Monday, October 26, 2026

Fredericksburg · Stafford · Spotsylvania · Caroline

Good morning, FXBG.

You've got your Halloween plans from yesterday. Today we're back to the stuff that shows up on your tax bill and in your kids' classrooms. Two county boards have big decisions on the table this week, and a few new doors are opening around town.

In today's Rundown:

Spotsylvania supervisors are scheduled to take a vote-only action Tuesday night on changes to the county's solid-waste ordinance. The headline item is a proposed Residential Refuse Permit: a $50-a-year hangtag you'd need to use the county's convenience sites, with a $200 replacement fee if you lose it.

The board put off the vote on Oct. 13 after residents lined up to object. Their point was simple: they already pay taxes for this. One former convenience-site worker said an earlier paid decal program got abused, with extras resold to out-of-county contractors. One resident joked he'd split the cost of a hangtag with family "like I do with Netflix."

The county's case is that the permit would bring in about $1.4 million from an expected 30,000 households. Staff say that works out to about $3 a month in savings on the taxes for a median-priced home. Some changes are already in place under this year's budget: sites now close Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and construction debris is accepted only at Livingston. Staff say daily traffic at the Chancellor site is down by about half.

Will the fee survive? Hard to say. Livingston Supervisor Jacob Lane said he'd move to strip the hangtag from the ordinance. Supervisors David Goosman and Chris Yakabouski also sounded skeptical last time. Comments on this item are closed, since the public hearing already happened, but the same meeting has a 5:45 p.m. public hearing on the county's new Comprehensive Plan. That's the long-range land-use plan, and it includes the policy capping data centers at 45% of industrial land.

Background on the vote → https://www.fredericksburgfreepress.com/2026/10/14/spotsylvania-board-of-supervisors-tables-action-on-solid-waste-ordinance/

Meeting agendas → https://www.spotsylvania.va.us/1539/Meeting-Agendas

Data-center FAQ and the 45% policy → https://www.spotsylvania.va.us/3241/Data-Center-FAQs

Lewis & Clark Elementary in Ladysmith is over capacity. The Caroline school division is 68 students above its projected enrollment this year, and 43 of those students are at Lewis & Clark. At last Monday's school board meeting, a parent said his autistic son's class of 12, plus a teacher and three aides, meets in what he called "a glorified storage closet" with no window and no bathroom. He also described a pickup line where parked cars block buses.

The school board's short-term fix is modular classrooms, which worked at Bowling Green Elementary last year. To pay for them, it wants supervisors to release about $983,000 in leftover money from fiscal 2025. Supervisors pulled that item from their Oct. 13 agenda. Chair Clay Forehand says some members won't meet with the school board until it guarantees a gym and new classrooms at Bowling Green Elementary. The school board backs the gym. It worries more classrooms would push that school, which already has more than 850 students, toward 1,000, and it would rather build a new elementary school.

Meanwhile, steel prices and factory wait times for the trailers keep climbing. One school board member has asked for a town hall at Lewis & Clark. No date has been announced yet, and we'll pass it along when there is one.

The full story → https://www.fredericksburgfreepress.com/2026/10/22/caroline-school-board-supervisors-remain-at-impasse/

Patient First opens its new location at 1313 Alum Spring Rd this Thursday, Oct. 29. That's a handy walk-in option for the side of town near Route 3.

Dave's Hot Chicken is set to open by Nov. 7 at 1999 Carl D. Silver Pkwy in Central Park. A new Under Armour store is already open just down the street.

Mary Washington Ortho Urgent Care is now open at 4900 Plank Rd in Spotsylvania. It takes walk-ins for sprains, breaks and other bone and joint problems. Good to know before the next trampoline incident.

Looking further ahead, Venture X plans to open a 20,000-square-foot coworking space on the entire fifth floor of 475 Aquia Towne Center Dr in Stafford, with 90-plus private offices. The target opening is spring 2027. After years of neighbors wondering what's next for Aquia Town Center, it's at least a sign of life.

Biz Beat Roundup → https://www.fredericksburgfreepress.com/2026/10/21/biz-beat-roundup-popular-chains-opening-in-central-park/

🚧 Late-night I-95 drivers: VDOT has rolling single-lane closures for bridge washing Monday through Friday, 7 p.m. to 6 a.m., between Exit 104 (Carmel Church) and Exit 148 (Quantico).

🏛️ 204 Lewis St.: A circuit judge ruled that the Historic Fredericksburg Foundation doesn't have standing to appeal the city's approval to demolish the building. The judge said the foundation couldn't show it would suffer "particularized harm."

🗳️ One week until Election Day (Tue., Nov. 3, 6 a.m.–7 p.m.). Early voting continues on weekdays, and the last early-voting Saturday is Oct. 31.

🎷 Mark your calendar: UMW music students play the 13th annual Jazz4Justice concert on Nov. 7 at Dodd Auditorium. Proceeds go to student scholarships and to free legal help through Legal Aid Works.

If the hangtag passes, expect a lot of family group chats asking "who's got the dump pass this weekend?" Residents at the hearing were already predicting that the passes would get shared. That's exactly the kind of abuse the county said it was trying to stop.

Spotsy folks: would you pay $50 a year for the convenience sites, or would you rather see it rolled into your taxes? Hit reply and tell me. I read every one.

Know a Caroline parent who'd want the Lewis & Clark update? Forward this their way.

The FXBG Rundown

A little more local. A lot more interesting.