Dear Neighbors:

The new legislative season for City Council has started, and I wanted to fill you in on several of the issues and initiatives going on in the City. As I did last year, I will try to send periodic updates on City activities and, as always, I encourage you to share your thoughts and ideas.

Issues On Deck For This Year

Below are just a few of the issues that will be discussed this year. I hope you will participate. I will provide updates as the year goes on, and if you have questions or would like me to provide information on other topics, please let me know.

o Hiring a New City Manager
o Transportation Planning Project
o Mass Transit Planning and Funding
o Traffic Calming; Making the City More Pedestrian Friendly
o Continued Efforts on Open Space
o Multiple Development Planning Projects from Waterfront to Landmark Mall
o Workforce Housing Policy Discussion
o Emergency Preparedness Campaign – Be Ready Alexandria
o School Study on Parental Involvement
o After School Child Care Policy Discussion
o City Budget and Government Efficiency Audits

For details on these topics, read other postings on this blog.

I am proud of much of the work by the City Council last year. Here are some areas on which I focused:

   Protecting Alexandria’s Environment and Ensuring Quality Development

* Member of the Youth Policy Commission, where I try to give time to help and support Alexandria’s Youth Council – a group of youth leaders in the City.

* Took the initiative with Councilman Gaines to start work on improving Emergency Preparedness in Alexandria.  The Be Ready Alexandria Campaign started in September.

* Worked with the Mayor to kick off a feasibility study for an all City Sports Facility that can highlight the sports accomplishments of Alexandria youth, help promote physical fitness and healthy living, support Alexandria’s many adult sports programs and a facility that can act as a gathering place for the community.

* Worked with Councilman Smedberg to ensure the local arts community was actively involved in the Old Town Arts Festival.

Time to Talk?
I am going to organize a gathering of residents to have a casual discussion where we can share ideas about transportation, pedestrian, bicycle, traffic calming and related issues.  If you are interested in participating, please send e-mail to Rob@Krupicka.com

Observations from Last Year

I am frequently asked if my first year was what I thought it would be and if I still liked the job.  The answer is a resounding yes.  I have been impressed with the range of ideas and opinions in the City and am frequently reminded of the creativity and graciousness of Alexandria residents.  I have been privileged to see so many different aspects of our City and to meet many, many thoughtful and committed people.

The issues we face in the City are often very personal. They directly impact each of our lives in different ways.  That creates obvious and appropriate passions that can boil over sometimes.  But more times than not, we all work together, communicate, agree to disagree when needed and keep working together to make our great City even better.  It is clear to me that collaboration results in the best outcomes.  City organizations that work with City staff get more done than those that criticize or attack City staff.  Rather than demagoguery, I prefer and have enjoyed many thoughtful discussions with residents and my colleagues.  When people are not willing to sit down and talk, you can be sure that problems will arise.

In this computer age, the City Council generates more paper than I could have ever expected.  The City spends thousands and thousands of dollars a year on photocopies of legislative materials, memos, and other documents.  I am hopeful we can start moving away from such a paper intensive system and have more information provided via e-mail and other electronic formats. 

I have spent a good part of the year trying to learn how to balance family priorities with the fact there is an event in this City almost every day and night.  My family and I have tried to keep Sunday’s for family, but every once in a while I find myself at an event.  If you see me somewhere on a Sunday, you can be sure that means the kids are sleeping or my family is with me. 

I have also learned that the City budget process combined with a newborn child may not be the best combination for restful sleep. The arrival of my second daughter, Gillian, has been one of the best things to happen this year.

And lastly, I have learned that I type too fast and need to proofread e-mail a bit more. Thanks to those of you who kindly point out my misspellings.   

Talk to you soon,

Rob

August 23, 2004

 Dear Neighbor:

 Last fall, Hurricane Isabel dramatically illustrated the need for emergency preparedness. In an effort to bring awareness of the need to prepare for all disasters and emergencies next month, the Alexandria Citizen Corps Council, Co-Chaired by Councilman Gaines and myself, is taking part in the National Emergency Preparedness Month with a local effort: “Alexandria Prepares.” 

On Thursday, September 9 at 6 p.m., members of the media, City Council, Citizen Corps Council, Citizen Emergency Response Team (CERT), Fire Department, Red Cross Association, and Old Town Civic Association will be kicking off the campaign to prepare local residents and businesses for emergencies.  The Citizen Corps Council, along with partnering organizations, will distribute door–to–door, emergency preparedness materials that encourage and educate residents and businesses on how to prepare an emergency survival kit.  The outreach program will continue over the next year until the City’s 135,000 residents and 8,000 businesses are reached. 

To make this event as successful as possible, the Citizen Corps Council is looking for businesses to help sponsor the event.  If your business, or if you know of a business that would be interested in helping, please let us know.  The group wants to provide the following items:

-         refrigerator magnets with an insert on emergency numbers and information,

-         literature bags with education information,

-         English/Spanish emergency preparedness fact sheet, and

-         Red Cross/FEMA publication on family disaster planning.

The largest sponsorship opportunity is the “Alexandria Prepares” refrigerator magnet.  The goal is to distribute the magnet to every household in the City.   The total cost to obtain magnets for all residences and businesses is $29,000.  There is room on the magnet for one or two business logos.

The second sponsorship opportunity is the plastic bags that will hold the material and magnet.  The bags will cost approximately $10,000 and can hold up to ten sponsoring business names.

The last sponsorship opportunity is the “Fact Sheet” with safety information specific to Alexandria in English and Spanish.  The fact sheet will include information on organizations that helped sponsor the event.    

We are also looking for volunteers to help distribute these materials.

If you are able to help us prepare Alexandria residents and businesses for any potential emergency, please contact my Aide, Elizabeth Jones at 703-838-4500 or KrupickaAide@Comcast.net.  Please feel free to share this message with as many as you can.

