5 million.
Vice Chair Jimmy Ayers said the board needs to be mindful of the imminent budget season in bracing for a request of additional local funding from Amherst County Public Schools. Superintendent William Wells has said he expects to request $2 million in added funding from the county in the 2023-‘24 fiscal year that begins July 1. The board of supervisors for the past several years has level funded the division at $13.9 million but Wells has indicated the schools would request more than that, likely at $2 million or more.
“Obviously, it sounds like the schools are going to hit us hard,” Ayers said. “That’s what we have to keep in the back of our mind.”
The CIP list includes $50,000 for a handicapped-accessible sidewalk at the Coolwell Recreation Center, $150,000 toward a parks and recreation department master plan, $62,000 to resurface the basketball court at the Coolwell center and $77,000 to expand the parking lot at the Monroe Community Center. The draft list also includes $63,000 for a ballfield/infield maintenance machine, a piece of equipment that will allow county staff to provide assistance in maintaining all athletic fields in the county, according to county documents.
Vehicles in the draft CIP list include $125,000 for a water truck to serve the county landfill, a service truck for the public works department at $105,000, a boom axe tractor, which can cut trees and brush, at $105,000; a $93,750 truck for the public safety department and $300,000 to replace a large track hoe excavator to be used primarily for the landfill.
The draft list also includes $115,000 to pave an access road at the Coolwell Recreation Center and $191,000 combined in spending to pave the solid waste convenience centers at Warrick Barn Road and U.S. 60 East.
Supervisor Claudia Tucker said she was “really bullish” on wanting to see the Warrick Barn site paved, describing it as resembling a pigpen when it rains.
“To me, it seems we need to do better than that,” Tucker said.
The board also discussed the parking lot expansion for the Monroe Community Center, which houses the parks and recreation offices and regularly holds events.
“One of the things I’ve learned in my time as director is our building is getting used and used more every day,” said Randy Nixon, who heads the parks and recreation department. “If you come out on a Tuesday, you can’t find a parking spot. It’s tight. We’re looking at trying to utilize that building a lot more. It’s a need. It’s a real need ... it’s really tight.”
A command center for the Amherst County Sheriff’s Office, a mobile operations unit that would be used for “natural, man-made or critical incident events,” according to county documents, also is a $150,000 line item in the CIP. McBride told supervisors the command center has 100% grant funding rather than money allocated through the county’s general fund.
Another major project, $2.4 million for a trail extension around Riveredge Park in Madison Heights, also is largely grant funded, according to Interim County Administrator Jeremy Bryant. The county’s potential share toward that project is expected to be in the $200,000 range, Bryant said.
The project would extend the trail along the river and connect to the James River Heritage Trail, meeting a goal of connecting lower Madison Heights with Lynchburg’s trail system network, according to county documents. Bryant said part of the Central Virginia Training Center property, a state-owned campus that closed in 2020 and is targeted for development, would be needed for the trail extension.
Extending the trail from Riveredge Park along the James River is a goal for the county- connecting lower Madison heights with Lynchburg City’s trail system network.
“The county has been so committed to that project,” Tucker said, adding she would like the board to continue in supporting it as it can.
The board’s next work session on supplemental spending projections in the fiscal year 2024 budget is set for 5 p.m. Jan. 17.
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In a Jan. 3 work session to prioritize capital improvements spending in the upcoming 2023-24 fiscal year, the Amherst County Board of Supervis…
Camp participants work on dribbling skills at the Coolwell Recreation Center in this 2020 file photo. Resurfacing the center’s basketball court, a projected $62,000 cost, is among line items in Amherst County’s draft capital improvements list for the fiscal year 2023-24 budget.
Youth soccer is seen here at the Coolwell Recreation Center during April 2022. Amherst County's draft 2023-24 capital improvements list includes $50,000 for improving access for handicapped individuals at the park, as well as $115,000 for paving an access road.
The trail at Riveredge Park in Madison Heights.
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