Several folks have asked about the status of the War Museum. Need to Know, a regular contributor at Moonhowlings.net has been following this initiative and has kindly offered his findings for a thread:
[Disclaimer: All guest posts are the opinion of the poster and do not necessarily represent the views of moonhowlings.net administration. M-H]
Regarding the proposed War Museum:
The land belongs currently to the Hyltons. They are “donating” it but the package the BOCS will consider October 5 includes new development rights that will benefit the Hyltons. They, Stewart and their proponents are waving the flag for a museum to honor veterans to garner support but it’s nothing more than a land deal to benefit special interests and campaign contributors. The “donation” of land will not go through unless the BOCS approves the entire package.
The staff report can be found at:
http://www.pwcgov.org/planning/documents/PLN2010-00379.pdf
Note that this staff report reads like a promotional brochure for the project, lacking any semblance of due diligence and analysis as to whether the project is in the interests of PWC taxpayers or not.
A few more details:
The supporters state that the project will need $50 million and that they will raise all of that from private sources. Note, however, that after allegedly working on development of the project for nearly a decade they have, as of the last Form 990 filing, less than $1 million in real assets. Form 990 is the annual tax filing required by the IRS for non-profit organizations. You can see them by clicking on this link:
http://nccsdataweb.urban.org/PubApps/showVals.php?ft=bmf&ein=200008915
The 2009 Form 990 shows total assets of a little over $4 million, but over $3 million of that is in the form of pledges and grants receivable that their statements have carried for at least two years. It’s not real money.
There’s not a chance in h*** they are going to be able to raise enough money, especially in an economy such as we have now, to build this thing without extensive taxpayer support.
The CEO of the Wartime Museum, Craig Stewart, has been taking about one-quarter of a million dollars ANNUALLY in salary and other compensation despite having no experience with museums. He was some sort of assistant director at a private school prior to talking this job. He is, however, well-connected in the same circles in which Corey Stewart travels. According to employment web sites, the average salary of a museum director in the DC area is less than $100,000.
Corey Stewart claims this museum is not going to cost PWC taxpayers a cent. However, under pressure from citizens, County staff acknowledged in an addendum to the staff report that PWC taxpayers have already provided $721,565. That’s almost enough to pay Craig Stewart’s compensation for the approximately three years he has been employed with the Wartime Museum.
Bottom line – PWC taxpayers will NEVER see a museum of the quality being promised by Corey Stewart, County staff and other museum supporters. If this project is approved on October 5, the Hyltons win big-time because they get rid of some useless land at the expense of PWC taxpayers and obtain some valuable new development rights elsewhere in PWC. Corey Stewart wins with a bundle of campaign contributions. Local big-wigs get a taxpayer-supported park to play out their fantasies of being soldiers, and Craig Stewart makes more than he could dream of in a real job. Losers – PWC taxpayers who will never see anything close to what’s being promised and will inevitably be asked to cough up more money to avoid having a junk tank lot next to I-95 much like the junk car lots along Route 1.
The Wartime Museum is another Corey Stewart scam.
Thanks Moon. I’m reposting my other two comments from yesterday also.
Here’s an update on Corey Stewart selling us out to developers. His reported campaign contributions from 2009 through now are seen in the link to VPAP below:
http://www.vpap.org/candidates/profile/money_in_industry1/61061?start_year=2009&end_year=2010&lookup_type=year&filing_period=all&filter_schedule=all&locality=all&zip_code=all
Note that many contributions are misrepresented. For example, Corey reports receiving $30,000 in the Finance/Insurance category during this period. Comstock Partners in Reston gave him $10,000 of that amount and is reported as being a business classified as “Stockbrokers/Financial Advisors.” Their own web site states, however, “The principals of Comstock Partners are responsible for development of thousands of residential units and millions of square feet of class A office and retail developments in the Washington DC region and in other parts of the United States.” http://www.comstockcompanies.com/
Comstock Partners is not registered as an advisor or broker with the Commonwealth of Virginia or the Securities and Exchange Commission. Check this out for yourself at http://www.sec.gov/investor/brokers.htm
Note that a company called “Comstock Partners” in Beverly Hills, California is registered but this company is not related to the development company in Reston that has been contributing to Stewart’s campaign that he has classified as a stockbroker or financial advisor.
