SHAPE Adoption Looks to Address Senior Affordability

May 25, 2023

In this issue…

At Tuesday’s Board meeting the Board unanimously approved my motion to adopt the SHAPE the Future of Aging Plan. As Chairman of the Older Adults Committee, I led the plan development along with our Fairfax Area Commission on Aging (COA) and County staff. The SHAPE plan was developed through numerous focus groups, townhalls, interviews, and surveys, which identified several critical needs for older adults in Fairfax County, including making information more accessible, end of life planning, isolationism, and a particular focus on the issue of affordability. Now that the plan is adopted, the COA will discuss initiatives that address the needs outlined in the plan and bring them back to the Board for approval. I strongly encourage you to read the plan and reach out to me if you have ideas for initiatives.

The most resounding feedback we heard from residents during the SHAPE plan outreach was that affordability is a barrier for older adults in Fairfax County who want to retire here (see my November newsletter). The Fairfax County Community Assessment Survey (CASOA) from last June revealed:

92 percent of surveyed participants said Fairfax County is an excellent or good place to live, but only 53 percent believe it is a good place to retire.
Only 16 percent of participants rated the cost of living here as good, ranking Fairfax County at 258th out of 279 comparable communities for older adults’ cost of living.
Fairfax County ranked dead last out of 84 comparable communities when it came to likelihood of remaining in your community throughout retirement.

In order to address this issue of affordability, we need to continue looking at expanding senior tax relief, homesharing, and possible tax limitation policies for long-term residents, like homesteading policies in other states. These are just some of the starting points for possible initiatives that the COA will consider related to affordability, but they will look at all of the highlighted challenges in the plan that fall under these categories:

Services for Older Adults and Family Caregivers
Housing and Neighborhood Supports
Access to Mobility Options
Personal Well-Being
Economic Stability and Planning

The Board has a history of developing community-driven plans to meet the needs of our older adults with the most recent plan adopted in 2014, the nationally recognized 50+ Community Action Plan. I oversaw the development of that plan with the COA and the implementation of the 31 community-driven initiatives that came out of it. I am looking forward to using the same community-focused approach to implement the SHAPE plan and hope to hear from you on potential initiatives.

Bike to Work Day

Thank you to everyone who stopped by West Springfield Government Center at our first ever Bike to Work Day Pit Stop and to the sponsors who donated food, Duck Donuts Springfield and Huntsman Square Starbucks, as well as event sponsors Commuter Connections, Washington Area Bicyclist Association, and the Fairfax County Department of Transportation.

A special thank you goes to Shawn Newman of Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling (FABB) and West Springfield Walkable Community for his time staffing a FABB table and speaking with cyclists during the event.

Other News and Information

Shredding Events Near You!
Traffic Alert: Upcoming High School Graduations
Board of Equalization Tax Appeal Deadline (June 1^st)
First Responder & Safety Resource Fair (June 3^rd)
Juice Box with a Cop @ West Springfield District Station (June 10^th)
Early Voting for Primaries until June 20^th

Other News and Information

Shredding Events Near You!

My office has received many emails and calls about the cancellation of this year’s free County hosted shred events because of perceived equity issues, the County’s new zero waste policies and workforce shortages. I shared my thoughts on this reasoning in a previous edition of the Herrity Report. However, due to high demand, my office and many organizations are hosting events to provide this important service and support residents. Below is a list of events that have been shared with me so far:

Supervisor Herrity & Marian Homes

June 3^rd from 10AM-12PM

Rolling Valley Park & Ride

Free (Donations Recommended)

Monthly Community Shredding

June 10^th from 10AM-2PM

14801 Willard Road Rear of Suite 800

$10 per banker box

Supervisor Herrity & Crime Solvers

June 24^th from 9AM-12PM

Rolling Valley Park & Ride

Free

If you are hosting an event and would like to be listed in my newsletter, please email my office at SpringfieldBOS@fairfaxcounty.gov to be featured.

Traffic Alert for Upcoming High School Graduations

Note that for two weeks beginning June 5^th Eagle Bank Arena will have multiple high school graduations that will impact traffic in the area. To plan accordingly, please review this list of the graduations to efficiently and safely minimize traffic time and road congestion. Please share this alert with those who may be impacted.

Board of Equalization Tax Appeal Deadline on June 1^st

The deadline to submit an appeal of your assessment to the Board of Equalization (BOE) is June 1^st. The BOE is an independent body that is appointed by the Board of Supervisors, with the ability to hear complaints and take requests to review their assessed values.

BOE appeals must be postmarked by midnight on June 1 or dropped off/uploaded/emailed to BoardOfEqualization@fairfaxcounty.gov by 4:30 p.m. (EDT) on June 1st.

