In Virginia, town councils are elected leaders charged with overseeing a local town government. They have the power to set tax rates, make zoning decisions, oversee local emergency service, and much more.

The Town of Farmville, which is in Prince Edward County, is divided into five wards. One town council member is elected from each ward and two are elected at-large. The town council and mayor serve four-year terms. 

This year, three wards and one at-large position is up for election. Incumbent Adam B. Yoelin is running to represent Ward B. 

Charlottesville Tomorrow designed a questionnaire for Yoelin based on responses we received from our voter survey. He provided answers below.

Housing

Like many central Virginian communities, some Farmville residents struggle to find and pay for housing. What’s your view on Farmville’s housing needs, and what would you push for to address them?

Adam B. Yoelin: We should look into more mixed use projects that develop various sized units next to smaller homes with walkable opportunities for local businesses. Planned Unit Development is one such avenue we could explore. Smaller lot sizes is something the Farmville Planning Commission and Town Council are also talking about.

Healthcare access

Farmville’s own hospital, Centra Southside Community Hospital, closed its labor and delivery unit this past winter — part of a broader pattern of more rural communities losing access to health care. Is there anything you can see the town government doing to help address this, even in a small way?

Yoelin: We will work with what we have. Our local Health Department partners with other communities nearby to offer annual clinics that serve hundreds of Town and Prince Edward County residents each year.* We have an excellent and growing nursing program at Longwood University and local charities and churches provide meals and other services for our residents. Watching our local hospital, Centra Southside, continue to cut services for our Town residents and the surrounding communities is difficult. Farmville will continue to work with local partners to provide the best healthcare possible as we seek to grow our community and services in the future.

Data centers

What is your stance on data centers in the Town of Farmville? What information would you want to have before deciding how Farmville should approach data center development?

Yoelin: That happened in Farmville, North Carolina. Not Farmville, Virginia. The Data Center debate in Prince Edward County is still going on. No Moratorium has been initiated.* I am open to continuing the conversation but as of yet, the Town of Farmville has not been invited to be a partner in the proposed venture, even though the data center sits directly on the Town and Prince Edward County border.** It’s disheartening, as any large project like the proposed data center on our doorstep is definitely going to affect the Town and our population for a long time. Farmville citizens deserve a seat at the table. There was a recent public presentation by some advocates of the data center project.*** Citizens were asked to submit questions beforehand. Since a number of submitted questions were not addressed, I’ve heard, it really didn’t feel like they were participants, let alone partners. I hope that changes. Soon.

Water supply

Farmville relies on the Appomattox River for its water supply. This summer, as the river dropped to unusually low levels during a regional drought, the town asked residents and businesses to voluntarily conserve water. Scientists predict that droughts like the one experienced this summer will increase in frequency and severity in the coming years. How should the town prepare to protect its water supply?

Yoelin: A long term solution must include a multi-concentrated effort. The Town has recently completed replacing our older residential water taps with modern more reliable technology. Ongoing work on our older infrastructure plays a big part in making sure the water gets where it needs to go with limited waste. Planting more trees, though not an immediate answer, over time will decrease the Town’s heat island effects that push needed moisture in the clouds away.* We need to be thinking 10, 20 and 50 years into the future. What we do today, what we plant today we might not live to see. It’s our gift to the future. Just as what we have now was built and planned and planted for us in the past. We’ve learned a lot since that time. Let’s put our experience and knowledge to work for us and our children’s children.

Are there any other pressing issues facing the Town of Farmville that you would like voters to know about?

Yoelin: The power comes from the people. The authority to govern is not absolute. I think people need to push back against people who punch down. It is an honor for me to serve my Ward. I help solve problems with my neighbors. I don’t tell anyone what to do. I do what they tell me to do. I hope other people will step up and serve, because governing is not something anyone should do for themselves and it’s not something they should do for long. I’ll serve one more term if elected. If I lose this election I’ll take my power back as a citizen again.