Residents press Parksley council on police escorts, water billing, zoning and sewage

Multiple residents used the July 13 meeting to raise concerns about town services, including police escorts for bank customers, billing practices for churches, permits and sewage-system performance.

Police and public-safety concerns: Warren Phillips said his family had stopped receiving bank escorts and that his son’s license plate tags were stolen; he asked why there was not more police support when incidents occurred. When asked about salary reports, Chief Greer responded, “I make $50,000,” and explained the department has only two officers and cannot staff 24/7. The chief said he had spoken with Phillips’s son about recovered tags and that deputies from the county had been contacted for some incidents.

Water billing and nonprofit treatment: Mark Layne said Parksley Baptist Church had begun receiving water bills while other nonprofits were not charged and asked whether the council had voted on that policy; Attorney T. Dix and Mayor Russell said they would research prior votes and the legal basis for billing.

Zoning, permits and trash collection: James Daughton urged raising trash fees by $10 per month to afford an outside contractor and avoid future costly truck repairs; he also said a neighbor was building without an apparent county permit. Public Works Director Danny Siegert explained that the town issues zoning permits before county building permits and said he had the owner sign an acknowledgement that the structure was not for habitation and that fines could apply; Siegert said he would continue monitoring the property.

Sewage system status and requests for data: Siegert reported that engineers visited the sewage site and planned to rewrite the owner's manual; the town's sewage numbers were evening out but remained slightly high. Mayor Russell asked Siegert for a written six-month sewage report and a letter from the health department indicating target numbers and rules for new business hookups.

Council response and next steps: The council asked staff for written reports: the police were asked to provide a written plan for handling recovered property; Public Works was asked for sewage performance data and health-department guidance; Attorney Dix agreed to research legal questions about water billing and title issues raised elsewhere in the meeting.