Meetings Archives
April 2, 2026 Meeting
Posted March 9, 2026 at 1:15 PMThe Brandermill Region Men's Club scheduled speaker for April is: Leslie C. Mehta is an American politician who is the elected member of the Virginia House of Delegates for the 73rd District. She took office as a member of the 164th Virginia General Assembly on January 14, 2026.
March 5, 2026 Meeting
Posted February 12, 2026 at 7:26 PMBrett Burkhart, developer of The Lake, is the scheduled speaker for the March 5 meeting of the club.
Republican Sturtevant expects taxes to rise under new state leadership
Posted December 12, 2025 at 11:36 AMBy Greg Pearson
Republican State Senator Glen Sturtevant predicts taxes will increase with Democrats in full control of both houses of the legislature and Democrat Governor-elect Abigale Spanberger being sworn in on January 17. Currently, Democrats hold a 64-36 majority in the House of Delegates and a narrow lead of 21-19 in State Senate.
Speaking at the January meeting of the Brandermill Region Men’s Club (BRMC), the 12th District Republican estimated Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin used 400 vetoes during his four years in office, often to hold the line on proposed Democratic spending — the most vetoes ever, he said. Former Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe, serving four years starting in 2014, held the previous veto record of “about 115,” according to Sturtevant.
With the Democrats in full control of state leadership, the Republican senator expects legislation to institute paid family leave to pass using higher taxes on employers and employees to pay for it. Such a benefit will create the opportunity for waste, fraud and abuse, Sturtevant predicted. Youngkin had vetoed a previous paid family leave bill. The senator also anticipates higher state spending on Medicaid.
Sturtevant plans on introducing a bill that will cause data centers to pay higher energy costs for those providers’ use. He called so many data centers being built in Northern Virginia “a data center alley.” Data centers are facilities that store, process and manage digital energy, and those businesses are expanding rapidly nationwide. Chesterfield County is considering three sites. Sturtevant said data centers “also use a lot of water.”
In comments to the 34 members and guests at the BRMC meeting, Sturtevant was also critical of his party’s messaging during the 2025 election period. He reported that state Republicans expected incumbent Jayson Miyares to be re-elected as attorney general, hoped that candidate John Reid might be elected lieutenant governor, but expected Winsom Earle-Sears to be defeated as the gubernatorial candidate. The Democrats swept all three statewide races by margins of 7%, 11% and 15% respectively.
Affordability was the central issue in the November election, and Republicans “didn’t have a message or answer,” he commented in response to one BRMC member’s query. “You can’t dispute what people are feeling,” he explained.
Sturtevant said he has spoken with Chesterfield County leaders regarding the increasing amount of multi-family housing comprised of townhouses, condos and apartments. “It’s too much,” he said, and was concerned about their impact on traffic congestion and classroom sizes. What is needed is more single-family housing at varying selling prices like Brandermill has, he commented.
The Republican also expressed concern at Virginia’s ability to provide energy to its growing population. He supports small modular reactors, whose approval and construction process is shorter and more-timely than building large nuclear facilities.
Sturtevant said he knows Delegate Leslie Mehta, the Democrat who assumes her House of Delegate’s seat on January 14 representing the 73rd District after defeating incumbent and Republican Mark Early last November. “I have met her and get along with her very well,” he added.
The BRMC first asked Mehta to speak at the Club’s January meeting but when she delayed in accepting, Sturtevant was asked to preview the upcoming General Assembly session to the BRMC membership. The Club has asked Mehta to provide a wrap up of the GA session at its April 2 meeting.
County planner updates status on Genito Road development
Posted December 23, 2025 at 9:35 AMBy Greg Pearson
Assistant Planning Director Steve Donohoe with Chesterfield County provided a PowerPoint presentation to 52 members and guests of the Brandermill Region Men’s Club on December 4th concerning the planned development on Genito Road from the Waterford Shopping Center to just east of the former Southside Speedway.
Townes at Waterford
The ten-acre site was approved for rezoning for 125 townhomes from I-1 to residential multifamily by the county board last month. It is located on Waterford Lake Drive in the Waterford Office Park and wholly within the Brandermill community. Residents will be paying monthly assessments to the Brandermill Community Association and will be eligible to use Brandermill amenities, including the community’s three pools. With the zoning approved, the heavily treed acreage has been transferred to the DR Horton, which will build the residential community.
