Revised Photo!
School Board Pokes Public In The Eye
Wow. I am almost rendered speechless (in a digital sense) after attending my first public meeting in some time. I seriously thought I was back before the last tone deaf Board of Supervisors trying to will some sense into their heads.
The deal is the incredibly bad deal to purchase the Wheatland Farm site for a three school mega-plex in the proverbial middle of nowhere at a ridiculously inflated price with amazingly one-sided terms. The meeting was some kind of hybrid presentation/public input session at Lovettsville Elementary School. None of those “leading” the meeting could agree on just what the hell the meeting was all about and what the ground rules were. The crowd was 95% against the deal and they only got more irate as more information trickled out, more obfuscation was spewed, and more half-assed attempts at censorship were made. More below the fold.
The moderator for this horse and pony show tried to set ground rules that would not allow any questions on price, location, or other sites. And no mentioning of anyone by name. All of which which elicted a chorus of boos and protestations. So Sam Adamo, your affable host for the evening’s festivities, answered one of the first questions from the irate audience by rambling on about some other deal that didn’t work out. These rules were only for the public, you see. Mr. Moderator even tried to censor applause, but he backed off after he found he had little control.
Near pandemonium and fisticuffs almost broke out when someone had the temerity to mention the fact that the school board’s attorney once worked for Sal Cangiano, the seller. Mr. Moderator tried to confiscate the mike from the speaker, who moved away, then Mr. Moderator laid his hand on someone protesting, after which a festive screaming match occurred. Unbeliavable! This was obviously a sore subject for the powers that be.
This deal stinks to high heaven. It really does. Numerous people presented first hand knowledge of just how inflated the purchase price for this land is when compared to recent comparable sales and assessments. LCPS was offering even less money per acre for portions of this site in 2006 at the height of the real estate bubble! Plenty of people asked for referrals for LCPS’s appraiser so they they could get similar deals. But of course in this market any sale at all at any price is too much to ask for. But LCPS had to move fast on this deal! Who cares about the joint School Board – Board of Supervisors Committee and their forthcoming standards! We need this site NOW! No other site will ever do!
One gentleman remarked that he had negotiated a lot of deals and the outcome is almost always one of two options. Your terms and my price, or my terms and your price. It is oh so painfully obvious after sitting through this abomination of a meeting that the seller in this case got his price AND his terms. Those responsible should be ashamed of themselves.
This deal is set to close in June. Most of the studies talked about will not be close to complete by that date. Most importantly the land use approvals from the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors will not even be applied for by the time this deal closes! I guess the School Board, after being thoroughly embarrassed and discredited in their stinky Lenah Run deal, decided to really stick it to the BOS and dare them to not give approval for this absolutely incompatible with the comp plan site. When asked what they would do with it should they not get land use approval, the response was, well we can try to trade it for other land or have the BOS declare it as surplus property. And do they think they could get even half of what they paid for it??? Of course not, but who gives a flying you know what – it’s only the taxpayers dollars and our buddy Sal got his deal on his terms!
The elected officials there looked mighty shell shocked to me, as they should have. Only Jim Burton looked confident, and that’s probably because he has been against this deal from the start, and publicly said so. I’ve seen stirred up, pissed off groups of citizens like this before in Loudoun County, and we all know what happened to the reputations of those ”leaders” who didn’t pay heed to their real bosses – the voting public. Some people think this is a done deal, but this battle has only just begun. I absolutely promise that. I am just getting started, along with many others.
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Apr 29th by Loudoun Insider
SB’s in Virginia are pretty powerful, they obviously know it and were arrogant enough to show their true colors tonight. If anyone on that SB has any political aspirations, they can kiss them goodbye now. Except perhaps Bob O who was the lone dissenting vote.
The contract goes to closing before the SB has any idea what it will cost to actually construct these facilities, mitigate traffic, water resource impacts, blah blah blah. They didn’t even know if it will need more than one wastewater treatment plant or any idea how many traffic lights they’d need. Someone asked if they could just wait 6 months for more information to be collected. Nope. Apparently the seller wanted his money now and wasn’t willing to wait. At that price, its no wonder he wants to grab the money and run. Adamo was obviously VERY uncomfortable when he admitted he had only ONE valid appraisal on the property to base the purchase price – ONE.
Read my response in your last SB thread. I rec’d a call this afternoon, and after lengthy discussion…with many facts…I decided to miss the dog and pony show. It’s dead in the water. See, the SB can enter into the contract…but they do not have any money. They need the BOS for that…and they don’t have any money, either. Wait till next year. They really won’t have any money, and it’s likely that we’ll start trimming administrative folks from the SB employee list.
And putting the purchase of bonds on a November referendum in this climate…are you kidding?
Just read the tail of the other post.
Looks like that genius IQ that Adamo is famous for is leading the charge again. Couldn’t he gather from the tone of the crowd that he might have to drive home under the cover of darkness as a precaution….and not a condition of his late hours.
Monk,
The BOS apparently already gave the SB $20M to spend on school sites, so SB doesn’t need BOS approval for contract, which is clear because the contract was signed before the BOS’ vote – if you call it a vote – none of them will admit to voting on any part of it, except Burton who says he opposed the deal. If SB doesn’t back out of this, we’ve bought ourselves a Park and we will be in worse shape when an acceptable school site is needed. SB is going to do EXACTLY like they did w/ Woodgrove. Sit on the site and wait until everyone is miserable and cry “it’s the only thing we have that will open in time”. They are the most manipulative folks around and they need to get canned, just like Adamo and Hatrick for orchestrating the entire mess.
#3
The SB does have money, and if they enter into a contract, then they are obligated to pay. Your post is incorrect.
The contract they signed requires them to purchase it this June, without any SE or PC/Board approvals or even completed feasibility/impact/transportation or other necessary studies.
Amazingly good deal for the seller, and amazingly arrogant of the SB to shut out/ignore and silence any potentially negative information/opposition/public input/or public process. The property will be bought, and nothing can be done to stop the purchase? even if in the end, it is not even feasible for a school?
Loudoun County never ceases to amaze me how absolutely corrupt it is, with abuse of power and misuse of “other peoples’ money” (our taxes) everywhere–on all sides.
Where is Sally Kurtz on this? Is she one of the finger printless supporters, and the insiders who manipulated this–did she say, just do it? because she does not want it in Lville? Seems hard to believe the SB would do this in her district without her direction. She has never wanted a school near Lville.
There is no shame or honesty with our government, only what you can manage to strong arm through. Very disappointing how the public and any fair process has been abused here.
I cannot tell you how disappointed I am in Sally Kurtz. She obviously voted for this deal and should be pilloried for it. One of her suggestions to minimize impacts was to have unlighted ballfields as if the PTA parents would stand for that! And sending them all down to Purcellville to play there will just further burden alreay overburdened Purcellville! And add to more ridiculous traffic at the already horrible 287/9 interchange!
After all Sally Kurtz has done for rural Loudoun it is a downright shame that this will be her legacy. Maybe they’ll call it the Sally Kurtz Edu-Plex in her honor!
