2020-03-03 - Board of Supervisors Meeting Notes

by Neil Richard

The Board of Supervisors began their meeting at 6:30pm.

There was an amendment to the Agenda to add a Closed Session.

Mike Maldonado was the only speaker during Public Comment. He wanted to tell the Board about two things. First, he attended the Father and Daughter Princess Ball with his daughter. He said the dance, hosted by the Parks and Recreation Department, was fantastic. Second, his daughter attends Potomac Elementary School and she asked him who the Mayor of King George was. He thought this meeting was the perfect place to ask.

In breaking from the usual process of being a one-way comment period, Cathy Binder addressed Maldonado's daughter who was in the audience. Binder said there were five people up here and four represent a specific voting district and one represents the whole County. She added that there's no one person that's the head but that every year they elect a Chairperson. Binder said she would love to come to Potomac and talk to the kids there and asked the young Maxie Maldonado what grade she was in. The young lady said "my grade is Kindergarten" and her teacher was Mrs. Brinkman. Binder said her daughter goes to Potomac too but she had Mrs. Shaw for Kindergarten.

OPINION - New My Place Hotel Opening Soon

by Neil Richard
Photos by Rebecca Gamble

David Zabelsky, General Manager at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites, was kind enough to allow us a preview tour of the My Place Hotel that's being built next to the Goodwill store in Dahlgren. With crews working on both Christmas Day and New Years Day, the project is currently ahead of schedule and is expected to open in mid-April 2020.

David Zabelsky stands in front of the soon-to-open My Place Hotel.

OPINION - Economic Development Town Hall

by Neil Richard

The Department of Economic Development has been hosting Town Halls in each voting district over the past two weeks, beginning with the James Madison District on December 6th. That Town Hall was followed by an At-Large Town Hall on December 10th and the Dahlgren District on December 11th. The last Town Hall, for the Shiloh District, is to be held on December 17th at 6:30pm at the Fire Department's Company 1 building.

The purpose of these Town Halls is to gather feedback from residents regarding the draft Economic Development Strategic Plan. For those residents that are unable to attend a Town Hall, the County has provided a survey in the news section of their website. During the December 14th Town Hall, hosted by Supervisor Jeff Bueche, there was a brief presentation on how and why the plan was created. Ryan Gandy, Director of Economic Development, gave the presentation with Annie Cupka, Grant Writer, and Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, giving a few extra points along the way.

After the short presentation, the floor was opened for public comment from the small audience of about ten to fifteen people. The questions asked, answers given, and comments made were all productive and amiable in nature. That's not to say that the questions were easy as some of them challenged Gandy and the rest on how they arrived at their plan and what the path forward was going to be.

For those that have not read the draft plan, its purpose is to develop a guideline for the County to make smart development decisions and to encourage different sources of revenue for the County all while preserving the rural and historical aspects. All of this is being driven by the impending increase in traffic because of the major construction projects on Interstate 95 and the new Nice Bridge. Without doing an in depth analysis of the plan, here are a few highlights from the Town Hall and the applicable portions of the draft Strategic Plan.

• The Mission Statement includes "rural character." It was mentioned that at previous Town Halls, residents wanted to know how that was defined. No clear definition was given.
• "Appendix A" is mentioned but not included in the draft plan.
• There are six priorities listed in the draft plan but they are not listed in any particular order. Although it may be easy for someone to assume the County feels "Healthcare" is lowest on the list of priorities because it is listed last, that's not the case. The overall feeling during the Town Hall is that all six topics are equally important as each other.
• Two of the priorities list a desire to "stunt telecommuting." Dr. Young clarified that it was a typo and it should read "stunt commuting." He further clarified that this was specifically directed towards those individuals that work in King George but live elsewhere. He said the desire was to make King George attractive enough for those individuals to live in the County and thus spend more of their money here.
• It was noted that under the Tourism and Recreation section, there was no agritourism listed. It was also noted that the desire to "Foster the continued expansion of all of the County's museums." was listed twice.
• It was noted that the school system was not mentioned in the Strategic Plan even though it would be a crucial point of it being successful. This led to a lengthy discussion on education in the County, including primary grades, secondary grades, post-secondary education, and vocational courses.
• There was some discussion and debate over the definition of affordable housing and how best to reflect the desired state of more housing options for those at various income levels. Just as different people have different definitions of "rural," the same can be said for "affordable housing."

