Welcome to the Gainesville District

In my first campaign for Supervisor in 2003, I pledged to hold quarterly town hall meetings to help me serve you better. I like to compare these to the early town hall meetings in New England, forums where citizens can receive information, ask questions and give their opinions. Town hall meetings are held in different locations in the Gainesville District and cover various topics such as transportation, land use, property code issues, budget, emerging state issues, etc. The primary focus of these meetings is to provide timely and relevant information for residents as well as provide a forum for residents to voice opinions.

I would invite everyone to attend my next town hall meeting whose time, location and topic will be advertised on this website, in my newsletter, and a reminder will be send to my email distribution list. If you don’t receive the newsletter and would like to be added to the distribution list, please email Kulrich@pwcgov.org and put the word “Subscribe” in the subject line.

Below is a recap of my last town hall meeting:

Gainesville District Town Hall Meeting
June 9, 2010
Haymarket Town Hall

Supervisor Stirrup welcomed Pamela Stutz, Mayor of the Town of Haymarket, to open his 27^th town hall meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance. In attendance besides the Mayor, were Town Council Members Bob Weir and Susan Edwards, along with Gene Swearinger, Town Manager.

Highlighting the two most significant transportation projects for Gainesville, Supervisor Stirrup anticipated that the widening of I-66 for 3.3 miles from the Route 234 Bypass to Route 29 is scheduled to be completed by August 2010, or sooner. [Questions can be directed to construction engineer Avtar Singh at Avtar.Singh@vdot.virginia.gov]

The second most significant Gainesville project is the I-66/Route 29/Linton Hall Road interchange. The centerpiece of the project is a pair of overpasses: one carrying Route 29 over the Norfolk Southern Railroad, and one carrying Linton Hall and Gallerher Roads over the railroad and Route 29. Supervisor Stirrup said that the target completion date is the first quarter of 2014, and that during these four years there will be disruptions. [Questions can be directed to construction engineer Amir Salahshoor at A.Salahshoor@VDOT.virginia.gov]

Next, Supervisor Stirrup encouraged attendance at the world class Hylton Performing Arts Center where the acoustics are said to be equal to Carnegie Hall and there are 300 events scheduled for this next year. www.hyltonperformingartscenter.com.

He continued to report that the Gainesville District Volunteer Fire Department will submit a plan to the Board of County Supervisors for the volunteers to operate the station once again, but it may be three years before the plan is totally in place.

Additionally, he said that the Sesquicentenial Committee of the Convention and Visitors Bureau is preparing for events for ten days beginning with the 1^st Battle of Manassas on July 21, 2011. CVB members are working diligently in their national and international promotion to generate consumer visitation to the area and media coverage.

Lastly, Supervisor Stirrup introduced his distinguished panel, who each tried to help the audience better understand the workings of County government. 1) Melissa Peacor, County Executive, has served in various capacities of PWC government for 25 years and was involved with the management team which achieved the County’s AAA bond rating. Melissa has a Masters Degree in Public Administration and said that she was at the town hall meeting to take advice from the constituents. 2) Michelle Casciato, formerly the County’s Neighborhood Services Division Chief, is the new County Budget Director, overseeing the $845 million dollar budget. Michelle also has her Masters Degree in Public Administration from George Mason University. 3) Jason Grant, the County’s Communications Director, is skilled as a writer, and a web and print designer and has greatly enhanced the Department of Economic Development’s presence in the business community. Jason holds a M.A. in Communications from the University of Washington.

Tom Blaser, Director of the PWC Department of Transportation, was extremely helpful in addressing the individual concerns of the Gainesville constituents in attendance.

Tony Guiffre, Chairman of the Prince William County Board of Elections was also in attendance, and invited to speak about elections. He thanked Supervisor Stirrup for helping to initiate the use of the Haymarket Museum as an in-person absentee voting location, and for the $50,000 from the Board of Supervisors for the purchase of electronic poll books. Separating lines of voters by the alphabet is no longer necessary since all voters can go into any line to be approved as voters.