Manassas residents will see higher tax bills in the coming year.
The Manassas City Council on Monday approved its annual $253 million budget that will be funded by a $1.46 per $100 of the assessed property value Real Estate tax.
The rate is two cents lower than last year's rate, however, due to a nearly 7% increase assessed property values in the city, the average resident will see a $4,295 property tax bill -- about $220 more than the previous year.
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The unemployment rate in Manassas has skyrocketed to 13% in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, and long-awaited stimulus money from the Federal Government has yet to arrive.
In January and February, the city's unemployment rates were 2.8% and 2.5%, respectively, according to the Virginia Employment Commission. The city had just come off a "banner year," with new businesses opening and existing businesses expanding or relocating to the city.
"For the filing week ending May 2, the figure for seasonally unadjusted initial claims in Virginia was 59,631. The latest claims figure was a decrease of 12,857 claimants from the previous week. Though the 17.7% decline indicates that the volume of initial claims has retreated from its recent peak, it may not return to pre-pandemic levels for some time," the Virignia Employment Commssion states in a press release.
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It's looking like Manassas City will have a female mayor for the first time in its 147-year history.
Mayor Hal Parrish II announced his retirement at a small gathering at Okras restaurant in Downtown Manassas in February. It came as a surprise to many, as he's served as mayor since 2008, and has been on the city council since 1993.
As Parrish departs, he's leaving the city in a similar economic climate that mirrors the financial crisis of 2008, when he won his mayoral job. After a banner economic year for the city, unemployment in the city has skyrocketed to 13% -- levels seen during the Great Depression of the 1930s -- following the pandemic.
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Manassas leaders are asking themselves if they can do more when it comes to bailing out business owners affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
At a city council meeting Tuesday night, leaders suggested taping the city’s $18 million rainy day fund in order to provide relief to businesses. The reserve represents 15% of the city's general revenue budget and is to be used for emergencies.
The discussion comes as the city has already done things such as provide $60,000 in grant funding, as well as designate special parking spaces for restaurant customers picking up carry-out orders.
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A candidate for Manassas City Council teamed up with Miss Virginia to bring hot meals to a city trailer park.
Miss Virginia United States 2020 Katelyn Page joined Helen Zurita, a community activist turned city council candidate, at the East End Mobile Home Park on Route 28 where they donated 150 hot meals to residents.
“Currently I have a list of 400 families who are in need of food. Thanks to the Prince William Food Rescue, and Bombay Cafe in Fairfax, I am able to help meet their needs,” said Zurita.
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Hospitals in Prince William County and Manassas won't be affected by a new round of cuts and furloughs announced by the UVA Health System.
The healthcare provider announced that it is taking actions to mitigate $85 million per month in losses it has experienced. Those losses come after a state-imposed lockdown and Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam's ban on elective medical procedures in the wake of the coronavirus.
The two hospitals in our area that are apart of the UVA Health network, however, aren't' affected by the cuts.
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Manassas Park is moving forward with plans for its own library and voted Tuesday to approve the Library Strategic Plan and Policies.
City Manager Laszlo Palko addressed the council members briefly before they had a brief discussion and a final vote.
The Library's Strategic Plan is a document of goals and strategies for the next five years.
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Dina Qureshi, a 26-year old engineer with Dominion Energy, bought a sewing machine.
For months, it sat unused -- until now.
Qureshi, of Ashburn, had never sowed anything. She wanted to learn because it had always been a dream of hers to make herself a dress.
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The coronavirus outbreak has Manassas leaders predicting some changes to the city’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2021.
Manassas City Manager Patrick Pate said that a decline in tax revenues, particularly the meals tax, will leave less for the city to spend in the coming fiscal year which begins July 1. Many restaurants have either had to close or pivot their business models, like offering curbside or delivery service only.
And, because meals tax payments have been delayed until June 20, the city won’t see the impacts on the lower tax revenues until later in the Fiscal Year 2021.
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Zandra’s, like many other restaurants, has a large kitchen.
But due to the coronavirus outbreak that has forced the closure of many dining rooms in the area and around the state, the kitchen has seen little use these past few weeks.
So, Zandra’s owner Miguel Pires he and his landlord, Sean Landry, teamed up to put his kitchen equipment to use, by cooking food and donating it to Prince William Food Rescue. There, the food is turned into gourmet meals for the hungry in our area.
Zandra’s Kitchen, located inside the old Gainesville Elementary in Haymarket, also known as Pace West, is the inspiration for the name of the project he is calling “Old School Kitchen.”
The original school kitchen had been remodeled and renovated as part of the process to be a production facility for Zandra’s, which also has locations in Manassas and Fairfax cities. But for now, Pires says he doesn’t need it.
Instead, he and Landry saw people who needed food in the area and put their heads together to solve the problem Pires launched a GoFundMe to raise funds for the project. While Pires will be paying a few people who peel potatoes and make rice, he said that the chefs are all volunteers.
The first is Jules Foeaman, a chef who operates Jules Caribbean Barbecue, a food truck in Leesburg. Foeaman has spent his time in the Haymarket kitchen smoking chicken and pork butts. Along with the food that’s been donated, they buy basic things like pasta, rice, and olive oil. These special ingredients to turn their food into gourmet meals.
 “My thought is to bring in different people,” Pires said, explaining that their goal is to work with people in the community to come and whip up their own personal recipes.
Pires said that he was inspired to spin up his charitable efforts by another local business owner, Sharita Rouse, of Tummy Yum Yum, a gourmet candy apple store in Downtown Manassas. From her apple stand at 9119 Church Street, she has been feeding 150 people a day.
When Pires heard about this, he said, “We could do that with our crew.” Now, Old School Kitchen will make meals and deliver them to Rouse, who will distribute the food.
Pires said that they will start with Rouse, but as the word gets out they will find other non-profits and other food kitchens who can use the meals.
Pires said the best way to help them is by donating. He noted that a $10 donation makes roughly ten meals.
There’s also the challenge of getting people to sign up to be volunteers for Prince William Food Rescue, who will deliver the food.
Taking the ingredients and turning them into fully-prepared meals is essential for some who don’t have the ability or knowhow to cook.
“They’re the poorest of the poor,” Pires said. “If you give them a case of lettuce, they’re just eating lettuce. “So, by preparing the actual meals it is “putting something to good use,” said Pires.
An official launch date for the “Old School Kitchen” was slated for Monday, April 13.
The Old School Kitchen comes as the Prince William County Government is working with multiple food kitchens to feed residents in the wake of the coronavirus spread. Didlake, an organization that works with people with disabilities, donated their warehouse on Breeden Avenue in Manassas that will serve as a headquarters for the food distribution in the community.
According to a county press release posted to its website:
“Born out of the desire to help those in need, Prince William County partnered with Action in the Community Through Service (ACTS), the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park and the Prince William County Community Foundation to establish the Community Feeding Taskforce — a scalable, flexible, long-term feeding operation put in place to make sure Prince William County residents who need food receive it during the COVID-19 pandemic.
ACTS Development Director Aaron Tolson said ACTS has been working with Prince William County’s Emergency Management Office and other partners to build a hub-and-spoke distribution system to match the food supply to the need in the community.”
To volunteer with the Community Feeding Taskforce, download the Prince William Food Rescue app or register with Volunteer Prince William.
To donate food, please donate to either a local food pantry or call ACTS at 703-441-8606, extension 251 to coordinate a drop off time.
