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Board of Supervisors Special Meeting - Apr 30 2026 Minutes
Thursday, April 30, 2026 at 5:30 PM
220 Judicial Pl. Heathsville, VA 22473
Members Present: James Long, James Brann, Chip Williams, Al Fisher, Keith Harris
Staff Present: County Administrator Tadlock, Assistant County Administrator Drew Basye, Finance Operations Specialist I Morgan Wilson, IT Technician Carl Hayden, Finance Operations Specialist II Mary Dodson
1. Opening of Meeting 5:30P.M.
A. Call to Order
2. County Administrator Items
A. NES Playground Funding Discussion
return rev options for April consideration.pdf
Chairman Brann reminded the Board that Dr. Pica sent an email to the Board related to options on what to do with prior year reimbursement funds in the amount of $322,401. He also stated that the Board earmarked roughly $123,000 for the NES playground in March. The three funding options can be accessed in the attachment.
Dr. Karen Leslie explained the phased approach for funding the playground to the Board.
Chairman Brann asked if the playground would remain in the same location as it is in now and wondered if the equipment that is there now would be re-used. Dr. Leslie confirmed that it would be in the same location. She explained that there is some equipment on the opposite of the building that they are not removing, however, the equipment within the 9,000 sqft in the primary playground area will not be re-used.
Supervisor Harris asked if there was anywhere else on the property that is feasible that the playground can be moved to due to the drainage issues.
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Dr. Leslie stated that they could potentially move it behind the school but there's a lot of questions that would need to be addressed by an engineer.
Vice Chairman Williams asked how long it would take to complete the project if the Board decided to move forward with the phased approach.
Dr. Leslie stated that it would take a long time and it would not be a pretty process. Chairman Brann asked about the other school CIP projects.
Dr. Leslie stated they have a bus replacement plan over a 5 year period and a savings plan for the impending well project.
Dr. Pica informed the Board that the school removed the $286,000 CIP request from their budget since prior year reimbursement funding was identified, so neither the school or County FY27 budget entails the $286,000 CIP request that was originally submitted.
Chairman Brann stated that he wants to fund the playground, but if the Board uses all the funds to fund it fully, then what will they have to fall back on if there encounter another bus issue this year. He wants to make sure that the County is financially planning for the future.
Supervisors Harris recommended earmarking $200,000 for the playground and the remaining funds be earmarked for buses.
Vice Chairman Williams wants to reward the school division for cutting their budget and going after the reimbursements, so he's in favor a using a good amount of that money towards the playground as that money wouldn't even be identified if it weren't for some of the efforts made by the school division. Supervisor Long wants to move forward because the playground is needed. Supervisor Fisher agreed that the playground is a need.
Supervisor Harris doesn't want to give them all the funding until they are presented numbers as far as what it's going to cost for a playground.
Vice Chairman Williams asked if there are other prior year reimbursements out there and if they've been considered in this year's budget.
Dr. Pica explained that there are but they have not been considered budgetary wise as it has not all been booked yet. She stated there are still prior year reimbursements out there, current year reimbursement requests being made, and current year reimbursements that have been received for refunds. She explained that there will likely be more revenue coming in over the next couple of months. Vice Chairman Williams asked if she could present a figure of what's still out there for prior year reimbursements.
Dr. Pica stated that she could provide an estimate for what's been requested (pending reimbursement), what still needs to be requested, and anticipated unused funding.
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Vice Chairman Williams stated he'd feel more comfortable making a decision when they see numbers for the playground cost and tabled the discussion to next week's meeting.
Dr. Leslie stated that she'd request the gentleman from the company to try to join the meeting virtually to present some information on the playground to the Board.
B. School Budget Quarterly Appropriations Discussion
appropriation options.docx
Dr. Pica presented the proposed options on how to fund the school budget this year rather than putting the school on quarterly appropriations. The options can be found in the attachments. Dr. Pica recommends annual appropriations with strict controls in place.
Supervisor Harris likes the idea of twice a year appropriations as it gives them room to reset if something is going wrong.
Chairman Brann has no problem with the annual appropriations, but would like to see what the actual control implementation would look like.
The Board asked Dr. Pica to present control implementation for options 2 and 3 (annual appropriations and twice a year) and tabled the discussion to next week's meeting.
