[Call to Order / Moment of Silence / Pledge of Allegiance/ Agenda Adoption]
[00:00:04]
THE HOUR IS UPON US TO CALL OUR JANUARY 15TH, 2025 REGULAR MEETING OF THE SURREY COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS TO ORDER.
UM, BEING THAT THIS IS THE FIRST MEETING OF THE NEW YEAR, UM, IT IS CUSTOMARY FOR THE ACCOUNT ADMINISTRATOR TO TAKE THE ROLE OF CHAIR.
UM, I WOULD SHARE THIS MOMENT THAT WE WILL GO AHEAD AND HAVE OUR INVOCATION, AND THAT WILL BE DONE BY MINISTER JOAN BROWN OF ST.
OH, HEAVENLY FATHER, WE COME TO YOU TODAY A DAY THAT WE HAVE NOT SEEN BEFORE ASKING FOR YOUR GUIDANCE.
WE ARE ASKING FOR YOUR WISDOM, UNITY, AND CLARITY.
AS WE BEGIN THE S COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISOR MEETING, WE ARE INVITING THE HOLY SPIRIT IN HIS DIVINITY TO BE PRESENT AT THIS MEETING.
WE WOULD LIKE YOU HEAVENLY FATHER, TO BLESS ALL OF OUR DISCUSSIONS, ANY DECISIONS THAT WE ARE ABOUT TO MAKE.
WE ARE ASKING FOR YOUR HELP TO ENGAGE US IN MEANINGFUL DECISIONS AND DISCUSSIONS.
WE ARE THANKING GOD ON TODAY FOR BRINGING EACH AND EVERYONE WHO IS PRESENT IN THIS MEETING.
WE ASK THAT YOU BLESS THIS MEETING LIKE ONLY YOU CAN AS WE WORK TOGETHER IN UNITY FOR THE GOOD OF ALL THOSE THAT ARE LIVING IN THIS, THIS GREAT COUNTY, REFER TO ASS COUNTY.
HELP US TO LISTEN WITH OPEN EARS AND OPEN HEARTS TO SPEAK WITH TRUTH IN A RESPECTFUL AND HONORABLE MANNER.
FEEL THIS PLACE WITH YOUR HOLY SPIRIT.
GUIDE US IN THE NAME OF JESUS.
I SAY THIS PRAYER IN THE NAME OF JESUS.
WE WOULD NOW HAVE A MOMENT OF SILENCE.
PLEASE STAND FOR THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG, TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS.
ONE NATION, GOD, LIBERTY, JUSTICE.
THANK YOU, SUPERVISOR CALHOUN.
I'M GONNA GO ON RECORD TO SAY IT'S JANUARY 15TH, 2026
AT THIS TIME, I WOULD LIKE TO OPEN UP THE FLOOR.
SO AT THIS TIME, UM, I WILL ASK FOR A MOTION TO ADOPT THE AGENDA FOR THIS EVENING.
ARE THERE ANY MOTION TO CHANGE THE AGENDA? ANY AMENDMENTS TO THE AGENDA? OKAY.
NONE BEING ANY AMENDMENTS OF THE, UH, CALL FOR THE VOTE.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF ACCEPTING THE AGENDA A.
[January 2026 Board Reorganization and Discussion]
MA.THE FIRST, UH, ITEM OF BUSINESS, UM, AS WE ARE IN OUR FIRST MEETING OF THE NEW YEAR, IS TO NO, TO, UH, ACCEPT NOMINATIONS FOR THE FLOOR, UM, FOR A CHAIRPERSON TO LEAD THE SUR COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
SO, AT THIS TIME, I WILL ASK THE FLOOR FOR ANY NOMINATIONS OF CHAIR.
I WOULD LIKE TO NOMINATE MR. BRION PIERCE.
[00:05:01]
BRION PIERCE FOR THE POSITION OF CHAIR FOR THE YEAR OF 2026.HAVE THERE ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS, MADAM? I'D LIKE TO NOMINATE MYSELF FOR THE CHAIR.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS? THERE BEING NO OTHER NOMINATIONS? THE NOMINATIONS ARE CLOSED ON THE FOLLOWING NAMES.
MR. BRION PIERCE AND MR. WILLIAM T. CALHOUN.
AT THIS TIME, I'M GOING TO ASK FOR A VOTE IN THE ORDER.
THE NAMES THAT WERE RECEIVED FOR THE CHAIRMANSHIP FOR MR. BRION PIERCE, I WILL ASK, UM, IN THE FOLLOWING ORDER, STARTING FROM MY LEFT.
BEING THAT WE RECEIVED A MAJORITY OF THE VOTE FOR MR. BRION PIERCE AS CHAIRPERSON OF THE SUR COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, UM, I WILL DEFER TO OUR, UH, LEGAL COUNSEL, BUT I DON'T BELIEVE WE NEED TO, UH, DO THE ROLL CALL.
UM, CONGRATULATIONS MR. BRION PIERCE FOR YOUR, UH, ELECTION AS CHAIRPERSON OF THE SARA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS FOR 2026.
YOU MAY COME TAKE YOUR SEAT, SIR.
I'D LIKE TO FIRST OF ALL SAY THANK YOU TO THE BOARD MEMBERS FOR, UH, PUTTING ME IN THIS POSITION.
UH, WE'RE NOW GONNA TAKE NOMINATIONS FOR, UH, VICE CHAIRMAN.
NOMINATE MYSELF FOR VICE CHAIR I, MR. CHAIR? YES, SIR.
MR. ELLIOT FA ELLIOT, I'D LIKE TO NOMINATE MR. WALTER HARDY FOR THE POSITION OF VICE CHAIR FOR 2026.
ARE THERE ANY MORE NOMINATIONS? HEARING NONE.
WE'LL GO AHEAD AND, UH, BEGIN THE VOTE, UH, WITH OUR FIRST NOMINATION WITH MR. CALHOUN.
AND MR. CALHOUN? YES, WE HAVE.
UM, I'LL GO, I'LL VOTE FOR MR. HARDY AS WELL.
UH, FOR, FOR CLARIFICATION PURPOSES, THE, THE VOTE THAT WAS JUST CONDUCTED WAS, UH, FOR MR. CALHOUN AND WHETHER HE SHOULD BE VICE.
SO IF SINCE THE MAJORITY WAS NOT RECEIVED, THEN WE NEED TO PROCEED WITH VOTING FOR MR. HARDY.
NOW, I ASK FOR A NUM, UH, VOTES FOR MR. HARDY.
WITH, UH, MAJORITY VOTES FOR MR. HARDY.
WE WOULD LIKE TO, UH, CONGRATULATE MR. HARDY FOR BEING OUR VICE CHAIR FOR THE 2026, UH, YEAR.
THANK YOU, MR. HARD NEXT ITEM OF BUSINESS WILL BE THE ADOPTION OF OUR BYLAWS.
I ASK, UH, ANY BOARD MEMBERS HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS, ANY QUESTIONS, OR ANY, UM, AMENDMENTS TO THE BYLAWS? MR. CHAIR? YES, MR. CALHOUN? I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION, IF I MAY, PLEASE.
UM, I'D LIKE TO, UH, MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO REVISE,
[00:10:01]
UM, THE BYLAWS, UM, TO THE VOTING OF THE CHAIR AND VICE-CHAIR TO ENSURE EACH DISTRICT IS REPRESENTED IN A LEADERSHIP ROLE OF THE VICE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR.IF YOU'LL REFER TO SECTION EIGHT UNDER THE ELECTIONS, UH, MY RECOMMENDATION IS TO, UM, WHAT A CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR IS SELECTED TO IN THE FOLLOWING ELECTION.
MOVE THE VICE CHAIR UP TO THE CHAIR AND DENOMINATE A CHAIR, UH, VICE CHAIR, EXCUSE ME.
SO, UM, THAT, THAT WILL ALLOW, UM, EACH DISTRICT, UH, BE REPRESENTED AS A LEADERSHIP ROLE.
UH, FOR CLARITY, PURPOSE, YOU ARE ASKING FOR WHAT SECTION AGAIN? SECTION EIGHT UNDER ELECTIONS TO JUST, OKAY.
AND COULD YOU, UH, FORM THAT IN A MOTION, SIR, PLEASE? SURE.
MR. CHAIR, I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO, TO SECTION EIGHT ELECTIONS UNDER, BY, UNDER OUR BYLAWS TO REVISE IT, TO, TO ALLOW FOR THE VOTING OF THE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR TO EACH DISTRICT TO ENSURE THAT EACH DISTRICT IS REPRESENTED IN A LEADERSHIP ROLE.
UM, FOR THE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR, AGAIN, IN MY EXAMPLE, UM, IF THE CHAIR MOVES, UH, OUT OF HIS POSITION, VICE CHAIR MOVES TO THE CHAIR POSITION AND WE ELECT A VICE CHAIR.
THERE'S A MOTION ON THE FLOOR.
IS THERE A SECOND? MR. CHAIRMAN, MAY I INTERJECT BEFORE A VOTE? YES, MA'AM.
JUST FOR CLARIFICATION PURPOSES, THERE WILL HAVE TO BE A VOTE EVERY YEAR ON WHETHER, UH, ON WHO THE CHAIR IS.
NOW, THAT DOESN'T PREVENT THERE FROM BEING SOME SORT OF, UM, YOU KNOW, ROTATING LIST, BUT A VOTE HAS TO HAPPEN.
SO IT CANNOT BE AUTOMATICALLY THAT IF THE CHAIR, IF THE VICE CHAIR IS VICE CHAIR ONE YEAR, THEY WILL BE CHAIR THE NEXT YEAR.
THERE HAS TO BE A VOTE UNDER ROBERT'S RULES AND UNDER OUR, UM, OUR CURRENT BYLAWS.
COULD, DO YOU MIND, UH, REVISING YOUR, UH, MOTION TO, UH, FIT WHAT MS. UH, PERKINS MENTIONED? YES.
I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION, UM, TO REVISE THE BYLAWS TO THE VOTING OF THE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR TO ENSURE EACH DISTRICT IS REPRESENTED IN A LEADERSHIP ROLE OF THE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR IN SECTION EIGHT OF ELECTIONS.
AND MY REVISED EXAMPLE WILL BE, VOTE THE VICE CHAIR OF NEW YEAR AS CHAIR, AND THEN HAVE THE BOARD VOTE FOR A NEW VICE CHAIR, UM, FOR THAT YEAR.
MI MR. CHAIRMAN, IF I, IF I MAY AGAIN? YES.
UM, NOT TO, NOT TO MAKE THIS MORE CHALLENGING THAN IT NEEDS TO BE, BUT, UM, YOU ALL DO NOT HAVE EXACT LANGUAGE BEFORE YOU ON AN AMENDMENT.
