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Fairfax County Operations & My Office
Fairfax County has canceled the Board of Supervisors scheduled committee meetings for Tuesday, March 17th to allow senior staff to focus on the COVID-19 pandemic and continuing to provide essential services to members of the community. On Tuesday, March 17th the Board will hold an emergency meeting at 10:00 AM to consider declaring a state of emergency in Fairfax County. Please let me know your suggestions and concerns. The County will continue to follow the recommendation of the Fairfax County Health Department. As of now, County offices remain open and employees are encouraged to work remotely when appropriate and approved.
If County offices close, my office will stay open and provide answers and support where we can, but we prefer calls and emails to personal visits unless necessary. As always, if me or my staff can be of any assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact us at 703-451-8873.
Fairfax County Public Schools
All Fairfax County Public Schools buildings and administrative offices are closed until further notice. All FCPS school buildings are closed until further notice. Food distribution at FCPS sites will continue as scheduled. More details about the food program are below. With the school buildings closed, the laptop distribution scheduled for tomorrow is postponed.
Only essential personnel as defined by FCPS program managers and supervisors will be asked to report to work until further notice.
FCPS has decided that the first two weeks of school closure (from Monday, March 16 to Friday, March 27) will not include any teacher-directed instruction. Students can participate in optional, self-directed learning activities that have been posted on FCPS 24-7 Learning (Blackboard) and are available at
www.fcps.edu
. Again, these activities are not required, nor graded.
Beginning tomorrow, March 16th, the grab and go food distribution sites will be expanded to a total of 18 locations. The food distribution is set up outside the schools. Breakfast will be served from 8-10:30 a.m. and lunch from 10:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. at the locations listed below:
Some schools will be used as meal distribution centers for low-income students. This food has already been purchased and must be used. The centers closest to the Springfield District are:
Brookfield ES
, 4200 Lees Corner Rd, Chantilly
Burke School
, 9645 Burke Lake Rd., Burke
Centre Ridge ES
, 14400 New Braddock Rd., Centreville
Crestwood ES
, 6010 Hanover Ave., Springfield
Garfield ES
, 7101 Old Keene Mill Rd., Springfield
London Towne ES,
6100 Stone Rd., Centreville
You can find the latest information here.
Senior Facilities, Parks, Libraries, Community Facilities
Effective Monday, March 16, Fairfax County park, library and community facilities will be closed for two weeks. The county has also closed all senior center and adult day health care facilities. Some of these facilities will be used as meal distribution centers to serve the community as needed. I have requested that the Parks Authority commit to keeping outdoor, low-risk areas open to the public to help reduce cabin fever.
Metro Services
To help protect employees and customers, and recognizing that many of Metro's frontline employees are faced with tough choices as they balance work with their family priorities, including caring for children who are home from area schools, Metro is reducing service beginning Monday, as follows:
METRORAIL
- Monday-Friday: Trains will operate every 12 minutes on each line throughout the day
- The rail system will maintain normal hours, opening at 5 a.m. and closing at 11:30 p.m.
- Saturday: Trains will operate every 12 minutes on each line, with service from 7 a.m. until 1 a.m. (normal Saturday service).
- Sunday: Trains will operate every 15 minutes on each line, with service from 8 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. (normal Sunday service).
METROBUS
- On weekdays, bus service will operate on a Saturday schedule. Weekend bus schedules are unchanged.
IF YOU ARE NOT FEELING WELL, DO NOT TAKE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. Call your healthcare provider before you leave your home and follow their guidance. You can find more information here.
Local Businesses
Many of our businesses are remaining open but going virtual when and where possible. Please continue to support our local businesses where you can as this will be a particularly difficult time for them and their employees. For small businesses in need of relief, the county has
created a webpage
that we will continue to update with guidance. I am also working to schedule a virtual town hall in this area.
Ban on Public Gatherings
Earlier today Governor Northam issued a statewide ban on public gatherings of more than 100 people. You can find more details here.
Senior Tax Relief
AARP Foundation Tax-Aide has suspended services until further notice. Every year, countless seniors and disabled members of our community apply for real estate and personal property tax relief. In years past, the deadline for these applications have been April 1st. At Tuesday's Board meeting, I will be requesting the County extend the tax relief application deadline to May 1st. Our seniors' top priority must be staying healthy- we can worry about paperwork later.
Budget Town Hall
In lieu of my in-person Annual Budget Town Hall on Thursday March 19th at 7PM, I will be hosting a virtual town hall that you can watch online and/or join by phone. Details will be published in the next newsletter. You can pre-submit your questions by emailing my office at
SpringfieldBOS@fairfaxcounty.gov
. I look forward to your feedback and questions about the FY 2021 Advertised Budget.
Job Fairs
In conjunction with Fairfax County Public Schools and other cosponsors, I have decided to cancel the remaining Teen Job and Opportunity Fairs this season. We have been working with the employers that attend the job fair and are hoping to have a virtual job fair online open soon and will be scheduling a make up for late April. Please continue to keep an eye out for more information from my office.
COVID-19 Updates
The current pandemic is a dynamic situation. Fairfax County will continue to change plans as we learn more about COVID-19 and as situations unfold. Along with my office continuing our best efforts to share information with you, there are several ways you can stay aware with what's going on around the County:
- Learn more about COVID-19 on the county's website, http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/health/novel-coronavirus
- Call 703-267-3511 with questions. The call center is open from 9:30 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. weekdays and 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends.
- Residents may also text FFXCOVID to 888777 to receive updates from Fairfax County about COVID-19.
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