June 16, 2010

This Friday, school’s out in Falls Church City…and summer officially begins!  Even though swimming pools have been open since Memorial Day, the lazy hazy days of summer don’t really begin until you no longer have to be at a bus stop at o’dark thirty.

So what are your plans this summer?  Still looking for a good camp or two?  The Falls Church City Recreation and Parks Department offers something for everyone of all ages.  From Mommy & Me swim lessons to horseback riding, sports to science, art to adventure, tennis to fencing, a wide range of camps still have openings, according to Amy Maltese, camp coordinator for the City’s Recreation and Parks Department.  Click here for a full list of camps with openings.

Descriptions for each camp can be found in the 2010 Summer Camp Brochure which is available online at http://www.fallschurchva.gov/. Hard copies of this brochure are also available at the Falls Church Community Center. For additional information, contact Amy Maltese at 703-248-5307 .

By ANNETTE HENNESSEY
Falls Church Times Staff

June 8, 2010

As most of you know, two years ago the Falls Church Times was born.  According to George Southern, our self-appointed historian, it was conceived on May 18 but the first story appeared on June 8, 2008.   We really didn’t pull it together until the fall, but since George went on record with June 8, it’s now our official anniversary date.

With a couple of years under our belt, we’ve had to deal with changes. Jimmy Scarano departed for graduate school. Election coverage stretched our staff.  More and more people began expecting us to have indepth investigative reporting, not understanding that the Times was an all-volunteer effort.  But along the way, we’ve stayed true to our founding principles:

• The Falls Church Times remains non-profit.
• Our comment policy has created a forum for City residents to debate in a robust, yet civil manner; no personal attacks or mean-spiritedness are allowed.
• Through our opinion pieces and Community Comment, the Falls Church Times has shown its willingness to publish opposing  points of view.

Most of all, the Falls Church Times staff have fun. We enjoy working together to produce an online newspaper that continues to attract readers and fans.  And it works — someone always has time to post a story, crop a picture, schedule an event.

George Southern is our “Wizard of Oz.”  Behind the scenes, he tweaks headlines, resizes the pictures, manages the editorial calendar, and keeps the quality of the Falls Church Times consistently high.  On top of that, he produces the much-read, and always discussed, weekly Man About Town column.  George Bromley covers city meetings better than Clark Kent ever did for the Daily Planet. Dave Witzel keeps the web site humming.  Gina Caceci single-handedly keeps arts alive in the City, and Scott Taylor’s stories highlight unique aspects of Falls Church.  We’ve been lucky to have Stephen Siegel’s professional talents at work on some of our investigative video reports. 

We continue to attract volunteers. When Jimmy left, Kathleen Nixon, Ilene Smith, and Kathy Washa stepped forth with some great ideas for the Friday FOOD column.  Stephanie Oppenheimer has been writing about Falls Church City school functions this spring, and Ian Edlind has contributed about the bike path that bisects our Little City.  Christine Kilgore followed her inaugural story about H1N1 with other public health features, Kathleen Nebeker continues to write about City policies, such as pet registrations, that can sometimes be a mystery to City residents, and Stephen Hiscott reports on any new East Falls Church development plan, as well as the new Pedestrian/Bicyclist/Traffic Calming Initiative the City has undertaken this spring.  When Victoria Kwasiborski stepped out of the Comment box into the Opinion spotlight, her first column garnered nine comments in one day.

This new wave of writers is heartening.  It strengthens the Falls Church Times, broadening our appeal and widening our viewpoint.  It ensures our sustainability as a volunteer resource for the City.  It is cause for celebration.

From Day 1, when Dave Witzel posted our Under Construction page, the Falls Church Times has been evolving.  So continue to look for new voices, new faces, new features, and new columns at fallschurchtimes.com.  Spread the word to your neighbors and friends.  And as always, new volunteers are always welcome here at the Falls Church Times!

May 26, 2010

Last night, the Falls Church City School Board accepted the resignation of Thomas Jefferson Elementary School principal, Vincent Baxter, effective June 30, 2010.  Mr. Baxter became principal of TJ two years ago when the former principal, Trudy Taylor, retired.  He had previously served as assistant principal at Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School.

