Coraggio Consulting
City of Fairfax City Council Work Session, Tuesday, June 2, 2026

Date: Tuesday, June 2, 2026
Place: City Hall, City of Fairfax, Virginia
Length: 2h 4m (video)
Official meeting video (city, Granicus): https://fairfax.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=13&clip_id=4571
Agenda: https://fairfax.granicus.com/AgendaViewer.php?view_id=13&clip_id=4571
Minutes: https://fairfax.granicus.com/MinutesViewer.php?view_id=13&clip_id=4571&doc_id=0a7493fc-5f4b-11f1-9b4d-005056a89546

Machine transcript (speech-to-text) produced by Coraggio Consulting. Not an official county record. Names and numbers may be misspelled; check the video at the timestamp before quoting.
Speech-to-text: whisper.cpp, model large-v3-turbo. Produced 2026-10-12. Timestamps are [HH:MM:SS] into the meeting video.

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[00:00:42] Good evening. I would like to call the work session of June 2nd, 2026 to order. Welcome to all of our guests here tonight. I think we have something special tonight, Ms. Shinneberry. Perhaps you could tell us what is our first agenda item. So we have the Katherine Johnson Middle School students doing a presentation focusing on sustainability for North Facts and Courthouse Plaza Shopping Center.

[00:01:04] I'm going to recognize Amy Lynn Denny, our city planner, for the introductions before their presentation. Hello, Mayor and Council. So, yes, tonight you'll be hearing about redevelopment in Northfax and for Courthouse Plaza. This is a group of students who are doing this completely voluntarily.

[00:01:23] Over the years, we've done this. We had a group of students with Miss Alum back in 2021, 2022, when Camp Washington Small Area Plan was being developed. Similarly, in 2024, when the Fairfax Circle Small Area Plan was being developed. Now we have all the small area plans, but we still wanted to do a redevelopment project.

[00:01:40] And so the students were doing a similar thing for Northfax. and then also to have a site-specific example. We did Courthouse Plaza before the applicant had submitted a proposal that started last fall, and the students were challenged to envision redevelopment considering stormwater issues, pedestrian connectivity, and economic development, and I will pass it along to Ms. Alum.

[00:02:00] Good evening, Mayor and Council. It's a delight to always be here, and the honor is that being a city school and being such easy access to the council and the public works, it's a blessing.

[00:02:21] It's a blessing to be city school. I've been there for 20 years now. I won't trade it unless they kick me out, right? So working with Paul and prior to that Kelly O'Brien, and the name goes on since 2016, getting these projects that these kids can look at where they live and plan and present and you are willing to listen to them, I think this would be definitely their best opportunity that they will remember from middle school.

[00:02:49] I hope so. What do you guys think? Yeah? All right. It would be a miss if I did not introduce Ms. Conley here. Ms. Conley teaches the leadership class in addition to the art that she teaches the electives.

[00:03:06] And through the leadership class, I always like these projects have come through during the after school or the science classes. But this year, I wanted to incorporate it through the leadership class because it fits there. So met with Paul and Amy looking at many projects that are in the pipeline and what would be a fit for these guys we chose and gave the students the opportunity to choose from.

[00:03:30] So different students chose different projects. So a group chose North Facts, then many other kids chose Courthouse Plaza. And it started with giving them the maps, Amy coming to the classroom and explaining how it all works, what is the map, what are you limited to, And then they were left alone to figure out what to do.

[00:03:52] And I will ask Ms. Conley to say something, how this all folded up in her classroom. I did not know I was speaking. Good evening. So it was wonderful to see them in action. Amy and Paul brought in these big, giant maps, and they were able to get in their maps and have them.

[00:04:11] They individually came up with their ideas, but then they were wonderful to be able to come together as groups and have some common ground to be able to develop it. But it's been a wonderful process, and they are wonderful. I'm going to miss them so much. And I told them that, you know, this is just the beginning.

[00:04:26] You're going to high school. This needs to continue, right? And so I'm going to hand over to the North Facts first, and they're going to begin. So it's all yours. Wait, wait. Is it this one?

[00:04:46] Right? Oh. This one. It's the bottom one. Okay. Which one is it?

[00:05:03] I think. It's going forward. Let's do it from here for now. Go ahead. Get started. Is it this one? it is this one very good evening council members and mayor um i'm claire i'm mohana and i'm halima and we're here to talk about the redevelopment proposal for north facts okay it works so here

[00:05:37] as you can see there's two maps on the left side of the slideshow is the outline of north facts north fact sits on road 123 and has fairfax boulevard through the middle on the right side is the same duplicated map but you might be asking what are those brown spots on the map that are covered that are not on the left side well these are spots that are not sites that are not going to redevelop these sites include assisted living mazda's dealership a motel office buildings and amazon fresh mazda's dealership has recently redeveloped so they

[00:06:12] will not be redeveloping. And Amazon Fresh has closed down, so we will be putting something else in its place that we will talk about in a few slides. As we can see, there's three environmental issues here to address. First, I want to mention that we need to dream big, set goals, and take actions. First, we have stormwater management. There's a lot of impervious surfaces that leads to runoff and flooding. As we can see on the map, there's just too much concrete and little grass.

[00:06:44] There's also a heat island effect, which I'll be talking about in later slides. Second, we have car center designs. As I mentioned, there's just too much concrete and roads here. This can increase carbon emission and runoff, and it's also difficult for people to walk safely.

[00:07:02] Third, we have lack of greenery. This leads to heat exposure, lack of carbon absorption, and also lack of common friendly environment. Okay, so we see that there's multiple colors here on this map, and you might be asking, what is this?

[00:07:21] This is a heat island. A heat island is basically an area which is warmer than the space around it. Here we can see the yellow part is hot. The orange part is a little bit hot, but the dark red spot is the hottest.

[00:07:42] Since the shopping center takes place near the dark red spot, we know that there's large roads surrounding that place. Since the heat gets absorbed into the asphalt and the asphalt rises into the air.

[00:07:58] Who breathes the air? Us. Okay, so let's talk about terms. What is urban planning and zoning, and why is it so important? Basically, urban planning decides how lands, roads, and public spaces are used in a city.

[00:08:16] You wouldn't really want your house to be next to a factory. It also helps us organize where houses, schools, businesses, parks, and transportation should go. This also keeps the city growth organized and efficient overall. It's also, for us, for Fairfax, it preserves city character and also protects the green spaces.

[00:08:38] It reduces traffic, supports the local economy, and keeps the community friendly and accessible. So how do we manage stormwater and runoff? We need to use green infrastructures like rain gardens, bioswales, green roofs, permeable surfaces.

[00:08:57] This just reduces flooding and stops the runoff before reaching the streams. As we can see in that picture, that is an example of a bioswale. We can also plant more trees, which will increase the green spaces and also cools the area down generally.

[00:09:15] How can we improve pedestrian safety in the area? I would suggest that we should add proper sidewalks so people can walk safely, shared use paths with bike lanes for people who like to bike, Improves crosswalks and intersections, slow down vehicle traffic and enhance traffic calming.

[00:09:33] Better lighting and signage, especially at dark since people can't see properly. ADA access for people who need it. And also increasing community awareness and enforcement. Lastly, how can we facilitate a strong local economy?

[00:09:51] We need to promote a mixed-use plan, like residential units, commercial sites and offices for people who work, dining venues for people to dine in and relax, network that is walk-friendly, providing access to campus services for people who usually don't have cars, underground parking, and promoting small and locally owned businesses.

[00:10:18] So this is our idea. our idea of green north facts is adding more pervious surfaces bringing the stream above the ground adding more greenery to the area and adding more solar panels on the right is a picture of an example picture of bringing the stream above the ground this is san antonio texas where they brought the stream above the ground and added places like probably like where people can like relax and have fun with family or friends next to it we want to bring this idea to north facts so currently the river the stream is underground in the picture you can see if you can see the dark

[00:10:58] blue is the stream that is currently underground and we would like to bring that up so this is near the residential area here we would like to add like gym fitness where people can work out a park 24 essential store maybe something like 7-eleven a wellness office for adults lots of trees and sidewalks where cars can also pass on so the sidewalk where cars can also pass on it will be pervious surface like the pervious surface parking lots that is the example picture which reduces runoff and heat like heat islands like said before there will be also trees to reduce the heat

[00:11:36] islands the wellness office and gym can be connected so people can either work out or you could like work out and like do like other tasks that you might need to complete for work like bring your computer along do some gym exercise and also finish your work the park will be divided into two and this is where the stream comes into play this the park will be separated into two like i said will be used for kids and families to enjoy and for dogs and pets to enjoy and the stream will

[00:12:07] come above um the 24 7 essential store i think we we think that we need here is because what if like you need something at night and not a lot of stores are open at night so you need like some store that's open all the time that you can go really quickly to and currently there is a essential store there but we were wondering if we could either break it down make a new one make it better or just keep the one there so this is the amazon fresh area like i said earlier the amazon fresh

[00:12:43] has clearly closed down so they can focus on whole foods so in their place we would ask to put whole foods there here we would also add like to add coffee and dessert shops restaurants and previous parking obviously the previous parking is for the heat islands so they don't increase um the restaurants could be like a food court with like three to four different type of restaurants and the dessert shop as well that could be also either three to four different dessert shops or just one big dessert shop where people can enjoy food so here we would like to add green space

[00:13:22] Here we would also like to add a smoothie bar, board game cafe, yoga, art studio salad or a sandwich spot, a bookstore and definitely the grass area with trees and picnic areas. So here is like a spot where you can come like either for your lunch break or for dinner after your work.

[00:13:42] Kids can also come here and they can have lots of fun. So this is our second proposal for bringing the water on surface.

[00:13:59] We would like to add a sushi restaurant right next to the Mazda. And as you guys can see, those are our inspos. Those are from Japan. And yeah, Norfolk should be for people, not just cars.

[00:14:16] Right now, it's too loud and hard to get around. We can fix this by adding, by adding, planting more trees for shade, adding more lights so people can see at night and adding real, painting crosswalks clearly. so we can cross streets safely.

[00:14:35] Adding real bike lanes will also keep kids and families away from fast traffic. By making those small changes, we'll make Norfax a beautiful place where we actually want to live, relax, and work. Bus shelters with solar panels.

