Residents and Sierra Club press Hanover supervisors on library removals and oppose proposed 'Project Noel' quarry

During Citizens' Time Peggy Wagner of Hanover made a public plea for more transparent timelines and open processes for appointments to the Pamunkey Regional Library Board of Trustees, saying positions remain open for inconsistent periods and urging that vacancies be posted and interviews scheduled so "everyone has a fair shot." Wagner linked her concern to recent JLARC reporting and argued that public libraries could become venues for books that are removed from schools, warning that such a pattern would send an exclusionary message about Hanover County.

Later in the meeting an advocacy chair representing the Sierra Club Falls of the James group urged the board to deny Luxstone’s conditional use permit and special exception applications for "Project Noel," a proposed rock quarry and concrete/asphalt plant along Verndon Road. The speaker listed concerns including potential well‑water contamination, air and water pollution from blasting and production, overburden disposal, heavy truck traffic near rural roads and schools, noise and light pollution, property damage from blasting vibrations, and the loss of more than 1,200 acres of woods and wetlands. The speaker said Sierra Club opposes the project and that it will come before the board in the fall.

Board members thanked both speakers for raising issues. The comments were delivered during the non‑agenda citizen comment periods; board members noted both the need to monitor library appointments and that the quarry proposal will be addressed in a future permitting/public‑hearing process.