My name is Kay Morgan Pierantoni and I live in Wylliesburg.

It is with sadness that I must respectfully point out that the minutes of the February meeting of the Charlotte County Board of Supervisors meeting that was approved have several grave omissions.    

I will name a few.

The first omission is the fact that citizens’ comments are not included in the minutes. I spoke about this at last month’s meeting, and followed up with an email to each of the board members. I have had no response from anyone on the board. So far, I have searched 25 counties in our part of Virginia. Only Charlotte does not include citizens’ comments. Citizens are speaking about valid concerns regarding how business is being conducted. The taxpayers have a right to know what their fellow citizens are saying. The omission of their comments is wrong. 

Secondly, the board left out that it appointed three supervisors, two staff people and two citizens to a committee to study the Crafton’s Gate 360/47 intersection. The formation of this committee is information that should have been included. The meetings should be open to the public. This project is of major concern to our citizens. They need to know how it’s being handled. After all, several prior attempts to solve this problem have failed. 

Thirdly, anyone reading the minutes could be misled by the brief statement on the courthouse easement. Here are the facts. Five of board members had received no information in the packet on this subject in preparation for the meeting. Just before it being brought to vote, a piece of paper was handed out. County Administrator R.B. Clark stated, “The Torrey’s had graciously agreed to this easement,” and “Mr. (Gary) Walker had been working on it.” He further stated it was going to eliminate a retaining wall and “save the county several hundred thousand dollars.” 

Clark said the board needed to vote on it because the lawyer was preparing paperwork right then. So, before you had time to study this or vote to approve this, a lawyer was preparing papers?  However, the motion carried — after which Dr. Nancy Carwile asked how much it was going to cost and Clark mumbled $25,000. I sat there and thought that $25,000 for a 10-foot easement was a lot. Anyway, that should have been in minutes. 

What is included in the written February minutes is appropriations for $26,698 for the easement.  Somehow the cost went up $1,698 in the course of five minutes? The difference should be explained. Where is the documentation to support the claim of cost savings or that $25,000 was a fair price to pay? 

I’m not sure when Charlotte County started doing business this way, but I know it hasn’t always been like this. We were the birthplace of many great statesmen who fought for our democracy. 

We, the taxpayers, need complete and accurate minutes. I trust that the good board members will realize what a disservice this practice is to the citizens and change course.

Thank you.

Kay Pierantoni is a guest columnist and a Wylliesburg resident. She can be reached at kmpierantoni@gmail.com.