by Neil Richard
Jeff Bueche, James Monroe District Supervisor, held his third Town Hall at the American Legion on Dahlgren Road on November 16, 2018. Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, T. C. Collins, School Board Member, and Mike Bennett, Service Authority Board of Directors Member, were also in attendance.
Bueche opened his meeting by allowing T. C. Collins speak and answer questions first so he could attend the King George High School Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony later in the evening. Collins said the school system has roughly 4,000 students and over 600 teachers. Pay raises have been implemented over the past few years to bring salaries more in-line with nearby localities. He also said the school's graduation rate, 95.2%, is higher than other districts in the region. When asked about the new track at the Middle School, Collins said it would be open to the public but only with the appropriate application process being followed for the use of school facilities. Dr. Young did say a maintenance plan will be in place for the track and other future improvements in the County. However, it was easy to read between the lines and see that the track would not be open for public use without permission from the school system.
Mike Bennett gave a brief overview and update of recent news in the Service Authority. He said the Utility Master Plan draft is complete however there is no current Capital Improvement Plan. The new General Manager will continue to hold his office on the Madison County Board of Supervisors through the end of 2019 with the expectation that he would not seek re-election. Bennett said the new General Manager, Jonathon Weakley, listed a Virginia Department of Health (VDH) employee as a personal reference on his resume and that he has a good relationship with both VDH and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Bennett said sometimes it feels like a new issue is always coming up and cited the recent discovery that there is no formal safety plan for the Service Authority and that eye wash stations and first aid kits were not always available or operational. He said some of that has been remedied but some of it will need to be addressed by the new General Manager. Bennett also said that he and Chris Werle, Chairman of the Board of Directors, learned about a sewage spill that occurred in March under previous leadership. Bennett said it was reported to DEQ the day after he and Werle learned of it.
Bueche then took over for a few minutes saying he had campaigned on several topics and felt like he was meeting his campaign promises. He was holding Town Halls, focused on school safety, and worked on creating a debt mitigation plan. He repeatedly thanked Bennett for his service on the Service Authority Board, apologizing for putting him in a hard spot.
Dr. Young added his updates that included future Town Halls in all districts that would be used to get feedback on the new Economic Development Strategic Plan. He also said the budget cycle would be starting again soon and that he would give his annual State of the County address in January. Young also said the County needs to become self-sustaining when it comes to public safety and needs to not rely on mutual aid as much. Because of this, he said the County will begin reviving the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) process soon.
When asked about the Navy's stance that the Dahlgren Primary Settlement District should remain in the Comprehensive Plan, Bueche said he was not aware of the Navy's position but it would certainly factor into his position on the Board's consensus to remove it from the future Comprehensive Plan.
The Town Hall then dove into the deep end of the proposed development in Potomac Landing where a developer wants to turn 18 lots into 87 lots. There was some discussion as to the original application being submitted with the previous land owner's name and wasn't resubmitted with the correct information until November 5. There was also discussion about a plat that was issued in 1997 and how it differed from the current plat being used.
Bueche did explain why he voted against postponing the decision on the preliminary plan. He felt it was important to have the people most directly impacted be present in the room for the vote. He also confirmed what the developer's attorney, Clark Leming, alluded to at the Planning Commission meeting that if the County denied the preliminary plan, they could be sued. This has also been confirmed with various other attorneys and various court cases in Virginia where the developer's rights are clear during the preliminary phase. Bueche said he wanted to vote to approve the plat that night because he knew if the County would be sued, the County would lose and that the money spent on such a court case would be a waste for the rest of the residents in his district as well as the entire County. Bueche said that when the preliminary plan is approved, there are still stages during the process where the developer will need to get Planning Commission and Supervisor approval before continuing. He noted that the construction phase would be the next step and he planned to make sure the developer didn't violate any ordinances or rules and if they did, he would certainly vote against the project.
Although the crowd was much smaller than the Board of Supervisors meeting earlier in the week, it was no less emotional as many residents were upset about proposed development. There appeared to be some internal strife among neighbors as well and sounded like some residents in Fairview Beach knew about the development but didn't share with their neighbors. All of those at the Town Hall though appeared to not be in favor of the developer.
After several hours, the meeting eventually ended around 9:30pm. Some residents appeared to be appeased and had gotten a positive vibe from Bueche and his future plans for the proposed development while others seemed to be disappointed. In the end, everyone there had ample opportunity to have their voice heard about the potential growth in Potomac Landing as well as the school system and the Service Authority.
[Photo (c) 2018 by Yvonne Richard. Used with permission.]
