Coraggio Consulting
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Meeting, Tuesday, April 11, 2023

Date: Tuesday, April 11, 2023
Place: Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Virginia
Length: 7h 10m (video)
Official meeting video (Fairfax County): https://video.fairfaxcounty.gov/player/clip/2817
Official Board of Supervisors page (Fairfax County): https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/boardofsupervisors/

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 2026-11-04. Timestamps are [HH:MM:SS] into the meeting video.

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[00:00:06] and good morning everyone and welcome to our board meeting of april 11th 2023 and as we always do at the beginning of our meeting we are going to recognize anyone in our community that we would like to keep in our thoughts and prayers immediately following that we are going to stand for a moment of silence and then the pledge of allegiance and then we begin the work part of our meeting today and before we do that i'll ask my colleagues if they have anyone they would like to remember Let me just start with one, and that is Mike Tamelo.

[00:00:39] Some people may know Mike Tamelo. Our public safety family is mourning his loss. He was a battalion chief who passed away on March 10th. Although he retired from the Fairfax County Fire Department in 2003, Battalion Chief Tamelo helped develop our elite urban search and rescue program in Fairfax County.

[00:01:00] And he has led Virginia Task Force One on many missions, including his first mission to the earthquake in Armenia, as well as earthquakes in the Philippines, Turkey, Taiwan, and Iran. Many of us remember all of those well.

[00:01:16] He was also part of the team that responded to the Oklahoma City bombing, U.S. Embassy bombing in Kenya, and, of course, to the Pentagon on 9-11. Battalion Chief Tamelo's death comes after being diagnosed with a work-related lung cancer back in 2020 and serves as a reminder of the risk that our firefighters take every day in serving our community.

[00:01:40] I'd like to take this opportunity, of course, to thank IAFF for their efforts in getting members screened for early detection of potential health issues given the variety of chemicals and carcinogens that our Fire and Rescue Department come into contact with regularly.

[00:01:57] And so if we could keep Mike Tamelo, our Fire and Rescue Department, our public safety family, in our thoughts and prayers, it would be appreciated. With that, we'll recognize other board members. Let me start with Supervisor Gross to be followed by Supervisor Faust.

[00:02:13] Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Anne Keast died in March. She had lived in Springfield, in the Springfield portion of Mason District, since 1965. She had six sons, and she was very active, and that's actually how I met Ann.

[00:02:34] Now, Ann and I almost never saw eye to eye on anything. Supervisor Herdy would understand that. Ann was chairman of the 8th and 11th Republican Congressional District Committees.

[00:02:49] She was with the Republican State Party. She was active in the Monticello Republican Women's Club, but she also was extremely civically active, and I served with Ann in 1980 when she was representing Edsel Park Elementary School and I was representing Wayanoke Elementary School in the Cluster C studies as we were looking at closing schools. So I got to know Ann. We were aligned on children's education, but very little else. She also served on the Fairfax County Water

[00:03:27] authority, and she was a member of the Board of Social Work. So she passed away at the, she was, I believe she was almost 90, and she will be missed. She was, as I said, extremely civically minded, and her obituary includes that she was a mentor, confidant, and friend to many. Her empathy and compassion were her hallmarks and were always offered freely and without judgment. Her greatest joy was in her family thank you let's keep them in our thoughts and prayers thank you supervisor

[00:04:01] gross supervisor faust thank you mr chairman mr chairman uh our community recently lost a great champion for parks and science education on march 28th charles olin a resident of great falls for over 50 years passed away after a period of their ill health charles was active in the great falls community's efforts to save Turner Farm from development. In the mid-1990s, Charles and his wife Jackie were also central to the negotiations between the Park Authority and the United States

[00:04:35] Department of the Interior to transfer the defense mapping facility at Nike to the Park Authority. When combined with the remaining Dairy Farmland, Turner Farm Park was created in 1999.

[00:04:52] And in 1998, Charles and Jackie founded the Analemma Society and through a cooperative agreement with the Fairfax County Park Authority, went about creating Observatory Park at Turner Farm. It was a multi-decade effort.

[00:05:11] I feel like I spent most of my 16 years on the board working on it, but it's in great shape now. Charles loved astronomy and he wanted others to learn about it. He has one of only two observatories in the county. One is at George Mason University, so this is the only one that's not associated with the university.

[00:05:30] It contains a remote astronomical telescope observatory left over from the Department of Interior days, but with a new dome championed by the Owens, a sundial garden, and an observatory with three telescopes and a retractable roof so that children and adults alike have an opportunity to view celestial objects.

[00:05:51] In addition to Friday night viewing sessions, Analema Society volunteers offer many educational programs in the observatory's educational center. In 2022, over 4,000 people attended events at Observatory Park, and in 2011, the Park Authority recognized the Overlands by bestowing them with the prestigious Ellie Doyle Park Service Award.

[00:06:14] They were also honored at the dedication of the Rooftop Observatory in 2016. Quite simply, without Charles' vision, there would be no Observatory Park. Thank you very much, Supervisor Faust. Others who would like to be recognized, Supervisor Alcorn.

[00:06:31] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. One of the most iconic institutions in Fairfax County and Hunter Mill District is the VNAN. I think most of us are familiar with that place, especially if you like chili dogs and maybe certain beverages. For four decades, Molly Bass Abraham owned and operated the Vienna Inn with her late husband, Meyer.

[00:06:53] So, but after living a full life, Molly passed away on March 25 at age 96. Molly was born in Baltimore on June 2, 1926, and moved to Alexandria with her newlywed husband, Meyer Abraham, in 1949.

[00:07:09] Meyer preceded Molly in death in November 1999. The Abrahams bought the Vienna Inn, which was known at the time as Freddy's, in 1960, and made it an integral part of the Vienna community until selling it in 1999. In addition to the restaurant, Molly's passions were many, and some folks may not realize some of these.

[00:07:29] From the days of racial segregation to the Equal Rights Amendment, Molly was on the front lines. She was instrumental in founding the Alexandria chapter of the National Organization for Women and served as the Virginia State Coordinator for that organization. She was chair of the Commission for Women for two terms, advocating equal pay and retirement benefits.

[00:07:48] After selling the VNN, she worked for Common Cause, and in 2011, Molly was named a living legend in acknowledgement of her significant contributions to the quality of life in Alexandria. She was also active with PTAs and school functions while raising her three children, so a very life well-lived, and our condolences to her family, including several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

[00:08:10] Thank you, Supervisor Alcorn, Supervisor Walkinshaw. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. April 20th will mark one year since the death of Lloyd Ingram. And the board will recall that Mr. Ingram was struck and killed by a vehicle at the intersection of Ali and Guinea just about a year ago.

[00:08:32] He was in the crosswalk in broad daylight. And I mention it today because yesterday I had the opportunity to meet with his mother and his siblings. His mother, Dorothy Henry, retired after a 30-year career working at the Northern Virginia Training Center on Braddock Road and had appeared before this board a number of times.

[00:08:54] I'm not a surprise that Mr. Ingram's family, grieving and frustrated about what happened to their loved one, I was amazed at how they've taken their grief and their frustration and turned it into activism and are advocating with us and with VDOT to install a traffic signal at that intersection, something we've been working with VDOT on since Mr. Ingram's death.

[00:09:28] So I just wanted to raise that, and I know my colleagues are well aware of the challenge that we've had, like the rest of the country, with pedestrian safety and recommit ourselves to our efforts to improve safety for pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers around the county.

[00:09:44] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Supervisor Walkinshaw, Supervisor Stork. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And maybe as a follow-on to that, sadly, in the past two weeks, there's been two pedestrians that have been killed along the Richmond Highway corridor. The first one was in the Grovetown area.

[00:10:02] It's Samantha Jennings-Jones, 36 years old, of Alexandria. She was walking on the sidewalk, and she was killed by a speeding motorist, is what the initial assessment has been. The second was in the Belvoir-Fairfois County Parkway area.

[00:10:18] Phillip Hester 62 who was in this case walking outside of a crosswalk, but was just trying to get over to the bus stop and We recognize that we have a long way to go to try to address some of those needs and issues But I think it's important that we continue to highlight that and we continue to work towards that. So thank you. Mr. Chairman Thank You Supervisor Stork anyone else who would like to be recognized seeing and hearing no one At this time all who are able could please rise for a moment of silence to be followed by the pledge

[00:10:50] Face the flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

[00:11:23] And this morning we have four presentations. And as we always do, I will announce the proclamation. I will invite our speaker down to the podium. We will then read the proclamation. And after the speaker's remarks, we'll pose for a picture from the dais, a group picture.

[00:11:46] And our first recognition this morning is a resolution to recognize the Justice High School Girls Swim Team members for their wins in the Virginia High School Class 6A State Championship. And this was requested by Supervisor Gross and myself and our speaker today.

[00:12:04] I have listed as Justice High School Swim Team member Reagan Campshore. If you could come on down and anyone who is here with you is welcome to come down and join you at the podium as well. And while you are on your way down, I will recognize Supervisor Gross.

[00:12:20] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm especially pleased about this one because we don't often have an opportunity in Mason District to recognize state champions. And I will say that I would not have known about this one probably if one of our county employees hadn't told me about it, who may be here.

[00:12:43] Dad is probably here somewhere. But I'm very, very pleased, especially, of course, because of my support for Title IX for all of these years, which we didn't have when I was a girl. So I have a resolution to recognize these young women from Justice High School, and I'd like to read the resolution.

[00:13:03] Whereas the Justice High School girls swim team capped off a very successful season with individual event wins and an impressive fifth place showing in the Virginia Class 6A state swim and dive championships, And whereas team members Claire Coughlin, Regan Kamshor, Emma Redman, and Anika Wetland combined to take home the state championship in the 200-yard medley relay, and whereas Emma Redman also won the 200-yard individual medley, and whereas the team's hard work, dedication, and talent, along with the support and guidance of head coach Austin Cobb

[00:13:40] and assistant coaches Elizabeth Corbin, Sarah Sherman, and Madison Heist, led to their outstanding achievements this season. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, on behalf of all residents of Fairfax County, does hereby congratulate the Justice High School Girls Swim Team for their outstanding accomplishments this season.

[00:14:03] And I move approval of the resolution. I'm happy to second that motion. Discussion on the motion, Supervisor Gross. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And as I mentioned, Title IX is a really important aspect of federal law that may or may not be appreciated by those who are now participating in girls' sports because they've always had girls' sports.

[00:14:28] We didn't always have girls' sports. We didn't always have access to girls' sports. and so when Title IX was passed in 19, I think it was 19, I don't remember, 72? 72, thank you.

[00:14:45] It was after I was out of college. When Title IX, there was a lot of concern that this wasn't really fair. Why in the world did we need Title IX? Girls could do other things, and what we are seeing, of course, is that young women excel in sports, in all types of sports. The fact that we have a Justice High School girls swim team is, I think, very exciting, very encouraging. And I would hope that as we honor the girls swim team, that we also recognize that swimming is something that

[00:15:22] everybody needs to learn to do. Because people drown when they don't know, you know, and I know that some of our swim team members are familiar with Lake Barcroft. And we have had a number of drownings in Lake Barcroft because people see the water, they jump in the water thinking that it's going to be lots of fun to splash around. They don't recognize how deep it is, or they have some sort of a problem and they lose their lives and so swimming is really one of those basic things I know when I was in college I had to take remedial swimming because we had to pass a swimming test

[00:16:00] before we could graduate it was not one of the fighter times in my life but but it is a basic skill that everybody needs to learn and I think that these young women by by their impressive showing can take out to the community the need for swimming instruction and swimming techniques, and they're going to be great in college, I'm sure, and going on into their life after college because this shows diligence, expertise, and leadership, and I'm really, really proud of the

[00:16:40] girls. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Supervisor Gross. Anyone else who would like to comment. Let me just add my congratulations to you. To win a state title is huge. And as Supervisor Gross said, it doesn't happen all that often, especially in some of our smaller high schools. And to be able to do this at Justice High School, I think, just speaks volumes to your talent. I think they're way beyond remedial swimming. Supervisor Gross, I would not want to compete against any of them. But it does take a tremendous amount of dedication, not just on your

[00:17:15] part, but on your parents and on your coaches and on your teachers and the other people who enable you to do this. One of the things about swimming is that you don't do it at the school. And so as a result of that, it takes a lot more coordination, organization. I know some incredibly early hours at some point in cold times to jump in a pool at very, very early, maybe while it's still dark outside. And so it's a special passion and you're to be congratulated. And we in Fairfax County are certainly proud of your achievements. And I know the Justice High School community is as well. So

[00:17:53] congratulations. With that, I think we're ready to vote. All those in favor of the motion, please say aye aye aye aye any opposed any abstentions and that motion carries and as i mentioned we have with us uh reagan and some other team members welcome the floor is yours um thank you so much supervisors good morning everyone my name is reagan camshaw thank you for giving me the in my team this opportunity to be here i'm super proud to represent justice high school and it's exciting to see women's sports being recognized. I would like to thank our coaches coach Austin, Maddie, and Corbin

[00:18:33] and our parents for supporting us throughout the season. They were consistently working hard volunteering helping out and being there to cheer for us for every race we have. I think it's safe to say that our parents and our coaches are our number one fans. Last year as a team the four of us qualified for states which seemed crazy to us so going into this year's season we decided that we would do whatever we can to make it on the podium we were not the biggest team at states but we did the best we do we could do to represent our school and to our surprise we got fifth

[00:19:07] overall as a four-man team in summary of our season as a relay we won the 200 medley and got second in the 200 free we also won both our relays in districts and in regionals and we won every single event in districts that we were in. This season gave us a lot to look forward to in the future because not only did we break eight records and win two state titles, but we also qualified for four All-American Times. We look forward to breaking more records and hopefully winning more state titles next year. Thank you for your time.

[00:19:43] We are so grateful to share our accomplishments with all of you. Thank you. Thank you very much. And what time in the morning do you get up? I just want to make sure everybody, when we talk about dedication, 4 a.m., congratulations to all of you.

[00:20:01] We're very proud of you, and I think we're ready for a photo. If you want to come forward, if anyone else is here with you, they're certainly welcome to come down and join us for the photo, or welcome to come down and take a photo as well, and Supervisor Gross and I will join you.

[00:21:17] And next, we have a resolution to recognize the Hayfield High School boys basketball team for winning the Virginia High School Class 6A state championship.

[00:22:07] And this was requested by myself, Supervisor Stork, and Supervisor Lusk. And understand clearly, we have the Hayfield boys basketball team here, which is outstanding, including our head coach, Carlos Poindexter, here with us.

[00:22:23] if you all could come on down and join us at the podium. And I am going to turn the gavel over to Supervisor Gross for a moment so that I may read the following resolution. Whereas in March, the Hayfield Hawks boys basketball team took on the Patriot Pioneers in the Virginia Class 6A state championship in front of a packed crowd at VCU's Siegel Center.

[00:22:49] And whereas the Hawks emerged victorious once again, defeating the Pioneers 52-41 to cap off a 30-1 season and marking the team's second state championship in a row. And whereas the team played with skill, determination, and teamwork throughout an exciting season of basketball, culminating in their championship win, and whereas the Hawks have been a source of pride, excitement, and inspiration for the entire community and have generated enthusiastic support, And whereas the championship is a testament to the hard work of these student-athletes,

[00:23:24] the guidance of Coach Carlos Poindexter and staff, and the support of the community, now therefore be it resolved that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, on behalf of all Fairfax County residents, does hereby congratulate the Hayfield Hawks boys basketball team, coach and staff, on their back-to-back state championships.

[00:23:43] You've heard the motion. Is there a second? Seconded by Supervisors Harrity and Lusk. Is there discussion on the motion? Yes. Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Vice Chairman Gross. Let me extend my congratulations to this talented group. And as was mentioned in the resolution, this is a back-to-back state championship, which is unheard of given the amount of competition in boys' basketball in particular and certainly a first for Hayfield.

[00:24:12] And as the resolution reads, you know, this is something that has been a source of pride but has also brought the entire community together in ways, you know, that frankly I've never seen before. And as Supervisor Lusk and I both live in this high school district for a long time.

[00:24:31] And I know both of us share that sentiment that this has brought the Hayfield community together in a remarkable way. And to see, you know, kids that, you know, otherwise wouldn't really care about basketball, you know, excited about what's happening.

[00:24:47] And to see alumni of the high school, people who told me, having gone to many of your games, I ran into some of these people in the run-up to last year's state title and this state title, who hadn't been in the school in a long, long time, but graduated from there.

[00:25:03] And frankly, what you were doing and the press that you were getting, the attention you were getting, the professionalism, the way in which you carried yourselves, brought those people back into the school who graduated from there and hadn't been in the hallways for a long time.

[00:25:21] And, you know, how proud they were of Hayfield. And so, you know, for them to come up to me and tell me that was remarkable. And those stories you may not always hear, but the entire community was watching what you were doing for the last two years.

[00:25:38] And frankly, Coach Poindexter, amazing. I mean, just amazing what you were able to do, not just on the court, but outside of the court as well. Framing these young men into people who now are prepared for future long-term success and wherever that might take you.

[00:25:55] I know many of you have college scholarships to play basketball, which is amazing. Many of you don't, and many of you may not ever play competitive basketball again, but what you learned with Coach Poindexter, with your community, with your school, with your parents and teachers, will last you a lifetime.

[00:26:16] I know this was a huge community effort. The coach was front and center, but all of you, your parents, all the extra work and effort they put in to making sure that you could excel on the court, in the classroom, be the young men that we are so proud of is remarkable.

[00:26:36] And as I started this, to do this two years in a row, just amazing. And, you know, on a parochial level, I know I enjoyed a great lunch out with Chairman Ann Wheeler from Prince William County, who foolishly bet me last year that a team from Prince William County could win against you in Richmond and foolishly took on that bet again.

[00:27:00] And so I'll be doing that again. But in all seriousness, to win a state title is huge. From a parochial standpoint, to win it twice over Prince William County, right next door, is something really special, too. And so congratulations to each and every one of you for your commitment to this sport, school, and what you have done for our entire community.

[00:27:22] This entire county is proud of you for your achievements. Congratulations. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Additional comments? Supervisor Lusk? I think the chairman has done an exceptional job of describing the success of your team, but I just want to also say congratulations.

[00:27:39] It's an amazing accomplishment and something you can be proud of for so many years into the future. I'll also acknowledge that my two daughters, my oldest, graduated from Hayfield four years ago, and she told me, she said last year when you won the state championship, you're going to be going back to the state championship and winning again.

[00:28:00] So she was right. So this is Sheridan who said that. And then my youngest daughter also is at Hayfield and she was so excited, so excited to see the performance. So I just want to say again, congratulations. I am personally very proud of you. And this is an exciting time for each of you. So nicely done.

[00:28:19] Thank you, Supervisor Lusk. Additional comments, Supervisor Stewart. Thank you, Madam Chair. And I want to echo the comments that have been made by my colleagues, as well as to add, while I played basketball in high school and I still deeply love the sport, I had nowhere near the success that you all did.

[00:28:39] But it's still a lifelong sport, a lifelong something that you can do. And I kid our county executive who played at the college level about his own success and his own path to how it really ultimately, I think, helped him to become our county executive.

[00:28:56] But for me, it's a matter of the discipline, the focus, the fact that it's a lifelong sport. I still play, and I'm a lot older than you all are. That's all I can say. But it's still something I enjoy, and I coached my kids for 17 years at different levels.

[00:29:12] So it was a passion that never goes away. You can still have a lot of fun with it, and you can still keep in shape, which is, as you get older, it gets harder, and it becomes even more important. And last but not least, I wanted to ask anybody here, if you all could identify by raising your hand, if any of you live in the Lorton area, I just want to see if there's any Lorton area.

[00:29:33] Awesome. Oh, yeah. All right. I represent you in the Lorton area, so thank you all very much. It's a pleasure. So you're the backbone of the team. I got that, right? I'm just saying. I don't know. It sounds like we've got competing busting of buttons here.

[00:29:50] Oh, you know, we can all take a lot of pride in their accomplishments. Thank you. Any other comments before we vote? We're ready to vote. All those in favor of the motion, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed, say nay. Any abstentions? Mr. Chairman, that motion carries unanimously.

[00:30:05] Thank you very much, Supervisor Gross. And regardless of where you live, I love all the players on this team. And with that, we are honored to have with us the amazing coach, Carlos Poindexter. Coach, welcome. The floor is yours. Yes, thank you.

[00:30:22] I want to say I'm deeply humbled by being here in front of y'all today. I'm glad for these guys. They have done everything that I've asked of them over the past few years. It's been an amazing run. And, you know, for us to go basically 63-1 over the past two years, 75-3 over the past three, is phenomenal and really unheard of.

[00:30:47] And it's basically because these guys have given me their all. And, you know, we've had tough practices. Our practices have been intense, and it only made us stronger. You know, even some of the stuff that nobody will ever see that goes on in practices, it made us stronger as a basketball team.

[00:31:08] And these guys bonded and came together as brothers. And, you know, like y'all said, they're going to remember this for the rest of their lives and be able to tell their kids about it. So I'm glad that we were able to hang two banners. Hopefully that we can continue to do that. I want to give a special shout-out to my coaches, Coach Mike Lee, Coach A.J. Fitzgerald, Coach Tim Allison.

[00:31:29] Those guys have helped along with us, along with myself, to mold these kids to what they are. I also want to give a special shout-out to Ms. Seftis, who she's been doing our scorebook for 40-something-plus years. And I'm so grateful that – because she got to see me play, because I played at Hayfield, too.

[00:31:54] And she got to see me play. And for me not to do it as a player, but to come back and do it as a coach. And especially last year, she was able to hold up the trophy. It was such a special moment. Great moment. And then next, I just want to give you three guys.

[00:32:12] Greg Jones, David King, and DJ Holloway. They have been the matriarch of our program. Four-year varsity members, three-year starters. They've, from just a student standpoint, being in the community, you know, really, like, going out to other Little League games, showing their support.

[00:32:34] Because, like, kids will come and, like, they're like Hollywood stars now or local Hollywood stars now around the community. And they do a great job of representing Hayfield, representing their parents, and representing the community in the best way possible. And the fact that I had those three guys for four years and they were the leaders of our team, it brings these young guys up and now they have someone who to look up to and now they know how to become leaders themselves.

[00:33:01] So I'm grateful for everything and everyone and thank you again for having us up here. Hopefully we can come up again. Thank you, Coach Poindexter. We're counting on that. And I know, as you mentioned, those three seniors, I know we're losing those three, but I know there's a lot of talent behind them, as you said, have learned from them but I appreciate you mentioned in those three because you know to have them for four years like that and and to be able to have the success that you've had they are well known in the community as you said local local celebrities and they've made us proud and this is an institution of Hayfield and so we're really glad you could join us as well this

[00:33:38] morning with that I think we're ready for a photo and if Supervisor Lusk and Supervisor Stork would

[00:33:44] like to join me and if you all could come forward for the photo. And next up, we have a resolution

[00:35:41] to recognize the Chantilly High School, McLean High School, and West Springfield High School recipients of the 2023 First Amendment Press Freedom Award. And this was requested by myself, Supervisor Smith, Supervisor Faust, and Supervisor Herity. And I understand we have representatives from Chantilly High School, McLean High School, if you all could come on down. And at this time, I'd recognize Supervisor Smith for resolution. Thank you Mr. Chairman. Whereas the First Amendment Press Freedom Award recognizes private and public high schools that actively support, teach, and

[00:36:19] protect First Amendment rights and responsibilities of students and teachers with an emphasis on student-run media, and whereas three Fairfax County high schools, Chantilly High School, McLean High School, and West Springfield High School were among just 16 schools nationally to receive the 2023 First Amendment Press Freedom Award.

[00:36:42] And whereas this is the ninth consecutive year of recognition for Chantilly High School, the sixth for McLean High School, and the first for West Springfield High School. And whereas in addition to the excellent work done by the student journalists at each of these schools, the award selection committee also noted that they were impressed by the significant support of school leadership for student journalism.

[00:37:05] And whereas the 16 winning schools will be honored as part of the Spring Journalism Education Association, National Scholastic Press Association, National High School Journalism Convention in San Francisco later this month. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, on behalf of all residents of Fairfax County, does hereby congratulate Chantilly High School, McLean High School, and West Springfield High School student journalists and advisors for their commitment to free and responsible scholastic journalism.

[00:37:38] I so move. I'm happy to second that, along with, it sounded like half the board. I feel like this is going to pass. Discussion on the resolution, Supervisor Smith. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. You know, it is really so important that students are able to have their voices in their journalism.

[00:37:56] But equally important is this wouldn't happen if it wasn't the commitment of our schools to ensure this happens. Our future depends on this type of education for our kids. And, you know, Chantilly, nine years, I think it's really great to see this. So thank you very much.

[00:38:12] Congratulations to the students. Thank you, Supervisor Smith. Others who would like to speak? Supervisor Palchik. I'm just not surprised, but amazed and so grateful and congratulatory of you. I think what I especially love to see so many female journalists here and budding journalists, especially in this time, as we know, journalism really needs to continue to be strong, independent and supported in our community and beyond in our world.

[00:38:43] And as we've been doing a lot of talk today about futures, I'm sitting here thinking about a dear friend of mine who was, I believe, the McLean newspaper editor many years ago and is now working for the State Department. And I know that she thinks of her time very fondly, of the training she had from her coaches, her teachers at McLean, and I know our other high schools do as well, and that in all the endeavors that you go above and beyond your classwork, that the amount of journalism and really investigating what is happening in our world and our community is so, so critical.

[00:39:21] And I'm excited to see our future generation of journalists right here, whether you continue in journalism or another career. I know that the skills, the professionalism, and hopefully the camaraderie that you've gained through this work will be greatly appreciated. And you have excellent leadership i know i see ms riley hiding in the back um who continues to be so supportive from the back of all of her schools teams and academics as well and all of your parents your teachers your principals and for supporting each other especially through the very challenging last

[00:39:58] three years we are just so thrilled of what you have been recognized for and also the work that you do and the highlights that you bring to our community so thank you congratulations to all of you and those of you with exciting things for next year I hope to see you back here at this board and looking forward to your futures ahead thank you so much and congratulations thank you supervisor Palchuk supervisor Faust famous chairman you know welcome back to many of you This is awesome. What a fantastic program we have here in Fairfax County.

[00:40:37] I want to say that just coincidentally this morning I was watching one of the national news talk shows and there was someone on there who had written a book about how important it is to cover the news across the country.

[00:40:55] There are fewer and fewer news organizations covering state and local government. And, you know, the Washington Post says the best, democracy dies in darkness. So we need you. Hopefully some of you will find that this is a career you want to pursue.

[00:41:15] But at a minimum, I know that just through your high school experience, you're helping to get the word out. And we really appreciate that. And I just, you know, Ellen, you just keep producing winners. I mean, it doesn't matter what the subject is.

[00:41:31] But anyway, I loved your quote, and so I'm going to read it talking about journalism in this program. It says, as a result, the students learned 21st century skills, including collaboration, communication, ethical decision-making, critical and creative thinking, and resilience.

[00:41:49] I mean, you leave high school with those traits, and you're going to be a tremendous success. So we thank you, and we look forward. I'm going to do a board matter later today, inviting the Highlander magazine staff back for another national award that you won.

