City leaders on Monday night authorized the city manager to install up to 10 cameras at problem intersections in the city where drivers are known to run red lights.

Officials have not said where or when the new cameras will be installed. “Our goal here is to reduce driver behavior at the most troubled intersections,” said Manassas Police Chief Douglas Keen said.

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2nd Amendment rights advocates filled the Manassas City Council Chambers urging city leaders to send a message to Richmond lawmakers — protect their rights to bear arms.

“Extreme gun control bills in Richmond are attempts to intimidate Virginia citizens,” Kevin Leigh told city council members.

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As both Manassas and Manassas Park talk about exiting the Prince William County Public Library System, changes are coming to the library residents of these cities use most.

Central Library, located at 8601 Mathis Avenue in Manassas, will close Jan. 15, 2020 for renovations. When it reopens in June, it will be the home to the Ruth E. Loyd Information Center (RELIC), a center devoted to genealogy and Prince William County history.

RELIC will move from the nearby Bull Run Library on Ashton Avenue to Central, where a reading room named for Loyd — who, in 1952, pushed for further development in Virginia’s public library systems.

“I will be losing some positions with the change at Central, and it’s kind of a win-win because it strengthens Central in its new format…” Prince William County Public Library Director Deborah Wright told the county’s Library Trustee Board at its December 5 meeting.

RELIC will take up about 3,000 square feet in the 22,000-square-foot Central Library. There was some surprise among the Trustee Board that Central had adequate space enough to accommodate the research center.

The rear of the Central Library will be used for additional storage space, which is needed within the system, as new libraries, like the one in Montclair that opened in 2015, were built without enough adequate storage space, Wright told the Trustees.

The Trustees were asked to vote on the temporary closure of Central, and they passed the resolution unanimously. However, the Prince William County Government posted a press release to its website on Monday, Nov. 18 outlining the closure and planned renovations before the Trustees voted on the measure.

A new makerspace is likely to replace RELIC at Bull Run Libary. Traditionally, these collaborative spaces allow people to use high-tech tools like 3-D printers, or no-tech tools like soldering irons to creating objects or products.

Central Library is the closest to Manassas and Manassas Park and is the location most used by residents of those two cities. The current library agreement allows residents of those cities to use any Prince William Public Library Branch.

Central Library users are encouraged to use other branches during Central’s six-month closure.

Manassas City is looking into the possibility of opening a new library in the Wellington Shopping Center, at the intersection of Wellington and Dumfries roads and outsourcing the operation of the library to a private firm.

Potomac Local has learned that some who sit on the city council would like to renegotiate the existing shared-services agreement between the city and the county library, which expires on June 30, 2020.

The Manassas City Council has urged the General Assembly to support gun safety legislation including:

• Initiatives to improve enforcement of existing laws and defend against efforts to weaken them;
• “Red flag” legislation, while preserving due process, to properly allow an appropriate court to temporarily limit an individual’s access to firearms when they have deemed to be a threat to themselves or others;
• Eliminate potential background check loopholes by requiring background checks for all gun purchases through a Federal Firearms License
• Support laws to limit child access to firearms to reduce adolescent suicides and accidental adolescent shootings.

At a city council meeting on November 25, Councilman Mark Wolfe motioned for the resolution and Vice Mayor Pamela Sebesky seconded it. All members except voted yes, except Councilwoman Theresa Coates Ellis, who abstained from the vote.

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A pair of bald eagles have nested in Manassas for years. 

Now, a documentary about the birds seeks to draw attention to the birds and the possible threat to their habitat as new houses and a hotel are going up on the city’s last piece of developable land: the Landing at Cannon Branch at Godwin Drive and Gateway Boulevard.

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Residents expressed their ideas about what to do with a historic home, Annaburg Manor. 

• The former nursing home was purchased by the city earlier this year, and now officials need to do something with not only the 127-year-old house that sits on the site but also the surrounding land.

Members of the city council have speculated it could become a park due to its location close to downtown.

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City leaders envision a large retailer to be the anchor of its long-talked-about City Center development.

 A joint public hearing held on November 6 was the first step in amending the city’s Comprehensive Plan, and officials hoping this clears the way to landing their dream store. 

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The Park joins Manassas City, as both are exploring the option of opening its own libraries.

In June 2019, the Park voted to let the current Prince William County Library agreement expire and to negotiate a new one.

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A new ABC permit allows those attending the city’s monthly First Friday events to walk around and visit the shops downtown with cups of alcohol in hand.

• The booze must have been purchased at a participating restaurant in and cup with the restaurant’s logo.
• The very first First Friday on with alcohol held in September drew about 7,000 visitors.
• That’s about 6,000 more visitors than an average First Friday event.

Why it matters: That record-breaking attendance is what is driving up the cost of security

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