We'll be back

Ross and I have been totally overwhelmed with work lately and haven't, for one reason or other, been able to go to the meetings.  We do hopefully plan to get back to the meetings, probably in November.  We've been somewhat discouraged that even knowing what was going on in the meetings - the number of citizens at the meetings was the same as ever.  The way that the government of this county is going, we needed a courtroom full and we needed people to come and speak up.  It just didn't happen.  Too much apathy.  We are really tired of even trying to deal with it - but we probably will again anyway. 

Until we are back please visit the site listed in the posting below.

A Site for ALL Citizens and their Opinions

This blog is now evolving into a discussion panel for those who would like to voice their thoughts and ideas, without having to leave a "comment".  You will be able to openly post your ideas, thoughts and opinions.  To go to this blog, please use the link:  http://www.pittsylvaniavoice.blogspot.com/.  The sign in information is on the front page.  Please remember to use "online manners" - as we have created this site for all citizens to use, we ask that all discussions remain courteous.  Thanks for your support, and "we'll see on the new site"!

Lots of conversation

Check out the comments under the post below from the August 18th meeting....lots of intelligent conversation going on there....it's especially interesting because these people understand more of what's going on than I do....and they are putting it out there for all....Great job guys!

"V" - are you gone?

Anyway....here's the rest of the meeting on the 18th

There was a great deal of citizen discussion over one of the zoning cases, which is unusual. Usually, they fly right through, but Charles and Nancy Eanes wanted to zone their property over in the Rt. 58 area from residential to business (understandably, on their part, since that area is really starting to boom.) But many of the residents near that property didn't want it, because they said that the area was heretofore a quiet neighborhood without a lot of traffic. Hank Davis questioned this, since there was a trailer park on that road - he said there had to be a reasonable amount of traffic back and forth from that park. There was not a decision made that evening.

Yorktowne has not lived up to the requirements of their performance agreement - instead of the several hundred jobs that they promised by this time, they have only employed 87 people. The county is asking to re-establish their performance agreement to let them have more time. I personally think the more time the better, because the national econonomy has devastated businesses such as Yorktowne, who's cabinet business is almost totally dependent on the housing market.

The Tobacco Commission will finance bond payments for 10.5 million, for the Mega Park.

Mr. Ecker wants the waterline in the Grit area to be extended. There was some negative discussion on this, and finally Mr. Ecker said, "I supported waterlines for Whispering Pines, and I supported waterlines on Rt. 40 - why can't you support my constituents...this line is needed." The board finally agreed to have a feasibility study done and go forth from there.

The Board motioned to have a public hearing on the issue of freezing car taxes for disabled vets (surely that will be a no-brainer) and the entire board was, by the way, in favor of that.

The Northern Pittsylvania Food Bank wants a land donation - the 2 acres that was formerly the football field at the old Gretna Middle School. They want land to build a building for food storage. The board seemed to be in favor but wanted assurance that the Food Bank would build at some point, so the agreement should contain a stipulation that if a building was not built, the land would revert back to the county. A public hearing will be held at the next meeting on this issue.

The county hiring freeze (ha ha ha ha ha) was once again waived so that the Economic Development Director could hire a secretary. BTW, the Economic Development director was recently sent to the "Basic Economic Development" course. This course is held in Oklahoma or Chapel Hill. I assume he and Greg Sides were sent to Chapel Hill. Just for your information, most localities that hire directors look for people that have achieved economic development certification, which takes years and years. Basic is just the beginning. Why is the county paying $80K+ for someone that is so inexperienced that he has to be sent to Basic? Just so ya know - the old project manager for Econ Dev, Kyle Butler, had Basic under his belt, but he was thrown out with the bath water, and now he and his family are leaving for Hagarstown MD, where he has obtained a wonderful career opportunity. Once again, the county threw out a bright, intelligent young man and has the expense of starting all over - primarily because, in my opinion, Coy Harville wanted no one who knew more about Econ Dev than he thinks he does.

Opinion:
Two things - there is a lot of networking in the econ dev business, like it or not....and the old office employees had a lot of that already in the system...the new director will have to learn who's who and start all over making connections. This guy had to be hired because he sucked up to Coy and the four block.

And - the county complains about our intelligent young people leaving the area - but then they help throw them out, with their stupid decisions and egotistical self indulgences.

Aug 18 Board Meeting

I just wanted to let you know that I haven't forgotten you. I have just been to busy with my job this week, I haven't had time or energy to post anything. The meeting ran long, and I was just mind-boggled (as always) at the dog tag issue. I really thought that was a "no brainer" - I mean a lower cost for a longer time....what's not to love. It's a pain in the butt to have to go to Chatham every year to get that dog tag, especially when you work. I work in Danville - when am I supposed to go?? So I thought that would be a "non-issue" but boy was I wrong....there was more discussion over this stupid, stupid subject than I believe there was over refinancing the bonds....

I mean we're talking $10 here. People were like "what if my dog dies, and I don't get my 10 bucks worth?" Coy pulled out a letter similar to that and read it....I mean, he never read any letters since I've been there about "real" county issues. It was the craziest thing I have ever seen. I mean, what do these people want - a rebate. My dog died and I still had a year and 2 months left, so give me back part of what I paid for my tag.

I'll tell you something: I have a dog, and if anything happened to her, the last thing on my mind would be the lousy $10 that I paid for a dog tag. I'd be devastated over the death of my dog, not worrying over the tag.

I felt sympathy for Teresa Easley who got up and said that she was trying to simplify one thing in the treasurer's office, but if she had known it was going to cause this much controversy, she wouldn't have done it, and so just leave it the way it is, which is what they did.

And I'm telling you folks something else: if you all don't tell everyone you know that Sunday Beer Sales and Liquor by the Drink are not moral issues - they are revenue issues, that battle will be lost as well....

Write letters to the paper and tell people it has absolutely nothing to do with drinking - it has to do with restaurants and stores not locating here; it has to do with people driving out of the county to shop and eat....

I'm just about done with all this. In just the short time that we have been going to the board meetings and seeing what is going on in this county, I'm ready to surrender. I have never in my life personally witnessed such blatant ignorance on all sides.

Ready for Tuesday night's meeting?

Come out and support our effort to provide a "presence" at these meetings. It's a real opportunity to have our own "town hall" meetings - twice a month! Get your friends and come to Chatham and support this initiative. 7:00 pm

A few things on the agenda are Extension of the Grit waterline, freezing taxes for disabled veterans (per the board packet, this is the license fee), and a waiver of the county hiring freeze...

Also there is a new link to get to the Board Packets, agendas, etc. I will put a new link in the right column. Here it is:

http://www.pittgov.org/weblink7/Browse.aspx

Thanks Mr. Ecker

Mr. Ecker Posted the names of the Planning Commission under the post about pertaining to the Commission (below). If you want to see the names, you can open his comment and look.

Planning Commission

I wanted to clear up some information about our County Planning Commission. It is made up of regular citizens from each district. Each Supervisor appoints one person from his/her district to represent the district on the Planning Commission. I think there was some misinformation out there pertaining to this, and I wanted to set it straight. I don't know the names right of the top of my head, but if you all want to see the names I can get them. Let me know.

BOS Meeting Aug. 3 09

My apologies to everyone that reads this, for the lapse in time of posting this. Actually, there isn't much to post for a change....the meeting was quite uneventful. There were a few citizens that spoke about restricting the 18-wheeler traffic on Ringgold Road, since there is now an alternate route (Cane Creek Parkway) into the Industrial Park. This was a done deal before it started though, and steps will be taken to complete the process. Mr. Ecker also asked to put the same basic issue on the next agenda to have a public hearing on restricting truck traffic on Blue Ridge Drive (Old 29). Basically, there were nothing but basic operating issues that were ok'd by the full board and everyone went home early. (yay)

Recording Meetings

We are starting to record the entire BOS meeting and burn it to a DVD. What do you think we should do with our DVD's?

State of the County Address

We were at the Business at Breakfast this past Tuesday to hear the State of the County address. Coy Harville drug out a slide presentation that needed some updating, and proceeded to speak ("and this slide says....") It was excrutiating boring, because he didn't cut it to about 15 or 20 minutes like most other speakers....he drug it out for over 45 minutes - and after he was done, I still didn't know the main question: WHAT is the state of the county. When Mayor Saunders did the same address on the State of the City, he only spoke for about 15 minutes and he told us some of the bad, some of the good, some of the expected - and many times during the speech he said "The City of Danville is doing well." He gave us a synopsis, in other words. After Coy's lengthy presentation, he still never answered the question clearly - what does he say is the state of the county....I mean we heard about all the wonderful "Coy" slanted things that are happening....water lines, My Twinn moving from the bankrupt eToys to the Pluma building in Chatham....and how they put in a water line up route 40 (nevermind it doesn't have enough pressure for anyone to be able to reasonably hook up to it)....in other words, I guess the best thing I can say is it was the same old, same old soundbites that the citizens usually get, not a realistic portrait of what is happening, has happened and what's in store for the county. All we heard was a laundry list of projects - and not anything about any concerns....Admittedly, these breakfast things are for giving the speech in a glossy light, but we do expect to hear a little reasonable truth - I mean we all know that our county, like many others in the country today, is being squeezed financially - so tell us - and tell us the truth...It was obvious that no one wrote Coy's speech - all he did was read slides....he didn't have a speech prepared and it was all too obvious he wasn't really prepared for a Breakfast Presentation. Of course, this is my opinion - and it's a mean opinion, but I go to most Biz at Breakfasts, and they are normally interesting....normally.

