Go Team!
How long can children go without a bathroom? That depends on the length of their soccer or baseball game. The county staff got a clear message from supervisors Tuesday, June 5, when delivering the news that the 92-acre Bolen Park would not be ready until October 2009: we need sports fields.
"The Ashburn soccer league has 3,000 kids in my district alone who are looking for this park as soon as possible," Supervisor Lori Waters (R-Broad Run) said.
The park’s opening was being held up by the need for water and sewer on the property, something Supervisor Bruce E. Tulloch (R-Potomac) called "radically wrong."
"[Northern Virginia Community College] is used every weekend by hundreds of teams," he said. "Not one porta john in sight. Those 13 fields operate in a most expedient manner every weekend. Why is this park being held to a different standard?"
The board approved amendments to the park's special exception and said staff should prepare for public hearing and requested that the county staff work with the Department of Health to figure out a way to utilize the fields before the utilities are installed.
"If there were even a gravel road and a gravel parking lot there would no issue," Tulloch said.
Field’s Filled
After months of debate, the board voted to approve the School Board's application to build a second high school in western Loudoun. Tuesday’s long-awaited decision was not without drama, however, with Supervisor Stephen Snow (R-Dulles) attempting to give the board more time to review other options and some supervisors predicting a long legal battle with the Town of Purcellville.
"This whole situation has been handled horribly by everyone," Supervisor Mick Staton (R-Sugarland Run) said. "No one is blameless."
Although he voted to support the motion, Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio (R-Sterling) said the rights of the county’s towns must be taken seriously.
"I am not going to second class all of these town governments," he said. "The banner must be raised."
Keep on Changing
Despite some questions from residents during the public comment process about the amount of land the interchange will require, the board voted to approve the design for the interchange at Ashburn Village Boulevard and Route 7.
The interchange, a spread-diamond design, will have shorter ramps on the north side of Route 7 leading to the Howard Hughes Medical Research Institute. Longer ramps on the south side, leading to the Ashburn Village community, will accommodate the additional traffic generated by the neighborhood.
"The reality is that we need to get this interchange underway and get it done," Waters said. "One Loudoun is doing it because we told them they had to do it."
— Erika Jacobson