The important mid-term elections are tomorrow. For those of you who have not voted early absentee, I hope you will join me in voting to reelect Senator Tim Kaine, Congressman Don Beyer, my colleague John Vihstadt for County Board, and Barbara Kanninen for School Board, as well as for all the bond referenda. Senator Kaine and Congressman Beyer will provide an important check on President Trump, and the future of our democracy and nation depend on that check. Here in Arlington, John Vihstadt is an outstanding Board member and a valuable member of our Board team. In this hyperpartisan time, it … [Read more...]

Our October Board meetings had a number of issues that were satisfying for me because I felt we clearly were making the County better for people. We approved site plan amendments for 1750 Crystal Drive, which will allow the building and area to be renovated, and will bring retail, a grocery store, a movie theater, and a park to the area along with a new Metro entrance. This will vastly improve an area that really has looked like an urban wasteland for many years. We had a long discussion and hearing about Westover Beer Garden and its amplified, outdoor music. It was a classic issue of … [Read more...]

I hope everyone had a good summer. September started off with a lot of items and a lot of emotion. Virginia Hospital Center (VHC) is expanding and needs our approval to do so. While there have been many meetings, both the neighbors and the Planning Commission said the VHC plans did not feel appropriate and welcoming for the homes nearby, nor did they believe the plans were thoughtful about future construction. Many VHC employees came to say how needed the expansion is. We voted to defer the project briefly to allow VHC to work more with their neighbors, to make the building feel less … [Read more...]

We recognized 9-11 this morning as we always do at Courthouse Plaza with a simple ceremony by our public safety officers. The flags were lowered to half staff for the day. On this 17th anniversary, we were joined by members of our General Assembly delegation, Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, and Congressman Don Beyer. We all will never forget where we were that day and remember the bravery of the first responders and of so many common people who showed uncommon courage that day. I am sure everyone is aware that Hurricane Florence will likely affect us quite a bit. Governor Northam and … [Read more...]

The 5th Annual Kennan Garvey Memorial Ride is coming on Saturday, August 25th. If you’ve already signed up or sponsored me or another rider, thank you! If you haven’t yet, I hope you can join the ride or sponsor me for this great local non profit. I encourage anyone who likes to ride a bike or likes to support great programs for young people to sign up. You can ride for as little or as far as you like on a great bike path that Kennan and I loved and rode often. Although I’m very close to being able to ride my bike again, my new knee isn't bending quite enough for me to ride this year…but … [Read more...]

We needed three days to complete our July agenda. Several difficult issues prompted a lot of community involvement: one was complicated with no clear “right” answer; one was somewhat misunderstood; one was, in part, a County-created problem. After all of the conversation and engagement, I think we all understood these issues better in the end. The 2019-2028 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) was the major item on our July agenda, but perhaps the least complicated. The 10-year CIP determines what projects we will fund over the next two years and for what bond referenda residents will vote in … [Read more...]

In May, the Board considered an important project, and heard the Manager’s presentation for capital spending, and remembered. Four Mile Run Valley The Four Mile Run Working Group presented their draft plan, which we adopted. This is a long overdue plan (to get an idea of how long overdue, the article on planning for the area pictured here is from 1949), and it’s a big step forward. There were many different stakeholders, which led to some contentious meetings over a number of thorny issues. These included whether to make changes to the very popular dog park (no changes will be made because … [Read more...]

FY 2019 Budget We adopted our FY 2019 budget on Saturday. This was one of the tougher budgets in my 23 years of public service. Our Manager did a good job reorganizing and trying to focus on core government services when he developed his recommended budget. But when the Board voted to advertise no tax rate increase this year, our ability to adapt to changing needs was very limited. The major issues were money for schools, as our student population continues to grow, and public safety salaries. Our pay for sheriff, police, and, fire—particularly for new recruits—is significantly below … [Read more...]

I’m writing this on Wednesday as the snow continues to fall and pictures of my grandchildren playing in the snow come on my phone. Being snowed in for a day has been a nice break! I hope everyone has been able to enjoy the day. This month’s meeting agenda was extraordinarily light, which was nice given the heavy schedule of budget work sessions we have. The few significant items we addressed were: Westover Beer Garden Our discussion on outdoor seating for the Westover Beer Garden was yet another example of how we need to balance the interests of a local restaurant/bar and those of the … [Read more...]