county government

FEMA is Giving Arlington More Than $2 Million for Vaccine Distribution Efforts

By Jo DeVoe

Arlington County is slated to receive nearly $2.3 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to support the distribution of coronavirus vaccines, Virginia’s U.S. Senators announced on Tuesday.

The money will go toward storage supplies, transportation support, staffing, personal protective equipment, and other equipment to ensure facilities align with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said a joint press release from Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine.

“We’re glad to see these federal dollars go toward helping Arlington County effectively administer the COVID-19 vaccine,” the senators said in a joint statement. “We will keep working to ensure the Commonwealth has the resources it needs to best respond to this pandemic.”

News of the funding comes on the heels of announcements that local hospitals like Inova and Virginia Hospital Center will no longer be distribution sites, at least for now. Since then, county staff have worked to get 3,750 appointments from VHC transferred to the County’s vaccine management system, said Aaron Miller, the county’s emergency management director.

Despite this, Miller said Arlington County is prepared to vaccinate about 2,000 people daily. Unfortunately, he said, the county can only make 540 appointments a day because it is receiving 2,750 vaccines per week from the state.

“This funding demonstrates exactly how ready Arlington is,” Miller told ARLnow. “That the federal government would grant this type of advanced reimbursement based on our plans and capabilities — as quickly as supply can meet — demonstrates that we have the capability.”

The only thing standing in the county’s way, at this point, is the vaccine supply itself, he said.

“I can’t emphasize that enough,” he said.

Under Gov. Ralph Northam’s Major Disaster Declaration to help Virginia respond to COVID-19, localities can apply to FEMA for funding to support vaccine distribution, the release said. Arlington County is the first of the Commonwealth’s localities to apply for and receive the funding.

With the money, the County will purchase more cold storage for the vaccine doses, Miller said. Right now it has some smaller travel-sized unit, and additional upright, ultra-cold storage is supposed to be arriving in a week or so, Miller said. He said his department needs more cold storage to have the flexibility to set up additional vaccine clinics.

Miller’s department will also expand vaccine outreach and engagement efforts. He said more people are needed to handle calls from residents to schedule appointments and provide information about the vaccine distribution.

The latest COVID-19 relief package in Congress, supported by senators Warner and Kaine, included more than $19 billion for vaccines and therapeutics and an additional $8.75 billion to support vaccine distribution, particularly for states and localities, to slow the spread of the pandemic.

Last March, Kaine urged former President Donald Trump to consider any disaster declaration requests so states could use FEMA’s Public Assistance program to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. Public Assistance is funded through the Disaster Relief Fund, to which Congress provided an additional $45 billion in the CARES Act.

In addition to the FEMA funding, Northern Virginia’s congressional representatives are pushing for a local mass vaccination site.

Today (Tuesday), Reps. Don Beyer, Gerald Connolly and Jennifer Wexton wrote to FEMA requesting that one of President Biden’s proposed 100 community mass vaccination sites be located in Northern Virginia, using Arlington County to make their case.

(more…)

Coronavirus Cases Decline, Vaccination Pace Quickens

By ARLnow.com

Pandemic-related data trends in Arlington are pointing in a positive direction, at least for now.

As of Tuesday morning, the average daily rate of new cases is 94, compared to a local pandemic peak of 123.4 average daily cases one week ago. Since Saturday, 340 new cases have been reported.

Two new COVID-related deaths have also been reported since Saturday. There have been 20 new hospitalizations over the past week, according to Virginia Dept. of Health figures.

The average rate of vaccinations is also up in Arlington, after nearly two thousand Arlington Public Schools employees received vaccine doses on Saturday and Monday. According to state health department data on vaccinations, as compiled by ARLnow, an average of 419 daily vaccine doses have been administered in Arlington over the past week, up from just over 200 daily doses a week ago.

As of this morning, according to VDH, a total of 6,364 doses have been administered in Arlington, with 656 people having received the full two-dose course of the vaccine. The latter represents 0.34% of the county’s adult population.

ARLnow has heard numerous complaints from readers about the vaccination effort so far, ranging from concerns about vaccinations not going quickly enough, to a botched rollout of the county’s vaccine scheduling system, to assertions that people who do not currently qualify for vaccinations are being allowed to register and receive them.

Arlington officials, meanwhile, say the biggest constraint to local vaccinations is a lack of supply from the state, not challenges with vaccine scheduling and administration. Virginia officials, in turn, say they’re only expecting first-round 110,000 doses per week from the federal government.

The county issued the following press release about vaccine supply on Monday.

