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Arlington County Civic Federation

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March, 2003 - Volume 87, No. 7
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March Meeting


The Civic Federation will welcome Arlington�s State Delegates and Senators to the March 4th meeting, at 7:30 PM at the Hazel Auditorium at Virginia Hospital Center-Arlington. The members of the delegation will be speaking about the current legislative session, and will be available for questions from our delegates and Alternates.

The March meeting will also feature a presentation from the Schools Committee on the proposed budget and a resolution on the Arlington Public Schools Reserve Fund. A resolution will be introduced from the Transportation Committee regarding the Spout Run bridge, and a resolution will be considered from the Planning and Zoning Committee on pipe-stem development. Finally, the Bylaws committee will report on proposed changes to the Civic Federation bylaws.




Civic News and Events



Civic Federation Debate Survives the Snow

As many of you know, the Special Election debate sponsored by the Civic Federation was originally scheduled to take place on Thursday, February 13, 2003. Due to schedule conflicts with one of the candidates, the debate was moved to Sunday February 16th. Due to the hard work from members of the Executive Committee, especially Randy Swart, we were able to find a new location, make sure the show was taped for rebroadcast on Channel 33, insure press coverage, and get the word out to our membership and the community.

After all the hard work, the decision was made to hold the debate regardless of the weather conditions�even after the forecast called for more than a foot of snow. By all accounts, the debate was a smashing success. The Civic Federation takes its role as the �Civic Voice of Arlington� seriously. The debate, and the press coverage it received will give many Arlingtonians their only opportunity to hear from these candidates.

Delegate Darner announces her Retirement

Delegate Karen Darner (D-47) has announced that she will not seek reelection to that post in November. Darner reports that she will be teaching full time.


Civic Federation Banquet

The 86th Annual Banquet and Awards Ceremony will be held March 28 at the Army Navy County Club. The speaker is Van A. Harp, Assistant Director in Charge, Washington Field Office, FBI. Your invitation will be arriving soon. For information call 703-536-8270.


Preservation Design Awards Program Underway

Arlington's Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board announces its 5th Annual Preservation Design Awards Program. The awards honor projects that best recognize and celebrate the character defining elements of historic buildings and/or their neighborhoods. The public is invited to submit nominations for residential, commercial, or institutional buildings within the following categories: Restoration/Renovation, Major Additions, and New Infill Construction. All projects should complement the original character, integrity, massing, scale, architectural style, and materials of an existing historic building or Arlington neighborhood. All projects must be located in Arlington County, have been completed within the past five years, and involve buildings at least 50 years old (except for new construction). Written consent of the property owner(s), a brief project narrative, and visual materials are required for all entries. All nominations must be postmarked by April 4, 2003. For detailed submission requirements or to request an entry form, please contact Cynthia Liccese-Torres at 703.228.3831 or clicce@co.arlington.va.us.


Civic Groups Encouraged to Participate in Neighborhood Day

For many, Neighborhood Day is an opportunity to gather for community events, whether they be spaghetti dinners, neighborhood clean ups, or social events to get to know one another. Neighborhood day will take place this year on Saturday May 10, 2003, and we want to publicize your community events as part of a community-wide advertising campaign. In order to give the media enough time to cover the event, please e-mail details of your events to plocke@co.arlington.va.us on or before March 26, 2003.


Commission on Women Sponsoring Awards Dinner

The Arlingotn County Commission on the Status of Women is holding the 17th annual Women's History Month Dinner on Wednesday, March 19, 2003, at Clarendon Ballorrom. This year's honorees will be Lucy Denney, Delores Leckey, Cynthia Hull, and Geralidine Whiting. Reservations for the dinner ($32 per person) must be received by Wednesday, March 12, 2003. For more information, contact dpower@co.arlington.va.us.


Did something noteworthy happen in Arlington�s civic life? Does your organization have an event coming up? Spread the word through the Civic News and Events section of this newsletter! Submit your events or news to dan+.


Committee News

The Airport Issues Committee meets every third Thursday of he month. The next meeting is scheduled for March 20th at 7:30 pm. The location will be announced. For further information, please contact Steve Geiger (steveg+) or Steve Baur (steveb+). The Airport Issues Committee is working to improve environmental impacts from Reagan National Airport to residents of Arlington County, and is active in supporting the current Part 150 Advisory Committee's noise abatement study, which is monitoring aircraft noise and developing noise mitigation procedures.

Ernie Ragland, the chair of the Environmental Affairs Committee recently announced his resignation from that post. Ernie�s efforts have built the committee up to where it is today, and his contributions to the Civic Federation will be missed.

At the February 8, 2003, Arlington County Board Meeting, under Agenda Item #40, the vice-president of the Civic Federation, Patrick Smaldore, presented the Civic Federation�s resolution on the proposed Amended Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance, which was adopted at the Civic Federation meeting of February 4, 2003. (See Civic Federation web site at http://www.civfed.org for details.) The chair of the Environmental Affairs Committee also testified at the Board meeting and expressed his appreciation to the County Board for the outstanding work and coordination by Arlington County staff on the proposed amended ordinance. The proposed ordinance was adopted unanimously by the Arlington County Board.

