Why a community center sits empty in Amissville
Why has a building that was constructed to be a community center by the Ruritan Club of Amissville and subsequently given to the County of Rappahannock been left vacant for the last 12 years?
The Ruritan Club in Amissville worked long and hard to make the community a better place. One of their goals was to build a community center. After many years of fundraising and the generosity of the Stuart Family, who donated the land which is now Stuart Field, they were able — on a site which is adjacent to the Little League ball fields — to start construction on that building which was to benefit all of the residents of the Amissville area.
In 2007, the club was disbanded due to dwindling membership.
At that point the building was
95 percent complete. The club made the decision to transfer ownership of the property to the county.
A 20-year lease was entered into by the county with the Rappahannock Athletic Association Inc., (RAA) for continued use of the property as Little League ball fields. The lease could be renegotiated in 10 years. No mention of the building is made in the lease. The lease also contained a condition that ownership of the property could be conveyed, at any time, to the Rappahannock County Recreation Facilities Authority (RCRFA).
The RCRFA was formed in 1977 to oversee the development of land that had been given to the county to be used as a park. It is a quasi-public corporation. It owns and manages the county park and raises its own funds through user fees and the annual Fodderstack 10K Run in April.
In September of 2017 the RCRFA sought to take advantage of the upcoming 10 year renewal of the Stuart Field lease to study the possibility of transferring the ownership. RCRFA felt that the use of the property qualified it as a recreational facility. That put it in the intended scope of responsibility of the RCRFA.
If the ownership transferred to the RCRFA, plans could be made to complete the community center building and put in a small park behind it. Both of these projects would be in areas that were not being used by RAA and the work would be done by volunteers using non tax dollars. To facilitate this study the Board of Supervisors (BOS) was asked to exercise the 90 day option to renegotiate the lease prior to the end of the 10 year term. This required a “letter of intent” prior to Oct. 1, 2017. The idea was discussed with then acting County Administrator Brenda Garton and County Attorney Art Goff and both agreed that regardless of whether the ownership changed, it was a good idea to exercise the option to renegotiate at 10 years because many things can change in that period of time. The item was placed on the agenda for the Sept. 21, 2017 special called BOS meeting.
Shortly after the meeting notice was posted, inaccurate and misleading information began to appear on a local online blog, crying “A call to arms” — “The RCRFA wants to close down the children’s ball fields!” — “The Chairman of the RCRFA wants to get the property for the RAAC Theater group” — “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.”
None of these statements had any truth in them. A reporter for the Culpeper Star Exponent wrote several equally uninformed articles. The purpose of the requested letter was to allow time to look into expanding the use of the facility to benefit a greater number of people in the county.
On the day of the BOS meeting a crowd was waiting at the county administration building. The discussion of the “letter of intent” was the first agenda item. Supervisor Chris Parrish, who at that time represented the BOS on the RCRFA, had sought input from individuals associated with RAA. He opined that he had looked into the situation and found no problems and that everything was just fine with the ball fields. No mention was ever made by the RCRFA that there were ever any problems with the RAA use of the property. No public comment was allowed at the meeting, but Mr. Parrish did ask questions of the RAA representatives in attendance. He failed to seek any input from the chairman of the RCRFA, who was also present.
A motion was made, ignoring the recommendation of the county staff, to exercise the option to renegotiate by Jackson District Supervisor Ron Frazier (the ball fields are in his district) and seconded by Parrish that they should not write the “letter of intent” and that the lease should immediately be renewed. It passed.
That vote sadly ensured there would be no community center in Amissville, which was the desire of the Ruritan Club. A facility that could benefit the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4H, Commit to be Fit, group meetings, family reunions, etc. would not become a reality.
Two years later, the building still remains vacant.
A facility that could benefit the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4H, Commit to be Fit, group meetings, family reunions, etc. would not become a reality.