Although you may have read about these issues in the Lee District Update print newsletter, you’ll find more detailed information here.

On a lighter note, summer is the best time to enjoy some of the things that make Lee District a wonderful place to live. The free summer concert series is back every Wednesday evening from June through the end of August (in a temporary location near the Lee District REC Center basketball court during construction of a family recreation area, spray park, and fully-accessible tree house).

The Lee District Supervisor Office staff is available to answer your questions and help solve problems. Please don’t ever hesitate to contact them. You can reach them at 703-971-6262, LeeDist@FairfaxCounty.gov and on the web at www.FairfaxCounty.gov/Lee.

In This Issue of Supervisor McKay’s Lee District Update:

• Message from Supervisor McKay
• County Budget
• Transportation Update
• Roads and the State
• New Parking Regulations
• Community Revitalization
• Springfield Mall Update
• Route 1 Reflection
• Fully Accessible Family Recreation Center and Spray Park

First, let me say that neither the constituents I hear from nor I want to see the corridor recast as a Tysons wannabe with a sea of generic high rises.  Route One has its own history and its own special flavor with many small, vibrant businesses and closely knit residential communities—the type of character absent from many other places. There’s a community spirit here that I wouldn’t trade for anything else.

 Does Route One have serious needs and serious challenges? Absolutely it does and I’d be the first to say it has benefited from many of the resources that Fairfax County has directed its way.

Route One is one of the County’s revitalization areas. Revitalization is one of those things that builds incrementally while we glare at our calendars and wonder why it takes so darn long. So why can’t the process move faster? Most revitalization areas—and Route One is no exception—have multiple property owners with sites that are expensive and hard to redevelop. The land parcels may be small, have difficult frontage, or present a host of other challenges. The number of owners involved can make it difficult to consolidate enough properties to support a large town center or mixed use development.

While the County uses all the tools it has to facilitate certain types of development, the private sector will make its decisions based on the economics of the situation. So as much as we might like to see a Nordstrom’s instead of a Walmart, we don’t have the legal right to tell a land owner to whom he or she has to lease the property.

The public sector—namely the state—is responsible for infrastructure such as roads and sidewalks. In this area, the state has failed miserably. Since taking office and from my position as chair of the Fairfax County Board’s Transportation Committee I’ve worked with our federal and state officials to try to get funding for critical transportation improvements. But with state transportation dollars as elusive as unicorns, I’m not holding my breath to see transit or significant Route One widening any day soon. With BRAC and its increased traffic only short months away, I’m working to find creative ways to leverage the County’s transportation dollars and access to federal grants. We’ve been successful in this area—just look at two of the county’s largest road improvement projects: the extension of the Fairfax County Parkway to Route One and the widening and extension of Mulligan Road, also to Route One. County—not state—funding matched federal stimulus funding to pay for this work. These improvements are vital to revitalizing the Highway and will result in the best east/west connectivity we have ever had on Route One.

While bringing Metro to the Highway is certainly needed, realistically, we’re many years and many millions of dollars away. However, did you know that Route One is now the most heavily used transit corridor in the county? That’s because of the investment that Fairfax County has made in the REX and Connector bus lines.

So—don’t get caught up in false comparisons to other areas of the County. Look at the blighted buildings that have been replaced with modern, attractive ones as well as the revitalized shopping centers up and down the corridor like Hybla Valley and Beacon Mall. We still have work to do but acting like we haven’t come a long way is just not true or productive.

And remember that perception IS reality. We all need to be Route One ambassadors and speak well of our community. Community pride and word of mouth do attract good investment.

The county executive’s proposed budget for the fiscal year that begins on July 1 reflects our new reality—one that is likely to continue for some time.  Between the proposed budget’s release and its adoption on April 27, my colleagues and I will be listening to constituents and working to fine tune the budget to align it as closely as possible with citizen priorities and economic reality.  It will be a challenge to maintain our quality of life and our school system while reducing services and turning our backs on programs that might be wonderful but unaffordable.  I will be participating in these budget deliberations believing that there are some government responsibilities that are not negotiable.  Public safety and basic human services are more important than ever during this economic downturn. 