We worked hard last year to implement a pilot banner program on King Street  

If you have a moment, please take a few minutes to click on the following hyperlink and answer a few questions about the banners that were recently installed on King Street.  The results will help us determine whether the pilot banner program should be continued and what changes should be considered.

 http://intercom.virginia.edu/SurveySuite/Surveys/BannerSurvey.

Last night I had the privlege of attending a reception to promote the ongoing effort to raise funds to help restore the Lee-Fendall House on Washington Street.  The City provided some seed money for this effort in the last budget. The house is in desparate need of major structural work.  This is one of Alexandria’s historic gems.  I encourage you to take a moment and join the effort to preserve this piece of Alexandria and U.S. history.  You can help by calling 703-548-1789.  More information can be found at www.leefendallhouse.org

And lastly, the Washington Post has just completed a three part series on growth and sprawl in the Washington DC Region.  The series started last Sunday.  It talked about the rapid job growth in the DC Region and the fact that housing growth has not kept up with job growth and the result is higher home prices and rapid housing development.  The series also talked about development that is moving further and further out, in some cases to West Virginia, and this sprawl is increasing traffic (60-70% of traffic on Alexandria’s major roads is cut-through traffic),  congestion and lengthening commute times.  The last article talked about the complex issues surrounding regional planning and the conflicts  etween regional and local planning goals and priorities.  These articles paint an interesting picture of the challenges we face in Alexandria and the region.  I am interested to hear your thoughts or comments about  these, please send me e-mail to Rob@Krupicka.com

As you likely know, the City Council has begun a search for a new City Manager due to the retirement of Phil Sunderland.  The selection of the next City Manager will be one of the most important things this Council will do. Our hope is to spend the summer collecting resumes.  Then we will spend September going through the resumes and interviewing the top candidates.  Our hope is to have a new Manager selected by late September or some time in October.

Your input is needed and is very helpful to us.  Please take a few minutes and fill out the online survey at http://www.rev.net/~alexpay/survey.html

Greetings:

I hope you had a good Memorial Day weekend. Welcome to the second edition of the "Krupicka Council News" - a periodic e-mail newsletter designed to keep you up to date on Alexandria City Council goings-on. As a member of City Council, I am committed to bringing out the best in our city and resolving problems for the long-term. There is a lot going on in this City.  It is my sincere hope that through these messages I can open up lines of communication, elicit feedback, and foster a healthy dialogue on how we'd all like Alexandria to move forward. Let me know what you think. My e-mail inbox is always open - rob@krupicka.com.

If you want to be added to the newsletter list, send a message to the same address with "ADD Krupicka List" in the subject line.

Topics in this issue:

Questions for You
Creating a Vision
Budget Influenced By Long Term Vision
You Win Some, You Lose Some: The Never-Ending Transportation Battle
The Bay, Our Trees, Green Building and Open Spaces
Emergency Planning Receives Attention
Affordable Housing Shortage Grows
Supporting Small Business
Reaching out to and Supporting Our Youth
Waterfront Festival Opportunity
Note to Parkfairfax residents

**Questions for You

Your insight is invaluable to me in my job as a member of City Council. I recently had a conversation with city residents about ways the City and the Schools could work together to improve services for Alexandria's children. The dialogue was immensely informative, and I would like to expand it.

What are your thoughts about city services for kids and how those could be improved?

What are your priorities for emergency planning?  Does your family have an emergency plan?

What City parks, sports fields and playgrounds do you use most frequently?

Which ones, if any, are in need of repairs?

I would appreciate your feedback on these issues and any other issues important to you.  You can always reach me at rob@krupicka.com.

**Creating a Vision

Council work continues on crafting a strategic plan addressing the services, planning, economy and infrastructure we want as a City.  You can read the draft strategic plan at:
http://ci.alexandria.va.us/city/city_council/pdf/strategicplan2004.pdf

The plan will next be discussed at the City Council Public Hearing on June 12th.

**Budget Influenced By Long Term Vision

The first budget from this Council is complete.  Already, the strategic planning process is helping Council make better-informed decisions with an eye for the long-term.  This year's budget was heavily influenced by the concepts discussed in the draft strategic plan for the City. City staff and the Mayor deserve praise for making the budget process smooth and effective.

During the budget process, City staff responded to over 100 Council requests for memos on budget proposals and alternatives -a record for any Council. The information in those memos influenced this year's budget and will also have on impact on future budgets. Here are a few of the highlights on the budget; much more can be found on the City web site:

1) Tax Relief Take One: Alexandria's 4-cent reduction in the property tax rate was one of the largest tax rate reductions in the region - more than Fairfax, Loudoun or Arlington Counties.  For the first time in 54 years, our tax rate is below 1 dollar. Every jurisdiction in the region has faced
rising property values.  In the last 20 years, Alexandria has lowered its property tax rate more than any other regional government.  We have more work to do to balance the tax burdens on homeowners in Alexandria.  The strategic planning efforts, audits of government functions and other priority setting and economic development efforts to help local businesses are all geared toward this end.

2) Tax Relief Take Two: Thanks to the leadership of Councilwoman Woodson and the hard work and creativity of City staff, this budget includes an innovative property tax rebate program for residents earning less than $61,000 per year.  The goal of this program is to make it easier for lower income residents to stay in their homes and in Alexandria.  The City continues to provide tax relief programs for senior citizens as well.

3) Education: This budget fully funds Alexandria's public schools, keeping us moving forward on our mission to ensure Alexandria schools are the best in Northern Virginia.

4) Government Efficiency: This budget begins a multi-year process to review the efficiency and effectiveness of City departments. .  Through audits as well as the establishment of management benchmarks for city departments, we will have data to evaluate City programs and identify opportunities for more efficient and effective services. Councilman Smedberg and I, with the support of the rest of Council, worked together to make this initiative part of the budget.

