HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- Henrico County will get some major upgrades thanks to four different bond referendums worth about $511 million for various capital projects. This map details how many projects will take place across the county.
"It's exciting, regardless of where you live. East, west, central. The bond referendum is going to touch your part of town," said Henrico County Supervisor Tyrone Nelson.
About $37 million will go toward parks and recreation improvements, including updates to sidewalks and facilities. Roughly $50 million will go toward flood prevention efforts. $83.85 million will be put toward public safety facility improvements and upgrades to firehouses to recruit and retain staff.
“Fire stations that were built in the 50s, 60s, 70s, are not the same as the fire stations that need to be built now for our next 20, 30, 40, 50-year firefighters," said Henrico County Supervisor Dan Schmitt.
About $340.5 million will go toward school improvement projects, like two brand new elementary schools and upgrades to buildings over 50 old. There will also be a new "Environmental Education Living Building" at Wilton Farm for hands-on, science-based learning.
"Addressing the aging facilities, addressing the growth, and then making sure that our facilities are world-class places to teach and learn," said Henrico County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Amy Cashwell. "There is no doubt that Henrico is a community that values education."
Based on polls, over 80% of Henrico County voters said "yes" to the four different bond referendums. County supervisors said that might be the highest percentage of voters in agreement on something like this in the entire Commonwealth.
"You can't get 90% of Americans, you can't get 90% of folks in Henrico to agree on what flavor of ice cream to eat every day, but we got them to agree in the future of our county, by telling them our story and showing past historical successes of what this county can do, when the resident's trust is placed in county leadership," Schmitt said.
Supervisor Nelson said the county held about 160 different meetings to gather community input and share information on what the different referendums would include.
He said the majority of the work would likely start within the next 6 years.
"We don't want to be irresponsible. Interest rates are rising, the financial market is up and down, so we're going to make decisions that you, our constituents, would want us to make. So we have, by law, 10 years to get the process rolling, so we're going to take our time and be smart, but things are happening quickly," Nelson said.
