Mike May said it best last night in response to Corey’s cowardly move to defer the Avendale vote when he stated “citizens invested their time, from BOTH sides of the issue, and deserve a vote, up or down”. Maureen Caddigan was right there with Mike, voting against the deferral. Last minute deferrals are a sleazy way to ensure a Developer can live to “fight” another day. Wow, too bad citizens aren’t afforded the same right when we are on the losing end of a land use decision!

I don’t know why Frank P voted in the majority to allow the deferral as he was clearly arguing with Mike Lubely about this bizarre premise that Avendale wasn’t “really” in the Rural Crescent. Hmmm, if that’s the case then why is the application a Comprehensive Plan AMENDMENT. Amendment being the operative word! The board has NEVER voted to take Avendale out of the Rural Crescent and Frank was absolutely right when he challenged Lubely.

I cannot tell you how incredibly disappointed I am in Corey. His leadership role was critical, and he chose the wrong direction. Avendale ONLY benefits the Developer and is a drain for every county resident who pays taxes. The Rural Crescent is a valuable land use tool, not simply from a “green” perspective, but from a planning approach. If the last five years has taught us one thing, it is that you can’t build homes as a means of supporting an entire county economy, or for that matter, and entire country!

I don’t know about everyone else, but I am tired of being soley responsible for supporting the budget of an entire county. We HAVE to diversify the base of our County income, and living more than 80% on real estate taxes, is simply crazy from a financial perspective.

114 Thoughts to “Kudos to Mike May, Who, Along With Maureen Caddigan, Stood Strong For Citizens”

  1. I have lived in PWC many years. It has always been that way. Housing supports the county, for the most part. It has actually gotten better.

  2. Mom

    It only works (and only marginally so) if housing values consistently rise at a rate greater than inflation plus the cost of new infrastructure requirements and refurbishment. It falls apart is when housing values flatten out or as we have seen recently, crater. PWC’s continued reliance upon real estate taxes is at best unsustainable.

  3. Opinion

    You brought up an interesting question, Elena. For the record, I’m for the Rural Crescent and against this development. My logic is simple: why plan if we are going to ignore the plans and why disregard the recommendation of the Planning Commission (appointed by the officials we elected to represent us) to disapprove this project.

    That being said, what is wrong with a County driven by more than 80% of real estate taxes? While admitting I don’t really know the answer (to this math problem), I ask because I’m not sure this is really a good argument. It works if we want to be like Fairfax (I’m guessing they have a very diversified tax base). (Again, I’m guessing) It probably doesn’t work if we compare ourselves to Fauquier, Spotsylvania, or Counties to the South.

    Perhaps the real question is who we want to emulate: Fairfax or most of the rest of Counties in Virginia. I’m guessing (an “educated” guess) that most Counties in Virginia (in fact, in the United States) generate most of their taxes from real estate. That’s not a bad thing. The reason I dwell upon this is because we need a Government that can live within our tax base. It’s my opinion that Prince William County Government has grown too large for its tax base and propose that rather than looking for ways to increase revenue we should look for ways to reduce Government.

    Ironically, that probably will result in a “Greener” Prince William County. Attracting those large businesses that people talk about (NG, LM,SAIC) drives a requirement for more roads, infrastructure (just think about what it takes to support a high rise complex.. or two), and convenient high end housing. Focusing on smaller Government reduces the requirement to increase our tax base. We (the County) need to decide if we wish to remain a rural community like our neighbors to the South or an urban community like Fairfax. Like its residents… the County needs to live within its means. I’m guessing our Supervisors, as a point of pride, look to the North for a model. We (the community) should decide if that’s the “direction” we want to go.

    (IMHO) the real issue is down-sizing County Government to reduce the requirement for increased revenue.

  4. Mom

    Opinion, I can’t disagree but there is a fly in the ointment. The county, by approving massive development over the last decade, has mortgaged it future by overburdening its existent and planned infrastructure. There is a current need for more roads, schools, police, etc. that came as a result of those approvals. Moreover, there are thousands of as yet unbuilt housing units and millions of square feet of as yet unbuilt commercial and retail units already on the books which when, not if, built will require even more investment in infrastructure. In a sense it is a Catch-22 but the answer certainly is not approving more and merely deferring the date when payment comes due.

