Tavistock, Kinkaid and The Government Center

Loudoun County owns a parcel of land across the street from the Leesburg Airport that is being developed as a badly-needed nexus of public service and government buildings for the County. There are two Leesburg neighborhoods in that area: Tavistock Farms and Kinkaid Forest. These communities were understandably concerned about some of the features of the Government buildings that were planned for the land next to their communities.

Supervisor Burk reached out to her constituents in these neighborhoods, heard their concerns, and worked through her role as their Supervisor to ensure that issues were resolved, and concerns mitigated.

In her newsletter this month, Supervisor Burk summarizes the timeline and process that brought the potential for major conflict between Leesburg communities and the County government to a close. This is an example of the way Supervisor Burk serves both Leesburg and the County, diligently and conscientiously, every day.

Government Support Center Master Plan

I would like to thank members of the Kincaid Forest and Travistock communities,the Government Support Center Steering Committee, and County Staff for their support in resolving the Tavistock and Kincaid Forest Communities’ concerns regarding the construction of Crosstrail Boulevard and the Loudoun County Government Support Center. I am extremely proud of the joint efforts of the Steering Committee members - each worked diligently to respectfully and creatively resolve outstanding issues. I think it is worth noting that this endeavor is a wonderful example of how government and citizens can work together to address citizen concerns and ultimately create a better community. Following is a timeline of the events as they occurred.

November 8, 2010 - Loudoun County’s Office of Transportation held a Citizen’s Information Meeting on the Crosstrail Boulevard project at Heritage High School from 6:30pm to 8:30pm, where my staff met concerned citizens from Kincaid Forest.

November 9, 2010 - My office contacted a concerned citizen and set up a meeting for later in the month that included an additional member of the Kincaid Forest community as well as a representative of the Tavistock community.

November 24, 2010 – The community meeting was held, along with County Staff from Capital Construction, Office of Transportation Services, and the engineering firm Dewberry and Davis. Not only was I made aware of citizen concerns regarding the roadways, but also their concerns about the Government Support Center Master Plan.

It was at that meeting that I decided the best way to resolve these issues was to create a Steering Committee to bring together the affected communities and county staff in order to develop a feasible plan for the Government Support Center in which the surrounding communities felt vested.

February 28, 2011 - I requested the Board of Supervisors support an item to form a Government Support Center Steering Committee. Members of this steering committee included residents of the Kincaid Forest and Tavistock communities as well as staff from the Town of Leesburg and Loudoun County. This item passed with a vote of 9-0.

March 1, and March 3, 2011 - The County held two Information/Public Comment meetings at Cool Springs Elementary to present an overview of the amended master plan for the Loudoun County Government Support Center and plans for the extensions of Kincaid Boulevard, Crosstrail Boulevard, and Miller Drive.

March 22, 2011 - The Leesburg Town Council passed a resolution requesting changes to the currently proposed Loudoun County Government Services Support Center Master Plan.

March 29, April 5, and April 12 - The Steering Committee met and worked diligently to come up with creative solutions to the concerns that were raised previously. Following these meetings, County staff prepared a report, incorporating recommendations proposed by the Steering Committee and presented it to the Board of Supervisors on May 3, 2011.

On May 3, 2011, the Board voted to switch the locations of the juvenile detention center and the warehouse and to send transportation-related recommendations by the Steering Committee regarding timing of the construction of Crosstrail Boulevard, Miller Drive, and traffic calming strategies for Kincaid Boulevard and Tavistock to the next Transportation and Land Use Committee meeting. That meeting is scheduled for 6:00 pm on Wednesday, May 18 in the Board Room at the Government Center, 1 Harrison Street, SE in Leesburg.

Again, I am grateful to the Tavistock and Kincaid Forest communities, Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, Leesburg Town Council, Government Support Center Master Plan Steering Committee, and Town and County Staff for their hard work in resolving these issues for the benefit of both the citizens of Leesburg and Loudoun County.

That is putting Leesburg first, which Supervisor Burk always has.