Bad Bad Bad Deal.
BPM, they’ll need to go to referendum to construct the schools, but they don’t need to to buy the land, which is a done deal unless something drastic happens. I hope you’re not getting played by a School Board operative on this.
They actually said that if they don’t get land use approval they will then have to trade away the land or declare it surplus property. And what kind of price do you think they’ll get if that happens? How much of our taxpayer dollars will have been flushed down the drain?
my post from last night in the other thread:
The site acquisition funds were approved in a bond referendum long ago, Monk. This purchase is a done deal.
There’s a chance we could stop the special exception this fall or winter, but by then Sal and Al will have cashed their checks.
If by chance we do stop the special exception, LCPS will be the proud owner of a chunk of land they can’t build on — worth a fraction of what they paid for it.
This really is an incredibly sh!tty deal and every School Board member that knowingly voted to approve a contract without a SPEX contingency should be targeted in the next election.
It was also shameful that Priscilla Godfrey wasn’t there. The site is in her own district!
Hillsboro,
How would you know if Godfrey was “there” of not? She’s not “there” even when she’s “there”.
IT IS FIELDS FARM ALL OVER AGAIN!!!!
The taxpayers COUNTY-WIDE are going to get fleeced on this deal. Even eastern taxpayers should be well advised, their School Board reps are to be summarily thrown out for allowing this land use scheme to proceed. They have one chance, and that is to let these contracts go and DO THEIR JOBs, not be lazy and let the next group deal with the mess they’ve created. Losing the $200k deposits are a drop in the bucket compared to the multi=million dollar expensive mitigation measures this project will require IF it ever gets through SPEX. But wait, the County is setting up to eliminate the SPEX so when these schools are finally built, they can shove it to us all over again, all the while Sal Cangiano and Sam Adamo, if they aren’t in jail for fraud and malfeasance, will be laughing it up good.
Guerin – OUT
Godfrey – OUT
Stevens -OUT
Marshall – OUT
DuPree – OUT
Bergel – OUT
Guzman – OUT
Marshall – OUT
Reed – OUT OUT OUT!!!
The site is Catoctin not Blue Ridge (even thought Blue Ridge clearly neighbors the site).
that was the same thing they did in LENAH! Sam Adamo ran the meeting with another lady. Nothing they said was truth. They were incredibly disconnected with reality.
The site is in both districts, CSR. The proposed high school portion is in Blue Ridge, west of 287. The proposed elementary and middle school sites are in Catoctin, east of 287.
And oh yeah, they said last night that the middle and high schoolers will ride the same 50+ buses. Meaning 50 buses will need to go bouncing back and forth busy 287 at rush hour. Brilliant!
If the Board of Supervisors is upset enough, they could
If the Board of Supervisors was upset enough, they could file a petition for emergency injunction to prevent the School Board from entering into a contract without a SE or feasibility studies in hand.
The BoS should try to stop this… the School Board ONLY has authorization to buy land for a school, not for parks, or “surplus” and the price is an abuse of their fiduciary responsibility as well.
we need to stop the purchase. Once the money is spent i suspect the SB will not ask for special exception for years. They will wait until the magic flow chart/land acquisition matrix gives them permission to build schools WITHOUT going through SPEX at all!
This Board may not even have the chance to vote on the SPEX! They’ve been had,
or have did they really understand this contract?
This is either corruption or gross incompetence. How else do you explain this lopsided over-priced contract?
As with everything the School Board will wait to file their approvals until things are at an emergency level of overcrowding and this will be the only and quickest avenue for relief. The School Board is either thumbing their noses at the Supervisors, or they actually do have enough Supervisors duped on this. We need to find out exactly where each and every elected official stands on this.
LI,
Thank you for bringing this mushroom farm to the light of day. I had no idea the BOS had already funded the SB’s land search.
I don’t understand how an expenditure this large is possible without public input.
Is this land purchase even stoppable, and if so is the only option the emergency injunction mentioned in #19?
WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE!
I have never seen a worse job by public officials in my life! I was absolutely disgusted that I actually voted for some of these people. They better find a way out of this crappy deal.
Under paragraph 11 (4) of the contract, a condition precedent to settling is that there is no “threat” by any government entity that sewer or water shall be held up, or any other “threat” that building the school may be held up or prevented.
Also, under 11 (6) (b) if there is any threat, then the Purchaser (SB) may unilaterally terminate the contract and will not be required to settle on the property.
Also, under paragraph 3, the study period, the purchaser can back out at any time, and get the deposit back, if it determines in its sole discretion, that the site will not work as a school site, as planned.
If the Board of Supervisors or the Planning Commission were to issue a resolution or threaten somehow that these schools may not comport with the comp plan, or that they may not issue a commission permit for sewer/water. etc. then the purchase would have to be called off.
Or, better, if the Board or Planning Commission were to file suit, with citizens, then the contract would have to be terminated, if the School Board believes there is a credible threat to establishing a school at this site…
Read the contract:
http://smalltownschools.googlegroups.com/web/Cangiano-LCPS%20Contract%206Feb09.pdf?gda=NWvQQFsAAADp5Cmo6BwzSRW6d9ISNVGFZl_uQ-bu068yCwMRlFzn9CnBG2Ju0GTudn8PQJiennYuicmZsK4Kpb3StN491pUdkA5EQUdQhadYF6KtJtu3OQZF2vdCvKU-TDZpFtcP-AU&hl=en
Contact your supervisors, school board members, and planning commissioners and force this issue!
I saw a couple people with video cameras last night. Where’s that video? We need some greatest hits posted on You Tube!
Dozens of folks last night mentioned concerns about their wells – and no wonder, the site will draw over 70,000 gallons per day vs half that amount for the 35 houses that could be sited on the 170 acre property.. A hydrogeologist in the audience with aquifer modeling experience made several excellent points. One was that the area is served by a fractured bedrock aquifer, that hadn’t been characterized locally. For example, he mentioned the underlying aquifer as the source of artesian springs all around the area and those springs hadn’t even been identified much less characterized, nor were even they mentioned in the hydrogeo study proposal. The schools’ proposed hydrogeo study that only evaluates drawdown effects within a mere 1000 ft radius of the schools wasn’t just bad science – it wasn’t even science He equated it to “put on your magic cap, throw a chicken around, and shazaam – you’ve got a study” – or something like that. His points are hard to refute, the County has very limited groundwater data, period. Even Warren Howell, with the County Econ Devel office took a personal risk to go against his collegues saying the site was bad for the rural economy the County has been fostering. Even if the water resource issue is addressed, and that’s a huge IF, tons of other problems exist.
Video coming – the web of lies is coming down all around. The arrogance is beyond nauseating.
insider deal (atty conflict of interest)
two week RFP
outrageous price
OUTRAGEOUS terms
no near Town sites considered by County staff
not remotely consistent w/ General Plan
exclusion of public input – last night
making huge decisions with huge potential impacts with INSUFFICENT data
no traffic study!
hydrogeo that simply meets criteria – no effort to be protective
misrepresentation to the public of options
advancement BEFORE process fixed
People should lose their jobs over this scheme.
