Summer temperatures didn’t waste any time getting here this year. High temperatures and higher humidity made for some uncomfortable days, but it did make for some record attendance days at the Town Pool.
The hot temperatures have kept the Town Crew busy watering throughout the Town. In addition to the flower urns on Main Street we also have a number of new trees to be concerned with when the mercury climbs into the 90’s. I hope you all have noticed the new trees along Town Hall Avenue and Massie Farm Lane. They are really going to be a great addition to the Town as they mature during the coming years. And take a moment to check out the new plantings on Windsor Knit Road the next time you are out riding around. Fort Valley Nursery did a beautiful job at the site of theTown’s Well #2 planting new trees and shrubbery to improve the appearance of an otherwise nondescript property. All of this was accomplished with a grant through the Virginia Department of Forestry. We are hoping to partner with them again in the near future on additional projects. Please contact the Town Office,
984-8521, if you know of an area in Edinburg that we should consider for another tree planting project.
Speaking of projects here in Town; we have been contacted by an organization named “People Inc.”. This is a group that assists communities by facilitating Community Development Block Grants. They have done a quick assessment of the single family structures in Edinburg and noted those that might benefit from some updating. The main focus of the program is on making these homes more energy efficient. Homeowners would be able to get low or no interest loans up to $25,000 through the program to complete the improvements. Normally Block Grants are obtained for a specific area of a community. Because of Edinburg’s size they might consider the entire town as an identified area. The Town Council is interested in knowing if residents would like to see Edinburg pursue a Community Development Block Grant for this type of program. Please let the Town Office know if you might be interested in learning more about this. If there is enough interest we will schedule a public meeting with representatives from “People Inc.” to learn more. Grant applications must be submitted by March 2011 for the next round of funding.
One question that did come up during our preliminary meeting was how a program like this works in a Designated Historic District. The purpose of the Historic District Ordinance and Guidelines is to maintain the architectural integrity of Edinburg’s Historic Resources. Accomplishing this might occasionally conflict with suggestions to do things like replacement windows in a historic house. The Architectural Review Board will have an increased number of reviews if the decision is made to pursue something like the Block Grant program. In the meantime; for all of you within the Designated Historic District, please remember to contact the Town Office when you are going to do things like installing replacement windows, vinyl siding or major repairs to the exterior of your historic building.
And while we are on the subject of historic buildings I need to bring you up to date on the Edinburg Mill project. Work has been going on since the Mill was open for the weekend during the Ole Time Festival last September. The area of the building that will be rented for a restaurant should be ready to start showing to prospective tenants this fall. We are currently working on completing the kitchen areas for the restaurant and another area that will be rented as retail space. The fire sprinkler system is back on line and we have finally solved a troublesome roof leak that has plagued us for the last year. We have received the 3-D maps on the River and the Railroad and work will be started again on the Museum to get it ready for reopening again for the 2010 Ole Time Festival. If you are interested in getting involved with the project, we could really use your help right now.
We need people to paint, take up old carpet, clean and help move things like restaurant tables and chairs. We also need people to help organize the museum items and research items for the interpretive signs that will be throughout the Museum. There are specific areas of the Museum that we need help with collecting and coordinating information, and if possible, artifacts for. One is our Broom Making Machine; we need someone to research how the machine actually works and gather drawings or photographs along with step by step instructions explaining how a broom was made. The second item is to construct a display of a blacksmith operation using a large bellows that we currently have. This would also include the information for interpretive signs to explain the display. We don’t expect you to print the signs, we will do that using the information you collect. A third area of interest is a display showing the Edinburg Mill Restaurant years. This could include old menus, a list of the different owners and years of operation, employee photographs, dining room photos or brochures along with any artifacts that might be collected. We already have some items from people who either worked at the Mill or knew someone who did. If you are one of the many who worked at the Mill this would be a great opportunity to take a stroll down memory lane. We currently are working at the Mill every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 8:00 AM until 4:30 PM. If you are interested in helping please give your contact information and when you are available to work to the Town Office, 984-8521. We will be working additional days and weekends as the summer progresses and you don’t really need to be at the Mill to gather information for the items outlined above.
