VOTE DELAYED ON DEVELOPING RURAL CRESCENT; MOVE CALLED PLOY TO AVOID A PRE-PRIMARY CONTROVERSY Michele Clock and Steven Ginsberg; Washington Post; May 22 2003 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17751-2003May20.html KSI DEFERS GOLF COMMUNITY HEARING Dusty Smith, Gainesville Times; May 23 2003 http://www.zwire.com/site/tab6.cfm?newsid=8103743&BRD=2553&PAG=461&dept_id=506105&rfi=6 COUNTY DEFERS MASSIVE WEST-END REZONING Chris Newman, Potomac News; May 20 2003 http://www.potomacnews.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WPN%2FMGArticle%2FMJM_ BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031769622125&path=!news ATLAS CLEANUP, SUDLEY PARK DUMP FUEL CAMPAIGNS Tara Slate Donaldson, Gainesville Times; May 23 2003 http://www.zwire.com/site/tab6.cfm?newsid=8103731&BRD=2553&PAG=461&dept_id=506105&rfi=6 AN INTERESTING DEVELOPMENT Peter Hoagland, Letters, Washington Post; May 25 2003 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33350-2003May23.html TIME TO WORK TOGETHER Gary Friedman, Letters, Washington Post; May 25 2003 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33350-2003May23.html ATLAS DEVELOPMENT COULD BE CONFLICT OF INTEREST Tony Urso, Letters, Gainesville Times; May 23 2003 http://www.timescommunity.com/site/tab6.cfm?newsid=8103747&BRD=2553&PAG=461& dept_id=506108&rfi=6 BUDGET DEBACLE DELAYS PARK PROJECTS; VALLEY VIEW CONSTRUCTION COMES AT EXPENSE OF OTHERS Chris Newman, Potomac News; May 24 2003 http://www.potomacnews.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WPN%2FMGArticle%2FWPN_ BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031769650244&path=!news PW ZONING MAP; PROJECTS PROPOSED, PROJECTS APPROVED, SITE DISTURBANCE PERMITS Link Only http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33546-2003May23.html ROUTE 1 BUSINESSES SOON TO COMPETE FOR BEAUTIFICATION FUNDS Michael Neibauer, NoVA Journal; May 20 2003 http://www.dumfries.com/search.asp?article=2383 LAWMAKERS SUBSTITUTE FEES FOR TAXES Chris Newman, Potomac News; May 22 2003 http://www.potomacnews.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WPN%2FMGArticle%2FWPN_ BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031769641293&path=!frontpage&path=!frontpage OLD TOWN MANASSAS WINS MAIN STREET AWARD Bennie Scarton, Potomac News; May 19 2003 http://www.potomacnews.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WPN%2FMGArticle%2FWPN_ BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031769613415&path=!news MANASSAS AWARDED MAIN STREET STATUS Tara Slate Donaldson, Gainesville Times; May 23 2003 http://www.zwire.com/site/tab6.cfm?newsid=8103749&BRD=2553&PAG=461&dept_id=5 06105&rfi=6 WET SEASON ADDS TO WASTEWATER WOES Aileen Streng, Potomac News; May 17 2003 http://www.potomacnews.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WPN%2FMGArticle%2FWPN_ BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031769602748&path=!news HAYMARKET HISTORICAL FOUNDATION AIMS TO MOVE FORWARD Dusty Smith, Gainesville Times; May 23 2003 http://www.zwire.com/site/tab6.cfm?newsid=8103742&BRD=2553&PAG=461&dept_id=5 06105&rfi=6 AIR QUALITY INDEX REPORTS FOR NORTHERN VA Metro Washington Council of Government http://www.mwcog.org/environment/air/forecast/ ------------------------------------ PAGE TWO OF NEWS LINKS --------------------------------- VOTE DELAYED ON DEVELOPING RURAL CRESCENT; MOVE CALLED PLOY TO AVOID A PRE-PRIMARY CONTROVERSY Michele Clock and Steven Ginsberg; Washington Post; May 22 2003 A major developer has deferred a proposal to build a 663-acre golf course community -- 190 acres of which is in western Prince William County's Rural Crescent -- saying that it needs time to meet with residents who oppose the plan, and letting supervisors avoid a potentially controversial vote two weeks before primary elections. The Prince William Board of County Supervisors was scheduled to consider the proposal by Vienna-based KSI Services Inc. at a public hearing Tuesday night. But earlier Tuesday, Michael D. Lubeley, an attorney representing KSI, asked that supervisors postpone the matter to a June 24 public hearing. The project, called Greater South Market, would include a Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course, 720 age-restricted homes, 525 non-age-restricted houses and an office park. The site is near Haymarket, bounded by the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks on the north, Route 15 on the east and Thoroughfare Road on the west. For the proposal to work, a series of changes to the county's Comprehensive Plan and current zoning would be necessary. The Prince William Planning Commission approved the package April 16. Edward Byrne, KSI's vice president of planning, said he was not aware of residents' opposition to the plan until last week. "We were sort of fat and happy thinking everybody in the community that had an interest we had talked to," he said. Byrne said he thinks the proposal "benefits the whole concept of the Rural Crescent and the interface between Rural Crescent and development." He suggested that opponents haven't seen all the details of the plan. The deferral gives time to Byrne and others to meet with community members and explain the proposal. It also spares supervisors from voting on a thorny land-use issue two weeks before party primaries. Virtually all candidates have campaigned on smart growth platforms, each defining that on his own terms, and Greater South Market would have given voters a fresh chance to see whether their definition of smart growth coincides with supervisors'. The project is particularly notable because it would involve the county's rural preserve, an 80,000-acre stretch that tantalizes developers but has been marked as off limits by the county. Opponents of the project said they thought the last-minute deferral was politically motivated. Elena Schlossberg, a leader of Advocates for the Rural Crescent (ARC) who has been very active in her opposition to the proposal, called the deferral "dirty politics." "This is absolutely a political move," she said. "It has nothing to do with the greater good or the greater good of land use. That you can even request a deferral at the last minute when the citizens make time to go to the public hearing is