Arlington County is planning to rehabilitate a nearly half-mile long sewage main along Military Road in North Arlington.
The Gulf Run Sanitary Force Main helps transport sewage uphill in some of the far northern reaches of the county. According to a county staff report, the main was built more than 55 years ago and is due for a rehabilitation.
The rehabilitation of the Gulf Run sanitary sewer force main is part of the Arlington County sanitary force main rehabilitation program. This 10-inch cast iron force main was constructed in 1963 and is approximately 2,191 feet long. It has experienced failures in the past, requiring spot repairs completed by the County. The Gulf Run Force Main will be rehabilitated using the pressure cured in place pipe lining method.
The County Board will consider a $1.5 million contract, with a $150,000 contingency, with frequent county contractor Am-Liner East, Inc. at its meeting this weekend. The money will come from Arlington’s Utility Capital Projects Fund.
There’s no word on when the pipe relining project will start.
The Arlington County Board this weekend is set to consider allocating $133,413 to provide refunds to one of the county’s summer camp contractors.
The contractor — American In-Line Skating, Inc. — went bankrupt after the county cancelled summer camps this year on account of the pandemic, a county staff report says. More from the report:
The Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) provides a variety of summer camp programming each year, delivered through a combination of DPR staff-led camps and contractor-led camps. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, all 2020 summer camp programs were canceled by Arlington County in late May. Registrants that signed up for camps that are delivered by DPR-staff were refunded in full; registrants that signed up for camps that are delivered by contractor-led camps were refunded according to the individual contractors’ refund policies. One contractor filed for bankruptcy and denied any form of refunds to registrants.
To facilitate the promised refunds, the county is taking a somewhat unorthodox step: making a charitable donation to a local nonprofit, which will then provide the refunds.
“Arlington County has identified Arlington Thrive, a 501(c)(3) organization with a long-standing relationship with Arlington County, to provide refunds in accordance with the camp contractor’s original refund policy that is not being honored,” the staff report says. “Arlington County will provide the funding to Arlington Thrive in the form of a charitable donation of $133,413 from existing funds available in the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) existing donation balances in Trust and Agency accounts.”
Arlington Thrive, which has also been working with the county to help those having trouble paying their rent during the pandemic, will receive a 5% fee for administering the donations.
The situation is reminiscent of the year-long saga of local youth basketball referees who went unpaid after a contractor suffered a serious medical issue. In that case, Arlington officials insisted that there were no legal remedies for paying the refs with county funds; after a year of discussions and efforts to find other remedies, a County Board member launched a GoFundMe campaign.
Susan Kalish, spokeswoman for the Arlington Dept. of Parks and Recreation, said the two situations are different.
“In the case of the referees, the County paid the contractor (a company that provides referees for indoor basketball games); however, the contractor, in turn, did not fully pay its subcontractors, the referees,” she said in response to an inquiry from ARLnow. “It is not an appropriate precedent for the County to set to pay subcontractors for work that the County has already paid the contractor.”
“In the case of the camp refunds, the contractor did not honor their stated refund policy,” she continued. “In its communication materials regarding its bankruptcy, the contractor named the decision by the County to cancel camps as the driving factor in its bankruptcy filing… As a result of the bankruptcy filing, the County has a complete list of individuals who were denied refunds and the amount owed.”
Kalish said the county will be making changes to prevent such issues from happening again.
“The County is in the process of amending summer camp contracts to shift the registration and payments from camp contractor’s responsibilities to the County, to ensure that all aspects of the payment, cancelation and refund experience for camp participants are managed by the County,” she said.
“Both of these issues, a camp contractor not honoring its refund policy and a referee contractor not paying its subcontractors, are troubling and not how Arlington County expects its contractors to manage their businesses,” Kalish added. “Neither contractor will be able to do business with Arlington County in the future.”
Site of former Wendy’s in Courthouse in September 2019 (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
Construction staging at Wendy’s site in Courthouse in September (via Arlington County)
Wendy’s lot and 2000 Clarendon construction site map (via Arlington County)
A prime triangle of land in Courthouse is expected to remain largely vacant through next year.
