Coraggio Consulting
Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, Business Meeting, Tuesday, October 7, 2025

Date: Tuesday, October 7, 2025
Place: Board Room, First Floor, Government Center, 1 Harrison Street SE, Leesburg, Virginia
Length: 3h 13m (video)
Official meeting video (county, Granicus): https://loudoun.granicus.com/player/clip/8034
Meeting page (Granicus): https://loudoun.granicus.com/player/clip/8034

Machine transcript (speech-to-text) produced by Coraggio Consulting. Not an official county record. Names and numbers may be misspelled; check the video at the timestamp before quoting.
Speech-to-text: whisper.cpp, model large-v3-turbo. Produced 2026-10-10. Timestamps are [HH:MM:SS] into the meeting video.

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[00:09:00] Well, good evening, Supervisors, good evening, staff, and good evening, Loudon. I'd like to call to order the October 7, 2025 Loudon County Board Supervisors business meeting. This room has a hearing loop. If you need hearing assistance, please switch your hearing aid to the telecall mode. If you need a headset, we have those available as well.

[00:09:19] The only words of inspiration tonight that I will do is the serenity prayer. God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Would everyone please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

[00:09:50] Okay, so Mr. Sains will be here soon. He is coming in from work, and he usually gets here about 5.30 or so. Mr. Kirshner will not be here this evening. He has a very pivotal work duty that he has to attend to tonight and tomorrow, so he will not be joining us.

[00:10:11] Mr. Beister Turner will not be here tonight. He is not feeling well, and Mr. Kirchner will not be here tonight. And so the women are just holding it down, which is how it should always be, to be quite honest, so we're going to be just fine.

[00:10:29] I want to say that by request of the applicant that G2024-0043 Tuscarora Land Bay number three subdivision special exception 2024-0059, special exception 2024-0060, that's in Leesburg, has been deferred indefinitely. I know there was some confusion today of whether or not there would have to be a vote on that. There is not. If an applicant asks to defer and they have a

[00:10:59] you know, what I deem as a solid reason, I can make the decision to allow that deferral to happen and since the applicant did not have a date that they want to defer to, it's deferred indefinitely and that does not require a vote of the board. I will read the consent agenda. The proposed consent agenda is as follows. Item R1, proclamation to recognize September 15th through October 15th as Hispanic Heritage Month in Loudoun County. That's for approval and presentation.

[00:11:29] R2, resolution to recognize September 18th as Find the Good Day in Loudoun County, that's for approval only. Item R3, proclamation to declare October 25, I'm sorry, October 2025 as Fire Prevention Month in Loudoun County, that's for approval and presentation.

[00:11:48] And I think one of our fire dogs is going to be joining us today, so yay. Item R4, resolution to commemorate the opening of the Loudoun Member Experience Center of the Northern Virginia Realtors Association of Realtors. That's for approval and presentation. Item R5, proclamation to recognize October 2025 as Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

[00:12:09] That's for approval and presentation. As you can see, some of us are wearing pink for breast cancer awareness. r6 proclamation to recognize diwali holiday 2025 that's for approval and presentation you'll find later that mr crony has a beautiful um outfit that she's wearing and in celebration of diwali item r7 proclamation to recognize the 250th anniversary of the united states navy that's for approval and presentation item r8 resolution and commendation to a nova loudon hospital designation as a level 2 trauma center. That's for approval only because that has already

[00:12:49] been presented by Chair Turner joined me today at Innova Hospital as we celebrated them being a level 2 trauma center. It is a very, very big deal. So that presentation has already been made. R9, proclamation to recognize November 4th through 11th is Operation Green Light for veterans only. That's for approval. I'm sorry, green light for veterans. That's for approval only. And R10, resolution to commemorate a commission for the 150th anniversary of Sterling United Methodist Church. That's for approval only. Item 1A, proposed rewrite of the codified

[00:13:29] instance of Loudoun County, Chapter 838, Swimming Pool and Water Recreation Facilities. That's a countywide item. Item 2A, revised 2025-2026 joint committee work plan. That's a countywide, is that, is that the joint, that's the joint school board committee work plan. Yeah, okay, that should say when we, joint committee is the joint school board and board of supervisors work plan. Item 3A, of which Ms. Glass is the co-chair of that committee. Item 3A, appointments and confirmations. Item 4, administrative items report of October 7, 2025. That is the consent agenda. I

[00:14:06] will make a motion to approve as there is second on the consent agenda. Second is by Ms. Bricksman. Discussion on the consent agenda. Ms. Glass. Thank you, Madam Chair. On the consent agenda is the update as Chair Randall just pointed out to the Joint Board of Supervisors and School Board committee work plan to have a presentation on the memorandum of understanding between LCPS and the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office. The committee discussed the MOU in April 2023 and will provide members of the committee with an overview of the latest update.

[00:14:41] At the committee September meeting, we received an update on the new LCPS Transition Center. The center will provide career and technical skill development to support workforce integration and increase career opportunities and improve the quality of life for students with disabilities.

[00:14:58] I'm very excited about this center. We also were provided an update on the response and resources being provided to prevent and treat substance abuse among our youth. The county is taking a wraparound approach with the Department of Mental Health, Substance Abuse, and Development Services, the Sheriff's Office, the Leesburg Police Department, and LCPS all working together to prevent substance abuse and, when necessary, to provide treatment.

[00:15:28] Efforts include addressing early signs of substance abuse and misuse, emotional regulation, peer resistance, and stress management skills. The opening of the Northern Virginia Regional Youth Detox and Crisis Stabilization Services Project next year will provide a place for assessment and short-term residential care for youth experiencing substance abuse and for young people experiencing mental health crisis.

[00:15:54] I thank my colleagues for approving the addition of the MOU to the work plan. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you. Anybody else? So I just want to talk about a little bit Operation Greenlight for Veterans. So what that basically means is as we get toward Veterans Day and talk about these Veterans Day issues, we will light up some of our county buildings and courthouse green just to recognize veterans.

[00:16:22] Loudoun County, 10% of our population is veterans. We have a very high veterans population in Loudoun County. And we have to always be aware that veterans, for the most part, have a higher suicide rate, a much higher suicide rate. they have higher homelessness, they have higher mental health issues, and so as much as possible that we can keep the services for veterans and the awareness for veterans' needs in our mind, we should.

[00:16:49] And so I really want to thank Ernie Brown and his department, who's going to help with this, the light for veterans, and so if you see the buildings lit up green, that's why you will see that when that comes. All right. All in favor of the consent agenda, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? That motion will pass, 5-0-4, with all the men being gone, just how it goes.

[00:17:14] I have the following organizational regional or countrywide updates. So we finally have started the leadership greater Washington. We had our first opening ceremony on September 18th.

[00:17:31] It was at the Bolger Conference Center in Maryland, Potomac, Maryland. It was interesting. It is a cohort, a class of 61 people, and a lot of it was kind of just trying to find out what we want to get out of this moment and how we want to use these contacts that we will make with one another.

[00:17:52] So as Leadership Greater Washington continues, I will continue to come and give you updates. On October 1st, I spoke at the MOVE conference. It's the MOVE business conference that had over 800 attendees at it.

[00:18:08] Some of the speakers at that conference were Chairman Jeff McCabe from Prince William County, Chair DeSondra Jefferson, the Secretary of Commerce and Trade, Juan Pablo Seguera, Laudan's own Ibrahim Moez, who is the partner in ANOVA Business Law Group, And Governor Yunkin spoke as well.

[00:18:29] And so it was a very well-attended business conference with over, I don't know how many, I think 24 exhibitors and over 800 attendees. It was a really well-done conference, and I was happy to speak at that. On October also, October 1st, I was at NACO's full steering committee meeting for the Health and Human Resources.

[00:18:54] Obviously, much of what we discussed was the concerns with Medicaid and SNAP benefits and how, especially for states like Virginia, who do pay for the administration of Medicaid and SNAP, how that's going to be covered and what we're going to do to make sure or to try to help our residents.

[00:19:19] A lot of people on that call who are from rural hospitals -- I'm sorry, rural areas with rural hospitals were also concerned. They are saying that they are already seeing some of their rural hospitals close. That's because rural hospitals, for the most part, have a lot of people who are Medicaid recipients.

[00:19:38] A lot of their dollars are Medicaid dollars, and so if those dollars are not coming through, the rural hospitals will close. We also have, again, discussions about some of the information that has come out that is not evidence-based or scientifically peer-reviewed about autism, about vaccinations, that type of thing.

[00:20:02] So discussions of how do we as county officials across the United States make sure that people can make whatever decision they want to about what medications they put in their body or whether they vaccinate their children, but they should have the proper information. And so putting out evidence-based, peer-reviewed information is going to be really important.

[00:20:23] So we had that discussion. So it was a robust conversation of all types of things and some of the things that really are coming out of the administration and out of the Make America Healthy Again effort. And finally, on October 3rd, I appeared on the Politics Hour with Kojo Nnamdi and Tom Sherwood.

[00:20:44] One of the things that they wanted to talk about was the shutdown and how it impacts local government. For all of us who may not know, Loudoun has over 63,000 of our residents are either federal government employees or are federal government contractors.

[00:21:02] Northern Virginia has the largest concentration of federal government employees or federal government contractors in that nation. And so we know that we're going to be hit just a little harder. And so we talked about how counties can help. Of course, if you are following Buddy Reiser, the head of our DED, put some information out on how they can be helpful.

[00:21:24] I do know that nonprofits are also working to make sure people know where to get medical care to get food, to do those kind of things. And please know when that happens, you'll be treated with the greatest of respect and dignity. We understand that this is a hard time for people right now, and we're trying to be as responsive as possible. So those are all of my updates that I have. So now I will go to my voice for a cause, which I'm really excited about. My voice for a cause today is Lasagna Love. The vision and mission of Lasagna Love is that it's a global nonprofit and grassroots movement that aims to positively impact communities by connecting

[00:22:03] neighbors with neighbors through homemade meal deliveries. Through their neighbor-to-neighbor movement, Lasagna Love connects volunteer lasagna chefs who want to help individuals and families in need providing home-cooked lasagna that's made with love. Their overall mission is to feed families, spread kindness, and strengthen communities. I think that is so cool. Today we have the Loud and Lead for Lasagna Love, and all of us know Sonia. She's been around doing great things for years and knitting things. Crochet. Crochet. I'm sorry.

