Author: Airey

County Board Eases Classroom Trailer Approval Process

By Airey

The Arlington County Board has approved zoning changes to make it easier for county schools to add temporary trailers to school grounds.

After a brief discussion, Board members voted unanimously on Saturday (June 15) to allow Arlington Public Schools administrators to add so-called “relocatable structures” to schools without needing to go through the county’s lengthy use permit amendment process.

The approved proposal also exempted the structures from density calculations that affect things like minimum parking requirements. The new zoning regulations would subject structures to inspection every three years and would also forbid the structures from being parked on or within 15 feet of an athletic field.

The proposal includes trailers used for classrooms as well as other purposes, like cafeterias.

APS has long used trailers as a temporary fix to address overcrowding in schools, where they’ve sometimes been criticized by parents for taking up valued green space and playground space. The school system has struggled to keep up with rising enrollment, despite continued school construction and renovations.

“We are at this place for a variety of reasons” said Board Chair Christian Dorsey. “We haven’t really added significant excess capacity to those [school construction] projects for reasons, I guess, primary to being fiscally responsible.”

Board Member Libby Garvey said she supported eschewing the use permit process, which requires County Board approval, because it was too onerous on schools and “time spent doing that could be better spent planning and figuring out a better solution” to overcrowding issues. Now, schools will go through an administrative process with county staff in order to get new trailers approved.

John Chadwick, assistant superintendent in charge of facilities and operations, said schools often don’t know next year’s capacity needs until April, meaning they have to “scramble” to arrange trailers in time for the new school year in September.

Arlington Park and Recreation Commission Chair Bill Ross expressed concern Saturday that the parking requirement could contribute to the loss of schools’ athletic fields.

“They need their recreation space and we’re very careful about maintaining it as much as we can,” replied Chadwick.

The official also noted APS tries to locate the trailers on paved surfaces to prevent having to install stormwater runoff systems.

Currently, staff said APS uses 132 trailers across 25 schools, with Williamsburg Middle School having the highest number of trailers (11) of any individual school.

Park Service Advances Plans to Redesign Memorial Circle

By Airey
1/5

(Updated at 4:25 p.m.) The National Park Service is ready to move ahead with plans to make Memorial Circle safer and easier to navigate.

NPS finalized a study last week, stating its plans did not negatively impact the surrounding environment or historical character of the area. The agency can now move forward on making the nexus of roadways safer for drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists.

“The National Park Service is very pleased this project has advanced to a stage where we’ll be able to implement these improvements as soon as funds are available,” a spokesman for the federal agency told ARLnow.

NPS chose the most aggressive of three proposed plans to modify Memorial Circle and the roads around it, S. Arlington Blvd and Washington Blvd.

The plan chosen, Alternative C, calls for changes like re-striping Memorial Circle down to one lane of traffic instead of two, thus reducing conflicts between drivers in the circle and approaching the circle.

The plan also includes a proposal to enlarge and shorten the text on signs in the circle, making them easier to read. Additionally, new yield signs would give vehicles inside the circle the right of way.

NPS also proposed adding walk signals for pedestrians and flashing beacons for drivers at six intersections where the study notes near-misses are common. Officials estimated 600 crashes occurred near Memorial Circle between 2005 and 2012.

The agency would also re-stripe S. Arlington Blvd down to two lanes before it approaches the crosswalk just north of the circle to make crossing safer for pedestrians.

To help reduce weaving between lanes and merging traffic north of the circle, NPS would:

  • Re-stripe Washington Blvd, reducing it to one lane
  • Re-stripe S. Arlington Blvd to two lanes and Washington Blvd to one lane where the roadways merge, allowing traffic to continue without changing lanes
  • Remove the S. Arlington Blvd exit ramp and far left exit lane to S. Washington Blvd
  • Widen the northern ramp off of S. Arlington Blvd up to 12 feet to allow two lanes of traffic to exit, making the left lane exit-only and the right lane a shared exit/through lane
  • Possibly remove one or two trees along the exit of the S. Arlington Blvd ramp

The plan also calls for widening northbound Washington Blvd to fit a third lane as it merges into the circle.

The widened road would make room for a concrete island, directing two of Washington Blvd’s three northbound lanes onto Memorial Bridge and one lefthand lane into the circle. NPS said Washington Blvd could be widened up to 20 feet, pending design specifications.