5) Environment: To keep us moving on our commitment to a "Greener" Alexandria, this budget includes a strong commitment to open space, increased support to maintain our parks and trees, support to move forward on our Urban Forestry plans a new recycling program.  I have  concentrated much of my energies over the past year on these programs -- I am happy to see them succeed. I am particularly excited about the new recycling program that both increases the scope of recycling in the City (home recycling pick up will now include cardboard, for example, and we will develop a new program for commercial buildings, apartments and condominiums) and saves the City money.

6) Long Term Planning: This budget continues our emphasis on detailed planning of key areas of the City that will enable us to update our City zoning and master plans in accordance with our long-term vision for the City.  Money was also budgeted so that we can complete our comprehensive transportation policies and create a new transportation master plan.

7) Emergency Preparedness: This budget continues our efforts to help us prepare for emergencies through strengthened emergency response from the fire department as well as homeland security initiatives.  Councilman Gaines and I have been working closely on these initiatives.

8) Transportation: This budget builds on this Council's commitment to support transportation alternatives by expanding the Dash bus system, long championed by Vice Mayor Pepper, and improving pedestrian and bicycle access in the City.   Councilmen Smedberg, Gaines, Macdonald and I worked hard to build these initiatives into the budget.

**You Win Some, You Lose Some: The Never Ending Transportation Battle

1) Winning, Take One -- We continue to improve efforts to address transportation issues in the City. The city has been granted $732,000 from the Governor's Congestion Relief Program and $193,000 from the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality project.  The money from the Governor is specifically geared toward improving traffic flow and improving pedestrian access in and along Duke Street.  Work on this project is expected to begin this fall and last one year.  The federal money is earmarked for optimizing the operation of approximately 70 traffic signals throughout the city.  The signal timing is being coordinated with other localities to achieve a regional solution.  Signal studies in the Duke Street area are slated to begin in the fall of this year.

2) Winning, Take Two -- Pedestrian and Bicycle Planning: City Council, in the most recent budget, increased the City's focus on pedestrian, bicycle and other non-automotive transportation options.  Councilman Paul Smedberg has been working closely with City staff to increase emphasis on pedestrian issues, and Councilman Gaines has been a strong advocate for regional pedestrian safety initiatives.  I am happy to support both their efforts.

3) Winning, Take Three -- Help from Richmond: On March 18, Virginia's Commonwealth Transportation Board adopted a new bicycle and pedestrian policy that commits the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to routinely accommodate bicycling and walking "as fundamental travel modes and integral components...in the planning, funding, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of Virginia's transportation network."  This is an important change as it provides bike and pedestrian lane infrastructure projects with access to the same funding as roads.  Governor Warner and the State Transportation Director Whitt Clement deserve our praise for their vision.  This is an important policy step as we strive to provide clear alternatives to cars in Alexandria, and the rest of Virginia.

4) ...And You Lose Some - VDOT's innovation was undermined by the Virginia General Assembly which, for the second year in a row, voted against legislation that would give pedestrians the right away at intersections and cross walks.  All legislation that would have required cars to stop for pedestrians was defeated.  It is essential that we have laws that provide for the safety of pedestrians - it is the only way to achieve a walkable, bikable community.
We have more work to do to make Alexandria, and the rest of the State, more pedestrian friendly.

5) Making Progress Part One -- Vice Mayor Pepper and I serve together to monitor the progress of the Duke Street Concourse, a tunnel under Duke Street that connects the King Street Metro to the Carlyle and PTO development.  As of our most recent review of the project, everything is
moving along on schedule for a June 30th completion.

6) Making Progress Part Two - Transportation Work Group: Vice Mayor Pepper and I served together on a committee that recommended the City Council establish a citizen and Planning Commission lead working group to update Alexandria's transportation master plan as well as our related transportation policies.  This work group will be appointed by the City Council in the next month and start work over the summer.

**The Bay, Our Trees, Green Buildings and Open Spaces

The Bay: The City Council recently adopted new Chesapeake Bay ordinance designed to ensure Alexandria and its residents are working hard to protect the bay by taking care of streams, creeks, and other water flow in the City. City staff deserves a lot of credit for their hard work and communication with the community on this issue.

Our Trees: City Council recently approved an action plan to create an Urban Forestry program for Alexandria.  This program will help us preserve, and expand the tree cover in Alexandria.  This is good for the air, it is good for energy efficiency as the trees keep our homes cooler in the summer, it is important for wildlife and it makes the City look good.   The group will start meeting in the next few months.  Councilman MacDonald and I have been working to get this process moving.  If you are interested in learning more about this, please contact either of us.

Green Building:  I have been working with City Staff for some time to make Alexandria a leader in environmentally sustainable building approaches. The City recently released a memo to City Council about its Green Building program.  All City facilities will utilize environmentally sustainable technologies whenever possible. This will lead to lower energy bills through more energy efficient buildings  It will produce healthier buildings with healthier air by using low emission materials such as paints that do not release harmful chemicals into the air.  The City's General Services office is leading this effort.  General Services will follow the Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards developed by the U.S. Green Building Council.  These standards are designed to create buildings that are environmentally responsible, economically profitable and healthy places to work.

Open Spaces: In our most recent budget Council committed to doing more to implement the City's open space plan.  Councilmen Gaines, Smedberg, Macdonald and I all had proposals to take advantage of low interest rates and respond to rising property values by using bonds to help us implement Alexandria's City Open Space Plan.  The land priority list and the criteria we use to evaluate land for purchase or other preservation actions will be discussed at a June 21st public hearing.  Once the plan is adopted, City Staff will create action steps, including a plan for our use of bonds -- the City will go to the bond market in early 2005.  We already have over $5 million in the open space fund, so we don't have to wait for bonds to move forward.

Meeting the goals for open space will be a multi-year process; Councilman Macdonald's successful advocacy for an open Space Coordinator will ensure we dedicated resources, paid for out of the open space fund, to help us move the process forward.

