[0:04] I call to order the August 27th, 2026 Bainbridge Town Council regular meeting.

[0:12] Item one. Item two is approval of electronic

[0:16] participation. I don't have anybody, I believe, that wants to participate

[0:19] electronically, so we'll move it on. Item three.

[0:23] Roll call. Marjorie Austin.

[0:27] She's going to be absent. Barry Tuning. >> Here.

[0:31] » Marty Courtney. Here.

[0:37] » Miss Love. Martha Love. >> Here.

[0:40] » Bruce Murray. >> Here.

[0:41] » Thank you all.

[0:46] All right. Pledge of Allegiance. >> I pledge allegiance

[0:51] to the flag of the United

[0:55] States of America. And to the republic for which it stands, one nation

[1:01] under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice

[1:04] for all.

[1:09] » Thank you all. All right. Next is review and adoption

[1:14] of the meeting agenda, which you will find on page one.

[1:19] Do I have a motion to adopt the agenda as presented?

[1:22] » Second.

[1:26] » All those in favor, say "Aye." >> Aye.

[1:30] » All right. Motion, I'm sorry.

[1:37] Then item six. Approval of the minutes.

[1:41] You will see that it's a double set of two weeks through the last work session

[1:45] that we had. And then, in addition, we also have this

[1:49] special called meeting of the August 16th meeting.

[1:55] Do I have a motion to approve the minutes as presented or discussing them?

[2:00] » Make the motion. >> I approve.

[2:03] » I approve the minutes. >> Second.

[2:04] » Second. >> All those moved?

[2:09] I >> I

[2:10] » I I I >> Rock out loud to adopt.

[2:15] » I can hear you. >> I can hear you. [laughter]

[2:17] » You say something before you finish. >> All right. Moving on, agenda item number

[2:22] seven, we have public comment number one.

[2:37] All right. Up first is Mr. Kahn.

[2:57] » I'm Roy Kahn.

[3:00] 270B Howard Street. I'm also the treasurer of

[3:04] the Ben and Jerry's store which is a non-profit organization run by

[3:09] volunteers for economic and community development here

[3:13] in the town. On April 9th, 2026

[3:20] Turf Pack of a consulting firm

[3:24] design and plan capital. After signing of we believe

[3:31] design concepts except while I had some reservations said she would go along

[3:36] with anybody if they like it. Larry

[3:42] Wait. Mr. Chairman Um

[3:48] like this design because it evokes some history and Beth even commented that she

[3:53] had seen one of her students bring in one of the scotched

[3:59] shells when she saw that for the first time.

[4:03] So, as I said,

[4:06] we had that discussion, and at the end of it, a resolution was

[4:10] passed for the town staff to develop a memorandum of understanding for the way

[4:16] Perry sign project developed by UMass and endorsed by town council.

[4:24] The U memorandum of understanding would outline that the sign is given to the

[4:29] town. But the

[4:32] UMass would be responsible for the

[4:37] installation and maintenance of the sign.

[4:41] At the time

[4:50] The The federal election was the

[4:53] um After 5 months, we have no MOU.

[4:59] One of these signs is to be a directory of all businesses in our town.

[5:04] And at the request of UBA,

[5:08] a list of all businesses in our town was originally requested orally 2 months

[5:13] ago, but that was has not been produced. I have an official

[5:18] uh foyer request that I'm going to submit

[5:22] to get the signs. We request that

[5:27] United Main United Brewer Main Street be on the

[5:32] next town council agenda for discussion of the items.

[5:38] If you review the tape on April 9th,

[5:43] at the 25-minute mark, we start the whole discussion.

[5:48] We have received a $50,000 grant from

[5:54] Virginia Main Street for this project. The call for completion of the project

[5:58] by the end of July 2026.

[6:02] We received an extension through December 31st, 2026.

[6:09] Uh that was granted because of some of the turmoil that we've had in town. The

[6:13] time is in the paper.

[6:16] Please note the payment that has been

[6:19] uh the town request by the end of

[6:22] the 2020 tourist action plan.

[6:27] We have also located and helped the town apply for a

[6:33] $75,000 grant for the town of Stuart so

[6:38] Virginia to create a master plan for redesign.

[6:43] If you want to kill this project, you can do. Don't let the volunteers waste

[6:47] any more time and efforts on projects that go nowhere and are a Christian

[6:52] nightmare. And you and the town will probably have

[6:55] to return the grant money with over half of it already being spent.

[7:00] Grant is not successfully completed, it will negatively impact you and the

[7:07] town's and town's ability to secure additional funding going forward. It

[7:11] certainly will affect the $75,000

[7:15] grant and perhaps the $1.25 million that we really need.

[7:22] Uh we will be sending a letter to all members of council and the mayor

[7:27] outlining the steps that we have taken so that we can

[7:32] move this forward as necessary. Thank you.

[7:37] » Thank you, Mr. Guy.

[7:43] I miss Mr. Hall. >> I can use the microphone, please.

[7:53] Okay. Hi, everybody. Uh my name is Megan Holl and I'm here on

[7:57] behalf of Urbana Main Street. And to sort of piggyback on some things that

[8:02] Lloyd has said, I just wanted to uh clear the air

[8:05] and talk about how important this funding is for us.

