In Display of Harmony at Regular Meeting, Town Council Achieves Consensus on Every Vote

Though overshadowed by an awareness of the homes that have been lost to the recent wildfires in the vicinity, Front Royal Town Council struck a positive note as they enjoyed consensus on every vote at the March 25 regular meeting in the Warren County Government Center located at 220 North Commerce Avenue, beginning at 7 p.m. A number of recognitions and congratulations were in order, extending to Melting Pot Pizza for fifty-four years of business, a new personnel acquisition in the Front Royal Police Department, and the national title achieved by Christendom College’s women’s basketball team, bringing the focus back to the natural disaster, County Administrator Ed Daley in his address to council spoke in part about the need for a more robust fire department to respond even more effectively to these kinds of crises in the vicinity.

Taylor Sealock, the granddaughter of Councilman Wayne Sealock, stands with the mayor after leading the gathering in the pledge of allegiance and receiving a gift certificate to Spelunkers. Royal Examiner Photo Credits: Brenden McHugh

Town Manager Joe Waltz honored our fire and rescue personnel in his report to the council, expressing his gratitude for how hard they worked last week. “Thank you for your courage and dedication to keep this community safe,” he said. The town manager’s report and the reports of council members and the mayor followed roughly three-quarters of an hour dedicated to agenda items on which the council achieved unanimity in every case. The first two items were rezoning applications that facilitate higher-density development. In the discussion of the first application, Councilwoman Amber Morris quipped, with a smile, that she was voting in favor of approving the application since she is not entirely opposed to development, a savory thought for those who have accused her of being “an uneducated redneck” when it comes to growth. The council also approved the second application.

Front Royal Police Chief Magalis introduces Officer Carrie Gibson to the council in honor of the role she is now playing in the FRPD

What followed was a special-use permit application that the council approved and then two items on which the council was seeking public input; as Mayor Lori Cockrell articulated, those were opportunities for the public to inform the council of things pertaining to the items in question that the council may not have known. Both were proposed vacations of a portion of a street or an alley, 7^th Street at its intersection with Kibler Street, in the first case, and the other case, a portion of North Royal Avenue and the alley between North Royal Avenue and Virginia Avenue. The first was approved. The second generated some public comments. Two children, one from the Randolph family and one from the Manson family, who live adjacent to the vacation being considered, were escorted respectively to the podium by an adult to make an argument against the vacation, as it would apparently affect their ability to play safely. Both Sarah Randolph and Tyler Manson subsequently spoke to the council in favor of the council denying the application as they argued it would limit safe play options for their children and parking options. Then, Harmony Hike spoke on behalf of applicant Aaron Hike, explaining that the children in question do indeed have a substantially large yard in which to play, the parking options are more varied than either Randolph or Manson admitted, and overall, the Hikes have made a considerable effort to arrive at a mutually beneficial arrangement with their neighbors. Having voted unanimously in favor of this application in the past, the council again voted with consensus to approve it.

Elliott Bachelor of Melting Pot Pizza stands with the mayor and council members as the council acknowledges and congratulates the Melting Pot on fifty-four years of business.

The mayor stands with Christendom College’s women’s basketball team, acknowledging and congratulating them on winning a national title.

After voting in favor of amending the Town code to change the due date for one-half of the annual tax payments for real estate and personal property from June 5 to June 20, hearing the reports of the town manager, council members, and mayor, and passing the consent agenda, the council proceeded to a closed session at 8:30 p.m. to discuss matters pertaining to personnel, specifically the town manager and the town attorney.