A few key resources were either missing or only mentioned in the draft plan. In addition to the schools being missing, emergency services and the Service Authority were also missing. Dr. Young clarified these absences a bit at the beginning of the meeting and later in the evening. First, he said the school system was working on their own strategic plan. Second, both the schools and the Service Authority were their own separate entity. So even though the Service Authority was mentioned in the draft plan, and even though the schools and emergency services are vital to the success of the plan, the primary focus of the Economic Development Strategic Plan was economic development. Young said that these services would be impacted by any economic growth but if everything was included in the strategic plan, it would be too complex and too much of a burden to read.

The biggest news from the meeting came from Bueche who alluded to a plan in the works to bring a major healthcare provider to the County. Although he wasn't privy to all the details and couldn't share all of what he did know, it did sound like a promising development.

Overall, this draft Strategic Plan is one of many steps forward the County has been making. An updated Comprehensive Plan, new zoning ordinances, and other updated documents are either in progress or complete. By looking towards the future, the County is finally taking its proverbial head out of the sand and aiming to make intelligent decisions on growth. And even though growth is inevitable, this plan aims to control it in a way that is best for the residents now and into the future.

2018-08-21 - Board of Supervisors Meeting Notes

by Neil Richard

The Board of Supervisors opened their August 21st meeting at 7:14pm.

There was no Public Comment.

John Jenkins began his report by jokingly saying he thanked everyone for their comments. In a more serious tone he did thank those in the audience for attending. He attended a George Washington Regional Commission (GWRC) meeting on August 20th and that ended his report.

Jeff Bueche began his report by saying school recently started. He thanked all the educators and those who worked through the summer to get ready for the school year and wished them luck. On the 14th he attended the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors Joint Meeting to discuss the upcoming updates to the County's Comprehensive Plan. The current Comprehensive Plan is from 2013 and is required by state law to be reviewed and updated. On the 16th he attended a Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) Summit. He ended his report by moving to appoint Renee Parker to the Social Services Board of Directors. Her appointment was approved.

Cathy Binder attended the same joint meeting with the Planning Commission on the 14th as well as the VACo Summit on the 16th. She also hosted a Town Hall with Ruby Brabo regarding the purchase and plans of the former Cameron Hills Golf Course. She added that nothing is currently before the Board and that she enjoyed meeting with citizens and hearing their concerns.

Richard Granger reported that he also attended the joint meeting with the Planning Commission on the 14th and the VACo Summit on the 16th. From the joint meeting, he noted that he appreciated the streamlined process for plat approvals and thanked Jenkins for mentioning the Board's desire to remove the Dahlgren Primary Settlement Area from the future Comprehensive Plan. For the VACo Summit, he noted several education statistics, including that state aid for education has fallen in recent years and that instructional pay increases have slowed since 2009. He also attended a meeting on the 16th where he learned about the REAL ID rules and how they would impact residents in Virginia.

The Consent Agenda was approved.

The County Attorney, Eric Gregory, had no report.

Chief Lynd gave the Board an update on the Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) or drone program. He said they had purchased a DJI M210 and already taken delivery. Unfortunately, he said the FLIR (Forward Looking Infrared) system was on back order. Despite this, he said they had already flown several missions, including the recent J. C. Bean Sprouts fire and the collapsed roof at the old King George Pharmacy next to Rankin's True Value. He said several team members have taken and passed their FAA certification tests and several more are in the process. Lynd said Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) have been developed and refined.

Lynd said they have already met several benchmarks, including a meeting with Dahlgren officials. He said they had a good discussion with them and their no-fly zones as well as made sure they had an open line of communication. Lynd said the department's FAA exemption application has been approved as well. Going forward, he said they will continue training, conduct a lost person exercise, and schedule a demonstration for the Supervisors.

Granger thanked him for reaching out to the base and making sure communication lines were open with them. He asked how many pilots were planned to which Lynd said they hoped to get six pilots to ensure 24 hour coverage.

Next, Darren Coffey and Shaina Schaffer of the Berkley Group gave a presentation on the Mixed Use Development (MUD) ordinance. Coffey joked that it was hopefully more fun than the water and sewer update but probably less exciting than the drone update. Schaffer gave the basic timeline of events since they started the project in November of 2017. After researching existing MUD rules, architectural guidelines, best practices, and more, they presented a proposed ordinance to the Planning Commission and held a Public Hearing on June 12, 2018. The Planning Commission voted to forward the proposed MUD ordinance to the Board of Supervisors with a recommendation to reject the ordinance.