There are limits to what we can borrow for open space. City borrowing is within the range of debt limits we follow to maintain our AAA bond rating. Borrowing is also currently at an all time high. In addition, we have some significant capital projects on the horizon, including new sewers, a new high school, new police headquarters and a new bus facility. Responsible debt policy and uncertainty about the final costs of these and other projects require that we be careful not to max out our credit card or compromise our ability to respond to emergencies. Maintaining a cushion in our debt capacity allows us to respond to emergencies without harming our credit rating and the low rates and the strong reputation of stability that we enjoy as a result.

Spending money is not the only open space tool that we have.  We can use creative measures like easements, donations and good land-use planning to get even more open space...for free. Our partnership with the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust helps us protect land acquired through easements and donations.  Citizens can also contribute directly to the open space fund by sending a check to the City finance office and including a note that it is a contribution to the open space fund.  During the 1990's the City acquired 125 acres of open space, mostly for free, due to good planning. Now that we have an open space plan and a funding commitment, I hope we can exceed the open space plan goal of 100 acres.

**Emergency Planning Receives Attention

The Alexandria Citizen Corps Council is about halfway through its efforts to identify the best ways for Alexandrians to plan for and respond to emergencies.  We are evaluating everything from communication mechanisms, to resident training, to City structure.  Through the advocacy of Councilman Gaines, who serves on the planning group with me, we have also added funding to the City Budget to improve communication about this important initiative. We have much more to do to make Alexandria as prepared as it needs to be, but we are making progress.

In addition, if you are interested in taking a Citizen Emergency Response Training class please contact: cert@ci.alexandria.va.us or call 703-838-5594.

As a side note, Councilman Gaines completed the class a few month ago - I need my newborn to sleep through the night before I sign up.

Citizen Corps (DHS) and the American Safety and Health Institute are celebrating community involvement in emergency planning on Flag Day, June 14 from 8 AM until 12 noon on the Mall - Reflection Pool Area.

Councilman Gaines is leading a group of about 25-30 persons interested in receiving first aid training in CPR, automated External Defibrillator (AED), injury and shock care, among others.

If you are interested in attending, please contact Councilman Gaines at councilmangaines@aol.com or 703.328.7526.

**Affordable Housing Shortage Grows

The Council of Governments released an Affordable Housing Progress report in April.  Affordable housing units are vanishing. Families in our region spend more on housing than almost any other place in the Country.  As a rule, housing is considered affordable if it costs no more than 30% of household income. For more and more families, housing costs much more. As housing takes over a larger portion of people's monthly budgets, other priorities like health care, food, and quality child-care suffer.  A key goal of the Council of Governments is to promote a regional approach to the affordable housing problem so that homes and jobs are fairly distributed in the region.

This is a critical issue.  As our region becomes a more expensive place to live, teachers, police officers, firefighters and other medium and lower income families are moving further away to find homes that they can afford. I know of Alexandria City employees who live in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. It is not good for the city to have the providers of our most essential city services live so far away, in no small part because it makes it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain quality employees.

Increased traffic is another consequence of the lack of affordable housing in Alexandria.  When employees cannot afford to live where they work, more cars have to drive through the region as these residents move from their homes to their jobs.  Long commutes reduce the time parents spend with their children, homeowners spend maintaining care of their property, and neighbors spend building strong communities.

Alexandria is not alone in facing these issues. Arlington, Prince William, and Fairfax Counties, among other regional jurisdictions, have created new policies or updated old ones to better address the affordable housing problem.

Arlington has revised its development rules to ensure apartments built along its Metro corridors include a set amount of affordable housing.  They have also increased the contribution developers must pay to the affordable housing trust fund.

Fairfax has created a new $2 million dollar fund to provide loans to help non-profit organizations create affordable housing units and another $1 million to encourage property owners to keep their properties affordable. In addition, they are creating a housing program with a goal of providing housing to firefighters, police and teachers at reduced rates.

Prince William County has formed a task force to find ways to make homeownership affordable for police officers, teachers, firefighters and other residents that are being priced out of the County.

Alexandria is working hard to increase our affordable housing stock. Last fall City Council approved the creation of a non-profit corporation dedicated to increasing and maintaining affordable housing units in the City.  Alexandria staff are currently reviewing City affordable housing policies and will bring this forward for community and Council input in the fall.

A panel of regional experts will discuss affordable housing issues on June 19th at Jefferson Houston Elementary School at 1501 Cameron Street.  For more information, contact JoAnn Maldonado at 703-838-0709.

**Supporting Small Business

1) The Economic Power of the Arts - Arts contribute over a billion dollars a year to Virginia's economy. To bring more of that arts money to Alexandria, Councilman Smedberg and I have been working closely with the arts community and the Alexandria Convention and Visitors Association to build on the success of last fall's Old Town arts festival.  Thanks to increased involvement from Alexandria's arts community, led by the Alexandria Commission for the Arts, this year's festival is shaping up to be an even bigger hit. While the festival was initially designed to counter the decline in tourism and business in the City after the September 11th tragedies, we are building on and expanding  it's economic development focus to further celebrate Alexandria's commitment to the arts.  In order to improve on last year's efforts, input from residents and business owners are being incorporated into the planning for the event, scheduled for the weekend of September 10th.

2) Inviting Small Business to Alexandria -- The Alexandria Economic Development Partnership (AEDP), City Planning Staff, and the Potomac West Business Association all deserve credit for their combined efforts to bring Eclectic Nature to Mt. Vernon Avenue.  This new garden center and gift shop is the result of extensive work by the City, local businesses, residents and the AEDP and it is a nice complement to other businesses already on Mt. Vernon Avenue.   On a regular basis, AEDP works to bring new and useful businesses to our community as well as to strengthen our local economy.  The Noodle Shop on Duke Street is another product of their recent efforts.

