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Bedford County board approves grants, sets most 2026 voting sites and tables one polling-place change
Summary
The Board of Supervisors approved multiple grant acceptances and a patrol-boat purchase, adopted an ordinance setting most 2026 voting locations, and voted 6–1 to table the proposed relocation of the Shady Grove precinct pending further consultation with the local fire chief.
The Bedford County Board of Supervisors on Feb. 10 approved a package of grant acceptances and purchases, set most voting locations for the 2026 election cycle, and temporarily tabled a proposed polling-place change at Shady Grove.
County staff summarized consent-agenda items that included a Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) grant for enterprise GIS software, an Emergency Management Performance Grant from FEMA through VDEM, a fiscal year 2026 family recovery court grant tied to state opioid funding, approval of a county opioid settlement strategic plan, FY27 individual and multi-jurisdictional PSAP PEP grants through VDEM, and a resolution authorizing purchase of a patrol boat for the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office. The board approved the consent agenda by roll-call vote.
County Attorney Patrick Skelly asked the board to adopt a resolution seeking a state waiver to operate two split precincts (one affecting Barnhart Baptist Church) and presented an ordinance to establish voting sites for the 2026 cycle. Skelly said the June early-voting site was proposed at the Department of Parks & Recreation gym on Turning Point Road and the November general-election site at a new vote center at 1251 Turning Point Road in the Falling Creek Complex. The ordinance also proposed changing Precinct 602’s polling place from Shady Grove Volunteer Fire Department to Shady Grove Baptist Church to resolve handicapped accessibility concerns.
Board members and election officials discussed parking, gravel lot surfaces and historical use of the fire department as a fundraiser. An election official said the church parking lot is paved and has handicap spaces and that the church’s interior layout now provides accessible entry, while the fire department’s gravel lot and limited parking have been “an issue” in prior years.
Supervisor Davis moved to table only the Shady Grove location change so the fire chief could be consulted; that motion passed 6–1. The board then voted to adopt the amended ordinance and establish the other voting sites; roll-call votes on the remaining ordinance items carried.
Formal actions recorded in the meeting minutes include: unanimous certification that the board lawfully came out of closed session; approval of the meeting agenda; consent-agenda approvals (grants and patrol boat); adoption of the elections ordinance (as amended); and a 6–1 vote to table only the Shady Grove polling-place change.
The county attorney said the change of location was intended to better facilitate voting for affected residents by improving accessibility, and election staff noted that state reimbursement programs included funding for local expenses if a contested constitutional amendment or other event required extra costs. The board’s next steps on Shady Grove are to permit direct discussion with the fire chief and to revisit the single precinct-location decision at a later meeting.
