Board rejects Park Authority, BRMC on Silver Lake
By Dan Roem
On Tuesday night, the Board of County Supervisors rejected competing proposals from both the Park Authority and the Bull Run Mountain Conservancy that would have allowed one of them to acquire the pristine 233-acre Silver Lake property in Haymarket.Separate motions to carry the proposals failed with three supervisors approving and five dissenting on each vote.
Supervisors John Stirrup (R-Gainesville), John Jenkins (D-Neabsco) and chairman Corey Stewart (R-At large) supported the Park Authority and rejected the BRMC.
The BRMC proposal was supported by Marty Nohe (R-Coles), Maureen Caddigan (R-Dumfries) and Mike May (R-Occoquan), though all rejected the Park Authority.
Supervisors Wally Covington (R-Brentsville) and Frank Principi (D-Woodbridge) voted against both.
As for the proposal from the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority, forget about it; the board paid the NVRPA little more than lip service in not even voting on its offer.
“What we need is some leadership here,” said Principi.
Principi and others bemoaned the fact that the Park Authority and BRMC could not forge a compromise of some sort after more than a year of wrangling.
The Woodbridge supervisor eventually asked County Executive Craig Gerhardt to act as a mediator of sorts so some solution could be hashed out between the two groups.
But with supervisors having yet to settle on a tax rate, let alone a budget, the county executive already has his hands full for the next two weeks.
“If you give me a budget, I'll give you a meeting,” Gerhardt said to a chorus of laughs.
BRMC
For the Bull Run Mountain Conservancy's proposal, the supervisors tended to agree there were two main positives:
• It would not cost taxpayers anything at a time when the county is in the midst of a major budget crunch.
• An anonymous donor would attach an adjoining 268-acre parcel to the property, thus expanding the conservation area to 501 acres.
However, there was one catch: The BMRC is a private group, meaning once the government gave up control of the $4 million-plus land, it would be trusted to a non-governmental entity.
“I don't believe anyone here has met the test to move this jewel out of the public domain,” said Stirrup.
His statement directly clashed with that of Supervisor Marty Nohe, who reckoned that the private sector handling such a piece of land is not a bad idea.
“It's such a great feeling to be the guy in the room saying 'less government,'” Nohe said.
Caddigan called her support of the non-profit group's bid a “no-brainer” because of the extra land donation and the zero-sum cost to the county.
Near the end of deliberations, BRMC Executive Director Michael Kieffer instructed his lawyer to reject a long-term lease proposal from Chairman Stewart on the grounds it would hurt fundraising if the group just managed the property instead of owning it outright. That effectively sealed the BRMC's fate.
“And there you see the beginning of the problems you're going to have with the Conservancy,” said Jenkins.
Park Authority
The Park Authority lost out for one simple reason: money.
It would cost taxpayers roughly $50,000 to fund costs related to Silver Lake in the first year if the government-run agency maintained all 233 acres of the land. After that, the cost would jump to more than $200,000 annually.
“One thing that concerns me here is, yes, we're in a budget crisis,” Stewart said.
“I would love to give this to the Park Authority,” May said.
A thin budget makes such a transfer potentially too expensive for the government to handle. So, according to May, the board would “almost be better off deferring the decision” until after it decides on a budget.
Covington agreed.
“I would like to see this go through the budget process,” said the Brentsville District supervisor.
Public voices
Those who spoke in favor of the Park Authority during citizen's time were mainly horse enthusiasts and those with ties directly related to the Park Authority.
Haymarket resident Scott Helberg, the vice president of the Nokesville Horse Society, said his group already helps maintain trails at three parks operated by the Park Authority and would be willing to work with the agency at Silver Lake.
Privately, he conferred to a man standing near him after his speech that his biggest problem with the BRMC is that the land it currently controls does not allow horse-related activities.
Equestrian groups have brought up that issue directly to the Conservancy since the BRMC first introduced its Silver Lake proposal. Basically, the horse enthusiasts want trails at Silver Lake to be open for riding.
Conservancy officially generally counter they cannot allow horseback riding at their 800-acre Bull Run Mountain property because of state environmental regulations.
The BRMC has said it plans to allow horseback riding at Silver Lake, though.
But the Park Authority has a record of working with horse groups. The BRMC does not. So, the Park Authority gets riders' support.
One key Park Authority ally defected to the BMRC: the Prince William Conservation Alliance.
“[The] Park Authority already has land in its inventory which it can't open to the public,” said alliance-member Neil Nelson. He noted the alternative proposal is “fiscally conservative” and doubles the land area.
For now, the supervisors will most likely delay further consideration of Silver Lake until they have set a tax rate and introduced a budget.
Principi said he hoped BMRC and the Park Authority would get together “and provide Prince William County residents with the best of both departments.”