For more information on assessment appeals and the process, click here.

First Responder & Safety Resource Fair on June 3^rd

The Arc of Northern Virginia and Fairfax County public safety agencies are partnering to host the First Responder and Safety Resource Fair at the Criminal Justice Academy on June 3^rd. This event provides people with disabilities and their loved ones opportunities to learn and practice for emergency situations with police officers, firefighters, EMTs and others. Participants will be able to do the following:

Practice police traffic stops and traffic accident response
Practice talking with and using fire, rescue, and EMS services
Learn about free, tech-based safety resources available from our Tech for Independent Living program
Ask questions of first responders
Learn about planning for natural disasters and other emergencies
Receive a personalized DD identification card to hand to first responders in the event of an emergency

The fair is free for all attendees. For more information, see this link.

Juice Box with a Cop at West Springfield District Station on June 10^th

From 10AM to 1PM on June 10^th, FCPD and Opportunity Neighborhood-Annandale Council members are joining together to host “Juice Box with a Cop”. The location is 7931 Patriot Drive and is a good community opportunity to talk with our excellent officers about what they do and what they are curious about. There will be juice boxes, snacks, fun activities, free car seat inspections and a potential visit from McGruff the Crime Dog. The event is open to all ages. If you have any questions before the event, you can contact MPO Tony Capizzi at 703-277-2363.

Early Voting for Primaries from Now until June 20^th

Early voting for the June 20th primaries has begun. Any registered voter can participate in the primaries. Below are locations and hours. For additional information on early voting and the additional locations that will open on June 10^thand other details on early voting please see this link.

l Day, May 29, 2023

MAY 5 – JUNE 17

Note: No voting on Memorial Day, May 29, 2023

HOURS OF OPERATION:

Weekdays: 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Two Saturdays (June 10, June 17): 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Fairfax County Government Center

Conference Rooms 2/3

12000 Government Center Pkwy

Fairfax 22035

HOURS OF OPERATON:

Weekdays: 1 p.m. - 7 p.m.

Two Saturdays (June 10, June 17): 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Mt. Vernon Governmental Center

2511 Parkers Lane Alexandria, 22306

North County Governmental Center

1801 Cameron Glen Drive Reston, 20190

JUNE 10 – JUNE 17

HOURS OF OPERATON:

Weekdays: 1 - 7 p.m.

Two Saturdays (June 10 & June 17): 9 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Burke Centre Library

5935 Freds Oak Road, Burke 22015

Centreville Regional Library

14200 St. Germain Drive, Centreville 20121

Franconia Governmental Center

6121 Franconia Rd, Alexandria 22310

Great Falls Library

9830 Georgetown Pike, Great Falls 22066

Herndon-Fortnightly Library

768 Center Street, Herndon 20170

Lorton Community Center

9520 Richmond Highway, Lorton 22079

Mason Governmental Center

6507 Columbia Pike, Annandale 22003

McLean Governmental Center

1437 Balls Hill Rd, McLean 22101

Providence Community Center

3001 Vaden Drive, Fairfax 22031

Sully Governmental Center

4900 Stonecroft Boulevard, Chantilly 20151

Thomas Jefferson Library

7415 Arlington Blvd, Falls Church 22042

Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library

7584 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church 22043

West Springfield Governmental Center

6140 Rolling Road, Springfield 22152

Springfield@fairfaxcounty.gov

Office

(703) 451-8873

Website

fairfaxcounty.gov/springfield

Free Summer Concert Series @ Burke Lake Park

Every Wednesday 7pm

June 28^th- August 16^th

Wednesday, June 28, 2023

Randy Thompson Band

Wednesday, July 5, 2023

The Nighthawks

Wednesday, July 12, 2023

SoHo Down

Wednesday, July 19, 2023

Speidel, Goodrich, Goggin & Lille

Wednesday, July 26, 2023

The Skip Castro Band

Wednesday, August 2, 2023

The English Channel

Wednesday, August 9, 2023

The Road Ducks

Wednesday, August 16, 2023

The Colin Thompson Band

Wednesday, August 23, 2023

Riptide

Four-Legged Friend

15-year-olds CeCe (grey and white) and Layla (long-haired) have been together their whole lives. They were sadly surrendered by their loving family as they are moving overseas and cannot take the cats with them. Cece and Layla were very gentle with the children in the home. CeCe has perfect litter box habits, loves the cat tree, is super playful, and is quite empathetic! CeCe loves people and seeks attention from everyone, even guests to the house! If you'd like to meet Cece and Layla, visit here for more information.

Sports Tourism Task Force

Pat Herrity

6140 Rolling Road,

Springfield, VA 22152

(703) 451-8873