City Council Decides Fate Of Controversial George Snyder Trail Project

FAIRFAX CITY, VA — On a 3 to 3 vote, the Fairfax City Council failed to approve a grant supplemental appropriation of $4.6 million to fund the completion of the controversial George Snyder Trail project.

Councilmembers Anthony Amos, Billy Bates and Stacey Hardy-Chandler voted in support of the grant funding and Councilmembers Stacy Hall, Rachel McQuillen and Tom Peterson voted in opposition.

Mayor Catherine Read did not have the authority to break the tied vote. The city charter and state law prohibit the mayor from breaking ties on matters involving the appropriation of money of more than $500, borrowing money, or levying taxes.

The council then passed a motion to amend the agenda to remove a scheduled resolution to award a trail construction contract to Fort Myer Construction Corporation.

The council then voted 4 to 2 to terminate the project, with Hall, McQuillen, Peterson and Bates voting to cancel the project and Hardy-Chandler and Amos voting in opposition.

With the trail project canceled, it was unclear how the city would repay the $3.7 million in concessionnaire funding it has already spent to finance construction of the trail.

Despite vocal opposition by some residents, the city council voted in June to move forward rather than cancel the project entirely, which would have forced the city to return $3.7 million in concessionaire funding to the Virginia Department of Transportation.

The city had previously been awarded $20.6 million in I-66 Outside the Beltway Project concessionaire funding.

In July, opponents of the trail used a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain documents to determine if the city was obligated to repay the full amount of the concessionaire funding.

One of the documents was a resolution passed by the council and signed by the mayor on Nov. 8, 2016, acknowledging that the city agreed to reimburse VDOT the total amount of costs expended if the project were cancelled. The city also agreed to repay funds previously reimbursed that were later deemed ineligible by the Federal Highway Administration or VDOT.

The funding referred to in the resolution is the concessionaire funding the city received from VDOT, a Fairfax City spokesman told Patch recently. As such, the city was obligated to repay the entire amount of the concessionaire funding that has been spent.

In an Oct. 20 memo, City Manager Bryan Foster notified the mayor and council that the city had received two construction bids for the project, $18.8 million and $17.1 million. Both amounts exceeded the $16 million in unspent funds available in the project account.

"The construction phase cost of the project includes the bid amount, plus third-party construction management, VDOT oversight, and contingency is expected to be $20.6 million, meaning $4.6 million in additional funding is needed," Foster wrote.

Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, the entity that makes recommendations for this funding to the Commonwealth Transportation Board, recommended approval of this funding to the CTB. The CTB approved this funding request at its Jan. 6 meeting.

Once completed, the new trail would've run from Chain Bridge Road/Route 123 and Fairfax Boulevard/U.S. 50, linking two sections of the Gerry Connolly Cross County Trail.

Also See ...

• Tie Votes On Willard-Sherwood Project Alarm Fairfax County Official
• Council Deadlocked On Fate Of George Snyder Trail Project
• George Snyder Trail Bids $4.6M Higher Than Expected