Howard Mowry, Gloucester Point Virginia

Mr. Mowry's remarks during the February 28, 2017 joint meeting of the Gloucester County, Virginia Board of Supervisors and School Board.

 Intro: Chairman’s, Members of the Boards, Dr. Clemons, & Mr. Fedors, Staff

Howard Mowry, Gloucester Point

1.   Scrap the idea of improving the Transportation/Facilities site on the old Page site and move your process directly to the new Page Site. Costs a little more but is assessable for the next 25 years where Route 17 (Interstate) will be a disaster.

Reduce the passenger vehicle inventory, to what is really needed, scattering the fleet around the county to hide vehicles that may not move once a week borders on criminal, and only increases the budgetary costs to insurance and upkeep.

2.   County Garage, call out the fire marshal and the hazmat team right now and secure that place. Clean up and bulldoze immediately. The below the ground level pit I thought was illegal. Who is really watching the store?

3.   Teachers Salaries, I must have been asleep in the past as I reviewed the current scale and then accomplished a timeline. The salaries have been stagnating in growth. With a projected loss of 75 students or 750 thousand dollars, these funds could be re-directed to a change in the scale make-up.

 Let us not forget we cannot compare ourselves to any other county or city in the area. We must stand-alone; our revenues are driven by industry, business and taxes, (which do not need increasing). Many spend their money across the river, a greater variety of stores and close to one another a cost saver but a revenue loss to Gloucester.

So back to the scale, which is equal or very, close to the 2015 state salary average or above? The scale needs a lot of improvement such as:

38 teachers are past grade 31 in salary, how do you arrive at these annual salary values?

Even though the Bachelor and the Master’s are equal in step alignment step 1,2, 3 from step 0 and the salary increase is equal at 582 dollars or 2.61 cents a day, the scale continues to follow the same course to step four, where you are looking at 5 years of service or 4.07 cents a day increase.

          Now the first of two kickers, step 5 taking away step 4 salary is an increase of 104 dollars or .52 cents a day for 6 years of work. Who would hang around for this salary schedule?

 After 25 years of service the salary has increased by 20.59 cents a day from the fifth step. Of course, the scale changes annually by step and the increases still parallel one another the costs do not stand still but increase yearly. What would the scales look like if compressed to 25 years, or 15 levels spread over 10 steps or 20 to 25 years?

There could be a need to define a separate scale for those subjects that require continued life improvement and educational and occupational advancement, and a separate scale established to create a higher level of learning to compete with the international workforce that is moving into this country. 

          The scale needs a lot of work to ensure we are not a stepping-stone to other divisions.

As time runs out the need for a town hall meeting on the combined budgets needs to be considered and held on a Saturday afternoon.

I thank you for the time.

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Mr. Howard Mowry, Gloucester Point, Virginia

Mr. Howard Mowry, Gloucester Point, Virginia

We would like to introduce Mr. Howard Mowry of Gloucester Point, Virginia. Many of you already know Howard and his long record of following our local government and speaking out during public comment periods of Board of Supervisors, School Board and other public meetings pertaining to our local governance. Howard shares the following with us:

    I moved to Gloucester eighteen years ago and continued my hobby of following local Counties’ government for ten years. If the citizens do not follow their governing’s actions they would be in deep trouble. The process of tax and spend is an ongoing annual onslaught against the citizens net income. Most do not care especially in small counties where the largest employer is the Government. The nepotism, inter-relationship to business creates a system of quiet do not disturb mentality that has a wide range of negative impacts to those who are not a part of the system.

    This process is slowly changing in Gloucester as the population grows and more "outsiders" are moving in and becoming pro-active to their local government’s fiscal and managerial practices. Some very positive changes have occurred in the past four years but there is still a long way to go to make the process self-sufficient.    

    Since 1999 I have been a small voice at the local Board of Supervisors and School Board meetings, some suggestions have been implemented many haven't.  Many of ones suggestions that can save funding (tax increases) will go by the wayside since it may affect a retirement pension or become a cost effective solution. God forbid we don't want to go that far in creating a lean and mean cost effective government.

    Consolidation has always been one of my prime positions, the need to have sixteen department heads in-lieu of eight could save up to one million a year, also providing a ladder for promotions that is now almost non-existent unless you leave the county.

    I have written many articles over the years pertaining to government and some with spreadsheets to emphasize rising costs or lack of annual changes in doing business the same as usual.

    Time does not stop for no one but time should be able to provide the incentive for the young to step up to the plate and follow their local government. The regulations and policies they put in place annually may in their out years become the foundation where you are no longer a free person or country. Will I or we see change as the annual process of budgeting and taxing of your net pay takes place over the next several months? Without an increased showing of citizen participation at the meetings it will be hard to determine.

