Airport Issues Committee

Members of Committee: Nancy Verona, Hank McEntee, Jim Reo, Steve Huntoon, Pete Tyler, Jim Nedohon, Tom Terrill, Helen Duval, Lee Dioso, HK Park, Sherwin Landfield, Peter Owen, Brad Fleetwood, Ernie Ragland, Mark Tramontozzi, Bonnie Mangan, Larry Reed

The Airport Issues Committee (AIC) was formally set up with the Civ Fed in November 2002. The AIC previously existed as an organization called Neighbors of Reagan National Airport, and consisted of representatives from Civic Associations that are affected by aircraft noise. There are currently 16 Civic Associations represented on the AIC. The AIC serves to educate Arlingtonians about airport issues, and gather input from affected communities for presentation to the proper authorities. To this end, we hold monthly meetings (second Thursday), and are active in the ongoing Part 150 Noise Study at the airport. Steve Baur (committee co-chair) has been appointed by Barbara Favola as a member of the Part 150 Noise Committee. An airport issues white paper, dealing primarily with aircraft noise, has been posted on the Civ Fed's web site, and has undergone one significant upgrade. Committee members regularly make presentations to their respective Civic Associations, and the AIC was presented to the Arlington County Board at their November 2002 meeting. In addition, Steve Geiger (committee co-chair) was an invited speaker at the Arlington Committee of 100 dinner concerning airport noise in April.

The AIC co-chairs regularly attend the Civ Fed monthly meetings, as well as the Executive Committee meetings. We have had interactions with Barbara Favola (chair of the MWCOG's CONAANDA and Part 150 Noise Committees), Neal Phillips (MWAA noise abatement officer for National), and Leo Schefer and Anita Keyser (Washington Airports Task Force). We keep abreast of Congressional news via Rep. Jim Moran's office. A letter was sent via fax to Rep. Jim Moran to show support of his recent efforts to defeat a House bill adding additional flight slots to the airport.

The AIC has developed a Yahoo Groups web page for the Airport Issues Committee, which includes an e-mail distribution address for all committee members.

Our current efforts are aimed at providing input into the Part 150 Noise Study, as this represents perhaps Arlingtons best chance in the next ten to fifteen years to do something about excessive aircraft noise.

Stephen C. Geiger
May 30, 2003

Legislation Committee

Members of Committee: John Antonelli, Amy Appelbaum, Gerald Auten, Lucy Denney, Ed Fendley, Mileva Hartman, Peg Hogan, Vivian Kallen, Mike Lane, Jim Mayer, Roger Meyer, Jim Pebley, Ernie Raglend, Ann Ross, David Ryan, Patrick Smaldore, Jr., Tim Wise

The Legislation Committee met on three Mondays in late August and early September to draft the 2003 legislative package which was adopted by the delegates at the November meeting. The package was sent to members of Arlington County Board, members of the General Assembly, and our Congressional delegation.

While many of our proposals were carry-overs from previous years, we deleted a proposal to return Reagan National Airport to its short-range status and a proposal to train volunteers to identify and report handicapped parking violations. We added a proposal to combine the Treasurer's Office and the Commissioner of Revenue into a treasurer's office headed by a civil service employee. We urged passage of a Clean Smokestacks Act to clean up coal-fired power plants by closing the existing grandfather loophole that exempts old, dirty coal plants from the Clean Air Act. We encouraged the legislature to provide incentives for local law enforcement agences to arrest and detain individuals for immigration violations. Finally, we supported authorization for Arlington County to increase the cigarette tax and urged the General Assembly to adopt a tobacco products tax more in line with neighboring states.

We planned a Community Forum on the balance between national security and civil liberties. This event, which was cosponsored by ACCF, the Arlington Branch of AAUW, and the Arlington League of Women Voters. This event took place on May 17th and received favorable reviews from the audience.

Public Services Committee

Chair(s)/Representative Kim Smith, Anne Fisher

Members of Committee: Jackie Snelling, Amy Levin, Patrick Smaldore, Bobi Wallace, Jim Pebley

Public Services covers all issues not otherwise covered by a Civic Federation committee where tax dollars are involved.

The primary focus has been on public preparedness in response to September 11, 2001 and the threats that have continued at various levels since that time. Public presentations on emergency preparedness have been given to a wide variety of civic associations, local government agencies, federal agencies, and non-profit organizations. These presentations, under the Public Preparedness Initiative of the Civic Federation, have been given to a number of our member organizations, including: Arlington Ridge, Aurora Highlands, Douglas Park, Arlington Heights, Barcroft, Forest Glen, Arlington Forest, Ashton Heights, Lyon Park, Radnor-Ft. Myer Heights, Lyon Village, Ballston-Virginia Square, Dominion Hills, Dover-Crystal, Langston-Brown, Arlington-East Falls Church, Old Glebe, Gulf Branch, Rivercrest, Bellevue Forest, Donaldson Run, Riverwood, Woodmont, and Old Dominion. As of May 2003, presentations are also scheduled for Tara-Leeway, Waycroft-Woodlawn and Bluemont. The Civic Federation "team" that delivers this information to citizens has included Jackie Snelling, Anne Fisher, Kim Smith and Pat Smaldore (as part of Outreach functions) from the CivFed as well as Captain Mark Penn (Deputy Emergency Manager), Dr. Susan Allan (Director of Public Health), Josephine Peters (Emergency Health Planner), Steve Holl, Mary Gavin, Tanya Woodson, Rich Alt, Tom Panther (primary representatives of the Police Department), Meg Tucillo and various school principals (Public Schools), and a solid partnership with the Arlington Chapter of the American Red Cross.

