Tonight's
Town Hall at the University of Mary Washington (UMW) Dahlgren campus
was hosted by two King George County Board of Supervisors. Ruby Brabo
(At-Large) began the meeting with a brief introduction while John
Jenkins (Dahlgren) started things off with a few updates.
Brabo noted that this year will have elections for the School Board (Shiloh) and the Board of Supervisors (Shiloh and James Monroe). She also noted that the new Tractor Supply will open Saturday, September 23rd.
In his update, Jenkins mainly focused on news from the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). That news included the new turn lane on northbound Route 301 going into the B-Gate at Dahlgren. He said if it isn't done already, it would be finished within a week. Jenkins also said that he asked the local VDOT contact, Stephen McKeever, for warning lights at the new stoplight at St. Paul's Church (Dahlgren Road-206/Caledon Road-218/St. Paul's Road-632). McKeever said his superiors at VDOT declined the request. Jenkins also said that with the new bridge coming to replace the Nice Bridge spanning the Potomac River, the King George Board of Supervisors sent a letter of opposition to Maryland's decision to remove the previously planned wide shoulders and bike/pedestrian lane. Brabo would add later in the Town Hall that the Dahlgren Heritage Museum would no longer lose their building due to a revised construction plan (EDITOR'S NOTE - Neil, a co-founder of Project94, is also an employee of the Dahlgren Heritage Museum).
The Town Hall then went through a brief overview of the County's new website by Chris Dines. Dines explained that the new website was due to be released this week however there were still changes and fixes that needed to be made so the release was delayed. Dines said there were several changes in the works but there was no concrete evidence that the changes would require residents to do anything different than they have in the past. If anything, the new website looked more modern, cleaner, and easier to navigate.
Ryan Gandy was next on the Agenda with a brief presentation on the Economic Development Strategic Plan. After a short overview of what a strategic plan was and how it worked, Gandy quickly moved into engaging the audience. He asked for strengths and weaknesses for the County. The attendees obliged and listed many in both categories.
After suggestions and ideas began to slow, Brabo took over for a short Question and Answer session while Gandy and County employees tallied the results. Several questions and comments centered around zoning within the County. Brabo made it clear that the Board of Supervisors were not amenable to rezoning and that it wasn't necessary due to plenty of sites being available for all zoning types.
Most interesting was Brabo's comment that Senator Stuart has been asked to submit legislation to increase the speed limit from 55 mph to 65 mph in two areas within King George. The first was the section of Route 301 between Port Royal and Route 3 and the second was the section of Route 3 from Hopyard to the Stafford County line.
Once Gandy totaled the results, he took over the meeting and presented his findings. He made clear when he started that this was the early stage of the planning process but reiterated again that the results from tonight's meeting would not necessarily reflect the end result used in the plan. Tonight's list would be combined with several others before a final list of strengths and weaknesses would be created for the finished Strategic Plan.
The top strengths submitted by tonight's audience were:
- low taxes
- historical sites
- Dahlgren base
- quality of life/different options
- UMW-Dahlgren
The top weaknesses submitted by tonight's audience were:
- water costs
- lack of connectivity - broadband
- limited sit-down restaurant options
- lack of entertainment options
- limited water access [EDITOR’S NOTE: access to rivers, not drinking water]
The Town Hall ended with a few final comments from the audience about traffic issues, a lack of activities and entertainment options, and praise for the farmer's market. Brabo ended the Town Hall with a few comments and introductions of this year's candidates.
- Jeff Bueche (Board of Supervisors - James Monroe District) (https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyBuecheforJamesMonroe/)
- Cathy Binder (Board of Supervisors - Shiloh District)
- Caroline Phelps (School Board - Shiloh District) (https://www.facebook.com/CarolinePhelpsforSB/)
Brabo noted that this year will have elections for the School Board (Shiloh) and the Board of Supervisors (Shiloh and James Monroe). She also noted that the new Tractor Supply will open Saturday, September 23rd.
In his update, Jenkins mainly focused on news from the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). That news included the new turn lane on northbound Route 301 going into the B-Gate at Dahlgren. He said if it isn't done already, it would be finished within a week. Jenkins also said that he asked the local VDOT contact, Stephen McKeever, for warning lights at the new stoplight at St. Paul's Church (Dahlgren Road-206/Caledon Road-218/St. Paul's Road-632). McKeever said his superiors at VDOT declined the request. Jenkins also said that with the new bridge coming to replace the Nice Bridge spanning the Potomac River, the King George Board of Supervisors sent a letter of opposition to Maryland's decision to remove the previously planned wide shoulders and bike/pedestrian lane. Brabo would add later in the Town Hall that the Dahlgren Heritage Museum would no longer lose their building due to a revised construction plan (EDITOR'S NOTE - Neil, a co-founder of Project94, is also an employee of the Dahlgren Heritage Museum).
The Town Hall then went through a brief overview of the County's new website by Chris Dines. Dines explained that the new website was due to be released this week however there were still changes and fixes that needed to be made so the release was delayed. Dines said there were several changes in the works but there was no concrete evidence that the changes would require residents to do anything different than they have in the past. If anything, the new website looked more modern, cleaner, and easier to navigate.
Ryan Gandy was next on the Agenda with a brief presentation on the Economic Development Strategic Plan. After a short overview of what a strategic plan was and how it worked, Gandy quickly moved into engaging the audience. He asked for strengths and weaknesses for the County. The attendees obliged and listed many in both categories.
After suggestions and ideas began to slow, Brabo took over for a short Question and Answer session while Gandy and County employees tallied the results. Several questions and comments centered around zoning within the County. Brabo made it clear that the Board of Supervisors were not amenable to rezoning and that it wasn't necessary due to plenty of sites being available for all zoning types.
Most interesting was Brabo's comment that Senator Stuart has been asked to submit legislation to increase the speed limit from 55 mph to 65 mph in two areas within King George. The first was the section of Route 301 between Port Royal and Route 3 and the second was the section of Route 3 from Hopyard to the Stafford County line.
Once Gandy totaled the results, he took over the meeting and presented his findings. He made clear when he started that this was the early stage of the planning process but reiterated again that the results from tonight's meeting would not necessarily reflect the end result used in the plan. Tonight's list would be combined with several others before a final list of strengths and weaknesses would be created for the finished Strategic Plan.
The top strengths submitted by tonight's audience were:
- low taxes
- historical sites
- Dahlgren base
- quality of life/different options
- UMW-Dahlgren
The top weaknesses submitted by tonight's audience were:
- water costs
- lack of connectivity - broadband
- limited sit-down restaurant options
- lack of entertainment options
- limited water access [EDITOR’S NOTE: access to rivers, not drinking water]
The Town Hall ended with a few final comments from the audience about traffic issues, a lack of activities and entertainment options, and praise for the farmer's market. Brabo ended the Town Hall with a few comments and introductions of this year's candidates.
- Jeff Bueche (Board of Supervisors - James Monroe District) (https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyBuecheforJamesMonroe/)
- Cathy Binder (Board of Supervisors - Shiloh District)
- Caroline Phelps (School Board - Shiloh District) (https://www.facebook.com/CarolinePhelpsforSB/)