[00:14:54] We would like to propose the idea of having solar panels on top of the bus shelters. Bus shelters keep people dry while it's, like, raining outside. There could be, like, a bus shelter where you sit there.

[00:15:11] And fewer cars reduce carbon emission. And traffic flows much better when there's, like, less cars. And you can get around, like, faster. And a street will feel more like a community, less like a parking lot.

[00:15:27] And energy from solar panels will generate power to the area. Solar panels. So, solar panels are beneficial for residential and commercial. So, for residential, it will lower the bills.

[00:15:44] You can just keep your money instead of giving it to the utility company, and it will higher the value of your property, and you will have backup power even when the grid is down. For commercial, same thing. It will lower the costs, and green branding attracts eco-conscious customers who love green shops.

[00:16:03] tax breaks take big advantage of government incentive and write-offs. So these are our Global Connections or Sustainable Development Goals. We have three goals that tie into our project. There are Goal 11, 13, and 7. Their targets are sustainable cities and communities, climate action, and affordable and clean energy. So this is how these goals are addressed in our project. For Goal 11, we are planning sustainable urbanization, building safe, inclusive,

[00:16:40] accessible green public spaces. For goal 13, we're reducing global warming by reducing the heat islands as mentioned earlier. For goal 7, we are providing clean and efficient energy by installing the solar panels. Civic action and ask. Reduce your carbon footprint. We ask that you please require green infrastructure standards in redevelopment, like enforcing the green building policy which exists but has never been enforced, prioritizing walkables, bike-safe design elements, and increasing tree canopy. Please establish youth consultation requirements before project

[00:17:17] approval. We bring essential lived experience and we are the future. Civic engagement. We have outreach to authorities in power. We have already met with city planning commission and city school board and now we were here with you city mayor and council members who are the final decision makers. Bringing our voice to the redevelopment process rather is a good thing so that you don't have to waste time money and taxes on implementing small site-based fixes later we are the future we are the future thank you very much that was a lovely presentation thank you for your time

[00:17:55] many thanks to miss connelly miss alam and also miss denny well you have wonderful teachers and this is a wonderful program and i'm so glad that we have city staff like amy lynn and the other members of our cdmp who are willing to work with your leadership program and your teacher to give you the opportunity to practice these things. You're right. You live here. You have an opinion.

[00:18:17] And so it's important for us to help you continue to do this well beyond this class, this grade. I hope well into your adulthood you continue to think this way. All right. Should we have the next team? Okay. Council Member Hall. I want to thank you for all the time and energy that went into this. I love that we are doing this and we continue to do this. You have great teachers. My kids have worked with both of your teachers over there um at some point in time and i i actually

[00:18:53] love this i was very disappointed when the creek kind of went underground in certain areas and i love some of your ideas or i live right near the shopping center in this area that is going to be redeveloped at some point and i would really love to see some of your ideas incorporated into what is somewhat in the works at this point so thank you so much for bringing um a youthful perspective to it and I actually think that what you said about bringing kids and students in to kind of you know think through some of what is going on is a really really great idea and I hope that you as you continue through high school can bring your friends and other students in to help us

[00:19:29] take a different perspective on things and I would encourage you there's so many ways as you get in high school to get involved in the city be it with other boards organizations commissions things like that so please stay involved and stay active thank you council member Amos I just got to say Y'all are so much better than I was in eighth grade.

[00:19:47] Oh, my goodness. I am just kind of geeked to hear you talking about zoning and drawing the connections between transportation infrastructure and environment to focus on the bus shelters and solar panels, bike, pedestrian, but also connecting that with the need for trees to provide shade and the heat island effects.

[00:20:04] Y'all did a phenomenal job to the point where I don't have questions, and that's a rare thing, so appreciate that. Thank you. Council Member Hall? I mean, Council Member Peterson. Are y'all available to redesign the property yard? or to come work for my organization.

[00:20:22] I think probably the city would probably jump at the gun before I could, but this is really great and so appreciated. Thank you, the teachers who are involved here. So to me, this is the magic of design, is when bright people get together and collaborate.

[00:20:40] Two heads are better than one, and they come up with these, you know, really not just creative but practical and doable things that make a difference. And so what I see in what you've done tonight is exactly that. And it is a great breath of fresh air. And I'm looking forward to the next presentation.

[00:20:56] Just a quick note or two. I have walked the Riverwalk in San Antonio. The picture is from the Riverwalk there. And it is an anchor asset for that city that has changed it. And people go to San Antonio not just for the day, but they go to live there because of what the Riverwalk has done for that city is it's turned it into something that it was not before.

[00:21:17] hats off. That's just a really wonderful idea. The other thing is I have not spent as much time in Japan as Council Member McQuillan has, but I was in Kyoto for a couple weeks one time, and when I went out for dinner at night, I found myself feeling like a very impatient, hungry American.

[00:21:37] I just couldn't get enough food fast enough going out to the regular restaurants, and so in desperation, I walked into 7-Eleven. And what I discovered was that at 9 o'clock at night at 7-Eleven and Lawson's was right next door, all of a sudden a flood of people came in because that's when the sushi arrived. And they stocked the shelves with just-in-time fresh sushi and everybody went in.

[00:22:06] I just say this because I think when it comes to retail, we ought to be creative in the way we think about retail and how it can help a location like this kind of broaden out what it's doing to help an area and maybe get past some of the limits we have to thinking about brand images.

[00:22:24] It reminds me of the conversation about Draper Drive and the fact that industrial areas are also things that in other countries they've really taken advantage of to turn into very creative, wonderful assets. So it's just wonderful to see the seeds of these things really being planted here.

[00:22:40] So great, great work. Would love to continue to harness your creativity as we go forward here. Thank you. Thank you. Council Member McCoolin. Thank you. Great job, everyone. That was wonderful.

[00:22:56] I love, I too love the idea of bringing the stream above ground. I have a lot of neighbors that joke that when it storms really bad, they have waterside property, when in fact they really don't. So I think that would be a really nice feature to have here in the city. Did you guys have any ideas or recommendations that you didn't bring forward or you thought about but then decided not to present it um i'm not sure but i'm sure there was a couple but i

[00:23:30] can't really think about it right now at the top of my head so that's fine that's fine if there was just one of those recommendations that you would prioritize which one would you prioritize first um definitely like bringing the water above ground because like everyone likes water so So I just want to emphasize on that.

[00:23:50] And we will love a sushi restaurant if we bring the water above the thing. And I'm pretty sure all of us love sushi restaurants. And you know we have sushi restaurants around here, but they don't look like that. So I feel like it will keep the place more appealing and pretty.

[00:24:07] Definitely with a sushi restaurant. Got it. Thank you. Council Member Bates. I was around your age when I first started getting interested in urban planning and local policy. So keep it up, and you're doing amazing work.

[00:24:24] Also thought it was interesting that you had a board game cafe on there. I was just thinking earlier today that that's something that we're kind of missing in Fairfax. You know, they have Manassas, College Park, where I am in grad school, and Arlington, I believe. And we just don't really have anything like that around here.

[00:24:40] So I'd love to see that somewhere. But, yeah, keep it up. And there are going to be a lot of opportunities to get involved, both career-wise and volunteer-wise, advocacy-wise, for you to continue this work. Thank you.

[00:24:55] Thank you. All right. Thank you very much. And we will hear our next presenters.

[00:25:16] All right. So we have the Courthouse Plaza here. So as I said before, so there were a lot of students in the leadership class and the multiple groups that students who kind of picked on Courthouse Plaza. And then this was the group who kind of brought their ideas together.

[00:25:32] so you will see a few plants out here. Good evening, mayor and council members. Today we're going to be reimagining Fairfax, specifically Courthouse Plaza.

[00:25:51] I'm Kamala Michael. I'm Adele Wiseman. I'm Henry Street. I'm Milana Kamala. So this is just the table of contents, everything we're going to be going through today. We are going to talk about urban planning, building inspiration, zoning, concerns, designs, sustainable solutions, and of course our conclusion. This is the Courthouse Plaza Shopping Center. As you can see, it's a lot of empty space, a lot of asphalt. There's not a lot of greenery around the area, yet kids come here a lot of the times to just hang out with their

[00:26:27] friends. A lot of people go buy e-bike, electric scooter, and hang out in this area. So we would love to bring something new to this community and give kids and adults alike a place to go. So what is urban planning? Urban planning is basically the process of rebuilding and redesigning certain areas to make it enjoyable for people. Urban planners have to take in a lot of consideration when they're rebuilding. For example, land use, transportation, environmental concerns, and economic development. In the top left of our slide over here, you're going to see

[00:27:06] our land value legend. Land value just essentially means how little or how much a piece of land is worth. You can see the courthouse pauses in the red, which is less than 20%, meaning that when we're reimagining this area of Fairfax, we have to keep in mind that we can't have very luxury businesses here, but that also doesn't mean we have to have very low-end businesses either. We can find a nice middle. Zoning. Zoning is basically a set of rules of what you can build in certain areas. For an example, you would not want your house next to a factory because factories are for

[00:27:41] commercial use and houses are for residential use. The zoning for a courthouse plaza is commercial use and then I also want to further explain that in our ideas there is no type of housing or anything like that because one there's housing next like nearby and also like I said the courthouse pauses for commercial use but recently we talked to the property owners and they talked about how they wanted to change it to mixed use but we didn't know we did not know that beforehand So I just want to say that there's no housing in that for that reason.

[00:28:21] We took a lot of inspiration when we were designing our first idea. So there's a few shopping centers that we looked at. The first one is the Mosaic District. I go there with my friends a lot, and every single time I walk around there, I spot at least one person I know.