outrageous." Schlossberg, who lives in Haymarket, said she had focused her opposition on Tuesday night's meeting, mobilizing at least 50 ARC members, other slow-growth activists and residents of the Rural Crescent to speak out on the plan at that time. Schlossberg said she still planned to get up and talk during citizen's time Tuesday night. Supervisor Ruth T. Griggs (R-Occoquan), the board's most consistent anti-growth voice, said she received a flood of calls saying the move was a "disgraceful election-year ploy because now [supervisors] don't have to take a position until after the primaries." Griggs expressed her own skepticism, saying, "I don't know what the applicant knows today that they didn't know a while ago." Griggs sought to open the public hearing Tuesday as originally scheduled because residents would not know that the vote was deferred. But supervisors sided against that idea, not wanting to essentially have two public hearings on the same project. Board Chairman Sean T. Connaughton (R-At Large) said the "applicant requested that the proposal be deferred until they've had an opportunity to meet with citizens who have raised concerns. We only started getting contacted about this in the last three or four days." Schlossberg remains optimistic about the situation. "Instead of being so angry, I can also look at this as an indication that the board and the developers are interested in working with the community on this," she said. ------------------------------------------------ KSI DEFERS GOLF COMMUNITY HEARING Dusty Smith, Gainesville Times; May 23 2003 KSI Services Inc. requested a delay on the vote and a public hearing for a new golf course community near the Town of Haymarket. The hearing date was reset for July 1 to the dismay of 17 opponents who spoke during citizens' time at the beginning of the May 20 evening meeting. "It's like Lucy with the football," said James Hendley, referencing the "Peanuts" cartoon in which Lucy lures Charlie Brown to kick a football and then pulls it away. "Go away seems to be the message." The plan calls for about 1,200 homes and a small office park on 663 acres along Route 15 with a golf course intended to shelter the Rural Crescent from the community and development corridor. Part of the development creeps into the edge of the Rural Crescent. Michael Lubeley, an attorney representing KSI, said the deferral came in response to a large number of opponents of the plan who voiced their concerns for the first time just hours before the scheduled May 20 hearing. "KSI and [Lubeley's law firm] met with all the neighbors and everyone who expressed interest on both sides of Route 15," he said, adding that opposition to the plan only surfaced in the 24 hours before the hearing. He said KSI hoped to address the concerns of those citizens. "That is the purpose for this deferral," he said. "We are an open book." Opponents argued that the deferral was an election stunt to keep the golf course from becoming an issue at the June 10 party primaries. In addition, opponents argued that it was unfair to announce the deferral so close to the scheduled time. Elena Schlossberg-Kunkel, who heads the Advocates against the Rural Crescent (ARC), said she hoped KSI was honest in its intention to work with the community. "I hope that what I will see is some reaching out from the development community in reference to the Rural Crescent," she said. "Anything else would look like you deferred it until after the primary for political reasons." ---------------------------------------------------- COUNTY DEFERS MASSIVE WEST-END REZONING Chris Newman, Potomac News; May 20 2003 Rural crescent advocates have come out against a plan to put a golf course and 1,245 homes on land southwest of Haymarket in the last week, leading county officials to defer action until their concerns are heard by the developer. The land in question is the 663-acre triangle formed by Thoroughfare Road, U.S. 15 and the Norfolk Southern railroad just south of the vacant Midwood business park. The area is called Greater South Market. The rezoning was submitted by the Haymarket Investment Syndicate. The county's long-range land-use plan calls for keeping 266 acres for agricultural use, but an amendment tied to the rezoning would reduce the amount to 78 acres. More than a dozen people spoke during "Citizens Time" at the Prince William Board of County Supervisors meeting Tuesday, some expressing disappointment the public hearing was deferred. It is an assault on the rural crescent boundaries that were agreed to in 1998 changes to the county's comprehensive land-use plan, said Elena Schlossberg, leader of Advocates for the Rural Crescent, in an interview. The board last year rejected a plan amendment to allow golf courses in the rural crescent, she said. "They're trying to defer it until after the June primary," she said. Not true, said Board of County Supervisors Chairman Sean T. Connaughton, R-at-large. No objections were raised against the plan until last week, he said. "Our staff is supporting this and worked on this," he said. "There was [no opposition] at the planning commission. Until this weekend, we had not heard of any major concern and now we're told all these people will be here." With controversial matters the board typically gets the developer to meet with residents to answer their questions. The staff report states that the rezoning is an improvement because it refines the irregularly shaped boundary between the rural crescent and development of the area and cuts out unwanted uses on the western side of the area. Existing agreements and zoning allow for 256 town houses out of 525 residential units to be built along U.S. 15 with strip shopping center, 20,000-square-foot lots along Thoroughfare Road, and 44 acres of light industrial along U.S. 15, staff wrote. The new plan pulls east the high density zoning along Thoroughfare Road and establishes a wide area of open space along Beverly Road, staff said. Connaughton said the planning commission is the board's "canary in the coal mine." Only one person spoke against it then -- slow-growther Martha Hendley. Schlossberg said rural crescent advocates didn't speak at the planning commission because that body is leaving it to the county