On May 23, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. there will be the first annual Woodbridge Food Truck Festival at Gar-Field Senior High School on Smoketown Road.
The festival will feature local vendors, and some of the areaâs best food trucks, said a release.
The event is free for all residents, and there will be food and drinks available to purchase on site.
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During last nightâs Prince William Board of County Supervisorâs meeting, a majority of the supervisors voted to adopt the advertised tax rate â $1.122 per $100 of assessed property value â as well as the fiscal year 2016 budget for the county.
This comes after a decision late last year to reconsider the 4% tax increase stated in the countyâs five-year plan, and an initial budget draft presented earlier this year by County Executive Melissa Peacor that used a 1.3% tax increase.
In March, the board of supervisors announced their tax ceiling rate at 3.88%, which they could go under, but not above, with the final tax rate.
In a 6-2 vote, the board passed the residential real estate tax rate â which includes the 3.88% tax increase â at $1.122 of every $100 in assessed property value.
Chairman At-Large Corey Stewart and Supervisors Nohe, Jenkins, May, Caddigan and Principi all voted in favor of the tax rate. Supervisors Candland and Lawson were opposed.
âAlthough there are some very good things in the budget â some very good programs â and Supervisor Lawson and I were happy to play a part in getting some of those programs into the budget, we had also proposed over $14 million in savings, that would help relieve the tax burden on the taxpayers in the county. And unfortunately, none of those suggested savings were passed by the board. So I felt that it still contained too much spending, and toward an impending trajectory that I believe is just unsustainable â thatâs going to require continued large tax increases to support,â said Candland.
Last week, Supervisors Candland and Lawson announced their own budget draft, which would have included only a 2.5% tax increase â and would have required around $14.6 million in budget cuts.
Betty Dean, a leader in the community group Our Prince William had mixed feelings at the end of the budget adoption last night.
âIf Our Prince William were to craft a budget, the budget that would have been passed would have been different than the one that passed last night. But having said that, the one that was passed last nightâŠtakes some really positive steps toward continuing to keep us in the path that the citizenâs have envisioned in their five-year plan. What I really wouldâve liked to have seen happen is a unanimous vote â and I say that because while the budget wasnât everything I wanted, and it also wasnât everything that Supervisors Candland and Lawson wanted â it certainly had a lot of things in there that they worked hard to put in there,â said Dean.
Additionally, following a straw vote that took place last week, the board decided to finalize the $1 million grant to be given to Prince William County Public Schools as part of a class size reduction program introduced by Supervisors Candland and Lawson.
In order for the school system to access those funds, they would need to ensure that they would be used solely for class size reduction, and provide a $1 million match in funds, that would come from their school budget.
The original class size reduction program introduced allotted $2 million to the schools, and did not have a matching component.
Supervisor Principi suggested the $1 million and school matching in the board meeting last week.
âThis is probably the most important issue that both elected boards are facing right now,â said Principi.
On Thursday evening, the Office of the Commonwealthâs Attorney and the Victim/Witness Assistance program will be honoring the first recipient of the âMolly Gill Awardâ in Stafford.
Molly Gilly was a 15-year old girl that was involved in a horrific drunk driving accident in 1995 in Stafford.
Jeff Jones, a 17-year old man â the driver of the car â was leaving his sisterâs wedding, while intoxicated, said Commonwealth Attorney Eric Olsen.
According to Olsen, Jones was driving on Brooke Road and crashed and flipped the car several times, killing his girlfriend and young sister.
The accident also left Gill with a severe spinal cord injury that made her quadriplegic, said Olsen.
âI got to meet and get to know Molly Gill, and I was always impressed with how this young girl rose above what happened to herâŠshe decided she was going to be a survivor, and not a victim,â said Olsen.
Jones was later tried as an adult on two counts of vehicular manslaughter, and was convicted.
Gill died a few years after the accident, during a surgery related to her injuries.
In order to commemorate Gill, and honor crime victim survivors in Stafford County, the âMolly Gill Awardâ will be given once each year to a crime victim that exemplifies resiliency and courage.
â[Previously] we didnât have any way of recognizing [Mollyâs resilience] other than in a personal way every day with our victimsâŠit occurred to me that it was time to have public recognition for that type of resilience and perseverance,â said Olsen.
This year, the award will be given at the Stafford County Board of Supervisors chambers on Courthouse Road from 6:15 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Additionally, Stafford will celebrate National Crime Victimâs Rights Week every year.
According to Gillâs father â Tom Gill â their family appreciates the gesture of naming the award after Molly.
âWe feel very fortunate, and we also are honored to have Mr. Olsen make the decision to [name the award after] Molly and it was a very nice gesture,â said Gill.
Tracy Conroy, a registered nurse and small business owner, has announced her candidacy for the Prince William County School Board Chair seat.
The incumbent for the seat is Milt Johns, who has decided not to run for reelection. Conroy will face Ryan Swayers and Tim Singstock in a three-way run for the seat.
Conroy is a graduate with her Bachelorâs from the University of Philadelphia and is currently a nurse for an infusion therapy company based out of North Carolina.
She has worked with county school PTO groups and has been a member of the Prince William County Committee of 100, but Conroy is most well known in the county for her leadership role within the âOur Schoolsâ blog. The blog speaks about several school related issue in the county and calls for transparency in school decisions.
Conroy stated that her experience with âOur Schoolsâ has primed her to become chair of the school board.