[00:42:09] So thank you. We couldn't be more proud of you, and we're so excited to see how you carry on with this area. Thank you. Thank you, Supervisor Faust. Anyone else who would like to speak? Let me add my congratulations as well. You know, Supervisor Faust was talking about this morning, and incidentally this morning I was watching, obviously, a different news broadcast, but it was sadly about other countries and what doesn't happen with regard to free journalism, free expression in those countries, and how in

[00:42:45] some cases, the journalists who are just trying to cover the news are the ones who are persecuted and not allowed to exercise a very fundamental right that we have in this country, which is freedom of speech and something that we can never take for granted. And I think there's never been a more important time than now for this and for young people to be engaged in journalism, not just because of all the attributes that Supervisor Faust just read and that are in the resolution. Um, but we're, we're at a pivotal point where, you know, people need to go to news and they need to know that the people behind the news have the integrity, have the background,

[00:43:23] have the skills, have the independence, have the proper investigative, uh, background that you all are learning, uh, at a very young age, uh, that will help you be productive for a long time, but also is, is, and has always been the standard of the best media sources in the country. Um, and Sometimes it's hard to recognize those with all the chatter that's out there, especially with social media and some of the other influencers that are out there.

[00:43:50] But the integrity of the core media is so important to our democracy, so important to educating our population, and so important to make sure that we continue to get right, because it's a responsibility that our entire community benefits from that work that you do.

[00:44:09] And lastly, I just want to mention, because I think a lot of people don't realize this, but with student journalists like this, there's authority given to them and an emphasis on the students running this program and the students being responsible for the written word and the final decisions on content and some of the other things that put a tremendous amount of responsibility in all of you, which is a trait that also will be with you for a lifetime.

[00:44:36] And it's something that we have to continue to foster and celebrate in our public schools. And to be able to come back, Chantilly, as was mentioned, I mean, nine consecutive years. Certainly six years is amazing for McLean, West Springfield getting an award. We hope this continues.

[00:44:52] We're going to have to do something really amazing at the 10-year mark next year. So don't let us down. But we look forward to having you back and other schools, you know, back as well to celebrate this because it's a major achievement. And congratulations to all of you and to the teachers, principals, staff that helped make this happen.

[00:45:11] I thank them as well. With that, I think we're ready to vote. All those in favor of the motion, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? And that motion carries. And I have, there may be a number of people who want to speak, but I have Caitlin Chu and Nyla Marcotte listed as the speakers.

[00:45:31] I'm thinking that's the two of you, but in any order that you want to speak, it's up to you. Thank you, supervisors, and thank you to the entire school board for your generosity in recognizing us here today. Together, the Purple Tide, our newspaper, the nightly news, our morning broadcast, Odyssey, our yearbook, and Andromeda, the literary magazine at Chantilly, amplify the more than 3,000 voices at our school alongside the support of our faculty.

[00:45:58] Dr. Goodloe and Mr. Winfrey have been nothing short of exceptional, holding regular meetings with a purple tide in the nightly news to keep updated on our coverage, and our advisors, Mrs. Brown and Mr. Nguyen, are sources of support and mastery. They truly are integral to ensuring that we produce every cycle, every deadline.

[00:46:17] When we step into each respective classroom, we're no longer just students, we're part of a publication. Although the four groups are very distinct, we all have universal experiences, from the sheer awkwardness of our very first interview we ever conducted, to the feeling of elation we word a phrase or create a design just the right way all in all student journalism is invaluable to our communities and today we're honored to be able to play a small role in celebrating the importance of our journalistic freedom thank you good morning i'm nyla marcotte editor-in-chief of the highlander i feel honored to accept this award on behalf of mclean high school for the

[00:46:56] sixth consecutive year which is a testament to the intellectual freedom courage and independence that have been fostered in generations of McLean reporters. I would like to take a moment to thank two individuals whose constant support has enabled the program to flourish. McLean's principal, Dr. Riley, provides unrestricted access to administrators and information that allows us to publish on the most timely, impressing issues facing our community. We are incredibly fortunate to have Ms. Benedict, our journalism advisor, who nurtures students' strengths,

[00:47:32] provides tireless guidance, and inspires us to find our own unique voices and to use them for positive change. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you both. And again, congratulations to all of you. And I think we're ready for a photo. And if you all could come forward and face the audience,

[00:47:52] Supervisor Smith, Faust, and Herity will join me for the photo. And finally, we have a proclamation

[00:50:05] to designate the week of April 9th through the 15th as Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. And this was requested by myself. I understand we have Jennifer Etheridge, Public Safety Communicator, Department of Public Safety Communications with us here today.

[00:50:20] Jennifer, if you could please come on down, as well as all those who are with you, we would welcome them to join you as well. And I am going to turn the gavel over to Supervisor Gross so that I can read the following proclamation. Whereas emergencies requiring police, fire, emergency medical services can occur 24 hours a day, the safety and well-being of all community members and visitors is important to our great county.

[00:50:46] And whereas availability of 911 services for which public safety communicators are the first point of contact are integral to the safety of each community member and prompt response is vital to the protection of life and preservation of property.

[00:51:01] And whereas the safety of our police officers, firefighters, and public safety partners is directly dependent on two critical components, the quality, accuracy, and time sensitivity of information obtained from community members who contact Fairfax County Public Safety Communications and expedient dissemination of information.

[00:51:23] And whereas each dedicated Fairfax County public safety telecommunicator has exhibited compassion, integrity, and skill during the processing and dispatching of over 1 million calls each year. And whereas it is essential for the public to be aware of the responsibility to properly use 9-1-1 only in an emergency to help ensure the efficiency of the 9-1-1 system and to foster a healthy relationship between the community and public safety members.

[00:51:55] Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, on behalf of all Fairfax County residents, does hereby proclaim the week of April 9 through 15, 2023, as National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week in Fairfax County, in honor of the men and women whose diligence and professionalism help keep our county residents and visitors safe.

[00:52:18] You've heard the motion, which has been multiply seconded. Is there discussion on the motion, Mr. Chairman? First, we do this proclamation every year for a lot of reasons. One is public awareness of the importance of knowing when to use 911.

[00:52:36] But more importantly, at least to me, is to recognize the telecommunicators and the hard work that they do. Many of the calls you receive are people who are calling in at their worst moment, where they're dealing with an unimaginable challenge.

[00:52:56] They call you, and what they get on the other line is professionalism, compassion, understanding, and really patience in a way that I don't think anyone who, really the only way to understand that is to do the job that you do.

[00:53:14] I don't think any of us can understand that. And the volume of calls, as the proclamation points out, know over a million calls a year it's a very busy 9-1-1 center and it is absolutely integral not only to providing emergency services to our community but as this also mentions being able to communicate with our first responders their reliance on you for good information and your ability to communicate with a caller is an essential part of the outcome and we We have so many good outcomes in the county, so many lives that have been saved because of our network.

[00:53:54] And that network, as is mentioned, starts with you in so many cases. And so most people who call 911 may never see you. They might remember the first responders who interacted with them and arrived at the scene.

[00:54:10] They might remember the doctors if it's a medical emergency that saved their lives. But you're behind the phone and answering their call and getting them that life-saving work, and they may never get an opportunity to see you in person and to say thank you. And I know sometimes they do, but in most cases that doesn't happen.

[00:54:28] And so this is also an opportunity for us to recognize how important your role is in our community in saving lives, improving public health, providing support services for our first responders, and being that person on the other end of the line that is so professional in people's hardest of times.

[00:54:49] And that takes a skill that few people have, and you haven't, and we are grateful for that. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Additional comments? Supervisor Palachuk. Thank you, Madam Chair. And again, I want to thank you for this. I think it has never been more apparent than through the past three years just how important how we've taken for granted the excellent resource that are all of our information from our public responders 9-1-1 to being able to communicate with our entire community in difficult times and then beyond that especially in this

[00:55:26] past year and today we will be honoring mental health and youth mental health crisis month we know that that wrap that rise in the mental health crisis in our community come so often to you and as the 988 hotline takes off we hope that it is as successful as our 911 call-in number has been our ability to support the community through that and to be able to address issues and to maintain being the safest community of our size you are an integral and your entire team 24 7 365 days a year and an integral part of that and then finally as I've

[00:56:04] learned with a one-year-old just how easy it is for them to try to call the emergency number so I'm assuming you get quite a few of those as well I try to stop her but it's definitely takes a lot of effort to do that and so luckily it hasn't happened yet but it just made me realize that you must deal with quite a few surprises in every kind and every age as you answer a call so just so grateful for the professionalism for the commitment and for your continued efforts and support in the community. Thank you. Thank you, Supervisor Palchek. Additional comments? I'm reminded, Supervisor Palchek, when one of my daughters

[00:56:43] was a toddler, I got a call back from emergency services, and it's like, you know, what is your emergency? I said, we're fine. Discovered that on the downstairs phone, because 9-1-1 is something that is certainly, well, it's advertised all over the place. She started Poking 9-1-1, and so that reverse piece is really very, very helpful.

[00:57:09] This is why I never take my eyes off my kids. It was a stunner. I still remember that. It's been decades, but that was, you know, that's what you do is if there's a call and it drops, you want to make sure that you're doing everything you can to make sure that people's needs are met.

[00:57:31] Any other discussion? Seen and hearing none. All those in favor of the motion, please say aye. Any opposed say nay. Any abstentions? That motion carries unanimously, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Supervisor Gross. And we have with us Jennifer Etheridge, Public Safety Communicator. Welcome. The floor is yours.

[00:57:48] Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, Board. If I had one word to describe a 911 dispatcher and my fellow co-workers at DPSC during this Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, it would be impact. Whether it's giving life-saving infant CPR instructions or handling a routine parking complaint, dispatchers make an impact with every phone call answered and each radio transmission.

[00:58:11] You may never get the recognition, but this week is a reminder to everyone at DPSC and across the country that 911 dispatchers matter, and it's a celebration of all our hard work throughout the year. So keep showing up and taking pride in your impact. In closing, I'll share a poem by Lynette McManus-Cheater called Just a Dispatcher.

[00:58:32] In order to understand who I am, you must first understand what I do. I am the person who listens to you cry as you're begging your mother to take another breath. I am the person who tries to get you to give your father CPR, knowing that he has passed, but in some way may help you know that you did everything that you could.

[00:58:50] I am the person who walks you through the Heimlich maneuver when your child is choking on a toy. I am the person who convinces you that life is worth living and that your family needs you here when you think all hope is gone. I am the person who leaves my family, my home, and puts my own life in danger during snow, hurricanes, and bad weather that I may be here to answer your emergency.

[00:59:12] I am simply just a dispatcher in most eyes. To my family and friends, please understand that when I'm short-tempered or impatient, it's not you. It's the weight of my job that may have taken a toll that day. Instead of bringing it home, I chose to keep it bottled up to protect you from the reality of the world in which we live.

[00:59:30] To my kids, please understand when I'm strict or paranoid, wanting to track your every moment, it's because I know that a child didn't make it home to their family that day. To my mother, please forgive me for not having the patience to always sit through your entire conversation.

[00:59:46] It's only because I'm trained to get all pertinent information within a certain amount of time. So I don't have the patience that I used to. To my friends, please understand when I can't show up for every birthday or event that you may have invited me to. or to the times we aren't able to talk on the phone to catch up.

[01:00:05] It may be because I'm working or I'm too mentally drained to be there. To the thousands of callers that I speak to, that I am just a dispatcher, remember that I may not be the first to arrive at your house, but I'm the first person that you may speak to on possibly one of the worst days of your life.

[01:00:21] So I will leave you with a quote from Dr. Seuss. To the world, you may be one person, but to one person, you may be the world. Thank you very much, Jennifer. Powerful poem. Appreciate you. sharing that with us and definitely tells the story of our staff at dpsc and so we're here to honor the entire staff including the people who are answering calls literally while we're sitting here and so thank you to each and every one of you for your dedication it matters and with that i think we're ready for a photo if you all could come forward and face the audience

[01:00:56] okay with that we're ready to move on to board matters and the clerk has of course compiled

[01:02:22] these digitally and will go alphabetically by district following myself and vice chair gross and i will turn the gavel to vice chairman gross i have only one board matter and that is to approve without objection the proclamation request listed in this document to be presented inside or outside of the boardroom as appropriate and you can see the five proclamations that are listed there without objection so ordered uh thank you very much uh supervisor gross and next up for board matters is vice chairman gross thank you mr chairman this is a joint board matter with you

[01:02:57] and with supervisor palchek the united states holocaust memorial council designates days of remembrance each year to recall and reflect on the horrible crimes committed during the holocaust and to ensure that the memory and legacy of lives lost will not be forgotten we have a responsibility to remember and recognize this dark chapter of world history so that we do not repeat the tragic mistakes of the past. I ask without objection that the Board of Supervisors proclaim Tuesday, April 18, 2023, as Holocaust Remembrance Day in Fairfax County, and direct staff to prepare

[01:03:30] a proclamation signed by Chairman McKay, myself, and Supervisor Palchuk for presentation at an off-site event. And without objection, that is so ordered, Supervisor Gross. Mr. Chairman, Culmore Community Day was originally started over 17 years ago by the global community of the Bailey's Crossroads Culmore area to meet and celebrate the diversity of the surrounding community. It quickly evolved into an annual event of recreational activities designed to create a strong and connected multicultural community. Today it is a well-attended community event with well over 500 people attending. A variety of public and private sector groups

[01:04:07] provide free refreshments, food and entertainment, as well as assist with running the day's activities. Some of the events or activities that take place at the Culmore Community Day include public safety education, local government and non-profit resource kiosks, folklore, dancing, live music, animal exhibits, face painting, child ID cards, and the like. This year's Culmore Community Day Safety, a Community Responsibility, will be held on Saturday, May 6, 2023 from 10 a.m.

[01:04:37] to 1 p.m. in the parking lot of the Woodrow Wilson Library at 6101 Knollwood Drive in Falls Church. I ask without objection that the Office of Public Affairs, in coordination with the Fairfax County Park Authority, publicize this event. And without objection, that is so ordered. Supervisor Gross.

[01:04:53] Mr. Chairman, Scouts BSA Troop 150 was first chartered in 1928. That summer, they held their first meeting in the building next to the Little White Church, now known as the Annandale United Methodist Church. This was the first BSA troop meeting in Fairfax County.

[01:05:10] They have rechartered every consecutive year since then, making them the longest continually operating troop in Fairfax County. This year marks their 95th year of continued operation and service in providing opportunities and training in responsible citizenship, character development, and self-reliance.

[01:05:30] I ask without objection that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors congratulate BSA Troop 150 on its 95th anniversary of serving the youth of Fairfax County and direct staff to prepare a Certificate of Recognition to be signed by the Chairman and the Mason District Supervisor for a presentation out of the boardroom.

[01:05:48] And that is also without objection, so ordered. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That's it. Thank you, Supervisor Gross. Next up is Supervisor Walkinshaw. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have just one board matter. It's a joint board matter with you and Supervisor Lusk, and it's just sharing what has already been shared with the board, a third-quarter budget consideration item for the Lake Akatink Park Playground.

[01:06:13] Mr. Chairman, as you're aware, Lake Akatink Park is enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, and one of the central amenities is the park's playground near the marina. Unfortunately, this playground has been closed since November of 2022 when it was determined that the equipment was unsafe for use due to wear and tear.

[01:06:32] Unlike most of the other playgrounds in the county, the vendor for this particular playground is no longer in business, and the Park Authority has been unable to find the replacement parts to restore the playground to safe working condition. Therefore, the only option is a full replacement estimated to cost $300,000.

[01:06:51] A project of this scope was not included in the Park Authority's FY24 budget request or in their 2023 CIP. Therefore, Mr. Chairman, along with yourself and Supervisor Lusk, have circulated for the board's awareness the attached third quarter review consideration item to accelerate the timeline for replacement of the Lake Akatink Park playground.

[01:07:12] And I won't read the consideration item, but I think board members received it last week. Yep. And, again, we'll add this to the consideration item list. Don't need to vote on this, but we'll add it to the consideration item list. And thank you for bringing this to our attention.

[01:07:28] Supervisor Walkinshaw. That's it. Thank you. Thank you very much. Supervisor Faust. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We missed our opportunity to combine some awards from McLean High School by just a matter of timing.

[01:07:47] But anyway, I have another board matter recognizing McLean High School for receiving the 2023 Gold Crown Award. This is a joint board matter with Supervisor Pulchik. Mr. Chairman, the Columbia Scholastic Press Association recently named McLean High School's magazine and website the Highlander recipient of the 2023 Gold Crown Award in hybrid news.

[01:08:11] McLean High School was one of only 16 schools in the nation to receive the gold crown and the only school in Virginia to earn the top honor this year. This is the second consecutive year that McLean has received this prestigious award. This award recognizes excellence in student-run media based on design, photography, concept, coverage, and writing.

[01:08:36] CSPA judged 805 entries this winter. The Columbia Scholastic Press Association is an international student press association founded in 1925, whose goal is to unite student journalists and faculty advisors at schools and colleges. Therefore, Mr. Chairman, without objection, we ask that the staff invite journalists, students from McLean High School, their advisors, and other school representatives come for the board on May 23, 2023, to be recognized for their tremendous accomplishment. And without objection, that is so ordered.

[01:09:08] Supervisor Faust. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I have a couple of consideration items that will be distributed, hopefully before noon, but I wasn't going to plan on presenting them as a board matter. Okay. Thank you, Supervisor Faust. And just as a reminder, for those watching board members can submit any consideration items in writing to the staff we keep a compilation of those as we approach decisions we have to make on the budget but the consideration items themselves don't need to be voted on and be added to the official list thank you supervisor Faust supervisor Lusk okay

[01:09:44] thank you mr. chairman I have three board matters and one announcement the 1st. Mr. Chairman, September 2023 will mark the 22nd anniversary of 9-11 and National Preparedness Month when Fairfax County will continue to focus on ensuring our residents are equipped for any form of emergency. National Preparedness Month provides an annual opportunity for our residents to learn about the various hazards they may face and best practices on how to prepare for an emergency and act in the event of a natural disaster as always I would like

[01:10:21] to express our combined gratitude to the exceptional employees of the Department of Emergency Management and Security for their continuous efforts to keep our community and residents safe each year D EMS creates the community emergency response guide and business disaster resilience guide both resources assist our residents to be prepared in the event of an emergency or disaster. Given this, Mr. Chairman, I move that the staff from the Department of Emergency Management and Security and the Office of Public Affairs create a public information package based on the theme of the 2023 National

[01:11:00] Preparedness Month, which will be distributed amongst county staff and the public. I also move that we recognize the exemplary work done by the Department of Emergency Management and Security by declaring September 2023 as Emergency Preparedness Month in Fairfax County.

[01:11:17] And lastly, I move that a proclamation be prepared in acknowledgment of Emergency Preparedness Month and in appreciation of the tireless work done every day by the people serving our county under the Department of Emergency Management and Security to be presented in September of 2023, either inside or outside the Board Auditorium.

[01:11:38] I'm happy to second that series of motions. any discussion no sir seeing and hearing none all those in favor of the motions please say aye aye any opposed any abstentions that motion carries supervisor Lusk and thank you mr. chairman this one will be connected to the previous so mr. chairman the third week of May 2023 is business continuity awareness week for those who may not be familiar business continuity describes an organization's ability to withstand and recover from physical threats such

[01:12:11] which is natural disasters and security breaches, as well as risks related to technology, operations, and reputational damage. According to the Insurance Institute, up to 40 percent of businesses affected by a natural or man-made disaster never reopen.

[01:12:30] Governments like ours have played a role in the development and promotion of resilience. The establishment of the National Emergency Management Framework and implementation of risk mitigation strategies comes in the aftermath of World War II, when governments recognize the need to ensure the continuity of critical infrastructure and essential services during times of crisis.

[01:12:53] Here in Fairfax County, we focused on our ability to continue county operations and providing services via the county's continuity program and its associated programs. Fairfax County's Business Community Program assists businesses in the county to increase their resiliency through the Business Disaster Resilience Guide.

[01:13:13] Implementing a business preparedness plan to ensure that each component of a business is prepared to respond and recover from a disruption is vital to securing business continuity. By working together, we can ensure that Fairfax is prepared and resilient in the face of ongoing challenges contributing to the sustainability and stability of our economy and society.

[01:13:37] Therefore, Mr. Chairman, I move that the Office of Public Affairs prepare a proclamation and recognition of the essential work done by the Department of Emergency Management and Security to ensure business continuity. This proclamation will be presented at a meeting of the Board of Supervisors during May of this year.

[01:13:55] So moved. Happy to second that motion. Any discussion on the motion? Seeing and hearing none, all those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? That motion carries. Supervisor Lusk. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This will be my last actual board matter, and it is in recognition of Claudia Lana, who recently retired from the Fairfax County Department of Transportation.

[01:14:22] She had served as the Director of Transportation and Land Use for Fairfax and Arlington Counties in the Virginia Department of Transportation, has been a pillar of the community throughout her 26 years of service with VDOT. Claudia helped to improve transportation safety in Fairfax County through an array of projects that she oversaw, including smart-scale programs in Fairfax County and Prince William County, the I-66, Route 1 widening, and the bus rapid transit project.

[01:14:51] Through her leadership, Claudia has engaged the community, state, and local officials and other stakeholders in Northern Virginia to effectively resolve persistent issues involving traffic safety and pedestrian fatalities.

[01:15:07] Claudia mentors others while at VDOT, cultivating the next generation of transportation leaders and preparing the department for unlimited future success. Her unwavering dedication to the community she has served is evident in her remarkable accomplishments and exceptional level of engagement with the community.

[01:15:26] Claudia truly made a mark on the Fairfax County community, and we sincerely value her dedication in making roads in our region safer. She was someone we knew we could rely on to put the needs of the community first and foremost, and her guidance and assistance will certainly be missed.

[01:15:44] We thank her for a continued and unequivocal support of our community and our office. With that, Mr. Chairman, I move the Director of Public Affairs craft a resolution in honor of Claudia, showcasing her contributions to Fairfax County to be presented at an occasion either inside or outside this boardroom.

[01:16:04] Happy to second that along with Supervisor Herity. Any discussion on the motion? Yep. Supervisor Lusk. thank you mr chairman i just want to make this point we um supervisor harry and i both had the opportunity to be at her uh retirement party and i i'm so grateful i had the opportunity to do that um she is a person who is just so committed and so dedicated to her work and what i've learned from watching her is that she's a part of the face of the change of vdot many people and i said this on the remarks I made at her retirement many people look at VDOT as this

[01:16:44] organization that just says no and I feel I feel that she has helped the organization embark to yes and that many of the things that she has done in my district and I'm sure she's done the same and all of the other supervisor districts have been to support finding resolutions to some complex and difficult problems and she's always been a person who's made herself available and she's always been a person who has taken the sentiments and the concerns of the community so seriously and I personally was shocked when she said she was

[01:17:23] retiring and I felt a little gut punch because I knew and I know she's going to be extremely hard to replace so with that mr. Sherman I'll conclude my remarks Thank you very much. Thank you, Supervisor Lusk. Any other discussion? Supervisor Herity.

[01:17:38] I just would echo what Supervisor Lusk said. Incredibly responsive in any kind of issue that we've ever had in our office, and I hope to get to make those comments again if we bring her before the board. If not, I'd like to know where we present.

[01:17:53] Thanks, sir. Okay. Any other discussions? Seeing and hearing none. All those in favor of the motion, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? That motion carries. Supervisor Lusk. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is just an announcement and update really on the 5K run that we held on March 25th. And I want to thank you and Supervisor Alcorn for being a part of it. Just to give you a little bit of data, we had 265 runners registered despite having a somewhat cold and rainy day. About 165 actually showed up and ran. We collected a little more

[01:18:33] than 600 pounds of food that will be donated to both koinonia and united community we also raised approximately four thousand dollars that will divide equally between the two non-profits i want to thank all the runners who participated i want to thank the franconia police department cert volunteers fair oaks volunteer fire and rescue company celebrate fairfax and Linda Bufano from the Conor Strong Foundation and Federal Realty for their engagement.

[01:19:06] We also had a number of sponsors. Our lead sponsor was Halley Companies. We also had the Fairfax Falls Church Community Services Board, Suicide Prevention Alliance of Northern Virginia. We also had Caldwell Banker, PRS, Robex, Yoga Six, and a number of others who I just want to say We really, really appreciate their commitment.

[01:19:30] I also want to acknowledge that something happened during the race. Mr. Chairman placed first in his age group, so he will be getting. So I have the chairman's medal here.

[01:19:46] Look at that. It's a real medal. Look at that. First place. So I'm going to pass this over, Mr. Chairman. Outstanding. Thank you. So congratulations. and uh i'll also say that i luckily placed first in my age group because we're not in the same age group just so everyone knows it's a bit of a difference between the two of us but uh it was a fun fun run and i'll finally say uh to the connor strong foundation uh specifically tom mindy and jack uh oros uh thank you for honoring your son connor and turning your loss into something i

[01:20:22] think that is significantly positive you've helped us increase and improve discussions around mental health and suicide prevention so for that we are all so grateful and you've also helped us from remind us that it's okay to not be okay so I'll close by saying if you know someone that ever needs assistance of service please remember to call or text 988 for suicide crisis hotline and thank you mr chairman and supervisor loss could we uh also thank your office i know played a major role in helping

[01:21:02] organize this and you know just this morning we had the hayfield boys basketball team here and connor was a student at hayfield and one of the things that made me most proud to see um that morning was so many of the young men from the hayfield lacrosse team yes who came out to participate and run in the race and and i don't think any of them knew connor personally but they were there as fellow student athletes to support a student athlete who who tragically took his life and to honor him and to make sure you know at least when i spoke with them that they're spreading

[01:21:37] the word at their school right about all the resources that are available to our young people who may be having challenges with mental health or depression or other things to do, just as you said, Supervisor Lust, to understand it's okay not to be okay, but there are people and services out there to support you.

[01:21:58] And to see those young athletes come out to support this event, I think, was certainly a memorable takeaway for me and something that makes us proud of our young people in our Fairfax County Public Schools. Supervisor Alcorn. Yeah, Mr. Chairman, thank you for mentioning those young athletes, and I'm glad you saw them.

[01:22:16] I was so far back in the pack, I couldn't see them at all. So, you know, I'm glad you could see them at least. Thank you for noting that. No comment, although I will say we were really glad, Supervisor Alcorn, you made it there.

[01:22:32] It was cold that morning, and I know at the hour you had to leave Hunter Middle District to get there, it was also dark. So it was the dedication more than the speed that mattered. So thank you. Supervisor Luss. That concludes my board matters. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

[01:22:47] Thank you, Supervisor Luss. Supervisor Alcorn. All right. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I do have four board matters today and two quick announcements. The first board matter is a joint one with yourself and Supervisor Paul Cech. It is about Bike to Work Day on Friday, May 19th. So we do have, just a few weeks away, we have the Tour de Hunter Mill, but two weeks after that is another great cycling event.

[01:23:13] It's Bike to Work Day, which takes place on May 19th. Fairfax County, the Fairfax County Department of Transportation, Commuter Connections, the Washington Area Bicyclists Association, and neighboring governments are hosting the 22nd annual event. It's a great opportunity to enjoy a healthy and environmentally friendly commute to work and enjoy some of our scenic roads and trails.