[8:10] But anytime on you know, social media or you make your tour around town,

[8:15] uh people are raving about Warsaw and Gloucester and Onancock and Tappahannock

[8:21] and how wonderful these towns have become and how they've transformed over

[8:25] the years and how many great things they've been able to do.

[8:28] There's something we're doing about all of those towns.

[8:31] Uh Warsaw, Gloucester, Onancock, Tappahannock, they all have Main Street

[8:37] programs. Uh that is not a coincidence.

[8:41] These towns have accomplished great things because their local governments

[8:45] and their Main Street organizations have chosen to work together. The

[8:49] municipalities and private nonprofits, side by side, leverage millions of

[8:54] dollars in grant funding for their community.

[8:57] Grants that would not have been available to them in any other way.

[9:02] Virginia Main Street funding expanded considerably last year and it could even

[9:06] double next year. Um and we want Urbana to be positioned to have access to all

[9:11] of those grant funds. This spring, we can apply for a $25,000

[9:17] Main Street funding grant in addition to the $75,000 grant that we've already

[9:22] applied for that is currently pending. We're waiting to hear back from that.

[9:27] That is over $100,000 in potential funding for a tiny town who doesn't have

[9:34] any other outside funding access. And that's not including the 1.25

[9:39] million dollar grant that we will be eligible for if we receive this $75,000

[9:45] grant. Uh so, relying on

[9:48] taxes alone just cannot fund enough of the progress that so many people are

[9:53] recognizing in these other towns. Uh so, we just wanted to come up here

[9:58] and say we are ready to do the work and we're asking for your support.

[10:04] Thank you. >> Thank you, ma'am.

[10:06] » [clears throat]

[10:09] » Thank you, Mr. Mayo.

[10:16] I think it's William Mayo of 321 Route 17, Georgia.

[10:21] I got a little bit of a problem with the Airbnb.

[10:24] They had advertised a balance golf cart town.

[10:28] Last weekend, a couple weekends ago, the old Pitts John John Pitts talking

[10:33] about it today. They took golf carts coming in.

[10:36] They didn't have the stickers. They didn't have the safety lights on.

[10:40] I saw many signs on our back. We do the state law if you drive on the highway.

[10:44] And as far as I'm concerned, these Airbnb

[10:47] officials should say "You come in, you can ride your golf

[10:50] carts." They should have golf carts ready and approved for them to ride.

[10:54] I just don't think it's right for all of us

[10:56] to have to pay. I didn't say anything to those people

[10:59] cuz cuz they didn't know. But the people who own the Airbnb and

[11:02] about should know. Thank you, Mr. Mayo.

[11:06] » Mr. Kelly, was this at Pitts Hill Town the old Pitts Hill Town 10th Street?

[11:11] » Yeah. John Pitts is talking. That's where it was.

[11:14] » The Chase Inn. That's right. I Okay. >> I know what you mean. I was thinking you

[11:18] meant Jack Pitts's. >> Yes. Yes, the Chase Inn.

[11:21] » Yeah, that's right.

[11:24] » All right, thank you, Mr. Mayo. Next up is Mr. Wyman.

[11:34] » Good day everybody and welcome today to all of you guys. Thanks for serving.

[11:38] It's hard and hard to find people who are willing to do it, so it's great

[11:42] great to have people willing to step up. I'm here to talk about the

[11:47] crossing down at the marina stream crossing

[11:51] that I heard for a minute has been thrown around.

[11:54] I put in a proposal to create a temporary structure to go across there.

[12:00] I just want to let everybody know kind of what the process we went through. I I

[12:04] gathered a group of people who are Urbanna supporters, Oyster Festival

[12:09] supporters, and you know, all of us came together,

[12:13] collaborated we were able without you know, pulling

[12:16] the time to actually put together the numbers that would take to do what needs

[12:21] to be done down um

[12:24] what I'm trying to do is Well, so I talked to Robbie when he

[12:28] first got here and said I had talked to him way back

[12:33] he wasn't interested in trying to help me out. When I served on town council in

[12:36] the uh

[12:38] town creek the crossing was a problem. I actually worked on it very intensively

[12:43] including looking at the culverts and everything else that you would need. So,

[12:46] I'm very familiar with it. So, I said that earlier and there was no

[12:50] interest. When Robbie came on I re-mentioned it and he said yeah, I'd

[12:53] love to have any help. So, anyway we put together a proposal

[12:56] to do something temporary. Um if we don't do this, my plan is for Oyster

[13:01] Festival to put something temporary which of course will be engineered and

[13:05] all that stuff that will just go down for Oyster Festival and come right back

[13:07] up and it's it will only be there for pedestrians and probably golf carts.

