Pat Farley for Chincoteague

Pat Farley for Chincoteague Pat Farley concerned about Chincoteague Town Government

11/21/2025

Council votes to enter into a purchase agreement for the South Main St Property, 4-2.

There were people who spoke and wrote letters that were both for and against the project. Both the Mayor and Town Manager emphasized that this was not a vote to purchase the property but an agreement to do due diligence on the property including needed improvements, quality of the soil, how the property will be used as a park, and all the costs involved. It is equivalent in many ways to a contract on a house to be purchased with contingencies for inspections. It may or may not lower the price of the house, or the park. All Council members spoke and members Richardson, Bott, Howard, and Taylor voted yes, members McComb and Savage voted no, both citing cost as an issue.

11/20/2025

Reminder: Chincoteague Town Council Workshop meeting tonight, Thursday 11/20 at 6pm, including a Public Hearing on the proposed waterfront park. Speak your mind!

Too Much Noise
At the November Council meeting two neighbors of the bar/restaurant ChincoTiki spoke in public comments about the lack of enforcement of the Noise Ordinance that was revised and strengthened by Council in the past two years.

At last week's Ordinance Committee meeting the same neighbors and CPD Chief Greenly spoke again about repeated offenses, the difficulties using small fines that don't deter, and apparent confusion by the court system in issuing fines. There was discussion about remedies including raising the fine from the current $250 to a higher amount (Virginia law would allow as much as $2500), and the town committed to having a town attorney attend the next court hearing.

Videos of Meetings
Several of you have mentioned the lack of live feed of Council Committee meetings. Currently only Council meetings are broadcast and recorded but several members of Council have recently said that all meetings should be broadcast. Let your council members hear what you want.

It has been a while! But so much is happening in Chincoteague Town Government that I'm hopping back on this page to give...
11/18/2025

It has been a while!

But so much is happening in Chincoteague Town Government that I'm hopping back on this page to give everyone an update.

A New Waterfront Park?
At the November 3, 2025 Council meeting, Town Manager Tolbert presented a proposal for the Town to purchase a two-acre waterfront property on South Main Street for $2.25 million, to be funded from town reserves. He explained the goal is to create a multi-use public park and preserve public waterfront access. He cited the successful development of Robert Reed Park as a precedent.
There will be a Public Hearing on this proposal this Thursday, November 20, 6:00pm.

New Rules
Also being discussed and voted on at that meeting are several ordinance changes and new ordinances voted on at last week's Ordinance Committee meeting, including water hook-up fees, changes to food truck regulations, and a new ordinance regarding connection to the Central Sewage system.

Planning
In February of this year I was nominated by and unanimously approved by Council as one of 3 new members of the Chincoteague Planning Commission. We, along with the Town's new Town Planner Amanda Baker, have been very busy. The message we received was that Town Council wanted to protect the small town, family friendly, and neighborhood oriented atmosphere that makes the island so unique among coastal resort communities. We have been working since February on finding a way to maintain the scale and retail character of the C-2 zone, the Downtown commercial district. We've also been hard at work writing a new ordinance for the almost 800 Short Term Rentals (STRs)on the island, to assure that all STRs are safe, and fit into the neighborhood peacefully. We've also developed the new sewer regulations, changes to the Wayside Vendor ordinance, and updating the Comprehensive Plan.

There is a Planning Commission meeting tonight, Tuesday, November 18, at 7pm, Council Chambers. I've attached the agenda.

As always, I encourage citizens to attend, watch, or read the minutes of Town meetings. Your input is always welcome.

01/08/2025

Town Council meeting tonight, Wednesday, January 8, 7pm.

The date change was buried in the winter storm post.

07/22/2024

Donald Leonard Park and other Enhancements

The most recent edition of the Eastern Shore Post (https://easternshorepost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/20240719_post_up.pdf?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR1mTq8oUSTmJV-oBCQ5WRG5HlIAik6ZCRQ2JGQMOsbKHALsrv96ZQz_Lak_aem_nFNxjPAQalCI-h5gAAd6Aw page 26) includes an article about the addition of a semi-paved parking lot within this park, without any request by the members of the Recreation and Public Enhancement Committee, which includes 2 Council members, and Donna Leonard, daughter of the park's namesake. The $15,000 project was not presented to or approved by Council.