[01:23:35] Even if a resident is working from home, they can participate by biking to one of the many pit stops across the county to get out of the house and enjoy the fun. And residents with longer commutes should consider biking as a first and last mile to a bus or train stop.

[01:23:52] The Fairfax County Department of Transportation has great resources, including maps and how to register on their webpage. Just go look at their website. So therefore, Mr. Chairman, and perhaps this is without objection, I move that the Board of Supervisors proclaim Friday, May 19, 2023, as Bike to Work Day.

[01:24:10] In addition, I would ask that the Fairfax County Department of Transportation and the Office of Public Affairs promote Bike to Work Day to our residents and businesses. And I'm happy to second that. Let's vote on that. Any discussion? Supervisor Herdy. I just want to note that my office will be hosting a pit stop that morning, so hopefully get some West Springfield students there.

[01:24:31] Supervisor Pouchik yeah also excited to announce that the Providence Community Center not only has a new capital bike share stations that we gave up our parking spots for but also we'll be hosting our first annual morning bike to work day and we're just a bit in a throw away from the Vienna Metro so those of you who maybe don't have them feel free to come over and join us that morning excellent thank you very much no other discussion all those in favor of the motion, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? That motion carries. Supervisor Alcorn.

[01:25:05] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm very proud to announce that on March 19th, the Reston Community Players received 13 Washington Area Theater Community Honors Awards, also known as the Watch Awards. The awards were for the players' productions of A Little Night Music, The Games Afoot, and Bright Star.

[01:25:26] By comparison, the next highest number of awards received was six by the Arlington Players. Not Prince William, but Arlington. That's right. The Reston Community Players have enriched the county since 1966, which was just a few years after Robert E. Simon Jr. founded Reston.

[01:25:45] We're very proud of our performing arts community in Fairfax County and recognize this noteworthy achievement by the Reston Community Players. So therefore, Mr. Chairman, I'd ask that the Office of Public Affairs prepare a certificate of recognition for the rest in community players including the 2023 watch award recipients to be presented at an upcoming board of supervisors meeting and without objection that is so ordered supervisor alcorn thank you mr chairman i'm also very proud to announce that the south lakes high school seahawk junior reserve officer training corps or j rotzi drill team finished first in the armed division at the army's j rotzi regional best of the bill best drill

[01:26:24] competition held in North Carolina on March 18th. The team will advance to the Army's national drill competition to be held in Daytona Beach, Florida, on May 5th, 2023. We have a long history of Fairfax County residents serving in the military, and in this case, preparing for military service. This tradition continues for these J. ROTC cadets, who are also excelling at a very high level. Therefore, Mr. Chairman, I'd ask that the Office of Public Affairs prepare a certificate of recognition for the South Lakes High School J ROTC battalion to be presented at an upcoming board meeting or at South Lakes High School and without objection that is so

[01:27:01] ordered supervisor Alcorn okay thank you this one's a little bit longer similar this one relates to WMATA's grant application for the cinder bed road bus garage since the similar to the Board of Supervisors goal of converting the Fairfax connector bus fleet to zero emission vehicles by 2035, WMATA and the WMATA Board of Directors adopted a resolution requiring WMATA to transition to a 100% zero emission bus fleet by 2045. To reach this goal, WMATA is advancing plans to upgrade its operations and maintenance

[01:27:39] facilities. On January 25, 2023, WMATA broke ground at the Northern Division bus garage, which will open with a zero-emission fleet in a few years. WMATA also recently broke ground on facilities at the Bladensburg Bus Garage to support the transition to zero-emission bus.

[01:27:58] WMATA has scheduled zero-emission conversion efforts for the Cinderbed Road Bus Garage, located in Lorton, Virginia, to begin in FY 2024. Cinderbed is an important facility not only for Metro Bus, but also for Fairfax County. As part of the Richmond Highway Bus Rapid Transit Project, Fairfax County is negotiating a joint use agreement with WMATA to allow the county to house and maintain future battery electric BRT vehicles at the Cinderbed Garage.

[01:28:28] To help fund their conversion efforts at Cinderbed, WMATA is applying for funding through the Federal Transit Administration's Low or No Emission Grant Program and Buses and Bus Facilities Competitive Grant Program.

[01:28:43] If awarded, this funding would support joint electrification infrastructure costs, such as site prep and improvements, electric utility improvements, and installation of charging units, as well as construction of other improvements. WMATA staff requested that the county provide a letter of support for WMATA's grant application.

[01:29:02] Should this grant application be successful, they will help fund improvements to the cinderbed facility and reduce costs for WMATA and Fairfax County. Therefore, once the joint use agreement is executed and the county is billed, the county would provide the local match for the grant-funded improvements to the facility associated with the county's improvements.

[01:29:24] These funds, approximately $4.3 million, are already included in the Richmond Highway BRT project budget. So therefore, Mr. Chairman, I move that the Board of Supervisors approve the letter distributed to the board in support of WMATA's application for funding from the FTA's low or no emission vehicle grant program and or buses and bus facilities grant program.

[01:29:49] I'm happy to second that along with Supervisor Stork. Any discussion on the motion? I just want to thank you, Supervisor Alcorn, for bringing this forward to our attention. Certainly an important thing and glad to support WMATA's application.

[01:30:06] Any other discussion, seeing and hearing none? All those in favor of the motion, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? And that is supported 9 to 0. Supervisor Alcorn. Thank you. And just very quickly, this Saturday, April 15th, is Founders Day in Reston.

[01:30:26] It celebrates the life and legacy of Robert E. Simon, Jr. As many of you know, Bob was the visionary, founded Reston in the early 60s, came back, lived in Reston until his passing at 101 years of age in 2015. So the celebration takes place at 10 a.m., starting at 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Lake Ann Plaza.

[01:30:46] It includes all sorts of fun activities, a community cleanup, musical performances, art exhibits, lots of fun things. Food trucks will be there, which is good. I'll be running to those. It's a great Reston tradition that is enjoyed by many residents, including myself. I invite my colleagues and anyone interested who can attend to participate in Founders' Day.

[01:31:07] And then lastly, Mr. Chairman, you did receive, I think, both via email yesterday and then on everybody's desk, an updated version of Admin 5. So this is, this basically is a slimmed down version of the proposed ordinance.

[01:31:26] It's a little bit of a quirky thing that we don't do very often, required by the state and the ABC process. But what is included here is much less, it's more like, I would say, ordinance language than an event plan.

[01:31:44] So as suggested by the county attorney, this will be included in the admin five item that we'll see in a few minutes. Excellent. Thank you. Thank you, Supervisor Alcorn. and next up is Supervisor Stork. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I've got several items. The first one is recognizing the South County High School Women's Indoor Track Team for their victories at the VHSL C6 Indoor Track Virginia State Championships. This is jointly with Supervisor Herity. The South

[01:32:18] County High School Women's Indoor Track Team finished as the runner-up for the 2023 VHSL C6 indoor track Virginia State Championship on February 25, 2023. Additionally, relay team Jordan Jermaine, Catalina Sanchez, Asala McNeil, and Cameron Thompson won first place for the 4x200 setting a new meet record of 1 minute 39 seconds and 42 100s. We would like to recognize and celebrate the contributions of the South County Women Indoor 4x200 relay team and the entire women's indoor track team, parents, coaches, teachers, and administrators at South County

[01:32:57] who worked very hard to help the team achieve these results. Therefore, Mr. Chairman, without objection, we ask that a proclamation be signed by the Chairman, Supervisor Herity, and myself to be presented to the South County women's indoor track 4x200 relay team and coaches to take place inside the boardroom, as well as a proclamation to be signed by the Chairman, Supervisor Herity, and myself to be presented to the South County women's indoor track team and coaches to take place outside of the boardroom for recognition of the runner-up class C6 Virginia State champions. And without objection that is so ordered. Supervisor Stewart. Thank you. The next item is also

[01:33:36] a joint board matter with yourself Mr. Chairman as well as Supervisor Rodney Lusk. To protect and serve was more than just a motto two weeks ago as our Mount Vernon District police officers managed the indoor the major challenges of a barricade situation on our busiest main street, Richmond Highway. When officers encountered Brittany Coupland, 29, in her car with a gun experiencing a mental health crisis, their exceptional training kicked in, and they patiently worked for over 34 hours to find a peaceful resolution. Joined by crisis managers, negotiators, and teams from surrounding jurisdictions,

[01:34:13] and with united police and civilian leadership, our dedicated officers persevered, protected lives, and ultimately, peacefully restored our community. A huge thank you to our incredible Mount Vernon Police Station officers, specifically Day Shift B, the first responders on the scene, and most involved throughout the incident.

[01:34:33] We also thank the many other units and teams involved, Fairfax County Police, included Mount Vernon Station Patrol, Major Crimes Division Detectives, CID Mount Vernon, Operations Support Bureau, SWAT, Crisis Negotiations Unit, EOD, Bomb Squad Traffic Division, the Motor Squad, as well as Safety Officers, Helicopter Division, Fairfax One, and the UA Unmanned Aircraft Unit, the Drone.

[01:34:58] Technical Support Unit included Fairfax County Service Board Mobile Crisis Unit, as well as the Alexandria City Police Department, their SWAT Hostage Negotiations Unit, Virginia State Police, their SWAT Crisis Negotiations Unit, and George Mason Police Department's UA Unmanned Aircraft Unit.

[01:35:17] We recognize the considerable impact the barricade had on our residents and businesses, disrupting key services, tangled travel, and lack of access to the area, and we appreciate the community's patience. By our Subaru and Browns Honda dealerships across from the barricade, we're especially supportive to our dozens of first responders by keeping their businesses open for their use.

[01:35:41] This incident and its outcome is one that our community can be proud of, one where our commitment to the sanctity of all lives, First responder training and professionalism of our police served and protected the perpetrator, victim, police, and the greater Mount Vernon community.

[01:35:56] Therefore, Mr. Chairman, without objection, we ask that the board invite the Fairfax County Police, Mount Vernon Station Patrol, Major Crimes Division Detectives, CID Mount Vernon, Operations Support Bureau, SWAT, Crisis Negotiations Unit, EOD, Traffic Division, Safety Officers, Helicopter Division, Fairfax 1, and UA Unmanned Aircraft Unit, Technical Support Unit, Fairfax County Services Board Mobile Crisis Unit, Alexandria City Police Department, SWAT Hostage Negotiation Units, as well as the Virginia State Police or SWAT Crisis Negotiations Unit, and the George Mason Department, UA Unmanned Aircraft Unit,

[01:36:34] to appear at an upcoming board meeting to be recognized for their dedication and perseverance in bringing this incident to a peaceful resolution and for keeping our community safe. I'm happy to, well, without objection, it is so ordered, and let me also acknowledge and thank you, Supervisor Stork, for working with the Mount Vernon Police to arrange the negotiators that we had an opportunity, you and I had an opportunity to thank and to personally talk to yesterday at the station.

[01:37:03] This was an unbelievable situation that lasted far longer than anyone could have thought of. And to think you can take a road like Richmond Highway and close it down with the lack of chaos that we had because of the way in which it was done and the way that the officers and all the other departments that were involved in here executed that was just amazing.

[01:37:28] I remember going down there during it to see what was happening, And it was just so well done. And, you know, so many people. I think this is a moment for us to think about, too, the assets, the expertise, the outstanding training, and the units that we have in our police department.

[01:37:47] And as I mentioned yesterday when we were talking to them, talking to one of the Alexandria City negotiators, who happens to be a close friend of mine, And he mentioned just how amazingly professional our department is. And sometimes it's easy to take that for granted. And instances like this that have a happy outcome are a time to celebrate and to thank all of these entities that were involved in it.

[01:38:10] So definitely look forward to having them come before the board. And thank you for doing this. And without objection, that is so ordered. Supervisor Stork. Yes, thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have requests for concurrent processing. Old Town Pet Resort LLC is the operator of a pet boarding facility located at 8101 Albin Road on approximately 1.67 acres on the east side of Albin Road and adjacent to Interstate 95.

[01:38:33] The property is zoned to the C6 district. The applicant requests approval for a special acceptance permit to permit the use of existing outdoor components associated with the existing kennel use. An associated variance is also requested to permit certain existing and proposed outdoor structures needed to support the outdoor kennel use.

[01:38:51] The application includes the construction of limited site improvements, including new awnings to replace existing awnings. These awnings will support the installation of a new sanitary sewer connections within the outdoor play areas. A special exception application was previously heard before the Fairfax County Planning Commission on March 15, 2023, which recommended approval of the application.

[01:39:11] The associated variance application was subsequently heard before the Fairfax County Board of Zoning Appeals on March 22, 2023, and the BZA approved the variance application. Currently, the SE application is scheduled for a public hearing before the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on April 11, 2023.

[01:39:27] However, due to the recent Virginia Supreme Court decision on the Modernized Zoning Ordinance, or ZMOD, the board public hearing will need to be deferred until the ZMOD ordinance is readopted. To help alleviate any further delay in approval, a request has been submitted for concurrent processing of the site-related documents in association with the pending special exception.

[01:39:46] applicant is is eager to properly establish the outdoor use of the property and install the necessary supporting outdoor structures and subsequently approve the sewer connections and environmental conditions of the site as soon as possible therefore i move that the board of supervisors direct the director of the department of land development services to accept concurrent and simultaneous review of the site plan architectural drawings building permits or other plan and or other plans and permits as may be necessary to implement the improvements proposed with SE 2021 MV 00018 associated with VC 2022 MV 00003 these motions should not be in any way

[01:40:23] be construed as a favorable recommendation on any application or plan by the board of supervisors and do not relieve the applicant from compliance with the provision of any applicable ordinances regulations or adopted standards and in no way prejudices the substantial review of the application and or plans. You've heard the motion. I'm happy to second that. Any discussion? Any discussion?

[01:40:45] Seeing and hearing none. All those in favor of the motion, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? That motion carries. Supervisor Stork. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is reapproval of a recordation of a parking reduction for Avington Huntington Metro. Avington Holdings LLC PCA 2000 MV 046 was approved by the Board of Supervisors on July 14, 2020 for a multifamily development of 379 units that are currently under construction.

[01:41:12] On May 4, 2021, the board approved the parking reduction request for the Everton property. Reduction required recordation of the attached approval conditions in the land records within six months of board approval, condition number 18 in the letter. Unfortunately, this was not completed. As required by the approved conditions, the parking reduction approval terms also needed to be included in any site plans filed for the development of the property.

[01:41:35] This was done and the parking supply was approved and built in conformance with those conditions. However, to complete the parking reduction process and record the necessary documents, the Board needs to re-approve the reduction to reset the six-month timetable for recondition.

[01:41:51] County staff are comfortable with this administrative correction to ensure no further future delays. Therefore, I move that the Board of Supervisors approve parking reduction request 7878-PKS002 for a 2.6 percent reduction 56 fewer spaces and it's 10.6 dan oh i'm sorry 10.6 percent reduction i appreciate that 56 fewer spaces are the required parking for the alvington huntington property subject to the previously approved conditions which are attached heard the motion i'm happy

[01:42:26] to second that discussion on the motion seeing and hearing none all those in favor please say aye aye any opposed any abstentions that motion carries supervisor stork just two verbal uh thank you and then a reminder uh first a verbal uh four ides of bark we had more than a thousand people and several hundred dog it was it was as you might expect a gorgeous day and you and we but we were flooded with folks it was a wonderful event and our police and our and it just there's so many people to thank first i'm going to start with my staff shirley short who's our super volunteer

[01:43:02] as well as cassie donahue they were both the key people that worked with the park authority who was lifted a lot of heavy lift here opa thank you for your uh announcing of it the police and the cadets were there fire again big group it's just thank you to all at gristmo park it was just it's almost the events were all aligned to have it be one of those kind of days and i i encourage everybody if if you haven't done a a dog festival of some sort it is clearly something that a lot of folks enjoy i know braddock barks has got the name that that i think we all can appreciate but it it turned out wonderfully so thank you all very much and then just want to remind every folk

[01:43:40] all of you that on april 22nd that's about a week and a half from now between 10 a.m and 2 in the afternoon we have our environmental expo it's in conjunction with the national park service it'll be at fort hunt park so it's right along the river come down along the river enjoy the enjoy the river and the trails and all that's around there and stop in our environmental expo again between 10 and 2 on the 22nd of april thank you all very much thank you supervisor stork supervisor palchick thank you mr chairman i have three board matters the first one is jointly with um with yourself the supervisor gross smith faust walkenshaw alcorn and herity hopefully covered all

[01:44:18] the schools uh members of the board uh here in fairfax county we are so fortunate to provide students with the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of sports. School-based athletic involvement has the power to support classroom learning and has shown to contribute to students having a more positive attitude towards schoolwork and overall academic performance. Provide students with a healthy outlet and keep students active and in good health while also allowing them to build relationships through teamwork. We have many recent state achievements, some that we recognize today, and I also want to recognize the following athletes from oakton high school mclean high school george c marshall high school

[01:44:56] and wt woodson high schools who placed at the top of their sports at the recent state championships below is a list of accomplishments from oakton high school both boys wrestling isaac hegg 150 pound state champion the 800 meter relay state champions were junior allen brad woodhouse iyasu yemane and tyler coleman mcclain high school submit swim and dive 100 yard breaststroke katherine hughes state champion george c marshall high school boys state wrestling

[01:45:30] owen lebkischer 157 pound weight class state champion and last but not least w.t woodson high school boys indoor track 400 meter relay state champions are lorenzo bantung justin Anderson, Ethan Spector, and Caleb Hymans. Therefore, we move without objection that the Office of Public Affairs prepare proclamations to be presented inside or outside the boardroom as schedules permit this spring to recognize our athletes along with our coaches, families, for their achievements, dedication, and team collaboration. And without objection,

[01:46:06] it is so ordered, Supervisor Palczyk. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And as we continue to celebrate Earth Day and really Earth Month and Earth Year across the county and the world. Providence is pleased to host our second annual pre-Earth Day celebration. As we all know, April is Earth Month.

[01:46:26] This is a time for us to recognize and celebrate everything that Earth offers us in many ways we should protect and preserve our home. I am hosting an Earth Day celebration on Friday, April 21st From 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the Providence Community Center. We have family-friendly activities planned including a nature walk Which was a great success last year Cleanup of East Blake Lane Park seed propagation Pot decoration compost education tree planting and more We will be joined by our partners from the Fairfax County Park Authority the Merrifield Garden Center

[01:47:01] Citizens climate lobby green spring gardens Northern Virginia families for safe streets and our former tree commissioner Laura Beattie This event will also kick off our brand new diaper drive. We'll be collecting unopened packages of diapers to be donated to Fairfax Diapers.

[01:47:17] Therefore, I move without objection that the Office of Public Affairs publicize this event on appropriate channels. I invite my colleagues and community members to celebrate Earth Day with the Providence District Office to learn how to continue caring for our home. And you should all have our beautiful homemade flyer attached to this.

[01:47:36] And we'd love for you to join us on the 21st. Excellent. Thank you very much. And without objection, that is so ordered. Supervisor Pouché. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Final joint board matter is jointly with Supervisor Lusk, a request to designate May 2023 as Mental Health Awareness Month and Youth Mental Health Awareness Month. Members of the board, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruptions to work and education, cancellations of extracurricular activities, loss of family income, health concerns, long-term illnesses, and deaths of loved ones.

[01:48:14] These factors have created traumas and stressors, impacting many adults, youth, and children. In the U.S., 70% of the youth experience a mental health disorder. 1 in 5 adults experience mental illness, and 1 in 20 adults experience serious mental illness that interferes with or limits major life activities.

[01:48:34] May is a time to understand mental health, recognize signs and symptoms, and obtain professional help. The Fairfax Falls Church Community Services Board was established to provide community health services and support for individuals with mental health issues and to promote awareness of positive mental health, well-being, and development for all residents in Fairfax County.

[01:48:55] In fiscal year 2022, over 6,000 individuals received mental health treatment services with 24% age 18 or under. Additionally, 6,500 residents were served by CSB Emergency Services.

[01:49:12] Overall, residents received more than 8,200 crisis intervention and related services, including over 2,000 mobile crisis services in the community. Therefore, we move without objection that the Board designate May 2023 as Mental Health Awareness Month and Youth Mental Health Awareness Month in Fairfax County and urge all individuals, families, groups, and organizations to work together in efforts to promote mental health, thereby strengthening our communities.

[01:49:41] We also move that the Office of Public Affairs prepare a proclamation to be presented to the Fairfax Falls Church Community Services Board at the May 9th board meeting. Without objection, it is so ordered.

[01:49:57] Supervisor Palchuk. That is all. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you very much. Supervisor Herity. Yes, I've got two written board matters and one unwritten one. The first is the John Autry Community Room at West Springfield Government Center.

[01:50:14] The West Springfield District Police community has requested the community room and West Springfield Government Center be named after John Autry, long-time member and chairman of the West Springfield CAC and chairman of the Chief CAC. I wholeheartedly endorse their recommendation and ask the board in January to approve the naming and have it evaluated by the History Commission as per renaming policy.

[01:50:38] As they did with Chief Rohrer, I received a word from the History Commission stating the evaluation of the naming of facilities is not a historic site, nor recognizing a historic person is outside of their bylaws. So I am bringing this back for board action.

[01:50:56] There's an attached resolution. And therefore, Mr. Chairman, I ask that we recognize John Autry's service to our community by renaming the West Springfield Government Center. Community room is the John Autry Community Room and in his honor in accordance with the request from the West Springfield Police Station and direct the Department of Facilities Management to install appropriate signage.

[01:51:18] I'm happy to second that motion along with Supervisor Lusk. Any discussion on the motion? Mr. Chairman, I assume the motion includes a request that the board adopt the resolution that is at your places.

[01:51:35] because the naming policy requires the adoption of the resolution so I want to be sure that the motion includes the board's approval of the adoption of the resolution. I'll amend my motion to include the adoption of the attached resolution. We all have the resolution and we still second it. Any other discussion? Thank you Beth for pointing that out. Any other discussions? Seeing and hearing none. All those in favor of the motion please say aye. Aye. Any opposed?

[01:52:00] any abstentions and that motion carries supervisor Harrity and if I could maybe on that I next time the board process committee I guess meets we probably need to take a look at this if we're gonna name something that isn't for a quote unquote historic person because this is twice that it's it's come up with first with chief or and now I know that's a board adopted policy and I don't think there's any urgency in changing it but we might want to look at what we want to do in place of that but okay that'll be not a motion just winning out that

[01:52:37] there's been two of them my next one is just advertising drug take-back day in Fairfax County and I'll try to shorten this one a little bit you know reality is that you know despite our continued efforts the opiate problem continues we actually had an impact for a couple years and then fentanyls come in but we We still need to continue to work to have our residents be aware of the crisis and empty their medicine cabinets because that is a source where, unfortunately, many people get and misuse medications.

[01:53:15] So on Saturday, April 22nd, from 10 to 2, Fairfax County Police Department, in connection with DEA, we'll be doing another drug take-back day in Fairfax. It's no question to ask. It's free and anonymous. Clifton Lions will also be hosting one in conjunction with the DEA, Clifton Presbyterian Church, same day, same time.

[01:53:38] Therefore, Mr. Chairman, I ask that we direct the Office of, without objection, I ask we direct the Office of Public Affairs to continue to work with FCPD to advertise the upcoming National Drug Take-Back Day, the location, simulacine events. I also ask that we declare April 22nd as Drug Take-Back Day in Fairfax County and encourage all of our citizens to clear out their medicine cabinets.

[01:54:03] And I'm happy to second that motion. Just for the declaration part, we would do without objection, but just for the declaration part, happy to second that. Any discussion? Seeing and hearing none, all those in favor of the motion, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions?

[01:54:19] That motion carries. Supervisor Herdy. Yeah, and the last one, I circulated to the board, just wanted to make note at the dais that I circulated a consideration item to increase salaries for officers, second to Lent Senate, below by 12.5%, and that cost of $30 million, and then extend drop by two years for those current police officers who are already in drop that wouldn't cost us anything and may keep a couple of our experienced officers on the force.

[01:54:50] So, again, we don't vote on those, but I wanted to make note of it. Again, anyone can put in consideration items and are welcome to do that, either by bringing them here, submitting them electronically. We don't vote on those. We just add them to the consideration item list.

[01:55:06] I know I will be putting in a number myself. Supervisor Faust mentioned he'll be putting in a number, and so they'll be compiled for our consideration, hence the name consideration list for us at the time when we adopt our budget. And I've got one or two more coming, but thank you, and that's it for me.

[01:55:22] Okay, and Supervisor Smith. No board matters. No board matters. Thank you, Supervisor Smith. And with that, we are going to move on to admin items. And let me ask Supervisor Gross, do we have a motion to approve admin items 1 through 9?

[01:55:39] Mr. Chairman, I move approval of admin items 1 through 9. And I'm happy to second that. Are there any items that board members would like to ask questions on or move for a separate vote? Mr. Chairman. Supervisor Alcorn. Yeah, just a clarification, as I mentioned earlier. For admin 5, the attachment that was distributed to the board, hard copy this morning, and electronically yesterday afternoon is the attachment for admin 5.

[01:56:04] With a lot of red lines in it. A lot of red lines, that's right. So hopefully everyone has had an opportunity to see that. Thank you for circulating that yesterday. Supervisor Herity. Yes, just a question and or request on number 9, which is the re-advertisement of ZMOD.

[01:56:21] I think, I haven't been able to find it anywhere up on the website. I didn't think we had to give our citizens and everybody a chance to look at it I know it was pulled down officially as it should be and replaced with the zoning ordinance but I think the sooner we can get that in front of our our constituents and the business community because it's hard to find a copy of what we're going to be voting on on the 9th But that would be if we could do that that would be a good thing. I'm seeing nods So we can do that any other questions or comments on the admin items Seeing and hearing none, all those in favor of Admin Items 1 through 9, please say aye.

[01:56:58] Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? And that motion carries and brings us to action items. Action item number one is approval of an amended parking reduction for 13515 Dulles Technology Drive.

[01:57:14] Supervisor Faust. Chairman, I move that the Board of Supervisors approve parking reduction request number 5574-PKS-0. 16 in conformance with the fairfax county zoning ordinance article 11-102 paragraph 4.b for a 37 reduction of the required parking based on shared parking with the uses located at 13 515 dollars technology drive subject to the conditions day january 23 2023 so move heard the motion it's

[01:57:49] been seconded by supervisor lusk uh any discussion on the motion seeing and hearing none all those in favor please say aye aye aye any opposed any abstentions and that motion carries action item number two is board endorsement of design plans for the frontier drive extension project in the franconia district supervisor lusk uh thank you mr chairman i move the county executive's recommendation uh for um action item i'm happy to second that motion uh critical to our efforts in securing the FBI. Any further discussion? Seeing and hearing none, all those in favor of the motion,

[01:58:28] please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? And that motion carries. Action item number three is approval of Fairfax connector fee, I'm sorry, connector fare policy change, Supervisor Alcorn. Our transportation chair. Apologies, Mr. Chairman. I move approval of action item three as recommended by the county executive second heard the motion it's been multiply seconded any discussion on the motion supervisor Alcorn yeah thank you mr. chairman this this is this is a nice step forward we discussed this in the

[01:59:06] board's transportation committee fairly recently actually a couple of times so it I think as as we move forward with identifying populations that really should get free fare. I think we should do that. And then just as a reminder, we have some other things that are coming up in terms of reduced fare programs. So this is one of a number of initiatives we're doing in terms of our bus fare strategy. So thank you. Thank you, Supervisor Alcorn. And this is great. Not only is it for people who need it, in this case, you know, free

[01:59:41] fare for children, but we're also building a population and educating a population on how to mass transit this is an investment in the future and we've certainly seen that with the student bus pass program and this extension allows children when accompanied by an adult to also ride free on our system which is is fantastic and really want to thank staff for not only their support of this but the speed at which they got this to the board for approval further any further discussions Seeing and hearing none. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions?

