Middleburg’s Community Community Newspaper Middleburg’s Volume 15 Issue 4
B E L O CA L BUY LOCAL
Printed using recycled fiber
Champion for Conservation Easement Page 6
Y OP LOCALL ITY AND SH R COMMUN SUPPORT OU
mbecc.com
July 26, 2018 ~ August 23, 2018
Oak Spring Garden Foundation A Living Work of Art Middleburg Town Council Report
O
Dan Morrow
Continued on 19
Request in homes by Thursday 7/26/18
facebook.com/MiddleburgEccentric
PRST STD ECRWSS US POSTAGE PAID DULLES, VA PERMIT NO 723
This iconic 700 acre piece of the Piedmont is being preserved by the Oak Spring Garden Foundation (OSGF), whose mission (from their website) is - to perpetuate and share the gifts of Rachel (“Bunny”) Lambert Mellon, including her residence, garden, estate and the Oak Spring Garden Library, to serve the public interest. OSGF is dedicated to inspiring and facilitating scholarship and public dialogue on the history and future of plants, including the culture of gardens and landscapes and the importance of plants for human well-being. Full Story onon Page 3 Full Story Page 21
POSTAL CUSTOMER
Photo by Tom Neel Photo by Lauren R. Giannini
Davis Farewell n June 28 Mayor Betsy Davis presided over her last official meeting of the Middleburg Town Council, a regular work session at Town Hall. Davis departed from the day’s agenda to thank Council, Town Staff, and the Middleburg Community for their support and, especially “for the wonderful farewell party they held for her on Tuesday, June 26. She had brought presents of her own. Davis presented Council members with candy in a special box “emblazoned with the Town Seal” and gave Mayor-Elect Bridge Littleton a Magic 8-Ball similarly decorated. “I thought Bridge should have my secret solution to when I can’t make a decision,” Davis joked. Appreciations Council unanimously adopted resolutions extending its appreciation to: Betsy A. Davis “for her service to the Town of Middleburg as a member of the Town Council from July 1, 1998, through June 30, 2006, and as Mayor from July 1, 2006, through June 30, 2018,” and Mark Snyder, “as a member of the Planning Commission from December 24, 1996, through June 30, 2006, and as a member of the Town Council from July 1, 1998, through June 30, 2018.” Semmes Retires Town Council has launched a search to replace long-serving Middleburg Town Administrator Martha Semmes, who recently announced that she would retire at the end of 2018. A 25-year veteran public service, Semmes has
served as Middleburg’s senior staff executive for more than eight years, beginning in November 2010. Her tenure was marked by some of the most important changes to the community in living memory: the opening of Salamander Resort & Spa and the resulting transformation of the Town’s wells, wastewater and water treatment facilities; the Route 50 Traffic Calming project; multiple public safety and utility upgrade projects, and the preservation/stabilization project that has rescued historic Asbury Church Semmes announced her plans early, “to allow the Town time to hire her replacement prior to her leaving.” “The opportunity to serve the Town of Middleburg has been one of the greatest honors of my life,” she said. Council agreed to hire Springstead/Waters, an executive search firm with special expertise in the field of local government to help with the recruitment process, with a budget, not to exceed $21,000. Murdock Appointed After a closed session to discuss the merits of four applicants to fill the Council seat vacated by Mayor-Elect, now Mayor Bridge Littleton, Town Council selected former Town Council Member and long-serving Middleburg volunteer Bundles Burdock as an interim member. A Special Election to formally fill the seat through June 2020 is set for Tuesday, November 6, 2018. In order to avoid the appearance of favoring one candidate over others in November, Council had expressed a strong preference for candidates who would not seek to fill the