âMy son had an IEP when he was two, so my involvement in schools started by seeing what I could do to help my sonâŠ[we wanted] to talk about the schools, have conversations, reveal âsunshineâ â because often we didnât know what was going on with the schools. In my opinion, the role of the chairperson is to represent all of the county. Iâve been able to hear so many voices, that I would not have heard without âOur SchoolsââŠI feel that âOur Schoolsâ has given me a greater understanding of that role,â Conroy said.
During her campaign, Conroy is seeking to address transparency in decision-making, special education funding and reducing class size.
âThe needs of our special education students weigh really heavily on my mind. We really need to fund these students at a level that is necessary â just like all students â because we arenât funding the students at the level that we need to be,â said Conroy.
Conroy lives with her husband and two sons in Bristow.
Starting this month, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) will begin construction on a $5.2 million dollar project that will provide pavement and safety improvements along Route 218.
The construction will take place on a 20-mile stretch of Route 218, and will include King George and Stafford counties.
The route has fairly high traffic volume, with about 5,000 vehicles driving on it every day, said VDOT.
VDOT stated that drivers in the area may see some increased congestion, as Route 218 will be reduced to only one lane from Mondays through Fridays â between dawn and dusk.
There will be no lane closures west of Route 301 during peak travel times, to prevent severe congestion, said a VDOT release.
According to a VDOT release, some of the cost for the project was paid for using federal Highway Safety Improvement Program funding â money used to reduce highway crashes.
As part of the project, VDOT stated that they would be constructing new pavement markings, upgraded and new guardrails, sign upgrades, tree removal, and minor shoulder widening.
The company in charge of constructing the road improvements is Superior Paving, based out of Gainesville.
Construction is slated for completion in December 2015.
The Prince William County Board of Supervisors will approve the final budget and tax rate tomorrow, April 21, at their regularly scheduled meeting.
The approved budget will now include $1 million allocated specifically for reducing class sizes in Prince William County Public Schools.
As the budget period for the Prince William County Board of Supervisors comes to a close, Supervisors Candland and Lawson took the opportunity to speak on their own budget draft with a 2.5% tax increase. In March, the board announced their advertised ceiling tax rate increase of 3.88%, and the difference between the 2.5% and the 3.88% is about $14.6 million.
Budget draft to address school overcrowding
Lawson and Candland stated their draft of the 2016 budget is focused on a plan to address overcrowding in county public schools.
The budget draft would invest county funds into reducing class sizes over the next five years, drawing funding from the Recordation Tax revenue. Under the original proposal given by Candland and Lawson, the board would invest $30 million over the 5-year period, starting with $2 million in 2016. The board decided to halve this amount â giving $1 million â and requiring the school board to match the funds.
Virginia charges a tax on the recordation of deeds, deeds of trust, mortgages, leases, and contracts, which provide the funding source Candland referenced. Currently, the Recordation Tax in the countyâs budget goes toward paying for transportation projects and other small line items in the budget, stated a release. Read More
Tim Ciampaglio, a retired United States Coast Guard commander, and small business owner has announced his campaign for the 2nd House district delegate seat.
Delegate Michael Futrell, who is the incumbent, will not be seeking re-election for the seat.
Ciampaglio is running against former delegate Mark Dudenhefer in the June 9 Republican primary. If Ciampaglio wins the primary, he will face Democratic candidate Rod Hall for the delegate seat.
Ciampaglio holds a Masterâs degree from Carnegie Mellon and has worked as a professor with the Coast Guard and The George Washington University. He currently owns and operates a consulting firm.
Within the community, Ciampaglio previously served as the president of the Virginia Small Business Partnership, as well as a volunteer at the St. Francis of Assisi church.
During his candidacy, Ciampaglio wants to address the current tax burden, government transparency and efficiency, and halting taxation on military retirement pensions.
Ciampaglio stated that he would sign a pledge to not raise taxes for Virginia residents.
âThe tax burden on businesses and the tax burden on people is way too highâŠ[Iâm] going to sign a pledgeâŠthat I will not raise taxes and I wonât introduce new taxes. We need to level it off and stop it. And then we can look, and if we need more money, we can increase the tax base â not the tax rate,â Ciampaglio said.
He also stated that government agencies needed a push to be more transparent, and to run more efficiently.
â[Government] agencies should be held accountable for a return on investment. Give us transparent measures, show us that return on investment, and show us that youâre deriving peak efficiencyâŠmy thought is that I can bring that capability down to Richmond and spread it across the state government agencies,â Ciampaglio commented.
When asked about his motivation to run for delegate, Ciampaglio stated that he thinks his skills are suited to the current needs of Virginia.
âIâm not looking for a career in politics. I feel like a person, in a place, in a time where my skills are needed, and Iâm stepping up to the plate. And if the people think my skills can be used to better their lives in Virginia, then Iâm willing to go do the job,â Ciampaglio said.
Ciampaglio lives in Stafford County with his wife and two sons.
Manassas City Public Schools (MCPS) will be taking registrations for incoming kindergartners for the 2015-2016 school year starting April 28.
The registration period will run from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on April 28, and continue April 29 from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. according to a MCPS school release.
Parents can register their child at any of the elementary school locations in Manassas City during the registration period, and should select the school that they plan to have their child to attend.
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Fallas Discount Stores, an off-price retail chain, has opened a new location in the Prince William Square Shopping Center, across from Potomac Mills Mall.
According to their website, the store chain was established in 1962 in Los Angeles, and now currently has more than 200 locations in the United States.
