Floyd supervisors approve Blue Ridge Parkway support, VRS hazardous-duty change and hazard-mitigation plan; authorize transfer-station grading and fee public-he

Floyd County supervisors moved quickly through several items Tuesday, voting to back a regional Blue Ridge Parkway initiative, adopt the New River Valley Hazard Mitigation Plan, approve a retirement-plan change that enables enhanced hazardous-duty retirement benefits for county first‑responders, and authorize a grading contract for the county transfer station. The board also authorized public hearings on proposed changes to the building-inspection and solid-waste fee schedules and reappointed a county representative to New River Community College.

The board voted 5‑0 to adopt a resolution supporting Blue Ridge Rising, the regional Blue Ridge Parkway initiative. Kevin Brandt, vice president for engagement at the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, briefed the board on the foundation’s role and the Appalachian Regional Commission grant that will fund corridor projects across 22 counties. "We kicked off an initiative called Blue Ridge Rising... it aspires to unite all the counties and the gateway communities," Brandt said during his presentation.

On another unanimous vote the board approved the New River Valley Hazard Mitigation Plan 2025 update, an FEMA‑reviewed document county staff say is required to preserve eligibility for certain disaster‑related grants. Planning and emergency‑management staff told supervisors the plan emphasizes sustaining essential services and power during widespread outages and adds county priorities such as medical‑care access to the regional mitigation list.

In a separate but related public‑safety action, the supervisors approved a VRS (Virginia Retirement System) change that the board’s staff and county emergency managers said is needed to enable enhanced hazardous‑duty retirement benefits for sheriff’s deputies and county EMS staff. The resolution asks the state retirement system to recognize specified positions as hazardous‑duty roles; county staff told the board the resulting employer contribution rate change will increase the county’s VRS employer cost by roughly 1.47 percentage points (the county estimates about $108,000 annually), while allowing eligible first responders to qualify for hazardous‑duty retirement provisions.

The board also authorized staff to advertise for bids to grade the county transfer station site. County staff said the work is intended to improve haul‑in and traffic flow and reduce the chance of load rejection from the contractor who hauls county tires and other materials; supervisors authorized the solicitation without a roll‑call tie to a specific funding source and asked staff to return with contract details.

Supervisors approved two administrative items that require public hearings before final adoption: revisions to the building‑inspection fee schedule and changes to the solid‑waste fee schedule (including a proposed update to how the county charges for tires). The board directed staff to advertise both public hearings; the solid‑waste fee hearing will include a proposal to keep a modest per‑tire fee for passenger wheels while charging large or commercial volumes by weight. During the discussion, staff noted nearby localities charge by the ton for commercial tire loads and recommended a tiered approach to reduce incentives for illegal dumping while keeping costs reasonable for residents.

The board also reappointed Margaret ("Peggy") DeWald to a four‑year term on the New River Community College board of trustees.

Votes at a glance - Adopt resolution supporting Blue Ridge Rising: approved 5‑0 (Booth, Kuchenberg, Bechtel, Cox, Turner: yes). - Adopt New River Valley Hazard Mitigation Plan (2025): approved 5‑0. - Approve transfer‑station grading bid advertisement: approved 5‑0. - Approve VRS enhanced hazardous‑duty benefits resolution (enabling hazardous‑duty retirement for qualifying first responders): approved 5‑0. - Authorize public hearing for building‑inspection fee schedule: authorized 5‑0 (hearing to be advertised July 8). - Authorize public hearing for solid‑waste fee schedule (includes tire‑fee revisions): authorized; roll call 4‑1 (Booth voted no; others yes). - Reappoint Margaret DeWald to New River Community College board (07/01/2025–06/30/2029): approved 5‑0.

Why this matters: The hazard‑mitigation plan preserves the county’s eligibility for FEMA disaster and mitigation grants; support for Blue Ridge Rising positions Floyd County to compete for state and federal funding tied to Parkway gateway projects; and the VRS decision responds to county requests to make first‑responder retirement packages competitive and reduce turnover among EMS and sheriff’s personnel.

What’s next: Staff will advertise the two fee‑schedule public hearings, solicit bids for transfer‑station grading and return with contract details and cost estimates for the board’s consideration. County staff said they will also circulate a detailed fiscal estimate for the VRS employer‑cost change once actuarial paperwork is finalized.