Members of the Falls Church City Council emerged from an hour-long closed session tonight to vote unanimously, 6-0 (David Snyder absent), on a motion to approve whatever they’d determined in private moments earlier. The Council had been sworn to secrecy by a court order from the magistrate who served as the mediator between the Fairfax Water Authority, Fairfax County and the City of Falls Church in the effort to sell or transfer the Falls Church water system to the county, the News-Press was told. F.C. Assistant City Manager Cindy Mester said that the matter may be made public tomorrow, without saying what contingency would determine when and whether that would happen.
However, a couple of objective factors involved suggest that a deal may be in the works and that it also involves the Falls Church Public Schools. The School Board had its own closed session meeting this afternoon, and School Board chair Susan Kearney and Superintendent Dr. Toni Jones sat in on tonight’s closed session with the City Council.
It is also the case that Fairfax County Board of Supervisors meets in regular session tomorrow, and may go into a closed session of its own.
Therefore, a vote by the County Board tomorrow may be the trigger for making the subject of tonight’s closed meeting public. Also, given that two Falls Church public schools are located on property located adjacent the City in Fairfax County, it may also be that the disposition of one or more pieces of those properties is included in the prospective deal.
