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The Cumberland Board of Supervisors met on Tuesday, March 8 to discuss new business.

The Board held a public hearing for a conditional use permit application for High Bridge Stables Event Facility at 449 River Road, Farmville.

The event facility will take up about one acre of the 43.9-acre property that is a horse retirement boarding stable. The events at this location may include Town of Farmville Chamber of Commerce events, Longwood University class and school events, horse events, receptions, weddings, rehearsal dinners, baby showers and similar small events.

The horse events will include more relaxed events like beginner horse riding lessons. The events will be lowkey as they house retiree horses so nothing like barrel racing will take place.

Conditions for this permit include hours of operation not going past 10 p.m., no noise between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. daily with sound levels not detectable across property lines and lighting will not be a nuisance to adjacent properties. if law enforcement is contacted to restore order or address violations more than two times in 30 days the permit may be reviewed and revoked by the Board.

The applicant, Carter Adams, was present to answer questions from the Board along with owners Kay Adams and Adam and Anne Tyler Paulek. The Board did note how thorough the application and site plan were.

When asked about road access and visibility as many horse trailers and campers could be traveling the road. According to the applicant, part of the road caved in and was recently fixed. The trees around the powerlines adjacent to the property were recently cleared to give much more visibility to the road.

“Where sometimes it was like you couldn’t see perfectly, they cleared all the trees,” said Adams.

No one signed up to speak for this public hearing. The Board voted unanimously to approve the conditional use permit application.

OTHER BUSINESS:

• A public hearing was held for redistricting. Every 10 years when the census is updated, localities have to make sure all districts are equal or within 5% of each other. Cumberland County did not face drastic changes and the only adjustment was made to give a little bit of Districts 2 to District 3. No one signed up to speak. The Board voted to approve the changes.

• Casey Littlefield, the acting building official, gave a presentation on raising commercial fees to maintain the department and be cost-neutral. The Board voted to proceed with a discussion in the April board meeting with public comments.

• The Board appointed Robby Felts to the position of County Building Official, effective March 1, per requirements of 13VAC5-63-50. Section 105. Felts is duly certified through the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development and the International Code Council as a residential combination inspector and as an erosion and sediment inspector and as a fire prevention inspector.

• Cumberland County Public Library still has COVID-19 tests for those who need them. The Teamup calendar is now up and active for community groups to put events online. Residents can participate in Women’s History Bingo on its Facebook page to win prizes.

• The Board approved the refund of $4,386.12 which is to be issued by the Treasurer. This refund came from the Commissioner of Revenue reducing Real Estate Taxes for tax years 2020 and 2021 due to the property owners being eligible for tax relief.

• The Commonwealth Regional Council (CRC) assisted the county’s EMS department with the application for the Rescue Squad Assistance Fund (RSAF) Grant in order to purchase two heart monitors. The RSAF Grant is an 80/20 (State/Local) match. The cost of the two monitors totals $71,852.20. In July 2021, the County was awarded a grant totaling $57,481.76, 80% of the total cost of both monitors. On March 2, they received the grant funds awarded from the Office of Emergency Medical Services. Board approved a supplemental appropriation in the amount of $57,481.76 for the Emergency Services Department for the purchase of two heart monitors.

• The Board approved the appropriation of additional funding of $10,000 for the STEM Competition Team Grant for the Cumberland County School Board.

• The Board approved a supplemental appropriation in the amount of $14,778.66 to allocate these funds to General Properties – Machinery and Equipment in the fiscal year 2022 budget.

• The Board approved a supplemental appropriation in the amount of $171.94 to remit these funds to the Friends of Cumberland County Animal Control.