Buffalo candidates agree
on need for citizen input
By Hilary Craig and Melissa Caron
While Buffalo district candidates W.B. "Doc" Wilmore and incumbent Mack Smith disagreed on many issues, they agreed that the board desperately needs more citizen input.
Wilmore said it was time for the Board of Supervisors to win back the trust of people that it has lost in recent years.
"We don't seem to have an open government here," Wilmore said. "People on the street are so upset that they just [think] ‘I'm not going down to the board because they don't listen to me when I go.'" Wilmore, 64, is a retired state police officer who was born and raised in Rockbridge County.
Smith, 56, a local farmer, agreed that it was time the board did a better job of considering the opinions of the citizens.
"The Board of Supervisors has not been listening to these groups," Smith said. "We have to listen to what they're saying." He described his first term as being "unbelievably complicated."
Wilmore said he decided to run for office months ago, after he heard the Board of Supervisors had re-voted, unanimously, to reject contractor Peter Sils' plan to renovate the old courthouse. The previous vote to reject the plan was split 3-2. He said the Sils plan could have saved the county $8 million.
The two members who voted for it at first, Wilmore said, joined the others on re-consideration because they wanted to seem like one of "the boys."
"That's the problem," Wilmore said. "We have too many boys running the county."
Wilmore called the $30-million courthouse that is under construction a "monstrosity." He favored finding a revenue-producing option for the current historic courthouse once the new one is finished. Wilmore mentioned, as possible new tenants, the Visitor's Center, Chamber of Commerce, or a museum that exhibits local artifacts.
Smith agreed that the old courthouse would make a perfect place for the Visitor's Center and Chamber of Commerce to relocate. He also suggested that a citizen group should be formed to look into the best way to use the building once the new courthouse is built.
Smith said a citizen group should also look into land-use concerns. In August, the Board of Supervisors voted to wait 90 days before passing ordinances that would change how the county deals with residential development. Since passing a land-use plan in 2003, the Board of Supervisors has not passed zoning ordinances to put the plan into effect. The county is considering two options: a time-release and a sliding scale method. (More on zoning)
Smith in August favored the time-release method. Wilmore advocated the sliding scale method.
Wilmore called the time-release method too restrictive and did not allow for "hardship provisions" for farmers, meaning that landowners do not have the ability to sell land to pay for unexpected financial problems. On the other hand, he said that the sliding scale method allowed for more open space and contractors can build on smaller lots.
However, Wilmore said that lots should be no smaller than two acres, a plan he called the "ideal compromise."
Smith also addressed the county's current landfill problem by advocating curbside pickup for mandatory recycling. Because of a Virginia law that will require all landfills to be lined by 2012, the county's landfill will be shut down in four years. The county has proposed transfer stations to transport garbage out of the county, which could prove costly.
Overall, Wilmore said his biggest concern for the county was its lack of vision and planning.
"We are reactive instead of proactive," he said. "We've got to get people out of that mindset. We've got to look beyond our noses."
Produced by Washington and Lee journalism students.
Lead supervisor: Prof. Brian Richardson
Reporting supervisors:
Technical supervisor: Michael Todd