Candidates for Mathews County Board of Supervisors and Clerk of Circuit Court answered questions on a variety of topics during a candidate forum held last Thursday at the Piankatank Ruritan Club in Hudgins.
Moderated by Cheryl Dale, who began by admonishing the candidates to behave, the forum consisted only of questions and two-minute answers, with no introductory or closing remarks.
Clerk of Court candidates
Clerk candidates Carrie Phillips Cullison, Elizabeth A. Brown and Susan Brooke Ripley were asked about their formal training and experience for the position.
Cullison said she had worked for a title company, performing title searches and updates, before being appointed deputy clerk for the Middlesex County Clerk of Circuit Court. As deputy clerk, she said she has had over 80 hours of training through the Supreme Court of Virginia and has also trained under the Middlesex clerk of courts, who cross-trains all employees.
Brown said she had served in various positions before her appointment to the Mathews clerk’s office, including 11 years at Bank of America, where she had some management experience. She said she had also served in a management position at a retail outlet. She said she’s been serving as clerk of Mathews Circuit Court since the retirement of former clerk Angie Ingram, who was her mentor, and she has over 100 hours of training with the Supreme Court of Virginia in the four years since she first became a deputy clerk.
Ripley said she had been in and out of court record rooms for over 33 years and had been taught by a title attorney to do title searches. She said she had worked with two attorneys, Donald Bowman and Paul Blanock. Although she hasn’t received any Supreme Court training, Ripley said she knows it’s important to learn. She said the most important thing is maintaining records, which she would continue to work on in the spirit of the previous clerk of courts.
Asked about plans to conserve the county’s early court records, Brown said the clerk’s office is already in the process of doing so, applying each year for Library of Virginia funding so the effort doesn’t cost Mathews County anything. She said the office received $35,000 last year for the project and is also getting quotes for back-scanning and getting more records online.
Ripley said it’s important to get grants to preserve records, but she would hope to get a little more money, and Cullison said that Middlesex County received a total of $21,000 from the Library of Virginia last year, as well as $34,775 from the technology trust fund held by the Virginia Compensation Board. Middlesex has digitized records back to the 1950s, she said, with only 60 record books left.
On the question of whether to provide public online access to a searchable database of all digitized county records, Ripley said she would not do so. She said it costs $50 a month for such access, and it’s only worth it for people who do it for a living. She said she would help citizens who came into the clerk’s office with such searches.
Cullison said there are various ways to provide such searches, that historical societies and others would use it, and that she would provide the database. Brown said Mathews already has a free public searchable system and that, while the images can’t be seen, researchers can determine if a document exists. She said public access to the records provides “some of the only money Mathews gets” and “that’s a way we can use some of those funds.”
The candidates were asked what the most difficult duty of the clerk’s position is, and Cullison said it was “probably the wills” because they involve “someone coming in who’s lost a loved one.” She said seeing people deal with things in the court system is also difficult, and that those are sad times that “require a special compassion.”
Brown said, “running for office,” to laughter from the audience, then pointed out that there are many difficult tasks that require the clerk to deal with people on their best and worst days. She mentioned “the delicate nature of estates” and the constantly changing nature of paperwork and procedures.
Ripley said that when someone passes away, it’s a chance to serve and help, and that there will be days that are both challenging and rewarding.
In terms of career development, Brown said the office “has been lucky to be able to take advantage of what comes along.” But funding for development has been cut drastically, she said, and some clerks have been waiting for five years for training. She said the three current clerks have all traveled to other localities and have studied online to take advantage of whatever is available.
Ripley said she would take advantage of everything, but wouldn’t send clerks just to send them, instead first assessing the person to see if they’re someone who really wants the job.
Cullison said all office employees need to be trained in all areas, and that she would continue to take full advantage of the training. She said day-to-day training is important, as well, in order to “teach what you know.”
Asked about their five-year plan for the clerk’s office, all three candidates mentioned maintaining a friendly, welcoming atmosphere and providing excellent service. They also mentioned training deputy clerks and scanning back records for digitization and seeking grant funding for that purpose.
