By KAREN RHODES
A public-works facility or a new branch of Germanna Community College are two of the proposed uses for a parcel of county-owned land near Caroline Middle School.
The parcel at the intersection of Rogers Clark Boulevard and Devils Three Jump Road also is home to a county park, but there are still 116 acres left for county use.
Two factors complicate plans for the acreage. One is the presence of wetlands, but Planning Director Michael Finchum said they are conveniently situated in the middle of the land, in effect creating two equal-sized portions.
The other complication is that it was once the site of the county dump. Board of Supervisors Chairman Floyd Thomas remembers it as "a big hole you threw things in."
Figuring out the exact boundaries of that big hole and doing soil-suitability tests will be necessary to future development plans.
Supervisor Wayne Acors urged the board Thursday night to move quickly to find that out because Germanna is interested in building a branch campus in the area.
Jane Mills, a member of the college's board of directors, told supervisors that the school's largest enrollment increase came from Caroline students.
"That shows that, if we open a campus here, we'll have even higher attendance," she said.
Students in Caroline now have to travel to Germanna campuses in Spotsylvania, Locust Grove or Culpeper for classes, or take them online.
Mills said it might be a few years before the campus could be built, but Germanna would like to offer classes, "mostly general education classes, like English and math," at a temporary location. She mentioned the county library or Caroline High School as possible sites.
Collins said Germanna's staff is conducting surveys to gauge interest in the county and that a survey will be available to the public on the college's Web site as well.
Mills said school officials hope to open enrollment for a Caroline site in midspring.
In other business, the Board of Supervisors:
Heard a proposal on converting the old Ladysmith Library into a public meeting room, with a small kitchen and one or two office spaces. The building includes 1,200 square feet of air-conditioned space.
Heard from residents objecting to proposed restrictions on harvesting timber on industrial-zoned land. Though the board is trying to prevent the clear-cutting of wooded land, supervisors agreed that owners of industrial land who have paid higher taxes for years may be treated unfairly compared with owners of agricultural land.
"We need to go back to the drawing board and get this thing right," Supervisor D.M. "Maxie" Rozell Jr. said of the suggested amendment. "We don't want to damage homeowners. We need a happy medium."
Continued until Nov. 28 a discussion about an increase in the dog tag fee for pets that aren't spayed or neutered. It was made clear that the increase, from $5 per tag to $10 per tag, would not affect kennel owners of hunting dogs.
Acors, however, questioned whether the higher fee would produce the decrease in stray animals the board desires, or instead cause pet owners to skip getting a license altogether.
Acors also directed Assistant County Administrator Alan Partin to study the feasibility of issuing two-year tags. "A lot of people just don't come in because of the hassle," he said.
To reach KAREN RHODES:
Email: karenrhodes015@yahoo.com