If you don't live in Stafford County, it will cost you $25 to park at one of the area's busiest summertime destinations.
Stafford County will implement a $25 charge to non-residents for parking at the Historic Port of Falmouth, a popular swimming hole on the Rappahannock River. The county Board of Supervisors approved the new fee during its meeting on Tuesday, June 7, 2022, in a five to two vote.
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The Manassas Park Economic Development Authority is holding an event where residents can receive a $25 voucher at local restaurants.
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A ribbon-cutting will be held for a $1.2 million park in Lake Ridge on Saturday, June 4, at 11 a.m.
From 11 a.m. until 2 p.m., the park will have fitness demonstrations and giveaways.
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A coronavirus cash injection could improve Prince William County parks.
On June 7, the Board of County Supervisors is expected to approve $17 million in funding for parks and recreation projects. A complete list of proposed projects the money would fund is featured in the slideshow at the top of this post.
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A ribbon-cutting will be held for a $1.2 million park in Lake Ridge on Saturday, June 4, at 11 a.m.
From 11 a.m. until 2 p.m., the park will have fitness demonstrations and giveaways.
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Fredericksburg officials celebrated the opening of Riverfront Park and the launch of Fredericksburg Main Street's Otter-ly Amazing Fredericksburg Project on Saturday, May 21, 2022.
The park at 713 Sophia Street (encompassing the 500-700 blocks), across from the city's parking garage, is a nearly four-acre property and the city's first "smart park." As its name suggests, it features Rappahannock River views and includes open space, event space, an interactive water feature, a meadow area, and a children's play area. Parking is available and is free for the first three hours.
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The park features views of the Rappahannock River, has an event space, and a play area
While it opened for public use last fall, a ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held for the aptly-named Riverfront Park on Saturday, May 21 at 10:30 a.m.
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The Stafford County Board of Supervisors is once again turning its eye to a familiar problem: overcrowded parking at the Historic Port of Falmouth Park.
The Board has had several discussions over the last two years on alleviating problems of overcrowding and parking at the beach. Since then, the county has made some strides, including sectioned-off parking areas, adding drop-off areas and no parking signs, and towing away illegally-parked cars.
The county has also made additions aimed at the beach's cleanliness and safety, including dog waste stations, loaning personal flotation devices, and providing EMS staff from the Fire and Rescue Department to monitor park activity on the weekends.
All these steps and others have cost the county money, and now they're looking for ways to continue funding the beach.
Some Board members, such as Hartwood District Supervisor Darrell English, have proposed to close the beach entirely. English spoke to the high operation costs mentioning items such as the upkeep of 18 port-a-potties and county employees picking up trash five hours a day which, according to the Supervisor, gets worse during the summer.
"There's a lot that we spend on there, and we've kicked the can so many times, and it's been an issue," says English. "I suggest we start charging or close the beach because it's costing too much money to run this. I think it's going to get worse this year."
English would suggest charging for parking and estimated that a fee of $20 or $25 per car from 80 cars over the course of the day could bring in $2,000. This estimate is based on how many cars would park at the beach during the summer.
George Washington District Supervisor Tom Coen responded that the county would not be allowed to close the park due to a deal with an entity that no longer exists, the Fredericksburg-Stafford Park Authority. Coen believed that the county would also not be able to charge parkgoers from nearby Fredericksburg but got clarification that the county would not charge residents of the city more than they would potentially charge county residents.
One option was charging non-residents of the county and Fredericksburg for parking. Garrisonville District Supervisor Pamela Yeung was against the idea, saying that the park was for everyone.
On the opposite end was Aquia District Supervisor Monica Gary, who noted that the park was already paid for by local taxes and didn't have an issue with charging out-of-towners for parking. Falmouth District Supervisor Meg Bohmke also attested to the trash collection at the park and favored charging out-of-towners.
Any solution that the board would come up with would not go into effect until Summer 2023. The timing of the Board's attention to the issue wouldn't allow the county to implement any change for the Summer 2022 season.
The matter will come back to the board as unfinished business at their next meeting on May 17.
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The Rappahannock River Ecological Park, also known as RIVERE, has approached Stafford County leaders to create an ecological center on the banks of the Rappahannock River.
Company representatives made their case at a meeting of the county's Community and Economic Development Committee earlier his month to make it case that the park would be a help with tourism in the community as well as its importance in ecological research.
RIVERE is seeking to lease a portion of Duff McDuff Park which is currently owned by the county due to its position on the Rappahannock River. Duff McDuff is currently home to the local Patawomeck Tribe, which is currently building up a cultural center. The 60-acre plot of land that the organization seeks to lease is adjacent to the tribe's land. The land owned by the county has been assessed to be valued at $83,900.
RIVERE has already obtained a 14-acre site near Duff McDuff from the University of Mary Washington.
Should the county agree to lease the plot to RIVERE, the organization plans to set up a center dedicated to ecological research and education. Among its efforts, RIVERE will place sensors along the river and its tributaries, effectively creating the first "smart river" using AI technology. The goal of this transformation is to carefully monitor those areas in real-time for pollutants that could endanger the river's health.
The data could be used to identify pollution sources and create responses and measures through predictive modeling to inform and guide authorities on the challenges that freshwater bodies deal with regularly. The sensors would be installed along the length of the Rappahannock River to the organization's headquarters at the Chesapeake Bay.
The organization would work alongside Stafford County as part of the Virginia Smart Community Testbed, which is focused on the development of new technologies. Representatives for RIVERE also mentioned potential benefits for the county in tourism, not just of the center itself but of other county sites of interest, such as Chatham Manor.
Some concerns were made by members of the committee, which included Garrisonville District Supervisor Pamela Yeung, who had questions about the effect the sensors themselves would have on the surrounding ecosystem and the affordability for local students to visit the new eco-center.
Representatives of RIVERE responded that they were making formal relationships with many public and private organizations and could partner with local youth organizations such as the 4-H Club, which was one way they could create a route for affordable, educational tours for local students.
Falmouth District Supervisor Meg Bohmke questioned the organization's representatives about those partnerships when she noticed that the George Washington Regional Commission was listed as having a partnership with RIVERE.
Bohmke sat on the board of the GWRC and reported that its board had seen no notice of a partnership with RIVERE. While both she and the organization clarified that the agreement with the GWRC was on the staff level Bohmke suggested that a presentation to its board might be in order.
Plans have been made to hold more talks between RIVERE and the county before it goes to the Board of Supervisors. In the meantime, the organization plans to compile more information in order to answer questions that the committee may have going forward.
