Dear Residents,
The Board of Supervisors met on Tuesday and discussed several Providence District items that I am excited to announce in this newsletter. After substantial community feedback, I am happy to share that the Board set a date for a public hearing regarding officially transferring Blake Lane Park to the Fairfax County Park Authority. The Board also approved a Resolution to accept grant funding for the Shrevewood Elementary Safe Routes to School Project. Additionally, I am glad to share that Sigora Solar will design, permit, install and operate rooftop solar panels at facilities in Merrifield.
You can see the full Board of Supervisors meeting agenda here. The Board also advertised the tax rate as $1.15 – flat from last year. These are hard decisions and there will be a full County conversation on this rate, as we must balance different interests in the months leading up to budget adoption on May 4, 2021. Please email my office at [email protected] if you have feedback. You can review the proposed budget plan here.
In this newsletter, you can find the following Providence District updates:
- Shrevewood Elementary Safe Routes to School Project
- Sigora Solar Installing Solar Facilities
- Providence District Paving & Re-Striping Virtual Meeting
- Providence District Budget Town Hall
- zMOD Updates
- Public Hearing: Blake Lane Park Transfer to Park Authority
- Providence District Board Matters
- Featured Event: Bilingual COVID-19 Vaccine Town Hall
I hope this newsletter finds you and your family safe and well and enjoying the beautiful sunny weather this week.
With Gratitude,
Supervisor Dalia Palchik
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Shrevewood Elementary Safe Routes to School Project |
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Shrevewood Elementary School’s Healthy Living Festival, Falls Church VA |
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On Tuesday, our Board approved a Resolution to accept grant funding for three projects associated with the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) from the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) in the amount of $1,500,000. Funding of $560,000 for Shrevewood Elementary Safe Routes to School Project will specifically support the following:
- Add crosswalks across Shreve Road at Fairwood Lane and at the eastern driveway across the bifurcated portion of Shreve Road
- Add a crosswalk across Virginia Lane at Virginia Avenue, including new connections to existing sidewalks and paths, curb ramps, curb extensions where feasible,
- Include school crosswalk signing and markings
Grant funding will provide preliminary engineering, right-of-way, and construction. All three projects are currently in scoping. After the project agreements are executed with VDOT, design work will begin on all projects
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Sigora Solar Installing Solar Facilities
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Under a new contract, Sigora Solar will design, permit, install and operate rooftop solar panels at facilities that participate in the PPA program and sell the electricity generated by the solar panels to the participating facility at a fixed rate and over a fixed term (e.g. 25-28 years, depending on the term selected for the facility). The contract with Sigora Solar allows Fairfax County to purchase on-site renewable energy with little or no upfront or operational costs. Participation in the solar PPA program is expected to reduce the County’s greenhouse gas emissions and electricity costs. The 22 locations that were the subject of the March 9, 2021 public hearing do not represent a complete list of the sites at which Sigora Solar will install solar facilities.
I am delighted to announce that included in the sites which will have solar facilities installed are two Providence District locations: the Merrifield Center and Merrifield Center Garage at 8221 Willow Oaks Corporate Drive. The 2019 request for proposal (RFP) for solar PPA services and contract awards contemplated a phased approach to solar installations at facilities owned by Fairfax County Government and the other Fairfax Entities. The RFP listed a total of 247 possible projects in two phases, with Phase I including 113 possible projects and Phase II including 134 possible projects. Twenty-four projects in Phase I and 48 projects in Phase II pertained to facilities owned by Fairfax County Government; the remaining projects were proposed by the three other Fairfax Entities. This is an exciting first step toward having more solar energy in Fairfax County.
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Providence District Paving & Re-Striping Virtual Meeting |
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Supervisor Palchik welcomed residents to last night’s virtual 2021 Providence District Paving and Restriping Public Meeting where VDOT and FCDOT officials presented a proposed list of new bicycle lanes for Bushman Dr, Tobin Rd, Borge St, Pimmit Dr, and Idyl Lane. Officials answered questions and supplied links and addresses for residents to use to gain more information. Go to this link in early April to find the list of streets VDOT will pave for 2021-22. (The 2020-21 list is there now. Call Supervisor Palchik’s office for any help navigating the website and/or the interactive map.)
The meeting was recorded and may be seen on YouTube. Comments on the biking proposals and parking problems may be made through March 25, 2021 to Fairfax County here or by mail to Active Fairfax, FCDOT, 4050 Legato Rd, Suite 400, Fairfax, VA 22033. Send requests for road repairs, maintenance matters, safety issues and other matters to VDOT here or call 1-800-FOR-ROAD (1-800-367-7623). Fairfax County has a biking map available online or ask for a printed version by calling 703-877-5600.
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Providence District Budget Town Hall |
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Monday, March 8th, was the virtual Providence District Budget Town Hall. It was wonderful to hear from so many of you, giving us your feedback on the FY 2022 Advertised Budget. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought drastic impacts in so many areas of our community, including health, equity, schools, mental health, the economy and more. Balancing the needs of our community will require continued input, and some difficult decisions. We are in the beginning of our budget process, and your voice is critical in helping us fully understand the needs of our entire community before the budget is finalized in May.
