Tangier Town Council Minutes
The minutes below are APPROVED, as voted on at the meeting, on June 8th, 2026.
Meeting Date: May 11th, 2026 – 6:00 p.m.
Meeting Location: Tangier Combined School
Council Members Present:
• Beth Thomas, Vice Mayor
• Anna Parks
• Tracy Pruitt
• Normand St. Pierre
Approximately forty adult members of the community were in attendance.
Call To Order:
• Tommy Eskridge
• Kelly Wheatley
• Mayor James Ooker Eskridge
Vice Mayor Beth Thomas called the meeting to order at 6:06 pm. She thanked the Accomack County Public Schools and Principal Charnock for the use of the school auditorium. She stated that the meeting was being recorded. She welcomed the members of the Bayland Consultants group.
Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance
The opening invocation was given by Denny Crockett, and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Tracy Pruitt.
Opening Statement:
Mayor James Eskridge welcomed everyone. He acknowledged that there was a good deal to discuss.
Motion: To adopt the agenda of May 11th, 2026, was made by Beth Thomas and seconded by Anna Parks. Unanimous
Aye. Motion Carried
Motion: To approve the public meeting minutes of February 27th, 2026, was made by Tommy Eskridge and seconded
by Anna Parks. Unanimous Aye. Motion Carried
Financial Reports:
Fiscal Compliance – Normand St. Pierre’
Norm explained our legal responsibility to have an approved, published, balanced budget and our simple inability to comply with that mandate, due to missing and inaccessible records, prior debt and a lack of cash reserves. So far, we have done the best we can, under the circumstances, but challenges remain. Were it not for this situation, the Town would be in decent shape, and should be in decent shape, moving forward, as these issues are negotiated and resolved.
He applauded the acquisition of the Tangier Gas Company, as that acquisition should be a good investment.
He outlined an issue with undocumented and unpaid Town employee taxes, on the State and Federal level. There have been several years where these taxes were never received by the taxing body, and we are, therefore, in a position to have to negotiate those debts, with the hopes of having any legally allowable penalties to be forgiven.
He explained that the Town’s previous accountant was very ill, and we, as a result, are not able to acquire the records that he had. For this reason, the Town has researched hiring a new accountant and bookkeeper. They have identified (against the formidable challenge of tax time) an accountant/bookkeeper that is willing to take on the Town’s finances.
He has met with Paula Green and feels she is a good fit. Paula has been approved by the Federal and State authorities that are helping Tangier get back on solid ground.
He expressed concern about the burden of the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WTP), on the Town’s budget and overall fiscal health. He feels it is imperative that the Town find and execute whatever means are needed to get out from under that burden of debt. He feels that there are some encouraging things in the works, which will hopefully mean good things going forward with the WTP loan. Norm indicated that he would be out of the country, sailing for Newfoundland, starting the first week of June. He will be away for an extended period. He assured everyone that he would be available by Star Link, just not physically here.
Because he plans to be gone, he will have the proposed FY27 Tangier Town Budget prepared and presented before he leaves. It will need to be voted on before the end of June, 2026.
Motion: to hire Paula Green as the Tangier Town accountant/bookkeeper was made by Normand St. Pierre’ and seconded by Anna Parks. Unanimous Aye. Motion Carried.
Norm went on to praise the Berkley Group, for their thorough audit and their grasp of the fiscal and procedural situation the Town of Tangier finds itself in. He feels that the recommendations that they laid out were on point. He said that if we move forward with implementation of the steps they put forward, the Town could be in far better shape within about two years. He underscored that each member of the community has a responsibility to keep asking the pertinent questions, to make sure that transparency is maintained, and Town responsibilities are handled legally and appropriately. He said that audits for the next couple of budget years would be challenging, but after that, audits would have to be conducted every year.
General Fund:
Tracy Pruitt reported that the General Fund balance, as of the last meeting on February 27th, 2026, was $43,234.89. As of May 11th, 2026, the balance is $42,187.52.
Wastewater Treatment Plant (WTP):
Kelly Wheatley reported that the WTP fund balance, as of the last meeting on February 27th, 2026, was $15,196.26. As of May 11th, 2026, the balance is $23,933.69.