Some of the anonymous posts above are me, sorry, not paying enough attention.
I really think if a lawsuit were filed by an adjacent property owner — or by the Board of Supervisors– that Judge Horne would not allow the settlement to proceed, especially given the fact that settlement has a condition precedent that no threat to the development of a school exist at the time of settlement.
I was roundly criticized because I won a temporary injunction against building a run in shed and other buildings in the Goose Creek Historic District–alleging irreparable harm to my property, and non compliance with the Historic District. Judge Horne is very respectful of these kinds of “neighbor” issues and meticulously applies the zoning ordinance and comp plan. After what he has been through with Woodgrove, and other litigation involving this property, I would be shocked if the circuit court allowed the settlement on this property to go forward.
It would be best to file the lawsuit quickly, and to try to get an immediate emergency injunction. Citizens should put pressure on the Board of Supervisors to do this, but be prepared to do it themselves. An adjacent landowner has standing (or any landowner directly affected–if for example, you are not next door but allege your well is directly affected) and could use my lawsuit–public record– as a template, and go pro se–the circuit court is very helpful to pro se litigants…
I was there and I was appalled.
The school board needs to be thrown out now. Can we recall them?
LI said>>>they said last night that the middle and high schoolers will ride the same 50+ buses. Meaning 50 buses will need to go bouncing back and forth busy 287 at rush hour.<<<
PLUS the elementary school buses. That will require a traffic light at John Wolford and Berlin. Won’t that just add to the fun, and traffic?
Interesting post on the real terms of the contract because that is not what we were told last night. We were told that it was a done deal, a contract is a contract, and they will go to settlement in one month, June 1st. AFTER that they will do a traffic study!
The meeting did have its funny moments like all of Paul Brown’s silly rules, treating a room full of adults like kindergartners. When people ignore his ‘no clapping’ rule he literally threw up his hands and said “Ok, everyone clap right now and get it all out of your system”. The man had NO clue how to deal with adults at a public meeting. As a result, he was ignored, despite his attempts to silence people, cut them off, and forbid certain topics from being discussed. He seemed unaware that we have first amendment rights that apply to public meetings and government officials like him cannot abridge those rights. He was an even bigger jerk than Adamo and some didn’t believe that was even possible.
Yes, school board members can be recalled. I think it takes 10% of the voters to sign petitions and request that a judge call for a special election. I would have to look up the specifics, but I know that they can be recalled.
Leesburg Today story is up:
http://www.leesburg2day.com/articles/2009/04/30/news/fp202wheatland043009.txt
I’ve just received word of a high dollar anti-incumbent School Board PAC organizing.
Supervisor races will certainly be high profile in 2011, but I guarantee with all that has gone down recently with school issues, the School Board races will be just as important this time around instead of being totally overshadowed.
We’ve been sold out by our school board under the guise that it’s in the best interest of our children, and if you are against it you must hate children. That’s what they will feed the PTA’s. Don’t believe it and rise up against the bullshit we were fed last night. I can give you the traffic study right now, leave before 7:15 am if you don’t want to wait for 5 lights on 287 & 9. That’s before the megacomplex is even started. After listening to “Dr. Evil Adamo” and this pompous Paul Brown, I realized that we cannot allow this to happen to us, we live in America and not Russia. We all need to focus on what it takes to get this contract withdrawn. We need to write, call, e-mail and unite to stop this travesity now.
To whom should we write and e-mail our protest for it to have the greatest effect?
I would say the School Board since they have the most control at this time, but I’ve come to the conclusion after seeing many of these fights, that that’s probably a lost cause. But who knows, maybe some of them will surprise us all and wake up and smell the coffee on this stinky deal.
So, school board first, supervisors next, then planning commissioners.
I was very annoyed that the man from Lovettsville ( I seem to recall that he was vice-mayor ) felt the need to scold people who had left the meeting by 10:00 pm.
It was abundantly clear that Sally Kurtz, Jen Bergel and Tom Reed had no interest in hearing what anyone had to say. Their complete lack of a response at the end spoke volumes.
It seems like most of the commenters are missing the larger picture that Robert DuPree seems to be hiding out on this deal. His name is on the contract but he didn’t show his face last night. Is he too controversial these days to appear before the public? If so, he shouldn’t be recalled, he should resign for the good of the county, though something tells me Developer Adamo, Cangiano and Greevest wouldn’t like that.
Wait, did I say Greenvest? I meant NVBIA. Or are they one in the same? Also curious if Cangiano paid dues to NVBIA while DuPree was on the payroll.
“It was abundantly clear that Sally Kurtz, Jen Bergel and Tom Reed had no interest in hearing what anyone had to say. Their complete lack of a response at the end spoke volumes”.
AGREE. It was either arrogance, indifference or perhaps embarrassment.
The only remote justification Bergel and Reed could come up w/ was full day kindergarten. What a huge disappointment.
As was pointed out quite clearly last night, no evaluation of the 100-acre site in Lovettsville was EVER conducted. They walked away from another 156 acre community-based site because they didn’t want to spend $4.6M for the land and another $4M on a road and $480,000 for the house next to the ES to provide access. They will build a WWTP either way, so why not put it where Lovettsville can operate it? LCPS never even tried. And why?
t is clear, these people don’t want to bother with doing the right thing for western families. They just want to wipe their hands of the whole mess and put it behind them. What is worse than their utter disregard to the taxpayers is their calous disregard for these children and the tremendous benefits a community will provide to schools. Tom Reed and the entire School Board’ motto now is “DEVELOPERS FIRST”.
Sally Kurtz blew me away with her flippant suggestion of “tell them to put the stadium in down in Purcellville”. What does she have against schools and stadiums?
Why didn’t she ever suggest putting school ball fields on the Lovettsville Park (where lighted fields are approved) so the County could reduce their unprecedented site size criteria to open up the possibilities for smaller, CHEAPER sites in Town which comply with the General Plan? If she is tied to this scheme, that will be a damn shame. Even if she can teflon herself out of it, she is a damn hypocrite! Now I wished I’d voted for Geary Higgins!
welcome to what purcellville dealt with for a decade when dealing with the bos, sb, and lcps. lies, damn lies and ya got to be kiddin’ lies. as far as placing another public facility such as a stadium in purcellville kurtz can shove her stadium up her…see ya in court again ms. kurtz. heck she proposed solving the problem of putting burtongrove (aka phillips high), er i mean woodgrove, in purcellville by giving it a round hill zip code instead. more smart growth by the supposed smart growthers on the bos?
The suggestions so far for “mitigation” from these people are laughable. You simply cannot mitigate your way out of this stinky deal.
Geary Higgins – given Higgins background with Hatrick/Adamo and the SB, you would have been worse off not better.
