October 2, 2024

At our last Board meeting, I shared with the Board some of my successful efforts to improve the appearance of our community and asked the Board to recognize some of the many community organizations that work to maintain some of our public land. For the last several years, residents have shared with me that they have noticed a stark decline in the appearance of our public land and facilities; both County and state-owned.

The level of maintenance of our land and facilities not only affects the functionality of these public assets, but also the quality of life for our residents and the pride they take in living in Fairfax County. My efforts to address this situation started back in 2011 when I worked with then Delegate Albo to remove illegal signs from our roadways. More recently I have worked with our Facilities Maintenance Division (FMD) and the Laurel Garden Club on the West Springfield Government Center building and grounds, am having discussions with our Park Authority Director regarding the condition of some of our FPCA facilities (see my newsletter), removal of garbage cans from others, and mowing concerns, am working with the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services to address litter on the parkway, and also meeting with VDOT leadership regarding the condition of our road shoulders and medians.

(Notice the stark difference between well maintained roadways by Fairfax City and VDOT maintained roadways in Fairfax County)

I want to thank FMD for their efforts to improve the appearance of facilities in the district and Public Works for the proactive steps they have taken to prevent trash from blowing off the transfer trucks leaving the I-66 transfer station and for their roadside clean ups that are now required less frequently. I am also grateful that our Board has allocated additional funding to the Park Authority to address their ageing maintenance equipment, increased maintenance and the increasing need for dead and dangerous tree removal.

Regarding our roads, I met with VDOT’s District Administrator in January and the Assistant District Administrator in August regarding the condition of the gutter pans, concrete curbs and other VDOT facilities in the County. I am pleased that they have recently promoted a new leader into the Residency Administrator position overseeing maintenance in Northern Virginia. I met with him earlier this month to hear his plans to be more proactive vs reactive with maintenance; change the culture of the maintenance division, train, set expectations and oversee contractors; and improve the appearance of our roadways. He also shared his funding issues and increase in the cost of contractors. My staff found the agreements that VDOT has with its contractors to maintain the road right-of-way, which you can see below:

ROW Mowing Contract Language:

The Contractor’s personnel shall remove vegetation debris from the travel roadways, gutter pans, sidewalks, pavement, walkways and drainage structures adjacent to mowed areas during each mow cycle and after each mowing, and non-tractor mowing operation. Contractor shall trim all curb and gutter to the back edge of the curbing during each mow cycle.

Manicured Mowing Contract Language:

The Contractor shall clean, remove and dispose all vegetation and/or debris from concrete islands, gutter pans, bike paths, sidewalks and drop inlets to present a neat appearance. Do not blow grass into turn lanes. Any large debris shall be picked up and disposed of by the Contractor...All trash/litter from various routes, and debris from edging & string trimming and any other debris removed from Concrete Islands, Gutter pans, Bike Paths, Sidewalks and Drop Inlets shall be picked up, removed and disposed of from the site

The new VDOT Residency Administrator has set a realistic goal of improving 25 percent of the county’s roadways by Spring and will move forward from there. I have confidence we will see improvement. He also wants to encourage residents to use 1-800-FOR-ROAD and https://my.vdot.virginia.gov/ to report issues.

I also attended an Environmental Quality Advisory Council (EQAC) meeting in September that addressed the littering problem in Fairfax County and provided them with some suggestions including:

• Installation of "Up to $2,500 Fine for Littering” signs where we are having dumping issues.
• Instituting a program similar to the successful one instituted by the Commonwealth Attorney in Agusta County called “No Charge” that allows minor offenders to work off their charge by cleaning up roadways before they have to go to court.
• Continuation of the Stream Shield program that I helped create that cleans litter from our streams, that gives homeless individuals the dignity of work, provides them a reference and has graduated many into full time employment.

VDOT and the County receive help maintaining our roadsides from a number of community partners. In addition to our community groups who participate in the state’s Adopt a Highway program and Clean Fairfax, there are local organizations doing their part to address roadside appearances. The Burke Centre Conservancy, Fair Lakes League, the Reston Association and others that have longstanding arrangements and agreements with VDOT that allow them to maintain the right of way including the shoulders and medians and other community amenities in their respective areas. The visual disparity between these areas and those adjacent to them can be quite stark.

I want to extend a big thank you to these organizations and others who volunteer their time and resources to make our community better. If you know of additional organizations that should be recognized, please share them with my office. 

Inova Hospital Groundbreaking

Great turnout to celebrate the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Inova Franconia-Springfield Hospital Campus. This community hospital will provide much-needed services for this region of the county.

Asian American Policy Forum

Spoke on a panel at the Asian Chamber’s Asian American Policy Forum, focusing on the County’s affordability challenges, public safety and the need to revisit Thomas Jefferson High School’s admission policies as it has dropped from best in the nation to 14th. The Asian business community is key to our economic success in Fairfax County.