supervisors to reject developments. "After the Gainesville sector plan, many people thought, 'Why should we even bother? They're passing everything anyway.' If you want to energize people, you have to pick your battles," she said. Citizens came out Tuesday with strong words for county supervisors. Jim Price of Gainesville said even Supervisor Edgar S. Wilbourn, I-Gainesville, backed off a proposal last year to allow golf courses in the rural crescent. "You're not stupid people, but here it is again. The same asininity," Price said. Smoothing out the geometry of the boundaries is hardly justification for cutting into the rural crescent, he said. "My prayer every night is in this year's election people are paying attention," Price said. "I hope they are paying attention to how ludicrous your actions have been over the last four years." Staff writer Chris Newman can be reached at (703) 878-8062. ---------------------------------------------------- ATLAS CLEANUP, SUDLEY PARK DUMP FUEL CAMPAIGNS Tara Slate Donaldson, Gainesville Times; May 23 2003 An allegation that contaminated dirt is being dumped at Sudley Park has sparked an angry debate involving the Park Authority Board and two of the candidates for Gainesville District supervisor. John Stirrup of Haymarket, the at-large representative to the Park Authority Board, wrote a letter to the board late last month alleging that dirt and debris from the Atlas Machine and Iron Works site was being hauled away and dumped at Sudley Park in Catharpin. "I'm not familiar with all of the types of chemicals that may have been used in the processing or iron during the many decades that the Atlas Iron Works functioned," states Stirrup's April 23 letter. "I am, however, very concerned that soils and debris transferred from the Atlas Iron Works may compromise the health, safety and welfare of neighbors and Park users." Stirrup asked the board to test the soil at the park, which is scheduled to open in July on the north side of Sudley Road, near Pageland Lane. The allegations are complicated by the fact that Stirrup is the Republican candidate for Gainesville District supervisor. Current Supervisor Ed Wilbourn, who is seeking re-election as an Independent, is a contract manager at The Anderson Company, which is clearing the Atlas site and donating materials and labor to the park. "We did not haul any soil to Sudley Park. We hauled crushed concrete and gravel to build a haul (access) road," Wilbourn said, shortly after Stirrup's letter was sent. Wilbourn called Stirrup's allegations "dirty, nasty politics." In response to Stirrup's letter, Lester Leonard, Wilbourn's appointee to the Park Authority Board, wrote a letter of his own, accusing Stirrup of "trying to drag the Park Authority into his and Chairman Connaughton's political mud bath." Sean Connaughton (R-At large) appointed Stirrup to the Park Authority Board and is an ideological opponent of Wilbourn. "Mr. Stirrup's letter of unfounded accusations is harmful to an entire array of companies and individuals: The Park Authority, The County, The Peterson Company (who owns the old Atlas site), The Anderson Company, L.L.C., Supervisor Wilbourn and the thousands of youth who are waiting to use the fields," Leonard wrote on April 28. "The Park Authority should not be used for Mr. Stirrup and the Chairman's political platform." Leonard's letter stated that "it is common knowledge that every construction site has to have an environmental evaluation and report" and that Stirrup could have requested a copy of the report before "falsely insinuating" that there was a problem. On May 14, Stirrup responded in another letter, stating that Leonard's correspondence was "an attempt to distort that this park has, for the last four years, been controversial and unorthodox in its development." "The overall personal nature of Mr. Leonard's letter was not only unprofessional, but inappropriate for a Board Member who has oversight responsibilities for public funds and the health, safety and welfare of the community," Stirrup wrote. Stirrup also withdrew his request for a soil test, asking instead to review Anderson's trucking logs giving details about each load pickup, what type of material was hauled in each and where and when it was picked up and dropped off. On Tuesday, Stirrup said he had been told that Anderson is under no obligation to hand over any logs. "I want to see those logs, and, if they don't exist, I definitely have a problem with that," he said Tuesday. Stirrup acknowledged that he currently has no proof to substantiate his allegations. If the logs are not made available, he said he would renew his request for soil testing at the park. ---------------------------------------------------------- AN INTERESTING DEVELOPMENT Peter Hoagland, Letters, Washington Post; May 25 2003 TIME TO WORK TOGETHER Gary Friedman, Letters, Washington Post; May 25 2003 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33350-2003May23.html AN INTERESTING DEVELOPMENT Last Sunday's Prince William Extra contained two interesting letters. One referred to the former site of the Atlas Works in Gainesville, which has been demolished and is now being developed by Anderson Co. Amazingly, this is Supervisor Edgar S. Wilbourn's employer! I found it hard to believe, so I called Anderson today and confirmed that it is true. How is this possible? Are there no policies in Prince William County government about ethics and conflicts of interest? Chairman Sean T. Connaughton, are you listening? The other letter was from Amy Dove of Bristow, who reports she is delighted with the direction of Prince William County. She made it clear that she does not want to hear from any critics about horrendous traffic congestion, poor air quality, skyrocketing taxes/fees and deteriorating quality of life. I am happy for Ms. Dove, but it is apparent she has not tried to drive through Gainesville lately. Peter Hoagland New Baltimore TIME TO WORK TOGETHER At 7:30 p.m. May 20, I, along with about 30 other Gainesville area residents, attended a scheduled public hearing on the Greater South Market amendment to the county's Comprehensive Plan and rezoning applications by KSI Services Inc. This is a large development proposal for rural land near