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Rolfe |
After an hour of discussion in a closed session last night, Orange County supervisors took two minutes to fire County Administrator Bill Rolfe and to appoint Julie Jordan as acting county administrator.
According to the motion by Supervisor Teri Pace, Rolfe was to be "terminated as county administrator, effective immediately."
Jordan has been serving as assistant county administrator.
Supervisors Mark Johnson, Zack Burkett and Teri Pace voted to oust Rolfe: Lee Frame and Teel Goodwin voted against Pace's motion.
The board voted unanimously to appoint Jordan.
Rolfe's firing came after the supervisors expressed their displeasure at an e-mail he had sent them on June 15, suggesting there was a better location for the proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter than on land near the Wilderness Battlefield.
Two-thirds of the speakers at a Planning Commission's public hearing on issuance of a special-use permit for the Wal-Mart store had said they didn't mind the proposed supercenter but wanted it farther from the battlefield.
In his e-mail, Rolfe told supervisors that it would be in the best interests of the county for them to "broker a deal that keeps Wal-Mart in the County and moves it away from the congressionally approved boundary line of the Wilderness Battlefield.''
Supervisors Johnson, Burkett and Goodwin have said they support Wal-Mart, a majority that assures the giant retailer can build on the commercially zoned property it has selected.
In a statement after Rolfe's firing, Johnson said "the substance of Mr. Rolfe's e-mail was highly dubious" because the county would not benefit from Wal-Mart being located elsewhere.
"It's a very regrettable situation that has brought me and the majority of this board to take this position," Johnson continued.
In an e-mailed statement last night, Rolfe wrote, "I have enjoyed serving the citizens of Orange County. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as county administrator for the last 4 years. The staff of Orange County is excellent and the county is in good hands. I wish nothing but the best for Orange County."
Rolfe will receive three months severance pay and benefits.
Rolfe, 59, began his job as county administrator in Orange County on Jan. 10, 2005.
He had held the same job in Bedford County for 16 years and was previously county administrator of Lunenburg County, town manager of Narrows, and a senior analyst with the city of Suffolk.
In Orange County, as in Bedford County, Rolfe led the county to change its Industrial Development Authority to the Economic Development Authority in an effort to create more local jobs for residents.
Rolfe was born in Richmond and raised in Portsmouth. He holds a degree in political science from Old Dominion University with areas of concentration in public administration and urban management. He is married, and he and his wife, Janet, live in Somerset Farm subdivision and have two grown children.
Robin Knepper: 540/972-5701
Email: rknepper@earthlink.net