  5. Opinion

    @Mom
    Mom, as housing values go up we build our reserves. As values go down, we draw upon our reserves and downsize Government as necessary.

    Prince William County provides a lot of services that have no basis in the Constitution (State and Federal), law or policy (the latter both implement things that are Constitutional). Let’s cut until we only provide the services that we are suppose to provide.

    Ironically, this is good for the business community. If the County really has a requirement for a service, small business will provide it.

    In the case of social services, I believe Government involvement has significantly detracted from local faith based and volunteer groups to help our citizens. If the Community wishes to provide a social service, there are several vehicles for doing so. I’m personally a big fan of both ACTS and SERVE (as in, I write them checks).

    In the case of advocacy issues, organizations such as the Prince William Conservation Alliance have proven how effective grass roots citizen organizations can be in influencing policy at all levels (Merrimac Farns and Silver Lake are two excellent examples. Its influence on our Planning Commission speaks for itself). We need more organizations like this advocating for us. Smaller Government (less staff) would make it much easier for citizens to advocate for issues they believe in.

  6. Opinion

    @Mom re Opinion, I can’t disagree but
    I absolutely agree, Mom (you know, it really feels a bit “weird” having a conversation with “Mom”) I propose we think about “what’s next” not “what was”, fulfill our obligations based upon past decisions, and slow things down regarding our future direction. A smaller Government would definitely slow things down.

    The fully thing about Government (in my experience) is that people do what you pay them to do (and are generally recognized and compensated for quantity). It’s the “if you you have is a hammer…” argument. By having fewer people (and organizations), we will do less. I’m for a Government that does much less (or a much smaller Government).

    You know, we should learn from Fairfax’ mistakes (if we believe that Fairfax is not a great example of a healthy county – there are two sides to that) and not emulate their growth pattern. Unfortunately, I’m guessing there’s a pride component to our County Government to want to be like Fairfax. I would like to be like Madison County (although that ship’s probably sailed).

  7. I am going to have to disagree that we have been dealing with grow the past decade. There is another side to the county. The past decade covers the Western End. The Eastern end of the county has been under seige since the 60’s.

    This is not a new problem. This is an old problem. We crashed and burned because we were THE bedroom county. Think back to the 70’s with year round schools on the other end of the county. That wasn’t social experimentation–that move was because they had twice as many kids as classroom spots.

    I often feel like the BOCS/planning office and the PWCS are exisiting in parallel universes.

  8. Need to Know

    Some may wonder who Prince William County’s most powerful person is. It’s not Corey Stewart, Greg Letiecq or anyone else who has been mentioned in discussions here or on BVBL. The true “power-that-is” is Mike Lubeley. Who else could so masterfully manipulate the BOCS as Mike did last night?

    I won’t go into the multitude of problems in the PWC Planning Office but want to provide a quote from a woman who was forced out of that office. The following is from a memo sent by a former employee of Steve Griffin and Ray Utz to the PWC Human Resources office on January 26, 2009. This woman’s only fault was refusing to abandon her dignity and integrity.

    “I was requested to “fast track” a case and the case was scheduled for a post submission meeting for discussion. Since the case was to be fast tracked, I did not receive all the comments from reviewing agencies yet and I prepared a casual memo to the applicant’s agent. I did acknowledge that it would be expedited, however, did not provide the case manager’s analysis yet, I could not, without assessing all reviewing agency comments.

    “The memo triggered a meeting with the Planning Director, Steve Griffin, who was outraged and informed that over lunch with land use attorney Mike Lubeley, he was informed of my “refusal to expedite the case”. He said: “he is my best friend you know…. I want this taken care of immediately!” And I had to, irregardless of my pressing schedule with many other deadlines at that time.

    “I wondered how much of this goes on, possibly special favors that the Walsh Colucci Lubeley law firm might receive. I can attest that there is a red carpet for this firm at the planning office. Special meetings with the Planning Director and the Chief of Planning are granted for them and their clients. Most other applicants go through the normal route of scheduling a pre-application conference with the turn planner on Thursdays.”