The existing concrete island where the Memorial Bridge meets the circle’s east side would be split into two. These two new concrete islands would direct the left westbound lane coming off Arlington Memorial Bridge into the circle and syphon the other westbound lanes onto S. Arlington Blvd.

Other changes include:

  • Adding rumble strips and raised pavement markings to avoid “last-minute weaving” and provide more guidance to drivers
  • Installing more speed limit signs and increased police presence to crack down on speeding

NPS has implemented traffic improvements to the area before. In 2012, the agency moved a sidewalk and installed rumble strips, among other changes, on the GW Parkway in a bid to make the roadway safer.

“Whether you are a frequent commuter, visitor to Washington, D.C. or someone recreating, we want the Memorial Circle area to be a safe and accessible experience for everyone,” said Charles Cuvelier, the Parkway’s superintendent, in a statement about the latest round of improvements.

Work continues nearby on structural repairs to Memorial Bridge, a project NPS started last year.

Image 2 via Google Maps, images 1 and 3-5 via National Park Service

County Board Members to Vote on Increasing Their Salaries

By Airey

This week, Arlington County Board members will consider a proposal that would allow them to raise their salaries for the first time since 2012.

Members are scheduled to vote tomorrow (Tuesday) to raise the maximum level at which they can set their salaries, choosing from one of three possible options:

  • Option 1: $61,034 for members, and $67,464 for the chair
  • Option 2: $89,851 for members, and $95,734 for the chair
  • Option 3: $129,429 for members, and $135,312 for the chair

Currently, the salary cap for Board members is $57,337 a year, but members are currently paid $55,147. The member serving as Board Chair (currently Christian Dorsey) is paid $60,662, but the salary cap for his position is $63,071.

A staff report to the Board noted that 223 people responded to an online survey and 210 of those respondents picked a salary level they thought appropriate. The majority (143) chose a salary level between $57,000 and $84,999. The rest (67) chose somewhere between $85,000 and $120,999.

The report also noted that current salary levels are below the regional median income level for a single person ($85,000) and the level for a family of four ($121,300) and are generally below salaries paid to regional legislators in other jurisdictions.

Board members are required to wait to raise their pay caps until at least two members are running for re-election, which happens every four years. Currently, Board Chair Dorsey and member Katie Cristol are up for re-election.

The Board has until July 1 to vote on the raise, otherwise they’d have to wait another four years for a chance to vote again.

Option 1 ($61,034) added annual 2.27 percent increases to the existing salary base ($57,337). Options 2 and 3 ($89,851 and $129,429, respectively) factored in a starting point based on area median income for individuals (Option 2) and a family of four (Option 3) and increased that by 2.27 percent each year for the next four years.

Serving on the County Board is intended to be a part-time position, though in practicality the schedules of Board members leave little time for other jobs.

Board member Libby Garvey previously said her colleagues needed higher salaries to keep up with the work involved in attending the county’s many local and regional group meetings.

“I talk to people about how we’re a five-member basketball team with no back-ups so we have to play the entire game all the time,” she said.

New salary caps would go into effect Jan. 1, 2020 if the Board approves them tomorrow, and would last until Dec. 31, 2023. Members would be able to decide after January whether to raise their salaries, up to the the maximum amount they set.

Image via Arlington County

ARLnow Weekend Discussion

By Airey

It’s Friday and that means it’s time to turn your attention away from primary politics and focus on the weekend ahead.

On Tuesday, incumbent prosecutor Theo Stamos lost her bid for re-election to challenger Parisa Dehghani-Tafti in an upset that some experts say is unprecedented in Arlington. And on the national election stage, presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg visited Arlington for a private fundraising event.

Now that that’s over, it’s time for the Columbia Pike Blues Festival and the Arlington County Board’s next meeting this Saturday about a development some hope will help a historic cemetery.

Here are a few other stories from this week you might have missed during the election whirlwind:

What was your favorite story this week? And how are you going to enjoy the sun this weekend? Let us know in the comments below.

Fate of Ball Burial Ground Uncertain as Development Nears

By Airey
1/10

Development may be surging around the Ball Family Burial Grounds on N. Kirkwood Street, but the fate of the historic site remains uncertain.

The gravesite of the family who is the namesake for Ballston is located in the middle of Virginia Square’s newest development hub, which includes plans to rebuild the YMCA and repurpose American Legion Post 139 as mixed residential buildings.