Their presentation continued with a few highlights of the proposed MUD rules where density could be 18 units per acre or five units per acre for single family homes. These density limits would be allowed by-right under the new rules and could be increased if the developer allows for more open space. Additionally, the MUD rules would require specific landscaping guidelines to be followed, increased pedestrian movement, bike lanes, and underground utilities.

Granger asked if the updated Comprehensive Plan removed the Dahlgren Primary Settlement Area, would the proposed MUD ordinance be in conflict by specifying the Dahlgren Primary Settlement Area as an area where mixed use was allowed. Coffey said the new MUD ordinance could be amended to reflect any changes in the Comprehensive Plan.

A long discussion regarding the traffic issues in Dahlgren, the base security concerns, and the general consensus to limit development in the area ensued. Additionally, there was back and forth discussion among the Supervisors and Eric Gregory, County Attorney, regarding the legalities of potential conflicts between the proposed Mixed Use Development ordinance and the future Comprehensive Plan. This conversation boiled down to Gregory saying that the Comprehensive Plan was a guiding document, not a legal set of rules. While it should be used to guide development, it was not strictly the only limiting factor in allowing, or disallowing, development. That fell to the zoning ordinances. With the Board's plan to update the zoning ordinances after the Comprehensive Plan is updated, there could be a short period of time where an approved MUD ordinance is in conflict with the updated Comprehensive Plan, thus opening the Board to a potential conflict.

After more discussion, the Board seemed to want to move forward with the Public Hearing for a proposed MUD ordinance with the expectation that it would remove the Dahlgren Primary Settlement Area before being passed. Gregory and Coffey felt that this would not be a substantive or more restrictive change that would require the ordinance to go through the public hearing process from the beginning. The Board also felt that by doing this, they could use the Courthouse Primary Settlement Area, the only other area being considered for Mixed Use Development, as a pilot for future iterations.

While the conversation was lengthy, Bueche did ask a crucial point for the future MUD rules. Seeing Chief Moody in the audience, he asked if the County had the ability to respond to an emergency in a building that's three stories, which is the highest allowed under the proposed MUD rules. Moody said that King George had a 35 foot extension ladder but had no ladder truck. However, he did say they rely on mutual aid and that there are several in the area they could ask to use. Moody cautioned that for an ordinance like this that allowed a 35 to 45 foot structure, public safety needs to be brought to the table to discuss things like sprinkler systems, rescues from a third story, and deploying water from a height greater than the 45 foot peak. He also said that as the County develops more, and taller  buildings go up, there needs to be a discussion about getting an aerial asset here in the County so that there was no need to rely on outside help.

In the end, the Board voted to hold a Public Hearing on September 18th regarding the proposed Mixed Use Development ordinance.

Chief Lynd then asked for approval to participate in the NACo Disaster Services program. The Board approved.

Wilma Ward, Director of Finance, asked the Board to approve the purchase of a new school bus to replace the one damaged in an accident. The Board approved.

Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, asked the Board to approve a new County Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) Policy that would allow the County to charge for the amount of staff time it takes to meet the FOIA request. The Board approved.

Eric Gregory, County Attorney, then gave an update on the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) the County had entered into for the upcoming construction of the new Route 301 bridge. Gregory said the revisions would result in a loss of park land at Wayside Park and Barnesfield Park and that VDOT would mitigate that loss of land by transferring land to the County. Additionally, land held by Virginia Tourism Corporation, would be impacted, resulting in them acquiring a part of Barnesfield Park, therefore increasing the amount of land lost by the County and increasing the amount of replacement land VDOT would be replacing it with. The Board approved of the amendments to the MOA.

Dr. Young gave his report by stating he wanted to partner with the University of Mary Washington by creating an internship program for students to work for the County. He said the cost, $8,000 for four students, would be covered by the staff compensation budget. The Board approved.

With no Closed Session, the meeting adjourned at 8:12pm.

Meeting Attendees:
John Jenkins (Board of Supervisors)
Jeff Bueche (Board of Supervisors)
Richard Granger (Chairman, Board of Supervisors)
Cathy Binder (Board of Supervisors)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)

Absent:
Ruby Brabo (Board of Supervisors)

Meeting Agenda

Next Meeting:
The Board of Supervisors will next meet on September 4, 2018 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.

Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Board of Supervisors Meeting.

2018-06-05 - Board of Supervisors Meeting Notes

The King George County Board of Supervisors began their meeting at 8:05pm and amended their Agenda to add a Closed Session at the end of the meeting.

