Breaking News: Stafford Supervisors Approve Library Board Representative
But issues surrounding the removal of the previous representative continue to concern supervisors
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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It took six months, but Stafford County finally has a citizen representative on the Central Rappahannock Regional Library’s Board of Trustees.
The county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved the appointment of Janet Brown, a resident of the Rock Hill district, to the library board.
Brown is retired from the federal government and is a Virginia Supreme Court certified Mediator/Mentor, according to her application. She has a business offering coaching, mediation, and facilitation for couples and co-parents.
Brown wrote in her application that she wants to serve on the library board because she has been a patron of Stafford’s libraries in their different forms since arriving in the county in 1987, and that her longtime knowledge of the library and its programs combined with her public speaking skills will help her be “an ambassador to the community for the system.”
Brown will fill a seat that has been vacant since July, when supervisors removed Mary Becelia. The reason initially given for Becelia’s removal was “misconduct,” but the Board in December voted to strike the word “misconduct” from the official record, as the allegation was unfounded.
On Tuesday, Deuntay Diggs, the newly elected Chair of the Board of Supervisors, offered an apology to Becelia.
“I want to express my deepest apologies on behalf of the board for the hardship and embarrassment you have endured following your removal from the library board and the labeling of misconduct,” Diggs said. “The board fully acknowledges the significant impact this has likely had on your personal life and family. It is my sincere hope that this apology serves as a step towards closure, not only for you and your family but the broader community.”
Diggs said that at a work session later this month, the board will discuss putting measures in place to ensure that no other citizen volunteers experience what Becelia did.
But other members of the Board aren’t prepared to close the door on the events surrounding Becelia’s removal.
Aquia representative Monica Gary addressed the issue during her Board member comments, attributing her decision not to seek reelection partly to the fallout she has experienced since the matter came to light.
On December 17, supervisors voted to censure Gary for her actions related to Becelia’s removal and strip her of her committee assignments. Then-Chair Meg Bohmke said there had been “an investigation” into the reasons given for Becelia’s removal and described Gary’s motivations as being “political in nature and related to her upcoming reelection.”
On Tuesday, Gary said the board’s actions were based on “a personal agenda.”
“I have been removed from every board committee and commission on a personal agenda because I told the truth about something, and I am not OK with trying to keep a position for myself on this board,” she said. “No matter how much I love my job, and I do, watching over 20,000 constituents in my district be penalized for that is not acceptable.”
Gary also asked that the board release the findings of the investigation that Bohmke alluded to in December and “make public the specifics of the accusations against me, which I have not been informed of.”
The other board members did not respond to Gary’s request, but did respond to a request from Rock Hill representative Crystal Vanuch to share with Becelia “the allegations that were made as to why she was removed for misconduct in the beginning.”
This discussion took place during a closed session in July. Gary asked Diggs to poll board members as to their support for waiving closed session confidentiality and sharing the discussion with Becelia. All board members agreed except for Vice Chair Tinesha Allen, who abstained, and Garrisonville representative Pamela Yeung.
“I know what I said in closed session,” Yeung said. “I don’t think it’s productive right now, unless the county attorney was in there taking notes, and I don’t think she was. So, it’s a ‘no’ for me.”
Gary said she has no problem with the closed session discussion being disclosed to Becelia, but that “my issue is, the information is not going to be accurate.”
“I sat in one of these closed sessions and was told things occurred that did not, and watched people start to nod in agreement over things not said by me,” Gary said. “There’s no record, so everyone can say what they want.”
In response to a question from the Advance, Diggs said Wednesday morning that he is “actively addressing this matter by speaking with each board member and inquiring if any notes were taken.”
“Once all the information is compiled, I will ensure the statements are accurate before sharing them with Mrs. Becelia and the public,” Diggs wrote in an email.
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