Manassas Journal Messenger | Haymarket swears in new mayor

Haymarket Town Councilman David P. Taylor took the mayor’s oath of office Wednesday morning at the Prince William Judicial Center.

Taylor was appointed during an executive session following Monday’s Town Council meeting. He replaces longtime Mayor John R. “Jack” Kapp, who retired to Williamsburg in August.

The Town Council also appointed Historical Commission member Natasha Sikorsky to fill the seat of former councilwoman Lynda Farr. Farr resigned after moving to New York in August.

Taylor, 34, has been a council member since July 2002. The owner of a Fairfax-based electronic security business, Taylor grew up in the Manassas area. He moved to Haymarket six years ago with his wife and son.

In a phone interview Wednesday, Taylor said his primary goals for the town include refinancing the note on the town center property, and setting up the town’s charette.

“The charette is hopefully coming up in November,” Taylor said. “It basically allows residents, developers and business owners to come together over the direction of the town for three days.”

The town center note is currently held by Haymarket businessman Alan Gossam. The town purchased the block of downtown Haymarket from Gossam in 2000.

“It would take a lot of financial pressure off the town,” Taylor said Wednesday. “It puts the town in a better position to market the property. We’ll have better cash flow; we can take as much time as necessary to properly market the property. We can also explore other options [such as] parceling off the property or land leases.”

Monday’s Town Council meeting was two weeks behind schedule after two previous meetings were cancelled because there was not a quorum of council members. Haymarket’s town council is comprised of six members plus the mayor. Virginia law requires a majority of the council be present in order to hold council meetings.

After Kapp’s and Farr’s resignations, and councilman Robert Miller’s heart bypass surgery in early September, it became more difficult to reach the quorum.

Council members have one more position to fill, the seat formerly occupied by Taylor. Taylor said the position may not be filled by the Oct. 6 council meeting. The council has 45 days from his resignation to fill the seat, Taylor said.

“We want to get the word out to as many interested parties as possible,” Taylor said. “It will definitely be filled by the November meeting.”

Taylor said it was his understanding that there are currently three applications for the council’s consideration, all from the previous vacancies of Farr and Michelle Neal-Heard, who resigned in May. Monday’s appointments were the first official votes taken of councilwoman Pamela Stutz’s new term. Stutz, who served on the council from 2000 to 2002, was appointed to fill Neal-Heard’s seat in Aug. 4.