Middleburg’s Community Community Newspaper Middleburg’s Volume 14 Issue 6
B E L O CA L BUY LOCAL
OP ITY AND SH R COMMUN SUPPORT OU
Printed using recycled fiber
Middleburg Fi l m Fe s t i va l
Page 36
LOCALLY
mbecc.com
October 26 ~ November 21, 2017
Middleburg: 230 Years Old and Still Making History
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Middleburg Town Council Report Dan Morrow
A
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Continued page 9
Request in homes by Thursday 10/26/17
The annual A Place to Be (APTB) event to raise funds for financial aid was graciously hosted this year by Tanya and Joe Matthews at Trillium Farm in Page163 Page Purcellville, Virginia on October 6th- 8th.
PRST STD ECRWSS US POSTAGE PAID DULLES, VA PERMIT NO 723
3rd Annual Forrest Allen Financial Aid Fund
POSTAL CUSTOMER
Photo By Sharon Hallman Photography
Sidewalk Cafés t Town Council’s September 28 Work Session, Town Planner Will Moore suggested that Middleburg, for the first time, consider seriously the idea of allowing sidewalk cafes on its streets. According to Moore, “he had been approached by a couple of businesses that were possibly interested in sidewalk dining.” There was much to consider in what might appear to be a simple request, Moore noted, including liability issues and ensuring non-interference with passable rights-of-way. Nevertheless, the Town Planner noted, sidewalk cafes could do a lot to add life to a street, citing Winchester’s experience with their pedestrian mall, and Leesburg’s sidewalk dining. If Council thought the matter worth further consideration, Moore volunteer to craft a draft ordinance for their review. Councilmembers Daly and Leonard-Morgan were enthusiastic about the idea. Councilmember Mark Snyder was somewhat skeptical, but expressed interest in seeing Town staff “work out a way so it could happen.” Moore promised to have something for Council to review, “within the next couple of months. “ Quarterly Messages from the Mayor Mayor Betsy Davis reported that “someone [had] suggested that time is allocated” for a formal quarterly “message” to the citizens, written by
the Mayor and/or a member of Council, and published once per quarter on the Town website and in the newspaper. Councilmember Leonard-Morgan said he thought it would “be nice if a different member of Council suggested a theme each time a message was done.” Councilmember Mark Snyder, who already writes a column once a month for the Middleburg Eccentric said he thought the topics covered should be “the Mayor’s preference” and suggested, “if she wanted input, she would have it. “ Councilmember Littleton said he thought that such a “message” “would increase citizen engagement and transparency.” Since “the next quarter begins on October 1st “ Littleton suggested the Mayor’s first “message” appear before Thanksgiving and take advantage of all free media coverage available Mayor Davis agreed. Water Tower Issues Mark Alvarez, of Stonewall Court Homeowners Association, appeared before Council at its regular monthly meeting on October 12 to advise Council that his residents had received a notice that work on the water tower there was in progress and would continue until November 9th. Heavy equipment, he noted, was parked in the lot near the tower, including two heavy-duty trailers, and sandblasting supplies and equipment that were doing serious damage to the pavement. Though it was both true and reasonable that the Town had an easement, guaranteeing ac-