Town Council Discusses the Afton Inn Project at Special Meeting

On Wednesday, March 6, at 6 p.m. in the Front Royal Town Hall at 102 East Main Street, the Front Royal Town Council met for a special meeting that was neither livestreamed nor videotaped. It was, however, open to the press. Among many items discussed was the Afton project.

Town Council members break bread together before their special meeting begins on Wednesday, March 6. Royal Examiner Photo Credits: Brenden McHugh.

The objective of this meeting was to further develop and refine action steps for goals that the council has been discussing for months, ever since their retreat in January, when goals congealed around a vision for Front Royal as an outside party moderated the discussion. The results of that retreat are voluminous, totaling forty-four goals, arranged according to the order in which council members prioritized them, some considered more urgent than others, a judgment which varied from member to member. Different goals were categorized into separate sections as they corresponded to a master goal. Led by Town Manager Joe Waltz, Wednesday night’s discussion was aimed at a consensus from council members on which goals are truly the most urgent and can be included as a top three for each master goal; the information gathered at this point is reflective of a changing situation and an ongoing discussion which will appear in future work sessions, although the mayor announced that it is council’s desire to unveil the progress they have made in a week’s time.

In the interest of the town’s welfare, one of the goals that surfaced reflected the council’s desire to see the Afton Inn project concluded. In a complaint-driven process, many people in this community have expressed intense frustration with what continues to be an unused structure and an eyesore in the town’s historic district. Mayor Lori Cockrell referenced a report from the Royal Examiner, which highlighted the success of developer Alan J. Omar on a project in Strasburg. Omar owns the Afton Inn, and he told the Royal Examiner that he fully intends to bring the Afton to completion, but it is just a matter of time. Cockrell described the reactions she saw on social media. Although a few were negative, the general impression is that the community has hope. And the council seems to have hope as well. “They finished a project!” Councilwoman Amber Morris remarked.

The discussion of the Afton Inn overlaps with an ongoing focal point for the council in terms of property maintenance. Council is learning what it can and cannot do when it comes to unsightly or “derelict” structures. On Monday evening, they received a presentation from the planning and zoning staff that focused on the options the council has at their disposal when addressing complaints they have received. It became clear at that point that the council does not have the authority to label as “blighted” any structure that fails aesthetically; in other words, a structure must present a hazard of some kind to be classified and treated as a blighted building. So, although in many ways it might qualify as derelict with peeling paint and boarded-up windows, a piece of real estate like Afton Inn requires a different approach. The council mulled over this issue for a significant portion of Wednesday night’s discussion. The possibility of extending financial credit to Afton in some way was mentioned to speed up the process of completion, which Morris sees as an investment that would be rewarded in time as a completed Afton would then generate tax revenue. They also wondered whether Omar would be willing to sell the property and if it could then be developed by the Front Royal Economic Development Authority (FREDA). This hypothetical was brought up not necessarily as desirable but simply as that, a hypothetical. All in all, the emphasis was on investment and community involvement.

Having covered a great deal of material in their goal setting, ranging from enhancing Front Royal’s water system to beautifying the entrance corridors, the council concluded a consensus discussion and adjourned at 8 p.m.