Dumfries

Could things in Dumfries be looking up, literally?

“Lots of buildings are getting new tenants because of their height,” said Dumfries Councilman Charles Brewer. “Our boundaries are very little, and our land is very little, and the only one way we can really show any type of development is by going up.”

Dumfries has taken another step to a more open government.

The town is now archiving videos of its meetings on its public website. A message posted on the town’s website today instructs viewers how to access videos of previous Town Council meetings, starting with the most recent Feb. 18 meeting.

It was the first time residents heard from Dumfries Town Manager Daniel Taber in over a month.

Last night, Dumfries officials read a statement from the police chief turned top administrator who has been missing from town hall since he slipped and fell on a patch o ice back on Jan. 10. Taber has spent time in Inova Fairfax Hospital recovering from his injuries, and in his letter he also states he has been in close contact with town staff charged with doing the town’s business on a daily basis.

There is a new look at the Dumfries Police Department.

Officers will soon ditch the old black uniform shirts for new gray shirts. The patches sewn onto the shirts to signify the department will also undergo a change, as officers will have patches outlined in silver with silver lettering, and supervisors will have gold outlines and lettering.

A church congregation will move from Stafford County to Dumfries, and it will worship inside of a commercial building.

The Dumfries Town Council approved a conditional use permit, or CUP, for the Grass Roots Christian Fellowship church who will become the newest tenant of the Elwey Center building on U.S. 1. The special permit was required because, prior to the Council’s vote, the building was zoned for business use only.