[13:12] Um so, we will do that on our own to make sure that we can get you know,

[13:16] the what happened at Oyster Festival have full access down there at least for

[13:20] golf carts and you know, emergency and all that. So, I think the important

[13:24] thing that I'd I to say is you know, I think all of us like recognize most

[13:28] everybody here. Um you know, remember just 10 years ago

[13:32] what a what a boat fire looks like. And um

[13:35] you know, it's it's not a good thing and the idea that there's actually concrete

[13:39] barriers down there and I've heard well, the fire department will just get

[13:43] through there. Um they're not going to just get through

[13:45] there unless they hook a truck to a concrete barrier and drag it out of the

[13:49] way, which is going to be time and all that stuff. I think the town is, you

[13:53] know, subject to a great risk um because of the lack of access down there from

[13:58] fire equipment. And you know, you're releasing slips to people and renters

[14:03] and everything else and you just don't have adequate um access. So, uh

[14:08] we we put together this proposal and said if we're going to do it for the

[14:13] town, it needs to be capable of holding fire trucks. And we've got it rated to

[14:17] hold any fire truck as to a VDOT standard. It's not just the weight of or

[14:21] this fire truck, it's the weight of any fire truck that has come across it. So,

[14:25] it's it's fully engineered, it's fully designed and ready to go. So, I just

[14:28] wanted to say that um that's the only reason I'm involved with this

[14:32] is because it's the town of Urbanna and it's always your best interest. I

[14:36] wouldn't put a proposal like this to VDOT, especially for these dollars,

[14:40] anywhere else. It would have a panic reaction or not stand or kind of panic

[14:43] in those places. So,

[14:46] you know, that's that's why I did what I did. The people that have supported it

[14:50] and the people that have have supported us already, Brian Fletcher with Delta

[14:53] Marine, the floating dock sign Marina is for the Oyster Festivals that, you know,

[14:58] we leave there all year round for you guys to use. He built that thing for us.

[15:02] We paid very little for it. You know, he donated the rest. So, just a good team

[15:07] of supporters. The engineer is up in um Wicomico Church. He's got a major

[15:11] engineering firm down in in Richmond. He's got a side office here. I've worked

[15:15] with him for years on churches, projects that are important. And uh so,

[15:20] anyway, just a good group of people and that's how we got the proposal. And I

[15:23] just wanted to let everybody know and if anybody has any questions about how we

[15:26] put this together or what it is, you know, we'd be happy

[15:29] to answer. So that's that's what I got. >> I I have a

[15:33] comment. I know for a couple of years I've been really concerned with what

[15:36] you're talking about. My own engine can't even get down there

[15:39] because of the barriers. I totally agree. But also, we've had an issue with

[15:43] the Electric Bicycle Foundation and we were glad

[15:46] they blocked off our road. There's no way no way our own engine can't get down

[15:51] there because Erby's got 104th Road completely shut off and then you all

[15:55] have it covered >> [clears throat]

[15:57] » with Community Road and so there's no way for them to get down there anyway.

[16:02] » Yeah. So that completely changed Yeah, that's completely changed the last year

[16:06] but it all changed. I don't know if you ever tried to get down

[16:08] » It has not changed. >> No, no.

[16:10] » Not much. >> Okay. So usually there's 30 vendors on

[16:13] that road and we always had an access through Erby to come through with fire

[16:18] trucks. We always met with them and then did it at the beginning before the

[16:21] festival and agreed that we could do that. Erby allowed us to do it one or

[16:25] two years and then they just ended up shutting off. When they did that, we

[16:28] went from 30 vendors along Community Road to 10.

[16:32] And we spread them out. Three or four of them at the top, three

[16:35] or four of them at the very bottom and then two or three in the middle. That's

[16:38] all there is. It's no problem to get a fire truck down that road

[16:42] with what we have set up. And believe me, we we meet with the fire department,

[16:45] we meet with the sheriff's office. We are very aware and very conscientious of

[16:50] all of that. We used to run all of our EMTs through the Erby line, you know, to

[16:56] get out. We had to change all that. That changes the way we position EMTs and

[16:59] everything else. But I will tell you that if you walked down there last year,

[17:03] sure there might be a lot of people on the road, but people can move in order

[17:07] to get a fire truck down there. >> The tents can't.

[17:09] » Yeah. So we have the tents strategically located, but they don't

[17:13] block a fire truck. >> I noticed just were fewer, but they were

[17:16] still there. >> Oh yeah. Yeah, and we'll have them there

[17:18] again this year. But, if we meet our pardon, they'll say we can get a fire

[17:23] truck in there. And so, that's our goal. We want to make

[17:26] sure that's the case. When we had Herbie, the old man, we could come

[17:30] through there and it was we didn't have to worry about it. But

[17:33] now we do. So, we do. So, last year was the first year that that came up and

[17:36] last year was the first year we did it. And actually what happened with that,

[17:39] just so you know, is we basically told about 10 or 12 nonprofits that they were

[17:45] no longer getting any space when we were doing the annual festival.

[17:48] So, where we had 30, those people all nonprofits or local small businesses

[17:52] that that was created to not have to pay the

[17:55] fees, the real small businesses that want to sell a few things. So, there's

[18:00] at least 10 or 12 or maybe 15 of those that can't

[18:04] come in the festival anymore, probably close to our operation. We had no

[18:08] choice. We had to be able to keep that little opening yet trust going there.

[18:11] » Okay. >> So, how do you feel about that comment?

[18:15] Anybody else? Okay.

[18:19] » Thank you, Joe.

[18:24] All right, moving on to the item eight.

[18:41] » Couple reports here. The bill is down tonight. It's a family event.

[18:46] Good work. Treasurer's report.

[18:56] As you see, the updated numbers that Michelle puts out every every month.

[19:02] The biggest one off here was the metro

[19:05] contractors check. That was to open the street up

[19:10] to get access to the water valve. Looking better isolate the system in the

[19:14] event of a break. That's an ongoing project to try to get

[19:18] more isolation in the system so that when we do have a break, we have to shut

[19:22] something down and it's not drastic.

