Citizen Tom

Silver Lake Aerial Photo,
originally published in
the Potomac News

The political wrangling over the Silver Lake Recreation Area continues.  On one side, some people have plans to develop the area to suit their purposes.  On the other side….well, here are a couple of emails from the other side.

On May 14, the Bull Run Mountains Conservancy (BRMC) issued an alert to its members.  The subject was a pristine piece of undeveloped property on the west end of Prince William County.

Dear Members,

A public hearing is set for Tuesday, May 19, on whether the Prince William Board of County Supervisors (BOCS) will give the 233-acre Silver Lake property to Prince William County Park Authority (PWCPA). Silver Lake, if given to the PWCPA, must have deed restrictions to protect the public interests. People have overwhelming spoken up at numerous BOCS meetings demanding a passive recreation park. Without any restrictions the Park Authority will be free to develop the park through the normal master planning process. Please, make sure that the county adheres to the use guidelines that we agreed on last year (4-30-08 Meeting Minutes).

We have attached meeting minutes prepared by Susan Roltsch, Assistant County Executive, from the April 30, 2008, meeting where BRMC, PWCPA, and the County Executive, County staff, and County Attorneys where all parties agreed on the use guidelines for Silver Lake. We encourage our supporters to attend this meeting to make sure that the county follows through with what they promised. The Prince William Board of County Supervisors will meet May 19th in the Board Chamber of the James J. McCoart Administration Building, 1 County Complex Court in Woodbridge at 7:30 P.M.

Thank you for your support,

Bull Run Mountains Conservancy

Then on May 19 the BMRC issued a second alert.

The meeting has been moved to June 9. We will keep you informed of any other changes.

Bull Run Mountains Conservancy

The Prince William Conservation Alliance (PWCA) also continues to monitor this issue.  As the PWCA sees it, the PWCPA seems more interested in slowly wearing down opposition than explaining what it intends to do with the Silver Lake.  Check here.

Silver Lake Aerial Photo,
originally published in
the Potomac News

Here I sit at my computer. A little under a couple of hours ago, I got home from my daily workout at the George Mason Freedom Center. In a little while, I must go to bed so I can get up and be at work by 6 AM. McLean, VA is a long drive from Gainesville, and I do not want to spend my life in traffic. So I leave early. Nonetheless, I want to know what is going on at the Board of County Supervisors (BOCS) meeting in Woodbridge, Virginia. So I tune in (here).

The representative from Bull Run Mountains Conservancy, Mr. McBride, is presenting his pitch to the BOCS. He makes it exactly clear what his organization will do with the property. The BRMC will keep the land in its natural state. Moreover, his organization will double the size of the park and cost the taxpayers nothing. Neither the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NVRPA) nor Prince William County Park Authority (PWCPA) have guaranteed to what use they will put the property, and neither NVRPA and PWCPA operate for free.

John Stirrup questions the BRMC proposal. He worries that the BRMC will not use the property the way the county wishes after it is given the property. He speculates that somehow a deal can be made so that the county retains ownership and leases the land to the BRMC. However, the BRMC representative points out that such a deal would make it difficult to raise funds. In addition, the donor has made the additional property he will donate to the BRMC conditional upon the county donating the Silver Lake Recreational Area to the BRMC. In addition, the BRMC representative points out that the agreement that would convey the property to the BRMC is ironclad. The agreement stipulates exactly what the BRMC is allowed to do with the property.

My wife then walks and wants to talk about something else.

Wally Covington then has some questions about BRMC financing, and Corey Stewart has questions about the improvements BRMC has planned and their schedule. Stewart is concerned about the cost of the property’s upkeep and whether the BRMC can find the money. He admits the county does not have the money to fund PWCPA’s proposals. The PWCPA estimates $150 – 200 thousand per year, but McBride is not prepared to accept this would be the BRMC’s cost. Since BRMC intends to leave the property in a natural state, their costs would be much less.

Since the BRMC had not been queried about this before, McBride did not have accurate estimates. He did not want to provide meaningless estimates. However, he is willing to provide an estimate.

The cross examination continues. The NVRPA had already presented their pitch. Now its the PWCPA’s turn. PWCPA offers public ownership in perpetuity. That is their selling point. The PWCPA’s representative makes promises. He blithely assumes the money will be there. And he offers the endorsement of a group of horsemen (He fails to mention how much hikers like walking around horse pies.). Maureen Caddigan makes it clear that there are no parks in her district, and she is not interest in spending hundreds of thousands every year on Silver Lake. Where is the BOCS going to get the money for the PWCPA. Stewart has similar concerns.

