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| Monthly Newsletter from Chairman Sharon Bulova |
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Email
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Office
(703) 324-2321
Please contact my office with any comments, questions, concerns or ideas.
I look forward to hearing from you!
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Greetings,
My first board meeting in January 1988 was in the Massey Building. I remember being so nervous I thought I might pass
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The Massey Building
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out as I marched into the board room and sank into my seat between Springfield District Supervisor Elaine McConnell and Vice Chairman Martha Pennino (affectionately known as Mother Fairfax).
Audrey Moore had just been elected Chairman. She was a populist who had been swept into office on a slow growth platform by a constituency fuming over what they saw as out of control development. During the prior two decades, the county's population had almost doubled in size. Audrey was a fantastic Supervisor for her Annandale (now Braddock) District constituents. She was a strong, effective environmentalist and fiscal conservative. On the Board she had been a maverick, known for her often prickly independence. As Chairman, that independence got in the way of the role she needed to play leading the Board and the County.
I learned a lot about growth and development during my first four-year term. Not long after our slow-growth Board took office, the recession of the 90's began to materialize. It was a major nationwide recession. Audrey Moore did not cause it, but limits to development that our Board adopted during that term had a destabilizing effect on our local economy. Friction ensued between the Board and the business community. Real estate tax revenue plummeted.
Four years after Audrey Moore was elected Chairman to stop growth in Fairfax County, Mason District Supervisor Tom Davis defeated her in a campaign to "get Fairfax County back in business." During my first term in office, I volunteered to chair the Board's Budget Committee, a position I held for the next 20 years. I came to appreciate the importance of stable, dependable land use policies coupled with governance that engages with and is considerate of all stakeholders when considering change.
In 1992 the County, with Tom Davis as Chair, moved most of its operations out of the Massey Building and into the brand new Government Center. Mostly Public Safety offices remained behind. The Government Center is a beautiful building and campus, built through an innovative arrangement were the County swapped undeveloped land in Centreville to developers in return for construction of the Government Center. Some still uncharitably refer to it as "The Taj Mahal", but I think most County residents have come to appreciate its inviting and attractive public spaces, including a Conference Center available for the community to use free of charge and a backyard, The Ellipse, where concerts are held on Thursday evenings during the summer. Every June, our front parking lot is alive with fun and entertainment during the Celebrate Fairfax Fair weekend.
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The Fairfax County Government Center (photo by Greg Licamele)
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The Massey Building had been constructed in the 1960s. It only had one ladies bathroom serving the board room. Our 6-3 female majority was always competing for its occupancy. It had been built with the concept that the lighting system would also help moderate the temperature. The County got complaints from constituents during the energy crisis of the 1970's and fuel cost spikes of the '90's as the Massey Building, glowing all night like a Christmas tree, illuminated the judicial campus and areas around it. Toward the end of its useful life (now) it leaked every time it rained and had frequent electrical outages. Offices were always too cold or too hot.
 Public Safety personnel gleefully moved out of the Massey Building and into a state-of-the-art new Public Safety Administration Headquarters on the Government Center Campus in the fall of 2017. Which brings us to 2019 and the end of the line for the poor old Massey Building.
After years of planning for its demise, demolition of the Massey Building is slated for May 21st. According to our staff, "Asbestos and all hazmat materials will be certified to be removed from the building before commencement of general demolition.... The Contractor is deploying high-reach processing machines to take the building apart in pieces and collecting them at ground level." The demolition will be quite a sight as pieces of the building are munched away by a large machine. And the landscape will sure look empty for all of us accustomed to seeing the Massey Building poking up over the courthouse and the City of Fairfax.
And so ends an era. I think government buildings reflect the jurisdictions they were built to serve. I thought about this as County employees recently participated in County Employee Field & Fitness Day in the Government Center backyard. Some members of my office competed in Women's Tug of War. We lost, but it was so much fun that it was okay. We are a County that works hard and plays hard. We get excited about solving problems. We engage the community in the process of governance. Sometimes that can be rough and tumble, but the outcome is always better.
