A late night vote on Albemarle County's Western Bypass is now causing a major problem between supervisors. The vote required the board to suspend its own rules and make a decision without the normally required public input.
Board members say there is tension between supervisors. There are questions Monday night about what exactly lead up to the Western Bypass vote and how it all went down.
Albemarle County Supervisor Dennis Rooker stated, "It creates a situation that approaches a dysfunctional board."
Following a controversial vote last week to support the once shelved Western Bypass, tensions are growing between a divided Albemarle County Board of Supervisors.
Albemarle County Supervisor Rodney Thomas said, "I don't know if it'll hurt us or kill us."
Regardless, Thomas is pushing forward with plans for the six-mile long road that will bypass a busy portion of Route 29 north of Charlottesville.
"I've seen all kinds of ideas put in buckets and stirred and stirred and stirred and dumped and nothing gets done," he said.
Thomas is attempting to streamline the public hearing process so the Metropolitan Planning Organization can take up the issue in July. Then it has to go before the Commonwealth Transportation Board.
"Some of the board members had been in some discussions over the prior days without disclosing that to the rest of the members of the board," said Rooker.
Rooker says he was not included in those talks and is disappointed that some board members are operating behind closed doors.
"If you're willing to suspend the rules just because you're trying to get something you want done what purpose does the rules serve?" he asked.
Thomas says he wanted to move quickly on the Western Bypass issue to get funding for the project. He says there will be plenty of opportunity for public input in the future.