Also in the Finance/Insurance category, VPAP reports that Malcolm W. Cook in Woodbridge, who is reported as self-employed in the CPA’s/Accountants/Bookkeepers sub-category, gave Stewart two $10,000 contributions on June 1, 2009 and June 1, 2010. VPAP reports no other contributions from Cook to any other candidates. In actuality, Cook is Treasurer and a Board member of the Hylton Foundation.
The Board of County Supervisors is taking up the Wartime Museum at the October 5 meeting. That scheme involves the Hyltons “donating” some virtually useless, undevelopable land situated between developments they have completed in Dale City in exchange for development rights elsewhere. The Hyltons stand to augment their fortunes substantially from their “generosity” to the citizens of Prince William County. Corey Stewart is the biggest cheerleader for this project and after reviewing his campaign contributions I have little doubt why.
When you correct Corey’s campaign finance disclosures for these misrepresentations, the $65,507 he does report as coming from real estate and construction interests expands rapidly. There are many other such distortions in his reports, some more egregious than these. More to come later. Does anyone other than me smell fraud and campaign finance violations?
By the way, I am incredibly disappointed with the “reporting” that has been done on this issue by our local news media. I found all of this information and more (I’ll post more later but don’t have time now) through research done with public sources. The local media have done nothing more than reprint press releases from Stewart, the County Government and Wartime Museum supporters, and provide them with photo ops.
Most likely, the BOCS will approve the Wartime Museum on October 5 and create another boondoggle for PWC taxpayers in this corrupt County. The only place where anything critical of this scam has been said is here on Moonhowlings. In the next three, four or so years when I’m proven right (and Corey Stewart plans to be in Richmond or somewhere other than PWC) PWC taxpayers will able to blame corrupt local politicians and bureaucrats, and a local news media that serves as their mouthpiece.
Maybe our local news outlets are reading the blog, will realize that they have overlooked something important unintentionally, and do something about it. If they do, my hat will be off to them. However, as of today, only the contributors to this blog will be able to say, “I told you so.”
I have no doubt that you are right, NTK. That’s just how things seem to work in PWC. And we will be paying for this folly also…while some museum director makes a cook quarter of a million a year.
The most despicable part of this whole affair is how low Corey Stewart is willing to sink to serve the interests of his paymasters in the development community. Last summer, he, Mike Lubeley, senior County staff and others conned the Gainesville Grizzlies families into coming out in support of the Avendale rezoning with phony promises of football fields. Corey has the full support of the corrupt senior County staff including Steve Griffin and Melissa Peacor for the Wartime Museum, just as he did with Avendale.
This time, Corey and company are exploiting the memories and service of our fallen veterans and other heroes who fought to defend our freedom as part of another developer scam.
Corey – do you and the senior staff have absolutely no shame?
The short answer is they have no shame and Corey is likely incapable of it. Unfortunately the statutes governing mandatory disclosure of financial interests do not cover campaign contributions. Thus the only manner in which the direct financial interest Corey has will not come to light unless someone shines the light on them during Citizens Time or during the public hearing. Unfortunately, Corey and the BOCS turn a deaf ear to those statements and the MSM ignores them.
Similarly, although the State Code allows for density transfers as proposed in this application, it also requires that any jurisdiction employing them codify zoning ordinances prior to allowing density transfers, a step that PWC has not taken despite being called on the issue in the past. Its disturbing that senior staff and the BOCS know of this deficiency yet refuse to correct it, leading to other questions regarding the prosecution of land use applications in PWC. There is of course a measure for recourse, challenging the decision in the circuit court, anybody got a few grand lying around to challenge the county? The BOCS and staff are betting you don’t and nothing will change until they are challenged in court.
Mom – I remember many years ago in the old TV show “Dallas” J.R. Ewing was addressing this very topic and said that once you have given up your integrity, everything else is easy.
Corey flew past J.R. Ewing a long time. Exploiting local football families to deliver for your developer pals was bad enough. Now, veterans and fallen heroes are being used to serve the interests of politicians, cronies and developers.
