D.J. Barker, of Pennington Gap, Va., approached the board with a certified letter that he received from the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulations on January 21, 2010, regarding the Commonwealth Real Estate Appraisal Group, LLC — who is responsible for the land reassessments within the county.
According to Barker, the letter stated that Commonwealth Real Estate Appraisal Group, LLC, did not have an appraiser’s license — based on the information that he provided to the department.
“I stood up here at the January board meeting and asked you if you knew that you had a contract with a company that wasn’t licensed and didn’t exist — and you said that you didn’t,” Barker declared. “Well, now you know.”
County Administrator Dane Poe responded to Barker’s contentions.
“With all due respect, I made this statement at the last month’s board meeting. You said that Commonwealth Real Estate was not... licensed in the state of Virginia or registered with the state of Virginia. They are, however, registered with the State Corporation Commission,” said Poe.
“That has nothing to do, Mr. Poe, with the license,” exclaimed Barker.
“I also advised — last month at the meeting — that as a corporation, Commonwealth Real Estate Appraisal Group, LLC, is not licensed by the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulations, but both of the assessors who comprise or make up Commonwealth Real Estate Appraisal Group are licensed by the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulations,” Poe explained.
“That’s not who you have the contract with, Dane. You got the contract with this company,” Barker contended.
“I already know that the company does not hold an appraiser’s license,” Poe explained. “But how does a company make an appraisal? Does a company make an appraisal, or does an individual make an appraisal?”
“The contract you signed with the company should have the appraiser’s names, as well as the company’s,” Barker responded. “And it’s not that way.”
“I guess that becomes a legal matter. I’m not an attorney, and I’m finished commenting,” Poe stated.
“I hate to bother you all, but this company is not licensed to do business in the state of Virginia. I was plainly told that by the lady who sent me this letter,” Barker concluded.
Board members made no further comments.
Thomas Hunley, of Rose Hill, Va., also addressed the board at Tuesday’s meeting. Hunley began by stating that he attended the meeting to represent “some older people that would like to get out and voice their opinions but are not able to.”
Hunley first spoke about the process of land reassessment within Lee County.
“I’m in real estate and I cannot see how these property values have went up so much in this area especially — supposedly the third poorest county in the state,” Hunley conveyed.
“Things are getting tight and everyone is getting hit with more costs of living,” declared Hunley, in regards to the current local economy. “Everything is going up and people’s wages aren’t keeping up with the costs.”
Hunley contended that if people were able to keep up with the increasing cost of living, then matters wouldn’t be so disagreeable.
“It would kind of balance itself out,” Hunley maintained.
He went on to say that many locals live on fixed incomes, and the working class are not getting increases in pay to match the raises in the cost of living.
“Basically, they’re living on less money every year, or every week for that matter,” said Hunley. “So they’re going backwards in their standards of living instead of forward, and nobody wants to go backwards.”
“We would like to keep what we have, and we don’t want to be going backwards in time,” voiced Hunley. “But it seems like that is the direction we’re heading, because everybody is taking out of our pockets.”
“The working man doesn’t really have much of a chance,” he added.
Hunley then expressed his gratitude to the board for their decision-making efforts and hard work, but declared that something needs to happen soon for the greater good of Lee County residents.
Chairman Larry Mosley stated, before public expression, that all comments made to the board would be listened to thoroughly and taken into consideration.
In other official county business, the board approved and/or discussed the following items:
• Lee County Treasurer Rita McCann was in attendance and gave the Treasurer’s Report.
• Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) Engineer James Parsons followed up on a few items from the previous meeting including county roadway conditions, falling tree concerns, road abandonment updates, and VDOT layoffs.
• The minutes of the February 16, 2010 regular-called meeting
• Approval of disbursements, payroll, monthly and quarterly appropriations
• The board tabled a decision on the request for the abandonment of a portion of Route 706 in Pennington Gap, Va., near Leeman Field.
• Chairman Larry Mosley and County Administrator Dane Poe will be conducting interviews for the position of Convenience Center Operator in Woodway.
• Matt Tumlin, President of Commonwealth Real Estate Appraisal Group, LLC, addressed the board and gave a brief update on the land reassessments within the county.
• The board decided to move forward with filling in the sink hole at the Thomas Walker pool. The estimated cost of the project is around $50,000. Construction could begin as early as May, but no date has been set for project completion.
• The board also agreed to move forward with the ATV Trails Project and conduct the environmental studies needed to begin the venture process.
District 1 Supervisor Carl Bailey noted that the Lee County Litter Control (LCLC) will be partnering with the Wilderness Road State Park to sponsor a "Great American Cleanup" event in the Gibson Station/Ewing Area. According to Bailey, the event will take place on Saturday, March 27th between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., and lunch will be served immediately following the clean-up event. All citizens are encouraged to take part in the community event.
Adam Young is a Staff Writer for the Middlesboro Daily News. He can be contacted by e-mail at ayoung@middlesborodailynews.com.
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