SO MY RECOMMENDATION WOULD BE THAT YOU LET ME TAKE THIS BACK, UM, DRAFT SOME LANGUAGE, UH, HONORING WHAT MR. CALHOUN'S REQUEST IS.
I'M HAPPY TO SEND THAT TO EVERYONE IN ADVANCE SO YOU ALL CAN TAKE A LOOK AT IT AND THAT WE TABLE THE BYLAWS UNTIL YOUR NEXT MEETING.
MS. UM, I HAVE A QUESTION, MS. PERKINS.
UM, AS FAR AS THE BYLAWS GOES, DO WE HAVE TO APPROVE THE BYLAWS ON THE FIRST MEETING? OR, OR DO WE HAVE TO HAVE A SPECIAL MEETING TO CONDUCT THE BYLAWS? YOU HAVE TO TAKE ACTION ON THE BYLAWS.
SO IN MY LEGAL OPINION, TABLING UNTIL YOUR NEXT MEETING, UH, FOR, UH, CONSIDERATION OF AN AMENDMENT THAT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED BY ONE OF THE BOARD MEMBERS WOULD BE TAKING, TAKING ACTION, IT'S STRETCHING IT A LITTLE BIT, BUT I THINK, I THINK WE'LL BE IN COMPLIANCE.
YOU HEARD WHAT MS. PERKINS MENTIONED.
UH, IT'S DO YOU HAVE ANOTHER MOTION YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE? NO, BUT I JUST, I, I DO HAVE ANOTHER CLARITY IF I COULD, AND THIS IS IN REFER TO SECTION THREE C, UM, REGARDING THE AGENDA, IT STATES, UM, I'D LIKE TO HAVE THE BYLAWS CLARIFIED OF THE QUOTE, FIVE DAY, FIVE DAYS FOR A PUBLISHED AGENDA.
DOES THE FIVE DAYS, MEANING WORKING DAYS OR CALENDAR DAYS? MR. CHAIRMAN, I CAN PROVIDE SOME CLARIFICATION TO THAT.
[00:15:01]
BURKIN.IN THE ABSENCE OF A DESIGNATION OF WHETHER IT'S CALENDAR DAYS OR BUSINESS DAYS, IT DEFAULTS IN THE LEGAL REALM TO CALENDAR DAYS.
BUT CERTAINLY IF, IF IT'S THE DESIRE TO CREATE THAT CLARITY, WE CAN ADD EITHER CALENDAR DAYS OR BUSINESS DAYS.
DOES THAT HELP YOU, MR. COWELL? YES, BUT I STILL WOULD LIKE THE CLARITY TO EITHER EVERY CALENDAR DAYS OR BUSINESS DAYS.
IT'S, IT'S, UH, FIVE CALENDAR DAYS, UH, GOING FOR WHAT, UH, MS. PERS JUST MENTIONED.
BUT IT DOESN'T SAY CALENDAR DAYS IN, IN THE, IN THE FILE.
UH, BUT AGAIN, I, I THINK, UH, FROM WHAT MS. PERS JUST MENTIONED, UH, THROUGH THE LEGAL REALM, IF IT DOESN'T, UH, UH, NOTIFY WHETHER IT'S CALENDAR OR WORK DAYS IS AUTOMATICALLY DEFAULT AS CALENDAR DAYS.
I JUST WANTED TO BRING THAT UP.
AND MR. CHAIRMAN, I APOLOGIZE.
UM, THERE WAS ONE, THERE WAS ONE RECOMMENDATION THAT, THAT I SUGGESTED, AND THAT IS ON PAGE SEVEN.
UM, AND IT IS TO, UH, UH, DO A WORDING CHANGE UNDER B TWO.
AND THAT IS TO MORE CLOSELY ALIGN OUR BYLAWS WITH WHAT STATE CODE, UM, STATE CODE STATES THERE WAS A CHANGE TO THIS PARTICULAR SECTION OF STATE CODE.
AND OUR BYLAWS NEVER CAPTURED THAT.
SO I'M JUST TRYING TO CAPTURE THAT.
WOULD THAT BE WHAT'S HIGHLIGHTED AND READ? YES.
MR. HARDY, I WANNA MAKE A MOTION TO BE APPROVED, THE BYLAWS AS PRESENTED.
WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE BYLAWS AS PRESENTED.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTION OR IS THERE A SECOND? SORRY.
IT'S BEEN MOVED AND PROPERLY SECOND, THAT WE APPROVE THE BYLAWS AS WRITTEN.
IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION, MR. CHAIR? I THOUGHT WE WERE YES, MR. UH, MR. CALHOUN? I'M SORRY.
I THOUGHT WE WERE GONNA TABLE IT TO THE, UH, THE APPROVAL TO THE NEXT MEETING THERE.
THERE WASN'T A MOTION MADE TO TABLE THE, UM, THE BYLAWS UNTIL THE NEXT MEETING.
DID YOU ASK FOR A SECOND WHEN I MADE THE MOTION? I DID NOT, UH, NO.
I ASKED WERE THERE ANY MORE DISCUSSION ABOUT THE BYLAWS? THAT WAS THE TIME TO MAKE THE MOTION.
NO, I MADE A MOTION ON THE FIRST ONE.
WHAT WAS YOUR MOTION? IT WASN'T WHAT WAS YOUR MOTION, MR. GALL? BECAUSE, UH, FROM MY, FROM MY, UH, MOTION, UM, TO REVISE THE BYLAWS TO THE VOTING OF THE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR TO ENSURE EACH DISTRICT IS REPRESENTED IN A LEADERSHIP ROLE OF THE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR WITH, BY EXAMPLE, THAT WE VOTE THE VICE CHAIR TO THE CHAIR POSITION AND WE TAKE A VOTE FOR A NEW VICE CHAIR.
YES, MR. CALHOUN, I DO RECALL YOU MAKING THAT, UH, UH, MOTION.
BUT AGAIN, I THINK THE, UM, FROM GOING WITH MS. PERKINS HAS MENTIONED, UM, WE COULD NOT, UM, NOT VOTE FOR THE CHAIR OR, UM, CHAIR.
SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, UH, SHE SUGGESTED THAT WE WOULD TABLE IT, AND I THINK THAT WAS THE TIME TO MAKE THE MOTION TO TABLE.
AND I THOUGHT SHE WAS GONNA MAKE SOME CHANGES, UH, MAKE A REC.
UM, MS. PERKINS, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, PLEASE SHARE, BUT WE STILL, WHEN, WHEN IT'S TIME TO TABLE, A MOTION HAS TO BE MADE IN FRONT OF THE, UH, BOARD MEMBERS.
AND THEN A MOTION HAS THE, UH, THE MOTION TO TABLE HAS TO BE SECOND.
AND NEITHER WAS THE MOTION TO TABLE, UH, WAS MADE NOR A SECOND.
I THOUGHT THAT WAS MRS. PERKIN'S INSTRUCTIONS THAT WE COULD TABLE IT.
THAT WAS HER, HER RECOMMENDATION.
THEN MAY I PRE, PRE HIS, UM, MOTION AND ASK FOR IT TO BE TABLED? MM-HMM
UM, MR. HARDY, IF YOU DON'T MIND, LET'S HOLD OFF ON YOUR MOTION FOR A SECOND.
GO AHEAD AND MAKE YOUR MOTION, MR. CALHOUN, PLEASE.
UM, I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO TABLE THE APPROVAL OF THE BYLAWS AND ALLOW TO ALLOW MS. PERKINS A TIME TO PUT TOGETHER SOME VERBIAGE BASED ON MY, UM, RECOMMENDATION AND, UM, IT IT TO THE BYLAWS, UM, AND SEND IT OUT TO THE, UM, TO THE BOARD FOR THEIR REVIEW FOR APPROVAL IN THE, IN THE NEXT MEETING.
UH, MS. CALHOUN, HAS I MADE A MOTION TO TABLE THE BYLAWS UNTIL OUR NEXT MEETING? IS THERE A SECOND BEING THERE? THERE'S NO SECOND.
UM, GOING BACK, MR. HARDY, IF YOU DON'T MIND, TO MAKE YOUR MOTION TO APPROVE AGAIN.
WE APPROVE THE BYLAWS AS PRESENTED.
IS THERE A SECOND? SORRY, IT'S BEEN MOVED AND PROPERLY.
SECOND, UH, MOTION MADE BY MR. HARDY, SECOND BY MR. DREW, THAT WE APPROVE THE BYLAWS AS WRITTEN, OR IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION ON THE BYLAWS? HEARING NONE.
WE'LL GO AHEAD AND HAVE A VOTE.
ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE BYLAWS AS WRITTEN.
UH, VOICE YOUR, UH, VOTE BY SAYING AYE.
[00:20:01]
AYES HAVE IT.OUR NEXT ITEM OF BUSINESS WILL BE, UM, THE TWO, 2026 BOARD OF SUPERVISOR MEETING SCHEDULE BOARD MEMBERS.
YOU HAVE, UH, RECEIVED THE, UM, CALENDAR SCHEDULE DATES FOR OUR MEETINGS THROUGH 2026.
IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION ABOUT THE CALENDAR DATES? CHAIR? YES, MR. HARDY? UH, WELL, I'M NOT GONNA, UH, ASK FOR IT TONIGHT.
I WOULD LIKE THE BOARD TO CONSIDER PERHAPS OUR DECEMBER MEETING, UH, TO CHANGE UP A LITTLE BIT.
AND MAYBE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE LOCAL LEGISLATIVE DAY AT THE HIGH SCHOOL, UM, OR AT THE SCHOOL COMPLEX.
MAYBE IF WE CAN HAVE DISCUSSION, MAYBE IN A WORK SESSION LATER ON, I WOULD LIKE MAYBE US TO, UH, MOVE OUR MEETING AS WELL TO THE SCHOOL SYSTEM.
MAYBE WE CAN COORDINATE WITH THE PRINCIPAL OR THE GOVERNMENT CLASS THAT WE GET SOME, UH, STUDENT INTERACTION.
UH, YOU KNOW, GOING FORWARD, OF COURSE, I'M NOT GONNA MAKE THAT RECOMMENDATION TONIGHT.
JUST WANT TO MAYBE HAVE, UH, SOME FURTHER DISCUSSION.
THAT WAY WE GET OUR YOUTH, UH, ENGAGED AND EMPOWERED AND THEY CAN GET UP AND HAVE PUBLIC COMMENT, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
BUT, UM, AGAIN, I DON'T WANT GO TONIGHT, BUT, UH, I JUST WANT TO, UH, YOU KNOW, BRING IT UP.