[19:25] Admin has and that'll be something that'll be

[19:27] ongoing for quite a while. It's a pretty big project.

[19:30] Um

[19:33] Let's see. The next page will be the meals and

[19:37] lodging tax. Um

[19:41] I asked about the meals and lodging tax jumps quite a bit.

[19:46] Um I I mean, summer time is obviously our busy season here in town, but the

[19:50] other thing she told me is that sometimes the way the collections fall,

[19:53] it tends to oscillate a little bit. Is it all that often? I got to tell you

[19:58] that when I saw that, she was like, "Calm down. It's kind of a normal FY."

[20:01] We had a meeting here in town. Um

[20:06] And then next up is my report that I put together for you all in case I had to

[20:10] have them in the works. Um

[20:14] A couple of big items here. The big one is is that we have been

[20:17] working really hard to try to get some close in this temporary crossing. So,

[20:22] it was one of those. I appreciate Joe's help on this. Um

[20:25] I wrote to Nat that I'll have a couple of good options. Tonight we'll go into

[20:29] close session to discuss those. Due to the contractual matter.

[20:34] » [clears throat] >> Um I in the last couple of weeks have

[20:37] done a bunch of golf cart trips. Um I received a visit from Congressman

[20:41] Wittman. I'm sure you all saw it in the papers. Um came to update us that uh we

[20:45] were had been submitted in 4.4 million dollars of CPS funding for the Marina

[20:50] Bridge project. That was done by Ted and Ted is mayor. Um I appreciate their

[20:55] their effort. That may pay off. This money though is not a done deal in

[20:59] any way. Um it's

[21:02] It's any appropriations bill which has It's been passed yet.

[21:07] Just decent chance and I'm not an expert, so you might want to Google and

[21:12] make sure I'm right. If they do a containment resolution, it

[21:16] may go away. It could be killed in the house or the Senate.

[21:19] In addition, when I was talking to him, um the money may come with some

[21:23] prerequisites things to it as to when we get it, how fast we have to use it. I

[21:28] actually mentioned the timeline, but you know, to get environmental law or

[21:31] permitting on a current bridge that's through a number of 18 months, which I

[21:34] don't find that unrealistic. And it sounds like we wouldn't even be

[21:39] able to keep it that long, but those are my concerns. I don't have

[21:44] anything in writing yet, so take it with a grain of salt.

[21:48] Um I met with Mr. Goodnight, uh our VDOT residency administrator. We went over a

[21:54] couple of things that the Main Street sign positioning. I showed him a bunch

[21:58] of couple of drainage issues. Sidewalk repairs that need to be done.

[22:03] Um I'll tell you that I'm trying to get the

[22:05] sidewalks straight in the next couple months.

[22:09] Trying to get that stuff done. A long lingering issue. Basically got the green

[22:12] light fix them. Nobody's going to fuss at us to take

[22:16] care of it, so work on that. Um and this is one to me I thought was

[22:20] humorous here, but not really. I drove him up to the I drove him up to the

[22:25] the end of the note the golf cart zone and I said, "Lee,

[22:29] I don't know if he took me seriously. I hope he really didn't. I said, "Lee, I

[22:32] can throw a burrito from here and hit the Mexican sign."

[22:36] What can we do to open up? And Mr. Edwards was he's unfortunately had to be

[22:39] on all of my car trips and he thinks that he's going to get talked about on

[22:43] our little golf cart, but I drag him along. The answer to that is

[22:47] is that a speed study has to be done. And basically that VDOT has to examine

[22:52] the driving public see if they're comfortable with

[22:57] the speed limit on that section of road and to determine if we can lower the

[23:01] speed limit. So, we have to get the speed limit down to 25 to be able to

[23:05] change it. So, honestly, I'm pretty bummed out. I

[23:09] don't think we're going to get to free the tacos and

[23:13] I will continue to try, um, but [clears throat] that's a side burner

[23:16] for Um, Mr. Edward came on in mid-July to

[23:20] help with the town administration um, search and also he's been a huge

[23:24] asset to me. His experience is really valuable. I mean, I

[23:28] lets me sleep better at night. You can ask me.

[23:30] Um, the draft purchasing policy we went over

[23:33] in that worksheet. I got that together. I bumped that off of tonight's agenda.

[23:36] I'll put that on the agenda sometime though.

[23:38] We get that finished up. Founders Day was a success. They set me

[23:41] up though. They gave me a a script to read which mentioned Martha Washington's

[23:47] age and she did not take very kindly to that.

[23:50] She berated me the whole time. It was kind of fun.

[23:53] Um, we also got insurance for that if somebody got burned in a fire or stabbed

[23:57] by them or something. They can do that or whatever.

[24:01] Um, but it was a big turnout. I completely packed the the Baptist Church

[24:05] and I honestly think that that shows how much people dig the history of this

[24:10] town. I mean, it and I said it just off the cuff, "Welcome to one of our newer

[24:15] buildings." And the Baptist Church was built in the 1880s. I mean, that's true

[24:19] and we have a real asset here. Um,

[24:23] we'll move on. Uh, the Main Street group did bring to

[24:25] me this called the Squan to Sea Port Foundation about a loan. I called and

[24:29] talked to them. We signed that letter so they are free

[24:32] to use that slip. Um, I'm hoping they they come.

