News Around the Hill

03/07/2020

The March issue of News aRound the Hill is now online at www.newsaroundthehill.org.

03/03/2020

Town of Round Hill

Town of Round Hill

Planning Commission Meeting scheduled for today, March 3, 2020 has been cancelled. The next meeting will be April 7, 2020.

02/03/2020

Round Hill Hometown Festival

The Round Hill Hometown Festival is seeking members of our planning committee for this year’s annual event, which will be held on Saturday, May 23.
Of immediate need: a SPONSORSHIP/T-SHIRT COORDINATOR. If you’re organized and enjoy reaching out to local businesses, and have just a couple of hours a week to devote to making the BEST DAY OF THR YEAR IN ROUND HILL possible, please comment below or send a PM to the page.
Other volunteer opportunities also available! Limited meetings; most committee work is handled via email — schedule is completely flexible.
We look forward to hearing from YOU!

02/01/2020

Round Hill Hometown Festival

The Round Hill Hometown Festival is seeking members of our planning committee for this year’s annual event, which will be held on Saturday, May 23.
Of immediate need: a SPONSORSHIP/T-SHIRT COORDINATOR. If you’re organized and enjoy reaching out to local businesses, and have just a couple of hours a week to devote to making the BEST DAY OF THR YEAR IN ROUND HILL possible, please comment below or send a PM to the page.
Other volunteer opportunities also available! Limited meetings; most committee work is handled via email — schedule is completely flexible.
We look forward to hearing from YOU!

01/27/2020

Round Hill Arts Center

Round Hill Arts Center

There's still time to register for our 3rd annual Appalachian Trail Art Show! By registering and paying the registration fee (adults only, k-12 students can enter for free), you are guaranteed a place in the exhibit. Participants are allowed up to three pieces. Drop off will be this Friday through Sunday. Check out our website for more info.

https://www.roundhillartscenter.org/events-1/2020-appalachian-trail-art-show

12/19/2019

Town of Round Hill

Town of Round Hill

Holiday Trash Schedule for those who get their trash picked up on Wednesdays by Patriot Disposal:
December 25th’s trash will be picked up on Saturday, December 28th.
January 1st’s trash will be picked up on Saturday, January 4th.

12/16/2019

Santa will visit areas South of town (Loudoun Street) on Saturday, Dec. 21st and then the town and areas North of Loudoun Street on Sunday, Dec. 22nd! We will also be accepting Toys For Tots and non-perishable food bank donations during his tour!

We will also travel through Brentwood Springs (not yet on our map)! We normally start around 9:30 AM until finished on each day. Listen for the sirens....Santa's Coming! (Note: Click on the first image and then arrow over for the next one)

11/21/2019

Town of Round Hill

Town of Round Hill

Calling All Artists: You are invited to submit artwork for our 3rd Annual Appalachian Trail Art Show!

Hosted by the Round Hill Outdoors Committee and the Round Hill Arts Center, our Appalachian Trail Art Show celebrates the Trail and the surrounding Great Outdoors. Submissions are due February 2, 2020. For all ages and a variety of mediums!

The A.T. is a designated National Scenic Trail that stretches 2,200 miles from Maine to Georgia. It’s right in our backyard, less than 5 miles away, with local hotspots like Bear’s Den and Raven Rocks. Help us to connect our community with the A.T. by sharing your art!

https://www.roundhillartscenter.org/events-1/2020-appalachian-trail-art-show?fbclid=IwAR3SdMK0PmBTRJnicUF_h6mKSCQDnOPOxjFMbot5jYJjss95OkJJeSq5_BM

11/21/2019

The Town of Round Hill is preparing for anticipated increases in traffic from the Hillsboro Rt. 9 road improvements expected for construction as early as next year.
The Town is particularly concerned because its own Main Street improvements and the long-anticipated Franklin Park Trail project have just completed their construction bidding period and may also be under construction at the same time.
The Town met with VDOT and Hillsboro representatives on Sept. 30 and the Town sent a letter on Oct. 1 outlining its requested changes to the traffic management plan.
Some of those items have since been addressed, in particular the formal designation of Allder School Road and Hillsboro Road as an official local detour in addition to the regional detour already planned on Rt. 340.
But several items on the Town's list have not yet been accomplished; the Town is currently following up with VDOT to clarify the process for each and get them in motion.
These include additional signage at the intersection of Evening Star and Woodgrove Road to direct southbound travelers to use Evening Star to reach Rt. 7 instead of Main Street; to close Main Street between Greenwood Drive and Rt. 7 business to thru truck traffic; and to install either temporary or permanent signalization to the Rt. 7 business/Evening Star Drive intersection.

