Concrete Bob and Cargo Squid of United Conservatives of Virginia (see UCV link) have requested that we publish the following public service announcement:
Next Wednesday, June 16th, there is a planning commission hearing for the Wartime Museum and we’re trying to gather as many supporters to attend as we can.
Obviously, the more Prince William County supporters we can gather the better, but support from any of you would be greatly appreciated.
The hearing is at 7pm at the McCoart Building in Woodbridge Virginia.
If you are unable to attend all I ask is that you forward this information to friends you think may be able to go. Again, if you live in or know a lot of people in the PWC area please ask them to come out and support the Museum.
The Museum is going to a great educational tool. They are planning to make it interactive, with docents acting as members of the armed forces from different time periods.
Hope you can support it. If so, please spread the word.
County supervisors email links are in the top tabs. If you have questions, leave a note here for Cargosquid.
Actually, a question to Concrete Bob at UCV would be better. He’s the “go to” guy on this. He’s actually involved with the process.
Thanks Moon!
I bet he just sent you over with the message to soften me up, eh? Just kidding.
Cargo, do you know why the planning commission is involved? Can you or Concrete Bob give us some background on this issue? The planning commission in PWC is strange, so I have been told. 🙄
@Moon-howler
The BOCS and the Planning Office are the problems. Under Corey Stewart, the BOCS has become a tool of the developers. Don’t get me started again on how crooked and incompetent the Planning Office is. The majority on the Planning Commission led by Gary Freidman (including Hosen, Hendley and others) is now the only group making an effort to look out for the interests of PWC citizens and taxpayers.
Moon, it’s not the Planning Commission that is strange. They have some very dedicated and thoughtful Commissioners, that truly look at the big picture. It’s our Planning Dept. that is strange and often times wrong. It appears if you submit the application, the Planning staff will write their report in support of the application before them. Prime example there was a movement to stop a celltower at Flat Branch. I talked to one woman that had read the staff report, and thought [**********] [Ed. note: name removed due to nature of comment] worked for T-Mobile. I told her no, he’s county staff, and the same fool that wrote that piss poor report for the proposed elementary school at Stonewall Middle.
This public hearing will be about a Zoning map amendment, and it was initiated by the BoS. This is from this week’s upcoming agenda.
Map Amendment #PLN2010-00379, The Wartime Museum – This is a
BOCS initiated zoning map amendment to the Dale City Residential Planned
Community Master Zoning Plan to provide appropriate zoning for the
Wartime Museum, an offsite warehouse and restoration shop and rezone
other areas (adjustment sites) to replace commercial, residential and open
space and parkland areas displaced by the museum or to meet other needs
of the Dale City RPC. Staff-David McGettigan.
**
Full agenda can be found here.
http://www.pwcgov.org/docLibrary/PDF/11363.pdf
@Need to Know
I was posting at the same time. I was hoping you’d be along to shed some light on the matter too. Next up should be Mom..
So you all are saying that the planning office and the planning commission are different entities?
The office are county employees and the commission is comprised of appointees?
Does anyone know why the War Museum is before the planning commission?
Lafayette, if the commission has fine and dedicated people serving on it, then that in itself is strange. Strange isn’t always bad.
Each Supervisor appoints a Commissioner to a four year term. Planning Dept. are county employees.
As I stated it’s a zoning map amendment. That means some land has to change it’s status. I don’t recall what pieces are to change. It’s in the link I provided.
I don’t understand why you removed the name, when other county employees such as Griffin and Utz get called out regularly on this blog from time to time. I used that individual’s name in the SMS post. It’s your blog, and your rules. Sorry, to have made you edit my post.
They are not called out here if I see it. Please show me where they are called out and I will delete their names. Are you sure it is this blog?
I will talk to Elena over the weekend and I guess we will have to come up with a policy.
I am also very careful about the liabilities. This care has increased since Feb. 26, 2010.
More later…I have to leave for a while.