A little different information

We usually don't deviate too far off of the political news of the county, but as a favor to a wonderful organization, we have decided to make an exception for none other than "Big Brothers, Big Sisters"....Ross is a full fledged Big Brother, and I am not as worthy, and struggle with my time management, but I do the lunchtime mentoring - all I do is go to lunch with a little girl twice a week....so if you know of anyone who can help tell them to look at this:

We NEED You!

Big Brothers Big Sisters is urgently seeking mentors to fulfill its goal of 40 mentors before Sept 1st.
All you have to do is eat lunch with a child at a local school, twice a week.

Without mentors, our program will not last.

Things to know:
· There’s almost no one so busy that they can’t find a way to fit in an hour a week.
· You can always help by spreading the word at your workplace, neighborhood, church, etc…
· Anyone over the age of 18 can be a mentor. No special skills required.
· These meetings take place during your lunch break from work.
· This is a great volunteer experience for retirees.

Some Facts:
· A new study finds that adults mentored as children through Big Brothers Big Sisters are more likely than peers with similar backgrounds but who were not involved in the program to have a four-year college degree, household incomes of $75,000 or greater and strong relationships with their spouses, children and friends.
· School-based mentoring is not a tutoring program. However, research has shown that of all children matched with a Big in school:
o 58% improved their school performance
o 65% showed higher levels of self-confidence
o 55% had a better attitude toward school

Contact Info:
Tiffany Johnson
In- School Match Specialist
Big Brothers Big Sisters
1225 West Main Street
Danville , VA 24541
434-334-7622
Fax: 434-791-3781
Email: Tiffanybbbs@dancom.com

Keep it up and Pass it On!!

Marshall Ecker's Blog is getting some attention, with his question to the citizens about whether or not they would like to see the Sunday Blue laws abolished. If you haven't left a comment, please go to his blog and do it - and then pass it on to all your friends and tell them to do the same...let's get this question out to the citizens....we can grow this thing - but we all have to help!

Please Go to Marshall Ecker's Blog

Marshall has a very relevant question on his blog regarding the Sunday Blue Laws. This is a very important issue in our county and will have critical effects on our revenue and tax rates in years to come. Please take time to answer his question, and also ask your friends to go there and answer his question, even if they don't normally follow these blogs. This is a way to interact with local government, and it is vital to our county. The link to his blog in on the right hand side of this blog under "Marshall Ecker's Reports" - don't click on his email - click on the link to his Reports. Please, please go there and give him a comment. Thank you.

Meeting July 21, 09 - A small WIN!

I had to come right home and post a small bit of information about the board meeting tonight....Fred Ingram put Beer & Wine Sales on Sunday back on the floor and motioned that it be put on the November ballot for the Callands-Gretna district only. It was seconded this time by Hank Davis and the vote went as follows:
Ingram - Yes
Barber - No
Snead - No
Harville - No
Pritchett - Yes
Davis - Yes
Ecker - Yes

This is a WIN for the Callands-Gretna District! As I have said before, to me it's not about John Doe running to the Quickie Mart on Sunday for a beer - this is about Economic Development and revenue.

Most of the people that are so vehement about Sunday beer and wine sales don't mind leaving church and going to Danville to Applebees - or Altavista or Lynchburg....they are leaving the county to give revenue to another locality....

I realize that Sunday Beer and Wine Sales still won't allow a chain restaurant to locate in the Callands-Gretna district - this will take liquor by the drink. But it's a step in that direction. A step toward a growing future for the county - and initially Gretna; a step towards keeping revenue in the county on Sunday...

So if you see Fred Ingram, or any of the other Supervisors that supported him in seeking development of his district - tell them thank you.

The Next Meeting for the Board of Supervisors...

Is this Tuesday, July 21st at 7:00 p.m. As always we plan to attend and get some of this on video...but we encourage you to try and attend....get a group together and come. The more people that attend, the more that issues will be better understood, and the word about our county governing processes can be spread to the citizens. The most difficult battle that is faced is not that of any particular supervisor, or a particular issue...it is that of apathy of the citizens...if the citizens don't care about what happens in their own government, then it's more than an uphill battle.

Indeed, our supervisors need to realize that they are "public servants" and they are not placed in our government simply to satisfy their own agendas - but the citizenry must step up to the plate as well, to oversee and monitor their own government....

Our taxes are set to go up, to 13 or 14 cents on the dollar in just a couple of years...and it's a done deal....there was little argument - at least in relationship to the citizen popluation...and, basically, in my eyes, the Four Block did what they wanted anyway, which was to put a bandaid on the problem, for now, and let it hit a couple of years down the road, costing the public about 4.9 million to refinance bonds....yes, folks, the refinance Cost the county citizens that much...on top of what was already owed.

Do the citizens have a voice in this government - I can tell you that some of them do not. There seems to be too much rivalry between board members and it allows little room for true compromise and working together for the good of all the people.

Again, please try to make the meetings on the first Monday and third Tuesday of each month at 7:00 pm in the Edwin Shields Courthouse. Tell everyone you know...tell the public to start attending these meetings and voice their opinions to their Supervisor.

Anonymous Comment

Following is a comment left on this site from an anonymous reader:

Anonymous said...
You missed out on the whole disussion over Tim Barber steering the new water line away from Whispering Pines to Inman Road where his busines partners have a bunch of residential lots for sale. Why do you think the gang of four is now backing off the Whispering Pines water diversion, after voting on it last meeting? It's because the cat got out of the bag two weeks ago and Barber went scrambling to the Commonwealth Attorney to find out if he should have made public disclosure about steering the water line to benefit his business partners.

And don't you think Snead, chariman of the BOS Personnel Cttee, should have made public disclosure that he was appointing his own brother to be acting director of the PCSA? Keep posted; more coming.

Here are some clips from the meeting

Editorial: To go along with these three clips from Monday night's meeting, I want to say I am apalled that Fred Ingram's motion to put Sunday Beer and Wine Sales on the Ballot died a slow "death by Board" at the meeting on July 6. What is the problem? Put it on the ballot - let the citizens decide. It's not up to the Board to guess. I personally feel like it will add much needed revenue to the county - it's not going to promote drunkeness - if people want to drink, they are going to the surrounding localities on Sunday and spending their money in another county, city or town. Corky Medaglia also spoke at the meeting as to why this is now becoming an important issue to Tomahawk Mills Winery. Seems to have fallen on deaf ears, for the most part. Why is this happening? The Board of Supervisors is impeding business and losing revenue to the surrounding counties.

And, when C&E's Restaurant told the Board that the water line up Rt. 40 was inadequate, watch the snide comment made later in the meeting:

Meeting July 6, 2009

Well, I'll be brief...most of the meeting was routine - general county business. All supervisors were in attendance except Mr. Ecker, who was on vacation.

Mr. Allan Gross and Mr. Phillip Lovelace spoke as did a few others, about the lead levels in Mr. Gross's well. In short, the history of the well is as follows: Before the drilling, his water was fine. The exploratory drilling started, and Mr. Gross's well water became contaminated. The drilling stopped and the holes were topped off, and his well water became alright again. This speaks to the point that the drilling was, indeed, responsible for the contamination of his well. Mr Lovelace also brought up a good and valid point. If a small drilling could cause that much water damamge, what will happen if uranium mining is allowed and a site that is 250 acres is mined...

Mrs. Carolyn Pritchett asked to speak to the Board, and asked that Ross Johnson read her statement, because she was very hoarse. Mr. Johnson did so. Her statement asked several questions and also asked that each supervisor answer her in written letter. She stated that although the water line had been run up 40, the pressure was too low to sustain use, and that three fire hydrants that were supposed to be installed had not been, due to the fact that they could not operate with such low pressure. She asked why there was so much money spent on the southern end of the county and wondered why the water and sewer could not be put in and made to work properly on the line up Route 40.

There are a number of businesses that need the water pressure and the sewer line or they will not be able to expand - or even operate properly - Centra Health Medical Center being one of these businesses.

There were a couple of moments, though, during the Board meeting that were mind-stunning. Fred Ingram motioned to put Beer and Wine Sales on Sunday on the ballot for each district. A second was needed and none was given. There was a heavy silence in the room as time was given for someone to second the motion. Nothing.

Then, when the Board was discussing water lines in another part of the county, Mr. Harville made a comment along the lines of "Why do we do this, when we give them what they want - they don't appreciate it" and he was referring to Mrs. Pritchett's questions about the water and sewer.

The rest of the meeting was generalized - alotting money for Camp 15 renovation; moeny for the sheriff's dept. which we are glad they agree to this.

