In Brief . . .

After receiving no comment during a public hearing, Bath County supervisors amended the county Erosion and Sedimentation ordinance to bring it into compliance with state law. Supervisors rejected suggested increases in E&S permit fees and directed county administrator Bonnie Johnson to determine the actual cost for these services.

Supervisors approved a request to use up to $5,000 from the excess approved for the Virginia Department of Health budget to hire a parttime person to administer a program to bring a dentist to the county to provide free dentistry services. Becky Armstrong of Bath Community Hospital told the board about local dentist support, bringing Dr. John Howard D.D.S. and his mobile dental unit to the county a couple of times a year. The program is in the preinitiation stage, said Armstrong.

Three capital improvement programs in process at the end of 2006-07 require the board to amend the 2007-08 budget to include money for the projects so they may be completed. The board set a public hearing for Aug. 14. The projects include Bath County High School renovations; Cedar Creek water treatment plant, and the Bacova- Crowdertown water project.

The board appointed Sherry Ryder as zoning administrator and thanked Bonnie Johnson for serving in that capacity.

John Garland of Spectrum Design has agreed to hold a meeting in Millboro to discuss his proposal for converting the old Millboro school to apartments. The proposal from Spectrum Design was the only one received by the county. Supervisors said they were not in favor of freezing property taxes as requested by Garland. The estimated cost to the county is $500,000. Chairman Cliff Gilchrest noted this is well below the estimate received two years ago to remove asbestos and demolish the buildings.

The county continues to have difficulty with bears removing trash from Dumpsters along U.S. 220 near Poor Farm Road. Supervisors considered requesting the game commission trap. Supervisor Richard Byrd said the problem needs to be solved or the boxes removed before the trash becomes a pollution problem in the creek.

Gilchrest reported negotiations continue for relocating the Millboro green box site to the industrial park. The old site was closed after problems with illegal dumping. Supervisors will consider disposing of the old property, which was a dump site.