Proposed $1 sale of Rockfish Valley Elementary School debated

Nelson County residents spoke for and against the proposed sale of the former Rockfish Valley Elementary School near Nellysford to the Rockfish Valley Community Center at a public hearing held by the Nelson County Board of Supervisors on Sept. 8.

Supervisors are considering selling the building and property of the former school the community center for $1.

Sarah Jane Stewart, president of the community center’s board of directors, told supervisors the community center is interested in owning the building so that they can petition foundations and individuals for grants to perform renovations.

“All that we are doing is to benefit the community of Nelson and more specifically, geographically, the Rockfish Valley,” Stewart said. “We want to own the building so we can work to raise money to invest in major building renovations.”

Stewart said the building has been a community center since 2000 and currently has about 300 members. The Earl Hamner Jr. Theater, the Treasure Chest Thrift Store and the Rockfish Valley Senior Center all operate at the community center.

The opinions of the 10 residents who spoke during the public hearing were evenly split between those who were for the sale and those who were against it.

Peter Coy, the co-artistic director at the Hamner Theater, spoke in favor of the sale. He said the theater had been at the community center since 2005 and now employs two full-time staff members and one part-time.

Coy said more than 100 volunteers have donated more than 34,000 hours on theater projects and that ticket sales and fundraisers have brought more than $350,000 into the county.

Coy said the theater needs to be able to raise money to improve and maintain the space and that the community center needs to own the building to do that.

“Without the building, the Hamner Theater would be adrift,” Coy said.

Donna Small, of Afton, spoke against the sale of the building and presented a petition to supervisors with more than 100 signatures of people who oppose the sale.

Small said the property was assessed at $815,000 and that a sale for $1 would not be fair to other organizations in the county.

“How would the sale of this valuable property benefit the county budget?” Small said. “This seems more like a business than a community center.”

Kelly Messer, of Afton, also opposed the sale. She said the county should not give away a valuable piece of property and that it should be sold at fair market value or that the sale should be opened to the public.

Dudley Campbell, of Roseland, also opposed the sale.

“With their ability to raise funds, (the community center) can certainly raise the funds to purchase the property at fair market value,” Campbell said.

Mary Cunningham, of Afton, spoke in favor of selling the property to the community center. She said she has worked as a volunteer there since 2000.

“All in all it’s just been people who wanted to belong to the community,” Cunningham said of the others who volunteered to help save the old school building.

Margaret Clair, of Faber, spoke in favor of the sale and said there was huge potential in the building and in the area for future development.

“Our programs are intended to be accessible to all people,” Clair said. “We need to own the building to take it to the next level.”

After the public hearing, each of the members of the Nelson County Board of Supervisors spoke in favor of selling the property to the community center but postponed a decision by tabling the matter.

“It’s pretty clear that this is a successful venture,” said Central District Supervisor Connie Brennan. “The county would like to have the money to provide recreation opportunity in the county but that is just not possible.”

North District Supervisor Tommy Harvey said ownership of the building would be a “feather in the cap” of the community center.

“I think you have proven over the last nine years that you can handle this property,” Harvey said. “It’s a lot of work ahead of you. I commend you. It’s been a asset to the community.”

The Board of Supervisors meets again at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 24.