    Needless to say, PWC HR did nothing. This excerpt represents only the tip of an iceberg of a massive pattern of corruption, conflicts of interests, and misconduct in the Planning Office. We’ve all known where Wally stands for a long time. Is Corey now under Lubeley’s control? Forget about Greg pulling Corey’s strings. Look at the big office across the street from the county government center.

  9. Opinion

    How one frames a problem often drives the solution. Also, understanding whether one is looking that the cause of the problem of a symptom is also important.

    I believe that our current problem is defined as, “We need to raise more revenue to support County Government.” I propose that simply redefining the problem as, “We need our County Government to spend less money to we don’t have to raise more revenue (and perhaps even reduce taxes)” might be better.

    If you think about it, many of our conversations are tied to raising more revenue. If we reduce the pressure to raise more revenue, many of the symptoms of our problems simply “go away.” Our desire for growth creates a tax monster that must be fed regularly.

    While this will certainly be an unpopular suggestion, I would propose that County Neighborhood Services be the first to go. I can hear the protests now; however, I doubt anyone will have a clear justification as to why the County should pay for the services they offer (vice letting Communities handle issues themselves and letting functions that infringe upon other County agencies return to those County agencies).

  10. GainesvilleResident

    PWC historically has always had a problem with too much housing development and not enough business development (and I’m not talking strip shopping malls). Until somehow someone figures out that you can’t keep increasing the percentage of taxes provided by housing, nothing’s going to change.

    Unfortunately, the developers have too much control over things, and they convince the county all the time how great their latest new housing development will be great for the county. It is all very short sighted, but it seems to have been the pattern here for years and years.

    If the county’s just going to continue to be a bedroom type community, they need to realize the tax structure isn’t going to support what they want to offer.

    And, the whole rural crescent idea, if they just start ignoring that and putting down huge developments, soccer complexes, etc. in it – that’s a whole other problem entirely. What’s the point of the rural crescent in that case?

  11. I think the county desperately needs to keep neighborhood services currently. Opinion,you are a ‘country’ guy. If you don’t watch out, Lafayette is going to swoop in and take you on a talking field trip. She can point out the good that neighborhood services has done better than anyone I know.

    Neighborhoods themselves could not have handled all the problems that Westgate (and probably others had and in many cases, still have.)

  12. GR, from the sounds of things last night, there were sure a lot of people who don’t support
    the rural crescent as it was determined 12 years ago. (I had to ask when myself) There may need to be some adjustments made.

    I am an ‘inside 66’ person. My outlook is not the same. I have city water, sewage, gas lines and all those conveniences.

    Frankly, I was shocked to hear the huge number of non-developer people speak out in favor of Avendale. It was an eye opener to me. I thought just the close to the city folks would feel that way..or neutral, but not people living out in the thick of it.

  13. I was equally disappointed with the deferral. It seemed like Wally decided to ask for the deferral when Mrs Caddigan indicated that she’d vote against the project because of school overcrowding and he lost his 5th vote.

  14. Several of the speakers made indicated that they didn’t understand how the “Avendale” school would be overcrowded when Avendale only had 300 homes, or 600 kids, which isn’t anywhere near the 850 student capacity of a new elementary school.

    Here’s the math. Cedar Point, Bristow Run, and Glenkirk are each more than 350 students over capacity. Victory Lakes is close behind with about 200 over capacity. Nokesville is about 150 students overcapacity. That’s 1400 students. Add just the 600 students from Avendale and you’ve got 2000 kids and 1600 seats (the Kettle Run school and the Avendale school).

    That’s not so bad until you recall that Morris Farms, Victory Lakes, New Bristow Village and other developments in the area have already been approved but haven’t completed building yet.

  15. @Opinion Kill Neighborhood Services, when they’re the ones doing the toughest, most thankless job of getting the blighted, abandoned properties demolished, training a growing group of neighborhood leaders to revitalize their own neighborhoods and connecting people with resources like Project Mend a House, Habitat, Free Clinic, SERVE, ACTS, changing code so graffiti can be addressed immediately by Prince William Clean Council volunteers. Neighborhood Services is bringing together three jurisdictions for a Neighborhood Conference on Feb. 6 so people in communities can share success stories, resources and ideas and they put the conference together on a dime ($25 per attendee, with a box lunch thrown in). Hopefully they’re also working on applications for at least two national awards at the National Conference on Neighborhood Concerns in Little Rock, Arkansas in May (deadline is Feb. 15). If anything, other jurisdictions around the country should be looking at what Prince William County and Manassas’ Neighborhood Services have been able to accomplish. And you want to cut it? Yes people need to take responsibility for their own neighborhoods. Yes, there are resource agencies out there. But without the connector – Neighborhood Services – it falls apart. Look at how Hampton has revitalized their neighborhoods. It didn’t just happen on its own. It took government training citizens to partner with businesses and resource organizations. Look at Ohio and the preservation efforts there. It all involves local government as the connector.

  16. For Release NR#003 1-07-10

    PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, VA . . . Do you know which vehicles are allowed to be parked on the street? Are you aware of the conditions in your yard that may attract uninvited “guests” – criminals or wildlife? If you live in a HOA or condo, is your association compliant with legal requirements to process violations? Is your association “green?”

    Learn the answers to these questions and more at the 3rd annual Prince William Neighborhood Conference. The conference will be held on Saturday, Feb. 6 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at 1 and 5 County Complex Court, Woodbridge VA 22192. Registration is now open, and brochures are available from PWC Neighborhood Services at http://www.pwcgov.org/neighborhoodconference or by calling 703-792-7018.

    The conference features local experts on community maintenance issues and there will be opportunities for networking with others who share your neighborhood concerns. Refreshments, lunch and conference materials are included in the registration fee of $25.

    Contact Neighborhood Services at 703-792-7018 or e-mail [email protected] for more information.

  17. Forgot to mention this as well. The Avendale schools aren’t anywhere on the school districts CIP. The Kettle Run school has been on the CIP for more than 5 years with a site and full funding for more than 3. It won’t be completed for another 1.5 years.

    After the Kettle Run school comes Silver Lake Middle School and the Nokesville expansion. Then there are other just as necessary projects in the Southern end of the county. Ignoring the fact that the county is broke, the Avendale schools won’t even be on the school districts radar for at least 10 years – 7 years AFTER the development begins selling homes and those kids need seats in schools.

    Those poor Moms from New Bristow Village were lead to believe, by the developer no less, that the new school would be built in time for their kids to go to it. That is simply not true. Even a newborn in New Bristow Village will likely be in Middle School or High School before the Avendale schools are ready.

  18. Elena: It’s not “breaking news” or any surprize to anyone who knows me that I have been BEYOND incredibly disappointed with Corey his entire tenure and not just last night. I am not surprized one iota by Corey’s vote to defer this rezoning simply because of the goveling he did before the development industry at GM Verizon Center on October 22 last year. He promised them the world, how he was going to change this and change that, the BofCS was going to do everything in their power to make sure developmetn works right in PWC, blah, blah, blah. I was there, I heard it myself. He needs their money to run for whatever office he thinks he’s next in line for. He doesn’t give a “hoot” about PWC or what he does to it or anyone here. Thats not a news flash. The one constant about Corey is how two-faced he is. He and a couple others need to go. As far as I am concerned, 2011 can’t get here fast enough.

  19. Lafayette

    @Opinion
    While this will certainly be an unpopular suggestion, I would propose that County Neighborhood Services be the first to go. I can hear the protests now; however, I doubt anyone will have a clear justification as to why the County should pay for the services they offer (vice letting Communities handle issues themselves and letting functions that infringe upon other County agencies return to those County agencies).
    ******************************
    SWOOP!!
    Neighborhood Services is VITAL to our quality of life in the older established neighborhoods.
    NS is a big part of why my neighborhood is looking better. The residents are very active in reporting zoning/building code violations and this keeps NS hopping. Have you ever looked at how many cases they handle each year? Now, I won’t say I agree with all their actions and how cases are handled. I will say they have improved response time and actually respond back to each complaintant. This is now happening due to vocal active citizens working with their supervisor’s office and having meetings with Michele Casiato. Our neighborhood had houses with roofs of decks caved in, no steps leading to entrances on two different houses, rats, huge heaps of trash, and yards that looked like jungles. This is NO longer the case. I could go on and on. I would like to note in one case with no stairs leading up to the entrace about 7feet from the ground now has new stairs thanks to Habitat for Humanity. NS is worked with the senior and offered her a solution to her zoning problem.