In April, Gail Lovette, the assistant principal who was hired to replace Mr. Baxter at MEHMS, also submitted her resignation to the School Board. She is leaving MEHMS on June 30 to attend the University of Virginia to obtain her doctorate in Reading Education.

In a press release from FCC Public Schools, Mr. Baxter announced his decision to leave as “personal” and said:
“I’ve had four wonderful years here in Falls Church City . . . [my leaving] stems from a desire to work a little closer to home so that I can be more involved with my own children’s lives as well as the lives of the students I serve in school.”

Dr. Lois Berlin announced that Bob Palermo, assistant principal at TJ, would be promoted to principal and that the school’s Primary Years Program (PYP) coordinator, Mary Kay Howard, would assume the responsibilities of assistant principal at TJ.

“At this critical time, it is important that there’s a continuum,” Dr. Berlin said.  “Mr. Palermo and Ms. Howard have been a part of the school culture for many years, they are well-respected by the faculty, staff, students and parents, and they are well-versed in PYP and its attributes.  All of this will help ensure a smooth transition at TJ.”

By ANNETTE HENNESSEY
Falls Church Times Staff

May 24, 2010

Woodland House at 610 Fulton Avenue sits on over one acre of property in the center of Falls Church City.  Originally built in the 1890s, the house has been in the Shefer family since the 1960s, but the owner died in February 2010.  The house and surrounding property is expected to be sold by sealed bid auction next month.

Neighbors are concerned that, since the house sits on one of the few large residential tracts remaining in Falls Church City, the property could be subdivided into standard lots. In addition, the property contains a dramatic poplar tree that is at least 100 years old and which occupies virtually the entire southwest corner, or about one-quarter acre.

Therefore, the neighbors claim in their petition to the city, “the siting of the house together with the tree would complicate a developer’s plan to subdivide the property and construct dwellings, whether multiple single family or townhouses or other types of residential units.”  They expressed their concern that the size and location of the lot would create pressure on the City to compromise the historic house and its property “in the name of economic development of the City.”

In the petition, the neighbors call on City Hall to preserve both the historic home and poplar tree, establishing an official position, either by legislation or resolution, against development of the property.

Auction by sealed bid is expected in June.

By ANNETTE HENNESSEY
Falls Church Times Staff

February 22, 2010

For the last 10 years, the schools’ part of the budget pie has hovered around 40%, give or take a percent or two (if you include debt service, the piece of pie grows to 44-48%).  With the projected budget shortfall at $9 million, to keep the schools at 40% of the pie would mean a $3.6 million reduction in the school budget.  What will that mean to Falls Church City Schools?

With no target budget given to the schools by City Hall this year, Dr. Lois Berlin, at the request of the School Board, outlined four tiers of budget cuts at the beginning of the budget process.  Her four budget reductions ranged from 1.8% (accounting for all the federal and state budget cuts) to 8.6% (accounting for the almost $9 million budget shortfall experienced by the city).  The Tier 4 reductions came close, but only equal $3.1 million, and the public outcry against such draconian measures included at this tier such as moving to half-day kindergarten; eliminating elementary-level art, music, and foreign language; and increasing class size by as many as five students has indicated the improbability of that scenario.

Let’s face it.  The economy is not going to rebound in one year.  Unless something drastic happens, we’ll be facing, at the very least, a flat budget for FY2012.  Can the schools withstand these cuts this year, and then even identify new budget cuts for a second year?

Most people engaged in the current budget debate seem to agree that strong schools add value to our Little City (except for those who feel the City School System is doomed, doomed, doomed and we should sell out – quick – to our friendly neighbors).  The debate should now be how much more of the pie we give the schools to maintain the quality of the education for our children and retain the staff the school system has worked hard over the last few years to recruit.

The City budget work sessions have been structured to identify citizens’ priorities.  But groups at recent meetings have been given a list of 68 “lines of service” to prioritize.  By focusing on such a large number of options, it’s easy to focus on pet projects and harder to identify the core functions of the Little City that citizens value most.

