Happy Friday, Manassas! Welcome to another City Council preview, this time for the Jan. 27 regular meeting. This week’s meeting will be held at the City Hall Council Chambers at 9027 Center St.

Sign up for our FREE news email and never hesitate to email me at [email protected] with comments, questions and/or news tips.

Important links

This article is for our Locals Only members. Please Sign In or upgrade and Become a Locals Only Member today! Make the smart choice for staying informed about your community. Thank you!

On Wednesday, the Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative’s (NOVEC) Board of Directors named Kristen Senechal as the organization’s next president and CEO.

“After an eight-month national search, the Board selected [Senechal] because of her extensive knowledge and more than 15 years of experience in the electric utility industry,” Board Chairman Wade House said. “The Board also is impressed with her leadership style of prioritizing people first.”

Senechal is the executive vice president of transmission and chief operating officer at Lower Colorado River Authority (LRCA) in Austin, Texas. She joined LRCA in 2017 following nine years at CenterPoint Energy in Houston.

“Like Texas, NOVEC’s service territory is experiencing a number of trends that impact both service and cost of electricity, including increased demand [for] electric vehicles, baseload generation retirements, increasingly complex customer or member demands and an influx of large loads that impact both cost and need for new infrastructure,” Senechal said.

She’ll be moving to Northern Virginia with her fiance and two dogs, to begin with the organization on March 17. Senechal will succeed David E. Schleicher, who is retiring as the president and CEO on April 1; she’ll take over as president and CEO on April 2. Schleicher has been in the role since April 2022 and previously served as the organization’s chief operating officer.

Senechal has a doctorate in molecular biology from the University of California, Los Angeles; a master’s of business administration from the University of Houston; and a bachelor’s in molecular biology from the University of Texas at Austin.

Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative (NOVEC) recently sent six of its lineworkers to assist the Southside Electric Cooperative (SEC) in Crewe, Va., in restoring power to the area following recent snowfall.

NOVEC sent its crew of six men, pictured above, on Jan. 7 to work for three days with SEC, which serves more than 59,000 people. The recent winter storm, according to a NOVEC press release, left 28,000 in the area without power.

“It was good to know we were helping people,” Jake Till, one of NOVEC’s lineworkers, said. “It’s a small, close-knit community. The lineworkers at Southside appreciated our support.”

The men worked mainly in the rural towns of Altavista and Bedford. They worked nearly 16-hour days in freezing temperatures, navigating the poor road conditions and ice.

Mark DeChristopher, NOVEC’s manager of system construction, said the cooperative was monitoring the needs of other cooperatives in the area to see if they needed assistance.

“Electric coops from VMDAEC [Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives] remain in constant contact and discuss the potential need for mutual aid to assist in restoration efforts,” DeChristopher said.

The crew returned to the area on Jan. 10 following three days of hard work with the SEC crews.

At the Jan. 13 meeting, the Manassas City Council unanimously voted to increase the city's towing fees.

The “light duty” basic police accident tow and clean up — which includes the towing and removal of a car involved in a crash and cleaning the crash site of minor debris — fee would increase from $290 to $375. The non-accident fee — requiring a vehicle to be towed not in the case of an accident — would increase from $210 to $250.

The “heavy duty” towing fees have the largest increase if approved; the basic police accident tow and clean up will increase from $475 to $1,000. The non-accident tow fee will increase from $160 to $800.

This article is for our Locals Only members. Please Sign In or upgrade and Become a Locals Only Member today! Make the smart choice for staying informed about your community. Thank you!

According to survey results recently released by the city at the Jan. 13 City Council meeting, 79% of Manassas City residents think it's an excellent or good place to live.

The survey, conducted by ETC Institute, a national market research firm for local governments, was conducted in 2024 as part of the city's efforts to poll its residents every two years on a wide variety of issues, city services, public safety and quality of life. The last citywide survey was conducted in 2022 by ETC, which has been working with the city since 2014.

This article is for our Locals Only members. Please Sign In or upgrade and Become a Locals Only Member today! Make the smart choice for staying informed about your community. Thank you!

On Monday, January 13, 2025, the Manassas City Council received the Electoral Board's annual report, presented by Pamela Kincheloe, who is secretary of the city's electoral board. The report highlighted voter participation trends, the logistics of the 2024 election, and the city's electoral outcomes.

This article is for our Locals Only members. Please Sign In or upgrade and Become a Locals Only Member today! Make the smart choice for staying informed about your community. Thank you!

The Manassas City Council voted unanimously on Monday, January 13, 2024, to purchase a 1.56-acre property in Downtown Manassas from the Manassas Ice and Fuel Company (MIFCO). The $3.1 million acquisition is part of the city's ongoing strategy to control downtown development and foster community-focused growth.

The newly purchased property, which includes multiple parcels on Center Street, is zoned for industrial use (I-2), allowing developments up to 75 feet in height. City officials highlighted the importance of acquiring the land to guide its future use and prevent projects that may not align with the downtown's character.

This article is for our Locals Only members. Please Sign In or upgrade and Become a Locals Only Member today! Make the smart choice for staying informed about your community. Thank you!

Correction: An earlier version of this article did not include Laura Goldzung's educational distinction, an Ed.D. We have updated the article and photo caption to reflect her degree. Tracy Hammond, a special education teacher in Manassas City Public Schools (MCPS), was recently given the Mary V. Bicouvaris Teacher of the Year award from the district. Hammond is currently a teacher at Haydon Elementary School. She's been with MCPS since 2007, but has been teaching special education since the early 1990s. "My goal as an educator is to not only teach academic content but also to inspire a love of learning, resilience, and self-advocacy in my students," Hammond said in an MCPS release. "Special education is more than just a profession to me; it’s a calling." Throughout her career, Hammond has worked with students in the special education program at all levels but currently focuses on students in kindergarten through fourth grade. She's also served as a grade-level team leader, a mentor for new teachers and a representative for the Manassas Education Association.

"My passion for special education is rooted in the belief that all students – regardless of their backgrounds or challenges – can succeed when given the right support and resources," Hammond said. "I am dedicated to providing that support, advocating for my students and creating an environment where each child can thrive."

Haydon Elementary Principal Laura Goldzung, Ed.D., said Hammond was a passionate advocate for students.

"I have rarely encountered a professional so unwavering in her commitment to equity for all students," Goldzung said. "Through her words and actions, she thoughtfully challenges assumptions and established practices to ensure that decisions are student-centered, data-informed and lead to high-quality instruction."

This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.

The Unity Reed High School girls soccer team has introduced more than 20 Loch Lomond Elementary School students to soccer this school year.

Unity Reed High, a school in Prince William County Schools (PWCS) has partnered with another district school in Manassas, Loch Lomond, to introduce the younger students to organized sports at the Super Scotties Soccer Club.

This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.