The property at the corner of Wilson Blvd. and N. Courthouse Road once housed a Wendy’s. The fast food restaurant was torn down in 2016, in anticipation of the construction of a 12-story office building, which was approved the year before. More than four years after the demolition, however, there’s still no office building.
Instead, the lot has been used as a construction staging site over the past year, and this weekend the Arlington County Board is expected to approve the renewal of the construction staging use permit.
In a report to the Board, county staff say the lot is still needed for the construction of a new condo building at 2000 Clarendon Blvd, after the project was delayed by the pandemic.
“Although the approved use was initially anticipated to last no longer than one (1) year, the applicant has requested to extend the use for additional time due to delays in construction related to the COVID-19 pandemic,” the staff report says. “At the current time, the applicant is utilizing this site primarily for contractor parking.”
If approved, the use permit for the staging site would be valid for another year before the next County Board review. The 2000 Clarendon Blvd project is expected to wrap up in 2021.
Also in the report, county staff note that some nearby residents have complained about trash in and around the former Wendy’s site. That is being addressed, the report says.
This is a one (1) year review of a use permit associated with a site plan for a temporary off-site contractor’s storage and staging area, located at 2026 and 2038 Wilson Blvd. Radnor/Fort-Myer Heights Civic Association, the host civic association expressed concerns regarding maintenance of the sidewalk and trash pick-up around the site. Staff has relayed these comments to the applicant who acknowledged that he will remind contractors parking at this location to not litter within the public right-of-way.
In April, the County Board extended the approved site plan for the office building at the Wendy’s site for another three years, through July 1, 2023.
New PBS headquarters at 1225 S. Clark St. (via Arlington County)
Illustration of proposed PBS sign on 1225 S. Clark St. (via Arlington County)
PBS is asking the Arlington County Board permission to add its logo to the top of its new headquarters in Crystal City.
The public broadcasting network is moving from its current space at 2100 Crystal Drive to the northern corner of the neighborhood, at 1225 S. Clark Street, after signing a 15-year-lease for 120,000 square feet of office space last year.
There’s just one problem: the new headquarters building has a condition placed on it, from its original county approval in 1979, specifying that no rooftop signs be placed. PBS is asking the County Board, at its meeting this Saturday, to scrap the 40-year-old restriction and allow its logo to grace the top of the office tower.
From a county staff report:
The subject site consists of four (4) office buildings on individual parcels of land, and the associated underground parking; the buildings also have a small amount of below grade retail in the Crystal City Underground. The buildings are part of the larger Crystal Gateway mixed-use site plan that was originally approved in its current form by the County Board in 1979, with an additional major amendment approved in 1984. Crystal Gateway has approximately 1,380,000 square feet of office and commercial use and 242 dwelling units in two (2) condominium buildings.
The original approval of the Crystal Gateway site plan in 1979 included a condition (#3) that prohibited the installation of rooftop signs. A comprehensive sign plan for the Crystal Gateway site plan project was initially approved by the County Board in 1983 and was amended several times. Additionally, the site plan has been amended twice to specifically allow rooftop signs on separate office buildings within the project boundaries. The applicant now requests that the restrictive condition prohibiting the installation of rooftop signs be eliminated to allow for sign permits to be obtained for the buildings in a manner consistent with the current provisions of Article 13 of the Arlington County Zoning Ordinance
The new PBS headquarters is located next to the U.S. Marshals Service headquarters and a couple of blocks from Amazon’s under-construction HQ2.
“We are thrilled that PBS will remain in Crystal City, especially during such a transformative and exciting time for this community,” PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger said last year. “Keeping our headquarters in Arlington is great for PBS and our employees, and we’re proud to call ‘National Landing’ our home.”
(Updated at 1:25 p.m.) Another shooting in the parking lot of Purple Lounge on Columbia Pike has county officials mulling additional action against the nightlife venue.
Police say a man was shot around 5 a.m. Sunday outside the business at 3111 Columbia Pike, after the suspect opened fire into a crowd. The shooter was also shot and lightly wounded by security guards, according to an Arlington County Police Department press release.
Both the victim and the suspect suffered injuries considered non-life threatening.