The Arlington County Board is also set to vote Saturday to approve a third project in the area: a long-standing application by Eleventh Street Development LLC to redevelop the 1.726 acre site located at 1122 N. Kirkwood Road at Washington Boulevard, currently a mix of one-story retail and office uses, into a new 255-unit multifamily residential building.

But when it comes to the plan for the cemetery — which is adjacent to the new development —  the county is at an impasse, according to Richard Woodruff, chairman of the Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB). The county can’t legally access the land to maintain it or take actions to preserve it because it was deeded to the heirs of John Ball who founded it in the 1700s.

The problem? No one knows who those heirs are.

During a Thursday visit to the grounds, Woodruff pointed out how wild strawberries have overgrown the gravesites’ grass and a secret Samaritan has been mowing the plot.

“It’s sort of now a mystery as to who maintains it,” he said.

However, other site maintenance issues are piling up. Broken branches rest on the dozen mossy grave stones piled in the far corner of the burial ground where the grass grows higher and trash accumulates.

HALRB and the Arlington Planning Commission have asked the county to hire a genealogist to locate the Ball family heirs. They added that the county should also create a fund to maintain the land and study what could be buried in the cemetery because people have moved the graves over time.

These recommendations are not included in the list of actions for the Board members to review this weekend.

A staff report to the Board notes that one of the project’s goals is to “preserve, respect and enhance the historic integrity” of the gravesite. But aside from asking developers to follow protocols if they find artifacts or human remains during construction, the document is short on specifics.

(more…)

Columbia Pike Blues Festival Returns, Prompting Weekend Road Closures

By Airey
1/2

The annual Columbia Pike Blues Festival returns tomorrow (Saturday) with live music and several road closures.

The festival will run from 1-8:30 p.m. at the intersection of Columbia Pike and S. Walter Reed Drive. This year’s music lineup includes soul and blues artists Sugary Rayford, Thornetta Davis, Hardway Connection, Lauren Calve Band, and Funky Miracle.

Arlington County Police announced that some streets adjacent to the Pike will close between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. Saturday.

Road closures include:

  • Walter Reed Drive between Columbia Pike and 9th Street S.
  • 9th. Road S. between S. Garfield Street and Walter Reed Drive
  • 9th Street between S. Highland Street to Walter Reed Drive

This year, organizers are partnering with Shirlington-area New District Brewing Company to serve craft beer. Several food vendors, including Carol’s Concessions, Caspi, Mac’s Donuts, Sloppy Mama’s Barbecue, and Rebellion on the Pike, will also be serving meals during the festival, per the event’s website.

Photo (1) via Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization, (2) via Arlington County

I-395 and I-66 Projects Causing Contractor Shortages, Higher Costs

By Airey

A proposed streetscape improvement project has revealed rising construction costs in Arlington County due to ongoing work to add new lanes to I-66 and I-395 — and associated projects.

“We believe the shortage of qualified contractors resulting from the abundance of work generated by the I-66 & I-395 Express Lanes projects is contributing to the higher than expected bid prices,” according to a county staff report.

The project in question — which “will reconstruct curbs and sidewalks to install [Americans With Disabilities Act] compliant curb ramps and sidewalk areas,” mostly along the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor — will be considered by the Arlington County Board at its Saturday (June 15) meeting.

The county selected Fort Meyer Construction Corporation, which submitted the lowest bid for the project at $718,580.97.

“We have observed a high volume of construction in the region because of many projects, including major ones such as the I-66 and I-395 Express Lanes, and this work is distributed over a limited number of qualified contractors,” Ramzi Awwad, the engineering bureau chief at the Department of Environmental Services, told ARLnow today (Thursday).

“Contractors have indicated they are paying more to compete for qualified laborers, and we have observed less competition in the form of lower numbers of bidders for some projects,” Awwad said. “The result is higher than expected costs in comparison to estimates.”

He added that this trend has affected other recent projects, especially in the last six months.

VDOT does not provide funding to offset the rising construction costs in Arlington, according to Awwad.

On Saturday, the Board will vote to accept Fort Meyer’s bid and could approve an additional $107,787 for the project in case costs rise further.

For now, the pedestrian proposal is still within the $2.02 million budget set for the two-phase project.

