Oct. 7 forum deals with issues for Purcellville residents 

By Valerie Cury

On Oct. 7, the Blue Ridge Leader held their second candidate forum at the Franklin Park Art Center for eight Town of Purcellville Town Council candidates. The Sept. 16 forum was changed from a mayor and town council forum, to just mayor, based on the request from the Milan team. 

The date of Oct. 7 was agreed to by both sides, with both sides communicating with each other on the format. Due to the eight candidates participating in the event, the venue was changed to the Franklin Park Arts Center—which has both professional lighting and an acoustics system. The conversations regarding format were left up to the two sides to work out.

Just 72 hours before the October Town Council forum, the Milan slate sent out an invite through social media, to their own forum—same day, same time.

Since the Milan team had their own impromptu forum, we covered the planned Franklin Park event, and the first question from the audience dealt with each candidate’s vision for the town.

Ben Nett said what motivated him to run were primarily two issues. He said he got a rude awakening when he came home from a work trip and saw the water bills. “I went to town hall to seek an explanation and they laughed at me and said ‘Welcome to Purcellville. We call that the Purcellville Premium.’

He said his opponents plan to increase water and sewer rates double digits for the next four years by a total of 102% … “that is untenable for families.”

Nett added that the “idea of annexing other properties for industrial development and everything that comes with it: more traffic, more crime, is a double-edged sword. We believe we can eradicate the need for these rate increases and in the near term, bring them down to a more reasonable nature.” 

Brian Green said that Purcellville is a small town with a sense of community and small town character. “Our Comprehensive Plan shows our vision. It’s our vision, not developers. It’s our town. Let’s make it what we want.”

Susan Khalil said her vision is in line with Chris Bertaut who is running for Mayor, and she decided she wanted to help him. “It takes a slate to move things forward.”

Khalil said the water bills are too high—“we don’t need those double-digit increases.” Having a background in finance and after studying the budget, “we are not going to go into bankruptcy, that is fear mongering.” She wants to keep the town small and vibrant and see the town developed properly.

“Let’s look at the infrastructure now and see how we can enhance it and the quality of life for the residents that are here. You are the economic engine. We need to work for you, not the developers,” she said.

Jon Arnburg said he wants to “see the town prosper. We need to manage our growth in our town. Our utilities cannot support what the other slate is promoting. We need to work with our businesses in town. We need to focus on our citizens, our children, and the people who have called this place home for their entire life. Those are the people I want to focus on— and my slate wants to focus on.”

The next question was how to bring 21st Street to life. Arnburg said one of the things that attracted his family to Purcellville was the downtown area. After he saw what was proposed for the Vineyard Square property, he was angry. 

Arnburg said he wants businesses and developers who are “coming into this town, they need to understand what our residents want. It’s not what developers want and it’s not what is going to make the most profit for them. It’s what the residents want. It’s what fits into our community.” 

He said he has no problem having conversations explaining what the wants and needs of our citizens are to these developers. 

Khalil said, “How in the heck are we going to support what is proposed for 21^st Street? Where are we going to put the people? Where are we going to put the cars?

“The bottom line, there is a permit right now that can be acted upon—but the developer has chosen not to activate it right now. That has caused us some tax loss. You look at Bia Kitchen and Catoctin Creek Distillery and you see what can be done in a very smart manner—as opposed to something that just doesn’t fit with 21^st Street. 

“So you have to ask what’s the motivation? The motivation is money.” She said if the permit expires, she is “all for looking at something else. Bringing on the sensible development to 21st Street has such potential …”

Brian Green said learning about the Vineyard Square project on 21st Street made no sense and made him want to become active. “I see 21st Street as the heart of Purcellville and what happens if you don’t take care of your heart? The body dies. 

“So I believe in very responsible growth that reflects our character. We need “to adhere to the zoning that is here today, and it doesn’t include what Vineyard Square represents today,” said Green.

Nett said, “The issue here is that we are not against growth. We support business development. What we all want is to make sure the development that occurs is in keeping with the aesthetics of the town as outlined in our Comprehensive Plan.

“We are in favor of economic revitalization. It’s about sticking with that Comprehensive Plan—that vision that the citizens have laid out,” said Nett. 

Arnburg, addressing the utility rate increases question said, “The Town Council majority has not done their due diligence and gone through every single place within our budget that we can cut.”

He said, “We focus on 21st Street. We focus on Purcellville being this hub for western Loudoun, well what’s going to happen when my water bill is $1,200?” He asked, “Do you think I’m going to be going out to restaurants, taking my kids out to restaurants? Spending any money on businesses in town?” 

“It’s absolutely insane and irresponsible for our town council to expect that our residents are going to pick up the tab, especially when they are focusing on annexation.”

Khalil said the general operations are not being run as frugally as they need to be for a small town. “The bankruptcy comment in the water bill we just received, I think number one for town management to mention anything to have to do with bankruptcy is such poor leadership. Instead of showing how we can solve the problem, they put fear in us that our town is going to go bankrupt. That is immature and unacceptable.” 

Brian Green called for the town to “tighten their belt.” Nett said, “We have a lot to do in short order. We would eliminate all the planned double-digit rate increases over the next five years. As my collogues have said, we have a spending problem.”

All the candidates were against the Valley Commerce Center annexation. Nett said, “Annexations do not pay for themselves…We don’t have the water. Like so many other properties surrounding us, it’s controlled in the county”—at a much lower density. 

Green said since the town doesn’t have the water it could cost the town millions of dollars to expand the town’s water system. “The residents don’t want annexation, and if considered, the residents would have to agree to it.”

Khalil asked, “Why would we want to take on a financial burden when we could have 39 houses?” She added, “We should look at how we can increase the vibrancy of what we have right now and work on that.”

“The projected revenue from the project does not meet the risk the town would have to take,” said Arnburg. “Let’s focus on bringing businesses in town to fill up the vacant spaces on Main Street.”

Said Nett, “We would vote no on that [annexation] immediately.”