Board of Supervisors - Regular Meeting

Good afternoon and welcome to Pennsylvania County Board of Supervisors work session Tuesday, April 21st, 2026, 3:30 p.m. Board meeting room 39 Bank Street, Southeast Chattam, Virginia, 24531. Madame Clerk, would you call the role, please? Yes, sir. Mr. Mr. Bowman here. Mr. Brown here. Mr. Dalton here. Mr. Dudley, Mr. Whittle Mr. Ingram here. Mr. Tucker here. Thank you. Uh, there are any items to be added to the agenda? Oh, yes, sir. Mr. Chairman, I have a couple items like to add.

I'd like to make a motion to add the following items to the agenda under close session. Item 8 C, subject matters, the courthouse litigation, ODAC lease agreement. And item 8 D, the subject matter is possible sale of the public of public real estate property. That's my motion. Thank you, Mr. Dalton. Is there support for the motion? I'll support that. Thank you, sir. Mr. Ingram, any discussion hearing? None. Vote electronically, please.

Motion carries unanimously. Thank you. That moves us down to agenda item four. I'll ask for a motion to approve the agenda as amended. I'll make that motion, Mr. Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Bowman. Support, please. Thank you, Mr. Brown. Any discussion?

Hear no discussion. Cast your votes electronically. Motion passes unanimously. For the citiz convenience, all work session and committee meetings are now being recorded and can be viewed on the county's Facebook and the same YouTube location as the board of supervisors business meeting. Please remember that the board's work session is designed for internal board and county staff communication, discussion, and work. It is not a question and answer session with the audience. Accordingly, during the work session, no questions or comments from the audience will be entertained respectfully. Any outbursts or disorderly conduct from the audience will not be tolerated and may result in the offending person's removal from the work session. As a reminder, all county citizens and other appropriate parties as designated by the board's bylaws are permitted to make comments, excuse me, under the hearing of the citizens section of tonight's business meeting. All right, that moves us down to 5A, presentations. River Street.

Mr. Taylor, good evening, sir.

Good afternoon. Robert Taylor with River Street here to give you an update on the Fiberell home build we're uh doing in the county at this time. All right. Um, here's a uh timeline of the uh construction that's ongoing currently. Items that have been completed through April are the uh splicing repairs on strawberry cabinets and the chestnut cabinets. We're uh complete testing in Brzeville. Uh unfortunately um we have some repairs that we have to make uh in the Bronzeville area. There was quite a bit of damage caused uh during some VOTE operations. Um we had several pedestals that got uh destroyed. And our plan is we'll go in there and we'll take the um the damaged pedestal. We're going to put in a handhole, put it below ground, do the splice repair, and then we'll come up from there as needed to to serve the area. Um, but that that is ongoing at this time. Uh,

I'm having a hard time hearing you. Can you speak to the mic, please? I'm sorry. And tell us what happened to the pedestal.

So, during either snow removal or during mowing, uh, several of the pedestals in the Brazwell area got damaged. Uh, uh, and they now have to be replaced, respply, retested. Um and that is ongoing right now at this time. Uh working on uh getting the schedules from rail pros to finish cabinets uh uh seven and nine in chestnut as well as the chestnut co uh uh exception zone. And what an exception zone is is where we've gone in and said, "All right, we can service all these customers up to this point where we have this railroad crossing or we have a VOTE permit that is being held up or whatever." And what we'll do is say, "Well, that's an exception zone so that we can go on and service everybody before that." So instead of holding up 80 or 80 some percent of the customers, we'll go on and claim the last 10 20 whatever percentage of the customers that we can't get to yet because of either a permit or railroad crossing as an exception zone and go on and finish the build. So we can cut those primary customers or the first part of the customers over and then once we get the permit approved or get the railroad crossing done, then we'll take care of the exception zone. So that's what you have going on here in uh Chestnut Co. Uh we are looking to complete the construction on the Brazwell cabinet 23 and again hopefully complete the repairs on the splicing of Brazwell CO cabinets 1 3 and 20 there and do the retesting of those cabinets as well. Just to give you all a overview of again what the project looks like. Um between calf Ardoff and VAT we have a total of about uh 11,985

locations. With VAT 2023 we have an additional 2,15 locations. Grand total we're looking at passing in the county is 16,502. And that number uh goes up significantly when we start looking at bead. And I have some uh slides here to talk about bead. BED is the next round of funding that has been uh administered by DHC. The funds are coming from the federal government through the NTIA. Um we are currently under the impression from DHCD that we should be able to get the B uh areas under contract sometime middle of May, early June. If we go to the next slide, you'll see that we currently have of that uh 16,000 or so locations, we have over 10,164 have access to fiber. They're mainly throughout the middle part of the uh the county. The areas that are yellow are the ones that were currently under construction and the areas that are blue are the ones that will be starting construction. Again, this is an overview. 10,164 of the 16,52 locations have access to fiber. There's 2297 additional locations that are currently under construction. As of last Thursday, we had over 2,619 customers installed with an additional 205 locations that are in process of being installed. That gives us a take ratio of about uh 28%. Uh, and I was asked to bring up the the revenue share. As many of you know, there's a revenue share between the county and River Street once we hit uh certain take ratios. The first take ratio is broken down by 2475 locations in in the south part of the county. And then the PMT that should say

PMTC the old people's mutual telephone uh uh locations are broken out separately because of course when the project started we already had them as customers right so it was hard to say so on those that one is broken up by the number of customers we had at the beginning plus it's a percentage of the additional revenue that we're going to get from transitioning any of those customers from just a landline to a landline with high speeded need internet services. So, we measure that on a separate what we call a Domo card and that shows you where we're at currently. The in the south of the 2,000 in some locations I told you earlier, 1,80 of those are in the south part of the county. Once we get to uh 2475, that will trigger the first uh revenue share marker at and we will start doing a 10% revenue share of all uh locations in the southern part of the county where we're receiving uh broadband services uh funding. And then in the PMTC area, we're currently only at 739 locations and we need to get uh to 2,488 up in that area. want to go over impact on bead. So bead is broadband equity access and deployment. Again, those are funds that came down from the NIA. They're being administered by DHCD. This process has been rather long uh due to political changes in DC where they decided at the last minute to scrap all the applications that had been submitted and approved previously and go back to what they call the benefit of the bargain round. uh doing this during this time the total number of locations that were identified in Pennsylvania county as not having already 100 by20 or not

having funding to get to 100 by20 service there was 3,684 um of those approximately 1725 ended up being deobligated because they were actually being passed by us or being planned to be passed by us or they weren't actual structures. They could have been um chicken houses. They could have been barns. They could have been other items that were in the mapping system showed up as a structure, but when they did a ground reconnaissance or closer look, they found out that they weren't actual structures. So, of those locations, uh River Street was able to secure funding for 1,925 and uh SpaceX ended up getting funding to pass 34 locations. If you look at the map closely, the River Street locations with the green stars and the um the purple diamonds are up in the northwest corner of the county are the ones where they are going to get SpaceX. However, if you bring the total map up, you'll see that what we're looking at right now is some of those purple locations actually will more than likely also be passed by us with fiber as well. So, there possibly there'll get an opportunity to get fiber services and not be stuck with having to go with a satellite only. So currently the breakdown is uh with funding ENAF 2412 locations raw uh ARDOF which is rural digital opportunity fund was another 8369 then 3616 in VAT 22 another layer was 2023 VAT of 21102 and then the bead was 1,925 we estimate there approximately 9,530 30 unfunded locations. So when we look at

it, we have the potential to go from that 16,000 some locations up to over 18,424 once we layer on bead. But there are additional 9,530 locations which fall within 2,000 ft of the fiber that we're going to be installing. So, as you know, if it's within 2,000 feet of the fiber that we're running down the road, there's no charge to the customer if we're able to provide services off of that fiber to them. Now, where that might be that they're within 2,000 ft, but we can't get to them is say they're off a side road and and we can't get off the, you know, we can't get the right away to get down there to them. But we feel pretty comfortable that we're going to be passing in excess of 20,000 customers in Pennsylvania County when the project's all said and done after the bead funding is released in the coming months. Any questions? Questions from the board?

We thank you. Yes, sir.

Mr. Taylor, I had a constituent call and said that when we made the announcement that you guys were going to start running cable, he said he called and he spoke with a representative and they said, "Yeah, we'll we'll put you on the list because your road is included in in the buildout." And then he followed up with several other conversations. And um and I know him. He's not somebody who would just tell you a story. But uh about two weeks ago, he called again to check on the status and he was told that no, we're not coming down that road. The road is Pleasant Gap, which is a pretty popular road between uh 41 and uh uh out toward Irish, I guess it is. So, uh can you help me with that? Um I I told him I I would ask you when I saw you. Um

yes, sir. You have my email. If you could email me the exact address, I will investigate that and find out what's going on. I sure will. And I I will I will get right back to you. Okay. Yes. Thank Thank you. Any other questions? If not, Mr. Taylor, thank you so much for being here this afternoon. Appreciate it. Thank you so much, gentlemen. Appreciate the update. Moves down to agenda item 5B. uh potential Pennsylvania County Environmental Commission, Mr. Jaffy and his staff. Anna Elise. Good evening and welcome. Thank you.

Lone. Yes. Um uh thank you all for being here. Good afternoon. My name is Kale Jaffy. I'm a law professor at the University of Virginia where I run an environmental law clinic. I've got with me today two of our students, soon to be lawyers, both three L's. uh Analise Leon who you'll hear from in just a second and Liz Gioni um we um have prepared a report on uh establishing an environmental commission that is in your packet. Uh Miss Leblanc will walk you through all of that um um including discussion of potential action items. Um and I'll just say that she's going to be um unfortunately leaving us to go work in a law firm in Atlanta. But the good news is we all get to benefit from uh her counsel at a much lower rate than we would in just a few months. So let's take advantage of that while we've got it.

Good evening. Congratulations and welcome. Thank you. Okay.