Ice Arenas
The 8.5-acre site is located in the southwest quadrant of the interchange of Route 288 and the Powhite Parkway. Street access will be off Tredegar Lake Parkway. It will be named The Ice Box with two skating rinks, and the site does not require rezoning. The Ice Box will be built in two phases and designed for open skating, skating lessons and hockey practice, games and tournaments at both rinks. The popularity of youth hockey teams and the accompanying tournaments is growing rapidly, making hockey team practice sessions difficult to schedule on the existing facilities.
The Lake
Donohoe called the water park “a very ambitious project.” Under construction in the northwest quadrant of the crossing of Route 288 and Genito Road, access to the project is hampered by the lack of direct access to Genito from 288. County officials have said they are talking to VDOT management about waiving restrictions to provide that access in both directions. For safety reasons, VDOT policy restricts interchanges to high speed, divided highways from being within one mile of each other. The 288 intersection with the Powhite Parkway is to the north of Genito.
The Lake zoning calls for 700+ multifamily residences, 100,000 square feet of office space, one or possibly two hotels and 150,000 square feet of entertainment uses, including an amphitheater and outdoor surf facility. Developer Brett Burkhart has pledged 200+ events annually, when completed.
But the project has stalled. A November 25th headline in Richmond BizSense read: “The Lake Project in Chesterfield hit with a lawsuit and liens.” The story in the online publication went on to report: “The developer of the massive lake-anchored project near Brandermill says he’s still bullish on the endeavor despite claims of unpaid work from contractors and a commercial brokerage, and construction having slowed in recent months.”
Asked about the Lake project, Donohoe said, “The county is working with developer to get it moving.”
XL Sports
The county board approved rezoning of 10.9 acres for the business to build two privately-owned soccer fields and the necessary parking last April. The site is located at 2300 Oak Lake Boulevard adjacent to the company’s existing facility. The business park is off Genito next to the former Southside Speedway.
Southside Speedway
Donohoe said he had nothing to report regarding the former speedway since the owners have not submitted any plans to the county. In recent months, a portion of the wooden fence around the site has been taken down, and it appears that at least some of the seating inside has also been dismantled.
Hamlet at Falling Creek
The Middleburg Companies has begun marketing its residential mix of 365 rental and owner-occupied, single-family homes in the development that backs up to Falling Creek. The development also includes some single-family lots for sale. The Hamlet is located on the north side of Genito Road just east of the Oak Lake Business Park. The acreage fronting Genito is zoned for 35,000 square feet of commercial development.
Clover Hill supervisor addresses local issues
Posted November 10, 2025 at 11:22 PMBy Greg Pearson
Clover Hill Supervisor Jessica Schneider answered numerous questions from the 51 members and guests at the Nov. 6 Brandermill Region Men’s Club meeting. Most of the topics were related to residential development and road concerns.
Powhite tolls: The VDOT tolls are scheduled to be eliminated on January 1, 2027. Schneider said she expected the toll booths to remain in place for 6-9 months thereafter but not be active for toll-taking. The estimated cost of the toll booth’s removal is $5-10 million.
The toll removal is only for VDOT tolls, which includes the 75 cent toll booth on the parkway and exits/entrances for Midlothian Turnpike and Courthouse Road. The tolls will remain at the James River toll booth and elsewhere, which are part of the roadway operated by the Richmond Metropolitan Authority.
Rental homes: Hamlet Falling Creek, a new rental community on Genito Road just east of the Oak Lake Business Park, has begun marketing single-family homes and cottages that include a community club house, pool and fitness center. With one bedrooms at $800/month and three bedrooms priced at $2,400 per month, Schneider thinks it will attract county police, fire and EMS employees.
Waterford Business Park rezoning: Schneider reported that the Chesterfield Planning Commission recommended approval for the DR Horton rezoning of 125 multifamily homes on 10 acres on Waterford Lake Drive. The three-story homes with ground-level garages are expected to be voted on by the Chesterfield board at its Nov. 26 meeting. The Townes of Waterford will have a splash pad and pickleball courts. Some of those homes will be reduced in price for Horton employees.