Public Comment opened with Howard Yarus reading the same letter he had Mike Bennett read during the Service Authority meeting earlier in the evening. He said that the letter was for the Service Authority's information and for the Board of Supervisors' action. Mr. Yarus' letter stated that the article by Cathy Dyson regarding the the Service Authority was embarrassing. He said that "the Board of Supervisors are responsible" for the inadequacies of the Service Authority and DEQ fines and asked to bring the sewer and water systems under the control of County Administration.

 Renee Parker was next to speak. She said she was there to speak about the recent recusals of Board members from voting on the Resolution related to the chem-bio move. She said her comment wasn't necessarily specific to the chem-bio move but rather the perception by the public that the Board won't vote or that they may be apathetic towards an issue. She said in the past, the Board has taken advantage of the County Attorney and asked the Board to do the public the courtesy of asking him for help with any potential conflict of interest.

John Jenkins began his report by thanking Yarus and Parker for their comments. He said he would defer to those on the Board that did recuse themselves to answer but he believed they did seek legal counsel. On June 3rd he attended the Some Gave All rally despite the terrible weather conditions. He said there was a good turnout and a really great event. He said it meant a lot to the community and the amount of money they gave to charity was unbelievable. On June 4th, he met with the YMCA to discuss upcoming programs. He thought there were some good things coming down the pike.

Jeff Bueche thanked Yarus and Parker for their comments and thanked everyone that came out for the meeting. He also thanked his colleagues on the Service Authority Board of Directors for making a hard and tough decision. He said he heard from many constituents about accountability and thinks it's been addressed appropriately. He said it won't be an easy way ahead but thinks the Board of Directors is taking it seriously and thinking about how it will impact customers. Bueche then addressed Parker's comments about his recusal and said spoke with both legal counsel and his ethics counsel and both said there was no conflict of interest bu there was the potential for a perception of such. He said while he did express concerns about the original language in the Resolution, he realized there may be a potential conflict of interest and then recused himself from further discussions. Bueche said he also attended the Some Gave All ride and it was very impressive. He said that while he has never been deployed or in a forward area or in combat, others have and it was very moving to see them. He also reminded everyone that he is hosting a Town Hall at the Company 1 firehouse on Route 3 on June 7th at 6:30pm. While his focus will be the James Monroe district, he did say it would be open to everyone and that he would give everyone a chance to speak.

Ruby Brabo's report said that on May 16th she was part of a conference call with Senator Warner's advisor regarding the chem-bio move. She said after this call and after visiting Dahlgren, Senator Warner had even more concerns about the decision to move the department to Indian Head. From May 22nd to May 25th Brabo attended a National Association of Counties (NACo) conference where they worked on a new course for future leaders. She said NACo is willing to pay for a large portion of the cost of the class, but asked for the future leader to be somebody from within County staff and not somebody that's already a leader or ready to retire. In other words, they were looking for somebody that would benefit the most from the course. Brabo said the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), which regulates equipment for firefighters, has finally agreed to give the County some leeway in how it tracks equipment and when it should be replaced. As an example, she said a Fire Chief may not use their turn-out gear for a fire for years but is still required to replace them based on their manufacture date. Brabo said the County could save money by using the first issue date, or better the first use date, in determining when to replace equipment. She also said that during negotiations of this new language, the NFPA realized that having a local official serve on their Board would be beneficial. She also asked that Dr. Young review the fire equipment purchases to see if there were any potential cost savings that could be applied immediately based on the new language.

Brabo continued her report by saying NACo was updating their educational curriculum and that it was a great tool for schools to use in their Civics studies. On May 30th she met with NACo staff members as they toured the County and thanked Dr. Young, Ryan Gandy, and Annie Cupka for their help in hosting them. She also thanked Michelle Darnell of Belle Grove and Marcel of Bloomia for providing tours as well as Mike Bennett for his help in the tour of Fairview Beach. She said she also attended the May 31st meeting to adopt the budget. Brabo then nominated Rob Harling to the Economic Development Authority to replace James Hall who tendered his resignation. The appointment was approved.

Cathy Binder also thanked Yarus and Parker for speaking. She said she also spoke to the attorney about the conflict of interest and although there was none, she did not want there to be any perception of a conflict and therefore recused herself. She attended the Evening of Excellence and congratulated everyone that was honored. On May 24th she attended the Small Business Appreciation dinner, the budget meeting on the 31st, and the kick off celebration for Smoot Library on June 1st. She said it was great to see so many smiling faces. Binder said the turnout was larger than expected and they ran out of hot dogs. On the 5th she attended the Fredericksburg Area Association of Realtors meeting about affordable housing and finally wanted to give a shout-out to her son who graduated from high school. She then nominated Roger Knicely for reappointment to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and it was approved.