Bring this down a bit for me. Um, I'd like to thank again the board of supervisors and chairman Tucker for inviting us here back to discuss the option of establishing an environmental commission. I'd also like to thank the people that um really provided lots of early guidance and um information to this report including Kira Moore with Lowden County, Sarah Dunovvent at the Rowan Oak River Basin Association and Carolyn Pew at the Community Climate Collaborative. uh their input was really invaluable for putting together this report. So to briefly recap our purpose, in the fall, uh chairman Tucker reached out to the environmental commission for excuse me, the environmental clinic for assistance researching the potential benefits of establishing an environmental commission to the board of supervisors. This would be an advisory board. And so since that meeting, we have um prepared this report researching those options. We presented some preliminary findings in October and highlighted what we believed were the main benefits of such a commission, including improved government efficiency for the board of supervisors, improved information and data collection about the environment in the county, and improved public engagement. So today, I'm here to provide a summary presentation of the report that you have in front of you um we created that expands on that initial research. Our hope is that the report fully explains the potential opportunities for the county by showing examples of similar commissions across the Commonwealth and by providing a series of recommendations. Again, this is what you all should have in front of you today. Uh, but we have also drafted a sample version of the environmental commission's bylaws and a sample ordinance for your review if you choose to um officially establish an environmental commission. So, in the interest of time, I won't reiterate the background material that we presented in October. Much of that is presented in greater detail in the first half of this

report. Instead, I'll focus today's discussion on the recommendations that begin on page 23. Our recommendations were carefully considered to best promote the goals of the environmental commission. Again, that's government efficiency, public engagement, and information and data collection. So, I'd like to briefly walk you through each of the recommendations and then I'll reserve some time at the end for any questions either about the recommendations or about any other portion of the report. The first recommendation is that the commission's bylaw should articulate clearly key areas of interest to guide the commission in its research of specific environmental concerns. The commission is not intended to serve as an advocacy group. Instead, it is a per a excuse me, a commission to bring together different interests and voices and discuss environmental issues. These key areas of interest articulated in the bylaws will ensure that the commission maintains focus on a designated scope of issues. We recommend the following three areas, again, not as a list of advocacy priorities, but to better outline the scope of the commission's work. These include public engagement, outreach and education, energy strategies and renewable energy, and natural resource conservation and sustainability. Next, the environmental commission should meet at least monthly with at least a simple majority of members in attendance at each meeting. This recommendation, which is more logistical as some of them are, uh was based on the research of other practices for similar commissions either across the Commonwealth or um within the county itself. This is consistent with the goals of transparency and engagement and meetings should be open to the public and produce minutes and agendas which are then published online for later review by the public. Third, the board of supervisors should appoint at least six members to the commission with relevant experience, including a chair and a vice chair.

These members will comprise volunteers that should have a diversity of experience and expertise. We think it's important to specify what these seats are in the bylaws to ensure that every iteration of the commission takes into account these key interests and to guard against potential mission creep into other areas or other um areas of other commissions or boards with the county. So, the following seats are found in greater detail with examples on page 25 of the report, but they include education, community services and outreach, conservation, public utilities, renewable energy, and agriculture. Some other boards and commissions do impose a credentialed expertise requirements. For example, members should have a PhD, but we recommend a more flexible approach that focuses on the these six areas of interest along with the holistic review of every applicant. Fourth, the members of the commission should be appointed by the board of supervisors to serve two-year terms. No members should serve more than four consecutive terms. As part of this, an application portal should remain open on the commission website for all interested parties to apply. In the event of a vacancy, all supervisors should review the applications at the monthly work sessions before calling a vote to appoint a new member at the following work session. Fifth, the commission should hold at least one annual forum in which the research and progress of the commission are presented to the public and open for comment. The bylaw should also highlight and strongly encourage regular public excuse me. Feel a bit faint.

Yeah, I might need a second. Um, my apologies. I do have a water. Catch her. Watch. She's going to fall. Catch her. I don't

um Chairman Tucker, we'll just um we can take a minute, but while we're here, I'll just sort of note that we're jumping straight to the um um to the recommendations, but we we'll come back again if you all have questions about the body of the report as well. But I want to give Miss Lebanon just a minute if that's all right. We're going to recess for about 10 minutes. Thank you.

All right, we'll come to order and uh we will commence this. Sorry about the little intermission. I uh guess I was so passionate about this. I just got overwhelmed. Um but I appreciate your patience. No, no problem. We needed a break anyway.

Okay. Um, so where was I? I think I was Yes. going through the recommendations beginning on page 23 of the report. Um, began discussion of the annual forum where the environmental commission would have the opportunity to present its research uh that it works on throughout the year to members of the public for them to have a chance to comment on it and provide input into an annual annual report. So this again was based on the practices and recommendations of other boards and commissions. Um specifically Alex the city of Alexandria and Lowden County have a similar forum every year where they're able to present their findings and have members of the comment members of the public comment on them. Um this is really important we believe to the commission for two reasons. First, it ensures the commission has a better sense of the issues that are important to members of the community. And second, it allows county residents to engage face-toface with the environmental commission. So, again, going to that goal of transparency and kind of bridging the gap between county leadership and residents. So the last recommendation is that the board of supervisors appropriate funding in the amount of $6 to $8,000 annually to support the outreach duties and operational needs of the commission. So the provision of the Virginia code which authorizes the board of supervisors to establish an environmental commission also allows for um the allocation of funding to support those duties. These funds will help the commission carry out the essential duties and to compensate members for their participation typically through a perdm allowance. Funding would allow the commission to engage in more outreach efforts and direct community um activities. We arrived at this sum by first looking at the 2024 budget for the planning

commission. That commission maintains a sim similar number of members as we proposed for the environmental commission. Their budget in 2024 was roughly $21,000 to carry out more demanding duties than the environmental commission would. Specifically reviewing project proposals, ordinance changes, and things of that nature. So, we thought that a range of funding that was less than half of that would be more appropriate to this type of commission. Now, to be clear, the board of supervisors is not compelled to allocate any funding, but we think that predictable funding is the best option for the commission's long-term success and continued sustainability for their operations. So, now that I've walked through the specific recommendations, we have two broad themes that we'd like to cons to ask you to consider into the future. First is that for the commission to effectively carry out its mission, the board should ensure it is kept fully staffed with members that represent the six areas outlined on page 25. As the members will be volunteers and need to have a relatively high level of experience or expertise on environmental matters, we recommend not limiting membership on this commission to residents of the county. Second, although environmental policy debates can become politically polarizing, it's really imperative that the commission maintain nonpartisan independence. Members should be appointed based on their expertise or experience in the field, not their political party. The commission would be advisory in nature and would not issue binding recommendations or evaluate specific policy changes or development proposals. As such, the commission members should feel free to make recommendations independently of any political pressure. The central purpose of the commission as we see it is to encourage conversations about the environment and promote civic debate among county residents. So to this end,

discussion at commission meetings should reflect the expertise and experience of the members and should strive to promote better public understanding of relevant science and policy. We hope that an environmental commission can be a tool to bring people together in closer relationship to their leadership. In conclusion, I encourage you to thoroughly review this report and um I'm happy to answer any questions about anything I presented today or any other information in the report. Thank you for your time and your attention. Thank you so much, ma'am. Any questions from the board? Yes, sure. Mr. Bowman,

thank you. That was that was very good and I'm glad you're feeling better. Thank you. The uh I I've got one question and you identified in the report three areas um that are a big concern of ours and which some of them we've already gone through

uh in the past. uh the data centers, the U solar farms and you even mentioned the uranium in here. So those are very high level. So my question is and I appreciate you know the commission and the way it's organized in your reference but the one question I have is how do you and and you mentioned this. How do you separate yourself from being an advocate for either uh for or against any of these as you're on this commission? Because a lot of the folks in the past are either for or against these. So, it's very hard to find people that are unbiased to serve on these commissions. So how do you how would you say you could separate yourself as being a member of this commission to come to this board as an advisor and say yeah this is the data this is what was presented to us without taking that kind of yeah you're leaning this way or you're leaning that way.

Yes I I completely understand your question and and thank you for asking it. I think two responses to that. The first would be that members of the board of supervisors appointing members to the commission is within your discretion. So you will be able to select and approve applicants who wish to be on this commission. So you know you can have some latitude to control who is on the board of or on the environmental commission. Excuse me. The second is that you know to your point I guess it is difficult to ever separate fully whether an individual person has a specific belief but we feel that the structure of the commission is such that it should encourage debate and conversation both with the public and among members of the commission itself. So we hope that you know this brings people together to have discussions. Whether or not the entire um environmental commission agrees on a specific proposal is not as important as the fact that they're having those dialogues. And if you notice, we recommend a minimum of six seats. And we were very intentional about saying, do we need to have an odd number of seats in case they need to vote on a specific recommendation that they would like to make to the board of supervisors? And we thought it's more important that members of the environmental commission work together to build consensus around a specific idea. You know, that may get contentious at times and people may hold their own beliefs, but the environmental commission members should be trusted to follow the best available information and their best judgments. um as to what those recommendations would include. If that answers your question,

that that that does. Thank you very much and good luck in your future endeavors. Thank you. Any other questions?

Yes.

Yes. U my professor Jaffy brings up another good point. Um membership is also designed to cover very specific areas. Um I think mentioned those earlier. the education, community services and outreach, conservation, public utilities, agriculture and renewable energy. And we did this to make sure that every iteration of the commission has these areas represented to say, you know, no matter who it is, somebody is representing the agricultural interests on the environmental commission. And so I think that is also kind of a structural check to ensure that there's good debate and a difference of opinions. Okay, I have a yes

question if I may. Um, I guess the question is about data because we can we can get data to support whatever we believe from whatever group we want to get it from. uh in your experience in terms of dealing with uh Ldam County, how do they ensure that they try and have neutral, unbiased data that they're actually putting before the public as opposed to um taking a stance and then going out purposely getting information that will support their standing?

Sure. Uh, I think that's a very real concern and and I'm not as familiar with specifically if that's happened in Lowden County or what their specific processes are for information collection. But I think the general ethos of commissions of this type is that we have a diversity of experts in their field or industry representatives or you know organizing experts that can kind of bring all of their expertise together and say for example if the commission member that's representing renewable energy that person should have some relevant experience or expertise in that area that's highly technical, highly regulated and they should be trusted to you know carry out their expertise and um their responsibilities. So again your point is well taken that of course you can find data to support any conclusion. However we think that a commission type structure with multiple members with varying backgrounds will help ensure that the best science and information is presented to the public.

Thank you. Sure. Okay. Any other questions from the board? Mr. Mr. Chairman, I have Yes, sir. Mr. Uh, listen. Thank you for your presentation. Hope you're doing well. I did want to ask you um

I was sort of scanning through your uh your presentation and um I appreciate the amount of work you put into this. U more specifically recent environmental debates um and they ain't over with. I I was curious as to why you didn't expand on the the growth of data centers. Uh and as a side note to that, nuclear power generation, which is something our last governor was really in favor of. So, um what's your thoughts on those two? And and why were they not included uh any more so than just mentioned? Are you asking um like why these issues were chosen for inclusion in the report? Say it again.

Are you asking why those issues were included in the report or something else? Yeah. Yeah. go ahead and uh answer that. Yeah.