At first read, this budget makes the best of a difficult situation.  I am pleased that it recognizes the importance of zoning enforcement to our neighborhoods.  Bringing together staff from different agencies into a centralized department of code enforcement (including the Strike Team) will let us respond to enforcement issues more quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively.  The budget also recognizes that we cannot use homeowners as a bottomless piggy bank for programs that we cannot afford.  While the county executive’s proposed budget has a property tax rate of $1.09, because of declining property values, the average homeowner’s bill will be $48 less than last year’s.  This budget also recognizes the need to find revenue sources other than homeowners and I note that my suggestion last year to reinstitute the vehicle registration fee has been included.  The $33 fee is estimated to raise $27 million a year . 

Schools are the Board of Supervisors’ priority and that’s reflected in this budget with almost 54 percent of the General Fund.  It may be possible to increase the school transfer but it’s too early to make that call as we wait for more information about the impact of the state budget on K-12. 

Right now, I am concerned by the proposed elimination of middle school SROs (school resource officers )—these police officers have made impressive inroads into eliminating gang activity in our schools. Eliminating them would cost us much more in the long run.

Our challenge is to find new ways of doing things: better and more efficient ways to stretch our revenue dollars, more partnerships with non-profits and the private sector, and diversified revenue sources to take the pressure off our homeowners.

You can find more detailed information on the county budget at
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/news/2010/county-executive-budget-proposal-fy2011.htm

Delegate Sickles Town Hall Meeting

Saturday, January 30th  10:00 am to noon
Snyder Center
  6450 S Van Dorn St., Alexandria, VA 22315
  map, click here

Delegate Mark Sickles will be holding a town hall meeting in the 43rd district to discuss ongoing state issues, the budget, and the winter legislative session. Guests joining him will be State Senator George Barker and Lee District Supervisor Jeff McKay.

Lee District Open House

Saturday, January 30th, 1-3 pm
Franconia Governmental Center
6121 Franconia Rd
Alexandria, VA 22310
  map: http://tinyurl.com/franconia-gc

Come meet Supervisor Jeff McKay and his Lee District Staff. Also enjoy the annual Springfield Art Guild Show. Light refreshments will be served.

LeeDems Volunteer Appreciation Party

Sunday, January 31st 4-6 pm
Thompson Center
6090 Kingstowne Village Parkway
Alexandria, VA 22315
map: http://tinyurl.com/thompson-center

Join Lee District Democrats for a volunteer thank you and appreciation party for all the hard work done over the last year. Food, fun, Dems. This is not a fundraiser.

• County Budget
• Transportation
• South Van Dorn Street and Telegraph Road Improvements
• Mortgage Fraud Investigation
• Parks, Recreation, Environment
• Huntley Meadows Wetlands
• Sidewalks
• Shop Local Year-Round
• New Parking Regulations
• Walking to School
• Walking Town Meetings
• Lee District Open House 
• Snow Removal Update

Click here to read all about these important topics.

When I was growing up in Lee District, Springfield Mall was a vibrant and modern retail center with stores like Garfinkels and W. Bell Company.  Times changed; other malls were developed and redeveloped, yet Springfield Mall’s 80 acres of stores and restaurants remained fixed in time with an absentee owner who saw no reason to invest in his property.  The results were all too obvious – B – list retailers, questionable security, and customers who preferred to shop at Tysons, Pentagon City, and anywhere that wasn’t Springfield Mall.  A few years ago Vornado Realty Trust, one of the country’s largest owners of retail and office property purchased the mall, intending to rebuild it as a smart growth, mixed-use development with retail, office, and residential. 

For years, the community has asked that something be done about the state of the Mall and with today’s rezoning, the community will see its wish fulfilled. This project includes a number of community amenities including a grocery store, dog park, tot lot, athletic courts, fitness center, and state-of-the-art movie theater.  A number of other community investments that are part of this case include construction of an artificial turf field for Lee High School, a substantial contribution to the Lee District Rec Center, $4 million toward the Springfield Regional Road Fund, improved access to Metro from the Mall (estimated at about $2.6 million a year, and $200,000 a year for five years to enhance Springfield’s TAGS circulator bus system.