[00:22:38] My bad. Okay. Say so much I know. Crochet and crocheting things for a very, very long time, and she is phenomenal. She's here at Cairn Cram, who's the state manager. So thank you both for being here. Let me ask, how did Lasagna Love start and how has that organization evolved since its founding? So Lasagna Love began in March of 2020, just as the pandemic was getting underway. And our founder, Rhiannon Min, who lived in San Diego at the time, noticed that people in her community were struggling to find a meal, perhaps because of their job loss, financial

[00:23:15] difficulties and so she just started in her kitchen baking a couple of lasagnas and delivering them to her community members she told some friends around her area also across the country and then they wanted to get involved as well and so it just slowly started she told a friend they baked they told a friend they baked and by the fall of 2020 they were already incorporating as a non-profit organization and getting organized. And since then, we now have volunteer chefs

[00:23:51] baking in all 50 states, also in Puerto Rico and then in three other countries, the UK, Canada, and Australia. So it's really spread like wildfire. It started very grassroots and we're very excited that that's what we've been able to turn around in such a very short time and so at this point in time we have over 80,000 volunteers across all of that territory which is very exciting for us which means we're making an impact everywhere. We have delivered

[00:24:25] over 530,000 lasagnas which has had an impact on 530,000. Yes which is incredible and we've impacted over 2.3 million people so we're very excited about that all from one person's effort in one kitchen yes that's amazing it is amazing so how does a family request you how when they when they want to have a meal delivered how do they go about requesting to get a lasagna love meal delivered sure so so what people do is go on to the lasagnalove.org website each one of you got a flyer awesome so you go on to the website and you go to request and then you fill out your

[00:25:05] information your likes your dislikes sign off the waiver and then um then you're in can a family and this is not on the sheet that you guys that you i was you didn't know i was going to ask this can a family request um more than one lasagna in a certain period of time or is it or do you limit how much yes request every 30 days every 30 days every 30 days okay yes just to clarify that it's every 30 days once they've received a delivery so once they get a delivery they can they wait 30 days they can submit again. Okay. And that's to help make sure that everybody's getting an opportunity to be fed. And you all, I mean, so questions like, do you eat pork or do you eat

[00:25:43] beef? Correct. So you make the lasagna, the lasagna is made to the... Based on the specifications. Very wonderful. Yes. What are some of the local community partners lasagna love has in Loudoun County? Thank you for asking that question, because that is my favorite question to ask.

[00:25:59] Okay. Answer. Salvation Army, we started with Salvation Army, where we were delivering 24 lasagnas once a month, which was on a Saturday, where Salvation Army does go out to three locations out in Western Loudoun to deliver foods. And then so our lasagnas were then in their kitchen were split up and put into individual boxes. So it was more or less first come, first serve. So that was our first, yay, you know, we're in. Then came Mobile Hope because I reached out to Donna and Casey and I've worked with them also with Loudoun Abused Women's Shelter. I've worked with them

[00:26:34] i'm getting food to the shelter um i've also uh worked with the personal firefight fire department and um who else there's there's many many um i've i've also helped with one hope ministries we delivered um 80 lasagnas they had an event at the leesburg um the plaza at the plaza at the one at the plaza yeah so we were able to do like 80 lasagnas there that was amazing um and then you know I just I just show up at different events I mean I just talk I think this is phenomenal I think I think this is I think this is phenomenal and you and you know what I I appreciate you

[00:27:13] saying is that you are all around Loudoun County because sometimes there's a mistaken belief that there is need in one part of Loudoun County or two parts of Loudoun County that's not true there are people who might have a need all over Loudoun County so I'm glad you actually acknowledge that. Can I just comment a little on the need? So one of the things that's unique for us is we don't judge need. Need can be in many forms. It could be a financial need. We're certainly seeing that need now with the furloughs that are happening, but it can also be a healthcare need. I just had surgery. I just gave birth to a baby. I'm recovering from this. It could be a

[00:27:49] mental health issue. It could be, I am really just having a bad day, week, month, and I could really benefit from somebody bringing me a hot meal where I can just not have to think about what to put on the table. And so I would ask or encourage, you talked about in your meetings that you were discussing how to help people who are being furloughed right now. Please share that lasagna love is there for them. If you have a way to provide that information to someone, to share with someone, then... You're on television. You're sharing it right now. Because we're here to help

[00:28:24] those people who are just hopefully very temporarily out of work but again could use absolutely a hot lasagna to just make the day a little bit better i think it's amazing and then my my i think it's amazing my last question i think you've said it already but if somebody wants to help either with making lasagna food contributions um giving um financial contributions how do they get a hold of you same lasagnalove.org volunteer and that's is that loud and specific nationwide nationwide nationwide and across across the different countries lasagnalove.org

[00:28:59] volunteer that's how they get a hold of you i think this is phenomenal like i said one person does this in their kitchen and it goes i mean you know people do underestimate the good one person can do they do we do so this is great and thank you and thank you for the not knitting but crochet thank you very much i don't allow clapping very much in the room but i do want to clap for you all now for all the good work. Thank you very much. I also want to let everybody know that we put flyers out in the festival so if you want to grab a flyer please do and share with your friends and neighbors. Thank you. Wonderful. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Hemstreet do you have any

[00:29:38] comments today? Thank you Madam Chair. I have four comments for this afternoon. The first of that I'm pleased to report that Loudoun County has received an award for project management excellence from the Virginia Department of Transportation for the North Star Boulevard Evergreen Mills Road to Route 50 project. The award was presented at VDOT's recent local programs workshop, which showcases outstanding local transportation projects throughout Virginia.

[00:30:01] Details about this and the many other awards earned by Loudoun County are online at loudoun.gov slash awards. Second, the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Community Services reminds members of the community that they are invited to celebrate the history and impact of Loudoun County's first and only black high school at the second annual Douglas Legacy Day this Saturday, October 11th.

[00:30:23] The family-friendly event will take place from 12 to 5 p.m. on the historic Douglas High School Education and Development Campus in Leesburg. It will include a historic scavenger hunt, a petting zoo, moon bounces, live music, and more than 20 community vendors.

[00:30:38] More information is online at loudon.gov slash douglaslegastieday. Third, the Department of Economic Development is gearing up for one of the county's most popular events, The 2025 Loudoun Farm Tour, which is taking place Saturday and Sunday, October 18th and 19th.

[00:30:54] There are more than 40 farm stops on the self-guided free tour this year, showcasing the diversity of the county's agricultural producers. More information about the tour is online at loudounfarmtour.com. And then finally, Loudoun County is looking for monsters, monster trees, that is.

[00:31:11] The county's Big Tree Registry has returned to active status, and members of the community are invited to nominate trees for the registry. The county website provides detailed information on how to take measurements of a big tree, as well as a virtual tour of several trees already in the registry, and an interactive map showing the general location of many of the county's big trees.

[00:31:31] You can find all this information online at loudon.gov slash bigtreeregistry. Those are my comments for this afternoon, ManChair. Thank you. Mr. Hemstreet, why are we looking to look at big trees? Are they going to be like a big tree tour? We have a big tree registry, so they're kind of featured.

[00:31:48] And there's pictures and they're just kind of cool. Oh, just showing, okay, gotcha. Okay, gotcha. Interesting, interesting. All right, supervisors. So we have a very, very short agenda tonight.

[00:32:04] And I think, and we do have one closed session. I think we can get in and out of closed session probably by 5 o'clock. And if we do that, we can come back, do board comments, and then go into resolutions and public comments and literally then be done.

[00:32:22] So that is what we're going to try to do. So I know it's absolutely phenomenal. So if there are no objections to that or any concerns about that, I'm going to go on and ask Ms. Brixman if you would like to read us into closed session.

[00:32:38] Sure thing, Madam Chair. I move that the Board of Supervisors recess this public meeting and enter into closed session pursuant to section 2.2-3711.a.7 to consult with legal counsel about an actual or probable litigation pertaining to a construction project.

[00:32:54] Motion is made by Supervisor Glass. Discussion on that motion. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? That motion will pass 5-4. We are in closed session.

[00:58:51] Yes, we can.

[01:24:39] That's not coming. Well, we are back from closed session. Ms. Brixman, will you please read us out of closed session? I move that the closed session be adjourned, and that the board of supervisors reconvenes its public meeting that the minutes of the public meeting should reflect that no formal action was taken in the closed session and further move that the resolution certifying the closed session be adopted and reflected in the minutes of this public meeting motion made in second discussion on the motion for the record mr sayings came into closed session at five o'clock and so when he affirms he will be he will be affirming from

[01:25:16] 5 o'clock to 5 till we walked out of closed session about 5 20. That's when he came into closed session. All right. Anybody else with discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? That motion will pass 6-0-3. Would everybody please affirm? Affirm. Affirm. Affirm.

[01:25:36] Affirm. Affirm. And I affirm as well. Thank you everyone. We're going to start our resolutions now and the first resolution we're going to do is for Diwali. I'm going to ask Mr. Crony to join me down front for the Wally Resolution. Let me just go through them, please. For Hispanic Heritage Month, I'm going to have Ms. Glass join me down front for Hispanic Heritage Month.

[01:25:59] For Fire Prevention Month, I would ask that Ms. Bricksman join me down front for Fire Prevention Month. And Ms. Bricksman will remain with me for the Laudan Member Experience at the North Virginia Realtors Association, and of course Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

[01:26:19] And then Ms. Umstead will join me down front for the proclamation to recognize 250 years for the United States Navy. And I think that is all of them. Is that everybody? Is that everything? That is everything. Mr. Crony, will you join me down front for Diwali, please?

[01:26:41] Everybody here for the Diwali resolution, please come down front, please.

[01:26:57] I should say that this is a resolution that Mr. Letourneau has brought every year. He couldn't be here with us this evening. Mr. Crony and I have joined him, and she will read the resolution.

[01:27:16] But we appreciate Mr. Letourneau. We miss him this year, and we know that he will be bringing the resolution with us in years in the future. Mr. Crony. Thank you, everyone, for coming. So I'm going to read the resolution.

[01:27:32] diwali 2025 diwali which translates to the festival lights is the most important holiday and religious festival in the hindu calendar and whereas diwali is observed each year by hindus sheiks yans and buddhists throughout the united states and whereas diwali originated as a harvest festival that marked the end of the growing season before winter. And whereas Diwali is a shortened version of the Sanskrit word Deepavali, which means a row of lamps, and the holiday

[01:28:11] celebrates the victory of good over evil, light over darkness, and knowledge over ignorance, as well as the Hindu New Year. And whereas Diwali is celebrated for five nights every year, where celebrants light small oil lamps, place them around the home along with other festive decorations, and pray for health, knowledge, peace, happiness, hope, and wisdom. And whereas Loudoun County has a large Indian American population that is actively involved in our

[01:28:44] community's schools, sports, volunteer efforts, non-profits, and businesses, and these residents will observe Diwali beginning October 18th, 2025, with the main festivities occurring on October 20th and 21st.

[01:29:03] Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors and all the citizens of Loudoun County recognize the many contributions Indian Americans make to our community and do hereby wish them a festive and enjoyable Diwali celebration in 2025.

[01:29:21] yay all right thank you thank you so much it is my pleasure and honor to celebrate uh dibali this year chair randall's correct usually supervisor letourneau's here but um we have um in the little river district a great community that celebrates the holidays so i'm honored to be here um so we'll give an opportunity for others to speak if they want to actually we have a great community in all of Loudoun County, not just the Little River District.