Isn’t it obvious we need a entirely new School Board? Ohneiser, as much as I’ve criticized him in the past, is the only one who makes any sense any more. I’m willing to have him stick around. John Stevens shows a contrarian streak from time to time, but then goes and kisses hatrick’s rear for being elected to his association presidency, which will probably lead to him being away half the year instead of a quarter. I had hopes for Bergel, but now she’s the public face of this stinky deal, so she’s obviously been entirely co-opted by the ruling junta.
I have no clue what Higgins would have done in this instance, but Sally Kurtz’s apparent blessing of this deal is a huge disappointment.
Even social injustice watchdogs are joining the fight against the travesty. Check out:
http://www.anairhoads.org/politics/wheatland.shtml
Sally Kurtz and Sam Adamo live right next to each other just outside of Lovettsville. And you wonder why they have done evrything in their power to make sure more schools don’t go in Lovettsville? I’ve heard that Kurtz said she would have to move if that Miller site was used for a high school. And you don’t think she could pressure clueless Lovettsville mayor Elaine Walker into supporting this new site to keep it away from her and Sam?
I have a hard time really thinking Sally would sabotage this. She seems friendly w/ Adamo. Adamo has wanted it in Wheatland. This is an example of how LCPS stooges miscalculated totally – now they face a political and career-killing nightmare. It does seems VERY fishy that LCPS sends the Rackams an offer when Cangiano had already started sueing them. Do ya think Chapman alerted Cangiano in 2005 or before that LCPS was interested in Wheatland and that’s why Cangiano went after the property? Or is it the other way around, did Cangiano convince (some call it bribe) LCPS officials to pursue Wheatland? Adamo has a PHD in PLANNING? Give me a break!
Did you hear Wed night that the Legards did NOT support schools at the site? I’m told by our FOIA queen that Vlad has a binder on the Legard property and Legards were unwilling to sell to LCPS. Legards would even stand to profit from schools nearby because they have subdivided their property and schools would increase their ability to sell lots. I’ll repeat this: the Legards, a long time respected farming family, are AGAINST this proposal. Same goes for Mr. Lovettsville Fred George. Where IS Bergel’s support? Who are the constituents she is trying to make happy with this decision? LCPS staff appear to be her #1 client and to hell with her constituents who filled the room with outrage Wed night.
A few NIMBYs in Lovettsville and Tony ?, the Hillsboro equivalent of SB does no wrong Blackout, were in the 2% of the audience who said they would support the proposal, but even they didn’t say they thought it was a great proposal from a cost, location and size perspective – NO ONE DID. Other than Cangiano, who thinks this is a good deal for Loudoun – and the kids?
Anon, I don’t think Adamo’s PhD is in planning. He did some historical population study in Brazil for his dissertation. Judging by the performance of LCPS, he is a miserable failure of a planner.
JB, by all acounts, Bergel has lost the edge she once had. She came in on a promise to shake things up, and also to bring a school to Lovettsville (there’s a quote from her somewhere about that). Once she was fully indoctrinated by the Hatrick/DuPree cabal she has changed her tune and is now their cheif salesperson. She’s a one termer now unless she changes her tune.
Trying to figure out price. Is there an approved recorded A-3 subdivision on the property? Also the Fields Farm was not the school boards staffs or Hatricks number 1 choice. It was the school board majority 6-3 to move ahead with that location.
Yes there’s a recorded subdivision there, but Jim Burton’s recent sales analysis of similar land showed this price to be grossly inflated. Bobby O himself said this was way over-priced when he was the only no vote on this deal. The other SB member don’t seem to care much about spending the taxpayers’ money wisely.
From Jim Burton:
“The lots, while vested through an approved preliminary subdivision, have not yet been recorded. In fact, it does not seem that Mr. Cangiano has ever filed an application with the County for record plat.”
Tony Cockrell’s comments were ridiculous to me. He was on the Western Schools Task Force and the bulk of his comments were devoted to scolding people for not coming to the WSTF meetings.
First, the agendas had no public input at their regular monthly meetings.
Second, the task force recommended almost the exact things that we are asking for, including smaller schools, site-specific design, schools in/adjacent to the towns, an RFP process.
Geeze Tony… did you even read the recommendations?
Everyone involved can fix this. Hopefully those School Board members who have done good things and have the capacity to do great things, namely Jennifer Bergel, who we still desperately want to trust and believe in, but are disappointed with. As in the past with Bob O, LCPS puts those that go against their will into the crosshairs. This deal is exactly the same. School Board members NEED to come out now and say they support withdrawing from this bad contract. They would save face by admitting they did not consider the many valid concerns raised to date – even admit that LCPS did not disclose all information. The mud slinging would be minimized. LCPS will try to hold back the politicians because staff are less likely to lose their positions (nearly impossible to get fired by Hatrick unless you don’t bow to him daily). Perhaps this whole deal is Dupree/Hatricks’ plan to get rid of Bergel so they can bring another brown-noser like Nuzacco into the fold. Either way they win, Bergel gets fried and/or bud Sal gets a sweet deal.
Bob Ohneiser was the only one to get this right on the School Board, here’s the original Leesburg Today article on the bone-headed purchase:
http://www.leesburg2day.com/articles/2009/02/27/schools/9815wheatland022609.txt
Here’s the portion about Ohneiser’s thoughts:
“”Bob Ohneiser (Broad Run) was the lone dissenting vote. He questioned the value of the land, as well as the priority for new schools. He contended that with the current overcrowding in elementary schools in the northern Ashburn area, the lack of immediate plans to build new ones in that area and direction from the county Board of Supervisors limiting capital funding, the money could be better spent “on an elementary school where and when we need it” than land for schools that won’t be built for several years.
He also said that the purchase does not take into account the current economic environment, and that he believed declining property values could provide a lower the price of the land in the future.”"
Here’s Bergel:
“”School Board member Jennifer Bergel (Catoctin) spoke in favor of the site, calling the action “one of prudence” that will allow the public to know where to expect schools in the future, and allowing plenty of time to discuss community concerns. She added that the location of the schools along Rt. 287 puts the schools in a much better position than at the previously planned Grubb site west of Rt. 287, which would have required access by a gravel road.”"
Sure, I’ve complained about Ohneiser a number of times, but if anyone who has studied this deal looks at those two quotes, Ohneiser clearly hits the nail on the head while bergel misses badly. Ohneiser was also right on about the budget. As much as some of his fellow SB members seem to not like him, he would obviously make for a more prudent and responsible Chairman. He’s been right much more often than DuPree, who signed this bad contract.
All of this focus should be on the henchman DuPree. He’s the one that signed this contract to buy the land BEFORE land use approvals were granted. It’s another example of DuPree trying to do a favor for his buddies who once (still?) pay his wages.
Is it any wonder DuPree is hiding out on this deal? He knows he has no credibility left and that he’s been found out as an elected stooge. I wonder when the federal prosecutors will begin looking at this weasel.
All they have is a preliminary approval.
The costs associated with final record plat approval, and the recording of lots including, legal fees, engineering the required public roads, 2 foot topo map (only 5 foot required for prelim approval) storm drainage, archeological studies, bonding/guaranteeing the construction of the public improvements, and actually building the public improvements (mostly roads and storm drainage) etc will be millions of dollars, and fraught with risk and land mines, meaning they may not get all their lots, or approvals, there may be many expensive revisions and delays, etc.
