Blog posts are the personal views of Letty Hardi and not official statements or records on behalf of the Falls Church City Council

Dear Friends,

City Council didn’t meet this week, so this week’s update will be short and sweet, but important! I hope you’ll take the time to note some key dates with updates and decisions coming up – including Mason Row/Founders Row, GMHS Campus Planning, and City Hall – all important projects and open for public input.

Quick plug: today is Bike to Work Day. If you haven’t left for work and your office is bike-accessible, it’s a beautiful morning for a bike ride! Falls Church’s official Bike to Work Day pit stop is at Little Falls and the W&OD, and you’ll hear the cowbells ringing from 630 am until 9 am – stop by for some camaraderie and goodies.

Best,
Letty

What’s Coming Up:

• Today May 19 – Bike to Work Day – the City’s official pit stop on the W&OD Trail is at Little Falls Street (630 – 900 am)

• Today May 19 – Campus Economic Working Group – 830 am, Dogwood

• Monday, May 22 – last day to register to vote in order to vote in June 13th primaries. In person absentee voting is already underway. Help spread the word if you have new neighbors or friends who may not yet be registered.

• Monday, May 22 – Volunteer Appreciation Reception at Cherry Hill Farmhouse (630-730 pm). If you’re a Board or Commission member or volunteered for the City in any way – we want to thank you and feed you dessert!  RSVP is requested by today

• Monday, May 22 – City Council Regular Meeting – agenda available here; there will be public comment opportunity for any topics at the beginning of the meeting or you can email us.
  • While no votes are scheduled, we will be hearing a presentation from the Mason Row/Founders Row developers about the change from a hotel to a 72 age-restricted apartments.
  • We are also expected to receive an update on the City Hall renovation and expansion, which is the first of several large facilities projects in the CIP, slated to begin construction at the end of this year. The initial estimate for City Hall came in over budget, so the design has been simplified and staff is proposing an earlier start date to mitigate further cost escalation from winter weather.

• GMHS Campus Planning – the two workstreams of the GMHS campus planning (economic development options and school construction) have continued chugging along behind the scenes, with the goal of coming together in June and July to prepare for a November 2017 referendum, which remains an aggressive timeline. The school construction feasibility work is about 60% complete, based on the original 5-6 week project scope. The architects have been benchmarking and analyzing our education specs – looking at everything from classroom sizes and classroom per students, parking requirements, size of athletic fields vs neighboring jurisdictions – and evaluating the feasibility of renovation and fitting the requirements into the campus while freeing up acreage for economic development. Yesterday, the working group had an initial look at the options. The School Board will be presented the options on May 30th, which will then be narrowed and cost estimated before our joint meeting on June 5th. If you’re interested in seeing the work in progress, the May 30th School Board meeting will be a good opportunity.

• Important GMHS Campus Dates:
  • May 30 – School Board meeting on GMHS Campus Project
  • June 5 – joint City Council and School Board work session on GMHS Campus Project
  • June 10 – Community Town Hall on GMHS
  • July 24 – final City Council vote for referendum language