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The Manassas Park governing body has approved its fiscal year 2021 budget that maintains all taxes and fees at the same rate as last year.

The real estate tax rate is $1.55 per $100 assessed value. If a resident’s home has an assessed value of $250,000, they can expect to pay a real estate tax bill of $3,875.

Manassas Park’s total budget for the fiscal year 2021 is just over $97 million. 

The city’s general fund accounts for about $51 million of the total budget, down 2.6% from the last fiscal year.

The reduction of the budget comes from spending cuts to transportation, park trails, and technology.

Manassas Park schools will be receiving $46 million, 2.5% more than last fiscal year. This accounts for the majority of the remaining budget.

All full-time city employees were slated to get a 2% pay raise in accordance with a pay raise strategy implemented back in the fiscal year 2019. Due to the coronavirus, the 2021 budget does not include the planned raise.

However, the budget model including the 2% raise is available in City Manager Laszlo Palko’s budget book:

“The reason why we present the 2% model for the governing body in this book is that as the economy recovers, city staff would like to eventually implement these budget changes- either in FY 21 with a budget amendment or in FY 22 depending on the economic realities,” said Palko in the city document.

The city has also adopted a long-term strategy to reduce taxes from 2025 onward once fund reserves have reached the required levels.

Manassas Park will be using the rest of the $1.5 million it received from the CARES Act during this fiscal year.

On Tuesday, May 19, the governing body decided to split this funding between the following eight projects:

1. Reimbursing the city’s payment to Parks & Rec staff
2. Supporting small businesses
3. Rent and utility support to people unemployed due to the coronavirus
4. Employee support
5. Technology enhancements
6. Additional coronavirus workforce
7. Personal protective equipment and testing kits
8. Cleaning support

Angela “Angie” Denise Reaves was received into the arms of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ on June 27, 2020 in Woodbridge, Virginia, at the age of 62. She died unexpectedly as a result of COVID-19 related complications. Angie contracted the virus while doing the job she loved – caring for those who could not care for themselves.

Angie is survived by her son Merritt Johnson, her granddaughter Wynta, grandson Major, great-grandchildren Aayden and Marquis Jr. (MJ); parents Ernest and Ann Austin; brothers Eric, John, and Kenneth; and sisters JoAnne, Bertha, Dorothy, and Lisa.

Along with her immediate relatives, she is survived by a host of family, friends, loved ones, and her beloved companion (dog), Raven.

She is preceded in death by her birth father, John (June) Johnson.

Angie was born on January 19, 1958 in Washington, D.C. to Wallace Ann Hinton and John Johnson. She graduated from T.C. Williams High School in 1976. After many years building a reputation for dedication and excellence in various positions, she found her greatest purpose and passion caring for adults living in group homes with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She lovingly referred to her charges as “my individuals”. She was Assistant Program Manager at the Arc of Greater Prince William County from 2008-2020.

Those close to her will never forget how her infectious laugh could fill a room of any size; how she would sing and dance to her favorite songs with abandon; how she enjoyed opening her home for family barbecues (especially on the fourth of July), the way she lived her life unapologetically and with confidence, and how she would spoil Raven with her attention and care.

When you see a cardinal flash its vibrant red, or take in the exquisite shades of the ocean, think of her and smile. Remember her in her humanity. Maya Angelou stated it best: “We are all spiritual beings having a human experience.” The family celebrates her human experience, and the unforgettable ways in which Angie impacted their lives. Her personality, quirks, faults, and strengths will always be with them.

A private family memorial service is scheduled for July 8, 2020 at Mountcastle Turch Life Celebration Home at 4143 Dale Blvd, Woodbridge, VA 22193 from 4:00-5:00 PM. The public is welcome to pay their respects from 5:30 – 8:00 PM. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and out of deepest concern for the health and safety of all, the family asks that all attendees wear a mask unless medically unable to do so, and maintain social distancing at all times.