Over the passage of time, and through work with the County, the Public Services' Committee's Public Preparedness Initiative has expanded its role and, while maintaining its independence, has also become, in part, part of the Arlington Citizen Corps Council, a public preparedness initiative stemming from the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Its focuses are four-fold: education; volunteer programs, training and deployment; county-wide communications; and resource management. Five of our Committee members hold positions on the Citizen Corp Council of Arlington, an initiative under the auspices of the Department of Homeland Security and Freedom Corps: Jackie Snelling is Chair of the CCC; Jim Pebley is Chair of the Communications Task Group and Patrick Smaldore and Anne Fisher are members of this TG; Kim Smith is Vice Chair of the Education Task Group; Anne Fisher is also the Civic Federation representative to the Volunteer Task Group.

Three of our members have also played major roles in initiating and maintaining the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) in Arlington. In large measure the result of Civic Federation/Public Services Committee members' work, in partnership with the Fire Department, approximately 100 Arlington residents have been CERT trained through the neighborhood model developed by CF members in partnership with local government. Neighborhoods receiving the training include Aurora-Highlands, Arlington Ridge, Forest Glen, and Long Branch Creek (the "pilot" CERT); Douglas Park, Columbia Heights, Arlington View; Fairlington and Shirlington; John M. Langston, Tara-Leeway and Waycroft-Woodlawn. New neighborhoods will be offered the training beginning in September. Kim Smith serves as volunteer scheduler to the County. Jackie Snelling, Kim Smith and Anne Fisher, as well as other citizens and Civic Federation delegates/alternates, are involved in its continued development and expansion. Anne Fisher continues to play a lead role in the "pilot" CERT, the first CERT trained and organized in Arlington, as well as in the development of procedures and protocols that are benefiting all CERTs Arlington-wide.

Public health falls within the auspices of the committee, and an area of concern has been the ratio of restaurants to public health inspectors. As a result of Arlington's less than half the national standard rate of inspections, the Public Services Committee prepared, and the Federation supported, a resolution requesting additional environmental health inspectors to adequately cover at least high-risk establishments. Our Committee has also continued to speak out in support of the inclusion of Public Health as a full partner in Emergency Management issues and to work with this agency to insure the most accurate, timely and easily understood information on some of the existing and potential diseases in the community. Through the Revenues and Expenditures Committee, and in response to the fact that public health has been under-funded and understaffed on nation-wide, the Public Services Committee recommended a full-scale public-private review of the public health system to determine areas where improvements are needed; additional funding for staff, particularly in areas of surveillance or epidemiology; plan for continued funding after FY 04 for continuation of emergency health planning personnel in the event State funding is not renewed.

Regarding other public safety departments, specifically the Emergency Communications Center, the Public Services Committee, through the Revenues and Expenditures Committee, requested staffing of ECC with a Fire Department officer, either permanently or rotationally; recommended funding of an Administrative Assistant in the FY 05 budget; recommended inclusion of funding in the next CIP for the build-out of the ECC-EOC; and publicly supported continued work on an ECC career ladder to facilitate recruitment and retention of personnel. Public Services is continuously monitoring progress on the acquisition of a new Computer Aided Dispatch and Record Management Systems.

The Police Department staffing has been a long-held concern of the PS Committee, particularly since the PD has historically been seriously understaffed vis a vis the budget. Again through Revenues and Expenditures, Public Services requested consideration of additional funding for equipment and training with respect to emergency preparedness; additional personnel for intelligence gathering; strengthening of State legislation to insure enforcement powers of the Red Light Camera program; expressed a number of concerns with respect to the Criminal Investigations Division, particularly with respect to the ratio of detectives to the number of cases; and expressed concern of the equipment storage problem facing the PD as a result of the demands of CBRNE threats. Other concerns with respect to the Police Department have been raised by delegates, and the Committee has met to consider a resolution calling for an Advisory Committee for Public Safety Agencies, an expansion of the current EMS Advisory Committee. Discussions with the Police Department regarding these and other issues are on-going.

