Tazewell officials back and forth about moving 911 center

TAZEWELL, Va. — Three members of the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors say they have given Sheriff H.S. Caudill a “green light” to proceed with the long-awaited relocation of the county’s 911 center.

However, board members Seth White, Jim Campbell and John Absher say they remain “puzzled” over comments made by the sheriff to the Daily Telegraph, including allegations of a secret board meeting.

Three of the five board members signed a press release that was e-mailed to the Daily Telegraph. In the press release, the board members say they supported a letter drafted by County Administrator Jim Spencer that set several conditions on the proposed relocation of the 911 center.

In the press release, the three board members also state they didn’t hold a secret meeting, and they question the decision by the sheriff to contact the Republican and Democratic party chairs regarding the letter drafted by Spencer. Caudill had originally questioned how action detailed in the letter could have occurred without an official board meeting.

However, the press release issued by the three board members argues that the writing of the letter began after the July 12 meeting. The press release further indicates the letter was compiled through a series of “several, separate conversations between board members and county staff.” The statement further indicates the letter was “circulated, revised and re-circulated between staff and individual board members on different days at different times.” As a result, Spencer didn’t send the letter to Caudill until Aug. 2, the three board members said.

Caudill told the Daily Telegraph earlier this month that 911 employees are currently being forced to work in “deplorable conditions” in a confining facility located on the third floor of a water plant. Caudill said the state’s wireless 911 board has identified the 911 center in Tazewell as one of the worst 911 facilities in Virginia in terms of the layout and condition of the facility.

White, chairman of the supervisors, said the three board members issued the press release because they thought it was necessary to respond to comments by Caudill earlier this month to the Daily Telegraph.

“We just wanted to clarify some things that were stated in the media that we felt were inaccurate,” White said.

White said it is his understanding that renovations on the old Junior High School in Tazewell have resumed. White said he didn’t know why only three of the five board members decided to respond to the earlier comments by Caudill. Vice chairman David Anderson, who represents the Eastern District, and Mike Hymes, who serves the Southern District, didn’t include their names on the press release.

Caudill also confirmed Monday that work has resumed on the old junior high school building in Tazewell. Both the 911 center and sheriff’s office will be relocated to the building that previously housed the Virginia Department of Social Services.

“I have met with four of the five supervisors over our issues, and they have been to the building,” Caudill said. “All three of them was very much impressed with the amount of work we’ve got done. I have an appointment today with the fourth supervisor, but I’ve not received any correspondence back from the fifth supervisor. I am pleased that we are willing to sit down and resolve our differences and our issues. I want to apologize to the board for anything I said that was misrepresented to me that may have hurt their feelings.”

According to the press release from the three board members, Caudill told the board that he could accomplish the relocation of his office and the 911 Center for $250,000, but his plan required $175,000 from the supervisors in addition to other funds already available to him.

“The board was surprised that he believed he could accomplish for only $250,000 what our retained experts, Wiley & Wilson, believed would cost millions,” the statement from the three board members said. “Nevertheless, we authorized him to carry out the renovations and appropriated the additional $175,000.00. He asked to be in charge of the project and we obliged.”

Caudill disagreed Monday with parts of that point.

“When we met with them on June 30, the county offered me the building with a budget of $250,000,” Caudill said. “I never asked for it. I never presented a budget for $250,000. I was taking what the county offered to me. This was their offer to me, and they called me at home during their meeting, and asked me if I would accept it. And I accepted. We started the very next morning with cleaning the building and starting the renovations for 911.”

Caudill said as of Monday, about 95 to 97 percent of the renovations completed to date on the old junior high building are for the 911 center, and not the sheriff’s office.

The two-page press release from the three board members also indicated that Hymes was the only board member who did not approve of the letter that was mailed to Caudill. It further indicates Spencer was authorized to send the letter, and that all of the conditions stated in the letter were either agreed to in executive session or are terms that accompany any project. “We felt compliance with the building codes, labor laws, and the Virginia Procurement Act were a given,” the board members said. “Likewise, having a single point of contact with county administration is routine. Contrary to what we have read in the newspapers, the letter did not state that county personnel were not to assist the sheriff. The letter did ask that the sheriff request their assistance first from the county administrator, rather than commandeering county employees not ordinarily under his control. This would avoid disruption of other county services. We also wanted to confirm his estimated cost. We are determined not to impose further budget cuts on our residents or raise their taxes to relocate the sheriff's office or the 911 center. So, we felt it also was important to memorialize our refrain from executive session: The project must be completed within budget.”

The three board members also argue in the press release that Caudill shouldn’t have been surprised by the letter in question.

“Nothing in the letter should have surprised the sheriff,” the board members concluded. “Nor do we believe any of the conditions stated in the letter would surprise the public. In fact we believe the public would demand accountability, staying within budget, and complying with law. We felt these were not only our expectations but the people's expectations as well. The letter was intended as a green light to the sheriff to proceed with his plan. We were dismayed by his comments to the media and wanted to point out some misstatements. We remain puzzled as to what role he felt the political party chairpersons should play in selecting a 911 site. It is unfortunate if the sheriff is uncomfortable with the terms outlined in the letter.”

— Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com

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