Unfortunately, it is 9 PM; sleep beckons.

The BOCS is taking the BRMC’s offer seriously. What will they decide? Will the BOCS trust a group of volunteers outside their control? I do not know. I hope the BOCS makes the right decision. My guess we are talking about a close vote.

Fortunately, the public has been talking about this issue. Here we have an interesting article from the Examiner. In addition, ANTI-BVBL has broadened its horizons by talking about this issue here.

Well, it looks like the Prince William Board of County Supervisors will try to make a decision on the Silver Lake Recreational Area again. I got this from the Bull Run Mountains Conservancy.

This coming Tuesday the Prince William County Board of Supervisors plans to make their decision on the stewardship of the Silver Lake property. We feel we’ve made a great case for BRMC’s proposal, with the additional land we can add to the property, our ability to provide resources soon and at no cost to taxpayers, and our commitment to passive recreational use. But the decision could still go either way, and we need your support. Please join us at the meeting on Tuesday evening, April 8^th, at 7:30 p.m. in the McCoart building in the country government complex (directions at www.pwcgov.org ). It isn’t even necessary to speak at the meeting – just being there to show the citizens’ support for our proposal can make a huge difference.

Thanks for your continuing support!

Michael J. Kieffer
Executive Director
Bull Run Mountains Conservancy

P.O. Box 210

Broad Run, VA 20137

703-753-2631

mk@brmconservancy.org

The Prince William Conservation Alliance has the details here. Here are some photos of Silver Lake.

Here is an announcement (email I just received) from the Bull Run Mountains Conservancy’s Executive Director, Michael J. Kieffer.

The Prince William County Board of Supervisors has decided to defer action on the Silver Lake proposals pending finalization of the county’s Parks and Open Space policy, which has an indeterminate schedule. Therefore tomorrow evening’s Board of Supervisors meeting will not address Silver Lake.

We feel that there is no reason to defer a Silver Lake decision until such time as the Parks and Open Space policy is finalized. It is not clear when that finalization will occur, and meanwhile the property will continue to be neglected and its benefit to citizens will be further delayed.

We encourage you to contact your supervisors and the media to share this concern and urge them to act now on Silver Lake. If you are planning to attend the Board of Supervisors meeting tomorrow night (7:30 p.m. at the McCoart Building), you can provide input to the Board on this issue during Citizens’ Time. We thank you for your continued support, and will keep you posted.

Michael J. Kieffer
Executive Director
Bull Run Mountains Conservancy
P.O. Box 210
Broad Run, VA 20137
703-753-2631
mk@brmconservancy.org

Here is an email I received from the Bull Run Mountains Conservancy.

Dear Friends of the Bull Run Mountains,

 

Now that the elections are over, the Board of Supervisors will return to the issue of the ownership and management of the Silver Lake property. A meeting for citizen comment is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 20, at 7:30 in the McCoart building in Woodbridge. Your support has made a huge difference in getting us this far, and it’s vital that that support continue. The decision could still go either way. BRMC’s proposal will double the size of the park, focus on passive recreational uses, and provide citizen access to the park by next summer. The alternative will not have the additional 268 acres of land that BRMC can provide, it will need to have more commercial activity to provide operating funds, and it’s availability date is up in the air.

 

 

You can help by emailing the county supervisors at: cstewart@pwcgov.org,hbarg@pwcgov.org,mcmay@pwcgov.org,jjenkins@pwcgov.org,

jstirrup@pwcgov.org,mnohe@pwcgov.org,wcovington@pwcgov.org, mcaddigan@pwcgov.org and by writing letters to the editors of local publications. Please let your supervisors know that you prefer the benefits of BRMC’s proposal and that you are confident in BRMC’s ability to be good stewards of this beautiful property.

 

Also, we’d like to make you aware of another relevant meeting next Tuesday, Nov. 13, from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m., also at the McCoart Building. This is a partner meeting of the Prince William Conservation Alliance to discuss open space and Silver Lake. The public is invited to participate and provide community input.

 

 

Sincerely,

Michael J. Kieffer
Executive Director
Bull Run Mountains Conservancy