Coraggio Consulting
Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, Business Meeting, Tuesday, April 7, 2026

Date: Tuesday, April 7, 2026
Place: Board Room, First Floor, Government Center, 1 Harrison Street SE, Leesburg, Virginia
Length: 3h 56m (video)
Official meeting video (county, Granicus): https://loudoun.granicus.com/player/clip/8154
Meeting page (Granicus): https://loudoun.granicus.com/player/clip/8154

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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[00:03:19] No, no idea. Well, good evening, supervisors. Good evening, staff, and good evening, Loudon.

[00:03:40] I'd like to call to order the April 7, 2026, Loudon County Board of Supervisors Business Meeting. This room has a hearing loop. If you need hearing assistance, please switch your hearing aid to telecom mode. If you need a headset, we have those available as well. Please see the clerk to request one.

[00:04:00] Mr. Sainz will be here shortly he's to lead us in the pledge tonight but since he is not here I will take that honor. Ms. Glass is still dealing with the family medical issue it should probably be back next week but we know she won't be back this week so would everybody please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

[00:04:17] 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.

[00:04:33] Okay, Supervisors, do we have any additions or deletions to the agenda today that you have for me? If not, I'm going to go on and read the consent agenda. It's kind of a long one, which is not a bad thing.

[00:04:52] Item R1 is a proclamation to recognize April 12th through 18th as public safety telecommunications week. That's for approval and presentation. Mr. Turner, you will join me down front for that. Item R2, proclamation to recognize April 19th through 25th is Volunteer Week approval and presentation.

[00:05:13] Again, Mr. Turner will join me down front for that. Item R3, proclamation to recognize April 2026 is Fair Housing Month. That's for approval only. Item R4, proclamation to recognize April 2026 is Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month.

[00:05:30] Ms. Bricksman, I think you're the one joining me down for that one. Item R5, Proclamation of Recognized Child Abuse Prevention Month. I don't know why I can't talk today. Ms. Bixman, that would be you as well. Item 1A, Transit Advisory Board 2025 Annual Report.

[00:05:51] Item 1B, Transit Advisory Board Bylaws and Amendments. Item 1C, Environmental Commissions Bylaws and Amendments. Item 2A, Appointments and Confirmations. Item 3, Administrative Items Report of April 7, 2026. Item 4, PCOR-2026-0022, High Point M, Prof. Amendment Public Hearing Waiver and Fee Reduction.

[00:06:15] And Item 5, Board Member Initiative Overnight Parking Restrictions for Woodson Drive. That is the consent agenda. I will make a motion to approve. Is there a second? Motion is made, seconded by Supervisor Vice Chair Turner. Discussion on the consent agenda. I'm glad he's walking in just on time.

[00:06:34] So, my only discussion on the consent agenda is this: I was very close to pulling this off the consent agenda, because when we talk about overnight parking restrictions, and what we're talking about is larger, well, actually the semi-trucks, semi-trailer trucks, in this case, that is parked fairly near a residential neighborhood.

[00:07:04] My question is not is it okay for those to be parked there because I can absolutely understand why if you're in that neighborhood you don't want to be parked there. My question was, and this may be something for staff to bring back for later, where is the item and the discussion on have we identified some place for them to park?

[00:07:25] And I say that because some of these, many of these semi-trailers are Loudon residents and their trailers are their jobs. And so they park their trailer cab near their homes and they walk home and that's their job.

[00:07:44] And so basically we're saying to them over and over again, you can't park here, you can't park here, you can't park here, and that's their job. And I totally get we don't want these parked in just neighborhoods or even near neighborhoods. At the same time, it's not okay for me to say to people, you can't park here, yet we We have no place for you to park and this is the job that supports yourself and your family.

[00:08:08] And so my -- I talked to Mr. Sains about this and I will not -- I did not pull off consent, but I will ask if staff could give us a briefing fairly soon, if you have it, as to where we are in locating or identifying places where they can park, be it a garage that at night It may not be used on the weekend, not be used or a county facility that has parking on the weekend or whatever that might be.

[00:08:39] It just seems to me that it's reasonable to say you can't park in the neighborhood. It's not reasonable to not recognize that these are people's livelihoods and to say and you can't park here, you can't park here, you can't park here, but nowhere where you can park. So, that's my, not my concern, but that's my ask for that item, for staff to bring that item to us in the future.

[00:09:04] Thank you. Anything else? No? All right. Seeing none, all in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? That motion will pass, 702. I'm sorry, I do have an addition to the agenda, of course, I am sorry, it is the motion, 701, I'm sorry.

[00:09:24] I'm sorry, 801. Thank you. to the agenda, it is on the red sheet at your place and it's about the $7,000 for the follow the Frenchman, which I'll talk about when we get there.

[00:09:40] But that's the consent agenda. Let's see. We now will do the -- this next motion literally ends the budget process for this year. It is the motion for the appropriation resolution for tax year 2026 rates and FY2027 to FY2032 capital improvement program.

[00:10:06] It is normal for the chair to make this motion and the vice chair to second this motion. Of course, when we finished the budget process, the finance chair made the motion, which was also normal and appropriate. So I will go on and make this motion.

[00:10:23] I told Mr. Hemstreet the other day that there's about 20 amendments to this motion. He did not think that was funny. I thought it was really funny. He did not enjoy that at all. But I will go on and make the motion.

[00:10:40] I move that the Board of Supervisors authorize the creation of one regular full-time position in the Loudoun County Combined Fire and Rescue System to be included in the fiscal year 2027 budget. I further move the Board of Supervisors adopt the fiscal year 2027 budget as presented by the County Administrator on February 11, 2026 and amended by the Board of Supervisors at the March 2, 5, 9, and 12, 2026 budget work sessions and further amended as described in the April 7, 2026 Board of Supervisors Business Meeting Action Item and is found

[00:11:14] in attachments 1 and 6. Adopt tax year 2026 property tax rates as found in attachment 2. Adopt fiscal year 2027 appropriations resolutions as found in attachment 3. Adopt the fiscal year 2027 emergency medical transit reimbursement rates as found in attachment 4. And adopt the fiscal year 2027 through fiscal year 2032 capital improvement program as amended by the Board of Supervisors at the March 9, 2026 Board Budget Work Session and Shonen Attachment 5.

[00:11:46] I further move the Board of Supervisors send $500,000 in planning funds for the Southern Service Center and Capital Project, $500,000 in planning funds to the Eastern Loudoun Library Project, $120,000 for the Town of Hillsboro, Old Stone School Renovation Project, $308,000 for a local match to the Town of Levittsville, Second Watertown Project, and $500,000 to create a five-year water quality monitoring program for the Goose Creek and broad run to the FY2026 year and fund balance discussion for consideration.

[00:12:25] Okay. We just had that discussion. The motion was made and seconded by the vice chair as is normal. Usually the vice chair seconds the motion and when we're in the final meeting and the finance chair makes the motion when we're at the end of the finance discussion so as is normal um so first of all i i i want to say to um mr hemp street um to megan i'm not sure if she's here then i make up there you are um to and and to all the your staff to all the staff thank you so

[00:13:02] much um these budgets um are i think harder harder than they then they look once we get on the day is because the staff has done so much work in advance. And really the budget process starts in like July. And so by the time we get to the budget hearings, there has been a lot of work done. Mr. Jim Street has met with all the department heads. He has talked to us about our board priorities. And there's a lot of behind the scene work that is done in this budget. This budget lowers the car tax on a motion made by Mr. Crony, but supported

[00:13:40] by the entire board. Let me just say that. 9-0 vote for that. Supported by the entire board. This is, I think, a very responsible budget. We weren't able to do everything because we never are. I did try to get Mr. Torpy some more positions. Just ran out of money at the very end there, so we weren't able to do that. But the budget does a lot toward funding.

[00:14:10] I think we actually funded just about all of the first priorities in this budget, and I also want to say to my colleagues, thank you all for all the work we do on this budget. Budget time is tough. We kind of say goodbye to our families and tell them we'll see them in April because we're on the day is four nights a week, but I think it's a well-done budget.

[00:14:34] Finally, I will say to Ms. Bricksman, a lot of this pre-work for a budget, especially the CIP budget is done in finance meeting and they start that, we start finance budget when, Ms. Brixman, in August, September, somewhere around July, okay, July.

[00:14:52] And so the finance committee does some pretty heavy lifting on the budget, again, before it ever comes to this board and this is Ms. Brixman's second finance budget. So great job and great job everyone. So anybody, any other discussion, Ms. Brixman?

[00:15:10] Thank you, Madam Chair. Just a couple comments. I am really proud of the budget. We started with holding ourselves to a 9% growth rate, and my colleagues will remember last term, and I think also in 25, we had some rather large growth rates in our budget. I think it was even up to 13% at one point, 11%, 10%. So we decided early on that because we foresee data center revenue leveling off, not going away, but leveling off in the next five to seven years that we wanted to start restricting ourselves to a certain growth rate, and we did that

[00:15:47] and stuck to 9%, and we also asked the schools to stick to an 8% growth rate, and they did that, and so I'm really proud to say that we are fully funding our schools. I also am happy that we defeated the proposal to put SROs in our elementary schools, and And that was one of the big reasons why we were able to lower the car tax even more and fund some of our other resource requests from our departments.

[00:16:17] I want to thank my colleagues as well for supporting the attorney in the public defender's office. I know we're waiting to see if the governor signs the bill that codifies the idea that we have been supporting supplementing the public defender's office, but also now being able to as a locality um add a public add an attorney to that office so um yeah i'm really proud of our work and thank you very much madam chair by the way that my time was not on oh her time was not on actually it's on over there it's for some reason it's not working it's not working

[00:16:53] on both of them for some reason yeah but it but it's over there so we're good thank you no no it's over there it's working it's on it's on this miss rixman this one it's on this podium over here it's working not this one it's working yeah i can't see oh i can't see that one yeah i can there's a post um mr kirschner thank you madam chair and thank you first of all to the staff and mr hemstreet and the finance committee um and all the collaboration that went on long before it ever got to the full board and we spent five nights a week on the diocese the chair mentioned um i do

[00:17:32] tell my wife i'm i am checking out for the next three weeks so sorry i won't see you for a while but it was it was a good process this year i'm going to support this budget i have voted against a number of budgets over the past year just because i felt like in terms of how we were handling our taxation i don't like raising or when i say raising it's not really the word raising but but not sticking to the equalized rate for the residential homeowner.

[00:17:56] We are slightly above that this year, but on the net positive side, we are eliminating the car tax, which I think I consistently say is one of those pesky taxes that we don't necessarily, we should try to get that as low as possible.

[00:18:11] And I'm hoping my colleagues will continue to move that pesky tax in the correct direction. Obviously, there are all kinds of revenues that government can use, but I think that's one of the ones the citizens probably dislike the most it's certainly from a personal perspective i dislike it and always having to pay that i came from a state where we didn't have a car tax so nonetheless um i digress a little bit but i'm very pleased that we are moving that car tax in the right direction and it's a net positive i think of five or six hundred dollars per household ultimately um that we ended up uh reducing the the average household by approximately that month much i don't have the exact number um i also want to thank my colleagues for moving a couple

[00:18:48] of really important projects including the Levittsville water sewer and the Hillsborough Stone School to the to the later process and discussion for the fund balance I think that's those are going to be really important projects we can discuss those there and moving those along those are important public infrastructure and then I am just to I am a little disappointed on like Miss Brisbane that we did not adopt those SROs I think we did a reasonably reasonable job given some of the budget constraints and whatnot in increasing some of the current SROs in the high schools and they will potentially be used to spill over.

[00:19:27] I do think it is an important project that the sheriff put forward to have SROs in all of our elementary schools. But nonetheless, I will support this budget and I'm glad we're moving this in the right direction. I will say that going forward, I think in future, it's going to be a little harder.

[00:19:44] I think obviously our growth rate at 9%, although I think is well constrained for given the revenue we have coming in is going to be a much more difficult target going into future years, perhaps not the next two or three, but four or five or six down the road. So I think the growth of government is something we're going to have to continue to check, unless, of course, our revenue side continues to grow dramatically, which, of course, we have much to thank for the data center revenue that we have, and we enjoy that kind of quality of life here in Loudoun County.

[00:20:09] Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you. I just want one quick point of clarification. At one point, you said we were eliminating the car tax um you did but you you said it reduces the correct word i wish we eliminated it's probably what i was trying to say says everybody else in this dais yes but it reduces the right word thank you um miss umstead uh thank you madam chair um i i'm also very very happy with this budget um for many reasons but especially along the lines of supervisor kirschner laid out

[00:20:42] And along with my other colleagues, I would like to thank Supervisor Tacroni for just pushing really hard to lower the car tax rate. It's something that Supervisor Kirshner has always supported.

[00:20:57] So the two of you were always pushing for it. But Supervisor Tacroni, thank you for getting it through this year. And Supervisor Kirshner, I think, got the numbers correct. According to the first briefing I had from Mr. Hemstreet on the budget, it does look like for your typical taxpayer who owns two cars, it will probably save, there will be a net saving in taxes for that individual of about $500 or so.

[00:21:37] So I think although we would like to always get the real estate tax rate down to the equalized rate, the fact that we've taken the car tax rate so low enabled us to offer a net savings for the average or typical taxpayer.

[00:21:56] And that's all I've got. Thank you. Mr. Letourneau. Thank you, Madam Chair. I will support the budget and I'm looking forward to us voting. believe unanimously here in favor of it which is a good sign in this day and age and very much unlike what is happening in Richmond right now I am concerned that the lack of action on a state budget will place funding in a precarious nature for LCPS and other entities like other years there are things in the budget that I wouldn't necessarily have included and so perhaps if I was getting to draw my own budget it might be a little bit lower than this

[00:22:32] one I would have liked to see us a little bit lower on the rate of growth although I acknowledge that this year is progress over other years but I do think that we made some good progress certainly on the car tax rate continue to do that utilize data center revenue for that I also want to specifically note the projects in the capital budget that have been things that I've been long advocating for such as the Route 50 and Lavon County Parkway interchange and the Route 50 North Collector Road those are not completely funded in the six-year budget but they have seen big jumps and the amount of funding that is now in that budget for those projects.

[00:23:07] I'm also pleased and thankful that the board was able to start the planning process for the Southern Services Center, at least sending that to fund balance. That's an important project for citizens in the southern part of the county to have access to county resources. So overall, this is a good package that keeps the real estate tax rate reasonable, lowers the car tax rate, takes care of a lot of new positions to address facility openings and continue to provide compensation increases for employees.

[00:23:37] I think we are making progress on SROs in this budget with the addition of the extra group that will help both address elementary school and other calls for service that happens so that there aren't openings. And I believe that should be and will continue to be a continued conversation with the community and with the school board on the future of that program and where that will go in terms of additional SROs.

[00:24:03] But I will vote in favor of the budget. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Letourneau. Mr. Crony. Thank you, Chair Randall. And I just want to say I'm very pleased to support the adoption of the FY27 budget. I want to thank staff for their hard work and the residents who came out to speak about the budget.

