Arlington County Civic Federation 2015-2016 100 th Year February 2, 2016
AGENDA 7:30 Call to Order Minutes, Treasurer’s Report, Announcements 7:40 Department of Parks and Recreation Director Jane Rudolph 8:10 Neighborhood Conservation Advisory Committee Sarah McKinley 8:50 ACCF Parks & Recreation Committee Resolution and Vote 9:10 Bylaws Amendment Vote 9:20 Unfinished Business and Announcements 9:30 New Business 9:35 Adjourn 2
Treasurer’s Report • Bank Balance – Checking--$9,696.93 – Savings--$20,867.27 Membership Committee The Woman’s Club of Arlington (WCA) • Begun in 1931 • Member of General Federation of Women’s Club • Projects include: Arlington Food Assistance Center • (AFAC), Sullivan House, Doorways, Meals on Wheels, Randolph Elementary School essay contest, Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN), and Wounded Warriors 3
ANNOUNCEMENTS County Board on March 1 ACCF committees need to submit questions by Monday morning, February 15 for submission to staff Lee Highway Visioning Update Saturday, February 6 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. Yorktown High School 5200 Yorktown Boulevard 4
Help Arlington Set a Course for our Parks and Recreation Places and Spaces • Come to a public meeting to provide input on and ask questions about the changing needs for parks, recreation, and natural resources. Each meeting will feature interactive stations, brief presentations by the project consultants, and different opportunities for the public to provide input to help updated Arlington’s Public Spaces Master Plan. • Public Meeting: Thursday, Feb. 4 @ Langston Brown Community Center 7-9:30 p.m. • Open House: Feb. 5 @ Courthouse Plaza 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. • Chat with Parks Director: Friday, Feb. 5 @ Courthouse Plaza 10-11 a.m. • Happy Hour: Feb. 5 @ Whitlow’s on Wilson 5-7 p.m. • Public Meeting: Feb. 6 @ Arlington Mill Community Center 9:30 a.m. - noon 5
Jane Rudolph, Director Arlington County Department of Parks and Recreation 7:40 – 8:10
Neighborhood Conservation Advisory Committee (NCAC) Sarah McKinley, Chair 8:10 – 8:50
Parks & Recreation ACCF Committee Resolution and Vote Voting Tonight Delegates or Alternates Only • No more than 4 representatives from a member • organization If representing 2 organizations, decide which you • are representing, not both 8
Parks and Recreation Committee ORIGINAL Resolution WHEREAS over the last quarter century Arlington County added 45,500 population, but acquired only 76 acres of parkland—only 1.67 acre per each additional 1,000 population. WHEREAS Arlington’s population is expected to grow by up to 31% in the next 25 years, adding 66,000 people to reach a population of 283,000 by 2040 and requiring hundreds of acres of additional parkland to maintain the current level of service. WHEREAS parks provide economic benefits, enhancing property values, increasing tax revenue, and attracting businesses, workers, homebuyers and retirees. WHEREAS parks are an important element of smart growth, strengthening the urban core, enhancing mixed development and redevelopment strategies, and mitigating the effects of increasing density. 9
Parks and Recreation Committee ORIGINAL Resolution WHEREAS the level of park bond funding approved by the County Board dropped from an average of $8.5 million per two- year bond cycle between 1995 through 2008, to $2.8 million per two-year bond cycle between 2008 to 2014; WHEREAS the cost of land in Arlington continues to increase, and WHEREAS the Community Facilities Study recommends a robust County public land acquisition program, including for the acquisition of parkland, to ensure adequate land to meet growing demand for services; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: That the Arlington County Civic Federation recommends that the County Board authorize a minimum of $15 million for parkland acquisition in the November 2016 Parks and Recreation bond referendum. 10
Parks and Recreation Committee REVISED Resolution WHEREAS Arlington’s population is expected to grow by up to 36% in the next 25 20years, adding 75,400 people to reach a population of 283,000 by 2040 and requiring substantial acres of additional parkland to maintain an adequate level of service; WHEREAS the 2015 Arlington Community Facilities Study recommends a robust County public land acquisition program, including the acquisition of parkland, to ensure adequate public land to meet growing demand for services; WHEREAS parks provide economic benefits, enhancing property values, increasing tax revenue, and attracting businesses, workers, homebuyers and retirees; WHEREAS parks are an important element of smart growth, strengthening the urban core, enhancing mixed development and redevelopment strategies, and mitigating the environmental and other impacts of increased density; 11
