Charles City supervisors send message regarding future cycling events

Charles City supervisors are giving fair warning to any cycling organization that plans to use county roads for an event; make sure you go through the right channels.

Tuesday night’s regular board meeting of the county leaders addressed that issue after a July triathlon caused frustration for many local residents and travelers (see related story on this website).

Supervisors invited a representative from the Rev3 Triathlon to speak on the issue. That spokesman, Jay Peluso, answered the call.

“The Rev3 triathlon is a family own company donated to helping others,” he said. “We work with local volunteer leaders to organize these events and we help out families in need.”
Peluso spoke for a few minutes on how funds raised from some of the company’s events helped a family with medical care for cancer treatment. He also added information about organizations that Rev3 have donated to in support of their races.

And while supervisors understood, they were less than thrilled with the antics of the July 10 event that occupied 56 miles of Charles City roads.

“I am sadly disappointed the way this race was conducted,” said board chairman Floyd Miles Sr. “It is sad how VDOT’s (Virginia’s Department of Transportation) branch of Hampton Roads can approve a permit to run in Charles City [that works under the VDOT’s Richmond branch].

“I am not satisfied with the results of how this race turned out and I have received several calls from citizens,” the chairman continued. “As one board member, I am not a happy camper.”
Peluso distributed letters to county leaders from supporters of the triathlon, encouraging them not to eliminate the race. However, many supervisors noted that the letters were from people in surrounding jurisdictions and not Charles City.

District 2 supervisor Bill Coada continued to voice his local displeasure, addressing the event as well as the possible monetary benefits reaped by neighboring Williamsburg-James City County.

“These letters say that the supervisors didn’t do their research but as I said at the last meeting, I definitely made calls to people about this issue,” he said, flipping through letters written by people who read his comments in the Chronicle’s online edition. “I spoke with VDOT representatives, our fire chief, and members of the Virginia Capital Trail committee about what happened. Our fire chief nor the representatives of Virginia Capital Trail knew about the event.

“According to these letters, people spent money at all of these places in Williamsburg,” Coada continued. “But that’s not Charles City.”

Coada turned his attention to Peluso, questioning him if he knew the specs of the race and if laws were adhered to by cyclists during the race. While Peluso said mandatory meetings were held by athletes, he acknowledged that some of them did not abide by the rules.

The District 2 representative inquired about the financial donations made by the organization. Peluso responded, saying they have made $25,000 in donations over the last four years.

“But how much of that went to Charles City?” questioned Coada. “Was a donation made to Charles City Fire/EMS when they responded to two riders getting injured?”

Peluso said the donations were made to Williamsburg-James City County Fire & Rescue and their police department.

“I didn’t ask you about them,” Coada retorted. “You used our roads and our resources.”

Peluso said that Charles City Sheriff’s Office was paid for their services, but the District 2 leader’s displeasure concluded his final comments on the night.

“I am extremely frustrated, but I appreciate you coming to speak to us tonight,” Coada said. “If you conduct a future event like you did with this last one, I as one supervisor will stop it.”

Gilbert Smith, the District 1 representative, said cycling events in the county have affected local citizens to the point of having a negative perception.

“Cyclists ride through the county two to three abreast and act like they own the road,” Smith said. “When organizations come into the county to do these events, they want to do it any way they see fit to and not follow the rules of the road.

“I am not just talking about your organization,” he said to Peluso. “I’m talking about those who choose to have events in this county.”

Smith’s final take was similar to his board colleagues, saying that future events need to be organized and addressed with the county in proper fashion.

“As long as it’s in a safe and orderly manner, I have no problem supporting any race in the county,” he concluded.

During the public comment period, resident Kevin Sullivan supported the board’s stance, but indicated they should help the county become the host site for the events.

“I understand that you are concerned and how things went, but the obvious question is how can we get events like the triathlon to be based out our county?” he asked. “The Capital Trail can make a lot of money and we need to concentrate on how to bring these events to Charles City.

“The average triathlete spends about $1,000,” Sullivan added. “That is for three nights in a hotel, food, and more. We need to bring that money to the county.”

Charles City supervisors and staff are currently working with Virginia’s Department of Transportation to address the issue of permitting bike/triathlon races on county roads that are approved by outside jurisdictions.