[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",5980554,"mediaKeyId","5767377-e59babbd59d3c72148ff918b2d252d75","parentId",5767377,"title","Board backs applying for VDEM grant to finish high school emergency power work","audioSeconds",595,"startMs",2673000,"endMs",3268000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5767377-e59babbd59d3c72148ff918b2d252d75&start=2673&end=3268","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5767377-e59babbd59d3c72148ff918b2d252d75/thumbnail_2673000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/5980554/Gloucester-County/Virginia/Board-backs-applying-for-VDEM-grant-to-finish-high-school-emergency-power-work","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/5980554-098cd2fd457c6a66c5b4795045af453f/orig.mp4?Expires=1776203548&Signature=gauqn2zf7jAKEbXAZl8EESaMZGXjyiBySGPCR75LLu-SXmounoDXpFTGQQ5KFLafZplp4qrRkbslu5C55HHIsjkPBm4Fb1HyX2CCgjXN0DqjeI06lPOXVSu0lbfwmPO3e4dDvFjW1UXtHz1-bC1XYYArvdLABWLZJfFyeFvO7r7Um9M3rDcJP~hjgw-Ann-Qw2C7KDPIT~Y8XarDKRGccFnx8y7zz8LSzMG72e5~yFLycSTAL-QbtmmkheXgECyY3Ui2H92kb4sRQ6b9BRzC3DTTU3BdCcwHgoIV7t8oDpk2NOtwShxX6LGYvJIMKbVIvleIZgia3RfsRTwDD3wFpQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Gloucester County, VA","date","2025-09-17T13:04:30Z","article","County staff asked the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors for permission to apply for a Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) grant to complete electrical and pump-station work needed to operate Gloucester High School as an emergency shelter. Supervisors agreed to proceed with the application and requested follow-up details on final costs and legal funding eligibility.

Why this matters: completing this work would allow the high school to function as a community emergency shelter and could reduce the need to relocate students or close school operations during localized outages if sewer and critical systems can be operated by generator power.

County staff explained two related needs: (1) additional electrical connections and lighting in specific building areas identified during a recent generator exercise, and (2) a separate generator or connection for the school’s pump station so toilets and sewer systems would work if grid power failed. Staff said the generator installed during the school renovation has capacity but not all building circuits were connected during renovation and that an electrician and engineer are validating what additional connections are needed.

The VDEM grant program allows awards up to $450,000 for emergency-shelter preparedness, staff said. The packet included a vendor quote of $44,750 for pump-station equipment (the presentation said that amount would be plus installation); staff said estimates will be finalized before the grant application.

County Administrator Tipp Wilmot and other staff discussed funding options. Wilmot said county attorneys will need to weigh whether work can be classified as part of the school renovation and thus eligible for the school sales tax fund, or whether other funding sources or a county match would be required.

A supervisor asked whether the installed generator could have been connected to the pump station; staff said distance and site constraints make a separate, smaller generator adjacent to the pump station a more practical option and that Phillips (fuel vendor) had offered to provide a tank as part of the arrangement in exchange for fuel purchases.

Board members signaled support for applying: one supervisor said, \"We should apply for it,\" and the chair confirmed general agreement to move forward with the grant application. Staff said they will finalize prices, route the application through the county’s grant-review process, and return to the board if the grant is awarded to request acceptance and any required local match.