In honor of Angie’s favorite color and to celebrate her love of the ocean, memorial attendees are encouraged to wear shades of blue.

Angie was generous with “her individuals”, and would often buy gifts and non-essentials for those living in group homes who were less fortunate. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to The Arc of Greater Prince William/Insight in her name.

 

The memorial will be filmed to allow those unable to physically attend to participate in celebrating her memory. The family will provide details for accessing the video prior to the service.

Stafford County fire and rescue crews were called to a house fire on July 4.

Flames engulfed home at 57 Dorothy Lane at 5:46 p.m. in North Stafford. Crews arrived to find fire showing from the rear of the house, extending through the roof.

The fire was brought under control in about 20 minutes. Three occupants were home at the time of the fire, and they were able to get out safely.

No one was injured. Houses on both sides of the burning home sustained damage from radiant heat, said county fire chief Joseph Cardello. The fire appears to have started in a grill on the deck, he added.

The three adult occupants displaced by the fire were assisted by the American Red Cross.

The body of a Herndon man who went missing while swimming in the Potomac River was recovered over the weekend.

Prince William police tell us:

Death Investigation | Drowning – On July 3rd at 7:49PM, officers responded to Leesylvania State Park in Woodbridge (22191) to assist the Department of Game & Inland Fisheries with a missing person. The investigation revealed that the missing person, identified as a 32-year-old man off Herndon, was last seen swimming at the park. The area in and around the park was searched with negative results.

Assistance from Prince William Fire & Rescue, Fairfax County, the Coast Guard, and Charles County Maryland responded to aid with the search of the water. Search efforts continued throughout the night. At approximately 10:00AM on July 4, members from the Prince William County Police Underwater Search & Rescue Team located the person deceased in the water. The deceased was positively identified as the missing person from the previous night. No foul play is suspected at this time.

Identified:

The deceased was identified as Nasir Ahmad MALUKAZAI, 32, of Herndon

Atlantic Builders gives a sum of money to Germanna College in effort to help financially struggling families have better homes and improve education.

Last year, Atlantic Builders had such a great experience working with Germanna Community College, that the Atlantic Team has once again chosen Germanna to be the recipient of its annual Charity House Gift. It’s the fourth year in a row that Atlantic Builders has completed a home benefitting a local charity.

In these projects, trade partners and suppliers donate materials and labor at a reduced cost, or in many instances, for free. This year’s charity home will be built in the Avalon Woods community of single-family homes located in Spotsylvania County.

One hundred percent of the profit from the sale of the home will fund the donation. Last year, the total donation given to the Germanna Educational Foundation was a quarter of a million dollars.

For the first time, trade partner employees and their families can directly benefit from scholarships allocated just for them. Ten scholarships annually for the next five years will be dedicated to this purpose.

Tom Schoedel, president of Atlantic Builders, makes a statement on his feelings about their work.

“Atlantic Builders trade partners invest so much time and energy into building quality homes, that Atlantic Builders wanted to ensure that an investment is made in them and their families,” says Schoedel.

Germanna President Janet Gullickson, speaks on her thoughts about the Atlantic Builders work and how they will benefit the future of education at Germanna.

“Atlantic Builders is a leader in so many ways,” said Germanna President Janet Gullickson. “The quality of its homes. Its commitment to its trade partners and customers. Their generous donation will allow employee and trade partner families to continue their educations at Germanna, along with other students. We are so very grateful for their community spirit and generosity.”

Bruce Davis, GCC Assistant to the President for Institutional Advancement and head of the foundation, states how these efforts will help families.

“We are humbled that Atlantic Builders chose the Germanna Educational Foundation as the Charity House Project proceeds recipient for the second year in a row,” states Davis. “In addition to scholarships for the trade partners and their families, a large portion of the proceeds will go to the Germanna Guarantee Program of student tuition gap funding, to help students with financial challenges to graduate on time. In today’s ‘new different’, we are very grateful for Atlantic Builders and their trade partners.”

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