On July 12, at conference facilities at "Clyde's" restaurant in Broadlands, the Middleburg Town Council and staff met for a day-long "Vision Session," moderated by Tyler St. Clair, a member of the Leadership Development Team at the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia.

The exercise: "Thinking about the Town of Middleburg in 2025." What would the current members of Council want to change? What would they want to keep?

Two groups, each containing Council members and staff, "brainstormed" ideas at the all-day Saturday session. Though open to the public, only Council and Staff members attended the all-day Saturday sessions.

Weldon Cooper's St. Clair introduced and facilitated the discussions, then drafted a formal summary of the proceedings in time for Council's Thursday, July 24, work session.

A further, one-day work session is anticipated to get everyone to agree on final draft of the "vision," and a plan to promote and implement it.

Council spent $3,000 plus facilities and food costs for it's long day at Clyde's. According to local management and marketing consultants similar exercises, conducted for both public and private-sector executives, can cost as much as ten times that amount, or more.

According to Town Administrator Jerry Schiro, Middleburg's sessions " . . . went well with great participation from the Council."

St. Clair's seminar, "Visioning & Goal Setting: Leading Your Community," has been well-received at meetings of the Virginia Mayor's League, and inspired a similar, four-day session last year with the Herndon Town Council.

"Vision 1.0"

St. Clair's summary of input from both groups outlined nine key elements of the current Council's vision of the Town in 2025, beginning with almost universally shared ideas about "What Makes Us So 'Unmistakably Middleburg?" In seventeen years, they hope, Middleburg will be:

1) "A small town that is a thriving, friendly, welcoming, safe and charming community."

2) "A historic identity that includes horses and fox hunting; an employment focus that has historically been service-oriented versus industrial in nature; the Site of Revolutionary War and Civil War battles; part of the "Journey Through Hallowed Ground;" a community with an exemplary architectural heritage; a place where African Americans have played significant roles as business owners and in the horse industry."

3) "A preservation and conservation leader that ensures that the Town is a beautiful, historic, architecturally rich, vibrant village with well-defined borders, surrounded by green, open space."

4) A destination for shopping and dining and unique accommodations.

5) "The "Capital of Horse Country" -- If it's horse-oriented, it begins and ends in Middleburg."

6) "A real town, with real people, that is the model of natural diversity that everyone is trying to achieve; diversity is valued and "chiefs live among the Indians" -- where neighbors are neighbors, no matter what the size of their houses."

7) "A Green Community that is environmentally sound, sustainable, and paperless."

8) "A state of mind that means caring for and giving to others; we are interdependent, rely on each other, and are committed to providing time and money for our community."

9) "Invested in remembering our past and planning for our future."

The "Brainstorm"

"Group Blue" at "Clyde's", including Council Members Darlene Kirk, Bundles Murdock, Trowbridge Littleton, Judith Plecow, Town Administrator Jerry Schiro and Town Clerk Rhonda North, came up with no less than 28 things they'd like to "keep" and 46 things they'd like to see "change."

Among the Group Blue more specific "keepers" were the town's elementary school, the Pink Box visitor center, a "buffer" between Middleburg and the eastern parts of the County, and small streets with no Upperville-style traffic calming measures.

Among things they'd like to see change: improvements in the cost of living for seniors; more retail opportunities and downtown restaurants; a new Middleburg Museum; better preservation and use of historic Ashby Church; moving and improving Safeway (the town's only grocery store) ; more parking, including, perhaps, an underground garage; and putting the entire town within the Historic District to prevent, among other things, the construction of "McMansions."

Their "Group Red" colleagues, Mayor Betsy Davis, Council Members Kathy Jo Shea, Mark Snyder, Lisa Patterson, and Town Planner David Beniamino, came up with a remarkably similar list: 30 things to "keep" and 38 things to "change."

Among their more specific "keepers," were: diversity, including continuing support of organizations like Windy Hill to help preserve it; promotion of an even more active volunteer community; continuing sound financial management; and a solid, professional, well-trained town staff.

"Group Red" wanted to see change for the better: competitive salaries and benefits for the town staff; an "intense revenue generating program;" computerization; a Middleburg Foundations that would "purchase retail space and other properties to help with rents . . . ;" water and sewer rates that would allowing ongoing replacement and maintenance; expanded parks and recreational activities for teens; instant electronic communication, including real-time electronic access to Council meetings, and perhaps, a "Second Life" on-line presence.

Next Steps

St. Clair has recommended, and Council seems inclined to approve, another full day session to fine tune and adopt a final statement and outline a plan to promote and implement it. Key elements will include agreement on specific statements, already in draft form, on: community involvement; economic strength; communication; residential vitality, the preservation and maintenance of the Town's historic character, a "green" environment; and future sustainability and infrastructure planning.

Part of St. Clair's approach at Clyde's was to get each attendee, as an ice breaker, to reveal something about themselves they thought the others didn't know. Schiro noted, "I think the setting gave the Council an opportunity to learn some things about each other they probably didn't know. I know I certainly did." Copies of the minutes of the visioning session, and St. Clair's final report are available at Town Hall.