It was not that individual it was another. Actually it was Alanna that called them out as a good source, and I pleaded the 5th. No worries. I understand/respect your position. I won’t be a bad girl again.
Ha! Why do I think that is not true???? 😉
Well, I have been accused of being the best friend public servants have. I said I hoped so.
I don’t give them all a pass. If a specific person does something specifically good or bad, and they aren’t an elected official, then it is fair game to discuss.
There is a former state cop I would call out each and every time. However, he was convicted of wrong-doing.
I am surprised to read that you’re supporting the county’s latest effort to transfer your tax dollars to the Hylton family without checking into the facts at all. Well, checking into the facts should be your first heads up – apparently none will be available until after the plan is approved.
The intersection of Dale Blvd and Gideon is already a nightmare and all those museum visitors will create traffic jams that must be fixed. Who is going to pay for the road improvements? You get one guess.
The stream impacts will be massive. Jenkins said several streams must be piped so exceptions will be needed. I heard the Park Authority has already approved a discounted rate for their stream bank so the War Museum can mitigate their impacts at a reduced cost. I also heard that Supervisors promised to “backfill” this contribution by transferring tax dollars from the county budget to the Park Authority.
The video on the War Museum web page says they are going to recreate a bombed out village and the jungles of Viet Nam. They say visitors will regularly see tanks roll by and flying aircraft overhead. It sounds like there will be lots of noise which I am sure will make the surrounding residential and commercial landowners very happy.
Is this a good investment for county taxpayers? It is hard to tell without any facts, especially since the War Museum is a nonprofit that will not even pay taxes.
Moon is correct that staffers who are carrying out the instructions of their supervisors should not be named on the blog.
We all agree that elected officials are fair game.
However, I believe strongly that senior staffers in policy-making roles are also fair game. They are responsible not only for staff work but also for having a major input and providing guidance on the policy choices that the BOCS will ultimately decide upon. In that role, their actions should be known and discussed by the public.
Peacor is County Executive (in some jurisdictions an elected position), Griffin is Planning Director, and Utz is Long-Range Planning Division Chief. In those roles, all three have a tremendous impact on decisions that will determine our quality of life and economic development. All three are completely fair game for public discussion. Others, including Tom Bruun, Director of Public Works, should also be included in the “fair game” list.
Red Queen, actually we just announced the meeting, knowing nothing about it.
It seems like what you have described is the county putting carts before horses. This one caught me off guard for sure.
Anyone else? I think we need to save the discussion of individuals until I talk to Elena and hone in on what Not The Red Queen is talking about.
If someone can assume everyone knows NOTHING about this Wartime Museum, that might be a good starting place for me.
And if there is something specific that happens and we can discuss the behavior as it relates to policy or the county, then I would agree in theory. The key word is theory. The ‘in theory’ part kicks in when I think about my own liabilities.
Heretofore, bloggers have not been held very accountable at all over what they say about others. One only has to look a very short distance to see exactly what I am talking about.
I criticized something Melissa Peacor did 2 days ago. I think I was specific and specified the behavior I didn’t like. I think we walk a fine line. My personal benchmark about county personnel, or a person who is a high profile individual in the area, or perhaps a professor at George Mason is to ask myself if that person were my spouse, would I feel he or she had been treated fairly.
We will make a decision later. Right now, please go by these guidelines:
1. describe the behavior or decision specifically and say what it is you don’t like.
2. Steer away from names please.
3. Keep it professional
4. put yourself in that person’s shoes
Not Red, It also sounds like this is going to fall in to the ‘beware of unintended consequences’ category.
How can the county approve something and then do the fact finding? I don’t understand this bass-akwards problem solving.
Strange. (why does this word keep popping up?)
I’m not sure of the process up there. What you see is all I know.
Sorry
While there is a lot of excitement about this proposal, I suggest the PWPC and
the BOCS practice pragmatic due dilligence. It may end up as a good thing for the area,
but approval shouldn’t just be rubber stamped.
I am not even sure what is bring approved.
It’a to have the appropriate zoning for the museum.