[00:24:24] This budget reflects a thoughtful balance between maintaining essential services and being mindful of the tax burden on our residents. The real property tax rate remains the same as this year, and it is one cent above the homeowner's equalized rate.

[00:24:42] I understand residents are experiencing rising assessments. Some residents in my district experienced a 12% increase. As we move forward, I will continue to look for opportunities to find savings. and potentially reduce that rate.

[00:24:59] But my focus has been, as others have said, the vehicle tax, reducing that, taking data center revenue, and using that to give direct relief to residents. We aren't at elimination yet, although I think we can continue to work towards that.

[00:25:20] Still taking in the relief from the state, because the state does give us relief, and we certainly don't wanna give state money, back. You know, just so everybody knows, it was a dollar, it's a dollar 21 lower from when I first took office. So it used to be at 415. And in tax year 27, it will be at 294. So we are we're getting there. And I will continue to look for ways to reduce it. I do remain firm in my position on the personal property tax for data center computer equipment. I don't support lowering it. In fact,

[00:25:55] I probably will be supporting increasing it, so I think that is a way to continue eliminating the vehicle tax, and this matters to our residents because they're facing increasing costs every day with higher electricity bills and also increasing gas prices. We're all experiencing that right now, so giving tax relief is important. I want to thank everybody for supporting the three zoning enforcement positions.

[00:26:27] I want to thank Supervisor Sainz for bringing that motion forward. That was excellent, thank you. And that's for compliance for non-residential uses and county-wide, so that'll be a county-wide effort and we'll figure that out as we go along.

[00:26:42] And I also want to give a shout out to Supervisor Letourneau. Thank you for that motion on the school resource officers, five of those and one sergeant, for a floater group, I think it's important to cover our middle and high schools with an SRO for safety, and I think a lot of our residents thought that was already happening.

[00:27:05] So I wanna thank my colleague for bringing forward that motion, thank you. - Mr. Turner. - Well, thank you, Madam Chair. I wasn't gonna say anything, but I want to be the only one that doesn't. - Mr. Sainz hasn't, Mr. Sainz hasn't.

[00:27:22] - Join me, Mike, join me. So, a lot of times, it's kind of a campaign thing that I've mentioned to groups before. I've kind of got an internal decision-making tree. First of all, does the issue involved violate my core values?

[00:27:39] I won't do that. When I go below that, the next level down is, does the proposal actually solve the problem? And when I go below that, if it solves the problem, how do my constituents feel about it? And I'm not sure the Loudoun County citizenry understands how challenging the budget process is.

[00:27:58] We have one of the most complex, robust, and continually growing counties and have had for 25 years in the United States. We have a bipartisan board. We go from the left to the right and everywhere in between.

[00:28:15] We have dinner together. We joke around together. We are a very collegial board. we get things done. And the budget process is enormously complex. And this is the one area of this job where I routinely find myself in a situation of, yes, it solves a problem and my constituents aren't going to like it. And those are the tough decisions. And that comes up over and over and over again in the budget process. It is an exercise in public service and governance rather than politics the issue is how do we make the best fiscally prudent decision as part of this budget process and the fact that this budget this big

[00:28:53] in this county with the complexities of this county that are not faced by a whole lot of counties in this country is unanimously voted on and has nothing but positive comments down the entire dais at the end of the budget process speaks volumes about the quality of this county staff and the quality of this board. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you. You know, I don't like doing points of clarification because I feel like I'm correcting my colleagues, which I guess I am, but I also think that words are important. And what I have learned is that when one supervisor says something, the assumption

[00:29:29] is the whole board is saying that thing. And I have also learned recently, and this was not something I'm really pleased with, is that there are people who think this is a great county except for some of the political stuff, and that's a problem, too. So with respect, Ms. Brixman, I must correct what you just said.

[00:29:46] It wasn't that we defeated the SROs. That's not what happened. We asked the schools what they wanted, and they said they wanted to have further discussions with the sheriff's department over the next year. And, in fact, they put together a subcommittee to have those discussions with the sheriff's department over the next year.

[00:30:05] So the discussion about the SROs was, if anything, and we did say this, and at least I did, this was said, premature. And our colleagues on the school board said that they weren't ready to do SROs in elementary schools until they had an MOU done with the sheriff.

[00:30:27] And some of the things that they were concerned about were in the MOU. They may get there, they may not get there. But I think the statement, we defeated it, does not quite tell the story of what happened. I imagine this will come back next year after the school does have discussions with the sheriff.

[00:30:46] And I am certainly hoping, because I do know the schools want to have and are open to those discussions. And I certainly hope the sheriff's department, the sheriff's office, is open to those discussions as well. and then we will see where they land next year.

[00:31:03] And I do believe that's the more appropriate way to, well, not just appropriate, that is correctly what happened. And I do think it's important to put things, to say things because words matter and to say things correctly matters a lot. So I'll lay that out there.

[00:31:21] I will also go back one more time and say I had two or three motions on this table about lowering the car tax. I went to Mr. Crony first because she was going, me, me, come to me, come to me, come to me. But there was a lot of willingness and wanting to lower that car tax, which is why you get a 9-0 vote.

[00:31:43] And every single person up here plays that car tax, and we all want it lowered, and at some point, like my colleague said, we all want it eliminated as well. So I will end with what I always end with, and that's the staff. staff um are public servants and you all don't always get to cut the ribbons or don't always get to break ground or don't always get in the paper which is sometimes a really good thing but um but we know that you all are doing the very very very hard work day in and day out and we we know it we see it um and we appreciate you for it so thank you so much all right i made the motion the vice

[00:32:23] chair second the motion all people say aye any opposed that motion will pass 801 and if i'm sure if miss if miss glass was here it would be a 9-0 vote on that motion all right we will go forward um i'm assuming did you need anything else on that are you good okay i do have quite a few things to I'll go over for organizational updates and chairs' comments.

[00:32:51] Oh, wow. Okay. Well, goodbye. Don't y'all want to stay? You don't want to stay? I just said, we just said great things. You want to stay? No? Okay. All righty then. All right. On Thursday the 19th, I had Leadership Greater Washington Education Day.

[00:33:09] It was held in Washington, D.C., for the most part. The chancellor of the Washington, D.C. school system, the superintendent of Prince George's County school system, and the superintendent of Fairfax County school system all spoke to us about their prospective school systems.

[00:33:26] I did not know how much better over the past five years to eight years or so the Washington, D.C. schools were doing. It was thrilling to hear all the things that they are doing now in the Washington, D.C. school system. So Education Day was fantastic. It also did, though, make me always realize that Loudoun County has a phenomenal school system.

[00:33:46] Our kids, our parents, our staff, our teachers, I mean, you just don't get numbers like you get in Loudoun County without having a great school system. So I was really proud of us as I'm sitting here, as I'm sitting to listen to other school systems. Although this was an in-county moment, I do think I want to say it.

[00:34:06] On Friday the February 20th, I did go to the Loudoun Human Services Network meeting. My staff and I will, my staff or I, or maybe my staff and I will start attending those meetings on a regular basis. When I actually hired one of, when we put in place a certain position, it was so that we could reach out more to religious and faith-based communities and do some of the things.

[00:34:32] And some of that fell off after COVID, and so we're starting it up again. So if any of your staffs want to attend the human services meeting, Justin, will you please stand up? Justin is my staff that is assigned to those, to human services, to faith-based, to all those types of things.

[00:34:57] And so he would be more than happy for you all to go together if your staff wants to go. I can't make it every time, but if your staff want to go just to find out what's going on, it might be helpful. It's actually sometimes more helpful to have discussions directly with the providers.

[00:35:14] It just can be more helpful. May 23rd, we had the Route 28 tax district meeting. Nothing to report. It did go very well. On Thursday, I'm sorry, Tuesday the 24th, I had an interview with a contributing reporter from Forbes magazine.

[00:35:32] It was basically about Loudoun County and what it is to be chair of Loudoun County and all the great things about Loudoun County, best county in the country. If you have not seen that article, I will be happy to send you the link. On Wednesday the 25th, the Greater Washington Border Trade Annual Winter Dinner was held.

[00:35:51] It's primarily a networking event for people who are around the Washington, D.C. area, but really the goal is to have sometimes elected officials talk to nonprofit leaders, talk to faith-based leaders, talk to business leaders, and usually try to talk to people that you don't normally see.

[00:36:09] So I wouldn't spend my whole evening talking to Tony Howard and just try to kind of learn about best practices from other areas and all around the region. So it's a really good event. So on Sunday the 29th, I attended the commemoration of the National Vietnam Veterans War Veterans Day.

[00:36:27] And it was, as it always is, a very moving event, a very emotional event, and a very important event for me as my father was a Vietnam veteran. Tomorrow I will be attending the Washington National Council of Government COG meeting.

[00:36:42] I have actually not read that agenda yet, so I have to report what was on that agenda next time. I do want to just have a quick two things, well, three things. One, my state of the county will be on May 21st, and without objection, I will be using this room, as I always have, for the state of the county address.

[00:37:01] Sometime in mid-June, date to be determined, I will be holding a large town hall, probably also in this room, on data centers. I think that there is, it really is, there's a lot of misinformation, there's a lot of disinformation, there's a lot of correct information, There's a lot of really, really valid questions, and I think that when you have a topic that is this central to our county and to our county's budget, it's very, very important to just

[00:37:34] sit down with the community, open it to the public, invite staff, and have it here. So we will be having a data center town hall sometime, well, I will be having a data center Town Hall sometime in June. I want to take a bit, a point of personal privilege to talk about four young men. I don't know if any of you have watched basketball over the past couple of, like the past month or not, but if you've watched basketball over the past month, Loudon has a lot to be really proud of. Supervisor Umstadt, a young man named Solo Ball,

[00:38:12] He lived in Leesburg, attended Horizon, practiced all the time at Idly and attended University of Connecticut. They went to not just the final four, but the final two last night. They did not win, but he was on the Connecticut team, the highest scorer on his team.

[00:38:31] And he is just a remarkable talent, a remarkable athlete. I've not met him, but I'm told he's also just the nicest young man. And so I cannot wait to meet him. Two other gentlemen, a young man named Max Brown and a young man named Aidan Calker.

[00:38:51] Supervisor Sains, Aidan Calker is from the Sterling District, Max Brown is from the Broad Run District, the NJCAA, the National Junior Association of Athletes. Those two gentlemen attend the Florida Gulf Coast and they did go to the Final Four in their division which was amazing because they are ranked 14th. They were ranked 14th. They did not belong in the final four. If you know anything about basketball and anything about how brackets are chosen and that type of thing, the 14th team usually is going to play the second-rated team to start off with and

[00:39:28] and and they won and went all the way to the final four that they didn't get to the final game but get to the final four when you're rated 14th is pretty amazing and so Aiden and Max will also be coming in here and then the final person and he also he was from he's from the Catocton district you've probably heard of Jordan Miller Jordan Miller is now playing with the LA Clippers he just signed a new contract I do know Jordan Miller and his family and his mom just just really just the nicest young man I would say Loudon is producing such great ambassadors for our county that go out into the world and do the things

[00:40:08] that they do. And I'm so, so proud of all of them. We're going to try to find the time where all four of these young men are here at the same time, Mr. Sains, Ms. Umstead, Mr. Kirshner, and Ms. Glass. We're going to do a resolution for these young men, talk about them, what they've done, what they're still doing in Loudoun County, because Jordan comes back and does basketball camps all the time, talk about them and what they're doing.

[00:40:36] Because, you know, when kids don't do well, when there's a problem with something kids are doing, it's all over the news and everyone talks about it. But when our kids do well, and they do well all the time, we don't talk about them enough, we don't highlight them enough, they're not on TV, you know, but they do something wrong that's out there.

[00:40:54] So I think we have got to really highlight our kids who are doing a great, great job. And these young men are doing a great job, and I'm so proud of them, and I can't wait to have them all come back and do a resolution for them. Okay, my state of the county today is Loudon Youth.

[00:41:12] Loudon Youth was founded in 2005. Loudon Youth, I'm sorry, my voice for a cause. Thank you. Who said that, Ms. Bricksman? Thank you. My voice for a cause is Loudon Youth Inc. That's on my brain, evidently. It's a nonprofit organization established to coordinate community resources, to assist in the development of youth programs, and to create leadership opportunities for our young people.

[00:41:35] Over the past 20 years, Loudoun Youth has become a powerful force in shaping the culture and future of Loudoun through the voices, passions, and projects of our youth. And I have with us today the executive director of Loudoun Youth, Blanca Ramirez.

[00:41:51] thank you for being here we really appreciate you being here how long have you been the executive director is one year today that's what I thought I thought yeah congratulations and thank you for your service can you explain the different programs that Loudoun youth has to offer sure we are 20 year old we're going to be 21 year old we're we're past our teens years and we have five really well-established programs here in London County. The London Youth Advisory Council, who many of you have worked with, those are the politicians and changemakers. And then we have the Club

[00:42:31] More Community Builders. Those are our volunteers at heart, and they serve London County. And we have the Step of London Youth Competition. Those are our innovators and creators. The question that they always are answering is, what can you change in the county that you don't like or that you can improve? So on Thursday, we're going to have our final with 10 teams. Mrs. Ciccone is going to be one of our judges. And I believe some of you have been judges of the Step Up during the years. And then we have our London Battle of the

[00:43:11] bands and these are my musicians and I love this this program because is when we realize the arts in London County are important and the teenagers can bring so much energy to it. So those are our five programs and we work in prevention.

[00:43:27] This is what we do. We don't, well we try not to work in crisis. Yeah and you guys, Bell of the Bands is so fun. The Bell of the Bands is a really fun time. So you all do partner with other organizations in Loudoun County. Can you talk about some those partnerships? Sure we partner with right now 55 non-profits that we serve with the Clone More Community Builders. We partner also with the County Parks and Recreation. We co-host Battle of the Vance and the Step Up. We partner with Morven Park. They help us with a lot of trainings and facilities. We partner with

[00:44:04] you guys. I mean you always been in our events. Mr. Sterni just spoke at the the Claude Moore community building graduation. And we are always looking for new partnerships and work to expand because we cannot do it alone.

[00:44:19] This is something we need to realize that working with the youth is a community work, is everybody work, because this is the future of community. This is the future of county, so we need to invest in them. - Right, thank you, thank you.

[00:44:34] You're right, and you are so right. Do you have any challenges that young people are facing? I get asked this all the time, how can different organizations help with, young people especially, so do you have any challenges and how would you tell us, or would you tell everyone right now how they help address those challenges?

[00:44:52] Yeah, London County is one of the most prosperous counties in the country. We always are number one, but sadly our teenagers are having this pressure to be perfect academically.

[00:45:08] They are looking for, when they see their future, they don't see a clear future. They see, like, how, where I'm going to be working. All the data centers are taking my job. AI is taking my job. I don't go outside my community.

[00:45:24] My parents expect all these things from me. Everybody, I mean, all the adults are telling me, you're always on your phone. You are not in the real world. during the uh and sometimes that's not true when we see a teenager with the fun their hands probably they're you know reading a book or searching for something or doing homework but the the fact that we see them with a device in their hands is like oh you guys are disconnected from the real world no they're not they're really really connected they they um this class in this generation i

[00:46:02] I believe is the real COVID generation, because when they were middle schoolers, they were taking classes in their beds, under their covers with the camera off. So they miss this connection. And right now when you see them, they are like, I don't want to talk to adults.