The final record plat is contingent on the public improvements being bonded, guaranteed to be built, and actually built within a specified time frame. The required roads for the recorded lots will cost millions to build…if the entity who records the lots defaults on its agreement to build the public roads, then the County would sue them to complete them…
Bottom line is final record approval is very expensive, millions more than prelim approval, and has A LOT more requirements than the preliminary plat– so the price should not be based on the guarantee of all those lots… they are not recorded lots, and they certainly are not “finished lots” that could be sold…
A recorded subdivision is MUCH more valuable than one with only preliminary approval…
The price for this property is simply ridiculous.
Channel 8 news story:
http://www.news8.net/news/stories/0509/618851.html
Did you see what Byard said, “When we tried to place it in our town, they said we don’t want you to use our utilities and clog our roads” I want to know who in the Town of Lovettsville said that to Wayde Byard or any school official. I can’t imagine the Town Council representing a NIMBY faction like that. Even Scott York said in a public meeting, “People who live in Towns made the choice and need to anticipate the possibility that schools are part of that lifestyle.” As was said in the Wednesday night meeting, “This is a school, not a toxic waste dump.” I have not heard anyone in the Town of Lovettsville say they don’t want a school. Business owners in Town carry alot of weight there and its time for them to hear that their representatives are killing business in Lovettsville purposefully.
John Stevens Twittered:
# loudounschools: Information meeting tonight on western property acquisition. There will be good information to combat the myths circulating around. – Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Yes indeed.
The myth that our elected representatives were looking out for the interests of the taxpayers, the children, the farmers, and the towns was pretty well laid to rest on Wednesday night, John.
Good catch, Hillsboro! Once again Stevens shows he’s pretty clueless at times even though he wanted to be Chairman. He alternatively impresses then disappoints me, although much more of the later.
Lovettsville businesses are hurting big time and closing left and right. A nearby school would be a real boon to the town’s economy. But apparently Mayor Walker and her town council cronies are playing the ultimate NIMBY game. Too bad.
I just re-read that again, Hillsboro and simply can’t believe it! It didn’t really turn out like the planned, did it? Yeah there was plenty of “good information to combat the rumors” and it all came from the citizens there, NOT from our elected officials. Even though they did their best to censor it. Unbelievable!
#61 – did you notice Mayor Walker getting slammed in the Letter to Editor in the Leesburg Today? Apparently her constituents are fed up w/ her “Lost Vision”. It notes that “During her tenure she has aimlessly guided the town into a slow death…” Many people moved to the Town in the last several years because they were looking for a small community that promised future amenities of the Town Center. The Town continues to stall and businesses go under because she has personally squelched opportunities left and right – no grocery store and now no schools. Without a polar shift in leadership, revenue will continue to bleed north across the river into Brunswick or south to Purcellville. Her vision of an industrial park instead of a school on the east side of the square and boutiques instead of food stores on the west side is out of touch for a small town community failing to keep the dwindling commercial tax base. After all, she’s the visionary that brought Lovettsville the famous squirrcle.
That’s it. I’m going to be putting together a “Profiles in “Courage”" series of the major players in this mess!
For reasons that I have never understood, elected school board members believe that they work for the school system. They come to see themselves as representing the staff, not the voters. They let staff decide everything and the board’’s job is to approval what they want. Thanks all.
We’re getting hosed to the point of a dollar for every man woman and child in Loudoun. He bought that property at the hight of the market and paid $40,000 an acre. The market has tanked and now the schools want to give him $69 million an acre! The question is WHY?! Why do they want to pay this so much more money than this property is worth?
Is there no one on the school board who can do simple math?
I think you mean $67 thousand an acre, LL!
I’ve heard from a very good source that at least one adjacent property owner is already making plans to upzone to R-1 subsurban density if this deal goes through.
The comp plan says facilities like this can only be placed near existing towns. So it looks like the School Board – Developer ruling council wants to simply create a new town out of nowhere! If so, this workd out great yet again for Cangiano because he retains a couple hundred acres of this large site after makng his initial killing selling to the School Board. This is an absolute run around of the comp plan.
I sent the school board, bos and pc an email suggesting that the school board contract was ultra vires, that the price was too high, that the comp plan and aquifer were problems that may doom a school at this site, and that the SB should cancel the contract and the PC and BoS should issue a resolution against this site, with questions about the comp plan and feasibility issues, and with questions by the BoS concerning the exorbitant price.
Tom Reed sent me back an email:
“If you believe the law is being violated, please contact the County Attorney, the Commonwealth’s Attorney or the State Police.
Respectfully Yours,
Thomas E. “TR” Reed
At-Large Member
Loudoun County School Board
Phone: (571) 223-9928″
Is he serious? or is this his idea of clever diversion? or is he just being rude and flip?
Does he not realize that the members of the school board are who need to be notified in this case, since they are the ones who can DO something? Call the police?
The county attorney does not represent or give advice to private citizens, and the police and CW attorney only investigate crimes. I think this is a civil matter, with civil wrongs, but if it does come up that a crime has been committed, then I would contact the appropriate criminal officials..
Maybe he knows something the rest of us don’t know yet… call the police?
Haha,
What an absolutely perfect response from Reed!
Go ahead take it to the authorities. Between you and LI I think you can can get a couple others to join you in the effort. Don’t forget Sarah, I am sure she’s around somewhere.
My ‘o my, what a crew.
BlackOut,
The “authorities” are the School Board, the Board of Supervisors and the Planning Commission, not the “police!” Unless he knows something we do not know…
Mr. Reed, and you too BlackOut, are pretending to be dense. Or maybe you are actually dense… obviously don’t think the comp plan is worth the its ink, just ignore it, when that is convenient. Like with HCA, just ignore the plan, when you don’t like it, seems to be your M.O.
“The Town continues to stall and businesses go under because she has personally squelched opportunities left and right – no grocery store and now no schools.”
I’m no Walker fan on other issues, but it’s not her fault in regards to the grocery store. The need wasn’t here (as defined by a South Carolina firm who professionally does the analysis), and even if it was, the owner of the commercial space needs to drop their rent per foot to even attract a taker.
“Her vision of an industrial park instead of a school on the east side of the square and boutiques instead of food stores on the west side is out of touch for a small town community failing to keep the dwindling commercial tax base.”
I saw the dumbasses out on the corner this morning wanting to stop Ryan Homes from building more homes….that were approved after a massive public input and all the trimmings BACK IN 2001!!! Now there’s a group who wants the industrial park gone- despite the fact that it’s been zoned that way for some 20 years. Get a clue, folks. There’s surely a time to have public input on every issue before the town. The problem is- you didn’t actually live in Lovettsville when that occurred.
“After all, she’s the visionary that brought Lovettsville the famous squirrcle.”