Haymarket. Like other concerned citizens, I have serious questions about this project. During the afternoon session, the hearing was "deferred" to a date in July, after the June 10 primary elections. The board chairman told citizens that evening the deferral was "at the applicant's request." Cynics have said the deferral was requested so Supervisors Mary Hill (R-Coles) and Hilda Barg (D-Woodbridge), both of whom face strong primary challenges and have consistently supported numerous large development projects in the past, didn't like being put into a position of voting to support yet another massive rezoning case, then have to face voters a couple weeks later. I don't know what the real motives were for the deferral, but I am prepared, at least for the moment, to accept statements made that KSI wants to work with the community to address concerns. I hope those statements are accurate. If KSI is sincere about being a good neighbor and really wants to work with the community, that is good news. The subject site offers a wonderful opportunity for an experienced development company to show civic responsibility and to demonstrate it understands the wisdom of adopting smart growth principles into its projects. It is also an excellent opportunity for the current members of the county board to demonstrate true commitment to honoring their word to citizens about controlling growth and preventing sprawl. They can prove we are not just hearing election year rhetoric from them on these issues. In my public comments at the meeting, I invited KSI and its attorney to get together with me and other concerned citizens to come up with a plan everyone can accept. I look forward to meeting with them. Gary C. Friedman Broad Run (Democratic nominee for Gainesville District supervisor) ---------------------------------------------------------- ATLAS DEVELOPMENT COULD BE CONFLICT OF INTEREST Tony Urso, Letters, Gainesville Times; May 23 2003 As I was driving through Gainesville the other day on Route 29, I noticed that the old Atlas Iron Works had been cleared away to make room for much needed big box retail space. A sign on the fence declared that the site development was being done by the Anderson Co. As this is Gainesville Supervisor Wilbourn's full-time employer I was wondering if there would be still another investigation into a conflict of interest. And then I remembered where I was. Probably not. Is this a great county or what! ---------------------------------------------------- BUDGET DEBACLE DELAYS PARK PROJECTS; VALLEY VIEW CONSTRUCTION COMES AT EXPENSE OF OTHERS Chris Newman, Potomac News; May 24 2003 The rain has to stop sometime, and when it does, play will resume on the championship-level softball and soccer fields at Valley View Park in Brentsville, ready with fresh playing fields and modern irrigation systems. Meanwhile, more than a dozen other fields across the Prince William County will continue to be as they were five years ago when voters approved nearly $1 million to upgrade them. The Prince William County Park Authority used the money instead to cover some of the $2.4 million in cost overruns at Valley View, which will come in at a price of $5.4 million. The fallout from that fund swap and an August 2002 report that found mismanagement by the Park Authority led the Prince William Board of County Supervisors last month to take away much of its autonomy. They couldn't bring the money back until the next fiscal year that begins July 1. Deferred are $102,000 in renovations to four softball fields at Fairmont Park in Gainesville with construction of two pavilions, $27,000 for parking lot lighting at Turley Field in Dale City, $45,000 for parking lot lighting at Neabsco Eagles Park in Dale City and $100,000 in field improvements at 15 county schools. These projects were supposed to be done by July 1, but now the work will be completed before fall seasons or during the winter, said Park Authority spokeswoman Delain Clark. County supervisors last month approved a budget increase for the Park Authority to replace the transferred funds. "From our perspective it was tough to do because of expectations of the community and the supervisors," said Park Authority Occoquan district board member Brant Wickman. The delayed school projects, which included irrigation control, backstop and dugout repair and field upgrades, are: ? two fields at Antietam Elementary ? two at Beville Middle ? one at Enterprise Elementary ? one at Fred Lynn Middle ? one at King Elementary ? two at Lake Ridge Middle ? one at Leesylvannia Elementary ? one at Montclair Elementary ? one at Old Bridge Elementary ? one at Pattie Elementary ? two at Saunders Middle ? one at Westridge Elementary The Park Authority was able to go forward with projects at four schools this year: ? $15,750 to replace a backstop, two new dugouts, new sideline fences at McAuliffe Elementary, ? $12,530 for girl's softball field dugouts and sidelines and $9,450 for baseball/adult softball dugouts at Belmont Elementary, ? $9,573 for irrigation, dugouts and sideline fence for a baseball field and $6,750 for dugouts at another baseball field at Henderson Elementary, and ? $13,095 for relocating a baseball field, backstop and dugouts at Enterprise Elementary. Also transferred was $200,000 to light the baseball and softball fields at Brentsville High School. It went to Valley View and the BMX facility behind McCoart, but the Board of County Supervisors saved the Brentsville project with general fund dollars. County Supervisors Chairman Sean T. Connaughton, R-at large, had pushed for disbanding the Park Authority, but his counterparts chose to tighten financial controls and oversight in a new operating agreement approved last month. "Obviously I am a frequent and loud critic of what's been happening at the Park Authority, and unfortunately the taxpayers and the kids are the ones who are paying the price for the mistakes made by the Park Authority," Connaughton said. "I still have my concerns and will be continually vigilant." Supervisor Edgar S. Wilbourn, I-Gainesville, has gone against Connaughton in defending the Park Authority. "I don't think it was all the Park Authority's fault. They got caught up in giving early estimates on a park that evolved. The