Misinformation jeopardizing Fields Farm project

By Valerie Cury

The Purcellville Town Council and the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors face an opportunity to meet and negotiate the Fields Farm project proposal. 

Loudoun County is requesting a zoning change to part of the 225-acre Fields Farm complex, which is home to Woodgrove High School and Mountain View Elementary School. They are proposing a park and ride along with roads and eight sports fields.

At the Purcellville Town Council Meeting on Oct. 11, Council Member Joel Grewe mentioned the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors’ finance meeting was taking place that night.

“I had outreach from one of the members of the Board of Supervisors asking about the decision of the Planning Commission last week relative to Fields Farm [Park],” Grewe said.

“One of the other Supervisors is apparently leading a coalition to suggest that Loudoun County remove their funding from Purcellville for transportation dollars as a result of that decision,” Grewe told the Council. “I don’t have more context on that, I am getting this from someone who is there right now.”

“That can affect the 690 Interchange, our road dollars, our maintenance and upkeep, our sidewalk requests, our emerald trail projects,” Grewe added.

Purcellville Mayor Kwasi Fraser then asked who the supervisor in question was. Grewe replied it was Supervisor Matt Letourneau.

When asked in an email if his statement was true, Supervisor Matt Letourneau (R-Dulles) replied, “I wouldn’t say that all of that is entirely accurate. I’m not ‘leading a coalition’ and I’ve never commented on anything related to Purcellville projects until last night.” He referred us to the video portion of the meeting.

Letourneau’s comment was in the context of the Town of Purcellville’s Planning Commission recommending denial for the Fields Farm Park proposal, as well as the park and ride. 

The commission heard months of comments from Mayfair residents, as this project would border their community. Residents were primarily concerned about the buffer, lighted fields, traffic, the number of fields, and who exactly the park and ride would be servicing.

Members of the County staff were in attendance at numerous meetings, but remained silent on any give and take regarding citizens’ concerns.

Not related to the applications but relevant to the project was also the concern from residents that they did not want Mayfair Crown Drive, a cul-de-sac, extended to the proposed project.

At the Oct. 11 Board of Supervisors Finance/Government Operations and Economic Development Committee meeting, Erin McLellan, the County’s Assistant County Administrator, updated the committee supervisors on the Fields Farm Park project and the park and ride lot. 

She said the project will go to a public hearing at the Town Council level “probably in November and take up applications in December.”

McLellan said the “denial [from the Purcellville Planning Commission] was a little unexpected, from a staff perspective.” She said the Purcellville “area will become more urbanized” and that there is a “need for this location for a transit hub.”

Smart Scale funds are linked to two projects in Purcellville — the park and ride lot and the Rt. 690 Interchange. “We need to make progress for the County to receive funding in the future,” McLellan said, adding that the County was “put on notice by VDOT last week … They have noticed we have not been making progress on a lot of our Smart Scale projects.”

She also said that the County “will not let it get to the point where we will let it jeopardize our program. We would simply return the funds.”

“If we return the Smart Scale funds, then in that situation we would probably be back to a little bit better standing,” McLellan said.

Supervisor Koran Saines (D-Sterling) said, “If they voted down these projects and knowing we have this Smart Scale money tied up in two of these projects, let’s remove that money from these projects and shift them to other projects.”

He asked staff why the project was voted down. Nancy Boyd, Acting Director of Transportation and Capital Infrastructure, said that the County has not received an official transmittal of the results. She said the Planning Commission was not using the County staff’s information, but rather their own. 

“They seemed to be doing quite a bit of work on their own … They were doing a lot of analysis on their own,” Boyd said. “They were trying to do their due diligence and compare the 13 criteria that they needed to evaluate our applications.”

“The main thrust of their concerns revolves around the ability of the park itself to reflect the small-town character that Purcellville is,” Boyd explained. “They think it’s not consistent with their Comprehensive Plan.” 

Citizens speaking before the Planning Commission overwhelmingly expressed a desire for adjustments to the County’s proposed plans — like the design of roads, greater buffers, lighting hours or no lights, the park and ride. Many wanted a kids’ playground, and a park.

Boyd added, “Some of the information we provided primarily, it seemed like it wasn’t consistent with what they thought the community needed.” She also said there was “concern about the ability of both the park and the park and ride lot to meet the needs of Purcellville itself, as opposed to the greater County.”

During this process, the Planning Commission asked multiple questions about impacts the project would generate — questions which either went unanswered or were answered with responses lacking sufficient detail. 

For example, Commissioner Nedim Ogelman asked in August about the long-term higher order impacts on the Town from these County projects and how the County proposed to mitigate any long-term harmful impacts. After a second request in late September, the County failed to provide a direct detailed response to the question. 

Letourneau asked how much money the County had spent on these projects. He was told for the park, not much, but for the park and ride, “We have probably invested a couple hundred thousand,” said Boyd.

“These could be reprogramed in the CIP [Capital Improvement Program] into other projects, correct?” asked Letourneau. “Yes,” replied Erin McLellan.

Letourneau continued, “Purcellville residents are County residents … The County was attempting to meet the needs of our residents, some of which are also Purcellville residents … We have a lot of projects all over the County and residents that are eager for them, and we have a very constrained Capital Improvement Program getting worse by the year.

“So quite frankly I am only too happy to reprogram these funds into other projects, especially … if that’s the desire of the Town of Purcellville,” Letourneau said. “I’m more than happy to reprogram them in our budget process, and I want them to clearly understand that.” 

“I would suggest that we may want to consider holding on all the Purcellville requests until we have resolution of the issues that we uncovered earlier this evening,” Letourneau recommended.

Committee Chair Kristen Umstattd (D-Leesburg) said that the committee should “reach out to the Town Council and Mayor.” This was echoed by BOS Chair Phyllis Randall (D-At Large), who said, “I am happy to call Mayor Fraser or send an email.”

Umstattd said she spoke with Supervisor Tony Buffington (R-Blue Ridge), who “reached out for a meeting with the Mayor and Council Members. It had been scheduled, but then it was cancelled,” she said. 

In a phone call to Purcellville Mayor Kwasi Fraser asking him if he was ever contacted by Buffington or his office for a meeting. He replied “No, I was not contacted by Buffington nor his office and there was not any meeting scheduled.” Fraser said that he would welcome a joint meeting to discuss the concerns, “but the focus must be on the health, safety, and welfare of our citizens.”