[01:29:55] Well, but I had to bring that up. I had to bring that up. Would you like to? I'm just going to say Happy Diwali. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for doing this proclamation. I'm really appreciative of, you know, what you're all doing, and this means a lot to the community.

[01:30:12] I've lived in Loudoun since 99, and I've only seen our community grow and thrive. So thank you again so much. The first Indian-American immigrant to be elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. So, and you know, I'm very grateful to the community.

[01:30:29] I'm very grateful to every, every Laudaner. And I always say Laudan is my home, but Virginia is my district. So I'll never forget that. So, and entire Laudan is my district. - Yes. - Yes, thank you.

[01:30:48] - First of all, thank you so much for this proclamation and good evening. My name is Visha Makwana and I'm in 11th grade at Rockridge High School. I'm so glad to be standing here today on behalf of the B.A.P.S. Shisamunayan Mandir in Chantilly. So from the bottom of my heart, I wish you all a happy Diwali.

[01:31:06] In a world currently filled with complexity and division, Diwali serves as a timeless reminder of our most fundamental values, a time where we share joy, prosperity, and togetherness. At the B.A.P.S. Shantilly Mandir, however, Diwali represents the timeless message over good over evil, but also the spirit of community and selfless service.

[01:31:26] Months in advance, the entire community, consists of many Loudoun County residents starts to come together and people of all ages backgrounds and positions volunteer their time to make the festivities as grand as possible. Young children create and put up decorations and prepare for cultural exhibitions learning about the festival's significance as they practice. Meanwhile adults and older volunteers handle more elaborate tasks from from preparing hundreds of dishes for the angoed offering to cultural organizational practices featuring music and dance this

[01:32:01] collaborative spirit strengthens bonds and makes the celebration a memorable event for all with blessings from his holiness monsoy maraj that monday will move to an even larger building in loudon county next year the increased space will allow for an even grander display and more elaborate festivities further amplifying the celebration of the body and all the vibrant festivities that accompany it we wish you a heartfelt divari and invite you to join the divari celebrations on october 25th at the baps shri swaminaran mandir in chantilly thank you and

[01:32:32] jay samanaren um october 25th at the baps temple in chantilly good evening everyone my name is christian patel and i'm in 10th grade at bridewoods high school here in laudan county on behalf of baps shri swaminaran temple chantilly soon moving to sterling and under the guidance of his holiness I extend my heartfelt greetings and wish you all a very happy Diwali.

[01:33:07] Diwali is not only about lights and sweets, but also about being a light in the world, bringing kindness, compassion, and unity wherever we go. At our temple, kids like me celebrate by helping with event planning, decorations, color floor designs, lamps, and by participating in selfless service.

[01:33:27] This tradition reminds us that sharing and service are at the heart of every celebration, teaching us responsibility, empathy, and joy. Diwali also reminds us that celebrating together across cultures and faiths makes Loudoun County a brighter and more united community.

[01:33:45] We warmly invite all of you to join us at our Diwali and Mountain of Food celebration on October 25th to experience the joy, devotion, and togetherness. Thank you, and Jai Sominaran. I've been coming to this event when proclamation for Diwali is introduced every year, I think for almost more than 10 years.

[01:34:11] And I'm so happy to see Loudoun become a role model for inclusiveness, diversity, and both sides can work together to achieve the results. So this can be a model for a country to work together.

[01:34:30] But I'm also appreciative of the Board of Supervisors that you guys are welcoming us to Sterling, to our new facility, which is a 100,000-square-foot building. And we're going to have much more grand events in this facility, which is – so we're moving from Chantilly, if people don't know where we're coming from.

[01:34:50] So moving from Fairfax to Loudoun. So thank you so much. Happy Diwali to everyone. And everyone's invited to the festivities on October 25th in Chantilly. I will make a point of calling the chair of Fairfax County and telling them you're moving from Fairfax to Loudoun County.

[01:35:09] We good. Let's take a picture. Let's take a picture. Absolutely. Absolutely. Hi, I'm Vimla Rangwani. I'm actually a teacher in Loudoun County, but here to represent Seva International. And for Diwali, we are coordinating with all the Hindu organizations and doing food drive, giving back to the community. So please feel free to give canned goods or any other non-perishable food items to any of the Hindu organizations, and they'll be more than happy to give it to the homeless shelters in

[01:35:43] Florida. So last year, 345 organizations across the country participated, and 300,000 pounds of food was delivered, and this time the goal is 500,000 pounds for all this. Thank you for the I just want to say that I'm the only Hindu American serving in the General Assembly.

[01:36:09] It gives me, yes, extreme, extreme happiness and gratefulness to the Board of Supervisors. Thank you. So we're going to take a picture.

[01:37:41] Everyone please come down for Hispanic Heritage Month.

[01:38:00] These are some of my favorite people coming down here right now. How about, Jason, how about you join us? Hello, how are you? Hello.

[01:38:15] So you're going to read this, correct? Which version are you reading?

[01:38:37] It might be Spanglish. She reads Spanish really well. But either way, so you've got them both. First of all, I do want to say this. I want to say before we do resolutions that celebrate a community in Loudoun County, those resolutions never come or never initiate by the Board of Supervisors.

[01:38:56] It is my belief that if communities want to have their community celebrated, that's a wonderful thing, but they should lead that effort. And they do. And so the South Asian Indian community has led the effort of Diwali. Over the years, I've led the effort for the African-American Resolution.

[01:39:12] And my staff aide, Jason, has led the efforts of the second year for Hispanic Heritage Month. And we actually take very seriously who we call to receive it and what we say and how these happen. And so these are not just automatic.

[01:39:28] This is working with the communities when we bring these forward. Great job again. Thank you, Madam Chair, and it will be Spanglish. I'll do the first in Spanish and the last in Spanish.

[01:40:06] Funcionarios, Electos, Agricultores y Muchos Más y the Reverend Daniel Velez Rivera, Vicar of St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church in Leesburg is a strong advocate for the Hispanic community, non-profit leader, and a voice of kindness and compassion

[01:40:37] And whereas Paula Marato Callahan, the Eligibility Coordinator and Outreach Specialist for the Loudoun Free Clinic and Connect Line Rental Assistance Lead for Loudoun Cares, is a force of empathy whose work brings vital health care access and administers rental assistance to Loudoun County's most vulnerable populations.

[01:41:06] And whereas Beth Sastre, commercial horticulturalist of Loudoun, Virginia Cooperative Extension, provides a wealth of knowledge on agriculture and horticulture education to Loudoun farmers, agricultural workers, commercial growers, and the commercial service providers.

[01:41:34] And whereas Reverend Daniel Vales Rivera, Paula Morato Callahan, and Beth Sastre exemplify the value of hard work, compassion, empathy, kindness, respect, resiliency, and the everyday invaluable contributions of the Hispanic and Latino community to Loudoun County, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the United States of America.

[01:41:59] And, mientras que, es importante recordar que como un pueblo, los hispanos y latinos han continuado luchando por los principios fundacionales de esta gran nación.

[01:42:26] La vida, la libertad y la búsqueda de la felicidad, ya que ellos también son parte del tejido de este condado y nación.

[01:42:42] Por lo tanto, ahora se resuelve que la Junta de Supervisadores del Condado de Loudoun proclama el 15 de septiembre del 2025 al 15 de octubre del 2025.

[01:43:14] It's the month, Hispanic Heritage Month in Loudoun County, and calls all citizens to celebrate the vibrant Hispanic culture. Thank you.

[01:43:36] I've never seen you looking so hard at something that wasn't a Bible. First of all, thank you very much to the board of supervisors.

[01:43:52] Chair Randall, they say this means a lot to us. Everything that you guys do and support us is so important because we carry the voices that sometimes cannot be heard. These times are very tough for everyone. We not only helping Latinos, it's everyone who is vulnerable.

[01:44:13] They can lose a job. They can lose health insurance. They don't have food to be fed. They're having issues with rental assistance. That's where we are. So we carry those voices. we try to help as much as we can when we have the tools and it's thanks to all of you so I really appreciate it from the bottom of my heart this is so special to me and that's what I brought my little familia to to share this thank you very much I echo what Paula said I thank all of the Board of Supervisors all of you and also our community I am Father Daniel Vélez Rivera

[01:44:52] a proud Puerto Rican saint gabriel san gabriel episcopal church is a bilingual congregation and we serve latinos and english speakers alike representing the diversity of loudon county and one of the things that i was reflecting as i heard our diwali sisters and brothers is the values you know you talk about the values you don't only talk about it you work it out in your daily lives you live it and so all of those values the light that represents part of their tradition is the light that we talk about as well. We have to remember, we're all human beings. We're all people. And we all come from

[01:45:31] a creator, the same creator. So that resonated with me. Thank you for sharing Diwali with us. And thank you all for recognizing the work that so many people do. This is not a recognition for one person. It's a recognition for an entire community. Thank you.

[01:45:51] Good evening, everyone. Thank you, Board Supervisors, for this proclamation, Jason. Thank you very much. I'm Beth Sastre, I'm the commercial horticulturist for Loudoun County. And I think this proclamation also represents the diversity of the Loudoun County government and the inclusiveness of programs that we have for our community.

[01:46:12] We're very close with farmers and agricultural workers in our community, and this is something that is very invaluable. And I'm very proud to say that not many counties can offer this service. So thank you very much. Well, I want to thank all of you.

[01:46:30] So again, when we're writing these proclamations, we really do think about who we want to come join us. And I will say to Paula's family, who's here, she has text me so many times and something's going on to say, like, this is going on, what can we do together?

[01:46:47] She never says, what should you do, and she never says you're not doing enough. She's always, what do we do together, and how do we fix this, or how do we help this community together? And not just the Latino community, everyone. is what she does all the time and so i am so proud to call you my friend and i hope you guys are so proud of her father daniels is is a rock in this community i think every everyone knows your name everyone knows your name you are a rock in this community and i will tell you um sometimes you know when certain people are praying for you and as a person of faith your prayers for us for me

[01:47:26] have meant a lot so thank you and you have been phenomenal and you have a very big task in the weeks to come as we talk to Catalonas and to our other communities you have been such a great voice for that and you I have learned and we have learned and Beth talks about you all the time Beth Erickson how much we've learned from you all so thank you so much for all you do in Loudoun County and I agree I think our diversity is a strength in Loudoun County and I appreciate the diversity and the inclusiveness in this amazing county so thank you now let's take a picture

[01:48:01] never seen you bubble something read so closely

[01:48:23] anybody has you guys got them okay well we good thank you thank you so much god bless you and keep

[01:48:59] praying keep praying we can really get you right now let's keep praying yes okay miss umset would Would you like to join me down front, please? Would everyone who's coming for the naval observance, please come down now, please.

[01:49:21] For the naval, yes. Come on down.

[01:49:41] No, it's not the Army. I'm going to welcome you to the boardroom. Hey, how's it going? Good to see you all the time now. All the time. Great. Hello, sir.