costs three years after an estimate are going to change," Wilbourn said. He said the county needs to rethink the way it build parks. Instead of following short schedules to build, contractors can do work more cheaply or for free if given a large window -- 12 to 18 months -- to grade sites or add dirt. This was done with Sudley Park in Gainesville. His excavation company donated dirt to the park and it has not cost the county any money, he said. The donation has saved the county millions, money that was supposed to build the park beginning in 2005 can go to other projects, he said. The park will be completed next year. "It is very innovative," Wilbourn said. "That's the way the Park Authority should be from here out. We're proving it can be done at Sudley." Connaughton and others have questioned the manner in which the dirt was dumped -- without Park Authority permission or oversight. The park will not be free next year when its operating costs come online early, Connaughton pointed out. Wilbourn said the work followed county specifications for the park, and children will be able to play sooner rather than later. The news isn't all bad for sports fields other than Valley View and Sudley Park. The 1998 bond package contained $2.7 million for sports fields and most has already been done. It's the remaining dozen where the attention is now. "These projects are going to get done and there will be no ability of the Park Authority to shuffle the funds or hide either overruns or delays in construction," Connaughton said. Staff writer Chris Newman can be reached at (703) 878-8062. ------------------------------- ROUTE 1 BUSINESSES SOON TO COMPETE FOR BEAUTIFICATION FUNDS Michael Neibauer, NoVA Journal; May 20 2003 Businesses along a small stretch of Richmond Highway in Fairfax County soon will be able to compete for grants to cosmetically enhance their building's exterior. By a 9-1 vote, the Board of Supervisors on Monday approved the Richmond Highway Facade Improvement Program, a plan to offer 50 percent matching grants to private business owners for superficial refurbishment. The program will be instituted and carried out by the Southeast Fairfax Development Corp., a nonprofit organization established in 1981 to combat community deterioration and encourage economic development along the 7.5-mile Route 1 corridor. The county allocates about $150,000 to the corporation each year for its efforts. ``We're hoping to get the small property owners to participate and improve their property," said Richard Neel, the corporation's president. ``Without this program they probably wouldn't do that." The effort's first phase will focus on an estimated 40 structures between Lockheed Boulevard and Sherwood Hall Lane. About $180,000 will be available for initial grants at a maximum of $25,000 per business. A $25,000 grant would require at least $50,000 in improvements under the matching plan. It is unknown at this point when the development corporation will begin accepting grant applications. Once the competitive process begins, each interested owner will be offered free architectural consultations and a new design review committee will examine each proposal and make recommendations. The county's Redevelopment and Housing Authority has the final say and distributes the grants. Priming the effort with less than $200,000 could jump-start revitalization and inspire other private owners to participate when they see the results, Neel said. Supervisor Stuart Mendelsohn, R-Dranesville, offered the only vote against the program. The idea behind the program is a good one, but the associated overhead and administrative costs are classic examples of big government, he said. Setup, consulting, marketing, administration and architectural services are expected to cost upward of $100,000. ``I just think that once again we're not doing it the most efficient way we can," Mendelsohn said. ``We're doing it the government way." Mendelsohn's colleagues, however, saw the program, and the associated costs, as worthy investments. ``To me this is a very important part of our county, that we don't allow areas to become slums," said Supervisor Elaine McConnell, R-Springfield. ``I think this is a very worthwhile program and I'm sorry the county's not putting more money into it." ----------------------------------------- LAWMAKERS SUBSTITUTE FEES FOR TAXES Chris Newman, Potomac News; May 22 2003 One thing many conservative politicians are avoiding this year in their energizing campaign messages is that out-of-vogue concept of math, moderates say. On the stance that government gets enough to pay its bills, Prince William Delegates Robert G. Marshall, R-13th District, and L. Scott Lingamfelter, R-31st District, and Sen. James K. "Jay" O'Brien Jr., R-39th District, honored the anti-tax pledges they signed two years ago, but as Delegate Harry J. Parrish, R-50th District, pointed out, "we certainly raised every fee you could think of." In 2002, the General Assembly raised fees by more than $200 million, and this year raised fees $85 million. "Most people do not a have a problem with user fees," said Lingamfelter, who had his bill that defined "fee" and "tax" in the code rejected by the House Rules Committee. "Where people have a problem is when government uses fees to raise revenues, and that is where I have problem." "Sounds like a tax to me," said Bob FitzSimmonds, a former aide to Lingamfelter, on some of the fees Lingamfelter and other Republicans voted for -- while House Democrats voted against the budget. "The fee increases got worked into the budget as a whole, and I committed in my campaign to vote for a responsible budget," Lingamfelter said. Lingamfelter last year called for privatizing Alcoholic Beverage Control stores but fell in line with GOP leadership in voting against a study on the concept. Last year, Lingamfelter cited $8 billion that Pennsylvania saved by finding efficiencies, but most of that was just an estimate attributed to selling liquor stores that never happened, Pennsylvania budget staff said. Over six years, Pennsylvania saved $882 million, which is less than the $900 million budget hole House Appropriations staff said this winter is estimated to still be in the budget when realized spending