Airing of Differences in Town Council Regular Meeting Leads to Unanimous Vote to Extend Out-of-Town Service to Catholic Diocese

Every meeting of the Town Council has a scarlet thread weaving through a thicket of information. On Monday, April 22, at a regular meeting, starting at 7 p.m. in the Warren County Government Center on 220 North Commerce Avenue, the items threading the labyrinth were related to an out-of-town utility connection contract with the Catholic Diocese of Arlington for 0 Criser Road.

Town Council meets for regular meeting on the evening of April 22 at the Warren County Government Center.

Sensing what is coming next is an imprecise art in government and the status of the Diocese’s application, suffering much discussion throughout multiple work sessions of the council, lingered in a state of irresolution as it was unclear whether the church body would ultimately receive water and septic service from the town at their out-of-town location on West Criser Road, where they plan to develop a sanctuary as well as an auxiliary building to serve as a gymnasium. Still, on Monday night, to use Councilman Bruce Rappaport’s language, the issue reached the end of its road. Even if the council does not work out a boundary-line adjustment of Town corporate limits to include the parcel at 0 West Criser Road, even if the council cannot, therefore, require the applicant to build a sidewalk in accordance with the rules that would govern the development of a parcel within Town limits; and even if members of the council continue to disagree amongst themselves about the coulda, woulda, shoulda pertaining to the Diocese’ offer to offset the cost of a sidewalk, the Town can still extend service to the church body. And they did in a unanimous vote.

Jaden Matthiae, son of Michelle Matthiae and planning commissioner Brian Matthiae, receives a gift certificate from Mayor Lori Cockrell after he led the gathering in the pledge of allegiance.

Having placed 0 Criser Road on a list of areas outside of town that may receive service earlier in the evening in a unanimous vote, the council proceeded later, before the vote on approving the application, to submit for the record their varying views on whether a sidewalk could have been a part of the deal. A sidewalk on West Criser Road is something that all the members of the Town Council, as well as the town manager, desire passionately, as safety conditions are currently less than ideal for school children walking on that road. A parcel on that road might be developed in a way that would possibly increase pedestrian traffic, but this only serves to cement that desire; however, there are different opinions about methodology.

Before the meeting, there was an equipment display in the Government Center’s parking lot so the public could see their tax dollars at work. Above: Town Manager Joe Waltz tries out the Town’s brand-new rubber tire loader, valued at 212K, which will serve with snow removal and assist in water and septic maintenance. Below: Manager of Vehicle/Equipment Maintenance Donald McPaters stands beside a beauty, a brand-new asphalt roller valued at 74K.

The one hundred and twenty-some thousand dollars that the Diocese offered to the Town to offset the cost of a sidewalk could have, in Councilman Glenn Wood’s view, solved the problem. However, the Diocese did not conduct a study of what the sidewalk would ultimately cost, and according to the information available to Town staff, the ultimate cost, including all the engineering concerns, would be upwards of two million dollars. In her statement at the meeting, Councilwoman Amber Morris strongly underlined those engineering concerns, specifically the utilities that would have to be moved to make that sidewalk a reality. Town Manager Joe Waltz emphasized the inadequacy of one hundred twenty-some thousand dollars. It is his view that the real priority on West Criser Road is installing a sidewalk between Skyline Vista Drive and Route 340, where there is not even a bike lane to offset the safety concern.

Under public comments, Tom Sayre stands up to address the council on what he perceives to be a pressing need for fiscal transparency, referencing a case from 2022 in which funds were appropriated under circumstances that Town Attorney George Sonnett explained were confidential after Councilwoman Amber Morris interrupted Sayre’s comment to call a point of order. The subject was what she called “alleged conduct,” and in her view, it would be inappropriate for the council to engage in such a comment in the context of a regular meeting. Sonnett encouraged the council not to engage the comment. They did not.

The word on the street is that the gymnasium will precede the sanctuary at 0 Criser Road. The intersection of Luray Avenue and West Main Street is a place of force on Sunday mornings, with much vehicular as well as pedestrian traffic, where St. John the Baptist Church is located across from Maddox Funeral Home. A secondary chapel could relieve that traffic somewhat and the gymnasium could be a resource for the Catholic homeschool community. It certainly sounds like a good thing for everybody.

Click here to watch the Front Royal Town Council Meeting of April 22, 2024.