Supervisor candidates
Moderator Dale explained that to obtain questions for the supervisor candidates, she walked around town and asked people what they would want to know, put the most-asked questions in a bag, shook them up, and picked them out. Seven of the nine candidates were in attendance, with Paul Hudgins and Jackie Ingram absent.
Candidates were asked what their number one priority would be if elected and its projected date of completion. Billy Cook said addressing issues with the school system and lowering the personal property tax rate were his primary concerns. Throwing money at the school system isn’t the answer to SOL failures and chronic absenteeism, he said, and he expected it would take two to four years to solve the problems. A lot of seniors can’t buy groceries, he said, so the personal property tax should be lowered.
Randy Dobson felt that laying to rest all the issues the county has faced over the past two years is a priority. “If we can get Tin Can Alley, Hole in the Wall, and the monument behind us, we can move ahead,” he said. With volunteerism decreasing, he said the county “will be in the fire department and rescue squad business before long,” and those items will have to be funded. He said taxes “are more than likely going to increase.”
Tricia Stall said education and limited government are the most important issues. She pointed out the school system’s multimillion-dollar budget, which is the largest expense the county has, and claimed the county has saved $7 million over the past two years through level funding. The top challenge, she said, is ensuring limited government and the reduction of burdensome regulations. She also said the county “can’t subsidize local businesses” and that a $30 million budget is costly and unsustainable.
Tom Bowen said a decreasing population, school system issues, and the need for economic development are the major challenges. Mathews is facing a decrease of over 37 percent in the number of people ages 35-49 and a reduction in the number of high school seniors from 111 to 61, he said. The overall decrease is 6 percent, he said, while adjacent counties have increased in population. Young people seeking to move won’t go to a county that doesn’t have strong schools, he said, and the county needs to make progress toward achieving the goals laid out in the comprehensive plan. He said the county also needs housing that teachers can afford.
Janice Phillips reiterated what Bowen said, adding that to thrive, the county needs good government and good schools. One of the most critical items, she said, is adequate sanitation, and she pointed to the Irvinville development, built in the 1940s as the kind of housing needed. With just one bank, one pharmacy, and one grocery store, said Phillips, “If we don’t get the population growing, we may have less than we do now.”
Tim Doss also said that a decreasing population, support for the school system, and economic development would be priorities for him. “If we don’t bring in economic development,” he said, “we’ll have to cut services or raise taxes.” He also mentioned a performance contract such as one he used at the regional jail, which resulted in a $3.2 million project being completed “and it didn’t cost us a penny.”
Albert Clark said he agreed with what everyone else had said, but added that “we need to stop frivolous spending on lawsuits.” He said the board of supervisors needs to do what it’s supposed to do and “look out for each and every one of y’all.” Instead of back-tracking, he said, the county needs to move forward.
As for acquiring funding to build a new firehouse and fund new fire trucks, all candidates agreed that public safety is a priority. Stall said the fire department has applied for grants and that such projects need to be cost-effective. She said the county shouldn’t “have a blank check to fund everything that comes along.”
Bowen said that the county should consider issuing bonds for the project. Just as people don’t buy a house without a mortgage, he said, localities commonly use bonds. The county’s debt level is low, he said, and it has the ability to use bonds, “but the longer we wait, the more expensive it will be.”
Phillips said she’s familiar with trying to raise funds because she was deeply involved in fundraising for the Mathews YMCA. While there should perhaps be fundraising, she said, the county will need to issue bonds for the station, just as the rescue squad building was built with bonds. She said the building should have multiple uses.
Doss said the goal is to have the debt service as low as possible, which can be accomplished by paying for as much as possible with grants and other sources. He said the new station needs to be built “not just for today, but for five to 10 years from now.”
Clark agreed that both bonds and grants would be necessary for funding, and he said the building should be used for people in the lower end of the county “to get somewhere safe” during storms and possibly as a command center, as well.
Cook said that fire trucks and ambulances should be line items in the annual budget instead of being funded under the capital improvement plan. That way, agencies can replace their outdated equipment every five years. He also said that the new firehouse should serve as a storm shelter, but that the county should build “what we can afford” and stretch out loans to keep taxes the same.
