The Mathews County Board of Supervisors elected Jack White to serve as chairman for the upcoming year during an organizational meeting on Jan. 11. Charles Ingram was elected to serve as vice chair.

The board annually reviews its bylaws during the organizational meeting, but this year decided instead to appoint a committee to examine the bylaws and make suggestions for changes at the first regular board meeting of the year, which will be held on Jan. 24. The committee will consist of Ingram, supervisor G.C. Morrow and county administrator Mindy Conner. The board will set a date for a special work session on the bylaws at the January meeting.

Conner asked the board to consider a couple of changes, the first of which would be to strike a provision in the bylaws that allows constitutional officers, outside agencies, and citizens to add items to the agenda as late as seven working days before a meeting.

Morrow suggested that such a restriction could “cause problems with citizens’ perception.

“Basically, you’re saying that anything that’s going on the agenda has to be pretty much only by the power of the board,” he said.

Conner explained that residents have two opportunities at each meeting to provide public comment on items that are not included on the agenda. She also said that since she’s been in the position of county administrator two residents have asked that items be placed on the agenda, and both times, by consensus, the board said no.

“Was the board in compliance with the bylaws?” she said. “No, probably not.”

While the practice of refusing to include additional items on the agenda is reasonable, Conner said, if the board knows that the practice is in conflict with the bylaws, it should either change the practice or amend the bylaws.

Supervisor O.J. Cole said that, since the county administrator and board members can add items to the agenda, a resident could approach any of them and ask to have an item placed on the agenda.

“I think that offers ample opportunity for citizens to have information brought,” he said. “If they brought something and said ‘we want to count sheep’ or something, obviously it’s not appropriate to that.”

Conner said that, as written, the current provision takes control away from either the board or the county administrator.

“We need to protect the integrity of the agenda,” she said.

Under current bylaws, comments made during public comment period are limited to three minutes. In addition, the only agenda items on which residents may comment during public comment period are scheduled public hearings, during which a resident is also limited to three minutes for comments.

In keeping with recent years’ practice, the board, which normally meets at 1 p.m. the fourth Tuesday of every month, scheduled three night meetings, on March 28, June 27 and Sept. 26. Members also voted to schedule an optional work session prior to each of the night meetings, beginning at 5:30 p.m., in order to have more time for an in-depth review of any particular topic as the need arises.

During a discussion of which county and regional boards, commissions, and committees each board member would serve on or act as liaison to, outgoing chair Edwina Casey expressed an interest in continuing to serve as the county’s emergency operations director. However, the board voted last year to have that position filled routinely by the current chairman of the board, and White said he felt “some trepidation” about turning that responsibility over to another person. He suggested that he and Casey share responsibility this year, to which the board agreed by consensus. 

Conner was once again appointed as deputy director of emergency services, while Sheriff Mark Barrick was appointed as deputy coordinator. The position of emergency services coordinator, which used to be a board appointment, was made a staff position last year, with William Love appointed to that position.

Cole requested that the board consider reestablishing the Mathews Transportation Safety Board to give residents a place to air their concerns and complaints about various road issues in the county without having to attend a board of supervisors meeting. Conner suggested that the board address that issue at the regular board meeting.

The board also made the following appointments to various positions:

Julie Kaylor—clerk to the board of supervisors.

Deb Rhodes—deputy clerk to the board of supervisors.

Jack White—Mathews Market Days Committee, Middle Peninsula Criminal Justice Services Board, and Middle Peninsula Planning District Commission.

Charles Ingram—Mathews Memorial Library Board of Trustees and Middle Peninsula Regional Security Center (Mindy Conner as alternate).

O.J. Cole—Middle Peninsula Regional Security Center and Regional Economic Development Organization.

G.C. Morrow—Community Policy Management Team, Mathews County Planning Commission, Mathews County Social Services Board, and Virginia Association of Counties.

Edwina Casey—Mathews Main Street Committee.

Mindy Conner—Community Policy Management Team, Regional Economic Development Organization, and Virginia Peninsulas Public Service Authority (Thomas Jenkins as alternate).

Hal Bourque—Middle Peninsula Economic Development Resource Organization.

Sheriff Mark Barrick—Middle Peninsula Regional Security Center.