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Arlington County Civic Federation

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April, 2003 - Volume 87, No. 8 ------


April Meeting County Budget at April 1, 2003, meeting


April Meeting Agenda

While the rest of us have been out and about, our Revenues and Expenditures Committee has been hard at work every Sunday for the past few months going over the 2004 County budget with a fine-toothed comb. At our April 1, 2003, meeting, the committee will report on the budget and its recommendations for how the County might spend our money in the most responsible way.

The Federation will begin the discussion of the budget by considering a special rule for debate.

The Committee reports that the final meeting to discuss the budget will take place on Sunday March 30, 2003. A draft report of the Committee report should be posted to the Civic Federation web site by Monday March 31, 2003. Contact bob for more information.+

Civic News and Events

Department of Environmental Services to Hold Spring Environmental Extravaganza

On Saturday, May 3, 2003, the Department of Environmental Services will hold an Environmental Extravaganza at Thomas Jefferson Middle School. The event will be held rain or shine from 9AM to 3PM. All Arlington County Residents are invited to bring unwanted paint products, flammable solvents, automotive fluids, gardens chemicals, pesticides, household cleaners, as well as other flammable, poisonous or corrosive items for disposal at no charge to the public. There will be collection of computer components and bicycles for a small handling fee. Compost bins will be available for sale on a first come first serve basis. This event is open to Arlington County Residents only. Commercial or business generated wastes will not be accepted. For further information, call Arlington County DES at (703) 228-6570 or HHW at (703) 228-6832.

Arlington Public Schools Unveil Emergency Preparedness Web Site

The Arlington Public Schools have created a web page with information about emergency preparedness and the school system. The site, contains information on school policies and links to related sites. It can be found on the schools Web site.

Community Forum

This month�s Community Forum will feature the Arlington Commission for the Arts. The Commission will be presenting "Arlington Arts: Just Around the Corner" a new PowerPoint presentation prepared by members of the Arlington Commission for the Arts. The focus is on the wide range of performing and visual arts operating in the County: theatre, dance, music, and heritage groups, as well as galleries, public art, and other activities that have earned Arlington an enviable reputation.

Civic Federation members are invited to preview "Just Around the Corner" at 7:00 PM. Tuesday, April 1, before the formal meeting begins. There will be a sign-up sheet for delegates who are interested in scheduling a showing for their respective organizations. Members of the Commission, who are appointed by the County Board to promote the arts, will be available to do the presentations. Don't miss this opportunity to arrange an informative program for one of your upcoming meetings.

The Community Forum is provided as a service to the community by the Civic Federation. It allows for private and government-based groups and organizations to speak to community leaders about what they do in Arlington. Any group wishing to participate should contact dan+.

Committee News

  • The Airport Issues Committee continues to hold meetings at 7:30 pm on the third Thursday of every month. Please contact Steve Geiger (steveg+) or Steve Baur (steveb+) for further information and meeting location. Meeting minutes are posted on the Civ Fed web site. Steve Geiger will present a citizen�s viewpoint of the airport at the next Committee of 100 dinner to take place at Marymount University at 7 pm on April 9th. Also presenting will be Tim Atkins, an aide to Rep. Jim Moran, as well as a representative of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. All are invited to attend. Steve Baur continues to be active in the Part 150 Noise Study at the airport. The Part 150 Committee is finalizing the locations of noise monitors that will be used to model airport noise and provide input into noise abatement procedures. There are currently two permanent aircraft noise monitors in Arlington County, and the Part 150 Committee is proposing to place two new monitors in the County. The Airport Issues Committee will suggest that they be placed in the Bellevue Forest area (between Rosslyn and Chain Bridge) and at the Key Elementary School in the Courthouse area.

  • The Best Practices Task Force has belied its title by not meeting since January. However, the two co-chairs, Bob Atkins and Kim Smith, have been embroiled in other issues and are currently immersed in the County Budget via the Revenues and Expenditures Committee.

    We will meet at the end of April (date TBD). However, it would be greatly appreciated if delegates would send us �good ideas� from their civic associations � including ideas for inclusion; communications; events; working with the business partnerships (where applicable); neighborhood conservation; and involving the community in issues of concern.

    Please e-mail any suggestions to either bob+ or kim+.

  • The Bylaws Committee will be presenting a Bylaws amendment clarifying qualifications to serve on the Executive Committee. The proposed revision would specify that members of the Executive Committee must be a Delegate or Alternate Delegate to the Federation at the time of nomination/election Status as Delegate or Alternate Delegate would be a continuing requirement for Executive Committee membership.

  • The Executive Committee will meet on April 4th at 6:00 p.m. at the Meeting Room at the Hospice of Northern Virginia. All Committee Chairs, delegates and alternates with issues they wish to discuss are invited to attend. Please RSVP to Kim at kim+ if you plan to attend.

    It is our hope to invite the Wastewater Treatment Plant representatives to give a brief overview of their plans for the upgraded plant. This will require a major financial commitment on the part of the County (from $135 to $250 million) in order to increase capacity and reduce bypasses.

    If you have issues that you wish to have considered, please contact kim+ so that they might be put on the agenda.

  • The Legislation Committee has been moving ahead on planning our community forum, The Patriot Act: National Security and Civil Liberties. We will hold this forum on May 17. So far, we have two additional sponsor organizations, The American Association of University Women, Arlington Branch and The Arlington League of Women Voters. We also have four speakers. Robert Weinberg, Constitutional scholar and former President of the Federation, will review the pertinent Constitutional issues; Jeff Stein, of Conqressional Quarterly will address the nature of the threat; and Jim McGhee, also of Congressional Quarterly, will explain the provisions of the Patriot Act. The American Civil Liberties Union has promised us a speaker on the civil liberties concerns.

  • In March, the Federation adopted a resolution made by the School's Committee opposing the proposed use of the School Board�s Reserve Fund to pay for extra debt service associated with accelerating the Kenmore construction project. School Board Chair Elaine Furlow responded in a March 19, 2003, letter, stating in part "the Board did not use the Reserve Fund for Kenmore or for any other purpose. We will keep in mind your suggestion about setting 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

  • 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.

  • The Public Services Committee Continuing to wear two hats � public preparedness and general services � the Public Services Committee met on March 26th to consider a resolution from one of our delegates to request that the County establish an oversight committee for all public safety departments.

    At this writing, it is unknown if the Committee will meet in April, so please contact Kim Smith or Anne Fisher for information. Also, we are always most interested in new members who could work on the many issues that come before us. Individuals can select either �all� issues or the preparedness aspect of the Committee.

    Since this committee is also the citizen counterpart to the County for CERT training (i.e., one scheduler and one CERT vanguard), please encourage your fellow neighborhood residents (single family homes, apartments, condos, townhouses, etc.) to consider CERT training. Sign-ups are through the County Web Site or to chalsey@co.arlington.va.us (our Fire Department contact).




    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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