[01:49:57] Thank you for your service, and thank you for being here. Thank you for inviting me. Hi, how are you? Good to see you. Hello. Hello, how are you? Thank you for being here. Thank you for being here. Appreciate that. Thank you, ma'am. Hello. Good to see you.

[01:50:26] Okay. This is a resolution to recognize the 250th anniversary of the United States Navy. Whereas from October 13, 1775, when the Continental Congress established what would become the United States Navy, that has safeguarded the nation for 250 years, the Navy has stood as a symbol of American strength, security, and freedom across the world's oceans.

[01:50:56] And whereas the Navy has played a decisive role in every major conflict in our nation's history, from the Revolutionary War to the Global War on Terror, and continues to preserve peace, deter aggression, and protect sea lanes.

[01:51:11] And whereas for 250 years, sailors have exemplified the Navy's core values of honor, courage, and commitment, serving with extraordinary skill and selfless devotion to ensure the safety of the American people and our allies.

[01:51:29] And whereas the Navy's mission extends beyond combat to humanitarian service, delivering disaster relief, combating piracy, and providing life-saving assistance around the globe, demonstrating American resolve, but also compassion.

[01:51:47] And whereas the value of the United States Navy's families is immeasurable, distinguished by their personal and professional sacrifices, resourcefulness, resilience, and they play a crucial role in the Navy's mission.

[01:52:04] Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors does hereby celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States Navy, honors the generations of brave sailors who have defended this nation with distinction, and encourages Loudoun County residents to recognize and thank sailors and Navy families signed by the members of the Board of Supervisors.

[01:52:31] I will simply say thank you all for your service, service to the military and service from military families is, in my opinion, the highest service of this country.

[01:52:49] And I'll be talking about that a little bit more in my board comments. But I do thank you for your service and for the service of your families. I'll keep this short and sweet. First, I'd like to say thank you to the Board of Supervisors for this proclamation, the 250th anniversary of the United States Navy.

[01:53:10] And to everybody that attended today's proclamation, I thank you as well, too, as we commemorate and we celebrate the 250th anniversary of our U.S. Navy of honor, courage, and commitment. Thank you for coming. On behalf of the members of VFW 1177 of Loudoun County and all our comrades who are naval officers and members and retirees and active duty,

[01:53:45] We appreciate this proclamation, and we thank you for attending to see this celebration of this proclamation. Thank you. Okay, I think we're taking a picture. Do we want to have there others to hand out?

[01:54:03] Do you want to try to get others at some point? Okay, we'll make sure that everyone here gets a copy of their proclamation. How's that sound? Okay.

[01:55:52] Just please come down.

[01:56:35] All the beautiful pink. Come on down. How's everybody doing?

[01:56:57] Good to see you. Good to see you, too. Hi, we're good.

[01:57:18] I feel like I should read this to you. You want to take one back so I can read it? I feel like I should read it to you. As you wish. Okay, okay. I'm just saying, I feel like. Okay, test, test, test. Can everyone hear me? Okay. Oh, I love your earrings. So it's hard to believe it's October again, but here we are.

[01:57:39] Many of you may or may not know I'm a breast cancer survivor. I was diagnosed in June of 2023. I had treatments all through basically the rest of that year. And one message I always want to share is go get your mammograms.

[01:57:57] Definitely go. And I know that you can do it. Thank you. I know that you can do it at Walk for Mountains coming up. I'm sure you'll share some information about that. But just, you know, on a personal level, I was 14 months between my mammograms. So I was a little bit late, but not that late.

[01:58:15] And so that just tells you how fast something can grow in your body that you don't necessarily want there. Luckily, through treatments at Inova and my wonderful doctors and my support system, including my colleagues on the board, everything is fine right now.

[01:58:32] So, yeah. So with that, I will read the proclamation. Whereas October 2025 marks the 40th anniversary of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a national observance which honors survivors, remembers those who we have lost, and supports families impacted by this critical public health issue.

[01:58:54] And whereas breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in the United States and the second leading cause of cancer death. And whereas the American Cancer Society's 2024-2025 Breast Cancer Facts and Figures report estimated that over 310,000 new cases of breast cancer would be diagnosed in women in the United States, along with 42,000 deaths. Whereas early detection through mammograms and other screenings continues to be essential, and the survival rates are reaching 99% when breast

[01:59:28] cancer is detected at a localized stage. Whereas Loudoun County is fortunate to be home to many organizations providing critical services to patients and their loved ones including Inova Loudoun Hospital and its breast cancer program which offers comprehensive screening treatment and survivorship support and Loudoun Breast Health Network and Stepsisters two non-profits committed to easing burdens and improving quality of life for those impacted by breast cancer and whereas Walk for Mountains will host its annual walk and ride for breast cancer this Saturday on

[02:00:05] october 11th 2025 in levittsville featuring 3d mammogram van on site along with live music food and community vendors now therefore be it resolved that the loudon county board of supervisors does hereby proclaim october 2025 as breast cancer awareness month so it was about five years ago when i was getting my mammogram done at a walk from out in this van and i was standing in line, and I said, there's people around me, and I said, we're talking about

[02:00:42] our last mammogram, and one lady said, I've never had one done, because I'm scared of it, and most people had said it had been three years, five years, seven years, and at that point, I did my mammogram, and I made a decision to do my next mammogram the next year on camera, which was the most uncomfortable discussion with Tim Hemstreet I've ever had in my life.

[02:01:05] Mr. Hempsey, I want to do my mammogram on camera. Can we get some people to come tape this for me? But then I called Dory, and between Dory's help and Dr. Gloria Ivey Crow and Walk From Mountains and Everyone, I did the entire process from the first visit all the way through the mammogram and getting the results and everything, I did it on camera.

[02:01:29] It's taped. And the tape is now the video. If you want to watch the video, it is housed at Loudon Health Clinic. And during the month of October, they play it on a loop. But I just thought, there are women who never had a mammogram because they don't know what the process is, and it's really scary.

[02:01:46] So when I called Dorian, I said, I want to do this on camera. She was like, okay, let's do this. And it was a really good idea until the cameraman walked into the mammogram with me, and I was like, what is, what, what are you, and they were all men. They were all men.

[02:02:01] But if you're ever worried and you're ever not sure, the whole thing from beginning to end is on tape. Thank you, Dory. Thank you, Walk for Mountains, and thank you, everybody. So you can see what it looks like, what it feels like, what it is, and so maybe take some of the fear of a mammogram away just a little bit.

[02:02:20] Thank you so much, and I'm so proud of you for getting your mammogram, and I'm happy to announce that she just told me she'll be coming to Walk for Mountains this weekend to get her mammogram again. So I'm very excited. will call Tracy and tell her to keep a spot open for you. Just tell me what time. My name is Nicole Clark. My family and I started Walk for Mountains. It's our eighth year now and this year we have something new. We are riding motorcycles as well because the president of Walk for Mountains, my

[02:02:53] husband has two of them i don't know why he only has one but but um he loves his motorcycles uh they he calls it wind therapy so we've been wanting to do this for a long time so we are adding ride for mountains um and we would love for people to come out and join us so our new mission is two wheels two feet one mission and that's to help local breast cancer patients uh The foundation goes directly to Stepsisters and to Loudon Breast Health Network and to Our Perfect Warrior.

[02:03:29] We want to make sure that it stays here at home and helps the people going through it here and around the surrounding areas. We are an all nonprofit, veteran owned and operated, all donation, all volunteer walk.

[02:03:46] That means every single penny that we get goes right to the people that need it. we do not get paid there is no overhead charges or anything like that we want to make sure that the people that need it get it and sometimes we go through it alone and i was very fortunate to have my family there so we want to take care of those that don't have a family support system so um we have quite the event it started out at 185 people the first year we did it last year we We had 645 T-shirts and ran out.

[02:04:20] So we must be doing something okay. Yeah. Also, I want to say we have slots available in the MAMMA van still. You do not have to sign up for the walk to get your MAMMA van appointment.

[02:04:36] So go get your 3D mammogram. If you can't make it for the walk because you have, you know, sporting events with kids or for whatever reason or you just don't want to feel like walking five miles, that's fine too. we would love for you to go get your mammogram. And it's really not that bad, is it?

[02:04:52] It's really not that bad. And also, within the festivities of Walk for Mountains, we will have alcohol available. So it kind of numbs the pain, I'm just saying.

[02:05:07] But it all goes to a good cause, ladies and gentlemen. We celebrate life. Board has not endorsed that part. We like to celebrate life at Walk for Mountains. And sometimes it's just fun. It's just fun. We even have our own beer now at Walk4Mountains.

[02:05:24] Did you know about this? Can I make that announcement too? Is that okay? No. No? Okay. It's online, folks. You can follow us at Walk4Mountains. It'll be there. You'll see it. It's great. Okay. Thank you. Hi, I'm Danielle.

[02:05:40] I'm with Stepsisters. I'm newly on the board. Again, I was diagnosed in 2023 at 45. And I was two years late, and I was stage two triple negative. And I am now all clean margins, and I go every six months, and I do scans.

[02:05:58] But a lot of people are here, and you may have a loved one that's afraid of it. I hear that a lot because they think the radiation. Had I not gone my mammogram, even though it was late, I wouldn't be here. So I'm so grateful. Thank you. Thank you for stepsisters. I'll just say, you know, our amazing ANOVA doctors could not treat patients if they did not have a mammogram and become aware that they have cancer.

[02:06:24] So I thank all of you for this awareness and for everything you're doing to make people aware that they need to get a mammogram. We are just so thankful for that. I'm Pam Smith. I'm the outreach director for Loudon Breast Health Network. I work with all the schools.

[02:06:40] I'm heading out to Broad Run right now for a field hockey game. If you want to get some joy in your life, which sometimes we look around ourselves and think, ugh, look at some teenagers. They are doing such wonderful things in our county, and I'm at all the schools, and it's just beyond awesome how these kids are not only spreading awareness, but raising funds so we can do what we have to do.

[02:07:07] Two things about us, we're all volunteer, and we only help Loudoun County residents, So every dime you throw in that bucket stays in Loudoun County, which we're very proud of. Two more things. If somebody goes home tonight and says to whomever, have you had your mammogram?

[02:07:27] Mission accomplished. Because the awareness and spreading the word is so important. And the other thing I want to say is this is awesome. Pink month is great. We have so much fun. but on november 1st a woman's going to wake up and find out or a man we've treated two men this past year that they have breast cancer so it even though like i said this is awesome just keep it going 12 months out of the year and thank you for your support hey i think we're taking a picture

[02:08:03] i thank you i've heard a dog in the room i do believe i think i heard a doggy

[02:09:01] let's do fire prevention month let's just drop that thing you want me to put it in the thing yes please that's upside down i think i know i heard a dog i know i heard a dog i didn't hear a

[02:09:22] dog okay i'm not starting to she gets down here well we're waiting for the dog to come down there we go there we go all right hello everyone good to see you long time All right, we have a proclamation for Fire Prevention Month.

