Colonial Beach Town Council

Zoning change to allow small scale production, explanation of how Dodson water agreement deal was created, Fee discounts discussion and pickle ball courts were all on Wednesday’s agenda. Approval of Meeting Minutes: April 6, 2026 and April 15, 2026. Approved 7-0 Council Member Reports Economic Development – goals and objectives were discussed at their last meeting, specifically around the 50+ community. The economic vitality committee is working with businesses on a survey.

Who should have the authority to approve large town fee discounts? ON THE AGENDA - After finding out that certain developers have been charged way below market value for water sewer connection fees I asked that a discussion on the discount process be added to our June work session agenda. My request was "Consideration of amendments to the Town Code of Ordinances regarding authority to grant individual and business fee discounts". Town staff took the liberty to put a long w

Council and Town Manager updates, CIP approved, water sewer increases and Attorney for Lennar financing agreement were all on Wednesday’s agenda. Council Member Announcements Parks and Rec - May’s Dog Days event was cancelled. Town wide yard sale will be May 30th 8a-4p (email sadams@colonialbeachva.gov to get on the sale map). Several events coming up. Planning Commission – 130 Short Term Rentals applications, New Code Enforcement Officer. School - Commented on Saturday’s gr

Dear Citizens of Colonial Beach, I want to start off by saying it’s been an honor working for you as a council member for nearly 5 years. This is not a farewell speech because my term is not up until January but I did want you to know I will not be seeking re-election in the fall. This was not an easy decision because I really feel it is critical to have independent, honest, common-sense people on council and they are not always easy to come by. I feel blessed to have been

Communication Tower approved, water and sewer increase discussions, Fire Department building approval, Capital Improvement Plan and potential for allowing small scale production were all on Wednesday’s agenda. Kenny Allison was absent. Budget Amendment #19-26, Amends and Appropriates FY25-26 Budget, General Fund for VRSA grant proceeds - $1,100 in grant funds moved to general budget. Vote 6-0 Council Member Reports Planning Commission - Community enhancement officer hired. P

Colonial Beach Town Council is proposing Water Sewer Increase Public Hearing Wednesday May 6th at 6:00pm at 22 Washington Ave. There are several items on the agenda including a water and sewer rate increase. The proposed increase is $1.96 a quarter water and $21.44 for sewer which would be $23.40 a quarter so the new bill would be around $410 quarterly. Here's a link to the agenda packet with several public hearings which also includes the communications tower, Fire Depart

Council updates, town manager updates, quarterly reports, budget hearings including water sewer increases set for May 6th , bike fest application approved, approval to enter into North Beach, engineering design contract, and public hearing set for capital improvement plan were all on Wednesday’s agenda. Approval of Meeting Minutes: January 22, 2026, March 10, 2026, and March 18, 2026 - vote 7-0 to approve Resolution #16-26, Amends and Appropriates FY 25-26 Budget, General F

Here’s a brief summary of last Thursday’s meeting. Allowing Towers in Colonial Beach’s commercial zoning. This topic has been discussed for several weeks and at a prior council meeting town staff suggested we have a joint public hearing with the Planning Commission to listen to the proposal and a request for a CUP conditional use permit to allow towers in C1 Zoning. After push back from the public over serious concerns about allowing towers in any commercial zone staff modif

As I promised in my previous blog, I would do my best to get answers on why Boardwalk fees were discounted and if the Town Manager or Assistant Town Manager had the authority to waive water sewer tap (connection) fees. I also shared the memorandum of agreement (MOA) where the Town Manager (Assistant Town Manager at the time) signed off on what appears to be over $160k in discounts. Town Attorneys’ Response and Opinion I requested clarification from the Attorney on who has t

Another Discount - It appears the boardwalk developer somehow got approved for another deep discount on water sewer connection fees for the current project underway on the boardwalk, i.e. phase 3B (between Beach Shop and bathrooms). Preface - Before I get into the details, I want to make it clear, I’m not accusing anyone of wrong doing because I have not seen specific evidence of that at this point. If we have a policy or ordinance that allows large water sewer discounts

Where We Are At – April 15 th we will discuss the budget again and set a public hearing for May 6 th with any proposed changes to the tax and or water/ sewer rates. General Budget - The general budget has its problems but there is no proposed increase so I will mention a few concerns and focus on water and sewer since a significant increase has been proposed. In the last 5 years council (not me) has voted to raise real estate, trash, meals and lodging as well as water and

Town manager updates, School and County updates, Downtown CB report, Economic Development Report, Public hearing set for Fire Department building request, Budget discussion ( with adjusted water/sewer increase proposal ) and Beach erosion planning update were all on Wednesday’s agenda. All members were present, but Mr. Allison was 30 minutes late. I requested to amend the agenda to add an update on the Beach erosion planning which was approved 6-0 Approval of Meeting Minute

Wednesday was our 2026 special budget meeting/ presentation to go over the FY27 town manager’s proposed budget. Below are some highlights: The general fund budget as proposed does not include a tax increase . The water/ sewer proposed budget includes a major increase of $14 a month which ends up being $42 a quarter . The new quarterly bill if passed would be $428. The Town Manager gave an overview which followed recent individual presentations to Council Members. W

Council updates, Recognitions, Communications tower update and Development permit approval were all on Wednesday’s agenda. Meeting Minutes – February 4, 2026 - Approved 7-0 Council Member Liaison Reports Economic Development – Their next meeting will be March 10 at the town center. Tourism committee recently discussed the 250-year anniversary and will be making a presentation to council soon. Public Works – Waterlines were installed and maintenance completed. Waste

$570k in equipment purchases approved, Council updates, Town manager updates (including water meters, North Beach), Subdivision and site plan ordinance updates, 100+ foot communications towers in Commercial zone hearing (vote postponed), and a hearing to approve a development next to town center were all on Wednesday’s agenda. Resolution #12-26, Amends and Appropriates FY26 Budget, General Fund for Trash Truck – Last week I made a motion to cash fund vs debt fund our CIP exp

Council member updates, The cash funding vs debt funding of equipment, Setting a public hearing for 100-foot communications towers being allowed in commercial zoning and Assigning signature authority were all items on Wednesdays work session agenda. Meeting Minutes – January 21, 2026 - Vote to approve 7-0 Council Member Liaison Reports - I posted the new liaison roles in my January 21st blog Parks and Rec - the voluntary recruiting event was successful. Several events com

Town Manager and other updates, Administrative votes for the upcoming yearly activities, Appointment of liaisons and vote for new Vice Mayor, New Parks and Rec Commission members, Vote to spend $300K, and Discussion to take on $700K in debt were all on the agenda Wednesday Approval of November 19, 2025, and December 17, 2025, Meeting Minutes - Vote 7-0 Council Member Liaison and Commission Reports - Public Safety - The Chief gave an update on the incident where an off

Believe it or not my blog post on the Subdivision Ordinance got more attention than most of the other posts I've done over the years. It's obvious people are skeptical of the towns ability to handle expansion and not do things behind closed doors. The way the agenda item was advertised is as follows "ZONING TEXT AMENDMENT, ZTA 25-05 AMENDMENT TO SUBDIVISION ORDINANCE - REVIEW PROCESS AND TIMING". I was fairly well versed in the subject and still had trouble following the me