Mike Rowe, chair of the Mathews County Board of Supervisors, received a number of complaints during the board’s April 27 meeting, with residents objecting to comments he had made at a prior meeting and calling for him to step down from his leadership post. One of those complaining is running for board in the November election.

Addressing the board during the public comment period, David Schlosser of Mathews accused Rowe of sexual harassment for telling women participating in a Zoom board meeting in January that they looked nice.

“All you girls look good tonight,” said Rowe, as recorded for the public record. He was then told that the meeting was live on Facebook, and he continued with, “Y’all look spry and refreshed, ready to go to work.”

Schlosser said that Rowe’s comments showed an “apparent disregard for sexual harassment,” and asked that he step down.

Grace Van Buskirk of Mathews said that the comments reminded her of getting catcalls and that it was an example of an elected official “objectifying fellow board members.” She said that glossing over such behavior allows it to happen again, and questioned why other board members hadn’t objected to his comments.

David Jones of Mathews, who addressed the board concerning a separate matter, said he was surprised it had taken so long to “bring sexual harassment to light.” He said Rowe should step down both as chairman and as a board member.
Jones was selected by the Mathews Republican Committee to run for a seat on the board of supervisors in the November election. Rowe is up for reelection.

Supervisor Paul Hudgins then made a motion to remove Rowe as chair, and supervisor Jackie Ingram seconded the motion. It failed, however, on a 2-2 vote, with Rowe and supervisor Amy Dubois dissenting. Supervisor Melissa Mason was late to the meeting and did not take part in the vote.

The failed vote didn’t end the matter. During the second public comment period near the end of the meeting, A woman who will be unidentified to protect her privacy told board members that she was upset by the “blatant nonchalance” of those who voted against Rowe’s removal. She spoke extensively and tragically of her own experience as a victim of rape, and of its consequences.

Rowe said during a telephone call on Tuesday that he had been the only male shown on the screen in the Zoom meeting and he was making pre-meeting conversation by trying to say something nice to everyone.

Market Days

Mason, the board’s liaison to the Mathews Market Days Committee, told fellow supervisors that the festival will be held this year, but just one day, on Saturday, Sept. 11, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. She said there will be no street dance and no children’s area. No main stage will be set up either, she said.

There will be a 5K race, a car show, vendors and food booths, with COVID-19 restrictions in place.
Broadband Advisory Board

Also at the April 27 meeting, Broadband Advisory Board Chair Judy Rowe told supervisors that Atlantic Broadband workers have been out in the community over the past few weeks measuring roads for the upcoming broadband installation project being funded by the $4 million Virginia Telecommunications Initiative grant that was awarded to Mathews and Middlesex, Lancaster and Caroline counties. She said the contractual phase of the project is underway. In Mathews, the grant will fund broadband availability for over 400 homes.

In addition, she reported that a second VATI grant, awarded to Gloucester, Mathews and Middlesex, will begin soon. That grant will fund broadband availability for 180 Mathews households.

Aids to navigation

Mike Walls told the board during public comment period that channel marker 4 at Hole in the Wall, a private aid to navigation now owned and maintained by Mathews County, is not marking best water and is difficult to see during the day. He said he had told Mathews County Planning and Zoning Director Thomas Jenkins about it on three occasions over the past year, and nothing had yet been done.

“Myself and plenty of taxpayers are tired of the inaction,” he said. “It’s high time you start listening.”
Walls was selected last week as one of two Republican candidates for the county board in the November election.
During his monthly presentation to the board, Jenkins said that funding for a replacement floating channel marker would be $3,000, but that it might not be needed if the Virginia Port Authority approves funding for a dredging project at Hole in the Wall. He said the marker should be purchased anyway, however, because it can be used elsewhere after the dredging project is completed. The board unanimously approved the purchase of the marker.

Gwynn’s Island bridge

Joyce McGowan, VDOT’s Saluda Residency Administrator, told the board that an upcoming project on the Gwynn’s Island bridge will require a four-month closure to boat traffic. The project includes redesigning and redoing all the mechanical parts and components of the bridge, she said.

Because of this, VDOT will pay for the cost of the permitting fees for dredging Hole in the Wall, should the project be approved by the Virginia Port Authority. She asked the board to allow County Administrator Mindy Conner to enter into an agreement with VDOT to help facilitate the process and make it move along quicker.

“It’s a good opportunity to partner,” she said. “Impacting that many mariners is not good. This is a good way to help everyone.”

The board unanimously agreed to allow Conner to enter into the agreement.

Court Green project

The board thanked Mathews Main Street Committee Chair Bette Dillehay for the committee’s work on the Historic Court Green and presented Dillehay with a floral arrangement in appreciation. The committee provided the funding to improve drainage and create rain gardens, making the green “a beautiful, scenic space for the public to use,” said Dubois.

Dillehay said the cost of the project was nearly $65,000, with all of the funding donated by members of the committee. She acknowledged Sandy and Anne Wilson for planting the gardens and Dennis Baker for “finding the money.”

“Our challenge is to support the maintenance,” she said. “It’s a privilege to be able to serve.”
In other matters, the board:

—Unanimously adopted the Six Year Secondary Road Plan for Mathews County’s FY 2022-2027 after a public hearing at which no residents spoke. The allocation for Mathews is $163,299 for six years, with $17,217 earmarked for unpaved roads. The plan prioritizes cleaning outfall ditches, with $146,082 applied to the program. Route 692, White Point Lane, was approved for future construction, and Route 618 was approved for resurfacing;

—Unanimously approved the following requests by Schools Superintendent Nancy Welch: an additional appropriation of $245,000 in cafeteria funds to the schools from the current budget, at no additional cost to the county; appropriated a CARES Act award for the schools’ operating budget as follows: $76,000 to technology, $5,674 for Chromebooks, and $7,506 for instruction; approved the transfer of school funds among categories;

—Unanimously approved appointing Willie Love to the Economic Development Authority and Alexis Foster to the Mathews Memorial Library Board of Trustees, and

—Changed the time and date for the May meeting to 6 p.m. on Monday, May 24 at Mathews High School.

NOTE: Edited to reflect that Mike Rowe stated he was the only male seen on the screen in the Zoom meeting.