Arlington County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti said today that the County’s ability to inoculate those eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine is limited only by the availability of vaccine supply.

“Today Arlington will be inoculating 900 Arlington County teachers, after inoculating 900 on Saturday,” de Ferranti said. “We have the capacity to do at least 2,000 doses per day or 14,000 per week, and we can do more if we were assured a greater supply. The County Manager and our Public Health Director have informed me that currently, we are being promised only 1,400 doses this week of the first-dose vaccine.

“Arlington has the infrastructure, staff, and preparation in place to continue to deliver the vaccine at the scale of these two events, and we are ready to use considerable additional staff from our Fire Department to scale immediately to do more vaccines. Supply of vaccine is the only limitation on our ability to put shots in arms,” de Ferranti said. “While we are aware that the uncertainty of federal distribution to the states seems to be affecting our local supply, we seek a commitment from the Virginia Department of Health that more doses will be allocated to Arlington. We are ready to expand our weekly throughput immediately to 10,000 doses per week, but we need assurance from VDH on delivery of first vaccines and greater clarity about the arrival of second doses.”

BREAKING: Arlington Residential Property Values Soar

By ARLnow.com

The value of homes in Arlington County has soared during the pandemic.

Residential property values in Arlington are up 5.6%, while commercial property values slumped 1.4% from last year, according to newly-released stats. Arlington County is starting the process of mailing the new assessments out to homeowners and commercial property owners.

“Arlington’s overall property tax base grew modestly from last year due to continued residential growth despite a slowdown in some commercial sectors due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the county is saying in a letter to property owners. “Property values increased 2.2% overall in Calendar Year (CY) 2021 compared to 4.6% growth in CY 2020. New construction contributed to 1% of the 2.2 % overall property assessment growth.”

The sharp rise in residential property assessments shows “the continued attractiveness of our Arlington community, even as our businesses and residents face the burdens and challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said County Manager Mark Schwartz. The average value of existing residential properties is now $724,400, up from $658,600 two years ago.

The average value of hotels, meanwhile, plummeted amid the pandemic, while apartment and office buildings increased in value — with the latter propped up by the arrival of Amazon.

“Overall commercial property assessments decreased by 1.4% over the previous year, mainly driven by a double-digit decrease in the hotel sector where operations have been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic,” the county said. “Apartment and general commercial (malls, retail stores, gas stations, commercial condos, etc.) property values saw small decreases offset by new construction. After strong growth in CY 2020, apartment property assessments increased by 0.8% overall in CY 2021. General commercial property assessments increased by 0.1% overall.”

“While many office property assessments decreased due to increases in vacancy rates and changing demand for office space, total office property values increased by 0.8% over last year,” the county added. “The overall office market tax base increased, in part, due to the increased presence of Amazon and the related development activity.”

Last year, assessments rose 4.6% on average — 4.9% for commercial properties and 4.3% for residential properties. The big rise in 2021 residential assessments will likely result in another effective tax hike for homeowners.

Last year, Arlington’s property tax rate — $1.026 per $100 in assessed value — was held steady despite the higher property values. This year, budget pressures brought on by the pandemic have prompted the county to warn of the likelihood of both budget cuts and tax rate hikes.

The height of Arlington’s budget season is set to kick off on Feb. 20, with the release of the County Manager’s proposed Fiscal Year 2022 budget. The final budget is expected to be adopted on April 17. The county’s new fiscal year begins July 1.

“The County continues to feel the economic impacts on local revenues, including the slowdown in sales, meals and hotel taxes, as well as cost increases and additional costs related to the pandemic,” the county said in a press release today. “The projected budget shortfall remains at more than $40 million, excluding the needs of the Arlington Public Schools (APS).”

County Launching Free COVID-19 Testing at Kiosks

By ARLnow.com

Through a partnership with a California company, Arlington County will be offering no-charge, walk-up COVID-19 testing starting Wednesday.

The county announced the partnership this morning, in a press release (below). Los Angeles-based startup Curative has placed testing kiosks in two county-owned parking lots in south Arlington; both are set to open tomorrow, operating from 12-8 p.m. seven days per week.

The locations are:

  • Aurora Hills Community Center (735 18th Street S.)
  • Tucker Field at Barcroft Park (4200 S. Four Mile Run Drive)

The tests are performed at no cost or co-pay to the individual, but those with health insurance will have their insurance providers billed. Results are expected within 48-72 hours.

Curative has thousands of testing locations across the U.S., but the accuracy of the tests was questioned in a recent Food and Drug Administration advisory. As a result, the country’s most populous county has discontinued use of the tests.

