The Board of Supervisors held a regular meeting Tuesday, Feb. 10. An agenda and complete video of the meeting are available on the county website.
Highlights include:
Employee recognized for dedication and service during Winter Storm Fern
Winter Storm Fern made getting around extremely difficult for travelers, and county employees were no exception. At the Board’s work session, County Manager John A. Vithoulkas recognized custodial maintenance worker Julie Smith.
Smith typically takes a bus to and from work. However, GRTC buses were not servicing their routes on Monday, Jan. 26. Instead of calling out, she walked 12 miles to work in the freezing weather and icy conditions. Once there, she took on tasks to support multiple county agencies during the Emergency Operations Center activation in addition to her daily responsibilities.
“This level of dedication is rare and speaks volumes about Julie’s character, sense of responsibility and loyalty not only to her team, but to the county as a whole,” Vithoulkas said.
In recognition of Smith’s dedication, Vithoulkas, with consent from the Board of Supervisors, presented Smith with a spot bonus. This type of employee recognition is exceptionally rare, according to Vithoulkas.
“Don’t worry; we made sure she got a ride home that evening!” Vithoulkas said. Attendees gave Smith a standing ovation as she accepted the recognition and bonus.
‘Always planning for the worst-case scenario’; Public Works director gives inside look to the storm response
Director of Public Works Terrell Hughes presented a detailed look into his department’s planning and execution of resources during Winter Storm Fern.
Public Works began planning Monday, Jan. 19, when the weather forecasts suggested the possibility of 20-plus inches of snow for Henrico. While the forecast changed throughout the week, the department’s preparation process didn’t.
“We are always planning for the worst-case scenario,” Hughes said.
The salt domes were filled, and the plows were prepped throughout the week. The department also stocked up on sand to mix with the salt in case of freezing rain. Public Works last needed the sand-salt mix in 2018.
The storm began Saturday, Jan. 24 and continued through Monday, Jan. 26, beginning with snow and turning into sleet, which was not initially forecasted. Public Works focused its efforts on the primary and secondary roads, including emergency service routes. These initial efforts would also typically include utility restoration routes in coordination with Dominion Energy, but thankfully, this was not necessary this time.
By early Tuesday, Jan. 27, the primary and secondary routes were clear. At this point in a typical storm, plowing would begin in subdivisions. However, the subfreezing temperatures overnight had frozen the mixture of sleet and snow on the roads into a multi-inch layer of ice. The plows were unable to push it, and some ended up damaged in the process. Only the heaviest equipment could work on the ice, which reduced the usual fleet of around 125 vehicles to 25.
Faced with this shortage of available equipment and the fact that even the usable equipment took hours to clear short stretches of road, Public Works prioritized hills and emergency routes. Additionally, temperatures remained too low for the salt to melt the ice. This continued throughout the week.
While the heavy equipment worked gradually in the subdivisions, plows still in service were being prepped for a potential second blast of snow beginning Saturday, Jan 31. That snow didn’t come, and a second break brought ample sunshine and daytime temperatures that rose above freezing. The department immediately sent its full fleet to the subdivisions to spread a layer of the salt and sand mixture to promote traction and melting.
As of Tuesday evening, the ice on most subdivision roads had melted. Even more than two weeks after the storm, Public Works continued to deploy resources to clear roads with less sun and/or traffic.
Hughes explained his plans to have after-action meetings with his road maintenance and supervisory staff to discuss how they could have potentially responded better, but that he is overall proud of the dedication his team showed during an extreme, unprecedented event.
Fire, Public Relations highlight response to Winter Storm Fern
Following Hughes, Fire Chief Jackson Baynard and Director of Public Relations Ben Sheppard shared details of their respective teams’ efforts during and after the storm.
“This storm taxed our resources,” Baynard said.
On Monday, Jan. 26, the Division of Fire responded to 219 calls for service, far above the typical average of 140-150 calls. Over the course of the week, crews responded to 295 fall calls alone.
Baynard discussed how county firefighters pride themselves on their creativity in emergency situations, and this storm was no different. For example, firefighters used axes to break up the ice so they could safely move patients into ambulances.
He thanked leadership from the Emergency Operations Center for their assistance throughout the event, specifically mentioning leadership from Public Works, Public Relations, Police and 911. The departments’ work and coordination of resources saved lives, Baynard said.
He also thanked Recreation & Parks, which assigned its plows to fire stations to ensure emergency responders could handle calls for service.
“It really and truly was a one team, one mission as we move forward in the county,” he said.
As for Public Relations, Sheppard explained the department’s strategy for communicating with the public.
“As you all know, when things like this happen, we really can’t overcommunicate, and that was our approach from the beginning,” he said.
Public Relations provided regular updates to social media and coordinated with local news media to reach as many people as possible.
The department manages 24 social media accounts, including those in Public Works and the various public safety agencies. The coordination of messaging from each department’s channel and sharing between the accounts resulted in unprecedented outreach numbers.
During the three-week period that included the storm and its aftermath, the main government’s Facebook page had 3.2 million impressions, which is the number of times its content showed up on a user’s feed. During an average week, the page has about 180,000 impressions. One of the FAQs posted from the Public Works Facebook page hit 484,000 views alone.
“I share all that to let you know that I think our focus of using every possible outlet worked, but I also know that we can always learn and do better,” Sheppard said. He invited residents to participate in PR’s communications survey, which asks how residents receive and would like to receive communications from the county.
Next Board of Supervisors meeting is Tuesday, Feb. 24
The next Board meeting will be Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 6 p.m. in the Board Room at the Henrico County Government Center, 4301 E. Parham Road.
Livestreams, meeting agendas and more are available on the Board of Supervisors webpage.
Planning board meetings
The Planning Commission hearings are held on the second Thursday of the month at 6 p.m. in the Board Room of the County Administration Building, 4301 E. Parham Road.
The public hearings of the Board of Zoning Appeals are held on the fourth Thursday of the months January through October, and the third Thursday of the months November and December. The hearings begin at 9 a.m. in the Board Room of the County Administration Building, 4301 E. Parham Road.
More information on the Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals scheduled hearings, video livestreams and more can be found on the Planning Department’s meeting webpage.