[24:35] It's kind of open to them. All they have to do is let us know when they want the

[24:38] slip and it's theirs. Except for doing the horse festival. I think they're

[24:41] going to be good this year anyway. Um, pool season

[24:45] was successful. Um, they're here to talk and I hope they'll back me up on that.

[24:50] Um, we did and I had some people accuse probably had a um,

[24:54] water main break but we didn't. We now have a 3/4 horsepower pool pump down

[24:59] there and they were pumped that is spraying on these two flat nozzles our

[25:03] water up turn that pool over to try to cool it down.

[25:07] I haven't heard any feedback yet from the pool company and unfortunately it

[25:10] came in too late to help the pool swim season now.

[25:13] But hopefully that'll pay dividends help reduce our fresh water use cuz our

[25:16] previous policy has been to they've been turning over the pool with

[25:20] fresh water. And the water usage down there can be significant. And most of

[25:24] that's done built, but it's wasteful and it isn't honestly doing the job. So I'm

[25:27] hoping this will help make good. Um there's a vacancy vacancy on the BCA

[25:32] that's on tonight's agenda. I managed to get someone that could apply and we have

[25:37] got a nominee. Um

[25:40] working on zoning enforcement. We had several grass and issues and we've had

[25:45] several STP applicants at this point up in as

[25:49] uh and so that has been a great help to me and that.

[25:52] I've been working with a lot of volunteer groups around town.

[25:56] There's a lot of repair projects going underway and the town has been trying to

[25:59] support them as best they can financially.

[26:01] Um without our volunteers a lot of this stuff would not get done.

[26:05] Um also I'm going to update the website. It's relatively affordable. I think we

[26:09] can get volunteer

[26:12] um liability insurance. So previously

[26:16] volunteers were supposed to sign a form saying if you got hurt on the job

[26:20] you know, you're on your own kind of Yeah, I don't think that's cool. And it

[26:24] wasn't honestly getting done all the time. So now we have insurance. So if

[26:27] you volunteer here in town um you're covered. I'm going to update

[26:32] the website. Our attorney suggested that we still get them sign form, but

[26:35] basically saying you do have some coverage. [clears throat] This is

[26:38] where you go if you need um

[26:41] I'm working on the town council meetings, working on the way

[26:44] we handle the minutes. Um I said a new audio system would be due soon, but as

[26:49] you can tell it's here tonight. Should really improve the audio on our YouTube

[26:53] videos and really want to um

[26:57] And here in the crowd, just let us know what you think.

[27:00] Um And also, we have updated um job

[27:05] descriptions for the docent and marina dock hand. I've got two openings and

[27:09] we'll run those in sequence. Anybody that wants a part-time job right

[27:12] now, please give me a call.

[27:15] Um bad news department, we had a nurse it from Wednesday night all the way

[27:20] through Sunday. Well six, the new well pump has gone offline.

[27:25] It started to fail. Um First, it wouldn't run in auto. You

[27:29] should run it manually, though. Go up here, turn it on, let the tower

[27:32] fill up, turn it back off. Now, on Sunday, it wouldn't run at all. So,

[27:36] we're on the the the other well, well five, which was our main well until well

[27:39] six came online. >> [clears throat]

[27:41] » I'm working with um Sidner to get a quote on getting that

[27:45] repaired as soon as possible. Um and one last item, it's not here on

[27:49] the quarterly report, is that our audit

[27:52] scheduled today. The audit is complete. We'll have a copy of it next week.

[27:56] So, that's very good news. We've been on that quite a while.

[27:59] All right, next page. The town marina, I've asked um if you have any questions

[28:03] about the marina finances of the marina. So, I've asked Joyce to start producing

[28:09] the I report for us monthly. Um

[28:13] It mostly speaks for itself there. You see $4,000 a month in slip rental.

[28:18] Um $450 extra amenities.

[28:22] So, the ice, I will say ice is being hauled down there across

[28:26] that bridge by hands. It's a lot of work.

[28:29] Thank you, Eric. The snack machine, drink machine

[28:33] we we managed to purchase. Um that's a surprising amount from that. Um

[28:38] Michelle was able to find a used one in Gloucester Lodge in Gloucester and we

[28:41] got it from there, so I got it

[28:44] up the ramp at the uh office there, green

[28:49] office, and it's in the breezeway. Um

[28:53] So, that's first floor entrance. That's it. We just had made six of that number

[28:56] earlier. >> Thank you, Mr.

[28:58] » Sure. >> You can thank Eric.

[29:01] » I don't know if he wants to be waiting [clears throat] it out, but he may be in

[29:03] the crowd. >> Thank you, Eric.

[29:07] » Um The docks down there did an amazing job.

[29:11] I know somebody named Well, I don't know if he can point it out, but he does.

[29:13] [clears throat] They're down there um

[29:16] We Again, town's providing lumber.

[29:19] Volunteers are doing the hard hot work. 117 boards replaced, and that is looking

[29:24] a lot better. We also ordered new um boxes for the fire extinguishers in

[29:28] there. Those are all cracked up in the front seats.

[29:32] Uh that's what I have for those reports. Next up is the Amanda and April swimming

[29:36] report. You want to come?