Then the meeting went into closed session, where a new business or industry is interested in the county, that has made no prior announcement.

Check out Ecker's blog!

Follow the link to Ecker's blog! There is actually a discussion popping up! Add your opinion to it!

Ecker has questions for the Public

Please use the following link on the right hand side of this page to go to Marshall Ecker's blog and answer his questions...he has posted two questions on his site that he wants all county citizens to weigh in on.

Easy as ABC (license, that is)

Hi, folks. I am going to give voice to my thoughts on Sunday beer, and also liquor by the drink. I am a sold-out Christian, through and through. Haven't always been, but I am now. I love the Lord, and thank Jesus every day for my Salvation.

But, I don't see the issues about beer and liquor as particularly religous ones. I see them as economic ones. Without these laws, Pittsylvania County cannot entice restaurants, such as Applebees - or any of a plethora of nice restaurants! Without nice restaurants, businesses don't want to locate...it's just a vicious circle. For instance, if we had liquor by the drink in Pittsylvania County, we may already have a restaurant in Gretna near the Hampton Inn. Believe me, restaurants don't just locate in a region because the people ask them to. it's strictly business folks, and many things are taken into consideration - traffic counts, demographics, and licensing efforts, and for those restaurants that serve mixed drinks, (and many do) the public issues surrounding liquor by the drink.

Businesses like to be in areas populated with good places to eat, as well. Of course, that's only a preference - but it's still a viable preference.

And, I'm sure you all know by now that one of the reasons - and I say one, because obviously there were several, but one of the larger reasons Walmart decided against location in Blairs is because there would be no Sunday Beer sales.

People, you're not solving a thing by keeping beer sales out of the county on Sunday - the county is losing valuable revenue...because people can go to any surrounding county and buy, and they do. So those of you who may be against this need to know that it's not saving a thing - the only thing it's doing, again, is causing our citizens that prefer beer to have to drive farther, and give money to other localities. Face it, you may not drink and you may not agree with those who do - but agree or not, there are people that like beer. Let them get it in our county - at least, we'll be gaining something!

I'd like to hear your comments - in fact, please use the email on the side to email your supervisor. Maybe they'll read it....

Next meeting

Monday night, July 6th is the next scheduled Board of Supervisors Meeting. Come if y0u can, and if you can't, stay on this blog....we'll keep posting.

Happy Independence Day and thank God that brave men and women have given their all to keep us free.

Voice your thoughts

We want our readers to let us know that they are reading this blog....so please take a moment to comment. You can do it anonymously, of course - or you can "sign it"....it just lets us know that our effort to bring county government to the citizens is not in vain. You don't have to discuss anything, if you don't feel like it - just comment and say "hey, I'm reading you"..... We'd like to know how many people are actually reading this, because, for one thing, it gets discouraging to do all this, if very few people care - and frankly, it can be a lot of work. Do you care? Let us know....leave a comment.

Marshall Ecker's TV appearance

I don't know how many people actually got to watch Talk TV on Star Television the other night. Something was wrong with their computer stream connections sadly, so no one was able to see it via the computer.

I just want to say I was totally blown away....Marshall didn't sugar coat anything. He spoke about the division on the board, and something that I didn't know: Before Coy Harville's last run for chairman of the Board, he called Marshall and asked for his support. Marshall told Coy right up front that he couldn't support him, because he felt that since he had previously been chairman, that someone else should be able to Chair the Board this term; he explained to Coy that he thought it would be fairer to have different Supervisors chair the Board, to give each one a chance. Coy then told Marshall "Let the chips fall where they may" - which to me seems almost a threat...and we have now all seen where the "chips" have fallen. Coy, sometimes subtly, sometimes not, treats Marshall and anyone that suports him with no respect whatsoever. Coy has managed to buffalo the remainder of the "4Bloc" to agree with him no matter what - so virtually, the northern end of the county has no voice on the board at all.

Are you a citizen of Chatham, Gretna, or Hurt? Then, I'm telling you from firsthand knowledge of being at these board meetings since January....you are not represented on the Board, because your supervisor has virtually no voice at all. It's not because they don't try - it's because they get voted down with regularity. Don't believe me? Call the County Administrative office and tell them you want to see the voting records of the Board.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying that anyone, including Marshall Ecker, should always get their way. All I am asking for is true cooperation, and compromise within the Board. There should be the ability to bring anything to the whole board and have it discussed. Of course, there will not always be agreement, but there should be honest discussion, without personal agendas. And there certainly shouldn't be this playground bully saga that's going on now. If you are reading this, you should know that this does concern you if you are a citizen of Pittsylvania County. What is going on with our "leaders" is tragic - for all of us.

If all goes as planned....

Marshall Ecker will be the guest on Star TV this Monday evening at 7:15. Tune in! If you don't get the programming on cable (Channel 17) then tune in on your computer with a live feed at http://www.wgsr47.com/ There is a link on the left side menu that lets you watch live on your computer.

Comment from Tuesday night's meeting:

If you haven't read Ross's account of Tuesday night's meeting, scroll down and read it - and if you don't believe he is being accurate in the telling of the events, then read this comment that was left on that post - and then go and read his post for yourself - It's Tuesday night's meeting, June 16th. Here is the Anonymous Comment:

"I was at that meeting and I agree I have never in my life seen such a spectacle. It was my first meeting and I was shocked. I thought these people were educated individuals but boy was I in for the shock of my life. You are exactly right it was like watching children.I guess I didn't realize it but you are right I was embarrassed for them and myself also. I was there for the animal rights issues but I can see I need to attend more meetings. This sadly is better than Judge Judy. Who would have ever known??? You also neglected to go into the part where the board and the county lawyer got into it about Roberts Rules. The county lawyer didn't even know the rules as well as Marshall Ecker and had to leave to go back to his office I presume to get an answer and at that he never did get a precise one. From what I witnessed I can say I doubt whether this county will ever be right again. Not after all these years these children have been playing in the sand box. Thank you for what you are doing and I am not sure you are not right in not releasing the tape. We need to work from within our county and make changes, ones that we won't be so embarrassed about. Our children do not need to see this as an example of how government is supposed to work. Thank you again I will be keeping up with this blog from now on."

I wish I had been there to see it!

But I have a comment and a question. Comment - Ross, you are a true gentleman, and from what I heard about the fiasco Tuesday night, I don't know how you remain so neutral! Good job, but truthfully, I am getting tired of being so neutral because the facts are so bad.

Question? Why didn't the Star-Tribune report what happened. Tim Davis, why are you sitting at those meetings and then not reporting to the public what is really going on. Why didn't the Star Tribune have anything to report about the supervisors coming off of their platform and speaking - or arguing - or whatever it was they did. Kudos to Marshall Ecker for doing what he did though....he has been treated like crap by Coy and his toadies....and they barely even try to cover it up. He has absolutely no true representation on that board, because he could say that the sky was blue and Coy would argue the point, and the Fab Four would vote that the sky is neon green. Why aren't we reading this in the paper????

Another comment - Coy Harville basically forced Carol Motley out, because he wanted the running of the economic development operation under his thumb. She had thought about retiring at the end of the year, but she had some irons in the fire, and in reality, she wasn't ready to retire. Carol had a genuine concern for the county, and economic development. She worked hard to do her job, and she knew it inside and out. Not everyone always agreed with her, or her way of doing things, but one thing is certain: she always worked for the betterment of the county and she was dedicated to her work; but once Coy heard her mention retirement, he ran with the ball, and actually announced it for her by way of the Star-Tribune. Coy wanted all the praise and Glory for economic development in the county - hence the Walmart thing. Hey, suddenly we don't hear much about that anymore do we. Coy hated Carol and her office so badly that he didn't want any remnants left - therefore, he sent "word" across the street that none of the employees would have a job after Dec. 31st last year. It would have been different if he had talked with the employees to actually find out what they did - because he had no idea - and made an informed decision as to who could continue to work to benefit the county. Instead, he booted everyone out, simply because of his ego, his jealousy and his need to control. He never even had the decency to tell them himself - he let Carol have the daunting task of telling her employees that they needed to look for work. If I had been Carol, I would have never been so graceful - I would have told Coy Harville where he could put his plaque.

There's a lot going on behind the scenes of this county and you all need to wake up and start caring about your government - or what's left of it.

Meeting June 16,2009

First things first. I have a retraction, our first that I know of but non the less a retraction. Marshall Ecker only meets with constituents once quarterly not once a month. Sorry about that. But still the point is that he does this at all.

Now on to the board meeting. Well it was interesting to say the least. Debbie was away on business so I went by myself with a camera lent to us by Star News Channel 17 on your cable stations. I have not released the tape to the Star News as yet because I was embarrassed by what transpired over the coarse of the meeting and am not sure I want our Board of Supervisors plastered all over the Internet and cable TV acting as they always seem too lately. The immaturity and lack of cooperation of this Board is painfully evident at every meeting. It is like going to the Grammar School playground and watching the children play. You know you have the shy kids, the intelligent kids, the not so smart, and the bullies. It is truly embarrassing for me to watch and to think these are the folks that are running our County. Well, I say running the County tongue in cheek. It is a mess folks a real mess and that is only my opinion but it is an opinion of someone who has been an eyewitness to the facts for all to long. How I present them may be debatable but I am trying to do what is right. It is not often easy to be unbiased as you can tell by this report.