Again, after the town is able to get past this economic slowdown as well as rising gas prices, those buildings will get built. They’re 2 stories and overlook the square. Half of the Town will actually be over by Irish Corner in the future. A roundabout just would not have slowed down vehicles enough, and we were looking at having a pedestrian fatality right there in the future with a roundabout.
Anything else you’d like to distort?
“Don’t forget Sarah, I am sure she’s around somewhere.”
Um hum.
Even I oppose the price of the property at Wheatlands (and it should be renegotiated), but some strange bedfellows are currently emerging. Those that initially wanted a High school in Lovettsville have regrouped and taken over the fight to rid us of this property–because they’re hoping to reassign the high school back to Milltown Road, ……again.
Be warned…It’s still a no go. Wasn’t then, ain’t gonna be now.
And they’ll have to do much better than $13 MIL for a scarce 100 acres, because $10MIL for 170 acres STILL looks better by comparison.
Who cares who makes valid points? And of course BO would stop by to protect DuPree and his cronies. This deal STINKS.
Feel free to defend this ridiculous contract BO, and tell us how it will comply with the comp plan.
There seems to be plenty of “experts” here to figure out the situation. Care on.
And by all means get the cops involved. Heck, this maybe of interest to the FBI. I’d check with them too.
Sally, collusion amongst political officials, government officials and business interests for private monetary gain is a crime.
You dealt the cards follow through. Put forth your idea and see if you get an official interest. Chuck your junk towards the District Attorney. Toss the files to the FBI. Jump Simpson with the goods.
Conspiracy compassion from LI isn’t what I’d call impactful. Otherwise, this is just another one of your ridiculous witch hunts.
Monk – The cost-effectiveness of Smart Growth is a topic that needs no justification to you. Schools in Towns make sense, are more cost-effective, better for the community, and better for education. As Chairman York indicated long ago, there is a reasonable expectation for schools to be sited in Towns. Its very sad your primary motivation is simply to keep school busses out of the path of your Hummer.
Blackout – perhaps officials involved also need to consider the serious consequences of withholding public records requested under the Freedom of Information Act.
Well hi there Sarah. I am surprised to see you here.
Unless one of the following doesn’t apply to another one of your dry fishing hole FOIAs then take it to the cops. It’s a crime to withhold appropriate records. Put your money where it will count and take it to the authorities, otherwise quit whining. (This is like deja vu)
The Code of Virginia allows any public body to withhold certain records from public disclosure:
* Personnel records (§ 2.2-3705.1 (1) of the Code of Virginia)
* Records subject to attorney-client privilege (§ 2.2-3705.1 (2)) or attorney work product (§ 2.2-3705.1 (3))
* Vendor proprietary information (§ 2.2-3705.1 (6))
* Records relating to the negotiation and award of a contract, prior to a contract being awarded (§ 2.2-3705.1 (12))
none of those apply with the records I’m talking about.
nice try
Sarah,
I don’t advocate for “anywhere” BUT town. Quite the contrary. I’d love to see a piece of property show up adjacent to Lovettsville, with the following criteria….
It must not cost more than what Cangioni’s property is appraised for.
It must NOT be on the continuation of Broad Street, as this is the sole route thru town, and unlike Purcellville , blocking this route will bottleneck traffic.
Adjacent owner Walt Ingall is not selling. The property is half swamp and five of the lots actually perk. It’s also sitting right on top of a cemetary.
The property that your small group -all five of you (before you attempt to bring in Dulles residents to bolster your numbers) wants to look at is overpriced, and will also block that vital artery.
I run a business, and I pay taxes to the county from that income. I get so little back from the County for that tax income, that the least they can do is keep the avenues to that income free of blockage by finding another location with bypasses already in place.
And if you’re the anonymous basher on the Operative Turd who made reference to my name and my position on the local committee, you may well have caused this backfire with that very effort.
We’re much better to make the SB validate their cost with Wheatland.
BO, you say in #76 that,
” collusion amongst political officials, government officials and business interests for private monetary gain is a crime.”
I suggested that their contract was invalid, that they were acting beyond their legal authority, that their atty has a conflict and they should get a second opinion, that one appraisal is not enough, and that there are serious concerns about the specific local aquifer and the comp plan.
I have not suggested that they did this in collusion for private monetary gain–but if you know something we do not know, please spill it, and I will be contacting other authorities.
Until I have some proof of a crime, we have only the SB. BoS and PC to complain to…
Reed’s remark was rude and condescending, and that is the ONLY reason you like it. No one else thinks it is funny at all, and people want them to take more time with this purchase, get more information, do a better RFP…
But we all know the kind of politics you support, and its the UGLY power hungry thuggish kind, not the free transparent honest politics that our citizens deserve…
Another comp, the Assaad property in Hamilton, for sale– on the market– at 4.2 million, more valuable probably since it is adjacent to both Hamilton and Pville…and is very close to record plat. Land outside of Lovettsville should cost less…
Also, generally, as the amount of land gets larger, it is harder to sell, and the cost per acre goes down…
A high school should be on a town’s water/sewer supply, and the County should be upgrading a town’s public water and sewer instead of jeopardizing rural business’ artesian wells…
I have questions about the subdivision of this property also.
For me, the county would not let me record my rural economy lots, and then do a cluster, because the AR1 rules require that all lots be recorded at the same time. So, for me, the County required that if I subdivided at all, I would not be able to come back and subdivide later, and they require a deed restriction noting no further subdivision.
Will the same rules be applied here?
Also, the County routinely asks for land owners in AR1, per the zoning ordinance, to put a deed restriction on any subdivision that the “preferred use” (in AR1) is “rural economy uses.” Will the deed restriction be put on this property when it is subdivided to sell?
If to sell this AR1 property, it is necessary to subdivide off part of it, and deed restrictions are required by the County to “prefer” rural economy uses, then how will a school be allowed?
Or is the property already subdivided to separate out the 170 acres?
#81 Monk, I have never posted on Operative. Have you ever considered your arguments about Broad Way also applying to north-south traffic trying to get through Wheatland on 287? Since you are obviously qualified to evaluate potential school sites you should apply for a position at LCPS. I just want potential sites to be objectively considered, not summarily dismissed by those biased toward Wheatland and profiteering entities. My suggestion of Engle/Shoene assemblage and before that of the Miller/Park flip is to simply show that there are alternatives that should be evaluated. The cost of the land is only one small piece of this decision. Estimates of costs to construct, mitigate and operate for decades must be prepared for all viable sites before a responsible decision of this magnitude can be made for the taxpayers. At least a cost matrix was prepared for HS-3 sites, though most would dispute accuracy now, after the lawsuit. At least some consideration of project costs was done before but appears to be the last thing on the School Board’s mind now.
Typical – BlackOut attacks the questioner rather than answering the questions. Sarah has dredged up alot of very interesting information with her FOIA requests, information LCPS would obviously rather stay hidden. Sunlight is the best disinfectant, and this deal stinks juts as much as the discredited Rouse and Lenah deals that were shot down by the BOS. The same thing is going to happen here. LCPS has absolutely no respectability in land deals.