German Armed Forces Command’s Annual Oktoberfest

Joined Colonel Dronia and community leaders for the German Armed Forces Command's annual Oktoberfest celebration. It was a great celebration of German food, drink, culture and entertainment. The Bundeswehr has been a great partner with Ft. Belvoir and our community at large.

Radiology Ribbon-Cutting in Springfield

Attended the ribbon-cutting for the new Fairfax Radiology Centers (FRC) location in Springfield to thank them for their continued investment in Fairfax County. With 10 locations in Fairfax County carrying state-of-the-art equipment, our residents are ensured accessible and comprehensive care from a team of experts.

Other News and Information

• Help Needed at the Polls for the General Election!
• Smaller Lake Accotink Preservation Feasibility Study
• Looking for Service Hours? Opportunities with Herralink
• Land Unit K [Fairfax Center] Planning Study Community Meeting (Oct 3^rd)
• Spartan300 Returns (Oct 4^th)
• Annual Federation of Citizens’ Association’s Survey Due (Oct 7^th)
• VDOT “Pardon Our Dust” Meeting for Fairfax County Parkway (Oct 10^th)

Help Needed at the Polls for the General Election!

The Fairfax County Office of Elections is looking for community members to serve as election officers for the November 5, 2024 election.

In particular, bilingual officers who speak Korean and Vietnamese are needed. This is a great opportunity to get to know your neighbors and help your community!

You will receive $250 as a thank you for your service.

Learn more and apply at https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/elections/officers/new-officers.

Smaller Lake Accotink Preservation Feasibility Study

Community feedback is being solicited by the Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services on a study to determine how best to preserve a smaller Lake Accotink for a sustainable future. This survey is intended to ensure the community has input on the questions being addressed by the study and to build lines of communication with the public to share information and collect feedback as the study progresses.

Lake Accotink provides valuable recreational opportunities to Fairfax County residents and supports a variety of wildlife. Lake Accotink is important to people from different cultures and backgrounds, for many reasons. However, due to the large, developed area upstream, and the significant amounts of sediment that flows into the lake, continuing to dredge the lake to maintain its current size might be too expensive, too impactful to our natural resources, or too disruptive to adjacent communities.

We want to hear from you! To take the quick 8-to-10-minute survey, either scan the QR code below, or visit https://engage.fairfaxcounty.gov/lake-accotink-preservation. The survey closes on October 20. 

Looking for Service Hours? Herralink Has Opportunities Coming Up

Herralink is a nonprofit with programs that connect high school students with seniors in retirement homes. Their membership includes over 400 members that serve 12 senior communities, impacting nearly 1,300 seniors in Northern Virginia. They have several service hour opportunities across NOVA, such as:

-      STEM Activities for Seniors

-      An Art Day with those living with dementia

-      A Breakfast Buffet with the American Legion

-      And more!

Consider having your student get involved with a great organization for a great cause. You can email herralink@gmail.com for more information.

Land Unit K [Fairfax Center] Planning Study Community Meeting on October 3^rd

On October 3^rd, planning and zoning staff from the county will host a community meeting to discuss the Land Unit K Planning Study in the Fairfax Center area. The meeting begins at 7pm and information on the study, including the virtual link, can be accessed here: Plan Amendment 2024-II-1FC | Planning Development (fairfaxcounty.gov)

14^th Annual Spartan300 Returns on October 4^th

The Charity of Spartan 300 fundraiser returns on October 4th, starting at 6pm at the American Legion in Springfield. Please join me at 7:45 as my friend Dave Albo receives the Pillar of the Community Award.

The Charity of Spartan 300 provides financial support to former classmates, faculty and staff who attended or worked at West Springfield High School (WSHS) that are experiencing hardships.

I am proud to support this organization and I look forward to this event each year. To learn more about the Charity of Spartan 300 and for tickets please visit their page at: https://spartan300charity.org/

Annual Federation of Citizens’ Association’s Survey Due October 7^th

The annual Fairfax County Federation of Citizens’ Associations (Federation) online survey asks questions about a broad range of issues, from neighborhood to Nation, and is open to all Fairfax residents. Your answers allow the Federation to create an annual Legislative Package to be shared with the Fairfax Delegation to the General Assembly in Richmond as well as the residents of Fairfax County.

Link to take the Survey  

Full actual link:  https://forms.gle/MozCgXd1pSU8vd9r9

Survey open: September 24, 2024, to October 7, 2024

Please share the survey with all county residents that may be interested.

VDOT Hosting “Pardon Our Dust” Meeting for Fairfax County Parkway North on October 10^th

VDOT will be hosting a ‘Pardon our Dust’ meeting for the Fairfax County Parkway North project (widening/improvements from Route 29 to Nomes Court) on Thursday, Oct. 10 from 7-9 pm in the Potomac Conference room of its NOVA District Offices at 4975 Alliance Drive in Fairfax. More project information is available at https://www.vdot.virginia.gov/projects/northern-virginia-district/fairfax-county-parkway-widening-north/