C. Potential Use of Poor House Tract County Land
EDC Director Bob Bullard provided the Board with a document that consisted of potential use options of the County property known as the poor house tract. Chairman Brann mentioned the community health campus and believes this is very needed, however they would need to look for a competitor that would show interest in coming here to provide that service. He also asked what incentives the County is willing to give to bring businesses or parks here because individuals won't want to invest here unless they feel valued.
Supervisor Fisher asked how many of these options would need a sewer system rather than a septic system.
Vice Chairman Brann stated that is some of the infrastructure that the County would have to consider to attract these businesses.
Supervisor Harris asked them to consider whether they truly want these options at this location since it's off the main road and narrow.
Vice Chairman Williams asked Mr. Bullard if this land was being discussed because in the EDC's opinion this is the best site of County owned property.
Mr. Bullard stated that is correct and that they believe the County could get a lot of return by delighting that property.
Vice Chairman Williams asked if the EDC has a particular spot on the land that is most suitable for any of these projects considered.
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Mr. Bullard stated that they do not .
Mr. McKenzie, County Planner, presented a buildable area map showing the flattest part of the land, the elevation and septic suitability to show the potential buildable areas.
Mr. Bullard requested feedback from the Board by May 8, 2026 so he can revise the model and create a presentation for the Board.
D. Supplemental Appropriation - Capital Projects
Appropriation_CapitalProjects.pdf
County Administrator Tadlock explained that the County sought assistance from Davenport in the winter to boost the fund balance and at that time they identified several capital projects that money would need to be borrowed for, so the County was able to proceed forward with that. The appropriation amount presented is the interest on the first year regarding that series A & B debt service. Mr. Tadlock stated that was not budgeted in FY26 as it occurred in the middle of the year, but going forward it will be budgeted for starting in FY27.
Motion to approve a supplemental appropriation to line item 9103-7032 in the amount of $83,823.36 for interest accrued for the 2025 Series A & B debt service.
Moved by: Keith Harris; seconded by: Chip Williams
Aye: James Long, James Brann, Chip Williams, Al Fisher, and Keith Harris
Motion Carried 5-0
3. Items Related to Closed Meeting
A. Convene into Closed Meeting § 2.2-3711 A(1)
Motion to Action: A. Convene into Closed Meeting: convene into closed meeting as permitted by Virginia Code Section 2.2-3711 (A)(1);1. Discussion, consideration, or interviews of prospective candidates for employment; assignment, appointment, promotion, performance, demotion, salaries, disciplining, or resignation of specific public officers, appointees, or employees of any public body; and evaluation of performance of departments or schools of public institutions of higher education where such evaluation will necessarily involve discussion of the performance of specific individuals. Any teacher shall be permitted to be present during a closed meeting in which there is a discussion or consideration of a disciplinary matter that involves the teacher and some student and the student involved in the matter is present, provided that the teacher makes a written request to be present to the presiding officer of the appropriate board. Nothing in this subdivision, however, shall be construed to authorize a closed meeting by a local governing body or an elected school board to discuss compensation matters that affect the membership of such body or board collectively.
Moved by: Al Fisher; seconded by: James Long
Aye: James Long, James Brann, Chip Williams, Al Fisher, and Keith Harris
Motion Carried 5-0
B. Reconvene into Open Meeting
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Motion to reconvene into open session.
Moved by: Keith Harris; seconded by: Chip Williams
Motion Carried
C. Certification of Closed Meeting
Motion that the Northumberland Board of Supervisors return to Public Meeting and certify by roll call vote that only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements by the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, and as were identified in the motion convening the closed meeting were heard, discussed or considered during the closed meeting. The vote on the motion was passed by a roll call vote as follows:
Aye: Keith Harris, AC Fisher, Jr., James M. Long, James W. Brann, Charles H. Williams
Moved by: Keith Harris; seconded by: Chip Williams
Motion Carried
4. Closing of Meeting
A. Adjournment
Chairman Brann mentioned that the ribbon cutting for the community park at the Public Library is on May 9, 2026 at 3:00 p.m.
Motion to adjourn.
Moved by: James Long; seconded by: Keith Harris
Motion Carried
Board Clerk - E. Luttrell Tadlock