[00:46:18] I don't know how to. And instead of teaching them how to, we normally put a lot of pressure on them. So like, you know, like you need to be perfect. You need to take five, six, seven, eight PDE classes. you need to go to this college.

[00:46:34] All your grades have to be amazing, but, and you need to be the, you know, the captain of your basketball team, and you need to do this, and you need to volunteer 100 hours per year. So it's a lot they're taking right now. And when they, what we're seeing right now, when they go to college, some of them hit a really, really hard wall, because reality is difficult.

[00:47:00] They don't know how to deal with a lot of day-to-day skills because they are always looking to be that perfect, that perfection. And many parents, the pressure that they put in the kids, the kids stop believing that they can be kids.

[00:47:17] And we are living in a world where there is no consequences. We believe there is no consequences anymore. So teenagers, by nature, they try to, you know, go that way and pick you like, can I do this?

[00:47:32] No, yes, let me do this. So they're always trying to push their boundaries. Listen, I could talk to you all day. I had a mom tell me one time that in Loudoun County, your kid can have a 4.0 GPA and not get into their state school.

[00:47:50] And I was like, huh. Isn't that something? But it's true. I mean, I never thought about that before. - We have students who are 4.2, 4.3. - And they don't get in their state school, right? - They are 55 of 60. - Yeah, right, exactly, absolutely.

[00:48:07] - Yeah. - So you have that, first of all, Ms. Ramirez, that was fantastic, and I could have talked to you all day about all these very important things, and thank you for what you're doing with our kids. So I have one last question. If somebody, either youth, adults, family, whomever, want to get involved and help more, how do they do that?

[00:48:29] Well, first of all, they can go to our webpage, and we have everything, all the programs listed there, and they can email us. I always put my email and phone number out there, so everybody can... Not your phone number? Myself, for work.

[00:48:47] Okay. So they always can reach me out. we are always looking for students to serve. Sometimes we are of our capacity, well most of the time we're of our capacity, but we're trying to expand our services to other, to all the students that we serve with the partnership that we get. Okay. So this is, this is how you can contact us. If you want to be a mentor you always can send us an email and we will connect you with with the youth that they need to have a mentor, and we have a really good mentorship programs.

[00:49:22] - I'm going to ask a question that I don't have on the paper. So if you're connecting adults to mentors, I'm assuming there's some background checks on those adults. - Oh yeah, yeah. We do, and the parents are aware of it, and it's always in a public place, and they talk about many, many stuff. We have right now mentors with the Step of London Youth Competition teams, that they are helping the students to do their projects, to take it to the next level.

[00:49:47] What's the website and your email address? My website is www.loudenyouth.org. Okay, www.loudenyouth.org, okay. And my email address is vramirez@loudenyouth.org. Wonderful. You gave so much information, and I have a feeling you're probably going to get some responses.

[00:50:05] I do have an organization right now that's contacted me that said, a couple days ago, said, "How can I help and where do you need help?" And I'm going to direct them right over to you, Ms. Ramirez. So we don't do clapping in the boardroom very often. We do it twice right now in the resolutions. And thank you so much for what you're doing.

[00:50:21] Thank you very much for having me today. Thank you. Supervisors and Loudon, I'm going to go to Mr. Hemstree for his comments, but then I'm going to do this. I have a colleague that has a kid with a birthday, and we're going to try to get him to his kid's birthday.

[00:50:41] And so I'm going to go on and take us into closed session before we do any action items so he can go to closed session with us. As soon as we come back out of closed session, we will do resolutions and public comments and go on with the agenda.

[00:50:56] So the action items will be at the end, but I am trying to get, you know, we're supervisors, but we're all the other stuff, too. And so we're going to get him out of this room. But before that, Ms. Timstreet, do you have any comments tonight? Thank you, Madam Chair. I've got four comments for this evening.

[00:51:12] The first is that members of the public are being asked to help shape future programs and facilities of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Services through a community needs assessment survey. Information compiled from the assessment will provide key data to help PRCS continue to deliver high quality programs and services to the community.

[00:51:32] The online survey is open through Friday, April 17th. Details and a link to the survey are online at loudon.gov slash PRCS. Second, Loudoun County is making it easier and more affordable for older adults to use transit. The county is making senior smart trip cards available at several convenient locations throughout the county.

[00:51:51] The free reloadable fare card provides residents age 65 and older with a 50% discount on fares for Metrorail, Metrobus, Loudoun County Transit's commuter bus, and other regional transit services that accept smart trip. More information is online at loudoun.gov slash smart trip.

[00:52:09] Third, Loudoun County businesses interested in developing relationships in the public sector marketplace are encouraged to register for an upcoming launch Loudoun Workshop. Representatives from Loudoun County's Procurement Division, as well as the Town of Leesburg, Loudoun Water, and Loudoun County Public Schools will help local vendors learn how to do business with key agencies in the county.

[00:52:29] The workshop is scheduled for April 21st at the Ashburn Recreation Community Center. Details are online at loudoun.gov slash procurement sessions. And then finally, the 2026 Loudoun County Farmer Trading Cards have been released and are in the hands of Loudoun County students.

[00:52:45] Ten Loudoun County farmers are featured as all-stars on this year's cards, which are distributed in Loudoun County Public Schools through a partnership with the county's Department of Economic Development. The award-winning program, which began in 2016, helps students understand where their food comes from and also highlights the professional opportunities available in agriculture.

[00:53:05] More information is online at loudonfarms.org. Those are my comments for this meeting. Ms. Dempsey, we're going to make a motion that you have to do either three comments or five comments, but it can't always be four comments. That's going to be the motion we've made pretty soon. Next time we'll do three comments.

[00:53:22] Okay, we will be back by, because we actually, by our rules of order and agenda, cannot start resolutions before 530 anyway, and so we will be back by 530. We're going to read in the closed session, go into the closed session, get it done, be back by 5.30.

[00:53:38] As soon as we come back out, we will do resolutions. So everyone can talk amongst yourselves and hold tight until we get back. Mr. Turner, would you please read us in the closed session? I move the Board of Supervisors recess this public meeting and enter into closed session pursuant to Section 2.23711A3 of the Code of Virginia to consider the acquisition of a parcel of property for public use in the Catoctin Election District.

[00:54:03] motions made and seconded it would be a six three vote i i don't like going into closed session people off the dais well but well seven two one but i'm not doing that with them off the dais because i got to go in the closed session because laura's gone so i i know that that's why it would be seven two one but thank you you want to help you thank you but i'm not going to close session

[00:54:32] without them, though. Yeah. Mr. Kirshner helps me a lot. Sometimes. Sometimes. Thank you, ladies.

[00:54:50] I didn't want to go to closed session because then you have to come and read out a closed session. We can't do it like that. So we've been ready in the closed session. Do you have any comments? No. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? That motion will pass. 8-0-1. We are now in

[00:55:04] closed session we are back and mr turner you're going to read us out of closed session please

[01:45:45] i move the closed session be adjourned 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 second discussion on the motion all people say aye aye any opposed would everyone please affirm starting supervisor umstat affirm affirm affirm affirm affirm firm and i affirmed oh and i affirm and then circling back around

[01:46:25] surprise briggsman sorry about that and i affirm as well okay we're going to do resolutions and then we're going to do um board comments and before we do board comments i have all this stuff i'm I'm going to read today, and then we're going to come back and do -- no, I'm sorry, we're going to do resolution, we're going to do public comments.

[01:46:43] I have statements to read before public comments, and then we're going to circle back around and do board comments, and I believe we only have two action items tonight. So if Mr. Turner would join me down front, the first one we're going to do is recognizing April 12th through the 18th as Public Safety Telecommunications Week.

[01:47:08] Can you tell me my actual agenda?

[01:47:55] Yeah, so I can understand. Sir, how are you? I'm good. Where's Mr. – yeah, you're good. Both of you on either side. How's that? Because in a second, you guys are going to be just to host the resolution.

[01:48:13] Okay? I have never felt more safe than I do this very moment in my life.

[01:48:30] All right. We have a proclamation for Public Safety Telecommunications Week, Telecommunicators Week. Whereas, emergencies can occur at any time of any day that require the prompt response of law enforcement, firefighters, EMS providers, and humane law enforcement officers to protect life and preserve property.

[01:48:55] And whereas, when an emergency occurs, Loudoun County Public Safety telecommunicators are the vital link between first responders and residents calling 911 for help during an emergency. And whereas the safety of our first responders is dependent upon the quality and accuracy of information obtained from citizens who call our text, and that's new, so that's a big deal, who call our text the Loudoun County Emergency Communication Center.

[01:49:27] And whereas Loudoun County Public Safety telecommunicators have contributed to the apprehension of criminals, suppression of fires, and emergency treatment of patients while consistently exhibiting the true compassion and professionalism.

[01:49:43] Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors does hereby proclaim April 12th through 18th, 2026, as Public Safety Telecommunicators Week in Loudoun County. And with the Loudoun County Combined Fire and Rescue System, Loudoun County Sheriff's Office, Loudoun County Animal Services, and all, urges all residents to honor the men and women whose diligence and professionalism keeps our county and residents safe.

[01:50:16] Well, first of all, I'm going to hand the microphone to the two gentlemen on either side of me, and they're actually going to hold the resolutions for the pitches. But I do have a question for whomever in the telecommunication, whoever telecommunicator, wasn't there an effort to add you all to make sure you got all the same union benefits as everybody else for all the right reasons?

[01:50:46] Did that effort succeed in the General Assembly? It did not succeed in the General Assembly. Huh. So we're going to try again. That's what we're going to do, right? We're going to try again. Wow, that's really ridiculous. and we're going to try again because i mean you will have incredibly hard jobs i also sometimes think your jobs in some ways are harder because you always you don't always know the end of the story right and so you know the beginning you get people there and then you hang up and you're like and now what happened you don't always and so that leaves a lasting effect of what what what

[01:51:24] happened next um and all the studies show that all the other issues the anxiety the ptsd all the other issues are just as true for people who take calls as people who respond to calls. So, first of all, thank you, Rob, for what you do.

[01:51:39] And secondly, we're going to go back to the General Assembly next year. All right, let's start with Mr. Sheriff Chapman. Hey, I want to thank all the telecommunicators for their exceptional service. They do a terrific job. They're the unsung heroes. They get the first calls. They've got to handle all the confusion that happens when these calls come in.

[01:51:57] And, you know, just last year we had over 160,000 calls for service. And then when you add on the self-initiated calls and you have to enter those into CAD, that's another 60,000 calls. It's amazing the amount of work that they do, how professional they are, how clear they make the dispatch and the things that we have to follow up on.

[01:52:17] It's just a tremendous amount of responsibility, and I really do thank you for your outstanding service. So thank you very much. Thank you, Madam Chair. To all the telecommunicators, you have all my respect. Hats off to each and every one of you.

[01:52:33] You have a very difficult job, one that I probably could not do very well. Quick story. So when I was a volunteer in Montgomery County, part of my training was going into the ECC, and there was a mutual aid fire. This was before a lot of the electronic, you know, CAD-to-CAD stuff that we have.

[01:52:50] There was a mutual aid fire. There was a car accident during a thunderstorm on the Beltway. So you don't get one call. You get lots of calls. And then there was another, there was a tragic, you know, situation where a mother came home and found her child deceased.

[01:53:07] And you guys have to deal with that. And when the call is done, then you have to deal with the next one. So there isn't a very good outlet or way to, you know, move forward with the day. So my hat's off to each of you. Madam Chair and the board, thank you very much for recognizing these professionals.

[01:53:24] Thank you. Will you come, Mr. No, no, Steve. Ms. Dively, can you come here, please? Yes. So we don't always realize that animal services is part of our first responders. I do want to say to you, there was a mouse in the garage the other day. And I need somebody to handle that.

[01:53:42] Did we respond to that? No, but you should. What I wanted you to do. That's right. Thank you. We do not respond for mice in garages. So in spite of what our wonderful telecommunicators do, a big part of what our team does is trying to help people calm down.

[01:54:01] but thank you so much to everyone who does call us and how our telecommunicators handle things every day. I'm proud every day when they talk somebody down because there's a bear in their garage, because something tragic has happened to one of their pets that they've locked their pet in a car on a hot day and they need that support and care while responses are on the way.

[01:54:20] Our telecommunicators for animal services and human services are remarkable people because in every other industry, you can have a bad day at work. You can't have a bad day as a telecommunicator because you're helping somebody on their very worst day. So thank you so much to everything that you do. We're so appreciative.

[01:54:36] - Thank you so much. I do have one question and this is no, I'm not joking about this. So something happens, a call goes out and something happens and I'm not kidding. Within five minutes, the Real Housewives of Loudoun County Facebook page has, and I'm always, and oftentimes, God bless you all, we're women of Loudoun County, but it's not correct information.

[01:54:58] And then, does that make your job so much harder when information is out there on a huge platform that is just not correct? I'm going to give it to you for no good reason. Well, the temptation is there to respond, but we know better.

[01:55:18] To respond to the thread that's going on, and you know none of that is true, but, you know, we kind of hold it together. No, not really. I don't feel as though it's appropriate, although I don't know if anyone else feels differently, but I don't feel it's appropriate to respond.

[01:55:39] Usually what I would do is say something like, I would talk to one of these gentlemen, and then the next minute I would say something like, what should I say? And normally it comes down to just have everybody stay out of the area. Something like that is what I would say. Anyway, thank you very, very much for what you do.

[01:55:56] I don't know how we're going to take this picture, but Glenn, I'm going to get it to you.

[01:56:00] well volunteer appreciation week if you're here for that I know but I may

[01:57:41] need them both because I'm probably gonna give two away is this is still this is combined yeah there we go volunteers there we go on either side please hello hello hello hello it is so good your your your station is still the hardest station for me to just get in to get in like I come to visit and it's just hard to get in the door right because it's just it's it's a weird

[01:58:19] although I did go for um for Christmas for the it was so great it was it was so great the Santa right was really cool it was really cool okay okay okay sounds good sounds sounds wonderful okay we have a proclamation for the volunteer would you like to read this mr. Turner there you go whereas throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia and Loudoun County history citizens citizens have volunteered their time, talent, and energy to improve our communities and make our commonwealth and county safer, and whereas the hundreds of dedicated volunteer members of the Loudoun

[01:58:54] County Combined Fire and Rescue System selflessly contribute their time as first responders and in critical support roles, and whereas the volunteers are the catalysts that create positive changes in our communities by sharing their compassion, time, ideas, talents, technical skills, and professional expertise to strengthen and help our county flourish, and whereas these trained volunteers, our neighbors are summoned to a wide array of emergencies across the county every day, including fires, emergency medical incidents, natural disasters, hazardous materials incidents, water rescue emergencies, and other public service calls. And whereas our community

[01:59:30] is fortunate to be fortified by dedicated neighbors serving as volunteer first responders, giving their time in service to those in need, now therefore be it resolved that the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors does hereby proclaim April 19th through 25th, 2026 as Volunteer Week in Loudoun County and encourages all citizens to honor the dedicated volunteers of the Loudoun County Combined Fire and Rescue System.