“In the wake of a federal report that warned of false negative results, the use of Curative COVID-19 PCR tests is being discontinued at Los Angeles County-supported pop-up testing sites, the Department of Health Services said in a statement Sunday,” the NBC station in LA reported on Monday.

The press release from Arlington County is below.

To expand access to COVID-19 testing options, Arlington County is launching no-cost, kiosk-based testing sites, in partnership with the private testing company Curative.

The two testing sites, located in the parking lots of Aurora Hills Community Center (735 18th St. S.) and Tucker Field at Barcroft Park (4200 S. Four Mile Run Dr.) will open on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021, continuing the County’s efforts to limit community spread and provide more testing options in areas disproportionately affected by COVID-19.

Both locations, operated by Curative, will be open seven days a week, 12-8 p.m.

Tests are offered at no cost and do not require a doctor referral or government identification, regardless of insurance or immigration status. Participants will be asked for insurance information, if available, so insurance providers can be billed, but no co-pay from participants will be required. Walk-up testing is available, although residents are encouraged to make an appointment on the Curative website. Kiosk service is available in English and Spanish.

Curative, which operates more than 8,000 testing sites across the country, uses a mouth-swab test that is self-administered under the supervision of a Curative worker in a kiosk. The swab is then placed inside a biohazard bag and returned to the Curative worker. Swabs from the Arlington kiosks will be delivered each night to a lab in Washington, D.C. Test results will be sent electronically to patients within 48 to 72 hours.

Visit Curative’s website for Common Q&As and Advice. Contact Curative’s Customer Success team at [email protected] or 888-702-9042 for questions or additional assistance.

Video instructions on how to correctly self-perform the test, reducing the risk of inaccurate results, is below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pS-dPpy7J8

Photo courtesy Jane Green

County Board Elects de Ferranti as Chair, Cristol as Vice-Chair

By Jo DeVoe
1/3

The Arlington County Board unanimously elected Matt de Ferranti as its Chair and Katie Cristol as its Vice-Chair during a virtual meeting on Monday.

Elected in 2018, de Ferranti is serving as Chair for the first time, succeeding Libby Garvey. During the year that he occupies this role, he will set the Board’s meeting agendas and preside over the meetings. The first regular Board meeting of 2021 will be held on Saturday, Jan. 23.

Colleagues heaped praise on the new chair.

“One of the most under-sung attributes in an elected official is earnestness, [and] our colleague, Mr. de Ferranti has earnestness in spades,” Cristol said. “[With] a pandemic, a reckoning over racial injustice, it is a moment that calls for a chair like Mr. de Ferranti.”

Cristol, elected in 2015 and a former Board chair, fills a role that was vacated in April, when then Vice-Chair Erik Gutshall resigned after doctors discovered a brain tumor. He died shortly after, and his successor, Board Member Takis Karantonis, was elected in July.

Board member Christian Dorsey lauded Cristol for her activism for accessible, affordable childcare and her work with regional partners on transportation in Northern Virginia.

Dorsey said he nominated Cristol “with great confidence that she will not only be able to perform the role of Vice-Chair, but that she will join Mr. de Ferranti in a dynamic duo for leading Arlington.”

During the meeting, de Ferranti and Cristol commended Arlington for coming together during the pandemic, and outlined their visions for recovery. The new Chair said in his remarks that recovery efforts must focus on stabilization, recovery and a systematic commitment to racial and economic equity.

“Our response to COVID-19 is the biggest test we face as a community,” he said. “As difficult as this winter is and will be, spring will come: More and more will be vaccinated and a new Biden administration will lead our nation’s recovery.”

De Ferranti’s other stated priorities for 2021 include addressing hunger and food insecurity, preventing evictions, and boosting the production of missing middle housing.

“Without changes in our housing supply the 60% of Arlington residents who currently rent cannot realistically save up to buy a place,” he said. “We risk becoming as unaffordable as San Francisco if we do not plan for replacement of existing moderately priced housing and grow in a thoughtful, managed way.”

In her remarks, Cristol said that like 2020, the new year will be characterized by the coronavirus, as cases continue to surpass the peaks seen in March. With the vaccine, however, comes a chance to reimagine Arlington, the Vice-Chair said.

“Rebuilding after this once-in-a-century pandemic is a unique opportunity to think afresh about what future we want for ourselves and our children in our County,” she said.

County Closures Set for Christmas, New Year

By ARLnow.com

Christmas and the New Year are coming up, and with the holidays come a number of closures and changes in Arlington.

“Arlington County Government offices and services will be closed on Thurs., Dec. 24 and Fri., Dec. 25 for the Christmas holiday, and Jan. 1 for New Year’s Day,” according to the county website.