[02:09:57] Whereas fire is a serious public safety concern, both locally and nationally, and the county of Loudoun is committed to ensuring the safety of all residents and visitors, and whereas Loudoun County's first responders work to reduce the occurrence of home fires and fire injuries through fire prevention activities and life safety education, And whereas lithium batteries power many electronics we use every day, and it is important to understand how to buy, change, and recycle them safely.

[02:10:31] And whereas when purchasing items that use batteries, ensure you only buy listed products that are tested and meet important safety standards. And whereas to charge devices safely, use the cord that came with the product, follow the manufacturer's instructions, and charge devices on a hard, fire-resistant surface.

[02:10:52] And whereas lithium batteries don't belong in the trash, to ensure you recycle your lithium ion battery or device safely, use loudon.gov forward slash batteries to learn more. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors does hereby proclaim October 2025 as Fire Prevention Month in Loudoun County and encourage citizens to urge residents to participate in various outreach events through Fire Prevention Month.

[02:11:25] Well, this is the first time I've seen a resolution where we talk about lithium-ion batteries that much, so this must be a real growing issue everywhere. there. Are we good? Are we good? We okay down there? Okay, okay. Everyone just stops listening and takes pictures of the dogs. That's how we do. So talk to me a little bit about the concerns of lithium-ion batteries. All right, well, thank you again to the board for allowing us an opportunity for the resolution again this year, October, Fire Prevention Month, and we've again partnered with the National Fire Protection Administration, and the theme for this year is charge into fire safety,

[02:12:03] lithium-ion batteries in your home. So the proclamation as Chair Randall just read it. A lot of information about how to properly store, how to purchase, some of the dangers that are associated with lithium-ion batteries. We do significant incident reports in here quarterly and at some point over the course of three months there was some incident related to lithium-ion batteries.

[02:12:24] So do pay attention to the types of products you buy. She talked about cords. If you have phones and you have devices, try not to buy cords or adaptive devices from convenience stores, from, you know, the quick trip kinds of places, only by the ones that are regulated.

[02:12:44] So as we are in Fire Prevention Month, we do want to offer that at many of our fire stations and rescue squads in combination with our volunteers, there are opportunities for you to interact with the men and women of the fire and rescue system through their open houses.

[02:13:01] So this Saturday, there is an open house at the Sterling Volunteer Fire Company, Fire Station 11 on Commerce Street. Also on Sunday, the Lovettsville, the brand-new Lovettsville Fire Station, is having an open house, as well as the Arcola over on Brambleton, on Belmont Ridge, is having an open house.

[02:13:18] So there are three opportunities this weekend for you to get in, get information, and meet some of the people that protect your community. So I will turn this over to our Fire Marshal, Micah Kyger, for some additional comments. Wonderful. Mr. Kiker, how are you?

[02:13:34] I'm well, how are you? Thank you for having us back up here. Kind of, I'll pass this off to Lisa, who's really the one that keeps me on track with what our prevention is, but there's a common theme. Every year when I come in here, the proclamations always kind of lead up to us, and all of them are appropriate in the way of, you know, this month was awareness, prevention, and in order to have all those, it requires change.

[02:14:01] And we always thank everyone for the support that we get. And with that is that thankfulness goes forward because all of our message for any fire that we run in the county that comes to a reportable level, we try to pass on those safety messages and try to affect that change for that awareness.

[02:14:21] And we do that because we have support. And I'm probably the only person that's standing up here tonight that the better I do my job, the more I may work myself out of a job. And I'm okay with that.

[02:14:39] So without further ado, Lisa. I think you guys covered it. But along with the open houses, we hit probably 250-ish public outreach activities. So if you guys are ever interested in learning more about fire safety, whether it's your community group, your school, your church, whatever it is, please don't hesitate to reach out to Fire Rescue.

[02:14:57] We're always happy to come out, whether it's lithium-ion batteries, smoke alarms, home escape plans. I could go on all day. Tell them who you are. Oh, sorry. I'm the public education manager for the Department of Fire Rescue, so I do all of our fire and life safety programming from preschools all the way to older adults.

[02:15:13] I generally say I'm the jack of all trades and master of none because I've got to cover all the bases. So that's what I do. Thank you. I just want to make a quick comment, and maybe you can say what the website is, but Loudoun County Fire and Rescue has an awesome program where you will come out and check our smoke detectors, tell us which ones to buy.

[02:15:35] And I actually did that, and they came right quick, and they were really communicative, and they helped me change out my smoke detectors. They had been in the house for more than 10 years, and a decade is the cutoff point. But where can they register for that?

[02:15:53] So, yes, so loudoun.gov forward slash smoke alarms will bring you to the form. can complete that that comes to me and you're gonna have to talk to me for a little bit but then also when it comes to fire extinguishers the key with that is if you have one make sure you have an ABC fire extinguisher if you don't know how to use it and you're not trained how to use it we want you to get outside we'll come in our fire trucks put the fire out but we want to make sure that you're safe at the end of the day life safety is our number one priority when it comes to the fire department if you do choose to use it we recommend using the acronym PATH. You pull a pin, aim the nozzle, squeeze, sweep it to the base of the fire. That

[02:16:30] should put the fire out. But it's only for small fires. And fire extinguishers run out. They can expire. Yes. And 20 years is a little too long. Okay. Yeah. Okay. All right. Sounds good. All right.

[02:16:48] Thank you. You ready for a picture with the doggies? Put the doggies by me. I'm in the front and center.

[02:17:03] Did you get a dog? Oh, no, no, no. That's okay. I don't blame you. Oh, I love dogs. I will always have dogs. You have the dogs for me. I love dogs. It is. Oh, thank you. Look, everybody's so interested in the doggies.

[02:17:21] Are the dogs smiling? Are they smiling? Have them wave. Oh, no, have them wave. Two.

[02:17:48] We brought two. Are they both labs? Aw, they're both labs. I love labs. I have a black lab. He's older. He's 12. I would like him. He's old, doesn't require much help to give him.

[02:18:03] - I had friends that had dogs in college. One was called Gillian, one was called Killian. Guess what we gave him? - What? What'd you give him? - Oh, sorry, Guinness and Killian. Guess what we gave him? - I love your dog. Where?

[02:18:28] - Everyone from the, from DAR, from all of our Realtors, please come down. Are they here? They are.

[02:18:46] I was so confused when I read this. I was like, tell me, I mean, I was like, so confused. But it's actually, it is hard for you. Thank you for being here. Good to see you. Which one of you are finding my son an apartment so you can get out of my house? Happy to help you.

[02:19:02] We've got lots of realtors that can help you with that. Here we go, commemorating the opening of the Loudon Member Experience Center of the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors.

[02:19:18] The dog's got everybody excited. Whereas the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors, NVAR, founded in 1921, has grown to include more than 12,500 realtors and real estate service providers in the Northern Virginia area. And whereas, NBAR serves as a voice of real estate in the Northern Virginia region and supports members with essential resources, including industry education, advocacy, network, and professional development opportunities. And whereas, in 2023, the residential real estate

[02:19:54] market located in the NBAR service area sparked 17 billion in local economic activity and supported over 88,400 jobs, paying almost 6.5 billion in labor earnings. And whereas NBAR is a leader in innovation by launching an NBAR mobile app with smart technology that allows members to shop for realtor products get market intelligence and access legal hotline and access a legal hotline

[02:20:27] and whereas in september of 2025 mbar mbar opened a brand new mbar loudon member experience center at one loudon marking the beginning of the future of mbar's growth and expansion and the continued evolution of the real estate industry in loudon county now therefore be it resolved that the Lowden County Board of Supervisors commemorates the opening of the NBAR Member Experience Center and the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors.

[02:21:00] Okay, now you've got to tell us what it is. Okay. Happy to do that. Thank you, everyone. Ryan McLaughlin. I'm the CEO of the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors, joined by the president of our board of directors, Casey Menish, Josh Rivera. He's our vice president of government affairs, and our immediate past president, Tai Hong Nguyen.

[02:21:18] And we're here because we're excited to be now an official part of the Loudoun community. We have about 2,000 of our realtor members that live in Loudoun County. And so they've been conducting business, transacting real estate, paying their taxes, being involved in the community for a number of years. And now we're so happy and privileged and honored as an organization to be physically part of this great community.

[02:21:38] So we're looking forward to the launch, the success of our Loudoun member experience center. This is a hub for realtors to gather, to be part of a membership, to get the services and tools and resources that they need in their business at our brand-new facility at One Loud. And so we're very excited. So thank you for your support.

[02:21:53] Thank you for coming to our grand opening we had a few weeks ago, and Supervisor Glass was there as well. Appreciate the support you've shown for us. Thank you. Thank you. You guys do a great job. Thank you. Anybody else? Okay. You're going to hold that, and we're going to take a picture.

[02:23:22] Supervisors, in advance of public comments, we're going to go in and do board comments first. Because there's not that many of us, I think we can knock them out pretty fast, and then we get to hear our citizens speak. And that would be, luckily, one of the last things that gets to ring in our ears before we leave is the voices of our citizens.

[02:23:39] So we're going to go do board comments first. And as always, I'm going to call on you in whatever order I call on you. So, Mr. Crowley, board comments. So I'll do disclosures first?

[02:23:56] Sure. Okay, so on September 25th, I met with Kevin Ash regarding his property off Oatlands Road. On October 2nd, my staff attended a pre-meeting on Eastwind Blue Ridge Boutique Getaway.

[02:24:12] And earlier today, I met with the applicant of Eastwind Blue Ridge Boutique. So regarding my board comments, I want to congratulate all the winners of Loudon's Preservation Society Awards. especially those from the Little River District.

[02:24:29] The 2025 Preservationists of the Year Award was presented to the Delashmitt family for their efforts in preserving James Monroe's 1,200-acre Oak Hill estate as a state park. The family has owned and maintained the property since 1948, working diligently to protect it for future generations.

[02:24:51] The Joint Architectural Review Board recognized the Aldi Heritage Association for Excellence in Restoration for their work on the 200-year-old brick wall in front of the historic Aldi Manor. They also presented a Community Blue Ribbon Award to Jeanne Manley for her restoration of the Aldi Stovepipe Academy.

[02:25:14] Loudon's Charter Schools, I wanna discuss that because that was something that came up at the school board, but we have two public charter schools, Middleburg Community Charter School located in the Little River District and Hillsboro Charter Academy in the Catoctin District. Both are historic schools owned by Loudoun County Public Schools and leased to the charter programs. Recently, Loudoun County Public Schools proposed removing both charter schools from eligibility for the CIP and Capital Asset Preservation Program funding, a change that would have jeopardized their long-term sustainability. I'm pleased that the

[02:25:52] school board ultimately voted against the proposal. These schools are an important part of Loudoun's villages and towns. They are open to all elementary age students. Admissions is determined through a lottery process, and both schools maintain active wait lists, a reflection of their success and academic excellence. Lastly, the Loudoun Fall Farm Tour is coming up. It's October 18th and 19th.

