At its regular meeting on January 9, 2014, Town Council voted unanimously to hire a new company, Inboden Environmental Services, to handle the day-to-day management of the Town's water systems, arguably Middleburg's largest assets and most complex management challenges.

With the town's management contract with Loudoun water due to expire at the end of 2013, Town Administrator Martha Semmes, with full council support, had issued a formal Request For Proposals for the system contract in the fall of 2013.

"Two were received, she said, from "private utility service providers," both long active in the state: one from Inboden Environmental Services, based in Mount Jackson Virginia; the other from the ESS Group, with offices in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Norfolk, Virginia. The town's current contractor, Loudoun Water, did not respond directly to the town's formal RFP, but submitted a draft "renewal contract" for consideration on January 2, 2014.

A committee comprising Town Administrator Martha Semmes, Councilmembers Mark Snyder and Kevin Hazard, and Bob Etris of the Houston-based consulting firm Whitman Requardt Associates reviewed all three offers and unanimously recommended hiring IES.

A key element in the town's choice of vendors, Semmes reported, was the now well-established need to have water and wastewater system management staff on site, "all day during the week and some during the weekends" both of which were required by the permits issued by the State to operate the systems, and the realities of day-to-day maintenance and problem solving needs.

Indeed, Semmes noted, in her view the recent serious and very expensive damage to the town's Well 4 treatment plant "would not have occurred or the damages could have been minimized" if Loudoun Water staff had been on site.

Customers with frozen water meters, she also observed, need immediate attention, and tend not to be happy to wait for the dispatch of service personnel stationed elsewhere in the county, if and when they become available.

It has apparently become "increasingly difficult" and expensive Semmes observed, "for Loudoun Water to provide the level of service the Town staff, Council and customers expect." Their draft renewal contract, she further noted, had simply not offered to provide the on-site staff presence the town required, and, in her view, appeared to offer less service than their competitors at higher cost.

Mark Snyder, arguably the Town Council's resident expert on water issues past and present, noted that the members of the review committee all agreed that "IES was a great solution and had the capabilities, dedication and years of service to do the job, and were cheaper than any other alternative."

Semmes also noted that IES had "direct experience with the membrane technology at the [Town's new] wastewater treatment plant."

Terry Inboden, the founder of IES, could be in Middleburg as early as February, Snyder said, to facilitate a smooth transfer of operations. IES, in Snyder's view, should be able to "fully assume operations in March."

Crosswalk Funding

At its January regular session Council formally and unanimously resolved to pursue Loudoun County Transportation Funding for the design and construction of new pedestrian crosswalks on Washington Street. According to Town Administrator Semmes. Town staff had "found a way" to apply for County funding, noting that Middleburg "had not done so for many years."

Semmes told Council that she had already spoken with Loudoun County Administrator Tim Helmstreet about the project and provided him with cost data. According to Semmes, Helmstreet told her he could still put a "placeholder" for the crosswalks in the county budget if he received a formal request for funding from the town. Normally, Semmes noted, such funding requests should have been submitted in October.

Mayor Betsy Davis told Council that Supervisor Janet Clarke had also "seemed very supportive of the request when they discussed it during a meeting."

Christmas in Middleburg

Following last year's rousing success, Town Council formally and unanimously approved in January a "Resolution of Appreciation" for those who had taken on the responsibility for funding and staging the Town's Christmas in Middleburg celebrations.

Mayor Davis praised, Jim Herbert, Chairman of the Christmas in Middleburg Committee, noting that "every year, the event got better."

Herbert reported that roughly 13,500 people were estimated to have attended the celebrations, with as many as 10,000 present for afternoon's Santa parade.

The Christmas in Middleburg website, Herbert noted had over 48,000 "interactions" and, according to "Visit Loudoun" survey-based estimates, as much as $75 per attendee was generated in cash flow on the day of this event.

Middleburg Charter School

Dave Quanbeck and Janelle Stuart, of the Middleburg Charter School Committee reported that the Loudoun County School Board would vote to approve or disapprove their application on February 25th.

Three members of the School Board will hold "an unofficial, advertised meeting on February 3rd at the elementary school in order to gauge the level of community support." The Middleburg Committee "encouraged people to attend and noted that one member of the School Board was skeptical of charter schools and was asking to see community support."

Quanbeck also encouraged supporters to attend the regular full meeting of the School Board on February 11, "during which time the charter school adoption would be discussed as an information item and public input would be accepted."

Town Council agreed to consider a resolution of support for the project during their January 23rd work session.

Salamander Signage

Town Administrator Semmes reported that the management of Salamander Resort and Spa had approached the Town about working together on a "way-finding signage program." Council should expect a budget proposal, she noted, at some point in the near future.

Historic District Guideline

Town Planner and Zoning Administrator David Beniamino reported that the town's Historic District Review Committee had brought in a consultant at its last meeting "to discuss updating the Historic District Guidelines." The consultant, he said, will submit a proposal to the HRDC on the topic in February, and that HRDC would provide a recommendation for Council's consideration shortly thereafter.

Police

Chief of Police A. J. Panebianco presented his department's "end-of-the-year report" to council. Highlights of 2013 included dealing with a string of burglaries early in the year, with the town's Lieutenant Mike Prince playing "a key role" in identifying the individuals later arrested in connection with the crimes.

Officer Tim Tharpe, he reported, is now addressing the Town's longstanding parking meter issues, inspecting them on a monthly basis and marking those that are out of order for repair. In 2014, he said, the department will also keep track of malfunctioning meters "in a searchable spreadsheet so the staff would know at a quick glance which ones malfunctioned most often and needed to be replaced."

Panebianco had high praise for work of Officers Heather Fadely and Mark Putnam, who found themselves in the highly unusual position for Middleburg officers of having to investigate two deaths within two days. Officer Jay Hollins, he noted, has completed advanced, instructor school level training and has been passing that training along to other members of the force "as well as some officers in Purcellville."

The Department's new Facebook page has clocked six hundred "likes" and counting. It receives three-to-six hundred hits on each new post, Panebianco reported, and received around five thousand hits for a post soliciting Christmas cards for a little girl.

Middleburg enjoys a very low crime rate, the Chief noted, in part because his officers are "out on the street"..."a lot." Open and honest communication from citizens and business owners, he continued, also plays a major role, sometimes making it possible for his officers to intervene to prevent trouble rather than having to react after the fact.