For a time, I will miss seeing the Massey Building, but you can be sure it will be replaced with something better.
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Sincerely,
Sharon Bulova
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors
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Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Adopts FY2020 Budget
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On May 7, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to adopt the FY2020 Budget. The $4.4 billion General Fund Budget keeps the real estate tax rate the same at $1.15 per $100 of assessed value and includes $3.5 million in savings.
This is a responsible and balanced budget. Investments and improvements to our local economy over the years made it possible for our Board to keep a flat tax rate, while at the same time, fully funding the budget request from the Schools and boosting the Market Rate Adjustment for Fairfax County employees.
Some highlights of the FY2020 budget include:
- Fully funding the Fairfax County Public Schools budget request, which ensures teacher salaries that are competitive in the region;
- Increasing the employee market rate adjustment (MRA) from 1% to 2.1%, which adjusts the minimum wage from $14.83 to $15.14 for county employees;
- Addressing the opioid crisis;
- Funding the fourth year of Diversion First;
- Including funding for two new staff positions for the new Office of Environmental and Energy Coordination, as well as a Housing Coordinator position for the Department of Housing;
- As part of Third Quarter Review for FY2019, $5 million will be added to accelerate affordable housing initiatives in Fairfax County. This is in addition to the $10 million already allocated in the FY2020 Advertised Budget, and the more than $140 million from all sources including state and federal funds.
Looking ahead, the FY2021 budget will pose new challenges and new opportunities, including:
- Implementing the new Countywide Strategic Plan;
- Considering a funding plan that moves recommendations from the Affordable Housing Resources Panel forward;
- Considering the results of the Police Body Worn Camera Pilot Program;
- Tackling energy and environment issues through the Energy and Climate Action Plan and, in collaboration with our Schools, through The Joint Environmental Task Force (The JET).
These things, and others, are on the horizon throughout the current fiscal year and for a new Board of Supervisors taking office in 2020.
This is my last vote to adopt the Fairfax County General Fund Budget, and this is a budget that I'm proud of. I want to thank my colleagues and County staff, including Budget Chairman Jeff McKay, County Executive Bryan Hill, and Chief Financial Officer Joe Mondoro, for their level of engagement and commitment that is demonstrated in the budget process, and the final product we have before us.
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| Options for Metrorail Riders during Blue/Yellow Line Summer Shutdown |
 In response to Metro's shutdown of six Blue and Yellow Line stations south of Ronald Reagan International Airport this summer, Fairfax County is dedicated to ensuring commuters have access to alternative transportation options and the latest up-to-date information about the shutdown.
In Fairfax County, the Franconia-Springfield Metro Station and the Huntington Metro Station will offer free parking during the Metro summer shutdown of the Blue and Yellow Lines. Commuters can park in these parking lots (which have a combined total of 8,686 spaces) and from there, join a slug line, catch a Fairfax Connector bus, or catch a WMATA express shuttle to help them get to work. Since parking at these stations is currently under capacity by about 50 percent, we believe there will be more than enough spaces available for commuters participating in ridesharing, bus riding and shuttle riding. Free parking will also be available at the surface parking lot at the Van Dorn Street Metro Station.
To respond to increased demand for alternative transportation options during the Metro shutdown, Fairfax Connector will add increased bus service on Route 393 and 394 and reduce intervals to ten minutes during commuting hours. WMATA will run express shuttles to the Pentagon stations, where Metro will be operating and can take commuters into downtown D.C.
The Fairfax County Department of Transportation has been involved in outreach efforts to commuters through letters to employers, social media posts, email/text alerts through Fairfax Alerts, and the creation of a new webpage outlining transportation alternatives during Metro's shutdown:
www.fairfaxcounty.gov/transportation/travel-alerts/metro-platforms
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Similar to when Metro launched SafeTrack in 2016, Fairfax County encourages commuters to plan for alternate travel options such as bus connections, ridesharing, telework and alternate work schedules as WMATA tackles important platform and safety improvements.