[02:00:06] Thank you, Chair Randall. Thank you to the board and thank you to the men and women from our volunteer system who are up here with me representing hundreds more. So as I alluded to, I started my career as a volunteer in Montgomery County in 1993.

[02:00:23] And for 10 years or so I did that. I would not be standing here today as the fire chief if it wasn't for that time. So I say that to anyone looking to pursue a career in fire and EMS, that your volunteer time can pay different kinds of rewards and dividends.

[02:00:44] It may not be his fire chief, but what I mean by that is each and every one of them responds, does administrative work, what have you, and all of that is very important. So the volunteer system is made up of doctors, lawyers, retirees, business people, truck drivers, and each and every one of them are important.

[02:01:11] So with that, we have all of our governance structure represented. Chief Kermode had to leave. But I'm going to give it to President Michal to say a few words on behalf of the AOC and the system. Thank you, Chief Williams.

[02:01:35] Sorry, it took me a moment. Good evening, Chair Randall, members of the board, county leadership. On behalf of the volunteers of Loudoun County, thank you for this recognition.

[02:01:51] While we may not have as many volunteers here tonight as we'd like, Many are probably still at work. That's part of what defines a volunteer service. Our members balance careers, families, and daily responsibilities, yet still answer the call when our community needs us most.

[02:02:07] This proclamation reflects that commitment and pride we take in serving alongside our career partners. We truly appreciate your continued support. Thank you. So I actually want to, you actually hit on what I want to say.

[02:02:26] I don't know that, and I say this all the time, a lot of people don't even know we have a combined system Because the volunteers are trained in such a way that when they answer a call at the worst moment in someone's life, it is the same training, it's the same professionalism, it's the same care, and you do the same amazing job.

[02:02:43] And so that's – and then the thing that these are people who have full-time jobs, full-time jobs, and then choose to come home at the end of a full day and go out and fight fires or do EMS work or any of that. That is absolutely phenomenal.

[02:02:59] The other thing that I don't know people always realize is how much community services the volunteers do. All those pancake breakfasts and days like that, the Santa rides, all that, those are usually all volunteer things. And it's such a community building and community bringing activity.

[02:03:17] I know when I went out for the Santa ride, it was freezing and I didn't go. And you all went out there for three solid nights in a row when it was bitterly cold just to make people happy. It was phenomenal.

[02:03:33] So I think you guys are just so great, and I hope you do realize how much you are appreciated. And now we're going to figure out how to take a picture.

[02:04:23] Thank you so much.

[02:04:53] Good to see you. Your all's Easter picture was beautiful. Beautiful. It was gorgeous. Ms. Bricksman and Mr. Turner are going to join me down front for the next resolution, please, which is the Proclamation to Recognize Sexual Assault Awareness Prevention Month.

[02:05:14] I think I have it here. I do have it here. Would everyone here for that come on down, please? Ms. Bricksman, where'd you go? Oh, gosh, it strikes me that it's almost all women, which is something we need to work on, isn't it?

[02:05:45] Don't you? I'm serious. I never thought about that before. I'm serious. I mean, God bless you. But it's almost all women, which is something because it's not like this issue is not an issue every single person in the world shouldn't be concerned about, right?

[02:06:01] So, Ms. Bixman, I'll get you over here with me. Mr. Turner, I think you and I did this one together, and Ms. Bixman's going to read the next one. So I'll read this one, and Ms. Bixman, you're going to read the next one. Okay. Okay? Is that okay? All right. Whereas each year, Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month unites survivors, advocates, and communities in their shared commitment to end sexual assault, abuse, and harassment.

[02:06:29] And whereas our community has a shared responsibility to create an environment that promotes safety, accountability, and sexual violence affects individuals of all age, races, ethnicities, gender identities, and sexual orientations.

[02:06:47] And whereas most men and women across all sexual identities who experience sexual violence report that a person who harmed them was someone they knew, these crimes occur far too frequently, are underreported, and are unreported, and leave long-lasting negative impacts.

[02:07:07] And whereas this month, we commit ourselves to removing the stigma and shame surrounding the victimization of sexual violence, expanding support for survivors, increasing prevention education, and strengthening our response.

[02:07:22] And whereas Loudoun County partners with lost domestic violence and sexual assault services, silence no more, women giving back, and other allies to support sexual violence survivors, increase awareness about sexual violence, decrease its frequency, hold offenders accountable, support victims, and heal lives.

[02:07:44] Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors does hereby proclaim April 2026 a sexual assault awareness and prevention month in Loudoun County and commits to working together to inform members of our community about sexual violence and prevention and supporting survivors.

[02:08:06] So I want to ask a question to first Samantha Clark, then Lisa Jones, then Nicole Morris. i don't know where all of you all are samantha you and i have had this discussion before and and i and i'm really i'm really thrilled with some of the language in this proclamation is based on discussion you and i have had before which has been about the stigma that people who are victims of sexual um violence or assault or just violence period um experience and how there was a time when

[02:08:41] the victims were the ones that were pulled out of the community and put someplace else, you know, miles away. And now we've changed that paradigm and we no longer decide that the victims are the ones that have to leave their community, their home, their support system in their area. Come stand next to me for a second and talk about why that has been so important to you and the change in stigma that has been so important to you. Absolutely. Thank you, Madam Chair and the Board of Supervisors for recognizing Sexual Assault Awareness Month again this year and as the chair mentioned one of the things that's critically important is

[02:09:20] that we reduce the shame and stigma that sexual assault survivors experience not not only after the trauma they experience but also the resulting stigma that can come from maybe their family or their community or their community of faith or their workplace or the school that they're attending and so the work that we do in community at laws with our partners that you see around the table our MDT partners that you see in the room with us tonight the Sheriff's Office Leesburg Police Department our hospital partners is to make sure that survivors see feel seen and heard and understood and validated and to what the

[02:09:58] chair said we no longer work towards a model of healing where survivors in order to heal have to feel isolated from their community or isolated from their trauma or experience that continued shame and stigma. What we communicate to survivors now is we see you, we believe you, we're here for you, and this community stands with you despite what happened to you. And that's critical that that message comes from each and every one of us, not only

[02:10:35] standing in front of this room, but each of you sitting in this room and each of you beyond the doors of this dais this evening. Because for 25 years, so SAPM, Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, started over 25 years ago when the National Sexual Violence Resource Center stood up and said, we as advocates need to raise our voice and let survivors know they are heard and they are believed we've been doing this and coming together and standing together and saying to survivors we see you we believe you we stand with you and you are not alone and that is what

[02:11:13] survivors need to hear from their community every day so that they can heal in that community and not feel like in order to heal I have to hide because that does not create healing thank you for that Lisa Jones one thing about silence no more that I have thought has been incredible is that you have a two-year program I mean you are you

[02:11:46] follow them well after the first the the initial crisis you follow them whether after the first three months six months you follow them and and it is unusual actually for um for a organization to follow a woman or man as closely and for as long term as you follow them come over here i know you hate talking in public i don't care but tell me why seriously tell me why it is important to like keep them follow them for

[02:12:21] two years of the long time to do that tell me why you do that typically survivors don't feel or know what they've actually gone through until months have changed, have passed. So if you've been in an abusive relationship for 18 months, you're not going to be healed in eight days, two months.

[02:12:46] You need to be around people that can help you, mentor you, provide you resources, provide training, come together as a community, help you, support you. That takes time. It takes time. You need to be active.

[02:13:04] You have to keep growing, keep educating yourself, because abusers, they educate themselves. They grow. We have to keep doing the same thing. If not, you know, it'll just keep happening. I'm targeting, we're targeting that number of 7 to 12. If we can decrease that, it'll give a domino effect on lives, your mental health, and that physical abuse, financial abuse.

[02:13:30] So that takes time. Two years, and I wish it could be more, but two years is really, truly needed. Thank you. And then Nicole, so I joked with you the other day that when women giving back, when I first went there in, I don't know, 2016 or something, I said, what is this organization? Somebody goes, it's where they get their prom outfits from. And then later on, I was like, I think a whole lot more happens than prom outfits. You all actually deal with women who are often

[02:14:06] trying to um literally come back from being abused being being hidden as samantha was talking about being shamed and they come in and they're and they're just trying to feel feel feel like they can once again be attractive beings who are worthy who are loved who are supported and they come to you and maybe for the first time ever and say i need all these things for myself and my children And then you all walk them through these moments of, for the first time, them actually maybe buying something for themselves and their children and how to do that.

[02:14:44] And the thing about women giving back, it's so much time and so much care and so much love to not just women, I shouldn't just say women, but to people who have really, really been harmed. How do you do that? how do you take care of somebody um and and as an act that is simple as shopping right which is so much more than that moment um than just shopping how do you do that when they come to you well i think it goes along with what sam said they want to be seen um and it's been hard when you're in

[02:15:17] that shell that shell of that healing stage too um and i think making sure that they are seen they are they do feel valued as soon as they walk through that door and yes it's clothing and we joke about it sometimes with staff like it's it's shopping therapy because honestly I've been in the non-profit industry for so long and and and the environment that we have with the boutique it's them lifting their putting their wall down being able to speak a little bit more about their situation they're in an environment where it's just women shopping with women but you actually

[02:15:53] gain their trust a little bit more and that's very hard to do with survivors um as somebody with lived experience um it is very hard to open up and i love our county i love how diverse our county is unfortunately a lot of our our sexual assault victims are from countries where it's the norm and that should not be the case they don't know that there's resources here um for that they don't know that there is a whole healing journey because you're supposed to just wipe it under the rug and not talk about it again and that's where

[02:16:29] organizations like silence no more movement and laws come together and really try to get them to the next stage of healing and as i also sit on the board of silence no more movement and what lisa jones does it's even more past the two years i've been involved with them enough to see that lisa's still in contact with survivors past the two years and still have support groups so it is about seeing being seen being valued and if you could I could take if you could take one thing with you tonight is just make sure you believe a survivor make sure you use your voice

[02:17:05] so that they're not not navigating this journey alone oh thank you thank you and one more person um April did not come this evening she's not here April um what is your name get over here Of course I meant you. I saw you down there.

[02:17:31] I think you have almost the, well, not the end of the journey, but you have almost the opposite side of what people are going through when they're doing this. Can you tell what you do, first of all, because you work for the county, and how you help survivors in your role with working sometimes with the people who have victimized them, right?

[02:17:54] Good evening. So I work with the Department of Community Corrections. We work with folks that are, like she said, on the opposite side. And the way that we can hold people accountable is to partner with the different agencies that are up here.

[02:18:12] We have a very robust coordinated community response, and we communicate with the courts to make sure people are following through on their obligations. So, April, you know, when I used to work in a jail, in the jails and prisons, I would come across people who were assaulters who had been assaulted in their life.

[02:18:35] It was very, very normal. How do you deal with them? So you have somebody who was a child, was assaulted themselves. Now they are assaulting. Do they get any treatment? And while they're getting the consequences that they need to have, do they also get treatment for what they went through as younger people themselves?

[02:18:54] Yes, they do. There's a lot of trauma in the background. the folks that we work with, so we do connect them to services. Good, there you go. It does strike me that, and the respect I have for you, sir, is enormous, it does strike me that the people up here are women, right?

[02:19:13] And that's interesting because not just women are abused, and certainly it's not the women who are the abusers. And it would seem to me that we need more men in these conversations, and more men that watch the process and more men involved in the healing and those types of things so for all of you thank you and let's let's remember that this this issue um this it is not gender specific or nor does it have a sexual identity of any type and so i think that's something we should also remember so thank you i know it took a long time but this is such an important issue and the day

[02:19:53] that we don't have to have this proclamation anymore will be one of the best days in loud County. We all look forward to you all never visiting this boardroom again for this proclamation.

[02:20:03] In the meantime, let's take the most fabulous picture we've ever taken before. I hope so,

[02:22:02] because it's about, yeah. If everyone is here for Child Abuse Prevention Month, would you come down or stay down or come over? I'm going to put Ms. Bricksman in the center over here and hand Ms. Bricksman the microphone so she can read the proclamation for Child Abuse Prevention Month.

[02:22:35] Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm really proud to sponsor this proclamation. And like you said, it would be really nice if we didn't have to do it, but we absolutely do. Proclamation, whereas children are among the most vulnerable residents while also being our greatest resource and their wellbeing shapes the future of Loudoun County and the Commonwealth of Virginia.

[02:22:54] And whereas safe, stable, and nurturing relationships with caring adults help protect children from trauma and support healthy social, emotional, and physical development. And whereas childhood trauma can have long-lasting effects on a person's mental, emotional, and physical health and can impact families and communities across generations, and whereas child abuse and neglect remain serious public health issues in Loudoun County and across the nation, and prevention requires awareness, engagement, and action from the entire community, and whereas Loudoun County, together with trusted community partners such as laws, domestic violence, and sexual assault services,

[02:23:34] The Loudoun Child Advocacy Center, the Loudoun Child Abuse Multidisciplinary Team, and the Loudoun County Department of Family Services recognizes that protecting children and strengthening families requires responsive systems, a shared responsibility, and sustained community commitment.

[02:23:50] Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors does hereby proclaim April 2026 as Child Abuse Prevention Month in Loudoun County and calls on residents, organizations, community partners, and our elected leaders to renew their commitment to protect children and strengthen families throughout our community.

[02:24:11] Again, thank you very much. Do we have some comments? Thank you, Supervisor Briskman. I'm going to take this opportunity to introduce our incredible CAC Director, Lisa Donovan, who's just going to say a couple of words about the work at our CAC and the importance of protecting children in our community.

[02:24:30] So welcome, Lisa. Thank you so much for having me and for having us here. I'm part of the director at the Loudon Child Advocacy Center. This is a place where kids come when there is an allegation of abuse.

[02:24:48] And it's a child-friendly atmosphere. So kids can come and share their experience in a neutral setting, child-friendly setting. They'll talk to what we call a forensic interviewer. And they'll talk to them about what happened while investigators are in a separate room observing the interview, learning about what happened. While this is happening, we have a family advocate there to talk with a family, talk with a caregiver, find out what their needs are, how they're doing, offer some emotional support, connect them to mental health services, to medical services,

[02:25:25] and things like that. We work as a multidisciplinary team, like it was mentioned. That includes the sheriff's office, Leesburg Police Department, the county attorney's office, Commonwealth Attorney's Office, the hospital, Laws, Loudoun Mental Health Clinic.

[02:25:42] And we all work together as a team to make sure that kids are safe, that they have the resources they need to heal, and justice can be served. And so it's a pretty amazing team that we work with.

[02:26:01] I'm new to Loudoun County, and I have found that the resources here and the community here, the response here has been just amazing. And that's really what it takes to help children heal, along with prevention education.

[02:26:18] If we can prevent it by talking with kids about body safety and prevention and listening to children and believing children when they say they are being harmed or if they don't feel safe. And so that is the best prevention to abuse.

