By Miles Layton

Washington County commissioners waded through a packed Monday agenda that ranged from emotional public pleas for recreation access to detailed engineering updates on a multimillion-dollar water project, a zoning debate over “flag lots,” and new flexibility for volunteer fire departments’ capital funds. 

More of this meeting will be covered in the next edition of the Roanoke Beacon, Washington County’s news source.

And yes, rather than a boring photo of commissioners sitting behind a table, that is a file photo of a tractor — a tribute to Washington County farmers and all farmers from across our region who are working hard in the fields this year.

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The public forum drew several speakers frustrated with limited access to county-owned recreation facilities. Lloyd Jones of Roper raised concerns about the county’s recycling program, saying that after officials changed the collection process, “if I want to do it, I have to provide my own container.”

But most of the forum centered on youth recreation. BJ Robinson, who said he “started at the rec when I was eight years old,” pressed commissioners on staffing, saying, “who is the staff who’s employed by y’all by the county to run the recreation.” He argued the department should have posted predictable hours “like every surrounding county,” adding, “We got plenty of people that’s qualified to do the job.”

Torey Hudson echoed the complaint, saying pickup games for adults “just stopped all of a sudden. And we never got a chance to start it back up,” and noted, “If we paying taxes on the county, you know county taxes we’re paying for the gym. I feel like we should be able to use it.”

Plymouth Mayor Crystal Davis spoke in support of the men who had addressed the board, framing the issue in terms of youth safety: “We have issues all the time with gang violence and different activities going on in our community, but we want these kids to be safe… their safe haven is that recreational park.” She stressed that volunteers were not seeking paid positions: “They’re not asking them on payroll. They’re asking to volunteer their time to have access to these recreational departments.”

Also during the forum, Bruce Patterson of the Washington County Regional Medical Center announced new academic partnerships, including an affiliation with Duke University Division of Cardiology, whose staff are “reading all of our echocardiograms at the hospital now.” He also unveiled a partnership with a food-distribution company, Reach for Revival, that will build a hub housing “up to five mobile” produce markets, each paired with a clinician to “deliver and provide health care services to the rural communities at the same time as we provide that produce.”

Jill Manring updated the board on the Washington’s United Quilt Project, part of the nation’s 250th anniversary, announcing the traveling quilt — assembled from blocks representing 30 “Washington” counties nationwide — will be displayed at the Maritime Museum in Plymouth from September 9-13, with a reception planned for September 13.

Recreation Department Responds

Before the scheduled recreation update, County Manager Curtis Potter addressed the gym-access questions directly, laying out which facilities the county controls, including the Roper Union gym — “the only air-conditioned gym that the county currently controls” — and the main county gym, where “everyone knows the bathrooms are terrible.”

Center for Active Aging Center Director Renee Collier then walked commissioners through the Recreation Department’s structure, explaining it merged with the Center for Active Aging in 2025. She said the recreation side is led by Randy Fulford, who has two part-time staff — “his wife and sister” — plus volunteers and coaches. She emphasized the county’s policy of not charging participation fees, noting the requirement of two weeks’ notice for scheduling since “there are at least three, sometimes more departments that might be using” shared gym space.

Looking ahead, she outlined five-year goals of consistency, community engagement, and growth, telling the board, “everyone wants a village, but no one wants to be a villager,” and urging residents to complete a new community survey to help shape future programming.

Pea Ridge Water Project Update

Engineers Fred Stowe and Kevin Cooper of Rivers and Associates updated commissioners on the Pea Ridge water transmission main and booster pump station project, funded through $6.8 million in ARPA money and $3.2 million from a state reserve program. Cooper reported the project is roughly half complete, with about 33 percent of the 12-inch transmission main installed and 40 percent of the 6-inch main finished, while the packaged booster pump station remains on order.

Cooper presented two work change directives. The first, estimated near $47,500, covers exploratory digging to locate Roper’s water and sewer lines before construction, since “the town just does not have those capabilities” to mark utilities. The second, about $30,000, would tie a dead-end four-inch line on Davenport Forks Road into the system to address water-quality concerns from stagnation, since “you can get issues with water age.”

Cooper noted that after accounting for prior approvals, the project would retain a contingency fund of $329,392, or “about three point seven percent of the original contract.” He asked commissioners to authorize the county manager to execute the directives and to allow him to finalize change orders “so long as they do not exceed the costs that are shown here.”

Flag Lot Zoning Text Amendment

Commissioners opened a public hearing on a proposed zoning text amendment to permit “flag lots” — narrow-access parcels that “look like a flag” when drawn out — which are currently prohibited under county ordinance. A staff attorney outlined three options: keep the prohibition, allow flag lots under specific standards, or require a special use permit for each one.

The Planning Board recommended the standards-based approach. Under the proposed rules, no more than two flag lots could be created from a single parent tract, and lot area calculations would exclude the narrow “pole” portion. Access standards would require a minimum 30-foot-wide right-of-way (35 feet for lots serving more than one dwelling), a maximum flagpole length of 660 feet, and driveways at least 16 feet wide, built of gravel, asphalt or concrete, capable of supporting fire apparatus. Any driveway longer than 150 feet would need a turnaround approved by the county fire marshal.

A resident with pending subdivision plats asked about the standards, confirming that his roadway would need to meet the 16-foot width and all-weather surface requirements. Commissioners voted to close the public hearing and directed staff to prepare a formal ordinance based on the revised text.

Tax Settlement Report Raises Questions

Reading a report from Tax Administrator Sherri Wilkins, who was unable to attend, county staff reported a total tax levy of $7,686,674.53 for the 2025-26 fiscal year, with collections and credits totaling $7,127,315.65 and $530,828.18 in real and personal property remaining uncollected.

Commissioners pressed for clarity on a roughly $17,256 discrepancy between the levy and reported collections, which staff attributed to discounts and separate fund accounting. One commissioner asked pointedly about the plan for collecting delinquent taxes, prompting an explanation of the county’s random-selection foreclosure process handled through Zacchaeus Legal Services. Staff noted that heir property cases “certainly take the longest” to resolve, while straightforward single-owner accounts move faster. Commissioners ultimately approved the order to collect ad valorem taxes for fiscal year 2025-26.

School Capital Fund, Boards, and Other Business

Commissioners approved a $246,558 request to draw down state education lottery funds for renovations at the Washington County Early College High School and JROTC sites. They also appointed or reappointed several residents to the library board, a joint community advisory committee, and the Department of Social Services board, and selected Douglas Maxwell for a vacant Economic Development Council seat.

Economic and Strategic Development Director Kelly Chesson presented a proposed request-for-proposals process for disposing of the vacant Creswell school property through a sealed-bid, statutory upset-bid sale, explaining that “a highest or best initial offer response only positions the county to move forward” toward an upset bid process that will still require final approval by the board, not a final sale. He said the process would likely return to the board around September.

In other business, commissioners heard that the courthouse elevator project is expected to reopen for public use soon, pending a state inspection, while the Emergency Management Training & Operations Center is targeted for substantial completion by August 24. Commissioner Ann Keyes was named the county’s voting delegate for the NCACC Annual Conference in Durham.

Commissioners also approved an amendment allowing the county’s one-cent fire equipment fund to be used for capital purchases, major repairs, and required local grant matches — not just apparatus purchases — after the Washington County Fire Commission requested more flexibility. Staff acknowledged a need for more consistent financial reporting from volunteer fire departments going forward.

The board separately approved a roughly $26,677 funding request to help the Roper Volunteer Fire Department place new apparatus into service, alongside previously secured state and federal grants.