[02:26:18] You can see the farms on tour at loudonfarms.org backslash farm tour. I plan to visit Lone Stone Farm in Lovettsville, Virginia, at the base of the Short Hill Mountain. Lone Stone Farm is owned and farmed by Justin and Casey Wish.

[02:26:36] The Wish family focuses on producing high-quality meat and eggs, and I look forward to seeing their cattle, pigs, rabbits, and goats, and visiting the on-site farm store. Thank you. thank you thank you very much miss umstep thank you madam chair i have one disclosure i spoke with michael capretti um yesterday and today on the tuscarora crossing substation issue also

[02:27:09] communicated with a couple of the residents of tuscarora crossing about their concerns

[02:27:26] I want to let everybody know that the town of Leesburg throws a wonderful Halloween parade on Halloween, largely because of our Kiwanis Club, who every year set it up and work with town parks and rec and the street crew to make sure and the police department to make sure everything goes smoothly.

[02:27:47] but it will be on Halloween. It is always on Halloween, and it'll be in the evenings, so I believe the formal date that it kicks off for time is 6 p.m., but you can line up and participate for a couple hours before that at Ida Lee, and it'll go down King Street to the Safeway.

[02:28:17] this terrible anniversary of Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7th. We learned that the repercussions from that would result in violence across the world and violence in our community and across this country. Two folks who were were employed by the Israeli embassy, were shot by an individual yelling, free Palestine.

[02:28:57] Others have been shot. Other Jews have been shot, burned with Molotov cocktails. And the tragedy continues, and it has been close to home. The New York Times recently ran an editorial in which it said, Anti-Semitism suffuses anti-Zionism, and anti-Zionism tends to produce anti-Semitism.

[02:29:27] Almost every night for the last year and a half, or I'm sorry, almost every board meeting for the last year and a half, we have heard people come to the mic and say, bad night to the Zionists. And even after the slogan, Free Palestine, became so closely associated with the murder of Jews, even after that, many of the speakers would use that phrase.

[02:29:53] I was able and honored to be able to observe a ceremony at the start of Yom Kippur where a Loudoun rabbi made the following statement.

[02:30:13] We are assaulted by the hate speech as close as our board of supervisors' meetings. I hope the hate speech will end. I don't know if it will, but every time I hear it, I will continue to call it out for what it is.

[02:30:35] Thank you. Ms. Umstead, just a correction. This year's Halloween parade is not on Halloween. It's on the day before. It's on the 30th. Ms. Glass. Thank you, Madam Chair. And Madam Chair, I have a couple of nominations.

[02:30:52] Can I include that as well? I haven't done nominations yet. Not yet? Okay. I have one disclosure, and that is on Thursday, October 2nd, and Tuesday, October 7th, I met where my staff spoke with representatives from Tritec to discuss the Concora site plan application.

[02:31:16] There have been a number of regional meetings that I or my staff have attended. One's the Clean Air Partners, NACO, the South Region meeting, the Metropolitan Washington Air Quality meeting, NVTA, Planning Coordination Advisory Committee meeting, the National Association of Counties Human Services and Education Committee meeting, and the Northern Virginia Regional Commission meeting.

[02:31:47] at the um nvrc northern virginia regional commission we had a discussion regarding um the the loss of jobs in the the federal downsizing of um of federal workers and um we were given an article from brookings.edu and they had a few um key takeaways and i just wanted to

[02:32:22] to mention this. Since January 2025, the DMV region has shed federal jobs at a faster rate than the nation, while private sector job growth has plateaued. The DMV region's unemployment rate has increased at a significantly higher pace than the nation's, with the share of unemployed suburban workers growing most. And data on the DMV region's popularity with business and leisure

[02:32:54] visitor shows mixed signs of resilience and potential softness. And I mentioned that because as Chair Randall mentioned earlier during the day that we have a large population of federal workers and contractors. And I just want to reach out to let folks know that if there is a need, We have a wonderful nonprofit organization that's in Loudoun County if folks are in need.

[02:33:28] And if they don't know who those organizations are, please reach out to our offices and ask for help. Please don't try to do it on your own. Feel like that you don't need any assistance or just want to chug it out yourself.

[02:33:48] organizations are here to help folks and I just want people to just to give that reminder again and that is all I have madam chair thank you ma'am mr. Sains thank you madam chair disclosures on September 16th I spoke with Molly Novotny of Coretta and and they represent the Perlogis team regarding Concord Industrial Park application that was supposed to be scheduled tonight but they actually ask to defer. On Saturday, October the 11th will be a busy day in Sterling. We have

[02:34:27] a few activities going on. One, we have our Sterling Volunteer Fire Company will do their open house starting around 11 o'clock a.m. to around about 4 p.m. You can go and check out the fire equipment. They have some demonstrations going on. They'll actually close off Commerce Street to do those demonstrations. So it's a pretty good time. So if you haven't had a chance to visit the fire station or haven't been there in a while, I advise you to go check it out and bring the family and the kids. It's a great time. And then also around the corner from the fire station in Sterling, off of Sterling Boulevard and Commerce and Enterprise Street, we'll have

[02:35:06] Pablo Undo Day celebrating our Heritage Hispanic Month from 1 o'clock p.m. to 6 o'clock p.m. We'll have live music, food trucks, folklore dancers, petting zoo, and a lot of family-friendly activities. This is all free, well, minus the food trucks, of course.

[02:35:24] But that will be at the Sterling Community Center. So come on, again, bring your family out. Go to the firehouse, open house, and then go to the Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, which is literally right around the corner from each other. And as we talked about earlier, please make sure you're checking your fire extinguishers, your fire detectors, and making sure you are unplugging those batteries and chargers, because we have had a very big spike in electrical fires as of late here in the county.

[02:35:58] So that's it. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, sir. Miss Bricksman. Thank you, Madam Chair. On this dark anniversary, I think it deserves repeating that nobody, and I mean nobody, deserves to be targeted for their skin color, their religion or beliefs, their sexual orientation, their gender, and certainly not because they hail from one nation or tribe versus another. Humanity is universal and should be recognized as such. I would like to affiliate my comments with Supervisor Glass on the government shutdown and thank our Department

[02:36:37] of Economic Development, our nonprofits, and our county staff for their response. if you are looking for resources please visit loudon.gov and you will find a lot of information there i am still struggling to understand the numbers types and charges of those detained and held in our adc for ice by loudon county sheriff's office under a 287g agreement signed in march the department in my opinion is being less than transparent about those who are being handed over to the lawless agency except to give us aggregate numbers, which stands at about 140 since the end of August.

[02:37:14] A UC Berkeley study and others of late have shown that those being detained and deported by ICE are not violent criminals, and even if they were accused of violent crimes, they are entitled to due process, and many are U.S. citizens.

[02:37:30] I continue to be concerned about our county's involvement in this mass deportation, and we'll continue to dig for information on county citizens being deported and the amount of local taxpayer dollars that are being spent on this largely unconstitutional initiative by the Trump administration.

[02:37:50] Also, I wanted to make note that the LCSO is no longer going to be coming to the board to give us their significant incident report. It has been replaced with a dashboard that is meant to replace a significant incident report. This dashboard no longer contains information on traffic stops and searches and that demographic data, which of late had been showing that those of Latino descent were being stopped and searched at a much higher rate, comparatively speaking, to other populations in the county.

[02:38:27] I recently attended Northern Virginia Transportation Commission meeting, and we reviewed the new dashboard on transit. It's really amazing the data they've collected, and ridership on all forms of public transportation is up, including our pilot in Leesburg for microtransit is actually doing really well.

[02:38:49] As far as gun violence, our nation has experienced 11,412 total gun deaths, 329 mass shootings. so far this year, the deaths include 178 children under the age of 12 and 787 children ages 12 to 17. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you. My only disclosure is I spoke to Michael Capretti numerous times this week about the Tuscarora Crossing land bay. So I want to say that this past week, some private text came out from, I think, three years ago that were between

[02:39:28] the person running for Attorney General, Jane Jones, and a private person. I'm going to join many of our elected officials, including Speaker Don Scott, Senator Louise Lucas, Senator Mimi Locke, Tim Kaine, and others who are well more prominent than me, and associate myself with their comments on this. Speaker Don Scott said, and I associate myself with these comments, no public official or their family should have to be the target of any hateful language. I have been clear in condemning political violence, whether it's from a Democrat

[02:40:03] or Republican, it has no place. What Jay Jones says was harmful, reckless, and wrong. I do believe he should have, and I will add, and I am happy that he has apologized. He must take accountability for its words and then reflect and pray. I concur with those words from Speaker Scott. Secondly, I know that our colleague and friend Gary Higgins has experienced some death threats to himself and his family. I know exactly how that feels.

[02:40:36] It's a very scary thing to go through that both for you but much more for your family. I've reached out to Gary on this because sometimes it just doesn't matter. The parties don't matter. These things must stop happening. But I also want to talk about one more thing.

[02:40:55] We sadly have been told that one of our elected colleagues who is a delegate in Prince William County, Candy King, and her husband, who is a deputy sheriff in Prince William County, Josh King, lost their child to sickle cell.

[02:41:14] She was just 15 years old, so let's keep the King family, please, in our prayers. I do want to talk about a moment that was immense pride, immense pride for me as a child of military. Over 800 high-level officers and some high-level NDOs were called to a meeting in Quantico.

[02:41:37] I want to say the military, especially people who have served our country for years, they're not an arm of any political party. That's not what they're there for. And their response to what was basically both a berating and a political speech was exactly what it should have been.

[02:41:54] They stood up when the president entered the room and the secretary, and they said silently otherwise. Even as the POTUS told them that they should applaud for him, and as he lamented that he couldn't use both N-words because he's not allowed to, these officers sat silent.

[02:42:11] I'm always proud to be an American, but I was so proud of those military officers on that day, most especially. So thank you. And I would associate myself on this very, very terrible holiday, this, I'm sorry, commemoration or reflection of the second year of the unwarranted brutal attack.

[02:42:34] So I want to associate myself with those comments too. We have quite a few speakers, although some of the speakers, I'm going to go out and call your name when they come up, but I think, because I'm not all sure who didn't come or counseled, I think I know, but I'm not positive, so I'll call the names anyway, and if you're not here, you're not here.

[02:42:57] It is my practice to always call any elected officials first, and then I'm told because of some issues that we may be having with our system, I'm going to go on after I call the elected official and call anybody who is calling in. So I want to make sure we get them in before the system goes kapooey. And so I apologize if you signed up second and you don't go second. I'm just trying to make sure everyone's voices are heard while the system is still working. So the first speaker we have with us is our clerk of the court, Mr. Gary Clemons,

[02:43:36] who's going to come talk to us about jury duty and tell me why, for whatever reason, I could never get called for jury duty, even though I really want to get called for jury duty. Mr. Clemons. Thank you, Chair Randall, ladies and gentlemen of the board. We thank you for your service.