There has been a change in how we can replace members of the Town Council when an elected person must leave before their term expires. In the past the Council had 48 days to replace a Council member and the person was appointed to serve the unexpired term of the person they were replacing. As of July 1, 2010 the Council will still be able to fill a vacancy temporarily by appointment and will then be required to hold a Special Election at the next election cycle. Holding a special election will be a very expensive operation and could cost over $3,000 to do one. Hopefully we won’t have to do too many over the years, but it is bound to happen sometime.
One position that we do not have to hold a special election for is Police Officer. And we recently replaced one with the hiring of John Custer. We are all very pleased to have John working for us and hope to have him around for quite awhile. Please introduce yourself when you see him around Town and make him feel welcome.
John and our other Police Officers are doing a great job of responding to the number one complaint we receive; speeding in Town, especially on Main Street. Now I’m not going to lie and say that I never speed. I have and I probably will again. And every once in awhile I have gotten to personally meet a man in uniform who was so excited to meet me that he asked for my autograph. I was never too happy to get a ticket but most of the times I knew I deserved one. My many years with the Town have changed my driving habits considerably and I now find myself stepping on the brake every time I enter any town. There is a reason the speed limit is reduced going through a town; cars are entering and leaving parking spots, people are crossing the street, people are driving slower looking for that great little shop they saw advertised, someone’s dog just got loose and is about to dash from between 2 parked cars or heaven forbid, its young owner is right behind it. No matter what it might be there is always something that could happen as you cruise through any town. So if you get stopped in Edinburg for going 51 mph instead of the 25 mph speed limit, man-up and take the ticket. You deserve it, you broke the law, so shut your mouth and give the nice officer your autograph.
My example above of going 51 mph in a 25 mph zone is a true one that happened recently. The person involved worked at a local business and felt very strongly that they should not get a ticket. I don’t think this is the type of story Council Member Erin Carver had in mind when she suggested the following. Erin’s suggestion is that we ask residents for stories about life in Edinburg that could be put on the Town’s website. Her thought is that this would be a good way to involve our residents in the website’s content. This is a great idea that hopefully will result in some interesting reading along with giving residents a reason to checkout the Edinburg website more often. In case you don’t know, our web address is www.townofedinburg.org Please contact the Town Office if you have a story you would like to share. You can drop your story off at the Office, mail it to PO Box 85 or email it to town@shentel.net However you get it to us we will make sure that your storytelling skills are soon known to the world.
Since you will soon be contacting us with your best seller anyway; I want to ask everyone’s opinion on two more items. We have received some complaints about the changeable copy sign the Shenandoah County Parks and Recreation is using along Stony Creek Blvd. It has been called “tacky” and out of place in a historic area. Permission was given to place the sign there with the stipulation that it would need to be removed if we received complaints. What do you think about the sign? Please let us know.
The second item is the lighting on the Town’s Christmas Tree. The heavy snow of last winter has caused irreparable damage to the lights on the tree. As we begin planning to re-wire the tree we are interested in hearing from you about what we should do. The tree has always had only white lights on it; should it stay that way or should we consider adding color? The other trees on the lot have reached a size where they could be lit also. Should we consider lighting the smaller trees or continue to just light the large tree? If we do light the smaller trees, should they be lit the same as the large tree? Should they be all in white or have colored lights even if the large tree is done only in white? I know it is hard to think of Christmas trees when it is 90 degrees outside, but we need to begin thinking about this soon if we hope to have it done in time for the holidays this year.
Enjoy the rest of your summer, and I am looking forward to hearing from you about one, two or all of the above items. Thank you in advance for your continued interest in our Town.
Your Mayor, Dan Harshman