SOMETHING WE CAN TALK ABOUT LATER ON.
THAT'S USUALLY LIKE A, THAT MONTH IS USUALLY LIKE A LOW BUSINESS MEETING ANYWAY, YOU KNOW, BUT SOMETHING TO GET THE STUDENTS AND THE YOUTH HERE, UH, IN THE COUNTY, YOU KNOW, KIND OF ENGAGED.
IS THERE ANY MORE DISCUSSION ABOUT THE, UH, CALENDAR DATES BOARD MEMBERS? WHILE WE ARE ALREADY DISCUSSING THIS, I WOULD LIKE TO JUST, UM, UH, BRING FORTH, UH, ABOUT OUR JANUARY MEETING IN 2027.
I THINK IT MAY BE A GOOD IDEA TO JUST ADD THAT DATE.
I BELIEVE JANUARY 7TH, 2027 IS OUR FIRST MEETING OF, UM, THAT, THAT YEAR.
AND SEEING THAT WE WON'T SEE EACH OTHER PERHAPS IN DECEMBER.
I THINK MAYBE IF WE ADD THAT ON OUR, UM, CALENDAR MEETING SCHEDULE RIGHT NOW, I THINK THAT WOULD BE BETTER FOR PLANNING AND, UH, INFORMALITY PURPOSES AS, AS WELL.
UM, SO, UH, WITH THAT BEING SAID, I, I MEAN, DO YOU GUYS, UH, AGREE WITH THAT OR, OKAY.
WELL, IF THAT'S, IF THAT IS, UH, OKAY WITH EVERYONE ELSE, I ASK THAT THERE WILL BE A MOTION TO APPROVE, UH, THE 2026 REGULAR MEETING SCHEDULE WITH THE ADDITION OF THE JANUARY, UH, 2027 DATE.
I BELIEVE THAT'S JANUARY 7TH, SIXTH.
UH, I MOVE THAT WE APPROVED THE SURY COUNTY BOARD SUPERVISORS 2026 REGULAR, UH, MEETING SCHEDULE WITH THE, UH, ADDITION OF ADDING JANUARY 7TH, 2027 TO THE SCHEDULE.
THERE'S A MOTION ON THE FLOOR.
IT'S BEEN MOTIONED BY MR. HARDY, SECONDED BY MR. DREW, THAT WE APPROVE OUR 2026 REGULAR MEETING SCHEDULE WITH THE ADDITION OF THE JANUARY 7TH, 2027, UM, MEETING DATE.
IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE.
ALL IN FAVOR, LET ME VOICE YOUR OPINION BY SAYING AYE.
UH, THE 2026 REGULAR MEETING SCHEDULE HAS PASSED.
[Consent Items]
BOARD MEMBERS.NEXT WE HAVE OUR CONSENT ITEMS. UH, WE HAVE, UM, FIVE ITEMS, UM, LISTED HERE.
APPROVE OF DRAFT MINUTES, NOVEMBER 6TH, 2025, APPROVE OF DRAFT MINUTES.
DECEMBER 4TH, 2020 5, 20 26, HOLIDAY PAY CALENDAR, FISCAL YEAR 20 25, 20 26, BUDGET AMENDMENT, GENERAL FUND PLANNING, PERMIT FEE, REVENUE $65,829.
AND NUMBER FIVE, APPROVAL OF DRAFT WORK SESSION MINUTES APRIL 20 10TH, 2025.
IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION ABOUT THE CONSENT ITEMS? CHAIR, MR. HARDY, I MAKE A MOTION THAT WE APPROVE THE CONSENT ITEMS WITH ONE CAVEAT.
I'D LIKE TO ADD A RESOLUTION TO BE, UH, RENDERED IMMEDIATELY AFTER APPROVAL OF CONSENT ITEMS. THERE'S A, A MOTION ON FLOOR BY MR. HARDY TO APPROVE THE CONSENT ITEMS, HOWEVER, A RECOMMENDATION TO ADD A RESOLUTION.
IS THERE A SECOND? UH, MR. CHAIR? MR. OH, I'M SORRY.
MR. CHAIR, COULD WE GET A, A LITTLE CLARITY ON THE RESOLUTION, UM, MR. HARDY? SURE.
DO YOU MIND, UH, GIVING US SOME CLARITY ON THE RESOLUTION? THE RESOLUTION IS IN HONOR OF THE PRIOR CHAIR.
I, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? NO, SIR.
THAT TOOK CARE OF MY QUESTION.
WELL, WITH THAT BEING SAID, THERE'S STILL A MOTION ON THE FLOOR TO APPROVE THE CONSENT ITEMS WITH THE ADDITION OF A RESOLUTION TO BE READ RIGHT AFTER THE APPROVE OF THE CONSENT ITEMS. IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND.
IT'S BEEN MOVED BY MR. HARDY, SECOND BY MR. DREW, THAT WE APPROVE THE CONSENT ITEMS WITH THE ADDITION OF A RESOLUTION TO BE READ AFTER THE APPROVE OF CONSENT ITEMS. ALL IN FAVOR? VOICE YOUR OPINION BY SAYING AYE.
[00:25:01]
AYE.UH, THERE IS A RELU MOTION HAS PASSES.
NOW THERE'S A RESOLUTION TO BE READ, MR. HARDY.
RESOLUTION IN RECOGNIZING AND COMMENDING DR.
ROBERT ELLIOT JUNIOR FOR HIS SERVICE AS CHAIR OF THE SURY COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
ROBERT ELLIOT JUNIOR CONTINUES TO FAITHFULLY SERVE THE CITIZENS OF SURY COUNTY AS A MEMBER OF THE SURY COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, AND SERVED AS CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD FROM 2023 THROUGH 2025, PROVIDING STEADY LEADERSHIP, MAINTAINING ORDER, AND EFFECTIVELY OVERSEEING COUNTLESS BOARD MEETINGS AND WORK SESSIONS.
AND WE ARISE AS CHAIRMAN ELLIOT LED THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS WITH A COLLABORATIVE SPIRIT AND A FIERCE DESIRE TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR THE PEOPLE OF SURY COUNTY.
CONSISTENTLY FOSTERING COOPERATION AMONG BOARD MEMBERS, STAFF AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS.
AND WHEREAS CHAIRMAN ELLIOT ARTICULATED AND CHAMPIONED A CLEAR VISION FOR THE FUTURE OF SURY COUNTY, COINING THE PHRASE, THE BEST SURVEY IT CAN BE, WHICH REFLECTED HIS COMMITMENT TO PROGRESS, INNOVATION, AND LONG-TERM COMMUNITY ADVANCEMENT.
AND WHEREAS CHAIRMAN ELLIOT'S SERVICE EXTENDS BEYOND THE LOCAL LEVEL, THROUGH HIS ACTIVE PARTICIPATION IN LEADERSHIP ON NUMEROUS REGIONAL AND STATEWIDE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, WHILE SERVING AS CHAIRMAN, INCLUDING THE HAMPTON ROSE PLANNING DISTRICT COMMISSION, THE CRATER PLANNING DISTRICT COMMISSION, THE IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES STEERING COMMITTEES, THE CREATOR, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD, MEMBER OF THE HIGHWAY, SAFETY AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION AND SERVICE AS DIRECTOR OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
AND WHEREAS THROUGH HIS ROLE AS CHAIRMAN, WHILE REPRESENTING THE BOARD IN THIS CAPACITY, DR.
ELLIOT CULTIVATED STRONG WORKING RELATIONSHIPS THROUGHOUT THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, BRINGING VALUABLE PARTNERSHIPS, RESOURCES, AND OPPORTUNITIES THAT BENEFITED SURY COUNTY.
ELLIOT HAS BEEN A STEADFAST ADVOCATE FOR THE SURY COUNTY COMMUNITY AND COUNTY STAFF, DEMONSTRATING A FORWARD-LOOKING VISION THAT WAS NEVER STAGNANT AND CONSISTENTLY FOCUSED ON MOVING SURY COUNTY FORWARD AND REMAIN UNWAVERING IN HIS COMMITMENT TO SERVE THE PEOPLE OF SURY COUNTY WITH INTEGRITY, DEDICATION, AND AN ENDURANCE SENSE OF PUBLIC SERVICE.
NOW, THEREFORE BE RESOLVED THAT THE SURY COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS DOES HEREBY RECOGNIZE, COMMEND, AND EXPRESS ITS SINCERE APPRECIATION TO DR.
WAS HIS EXEMPLARY SERVICE AS CHAIRMAN, THE SURY COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT THE BOARD EXTENDS ITS GRATITUDE WITH DR.
ELLIOT'S LEADERSHIP VISION AND UNWAVERING DEDICATION TO MAKE SURY COUNTY THE BEST SURREY IT CAN BE.
CHAIRMAN SIR COUNTY FOR SUPERVISORS VISIONARY LEADERSHIP AND EXCELLENCE 2023 TO 2025.
THIS, THIS IS A SURPRISE,
NOW I SEE WHY MY WIFE CAME WITH ME TONIGHT,
BUT IT HAS BEEN A PLEASURE SERVING THE CITIZENS OF S COUNTY.
AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, I AM NATIVE BORN HERE, AND I ONLY HAVE THE BEST INTENT FOR EVERYONE HERE IN SUR COUNTY.
SO IT'S BEEN A PLEASURE SERVING THIS CAPACITY, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUE TO SERVE UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF OUR NEW CHAIRMAN, MR. PIERCE, AS WE CONTINUE TO MOVE SUR COUNTY FORWARD.
[00:31:00]
CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN, DR.THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN, EVERYBODY.
[Public Comments]
NEXT ON OUR AGENDA, WE HAVE OUR PUBLIC COMMENTS.UM, I HAVE, UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
I HAVE A, UH, LIST OF CITIZENS WHO HAVE SIGNED UP FOR OUR CITIZEN PUBLIC COMMENT TONIGHT.
FIRST PERSON WE HAVE TONIGHT IS, UH, YOU HAVE TO EXCUSE ME.
I DON'T WANT TO MESS YOUR NAMES UP.
I, I THINK IT'S, UH, IS IT ROBERTA? IS THAT SAY IT RIGHT.
ROBERTA HAMILL FROM CLAREMONT DISTRICT, PLEASE COME UP.
I'M GONNA ASK IF I COULD ASK MR. HARRISON, IF YOU MIND BEING THE TIMEKEEPER FOR ME, PLEASE.
I'M HERE THIS EVENING TO BRING TO THE ATTENTION OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS SOME, UH, THE LACK OF UNIFORMITY IN THE MOST RECENT REAL ESTATE ASSESSMENTS.
UH, MY NAME IS ROBERTA HAMILL, AN 18 YEAR RESIDENT OF SURREY COUNTY.