With such a dramatic budget reduction, hard choices will be need to be made.  The questions we should be asking are:  Where can we let things slide a year or two?  What are luxuries and what are necessities?  Where can cuts be made, and where do we have to meet legal or moral obligations?  By looking at the major themes, it may make it a little easier to identify those areas:

1. Community Outreach
2. Development
3. Education
4. Environmental
5. Human and Community Services
6. Library
7. Public Safety
8. Recreation and Parks
9. Transportation

And then we should ask the experts – the city staff who run these programs. Acknowledging that all decisions are difficult, where could there be cuts and how would those cuts realistically affect your program?  How easy would it be to rebound after suffering those cuts?  What would be your four tiers for reductions?

As Dr. Berlin constructed her four tiers of budget scenarios, she worked closely with the school administrators and staff to identify cuts and how those reductions would affect the education given to the city students, the staff, the infrastructure of the school system, etc.  The process was a painful one for staff and administrators alike.  Departments were pitted against department; staff continue to feel vulnerable and that many of these budget reductions rest on their backs.

Last week, School Board Chair Ron Peppe stated, “We want to keep any budget reductions as far removed from the classroom as possible,” and indicated that the School Board budget request to the City Manager would be in the neighborhood of a $1.1 million reduction.  Those cuts fall within the Tier 2 range, and the principals’ assessments on how those cuts will affect their schools are available online on the Falls Church City Schools budget page (http://www.fccps.org/board/budget/fy11/index.html).

I can only assume that the City Manager is going through the same process with his staff as he formulates the City’s FY2011 budget scheduled to be released on March 8^th.  Clearly a tax increase is in the Little City’s future.  The question now is how large and where will the increased revenue be spent?  Citizens will be more supportive if they know what the funds will be used for, and how City Hall and the School Board arrived at those priorities.  I am hopeful that the city budget presentation will be as transparent as the school budget debate has been.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

The schedule for the rest of the budget discussion is:

Tuesday, February 23 | Council Chambers, City Hall [300 Park Avenue]

6:30 p.m.         School Board Work Session
8:00 p.m.         Public Hearing #3 on School Board Budget

Tuesday, March 2 | Conference Room, Central Office [800 West Broad Street, Suite 203]

7:00 p.m.         School Board Work Session and Adoption of FY2011 School Budget

Monday, March 8 | Council Chambers, City Hall [300 Park Avenue]

7:30 p.m.         City Manager presents FY11 Operating Budget and FY11-15 Capital Improvements Program

Thursday, March 11 | Council Chambers, City Hall [300 Park Avenue]

7:30 p.m.         Joint City Council/School Board/ Planning Commission Work Session
Report on Financial Condition

Monday, March 15 | Council Chambers, City Hall [300 Park Avenue]

7:30 p.m.       WORK SESSION
Public Safety:  Police, Sheriff, Fire
Administrative: Executive, Council, COR, Treasurer, Registrar

Thursday, March 18 | Council Chambers, City Hall [300 Park Avenue]

7:30 p.m.        WORK SESSION
Community Services: Recreation and Parks, Library, Housing and Human Services, Court Services
City-owned Property Report Follow Up with School Board and Planning Commission

Saturday, March 20 | Community Center [223 Little Falls Street]

Time TBA         Town Hall Meeting:  General Government and Schools

Monday, March 22 | Council Chambers, City Hall [300 Park Avenue]

7:30 p.m.         First Public Hearing, First Reading of Budget Ordinance

Thursday, March 25 | Council Chambers, City Hall [300 Park Avenue]

7:30 p.m.         WORK SESSION
Schools Division
Development Services:  Planning, Zoning, Urban Forestry

Monday, March 29 | Council Chambers, City Hall [300 Park Avenue]

7:30 P.M.       Joint Council, School Board, Planning Commission Work Session
CIP and Utility Budgets

Thursday, April 1 | Council Chambers, City Hall [300 Park Avenue]

