Realigned County Board of Supervisors Revisit FOIA Legal Issues, Hear From An Aroused Public on Library Reinstatement

An enthusiastic and often pointedly accusatory group of citizens greeted the newly elected Warren County Board of Supervisors Thursday evening, January 8th, at its first meeting of 2026. The initial business was the election of officers for the coming year. After a nomination by Hugh Henry, Cheryl Cullers was elected chairman by a 3-2 vote, John Stanmeyer and Richard Jamieson dissenting. Tony Carter was then elected vice-chairman following a nomination by Stanmeyer. Carter was then elected vice-chairman by a 5-0 vote.

It should be noted that Culler’s chairmanship was achieved despite Carter’s well-received nomination of this reporter to serve as chairman (2:50 County video mark).

The newly aligned board of incumbents, Cullers (South River District), Jamieson (North River), and Stanmeyer (Shenandoah), were joined by newly-elected Fork District representative Hugh Henry and Happy Creek District’s Tony Carter.

As of the first meeting of 2026, from left, the board’s new voting majority of Hugh Henry, Cheryl Cullers, and Tony Carter. Below, the first 2026 meeting crowd builds as Cheryl Cullers chats with a citizen. Royal Examiner Photos Roger Bianchini

Henry and Carter both campaigned on joining Cullers in revisiting the former 4-1 majority, Cullers dissenting, against the Stanmeyer, Jamieson, “Jay” Butler, Vicky Cook majority’s decision to end the County’s long-standing (directly to 1950s, indirectly to 1799) Public/Private Partnership with non-profit 501-C3 Samuels Library as the community’s public library.

There was no Agenda Action Item on the Library situation. However, there was plenty of public comment on and surrounding the previous majority’s words versus actions on the library, among other issues. Those issues included “Reconsideration of a Resolution” regarding the “Legal Services Transparency and Review Policy,” passed by the former board majority late last year.

And for a change, the discussion of legal concerns surrounding municipal transparency, FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) directives, and legal reasons for adjournment to Closed Session occurred with the primary County Attorney, Jason Ham, present. Ham offered an informed legal history and perspective on the rationale for closed sessions on topics that have generated some degree of potential legal dispute or action.

County Attorney Jason Ham, right, was present to respond to board questions about FOIA guidelines, the viability of Roberts Rules of Order, and other issues as new County Administrator Bradley Gotshall listens to left.

New majority apparent

In addition to the chairman’s election, the board’s new majority was apparent in the 3-2 vote to repeal the ‘Legal Services Transparency and Review Policy”. Henry made the motion, seconded by Carter, on the repeal, with Cullers joining in the vote to repeal, leaving Stanmeyer and Jamieson coming up one vote short of maintaining the policy they had supported being enacted while they had that 4-1 majority, including “Jay” Butler and Vicky Cook, neither of whom ran for re-election. And while both Butler and Cook were spotted in the meeting room’s public seating along with former Town Councilman Tom Sayre prior to the 7 p.m. convening of Thursday’s meeting, their voting eligibility was no longer present. However, Cook did later rise to lead off the second Public Comments (3:18:23 County video mark). Cook gave a detailed Public Comment on some of the previous board’s actions and rationales for those actions she had voted in support of.

As Royal Examiner readers know, after his November electoral victory, Henry was seated by the board in the final month of 2025 to serve out the term of resigned member Vicky Cook. Henry had resigned his County Planning Commission seat to facilitate his somewhat early move to the board of supervisors to familiarize himself with the change in his municipal roles.

Carter’s return to the Happy Creek District seat came four years after his decision not to run for re-election in 2022 to the seat he held for over 20 years. However, those years included the emotionally and intellectually draining FR-WC EDA financial scandal years, circa 2016/2020, which led to the arrest and current imprisonment of former EDA Executive Director Jennifer McDonald. McDonald was found guilty on over 30 counts related to the unauthorized movement of FR-WC EDA assets to personal use and benefit.

So, where will we all sit? Below, post officer elections the chair and vice-chair take center positions, flanked by the non officers as a citizen makes a point at the speakers podium.

Carter, among other supervisors seated during the 2016-2020 time period, has received some criticism from not only the pubic but also subsequently elected supervisors for allowing the EDA “financial scandal” to develop on their watch. However, some involved county officials or their supporters have pointed out that the county’s elected officials appointed EDA Board of Directors members to track week-to-week details of EDA business affairs and project development.

Looking to Future

But that was the past, and this is today, and the future of municipal Warren County government and its relationship to the majority of its constituents is looming.

It might be noted that the now divided Public Comments were procedurally voted on early in the meeting to be switched to General items early and Agenda items that may have been discussed earlier during Public Hearings or Board discussion, near the meeting’s end. And during those initial Public Concerns/Comments, the newly aligned board began hearing public concerns from 9 citizens (10:00 minute County video mark). The great bulk of those citizens expressed pro-Samuels Library reinstatement as the community’s public library, and/or dissolution of the so-called County Library Board appointed by the former board majority in support of its anti-Samuels Public Library efforts. Those efforts were claimed by the former board majority to be due to a lack of financial accountability. It was a stance repeatedly responded to by Samuels officials, indicating such accountability has always been available for the asking, and remained so.

Citizen-Supervisor Conflict & Water Shortages

During the second Public Comments period, prominent Samuels Library supporter Samantha Good aggressively confronted Supervisor Jamieson over her perception of hypocrisy on his part related to accountability concerning his motivation for Samuels Library initiatives and county business in general (3:24:47 County video mark).

Several speakers, including Chad Siekert and Kathlene Mancini, addressed residential water shortage issues, particularly in the High Top Road residential area, expected to worsen in the coming years if residential and commercial development proposals are allowed to go unexamined. (Chad Siekert, 3:21:27 County video mark), (Kathlene Mancini, 3:28:25 County video mark)

The newly aligned board discusses what it has heard from the public and looks toward a game plan for 2026.

In the board’s category of “Unfinished Business,” one rezoning item was addressed on a request for a rezoning from Agricultural to Commercial and Industrial. The agenda packet said this about the request to “rezone approximately 448.21+/- acres from Agricultural (A) to Industrial (I) and Commercial (C). “The property identified as Tax Map 12, as lot 9 is requested to be rezoned from Agricultural (A) to Commercial (C) is 4.47 acres. The properties identified on tax map 12, as lot 6, and tax map 4, as lot 41, are requested to be rezoned from Agricultural (A) to Industrial (I) and are 443.74+/- acres. The properties are located off Winchester Road in the North River Magisterial District.”

On a motion by Henry, seconded by Stanmeyer, the rezoning request was approved without opposition.

To see all these discussions, actions, and public comments, see the County video. The meeting adjourned at 10:40 p.m.