If you have ever attended a Saturday morning County Board meeting, you probably know it kicks off with a public comment session at 8:30 a.m. If you want to hear about the issues buzzing in the community, public comments are a great place to start.

What could be on the docket this week?

The county brought in a podium, loudspeaker, Congressman Moran, and three County Board members to have a ribbon cutting for a sidewalk in Pentagon City. This monumental event comes on the heels of losing the National Science Foundation to Alexandria and the Signature Theater bailout. Maybe this event falls into the “any port in a storm” category?

Speaking of the Signature Theater, Treasurer Frank O’Leary reports he received the delinquent tax payment bailout for the property. For those counting at home, this has no real impact on our bottom line other than an accounting maneuver to erase a debt, with exactly zero public hearing time on the subject. In essence though, each and every one of Arlington’s approximately 210,000 residents just contributed about $1.20 to the arts. The remaining question is, how does the theater plan to pay next year’s bill or is this just going to be an ongoing line item in our budget?

The urban agriculture report is in, and it attempts to strike a middle ground on backyard hens — saying larger yards could have them provided they meet certain conditions. Many people believe that regardless of the conditions, permitting any hens will cause an enforcement nightmare for the County. The ball is now in the Board’s court, or coop.

It looks like enough signatures were collected to put the housing authority referendum on the ballot in November. If passed, the referendum would create a government housing agency, something the all-Democrat County Board has historically opposed. The Board prefers to continue its partnership with a non-profit network on housing issues. On Saturday, you may hear from speakers about how the County Board’s development plans seem to to place a low priority on maintaining existing market rate affordable housing.

The County pulled three buses from ART service after one saw its brakes fail and roll backwards down the hill before causing a multi-car accident. If you remember a few years ago, an ART bus burst into flames while out on the road. In fairness, ART actually is very safe and is virtually problem free compared to Metro. ART is also another instance where Arlington partners with private entities to provide a service. In fact, the County Board often brags about how cost-effective the ART service is. Of course, this is the same County Board whose representatives on the Metro Board do virtually nothing to rein in spending in that beleaguered system. Maybe we would be better off to declare Metro bankrupt and start over with the ART model?

Whatever issue you care about, if you have never been to a public comment session, you should go. When you go, you should sign up to make a speech on the issue you care about.

Mark Kelly is a former Arlington GOP Chairman and two-time Republican candidate for Arlington County Board.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) sent a memo to its employees last week telling them that NSF planned to move its headquarters from Arlington to Alexandria by the end of 2016.

Whether NSF HQ would stay in Arlington has been under active discussion for over four years. All of the important decision-makers have had more than enough time to carefully consider their interests and options. This move was not a hasty decision.

In that light, Arlington County Manager Barbara Donnellan made a poor decision publicly to question whether others had acted wisely. Ms. Donnellan issued a press statement that “we do not believe such a move would be in the best interests of the NSF, the federal government or the American taxpayer.”

In her initial anger in learning of the decision, Ms. Donnellan could be excused for harboring these sentiments, but she never should have issued a press statement to this effect. Arlington, as the losing bidder, has zero credibility to question whether other participants acted in their own self interests.

Also troubling was County Board member Jay Fisette’s statement that the federal government had pitted local jurisdictions against one another in a way he had not expected. His statement is troubling because it reflects a lack of understanding of the “new normal” competitive environment in which Arlington now finds itself.

With the opening of the Silver Line at the end of this year, commercial office space at Tysons will be Metro accessible — just like the new NSF office space in Alexandria will be. Combine that with the relative decline in the federal government’s investment in Northern Virginia, and the relative increase in the federal government’s cost consciousness, and we have the new normal to which Arlington must adapt.

The NSF situation illustrates all of these new competitive factors at work. NSF’s federal government landlord, the General Services Administration (GSA), deliberately pushed back the timetable for NSF’s move precisely to allow competition from the soon-to-be-Metro-accessible Tysons office space to compete against both Arlington and Alexandria for this highly-sought-after lease.

Rather than engaging in recriminations over whether Arlington took all reasonable steps to keep the NSF HQ in Arlington (County officials had plenty of time to decide how far it was reasonable to go), Arlington ought to concentrate instead on what it should be doing in the future to adapt to the new normal. Arlington should be focusing on applying cost-benefit analyses more rigorously to every major spending decision.

The incremental revenue that was available in the “old normal” isn’t going to be there in the new.

Peter Rousselot is a former member of the Central Committee of the Democratic Party of Virginia and former chair of the Arlington County Democratic Committee.

