Sandy Level voting precinct will not move to Baptist church

Although the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors voted last month to move Sandy Level’s voting location, the precinct is staying put.

The board unanimously approved a proposal Jan. 20 to relocate the Sandy Level precinct from Cool Branch Rescue Squad to Sandy Level Baptist Church, only to rescind the vote Tuesday after the church backed out due to liability concerns. The precinct will remain in its present spot, Callands-Gretna Supervisor Fred Ingram said.

The move would’ve been the second in about a year for the precinct.

The board voted in August to move it from Sandy Level Post Office to Cool Branch after complaints of dangerous traffic and too few parking spaces. Some residents opposed the move because the rescue station is not centrally located and makes a long drive, about 25 miles, for those living in Climax. Ingram wanted to move the voting precinct to the church, which he said was more conveniently located.

Church officials were receptive when Ingram spoke to them in January about relocating the precinct, he said. State code, however, mandates that precincts cannot relocate between Feb. 1, 2009, and May 15, 2011, County Registrar Jenny Lee Sanders said.

Sandy Level church member Tony Fox told supervisors in January that the congregation, which initially agreed to offer the church as a precinct, was unaware of the code when it voted and was concerned church would be stuck with the precinct if problems arose. Fox asked the board to postpone its vote so he could inform the congregation of the code, but Sanders and Electoral Board Secretary Brenda Arthur told supervisors that a decision must be made that night since their next meeting was after Feb. 1.

Ingram told fellow supervisors that the church was handicapped-accessible, the parking lot had enough space and church members were receptive to the idea. The board unanimously approved the move.

Sandy Level Baptist Church officials backed out on Jan. 29.

“While it is SLBC’s desire to be a good neighbor, civil liability is a real concern for the members at this time,” Pastor Kendell Smith and Chairman of Deacons Jerry W. Smith stated in a letter to the county.

Ingram said he is sorry for any misunderstanding with the church.

“I don’t really believe there could have been a problem,” Ingram said.

Contact John R. Crane at or (434) 791-7987.