Crisis Receiving? After harmonious votes, Board splits, public voices its distrust

VERONA—Many attending the Aug. 9 Board of Supervisors meeting were looking beyond the agenda packet toward comments from the public and supervisors, expecting a tag-team wrestling match: in this corner, Scott Seaton and his pocketful of recordings; and in this corner, the gang who FOIA'd themselves.

It didn't turn out like that. Not exactly.

Buffalo Gap students from student council and Future Farmers led the meeting off with the Pledge of Allegiance.

The invocation included a hat tip to the powers that be after the weather scare, noting that the Board "would like to thank you for your hand of protection" during the tornado warning a few days earlier.

And chairman Michael Shull asked that the audience "act in accordance with our meeting guidelines . . . refraining from any disorderly, disruptive, boisterous conduct such as clapping, speaking loudly from your seat, making noise. Please be respectful of others."

It didn't turn out exactly like that, either. But here's the short — and the very long — of it.

Crisis Receiving Center updates: still a ways away, but much needed

Troubling numbers: the suicide rate in the Augusta County area is higher than both the state and national rate; same with adults diagnosed with depression. And nearly half of people seeking mental health help have difficulty in obtaining services.

When they or their loved ones call for help in the midst of a crisis, they often end up at the Emergency Department, where they have a higher potential for being incarcerated. They also incur expensive inpatient treatment costs that could be unnecessary if there were another place for them to be treated outside of the hospital structure.

Meanwhile law enforcement officers spend long periods of time "essentially babysitting folks in crisis until they can get a bed," said Kimberly McClanahan. And that's not what they signed up for. "They say 'We want to help,' but they don't want to sit in an ED for hours."

Enter an idea by the Valley Community Services Board, "your friendly neighborhood community mental health center," said its executive director McClanahan. In fiscal year 2022, they served 5,689 individuals, 2,410 from Augusta County.

Since 2018 they've determined that first responders need to be able to leave people in mental crisis under the care of trained professionals in a non-hospital setting. "Augusta County law enforcement is over-run" with situations where officers sit at the Emergency Department for hours waiting with a resident in crisis.

A combination Crisis Receiving Center/Crisis Stabilization Detox Unit would create a safe place for officers to bring residents who have been placed under an Emergency Custody Order or Temporary Detention Order, where they could more immediately receive proper care, including detox assistance, then be released without being in a more costly and often traumatizing hospital setting.

The center would be a 23 hour intervention and observation area used to "help the consumer stabilize to the point where the inpatient hospitalization is no longer required." It keeps them in the community and out of hospital, McClanahan said. She pointed to research showing that 60% of patients who would otherwise be going on to a hospital get their crisis resolved in a CRC.

The plans are for 16 beds in CSU side, and 16 observation chairs on the CRC side. There would be a dedicated drop-off space for first responders where the center would accept people under temporary orders from law enforcement, as well as the capacity to provide medical clearance once the crisis had passed.

The center will accept all referrals, and screen for suicide/violence risks, McClanahan said. And it will create 100 new jobs in the area.

So how far is it away from happening? About $26 million and a couple of years. VCSB has asked DBHDS for the bulk of that funding and is looking into the possibility of using Opioid Abatement funds since detox is part of the mission.

Working out the numbers with Augusta Health, their project estimated positive cash flow in year 1, based on what she called Augusta Health's "conservative volume assumptions" of about 42% of their current ED visits.

VCSB sent the proposal asking for funds to DBHDS June 15, 2023, and are awaiting a formal response. The lack of a finalized state budget is impacting the response. If approved, architects familiar with these projects estimate 24 months turnaround time, said McClanahan.

The area averaged 61 Temporary Detention Orders a month in FY 22, she said. "That is a high volume." How many would have been more appropriately served in a CRC/CSU, leaving the Emergency Department and hospitals less crowded? "And you know, money would be saved."

McClanahan gave a similar update to Waynesboro City Council two weeks earlier; the project involves cooperation from all local governments, including Staunton.

Walk the Walk: pedestrian solution is more than pedestrian

The Board passed funding for sidewalks in two areas of Verona after an update by Doug Wolfe, Director of Community Development.

The project has two portions:

• sidewalk on the north side of 612 from Shenandoah Railroad east to the Park and Ride on Lodge Lane; and

• the east side of US 11 from the First Bank parking lot to the traffic signal at the Augusta County Government Center, including pedestrian crossing at that intersection.

Despite being significantly over budget, county staff recommended that a contract for the construction phase of the Verona Pedestrian Project be awarded to the lowest of the two bidders, A&J Development & Excavating, at $2,374,951.43.

Roughly 80% is funded by federal grants.

$256,203.91 will come from Beverly Manor Infrastructure and $185,865.56 will be needed to match VDOT funding and complete the project.

The motion to fund passed 7-0, which will allow for a pre-construction meeting scheduled for August 21 to kick off the next phase of the project.

26% property tax?? No, no, that's property tax RELIEF.

