The Thursday, July 13 regular meeting of the Middlburg Town Council ended with a call for the immediate convention of a closed session to discuss personnel matters. Town Manager Mike Casey told the Middleburg Eccentric he had known nothing of the meeting until it was called. Earlier in the evening he was unanimously approved to act as interim Town Clerk.

Helen Hyre's motion to reconvene in "closed session" was read from a prepared script and citing "the provisions of Virginia Code allowing such meetings when personnel matters are under discussion, was immediately seconded by Council Member Catherine ("Bundles") Murdock. With no objection to the motion, the town's new Mayor, Betsy Davis, thus ended her first public session and then immediately reconvened a private session.

After another closed session, convened at 7:00 PM on Sunday, July 23, Council voted unanimously to terminate Town Administrator, Mike Casey, effective immediately.

Young People Lodge Complaint

During public comments Damon Davenport, speaking on behalf of a group of young people from in and around Middleburg, rose to say he had some comments about "... the Middleburg Police Department, Windy Hill, the Community Center and the Exxon." "It's really unfair how they're treating us, young people," he said, "and I really don't like it, for real." "I came to y'all first," Davenport continued in a halting voice, "because I don't want to do anything to hurt the Town, so I took it up with you all first."

Later in the session Council Member Eura Lewis asked Police Chief Webber for a clarification of the incident, asking him directly about the town's curfew laws.

Chief Webber, who had volunteered to address the matter earlier in the eventing, noted that there is, indeed, a legal curfew in the Village, and that "juvenile complaints" typically rise during the summer months. With few exceptions, people under the age of 18 are not allowed on the streets of Middleburg between 11PM and 6AM. Without going into detail, Webber then volunteered that Davenport's complaint had nothing to do with the town's curfew.

Council Member "Bundles" Murdock also addressed the issue urging Mayor Davis to make sure that, in the future, people who raise issues before Council, receive some indication that they'd been heard. Murdock suggested that perhaps Council's agenda could be altered to allow responses from Members to remarks made during the "public comments" portion of the Council's regular monthly sessions.

Davis agreed, noted that she would make sure Davenport and his friends knew they'd been heard, and referred the matter to the Public Safety Committee, with a promise that the matter would be fully investigated.

Chief Webber later told the Eccentric that his department had acted, as required by law, to serve trespass notices sworn out by a number of Middleburg business people and property owners, objecting to groups of young people trespassing on private property. Davenport and his friends complaints, he said, were probably related to his departments enforcement of those warrants.

The Chief told the Eccentric that he had offered to meet personally with Davenport and his friends over the weekend preceding the council meeting, but, according to Webber, neither Davenport nor any of his friends had taken advantage of the invitation to talk. Davenport also did not respond to an invitation to discuss the matter with the Eccentric.

Salamander Water Plant Contract Resolution Passes Unanimously

Following a lengthy work session earlier in the week, Council passed unanimously, a resolution authorizing the Town to authorize Town Administrator Mike Casey to "execute an agreement with Salamander Development, LLC, for the construction of water and wastewater facilities."

No Money, No Progress on Traffic Calming for Middleburg

Earlier in the evening Jim Rich, Chairman of the Route 50 Traffic Calming Task Force, and Virginia Department of Transportation Department's Chris Reed, reported that due to cost overruns and budget cutbacks the project had, effectively, run out of money. Praising Senator Warner and Congressman Wolf for their efforts in obtaining roughly $30 million in Federal funding for the project, Rich and Reed reported sadly that requirements for State matching funds meant there was not enough money left in the pool for Middleburg, even though projects are moving forward at Gilbert's Corner, Aldie and Upperville.

Delays, the rising costs of raw materials, and cutbacks of state funding were again cited as the reasons for Middleburg's omission.

During the "public comments" portion of the meeting two citizens rose to ridicule the whole idea of "traffic calming" in general and the Route 50 project in particular, describing "traffic calming roundabouts" as "traffic-snarling, infuriating wastes of time and money." Edward Swain pointed out that VDOT had spent millions surveying and buying land for a by-pass more than 30 years ago.

"Bundles" Murdock asked Rich and Reed about a rumor that Middleburg was excluded because it was perceived as the "rich" village along Route 50. Rich denied the rumor, and stated publicly that the other villages along Route 50 were truly in Middleburg's debt for initiating discussions and driving the project forward in the first place.

New Vice Mayor and Committee Heads

Mayor Davis announced that Darlene Kirk had been unanimously elected Vice-Mayor at a work session earlier in the week, and will serve as head of the Council's Finance/Personnel Committee.

Eura Lewis will chair the Public Safety Committee and serve as Council representative to the Historic District Review, and the Pink Box Advisory Committee. (The Pink Box is the Town's official Visitor Center)

Mark Snyder will chair the Public Works committee.

New Council Member Lisa Patterson will serve as Council representative to the Planning Commission.

Karen Robinson, also serving her first term on the Council, will represent the Town on the Loudoun County Community Action Board.

"Bundles" Murdock was named Chair of the Land Use Committee.

Mayor Davis, herself, will chair the committees on Economic Development, Main Street Middleburg, and act as representative to the Traffic Calming Task Force.

Leadership of the Health Center Advisory Board, which manages an income-producing real estate asset owned by the town, is yet to be named.

Fire Investigation Continues

Chief Webber also reported that his investigation of the recent suspicious fires in Middleburg is continuing. The Town Council unanimously adopted a new ordinance, "Authorizing a Reward for the Arrest and Conviction of Certain Offenses and Establishing an Account for Payment of Rewards."

Correction - In the June 29 issue of the Middleburg Eccentric Catherine "Bundles" Murdock was incorrectly identified as an outgoing council member.