Council opened 2023 with a visit from a congresswoman, a farewell to the Town's auditors of nineteen years, a long and searching debate over what kind of town Middleburg wants to be, and a blunt reaction from the Mayor to news that the County's top prosecutor would step back from many misdemeanor cases.

Council met twice, on January 12 and January 26. Councilmembers Chris Bernard and Philip Miller were absent on the 12th; Miller missed the 26th as well, and Councilmember Darlene Kirk joined that meeting remotely and late because of a medical issue. Mayor Bridge Littleton votes only to break a tie.

Who Prosecutes Now?

Littleton put it first on the January 26 agenda. In a December 30 memo to Loudoun's District Court judges, Commonwealth's Attorney Buta Biberaj said her office would stop taking part in the prosecution of many lower-level cases to focus on violent crimes and felonies. Among them: petty larceny, many traffic offenses, and violations of town and county ordinances ▶ video.

A number of the Town's own ordinances carry penalties of up to a Class 1 misdemeanor, the Mayor noted. He pointed to big-city drugstores driven out by unchecked shoplifting, and he questioned the stated reason. "It is a little duplicitous to state that the Commonwealth's attorney doesn't have the budget," he said, "when they were increased $400,000 two years ago."

What he found "really reprehensible," Littleton said, was the process: the decision came "unilaterally with no prior warning or notice to the towns or the county," in a letter to the courts rather than to the governments affected.

Lieutenant Shaun Jones said local law enforcement had learned of the change from the news media and was due to meet with Biberaj. In the meantime, he said, "we're going to have to prosecute our own cases," and the department would make sure "our cases are tight when we go to court." Littleton doubted that small departments could carry the load: "Legally, you can do it... But there's a training issue. There's a time issue."

Council agreed, without objection, to invite the Commonwealth's Attorney to explain her decision. She stands for re-election in November.

As Loudoun Now reported, the policy does not drop those cases: the arresting officer presents the evidence in court in place of a prosecutor. Biberaj cited a heavy caseload and the volume of police body-camera recordings, and the approach mirrors one adopted earlier by Fairfax County's Commonwealth's Attorney (Loudoun Now, Jan. 13). A month later the paper reported that the policy had still not taken effect, as Biberaj met with law enforcement and planned to meet the District Court judges first (Loudoun Now, Feb. 10).

Residents, or "Transient Occupancy"?

In December Council adopted cleaned-up short-term rental rules and promised to come back for more. On January 12 it did, and the conversation went well beyond tinkering ▶ video.

Deputy Town Manager Will Moore laid out a tiered approach, with different limits on rental nights in different zoning districts, or no rentals at all in R-2, the older Ridgeview neighborhoods. Littleton framed the larger question: "Do we become a town of... transient occupancy, or is it a community of people who by and large all live here?" He cited a 60 Minutes report on Aspen and Vail and predicted a wave of applications once the Salamander residences are built and owners see the returns.

Councilmember Bud Jacobs said he had first favored the tiered approach but had changed his mind. He suggested a single town-wide rule and said he was willing to consider an outright ban if feasible. Kirk wanted the Town to be careful with its numbers "because we want this to be a town of people," noting that a house rented out half the year will not hold a family, or anyone to serve on the Town's committees. She also asked staff to look at protecting small houses: on Sycamore Street, she said, "there are three houses on there that are huge because we've allowed regular houses to be torn down and replaced."

Why 180 nights in the first place? Moore explained that the limit was a ceiling, set so that a home remains mainly a residence, not an entitlement; Council can set fewer nights as a condition of any special use permit. Members asked why not 60. Staff will return with three or four options.

The public weighed in at both meetings. Michael Rocconi of Sycamore Street opposed singling out R-2, arguing that nothing a Ridgeview homeowner might do would change the neighborhood more than the extension of Reed and Chestnut Streets into the Salamander development, and asked for one reasonable limit town-wide ▶ video. On January 26 Gary Nickelson urged a cap of fourteen days.

