Prince William County voters overwhelminglypassed the largest bond package the county ever put to referendum — totaling nearly $369 million — in Tuesday’s election.
The $300 million road bond referendum passed with nearly 82 percent of the vote. The $27 million park improvement package was approved with nearly 76 percent of the vote. The $42.6 million library improvement referendum passed with 72 percent of the vote.
“It means people are willing to pay for roads if they know for sure the money will go for specific projects,” said Corey Stewart, Prince William County Board of Supervisors chairman-elect.
Stewart added, “The state has made it clear that VDOT (Virginia Department of Transportation) doesn’t have adequate road construction funding … It is going to be up to the localities to build primary and secondary roads.”
The 11 projects to be funded by the road bond include widening routes 1, 28 and the Prince William Parkway.
The third bond referendum the Prince William Park Authority put on the ballot since its creation in 1977 contained funding for purchasing park land and upgrading sports fields and other park facilities.
“This is the first time we recall the bond carrying every district and every precinct in every district, which is about as strong a message that can be sent from the community about the importance of recreation and parks as a quality-of-life component,” said Rick Washco, Park Authority spokesman.
Washco added that building trails, buying open space and refurbishing fields at Hellwig Park are top priorities of the bond.
The library bond will fund two new libraries: one for the eastern portion of the county and one for the western end. Both libraries will incorporate county homes dating back to the 1700s into their design to help preserve the properties.
Bonds for road projects could be sold in the near future, said Liz Bahrns, a county spokeswoman. Shewarned, “Just because the bonds passed yesterday, doesn’t mean we sell the debt today. We sell the bonds as the projects come online.”