[02:43:52] I cannot get called. Thank you for this opportunity. I can't answer the second question, but I'll talk to you about that some other time. I appreciate that we talk about jury service. That's so important in Loudoun County, especially with the advent of potentially getting a new judge with the General Assembly in session next year. So we're going to have more jury trials in 2026.

[02:44:10] And if we get another judge position, you better believe we're going to have more in 2027 and beyond. The Constitution guarantees the accused of a jury of their peers. So we definitely need people to fulfill their civic obligation of jury duty in Loudoun County.

[02:44:26] Loudoun County's jury service is relatively easy compared to other jurisdictions because when you get a jury summons, that means you're committed to one trial or one day. In other jurisdictions, you might have a longer term of service as a juror, so we try to make it easy for our residents with that approach. So far, the response to juror questionnaires that have gone out since the beginning of September has been very good. My purpose tonight is just to remind our residents, if you received a postcard that asked you to go online and do your survey, to please do so in the next two weeks, because we want to make sure we have a qualified poll of

[02:45:01] jurors for the next term of court in 2026. So in the month of November, we're going to have our jury commissioners assembled to determine who's qualified to serve as jurors in the next calendar year. So it is so important if you receive that postcard to go online to our website, it's a secure website, load your information in, and then our jury commissioner do their duty and determine who's qualified and that will be our next term of jurors for 2026. So you all do your newsletters for your constituents which is outstanding. My plea to you if you would include a little paragraph

[02:45:37] about jury service and remind your constituents if they received a postcard to please go online and do their duty and complete that survey. Thank you very much for your time and for your future jury service. Have a good evening. Mr. Clements thank you so much for all of your time and all that you do. You are absolutely fantastic. All right. We're going to go to the phone just to make sure. Is our system working? Do we have them? They're online. So it's Gary Katz and Wendy Golden. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I can't hear. I'm sorry. Just Wendy. Mr. Katz

[02:46:13] is not on. Okay. Wendy Golden then. I'm sorry. Mr. Katz is in the room. Okay. Then Wendy Golden. Chair Randall, members of the board, good evening. My name is Wendy Golden and I speak before you today as a proud Jew and a mother. Today, October 7th, marks the second anniversary of the deadliest day in Jewish history since the Holocaust. On that Shabbat morning two years ago, Hamas terrorists slaughtered 1,200 innocent Israelis, men, women, children, and babies, and took 250 more hostage. Their barbarity ignited a surge of anti-Semitism worldwide, including right here in our backyard. Yet here I am at a public forum forced to do the

[02:46:51] job for you jerry andell refuses to do unequivocally condemn the hate speech targeting my community week after week pro-palestinian speakers flood this boardroom with incendiary rhetoric chance of globalized antifada blood libel against israel holocaust distortions that make us feel unsafe in our own community for 17 months now since supervisor julie briskin's brisbane's anti-semitic press release on official county letterhead this chamber has become a forum for vile, anti-Jewish libels, thinly veiled as anti-Zionist criticism. Our Jewish community

[02:47:28] has begged this board to speak out, to stop amplifying this poison in a forum meant for local issues. But you, Chair Randall, have stayed deafeningly silent, hiding behind the First Amendment rights as if it's an excuse to ignore our pain. And yet, just last month, on September 16th, you had no such qualms when it came to Charlie Kirk. After an assassination attempt on him, you branded his legacy as promoting violence and division, saying he pressed against my community and put in increased danger. You condemned his rhetoric swiftly, passionately, for one community, but for us nothing. But a word as anti-Semitism festers

[02:48:04] unchecked. This is hypocrisy, plain and simple. A double standard that endangers us all. If you condemn racial slurs or anti-LGBTQ hate in this room without hesitation, as you proved you can, Why not the blood libel against Jews?

[02:48:21] Why the selective outrage? On this anniversary of unimaginable loss, I demand you explain whose safety matters to you. Do Loudoun's Jews not count as your community? Chair Randall, step up. Condemn this hate now. Honor the First Amendment by protecting all voices, not just some.

[02:48:37] Our children deserve a community where they feel safe, lighting Shabbat candles. Thank you. And hagsameah for Sukkot. Thank you. Donna Wadowski, you'll be followed by, well, is Emily Katsabian or Brett Sposite? are you guys in the room? I did not think so. Okay, so Donald Wadowski, you will be followed by Barbara Wasserman. Good evening, Ms. Wadowski. How are you? It has been revealed that Democrat Jay Jones, candidate for Virginia Attorney General, has made violent and murderous comments

[02:49:13] towards his Republican colleague, Todd Gilbert, and his family. These murderous comments include three people, two bullets, Gilbert, Hitler, and Pol Pot. Gilbert gets two bullets to the head. Jay Jones then doubles down when he said he wished harm upon Gilbert's children. You got to be out of your mind to think this deranged guy should be our next Attorney General. I don't care that he said he was sorry for his comments. The only thing is he truly sorry for is the fact that

[02:49:50] he got caught. Jay Jones was also clocked going 116 miles per hour on Interstate 64 in New Kent, Virginia, typically resulting in a one-year prison sentence, but Jones received 1,000 hours of community service, and even that is suspect. Jay Jones should never be Virginia Attorney General, and the citizens can still vote him out.

[02:50:19] He has shown the utmost disregard for the rule of law. Right here in Loudoun, a Democrat threatened in writing the life of Republican Delegate Gary Higgins and his family. I want to thank the Loudoun County Sheriff deputies for arresting this horrific and deranged individual.

[02:50:42] On the second anniversary of the barbaric and savage attacks on Israeli citizens, we are still asking Chair Randall to condemn the flagrant and persistent anti-Jewish rhetoric heard in her boardroom, but she will not.

[02:50:59] Words such as Nazi, Gestapo, a Zionist pig, often used by Democrats, were all heard in her boardroom. I want to thank Supervisor Umstead for her unwavering support of the Jewish community.

[02:51:15] I also want to thank the countless number of citizens in this boardroom and beyond who agree with us in calling out the pro-Palestinian, pro-Hamas demonstrators' hate speech. They know the difference between free speech and hate speech.

[02:51:32] Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Wadowski. Barbara Wasserman followed by Gary Katz followed by Shane Crow. Good evening Ms. Wasserman.

[02:51:54] Thank you. First let me start off by thanking Supervisor Umstead for her on waiving support for the Jewish community. Chair Randall, it's the anniversary of October 7th and yet two years later the anti-Semitic rhetoric is still allowed in your boardroom under the guise of free speech. We know that the First Amendment does not protect against speech that incites violent yet you remain silent.

[02:52:13] However, the September 16th board meeting, you took the opportunity to condemn Charlie Kirk that, in your opinion, was a promoter of violence and division. So I must ask, why won't you condemn the same behavior that is also occurring in your own boardroom against the Jewish community?

[02:52:31] You also noted, and I quote, free speech can be damaging, free speech can be harmful, free speech can be even dangerous. I couldn't agree with you more. You also noted that Charlie Kirk put many communities in increased danger Do you realize that this is how many of us feel when we hear this anti-semitic rhetoric right?

[02:52:55] Right here being spoken and allowed in your boardroom chair and Randall I do acknowledge that at recent board meetings you have prioritized public comments that directly relate to agenda items Would you also consider a rule change to allow public comments only on board agenda items?

[02:53:13] and for you to immediately stop people's speech if they veer from these agenda items? This rule change and your public comment and statement that anti-Semitic rhetoric and any hateful rhetoric will not be tolerated on your watch, this would be a good step in canceling hate speech that, in your own words, can be damaging and dangerous.

[02:53:37] Like you, I hold conflicting emotions, frustration, anger, and sadness. September is a fresh start for the school kids all over the county and country, which also coincides with the Jewish people bringing in their Jewish New Year.

[02:53:53] So I must ask the board to also start anew, one where anti-Semitism is not tolerated in their boardroom. My hope for the New Year is that our community of Loudoun County can be more accepting and a safe place for all of us. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Bosterman.

[02:54:09] Gary Katz will be followed by Shane Crow, who will be followed by, well, let me just say, Is Eric Hine in here? Because he was going to speak on Magnolia Rose, which was taken off the agenda. So he is not. How about Saeed Kobesi?

[02:54:26] Is that person here? You are here. Okay. I think I probably pronounced your name wrong. If you correct me when you come up, that would be very good. We're ready for you, Mr. Katz. Good evening. First, I'd like to thank Supervisor Umstad for her unwavering support and her comments tonight and the leadership that she has consistently shown on this issue and great many others.

[02:54:48] Supervisor Briskman, I'd like to let you know that the word that you forgot in your statement was Jews. They were hunting Jews. That's the word you didn't include in the statement in your board comments. They didn't call out looking for anyone else, although goodness knows they killed them, and they treated them no differently, but they called for the Yehud, the Jews.

[02:55:07] The rest of my comments tonight are going to be directed towards Chair Randall. Chair Randall, not looking at me while I'm speaking to you isn't a sign of disrespect so much as it is one of cowardice. I'm taking notes on what you're saying, sir. you can look at me while I'm speaking. I'm taking notes. You can keep going. Okay. You went and made condemnations of Charlie Kirk, despite his proclivities for talking about debate and prove me wrong. You painted him out as someone who was promoting violence and division, but you didn't

[02:55:41] hide behind first amendment rights in order to condemn him. And yet you hide behind first amendment rights with respect to the Jewish community. The fact of the matter is that hypocrisy has been laid bare for all to see. There's no excuse for it. I really want to know why it is that you would selectively condemn speech that you consider to be hateful or promoting violence and division that put people in danger for one group, but not another. What possible reason could there be? Your history with anti-Semitism is abysmal. Just to be pretty

[02:56:20] candid here. There are those who say that perhaps you might need more education, more outreach, more understanding. I'm past that at this point. At this point, I believe that you harbor, in the best case, indifference. In the worst case, you harbor disdain. And I hope that's not the case, but I can't fathom why you would stay silent in the face of anti-Semitism. The only reason we're here tonight is to do the one thing that you refuse to do, which is to condemn anti-Semitic, anti-Jewish rhetoric, that you've allowed to run amok in your boardroom, unabated, unrebuked.

[02:56:56] And it's irrelevant that the anti-Jewish mob isn't here tonight. God knows what they're doing tonight. But the fact of the matter is that we're here because you won't condemn it. Thank you. Our next speaker will be Shane Crowe, followed by Eric Hine. I'm sorry, followed by, and sir, when you come up, you say your name for me. I appreciate it. Thank you. Good evening, Mr. Crow. Good evening. Perhaps for a different topic at the moment. Again, as always, my name is Shane. I come from the Algonquian District. And again, like previous comment before, I'll be speaking on behalf of UpVote Virginia. That is a non-profit, non-partisan organization advocating

[02:57:36] for good government reforms. And then the rest of my time I'll be speaking on behalf of myself. So on behalf of UpVote Virginia, the voters in the Braddock District of Fairfax County had a firehouse primary to help fill the seat that James Walkinshaw vacated since his election to the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Fairfax Democrats elected to use ranked choice voting to determine their nomination. Now, the use of ranked choice voting itself ran smoothly.

