by Neil Richard
Cathy Binder hosted another Town Hall meeting on December 10, 2019. She and Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, were on hand to discuss infrastructure issues and potential solutions. Binder began the Town Hall with a newer, shorter iteration of her previous presentation on infrastructure. She again went through the slides quickly and gave a high-level view of some of the issues faced by current County-owned properties and potential ways to fix them. With a lot of vacant buildings and unaddressed maintenance needs, the solutions ranged from restoration to demolition to selling. Binder again reiterated that this was simply her vision and any future action would need to be taken up by the Board of Supervisors as a whole.
After Binder answered a few questions, Dr. Young then gave a short presentation on the replacement of the Wayside Park. This would end up dominating the discussion for the next 90 minutes with a lot of questions, concerns, and emotions. Even though the crowd was small, roughly 20 to 30 people, there were plenty of questions to be answered. One gentleman at the end asked if somebody would publish a story that gave the true story of how the land swap took place. He felt there was a lot of misinformation out there but was worried about some of the larger, Federal agencies would be upset if they were called out for their actions.
Seeing as I apparently have a reputation for causing trouble, I said I would be willing to take on this task. Not that I want to cause trouble with the Federal agencies but rather I want to do my best to educate my neighbors on how this process took place and why it's happening despite the amount of advocacy against it.
First, a little history on the property in question. Barnesfield was once a plantation. A ferry once crossed the Potomac and sat roughly where the Wayside Park is located now. George Washington used it several times and mentions it in his letters. The Plantation is now gone as is the ferry. The Navy opened the base in Dahlgren in 1918. Prior to World War II, it acquired more land across Highway 301 (James Madison Parkway). They would do dive-bombing off Mathias Point before turning the land back over to the National Park Service (NPS). This is a pretty normal practice when the government turns over excess land to the NPS for public use.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the NPS gave the land to King George County. A visitor center was built as was Barnesfield Park. I played countless soccer games on those fields as a kid and they're still in use today. We even held a picnic there this summer as part of our 25th Class Reunion. Wayside Park was created as an access point to the Potomac River. Numerous people use it to fish, swim, or picnic. While most people use it in the summer, there are still plenty of visitors in the winter. With few amenities there, a few picnic tables and a porta-john, there's not much there other than parking, sand, and water.
The visitor center would eventually go dormant as surrounding counties, then eventually King George, decided not to fund it. It has since reopened as the Dahlgren Heritage Museum. Run by the Dahlgren Heritage Foundation, the building acts as a state recognized Visitor Center as well as a museum dedicated to the history of Dahlgren. Although most of the 4,500 visitors at the museum last year came from Virginia and Maryland, there were also visitors from other states and nearly 20 different countries. [EDITOR'S NOTE - Neil Richard, a co-founder of Project94, is an employee of the Dahlgren Heritage Foundation.]
So how do King George County, and it's residents, get the short end of the stick? Because we have almost no say in the decision process. Maryland owns the Potomac River and has final say on where the new bridge lands in Virginia. And even though Virginia can certainly lobby for a different spot, when it comes to a choice between fighting for property owned by King George County versus property owned by the United States Navy, the state can boss around the County a lot easier. Plus, the power plant on the Maryland side would be in the way. So any thoughts of moving the bridge to land south (down river) of the existing bridge are out of the question.
So Maryland, with Virginia's support, now have a place to drop the Virginia side of the new bridge. Right on top of Wayside Park. Virginia may not have called it eminent domain but that's effectively what they exercised on the property. King George County had no choice in losing the property. However, Virginia was kind enough to offer replacement property of similar use and value.
This is where King George County, both residents and Supervisors, get to make two decisions. And they did. First, residents spoke out at various Town Halls, surveys, and more about access to water. Being bounded by the Rappahannock River and Potomac River, residents said they wanted more water access. Losing Wayside Park would mean residents lose one access point. The Supervisors listened to the voice of the people and told the state the replacement property had to be on the water. The Supervisors also said they didn't care which river it was on, it just had to be on the water. The second decision point was when the Supervisors decided not to use eminent domain themselves to acquire the replacement property. While some may think this was a decision they made without consulting residents, I feel the reaction of residents over the rumor of the Dahlgren fire station being moved to a new location acquired by eminent domain was voice enough to tell the Supervisors that was a bad idea.