NOW IN THE CLAREMONT DISTRICT WITH 32 YEARS IN THE MORTGAGE INDUSTRY.
PART OF MY RESPONSIBILITY IS TO REVIEW AND ANALYZE APPRAISALS TO ESTABLISH ACCURATE MARKET VALUE BASED ON COMPARABLE SALES.
AFTER FILING AN APPEAL WITH THE BOARD OF, UM, EQUALIZATION AND RECEIVING A, UH, DECISION WHICH WAS NOT APPLIED UNIFORMLY TO ANOTHER PROPERTY NEXT TO US, WE WERE PROMPTED TO TAKE A DEEPER LOOK INTO SIMILAR ASSESSMENTS IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO OUR OWN.
UPON REVIEWING CURRENT PROPERTY ASSESSMENTS IN DETAIL, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO IDENTIFY MANY CHARACTERISTICS THAT WARRANT CONCERN FOR LACK OF U UM, UNIFORMITY, THE VIRGINIA CONSTITUTION AND THE CODE OF VIRGINIA, TITLED 58.1 32 0 1, REQUIRE THAT PROPERTY IS ASSESSED BASED ON ITS FAIR MARKET VALUE, DEFINED AS THE PROBABLE SALES PRICE.
IF THE PROPERTY WERE EXPOSED TO THE MARKET FOR A REASONABLE PERIOD, ASSESSMENTS MUST BE APPLIED IN A UNIFORM MANNER ACROSS SIMILAR PROPERTIES WITHIN A LOCALITY.
AND AS AND WHEN COMPARING SIMILAR LOTS, UM, LOTS IM PROPERLY CLASSIFIED AS COMMERCIAL INDUSTRIAL NEXT TO OTHER CLASSIFIED AS WATERFRONT HOME SITE WITH DWELLING OR NOT DWELLING.
MULTIPLE INSTANCES HAD A 23 TO 31% DISPARITY.
VARIOUS GROUPS OF SIMILAR LOTS WITH DISPARITY COMMERCIAL LAND VALUED AT 150,000, 1 75 200,000 WITH NO INCREASE WITH THIS RIG ASSESSMENT.
WATERFRONT HOME SITE WITH DWELLING AT $220,000 AND OTHERS AS MUCH AS 230 IDENTICAL LOTS SIDE BY SIDE.
SOME INCREASED 15% WHILE ADJACENT LOTS, 5% OR 0% WATERFRONT HOUSE.
UM, FIVE MINUTE HOME SITE CLASSIFICATION WITH DISPROPORTIONATE VALUATION OF $69,000.
BOTH ADJACENT LOTS TO THAT PARTICULAR LOT, $230,000 WATERFRONT HOME SITE, LOTS OF 146,000 AND 161,000 WITH ADJACENT LOTS OF 200 AND $230,000.
CODE STATES THAT FAIR MARKET VALUE DEFINED AS THE PROBABLE SALES PRICE IF THE PROPERTY WERE EXPOSED TO THE MARKET FOR A REASONABLE PERIOD.
SUN OF MEADOW HAS 10, HAS HAD, UH, LOTS ON THE MARKET FOR 10 PLUS YEARS.
THE HIGHEST LOT SOLD FOR $188,000.
CURRENT LOSS LOTS REASSESSED AT EVALUATION OF $230,000.
AND WE'RE TOLD OUR VALUE WAS BASED ON POTENTIAL, UM, THE LACK IMPROVEMENTS WITH THE LACK OF UNIFORMITY AND CHARACTERISTICS.
CONCRETE THREE MINUTES CONCRETE, I'M SORRY, CONCRETES.
CONCRETE PADS ASSESSED VARIED FROM APPROXIMATELY
[00:35:01]
EIGHT TO $11 PER SQUARE FOOT WITH TWO PROPERTIES ON SUNKEN METAL RANGED FROM $63 THREE MINUTES.NEXT WE HAVE BRIAN HAMILL, CLAREMONT DISTRICT ASK THAT YOU COME UP.
PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME AND THE DISTRICT WE REPRESENT.
I'M BRIAN HAMILL WITH THE CLAREMONT DISTRICT.
I'M ALSO HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE REAL ESTATE ASSESSMENT AND TAX INCREASE.
FIRST, I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW YOU CAN JUSTIFY A TAX INCREASE OF 9.2% OF 1,000,080 $9,000 AND AT THE SAME TIME ISSUE A $500,000 REBATE.
UH, THIS GAVE ONE OF THE OPTIONS THE COMMISSIONER OF REVENUE GAVE YOU WAS TO INCREASE THE EQUALIZED RATE 65 CENTS TO 68 CENTS.
IT WOULD'VE GENERATED $664,000 AND NOT REQUIRED THE ISSUANCE OF A REBATE.
THIS WOULD'VE LEFT THE MONEY IN THE HANDS OF THE PEOPLE WHO PAY TAXES.
THE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION TURNED DOWN OUR REQUEST FOR REDUCTION, WHERE ADJACENT LOT WAS THE SAME.
WE GOT LOT 3.9 0.8, 3.9 0.9 $25,000 DIFFERENCE.
THREE B DASH NINE DASH SIX THREE B DASH NINE DASH FIVE $70,000 DIFFERENCE.
THREE B DASH NINE DASH TWO THREE B DASH NINE DASH ONE $30,000 DIFFERENCE.
THESE ARE JUST A FEW INCONSISTENCIES.
AFTER FINDING THESE ISSUES WITH THE LAND, I STARTED LOOKING AT THE STRUCTURE.
THERE IS A IDENTICAL HOUSE IN CLAREMONT BEACH BUILT AT THE SAME TIME.
SAME, SAME BUILDER, ASSESSED AT $75,000 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO THINGS.
ANOTHER EXAMPLE WAS MAJOR INEQUALITIES OF CONCRETE UNDER THE HOUSES.
THESE ASSESSMENTS THAT BURIED FROM $0 A SQUARE FOOT TO $173 A SQUARE FOOT.
SOME OF THIS IS FROM MISLABELING, OTHER INCONSISTENCIES AND APPLICATIONS.
IN ONE INSTANCE, THERE'S CONCRETE UNDER A DECK THAT WAS ASSESSED AT $50,900 FOR 315 SQUARE FOOT OF CONCRETE.
FOR THIS TO BE CONSISTENT WITH OTHER ASSESSMENTS, IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN 3,150.
I COULD GO ON WITH SEVERAL OTHERS.
THE COMMISSIONER OF THE REVENUE IS WORKING WITH US TO CORRECT SOME OF THESE DISCREPANCIES.
HOWEVER, THAT DOES NOT HELP THE OTHER PROPERTY OWNERS THAT HAVE INCORRECT ASSESSMENTS.
UH, I UNDERSTAND IT'S A LIMITED SCOPE REASSESSMENT AND PRIMARILY CONCENTRATED ON PROPERTIES, UH, OVER 350 OR UNDER 350,000.
THE ADVERTISED TAX INCREASE WAS 9.2%.
THE TRUE TAX INCREASE FOR PROPERTIES IN THIS RANGE IS CLOSER TO 18 TO 20.
A REVIEW OF THE HOUSING CYPRESS POINT AVERAGED 17% GUILFORD HEIGHTS, 18% TOWN OF CLAREMONT, PROPER AVERAGE 22%.
IN CLAREMONT, THERE WAS ONE HOUSE WITH A 74% INCREASE, WHERE AN A SIMILAR ADJACENT HOUSE WAS 25%.
UH, IT DOES NOT APPEAR THAT SOLAR FARMS AGRICULTURE, TIMBERLAND, OR COMMERCIAL WENT UP AT ALL.
HOUSES ABOVE 350,000 THRESHOLD ONLY HAD A LAND VALUE INCREASE.
THIS SERVES MOST OF THE INCREASE ON THE HOUSE AND LOWER PRICE RANGE.
IT APPEARS THE ASSESSORS VALUED AT 0.5 ACRE WATERFRONT.
UH, LIKE MY WIFE SAID, THERE'S ONLY, THE HIGHEST PRICE WE SOLD AT SUNKEN MEADOW WAS 188,000.
NEXT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, WE HAVE KIMBERLY BAILEY, I ASK THAT YOU PLEASE COME STATE YOUR NAME, DISTRICT YOU REPRESENT.
UM, MY NAME IS KIMBERLY BAILEY.
EXCUSE MS. BAILEY, YOU MIND SPEAKING IN THE MIC SO WE CAN HEAR YOU? THANK YOU.
UM, KIMBERLY BAILEY BACON CASTLE.
GLASSES GOT AWAY FROM, BUT IT'S OKAY.
AND, UM, THE REASON WHY I'M HERE IS I WOULD LIKE TO TALK ABOUT, UM, FIRST OF ALL, GOOD EVENING, HONORABLE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND EVERYBODY THAT'S HERE, THE REASON I'M HERE, I WOULD LIKE TO PROPOSE A PROPOSAL FOR AN ORDINANCE TO PROHIBIT THE DISCHARGE OF FIREARMS AND RESIDENTIAL AREAS.
WHY WOULD SHE DO THAT? I'M GLAD YOU ASKED.
[00:40:01]
UM, SO, OH, OKAY.THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR A WHILE, UM, WITH ONE OF OUR NEIGHBORS.
AND FROM THE TIME WE STARTED TAKING DATES AND TIME, WE'VE HAD AT LEAST EIGHT INCIDENTS.
CHRISTMAS EVE, WE CALLED THE SHERIFF OUT.
HE CAME OUT AND TALKED TO OUR NEIGHBOR.
COME TO FIND OUT HE WAS, UM, OUT TARGET
THE PROBLEM IS PUBLIC SAFETY, QUALITY OF LIFE NOISE, FEAR FOR MY SAFETY.
SOMETIME WHEN I'M OUTSIDE, MY GRANDCHILDREN COME OVER, UM, FAMILY MEMBERS.
SOMETIME I'M OUTSIDE, JUST SITTING, HANGING OUT CLOTHES OUTTA NOWHERE.
I SEEN THE TIME THE NEIGHBOR SHOT SO MUCH, I GOT AN EXTREME HEADACHE.
UM, SO AFTER WE MADE OUR CALL ON CHRISTMAS EVE, THE SHERIFF CAME OUT.
CHRISTMAS DAY, THE SHOOTING STARTED BACK AGAIN.
AND SO I AM ASKING YOU ALL TO CONSIDER THIS PROPOSAL FOR A NEW OR AMENDED ORDINANCE.
THIS IS ABOUT PUBLIC SAFETY AND POPULATED AREAS.
