P.E. County BOS Shows Appreciation for Deceased Member

Approximately one hour prior to the regularly scheduled meeting on August 12, 2014, a brief Special Meeting was held by the Prince Edward County Board of Supervisors, with the purpose of entertaining a motion to convene in closed session. The closed session meeting will be held to discuss the acquisition of publicly owned land located in the Farmville Industrial Park. After a short break, the regular meeting convened. Interim Member Calvin Gray gave the Invocation and led the Pledge of Allegiance. The next order of business was the passing of a Resolution of Respect for ex- Board Member Howard M. “Pete” Campbell. In a small, tearful ceremony, the Board presented his wife and daughter with a plaque as a token of appreciation for his years of service to the county.

Various topics were discussed during the meeting. Calvin Gray thanked the Board of Supervisors for the appointment to the post that was left open recently, but said he was deeply saddened by the circumstances under which he was appointed.

Patti Cooper-Jones, Farmville, thanked those involved for the invitation to sit at the Town Hall Meeting that was held at the Hampden-Sydney Fire Department on Monday night. She also spoke to the citizens in attendance, (more than usual), thanking them for showing interest in their county business.

Bob Timmons, Darlington Heights, brought to the attention of the Board that there are trees overhanging the road in his area. It is that time of the year when highway matters such as this should be noticed and the trees scheduled to be cleared.

The County Extension Office representative spoke to the Board regarding the intern’s position that is usually filled with one college student each year. The Extension Office and the County typically split the cost of the salary for the position; a cost of $7,170 for each, the Board and the Extension Office. The County budget for this year included the half-salary as before. The position will be filled again this year.

Assistant County Administrator Sarah Puckett suggested to the Board that the county advertise for citizen volunteers for the county Resource Conservation and Development Council. There was also discussion of how to handle a position on the Local Emergency Planning Commission. In Prince Edward County this has evolved into Emergency Management. The seat or position is a federally required seat for a locally hired official.

The Board approved a special use permit application for the construction of a VEC tower. This is actually a replacement with a more efficient SCATA tower.

One of the last items concerned where exactly to place the sign containing only the words of our National Motto: “IN GOD WE TRUST.” The signage was donated to Prince Edward County by a 501c3 organization of the same name whose mission is to place these symbols of allegiance in every courthouse in the Nation. It was determined to be best placed in the Atrium for all of the counties citizens to see.

Fire Chief Draper updated the assembly on the purchase of 29 new sets of turnouts. The purchase was made possible by a grant given to the Fire Department by FEMA.

Finally, Bob Timmons requested that someone on the Board research price and equipment to place monitors in the Board room for the public to follow meeting business.