HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2009 certainly went out reminding us all what winter can bring our way. Snow, Ice, Frigid Temperatures, Chilling Winds and that slow cranking sound your car makes each morning as you head off to work. And not to be out done by the old year, 2010 kept it coming. Times like these make you wish we could turn up the “Global Warming” every now and then for just a little while.
And along with snow comes snow removal. Once again the Town Maintenance Department did an outstanding job getting things back to normal. I was disappointed to hear that a few of our local residents and businesses did not think we were working fast enough to solve their personal situations; I won’t mention any names, but you know who you are. Edinburg’s snow removal efforts of recent years have served to spoil many of the folks in our Town. I challenge anyone to show us a town anywhere that does the job Ron Ross and his Crew do in cleaning up after a snow storm. That being said:
Please remember that the Town’s only obligation is to clear the roadways to keep traffic moving and safe. Clearing the sidewalk in front of your property or business is still your responsibility. As is digging your car or driveway out even if the plow truck did bury it under 4 feet of snow. And in 22 years of having a business in Woodstock, the only way I ever got parking on the street opened back up was to pay someone to haul the snow away from in front of my business. The Town has every intention of continuing to give our residents and businesses as much assistance as possible during and after any snow event. We truly understand anyone’s frustration with not being able to get their car out or having a place to park. However, please think about the bigger picture before you decide to give a town employee a hard time. They are out there doing the best they can for you in the worst of conditions and they don’t deserve the grief. OK, I’m done venting.
This winter has also been really hard on our equipment. We have had more breakdowns and necessary repairs than our budget can handle. Thankfully we were called out a number of times by VDOT this year and we will be paid for much of our plowing time. This will help greatly. Like everywhere else we are feeling the effects of a slower economy. Funding from the State that is used to help with the Police Department has been cut and Sales Tax figures are down. Payments of Real Estate and Personal Property Taxes have been slower than normal and any new revenues from development have been nonexistent so far. We are not sure what affect the new County Assessment will have on Edinburg’s Real Estate Taxes. Will we need to roll back the rate or possibly have to increase it just to keep us even with the current level of taxes? Only time will tell. The one thing we are sure of is that the 2010-2011 Budget is going to be a tough one to figure out.
The leak repairs at the Town Pool I told you about in the last Newsletter have been completed. We had to break out quite a bit of concrete between the Kiddy Pool and the Pump Room to do the necessary repairs. These areas will be replaced in the spring before the pool season. We were able to pay for the majority of these repairs with the remaining funds from the estate of Moon and Pearl Mullins. Moon and Pearl left the Town generous gifts to help with the Town Park and Cemetery. Their generosity made it possible for the Town to do a number of projects over the years that I know would have made them proud.
Installation of our historic style streetlights is another Town project that has been greatly helped by the generosity of residents. Stanley and Ellen Getz have been real champions of this project over the years having paid for all of the lights along Main Street. And their generosity continues; we will soon see four more streetlights installed along Center Street from Printz Street to the intersection at High Street. In addition to buying the four additional lights, Stanley also installed a fifth light at the Christian Church in memory of Ellen back in September. The electric panel has been set on the corner of Center and Printz Streets and light installation will begin as soon as weather permits.
We will also be doing some tree planting and additional beatification projects in Town this year. And it isn’t going to cost us anything but some labor. We were successful in getting a grant through the Virginia Department of Forestry in the amount of $13,635 to do tree planting in three areas of Town. The first area is off of Windsor Knit Road at the Well #2 site. The second area is along Town Hall Avenue leading to the Town Hall. And the third area is along Massie Farm Lane between the Edinburg Mill and Cedarwood Cemetery. Hopefully the work will begin this spring and we are confident that these areas will benefit greatly from this project. It’s always nice to be able to do these types of projects that can be viewed and enjoyed by so many.
The Town Council voted to activate the Dog Ordinance I told you about in the last Newsletter. The Ordinance requires dog owners to clean up after their pet if they are on public or private land other than their on property. The Ordinance is now in effect and you will soon be seeing signs like this around Town. We will be providing
plastic bag dispensers at the Town Park, the Christmas Tree Lot
and at the Edinburg Mill for dog owners use on Town owned properties. You will need to carry your own bags when walking your pet in other parts of Town. Many dog owners already are courteous to their neighbors and clean up after their pet. The rest of you will need to train yourselves to remember this new requirement.
Speaking of Town Council votes, it will soon be time for a Town Election. Tuesday May 4, 2010 is Election Day in Edinburg. This year we will have 3 Council Seats and the Mayor on the ballot. Council Members Brad Dellinger, Steve Wood and Fay Wymer’s terms will be up as well as my term as Mayor. At this time Steve, Fay and I have said that we plan to run for office again. Brad is still thinking about it. Anyone registered to vote in the Edinburg Town Election is eligible to run for Council or Mayor. If elected, the new term of office will be July 1, 2010 – June 30, 2014. If you are interested, contact the Voter Registrar Office in Woodstock. The deadline to register to be on May’s Ballot is March 2 by 7:00 PM. If you are interested in knowing what might be involved in serving please feel free to give me a call or stop by the Town Office.
Another important date to remember is March 1st. This is the Date that 2010 Vehicle Stickers must be displayed and new Business Licenses must be purchased. If your own a business or are otherwise required to secure a Town License you should have already received your 2010 application. If you have any question about how to fill it out please contact Mary or Michelle at the Town Office, 984-8521, and they will assist you.
2010 Vehicle Sticker will go on sale February 1st and must be displayed on your vehicle by March 1st. The cost is the same as in previous years: Motor Vehicles-$25, Motorcycles-$18, Trailers over1,500 GVW-$25 and smaller trailers are exempt. Personal Property Taxes must be paid current before purchasing your 2010 Vehicle Sticker.
This next item is sure to get people choosing sides. The Edinburg Geese, are you for them or against them? Your answer is probably for them if you happen to be one of the folks who go down to the Mill every day to feed the geese. If you happen to live near the Edinburg Mill or Stony Creek you just might not be too fond of them.
Actually it isn’t really the Geese that bother people, it’s the “little presents” they leave behind. A trip to the Edinburg Mill or Cedarwood Cemetery will show you what I’m referring to if you don’t know. The phone at the Town Office always rings shortly after a large funeral with complaints about people walking their dogs at the cemetery and the mess they leave behind. We explain that the problem is not from dogs but rather from our resident geese. Over the years we have also heard from individuals who have had artificial flowers and wreaths eaten by the geese. We talked about fencing and we tried some artificial coyotes. Fencing is a problem because of the open roadways into the cemetery. As for the coyotes, it was only a matter of days before the geese were posing for family pictures with one of our cardboard cutouts. The Town has told a number of individuals to help themselves to the geese over the years and many of them have found their way to local farms and ponds. But never all of them, and every year their number grows again until we are right back where we started. A number of residents have complained recently and the Town Council has decided to try another approach.
First let me say that the geese do not belong to the Town any more than the first Robin of spring. Other than being messy they do not pose more of a health and safety issue than any other bird that visits the area. However they are definitely bothering some residents and we need to respond to the problem. It was decided that a committee of Town residents should be formed to decide what should be done. If you are interested in serving on such a committee, either for or against, please contact the Town Office. Once we have enough interested people we will schedule a meeting to get a discussion started.