[00:28:39] It's a great place to be. It kind of unifies all of the different kind of interests and things to do, and I just love going there. Fairfax corner is very similar in the way that it's a square and it's mixed with shops and restaurants. My sister works there so I go there quite a lot and I also really love that area and Tyson's corner has almost every single shop I can think of. Whenever I need to go back to school shopping or just go shopping in general Tyson's is where I go it's got everything and lastly there's

[00:29:15] a little bit of a story behind this one but the grove. The grove is a neighborhood that I used to live in in Kenya. I lived overseas for two years, and one of the missions in Kenya is to try to make it as green as possible, so our neighborhood had lots of pervious surfaces, lots of greenery, and it was just a nice place to live, not only because I knew that we were surrounded by green space, but it was also just a beautiful place to be, and now every single time I think of Kenya, I think of that wonderful place. We also do have to consider a few issues when we were designing,

[00:29:51] The first one is managing stormwater and runoff. We wanted to add underground parking. It helps stormwater issues by creating space below the surface. We could add a stormwater runoff system that could capture, store, and slowly release our runoff.

[00:30:08] We also wanted pervious sidewalks, which means there is grass coming out of the sidewalk. So then it could not only add a natural feel, but also consume all the water from rain. For pedestrian safety, we want it to be that the only way to get to the shopping center would be through elevators from a parking garage, so no cars would be near the shopping center.

[00:30:32] It would be nice to have a car-free shopping center because cars cause more stress when you're shopping, and it's nice to have a more quiet area. And lastly, for facilitating a strong local economy, we want to focus on hosting community-centered events, creating partnerships with local businesses, and creating a vibrant walkable space, even bikeable and scooterable.

[00:30:59] The biggest concerns we faced were environmental concerns. The first concern is impervious surfaces in the area. This leads to heat island effects, excessive heat, air pollution, stormwater runoff, and it causes flooding.

[00:31:15] For lack of green space, it leads to heat island effect, excessive heat, lack of carbon absorption, stormwater runoff, it causes flooding, and it also causes erosion. The last group already elaborated on the heat island effect a little bit, so I'm not going to go too in-depth with it.

[00:31:34] But as I said, essentially when the sun hits an impervious surface that's dark and it absorbs the heat and it rises into the air, which is very bad for us to breathe in and very bad for the environment. So when we're reimagining parts of Fairfax, we're trying to add more pervious surfaces for this reason because there is a lack of trees and grass in these areas.

[00:32:00] So when we're thinking of eco-friendly solutions, we have to keep a few things in mind. How we're managing stormwater and runoff as the area redevelops, the amount of pervious areas that are currently there, how we're improving pedestrian safety, and also our green building solutions policy that's been implemented by the government that will give us incentives for the people that are going to be rebuilding and just adding more eco-friendly solutions to these places.

[00:32:26] Some of these incentives are tax reductions. So that's one of the benefits of adding more eco-friendly solutions along with reducing emissions. We also wanted to put an emphasis on the fact that Fairfax is part of Green Tree USA, which is a title we hold very proudly.

[00:32:42] It essentially just means that we have a lot of green space in our area, And we want to keep this title going with just adding more pervious surfaces and more green space in the area. In our bottom right over here on this slide, you'll see the pervious versus impervious surfaces in the area.

[00:32:59] The green is the pervious. The gray is the impervious. If you look at Courthouse Plaza, very much gray. And that's not a good thing, as we've said before. And we want to change this when rebuilding and reimagining Courthouse Plaza. So what are some sustainable solutions that we could implement?

[00:33:19] Solar panels would be great. There's a lot of wasted space on roofs, and they're very nice, eco-friendly, green energy. More pervious surfaces, just making it more eco-friendly and prettier to look at. And then stormwater and runoff detention systems so that we can prevent flooding in the future.

[00:33:39] Okay, so this is design A, or our first design. Before I get started on the idea, we just want to say that due to the changes in the land use, they are currently proposing making Courthouse Plaza mixed use instead of commercial use, but it is still commercial use as of right now.

[00:34:01] We weren't able to update our projects before this presentation, so keep in mind that this is our ideas before we knew this information. And also, all of these shops are recommendations, and we understand that some of them can be mixed around and changed.

[00:34:21] So, in this area, we wanted to add a mix of all of the age groups and all of their interests. So, for young adults, a lot of young adults are getting into athletics. So Pilates is a very big thing right now. Having something where people can do physical activity and be around shops and food would be a great thing to have.

[00:34:43] For children or teens, shopping has become a big thing, especially clothing shopping. Stores that have been getting a lot of foot traffic lately are Aerie, PacSun, Addicted, and Brandy Melville. These are also mostly multi-gendered brands, so boys and girls can go there and shop.

[00:35:02] We already have a Safeway in our area, and since there are apartments nearby this area, we would like to keep the Safeway. We feel it is just kind of needed in the area, and we wouldn't want to move that away.

[00:35:17] It's also one of the biggest shops in the area. And then another thing for teens is a lot of them need to study during SOL prep season, during SATs. So my sister and her friends, a lot of teens that I know, go to Capital One Cafe.

[00:35:34] It has got tons of rooms filled with outlets, TVs, different kinds of seating. It's a great place to study. You can also do your banking there if parents want to teach their kids how to bank. There's also a restroom and, of course, the cafe, which who doesn't love a nice drink?

[00:35:53] And for children, there's a skate and fun zone. I went there when I was really young, and I love it. It's just a really fun place to be, and it's also got freeze tags, stuff like that. And for our local stores, we have Bard's Alley, which is a local bookstore.

[00:36:10] I went there once. It was really cute and comfy, and I got a few books. And, of course, there's Ted's Bulletin because it's a great dinner place. And she's going to go more into Fairfax Surf Shop. So Fairfax Surf Shop is one of our local businesses that we've had here for a very, very long time.

[00:36:28] And it's a business that we, our group, really thinks we should keep because not only has it been there a long time, it's a great sense of community for a lot of teenagers in the area. I mean, really people of all ages, but specifically in our age group. I know that a lot of my friends I've met through there, and I know I can say the same for a lot of people I know.

[00:36:51] Skateboarding is a very big thing in Fairfax. I know from being around other kids around my age. And adding to the fact that it's been there for a long time, it's a very multi-generational place. My dad, he lived in Fairfax when he was my age, and he would go there to get his skate supplies.

[00:37:09] So I think that it's a nice place to get out of your house, get off your phone, and just explore the outdoors on a skateboard and meet some friends there. Some more ideas are a Raising Cane's. There is no Raising Cane's in our area.

[00:37:26] I have to drive almost 45 minutes to get to the closest Raising Cane's. My family loves it, and we'd love it to be closer, so that is something to consider. We also wanted to do a few things to connect our community through ways that we could all work together to create the shopping center, such as local gardens around the sides for people to come in, maybe kids from schools or people that just have interest in gardening, and a street art wall on the side that is facing the street.

[00:37:56] Nobody wants to see a blank wall while they're driving past, so having a street art wall, especially by local artists, would be something to remind us of our community and also something to look at when you're passing by. Some more ideas are shuttle stops with solar panels on top.

[00:38:15] We also want solar panels on top of shops to utilize all the space and have green energy. Community gardens and water fountains, drinking and to look at, which Henry will get more into. One of our focuses when we were creating these ideas of how we can maybe reimagine Courthouse Plaza was how we can facilitate a strong local economy.

[00:38:39] First, we can do this by incorporating a strong sense of community by having more DIY independent small businesses so that a larger amount of money is being spent by residents, staying in the community, benefiting local businesses. Two, having more diverse businesses because there's a lot of different people in Fairfax and no matter who you are, you should have a place to go in the area no matter what. And then three, job opportunities. There's a wide range of ages in Fairfax, especially in our age range of teenagers and young adults. So maybe we're starting to maybe want to get a job at a certain point. Having more job opportunities would be nice, but this can

[00:39:14] really benefit people of all ages that are looking for jobs. Just some specific developments that I would like to see as a 14-year-old living in Fairfax. First could be maybe a music venue. A small venue for artists to play could give people in my age range something to do, keeping them out of trouble. I say my age range because we're the ones creating this presentation, but really anyone of any age range, we can create our own art and share it with our community.

[00:39:41] People from out of town can share their art for our community, and also there's a lot of very talented music programs in our schools nearby, such as George Mason University, Fairfax High School. Some inspiration we could have for these are some independent music venues that are nearby. Black Hat is in D.C. It's a very nice independent music venue.

[00:40:02] Jam and Java is in Vienna. It's more of a cafe by morning, music venue by night, but still very nice. Another development could be a youth center. This could keep Fairfax youth out of trouble and help with creating that further sense of community. As I said before, there's a lot of different people in Fairfax that have a lot of different interests, and a youth center doesn't really center around certain interests.

[00:40:23] It just brings community together and brings friends together. So this is our second design. One of the big things that I had thought of for this one was changing the name because people might have like a negative connotation with Courthouse Plaza. Like, oh, parking lot, love hanging out and abandoned parking lots. So I thought about changing it to Lord Fairfax Plaza because Lord Fairfax was one of the original founders of this Fairfax area. And so I thought that could be a fun, unique name and kind of bring a new light to it.

[00:41:03] Over on the left would be more of a restaurant area. It would have pervious surfaces with public seating over in the blank area there. And it would be kind of like hexagonal tiles with grass in between because no one wants to walk on just grass and mud, of course.

[00:41:20] There would be all kinds of different restaurants, sit-down restaurants, fast food. There might be a Chick-fil-A because we all know it's one of the best chicken places to go. Over there would be the pre-existing Safeway, because along with the things mentioned before, it is also one of the biggest revenue generators for Courthouse Plaza, and so we didn't really want to get rid of that.

[00:41:46] Over on the right top, there would be a kind of a unique area with different booths that small businesses could rent out. So let's say I make art, and I want to share my art, I want to sell my art, but I don't have enough money to buy a storefront.

[00:42:02] I could start from here and maybe move up to a storefront at some point once I grow my business enough. Along both sides of the Safeway, there would be kind of like a strip mall, sort of, with all kinds of different shops, all kinds of different things.

[00:42:21] My example there is Nike because they sell sports equipment, clothing, shoes, all that kind of stuff. On the bottom right and left of that area, there would be some elevators with trees and benches around them that lead up from the underground parking, and there would be glass all the way down because it's cool to see the layers of ground as you come up, changing materials maybe, see supports, all that.

[00:42:48] In the middle, there would be a green space with a fountain. You could take your kids there, have a picnic, hang out, And along both sides of the walkway, there would be many trees. Many trees. And over in the bottom left, there would be a bioretention pond.