[02:00:19] And that motion carries and brings us to action item number four. Let's see. Four, which is, pull it up here, is adoption of a resolution approving the issuance of Industrial Development Authority Healthcare Revenue Bonds for the ANOVA Health System Project Series 2023, Supervisor Gross.

[02:00:44] Let me recognize the, did you move your recognize first? Yes, I, I, well, let's do the motion first and then I'll recuse. Okay, Supervisor Smith. I move the county executive's recommendation. And I'm happy to second that along with Supervisor Herity, Lusk, and Palchik.

[02:01:02] Supervisor Gross. Mr. Chairman, as you know, I represent the county on the Innova Board of Trustees. It's an uncompensated position. However, in an abundance of caution, I will recuse myself from this vote. Thank you, Supervisor Gross.

[02:01:18] At this time, is there any further discussion? Yes, Supervisor Walkinshaw. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I represent the county on the Inova Fairfax Medical Campus Quality Committee and the Inova Quality and Reliability Committee. As my service is also not compensated out of an abundance of caution, I'll recuse myself and will not participate in the vote on this matter.

[02:01:38] Thank you very much. Supervisor Walkinshaw, any further discussion? Seeing and hearing none, all those in favor of the motion, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? And that motion carries eight to zero with Supervisor Walkinshaw and Supervisor Gross not participating. And that brings us to action item number five, which is a grant agreement between the Virginia Resources Authority and Fairfax County for the Chowan Avenue Stormwater Improvement Project. Supervisor Gross. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am pleased to move the county executive's recommendation. This is a long time in coming.

[02:02:18] Second. You've heard the motion and the second is their discussion. Seeing and hearing none, all those in favor of the motion, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? That motion carries and brings us to action item number six, grant agreement between the Virginia Resources Authority and Fairfax County for the trips run at Barrett Road Flood Mitigation Project, also in the Mason District.

[02:02:44] Supervisor Gross. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move the county executive's recommendation. Second. You've heard the motion, and the second is their discussion on the motion. Supervisor Gross. Just quickly, Mr. Chairman, this is another one that's been taken a while, but we have in our older areas especially homes, structures that are built on floodplain.

[02:03:08] Might not have been floodplain when they were built, although it wasn't a designated floodplain. But a lot of work has been done by staff with the community to get folks lined up to agree with, um that they that their houses are flooding and that they are repetitive flood losses and i really want to thank the county staff craig currency and his staff for just not giving up on this one thank you thank you supervisor gross any further discussion seeing and hearing none all those

[02:03:44] in favor of action item number six please say aye aye any opposed any abstentions and that motion carries brings us to action item number seven action item number seven is a grant agreement between the virginia resources authority and fairfax county for the county regulated flood plane map update supervisor stork thank you mr chairman i move um action item seven county executive recommendation for the motion it's been seconded by supervisor gross any discussion on the motion just to yes supervisor stork just to really this follows on with with uh vice chair

[02:04:22] Gross' comments about floodplains and where are they and how do we make sure we identify them. So this will add to our efforts to identify them, and it ties into our Office of Environment and Energy office as well as our Resilient Fairfax.

[02:04:37] So it all comes together in trying to make sure we know what's in front of us and how to prevent this or how to mitigate it if it's going to occur. Thank you. Thank you, Supervisor Stork. Seeing no further discussion, all those in favor of the motion, please say aye.

[02:04:52] Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? And that motion carries. Brings us to action item number eight, which is a grant agreement between the Virginia Resources Authority and Fairfax County for the Tucker Avenue Stormwater Improvement Project in the Drainsville District, Supervisor Faust.

[02:05:10] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move approval of the county executive's recommendation. I'm happy to second that, along with Supervisor Lusk. Any discussion on the motion? Seeing and hearing none, all those in favor of Action Item 8, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed?

[02:05:26] Any abstentions? And that motion carries. A lot of stormwater there. Thank you to our stormwater staff. And that brings us to Action Item 9, which is adoption of the 2023 Comprehensive Plan Amendment Work Program, including certain proposed countywide site-specific plan amendment SSPA nominations.

[02:05:47] Supervisor Smith. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'll make the motion and then my comments. I move that the Board of Supervisors adopt the 2023 Comprehensive Plan Amendment Work Program as recommended by the Planning Commission, which is containing attachment 1 of the Board action. Heard the motion and the second.

[02:06:05] Discussion on the motions, Supervisor Smith. Thank you. This action item involves the adoption of the 2023 Comprehensive Plan Amendment Work Program, which schedules all authorized plan amendments and planning studies. The 2023 program would retain all ongoing active plan amendments and studies, including policy amendments for the policy plan, public facilities, and manufactured housing, area-wide studies for Fairfax Center, Lorton, Reston, and Centerville, and site-specific amendments throughout the county.

[02:06:38] The revised work program would remove five pending but inactive plan amendments and add plan amendments resulting from nominations in the county-wide site-specific plan amendment process for the Planning Commission recommendation. In many instances, nominations that are near others would be grouped together during the planning study to assess cumulative impacts.

[02:07:01] The proposed work program incorporates a new tiering system that prioritizes plan amendments based on county priorities, scheduling, and staff resources. The highest priority nominations are noted as Tier 1 and include many of the group nominations located in areas of development focus, as well as nominations that support an identified county priority, such as providing affordable housing or office development.

[02:07:27] Tier 2 nominations are also recommended and in most instances would proceed as site-specific amendments with concurrent development applications. Tier 3 nominations would be added to the work program as deferred studies, with the timing of the review to begin following the completion of other actions that would influence the policy context for the consideration of a site-specific land use change.

[02:07:53] The addition of these SSPAs concludes the SSPA screening phase, which began in December 2022, with the Board's acceptance of the list of nominations, and has included initial review by staff and members of the public in a series of 18 community meetings held in January and February, as well as three Planning Commission workshops held in March.

[02:08:18] The community was involved in the process and provided substantial input to staff and the Planning Commission on many of the nominations. A few of the nominations have resulted in community concerns, so I want to reiterate that we are not approving or denying any plan amendments at this stage.

[02:08:37] Rather, we are advancing these amendments to the work program for further study by staff, the community, and the Planning Commission. I would also note that community engagement is a hallmark of SSPA and will continue in the next stage.

[02:08:54] With this action, we will have concluded the screening for the inaugural round of the countywide SSPA. The SSPA process was revised last year and included changes to the SSPA criteria, community outreach, countywide eligibility, and a more frequent two-year cycle.

[02:09:14] As a result, we anticipate that the next round of SSPA will begin in late 2024 or early 2025. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Supervisor Smith. Some really important clarifying information there, and I appreciate the work that you and staff and my colleagues have put into this.

[02:09:35] As you mentioned, there's some very vocal opposition to some of these, and that's appreciated. We have that and just to clarify none of these are being approved today This is just merely a sorting of tears So to speak and we'll be continue to go through a full and robust community engagement process in each of the districts where these Nominations are and so some just really important clarifying information So appreciate the work that you've done and that staff has done this is there's a lot here a lot of staff work and we certainly appreciate that.

[02:10:10] Any other discussion on the motion? Seeing and hearing none, all those in favor of the motion, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? And that motion carries and brings us to action item number 10, which is authorization of issuance by the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority, FCRHA, of tax-exempt private activity revenue bonds or notes in an amount not to exceed $99 million to finance the 265-unit Dominion North 4 portion of the proposed Dominion Square development in the 100-mil district, Supervisor Alcorn.

[02:10:48] Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Happy to move approval of Action Item No. 10 as recommended by the county executive. I'm happy to second that motion along with Supervisor Lusk. Discussion on the motion? Any discussion on the motion, Supervisor Alcorn? Yeah, just very quickly, this is not the last time we're going to see this project that as it comes through the process there are a number of issues that are being worked out and and hopefully we can keep this on schedule and get these units built and occupied as soon as possible so thank you very much thank you supervisor Alcorn any other discussion seeing and hearing none all

[02:11:26] those in favor of action item number 10 please say aye aye any opposed any abstentions and that motion carries and brings us to action 11 approval of funding allocations for pedestrian and bicycle improvement projects and facility maintenance supervisor Alcorn thank you mr. chairman I move approval also happily for action item number 11 and I'm happy to second that along with a cadre of others very happy to see this item come forward is there any further discussion seeing and hearing none all those in favor of action item 11 please

[02:12:02] say aye aye any opposed any abstentions and that motion carries and that brings us to a closed session and before i turn to supervisor gross for a motion let me ask the county attorney how long we need for closed session approximately 45 minutes mr chairman approximately 45 minutes i'm going to call that close to and we have three 230 items that will be deferred which won't take a lot of time so really our first public hearing is at 3 after we defer those three items at 2 30.

[02:12:37] so why don't we report to closed session given that 45 minute request at 1 30 and that will allow us i'm sorry yes at 1 30 that will allow us an hour until 2 30 and a little bit of extra time if we need it there so why don't we report to closed session at 1 30 and make sure that we can get through closed session and start our public hearings on time as the board is aware we do have a number of people to testify on the budget this afternoon so we're going to want to stay as close to schedule as we can so if this motion passes we will report to closed session at 1 30. supervisor

[02:13:16] gross mr chairman i move that the board of supervisors recess and go into closed session for discussion and consideration of matters enumerated the virginia code section 2.2 dash 3 7 1 1 enlisted in the attached agenda for this meeting and in addition as permitted by virginia code sections 2.2 dash 3 7 1 1 a 7 and 8 legal briefing regarding barry v board of supervisors virginia supreme court record number two one one one four three you've heard the motion i'm happy to second that uh discussion on the motion seeing and hearing none all those in favor of the motion

[02:13:50] please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? And so the board will report to closed session at

[02:13:58] 1.30. Okay, we are back from closed session, and I am going to turn to Supervisor Gross to make a

[03:23:56] motion. Mr. Chairman, I move that the Board of Supervisors certify that to the best of each member's knowledge, only public business matters lawfully exempted from the open meeting requirements by virtue, excuse me, of Virginia Code Section 2.2-3711, and only such public business matters as were identified in the motion by which closed session was convened, were heard, discussed, or considered by the Board of Supervisors during the closed session.

[03:24:20] Heard the motion. It's been seconded by Supervisor Palchuk. Any discussion on the motion? Any discussion? Seeing and hearing none, all those in favor of the motion, please say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? And I know we have some motions coming out of closed session.

[03:24:35] Supervisor Smith. Mr. Chairman, I move that the Board of Supervisors authorize the county attorney to file a petition for rehearing in the Supreme Court of Virginia and Barrie v. Board of Supervisors, record number 2-11143. Heard the motion. It's been multiply seconded. Discussion on the motion? Seeing and hearing none. All those in favor of the motion, please say aye.

[03:24:58] Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? And that motion carries. Supervisor Gross. Mr. Chair, I move that the Board of Supervisors authorize settlement of its claims against Coxcom LLC during Businesses Cox Communications, Northern Virginia, for underpayment of amounts due under the party's franchise agreement, according to the terms and conditions outlined by the county attorney in closed session.

[03:25:22] Second. Heard the motion and it's been multiply seconded. Again, any discussion on the motion? Seeing and hearing none, all those in favor of the motion, please say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? That motion carries. Is there anything else to come out of closed session?

[03:25:40] I don't see any other motions coming out of closed session. At this time, we are going to begin our public hearings. And just as a reminder, individuals wishing to provide testimony have a number of options. They can testify here in person or they can provide testimony by phone or YouTube video.

[03:25:57] At the designated point in the public hearing, I'll call for any speakers from the speakers list and they will either come forward or their video will be shown or they will be connected by telephone. There will then be an opportunity for anyone else who would like to speak to the application to come down to the podium or to call in on a number that will be provided on the screen.

[03:26:15] Speakers testifying by video must have signed up and submitted their video no later than 9 a.m. on the day prior to the public hearing. For all testimony, speakers are given three minutes to speak as an individual. If you're a spokesperson for a group, you are given five minutes. That being said, we do have a number of cases to begin with that I know are going to be deferred.

[03:26:36] Our first one is a public hearing on SE 2021-MV-00018 Old Town Pet Resort Springfield LLC to permit the existing outdoor components associated with an existing indoor kennel located on approximately 1.67 acres of land in the Mount Vernon District, Supervisor Stork.

[03:26:56] Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move to indefinitely defer, I move to the Board of Supervisors to indefinitely defer the public hearing for SC-2021 MV-00018. Second. You've heard the motion and a second by Supervisor Lusk. Any discussion on the motion?

[03:27:13] Seeing and hearing none, all those in favor of the motion, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? That motion carries. And our next public hearing is on SE 2022-DR-00034 Montessori School of McLean in the Drainville District, Supervisor Faust.

[03:27:32] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I move that the Board of Supervisors defer the public hearing for SE 2022-DR-00034 to a date certain of May 23, 2023 at 3.30 p.m. Second.

[03:27:48] You've heard the motion and the second. Is there any discussion? Seeing and hearing none. All those in favor of the motion, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? That motion carries. And next up is a public hearing on SCA 95-M-029-02 McDonald's Corporation in the Mason District, Supervisor Gross.

[03:28:10] Mr. Chairman, I move that the Board of Supervisors defer the public hearing for SEA 95-M-029-02 to a date certain of May 23, 2023, and I need a time at 4 o'clock. Second. 4 o'clock. It's been moved and seconded by Supervisor Lusk. Any discussion on the motion?

[03:28:29] Seeing and hearing none. All those in favor of the motion, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? and that motion carries and we got done about four minutes quicker than any of us expected because our next public hearing is at 3 p.m and I cannot call that public hearing until staff tells me that it is 3 p.m so unfortunately we will we will kill about four minutes here

[03:28:56] okay we are back after a short break I'm told it is now three o'clock so I can call our next

[03:33:21] public hearing which is a public hearing on a proposed plan amendment 2022-CW-3CP renaming of Lee Supervisor District to Franconia Supervisor District and of course there's no affidavit for this item so I'll turn to county staff for a staff presentation. Great good afternoon Mr. Chairman and supervisors my name is Leah Niebauer with the county's Department of Planning and Development and i'm accompanied by graham owen also with dpd on december 6 2022 the board authorized staff to prepare a comprehensive plan amendment that revises plan references to the lee supervisor

[03:33:59] district as the franconia supervisor district there are limited references in the comprehensive plan and the revisions are primarily related to lee district park and lee district rec center in total there are 23 proposed edits to reflect the name change and the proposed edits are in the Policy Plan and Area Plan 4.

[03:34:21] So just a little bit of background. In March 2021, Supervisor Laska launched a series of community engagement conversations focused on getting input from residents about changing the lead district name. Based on resident input and the redistricting advisory committee's recommendation, the board initiated the process to formally change the name of Lead Supervisor District to Franconia Supervisor District on June 28, 2022.

[03:34:45] Then on July 13, 2022, the Fairfax County Park Authority Board took action to change the names of the Lee District Rec Center and Lee District Park to Franconia District Rec Center and Franconia District Park, respectively. On December 6, 2022, the Board amended and readopted Fairfax County Code to formally rename the Lee Supervisor District to the Franconia Supervisor District.

[03:35:09] On the same day, the Board authorized this plan amendment I'm bringing to you now. That concludes my presentation, and I'm happy to take any questions. Thank you very much for that. Are there any questions of staff? Any questions of staff? Seeing and hearing none, this is a public hearing, and I do not have any speakers who have signed up in advance to testify on this matter.

[03:35:35] So is there anyone here in the auditorium that would like to speak on this subject? Anyone present who would like to testify on this matter? Anyone in the auditorium? This is a public hearing. Seeing and hearing no one, let me now recognize the clerk to see if we have anyone who has called in to testify.

[03:35:52] No one has called in to testify. Closing comments and a recommendation from staff? On March 8, 2023, the Planning Commission recommended adoption of the editorial changes to the Comprehensive Plan to revise references from the Lee District to the Franconio District, as shown in the staff report dated February 15, 2023.

[03:36:15] Staff concurs with the Planning Commission's recommendation. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That concludes staff's presentation. Thank you very much. Any questions from board members? Any questions from board members? Seeing and hearing none, I will now close the public hearing and recognize Supervisor Lusk for a motion.

[03:36:31] Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I'll say this is a pretty straightforward request. And understanding that we've already made the decision to change the name back in December and acknowledging that these are just editorial revisions in keeping with that name change.

[03:36:49] I am delighted to support the Planning Commission and the staff with their recommendation. So with that, Mr. Chairman, I move that the Board of Supervisors adopt Planning Commission recommendation for Plan Amendment 2022-CW-3CP to approve the proposed, excuse me, the proposed editorial changes to the Comprehensive Plan to revise references from the Lee District to the Franconia district as shown in the staff report dated February 15th, 2023.

[03:37:20] And I'm happy to second that along with Supervisor Stork, Supervisor Palchuk. Any further discussion on the motion? Seeing and hearing none, all those in favor of the motion, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? And that motion carries.

[03:37:36] And Mr. Chairman? Yes, Supervisor Lusk. I'll just say I'm delighted to see this actually culminate with this decision. I know this has been a pretty long process, particularly to the residents in Franconia and the process that we undertook. Just appreciated the patience and the time and the interest, and I think this is the right ultimate outcome.

[03:37:57] So with that, I'm just grateful to the staff, and I'll say thank you again to Graham Owen. I know he's been involved with this, and then also to Leah Nibiro. It's nice to meet you here at the board, and thank you for your work on this as well. Thank you very much.

[03:38:13] Supervisor Lusk, and with that, we next have a public hearing on the FY 2024 effective tax rate increase, and as soon as staff is ready and situated, we would appreciate a staff presentation. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

[03:38:42] This is Albano Senovo from the Department of Management and Budget. The fiscal year 2024 advertised budget proposed by the county executive is based on the current real estate tax rate of $1.11 per $100 of assessed value.

[03:38:57] At this tax rate, a balance of $90.2 million remains unallocated and is available for the Board's consideration. In order to provide flexibility during budget deliberations, the Board of Supervisors authorized advertisement of a tax rate of $1.11 per $100 of assessed value, again, a rate that reflects no change from the current real estate tax rate in FY 2023.

[03:39:26] as the total assessed value of existing properties has increased by more than one percent under virginia code we're required to advertise a public hearing and the board needs to take action to adopt the proposed fiscal year 2024 rate rather than the rate computed by the statutory formula it should be noted that the total increase in assessed value of existing properties is expected to be 5.68 percent including an increase of 6.97 percent for residential real property and an increase of 1.65 percent for non-residential real property the lowered rate

[03:40:04] that would be necessary to offset the increased assessment is a dollar 503 per 100 dollars of assessed value and that rate would result in a revenue decrease of 187 million as compared to the advertised tax rate of $1.11.

[03:40:20] And again, in the county executive's proposed budget, $90.2 million is available for the board's consideration based on the advertised tax rate of $1.11 for $100 of assessed value. Thank you. Thank you very much.

[03:40:35] Are there any questions at this time of staff? Any questions? Seeing and hearing none, this is a public hearing, and I do have three speakers who have signed up in advance to testify on this matter. number one is Arthur Purvis. If you could come on down to be followed by speaker number two, Justin Mastrangelo. And Justin is here. If you could come on down. And speaker number three is James Parmalee, who will be calling in. Mr. Purvis, welcome. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr.

[03:41:13] Chairman, members of the board, my name is Arthur Purvis, and I address you as president of the Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance, and I appreciate this opportunity to testify. The purpose of this hearing is to solicit community input on your proposed $0.06 increase in the real estate tax rate.

[03:41:33] However, only three people have signed up to testify. How could the county be so indifferent to a $0.06 increase in the tax rate? Perhaps it's because they don't know about it. In his March 7th email about the advertised tax rate, the county chairman stated that the advertised rate of $1.11 is, quote, unchanged from last year, end quote.

[03:41:54] That statement is in violation of the Virginia Code, which states that previous year's rate must be lowered to offset the increase in assessments. That lowered rate is $1.05, which you were required by law to publish an illegal announcement that appeared in the March 9, 2023 issue of the Washington Times.

[03:42:14] The correct statement in the chairman's newsletter would have been that the $1.11 advertised rate is, quote, a $0.06 increase from last year, end quote. The chairman did not say that $1.05 lowered rate offsets the 5.7% average assessment increase of both commercial and residential properties.

[03:42:36] However, the rate that would offset the assessment increase for single-family dwellings is $1.03, since the assessment increase for single-family dwellings is 7.8%. If you adopt a rate of $1.08, which you seem poised to do, that would be a $0.05 increase for homeowners and would cost them $360 on top of this year's increase of $664, which includes the car tax hike.

[03:43:04] So you will have raised homeowner taxes $1,000 in two years. You will say, as you did last year, you reduced the rate, a statement again that violates the Virginia Code. A good rule of thumb for homeowners is that when the supervisors say they are reducing the tax rate, expect a tax hike.

[03:43:26] This is because the supervisors only reduce the rate when there is an assessment increase and the rate is never reduced enough to offset the assessment increase. Is it unreasonable to assume that the low attendance at this hearing is by design?

[03:43:42] Not only did the chairman's newsletter misrepresent the $1.11 advertised rate as unchanged, he did not mention this hearing. In fact, when I went to the Fairfax County News Center and searched for advertised tax rate, I got your search yielded no results.

[03:44:00] Shouldn't you at least advertise the advertised tax rate? It is an important number. It is the upper limit on the tax rate the supervisors can adopt when they vote on the budget. When I searched for tax rate hearing, I again got your search yielded no results.

[03:44:18] This hearing is not mentioned in the county's budget timeline. It's not mentioned anywhere that I can find except in an obscure ad in the legal section of the Washington Times. I have occasion to visit Utah and took the opportunity to talk to the Utah Taxpayers Association.

[03:44:34] In 1985, Utah passed a truth in taxation law. The Utah State Code requires local governments, when they advertise a tax rate that will increase real estate taxes, to mail to each homeowner an assessment notice with the advertised rate the dollar increase that rate would produce to each homeowner's bill and the date of the public hearing to hear testimony on the tax rate.

[03:45:00] The Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance urges you to do the same and also add this provision to your legislative agenda. You already send out an assessment notice to each homeowner. Just send the notice after the advertised rate is announced and state the resulting increase in the real estate tax bill and publish the date of this hearing. The supervisors should be transparent with the people who pay your salaries. Thank you.

[03:45:28] Thank you. And speaker number two is Justin Mastrangelo. Welcome. Good afternoon. I'm Justin Mastrangelo, fairly new to the Fairfax County here, only been a few years. I just want to provide some perspective on these tax rate increases.

[03:45:52] So, obviously, this affects us all. They have a recent increase in property taxes. We're all concerned about it, understandably so. I'm equally alarmed that there's only 10 of us in here, and so I want to echo what the previous gentleman said.

[03:46:10] These taxes are a significant financial burden for homeowners and businesses alike. Any increase can have a significant impact on our lives. While I understand what you all are trying to do behind the increase, I also understand And it can be difficult for many of us to absorb the additional cost.

[03:46:26] The increase in property taxes can be especially challenging for those in fixed incomes, lower income families, and small businesses that are struggling to survive. So for me personally, just to put it in perspective, over two years, I bought at probably the worst time here in Fairfax during the pandemic, but I had no choice given my military orders.

[03:46:49] A 36% property tax increase in over 20 months can be hurtful. The financial burden can be significant for all of us homeowners. It can lead to an increase in monthly mortgage payments, making it difficult for some of us to make ends meet.

[03:47:05] I think I was at about a 20% increase in mortgage payments. Impact on low-income families or single-family households. So it's got a disproportionate impact on those demographics there. These families may already be struggling to make ends meet, and the increase in taxes can make it even more difficult for them to afford basic necessities.

[03:47:28] We're essentially pricing out single-family households. We're giving our young families or college graduates a chance. We're not giving them a chance to succeed in our communities. Additionally, the burden placed on military families is growing. Our housing allowance for our senior members in the military is about $3,500 a month.

[03:47:48] In the past 18 months, my property, most of us living in Fairfax counties, have increased about $600 a month, adding to our escrow, putting many of our houses at $5,000 a month mortgage payments. And as you all probably know, most of us military folks stay here for two to three years.

[03:48:07] We likely will have to rent our house out or sell it at a pretty significant loss. Who will pay $5,000 a month for rent or $60,000 a year in rent? Given our current interest rates for mortgages at 5%, 6%, military folks can't afford to purchase a home.

[03:48:25] Certainly not single income households in the military. Our escrow, and this is mine, is about $1,200, $1,300 a month, and that's just taxes and insurance. It's not sustainable. I don't see how we can justify the hikes in a two-year period.

[03:48:42] Given a global pandemic recovery, continued rise in inflation, and increasing interest rates, living in Fairfax County is becoming unaffordable. As many of you know from people who purchased houses here during COVID, we had to pay significantly over what houses were advertised for, 10 to 15%.

[03:49:02] Me personally, that was about $90,000, which the VA did not appraise the house for. In the meantime, though, during a downturn in the housing market similar to 2008, instead of lowering property taxes, we increased the rate.

[03:49:17] seen in 2008 that was about 10 percent over two years um i'm sorry here on time i'll skip to the end but you've reported an increase in assessed value of properties to be 5.68 to 7 percent yet my value in our at least the neighborhood that we're living in we've seen 20 percent this year and assess an increase in 20 percent in assessed value 13 percent in the previous year prior to that we were averaged one to three percent increases there's got to be some sort of cap or homestead exception, or at least some consistency on how we are assessing values.

[03:49:53] It shouldn't be going on Zillow.com and seeing what our house is sold for, because that is, given the pandemic, that's really not a fair value assessment of the home. Thank you for your time. I think I speak on behalf of many.

[03:50:10] I know I've heard it a lot, despite people not showing up here for whatever reason. Reasonable solution must be found. It can't be the easy button of just increasing assessed values to then reflect on the increase in property taxes.

[03:50:25] Thank you. Thank you very much. And our speaker number three is James Parmelee. Has he joined us by phone? Okay. Mr. Parmelee, welcome. The floor is yours. Thank you. Thank you for the time to speak. I wanted to talk in opposition to the proposed tax increase as well as to the increase in government spending.

[03:50:50] But your first speaker had a very interesting point, which is that no one seems to know about this particular tax rate hearing. And it's interesting because for years I've been testifying at the budget hearings, and I generally never see anything at all about this particular hearing.

[03:51:09] And because I know that you're required to have it by law certain years, I generally call the clerk's office and I ask, when I'm signing up for the budget hearings, I asked, are you having the effective tax rate hearing? And this hearing is so secret that sometimes your staff in the clerk's office aren't sure what I'm talking about and have to go find someone else to ask about this mythical hearing.

