The Bull Run Mountain Civic Association has a goal of providing the best services to all Bull Run Mountain Subdivision residents. Supervisor Candland does not believe that to be the case, and has proposed resolutions to the PWC Board of County Supervisors, he feels will lead to a different community than the one in which we now live. All residents of Bull Run Mountain that live within the PWC Service authority have received letters from Supervisor Candland stating what he believes to be the issues. This post and the attachments detail the BRMCA response to Supervisor Candland.
Below is the summary from the BRMCA to the residents of the mountain. The full letter is here. Also of note is the letter the attorney for the BRMCA sent to the PWC County Attorney here. If you would like to revisit Supervisor Candland’s letter it is here.
As always the BRMCA Board is always here to listen. Drop us an email at board@brmca.net
Josh Weinstein, President
Dear Bull Run Mountain Residents,
You probably have now received a letter from Supervisor Candland discussing his views and proposed solution to the governance of our mountain roads. In addition, if you’ve either read his website, or seen some the material that has been posted on the www.brmca.net site, you are likely totally confused about the issues.
We hope we can help clear up a few issues on this controversy.
Here’s the summary: Supervisor Candland is proposing a county-sponsored roads committee to replace the current BRMCA Roads Committee (which he contends doesn’t exist), and the BRMCA believes this proposal would violate the contract that the BRMCA has had with the county for 24 years for roads maintenance. We do not need to fix something that’s not broken.
On to issues we have with his letter. First, in the second paragraph of Supervisor Candland’s letter, he makes reference to a “few years ago when the [Roads Committee] was disbanded.” Candland is referring to a letter written by BRMCA President Alan Bratburd in 2008 where he notified the county that the BRMCA roads committee was being reorganized. The Roads Committee was reorganized because of a lack of participation by mountain residents. Since residents, member or non-member, were not attending the BRMCA Roads Committee meetings, the BRMCA Board of Directors volunteered to assume the Road Committee duties.
This action, six years ago, represents the start of the current controversy. However, until Candland’s recent newfound concern about our roads, the interactions between the County Supervisor, Public Works, and the BRMCA has been business as usual, with road maintenance performed in the spring, summer, and fall, along with snow cleared during the winter.
The BRMCA has retained an attorney to look into the legal issues of this matter. The original Bull Run Mountain developer established the BRMCA, and granted the BRMCA the quitclaim deed to the private roads, thus the responsibility and liability that goes along with road maintenance. Our attorney wrote a letter to County Attorney Angela Horan this week that outlines our legal position. You can read that letter here, which goes into great detail laying out our rights.
In summary, our position, now confirmed by our legal advisor, is that:
- The roads committee was never disbanded, contrary to the original opinion of a former county attorney. Indeed, the county continued to interact with the roads committee for the next five years, proving that it was not eliminated. When something is disbanded or dissolved, it goes away. The BRMCA Roads Committee did not. The BRMCA Roads committee, as established by the original Road Agreement, continues without interruption. Supervisor Candland is trying to create a roads committee to replace the existing roads committee defined by a contract, not create one where a void exists. The Roads Agreement established three legs in the maintenance of our roads in the Service District, Public Works, and the BRMCA. The contract clearly prevents unilateral changes, such as the one Supervisor Candland is proposing.
- The BRMCA owns the right of way to the roads, and while it has transferred the maintenance rights to the County Public Works office by the Roads Agreement, the BRMCA legally retains the right to determine how the roads are maintained. Supervisor Candland’s roads committee, if established, would violate the 24-year contract with the county.
The rest of the Letter to Mountain residents refuting Supervisor Candland’s assertions is here.