[00:43:09] But unlike a normal bioretention pond, which is just kind of fenced off well in the ground, this one would be a bit different. It would have kind of like boardwalks over it. It would be a much quieter, calmer area. You could take a walk, enjoy the pond, which might have plants, fish.

[00:43:27] And in the center, there would be a nice covered pavilion with benches and tables, so you could check out a book from the library next door. You could bring a board game to play with your family. And over on the right, there would be a fountain, which not only looks and sounds nice, but it helps to keep the water moving, which helps to fight against mosquitoes and other things that like to lay eggs in non-moving water.

[00:43:53] So we looked at the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The ones that were connected to our project were Goal 11, Goal 13, and Goal 7. For sustainable cities and communities, we wanted to work on building safe, inclusive, and accessible green spaces.

[00:44:11] So a lot of the pervious surfaces and walking areas. For climate action, we are going to be reducing heat island by planting green areas, planting more trees, and a walkable place with low carbon emission.

[00:44:28] So the trees, mini trees, stuff like that. And for affordable and clean energy, of course, the solar panels. Our Civic asks for change. We ask that we increase our tree canopy. We want to add shaded seating areas.

[00:44:44] We want inclusion for green infrastructure and pervious surfaces. And we want a safe area to walk and bike. Why? Students are daily users of this public space. And we also want to bring our essential lived experience to redevelopment decisions. We really do want participation in all future planning approval processes.

[00:45:04] We want to have our voice heard because in this area, we are going to be here for a very long time throughout high school and maybe after, so we would love to see our ideas went through with. We've already talked to a bunch of decision makers.

[00:45:21] We talked to planning commission members, city school board, owners of the property, and now you, city mayor and council members. We want to strengthen civic clarity by presenting to above authorities because we want the most influence for change.

[00:45:37] We also were shown in the newspaper along with the North Facts Project. If you want to see more into it, there's an electronic link, and there may be some copies on paper. Thank you.

[00:45:54] Thank you. And we also wanted to, of course, thank Ms. Alam and Ms. Conley for making this all happen. Well, thank you for the presentation, and I'm sure we probably have questions and comments from the council as well. Yes, and before we go there, I would just like to say that these guys got a curveball at them, and when they presented to the Planning Commission, and it was very nice of the Planning Commission to give that idea to them that you need to talk to the property owner.

[00:46:20] At that point, they had no idea what they were going to go into, and obviously thanks to Amy and Paul, we were able to coordinate that, and they came right before the long weekend last Thursday before the Memorial Day, and they presented to the property owner, and there was a big Q&A in the evening, and they were told that they may be going for a little change.

[00:46:43] So these guys didn't have the idea of what a little different proposal is coming, but they were on their feet too with the question answers and everything. So that was really a good experience for them that you plan something, and it may change, and then how do you respond to it, respond to the change.

[00:47:00] So hats off to these guys to kind of take that and then present it to you all. So it was a big deal. And I will follow up on your kudos to Combined Properties as well. So Combined Properties is probably the largest commercial property owner in the city. They have four developments, and they've actually been in the city for more than 60 years.

[00:47:21] So Courthouse Plaza goes back to the 1970s. But they scout on the circle, which is that new apartment complex. That's a good example of a mixed-use development. That is a combined properties project. And so you have restaurants, you have a giant, and you have apartments upstairs.

[00:47:39] But they own other properties here too. And combined has a long-term commitment to the city. And it doesn't surprise me that they were interested in hearing your ideas and talking to you because they are as interested in the future of the city as you are for different reasons.

[00:47:56] You live here, they own property here. But it's important to be able to open those doors. I appreciate your teachers and the staff in CDMP saying this is something that they might be open to. And so I appreciate the fact that a development entity in the city was willing and able to do that with you.

[00:48:17] So I agree, we should all work together. I'll start with Council Member Amos. So either one of y'all or all of y'all is going to be an architect one day. Because I have to admit, especially with design B, but in general, some of what you presented, I'm an affordable housing developer by trade.

[00:48:34] And literally some of what you presented is what I see from architects when we're trying to apply for something. So that was really good work. Especially the bio-retention pond with the boardwalk, nice. I really dig that. Overall, from both presentations, I love the theme and the main focus on just bringing more greenery to concrete.

[00:48:54] And that's conversations that we've had as a council is how can we redevelop some of these underutilized parking lots to reduce heat island effects, but also just make it more pleasant for folks to walk through, add green space, develop our tree canopy more.

[00:49:09] So seeing what y'all have presented and having these actions is really cool. I've got to ask, whose idea was it for Raising Cane's? respect i i respect that other thing i will throw at you i used to live in hawaii there's this place called zippies they do hawaiian barbecue please please pitch that at some point i will i will die on that hill they have the best korean chicken ever so i'm just gonna say that two more things actually no one more thing um i've never heard of black cat or jam and java i gotta admit

[00:49:43] and I genuinely thought I was gonna wow okay well well gasp okay my bad I will I will say then you should definitely have a conversation with economic development at some point we would love to have a place like that especially we've had a conversation about trying to have more places that are open later and create more of a nightlife in the city because that is something we're lacking

[00:50:18] that the previous group also mentioned but great work as always good job y'all council member hall thank you for the presentation and for your energy and for all that you put into this um i i probably shouldn't say this but i will anyway i love this so much more than what is actually being considered i am not a fan of what is being considered right now and i think that this is exactly something along the lines of what we need um i think we need some better shopping i actually to look up a couple of your stores because I was not totally familiar. I've been doing Pilates for two and a half weeks at Club Pilates, so I would be thrilled to have one in the city. But I just,

[00:50:56] I think what you put in here is just so pedestrian friendly. It makes people come and want to have a place to spend their time. You know, bring a picnic, like you said, explore the bio, what was it called? The bio retention pond. I loved all the garden ideas. Bringing in stores, I like that it's safe it's kind of walled off essentially so that you know it's kind of like a mosaic or like a maryfield like that kind of vibe to it which i think people go there for a reason um and i i just think that there's so many opportunities here i think i do have to check out the capital one cafe i was not aware of that so i will be looking into that but i just think there was some really really

[00:51:35] great things in here um and the boardwalk thing i think is super cool too uh i just there was a place like that when we used to live up in Maryland out in like Gaithersburg area and it's just it's just calming right it's relaxing to just sit there and have the water be there and even if you're not like in it or right at it it just it just makes you feel a little bit more calm and I think it also elevates a space in so many ways and I do think that if I could redesign courthouse it would look something a lot like this so thank you for all of your work on this. Thank you. Councilmember

[00:52:11] Peterson well thank you also really wonderful work and I do like the idea also of creating a place where people want to be and attracting them and their neck this property is next door to of course Old Town which is a place people want to be and so it makes sense to do more of that because that's a big part of what makes the city tick so it's really wonderful to see all these kinds of ideas that would help accomplish that I'm a bicycler and I'm wondering what your thoughts were on making this a place where bikes want to be. Do you have any

[00:52:47] thoughts around that? My dad is also a very big biker. He's watching right now from home. Hi, dad. And I'm pretty sure both of you would be very happy to have bike lanes. And that's definitely something that all of us probably want. My dad's going to get me more into biking this summer. And so bike lanes around the city would be great for making it safer to get around instead of either on a sidewalk with risk of hitting pedestrians or in a road with risk of getting hit by cars and also our pedestrian walking areas could be kind of split in half so half

[00:53:22] closer to the side of the road would be where the bikes are and then kind of on the inside would be where people walk I've seen lots of those places in DC so maybe something like that would be considered well it's wonderful to hear so I'm sure many of you have been to Rehoboth Beach and you've probably gone down the long strip that has shops.

[00:53:43] Of course, it's right next to the ocean, which is a lucky thing. But one of the nice things about being there is you can ride a bicycle right up to the place you shop and you can either park it there or there are lots of places to park your bikes and park them safely so you can get off your bike and you can wander around and it's okay.

[00:54:01] Did you think about anything along those lines, a way for people to be able to do that in this new area? We did think about, like, having bike rails for people to park their stuff and maybe put a lock around it. So I think that most, like, bikes and scooters could probably fit in elevators.

[00:54:21] So maybe when people went up, they could park their stuff somewhere close, maybe somewhere next to the youth center where it could be supervised. Since it's a square, the reason that we had the grass area right in the middle is because there's, you can see everybody from every shop.

[00:54:40] So people would also be able to see their items, such as their bikes and scooters. Go ahead. In the underground parking, there could also be a space, a bike lock area, like a bike rack, to put your bike, something.

[00:54:57] So let me ask a dangerous question. When everybody comes to hang out, where do they go to the restroom? So, I don't know if we can go back to the map on this, but there is, I did do research on which stores normally have bathrooms.

[00:55:16] Capital One Cafe has a bathroom, and I forgot the other shop. Could you go to my design site? Oh, yeah, Ted's Bulletin does. Oh, yeah, Ted's Bulletin does, and also Aerie does.

[00:55:34] So, that's three restrooms. I had to ask. Of course, it's a necessity. councilmember Bates um yeah just again wanted to thank you for your amazing work on this um and regardless of whether this ends up being a um or what's proposed as a mixed use project or not um most of the concepts here are applicable um you know increasing tree canopy and green space increasing walkability reducing surface parking these are all things that are applicable

[00:56:12] regardless and additionally I recall at some point you talked about a space where you know you can have a little bit of space reserved to sell your your crafts and what have you without a full storefront that reminded me of a program that the city's economic development office used to do in a vacant retail space had been vacant for some time up until it was reoccupied where

[00:56:45] it was basically exactly that you know the space was rented out to multiple you know local artisans and vendors and they could reserve their own space in there to have some of their items sold and then they'd have just a common you know front counter person who would just handle all the sales and i would really love to see something like that happen again at some point in some form so really uh was glad that that you all were thinking along the same lines council member mcquillan i'm

[00:57:19] just so impressed by you all i i'm always impressed whenever we have students come and present but this is the the depth of detail that you all included in this presentation was so impressive the i mean even to the the thought of the mixture of the stores your boardwalk over the storm water retention that's amazing so smart to have a little area that people can go nice and quiet I just very impressed keep it up good job so thank you very much to everyone the students the staff every that one that was involved you all have done a lot of work and not only that you really

[00:57:57] spent a lot of time making presentations to people who are the decision makers so I applaud you for your extra effort to do this and we hope we this is not the last time that we see you so and enjoy your summer. Thank you. Could we take a picture with you all? Is it possible or will we take too much time? We are going to take a picture. All right. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for all this because this really helped them apply what they're learning in the classroom. And just

[00:58:26] to get it in their own backyard, nothing like it. Thank you. Better to do it. It's a lighter,

[01:00:33] much lighter agenda. No, this is great. I appreciate it.

