OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Albemarle County Board of Supervisors Special Legislative Forum – December 1, 2025

Board of Supervisors — Monday, December 1, 2025
BodyAlbemarle County, Virginia
SessionBoard of Supervisors
DateMonday, December 1, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:35:16

Transcript — Verbatim
0:01

Welcome.

0:04

I'd like to uh call together our special session on legislative priorities.

0:11

Um legislators on December 1st here at 10 a.m.

0:15

uh 241 and right on the back to our office.

0:19

Uh we've got Supervisor ML of the White Hall District, Supervisor Michael Rudolph Discussville District, Supervisor Dan McKay of the Jew District, Supervisor B.

0:28

Lapisto Kirkley in the Ravana District, Supervisor Ned Galloway of the Rio District, myself, Jim Andrews representing the Samuel Miller district.

0:35

So we have a forum and our number.

0:39

Also called Petro welcomes our Mr.

0:43

Richardson, Jeff Richardson, our county executive, Jandy Herrick, our county attorney, Emily Kilroy, Director of Dectown Development Table, President McGuurnament, Director, Deputy Director of Planning behind.

1:03

I also like to welcome our County Police Officers Present Officer and Officer Lauren Day and thank you for your service today on our behalf.

1:17

Well, mostly I really want to welcome our well at this point our delegate part of this.

1:28

Welcome, delegate.

1:37

I hope we'll be joined soon by delegate because she is on our wife.

1:42

So with the House District.

1:45

And we're also joined, thank you, Tracy Pepper, legislative director for Senator Group Days.

1:55

We appreciate the presence.

1:57

Thank you.

2:09

And I'm going to then turn it over if that's okay.

2:15

Who's first going to open with some description of a Ravana Futures project?

2:21

Yeah.

2:22

And AstraZeneca.

2:24

Excellent.

2:24

Thank you, Supervisor Andrews.

2:25

Thank you to the whole board of supervisors.

2:27

I forgot to mention Clinton Corporate Center Clark and Travis Morrisar Senior Depot.

2:32

Okay.

2:34

So to for our legislators and the Board of Supervisors, thank you for the time this morning.

2:38

This is the rough look at the agenda, and I'm going to transition to the podium.

2:52

If you have a burning question about anything that we're going over, please feel free to ask a question.

2:56

Don't feel like you need to wait.

3:09

And we wanted to take a minute as part of the legislative forum to go over some of this with you all.

3:15

Many of you were able to join us at the announcement event itself, and you've certainly seen some of the news articles.

3:21

But we wanted to sort of recognize the support that we've had at the state level onto Ravana Futures project, which has been many years in the making, that really positioned us to be successful for AstraZeneca.

3:32

And we thought it was important to just recognize that a little bit today.

3:37

So this is a graphic from the Ravana Futures work that we've really kicked off in earnest in 2023 that you all have seen before.

3:47

It sort of lays out the context for the county's land acquisition directly adjacent to Ravana Station, which is a military installation in Almoral County.

4:05

There's a defense intelligence agency presence here and support teams from the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency.

4:12

And that's uh in the areas labeled number one, two, and three.

4:17

Uh there's a private office building that is located directly adjacent to the secure perimeter there.

4:22

Um that is um office space that's used by um the mission uh Ravana Station.

4:27

Um and then um there have been for a very long time all of this uh undeveloped property around Ravenna Station.

4:36

Um and uh several years ago, the county uh really in partnership with the state, the um Veterans of Defense Affairs um Secretariat, um, a real focus on this being the only military installation in the Commonwealth of Virginia that has uh land available for expansion uh surrounding it.

4:52

So every other location in the Commonwealth is either surrounded by development or surrounded by water.

4:56

Um and the defense sector is a really critically important one for the Virginia economy.

5:02

And so it was of keen interest, really driven out of that office.

5:16

So much bigger of an opportunity than just Albemarle County.

5:20

And there's a lot of things to say about that now.

5:27

So state supported staff have been invited to participate in annual briefings to the Gambik.

5:32

Many of you have joined us at those briefings over the years just to give sort of a state of the property and the mission set there.

5:39

Compared to other military installations in the Commonwealth, Ravana Station has flown a little bit below the radar because of the nature of the work that they do there.

5:48

And so it's been really important to sort of raise awareness through those General Assembly military veterans caucus meetings about the work that they do here in Albemarle.

5:58

You all have been very supportive with state budget requests introduced in 2024 and 2025 towards Rovana Future site readiness.

6:06

And while state budget requests have not been successful through the end of the process, we think a lot of that has raised a lot of awareness about the opportunity, and we have been successful in getting 11 million dollars in site readiness funding from the state from the entities listed there, which have really enabled us to advance the work for property development that again has positioned us really well for the AstraZeneca opportunity.

6:32

So I just really wanted to take a moment to say thank you for this the support at the state level in helping to bring this vision that has felt multi-decade to fruition so quickly.