So, King George had made two decisions. The Supervisors don't want to use eminent domain and the residents want water access. That means only waterfront property that is up for sale is considered. But during the presentation it became apparent that the County went beyond that in an effort to find land by talking to property owners that didn't have land for sale to see if they were willing to part with what they had.
The only other decision the County was allowed to make was if a sound wall would be installed. After listening to residents, especially those in the Dahlgren area, the decision was that a sound wall was a bad idea. So the Supervisors told VDOT they didn't want one. That's the extent of any decision making ability the County had in the entire process.
As Dr. Young disclosed during his presentation, there were twelve properties submitted to Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) as potential replacements for Wayside. The Machodoc Creek Marina was denied by VDOT because of the commercial use. The trailer park in Fairview Beach was denied by VDOT because it was too expensive to relocate residents. A parcel of Mt. Bethel Christian Center came close but was once again denied by VDOT because they felt access wasn't adequate. Dr. Young said the portion of Mt. Bethel was as close to a done deal as any of the other properties considered. He said the Board of Trustees were willing to sell part of their property as it would give them money to make needed repairs. None of the other twelve suggested properties got that far in the process.
With all of the suggested replacements turned down by VDOT, that left the addition to Barnesfield, just north of the existing park. Because water access was a requirement, it also included a single house on Roseland Road. The second house on the street. This would isolate or land lock one house, the first house on Roseland Road owned by the Karabots family, so that it would be surrounded by park land. To anyone with an iota of intelligence, this makes no sense. Why would you buy a residence as part of a property replacement program for a park?
Well, there are some potential benefits that could happen by using a house. It would be a great wedding venue that the County could rent out. It could play host to meetings from various groups. It would be a great point to launch kayaks or canoes. But these ideas are just that, ideas that have yet to occur.
The lack of planning was one of the main concerns voiced during the Town Hall and rightly so. But one thing residents didn't know was that the County had no say in the process. One of the requirements by the National Park Service for the land swap to occur was a plan by the County on how they would use the property. So a rough draft plan was created. But it was just that, a rough draft. There's no funding for anything to occur on the new property right now.
I mentioned the National Park Service again because they were just one of many agencies involved in this land swap. Below is a partial list of the other entities involved in this process:
Because of the property's history, first as part of a Navy base then as National Park land, there are certain restrictions on how the property can be used. Those restrictions, or covenants, transfer with the land and impact the replacement land as well. In short, this means that when King George County was given the property for Barnesfield Park, they had to make it for public use and recreation. The same rules will apply to the property that is being acquired to replace Wayside Park. That means the County can't sell the house to fund other projects or even buy a different piece of property to replace it. It's taken three years to decide on these two pieces of property and at least eight years to even get this far in the process of building a new bridge.
So why doesn't King George County give VDOT the proverbial middle finger? Why don't the Supervisors tell the state to "pound sand" as Jeff Bueche put it at the Town Hall? Because it would be a losing battle that would cost taxpayers money. If the County refused the land swap, it would end up in court fighting a case they would lose. A court case that would be funded by the taxpayers. And in the end, the County would be stuck with the land anyway.
So what's the "too long, didn't read" (tl/dr) of this whole story? King George County, both Supervisors and residents, are not buying property to replace Wayside Park. King George County, both Supervisors and residents, had three decision points (use of eminent domain, water access, and a sound wall). King George County, both Supervisors and residents, suggested other properties as a replacement for Wayside but were denied. King George County, both Supervisors and residents, have no choice but to take the property. King George County, both Supervisors and residents, could fight the issue in the courts but would lose. King George County, both Supervisors and residents, asked to get cash instead of property but were denied. King George County, both Supervisors and residents, will be stuck with two new pieces of property in less than 30 days.
But fear not, there's a glimmer of hope on the horizon. Bueche, Binder, Young and Chris Clarke, Director of Parks and Recreation, made assurances that the public would be involved in how the new property would be used in the future. So if you have suggestions on how to use the land, I recommend you reach out to your representatives.