You can view the Providence District Budget Town Hall HERE.
You can find detailed information on the FY 2022 Advertised Budget HERE.
Here is the timeline of the Fairfax County budget process:
April 13-15: The Board of Supervisors holds public hearings on the FY 2022 Budget
May 4: Board of Supervisors adopts FY 2022 Budget
May 11-12: School Board holds public hearings on FY 2022 Budget
May 20: School Board adopts FY 2022 Approved Budget
July 1: FY 2022 Budget Year begins
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Fairfax Health Dept and NCS Pop-up Vaccine Clinic |
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Thanks to NCS and the Fairfax County Health Department for working to ensure our most vulnerable communities have information and access to a COVID-19 vaccine. |
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zMOD Update: Vote Deferred until March 23rd:
The decision to defer the vote on zMOD (Zoning Ordinance Modernization Project) is to make sure we get it right. This years-long, community-input gathering process serves to modernize our decades old zoning ordinance for the entire County. After last week’s planning commission vote, and over five hours of testimony from our community, the Board is deferring the final vote. Modernizing the ordinance is way overdue to make our ordinance simpler, easier to understand, and in better alignment with our surrounding jurisdictions and our community’s values.
The public record will stay open until the vote, so please do not hesitate to continue to share your thoughts on these proposals. We value your input and want to hear from you.
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Public Hearing: Blake Lane Park Transfer to Park Authority |
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After significant public outreach and community discussion, I am glad to share that the Board of Supervisors has set a date for a public hearing regarding transferring Blake Lane Park to the Fairfax County Park Authority. I want to thank our community partners, including FCPS, Blake Lane Park residents, the Fairfax County Park Authority, and my colleagues for their support on this matter. The park has been a matter of discussion for quite some time, and I am pleased that we have been able to come to a conclusion that works for our community.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will hold a Public Hearing on April 13, 2021 beginning at 3 p.m. to hear comments regarding the proposed conveyance of Blake Lane Park to the Fairfax County Park Authority. Residents may email, telephone or request to speak virtually and submit comments. More information to address the Board may be found here. The master plan for Blake Park was last revised in 1999 and may be accessed HERE.
Learn how to submit your input HERE.
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Providence District Board Matters |
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Board Matter Recognizing Linda Byrne
The Friends of Oakton Library was founded in 2001 in response to community enthusiasm for creation of the new branch. Linda Byrne, whom you all may know from working in the Providence Office with former Supervisor Linda Smyth, will be retiring from the Friends of Oakton Library board.
Linda started in the Providence office in the latter part of 2007 and while she did a bit of everything, she worked on the “Providence Perspective” Oral History Project from the time she started in the office until the last day she was there. She was also involved in countless volunteer groups and was honored as Lady Fairfax from Providence District in 2007 and Community Champion, along with other Oakton Women’s Club members, in 2019.
Linda’s commitment to the Oakton Library goes back years as she is one of the founding members of the Friends group and has been on the Board for a long time. Additionally, she was associated with Options for Oakton which is a citizens-organized group trying to make good use of the future library property that was to be sold. Options for Oakton eventually got the go-ahead for the Oakton library, partly because of Linda’s involvement. Therefore, I asked that staff prepare a proclamation for Linda Byrne thanking her for her service and determination to make a positive difference in Fairfax County to be presented at a future Board meeting.
Joint Board Matter with Supervisor Foust Declaring March 31, 2021 Transgender Day of Visibility
March 31st, as International Transgender Day of Visibility, is dedicated to celebrating the representation, accomplishments, and victories of transgender and gender expansive people, while raising awareness of the significant work which still needs to be done to save lives.
We acknowledge the resilience of transgender and gender expansive individuals through history and how they have contributed to society. Fairfax County is the proud home of the TransGender Education Association (TGEA) of Greater Washington, whose mission is to support individuals in gender transition and the communities into which they are transitioning. In alignment with our One Fairfax policy, we are reaffirming our commitment to build a culture of inclusion and acceptance of transgender and gender expansive individuals in our community.
Joint Board Matter with Supervisor Lusk Request to Designate April 2021 as Child Abuse Prevention Month in Fairfax County
April is a time to recognize the importance of families and communities working together to prevent child abuse. In the 2019 Child Maltreatment Report from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, it was stated that there were 656,243 victims of child abuse and neglect. Here at home in Fairfax County, there are over 3,000 children involved with Child Protective Services assessments and investigations each year.
Fortunately, the trauma of child abuse and neglect is preventable. Every child deserves to grow up in a safe, nurturing, and stable environment. Fairfax County is dedicated to the safety of children and providing the appropriate supports to parents to keep families healthy. Therefore, we request to designate April 2021 as Child Abuse Prevention Month in Fairfax County.
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Featured Event: Bilingual COVID-19 Vaccine Town Hall |
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We want to hear from you! Please reach out to us with questions, comments or just to say hello.
Office Phone: (703) 560-6946
Email us HERE if you would like events included in our newsletter or you would like a member of our team to join your HOA meeting.
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