[03:51:33] And so this is a very hard hearing to find. And so I congratulate everybody who is there today, particularly those who are not paid to be there today. And so I do think, I agree with Arthur Purvis, the first speaker, that you guys should publicize this more.

[03:51:50] That might be why very few people have shown up. Taxes are, back to what I was going to say, taxes are up 50% in the last 10 years. And here we are raising taxes again in Fairfax County. And I think this is a particularly bad year to do it, considering it's a year that you guys have voted to increase your salaries by 30 percent and 38 percent for the chairman.

[03:52:14] And I can almost hear the objections in the supervisors' heads right now, no, no, no, this is for after the election. But so for those of you who are not going to be here next year, that's one thing. But for those of you who are going to be here next year, you voted to increase your salary 30 percent and the chairman 38 percent.

[03:52:32] And then to come and ask for tax increases on top of that is absolutely outrageous. You guys are the highest paid Board of Supervisors in Virginia. And quite frankly, it's been a very poor job, particularly over the last couple of years, mismanaging COVID, mismanaging the shutdowns, the economy, mismanaging development issues, mismanaging crime.

[03:52:53] Quite frankly, we should get a rebate. You guys should turn your salaries back in and into the budget because it is just, It has been a bad couple of years for the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. And to pile a tax increase on top of a pay raise, a huge pay raise, is just offensive.

[03:53:11] So I'm very disappointed, and I just wanted to let you all know that. Thank you for the time to address you. Thank you very much. And this is a public hearing. That brings me to the end of the speakers who have signed up in advance to testify. Let me ask the clerk if anyone else has called in to testify.

[03:53:29] No one else has called in. is there anyone here present who would like to testify on this matter on this subject anyone else who would like to testify this is a public hearing seeing and hearing no one let me ask for closing comments and recommendation from staff mr chairman albano from the department of management and budget staff recommends keeping the record open until may 2nd as part of the budget markup process thank you very much any questions from board members seeing and hearing none i will now move that the board and let me turn the gavel to supervisor gross for a moment i move that the

[03:54:09] board close this public hearing while leaving the record open for testimony until may 2nd 2023 as part of the budget markup process that will permit persons who wish to testify on this matter to do so during the public hearing on the fy 2024 advertised budget plan capital improvement plan or cip and fy 2023 third quarter review by testifying as described on the department of clerk services page on the Fairfax County website or by providing written testimony after the close of the public hearings. I'd be happy to second that motion. Is there discussion on the motion? Seen and hearing

[03:54:44] none. All those in favor of the motion, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed, say nay. Any abstentions? That motion carries unanimously. Thank you very much, Supervisor Gross. And that brings us to next a public hearing on proposed amendments to section 67.1-10-2 of the Fairfax County code relating to sewer availability charges including the fixture unit rate, service charges, base charges, and hauled wastewater charges. And as soon as staff is ready, we would welcome a staff

[03:55:19] presentation. Good afternoon. My name is Sharron Wilson and Director of Wastewater Planning and monitoring division the proposed rate increases for fiscal year 24 are primarily driven by the needs of our aging infrastructure the proposed increases are as follows an availability charge increase of 3.1% or

[03:55:56] $268 for single-family dueling units and $214 for multifamily dueling units and accordingly for other types of connect connections to the system 1% of the proposed increase is for system needs as identified last fiscal year and And 2.1% of the support is for supporting the new sewer reimbursement policy.

[03:56:20] Availability charge is a one-time charge paid at the time of connection to the system. A sewer service charge increase of 4.57% or $0.37 per thousand gallons. A base charge increase of $1.56 per month for residential units.

[03:56:40] And accordingly, varying increases based on larger meter sizes for different types of units. The total impact of proposed increases on an average sewer bill is 6.2% or $3.53 per month.

[03:56:57] And lastly, no increases are proposed for hauled wastewater charges. We have to answer any questions you have. Okay. Thank you very much. Are there any questions of staff? Any questions of staff? Seeing and hearing none, this is a public hearing, and I have no speakers who have signed up in advance to testify on this specific matter.

[03:57:19] Is there anyone here in the auditorium who would like to speak? Anyone present who would like to testify on this subject? This is a public hearing. Seeing and hearing no one, let me ask the clerk if anyone has called in. No one has called in. Any closing comments and recommendations from staff?

[03:57:36] Staff recommends that the board adopt the amended ordinance as a set forth in attachment form of this item in the board package. Thank you very much. Any questions from board members? Seeing and hearing none, at this time I will turn the gavel to Supervisor Gross and I move that the board close this public hearing and defer action on the FY 2024 charges until May 2nd, 2023 as part of the budget markup process followed by adoption of the sewer ordinance amendment on May 9, 2023.

[03:58:09] I'd be happy to second that motion. Is there discussion? Seeing and hearing none, all those in favor of the motion, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed say nay. Any abstentions? That motion carries. Thank you very much, Supervisor Gross, and that brings us to our last item today, and I believe, let me ask the clerk, our last public hearing is set to begin at 4 p.m.

[03:58:34] I am presuming that means we cannot even do the school board presentation or anything until 4 p.m., right? I think that's right. So we, the board, will recess for about 35 minutes, at which point in time we will begin the four o'clock public hearing on the proposed budget, starting with testimony from our school board representatives.

[04:30:22] Okay, we've now come to our final item on the agenda. We had three land use deferrals earlier, which is why we had a very short recess, but want to begin our four o'clock public hearing on time.

[04:34:51] And this is the budget public hearing and the first night of three nights of consecutive public hearings on the county executive's proposed FY 2024 advertised budget plan, the advertised capital improvement program for fiscal years 2024 to 2028, the CIP, with future fiscal years to 2033, and the current appropriation in the FY 2023 revised budget plan.

[04:35:19] And just as a reminder, for public hearings, individuals wishing to provide testimony have a number of options. They can testify here in person, provide testimony by phone or YouTube. And at the designated point in the public hearing, I, of course, will be calling here momentarily for speakers from the speakers list.

[04:35:39] And they can come forward. Their video will be shown or they'll be connected by telephone. Then there will be an opportunity for anyone else to speak later on. If you have not signed up yet, there's still plenty of time to sign up for day three. And at the close of our day three public hearings, of course, we encourage anyone else in the auditorium or who hasn't already called in to take advantage of that opportunity.

[04:36:02] As we traditionally do, we will start by hearing from the Fairfax County School Board. And at this time, I will welcome to the podium School Board Chair Rachna Sizemore-Heiser. Welcome. Thank you.

[04:36:19] Thank you, Chair McKay. Thank you, Board of Supervisors. you for having us on behalf of my colleagues on the school board and i wanted to thank you for this opportunity to speak to you about our school budget and also thank you for your strong support of our public schools here in fairfax county before i begin i want to acknowledge some of my colleagues and our staff who are here our budget chair elaine tolan is here with us today our vice chair of the school board tam tamna corfax is here today ms karen corbett sanders our legislative liaison is here today as well along with lee burden who is our budget assistant superintendent so i just want to thank our staff and our colleagues for coming today in support

[04:36:56] thank you for allowing me to testify on behalf of the board on our joint fiscal year 24 advertised budget i want to thank um county executive brian hill for working so closely with superintendent reid to get us to where we are today which is a mostly good news budget story i really appreciate the fact that your advertised budget has funded all of our recurring costs that the school district requested. I really appreciate funding our requests. It is really, really important to support public education.

[04:37:24] Thank you for working with FCPS on that, and we look forward to collaborating with you also on the proposed settlement around opioid related claims and to work on our shared goals of helping our students and our community with opioid addiction issues and see a potential way for us to get forward to get funds on these joint efforts. Our Our fiscal year 24 advertised budget aims to continue attracting and retaining exceptional employees by offering market competitive compensation packages.

[04:37:51] As you know, we're facing a significant teacher shortage, with fewer teachers entering the profession and many leaving. We need to provide market compensation, market competitive compensation, and incentives to recruit and retain staff. We cannot have excellent schools without our excellent teachers. The budget also, so because of that, the budget includes a market scale adjustment of 3% for all employees, a step increase for eligible employees, and a step extension for salary scales to retain our most experienced educators.

[04:38:20] We would like to offer the 1% retention bonus based on the state program previously discussed at the state level, but we understand this is non-recurring funds and with current uncertainties with the state budget, this is not currently included in the advertised budget. We appreciate the funding of our requests. As you know, the General Assembly adjourned its session in Richmond and took the unprecedented steps of passing what they're calling a skinny budget.

[04:38:44] This puts FCPS in an awkward and uncertain situation heading into the approval phase of our budget when we need to know our funding levels. On top of that, the VDOE error in calculation was already having a multi-million dollar negative impact on our budget. And on top of that, there's still uncertainty at the state as to what the increase for teachers will be.

[04:39:03] And as you all well know, the state will only fund about 20% of any salary increase from the state and rely on you all to support us to do the rest. And we appreciate your strong support for our teachers and our staff. Beyond the efforts to bolster our workforce, our budget contains funds to promote academic success with investments in literacy education, advanced academics, and increased access to pre-K programs.

[04:39:27] We're also increasing support to students and families with the addition of family liaisons and more support for our English as Second Language Learner students, special needs students, and low-income families. As you know, 75% of the $65.2 million increase for enrollment is actually due to higher needs of our student population.

[04:39:49] It's due to the extra services we must have available for our ESOL, special ed, and low-income family students. Only 25% is driven solely by enrollment growth. We are projecting that in fiscal year 24, 20.4% of our students will be English learners, 15.7% will be eligible for special education, and 34.9% will be eligible for free and reduced-price meals.

[04:40:12] Yes, that's almost 35% eligible for free and reduced-price meals. Our students have more needs than ever that require significant resources, which also includes funds for special education compensation after COVID. We need to ensure we prepare our students well for a future that we can't fully imagine.

[04:40:28] Given what's happening with technology, given the uncertainty in our world, our students need to be prepared to innovate and thrive in a diverse world. Thank you for partnering with us on educating the future leaders of our county, our economy, our country, and our democracy.

[04:40:46] In addition to academic areas, we're supporting increased measures in safety and security, which includes cybersecurity, continuous employee background checks, and additional security officers. We're also adding funding to reach our Joint Environmental Task Force goals. Because as we all know, our planet, we must take care of it.

[04:41:06] We have some innovative ideas brought forth by Dr. Reed with funding putting towards middle school sports. And the Lighthouse School Projects that will provide training for school-based technology specialists and access to a community of innovators through a partnership with the International Society for Technology and Education.

[04:41:22] We know that STEM education is rapidly growing and the need for STEM education is growing. So this Lighthouse Project, I think, will bring us some great ideas to our schools. With our school district strategic plan process underway for the school year, we're in a unique situation in that we're developing our budget and our strategic plan in parallel.

[04:41:40] So we need to remain as nimble as possible with the budget process as our strategic priorities come up. In addition, we're really looking carefully at our spending of our ESSER funds, as we know, on non-recurring costs, but making sure that their expenditure is closely in alignment with post-pandemic learning difficulties and addressing the learning needs of our students.

[04:42:00] As we mentioned, this is a good news budget that affirms the value that we all collectively place on public education. The value we place on our employees who educate our future leaders and other initiatives that support their learning needs, academic enrichment, social-emotional growth, and provide supports for our students.

[04:42:20] Again, we appreciate your collaboration with us and our budget chair, Elaine Tolan, and our entire budget team. I look forward to our continued work until the final adoption of our budget in May. Thank you again. Thank you for supporting our future. Thank you very much, Chair Sizemore-Hyser.

[04:42:38] I appreciate your testimony, and I also want to thank Ms. Derenak-Koufax, Ms. Corbett-Sanders, and Ms. Tolan for joining us as well. And I know there will be many times in the future to honor your service, but seeing as this is your last time here in a budget process, I figured Tammy was smiling underneath that mask.

[04:43:00] But given that this is your last time here, really appreciate working with all three of you through many years and through some tough times and some really good times. And thank you for that. And with that, we are going to move on to our first listed speaker.

[04:43:17] And that is Rick Wagner, the vice chairman of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, who will be followed by Pallabi Sabu, who is also a commissioner of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, to be followed by a call-in caller, Mr. Parmelee.

[04:43:34] Mr. Wagner, you have five minutes. Welcome. Thank you. Thank you, Chairman McKay, members of the board. I am Rick Wagner. I'm the vice chair of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority Commission, and I'm also the president of Microsoft's federal subsidiary. I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you as you work on the fiscal 2024 budget.

[04:43:53] When I testified at this hearing last year, our community was just emerging from the pandemic. And today, our unemployment rates of 2.2% here and throughout Northern Virginia have continued to fall to pre-pandemic levels.

[04:44:09] But the state of work and the way our companies operate has fundamentally changed. I actually just came from our Arlington office. Our Reston office is very full, but our Arlington office is nearly empty because of all the remote work that people are doing.

[04:44:25] During the past year, the EDA has continued to collaborate with the board and the county executive on the county's priorities to support the rebound of the local and regional economy and continue to build on the commercial tax base, which is so important to fund the high quality public services that Fairfax County has enjoyed.

[04:44:46] In 2022, the EDA staff, which by the way is amazing, Helped our business community grow and thrive in the post-pandemic new realities, resulting in 148 businesses creating nearly 13,000 jobs.

[04:45:01] These numbers are extraordinary considering the challenges that the localities are facing related to this changing commercial real estate market in the aftermath of COVID-19. Some of the most notable announcements of 22 included Hilton Worldwide retaining their global headquarters in Fairfax County.

[04:45:23] And Clark Construction Group expanding their footprint in the Mid-Atlantic by establishing a significant presence here. And then Pangeum, an emerging technology company, established their global headquarters here in Fairfax County in 22. And industry leaders such as Alarm.com, Bode Technology, and Smart Roof expanded their operations here, and they continue to invest in the community.

[04:45:48] The number of companies continuing to choose Fairfax County speaks volumes about the environment we offer for a global competitive advantage in growth. Our business-friendly climate and the unparalleled access that we provide is a winning combination.

[04:46:08] Our proximity to the world's largest customers, our robust pipeline of top talent, and our innovative ecosystem of strategic partners position our businesses to not only succeed but to truly prosper. And speaking of workforce, talent is something that's near and dear to my heart, given what I've done in my career.

[04:46:27] And the EDA Talent Program, funded by this board, it continues to elevate Fairfax County amongst its competition, and it creates a vital resource for our business community. The WorkInNorthernVirginia.com website, it's a digital hub for talent, attracted more than a half a million views in the past year from top talent markets across the country.

[04:46:50] And in 22, more than 70,000 job seekers were connected to open jobs at workinnorthernvirginia.com. And the EDA hosted and sponsored career fairs, attracting nearly 10,000 job seekers. Through this talent program, the EDA has connected with more than 1,000 businesses and continues to engage more than 100 universities, including nearly 40 historically black institutions.

[04:47:18] These colleges are putting out tremendous students, and they want high-paying jobs, and that's one of the things we can give them here. To strengthen the talent pipeline, I'm sorry, in 2022, the EDA also continued to be an active partner and a leader in developing sustainable and equitable economic development strategies for Northern Virginia and the greater Washington region.

[04:47:40] Led by the EDA team, Connected DMV developed a brand, a new brand for Greater Washington regional economic development efforts to be utilized in joint marketing to stimulate innovation and economic mobility throughout the region. The new Greater Washington brand was unveiled at the first ever World Quantum Congress in October of 22.

[04:48:04] Microsoft actually participated in that, and it's a great way to bring new innovation and technology into the area. There were attendees from 18 countries across the globe. In 23, this global event will be held in Tysons, and we expect 40 countries and over 1,500 global experts to attend.

[04:48:24] As we look to the future, the fundamental changes that are impacting economies across the nation will require strategic shifts and out-of-the-box thinking at all levels and what we do on economic development. I'm proud to say that the EDA has begun taking bold steps towards strengthening our competitiveness, collaborating and innovating to create the foundation for broad-based economic growth and the rapid evolving future. I believe that the efforts of the past year and the ones currently underway with the Economic Development Authority will advance a strong and diversified economic

[04:49:00] base in fiscal 2024. So on behalf of the EDA, I want to thank you for your support and for everything that you do, and I'll end my remarks there. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Wagner. thank you for your service as well appreciated our second speaker is uh palabi sabu who also is from the eda welcome the floor is yours thank you good afternoon board of supervisors i'm super excited to be presenting in front of you the first i was just telling my colleague there i'm used to from the it world to a very informal setting so this will be a first for me but besides being the

[04:49:38] assistant secretary at fceda i run a mid-sized company called harmonia holdings group we provide office services to the federal government. Talking about EDA, my peer, my very senior peer, Rick, who heads Microsoft Federal, spoke very eloquently about all that FCEA/EDA is doing to help the businesses come out stronger after the pandemic. And I really believe, having experienced it myself, that with the efforts of FCEDA, with the efforts of the county at large, we'll come out even better than we were before the pandemic. I was this morning researching and in

[04:50:15] preparation for this, and I found a site called Niche, which ranked us sixth among the 2,768 healthiest counties in the country, sixth out of 2,768, and one out of 92 healthiest counties in Virginia. We certainly are going to thrive. Now, it helps that we are in D.C. We're in bed with the largest spender, the largest buyer in the world, the federal government, but that alone is not enough i came i started my business in a much smaller county i actually bought the business which was in existence for 10 years but it was 1 million dollars in loan i moved it out of the

[04:50:52] county in 2006 six months after buying it and in one year we were doing 5 million dollars in revenue so it talks a lot about just being in dc is not enough having the support of county and organizations like fceta to help nurture to help you you know thrive to help you tap the talent opportunities is there, it's very important.

[04:51:12] So I'm very proud to be part of this board. And I think the success of FCED and Fairfax County at large, I attribute to two things that I have personally experienced. One is diversity and diversity in two fronts. One, the size of businesses. You have Rick here who spoke earlier, who's Microsoft.

[04:51:29] You have me, which is Harmonia. Nobody's heard of Harmonia. I mean, it was a one-person company when I started. Now it's 440, but even then nobody's heard of it, right? But the diversity of the businesses that this, County provides for and nurtures. It's amazing. We have every day, you know, more large corporations we hear in the news opening the headquarters here. Today we have nine Fortune 500 companies here.

[04:51:52] And we have countless small companies. And for the small companies, you know, be it woman-owned, one-fifth of our small companies in the area are woman-owned, providing 50,000 jobs. One-third of our companies are minority owned, providing 8,000, not providing, but 8,000 companies are minority owned. So between minority owned, woman owned, veteran owned, this county, FCEDA, with the help of this county, really provides a nurturing environment across the spectrum of sizes. But diversity alone is not enough, right? You need to have collaboration. Having worked for a small

[04:52:28] company, I know when I bid on something, I need other parties which can augment what I have. And FCEDA has been really supportive and really outgoing in its synergistic efforts to collaborate, whether it's collaborating with SCORE to provide mentorship with the companies on all fronts, whether it's financial help, whether it's technical help, whether it's business strategy help, whether it's the workshops we do where we pull in hundreds of businesses to guide them, whether it is partnering with other government agencies, whether it's partnering with all of you as we provide support to the community of businesses out here.

[04:53:02] I think that partnership, along with the diversity we bring, is paramount and is the reason for our success. I was recently in India promoting FCEDA, and when we shared these numbers, the line of people lined up to talk about, okay, how do I open Fairfax County, because it really is a nurturing environment, was amazing.

[04:53:21] Having said that, thank you for this opportunity. You know, we are very grateful for the $1 million founders program that we've started and eager to advertise that. I think that provide additional support to the businesses in our community. Very excited to be here.

[04:53:36] Thank you all. Thank you very much, and thank you for your service. Much appreciated. And speaker number three is James Parmalee, who has called in. James on the line. Mr. Parmalee, welcome. Thank you for the opportunity to talk. And as you know, I spoke earlier today at the tax rate hearing in opposition to taxes and to higher government spending.

[04:53:58] And so I'm going to do so again now. I was listening to the earlier speakers, and one of the speakers was talking on and on about the market rates and people need market rates and higher salaries and so on. And I'd like to remind everybody there that during the last couple of years when you shut us down, there were a lot of people who didn't get the market rate of anything, a lot of people who lost their jobs, a lot of people who lost their businesses, a lot of people who lost their savings.

[04:54:26] So when we go on and on about the market rate and we're going to, like, increase all of this government spending, remember that half the economy basically lost everything. And so it's hard to – it might be hard to realize in the government center where people didn't lose their jobs, where supervisors vote themselves 30 percent pay increases.

[04:54:47] And, again, talk about market rates as though they knew what the market was for supervisors. even though we have the highest-paid board of supervisors in the Commonwealth of Virginia. So I think we have to look, and I think you have to look before you vote on these budgets, look at the average person out there, not folks inside the government center with you, but out there voting for or against you, people who lost their businesses, lost their jobs, lost a lot when the government forcibly shut things down during the pandemic.

[04:55:19] Not everybody lost, but a lot of people did lose. And as it turns out, a lot of the shutdowns were overblown. A lot of the stuff that you guys did was incorrect, did not follow the science, and ended up hurting a lot of folks. And sometimes people make mistakes at the beginnings of pandemics.

[04:55:35] You don't know exactly what's going to be happening. You're doing the best you can. But as the science came in and as it became clearer and clearer that lockdowns were not working, and you guys clung to them as long as you possibly could, that sort of thing really damaged the economy and damaged people's lives.

[04:55:52] And to now sit there in the government center and raise your salaries by 30 percent and raise government spending on the backs of folks who got crushed during the pandemic is just wrong. So please consider this. Consider the money you're spending. It's not monopoly money.

[04:56:07] It's not funny money. It's real honest to goodness money that comes out of the pockets of the taxpayers of Fairfax County. Thanks for your time. Thank you. And we now are at Speaker four, which is Charles McAndrew, who I know is here to be followed by Speaker five.

[04:56:22] bill Peabody speaker 6 is Lydia Lawrence if you all can make sure you're close here to the podium and ready when we call your number mr. McAndrew welcome good afternoon mr. chairman and members of the County Board of Supervisors and the distinguished County Executive my name is Charles McAndrew my wife and I

[04:57:02] have been homeowners and taxpayers in Fairfax County since since 1968 and I'm also a board member of the Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance. Believe it or not, for over 40 years I've been appearing before the Board of Supervisors to protest the budget increases and the taxes. And I'm back again and I've attached a few charts here about general funds expenditures and the real estate bills and the public schools.

[04:57:40] In the first paragraph you'll see the bottom of this whole thing is that for the past 10 years real estate taxes have gone up 50% while inflation went up about 26%. Also the bottom line to all these increases is when you take the real estate taxes in the budget usually year after year it goes up decade after decade at least and not always but most of the time two to three times the inflation rate now that's my second

[04:58:15] paragraph talks about and I'll use these words outrageously preposterous that most of the Board of Supervisors passed extreme extremely generous raises for themselves I understand that the board gave the chairman increase of almost 40 percent over his current salary which I think brought it up to maybe 140,000 and rest of the board was over 30 percent increase now i can understand that it's over eight year period that they have not had an increase so i looked at the u.s bureau of labor statistics and inflation

[04:58:51] rose 24.0 percent from the year of 2015 through 2022 during eight year period works out to an average about three percent per year so i could go along with three percent pay increase each year for the eight years the board did not have pay increases if they decreased the real estate taxes and gave the overtaxed homeowners reduction in their real estate taxes i do thank supervisor herity and supervisor alcorn for voting against this large pay increase i think it's time for the office of management budget and the chief financial officer to carefully review the overall budget

[04:59:30] including the FCPS budget. With a budget over $5 billion in general funds, $3.3 billion in Fairfax County Public Schools, and a grand total of $13.5 billion, including fiduciary funds. That's a large budget. It's bigger than some of the federal government agencies, and I spent most of my career in the federal government. So it's time for them to implement zero-based budgeting.

[04:59:57] Zero-based budgeting is a method of budgeting which all expenses must be justified for a new period. The process starts from zero base and the function within the organization is analyzed for needs and costs. The county should review every program determined to put any redundancy or obsolete programs that cut the budget wherever they go.

[05:00:17] I look forward to a written response from Chairman McKay and Supervisor Smith. Thank you very much for your attention. Thank you, Mr. McAndrew. And we are now on Speaker No. 5, Bill Peabody, who has called in. Is Mr. Peabody on the line? Bill, welcome.

[05:00:32] The floor is yours. All right. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and board members. Let's talk about opium, other people's money. What mindset leads to a dredging project of a 55-acre lake going from $9 million in 2010 to $395 million?

[05:00:50] It may be the same process that led to the silver line. Remember, it's not over until it's under. this would have added another billion to the cost of this epic failure. According to WTOP, the silver line never reached 65% of ridership projections.

[05:01:06] Another large number in the news is the 30% pay hike for yourselves. To avoid these financial missteps in the future, try hiring a truly independent auditor. I know the county has lots of auditors, but none of them are truly independent.

[05:01:23] School employee benefits as a percentage of wages have doubled since 2003. going from 23% to 46%. This is roughly double the rate of the private sector. Converting employees from defined benefit pensions to 401 type K plans would help enormously. If benefits were equal to the private sector rates today, real estate taxes would be $1,200 less on the average home. The next students joining Fairfax schools will have a marginal cost of $27,000 each,

[05:02:03] mostly due to the school's hiring of one employee per three students. What was that ratio when you went to school? The teacher shortage may be handled without huge pay increases. Maybe teachers would prefer a zero-tolerance policy for violence. Teachers can't escape to private schools. They pay 15 to 20 percent less. How about not forcing them to teach revisionist history and sex ed to elementary school kids? Regarding the police situation, we're short officers there. If a 14

[05:02:38] percent raise isn't working, maybe they would appreciate a commonwealth attorney that doesn't try to confuse the public about the crime rate and limit prosecutions to his whim. Ultimately, it's money flow that matters. IRS data shows Fairfax losing $14 billion in adjusted gross income over the last several years. If your programs are great, why the exodus? Thank you.

[05:03:07] Thank you. And we are now on speaker number six, Lydia Lawrence. And Lydia is here as the chair of the Fairfax Parks Coalition and has five minutes. Welcome. Thank you for having me, members of the of supervisors. My name is Lydia Lawrence and I'm a Drainsville District resident and I like to think of myself as the Chief Rebel Rouser for the Fairfax Parks Coalition. We're a group of advocates from

[05:03:39] various organizations who recognize the importance of investing in our parks as creating a place of community for every one of our residents, as well as mitigating the disastrous effects of climate change, which we already experience in our county. Last year, our group took the lead in researching and publicizing the inequitable structure of funding for FCPA. Many of you may have received

[05:04:15] letters and input from your residents at a volume that is not usually heard of in what many consider a tedious budget process. And I know you are all thankful to have your constituents weigh in.

[05:04:32] And I too would like to start this with Thanksgiving because since last year, it has brought me so much joy to see all of you respond positively with a commitment to funding FCPA in accordance with our One Fairfax policy, like in FCPA's presentation to you in September where it broke down the demographics of who actually uses and benefits from its services and who has equitable access to parks, and then even in private hearing from many of you your hopes

[05:05:11] as we get a more equitable funding structure for FCPA and improving parks for residents, some of you who have many lower income residents who don't have the same quality or access to parks that our wealthier districts may have, partnering with public schools to create swimming programs in the future, and really creating targeted equity programs and not just seeing our parks as something that we can save money on in the budget.