In addition to lacking capital funds to develop the Wartime Museum, it would be unable to sustain operations without substantial taxpayer support if it were built.
A fiscal analysis prepared by Economic Resource Associates for the Wartime Museum estimates that annual operating costs of the museum, exclusive of depreciation, will be $5,001,032. The report does not break down these costs into detail so assessing their validity is problematic. It estimates that earned income will be $3,555,961 leaving an annual deficit of $1,445,071 to be raised from other sources. All figures are in 2004 constant dollars.
These revenue projections are highly dependent on the number of visitors, however. If the museum fails to achieve its target levels of visitation, the deficit will expand necessitating even greater amounts of support from non-earned sources (i.e., Prince William County taxpayers).
The visitor and earned income projections Corey Stewart, County senior staff and museum supporters are feeding the public are pure fiction. According to the attendance projections in the report by Economic Resource Associates, the museum expects annual visitor attendance of 281,000 with an admission price of ten dollars.
The projected attendance of the museum is nearly double that of the Manassas National Battlefield Park, and over forty percent of that of the Imperial War Museum, which is an internationally-renowned war museum in London, England. The Manassas National Battlefield Park and Imperial War Museum figures are actual numbers rather than projections.
The Manassas National Battlefield Park; admission price – $3.00 and attendance 147,981.
The Imperial War Museum in London; admission price – free and attendance 672,402.
Moreover, the estimated operating expenses fail to cite whatever marketing and promotion would be undertaken, which would be very costly to have any chance of reaching these very optimistic projections.
Corey Stewart, senior staff and museum supporters are concocting completely nonsensical fiscal projections to hoodwink Prince William County taxpayers into supporting another developer scam.
According to the Prince William County Planning Office staff report (Planning Director Steve Griffin and County Executive Melissa Peacor);
“According to a report commissioned by the Wartime Museum and prepared by Economic Resource Associates, the project will provide an estimated $15-25 million dollars in annual visitor spending for the local economy and will directly create 50 full-time jobs and indirectly generate 35 jobs.”
However, Gary Friedman, the Chair of the Planning Commission requested copies of any reports by Economic Resource Associates. Two reports dated March 2005 were delivered:
• “Market Analysis and Attendance Projection for the National Museum of Americans at War, Prince William County, Virginia,” and
• “Financial Analysis for the National Museum of Americans at War, Prince William County, Virginia.”
The latter report describes 49 positions (FTE) that the Museum would create directly. Further, it estimates (2004 constant dollars) that income earned from visitor operations would be $3,555,961. It does not mention any estimate of annual visitor spending in the local economy, or provide any basis for independent review of any of its estimates. Griffin and Peacor provided no documentation of the estimate of $15 to $20 million dollars for the local economy, even though they included the number in the official staff report.
Senior staff (Griffin and Peacor) are writing recommendations based on absolutely no substantiated analysis. When given the opportunity several weeks ago to provide sources and support for the numbers and projections used in the staff report, they failed to do so. Nonetheless, senior staff is forging full steam ahead with their support of another developer scam on behalf of Corey Stewart with no due diligence; simply taking the word of Corey Stewart, his cronies, campaign contributors and developers; and again leaving Prince William County taxpayers in lurch to pay for all of these corrupt shenanigans.
I would probably have reacted to this differently if the political spin had been left out and the facts simply reported instead. Its hard to buy into the continuing anti-Corey party politics, allegations and suppositions when the County could get a privately owned museum on privately owned land to accent the tourism potential of the Quantico to Bull Run corridor.
Lot of slander in tis conversation.
It is only slander if it isn’t true. What parts of what is being said aren’t true?
The people talking in this conversation are Republicans. What political spin do you see here?
You are aware that Corey has pissed off Republicans in this county as much or more than he has the non-Republicans?