    I will let you take a “virtual field trip” of my area of WestGate with my pictures here.
    http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/561184047yuacNi
    You will see a picture of a yellow cape cod. That house sat empty for almost two years. Every local news channel, Fox News, MSN, and CNN all used this house as their backdrop while doing reports on foreclosures and the effects it has on neighborhoods.

    I would like nothing better to take you on a “field trip” of my area. I truly think I would have you thinking differently about Neighborhood Services.

  20. Lafayette

    cindy b :Beat you, Lafayette.

    You may have beat me Cindy with your comment, but I know first hand and provided the photographic evidence to back up statements about the conditions of PWC.
    I hadn’t seen your post. I’m pretty busy, but had to take a few minutes to address Opinion.

  21. GainesvilleResident

    ABC-123 :
    Several of the speakers made indicated that they didn’t understand how the “Avendale” school would be overcrowded when Avendale only had 300 homes, or 600 kids, which isn’t anywhere near the 850 student capacity of a new elementary school.
    Here’s the math. Cedar Point, Bristow Run, and Glenkirk are each more than 350 students over capacity. Victory Lakes is close behind with about 200 over capacity. Nokesville is about 150 students overcapacity. That’s 1400 students. Add just the 600 students from Avendale and you’ve got 2000 kids and 1600 seats (the Kettle Run school and the Avendale school).
    That’s not so bad until you recall that Morris Farms, Victory Lakes, New Bristow Village and other developments in the area have already been approved but haven’t completed building yet.

    Indeed, Glenkirk ES just had more than half a dozen trailers plopped around it last August. Morris Farm only has roughly 500 houses built, when fully built it will have about 650. Not only that, Saranac on the other side of Glenkirk (being built by the same developer) just has a small fraction of its homes built, altthough it is a much much smaller neighborhood.
    Another neighborhood feeding into Glenkirk ES is Glenkirk Estates right next to Morris Farm, and it still has a huge number of houses yet to be built. Finally, on the other side of Morris Farm there’s Ellis Mill that just got underway last year – and still has a long way to go, although it is a smaller size development. Even Linton Crest has a ton of houses still to be built. I bet when they built Glenkirk ES someone thought it would be fine for all the development that was maybe planned at the time. I’m puzzled by that though – it isn’t that old and I think it was always known that Morris Farm alone would be 650 houses. Seems like extremely poor planning on the schools for the amount of houses that will feed into them. I think Glenkirk was built in 2004 or 2005 – and Morris Farm started building late 2005.

  22. GainesvilleResident

    Thanks for posting that virtual tour Lafayette. As they say, a picuture’s worth a thousand words. I’m in agreement about neighborhood services, but still thought those pictures were highly illluminating. I hate to say it, that was how the townhouse next to mine looked at times while I lived next to it! Sure is delightful having to look at something like that day in and day out!

  23. Opinion

    @cindy b
    I’m guessing we will never agree on this. Some people believe Government is always the answer… some people don’t. All of the problems that you mentioned may be legitimately handled by other existing Government agencies (zoning, police, animal control). While I understand that Neighborhood Services is a wildly popular idea with a narrow slice of our 400K County residents, I just see is as more bureaucracy teaching communities to rely on Government rather than solve their own problem.
    Sorry, that’s just not a model I will buy into.

    I’m not sure Neighborhood Services actually solves problems… or creates them (the “if all I had was a hammer… argument.”) I would have no objection to an all-volunteer group coordinating with County agencies to accomplish the same thing.

    While I know that the folks in Neighborhood Services are really good people working as hard as they can to do what they are chartered to do, I just don’t think the County (or Government in general) should be in this business. Being a popular program isn’t really a “reason to be” on the taxpayer’s dime.

    Like I said, I knew this would be an unpopular suggestion. I made it to cause people to think about my earlier proposition, “I believe that our current problem is defined as, ‘We need to raise more revenue to support County Government.’ I propose that simply redefining the problem as, ‘We need our County Government to spend less money to we don’t have to raise more revenue (and perhaps even reduce taxes)’ might be better.” What would you propose we cut? …or do you think we are on the right track?