[29:41] » And I can't help but believe how wonderful

[29:45] » He can't be standing here.

[29:49] » I don't know if they better >> Good evening, everyone. My name is

[29:52] Shannon Sears, and I am privileged to be the coach of the Middlesex Makos swim

[29:57] team that um swims during the summer here in Urbanna. I am joined by Bill

[30:02] Sears, who is um my right hand, left hand, someday brain,

[30:08] um depending on um what we're doing. We also are lucky enough to coach the high

[30:12] school swim team um during the cold winter months at 4:30 in the morning. Um

[30:17] and I am joined by four of our swimmers. Um the first young man right here is

[30:21] C.J. Sears. He is my oldest son, and he just competed for his last

[30:28] um season for summertime. He graduated last

[30:32] year and is joining the Coast Guard to be a rescue swimmer.

[30:38] Then we have my middle or my youngest child, Alan. He is a junior at Little

[30:42] Bet High School um and he is still swimming for both summer time and high

[30:48] school. And then we have two of our newer swimmers. This is Sawyer Edwards

[30:53] and her big sister Lacy Page Edwards and they are quite a duo and quite a force.

[30:59] They um are rising stars in the pool and I can't

[31:03] wait and hopefully we'll be around when they hit high school so that they can

[31:07] swim for us right now. Good.

[31:10] » [clears throat] >> Um we just wanted to say thank you and

[31:12] give you kind of an update on our season.

[31:15] Um we this was the second full season here in Urbana

[31:19] um since COVID and the new pool was built.

[31:22] Um we had 105 swimmers. And they range from ages 4

[31:28] to 18. Um they participate in four swim meets

[31:33] throughout the season. Um unfortunately Mother Nature was not

[31:37] kind this year um so I think we got two and a half in um and then we had champs

[31:43] and Urbana does host champs. Um we I will explain the trophies first. Um we

[31:49] did bring the trophies back to Urbana that had not been here since 2016

[31:55] um where we received the regular season champs for going undefeated as well as

[31:59] winning at the actual championship meet um which again was here in Urbana. So

[32:04] they brought those. We're happy to have them back. Um

[32:12] Um among other things I just want to say thank you so much for giving us the

[32:17] opportunity in an amazing pool. Um

[32:21] Mr. Wilson is correct. The water had was an issue for for several years. The

[32:26] temperatures were such that it made it unsafe for us to compete in that pool

[32:31] due to um just safety. Um we we go by the VHSL um high school guidelines and

[32:37] the temperature um in some instances just was too um high in the pool. Um

[32:43] they worked really hard at the pool to try and help us, but I am um I did a

[32:47] little Googling and Google is always right. Um but I think that the pump that

[32:51] has been installed is going to be amazing for us to turn it over. Um there

[32:55] are several other two other teams in the league that cannot host me. So that

[32:59] means that we're hosting extra meets throughout the year um and this will

[33:03] really give us an opportunity to um keep that pool open and and just have to deal

[33:07] with thunder and lightning, which is hard enough in Virginia in the summer,

[33:11] as everybody knows. Um but I just wanted to say thank you. I did ask um Alan to

[33:16] say a few words as to how this impacts because the program that is provided

[33:21] here in this county gives kids an opportunity to not only learn

[33:25] fundamental skills, um but to also get their confidence in the pool, um which

[33:30] transfers into confidence in the river. Um and I as I always told my children

[33:35] when they started swimming at 4, you know, we may never own a boat, but you

[33:38] may have a friend that owns a boat. So I want you to be able to go out there and

[33:42] know, you know, if something were to happen that you have the skills to

[33:45] survive. Um and that's very important. So Alan, do you want to speak?

[33:54] » Hello. I just want to um I just want to extend my sincere

[33:58] gratitude towards this pool and as a tri- tri-sport athlete, I can really say

[34:03] that this pool has both helped me with my swimming and my community that it has

[34:10] built in Urbana.

[34:16] » And then one other thing that I think sometimes gets lost is this group of

[34:19] kids, um they all come from different walks of life. We are Middlesex Makos

[34:24] and not the Urbana Makos or or Barracudas as we were. So we're drawing

[34:28] kids that don't have the opportunity to swim during the summer from Mathews,

[34:32] Gloucester, the other end of the county, both ends really. And these kids, they

[34:37] have a safe, fun environment to come through the

[34:42] summer where they're bonding friendships, they're learning

[34:45] sportsmanship, they're learning to help others. I know that um Sawyer and and

[34:50] Lacy Page, they get help from the bigger kids and they join in. Sometimes I have

[34:54] to have them watch my boys. So, I mean, they they are all growing together and

[34:59] it's the bond that I know will carry them through in other aspects of life.

[35:04] Um and and I just want to give you you guys my gratitude because that is an

[35:08] amazing pool um and what it does for the community

[35:11] and the kids in the community is huge. Um and and sometimes kids get overlooked

[35:17] as we all know, but the ability to to bring my kids and know

[35:23] going up to the pool and know you'll be safe, I know you'll be cared for, you'll

[35:25] get a little something to eat is something really nice. Um and not every

[35:29] community has that, especially one that's centrally located where so many

[35:33] can walk in and provide that safe environment.