[05:05:43] It's been refreshing to hear those statements from you. And even to the point of this year, since the county executive's presentation at the end of February on our proposed budget, working with FCPA to provide third quarter funding of $500,000 to fund its forestry department while still recognizing that this is an ongoing investment that needs to be made.

[05:06:11] So thank you all for your dedication, especially since last year. In talking, in our advocates speaking with some of you, some of the things that we have heard is looking forward to the results of the equity study that the Park Authority dedicated itself to conducting, is conducting, that the results are supposed to be presented to its board this summer. With that said, there are certain equity items in this budget that Fairfax County itself has already committed to within its own government to providing, and so I don't think

[05:06:47] there's an equity study that is necessary to understand why these items are important. The first item I'd like to speak to you on is funding mobile nature centers. As I said, and as many of you can imagine, our parks, like many other counties, do not look the same across the county.

[05:07:11] Access to them is not the same across the county, and the quality of them differs. And unfortunately, sometimes those differences fall along demographic and wealth lines. These mobile nature centers would be buses, which the Park Authority has committed to finding grant funding for these specific buses, but these would be able to go into neighborhoods that do not have that available access to parks.

[05:07:44] And it's like bringing the parks to those people to engage them with the importance of the environment, the importance of parks with the plants and animals around them. And this funding of $229,279 would be for those staff positions.

[05:08:05] Moreover, the dedication would be to hire bilingual staff members who can really engage with different languages across the community that are primarily spoken in some of these lower-income neighborhoods.

[05:08:22] Secondly, I would like to ask you to fund FCPA's request for activation or community outreach members. These are staff that are, as I said before, bilingual. I'd like to share an anecdote.

[05:08:39] Last year, I had the pleasure of doing an event at Mount Vernon Woods Park, and Supervisor Luss was kind enough to speak at that event. And FCPA brought staff to engage with community members there on the planned redevelopment of Mount Vernon Woods Park.

[05:09:01] And unfortunately, the staff member that could speak Spanish in a largely Spanish-speaking community only had limited proficiency in Spanish. And this is an issue across FCPA.

[05:09:18] Each employee of FCPA is dedicated to their jobs and deserves to be there. But FCPA desperately needs to hire staff members who have bilingual capacity in order to truly engage with the community.

[05:09:33] And that would be the purpose of this activation staff, is to engage every member of the community. And then lastly, I'd like to advocate for about $50,000 in translation and interpretation services. One of our advocates was at Birk Lake Park and noticed that the majority of signs were in English and only English.

[05:09:59] The sign that was in English and Spanish was a sign for trash. What does that say to our residents who speak Spanish that the only sign that is accessible to them is for trash? Not signs towards fishing or mini golf or any of the other many, many services.

[05:10:20] The park authority needs to remedy this. They can't do this from CIP funding, and they need your help to fund this. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you very much for your testimony. And Speaker 7 is Arthur Purvis, who has five minutes as president of the Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance.

[05:10:41] He will be followed by Rose Risley. Is Rose here? Rose is here to be followed by Tom Cranmer. And Mark Welsh will be Speaker No. 10. And so if you're in that order, if you could make your way down closer to the podium, we would appreciate that.

[05:10:58] Mr. Purvis, welcome. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, members of the board, I thank you for this opportunity to testify. I'm Arthur Purvis and address you as president of the Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance. Since FY2000, the supervisors have been raising residential real estate taxes three times faster than household income.

[05:11:19] The average annual increase in household income is 2.3%, while the average annual increase in real estate taxes has been 5.3%. The typical homeowner now pays $8,000 in real estate taxes. If real estate taxes had increased at the same rate as household income, the typical tax would be $4,000, and the rate would be $0.57 instead of $1.11.

[05:11:43] Why are taxes increasing faster than our incomes? The answer is compensation. Since FY2000, household income of your taxpayers and county and school revenues have barely kept up with inflation. However, county and school spending for compensation increased faster than inflation.

[05:12:04] Inflation is 83% and compensation increased 141%. So the board increased our residential real estate taxes faster than our incomes to pay for this. The biggest driver of increased compensation costs is by far pensions.

[05:12:23] The next biggest is that school staff has increased twice as fast as enrollment since 2000. Interestingly, county staff has increased somewhat less than population over that period, for which we commend you. Two other drivers with about equal impact are health insurance and above inflation raises.

[05:12:43] The average annual inflation since 2000 is 2.6%. Average annual raises over the same period were 3.6% for general county employees, 3.7% for sheriff's deputies, 3.9% for police, 4.3% for teachers, and 4.5% for fire and rescue.

[05:13:03] We had expected that above inflation raises would have been the main driver for the real estate tax hikes, but it turned out the driver was pensions, despite reductions in pension benefits. What are homeowners getting in return for paying $8,000 a year in real estate taxes instead of $4,000?

[05:13:24] We get a county that is unaffordable, feels unsafe, and has falling SAT scores. We get an unaffordable housing program in the form of real estate tax hikes, and this program has no waiting list. We get a zoning ordinance that reduces citizen input, was declared void by the Virginia Supreme Court, and is likely to be reenacted by this board.

[05:13:45] We get a police force in which the community does not have confidence and a government in which the police do not have confidence. In 2015, the police vacancy rate was 6%. Now it's 16%, and they're working 12-hour shifts. To say that the county is the safest of its size is not the same as saying that it's safe.

[05:14:07] Is the lack of safety a reason why the commercial portion of the real estate tax base has dropped to a 16-year low of 16%? We get a $3 billion school system where SAT scores fell 27 points over the last five years, while Virginia scores increased 14 points.

[05:14:24] The last time FCPS SAT scores decreased over a five-year period was between 1989 and 1993, and the decrease was 1 point. The demographics of test takers in 2018 and 2022 are nearly identical.

[05:14:40] Montgomery County increased by 58 points. FCPS scores for blacks, Latinos, and whites decreased by 34, 27, and 29 points. We get an Office of Elections whose budget has increased 70% since 2017 to handle drop boxes, unlimited absentee voting, same-day registration, and an election season instead of an election day.

[05:15:03] All of which facilitates the newly legalized harvest balloting, which in turn undermines election integrity. To fight a non-existent climate crisis, we get a 214-page climate action plan with no cost estimates.

[05:15:22] Is this plan the real reason for the parking reimagined proposal to cut down on parking spaces? The Taxpayers Alliance feels that the county's deteriorating affordability, safety, and schools do not give us a good return for our real estate taxes. Thank you.

[05:15:38] Thank you. And our speaker number eight is Rose Risley, to be followed by speaker nine, Thomas Cranmer. Ms. Risley, welcome. Good afternoon, Chairman McKay and members of the Board of Supervisors.

[05:15:56] My name is Rose Mario Risley and I'm the chair of the Fairfax Area Long-Term Care Coordinating Council, also known as the LTCCC. I'm here this afternoon representing the council's 41 members and the budget positions they've adopted. The council thanks the county executive for including funding for older adults and adults with disabilities in the advertised budget.

[05:16:18] For the Fiscal Year 2024 budget, the LTCCC asks the board to support proposed funding to staff the Springfield Senior Center Without Walls program and ask that the new positions support inclusion of adults with disabilities into the program.

[05:16:37] Support proposed funding for a social services specialist to serve older adults in assisted living facilities. Support proposed funding for Sully and Lorton Community Centers, including therapeutic recreation staff positions to enable inclusive participation for individuals of all abilities.

[05:16:57] Support proposed funding for the new position of Director of Diversion, Equity, and Inclusion within the Police Department to support the countywide efforts to implement the One Fairfax initiative. Support proposed funding of a 5% increase for the consolidated community funding pool.

[05:17:15] Support proposed funding increase for Fast Trans contract. Request that the proposed increase for human services contracts reflect the consumer price index of 7.3%, which is referenced in county contracts as the basis for contract rate adjustments and is significantly higher than the advertised budget.

[05:17:39] The LTCCC is available as a resource to the board. We invite you to reach out to us, ltccc at fairfaxcounty.gov. 703-246-8456. Thank you. Thank you very much for your testimony and service. And speaker number nine is Thomas Cranmer. Mr. Cranmer, welcome. He will be followed by Mark Welsh. Is Mark Welsh here? Mark is here. Excellent. You will be speaker number 10. Welcome. Thank you. Delighted to be here. I'm Thomas Cranmer. I live in Great Falls, and I appreciate your willingness to listen to me.

[05:18:17] I've distributed 15 copies of my talk so that you don't need to take notes. Pew Research has reported 80% of the people in the U.S. do not trust governments.

[05:18:32] Very, very good reason. And this means that people don't trust doctors also. This has been a disaster for the United States. Now, the taxes you are proposing are unreasonable. When people's houses inflate with Bidenflation, that means that it is not a real increase.

[05:18:59] It's not a realized profit. You are taxing unrealized profits, and people can't spend this money. Inflation under Biden, for all items during his tenure, has been 14 percent.

[05:19:17] But gasoline has been 35 percent, utilities 41 percent, groceries nearly 20 percent. This means people's cash has been cut, cut, cut, and you are trying to get more cash from them.

[05:19:35] The whole economic situation is a real disaster. Many economists have talked about how there are probably 200 significant bank failures coming up.

[05:19:52] And this is a major, major problem. When I was in banking, I heard the story about people seeing the president of the bank standing on a table and telling the people in the bank that everything was okay.

[05:20:10] People outside saw him through the window and made a run on the bank. This is a fragile situation right now. And there have been massive runs on banks in the United States. Crime is also a major problem.

[05:20:27] Major cities. But the Fairfax Police Department doesn't even report what's been going on. They show only 2020. 2020. That was a long time ago, right?

[05:20:44] And police staffing is now down by about 16 percent. Criminal arrests in calendar year 2022, according to your figures, were 18,000, but they're projected to rise to 26,000, 27,000 this year.

[05:21:05] It's a disaster, and we have to depend on neighbors. schools are very dangerous and we don't get any information about what's going on in the schools information on shootings and lawlessness in schools is lacking there is no inspector general to analyze the the board of supervisor actions and internal audits are done but they're narrowly

[05:21:38] focused on paperwork your support for the metro is absurd the metro is bankrupt i every year go through the financial statements in the metro. It's a disaster. But the biggest problem is potential for war. Many people are talking about this. I served in Iraq. I know what war is like. And we are facing a potential war, starting with Taiwan and being seized by

[05:22:15] the Chinese, and Biden said he's going to defend Taiwan. I don't know if he will, but this is a bad scene. Thank you, Mr. Cranmer. Your time expired a while ago, but we have your written testimony. Thank you very much. I appreciate you listening to me, and I hope that you have a good rest of the day. Thank you very much. We are on speaker number 10, Mark Welsh, and speaker 11 is a call in. Okay. Mr. Welch, welcome. A year ago, I testified that if the board was serious about tax

[05:22:52] relief, the transfer to FCEA should be reduced, given that they had greatly underestimated carryover into the budget year. Considering they ended fiscal year 22 with $295 million in unspent funds, excluding ESSER carryover, I was spot on. My testimony this year can be summed up one word. Ditto. Revised fiscal year 23 expenditures of $3.7 billion are almost $600 million more than fiscal year 22 actuals with a like number of positions. Roughly $220 million can be attributed to pay increases and $30 million can be attributed to additional ESSER funding, but what explains

[05:23:30] the remaining $350 million, especially given that actual mid-year expenditures are only $1.6 billion? FCPS is as likely to spend $3.7 billion in fiscal year 23 as I am to spontaneously grow a full head of hair. For example, FCPS is proposing a total of $309 million in materials and supplies for fiscal years 23 and 24, which is $28 million more than what was spent in the previous three years.

[05:23:58] Yes, more in two years than in the previous three. If you don't believe me, take a minute, go to page 164 of the proposed school budget and check for yourself. Based on mid-year actuals, fiscal year 23 materials and supplies are tracking at $110 million for the year.

[05:24:15] Bump that up to $120 million for fiscal year 24, that's $230 million for those two years versus $309 million. That difference of $79 million in just that one category equates to $0.02 of the tax rate plus an additional 1% MRA for county employees.

[05:24:33] I understand that you are not responsible for directing school expenditures, but you do have a responsibility for making final decisions that balance funding needs for all county programs with a burden on taxpayers. I also understand your desire to work collaboratively with the school board, but collaboration is a two-way street.

[05:24:55] How is a budget vastly inflating true funding needs at the expense of other priorities and active collaboration? As a homeowner, I am angry that you would even consider fully funding their budget request. If I was a county employee looking at a 2% MRA, I would be outraged.

[05:25:12] A $0.07 reduction to the tax rate would keep average residential taxes stable. That equates to $220 million. Using the available $90 million for tax relief leaves a revenue shortfall of $130 million. Sure, go ahead and appropriate the budgeted transfer to FCPS, but fund $130 million from their carryover rather than fiscal year 24 tax revenue.

[05:25:34] I realize that raises budget issues regarding the timing of funds availability, but I'm confident that Ms. Jackson and her staff could figure that out. It really doesn't require hard decisions to keep residential taxes stable, given the bloat in the school budget. The only question is whether you have the political will to do so.

[05:25:52] Thank you for your time and consideration. Thank you. And we are now on Speaker 11, Corey O'Rourke. Can you hear me okay? Yes. Welcome. Can you all hear me? Yes, we can. Welcome. The floor is yours. Thank you so much.

[05:26:07] My name is Corey O'Rourke, and I'm the Managing Attorney for Children's Legal Services at IUBA, a local nonprofit that provides legal, social, and language access services to low-income immigrants. I'm also a survivor of familial violence and a member of the Fairfax County Council to End Domestic Violence.

[05:26:27] The Council to End Domestic Violence brings together elected officials, leaders of county public safety, public schools, judiciary, and human service agencies, and community members representing the faith community, nonprofit organizations, and local universities, guiding in the development of a coordinated and collaborative community response to domestic violence in Fairfax County.

[05:26:50] I hope to amplify the voices and stories of the individuals and families in Fairfax County impacted by domestic violence. According to the National Network to End Domestic Violence's 2022 Domestic Violence Counts report, on just one day in Virginia, there were 189 requests for shelter, housing, transportation, child care, and legal representation that could not be met because domestic violence programs lacked adequate resources. Without adequately funded programs to address the complex challenges associated with

[05:27:26] domestic violence, survivors feel trapped in unsafe relationships. We as a county must find ways to support some of the most vulnerable residents in Fairfax County and accepting the services they and their children need to heal and thrive. The domestic violence that's happening in Fairfax County today will have impacts lasting for decades.

[05:27:48] Research from the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study conducted in the mid-1990s shows that once a child witnesses domestic violence in their home, they are far more likely to experience other adversities. Children who experience domestic violence are more likely than other kids to be abused or neglected or have a parent who has a mental health concern.

[05:28:10] They are also more likely to have mental health issues of their own. I urge you to prioritize survivor safety now more than ever. We need to act now to ensure safety services for survivors of domestic violence are fully funded. Without these services, not only will survivors be underserved and placed at further risk, but the wider community will shoulder the cost.

[05:28:32] Thank you for your time. Thank you. And we are now on speaker number 12, Raymond Baxter. Mr. Baxter here. Mr. Baxter here, if you could come on down. Speaker 13 will be Brian Engler. Speaker 14 is Miriam Smolin.

[05:28:49] If you are here, if you could come on down closer to the podium, that would be appreciated. Speaker 15 is Judy Dittman. If any of those people are here, if you could come on down closer, again, that would be appreciated. Mr. Baxter, welcome.

[05:29:06] Hi there. Thank you. And, you know, you all say thank you for our service. Thank you for your service. I'm actually here on one matter that I'll have to reschedule with you all later.

[05:29:21] But I've been on the Tyson's Corner Transportation Service Advisory Board for some time, actually since 13. And one critical component of that entire project is the 7-123 intersection.

[05:29:37] It is a 7B unfunded project, somehow got overlooked back in 2010. And now we are getting towards the completion of six to eight lanes coming from all sides to that intersection as we build out seven coming into it, then seven to 495, and then a superhighway from International going down to 66.

[05:30:06] And we still have a two-lane highway going into that intersection. And Tom has done a great job. By the way, he's retiring. He's been great. Really appreciate working with him over these years.

[05:30:22] But what it really comes down to, it's not funded. And if I look back in a update on 2017, this project was supposed to be in the utility phase of replacing utilities as of this month.

[05:30:41] And we are far behind that. We don't have a design. And when I talk to Tom, it's principally because it's unfunded. And we have the opportunity, I think, with the Coons redevelopment, that there's going to be some space potentially there.

[05:30:58] I read articles from Jerry Connolly and from you all on how much transportation money has been funded into the Commonwealth and also into Fairfax County.

[05:31:14] So I would urge you all to look at that project. Otherwise, we are going to have miles of traffic backing up on either side of that intersection. And we live right on the cusp of the service tax district.

[05:31:32] And my folks, I'm president, my folks are always asking, what am I getting for it? And they really don't get a lot for it other than being in that cusp. And so I would urge you all to take a look at that project and how to fund it and how to get it along.

[05:31:49] Because right now, everything else is going to be completed except for a two-lane bridge. And the last thing I'll mention is that we always talk about one Tyson's Corner. It's not one Tyson's Corner. Seven divides Tyson's Corner.

[05:32:05] You have southeast and you have northwest. There's no way to get across easily. And the idea of having a pedestrian bridge and a nice intersection so the communities can get to the mall and need to get to the other services would be wonderful.

[05:32:23] And at the appropriate time, I'd also like to come back and talk to you about a serious vulnerability we have with our playground and the VDOT street that goes up the middle of our street that we can't seem to get a stop sign. And we almost had a kid hit the other day.

[05:32:41] And it's just a matter of time before someone gets injured. And I'll be, you know, anytime, please come back. I'll come back. Thank you very much. for your attention thank you very much and we are now on speaker number 13 brian engler who i know is here and is the chair of the fairfax county public library board of trustees welcome good afternoon my name is brian engler as you heard and i'm chair of the fairfax county public library board of trustees this is an appropriate time for me to address you since the last week of april is

[05:33:18] national library week with the theme there's more to the story to many a library is simply a repository of books. It is that, of course, but here in Fairfax County, we have become so very much more. Library staff is now in the third year of adapting services and programming to life in and around a major pandemic. We rely upon virtual programming to accommodate social distancing, but now three years on, in-person events once again are in full swing. We're happy so many Fairfax residents once more are spending time at their local library branches. Over the last year, we saw a 52%

[05:33:58] increase in program attendance. Our societal perspectives have changed, though, and virtual programming has proven to be so popular that we continue to host authors, story times for children, and even exercise classes online. Our users say they appreciate how easily they can access our programs when all they need to do is log in. As a society, all of us rely more and more on technology. And as that technology evolves, libraries must adapt. Books on tape became audiobooks on CD, but audiobooks now are more commonly streamed via an app installed on our

[05:34:33] computer, tablet, or smartphone. While we have 23 branches stocked with books, we also have a digital collection that cardholders can access at any time, day or night. Today, I want to talk to you principally about that library's digital collection, which has experienced a huge growth and popularity in the recent past. From the start of this fiscal year to March 1st, the number of individual cardholders who've used the digital collection is up 32% from the same time period the previous year. These numbers show that the digital collection works hard. Digital titles are

[05:35:08] placed on hold and checked out more frequently than their physical counterparts. But laws regarding e-book licensing mean that digital materials very often cost considerably more. Our collection staff are constantly looking for creative ways to stretch each dollar, but demand far exceeds budget and only increases as our population grows and ages. To give you an idea of the demand and the impact it has on your constituents, on a single day last month, our digital collection had about 175,000 holds, while our print collection had about 68,000. To put these hold numbers into total

[05:35:45] collection context, the digital users are trying to borrow from slightly under 228,000 items, while we currently have more than 1.8 million physical items on hand. Collectively, that's a lot of Fairfax County residents and taxpayers who are waiting for materials, some for a significant and time. Your library trustees appreciate the many competing demands and priorities on the county's budget and on you as you decide the appropriate use of our tax dollars. The library's budget, not including increases to staff salaries, has been flat for many years now, and we do

[05:36:22] appreciate that. Library services and unique programs fit into multiple different county strategic planning areas, including lifelong education and learning, economic opportunity, and cultural and recreational opportunities. Investing in your public library's budget for purchasing electronic materials and books is a very good way to meet community needs as expressed through your strategic plan, while also ensuring that residents don't have to wait for an inordinate amount of time for materials which they need for educational, workforce prep, and recreational purposes.

[05:36:57] Allow me to provide one more current example. The library owns about 200 total print, digital, and audio copies of the incredibly popular Lessons in Chemistry by Bobby Garmus, which was released in 2022. Seems like a lot, but there are 735 people waiting for the print book and 1,961 people waiting for the digital book.

[05:37:19] This means that wait times exceed four months for the print book and more than 16 months for the digital. Our library is cherished by residents for the services, staff, space, and materials it provides, but that popularity has created a situation wherein someone might have to wait for more than a year before they receive the book they're looking for in the format of their choosing.

[05:37:42] The library board does not believe that that is acceptable in Fairfax County today, and we don't think that you do either. So please help us balance the scales by adding more money to the Fairfax County Public Library book budget.

[05:37:58] Thank you. Thank you very much. Mr. Engler, thank you for your testimony. And speaker number 14 is Miriam Smolin, who is chair of the Fairfax County Library Foundation. Welcome. Good afternoon. Thank you for this opportunity to testify on behalf of the Fairfax County Public Library.

[05:38:18] My name is Miriam Smolin, and I currently serve as the chair of the Fairfax Library Foundation Board of Directors. I previously served two terms as the chair of the Fairfax County Public Library Board of Trustees. The Fairfax Library Foundation's number one purpose is to provide supplemental financial support to the library.

[05:38:37] We do that by actively promoting critical services and programming provided by the library, and by reaching out to individuals, corporations, and funding groups to fundraise for the library. We have a very involved board of directors who care deeply about the success of the library and about making library resources available for all segments of our community, regardless of where a resident lives in the county, their spoken language, or their level of technology knowledge.

[05:39:05] We know that residents of this county use their library even when they can't get there physically. As Brian just spoke to you about, as an example, during COVID, the library's e-book usage was accessed more than 1 million times. The public consumption of library resources continues to grow, and so does the list of holds for material.

[05:39:24] The growth of electronic uses of material goes up every year, and unfortunately, so does the cost of providing those electronic materials. The Foundation's efforts to raise additional funds is supplemental. These efforts in no way replace the funding that is provided in the Fairfax County budget for the library.

[05:39:42] The Foundation Board of Directors and Staff would like to emphasize the continued need for the county's support of the library's budget and more specifically ask that the budget be increased to support the library's expansion of its traditional and digital reading collections. This year I wanted to mention that the foundation is focusing its fundraising efforts in an area very important to all of our interests, children's literacy. The foundation has long supported the library's children literacy programs. Last year the foundation provided support for the programs Ready to Read and a thousand books before kindergarten. And just last

[05:40:18] year these programs provided over 1,200 story times to close to 30,000 participants and gave away over 20,000 picture books to the children attending. Coming this spring is a brand new event that the foundation is very excited to be partnering with the library to put on and that's the summer reading festival that will be held on two Saturdays in June outdoors at Chantilly and Lorton libraries that will kick off the summer reading program we hope that each of you will join us in person at one of those days at the festival creating all these new book lovers requires a growing collection of books in paper and digital

[05:40:56] as I've said before please continue to support the library's budget and provide funding to support the expansion of its collection. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. And our next speaker is speaker number 15, Judith Dittman. Is Judith here? She is here. I see Judith. And she will be followed by John Higgins. John Higgins is here. If you could come on down closer to the podium to be followed by Suzanne Willemson. If you all are here, I've called your names. If you can make your way down closer to the podium, we would appreciate that. Welcome. Hi. Actually,

[05:41:32] John is our board president, and he's unable to make it tonight, so we can cross him off. As you guys probably know, my name is Judith Dittman. I'm the chief executive officer of Second Story. We're a local nonprofit organization that works with the county's most vulnerable youth and their families, and I'd like to thank you for the opportunity to provide input on the county's fiscal year 24 budget.

[05:41:57] As federal support for those in need ramps down, Second Story, along with other nonprofits, seeing the need for our services ramping up. Cuts to SNAP benefits have increased the lines at our food distribution sites and increased the number of seniors and people with disabilities that we see who are coming for basic necessities. As funding to provide rent relief and prevent evictions winds down, our shelters are full and rent prices are rising dramatically. According to an article in the Reston Patch, rent prices in Fairfax went up 18 percent this last year. An average studio

[05:42:36] apartment costs eighteen hundred dollars a month for young people experiencing homelessness who are in our programs we have increased the emphasis on education and employment skills to help them generate higher incomes but even so it's going to be hard for them after 18 to 24 months in our program to go out and afford eighteen hundred dollars a month in rent with that in mind i want to encourage the board to do all it can to support those currently facing homelessness and food insecurity but set aside funds for affordable housing to help them face the future

[05:43:13] i also applaud the proposed increase in the county budget for county staff second story works with your staff in many ways throughout county government and their dedication commitment and their ability is always apparent but i would also remind the board that our non-profit staff also need cost of living and merit increases before the pandemic second story was blessed to have a very low turnover but in the last two years that rate has doubled it's in part due to burnout it's not easy working on the front lines with those in need but it is also due

[05:43:51] to other employers including the county hiring our staff away it's because they can afford to pay higher salaries and offer more expansive benefits benefits that we can't provide due to the expectation that non-profits keep their administrative rates really low to get good charity ratings and appeal to donors who want all of their dollars to go to direct service.

[05:44:18] Not only are we having more staff turnover, but when a staff person leaves, it's increasingly difficult to fill those positions. Non-profits provide 40% of Fairfax County's Health and Human Services. If we can't provide our staff with equitable pay and benefits, that work is not going to get done. While the proposed budget allocates additional funding for contract adjustments with nonprofits, the method of the rate increase is unclear and doesn't take into account the inflationary pressures felt by our clients, our staff, our organization, and our

[05:44:54] donors, who usually help make up the difference between grant and contract funding and what we actually need to provide services. Second Story raises approximately $1.5 million each year to fund our programs to help young people and their families. An additional half million is donated in goods. We are committed to continuing that effort. Two million dollars out of our four and a half million dollar budget is donated by the community. But inflation and economic uncertainty affect our donors as well and may impact our ability to ramp up our services as community needs ramp up and

[05:45:33] federal spending ramps down. I urge the board to adopt the county executive's budget including the million and a half dollars for human service needs and 10 million dollars for affordable housing in the third quarter carryover and support non-profits serving the community in your fiscal year 24 budget.