The weekend exchange of gunfire follows another shooting in the same parking lot nearly a year ago. A 29-year-old suspect was arrested last September after police say he shot a man in the abdomen, seriously injuring him, following an early morning dispute.
Last year’s shooting prompted the Arlington County Board to revoke the lounge’s live entertainment permit in December. The Board was told that police had responded to the venue nearly 70 times between January and November, and that neighbors were frequently complaining about early morning noise and incidents associated with the business, even well after closing time.
Despite the incidents and alleged health code and alcohol violations, Purple Lounge had its Virginia ABC permit to serve beer, wine and liquor renewed for a year on May 1, according to public records.
Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey, in a statement to ARLnow, said the county is exploring ways to “halt bad behavior” at the business.
“The incident at the Purple Lounge is the latest in a series of very disturbing events associated with that establishment,” Garvey said. “The Board is working with the Manager and our attorney to explore all the options available to us to halt bad behavior within and around the property.”
In July, Arlington denied Purple Lounge’s application for expanded outdoor seating in its parking lot, a county spokeswoman noted.
“Before and after” photos of bar crowds lining up in Clarendon
Physical distance enforcement signs being placed by police
Photos of bar crowds lining up in Clarendon
Bar closing times in D.C. and Montgomery County
“Before and after” photos of bar crowds lining up in Clarendon
Virtual Arlington County Board meeting on August 25, 2020, featuring Dr. Reuben Varghese
Public health guidance about groups congregating in line
(Updated at 3:15 p.m.) Starting tomorrow, standing in the wrong place with the wrong number of people could land you a warning from police.
Arlington County says it will begin enforcing its emergency sidewalk crowding ordinance — which makes standing in a group of more than three in designated zones a traffic infraction — on Friday.
This weekend verbal and written warnings will be issued. After that, police will start issuing fines of up to $100.
“We are serious about this,” Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz told members of the County Board on Tuesday. “I remain deeply frustrated with what I’m seeing in the community… This is not a game when you’re dealing with the public’s health.”
At issue is groups of young, often maskless bargoers bunched up in lines, waiting to enter popular — but capacity constrained — nightlife spots in Clarendon. Photos and first-hand accounts of the lines have circulated on social media, leading to an outcry that the Board responded to with an emergency ordinance passed on July 31.
The ordinance limits groups standing in line to no more than three people, spaced at least six feet apart from other groups and people in line, in certain areas.
The first phase of implementation includes four line-prone stretches in which the distancing will be enforced, identified via the county’s online social distancing complaint form, county staff said. There will be additional phases in the coming weeks to add new areas, including in portions of Crystal City, Schwartz said.
Police are placing signs and sidewalk markers in areas where the ordinance is being enforced, the County Board was told.
Thus far, efforts to get those in lines to distance to the county’s specifications have been met with mixed results: some compliance and some defiance.
“We have have seen quite a bit of defiance and hostility towards the security staff and officers, who are being flat out ignored,” said Arlington County Police Department bar and restaurant liaison Jim Mastoras. “We’re trying our best to keep the lines apart and keep people separated, as they need to be.”
Mastoras noted that businesses have been trying to comply with the rules. Outdoor beer garden The Lot, a frequent subject of photos of alleged overcrowding this summer, has two employees just assigned to monitoring the line, he said.
In addition to pandemic-era capacity restrictions, Mastoras said that lines have become an issue due to a rush of patrons into the Clarendon area between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., which may or may not be linked to the fact that D.C. and Montgomery County have stopped alcohol sales after midnight and 10 p.m., respectively.
“Over the past few weeks, we have seen an influx of patrons into the Clarendon area,” he said.
The ordinance is not without its critics, who question its implementation and prioritization over other public health risks.
“The ordinance appears to criminalize common behaviors: A plain reading of the ordinance would appear to prevent a family of four from walking down one of these signed sidewalks together without maintaining 6′ of distance between all family members, including small children,” wrote Arlington Transportation Commission Chair Chris Slatt earlier this month.
Schwartz called that line of criticism a “red herring,” suggesting that is not how the ordinance will be enforced.
The Arlington Chamber of Commerce, meanwhile, is calling for the ordinance to be scrapped, citing concerns about enforcement and equity.
