Residents and community groups press Henrico on sewer access, youth fields and safety-net health services during budget hearing

During the March 25 budget public hearing, numerous registered speakers addressed county leaders on infrastructure, nonprofit health services and recreation access.

Residents who live on or near Cane Road urged the county to include long-established homes in the Tuckahoe Creek trunk sewer phase 2 project rather than wait for a later phase. Susan Ramsey, who said she has lived at 12735 Cane Road since February 2006, told the board that 12 established homes outside planned neighborhoods were excluded from phase 2 and said exclusion is inequitable. Ramsey said construction activity has caused groundwater and septic problems and stated that she has "seen a pH increase in my well from 7.8 to 9.1," which she called a significant change.

Yasmin Hamad, who said she spoke on behalf of "the 12 to 14 Cane Road residents," urged the county to add a change order now while contractors are on site, saying "you don't need new permits. It's gonna cost more" to return later.

Nonprofit health services and community clinics also addressed the board. Julie Bilodeau, CEO of Crossover Healthcare Ministry, described the clinic's services and patient population: "This past year, Crossover provided care for over 7,200 patients. And the largest percentage of our patients, 45 percent live in Henrico County." She said Crossover offers primary care, pediatrics (more than 1,000 children served last year), dental, vision, behavioral health and a licensed pharmacy that distributed more than $8 million in prescription medicines at minimal patient cost; she said a renovated maternal and child health suite will open in late 2025.

Youth soccer leaders said limited field access is threatening small clubs that serve low-income families. Hamid Zakkuri (ARIA RVA FC, executive director) and coach Stefan Brown described the club's growth and asked for more consistent access to county turf fields. Brown urged the board to consider a limited-access accommodation such as "even if you gave us a turf field once a week, we'll practice all 5 teams on that 1 field," and described repeated problems obtaining goals and unlocked fields at Brookley and Woodman parks ahead of games.

Several other speakers used public comment to critique county policy. Max Meisel urged Henrico to end its membership in the Virginia Association of Counties, citing the membership cost in the budget and arguing the county could buy individual services a la carte. Marlene Sherlock pressed for the board to set clearer expectations for the school division and to consider alternatives to simply increasing funding. Grama Montrose criticized the county's long-standing growth-and-tax strategy and argued against continuing large tax reductions as a development incentive.

Speakers also raised other issues including hair-follicle drug testing in juvenile court (Alyssa Jones asked the court and county to reconsider the weight given to hair tests because of racial bias concerns) and fluoride in the county water supply (a speaker argued against fluoridation and attributed legal and health concerns to county practice). Several supervisors and county staff responded that staff would follow up, and the manager noted department staff available to speak directly with commenters about specific service issues.

No board action was taken on the public comments during the hearing; the item on the FY26 budget was deferred to the April 8 meeting for further consideration.

Speakers quoted in this article spoke during the March 25 budget public hearing and are identified by name and role where they provided it.