Vague Claim Sullies Report of Major Economic Gains

In a startling development late into Tuesday night’s Falls Church City Council meeting, two members of the Council attempted to disparage a report on the considerable achievements of the Falls Church Economic Development Authority (EDA) by suggesting the EDA is engaged in “perceived conflicts of interest” involving local developers, though no specifics were cited.

The charges were issued by Council members Erin Flynn and David Snyder following the report of achievements in the last year by EDA board chair, developer and City resident Bob Young. Despite a lengthy exchange between the two Council members and the EDA’s Ross Litkenhous, a former member of the City Council, there were, again, no specifics named.

Litkenhous protested vehemently, calling the accusations “vague,” “soft,” “without any specifics,” “pot shots” and “disheartening.”

Mayor Letty Hardi weighed in to say she applauds the “constructive relationship between the Council and the EDA.” In a statement she released yesterday, she said, “I continue to be grateful to the 100+ volunteers who serve on our boards and offer their time and expertise for the betterment of our city. It’s disheartening that sentiment is not only not shared by all, but that service is characterized as conflicts of interest. We are too small of a city to perpetuate untruths, and it’s a distraction from the important work that the community expects us to do. I look forward to everyone working together more constructively going forward.”

In his report to the Council Tuesday, EDA Chair Young cited the many considerable achievements of the group in the last year, highlighted by the lunch given to over 300 commercial real estate brokers and developers in the top floor of the recently-completed medical office building in the City’s new and massive West End project of the Hoffman Group earlier this month.

As Litkenhous noted to the Council, after 15 years it marked the first time the NAIOP commercial real estate group’s annual bus tour of promising locations in Northern Virginia crossed into Falls Church, much less stopped there for lunch to hear from Mayor Hardi and other City officials.

“We’ve come a very long way” in the last decade, he noted.

Other achievements spearheaded by the EDA reported Tuesday night included the highly successful bonus cards project that added $322,000 in value for local businesses last holiday season, work on three “parklets” along S. Washington Street in the manner of Mr. Brown’s Park that should be completed by later this year, a restaurant week that brought 38,000 visitors to its website with 69 percent of local restaurants reporting higher sales than during the same period the year earlier, and a tourism push with a new website and literature promoting the amenities of the Little City to the wider region and its visitors.

The report expanded on the report given to the Council’s Economic Development Committee that met Tuesday afternoon at City Hall. There, among other things, progress reports were provided on the three “parklets’ including on S. Maple, the Triangle Park at the W. Annandale and S. Washington corner, and the Tinner Hill Park at 410 S. Washington. Updates on many of the large development projects underway in the City were also provided, including on Hoffman’s West Falls project where it is reported that the Home2 Hotel Suites is due to open in a matter of days by the end of this month, the garage and medical building are done, the Oak condominiums that are now being presold, the senior living The Reserve that will begin construction later this year, and a number of new restaurants and small health-related services that will be opening soon.

In a statement on the matter of the charges of “perceived conflicts of interest” made Tuesday night, Litkenhous issued the following statement to the News-Press yesterday:

“I always prefer to address issues head on, directly and in person with others. Several times over the past year, there have been vague references about perceived conflicts of interest within the ranks of our EDA. During Tuesday night’s council meeting those same soft accusations were raised once again. I felt it necessary to address those concerns directly with those specific council members, out in the open, during a public meeting.

“Our Boards and Commissions, as well as our own City Council are volunteer based. Each of us offers up our expertise through these elected and appointed bodies to improve our city and give back to our community. Falls Church is small enough for anyone who has an issue with another to meet them eye to eye and address those concerns, that’s what I did last night.

“I am confident that our EDA and our other elected and appointed bodies are approaching their work with positive intent, doing what they feel is best for Falls Church. We are better together, which is why open, transparent and direct dialogue is the most effective way to maintain and strengthen public trust.”