Occoquan Watershed Coalition

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Hot Force! Hemlock Overlook Task Force
March 2001 Meeting Minutes

Minutes compiled by Jim Bonhivert.

We had our kickoff at Bonhivert's home in Glencairn on Monday, March 19, 2001. Attendees included Laura, Kathy, Harold Whalen and myself. Regrets that George, Bill, David and Joe could not attend. I ask that each of you email to me your available evenings for a next meeting during the second half of April. It would be great to get us all together for the next session. I attempted to get input from each of you, but we would clearly benefit from your presence.

We propose that the mission of this group is to deal with the following:
  • The current traffic problems on Yates Ford Road.
  • Obtaining long term, firm commitments from GMU and the Park authority to self police their own staff and visitors in our community, to commit to limits to the use of the Park in terms of traffic, and to eliminate the use of large tour buses to bring clients to the park.

We do not believe that this group should target the prevention of the proposed facility if the authorities are willing strike a lasting deal on our goals as stated. If, however, we are unable to achieve these objectives, our natural recourse is to vigorously resist further development of the park. A petition of area homeowners would be a cornerstone of this resistance if we do not make good progress within a reasonable period of time. If any of you know of how I can easily obtain an opinion regarding our potential legal recourse in this matter if it does get ugly I would appreciate hearing from you. I will start a parallel process to be in a state of readiness if the easy path does not lead to where we want to go.

The Group discussed many subjects and agreed to the following action items:

  1. We will encourage a first meeting with GMU and the Park Authority during the second half of April to begin what we see as an ongoing process of communication and probable negotiation. Laura agreed to contact Susan Johnson to this end.

  2. We will survey residents that use Yates Ford Road to solicit their opinion regarding potential improvement versus no improvement to the road. Specifically, it was agreed that Harold and Kathy would explain the current situation with Hemlock and the current recommended improvements to the hair pin turn and the hump at the cemetery to determine whether attention from VDOT is desired by the effected community. The reason for this action item is that several homeowners on Yates Ford Road are believed to be in opposition to any improvement to the road. During this survey, homeowners will be encouraged to contact the police to report all speeding.

  3. Laura will advise Jim Bonhivert regarding the procedures for obtaining improved signage on Yates Ford Road. Jim will make phone calls but not push for changes until the group meets again to discuss options.

  4. The group developed a draft list of questions to submit to the Park authority under the Freedom of Information Act. This draft will be circulated to each of you for comment before submitting. We agreed to give a copy of this request to Susan Johnson in order that she may reply to various requests and to understand the serious intent of the group.

  5. Kathy will solicit potential members of the committee from Wyckland and Mill Run.

  6. Kathy will contact Sandy Run Homeowners Association to follow up on a comment made to Jim at the Feb. 28th meeting by a Park representative. The comment was that the Park Authority was forced to agree to limit the use of the Park by area homeowners and they reached an agreement to that effect. If this is true, we have found a valuable precedent.

  7. Jim will contact a member of the local historical society who was present at the February 28th meeting. Jim was told that there is a high level of concern regarding any further development of this important historical site.

We noted that the traffic issue has abated significantly since we complained at the February 28th meeting at the Park Authority.

At this time we are cautiously optimistic that we will be able to achieve a reasonable commitment from the Park Authority regarding these concerns. It is clearly in our best interest to stay on top of this issue. Your thoughts on other ideas we should pursue are certainly welcome.