One More Season
At its January retreat Council had leaned toward ending the farmers market. On February 13 it voted 4-3 to give the market another year and $40,000, and then told the four who voted yes to come back with a plan. Two weeks later the Town Manager's first budget proposal asked for two more police officers. That left about $113,000 in the general fund's contingency reserve, and the Mayor wanted a hard look at the police budget before agreeing. In between, a water main in the Residences at Salamander blew its cap and drained 300,000 gallons from the Town's tanks.
Council met February 13 and February 27 with all members present; Councilmember Darlene Kirk arrived late to the second. Mayor Bridge Littleton votes only to break a tie.
One More Season
Business Director Ali MacIntyre and market manager Kim Shelly told Council that doing the market right would cost about $40,000 a year ▶ video. Shelly said the market's real problem was that it kept moving, and that people still can't find it or Town Hall. MacIntyre had 15 vendors interested, about eight of them likely to come every week.
Three Councilmembers had seen enough: - Cindy Pearson, after almost 30 years of trying: "it's just it's not working, bottom line." - Bud Jacobs had visited busy markets at Stoneridge and Fairlington and found that many of their produce vendors came from around Middleburg. He concluded the town lacks the shoppers or the vendors to make one work here. - Peter Leonard-Morgan said the Town would be throwing good money after bad.
Councilmembers Kevin Daly and Kirk wanted one more season in one place. Kirk shops there every week. Littleton wanted either a real commitment or none: "stop half-assing it," he said, and asked whether Council was "ready over the next five years to potentially pony up $250,000 for a farmers market." Town Attorney Martin Crim reminded Council it can't bind future budgets.
After two motions were offered and withdrawn, Jacobs moved the $40,000 proposal so Council could settle it. It passed 4-3: Vice Mayor Chris Bernard and Councilmembers Pam Curran, Daly and Kirk voted yes; Jacobs, Leonard-Morgan and Pearson voted no. Littleton told the majority to bring back goals and a way to measure them, and named Bernard, Curran, MacIntyre and Shelly to write them.
Cristina Tonda and her daughter Mia spoke for the market at public comment. Mia sells bracelets there through the charter school's young entrepreneurs program.
Two More Officers
Town Manager Danny Davis presented his proposed fiscal 2026 budget on February 27 ▶ video:
- The headline: two more police officers. The department now has a chief, a lieutenant and four patrol officers working 12-hour shifts, so most of the time one officer covers the whole town. A new 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. shift would put two officers on duty 79 percent of the week.
- The case for it: Davis said the State Police found Middleburg is policed like a town of 2,800 residents with ten officers, because of tourism, Route 50 traffic, five nearby schools and more events. One recent call left an officer choosing between waiting 20 minutes for a deputy and going into a domestic dispute alone.
- The cost: the police budget rises about $350,000, about $270,000 of it recurring, offset by $34,000 less in overtime and part-time pay.
- Revenue: general fund revenue would rise 5.7 percent and spending 12.8 percent. The tax rate ceiling was advertised at 12 cents per $100 of assessed value. Even at an equalized rate, the average single-family homeowner's bill would rise about $50.
- Pay: staff get a 2.5 percent cost-of-living raise plus merit; police get their 2.5 percent step.
Jacobs asked whether the police had looked hard at what they do, not just what they spend. Littleton backed him. The police budget has almost doubled in five years, the contingency reserve would be down to about $113,000, and he wanted "what do we have to do? What should we do and what is it that we like doing" answered first. The take-home cars for two more officers mean "another $100,000 for cars," he said, and "that is a nice to have. It's not a got to have." Davis and Chief Shaun Jones will bring that list back.
Two weeks earlier Littleton had warned that "the days of the big gravy train are, are over." He is wary of the opposite fix, more events and more tourism, because residents don't want it. Davis said the general fund's unassigned balance is about $2 million and that he won't propose a budget in the red.
The capital plan: - adds $500,000 over two years toward the Asbury Church, for a $1.5 million placeholder; - adds another $750,000 for South Madison Street. The County turned down both requests this year. - puts $480,000 over five years into sidewalks; - plans $1.5 million in future years for water supply and treatment, including the PFAS found in Well 3.
The tax rate is set March 27 and the budget adopted in May.
