County still refuses to pay Frazier legal bills
Early into the public comment period of this month’s Rappahannock County Board of Supervisors meeting, Amissville resident John Cappiali accused Jackson Supervisor Ron Frazier of fraud surrounding “his $19,000 legal bill.”
Though he is an unnamed party in Marian Bragg v The Board of Supervisors (Bragg 1), Frazier sought advice from Tysons Corner law firm Offit Kurman after receiving two subpoenas from County Attorney Art Goff. Frazier demands that the county pay his legal expenses in excess of $19,000.
Goff has maintained that Frazier’s expenses are not payable by the county or its insurance company.
Cappiali, who is being sued by neighbor Jeremiah Atkins for violating the county’s zoning ordinance for allegedly running a junkyard, appears to know his way around the legal system.
“Every time I’ve been to a lawyer,” Cappiali said, “the first thing the lawyer does is he wants to know how he’s going to be paid. They bring out a sheet of paper… that lists the hourly rate and [names] who is going to be legally responsible for paying that bill. You signed it [agreeing] that you owe the money or you signed on behalf of the county. Either which way, that’s fraud.”
His comment hung in the air. No one on the Board addressed it.
However, County Administrator Garrey Curry later reviewed the seven lawsuits currently before the county, including the case brought by Frazier appealing the BOS denial to pay his legal counsel, Offit Kurman. A notice of the Frazier lawsuit has been sent to the county’s insurance company, which will appoint an attorney to represent the county.
In the evening session, after the Board returned from closed- door performance evaluations of both Goff and Curry, Frazier attacked Chair Roger Welch for not completing the county employee evaluation process last year. He claimed that because performance evaluations were not held in 2018, performance issues were not addressed then and have gotten more entrenched.
“The issues have progressed. They haven’t gotten any better,” Frazier said.
He also accused Welch of not following the process laid out by the board in regards to the evaluations.
“You were supposed to talk to the employees and present the questions or issues that the board members had,” Frazier said. “It never happened…From last November the issues have never been completed… So the ball is in your court. What are you going to do about the procedure that wasn’t properly followed last November? Nobody wants to say it, so I’ll say it. You didn’t do what the board asked you to do [in November].”
Otherwise, the BOS conducted the county’s business. Matt Faulconer and Oliver Price from Rappahannock Electric Cooperative updated the BOS on its fiber optic network project. REC relayed that it was laying 800 miles of fiber optic cables to link substations in its service area. According to the coop’s website, “Space on the fiber will be made available to third parties to help bring broadband service to rural Virginia.”
Hampton supervisor John Lesinski, who also co-leads the county’s Broadband Committee, asked Faulconer if he might be able to identify a private partner for grants that would fund “the last mile” of bringing broadband to homes. Faulconer said REC is in the same position, “trying to find partners.”
Lesinski presented information about Commonwealth Connect, a program designed to help Virginia communities obtain broadband coverage.
Following that, People Inc.’s President and CEO Rob Goldsmith presented the organization’s annual report and five-year strategic plan. With eight offices around Virginia, People Inc.’s mission is “To provide opportunities for economically disadvantaged people to reach their goals in order to enhance their lives, their families, and their communities.”
Committee reports were brief: Piedmont supervisor Christine Smith reported that there is a potential candidate to fill the vacancy on the Rappahannock County Recreational Facilities Authority, and that the vacancy could be filled without advertising for candidates.
Smith, who also represents the BOS on the Planning Commission, reported that the planners had sent a working draft of the Comprehensive Plan to the Berkeley Group in Charlottesville that consults with local governments. Curry said that he expects the consultant’s comments and edits within two weeks.
Under Old Business: Smith reported that the county’s recycling report for the Department of Environmental Quality was updated to confirm that we meet the agency’s 15 percent goal. In fact, the county’s recycling rate increased in 2018 to 23.3 percent.
Frazier attacked Chair Roger Welch for not completing the county employee evaluation process last year. “The issues have progressed. They haven’t gotten any better.”