Less critical: staff noted that Peaslee is available as an existing shelter if urgent sheltering needs arise before work is complete, and the county will continue to evaluate whether some generator work could help the school continue operations during isolated outages even if full shelter status is not immediately available.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Gloucester County Board of Supervisors Meeting, 9/16/2025","oneSentenceSummary","County staff will apply for a VDEM grant that could pay up to $450,000 to finish electrical and pumping work tied to making the high school usable as an emergency shelter; the board asked staff to confirm costs and legal eligibility for funding sources before final acceptance.","taxTitle","Gloucester County, Virginia","taxId",30980,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},5980559,"Finance director presents unaudited FY2025 results; general fund projects modest surplus",1030,1571000,2601000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5767377-e59babbd59d3c72148ff918b2d252d75&start=1571&end=2601","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5767377-e59babbd59d3c72148ff918b2d252d75/thumbnail_1571000.jpg","/articles/5980559/Gloucester-County/Virginia/Finance-director-presents-unaudited-FY2025-results-general-fund-projects-modest-surplus","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/5980559-c6ff5baa4ec97dd0179eb54bfcf2f8ab/orig.mp4?Expires=1776203548&Signature=I44iTLZtY-2809eomBTyHD8RadkIyfvPMa0wci-JDa4etu4hIUGJC1SKqfOMAoesq4eF0ETfQTuaRTo-QAybSmxOxvwObXxUx3mrXdC0fbVDmzAkv-DY0-YvHe0hZfX4SPPuw9uc2H0rVAgYUMFAxV8MgTF-U7elF1pVs9GspoiL~zmB-vFIQw8ig-24MO5CQL-WbjtXkHaKrrd1deooM6gq9g1WuW2lJNCf2TI2O3mUSV~bMMonT2GvnkmBpQ7NmnWlGLB2eMIV057MZLt~Pt8vXN3JUx7kqYYELLPm5nb93B3I6ipjVsiCCC~4i1LhWws~DlOHH2~7WkhxSu086A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Miss Calabay presented the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors with an unaudited financial update for fiscal year 2025, which ended June 30. She said preliminary figures show the county likely will finish the year with a small surplus in the general fund and some one-time excess fund balance above the county policy threshold.

The nut graf: preliminary numbers guide budget planning and capital spending; auditors are scheduled on site next week and a final audited report will be presented later this year.

\"This is an unaudited report,\" Miss Calabay told the board and cautioned that figures could change during the audit. She said property taxes made up 62% of general fund revenue in FY25 and that a tax increase adopted during the budget season contributed to additional revenue recognition this year.

Miss Calabay walked the board through several key figures: she estimated general fund revenue would end about $830,000 above budget after accounting for shortfalls in some consumer-driven local taxes; she said general fund spending is expected to come in about 3% under budget (roughly $1.5 million in underspending) and that, after appropriations for the 2026 budget, the county would still have about $1.4 million in fund balance above the policy minimum of 16%.

She told supervisors that other-local-taxes (sales, lodging and meals) came in about $347,000 under budget, partially offsetting the property-tax gains. On the utilities fund, Miss Calabay said the unassigned fund balance is expected to be roughly $600,000 and reiterated prior guidance that a target fund balance for utilities should be on the order of 20–25% of expenditures.

Miss Calabay also summarized grant activity: the county submitted 43 grant applications in FY25 and was awarded about $1.7 million in grant funds, the majority at the state level. She noted federal grants made up a smaller portion of total awards.

On school-related funds, Miss Calabay reported the school sales tax generated $6,050,000 in FY25, bringing total revenue from the tax to about $23.3 million since inception, with roughly $1.3 million in interest earnings and about $8.5 million spent on eligible project debt service to date. The board discussed whether funds from the school sales tax could cover additional generator work at the high school; Miss Calabay said the county attorney would need to advise on eligibility and classification.

Miss Calabay reminded the board that external auditors will be on-site the coming week, and that the final audit presentation is scheduled for December. She said staff are working on the FY27 capital and operating budgets and will return with midyear updates in February.

Less critical: she asked the board whether they preferred a September preliminary update or a later October presentation with firmer numbers; several supervisors asked staff to prepare a recommendation on utilities fund balance transfers for an upcoming meeting.","County finance staff presented an unaudited year-end report showing the general fund expected to finish slightly above budget, property-tax increases beginning to show revenue, and grants and school sales tax balances noted.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},5980564,"County hears landfill update: 37-year life estimate, recycling up to 13.2%",964,577000,1541000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5767377-e59babbd59d3c72148ff918b2d252d75&start=577&end=1541","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5767377-e59babbd59d3c72148ff918b2d252d75/thumbnail_577000.jpg","/articles/5980564/Gloucester-County/Virginia/County-hears-landfill-update-37-year-life-estimate-recycling-up-to-132","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/5980564-dbfba469ed25657eefac34c43c9c755a/orig.mp4?Expires=1776203548&Signature=KWNYufTHbAg6hfGsrVq3E~gpNUooIlS9Cjlyo8FWHejTl3YxOnXEqWj8aw5NM2tvx8RD1I-PrseEmFNO8QDjLSbAcenvNUr9sXf~IbQDim3aSY9Sr2fFgGB1ixdAoqO-vZ6pCBMMAlbRrWH1ulyIzxhwF-hMNeTA4ud0VGm0SwQ0oLWBCTDpZBMeDO~~EM8Xy84J1k0Ky9mC9919MPFKZ96CRlkpIsRTL3CwoCp17SusbelCTZD1uSvabjC7-Uj7zp5DQj9568e41RX9K-eM7UocMYJQBKRJ1xASoS0F59oudcGe7QKIBtSaBAn7Eaev0NWGOIiRj~85g52i5gc3rw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Vince Jamieson, district manager of Middle Peninsula Landfill, and Brian Lewis, director of engineering services, briefed the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors on landfill operations and community impacts at the board’s work session. Jamieson said the site has roughly four decades of remaining capacity at current maximum tonnage.