[02:58:06] The tabulation worked wonderfully. There may be some hearsay talking about there were hiccups going on during the election process itself. This is more so related to the use of electronic voting that the Fairfax Democrats elected to use and how there were some delays in getting some of the ballots. But again, on the issue of ranked choice voting itself, it worked seamlessly and based on some exit surveys from voters, a majority of respondents appreciated the use of ranked choice voting in order to better express their political preferences. And to use the rest of my time on behalf of myself. I think given some of the scandals that have coming out in the last couple

[02:58:45] of days, I think it just highlights the emphasis that has put more on scandal and tarnishing reputation and trying to find division as opposed to finding common ground that our traditional election method encourages. It ends up leading both candidates and voters to consider who not to vote for as opposed to who to vote for. And that, again, as I've mentioned before, carries over into how people end up governing and seeing their fellow lawmakers. And that's not to

[02:59:18] say that Jay Jones, in particular, is a perfect human being. None of us are. But at the end of the day, it does lead to wonder what exactly may have compelled him to consider those sentiments in the first place, the kind of divisiveness and hyper-partisanship that creates the environment in which some comments may have seemed acceptable in the first place.

[02:59:43] So, again, hopefully, were we to better implement and expand the use of ranked choice voting here in Virginia, we can perhaps put a close to such divisiveness in the first place. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Mr. Kobayci, did I get that right?

[03:00:03] Sorry, I thought Eric was going next. It's Saeed Kobayci. Is Eric here? I think he left. Okay. I actually came to talk about Magnolia Rose, too, but I didn't know it was taken off the agenda, so I don't know if you want to hear me anyway or not. There you go. I am still opposed to that Magnolia Rose happening, so please don't do that.

[03:00:24] Can I continue with those comments? Yes, sir. Yes, absolutely. All right. I know they really want to set that up, and they've been saying nice things and all, but I believe actions speak louder than words, and my experience with the Bakers has been the following.

[03:00:39] I live right next to them, adjacent property. I share a northern border with their drive. It goes right across my northern border. There used to be a border fence on that drive, along that line, along our border. And one day I went down there to walk the line before letting out the sheep, and it's gone.

[03:00:57] I would expect, if someone's going to take down our property fence, that they would talk to me and discuss it. That did not happen. So that kind of tells me how they think about running their business and moving in. And, oh, nothing else matters except for what we're doing.

[03:01:14] And our impact on other people is irrelevant. Not even, didn't even occur to them to talk to me, right? They have my phone number. They live next door. It's not that hard. So I am concerned. I don't want them having a menu there. I don't think we should have a wedding venue there.

[03:01:31] I don't think it's appropriate. We're zoned agricultural. We have, you know, if you're going to have a wedding, it's not going to go well if there's manure spread all over the field next door. It's not going to go well if the hog pens are populated. So let's not add strife into a region that doesn't need it.

[03:01:48] I appreciate the time, and that's all. Thank you. Sir, let me just make sure I understood what you just said. Did you say that they took down your fence? It's a border fence, so in theory, I believe legally it belongs to both of us. Okay. It's on the line? Yeah, it's on the line.

[03:02:03] Do you know who put it up? It's been there since 1920. Okay, all right. Thank you. Every day it's me. All right, thank you very much. I appreciate that information. Brenda Grutman, followed by Steve Grutman, followed by Robert Griffin.

[03:02:23] Good evening, ma'am. Good evening, Board of Supervisors. my comments okay good evening chair and members of the board today marks two years since the october 7th attacks the deadliest day for jews since the holocaust that day was not just a tragedy in israel it was a turning point for jewish communities everywhere it reminded us that anti-semitism is not just in history it's happening now here all around us and yes even here in loudon county i'm here tonight because you all represent me i am a loudon county resident I live here, I vote here, and I deserve to feel safe here.

[03:03:01] In the two years since that horrific day, I have experienced a shocking amount of anti-Semitism right here in my own neighborhood. I was yelled at by a neighbor while standing outside with my dog because I have an Israeli flag in my yard. That flag represents a piece of my identity, and it's my right as an American to display it.

[03:03:19] But to my neighbor, it was enough to unleash hatred. I was also denied an Uber ride because of my visible support for Israel. And today, on the anniversary of October 7th, two years later, someone left anti-Semitic posters on my sukkah, a space meant to be for peace, celebration, and community.

[03:03:38] And it's not just outside. It's happening here in this very room. People have stood up and said, bad evening to the Zionists. That's not a clever political jab. That's hate speech. And it's meant to target and to intimidate and to dehumanize Jewish members of this community. Let me be clear, this is not about foreign policy, it's not about silencing debate.

[03:03:59] This is about Jewish residents allowed in being harassed and made to feel unsafe, simply for who we are and what we believe. And when this board says nothing, that silence does not go unnoticed. In fact, it emboldens the hate. When people call Jews Zionist Nazis, it's not a policy critique, it's a grotesque slur, and it is part of the same hatred that fueled violence against Jews for generations, including the hatred behind October 7th. I am not asking for special treatment. I am asking for equal dignity and safety, the same as every other group in this county deserves. I urge the board to take public, firm, and unequivocal stand against anti-Semitism in all of its

[03:04:36] forms. Loudoun County must be a place where every resident, Jew or otherwise, can live, speak, and worship without fear. Thank you. Amisar El-Hai. Thank you. Stephen Grootman, good evening.

[03:04:59] Hi, good evening. First of all, thank you, Board Member Umstead, for your steadfast support, for calling out the bad night to Zionists BS that they always do, for being outspoken in support of the Jewish people unapologetically and unequivocally. Thank you. Thank you for your brief words regarding today's anniversary, Chairwoman Randall. But as our friend Gary said, you're either indifferent or silently supportive of anti-Semitic rhetoric being spewed under your purview and i don't have the words to address your disgusting vitriolic rhetoric about a free speech

[03:05:34] warrior and father of two like charlie kirk so i won't attempt to uh surprisingly thank you miss brickman miss briskman for at least mentioning today's anniversary but of course it had to be grouped in with all hate it can never just be about the jews because jews don't fit in the hierarchy of victimhood if this were the anniversary of george floyd's death would you invoke hate against lgp lgbt or the like or would you focus on the circumstance directly for the rest of you shame on you for not saying a damn thing not one word today of all days for an anniversary of an

[03:06:08] event that hits so close to home for the global jewish community i've had an israeli flag on our door since october 7th and proudly refused to take it down until the hostages are returned as my wife said this it's very close to home we have family in israel uh family fighting in the idf we are more importantly proud jews and this was an attack on us all of us and for the past two years hatred of israel and jews around the world has exploded both figuratively and literally unfortunately jewish hatred spewed here hits home for every jew and without it being condemned not silenced condemned the chairwoman among others it will by the chairwoman among others it will

[03:06:46] continue to metastasize until you have a truly awful scandal at our doorsteps god forbid we've a child scream free palestine to us while watering our grass we've had a child rip into our lawn sign that says we support israel my wife has been denied an uber as she said my wife was yelled at while walking our dog i was called a nazi at the local dog park this keffiyeh was left on our front lawn a long time ago but it's been later used for my dog's puke and then today as my wife

[03:07:21] said this was left right outside our sukkah and this was wrapped around the telephone pole right next to our house this shit is local and you need to condemn it now sir your time is up but i do have one question can you tell me can you tell me what is with with due respect i don't know and i maybe i should but i don't can you tell me what a circa is uh so today is the second day of the holiday of Sukkot. It's a Jewish holiday. This whole month is basically like half the days are Jewish holidays. It's a very high holiday time. It's like a temporary structure that we have in

[03:07:59] our driveway. If you go like to downtown Baltimore where there's tons of Jews, you'll see one at every house. It's like a hut, essentially. It's from Leviticus 23. Thank you. Yeah. So it's in your yard? In our driveway. Okay. Yeah, and this sign was left. We have a flower pot that's right like right next to the sukkah this was left there and then this was left on the telephone pole do you mind spelling that for me a sukkah uh s-u-k-k-a-h today's the second day thank you sir thank you

[03:08:34] thanks for that information and our last speaker this evening will be robert griffin good evening mr griffin thank you madam chair i noticed uh none of you condemned and asked mr jones to get out of the election yeah he apologized but that's kind of like you democrats apologizing you know for him he's still running for attorney general and it's just abysmal that he would run

[03:09:12] as the chief law enforcement officer of our state but none of you have said he should not run he should get out none of you well i think that goes back to uh what people around here know that the Democrats are the party of exploitation they allow they have promoted Biden's war trying to blame it on Trump and Jewish people and Hamas and Muslims they exploit the differences

[03:09:43] but they don't really care do you if you cared you would have condemned Mr. Jones nope but it's even more abysmal than that because Bamberger in a recent choice of words urged her base to follow to use that to their hate for Trump and our republic to fuel the rage, fuel the rage, exploiting it. Spamberger. And now you have Jones who ought to not run. And you don't condemn him.

[03:10:22] It's just abysmal. And I might add that Spamberger voted to not make parents, not to have parents informed of their child's dysphoria, their chance that they might be depressed because of their gender identity. Spamber voted, no, you don't notify the parents of the child's dysphoria and

[03:10:53] is shameful. And I'm going to remind you that former Terry McAuliffe said parents have no rights here on our Loudoun County School Board.

[03:11:11] And I guess you guys were defeated, actually, in court promoting sexual dysfunction. Yep. And even exploiting the differences between the Muslims and Christians and Jews because Muslims don't like having to undress.

[03:11:30] Mr. Griffin, your time is up. Thank you. Okay, so I'm going to have everybody turn your lights on tell me if you have any nominations please miss glass thank you madam chair i okay i nominate mr bashear ahmadi to serve as an at-large representative on the board of building

[03:12:07] code appeals i nominate ms talhasin shayik to serve as an at-large representative on the community services board that's all madam chair thank you miss brixman thank you madam chair i nominate wayne h smith as the at-large representative on the board of building code appeals and that's a wayne h smith we already have a wayne smith on that board this is wayne h smith i re-nominate nitesha stith as the at-large representative on the housing choice voucher resident advisory board

[03:12:45] And I nominate Kimberly Mayo as the at-large representative, as an at-large representative on the Fiscal Impact Committee. I want to thank Matt Durham for serving on the FIC committee for the last six years. He will be rolling off, so we will have two vacancies.

[03:13:01] And so Ms. Mayo would fill the second vacancy of Mr. Durham. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you very much. Any other nominations? Anything else that we're missing tonight? I think we're good. And in that case, Mr. Grootman, can I talk to you up here for just a second, do you mind?

[03:13:21] Otherwise, we are adjourned.

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