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Southampton County board approves bus financing, appointment and budget advertisement; public comments stress roads and waste issues
Summary
At its April meeting the Southampton County Board approved a $561,579 financing resolution for school buses, appointed a representative to the Western Tidewater Community Services Board, sent the FY27 budget to advertisement for a May public hearing and certified a closed-session discussion about prospective economic development.
The Southampton County Board of Supervisors approved several administrative and financial items at its April meeting while hearing multiple public comments about local roads and refuse operations.
The board unanimously approved a VML/VACO financing resolution to cover the purchase of four school buses. County staff reported an issuance amount of $561,579, a final maturity date of June 1, 2031, and an interest rate of 4.21%. Funding was stated to come through Home Trust Bank.
On appointments, the board voted to appoint the recommended representative to the Western Tidewater Community Services Board. William Hart recommended Stacy Burham, identified in the meeting as a Children's Services Act coordinator for Southampton County Social Services; the board moved, seconded and approved the nomination.
The board also voted to send the proposed fiscal-year 2027 budget to advertisement and scheduled a public hearing for May 20, 2026. Ms. Lowe, the county administrator, confirmed the two-week advertisement requirement prior to the hearing.
In public comments, residents raised operational concerns about the county’s refuse sites, calling for better enforcement (decal identification) to limit access to county taxpayers, and asked the board to prioritize road repairs on Tuckerswap Road, Cabin Pond Road and other side roads. The county administrator reported three refuse sites are scheduled to have asphalt placed at entrances, and that camera and signage work at a kayak launch will be installed in early May.
The board also convened in closed session under Virginia Code §2.2-3711(A)(5) to discuss a prospective business site with Franklin-Southampton Economic Development; on returning to open session the board unanimously certified that only exempt matters were discussed.
Other administrative updates included a reported delay on the public-safety radio project into 2027, that Timmons Group billed about $223,000 for due-diligence work on the Beal/Beale Farm site-readiness study, and personnel news that Ellie Phelps began work as administrative assistant April 13.
The meeting adjourned after certification of the closed session.
