Lawsuit: James City County supervisors violated Virginia code by proceeding with $189M government center without referendum

JAMES CITY COUNTY — A group of James City County residents has filed a lawsuit to block further construction on the new county government center until a referendum can be held.

Christopher Woodfin, a local attorney who specializes in election law, announced the suit during a Board of Supervisors meeting last week.

Woodfin, a resident of the county himself, said the supervisors violated state law by “taking on a long-term debt that’s going to saddle a future board” with the cost burden.

According to Virginia code 15.2-2638(A), “no county has the power to contract any debt or to issue its bonds unless a majority of the voters of the county voting on the question at an election… approve contracting the debt, borrowing the money and issuing the bonds.”

The seven plaintiffs named in the suit are Charles and Sandra Colgrove, Kathleen Rothschild, Karen Rollins, Agnes Manzie, Michael Joseph and Linda Wise.

Each of the residents spoke out against the proposed center during previous meetings, Woodfin said.

A facility space needs assessment was conducted for the county’s administration buildings in 2020. Two years later, officials entered into government center negotiations with developer Henderson/Gilbane. Over the last four election cycles, the board has declined to allow taxpayers to weigh in on the proposed project via referendum, Woodfin said.

“If it’s a good deal, sell it to the people,” Woodfin told the supervisors. “You’ve had four elections to do it, and you haven’t wanted to do it.”

The saga surrounding the $189.5 million government center has been building in recent months as residents have urged the board to allow the public to vote on the proposed project.

But Board Chair Jim Icenhour and County Administrator Scott Stevens have pushed back on those requests. They say ballot initiatives in Virginia are only necessary when a municipality plans to use general obligation bonds to fund new construction, which does not apply in this case.

The majority of county residents who spoke during public meetings this year have been skeptical about the large-scale project, which includes a $25 million library annex.

“I haven’t heard anything that convinces me this [new center] is essential,” plaintiff Karen Rollins said at a Board of Supervisors meeting on June 10. “I, for one, am totally against what appears to me to be unnecessary development.”

County officials broke ground on the center on Wednesday, just hours before the suit was announced at the supervisors’ meeting.

The 177,000-square-foot facility is in the beginning stages of construction on Longhill Road, next to the current James City County Recreation Center.

There is a general consensus among the supervisors that the existing county government complex, built 50 years ago on Mounts Bay Road, is falling into disrepair and should be replaced.

Stevens has argued that the cost of renovating the existing administrative buildings would be nearly equal to the price tag of building a new, consolidated government center.

Supervisor Ruth Larson said over the summer that a new facility is necessary to accommodate the county’s growing population. That sentiment was echoed by Supervisor John McGlennon in an op-ed published last month.

Hipple suggested the backlash around the project is coming mostly from a small, vocal group of residents. He has defended the board’s approach to building the facility, saying the supervisors have a solid track record of careful spending.

Supervisor Barbara Null was the sole “no” vote on a special use permit for the project, saying she heard “a lot of pushback” from constituents who are upset about the project.

Woodfin’s request for an emergency injunction was filed on Nov. 12 in the Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court. A hearing for the case has been set for Nov. 26, according to The Virginia Gazette.