11/21/2019

The Town Council held its annual strategic planning work session on Wednesday, Oct. 30, to establish priorities for projects in the coming year as well as for next year's budget.
As in previous years, the focus was on how to best use staff time and other resources on a large backlog of projects.
“This work session has become our most important tool for setting, and keeping, priorities during the year,” said Mayor Scott Ramsey.
The work session began with a review of projects completed or substantially advanced since last year’s stragetic planning meeting. These included:
• Advancing the Main Street Enhancement Project to the bid stage (bids were opened Nov. 5)
• Replacement of Town streetlights with energy-efficient LEDs
• Replacement of benches and tables in the Town Park on Loudoun Street, as well as upgrading electrical lines for the holiday light display and Hometown Festival
• Construction of Yatton Road water main loop and connection of Well 12 to the Westlake treatment plant
• Connection of Well 22A to the Evening Star treatment plant
• Emergency generator installation for the Stoneleigh wells
• Upgrades to the Wastewater Treatment Plant and SCADA used to monitor and control remote utility facilities
The meeting then proceeded to review the results of a council survey and identification of carryover projects that had near-universal consensus and are thus considered high priority, including:
• Design and preparation for construction of the Southern Water Tank
• Acquisition and development of another well (site has been identified, negotiations with owner in progress)
• Additional emergency generators at the Goose Creek Water Treatment Plant
• Sleeter Lake Park upgrades including permanent rest rooms, pavilion, ADA features and expanded boat storage
• Construction of the Main Street sidewalk project
• Sale of the large reservoir property formerly used as the primary water supply for the Town
• Zoning Ordinance amendments to more easily allow new uses for non-conforming commercial properties
Finally, the remaining projects in the survey that did not get full consensus were each discussed by the council in turn. After that discussion, the council voted on which of those projects should also be high priority. These were:
• Renovations to the Town Office including roof repair and siding replacement
• Design of a new office for the Wastewater Treatment Plant
• Boundary Line Adjustment (BLA) to expand Town boundaries
• Design and grant application for a sidewalk extension from New Cut Road going south to the Hayman Lane and Lake Ridge Estates neighborhoods
Several projects on the survey that were not voted as high priority will still be kept under consideration in future years, including:
• Decorative street-lights for Main Street and Loudoun Street
• Town beautification such as banners and planters
• Leaf collection service
• Modernization of the Town Code and Town Charter
• Development of the 2-acre civic lot proffered in the Creekside rezoning
“It becomes obvious by the end of the work session that we still have an enormous backlog of projects,” Ramsey said. “For a Town our size, we have a lot on our plate.”
Town staff will now be compiling all the results from the work session and updating the Town Strategic Plan as well as using the results from this work session to prepare the Town Budget and Capital Improvement Plan for FY20-21, which the Town Council will begin reviewing in early spring.

11/20/2019

IMPACTED NEIGHBORHOODS INVITED TO INFO SESSIONS ON POSSIBLE TOWN EXPANSION
The Town of Round Hill is restarting its public outreach for Town expansion with a series of meetings that are focused on specific neighborhoods.
The first public information session of this kind will be held Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. in the Town Office for the neighborhoods of Fallswood, Mystic Lane and West Loudoun.
Letters have been mailed to all landowners in those neighborhoods inviting them to the public information session.
The general public is also welcome to attend, but the focus of the session will be on informing and gathering feedback from landowners and residents in those specific neighborhoods.
Another session for the neighborhood of Brentwood Springs is planned for a mid-December date to be announced. A third omnibus session in January will be held for residents invited to one of the previous two sessions who could not attend their specific session or who want more information on Town expansion.
For more information on Town expansion, contact Town Administrator Melissa Hynes at [email protected] or the mayor at [email protected].

11/01/2019

Town of Round Hill

Nighttime Drone Survey for LED Street Lights

The Town of Round Hill has contracted with Flying Fox UAV, a professional aerial acquisition company based out of Lovettsville, Virginia, to take a nighttime survey of Main Street, Loudoun Street, Lake Ridge Estates and Creekside. This survey will document the before/after illumination of the new LED streetlight installation process that is in its final phase and show the benefits of the dark sky compliant lights.

This work will occur during the early nighttime hours on Tuesday (11/5/19) and Wednesday (11/6/19) of next week. This work should be silent with no negative impact on the residents. During this survey, the Town will take a video of the neighborhoods from several hundred feet in the air and then at a road level view to simulate the view seen by drivers. At all times, the privacy of the public and houses will be maintained, and no images will be taken looking into windows of the homes. All staff from Flying Fox UAV will be in company vehicles with proper identification when they are operating drones in the street area. In addition, this company is licensed by the FAA to complete these flights and aerial surveys.

11/01/2019

Town of Round Hill

Town of Round Hill

As of November 1st, Sleeter Lake Park is closed for the 2019 Season.

It will open for the 2020 Season on March 1st, 2020.

10/08/2019

Town of Round Hill

Town of Round Hill

Stoneleigh Valve Repair Scheduled for October 9th

During the water main break on October 4th, the Town had to close two valves and one of the valves began to leak a small amount when the system was brought back online. While it is a small leak now, the valve is in a critical location for our system and seldom do leaks in this type of valve go away, so we have proactively scheduled this emergency repair for Wednesday (October 9, 2019) starting in the morning at 8 AM.