7:30 p.m.        WORK SESSION
Environmental Services: Engineering, Operations

Monday, April 5 | Council Chambers, City Hall [300 Park Avenue]

7:30 p.m.       WORK SESSION
School Division

Thursday, April 8 | Council Chambers, City Hall [300 Park Avenue]

7:30 p.m.        WORK SESSION
Council to provide City Manager direction on how to move forward on budget

Saturday, April 10 | Community Center {223 Little Falls Street]

Time TBA         Town Hall Meeting:  Primarily General Government

Monday, April 12 | Council Chambers, City Hall [300 Park Avenue]

7:30 p.m.         Second Public Hearing

Thursday, April 15 | Council Chambers, City Hall [300 Park Avenue]

7:30 p.m.        WORK SESSION as needed

Monday, April 19 | Council Chambers, City Hall [300 Park Avenue]

7:30 p.m.       WORK SESSION
FY2011 Budget Final Review

Monday, April 26 | Council Chambers, City Hall [300 Park Avenue]

7:30 p.m.       Third Public Hearing
Adoption of FY11 Operating Budget and CIP
In the event that City Council defers action on CIP, it will be considered May 3

Tuesday April 27 | Council Chambers, City Hall [300 Park Avenue]

TBA               School Board votes on FY2011 School Appropriation* from City
* also referred to as the School Budget Amendment or School Fund Transfer

For an updated calendar of budget hearings and work sessions, click here.

UPDATE, February 24

In answer to Ms. Nebeker’s comment below, I went back to the School Board’s budget page, and on page 17 of the document with School Board Questions and Staff Answers, found the following table:

To find out more information about the budget history and proposed cuts to the school budget, visit fccps.org and click on FY11 Budget.

February 19, 2010

An e-mail blast was sent.  People responded.  And students at MEHMS enjoyed recess outside for the first time since the Big Snows of 2010.  And that’s the way it works in The Little City.

Read the full story on the MEHMS website or watch and listen to the Rockin’ talents of MEHMS Technology Specialist Brett Sparrgrove.

Special thanks to Kathleen Donovan for the photos and inside scoop!

This is such a busy season.  As we rush around gathering gifts, attending parties, studying for midterm exams, it’s hard to enjoy our days.  But today, we were all given a gift of time stopping…a blanket of snow slowing life, bringing people together, giving us a break from the hustle-bustle.

What did I do with my gift of a day?  Wrapped Christmas gifts with my husband.  Talked with my brother in Pahrump and my sister-in-law in Charlestown for as long as I wanted.  Baked Christmas cookies (even though it wasn’t on my To Do list this holiday season — not enough time).  Bundled my kids up multiple times so they could a) build snow forts b) shovel a path for our dog c) go find the newspaper under the hill of snow.  Read several chapters of “My Life in France” while sitting in front of a fire.  Made grilled cheese sandwiches and hot chocolate.  Played a family game of Life.

I even took a break from the computer, but luckily other Falls Church Times staff did not. Poised at their computers when not shoveling or sledding, they’ve captured the day with readers’ photos.  I enjoyed seeing the day through others’ eyes and experiences…of everyone enjoying the gift of this very special day. 

Tomorrow, we’ll deal with digging out in earnest.  Start thinking about whether there will be school again before winter break and who will stay home with the kids if schools don’t reopen.  Sort out the logistics of buying those last-minute gifts or getting stranded relatives to where they need to be.

But for now, my tea kettle is whistling…and I plan to enjoy a cup of tea with my daughter.  I hope you are enjoying your break as well.

A favorite Falls Church tradition begins tonight.  The Santa Mobile, the decorated reserve pumper from the Falls Church Fire Department and staffed by volunteers, will parade Santa Claus through the streets of the Greater Falls Church area between 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. for the next week. The first five nights are dedicated to specific areas within the City of Falls Church, with the 20th, 21st, 22nd, and 23rd reserved for make-up nights and excursions into neighboring Arlington and Fairfax Counties.  Weather can cause the schedule to shift slightly, so to confirm when the Santa Moblie will visit your neighborhood, visit the Falls Church Virginia Volunteer Fire Department’s web site for an updated map and schedule.

