Grab your walking shoes and get to know your supervisor! Chris McCotter discusses pressing matters and exciting initiatives in an email to his constituents on Monday March 11th:

“Greetings from Old Quarry Lane and the Cuckoo District!

As we head closer to spring I wanted to communicate with you regarding a number of topics. If you are receiving this and an officer of a subdivision, please feel free to forward to your members or point them to my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mccotterforcuckoodistrictsupervisor

I’ll start with my Walk & Talks. Each Sunday I plan on walking the communities around the lake and district, weather and schedule permitting. I’ve done Pine Harbor and Tall Pines so far. This is a way to meet you where you live and I hope you’ll join me for a walk and fellowship. The remaining schedule follows: 

• March 17 – Elk Creek Landing
• March 24 – Aspen Hill
• March 31 – Both Waters/Tara Woods
• April 7 – Seclusion Shores
• April 14 – Overton Fork
• April 21 – Lighthouse Point
• April 28 – Mill Run
• May 5 – Cuckoo’s Nest
• May 12 – Jerdone Island
• May 19 – Noah’s Landing

Real Estate Assessments

On to a topic I’m guessing many of you would like to discuss – the recent real estate assessments. I have received some communications from constituents unhappy with the increase in their assessments and I agree that three years in a row of increases is unpleasant and unsustainable. If the County continues to spend more money, though, this is the pattern. Most of your real estate taxes go to the schools, other portions go to public safety (fire/EMS and police), capital improvement/debt service (I know many of you want a new pickleball venue) and health and human services. 

Now we all know salaries have increased for teachers, first responders and construction/contractors (not to mention materials), and if we want to continue attracting top people the county needs to offer competitve compensation. Also, the lake and Louisa County are experiencing historic growth. Our population now stands at just over 40k with many new residents having built or moved into existing homes and the amounts they are paying has created a set of comparables that drives assessments upward in most cases. Keep in mind Louisa assesses annually at “market” value, however it’s rare that a home will sell for that amount – usually it’s considerably more. If you don’t sell your home, though, what these increased tax bills amount to is unrealized capital gains – your investment gains value but unless you take out a home equity loan (or sell) all you do is pay more. Of course I think it safe to say we all want our home’s value to increase but we don’t want it to do so based on comparables that are unrealistic.

So, where do we stand on this issue? I encourage you to weigh in with a realistic assessment – pun intended. I personally try to live within modest means based on my income and expenses. Overspending has consequences. As I said during my campaign, I’m looking very carefully at where the county is spending to see if there are ways to trim our budget instead of increasing it and feeding it with taxes. See graphic below for a breakdown of one dollar of County real estate taxes.

Shoreline Ordinance

Another item coming up for discussion is the possible repeal of the Louisa County Shoreline Regulations. These regulations went into affect in 2005 when a certain large dock project pushed the limits. Among other things, the regulations devised a 1/3 rule for boathouses in the back of coves and creeks as well as a method for determining how big a boathouse could be, design standards, lighting, etc. It was a good bit of regulation that has served the lake community well for years. Fast forward to today when the remaining backs of creeks and coves see increased pressure from developers and homeowners wanting to build. The extended property lines are making it difficult for the two entities that review boathouse plans (Louisa County Community Development and Dominion Energy) to find solutions that do not require waivers or special exceptions. There is also some overlap or double-checking depending on your point of view. Thus, Louisa County’s desire to consider repealing said ordinances and leave those decisions to Devin Payne, the Dominion Energy Reservoir Coordinator. 

Well, after an exhausted review where I spoke with representatives of County staff, developers, Supervisors and Dominion Energy, I have come to conclusion that repealing the County ordinance is unwise. I have asked County staff to create a compromise that keeps Louisa County involved in the review of commercial and common area structures as well as some aspects of residential boathouse and pier construction. I would like to know your thoughts. I don’t know how the board will vote on this matter, but I do know some will look to myself and Mineral District Supervisor Duane Adams for the lead. I want to be able to reflect a consensus so please weigh in.

Litter
We have a terrible, continuing problem with litter in Louisa County. Supervisor Adams asked Supervisor Rachael Jones and I to serve on a group to come up with solutions. We’ve met to discuss several paths forward. I will have resolution at the March 18 BOS meeting declaring the week of April 8-14 Louisa Clean Week to raise awareness as well to coincide with Louisa Clean’s efforts to conduct a County-wide clean. 

Look, we know where the litter originates: 1) contractors, 2) irresponsible trash collectors and 3) motorists that throw trash out of their vehicles. I have proposed a way deal with #1 and #2. I would support using a portion of building permit fees to pay for road cleanups. Also, I would support County refuse center and landfill staff to note any uncovered trash haulers and have them issued a citation and fine that would also be used to fund clean ups. I know the amount it would take to pay a contractor to clean our roadways and it’s an expense I believe we can offset. #3 is something that must be a cultural change. If you are the kind of person that throws trash out the window of your vehicle, in my opinion, you don’t even deserve to live in America. That includes cigarette butts. From the amount of alcoholic beverage containers along our roadways it’s also appalling to note the amount of drinking and driving going on. The efforts of Jody Korman and her Louisa Clean vols is commendable, but how long can we rely on them to clean the same roads every few weeks before they burn out?

Lastly, we are experiencing increased traffic due to a March refueling at North Anna at the intersection of Kentucky Springs and Johnson Road. That coupled with ongoing fiber construction plus seasonal visitors and poor road conditions and we have a the making of a dangerous situation. Please use caution, turn signals and avoid passing on the double lines on Kentucky Springs Road.

That’s all for now. I encourage you to attend the monthly BOS meeting on the first and third Mondays of the month in the Louisa County Administrative Building at 6 pm.

Remember, we all rise when we lift others!

Sincerely,
Christopher C. McCotter”

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