F.C. Budget Talks Continue, Schools Get More
News that the Falls Church City Public Schools will get about $400,000 more from the state than earlier thought was a glimmer of good news for a joint F.C. City Council-School Board work session on the FY11 budget last Thursday, but the Council’s march through the seemingly endless list of budget cuts due to revenue shortfalls begins again tomorrow, April 1, with a work session focused on environmental services.
On Monday, the Council meets in a follow-on work session with the school division, and continues with a third work session on April 8, leading up to a Saturday, April 10 town hall meeting on the budget at the Community Center. The schools indicated they plan to use the extra $400,000 to replenish their depleted contingency fund.
88-Year-Old Man Hit by SUV on W. Broad
Falls Church City Police are investigating a pedestrian accident that occurred in the 100 block of W. Broad St. in Falls Church around 12:30 p.m. yesterday (Mar. 31). An 88-year-old Arlington resident was crossing Broad St. when he was struck by a SUV traveling west. The victim was not in a crosswalk. The man was taken by ambulance to a local hospital and is in intensive care. There are no charges pending.
F.C. Files for $62 Million in Federal Grants
The City of Falls Church has filed for more than 30 federal government grants in the last two years totaling more than $62 million in an effort to support a variety of the City’s programs and services, a press release from F.C. City Hall reported Monday. Some of the grants are available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, known as the “federal stimulus” bill. So far, more than $3.7 million of the City’s requests for “stimulus” money have been approved for the acquisition of public safety equipment, human services, community development projects, sidewalk improvements and traffic-calming speed signage. Other non-“stimulus” federal funds received by the City have gone to affordable housing, storm water management improvements including day-lighting of streams and water run-off cisterns, hybrid vehicles, a pedestrian and traffic calming study, and bus and bus facility improvements.
Bedell Re-Elected Fairfax GOP Chair
At the Fairfax County Republican Convention last weekend, Anthony Bedell was unanimously re-elected for another two-year term as Chairman of the Fairfax County Republican Committee. The Convention was attended by over 200 Fairfax County Republican activists and featured speeches by the incumbents and Congressional candidates in the 8th, 10th and 11th districts.
Falls Church Names Kindell Employee of Year
Rachel Kindell, the senior residential counselor at Aurora House, a live-in home for at-risk girls, was named the City of Falls Church’s 2009 Employee of the Year, it was announced Monday. She was selected by the City’s Employee Review Board “for her creative and diligent work serving at-risk, court-involved youth clients at Aurora House,” according to a statement. “Through remarkable fundraising efforts of bake sales, car washes and networking with community programs and businesses, Kindell was able to obtain reduced or no-cost enrichment and recreational activities for the residents. In 2009, Aurora House was short-staffed and Kindell assumed full responsibility for the direct care, case management and therapeutic services of the residents. This was in addition to her regular duties,” it stated. She was also recognized “for her contribution to the residents’ scholastic achievements.” It was noted that “during the first academic quarter of 2009, all residents at Aurora House attained honor role or honorable status in their school work. Kindell’s efforts provided a new format for community service projects, fitness and exercise curricula, online tutorial services, and study packets to improve study skills. Her willingness to go above and beyond her assigned duties as the residential supervisor has not only contributed to the division’s goals and objectives of serving at-risk youth, but further models the qualities of teamwork, adaptability and customer focus for City employees.” A public reception in her honor will be held Monday, April 12 at 6:30 p.m. in the Cherry Hill Farmhouse, followed by a formal presentation of her award at the City Council meeting.
F.C. Applies for Google Program
The City of Falls Church has submitted an application to Google’s Fiber for Communities program, aimed at bringing higher-speed broadband service to one or more selected U.S. communities, City officials announced in a press release Monday. “Our City is an ideal and manageable location for Google to demonstrate its new network,” said David Tarter, chairman of the Falls Church Economic Development Authority. “We have a highly-educated population with strong federal government employment ties that would make great use of this opportunity.” The search engine giant will select one (or more) U.S. community to become the testing ground for a new, experimental broadband network that would bring Internet speeds of one gigabyte a second, up to 20 times faster than regular fiber optic services, like Verizon’s FIOS, currently offered to City residents. The network would be free of charge to the city, though consumers would still have to pay to use it.
Correction: Snyder Voted Against $1.30 Rate
In correction to a story in last week’s edition, Councilman David Snyder did not vote to advertise the City of F.C.’s FY2011 real estate tax rate at $1.30 at the March 22 City Council meeting. Snyder voted “No” to the place-holder rate, making the vote 5-2 to approve it, instead of 6-1.
