Unexpected outcome at Board of Supervisors meeting

Tuesday evening, March 18, Second Stage representatives stood before the Amherst County Board of Supervisors to answer any questions they might have regarding their offer to use the former Amherst Baptist Church on the same terms as last year. This was the same as the offer originally presented to Second Stage a couple of months ago in a motion by Supervisor John Marks. At that time it was overwhelmingly approved by the Supervisors.

During the public comment period at the top of the 3-18 meeting agenda, many members of the community spoke passionately about the positive effects Second Stage has had on the county and of the value of the church building and its historic place in the county. 

While the board members didn't have any questions for Second Stage organizers, they did have concerns about public safety and whether or not the building should be condemned. Building Inspector Kenneth Campbell was asked to address that issue, specifically in regard to his previous report to the board. In that report he outlined issues with the building but stated that the structure is remarkably sound. He stood by his report Tuesday night, confirming that the building is sound and could provide many more good and positive years of service to Amherst County.

After further discussion, Supervisor Marks made a motion to close the building, remove all utility connections, and otherwise secure it until the space needs study for the Department of Social Services is completed, at which time the building should be prepared for demolition. His motion takes the building off the DSS study list but keeps the property viable. That motion passed on a 3-2 vote.

Needless to say, Second Stage supporters were stunned. A contingency in the SSA offer to the county was that if the building be deemed unusable, Second Stage would be given right of first refusal to purchase the property. So immediately after their vote to demolish, SS requested that the purchase contingency be considered. At that point, Supervisor Claudia Tucker moved that the building be put up for sale. County Administrator Clarence Monday pointed out that a public hearing is required for the sale of public property. Ms. Tucker amended her motion to say that the county should take the necessary steps to put the property up for sale. Happily, that vote passed (3-2), saving the building from demolition for the present.

Later in the meeting, the supervisors all agreed that Second Stage could use the grounds for the farmers market again this summer. Market organizer Suny Monk responded that, speaking personally and not on behalf of SS or the farmers, she did not see the value of continuing the market on the site as there is no guarantee of future use. Still, the offer will be considered by the steering committee.

A special note of thanks to Dan Lovern, who helped represent Second Stage before the supervisors and offered many spectacular comments about the value of saving our heritage. If you weren’t sold on the project before, you would have been after he spoke.

Many more comments in favor of Second Stage were made by the public at the end of the meeting. Much thanks to everyone who spoke up for the initiative and to those who attended the meeting. Even your presence sends a strong message.

And thanks to all who submitted letters to the editor! More letters were sent than were published. One can only imagine the thoughts of the Supervisors when they opened the Amherst newspaper the day after their meeting!

This is not the end of our efforts. If you haven't done so, talk to your supervisor. Stay tuned. And thank you!

There is an extensive article about the Tuesday night meeting in the 3-21 issue of the Lynchburg paper; the online version is here. All of the Letters to the Editor published in the 3-19 issue of the Amherst paper can be read here.