[35:37] » Did you want to say

[35:42] » So, thank you. Um a little bit about that machine. So, um

[35:48] we are unable to swim um you can play in water no matter what the temperature is,

[35:56] but as far as exerting physical exercise or competing at the level that

[36:02] they do and practice, they swim a couple thousand yards a night,

[36:08] that's not conducive and it is at a dangerous level, especially for little

[36:12] people for heatstroke. Um also, the chemicals in the pools um

[36:16] dissipate quickly when um the sun shines on it all day long and the water

[36:22] evaporation, that combination is just um super unhealthy for swimming, not for

[36:29] your average cannonballers. That's fine. If they're getting out and getting back

[36:33] in, all that's fine, but they're not. They are

[36:36] repeatedly swimming, you know, lap after lap. So, thank you for doing that. That

[36:42] is That's going to be huge. Um also, just my personal um

[36:49] the reason I do this, um

[36:52] » [clears throat]

[36:56] » my daughter started swimming in the Urbana pool. The aquatic center when she

[36:59] was five. And she um they didn't have a high school team,

[37:04] and she went all the way to to Division 1

[37:08] swimming. Um um she ended with um Olympic trial cut,

[37:12] but it all started in that Urbana pool. So,

[37:16] it's a big deal. So, thank you for everything.

[37:22] » So, what about the press? >> Yeah, I'll go over that.

[37:28] » And you're all awesome. >> Thank you very much.

[37:31] » Thank you so much. >> Thank

[37:35] » All right. >> Thank you.

[37:47] » All right, moving on. Finance. >> Thank you, Eric.

[37:54] » [laughter]

[37:56] » Bad administrator recruitment discussion. Mr. Edwards.

[38:04] » Nowhere near as exciting.

[38:14] Evening, folks.

[38:17] I want to talk about a couple of documents that I've put in your package.

[38:20] As you know, we've advertised for the open position. Um Today, I think we

[38:25] have seven applicants.

[38:29] I'm still working through those. As those applications come in,

[38:33] on page 25 of your package, we have in here

[38:38] sort of a screening sheet that I've put together that I'm reviewing each of the

[38:41] applications by that screening sheet. And once we get all together,

[38:46] and we get together to review those, we'll have

[38:49] that screening sheet to kind of go by then.

[38:52] Quick reference of what everybody's got for qualifications compared to

[38:56] the application. As you recall, discussion of all the applications will

[39:01] come to town council. The mayor and I will review the

[39:04] screening sheets, make sure I got them right, didn't miss anything, and we'll

[39:08] provide those along with all the applications to the mayor and to the

[39:11] town council members. Also in your package, beginning on page

[39:16] 23, is a proposed schedule.

[39:21] What we've got here is a proposal that probably going to take about 6 weeks

[39:27] to review the applications, schedule the

[39:31] first round of interviews, get those folks to come in, and have you all hold

[39:35] those interviews, and then

[39:38] make a decision about who you think should come back for a second round of

[39:42] interviews, and hopefully by the middle of late October,

[39:46] we'll be in a position to offer somebody a job.

[39:50] I want you to take this draft home with you. I want you to look through it. If

[39:54] you got any thoughts or questions about changes to that, you approach the mayor,

[39:58] and I will put it in. Our hope is

[40:02] the application deadline is September the 8th. You have a town council meeting

[40:06] on the 10th. We hope to have them all reviewed

[40:11] all the packages put together, and distributed to you to start that

[40:14] discussion that day. After you all interview,

[40:21] Any questions?

[40:29] » Have you basically reviewed

[40:32] any of the what you call some of the applications?

[40:35] » I have. >> Uh-huh.

[40:36] » Some are qualified. Some are not.

[40:39] » [laughter]

[40:42] » Hopefully more than not they are but Well,

[40:47] that's to be expected. That's to be expected.

[40:49] » Uh-huh. Thank you.

[40:53] » John. >> All right, moving on to Eric.

[40:55] » Okay.

[40:58] » I got to grab this email too, though.

[41:04] » All right, moving on. There you go.

[41:09] All right, item 9B new business. Um, this is pretty straightforward. We had a

[41:14] vacancy there on the Board of Zoning Appeals as you all know.

[41:18] Uh, with Ms. Clark, Ms. Lowe. Who was appointed to Town Council.

[41:24] Leaving a vacancy. That That term expired August 31st, so it's about to

[41:28] expire. Uh, we advertised like we have been publicly.

[41:32] And we had Ms. Pierce register. Um,

[41:36] she was the only applicant. I appreciate her stepping forward.

[41:40] So, you'll see here on the next pages her copy of her application.

[41:45] And then a resolution of

[41:50] to appoint her recommend her to the Circuit Court cuz

[41:54] the way this works is that we have to send a recommendation up to the

[41:57] court and then they approve it. So, with her that

[42:04] there's going to be a motion to >> Who is it again?

[42:07] » It's Ms. Um, Lucy K. Pierce. >> Is she here?

[42:13] » I can about this for a little while if you

[42:14] » [laughter] >> Is that your wife?

[42:17] I didn't hear a word he said for a minute.

[42:19] » I'll be out in just a minute. >> Yeah, I'm going to talk to you.

[42:24] Thank you, Lauren. >> I know I'm a little off topic, but yes,

[42:26] she still got some. I'll hold me against her or anything.

[42:29] » [laughter] >> Well, I'll make the motion.

[42:34] » 400 ft Yes, I schedule to do the church for

[42:37] children.