6:49

This is showing where AstraZeneca will be located as they complete their development over the next several years.

6:57

It's a total of 82 acres of the property, which is incredible.

7:03

The earlier version of this graphic had this area labeled as 30 acres.

7:16

Through the process of working with AstraZeneca to site their facility, we've we've sort of re-looked at how we conceived what areas are developable and what areas are not developable.

7:27

We had originally conceived this area in particular as being perhaps office suited for office type uses manufacturing footprint is much different than office.

7:36

And so we've learned a lot along the way on what's possible.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Safety███████████████████████23%
Transportation Safety███████████████████19%
Economic Development█████████████13%
Public Engagement████████████12%
Public Transportation████████8%
Energy Regulation████████8%
Affordable Housing████4%
Public Health████4%
Procedural███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Albemarle County Board of Supervisors Special Legislative Forum

On December 1, 2025, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors held a special legislative forum with state legislators Delegate Amy Laufer and Delegate Tracy Pepper (representing Senator Creigh Deeds) to discuss the county’s legislative priorities, economic development, and transportation funding. The forum featured presentations from county staff, board member comments, and a Q&A session. Key topics included the Rivanna Futures/AstraZeneca project, transportation funding challenges, the county’s 2026 legislative program, and a resolution honoring outgoing Supervisor Diantha McKeel.

Rivanna Futures and AstraZeneca Brief

  • Emily Kilroy, Director of Economic Development, presented an overview of the Rivanna Futures project, which has positioned the county to attract AstraZeneca. The project involves land acquisition adjacent to Rivanna Station (a military installation) and has received $11 million in state site-readiness funding. AstraZeneca will build a biopharmaceutical manufacturing campus on 82 acres, creating 600 direct jobs (minimum salary $125,000/year), an estimated 3,000 construction jobs, and a capital investment of $4.5 billion. The company’s multiplier effect is expected to generate 5 indirect jobs per direct job. AstraZeneca plans to incorporate sustainable building practices, including solar panels and closed-loop systems.
  • Board members expressed strong support, noting the project’s transformational potential for the local economy and job opportunities for families.

Transportation Funding Discussion

  • Kevin McDermott, Deputy Director of Planning, presented on transportation funding challenges, focusing on the state’s Smart Scale program. He noted that statewide Smart Scale funding has not kept pace with inflation, with only 53 projects funded statewide in the most recent round. The Culpeper District (which includes Albemarle) saw only 4 projects funded. Albemarle County has 165 transportation priorities but can only submit 4 applications per round via Smart Scale. Project costs have risen significantly—e.g., a roundabout estimated at $13 million in 2022 increased 30% by 2024. Maintenance costs are also rising, squeezing the construction budget.
  • Supervisor Ned Gallaway led board comments, emphasizing that transportation funding is a bipartisan issue and that the current system is inadequate. He called for increased funding and solutions beyond mileage-based user fees. Other supervisors echoed concerns about road maintenance, safety, and the need for a “Governor of the moment” to champion transportation investment. Supervisor Ann Mallek highlighted the link between housing development and transportation capacity. Supervisor Bea LaPisto-Kirtley noted that the fuel tax is no longer sufficient due to fuel efficiency and electric vehicles.
  • Delegate Laufer acknowledged the board’s frustration but noted that transportation is not her primary committee; she offered to share slides from a finance retreat. Delegate Pepper (for Senator Deeds) said she would relay the message and noted that the state budget faces many pressures, including Medicaid and K-12 rebenchmarking.

2026 Legislative Program and Legislative Positions

  • County Attorney Andy Herrick presented the county’s 2026 legislative program, which was restructured to include four priorities and 28 legislative positions (down from 50). The four priorities are:
    1. Enable localities to enforce the Virginia Landlord Tenant Act (local option).
    2. Expand authority for photo speed monitoring devices beyond school and construction zones.
    3. Allow a local referendum on a one-cent sales tax for school construction (repeat request, vetoed by governor in prior years).
    4. Budget amendment for $1.5 million to construct a trail in Biscuit Run Park (state-owned, county-leased).
  • The program also includes principles and positions on broadband, economic development, growth management, environmental protection, land use, transportation, health, housing, finance, and public safety, all seeking increased local authority and opposing unfunded mandates.
  • Delegate Laufer expressed confidence that the sales tax referendum would pass this year given new governor and supermajority support. She noted that the speed camera bill is still being refined (privacy concerns, revenue use). She agreed to check on the landlord-tenant bill with Delegate Price. She will also carry the Biscuit Run budget amendment again.
  • Board members provided supporting arguments: Supervisor Mallek shared a story about a tenant in a leaking mobile home with no recourse. Supervisor McKeel emphasized that speed cameras improve safety on rural roads where enforcement is difficult. Supervisor Pruitt added that the board also supports sunsetting development approvals and biosolids regulation, but those are not in the formal priorities.

