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Hello!
It's been another productive autumn for the Board of Supervisors as we appointed a new County Executive and have started looking ahead to our budget projections and the upcoming General Assembly session. I have included more information about that and other items I have been working on below, as well as information about upcoming events in Fairfax County and Lee District.
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Transportation Priorities on Route One
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Fairfax County has many vital transportation priorities. As Chairman of the Budget Committee, my top concern is making sure that we make the most out of the funding we have available to ensure residents have safe and efficient transportation options. While this is made difficult by the state's constraints on how we are able to raise revenue, I am proud that I was able to work with VDOT to ensure that Lee District got vital infrastructure improvements and road maintenance done this season.
Many of you know about Embark, which will widen Richmond Highway as well as bring a bus rapid transit system in the short-term and a Metrorail extension in the long-term. This effort is just one of many taking place in the Corridor. Since FY2004, the County has allocated more than $1.5 billion in local, state, regional, and federal funding to the Highway. This includes the opening of Jeff Todd Way, the widening Telegraph Road to Mount Vernon Highway, and many spot improvements such as sidewalk completions.
While I am proud of what we have accomplished so far, we face future challenges especially in getting the full funding needed to fully widen Richmond Highway and get dedicated transit lines in place on the highway. We have secured $44 million dollars and need $171 million more for the project. The project is vital to the future of the highway and our ongoing revitalization efforts, and I will continue fighting to ensure the improvements happen and all needed funding is obtained. The complete project overview is available here.
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Our New County Executive: Bryan Hill
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The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors appointed Bryan Hill as county executive, effective Jan. 2, 2018. Hill is currently the James City County, Va., administrator and clerk to its Board of Supervisors. He replaces Edward L. Long,
who retired in September
. Kirk Kincannon is c
urrently serving as acting county executive
. Hill has been with James City County since 2014, and he previously spent seven years with Beaufort County, S.C., as deputy county administrator.
At James City County, Hill is responsible for oversight of staff, major infrastructure projects, economic development, transportation initiatives and the development and implementation of the county's first strategic plan. He recently led the realignment of the county's debt portfolio, which resulted in AAA ratings from each of the three major bond rating agencies.
Hill also has served as the vice chancellor for finance and operations at the University of South Carolina's Beaufort/Bluffton Campus, and as the director of finance for the University of Maryland's Office of Information and Technology as well as director of administration for the Department of Aerospace Engineering
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Hypothermia Awareness for Homeless Residents
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Hypothermia Prevention Program in Lee District and the Route One Area
The Hypothermia Prevention Program
is an integral part of Fairfax County's efforts to prevent and end homelessness that incorporate the collaborative work of area faith communities, civic organizations, businesses, and individual volunteers. The program represents a shining example of collaborative effectiveness in serving the critical needs of those experiencing homelessness when they are in most danger of exposure to cold weather.
Each year, all three Fairfax County emergency shelters that serve single adults activate a "no-turn-away" policy from
December 1-March 31.
"No-turn-away" is also implemented outside of that timeframe based on temperature and weather conditions. The Hypothermia Prevention Program operates in coordination with the regular emergency shelter programs and function in partnership with nonprofit agencies, faith communities, and various community groups and individuals. For general questions, contact Abby Dunner in the Office to Prevent and End Homelessness at [email protected].
In South County, New Hope Housing (NHH) operates their winter seasonal program out of the Eleanor U. Kennedy Shelter (EUKS). Guests are welcome to enter the shelter at 4:30 pm. On December 1, 2017 through March 31, 2018, NHH starts the operation of their Hypothermia Prevention Program through the Ventures in Community Hypothermia Outreach Program (VIC-HOP) at Rising Hope United Methodist Mission Church, located at 8220 Russell Road, Alexandria. At this shelter location, 24 guests can be served per night, with shelter coverage provided by a partnership of over 17 faith-based agencies and organizations located in Hybla Valley, Mount Vernon, and the South County area. In addition to supervising the guests, volunteers provide a hot meal in the evenings, as well as breakfast items to-go daily. VIC-HOP operational hours are from 6:30 pm - 7:00 am daily. At both shelter sites, NHH case management staff provides services to include employment skills and housing assistance. For further program information; please contact Sherry Edelkamp at [email protected] or Tonya Golden at [email protected] or (703) 799-0200.
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Lee District Spotlight: Coach Roy Hill
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A longtime Lee resident, Coach Roy Hill attended high school at Hayfield Secondary and competed on the school wrestling, baseball and football teams. After earning a degree in Biology from the Virginia Military Institute while competing on their wrestling team, Roy came back to Northern Virginia and began his long and illustrious career as a high school wrestling coach and educator at Hayfield Secondary School. He has been recognized countless times for his contributions to youth wrestling at the local, state and national levels, and his athletes have gone on to win multiple championships. He has also been recognized for his contributions to teaching, garnering multiple awards for his contributions to educating the young people of Lee District.