The Fire Department, the subject of several Civic Federation resolutions adopted in FY 01, still has several shortages of note. The Public Services Committee continues to work to gain compliance with NFPA 1710 re: four-man staffing on equipment; to increase the number of FTEs in the Fire Prevention, Code Enforcement, Investigations, and Education Program (responsible for education, high-rise safety, etc.); to increase the numbers of FTE in Operations and Emergency Services Division to increase the number of inspections (including inspections of evacuation plans); the addition of another FTE to manage the CERT program; and in out-years, the Public Services Committee has recommended four-man staffing on the two truck companies; a public affairs/Public Information Officer; an additional FTE Administrative Assistant; an addition of $2 million to upgrade the Fire Academy; and adequate resources to address headquarter deficiencies, particularly the administration/staff ratio.

Because of safety concerns, the Public Services Committee worked jointly with the Environmental Affairs Committee on several issues. Concerns over the safety of our water system lead to a partnership on the Wastewater Treatment Plant. Concerns over the safety of our Waste Treatment Plant and of the neighborhoods in immediate proximity led to a join resolution against the trucking in and storage of large amounts of liquid natural gas (LNG) near Crystal City. Concerns over disease, particularly mosquito-borne diseases such as West Nile, lead to the successful adoption of a joint resolution to declare English Ivy a nuisance and an invasive.

Concerns expressed over the conduct of the Animal Welfare League of Arlington, Inc. resulted in several conversations with citizens and a meeting with County Board Chairman Paul Ferguson about the possibility of a pilot fostering program at the shelter. Currently, the Humane Society of the United States is conducting an investigation of the shelter, and a further report from the county is expected June 6th.

The most recent issue brought before the Committee was the recommendation of a drop box or chute at the library so that books, videos, etc. can be returned without the necessity of exiting a car. This subject will be among those considered by the Public Services Committee in the summer of 2003.

Contacts with officials were many and varied as a result of the areas of interest/need of the Public Services Committee. These included Congressman Moran, Senators Allen and Warner, the state delegation, members of the County Board, staff of the County Manager, County Board, Office of Economic Development, County Code, Department of Human Services, Department of Defense, White House, Office of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Administration, Department of Health and Human Services, Environmental Protection Agency, Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia, Tree Stewards, Channel 31 and a variety of others.

Parks and Recreation Committee

1. We held a joint meeting with Transportation Committee to review Doubleday Bridge proposal. We agreed to defer a recommendation until the neighboring civic associations met.

2. Throughout the year, Jay Jacob Wind represented Civic Federation to Open Space Master Plan Task Force and to North Tract Task Force. Jay Wind facilitated three public forums on outdoor active recreation and helped write the OSMP chapter on outdoor active recreation.

3. On June 3, we will present panel discussion on Open Space Master Plan Task Force and to North Tract Task Force.

4. We reviewed the 2002 Arlington Community Bond Issue, which contained $20 million for parks and recreation. We recommended that Civic Federation support the bond issue, although noting our reservations to the consolidation of neighborhood conservation and other objectives into the same bond issue with parks and recreation. Civic Federation supported the bond issue.

5. We reviewed the 2002 Virginia Bond Issue for Parks and Conservation, which provided $105 million. We recommended that Civic Federation support the bond issue. Civic Federation supported the bond issue.

6. At Civic Federation's October meeting, Jay Jacob Wind represented the Committee on two panels concerning the above bond issues.

7. We recommended several nominees for the Bill Thomas Service Award.

8. We reviewed the County's 2002 Small Parks Grant application. We recommended that the County's Small Parks Grant Program focus on innovative projects to create new parks, rather than maintenance of existing parks.

Judy Green
Jay Jacob Wind
May 30, 2002

Scholarship Committee

Members of Committee: Kim Smith, Judy Green, John Shooshan (honorary delegate), and Jay Wind

Please describe the activities of the committee or commission over the past year, including issues addressed, resolutions passed, presentations held, and letters written. (Attach additional pages if necessary).

The principal activities of the Committee this year were to raise funds and oversee the Federation's 911 Scholarship fund, which is managed through the Arlington Community Foundation. By the end of last year (June 2002), we raised approximately $104,000 and awarded 3 scholarships ($1,000 each) to eligible college-bound children of Arlington's Public Safety personnel. In June, at the urging of the heads of the Public Safety Departments, we conducted an out-of-cycle round of scholarship awards to 5 eligible students who are children of public safety personnel and who were already in college when the scholarship was begun.

In the past year, we held a silent auction, sold ACPD, ADFD and ACSO ball caps and co-sponsored (through Jay Wind) the United We Run 10K. During this year we have raised an additional $50,000(with another $5,000 pledged). On May 28th, we awarded six additional scholarships and renewed an additional 6 for previous awardees who are continuing in college and in good academic standing. Total costs this year will amount to $12,000 (scholarships awarded) and administrative overhead costs of the ACF (less than 1% of the annual balance).

In the coming year, we plan to seek business sponsorships and conduct additional fund raising drives. We are also looking at how we can expand the contribution the Federation makes annually to the Teacher's Scholarship fund.

This page was last revised on: December 27, 2003.