Thank You, Congresswoman

Representative Jennifer Wexton came to Town Hall on January 12 to accept Council's resolution of appreciation for the $2 million in federal funding she secured for the Town Hall Project, which Littleton said covers almost 20 percent of construction costs ▶ video. She had toured the building beforehand. "It looks amazing," she said, adding that the best thing the federal government can do is "get you the resources you need to be able to do what you need to do and get out of the way." The resolution passed 5-0.

Council also thanked Mitchell & Company, Jeff Mitchell and Sandy Tondreau, the Town's auditors for nineteen years, now retiring ▶ video. Mitchell noted that in that time the firm had worked with five town managers, and with Councilmember Kirk since its first year, 2003. (A typo in the resolution, "exception work" for "exceptional work," will be corrected on the framed copies.) Town Manager Danny Davis is arranging a successor firm.

A Loss at the Legion

During public comment on January 12, Councilmember Kevin Daly spoke of Jeffrey Holt, a Gulf War veteran and Marine from outside Middleburg, who died by suicide on January 1 beside the Middleburg American Legion post. Some veterans return with visible wounds, Daly said, and others carry theirs inside. American Legion Post 295 Commander Gary Nickelson invited the community to a celebration of life on January 15. Councilmember Cindy Pearson later told the Legion's members that Holt chose their place, and that they were chosen for a reason.

Veterans and those who care about them can reach the Veterans Crisis Line by dialing 988 and pressing 1.

The Million-Dollar Clearwell

The Well 4 Clearwell, a water storage project long in the Town's capital plan, has gone from a $375,000 budget to a $550,000 estimate to roughly $1 million, Davis reported on January 26 ▶ video. Much of the increase came from requirements attached to a USDA grant, and that day USDA said the project would not qualify for a grant after all, only a loan. Pursuing it had cost $36,000 in engineering the Town will not recover.

Daly called some of the federal requirements "superfluous to our needs." Littleton wanted "a refresh. Completely new look at this whole project. I mean, top to bottom. This is not about USDA anymore." Council agreed to bid it as a locally funded project, with alternatives, and to take a fresh look at whether it is needed at all. A construction-management contract with Bowman came off the consent agenda.

Police: A Retirement Boost and a Chief Search

Council voted 5-0 on January 26 to give Middleburg's officers the Virginia Retirement System's enhanced hazardous duty multiplier, raising it from 1.7 to 1.85 percent effective February 1, at roughly $15,000 a year ▶ video. Many neighboring jurisdictions already offer it. Davis said most people had assumed the Town did too. Littleton kept the vote separate from any debate over pay: the multiplier "is about all officers in the future, not about who's paid what today."

The Town has begun recruiting a successor to Chief A.J. Panebianco, who plans to retire May 1 (Loudoun Now, Jan. 20). Nicholson used his public comment time to urge Council to hire Lieutenant Jones.

Jones's 2022 year-end review counted fourteen community outreach activities, nine large events, and three shoplifting incidents. He is working with the Middleburg Business & Professional Association on training for stores, and he is pressing Ford over a problem with one of the department's cruisers.

Christmas in Middleburg, the Post-Mortem

Organizer Michelle Myers reported 825 cars parked, under Council's 1,000-car limit, a 90-minute parade, sixteen food trucks, and money left in reserve for next year ▶ video. The trouble spots were paid lots on Federal Street, which let cars out at the wrong moment and, she said, made it hard to get Santa out for the parade; visitors walking on Route 50, Foxcroft Road and Landmark School Road; and a food truck on Route 50 that blocked views and was seen pouring something into a storm drain. Food trucks may move to side streets.

Jacobs relayed Planning Commission complaints about the closing of Chinn Lane, State Police who kept residents from their homes, and so many "no parking" signs that the town looked unwelcoming. Council asked the police to find streets where parking can stay open on one side. Myers' goal is to keep the event the same size, "a really nice event that the town starts to cherish and love again."