Adamo told me I should have asked for permission to distribute information at the April 29 meeting. I reminded him the County Attorney supported my rights to distribute information at public meetings. He also got angry with me for reviewing Wheatland Farms drawings, equating it to him “looking in my purse”. My purse is my private property. Those drawings are public information and were on display in the meeting room we were in discussing my most recent FOIA request, for which LCPS had cashed a $750 check for the priviledge to view files, including that drawing. That exchange is demonstrative of the reason I first got involved with school issues: at the boundary meeting for Woodgrove in February 2007 Adamo refused to share his <200KB spreadsheet with projected student enrollment in the Loudoun Valley cluster saying that would allow the spreadsheet to be altered. Despite me reminding him his original would not be provided (only a copy), he continued to refuse. The way I see it, officials’ who willingly withhold public information deserve public scrutiny.
The more I see Adamo at work, the less I trust him.
Trust has been a growing problem with the LCPS. The lack of transparency, the politicization of the budget process and these sad land deals.
The entire admin of LCPS needs a reset. New people will bring less of these insider deals and fresher perspectives (what I thought the SB would do, but no).
I also think there are some conflicts of interests that we are all beating around the bush about.
Why are schools considered on par with toxic waste dumps anymore? They create jobs and stronger economies for towns. They should not be stuck in the middle of fertile farmland with no existing water and septic.
Sarah, just ignore BlackOut’s parochial criticisms. He’s protecting his buddies DuPree and Hatrick. He never sees any problems with LCPS and attacks anyone who complains about them.
You are absolutely correct that all of that material is OUR property. The taxpaying citizens. They have NO RIGHT to keep it from us as they do. It’s time for open revolt on these people.
Edmund, you mean conflicts such as the School Board’s attorney once working for noted developer law firm Reed Smith and once representing Sal Cangiano, the seller of this property? Are they really this tone deaf that they would not think people would be disgusted by that connection??? And they wonder why we don’t trust them? or why this contract is so one-sided towards the seller?
LCPS and the School Board have no one to blame for the position they find themselves in with the public and the BOS than themselves. Their arrogance and insularity is even worse than the last BOS. They all need to be tossed out on their rears, except for Ohneiser at this point who is the only one to have seen all of the problems with this mess.
One other thing that is just amazing is when you look at what was done in Dulles south, with the Greenvest property, the Planning Commission AND Board of Sups said the transition area was not appropriate for a school because it was a “rural” part of the transition area. Here the SB forges ahead with a school complex in land ZONED for agricultural uses and the rural economy is supposed to be the preferential use.
How can the School Board justify this, knowing that the BoS already said schools were not appropriate in the transition area, because the location was “rural?”
Mr. Ohneiser has sent me an email, indicating that the state enabling legislation does not allow the School Board to identify or negotiate for the purchase of land to build schools, and he apparently agrees that they are acting beyond their authority in entering into the subject contract. He writes:
“As a school board member I am sorry you were treated flippantly by another board member. It looks bad on all of us when such misplaced and unjustified disrespect is exacted. If you want to focus on the law you may want to start with the actual law that controls school boards in this state.
If you look below you will notice that the state carefully did not include identifying or negotiating to acquire land upon which to build schools.
Perhaps you should ask the BOS why they don’t take over this activity. Aren’t they or shouldn’t they be clearly more capable given the amount of building and development assets they have in place, their entrenched knowledge of the entire county and most importantly their ability to negotiate with land owners/developers for the long term including issues well beyond what the school system can control. See below:
Regards
Bob
Broad Run District School Board Member
§ 22.1-79. Powers and duties.
A school board shall:
1. See that the school laws are properly explained, enforced and observed;
2. Secure, by visitation or otherwise, as full information as possible about the conduct of the public schools in the school division and take care that they are conducted according to law and with the utmost efficiency;
3. Care for, manage and control the property of the school division and provide for the erecting, furnishing, equipping, and noninstructional operating of necessary school buildings and appurtenances and the maintenance thereof by purchase, lease, or other contracts;
Mr. Ohneiser highlighted the “utmost efficiency” clause in paragraph 2 above. This is obviously not a contract that is providing for the “utmost efficiency.”
And secondly, he suggests that the School Board only has the power to erect, furnish, equip, etc. school BUILDINGS, and has no power to identify LAND for schools or purchase RAW LAND for schools… that should be the responsibility of the BoS.
The School Board might want to ask their attorney (or their own private attorneys) about Title 42 Section 1983 of the U.S. Code-by taking away the public’s rights in the public process of determining school locations, and in taking away adjacent or others rights who are directly negatively impacted (taking of property rights without due process of law, and under an ultra vires, illegal contract):
Title 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Every person who, under color or any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom or usage, of any State of Territory, subjects … any citizen of the United States … to the deprivation of any rights, privileges or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress.
Further the School Board may want to look at Title 42 Section 1985, conspiracy to deprive (adjacent owners, citizens at large and those directly impacted) and understand what the INDIVIDUAL penalties are for this, in a civil suit.
And Title 42 Section 1986 is also instructive to the attorneys proposing this scheme and for those too scared or lazy to do their job:
“Title 42 U.S.C. § 1986. Action for neglect to prevent conspiracy
Every person who, having knowledge that any of the wrongs conspired to be done, and mentioned in the preceding section [42 USCS § 1985], are about to be committed, and having power to prevent or aid in preventing the commission of the same, neglects or refuses to do so, if such wrongful act be committed, shall be liable to the party injured, or his legal representatives, for all damages caused by such wrongful act, which such person by reasonable diligence could have prevented;
and such damages may be recovered in an action on the case; and any number of persons guilty of such wrongful neglect or refusal may be joined as defendants in the action…”
The outrage over this grows daily and hourly. This is going down, hard. Anyone still for it should jump off the sinking ship before they get pulled under with it.
There will be a demonstration against placing this “eduplex” in Wheatland on Monday, May 4th at 6:00PM at the Government Center in Leesburg. This is immediately proceeding the regular Monday public input meeting (6:30PM) of the Board of Supervisors.
http://www.wheatlandalliance.org/
#94… Good luck with that.
I knew how productive that little sideshow was going to be at 5:00 this afternoon.
BPM – You also knew that this deal was dead in the water last week (Post #3).
Got any more tips from from your pal that had that great inside info??
You got him there, Hillsboro. BPM, you love to tout how influential you were with your involvement in a number of similar protestations against the last BOS. This deal stinks as much as any screwy deal that last BOS tried, and those who support it will meet the same fate in the eyes of the public.
The more I find out about this whole issue… the more disgusted I get… How is it that this corruption is allowed to go on? We ALL know this deal is wrong from every aspect… If the Board of Supervisors doesn’t stop this irresponsible project, these people better start looking for another job…
A school complex like this, eventually needed in northern Loudoun, would be a real asset to the town of Lovettsville. But in the rural Wheatland area plopped in the middle of rt 287, a mile north of route 9 is absolutely irresponsible. What is our government thinking? Fess up to the mistake and back out of it.
