STAFFORD — It’s difficult to miss a large number of visitors spaces at the top of the parking lot at the Stafford County Government Center.
When the lot was repaved, former county public works chief Christopher Rapp wanted visitors who needed to conduct business at their government center to have plenty of places to park and easily access the building.
Rapp was one 12 people killed on May 31 in a mass shooting at a government building in Virginia Beach. On Wednesday, his former colleagues who worked with him during his short tenure in Stafford remembered him at a memorial ceremony at the county’s war memorial.
“This past Saturday morning a close friend of mine sent me a text and asked me if I had heard about Chris and the horrific events in Virginia Beach. I was horrified, I was saddened… I didn’t know Chris as well as many of you,” said Stafford Board of Supervisors Chairman Gary Snellings. “But I know him well enough to know that he was a kind and unassuming man.”
Rapp served for three years as the county’s public works director. While there, he oversaw multiple street improvements and the repaving of the government center’s parking lot.
Current county director of public works Jason Towery said Rapp had a kind heart.
He was probably one of the most patient people you could meet, probably to the point of frustration at times,” said Towery. “I’m kind of a more indecisive person, and the kind of conversations Chris and I would often have, he would bring me back… he was thoughtful, analytical engineer, and measured in his approached to everything he did. But above all else, he was kind and gentle.”
A former Virginia Beach city employee entered a government building last Friday and began shooting. After killing 12, he was shot and killed in a gunfight with police.
The incident has Stafford County employees on edge.
“It’s been a hard few days as people started to find out about it and had to come into work Monday morning, especially the thought in their mind about violence, and have them thinking about who is going to walk through the front door,” said Thomas Foley, county administrator.
Foley brought in counselors to speak with employees following the shooting. He’s also reviewing the security of the government center facility, and others in the county “to stay on top of things.”
Wednesday’s service was held at the county’ wartime memorial which sits across from the county government center. It opened in 2017 and honors those who have served in combat in the Revolutionary War to today.
