Town to put stoplight at Powell intersection

The town of Culpeper will spend a budgeted $125,000 to install a new traffic light at the busy intersection of Bus. 29 south of downtown and Golf Drive next to Powell Wellness Center.

A Dumfries company is expected to put in the new stoplight in February or March, according to Bobby Thornhill, the town’s public works director.

In doing so, the town will also close the long-precarious crossover at Country Club Drive, just north of the intersection with the new health center run by Culpeper Regional Hospital. The new stoplight at Golf and Bus. 29 will make the second signaled intersection in the immediate area, a short distance from the light at Sunset Lane and not far from the U.S. 29 interchange.

Food Lion is on the opposite side of Golf Drive and Bus. 29 along with several other businesses in Meadowbrook Shopping Center.

Along with the new light, Country Club Drive will become right-in and right-out, meaning motorists wanting to turn left to head north toward downtown will have to go up to the stoplight and turn around. Putting in the new traffic system has been the town’s plan since the Powell Wellness Center was built several years ago.

The Town Council Finance Committee felt it was about time.

“That’s a dangerous intersection,” said Vice Mayor Billy Yowell at Tuesday night’s meeting of the crossover at the Country Club.

“Always has been,” added Thornhill. “But it’s getting worse.”

After the new light is in, town public works will curb both sides of the crossover and install a grass median, he said.

In other town news, the Finance Committee recommended holding a first reading at Tuesday’s regular council meeting on an ordinance change that would strengthen the town’s ability to crack down on tall grass and weeds.

If passed after next month’s second reading, repeat offenders would be fined $50 per offense and charged about the same for public works to cut the grass for them.

Mayor Pranas Rimeikis felt property owners should be given at least a month to comply.

Yowell felt it should be no more than a week or two. He also said inoperable vehicles sitting in yards around town was a problem.

The town’s new planning director, Patrick Mulhern said his department receives about three to five complaints per week of tall grass and weeds and the like.

He said the car-in-yard issue was something else the town planned to address, considering the current “lull in development activity.”

Finally, Town Treasurer Ron Mabry informed the committee that town tax bills were mailed out Tuesday. He noted that town taxpayers could now pay their bill online at culpeper.to.