Legislators’ Priorities / Questions & Answers

  • Delegate Laufer outlined her own priorities: pharmacy benefit manager reform, board of visitors governance for public universities, and other bills. She noted that the state is likely to see major debates on energy, data centers, and retail marijuana.
  • Delegate Pepper (for Senator Deeds) said Senator Deeds will carry bills on energy/data centers, criminal justice reform, gun violence prevention, higher education governance, and behavioral health. She also noted that Senator Deeds has a bill limit of 15-25.
  • Board members raised concerns about data centers, with Supervisor Andrews explaining the county’s approach (by-right up to 40,000 sq ft in certain areas, larger require special use permit). Supervisor Mallek urged legislators to preserve local authority on land use decisions, including solar siting and housing density mandates.

Key Outcomes

  • No formal votes were taken, but the board and legislators expressed alignment on several priorities. Delegate Laufer committed to pursuing the sales tax referendum, speed camera legislation, and Biscuit Run funding. She will also coordinate with Delegate Price on the landlord-tenant enforcement bill.
  • The board will continue to advocate for transportation funding reform at the state level.
  • A joint resolution honoring Supervisor Diantha McKeel for her 28 years of service (12 on the Board of Supervisors, 16 on the School Board) was presented by Delegate Laufer and Delegate Pepper (on behalf of Senator Deeds). The resolution will be entered into the permanent records of the General Assembly.

Adjournment

  • The meeting adjourned at approximately 12:00 PM, with the next meeting scheduled for December 3, 2025, at 1:00 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Welcome. I'd like to uh call together our special session on legislative priorities. Um legislators on December 1st here at 10 a.m. uh 241 and right on the back to our office. Uh we've got Supervisor ML of the White Hall District, Supervisor Michael Rudolph Discussville District, Supervisor Dan McKay of the Jew District, Supervisor B. Lapisto Kirkley in the Ravana District, Supervisor Ned Galloway of the Rio District, myself, Jim Andrews representing the Samuel Miller district. So we have a forum and our number. Also called Petro welcomes our Mr. Richardson, Jeff Richardson, our county executive, Jandy Herrick, our county attorney, Emily Kilroy, Director of Dectown Development Table, President McGuurnament, Director, Deputy Director of Planning behind. I also like to welcome our County Police Officers Present Officer and Officer Lauren Day and thank you for your service today on our behalf. Well, mostly I really want to welcome our well at this point our delegate part of this. Welcome, delegate. I hope we'll be joined soon by delegate because she is on our wife. So with the House District. And we're also joined, thank you, Tracy Pepper, legislative director for Senator Group Days. We appreciate the presence. Thank you. And I'm going to then turn it over if that's okay. Who's first going to open with some description of a Ravana Futures project? Yeah. And AstraZeneca. Excellent. Thank you, Supervisor Andrews. Thank you to the whole board of supervisors. I forgot to mention Clinton Corporate Center Clark and Travis Morrisar Senior Depot. Okay. So to for our legislators and the Board of Supervisors, thank you for the time this morning. This is the rough look at the agenda, and I'm going to transition to the podium. If you have a burning question about anything that we're going over, please feel free to ask a question. Don't feel like you need to wait. And we wanted to take a minute as part of the legislative forum to go over some of this with you all. Many of you were able to join us at the announcement event itself, and you've certainly seen some of the news articles. But we wanted to sort of recognize the support that we've had at the state level onto Ravana Futures project, which has been many years in the making, that really positioned us to be successful for AstraZeneca. And we thought it was important to just recognize that a little bit today. So this is a graphic from the Ravana Futures work that we've really kicked off in earnest in 2023 that you all have seen before. It sort of lays out the context for the county's land acquisition directly adjacent to Ravana Station, which is a military installation in Almoral County. There's a defense intelligence agency presence here and support teams from the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. And that's uh in the areas labeled number one, two, and three. Uh there's a private office building that is located directly adjacent to the secure perimeter there. Um that is um office space that's used by um the mission uh Ravana Station. Um and then um there have been for a very long time all of this uh undeveloped property around Ravenna Station. Um and uh several years ago, the county uh really in partnership with the state, the um Veterans of Defense Affairs um Secretariat, um, a real focus on this being the only military installation in the Commonwealth of Virginia that has uh land available for expansion uh surrounding it. So every other location in the Commonwealth is either surrounded by development or surrounded by water. Um and the defense sector is a really critically important one for the Virginia economy. And so it was of keen interest, really driven out of that office. So much bigger of an opportunity than just Albemarle County. And there's a lot of things to say about that now. So state supported staff have been invited to participate in annual briefings to the Gambik. Many of you have joined us at those briefings over the years just to give sort of a state of the property and the mission set there. Compared to other military installations in the Commonwealth, Ravana Station has flown a little bit below the radar because of the nature of the work that they do there.

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