‘I would have whipped your a- -, son’: Louisa board, resident spar over $1 billion power line project usage

LOUISA COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — A routine Louisa County board of supervisors meeting on Monday night escalated into a heated exchange and ended with the removal of a resident after he sparred with board members over a proposed $1 billion power line project planned for Central Virginia.

During the public comment session at a board of supervisors meeting on Monday, March 2, Louisa residents voiced concerns about the Joshua Falls to Yeat Transmission Line Project, citing destruction of rural character, health-related implications, noise pollution and property devaluation. The project would stretch more than 100 miles from Culpeper County to Campbell County, passing through Louisa County.

The 115-mile, 765kV power line is under development by Valley Link, a joint venture by Dominion Energy, FirstEnergy Transmission and Transource Energy. Developers said the extra-high-voltage project is in response to a statewide increase in power demand, which is expected to double in the next 20 years.

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During his allotted three minutes of comment, resident Adam Combs echoed residents' concerns and alleged that the county has also received plans for proposed data centers in Louisa, including a large-scale facility on Route 33.

"If [supervisor] Mr. Williams is a builder, then he knows that the 2,700-megawatt facility on Route 33 had to have 2.7 gigawatts coming from somewhere... You guys didn't look at the data for the second-largest proposed data center in all of Virginia?" Combs said.

Combs reiterated his questions about the energy source for planned data centers in the county and said that the board needs to "do some real homework," adding that developer Dominion Energy hasn't submitted a high-voltage direct current underground proposal.

"Are you being paid off? Why are you even allowing this?" Combs said, referring to the board of supervisors. "You all should be audited."

Supervisor Christopher McCotter then responded to Combs after his comment period, and said that regardless of one's opinion, "you're respected the most when you act respectfully to others."

"We want our citizens to come and comment to us, we like you being here, but you need to do so in a manner that is respectful, constructive and productive," McCotter said.

Combs could then be heard chiming in in the background when Chairman Duane Adams attempted to address the situation. The conversation then escalated when both parties were speaking over one another at several points.

When Combs interrupted Adams again, the chairman warned that he's going to "throw [Combs] out of here [if there's] one more outburst." Combs then responded with something along the lines of "You can make a comment to me, but I can't... You're not my daddy."

To which the chairman responded, "No, because I would have whipped your a- -, son, if I was your father."

Combs then attempted to respond to the chairman's comment, but he was ultimately removed from the building following a motion from Adams.

At the heart of the heated exchange is "confusion in the community" over the relationship between the Valley Link power line and proposed data centers in the county, said a Louisa County spokesperson.

In a statement to 8News, the spokesperson clarified that the power line project would provide power to data centers up north and not the ones in Louisa, despite the Valley Link's route being planned to run through the county.

"One of the proposed routes for the transmission lines is to run along our Technology Overlay District (TOD). Valley Link stated this was due to the large assemblage of parcels in the district and noted a potential relationship in the character of the technology zoning. Running along our TOD is not associated with power needs. The large assemblage of parcels would mean less property owners would be impacted," wrote the spokesperson in part.

After the heated exchange, Adams explained the reasoning behind his motion to remove Combs from the meeting.

"You don't have the right to make false accusations against the board. You certainly don't have the right to interrupt this meeting and shout from the crowd. I won't allow that to happen from anybody," Adams said.

Toward the end of the Monday night meeting, Adams apologized to community members for his behavior and noted that he rarely loses his temper.

"My minister is here and my mother is watching this live. I know I'll hear about that later," Adams said. "I do want to apologize, I did swear in public... I give you all that apology. I should not have done that."

On Tuesday, March 3, Louisa authorities took to social media to address the heated exchange and noted that it "reflected a departure from the Louisa way." County officials also explained the incident in length, citing a misunderstanding of public comment period structure, a misunderstanding of board authority and unfortunate assumptions.