Richard Granger thanked Yarus and Parker for speaking as well. He said he also met with Eric Gregory, County Attorney, and the Director of Public Communications. All agreed that there was no conflict of interest but because of a potential perception of such, they all felt it best that he recuse himself. Renee Parker interjected from the floor and said that although no back-and-forth conversation is really allowed, she would respond to them via email later. Granger said he also attended both special Board meetings regarding the budget and the Small Business Appreciation Dinner. He also said he was still working with the base to schedule a tour for the Supervisors.

The Consent Agenda was approved.

The County Attorney, Eric Gregory, had no report.

The Board then heard from T. C. Collins, Chairman of the Board of Equalization, and Judy Hart, Commissioner of the Revenue. Collins said assessments are done every four years and this recent round resulted in 50 appeals, of which 34 were residential. He said several were dismissed do to insufficient or incorrect information but that all could appeal to the Circuit Court.

Next, Annie Cupka, Grant Writer, gave the Board an update on the FY2024-2025 SMARTScale Projects. She highlighted the four projects being submitted for this round. The first project was a pedestrian crosswalk across Route 301 to allow passage of hotel guests from one side to the other along Commerce Drive. The second project was a new turn lane at the Route 206 and Route 218 intersection that would allow traffic leaving Dahlgren to make a right turn onto Route 218 towards Fredericksburg. The third project was the use of the new Median U-Turn (MUT) design at the Route 206 and Route 301 intersection. The fourth project was also the usage of a MUT design, this time at the Route 3 and Route 301 intersection. These last two projects were chosen based on feedback from the public at recent VDOT meetings as well as feedback from base leadership in Dahlgren. Cupka said in order to complete the SMARTScale application process, the Board need to approve a Resolution.

Granger asked about the 206/301 intersection and how it would impact those attempting to enter or leave the base. Brabo said that the base has been involved in all of the meetings and that VDOT wasn't willing to install the Captain's ideal solution of a fly-by. Bueche asked if they looked at the impact to Owens Road and access to B-Gate. Brabo said that VDOT studied all of the impacts and that this was the best scenario. Cupka added that the Route 301 intersections were all studied in detail as part of the Route 301 and Route 207 Corridor Study and that everything, including each cross-over, was part of their final presentation. Brabo said that there was even a fairly large turnout at their informational meeting in April. Binder asked if any land would need to be acquired to which Cupka said if any, it was much less than the alternatives. She said some of the VDOT proposals included taking large swaths of land to make traffic flow easier and that the projects she presented would cost much less, even without factoring in the purchase of land.

The SMARTScale Projects and Resolution were approved.

Lavita Cobb, Purchasing Manager, was next to present, requesting to renew the contract for planning and zoning purposes. She said that due to the continued surge in their workload, this would allow the department to continue to provide services while updating the Comprehensive Plan, Zoning Ordinances, and Subdivision Ordinances. Brabo said she was trying to understand why there was a need for this change order and why there was a need to take money away from a position that was just added to the budget. She said the Board was told the position was needed but now we're being asked to eliminate it. Cobb said not exactly. She said the $75,000 that was earmarked for the Comprehensive Plan update would cover part of the $163,800 she was asking for. She said the remaining amount, $88,800, would come from the $93,000 that was earmarked for the new planner position. Brabo suggested hiring two individuals with the requested $163,800 instead but Granger said one would need to be let go next year because the $75,000 for the Comprehensive Plan update won't be in the budget next year.

Dr. Young then chimed in to clarify the situation. He said the County would in fact be saving money by doing this to the amount of roughly $68,000. He explained that the $163,800 that was being asked for would be funded as previous explained with $75,000 from the Comprehensive Plan update funds and $88,800 from the planner position funds. This was a savings of $4,200 because the position was slated to cost $93,000. In addition to this, the contracted firm, Bagby, Foroughi and Goodpasture, would also update the Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances which were required to be updated in the coming budget year at an estimated cost of over $60,000. He also said the firm has a good working relationship with the County and has said they enjoy working in the County. Granger said that it would be good to revisit this next year when only the planner position needs to be worried about. Brabo thanked him for his clarifications. The Board approved the request.