Yes. So, we chose these three issues. We tried to pick a, you know, combination of things that felt both relevant and longer term that we knew the county would face into the future. The Balico data center issue, that was something that was relatively recent and was an example of where the commission might be useful to manage public input, public opposition to proposals. You know, this was something that we saw at least in the press coverage, while I admittedly did not personally experience this, um, we saw in the press cover coverage that public voice was really important to this project and its ultimate um, denial. So we thought that that was an example of where an environmental commission would be useful to kind of coalesce a lot of that debate, encourage it to happen face to face and then have a chance for county residents to interact with people that maybe have more background knowledge on the issue. And a similar um decision was made for the solar energy and uranium mining examples. Solar energy we know is something that um is important to the county and that it's going to keep probably coming back. Uh this is an issue that is going to affect the county's land use and frankly aesthetic character likely into the future. And same with uranium mining, something that seemed to have a long-term impact on the county's um debates about environmental issues. So those felt important to kind of illustrate why this commission might be helpful.

Good. Okay. Thank you. Of course. Anyone else? If not, thank you so much, Mr. Jaffy. Any final words for us?

Oh, sure. Um, in that case, I would like to conclude by saying we encourage you again to review this further and take special attention to the sample ordinance and the sample bylaws. We'd be happy to continue working with the board of supervisors and the county's attorney to revise and review this as necessary um to hopefully have this be an action item at a future work session um if that's something that you wish to do. So, thank you for your time. I certainly thank you and appreciate the time that you've dedicated to uh to put all of this wonderful information together for us. Awesome presentation and uh we look forward to using this uh this uh guideline if you will. Thank you,

Mr. Jaffy.

Yeah, thank you all. Uh thank you, Chairman Tucker. Uh this really is uh Miss Leblanc's work, so I want to make sure to acknowledge it and give her credit and reiterate her um what she said that we'd be happy to work with Mr. Mr. Evans, if you want us to sort of prepare a specific ordinance or a set of bylaws and we could fine-tune those with Mr. Evans for the board's consideration. I thank you, sir, and I appreciate you coming all the way down from UVA and thank you for your pro bono work and um I I want my colleagues to know and all of Pennsylvania County know that they did this uh totally free of charge and uh Miss Anna Lease uh she has um received I guess credit class credits and

yes, but we wish you well in your endeavors when you go down to Atlanta and uh also the uh other young lady. Congratulations on on your hard work in terms of law school. Mr. Jaffy, thank you again. Thank you all very much. Yes, sir. Quite the knockout presentation, was it? Quite the knockout presentation, was it? Oh, yeah.

Nice. All right. Um, that takes us down to agenda item number six, uh, 6A, an overview discussion on landfill bulldozer repairs. Mr. Adcock and let's see, is that Caleb Martin with you? Malum, I'm sorry. How are you? Good afternoon.

Good afternoon, Mr. Uh several months ago, we came to you with some uh I'll call them equipment challenges we've been having at the landfill and you tasked us for getting some additional pricing on some of those repairs. So today I wanted to talk to you about our our dozer issues. We currently have two dozers at the landfill, a D6 and a D8. They're both 2015 model years. The D6 is a smaller machine that's used mainly for uh slope work and just m miscellaneous things around the the the property. The D8 is a much larger machine that we use for pushing trash on the working face into to uh levels that we that we compact it. So, we uh Caleb has been good at uh locating some alternatives to our uh to our equipment authorized equipment uh dealer for for Caterpillar. Uh so on the D6, we need a new undercarriage and tracks for that machine. We have uh three alternatives for a general duty tracks and we have one alternative for a heavy duty track system. The three alternatives for the general duty track system range in price from 47,000 uh down to 31,000. And the uh the heavy duty track is is right at 43,000. the uh the the general duty that the the 31,000 would be a good alternative, but that is a the only drawback is that's an aftermarket uh piece of equip piece of uh track system and undercarriage system. So, it's a little bit cheaper at 4,000 less, but it is an aftermarket, so it probably does not carry the the same amount of warranty and and the durability that the uh OEM equipment would carry for that. So, we would, you know, request approval

of our our our choice would be the $36,000 OEM, but we would because of that equipment, if if we're looking down the road to replace that equipment fairly soon, that that that would be the aftermarket would be an a good alternative as well. And since that's not used so much on the actual working face that it would be uh acceptable to use that to as an to get an aftermarket repair on that. For the D8, we need a new final drive. And we've only got one option with the with the the parts themselves. We have a a remand and a repair. So on the repair, the only part that's the only part that's being repaired is what's damaged inside the final drive. That all to all told the cost is about $40,000. Uh $40,335 and that adds about a week of downtime for machining the the actual part. The remand comes in about 47,000 which that replaces the entire final drive. And the the benefits of that is that if anything else inside that final drive break, then that's covered by their warranty. If we just remand the the piece that's broken inside the final drive, if anything else breaks that's currently inside that final drive, it would not be covered. The good thing is we have found an alternative labor for that. And so we think we can get somewhere between 5 and 8,000 out of that uh 40,000 or 47,000. So I think both of those uh would come in at less than $40,000 by using an alternative labor uh source, but we still get the parts from the uh the

authorized dealer for that. So we would like to, you know, with with your approval, we would like to move forward with these repairs. It's Did I miss anything, Caleb? Okay. Um, move forward with these repairs and I'll take any questions on that.

Thank you, Mr. Ecock. Um, let let me start off by asking a couple questions if I can. Um, on these tracks, the OEM, I guess, high value or long-term, the 43,000. Tell me the benefits of those again. Uh the the the the 31000 uh 315 is a aftermarket track system. Um so it's not made by Caterpillar. Uh the $36,000 one is made by Caterpillar. So it's, you know, OEM type of original original equipment manufacturer piece of equipment that goes back on that.

Gotcha. And it would and that one would be done actually by the dealer uh rep for that. It would be done by Carter Cat on that one. You mentioned one at 43 grand. Which one was that? The 43 grand would be the heavy duty instead of So there's the three prices for general duty tracks and then the one price at 428 is for a heavy duty track system.

All right. Uh, in my thinking, we're going to have to ride this horse until uh just can't take us any further. And I think if we can get more life expectancy out of it by spending the additional money because correct me if I'm wrong, but we're probably uh some of my other colleagues will understand, we're probably renting equipment at the tune of how much per month? Yes, sir. We're uh we're currently written a dozer at about nine a little less than 9,000 a month. Okay. So, and that only gives us one one dozer to to do it, you know. So, we don't have the the opportunity to move machine off and do some some necessary like dress up work and things that

let's let's call it four months and uh we could got this thing back on its feet. So, I'm I'm in favor of putting the heavy duty stuff on there because um you guys got to stay up and running. Okay. And um this county has to sincerely stop putting band-aids on situations. We have to do the best we can for a more permanent solution. Um and you are saying the remanufactured um final drive is with warranty is $47,000.

Yes, sir. And that is with the uh that is with the the dealers the authorized dealers labor. And I think we can get that labor done for about half of that. But we could still we could still get that part which would be the the replacement final drive that actually the part is the difference in parts is 335 and 26. So 20,600 actually plus the machining. So it's about $10,000 difference between the remand and the brand new um the brand new final drive. on the remand. If you get uh alternate labor to install it, that's not going to affect your warranty.

No, because the the warranty will go with the part. Okay, perfect. So, I'm comfortable with the 47K. I'll entertain discussion from the remainder of the board. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Mr. D. Yes, sir. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Edcock. Yes, sir. U going back to the D6, you said y'all didn't use that that much. And how many hours is on that machine? The D6 has 13,500 hours and the D8 has just under 20,000 hours. Wow. A lot of hours. You had any engine issues? Anything with your D6? A transmission?

Not Not that I'm aware of. Caleb, are you aware of them? Yes, sir. Oh, I thought most of those tracks and rails had about a th000 hour warranty on them. What's the difference in the warranty between OEM and aftermarket? I don't have that. I do know that uh that it's usually like a the CAT parts are usually one year warranty on that. I I don't know what the aftermarket warranty would be. Thinking they had a thousand hours on them, but I don't sure. But uh I mean I agree with Mr. Tucker, you know, using some good parts, but I was just thinking if you're not using that machine, you got a lot of hours on it. How much more life do you have? Would we be would we be better to go with the aftermarket on that machine?

Well, and I don't know. I'm just Well, I do know. If it's going to wear out and you ain't going to have the machine, there's no need putting new tracks on. I do know. It all depends on how how soon we can we can can replace the machine. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. And uh and we also uh one thing we talked about was that if if if we if we do want to trade it in, get some kind of value out of it, sell it at at aftermarket sale or I mean a a government sale, it needs to be operational to get any kind of value out of it. Yeah. Now, are you just putting rails and tracks on? Are you doing rollers and final um idlers and sprockets, too? It's uh

the all the undercarriage, the roller, the sprocket, and the Atlas. Okay. It's undercarriage and tracks. Yes, sir. I Are these a are they quoting a an all field track or a dry track? Uh cuz it's there some differenc. Yes, sir. That all feels a whole lot easy on the machine and it runs quieter, too. Uh yeah. And you get more life out of it. It don't eat your sprockets up and We can find out about that. Yeah. If that's an option. Yeah. But and then far as the final drive on that D8, you might as well replace your whole final drive. I agree with that. Yes, sir. When you tear it apart and go in there and start taking the spider, all them gears out of there. Yep.

You're going to probably find ground up metal and flakes in there and you're going to put a new part on top of an old part. So, you're really going to waste that money because you might come back in a few weeks and have to replace it anyway. Yep. But agree with that as well. But I agree with that. But that that's my take on it. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Bo. Chris. Um, thank you, Mr. Chairman.

So, the only thing I haven't heard, and I agree with the D6 and the D8, uh, the 47,000 for the final drive on the D8, the 36 for the D6. What is your recommendation? You're the guy on the ground out there. Tell us what you need. Caleb, could you come up here? No, I want I want to hear it from you. Well, I'm gonna ask the man that that deals with it every every day and see because he Caleb Caleb is the assistant public works director. He he's kind of overseeing the landfill right now. Okay. And he works daily with equipment operators. So, he hears back from them as to what uh

that's my point is I want to hear when you come here and ask and you give us options here. We could be all over the place. Give us your recommendation on which way to go on each one of these pieces. Sure. And you Caleb did a good job of of uh Go ahead, Mr. Malum. Good evening. Go ahead. Good evening. Thank you for being here. Yeah. Thank you guys. All right. So, Mr. Boen, what's your question? What's our recommendation?

I want your recommendation on which way we need to go on the D6 and the D8. I've already made up my mind what it is, and so I want to hear your recommendation because you're on the ground. You're the one operating these pieces of equipment. you know the the usage, you know how they're abused and how much life they got left in them. Give us your recommendation on which way to go on this.