The meeting went something like this. One of the first things the Chairman asks is there anything to add to the agenda. Well There was not anything to add but they removed Marshall Ecker's part of the agenda that had to do with Whispering Pines Road water line.For those who don't know what this is all about read the following.

Whispering Pines Road water line pg 84

Marshall voted for this project back in Sept 2008 at that time it was to help citizens on Whispering Pines Road . He was told they had various water problems and need County water. On Dec .22, 2008 He voted to accept Reynolds –Clark to Engineer Whispering Pines project.

Prior to the June 1, 2009 Board meeting he asked the County Administrator why this project was being brought up and the expense of $600,000

He said he didn’t know and that Mr. Barber asked for the change.

At the June 1, 2009 Board meeting Mr Ecker asked if this would help those citizens who had water problems? He never got a straight answer. Again Mr. Ecker voted for this project .Something didn’t set right with his decision. Again later that week Mr. Ecker talked with our County Administrator and asked why Whispering Pines road wasn’t being served first? He didn’t know, he told Mr. Ecker Inman road doesn’t have anyone to provide service to, but Whispering Pines road does. And as Marshall is a member of Pittsylvania County Service Authority, he knew a 12” line up Inman road with little or no service will be a nightmare of trouble .The TTHM levels and HAA5 levels would be almost impossible to control with that low a water usage. Mr. Sleeper also said that this would help extend this line to Route 41 .Looking at the map at service authority building this is the most impractical route through nowhere to get to Route 41. Also the board was told this was money left over from Gretna Route 40 west to C & E’s restaurant. If in fact that $100,000 is taxpayer money that was not used from C&E project it should have been placed back in the general fund not moved to another project. Marshall found a Mr. Dan Chumley who lives at 5429 whispering Pines road. He also received an e-mail confirmation of that conservation. He was not aware that water will not be coming down Whispering road at this time. Marshall found out that this is an established area and Inman Road, Sugar Tree, Treelake and Foxberry are newer homes. He gave Mr. Sleeper his intentions to RECEND his vote on June16, 2009 Board meeting. That is why it was on the agenda .

Marshall Ecker had several options to change his vote 1. Renewal of a motion 2. reconsider 3. Make a new motion to include Whispering road in first phase and extend Inman road as far as monies would prevail. 4. Table this issue.

By not allowing Mr. Ecker these options the project could go forward the way it seems was intended in the first place. Whether it was cooked up this way or not it sure looks bad when they won't let anyone talk about it in public.

Next was the hearing of the citizens which got postponed till later in the evening.

Next the consent agenda. Carol Motley was honored with a plaque for her service with Economic Development. It was very interesting to watch the faces of the people who had admonished her so vehemently hand her a plaque for a job well done. I won't go into depth here but those that have paid attention to the economic fiasco will understand what I am talking about. It really is sickens me to watch this stuff. I like Carol and I think she did the very best job she could for the county under the circumstances. I thought for sure she would have something to say but she is a wise women to let it lie. No pun intended.

Then the Chatham High Baseball state champions were honored. Great job guys. As well as the Tunstall Lady Trojans for the Region IV Softball Title. Well done ladies. We are all very proud of you. The Hollywood Baptist Church turned 125years old and was honored with a plaque and a few other things you can look up on the Consent Agenda if you so choose.

All the rezoning cases were passed except for the Russell and Julia Stone petition. It was denied as it looked like they would be able to rent out a second building on the property for a residence which is not allowed in that area according to zoning.

The animal welfare had a nice piece wanting us to take better care of the animals sent to the shelter and cut down on the death rate there. About time. It was reported we have the worst record of any surrounding county.

There were several new appointments to the county all passed unanimously.

Now the Hearing of the citizens was brought back into play. Marshall Ecker wanted to know why his consent agenda piece was cut out. That is when the *&^* hit the fan. Marshall Ecker was so upset he left his position on the stage moved to the microphone on the floor and addressed the board as a citizen. Everything he said from then on was absolutely correct in mine and everyone that I talked to who was there's mind. It was out of completely understandable frustration of a board not being at least in appearance acting in the best interest of the citizens with no transparency at all of what goes on by their hand in Pittsylvania County. And I think most anyone who reads this and knows the facts could completely relate to the frustration and agree things have to change. It took a lot of courage for Marshall Ecker to do that and I was kind of proud of him for doing it. Well after he was done Tim Barber had to come down off the podium and address the board and claimed to have voted for many things for the northern end and genuinely seemed angry. And then Coy Havel came down to address the board and said they needed to act together. Welllllllllllll Hum! I am not going there you all know the story on that one. Anyone over the age of 5 knows about how the board is run and it's net results. It really was like a a Chinese fire drill. If you don't understand that one google it. They do a far better job explaining it than I could ever hope. Pretty much that was it except outside the courtroom after most people had left I found a few folks talking of which two were Coy Harvel and Marshall Ecker. Marshall was offering his hand and Coy was gracious to accepting it. But then it couldn't end there someone said something and the next thing you know Coy was going down the stairs yelling back at Marshall asking him why he hated Coy so much and Marshall explaining he didn't hate him and then all went home.

This is really just a brief synopsis and mildly put. The tape shows it differently and that is the reason I am hesitant to put it on the net or TV. Marshall Ecker will be on Star News Channel 17 on your cable stations Monday night and maybe they will show some of the highlights. Make sure to tune in and watch. If you don't have cable you can get it off the WEB. I will post that tomorrow. Debbie will be back for the next meeting and for the Monday night show on Star News and she will again be doing the reporting and I know you are all saying thank the Lord. Me too.

Rember if you want entertainment come to the meetings we would love to see you there.

Politics and the people

It saddens me to see how apathetic the people are to the politics on the local, state, and federal levels. No wonder the politicians get away with what they do. There is not a citizen in the United States of America that has the right to complain about what is going on unless they have participated in some way prior to the fact of what ever it is they are upset about. If a citizen does not attend or find out what transpired on just the local level alone at a board of supervisors meetings and be proactive by some means, such as responding to this blog at a minimum, then I cannot feel sorry for their woes. We have spent many hours and much money as well as an unbelievable amount of time trying to bring these meetings, and the sometimes ridiculous results of these meetings, to you the public and yet we get no feed back hardly at all. We did a show on cable TV channel 17 with Jessica Robbins for an hour and fifteen minutes in Reidsville NC trying to bring attention to the blog and the board politics and yet only two people called in. When you see what the board is doing to the county you all should be up in arms screaming. I don't get it. The sad part is you will only get it when it is to late and then you will wine and cry about what the board has done to this county. If I had time I would love to take a survey and find out just how many people in the county even know who there supervisor is and how to get in touch with them and if they have ever even talked to them. They are supposed to represent you or us. How can they possibly do this if they don't know how we feel about things. I give Marshall Ecker all the credit in the world. He holds town meeting every month religiously (with little attendance) and writes an article in the paper once a month, etc. He at least is trying to represent his constituents. He wants your input and help so where are you??? And where are the other board members. What do they do to find out how you feel. The only time you even see them out and about is when they are forcing their way into a photo opportunity or when they are looking for your vote. People they don't want you to know!!!! That folks is just wrong. They should be inspiring you to participate and making sure you understand what they are doing in the county getting feed back and ideas from the citizenry. Like I said in the beginning folks it really saddens me that we are letting so few rule so many and so poorly. You want jobs??? You want the county to grow properly??? Get involved. Just one more thing and then I am out of here. The Burlington Industries plant in Hurt sits on 600 acre of prime land butting up against the Hurt Industrial Park. Which incidentally has had to date no development at all. The plant has a water plant capable of handling at least one third of the water problems of the county. It is located just off Route 29 and has all the entrances, paving, buildings built including a state of the art shipping and receiving plant. I could go on and on about how valuable this propery is and how with the right economic development it could bring hundreds of good jobs to our area but it would take me forever and you are already tired or reading this if in fact you even got this far. Here is the clincher. The property is for sale for 2.5 million dollars. The water plant could be up and running for another 2.5 million dollars giving the town of Hurt it's own water plant alleviating Hurt having to buy water from Campbell County and also supplying the rest of the county with a rich supply of potable water. Not to mention like I said a full compliment of good solid buildings to be occupied by new industries and bring jobs to our community. However if the industries don't know it is there (economic development) and the County doesn't buy it then we stay where we are at. Yet we can spend millions upon millions on mega parks and industrial parks with nothing there. Not even and entrance. Incidentally this deal was brought to the Board of Supervisors years ago and many times since only one member was even remotely interested. The others flatly refused to even entertain a study of the property to assess it's worth. There is much more to this but I leave that to you as citizens to look into and ask the question why of your own personal board of supervisor and don't take their response as gospel. Look into it with all concerned including the Town of Hurt. And now as I promised I am out of here for now.

