PW Supervisors Lack Consensus

Prince William County Supervisors can't seem to agree on much of anything lately.

For more than a year they put off making a decision about what to do with 230 acres of parkland in the western end of Prince William County. After a late night meeting earlier this week, the board put it off again.

This time supervisors asked County Executive Craig S.Gerhart to fix it.

The property, commonly referred to as Silver Lake, was donated to the county by Toll Brothers in late 2006. The board wants to transfer it to one of three recreational groups.

The Prince William Park Authority, the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority and the Bull Run Mountains Conservancy each submitted proposals to create and care for the land.

Supervisors remain split over the conservancy and the local party authority.

Supervisor Frank J. Principi, who is new to the board, requested senior staff sit down with representatives of the Bull Run Mountain Conservancy and the Prince William Park Authority to seek "a blended solution" on the use of the land.

Gerhart said this morning that "ownership is key," and he will arrange a meeting "sooner, rather than later. But it's going to take a little bit of time."

Don't expect it to come back before the board adopts a budget later this month.

---by Kristen Mack