needs and revenues are eventually tallied. Virginia Finance Director John Bennett on Thursday said estimates of that budget hole have been refined but have not been released. A continuing hole in the general fund did not stop four of Prince William's five delegates from endorsing a plan this week to take $33 million out of the general fund to match private dollars to leverage $1 billion in debt for road construction. Pushing the plan are Delegates John A. "Jack" Rollison, R-52nd District, Michele B. McQuigg, R-51st District, and Marshall and Lingamfelter. The same bill died in the Senate Finance Committee this past session at the hands of moderates like Sen. John H. Chichester, R-28th District. "That's political rhetoric," Chichester said. "Unless you want to throw away your AAA bond rating and you just increase your debt capacity, mortgage the future to a generation yet unborn." The general fund cannot afford to pay for roads when it is already under pressure to fill unmet needs in public education, health and human services, and public safety "not the least of which is the understaffed nature of the state police," Chichester said. The Virginia Department of Transportation spends 13 percent of its construction revenue to service the interest on $1.2 billion in debt. That percentage is forecasted to go up to 16 percent of its budget over the next six years, according to VDOT. Virginia's Debt Capacity Advisory Committee says the amount of borrowed money it repays annually using state tax money -- its debt service -- should be no more than 5 percent of those revenues. "We need to have a much tighter policy regarding the use of debt," said state Transportation Commissioner Philip A. Shucet. "The administration [of Gov. Mark R. Warner] feels that way, the General Assembly seems to feel that way, and the public at large seems to feel that way." That's not how Marshall felt last year when he pushed his House Bill 109 to take out $750 million more in federal debt -- more than double the amount used to plug the raid of the transportation trust fund in 2002. His plan died quietly at an out-of-session committee meeting last year. The cycle of talking points continued to evolve this year. During House floor debates, Republicans pointed out billions in tax exemptions in the state code that could be reined in to find new revenue. The political unfeasibility of that idea was never dissected because the message then became look at the $2.5 billion in uncollected taxes estimated by the Virginia Department of Taxation. A solution to that problem has not been identified, but a tax amnesty program this fall is estimated to bring in a fraction of that uncollected tax, nearly $50 million. In Richmond, McQuigg passed her "Roadmap for Virginia" this year that she said will give goals and outcomes to state agencies in their budgets. Lawmakers have all the money they need but simply don't know where they can find savings until budgets are more transparent and accountable, she said, in the manner that was done to Prince William County budgets when she was a county supervisor. In Prince William, Supervisor Mary K. Hill, R-Coles, was the lone vote against the county budget last month. She said savings could be found in the county budget, based on the concerns and questions raised by her citizens budget committee. The real estate tax rate should have been less than the adopted $1.16 rate this year, but she said she didn't know by how much. --------------------------------------------- OLD TOWN MANASSAS WINS MAIN STREET AWARD Bennie Scarton, Potomac News; May 19 2003 Old Town Manassas is now in the company of five other cities nationwide for efforts taken in its revitalization. The Manassas Main Street Program on Monday received the 2003 National Trust for Historic Preservation's Great American Main Street Award. The annual award recognizes exceptional accomplishments in revitalizing America's historic and older Main Street commercial districts. The designation, awarded to only five cities each year among the nation's 1,700 Main Street programs, recognized Historic Manassas Inc. for its achievements in the revitalization of Old Town Manassas. Other 2003 award winners are Greenville, N.C.; Littleton, N.H.; Rome, Ga.; and Wenatchee, Wash. Accepting the award in Cincinnati were Tricia Davis, executive director of HMI; Mary Gesotti, marketing director; Carol Merchant Kirby, charter member of the board of directors; Dave Flach, past president; and Lawrence Hughes, city manager. The award was presented by Kennedy Smith, director of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's National Main Street Center, at the trust's 2003 National Town Meeting on Main Street in Cincinnati which runs through May 21. "Manassas has proven its dedication to preserving its old-town character," said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust, which works to save diverse historic places and revitalize communities. "Its leaders and residents recognized the power of collaboration, keeping ahead of sprawl and empowering its downtown. We are proud to honor Manassas with the Greater American Main Street Award and congratulate the town's leaders for their perseverance and excellence in revitalizing their commercial district." Once an important strategic location for both Union and Confederate forces during the Civil War, Manassas' downtown had become economically depressed. To revitalize the downtown and preserve their valuable historic character, Manassas business owners, government officials and city leaders founded HMI, a non-profit organization, in 1986. Since its designation as a Main Street Community in 1988, Manassas has experienced a resurgence of business and community involvement including 54 renovated buildings, more than 350 jobs created and $12 million of private investment, according to city officials. To date, Old Town touts 100 percent occupancy in buildings housing several upscale restaurants and boutiques. Other public revitalization efforts include streets lined with turn-of-the-century lamp posts welcoming visitors to recreational, educational and cultural opportunities offered at the Loy E. Harris Pavilion, providing ice skating in the winter and concerts and festival during the