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Social Services director and residents raise parking and septic concerns at Mathews County meeting
Summary
During public comment on Oct. 16, Social Services Director Tiffany Gordon said her office wasn't consulted about proposed fire-department parking changes that would reduce staff parking; residents also debated the septic capacity of the "Hole in the Wall" restaurant, with conflicting interpretations of older VDH approvals.
Public comment at the Mathews County Board meeting on Oct. 16 focused on two neighborhood issues: a plan tied to the new fire station that may remove Social Services parking spaces, and a dispute over septic capacity for a local restaurant known as the Hole in the Wall.
Tiffany Gordon, director of Mathews Department of Social Services, said she only learned of parking-plan details when an office manager received plans; she told the board Social Services had not been consulted and said the proposed changes would reduce her office's 50 parking spaces (including three handicapped spaces) by about 20 spaces under the fire department concept. "No one from the fire department has ever contacted me in regards to that parking lot," Gordon said, asking the county to investigate and report back at the November meeting.
The board directed staff to form a subcommittee and to have county administration, fire department representatives and Social Services staff meet with the engineer to seek a solution.
On the septic question, Richard Hicks told the board he believes the Hole in the Wall's code and drainage calculations limit it to 16 seats, citing a 1998 engineer review and state regulations. Dee Russell responded from the public lectern with documents she said came from the Virginia Department of Health and local records indicating a 1999 engineering filing that changed the facility's permitted flow and rendered the 16-seat figure inapplicable; she said an old permit and pump-and-haul arrangements are the current enforcement mechanism where systems fail.
What happens next: County staff and the board will follow up on the parking concern and report to the board in November; the health-department and county staff will continue to track compliance and any engineering reviews related to the restaurant septic system.
