November, 2002 - Volume 87, No. 3

The November meeting will be the second Tuesday of the month, November 12th because of Election Day

Community Forum 7PM, Regular Meeting 7:40 PM

Civic Federation Legislative Package up for Review

Special Rules in Effect for Debate

Special Rules For Considering The
Legislative Package At November Meeting

The Main Package -- The main part of the Legislation package consists of those measures that the Federation's Legislation Committee has voted unanimously to include (or retained from past years) in the package. If the special rules are adopted for the meeting, we will take a single vote to accept or reject this package as a whole. If the "vote to accept" fails, we will consider each section separately.

Addenda Items -- During their deliberations, there were items that the Legislation Committee failed to achieve unanimous agreement on. Those measures that were supported by a majority of the committee members will be presented as topics to be voted on separately by the whole membership. If approved, they will be incorporated into the overall package.

Items Proposed by Delegates -- While we have encouraged everyone to attend the Legislation Committee's meetings, it's only fair to let issues proposed by delegates be considered by the whole membership. However, to prevent "sneak attacks" on the Legislation Package, the Executive Committee has agreed to require submission of issues by individual members not later than 3 days before the meeting. Proponents of items must forward such proposals in writing to the Civic Federation President. Items may be delivered to Dan Krasnegor's house at 1305 N. Longfellow Street, or sent by e-mail to dan+. In order for the item to be considered 75 copies of the proposal must be on the table in the lobby of the Hospital's Hazel Conference Center by 7:15 p.m. on November 12th.

In order to send a clear message about the Federation's priorities, each delegate will have an opportunity to select his or her three top priority items from the adopted package. The votes will be tallied, and the Federation's top 5 priorities will be presented as a separate document to our officials and representatives. Ballots for selecting priorities will be distributed at the meeting until 8 P.M. Up to four ballots will be provided to each organization. Ballots will only be provided to the first four delegates and/or alternates who identify themselves as representing a member group. In order to avoid confusion, if more than four delegates and alternates plan to attend the meeting, please coordinate who will be voting in advance.

Civic News and Events

In Memoriam

Federation to Honor Arlington's Veterans

Federation Representative Appointed
to School Board's Budget Advisory Council

Upcoming Meetings

In January 2003, the County Board returns to the Federation to report on the state of the County, and answer members questions. A resolution from the Planning and Zoning committee regarding the County Site Plan process is expected for consideration.

At the February 2003 meeting, there will be two programs. One on historic preservation, and a second from our Environmental Affairs Committee

Community Forum

The following are brief descriptions provided by the presenting organizations:

The Arlington Partnership for Children, Youth and Families is a group of 24 people, 8 senior level staff and 16 community members, charged by the County Board and the School Board with building a community agenda for children and their families. From the beginning of that work, it was clear that the community, in all its diversity, needed a common language to frame the discussions about children, youth and families and the Partnership chose the Assets Approach to be that common framework.

The Assets Approach. formally adopted by both the County Board and the School Board, was developed by the Search Institute.(www.search-institute.org). Through extensive research, they have named 40 "assets" - positive experiences, relationships and qualities that, together, form the foundation for healthy development. In June of 2001, the Partnership administered the Profiles of Student Life Survey to measure the extent to which Arlington young people report having these 40 assets. Like many other communities who participated in the survey, Arlington young people report having far fewer assets than the ideal of 31-40. On average, Arlington young people reported having 18.9 assets, fewer than half the assets they need. This is particularly concerning because research concludes that the more assets a young person has, the more apt she/he is to engage in healthy behaviors and the less apt she/he is to engage in risky behaviors. Our own survey data support that conclusion: the more assets, the better the outcomes for our young people.

So where does our community go from here? The Assets Approach calls on the entire community to invest their time and energy to ensure that all our children and teens have the essential opportunities, relationships, experiences, skills and values they need to become healthy caring responsible adults. The Civic Federation and individual Neighborhood Associations have a unique and valuable role to play in building assets, and many of you are already doing just that. But, if you're having trouble understanding how this works on a practical level, here are a few ideas to get started.

