The Occoquan Visitors Center is set to close August 2.
The tiny office on Mill Street in Occoquan has served travelers and tourists looking to get more information on the town, and about things to see and do in surrounding Prince William County since 1999.
Budget cuts at Discover Prince William / Manassas — the county agency responsible for keeping open the center — have forced its closure.
Discover has a budget shortfall of $200,000 this year.
“Because of that, we have to make some of these tough budget decisions,” said Discover Prince William / Manassas Director Ann Marie Maher.
One part-time employee and one contracted employee are expected to lose their jobs when the center closes. Maher’s team at Discover Prince William / Manassas this year will also forgo traveling to four conferences over the next year where they would meet with group tour operators to in an effort lure business back to the county. Employee raises, and updates to the agency’s website are also on hold.
The Occoquan Visitors Center may have cost $45,000 annual to operate. That’s down from the old cost of $78,000, before the center began using volunteers as staff.
The brings in an average 20,000 visitors to the tiny town per year, according to Maher. Occoquan’s shop owners need that foot traffic. Many travelers on nearby Interstate 95 would stop in at the center to use the restroom, and would stay longer to eat or shop in Occoquan before getting back on the road, said Maher.
More than 30 shop owners came to a recent meeting of the Occoquan Town Council to protest the closing, stated Occoquan Town Manager Kirstyn Barr Jovanovich. She sent a letter to Prince William County Occoquan District Supervisor Mike May stating the town could not afford to absorb the operating cost of the center, and noted the center’s value to the town and region.
Former Occoquan Mayor Earnie Porta was asked by a town official to consider operating sightseeing shuttle service from the visitors center to keep the doors open.
“I told them I was open to considering the idea, but that’s basically where we left things. I don’t know the current status of the town’s plans,” stated Porta.
Maher, who attended a recent Occoquan Town Council meeting, said officials discussed the possibility that Porta could run his business from the site, as well as continue to make available the many tourism brochures and handouts that are currently available in the visitors center.
A committee of Occoquan business owners, visitor center volunteers, and elected officials will provide an update to Town Council during their regular meeting on July 7, 2015 at Occoquan Town Hall.
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