“The hastily developed ordinance has led to confusion and presents enforcement challenges,” the Chamber wrote this week. “The Chamber will continue to advocate that the County Board abandon this ordinance and find alternative, more constructive ways to promote social distancing.”
On the health side, experts agree that standing in line outside presents a risk, though it’s a risk that’s lower than equivalent behavior indoors.
Why, one may ask, are groups of more than three standing outside now prohibited, while larger groups are able to dine and chat maskless around a table inside restaurants? The latter is widely considered to be riskier behavior, albeit behavior that’s less likely to be photographed by those walking by.
County Allocates More Money for Rent Relief — “The Arlington County Board today approved using an additional $1.125 million from the County’s COVID-19 contingent account to fund eviction protection through December 2020 for those affected by the pandemic. The Board’s action brings the total amount allocated for eviction prevention in Fiscal Year 2021, which began July 1, 2020, to $3.5 million.” [Arlington County]
AWLA Pushes to Extend Eviction Ban — “The Animal Welfare League of Arlington is pushing for legislators to extend Governor Northam’s original eviction deadline of September 7, to prevent animals from being surrendered by people who can’t afford them. AWLA says they’re here to help tenants during these trying times and also urge landlords to cut back on animal restrictions and limitations.” [WDVM]
I-66 Lane Closures This Weekend — “Single-lane closures on westbound I-66 just before the bridge over Lee Highway (Route 29) at Exit 72 will occur (weather permitting) between 9 p.m. Friday night, Aug. 28 and 5 a.m. Monday morning, Aug. 31 for road repairs, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.” [VDOT]
Arlington-Based Lidl Expanding — “Discount grocery Lidl, whose North American headquarters is in Crystal City, Virginia, will open 50 new stores by the end of 2021, including 10 new locations in Maryland, and seven new stores in Virginia.” [WTOP]
Nearby: Rabies Warning in Falls Church — “The City of Falls Church Police and Animal Warden remind residents about the risks of rabid wildlife spreading rabies to pets. Police recently responded to a report of a sick raccoon in the 1200 block of Lincoln Ave. The raccoon was euthanized and later found to have rabies. In this case, two dogs were exposed to the raccoon and are now in quarantine.” [City of Falls Church]
Arlington Public Schools will distribute meals at 21 of its schools during distance learning, up from its current nine.
The expansion comes as pandemic-related food insecurity rises in the county.
All APS students can pick up lunch at the new locations. Those who qualify for free- and reduced-price meals will continue to receive them, while those who do not qualify must pay as they would in a normal year.
“We are making it safe and convenient for all students and families to pick up meals while in distance learning and encourage all students to come to our meal sites, get fresh air, see friends, and take a break while picking up meals,” Amy Maclosky, director of APS Food and Nutrition Services, said in a press release.
Under the provision, all students at Barcroft, Barrett, Carlin, Drew and Randolph elementary schools will receive free breakfast and lunch. Students’ families will not have to individually apply for these meals.
The fall grab-and-go meal distribution will begin on the first day of (remote) school: Tuesday, Sept. 8. Summer meal pick-up service, meanwhile, will end on Friday. More from an email to APS families:
APS will be expanding the grab-and-go meal distribution locations from the current 9 locations to 21 schools and adjusting meal services for the new school year, beginning Tues, Sept. 8, when APS begins operating under the National School Lunch Program (NSLP).The last day for the APS summer grab-and-go meals service is Fri, Aug. 28.
Families who pick up meals on Fri, Aug. 28 will receive breakfast and lunch for Sat, Aug. 29 and Mon, Aug. 31. There will be no meal service Aug. 31-Sept. 7. Meal service will resume on Tue, Sept. 8 under NSLP, APS is committed to ensuring that ALL students, ages 2-18, can easily access healthy, nutritious meals.
As of last Thursday, the school system said it had served 358,512 meals to students since schools closed on March 16.
The expansion of APS meal pick-up sites is going into effect amid an increase in local food need.
“Between February and May of 2020, Arlington County saw an 84% increase in SNAP applications,” Friedman said. “We are basically hovering around double the amount of applications that we had prior to COVID, although we’re down from the peak that occurred in April.”
Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC) announced on August 20 that, when comparing the five months before and after the pandemic’s start, it has seen a 45% increase in families being referred to AFAC by social workers.
AFAC said it has served 33% more families during that time period — 5,054 families consisting of 12,306 individuals.
“When grocery store shelves were empty at the start of the pandemic, AFAC was the sole source of food for many in our community,” AFAC said in a press release. “Since many low-income jobs have not returned, families are visiting AFAC more frequently for much needed food.”
At Tuesday’s Board meeting, Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz proposed a new Food Security Coordinator position, to be created within the Dept. of Human Services to address food insecurity. He also called for a pilot program that would distribute grocery gift cards to families known to be having trouble accessing food.
(Updated at 11:10 a.m.) There will be five places around the county at which to cast early votes prior to the November election, Arlington officials announced last night.
That’s an increase from three satellite voting locations in past presidential election years. The County Board approved the five locations at a meeting last night, citing “unprecedented demand for early voting during the COVID-19 pandemic” and concerns about the reliability of mail-in ballots.
Between 20,000 and 27,500 Arlingtonians cast early ballots in presidential elections since 2008, according to a presentation by Director of Elections Gretchen Reinemeyer. That number is expected to go up this year.
“The Electoral Board proposes to add 5 voting satellite offices to account for dramatic increases in early voting during Presidential Election years, to help reduce wait times, and increase capacity for social distancing,” said Reinemeyer’s presentation to the County Board.
The two new early voting centers being added are the Aurora Hills Senior Center, in the Crystal City and Pentagon City area, and the Langston Brown Community Center in Hall’s Hill, along Lee Highway.
Reinemeyer said the latter will serve western portions of the county, though she noted in the presentation that “precincts on the west end of the County use early voting a lower rates than other precincts in the County.” At least one County Board watcher noted a geographic gap in the early voting center map.
Staff: Talking with DC/MD staffs, jurisdictions take about a decade to settle into early voting (finding good locations, etc.). Sites on the Arl map have moved in the past, voting officials guests at locations & have needs not all locations can provide (dedicated secure space)
Also new this year: the county is temporarily leasing a ground floor space at 2200 Clarendon Blvd in Courthouse to use for early voting, in lieu of the county government headquarters building next door. The vacant former Wells Fargo bank space will be modified to accommodate socially-distanced early voting; a line will snake around outside the center, in the courtyard area.
Early voting is set to start in the new 2200 Clarendon Blvd space on Friday, September 18. The other locations are expected to open in October.
Crowding on sidewalks, which has occurred outside Arlington bars on recent weekends, has significant potential to spread the coronavirus, according to local infectious disease experts.
Confirming fears held by county officials and residents, infectious disease specialists at Virginia Hospital Center and George Mason University said the lack of physical distancing in these crowds, varying levels of mask wearing and the social environment makes the risk of coronavirus spread high.
Sidewalk crowds have become an increasing common sight during Arlington’s weekend nightlife, due to capacity restrictions inside venues. Long lines have formed outside spots like The Lot and Whitlow’s in Clarendon, leading some to fret about the implications on social media.
According to Dr. Kathryn Jacobsen, a professor of global health and epidemiology at George Mason University, pedestrians out for a stroll are not likely to contract the disease, but those standing in a crowd shirking the ordinance are in greater danger.
“There is little risk of infection if two people briefly cross paths walking in opposite directions on a sidewalk, but there is a high risk of the infection spreading if dozens or hundreds of people crowd together at a bar or club for several hours and one patron has coronavirus infection,” Jacobsen said. “That’s how we get superspreader events.”
Photos of the lines and crowds also show only a limited number of people wearing masks. While an exposed face allows for infectious droplets to travel unimpeded, Dr. Amira Roess, also a professor of global health and epidemiology at George Mason University, said prolonged time spent not physically distant is unsafe even with masks.
“Standing in line with masks on less than six feet apart from individuals outside of your family or closed social circle for more than 15 minutes is considered an exposure and these types of exposures should be avoided,” Roess said.
The experts all said being outside is safer than indoors, but there are still risks that customers at restaurants and bars with outdoor seating often underestimate.