• Talk to young people in your neighborhood. Get to know some of them.

• If you're planning an event or celebration, encourage young people to help with the planning.

• Attend events and support the schools in your neighborhood.

• When thinking about future plans for your neighborhood, ask young people what they think. Involve them in the planning process.

For more information, please call Mary Ann Moran, Partnership Assets Liaison, at 703-228-1671 or e-mail rmoran230@earthlink.net. Also visit the Partnership web site scheduled to be ready in late November, www.ArlingtonPartnershipforYouth.org.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is the largest conservation organization dedicated solely to saving the Chesapeake Bay. With more than 110,000 active members, CBF works throughout the Chesapeake's 64,000-square-mile watershed in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. Currently the CBF is launching an "Open Space" initiative in Northern Virginia, one of its many education and environmental protection programs.

The Northern Virginia Mediation Service Neighbors can have feuds that last for weeks, cmonths, even years. All around the world people are involved in conflicts that have gotten out of control. We see this locally in our own families and communities all the time. Disagreements start out small; people ignore them and hope they will go away; then they escalate out of control causing financial, relationship and, in the worst cases, even physical harm. These seemingly small situations can escalate into discord, court disputes, or even violence. Mediation is a process that can bring people together to create mutually acceptable solutions to their conflict. The Northern Virginia Mediation Service uses trained mediators who will mediate these cases at no cost. We provide this service because we want to serve our community and allow everyone access to mediation regardless of ability to pay. We use trained volunteers to mediate these cases at a neutral place near where the parties live. The types of conflicts that fall under community mediation would be: neighbor-to-neighbor, parent-teen, private landlord-tenant, intra-family, and various other conflicts that can affect the community.

Our program seeks three kinds of partners. The first kind of partner is a referral partner. The referral partner refers community cases that seem appropriate for mediation to NVMS. We are looking to recruit homeowner associations, PTAs, churches, and other organizations that hear about conflict first. The second kind of partner is a site partner. Site partners allow for community cases to be mediated at their site. They will provide a room that NVMS can use at no cost. This way parties that are in conflict can have their case mediated in their community. The third kind of partner is a volunteer partner. Volunteers are needed to mediate community cases. These volunteers will be provided extensive training in community mediation and given cases with locations nearby to mediate. Please call 703-993-3656 for more information or check out our website www.NVMediation.org

Committee News

The Cultural Affairs Committee and the Planning & Zoning Committee continue to work on a program for the February meeting concentrating on issues of historic and neighborhood preservation with emphasis on the County, civic association and individual citizen interaction. Anyone interested in helping with the program can contact Herschel Kanter, Cultural Affairs Committee Chair Herschel; or Martha M+oore, Martha+ or Bill Gearhart, bill+; co-chairs of the Planning and Zoning Committee.

On Monday, October 7, 2002, the Environmental Affairs Committee met at the County's Water Pollution Control Plant to hear a presentation on the County's proposed Water Pollution Control Division's Master Plan 2001 Update and its initiatives estimated to cost $135 million over the next seven years. The presentation was made by Larry Slattery, Chief, Water Pollution Control Division. Also, John Mausert-Mooney, the new Director of the Department of Environmental Services (DES), the Deputy Director, Bob Mace, and the Community Relations Coordinator for the Water Pollution Control Division, Phil Loar, were in attendance to help answer our Committee's many questions.

Overall, the Committee gained considerable knowledge of the current issues affecting the plant and the draft Master Plan 2001 Update. These included: (1) redundancy and increased capacity of the Biological Nutrient Removal ("BNR") process; (2) actions needed to make wet weather bypasses infrequent, if not totally eliminated; (3) improvements in odor control, aesthetics, and security of the facility; (4) consideration of likely more stringent effluent limits in the future and proposed improvements; (5) improvements to the biosolids product; and (6) needed improvements to the aging infrastructure. The draft Master Plan 2001 Update is expected to be cleared for distribution by County senior officials within a few weeks.

