Mathews County supervisors moved ahead with restoration plans for New Point Comfort Lighthouse, unanimously approving a contract with First Class Contracting in the amount of $894,585.
The bid from First Class Contracting, the lowest bid on the project, requires a local match of $236,703.
During discussion, supervisor Paul Hudgins questioned why the county had gone with the lowest bid and asked for information how the contractor was chosen.
Mathews County Planning and Zoning Director Thomas Jenkins explained that the contractor had completed projects all across the state, had a good record, and had been approved by VDOT for the job. He said the reason the company was able to make a lower bid than others was because it was saving money by placing the beacon on the island in a temporary structure rather than hauling it on a barge to another location. He said it would require fewer cranes and less scaffolding.
Board chairman Amy Dubois emphasized that it was “a best value determination.” In addition, she said that the company was hiring local people to work on the project, and that “jobs are needed right now.”
Supervisor Melissa Mason asked Jenkins to talk with the company to make sure that flyers advertising for jobs are distributed evenly and equitably across the county.
Conner asked the board to approve adding a separate line item in the budget for $770,732 in CARES Act federal funding that the state will be depositing in the county’s bank account. She explained that the county needs to determine “the highest and best use” for the funds, since any money not spent properly will have to be repaid to the federal government and any money not spent at all will have to be sent back.
The school system’s cafeteria fund is eligible for the $168,000 in funding that the county recently appropriated, said Conner. She said the funds can’t be used for lost tax revenues, but that it could be used to support a Middle Peninsula Planning District Commission grant program that’s being set up to support local businesses. She suggested allocating $109,000 to that program.
Hudgins said the amount didn’t seem adequate, but Conner explained that more money could be added over time. She said $109,000 was a reasonable starting point to set up the account, since the need still has to be assessed. She said she hoped the fund could help businesses that weren’t eligible for other relief money.
“If we spend the money in a way that’s not approved, we have to pay it back,” she said. “So management is important.”
Other matters
Conner said the county is making plans to reopen to the public on June 11 as long as it is in compliance with the governor’s directives.
Protest
Before the meeting began, a number of Mathews residents gathered outside of the historic courthouse to protest the county’s ongoing electronic meetings.
Capt. David Callis of Hudgins said he didn’t understand why a public meeting couldn’t be handled in the same way that a church’s worship service is handled, with people allowed in at half capacity. He said he objects to the electronic meetings because there’s no spontaneity, and that he enjoys being able to gather with other residents prior to a meeting and be updated on the issues. He said he likes to be able to watch in person as supervisors consider county matters.
“There’s something lost in this process,” he said.
On top of that, Callis said not everyone is tech-savvy or has access to the internet. People shouldn’t be excluded from the meeting just because they don’t have internet, he said.
Sonny Fauver of Port Haywood said the group gathered “at the seat of county government for a supervisors’ meeting that is instead going to take place remotely.”
“The doors are locked and we are barred from participating,” he said.
Fauver said when in-person meetings are held, residents are able to respond when they hear something during the meeting.
“I can look our representatives in the eye and get a response through body language,” he said.
Having to decide ahead of time what he’ll talk about during the public comment period that’s scheduled for electronic meetings “is cumbersome and lacks the effect that facing your representatives and speaking in a public forum has,” he said, adding, “It lacks the effectiveness of a public meeting.”
Both men said they opposed the board extending an emergency ordinance that was passed in March to allow the local government to continue to function in crisis situations. The emergency ordinance is set to automatically expire in June, and County Attorney Andrea Erard had asked board members if they wanted to extend it another six months. However, in a conversation prior to the meeting, Erard said the ordinance did not affect the board’s ability to have electronic meetings, since those were being held under guidance provided by the governor’s office.
The board took no action on extending the emergency ordinance.