Scott York, chairman of the Board of Supervisors, has called on his colleagues to outsource operations at a correctional facility currently under construction and athletic fields planned for Bolen Park.
He also has recommended that the supervisors resurrect a committee to track health issues. The former board created the committee last October, and the new board abolished it in January. The move makes sense, York said, because the supervisors are now considering an amendment to the county's Comprehensive Plan to address Loudoun's health care needs.
"The committee would be a helpful mix of folks within the health care industry to make the board aware of issues we should be involved in and solve some of the challenges we have in the community," he said this week.
THE SUPERVISORS recently approved paying $22,830 for the Health Systems Agency of Northern Virginia to conduct a needs assessment for health care facilities in Loudoun County. It also backed a plan to hold a stake holders meeting, to develop a technical team of health care and public safety experts and to schedule separate Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors public hearings.
Regarding his other proposal, York said outsourcing the operation and food services of the correctional center and the athletic fields could save money. Outsourcing is a technique of transferring operations or services to outside contractors to reduce costs.
"There are a number of private sector firms that operate correctional facilities on behalf of municipalities," he said in a letter to the supervisors. He recommended having private sector firms bid against the county's own cost of operating the correctional center. The budget for the Sheriff's Department, which runs the county correctional center, is $41.3 million for Fiscal Year 2005. The board could maintain control by requiring the presence of a county employee at the facility, he said.
"I believe that if savings can be generated, the money can be used to put more officers on the street," he said.
Regarding the athletic fields, York suggested using Bolen Park as a benchmark for other outsourcing opportunities.
The supervisors are slated to discuss these options at their next meeting May 18.
THE BOARD of Supervisors has voted to:
* Phase out the board's America Online e-mail account, loudounbos@aol.com, and replace it with a new GroupWise account, bos@loudoun.gov. It also decided to retain e-mail addresses in a database after the board members leave office and research whether they can obtain e-mail lists that were compiled by former boards.
* Increase the fee for bounced checks made out to the county from $25 to $35.
* Start the process to accept $886,000 in Community Development Block Grant money.
* Approved 80 of 92 applications to add land to existing Agricultural and Forestal Districts.The purpose of the districts is to conserve, protect and encourage the development and improvement of the county's agricultural and forestal lands.
* Allow rezoning and special exception uses for the Dulles Trade Center IV, L.P., to develop up to 107,000 square feet for retail use on the west side of Route 606 opposite Route 614. In addition, the board allowed the company's development within 60 feet of adjacent residences rather than the required 100-foot setback.
* Approved Meadows Farm Nursery's request to have the board sign a contract with the Virginia Department of Health and the nursery to provide permanent pump and haul services to its proposed office building. The nursery is expanding its operation near Arcola. The county staff recommended denial, because the plan did not meet the criteria in the Comprehensive Plan. The Health Department also objected, because it historically recommends approval only in cases of existing occupied buildings that have failing or substandard sewage disposal systems. Soil evaluations, however, found no suitable soils to repair or expand the existing sewage disposal system that has had reoccurring problems.