Arlington libraries will also be closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas, and New Year’s Day, and parking meters will not be enforced on those days.

Additionally, residential trash and recycling collection on Dec. 25 and Jan. 1 will be shifted to Saturday, one day later. ART buses will operate on a modified Sunday schedule on Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Arlington Has Received a Shipment of the COVID-19 Vaccine

By ARLnow.com

Five new COVID-related deaths were reported in Arlington overnight as the county’s average daily caseload continues to climb.

An additional 101 local cases were reported this morning, bringing the seven-day moving average to about 90 cases per day, the highest point in nearly two weeks. Five new deaths were reported, bringing Arlington’s cumulative COVID fatality count to 174, which is less than a tenth of a percent of the overall population and just over 2% of cases (8,222).

Three new hospitalizations were also reported overnight, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data, but the seven-day trailing hospitalization total dropped to 10. Yesterday the seven-day total was 21, largely due to a big spike in reported hospitalizations on Dec. 16.

Encouragingly, Arlington now has its first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The Arlington County Board got the news on Tuesday, about an hour after the Arlington Health District received an allotment from the state health department. The first doses will be given to healthcare workers, nursing home residents and staff.

(Virginia Hospital Center has already started vaccinating its employees.)

“This is, I think, one of the brightest spots in this long nightmare of the pandemic,” Board member Katie Cristol said. “I can’t imagine that I am the only Arlingtonian who just breathed a sigh of relief listening to you describe what it means that our health care workers at Virginia Hospital Center and surrounding facilities are finally being reached by this vaccine.”

Arlington Public Health Director Dr. Reuben Varghese predicted that the general public could be inoculated as early as mid-2021, and that the timing for the next phase is up to VDH. He also said that the next phase of inoculations will likely be for essential workers, including first responders, law enforcement and grocery store workers.

“This will take time to put into place,” Varghese said. “Even though we know how to vaccinate, vaccinating with six foot distances with appointments is not something that we’ve all done before. So, we ask for your patience.”

The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines have 95% efficacy rate, but have not been tested on anyone under the age of 16. Side effects include muscle aches, soreness and fever.

Varghese also said that the health department will not collect citizenship information from those receiving vaccines.

“We’re not collecting that in any of our databases about who’s getting it and what their immigration status [is],” he said. “If you do that you will send infection underground, and you will not be able to control the spread. That principle has been maintained, and I’ve actually registered in the vaccine system and there was no status question.”

James Cullum contributed to this report. DoD photo (top) by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Carlos M. Vazquez II.

Arlington’s Art Scene is Asking for Help

By James Cullum

With performances canceled and potential gatherings impacted by COVID-19, a local nonprofit says that catastrophe looms for arts organizations without assistance from Arlington County.

Embracing Arlington Arts released its “State of the Arts in Arlington” survey earlier this month, and the results revealed a decimated local industry that has lost more than $10 million this year.

“We all can agree that the arts have been and will continue to be a critical component of our healing, our sanity, our quality of life and our overall well-being as together we fight this virus and protect our citizens,” Embracing Arlington Arts President Janet Kopenhaver wrote.

Embracing Arlington Arts is asking the Arlington County Board to consider helping local arts organizations with financial support, assistance locating safe performance venues, and facilitating introductions with potential corporate donors.

The survey of Arlington’s arts organizations found:

  • Arts organizations laid off 15% of full-time staff and 55% of part-time staff as of Nov. 1
  • More than half lost 41%-60% of their income
  • 43% reported that they would have to close their doors in the next 16 months without “additional financial resources”
  • Only 10% believe the earliest they will be able to offer live performances is within the next four months

Despite the challenges, Kopenhaver said that artists and arts organizations keep giving back to the community with virtual performances, donations for the Arlington Food Assistance Center, arts classes, and arts kits to the Bridges for Independence’s family shelter.

“From our younger generations to our seniors to residents with disabilities to those struggling with depression or mental illness, the arts can help us survive this pandemic and be stronger when we can all come together again,” Kopenhaver said.

Public Hearing on Residential Parking Program Deferred to February

By Jo DeVoe

(Updated 02/08/21) The Arlington County Board has scheduled a public hearing on proposed changes to the Residential Parking Program for its regular meeting on Feb. 20.

But Board members are open to pushing off the hearing further to engage more people and give residents more time to digest the changes.

Board member Christian Dorsey said the Board is merely advertising a public hearing and the proposed changes to the program are not drastic.

“This is an evolutionary update, not a revolutionary one,” he said. “While it’s a complicated program, the degree of change is not as difficult.”