Cathy Binder hosted another Town Hall meeting on December 10, 2019. She and Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, were on hand to discuss infrastructure issues and potential solutions. Binder began the Town Hall with a newer, shorter iteration of her previous presentation on infrastructure. She again went through the slides quickly and gave a high-level view of some of the issues faced by current County-owned properties and potential ways to fix them. With a lot of vacant buildings and unaddressed maintenance needs, the solutions ranged from restoration to demolition to selling. Binder again reiterated that this was simply her vision and any future action would need to be taken up by the Board of Supervisors as a whole.
 |
| Wayside Park is highlighted in green. |
After Binder answered a few questions, Dr. Young then gave a short presentation on the replacement of the Wayside Park. This would end up dominating the discussion for the next 90 minutes with a lot of questions, concerns, and emotions. Even though the crowd was small, roughly 20 to 30 people, there were plenty of questions to be answered. One gentleman at the end asked if somebody would publish a story that gave the true story of how the land swap took place. He felt there was a lot of misinformation out there but was worried about some of the larger, Federal agencies would be upset if they were called out for their actions.
Seeing as I apparently have a reputation for causing trouble, I said I would be willing to take on this task. Not that I want to cause trouble with the Federal agencies but rather I want to do my best to educate my neighbors on how this process took place and why it's happening despite the amount of advocacy against it.
First, a little history on the property in question. Barnesfield was once a plantation. A ferry once crossed the Potomac and sat roughly where the Wayside Park is located now. George Washington used it several times and mentions it in his letters. The Plantation is now gone as is the ferry. The Navy opened the base in Dahlgren in 1918. Prior to World War II, it acquired more land across Highway 301 (James Madison Parkway). They would do dive-bombing off Mathias Point before turning the land back over to the National Park Service (NPS). This is a pretty normal practice when the government turns over excess land to the NPS for public use.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the NPS gave the land to King George County. A visitor center was built as was Barnesfield Park. I played countless soccer games on those fields as a kid and they're still in use today. We even held a picnic there this summer as part of our 25th Class Reunion. Wayside Park was created as an access point to the Potomac River. Numerous people use it to fish, swim, or picnic. While most people use it in the summer, there are still plenty of visitors in the winter. With few amenities there, a few picnic tables and a porta-john, there's not much there other than parking, sand, and water.
The visitor center would eventually go dormant as surrounding counties, then eventually King George, decided not to fund it. It has since reopened as the Dahlgren Heritage Museum. Run by the Dahlgren Heritage Foundation, the building acts as a state recognized Visitor Center as well as a museum dedicated to the history of Dahlgren. Although most of the 4,500 visitors at the museum last year came from Virginia and Maryland, there were also visitors from other states and nearly 20 different countries. [EDITOR'S NOTE - Neil Richard, a co-founder of Project94, is an employee of the Dahlgren Heritage Foundation.]
So how do King George County, and it's residents, get the short end of the stick? Because we have almost no say in the decision process. Maryland owns the Potomac River and has final say on where the new bridge lands in Virginia. And even though Virginia can certainly lobby for a different spot, when it comes to a choice between fighting for property owned by King George County versus property owned by the United States Navy, the state can boss around the County a lot easier. Plus, the power plant on the Maryland side would be in the way. So any thoughts of moving the bridge to land south (down river) of the existing bridge are out of the question.
So Maryland, with Virginia's support, now have a place to drop the Virginia side of the new bridge. Right on top of Wayside Park. Virginia may not have called it eminent domain but that's effectively what they exercised on the property. King George County had no choice in losing the property. However, Virginia was kind enough to offer replacement property of similar use and value.
This is where King George County, both residents and Supervisors, get to make two decisions. And they did. First, residents spoke out at various Town Halls, surveys, and more about access to water. Being bounded by the Rappahannock River and Potomac River, residents said they wanted more water access. Losing Wayside Park would mean residents lose one access point. The Supervisors listened to the voice of the people and told the state the replacement property had to be on the water. The Supervisors also said they didn't care which river it was on, it just had to be on the water. The second decision point was when the Supervisors decided not to use eminent domain themselves to acquire the replacement property. While some may think this was a decision they made without consulting residents, I feel the reaction of residents over the rumor of the Dahlgren fire station being moved to a new location acquired by eminent domain was voice enough to tell the Supervisors that was a bad idea.
So, King George had made two decisions. The Supervisors don't want to use eminent domain and the residents want water access. That means only waterfront property that is up for sale is considered. But during the presentation it became apparent that the County went beyond that in an effort to find land by talking to property owners that didn't have land for sale to see if they were willing to part with what they had.
The only other decision the County was allowed to make was if a sound wall would be installed. After listening to residents, especially those in the Dahlgren area, the decision was that a sound wall was a bad idea. So the Supervisors told VDOT they didn't want one. That's the extent of any decision making ability the County had in the entire process.