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Good news for drivers who use Interstate 66 during rush hour traffic: Single-occupant vehicles will now have a new option to travel on I-66. But there will be a toll if you travel alone. Starting in December, dynamic tolling will begin along a 9-mile stretch of I-66, from I-495 to U.S. Route 29 in Rosslyn during peak hours - 5:30 to 9:30 a.m. eastbound and from 3 to 7 p.m. westbound, Monday through Friday. The lanes will remain free to all users during the off-peak periods, including weekends. This will be the first time since 1982 that single occupant drivers can use that stretch of road during those hours.
How The Tolls Work:
Ideally the state would fund projects without tolls but that is not possible given the needs statewide and the lack of state revenue to meet all of those needs.
That being said, dynamically priced tolls change with variances in traffic volumes and speed, which keeps traffic moving at free-flow speeds. When traffic volumes are heavy, tolls will increase; when volumes are light, tolls will decrease. Free-flowing lanes enable all users to experience more predictable trips that take less time. All vehicles traveling during these periods will need an E-ZPass transponder, and HOV-2+ vehicles will need an E-ZPass Flex transponder switched to HOV-mode to travel for free.
The current toll rate will be prominently displayed on highway signage so drivers know what they will be charged. While I do not support tolling as the answer to our infrastructure challenges, we must acknowledge it offers new choices for travelers.
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Hayfield and Telegraph Road Updates
Since June of 2016 I have been in discussions with Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) and the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to address the traffic congestion on Telegraph Road. The main source of backups come from the signal at Telegraph Road and Hayfield Road. You might be familiar with the South Kings Highway/South Van Dorn area where on a small budget, we were able to fix what was one of the largest bottlenecks in Lee District. We are trying to imitate that same idea by constructing a short term project at Hayfield Road and Telegraph Road where the traffic signal often causes northbound afternoon traffic back-ups well past Jeff Todd Way.
While this will still take a few years to complete, I am going to be pushing for this fix as fast as possible. In the much longer term, the Fairfax County Transportation Plan (TPP) includes two projects for the widening of Telegraph Road that will be considered in the upcoming funding cycle. One project proposes to widen Telegraph Road from Hayfield Road to South Van Dorn Street from 2 to 4 lanes and the other project would widen Telegraph Road from Leaf Road to Hayfield Road from 2 to 4 lanes. These projects are currently on a countywide unfunded project list, making the short term fix more viable.
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Road Paving Update
As VDOT continues to repave roads, residents can check the status of roads in their neighborhoods and on their commute using the Northern Virginia 2017 Paving Program. Anyone interested can check here for more information.
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Construction Hotline Expands Hours to Evenings and Weekends 
To increase the county's responsiveness to reports of potential construction violations, the Site Construction Hotline is now available on evenings and weekends. The hotline (703-324-7470) was put in place to respond to residents with concerns about development projects in their communities, such as malfunctioning erosion and sedimentation controls, drainage problems, construction beyond or without a county-approved plan or permit, or any activities that may harm the environment, cause safety risks or damage another property. On-call inspectors will now be able to assess and, if necessary, respond immediately to complaints after business hours.
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Signs in the Highway Program
State law prohibits the posting of signs on state rights-of-way. On July 1, 2013, Fairfax County initiated their Signs in the Highway Program to assist VDOT by removing illegal signs from selected major roads, including advertising, political, real estate, and all other types of signs. Here in Lee District, I was able to add our two Commercial Revitalization Districts (Springfield and Route One) into the program, which was a major step to eliminating these types of signs. Other districts haven't been so lucky. Signs are regularly picked up every week between Tuesday and Thursday by the Sheriff's Community Labor Force. Signs are not cleaned up based on public complaints and will not be removed from neighborhood streets-only selected major roads across the county. Citizens may help tremendously by creating or joining a VDOT Adopt-a-Highway group to remove signs from their neighborhood streets and nearby roads. We have already picked up over 17,000 signs since the beginning of the calendar year, and invoiced $129,000 in fines.
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How To Report Suspected Tax Evaders
Fairfax County residents are legally required to register their cars with the Department of Motor Vehicles within 30 days of establishing residence in the County. Those failing to do so may be subject to prosecution for tax evasion, a serious offense. While exceptions may be made for military personnel, out-of-state students, and those visiting family members for extended periods, residents are urged to register as soon as possible to avoid fines. If you suspect a vehicle is evading taxation, you can report it here and the Department of Tax Administration will investigate. If you recently moved into the County or purchased a vehicle, you can register here or call DTA at 703-222-8234.
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Did You Know?
The Department of Code Compliance has invoiced $129,000 in sign violations and collected $96,000. More than 17,000 illegal signs have been collected since the start of the calendar year, and over 1,900 were collected in October.
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6121 Franconia Road
Alexandria, Virginia
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