James City County November elections

[Jahrules]

So, I want to start out this thread by saying I have no intent for this thread to become a political debate. Obviously, there are some big issues facing the country and many people have strong opinions on how to face those issues. This is not the place for that. I will also never encourage someone to vote for a candidate based solely on the letter in parentheses behind their name; but rather encourage everyone to learn the candidates stances before choosing who to support.

With that said, I'm fairly confident that the forum members won't take this thread to the wrong place which is why I decided to post it in the first place.

As theme park enthusiasts, our hobby is mostly free from politics, which is a good thing. Unfortunately, as we all know, some things don't happen in absense of politics. Especially in James City County where there exists the height waiver policy that requires Busch Gardens to inform the board of new rides of significance (exceeding 80 ft).

Finally we're to the point. Sorry in taking so long getting here.

As many of us saw, there was a lot of pushback on Busch Gardens 2021 project - particularly amongst the neighboring community of Kingsmill.

There are; as far as I can tell, three BOS members up for reelection this year. Two are running unopposed.

The only candidate being opposed is James McGlennon; the BOS member who represents the district that includes Kingsmill.

I'm not a resident and so I'm a bit disconnected from the locality. So I have some questions.

Has anyone been following this race? What are the candidates saying? Is Kingsmill supporting the opposition?

James McGlennon, as we know, took the unpopular (among his constituency) position and supported the Busch Gardens height waiver.

I guess I just wonder (and hope it's not true) if Kingsmill put this candidate forward with the intent of being a stick in Busch Gardens mud.

If you are in this district I would encourage you to look closely at the candidates platforms before choosing who to support.

Anyone local with more info? I may be completely off base, I just find it too coincidental that the only opposed BOS candidate is the one that defied Kingsmill..

 

[Red Drum]

Is that Professor McGlennon?

 

[BGWnut]

So, I want to start out this thread by saying I have no intent for this thread to become a political debate. Obviously, there are some big issues facing the country and many people have strong opinions on how to face those issues. This is not the place for that. I will also never encourage someone to vote for a candidate based solely on the letter in parentheses behind their name; but rather encourage everyone to learn the candidates stances before choosing who to support.

With that said, I'm fairly confident that the forum members won't take this thread to the wrong place which is why I decided to post it in the first place.

As theme park enthusiasts, our hobby is mostly free from politics, which is a good thing. Unfortunately, as we all know, things don't happen in a sense of politics. Especially in James City County where there exists the height waiver policy that requires Busch Gardens to inform the board of new rides of significance (exceeding 80 ft).

Finally we're to the point. Sorry in taking so long getting here.

As many of us saw, there was a lot of pushback on Busch Gardens 2021 project - particularly amongst the neighboring community of Kingsmill.

There are; as far as I can tell, three BOS members up for reelection this year. Two are running unopposed.

The only candidate being opposed is James McGlennon; the BOS member who represents the district that includes Kingsmill.

I'm not a resident and so I'm a bit disconnected from the locality. So I have some questions.

Has anyone been following this race? What are the candidates saying? Is Kingsmill supporting the opposition?

James McGlennon, as we know, took the unpopular (among his constituency) position and supported the Busch Gardens height waiver.

I guess I just wonder (and hope it's not true) if Kingsmill put this candidate forward with the intent of being a stick in Busch Gardens mud.

If you are in this district I would encourage you to look closely at the candidates platforms before choosing who to support.

Anyone local with more info? I may be completely off base, I just find it too coincidental that the only opposed BOS candidate is the one that defied Kingsmill..

I would just add that we don't know if he made the unpopular move and went against his constituency. The people from Kingsmill were a vocal few but we shouldn't assume that means that all of Kingsmill was against it.

 

[Scottie]

I would just add that we don't know if he made the unpopular move and went against his constituency. The people from Kingsmill were a vocal few but we shouldn't assume that means that all of Kingsmill was against it.

I live in Kingsmill. The Kingsmill board's opposition to Busch Gardens' proposed new ride came as a surprise to me and my neighbors. My neighbors and I support Busch Gardens' investments in new rides and appreciate their contributions to the community. The Kingsmill opposition—from my perspective—is a few grumpy old folks on the board who have gone rouge, not representing the majority view of Kingsmill residents.

 

[Jahrules]

I live in Kingsmill. The Kingsmill board's opposition to Busch Gardens' proposed new ride came as a surprise to me and my neighbors. My neighbors and I support Busch Gardens' investments in new rides and appreciate their contributions to the community. The Kingsmill opposition—from my perspective—is a few grumpy old folks on the board who have gone rouge, not representing the majority view of Kingsmill residents.

Good to hear this.

 

[Scottie]

FYI, I wrote the Kingsmill board twice with the view that they were out of line with many in the community and they chose to ignore me, never responding.

 

[Zachary]

Thanks for your perspective @Scottie! It can be easy for people on the outside to assume that Kingsmill residents are largely behind what the community leadership is doing. I'm glad to hear that may not be the case though!

 

[Pantheon]

So, what does this mean for Project 2021? Do you think that after the election, JCC will allow BGW to continue to build it?

 

[Jonesta6]

I'm not familiar enough with JCC's processes, but how many more decisions at this point require a vote by the full board? Additionally, of the existing board, how many are likely to oppose any BGW project once the initial height waiver and whatnot gets approved? And, can the park still proceed with a 5-4 split vote or did JCC rules require it to have more board member approvals?

 

[Jahrules]

I'm not familiar enough with JCC's processes, but how many more decisions at this point require a vote by the full board? Additionally, of the existing board, how many are likely to oppose any BGW project once the initial height waiver and whatnot gets approved? And, can the park still proceed with a 5-4 split vote or did JCC rules require it to have more board member approvals?

The JCC board's next involvement will be with the permit/site plan approval.

At that point, they will look for the plans to match up with the statements that were made during the height waiver process. (I.e. the location of the highest point, the 'lattuce like' construction and the statements about it looking like a spire and being 10 feet wide when viewed from Kingsmill).

If the plans don't line up with the statements made during height waiver; the JCC board could opt to invalidate the height waiver which; at worst, would mean they'd have to reapply and explain why their final plans didn't match the plans communicated during the waiver process.

As far as the board rules for approval; whether simple majority, percentage of unanimous is required; I am not certain of those rules.

I suspect that if any board member disputes the plans match the waiver could likely throw the waiver back to the public. This is my primary reason for concern.