County Approves Adjusted Riverbend Farm Campground Proposal in Panhandle Road Area, Considers Staffing Issues

The Tuesday, May 5th, meeting of the Warren County Supervisors began at noon with a closed session. Absent from Tuesday’s meeting was Fork District Supervisor Hugh Henry.

Board Vice-Chairman Tony Carter read the board into closed, citing the topics to be considered over the next hour as,”… the discussion, consideration, or interviews of prospective candidates for employment; assignment, appointment, promotion, performance, salaries, or resignation of specific public officers, appointees, or employees of the public body. The subject matter is the County Administrator, Deputy County Administrator, and Director of Economic Development positions, ” Carter concluded, followed by a 4-0 into closed.

No announcements were made out of the Closed Session, and Interim County Administrator David Martin still held his seat at the administrative staff table with County Attorney Jason Ham.

Interim County Administrator Dr. David Martin, left, is still on the job despite the Closed Meeting discussion of his eventual replacement. Both Martin and County Attorney Jason Ham contributed to several of Tuesday’s agenda items. Royal Examiner Photos Roger Bianchini

Following the reconvening of the open meeting, as scheduled at 1 p.m., the board received an update on VDOT work in the county from VDOT representative Matt Smith. That was followed by a Warren County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) presentation of “new hires and promotions”. That presentation was done by Major Frank Myrtle, who explained that Sheriff Crystal Cline was unavailable for the meeting.

VDOT representative Matt Smith reviews the status of various road projects in the county. Below, WCSO Major Frank Myrtle stood in for Sheriff Crystal Cline in introducing new hires and recent promotions in the County’s law enforcement department.

Public Comments followed, with three speakers addressing a variety of issues, including County Airport funding; clarification on the speaker’s Sanitary District operations and management; and potential traffic issues along Panhandle Road related to a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) request for a campground.

Panhandle Road Campground

And that latter topic under the heading of “Unfinished Business” was the final item on the evening’s agenda, beginning at the 52:54 mark of the Linked County video.

The campground permit has recently been scrutinized by area residents fearful of the potential negative impacts on pedestrian and vehicular traffic in the rural, riverside area of the South River District.

The staff prepared a meeting agenda packet that summarized the Campground application’s location as, “… at 1406 Panhandle Road, (0) Panhandle Road, (0) Panhandle Road, 1408 Panhandle Road, and 1090 Panhandle Road, and are identified on tax map 35 as lots 5-1, 5-2, 5-3, 5B-1, and 10A. The properties are zoned Agricultural (A) and are located in the South River Magisterial District.” Interim Planning Director Kelly Wahl presented background on the campground permitting application to the board.

Carl Ey, with his wife Jennifer, the Campground applicant, was present to explain changes he made to his application to address neighbor concerns. Those included a limit of 10 camping sites at any one time, a condition that must remain in place. Those changes, from the original proposals of 200 or 100 campsites and 96 acres out of an originally proposed 130 acres, may have been crucial to the board’s 4-0 vote of approval for the permit. That vote came on a motion by John Stanmeyer, seconded by Richard Jamieson.

Panhandle Road area Campground applicant Carl Ey reviews changes to his proposal to ease the traffic concerns of neighboring residential property owners. Below, first, a graphic overview of the proposed campground area. Then, Interim Planning Director Kelly Wahl watches another graphic presentation by the Riverbend Farm CUP applicant.

Prior to the vote, Board Chair Cheryl Cullers said she had spoken with a number of nearby property owners, who are also her South River District constituents, and felt “comfortable” moving forward under the new conditions.

Noting that consideration and debate over the proposed use have been in progress since April of 2025, Supervisor Carter said he understood the desire to have the matter come to a vote at this May 2026 meeting.

Consent Agenda

Two of the seven items on the Consent Agenda were pulled for pre-vote discussion. The Consent Agenda was then approved as amended by a 4-0 vote on a motion by Supervisor Stanmeyer. It was Stanmeyer who pulled item J-6 and Carter who pulled item J-7.

It was a busy Tuesday afternoon for the WC Board of Supervisors. The board, minus 1, approved a number of items of business by 4-0 votes.

The pulled items were then discussed. Those items were:

J-6. Approval of Job Description and Grade Placement of the proposed position of Director of Economic Development;

and J-7. Approval of Job Description and Grade Placement of the proposed position of Tourism Manager. — Human Resources Manager Kayla Darr was present to answer questions on both items.

It was suggested that County officials contact Town officials about the possibility of jointly developing the positions, since they overlap and affect both municipalities. Both pulled Consent Agenda items were approved to be forwarded for action as discussed by 4-0 votes.

For these and other discussions in their entirety, see the County Video.