The sole decision maker about the lot appears to be the Town Manager, who at a public Council meeting claimed it was a consensus of the committee, when Donna Leonard states that only request she made was to repair the dead grass killed by a High School bonfire. In the article, he concedes that he skipped a step, Council approval, and will not make the same mistake.

The recently completed Downtown Mural was approved by the BZA and Council because the Town Manager believed it was covered by the Sign ordinances and required a variance because of it's size. The very positive reaction to this piece of public art by locals and visitors suggests to me that we need more. And it is a major enhancement to an increasingly shabby downtown with a condemned building ready to fall down, and vacant storefronts. When I recently asked the Town Manager his opinion of the mural he said the person doing it did a fine job but he believes strongly that buildings should not have art on their walls.

Our Town Manager, Mike Tolbert, does an excellent job managing the finances of the Town, saving taxpayers money wherever he can. His budget projections and annual budget are right on target. And generally he manages all the moving parts of the Town government well. But in both Donald Leonard Park and the Downtown Mural and future murals he has shown his personal aesthetic preferences which are out of step with what residents want, what residents and visitors value, and what in the end benefit businesses and tax revenue.

Part of this responsibility lies with the Mayor and members of Council. Remember that the Town Manager answers to them, and they in turn answer to us, the voting residents of Chincoteague. Please, Council member and residents, speak up.

Happy Pony Penning

07/05/2024

Who's running for Mayor and Town Council this year?

Mayor:
Denise Bowden (current Council member)
Arthur Leonard (current Mayor)

Town Council:
William McComb Jr. (current Council member)
Gene Wayne Taylor (current Council member)
John Howard
Sonia Watson Conser

Because Denise's term on Council is up this December, she will lose her current seat whether she's elected Mayor or not. There will be a newly elected Council member.

Posting this because I know there are rumors circulating that I am running again. Definitely not, never even considered it. Knowing what I do about previous come-here Council members, I feel I have a stronger voice continuing to attend meetings, writing about issues, and encouraging citizens to speak out about issues that concern them. I will continue to do all those things.

07/01/2024

Finally….

TOWN COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING
July 01, 2024 at 7:00 PM
Council Chambers – Town Municipal Center
AGENDA
CALL TO ORDER – Mayor Leonard
INVOCATION – Councilman Taylor
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – Mayor Leonard
PUBLIC COMMENT – Mayor Leonard
1. Rules for Public Comment
AGENDA ADOPTION – Mayor Leonard
PROCLAMATIONS – Mayor Leonard
STAFF REPORTS - Mr. Tolbert
2. General Government June Report
3. CPD June Report
4. Public Works June Report
5. Emergency Services June Report
6. Center June Calendar
7. Center June Report
COMMITTEE REPORTS – Council
8. Budget and Personnel Committee Minutes
ADOPTION OF MINUTES - Mayor Leonard
9. June 3 Council Meeting Minutes
10. June 20 Workshop Meeting Minutes
MR. ERIC COLLINS - CHARTER GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
DRPT AUTHORIZATION - Mr. Tolbert
11. DRPT Memo
MAYOR AND COUNCIL COMMENTS – Mayor Leonard

The Planning Commission Meeting scheduled for this evening has been cancelled.Budget and Personnel Committee meeting is ...
06/11/2024

The Planning Commission Meeting scheduled for this evening has been cancelled.

Budget and Personnel Committee meeting is at 6pm and the Agenda is below. There are 2 items, summary of the personnel reviews and raises, and recommendations for surplus funds.
In the General Fund there is a $1.6M surplus due to excess tax revenues for FY24, and the Town Manager makes recommendations on allocations for those surpluses.