The update matters because the landfill handles the county’s municipal solid waste, provides contract revenue to the county and supports local convenience centers; changes in tonnage, costs or environmental controls affect county budgets and residents living near the facility.

Jamieson told the board, “If we max out on tonnage every year going forward, there's still 37 years of life.” He said that figure assumes a maximum intake of about 660,000 tons per year and noted the facility accepts waste from Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia, and occasionally from New York and New Jersey.

Waste Management provided multi-year financial and tonnage data: contract revenue paid to Gloucester County totaled $541,932 in 2022, $788,900 in 2023 and $700,511 in 2024. Gloucester County households deposited 29,754 tons in 2022, 29,879 tons in 2023 and 28,928 tons in 2024, according to Jamieson. He declined a board member’s request to provide total site revenue when asked directly.

Jamieson reported the landfill had used cells 1 through 13 and 15 (skipping 14 in sequence) and said roughly 41.36% of the site’s permitted airspace has been filled. He described the renewable-energy system at the site as a landfill gas-to-energy installation and, speaking to board members, said it “produces 6 megawatts of power per hour, 24 hours a day.” He added the electricity is sold back to the grid.

On recycling and convenience-center operations, Waste Management reported single-year recycling rates (by tonnage categories that include paper, commingled containers, metal, brush, tires, used oil and batteries): 9.5% in 2022, 9% in 2023 and 13.15% in 2024. Jamieson said the county’s five convenience centers cost approximately $1,505,333 to operate in 2024, with trucking to haul trash $573,082, recycling $101,799, household hazardous waste events $106,000 and labor $724,512.

Jamieson also presented a comparative cost scenario: using a hypothetical gate rate of $35 per ton and an assumed transportation cost of about $28.80 per ton to move county waste to the next-closest landfill in Charles City, he calculated a total transport-and-disposal cost of about $63.80 per ton, which would equate to roughly $11,914,000 annually under that scenario. He told the board that calculation did not include convenience-center operating costs, which would need to be added.

Board members raised community concerns about odor and noise. Jamieson said the company “continues to add to our gas collection system every year,” and described the existing system: a concentrator that feeds the renewable-energy plant plus a flare for excess gas. On noise, he said a sound-study identified a blade-pass frequency in a blower motor; a manufacturer-recommended modification temporarily worsened noise and was reversed, and the firm is now exploring options including adding a silencer to the stack.

Jamieson described community engagement and local support, listing in-kind and monetary donations to local youth sports, education, festivals and nonprofit events, and described multiple recycling and education partnerships with county schools and civic organizations.

Supervisor questions focused on tonnage trends, permitted acreage and whether an existing borrow area (about 60 acres) had been used; Jamieson said the borrow area remains unused and that the site currently has 224 acres permitted for landfill operations. Brian Lewis joined Jamieson on technical responses.

The board did not take a formal vote on any operational changes during the presentation. Supervisors and Waste Management staff agreed to continue dialogue and to provide follow-up data on several items, including cell-life math and options for additional odor/noise mitigation.

Less critical details: Waste Management representatives said they occasionally receive small quantities of out-of-state waste and that company staff are available to answer additional questions after the meeting.","Waste Management representatives told the Gloucester County Board the Middle Peninsula Landfill still has decades of remaining capacity, reported recent recycling and revenue figures, and outlined ongoing work to reduce odors and noise.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Board backs applying for VDEM grant to finish high school emergency power work

Finance director presents unaudited FY2025 results; general fund projects modest surplus

County hears landfill update: 37-year life estimate, recycling up to 13.2%