All right. So, as far as the D8 goes, uh that that needs a right final drive. Um so, with that machine having approximately close to 14,000 hours, uh 19,000 hours, I would recommend go ahead and replacing the entire final drive versus trying to rebuild it. uh when you go in there to rebuild to rebuild it, you you really never know what you're going to get into. And for that reason, you will not have a fixed price. Uh with the remand final drive, you will have um this is your set in stone price. This is replacing everything. Uh so in a perfect world, we would prefer the remand final drive over the rebuild. Okay.

As far as the D6 goes, um that machine is looking What's your hours on that one? That's 14. That's 14.

So, your D6, you're looking close to 14,000 hours. Uh, typical you, a typical machine like this gets 10,000 hours on it. So, it's probably close to well over close to replacing its its lifespan. Um, you know, depending what monetary wise how we look there, um, I I don't think it would be a bad idea to go with the general duty undercarriage because of the fact that it's not taking harder conditions as the D8 is. Typically, the D6 is just used for dirt work, earth work, uh environmental correction, storm ditches, things like that. Um, our D8 dozer takes much more wear and tear than the D6 does. Um, so I I do think that we could get away with the general duty undercarriage. I would um warn you against an aftermarket system. I think that we've kind of we've done that in the past. I don't think we've seen the lifespan that we would like to out of that that system. So I would recommend a OEM general duty.

And what's the cost on that? OEM general duty was Was it 3600 36,000? So there's two. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That's my position right there. Thank you, sir. Uh also, Mr. Mum, while you while you're there, let me ask you a couple questions if I may. Um, on this D6, is there any blowby that you've noticed on a daily basis? Repeat the question. Any blowby from coming from the engine? Blowby.

Yes. On the engine. That's just how much it gives you an indication of how much actual oil, I guess, this thing's burning. So, the the the D6 is sitting about 14,000 hours. Um, it does have a decent amount of wear and tear on it throughout the years. I think that replacing the tracks and undercarriage would be a next a first step in replacing this machine. Um, as far as the the actual motor oil, I I do not have an answer for you on that one. I could do some research.

Okay. Uh, one thing you ought to ask your technician, your mechanic out there is how much oil this D6 is actually using. That'll give you an indication of what kind of shape that thing is in. Um, Mr. Ecock, quick question for you. Um, you you're saying collectively you don't think that you're using the D6 as much. Uh, what does it cost us uh when that thing goes down? Are we renting something to in in place of this D6 right now? Uh we're we're renting one dozer right now to kind of take the place of both of those at at that's at 9,000 a month. Yeah,

that's right. And that it just it limits us when we he mentioned that we use that for a lot of environmental work. When we get our quarterly inspections from DEQ, there's a lots of times there's there's ditches that need to be cleaned out that are filled with sediment. There's uh the slopes have trash that gets blown on them. So, we have to cover those with dirt. So, typically we use a smaller dozer for doing all that slope work and any kind of environmental cleanup. So, it just limits our ability to do that in a timely manner when we only have that one larger dozer that it really needs to stay on the pad to to to help push the trash.

Yes, sir. Um, we're going to we're going to give you what you need. Okay. But, uh, I go back to my initial statement. We're going to have to ride this equipment for a while. Uh, because we just had our finance committee meeting this evening, and it's not in the budget to go out and just buy brand new equipment. So, we got we're going to have to ride this stuff until it just falls down on us. Okay. So that's what we're trying to do is buy some time, but we're trying to stop the bleeding at the same time of renting someone else's equipment at the tune of $9,000 a month because we can take the same $9,000 and apply it to these repairs and and and we can take care of this in, you know, six, eight months. Okay.

Yes, sir. All right. And and with that being said, u you know, we come to you, I guess, with what we think we could get by with, but I do agree that if we want to ride it out, let's go with let's spend 6,000 more and get the heavy duty undercarriage and tracks instead of the, you know, Caleb's being nice and saying he he wants the general duty, but let's go ahead and get the if if we can. That is your recommendation?

Yes, sir. That's my recommendation. Thank you, sir. I'm overrule you, sir. That's where and that's where I landed initially because we're going to have to get as much utility out of these things as we possibly can. So, um let's not just go put a band-aid on it just to get by. I get that. But you spend the additional uh money, which is less than a month's rent, and and you do the heavy duty deal because they have to stay up and running. John. Okay, that's that's all I'm screaming. Yes, sir. We don't have money to sit here and make bad decisions.

Okay. All right. Anyone else from the board? Uh, Mr. Evans, we need to act on this. We need to kind of put it on the agenda tonight. Yes. Uh, the board can take an action as part of the business meeting to to authorize that expenditure. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Thank you. So noted. All right. Anything else, Mr. Add? No, sir. Thank you. Thank you, sir. We appreciate it.

All right. Thank you, gentlemen. Let's see. That takes us down to uh item seven. Any discussion from the business meeting? Hearing none, um we're ready to go into close session. Mr. Evans, would you read us in, please?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. There are four matters designated for close session this afternoon. First, discussion concerning prospective business or industry of the expansion of an existing business or industry where no previous announcement has been made of the businesses or industries interest in locating or expanding its facilities in the community. Legal authority Virginia Code section 2.237185. Subject matter unannounced. Prospective businesses, industries, PRP, economic development strategy. purpose general economic development projects update. Second, discussion of plans to protect public safety as it relates to terrorist activity or special or specific established security threats or vulnerabilities and briefings by staff members, legal counsel or law enforcement or emergency service officials concerning actions taken to respond to such matters or related threat to public safety. Discussion of information subject to the exclusion in subdivision 2 or 14 of section 2.23705.2 where discussion in an open meeting would jeopardize the safety of any person or the security of any facility, building, structure, information technology system or software program or discussion of reports or plans related to the security of any governmental facility, building or structure or the safety of persons using such facility building or structure. Legal authority Virginia code section 2.2 to 3711 A19 subject matter jail project purpose discussion regarding the same. Third, this consultation with legal counsel employed or retained by a public body regarding specific legal matters requiring the provision of legal advice by such counsel. Nothing in the subsection shall be construed to permit the closure of a meeting because an attorney representing the public body is in attendance or is consulted on a matter. Legal authority of Virginia Code section 2.23711A88. subject matter courthouse litigation and ODAC lease agreement purpose consultation with legal counsel legal advice and discussion regarding the

same. And lastly, discussion or consideration of the acquisition of real property for a public purpose or of the disposition of publicly held real property where discussion in an open meeting would adversely affect the bargaining position or negotiating strategy of the public body. Legal authority Virginia code section 2.23711 A3. Subject matters. possible sale of publicly held real property purpose discussion regarding the same. Mr. Chairman, now be appropriate to entertain a motion to second discussion and vote regarding close session. Thank you, Mr. Evans. I'll entertain that motion to go into close. So move. Thank you, Mr. England. Second.

Thank you, Mr. Bowman. Any discussion? Gentlemen, vote electronically, please. Thank you. The motion passes 5. We go in to close.

Yes, Mr. Chairman. Be it resolved that at the Pennsylvania County Board of Supervisors work session held on April 21st, 2026, the board hereby certifies by a recorded vote that to the best of each board member's knowledge only public business matters lawfully exempted from the open meet open meeting requirements of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and identified in the motion authorized in the closed meeting were heard, discussed, or considered in the closed meeting. If any board member believes that there was a departure from the requirements of the act, he shall so state prior to the vote indicating the substance of the departure. The statement shall be recorded in the board's minutes. We will now have a roll call vote regarding said certification of closed session. Mr. Dalton, yes. Mr. Dudley,

yes. Mr. Brown, yes. Mr. Bowman, yes. Mr. Whittle, yes. Mr. Ingram, yes. Mr. Tucker, yes. Thank you, Mr. Tucker. Thank you so much. We extend a journ

All right, one minute warning. Let's find our places. Get in that hole. So hot back there.

Good evening. Welcome to Pennsylvania County Board of Supervisors meeting. Today is Tuesday, April 21st, 2026, 7 p.m. Board meeting room 39 Bank Street Southeast Chattam, Virginia 24531. Madame Clerk, call the role, please. Yes, sir. Mr. Bowman, here. Mr. Brown, here. Mr. Dalton, here. Mr. Dudley, present. Mr. Whittle, here. Mr. Ingram, here. Mr. Tucker

here. Thank you. Would you join me now in a moment of silence, please? Thank you. Please join me if you're able to stand please for our pledge of

allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

I thank you so much. All right, that moves us to agenda item five. Are there any additions to the agenda? Yes, sir. Mr. Chairman, thank you, Mr. D. Um, I'd like to make a motion to add the following item to the agenda, and it would be under the consent agenda is 7A. It's the landfield bulldozer repairs. Thank you. That's my motion to add that item. I'll second that motion, Mr. Sure. Thank you, Mr. Dalton. Thank you, Mr. Dudley. Any discussion?

Hear no discussion. Please vote electronically. Thank you. Motion passes unanimously. That takes us down to agenda item six, the approval of the agenda as amended. Mr. Chairman. Yes, sir. I had a question. Items F and H. Uh, we're going to do those separately. So, I need Do I need to make a motion on that? No, we're just going to do those under presentations. That's That's what I want to hear. Thank you. I'll make that motion. All right. Thank you. Is there support for the motion?

I'll second it. Thank you. Uh any discussion? If not, vote electronically, please. Motion passes unanimously. That brings us down to item number seven, our consent agenda. I'll entertain a motion to approve our consent. I'll make that motion, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Bowman. Who second that? Mr. Whittle. Mr. Whittle. Thank you so much, sir, for support. All right. Any discussion

hearing? None. Cast your votes electronically.

Mr. Dudley, I thought I had a yes. Mine would be yes, but

thank you. Motion passes unanimously. That takes us down to item number eight, which is presentations. We have a few this evening. So, gentlemen, join me on the floor, please. Am I going first?

All right.