[02:26:39] Sam and Kathy, everyone. So one of the things that happens with this type of work, and Sam, with your work, the trauma and burnout rate among providers can be very, very high. Watching or dealing with what you deal with on a daily basis, how do you take care of the people who take care of the children and the other people?

[02:27:01] How do you do that? Just real briefly to that, I think one of the things that we do, at Laws as part of our team is we have a licensed therapist who works regularly with our staff, who does either individual trauma reduction work or does group work with our staff. So they have a safe place to process and hopefully de-escalate after significant incidences where they are encountering trauma in their work. We think that's really important. It's embedded in our model because it's critical that they don't necessarily have to hold all of that because like the chair said, they see it every day

[02:27:39] and that's important that they have a space to go to with that that is not necessarily after work at the kitchen table or when you go out for dinner with friends. It's important that you have a safe and trusted place to go with that. So that's one of the things and strategies that we as an organization do.

[02:27:56] And then Lisa or other team members, if you want to speak to other strategies that we incorporate if I didn't capture something. So along with that, we have the therapists come work with our team to do some resiliency work, coupled with we're part of the National Children's Alliance, and they provide resources and support for the MDT on resiliency and vicarious trauma to keep the team healthy, which is a very important part.

[02:28:31] Well, thank you. Are we ready for a picture? Is there another group here? Or you're all in the same? Okay. I just want to make sure. Oh, Department of Family Services. Okay.

[02:28:47] All right. We're going to start public comment. And I have quite a few statements before we do public comment. It has come to our attention that a political organization, the Loudoun County Republican Committee,

[02:31:16] has posted and continues to post video clips of citizens who come to speak to us during public hearing and during the public comments of these meetings. The Board of Supervisors did not authorize that.

[02:31:35] We have nothing to do with that. We became aware of this action. Video, when people speak, it is public and so any organization is allowed to pull those clips, but no one on the Board of Supervisors believes this is a good practice to do, nor supports this effort.

[02:31:57] We encourage political organizations to reconsider this practice and remove the video clips from its Facebook page. We are aware that members of the public come to speak to the BOS about your ballot issues and your valid concerns, and you do not expect to have your comments placed on a partisan social media page, no matter whose page it is.

[02:32:19] Again, it is not an illegal practice, thus we don't have the ability to prevent that practice. The most important thing I want to say, though, is this. We absolutely want all of our citizens to know that we value your voices.

[02:32:34] We want you here. We want to hear from you. And although there are several ways to communicate with us, we absolutely welcome and want you to continue to come and speak to us during public comment or public hearing directly.

[02:32:51] It is a way to talk to us directly, to express your ideas, to express your concerns. And I actually think that there's almost nothing that is more powerful than speaking to people directly. You can do the emails and all that, but speaking directly is powerful. So we wish that were not happening and we encourage that to stop.

[02:33:11] But please do not stop coming to speak to us because that is happening. I will also say that the public comment section, the supervisors created this as a, well actually I will get back to that part. I want to say something about when you speak before the board, it is important to, you're You're speaking to us and so to face the board.

[02:33:36] And the reason you face the board is because a couple of things, one, when you turn around you're literally not on the mic anymore and people can't hear you, but if I or if the board, because it's not my rule, it's the rule of the Board of Supervisors, if we start letting people turn around and face the public, then we can't, then that gets out of control really fast.

[02:33:54] And so we want people, we want to hear your comments, we want to know what you want to say to us, but your comments are to us. And so, if you could stay face forward when you give us those comments, that is really, really appreciated.

[02:34:10] If we have to clear the dais because somebody is out of order, the Board of Supervisors has adopted a security plan to better ensure that board members and the public and county staff are kept safe when safety concerns arise.

[02:34:25] If a safety concern arise, all board members should leave the dais. I want to remind my fellow board members that the following security plan is the best method to keep everyone safe. If any board member wants to change that security plan of how the board reacts to these concerns, then we should actually go into closed session and request that and have a discussion how to change the security plan.

[02:34:49] The security plan, again, is a security plan that we all agreed to when we had our security The protocol is given to us that if I call someone out of order, we leave the dais. That is something that the entire board has agreed to, and it's important that just for security's sake, we actually respond to the security plan that has been put in place to keep us safe and to keep the county safe.

[02:35:14] Even if you don't feel individually like you're in danger, we have put that security plan in place, and I'm going to ask everyone to follow it. One last thing, I'm going to ask Mr. Rogers, if you would please, there have been some, some confusion, in fact, I had some, about what kind of public input section this is.

[02:35:39] When a board puts a public input section together, what does that mean? So if you could help people understand that, that would be really helpful for me and everyone else. Thank you, Madam Chair. of speech has different public forums. There's traditional public forums like you would think of the courthouse steps where the public would speak. What the board is creating here is a limited public forum. It's a created opportunity to address the board on either specific topics like you would have with public hearings on time, place, and manner restrictions that the board can

[02:36:14] put on speakers such as how much time a person can speak and in how that speech is to be presented to the board and for what purposes so this is a limited public forum and the board can adopt reasonable non-content based rules in order to control that forum right thank you very much having said that we're going to go into public comments and um i'm going to call your name uh three uh two or three people in advance so you know that you're next when you hear your name call please come to the podium closest to you you have two minutes to um to for your comments and

[02:36:49] when your time is up, if you would release the podium to the next speaker, I would appreciate that. And thank you all for being here. Our first speaker is Mara Wash Copeland, followed by Madeline Skinner, followed by Jim Bingel. Madam Chair? Yes, ma'am. I think we have an elected in the audience. We do have an election on. Thank you for reminding me of that. We do have an elected in the audience. As much as I think you got you three are great, you're not the three electeds in the audience. We do have an elected in the audience, and it is my it is my policy one to put my glasses on so I can see the audience that actually helps

[02:37:24] but it is my policy to allow elected officials to if they are here there she there she is to speak first and we have um joining us today is the mayor of Leesburg so mayor Burke welcome and um we are ready when you are thank you miss Bricksman thank you I do have to say chair Randall that you probably don't want to come to my house because I have what my husband calls squirrel friends all I'm here today to thank you, Loudoun County Board of Supervisors and the County Staff,

[02:38:00] for the outstanding transit program that you have put together that serves Leesburg and its residents. These services have been extremely successful, and I want to extend my sincere appreciation to everyone involved in making this reliable bus service available at little or no cost to the community. The transit program I am addressing is the commuter bus service that for a small fee gets residents to Northern Virginia and D.C. to work on locations. This helps get cars off the road and provides safe travel experience for the Leesburg worker.

[02:38:31] The on-demand service gets residents around town to destinations without using a car that would be very difficult for those individuals to get to those locations, to doctor's appointments, shopping trips, staying active and connected in the community.

[02:38:46] The County Transit Service allows all this to happen. And the Parrot Transit Service, this curb to curb service is available for Loudoun County residents and Leesburg residents with disabilities. Those services, these services the County has provided have helped my local constituents to maintain an active lifestyle and involvement in the community.

[02:39:06] Many different people from many different stages of their lives have shared with me how the ability to get around by bus has made their life more enjoyable and much more productive. So I wanted to be here tonight to say thank you very much and I commend you and staff for recognizing this need and finding a solution that did so well.

[02:39:25] Thank you all very much and have a good evening. Well, that was certainly worth calling on you first. Thank you so much, Mayor Burke, we appreciate that. One thing I did, I forgot to say is we don't, there's no, if I allow clapping, I have to allow booing and if I allow booing then becomes jeering and so if you wanted like if it's good you can jazz hands if you want to but we don't clap just because you know trying to keep it trying to keep it tight in here um madeline my marwatch copeland ballet by madeline skinner

[02:39:53] followed by jim bingle are we doing a trio here huh okay uh so would uh okay okay seriously you you all speaking in tandem? Okay, sounds good. You can't see. On November 5th, TLAC asked, what type of venues are creating problems? Staff answered, we would need to do an inventory.

[02:40:24] January questions showed, do you need that data for decision-making now? Public data sources were used to complete a preliminary inventory of 100 venues with a minimum capacity of over 11,000 patrons. It shows a large volume of permit and inspection anomalies. From a constituent's perspective, each anomaly is a valid complaint requiring investigation. Resolution may be administrative or an enforcement action. It's not just noise. It's about compliance of existing uses and regulations. Reactive-only enforcement creates the inability for staff to review

[02:41:02] known issues without first receiving a complaint. Landmark records show 61 changes of use without fire inspection review on file, 41 venues with no valid use permit on file, 26 with no current private party permit on file, 20 with no site plan is required for access by the public, only 12 were found with up-to-date fire marshal inspections filed and much more constituents are not aware of this public information but they can be we'll discuss with staff this week how this

[02:41:40] inventory can be applied to any use throughout the county for a compliance enforcement program to address your march 12 motion to resolve issues caused by unpermitted uses and activities that may be in violation of Virginia code and Loudoun zoning. On May 5th, Walrus board direction must be to clean up existing anomalies and violations before adding more to this list. Next will be Miss... Actually, me, if you don't mind. Miss Bingle, and then that's fine with me. Okay.

[02:42:16] Gem Bingle, member of the Coalition Executive Committee. On the topic of issues you'll address to guide staff on Walrus in May. We'll share more in a detailed letter but here are a few key points that we encourage you to consider. Proactive zoning enforcement instead of the current regime. Hold up, hold up a second. If you want to have that on television, move yourselves back over where you were. Yeah. Okay, now you keep going. I'm sorry. No worries.

[02:42:43] This isn't to drive around and catch violations but rather enable staff to investigate and resolve known issues. Zoning should fix existing violations that have dragged on instead of leaving it to citizens. Consistent regulations to keep residents from experiencing the luck of the draw, so to speak, where living next to one new use is a bigger headache than another type of use due to differing setbacks, hours of operation, etc. A definition for ag operations to set and ensure a meaningful level of crop production for farm breweries in conjunction with the Code of Virginia

[02:43:20] regulations. The state also allows counties to set road access standards for ABC uses. The county should use the authority we've been given to provide meaning and reason in our regulations. Reconsider changes to the MOD protections that have been suggested. Natural resource and groundwater protections are appropriate in this sensitive MOD, specifically the 300-foot setback for spring and ridgeline features and avoiding the expansion of impervious areas and more runoff.

[02:43:51] Not all uses in the MOD should be permitted, and certainly if permitted, oversight for sensitive and somewhat sensitive areas is important. Expedite staffs already drafted language to ensure the integrity of conservation easements when they're combined with development proposals.

[02:44:08] Land trusts, the Zoning Ordnance Committee, Walrus, and TLUC have all supported it. assembly uses for 200 or more people, according to, and tiered according to alignment with other large facility guidelines. I'm done. Thank you, Ms. Bingo. Ms. Skinner. Good evening, Chair Randall, supervisors. My name is Madeline Skinner. To continue, all rural economy uses, lodging, VABC, and equine, holding events, or outside activity areas should have consistent regulations,

[02:44:44] Should be held to the same minimum of 60 feet standard setback for structures, not an insufficient default of 25 feet for some and 50 feet for others. Setbacks must include licensed, approved outdoor activities. We must keep children from playing up to the property line or road.

[02:45:04] Hours of operation should be consistent across uses with the limit of 10 p.m. on all Sundays. Private parties are already abused at current levels. for example, lodging uses established with no rooms rented just to obtain party permissions.

[02:45:19] The inventory shows a number of venues holding events or weddings for as many as 400 to 500 people in structures without permits with no fire inspections on file in landmark. Do not add party permissions to all ABC uses for unlimited private events with no guest limits until the current violations are resolved. Your staff's original motions will help protect the county from an unexpected disaster, onslaught of new complaints, and subsequent litigation in light of identified non-compliance issues in the public systems. Your goal on May 5th

[02:45:54] is to promote predictable, fair regulations that support the needs of all uses throughout western Loudoun County for the safety of your citizens, businesses, and their thousands of patrons thank you thank you thanks thank you three ladies i appreciate it um uh next speakers are steve gantz followed by alexander friend followed by brian junkins good evening sir good evening my name is steve gantz i live in leesburg and i'm here on behalf of the loco disc golf club

[02:46:28] i want to start by thanking supervisor um stat for supporting and county staff for organizing the community disc golf demonstration at west park last month we were very very happy to be a part of that for many neighbors it was their first time seeing disc golf up close when people were able to watch ask questions and give it a try that kind of first-hand experience really makes a difference some told us that they felt more comfortable after seeing it for themselves others are still

[02:47:06] forming their opinions and that's fair. A few, a few residents even surprised us by showing up with their own discs ready to play. That was great. There are, there's some opposition that still remains but the conversation now feels grounded in what disc golf is really all about and we think that's a positive step. One thing that came up during the demonstration was the possibility of reforestation in certain areas of the property and the disc golf community is happy to show up

[02:47:42] for projects like planting trees but we're also committed to being a consistent presence that benefits the space for everyone we'll be there regularly we're not just going to be there playing but we're going to be caring for the course daily stewardship from picking up trash to keeping an eye on facilities this helps build community and in a shared sense of pride and it also creates a steady positive presence that supports a safe and welcoming environment for everyone so we truly appreciate the opportunity to be a part of this process and to engage with

[02:48:19] the community along the way we're always happy to help thank you thank you thank you alexander Friend, followed by Brian Jenkins, followed by Chris Belfoya. Good evening, sir. Good evening, Chair Randall and supervisors. My name is Alexander Friend, and my home is about two miles from the West Park property. We have lived here for seven years, and I'm now retired after a 40-year career in forest ecology. I'm here today as an individual to respectfully ask for your support

[02:48:55] in approving the disc golf course at West Park. I'd like to offer three considerations. First, this course is the result of a rigorous process. It was developed in alignment with the county's master plan, shaped over nearly two years, and informed by professional design and community input. This is exactly how thoughtful public amenities should be planned. Second, the benefits

[02:49:26] are substantial. Disc Golf is low impact and accessible to all ages. It promotes health through outdoor activity. And importantly, it is an environmentally responsible use of land, requiring no irrigation, no chemicals, and allowing natural vegetation and tree canopy to flourish over time. Third, disc golf is a better fit for this property than traditional

[02:50:01] golf. It is inherently low impact and safer. Discs fly one-third as fast, travel one-third as far, and the courses use one-third of the land required for regular golf. Unlike the former private golf course. It also supports shared multi-use recreation, walking, hiking, and other passive uses. Disc golfers understand and respect that shared environment concept. For these reasons, I respectfully ask for your support. Thank you for your time and consideration. Thank you. Thank

[02:50:40] you very much. Brian Jenkins, followed by Chris Belfoya, followed by Rush Shaw. Good evening. Hi, thank you. My name is Brian Junkins. I live in Bluemount, Virginia. I was going to say a lot of what Alex just mentioned, and I feel like walking up to the plate after somebody hit a home run there.

[02:51:02] But I just want to say, please support the disc golf course there at West Park. I moved to the county in 1993. There was very little recreational opportunities for us back then. started playing disc golf in 2003, had to go to Fairfax County or into Shenandoah Valley to play disc golf. I'm glad for the courses we have here. We need more opportunities. The disc golf community does a lot for the county, and so please support the disc golf course. Thanks. Thank you. Thank you.