Also, a detailed breakdown of the $12.3 million for the November Utility Projects Bond issue was presented, along with a discussion of future issues potentially affecting the plant. For example, a ban of Class B biosolids for land application was discussed, as possible in the near future. The Water Pollution Control Division is considering new technology (i.e, electron-beam technology) to improve the cost effectiveness of the biosolids treatment process and to provide increased odor control and protection to human health and the environment. On November 4, the County expects to have a mobile electron-beam trial test unit set up for treating biosolids.. In the next issue of the Civic Federation Newsletter, our Environmental Affairs Committee plans to report on the results of these tests.

During the week of October 28, the Environmental Affairs Committee reviewed the County's proposed Tree Preservation Ordinance, which staff recommended to the Arlington County Board be considered for adoption at the Board meeting of November 16, 2002. The proposed ordinance is to enact and codify Chapter 67 (Trees and Shrubs) of Arlington County Code, to establish a Tree Preservation Ordinance that protects trees on County property and establishes a mechanism for designating "Heritage, Memorial, Specimen, and Street Trees" on both public and private property, which may result in special protection from removal or damage. In brief, the Environmental Affairs Committee is concerned with the proposed language in Article 3, "Regulation of Heritage Trees, Memorial Trees, Specimen Trees and Street Trees on Public or Private Property and the lack of specificity provided therein. At the time of the drafting of the Civic Federation Newsletter, the Environmental Affairs Committee was in the process of drafting a resolution for the Civic Federation delegates' consideration at the upcoming Civic Federation meeting of November 12.

The Environmental Affairs Committee will hear a presentation by Jeff Harn of the County Staff on the proposed revised Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance (CBPO) at our Monday, November 18 meeting, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Among the significant proposed changes being considered are: (1) the expansion of the existing Resource Protection Areas (RPA), (2) new plan of development requirements, (3) more specific performance criteria, (4) an updated stormwater quality framework, (5) expanded public review required before granting exceptions, (6) and expanded enforcement options. For example, the proposed ordinance defines RPA buffers as no less than 100 feet around all natural streams and open channels in the County. It also designates environmentally sensitive "other lands" including areas with steep slopes (greater than 25 percent) adjacent to an RPA. With these changes, RPA affected properties in the County increase from 567 parcels under the existing ordinance to approximately 1,600 parcels under the proposed revised ordinance. Our November 18 meeting will he held in the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association (BVSCA) community meeting room. The entrance to the community room is located on N. Utah St. between Gaffney's Restaurant (4301 North Fairfax Drive) and the Windsor Plaza Condominiums. Please note that on-street parking is limited; however, space is available in the two garages that are adjacent to and across the street from the Rio Grande Caf�.

If you are interested in serving on the Environmental Affairs Committee, or have questions concerning the Committee, please contact Ernie Ragland at (703) 525-6297, or by e-mail at ragland.ernie@prodigy.net.

The Executive Committee continues to meet the first Thursday after our general membership meeting at the Hospice of Northern Virginia. Our next meeting will be November 14th, a Thursday, at 7:30 p.m. in the cafeteria. All Committee chairs and interested delegates are invited to join us.

Last month's meeting included the establishment of an Ad Hoc Committee on Airport Issues which has already had several meetings. Preparations are continuing for the March 28th annual banquet at the Army Navy Country Club. Any individuals who have suggestions for speakers or topics for speakers should contact Ann Rudd.

The Parking Resolution submitted by Delegate Jim Hurysz was referred to the Transportation Committee for review and action. The Best Practices Task Force has now contacted the presidents of all civic association members and should begin meeting in mid-November to early December. Members who wish to work on this committee should contact either Kim Smith or Bob Atkins.

Please remember that we welcome any delegate to bring matters of concern to the Federation - including at the Executive Committee meetings.

The Housing Committee will be up and running again, as soon as the election season is over, and Committee chair Wayne Kubicki is able to return to his position. The committee is looking for new members, including a new co-chair. The first order of business will be to consider Kathryn Scruggs' proposed resolution for the Federation to support the creation of a broad-based coalition that would develop a plan for homeownership for Arlington's public servants and appoint a representative to participate in the coalition. Contact Wayne Kubicki, wayne+ for details.