TARGET SHOOTING CAN STILL OCCUR AT DESIGNATED ONE MINUTE REMAINING.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO THANK Y'ALL FOR THIS, TO PLEASE TAKE THIS SERIOUS.
THEY CAN GO SOMEWHERE ELSE IF THEY WANNA DO RECREATION SHOOTING.
AND THANK YOU AND HAVE A GREAT DAY.
NEXT FOR OUR PUBLIC COMMENT, WE HAVE DR. PIERCE ASK YOU STATE YOUR NAME DISTRICT, AND YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES.
CHARLON PIERCE, CASTLE DISTRICT.
COUPLE THINGS I WANNA SAY IS SOMETHING NOT ON THAT SHEET OF PAPER I SIGNED AFTER ALL THE COMMENTS TONIGHT.
FIRST, I WANNA THANK THOSE PERSONS WHO WERE ENGAGED IN GETTING THE REBATES OUT.
THEY DID IT IN A TIMELY MANNER.
I'M SURE THAT WAS A BURDEN ON THE WORKFORCE OF ALL THOSE PERSONS WHO HAVE TO BE INVOLVED, WHO HAD TO BE INVOLVED.
SO I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU.
THAT WAS MY ORIGINAL REASON FOR COMING UP HERE.
MY SECOND REASON NOW IS THAT IT APPEARS TO BE, I WONDER IF THERE IS AN ORGANIZATION THAT IS NON WHATEVER.
I DON'T WANNA SAY POLITICAL, BUT, BUT THAT IS NOT CONNECTED TO THE WAY WE, THE WAY THE PROPERTIES ARE ASSESSED, TO SEE IF THERE CAN BE A REVIEW OR SOMETHING TO GIVE YOU ALL, SOME GUIDANCE ON WHETHER OR NOT WHAT'S GOING ON WITH, WITH ASSESSMENTS.
I DID HAVE AN ASSESSMENT ISSUE.
UM, THE HOUSE I LIVE IN WAS MORE EXPENSIVE THAN THE ONE THAT WE RENT.
AND THE ONE THAT WE RENT PERCENT WISE WENT UP A LOT MORE.
I DID GET AN ADJUSTMENT PROBABLY BECAUSE MY DAD WAS A REAL ESTATE BROKER WHEN, AND HE KNEW I KNEW WHAT TO SAY BECAUSE HE MADE SURE THAT EVERYBODY IN MY FAMILY KNEW WHAT TO SAY ABOUT REAL ESTATE.
UM, THE LAST THING IS THAT I WANT TO JUST SITE.
SO I'M LOOKING, THERE'S SOME KIND OF REVIEW BOARD, REVIEW, AGENCY REVIEW, SOMETHING THAT CAN LOOK AT WHAT WAS DONE IN TERMS OF OUR ASSESSMENTS OVER THE LAST MAYBE THREE YEARS TO SEE IF THERE IS CONSISTENCY WITH COMMON PRACTICES AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
UM, THE LAST THING I WANTED TO SAY IS THAT, UM, IN REGARDS TO SHOOTING IN BACON'S CASTLE, UM, WE HAD AN INCIDENT SEVERAL YEARS AGO WHERE SOMEONE SHOT A, I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS A RIFLE OR SOMETHING, BUT IT WAS SOMETHING THAT COULD GO A LONG WAYS.
YOU KNOW, OUR HOUSE IS NOT CLOSE TOGETHER.
AND IT WENT FROM 1, 2, 3, LIKE FIVE HOUSES ACROSS THE STREET.
IT WAS ON 4TH OF JULY AND HIT INSIDE ANOTHER HOUSE.
MR. TOM WEST HOUSE WHERE HIS GRANDDAUGHTER LIVES.
AND WHEN THEY CAME OUT, THEY WERE MORE CONCERNED ABOUT THEIR DOG THAN THEY WERE ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF THAT BULLET GOING THAT FAR.
WE ARE TALKING, WE MAYBE A QUARTER OF A MILE THAT, THAT WENT.
THERE IS SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE CONSIDERED ABOUT RESIDENTIAL SHOOTING IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT CAN BE DONE LEGALLY BECAUSE THIS IS A HUNTING COMMUNITY AND WE DO NEED TO RESPECT HUNTERS.
MY HUSBAND WILL PROBABLY COME UP HERE AND BE MAD WITH ME 'CAUSE HE IS A HUNTER.
BUT WE DO NEED TO THINK ABOUT THE SAFETY OF OUR CITIZENS AROUND THE SHOOTINGS THAT PEOPLE DO AND WHAT CAN BE DONE TO PROTECT THEM.
[00:45:01]
THANK YOU DR. PIERCE.NEXT ON OUR PUBLIC COMMENTS, WE HAVE MS. SUSAN COVELLO.
WE ASK THAT YOU PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME DISTRICT.
SUSAN COVELLO CLAREMONT DISTRICT.
UM, I APPRECIATE THE BOARD'S STATED INTENT, ENLISTING THE FOIA ACTIVITY ON THE AGENDA SO CITIZENS CAN SEE THE VOLUME OF REQUESTS AND THE WORK THAT THE COUNTY'S DOING.
TRANSPARENCY AND EFFICIENCY ARE IMPORTANT GOALS, AND I SUPPORT BOTH OF THEM.
HOWEVER, I RESPECTFULLY WANT TO POINT OUT THAT LISTING ONLY THE REQUESTER'S NAME, THE STATUS, THE COST WITHOUT THE RECORDS OR A SUMMARY OF WHAT WAS PROVIDED DOES NOT MEANINGFULLY HELP THE CITIZENS.
IF A RESIDENT SEES A FOIA REQUESTS RELATED TO AN ISSUE THEY CARE ABOUT, THEY STILL HAVE NO WAY TO REVIEW THE RESPONSE.
THE ONLY OPTION IS TO FILE THE SAME FOIA REQUEST AGAIN, WHICH CREATES DUPLICATE REQUESTS, ADDITIONAL FEES, AND MORE WORK FOR THE COUNTY STAFF.
THIS CONCERN IS COMPOUNDED BY THE REMOVAL OF THE ACCOUNTS PAYABLE REPORT FROM THE BOARD'S AGENDA.
HISTORICALLY, THIS REPORT ALLOWED CITIZENS AND THE BOARD MEMBERS TO SEE HOW THE COUNTY FUNDS WERE BEING SPENT AS PART OF THE REGULAR AGENDA MATERIALS.
NOW THAT IT'S NO LONGER POSTED, THE ONLY WAY FOR CITIZENS TO ACCESS THAT INFORMATION IS THROUGH FOIA REQUEST, POTENTIALLY AT A COST, DESPITE THE INFORMATION HAVING BEEN PREVIOUSLY AVAILABLE WITHOUT ISSUE.
ONCE RECORDS ARE PUBLIC, WHETHER THROUGH FOIA RESPONSES OR ROUTINE REPORTING, POSTING THEM OR RESTORING THESE REPORTS TO THE AGENDA WOULD REDUCE DUPLICATE REQUESTS, LOWER COSTS, AND IMPROVE TRANSPARENCY FOR BOTH CITIZENS AND STAFF.
I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO NOTE THAT I'VE BEEN WAITING APPROXIMATELY TWO WEEKS FOR A RESPONSE REGARDING WHEN THE BOARD AGREED TO REMOVE THESE ACCOUNTS PAYABLES.
IN A PRIOR EMAIL, THE CHAIR HAD INDICATED THAT THE BOARD, IT WAS A BOARD DECISION.
AND I REQUESTED THE MEETING OR THE AGENDA WHERE THE ACTION TOOK PLACE SO THAT I COULD REVIEW IT JUST SO I COULD SEE HOW IT ALL WENT.
I'VE YET TO RECEIVE THAT INFORMATION.
I'M NOT ASKING FOR ANYTHING NEW.
ONLY CONTINUED ACCESS TO INFORMATION THAT HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC.
WE ASK THAT YOU COME UP AGAIN.
STATE YOUR NAME, DISTRICT YOU REPRESENT.
YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES WITH YOUR COMMENT, LIKE A COPY OF MY REMARKS.
UH, PAUL MILLER AND, UH, AND THE CLAREMONT DISTRICT.
I WANTED TO ASK YOU TO CONSIDER THE ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES THAT YOU ARE CONTRACT, I BELIEVE YOU CONTRACT WITH A, A COMPANY.
I DON'T THINK YOU'RE GETTING A GOOD, UH, PRODUCT.
UM, IN JUST A REAL BRIEF REVIEW OF THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN, UH, MY PROPERTY AND THE ADJACENT PROPERTIES AND MY PROPERTY IN ONE YEAR VERSUS ANOTHER.
THOSE DIFFERENCES, THEY'RE WILDLY INCONSISTENT AND WITHOUT ANY SUBSTANTIATION.
THAT LEADS ME TO BELIEVE THAT THEY'RE PROBABLY NOT FACTUAL BASED.
'CAUSE IF THEY WERE, THEY'D BE AT LEAST SOMEWHAT CONSISTENT.
UM, AN EXAMPLE THAT I CITED IN MY PAPER HERE, UM, IN ONE NEIGHBOR, HE HAD A DECREASE OF 6.7% IN HIS STRUCTURAL ASSESSMENT.
MY OTHER NEIGHBOR HAD AN INCREASE OF 18% SAME YEAR.
AND I CAN TELL YOU NEITHER ONE OF 'EM DID ANYTHING TO THEIR HOUSES.
PROBABLY DIDN'T EVEN PAINT THEM.
AND YEAR OVER YEAR AT MY OWN PROPERTY WAS A CHANGE ONLY YEAR OF LIKE 28%.
AGAIN, IT WAS THE SAME BUILDING ONE YEAR AS THE NEXT.
SO, YOU KNOW, WHAT WAS THE JUSTIFICATION FOR THAT? SO IT LEADS ME TO BELIEVE THAT WHO'S EVER DOING THIS AND PROVIDING THIS PRODUCT TO YOU ISN'T DOING A VERY GOOD JOB.
IF IT WAS, IF, IF THE ASSESSMENTS WERE CONSISTENT, THE YIELDS OF THE ASSESSMENT, THE TAX YIELDS WOULD BE CONSISTENT.
AND I THINK WHAT, WHAT'S HAPPENING IS DIFFERENT PEOPLE ON THE SAME BLOCK ARE GETTING TREMENDOUSLY DIFFERENT TAX BILLS BECAUSE THE, THE PROCEDURES ARE NOT CONSISTENT.
MY RECOMMENDATION IS TO ABANDON THOSE ASSESSMENTS AND, UM, GET SOMEONE IN THERE THAT MAYBE DOES A BETTER JOB.
