A special County Commission meeting held Friday, Sept. 27 yielded a motion by Commissioner Woody Hanna, after an over hour long executive session with Prosecuting Attorney Patrick Via, to have a representative from the GCC meet with same from New River Commuity and Technical College (NRCTC) before the next commission meeting to try and come to some equitable solution to resolve the $1.3 million illegally authorized by the Commission as a funding gift to the college.
All three commissioners lauded NRCTC as an asset to the community and to the surrounding counties as well. Even though both Hanna and McClung had previously declared they would not be willing to negotiate nor mediate with the college for the funds, they now have determined to communicate in a meeting with McClung as the commission representative. “The $1.3 million belongs to the citizens of the county and it needs to be returned,” McClung said. He said that as a representative of the commission and not an individual commissioner, McClung will not be speaking his mind at the meeting, but rather he would be listening to what the college has to offer and then report back to his fellow commissioners.
Commissioner Hanna also had to hold back, stating, “Part of me wants to take drastic measures to get the money back.” However, he agreed a meeting is the first step in resolving the issue.
Commission president Karen Lobban said she had suggested to her fellow commissioners during the executive session to meet with the college, to which the others agreed. Hanna’s motion carried unanimously.