Let’s look at a comparable museum. Danville, Virginia has had a similar museum, the Tank Museum (registered as the American Armoured Foundation, Inc.) since 1981 with a mission virtually identical to the one for the proposed museum in Prince William County. This museum was relocated from Mattituck, New York to Danville, Virginia and founded in 1981. It was certified in 1981 and recertified in 2003 by the U.S. Government and the Center of Military History to receive donations as a not-for-profit museum. The Tank Museum has the most extensive collection of tank and cavalry artifacts found anywhere in the world housed in a 330,000 square feet facility on 89 acres.
The museum in Danville appears to me to be far superior to the proposed museum in PWC and has been in existence for three decades. Even with this history and reputation, its annual revenue from visitor sources is less than $100,000 per year. Its admission is $10 per person; the same as proposed for the Wartime Museum in Prince William County. Moreover, its total annual expense for all officers, directors, trustees and managers is only $59,280. This museum is a real, tangible institution providing services to the public now. Why has Prince William County poured $721,565 of taxpayer money into a facility that does not even exist, was originally going to be located near Manassas Airport until they cut a deal with the Hyltons, and pays ONE manager nearly one-quarter of a million dollars per year?
The link to the Danville Tank Museum is:
http://www.aaftankmuseum.com/index.html
The link to the Museum’s official information including Form 990 filings is:
http://nccsdataweb.urban.org/orgs/profile/112576689?popup=1
I know which job I would rather have.
I think we have enough museums that honor or glorify war in this area. Why don’t we build a peace park? Not one of those around here is there?
This does sound to me a bit like museum overkill — no pun intended. Are tourists going to be attracted to this after seeing the World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War memorials, plus Arlington, the Smithsonian, the air and space museum at Dulles, the Manassas Battlefield, etc, etc., etc. About the only thing I could see is a sidetrip after visiting the new Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, but I tend to think that exhausted tourists might skip this one in favor of something different, especially if the weather is hot.
I still don’t have a good idea of exactly what would be in this museum. Another museum dedicated to veterans in general would not be unique around here . However, there might be some local draw if the museum is dedicated in part to Prince William veterans complete with photos, biographies, and other wartime photos. In my hometown, they have restored one of the only two LST’s left from World War II — a ship which was actually at Anzio and Normandy. One of the best parts of that display is the local veterans section, complete with lots of photos, old uniforms, war medals, etc. They also use the main deck of the ship for public concerts and the showing of classic movies in the open air — which causes visitors to go there more than once. But don’t know how much of a draw that would be around here with so much other competition.
Great posting with excellent research and commentary. For once Moonhowler, I have no complaints! 🙂 In theory, this museum is a great idea, but knowing the ins and outs of some of this, it is a sham and this group has never raised much money for this museum before now, how are they going to raise $50 million? The local media needs to dig into this, too bad it wont be before October 5th. Drive up to Carlisle, PA to see a similar museum….their attendance is paltry and this sort of thing has been done before in other places. I hope the Hyltons enjoy giving us another beautiful Dale City….they did such a great job with that.
Outstanding research by NTK and grateful that Moonhowlings posted this. I have done some independent research on this museum proposal and agree w/NTK’s characterizations and conclusions. This is a scam being pulled on the taxpayers of PWC by Corey Stewart, John Jenkins, the Hyltons, Craig Stewart and the guy who owns the tanks.
Note: the typical salary for Executive Directors or Presidents of these types and scales of museums at $100K is for facilities that actually exist. Stewart has been paying himself more than twice that amount for, basically, delivering a lot of hot air. And where did that money come from: Well, for the last three years it has come from PWC taxpayers!
Very disappointed in local media and the Washington Post for not investigating this more thoroughly and reporting same. Maybe the Commonwealth Attorney should look into representations made to get Corey Stewart and the BOCS to turn over nearly a million $ of taxpayer money for this pie-in-the-sky sales job.
Again, Great Job Need to Know. You have performed a valuable public service.
Yes, he has. I agree, Gregory.
It sounds like the county has definitely been hookwinked.
H/T to NTK
Cargo, I know you have been following the opening of the war museum. What is your opinion after reading this post?
I can tell you that NTK is not one of MY people…(if you know what I mean….)