Good evening. Welcome everybody. I'm Justin Brown from the Dan River District. Uh a week ago yesterday, Pennsylvania County lost a great man and a and a Pitt County lost a sheriff's investigator, a deputy. I personally lost a friend that I graduated high school with, grew up with. He was a neighbor, very close to this family. This one really hit home bad. I want to thank the staff, Miss McCcluster and different ones that was involved in it. They built a really nice uh plaque and Mr. Tucker did a resolution for my friend Nick Samuels and um I just can't uh I just can't thank them enough. I was able to go soon as we got back in town off of a trip we were on uh representing Pennsylvania County. I I raced to the house and was able to present the the daughter with this plaque. It had his portrait and and it had the resolution that I'm going to read with you tonight. At the Pennsylvania County Board of Supervisors business meeting on April 21st, 2026, the following resolution was presented and adopted. The Pennsylvania County Board of Supervisors joins the Pennsylvania County Sheriff's Office and the entire community in mourning the ultim untimely passing of investigator Nicholas Nick Samuels on April 13th, 2026. Investigator Samuel served the citizens of Pennsylvania County as a dedicated member of the Sheriff's Office Special Investigations Division, carrying out his duties with integrity, humility, and professionalism. Throughout his service, Investigator Samuels was known for his steady presence, strong work ethic, and unwavering commitment to doing what was right. earning the respect and trust of his fellow deputies and colleagues. Investigator Samuels approached each case with responsibility with the focus and determination contributing meaningful to the safety well-being of community he served. During his service, investigator Samuels demonstrated exceptional courage and dedication,

including being awarded the Purple Heart in 2016 after sustaining injuries in the line of duty. a distinction reflecting his bravery and commitment to protecting others. Those who worked alongside him remember him not only as a skilled investigator, but as a dependable co-orker and friend, someone who could always be counted on and who brought strength and support to those around him. Investigator Samuel's life reflects a legacy of quiet strength, dedication, service to others, and his contributions will continue to be felt throughout the sheriff's office and across the county. The Pennsylvania County Board of Supervisors does hereby express and deepest condolences to the family, friends, colleagues of investigator Nicholas Samuels, and that the board of supervisors honors his life and recognizes his service to Pennsylvania County and extends his heartfelt appreciation for his contributions to public safety and the community. that this resolution be entered into the official minutes in the Pennsylvania County Board of Supervisors and the copy be presented to the family of investigator Nicholas Nick Samuels as a lasting tribute to his service. Given under my hands on the 21st day of April 26th, signed by Robert Tucker and Caitlyn McCcluster, chairman of the board and clerk of the board and myself and the other board members. Like I said, I've already presented this to the family and and they've got a a framed copy that they can they can keep forever. And of course, we're going to continue to file this one as as so be it in challenge. But I want to um I just want to honor my friend tonight and and so many of his colleagues in the service that he did. He was a great great fellow and we're really going to miss him. Thank you. I I asked the family tonight, I told

them, I said, "You don't have to uh attend. They've been through so much over the last week. I just didn't want to have to keep doing this day in and day out, but we will take a picture." Normally, we line up the family or whoever we're honoring for that reason. But being a situation, I think they've been through enough and and uh we'll let them know what we've done here. Heck yeah.

I'm going to scoot over here. Right. Holly, do what?

That's right. I am so honored to present this uh next uh proclamation. And as I do so, Pastor Sloan, would you come up here and stand with me, please? This is Pastor Chevy Sloan. He pastors the Stone Creek Church on the RNL Smith Road. And he has revived something that is so near and dear to so many of us, and that's the right to life. and the pro-life movement in Danville was uh pretty much reactivated this past Saturday with the walk and uh and I I know he he's had a lot of help, but um I'm just so proud and honored of my colleagues who I talked to individually that said, "Yeah, let's make our county a pro-life county." And that's what this resolution is all about. Not condemning or condoning things of the past. We're all forgiven for bad mistakes that we've made, but as a county and as your your leaders, uh, we're here to proclaim that Pittzer County is a prolife county. And so I have the honor of reading this proclamation and it reads at the Pennsylvania County Board of Supervisors business meeting on Tuesday, April 21st, 2026, the following proclamation was adopted. Whereas the Board of Supervisors of Pennsylvania County recognizes the inherent value and dignity of all human life. And whereas the board affirms its commitment to supporting families, children, and individuals throughout all stages of life. And whereas according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Prevention's latest abortion surveillance report 2022, more than 600,000 legal induced abortions are performed annually in the United States. And whereas data from the Virginia Department of Health indicates that approximately 17,000 abortions are performed annually within the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Whereas the board recognizes the importance of promoting maternal health, access to prenatal care, and resources that support women, children, and families before and after birth. Whereas the board supports efforts that provide education, counseling, community-based assistance to individuals facing unplanned pregnancies. And whereas the board acknowledges that many citizens of Pennsylvania County hold deep personal, moral, and faith-based convictions regarding the sanctity of life. And whereas the board further recognizes the role of local governments in encouraging strong, healthy communities through support systems that uplift families and protect the well-being of future generations. And whereas the board acknowledges that matters relating to abortion policy are governed primarily by state and federal law. Now therefore, be it proclaimed that the Pennsylvania County Board of Supervisors here hereby declares Pennsylvania County to be a prolife county, expressing its commitment to valuing and supporting life. And be it further proclaimed that the board encourages continuous support for local organizations, health care providers, faith-based groups, and community resources that assist mothers, children, and families in need, including those providing prenatal care, parenting education, and family support services. Given under my hand, the 21st day of April, 2026, Robert M. Tucker, chairman of the board of supervisors, and Caleb McCcluster, our clerk for the board of supervisors. Pastor, I uh want to give you a few minutes. Um I was often told never give a preacher a microphone, but uh this is special. And uh if you'd like to say a few words, uh you you have the opportunity. Yeah, the these gentlemen behind me understand what's going on. So um I'll

be short and brief. Thank you very much, uh, Vic, and thank you for your friendship and, uh, and, uh, your support, uh, to the pro prolife movement here in Danville and Pennsylvania County. Uh, and as you said, it uh, has been, um, a small effort um lately, but we are hoping to change that. And so we have many things that we are trying to accomplish in our city and our county to provide a pro-life care and pro-life message for our constituents and uh for especially women and men who are struggling with unplanned pregnancy and the option to possibly end the life of that child. And so um we have started some prolife organizations. Friends for Life Danville, which is a new uh organization which we recently just started, which will house the Dan the annual annual Danville March for Life, which we just had our first inaugural this past Saturday, but we plan to have many more, but also other pro-life uh events in the county and in the city and also to come alongside any other prolife ministry in the city and the county uh such as local uh women's crisis pregnancy centers. Uh I have been on the board and uh recently the board president for transition pregnancy solutions for the last year and uh I understand that many in our community recognize that that center has not necessarily been up to snuff. I have taken it under my own personal duty to try to uh rectify that over the course of the last year. And I promise those of you who have been waiting for a long time uh that change is coming and coming very quickly and you will be very excited and proud of the women's crisis pregnancy center that we will have in Danville and Pennsylvania county very

soon. So there are many things on the horizon for the pro-life uh ministry message and organizations. And so I thank the board and Vic for all of your support and we look forward to a partnership in the years to come. Thank you, brother. I'm sure some of my colleagues would like to have comment or

any comments. picture. Thank you. I got a couple here.

Let me see here. Go ahead. Let me read this one. I'll let you follow up.

All right. Um, let's see. It's my distinct honor to recognize our Ruitton members Ruitton awareness month this May 2026. So I'll read this resolution. Um Mr. Fox I spoke with him. He is doing extra duty at the polls. It's a busy day all over, but um I wanted to make sure at least we recognize, you know, the Ruitans. Um Pennsylvania County Board of Supervisors proclamation declaring May 2026 as Ruin Awareness Month. Virginia at the Pennsylvania County Board of Supervisors Board business meeting of Tuesday, April 21st, 2026, the following proclamation was adopted. Whereas Ruitton National had its beginning on May 21st, 1928 by community leaders in Holland, Virginia and has grown to become America's leading community service organization. And whereas during the past 98 years, Ruitton has grown to an organization of more than 20,000 members in 799 clubs throughout 24 states. And whereas the Ruitton Clubs of Pennsylvania County have served for many years consisting of 129 members in eight clubs. And whereas men and women of all professions, ages, and ethnic backgrounds are Ruron members. And whereas Ruitton pledged to support urban and rural communities in times of stress and need through fellowship, goodwill, and community service. And whereas Ruitton under its motto, fellowship, goodwill, and community service has made

substantial contributions to the well-being of the citizens of Henry County and of the nation. Now therefore, be it proclaimed that Pennsylvania County Board of Supervisors do hereby recognize 20 May 2026 as Ruitton Awareness Month. Given under my hand this 21st day of April 2026, yours truly, Robert M. Tucker Jr., board chair, Caleb McCcluster, board clerk. Thank you. Let's celebrate the realies. Ruitton. Yes, I didn't. Come on up, Ruitton members.

Sorry about that. Come on. We She wants to speak. It's not a question of who wants to speak. It's apparently who's who's been selected. Um, thank you very much to the board of supervisors for this recognition. Uh, Pitfeni County has got a number of ruan clubs that we're very proud of and we're very proud of the work that the Pittsfini County Rouitans do. We support a lot of scholarships. We support a lot of volunteer fire departments. We help our fellow community members whenever anybody's had a sickness or an illness or medical expenses or fires, uh, personal tragedies. Um, we're very appreciative of the recognition tonight and just say, uh, please find a club close to you and come join us. Thank you. We we drew straws, believe it or not.

And Barry and I obviously got the short straws, but thank you all. I am the district governor for the Dan River district for the Rouitans and we are proud and loud and proud to serve here in Pennsylvania County. So, thank you very much. All right. Yes. Thank you. All righty. I got one more.

Good to see you, sir.

So, this next one's going to be a certificate of appreciation in grateful recognition of your generous contribution of $5,000 in support of Pennsylvania County's 250th Independence Festival. Your commitment to the community's service and dedication to enhancing the quality of life for our citizens plays a vital role in preserving our history and celebrating the significant milestone. Your generosity helps ensure a memorable and meaningful commemoration for generations to come. Pennsylvania county extends its sincere appreciation for your continued partnership, leadership, and investment in our community. And this goes out to the Cadam Rotary given on the 21st day of April 26th signed by William Vic Ingram, Tussle Supervisor, vice chairman of the board, and Robert M. Tucker, Jr., chairman of the board.

Do we have anybody from uh Chadam? You want to say something?

Oh. Perfect. In behalf of Chattam Rotary, we appreciate this honor in recognition and I will surely let them know how well it was received. Thank you. Is this We got one more.