Town Council MeetingMonday June 3, 7 pm
06/03/2024

Town Council Meeting
Monday June 3, 7 pm

05/29/2024

Town Council Meeting
Monday, June 3, 7pm

The next Town Council is Monday. The Town website has not been updated for June so there is no Agenda posted but when it is I will share here.

I encourage all citizens to use Council and Committee meetings to speak publicly about issues of concern, requests for action or to thank the Town for work well-done. Public Comments are at the beginning of every meeting.

I attended the Recreation and Community Enhancement Committee meeting last evening. Five members of the public were present and several spoke about the need for an additional shade tarp at the dog park, an issue on the agenda. The Committee voted to recommend that Council approve funds for the tarp. Also discussed were the walking trail at Brianna Kindness Park and changes at Donald Leonard park.

05/16/2024

Several people reached out to me yesterday, some of whom work in the short term rental business. There may be a trend in the industry, also mentioned by Lance Stitcher when he spoke at the meeting, for states, counties or municipalities to require all short term rentals to be managed locally. Companies such as VRBO and Airbnb are booking agencies only. They are not management companies. If a property is not managed locally but is listed as a rental with a booking agency it means that repairs, maintenance, safety devices must be provided by the property owner who may live hours away. A further complication is that local real estate taxes are paid by the booking companies in lump sums, providing no way for the government to identify the properties for which they are paying tax. In Virginia, that is illegal, but the Town Manager has been told that the Commonwealth has no plans to take action. If a property is locally managed, generally the management company handles the taxes and the town can identify the property. Of course this would be a benefit for local management companies, as well as for the Town. It might also discourage some marginal short term rentals from being rented. The Town does research every listing from booking companies and if the property does not have a business license, the owner is contacted.

Thank you all for your interest in this issue.

05/16/2024

Two Productive Meetings

The Budget and Personnel Committee met in Council Chambers, with Denise Bowden, Chris Bott (Chair), and Bill McComb, and Mike Tolbert, Town Manager. Four people spoke, Tina Zoller, Lance Stitcher (Seaside Vacation Rentals), Patty Woodhurst (Coastal Shore Vacations) and myself. Tina and I spoke about residents concerns about neighborhoods changing, stress on the town's infrastructure, lack of long-term rentals, and inequities in taxes. Lance suggested that the increase in rental properties was self-limiting due to supply exceeding demand, Patty thinks that demand will continue to grow, particularly in higher end rentals. Mike Tolbert had consulted with the Town's legal advisors about tax increases allowed, and the 3 Council members suggested various ways in which appropriate taxes could be adjusted to maintain or increase revenue without adding additional taxes to residents. Possibilities include raising the Transient Occupancy Tax, currently at 5% on hotel and short term house rentals, adding a small tax per day, taxing some properties at a higher rate, and raising the maximum Business Tax. Currently all businesses, including property owners who rent their properties for short term rentals, are required to have a Town Business License. The minimum annual tax is $50, the maximum is $500 which means that any gross revenue over $38,000 is not taxed. This includes all of our large motels, camp grounds, and obviously many other businesses. Chris Bott went even further, suggesting that resorts with individual housing cottages should each have their own business license because they are, like private homes, short term rentals and should not operate under one business license.

There was almost total agreement on possible remedies: that there should be no real estate tax increase on non-rental residential properties, that we need more long-term housing particularly for teachers, police and other public employees, that this will be a complicated balancing act, that there should be no inequalities, and that while we need to continue to support our tourists and the businesses that serve them, visitors and perhaps some businesses should contribute more to the town's revenue.

It gratifying that we were all on the same page, citizens, rental company owners, the Town government, and the 3 council members. There will undoubtedly be different opinions along the way but I am optimistic.

Tina and I, along with Bob Zoller also spoke at the Planning Commission meeting, encouraging them to plan and zone in such a way that we can continue to be both a small town and a vacation destination. Mike Tolbert also announced that he will soon be posting for a Town Planner and that the position is in the FY 2025 budget.

If you want to comment on this issue, you can speak at the Council Workshop Meeting, this Thursday (tomorrow) at 6pm or at any Council meeting.

Address

6282 Cleveland Street
Chincoteague, VA
23336

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