Though nobody at council seemed to exactly know how much this relief might save anyone.

In a nutshell, $4.3 million has been set aside for Augusta County by the state for property tax relief.

The resolution says that "the rate of tax relief with respect to qualifying vehicles with assessed values of more than $1,000, and applied to the first $20,000 in value of each such qualifying vehicle, shall be twenty-six (26%)."

What does it mean for you? Is it better or worse than the previous year? That depends on how many vehicles have a book value over $1,000 and how your vehicle's value has increased (or decreased) over the last year.

Though nobody on the Board seemed to be able to communicate exactly what the impact of the relief might be for a citizen, the bottom line seems to be that property tax relief may not amount to as much as it did last year for many residents. The resolution passed 7-0.

The $14,000 concession stand

The Buffalo Gap Sportsman's Club asked for $14,211 for concession stand equipment. That included:

• Reaching-in freezer $7566

• Proofer cabinet (2) $4142

• Popcorn popper $1093

• Hotdog grill $436

• Hotdog grill (yes, another, for $60 more, we just report the news) $495

Add in the delivery costs of $475.

Funding would come from the Pastures infrastructure account.

Pam Carter: "It sounds like the (current) equipment is on its last legs." The Sportsman's Club has spent over $1000 for repairs already.

Supervisor Butch Wells had one question. "Are you gonna be able to get it in before football season starts?" he asked, to some laughter in the room. Some comments about the quality of the hotdogs notwithstanding, the motion carried 7-0.

"I hope you cook a lot of hotdogs and hamburgers. Just don't burn 'em," Chairman Michael Shull said.

Then things got interesting. By the time Matters from the Public and Matters from the Supervisors ended, some may have wished that Crisis Receiving Center was already open.

'We can't clap anymore'

Chairman Shull opened the public comment period with a primer on public speaking times: individuals were allotted three minutes, a person representing a group would have five minutes. "We go above and beyond," said Shull. Other counties, he said, only allow public comments because the revised 2020 Virginia code required the public be allowed to speak at least once a quarter.

For the record, his opening comments took 1 minute and 45 seconds.

Rebecca Breeden of Grottoes called the recent treatment of former supervisor Tracy Pyles during a public comment period a "blatant abuse of power." In a previous meeting, Pyles was led out by sheriff's deputies after refusing to leave after his allotted time had run out. He claimed his first amendment rights were being violated.

Breeden also addressed the controversy over supervisor Scott Seaton's recordings of closed sessions and the Board's decision to FOIA recordings of their own sessions. "If you have this much to hide, maybe you should resign."

Breeden had a more specific grievance with the Board about failure to help pay for maintenance on "You just gave some of your infrastructure funds to Buffalo Gap, that's awesome" she told one Board member who volunteered funds to help cover the cost of the Sportsman's Club equipment. Yet the Board has not provided the funds "to help us update (ball)fields you own. Mr Garber was supposed to come to New Hope, meet with us. He hasn't shown up yet." She said, "You guys expect us to rely solely on fundraising, from parents who are already tapped out. But it's a good gig for you guys. It's positive equity once citizens do all the work. Other localities have awesome parks" without relying on volunteers to raise funds, she said.

Beverly Farrar of Craigsville said that James Madison's assertion that "Men are less than angels" is true. Jefferson and others wrote that leaders needed to be "strong enough to lead, humble enough to listen." She said the Board had provided only what's required. "Limiting speech to three minutes is to impose a law that prohibits the freedom of speech and the redressing of grievances."

Terry Pyles of Staunton told the Board that "a little inconvenience" is worth it when it comes to letting citizens speak longer.

Tracy Pyles of Churchville was next. The former supervisor, defeated by Pam Carter for the Pastures District seat in 2021, said he was representing a larger group of individuals, and was granted five minutes to speak by the Board.

"Hope you didn't hurt your hand patting yourself on the back for all this gracious time you give us," he told Shull. "It's not enough, sir, it's not enough."

Pyles tried to correct Seaton on how the property tax relief worked. Moments later, he defended Seaton for the censure he received from other members of the Board.

"You didn't trust Mr. Seaton," he said. "If you're expecting trust, you ought to give trust. You ought to be trusting. The people of Augusta County no longer have trust in you."

As evidence he brought up the budget as deceptive. "The budget is fiction, whatever you write down. The comprehensive annual report is fact, it's what you can rely on. What we see from that," he said, waving a chart to the Board and the public, "the chart shows excesses and deficiencies. We've gone from $15 million (surplus) to 24. Then, nothing but deficits as far as the eye can see. How can we go from having $24 million in surplus and 3 years later a $16 million deficit? a $40 million swing? How does that work? It doesn't work.

"You're not accurate as to what you're going to get in, and you overstate what it's gonna cost you. In future meetings, I'll share with you where you've gotten these things wrong," he promised.