Thanks for the kind words. As I’ve written on Moonhowlings before, I am a life-long Republican and former Corey Stewart supporter. My vision of what the Republican Party should stand for is integrity, fiscal responsibility, small-government conservatism and accountability to citizens rather than special interests. Corey has failed on every count and his tenure on the BOCS has been characterized by cutting whatever deals and stabbing whomever in the back he thinks will advance his political career. I refuse to defend someone just because they might claim to be a Republican.
We must police ourselves and adhere to the values we espouse. Voters seem poised to give Republicans another chance this November. I am delighted with that prospect, but we will have to deliver to avoid becoming part of history rather than helping shape the future.
NTK, give me a call when you get a chance. Just looked over the GPINs involved, current use, assessment, etc. Long and short of it is Hylton is getting development rights in exchange for redesignation of existing properties from a number of different use types to things like open space and parkland. Problem is those areas being redesignated and having their denisty transferred are things like the open space components of subdivisions or unbuildable lots with RPAs running directly through them. The balance of the density transfers are built on the back of Park Authority property. The plan is brilliant in design but sleazy, really sleazy and I suspect potentially illegal.
Here is an example:
“SITE #11-redesignate +/-10.1 ac. from RPC Residential Medium to RPC Open Space and
Parkland – adjustment site; located +/-200 ft. east of the intersection of Orkin and
Oaklawn Ln. and at the north end of Omni and Oakham Ct.; identified as GPINs 7992-77-8337 and -88-9400”
Both GPINS are owned by HYLTON ENTERPRISE (VA) INC. The first is a single family sized lot between two existing homes, assessed at $900, sound awful cheap for a single family lot, it should be as a stream runs right through the middle of it. The second is the open space component of an existing subdivision, an area that can’t be built on as it was proffered as open space. So in part, the BOCS will give Hylton transferred development rights from property that can’t physically be built on or whose development rights have already been proffered to secure other development rights.
Referring back to my post #2, my guess is that they get away with this on October 5 because the media are giving them a pass. Many more people read the “Manassas Journal Messenger” and the “Washington Post” than read blogs. I’m sure Corey is thinking that he doesn’t need to concern himself.
MJM and WP – We’ve done the research for you and even included links to the sources. How about some journalism and investigative reporting, rather than serving as PR outlets for Stewart, the Hyltons and everyone else associated with this nonsense?
Would someone please tell me what MoM just said in layman’s terms?
NTK, told you nobody would understand it.
In simple terms they are taking development rights from undevelopable or useless properties and transferring them to other parcels whose zoning doesn’t make their development profitable. They are taking their garbage and/or properties whose densities have already been calculated into the development of larger parcels and trading them for greater densities on otherwise unprofitable properties.
Its a lot of smoke and mirrors designed to make something profitable out of left over properties, ostensibly to build to museum. The other problem that nobody seems to have taken notice of is that the primary parcel for the museum likely can not support such a facility given that a portion of the creek runs through it and a portion is encumbered by Federal DOT easements/rights of way.
It is another useless/unuseable parcel on which a museum will NEVER be built, not because of funding, not due to lack of interest or support but because the land can’t support it.
Moon – Mom is just saying that the Hyltons are “donating” land that is zoned for residential development but is in effect useless because you can’t build there. It’s not good for anything. Their donations are not much more than scraps of land left over from previous development projects in Dale City. In exchange, they get development rights on usable land elsewhere. Net effect is that the Hyltons make a lot of money from their “generosity” and PWC taxpayers are saddled with additional congestion and tax revenue-negative residential development that we would not get if this scam – sorry – generous donation and promotion of tourism in PWC does not get approved.
Mom – looks like we clicked submit at about the same time. Your post #24 proves that you can write in English!
These two parcels are definately garbage. I love how these two useless parcels are smack dab in the middle of a residential area with single family homes. They are even dividedby a street in the neighborhood. UFB!! However, as things seem to go regarding LU issues this latest “scam” should really come as no surprise to any of us.
Manassas News & Messenger, Gainesville Times, and Washington Post, where are you?
@Mom #24
Here we have the bottom line. Both for financial and land reasons PWC taxpayers will never see a museum such as being sold to us. We will get the bill and the negative fiscal impacts. We’re being taken for suckers once again.
