December, 2004 - Volume 89, No. 4
ACCF General Meeting Notice
Tuesday, December 7, 2004, 7:30pm
Hazel Conference Center
Virginia Hospital Center-Arlington
1701 North George Mason Drive
Agenda
Tuesday, December 7, 2004
7:30pm, Call to Order
1. Pledge of Allegiance (formal start of meeting)
2. Approval of Agenda and Minutes (Nov 9, 2004)
3. Treasurer's Report
4. Committee Reports
5. ACPD Peace Officer Memorial Presentation
6. ACCF School Board Program
7. New Business/Announcements
8. Adjournment
Message from the President
As part of my effort to reach out to neighborhoods, we are beginning several initiatives to build a stronger Civic Federation communication system. Our goals are to improve our two-way communications with member associations on issues and priorities and to improve communication to neighborhoods in emergencies. As a start, we would like your help to establish three methods of communications 1) a Civic Federation liaison and telephone tree system, 2) a civic association leaders' Arlington Alert system, and 3) a civic association leaders' telephone message system.
Civic Federation member liaisons. With the outreach and continued growth of Civic Federation membership, we need better ways to keep up to date with member priorities and contact information. We will be trying out a new liaison system for this purpose. We'd like to get 9 or 10 liaisons willing to contact a group of members regularly. We would also use the liaison system and updated contact information for an emergency phone tree if other methods of communication were not available. As a first step, if you are willing to volunteer to help us set up the liaisons and/or to be a liaison, please email me at Pat+.
Emergency communication. Communication with the community is an important priority of the County preparedness. The County would like to be able to establish ways to reach Civic Association leadership directly in emergencies because well informed civic leaders play a critical role in helping neighborhoods respond. We would like your help in getting all our CA leadership signed up for Arlington Alert for a CA group and in setting up a telephone list that could be used for emergency telephone contact.
Arlington Alert is an important tool for reaching you but only one third of CA presidents are signed up. Please sign up at www.ArlingtonAlert.com. As a secondary system, we are asking association presidents to identify three emergency neighborhood contacts (one primary and two back up contacts) who would be willing to receive a County telephone emergency message for the neighborhood.
You can help with this effort by sending an email at prepared with yo+ur emergency contacts and to let us know you signed up for Arlington Alert. If you don't have email or prefer telephone, please call Jackie Snelling at 703 243-0905.
Patrick Smaldore
ACCF Dec Meeting with the School Board
1. What are the two or three most difficult obstacles to overcome in order to close the achievement gap? What are you doing to overcome these obstacles? Do you expect to launch any new initiatives in this area? Which existing programs have been the most successful in this area? Do you plan to put more resources in these successful programs?
2. One of the strategic goals for 2005-11 is to "consistently provide high quality instruction, support and experiences that respond to each student's talents and challenges." How is this being applied to minority students in order to overcome the achievement gap?
3. Gunston Middle School continues to be the only middle school to not meet the state's fully accredited standard and not to make AYP (adequate yearly progress). What is being done specifically at Gunston to address the gap between it and the other middle schools?
4. What is an appropriate division of financial resources between operating funds, including maintenance, and capital investment, including both pay-go and debt service on bonds?
5. What is our projected income and expenditures for the next 5 years? Does it look like we will be able to maintain existing programs and meet projected capitol costs within the projected income? Will there be anything left over for new initiatives?
6. How many teachers are we going to have to recruit each year for the next 5 years in order to have a staff adequate for our program needs?
7. What is APS doing to identify and support Arlington's homeless children?
8. Does APS have any plan to expand or duplicate any of the county-wide alternative schools, in the face of a continual need to assign the spaces at the current programs by a lottery?
9. How and when can the community respond to the Superintendent's proposed school boundary changes in North Arlington?
10. Please update us on the timetable for construction at Washington-Lee and on other large capital improvement projects through out the county.
11. Compare and contrast Arlington Public Schools with the other school districts in the Washington area based upon the factors included in the latest WABE (Washington Area Boards of Education) report, i.e., cost, sources of revenues, classroom statistics, and student achievement.
