Realigned County Board Ponders Committee Assignments and Methods for the Coming Year, as well as Emergency Services

A more efficient path forward for the Warren County Board of Supervisors and committees they have formed to help develop key information to base their collective decisions on was a theme of two of the three agenda items not covered in our lead story on the board’s work session of January 13th.

The involved items included the chairman’s assignment of supervisors to many of those committees and the scheduling of both morning and evening meetings and work sessions most conducive to the board members’ availability in the coming year. Those work session discussions appeared to reflect an effort of the post-November 2025 Election board lineup with two new members, Hugh Henry (Fork District) and Tony Carter (Happy Creek District), joining incumbents Cheryl Cullers (South River District), John Stanmeyer (Shenandoah District), and Richard Jamieson (North River District) to find common ground, at least on some items, to move toward a common good for all the county’s taxpayers.

At its work session of Jan. 13, 2026, the newly aligned WC BOS attempted to get on the same page moving forward in a number of operational directions.

Time will tell whether such cooperation can be achieved across the board (pun intended) on the reinstatement of the historic and recently multiple award-winning Samuels Library as the community’s public library. But that is a discussion for another day, today we will focus on the agenda items of the January 2026 board work session.

As to committee assignments in response to a question from Supervisor Carter, it was verified that Chairman Cullers will have a final draft of those assignments ready to be approved at the board’s next meeting (32:35 linked County video mark). That meeting is scheduled for this coming Tuesday, January 20th, at 7 p.m.

Board Chairman Cullers, above, responded in the affirmative to Supervisor Carter’s question about a final committee assignment draft being presented by the chairman at the board’s next meeting.

As of that final list, the board chair noted, “I haven’t given it to (Board Clerk) Mr. Henderson yet … I didn’t want to give it to him until after this in case anybody said, ‘Nope, I don’t want to be on that, I want to be on something else’.” Cullers said of distributing a final list of her committee appointments.

Cullers noted that she has yet to determine a board assignment to the Finance Committee due to some negative feedback on that committee’s processes last year. Following that observation, Supervisor Henry addressed his perceptions of Finance Committee issues (33:30 linked video mark).

“Yes, I was at a Finance meeting — it didn’t go very well,” Henry observed, adding, “And then I missed their last meeting, and I also heard it didn’t go very well from someone who attended. It may need a little restructuring, maybe a clearer set of goals.

“The other thing I think for these working committees that do meet every month, not just Finance and Audit, but I think their … citizen appointments should be similar to the BZA (Board of Zoning Appeals) and Planning Commission where each district gets a member … But committees that are going to be structured for specific tasks that are going to meet monthly I think it would be fairer that each district get an appointee,” Henry suggested, adding that those appointees terms coincide with their district’s supervisor’s term to reflect the appointments compatability with the public’s majority opinion of what kind of job that supervisor who made the appointment is doing.

When Henry concluded his thoughts on committee structures and appointments, Supervisor Jamieson, who pointed out he was a board appointee and recent 2 or 3 meeting chairman of the Finance Committee, responded to the chair’s call for additional comments (36:40 linked video mark).

Supervisor Hugh Henry, above, assured colleague Richard Jamieson he wasn’t singling him out for criticism on committee operations with comments on perceived problems at recent Finance Committee meetings.

“I’m not sure what you exactly mean by ‘it didn’t go well’ and then you ‘heard it didn’t go well’,” Jamieson began, adding, “There are some differences of opinion when there are committee meetings. There will be discussions and potentially disagreements on how to approach different things. So, I think that’s okay and of necessity sometimes.”

“I did think that you were the most productive member of that committee,” Henry replied, suggesting he was not singling Jamieson out for criticism for his work on that committee.

“Well, that’s flattering,” Jamieson replied, then pointing out that the Finance Committee’s work was complicated by the now two-year-late 2024 annual County operational audit.

In moving forward with any procedural changes in committee structure or appointments, it appeared to be agreed that no observations from single meetings should be overgeneralized to create altered structures or bylaws. However, Henry remained adamant on one of his suggested restructurings, the seating of at least one committee member from each electoral district on all committees. He did say he believed no existing members needed to be removed in order to achieve representation from all electoral districts. Rather, unrepresented districts could simply have committee members added to the existing committee membership.

County Administrator Brad Gotshall was assigned the task of presenting the supervisors with a complete list of current County committee memberships, with those members’ electoral district of residence listed, by next week’s meeting.

County Administrator Bradley Gotshall was assigned the duty of assembling and distributing a list of current committee members and the electoral districts they live in to the board members.

Emergency Services

The other item which kicked off the post WC VA250 events presentation was a review of the Emergency Operations plan by outgoing Deputy Director Lt. Brian Foley, and Foley’s introduction of his replacement, Lt. Lisa Willbanks (15:55 linked video mark). Foley has announced his retirement at the end of January.

Five-year incumbent Coordinator of Emergency Services Lt. Brian Foley introduced his successor, Lt. Lisa Willbanks, to the board prior to reviewing details of the county’s emergency services responsibilities and operations. Foley is retiring at the end of the month.

The work session agenda packet presented an overview of the Emergency Services programs, which, as one can see belo,w is a wide-ranging sign of the times:

“The Coordinator of Emergency Services has overall responsibility for emergency management that involves hazard mitigation and disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. They must work closely with state and local government offices, local businesses, civic leaders, volunteer groups, and the Board of Supervisors to develop Codes, Ordinances, Regulations, and plans to carry out an effective mitigation and disaster response program. This program encompasses far more than natural hazards. It includes: industrial and transportation accidents involving hazardous materials, building collapses, nuclear attack, acts of terrorism, civil disorder, etc.”

Included with applicable page numbers in the submitted Emergency Services Departmental summary was this “Hazard Specific Appendices” in a 243-page summary of departmental categories and operational responsibilities:

Appendix 1:  Radiological Protection – page 186

Appendix 2:  Hazardous Materials Incidents – 189

Appendix 3:  Resource Shortage – 193

Appendix 4:  Water Contamination – 196

Appendix 5:  Dam Safety – 198

Appendix 6:  Nuclear Attack – 202

Appendix 7:  Terrorism/Weapons of Mass Destruction – 207

Don’t we all feel a little safer now?