PLEASE NOTE: Santa’s helpers will be handing out candy canes and fire safety literature during Santa’s rounds. Anyone who wishes to receive these free items is encouraged to greet Santa at the curb if possible. This provides the safest conditions for Santa’s helpers and ensures they have an opportunity to visit the largest number of our friends and neighbors.

Photo Credit: Thanks to Shelbi Taylor for the Santa photos.

Latest architectural rendering of proposed Senior housing complex was displayed at the Oct. 26 City Council work session by developer Robert Fossi of The Community Builders, Inc. (Staff photo by George Southern)

By ANNETTE HENNESSEY
Falls Church Times Staff

Our two most recent articles on City Center South Senior Apartments (CCSSA) — Housing Corp. Seeks $2 Million City Funding for New Project [October 25, 2009] and Housing Corp Application Generates Questions [November 5, 2009] — have generated over 50 comments, and many requests by readers to have someone clearly outline the project, the issues surrounding the financing, and next steps.  Using information from the articles and the many comments made to each story, the Falls Church Times has pulled together this guide to the CCSSA project.  In order to ensure that we had captured the facts, we had it reviewed by Carol Jackson with the Falls Church Housing Corporation (FCHC). 

 Other information that was compiled from the comments include:

History of City Funding.  In 2006, the City Council set aside $2 million in CIP funding to increase affordable dwelling units (ADUs). According to the FCHC, “when the CIP… was approved to include the $2 million dedicated for affordable housing investment, those funds were originally discussed and intended to be a grant to a housing developer who would bring an illustrated 20 units of housing to the City…with no pay back to the City[.]”  When FCHC proposed the original CCSA development to the Council in 2008, the City had a Voluntary Concession from Atlantic Realty’s proffer to build the City Center to designate a $4.2 million affordable housing cash subsidy to provide needed equity for the full completion of the City Center South Apartments planned to combine family and senior housing in a single larger development.

Repayment of the Loans to the City and Affordable Housing Fund.  Money from the Affordable Housing Fund (subsidies provided to the City by developers of mixed-use development) will be used to pay the City interest through 2013.  When the CCSSA property is refinanced, the $500,000 will be replaced in the AHF.  If new developments bring new revenue to the AHF in the interim, that money may also be used to pay the bond debt service for the City.

CCSSA will be refinanced through a third party financial institution in year 16 in order to repay the City the remaining balloon payment balance.  In the intervening first 15 years, FCHC’s senior partner, The Community Builders, owner of 25,000+ units east of the Mississippi, will be the guarantor of all debt, including the City’s loan.

Project Status.  Now that the project has been submitted and awarded federal funding, no significant changes will be allowed to the seniors’ apartment project (size and scope of design, target population).

This debate has highlighted some ongoing questions about CCSSA in particular and Falls Church City’s commitment to affordable housing in general:

• What is the commitment to affordable housing and at what cost?   
• How does the City plan to address shortage of workforce housing if its entire $2 million set-aside is being used for affordable housing for the elderly and disabled?
• If the CCSSA project is not approved, can the Council reallocate the $2 million CIP affordable housing set-aside for other purposes?
• How does the City determine quantity of affordable housing from residential projects?  To date, the City’s ADUs have been less than 5% of all units created since the mixed use projects began to be approved in Falls Church.   Arlington County seeks roughly 10% in every new development, Fairfax and Loudon is typically up to 12%. Does Falls Church need to re-evaluate its approach?
• Is the $2 million being requested to finance the CCSSA project the same $2 million used as a short-term loan to the FCHC to secure an option to purchase 360 N. Washington Street?  Under the loan agreement, the property owner was scheduled to repay $1.9 million to FCHC by mid-December 2009 and FCHC was to repay the entire $2 million to Falls Church City.

FCHC has promised to hold some Q&A sessions with citizens after the new year. From the robust discussion on FallsChurchTimes.com, we suspect the debate will continue long after the City’s decision about the CCSSA proposal.  And as always, we welcome your continued comments.