Water line OK’d, Sunday beer and wine sales won’t appear on Nov. ballots

CHATHAM — A water line project for Whispering Pines and Inman roads got the green light, while an attempt to put Sunday beer and wine sales on the November ballot came up dry during the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors regular meeting Monday night.

The water line project is estimated to cost about $951,000 and cover about 3 miles — about 1 1/2 miles each on Whispering Pines Road and Inman Road.

The board approved transferring $100,000 in leftover funds from a Route 40 water line project to the Whispering Pines project at its June 1 meeting. Another $400,000 will come from money left over from the Henry County/U.S. 58 project.

Supervisors voted 5-1 Monday night to put the two-phase Whispering Pines project up for bid, with Chatham-Blairs Supervisor Hank Davis opposing. Davis wanted to know how the county would pay for the remaining $451,000 of the project.

County Administrator Dan Sleeper said the county has been trying to bring a water line to Inman Road since 2004 or 2005. But Davis said there are other parts of the county that need water lines, including Deerwood Springs and Route 863.

Sleeper said the remaining $451,000 will come from unappropriated county funds.

During an interview last week, Tunstall Supervisor Tim Barber said the county hopes to receive stimulus funds and U.S. Department of Agriculture funding to help pay for later extension of the line to serve Stony Mill, Sharon, Tunstall Middle School, Tunstall High School and the Tunstall Volunteer Fire Department. 

The Whispering Pines/Inman Road line would branch off from the Henry County/Brosville water line.

In another matter, Callands-Gretna Supervisor Fred Ingram made a motion to the county to put a question on the ballot asking voters to approve Sunday beer-and-wine sales in the county. No one offered a second and the motion failed.