Sixteen Seconds

January 31, 2024 · By Jay Hubbard

Council elects a Vice Mayor, January 11, 2024. (Town of Middleburg meeting video)

A new year brought a new Council member, a contested vote for Vice Mayor, and an argument with VDOT over 16 seconds. The Town still can't hire a police officer, Richmond is filing bills Middleburg doesn't like, and the neighbors of Mickie Gordon Park have raised $88,250 to put a youth baseball team back on its field.

Council met January 11 without Councilmember Bud Jacobs, and January 25 with everyone. Pam Curran took Philip Miller's seat. Mayor Bridge Littleton votes only to break a tie.

Sixteen Seconds

Last year the General Assembly let small towns that don't control their own roads cut their speed limits by five miles an hour, and Middleburg asked to take Washington Street from 25 to 20. VDOT said the Town lacked the authority, then studied the street and found drivers going too fast at several points ▶ video. Its fixes: chicanes to narrow the road, fewer parking spaces on Route 50, and, when buildings are rebuilt, moving them closer to the street. "Basically every building on Main Street is 200 years old," Littleton noted. "I don't think that's really viable."

VDOT's objection to the lower limit, he said, was that it would hurt "livability" by making it take longer to cross town. How much longer? "It was something like 16 seconds." He told Council that dropping to 20 "reduces the likelihood of death by 17%." His letter back to VDOT, he said on January 25, was simple: "You have plenty of money to implement these million dollars' worth of recommendations. When do we get planning?" VDOT asked to meet first; that's in February ▶ video. Council will back HB 793, which would make the five-mile-an-hour cut every small town's to make.

A Contested Vice Mayor

Peter Leonard-Morgan stepped down after two years as Vice Mayor and nominated Councilmember Chris Bernard ▶ video. Councilmember Darlene Kirk nominated herself. She has served 23 years on Council, 14 as Vice Mayor until health problems led her to step aside, and "at some point we're going to come back to needing a tough guy again," she said. She added that "it would be good to have a woman in that position," and someone from the west end of town, since Council has long been drawn from the east end. Bernard said he was "up to the task," and would serve "not just to the east side of the town, but the entire town." He won 4-2, with Kirk and Curran voting for her.

Help Wanted, Eight Months Later

The patrol officer opening Chief Shaun Jones described last summer has now been open about eight months ▶ video. Ten people applied; three were interviewed, and none passed the background check. Jones named pay, take-home cars, rotating shifts and outdated policies, and said some departments are losing officers "over small things like whether or not you're allowed to have a beard." The Town wants experienced officers rather than academy graduates who might be "poached," and "it takes a special person to work in the Town of Middleburg."

Littleton wasn't convinced it was about pay. "We are making a snap judgment," he said. "To have a requisition out there and have ten responses in eight months that's literally one every three and a half weeks. We're not advertising it the right way." Take-home cars are offered by "less than 10% of police forces in the United States," he said. Jacobs saw something bigger: "a much broader cultural shift going on among the potential pool of employees who simply are not interested in doing this kind of work anymore." Staff will bring more data to February's retreat (Loudoun Now, February 1). Meanwhile Council approved a $43,695.20 police car, 7-0, ahead of schedule because of a shortage.

Richmond Again

Town Manager Danny Davis walked Council through the bills it doesn't like ▶ video: central state collection of lodging taxes from booking sites like Airbnb, which Council agreed to oppose vehemently; a bill, set aside for now, that would bar localities from requiring a permit for any short-term rental of a primary home; mandatory accessory dwelling units in single-family neighborhoods, which Davis said could double density; and bills requiring mailed tax-increase notices and budget summaries. Littleton said the Airbnb bills could "really devastate affordable housing." Town Attorney Martin Crim backed Senate Bill 36 to repair last year's FOIA ruling; a bill to move town elections back to May, he said, had no chance.