    One thing for sure the special interests will stand tall asking for more; and will want to raise taxes to fill their individual needs. 

The following are Howard’s public comments during the February 7, 2017 Board of Supervisors meeting. We will gladly publish any and all public comments made at public meetings as they are submitted to us at Kennysr61@Gmail.com

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Mr. Chairman:  Members of the Board, Mr. Fedors & Mr. Wilmot.

Howard Mowry, Gloucester Point

            As promised to a few folks I recommend you follow through on this topic since you have already have had a discussion on the subject in the past. Over the past eight years, the working force has seen their economy and jobs decrease to the point where they have to work multiple jobs to stay afloat. This in turn decreases the amount of time they can donate to critical positions required in the county.

          I am speaking about our Rescue Program in the county; many hours are required to learn and become a licensed EMT by the state and be able to operate the vehicle. With this in mind and you should never be caught where you cannot answer the bell.

          I recommend you proceed to have all ambulance movement in the county be a paid for service and all employees receive a salary. There are provisions that can be accomplished for those who lack the insurance for payment as covered by law.

          To make this process work I would suggest you send a small group to Richmond County and be briefed on how they operate and collect their funds for a successful rescue operation in their community.

          I have attached a copy of a redacted billing that provides how the process is billed and what the individual pays, depending on their policy.  The winner now in Gloucester is the insurance company, a profit to the shareholder. 

          With billing to insurance, you free up a large possible budget allocation for items necessary to upgrade and maintain your existing excellence service.

          A process worth tackling immediately and implementing the first of July 017.

2.      The subject of proffers ties into the above subject, a positive use for these funds. Connecting to a shopping center is a disaster, look to Newport News and the carts are left strewed all over the place, especially in the housing areas. We also do not need to waste funds on sidewalks that parallel interstate 17. This highway will eventually become eight lanes wide and the jackhammers will only remove them. Short lane is also a waste of money since it could also become a four-lane road interesting with a four lane T.C. Walker extension towards route 14. I do not believe you are at the 12 year markers, so keep your money in investment until you can spend it wisely.

3.      The change in the real property tax year may well pass tonight, but keep in mind to eliminate stealing from the public the tax rate change should only occur on the first day of the new fiscal year. The windfall then is non-existent; this process should also apply to personal property. If not the need for a balanced budget is only an exercise in balancing numbers to meet state audit regulation, the taxpayer is the loser.

4.      You need to push the buttons at VDOT to have Route 17 re-painted, the lines are just about gone creating a driving hazard at night. Appreciate all you can do to correct this safety hazard.

I thank you for your time.

The following are the public comments Howard made at the Public Hearings on the County Administrator’s proposed list of Capital Improvements (Buildings, parks, parking lots and such they want to build or fix), and on proposed changes to our local government’s ordinance (Local law) on Noise Control. These public hearings also took place during the February 7th meeting:

1.CIP

          Politically you all have major needs at the taxpayers’ expense. The best way is Pay as you go.

          The most critical at present are the software programs that interact with all departments including all public service equipment both audio and software.

School HVAC units have been neglected for more than 40 years now is the time to upgrade without debt.  Buses are an annual requirement by regulation. Millions have been spent on school roofing, the need to have in-house engineering or high school seniors or juniors using a CAD system design truss systems for all the schools similar to Page, along with metal roofing applied. A major cost savings over time.

          Debt needs to be restrained for the next five years at least. Paying down the existing 50 to 60 million unfunded and obligated debt is necessary.

          Consolidation of transportation, facilities, and utilities on one site at T.C. Walker road is a must.

          What has happened to the utility funds outside of the consent order? What is left and why can it not be obligated and utilized now?

2. Noise Control: 

Sitting on my porch today, it was vehicular noisy, are you going to build a wall to suppress this discomfort? I think not.

Noise is music to one’s ear, some for the good and some an irritation. You need to be selective in government control of private property including the individual.

Noise suppression from 10 to 6 AM is a norm. All areas that have condensed housing may have logical restrictions

If you live in the boonies with acreage, you need no government interference unless you are exceeding logical noise decibels.

Animals and fowl talk at all hours of the day or night. Neighbors need to communicate with each other if a problem arises. Most can be resolved without a government rule or the sheriff showing up at the door.

Only the elderly hear some noise so an ordinance would not apply. Loud could be soft who knows.

Let us put logic into the government’s methods as they try to control the mass, which will not work in the long haul.