Tangier Gas:
Fuel Dock and DEQ Update:
Tommy Eskridge reported that the current balance in the Fuel Dock account, as of May 11th, 2026, was $19,431.14, but that he expected to make a deposit within the next few days of between $12,000 and $13,000. He went on to report that they had reduced the inherited debt of approximately $172,000.00 to $99,000.00 and the Swain Memorial Church loan from $50,000.00 to $20,000.00.
There was a mix-up with fuel in one tank, and 8100 gallons of fuel were inappropriately mixed. As this hybrid fuel was unusable on Tangier, a buyer for the entire load of mixed-up fuel was identified in Texas, and they sent a fuel barge up, to collect 6,500 gallons, with the remaining 1,600 gallons scheduled to ship out in containers. As a result of this fuel sale, the Town will be able to recover .87 cents a gallon, from the original fuel price.
Tommy reported that the DEQ dock project is moving forward and everything is looking much different. Both docks have been dismantled. Pilings will be delivered soon, and dredging and new tanks are all scheduled to happen over the next month and a half. The old tanks will be removed.
He stated that Town vehicle tags would be issued in June.
Public Comments:
There were no public comments.
Grants Report:
Anna Parks reported that she had attended a meeting with Eastern Shore Waterways. The Nassawadox dredge project is going forward, and they are hoping the plan goes through to pump 35,000 yards of dredge material directly onto the western side of Tangier beach. There was originally a concern about tiger beetles, but the Army Corps of Engineers cleared the site, as the beetle is on the other side of the beach.
Anna and Beth attended a very disheartening meeting about the previously discussed Distressed Locality funding. The Commission on Local Government was here for the meeting in March, with Berkley Group, where they laid out a long list of recommendations for getting the Town out if it’s management and fiscal predicament.
The general impression obtained in this latest meeting was that the Town would be given a certain time period to complete the Berkley Groups recommendations, starting the timeclock on July 1st, 2026. It was discovered that there was no help offered to the Town to fulfill these obligations, contrary to the Town’s initial understanding of the program. No sourcing. No funding. Not even a professional administrator to help. All they’ve done is spend a lot of money to study and report on the problem.
Their conclusions were not much more than the Council already knew. After a year’s investment of hard work, to end up without the help they anticipated, the Council intends to push the issue, to strongly encourage improvements to the Distressed Locality program, to make sure any other towns looking for help, find something more like the help they need.
US Army Corps of Engineers Dredging of Harbor, and Navigational Channel:
Ooker Eskridge reported that the US Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) was originally scheduled to dredge in May, but couldn’t get the dredge boat here, so that pushed Tangier’s dredging off until September. The channel has silted up a lot over the last two winters, and the situation is critical, so cannot wait until September.
The East approach in the channel and the harbor is too shallow, and it is already affecting the mailboat’s ability to get into the harbor without bottoming out, and the ability of the tug to bring fuel over. The large tour boat, out of Crisfield, has delayed their season until July 1st, in hopes that the ACOE can make it in to dredge earlier. In another similar situation, the ACOE approved Jaime Taylor to do an emergency dredge, to open the channel up, so that is what the Town is working on making happen.
Usage of Dredge Material on Ballfield:
Tommy Eskridge wanted people to know that he had checked to see if the dredge material that had been mounded on the ballfield, from the DEQ project, had finally dried out. It has, but still needs to be cleared for use by DEQ, but once
cleared, it will be offered to residents to use on their property. A small fee will be charged, which will be put toward the $99,000.00 Pep-up debt that Tangier Gas inherited. There will be strict environmental stipulations for use of the dredge, such as not putting it on marsh land, and not using it for construction. Fees and guidelines will be made available once the dredge is cleared for use.
Presentation by BayLand Consultants:
Presentation by Evan Mazur and Anna Johnson, of the BayLand Consultants, is attached — see below.
New Business:
There was no new business.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned by Beth Thomas at 7:01 p.m.
The next public meeting will be held on June 8th, 2026.
Tangier Island, Virginia 