Parks and Recreation Committee
Jay Wind (jay+) 703-920-5193
Larry Finch (larry+) 703-528-6349, Co-Chairs
Potomac Boathouse Sites. The possibility of building a boathouse on the Potomac for use by the Arlington rowing community has been under consideration for several years. The National Park Service (NPS) would play a key role in selecting a Potomac boathouse site because the shoreline is part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, which is administered by NPS. The Park and Recreation Committee met on November 3 with NPS officials Deborah Feldman and Patrick Gregerson to discuss four possible boathouse sites: two in Rosslyn, one near the 14th St. Bridge, and one on Daingerfield Island. The committee considered such factors as costs, river width, wind conditions, road access, and travel time from Arlington high schools. On Saturday, December 4, the committee will visit the sites for a first-hand look. NPS is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) covering the four boathouse sites, and a draft of the EIS is scheduled for release in the spring of 2005. Because environmental factors will play a key role in selecting a boathouse site, the ACCF Parks and Recreation Committee may wait for the draft EIS before sending a resolution on this issue to the full Federation. The committee will meet briefly following the site visits and then resume discussion of boathouse issues at a meeting at Washington-Lee High School at 7:30 p.m. on December 15.
Reeves Property. In 2001, Arlington County acquired the "Reeves property", consisting of 2.4 acres located at 400 N. Manchester St. This is a small part of the Reeves farm, the last dairy farm in Arlington. When it closed in 1954, the farm had been operated by the same family for almost 100 years. At one time, the Reeves farm consisted of 168 acres, including the land now occupied by the Boulevard Manor neighborhood and Bluemont Park. The land acquired by the County three years ago includes the historic farmhouse, historic milk shed, a modern garage, and open space. The Arlington Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB) have recommended that the entire 2.4 acres be designated as a local historic district. County staff, drawing on a consultant's report, recommends that only the part of the property containing the historic farmhouse and milk shed should be designated as historic. An ordinance to designate all or a portion of the property as a historic district will be considered by the Planning Commission on November 29 and by the County Board on December 11. The ACCF Parks and Recreation Committee will meet at Washington-Lee High School on December 4, following the boathouse site visits (see above), to discuss the Reeves property and decide whether to submit a resolution for consideration by the Federation at the general meeting on December 7. That schedule would enable
ACCF to take a position before the matter comes before the County Board.
ACCF Committee Chairs
Ad Hoc Airports Committee
By-Laws Committee
Community Relations Committee
Cultural Affairs Committee
Environmental Committee
Ben Axelroad, Chair - 703-525-3083
Housing Committee
Legislation Committee
Membership Committee
Frances Finta, Chair - 703-528-2882/fax 703-528-0182
Parks & Recreation Committee
Planning & Zoning Committee
Public Services Committee - Amy Levin, 703-521-4894+
Revenues & Expenditures Committee
Scholarship Committees
9/11
Jim Pebley - 703-525-0766
Tim Reese 703-533-0091, Co-Chairs
Teachers
Schools Committee
Special Events Committee
Adam Croswell 703-553-0523
Frances Finta phone703-528-2882/fax 703-528-0182 Co-Chairs
Transportation Committee
Letter to County Board Chairman Barbara Favola
on Proposed Lot Coverage Restrictions
November 20, 2004
Arlington County Board
Arlington County, Virginia
#1 Courthouse Plaza, Suite 300
2100 Clarendon Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22201
Honorable Barbara Favola, Chairman
Subject: Proposed Lot Coverage Restrictions
The Arlington County Civic Federation is aware that there is a new proposal from the Zoning Ordinance Review Committee (ZORC) to reduce the current maximum lot coverage of 56%. Three years ago, our Planning & Zoning Committee organized a Public Forum to review three earlier lot coverage options proposed by ZORC and found no consensus for any of the proposed alternatives.
The Planning & Zoning Committee is looking at doing another Public Forum to get input from property owners on the ZORC recommendations, in order to prepare a report and resolution for a Civic Federation delegates vote.
Given the complexity of the new ZORC recommendations, we ask that the County Board allow about three months between the advertisement of the new ordinance and the County Board vote, so we can have adequate time to schedule and complete these important steps.
We feel this is important, and we ask that you include it in your discussions of these matters. We look forward to your response to our letter. Please feel free to contact me via telephone at: 703-528-3935, or via email at; pat+.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Patrick A. Smaldore Jr.
Patrick A. Smaldore Jr.
President, Arlington County Civic Federation
3859 North Second Street
Arlington, VA 22203-3803
The Arlington County Civic Federation 2004-2005
Executive Committee Officers
President - Patrick Smaldore - 703-528-3935
Vice President - Anne Fisher - 703-838-8502
Treasurer - Frances Finta - 703-528-2882/fax 703-528-0182
Secretary - Tim Russo - 703-527-3693
Executive Committee Members
Arlington County Civic Federation
C/o Patrick A. Smaldore Jr.
3859 North Second Street
Arlington, VA 22203-3803
This page was last revised on: November 21, 2004.
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Arlington County Civic Federation
