Accomack Continues To Grapple With Office Space Needs, Participates in Health Equity Program

0
527

By Carol Vaughn —

The Accomack County Board of Supervisors directed County Administrator Mike Mason to ask the school board for its position on moving school administration offices from the county administration building in Accomac to the Accomac public library building.
The library is slated to move to its new quarters in Parksley later this year.
Mason said a space needs committee is ready to resume work on developing options to address the need for additional office space for county departments and agencies.
“We are seeing demands for space everywhere,” including most recently for the Commonwealth’s Attorney office, Mason said.
“A key piece of this puzzle will be the location of school administration offices,” he said.
Before spending money on consultants, he recommended the board request an official position from the school board on moving to the library building.
Mason told supervisors a regional Accomack-Northampton application for state broadband funds was not among five projects awarded grants in the first round.
Virginia has invested $100 million in broadband to date – including $80 million in the past year – primarily through the Virginia Telecommunications Initiative (VATI) created by state legislators in 2016.
An announcement about a second round of awards is expected in the coming weeks.
Accomack Participating in Health Equity Pilot Program
Accomack County is the newest locality to participate in Virginia’s Health Equity Pilot Program, Mason said.
The county is partnering with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management and the commonwealth’s Health Equity Working Group.
The program is aimed at increasing equitable access to personal protective equipment and public health information in underserved and historically disadvantaged communities disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
Virginia to date has partnered with more than 60 localities on the initiative.
The Department of Public Safety will lead Accomack’s effort.
Masks, hand sanitizer, and COVID-19 information pamphlets will be given to individuals receiving food at the Eastern Shore Foodbank in Tasley, according to Mason.
The Accomack County chapter of the NAACP and Foundation of Faith Ministries agreed to help organize and distribute the supplies.
Accomack has been allocated more than 3,000 masks and 3,000 bottles of hand sanitizer for the program.

Previous articleFormer Hallwood Clerk Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement
Next articleJudge Dismisses Widow’s Suit Against Bridge-Tunnel