This is what I say about....

Dan Sleeper.
Hi. I'm Debbie S. and I want to clear up a few things - at least from my perspective. You all reading this certainly have the right to your own opinion - and I know some of you will not see it my way - but here goes. I have heard a lot of remarks about "Coy Harville and Dan Sleeper" as far as their "government" of this county. This is what I say: Dan doesn't make the rules - he only carries them out as he is instructed to do by the Board of Supervisors. Dan works hard and takes an awful lot of flack - because people think he makes the ultimate decisions about how this county is run and he doesn't. He needs a job, just like everyone else, and his job is to administrate the running of the county as instructed by the Board. Yes, basically he is told what has to be done, and he has the daunting task of figuring out how to get it done.

If he stood up against the Board to take a stand different than theirs - they would fire him without a blink. Some people have said he doesn't have the kahunas to stand against the Board. I say that he needs his job, just like the rest of us.

I know that even this blog has painted him in an unflattering light a couple of times...you know that video of him sitting back and scratching his belly was just funny :-) but Ross and I both say Dan works very hard and has an extremely difficult task to please the Famous Four.

Did ya Know.....

That Marshall Ecker was the only Board Member to Question the qualifications of this new Economic Development Director? He, like myself, wanted to know what qualifications he presented that were developed from real-world experience in Economic Development.

I would also like to say this....this blog is not "pro" anyone.....including Mr. Ecker. I do not maintain a "pro-Ecker" stance; in fact, I disagree with him from time to time, and he with me - and we both know it. However - Mr. Ecker is without any doubt the biggest proponent of his constituents that I have ever known.....nor is he impressed with anyone's "status."

I said when we started the blog that we would do our best to be neutral - (sometimes it's impossible for me, sorry) - and mostly I just try to present the facts...

And this is the fact: Mr. Ecker also questioned Mr. Bowman's qualifications for the job of economic development, based on his supervisory board experience.

And now, you want my opinion? Some of the Board of Supervisors think they understand what Economic Development is, and the fact is, simply put, they do not. The End.

Hiring Freeze - Oh Really??

It seems that the hiring freeze is lifted only at the discretion of the Board of Supervisors. They can claim hiring freeze for anything they deem unnecessary and lift the freeze when they want to put another toadie in place. Whoops - I fell of the middle of the fence for a moment folks - sorry. I'm just a little irritated at what I read online yesterday at the Star-Tribune's website: it seems as if we now have a new Economic Development Director. I briefly met Mr. Bowman once at a Board meeting and he seemed a nice enough fellow. I am just wondering at his qualifications for a job that pays $80K. He's a National Guard Lt. Col. and I believe I read, a military analyst - and he served on a Board of Supervisors for his previous residence. He has a Masters in Public Administration, and he's a good talker, I guess.

Well, is that it!!!! Most localities that are searching for Economic Development Directors have enough intelligence to know that this position requires indepth economic development and planning experience - and lots of it. Most localities want Certified Economic Developers. Economic Developers go through literally years of training to be able to understand a plethora of information on local, state and federal government levels....and at the point that they are Certified, they have certainly made their way into the economic development networks - which is a huge thing in itself. Unless I find out more - and if I do, I will certainly admit it, but right now it seems that this fellow hasn't even had the Basic Economic Development training class which is usually hosted in Oklahoma or Chapel Hill, and that is the initial training course for developers, nor has he been through the Virginia Institute for Economic Development at Virginia Tech. These are basic courses that even marketing and project managers usually have - and here they are giving directorship and big pay to a fellow that has to start at the bottom of the learning ladder when it comes to economic development....

So, how does his military experience (which I do applaud and appreciate in relationship to service to his country) - how does this give him qualifications needed for this position. The Danville Register and Bee says "Bowman's going to hit the ground running." Running where, I wonder - does he know where to run? Looks like he has run right into the pocket of the Board to me. I shouldn't be surprised. We all know it's a one man show. Give me a break....that's all I can say right now. Just sounds like more of the same old "buddy/buddy" thing going on. What do YOU have to say? Am I wrong?

Lights...Camera...Action!

We did the Star TV Talk Show on Monday night to try and publicize the blog a little bit. Sadly, we missed the Board Meeting - but on a bright note - Star TV has promised us a TV camera on the first Monday and third Tuesday of each month, which we all know is Board Meeting nights! So, we will be recording the entire meeting and hopefully Star TV will air the taping! That Cable Channel 17. No cable? No problem....Star has a streaming link off of their website that airs their programming! Maybe our communication efforts are beginning to pay off a little!

Tuesday's Meeting (May 19)

Well, I'm telling you guys, you really ought to try and get out to these things...I would never have thought it could get so "intriguing" - is that the word I should use? Hmmm.

Anyway, the public hearing began with Phillip Lovelace, George Stanhope, Allan Gross and Richard Shumate speaking against the Uranium mining and drilling. Allan Gross made the point that while the Uranium Mining may produce 300 to 500 jobs, the farmers in the county provide many jobs. The four dairy farms that were recognized the week before provided 60 jobs and there are 1,300 farms in the county! If the farms only produced one job each, that's far more than the mining would produce locally; and once the mining comes in and buyers find out that the farms are in the "uranium district" no one will want to buy the produce. Good point.

On to the public hearing about the Chatham Elementary School. Mary Cathering Plaster literally pleaded with the Board to carefully consider their decision. She said that the school could be refurbished much more economically than building a new facility, and what a wonderful structure it could be for housing county offices. What a tribute it would be to the historical value of the building.

Others spoke as well on the Chatham Elementary School, some wanting it given to the town of Chatham, some wanting the county to keep in and use it, and some that just wanted to make sure that whether the county or town had it, that it would be fixed up and used. There was some worry that the Town intended to simply sell it, if they received it, and put the money into the town coffers. Marshall Ecker said that he wanted a stipulation saying that if the Town didn't use the building, they could not sell it - it would revert to back to the county.

Marshall Ecker motioned to keep the building; Hank Davis agreed, adding that the county should work together with the Town to make the best use out of the building.

Well, Mr. Snead (I think) made a substitute motion to give the building to Chatham with no strings attached. Tim Barber spoke up, agreeing, saying it was going to cost 5 million to refurbish the school. Mr. Snead said he understood it was 8 million. Mr Ecker said that Mr. Hawker said it would cost 2 1/2 million to occupy the building and the part of those larger figures included fixing the Moses building and the jail. He again voiced the opinion that if given to the Town, there should be a 'No Sale' stipulation. He said taxpayers paid for that school, and it shouldn't be sold and the town take all the money. He said that it was in the citizens best interest to renovate the school, and he didn't care who did it, as long as it got done....if the the town can take the building and renovate it, then yes, give it to them, but not without stipulations.

Ecker then made a third substitute motion to table the issue until Chatham decided if they wanted to "take on" responsiblity for the building. Well, here we go folks -

Vote on tabling issue - 4 to 3. I'll let you figure it out.

Then came the vote on the second substitute motion to just give the school away, with no stipulations - Vote: 5 - 2. Ingram likes to be on the winning side in the end.

Well, then the circus began. A map that had been given to the Board well in advanced were obviously not paid attention to until that evening. It was a map of a local subdivision and the land around it...the people in the subdivision wanted an ordinance that would require that pet owners would keep their pets from running loose.

I know I'm not supposed to voice a comment, but I can't help it - here's my take:

Business: Local citizens need an ordinance to keep dogs from running loose in your subdivision:
Answer: OK

Instead, the board discussed it longer then they discussed the School, or it certianly seemed like it...it was absolutely ridiculous....they split hairs over something that's common sense and make snap judgements on matters that will affect the whole county for years. They hummed and hawed for over 20 minutes - and here's the answer: OK.

Then there was discussion on the naming of the Social Services Solarium. Mr. Pritchett had a statement about it, but I can't tell you what he said or what he wants the place named. I sit on the front row, and I literally couldn't understand a word he said. Not a single word.

The Board voted 6-1 to fund Regional One again this year. Surprisingly, Mr. Ecker was the "1" - and my thought is this: that end of the county can also use Altavista's Life Saving Crew. Ecker doesn't realize how critical it is in other parts of the county to have a back up. I have the greatest respect for all our county volunteers - but they are volunteers....they are not usually ready at the Squad building to go in a moments notice; many of them are at work and have to leave and go to the squad building before they can get their vehicle on the road....and when they are on call, who fills in if another call comes in....We need Regional One. It's critical to saving lives.

Mr. Sleeper made a request to the Board to fill a vacated position in the IT Department. Mr. Ecker asked if they would have to lift the hiring freeze to do so; Mr. Harville said "No, it was up to the discretion of the Board" - or something like that.

The Recreation Board wants $12,500 from the County that they will match, to pay for a comprehensive plan of recreation for the county. There was a 10 day layover on that - whatever that means.....I really don't know, and you can't talk to the Board to ask a question.

Mr. Sleeper also informed the Board that they had to re-advertise the Budget; the original wasn't clear. He also told the Board that the Utility contract at the Gretna Park was going to cost $191,430.96.

