Henrico supervisors elect Nelson as chair, make board and committee appointments

Varina Supervisor Tyrone Nelson was unanimously elected as chairman of the Henrico Board of Supervisors for 2024 during the board’s meeting Jan. 9.

He was nominated by Brookland Supervisor Dan Schmitt, the board’s sole remaining Republican member and only other member aside from Nelson to have served last year. Schmitt was nominated as vice chair by Three Chopt Supervisor Misty Whitehead.

Nelson indicated he wanted to keep the county’s current course.

“Henrico County is in a great place,” he said. “We are one of the strongest and well-managed counties in the commonwealth and maybe the nation. We have the second most jobs in the commonwealth behind only Fairfax County, which is four to five times larger. If we were a country, our economy would be the 99th largest in the world. Our challenge, and our opportunity, is to build on that solid foundation.”

Nelson mentioned several areas in which he’d like to see the county continue to grow, focusing specifically on environmental preservation efforts.

“I’m not sure there’s another community on the East Coast that can match what we do,” he said.

The board then made the following appointments:

Community Criminal Justice Board – Deputy County Manager for Public Safety Mike Y. Feinmel

Board of Social Services – Three Chopt Supervisor Misty Whitehead

Henrico Area Mental Health and Developmental Services Board – Business supervisor in the County Attorney’s Office Karen W. Grizzard (re-appointed), Serenity Kirby and Karen E. Metz.

Henrico Housing Advisory Committee – Costantine Canavos, Joshua A. Goldschmidt, Laura D. Layafette, and Danna M. Markland

Capital Region Workforce Partnership Consortium of Elected Officials – Brookland District Supervisor Dan Schmitt and Deputy County Manager for Community Affairs Monica Smith-Callahan

Richmond Regional Transportation Planning Organization Policy Board – Fairfield Supervisor Roscoe Cooper III, Tuckahoe Supervisor Jody Rogish, and Dan Schmitt (alternate)

PlanRVA Commission – All five supervisors and Henrico Planning Commission Chairman William Mackey

Greater Richmond Partnership Board of Directors – Jody Rogish

Board of Building Code Appeals – Recently retired Tuckahoe District Supervisor Pat O’Bannon (added as a tenth member to the board as a “citizen representative”), electrical contractor Keith Oley, plumbing contractor Terry Ledford, and residential builder William Goode Jr.

Board of Real Estate Review and Equalization – President of Marchetti Development Joseph Marchetti Jr. from the Brookland District and Norma B. Harris from the Varina District

Capital Region Airport Commission – Roscoe Cooper, III, Tyrone Nelson, Misty Whitehead, and Chairman and CEO of Ukrop Foods Bobby S. Ukrop

Central Virginia Waste Management Authority Board of Directors – Marcia E. Kelley; retired Virginia Department of Environmental Quality training coordinator and meeting planner Marilee N. Tretina; John Mitchell; Henrico Public Utilities Director Bentley P. Chan (alternate); Joshua C. Byerly (alternate); Jonathan R. Clary (alternate)

Local Emergency Planning Committee – Misty Whitehead

Henrico County Association of Volunteer Rescue Squads – Jody Rogish (non-voting member)

Maymont Foundation Board of Directors – Roscoe Cooper, III

Library Advisory Board – Valorie McBee from the Fairfield District and Gail A. Atkins from the Varina District

Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission – Misty Whitehead and Vikas Kapil from the Three Chopt District

Richmond Regional Tourism Board of Directors – Todd “Parney” Parnell

Keep Henrico Beautiful Committee – Bland S. Goddin and Priscilla W. Woods from the Varina District

The board will continue to meet on alternate Tuesdays — except in July and November, during which there will be only one meeting apiece; and in December, when it will meet on the first and third Tuesdays instead – but meetings now will start at 6 p.m. instead of 7 p.m. Specific meeting dates and links to webcasts are available on the county website.