The Mathews County Board of Supervisors met on June 20 in the historic courthouse, but before the meeting could get started, supervisor Dave Jones objected to the agenda, asking why a closed session to discuss the Hole in the Wall Waterfront Grill was not included.
County Attorney Andrea Erard explained that the requested discussion didn’t entirely fit within the closed meeting requirements of Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act. She said that in order to go into a closed session for advice of counsel, the attorney has to have advice to offer about legal matters, and she said she had no such advice to offer.
“It’s not so you can go in and ask questions,” she said.
When it was pointed out that the item had been discussed in closed session last month, Erard said, “Last month, I had advice to give. This month, I don’t.”
Supervisors Tim Doss and Mike Walls both said they would like guidance from the county attorney, but Erard said that potential litigation wasn’t enough to justify a clos...