[01:00:44] all right we're now going to okay is this thing on okay so we are now moving on from our presentation to the work session agenda Ms. Shinneberry our first item is a discussion of a grant supplemental appropriation resolution in the amount of $1,815,512 for FY 2026 federal state, local, and use of balance sheet funds for expenditures.

[01:01:23] Administrative action to align the budget with actual revenues and expenditures in preparation for a year-end close and the upcoming financial audit. I'm going to recognize Gwen Riddle, our budget director, for the presentation. Good evening, Mayor and Council. So on the screen, I don't have a full presentation, but on the staff report, pages three and four, we list out all the accounts that are affected. So we're talking about an appropriation of about $1.8 million, of which the majority is coming in from revenue of other sources or money that the city has already received in prior years.

[01:02:03] And we're just asking for the authorization to spend those funds in FY26. The first top of the section is revenue accounts. That's a lot of for us on accounting. So I'm going to go to the second section, which is the expense side. The first one is our arbitrage expense, which unfortunately is a use of Citi unassigned fund balance. Arbitrage is based on when we have tax-exempt bonds, and our interest that we earn is greater than the yield that we've gotten when we took the bonds

[01:02:39] out. So this was for the 2020 bonds that we recently retired. The next piece is for AED replacements for our risk management department. And we received in $14,000, and we will this fiscal year, for returning our AEDs that are no longer viable. We also got a grant for Public Works Chainsaw Program, which is another program under risk management where there's bags ready to go. So when we're using chainsaw, all the necessary safety equipment is ready to go

[01:03:15] for our workers in a bag. And they have their safety glasses, their gloves, everything they need. Fire gets money for different reasons. One of them, the fire and life safety grant that they got for $9,000. We get funds from the state for 4-4 life. And then we're using balance sheet funds this year for some capital outlay for fire equipment of $12,000.

[01:03:45] CODE had some life safety donations that they received, and those funds were used about $1,300. The police department has balance sheet funds that were received in prior years, about $9,000 used for electronic ticketing. Those are restricted funds and can only be used in certain areas.

[01:04:03] They also received a grant through the HEAT program and for travel and training for $5,000. Public Works and the environmental area received a $100,000 grant for energy efficiency and conservation block.

[01:04:19] So that's being used on looking at the, we have a temp that's being used to cover that, as well as looking at the audits of the homes. Human Resources receives opioid, human services, excuse me, opioid funds from different legal output.

[01:04:41] And those are sitting on the balance sheet. And as we have them, we have to ask for use of those in out years. And this $7,400 was granted to the Chris Atwood Foundation in FY26. They also received a waive grant funding of $10,000.

[01:04:59] And that is to support the village. And it's a pilot program to combat social isolation. So hopefully it will be something that we may, if the pilot goes well, We might be able to get other grants in future years.

[01:05:17] And then Parks and Rec received a Versa grant for some travel and training. So in that, asking for $600,000, of which for $450,000 from the general fund. Those funds will be transferred to the debt service fund.

[01:05:35] So you'll see that on the next page. Skipping to the bottom, debt service just shows the transfer and the arbitrage expense for the debt service fund. The top portion is our capital projects. The fire department received from the volunteer fire department $250,000 to overhaul the aerial truck that was recently replaced to extend the life of the replaced truck to help us extend the current truck's life.

[01:06:04] And then when there are issues, we have a backup truck and one that we can also loan out to other jurisdictions when they have issues as well. There's roadbed reconstruction for $462,000, and that is funds coming in from the state for regional surface transportation program.

[01:06:25] And then the QBUS has a TDP update, which is being funded by NVTC, which is money that NVTC holds for us that comes in from the state. And then we ask for reimbursements when needed.

[01:06:40] That total is $735,000. So, in total, we're looking at the $1.8 million, of which $1.2 million is coming in from other funds. So, happy to take any questions.

[01:06:57] Questions? Council Member Amos. I only have one question, which is probably not a tonight question and more of a comment, really, related to the debt service and arbitrage expense. Just moving forward, just kind of tapping into what is our recovery plan or replenishment plan for unassigned fund balance?

[01:07:17] I hate to see savings just dwindle over time and we don't have a plan to eventually add funds back into the unassigned fund balance. Sure. So I think in the strategic plan on the city, we have a attainable goal or I guess an aspirational goal of trying to increase the unassigned fund balance of about 1% per year, specifically touching on the arbitrage rebate.

[01:07:44] So a little bit of clarification, those interest funds were realized on an annual basis, sort of swept like we would probably do in our own personal account. Every month, every year, whenever you have excess interest or interest that grows, you get swept, and then it went to the unassigned fund balance.

[01:08:04] We've collected it and held it in unassigned fund balance because that was the appropriate bucket to hold it. And now when the payment came due, because I think as I communicated, The interest on that loan was about 1.5%. In that time afterward, interest rates went up to about 5%, so there was a significant variance between how much we were making and where we borrowed at.

[01:08:28] We had to pay that difference. So it is an expense, but we had realized that income over the course of four or five years. Excellent. Thank you. Any other questions or comments on this? Well, all right.

[01:08:44] You've knocked it out of the park again, Ms. Riddle. All right. last item is to discuss the future agendas and meeting topics so i'm going to recognize daniel alexander our city manager for the discussion thank you good evening mayor council the intent tonight is really to have an expanded discussion around what we typically talk about as it relates to future city council agenda items this will be interactive we want to allow you to ask as many questions it also be expansive in the sense that we'll try to get to the end of the year to the degree that we can and that we know

[01:09:20] the items that are coming up now certainly many of the staff reports and information it's not going to be available in the immediate but we have staff here it's not going to just be me talking I hope about some of the things that we have coming up and you know a couple of significant items that that we'd like to cover with you too I know Brooke would like to stay probably where he is right now but I'll ask him to come up too because I think we'll probably have you know a couple questions on land use and or development items that are coming down the pike

[01:09:53] so as we go happy to answer any questions hope this is more interactive you know as we go through this and certainly would would be happy to take any questions uh and and frankly uh get input from you um june 9th as we get into the the core of this you've already received um the full agenda we've covered some of this up to this point and again of note we just went over the grant piece talked about the CMAR items that are coming up for both Providence and Daniels compensation for counsel will be on here a couple of times

[01:10:33] as we move forward I know the city attorney is continuing to work through noise related issues so there'll be some additional information brought up for a public hearing related to that and looking forward to having our discussion on the sustainability matrix and green building policy and see some progress relative to both of those items again you have that material to include the staff reports that have been emailed to you and that

[01:11:02] will be coming to us next week looking a little bit ahead we have the CEO of NVTA coming in to talk about their rapid transit action plan as a presentation on the 23rd we have some changes that we will need to make I believe but by virtue of Commonwealth changes on our purchasing items and a resolution associated with

[01:11:37] that we'll have a resolution to sign a standard project agreement with NVTA for Blenheim and the improvements there. We'll have the public hearing scheduled for green building and then we'll have some code changes that we will need to make based on again action out of Richmond on chapter 86 that's scheduled and compensation is here again. On the work session we will talk about potential reviews and updates to small area plans for each of

[01:12:16] the small areas this will be largely a discussion around not only the plans but how we want to look forward to reviewing the plans as we move forward so we'll have a pre take presentation on that we've added recently a discussion on the north facts linear park design guidelines just to talk about what guidelines might be associated with that greenway that was envisioned for for that small area so more to follow on that I just got briefed on it today not necessarily something we typically bring but we want you to have visibility the

[01:12:54] public to have visibility on that project just so they can see what is getting connected in the work and design guidelines that will go into the work relative to that that connection so that is in essence the 23rd I'll pause there to see if council has any questions about that meeting looking forward any questions so far up through the agenda on the 23rd well a council member Peterson public hearing item 2 could you clarify that a little bit I'm

[01:13:30] gonna ask Brooke to give us a little more detail on that there was a piece of legislation in the 2025 session of the Virginia General Assembly that was adopted that modified the requirements for timelines associated with various plan reviews site plans and subdivisions being included and so this amendment would bring the city subdivision ordinance chapter 86 up to date with that change and so previously the standard was 60 days for an initial

[01:14:09] review of subdivisions plans that are submitted to a local jurisdiction that's now changed to 40 and so the amendment is to to make that change the city has been operating in accordance with that state code change since last year when it became effective this would update the city's ordinance to reflect that and And it would be helpful to understand if that, the degree to which that affects public involvement in those periods of time.

[01:14:42] I'm not sure where it stands right now, what we currently do, but it shortens the period of time so that could have an impact on the degree to which we do some kind of public involvement and input there. So it'd be great to know about that. Is it shrinking this, you know, by a third? It certainly could.

[01:14:59] by and large subdivision actions in the city are administrative item that's handled by staff larger subdivisions and to put that into context 50 lots or more those do go forward to the planning commission and so in terms of those review we would certainly want to focus on making sure we get the word out and that's visible there but yes to your point that's something we'll keep an eye on going forward.

[01:15:30] I appreciate that. I mean, just generally, any time we modify a timeline and we're accelerating into this case, it has implications. It would just be good to know what that full set of implications are so we can be aware of them as we're responding to that. Sure. Very good.