[02:51:36] Chris Belfoya, followed by Russ Shaw, followed by Adam Hiller. Good evening. Good evening, board. Thanks for having me. My name is Chris Belfi, or however you like to pronounce it. I am also a board member of the Loudoun County Disc Golf Club, and I can't say anything else that these guys haven't said.

[02:51:58] I'm probably one of the newer members of the board, so just as kind of a new guy stepping into the role after, you know, I played for two years, and then third year I ran for the board, and now I'm on my second year on the board.

[02:52:15] So seeing a lot of changes, the few things that really, you know, impact me personally was the community, the how inclusive this club is. And, you know, going across our private courses, we are excellent stewards.

[02:52:38] Like everybody says, we pick up trash, we move dead branches, trees out of walkways and waterways. and it is literally just inclusive to all race, age, sex, gender, and everything. Sir, do you have to live in Loudoun to be part of the Loudoun Disc Golf Club?

[02:52:56] No. No. And about how large is it? We have members reaching up to about 150. Yes, about 150. Okay, thank you. Thank you for your time, and thank you for everything you guys do.

[02:53:12] Thank you, thank you, thank you. Rush Shaw, followed by Adam Hiller, followed by Gabby Lagoon. good evening sir good evening and thank you for allowing us to step up here and have a few words with you all appreciate it i'll start by saying i'm actually not a member of the loco disc golf club i'm going to speak to go disc golf i will be submitting my application if you'll have me but as you said my name is russia and i am i live in woodley manor and i say that because we abut right up to the West Park course or park, I should say, or property.

[02:53:50] We've lived in Leesburg for 25 years. We've been in Loudoun County for 32 years and we've raised our three daughters here. It's been a great place to be a part of, but it is disappointing with the limited amount of disc golf that we have available to us, given the number of residents that would like to participate in it.

[02:54:09] i would i i should also say i do have 12 years of experience serving on the leesburg board uh or uh parks and recreation uh commission advisory commission uh so very active in parks and rec here in in the town but what i wanted to say today is that you know disc golf has grown tremendously in popularity over the last decade or so and there are a few reasons that i want to kind of express to you that that is in my mind first of all it brings people together uh it's a game that spans generations in my own family my father you know now nearing 80 years old will often go out and

[02:54:43] play alongside me my three daughters all of which are in their 20s my brothers and their three sons 10 11 and 12 years old few activities offer that kind of shared experience across the ages secondly it's highly accessible the cost to participate is minimal just about a five dollar disc is all it takes to play and in some communities that's even that barrier can be removed unlike traditional golf it's affordable and inclusive and third it connects people with nature i often say playing disc golf is like taking a hike but it adds camaraderie and a

[02:55:19] little bit of competitive spirit it's a lot of fun to play i respectfully ask you guys to consider ensuring that west park property gets disc off thank you for your time thank you sir adam healer followed by Gabby Lungu, followed by William Marsh. Good evening, sir. Good evening, Board of Directors. Good evening, Kristen. How's it going? I've been working with Kristen and Steve and Alex for the past couple of months to get this moving forward. I'm a resident of Leesburg. I'm a mental health therapist by trade, so I talk with my clients all the time about the importance of

[02:55:58] third places in our community, the importance of having a place to go that doesn't have to do with screens or video games for our kids and for our teens. And I just think that this property was purchased by the board for a vision where everybody could use it. And I think what a great third place that this could be. You know, when you go to Hall and Bernie Hanson Park down the road, if you do take a tour there to see the disc golf course, it's very well used. I see families out there all the time with just like the full troop. You know, they got mom, dad, kids in tow, Sometimes even strollers trying to get around on the rocks.

[02:56:38] And it's a really cool sight to see that people are really enjoying the disc golf course. And I think that that could be very similar for West Park since it's so accessible right in the center of Leesburg pretty much. So not to mention we have a ton of housing projects being developed just down the road pretty soon.

[02:56:56] So it would be a really great place for even more options for a third place to exist. So that's my general kind of considerations from a mental health perspective of why it would be valuable to have a disc golf course there. That's all I have.

[02:57:11] Thank you so much. Chris, can you stand up for just a second? Chris, can you stand up for just a second? Do you all have times? Are there times that a disc golf might be played in a day? Is it from what time to what time? This is Parks and Rec.

[02:57:26] It's more deep. Okay, gotcha. Okay, so Parks and Rec. Okay, thank you. Gabby Lungu followed by William Marsh. Good evening, ma'am. Good evening. Thank you, Loudoun County Board of Supervisors. My name is Gabby Lungu, and I'm here to express my strong support for the proposed 18-hole disc golf course at West Park in Leesburg.

[02:57:49] Disc golf has become a meaningful part of my life, but more importantly, I've seen how it creates powerful opportunities for others, especially women and young people. At a time when sports can feel expensive or intimidating to enter, disc golf offers an accessible, affordable, and welcoming way for people to get outside and be active.

[02:58:08] Through my work with the local disc golf community, including women-focused leagues and events, I have seen firsthand how access to quality courses directly impacts participation. there are safe well-designed spaces to play more women feel comfortable trying the sport and more juniors have a place to learn grow and build confidence many of my own learning opportunities took place right here in loudon county these early opportunities gave me confidence to compete at the united states women's disc golf championship where i came home a national champion loudon county already has an incredible foundation this club has raised over 250 000 for local charities

[02:58:48] and they are known for their maintenance, beautification, and park stewardship. This course is not just about recreation. When I received the Becky Zellick Tournament Director of the Year Award, I shared that here in Virginia, we raised champions, world record distance holders, touring professionals, Hall of Famers, and all-star tournament directors.

[02:59:09] That begins here with access, opportunity, and community spaces like this. I ask you to support this project and give the next generation in Loudoun County the opportunity to step onto a course grow and let discs and dreams take flight thank you thank you thank you very much william marsh followed by eric deaver followed by um connie to song good evening sir thank you madam chair and thank you board members i'm here on behalf of the laden environmental commission which i serve as chair i'm here to uh to remind you of the some correspondence that i set your way on april 2nd to you and to your staff regarding groundwater

[02:59:48] supply trends. And I'm here to ask for your careful review and your support of motions that county staff will be bringing in the coming weeks about measures to start to study existing groundwater data and then figure out in conjunction with agencies like the Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Geological Survey, potentially, the ability to study groundwater trends into the future. I've been a resident of Loudoun County. My wife and I have been for 20 years. We are on while in septic. So this issue hits home for me. It's an it's an issue that shows that we are showing having a trend of declining groundwater quantity that has environmental effects on the

[03:00:26] on the amount of our stream flow as well as the predictability of our ability to live or farm in various properties. The I believe that the recommendations that you'll be getting from staff and that is in our memo don't really speak to curing the problem. It's more about diagnosing it better providing better information and transparency for neighbors and for the towns as well about how to contend with making the best use of our groundwater supply including preserving it so you'll be seeing action in the coming weeks and i ask for your support of that on behalf of the commission i also want to acknowledge my fellow commissioner eric deaver who will be speaking

[03:01:04] following me who really has spearheaded the technical details of this proposal and has provided this assistance in county staff's preparation. Thank you all for your consideration. Thank you very much. Mr. Deaver and I've read some of the things that you put up and I you have done a lot of work in this area. Thank you so much sir. Thank you. Good evening Chair Randall and board members. My name is Eric Deaver. I'm speaking tonight with regards to the groundwater system of Western Mountain County. I'm a Virginia certified professional geologist and and recently retired hydrogeologist

[03:01:43] with much of my professional practice involving the fractured bedrock system of Western Loudoun. While I'm officially speaking as a longtime residence of Loudoun, I live in Hamilton. I currently am the Natural Resources SME on the Environmental Commission and a past member of the Loudoun WR Tech.

[03:02:04] As Chair Marsh just presented, The commission's natural resources subcommittee has recently developed recommendations for the board to consider regarding the overall sustainability of the western mountain groundwater system. I support these recommendations, of course, as well as staff's recent efforts to begin the implementation of additional groundwater monitoring in the county.

[03:02:30] I think it's imperative that staff be empowered to not only move forward with the monitoring program, but to also enlist the assistance of the USGS and other experts in developing a resource management tool for the Western Loudoun groundwater system.

[03:02:50] Developing such a tool will be a multi-year effort, but it will be a valuable investment of county resources, which will benefit the citizens of Loudoun far into the future. The fractured bedrock system of Western Loudoun is very complex. It's also very susceptible to impacts from overuse.

[03:03:09] While current impacts may be modest, there are some indications of possible system stress that should be seriously evaluated. The resources relied upon by nearly all Western Loudoun residential, agricultural, and commercial development in one way or another.

[03:03:27] Our surface water bodies as well rely upon the system. now is the time to act to ensure that this resource is protected for loud and citizens far into the future thank you for your time tonight and I remain available at any time to discuss this in greater detail thank you mr. Deaver thank you very much thank you thank you very much Connie to song followed by Rick Leah followed by Kim Fulmer women you can be

[03:03:56] one of these.

[03:04:22] Thank you. Connie, are you here? Yes, I'm. Can you hear me, Chair Rendell? I can hear you just fine, ma'am. Thank you. Thank you, Chair Rendell. Thank you, members of the board. I'm here to talk about something that is our first residence. I know therapists talk about the third place to be a disc golf community, but we are actually here living in a university center, and our first place is under threat due to the recent sale.

[03:04:39] of the university center properties to amazon data services and i wanted to bring your attention to the what's going on in the mind of a resident of 16 years in our property in this community and also my perspective as a business owner in the county so we moved here in 1999 in ashburn And I've been living in the townhome in the University Center for 16 years since 2010.

[03:05:12] The University Center area is a unique piece of property because it's almost like a natural sanctuary. I remember looking at properties driving down Bless Park. It feels like part of a national park because to the right is the Potomac River.

[03:05:29] And then to the left is a big hill that is just grassy and trees. So I'm not expecting the landscape to remain unchanged as the county develops. However, my concern is that the profit-driven singular focus nature of bringing data centers into the community is out of balance with the quality of life of living in Ashburn.

[03:06:00] And I feel that when people feel that their peace and, I would say, dignity of living is being replaced by the need to create space for machines, I think we get our priorities mixed up in this case.

[03:06:21] We have kids that are playing outside. Can she see the – ma'am, can you wrap – you may not be able to see your time, but your time is up. Can you wrap it up in a couple of sentences? Sure. Yes. Thanks. As a business owner, the data center doesn't allow a rich ecosystem of other businesses.

[03:06:40] They crowd out other businesses by taking away the customer base. For my business, for example, as a hair and makeup artist, So there is a double thread, and I really want to express my disappointment with the sale and hope that the board could do all he can to stop the meeting of the data center.

[03:07:02] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Rick Leith, followed by Kim Fulmer, followed by John Iliff. Good evening, sir. Good evening. Thank you, council members, for the opportunity to speak in this valuable process. My name is Rick Leith. I've been a Loudoun County resident for the vast majority of my 57 years.

[03:07:23] My family's been living in Leesburg since 1978. I'm a graduate of Loudoun County High School, class of 86, a local musician, a former downtown business owner. I started playing West Park Golf Course back in 1982. I've lived in Woodley Manor and Woodley Hills since 2003.

[03:07:39] My wife and I regularly walk our dog on the current trails and those that will be integrated into the future park every day. I began playing disc golf after retiring from travel softball three and a half years ago and fell in love with the sport. I'm very proud to be part of the local disc golf club.

[03:07:56] It's a very charitable club. It routinely raises significant money for loud and hungry relief, and I love that about this club. I love that the club advocates and champions taking care of nature. As mentioned, it's like taking a walk in the woods and throwing a few Frisbees. On a secondary note, I'm a neighbor to the Leesburg Country Club folks in Woodley.

[03:08:14] I've been able to join some of the discussions on social media to try to allay some of the misconceptions and fears of having a disc golf course on the seven out of the former 18 ball golf holes. As such, I've offered to be a course ambassador, as I'll probably be one of those that's on the course regularly, which will allow me to note concerns that not only the residents might have, but also that I might have.

[03:08:35] And anything that I can note, I will certainly be able to report to the Parks Department to try to get fixed. I previously offered my contact information to the folks of the Country Club neighborhood for any concerns that they might have. Although it won't only be disc golf club members playing the course, our club can certainly advocate for professional behavior throughout the social media world of disc golf for anybody that might be visiting.

[03:09:01] Disc golf is a great, fun sport. It's humbling. It's low impact, and we encourage the neighbors to give it a try, play around. You're going to buy one disc, and in a year you'll have about 100, like I did. Thank you so much. Thank you very much. Kim Fulmer, followed by John Isoliff, followed by Andrew Kulin.

[03:09:24] Is she on the phone? She might be on the phone. Yes, I am. Okay, we're ready for you, ma'am. Great. I'm Kim Fulmer, and I'm Connie's neighbor. I live in the University Center neighborhood HOA next to George Washington University, and I feel lucky that we have Julie Briskman to represent our neighborhood, and I appreciate her outspoken opposition to the new data center from Amazon Data Services.

[03:09:49] I hope the rest of you feel the same way. If not, I hope to persuade you. This is deeply personal for me. In 2017, I purchased our townhouse on GW's campus because we thought this campus would be here and always be a safe and beneficial neighborhood. I live a couple hundred feet away from two GW buildings.

[03:10:09] I live directly on the campus. With one incredibly greedy and selfish decision, my American dream has been ruined. This townhouse is what I can afford. I have a low mortgage rate. I feel forced to sell at a tremendous loss when you take into account how much more expensive homes are in 2026.

[03:10:27] I don't want to feel forced to uproot my entire life because the government can be paid off if the price is high enough. Instead, please, I implore you to use every bit of morality you have to keep my residential neighborhood residential. Data centers, even at their best, deplete natural resources and raise electricity bills.

[03:10:46] There is a constant hum. Once a month, data centers run their diesel generators and pollute the air and are much louder than a hum. I have two young children that I want to raise in my community that I already live in. Please allow my family to live without data centers right next to our house.

[03:11:03] So people in my community are more important than revenue. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. And then our last two speakers, I'm sorry, are John, I think it's Iliff, followed by Andrew Coulin.

[03:11:20] Good evening, sir. Good evening. Thank you, Chair Randall, and thank you, supervisors. I'm here to speak on behalf of including disc golf as an amenity for the West Park. Many things have been said tonight and I'll try not to rehash all of them but I'll bring a few things to your attention that you may not be aware of. Most of the disc golf courses in Loudoun County are towards the west so having additional disc golf courses towards the east where large portion of our population center is is what I call the hole in the donut. We have a lot of

[03:11:57] a lot of areas people have to travel a great distance to get to some of our courses So having some more closer to the population centers is important. Some things you may not know also is although it's not an NCAA sport or an Olympic sport, it's being considered as an Olympic sport.

[03:12:17] And there are universities who offer scholarships for disc golf. So having an amenity that our youth can take part in and have an opportunity to get a scholarship is important.

