Lori Graham
Contributing Writer
Montgomery County Board of Supervisors continued discussion of the placement of three additional security resource officers in response to Christiansburg Town Council’s urgence for the county to pay for the SROs.
The supervisors were led by Supervisor Mary Biggs in the absence of Chair Sherri Blevins during the evening’s meeting on Monday, June 26.
According to Craig Meadows, County Administrator, the Montgomery County FY 2023-24 budget includes three additional SROs. The Board of Supervisors maintains a majority stance that it is not the county’s responsibility to provide officers for all the county’s public schools.
Supervisor Todd King disagreed, stating that this is something that could be done for one year while the county works to train additional officers.
“I said upfront, I think it is our responsibility,” Supervisor Todd King said. “My main concern is right now, keeping them three that’s in there in the Christiansburg schools already. They already know the students, they know the staff, they are comfortable with them. I just think, several on this board have sit here and said, safety is our priority, safety for our citizens.”
King went on to say that he thinks the county should give Christiansburg the $203,000 to pay for the Christiansburg school resource officers that have already been in place.
Biggs asked for further discussion from other supervisors on their thoughts.
“I just think if you do that, you are opening up a can of worms,” Supervisor Darrell Sheppard said. “Because you know who else is going to want money, and it will cost more than $200,000. We don’t make decisions for Christiansburg.”
Supervisors all supported the same notion that it is best for all schools to have an officer and they are planning to move towards that as a goal for the county.
“I think it would be ideal if we had SROs in every school,” Supervisor Sara Bohn said.
Supervisor April DeMotts felt that Christiansburg’s decision to not pay for SROs in the coming fiscal year has made the town citizens upset, resulting in a shift of responsibility to the county.
“If the town decides to move forward with their decision to remove them, then we have a plan to replace them,” DeMotts said. “We can’t replace them immediately. They’re probably fully aware of that.”
DeMotts went on to say that if the county is paying for them then they should be sheriff’s deputies.
Supervisor Steve Fijalkowski also agreed with DeMotts and expressed that their goal was to make sure that schools outside of the county were being supported, since town schools are supported by Christiansburg police officers.
“If they want to get paid, they are talking to the wrong board,” Fijalkowski said. “They are trying to make it sound like the schools belong to the county.”
Fijalkowski continues to hold the position that they do not support the income of the town’s police officers.
In other actions during the meeting, the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors met with unanimous approval for a withdrawal request by DW, LLC. As previously advertised, the request was addressed during public hearing to withdraw approximately 46.990 acres from Agricultural and Forestal District (AFD) #7 with the purpose of applying for a special use permit to convert the property to a recreational vehicle (RV) park for short-term transient vehicles.
Brea Hopkins, Director of Planning and GIS Services, presented to the supervisors about the property located on Brammer Lane off Houchins Road, in the Shawsville magisterial district. According to Hopkins, the property will agree with the required criteria in meeting with the agricultural zoning of the property, is in line with the comprehensive plan, will provide for minor negative impact on the natural environment, and increase economic growth for the county. The full criteria that the request must adhere to can be found on the agenda, or in the live recorded video, at www.montva.com.
“The AFD committee met on Thursday, June 1st. They voted to recommend approval of the withdrawal request,” Hopkins said. “Following that, the Planning Commission held a public hearing. They also recommended approval of the request and that was on a 7-2 vote. We had two absent from that meeting. There were no speakers at the public hearing.”
Hopkins also shared that two citizens have inquired about the property’s development. One was a concern about the impact on streams located on the property and the other was concerning fencing to deter trespassers. Hopkins explained that the citizens will receive further notice, and additional comments can be made at a public hearing, if a special use permit is granted in the future.
Gary Duncan of Duncan Imports and Classics in Christiansburg was the only citizen to address the supervisors during the public hearing session of the meeting concerning the withdrawal request.
“If you don’t know, we have a collector warehouse, we have people that come from all over the country, and we have ballgames. This land came available. Of course, I grew up in Montgomery County; in Christiansburg and Blacksburg, and I just appreciate the opportunity to let us do this,” Duncan said.
One speaker addressed the supervisors during the citizens comment portion of the meeting. Bruce Board, of Riner, spoke to the supervisors concerning the Auburn Park practice fields. Board had previously expressed unease about the lack of a practice field for the Boys 13-18 age group.
“I went to the Planning Commission meeting, and two of the planning commission people and one of the board people all said that there was a field that would work for those boys,” Board said. “I went to the planning commission and now they realize, no, there isn’t one.”
Other actions taken by supervisors during the new business session of the meeting included a 6-0 vote in approval of a total increase in the FY 23 budget due to the appropriations of $300,000 for the school nutrition program.
Additionally, as advertised by the county in the agenda, The General Assembly has established the American Resolution 250 Commission to serve as an advisory commission to plan the commemoration of the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution, the American Revolution War and the independence of the United States. Localities are encouraged to establish a Local VA250 Commission to join in the planning for this large-scale commemoration at the state and local level.
Montgomery County, Virginia, and the United States, will be celebrating 250 years in 2026. Planning committees will be under consideration in the near future and citizens are encouraged to become involved in preparations for the events if they so desire.
The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved this resolution.