[05:45:52] Thank you so much for the time to address you this evening and I hope that you have a wonderful budget hearing process thank you very much uh judy we appreciate you and we are now uh on speaker number 17 uh suzanne willemson is suzanne here suzanne willemson uh how about speaker number 18 lawrence sutton lawrence if you could come on down uh i don't see speaker 19 maddie palmore yet uh speaker number 20 steve vanney is steve here steve vanney speaker 21 rob whitfield i haven't

[05:46:31] Zane Rabiette either. Okay. Welcome. The floor is yours. Good afternoon, Chairman McKay and members of the Board of Supervisors. I represent the advisory board of the Gartland Center, the Mount Vernon Center, where excellent care is provided to over 750 current clients that are active. We are very appreciative of the budget that you have put forward, and we are especially very interested in keeping in the budget those changes that pertain to CSB. For example,

[05:47:07] the Diversion First program, we've been very proud of that in our county for many, many years, and we note that there have been positions added and extra funding for this very important program, which keeps Fairfax County citizens with mental health issues out of the judicial system and gets them efficiently into the mental health system. So we're very pleased that that program has been quite successful. We also noted that you offered increases in positions and funding for those who

[05:47:43] have been affected by the opioid crisis, which we know is an epidemic at this time. And if there is an opportunity to find additional funds i suspect that this program is going to be needed for next year and many years to come we were also grateful to notice that you have recognized that co-responder program that is the program between the police department and the mental health system

[05:48:17] whereby when a Fairfax County citizen is experiencing a mental health crisis, there is an opportunity for a trained mental health professional and a police officer to respond jointly. And this is a nationally recognized program that we have established here.

[05:48:38] We're also happy that you have put additional funding into a program called Healthy Minds Fairfax. The administrative change that will happen with this extra money will be to make the process of finding caregivers more streamlined.

[05:48:59] And families will have a more efficient way to get their kids the help that they need. Of course, I would echo the last speaker about the need for more affordable housing, especially for people in our community who work here but can't live in Fairfax County.

[05:49:18] Housing is important not only for the people with mental disabilities, but for police officers, for teachers, for people who work in this county. I'd like you to recognize also that a conversation could start about reestablishing a crisis center in the Mount Vernon area.

[05:49:41] Currently, when a Mount Vernon area resident is experiencing a mental health crisis, we ask the police department to take them over to the Bulova Center, and that seems inefficient in our point of view.

[05:49:57] So I hope that there will be a conversation about that in the future. Thank you again for allowing me to come today, and we appreciate all that you do to support the residents of Fairfax County. Thank you very much, Mr. Sutton.

[05:50:13] Let me call again and see Maddie Palmore. I have not seen Maddie. Steve Vonney. Is Steve Vonney here? Robert Whitfield. I haven't seen Rob yet. Joseph Catanio. Excellent. You could come on down. He is speaker number 22. Welcome.

[05:50:43] Hey, thank you. It's good to see a number of faces that I just met in the last month or so. My name is Joe Catanio. I'm the interim executive for Volunteer Fairfax. I've only been on the job for three months, but I've lived in Drainsville for 28 years, so I'm from this area.

[05:51:04] Chairman McKay and Board of Supervisors, County Executive Hill, and County Leadership, Thank you for the opportunity to speak about the impact Volunteer Fairfax has had on the Fairfax community with your ongoing support. The last year has been mixed with challenges and successes as we move beyond the pandemic.

[05:51:24] Though our lowered staffing levels did impact volunteer recruitment, we have proven to be a dependable resource for the county's needs in our nine districts. And we are grateful for the many volunteers who engage to help our neighbors. Our emergency response program still has played an important role, even as the county's priorities have shifted away from COVID emergencies.

[05:51:48] Volunteer Fairfax organized and participated in Stuff the Bus events that provided over 22 tons of pantry staples for food banks. Over 14,000 small masks for children were leveraged with our relationship also with a new corporate sponsor, Patient First.

[05:52:07] We collected over 8,000 surgical masks for donations to the county and the city of Fairfax. We also have seen an eagerness from our communities to re-engage our nonprofit partners who are, you know, how should I say, moving on from COVID restrictions.

[05:52:26] Bringing back volunteers in person has been one of the things that we were trying to promote. And our community-wide events continue to garner quite a bit of participation. Last fall's Volunteer Fest had close to 500 volunteers serving in a number of non-profit groups.

[05:52:47] And then the January Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend of Service brought together 850 participants giving service and benefiting over a dozen non-profits. The volunteer management education program that we conduct continues to exceed expectations with new content and high participation numbers.

[05:53:10] We hosted 31 webinars with over 1,300 participants to learn best practices about volunteer management and volunteer services. Our longstanding alternative community service program continues to enable court-referred and pretrial individuals to perform community service in lieu of being fined or having jail time.

[05:53:35] We continue to work with probation officers, attorneys, and court officials to provide the best possible community service through our nonprofit organization network. Okay, and looking forward, our emergency response program is now stabilized.

[05:53:53] We just recruited a new emergency response manager who came from Dems, and he just started last week. His first priority is to bolster the membership in our volunteer emergency team. Also, to further deepen our emergency response capabilities, our staff recently got certified in basic FEMA and Dems training.

[05:54:18] This was in the last three months. For Volunteer Fairfax, it's now time for new beginnings. Recently, we moved into new office space nearby here, right across from Fair Oaks Mall, provided by the county. And we thank you all for this space. It's wonderful.

[05:54:34] Volunteer Fairfax now has the room to grow its capacity and welcome the community in service. Since January, we've been hosting a number of events on a weekly basis through our RSVP Retired Senior Program. And the new space has also boosted staff morale with a general return to working together in person.

[05:54:56] This has been a big issue of trying to get people back in the office. The recent integration of the County Samaritan Volunteer Management System, which you all work with, is furthering our ability to enhance user experience for volunteers and not-profit partners alike.

[05:55:12] We hope this will be another benefit to better our volunteer communications through all the districts in our county. Finally, our search for a new chief executive, and that's not me, I'm interim, is in progress. And we see the transition as an opportunity to chart a new course for our organization.

[05:55:36] Okay. Now, we've been in operation for nearly 50 years since our inception as the Volunteer Center of Fairfax County. We were chartered in 1974. And we thank you for being the steadfast financial partner and supporter through all these years.

[05:55:52] And we want to welcome you next month, May 10th, at the Sherwood Community Center for the Volunteer Service Award ceremony that we are sponsoring thank you very much thank you very much joe and we are now at speaker 23 john agannon who i see is here is speaker 24 syed zadi here syed zadi speaker number 24 speaker 25 louise epstein is here uh okay miss gannon welcome thank you good good evening uh my name is john agannon i live in the franconia district tonight i'm speaking for myself this evening uh first i

[05:56:29] to thank the supervisors that are going off board after this year for their service supervisor gross i think i first worked with you on the potomac watershed round table when i was on the nvs wcd board and supervisor faust i think we did some time on equac together so thank you and i wish you good luck in your future chapters of your life our first responders police fire and rescue regularly deal with car and pedestrian crashes overdoses suicides domestic assaults and more they go home every night and they come back the next day to face the same more many drive more than one hour because they can't afford to live in fairfax county give our first responders a 10

[05:57:08] increase in this next budget history has shown that the real estate tax rate is almost always lowered in the fourth year of a four-year term and the real estate tax rate is almost always increased in the first and second year of a four-year term lower the real estate tax rate five cents from its current rate my handout shows what fairfax county neighbors asset limits are for the real estate tax rate the program with the problem with the program in fairfax county isn't the income level in the limit it's the asset limit it comes from 40 plus years of people paying into

[05:57:44] iras and 401s retirements that took the place of pensions that people worked for decades for retirement pensions are income 401's and iras are assets my other handout there shows that the proposed 2024 social security increase looks to be far less than what we got in 2023 a two percent increase in social security from will have most seniors paying all next year more in real estate tax and they're going to see increase in their social security let alone their other expenses they have to pay. Finish what you started last year and raise the asset limit to $500,000

[05:58:22] for real estate tax relief. Seek enabling legislation to allow for a local income tax and all income over $100,000. I think it was Supervisor Gross pointed out a couple weeks ago that it took five years to recover from the 2008 economic downturn. Credible reports state that it may take many more years to fully recover from all the ripples of the COVID pandemic. Take money out the rainy day fund for this next proposed budget this is an emergency many people that live far below the medium household income in this county are taking money out of their savings to just

[05:58:58] survive and they can't continue to do that that's not sustainable to conclude more than just the 10 supervisors of the next board need financial help with this proposed budget thank you thank you Thank you, Jonna. And speaker number 24, speaker number 24 here, Sied Zayda. I know speaker 25, Louise Epstein, is here. Welcome. The floor is yours. Sure. Good evening, Chairman McKay,

[05:59:37] supervisors, and County Executive Hill. My name's Louise Epstein, and I'm testifying on behalf of the MCA. We are over 100 years old, nonpartisan, and we have 40 board members who are also active in other local groups. In past years, it's sometimes been a challenge to reach consensus on key issues given the diversity of views among our members, but this year was different.

[06:00:01] We heard from people across the spectrum that crime was a growing problem and we needed to pay police officers more. We heard from people who had never contacted us before and who said that their assessed values had risen so much that their local taxes were unaffordable. And we heard a consistent desire for you to focus on quality of life that contribute to our safety like taking down dead trees in our parks and building sidewalks and trails. Safety is part of every item on our wish list this year. People don't want to live in fear of crime. They want to use parks without

[06:00:41] worrying that a dead tree will fall on them, their children, or their pets. They want students to be able to walk or bike to school without being hit by a car. With only five minutes, I won't read our resolution, which I passed out. Instead, I'm going to elaborate on why we are asking you to raise police salaries by 15%. In the last few years, crime has increased. Homeowners have felt compelled to pay for elaborate home security. Neighborhoods are paying for license plate reading cameras because our police department can't afford to install more than 25 of them.

[06:01:21] People who used to shop at Tyson's Mall are going elsewhere, given all the reported and unreported crime there. People are even buying and learning to shoot guns. Every time a crime is reported, a county official is quoted and says, we are the safest jurisdiction of our size.

[06:01:41] Our Economic Development Authority says that we are the seventh richest county in the United States. Why are we comparing ourselves to Chicago and Los Angeles and New York City when we talk about safety, instead of comparing ourselves to Loudoun, Falls Church City, Santa Clara County, and other suburban localities with similar median household incomes?

[06:02:07] This year, we spoke with many police officers. We combed through websites to find out how much other people were playing their police officers. We read the HR department study that was used to justify the recommended police salaries in the advertised budget.

[06:02:24] And that's why we decided to research police salaries ourselves. We found that fiscal 24 recommended starting salaries for 11 local employers and fiscal 23 salaries for 9 more employers. If you vote for the 2% recommendation, our police officers will have the lowest salaries by far.

[06:02:47] in our area no wonder they are leaving for other police departments that used to lose officers to us no wonder the number of vacant positions has increased every week over the past month just last week our police chief announced that the department was participating in a new study with george mason but in the news articles a commander stated that quote compensation has has emerged as the top concern from interviews with police, unquote.

[06:03:19] It's clear we're paying our police officers below market salaries. We need to raise those salaries by 15% to be competitive in fiscal 24. And our $15,000 signing bonuses alone will not solve the problem because other jurisdictions are also paying large bonuses.

[06:03:42] D.C., for example, just raised its bonus to $25,000. Plus, other employers let their police drive their cars home. We don't, except for a few who live in Fairfax County. Some counties provide service apartments in developments with subsidized units.

[06:04:01] We stopped, reportedly, because it would reduce investor returns from projects that were financed with federal low-income housing tax credits. Some employers also help police buy a home in their county. We don't. Worse yet, signing bonuses coupled with low salaries, as you, Chair McKay, said last year, could increase police attrition, especially among the young officers who can earn more, reduce their commuting time, and drive their cars home if they change jobs.

[06:04:34] Please don't let that happen. ask our, whoops, he's gone, ask our capable county executive, Brian Hill, to find the money in our fiscal 24 budget to pay for a 15% raise for the police, to give our park authority the additional $683,000, that's all they're asking for, for forest management so we can walk safely through our parks, and to reduce the tax rate by at least three pennies So we don't become a county with rich people and poor people, but not so many middle-class people.

[06:05:08] Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Epstein. And your testimony we have at the attachment at the back is a school budget document. Is that right? Oh, no. The attachment at the back is data that we compiled using your demographic reports plus the FCPS budgets and put into an Excel spreadsheet and then turned into the line graphs that you see.

[06:05:29] Okay. Excellent. Just wanted to make sure. Thank you. Thank you. And I am going to go backwards because I am told speaker number 19. I'm not told. I can see that speaker number 19, Maddie Palmore, has joined us and is the vice president of the Mount Vernon Police Citizens Advisory Committee.

[06:05:48] Maddie, if you would like to testify and let me double check while Maddie's coming up. Steve Vonney, Rob Whitfield. Oh, Steve, you are here now. OK, Rob Whitfield. I've not seen Rob yet. So, Steve, you're speaker 20 and we'll follow Miss Palmore. Thank you. I have to catch my breath a little bit.

[06:06:12] Good evening to all of you, to Sherman McKay and all of the Board of Supervisors, and to, hi, I'm here today.

[06:06:29] For those of you who don't know me, I'm going to read a little bit. I am Maddie Palmore, and I have been a residence of, y'all have to give me a minute.

[06:06:50] We were rushing, trying to get me. You're fine. Okay. A resident of Fairfax County for over 40 years and over 30 years of community services as a community advocate, helping individuals get their lives back on track.

[06:07:09] I have retired from careers as a Supreme Court magistrate and as a case manager. These days, I am vice chair of the Mount Vernon Police Station's Community Advisory Committee and continue as a community advocate.

[06:07:27] I have worn many hats with various titles, trying to do my part in Fairfax County, mainly trying to help people to help themselves. Today, I have a concern about our public safety employees and about our teachers, and I will get right to the point.

[06:07:52] I'm sure you are aware of the plan salary increases of 2% for police officers and 5% for our teachers. My concern is why such low increases, especially related to the state of inflation and the increases of property taxes, about which we all have heard so much about.

[06:08:23] I'm here to ask you to consider a larger increase. The problem is that we are losing good teachers. We're losing good police officers. They can't afford to both work and live in our county. The county advertises affordable workforce housing, but the numbers do not work.

[06:08:49] Few of any of these are most valuable and dedicated county servants can't afford to live here, especially our police officers. I know the police department gets a lot of static.

[06:09:05] It is a challenge here and in every jurisdiction. Our men and women in the uniform continue to tackle the challenge. They are very hardworking in the face of daily risk while they remain dedicated to helping others.

[06:09:27] It should be our goals as county residents and county leadership to more gently address the current staffing shortages, leaving our officers overworked and underpaid. I have done some research on the pay the police officers have found out that our county is one of the lowest paid in the region.

[06:09:50] However, I did hear that the District of Columbia recently graduated 80 officers, and they were given a $20,000 signing bonus plus the salary. Since I started as a magistrate, I have continued to work closely with our police officers, training them in the police academy on community engagement, how to involve themselves.

[06:10:18] I did not do it inside the classroom. We went out to the community in all areas of Mount Vernon, and that was a success. I did eight classes, so I'm going to cut it short because my time is running out, but I'm here this evening to ask that we take care of our police officers, and that you please further increase the benefits and salaries, ensuring that we do right by them as they work hard to do right by us.

[06:10:49] Thank you. Thank you very much, Maddie. Okay. and we went backwards to accommodate these speakers who came in late we have speaker number 20 steve vanney who is next and then we will go to speaker number 26 karen camplin welcome thank you thanks for accommodating us coming in late it's good to see you all are clicking along here we were originally speakers 24 and 25 and moved back so good evening chairman supervisor stork who I know from my district. So my name is Steve Vanney and I am the same organization as MADI.

[06:11:27] I'm chair alongside MADI on the Mount Vernon Police Station Community Advisory Committee and I've been living in the district for five years now. My regular work as a federal employee and before that I retired as a commander in the submarine service. So I have some familiarity with you know working in organizations and I wanted to say that in my time as the chair of the CAC and going to the meetings, I've been nothing but impressed by the dedication and excellence of the police leadership that I've worked with. It's clear that we have dedicated professionals leading our police, leaders, leaders like all of you, managing resources as well as possible

[06:12:06] to meet the mission goals. And I'm here to add my voice and underline our responsibility as county residents and county leadership to ensure that our police leaders and the patrol level officers have the resources necessary to accomplish the mission we set before them. As a county resident, I have seen and personally experienced greater than 15% annual increases in our property taxes. I'm sure you all have heard plenty about that. Even 20% on occasion, which I do not begrudge the county at all. I have attended briefings on the impressive scale and challenging diversity of

[06:12:41] the county's budget. We have all seen in the news over the past year and more the effects of inflation, effects not seen in a generation. More importantly, we all should be aware of the day-to-day effects eroding personal budget conditions over time, requiring our response to maintain our countywide goals. In particular, I think of living and housing costs in Fairfax County versus the salaries and other benefits available to police officers. I see two effects in particular. First, the goals we have for filling our authorized positions are challenged as inflation erodes

[06:13:17] the value of salaries and benefits. I understand that over 10% of our authorized billets cannot be filled, or that the department is struggling to fill them, leaving the officers we do have to stretch to cover the mission. So, relatedly, when we cannot meet our staffing goals, leaving well over 100, as I understand it, among 1,500 positions unfilled county-wide, stations are understaffed, then our dedicated officers must compensate, and they do, with longer hours while receiving less support and making backup more difficult.

[06:13:51] This is not a sustainable situation, and its effects will grow over time. We are essentially mortgaging our future safety and also growth with all of the accompanying and cumulative effects of unanswered crime, the resulting reduction in quality of life for each of us, the resulting reduced growth, the loss of the potential of people involved in that crime to contribute to society and reduce attractiveness to outside investment into the county.

[06:14:27] So, wrapping up, I'm here to underline the importance of using available county funding, including carryover funds, to address these goals and this problem and to stay ahead of the situation we face. I urge you to further fund police hiring, retention, and staffing goals, including, for example, the Department's Deferred Retirement Option Program, even authorizing hiring back retired officers, also including, for example, maintaining a reserve fund for hiring bonuses, which have been mentioned, competitive with our neighboring jurisdictions, such as, as was mentioned, Washington, D.C.

[06:14:58] Most importantly, providing attractive and well-earned salaries and benefits to our patrol officers, at the very least increasing the proposed, but in my opinion, not adequate 2% salary raise, which provides particularly, well, I'll mention this, but I don't mean to be offensive, but which provides poor optics in the way it comes out relative to other increases that are coming along.

[06:15:22] The 2% just doesn't seem like enough. In summary, I'm here this evening to ask that we take care of our police officers in order to take care of our community and our future. thank you for your time and for fitting us back into the schedule thank you very much steve and thank you and maddie for your service on the cac and we are now on speaker number 26 karen camplin who i know is here erica james jackson is erica james jackson here excellent you will be speaker 27 i have not seen lauren oh lauren hershey is here speaker number 28. uh welcome karen uh thank you good afternoon good day and thank you for the opportunity to speak today my name is karen

[06:16:02] campbell and i'm the current third vice president for the fairfax county nacp and i'm standing here in front of you in um uh in uh for uh president michelle lee she sends her regards but she was unable to make it today as you know naacp's mission is to eliminate race-based discrimination to ensure political, educational, social, and economic rise for all persons, particularly black communities.

[06:16:30] And our goals are dedicated to social justice and eliminating disparities and institutional barriers that affect the socio and economic advancements of communities of color in Fairfax County. Our branch consists of close to a dozen issue-based committees, a youth and young adults council, a women's-based network, and we provide support as requested to the youth-led George Mason University NAACP branch.

[06:16:56] We advocate for equitable policies, programs, and services pertaining to race and justice reform. Each year, along with our friends and allies, such as Mary Patton, who is our Housing Committee Chair, as well as the South County Task Force Chair, and the Fairfax Healthy Communities, as we stand before you to participate in this budgetary process by listing our concerns for areas that do not receive proper funding and support.

[06:17:22] I hope this year our requests do not fall in deaf ears. I'm here to talk to you about these programs and issue the impacts underserved communities in this county, or how they are affected. We strongly encourage you to increase funding resources strategically and equitably and establish policies that support these community-building efforts that would lead us to achieve the county's one Fairfax objectives.

[06:17:47] Fairfax is one of the richest counties, and it's disheartening that these demands are necessary. Due to time constraints, I'm only going to highlight a few. The full report will be submitted at the end of the comment period. For housing, safe and affordable housing is a human right.

[06:18:04] People of color are continually being displaced by rising costs due to subdivisions, highway expansions, and other development pressures. The Fairfax County NAACP asked the county to approve $60 million for preserving and adding affordable housing in the 2024 budget.

[06:18:21] And so that would be $30 million for additional affordable housing and $30 million for the preservation of affordable homes. All this with careful consideration for those special cases where the county's new no net loss policy will not apply, such as the mobile parks or the housing along the Dunlorn Metro Station.

[06:18:42] As it pertains to education, educating our children is one of the most important priorities for our branch. Education has been challenged on a number of fronts in the recent times. The number of school security resource officers has been a highly charged issue for our branch for some times.

[06:19:02] And these recent students that have been happening, particularly in Nashville, bring this to the forefront again. We urge you to work with the public schools and the Fairfax County Police Department. to place a moratorium on increasing SROs in our public schools until a comprehensive study can show the value of these SROs in our schools versus other school safety protocols.

[06:19:25] Race and justice reform. We urge the county to devote sufficient resources to the co-responder program so that it can be staffed to exceed levels previously planned. We also urge that resources be allocated to an education awareness campaign so that our community members who would benefit from this program or made aware of its availability.

[06:19:46] The Fairfax County believes it's long overdue for each citizen to be afforded the right to counsel for civil cases, civil cases if they're economically unable to afford legal assistance on their own. We urge that Fairfax County create a program similar to a public defender's program that would allow citizens to gain civil representation, particularly in the eviction courts.

[06:20:12] we suggest a C program beginning at least $1 million is proposed. And as it pertains to labor, we urge you to properly fund the salaries for our essential county employees and our teachers. These individuals give themselves to protect and serve our community and teach our children.

[06:20:30] They are our future. They are essential to the vitality of our community, and they should be compensated appropriately. And finally, the intersection among climate hazards, exposures, and vulnerability causes us to conclude that our vulnerable communities are at the highest risk for climate change, and we need some focus on climate adaptation efforts as it pertains to our unhoused.

[06:21:02] But also, we strongly urge you to support the Fairfax County Park Authority's programs by properly funding their programs and support maintaining open spaces, tree canopy, and making sure that they have adequate staffing to implement these programs.

[06:21:19] Thank you. Thank you, Karen. And we are now on Speaker 27, Erica James Jackson. Welcome, who will be followed by Lauren Hershey and Brian Shakarami. is brian here excellent uh you are uh speaker number 29 and miss james jackson is a board member of shelter house and has five minutes welcome thank you good evening board of supervisors my name is erica james jackson and i was here just a few weeks ago in front of this board of

[06:21:55] supervisors as you unanimously declared march 2023 as multiple sclerosis awareness month i was so proud of the board's decision the favorable comments from chairman mckay and from supervisor smith and the time given to the proclamation at that event i share with you my personal journey with multiple sclerosis and how it significantly impacts my daily life but i withheld another aspect of my life that wasn't relevant at the time i'm a child witness to domestic violence and know firsthand how imperative it is to have a lifeline when you are in distress i will spare

[06:22:35] this bore the traumatic events i faced as a child but suffice to say it left an indelible mark not only on my childhood and adolescence but also into early adulthood i'm acutely aware of how unhinged and frantic an individual can be when making a valiant attempt to flee an abuser having a calm confident and competent person on the other end of a phone call for immediate help can mean the difference between life and death it is for that reason that i am hopeful that the same empathy

[06:23:11] that i received from this board regarding my multiple sclerosis challenges will be here today as i focus my efforts on shelter house and their proposal of five hundred thousand dollars needed to rebuild the domestic violence hotline that will incorporate the knowledge skills and abilities to effectively meet the needs of the fairfax county community as a shelter house volunteer for a few years and a new member of the Shelter House Board of Directors. I have been made aware of some of the inner workings of the organization and the areas that could be revamped to maximize

[06:23:45] its reach. One such area is the Artemis House domestic violence hotline. As you are aware, Artemis House is run by Shelter House and offers comprehensive assistance at an undisclosed location to those that are in imminent danger while attempting to flee domestic violence.

[06:24:05] Fairfax County offers a very good domestic violence hotline that is available during off-peak hours, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., whereas counselors at Artemis House not only have the task of answering the hotline during peak hours, which includes evenings, weekends, and holidays when the county offices are closed, But they also have to attend to other administrative and domestic duties necessary to keep clients safe and reasonably comfortable while at the shelter.

[06:24:38] Although the counselors at Artemis House are fielding nearly double the number of domestic violence calls and performing the aforementioned task, they are paid substantially less than county staff. And I am here today to make sure I highlight this deficiency and do what I can to make sure that it is corrected.

[06:24:56] The Shelter House proposal of $500,000 in funding would allow Shelter House to have competitively paid, highly qualified veteran counselors at Artemis House that would only be dedicated to answering domestic violence calls without having their time otherwise compromised.

[06:25:15] A call to the hotline can last in upwards of one hour and requires follow-up and coordination of other agencies for support, including, but not limited to, safe transport of the client, a court advocate, and or a hospital escort.

[06:25:30] As you can imagine, it can be daunting for Artemis House counselors to divide their multiple priorities, manage their interruptions, and meet, if not exceed, the expectations of the clients that they serve. And yet, they continue to rise to the challenge despite knowingly being paid substantially lower than their Fairfax County counterparts.

[06:25:55] This should not and cannot continue. I urge this board to award Shelter House the proposed $500,000 to A, transform the current domestic violence hotline into one that will meet the ever-growing, well-documented domestic violence needs in Fairfax County.

[06:26:14] B, balance the scales of pay inequity between Fairfax County and Artemis House counselors. And lastly, allow Artemis House counselors to significantly reduce, if not eliminate, extra duties not directly associated with answering the domestic violence hotline, thus affording them the necessary time to focus solely on the distressed client and their immediate needs.

[06:26:41] It is my sincerest hope that this board has heard my impassioned testimony today and will make the funding available to Shelter House, so when the next frightened Fairfax County resident calls the Artemis House domestic violence hotline running from an abuser with only the clothes on their backs, fearing for their life and possibly the life of their child or children, they are immediately met with a competent, adequately paid, undistracted counselor and are given the attention that they're desperate pleas for help so obviously require.

[06:27:16] Thank you very much for your time. Thank you, Ms. James Jackson. And we are on speaker number 28, Lauren Hershey. Welcome. May I? Yes. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and members of the Board of Supervisors. I want to particularly thank John Faust before I start my discussion about

[06:27:54] continuing the partnership for healthy Fairfax. I think it was John back in 2013 who brought my attention to this project, and I have followed it diligently, and I want to advocate to you that you renew it for another five years. So it was 2013 to 2018. I stepped forward in 2018 to make some remarks. They're all impromptu, partly professional, partly amateur, but certainly dedicated to seeing a better citizenry and a healthier citizenry and set of

[06:28:29] residents here in Fairfax County my wife and I moved here January 1st 1977 my arithmetic isn't as good as it used to be but I think that's 46 years plus what I've handed you and what I'd like to do if time allows is to go through the bullet points of action items that I've addressed to you before one year ago with some additions the concepts the key concepts are very simple holistic health we all define that a different way a lot of ways to define it i won't attempt to do that for you but we're thinking

[06:29:08] about the overall health of every citizen i say pre-k to 99 plus individual initiative i couldn't figure it out mr faust when you said we have this program why do i need a program to decide to get up in the morning and go for a walk, or to walk in a park, or to go play some tennis.

[06:29:32] But apparently the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention back in 08, 09, and 10 saw the need to help raise awareness on the part of all of the citizens, and they actually funded not only Fairfax County to engage in this examination of what to do and how to do it. They did it for 50 other communities plus across the country, including some tribal areas.

