Parks and Rec

The Fredericksburg City Council has voted to implement a pilot program of entrance and parking fees at Old Mill Park for non-residents of the city and nearby Stafford County.

Fredericksburg Pride, a non-profit organization dedicated to forming a safe and welcoming environment for LGBTQIA+ people, held its second annual pride march and festival in downtown Fredericksburg.

The festival in Old Mill Park on the banks of the Rappahannock River attracted hundreds of people. At the event, several local vendors, businesses, and organizations came to celebrate alongside its local LGBTQIA+ community, which offered food, prizes, music, entertainment, and other items for sale to festival attendees.

The 2021 festival attracted 53 vendors, and over 100 vendors participated in this year's festival. According to Meegana Henry, Founder and President of Fredericksburg Pride, the event took a whole year to plan. It gained double the number of vendors compared to last year when the festival was held in Maury Playground Park.

"It's been a really great show of support from the community, the business, from the residents, from the volunteers," said Katie Jones, Vice President of Fredericksburg Pride. "We've had such a good outreach to support the event and to support the community. It's been fantastic."

Other affiliated organizations showed up at the festival to participate and support the community. Among those organizations was the Rappahannock Region Transgender Support, a group dedicated to helping people who fall under the transgender umbrella. The group also ran a clothing swap booth at the festival, which offered clothing for transgender people in their sizes.

"For a lot of people, this is their first pride festival, and the fun part is watching them because these are people that are closeted, they haven't come out, or they're just starting to come out to their friends, and they're family, said Dani Butler, the group's founder. "And that's hard because not everybody understands, not everybody accepts, and they come down here, and everybody here is affirming and accepting. We know it's hard. We've been there, done that, and got the t-shirt."

Another organization present at the festival was Free Mom Hugs, a national non-profit organization dedicated to offering support to LGBTQIA+ youth who are revealing they are gay.

"We wish that our organization didn't need to exist, but we see the need out here. We've given out a lot of hugs, and it's clear that support is needed," said Kelly MacCleary, a member of the organization's local chapter. "So we'll be around until support isn't needed."

Another organization present at the event was the Rappahannock Council Against Sexual Assault which provided support, treatment, and advocacy to persons affected by sexual assault.

"We find it very important to represent our community, be out, provide support for everyone, and sexual violence is, unfortunately, one of those things that do not discriminate, said Meghan Cole, the group's community service specialist. LGBTQ individuals do face sexual violence at a disproportionate rate, and we want to provide some resources to them."

Fredericksburg Pride President Meegana Henry told Potomac Local News that changes are planned for next year's festival to accommodate more people, vendors, and other potential ideas.

If you don't live in Stafford County, it will cost you $25 to park at one of the area's busiest summertime destinations.

Stafford County will implement a $25 charge to non-residents for parking at the Historic Port of Falmouth, a popular swimming hole on the Rappahannock River. The county Board of Supervisors approved the new fee during its meeting on Tuesday, June 7, 2022, in a five to two vote.

The county will begin charging the fee on July 22, 2022, and plans to hire new parking attendants weeks before the new fees.

The fee is expected to pull in $283,750 in revenue to fund parking management, trash cleanup, and public safety and to recoup the costs of frequently rescuing swimmers on the river.

The county will install credit card machines for parking staff to collect fees from park-goers from out of the area. A lack of robust and available wi-fi at the park could hamper electronic fee collection. The county has discussed options to deal with this issue, including tablets with cellular capability.

A handful of residents spoke to the Board on Tuesday, questioning the fees and the possibility that it may detract potential tourism from the area at a time when the county is trying to improve its tourism industry after the coronavirus pandemic. Karen Brown of Falmouth supported the parking fees. The money will help to clean up trash that has been accumulating at the beach, she said.

Others were concerned about equity with other beach locations in the county, like Aquia Landing Park on the Potomac River.  Griffis-Widewater District Supervisor Tinesha Allen questioned why Aquia Landing wasn't getting this consideration and instead asked for a comprehensive plan that could be applied to all of the beaches in the county. County staff said that the parking and safety issues were not as dire at Aquia as at Falmouth.

Rockhill District Supervisor Crystal Vanuch said illegal activities are occuring at the Port of Falmouth Park. Through pictures taken by a drone owned by the Stafford County Sheriff's Office, Vaunch showed evidence of illegal parking made by a resident living near the beach. Vanuch also pointed out an ice cream truck which she claimed did not have permits to operate in the county or pay county meals taxes.

Vanuch then called upon the Planning and Zoning Department to look into the matter.

George Washington District Supervisor Tom Coen voted against the fees and said that the fees were indeed a tax and didn't want to unduly tax potential out-of-town visitors. Coen offered an alternative motion which would study the situation more closely with input from various organizations including local public safety and environmental groups which would hold off implementation of the fees until next year.

This alternate motion was defeated 4-3 in favor of the parking fees.

County leaders started debating the parking issue at the park before the coronavirus pandemic. During the pandemic, reports of park-goers parking in residential areas and causing traffic issues and illegal parking in some nearby areas, like Carter Road, have been cause for concern.