Also This Month

Mickie Gordon: Jeb Benedict told Council that a small group of supporters has pledged $88,250 so American Legion Post 295 can field a youth team, ages 13 to 19, at the park for the first time in more than 15 years ▶ video. Littleton said the County's designer will have a plan in March or April, and he would ask Parks Director Steve Torpy to make the diamond playable by May 1: "Put the bases back, put the lines back, mow it." Curran wants a formal way for the County to report to the Town.
Windy Hill: Executive Director Eloise Repeczky said the foundation's residents, 16 percent of the town, "feel very separated from the town," and that some events seem too expensive and some spaces unwelcoming. Littleton asked to meet with her before the retreat.
Middleburg Day: a community picnic at Town Hall on Friday, May 31, with local food and music, and, Council decided, a drinks area run by local wineries and Mount Defiance, closing at 8 p.m. Jacobs objected to the memo's word "exclusive": "We can't have events that are exclusive to Middleburg residents."
The time capsule going under the new Marshall Street Park will hold a letter signed by Council and staff, a history of the old Town Office and photographs of the project. And, Littleton said: "Call Jay, get a last copy of Middleburg Eccentric."
EV charger: Council approved up to $64,650 for Beckstrom Electric to finish the power line for the XCharge fast charger at Town Hall, 7-0, with revenue split 50/50.
Well water: the Town will put data loggers in its wells and inspect them by video, likely paid for by a state health grant, after resident Jilann Brunett urged it to collect long-term data. A water main break lost an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 gallons.
Revenue: meals and lodging taxes are "softening," Treasurer Tina Staples said, though still at or above budget.
People: a resolution of thanks for Planning & Project Associate Estee LaClare, who left for Loudoun County; Scott Little, Salamander's new managing director, introduced himself; Trowbridge Littleton and Dev Roszel were recommended for reappointment to the Board of Zoning Appeals.
Housekeeping: the new grant and sponsorship policies passed 7-0, keeping $15,000 for the Film Festival and $10,000 for Christmas in Middleburg as options, not promises. The East Marshall Street right-of-way went to Chris and Carolyn Hersh, and Dominion got an easement at Well 2 to bury its lines, both 7-0. The septic conversion is all but done. A Citizens Academy for ten residents is coming. The Farmers Market moves to the Town Green and North Parking Lot.

Public Comment

January 11 ▶ video

Scott Little, new managing director of Salamander Resort, introduced himself; he comes from eight years on Martha's Vineyard.
Jeb Benedict, Parsons Road, reported $88,250 pledged for a Legion youth baseball team at Mickie Gordon Park.
Megan Gallagher, East Marshall Street, asked Council to put the park on its retreat agenda and to set up regular communication among the community, the Town and County parks.
Eloise Repeczky, executive director of the Windy Hill Foundation, asked Council to work with Windy Hill on making its residents feel part of the town.
Gary Nickelson, Commander of American Legion Post 295, reviewed the Legion's year, including 17 young people sent to Boys & Girls State, its first oratorical contest, and plans for a police cadet program and a youth baseball team.

January 25

Public hearings on the East Marshall Street right-of-way and the Well 2 easement: no one spoke.

Tips & Wags (opinion)

Tip of the Hat to Jeb Benedict and the quiet donors behind $88,250 for a youth team. Mickie Gordon was saved for this.

Tip of the Hat to Darlene Kirk, who has served 23 years and, after all that, still wanted the job.

Wag of the Finger to VDOT, which would rather move 200-year-old buildings than lose 16 seconds.

Coming Up

February: Council's strategic planning retreat in Culpeper; meeting with VDOT on Route 50 speeds.
February 17: Vice Mayor Bernard's Polar Plunge team for Special Olympics.
Spring: County parks' new Mickie Gordon plan; the diamond playable by May 1, if Littleton gets his way; time capsule buried before the sod goes down.
May 31: the first Middleburg Day.

Sources: the meeting videos (January 11, January 25), the Town's minutes (pending approval) 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, February 1, 2024: "Middleburg Police Recruitment Efforts Under Review"