The Accomack County Board of Supervisors voted on a series of consent and action items at its October meeting, approving ordinance and zoning amendments, extending the maturity date on a county-held deed of trust for Accomack Manor and directing staff on transportation grant strategy and personnel review work.

Why it matters: Several votes affect long-running development and service questions in the county — most notably a short extension of the county loan that supports Accomack Manor, a senior affordable housing property, and board direction that will shape the county's SmartScale transportation grant strategy for 2026. Separately, supervisors asked their personnel committee to review payroll-deduction language after public comment from county public safety staff.

What the board approved

- Acceptance of Hancock town's request to withdraw a boundary-line adjustment (motion carried unanimously). (Provenance: public hearing discussion beginning at transcript segment s=1503.4551; conclusion at s=1611.465.)

- Consent agenda (approved with consent item 5.6 removed for separate discussion). Board later referred the removed item (personnel policy language on payroll deductions) to the personnel committee for study and return with recommendations (motion carried). (Provenance: consent discussion s=729.54 and referral s=1452.75.)

- Personnel-policy changes: the board approved changes to grievance policy 701 and probationary period policy 202 and later approved a package of personnel policy edits after discussion; language on payroll deductions (policies 419 and 421) was removed from the manual and sent to personnel committee for review. (Provenance: discussion s=814.79's=1466.265.)

- Extension of Accomack Manor deed-of-trust note: the board voted to extend the maturity date of the county-held deed-of-trust note for Accomack Manor LLC until Jan. 31, 2026, subject to execution of extension documents prepared by the county attorney. Motion made by Supervisor Washington and carried. (Provenance: staff presentation s=6060.33'motion s=6412.625.)

- SmartScale/project direction: staff presented VDOT's feedback that Route 175 projects are outside the favorable cost/benefit "sweet spot." The board directed staff to pursue SmartScale applications for identified intersections (Marion Smith Road and Fisher's Corner were named) and voted to send a letter to VDOT Richmond and the secretary of transportation, copied to the county's state delegation, asking that the county's concerns about Route 175 and the economic impacts of Wallops Island be considered. (Provenance: presentation s=1674.0549'motion and letter direction s=2663.7952's=2793.23.)

- Zoning and subdivision code changes: the board held public hearings and adopted proposed amendments to the joint 9-1-1 commission ordinance (11.3), a change to the subdivision definition and process to close a recording loophole (11.4), and amendments to clarify approval validity periods and notice provisions (11.5). The board approved a modification to replace the term "developer" with "subdivider" in the subdivision language. (Provenance: public hearings s=3559.975, s=3689.06, s=4833.695.)

- Travel trailers: staff asked for authority to draft an initiating resolution addressing proliferation of travel trailers/RVs; the board voted to approve staff's request to draft code amendments and bring them to the planning commission for study. (Provenance: presentation s=6462.5'motion s=6914.3.)

- County authorization: the county administrator was authorized to sign a draft MOU with the Commonwealth to accept about $6.55 million for a natural-gas-expansion effort, pending the county attorney's final review. (Provenance: county admin report s=7469.79'motion s=7599.385.)

Other formal actions included appointment of Richard L. Alloway to the economic development authority, approval of budget amendments and standard claims/bill payments, and the board's certification of closed-session topics. (Provenance: appointment s=3482.825; budget/payment actions s=7941.88's=7953.08; closed session s=7979.67.)

What the motions did not do: the board did not adopt any permanent policy changes to payroll-deduction language at this meeting; instead supervisors asked personnel committee members to study the issue and return with recommendations. The Accomack Manor extension is a short-term procedural step to give staff time to negotiate and prepare documents; the board asked staff to return with a full recommendation in January.

Votes at a glance (summary)

- Hancock BLA withdrawal: approved, unanimous.
- Consent agenda (with item 5.6 removed): approved.
- Personnel policy package (701, 202, 419, 421 as amended/processed): motions carried, payroll-deduction language sent to personnel committee for study.
- Accomack Manor note extension (to 2026-01-31): approved (mover: Supervisor Washington; second: not specified in transcript; voice vote "Aye").
- SmartScale direction (pursue Marion Smith Road/Fisher's Corner; send letter to VDOT Richmond): approved.
- Zoning/subdivision amendments (11.3, 11.4 with revised wording, 11.5): approved.
- Authorization for county administrator to execute Commonwealth MOU for natural gas funding (pending county attorney review): approved.
- Travel-trailer code study: approved (staff directed to draft initiating resolution for Planning Commission).
- Budget amendment and payment of bills: approved.

Provenance: topicintro/topfinish transcript spans for each action are included in the provenance section below.

Ending: The board closed its meeting with a certified closed session and adjourned after routine business and a series of administrative updates.