Final vote on Criminal Justice Academy road exceptions delayed

On Monday evening (April 10) the Front Royal Town Council postponed a decisive second vote on special exceptions requested by the Skyline Regional Criminal Justice Academy on road work leading to its 18-acre parcel at the end of Progress Drive in the Happy Creek Technology Park.  Jacob Meza made the motion to remove the item from Council’s April 10^th agenda due to the absence of Councilman John Connolly.  Meza stated Connolly had become ill during the day, precluding his attendance.

All three councilmen who had opposed approving all five requested exceptions at the March 27 first vote, agreed to the delay; which is a good thing since such late changes to agendas require a unanimous vote of council.  Those three councilmen, Tewalt, Sealock and Egger, had voted to follow the planning commission recommendation to NOT allow delays to sidewalk and lighting construction until further development was planned for that end of the EDA-owned Happy Creek technology park.

Above, looking back up (northeast) Progress Drive from the boundary with the Skyline Regional Criminal Justice Academy’s property. Below, looking toward (northwest) the yet-developed 18-acre SRCJA property at the end of Progress Drive in the EDA’s Happy Creek Technology Park. Photos/Roger Bianchini

On March 27, Mayor Hollis Tharpe was forced to break two 3-3 votes, the first on Egger’s amendment to remove the sidewalk and lighting exceptions; the second on Connolly’s original motion to allow all five requested exceptions in the Special Use Permit for the site work.  Tharpe sided with Connolly, Meza and Chris Morrison on both votes facilitating Sheriff Daniel McEathron and the EDA’s five requested exceptions on the Progress Drive extension to the new criminal justice training academy.

In addition to the sidewalk and lighting exceptions were requests to extend Progress Drive further beyond the 800-foot maximum length for dead-end streets; a “hammerhead” turnaround in lieu of a standard, 40-foot cul-de-sac a the end of the extension; and a 30-foot road width matching the existing width of Progress Drive instead of the current code minimum width of 36-feet on such roads.

During discussion prior to the March 27 first vote of 4-3 to allow all five exceptions, Meza asked staff when discussion of bringing the area up to code to accommodate additional development on the EDA-owned 149 acres might begin.  Acting Town Manager Joe Waltz replied that with the Town’s current schedule, July seemed a likely starting point for such discussion.

Egger questioned when the Town could require developers to begin adding the delayed code improvements.  Town Planning Director Jeremy Camp said the included language indicated that when the Town began bringing the area up to code requirements to facilitate further development.

Tewalt, who has been a recent critic of younger council members’ tendency to authorize construction projects without creating revenue streams to begin funding those projects, said he would not support any further discussion of capital projects without available funding streams in place.

An aerial view of the EDA’s Happy Creek Technology Park’s developed and undeveloped land. Progress Drive runs through the middle of the developed parcel at top of photo. The planned criminal justice academy will lie on 18 acres at the end of Progress Drive, to the top-left of photo.

At the public hearing prior to the March 27 vote, one speaker appeared and asked council not to grant the sidewalk and lighting exceptions.  That was Josh Petersen of the Virginia International Academy, a private school located at 1190 Progress Drive.  He cited the school’s presence and activities, suggesting the additional lighting and sidewalks would provide “an additional layer of safety” for the community as a whole.

Background

The Skyline Regional Criminal Justice Academy (SRCJA) is the result of an initiative pushed by the Warren County Sheriff to break away from membership in the Rappahannock Regional Justice Academy, the commonwealth’s largest such training academy.  The Warren Supervisors authorized Sheriff McEathron to pursue that course at its meeting of August 2, 2016.  McEathron has cited a “great working relationship with the Rappahannock Academy, which the sheriff noted has cooperated in the northern jurisdictions’ separation.

Joining Warren County in forming the new criminal justice training facility are 14 of 15 jurisdictions that joined the Warren County Sheriff’s Office in leaving the Rappahannock Academy in 2015.  That separation required a State authorization to increase the number of regional criminal justice academies from 10 to 11.  That was achieved by a unanimous vote of the Criminal Justice Service Board on May 12, 2016.

According to information given Warren County when it authorized acting as the academy’s financial agent in late March, once up and running the facility will employ just four full-time and three part-time employees.  The bulk of traffic will be generated by personnel of the involved jurisdictions’ traveling in and out for training.