You got one more. tear my fingernails off here. Okay. Um before we go to the next one, I want to u personally thank the uh Rotary Club for their generous contribution toward our 250th uh celebration of uh the nation. All right. Uh, at this time we're going to have a presentation to public safety from the National Weather Service. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Uh, good evening everyone, board members and ladies and gentlemen. Uh,

yeah, if I could. Thank you for allowing me a moment to speak to you uh this evening. My name is Nick Fow. I'm with the National Weather Service in Blackburg. I'm joined by a couple of our colleagues here. This is our meteorologist in charge, Doug Buts. This is one of our meteorologists, Cody Burroughs. And we're here this evening in celebration of the fact that Pennsylvania County is now a storm ready community. And what that means is that the county, the emergency management team has taken steps uh to ensure that the county is prepared and is limiting it its exposure to severe weather. And when we're talking about severe weather, basically during the summertime months, the warm season, we're talking about severe thunderstorms, flash flooding, uh excessive heat. During the winter time, we're talking about winter storms, high winds, and extreme cold. And basically what that means uh to be a storm ready community. This was born out of uh in the late 1990s when the National Weather Service started discussions with a lot of communities that had been heavily impacted by severe weather. And they were looking for ways to improve the communication between the weather service and the communities. how can we train uh the community residents to be better prepared, things of that nature. And the emergency management team for Pennsylvania County went through all these steps. Basically, they ensured now that there is somebody in Pennsylvania County on a 24-hour a day, 7-day a week basis that's constantly monitoring for severe weather conditions. uh is ensuring that there is at least two independent, reliable and redundant systems to make sure that uh they are receiving those severe weather watches, warnings and advisories so that if one of those systems fails, the other one

still kicks in and ensures that uh those notifications are being received. Um the comm the emergency management team uh went through the severe weather preparedness plan ensuring that all the different types of weather hazards are being addressed and I was also uh working with the National Weather Service bringing us in to help train the residents of Pennsylvania County uh to identify severe weather and to know what to do when it threatens. So, uh, the emergency management team did a wonderful job in that. And now that Pennsylvania County is recognized as a storm ready community. It can enjoy, uh, has earned points in FEMA's community rating system, which can go towards reductions in flood insurance for the county residents. So, in addition to that, uh we have a much tighter relationship, National Weather Service and in Pennsylvania County Emergency Management, uh where um we've got people that are in the county that can re relay reports of severe weather to the National Weather Service. We use that information to update our forecast, update our severe weather warnings. We get those out to you with better accuracy and we get them out to you sooner. So, that's a great relationship. And ultimately, this is all goes towards saving lives and protecting property. So that's that's in everyone's best interest. And this is uh this is a very big deal. And I want to thank the administration of Pennsylvania County for supporting this and working with the National Weather Service. And specifically, I wanted to uh call out Chris Key for his work in doing this. He was on top of everything. uh anytime that we had a concern or brought something up, he addressed it immediately and we don't see that happen uh very often sometimes. So Chris was

absolutely instrumental in making this happen. So in recognition of Pennsylvania's uh recognition as a storm ready community, I'd like to present this sign to the group. Yes, sir. What's wrong with you?

Let me thank everyone for their participation and uh that's that's one of the rewarding parts of Our job as supervisors is to be able to give recognitions. All right, this moves us down to agenda item number nine, which is hearing of the citizens. Each person addressing the board under hearing of the citizens shall be a resident or land owner of the county or the registered agent of such resident or land owner. Each person shall step up, give his or her name, and district in an audible tone of voice for the record unless further time is granted by the chairman shall limit his or her address to three minutes. No person shall be permitted to address the board more than once during hearing of the citizens. All remarks shall be addressed to the board as a body and not to any individual member thereof. Hearing of the citizens shall last for a maximum 45 minutes. Any individual that is signed up to speak during said session who does not get the opportunity to do so because of the aforementioned time limit shall be given speaking priority at the next board meeting. Absent chairman's approval, no person shall be able to speak who has not signed up. Madame clerk, who's our first speaker?

John Owen. Mr. Owen, good evening and welcome. Good evening, gentlemen. Yes, sir.

My name is John Oden of the Calins Gretner District. I would like to speak on uh the upcoming vote on your budget. If you call it that, I call it a spending bill. With the increase with increase voted on on April 9th, our taxes will have gone up 40% since 2023. At this rate, our taxes will double every 5 years. Pennsylvania county taxes are already at 56 cents higher than any of our neighboring counties. Bedford 41 cent Franklin 43 considering 50 Campbell 45 cent Halifax 50 cent Henry 55.5 your 62 cent blows everybody else out of the water when the reassessment increase of 40 of uh 23 was done 40% increase kicked in the board dropped the rate from 62 cent to 56 cent which left us with a tax hike of 24.45%. For 24 and 25, the largest tax hike in the history of the county as far as I can ascertain. I can tell you that the taxes on $100,000 of real estate went from $620 to $784 for 24 and 25. This 11% increase will take it to $868. Due to compounding of the percentage of in tax increases, our tax will have gone up the full 40%. In October of 23, all candidates for board of supervisors were asked a series of questions by the Star Tribune submitted by the readers. The answers

were quoted in the Star Tribune on October the 18th, 2023. Before you say circumstances change, remember a person's word remains forever. The question was asked, "If elected, will you vote for a real estate tax?" Dudley, I am a Republican and a physical conservative. If I were ever to vote for an increase, the county staff would have to justify the need. I would demand a review of either the of the effectiveness and the strict physical uh plan for the county. As far as I know, none of it was done. Bowman, no.

Tucker, I will not support a tax increase on our county citizens. Ingram, I will not, excuse me, address the board. And we don't need to name names. Thank you. Okay. But this was a direct quote. I understand. Okay. I just read 30 seconds remaining.

In the spring of 24, these supervisors voted for the largest tax increase in history. So, as a vote for the new 26 budget comes up, the question is, gentlemen, are you going to do the honest and ethical thing and vote down this budget? Or are you going to just reaffirm that you're just another lying politician and can't be trusted? Thank you. Thank you, sir. Madam clerk, who's our next speaker? Jeff Love. Mr. Love, good evening and welcome.

Jeff Love, Stanton River District. First, I'm formally announcing that Pennsylvania County is in violation of the requirements stated in Virginia Code 58.1-3819, transient occupancy tax, item A2, which defines how 2% of the collected tax shall be designated and spent. Pennsylvania County started collecting this tax in January 2023 and has been in violation of the code of Virginia since that time. I trust that the board of supervisors will immediately cease collection and distribution of the transient occupancy tax until all of the requirements that are stated in the code are correctly followed. I was unavailable for the recent tax increase meeting on April 9th, but I had a few comments prepared that I will share tonight. County tax increases are a result of poor financial management and waste of taxpayer dollars. The county wasted a considerable amount of tax money with the Berkeley Group in order to develop a failed county zoning change proposal. I hope that the same waste and failure doesn't in occur with line and grade and the upcoming comprehensive plan revision. Salaries of some county personnel are excessive for our area as researched and stated by county citizen Kathy Hodes during the meeting on April 9th. The board is signing non-disclosure agreements with various companies in order to encourage so-called economic development. Since large tins tax increases are still needed to support the excessive budget, it's clear that those new industries are either receiving huge tax breaks or that they will provide absolutely no financial benefit to our county. My business offered to fully fund and sponsor two familyfriendly entertainment options for the upcoming 250 celebration

in July. To date, we haven't received any response. This is another example of the county wasting tax dollars instead of utilizing offers from the local community. The majority of Pennsylvania county citizens cannot afford huge tax increases. The recent tax increase shows that the board has no concern or connection to the majority of our citizens. You were elected to properly represent the best interests of our citizens, but you're clearly failing in that obligation. If you truly cared about your constituents, you would be holding regularly scheduled town hall meetings in each district facilitated by the appropriate district board member. Those meetings should be interactive question and answer sessions in order for each board member to gain a better understanding of the wishes and needs of our citizens. Thank you.

30 seconds remaining. Thank you, sir. Who's our next speaker? Kathy Ramsey. Kathy Ramsey. Good evening. Welcome. Good evening, board of supervisors, chair, and members. And before I get started, I'd like to ask for a couple of extra minutes. I'm not sure if this going to run over or not at the end. We're not going to shut you down. Go ahead. Pardon? Continue. Yes.

Okay. Kathy B. Ramsey, resident of the Banister District. This evening I am presenting two major concerns affecting the citizens and travelers in the Banister District. Recently, community awareness about the issues have evolved beyond informal conversations. Citizens are now seeking broader engagement and action. For many years, residents have experienced numerous accidents on 57 East of Chadam, particularly at the intersection of 640 Spring Garden Road and Java Road. The high volume of traffic, cars, tractor trailers, log trucks, and other vehicles has highlighted the urgent need for improved safety measures. The community has actively communicated with the Virginia Department of Transportation, VOTE, resulting in some visible signage to alert travelers. However, residents feel these efforts are insufficient to address the elevated risk of accidents. While VOTE has responded to the concerns in place signs, the community believes added safety features such as flashing lights, rumble strips, and other road graders are necessary, especially where visibility of turning vehicles is limited. Removal of distracted signs have been appreciated at the crossing, but ongoing safety improvement are in are requested. The high traffic volume crossing the Banister River Bridge and issue at the nearby traffic light has caused many residents to feel unsafe. The bridge integrity and its ability to manage current traffic demands are still a

significant concern. A replacement bridge is planned to be installed at the Banister River Bridge location in 2029 pending any unforeseen delays. Some examples for of unforeseen delays could be weather or the budget. Despite assurance from the engineers, the community is anxious about the bridge safety and seek greater transparency and engagement about its future. What are some other words that mean something as same thing as a replacement bridge? A replacement bridge will have to be kept as well. When discussing a replacement bridge, it is important to recognize the variety of terms that convey a similar meaning. Some commonly used synonyms include substitute, backup, reserve, spare, stand in, fill in. These terms highlight the temporary or supportive nature of such structure. It is also important to note that the replacement bridge, regardless of the design designation, will require ongoing maintenance to ensure safety and functionality until a permanent solution is implemented. There are questions about how long the replacement bridge will remain at the Banister River location before the permanent structure is built. Earlier experience with the replacement bridge on 40 over Pig River, which has been in place for many years and will remain there three more years, raised concern about the potential delay of the Banister River Bridge site. Residents and travelers appreciate the attention shown, but fear neglect and lack of

communication may result in further delays and tragedies before safety is prioritized. The shock and surrounding community areas concerned citizens invited news media including channel WDBJ7 to cover the story bringing attention to the previous overlooked issues. Rec. Residents recognize funding challenges but emphasize that safety must be prioritized due to the increased traffic and the business activities. Mr. Ramsey, let's wind it down. Pardon? Let's wind it down, please.

Okay. Many feel that neglect and lack of transparency have persisted for years and they urge authorities to address the concerns uh proactively rather than um waiting for accidents to focus. I'm going to skip down this last part and to complete my report. We had over 300 plus signatures on a petition to let you know that many residents and travelers are concerned. The bottom line is 3 years is too long. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Ramsey. Who's our next speaker? That's all, Mr. Chair.