summer; the restored Hopkin's Candy Factory that houses the Center for the Arts; and the renovated 1914 train depot that serves as the HMI offices. "Manassas has truly redefined itself as a bustling community with a distinctive old town charm," said Moe. Established in 1980, the trust's Main Street Center helps communities of all sizes revitalize their older and historic commercial districts. Active in more than 1,700 downtown and urban neighborhoods, the program has generated more than $16 billion in new investment. Participating jurisdictions have created 226,000 net new jobs, 56,300 new businesses and rehabilitated more than 88,700 buildings, according to documentation. To be eligible for the award, communities must show active involvement by the public and private sectors; broad-based community support; quality achievements in revitalization over time; positive economic impact; and successful activity in the Four Points of the Main Street approach to commercial district revitalization -- design, organization, promotion and economic development. Each winning community receives a $2,500 cash prize to further its revitalization efforts, a bronze plaque commemorating its award, road signs and a certificate. "HMI is honored to receive the award because it reflects the vision, commitment and energy of our entire community," said HMI President Randy Frostick. "Since the mid-1980s, the citizens, government and entrepreneurs have joined forces to identify problems, develop clear goals, and implement an ambitious plan of action. From the vision of individuals like Loy Harris to the city's funding of key public projects, the renaissance of Old Town Manassas reflects public-private partnership at its very best." According to the Trust, HMI also supports Old Town by producing events such as the Heritage Railway Festival and the Fall Jubilee. The events attract close to 200,000 people to Old Town each year while the Visitor Center it operates greets more than 48,000 visitors each year, including many international visitors. "While HMI is thrilled to receive these tangible rewards, it is the intangible benefits to the community that are most important to HMI," said Davis. "Old Town Manassas has become the heart and soul of the surrounding community by providing cultural opportunities, a thriving business sector and a quality of life not in existence since the early days of the city," she said. -------------------------------------------------- MANASSAS AWARDED MAIN STREET STATUS Tara Slate Donaldson, Gainesville Times; May 23 2003 Old Town Manassas has received the 2003 National Trust for Historic Preservation's Great American Main Street Award. Manassas was one of only five Main Street communities from throughout the country to receive the award this year. "It's very prestigious," said Marianne Gesotti, marketing director for Historic Manassas Inc. "We really are in a very, very elite group. It's quite an honor." The Great American Main Street Award recognizes exceptional accomplishments in revitalizing America's historic and older main street commercial districts. Historic Manassas Inc. was awarded for downtown revitalization initiatives, including the train depot renovation and the Loy E. Harris Pavilion as well as the city square project, numerous historic building renovations and successful special events like the Heritage Railway Festival. "This all began in 1985," Gesotti said. "There were at least 33 vacant buildings in Old Town Manassas. They were considering tearing down some of the historic buildings ... to put up a Tysons Corner type of thing." Then, a new city manager approached Carol Kirby, daughter of Manassas philanthropists W. Caton and Mae Merchant. The official had heard about a new main street program and urged Kirby to attend a conference about it, Gesotti said. The Manassas Main Street Program was launched that summer. Kirby and a group of concerned citizens raised $250,000 to get the project off the ground. Almost 20 years later, it's still going strong. And, while keeping Old Town a historic, yet thriving business district is a daunting task, it's a labor of love. "It's like a garden," Gesotti said. "You have to tend it all the time." --------------------------------------- WET SEASON ADDS TO WASTEWATER WOES Aileen Streng, Potomac News; May 17 2003 The retention basin at the Flat Branch Pumping Station near Manassas Park was designed to temporarily hold raw sewage during emergency situations only. "We wanted to make sure that raw wastewater did not get into the environment," said Charles Boepple, deputy director of the Upper Occoquan Sewage Authority, which owns and operates the facility. Officials didn't want the sewage to contaminate the nearby Occoquan Reservoir, the major source of drinking water for much of Prince William and Fairfax counties. However, a harsh winter of heavy snow followed by a whole lot of rain has kept this large basin -- capable of holding as much as 37 million gallons of sewage -- at least partially full for several months this year. The amount of sewer water going through the system caused enough of an emergency that the basin had to be used, officials said. Under normal circumstances, the wastewater stays a day or two before being pumped out and does not create an odor nuisance, said Charles Williamson, water compliance manager for the regional office of the state Department of Water Quality. DEQ is the regulatory agency for wastewater treatment facilities. With this past winter being anything but normal, problems began at the Flat Branch facility. "The storms seemed to come back to back so before we could empty out the basin another storm would come along," Boepple said. The basin contained sewage almost constantly from January through April, Boepple said. Residents of Alleghaney and nearby streets near the pump station say the stench of raw sewage from the plant has been intolerable in recent months. The neighborhood is located outside Manassas Park, near the Ben Lomond Regional Park and the Fairfax County line. UOSA and DEQ officials say everything possible is being done to combat the odor emanating from the pump station. "We are going all out," Boepple said. "We understand the complaints and we are trying to fix it." Various