Jeff Bueche, James Monroe District Supervisor, held his third Town Hall at the American Legion on Dahlgren Road on November 16, 2018. Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, T. C. Collins, School Board Member, and Mike Bennett, Service Authority Board of Directors Member, were also in attendance.
Bueche opened his meeting by allowing T. C. Collins speak and answer questions first so he could attend the King George High School Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony later in the evening. Collins said the school system has roughly 4,000 students and over 600 teachers. Pay raises have been implemented over the past few years to bring salaries more in-line with nearby localities. He also said the school's graduation rate, 95.2%, is higher than other districts in the region. When asked about the new track at the Middle School, Collins said it would be open to the public but only with the appropriate application process being followed for the use of school facilities. Dr. Young did say a maintenance plan will be in place for the track and other future improvements in the County. However, it was easy to read between the lines and see that the track would not be open for public use without permission from the school system.
Mike Bennett gave a brief overview and update of recent news in the Service Authority. He said the Utility Master Plan draft is complete however there is no current Capital Improvement Plan. The new General Manager will continue to hold his office on the Madison County Board of Supervisors through the end of 2019 with the expectation that he would not seek re-election. Bennett said the new General Manager, Jonathon Weakley, listed a Virginia Department of Health (VDH) employee as a personal reference on his resume and that he has a good relationship with both VDH and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Bennett said sometimes it feels like a new issue is always coming up and cited the recent discovery that there is no formal safety plan for the Service Authority and that eye wash stations and first aid kits were not always available or operational. He said some of that has been remedied but some of it will need to be addressed by the new General Manager. Bennett also said that he and Chris Werle, Chairman of the Board of Directors, learned about a sewage spill that occurred in March under previous leadership. Bennett said it was reported to DEQ the day after he and Werle learned of it.
Bueche then took over for a few minutes saying he had campaigned on several topics and felt like he was meeting his campaign promises. He was holding Town Halls, focused on school safety, and worked on creating a debt mitigation plan. He repeatedly thanked Bennett for his service on the Service Authority Board, apologizing for putting him in a hard spot.
Dr. Young added his updates that included future Town Halls in all districts that would be used to get feedback on the new Economic Development Strategic Plan. He also said the budget cycle would be starting again soon and that he would give his annual State of the County address in January. Young also said the County needs to become self-sustaining when it comes to public safety and needs to not rely on mutual aid as much. Because of this, he said the County will begin reviving the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) process soon.
When asked about the Navy's stance that the Dahlgren Primary Settlement District should remain in the Comprehensive Plan, Bueche said he was not aware of the Navy's position but it would certainly factor into his position on the Board's consensus to remove it from the future Comprehensive Plan.
The Town Hall then dove into the deep end of the proposed development in Potomac Landing where a developer wants to turn 18 lots into 87 lots. There was some discussion as to the original application being submitted with the previous land owner's name and wasn't resubmitted with the correct information until November 5. There was also discussion about a plat that was issued in 1997 and how it differed from the current plat being used.
Bueche did explain why he voted against postponing the decision on the preliminary plan. He felt it was important to have the people most directly impacted be present in the room for the vote. He also confirmed what the developer's attorney, Clark Leming, alluded to at the Planning Commission meeting that if the County denied the preliminary plan, they could be sued. This has also been confirmed with various other attorneys and various court cases in Virginia where the developer's rights are clear during the preliminary phase. Bueche said he wanted to vote to approve the plat that night because he knew if the County would be sued, the County would lose and that the money spent on such a court case would be a waste for the rest of the residents in his district as well as the entire County. Bueche said that when the preliminary plan is approved, there are still stages during the process where the developer will need to get Planning Commission and Supervisor approval before continuing. He noted that the construction phase would be the next step and he planned to make sure the developer didn't violate any ordinances or rules and if they did, he would certainly vote against the project.
Although the crowd was much smaller than the Board of Supervisors meeting earlier in the week, it was no less emotional as many residents were upset about proposed development. There appeared to be some internal strife among neighbors as well and sounded like some residents in Fairview Beach knew about the development but didn't share with their neighbors. All of those at the Town Hall though appeared to not be in favor of the developer.
After several hours, the meeting eventually ended around 9:30pm. Some residents appeared to be appeased and had gotten a positive vibe from Bueche and his future plans for the proposed development while others seemed to be disappointed. In the end, everyone there had ample opportunity to have their voice heard about the potential growth in Potomac Landing as well as the school system and the Service Authority.
[Photo (c) 2018 by Yvonne Richard. Used with permission.]
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