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Council waives water and sewer availability fees for two affordable housing developments; vice mayor abstains
Summary
Blacksburg Town Council approved resolutions waiving water and sewer availability fees for two affordable housing projects. Vice Mayor Michael Sutphin disclosed a conflict of interest tied to Community Housing Partners and abstained from the vote.
Blacksburg Town Council on a voice/roll call vote approved two resolutions to waive water and sewer availability fees for affordable housing developments known in the meeting as Stroubles Ridge and the Airport Road project; Vice Mayor Michael Sutphin disclosed a conflict of interest and abstained.
The disclosures came at the start of the meeting, when Sutphin said the Virginia State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act required him to state his interest. “My personal interest, employment in Community Housing Partners, which would benefit if resolutions 8 b 25 and 8 c 25 are approved,” Sutphin said. He added that Community Housing Partners (CHP) “controls the New River Home Trust, which will receive housing units in the Habitat for Humanity development, and CHP is building New Stroubles Ridge affordable housing development,” and gave CHP’s address as 448 Depot Street, Christiansburg, Virginia. He said, “I affirmatively state that I will not vote or in any manner act on behalf of the town council regarding these resolutions.”
Because of that disclosure, councilors pulled the two items from the consent agenda and took them up separately. After a motion to approve both resolutions, the clerk called the roll. The vote record in the meeting transcript shows: Edgar Smith — Aye; Mattingly — Aye; Sutphin — Abstain; Watson — Aye; Anderson — Aye; Oliver — Aye; Ford — Aye. The clerk recorded the motions as approved.
Discussion in the meeting on these items was limited to the conflict disclosure and the decision to remove the items from the consent agenda for separate votes. No public speakers addressed the resolutions during the meeting record provided. The formal action taken was passage of the two resolutions authorizing waivers of water and sewer availability fees for the developments identified in the resolutions.
The meeting transcript identifies the resolutions as 8 b 25 (Stroubles Ridge affordable housing development) and 8 c 25 (Airport Road affordable housing development). The transcript does not specify the dollar value of the waived fees, the total number of units affected, or whether the waivers carry conditions; those details were not stated in the record provided.