The rezoning approved on Monday, July 13th by the Board of Supervisors on a 10-0 vote includes significant office space—especially desirable in these tough economic times. The most exciting part of this project is that in addition to the office and residential mix there will be a fully renovated 2.1 million square foot mall. 

This project is much more than a simple mall upgrade. This rezoning has the potential to change the image of Springfield, showcasing it as a regional center for business and shopping.  It transforms the mall into an amenity for our community—one long overdue and welcome.

As you’ll read later in this newsletter, our free summer concert series, funded by private sector contributions, is continuing at Lee District Park, but the Fourth of July fireworks are gone—the result of both Park upgrades and budget restrictions.

I wish you and your families a happy and a healthy summer.

Sincerely,
Jeffrey C. McKay

Read the update here …

read more …

County Budget:  Along with other localities in the country, we are hit hard by the national and state economic crisis.  Every County agency has been directed to roll back its budget by more than 15 percent; we have a hiring freeze and staff furloughs.  I’ve convened a budget advisory group to sift through the county Lines of Business and programs, looking for the must-saves, duplications, and live-withouts.  The goal is to save as much of the county services and quality of life as possible within our fiscal constraints.

Zoning and Code Enforcement:  I’ve pushed hard for the County to take a common sense approach to neighborhood issues.  The Strike Team received an additional $1.25 million, putting an additional coordinated enforcement team on the streets.  We’ve reduced the enforcement time on illegal uses for single family homes, uncut grass, and we’re now tracking foreclosed and vacant properties and sharing that information with police and fire to ensure community safety.

Transportation:  The missing segment of the Fairfax County Parkway from Rolling Road to Fullerton Road is finally under construction with completion expected in late 2010.  Additionally, Mulligan Road that will restore the connection to Route One, terminated when the Army closed Woodlawn road through Fort Belvoir after 9/11, will have preliminary design plans in early 2009.

Construction on the South Van Dorn pedestrian walkway linking the west side of South Van Dorn from Greendale village Drive to Telegraph Road is expected to be completed in late spring 2009.

Springfield Mall: Redevelopment of the mall is a major priority for me.  We have been successful in working with the mall owner in planning a complete transformation into a modern, pedestrian-oriented mixed-use town center.  Construction on the first phase—primarily upgrades to the existing mall—should begin in spring 2009.  The plan amendment for the second phase was approved in mid-November and the necessary rezoning is expected to go to the Board of Supervisors in early 2009.

Parks:  This fall, we completed our first rectangular synthetic turf field at Franconia Park.  Synthetic turf fields allow us to stretch our limited park dollars by increasing field capacity and tolerating higher use than natural turf fields.  They require no mowing, fertilizing or re-seeding, thus lowering maintenance costs.

Supervisor McKay Annual Open House
Saturday, January 31, 2009, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Community Room
Franconia Governmental Center
6121 Franconia Road
Alexandria, VA 22310
map: http://tinyurl.com/franconia-gc

Absentee-in-person voting has always been leisurely at this satellite location—I don’t remember anyone waiting for more than a few minutes or circling the parking lot for twenty minutes trying to find a parking space.  Not this year!  In the last week of voting, people began lining up at 11:30 am for voting that would not begin until 1 pm.  Lines stretched from one end of the governmental center to the other and doubled back on themselves.  I was struck by how patient people were and how determined they were to cast their vote.  Normally, we’re a do-it-now group of people, unwilling to wait more than a few minutes for anything, yet voters waited in line for two and three hours.

I didn’t think there’d be many people left to vote by the time election day came around, but as I was wrong.  As I waited in a very long line at my polling place at an hour when turnout is usually light I thought about this historic election and reflected that whoever won would have an enormous obligation to the American people to honor their trust in democracy.

Now that the election is over, I hope that we can take that election civic mindedness and put it to use pulling together as a community and a nation.  Heaven knows, the challenges in front of us will take all our energy, courage, and determination to overcome.

On a more festive note, as the year draws to a close, I would like to wish a happy holiday season and new year to you and your families.  I hope you’ll join my staff and me for our annual open house from 1-3 pm on Saturday, January 31 in the community room of the Franconia Governmental Center.