Special election: Next November there will be a special election held to complete the terms for the open seats on the Clover Hill School Board and Dale District supervisor position. The school board seat was vacated when former member Dot Heffron resigned under pressure, and Dr. Jenna Darby will fill that vacancy effective January 1. When Supervisor Jim Holland passed away last month, the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors appointed Dale Panning Commissioner LeQuan Hilton for the remaining interim. Both of those elected positions will be effective until November, 2027.
Water park: In order to surf or water ski at the long awaited water park on Genito Road across from Clover Hill High School, Chesterfield residents will have to be patient. According to Schneider, the developer is in the process of declaring bankruptcy and its future is unknown. Some of the commercial lots there have been sold off to individual commercial
Police Chief: multifamily growth is biggest change in Chesterfield in past 5 years
Posted August 13, 2025 at 10:25 PMBy Greg Pearson
When Police Chief Frank Carpenter said the biggest difference in Chesterfield County during the past five years has been the increase in multifamily housing, many of the 53 members and guests of the Brandermill Region Men’s Club nodded their heads in agreement. Col. Carpenter was the speaker at the September meeting of the Brandermill Men’s Club (BRMC).
Carpenter was to have spoken on how growth in the 360 corridor would affect crime and traffic safety, but he said the county’s transportation department asked him not to get into its topic. Officials of CDOT are doing a PowerPoint presentation to the BRMC at 10 am on October 2 covering the extensions of the Powhite Parkway and Woolridge Road. As usual, the meeting will be at the Brandermill Church.
But there is good news on the recruitment front. The Chesterfield Police Academy has 28 recruits, the largest class in the past nine years. Their training takes nine months to complete. Currently, CCPD is authorized for 564 sworn officers and has just 531, which includes those still attending the Academy. A sworn officer carries a badge and is authorized to make arrests. The Virginia State Police also has a staffing shortage.
While the environment is improving for recruitment, Chesterfield and Henrico County have about the same number of sworn officers. But Chesterfield has twice as many square miles as Henrico to police.
“We are living off our reputation of being ‘Arrestafield’” explained Carpenter. “That reputation keeps some of the bad guys away from our county.”
The chief says Chesterfield cooperates with ICE on immigration problems when called upon. After such an arrest, CCPD hands off a suspect who happens to be an illegal immigrant to the Chesterfield Sheriff’s Department, which oversees the county jail and courthouse.
According to Carpenter, Chesterfield doesn’t really have a gang problem. Those youths are more likely to be “smaller in numbers more like neighborhood cliques.”
There is a school resource officer (SRO) assigned to every middle and high school in the county. If he had more manpower, Col. Carpenter would like to place an SRO in every elementary school also.
BRMC members asked questions about the intersection of Kelly Green Drive and Genito Road near the proposed water park. There have been a number of accidents there recently allegedly because that intersection lacks a traffic light. Carpenter said VDOT monitors accidents and their locations to determine when to install a traffic light. Routinely, traffic lights cost $50,000 each.
Chesterfield begins construction of flood wall around Swift Creek plant
Posted June 9, 2025 at 9:27 PMBy Greg Pearson
The 1,500-foot flood wall around the Swift Creek water treatment plant is under construction, and the four-month long pile driving effort is expected to start on or about June 20th. County officials report that 441 piles are to be sunk to protect the plant from flooding on three sides.
The noise from the pile driving will occur between 8 am and 6 pm on weekdays and be noticeable to nearby residents and motorists on Hull Street Road near the treatment plant. The pile driving will end after four months.
The flood wall will prevent flooding of the plant that has occurred twice in the past 7 years. Hurricane Michael flooded the plant in October, 2018 and put the plant out of service for a month.
And on August 15, 2020, an unnamed storm anchored over the Swift Creek Reservoir and dropped 11 inches of rain in a few hours. That torrential storm shut down the treatment plant for 9 months. Brandermill Country Club reported that the water rose to six feet above its 9th green, washing away part of its golf cart path of blacktop pavement.