That's it. Thank you so much. All right. We move now to item 10, which is our public hearing reszoning. Pursuant to article 5, division six of the Pennsylvania county zoning ordinance, the board of supervisors have been empowered to hear and decide specific zoning issues and zoning map changes in in support of said ordinance. In accomplishing this important task, the board is responsible for promoting the health, safety, and general public welfare of the citizens of Pennsylvania County. The board must ensure that all of its decisions and regulations be directed to these uh goals and that each be consistent with the environment, the comprehensive plan, and in the best interest of Pennsylvania county, its citizens, and its posterity. All right. In case R-26-012, Mr. Arnold, case R-26-012, Mary Ellen Miner has petitioned to reszone 86.2 2 acres located on State Road 765 Sandy Road in the Kalen's Gretan election district from double zone district to A1 agricultural district to allow the property to be used for a private campground contingent upon the approval of a special use permit. Once the property is reszoned to A1, all uses listed under section 35-178 are permitted. On March the 3rd, 2026, the planning commission recommended by a 5 to zero

vote with opposition that the petitioner's request be granted. The planning commission's recommendation as well as the staff summary are enclosed in the board packet. Mr. Chairman Mary Miner is here to represent this petition this evening. Thank you. Thank you, sir. It is now 7:48. We open the public hearing. Miss Meyer, anything to add to

No problem. Come on up, sir. Good evening. Uh John Wright. I'm Mary Miner's son-in-law. Uh here with my wife Rosemary. We leased the property from my mother-in-law out the 86 acres. Um yeah, the request for having the reszoning was really uh prefaced in the fact that frankly we wanted to just have clarity on the double zoning which the county wasn't able to provide. So they needed a request to change the zoning. We're requesting that zoning change to A1. When we had to provide a justification and then learned subsequently that uh a special use permit was required to spend the night in our 24 ft trailer on the property at our discretion, we use that as the justification for the reszoning request. But as offered as profered by Mary Miner to the board reaffirming her statements that we do not intend to operate a commercial campground. I believe the use of the term campground has been overused in this instance. um is intended just for private f family and friend use on occasion. Neither do we intend to permanently occupy a residence in that trailer uh at any time on the property. We have a permanent residence in uh at Smith Mountain Lake and building a secondary home in Rocky Mount, Virginia as well. So, no intent or interest in occupying a 24ft trailer on a permanent basis in Pennsylvania County on the property.

Thank you, sir. Thank you. Anyone else signed up to speak? Yes, sir. Uh Jeff Love, Mr. Love, good evening. And he is requesting 10 minutes. He has signed up to represent the Pennsylvania County Campground Owners Association.

So Jeff Love, Pennsylvania County Campground Owners Association. We have concerns related to the proposed resoning. During the planning commission meeting on March 3rd, 2026, Mary Alan Miner stated that she wanted to reszone her property and subsequently obtain a special use permit for a campground so that her son-in-law and other friends and relatives could stay in campers on the property to hunt. Campers provide absolutely no protection from bullet penetration, and hunting within a campground is a very dangerous and potentially fatal endeavor. She had no idea how many campers would be on the property and has not provided a proposed number of camp sites. During her comments at the meeting, it was clear that Miss Miner did not research all of the requirements to establish a campground. She stated this would be a private campground. All of the properly zoned campgrounds in Pennsylvania County are privately owned and the zoning and special use permit does not differentiate between private campgrounds and commercial campground businesses. Approval of this zoning change would set a precedent which would allow any property owner to obtain a campground special use permit in order to circumvent county restrictions regarding campers and to avoid following all of the numerous regulations that must be followed by campgrounds. Miss Piner's property plat was revised on October 15th, 2025. That document indicates that a portion of the property is in a flood hazard zone. Potential flooding is not only a concern for the safety and well-being of any guest, but is a concern for watershed and environmental contamination issues caused by flooded septic systems, release of raw sewage, and other toxic debris. Miss Miner has not submitted the required site development plan or

concept plan. The required sign affidavit has not been notorized. Campground creation and development requires thorough advanced planning, including engineering and design, septic system soil studies and design, determining water availability, calculating electrical demand requirements, obtaining and following state, county, and health department regulations and permits, and much more. None of those support documents have been submitted in order to justify this zoning change request. Campgrounds have many health department requirements including permits and licenses, required restrooms, required waste dump station, water test, property inspections, and more. Applicant Mary Alan Miner is not a resident of Pennsylvania County, has no campground ownership experience. She would not be on site to manage the property and she would not ensure that all campground regulations are being followed. Without the direct involvement of the owner or on-site management, campgrounds become unsupervised and unregulated low-end trailer parks and havens of illegal activity. That type of property would certainly be a detriment to our community and would potentially damage the reputations of our other well-managed CA county campgrounds. The existing Pennsylvania county campgrounds have active owners, are properly zoned, are properly permitted, are meeting health department re regulations, and are adequately meeting demand. If Pennsylvania County actively promotes tourism and encourages tourism oriented development such as amusement parks and other entertainment venues, then there may become a need for additional campsites and/or campgrounds. As such, the board of supervisors cannot make an informed decision since this

zoning change request is missing essential required information. Based on the previously stated concerns in Miss Miner's failure to provide required information, the Pennsylvania County Campground Owners Association recommends denying this zoning change request and recommends denying the subsequent request for a special use permit. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Love. Anyone else sign up to speak? That's all, Mr. Chairman. Thank you. It is 7:54. We close public hearing. Mr. Dalton, what's your pleasure?

Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, I'd like to make a motion in case R-26-012. I make a motion to approve the reszoning of 86.20 acres or.20 20 acres from the DC which is double double zone district to A1 agriculture to allow the property to be petitioned for a special use permit for a private family campground. Thank you. Thank you sir. Support for the motion.

I'll second that. Thank you Mr. Ingram. Any discussion hearing? None. Cast your votes electronically. Motion passes unanimously. Thank you. All right. In case R-26-013, uh, Melissa Harrison, Mr. Arnold, please. Case R-26-013. Melissa Haristen has petitioned to reszone 5.67 67 acres located on route 311, also known as Harbble Saunders Parkway in the Tontol and Westover election districts from M1 Industrial District Light Industry to M2 Industrial District Heavy Industry to allow for a concrete readymix plant. Once the property is reszoned to M2, all uses listed under section 35-42 are permitted. And on March the 3, 2026, the planning commission recommended by a five to zero vote with no opposition that the petitioner's request be granted. The planning commission's recommendation as well as the staff summary are enclosed in the board packet. Mr. Chairman, we do have Miss Melissa Haristen here to represent this petition this evening. Thank you.

Thank you, sir. It's 7:57. We open the public hearing. Miss Haristen. Where? Oh, anything to add? Thank you for being here this evening. Uh, madame clerk, is there anyone to sign up to speak? Uh, Peter Haristen. What's the name? Peter Haristen. Mr. Haristston. Thank you, sir. Anyone else? That's all, Mr. Chair. All right. At 7:57, we close the public hearing. Let's see. That is That's me, Mr. Chairman. Combination of Mr. Ingram and Whittle I have down here. Is that you, Mr. Ingram?

Yes, sir. Mr. Chairman, thank you. I have the honor. Melissa, it's been about 30 some years. It's good to see you. Uh, in case R26-013, I make a motion to approve the reszoning of 5.67 acres from M1 Industrial District Light Industry to M2 Industrial District Heavy Industry to allow the property to be used for a concrete ready mix plant. And that is my motion. Mr. Chairman, thank you, Mr. Engort. I'll second. Thank you, Mr. Brown. Any discussion?

Hear none. Vote electronically, please. Thank you. Motion passes unanimously. All right, we go to 10B, which is other public hearings. Each person addressing the board under a public hearing shall step up, give his or her name in district and or his or her place of residency for non-county citizens in an audible tone of voice for the record unless further time is granted by the chairman shall limit his her address to three minutes. Speaker for group shall be limited to 10 minutes. Speaker shall conclude their remarks at that time unless consent of the board is affirmatively given to extend the speaker's allotted time. Absent chairman's approval, no person shall be able to speak who has not signed up. Bless you.

Sorry. All right. Uh public hearing FY2728-31 32 V dot secondary six-year plan. Miss McCcluster. Yes, sir. We have John Mason here from VOTE and he's going to get this going for us. John Mason. Mr. Mason. Good evening and thank you for being here, sir. Thank you, sir.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Good evening, Mr. Chair. My name is John Mason with the VOTE Department of Well, Virginia Department of Transportation. I have the pleasure of serving the Halifax County and Pennsylvania County. Section 3.2-331 of the code of Virginia as amended requires that the county board of supervisors in conjunction with the Department of Transportation formulate the six-year secondary road improvement plan prioritize list. This is done on a yearly basis. Tonight's public hearing is conducted for fiscal years 2027 and through 2032. I would like to note that the six-year plan is not a construction plan, but rather an allocation plan. Over the next six years, we will allocate money to the projects listed towards the construction of these roads. The list of roads on the draft plan have been added to your agenda.

Okay. Thank you, sir. Um, let's see. Madame clerk, anyone sign up to speak? No, sir. So, if you can just open it and close it. All right. All right. It's 8 o'clock, we open the public hearing, and at 8:00, we close the public hearing. All right. I don't, Mr. Evans, I don't believe any actions required there. There there would be a motion needed to approve the the the uh VOTE action. Okay. Uh let's see. It would be a motion approving the the plan secondary six-year plan as attached to the the board packet.

Okay. I'll entertain that motion to approve the six-year plan as attached. Be glad to. Mr. Chairman, I can make it motion. I make a motion approving the attached VOT secondary sixyear plan as presented and authorize the appropriate county staff member to sign any related necessary documentation. Mr. Chairman, that is my motion. Thank you, Mr. Dudley.

Thank you, Mr. Whittle. Any discussion hearing? None. Cast your votes electronically. Thank you. Motion passes unanimously. Thank you, sir. All right. Any unfinished business, Mr. Evans? No, sir. All right. Any new business? There is no business. New business. Thank you, sir. Any matters from the work session? No matter from the work session? No, Mr. Chairman. We're rolling. All right. Board members report. Mr. Brown.