Not So Minor

Foxstone Estate, LLC asked Council to treat a two-lot split of a 94.48-acre parcel on Foxcroft Road, outside the town but within Middleburg's subdivision jurisdiction, as a "minor" subdivision, which the ordinance limits to parcels of one acre or less ▶ video. The Planning Commission recommended no. Moore saw no hurdles to the subdivision itself, which would add one home under a conservation easement; the question was whether to skip the public hearing. Littleton worried less about legal precedent than "public precedent." The waiver was denied 4-0, with Vice Mayor Peter Leonard-Morgan abstaining. The full process adds about $2,000 in fees and some time.

Town Hall: Watertight

The new Town Hall is now watertight, Town Clerk Rhonda North confirmed on January 12. Drywall is in throughout, the base coat of asphalt is down, permanent electrical equipment is arriving, and grading of the Village Green has begun ▶ video. The window mock-up still has issues the architect wants resolved. Both meetings ended in closed sessions on the Town Hall contract.

Market Day?

Business Development & Community Partnerships Director Ali MacIntyre hopes to open a Saturday farmers' market, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., in May with about twenty vendors, probably in the new Town Hall's north lot ▶ video. Littleton suggested another location while construction finishes. Pearson warned that "if you keep moving them... you lose it," and wondered whether to wait a year. Staff will ask the vendors. In a review of 2022's events, Davis previewed two new ones for 2023, a Wellness Fair and an Independence Day celebration. Council suggested the Wellness Fair could wait.

Towers and Pipes

Repainting of the Marshall Street water tower will resume when school lets out, by the same contractor, which, Davis said, has acknowledged last year's failures and committed to doing it right. The holdup is T-Mobile's antenna, which must move first. If T-Mobile does not find a temporary site, the Town may end its lease on April 1. Littleton wants the Town compensated. Salamander offered to let the Town run its septic-conversion force main through the bore it is drilling under Reed Street, saving a torn-up road. Well 4's clogged filters may get a welded access hatch, and the water billed-to-pumped ratio slipped after December's Chestnut Street main break; one day the Stonewall water tower lost half its volume.

Also

Town Treasurer Tina Staples reported property, meals and lodging tax revenues all up, with a slower quarter ahead and a dent expected from Salamander's two-week closure. Council agreed to make its strategic plan a two-year cycle, drafted at an off-site retreat after each election and reviewed the following year. North is updating Council's rules on electronic participation to match new state law, and work has begun on a refresh of the Town's website. Building & Facilities Supervisor Tim Cole is recovering and expected back on light duty. On consent, Council asked VDOT to take Chinn Court into the state road system and adopted a resolution of appreciation for Joe Boling. Jacobs praised MacIntyre's Middleburg podcast. The meetings adjourned at 7:45 and 8:11 p.m.

---

Public Comment

January 12 ▶ video

• Mike Rocconi, Sycamore Street, opposed a tiered short-term rental rule that would restrict the R-2 district more than the rest of town, asked whether there was any data behind it, and asked for one town-wide limit.
• Councilmember Kevin Daly, speaking from the lectern, remembered Jeffrey Holt, a Gulf War veteran who took his own life on January 1 beside the American Legion, and noted that on average 22 veterans a day die by suicide.
• Gary Nickelson, Commander of American Legion Post 295, invited the community to a celebration of life for Mr. Holt at the Legion on January 15.

January 26 ▶ video

• Gary Nickelson, Chimneys Lane, urged Council to hire Lt. Shaun Jones as police chief and to cap short-term rentals at 14 nights a year.

---

Sources: the meeting videos (January 12, January 26), the Town's minutes and the transcripts attached to them. Quotes come from the Town contractor's transcripts; each ▶ link opens the video at the start of that agenda item.

Other sources cited:

• Loudoun Now, Jan. 13, 2023: "Biberaj to Pull Prosecutors from Many Misdemeanors Cases"
• Loudoun Now, Jan. 20, 2023: "Middleburg Begins Recruitment for New Police Chief"
• Loudoun Now, Feb. 10, 2023: "Questions Continue About CA's Plan to Scale Back Prosecutors' Cases"