Stafford County could get a new skate park at St. Clair Brooks Memorial Park, 80 Butler Road in Falmouth.

The skateboard park at St. Clair Brooks Park must be replaced due to age and safety issues. The Board of Supervisors recognized the need to replace the skateboard park and approved Capital Improvement Funds (CIP).

We most recently reported on an effort to improve the skate park in February.

The Department of Parks, Recreation, Facilities, and Tourism (PRFT) took over the operation and maintenance of St. Clair Brooks Memorial Park in 2007. At that time, the condition of the skatepark was poor. Over the years, the skateboard park has been repaired numerous times and rebuilt as much as possible. According to county documents, unsafe portions have been and continue to be removed as necessary.

The bid process has been completed, resulting in Anike Group, Inc., from Chesapeake, Virginia, submitting a responsive bid of $489,000. Due to the contractor’s workload, construction would begin in the fall, with completion expected in late Fall 2024. The county received Only one responsive and responsible bid it called “responsive and responsible,” which was submitted by Anike Group Incorporated.

The Board approved CIP funds for $470,000 for this project. Due to design costs, the\ remaining balance of the project is $429,625. For this project to proceed, an additional appropriation of $112,271 is needed: $63,371 for construction and $48,900 for contingency (10% of the contract
amount).

Sorry, skaters, the county didn’t include information on improving the skate park. We’ll pass along those details once we have them.

Residents are invited to attend a rededication ceremony to commemorate the enhancements made to the playground area at Birchdale Community Center. The ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday, March 20, 2024, at 2 p.m. The Birchdale Community Center, located at 14730 Birchdale Avenue in Dale City, will host the event.

Key improvements to the playground include the replacement of the old equipment with a new playground and the addition of two shelters. These upgrades aim to enhance the recreational facilities available to the community.

The rededication ceremony provides an opportunity for residents to gather and celebrate the improvements made to the Birchdale Community Center playground. All are encouraged to attend and participate in the event.

A public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, February 28, from 6 to 8 p.m. to discuss the master plans for three parks in Fredericksburg: Alum Spring Park, Ficklen Island, and Old Mill Park.

In adverse weather conditions, the meeting will be rescheduled for March 6. For further details, interested parties can contact Todd Brown, Director, at [email protected] or by calling 540-372-1086.

Alum Spring Park, located at 1 Greenbrier Drive, is a wooded park featuring a footbridge, picnic shelter, picnic tables, playground equipment, restrooms, grill, and walking paths.

Old Mill Park, situated along the Rappahannock River on Caroline Street, offers open fields, picnic shelters, playgrounds, restrooms, riverfront views, and a canoe/kayak boat launch. The park is a popular spot for events and recreational activities. Park hours are daily from dawn to dusk, with a non-resident weekend admission fee of $10 per vehicle or $5 per person walk-in (13 years and older) from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Fredericksburg and Stafford County residents enjoy free admission.

Ficklen Island, accessible from Riverside Drive along the Rappahannock River, provides a tranquil setting for walking and hiking. The island features a 0.3-mile loop trail suitable for all ages and skill levels.

Residents are encouraged to attend the public meeting to provide input on the master plans for these parks, shaping the future of recreational opportunities in Fredericksburg.

Dumfries Town Council approved the amended proffer agreement and memorandum of understanding between the town and Churchill Downs, owner and operator of The Rose Gaming Resort, which is under construction, six to one.

• If you rely on us for local news and haven’t already, please support us by becoming a member!
  • Join our Locals Only Membership Today! In a world filled with everyday heroes and extraordinary tales, Potomac Local is your trusted source for news and stories that matter in our community.
  • Our Local Spotlight Membership is perfect for businesses and non-profits to increase sales, donations, and branding awareness in the community.
  • Sign in here if you're already a member, and Thank You!

After a round of unsuccessful bids the first time around, Stafford County put out another proposal on a county skatepark to get a place the county skateboarders are missing.

The new park design includes all the basics of Skateboarding 101, including a vertical wall, which is like a half-pipe in the skating world, grinding rails, grinding ledges, skate stairs, a quarterpipe, and a round cone thing in the middle. These features are standard for skateparks of this level. The proposal Bids will only be accepted via eva.virginia.gov.

The skatepark will be at St. Claire Brooks Park at 80 Butler Road in Falmouth.

Bids will be opened 15 minutes after bids are due on the same day bids are received: Monday, February 26, 2024, at 2:15 p.m. A public bid opening will be hosted via WebEx. the document came out on January 23, 2024, and all the proposals are due by Monday, February 5, 2024, at 2 p.m.

According to Brion Southall, Director at Stafford County’s Department of Parks, Recreation, Facilities, and Tourism, the bid package went out last summer, and they received one bid that was well over the budgeted amount. The staff reviewed the bid package and worked with the contractors to discuss ways to make this project work within budget.

Several contractors we discussed it with had too much work on their schedule already, including the design company, who responded that they had over 18 months of projects on the books and could not take on any more work, said Southhall.

USA Skateboarding has a Skatepark Performance and Accreditation Rating for Certification (SPARC) program and a 75-point checklist to evaluate safety and inclusivity. At this stage, it’s unknown whether the Stafford Skatepark will be under this evaluation.

There is skateboarding in next summer’s Olympic Games, though. The World Skateboarding Tour just completed a competition related to qualifying for the Paris Olympic Games this summer, and the skatepark they used for the competition in Dubai in the Middle East looked similar to the plan for Stafford County.

Mike Salmon is a freelance reporter for Potomac Local News.

If you rely on us for local news and haven’t already, please support us by becoming a member!

