Council asks state to hold public hearing on proposed Probation & Parole lease after councilman recuses

NORTON, Va. — Norton City Council on March 3 voted to request that the Virginia Department of Corrections hold a public hearing on a proposed lease of office space at 629 Park Avenue S.W. for Probation & Parole District No. 18 after Councilman Chris Jones recused himself from the discussion because he is the property owner.

City Manager Jeffery A. Shupe said the packet included a Dec. 11, 2025 letter from Lyman Brown, real-estate manager for the Department of Corrections, indicating DOC’s interest in leasing the site. Shupe said state code requires notice to the locality at least 90 days before action and allows the locality to request a public hearing; he also said letters from an adjacent property owner had been forwarded to DOC for review.

Mr. Shupe told council that if Norton requests a hearing, DOC would schedule and hold it under its authority and would coordinate with city administration on logistics. Councilman Mark Caruso moved that the city manager notify DOC that Norton City Council requests a public hearing; Councilman Stacy Salyers seconded and the motion passed 4–0 (Chris Jones recused). The mayor noted the council’s role in this matter is limited to requesting a hearing and facilitating citizen comment to the entity that will make the ultimate decision.

Next steps: the city manager will notify DOC of the request and DOC will determine a hearing date and format and work with city staff on public-notice logistics.