Long Night: Examining HB2 Transportation Issues, Other Business Matters Keeps Board Members Late

In an evening that was characterized by the drop of the gavel as it opened and again as it closed one after another public hearing, the Prince Edward County Board of Supervisors managed to do what it set out to do during last Tuesday evening’s meeting; that was to take care of business. Even in the absence of the regular VDOT Representative Kevin Wright, work went smoothly as his replacement for the night and Farmville native, Troy D. Coleman, himself a Core Development Associate, explained the steps thoroughly through the process. The HB2 funding, some may recall, is set up to repair trouble spots in our area’s roads and highways. The public hearing process is a necessary part of the process. The intersection of US460 and Route 307, along with its close proximity to Route 600 is one situation that is being scrutinized. The intersection of Route 692 and US15 at Worsham Grocery is another “trouble spot” plagued by accidents, just to name a couple.

In other business, a group of Longwood students, actually speaking earlier in the public participation portion of the meeting through their appointed spokesman, wanted to open a dialog with the Board of Supervisors, hence the county, and expressed their desire to become more active and proactive in matters that happened in the county where they go to school and in effect, reside in.

Another public hearing was held to hear input about how residents felt about opening a family daycare facility with a capacity of up to 12 children at 71 Sunrise Lane in Rice, Virginia. The input was nearly equal, for and against. The majority of the dissenting argument pertained more to the erosion of the road due to increased traffic flow, and disturbing the peace of the neighborhood for the same reason – more cars using the normally quiet road.

Perhaps the most heated discussion of the evening came over whether or not to loan the YMCA of Farmville, Va. another $50,000 in order to maintain the swimming pool. According to a visit and resulting professional opinion by Putney Mechanical, that money could be used, almost fully, to perform repairs on the HVAC unit, which to date has been repaired by “band-aiding” the unit. The differences in opinion on how to move forward on the matter are highly polarized. An initial agreement to help the YMCA reaches back several years and cites precedents that in essence equate loaning that establishment funding to loaning money to the Darlington Heights Fire Department. Other opinions are rooted against funding because the general feeling is that the YMCA should be able, as a business, to take care of its own problems and not rely on the county. The matter is very complicated and will almost certainly arise again in future meetings.