We thank Howard for his efforts and for his submission. We encourage other Gloucester residents, landowners and businesses to actively follow our elected and employed local government representatives and administrators, and to help hold them accountable for their actions. Remember, all levels of government belong to We The People, but that ownership becomes compromised and weak when We consent to their actions by our silence.

The following web address is to the video recording of the February 7^th Board of Supervisors meeting:
http://gloucester.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=10&clip_id=1667

My experiences while serving as an At-Large member of the Gloucester County, Virginia Public Utilities Advisory Committee (PUAC) (The 4th in a series of articles about my experiences and findings)

Our Public Water Distribution System

Once our drinking water is processed at our treatment plants it is pumped into our mostly underground pipe distribution system. I say mostly underground because within our system there are three elevated water storage tanks commonly referred to as water towers. These towers are where our water is stored to readily accommodate customer demand. Ideally in water systems like ours where hydraulic pressure created by elevating the storage tanks (gravity) eliminates the need for electricity powered pumps to deliver water under pressure to customers, elevated water towers should be constructed at as close to the same capacity and elevation as possible. There are numerous reasons for building water towers like this; of which include water quality, pressure control and system costs. Unfortunately our water towers were not built that way.

Our public water supply system began in the Courthouse area back in the 1950’s. A separate water tower and public supply system was constructed in the Gloucester Point area in the early 1970’s. The two systems were connected together and our third water tower was constructed in the mid 1990’s. Our public water supply system now has a 250,000 gal water tower located in the Courthouse area, a one million gal tower at the old Page Middle School site and a 250,000 tower at Gloucester Point that are all connected together and to our water treatment plants. The Courthouse tower’s full water elevation is 198 feet above sea level, the Page tower was constructed with a full elevation of 215 feet above sea level and the Point tower has a full water elevation of 160 feet above sea level. As can be seen, the Courthouse and Page towers are quite a bit higher in elevation than the Point tower, with the Page tower, geographically located in between the other two, being the highest and largest of the three.

I am of the opinion that the Page water tower was built at the elevation it was to facilitate water requirements associated with the Gloucester Business Park where Canon and other businesses are located. In other words; the good ole boy system was working at its finest.  

The differences in our water tower sizes and elevations make it hard to control water quality in the Courthouse and Point water towers; I’ll explain. Once a water tower is filled, the supply to the tower is supposed to be turned off until the level of water in the tank drops to a specified level. Once the specified level is reached the supply to the tower is turned back on until it is full again. This fill, drop scenario is commonly referred to as water turnover and is supposed to occur continuously. This does not happen at the Courthouse and Point towers because the Page tower is so much larger and higher in elevation that it causes the other two towers to constantly remain full. When stored water does not get turned over frequently and regularly, disinfectant byproducts (DBPs) begin to consolidate.

DBPs are chemical, organic and inorganic substances that can form during a reaction of a disinfectant with naturally present organic matter in water. There are too many types of DBPs to list here but many are suspected of causing damage to the bladder, liver, kidneys and central nervous system. Some are also considered carcinogenic.

In order to achieve sufficient water turnover in the Courthouse and Point tower; Utilities employees must manually lower the water level in each tower by dumping water from the tanks onto the ground. Unfortunately, it does not appear Utilities has always been consistent in turning the water over in these towers. I believe our current Utilities employees do a much better job making sure DBPs do not build up, but I also know Utilities has sent high level DBP notifications to customers in the Gloucester Point area within the last year. I am unsure of the source of the DBPs that drove customer notification in the Point area because DBPs are known to consolidate in other areas of a water supply system. I do know the DBPs customers were warned about at the Point are associated with bladder cancer.

Our system currently has underground water supply lines that run along Short Lane Road, Guinea Road, Terrapin Cove Road, Providence Road and other roads, streets and cul-de-sacs  in which the waterlines dead end. Dead end lines such as the ones noted are also areas where DBPs are known to consolidate. This problem was first brought to my attention during my first visit to our water treatment plants. The statement made to me was to the effect of no one being able to guarantee that water high in DBPs was not consumed at T.C. Walker School which is supplied by the Short Lane Road waterline. It was added that it probably was consumed over a number of years. T.C. Walker is not our only public school connected to our public water supply system in this manner, as Achilles Elementary School is supplied with water from the end of the dead end Guinea Road waterline. An automatic flushing device was added to the Short Lane Road waterline about a year ago and Utilities’ current leadership has implemented a regular flushing and monitoring schedule that should prevent DBP consolidation in the other dead end lines.