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Fairfax County Files Lawsuit Against Opioid Manufacturers, Distributors and Pharmacy Benefit Managers
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 On Tuesday, April 30, the Fairfax County
Board of Supervisors filed a lawsuit in Virginia state court against more than 50 known defendants, including opioid manufacturers, distributors and pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, for their role in creating the public health emergency caused by the opioid crisis. The defendants include manufacturers Purdue Pharma, Abbott Laboratories, Endo Pharmaceuticals, Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Cephalon, Inc., Barr Laboratories, Inc., Actavis Pharma, Watson Laboratories, Inc., Allergan PLC and Insys Therapeutics; distributors AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp., Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp.; and PBMs Express Scripts, Inc., Caremark/CVS Health, United Health Group Inc. and OptumRx, Inc.
Opioids are the number one cause of unnatural death in Fairfax County, and our residents are demanding action in response to this epidemic. In addition to Fairfax County launching an Opioid Task Force, offering REVIVE training courses, creating safe drug disposal opportunities and educating our community about the dangers of drug addiction and overdose, Fairfax County seeks to hold drug companies accountable for their role in this nationwide crisis.
The lawsuit alleges that defendants are responsible for the opioid epidemic and profited enormously from their respective roles in manufacturing and moving opioid products throughout the county, while misrepresenting or understating their addictive nature. The county has alleged violations of statutory and common law public nuisance, the Virginia Consumer Protection Act, fraud, common law conspiracy, negligence and unjust enrichment.
The lawsuit seeks to recover the public funds the county has expended to address the effects of the opioid crisis, including the significantly increased expenditures for the delivery of emergency medical services, law enforcement services, mental health services and substance abuse services as a result of the crisis.
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Everyone Counts - Work on the 2020 Census Is Underway
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The U.S. Constitution requires that each decade we take a count - or a census - of America's population. The goal of the 2020 Census is to count everyone once, only once, and in the right place. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has established a Complete Count Committee to create awareness about the upcoming census and to target hard-to-count populations. Households will receive an invitation to participate in the census beginning next March.
Learn more about the process, available jobs, frequently asked questions and more.
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| Recycling Glass in Fairfax County |
 Before tossing your used glass bottles into your curbside recycling bin, consider taking your glass to one of the County's two new purple-colored dumpsters for glass collection, located at the I-66 transfer station and I-95 Landfill Complex.
Glass recyclables pose unique challenges in single-stream collection and transport. When glass breaks, it makes it difficult to sort through co-mingled recyclables. The market for recycled glass has also been on the decline, especially due to China imposing tighter controls on the quality of recycled materials it accepts.
As a result, most glass containers placed in recycling bins on the curb are not recycled and end up in the landfill.
The purple collection dumpsters at the County's two Recycling and Disposal Centers allow for glass to be crushed into sand and gravel-sized pieces and re-purposed. For example, Fairfax County is now using crushed glass as construction fill and bedding material for road repairs and supporting pipes. The City of Alexandria, Prince William County, and Arlington County have also introduced purple dumpsters for glass collection at their trash and recycling collection sites.
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VDOT Meeting on I-495 Express Lanes Extension Study
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 Learn about the Virginia Department of Transportation's environmental study regarding plans to extend the I-495 Express Lanes by approximately three miles from the Dulles Toll Road interchange towards the Maryland line, in the vicinity of the American Legion Bridge.
Monday, May 20, 2019, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Presentation starts at 7 p.m.
977 Balls Hill Road, McLean, VA 22101
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| Zoning Ordinance Amendment Proposal: Community Gardens, Farmers Markets |
 Community gardens and other ways to access fresh, local produce could soon be coming to your neighborhood. On June 25th, the Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing on the proposed zoning ordinance amendment "Community Gardens, Farmers Markets, Gardening as an Accessory Use and Related Changes."
These proposed changes would develop regulations around establishing community gardens, and allow gardens for personal use in the front yards of some homes. Also included in the amendment are changes to the text to make it easier for Farmers Markets to operate in the County.