"If you look at the end of the year, there was plenty of money. You could have afforded cameras." Pyles was referring to the body and dash cams which the Board committed to purchasing but then took off the budget late in the process. Pyles said he'd continue his debunking of the Board's numbers the next meeting.

"I'll come back and let you know, five minutes at a time, where you got it wrong."

Chanda McGuffin of Waynesboro picked up the topic of dash and body cams, and criticized the "lack of transparency that continues to happen with this board of supervisors. I've warned you what's going to happen without [body and dash cams]. You're in a $5 million lawsuit. Body and dash cams would have helped you tell the story."

"You had an officer with a hit and run up here on 81. Dash cam on his cruiser might have got the license plate of who hit him."

Scott Cline of Middle River asked for five minutes. He and the Board spent over a minute arguing it.

"Is this rule in writing?" he asked.

"We voted on it."

Eventually he got his five minutes. "We can't clap anymore," he said, referring to Shull's earlier statement.

"Glad to see Sheriff Smith here tonight. June 22nd, last time he was here in 2022, quite a few of you board members stood up and gave him a standing ovation. So what's good for thee isn't for me?"

Cline claimed the Sheriff was demanding another $3-5 thousand for K9 Rico's handler to keep the enclosure on his property, after the $19,000 has been raised to retire the dog and release him to his handler.

Cline said that the value of Seaton's recordings were that a record existed of the closed session. If it was determined at a later date that a closed session was improperly called, the recording could be used to create a transcript of the meeting. In the absence of a recording, he said, the Board would have no legal responsibility to create minutes of the meeting, even if a judge ruled they were in error to hold a closed meeting.

"Several [closed] meetings were conducted . . . when it should have been done in the public's eye," he said.

Sophie Alberts of Barboursville, who was in attendance with her family, spoke next. But not before a Board member interrupted her to ask her to clarify her address and residence.

"Well, you all made a long trip across the mountain," the Board member said. "So Barboursville, we've got a Barboursville visitor." Many in the audience, including Sophie's mother, took this as an attempt to unsettle the young speaker.

Speaking without notes, Ms. Alberts said, "I'm here to register my disappointment in this group of people's inability to tell the public the truth in a way that everyone can understand." She tied the resistance to dash cams to the Board's wish to control the recordings of closed sessions.

"When things are recorded, that should be your goal, not what you're afraid of," she said. "You should not be doing things that you are ashamed of the people knowing about." Later, Sophie's mother upbraided the Board members. "You should not have berated my daughter," she said, accusing them of "trying to throw her off her game."

Dave Zimmerman said he worried about board members using their role as a bully pulpit for their own ends. He said he wondered why, if Seaton was so concerned about the animals, "Why didn't he talk about it four years ago?" when he first took a seat on the board. "You use words like 'sunlight' and 'transparency' but it doesn't apply to you?"

Next came time for Matters from the Board.

'I have the floor'

Vice Chair Jeffrey Slaven commented that "You can use that microphone as a tool, or you can use that microphone as an assault tool. I've seen it used both ways."

Scott Seaton made a motion to extend all public comments to the five minute duration. "I'm not sure why we want to restrict it to three. Staunton has it at five minutes. Up until this Board, there wasn't a restriction. When I first got here, people spoke at the beginning of the meeting," he said.

But the Board voted 6-1 not to go into work session to discuss the idea.

Next, Seaton reached into his pocket.

"There seems to be a great deal of interest for what's on this thumb drive here." He then handed it to the FOIA officer. "I would like to make a motion for the county to record all closed sessions," he said. "The purpose is so all meetings have a record. The public has no recourse of documentation if the [closed] meetings are found improper."

The Board defeated the motion 6-1.

Seaton made a motion that the county administrator and treasurer develop a plan to reimburse the fines and fees paid by residents to the animal shelter.

The Board defeated the motion 6-1.

Chairman Shull made an attempt to interrupt Seaton.

"I have the floor," the Wayne District supervisor replied calmly.

"Dr. Seaton," Shull said.

"I have the floor," Seaton replied. He went on to talk about how the Planning Commission "changed their bylaws to fit the situation" in order to keep Board member Carolyn Bragg as the Chairperson of the commission. It was one of several examples of county government "gaslighting" the people, he said.

"Perhaps recording government officials conducting government business is 'unethical' to him," referring to Shull. But not to the residents of the county, or our county. Calling our rights under the constitution 'unethical' is wrong."

Seaton said he's turned over his correspondence regarding the recordings to the Department of Justice. He said he hoped a judge may be able to release some of the recordings. "The public deserves to hear some of these meetings, particularly when the topic is the Board of Supervisors. Such as the March 20 and June 2, 2023 meetings. Because I don't believe an elected official should have the same privacy protection as county employees."

The March 20 closed meeting was followed up by the immediate resignation of Steve Morelli. The News Leader has made a FOIA request for the recording of that meeting.

"I don't regret recording these closed sessions," Seaton said.

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Augusta Board: Seaton gives correspondence to Justice Dept., public voices its distrust