BY ROBIN KNEPPER
Orange County supervisors are taking the county administrator to the woodshed tonight over his suggestion that they explore other possible sites for a Wal-Mart Supercenter.
It is unclear whether Bill Rolfe will still have his job when they are done.
The supervisors expressed their chagrin after getting an e-mail from Rolfe June 15 advising that it would be in the best interest of the county to "broker a deal that keeps Wal-Mart in the County and moves it further away from the congressionally approved boundary line of the Wilderness Battlefield."
Rolfe continued, "We know we have an adjoining property owner willing to work with the county and with Wal-Mart. We have seen a 50+ year master plan for approximately 900 acres of the approximate 2,000-acre adjoining tract of land that seems to work within the framework of the County's comprehensive plan."
Rolfe was referring to the King family's proposed Wilderness Crossing mixed-use development just west of the proposed Wal-Mart location at the intersection of State Routes 3 and 20. He sent a copy of his e-mail to the supervisors to the King family's local representative, Kenny Dotson.
Dotson said he, in turn, forwarded it to Jim Campi of the Civil War Preservation Trust, Rob Nieweg of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Catharine Gilliam of the National Parks Conservation Association.
Preservationists oppose the proposed Wal-Mart site, saying it is too close to the Civil War battlefield park.
"I told them that Bill had gone out on a limb and we needed to support him," Dotson said yesterday. "I have the utmost respect for him, and he is in a difficult position trying to move the board forward."
Supervisor Mark Johnson's immediate response to the e-mail was that Rolfe was "treading on some damn thin ice."
Supervisor Zack Burkett put the subject of Rolfe's views on the agenda for the closed session after the regular supervisors' meeting this past Tuesday.
No action was taken after that meeting, but yesterday Chairman Lee Frame called a special meeting for next Tuesday night to address the escalating situation.
That day was inconvenient for three of the supervisors, so a special closed meeting "to discuss assignment and performance of a specific employee" was scheduled for 7 tonight.
"We'll be talking about a personnel issue," Frame said. "That's an issue that we normally deal with in a closed session, not in the press. With personnel issues we must respect privacy.
"I'm trying to walk a fine line right now and not exacerbate the situation," he said.
Supervisor Teel Goodwin said he was disappointed that Rolfe's views on the Wal-Mart site were presented so late in the approval process.
"There's some displeasure as a result of the article about Bill's e-mail appearing on the front page of The Free Lance-Star," he said. "The suggestions about moving the Wal-Mart have been out there, but I don't agree with it coming up at this point in time.
"It makes people look like idiots, and it makes it appear that some change is going on."
Goodwin, along with Supervisors Burkett and Mark Johnson, has said he would support a special-use permit to build a 138,000-square-foot Supercenter on the commercially zoned land.
The county Planning Commission voted last week to recommend that supervisors approve the application. The board will hold a public hearing July 27.
So, will Bill Rolfe keep his job?
"It's not a sure thing," said Goodwin. "It's up in the air, and anything's possible. But I'm not making a move.
"I can't say he's toasty," Goodwin continued, "but he'll surely get severely reprimanded after this."
Robin Knepper: 540/972-5701
Email: rknepper@earthlink.net