[00:50:01]
IS THE END OF PUBLIC COMMENT FOR EVERYONE WHO SIGNED UP, I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU GUYS FOR YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT.[New Business]
AGENDA, WE HAVE NEW BUSINESS RESOLUTION TO APPROVED YMCA RECOMMENDATION OF ARCHITECTURAL FIRM AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT FIRM.GIVE ME AGAIN, CHAIRMAN PEARSON, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, AND ALL ASSEMBLED.
UM, WE DO HAVE REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE, UH, YMCA, THE PENINSULA WITH US ON THIS EVENING.
AND, UH, IT IS MR. SKIP FARBY, UM, WHO IS THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE AND STRATEGY OFFICER, AND ALSO MR. ADAM KLUTZ.
UM, YOU CAN COME ON, COME FORTH, SIR.
UM, WHO IS THE PRESIDENT AND CEO OF YMCA OF VIRGINIA PENINSULA.
UM, THEIR PRESENTATION, OF COURSE, FOLLOWS THE, UH, PUBLIC INFORMATION MEETING THAT WAS HELD RECENTLY, AND THEY INDICATED NEXT STEPS IN THE PROCESS.
SO YOU DO HAVE, FOR YOU, AS INDICATED, A RESOLUTION THAT WE ARE GONNA BE ASKING FOR YOUR APPROVAL ON TONIGHT IN TERMS OF THE RECOMMENDATION TO, UH, EMPLOY THE, UH, ARCHITECTURAL FIRM AND THE CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT FIRM.
AND I'M JUST GONNA ASK MR. KLUTZ JUST TO GIVE US A BRIEF OVERVIEW AS TO HOW WE GOT TO THE POINT AND, UM, YOUR OVERVIEW OF THE FIRMS THAT YOU ALL ARE RECOMMENDING TO THE BOARD THIS EVENING.
UH, MR. CHAIRMAN, VICE CHAIRMAN, UH, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND STAFF.
IT'S TRULY MY HONOR TO BE, UH, WITH YOU HERE TONIGHT.
I WANTED TO PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF OUR PROCESS, UH, AND OUR RECOMMENDATION FOR A CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AND AN ARCHITECT SERVICES FOR, UH, THE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF A SURY COUNTY.
UH, WE CONTRACTED WITH A, UH, GROW DEVELOPMENT IS WHO, WHO IS DOING OUR CONCEPT, UH, DEVELOPMENT TO MANAGE OUR SELECTION PROCESS.
UH, THEY CREATED THE RE, UH, QUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, PEOPLE UNDERSTOOD WHAT THE NEEDS OF THESE FIRMS WOULD BE TO GO INTO, UM, A PROJECT LIKE THIS.
UH, WE POSTED IT PUBLICLY ON THE YMCA'S WEBSITE, ON THE COUNTY'S WEBSITE, UH, AS WELL AS SEND IT OUT TO FOLKS THAT WE KNOW THAT HAVE THE QUALIFICATIONS.
UM, THOSE PROPOSALS WILL ALL RETURN TO THE YMCA ON, UH, DECEMBER 5TH.
AND THEN WE CONDUCTED INTERVIEWS OF MULTIPLE FIRMS AND BOTH OF THOSE, UM, UH, UH, EXPERTISE, UH, THE YMCA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AND OUR CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MADE UP OF, UH, MEMBERS OF ALL OF OUR COMMUNITIES SERVED AS VOLUNTEERS ON THAT SELECTION PROCESS.
UH, AND WE HAD TWO DAYS OF INTERVIEWS WHERE WE WENT THROUGH ALL OF THE QUESTIONS.
UM, WE USED A CONSISTENT SCORE SHEET TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE MANAGING, UM, THE RESULTS OF THESE PROJECTS, UH, OR THE RESULTS OF THE INTERVIEWS.
AND, UH, WE HAVE SELECTED FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION, WM JORDAN AS THE CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AND ZI TINGLE ARCHITECTS AS THE ARCHITECT.
WE HAD GREAT QUALITY, UH, UH, FIRMS THAT WE WERE CHOOSING BETWEEN, UH, WM JORDAN HAS DONE MULTIPLE PROJECTS LIKE THIS AND HAVE THE CAPACITY AND THE EXPERTISE, SPECIFICALLY THE PROJECT SUPERINTENDENT THAT THEY, UH, HAD SELECTED FOR THEIR JOB HAS TREMENDOUS EXPENSES, UH, UH, TREMENDOUS EXPERIENCE WITH AQUATIC CENTERS.
AND WE THOUGHT THAT WAS REALLY ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS.
WHEN YOU'RE BUILDING AN AQUATIC CENTER, YOU WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THE ENGINEERING AND ALL THE THINGS THAT GO WITH THAT ARE CORRECT.
UH, THAT WAS THE MAIN REASON WE SELECTED, UH, WM JORDAN.
AND THEN GUERNSEY TINGLE, OUR ARCHITECT, UH, WE'VE DONE MULTIPLE PROJECTS WITH THEM.
THEY UNDERSTAND THE FINISHES OF A-Y-M-C-A AND THE TRAFFIC PATTERNS AND THE THINGS THAT HAVE TO HAPPEN.
UH, AND WE'VE USED THEM FOR MANY PROJECTS.
AND SO, GUERNSEY TINGLE WAS, UH, THE VOLUNTEER COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATION.
UH, AND JUST AS A FINAL NOTE, ONCE WE RECEIVE THE, THE FEE STRUCTURES FOR EACH OF THESE, THE CONTRACTOR OR THE CONSULTANT WE USE IS ABLE TO LEVEL SET THESE FEES WITH OVER 500 PROJECTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO MAKE SURE THAT THE FEES PROPOSED ARE IN PROPORTION TO OTHER PROJECTS OF SCOPE AND SIZE.
AND SO IT REALLY KIND OF LEVEL SETS THE FEES.
AND SO, UM, IT'S, UH, OUR REQUEST.
AND FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION, UH, UH, WM JORDAN IS THE CM, UH, CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AND GUERNSEY TINGLE ARCHITECTS AS THE ARCHITECTURAL AND ENGINEER COMPANY, UH, TO HELP DESIGN, UH, DEVELOP AND HELP BUILD THE YMCA IN SURREY COUNTY.
I'D LOVE TO ENTERTAIN ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FROM BOARD MEMBERS? NO QUESTIONS.
JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THEY DO IT QUICKLY.
THERE'S BEEN A MOTION ON THE FLOOR TO APPROVE THE RECOMMENDATION THAT HAS MADE TODAY FOR THE CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT FIRM, AS WELL AS THE ARCHITECTURAL FIRM.
IT'S BEEN MOVED BY MR. DR. HARDY, AND, EXCUSE ME, DR.
ELLIOT, AND SECONDED BY MR. HARDY THAT WE APPROVE THE, UM, RESOLUTION
[00:55:01]
TO APPROVE THE YMCA RECOMMENDATION.OUR ARCHITECTURE FIRM AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT IS A NOR MORE DISCUSSION ON THE MOTION HEARING.
ALL IN FAVOR, UH, VOICE YOUR VOTE BY SAYING AYE.
[Board Comments]
ALL RIGHT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE'RE NOW, UH, READY FOR A BOARD COMMENTS.ELLIOT, LET LET YOU, UH, GO FIRST TODAY.
UH, JUST WANNA LET THE CITIZENS KNOW THAT, UH, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO CAME TO GIVE THEIR COMMENTS, THAT EVERYTHING THAT YOU SAID WAS TAKEN TO HEART.
UH, WE DO PAY ATTENTION AND WE LISTEN TO WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY, AND WE WILL TRY TO ACT ACCORDINGLY TO TRY TO RESOLVE SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT BEING PRESENTED TO US, IF IT'S IN OUR WHEELHOUSE OR POWER TO DO.
UH, JUST WANT TO, UH, THANK THE BOARD AND, AND STAFF FOR THE RESOLUTION AND PLAQUE THAT WAS GIVEN TO ME TODAY.
IT'S A LOT OF HARD AND HARD WORK GOES INTO THIS.
YOU HAVE TO HAVE A HEART FOR THE PEOPLE THAT YOU SERVE.
AND, AND I THINK YOU ALL FOR RECOGNIZING THAT I SERVED IN THIS CAPACITY, UH, FROM MY FIRST TERM.
THEY, THEY, THEY RECOGNIZED THE SECOND TERM, UH, FOR THE FIRST TERM.
I DID THREE YEARS AS THE CHAIR AND THEN DID 23 TO 25 TO THE CURRENT.
AND, UH, IT, IT TAKES SOMEBODY, MR. PIERCE TAKES SOMEBODY WITH A HEART FOR THE PEOPLE TO DO THIS JOB.
UH, AND I JUST WANT TO LET SARA COUNTY KNOW THAT I PLAN ON CONTINUING TO WORK DILIGENTLY TO PROMOTE PROGRESS, CONSTRUCTIVE PROGRESS, AND TO THE COUNTY OF SIRI.
UH, SO ONCE AGAIN, THANK EVERYBODY FOR WHAT, UH, THE ACCOLADES YOU'VE GIVEN TONIGHT.
AND JUST LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUE TO WORKING SIDE BY SIDE WITH MY FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS.
AND I WISH MR. PIERCE NOTHING BUT THE BEST IN SUCCESS IN THIS ROLE.
AND MR. HARDY AS WELL AS THE VICE CHAIRMAN.
UM, I'D LIKE TO ALSO THANK THE, UM, FOLKS WHO SPOKE UP THIS EVENING REGARDING THE ASSESSMENT REASSESSMENTS.
UM, I'VE HAD A FEW PHONE CALLS REGARDING THEM AS WELL.
UM, HOW THEY'RE NOT, UM, IN UNISON OR ETT OR, OR UNIFORMITY.
OH, CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? OH, SORRY,
I'D LIKE TO THANK EVERYBODY WHO SPOKE TODAY THIS EVENING ABOUT THE ASSESSMENTS AND REASSESSMENTS, UM, SPECIFICALLY ON THE UNIFORMITY, UM, AND HOW, UM, SOME ARE ATTACKS HIGHER THAN OTHERS.
I ALSO LIKE TO, UH, UH, THANK THE FOLKS WHO, UM, SPOKE OUT ABOUT THE SHOOTING OF THE GUNS.
THAT'S VERY, THAT'S A HIGH CONCERN.
UM, I THINK WE SHOULD, AS THE BOARD LOOK AT THAT AND LOOK AT, UM, YOU KNOW, GETTING THE, UH, SHERIFF INVOLVED WITH IT AND, UM, TRYING TO HELP OUT WITH THE, UH, ORDINANCE, UH, TO KEEP THAT FROM HAPPENING ANY FURTHER.
