Town tackles priority issues over Melting Pot pizza at 4-hour work session – Part 1

Town Manager Joe Waltz leads the Goal Setting session. Photo and video by Mark Williams, Royal Examiner.

A closed session originally scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., an hour into a projected four-hour Town Council Work Session, instead took up the first hour of the Monday, August 19 meeting. That closed session was called to discuss the performance, salaries, etc. of unspecified “employees of the Town”. No action was taken following the closed session adjournment.

So it was the open portion of the work session that ended up beginning around 6 p.m. to face an agenda more indicative of a weekend council retreat in its far-ranging scope. And to assure the survival of all participants, who would likely be missing dinner with a 5 p.m. start to a projected four-hour work session, some Melting Pot pizza was delivered to Town Hall to bolster the troops.

The open session began with a presentation on how council’s goal setting is an important first step in the town’s budget process. Council tackled 17 specific topics, with six additional ones listed under “Other goal areas” added toward the meeting’s conclusion. Those “Other Goals” included: “Reduce Town Government Expense”, “Public Relations/Communications”, “Marketing”, “Steele Street Paving Concerns”, “Fleet Management Plan”, and “Parking – Main Street”.

The stated goal was to spend 15 minutes on each of the first six subjects, as they were prioritized as the most important, then spend less than 10 minutes on the remaining topics. However, those “Other goal areas” were not addressed due to time and complexity and were moved to the next work session agenda.

The first two topics were a familiar list of Town and citizen priorities, including: 1/ the status of the Afton Inn renovation project now on hold due to number 2/ the “EDA (EDA lawsuit/project financing/local EDA).

Goal 1 – The Afton Inn:

Redevelopment of The Afton Inn has been a point of major concern since the EDA civil litigation of March 26 was filed and brought restoration work to a halt. The work stoppage appeared due to “Afton Inn embezzlements” being listed as one point in the EDA civil suit. And while the developers have not been implicated in any wrongdoing, the EDA civil litigation alleges that former EDA Executive Director Jennifer McDonald illegally moved EDA resources under the scope of Afton Inn project work orders or designations.

So the massive brick shell of the 151-year-old former Montview Hotel dating to 1868 looms gutted, windowless and crumbling at the head of Front Royal’s Historic Downtown Business District. Council priorities concerning the project were to find a solution to get the redevelopment restarted or tear the building down and expand downtown parking onto the property.

And while that latter solution would anger many citizens who expressed concerns about replacing such a historic structure with a parking lot, rather than a redeveloped showpiece for downtown, the council consensus appeared to be a need to move toward a quicker resolution, or be out of other options.

Council is currently working with the EDA on a deal to retake ownership of the property and move toward a resolution on the project. Part of the problem is that council is unwilling to co-sign a loan with the EDA and allow EDA to keep ownership of the property due to the EDA financial scandal and related litigation between the two parties.

Another issue looked at is that 2 East Main Street LLC, the redevelopment entity responsible for rebuilding the Afton Inn, had a condition to finish this project within 5 years. That condition may need to be revisited due to the ongoing work stoppage. Money is also owed to the 2 East Main Street LLC and its sub-contractors for work done.

So the big questions here are taking ownership, negotiating terms with EDA, and negotiating with the contractor. Council seems committed to re-taking ownership and moving more quickly to some final resolution. Council determined to develop an action plan for the project by September 15.

Goal 2 – EDA:

The question of what to do about the EDA still hangs over council’s head. There is confusion on what actions can and need to be taken. “The reform committee needs to meet, in the meantime we have a civil suit in place, what other action is needed at this time,” Interim Mayor Tederick asked. The upcoming EDA reform committee meeting of August 22 was looked to for answers. Another primary issue of concern is financing and payments being made on the new police headquarters construction.

So that’s two out of seventeen – Part Two will included Streets/Infrastructure improvements (paving, storm sewer, curb & gutters and sidewalks) and Inflow and Infiltration (I & I) issues.

The Royal Examiner’s camera was there: