York Notebook: Visit Firehouse, Water Country Expansion, Legal Notices Change and More

By Sam Thrift Monday, October 10, 2011

The fire department will hold an open house this Saturday for Fire Prevention Week and the Planning Commission will discuss changing a special use permit so Water Country USA can expand their waterpark. Read on for more York County updates.

Planning Commission will talk about Water Country
The Planning Commission will be discussing a change to a previously approved special use permit so Water Country USA will be able to eventually expand on land they obtained from Busch Properties Inc. located off Water Country Parkway.

Water County has been developing the park based on a master plan approved in 1996 and is preparing for the next stages of expansion. The proposed plan calls for 84 acres of existing and future attractions to be completed in five phases. To date, 41 acres of the park have been developed.

According to the York County staff report, Water County is currently on phase three of the plan, where they will use their obtained land to build future attractions, guest facilities and stormwater management.

The land approved for the theme park in 1996 totaled 163 acres, which included existing and future attractions. The current application covers 220.8 acres of land, a 35 percent increase in land area devoted to the park.

The Planning Commission meeting is Wednesday, Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. in York Hall. To see more about the meeting, click here.

Open House for Fire Prevention Week
The York County Department of Fire and Life Safety will be hosting an open house this Saturday, Oct. 15 for Fire Prevention Week, where residents can learn simple tricks and available technologies to protect their families from fire.

The Fire Station Open House will be from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m at the Bruton Fire Station, 114 Hubbard Lane in Bruton.

To find out more about Fire Prevention Week and learn tips on how to prevent fires in your home, click here.

Supes want to advertise without the paper
During their work session Oct. 4, York County Board of Supervisors approved their 2012 “wish list” to the General Assembly, including legislation that would discontinue advertising public notices through print newspapers.

Localities are currently required by law to publish the meeting announcements through a circulating newspaper, but York is trying to amend the code so they would be able to advertise only online and on television.

The latest information compiled in FY2009 indicated that York County spent $39,000 annually for the public notices to be printed in the Daily Press, according to York County Spokeswoman Christie Powell.

Not everyone is happy with the move. Virginia Press Association Director Ginger Stanley said her organization will fight the legislation because she believes a third party should handle government notices, along with newspapers being the only medium that localities can say reach citizens without a doubt.

Read more about the supervisors' meeting by clicking here.

Register for Senior Summit
The deadline to register for the Peninsula Seniors and Law Enforcement Together Council annual Senior Safety Summit Oct. 26 is approaching fast.  

The York County community has until Oct. 17 to turn in their $6 registration fee for the summit, which includes lunch.

The day will begin with a free Stealth Shredding event from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m., and will continue with 25 exhibitors on hand to answer questions about fraud and scams targeting seniors, talk about travel opportunities and demonstrate exercises to improve balance.

For more information about the summit, click here or call 595-9037.