  24. John I was at that meeting and heard those same promises, how PWC was the “new Northern Virginia,” how everything hinges on mixed development and the town centers, making the county more walkable and not bedroom communities like Lake Ridge, where you can’t get out in the morning because of ‘muter gridlock.

    I’m just a rookie, but the more I look at these town centers, the more I see that they have no heart at the center. They’re just strip shopping malls turned inward with fake facades. The developers think touches like the ironworks arch over the Gateway mall makes it human and unique. That’s not what makes a center. A community center, a fire department hall, a library, a school, a recreation center — places where people can gather, that’s what makes a community a home. What they’re throwing up are skeletal retail places surrounded by parking lots, touted as mixed development, but without bike trails, parks, a place where people can gather. Retail and office parks, called town centers. And then more bedroom communities like the Weeds song.

  25. Elena

    ABC,
    from the video:

    Wally” I have Board members who have ASKED me to defer this….while I would assume to just get this over with, with an up or down vote…..” immediately, Corey then pipes in with ” I think that’s a good idea”. Wally was helping COREY not the other way around.

  26. What to cut? Things like a $100,000 satisfaction survey would be a start.

    Lafayette, your pictures beat my 1,000 words.

  27. Opinion, I have to disagree. If I lived in a spot where people all did the right thing I might feel as you do. Any time there are neighbors you can see or hear, neighborhood services is needed.

    As for the volunteers, NO. The NAAAA-borhood N@zis would be in full force. Some of those people luuuvvv to report and will get you for the least little thing. Neighborhood Services (which is a part of public works and zoning) needs accountability and structure. We don’t need some psychotic busy-body bitch going around using this kind of power on those with no authority just because they volunteered to have the power. It sets a danger precedent.

    It also poses a risk for danger, retaliation and animosity. I would venture to say Lafayette and I have seen this in both our neighborhoods.

  28. Opinion

    @Lafayette
    I certainly respect your opinion and point of view; however, your example of, “The residents are very active in reporting zoning/building code violations and this keeps NS hopping.” supports my point.

    1. Why are we teaching residents to call Government when a neighbor is in violation of zoning rules, and
    2. why don’t we simply empower the zoning folks (actually, I believe both zoning and County police may issue tickets) to correct the problems when notified?

    If zoning isn’t doing their job, fix zoning… don’t create another bureaucracy that measures its success based upon citizens calling in reporting their neighbors. That’s just an example. I believe that there are existing County agencies that are properly accountable for the services Neighborhood Services provides… and Communities should handle the rest. I just don’t buy counting on Government for what should be neighborhood issues. This breakdown of volunteer community infrastructure is (IMHO) a major contributor to many of the problems you describe.

    Government isn’t the answer… it’s the problem. Smaller is better. I’m guessing we will never agree on this… and don’t expect to win the argument. As I mentioned earlier, it does highlight just how difficult it is to make Government smaller as every Government activity has a passionate constituency upon which they depend for their survival (my real point).

  29. Opinion

    @cindy b
    Re the Satisfaction Survey… I certainly agree with cutting it.

  30. Lafayette

    Cindy, indeed that overpriced survey needs to go. The county could easly have a survey on their website for each department used by residents. The Circuit Court has used paper surveys for years now. They are on offices’ counters for residents to fill out and they are encouraged to fill one out too.

    Those pictures are tough to beat. 😉

  31. Lafayette

    @Opinion
    I will completely agree with you the NS inspectors should be empowered to report and take action on violations. As it is now, they can cite violations on a property if they are at that property to address another issue. However, they can’t just drive by a house with four foot high grass and start the violation process.

    I will agree we need smaller government, but there are many things that should be cut before NS. Cindy brought up the survey. I would like to know why haven’t the discretionary funds for each supervisor cut during these past tough budget cycles? I’m not saying cut all of the money but how about a cut of about $30K of that money. Other departments in the county have sure had to make due with less funds. I think our supervisors should lead by example. I do appreciate the many things that they each use the funds for.

    We won’t agree on this topic. However, we aren’t at opposite ends of the spectrum either. Now, if I lived in the Rural Cresent or mid-county I might share your opinion of NS. I’m stuck here for a more years, and will probably relocate to mid-county, and I think it’s a safe bet to say my feelings on NS will change. For now we need this in our neighborhood.

