|
Sterling
Brito
Crisp
Milde
Dudenhefer
Schwartz
Woodson |
Controversy is swirling around a Stafford Board of Supervisors quick vote to disband a volunteer transportation advisory group.
Byron Hinton, chairman of the Stafford Transportation Commission, said last week's 4-3 vote "was totally out of the blue."
The board split mainly along party lines with Democrats Harry Crisp II, George Schwartz, Bob Woodson, and the board's sole independent, Joe Brito, voting to dissolve the group. Republicans Mark Dudenhefer, Paul Milde and Cord Sterling opposed the measure.
In interviews this week, Democrats said the Planning Commission is better suited to grapple with road and transportation planning, since development and zoning decisions affect traffic.
They point out that the Virginia General Assembly has empowered counties such as Stafford to impose traffic impact fees on developers.
"The Transportation Commission was not in a position to view transportation and land use in the overview. This is a better organizational management plan for transportation in the county," said Schwartz, board chairman.
Residents still have forums to air transportation concerns, he said.
"They can come to board members. They can come to the board. They can come to the Planning Commission," Schwartz said.
Milde said transportation matters require a separate advisory group, and the shift will burden the Planning Commission.
"In a county where transportation is our main issue, our main problem, I think it sends the wrong message to dismantle the Transportation Commission," he said.
Milde said supervisors should have looked at other options before getting rid of the commission.
"You don't just hear about an idea to disband a transportation commission and vote to do it two minutes later," Milde said.
Woodson made the motion to dissolve the Transportation Commission at the Jan. 15 meeting.
Woodson said the Planning Commission will elevate the consideration of transportation needs, not diminish them.
"It's all about being under one body, using a comprehensive effort toward planning here in Stafford," he said.
Dudenhefer said transportation involves safety issues and quality of life issues.
"Transportation is not about land use. There are some ties to land use, but what about people who live here now, who live in Garrisonville, that have to fight traffic every day?" Dudenhefer said.
Sterling said Stafford needs a commission to advise the supervisors on where to spend secondary road money. Sterling is also a member of the Commonwealth Transportation Board.
"Now we've just given that responsibility to the Planning Commission, on top of all their other responsibilities, which are huge," Sterling said. "Now, should there be a link between land use and transportation? You bet. That's why you have a Board of Supervisors that's looking at both of those."
Sterling supports putting a supervisor or two on every county commission to foster better communication.
Just before the vote to dissolve the Transportation Commission, Dudenhefer proposed adding two supervisors to the Transportation Commission--one from North Stafford, another from the southern part of the county.
Preferably, each supervisor would represent a different political party, he said.
Dudenhefer said supervisors would bring focus to the group's meetings, which could sometimes center around neighborhood concerns rather than the county road network, he said.
Hinton opposed the addition of supervisors. He thought it would hinder the group's independence.
"We are an apolitical body and we have acted that way because of the maturity and intellect of the members," Hinton said.
Crisp said adding supervisors might have led to "micromanaging."
"The Planning Commission already tries to take into account the road impact, traffic and so forth, when they make land-use decisions, so it's something they are already accustomed to doing," Crisp said.
The board is grateful for the work of commission members. "I know we do feel the work they did was very valuable and we understand they were conscientious about what they did," Crisp said.
Sterling said a complete review of the county's board and commissions is needed.
"We have to make sure we have those we need, not those we don't need, and that they're structured appropriately," Sterling said.
The issue is likely to surface again.
"I will put that on every agenda at every board meeting to bring it back," Dudenhefer said.
Kelly Hannon: 540/374-5436
Email: khannon@freelancestar.com
|
The Transportation Commission was created on Dec. 7, 2004, and had eight volunteer members, a resident from each election district in Stafford, and one member of the county Planning Commission.
Nonvoting members attended from the Stafford Sheriff's Office, the school system, fire and rescue organizations, the Virginia Department of Transportation and the county's planning department. In 2004, several Stafford teens died in vehicle crashes. One of the victims was Supervisor Mark Dudenhefer's daughter Emily, 17, a senior at Colonial Forge High School. A task force formed after the deaths called for improvements to winding, rural roads that lead to county high schools. The Transportation Commission took up improving those roads as part of its mission. The group held a comment period at monthly meetings, where residents could ask for traffic signals or signs in their neighborhood. Transportation Commission members then recommended safety measures to the Board of Supervisors. Also, the commission gave supervisors a prioritized list of secondary road projects. Byron Hinton, chairman of the Transportation Commission, said members spent 10 to 15 hours a week responding to residents and working with county staff. The commission refused to spread projects evenly across election districts, Hinton said. "We looked at the betterment of the county as a whole," Hinton said. --Kelly Hannon |