UM, UH, LOOK FORWARD TO THIS 2026 YEAR WITH SOME GOOD POSITIVE, UM, OUTCOMES OF THE YEAR.
AND THANK YOU ALL FOR WHO'S, UH, ON THE WEBSITE LISTENING AND WATCHING.
I WISH YOU ALL A GREAT EVENING.
UM, FIRST I WILL START OFF BY ONCE CONGRATULATING AGAIN, MR. PIERCE, ON YOUR, UM, APPOINTMENT TO THE CHAIR AND MR. HARDY, AS WELL AS VICE CHAIR.
ELLIOT FOR YOUR, UM, SERVICES SERVING US AS CHAIR, UM, THROUGHOUT THE 2025 YEAR.
I FIRST ALSO WISH EVERYONE A HAPPY NEW YEAR.
UM, THIS IS OUR FIRST MEDIUM NEW YEAR.
SO THIS, IT'S A, IT IS AN EXCITING ONE TO SEE ALL THESE FACES HERE.
I WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU TO ALL THE PUBLIC COMMENTS.
UM, I'M HAPPY THAT IT'S GOOD TO, UM, HAVE OUR CITIZENS ENGAGED SPEAKING UP.
UM, AND I'M HAPPY THAT YOU ALL HAVE BROUGHT TO US THE REAL ESTATE APPRAISALS.
UM, IT'S BEEN A BIG ISSUE I'VE BEEN HEARING AROUND IN TOWN AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN ALSO THE, THE SHOOTINGS.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, UM, WE REALLY SHOULD BE, UH, LOOKING AT, LOOKING INTO.
AND I THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT TO OUR ATTENTION AS WELL.
UM, I ALSO JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT, UM, IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN YET, THE YMCA, UH, GRAPHICS AND SCHEMATIC DESIGNS HAVE COME OUT.
UM, IT'S A BRILLIANT, WONDERFUL, UM, HIGH TECH, UH, BUILDING IS THAT WILL CREATE SO MANY OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR YOUNG PEOPLE, UM, FOR OUR SEASONED FOLKS AS WELL.
UM, WE CREATE SOME JOB OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN THE COUNTY, SO IT SHOULD BE AN EXCITING, UM, UH, BUILDING, UM, AND, AND PLACE FOR ALL OF US.
AND LASTLY, I JUST WANNA REMIND EVERYBODY THAT IN RICHMOND GENERAL SESSION IS HAPPENING NOW.
[01:00:01]
UM, THEY, UH, UH, GAVELED IN YESTERDAY.UM, AND THEY'LL BE THERE FOR 60 DAYS, WELL, 58 MORE DAYS NOW.
SO, UM, VISIT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES.
UM, OUR REPRESENTATIVES ARE DELEGATE KIMBERLY, POPE ADAMS, SENATOR, LOST STREETS, AIRED.
UM, GO SEE THEM, TALK TO THEM ABOUT SOME OF OUR ISSUES AS WELL.
UM, IT MEANS A LOT MORE SOMETIMES COMING FROM THE CITIZENS RATHER THAN US WHO, UM, BUT PLEASE CONTINUE TO VOICE YOUR OPINIONS AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO OUR BEST WORK FOR YOU ALL.
UH, DID OVER WHAT EVERYBODY SAID.
UH, THANKS, UH, FORMER CHAIR ELLIOT FOR YOUR, UH, LEADERSHIP AND, AND MENTORSHIP, UH, FOR US ALL.
AND CONGRATS TO, UH, MR. PIERCE, UH, NEW CHAIR GOING FORWARD.
AND I WANNA SAY GREAT COMMENTS TONIGHT.
THAT'S WHAT WE NEED IS CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT.
NOW WE KNOW, BECAUSE IT AFFECTS US TOO, BUT TO GET FOLKS UP HERE TO DISCUSS IT, HOW IT IMPACTS YOU AND OTHERS AROUND YOU, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT.
AND, UM, SO WE HAVE TO HAVE THE MINDSET.
IF ONE PERSON HAS AN ISSUE IN S COUNTY, WE ALL HAVE AN ISSUE IN SUR COUNTY.
AND IT'S OUR JOB TO, OBVIOUSLY CAN'T MAKE ANY PROMISES, BUT WE HAVE TO LOOK INTO IT AND PROVIDE FEEDBACK.
WE GOTTA CLOSE THE CIR CIRCLE THERE, PROVIDE FEEDBACK.
UM, IT, IT, WE TALKED ON THE PHONE, I TALKED WITH MR. HOW ON THE PHONE.
AND, YOU KNOW, IT, IT IS NOT A PERFECT PROCESS.
I THINK WE KNOW ALL CAN ADMIT TO THAT.
AND I'M GLAD YOU ALL HAVE ENGAGED WITH MR. UH, KINS.
I WISH YOU WAS KIND OF HERE TONIGHT TOO.
SPREAD SOME LIGHT ON THAT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S MORE HIS PURVIEW.
BUT, YOU KNOW, AT END OF THE DAY, WE DO APPROVE THE, UM, THE INDIVIDUALS PROVIDING THE ASSESSMENTS.
SO, AND, UM, UH, MS. P, DR. PIERCE AS WELL, YOU KNOW, I DON'T, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW.
THAT'S SOMETHING MAYBE WE COULD LOOK AT IS, UM, A, A SEPARATE ENTITY TO, YOU KNOW, KIND OF OVERSEE THIS THING.
SO AGAIN, QUESTIONS WE ALL HAVE, AND, UM, WE'RE DEFINITELY GONNA LOOK INTO IT TO DER FROM OUR EQUITY FORCE ALL.
AND, UM, AGAIN, WITH THE, UH, THE SAFETY ISSUE, UM, I DON'T, AGAIN, I KNOW YOU BOARDED UP, UM, I THINK LAST YEAR, MS. BAILEY, AND, UM, AND I'M, I'M GLAD YOU GOT THE SHERIFF'S OFFICERS INVOLVED, BUT, UH, APPARENTLY THERE'S MORE WORK TO DO WITH THAT BECAUSE NOBODY SHOULD, UH, FEEL UNSAFE IN THEIR OWN HOME.
UM, SO WE DEFINITELY, UH, PUT IT ON OUR, UH, TO-DO LIST AS WELL.
UH, PLEASE CONTINUE TO KEEP THE SHERIFF, UH, IN HIS OFFICE, UH, INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS.
CALL EACH AND EVERY TIME, EACH AND EVERY TIME.
THAT WAY WE HAVE A, A, A RUNNING TALLY, YOU KNOW, BE ABLE TO DOCUMENT WHAT'S GOING ON BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, GOD FORBID IT ENDS UP IN COURT SOMEWHERE.
THAT'S, THAT'S THE EVIDENCE CONSTRUCT YOU NEED TO PRESENT.
AND, UH, AGAIN, UH, AS I, AS, UH, AS SOMEBODY SAID, YOU KNOW, IT'S A NEW YEAR, UM, I THINK A LOT OF GOOD THINGS ARE IN STORE FOR THIS YEAR.
AND I, I HAVE A NEW MODEL FOR THIS YEAR AS WE'RE GOING FROM RELIANCE TO RESILIENCE.
WE LIKE THAT, MEANING WE GOTTA GET OFF RELIANCE OF THE TAXPAYERS AND, AND THE DOMINION AND BRING SOME NEW, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN HERE.
SO WE'LL BE RESILIENT, AND I'LL END WITH THAT.
UM, I WANNA THANK ALL BOARD MEMBERS FOR YOUR COMMENTS.
UM, I WANTED TO ALSO THANK EVERYONE FOR COMING OUT TONIGHT, AND FOR THOSE WHO ARE WATCHING AT HOME, UH, HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE.
UH, I TELL YOU, THIS IS A GREAT HONOR TO BE, UH, REPRESENTED AS THE CHAIRMAN FOR THE BOARD.
SO I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU GUYS FOR, UH, VOTING AND HONOR, UH, ENTRUSTING IN ME TO, UM, LEAD, LEAD OUR BOARD OF SUPERVISORS FOR THE 2026 YEAR.
ELLIOT, FOR ALL YOUR, UH, YEARS OF SERVICE AS CHAIRMAN.
I KNOW THESE SEATS ARE HOT, BUT I DIDN'T REALIZE HOW HOT THIS SEAT WAS.
HOWEVER, UH, I KNOW THAT, UH, WITH, WITH, WITH THE PAST LEADERSHIP WE HAVE HAD IN THE PAST.
AND, UM, AND, UH, I WANNA GIVE A QUICK SHOUT OUT TO, UH, MR. UM, GARVER SOUL COACH BAYER, UH, HAS, YOU KNOW, PREPARED ME FOR, FOR THIS.
UM, UH, I KNOW, UH, REAL QUICK WITH COACH BARRY, UH, SERVING THE TSA FOR, FOR SIXTH GRADE, UH, UH, BEING IN CHAPTER TEAM, THAT'S WHEN WE ACTUALLY, UH, RUN A MEETING, SOME SORT LIKE THIS, UH, TO GIVE YOU SCENARIOS.
AND WE WERE MAKING MOTIONS AND, UM, PASSING, UH, DIFFERENT, UM, UH, DECISIONS AND EVERYTHING.
BUT, UH, IT'S FUNNY HOW, YOU KNOW, FULL CIRCLE MOMENT TO, UH, PREPARE ME FOR WHAT I'M DOING RIGHT NOW.
I KNOW IF HE WAS HERE, HE'D BE, UH, TICKLE TO DEATH.
UH, HE MIGHT EVEN SHED A TEAR OR TWO KNOWING COACH BEAR, BUT, UH, YEAH,
BUT, UH, YEAH, GOD, GOD REST HIS SOUL.
BUT, UM, BUT, BUT AGAIN, UH, LIKE SOME OF THE BOARD MEMBERS HAVE MENTIONED, I DO APPRECIATE THE COMMENTS THAT WE HAD TONIGHT.
I I THINK THAT THE, THE COMMENTS THAT WE HAD TONIGHT REALLY, UM, GIVES US AN IDEA AS FAR AS WHAT TYPE OF WORKS AND, AND THINGS WE NEED TO DO.
UM, UH, I THINK IT WAS SAID THAT WE CAN'T MAKE ANY PROMISES, BUT WE ARE DEFINITELY LOOKING TO HOW WE CAN RESOLVE AND, AND MAKE A, A BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALL OUR CITIZENS HERE IN SRE COUNTY.
UM, IT'S BAILEY AGAIN, I I, I REMEMBER YOU BEING HERE LA LAST YEAR AND, AND SADDEN ME TO HEAR THAT YOU STILL ARE DEALING WITH, UH, THOSE, UM, UM, UH, INCONVENIENCES AT YOUR OWN HOME.