This amendment would provide individuals with more options for fresh fruits and vegetables, and help alleviate food insecurity in some areas of the County. Many people do not realize that 5% of Fairfax County residents are food insecure, meaning they have limited or uncertain access to nutritionally adequate foods. This percentage is much better than the national average, but it is important to continue to improve the lives of our residents by promoting both sustainability and healthy eating habits while minimizing the impacts on surrounding communities.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter. More information on the proposed amendment, as well as information about upcoming public hearings can be found here.
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Massey Building Demolition Coming Soon
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 The Massey Building is set for demolition in late May (on or about May 21). Contractors have been working for the last two years to remove the asbestos and other environmental hazards for structural demolition. All hazmat materials including asbestos will be certified to be removed from the building before commencement of general demolition. The building will be taken apart using high reach machines during daylight hours for safety purposes.
Built in 1969, the Massey Building was the original county seat and government center located in the City of Fairfax. The 12- story office building is named after Fairfax County first county executive Carlton C. Massey. Fairfax County government offices would move to the present-day Government Center complex in the early nineties. As the building neared 50 years of service, the building has reached the end of its usefulness. After the completion of the Government Center, the Massey Building served as Fairfax County Police Department and Fire Department headquarters before the completion of the new Public Safety Headquarters.
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| Volunteer for the CCFP Selection Advisory Committee |
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| Disability Inclusion Conference | June 29 |
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) offers amazing programs and services to help children of all abilities in our school system thrive, but what happens when residents with developmental disabilities graduate and are no longer in school?
Come learn about employment opportunities, social clubs and organizations, inclusive housing initiatives and more at the first ever
Disability Inclusion Conference hosted by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and The Arc of Northern Virginia. This conference will include booths, networking, a panel discussion and breakout sessions for parents, families, the business community, law enforcement, non-profits and individuals with disabilities who want to learn more about all the ways Fairfax County welcomes and includes adults with development disabilities in community life.
This one of a kind event is designed to help build a bridge between the disability community and society to foster a more inclusive community where we all live and work together as One Fairfax. Be prepared to engage in discussion, ask questions, and connect with community members as we work together to build a vision for what inclusivity can look like. Coffee and light breakfast provided.
Date:
Saturday, June 29, 2019
Time:
8:30am - 12:30pm
Location:
Fairfax County Government Center, 12000 Government Center Pkwy, Fairfax, VA 22035
Keynote speaker:
Frank Stephens, Wildflour Caterers, Disability Inclusion Advocate
Panelists:
Glenn Grundy
, AMC Tysons Corner 16
Paula Manion
, City Center NOVA
Karen Glassner
, Best Buddies Virginia
Commander Ryan Morgan
, Fairfax County Police Department
Breakout Session Topics:
Social Opportunities
Housing Models
Employment
Inclusive
Public Spaces
Public Safety
Music:
Jake Sizemore
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| Enjoy Wine & Jazz with OAR at The Winery at Bull Run | May 29 |
Come join OAR Nova at The Winery at Bull Run on May 29 at 7:30pm! Enjoy a live jazz band, award winning wine and delicious hors d'oeuvres. OAR Nova works to rebuild lives and break the cycle of crime with opportunities, alternatives, and resources for offenders and their families to create a safer community.
Guests will learn more about the OAR mission, their recent growth, their plans for the future, and OAR clients will share their success stories. Admission is free! For more information, visit
www.oarnova.org/oar-s-2019-fundraiser
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| Primary Election on June 11 |
Did you know we have a local primary election on June 11, 2019? Fairfax County will be having contested primaries for Board of Supervisors, House of Delegates, State Senate, Commonwealth Attorney, and Soil and Water Conservation Board. There are over 40 candidates running for local elected seats in 2019. See the sample ballots
here
. Freshen up on your local government knowledge by watching my short "Fast Facts" video below:
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| Who Represents You in Fairfax County |
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