[03:12:32] And not many people know that, but it is true. My son actually coached the Penn State disc golf club, and they were a top 10 winner, and he coached two individuals to Division III individual champions, the one and two players in the United States.

[03:12:54] So we have a strong community in Loudoun, and you've heard it from the folks behind us and i hope you do consider including disc golf as an amenity for our community thank you thank you sir thank you and then our last speaker will be andrew coolan hello mr coolan how are you doing well good evening chair randall and members of the board my name is andrew coolan i'm a homeowner in the overlook community at university center where i purchased my home in 2025. i'm here not

[03:13:30] just for myself but on behalf of many residents in my community and the surrounding area about 4 000 of us. When my fiance and I chose our home, it wasn't just about buying a property. It was about building a life. We intentionally chose this area because of its character, its quiet, and the sense of community it offers. It's currently a place to plant roots, raise a family, and invest in long-term stability. That's what we invested in. We did not buy homes expecting to live next to your data center, and there is real concern among residents that development decisions are moving in a direction that fundamentally changes the character of our community. We are asking the board to do

[03:14:08] whatever it takes to ensure that a data setter is not built in the Algonkian district. Thank you for your time. Thank you, Andrew. I'm sorry. Thank you, Mr. Kulin. I'm sorry. Apologies. So if you came to speak, what we're going to do now is board comments. And oftentimes, not always, but oftentimes, the board may respond. This is a chance for the board to respond to some of the things that were said today as you all came to speak to us. And by the way, thank you for coming to speak to us.

[03:14:34] And so we're going to do more comments. And then supervisors, we're going to go to two motions. We have the motion on the follow the Frenchman. It's on the red sheet in front of you. And we have Ms. Bricksman. And is that it? No, no, that's not it. We have two more motions after that and nominations and all those things. We're going to do all those things in just a second, though. Two more action items, I should say, after that. But first, we're going to go on and do board comments, because after that, if people want to leave, they can't, or if they want to sit here and keep watching us, because we are just so fascinating. You

[03:15:13] can do that as well. So, board comments. Let's start with Mr. Letourneau. Thank you, Madam Chair. By way of disclosures, on March 27th, I met with representatives of Yonder and Curata partners with Supervisor DeCrony to discuss data center development in the Arcola area. In addition to existing projects, we discussed LEGI 2025 0049 Yonder Taring Special Exception, which is a new application that I think it's fair to say we both have some significant concerns about, but we did discuss what we know as the JK1

[03:15:48] and to data centers and had, I hope, a productive discussion with Yonder about ways to mitigate the impacts of those existing data centers on the surrounding community. I wasn't really going to say much else, but I do feel the need. I appreciate everybody that comes and speaks, but I really do hope that people don't actually think that the Board of Supervisors is paid off because of data centers I know you know a comment was just made and it was probably an emotional one but I think ever as well everybody on the board is in violent agreement that we don't want data

[03:16:25] centers at George Washington University and our colleague has a has a board member initiative coming up on that but in all seriousness I actually see this sentiment a lot I see it online I see it all over the place and people think that when we talk about revenue from data centers first of all um that somehow we're benefiting which i can assure you we're not there is a lot of revenue that comes into the county from data centers which we then put back in the community that's what the whole budget discussion was it's as much as 67 cents on our tax rate is coming from data center revenue the entire operation of loudon county government is being funded by data center revenue

[03:17:03] 1.1 billion dollars now does that mean that everybody here is happy with the number of data centers we have and where they are and how many no um we were really the test case for this in this in this country and we learned a lot about what we can and can't regulate and how difficult it is sometimes to stop things that are by right and also some of the trade-offs we have to make on some of these applications where maybe we do allow a data center because it was by right anyway and we allow a little bit more but we can mitigate it the point is it's complicated it really is and i don't think for a minute anybody is ever coming

[03:17:39] at this with anything but good intentions for the community and the way that they address the issue. So I really do hope that the public does not believe that because I think I speak for everybody up here and that that's never a consideration for any of us. And certainly there's nobody profiting personally on the staff or in the county, the board of supervisors.

[03:18:02] And to the extent that we ever do talk about money as it relates to data center, it's tax dollars that we then can use to fund our school system and other things. So, uh, that's the discussion and that's all it is. Uh, but that said, we have a lot more work to do to try to get ahead of some of these issues or catch up to some of these issues. And we've been doing a lot of that work, uh, on the regulatory side. Thank you, Mr. Turner. I appreciate you saying that and, and hear here. Um, Ms. Bricksman. Thank you, Madam Chair. By way of disclosure. I'm sorry, Ms. Bricksman.

[03:18:34] Give me one second. Did you have any disclosures? Did you say, okay, I'm sorry. All right. I'm Sorry, go on. By way of disclosures, on March 31st, I met with Brian Winterhalter and Howie Adayo from DLA Piper on Quantum Park. Also on March 31st, I met with Mike Romeo and representatives of the Valley Commerce Center application.

[03:18:56] Apparently, the federal government has dropped another tranche of data on ice arrests that has been analyzed by the UC Berkeley Deportation Data Project, And the Washington Post also wrote about it today, actually, about the data and found that people with no criminal records still make up the largest share of those detained by ICE.

[03:19:17] Since January 2025, ICE has arrested more than 146,000 immigrants with no charges or convictions on their records, compared with about 127,000 who did have a criminal conviction. So the U.S. government is arresting more innocent people than allegedly convicted people, and the seriousness of those criminal convictions remain in question as well.

[03:19:43] ICE has been arresting more than 6,000 people per week since last year, and sometimes up to 8,000 or 10,000 a week. More than 40% of those people are innocent. And these folks are going to basically detention centers, and many are being deported to third countries.

[03:20:01] This is mass deportation based on race and only on race and ethnicity. We should really be looking at history for parallels to this. And as all this is happening, our sheriff's office has been helping. So far this year, nearly 200 detainees for ICE have been held in our jail, and ICE has picked up 103 of them so far this year.

[03:20:26] So we are well on track to beat last year's numbers in Loudoun County. And I will repeat that these detainers are issued for pretty much anything ICE wants to issue these detainers for. The vast majority are not judicial. And the research into the deportation data project data that I looked at shows that not one of them has been flagged as an aggravated felon.

[03:20:47] So I question whether they have received any due process. And in fact, many of them could be innocent, as the data shows. By way of gun violence through the National Gun Violence Archive, we have lost 3,271 human beings to gun violence so far this year, and our nation has experienced 99 mass shootings.

[03:21:10] 211 of those who died at gunpoint were aged 12 to 17, and 54 were children under the age of 11. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Ms. Briggsman. Ms. Umstead? Thank you, Madam Chair. I would just like to, on Supervisor Briskman's point about the sheriff's cooperation with ICE, individuals end up in the jail generally often because they're picked up for drunk driving or domestic abuse, often of immigrant residents of the county.

[03:21:49] There are people who are not innocent, even though there are many who we might deem to be good members of the community. There are those who murder, committed domestic abuse, domestic violence against other immigrants.

[03:22:09] And when those people are identified by ICE, having already been picked up for these criminal acts, that is when the jail alerts ICE that they are there. So the sheriff is not turning people over to ICE without a criminal record.

[03:22:30] The only way you end up in the jail is if you've been caught committing a crime. And the information that my friend Supervisor Bristman is quoting is actually about arrest records, criminal histories.

[03:22:49] That is not available to the public. So whoever is putting that out there is not being entirely truthful with what they have. On to disc golf. I would like to thank the disc golf community for coming out. You did a wonderful job coming out into the community and demonstrating what disc golf was all about.

[03:23:13] I have heard some continuing concerns, but not nearly as many as I have from my constituents in Country Club and along Clubhouse Drive. So I'm working right now with staff to try to make sure that if a homeowner is going to be very close to one of the stations, we allow for screening, vegetative screening.

[03:23:40] And I really want to thank you all for offering to help plant some of that screening. That is very generous and you don't have to do it, but I deeply appreciate it. So I'm hoping we can come to a resolution that makes my constituents who want disc golf and my constituents who have been a bit unnerved by it, I hope we can try to reach a good middle ground, get some screening in to better protect the closest residents.

[03:24:11] But thank you very much. And I have no disclosures. Thank you. Okay. Mr. Crony. Thank you, Chair Randall. so i'll do my disclosures on march 31st my staff met about the quantum park application on april 7th my staff spoke with anna writer about the happy pause application and on march 27th as supervisor letourneau mentioned we met with jk1 and yonder about their application and

[03:24:47] the tarring application okay regarding my comments i want to thank everybody who came out tonight i did make a strong statement in my newsletter about my disappointment regarding the purchase of george washington university's campus by amazon data center data services loudon doesn't need any more data centers we we are pretty much over saturated i believe we need to diversify our economy and so losing George Washington University is is a real loss to the community. Last year I made a motion that passed 8 to 1 to add a policy to the

[03:25:26] 2019 general plan clarifying that data center usage should not encroach into areas of the transition policy area outside of transition light industrial and mineral extraction. Unfortunately data center applications have been submitted outside of these areas in the Little River District near residential. I'm a strong advocate of protecting the transition policy area from the encroachment of industrial development.

[03:25:55] Currently the transition policy area has low density residential development, significant open space, and the Goose Creek and Beaver Dam Reservoir. So I believe it is important to protect our environmental resources in the green space that our residents enjoy and i think the disc golf community explained how important that green space is as a third third place so i thank you for coming i'm happy to say that the temporary placement of the restricted crossing u-turn r-cut it's called at the intersection of belmont ridge road and legacy park drive has been constructed and it's

[03:26:35] completed. I first spoke with the Brambleton community about improving this intersection in 2024 and today is the first, well not today, I think it was like a week ago, is the first step. Transportation staff will be working with VDOT on a permanent RCOT design at this intersection that will include crosswalks. I'm hopeful that it'll include crosswalks so that the community can get from the park to the school. I'm committed to ensuring safety throughout the corridor of Belmont Ridge Road. And lastly, I want to extend my sincere thanks to Congressman

[03:27:11] Subramanian for his engagement on the future of the Middleburg Training Center. He hosted a web briefing and he's gone out to the community to talk about the Army's purchase for the case on platoon. So that's going to be the horse, the Army's horse platoon. So I want to thank Congressman Subramanian for engaging with the equestrian community. Mr. Sains. All right. Thank you, Madam Chair. I'll start with mandatory disclosures. On March 20th, I spoke with Amanda

[03:27:46] Williams of Cooley and the digital reality application team, thank you, about the Dulles digital application that's off of 606. An announcement says happening in Sterling, Crooked Run Fermentation and Brewery is hosting their annual Pickle and International Food Festival, which will be April 18th to April 19th. This was off of Davis Drive. So if you like pickles, if you like beer and have some good food and fun, come on out. I encourage you to do so.

[03:28:23] Just as a reminder, we do have an election. The last day to vote is on April 21st. Early voting is happening now in Leesburg and in the next couple of, well, starting this weekend, you can do early voting at Claude Moore Rec Center in Sterling for a few days.

[03:28:40] And I'll just kind of go off of what Supervisor Letourneau said as well in regards to the comment that was made earlier by a resident. Thank you to everybody that comes out and share your opinions and thoughts on issues that are near and dear to your heart.

[03:28:58] As I always say, you can choose to be anywhere, but you chose to be with us to share that information with us. So we do appreciate you doing so. But the comments that were heard earlier regarding, I guess, alleging to say that we are taking a payment or something to that effect is definitely not accurate.

[03:29:19] I'll even go as far as to say it's not warranted. What you heard, literally all of us make mandatory disclosures. What that is, is us telling you that we are meeting with folks that are doing business in the county that literally have applications that will come in front of us here in the body.

[03:29:38] They will sit in these seats and present their application and why we should either vote yes or no for those applications. And then the public, just like you've done today, have the option to sign up and speak on those applications and tell us why you support an application why you do not support an application you can email us to us so everything that we're doing is in front of the public there's a lovely website called vpap.com that you can literally go look up our campaigns and see where we're getting donations from we literally have to chart every single dollar that's sent to us on our campaigns

[03:30:16] and it'll tell you who is sending us funding so we are hiding nothing i can i'll speak for myself I've not taken a dollar from any data center companies, and I'm pretty sure a majority of my colleagues here as well have done the same. I've not taken a dollar from any of them.

[03:30:31] So for folks to say this, it's hurtful. It's not accurate. If you have questions about it, please call us or email. I'll be glad to talk to you further about it. Thank you. Point of information, we are also the only county that does the disclosures. We're the only county that is legally required, and we put that on ourselves, to do disclosures.

[03:30:52] no other county in the commonwealth is legally required to do that so vice chair turner thank you ma'am chair on march 20th my staff and i spoke with denise harivar and roy barnett and discussed the application for broadlands 104 on march 24th and march 27th my staff and i spoke with ben wells from curata and discussed the application for west belmont on april 1st and april 3rd my staff and i spoke with colin gillis from curata and discussed the application for west belmont um just a couple of things kind of on my mind i really appreciate the work that our environmental community has done on the the analysis of the water table and the and the the surface subsurface

[03:31:32] water and in western loudon county and in the county as a whole i think it's extremely valuable it's good to have hard data and metrics i have been waiting for weeks now for any suggestion of a possible solution. I'm a data guy, and I'm an elected official. You give me a problem, then I want to sit down and start talking solutions, and I haven't heard a whiff of a solution yet. I'm waiting, and I'm hoping that some kind of a plan to address this serious issue

[03:32:03] is forthcoming. It's notable in the lack of a recommendation of what we can do about it. I understand it's premature. This may be phase one. We're just getting started and we're gathering data. I totally get that. But you guys are the subject matter experts.

[03:32:21] Give me just some kind of a clue, anything the board can do in this county to try and remediate this kind of issue. If there's, and I've been to, I've heard a couple of experts for the National Association of Counties talk about this. And if it ties back to global climate change, then we got an issue because God knows there's a whole lot of things going on about global climate change.

[03:32:41] And that's kind of out of the board's ability to do anything about. But if there are things we can do here locally, I would really like to hear about them sooner rather than later. The other thing I want to bring up is the subject of noise and data centers.

[03:32:57] We have, I'll call it an experiment, one example in Loudoun County, and I believe it may be the only example in the Commonwealth, of a data center that is an island mode not on the grid operating on natural gas turbines 24 7 365.

[03:33:15] Based on all the information I've heard so far and I thought two years ago when I started studying data centers energy that this might be a real viable transition for a grid that is becoming increasingly constrained. I would have to say within the last month or so I've come to the inclusion that natural gas turbines running 24-7 is not a viable answer unless it is very, very far removed from residential neighborhoods, a couple of miles. And on top of that, I thought selective catalytic reduction really did clean up the exhaust. It does not, the gas turbines and

[03:33:52] the carbon dioxide, there is no carbon capture process going on. Even worse, I found an article that said selective catalytic reduction actually increases the amount of PM2.5, particular amount of 2.5 that's released into the air, and they're running 24/7.

