Underwood ready to interact-

Allison Brophy Champion / Culpeper Star Exponent
Published: January 19, 2008

When the Town-County Interaction Committee hosts its first early morning meeting of the year Jan. 30 at 7:30 a.m., it will have a new county chairman.

Last week, former Interaction Committee chairman Bill Chase, the new chairman of the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors, appointed Salem Supervisor Tom Underwood to replace him on the joint committee.

Underwood, one month into his post as supervisor, is ready to work.

"I guess they are trying to have a diplomat follow a diplomat," he said of Chase, his predecessor.

Besides Underwood, Town Supervisors Steve Nixon and Steve Walker represent the county on the committee, which is intended to facilitate interaction and cooperation between Culpeper's two governments. Nixon and Walker served on the committee last year as well.

The committee also includes three Town Council members - vice mayor Billy Yowell and Councilmen Steve Jenkins and Duke duFrane, who serves as chairman on the town side.

DuFrane was encouraged by the change in leadership on the county side.

"I think Tom appears to be a man of action," he said last week. "I think he is smart as a whip and he will be able to get things done."

DuFrane said he looked forward to working closely with Underwood on the Interaction Committee; the two had lunch last week.

"I think he is a pragmatic person and doesn't have all the baggage some other people have," he said, adding, "including myself."

Underwood said there was room for improvement in town-county government relations.

"If there weren't, we wouldn't have all these residents sign petitions for consolidation," he said of businessman Joe Daniel's movement for a consolidated Culpeper government, in which he collected nearly 1,000 town signatures in support. "There is more room for productive interaction."

As of last week, the consolidation talking point had not been added to the Interaction Committee agenda; Town Council and the Board of Supervisors have until next January to work out a consolidation plan, per Virginia law.

Once in place, the question of doing away with the town to form one new, big Culpeper County will lie in the hands of all the voters of the town and county. The date for that referendum has yet to be set. DuFrane would like to see it happen quickly though, as soon as the November election.

Yet, he said last week, that he would initiate the consolidation discussion at the Jan. 30 Interaction Committee meeting.

"I probably will not request that it be added," duFrane said, "but I wouldn't be opposed if somebody else wanted to put it on."

Underwood named the consolidation movement and water/sewer utility debate among the top issues the Interaction Committee would consider in 2008.

"Obviously, there is a lot going on with town-county interaction," he said. "I look forward to doing what I can at the committee level."

Agenda items for the Jan. 30 Interaction Committee include: update on the town's animal control regulations, update on sticker/decal for town residents to access the county transfer station, consideration of a fire marshal position, update on joint town/county reservoir and consideration of joint technology issues.

Allison Brophy Champion can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 101 or .

Committee assignments for 2008
Culpeper County Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Chase made his 2008 committee assignments last week. Here's which Supervisors will serve on:

- Rules Committee — chairman Steve Walker, Larry Aylor and Steve Nixon
- Public Works Committee (also the county's water and sewer committee) — Chairman Sue Hansohn, Brad Rosenberger and Tom Underwood
- Public Safety Committee — Chairman Nixon, Bill Chase and Rosenberger
- Town-County Interaction Committee — Chairman Underwood, Nixon and Walker
- Legislative Committee — Chairman Rosenberger, Hansohn, Nixon and Walker
- Animal Shelter Committee — Chase, Hansohn (alternate)
- Buildings & Grounds Renovation Committee — Chairman Aylor, Walker and Nixon
- Personnel Committee — Chairman Nixon, Hansohn, Rosenberger