• Join our Locals Only Membership Today! In a world filled with everyday heroes and extraordinary tales, Potomac Local is your trusted source for news and stories that matter in our community.
• Our Local Spotlight Membership is perfect for businesses and non-profits to increase sales, donations, and branding awareness in the community.

The Count Me In scholarship, provided by the Prince William Parks Foundation, aims to provide families at or below the poverty line with financial assistance for summer programs in the Parks & Recreation Department.

According to the scholarship website, the scholarship is an award of $200 allocated for each age-appropriate child in the household. Sarah Smith, recreation senior manager in the Prince William County Parks & Recreation Department, said a range of ages is typically awarded.

“It’s a wide variety,” Smith said. “[Applicants] go from preschool age all the way [up to 18]. I would say our oldest applicant is around 15.”

Ruth Anderson, chair of the Prince William Parks Foundation, said this scholarship was born out of the foundation’s revitalization efforts in late 2019 and early 2020.

“And what was happening at that time? Yeah, the pandemic,” Anderson said. “We set up all the infrastructure for the foundation, and then we made our very first program … because at that time, kids weren’t getting out to school and a perfect place for them was parks.”

Anderson also said other park foundations had similar scholarships available, so this was an opportunity to meet a need and follow in the footsteps of peer organizations.

“The scholarship program actually became successful very rapidly because people were very willing to give to that effort,” Anderson said.

According to federal poverty guidelines, the scholarship was created for children at or below 130% of the poverty level. For a household of four people, the poverty guideline is an annual income of $31,200, which increases by $5,380 per additional person. Each qualifying child per household can receive a scholarship.

According to the foundation website, much of the money for the scholarships comes from cash and in-kind donations, grants, and other types of donations. Anderson said a large donor to the scholarship is The Hylton Foundation, a Dale City nonprofit.

According to documents provided by Anderson, the Hylton Foundation donated $10,000 in 2023 and $6,690 from the Parks Foundation’s fundraising efforts. In total, $16,690 was awarded to students in the county for various programs.

Smith said that in the 2023 scholarship year, more than 125 programs had registrations from 139 award recipients. The most popular programs are camps, swim lessons, and arts and crafts programs.

The scholarship application is open until February 2 and can be submitted via mail or online. Specific application materials can be found on the scholarship website.

Caitlyn Meisner is a freelance reporter for Potomac Local News.

During the Manassas City Council meeting on Monday, January 22, 2024, representatives from the Manassas City Government provided annual updates, looking back on 2023, on the Department of Community Development and Parks, Culture, and Recreation’s achievements and plans.

Matt Arcieri and Kisha Wilson-Sugunro presented key highlights from their respective departments’ annual reports.

Arcieri, assistant city manager representing the Department of Community Development, provided insights into the department’s structure, consisting of planning and development, responsible for rezonings and special use permits, parks, culture, and recreation, handling recreational programming and park maintenance.

Arcieri highlighted several accomplishments, including accolades for the Architectural Review Board, successful work on new bicycle facilities, securing transportation funding, and community conversations on the Old Town Inn property. He also mentioned significant updates to residential zoning requirements, approval of affordable housing projects, and progress on various construction projects, including data centers.

The updates to zoning requirements were described as the most significant in more than 40 years and involved a comprehensive review and modernization of residential zoning requirements.  Arcieri said that one of the goals was to improve homes affordably by encouraging a range of housing sizes and styles to meet the community’s diverse needs.

Kisha Wilson-Sugunro, Assistant Director of Parks, Culture, and Recreation, then took the floor to share the parks and recreation sector developments. She highlighted the expansion of the Manassas Museum, the Annaberg Manor interior stabilization project, and successes at Stonewall Park, particularly the significant increase in attendance at the Stonewall Park pool.

Wilson-Sugunro outlined various initiatives, including playground improvements at local schools, recreation programs, a 4.4-mile expansion of the city’s bike lane network, and successful Harris Pavilion summer concerts. She also detailed upcoming projects such as Dean Park renovations and a plan-your-park event for community input.

Data centers

Arceri said the county and residents should start hearing more about developing data centers. The city’s first, called the Brickyard site, located on Godwin Drive where the Glen Gary brickyard once stood, is nearly open. More are on the way.

“Of course, we’re keeping an eye on what comes on that site. Industrial data centers have been the topic, and you’re going to see quite a bit of development for the council. And the council is aware that this corner of Godwin and Dean Drive is another data center that you’re starting to see construction on…that’s our second data center, but that’s going to be coming out of the ground very soon,” said Arcieri.

Arcieri concluded his presentation by outlining plans, including the upcoming council annual retreat, discussions on the comprehensive plan update, and ongoing development projects. He emphasized the importance of community involvement in the planning process and hinted at the need to consider the 2030 comprehensive plan.

 

Virginia State Parks: “Construction is complete on Sky Meadows State Park’s Lost Mountain Trail, bringing it up to sustainability standards. The 2.2-mile trail, designed for hikers and equestrians, is one of six located in the park’s 248-acre Lost Mountain area, which opened to the public in the early ‘90s.”

“Due to several factors, including regular traffic and improper drainage, Lost Mountain Trail was suffering from significant erosion, making it difficult to traverse. Sky Meadows hired Ironwood Outdoors to address the issue, the third project at the park for the full-service trail building company since 2018.”

“Upgrades to Lost Mountain Trail started in early November and included five reroutes to avoid hazard areas, seven de-berm areas to improve the out slope of the trail, 49 rolling grade dips to prevent washout and 18 knicks to prevent pooling water.”