Dobson said he agrees that bonds should be used, but he said he would act like the money for new facilities was “coming out of my wallet.” He said all the fire trucks “look brand new” and that he guaranteed none of them have more than 25,000 miles on them. “I’d want to know for sure we really need to spend the money,” he said.
Asked whether the county should divest itself of Hole in the Wall restaurant, Bowen said that private funds were used to elevate the building, that HITW is a source of employment and tourism dollars, and local people who own vacation rentals have pointed out it’s the only restaurant on the water in the county. He said when a structure needs to do pump-and-haul, the health department should find a way to fix the issue, and that has yet to be done.
Phillips said Hole in the Wall is “a wonderful restaurant” that employs 31 people, buys locally, pays meals taxes, and brings people into the county. She said she hasn’t been totally satisfied with the information that’s been provided by the board of supervisors, with just one quote to fix the issues and only one engineer to have looked at it. While pump-and-haul is expensive, she said, the amount could be decreased by treating the gray water.
Doss said the county has obligated itself to a lease. He said he doesn’t like it and that the board needs to find out what can be done. He said the health department told him there are three systems that could work there, and that the county should try to find a way to make it work while keeping the cost off the county.
Clark decried the amount of money paid for pump-and-haul at the site versus the relatively small amount of rent being paid. He said the county should divest itself of the property, while Cook said the county “shouldn’t put another dime in it” because the building is unsafe and the ground is saturated. He said when the current lease runs out, the building should be turned into a bait and tackle shop.
Dobson said the meals taxes received from all county restaurants only amount to 1 percent of the budget and if it’s such a lucrative business, the owner should be able to pay to fix any issues.
Stall called the issue “a huge catastrophe for the community,” saying that it’s an unsafe structure for which the county is liable, and that a bait and tackle shop would be a good replacement, along with a food truck.
The remaining questions Dale asked ranged from whether candidates approve of rumble strips in the court house to what their top two priorities would be if elected. The latter question drew answers very similar to the first question that was asked of the supervisor candidates.
During a subsequent open question-and-answer period, one person asked Phillips how low-income housing on small parcels for people who make low incomes would be cost-effective for the county. Phillips said that no one had mentioned low-income housing, but rather had discussed affordable housing. She said the schools had lost teachers this year because they couldn’t find housing, and that affordable housing that draws in young families with children means more money for the educational system.
Another audience member said that Phillips had talked about Airbnbs being good for the county, then asked her if she would like to live next to one. Phillips said she wouldn’t mind. She said they’re good for the county because people come in, spend money, visit local businesses and eat at local restaurants, then leave.
Stall was asked if the current comprehensive plan has zoning for industry, and she said it depends on the kind of industry. Asked about a property on Main Street that was denied a permit for manufacturing because industry wasn’t allowed in that location, she said it’s important to help local businesses expand and that regulations need to be reduced so people will want to come here.
Dobson said there’s still room in the industrial park in Cobbs Creek, and Cook added there are several industrial developments in the county, one of which was just recently rezoned for a concrete plant and another for auto recycling. He said conditional use permits can also be issued for such uses.
Phillips was asked by an audience member what the county gets from the YMCA for the money it gives the organization annually, and Phillips said the county initially pledged $300,000 to make the building a Category 1 shelter that’s flood resistant and can provide showers and hot meals for 85-100 people. That cost the county $20,000 a year for the first 10 years, she said. In addition, the county pays $65,000 a year for the Y to serve as the parks and recreation department, offering programs based on the ability to pay. The questioner said it would cost over $500 a month for his family to be members, and Phillips said, “That’s not true.”
Stall said, “The YMCA is as woke as they can be. They have adopted gay pride as part of the program, and people are dropping the YMCA.”
Phillips replied that the Y is open to all. “We do not judge people,” she said. “We accept them as they are.” She tolled off a long list of groups that are celebrated at the Y on various days throughout the year, from the military to teachers, saying, “We welcome everyone, regardless of their religion, race or politics.”