More than a dozen people, including the former CEO of Smithfield Foods, turned out Tuesday night to ask James City County supervisors to postpone further work on the proposed county office complex until after the November elections. But the supervisors voted 4-1 to award a $16.5 million contract to begin site work at the location.
Stonehouse supervisor Barbara Null voted against the move, saying she had not heard from a single constituent who was in favor of the $190 million center, plus a library annex.
The crux of protests from more than a dozen residents who spoke was that they had just learned about the center, and some of them charged the county with keeping it a secret. The opponents said they had more than 900 signatures on a petition opposing the center.
Assistant County Administrator Brad Rinehimer told the supervisors the center has been discussed at 25 different public meetings in the past four years, has been mentioned in 38 dif…