[01:15:47] Okay. Any other questions on the 23rd? All right. All right. So this is a good time, I think, as we talk about the 27th to talk a little bit about where we are. Efficiency study should be happening in earnest, starting in earnest. should say around that time not yet into performance uh in the strategic plan at that point as we have kind of sequenced that and i think around that time there's likely to be a significant demand associated with boards and commissions and so this is an opportunity we wanted to take to talk about process moving forward talk about the volume really at this point of what we're

[01:16:26] looking at in terms of what what's happened with boards and commissions only to say that you know i'm suggesting maybe we don't do the retreat because i think we the council could be very busy either with interviews or processes and around boards and commissions for the remainder of the year i'm just framing it so melissa now can talk a little bit about more what the detail looks like and the potential volume looks like as we proceed this year melissa thank you mr alexander so mayor Council, the second packet you have is the list on the front page is the vacancies that I just

[01:17:03] submit to staff that's going to be advertised for the city scene. So you can see all the different boards and commissions that we're advertising. And that includes also people who are coming up for reappointment just ahead in case we get any applications for those boards as well. The second page is a list of the boards that I do have the applications for. Basically, these applicants are ready to be interviewed. So I have about 15 names on here. That would be, whenever date we plan on doing interviews, if they're available, they'll be going on for that evening. So on the next page, you will see a long list, and it's all the people

[01:17:41] who are going to be coming up for the end of their term for 2026, which a big chunk is our Housing and Healthy Communities Advisory Board. So I plan on getting on with Jamie ergas our housing program manager since she's the staff liaison just to kind of see like if they will all be seeking reappointment or if there's some who will be resigning and trying to figure out all those logistics with those vacancies or reappointments that'll be coming up and then on the last page because the list is two pages but on the last page i just have just a breakdown of

[01:18:16] potential potential interview dates for 2026 so as you see there's two dates in june we have a fifth tuesday in june and then um in september as well we have a fifth tuesday so there's two dates for september and then in the column next to it i have so if we did interviews on the june 16th those appointments would be considered on july 14th meetings because just the way we do our staff reports and agendas now it would just be on for that evening so i just want to put that for awareness that we will need to schedule some interviews and they could be on tuesdays unless So you want to make the Saturday retreat an interview, but that is up to you.

[01:18:57] Council Member Hall. Thank you. I think June 16th is too soon if we're just putting out for the July city scene additional vacancies and trying to gather more people. So they always wanted ahead of time, so I always have to plan ahead.

[01:19:16] I mean, if we did appointments in July, I'm trying to think when they would ask me for the August city scene. i don't have a problem with putting them in the city soon but what i'm saying is like today's june 2nd yeah if there's a potential to interview on the 16th like that's in two weeks i just i think that's too soon to get a fresh wave of people unless you have a lot more applicants sitting i mean i have the 15 on the second page that we could write in a good chunk of those are reappointments yeah so i just want to make sure that fresh faces and voices have an opportunity to

[01:19:54] be considered as well for those if they have not been previously heavily advertised? Well, if I can make a suggestion. So like we don't have to bring all these people in the one night of the 16th. Like we could say like the grievance panel, they have five vacancies. Only one of them is a reappointment. And right now I believe with the reappointment, there's only five people on the board. So I think the max is like 10 people. So I mean, we can knock that one out. And in even historic Fairfax um both of these people they couldn't make it to the last time we did interviews and they've kind of been sitting in the queue to be interviewed so I mean we don't have to do all

[01:20:34] these but we could do some hopefully that you know that we can bring in an interview that's been waiting okay yeah I think those specifically make sense for what you're saying yeah because like with like looking at the list right now like I could tell you um so like grievance panel historic fairfax and then even the planning commission because she was not available that night as well back in march those would probably be the three that like they've been sitting for a

[01:21:00] while to bring in so we could if you would like pca i don't have anybody i know mr love come in likes us to stress that we are looking for people to serve on our board of zoning appeals because we only have three people right now and the max is five people but he says it's kind of getting hairy for us and if the county wants to they could appoint somebody who doesn't even live in the city just to have people on our board so if you all know anybody who might have real estate

[01:21:37] background or zoning backgrounds to apply that would be helpful may i yeah council member hall can you remind me how is that a as needed one or is that it's a yeah it's only for appeals so if there's an appeal that comes through to the zoning yep they would have to get together for a meeting and i think yeah no i just didn't know how frequently they need something yeah they're like four or five year terms too yeah council member peterson i don't see the environmental sustainability committee on the list and yet i understand there is some turnover there so i just

[01:22:13] heard recently somebody was resigning and i haven't gotten a resignation letter yet but i don't have any applications recently for esc okay yeah be good to keep an eye on that and just as a general matter there's a lot of volume here and I just at a big picture level would be curious to know how much of that is driven just purely by the schedule of appointments and their expiration dates etc and how much of this is driven by turnover and I'm not suggesting there's an issue with turnover I'm just saying it would be nice to know and in fact if turnover is a manageable

[01:22:52] number it would be good to know that also I don't know the answer of it all I'm saying this is a long list. And when you get the size of a list, you kind of want a little bit of pattern analysis here to know what's going on, right? Yeah, I think we talked about today, you know, you may recall in better detail, trying to stagger these things a little bit more. I think that was the crux of the issue for particularly the housing, right? Yeah, so with HCAB, they got established two years ago, so it's the time of getting everybody on there. But yeah, we had talked to the possibly like

[01:23:28] staggering their terms so that way we don't run into this in another two years especially during election season yeah this this list is the reappointments yeah these aren't vacant positions this is in addition to any vacant positions yeah that underscores my point more right thanks so any thoughts about when to do any kind of interviews reappointment or otherwise well if i want to confirm kind of what we discussed for the 16th if you would like I can go ahead and schedule the

[01:24:04] grievance panel historic Fairfax City and the planning commission applicants since they've been sitting council member Amos I won't be in town but y'all can do those without me it doesn't matter so is and council member Hardy Chandler isn't here either so maybe that's an inquiry you could make when we know how many people are going to be in the room yeah yeah yeah so knowing councilman ramus won't be here okay so and okay okay great so no one's here june 16th no one's here we can

[01:24:39] shoot for the 30th okay the fifth tuesday of the month so let's think about the fifth tuesday of the month i think that's great and that gives us more time yep to see who is available for vacancies And okay, we'll work with it. We'll work with it. We do need to get these interviews going. Yes Councilman Bremis so just for confirmation so it looks like or I don't know if you're waiting for feedback We're not doing the retreat. Well, I was the next question I was going to ask is is there consensus for us?

[01:25:13] Not doing the retreat on the 27th and if that's the case then I am cool with that Okay, and I guess gonna just based off of head nods We would prefer not to do interviews on that Saturday to stick with Tuesdays. Okay, then yeah. All right. Sounds good Okay, so there we have it Thank you. Okay councilmember Peterson so on the 27th we would be discussing the finance and efficiency Yeah, I think what I was trying to frame to use a lot of the work that that we're probably going to move into

[01:25:49] November which would also coincide I think at that time with budget would be an opportunity for us to discuss that But I brought it up only to say that we've not started that work. We'll probably start that work in earnest this month and certainly be able to either workshop that, work session that, or bring it to a later retreat.

[01:26:07] We don't have that available to us right now to discuss it this early in the year. Is November the earliest we would have a chance to discuss that? Certainly not. I think, you know, we're going to discuss also our work sessions as we go. And there are ample opportunities for us to bring, you know, those items or other items to you from a work session standpoint.

[01:26:29] Well, it's a big enough issue. I think it's not a one-and-done kind of approach. I think, you know, you're going to want to do this a couple times as we work through it. Want to get some presentation feedback framing and all that as we continue. So I don't know how that falls out in our schedule, but would just encourage us to see if we could find a way to stage it like that.

[01:26:47] Yeah, we'll start, we talked about this today, you know, we'll start meeting and laying out a schedule and cadence around the consultant's work and then certainly be coming to you as we go. And frankly, have a regular cadence around performance management and these items as, you know, we've talked about.

[01:27:10] All right, so we're clear on retreat. Oh, Council Member Amos, did you have something else? I only had one additional thing, and it's such a hypothetical at this time that it's probably not worth bringing up. I mean, we have the tentative for the special election, obviously, related to the 1%.

[01:27:27] Do we want to have potentially a backup work session in case, for some reason, the budget were not to? I mean, I don't even know what that would look like. We'll get into the potential for bringing that item forward.

[01:27:42] We'll have a little bit of discussion on that. Yeah, I don't think it's going to happen, but I don't know if we need to have a slot tentatively prepared for a discussion if we need it. If you'd like, we could get into kind of the sequencing on that. JC, you want to pick that up?

[01:28:00] Councilman Remus, just for my clarification, a work session, if we don't, if the General Assembly does not pass a state budget, which includes a 1%? Correct.

[01:28:13] So I think as long as the General Assembly passes a state budget that incorporates a 1% sales tax ability specifically tied to school renovations, as long as that is passed by July 21, which would allow us enough time to advertise, it's already on the agenda, so as long as it sort of stays and we would be okay.

[01:28:41] there is no formal requirement for the school board to pass a resolution it would bring a lot of weight if they do but there is no legal requirement for them to do that so really the only action would be on city council to do that on the 28th and for us to submit that resolution and request to circuit court by august 14th or 15th that's really the hard deadline thank you Sure. Council Member Hall? I feel like I should know this, but I've been living under a rock with work and stuff these past few weeks. Are we still concerned about a budget not being passed at the

[01:29:20] state level? Is that getting more and more concerning? I think the 22nd is when they first start to convene. There is a potential that they don't and we're in a shutdown situation. Okay. I kept thinking that was like a what if this isn't going to happen, but okay. Thank you. Any other questions on this part okay that was a good that is a good question I think they're actually reconvening on June 18th but that does not leave a lot of

[01:29:51] time before July 1st so it is what it is yeah rancher or house you know it is what it is and we'll do with what we have to do it so all right any other questions along the line before we move on so on the 7th right now we have scheduled land use application for gallery at City Center and also at that time we'll bring back to you a discussion on level of service and

[01:30:28] dynamic capital impact model so those are things that we have introduced to you before and we'll be bringing bringing back to you on the 7th any questions about those items questions I don't see any I'm gonna let Melanie get into the next couple of items on University Drive, transportation-related, on the 14th, or they may show up on the 28th.

