Hanover County will negotiate with Good Neighbor Homes to establish a public-private partnership to operate the county's three homes for people with developmental disabilities.
The Board of Supervisors unanimously endorsed the choice Wednesday to end a year of concern among families and advocates of the 12 clients who currently live in the county-operated facilities.
The county had proposed the change last year to address budget shortfalls but backed away after protests. The county budgeted $100,000 from its reserves to keep the homes operating for another year but asked for a study of the public-private arrangement.
None of the protesters attended the meeting Wednesday. Hamilton Holloway, president of the Hanover Arc Board of Directors, commented afterward by e-mail, "It is troubling that Hanover County is continuing to move towards only providing the bare minimum of services to individuals with intellectual disability and their families. We hope that the group home partnership will not negatively affect people, like the Hanover County public-private partnership for jobs that resulted in unemployment for clients."
Mathew Marek, executive director of Good Neighbor Homes, said he had visited the three county group homes earlier in the day. He said he plans to use all three homes but eventually may seek a more accessible building for the two-story Rapidan House. Residents will remain in the same general neighborhood, he said.
County employees who work at the homes now will be given preference in hiring by the new management, he said.
John E. Gordon Jr., who represents South Anna District, said he had promised to support the public-private arrangement if it could offer the same service at a significantly reduced cost. "It appears that they have done that," he said.
Speeding fines
In other business, the board made it easier for streets to qualify for an additional $200 fine for speeders. Instead of requiring that the average speed be at least 5 mph over the limit before adding the fine, the county will now require that the 85th percentile speed be at least 5 mph over the limit. Community cost-sharing requirements were eliminated, but the county put a $5,000 cap on its annual spending for speed studies.
kcalos@timesdispatch.com
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