The Board set the first Board Meeting in July (the first Monday) as a Public Hearing on the Gretna Boundary Adjustment.

And there you have it....keep in mind that all this is from a regular citizen just like you - I can tell you I don't have all the details in here, because I can't get it all down....I'm just doing the best I can to let you know in simple, plain words what I perceive is going on.

We will not be at the next meeting, because we will actually be on Star TV -Talk TV that night, doing a show with Jessica Robinson about the blog. If you have cable, it's Channel 17 at 7:30.

Board Meeting tonight

Come out and be part of your county government. 7:00 pm in the Courtroom in the building where you pay your taxes....go up to the second floor and you can't miss it. Of course, if you just can't make it, we'll do our best to give you a summary of the "action".... the meeting agenda link is on the right hand menu of this page.....just scroll down and until you see the link.

Economic Development Director?

If you click on the link we have posted to go to the site to get meeting agendas, you will see that there is an "Adjourned Meeting" on Friday at noon to discuss what I am thinking is the hiring of a new ecnomic development director. While it is certainly true that the County Administrator and Planner don't have time to do this job properly, there is a hiring freeze that I don't think has been lifted. Whassup?? Oh and by the way, you and I can't go, because they have "closed" the meeting.

Board Meeting May 4 2009

Once again, the Board Meeting did not disappoint us - lots of discussion on issues that will affect us for years to come. However, with that said, let me first congratulate Jim Davis, our
Emergency Management Director, for producing a VOIP system that will make Pittsylvania County one of the first localities in the U. S. to use that technology. Thank you Jim!

The most discussed issues of the evening were the Amendment to the County Budget and the resolution to restructure the county's bond debt. Davenport & Company proposed that we refinance the debt over a period of years lasting through 2017...the end results would still be the same - taxes will be raised to 12 or 13 cents - and it was going to cost the county a bundle to refinance. What this would allow, however, was a plan that would basically not hit us too hard for a couple of years, and give everyone time to "get their head around the tax raises." I'm sure this is over-simplifying matters, but you get the idea.

Mr. Davis proposed a substitute motion to take $900K out of the county surplus this year and not have to borrow - at least for this year. Mr. Ecker and Mr. Ingram agreed. In fact, Mr. Ingram pleaded with his fellow board members to see the common sense in this motion. Mr. Snead, Mr. Barber and Mr. Pritchett all agreed however, that it was foolhardy to "dip into the surplus"....that being compared to a savings that you should leave alone. What it all boils down to is the county owes $70M in school bond debt, which was voted on by the majority of voters. So...the county has to figure out a way to pay that debt. It's that simple - just like anyone that borrows - we have to pay back what we borrow - there is simply a disagreement between board members on what is the better way to go about this. So, in the end, the decision was split 3 to 3 and when time came to vote - Mr. Harville cast the deciding vote to restructure the debt.

In other business, the neighborhood of Huckleberry Hills received support from the supervisors to have a "leash law" in their neighborhood, so that one neighbor's many dogs would not be allowed to roam and bother the neighborhood.

A resolution in the form of beautiful plaques was presented to representatives from Hammock Dairy, Mountain View Dairy, Motley Dairy and Vanderhyde Dairy in the formation of Cobblestone Milk Cooperative. Cobblestone recognized these dairies for the finest quality milk products, comparable to any in the U. S. Mr. Roger Jefferson thanked the Board for supporting agricultural growth in Pittsylvania County; due to this support and the formation of Cobblestone, $25M has been generated in taxable revenue, and 60 additional jobs have been created.

Now, here's a little view of the meeting:

Coming out - in a manner of speaking!

I understand that some of our readers are suspicious of who we are and why we started this post. By all means, we are not trying to work "undercover" - and in fact sit on the front row of the Board meetings with a video camera, trying to get a few videos and notes from the meetings. Our names are Debbie Sparks and Ross Johnson. Ross and I were both members of the same team when we attended Neighborhood Leadership Institute. Our idea for a project then was a communications effort, but at the time, we only laid the groundwork for a project and did not carry it out. We stayed in touch, however, because I do advertising design for his business - and the more that we talked about what was happening in Pittsylvania County, the more we thought that it would be a good idea to create a grassroots communication initiative within the county.

First of all, we decided that if we didn't take an active part in our county, we had no right to complain....that's when we decided to attend Board meetings. Then we thought that we would provide a way for people to get a mild overview of the Board meetings. Many people just aren't able to get out, and a large segment of the community (myself included) didn't feel like going to a meeting after working all day...So we thought if we created this blog, it might actually get people more interested in their county government, and eventually give them a place to "speak" their minds.

I write most of the blog, while Ross Johnson teams up with me at the meetings to "explain" some of the things I don't understand in the meetings, as well as be the "point man" in talking with people about issues and working to get the blog "out there." We both take a few videos to post to the site or to YouTube. We are working, quite openly, to bring this blog to you, purely as two people interested in doing something for county citizens....it's a very, very small beginning, but at least it's a beginning.

Our intent is to stay "middle of the road" and simply give the facts with no bias, regardless of what we personally feel. We shoot videos of people talking, and we report on the Board votes and findings....it's not indepth - just a quick overview - but probably all most people want to hear.

Truthfully, this whole blog probably started out because we were very discouraged with what seemed to be happening at the Board meetings - the continual 4 -3 splits, and the alledged "behind the scenes deals" and other opaque Board rituals...

But we also knew that if we went in with our own agenda, it would be of no real value at all. We need to keep very middle of the road with what we tell the citizens, with no leaning one way or the other, so that they will know that what we say on this blog is true to the best of our knowledge and ability. We report it like we see it - as Ross says, "It is what it is - now YOU decide."

Board Meeting

Come out to support your county on Monday night, May 4th at 7:00 pm. In the right hand-menu on this page, you'll see a link to the Board Agendas.

Comments from two citizens

When I read this comment, I was so moved - I don't know who this person is, but I wanted to make sure that others read her comment - and while you are at it - please read the comments that were left on this post - people are in agreement with these comments:

"This is the same problem we ran into about a two years ago. Our problem was simple but important to myself and neighbors. We wrote emails to each of the board and got no reply. We wrote several more times to see if they just never got the emails and still got no reply. We assumed they didn't use the email because they had no access to computers or something was wrong with their system. The problem was eventually taken care of by the good folks in our neighborhood pitching in together and taking care of the situation ourselves. Probably what they were waiting for any way. Incidentally this was before Marshall Ecker's time so perhaps we do have one person who cares on the board and is in this century. Although I wonder as the rest of the board is always after him and never agree with him. Our board is pitiful to say the least. I am an 81 year old women who took classes at DCC several years back to learn how to use computers and to type. I can't do it well and it takes a while as I have arthritis quite badly but I try. The board needs to change and young people who care about their County for real should be on the board. This board only cares about themselves, power,and getting reelected. It is obvious and why our whole country is in the shape it is. I am at the end of my life and am so saddened by what we have become. I love life but sometimes I wished I hadn't lived so long as to see what we have become. I am glad you who ever you are are doing this as I could never make a board meeting do to my health but am still interested in what goes on there. I am not dead yet."

And here is another comment from someone who tried to contact the supervisors via email:

"In response to this post: I sent all supervisors an e-mail on 4/21 requesting their view/opinion on a topic that I feel is important when discussing future revenue for our county. I only received ONE response, the following day, from Mr. Marshall Ecker. No others have bothered to respond. I actually sent this same question to my local town manager and also got NO response. Thank you fine leaders!"

Videos from the Board Meetings

More videos are at www.youtube.com - just key pittsylvaniainformer into the search box on YouTube and you will pull up all the videos. You can subscribe and you will notified by email when new videos are uploaded. The videos aren't "professional" quality, but right now we are just using a "Flip" video recorder, so we do the best we can. We will continue to put some of the videos on this site, but again, you can view them all on YouTube! Happy viewing!

Adjourned Board Meeting, April 21, 2009

First, we would like to urge citizens to attend at least a couple of Board Meetings. Since starting this communication effort, we have found that these meetings are actually interesting in many respects. Last evening, Phillip Lovelace spoke about the iron found in the drinking water pursuant to the uranium core drilling, Deborah Dix and Allen Gross also spoke on related topics. Karen Maute also spoke, however, because Ms. Maute is so soft spoken, we can never get her recorded so that she can be heard. If anyone reads this, please let Karen know that we would be pleased for her to write a synopsis of the issues she spoke on last night, and we will post it on the blog - a couple of paragraphs will be fine.



Nancy Smith reprimanded the Board due to the negligence of conducting Board business in line with Roberts Rules of Order. Mr. Snead and Mr. Ecker actually had the book with them, which was interesting.

A memorandum of Agreement with the Department of Corrections was voted on by the Board, and it was voted to go forward with this. Basically, in plain english, the old Prison Farm has been offered to the Conty by the state, and if the County goes ahead in a timely manner, they will be able to also claim "rights" to the beds, linens, etc. Basically, if the county is going to do anything at all as far as a jail space goes, this is the least expensive route.

