The pink and white blooms of the dogwoods bring with them an update for Orange County. Last week, during a special meeting on April 2nd, the Board of Supervisors officially named Theodore “Ted” Voorhees as the new County Administrator.
Prior to joining Orange County, Ted was the County Administrator in Powhatan County for three years, preceded by stents as an elected official – in some capacity – in Bowling Green, Virginia and Durhman, Fayetteville, Wilmington and King, North Carolina.
PEC looks forward to meeting with and working alongside Ted, making sure he understands our position on the 2-acre by-right minimum in the agriculture zoning district, the Germanna Wilderness Area Plan, utility-scale solar facilities, and, among other things, the importance of public access to nature.
Other items on the county’s April 2nd agenda included a presentation of the FY 2021 budget and authorization to place ads and schedule public hearings on the proposed budget and tax rate. They also scheduled a public hearing for an extension of the tax due date, in response to COVID-19.
Based on the typical cycle for meetings (2nd and 4th Tuesday), the next Orange Board of Supervisors meeting would be on April 14. The Planning Commission has not held a meeting since January 2, due to a lack of content and COVID-19.
As of April 6th, the Town of Orange adopted an emergency ordinance to allow for continuity of government and to utilize electronic public meetings and hearings, in response to COVID-19. Adoption of the budget will be voted upon electronically, and the public hearing will tentatively be held on April 20.
The county and towns appear to be sticking to issues related to the current crisis and we do not anticipate any nonessential issues, such as land use proposals, to be progressed at this time. But we will be sure to let you know if this, or anything else, changes.
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to reach out to me.
Best,
Chris
Chris Hawk
Field Representative – Culpeper, Madison and Orange
The Piedmont Environmental Council
540-347-2334 ext. 7047
chawk@pecva.org