    When the rats infested our neighborhood there bigs one in the sewers. We already deal with water main breaks due to the age of the aging sewer system here. Then to add insult to injury we had the fourlegged rodents living in the sewer.

  32. Opinion, please talk to Connie Moser of the Dale City Civic Association. She will be more than happy to explain to you how she has engaged people to abate graffiti, clean up Dale Blvd before the July 4 parade, participate in cleanups, and even uses her own money to reward people for winning “beautiful yard” awards in Lindendale. I’ve seen her stand up at BOCS meetings and speak about chronic blighted, unsafe properties and get action about them. She talks to neighbors first and if they don’t comply, then she bothers zoning. We need 7000 more people like her. Where did she learn to do all that? Neighborhood Services. People don’t get engaged or connected on their own. When I wanted to make a difference, I called the city and Neighborhood Services showed me where to go to learn to take action. The police don’t have time. Zoning inspectors don’t have time. I learned by talking to other neighborhood leaders. But Neighborhood Services was the connector, the home base. Look up John McKnight – Asset-Based Community Management. It was the introduction to changing your neighborhoods and it was the subject of the county’s first neighborhood conference three years ago. John McKnight spoke at the state neighborhood conference in McLean 2 years ago — I found out about it, attended, talked to him personally because of Neighborhood Services telling me about the opportunity.

  33. Lafayette

    Opinion,why not swing by the Neighborhood Leaders Group meeting tomorrow night? I think you would see what the residents of the older established neighborhoods are dealing with day in and day out.

  34. GainesvilleResident

    Lafayette :
    Cindy, indeed that overpriced survey needs to go. The county could easly have a survey on their website for each department used by residents. The Circuit Court has used paper surveys for years now. They are on offices’ counters for residents to fill out and they are encouraged to fill one out too.
    Those pictures are tough to beat.

    I could have given them a good run for the money for the townhouse next to mine. However, I never got brave enough to stand out there and take pictures of it. I wasn’t sure who might see, and if there might be retaliation for doing so.

  35. GainesvilleResident

    I bet we could find a lot of things in the category of that satisfaction survey, while they are “nice to haves” are definitely not anything that we need to have in economic times such as this.

  36. Another possible cut in govt – simply the choice we make. Ask people in govt to come up with cost cutting measures. Like printing. If you’re printing a $30,000 postcard job, do you print it in-house to better and more fully use the expensive state-of-the-art equipment you bought to save the county money? Or do you send the job out of the county because “it costs less to print.” Or do you balance the cost by sending it to a PWC commercial printer who is your meat-and-potatoes small business owner, who also meets your impossible deadlines without charging you more. Make better big picture decisions every day, and buy local when you can.

  37. Mom

    1. Satisfaction Survey
    2. DRIVE system (oops we already paid for that, thanks Craig)
    3. Magisterial Funds
    4. Top heavy positions at the PD/FD (starting with Maj. Tabor)
    5. Revise computer refresh schedules and renegotiate exorbidant seat licenses.
    6. Sell two of the County Golf Courses/Black Holes
    7. Restructure or eliminate the Economic Development staff (we’re have enough Starbucks)
    8. Reduce the county’s vehicle fleet and corresponding management vehicle perks
    9. Revise operations and reduce staffing of the landfill
    10. Limit county memberships and travel to things like the Chamber of Commerce, etc.
    11. Consolidate Supervisor’s offices into existing leased/owned space
    12. Cut number of awards, presentations, declarations and pretty powerpoint presentations
    13. Combine the County and School Board Planning Offices into one organization
    14. Require the School Board to utilize County legal staff when possible

    Those are just a few to start with

  38. Gainesville Resident, get involved where you live now. I didn’t know about that soccer complex until I read your post on Anti. Sometimes it’s a compromise. Like using the new LED lights causes less outward glow that bothers surrounding neighborhoods. Vans and buses that encourage carpooling pay minimal parking, single cars pay more. Creative solutions.

  39. Need to Know

    15. Fire Melissa Peacor, Steve Griffin and Ray Utz

  40. Mom

    I suspect item 15 will be priority one for the new County Exec., that is if they hire one with the proper credentials and mindset.