Regional One's Contract was voted on and passed, 5 - 2, with Davis and Ingram against. There wasn't a public discussion, so we don't know why they dissented.

Wheeler Baker and Frank Martin from Hargrave Military Academy accepted a resolution from the Board in recognition of HMA's 100 year anniversary.

Then we had the rezoning cases, and this is usually boring - but one interesting topic arose - North American Properties - Coleman Marketplace wanted to rezone in the Sweetgum Lane area of the county from R-1 to RMF (Residential Multi-family). They intend to build housing facilities, with the intention that there will be no subsidized homes involved. With the second phase of the project, a traffic study will be required, but the company has proffered to have it done, at no cost to the county. The residents of the area signed a petition that they had no problems with the multifamily housing in their neighborhood.

Dan Sleeper informed the Board that the Hurt Volunteer Fire Dept. requests a lease on the Wayside Park in Hurt. The county will maintain what is already there; however, if the FD builds something on the property - i.e. a ball diamond - they would be responsible for maintenance on it. The Board unanimously approved.

In new business, a resolution to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and the VDH (Virginia Department of Health) requesting an investigation of the well water problems passed after some resasonable discussion.

The Board voted 4-3 to support Lindsay Bowman with a $500 contribution to support her pageant participation in the Miss VA pageant. Harville, Barber, and Snead voted against the proposal - citing that this should not be funded with county taxpayer money; Mr. Snead said that he made a personal contribution as supervisor from Lindsay's district and he thought that was the better route. I must say that I agreed with them, citing the tight budget right now. However, I did discuss this with Mr. Ecker, and he said that he felt it was the right thing to do, since she was, after all, representing our county. My opinion softened somewaht - BUT, since she is running as Miss Danville Pittsylvania County, shouldn't Danville pony up $500, too?! At the date and time of this meeting, Mr. Harville informed us that the City had contributed $0.

Dan Sleeper explained a Cost Allocation Plan that had a $10K price tag attached to it; however, he did explain that due to the county's use of this plan (which the county has been contracting for since 1979) Pittsylvania County gets back 5 0r 6 times that in federal grant money. Interesting.

The Board discussed the issue of giving Chatham Elementary (with exception of the Registrar's Office) to the Town of Chatham. Mr. Ecker said that there should be a stipulation made that the town can't turn around and sell it - in that case, the county may as well sell it. There is to be a public meeting to discuss this on May 4th, at the Regular Board meeting.

I have a few videos to upload, so check back later!

Send your Supervisor an Email

See how long it takes for your Supervisor to answer your email....the email addresses are below. Don't you think it's time for ALL the Supervisors to be able to work with something as simple and as vital as e mail? Find out if your Supervisor is "techno-savvy."

Coy.Harville@pittgov.org

Marshall.Ecker@pittgov.org

Henry.Davis@pittgov.org

William.Pritchett@pittgov.org

James.Snead@pittgov.org

Tim.Barber@pittgov.org

Fred.Ingram@pittgov.org

Adjourned Meeting, April 21, 2009

The Adjourned BOS meeting will be held at 7:00 pm. Here is the Agenda for the meeting:

http://www.pittgov.org/documents/AGENDAS/2009/April%2021,%202009,%20Adjourned%20Meeting.pdf

Try to be on hand if you are able.

If you would like to see the committee agendas for committees that meet before the Board Meeting, here is the Legislative Committee Agenda:

http://www.pittgov.org/documents/AGENDAS/2009/April%2021,%202009,%20Legislative%20Committee.pdf

And here is the Finance Committee Agenda:

http://www.pittgov.org/documents/AGENDAS/2009/April%2021,%202009,%20Finance%20Committee.pdf

So at least we know what the committees will be discussing to bring before the full board.

Open Forum

The last Poll question showed that 9 out of 10 people would like to attend an open discussion forum with the supervisors. I think it would be a good idea so that all views could be openly discussed. If you would like to ask for an open forum, email the supervisor from your district and ask that one be scheduled. Here are the supervisor email addresses:

Coy.Harville@pittgov.org

Marshall.Ecker@pittgov.org

Henry.Davis@pittgov.org

William.Pritchett@pittgov.org

James.Snead@pittgov.org

Tim.Barber@pittgov.org

Fred.Ingram@pittgov.org

You Tube

Just a note for the "video buffs" - the videos from the meetings are posted on You Tube. All you have to do is go to www.youtube.com and in the search browser, type in PittsylvaniaInformer (all one word) and you will be directed to a page with all the videos. We will probably post videos here from now on and simply put the link on this blog, simply because it's so much quicker to upload more than one video at a time to youtube. We plan to continue to monitor the Board meetings, and try our best to get information on this blog in as timely a manner as possible for us. Thanks to all.

Links to the Board Meeting

Apologies for the lateness of this information....like I've said before, though, we all have day jobs, and lately ours are taking up a lot of time...so it's been difficult to keep up with this blog - but here it some of what we got from the last meeting. The links here will take you to the You Tube site. Give each video some time to "load" and if you're not familiar with You Tube, be sure to click on the arrow to start the video (then wait for it to load and it will then play.)

Marshall Ecker's propopsal to up the litter fines passed. Several citizens spoke on the litter problem in the county.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc8RDAdj6XY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wT1HV9XiTbo


Miss Danville Pittsylvania County attended the meeting and spoke to the Board to ask for their support, along with any money they may care to donate to her "run" for Miss Virginia. The Board members fell all over themselves to get a picture with her...it was rather comical.

The Dan River Wildcats received a resolution of commendation from the Board for their successful season.

The meeting, in short, got interesting when the Board members started bickering between themselves in an almost PeeWee Herman way - any moment, I expected to hear "I know you are, but what am I"....

But to get serious, I am providing links to a small portion of the Board activitied during the meeting. To see more videos, go to http://www.youtube/ and do a search on PittsylvaniaInformer to see all the uploaded videos.

Meanwhile, you can check these out....again, we apologize for having to split these up, but we have to limit our video times to under ten minutes to be able to upload.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bS6iCOwNdUU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuiEgbl2MaA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqJ-LvmUcrc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ituEEwsWTv8

ASAP

We attended the Board Meeting last evening, and not as many citizens were there, but there was plenty of "excitement." Stay "tuned" to this blog for updates on the happenings!

Tonight!!!!

Don't forget that the Supervisors' Meeting is tonight at 7 pm. Hope to see you there. Get your agenda at the www.pittgov.org site - we have a link to everything you need on the right side of our blog!

You Tube

You can see these videos and more at http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=PittsylvaniaInformer&aq=f

Thanks!

Just a quick "thank you" to those who have shown support for our communication efforts. Keep on passing the link to this blog around - and keep the comments coming. We love them!

The "Other Side of the Story"

As promised, we have some statements from some of the Supervisors from the evening of the Budget Hearing on March 30, 2009. We would like to thank them for taking the time to talk to us about the tax issues.

Mr. Harville spoke to our camera to give his take on some of the issues. Mr. Snead was also kind enough to speak to us and here's what he said...

Mr. Ecker also spoke to us about the budget:

Mr. Davis had this to say:

And finally, Mr. Ingram spoke up during the hearing and had this to say to the audience in defense of the Board having to raise taxes:

We believe in Fairness

It would only be fair to get the Supervisor's take on some of what has been said at these hearings, and we have video of several of the supervisors, including Mr. Ecker, Mr. Harville, Mr. Davis, and Mr. Snead. It takes some time to upload and process the videos, and that is the only reason they aren't on right now, but within the next day or two, you should see this as well, so check back. (We have "day jobs" and have to take care of some of the time-consuming tasks of running this site at night. We hope you understand, and will bear with us, as we learn to run this site efficiently.) Check back tomorrow for words from the Supervisors themselves.

