The Mathews Board of Supervisors has scheduled a public hearing for 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 13, to consider adding $863,321 to the current budget that would allow the county to purchase the former Mathews Boys and Girls Club for $575,000 and convert it into a firehouse.

Also included in the public hearing will be the consideration of adding $211,146 to the budget for the purchase of additional and replacement equipment for the radio project, as well as adding $77,175 for the match for the VDOT high school sidewalk project.

Money for the proposed expenses would come from the $5 million in interim financing that was established with Davenport and Company through the Mathews Economic Development Authority in September 2024.

Supervisors’ chair Tim Doss said the purchase of the Boys and Girls Club building has been under consideration since late December, and the board has been conducting a feasibility study to make sure that the property will be suitable for the intended purpose. If it’s determined that the purchase is not feasible, the funding would not be pulled from the interim financing, said Mathews County Administrator Ramona Wilson.

Doss said the deadline on the contract to purchase runs out soon, and the decision to hold the public hearing was made by consensus of the board rather than in a public meeting because the regularly scheduled meeting had to be canceled due to the weather.