AGAIN, YOU MENTIONED SOMETHING ABOUT QUALITY OF LIFE, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT ALL BOARD MEMBERS, I THINK WE ALL CAN AGREE THAT WE WANT TO IMPROVE AND MAKE SURE EVERYONE'S QUALITY OF LIFE
[01:05:01]
HERE IN S COUNTY IS, IS TO THEIR BEST INTEREST.SO, AGAIN, UM, UH, MR. UH, HARDY AND OTHERS HAVE MADE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS.
I HOPE YOU CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD, UH, WITH THAT PROCESS.
AND, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENT.
I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO THANK, UM, UH, SKIP AND ADAM FOR COMING OUT TONIGHT AND MAKING THEIR PRESENTATIONS.
UH, THIS IS AN EXCITING, UM, UM, UM, EVENT AND, AND EXCITING, UM, UM, THING WE HAVE GOING ON IN, SIR, AS FAR AS THE TALKS OF YMCA, MR. DREW MENTIONED THERE ARE SOME GREAT VISUALS ONLINE, IF YOU GUYS HAVE, UM, UH, ABLE TO SEE IT.
UM, I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S EXCITING.
I ACTUALLY SHOWED SOME OF MY STUDENTS, UH, THE VISUALS AND EVERYTHING, YOU SHOULD HEAR THEIR EXCITEMENT ABOUT, UH, THE, THE TALKS OF HAVING A-Y-M-C-A HERE IN GOOD OLD SARA COUNTY.
SO AGAIN, THIS EXCITING THINGS ARE TO HAPPEN.
I LOOK FORWARD TO SERVING IN THIS CAPACITY THIS YEAR.
LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING MORE CLOSELY WITH, UM, UM, MS. ROLLINS AND THE REST OF THE STAFF TO ENSURE THAT OUR, OUR WORKS HERE ARE, ARE IN GOOD, GOOD NATURE OF ALL OUR CITIZENS HERE IN SRE COUNTY.
AND AGAIN, WE JUST ASK FOR YOUR CONTINUOUS SUPPORT AND PLEASE COME OUT TO OUR MEETINGS TO, UH, BETTER HELP US TO SUPPORT YOU GUYS BY GIVING US MORE, UH, FEEDBACK.
AND HOPEFULLY WE CAN DO OUR BEST AND MAKE SURE YOU GUYS, QUALITY OF LIFE ARE, ARE SAFE FIT.
SO, AGAIN, THANK YOU GUYS FOR COMING OUT TONIGHT.
MR. PIERCE? YES, MR. UM, MR. ELLIOT, SORRY, JUST, JUST FOR A POINT OF CLARITY, UH, IT WAS BROUGHT UP IN SOME OF THE REMARKS ABOUT, UH, A CHANGE ON THE AGENDA FROM OUR AP REPORTS THAT CHANGE DID NOT REQUIRE AN OFFICIAL VOTE FROM THE BOARD.
IT WAS AN AGENDA CHANGE TO GO FROM MONTHLY REPORTING TO QUARTERLY REPORTING, WHICH IS NORMALLY DONE IN OTHER JURISDICTIONS.
THE MONTHLY REPORTING WAS ANTIQUATED AND WE DECIDED TO DO IT QUARTERLY, WHICH DOES NOT REQUIRE A VOTE.
JUST WANNA PUT THAT OUT THERE.
[County Administrators Report]
NONE.WE'LL NOW HAVE OUR COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT.
SO JUST, UH, TWO THINGS REAL QUICK.
UM, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO, UM, ASK TWO OF OUR OUTSTANDING, UH, SURREY COUNTY TEAM MEMBERS TO, UM, PLEASE STAND.
UM, AND THEY ARE PLEASE STAND MS. HALEY KEEN.
UH, FIRST WHO IS OUR SENIOR PLANNER, AND MR. DELON BROWN, WHO IS OUR DEPUTY COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR OF OPERATIONS AND INFRASTRUCTURE.
I'M GONNA ASK YOU TO COME ON OUT, SIR, WHO'S ALWAYS WORKING SO HARD BEHIND THE SCENES AND THERE IS A, UH, IT'S COMING UP.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS I CAN EARNESTLY SHARE IS THAT WE ARE REALLY SO, SO VERY PROUD OF THE CALIBER OF EMPLOYEES THAT WE HAVE WORKING FOR SURRY COUNTY.
AND, UH, I WANNA BE ABLE TO SHARE THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF TEAM MEMBERS WHO GIVE IT THEIR HEART AND SOUL EVERY DAY.
THEY COME IN AND THEY ARE REALLY, TRULY, UH, THE BACKBONE BEHIND WHAT SURY MAKES SURREY COUNTY.
SO VERY SPECIAL BECAUSE WE UNDERSTAND THAT THE WORK OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IS NOT EASY.
UM, THESE EMPLOYEES AMONG OTHERS HAVE CERTAINLY STEPPED UP TO THE PLATE.
AND I WANT TO ANNOUNCE SOME RECENT ACHIEVEMENTS THAT THEY HAVE.
AND WE WILL START WITH MS. HALEY KEEN, UM, WHO YOU JUST SAW, WHO IS OUR SENIOR PLANNER.
UM, MS. KEEN HAS NOT BEEN WITH US VERY, VERY LONG, BUT SHE HAS SUCCESSFULLY OBTAINED HER CERTIFIED ZONING OFFICIAL CERTIFICATION FROM THE VIRGINIA ASSOCIATION OF ZONING OFFICIALS.
UM, PLEASE STAND, SIR, BECAUSE YOU ARE ALWAYS SITTING AND YOU ARE ALWAYS BEHIND THE SCENES.
BUT, UH, MR. BROWN, AS YOU ALL KNOW, DOES SO, SO MUCH FOR OUR, OUR COUNTY.
AND MR. BROWN HAS BEEN WITH US FOR ABOUT FIVE AND A HALF YEARS NOW.
UM, BUT MR. BROWN, UM, HAS OBTAINED HIS MASTER CERTIFICATE IN LEADING AI THAT HAS BEEN ISSUED BY THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY.
AND THIS ALSO FOLLOWS OTHER CERTIFICATIONS THAT HE HAS HAD SINCE HE'S BEEN EMPLOYED WITH SURY COUNTY.
AND THAT INCLUDES THE HIGH PERFORMANCE LEADERSHIP AND ENTERPRISE CYBER CYBERSECURITY LEADERSHIP FROM, UH, THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY OF NACO, THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES.
SO PLEASE, UM, JOIN ME IN GIVING MR. BROWN A WARM, UH, CONGRATULATIONS FOR YET ANOTHER ACHIEVEMENT.
AND WE WANNA THANK YOU AND ALSO MS. KING FOR YOUR DEDICATED SERVICE TO SRE COUNTY.
[01:10:01]
ON THE, UH, REPORT.IT'S JUST THE 2026 2027 BUDGET CALENDAR.
UH, JUST WANNA SHARE THIS WITH YOU, UH, TO YOU FOR YOUR INFORMATION.
OBVIOUSLY WE ARE GETTING IN HIGH GEAR FOR BUDGET SEASON, UM, AND WE ARE CERTAINLY LOOKING FORWARD TO, UM, UH, WORKING ON THE BUDGET WITH, UH, YOU CHAIRMAN PIERCE AND MS MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND TEAM MEMBERS AS WE PUT FORTH.
AND THAT INFORMATION IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON THE COUNTY'S WEBSITE FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES.
UM, YOU DO HAVE AT YOUR STATIONS THE 2026, UH, LEGISLATIVE AGENDA FROM THE HAMPTON ROSE PLANNING, UM, DISTRICT COMMISSION.
AND YOU CAN TAKE A LOOK AT THAT AND SEE AS, UM, UH, SUPERVISOR DREW MENTIONED WE ARE IN LEGISLATIVE SEASON AND IF YOU CAN TAKE A LOOK AT THAT, YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THE PRIORITIES, UH, THAT THE HAMPTON ROAD REGION ARE, UH, SUPPORTING OF TO THE VIRGINIA ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES.
AND SOME OF THOSE THINGS THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT HERE IN SURREY INCLUDES, OF COURSE, THE HOUSING, UH, OPPORTUNITIES.
WE KNOW THAT THAT IS A BIG ISSUE AND WE KNOW THAT, UM, OUR REGIONS DO SUPPORT, UH, FUNDING AT THE STATE TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS ADDITIONAL HOUSING AVAILABLE.
I WOULD JUST MENTION THAT ONE, BUT YOU DO HAVE THAT FOR YOUR INFORMATION.
UM, WE DO HAVE A BIRTHDAY TO CELEBRATE TODAY, AND SHE'S PROBABLY NOT GONNA WANT ME TO SAY THIS, BUT WE ARE GONNA MISS WISH MS. FAUL A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TODAY WORKING ON HER BIRTHDAY.
MS. ROLLINS, AGAIN, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MS. MS. ROBIN, REALLY APPRECIATE ALL YOU DO FOR US AND ALL THIS GOOD CANDY WE HAVE UP HERE.
[Reports]
ALRIGHT, NEXT ON OUR AGENDA, WE HAVE REPORTS.UM, NUMBER ONE WOULD BE THE FOIA REQUEST SUMMARY FOR DECEMBER, 2025.
UM, WE HAD A FEW FOER REQUESTS.
UH, YOU GUYS CAN NOW LOOK AT THAT AT YOUR, AT YOUR LEISURE.
WE ALSO HAVE OUR SARA COUNTY BUILDING OFFICIALS OFFICE MONTHLY REPORT, UH, DECEMBER OF 2025.
WE ALSO HAVE OUR SARA COUNTY INSPECTION PERFORMANCE BY DISTRICT PASS FAIL RATE DECEMBER OF 2025.
ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT REPORTS? HEARING NONE, WE'LL MOVE FORWARD
[For Your Information]
FOR OUR, UH, UH, FOR YOUR INFORMATION.THE CRADLE REGIONAL HEALTH IMPROVEMENT PLAN 2025 AS WELL.
UM, AND ARE THERE ANY COMMENTS OR ANY MORE QUESTIONS FROM BOARD MEMBERS? HEARING NONE, I WILL UH, ASK FOR A MOTION TO ADJOURN TO OUR NEXT MEETING, WHICH WILL BE HELD ON JANUARY 21ST, JOINT WORK SESSION WITH THE SCHOOL.
YEAH, OUR FIRST JOINT WORK SESSION WITH THE SCHOOL, WHICH WILL BE HELD ON UH, 21ST.
THIS HAS BEEN MOVED AND PROPERLY.
YOU GUYS BE PLEASE BE SAFE AND SEE YOU GUYS OUR NEXT MEETING.