[01:31:01] So you see them listed there twice. Hopefully it's one or the other and not both. But I'll let her kind of run down what's involved with those items. Sure. So the University Drive bike lanes, that is, you'll remember or you will see outside the road diet that's from Armstrong to South Street. This is continuing that project on University Drive from North Street to Leighton Hall Drive. This project will implement the bike facilities

[01:31:38] on University Drive between those two streets. It will also take away the lane, the right turn lane that goes on to layton hall drive and straightens out that intersection um it will provide a pedestrian refuge on university drive to facilitate the pedestrian crossing in that area and this was something that we held the public hearing back in february um so now we're in the construction phase of that project the second one is um i forgot that i don't have a touch screen

[01:32:16] The second one is a cancellation of the signals at that intersection of Leighton Holland University. At one time, staff thought that they would need signal at that intersection for traffic, so they requested the additional funding for that.

[01:32:36] After the funding was awarded, they did a more in-depth evaluation of the projected traffic volumes to include any traffic volumes that would come from the Willard Sherwood project, And it was determined that the signal is still not, in fact, needed for that intersection.

[01:32:54] So staff is requesting that we cancel that project, return the funding back. Or, no, cancel it, yeah, and return the funding. Nothing has been spent at this point. Council Member Hall? If there is additional redevelopment at, oh my gosh, my brain, thank you, courthouse, and then also the one next to courthouse that's on Leighton Hall Drive that we had some information on previously, Were those numbers considered with regard to the lights as well?

[01:33:27] So the courthouse was also considered, I heard from our traffic engineer, that that was also considered in their traffic study and that it would also not require lighting that intersection or signalizing that intersection.

[01:33:46] Other questions on that, Council Member Peterson? A separate one of the issues here, if we're done with that. Yep, going down to a work session. Maybe I'll just sort of hop ahead, see how the dots connect here.

[01:34:04] But we've got the bike lanes that you just described in that segment. We have then on June 28th also an award for construction, University Drive, bike lanes. Is that for the segment that goes from there then down to Fairfax Boulevard? No, it will either happen on the one meeting or the other meeting.

[01:34:25] But I am curious to know the status of the segment that does go from Fairfax Boulevard up almost, if not, to this point. I think we had a session on this some months ago where we said grace over an approach that would be taken there.

[01:34:43] Is that entering in construction, into a construction phase? Do we know? Because there was discussion about whether or not and how to construct the bike lanes and bike barriers and all sorts of things like that. on university university drive yeah I will have to okay we could check that it'd be great and you're saying from Fairfax Boulevard up to Leighton Hall yes very good I'll get it for work sessions yeah cool take it all right any other questions up to this point on the 14th I'll get into the work session

[01:35:23] as we I think committed to you when we brought you the urban forest master plan we will update you on the plan and outlook relative to to that item will also have an update on the housing trust fund we will bring another discussion ahead of public hearings on potential small areas own ordinance amendments at that work session and then we'll have the follow-up discussion scheduled for that time on code of ethics so there's a lot in that we'll try to move that

[01:36:01] as long as quickly as possible, but a lot of substance for that from a work session perspective. Any questions on those items? Any questions on the 14th? Council Member Peterson. So item number three, potential small area plan zoning ordinance amendments. How does that relate to, what is it, the June 23rd discussion, which is also discussing amendments to some of the small area plans? I think that

[01:36:32] um the work session that you cited on the small area plans on the 23rd um is different from this so what what this is designed to do and i think i finally got it but brooke is going to explain it if if not we've developed a small area plans and we're in a process now of developing text amendments that are associated with those small area plans from a sequencing standpoint at the same time on the 23rd we're going to induce to you is also this idea of how we're going to study those small area plans as we move forward so from a

[01:37:10] sequencing standpoint we've developed our smaller area plans and now we're developing the amendments that go along with those plans at on the 23rd we're going to talk generally be it generally as a process and as we're looking down the line at how we're looking at those small area plans is there anything that you want to add to that that would make more sense that covers it all right can i just see if i got that i can't promise that i did so i may need i need it i need a diagram but okay go ahead we're going to on the 23rd talk about how we study it and on the 14th we're going

[01:37:46] to talk about how we actually amend it did i get that right on the on the 23rd is an initial discussion to talk about potential amendments or examination of the small area plans potential amendments to the small area plans moving forward what would be what would be reviewed what wouldn't be reviewed direction the council may have on that the discussion on the 14th is the implementation step for the the small area plans as they exist now and this would amend potentially amend the

[01:38:26] zoning ordinance regulations as an implementation step of those plans so again if i understand it on the 23rd we're talking process and scope and on the 14th we're talking proposed amendments does anything happen in between those two because we talk about scope and process and that results in a set of proposals that then are under consideration on the 14th when do those proposals get developed and how is that what we decide on the 23rd that we'd like the following

[01:39:04] kinds of proposed amendments to to consider for action on the 14th is that what we're doing generally at a high level talking about what would be included in a scope moving forward examining those those plans with the intention that as you recall for example with the conference of plan every five years we're in the process of reviewing and potentially amending those plans

[01:39:34] I look at it, correct me if I'm wrong, more of a tactical and strategic type of approach. And so we're dealing with the existing plans and making the changes that are necessary, you know, to move projects along, right, as those text amendments.

[01:39:59] The thing we're talking about on the 23rd is broadly the plans and how we want to look at how we're going to adjust them and move them forward from a strategic perspective as we go through the whole process. And I hate to be slow on this, but looking at it from a strategic standpoint on the 23rd, does that mean at that stage we are expected to give direction on the types of changes that we want to see as a part of this?

[01:40:35] Okay, thank you. You're giving me some feedback here. Very, very, very high level. All right. Introductory discussion, and we can have multiple discussions. And likely there will be multiple discussions. And I didn't get a really clear picture, obviously not articulating it as well, but really clear picture until I saw it.

[01:40:55] You really kind of have to see it to understand that, which is, again, why it's a work session. And frankly, and I'll say this about all these things as we go through, you know, we're going to spend some time with you ahead of this as we have in the past. Make sure you're clear on what we're doing ahead of this, even if it's a work session item.

[01:41:13] I'll just take my last shot at it. So I think on the 14th, we'll be wading into it a little bit deeper. And the 14th is zoning. So zoning ordinance amendments as opposed to the plans.

[01:41:32] Right, but there's connective tissue between the two. And that's, I think, what's kind of underlying my line of questions here to understand how that process connects and unfolds. So, okay, I will look forward to our further discussions of this. Thanks. Council Member Bates.

[01:41:51] So I think that what you're getting at if I understand it is first We have small area plans as they are now and that's the current guidance that is informing the process of the developing the small area plan zoning ordinance amendments and then this discussion on Reviews and updates of the smaller area plans is more about Establishing a process for what we might want to see reviewed And potentially updated in the future on a regular

[01:42:25] Recurring basis similar to what the comprehensive plan goes through very well said better. Thanks. Okay. Are we are we settled on that? Are we ready to move on? I think we are all right So as we mentioned as we we talk about the 28th The two items you see there are either going on the 14th or 28th not both At the public hearing, we would be doing a public hearing and council action on the zoning text amendments for ADU.

[01:43:03] So that's when that comes back again, as we've talked about. Council Member Hull? Potential council action, depending upon what we hear from the public, if I recall properly. Thank you. And then, as we talked a little bit about before, we have a resolution for the 1%, if indeed things move forward as we anticipate that they will.

[01:43:32] I don't know if there are questions we didn't answer there or you want to walk through generally a timeline of how that might work. Sure. So, again, council would need to take an action by the end of July or at the last meeting in July.

[01:43:49] That would give us enough time to submit the appropriate paperwork to the circuit court by the middle of August to ensure that we can get the ballot question on the ballot for the referendum we will work very closely with schools on communicating the facts on the referendum request for the ballot question not for or against and then on November November 3rd I think it's November 3rd the election day the residents would vote on what whether to pass whatever that percent is up to

[01:44:28] one percent for school renovations if that is the case the elections were to get certified by the middle or end of November, we would bring back a request for council to approve an ordinance in December, which if approved would take effect 120 days from that approval date. So potentially the soonest that we would potentially see revenue coming from the 1%

[01:44:56] up to 1% sales tax for schools would be about April of 2027. But this council may have the ability to go ahead and implement that before the end of the year okay that seems like a aspirational timeline and and it could happen or not anything else on that particular item all right from a work session standpoint on the 28th

[01:45:34] pre-application briefing for 35 to 1 chain bridge Road proposed redevelopment of office space to mixed-use development of townhouses and retail uses and also So the discussion on the land use application for Courthouse Plaza is scheduled for that work session.

[01:45:54] So potentially busy night that night. Looking forward on September 1st, I think I've spoken to some of you about a concept that we're looking for consensus on potentially to begin from a pilot perspective our first Tuesday work sessions at 4 p.m.

[01:46:23] The idea behind that would be to try to schedule as many work session items on that day to also maybe have somewhat of the discussion we're having tonight on schedule, how we're moving forward for the month, what the agenda looks like for that month, and then hopefully free up time on our business meetings to focus primarily on council business at those times.

[01:46:51] And so many jurisdictions from a work session workshop standpoint would start earlier. Some start as early as 1 o'clock or 2 o'clock. I think, you know, we're looking for, from a pilot perspective, something that's a little more reasonable, suggesting maybe a 4 p.m. to get started.

[01:47:13] There's certainly items that we could schedule later if need be, if we feel like there's a need from a work session standpoint to do that. I would suggest that we look at the end of this year, starting in September, October.

[01:47:30] Obviously, November, we don't, with the election, don't have something scheduled for that month. But then December will be a three-month trial, in essence, to see how that goes. And, you know, hopefully, again, be able to bring a lot to you on those times for discussion And have manageable, aspirational, but manageable sessions on the Tuesday nights that we have regular business meetings.

[01:47:58] Thoughts on an early start time for work session? So first Tuesday meeting. The first Tuesday meeting, which is like this meeting, the first Tuesday, which is just work session, starting earlier, trying to move more things on a work session day so that we are relieving having long work sessions during the regular meetings, like lighten up the schedule so our meetings aren't going into the wee hours by moving more things to the first work session meeting of each month and starting earlier.

