Led by Director Matt Villareale the Department of Facilities & Fleet builds County facilities, manages office space, maintains buildings and grounds, keeps vehicles on the road, and performs a variety of services to ensure the County government is up and running. Re-accredited in 2020 by the American Public Works Association, the department recently received a 2022 Project of the Year and three Honorable Mention awards from the Mid-Atlantic Chapter (issue 103).

Facilities and Fleet Management also assists community members and organizations in reserving meeting spaces in several County buildings and investigate Americans with Disabilities (ADA) complaints. As a local government, PWC is subject to Title II of the ADA. Title II protects qualified individuals with disabilities from discrimination on the basis of disability in the services, programs, activities, or benefits of all State and local governments.

Monday, February 14, Chair Wheeler participated in PWC Public Libraires' Blind Date with a Book program at the Montclair Branch in Dumfries. Branch Manager Ha Hoang assisted Chair Wheeler as she selected her wrapped book from an intriguing description and gave her a tour of the branch. Keep up to date on all the happenings at the library by visiting its events webpage, Explore-Magazine, Facebook page, and Twitter feed.

Thursday, February 17, Chair Wheeler met with Chief Justice, the Honorable Kimberly A. Irving, of the Prince William Circuit Court (issue 101) about the continuing operations and needs of the court. The 31st Judicial Circuit Court of Virginia is the trial court of general jurisdiction in PWC and has the authority to try a full range of both civil and criminal cases. Civil cases involve disputes essentially private in nature between two or more parties; criminal cases are controversies between the Commonwealth and persons accused of a crime. Only in the Circuit Court is a jury provided for the trial of many of these disputes and controversies.

February 21 through 26, the County will distribute free, at-home COVID-19 test kits at the libraries while supplies last. Residents do not need a library card or proof of residency to pick up a free testing kit. A maximum of two test kits per individual may be requested. It is suggested residents call their desired library location to ensure kits are still available.

Following closure of the COVID-19 Community Testing Center (CTC) at Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbridge (issue103), the Prince William Health District will be providing flexible community testing through the CTC+ initiative. The vendor operated van will travel throughout the region in support of expanding testing to communities that have low access. Upcoming CTC+ events will be:

Visit the PWHD's COVID-19 testing webpage, Facebook page, or Twitter feed for news on future locations. For additional information on testing options, visit the VDH COVID-19 testing webpage.

The agenda and information on how to participate in Public Comment time for the March 1 meetings will be in the next issue.

Saturday, February 19, from 9:00 am to 11:00 am, Director David Sinclair of the Office of Management and Budget will present the Proposed FY2023 Budget and the Proposed FY2023-2028 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) at a live virtual community meeting. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions during the session. Registration is required and can be completed here.

Thursday, March 3, at 6:00 pm, the PWC Planning Office is hosting an in-person community meeting on the Data Center Overlay Comprehensive Review at the Gainesville High School Auditorium. An open house by County agencies will be followed by public comment time at 6:30 pm. This is an opportunity for the public to provide in-person comment prior to the development of a draft overlay map. There will be no formal staff presentation. Pre-registration to speak in person is not required. Virtual public comment will not be available. This meeting replaces a cancelled in-person portion of a public engagement meeting on January 20 (issue 99).

PWC has hired Giulia Manno as the new Environmental and Energy Sustainability Officer in the Office of Executive Management. She will join PWC on March 21 focusing on facilitating the creation of PWC’s energy and sustainability master plan. She will also be kicking-off the first meeting of the Sustainability Commission soon after her start date. Ms. Manno brings over 10 years of experience in supporting large institutions and communities in reducing their environmental footprint.

Tuesday, February 22, from 10:00 am to 11:00 pm, the Human Services Alliance of Greater Prince William (The Alliance) is hosting a virtual tutorial on using the online Foundant grant management platform to complete and submit a proposal for the ARPA Community Grant Program (issue 102). Register to attend the grant tutorial here.

The PWC Department of Development Services’ (issue 100) Small Business Program achieved its highest yearly results on record in 2021 with 401 small business owners “Open for Business.” This number reflects an increase of 80, compared to 2020. The last quarter of 2021 had the highest volume in any quarter in the past three years and yielded the largest square footage for the year, with 145,526 square feet of occupied space. Read the full report here.

Wednesday, February 16, Governor Glenn Youngkin signed Senate Bill 739 (issue 103) into law, ending school mask mandates. The legislation passed through the Virginia General Assembly quickly, clearing the Senate last week and House of Delegates on Monday, February 15. The bill requires schools to comply no later than Tuesday, March 1.

Registration is open for series of intensive introductory courses by the Clearbrook Center of the Arts, a member of the Prince William County Arts Council (issue 80), and HAW Productions. Students taking Acting for Stage and Screen will be coached on basic acting skills and stage movement techniques. Musical Theatre students will work on singing technique, acting through song, and participate in singing lessons.

Courses are 4 hours per week for 8 weeks starting in mid-March. Students will be preparing and performing a program of work that will showcase professional potential. Adult classes are for ages 16 and older and Youth classes are for ages 7-15. No prior experience is needed. Learn more and register here.

Registration opens Tuesday, March 8, for PWC Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism's Summer Camps. Specialty camps will range from arts to sports plus everything in between. Full day traditional style summer camps for ages 3-17 will have popular themes each week at 14 locations throughout PWC. Information for the 2022 season will be available soon on the department's webpage. You can find FAQs here.

Saturday, February 19, at 11:00 am, the PWC Police Department is hosting the Prince William Polar Plunge (issue 102) to support Special Olympics Virginia at Leesylvania State Park. Register to participate or donate here.

Saturday, February 26, from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, Keep Prince William Beautiful is holding its first clean up event of 2022 (issue 102) along Alder Lane in Manassas adjacent to Barron Park. Register for the event here.