By Brian Trompeter
With the clock ticking down on the conclusion of their terms and no more meetings scheduled for this year, three Vienna Town Council members who will be stepping down at year’s end on Dec. 4 expounded on their experiences and thanked their colleagues.
First up was Nisha Patel, who said serving on the Council had been an “amazing adventure” and she had enjoyed giving back to the town.
“This is such a bittersweet moment, because I’ve had such a great time,” said Patel, who first was elected in 2019. “It has been quite the experience. I have learned so much from all of you. I have learned volumes. It’s just been an amazing growth experience for me.”
Patel thanked Town Attorney Steven Briglia for regularly clarifying matters for her and credited Council member Ray Brill Jr. for being the “common-sense voice on the Council.” She also credited Town Clerk Melanie Clark with keeping the Council on track and remarked on Town Manager Mercury Payton’s professionalism, saying he had made the Council’s life easier, despite juggling myriad responsibilities and raising eight children.
Patel thanked Council member Charles Anderson for his open-minded decision making and colleague Howard Springsteen, who she said embodies the town, for his guidance and mentoring.
“I’m so glad you’re staying on the Council, because the town really does need you,” she told Springsteen.
Patel said she had come to know and appreciate Mayor Linda Colbert for all the extra work she does for the town.
“You give it your heart and soul,” Patel said. “It’s clear that you love this town.”
Council member Steve Potter, who also first was elected in 2019 and will step down this month, said serving on the body had been a “99-percent happy experience.”
“We don’t always agree, but we haven’t had any terrible disagreements,” he told his colleagues. “I just wish you continued luck as you move forward with your new challenges. I know you can all do it.”
The third departing Council member, Ed Somers, echoed one of Brill’s favorite phrases: “We’re so blessed to live in this community.”
The town’s success has been built by its residents, volunteers, professional staff, town manager and elected officials, said Somers, who was elected in 2020 and had his term extended by more than a year to allow for a new November election cycle that began this year.
“This is a blessed community and I’ve been blessed with each and every one of you,” Somers said. “Monday nights are going to be very lonely for me. I’ll be thinking of all of you and I know that great things are ahead of Vienna. I’m proud of what we accomplished. You have made me a better person and I will carry my memories of you with me for the rest of my life.”
Colbert presented the departing trio with plaques honoring their service and said the Council had served as a “functional family” – something not to be taken for granted, if stories swapped at annual Virginia Municipal League conferences are true.
The mayor credited Potter with thoroughly researching issues, said Patel “brought the fire” and different perspectives to the Council, and called Somers a “consistent, thoughtful person.”
“If he raises his hand, he’s going to say something that floors us all,” she said of Somers.
Town Manager Mercury Payton gave Patel, Somers and Potter a framed photo of the Council that had been signed by him and Vienna’s department heads and constitutional officers.
Payton marveled at how much the Council had accomplished in recent years. The Council since 2020 has managed the pandemic, updated the town’s zoning code, addressed tree-canopy loss, bought the former Faith Baptist Church and designated the property for future town use, enacted a separate public-safety pay scale to help with officer recruitment and retention, approved an array of housing options and established Liberty Amendments Month, Payton said.
In addition, the Council authorized more than 3 miles’ worth of new sidewalk construction, approved rebuilding plans for Southside Park, supported the town’s new Economic Development Department and entered into a joint agreement with Fairfax County to build a new Patrick Henry Library and a parking structure that will have 84 municipal-parking spaces, Payton noted.
“All of you did this willingly, despite competing demands for your time with work and family obligations, and in that time you all did extraordinary things . . . in a time that was exceptionally challenging,” he said.
Springsteen thanked Potter, Somers and Patel for their service.
“It’s been a pleasure,” he said. “You clearly do this because you care about Vienna . . . We don’t always agree, but it was a pleasure serving with you. Thanks a lot.”
Anderson concurred and also thanked those members’ families, who had endured absences and difficulties while the Council members served.
“We oftentimes forget about our spouses and kids,” Anderson said. “They make great sacrifices so we can sit up here. I know that they put up with scrambling on weekends to go through the agenda, late nights on Monday and countless meetings and things like that.”
Brill said the departing members did their work “full of spirit, grace and commitment.”
“We can’t thank you enough,” Brill said. “You’ve made us better. You’ve challenged us, you’ve tried to reorient our thinking – sometimes successfully, sometimes not. Bt most importantly, you served with integrity and the town of Vienna is better for it.”