As Dr. Young disclosed during his presentation, there were twelve properties submitted to Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) as potential replacements for Wayside. The Machodoc Creek Marina was denied by VDOT because of the commercial use. The trailer park in Fairview Beach was denied by VDOT because it was too expensive to relocate residents. A parcel of Mt. Bethel Christian Center came close but was once again denied by VDOT because they felt access wasn't adequate. Dr. Young said the portion of Mt. Bethel was as close to a done deal as any of the other properties considered. He said the Board of Trustees were willing to sell part of their property as it would give them money to make needed repairs. None of the other twelve suggested properties got that far in the process.
With all of the suggested replacements turned down by VDOT, that left the addition to Barnesfield, just north of the existing park. Because water access was a requirement, it also included a single house on Roseland Road. The second house on the street. This would isolate or land lock one house, the first house on Roseland Road owned by the Karabots family, so that it would be surrounded by park land. To anyone with an iota of intelligence, this makes no sense. Why would you buy a residence as part of a property replacement program for a park?
 |
| Replacement property is shown in orange. |
Well, there are some potential benefits that could happen by using a house. It would be a great wedding venue that the County could rent out. It could play host to meetings from various groups. It would be a great point to launch kayaks or canoes. But these ideas are just that, ideas that have yet to occur.
The lack of planning was one of the main concerns voiced during the Town Hall and rightly so. But one thing residents didn't know was that the County had no say in the process. One of the requirements by the National Park Service for the land swap to occur was a plan by the County on how they would use the property. So a rough draft plan was created. But it was just that, a rough draft. There's no funding for anything to occur on the new property right now.
 |
| Very rough draft of what may happen in the newly acquired property. |
I mentioned the National Park Service again because they were just one of many agencies involved in this land swap. Below is a partial list of the other entities involved in this process:
- United States Department of the Interior
- United States Army Corps of Engineers
- United States Navy
- National Park Service
- Virginia Attorney General's Office
- Virginia Governor's Office
- Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation
- Virginia Marine Resources Commission
- Virginia Department of Resources
- Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program
- Virginia Department of Health
- Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
- Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
- Virginia Tourism Commission
- King George County Board of Supervisors
- Maryland Governor's Office
- Maryland Department of Planning
- Maryland Historical Trust
- Maryland Department of Transportation
- Maryland Transportation Authority
- Charles County Commissioners
- George Washington Regional Commission
Because of the property's history, first as part of a Navy base then as National Park land, there are certain restrictions on how the property can be used. Those restrictions, or covenants, transfer with the land and impact the replacement land as well. In short, this means that when King George County was given the property for Barnesfield Park, they had to make it for public use and recreation. The same rules will apply to the property that is being acquired to replace Wayside Park. That means the County can't sell the house to fund other projects or even buy a different piece of property to replace it. It's taken three years to decide on these two pieces of property and at least eight years to even get this far in the process of building a new bridge.
So why doesn't King George County give VDOT the proverbial middle finger? Why don't the Supervisors tell the state to "pound sand" as Jeff Bueche put it at the Town Hall? Because it would be a losing battle that would cost taxpayers money. If the County refused the land swap, it would end up in court fighting a case they would lose. A court case that would be funded by the taxpayers. And in the end, the County would be stuck with the land anyway.
So what's the "too long, didn't read" (tl/dr) of this whole story? King George County, both Supervisors and residents, are not buying property to replace Wayside Park. King George County, both Supervisors and residents, had three decision points (use of eminent domain, water access, and a sound wall). King George County, both Supervisors and residents, suggested other properties as a replacement for Wayside but were denied. King George County, both Supervisors and residents, have no choice but to take the property. King George County, both Supervisors and residents, could fight the issue in the courts but would lose. King George County, both Supervisors and residents, asked to get cash instead of property but were denied. King George County, both Supervisors and residents, will be stuck with two new pieces of property in less than 30 days.
But fear not, there's a glimmer of hope on the horizon. Bueche, Binder, Young and Chris Clarke, Director of Parks and Recreation, made assurances that the public would be involved in how the new property would be used in the future. So if you have suggestions on how to use the land, I recommend you reach out to your representatives.
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Neil, once again you have explained the issue thoroughly and in layman's terms so any resident can understand what is taking place. Thank you for taking on this endeavor and doing it so anyone can understand the issues.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words and thanks reading!
DeleteThanks for this wonderful explanation!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! Glad it helped.
Delete