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When the remnants of Hurricane Helene came through Buckingham County, it caused flooding and roads to wash out. One of the bigger problems was on Allens Lake Road, where a pipe failed and portions of the road gave out. That same day, members of the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) came in, stuck a pipe back in and backfilled it with gravel, in order to get the people that live on the other side in and out. But that didn’t solve the problem. With the water gone and things cleaned up, VDOT is starting work on a more permanent fix. And that means traffic in the area will be a bit slower for a while.. 

“We started today (Tuesday) on a permanent repair,” said VDOT engineer Scott Frederick. Speaking to the Buckingham supervisors during their Tuesday, Oct. 15 meeting, Frederick said work should be finished soon. 

“We’re gonna keep one lane of traffic going and put the pipes in the way they should be,” Frederick said, adding that it should be finished by next month. 

Buckingham looks to sell industrial property

Buckingham supervisors are interested in selling some county owned property. After a closed session during their Tuesday, Oct. 15 meeting, the group unanimously gave Buckingham County Administrator Karl Carter authorization to sign a contract to begin negotiations to sell an estimated 9 acres of land at the industrial park to Central Virginia Christian School. No details were given in terms of asking price. 

Air BnB headed to public hearing 

Plans to add an Air Bnb property in Buckingham County will go to a public hearing. Buckingham supervisors unanimously agreed to move the project forward during their Tuesday, Oct. 15 meeting. 

Karen Kreps owns the property at 504 Woodland Church Road. The Austin, Texas resident previously told the planning board she wants to retire there eventually, but in the meantime use it as a short-term rental. The property on Woodland Church Road is in a village center zoning district, which doesn’t allow rental properties as a ‘by-right’ use, so Kreps needs a special use permit for that. 

Will Buckingham schools use solar? 

During the Buckingham School Board’s Wednesday, Oct. 9 meeting, members heard about the potential for an alternate way to power the school buildings. Vice Chair Joe Snoddy said he had been approached by a company out of Charlottesville, wanting to talk about solarizing the district’s buildings. 

“I’d like to bring those individuals to the table with our expenses and see what they have to offer for as far as possibilities for solar,” Snoddy told the board. “Nothing guaranteed but I’d like to hear what they have to say at a minimum.” 

Group members agreed and sent it to be looked at by the facilities committee.