3) The Old Town Movie Theater is re-born, again -- Council recently approved a new operating permit for the Old Town Movie Theater.  The Theater has a fantastic range of activities for families and adults.  This new permit grants the new owner additional flexibility to make his business work by extending hours of his operations and giving him flexibility to offer a variety of Programs.  In approving this permit, we recognized that we were providing the Theater owner, and laying the foundation to provide other business owners, with more flexibility in running their businesses.  I think this is an important step forward for Alexandria.  In return for the increased flexibility, we expect this and other businesses to work closely with the community to resolve any issues that arise.  Granting operating flexibility businesses is crucial if we are going to support the small businesses in Alexandria.  As our City moves forward with a partnership-oriented approach with small businesses, we must continue to work to ensure a proper balance between neighborhood and business needs and must respond quickly to address any problems when they arise.

**Reaching out to and Supporting Our Youth

I spent part of a recent Saturday listening as potential foster parents learned about Alexandria's foster parent program.  I was very pleased to see interested families asking very thoughtful questions about our foster parent program. We are in great need of more foster homes in Alexandria.  This is an important and valuable way for you to significantly contribute to the lives of children in our city.   For more information, contact 703-838-0849

I also attended two events focused on strengthening the character and commitment of Alexandria's young people.  The first event was the "A Man Is" summit.  The second was the Operation Hope Youth Summit.  "A Man Is" is an organization dedicated to raising strong, responsible men in our community. Operation Hope is an organization working hard to provide opportunities for and encourage responsibility from Alexandria youth.  Both events brought community leaders and future community leaders together to discuss responsibility, leadership, communication, challenges and opportunities for Alexandria youth.

The adults putting on these programs as well as those looking into foster care serve as good reminders that there are multiple ways for us to contribute to the growth and development of Alexandria's kids.

Looking for something fun to do with your family this summer?  Plan ahead for the free City Outdoor Movie Festival on July 30-August 1st. The showings will be at Ben Brenman Park.  Seating will start at 7PM and the Movies will start at 8:30PM.  July 30th - Grease, July 31 - Harry Potter & Chamber of Secrets and August 1st - Shrek.  Thanks to Comcast and the City for putting this on.

TC Williams is looking for sponsors to support the Summer Economics Institute.  Through this institute, Alexandria youth work in local businesses as well as attend business and economics lessons.  The six week program starts in July.  Sponsorship is an investment in our youth and future business leaders in our City.  The $1,200 donation is fully tax deducible.  For more information, contact Jack Henes at 703-824-6805 ext 1361 or jhenes@acps.k12.va.us

**Waterfront Festival Opportunity

The Natural Explorium, an organization working to bring science, nature and history to our kids through interactive exhibits is going to be on display at this year's Waterfront Festival on June 18-20.  If you are interested in helping them at the festival with their waterfront exhibit or you want to learn more about this great organization, contact Laura Dines at lauradines@comcast.net

**Note to Parkfairfax Residents

The proposed natural gas line to support natural gas busses in Arlington will not go through Parkfairfax.  The Mayor, who sits on the WMATA board, made the decision to pull the plug on this project.  Alexandria will continue to work with WMATA to identify other, less disruptive routes for the pipeline.  I appreciate all of the comments we received from the Parkfairfax community on this.


Please contact me if you want to discuss any issues, or get more information on the materials discussed in this newsletter.

It has become clear to me that Alexandria’s draft strategic plan and vision documents, including the recent community additions, contain similarities to the “sustainability charters” of other cities.  While not an explicit objective when we started the strategic planning process, the sum total of our goals and our vision for the City are consistent in many ways with the theme of sustainability. 

Cities around the world and about 25 major cities in the United States have already embraced sustainability as policy.  Each has taken a slightly different approach, but all have one thing in common, the recognition that decisions made today will have a significant impact on decisions that get made tomorrow.  An awareness of the future implications of present day decisions and a systemic, holistic approach to policy development serves as the underpinning of most sustainability charters.  Our vision document, in many ways, meets these tests.  In one integrated document we are outlining a system of goals for both present day and future residents of Alexandria.

Sustainability charters typically include concepts that focus on opportunities for people through social justice and equity, that sustain economic prosperity through economic growth and planning, that provide for a better place to live through responsible environmental stewardship and that encourage participation and partnership through open government with measurable achievement indicators.

As with the creation and implementation of our vision document, approaching sustainability in a comprehensive manner involves an investment of significant amounts of time and resources.  According to Tufts University professor Kent E. Portney in Taking Sustainable Cities Seriously (MIT Press, 2003), cities that are serious about sustainability have gone well beyond narrowly targeted and piecemeal approaches to a more comprehensive plan. “A city that has integrated sustainability concerns into its entire municipal planning process,” Portney writes, “might be said to take sustainability more seriously than a city whose programs are created piecemeal in uncoordinated fashion.”

Alexandria has already made progress towards a sustainable future.  The Open Space Plan, Transportation Plan, Plan for Planning Process, The Affordable Housing Task Force and many other efforts all fit into a sustainable vision for the City. Our vision document, as with sustainability charters in other cities, provides the overarching vision, or mission to bring City initiatives together in a coordinated way.

Our vision document specifies the need to develop metrics for measuring success.  All sustainability plans must incorporate indicators or specific measures of progress toward achieving community goals. Sustainability plans frequently include a variety of social and political measurement characteristics, including level of participation in city affairs, social equity, economic equality, economic strength, and concern for diversity, educational achievement and so forth.

The benchmarks by which we measure the success of Alexandria’s vision will be critical to our success.  The money dedicated in the 2005 budget for efficiency audits and to help establish measurement indicators for various will play an important role as we move forward to implement our Vision. Taken as a whole, a collection of indicators provides a sense of the city’s overall view of what it considers sustainability to be. These tools also play an important role in measuring overall governmental effectiveness.

Additional Background on Sustainability Efforts

The following information touches on the sustainability efforts in other cities around the globe.  Many of the statements and principles that guide these efforts echo Alexandria’s current vision setting process.  As you can see, sustainability encompasses more than just the environment to also focus on social and economic justice, public participation in government and the economic strength of a community.  These sustainability concepts may prove a useful tool to fine-tune our vision efforts.