The pedestrian project aims to make eight areas in Rosslyn and Ballston ADA compliant by extending curbs, widening sidewalks, repainting crosswalks, and building new curb ramps. One of the sites is the intersection of 36th Street N. and N. Kensington Street, which aims to make students walking to Discovery Elementary School safer.

The seven other intersections slated for improvements are:

  • N. Nelson Street & 9th Street N.
  • Washington Blvd & N. Nelson Street
  • Washington Blvd & Jackson Street N.
  • Washington Blvd & 9th Street N.
  • Clarendon Blvd & N. Barton Street
  • Wilson Blvd & N. Barton Street
  • N. Troy Street & 14th Street N.

Local Nonprofit Wins $50,000 Grant to Build Book Bus

By Airey

Drivers may soon see an old school bus tooling down Wilson Blvd and delivering books, thanks to funding from an Arlington-based nonprofit.

Read Early and Daily (R.E.A.D.) recently received a $50,000 ‘A Community Thrives’ national grant from the Gannett Foundation. R.E.A.D. secured the grant by pitching a traveling book bus that would bring books to people in Arlington who have trouble accessing them.

R.E.A.D. founder Jennifer Sauter-Price said she was “over the moon” about the grant in a social media message to ARLnow.

“Our hope is the Book Bus will be a bookstore for all families,” she said. “Another component while we sell books is to educate customers about book deserts and the inequities of book ownership and how it affects school readiness.”

Sauter-Price got the idea of a book bus from a popular mobile toy shop she helped run as part of a lending library in Austin, Texas. She now wants to travel around Arlington with books that feature diverse characters and stories about acceptance. In total, she has distributed 1,100 free books to about 250 children in Arlington since starting the nonprofit last year.

“We are proud of the work R.E.A.D. has done to enhance the Arlington, Virginia community,” said Andy Yost, Gannett’s chief marketing officer.

“At Gannett, our mission is to connect and empower our readers to make a difference in the communities they are a part of,” Yost said. “Through A Community Thrives, we are further fueling our mission and purpose.”

A Community Thrives has raised more than $6.5 million since 2017 for projects benefiting communities nationwide.

R.E.A.D. currently distributes free children’s books to gathering places around Arlington, like Mr. Moore’s Barbershop on Lee Highway, where young readers are encouraged to talk about the book they’re reading while they get a haircut.

People also buy books directly from the nonprofit’s website, or sign up for monthly subscription book boxes, which Sauter-Price says help fund the books she gives away for free — a business model she hopes to continue with the bus, too.

Now Sauter-Price is hoping to buy a decommissioned school bus and transform it into a bookmobile.

“The most important thing is to make sure it’s waterproof and temperature controlled for the books,” she said. “Then to create a fun children’s bookstore vibe inside that will be engaging for kids. Then the not-fun stuff: insurance, gas, Wi-Fi, licenses. My hope after all this is we will have funds leftover for more books.”

Photo courtesy of Jennifer Sauter-Price

What’s Next? What Last Night’s Primary Election Means for Arlington

By Airey

(Updated at 4 p.m.) Last night, commonwealth’s attorney candidate Parisa Dehghani-Tafti defeated incumbent prosecutor Theo Stamos in a surprise victory that shocked many in the the county, and left some wondering about the future.

One person who wasn’t shocked was political strategist Ben Tribbett — also known as @notlarrysabato — of the Fairfax-based campaign consulting firm TRR Group.

“I think Parisa basically brought two very large groups together,” he told ARLnow today. “One are people newer to the county who really care about criminal justice reforms. The second was a coalition of people mad about internal Arlington politics.”

Tribbett said the first group is important because, “transient voters tend to get their info from national outlets.” He said the Washington Post’s endorsement of Tafti and the The Appeal’s critical look at Stamos’ handling of some juvenile cases could have helped sway those voters. The campaign even attracted an endorsement from multi-talented star John Legend.

A map of yesterday’s voting shows the densest support for Tafti was located along the county’s more dense and Metro-accessible areas — places where young transient voters often live. Tribbett pointed out state Senate candidate Nicole Merlene, who lost her race against incumbent Sen. Barbara Favola (D-31st), performed well in the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor but struggled in the leafier, single-family-home neighborhoods to the north.

https://twitter.com/mcimaps/status/1138611945538510849?s=20

Tribbett said Tafti’s other supporters, long-time residents fed up with Arlington politics, are part of the fallout from the election of John Vihstadt, who won the race for County Board in 2014 as an independent. Progressives are continuing a “decade-long war” against Democratic candidates like Stamos who supported Vihstadt over a fellow Democrat, Tribbett said, and could target County Board member Libby Garvey in the future.

