The Civic Voice
Newsletter of the Arlington County Civic Federation
January, 2001 - Volume 85, No. 5
County Board To Visit & Answer Questions � Jan 2nd
January General Meeting
7:30 p.m., Tuesday, January 2nd
Arlington Hospital, Hazel Auditorium
1701 N. George Mason Drive
We are pleased that the Arlington County Board has accepted our invitation
to visit us at our January 2nd meeting. The Board Members will describe
their plans and priorities for the County in the coming year, followed by a
question and answer period. The agenda looks like this:
January Meeting Program ~~
- Pre-meeting Public Comment
- Presentations by the County Board
- Q&A with the County Board
- Snow Removal Ordinance (Follow-up)
Rules for the Q&A session are included later in this newsletter.
Federation Begins "Parkswatch" For Membership
At its meeting Thursday, December 9, Arlington County Civic Federation's
Parks and Recreation Committee proposed creating a Neighborhood "ParksWatch"
Program. At a later December meeting, the Executive Committee praised the
Parks & Recreation Committee's plan and passed a consent resolution,
ensuring a quick start for the program.
The Parks and Recreation Committee is asking each Civic Association to
appoint a Neighborhood ParksWatch officer to keep an eye on nearby
neighborhood parks and to record and report successes, opportunities for
improvement, and requirements for maintenance.
The Parks and Recreation Committee has created a County-wide e-mail list for
Neighborhood ParksWatch officers. The Committee encourages officers to
subscribe and use the list to report and discuss the beauties of, and any
problems observed in Arlington County's 120 named parks and many more small
unnamed parks. To subscribe, send a message to
"ParksWatch-subscribe@eGroups.com". Subscribers can send messages to
"ParksWatch@eGroups.com".
The "Citizen's Forum" Continues In January
-� 7 :00 To 7:30 P.M. -- Before The Meeting
Update On The Bicentennial
200 Years Of Community
By Patrick Smaldore In the year 2001, Arlington County will commemorate
200 years as a separate and distinct county. Arlington's past laid a solid
foundation for the community we know today -- a place rich in historic
value, cultural diversity and economic vitality. In recognition of the need
to celebrate our history, the Arlington County Board has established the
Arlington Bicentennial Celebration Task Force. The Task Force is charged
with planning, coordinating and promoting activities in celebration of
Arlington's 200th anniversary.
Arlington County was part of land originally donated by Virginia for the
purpose of forming the District of Columbia. In 1801, in an official act of
Congress, the District of Columbia was divided into counties and the land in
Virginia was designated Alexandria County, D.C. After the official
retrocession in 1846, Alexandria County, D.C., was renamed Alexandria
County, Virginia. In 1920, the County of Alexandria was renamed Arlington
County, Virginia.
The Task Force will recommend the dates or time periods in the year 2001
during which celebrations should occur; plan and promote a wide range of
activities and events, working in conjunction with representatives of the
private and commercial sectors, Arlington Public Schools, community and
civic organizations, public-private partnerships, County Board citizen
advisory groups, and other interested parties; design commemorative
memorabilia (i.e., seal or logo, license plates, videotape, etc.); author a
special commemorative web page at Arlington's website detailing Arlington's
history and upcoming events; develop a media/communications strategy; and
suggest ways to broaden community interest and support. The Task Force is
encouraged to integrate the commemorative activities into the existing life
and events of the community and to be creative and forward thinking in ways
that excite the heart and spirit of the community, and convey the pride
Arlingtonians share in their community's heritage. For more information
please contact, Patrick Smaldore, 703-528-3935, or Debbie Powers,
703-228-3314 or send an email to: "dpower@co.arlington.va.us." ~~ Patrick
Smaldore is the Federation's Executive Committee Chair and represents the
Federation on the Bicentennial Commission
Rules For The County Board Visit
1. Board Statements. The first portion of the program will allocate time
for Board Members to speak, telling the Federation about their plans and
priorities for the coming year.
2. Q&A Period. Although the Public is invited, only Federation delegates
and alternates may ask questions. There will not be a drawing for
questions. Delegates and alternates who would like to ask questions need
only to be recognized by the Chair. The subjects of questions are not
required to be submitted in advance.