A delayed public hearing may mean implementation is deferred to the 2022-23 fiscal year, especially if the County staff is expected to do more public engagement, said Stephen Crim, the RPP review program manager.

“Some people will be unhappy no matter how we do this program,” Board Chair Libby Garvey said. “We are really trying to balance what is fair and what is right and provide flexibility.”

The proposed changes come three years after a moratorium was placed on new parking restrictions so a review of the program could be conducted. Among the changes, County staff are recommending adding a pay-to-park option in restricted residential zones for short-term visitors, while expanding who can petition for Residential Permit Parking restrictions.

Residential areas with RPP restrictions would have paid, two-hour parking so that short-term visitors can legally park without a pass or permit. Payments will be processed through the ParkMobile app or through the EasyPark device, instead of pay stations.

Staff also recommend granting more parking options and permits to employees of K-12 schools and group homes, and reducing the number of permits that households can receive based on whether they have off-street parking such as driveways or garages.

During the meeting, the County Board approved an amendment that would allow residents to buy a third, or even a fourth, parking pass at a higher cost.

The added flexibility came after the board heard from families who have suddenly had adult children come home due to the pandemic, along with renters, homeowners who rent out rooms and homeowners who said the program would force them to enlarge their driveways.

Another concern expressed by some: whether the county can effectively enforce the modified parking restrictions, with hourly parkers added to the mix.

With the public hearing pushed from January to February, the Board members asked residents to think about the program over the next two months.

“This is a very complex program,” Garvey said. “For anybody who is just now looking at it, they need more time to digest even what we’re doing right now.”

So far, the public engagement process has mostly drawn out homeowners who currently benefit from the parking program, but not the apartment- and condo-dwellers who are generally excluded from it, a few Board members pointed out.

“Aurora Highlands has been well-represented in the public comments,” Board member Matt de Ferranti said. “The people who might benefit from this in terms of apartment buildings aren’t here.”

Arlington is Upgrading its Website and Wants Public Feedback

By James Cullum

Seven years since its last major refresh, Arlington County is planning upgrades to its website.

To prepare, the county is seeking feedback on the current website and potential changes. The public has until Jan. 8 to provide comments on what needs improvement.

County spokeswoman Shannon Whalen McDaniel tells ARLnow that Arlington is in the process of migrating a large portion of the public website to a new content management system and that the project will be finished some time next year.

“The project will enhance website stability, security, and performance while also providing a light refresh to help us better serve our digital audience,” McDaniel said.

The survey, which takes minutes to complete, asks how often respondents have visited the site over the past year, how it can be improved and whether it’s easy to navigate.

Arlington’s website first launched in the 1990s and was most recently upgraded in 2013. In October the site suffered a lengthy outage; since then at least one additional outage has occurred.

Screenshot via Arlington County

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

County Lauded for LGBTQ Inclusiveness — “Arlington scored 100 points out of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s 9th annual Municipal Equality Index for its high standards of inclusiveness and protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities. While Arlington has been a top-ranked community in the past, this year it was recognized for adding gender identity/expression protections to its Human Rights ordinance and providing all-gender bathrooms in County-owned offices and facilities.” [Arlington County]

Traffic Cam Feeds Back On — After a few weeks of Arlington’s web-based traffic camera feeds being off due to technical issues, the feeds are back on. The traffic cameras can also now be viewed on the My Arlington mobile app. [Twitter]

Traffic Cam Policy Still in Place? — Some cold water on the traffic camera news, from local public safety watchdog Dave Statter: “Cutting cameras during @ArlingtonVaPD incidents is a bad look for the department… Giving a government employee the power to censor what’s in public view based on their own whims and/or a vague county standard sure gives the impression that 1A is not that important to @ArlingtonVA.” [Twitter]

CivFed to Get Aircraft Noise Briefing — “Arlington County government officials and their consultants will update delegates to the Arlington County Civic Federation on the ongoing noise study related to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport at the federation’s Dec. 15 meeting.” [InsideNova]

Audit Committee Seeking Members — “The Audit Committee is seeking new member applications for a two-year term beginning February 1, 2021. The committee advises the County Board on County government’s exposure to financial, operational, and reputational risks.” [Arlington County]

Nearby: School Names to Change in F.C. — “After six months of a lengthy and often contentious debate involving the entire City of Falls Church community, the Falls Church School Board voted unanimously tonight to change the names of two of its five schools, ones named for U.S. founding fathers who famously owned slaves, George Mason and Thomas Jefferson.” [Falls Church News-Press]

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