The Legislation Committee's hard work resulted in the proposed legislative package being presented at this month's meeting. The committee is looking for enthusiastic new members of all political stripes to help make next year's recommendation. Please conctact Nancy Graham (nancy+) with any questions.

The Membership Committee considered the membership application of Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment (ACE), however, ACE has decided to withdraw its application at this time, with the right to resubmit it at a later date.

The Parks Committee will next be considering the Small Parks Program Grant Proposals, with a tentative meeting scheduled for later this month. Contact Jay Wind, jay+, or Judy Green, judy, to conf+irm meeting times and locations.

The Planning and Zoning Committee will be meeting later in the month, at a time and place to be determined, to complete work on a resolution relating to the site plan process and to plan, with the Cultural Affairs Committee, a February Federation program on neighborhood National Register historic designation. The Committee welcomes new members. For the time and place of the meeting, email co-chairs Bill Gearhart (bill+) or Martha Moore (Martha). +

The Public Services Committee continues to work on two related, but distinct, elements of public safety. The Public Preparedness Initiative focuses on public education on emergency preparedness. Included in that are presentations to a number of civic associations and other groups and work with both the Public Health Department and the Department of Human Services, the lead agency in a disaster for people with special needs. CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) training continues. Jackie, Anne and Kim are receiving the training now, as part of the Fourth Police District neighborhood cluster. County plans indicate that other neighborhoods will be able to begin CERT training in early to mid-January. For additional information on CERTs, interested civic associations should contact Les Garrison, coordinator of the 4D CERT, or Captain Clare Halsey of the Arlington County Fire Department (chalse@co.arlington.va.us). You may also contact Kim, Anne or Jackie at prepared+. As part of overall safety, we are continuing to distribute the File of Life, a joint venture of the Fire Department and Virginia Hospital Center - Arlington. To receive Files of Life for your civic association or organization, contact Kim at jadam@erols.com.

The Citizens Corps Council, under the Chairmanship of Jackie Snelling and a direct off-shoot of the work of the Federation, will have its first meeting, tentatively scheduled for November 4th. Anyone interested in working on the task groups - Education, Volunteers, Communications, or Resource Management, should contact Jackie (prepared+).

The other component of Public Services continues to research and address the infrastructure needs of public safety in general. Among the issues currently in the pipeline are personnel policies that directly affect recruitment and retention and legislative initiatives that address the need for adequate funding to meet agency needs, even during periods of budget shortfall. We also are continuing to monitor the status of Northern Virginia Doctors' Hospital through Bob Atkins, a representative on the County's health care committee.

A resolution, proposed by Fairlington Delegate Jim Hurysz on parking issues in Arlington is on the agenda for consideration by the Transportation Committee. Contact Matt Bonnini (matt+) for more information including meeting times and locations.

The Schools committee is preparing for the December meeting when the School Board will be the Federation's guests. The Schools Committee has provided the following questions to the School Board for consideration in preparing their remarks:

1) What changes do you contemplate making based on the information received from your evaluation component of new programs? Please include information about the Primary Language Support program, ESOL-HILT, and Physical Education in your response.

2) What is the outlook on revenues for the next 5 years and what will be the impact on capital spending programs?

3) What is APS doing for at risk four year olds? How are they identified and what percentage are receiving services at present? (Is there a spring pretesting for skill deficiencies in four year olds and is summer school provided for those students in need?)

4) What is APS doing to insure that all "regular" students pass the SOLs and graduate? We are especially concerned with students who are not "coded" special education or ESOL

5) Are the current boundary changes that are under review this year expected to last for five years?

6) What is phase two of the Teacher Excellence Initiative? How do you identify an excellent teacher? How are you going to implement phase two of the TEI and what are its budget implications in FY2004?

7) Only 25% of the teachers responded to the consumer survey. Based on that limited response, what did you learn? What are the positives? What are the negatives that need to be improved upon?

A few final thoughts from your President