Pace

Johnson

Orange supervisor Teri Pace fires back at board chairman for accusing her of misleading Planning Commission

BY ROBIN KNEPPER

Date published: 8/28/2008

BY ROBIN KNEPPER

Orange County Supervisor Teri Pace has fired back at board Chairman Mark Johnson for accusing her of misleading the Planning Commission about the actions of fellow supervisors.

Pace read a prepared statement at Tuesday night's meeting saying she was "seeking professional counsel" as a result of Johnson's remarks two weeks ago "and written statements thereafter." She did not elaborate on what that meant and did not return phone calls seeking clarification.

At the board's Aug. 12 meeting, Johnson said Pace had "made a deliberate misrepresentation of what this board has done by saying that three members support her views on the zoning ordinance."

"I know that three members didn't do that. This is an attempt to mislead the commission," he said.

Supervisors Zack Burkett and Lee Frame stated at that time that they had not supported Pace's proposed guidelines for rewriting the county zoning ordinance, although she told the Planning Commission, to which she is board liaison, that they had.

In her statement, Pace also said Johnson "breached the specified conditions of a closed session" of the board Aug. 12 and called it an "illegal meeting."

County Attorney Todd Patrick said the closed session was legal. The details of the discussion remain confidential, but one of the announced subjects was "discussion and evaluation of the County Administrator's Office."

Reportedly, Pace had asked Patrick to perform a service for her that dealt with the performance of County Administrator Bill Rolfe, a frequent subject of her criticism. In her remarks Tuesday, she said having the board discuss her orders to Patrick fell outside the stated closed session agenda.

Johnson disagreed, saying the discussion was appropriate to the agenda item about Rolfe's office.

"I'm sorry if you can't understand that," Johnson told Pace, "but the county attorney agrees with me."

In other business, the board heard a presentation about improvements proposed for U.S. 15 north from the town of Orange into Orange County.

According to town Director of Community Development Mike Collins, the proposed traffic plan will incorporate three roundabouts, two in the town and one in the county, that will "serve traffic better by keeping it moving."

Commonwealth Transportation Board member John J. "Butch" Davies III told the board that roundabouts, the modern adaptation of traffic circles, are appropriate for small rural towns such as Orange. They calm but do not stop traffic, have attractive entrance features and can be designed to accommodate trucks, buses, pedestrians and bicyclists, he said.

Four of the five supervisors indicated that they approved of the preliminary idea. Pace did not comment.

Robin Knepper: 540/972-5701
Email: rknepper@earthlink.net

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Date published: 8/28/2008

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