The flood wall construction will cost $21 million, which includes an $8.7 million grant from
federal sources. Anne Urenda, a principal engineer with the Chesterfield Utilities Department,
said she didn’t know if the federal government might “claw back” any of its funding. Urenda and
Mike Larson, an engineering supervisor with the utilities department, were the featured speakers
at the June 5 monthly meeting of the Brandermill Region Men’s Club (BRMC).
The flood wall construction period is expected to end in July next year. The height of the wall will vary with some portions being 18 feet tall.
The second part of the speaker program for the BRMC covered a new, fourth source of drinking water. Currently, Chesterfield has three drinking water sources: Swift Creek Reservoir with a maximum capability of 12 million gallons daily (mgd); the Appomattox River Authority with a maximum capacity of 66 mgd; and the James River (from the city of Richmond) at 32 mgd. With a total of 110 mgd available, the peak usage for Chesterfield thus far on any day is 70 mgd.
Because Chesterfield is experiencing the fastest population growth of any county in Virginia, it recently purchased land near Point of the Rocks Park in eastern Chesterfield for a fourth water source. According to Larson, who is heading up the project for Chesterfield, there is the “potential for 80 mgd when the water treatment plant opens in 2033.” Currently, the county is conducting water sampling tests for the next two years.
Additionally, the county has already announced it is seeking to provide land for data centers to be built in the Westchester Commons development off Route 60 and also adjacent to the Magnolia Green community off Rt. 360. Data centers are known to utilize considerable water.
To see the 10-slide PowerPoint presentation on the developing water treatment plant, click here.
At the end of the BRMC meeting, there were reports of dead catfish and opened but dead mussels in Sunday Park from the club’s membership and guests. By email later that day, Larson reported “the [Swift Creek Treatment] plant has confirmed that they are taking regular samples of water in the reservoir and the water quality is suitable for treatment at our plant. The plant is aware of the observations of floating mussels. According to our Biologist, there are several factors that contribute to mussels surfacing. Weather, wind, water quality, temperature, depth, carp, muskrats are some of the factors. Overall, the amount of mussels is not too dissimilar to previous years, but this year has had a much narrower time window. Water temperatures have been warmer earlier in the year before dropping recently, and wind speeds have been slightly above normal this spring. Our Biologist spoke with Scott Hermann at the Department of Wildlife Resources, and he confirmed that this phenomenon has been observed at other bodies of water in Virginia this year. Mr. Hermann is going to discuss further with DWR counterparts who focus on freshwater mussels and will coordinate with the Plant staff.”
Annually, the BRMC goes on hiatus for July and August. The speaker for the September program will be Chesterfield Police Chief Edward Carpenter. Over the past 25 years, Col. Carpenter has been working his way through the ranks within the department. He will be addressing the BRMC at 10 am on Thursday, September 4th at the Brandermill Church.
County leaders explain upcoming budget
Posted May 5, 2025 at 11:58 PMBy Greg Pearson
Deputy County Administrator Matt Harris and Budget Director Gerard Durkin answered more than 25 questions from the audience who came to hear them talk about the FY26 Chesterfield budget that becomes effective July 1. Like other local governments in Virginia, the county board is keeping an eye on the financial uncertainty at the federal level and those monies that trickle down from the state government budget, which is still being determined by the state legislature.
About 80% of the $44 million increase in spending for Chesterfield’s budget goes into three buckets: $17 million for first responders (police, fire and EMS); $15 million for schools including a 3% hike in teacher salaries; and $5 million to offset spending on tax relief for the elderly and disabled.
While residents in the 360 corridor have focused on the growth of multifamily developments in the Midlothian area, Harris said the real population growth is further west surrounding Magnolia Green. The bond issues passed in 2022 will support the Deep Creek Middle School opening this August and a new high school nearby in 2027.
Despite concerns expressed by several participants at the meeting, Harris said, “The student population in Chesterfield is stable.”
The number of younger students is being offset by those who are graduating from the public school system, he explained. More schools are needed to serve the population growth in the western portion of the county. While there are more multifamily developments springing up, Harris pointed out that those units are typically only 1-3 bedrooms with few children.
