GOVERNMENT Ashland Town Council continues affordable housing conversation FARRAR
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COUNTY County offices and solid waste centers closed Jan. 18 and Jan. 21
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Vol. 4 No. 17 | Richmond Suburban News | January 9, 2019
Businesses see value in Hanover By Jim Ridolphi for Ashland-Hanover Local MECHANICSVILLE – For the past 12 months, Hanover County has continued on a course of positive economic development, attracting a variety of new businesses and enhancing the county’s overall economic development outlook. With an award-winning school system, government that welcomes and accommodates new business and supports existing ones and a growing viable workface, businesses of all sizes continue to eye Hanover as the right destination for their new ventures. “The last 24 months have provided some of the strongest economic development growth Hanover County has seen within the last 10 years,” Linwood Thomas, economic development director, recently said. Some of those developments included: Blue Bell Ice Cream, Hartfiel Automation, Publix, Northlake Commerce Center, General RV, Lansing Building Products, Red Rooster, Hobby Lobby, and Cascades.
Photo courtesy of JLL
The Bear Island paper mill is located in Doswell just south of Kings Dominion.
One of the biggest impacts was felt when Cascades reopened the Bear Island facility, restoring jobs for about 80 employees and reopening a facility that represents a major portion of the county’s industrial base. “Cascades is one of the biggest corporate announcements Hanover County has ever been a part of and when they take over operations sometime in 2021 they will again be one of our largest taxpayers,” Thomas said. A major portion of those economic efforts focus
Publix open in Mechanicsville
on existing businesses and industries located in Hanover County. “The most critical asset you have in economic development is your existing industries,” Thomas said. “I am extremely proud that our team was able to play a small part in the expansion of over 40 existing industries this past year, which is almost double the number of expansion of 21 in 2017.” Thomas said the county enjoys a favorable
Jim Ridolphi/Ashland-Hanover Local
ASHLAND -- Since the beginning of the school year, Hanover County Public Schools has used five inclement weather days due to two hurricanes and a major snowstorm. As outlined in the 2018-2019 HCPS school calendar, the following changes will take effect: Jan. 24 -- Full day (originally an early closing for a staff/faculty workday) Feb. 18 -- Full day (originally an early closing for parent-teacher conferences) As a reminder, there are 10 inclement weather days built into the calendar to recapture lost instructional time and meet state requirements. Some of these days are designated as “banked” days where a makeup day is not required, while others are designated as makeup days. The first four inclement weather days are “banked” days that do not require a makeup day. Days five, six and seven are designated as
see VALUE pg. 6
see WEATHER pg. 9
CIP public hearing set for February By Jim Ridolphi for Ashland-Hanover Local
Publix deli manager Kevin Wert and deli associate Danyel Hirschler greeted a group of Hanover County officials, including Scott Wyatt, Cold Harbor representative on the Hanover County Board of Supervisors, who is seen taking a tour of the new bakery. The new grocery store at 6603 Mechanicsville Tpk. in Mechanicsville officially opened at 7 a.m. Saturday. A preview for Hanover County officials and the media was held Friday morning.
School calendar changed for bad weather days
ASHLAND -- Setting priorities for a Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) is easier said than done, and localities across the Commonwealth are required to update and revise CIPs on an annual basis. Last week, Ashland Town Council members heard a report by Assistant Town Manager Matt Reynal outlining projects currently listed on several priority lists — one from the Planning Commission, another from staff and preliminary listing by council.
In the end, priorities set by council are the ones that take precedence and will guide the town regarding future financial decisions and REYNAL serve as a blueprint for public improvements and projects. Reynal’s report did reveal what some council members perceived as a minor disconnect between the three entities, and -- although many of the
projects appeared on all three lists -their orders of priority differed. “Once we go through this process and you determine whether or not you want to go through the ranking process again, then I will update the individual projects to reflect council’s priorities,” Reynal said. “At the end of the day, council’s priorities end up being those that are listed as priorities. These are Planning Commission recommendations to you and now your priorities will alter that recommendation,” Town Manager Joshua Farrar said. see CIP, pg. 9