PRINCE EDWARD – A petition is being circulated that, essentially, opposes spending County funds for a public water system.

Those who sign are voicing their opposition to spending “tens of millions to build a water plant instead of utilizing the existing town plant,” “spending millions of Prince Edward tax dollars to send water to Nottoway County,” and “creating an 'authority' to get around letting citizens vote on PE's largest ever spending project.”

Sam Campbell, who is among those circulating the non-binding petition, said that they have over 300 signatures (which did not include what he cited were quite a few in the Rice area). The petition, he also said, began well after the board of supervisors' November 16 meeting.

“…They don't have the payback for it, that's a problem,” Campbell said. “…I think everybody in the county would go along with it if it was some payback, but last year they were $600,000 short. They had to raise taxes ten percent on real estate, or would've been. They come up with the equivalent of that and, by our figures, it's (going to) probably cost close to $2 million a year to finance this thing so we got…30 percent right off the bat tax increase here. So this is why we're fighting it…”

Those giving their signatures are also giving permission to be included in a newspaper ad.

“We probably will (present it to the board of supervisors), but I don't see that it's gonna do much good,” Campbell said. “You know, they've spent $5 million on this thing so far and we have absolutely nothing except some pipes out at The Manor and all this money's been financed.”

He later cited that “you're looking at $30 million here total. This is the largest capital expenditure in the history of the County and Farmville has no need for it. You know, I live up here at Pamplin-Darlington Heights area-we'll never get anything out of it.”

Campbell offered that they really object to having to spend Prince Edward tax dollars to benefit Nottoway County residents.

Campbell also said that what they hope to accomplish is to bring it to as many people as they can “and hopefully the board'll come to their senses or something…I can't understand why…they haven't backed off of it already.”

No timetable had been set on collecting signatures (Campbell said they are playing it by ear for now).

County supervisors are working through an interim study with Crowder Construction to study the possible water system (see related story page one), but have not inked a decision to go forward with building a water system.

Prince Edward Board of Supervisors Chairman William “Buckie” Fore offered that he does not know what the intent is.

“…We are following a plan that the board-the majority of the board agrees with-to determine whether or not we can afford the water plant (and system) itself,” Fore said. “That's what the interim study is all about. At the conclusion of the interim study, then we'll make a decision. And, no decision's been made yet, except to make the decision that the interim study…was needed. It's almost complete now.”

Fore went on to add that they know that there's a need for water.

“…The several droughts that we've had has…proven that one day, one day, we're going to need a backup water system and that's the reason for the Reservoir,” he said. “I mean, that was the vision of the forefathers, what 40 years ago-however many years it's been?”

Fore said he's not going to throw the County's money away on any project and did not think any of the rest of the board would vote for it either.

“I think Prince Edward County, as a whole-speaking for the whole board-is a very frugal board,” he said.

He noted they may not be able to afford the project and added that they'll know when they get all the information in.

As for the petition's statement opposing “spending millions of Prince Edward tax dollars to send water to Nottoway County,” Fore said it is “absolutely false.” And for creating an authority to “get around letting citizens vote on PE's largest ever spending project,” Fore said it was not the intent of creating the authority.

“The authority is acting on matters pertaining to the several steps that have to be taken in order to get to where we are now,” he explained.