Chesterfield has made some progress growing the commercial base of property taxes with that share increasing slightly to 22% with the balance from residential property owners. As a result of being known as a bedroom community, the county property tax rate — being reduced by a penny to 89 cents per $100 of assessed value — continues to be higher than neighboring Henrico County, which has far more retail and employment centers. Providing services for commercial developments is less expensive than residential, mostly because of schools.
Harris emphasized the three data centers in the Magnolia Green area and at the Watkins Center are making their way through the zoning process, which he said will provide employment at a low cost to those needed services from Chesterfield. The county utilities department is working on a new source of water from the adjacent Hopewell area. Currently, Chesterfield gets its water from the Appomattox River, James River and Swift Creek Reservoir.
Representatives of Chesterfield’s utilities department will present a program on the 1,500-foot flood wall being built around the Swift Creek treatment plant at the Brandermill Region Men’s Club (BRMC) meeting on June 5. The program will include updates on the fourth county water source plus the latest on the hydrilla problem and begin at 10 am at the Brandermill Church. The construction of the flood wall is slated to start later this month.
Given the lack of county news, the BRMC expanded the outreach of its speaker programs and made them available to any resident of Chesterfield County whether or not they were a member of the men’s club. The annual cost for senior men to belong is just $35/year and includes a Christmas party, picnic and numerous group outings at a nominal, additional cost. For more details, go to http://brmcva.org.
Chesterfield Sheriff outlines duties of his department
Posted February 13, 2025 at 3:43 PMBy Greg Pearson
Sheriff Karl Leonard explained the changes he has made in the Sheriff’s Office over the past
11 years to put the emphasis on treating mental health problems that most of the 400 inmates
suffer from on a daily basis. Those mental health issues are a direct result of closing down state
and federal mental hospitals back in the 1980s because those would-be patients now have no
where else to go.
According to Leonard, the average recidivism rate for local jails is 70%, but the HARP program implemented in Chesterfield has cut the rate to just 23%. Reducing recidivism cuts the cost of maintaining the jail, which currently runs $48,000 annually for each inmate.
HARP (Helping Addicts Recover Progressively) is a faith-based program initiated in 2016 “using peer-to-peer recovery models and re-entry services, including assistance with obtaining identification, healthcare and job readiness.” Because it has not shown to be effective for inmates who have committed sex crimes and murders, HARP is not used for that jail population. Leonard just returned from Rwanda last month where HARP was recognized for its success as one of three effective programs in the entire world.
Chesterfield’s program focuses on treating trauma created by drug addiction. That treatment includes prescription drugs, which the jail provides free to prisoners at a monthly cost of $25,000. During Covid, Leonard said his prisoners were safer to be in jail than being on the outside because the jail was controlled space. By state law, each prisoner receives a free copy of the daily Richmond Times Dispatch.
Asked about the jail’s working relationship with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), Leonard said nothing has changed even with a new administration. Chesterfield provides records to ICE frequently including a week before and the day of an immigrant’s release. But ICE doesn’t pick up inmates, and Leonard believes that is because ICE is focused on sanctuary cities.
Leonard served 30 years in the Chesterfield Police Department, rising to the rank of major. Shortly after that retirement, he began another career with the Sheriff’s Office and was appointed sheriff in 2014 and then re-elected in 2019 and 2023. He announced he will be a candidate again in 2027.
Sheriff Leonard has a master’s degree in Criminal Justice from VCU and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy. His office also oversees the operation of 17 court rooms at the courthouse facility. The 340 personnel in his office are responsible for 400 prisoners in the local jail and 500 at Riverside Regional Jail.
Leonard was the speaker at the February, 2025 meeting of the Brandermill Region Men’s Club. At the 10am March 6 meeting of the BRMC, State Senator Glen Sturtevant is the featured speaker. Sturtevant will do a wrap up of the 2025 General Assembly at the Brandermill Church. All residents of Brandermill and Woodlake are invited to attend.
Mark Early spoke at our January Meeting
Posted December 17, 2024 at 12:18 PMThe January 2, 2025 meeting speaker was VA 73rd Delegate Mark Earley, Jr..
