More trees in town, yes; master plan, maybe
Mayor: Construction of the town’s new post office should begin “anytime now.” Intended date to open? Likely early January.
At its monthly meeting Monday night at town hall, the Washington Town Council applauded the Rappahannock County Garden Club’s possible gift of flowering trees — dozens, or even hundreds of them — and debated at length the Rappahannock-Rapidan Regional Commission’s possible gift of a master plan.
Mayor Fred Catlin also passed on the news, based on his informal conversation with the builder, that construction of the town’s new post office should begin “anytime now,” but that it would most likely not be completed before what the contractor understands is the U.S. Postal Service’s intended date to open the new facility at Leggett Lane and Warren Avenue: early January.
The current post office, meanwhile, closes next week. Catlin said the Washington postmaster told him that the PO boxes will be moved to the Sperryville post office this Saturday. Boxholders’ addresses won’t change during the temporary move, he noted.
In a brief presentation, county resident Lynda Webster, co-chair of the garden club’s Little Washington in Bloom Committee, told the council the club had, through generous local contributors, arranged to offer every town resident (or business) one or two free cherry, dogwood or redbud trees. Recipients need only pledge to water the trees weekly for a year.
Webster, who has served as chair of the venerable nonprofit American Forests and has been involved for years on design and production facets of the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C., said she was first inspired to pursue the tree-planting idea during a spring walk in the Inn at Little Washington’s gardens — “during which,” she added, addressing council member and Inn proprietor Patrick O’Connell directly, “I saw your gorgeous Yoshino cherry trees in bloom. And they were spectacular.
“And I said, what if we had these throughout the town, not only cherries . . . but dogwood and redbud and maybe eventually daffodils,” she added, noting that the garden club was immediately receptive to the idea.
The garden club plans a ceremonial planting of the “First Tree” on Oct. 19, most likely at the town hall property; applications have been emailed to most town residents already, club member and town resident Fawn Evenson said. Catlin suggested a deadline be set for returning them; Evenson suggested this Monday, Sept. 30. Depending on availability, trees would be offered also for purchase at $25. When the presentation ended, the room erupted in spontaneous applause.
After a long discussion, the council agreed to revisit at its meeting next month — Tuesday, Oct. 15, rescheduled from the usual Monday by the Columbus Day holiday — on a proposal forwarded by the planning commission. It would allow the town to contract with the international firm Torti Gallas & Partners to create a “Master Plan Vision” — at a cost, estimated at $50,000, to be covered by a grant from the regional commission.
“We certainly don’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth,” said planning commission chair Caroline Anstey, adding: “But is it really a gift horse, or are there going to be associated costs?” The grant would not cover the study of the town’s wastewater and water capacity — a step that nearly every council member agreed Monday night should be the first in any master plan study — and would not cover any printing, travel or other expenses. Town Attorney John Bennett suggested the council consider agreeing to a “fixed-price” contract to avoid any unexpected expenses.
In other unanimous actions, the council passed a measure setting newly hired Town Clerk Barbara Babson’s annual salary at $50,000, and approved a resolution setting up a process by which willing landowners on the town’s borders could apply to have their properties become part of the town.
Catlin also announced that the repaving project VDOT began in town last year would continue at the end of this month with the resurfacing of Gay Street and all of the one- to two-block cross streets that were not paved last year.
He also mentioned that the Mille Miglia, an international car rally making its American debut with a 150-mile rally though Maryland and Virginia horse country, will make a brief pass through (the newly repaved) Little Washington on Oct. 25 between 8:30 and 9:45 a.m.