Regularly flushing waterlines and fire hydrants is part of operating and maintaining a public water supply system. Like everything else I have talked about in these articles; regular flushing of our waterlines is something that did not occur for many years due to mismanagement and neglect. Now we have buildups of sediment in the bottom of many of our waterlines which causes many customers to end up with cloudy water in their sink whenever a fire hydrant is opened. Exercising valves and hydrants is part of any good flushing plan, but again, is something that was neglected in Gloucester for years. Now we have many valves in our system that will not close completely when needed. Utilities’ new leaders have made some progress in this area through reactionary efforts, but there is a lot more that needs to be done in a proactive and preventive manner.

Some areas of our water supply system are very old and in need of replacement. Utilities’ is constantly repairing leaks and replacing components of the system. Unless there is a much higher priority placed on water quality and accountability, I believe the repairs will continue and will likely intensify until such time as something catastrophic happens. I will share more about our water accountability in a later article.

It will take a rather large financial investment to bring our public water supply system up to acceptable standards and performance. We need to correct our water tower issues. We need to replace our out dated and defective water supply pipes and apparatuses. We need to adopt and enforce up to date construction standards. And we need to establish and enforce policies and procedures that will prevent future neglect and mismanagement of our public water supply system.

In my next article I will introduce our public sewer system. Environment conscious folks will not want to miss it.

Comments may be emailed to: Kennysr61@gmail.com.

Kenny Hogge, Sr.

Gloucester Point, Virginia

Mark Warner On "On Demand" Work Force

Friends,

I wanted to let you know about a significant issue I’ve started to focus on: the big shifts occurring in the workplace and among the workforce as more and more people work “on-demand” in what’s called the "sharing economy".

Whether by economic necessity or by choice, as many as one-third of American workers now piece together several on-demand opportunities to make a living. And with continuous advances in technology, that number continues to grow, especially as the Millennial generation enters the workforce.

Today, online platforms such as Airbnb, Uber, TaskRabbit and Etsy can provide easy-to-use digital platforms to match supply and demand for goods and services. These innovations are changing the traditional employee-employer dynamic.

The sharing or on-demand economy, where people are contract or freelance workers, provides exciting opportunities in terms of freedom and flexibility in hours and work-life balance. But many of these on-demand jobs do not provide traditional safety net protections for workers: unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation for injuries, or pension and retirement planning.

Yet Washington has mostly remained on the sidelines as the U.S. economy, its workforce and the work place, have undergone perhaps the most dramatic transformation in decades. As policymakers, we have a role to play with this tremendous shift.

Earlier this month, I delivered a speech about the potential impacts of generational and technological changes on the American economy. My recent op-ed in the Washington Postexplored some ways that policymakers might begin to address these challenges.

Finally, as I work to find solutions to make this sharing or on-demand economy work better for more people, I’d like to hear from you. If you are working in this on-demand economy, tell us your story: Is it working for you? Could it work better? What are the advantages of this type of work? Do you see any downsides?

Please email your thoughts to: projects@warner.senate.gov.

Thank you,


Mark R. Warner

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Governor McAuliffe Announces SOL Innovation Committee’s Interim Recommendations

RICHMOND - Today, Secretary of Education Anne Holton announced that the Standards of Learning (SOL) Innovation Committee has completed their first round of interim recommendations.

The Committee, composed of educators, advocates, legislators of both parties and business leaders from across the Commonwealth, has been working since July to craft a series of recommendations aimed at reforming the current assessment system.

The resulting twelve recommendations will now be sent to the Board of Education and the General Assembly, detailing ways to reform the SOL assessments, recognize and promote student growth, and encourage creativity in the classroom.

“Innovation is essential in building the kind of education system we need to meet the demands of the New Virginia Economy,” Governor McAuliffe said. “I am proud of the work these dedicated Virginians have done in just a few short months, and their twelve recommendations are an inspiring start to a years-long process. I look forward to working with them during the legislative session and beyond to make sure our accountability system is fair, effective, and beneficial to the students of the Commonwealth.”

“The SOL Innovation Committee represents the best and brightest of what Virginia has to offer,”said Secretary of Education Anne Holton. “These first twelve interim recommendations are proof that we assembled the right team to tackle a very complicated and contentious subject. With these proposals, we are one step closer to making our state-wide accountability system even better.”

Bipartisan legislation passed by the 2013 General Assembly and signed into law in April by Governor McAuliffe directs the SOL Innovation Committee to take a comprehensive look at the SOL assessments and accountability and instructional issues in order to make recommendations to the Board of Education and General Assembly.

The Committee’s work is ongoing, with further recommendation expected next year.

To read the full executive summary click here.

To read the full report click here.

(Did we say education?  Sorry, that was supposed to be propaganda training and disinformation ensuring that our children never understand their rights so that we may enslave them.)

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