This valve repair should be a lot less disruptive than the leak the other night because it is a controlled project where we aren’t losing large amounts of water from a break. It is the Town’s plan to shut down valves at Prestwick/Stoneleigh Drive and Dornoch/Stoneleigh Drive. This should isolate the section where the valve needs to be replaced. Unlike the leak the other night, we expect all the upper section above the intersection of Dornoch/Stoneleigh Drive to remain in water without any pressure impacts since the tank is full. There will be approximately 15 homes and the golf course that may see some impacts which could include reduced pressure or interruption of water service. We estimate this repair will take about 4 hours.

During this period, we have coordinated with the Fire Department to make sure they have additional tankers dispatched on any structure fire as a precaution.

Thank you again for your patience as we make additional improvement to the Stoneleigh Water System.

10/07/2019

Town of Round Hill

Town of Round Hill

VDOT begins Paving on Business 7 from Round Hill to Purcellville.
VDOT owns and maintains all the public streets in the Town of Round Hill and has complete control of the maintenance and paving. In early Spring of this year, the Town received notice that all of Loudoun Street would be paved during the summer paving season. The Town did not have the ability to select sections or reallocate the money in lieu of paving to put towards the Main Street Enhancement Project & Franklin Park Trail (that is currently out to bid and will begin this Spring).

The Town Council formally asked VDOT to conduct paving work during the day to reduce impact to residents. They also asked to give the Town Office two weeks’ notice along with a notice to all the residents impacted on Loudoun Street. VDOT formally agreed to the advance public notice but declined the request for daytime work. The work start date has changed several times in the last 4 months but last month, the Town was informed that the work would begin the end of October with adequate notice to all parties. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen, and the contractor moved in Saturday and started the work Sunday night with no advance notice to the Town and residents. The Mayor contacted VDOT this morning (10/7/19) to express his frustrations on behalf of the residents.

This project work calls for one more night of milling and then approximately three nights of paving, once all the milling is complete to Purcellville. The Town has asked VDOT for more details on timing and we are awaiting their update which we will provide once received.

Please keep in mind that this paving work is a different project than the Main Street Enhancement Project & Franklin Park Trail which will install stormwater lines under Main Street and East Loudoun Street, along with curb, gutter and streetlight conduits. This project is a longer term project scheduled to start in 2020. This paving project is only general maintenance and not a long term solution to challenges with stormwater or pedestrian accessibility in Downtown Round Hill.

The Mayor and Town Council apologize for any inconvenience that this project may have caused the residents of Round Hill, and promises that any future project managed by the Town will always take into consideration the impact to the public and try to minimize any impacts or inconveniences.

10/04/2019

Town of Round Hill

Town of Round Hill

NOTICE: There is a water line break at Stoneleigh along Stoneleigh Drive. The Town Utility Staff are heading over now to manage the situation. We will keep you posted as we find out more information. Please use caution when driving along Stoneleigh Drive.

07/15/2019

Town of Round Hill

Town of Round Hill

Work is being done on the Stoneleigh well today. We are asking that residents in the Stoneleigh subdivision conserve on their water usage to help the process go smoothly.

07/12/2019

Town of Round Hill

Town of Round Hill

News Release:
Round Hill Seeks New Town Council Member Following Unexpected Vacancy

The Round Hill Town Council is looking for residents interested in being appointed by the Town Council to fill a vacant Council seat until a special election can be held for that seat in May 2020. Council Member Fred Lyne submitted a letter of resignation from his position on the Town Council. In accordance with the Code of Virginia § 24.2-228, the Town Council will fill the vacancy on an interim basis by appointment until the regular Town elections in May 2020. At that time there will be an opportunity for the appointee and/or another candidate to run and be elected for the remainder of Mr. Lyne’s term of office, which runs until June 30, 2022.

Only residents who presently live and have lived within the Town’s corporate limits for a minimum of six months are eligible to fill this vacancy. The Town Council meets regularly on the first and third Thursday of every month at 8:00 p.m. as well as special meetings as required. Interested individuals must send a letter of interest and resume to the attention of the Town Administrator ([email protected]) and Mayor Scott Ramsey ([email protected]) or to the Town Office at 23 Main Street, PO Box 36, Round Hill, VA 20142-0036 by August 31, 2019. Residents may contact the Town Administrator with any questions at 540-338-7878.

07/01/2019

Town of Round Hill

Town of Round Hill

The Town park is closed due to new furniture being installed AND repairs being made to damaged playground equipment.
**Do not enter the park and use the play equipment until the Town reopens the park***

06/19/2019

The Town of Round Hill received its official Appalachian Trail Community designation at a ceremony on Saturday during the Appalachian Trail Festival at B Chord Brewery.
The designation is designed to recognize communities that promote and protect the AT. Mayor Scott Ramsey and several members of the Town Council, Town staff, and members of the Round Hill Outdoors committee were on hand to accept the designation and proclamation.