Dr. Jennifer Primeggia, a Fellow of the Infectious Disease Society of America and specialist in the Virginia Hospital Center Physician Group, said virus particles can still travel within compact outside seating.
“Generally, being outdoors is safer than being indoors because there is more clean air for the droplets to disperse,” Primeggia said. “There is still a risk of exposure to infectious particles when social distancing is not practiced. Additionally, multiple studies have shown that factors such as wind can disperse particles further than six feet.”
With local coronavirus cases on the rise, the Arlington County Board approved an emergency ordinance two weeks ago “prohibiting groups of more than three people from congregating on streets and sidewalks posted with the restrictions, and requiring pedestrians to maintain at least six feet of physical separation from others on the posted streets and sidewalks.”
The ordinance has gotten pushback, even among those who believe such crowding poses a health danger.
The law “seems well-intentioned but flawed,” Arlington Transportation Commission Chair Chris Slatt wrote last week, adding that it “appears to criminalize common behaviors.” The Arlington Chamber of Commerce also penned a letter opposing it, saying that the ordinance was “constructed hastily, leading to confusion and missed opportunities to develop a better policy.” Others pointed out that it has the potential to prevent families from walking down the street and to lead to inequitable enforcement.
Nonetheless, the county’s new ordinance is seen by the experts as a step in the right direction to reducing disease spread, so long as it is obeyed and succeeds in breaking up the crowds.
“This ordinance highlights the importance of social distancing and wearing masks even outdoors,” Roess said. “However, if this ordinance is not enforced then it will not be effective.”
The police department plans to begin issuing violations and fines that are not to exceed $100 following a public education campaign about the ordinance and the posting of signs, the county said shortly after it passed..
With coronavirus cases in Arlington continuing to rise, and large crowds still congregating in Clarendon on weekends, the County Board took action late last week to try to cut down on sidewalk crowding.
The Board unanimously passed an emergency ordinance “prohibiting groups of more than three people from congregating on streets and sidewalks posted with the restrictions, and requiring pedestrians to maintain at least six feet of physical separation from others on the posted streets and sidewalks,” according to a press release.
The ordinance, which will be the subject of a public hearing in September, was approved during a closed session Friday evening. Violations will be treated as a traffic infraction, with a fine not to exceed $100, though Board members said the goal will be to educate the public and achieve voluntary compliance without the need to write tickets.
The action seemed to be aimed at bar-going crowds in Clarendon, as photos are posted on social media of large queues of people outside of nightlife spots like The Lot and Whitlows.
Drove past Clarendon tonight and couldn’t believe how PACKED it was. The lines of multiple bars were filled with people. I couldn’t believe my eyes but Arlington is done for @ARLnowDOTcom . This is extremely careless. https://t.co/OtSizNz0Od
“It’s insane!” local resident Mike Gardell said of the scene this past weekend. “Lines down sidewalks, no social distancing, about one quarter with masks but around their chins or on their wrists. And, for some reason, not one police officer in sight.”
During Friday’s meeting, County Board member Christian Dorsey said Phase 3 of Virginia’s reopening, which allowed more people to gather in restaurants, “has exposed to us a real gap in our ability to ensure the public’s health.” Social distancing can be enforced inside restaurants, Dorsey said, but gatherings on sidewalks was not explicitly prohibited.
“This is absolutely necessary,” Dorsey said of the ordinance, which will be enforced by the police department following a public education campaign and the posting of signs. Board members said the aim is to achieve “a culture of compliance” without a single infraction being issued.
Coronavirus cases in Arlington, meanwhile, continue to rise. Twenty new cases were reported overnight, bringing the cumulative total to 2,945 and the seven-day rate of new cases to 122, a two-week high. There have also been five new hospitalizations over the past week.
The county’s test positivity rate, however, remains relatively low at just 4.4%. Arlington’s average daily testing rate is near an all-time high: 420 PCR-based tests per day.
While cases in Northern Virginia remain steady, the rest of the state is still seeing an elevated level of new cases and a sharp rise in COVID-related deaths.
More on the Arlington’s emergency sidewalk crowding ordinance, below, via a county press release.