300,000 Gallons
On Presidents Day a 12-inch water main serving the Residences at Salamander lost its end cap. Davis said the cause, which Salamander has admitted, was a cap that wasn't properly blocked when the main was built ▶ video. Operator Vince Gugliotta put the loss at about 300,000 gallons. The plants ran double time to refill the tanks, and well levels dropped. The main has been repaired to the Town's standards, and Davis and Crim are deciding whether to seek payment for the water. On the good side, Well P has recovered about 100 feet since July, and staff is checking whether Well 4's pump can go another 130 feet deeper.
Counting Visitors
On February 13 MacIntyre and Bernard asked for $8,000 a year for Placer.ai, which estimates visitor counts from anonymous phone location data. Council wanted to see it first. Littleton refuses to use TikTok and asked whether any of the data comes from Chinese-owned apps: "we're government, and I think we just need to be responsible."
On February 27 Kevin Bryant of Placer.ai showed the system ▶ video. It samples about 8 percent of phones whose owners share their location all the time. By its count Middleburg had 678,000 visits from 219,000 people last year, and about 9,000 visits on Christmas in Middleburg day. Littleton cautioned that "the only thing worse than no data is bad data," then joined the 7-0 vote for a one-year contract. Bernard expects to use it to see whether the push for midweek visitors is working.
Also This Month
- Christmas in Middleburg: Michelle and Doug Myers reported 950 parking passes sold, a 74-minute parade, and businesses doing even better than in 2023 ▶ video. - Problems: volunteers who didn't show, private parking sold along Route 50, lost children, and candy thrown from floats that hit a child in the face. Littleton thinks candy has to go. - Jacobs opposed bundling VIP parking with VIP seats: "This is supposed to be an event for the people." - Asbury Church: Caandor Ventures will record 15 oral histories for $86,018.63, paid from the church's $1 million, 7-0 ▶ video. Requests for proposals from architects, engineers and construction managers are due March 14. - South Madison: the two east-side trees are down, which opened up views of the historic buildings. Flexi-pave is coming within weeks. - Route 50: Littleton called the County's safety study "a solution looking for a problem" ▶ video. - The plan: widening, turn lanes, ten-foot asphalt shoulders and a side path from Aldie to Paris, despite the Route 50 Traffic Calming agreement that requires gravel shoulders and no turn lanes. Every segment is rated "A." - The exception is the Zulla Road intersection. Littleton recalled that DeeDee Hubbard "brought that to us all the time," and said "something does have to be done there." - The County's next public meeting is March 26 at the charter school. - Richmond: - Gone for the year: HB 2004's meals tax cap, the housing mandate and SB 876, the agenda bill. - Still alive: the accessory dwelling unit bill. - The County is weighing data-center rules. Littleton urged residents to tell the Board not to grandfather the 26 million square feet of applications filed in the past year. - Other business: - The car fee is now $0, 7-0. - Council adopted its updated strategic plan and staggered committee terms. - The Town no longer has to negotiate with every bidder, after 30 answered each of its last two requests. - Kim Basinger joins the Planning Commission; Rebecca Kidder and the Mayor's appointee Mary Beth Morell join the Economic Development Advisory Committee. - Liz White said a 260-year-old tree in her yard is failing and has to come down.
Public Comment
February 13 ▶ video
- Liz White, Stonewall Avenue, told the history of a 260-year-old tree in her yard that is failing and must come down.
- Cristina Tonda and her daughter Mia, Chinn Lane, supported keeping the farmers market.
February 27: no one spoke.
Tips & Wags (opinion)
Tip of the Hat to the Mayor and Councilmember Jacobs for asking what the police do, not just what they cost. Two more officers may be right; the question still deserves an answer.
Tip of the Hat to Kim Shelly, who will get one more season, and a plan, for the market she has run every Saturday.
Wag of the Finger to whoever capped a 12-inch main without blocking it. Three hundred thousand gallons in a drought winter is a lot of water to lose to a missing brace.
Coming Up
- March 12: the first Citizens Academy.
- March 13 and 27: Council meetings; the police program review; the tax rate is set on the 27th.
- March 14: Asbury design and construction management proposals due.
- March 26: County Route 50 public meeting at the charter school.
- April: utility fund budget and financing options.
- April 12: Wellness Day, with a 5K.
- May: budget adoption.
Sources: the meeting videos (February 13, February 27), 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.