When asked for their perspective on the approval granted to Sheila Johnson for the construction of her Salamander Inn project, Town Council Members commented as follows:

Tim Dimos. Mayor:
Congratulations to Dr. Johnson and the Salamander Development Team. I look forward to working with them in a long and mutually beneficial relationship.

Betsy Davis:
I welcome Salamander. There are always pros and cons to every project. Salamander Inn brings many positive benefits to the Town. We can work together to find solutions to lessen the impact of the concerns that have been raised. It is very important for us to work together as good neighbors.

Helen Hyre:
I don't have any comments. I haven't been down there and am not sure what they are doing. It has been approved by the County.

Darlene Kirk:
I have mixed emotions about this. I've lived my whole life up one block from the edge of the property, and I wanted it to always be there as it was, but things don't stay the same. As a member of the Town Council, it's my job to put aside my feelings and do what's best for the town and the citizens and that's what I intend to do. I wish Mrs. Johnson the best on the Inn and hope she understands the love and the importance of what the people of Middleburg feel about their town.

Bundles Murdock:
Although there has been a conditional site plan approval, I am still in favor of Salamander Development, LLC building a small inn within the town limits of Middleburg and protecting the rest of the land as field and forest with a conservation easement. Everyone would benefit from this move. The inn could be situated so it could look over the beautiful fields to the North and offer the town and its shops within easy walking distance to its guests. I believe everyone in the town and surrounding areas would applaud this result.

Margaret New:
Unfortunately, the current plans for the inn oppose the tenets of the current Comprehensive Plan for the town (developed, refined and reviewed over many years by the present as well as previous Planning Commissions), which suggest that the Salamander tract would be best used to preserve and reinforce the town's "existing hard-edge of development", and that creation of a separate commercial area is to be avoided. These values and goals of the Comprehensive Plan were recently confirmed by suggestions obtained from community citizens by the Visioning Committee appointed by the Town Council at the request of Shelia Johnson. The scale of the inn project (now 58 rooms, projected to increase to 120 rooms in the future, plus the commercial areas) is also out of proportion to the existing size of the town. Prior to any contemplation of adjusting the boundary line or annexing this project into the town limits for the purpose of extending utilities, I believe it mandatory to review the Comprehensive Plan as it pertains to this property and to obtain an impact study by an independent third party to determine the costs, as well as revenues, to the town.