Yeah, Mr. Chairman. Thank you. Um, like I was telling you earlier when we did this resolution for uh, for our friend Nick Samuels, I want to reach out and also bring up some other folks that I don't know if you any of you was in the city limits um, on Saturday when the funeral took place, but it was incredible. I've been to a lot of funerals. I've never never seen such a It was a presidential motorcade. Every intersection on Riverside Drive was shut down. Uh, I want to thank Dan River Church for hosting it and it was a large enough church to handle it. my guess was over 600 attended. We also have uh the sheriff's office of Virginia State Police, public safety, all the uh local fire departments rescues. They had the ladder trucks up on display entering the cemetery. I mean, just a magnificent honor guard was there. Virginia State Police honor guard was there as well. um Danville City Sheriff's Office, Danville City PD, all the motorcycle um localities surrounding us that had uh motorcycle uh patrolman. They all were in in the city limits leading the way and and blocking off intersections. Just a a fantastic show of respect for our our fellow brother. Um some good news. Um tonight, well, we've been in meetings all day since 2:30 today. I I made it to the first three and a half meetings and then I left early and ran back to the promised land of Dan River High School and uh as Vic likes to call his Tonal district, but I got to go home to the to the uh as an alumni of Dan River High School and we have got to celebrate. When I got there, I was amazed. The entire hillside was full and the field was beautiful and the flags are flying and we dedicated the field tonight to coach Sammy McCormack and um and his name went up on the scoreboard. They pulled a curtain down and just all kinds of principles and previous administrators. Uh Pitfenni County um Superintendent Steve Mayhew was there. He was here earlier today in a meeting, too. So, we were we were all racing back and forth to make it to

these meetings. But it was just a a great night for the Dan River District after a tough week last week of what we all went through to to get hundreds back together to uh commemorate a great coach. He's been there for over I don't know, they were they said it. It was 40 years almost, but uh just a state champion in 98, but we had hundreds of players come down on the field. We all lined up. We took pictures right behind home plate with him there. And uh just an awesome night for the Dan River District. But want to thank everybody for coming out and and letting you guys know and the public know in case you in case you uh missed it. But thank you. Thank you, Mr. Brown, Mr. Bowman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Excuse me. I want to echo um what Justin just said about Nick Samuel's family. Uh my condolences out to them. I stopped by their investation the other night and quite a showing at that. Um family was was grieving pretty heavily there. Um but uh they were holding true. They they were they were keeping keeping their emotions pretty uh pretty much under control there, which is very very hard to do. So u condolences there and and we stand ready. If you need anything, you just give us a call. Don't hesitate. Um, I want to say congratulations to uh Rick Barker who was named as the distinguished citizen of the year. He received that award through the Blue Ridge uh Boy Scout Council this past week over at VIR. Uh great turnout there. And Rick, if you know who I'm talking about, he's the one that's helped develop a lot of the Craighead Street properties down there in Danville. Uh so uh congratulations to him uh on that honor. Uh over the past month or so, I've been very busy with staff uh especially the finance people working uh on the budget. And believe me, um what I said, and I will address this, this gentleman out here uh quoted some of us as what we said when we ran our campaigns. Yes, those are good statements to make until you actually get in here and start scrubbing the budget lines and you see where the needs are. And they're not just wants, they're needs out here and these folks need them. U we went through there and we've scrubbed this thing and so we're not just arbitrarily going in and raising taxes like a lot of people think we are. So u congratulations again to that finance uh uh department there in Pennsylvania County for bringing us the good data and letting us make the hard decisions and that's what we have to do. Um congratulations to Joy Arrington. I don't know if y'all know him, but he is

in Martinsville. And over the past uh month or so, he went to uh and I'll just read this real quick. He entered a U race car, stock car uh that he built, and he was uh running to see if he could hit the 250 mi mark uh at the Space Florida. Yeah, Space Florida shuttle landing facility. and they actually went down there, drove that car uh for the land speed record and achieved 253 miles per hour. So, congratulations to those guys out there in Martinsville for all that hard work they put in. Uh, and the last thing I've got is the countywide cleanup is this week. Uh, the uh actual day that the county is going to get involved in it is on Saturday and I believe it's from 9:00 to 12:00. The uh beautifification committee has gotten all the supplies they need. They're handing them out, the orange bags, the pickers, uh and the vest. So, uh each district has a beautifification committee member there. Please contact them and pick up your uh uh your equipment and I hope we have a great turnout for that. Uh I know they've been excited putting this thing together. So, it's our semiannual cleanup. So, uh, if you're not involved in that, contact those folks and and get involved in it. And, uh, that's all I've got, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bowman. Mr. Dudley.

Yes, sir. Mr. Chairman, appreciate, um, everybody coming out this evening. Um, just some highlights. The gentleman that lost his life that um, you know, worked with the county sheriff's department. um talked to Tommy Merrick this week and um Tommy was telling me that he was it was probably the largest funeral possession he's ever seen in his life and um just ask everybody if they will just to continue to uh pray for the family. Uh they'll be in need. Um, you know, when all of this happens and there's a lot of folks around, they have a tendency to help prop you up, but a lot of times when it when the dust settles, that's when it gets real quiet and it comes back. So, let's just lift the family up. I want to thank his staff for their hard work putting the meetings together and um I just um also want to um pray for this world basically, United States, Israel, the conflict that's going on right now. Let's just um let's just stay in a moment of prayer. Thank you, Miss Ch.

Thank you, Mr. Dudley. Mr. Whittle. Yeah, I just want to uh say u I do uh keep everybody uh keep Nick Samuel's uh family in your prayers. I didn't know Nick personally, but um I know it's hard for anybody what they're going through. And um just uh thank you staff for what they do. Thank Mr. Short, Mr. U Evans, and u just appreciate everything everybody coming out tonight. And just thank everybody. Thank you, Mr. Whittle, Mr. Don.

Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, been a long evening, but it's been a good evening. Think we got some stuff accomplished here tonight, so it's all good. Um, I'd like to um tell everybody, keep keep some people in your thoughts and prayers. We've had a rough time since the last meeting. Our finance director, Miss Kim Kim Vanderhigh, she lost her father the end of March. So, keep their family in your thoughts and prayers. and also the sheriff's department, Miss Trish Waller, she lost her husband and then last Monday, you know, we've heard Nick Samuels and that's that was mighty sad there, too. I knew him very well. Worked in the sheriff's department. Um, but keep all them people in your thoughts and prayers. And I want to thank all the staff, all the citizens for coming out tonight. Um, thank you, Mr. Short, for what you do, Mr. Evans and I thank all the board members for what you do. That's it. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Dalton. Mr. Ingram.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I too would like to uh remember Nick Samuel's family and friends and co-workers. Uh it's been a tough week. And also, uh if you remember Ray Haristen who was a sergeant with the sheriff's office, he started with Damble PD and came to work for the sheriff's office, but he died a few weeks ago. and uh like to remember his u his family. Um we had a great meeting last night. It was a town hall meeting uh talking about the progression of the mega site at Berry Hill and uh I guess we maybe had 200 people there. Great presentation by economic development director Matt Monroe and we had a nice panel including uh Mr. Short and my colleagues Mr. Tucker, Mr. Brown, Mr. Whittle. they came out in independently and uh we we uh had had a very good meeting and I think a lot of questions and concerns that people had about the uh the mega site more specifically the digital infrastructure campus uh those questions were answered. Uh April 14th was National Telecommunicators Week and when I think about that I always think about my old buddy Bo Martin, one of the best dispatchers that ever said 104. But um we're very grateful for those faceless voices that answer that call when it's um at a most needed time. And I'd like to close by thanking Pastor Sloan for reviving the pro-life movement. I think it's absolutely precious and I'm very grateful for you and your colleagues for that efforts. And having said that, Mr. Chairman, I'm done. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ingram. Let me uh very briefly say I concur with all of the sentiments to all of the loss that we've experienced in Pennsylvania county. Um and yes, let us continue to pray for them. Uh been the chairman of the finance committee. Uh let me address the budget real quickly. Uh we take no pleasure in terms of being supervisors in terms of raising taxes. However, um we don't have to educate the public when you go to the gas pump that you know that you're paying more for gasoline. Diesel right now is $6 a gallon, that sort of thing. So, uh we did all the necessary work and rest assured uh we're not being free and easy with your money. We were not able to grant some legitimate uh uh ask or requests. Uh we had to pass on them, cut them out of the budget. But that's okay. Um we we're going to uh make sure that uh our essential services are functioning and that the government is open and doing business and taking care of our citizens. Uh I've been on the move. We were in Northern Virginia last week taking a look at uh uh digital uh AI campuses, you know, for our data centers that we're anticipating. Um so we are out here working feverishly trying to uh get some support as far as sharing the burden of the taxes, that sort of thing. Um, you know, I think it's kind of funny when folks uh, you know, when we have to go measure the noise decibb of uh of

these data centers and uh, they're not nearly as loud as some of the opponents of raising your taxes and what have you. I heard a little bit more noise there than I actually heard from the data center. So, uh I just want you to know that the supervisors are working hard to take care of that. Um as far as uh personally the um the intersection of 640 and 57 down there, uh that was actually my second cousin, my first cousin's daughter that uh succumb in that accident along with her granddaughter. and um you know uh she's actually buried in uh the home cemetery which is on my family property that I pay taxes on. But uh I'm not going to make a political issue out of that intersection and I'm hoping that others won't either. Uh you know it's just terrible uh accident that there's nothing we can do anything about. Um, also the bridge down there on 57 East, uh, I actually had to go out and put up some signage, went down, answered questions for some of the residents down in that community. Uh, Mr. Winstead, the uh, chief engineer from the Lynchburg uh, district actually has assured me and we got a commitment to put a replacement bridge down there. Uh, the residents have known it for quite a while. I don't know how much more transparent uh Lynn Stevens, the communications director with the highway department in VOTE, nor Mr. Winstead can be. Uh but at the same time, you know, I want to thank all of my colleagues for everything that you do. Uh it is not easy sitting here making these difficult decisions. We take a lot of heat and uh people attempt to score a

lot of political uh points in terms of you know needling some of the decisions that you make but uh that's what we signed up to do to make the tough decisions. So I appreciate you. I appreciate the staff, all of your hard work in terms of setting up these meetings for all of the research and taking a deep dive into getting to the bottom of a lot of these issues. Uh to our uh finance team, Miss Vanderhigh and your team, thank you so much. Um I appreciate all your hard work. Um, none of us can walk on water. So, we appreciate you exact uh showing us exactly what the priorities are in terms of how we can get our bases covered with the resources that we have. Mr. Sharter, um, at our previous meeting on the 9th in April, what an excellent presentation you gave, not only to the board, but also to the community. If anyone was even had an inkling of why we had to do what we had to do, um I I don't think you fell short at all. Um because it was a brilliant presentation and every bit of it was the truth. And I'll say it again that math, numbers, it's the only true science on this planet. Period. Full stop. Mr. Evans, thank you for keeping me between the guardrails. I appreciate you guys. Mr. Sher, anything for us?

Just like to reiterate the condolences for the losses of all the families since the last meeting. Um, I want to thank the board for what all you you all do for this community that so many people don't see the countless hours behind the scenes. They see you visually here every month, but I can attest to how much you work and how many hours you put in, nights, weekends, holidays, and I thank you for that. And uh thank you for allowing me to continue to serve the county that I love. And uh I'd like to say thank you to the staff that support me and keep me between the guardrails. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Shorter. Mr. Evans.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. was not present at the public hearing um meeting that we had last on on April the 9th. I was I had the opportunity to uh go with my wife to visit her parents who work for the United States consulate in Brazil. Perfect. Um and um having spent time in Sa Paulo and Rio de Janeiro and I can attest uh what a beautiful feeling it is to have my feet back on American soil. um and what a wonderful opportunity is to live in Pennsylvania County. So, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Evans. I have been here since 1:00.