Planning Commission Chair unfairly criticized amid agenda issues and interruptions

By Valerie Cury

At the Feb. 13 Purcellville Town Council meeting, three Council Members expressed disapproval of how Planning & Community Development/Zoning Administrator Director Summer Wilkes was treated at the Feb. 6 Planning Commission meeting. Council Member Kevin Wright criticized the behavior he witnessed, describing it as a mix of arrogance and ignorance. The controversy arose from Wilkes unilaterally adding a vote for Chair and Vice Chair to the agenda, despite Planning Commission bylaws specifying that the vote shall take place at the second meeting in March. The agenda was created without the Chair’s input, and it also ignored items he had requested to be put on the agenda. Additionally, Wilkes’ repeated interruptions during the Planning Commission’s discussion created a tense and unprofessional atmosphere. Council Member Carol Luke, who was the only Council Member in attendance watching the Feb. 6 meeting, disagreed with the interpretation of some of her colleagues.

Council Member Erin Rayner agreed with Wright, and she told Wilkes she supports her and “it was not appropriate what happened to you.”

Council Member Caleb Stought said the code of conduct was not upheld at the meeting. He said he watched a point of order used by Wilkes, “a very standard Roberts Rules go ignored.” He said what happened was “outrageous.”

So what happened?

Town staff did not follow the proper agenda development process for adding the Chair’s request to add items to the Feb. 6 Planning Commission meeting agenda. The Chair of the Planning Commission, Ron Rise, opened the meeting by introducing four agenda amendments after staff failed to include his requests on the agenda. 

These agenda amendments were necessary because the planning staff submitted the draft agenda to the Chair Rise and Vice Chair Brian Green two and a half days past the required deadline as outlined in the Planning Commission bylaws, which were amended on July 9, 2024. The draft agenda was sent past the normal deadline to Rise and Green near close of business, with Wilkes giving Rise only 15 minutes to respond with any agenda additions. He missed her deadline by approximately five minutes, so his additions were not included in the Feb. 6 Planning Commission agenda.

As a result, the staff did not include the items Rise had requested but instead placed the election of the Chair and Vice Chair on the agenda. During the meeting, Rise referenced the Planning Commission amended bylaws, which stipulate that the commission must elect a Chair and Vice Chair at the second regular meeting in March. Consequently, the commission voted to extend Rise’s term as Chair and Brian Green’s term as Vice Chair until March 20, when the annual election shall occur.

At that point, Wilkes raised her hand to interrupt the commissioner’s discussion. She began, “Mr. Rise,” but the commission was already in the middle of discussing the date change to align with the bylaws. Rise responded, “No,” signaling she could not interrupt the commission’s discussion. Anticipating that his verbal response wouldn’t be enough, he then used the gavel.

Wilkes persisted, saying, “Point of order, Sir.” However, in public meetings a point of order is typically raised by elected or appointed officials.

Rise then stated, “Point of order,” using the gavel, and the commission continued discussing the importance of aligning the election of Chair and Vice Chair with the bylaws. “It makes sense to do that, otherwise we are going to be out of cycle continually,” said Rise.

“I think it’s good to do it. So, with that”—at this point Wilkes lowered her head and shook it. “I am sorry Chair Rise, could I introduce”—

“No, you cannot,” Rise said and used the gavel to restore order. “Point of order, point of order, please,” he said. Despite this, Wilkes continued interrupting the Planning Commission discussion by trying to speak over him.  

The rest of the Feb. 13 Council Member’s comments

Council Member Susan Khalil used her comment period to address the proposed long-term Capital Improvement Program budget. 

“I understand there are some CIP projects for which the Engineering Department has zero confidence in their cost information. It is not responsible nor strategic to endorse any debt obligation to our community without a high degree of confidence in the accuracy of projections.”

She also expressed interest in specific details regarding the proposed wastewater treatment plant improvements. “What was the quote from Lakeside Manufacturing for the existing course and fine screens?” She said she needed an explanation for the suggested shift to a different manufacturer, which would incur additional design costs.

Khalil emphasized the importance of transparency and making informed decisions, recommending that the documents be made publicly available. She further stated that she would request a spreadsheet listing all the projects in the proposed CIP budget, ranked by priority. She requested dates when each component was brought into service, the manufacturer of each, the original cost, and the expected lifecycle of each component.

Khalil also asked for names of three manufacturers that could be solicited for pricing along with two potential grant opportunities. She requested a list of all chargebacks for 2024, including dates, the individuals who submitted them, and the associated costs.

“I think we need to get away from throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks. We do have experts in these departments.” She suggested compiling this information into a spread sheet. “I am not going to approve any kind of loan for any CIP project where we don’t have a handle on where things stand right now. 

Vice Mayor Ben Nett addressing a council member who called the behavior at the Feb. 6 Planning Commission meeting “outrageous” said, “I wonder what the Council Man’s opinion is of the conduct exhibited at this meeting on January 8 and 14 including a public outburst by a newly promoted and then acting Lieutenant Mike Holman.”

Nett pointed out that Purcellville is a Town of 9,000 residents, with about 3,000 homes, and a daily population, of about 20,000, including visitors.  He noted that approximately 60% of the town is tax-exempt, with 46% occupied by schools, which brings in students and staff members.

“Annexation, in my opinion, is not the answer because we have a fragile utility system. Water is a finite resource. So what do we do? I see us as having a handful of options,” said Nett.

“We can go back on our campaign promises and serve as rubber stamps, jacking up everyone’s utility rates even higher—maintaining a bloated staff and approving massive infrastructure spending as presented—with no independent analysis.

“We can surrender our democracy to bureaucracy, or we can try the path we have embarked on which is a diversion of meals tax revenue to the utility fund which we did effective on July 1, 2025.”

Nett said, “Council can cut town government by improving efficiency of government. I am confident of that and with that, we can meet the County Board of Supervisors and make it clear that our expectation is a greater return on our tax dollars that are flowing out of the community.” 

“I will not support continuing utility rate increases on our residents and I believe there exists amongst some people a rather callous disregard for the struggles of working people and the mistaken belief that everyone who lives in town is wealthy and can readily afford whatever rate increases town council approves,” he said.

Mayor Chris Bertaut said, “I am going to guide this town council to examine this budget as closely as we can. We are bound by the council code of ethics to zealously guard against unjustified public expenditures. 

“When I looked at the presentation of the CIP items, I found a number of issues in there that bear digging into. There was a claim made that the CIP budget has grown [because of] town council deferring projects. Well, which projects were deferred by the town council? What projects were deferred by management and which projects weren’t deferred at all?”

Bertaut noted that the Town has 74 vehicles for 90 staff members. He also pointed out that the Town’s meals tax has been steadily rising. “It’s time to put some of it to use in order to make a difference in people’s water rates,” he concluded.