[01:48:35] And I think we're suggesting a pilot program to see if that works. It's not necessarily a commitment to do that, but to see if it could work and if it really does make our other meetings a little more efficient, especially with the amount of business that we're going to be asked to decide between now and the end of the year which is going to be a lot of things are going to be pushed to october november december because we only have one meeting in november and we only have one meeting in december so a lot of things just roll down to the last two meetings and a lot of them are big issues so having an earlier start time in the work sessions and moving work session

[01:49:13] things to that first meeting earlier in the day to maximize the amount of time together we're together in a work session is to try to, I think, just be more efficient on what we're going to be able to do between now and the end of the year. So it's always the first Tuesday of the month. So we're looking at September 1. September 1 would be the first time we did this, yes. And then if we decide that works out pretty well, then it would be October 6th. And then we don't have a work session in November because of the election. We have a work session December 1,

[01:49:54] which would be the last work session. So we're not talking all about a lot of work sessions. But again, I'm not making a long-term commitment. It's saying, is everybody willing to give this a shot on September 1st to see if it produces the desired result of having more time, being able to put more things on the schedule, and being more prepared when we go into a meeting?

[01:50:15] Council Member Hall. I am definitely in favor of this. I do think we need a few months to try it out before we say if it's working or not. I think if September feels like it wasn't great, doesn't mean it's not a good solution um and you also mentioned that would be getting some dinner so for those that get concerned about food we will be eating so don't worry about that we were talking i think four o'clock was the time that was thrown out there council member bates you have thoughts um so if i have another 2 p.m class on tuesdays again then i you know would be able to

[01:50:49] to be here until around um you know five or 5 30 but um i've never tuned in virtually before so just for um uh you know those three meetings or so that we have left this year i can maybe do that on my way home uh until i get here will you make an will you also make an excellent point i mean obviously the engagement part of the work session but we don't take votes so it's just like council member stacy hardy chandler is not here but she can watch the archived you know work session discussion before we have a meeting so that's always something to consider because of the

[01:51:28] format of work sessions if you're not here at four o'clock you're not participating sort of in the discussion but you would have the opportunity to hear everything that was said during the work session yeah so council member peterson am i correct that part of the purpose for these is to do uh long-term agenda planning and a little bit more thought about how we go about structuring all that yeah i think it's it's somewhat similar to the discussion i think we're having tonight and i would also hearken back to what you said earlier relative to items like efficiency you know and as we can hit these things i also think about we had i remember a pd human service

[01:52:06] presentation that was great to have it's kind of a focus area on operations which is wonderful But it definitely pushed us into the evening. So it really opens opportunities for us to take a hard look at the program's effectiveness, efficiency of our operation.

[01:52:23] Well, I also am in favor of this. I think we should give it a try. I do think it's helpful for us to get a beat on which of these discussions and decision sets we're, you know, encountering that can be done in a rapid manner.

[01:52:41] You know, we do a work session, a public hearing, we take action. And how many of them require more iterations than that? Some of these big issues really do. And I think we can scope that in advance so that it's not a surprise that when we get in these things, we know that it takes a couple steps to get to where we want to be.

[01:53:00] So I would support us bringing that kind of thought into this discussion. For sure. Okay. It sounds like we have consensus on giving this a shot for September 1 and tentatively scheduling it to Council Member Hall's point for a second time to see how the first one and then what it is the second time.

[01:53:21] So I think we have consensus on doing that. And everybody, I'm looking 4 o'clock. Is it doable? Doable? 4 o'clock doable. Provided that there's food. We'll figure out the dinner hour. We'll get that settled.

[01:53:39] All right. So moving on for the first, And I would say that things will get more tentative as we move later in the year To include the fact that we'll need to add items that currently are on on here We have a pre-application briefing on a mixed-use development for Circle Gateway At 3520 Blenheim Boulevard And then we have a discussion on youth sports that's been on here Listed as tentative I know there was a recent meeting And some conversation I know a lot of this is a function of maybe the work that's going to come out of that but we're certainly willing to

[01:54:19] have that that discussion if council is interested into into September so it's on here continues to be on here I think we'll still need to track progress before then but happy to keep this on here if it's that that's the will of the council yes is that because there was a like a community meeting and one assumes this is an opportunity for like a report out and anything that might have bubbled up after the meeting so this would just be a good wrap up for people I think who weren't at the meeting to hear what came out of that so at minimum I think this would be a good opportunity to do that

[01:54:58] I wasn't at the meeting so this would be a good report out and discussion I think to have so yes councilmember Bates quick question since Brooke's still here this the the circle gateway project that we're going to be looking at on the 1st of September is that you know same developer same similar project to what we've seen before or something different it's it's an affiliated developer similar similar project that was proposed previously with with

[01:55:37] some modifications all right thanks yeah I think one of those things when we saw the original pre-application whatever year that was they had not consolidated two parcels which I think are now part of this new submission yes it would include um the home the home furnishing store there south of fairfax circle as well as the former 7-eleven okay parcel so both of those would be included okay okay the proposal okay excellent mentioned it gets a little more sparse

[01:56:16] as we move along but of note on the 22nd public hearing and council action on redevelopment of existing office complex into 14 townhouses at Highlands at Mantua, 94-95 Silver King Court.

[01:56:32] So that's scheduled for a public hearing at that time. As we move into the next few months, October work session, we have penciled in our discussion on the legislative program. So we'll start that process as we move forward. On the 7th, I'll have JC talk briefly about kind of budget. We've made some tweaks and the tentative scheduling around that. So I want him

[01:57:03] to, if he would address that for us. Sure. So even though we just adopted FY27, we are already talking about FY28 because two things never cease in finance, that's budget and audit.

[01:57:22] Tentatively right now we are thinking, and it's on the calendar, I think if we flip to the next page uh in november we do have a budget retreat on november 7th that's current currently scheduled more than likely we are wanting to hold that date but prior to that we're wanting to have and this is still in the development stage but similar to what we did this past april of a hybrid open house fairfax engagement where it was both virtual and in person try to do that on the

[01:57:55] thursday before poll some of our community both residents and vendors and businesses within the city get their input to bring to council on that saturday budget retreat and then also do a second one post city manager proposed budget probably in mid to late march of 2027 to get their feedback the residents and business owners to get their feedback on what the manager proposed as well to incorporate those discussions while council's deliberating the FY28 budget.

[01:58:30] Sort of maintain the same cadence where once budget starts after the manager proposes, have a work session every single council meeting that is developed or associated with a specific topic like we did this last time, whether it's CIP, whether it's wastewater, stormwater, whether it's the general fund, other topics of that discussion.

[01:58:56] So any questions? Council member Peterson just remind me when we get the first revenue forecast Including what assessments look like so at a high level with about 80% certainty that's brought forward to council at the budget retreat We would have about a good two quarters going to the third quarter third quarter still a little fuzzy But we can try to calculate pretty good at that time and then by the end of January when we're locking in the budget we have an entire year and then we know with about 99 certainty where we're going to be what

[01:59:33] about the forecast for property assessments about the same time frame so it all it all kind of relates we'll get a sneak preview in november correct at the budget retreat okay councilmember amos i just had a quick clarification question when you say the thursday before for the potential hybrid open house you do do you mean november 5th as in two days before oh correct all right that is a quick turnaround. Appreciate that. We're good. Yeah, we had that conversation earlier. They're good over there. I think, frankly, if

[02:00:09] we poll and collect some data as we do it, it's going to be a little bit easier, and certainly we'll aim to increase participation and craft the polling to reflect what the priorities are for the community.

[02:00:25] Put some thought into that, for sure. Anything else on the budget retreat? I've got a question on the legislative agenda work. Are we sending staff to VML this year?

[02:00:44] Because, you know, that's, you know, I went last year because we vote on the legislative agenda. And normally our staff goes to that. Our travel and training has been restored. That is in our list of travel.

[02:01:04] If the manager approves it, then yes, it would be. Well, I would just say, you know, we belong. It's kind of the foundation of our legislative agenda has always been the Virginia Municipal League's legislative agenda. But there's discussion and there's votes on that, too, that take place from the member municipalities.

[02:01:24] And so it seems to me that it would be in our best interest to make sure we have staff there this year as we decide what we're going to adopt that is that and things that we will add to that. So I hope that actually happens. It's a great comment point, and I think, you know, we do have to be thinking not only in terms of our engagement there, but also continuing staff development and investing in our employees.

[02:01:50] Well, I hope you will look with favor upon the request, Mr. Citi. Thank you. Anything else on this? Okay. I think as we finish the year out, it's largely centered around legislative programming.

[02:02:07] I think you'll see, obviously, other items fill in as we go. We'll have the ACFER, which I'm sure we typically do, at the last regular meeting of the year, the annual comprehensive financial report presented to you. And so I think that hits the highlights from our perspective.

[02:02:26] We'd certainly like to thank Mayor and Council for this discussion. Hope it's been useful for you as we go through this, something we would like to continue doing to ensure that you're prepared and have the information you need. So thank you again. Thank you. And, of course, we will be adding things.

[02:02:43] Obviously, things are going to come up. There will be things that come up that need attention from the council between now and the end of the year. But I think it helps for us to have a really broad idea of the ones that we know are coming, when they're coming, and what they are. I just, we're counting down.

[02:03:00] We really are counting down to see what we're going to do between now and the end of the year. If there's nothing else for the good of the body, yes, Council Member Hall. I'm sorry. I know you probably want to highlight some of the things that are going on this weekend in the city, but if you can also just put a plug in for the city blood drive on Monday at the fire station from 10 to 3.

[02:03:20] I know we don't get, like, comments. Okay, sure. Thanks. Yeah, the blood drive, what date and time? Monday from 10 to 3. 10 to 3, Monday. At the fire station on 4 of 3. That is good for the public to know. Fairfax High School graduation is tomorrow morning, so be aware there's traffic, and just be aware that all the high school graduations are starting this week at Eagle Bank Arena. Be patient because there will be a lot of traffic. And with that, I am adjourning.

[02:03:48] The Pride Festival is 11 a.m. at the Sherwood Center on Saturday, June the 6th. And there is a proclamation at 7.30 in Old Town Square for gun violence awareness. So all important. And with I will now adjourn the meeting at 9.04 p.m. on Tuesday.

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