Saint Joseph the Just Private School for Boys Greenlighted by Town Council to Revitalize Old Town Hall Building

The Monday, June 23 regular meeting of the Town Council began with proclamations as Mayor Lori Cockrell declared Town Employee Appreciation Week from July 20 to 26, honoring one hundred seventy-five full and part-time employees across a wide swathe of departments who make personal sacrifices as they render services to Front Royal that keep the town working smoothly and efficiently. This was followed by a recognition of G&M Auto Sales, Inc., a family-run business with a tradition of excellence, serving the community now for seventy years. The Bunch family was present and stood proudly with the mayor and the council in acceptance of this honor.

Having led the gathering in the pledge of allegiance, Emma Veitenthal accepts the appreciation of Mayor Lori Cockrell and a gift certificate to Starbucks in thanks for her patriotism.

: (Above) Proclaiming seventy years of service to the community by G&M Auto Sales, Inc., the mayor and the council stand with Gary Bunch, fifth from left, and the Bunch family, recognizing four generations of excellence. (Below) The latest generation of the Bunch family proudly wears their G&M outfits.

The evening began in earnest with public hearings, the first being an application for a special use permit that has received focused attention from the Town government through the vetting by the Planning Commission and the examination by the council over multiple work sessions. The cardinal concern has been safety as the Divinum Auxilium Academy, a family of private schools that already has an established presence in Front Royal, would like to extend their Saint Joseph the Just private school for boys to a building that has long been dormant despite its rich history; the old town hall building at 16 North Royal Avenue was built as part of Roosevelt’s public works program after the depression but in recent years has remained vacant.

The applicant sees an opportunity to revitalize a community treasure and participate in a wider revitalization effort. However, the location of this building, adjacent to Union Street, where cars are known to break the speed limit, and the logistics of student drop off and pickup in that vicinity, raise safety concerns that have been extensively discussed at past meetings. This highly specific concern has led to ongoing conversations in the council about government involvement and the role the Town Council should play in either regulating or taking a hands-off approach when the nanny state intersects with parental responsibility.

“We should not hold them hostage to a problem that needs to be solved no matter what,” Vice Mayor Amber Veitenthal said of the applicant, regarding an area that has already been risk-prone and will likely remain that way until the problem is addressed with or without the involvement of the academy. This remark came after her motion to approve the permit without conditioning a cap on the number of students this operation can serve or creating stipulations about parking requirements or imposing a two-year time limit at which point the permit could be reevaluated, all the above being measures Councilman Bruce Rappaport attempted in a substitute motion that died without a second. Ultimately, the council voted unanimously to approve the permit, perhaps indicating that they see the fitness of young men between the ages of thirteen and eighteen to cross the road without a highly regulated government involvement in that crossing.

Prior to the council’s discussion and vote, strong support was heard from the community during the public hearing. The ability of students to cross the road safely, when in fact they are already doing so in the vicinity of Saint John the Baptist Church, was repeatedly underlined by parents who are confident that they have raised responsible young people. Even those most pessimistic about the dangers on Union Street, such as representatives from neighboring churches who deal with that reality daily, expressed their willingness and eagerness to work with the academy to provide additional parking spaces to supplement the parking that the academy has already secured from Saint John the Baptist.

The hearing for a special use permit for a farmer’s market was postponed due to the inability of the applicant to be present, followed by the passing of a special use permit for a short-term rental despite staff’s recommendation of denial due to insufficient parking, an extension of the Brightspeed franchise as it maintains telephone infrastructure in Front Royal, and an update of the code in correspondence with state vehicular laws and a revision of penalties for violation of laws. Public comments transpired with one citizen’s request that the apparent neglect of a neighboring property’s appearance be subject to enforcement.

Then reports were heard. Town Manager Joseph Petty acknowledged the ongoing work being done on the 8th Street bridge. Amid the reports that followed, the importance of energy conservation, considering the current heat wave, received attention. Then, the consent agenda passed with a point of clarification from Councilman Glenn Wood regarding the upcoming changes to the intersection of Royal Lane with John Marshall Highway, specifying that the restriping will be made not only to Royal Lane but also to the highway.

With no further business to conduct in the open meeting, the council then proceeded into a closed meeting to discuss the insolvency of the EDA, the disposition of the latter’s assets, and the VDOT Economic Development Authority grant for ITFederal.