Sustainability Vision Statements and Concepts From Other Cities Around the
World

Melbourne, Australia

http://www.the-silo.com/melbourne2030/content/strategic_framework/02_princip
les.html

Sustainability: Achieving sustainability requires an integrated approach to decision-making. This means taking a long-term view while ensuring that economic, social and environmental implications are considered. The National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development provides a framework for achieving long-term sustainability. The core objectives are
to:
§    Safeguard the welfare of future generations
§    Improve equity within and between generations
§    Protect biological diversity and maintain systems essential to support life.

A key principle is that, where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent the threat from being realized.

Innovation
Innovation and the creativity, cultural vitality, intellectual capacity and entrepreneurial skills that give rise to it are essential for all forms of growth and development. The Government is committed to finding new answers and approaches.

Adaptability
People can and must take into account past trends and indications of future directions. The Government is determined to plan for change and to be adaptable when faced with the unexpected.

Inclusiveness
The Government will consider the differing needs, values and aspirations of all individuals and groups in society while managing urban and regional growth and change, carrying out the processes of planning at all levels, and implementing Melbourne 2030.

Equity
The Government is committed to ensuring fairer access to the benefits of growth and change. All Victorians will benefit because, in providing social, economic and environmental infrastructure, we will focus on areas of need and current inequality. To ensure more equitable access to that
infrastructure, the Government acknowledges the right of all people to be safe, and to feel safe.

Leadership
Leadership at individual, community and industry level is vital - to manage the rapid change that many communities are experiencing, and to achieve the desired outcome for metropolitan Melbourne and the surrounding region. Communities have an enormous capacity to influence their own destiny, but there is also an essential role for government. The Government is committed to providing direction while encouraging and supporting leadership at all levels.

Partnership
People operate in a complex urban system where no one level of government or organization has dominance in decision-making. The Government is committed to working in a collaborative manner with local government, non-government organizations, the private sector and the community.

Toronto, Canada Sustainability Charter

Sustainability means integrating and balancing the competing expectations of the present generation and not compromising the future. Sustainability acknowledges and considers the impact of our decisions and actions beyond the City of Toronto recognizing that continuous commitment is essential. Sustainability achieves vitality and well-being for all through responsible planning and management of interdependent social, environmental and economic
capacities.

The City of Toronto will pursue sustainability through:
·    A Shared Vision And Culture of Sustainability

o    Building consensus and a shared vision through open and meaningful public engagement and a transparent, accountable government.
o    Raising the awareness and public profile of sustainability.
o    Fostering a sense of belonging and community.

·    Implementation
o    Developing and maintaining systems that are just, equitable, open and effective.

o    Creating a municipal culture that incorporates integrated decision-making - including full life cycle costs - and innovative practices to achieve social, economic and environmental objectives.
o    Taking responsibility to pursue sustainability through an appropriate mix
of all mechanisms where City has influence: services, programs, by-laws,
education and advocacy.

·    Monitoring and Reporting
o    Establishing mechanisms to share interrelated information on environmental, economic and social issues.
o    Monitoring, reporting and communicating on key measures and City's capacity to meet its sustainability objectives.
o    Effective communication of results, processes and decisions with all sectors, elected officials and the public.

Sustainability Guiding Principles

Sustainability requires:
·    An understanding of the interdependence of people and their consumption of he environment and all other life forms;
·    Building the capacity of workers, citizens and corporations;
·    A commitment to a broad, long-term perspective and an openness to innovative ideas and information sharing;
·    Transparent and accountable governments and a commitment to civic engagement and an educated citizenry;
·    Intersectoral involvement throughout the processes of visioning, planning, implementation, evaluation and reporting;
·    An awareness and analysis of the full life-cycle costs of actions and inaction;
·    Systems, resources and decision-making processes which are open, inclusive, equitable, just and integrated;
·    The coordinated action of all levels of government and the continuous exchange of information, thinking and planning between and among its elected officials and staff representatives;
·    Understanding the impact of each decision, and weighing its capacity to move us towards long-term objectives; and
·    The understanding of the interrelationship of systems and the ability to maximize their collective synergies to enhance our community and future.

Santa Monica, California

SUSTAINABLE CITY PROGRAM
Adopted September 20, 1994

The City of Santa Monica recognizes that we live in a period of great environmental crisis. As a community, we need to create the basis for a more sustainable way of life both locally and globally through the safeguarding and enhancing of our resources and by preventing harm to the natural environment and human health. We are resolved that our impact on the natural environment must not jeopardize the prospects of future generations.

To pursue these goals, we adopt the following Guiding Principles:

1. The Concept of Sustainability Guides City Policy. Santa Monica is committed to meeting its existing needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The long-term impacts of policy choices will be considered to ensure a sustainable legacy.

2. Protection, Preservation and Restoration of the Natural Environment is a High
Priority of the City. Santa Monica is committed to protecting, preserving and restoring the natural environment. City decision-making will be guided by a mandate to maximize environmental benefits and reduce or eliminate negative environmental impacts.

3. Environmental Quality and Economic Health are Mutually Dependent A healthy environment is integral to the long-term economic interests of the City. In achieving a healthy environment, we must ensure that inequitable burdens are not placed on any one geographic or socioeconomic sector of the population.

4. All Decisions Have Environmental Implications. The City will ensure that each of its policy decisions and programs are interconnected through the common bond of sustainability as expressed in these guiding principles. The policy and decision-making processes of the City will reflect our environmental objectives.

5. Community Awareness, Responsibility, Involvement and Education are Key Elements of Successful Programs/Policies.  Individual citizens, community-based groups and businesses must be aware of their impacts on the environment, must take responsibility for reducing or eliminating those impacts, and must take an active part in community efforts to address environmental concerns. The City will therefore be a leader in the creation and sponsorship of environmental education opportunities in cooperation with schools, colleges and other organizations in the community.

