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UMW, neighbors to chat

City, university to start talking more often

BY EMILY BATTLE

Date published: 3/28/2007

BY EMILY BATTLE

Fredericksburg and University of Mary Washington officials could be talking more in the future.

On April 26, representatives from the neighborhoods around the university, along with City Council members and city staff, will gather with UMW President William Frawley and other school officials.

Clyde Matthews, president of the College Heights Civic Association, says he hopes the meeting will be the start of a formal town-gown committee where concerns between the college and city could be shared on a more regular basis.

Matthews said he was heartened to hear Frawley bring up the idea of such a committee when he first met him last summer.

"I feel the communication is much better than it's been in the past, and it certainly can be better, and that's what we're hoping to do with the town-gown committee," Matthews said.

The groups should have plenty to talk about.

Concerns over trailers the university has put on College Avenue, its decision to buy two homes on that road and worries about UMW's impact on stormwater issues in the College Terrace neighborhood have all surfaced in recent months.

The trailers have sparked a particularly strong response from residents of the College Heights neighborhood. The structures are housing displaced employees while the school renovates Lee Hall.

While Matthews feels he was made aware of the plan to install the trailers ahead of time, not everyone agrees.

Matt Boyd, who lives directly across College Avenue from the temporary buildings, said the only communication he remembers is a notice a couple of days before the university closed the road to install the trailers.

He said he knew about them beforehand only because he had asked the workers who were preparing the site what was going on.

The university is building a stone wall with a fence on top to screen the trailers from view.

"Our options with those trailers were very limited," said Richard Hurley, UMW's vice president for administration and finance. "We certainly didn't want to take that green space away. It takes away from the look of the campus."

Still, the prospect that the trailers could be in place through the fall of 2011, as renovations to various other campus buildings follow Lee Hall, has some folks concerned.

Fredericksburg city officials, UMW staff members and College Heights residents will have discussions about: The university's use of temporary trailers on College Avenue UMW's purchase of two large houses on College Avenue Lost parking because of a new tennis center on Hanover Avenue Too many students living in rental units around the university 1201 William St. After renovation, this house and its neighbor could house up to 30 offices for professors. 1004 College Ave. Contract price is $1.1 million for the 5,000-square-foot home, constructed in 1975. College Avenue The trailers will be used while renovations are done at other buildings on the university's campus.

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Date published: 3/28/2007