Town-County Liaison Meeting Covers Broad Range of Priorities

On Thursday, October 17, beginning at 6 p.m. in the Warren County Government Center at 220 North Commerce Avenue, representatives of the Front Royal Town Council and the Warren County Board of Supervisors met for a joint quarterly meeting in which they exchanged thoughts and insights on many hot button issues that mutually concern the Town and the County. Although the meeting was valuable insofar as it revealed where the respective bodies stand on those issues, in many cases there was not a sense that the items were actionable, but rather a conversation was being conceived that will hopefully give staff direction going forward.

Representatives from the Front Royal Town Council and Warren County Board of Supervisors meet for a liaison committee meeting on the evening of Thursday, October 17. Royal Examiner Photo Credits: Brenden McHugh.

The meeting began with a brief report from Gloria Knott of Keen’s Towing and Hauling who is a member of the Front Royal-Warren County Joint Towing Board. In her address to the committee, Knott conveyed that the board has chosen to cap its list of service providers at five different companies. Under questioning from supervisor Richard Jamieson, Knott expressed that if a customer desires a provider who is not on the list, that wish can be honored, and it is the desire of the joint towing board to keep their process competitive, avoiding what Jamieson pointed out could become a monopoly. This exchange was followed by a presentation from Warren County Building Official David Beahm, describing in every exigency the process for responding to property maintenance concerns. In a follow-up to the presentation, Mayor Lori Cockrell lamented the limitations on what the government can do since one of the reasons that problems go unresolved is the fear of many tenants that they will be evicted if they report a problem.

County Administrator Edwin Daley.

Next, the committee approached the increase in solid waste tipping fees, a sore rubbing point for the town, as Cockrell explained that many town residents feel as though they are “double-dipped,” paying an additional fee for the garbage collected and taken to the transfer station, beyond what they already pay in county taxes for the same transfer station, to which they could technically transport their garbage on their own if they wished. Both County Administrator Ed Daley and Chair of the Supervisors Cheryl Cullers explained that there are similar taxes on county residents who opt to have their garbage collected. Cockrell responded that while county residents may opt out of the additional fee by personally transporting their garbage to the transfer station, town residents cannot. At that point, Cullers suggested that the expense in gas mileage and the expenditure of time for personally transporting one’s garbage might be comparable to the burden imposed by the tipping fee. Both Cullers and Jamieson emphatically agreed that the county could do a better job in terms of communication by alerting the town further in advance of such changes.

Town Manager Joe Waltz.

After discussing the necessity of regulating vape shops and hearing from Councilman Joshua Ingram on the steady progress that the transportation subcommittee is making, the council and the board heard from Town Manager Joe Waltz regarding the possibility of a regional shooting facility that would serve the needs of both the Warren County Sheriff’s Office and the Front Royal Police Department. While that possibility is five to ten years in the future, and Sheriff Cline is looking to address an immediate problem, Waltz expressed that he and the sheriff have spoken and their visions for a joint facility are in alignment. The range would hopefully be indoors, according to Waltz. “If we can partner together with some other regional partners, we could really make this thing happen … there is definitely some synergy to do something collaboratively.”

The committee explored the possibility of a joint governmental body that would keep lines of communication open between town, county, and school systems to offset the potentially detrimental impact of decisions that affect all three, specifically as they relate to developmental growth. They also discussed the enforcement, when necessary, of various states of water conservation for county residents who benefit from town water. The committee then turned to the health care resolution, where they discussed possible next steps for bringing alternative health care providers to Warren County.

Warren County Building Official David Beahm explains the property maintenance process to the joint gathering.

Toward the end of the meeting, wherein they discussed the upcoming county tourism committee, Town staff member Lizi Lewis, who is the director of community development and tourism, stepped up to the podium and addressed the liaison committee on important considerations for the community. If we want healthcare providers to migrate here, what are we doing to make our community attractive to them? This is a complex question with a many-tiered answer that spans all the other services that are being offered within the town and county. Lewis’s contribution underlined how important it is for every level of the local government, including its staff, to be oriented around the community’s need for intelligent planning.

The next liaison committee meeting of the Town and County will be held on January 16, beginning at 6 p.m. in the Front Royal Town Hall at 102 East Main Street.