But he said infighting costs the party influence at the state level, which comes at a time when Democrats across Virginia are striving to flip Richmond blue.

“What should have been a temporary rift has become a permanent rift,” Tribbett said. “It’s not good for the Democratic Party.”

Another perspective on the race comes from Paul Ferguson, current Clerk of the Circuit Court and former Arlington County Board member, who spoke to ARLnow in his personal capacity on Tuesday afternoon before polls closed.

Ferguson said Tafti has six months to settle in and choose which (if any) of Stamos’ assistant prosecutors she plans to keep on staff. (Stamos said last night she hopes her challenger will retain at least some of them.) Tafti will then be able to roll out policy changes, like her pledge to not prosecute low-level pot convictions, but Ferguson said it’s difficult to anticipate the impact because her victory is unprecedented.

“It’s reasonable to say in modern history, the last 40-50 years, the new prosecutor has always come from within the office, leaving very little policy transition,” he said. Nonetheless, he thinks it’s likely that there could be fewer misdemeanor cases cases in District Court, and perhaps fewer cases in Circuit Court, as a result of her changes.

(more…)

Arlington Pet of the Week: Cooper

By Airey
1/2

Our newest pet of the week is 10-month-old rescue puppy Cooper in Arlington Village.

Cooper’s owner Andrea had this to say about the dog she says is learning to come out of his shell:

I’ve had quite the life so far: I grew up as a stray in West Virginia & was then rescued from a high kill shelter by Homeward Animal Rescue which is where my mom found me. Given my history, I was really shy, scared of everything and had a lot of anxiety when I moved to Arlington about 3 months ago. Since then I’ve come a long way and am starting to realize that this new life of mine is pretty amazing!! I’m really opening up to the world, I’m curious to explore new places and I’m super adventurous when I’m not working on my 17 hours of sleep per day.

Being so cute was a curse in the beginning because people kept walking up to me -> so scary! Now I think it’s more of a blessing, because the more people I meet, the more treats I get (not sure why they all taste just like the ones I get at home, but they’re delicious!).

Anyways, I’m really happy in my new home and want to thank all of my neighbors — humans and other animals who play with me — for helping me understand that this is a great place to be.

Want your pet to be considered for the Arlington Pet of the Week? Email [email protected] with a 2-3 paragraph bio and at least 3-4 horizontally-oriented photos of your pet. Please don’t send vertical photos, they don’t fit in our photo galleries!

Each week’s winner receives a sample of dog or cat treats from our sponsor, Becky’s Pet Care, along with $100 in Becky’s Bucks. Becky’s Pet Care is the winner of six consecutive Angie’s List Super Service Awards, the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters’ 2013 Business of the Year and a proud supporter of the Arlington County Pawsitively Prepared Campaign.

Becky’s Pet Care provides professional dog walking and pet sitting in Arlington and all of Northern Virginia, as well as PetPrep training courses for Pet Care, CPR and emergency preparedness.

New Car-Sharing Service Expanding to Arlington Next Month

By Airey
1/2

(Updated on 04/14/19) A European company’s car-sharing service will expand into Arlington in July after rolling into D.C. last October.

The service, Free2Move, allows users to pay a flat fee per the minute, hour, or day that they rent a car and allows users to drive anywhere as long as vehicles are returned to a legal parking spot in the District of Columbia. With the new expansion, users will be able to pick and park vehicles in Arlington, too.

A company spokeswoman said the latest expansion means that the app’s 15,000 users in the Greater Washington area “can now start and end their trip within D.C. or Arlington city limits.”

Free2Move’s parent company is French car manufacturer Groupe PSA, which makes Opel, Citroen, Vauxhall, and Peugeot.

Groupe PSA’s decision to open Free2Move in the D.C. area is part of the company’s first foray back into the North American market since leaving in 1991, per the business news site Global Atlanta.

Free2Move currently uses a mix of 200 Chevrolet Equinox SUVs and 400 Chevrolet Cruze sedans in D.C., per the spokeswoman.

The company has said it operates in 11 other countries and has served 1.3 million customers in total, according to an April press release.

Images via Free2Move

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