[06:30:00] Read up on it for yourself. The items I want to hit in particular begin at Roman 3, specific requests. I read this to you last year and I have 35 seconds left, so I can't quite do it within the time. Have a Governor's Day at the park. B, make a pitch to the current governor to raise the salaries of members of the General Assembly which haven't been touched much in about 20 years.

[06:30:32] That's part of holistic health. Trust, reliability, motivation, proper recognition of service, paid service, as well as volunteer service. C. This is part of holistic health. Expand the tree canopy in Fairfax County. I think 44 million trees is pretty good and I'm not an expert in this but you could do It has something to do with climate change awareness, as well as great outdoors exposure, if you will.

[06:31:04] Renew the Partnership for Healthier Fairfax. That's the main theme. That is Paragraph D. Celebrate Earth Day in a manner that you think is appropriate for the citizenry. Ensure the community, I can barely read, gardens are well supported. That's the opportunity for homeowners or tenants to put in vegetable gardens of one sort or another.

[06:31:28] Begin a planning process at paragraph G for recognizing all the nationalities of people who live in Fairfax County. And now you might expand that to the total number of members of the United Nations, member nations, which is 193.

[06:31:47] How would you do it? I don't know. Plan it. Think about it. See what is possible. Last, sponsor the use of the WNOD, that's Washington and Old Dominion Trail, and the Cross County Trail, as the same day that the 10-mile cherry blossom race is run every year and do something to enlist the youth, the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts, the sports teams.

[06:32:14] I put it in writing for you, and I submit that for your consideration. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Lauren. I appreciate your testimony. And we are on speaker number 29, Brian Shakarami. I hope I pronounced that right, Brian. Speaker number 30, Amy Martin.

[06:32:31] Is Amy Martin here? Amy is here. Excellent. Speaker number 31, Christopher Morgan. Okay. Mr. Shakarami, welcome. Thank you. Perhaps you've heard the rumors of a new ghost haunting the Board of Supervisors.

[06:32:48] They say it's the wandering spirit of a police officer who never got a fair raise in his lifetime. But luckily, from Faust country, I'm here to help. Chairman McKay, members of the board, last year I stood in front of you raising serious concerns regarding the pay for our uniformed police officers.

[06:33:14] Unfortunately, no meaningful progress was made and the number of vacant sworn officer positions has continued to increase. Last month, you voted to give next year's supervisors, a group that will likely include many of you, a 30 to 40 percent raise.

[06:33:35] Meanwhile, the hardworking, dedicated men and women who risk their lives every day to keep us all safe, to keep you and your families safe, are slated for a mere 2 percent increase. This will only ensure that they're the lowest paid public safety employees in the D.C. metro.

[06:33:56] This is wrong. It's disrespectful to our uniformed officers, and it's disrespectful to our citizens, and it violates your fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of our community.

[06:34:11] Perhaps, we're losing police officers on a monthly basis.

[06:34:28] The $15,000 bonus for new officers may feel some vacancies granted, but those officers will soon realize that they can earn much more and have a better standard of living if they were to quit and take a job elsewhere.

[06:34:48] Al Bate, Mayor Bowser of Washington, D.C., has just raised the sign-up bonus to $25,000. Without a 15% raise equalizing their salaries with the local jurisdictions, the $15,000 bonuses are just a temporary band-aid.

[06:35:08] Please, remember the magic number, 15%. At only half of what you gave yourselves, it's a bargain. Furthermore, I believe that the salary increase you voted for yourselves sends the wrong message to our community.

[06:35:26] It creates the perception that the board is prioritizing its own personal interests over the interests of the community you serve. You can afford to live in this county, but almost 80% of our police officers cannot.

[06:35:45] It's not a job that they can zoom in or work remotely. So I urge you to give our police officers a 15% raise across the board. This is an issue of basic fairness and respect for those who serve our community.

[06:36:01] Help us and we'll help you hire an exorcist to get rid of your ghost issue. And hopefully you won't have to see me here next year. Look, it's a matter of safety. Safety is of utmost importance. And I thank you for your time and attention to it.

[06:36:18] Thank you. Thank you, Brian. We're still friends. Thank you, Brian. And speaker number 30 is Amy Martin, president of Frogs. Who is here and has five minutes? She'll be followed by Christopher Morgan to be followed by Emily Vanderhoff. Is Emily here? Excellent. Amy, welcome.

[06:36:37] Thank you. I'm hearing two themes here. One is tree canopy and one is not enough pay for public employees. So forgive me if I am singing on this same tune. My name is Amy Martin. I'm speaking as an individual, but I'm also speaking as the president of the Friends of Green Spring, which is the gardens, not the retirement center.

[06:36:58] although sometimes our people overlap. I'm also here as part of the informal alliance of Friends of Parks. Now, you may not know about Friends of Parks. It's kind of like a PTA for parks. We raise thousands and thousands of dollars.

[06:37:16] We put in thousands and thousands of hours, but our impact is actually bigger because we impact the entire county in terms of our economic impact, environmental impact and the quality of life for all of the citizens of the county please be aware that the sliver of money out of your budget that goes for parks and libraries has decreased over the last two decades it used to be one cent for every dollar of for every every dollar of the tax that came in and

[06:37:55] it's now only 0.6 percent on the fairfax county park authority is trying to run 420 parks nine rec centers and multiple other facilities on this amount supplemented by the what they can charge for fees which becomes an equity issue as they have to raise fees to cover that so what you're doing is contravening the one fairfax in the fairfax county strategic plan which mandate equitable access to quality parks this is part of the fairfax county experience in addition to

[06:38:35] civil service to your constituents there are many other reasons for increasing spending for the parks they are an important tool in combating climate warming the most recent un report says we will soon be beyond the tipping point think about that we me i'm i'll be out of here but our children and grandchildren will be facing the consequences of that in addition to that it increases the value of your homes it increases the quality of life for your constituents but

[06:39:12] we are not funding them despite the fact that the newsletters that you supervisors put out laud the parks you're not putting your money where your mouths are our primary request is to increase funding for the fairfax county park authority enough to recruit and pay more full-time and part-time employees at the parks does this strike a common note this is essential for the basic services and taking care of what we have the county needs to give the parks enough money to actually fill the positions that are authorized which are often left vacant because other expenses

[06:39:50] rise we need to raise the wages and improve the benefits for the part-time staff who are grossly underpaid and don't even have what Fairfax County considers a living wage. And we need to enable the Fairfax County Park Authority to restore the two full-time positions that they actually cut.

[06:40:09] Secondly, the county needs to invest in preserving our tree canopy and green spaces. The sub-county Board of Supervisors employed the county-wide energy and climate action plan that calls for an increase in tree canopy to 60 percent. The Airfax County Public Park Authority has a special responsibility to meet that goal since it owns nine percent of the county's land. They also need funds to remove dangerous trees and preserve the healthy ones. Thousands of trees and hundreds of acres of watershed are threatened by invasive plants. Adding insult to injury, the budget doesn't

[06:40:48] even include removal of the invasive bamboo, which the county just started fining people for having on their property, but it won't fund the Park Authority initiative for removing the bamboo. So we are asking the board to fully fund the Park Authority's request for almost $740,000 for staff and equipment to proactively care for the park's forests and to fund the bamboo program.

[06:41:19] Finally, I know, I've been sitting here and listening, you have a lot of tough decisions to make. There are more demands on funds than there are funds to fulfill them. But this needs to go to the top of your priorities because it affects our future immediately if we lose the people that are taking care of our parks, the green areas, and the quality of life that we have.

[06:41:42] I urge you to put your money for where your professed values are. Thank you. Thank you very much, Ms. Martin. Speaker number 31 is Christopher Morgan. Is Christopher Morgan here? If you could come on down. How about speaker 32, Emily Vanderhoff?

[06:42:00] Emily, that's right. Emily is here. She will be next. And then we have a number of YouTube videos. Mr. Morgan, welcome. Thank you. Thank you, Chairman McKay, Board Supervisors, and Executive Hill here. My name is Christopher Morgan, and I'm a resident of the Mountain Vernon District.

[06:42:17] As president, I'm the president of the Stratford Landing Citizens Association in a community of 775 households. And until very recently, a board member of the Mount Vernon Council of Citizens Associations. Though tonight I'm here speaking exclusively as a private citizen. First, I'd like to thank the county executive for providing the advertised budget documents.

[06:42:36] Almost immediately, the advertised budget addresses the economy. Page two of the summary concedes a recession is looming. And yet, then over the following 16 pages, 17 separate county programs are highlighted. For 65 of those programs, you recommend increasing spending.

[06:42:54] For only three, do you recommend no change from the previous budget. And for only two, do you recommend a decrease in spending. In a period of the highest inflation in decades, and at a time when consumer purchasing power is the lowest it's been in a lifetime, the budget is heading in the wrong direction.

[06:43:11] In your own words, on page one of the summary, according to the January CPI report, Americans are paying 10.4% more in food, 7.3% more in energy, and 8.3% more in rent compared to a year ago. The stresses are beginning to show in the economy.

[06:43:29] Inflation has strained Americans' finances. The savings rate, which was running at above 8%, is now 3.3% as Americans rapidly spend down their savings and pandemic-related aid. Credit card balances were up 15% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2022, the largest increase in more than two decades.

[06:43:48] Those are exactly the words from the budget, and in other words, times are tough. And yet in this budget, you propose that the average household, that's those who have combined income of $127,000 and who live in an average home that came with a price of $760,000, that this average family should pay real property taxes of $8,532, representing approximately 6.6% of that family's total income just on county municipal property taxes, just on that.

[06:44:20] This doesn't include personal property taxes, sales taxes, or anything levied by the state or federal government. And it certainly doesn't include the 10.4% increase in food, 7.3% in energy costs, et cetera. This budget includes increases for landscape services, increases for subsidized veterinary care, increases for personal services within each office of each supervisor, the office of the chairman, and many other increases all passed on to an already struggling population of citizens.

[06:44:50] I hope the Board of Supervisors is brave enough to amend this proposal and request the county executive produce a balanced budget that reduces inflation, inflated spend, and offers appropriate tax relief in these difficult economic times. I certainly thank you for your time this evening, Mr. Chairman, and the rest of the board.

[06:45:07] Thank you, Mr. Morgan. And thank you for bringing one of our youngest county residents with you. Absolutely. I mean, this is the generation that we don't want these deficit burdens to fall upon. Thank you. Thank you very much. Speaker number 32 is Emily Vanderhoff.

[06:45:24] Ms. Vanderhoff, welcome. Good evening, Chairman McKay and members of the board. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. My name is Emily Vanderhoff. I'm a first-grade teacher with FCPS and a homeowner in the Mount Vernon District.

[06:45:41] I'm speaking today as a member of my union, the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers, and as a member of the Invest in Fairfax Coalition. I'm here to urge you to invest in our community and our public services, and in particular, in the people who make Fairfax County a great place to live, work, and raise a family. As an FCPS employee, I urge you to fund the county transfer to fully fund the FCPS budget.

[06:46:03] The largest increase in the FCPS budget is a much-needed, modest compensation increase of a step in 3% MSA. This increase is to begin to respond to inflation and remain competitive with surrounding districts. More educators than ever are considering leaving the profession altogether, and pay, while not the only factor, is a frequently cited reason that educators don't feel valued enough to stay.

[06:46:25] As a community known for top-tier public schools, we cannot afford to lose our experienced staff. Another significant increase in the FCPS budget, $65.2 million, is to respond to changes in enrollment. As discussed in the January 17th school board work session, English learners, those qualifying for free and reduced meals, and students with disabilities are growing at a faster pace than other demographic groups.

[06:46:50] This demographic shift brings an increased need for staffing to provide the services that ensures that every child can meet their full potential. I'm also here to urge you to increase the MRA for county employees. In the spirit of one Fairfax, the board should seek parity between compensation changes for school and county employees.

[06:47:09] The 2% MRA for county employees should be increased to match the 3% MSA for school employees. With $90 million surplus projected in the county budget draft, and each 1% of MRA costing $16 million, this is more than enough funds in the surplus to fund a 3% MRA for county employees.

[06:47:27] Additionally, as a leader, it's important to make sure that those you lead are taken care of before yourself. The decision you made recently to significantly increase the salary for your own position should naturally come with an appropriate compensation for your employees. Thank you for your time. Thank you. And we now have a series of videos that have been submitted ahead of time.

[06:47:47] Speaker number 33 is Juliana Nickel. Hello, Board of Directors. I am sorry that I cannot be there in person to speak. I really wanted to be there in person. but my class teaching schedule at George Mason University and my rehearsal schedule with Alexandria Symphony did not allow that.

[06:48:08] I come to you because I'm asking you to lower the percentage at which you tax our assessed home values. Please don't just keep the percentage the same. Please lower it. The residents in this county have been pummeled by taxes and inflation and all the other financial pressures.

[06:48:30] Property values have gone up. They seemingly always go up. People say that's a great thing, but it's really not until you sell your house. The car tax bills were astronomical. I contend that those bills could have been kept at the 2021 level due to unprecedented circumstances in this country.

[06:48:52] In an effort to cope with these financial challenges, many families like mine are making adjustments to our budget. We don't go out much. We refinanced our house. We raised our homeowner's deductible from $2,000 to $5,000. We will not let our son get his driver's license when he is eligible, because we will not be able to afford the jump in car insurance bills because of local taxes.

[06:49:18] We must, in this same conversation, discuss the local composite index, which indicates that we have to pay 65% of our costs associated with public education, while neighboring counties like Prince William pay a much lower rate of 37% only when the Board of Supervisors here educates the public aggressively about the LCI will there be enough anger to sweep through Richmond and demand that the delegates change this very old formula. Why should something exist that long and there not be

[06:49:53] a trigger to re-evaluate it? I'll never understand that. Our teachers are facing challenges and they do deserve raises, but their raises are such a minuscule part of the budget when you look at the budget. Many teachers can't even afford to live here, and the ones that do live here are frequently two-income houses. You are giving with one hand small raises, but with the taxes you are aggressively taking with the other hand. It is also important to acknowledge that many families in Fairfax County are transitory and can handle tax increases for those two to five years they

[06:50:29] live here. They know they get to leave. However, those of us who must live here don't have that luxury. We cannot ignore the constant need this county and state seem to have to tax the lower and middle class at an unfair rate. Please help us out this year. And speaker number 34 is Felicia Woods. Hello, I'm Felicia Woods, chair of the Fairfax County's Commission for Women, and I'm a member of the Fairfax County Council to End Domestic Violence. CEDV brings together a host of

[06:51:08] community leaders to guide the development of a coordinated and collaborative community response to domestic violence in Fairfax County. We are working to amplify the voices and stories of individuals and families in the county impacted by domestic violence and ask that you consider how this budget impacts them. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that the economic and societal costs of domestic violence is a staggering $3.6 trillion. And according to a 2022 report by the National Network to End Domestic Violence, on a single day in Virginia, there are 189 requests

[06:51:47] for shelter, housing, transportation, child care, and legal representation that could not be met because domestic violence programs lacked adequate resources. Throughout the pandemic, incidences of domestic violence rose. We can reverse this unfortunate trend by investing in efforts that build safe, stable, and nurturing communities. We need your help to ensure that sexual and domestic violence crisis agencies have the resources to prevent violence in their communities. Additionally, more mental health services are needed to help victims and survivors

[06:52:25] of domestic violence and their families. Research shows that once a child witnesses domestic violence, They are more likely to experience other adversities. The Domestic and Sexual Violence Services in the Department of Family Services and Northern Virginia Family Service both provide mental health counseling to victims, survivors, and children who have experienced domestic violence, but there are still unmet needs.

[06:52:51] We must fund and develop pathways to equip mental health professionals with the skills they need to address domestic violence and provide opportunities for mental health counseling for victims and their families that is affordable and accessible with regards to culture, language, and consideration of other barriers such as lack of transportation or access to technology.

[06:53:16] supporting our most vulnerable county residents by ensuring access to services is critical this work is personal i'm not immune to the effects of domestic and sexual violence and how it can impact your world i witnessed the violence firsthand and how it impacted the freedom self-esteem and mental health of many many women in my family including their children but once they were able to access community resources such as mental health professionals, domestic violence

[06:53:50] shelters, and survivor programs, they began to heal from the effects of domestic violence. Because of my experiences, I'm proud to be a part of the Commission for Women and the Council to End Domestic Violence as we work to impact the lives of victims and survivors. But we need you to courageously act now to ensure safety services for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence are fully funded so that shelters, hotlines, mental health services continue to be accessible. Without these critical services, survivors will be placed at further risk and

[06:54:27] the greater community will shoulder costs and harms that are preventable. We need you to prioritize budget funding to resources that meet the needs of survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. Thank you so much for the opportunity. Thank you. And speaker number 35 is Alexander Pellegrino. Hello, my name is Xander and I live in Fair Lakes. I am so thrilled that

[06:55:02] you could join me in the stream at Eleanor C. Lawrence Park. I am talking to you today in support of the Board of Supervisors fully funding the proposed budget from the Fairfax Park Authority. And things that are especially important to me are that we fund the activation staff, the Mobile Nature Center, and the forestry program. When I first moved to Fairfax, I wanted to get to know the area, so I hopped on my bike and I started biking. I biked down the Rocky Run

[06:55:36] Stream Valley Trail, and then eventually found myself here at Eleanor C. Lawrence Park. And I was thrilled. It made me feel like this is a great county that I moved to that has a wonderful park like this. Since then, I've been able to take advantage of this park for its wonderful streams and walking trails, as well as the programs. I went to the African Americans at Walnutour and loved it and learned a lot about the ecological and social history of this place. But I was the only person on the tour. And I think that that really illustrates some of the things that I want

[06:56:11] to talk about today. If the park authority had fully funded activation staff, they could have gone into schools and community centers for weeks before this program and promoted it and gotten groups of people to come and join and see this good programming that we're doing. If we had funded a mobile nature center beforehand, it could have as well gone to schools and done similar programs of the history of the land that they're on and then said, you know what, we should do more of this. Why don't you come to the park and learn about this place at this walking tour? And if we

[06:56:47] had funded the forestry program, we wouldn't have to continue to pull funds from other good programs to deal with immediately dangerous trees. And something else that I want to highlight is that we really should continue to put more money from our county into the parks program.

[06:57:07] This was actually the second time I tried to sign up for this program. The first time, I didn't meet the registration deadline. I hadn't signed up in time, and they went ahead and canceled the program because it wouldn't have been profitable to run because they didn't have enough RSVPs.

[06:57:25] And I think that really illustrates a bigger problem in terms of who has access to these programs. I'm lucky right now that I know what my weekends look like ahead of time. When I was waiting tables, there was no way that I ever could have gone on this program because by the time the FCPA staff had already canceled it, I wouldn't have known my shift work for the weekend.

[06:57:45] So I thank you for your time and want to close by saying fully fund the budget that the Park Authority is proposing. They are going to do good work with this. Thank you so much. Thank you. And speaker number 36 is Chris Manning. Good afternoon. My name is Chris Manning. I'm a resident of Fairfax County and a member of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of Northern Virginia Family Service.

[06:58:14] I appreciate the opportunity to deliver this message and express how much NVFS values our decades-long relationship with Fairfax County, its leaders, elected officials, and community partners. We seamlessly partner to address challenging issues through shared investment.

[06:58:33] Together, NVFS and Fairfax County provide key services in the areas of housing, workforce development, and physical and mental health for children and families that creates a more equitable and connected community. NVFS is proud to apply our expertise to the community needs and serve as a nimble and responsive resource the county consistently relies on.

[06:58:57] So the purpose of my testimony today is twofold. First, to support the county executive's recommendation for the use of the general fund pandemic reserves. We applaud the forethought that county leaders had in creating this reserve, recognizing the unknown future needs our neighbors would face following the pandemic.

[06:59:17] And we strongly support the use of these funds for affordable housing initiatives and for meeting additional health and human service needs, especially in the areas of mental health, rental assistance, and supportive services. Second, to speak to the need for Fairfax County to increase contract rates and reimbursement levels to nonprofit human service organizations in a sustainable manner that will allow us to keep pace with market demands and build and maintain critical capacity and long-term sustainability.

[06:59:48] The need for these reserve funds and contract rate adjustments is critical, and it's elevated in our current environment where federal pandemic-era dollars are winding down at the same time that nonprofits are ramping up to meet increasingly complex needs.

[07:00:07] Fairfax County residents who were experiencing poverty and other barriers before the pandemic continue to face compounded financial and accessibility challenges in the form of rising rents, cuts in benefits, and inflation. NVFS and the nonprofit human services community are ramping up to fill gaps, find sustainable solutions, and work in partnership with the county to address multiple complex needs.

[07:00:35] For example, NVFS partners with Fairfax County to address mental health needs for Fairfax County residents. This past year, NVFS has seen a significant increase in referrals from Fairfax County Public Schools, the Community Services Board, Department of Family Services, as well as other nonprofits for our multilingual mental health services and violence prevention and intervention services.

[07:01:00] This year, we increased capacity to provide trauma-informed, culturally relevant individual and family mental health services to at-risk youth with complex mental health needs who would not have otherwise be served. Last year, our Violence Prevention and Intervention Program saw 96% of youth who received services became more resilient and less likely to engage in risk behavior, such as involvement in gangs, human trafficking, or unhealthy relationships.

[07:01:29] And 95% of youth who received services had stabilized or increased behavioral health. We added a service this year to address the disparate impacts of the opioid crisis on immigrant youth and families. further expanding a portfolio of mental health services.

[07:01:48] The Youth Substance and Abuse Resource Navigation Contract with Fairfax County enables NVFS to provide navigation services so families may fully access and utilize critical services to reduce the harms caused by opioid dependence. To date, this program is successfully connecting participant youth and families to much-needed and difficult-to-access treatment and recovery services.

[07:02:12] Fairfax County's partnership with non-profit human service organizations is critical, impactful, and enduring. We rely on each other to support the diverse and critical needs of Fairfax County residents. We ask that you continue to make sustainable investments in non-profit human service organizations, increase rates and contracts in the fiscal year county budget, commensurate with the market demands we're all facing, and support the general fund pandemic reserve recommendations.

[07:02:43] With this action, we can maintain our ability to work collaboratively with Fairfax County to deliver the highest level of service and impact, and we can continue to be the nimble and responsive resource the county consistently relies on. But thank you for your time and for your consideration, and certainly for your continued leadership.

[07:03:04] Thank you, Chris. And speaker number 37 is Thomas Goodwin. Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Tom Goodwin. Today, I urge the Board of Supervisors to reaffirm your long-standing commitment to protect individuals in imminent danger because of domestic violence, specifically by funding a domestic violence hotline that is completely dedicated to promptly and comprehensively responding to the most urgent cases.

[07:03:33] I'm a citizen and a taxpayer. I'm a member of the Human Services Council, the leader of the Human Services Innovation Challenge. I'm a member of Chairman McKay's Task Force on Equity and Opportunity, and I'm a former member of the Council to End Domestic Violence. Today, I speak to you as the immediate past chairman of the board at Shelter House, which as you know, runs Artemis House, the undisclosed location to provide shelter to victims in serious trouble.

[07:03:59] Fairfax County runs a very good all-purpose domestic violence hotline in-house. Our proposal seeks to revamp the Artemis House Hotline that specifically serves those individuals in fear for their lives. Our proposal is to enable professionals to focus exclusively and immediately and comprehensively on people who are either trapped or on the run, and to do so fast.

[07:04:22] Currently, Artemis House Counselors, who, as everybody knows already, are not remotely competitively paid, are assigned to and distracted by other shelter-related duties in addition to responding to calls via the hotline. Our proposal seeks $500,000.

[07:04:41] It will make sure that frightened domestic violence victims can get a comprehensive risk assessment, be properly screened for shelter eligibility, get to the shelter safely, get to court safely, receive professional counseling, and receive the benefit of the coordination of services for victims with other agencies and who, in any event, can receive the undivided attention of a dedicated, better-paid professional counselor for as long as is necessary.

[07:05:11] Sometimes, hotline calls can last an hour or more. Last year, the Artemis House Hotline received 862 comprehensive calls, and also we answered 171 calls to the county's own hotline. Thanks especially to Supervisor Walkinshaw, I'm looking at you, thank you very much, for your long-standing concern about domestic violence issues and your leadership, and for your interest in this matter.

[07:05:38] Domestic violence does not have to be intractable. With this dedicated hotline, we can reinvigorate the commitment you all have made to end domestic violence by putting the right professionals in the right place, at the right time, with the right tools and the right focus for all the right reasons including most especially in this case our county's determination that all our residents have the right to receive to achieve their full potential free from the oppression of domestic and sexual violence thank you very much

[07:06:10] for listening to me and good afternoon thank you tom and finally speaker 38 is susan bonnie my name is Susan Bonney. I'm a Fairfax County resident in the Drainsville District, represented by Supervisor Faust. I'm an active volunteer with the Sierra Club Great Falls Group. My family and I care about parks so much that I ask the board to increase the county park authority budget for funding equity programs and ecological stewardship. My family does not use the exercise classes and

[07:06:50] programs at the beautiful nearby Spring Hill Recreation Center. Instead, we use the Arlington YMCA. In a Park Authority weight training class, five sessions cost $81, $16 a class, almost 40% more than my monthly YMCA membership for unlimited exercise classes. Our county parks operate on a revenue-based model, and in the FY24 budget plan, parks will get 0.65% of the budget. Parks have been underfunded for many years. The requiring paid passes for recreation centers has resulted

[07:07:28] in households making less than $75,000 make up only 17% of rec center pass holders, 50% cross attendance, and 4% of summer camps. But our county is committed to the one Fairfax policy to consider equity when delivering programs and services. The following asks I have for funding equity programs in parks were not included in the county budget proposal, and I ask that they be funded. Fund a mobile nature center for $229,000 to bring nature to communities. Two, fully fund

[07:08:05] essential translation for $50,000 to enable signage and outreach average to be equitable. Park authority has no fluent Spanish speakers on its staff. Number three, begin funding the park ranger pilot program, $500,000 to allow for safe response to in many incidents using education rather than police involvement. I also have two asks for ecological stewardship for budget per Park Authority budget for FY 2024. Begin funding zero waste efforts for $500,000.

[07:08:42] Park Authority FCPA is an important partner organization in the Fairfax County zero waste plan. So FCPA can begin to property deal with recycling and budgeting and reducing trash. They will need the funds they did not get, $3 million requested to be included in the budget.

[07:09:04] Fully fund and last, fully fund the forestry budget. We do staff positions $290,000. FCPA needs tree care specialists and one urban forester to assist with ongoing efforts to address dangerous trees and parks. Annual recurring funding would be more sustainable as forestry investments will be ongoing.

[07:09:25] Thank you, Supervisor Faust, for your service. I'm happy you plan to stay involved in issues you care about, affordable housing and climate change. I echo Chairman McKay's praise when he said of John Faust, you've made Drainsville District a much better place to live, and thank you for your leadership.

[07:09:45] Thank you very much, Ms. Bonney. And that brings us to the end of our speakers for today, our first day of budget testimony, as well as the end of our budget meeting. I'm sorry of our board meeting for today and we will continue testimony tomorrow at 3 p.m. and until then the board is in recess

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