Star Tribune's Article on Budget Hearing

Supervisors get tongue-lashing on tax increases
By TIM DAVIS/Star-Tribune Editor

A small but vocal crowd gave the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors a verbal whipping during budget hearings Monday night in Chatham.
"Tax, tax, tax - that's all Mr. Sleeper knows," said Nathaniel Dix, referring to County Administrator Dan Sleeper. "He ain't never cut the budget.
"Quit taxing the people to death," Dix told supervisors. "The whole budget is out of whack. What you need is a chop ax to cut and cut."
Although speakers were limited to three minutes, Dix, who has attended practically every budget hearing for the past 20 years, continued to berate supervisors long after his time was up.
Brandishing a copy of the Constitution, the feisty 92-year-old said, "I want you to listen to what I have to say, what the Constitution says and what the people are saying. Don't you vote for these taxes."
The proposed spending plan includes a 9-cent hike in the real estate tax rate, from 53 cents to 62 cents per $100 of assessed value, and 75-cent jump in personal property, from $7.75 to $8.50 per $100.
Other tax hikes include raising the vehicle license fee (formerly decals) from $29.50 to $38.75 - a $9.25 jump - and increasing the consumer utility tax on telephone, electric and gas bills from 15 percent to 20 percent.
Sleeper said the combined tax increases -$4.8 million - will go to pay debt service on renovations and new construction at the county's four high schools.
Voters approved the $70 million project in a referendum almost two years ago.
Tunstall District resident Charles Turner said he voted against the school bond, and urged supervisors to stop construction.
"The county budget needs to be cut down until it balances," he said. "If you really buckle down, you can make the budget work. The budget needs to get in line and stay there."
Turner said raising taxes seems to be an "easy button" for supervisors to push.
Mike Hudson of Ringgold agreed.
"Why do you have to keep spending money you don't have?" said Hudson.
Hudson said the county's population is declining, which means fewer students, yet the school budget keeps increasing.
"You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see it," he said. "The county is getting smaller and taxes are going up. Something's missing in the common-sense department."
Dan River District resident J.J. Moore said new schools look good, but buildings don't mean quality education.
"You spent money in the wrong place," he said. "You didn't spend it on education and quality people."
Moore sends his daughter to private school.
"I pay taxes for these new schools, but I can't get nothing out of it because I don't trust the school system," he said.
Karen Carter suggested pay cuts "from the top down."
"We can cut salaries," she said. "They are county employees. They work for us."
Carter also urged supervisors to take away cars and cell phones for county and school employees.
"I shouldn't have to pay for somebody to drive back and forth to work," she said.
Deborah Lovelace of Gretna told supervisors to stop spending money on industrial parks that are not producing jobs.
"I think that's just outrageous," she said.
Sylvia Deshazor said high unemployment and layoffs at Goodyear and Corning mean people can't afford to pay more taxes.
Deshazor and her husband worked at Dan River Inc. for 32 years before the textile mill closed. They have found new jobs, but the work doesn't pay nearly as well as Dan River.
"Our income can't handle any tax increase at this time," Deshazor said.
Richard Shumate agreed.
"Where in the world are we going to get this money from?" he said. "We don't have the money. It's just not there."
Monday night's meeting- the board's third and final public hearing on the 2009-2010 budget - was held to include $4.5 million in additional state and federal funds.
Schools received the extra money from the recently approved American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or federal economic stimulus package.
The school budget increased from $84.9 million to $89.3 million. The overall county spending plant went from $225.9 million to $229 million.
Sleeper said the additional school money includes about $2.3 million to improve the standards of quality, $900,000 for Title 1 programs and $700,000 for special education.
The board's finance committee will meet Monday to make its final recommendations.
The committee's chairman, Chatham-Blairs District Supervisor Henry "Hank" Davis Jr., hopes supervisors will cut spending and lower the proposed tax increase on real estate from 9 cents to 6 cents.
"I think a lot of people are frustrated," said Davis.
Callands-Gretna District Supervisor Fred Ingram blamed tax increases on the high school renovation project.
"There would be no tax increase this year if the $70 million bond issue had not passed," he said. "That's the bottom line. But it did. It passed. I'm sorry. And it has fallen on this board to pay the bill."
Tunstall District Supervisor Tim Barber said the budget should be cut.
"I didn't support advertising the budget to start with," said Barber. "I think it can be much better than it is. This budget can be trimmed."
Supervisors hope to vote on the budget April 6. The school budget has to be approved by May 1. The county spending plan goes into effect July 1.

More from the Hearing on March 30th

Well, Mr. Nathaniel Dix braved the ice and snow to come to the original budget hearing , and he came back again on Monday night to speak his mind. Good for you Mr. Dix. In this video, Mr. Dix is reminding the Board about the U. S. Constitution!

Budget Hearing of March 30, 2009

This was a meeting held specifically to hear the views of the citizens. After prayer from Mr. Snead the the Pledge of Allegiance, the citizens were called upon by Chairman Harville to speak. The first speakers spoke about the uranium issue. Then the remainder of the speakers spoke regarding the proposed school budget and the proposed county budget. We recorded the speakers on video, and also recorded statements from several of the supervisors and county administrator. In order to keep from clogging up this blog with too many videos, we may consider uploading two or three videos, leave them up for a couple of days, and then delete them and add a few more, until all have been available for viewing. I hadn't planned on uploading to YouTube, but it would certainly be a way to get them all up for your viewing and comparison. You can leave comments as to how you would like to see us do these videos. You may comment anonymously if you like. This site, as a new site, will be running on "trial and error" until we see what works best, so by all means, leave comments for us! Thanks. Here are the first videos from the hearing:

This first gentleman is Mike Hudson:

This next video is Ms. Karen Carter, and Chairman Harville speaks up to clarify couple of valid points:

Mr. J. J. Moore also had an opinion on the school budget issue...

Patience!

I attended the Public Hearing on March 30th. It was an interesting meeting, and in the coming days, I will post opinions from the public, but also explanations from several of the Board Members. Don't give up on me - I will get it all online within the next couple of days! Keep checking back!

Public Hearing March 30, 2009

I hope you will try to make the meeting tonight. The more people that come out to support our county, the better. This meeting is about the proposed budget. It is at 7:00 p.m. in the Edwin R. Shields Courthouse addition (the building where we pay our property taxes - go up the stairs). Click here for the official notice.

http://www.pittgov.org/documents/Public%20Hearing%20Notices/NOTICE_OF_PUBLIC_HEARING-COUNTY_AD-3.30.09.pdf

Welcome any reports

Below you will see Supervisor Ecker's Board Report to his constituents. Please note that this blog welcomes reports from any supervisors and will post accordingly. If you would like to see or hear from your supervisor, please direct him to this site and let him know that we welcome their comments.

Board Report from Marshall Ecker

March 2009 Supervisors report

It seems like the 2009/2010 budget is one of the most difficult items we have face in the history of Pittsylvania County .I know for a fact that it is the highest at $229,489,516 dollars. I just received the latest budget packet today. We will have a special Board meeting with Public hearing on March 30, 2009 .This will be your opportunity to speak again on the new increased budget if you missed the first two hearings. With the snow and power outages in the Northern part of Pittsylvania County the Board voted 7 to 0 to have an inclement weather policy in place. Anytime the County offices are close due to bad weather any meeting or Public hearings will be canceled for that night. At lease there will be no confusion if a meeting will be held or not. Very few citizens braved the elements to express their views on raising taxes. The turnout was much better at the adjourned meeting. I had brought up a motion to send a resolution to Richmond to allow Pittsylvania County to increase the sales tax by another 1%; we already get 1% from the 5% now collected from the State. This would be a much fairer tax as it would allow everyone to contribute to pay for Bond debit. It passed 5 to 2 for the resolution.

As chairman of Legislative committee, we had two meetings on the issue of changing the County ordinances to address Uranium and creating an ordinance to address how we may or may not tax minerals mined in Pittsylvania County. We were presented with pros and cons on these issues. Now it is up to the committee to set policy and make recommendations to the full Board.

I brought a motion to the floor to bring the County's Litter ordinances up the Code of Virginia standards. The trash in Pittsylvania County is a disgrace. I want more teeth in our laws to help make our County a clean County. Two members of the Board felt that we don't have a litter problem and that citizen groups can clean up the county. That is the wrong attitude to take. It was also stated that no one has been fined for littering. Well at the current $25 dollar fine, the Sheriff is not going to waste his time, but if the fine was $250 that could make the difference. This change would not cost you, the citizen, anything to put in place as long you don’t get caught littering. The vote was 5 to 2 to advertise a Public hearing to change the County's Litter ordinance and will be held at April 6,2009 Board meeting. Pittsylvania County Beautification Week is April 5 to April 11, 2009. Lets make Pittsylvania County a Beautiful County by picking up or cleaning up some trash. We had a citizen request that the County provide a dumpster on his property to clean up a dump site. We felt that this would set a precedent for other citizens wanting the same. We did vote 7 to 0 to waive the tipping fee for this citizen, and this will be on a case by case basis for any other citizen requesting same favor in the future.

The motion by Mr. Davis for a stronger resolution to the mining commission failed 4 to 3. I can’t see where we can have too much protection in place for the citizens of Pittsylvania County. This is where we need to make sure we are doing our best to protect the future. Some members of the Board felt that we have done our duty and now move on. We need to go beyond and above the call duty. So we sent our own resolution to the mining commission. It may not have the blessing of the full Board, but I want to make sure I’m doing my best for the citizens of our county. Another resolution from Mr. Ingram requesting Virginia Power to be more responsive in future power outages passed 7 to 0. The board also discussed concerns on frequency of assessments and how they are required by the State. A motion passed 7 to 0 to send a request to Richmond to change that formula. The Board voted 7 to 0 to spend $186,121 dollars for two new compactors and new roll off truck.

A contract for the Mega Park was tabled at this time for rewording of contract interest rate. The contract for Regional Industrial Facilities Authority (RIFA) passed 5 to 2. I had voted against this contract.

If you want to see the full Board of Supervisors packet it is on our web site http://www.pittgov.org/ look at the calendar of events and you will see the Board packet listed under meeting dates. This is a tool for all citizens to use and help to keep a watchful eye on County business.

Feel free to contact me by telephone (434-335-5967) please no phone calls after 9 PM or you can e-mail me at any hour marshall.ecker@pittgov.org I want to know your thoughts or ideas on issues that are important to you.