  41. Need to Know

    and an IQ above room temperature

  42. Lafayette

    16. Have a fuel efficient fleet.
    Why does Neighborhood Services need to roll through the county in 4X4 SUV’s? I understand the fleet can’t be replaced at one time, but new vehicles are purchased for various departments.

  43. Need to Know

    By the way, my first post was in moderation until I got approved. Please read #8.

  44. Mom

    NTK, you’re not far off the mark, you just have it backwards. The most powerful person in PWC is Griffin. I have the pleasure/displeasure of dealing with Planning personnel and land use attorneys throughout the region and to a man/woman they make the same observation about PWC land use policies and the Planning Office, at its most basic, it is the Wild, Wild West where the applicant’s make the rules so long as they kiss Griffin’s ring. His interaction with my favorite land use law firm is merely the tip of the iceberg. There are all sorts of other allegations made by staff, building inspection personnel and commercial interests regarding everything from moral terpitude within the office to interference/manipulation of development plans to the benefit of certain tenants, reportedly to the extent that one tenant is forced out to make way for a more favored entity.

    Moreover, what seems to escape everyone is that once the BOCS is done with a rezoning application the Planning Office has essentially carte blanche when it comes to the site plan, proffer compliance and build out. If you ever wonder why certain things don’t seem to get developed in accordance with the plan, it is usually because the planning office encourages/approves a deviation from the approved plan.

    Lastly, the County’s zoning administrator bears some level of blame as well. Just review his vesting determination for Market Center that blindsided members of the BOCS.

  45. Opinion

    You know, if you want to get ideas for what to cut… always start with a program nobody wants to cut. It’s a classic strategy for dealing with Congress. Great ideas, all! I may actually get to use some of them.

    Lafayette, Connie Moser is one of my favorite people in the world. If people like Connie would run for Supervisor (or Cindy B. for City Council), we wouldn’t have these problems. I don’t have to agree with people to recognize the good ones.

  46. Lafayette

    Opinion, Cindy was the one who spoke of Connie Moser, not me. I don’t disagree with what you’ve said about Connie in the least. I think she’s a role model for all of us.

  47. GainesvilleResident

    cindy b :
    Gainesville Resident, get involved where you live now. I didn’t know about that soccer complex until I read your post on Anti. Sometimes it’s a compromise. Like using the new LED lights causes less outward glow that bothers surrounding neighborhoods. Vans and buses that encourage carpooling pay minimal parking, single cars pay more. Creative solutions.

    Unfortunately, the county snuck this whole thing by most residents in the area. There’s been articles about it – the best two are at:

    http://pwconserve.wordpress.com/2009/12/08/what-should-the-wiita-tract-be-used-for/

    http://pwconserve.wordpress.com/2009/12/10/park-authority-defers-wiita-tract-vote-requests-jan-13-update/

    I have gotten involved via e-mailing, and quite a few people from my neighborhood along with the HOA itself has gotten involved in this. However, so far everyone’s impression is it’s going to happen. Even though the land was probably never intended for that kind of use by the people who gave it to the county.

    Rollins Ford Rd. – the county has not done their half of it nor does it look like they will for many years given the budget situation, yet this park will dump a huge amount of traffic onto it.

    And yes, lights that project DOWN rather than up or out would help. The other ideas, I’m afraid people with families will still go to the park in their own cars, and Rollins Ford Rd. and Glenkirk Rd. even aren’t designed for that kind of traffic.

    Worst is the county sort of snuck this up on everyone it seems – no one was very aware of it before recently.

    I’m sure the county, would love to plop a soccer stadium there and get revenue from that. It seems to me that’s exactly what’s going on.

    The local residents feel like the county’s not really listening to them – at least that was the impression at the HOA meeting last Thursday night.

  48. Need to Know

    MOM – I’m saying you are wrong but help me understand this. Griffin, an incompetent hack from Spotsylvania, comes here with his mini-me Ray Utz to serve King Gerhart and becomes more influential than Lubeley? With your scenario, Griffin is pulling Corey’s strings rather than Lubeley. Why would Corey do that?

  49. Need to Know

    Sorry – I’m NOT saying you are wrong

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