Parks and Recreation Committee REVISED Resolution WHEREAS the county has in the recent past failed to acquire high-value parcels; WHEREAS CIP bond funds specifically earmarked for park land acquisition have been diverted in the past for other purposes unrelated to park land acquisition; WHEREAS there are a variety of funding sources available that can be leveraged for park land acquisition, including unallocated close-out budget funds, Virginia land and water conservation grant funds, transfer/sale of development rights from existing parkland, land swaps (low-value parcels for larger or high-value parcels), excess or unused bond funds already allocated for parks and recreation, intradepartmental DPR budget savings (rather than returning those funds to the general fund), and new CIP bond money; 12
Parks and Recreation Committee REVISED Resolution WHEREAS the cost of land in Arlington continues to increase; and WHEREAS the Community Facilities Study report recommends a robust County public land acquisition program, including the acquisition of parkland, to ensure adequate public land to meet growing demand for services; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: The Arlington County Civic Federation recommends: That the County Board adopt a land acquisition policy with a target that commits the County to obtain a minimum of 3 acres of park land per year on average over for the next 10 years; That this policy be implemented using various funding tools available and that the County Board encourage staff to look for acquisition opportunities that may not be listed in the Public Spaces Master Plan; 13
Parks and Recreation Committee REVISED Resolution That the County Board assure the public that park land acquisition funds will be used only for obtaining a well-balanced mix of natural and recreational areas and not diverted for other non-park purposes; and That the County Board assure the public that the County will preserve all existing publicly owned park land such that there is a net annual increase of at least 3 new publicly owned and available acres added to the County’s public park land portfolio with no net offset or loss of existing acreage. Committee Members Michael Thomas (Chair), Richard Epstein (Vice-chair), Mark Antell, Duke Banks, Bernie H. Berne, Suzanne Bolton, Connie Ericson, Dean Foster, Mark Haynes, Char Mahoney, Suzanne Smith Sundburg, Edith Wilson and Jay Wind. 14
Bylaws Amendment, page 1 Proposed Amendment At the January Arlington Civic Federation (ACCF) meeting, the Executive Committee presented a proposal to amend Article IV, Section 4 of the Civic Federation By-laws, which specify the term of office of Officers and Executive Committee members. The proposed amendment states: Term of Office. Officers and Executive Committee members are elected to serve for one year or until their successors are elected. Their term of office shall begin on July 1 following their election at the annual meeting. The existing By-laws specify that the term of office begin at the close of the June annual meeting, at which elections are held (Article IV, §4 and Article 5, §2). 15
Bylaws Amendment - Reasons, page 2 The Executive Committee said the proposed change to delay the start of Officer and Executive Committee terms until July 1 would: • Provide for a smooth transition between the current and new Officers and Executive Committee; • Give current officers adequate time to complete reports (e.g., June Civic Federation meeting minutes, treasurer’s yearend report) and turn records over to the new Officers and Executive Committee; and • Allow the current Officers and Executive Committee to complete any unfinished business at the Executive Committee meeting following the June elections. 16
Bylaws Amendment, page 3 ACCF President Stef Pryor referred the proposed amendment to the By-laws Committee for review as Standing Rule 3 requires. The By-laws Committee supports the proposed amendment for the reasons the Executive Committee provided. The By-laws Committee also supports the proposed amendment because it ensures the terms of Officers and Executive Committee members coincide with ACCF’s fiscal year, which starts July 1 (ACCF By-laws, Article III, §7). 17
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