Well 4 Drops Again
Six weeks after Council passed its new water law, it had to use it. Well 4, freshly rebuilt and deepened, was suddenly losing up to 220 feet of water while it pumped, and on September 11 the Town asked everyone to conserve. Council also rallied the charter school's parents against a School Board proposal to stop paying for the building's upkeep. It raised sign fines to $100 a day, gave the new car rally $2,500, and heard a committee chair say what this paper's absence has cost.
Council met September 11 with all members present and September 25 with Councilmember Darlene Kirk absent. Mayor Bridge Littleton votes only to break a tie.
Well 4 Drops Again
Town Manager Danny Davis brought the news as a late addition on September 11 ▶ video. Well 4 used to drop 30 to 40 feet while pumping. Now it was dropping "anywhere from 120 to almost 200 or 220ft." At times the water stood within about 50 feet of a pump that had just been lowered to 493 feet. "Which is significant change from where it had been just about three weeks ago," he said. The likeliest reason was that the area was back in moderate drought, with no rain in sight, and the Town has only a year of data to judge by. There was no danger of running dry, Davis said. Well 3 is producing well, and the state is allowing its limited PFAS-affected water to be blended in as a backup. Well P, the main well on the Salamander side, was holding.
Council declared voluntary conservation, effective September 12, 7-0. Jilann Brunett used public comment to remind Council that a year of readings is a snapshot, not a trend, and to credit operator Vince Gugliotta for balancing the pumps against the water available. Littleton asked staff to ask the Red Fox Inn and Salamander whether they would truck in water for irrigation.
By September 25 ▶ video:
- The state: the Department of Environmental Quality listed Northern Virginia's groundwater in the Emergency category.
- The wells: Well P was gaining, Well L was still declining, and staff was working to lower a sensor to Well 4's pump so it can see exactly how far the water falls.
- The rules: the Town stayed in voluntary conservation, to be reviewed at every meeting.
Councilmember Bud Jacobs asked whether the other well-fed towns drawing on the same rock formation were seeing the same thing. Littleton noted that Leesburg and Loudoun Water draw from the river, but the six well towns don't. He will raise it with the Coalition of Loudoun Towns, and predicted that if the trend continues, these will become "political questions."
The Charter School's Roof
On September 25 the chamber was full of charter school families for the safety patrol certificates ▶ video. Littleton used the moment. The County School Board was set to vote September 30 on no longer paying capital costs, roofs and heating systems among them, for Loudoun's two charter schools. He told the parents the Board spends about $1.6 billion a year but put only $1 million into the Middleburg school in five years, and that what was being proposed was political. He urged them to call Board members or speak at the hearing. Council agreed he should send a letter ▶ video. With help from former School Board chair Jeff Morris, the letter notes the school is 100 percent oversubscribed. Littleton counted the Board at four for the change and four against. Whether Loudoun should have charter schools is a separate fight with its own public process, he said; while they exist, they have to be safe. The Middleburg school is now divided into color houses, and each officer belongs to one. Officer First Class Melvin McCord is the new safety patrol coordinator.
$100 a Day
Over Labor Day weekend, businesses put sandwich boards on street corners again, against the rules. On September 11 Littleton described an elderly woman with a walker who couldn't get past the signs and fell off the curb ▶ video. On September 25 Council raised the penalties, 6-0 ▶ video:
- First violation: a written warning.
- After that: $100 a day, and $250 a day for repeat offenses.
- Confiscated signs: held seven days, then thrown away. Repeat offenders' signs can be removed without notice.
Meanwhile the Town is putting out its own signs pointing to more shops each morning and taking them in each night until a permanent design is ready. Council also told staff to work out an agreement for Loudoun County's building officials to enforce the Virginia Property Maintenance Code in town. That would give the Town a tool for neglected buildings that aren't actually dangerous.
Also This Month
- Rallye Middleburg: Council gave the October 18 car rally a $2,500 grant, half what it asked, 5-0, with Councilmember Kevin Daly abstaining as a Seven Loaves board member ▶ video. Organizer Ryan Danger said the film festival is fine with the date, the event has moved to Federal Street, and Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson will be honorary driver. Littleton and Councilmember Cindy Pearson pressed on where the money goes. It pays for the event, and only a surplus goes to Seven Loaves. Pearson reminded the organizers that the Town doesn't give one nonprofit money to pass along to another. - Sustainability Committee: Chair Lynne Kaye asked for $5,000 and a broader charter around protecting the local environment, with plans for more trees on Town land, a 1776 ecology art show, and help residents keep less stuff so they don't need bigger houses ▶ video. Littleton approved the money and told the committee to pick two or three goals with measurable success: "If you boil the ocean you'll boil nothing." Kaye named the committee's biggest problem plainly: "we used to do a lot of stuff on a written basis as far as outreach, when there was the Middleburg newspaper. Now that there isn't we're still really struggling to find a good way to communicate with people." - Speed: a school-zone speed camera company is starting a speed study at the charter school and both Hill School frontages. Councilmember Peter Leonard-Morgan pointed out that the flashing 15 mph sign on Marshall Street hasn't worked in a year. - Other business: - Oktoberfest drew happy crowds and long lines. - The second Citizens Academy is set for March 11, 2026, for 15 people. - Council agreed to spend up to $5,000 on a professional video, translated into Italian, to court the Mille Miglia's new board. - Littleton wants a partnership so families can afford Bingo at the Community Center. - Contracts for the Asbury Church design are signed and residents have shared historic photos for the oral histories. - Dominion replaced the streetlights at Madison and Federal. - Ali MacIntyre was named to Loudoun's 40 Under 40. - Littleton led a moment of silence on the anniversary of September 11.
Public Comment
September 11 ▶ video
- Jilann Brunett, Foxcroft Road, cautioned that a year of well data isn't enough to show trends and praised IES's management of the wells.
September 25 ▶ video
- Earlene Coleman, Windy Hill Road, was disappointed that neither Country Zest magazine nor the Town's July newsletter properly covered the Juneteenth celebration.
Tips & Wags (opinion)
Tip of the Hat to Lynne Kaye for saying it out loud. A town needs a place where its news gets written down.
Tip of the Hat to the Mayor for filling a room with parents and telling them exactly when and where to show up for their school.
Wag of the Finger to Juneteenth going unmentioned in the Town's own newsletter. Earlene Coleman is right: it was a fantastic day, and it deserved the ink.
Coming Up
- September 30: School Board vote on charter school capital funding.
- October 2: DMV Connect at Town Hall.
- October 18: Rallye Middleburg on Federal Street; Middleburg Film Festival weekend.
- October: police take-home car report; water status at each meeting; Town wayfinding sign design.
- October 29: Volunteer Appreciation Reception.
Sources: the meeting videos (September 11, September 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.