Next, the Board approved the Resolution for Appropriation and Categorical Appropriation of the FY2018-2019 budget along with authorizing the County Administrator to approve payments of July warrants. This was done because the Board of Supervisors will not meet in July.

The Board then discussed the increased speed limit along certain King George County corridors. Dr. Young said the state approved a bill raising the speed limit on certain roads from 55 miles per hour to 60. Brabo said she spoke with Sheriff Dempsey about this previously and that he had no concerns as to the increase. Dr. Young said that in order for the increase to occur, a speed study would need to be conducted by VDOT. He said VDOT was willing to shoulder the cost of the study as it wouldn't be very expensive. The Board approved the request. Binder added a question regarding Kings Mill Road and if it would be an issue. Brabo said only the identified sections would be studied and Dr. Young said VDOT does track accidents and discusses them with County staff. Based on the bill that was passed, only certain portions of Route 3 and Route 301 would be eligible for the increased speed limit. According to the Agenda for the meeting, only Route 301 south of Office Hall and Route 3 west of Hopyard would be potentially eligible.

Dr. Young then began his report by informing the Board that VDOT and Maryland Transportation Authority would begin pre-solicitation of contractors for the Nice Bridge replacement project. Young then gave an update on the Ralph Bunche project stating that Echelon Resources has decided to back out of the development, citing an "overly onerous rezoning process." Young said he met with Echelon, Brad Hudson and Heather Hall of Community Development, and Josh Colwell of the Planning Commission and compared the King George County process with the one in Culpeper where Echelon is currently working on a similar development. Young said that both localities had similar requirements and processes and that King George had a more than fair rezoning process. Unfortunately, Young said that Echelon still decided to back out of the project. He did offer a glimmer of hope by saying he has discussed the project with local developers and hopes to find a local solution.

Brabo asked if the money that was voted on to be set aside for a new public well at Ralph Bunche should remain appropriated as such and if it was advisable to proceed with the well upgrades or to wait. Dr. Young said it would be best to keep the money appropriated but to not move forward with the well upgrades just yet.

The Board then went into Closed Session at 9:06pm and invited Dr. Young and Eric Gregory to attend. They returned from Closed Session at 9:19pm.

Dr. Young apologized for not mentioning it earlier but he had received correspondance from NACo about appointing a voting member and an alternate. Brabo said that because she and Young were the most active she would volunteer and Dr. Young could be the alternate. The Board approved.

The meeting adjourned at 9:20pm.

Meeting Attendees:
John Jenkins (Board of Supervisors)
Jeff Bueche (Board of Supervisors)
Richard Granger (Chairman, Board of Supervisors)
Ruby Brabo (Board of Supervisors)
Cathy Binder (Board of Supervisors)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)

Meeting Agenda

Next Meeting:
The Board of Supervisors will next meet on June 12, 2018 at co 1 for 2 year budget at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.

Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Board of Supervisors Meeting.

2018-06-07 UPDATE: A previous version of this article had an incorrect date for Jeff Bueche's Town Hall. The correct date is June 7, 2018.

New Harry W. Nice Bridge Project Opens For Public Comment

Yesterday, January 18, 2018, was the first day of public comment on the new Maryland Transportation (MDTA) Authority's Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge. The new Nice Bridge, also known locally as the Potomac River Bridge or the 301 Bridge, will span the Potomac River between Charles County, Maryland and King George County, Virginia.

The current bridge was built between 1938 and 1940 and has served as a major Potomac River crossing in the region ever since. It currently entertains over 17,000 cars a day, is 1.7 miles long, costs $6 to cross, and only two lanes wide. For comparison, the Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge spans the Susquehanna River, was built between 1939 and 1940, is 1.3 miles long, has four lanes, costs $8 to cross, and carries over 30,000 cars a day.

The replacement Nice Bridge does not have a final design yet but based on MDTA's request, it will be four lanes and either one or two spans. Their presentation on the New Nice Bridge website also states that existing traffic will have minimal disruptions between the ground-breaking in 2020 and the expected completion in 2023.

The presentation by MDTA brought about a few interesting points.

1. They made it clear that the height would remain about the same to allow tall ship events to continue in Alexandria.
2. The travel channel for water vessels would shift to the west due to a change in grade of the road surface.
3. Cash would no longer be accepted for tolls.
4. Cyclists would be allowed to travel on the new bridge like they do on the Hatem Bridge.

As for the public comment section, you have until February 20, 2018 to give feedback. But there is only one box to supply public comment so think carefully before you click submit. Here's what you'll see in the two-question survey: