Uniform in Perpetuity
After more than a year of study, Council adopted tiered water and sewer rates on May 28, over the objection of Salamander, the town's largest water user. Its lawyer argued that a 2005 agreement promised uniform rates forever. Council also adopted the fiscal 2027 budget, said goodbye to Town Manager Danny Davis, named an interim manager, and sent rooftop dining to the Planning Commission.
Council met May 14 with all members present, and May 28 with Vice Mayor Chris Bernard and Councilmember Kevin Daly absent and Councilmember Darlene Kirk arriving late. Mayor Bridge Littleton votes only to break a tie.
Uniform in Perpetuity
At the May 14 public hearing, Donna Strama of Orange Drive spoke for the change ▶ video. "There's a lot of us that are senior citizens that are on a fixed budget," she said, and she'd "let the restaurants, hotels pay a little bit more."
Then Chip Dicks of the Richmond firm Gentry Locke spoke for Salamander. He said a 2005 memorandum of understanding among the County, the Town and Salamander has Salamander "going to build water and sewer facilities in the amount of $11 million, and in exchange, the utility rates for water and sewer are going to remain uniform in perpetuity." Nothing since, he argued, allows rates that reallocate costs among users. He asked Council to wait and meet with Salamander and other businesses. He agreed the change brings in no extra money; it shifts who pays.
Davis noted the state law Dicks cited for discounts to low-income or elderly customers doesn't apply to the Town, which isn't a public utility under the state code. Littleton answered the rest. "The perception that Middleburg is this big, wealthy town. It's not," he said. Town households earn about half the county's average, and the Town's rates are the highest in Loudoun.
Dicks came back on May 28 ▶ video. "We believe that Salamander and the town should be partners and shouldn't be adverse parties with each other," he said. He and Town Attorney Martin Crim "respectfully disagree on whether this is an agreement to agree" or a binding contract. He asked for a year to work it out. Council heard Crim's advice in closed session first.
Littleton then made the case for voting ▶ video. Two consultant studies recommended tiers so heavy users pay "their proportional share of what strain and stress they're causing on the system." He appreciated the offer to talk, "although I don't know what work it out means." Anyone can propose a different structure for next year, he said, but "that's for everybody," including "folks at Windy Hill." Council adopted the tiered rates 5-0, effective July 1.
Salamander's separate lawsuit against the Town, in closed sessions since 2025, was on the closed-session agenda again the same night.
Goodbye, Danny
Council adopted a resolution of appreciation for Davis, for his service from October 25, 2018 ▶ video. Littleton joked that Davis was heading off "for the big brick box that is Loudoun County," then got serious. "Danny, you have been an absolute Godsend to this town. You came in and upped the level of the game." "You think about those who have the least, not the most," he said. "We might be losing a Town Manager. But I have gained a close friend."
Davis thanked his family, his staff and the volunteers. Of Council: "You are kind to each other even if you don't always agree. And that means a whole lot in a small town."
On May 14, after a closed session, Council voted 7-0 to hire Baker Tilly and appoint Bryan Foster as interim town manager. He was at the May 28 meeting. The search for a permanent manager is under way with Raftelis.
Rooftops
Megan Gallagher counted 13 outdoor dining spots in town and called them "a huge part of Middleburg's charm," but said of rooftop dining that not even putting the words in the code "basically would kill it. I would favor that option" ▶ video. Strama agreed: "That's not us. But who are we? We're a small, rural town."
Council didn't pick an option ▶ video. Councilmember Pam Curran said towns change through "5 or 10 little decisions. And the next thing you know, it's not Middleburg anymore." Littleton saw two real choices for roofs: ban them or require a special use permit. Curran and Bernard wondered about permits for new ground-level dining too. Council sent four options to the Planning Commission.
On May 18 the Commission started on them ▶ video:
- Carolyn Hersh would allow it with strict permit conditions: table service only, no bars. Whether it's public or private matters to her.
- Michael Rocconi opposed an outright ban. An owner should be able to present a concept, even a small alcove of a few tables, though a big rooftop bar with music wouldn't fit.
- Councilmember Chris Hersh worried a private club would shut the public out. Leesburg limits rooftop dining to certain streets.
- Chair Bud Jacobs said Middleburg is careful to protect what's here, and any recommendation has to be defensible.
The Commission wants to hear from the Historic District Review Committee, which would rather never see a rooftop dining space at all.
Also This Month
- Budget: Council adopted the fiscal 2027 budget, 5-0, with the extra police officer and a tax rate of 11.8 cents. Dicks called it fine from Salamander's view. - Drought: in mid-May Middleburg was in severe drought, and Well P was down until its motor was replaced. Four inches of rain the next week moved Loudoun to moderate drought, but groundwater is still low, and Well 4 fell 36 feet in a month. No conservation measures yet. The drought map is now on the Town website, at Hersh's request. - Asbury Church: pledges passed $130,000. The state invited the Town to apply for its preservation grant of up to $1 million. The Virginia Piedmont Heritage Area wrote a support letter. Construction plans are due in July. An underpinning gap from the 2017 stabilization needs a design change. - A crosswalk: Hill School head Treavor Lord asked for a crosswalk across West Federal Street at South Pendleton, used daily by students and staff and by visitors who park on campus for big events ▶ video. - Accessibility: Council approved software that converts the Town website's documents to accessible format, $1,500 plus $3,159 a year. Captions for meeting videos come next. Town Clerk Rhonda North called it another unfunded mandate. - Comprehensive plan: Deputy Town Manager Will Moore proposed dropping the 2019 plan's call to redevelop the whole south side of Federal Street. The map would show Salamander's mixed-use acreage as open space, though its zoning rights stay. A new district for civic uses like the schools and the Community Center is proposed. - Richmond: the by-right housing law for churches and nonprofits takes effect January 1, 2027. Crim said there is little, if any, commercial land in town where a cannabis shop could go under the distance rules. - Around Middleburg: the Training Center. By early May the Virginia Equine Alliance said owner Chuck Kuhn had accepted the Army's offer for the 149-acre Middleburg Training Center, after the horsemen couldn't agree on terms to buy it themselves. The Caisson horses, about 80, are at least a year away. Rep. Subramanyam said he was very disappointed and urged the Army to lease part of the property back to the training center. The alliance expects many trainers to leave the state, and says joint use is still being discussed (FauquierNow, May 4). - Other business: - Council supported a state grant request for well-monitoring upgrades, 7-0. - Sewer work on West Washington Street starts June 22, with Pendleton after the Fourth of July. - Curran noted Art in the Burg's attendance was down. - Trees were planted on Arbor Day in honor of Patsy Rose and Lisa Ben-Dove. - Council adopted a code change so only the Town Clerk signs approved minutes.
Public Comment
May 14 ▶ video
- Megan Gallagher, East Marshall Street, favored keeping rooftop dining out of the code entirely.
- Donna Strama, Orange Drive, agreed, and wished the Mayor a happy belated birthday.
Public hearing, budget: Chip Dicks, for Salamander, said the budget looked fine. No one else spoke.
Public hearing, water and sewer rates: Donna Strama supported the tiered rates. Chip Dicks, for Salamander, opposed them, citing the 2005 agreement.
May 28 ▶ video
- Treavor Lord, head of The Hill School, West Washington Street, asked for a crosswalk at West Federal and South Pendleton.
- Chip Dicks, for Salamander, asked Council not to vote on the rates and to negotiate for a year.
Tips & Wags (opinion)
Tip of the Hat to Council for finishing the job on water rates. A year of public study and two consultant reports is not a rush.
Tip of the Hat to Danny Davis, one last time, and to Bryan Foster for taking the wheel mid-drought.
Wag of the Finger to the idea that a 2005 promise means the smallest users pay the same rate as the biggest one forever. Partners share the load.
Coming Up
- May 29: Middleburg Day at Town Hall.
- June 9: Davis's last day.
- June 22: sewer work begins on West Washington Street; Planning Commission continues on rooftop dining and the comprehensive plan.
- July 1: new budget and water rates take effect.
- July: Asbury construction plans; state preservation grant application due July 2.
Sources: the meeting videos (May 14, Planning Commission, May 18, May 28), the Town's minutes (pending approval) and the transcripts attached to them, and FauquierNow for the Training Center. Quotes come from the Town contractor's transcripts; each ▶ link opens the video at the start of that agenda item.