Henrico officials close to finalizing list of November bond referendum projects

Henrico County officials have nearly finalized the list of infrastructure projects that will appear on a November bond referendum to be decided by voters.

The county’s board of supervisors heard its second referendum update in about two months Saturday during a one-day retreat. Updated plans, adjusted slightly since the last update they received in November, now tentatively call for $514.4 million in funding for projects that would total $534.4 million in cost. (Finance officials are proposing that preliminary design work for five of the projects, totaling $20 million, be funded through other sources.)

The projects would include the complete rebuild of four public schools – Quioccasin Middle School and Davis, Highland Springs and Longan elementary schools – and the construction of two new elementary schools, as well as the relocation of two fire stations, construction of a new no-kill animal shelter, creation of a new Far West End park and construction of a state-of-the-art public safety training facility, among other items.

Initial plans called for Quioccasin to be renovated, but officials have opted for a complete rebuild instead – and the Highland Springs Elementary rebuild plans were prompted a request from Varina District Supervisor Tyrone Nelson during the board’s November discussion.

Plans for enhancements to Deep Bottom Park in Varina ($10 million) and the Tuckahoe Creek Park in the Far West End ($5 million) also were added to the list of projects during the past two months.

The complete tentative list of proposed bond referendum projects:
• $89 million for the rebuild of Quioccasin Middle School;
• $45 million for the rebuild of Highland Springs Elementary School;
• $42 million for the rebuild of Longan Elementary School;
• $41 million for the rebuild of Davis Elementary School;
• $26.5 million for the renovation of the original portion of Holladay Elementary School;
• $47.7 million for the construction of a new West End elementary school;
• $46 million for the construction of a new River Mill-area elementary school;
• $16.3 million for the construction of an environmental education living facility for the public school system;
• $16 million for the relocation of Firehouse No. 1;
• $15.3 million for the relocation of Firehouse No. 6;
• $15 million for the replacement of Firehouse No. 11;
• $6.6 million for improvements to Firehouse Nos. 14, 15, 16 and 17.
• $18 million for the construction of a new public safety training center for the Division of Fire;
• $30 million for the construction of a new Three Chopt Area Park south of Kain Road, and associated road improvements and construction;
• $15 million for the construction of a no-kill animal shelter south of Kain Road;
• $50 million for a variety of drainage-enhancement projects in the county;
• $10 million for a variety of enhancements to Deep Bottom Park in Varina;
• $5 million for the next phase of Tuckahoe Creek Park.

Saturday, Fairfield District Supervisor Frank Thornton implored officials to add one project in his district – a renovation of the Vawter Street/Glen Lea Recreation Area, a complex that has been used for decades by Glen Lea youth sports organizations. The project has been among the items listed on the county’s capital improvement program (desired infrastructure improvements) for years, most recently at an estimated cost of nearly $6 million, but the CIP is funded only one year at a time, and the project hasn’t been included for funding to date.

Henrico County Manager John Vithoulkas told Thornton that he and Recreation and Parks Director Neil Luther would plan to walk the site with Thornton one day soon to evaluate it and consider it for inclusion.

“There’s no question on the financial aspect whether we can include it,” Vithoulkas said. “Absolutely.”

The county finds itself in arguably its most comfortable financial situation ever, with a general fund (or “rainy day fund”) balance of $413 million – the highest that total has ever been, equal to about 40% of its total annual expenses. (The county aims to have a fund balance of at least 15% of its annual expenses each year.)

Voters will have the chance to vote on the referendum in segments; projects will be divided into categories (education, public safety, recreation and parks, for example), and those that earn majority approval will pass, authorizing the county to sell bonds to fund the projects and to incur the associated debt.

Voters in the county have approved 10 of the 14 previous referendums; the last one to fail was a proposed meals tax in 2005, but voters subsequently approved that measure eight years later. The county's 2016 bond referendum, totaling $419.8-million, passed overwhelmingly.