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Catoctin Creek Distillery debuts in NY ......Page 3
J UNE 2012 VOLUME 9 NO. 7
Rail Input To Be Weighed Before Vote By Erika Jacobson Moore, Staff Writer As the Board of Supervisors prepares to schedule its final work session on the funding options for the Metro extension into Loudoun, the future of the project with the county’s involvement hangs in the balance with supervisors split on whether Loudoun should continue as a funding partner in Phase 2 of the Silver Line. Supervisors have until July 4 to take action, with the vote expected to come during the board’s July 3 meeting. If supervisors were not to take any action, the county would be assumed to be in the rail extension project as laid out in the original agreement. During the board’s latest work sessions there was a palpable sense of relief in the air, as the meeting came only hours after the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority reversed its stance on requiring—or providing incentives for—Silver Line contractors to enter into a project labor agreement. The PLA, which was voluntary for contractors in Phase 1 of the project, was criticized by state and local leaders as a ploy to steer jobs to union workers while excluding Virginia companies operating under the state’s right-to-work rules. Proponents of a PLA said the agreement has little to do with unions and is more about setting standards for the construction and its workers. They also noted it does not trump any state right-to-work laws. Shortly after the meeting, the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce, a long-time supporter of the Silver Line project, weighed in on the MWAA board’s decision. Chamber President Tony Howard noted that the Silver Line Coalition—made up of top Northern Virginia business groups—has advocated from the beginning that the project’s managers should adopt the voluntary approach used on Phase 1. In Phase 1, Bechtel, the company that earned the construction contract, was able to voluntarily negotiate labor agreements that allowed them to build the project in a timely and cost-effective manner. “With their decision to drop the preference for a Project Labor Agreement in the bids to complete the Dulles Rail Project, MWAA’s Board of Directors has demonstrated the strong leadership and willingness to work with their funding partners that will be necessary to see Phase 2 built to its logical completion at Route 772 in Loudoun County,” Howard stated. “It is the Loudoun County business community’s fervent hope that Continued On Page 4
Norman K. Styer/Loudoun Business
County Chairman Scott York likened the rail project to an 800-pound gorilla at his annual address.
York Presents State Of The County By Norman K. Styer, Staff Writer County Chairman Scott K. York (R-At Large) presented his annual State of the County address to members of the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce June 8, highlighting the challenges the new board of supervisors faced during its first six month in office. York, who has served on the board for 16 years, said each Board of Supervisors has wrestled PRSRT STD U.S. Postage
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with its own 800-pound gorilla issue—whether it be downzoning the county; dealing with lawsuits from the previous board’s downzoning; or negotiating the battle of HCA’s plans to build an Ashburn hospital. For this board, with seven new members elected in November, that issue is the Dulles Rail Project and the July 4 deadline to decide the project’s future. Continued On Page 4
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