6. Santa Monica Recognizes Its Linkage with the Regional, National, and Global
Community. Local environmental problems and ameliorative actions cannot be separated
from their broader context. This relationship between local issues and regional, national and global issues will be recognized and acted upon in the City's programs and policies. The City's environmental programs and policies should therefore be developed as models that can be emulated by other communities. The City must also act as a strong advocate for the
development and implementation of model programs and innovative approaches by state and federal government that embody the goals of sustainability.

7. Those Environmental Issues Most Important to the Community Should be Addressed First, and the Most Cost-Effective Programs and Policies Should be Selected.  The financial and human resources that are available to the City are limited. The City and the community should reevaluate its environmental priorities and implemented programs and policies annually to ensure that the
best possible investments in the future are being made. The evaluation of a
program's cost-effectiveness should be based on a complete analysis of the
associated costs and benefits, including environmental and social costs and
benefits.

8. The City is Committed to Procurement Decisions which Minimize Negative
Environmental and Social Impacts.  The procurement of products and services by the City results in environmental and social impacts both in this country and in other areas of the world. The City must develop and abide by an environmentally and socially responsible procurement policy that emphasizes long-term values and will become a model for other public as well as private organizations. The adopted procurement policy will be applicable to City programs and services in all areas.

The City of Abbotsford, England

In order to meet these challenges, the City of Abbotsford, including City Council and staff, will adhere to the following principles and urge all organizations, businesses and residents of Abbotsford to do likewise.

Responsible Growth
- Recognize that economic vitality and a healthy environment are compatible goals.
- Consider the long-term economic, environmental and social consequences, including the impact on health, during decision-making processes.
- Create the policies and infrastructure that will support and promote “green” industrial, commercial, agricultural and residential activity.
- Enhance policies and regulations directed at protecting and improving the quality of air, water, land, natural habitat and other natural resources.

Pollution Prevention and Resource Conservation
- Focus on pollution prevention through planned, proactive measures rather than trying to solve pollution problems after they occur.
- Promote the efficient use of renewable and non-renewable resources, in order to reduce the demand for additional resources to be consumed; emphasize the three R’s of waste management, “Reduce! Reuse! Recycle!”; and encourage the composting of plant waste.
- Refuse to support the installation of new non-renewable energy infrastructure, especially facilities that will increase the level of greenhouse gases and other toxic emissions in an already fragile air shed.

Shared Responsibility
-    Reduce negative impacts on the environment by facilitating the development of voluntary industry-based solutions and, where appropriate, impose regulations.

-    Foster an ethic of stewardship by urging all members of the community to assume personal responsibility for their environment, to participate in community sustainability initiatives, to adopt environmentally sound “best management” practices, and to increase their knowledge of environmental and social issues.

Fairness/Equity

- Ensure that no one group or geographic area is unduly burdened by negative environmental impacts, including air and water pollution, or the costs associated with protecting the environment.

Co-operation

- Improve co-ordination and communication between city departments to ensure that sustainable development principles are understood and applied across City operations.

- Develop strategic alliances and partnerships with other jurisdictions, agencies, organizations and the private sector to advance sustainable development goals.

Below is a letter I recently sent to the Governor about campaign finance reform.

Final Four Fun Raiser on April 3rd.

No Evidence of Lead Risk in Alexandria Water

      The Alexandria Health Department has been monitoring the reports of elevated levels of lead in homes in the District of Columbia and Arlington County.  Dr. Charles Konigsberg, Jr., MD, Director of the Alexandria Health Department, reports that there is no evidence of lead that presents any significant risk to the public in Alexandria's drinking water supply. Water supplied to the City comes from the Fairfax County Water Authority, from the Occoquan Reservoir and the Potomac River.  In the last two years, all tests of water entering the City's distribution system have indicated no lead in the water supply.

      The Virginia American Water Company, the company that owns the water distribution system in the City of Alexandria, has conducted over 700 tests for lead in drinking water at connections to homes and businesses throughout the distribution system over the last seven years.  In each series of tests the water distribution system in Alexandria has met the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) drinking water standards for lead. In the most recent series of tests, 52 of the 53 samples taken were below the EPA action level of 15 parts per billion.

      The Virginia American Water Company has an active program to prevent water it distributes from leaching lead and other metals from pipes and fixtures in the distribution system.  The water is pH adjusted to reduce its acidity and has a corrosion inhibitor added to coat the inside of metal pipes.

      No water mains in the City of Alexandria are constructed of lead pipes.  The only water service connection pipes made of lead in the City were constructed before 1945.  Some houses with copper pipes constructed before 1986 have pipe joints soldered with lead-based solder.

      Over the last decade, the Alexandria Health Department has routinely tested children for lead in its well child clinics.  Of the 3,242 children tested, only 67 had elevated blood lead levels.  It is believed that the majority of these children were exposed to lead paint rather than water containing lead.  The Health Department took appropriate steps to help protect the health of these children.

      Persons concerned about the possibility that their water might contain lead can do several things to minimize their potential exposure: - When drawing water for drinking or cooking, running the faucet for several minutes until the water turns noticeably colder will purge water that has stood in the pipes for several hours and may have had more opportunity to leach metals from pipes or fixtures.

-  Purchasing an NSF-approved (National Sanitation Foundation) water treatment device that removes lead for your kitchen tap is another alternative.
-  Residents who have older plumbing may have their water tested for lead by a laboratory to reassure themselves that their water does not have elevated lead levels.

      Useful information will be posted on the City's web site. Information is also available on the web site of the Centers for Disease Control www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/spotLights/leadinwater.htm

Last week, Council discussed Councilman Paul Smedberg and my proposal to establish impact statements with development projects.  The Council enthusiastically supported this concept and staff is going to prepare the format for how this will be done.

