Northern Virginia Conservation Trust has helped the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation acquire a 59-acre property of high-priority forested wetlands adjacent to the Crow's Nest Natural Area Preserve in Stafford County.
The acquisition of this tract protects the habitat for bald eagles, great blue herons, at least 25 species of waterfowl, several rare plant populations, and neo-tropical migratory birds.
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On Tuesday, July 12, the Board of Supervisors approved a rezoning, redesignating 135 acres of rural farmland between Route 1 and Interstate 95 from agricultural land to commercial.
In turn, Kalahari Resorts will build indoor and outdoor waterparks, a convention center, and a 12-story, 900-room hotel on the site, awakening the Thornburg area, referred to by county planners as a "sleeping giant" ripe for tourism.
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Starting July 22, 2022, non-resident visitors to the Historic Port of Falmouth Park, also known as Falmouth Beach, will be asked to pay a $25 parking fee.
The move is an effort by the Board of Supervisors to help reduce crowding and parking issues at the park. Residents of Stafford and the City of Fredericksburg will park for free with a valid ID showing residence.
"This park is in a flood zone and was never meant to be a high-capacity destination venue. The water on that stretch of the river is also hazardous," said the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors. "While this was a difficult decision, we think charging for parking will cut down on some of the crowding from visitors, not from Stafford or Fredericksburg, making it a safer experience for everyone."
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Park planners want feedback on what will be the largest recreation area of its kind in Prince William County.
Prince William County's Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism tonight will hold a second community master plan meeting for Doves Landing Park, starting at 7 p.m. at the Kelly Leadership Center (Prince William County Public Schools headquarters) at 14715 Bristow Road near Manassas.
You can also attend virtually:
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Fredericksburg's newly-opened Riverfront Park will receive a $1.2 million grant for the construction of a new performance stage and restroom facilities.
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo announced the grant funded by the American Rescue Plan.
This EDA grant will be matched with $300,000 in local funds and is expected to create 150 jobs and retain 150 jobs, according to the city.
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Don't live in Fredericksburg? You're going to have to pay to park at the city's park on the Rappahannock River.
The Fredericksburg City Council on Tuesday, June 28 voted to charge entrance and parking fees at Old Mill Park for non-residents.
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Fredericksburg Pride, a non-profit organization dedicated to forming a safe and welcoming environment for LGBTQIA+ people, held its second annual pride march and festival in downtown Fredericksburg.
The festival in Old Mill Park on the banks of the Rappahannock River attracted hundreds of people. At the event, several local vendors, businesses, and organizations came to celebrate alongside its local LGBTQIA+ community, which offered food, prizes, music, entertainment, and other items for sale to festival attendees.
The 2021 festival attracted 53 vendors, and over 100 vendors participated in this year's festival. According to Meegana Henry, Founder and President of Fredericksburg Pride, the event took a whole year to plan. It gained double the number of vendors compared to last year when the festival was held in Maury Playground Park.
"It's been a really great show of support from the community, the business, from the residents, from the volunteers," said Katie Jones, Vice President of Fredericksburg Pride. "We've had such a good outreach to support the event and to support the community. It's been fantastic."
Other affiliated organizations showed up at the festival to participate and support the community. Among those organizations was the Rappahannock Region Transgender Support, a group dedicated to helping people who fall under the transgender umbrella. The group also ran a clothing swap booth at the festival, which offered clothing for transgender people in their sizes.
"For a lot of people, this is their first pride festival, and the fun part is watching them because these are people that are closeted, they haven't come out, or they're just starting to come out to their friends, and they're family, said Dani Butler, the group's founder. "And that's hard because not everybody understands, not everybody accepts, and they come down here, and everybody here is affirming and accepting. We know it's hard. We've been there, done that, and got the t-shirt."
Another organization present at the festival was Free Mom Hugs, a national non-profit organization dedicated to offering support to LGBTQIA+ youth who are revealing they are gay.
"We wish that our organization didn't need to exist, but we see the need out here. We've given out a lot of hugs, and it's clear that support is needed," said Kelly MacCleary, a member of the organization's local chapter. "So we'll be around until support isn't needed."
Another organization present at the event was the Rappahannock Council Against Sexual Assault which provided support, treatment, and advocacy to persons affected by sexual assault.
"We find it very important to represent our community, be out, provide support for everyone, and sexual violence is, unfortunately, one of those things that do not discriminate, said Meghan Cole, the group's community service specialist. LGBTQ individuals do face sexual violence at a disproportionate rate, and we want to provide some resources to them."
Fredericksburg Pride President Meegana Henry told Potomac Local News that changes are planned for next year's festival to accommodate more people, vendors, and other potential ideas.
In a response to Stafford County's decision to slap a $25 fee for non-county residents who want to park their car at a popular county park, Historic Port of Falmouth on the Rappahannock River, neighboring Fredericksburg is now looking to do the same.
The city will hold an informational meeting on Monday, June 27, at 6:30 p.m. at the Dorothy Hart Community Center, 408 Canal Street, where residents can learn about a plan to charge parking fees at Old Mill Park. The new fees could go into effect as early as July, the city posted to Facebook:
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The Fredericksburg City Council has adopted a new master plan for parks and recreation that calls for a new community center that could be located along Interstate 95.
A community center is the centerpiece of the master plan. The size and offerings of the new center would be based on the growing population and the desires of residents on what programs they would like to have at the center.
The conception of the new center would include offices for the Fredericksburg Parks, Recreation, and Entertainment Department, a gymnasium with multi-use courts, a wellness room, aerobics studio, locker rooms, concessions, a playroom, a game room, and a multi-purpose room for programming and rentals.
The master plan suggests stationing the new community center along the Interstate 95 corridor between Plank Road and Cowan Boulevard. The center's placement intends to serve highly populated areas of Fredericksburg and areas where parks may not be nearby.
The plan also suggests that the center's location could help attract sports tourism to the local area.
Lose Design, the Tennessee-based company that conducted the study and formulated the master plan estimated that constructing the new center would cost $10 million. Lose further estimates that the center could potentially cost $20-35 million if Fredericksburg decided to add an aquatics facility to the center.
The estimates made by Lose were based on a previous community center constructed by the company.
The study also suggests that the new offices could potentially allow for the repurposing or selling of the Dorothy Hart Community Center. According to the report, if the center was sold, then the profits could offset the costs of the new center.
No member of the Fredericksburg City Council has mentioned a potential sale of the Dorothy Hart Community Center for any purpose as of this report.
The master plan was commissioned to find and survey the needs of Fredericksburg's parks and recreation over the next 10 years. Conducted by Lose Design, surveys and studies were used to put together a comprehensive plan that would guide Fredericksburg on how to proceed with the development of new parks and the upkeep of its current parks.
The study had some delays due to the coronavirus pandemic, which kept it from being completed before 2022.
Both Fredericksburg and nearby Stafford County have been discussing local parks and recreation. Stafford County decided to charge visitors a $20 parking fee to Historic Port of Falmouth, a riverside park across from Fredericksburg. Non-Stafford County residents will pay the fee.