After promoting this $50 million (their number) project for nearly a decade, its supporters didn’t even have $1 million of real money as of their latest Form 990 filing.
Even if they got it built, they claim they will get $3.5 million to support their projected $5 million annual operating budget from vistor-related uses. The similar (and better) museum in Danville that has been around three decades gets only about $100,000 annually from such sources.
That’s all academic anyway because the topography of the land won’t physically allow the kind of uses they are proposing.
Corey regards his constituents much as P.T. Barnum did people in general thinking “there’s a sucker born every minute.”
Members of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors – your vote on the Wartime Museum is being added to the litmus test list of issues that includes Avendale for the 2011 election.
Some members of the BOCS may be thinking that these issues will go away and be forgotten by then but I can assure you that there are many of us who will not let that happen.
Lafayette, if you think the earlier example was bad, check out GPIN 8291-31-3569, its the common area, parking lots and sidewalks for the Brightwood Forest Townhomes.
I believe each supervisor should get a copy of NTK’s essay and perhaps the comments afterwards.
Any thnoughts?
Moon – can you email them with a brief note and a link to this thread? I think that we should document that each and every Supervisor was directed to this information so that those who vote in favor can be held accountable on election day.
NTK, email me or call me and tell me what it is you need for me to do.
Perhaps a cover letter? I will send it from moonhowlings but I need for the research crew to packet it up for me. I have the supervisor addresses.
Lafayette is absolutely right to ask where is the media on this.
A little more juice: The “unbuildable” land for the site can now become buildable because the stream and RPA issues were glossed over by the Ches Bay Review Board which, under pressure from John Jenkins, agreed to let the “museum” do whatever it wants to these environmental resources and the nearby cultural resources, too. Think “fill-in, pave over” and you get the idea. (When I say under pressure from Jenkins – he took the extraordinary measure of actually attending the public hearing, sitting in back, and glaring at the BOCS appointed Review Board members, daring them to do anything other than give him what he wanted. This was clearly an act of intimidation.)
Someone should FOIA the museum grant application(s) for PWC support. It is my suspicion that misrepresentations may have been made by the museum – Craig Stewart in particular – in order to get taxpayer money handed over to them. If so, that would constitute a criminal act. AG Cooch went after a former UVA professor for possibly applying for and taking public grant money under false pretenses. He should be looking at Stewart for the same thing.
@Gregory Glenn
I am certain that if this passes Tuesday, FOIAs and other actions well start flying. Again, I caution BOCS members who are not tainted with this yet not to get their hands dirty and become a part of the repurcussions later on.
@Need to Know
Good. Glad to hear it. And I agree, anyone on the BOCS not yet tainted by this should keep far away from it and absolutely not support it.
Looks like the WaPo has an article today. Too busy right now to comment on this, but I sure will a little later.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/01/AR2010100107538_2.html
Hey Moon, what are the chances of getting this thread moved a little closer to the top? It’s really down there now. I think it needs to be easy to find. I hope this is viewed as a “friendly” request. 🙂
Craig Stewart is quoted in the Manassas Journal Messenger article saying,
“I am a development professional, and our board is committed to this effort.”
He’s lying. He was an assistant director of some sort at a private school before he started taking a quarter of a million per year to blow hot air on behalf of Corey Stewart and pals.
@Need to Know
Seems that pretty much everything that comes out of this guy’s mouth is a lie.
I posted this in the open thread and want to get it here also.
More Corey Stewart campaign finance shenanigans – last week, VPAP showed two $10,000 contributions (June 1, 2009 and June 1, 2010) from Malcolm W. Cook, the Treasurer and Board member of the Hylton Foundation. Today, only the June 1, 2010 contribution is show.
What’s up with changing the campaign finance reports?
@Need to Know
Wow!!! Keep up the good work.
The research team is doing great work!!!
@ NTK
Help me out here – really; either you are (1) doing some outstanding research into this issue and causing me to rethink my views, (2) you are associated with a political party and/or candidate (potential candidate) and doing what politiical staffers do these days and using this receptive anti-Corey site as a forum or (3) you have a vested interest in the land involved or live nearby – meaning the view shed or some other interest (I am reminded of Robert Redford’s testimony about coal in Utah – until someone pointed out that his land abutted the property). You have to admit there is an intensity here. First, would you dispel these concerns. Will you attend the October 5th meeting to raise these issues? Have you written to the Board or County Exec. – who I understand has also been disparaged here?