3. Questions should be concise, no more than thirty seconds in length, and
not statements of position. Argumentative, multi-part, and follow-up
questions will not be permitted. In the interest of allowing as many
persons as possible to ask questions, each delegate or alternate will be
allowed to pose only one question. If time permits, the Chair may recognize
delegates and alternates for a second question.
Public Comment Continues
At our December meeting, we began trying out an open forum for citizens
during the half-hour before we convene our meeting. From 7:00 to 7:30 p.m.,
we open the floor to any Arlingtonian (delegate or not) who would like to
ask a question, voice a concern or express a point of view. While we had
only one taker at the first meeting, we hope this new "tradition" will
become more popular with time.
County Board Rejects Federation's Snow Removal Ordinance
Recommendation At Work Session
At the December Federation meeting, the membership passed a resolution
recommending the County Board enact an ordinance requiring residents to
clear sidewalks of snow adjacent to their properties. Additionally, the
Federation recommended the County clear trails and the public access ways to
County buildings. In their work session on snow removal, three of five
Board Members declined to consider such an ordinance, accepting the County
Manager's recommendation instead to "encourage community volunteers" to
clear such areas as the "Safe Routes to Schools" sidewalks. The County
Manager recommended against the ordinance, citing such reasons as its
unenforceability and that it would be unfair to require residents to clear
their sidewalks if the County isn't clearing its public areas. Board Member
Chris Zimmerman, who advocated the ordinance, thanked the Federation for
supporting the initiative.
Public Services Survey Coming
The Public Services Committee held their first meeting this year on December
8th. This committee's topic areas include such services as Fire, Police,
Sheriff, Courts, Emergency Medical, Hospitals, Animal Control as well as
Public Works issues such as sidewalks and utilities. Not too long into
their meeting, the Committee decided that the Federation needs to determine
the issues that our member organizations are concerned about. Therefore,
the committee has recommended and the Executive Committee agreed that a
survey would go out to member organization presidents, asking them to assess
and report their public services concerns.
Notes From Your ACCF President
As you can see by the foregoing articles, we continue to see lots of
progress going on with all of our committees. My hat is off to the
committee chairs. A couple other notes...
- I met with the Finance Committee on December 6th. The group first
discussed the pros and cons of proceeding with the Federation's
not-for-profit status. Then it considered options to ensure that we do not
suffer a budget deficit this year. Finally � we discussed if and how we
might pursue charitable activities this year. This discussion centered on
whether to establish a foundation or enter into collaboration with an
organization such as the Arlington Community Foundation. The bottom line �
we need folks savvy in raising organizational funds and charity work to join
this committee!
- Finally � Here's some information received from Delegate Karen Darner
about the Assistive Technology Loan Fund Authority. ATLFA is an agency set
up by the Commonwealth to help people with disabilities acquire equipment
such as wheel chairs, modify their homes with such modifications as ramps or
purchase and modify vehicles to accommodate disabilities. This isn't a
grant program � the Commonwealth, in conjunction with Sun Trust Bank helps
the disabled and their families acquire low interest financing. If you know
someone who could use this program, ask them to call 804-662-9000 or see the
ATLFA web page at http://www.atlfa.org/
ACCF Officers
President Jim Pebley 703-525-0766 jim+
Vice President Dan Krasnegor 703-534-4024 dan+
Treasurer Frances Finta 703-528-2882 (no email)
Secretary Tim Wise 703-243-8345 tim+
Executive Committee
Chairman - Patrick Smaldore 703-528-3935 - patrick+
Member - Robert Atkins 703-527-8859 - (voice or fax) - (no email)
Member - Darnell Carpenter 703-243-5188 - darnell+
Member - Mileva Hartman 703-841-9287 - mileva+
Member - Dan Krasnegor 703-534-4024 - dan+
Member - Susan Quinn 703-931-1755 - susan+
Committee Chairs
Newsletter Editorial Committee
+
News email: - civicvoice Fax: 703-486-0576 +
Web: - www.civfed.org (.com works too)
Recipients of this newsletter are encouraged to forward to all and any
interested parties
Copies of the Newsletter are available for Download from the Civic
Federation website. (This page!)
If you have comments or complaints, please contact the editor, Jim Pebley
This page was last revised on: December 28, 2003.
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Arlington County Civic Federation