Where to begin…this whole deal stinks from every angle. Bottom line- the BOS needs to stop the closing from going forward so that all the required studies can be completed. There is no need for such a rush. If the BOS fails to stop this, it is going to blow up in their faces, WITHOUT QUESTION.
Dangit- Wheatlands is not just another generic chunk of land that you can turn into endless suburbia with mega schools and strip malls. If I wanted that, I wouldn’t live here! Wheatlands, and western Loudoun in general is a wonderful place as long as we can manage to preserve it from being raped.
I think the demonstration tomorrow is going to be impressive. The buzz on the street is fierce. People are Pissed. There are folks within a stones throw of the site that just found out about this today!
Can anyone substantiate Lovettsville Lady’s info regarding school board members being recalled by 10% of the voters? Does 10% equal 10% of registered voters or those who actually voted? P. Godfrey, along w/ a few other SB members, needs to be replaced by someone who actually thinks for themselves. Getting the signatures might be easier than one might think.
As far as the BoS is concerned, I think they really need to stand up and protect the citizens of Loudoun from SB contracts that finalize BEFORE all studies are completed. No matter where schools are placed, we can all agree that making a deal without knowing if the land can actually be used for the purposed expressed in said contract, is either irresponsible or corrupt.
Godfrey couldn’t even be bothered to attend that afwul public hearing even though half the site is in her district. For all the grief I;ve given Bergel at least she showed up to face the music, along with Reed.
I believe something illegal needs to occur to get a board member tossed, but this contract is looking worse and worse with every passing day and every additional revelation and unearthed connection. We may just be able to make that case.
Of course expecting Plowman to look into any of this is wishful thinking. He’s never gotten involved in developer issues, except on their behalf. NEVER. Current AG Bill Mims is way too tied in with the developer crowd, even being part of deals as an investor. so that avenue is out as well. That leaves us with the feds, and they move as quick as molasses. If this deal goes forward a civil suit is assured, and discovery should be fascinating. That may be the best opportunity to uncover any real stench.
After the meeting of the 29th of april I was convinced of the arrgance of Dr. Adamo, Mr. Brown, LCPS, and Sally Kurtz regarding any input from the general public, They felt it would be an informational meeting for the benifit of the community. Didn’t work out did it? For Ms Kurtz to suggest to use the sports fields in purcellville showed that she has lost all reasoning we need better representation than that
If this land were being offered for Fire sale prices, we’d understand the incredible sense of urgency and desperation exhibited by Kurtz and Bergel. But Sal’s gonna almost double his investment in two years. Why circumvent the checks and balances of the Planning commission and SPEX process, with all the associated public meetings so we can write a huge check to Cangiano?
The school system does need to operate on a very long-range plan, they do need to be proactive and bank land for future schools, they must be prepared for projected growth… but they don’t need to rush into bad deals, they shouldn’t ignore (and, indeed, work to circumvent) the county’s long term plans, and they ought to think about the striking similarities between their Wheatland deal and the Fields Farm deal engineered by the former Board of Supervisors. This deal truly is deju vu, but even worse — this deal makes Fields Farm look like a bargain! And we all know how much fun Fields Farm and Woodgrove turned out to be.
By the way, why hasn’t anyone asked who inserted the language in the current contract concerning the demolition of the historic structures on the land in question. Does anyone seriously believe it was the seller’s desire to write in a clause that will cost him money to carry out? It’s clearly an attempt by the school system to have this dirty work over-and-done-with before they own the property, and before the public will have this issue as one more in their arsenal against the special exception for the monstrous schools complex that’s proposed.
I live less than a mile from the site in question. I — and many others — are relying on the Board of Supervisors to stop any further action that will commit the expenditure of over $11,000,000 of taxpayer money for the Cangiano/Burgess land. It is the wrong place for a school complex for a host of legitimate reasons (read above). It should be clear that the public is against this site but the School Board and its staff apparentlyn view public opinion as just a predictable irritant. I am confident the Board listens to and respects public opinion, and recognizes its responsibility to be good stewards of the public fisc. We allI look forward to the Board’s prompt action to stop the sale of this land.
I’m laughing too hard over here.
Same here, we’ll see who has the last laugh.
Am I missing something? What’s so funny?
Attended the BOS meeting last night where Public Input was recieved. 59 people spoke against this deal, 0 people spoke in favor. To say the BOS got an earful would be an understatement. We will see if York rises to the occassion and provides the leadership needed to kill this deal before it goes from bad to worse.
Pissed in Wheatland
Now that is a good name.
Hello , I’d like you meet my friend Pissed In Wheatland.
Well hello, can I call you Pissed or is it Mr. Wheatland.
I’m also pissed in Wheatlands. G. stone, would you like to meet me too?
” I’m also pissed in Wheatlands ”
- Ready to Rumble
I am confused. If you are Pissed in Wheatland then who the hell is Pissed in Wheatland ? and does he know your using his name ?
I would hate to be the mailman in Wheatland.
Will the real Pissed in Wheatland please stand up.
Isn’t it amazing at how easy it is to confuse G. Stone AND make BPM laugh?
Looks like 95% of the posts on this blog have something constructive to contribute to what many have agreed is a corrupt system for locating schools. The others, well, they make feeble attempts at humor.
I’ll be the first to admit that building these schools on the Miller Property may not be the answer, but building them in Wheatlands is out-right ridiculous. Anyone who takes time to weigh the facts on this issue might see that for themselves.
Also, if G. Stone or BPM, lived on well water and had a huge complex contracted to build next to them, I’m sure even they would want hydro studies to be completed BEFORE the contract was approved by the county. The fact that this won’t happen is only a fraction of the corruption occurring in this endeavor.
Ok, I’m done. Your turn to try to write something “humorous.”
BTW- if you really want to meet someone who’s pissed in Wheatlands, I’m still more than willing to have a chat with ya.
Pssst. Rumble, You have not been paying attention here for very long have you ? reel it back in. You are heading straight for a …. Opps never mind moment.
You are under the mistaken impression I want LCPS to build a school in your backyard.
You appear to be straight up on the issue and sincere. I wish you nothing but luck in your battle.However ,you got to lighten up brother.
G. Stone, I reviewed this entire thread before stepping into it. After you last post, telling me to chill, I typed Wheatland into the search box to see if there are any other threads in which you are offering up any constructive input on this matter. At least some kind of clear support. Didn’t find any.
Is there a blog string that I missed? If so, give me the title and posting number. I’ll follow your advice and lighten up after that.
On another note, has anyone substantiated the notion that we can recall School Board reps with a petition numbering 10% of the voters? If this were the case, finding those signatures may not be as difficult as one might think. And even if such a petition would only bring about a special election, I’m sure it would also bring a considerable amount of press with it.
In addition to the School Board recall question, has anyone looked into what was posted in
# 90 above? It says that the state enabling legislation does not allow a School Board to identify or negotiate for the purchase of land to build schools. If that is true then the School Board is acting beyond their authority in entering into this contract. ( According to the post above, Mr. Oheniser, who is an attorney as well as a School Board member, was the one who pointed this out.)