Odor, voting on council agenda

Published 10:03 pm Monday, March 1, 2010

Assessments, voting locations and odor complaints will be on City Council’s agenda when it convenes this Wednesday.

In a work session at 5 p.m., members will hear a report from City Assessor Sid Daughtrey on the upcoming reassessment of home values in the city.

Later, at 7 p.m., they are expected to consider an ordinance giving the city’s Board of Equalization an extra month to act on complaints by homeowners who feel their assessments are too high.

Email newsletter signup

Both meetings will be held in City Council chambers at 441 Market St.

Also at 7 p.m., the council will hear from the public on a proposed change in the voting location for the White Marsh Precinct. That precinct currently votes at East Suffolk Community Center, but city leaders hope to have the precinct moved to the adjacent East Suffolk Recreation Center.

The community center will soon be renovated to become the administrative offices for the Department of Parks and Recreation, and the changed use of the facility will not allow for its continued role as a polling place. The new recreation center is better equipped and sized to serve the public than the community center, according to a city summary of the agenda item.

The two locations are less than 100 feet apart, the summary notes. The move still must be approved by the U.S. Department of Justice before it can take effect.

Finally, city staff will give a report on the investigation of odor complaints in the area of the Southeastern Public Service Authority landfill.

Last week, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality issued a warning letter to SPSA, noting it had determined the mysterious odor that has plagued the area for months is coming from the regional landfill in Suffolk. The department asked SPSA to come up with an action plan within 20 days.