[42:39] So, is that motion sufficient? >> A second.

[42:44] » All right. You want that? >> [clears throat]

[42:46] » I was going to say I just want to say yes.

[42:48] » All in favor say yes. >> I didn't hear a thing.

[42:50] » All in favor. >> All in favor of the motion.

[42:52] » You need a roll call. >> I'm sorry. You got to read them all out

[42:54] now. >> All right.

[42:56] » I'll put this in the correct >> Yes.

[43:02] » I'll call everyone's name out and mark them present.

[43:06] » Mr. Tunney. >> Yes.

[43:08] » Mr. Courtney. >> Yes.

[43:10] » Mr. Wilson. >> Yes.

[43:12] » Mr. Johnson. >> Yes.

[43:13] » Mr. Lowe. >> Yes.

[43:15] » Mr. Manalo present. >> Yes.

[43:17] » Mr. Murray. >> Mr. Murray.

[43:19] » Yes.

[43:22] » Does she carry a seat? >> Hey, Maribel's the best. She's going to

[43:26] win. She did a fantastic job. >> Yeah, thank you, Maribel.

[43:30] » I appreciate all the time. >> She can do it.

[43:32] Thank you, Maribel. >> All right. Next up, we will say

[43:36] business. I have a resolution I have to sign to see your resolution for Cherry

[43:41] Reyes. Town employee. You all know her from the

[43:44] PD department for 10 years. This resolution

[43:49] recognizes her contributions and also her passing. And the plan here is if we

[43:54] approve this, we plan on having a little ceremony at

[43:57] the town museum coming up soon to present to the family.

[44:03] With that, you'll see a copy of the resolution.

[44:06] Any questions? Okay. With that, you see a copy of the

[44:09] resolution. 2020-15.

[44:13] And um I have a motion.

[44:19] Second. >> Second.

[44:23] » Mr. Upton. >> Yes.

[44:24] » Mr. Cole. >> Mr. Cole, that's correct.

[44:27] » Mr. Cole. >> Yes.

[44:28] » Mr. Harrington. >> Yes.

[44:30] » And Mr. Courtney. >> Yes.

[44:32] » Mr. Jackson. >> Yes.

[44:34] » Mr. Logan. >> Yes.

[44:35] » Mr. Murray. >> Yes.

[44:36] » Mr. Logan. >> Yes.

[44:38] » [clears throat]

[44:40] » All right. I am 10. So, this

[44:44] are I'm requesting that we go give motion to go into closed meeting. You

[44:49] are welcome to stay here. We'll go the other way

[44:52] to discuss the contracts that we have available to us proposals on a temporary

[44:56] bridge for the town community. Okay.

[44:59] » That's a motion to go into closed meeting pursuant to Virginia Code

[45:03] Section 2.2 -3711A29

[45:08] for discussion of contracts related to the bridge because the discussion in the

[45:13] open meeting would be adverse um to the council

[45:19] bargaining position or negotiating strategy.

[45:23] » I second the motion. >> Second.

[45:28] » All in favor? >> Aye.

[45:32] » [laughter] >> Ah, I can't get it right.

[45:35] » [clears throat] >> How you learn by doing?

[45:36] » Mr. Harrington. >> Yes.

[45:38] » Mr. Courtney. >> Yes.

[45:39] » Mr. Jackson. >> Yes.

[45:41] » Yes. >> Mr. Murray.

[45:42] » Yes. Yes.

[45:45] » We'll be right back.

[46:05] » In the motion to go into executive session, I certify that only the matters

[46:08] identified in the motion to go into closed meeting were heard, discussed, or

[46:11] considered. So moved.

[46:16] » Okay. >> And if I may have you call the roll and

[46:20] council members if you would individually respond.

[46:24] » Mr. Tuning? >> Yes.

[46:26] » I certify. >> I certify.

[46:31] » Ms. Johnson? I also certify. >> Ms. Lowe?

[46:33] » I certify. >> Mr. Murray?

[46:35] » I certify. >> And Mr. Wilson?

[46:37] » I certify.

[46:41] » All right. >> Mr. Chairman, can we go?

[46:44] » All right, with that we have gone into closed session to discuss the contract

[46:48] before us for temporary bridge.

[46:52] With that, we have decided to accept proposal from

[46:57] Falconer Construction last minute engineer.

[47:01] Um they are proposing a wooden cream at bridge. It's um

[47:08] 24 ft long and

[47:12] 15 ft wide. It'll have 4 ft walking lanes on each side of the bridge.

[47:18] Um it's wooden with a steel plate on it

[47:20] which we'll be able to install relatively

[47:23] quickly. They're saying that they have a installation date of September 8th

[47:28] through the 11th. So we should get it which is perfect. Um it'll have ramping

[47:33] up to it. Uh it'll be gravel and they'll put they'll

[47:37] take those um concrete blocks in it as a barrier and

[47:40] put those to protect the ends of this bridge in case some crazy person decides

[47:44] to run across that thing at night at high speed.

[47:47] Um I would like to

[47:51] thank everybody that helped me with this project. I have a really long list that

[47:55] I won't mention. But is one of those. Joe, I

[47:58] appreciate it. Um

[48:01] and with that, we hope that we get this marina up and

Town Council — Regular Meeting — August 27, 2026

Transcript