[03:34:08] So I've come to the reluctant conclusion that islanded natural gas turbines are not an answer. I thought they might be, but I don't believe they are, unless somebody technologically came up with a better answer than that. Regarding noise, to kind of echo the comments of both Supervisor Oterno and Supervisor of Saints. Am I out of town? You are. You're not out of town, but you're out of time. So thank you everybody for coming out. A couple of things. I had never heard of disc golf before and then I've

[03:34:43] heard of it over the past two months and I thought this is the game that 19 year olds play. Turns out you guys are all 25, not 19, but I had never heard of disc golf before. It is fascinating, and I sent my staff to the demonstration, and we'll be looking at some of the things Ms. Umstad said, and we'll be taking everything you all said into consideration, and probably, as I often do, giving probably you, Chris, a call because you have a sweatshirt on and I have your number. So about some questions I might have, so just so long as you know

[03:35:21] that. I have a, I keep this with me all the time, the Groundwater Matters button with me all the time. You know, I say about us all the time, we work really hard to know all that we can know. But we don't, you know, the nine of us are just not going to know everything because it's just, it's so much. So we really do rely on people who are experts in fields to know about things. I have -- thank God for Avis Renshaw has caused me to do kind of a deeper dive into water in general, but especially groundwater. Also, Mayor Ramsey has a lot of knowledge about this, too. I've recently found out how long it takes to recharge

[03:36:01] an aquifer. I've recently found out the fact that you can have a house across the street that hits two completely different aquifers. I will tell you that the untrue belief of what's happening in Western Loudoun County is we have put homes out there.

[03:36:18] We haven't approved a home in Western Loudoun County now in three terms. The homes you see right now might be by right, and you might get some coming if the Faith and Housing Bill that was passed by the General Assembly is signed. You may see homes in Western Loudoun County then, but we have not approved homes in Western Loudoun County, And we don't.

[03:36:38] So we are very aware of this, and I think Mr. Turner is right, looking for solutions, looking for solutions, looking for solutions. But also, heads to the ground, aware of it, and appreciate it. Ms. Briggsman called me earlier today and said, or yesterday, and said, was I okay with her motion or her BMI?

[03:36:55] And I said to her, if you had told me I'd have done this BMI with you, and I will be screaming second when she makes her motion for that BMI. None of us, none of us saw that coming. None of us knew that sale was going to happen. None of us want transmission lines over there on that side of Route 7.

[03:37:14] And we will fight this. We will fight this. And finally, of all the things I'm concerned about right now, and there's a lot of them at the federal government, my biggest concern is the issue of voting and the fact that we are having threats to have voting rights taken away from us at every single turn, threats of having ICE at polling places, threats of having executive orders around voting.

[03:37:39] Voting is a state issue, not a federal issue, and I will tell you there's something I will fight for with literally everything I have is my right and your right to vote. Okay, thank you all. Thank you all very much.

[03:37:54] We're going to do -- oh, I'm sorry. Give me just a second, supervisors. I do have, my staff met with Quantum Park on 3/27, and I have had a phone call, a very quick phone call with Chuck Kuhn and Charles Yutt, very quick, about Valley Commerce and a longer meeting with the Percival Town Council members about Valley Commerce.

[03:38:21] Thank you. Okay. Supervisors, if you don't mind going to a red piece of paper, I'm going to make the motion and then explain the motion. madam chair yes sir ma'am yeah i'm i think i missed the opportunity to nominate someone i haven't done that yet oh okay thank you we will get there though um so red piece of paper i move the board supervisors direct the county administrator to allocate seven thousand dollars from the fiscal year 2020 existing appropriations to the town of leesburg for the follow the frenchman

[03:38:53] documentary okay motion made second by supervisor um some months ago supervisors um did you go with me on were you there that day when we did the the marker over in lease okay so the leesburg town council daughters of the american revolution some other people dressed in civil war i mean uh revolutionary clothing were not silverware revolutionary clothing um all were there for a unveiling of a marker for General Lafayette, who was of course a Frenchman. We were unaware

[03:39:30] of his travel through, especially the South, during the Revolutionary War as he spoke against slavery, as he spoke for, of course, New World, and as he was a spy, and to obviously in support of having a new country be formed.

[03:39:57] We were unaware of that. So when we did the marker, they said that they're doing a documentary, and for the localities where they have put markers down, I think there's 60-some-odd right now, to help defray the cost.

[03:40:14] I did not bring this right away because I wanted to make sure that they were further into this discussion, and so we've been talking to them in my office for the entire 18 months to see how far they got into it, to make sure they were valid. Mr. Matt Rogers, my Chief of Staff, has been talking to them about every two months, and Now is the time for us to bring the motion.

[03:40:35] What I said to Mayor Burke is that since it was in Loudoun-Leedsburg, how about we do $7,000, and we then will send it to Leesburg to add their $3,000, making, of course, $10,000, and then they send it on for the efforts.

[03:40:52] And so that's what this is for. I do not think, Mr. Hempstreet, we're going to have trouble coming up to $7,000, correct? No. Okay. So that's why this is coming up, and that's where that came from. And if you go over to where all the markers are placed on the Leesburg Courthouse, you'll see it over there right now.

[03:41:10] Anybody else? Anybody else? All right. Thank you. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed? That motion will pass. 603. Is that what we're doing right now? Yeah. One, two. Two.

[03:41:26] Oh, 702. 702. Okay. Before we get to Ms. Bricksman's motion, which may take a -- shouldn't take too much longer because I think we're all in agreement, let's go on and do nominations. So if you have a nomination, would you put your light on for me real quick. Thank you, everybody, for coming in. We appreciate you.

[03:41:41] If you have a nomination, would you put your light on, Mr. Letourneau? I know I have one. I'm just trying to find it. Okay, Ms. Umstead. I'll come back to you. Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. I'd like to nominate Kelly Miller to the Disability Services Board.

[03:41:57] Ms. Letourneau? Yeah. I nominate Sherrod Tandale for reappointment as an at-large member of the Board of Equalization. Wonderful, wonderful. Anybody else have any other nominations? And just to circle back around, because three minutes is not a long time to do comments and disclosures.

[03:42:16] You guys all got your disclosures in. Yes? Okay. Wonderful. Then I think all we do have left is the board member initiative, which is item number six. Ms. Bixman, the way I usually do this is I usually give the board member who has the initiative about five minutes to explain it, and then you go in and go to a motion.

[03:42:34] So if you want a little time to just talk about it a little bit, I've always done that. Sure, sure. I'm happy to do that. It's interesting. I was discussing this with Supervisor Letourne a little bit earlier, and he made the point that the title is not necessarily fully describing what we're trying to do here or what I'm trying to do here.

[03:42:59] My goal with this is to provide full transparency to the board and to the public about what could possibly happen if Amazon Data Services were to come in and try to redevelop this land as data center.

[03:43:19] And in this way, we can have a full understanding about what could potentially go there. I know that the GW folks have up to five years to stay on the property, but that doesn't mean that Amazon can't start the process, file a site plan, and all those sorts of things.

[03:43:43] And so this is an attempt. I started to go through the 1972 zoning ordinance and figure out what they could and couldn't do and then it just it got to be a little bit complicated for me and also I just want to make sure because we don't really consider power constraints when we're when we're looking at items on this board I did want to be sure that the public and and the entire board would understand what the implications would be if they could develop at the full capacity that I think they might try to so that's that's the goal here it's it's essentially a research project it will go in the

[03:44:22] dpz work plan um and then on the 21st we will be able to prioritize where it is in the dpz work plan i of course my hair is on fire about this so i'm hoping that we can get it done fairly quickly staff has assured me that we can do this either with a small addition or within our contract that we have right now because we have been doing already some projects on um uh power line uh corridors so we kind of have that expertise right now available to us so hoping that we can get it done fairly quickly and get it back to the board will you do me a quick favor before you go in and

[03:45:00] make your motion um i i don't think that people might know how much you and mr riser try to have discussions with George Mason before and then and then I mean you were not made aware even though it was every effort yeah sure and can you just kind of talk through that a little bit yeah absolutely I mean that one of the first things I did when I came into office what I was that I went and met with the GW executives the president the head of the nursing school there I've been over there several times they were very kind actually to hold at least one if not two vaccination events

[03:45:38] for us at their nursing school. The nursing program is actually the program that's doing really well there. But I also became very aware in meeting with them several times in my first term that the rest of the campus was not developing in a way that they envisioned.

[03:45:55] And so I started to become very concerned, also realizing that we were getting a lot of pressure for more data center development. and one company did come to me which right there at the corner of Loudoun County Parkway and Route 7 wanting to develop a data center and I basically talked them out of it and they're doing a housing project instead.

[03:46:19] So I've always been very, very clear with GW that I wanted to work with them on figuring out a way to help them sell the property or help them develop the property into what we envisioned as a county, which is sort of an education-based mixed-use area with residential education, research.

[03:46:45] Buddy and I started kind of leaning more toward the science and technology research organizations that we thought would be a nice tie-in. We also recently kind of came up with the idea that we might try to do something that Mason has done with their innovation campus down in Prince William, And we were trying to approach them with that idea and always with the idea that the county might be willing to be involved and a partner and invest.

[03:47:10] Those conversations were stunted, especially when they got a new president. And then they were working on their new land management plans. And so we were getting put off and put off. And this term, I don't know that I've had one conversation with them.

[03:47:25] And I know Buddy has tried as well. Buddy Reiser, the economic development director, has tried as well to have conversations with them out of concern about what this land could be turned into. It is, as I said in my press release last week, painfully obvious to me that the organization believes that they can build data center there.

[03:47:47] Otherwise, they wouldn't have paid four times the amount of the assessed value for that property. The assessed value of that 120 acres is $107 million. They paid $427 million for it. And so this BMI is really just the first step for me in transparency, but I want the community to know that we will not leave any options off the table when it comes to this property.

[03:48:18] We have too many assets in that community. We have too many residents in that community. Going to make the motion now. Yeah, okay, I'll make the motion. Well, you got me started on that. Evidently, I did. Go ahead and make the motion now. I will continue after I make the motion.

[03:48:36] That's fine. Okay. I move that the Board of Supervisors direct staff to research how the George Washington University campus properties in the Algonquian district, now owned by Amazon Data Services, Inc., could be developed, including allowable uses, floor area ratios, building height limitations, setbacks, and buffer requirements, and to also include a simple overview and map of possible power line routes and substations that might be required if data centers are built on this property and report back to a future Board of Supervisors business meeting.

[03:49:11] Second. Thank you, Madam Chair. Now you've got three minutes and a closing. So I will try to be brief. As I was saying, the assets in that community, not only do we want to protect the residents, We have a senior day center there.

[03:49:27] We have Bless Park, which we have just put millions of dollars in to update, and there's still a phase two of Bless Park. We have the Broad Run. We have the Potomac River, which provides drinking water to the region. And we have a nice area developing with retail and commercial, and there's a pottery studio there.

[03:49:50] There's restaurants there. There's a lovely ice cream shop. I mean, all these things are, it's really starting to develop nicely. So my interest is in protecting the residents and protecting those assets that we have in the community. And my colleagues will notice there's no date on this because we want to discuss it at the April 21st meeting in the DPZ work plan.

[03:50:11] I think I pretty much covered everything else, Madam Chair. So if I forgot anything, I'll bring it up in my closing. Thank you. All right. Ms. Umstead. Thank you, Madam Chair. so I will be supporting this I appreciate the the way that supervisor briskman laid out exactly what she is requesting I would like however for the county attorney to think about what is wise for us to say and what might not be

[03:50:49] I think we all agree up here that every property owner, every applicant has a right to be treated equally under our existing regulations. And so as long as we are just looking at this with a broad brush, I think it's a good idea.

[03:51:11] When I start to get a little nervous, though, when I hear statements about we're going to deny this no matter what or we're going to stop it no matter what, because legally, I don't think we likely can take that approach.

[03:51:29] I think we have to look at every application that comes in fairly. We have to treat every property owner, every applicant fairly. So if the county attorney had some advice along those lines, I think it might be helpful. Thank you.

[03:51:45] So you're asking what language we should use? Is that what you're asking the county attorney right now? You ask him to say it now or to give it to us later? Give it to us later. Okay. Okay. All right. The reason I asked Ms. Bricksman, Supervisor Bricksman to talk about that is because there is understandably a lot of just misinformation about the data center compensation in general, which is why I'm going to have a data center town hall sometime in June.

[03:52:18] One of the emails I recently received actually said, ask the question, why does the county keep ceding land to data centers? And I answered that and I was like, the county has never ceded land to data centers. This is usually private, not usually, it is privately owned land that data centers buy at an extraordinary, as Ms. Brixman said, high number.

[03:52:41] Right now there is reports, I'm not even sure if they're real, that data centers are looking to buy land in a certain residential development. I was asked about that and my response was I would never tell a homeowner when to or when not to sell their land, however I can tell you I don't believe there's five votes on this data right now for a data center being at that location.

[03:53:04] And so while we cannot legally say we want a moratorium on data centers, that's not legal to say. While we legally cannot say that we will vote against the data center based on energy and based on power, thank you. The truth is, and truthfully, I want to note that we actually asked the General Assembly this past term to allow us to say no to data centers based on power, and we're told no. It did not get passed. And so in a deal in real estate, there

[03:53:40] were some things we have to request from the General Assembly to be able to do, and we have not been given some of the powers we want to say no but on in this data center I don't and I mean I I don't what I heard Miss Bricksman saying Miss Bricksman correct me if I'm wrong is we will we will we will fight this we will fight this and we will use all legal means to fight this this is encroaching in an area but we don't have data centers at all that is approaching in a very residential area and it you know listen i i we fully understand what they do for the economy

[03:54:18] we fully understand that they have some of them not all of them are good are good um neighbors but at some point that on the land use basis there's places they just don't belong and if i look at my job is land use on my my job was land use when i said no to true to to true north my job was land use when I said no to bench my job is land use on the land use basis dancing is don't belong there and if that's the the the hill I have to stand on with Miss Brixman I think this is a pretty powerful board to stand on that

[03:54:55] hill with Miss Brixman on the issue of land use if we can't do anything else but that and so we will continue to talk about that and continue to support you and would you like a closing yes thank you madam chair I'll just say that that I don't think any board previous or this one envisioned anything but mixed-use development with residential education science and technology there in that area and I appreciate madam chairs comments that we were again everything

[03:55:33] legally possible, because that is not what's envisioned there, never has been envisioned there. And actually, when that land was donated, by the way, donated to George Washington University, that wasn't the vision of the people that donated that land to that university. But unfortunately, that university has not responsibly managed their finances, and they had to sell out to highest bidder and oh by the way they just recently raised tuition so there you have it um anyway i will leave it there there there's going to be a lot more conversations about this

[03:56:13] and a lot more time to express our disappointment so thank you madam chair and i thank my colleagues for supporting thank you so the motion was made by miss brixman and um i strongly seconded the motion All in people, please say aye. Aye.

[03:56:28] Any opposed? That motion will pass 702. Once again, I want to remind everyone, I'll start reminding you now, State of the County is the 21st of May. And then we'll do a day to sit in town hall after that.

[03:56:44] Is there anything else that we have missed? I do not think so. In that case, we are adjourned.

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