More on this story:

http://www.jrnl.com/cfdocs/new/ffx/story.cfm?paper=fx&;section=st&snumber=13

Council has been reviewing its land vacation policy (how we value and sell City-owned land).  Most of the time, vacations take place when homeowners buy an unused alley or plot of open space.  The new policy establishes a more comprehensive method to value vacations, requires that Council be informed of all vacation requests when they are filed and sets as policy that money received from vacations goes back into the open space fund.  

There was some debate on this last point as two members of Council felt the City needed to maintain its options with the money and have it go into the general operating fund of the City.  I had specifically asked that the money go back to the open space fund.  I understand the need for operating funds.  But as one of our City goals is 100 acres of open space, it does not make sense to me that we would sell open space and then put the money towards operations.  That seems to move us in the wrong direction.  I was pleased that the majority of Council agreed with me.

On a related point, I asked the city to create a mechanism by which Alexandria citizens can contribute through the city web site.  Staff has said they can do this and will create the ability for residents to contribute in the open space fund.  Those contributions will be tax deductible. 

The Virginia and Maryland Departments of Transportation recently unveiled the “Bridge Bucks” initiative.  This provides $50 worth of Metro cards and other transit passes each month to the first 500 lucky Virginians and 500 Marylanders who agree to take mass transit instead of their cars through the Wilson Bridge construction site.  This pilot project is a creative way to  encourage mass transit and take cars off the road. I am hopeful that this
pilot program is successful and that it gives us ideas that we can use
throughout the region.

Among other things, Alexandria’s transportation challenges are fueled by a combination of rapid regional job growth, inadequate transit infrastructure, and our location on many people’s commute between Fairfax and DC.  If Alexandria is going to be a place where we can conveniently move from place to place, we must re-focus our transportation priorities and we must expand talk of transportation beyond cars to busses, metro, walking and bicycles. We have started to do this with Alexandria Rideshare, the Traffic Calming program, new bicycle initiatives, new pedestrian measures like pedestrian count down signals, in ground lighted crosswalk at Yoakum at Stevenson and our plans to expand our Dash Bus capacity.  That is just a start.  To build on this progress, we need greater citizen involvement in transportation planning.

The City Council recently directed the City Manager to assemble a work group to propose a format for a transportation advisory board similar to that in neighboring communities and to our own environmental and affordable housing advisory groups.  As part of this effort, I hope we can create a permanent citizen-based transportation advisory board that will set a new model for the integration of development and Transportation planning.  I am also hopeful that we can use this energy to update our 11-year-old transportation master plan. Much has changed in our region since we adopted the current master plan.  As part of that, we need to roll our sleeves up with Fairfax and Arlington officials to talk about new transportation options for Route 1, King Street, Washington Street, Duke Street, Seminary and other popular cut-through roadways.

Creative marketing programs like Bridge Bucks may help our regional transportation challenges.  But without an increased commitment to infrastructure planning, the programs can only do so much.  I am hopeful that with greater citizen involvement, good planning in Alexandria and better regional cooperation, we can be creative about transportation without needing another billion-dollar road project, like the Wilson Bridge, to give
us a reason.

If you drive through the Wilson Bridge project, north, south, east or west,
you can apply for Bridge Bucks at www.wilsonbridge.com
<http://www.wilsonbridge.com>;.

We have to constantly ask ourselves if we are doing all we can to ensure Alexandria remains a great city and becomes an even greater city.  As our regional traffic issues expand due to the record job growth in the DC metro area, we have to think differently about planning and traffic.  Alexandria's location on the path from Fairfax to Arlington and D.C. coupled with this growth means that we have to evolve our transportation and planning thinking. We can't, and should not, stop the job growth that is powering our region.  But we can always do a better job of responding to it.

The National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education is a non-partisan center for research and leadership training on Smart Growth and related land use issues nationally and internationally. Located at the University of Maryland in College Park, Md., just eight miles from Washington, D.C., the National Center for Smart Growth was founded in 2000 as a cooperative venture of four University of Maryland schools: Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Public Affairs, Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Engineering. The mission of the Center is to bring the diverse resources of the University of Maryland and a network of national experts to bear on issues in land development, resource preservation and urban growth -- the nature of our communities, our landscape and our quality of life -- through interdisciplinary research, outreach and education, thereby establishing the University as the national leader in this field.

Friday March 26th, 7PM at the Virginia Theological Seminary 3737 Seminary Road, Alexandria, VA


Come Enjoy a Night of Bidding and Fun  The Alexandria Volunteer Bureau will host its 11th annual Evening in the Heart of Alexandria Dinner and Silent Auction, the Bureau’s largest fundraising event of the year.  Come join us for delightful food, entertainment including live music, and of course the auction.   This event is sponsored by a number of local businesses. In the past, over 200 attendees have had the opportunity to bid on an assortment items ranging from gift certificates from area restaurants to electronics, art, and vacation packages.   Join us for An Evening in the Heart of Alexandria Dinner and Silent Auction.  Tickets are $40.00 per person or $70.00 per couple. Reservations can be made by calling our office, (703)-836-2176 or e-mailing us at mail@AlexandriaVolunteers.com.   Proceeds from the Silent Auction will help the Volunteer Bureau provide the best possible services to the community of Alexandria.

If you own a business or are an elected official and want to donate a service, product, vacation home or something else, please contact the AVB. Your support of volunteerism and the AVB are greatly appreciated.

Please tell your friends

We spent a lot of time talking about the PTO at last week's council meeting.  The subject was the construction of the PTO Concourse, a pedestrian walkway to help PTO workers get to the King Street Metro.  There has been a lot of miss-information in the community about this going as far as some individuals saying that Council may not require the Concourse to be built.  There should be no confusion about this.  It is essential that the Concourse be built.  The Eisenhower east and PTO plans need pedestrian access in order to take the best advantage of available metro opportunities. 

I believe this process is working and that it will be proven out by the completion of the concourse.  I would like us to start focusing our energy towards bringing the PTO into the Alexandria community and on long-range transportation planning, planning that is critical to our City's future.