chemicals have been added to the sewage to reduce the odor. Misters, which provide a constant spray of deodorizers, line the top of a chain link fence around the perimeter of the property. Other steps are being taken as well, Boepple said. And DEQ's Williamson says UOSA is in compliance of its permit. "They are not in violation of any laws. We've been out to the site. We've heard the complaints," he said. "[UOSA] is doing everything it can do to dry out the basin and remove the sludge and solids." UOSA was created in the mid-1970s as a regional entity to operate the sewer systems of Manassas and Manassas Park as well as portions of western Prince William and Fairfax counties. The agency owns the major facilities that manage the region's sewage including the Flat Branch Pump Station that sits only a couple hundred feet from the backyards of Alleghaney Street homes. The Flat Branch site was once the location of the Greater Manassas Sanitary District Waste Water Treatment Plant. When UOSA was created, it built a new treatment plant on Compton Road just over the Fairfax County line and converted Flat Branch into a pump station to move wastewater about a mile to the main facility. This emergency retention basin is one of several operated by UOSA. The others are in Fairfax. They are not required by law but are viewed as an innovative safeguard against overwhelming the sewer system and causing a spill, Williamson said. When the basin remained full earlier this year for so long, UOSA officials knew they would likely soon be dealing with an odor problem. Calcium nitrate was added to the wastewater. It was somewhat successful in cutting down on the odor, Boepple said. When the sewage had a chance to empty out, the sides were coated with magnesium oxide to negate the smell. Chorine was even poured into puddles at the bottom of the basin. The latest attempt to control the odor has been to spread a mixture of mulch and grass seed along the embankment in hope that it will soak up some of the water and help control the stench, Boepple said. "We are hoping that this will be one of the most effective things that we've done," Boepple said. "If not, we will get back together with our chemist and engineers to find something else." Boepple said that none of the chemicals used are experimental -- and they are safely used industrywide. "They are not anything toxic. We have checked them out carefully." There also is a long-term solution underway. The $200 million expansion of the main Compton Road facility would increase its capacity from 32 million gallons per day to 54 million gallons. The extra capacity would mean that the need to use the Flat Branch facility for storage would be lessened, Boepple said. Although the expansion is two years behind due to work delays by the contractor, Boepple said he hopes it will be done by the end of the summer or the end of the year at the latest. "UOSA has built one of the most sophisticated treatment plants in the United States," Williamson said. "Overall, it performs extremely well."? ------------------------------------------------ HAYMARKET HISTORICAL FOUNDATION AIMS TO MOVE FORWARD Dusty Smith, Gainesville Times; May 23 2003 The Haymarket Historical Foundation elected its new leadership May 15, and the new chairperson announced intentions to fully utilize the nonprofit organization to raise funds for the town. "We have a new board sitting here," said newly elected Chairperson Sheila Jarboe. "I really want to get this foundation up and running. My goal is to be successful and have some fun along the way." Jarboe is also a town council member, but serves the foundation as a private citizen. The town has no authority over the foundation. Pam Stutz, the outgoing chairperson, was elected vice chair; Becky Taylor was elected secretary; Bill Robinson was elected treasurer; and Michelle Neal-Heard was elected director at-large. Councilman David Taylor attended the meeting to wish members of the foundation luck with their new goals. At the last council meeting he raised the issue of allowing the foundation to take more responsibility for Haymarket Day and the Spring Festival. While the town has no authority to direct the foundation, Taylor said it serves as a useful tool that could provide volunteers and relieve town officials and employees from burdens associated with those events. "I don't think the town should be volunteering if we have a vehicle designed to do that," he said. Jarboe invited town residents to join the group or offer ideas for new fund-raising events. Nonresidents are also eligible to join. The meeting took a turn in the middle as Mayor John "Jack" Kapp raised concerns about statements that past chairman Pam Stutz made to The Times. "There are still a couple of things sitting in my craw," he said. Stutz told The Times that the town had taken away the foundation's powers. When Kapp asked, she said she understood that the town did not have the authority to stop her from raising funds. "She could have carnivals. She could have fund-raisers," Kapp said. "The town did not take her power away." She later said that what she tried to convey in earlier comments was a feeling of exclusion when the town called meetings about upcoming events. Stutz served as chairperson for two years. Kapp served as chair from the time the foundation began in 1996 until Stutz took over. Jarboe put an end to that argument, saying the foundation needed to get working on business. "Let's just bury the hatchet. Let's move forward and make this the organization it was designed to be," she said. "I believe we are a new organization. We need to drop things from the past." Demonstrating the desire to leave the past behind and work together in the future, Kapp and Stutz agreed to work together on a foundation committee that will recommend changes to its bylaws. "Jack [Kapp] and I will work together," Stutz said. "This will force he and I to sit down together and have a mutual conversation." Kapp agreed. "I have always worked for the betterment of the town and the foundation and I will continue to do so," he said. Residents are invited to attend meetings of the historical foundation. Dates can be obtained in the town hall. -----------------------------------------------------