The next meeting of the Executive Committee will be Friday, March 7, 2003 at 6 p.m. at the Hospice of Northern Virginia. While the agenda is still emerging, among those items scheduled for consideration are the Civic Federation�s policies and procedures for independent filming of Civic Federation meetings and special sessions, the proposal to replace the former Double Day Bridge with a pedestrian and bicycle bridge, and various planning and zoning positions. Once again, all interested delegates are welcome to attend. Because this is a dinner meeting, please RSVP to Kim Smith at 703-527-0294 or kim+. Because of concerns about the implications of the Patriot Act and possible enhancements to expand it, the Legislation Committee met on Friday, February 21, to consider useful ways of generating public awareness and discussion of the issues surrounding the need for national security while protecting cherished civil rights and constitutional protections.

Committee discussion produced the general outline of a plan for a meeting, open to the public, and perhaps jointly sponsored with other community groups. The committee proposes a Saturday morning session lasting approximately three hours with speakers addressing the following topics:

    I. A discussion of the Constitutional provisions and the Bill of Rights;

    II. A presentation of the threat of clear and present danger;

    III. What has been done so far to meet the threat--a review of the Patriot Act and likely enhancements under consideration; and

    IV. What are the concerns--the balance between national security and civil liberties.

The committee is in the very early planning stages for this event and will keep the membership posted. For information on meeting times or to join the committee, contact nancy+.

The next meeting of the ACCF Parks Committee is Thursday, March 13th at 8:00 p.m. in the home of Co-Chair Jay Wind, 611 South Ivy. Agenda items may be submitted to Jay+ or Judy+.

The deadline for the nomination of potential recipients for the County's Parks and Recreation Commission Bill Thomas Park Service Award may be extended two weeks beyond the March 2 deadline. Eligibility for The Bill Thomas Park Service Award is open to individual citizens, groups and organizations. Additional information about the award can be obtained by visiting the County Web site or calling Erik Beach at (703) 228-3318.

The Public Services Committee continues to focus heavily on the Public Preparedness Initiative, and representatives have been attending various meetings throughout the region in an effort to gain better understanding of the scientific aspects of a range of potential issues under the category of �terrorism�. As a result, some of its other work has been put on "hold�"

In an effort to refocus some of the energies to the more immediate concerns of Arlingtonians, the next meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 at 7:30 p.m. at Kim Smith�s home. The primary topic will be a resolution introduced requesting oversight over all public safety agencies. Other issues of pressing concern include the status of public health services, staffing, facilities and equipment.

Anyone interested in attending is encouraged to do so. Please contact Kim at 703-527-0294 or kim+ for more information.

The Revenues and Expenditures Committee is meeting every Sunday in March in preparing for the April 2003 meeting where the main program will be on the proposed County budget. For more information contact bob+ or randy+.

The following is the text of the School�s Committee�s resolution on the Reserve Fund to be introduced at the March meeting:

The Schools Committee recommends not using money from the Arlington Public Schools Reserve Fund to accelerate the Kenmore construction project by one year. We do not believe that the requirements for the use of Reserve Funds have been met. To wit, the Superintendent has not provided �a report detailing all efforts made by staff to meet the need within operating budget resources.� Indeed, no effort has been made to use the re-estimated moneys received in October to fund the project, and it is not included in the $12.4 million of new initiatives for FY2004. We believe that the project could have been, and still could be, funded out of the operating budget, if it is a high enough priority for the APS. The Reserve Fund is intended for addressing only serious financial setbacks.

RESOLVED, that the Arlington County Civic Federation opposes the use of the Reserve Fund for accelerating the construction of a new Kenmore Middle School; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the Arlington County Civic Federation recommends that the Arlington Public Schools study and establish criteria for the appropriate size of the Reserve Fund.

If you are interested in joining the School's Committee contact Roger@CivFed.org or Teri@CivFed.org

Now that the neighborhoods surrounding the proposed replacement for the Doubleday Bridge have taken positions opposing that project, the Transportation Committee has been discussing that issue. A resolution is anticipated for consideration at the April 2003 meeting. The Committee is also addressing the County�s proposed parking ordinance. Contact co-chairs Matt Bonnini matt+ or Jerry Auten jerry+ for more information.




Are you still receiving your copy by mail? Save the Federation some of its limited resources�get the electronic version of the newsletter. Not only will you save the Federation money, but you will receive the newsletter several days earlier, and get the �full color� version! It�s easy to switch�just send an e-mail to dan, with �E+-mail version� in the header.




ACCF Officers

    President Dan Krasnegor 703-534-4024 dan+

    Vice President Patrick Smaldore 703-528-3935 patrick+

    Treasurer Frances Finta 703-528-2882 Fax 528-0182

    Secretary Tim Wise 703-243-8345 tim+


Executive Committee

    Chairman - Kim Smith 703-527-0294 - kim+

    Member - Robert Atkins 703-527-8859 - (voice or fax) - robert+

    Member - Nancy Graham 703-243-4650 - nancy+

    Member - Mike Lane - mike

    + Member - Randy Swart 703-521-2080 - randy+


ACCF Committee Chairs





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