February 2003

We had an excellent turnout for the Town Meeting on Saturday the 15^th. About 125 residents were there. In attendance was also Mr. Garrett from Garrett Construction and Jack Cavalier, our Stafford County Supervisor. I was very pleased to see so many people take the time to attend our meeting. In a quick hands only count, it seemed only 6 or so supported the concept of a second gate and the balance did not. This was not totally unexpected. When someone believes that a situation negatively affects them, they are more prone to be vocal on an issue. Frankly, we need to here from those most affected by an issue. All were very well spoken and presented strong arguments in opposition to the second gate. Some of those arguments were:

1. The increase in traffic by their homes would create safety and noise issues that were not present when they bought their home.
2. Having a second gate would save little travel time to Route 1 or Highway 95
3. The cost of manning a second gate. Estimated between $130 and $200 grand.
4. To get the ?Free? second gate, we would have to support additional homes being built behind the Harbour. Increasing growth that some feel is already out of hand.??
5. Noise created by additional traffic on the proposed Widewater Parkway that will parallel Harpoon will generate additional noise pollution.
6. The additional homes will further aggravate the already difficult traffic on Route 1, Highway 95 and Rout 610.

There are additional arguments against the second gate. For the sake of balance I would like to list some positives that I believe we should also consider:

1. There is a critical time line for those with some medical emergencies like a heart attack. A second gate would help emergency vehicles in this situation immensely.
2. As traffic develops at the existing entrance, we may in the near future regret not having an alternate exit.
3. We could save significant money if we automated the second gate.
4. The Widewater Parkway and the homes are coming. Garrett is already approved to build in Widewater. This may be an opportunity for the Harbour to at least gain something in the bargain.
5. Access to the proposed VRE station in Widewater would be outstanding.

?My purpose here is to continue the debate and encourage communication from all of you reading this article. In the very near future, we will post a list of arguments on both sides of the issue in the www.aquiaharbour.org web page.? An upcoming meeting with the builder will offer us more information that will be posted as well. The Board has promised to do a referendum on this issue as well. Your voice will be heard!

Walking Paths

This is an issue that is very important to me. In the FY04 budget we are planning to include walking paths in the $130,000 that has been set aside for paving. We will complete an appraisal of which roads need paving in the next 30 days. At that point we will determine if walking paths are also required in that same area. If so, we will widen the road to include the paths. All future paving will be addressed in this manner.

Collections

In past articles I have talked about the importance of our CVO (code violation officer), and the collection of monies owed the Harbour. These monies could be in the form of outstanding dues or fines for code violation. The Board has been very aggressive in its collection efforts. In fiscal year 2003 we have collected approximately $18,000. This is significantly higher than we have achieved in the past. We intend to keep on this path!?

Please contact me at john@reinboldt.com with your thoughts or concerns.