The Charlotte County Board of Supervisors will meet at a new time and day for the upcoming 2019 year, following a Jan. 2 organizational meeting of the Board.

The Supervisors will now meet during alternating times on the second Wednesday of every month.

According to the Board, the first meeting would be held Jan. 9 at 1:30 p.m. at the County Administrator’s Office.

Next month, the Feb. 13 meeting would be held at 7 p.m. at the Administrator’s Office.

Meeting times will alternate between 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. every other month.

Red Oak/Wylliesburg Supervisor Kay Pierantoni first made a motion to set the time of the meeting at 7 p.m. with a suggested day of the second Monday each month.

Aspen/Phenix Supervisor Donna Fore seconded the motion.

“ … the School Board uses this building on Tuesday’s …” Pierantoni said.

However, Keysville Supervisor Butch Shook offered a substitute motion to set the day of the meetings for the second Tuesday each month at 1:30 p.m. on one Tuesday and 7 p.m. the next month.

However, Wednesday was ultimately selected to better accommodate the schedule of the Board.

“ … one month we’d meet in the afternoon and the next month we meet at 7 p.m.” Shook said.

“ … My thinking on that is because the constitutional officers and their staff and the people that come to see us during our afternoon meetings could still do that and not have to come back up here at 7 o’ clock at night … a lot of people come up here to see us and I think if we do this thing at night all the time, I don’t think they’re going to be coming to the meetings that often.”

He said the public hearings could also be scheduled the night the regular meetings are held and more individuals would be in attendance because of the public meeting.

County Seat Supervisor Gary Walker seconded the motion.

“I also like to add especially for our elderly members of the community that may be more able to come out in the daytime and others could come in the evenings,” said Walker. I think the intent of Mrs. Pierantoni ‘s motion was to make it where people could attend the meetings, obviously some people could come during the day and some people could come in the evening …”

He said it would give more flexibility.

“I’d like to for the record state that we don’t serve at the beck and call of the constitutional officers,” said Phenix/Aspen Supervisor Donna Fore. “The last time I checked … we were elected to represent the people, the people of Charlotte County, so I’m here to represent the people and my people in my district have told me how disappointed they are that they cannot attend meetings …”

Fore said those in her district could not attend the Supervisor meetings which were previously held at 1:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month because they have 8 a.m.-5 p.m. jobs.

She said those in her district would participate and voice their opinions more if the meetings were held at night.

“I appreciate your secondary option,” Fore said. “Actually it’s a movement in the right direction. I’m saying let’s go the full direction, let’s ensure that everyone can participate …”

Pierantoni said she appreciated Shook trying to meet in the middle, however, she said she was concerned people would get confused about the meeting schedule.

She said the constitutional officers work for the people too and for the upcoming election year, four seats would be up on the Board of Supervisors and four on the School Board.

She said those elected need to listen to the people.

“Two years ago people spoke up …” Pierantoni said. “I think at last year’s election, people spoke.”

Red House/Cullen Supervisor Nancy Carwile said meetings have previously been held at night and even twice each month.

She said whenever hearings were held at night in the past, most individuals in her district would send their comments by her and she would read them into the record.

“I think that it would be a good opportunity to try it out … “ Carwile said.

She said she hadn’t heard from anyone in her district about the meeting time.

Carwile said she was not keen on asking all of the staff in the Administrator’s Office to show up at night.