I like the idea of a mid-county museum to draw more folks off I-95 and off I-66 and improve our tourism base, but, if what you are saying is correct, I too would have concerns and would seek clarification.
What is the exact question the BOCS will be voting on tomorrow? I haven’t found it on the agenda yet.
@PWC Taxpayer
These are fair questions. The answer is number one. I understand these issues and have a lot of experience in research. Fiscal responsibility and sane land use are two issues about which I care deeply.
As I’ve written numerous times on this blog, I am a life-long Republican and FORMER Corey Stewart supporter. I have been involved in campaigns in the past (all Republican) but am not now because of work, family and church responsibilities.
I own a modest home in which my family resides and a small office space in Prince William County. Other family members reside in Prince William County and own their homes. None of us have any other real estate or property interests. All of our homes are in neighborhoods where view sheds, etc. are not concerns.
Moon and Elena both know me.
I won’t answer the other two questions (re: attending the BOCS meeting and having contacted the Supervisors) because I want to keep NTK anonymous. The Supervisors read this, and other, blogs and I’m sure they are familiar with the various points of view. Writing to them directly or going to Citizens Time just to see Stewart shorten speaking time to one minute because he knows many people oppose him is not needed.
I support such a museum also and think it would be a great addition to our County’s tourism resources. However, this deal is a development scam and nod to political supporters and cronies. Here’s what I want to see to support this:
• No strings attached – that means use County land or an outright donation of private land. No new development rights for some special interest getting rid of undevelopable land and telling us we’re getting a donation. Remember the great line from “The Outlaw Josey Wales” – don’t p*** down my back and tell me it’s raining.
• No exorbitant salaries for people associated with the project like Craig Stewart. If this were a purely private project I would not care how much they pay each other. However, the War Museum has taken over $700,000 of our tax dollars and had County staff working on their behalf. Moreover, this deal involves tax breaks (for example, the “donated” land no longer being taxable) and huge negative fiscal impacts on the County.
• Clear, convincing documentation of their ability to raise adequate private funds. They’re not even in the ballpark yet.
• Solid analysis of how much the capital and operating costs will be. If the War Museum people went to a bank seeking financing with the documentation they’ve provided so far to apply for private financing they would be laughed out of the building.
This is a sweetheart deal situation whose consequences will come back to bite County taxpayers in the bottom.
@Moon-howler
Moon – technically, they are voting on a map amendment. That is all that is needed in this case to set everything in motion, including the new development rights for the Hyltons.
What is the agenda item number please?
@PWC Taxpayer
I have independently researched the points make here and elsewhere by NTK and agree with his characterizations and conclusions.
This deal doesn’t even come close to passing the smell test.
It is a scam designed to enrich a few already very well heeled people and a couple of politicians’ (Stewart and Jenkins) accounts. (sidebar – I’m willing to make a gentleman’s bet that part of the deal is that SOMETHING in this project is promised to be named after John Jenkins.)
The losers in this will be the taxpayers of PWC – already stiffed for about 3/4 million $$$ with lots more to come- , the folks who live in any proximity to the site, and/or those who use Dale Blvd, if it ever gets built, those who care about protecting natural and cultural resources, and those who care about public integrity issues. This is Corey Stewart playing fast and loose politics for what he perceives as his own benefit without caring one jot about how it will impact PWC citizens or taxpayers.
@Moon-howler
7:30 session, item 15B. I’ve attached the link to the agenda below.
http://www.pwcgov.org/documents/bocs/agendas/currentagenda.pdf
Moon, you might want to put the agenda link and the direct link to the 99 page Rezoning Amendment text in your original post. Direct link is here. http://www.pwcgov.org/documents/bocs/agendas/2010/1005/15-B.pdf
It looks like you have covered it. Thanks, Lafayette.
People can just follow your link. I don’t have time to upload it to the server. It is a little more time-consuming than just planting it.