For the second time from the agenda.
This public hearing will be about a Zoning map amendment, and it was initiated by the BoS. This is from this week’s upcoming agenda.
Map Amendment #PLN2010-00379, The Wartime Museum – This is a
BOCS initiated zoning map amendment to the Dale City Residential Planned
Community Master Zoning Plan to provide appropriate zoning for the
Wartime Museum, an offsite warehouse and restoration shop and rezone
other areas (adjustment sites) to replace commercial, residential and open
space and parkland areas displaced by the museum or to meet other needs
of the Dale City RPC. Staff-David McGettigan.
@ Lafayette, Actually I was hoping someone who knew something about the politics of this move would come along and tell us all in English what the public hearing is REALLY about. No offense, but that ‘from the agenda’ crap tells me nothing really.
At least one contributor has suggested that the details will come out AFTER the bocs votes.
When I initially put up the notice, it was to advertise for Concrete Bob and Cargo Squid. It seems there is a little more to this now.
Is there a challenge expected?
Here’s a link to the map of the site for the Wartime Museum.
http://www4.pwcgov.org/countymapper/viewer.asp?TB=1
Here’s the staff report prepared by county staff. It’s a 73 page report. I that this will answer some questions for those that are interested in this.
http://www.pwcgov.org/planning/documents/PLN2010-00379.pdf
I am assuming that since the War Museum is all approved etc, that this will be a rubber stamp public hearing and that the zoning changes that need to happen, WILL happen?
This just doesn’t look like a ‘no’ to me:
(from PRNewswire)
Moon, I don’t think anyone really knows too much about the zoning map amendments or really care. I do believe it could generate some tourism dollars in conjunction with our musuems and parks(NPS). The Wartime Musuem is certainly not on my radar. I only know what I’ve seen presented at numerous BoS meetings.
That from the “agenda crap” is all that’s really out there on the issue. It’s in the hands of the county. I’m done, because I could give a rat’s a$$ less about another musuem in the county, and especially one that’s down at the other end. I have to take myself to that dreadful place shortly. I’d rather hear nails dragging down a chalk board for hours on in. I’m sure I’ll see plenty to disgust me on my trip down there.
tell us more!!!!!
@lafayette, lets put it this way, yesterday at this time, I would have agreed with you. Today my spend-ar is going whoop whoop whoop!
See above. A cryptic message from the Not Red Queen makes me think that we might be all getting hoodwinked.
Who is going to really have to pay for the last Hylton ‘gift?’
Who pays for the initial project? Will taxpayers have to pony up for this new museum? Will it be half funded?
Am I a doubting Thomas for not believing all the crap slung by the county?
Too many different people have had some unpredictable responses when this topic is mentioned. I am smelling a big rat out there somewhere.
To clarify: We are not supporting or not supporting a War Museum. What started out as a public service announcement has now turned into a little more than that. Hopefully those that know some of the backroom deal cutting that has gone on will spill some beans.
Where will the entrance be? How is Dale Blvd. involved?
Where will the extra $40 million come from to complete the museum?
It sounds like a very neat museum. It just sounds like there are a lot of loose ends on the county’s end. That is how PWC seems to have always done business.
I guess my bottom line is, how much is it going to cost the county.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/23/AR2010042305450.html
A “WAR AND PEACE MUSEUM!”
Some of us, neighbors in the Coles District, attended the War Museum presentation. It seems to be focusing on military hardware and battlefield simulations and may be quite noisy at that.
We are circulating a petition to change the focus of the museum to a “War and Peace Museum” that would showcase exhibits on the results of war, peace treaties, continuing hostilities, conflict resolution, international law and arbitration, etc. We are suggesting that the Museum partner with University Peace Programs like the George Mason Conflict Resolution Program to broaden its appeal and educational value.
While we have just started, the community response is overwhelming, over 60% of those asked randomly signing. If you would like to join us please e-mail the PWC Planning Commission supporting “The War and Peace Museum.” e-mail: [email protected]