The holiday was first conceived in the early 20th century in order to complement Mother’s Day. While it was celebrated informally in the intervening years, it wasn’t until 1972 that President Richard Nixon made it an official, permanent national holiday.

So what are you planning to do for dad this weekend? Select the option that represents your primary Father’s Day present this year.

As reported by the Sun Gazette, the proposal would lower the speed limit on the key arteries, between Washington Blvd and Route 110, from 30 to 25 miles per hour.

The lower speed limit is in keeping with the county’s Master Transportation Plan, which calls for a 25 mile per hour speed limit on streets with lots of development and pedestrian activity.

What do you think of the proposal?
 

The 17-year cicadas of Brood II, which last appeared during the Clinton Administration in 1996, would emerge en masse from the ground once the soil temperature was warm enough, disturbing the peace with their collective mating calls and littering lawns with their crunchy carcasses.

Alas, in Arlington, it seems like Brood II might be a bust. While points south and west of here do indeed have near-biblical-scale cicada infestations, it appears that most of Arlington has escaped unscathed.

If Arlington is to be invaded by cicadas, it’s most likely to happen during Brood X, which hit the D.C. area in 2004 and will return in 2021.

Have you seen cicadas in your Arlington neighborhood this year?
 

Flickr pool photo by Christaki

In the Democratic primary on June 11, I will be voting for Aneesh Chopra for Lieutenant Governor and Mark Herring for Attorney General.

Polls will be open from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. If you need to find the location of your polling place, you may do so here.

Aneesh Chopra for Lieutenant Governor

Enthusiasm, innovation, a fresh perspective on Virginia’s challenges — that’s why I’m voting for Aneesh Chopra for Lieutenant Governor.

“Old Virginny” is obsolete, but some Virginians are still in denial. Fortunately, Aneesh Chopra isn’t one of them.

Aneesh previously served as Virginia’s Secretary of Technology under then Governor Tim Kaine, and later as U.S. Technology Officer for President Obama. Both positions reflect his standing as a leader at the forefront of 21st Century technology innovation.

Aneesh has led in showing how technology can better our lives. I am impressed by his ability to take the way of thinking that has made him a national technology leader, and apply it to develop new solutions to challenges we face in Virginia—regardless of whether those challenges involve technology.

Aneesh’s style, personality and approach are captured in this video.

Mark Herring for Attorney General

Thoughtful, mature, focused on protecting Virginia’s consumers — that’s why I’m voting for Mark Herring for Attorney General.

We need a level-headed lawyer as Attorney General — one who will refocus the Attorney General’s office on what that office is supposed to do. Mark Herring fills that bill.

Mark has served in the Virginia State Senate since 2006. In this legislative role, he has been a leader in making both state and local governments more accountable to the citizens of Virginia.

In 2012, Mark received a “Champion of Justice” award from the Virginia Association of Commonwealth’s Attorneys for his record of taking on tough issues like designer drugs and protecting victims of domestic violence.

Mark also supports common-sense gun control legislation, protecting consumers from unscrupulous sales practices, and increasing state resources to improve Virginia’s mental health system.

The essence of Mark’s goals as Virginia’s next Attorney General are summarized in this video.

Peter Rousselot is a former member of the Central Committee of the Democratic Party of Virginia and former chair of the Arlington County Democratic Committee.

According to a 2009 announcement, the Artisphere was supposed to be open 12 hours a day, seven days a week, attract over 250,000 visitors a year, become profitable in three years, and spur additional economic development in Rosslyn.

Two years later, the Artisphere produced massive first-year operational cost overruns and revenue shortages that would require escalating taxpayer subsidies for the foreseeable future. County Manager Barbara Donnellan produced what she deemed “a much more realistic plan.”

The new plan has still failed to put the Artisphere on a trajectory towards self-sufficiency. The bottom line is that we have pumped millions of taxpayer dollars into it, and the Artisphere is still nowhere near fulfilling the promises the County Board made to us, not once but twice.

Last week, we learned that the County Board had voted unanimously to bail out the Signature Theater to the tune of $250,000. The bailout covers the theater’s delinquent taxes — taxes they chose not to pay in an effort to “control expenses”. This bailout led one newspaper to deem the theater “too fabulous to fail.”

How would this have gone over with Treasurer Frank O’Leary if the offender had been anyone but a county-backed project? Quite possibly, it would have been sold to pay the debt.

Instead, the County Board essentially made a simple spreadsheet maneuver. The taxes were magically marked as paid courtesy of the rest of us who pay our taxes every year while controlling other costs in our budget. The money is still in the general fund to be spent elsewhere this year, while the theater is simply off the hook.

If you reach back into your memory banks, you may remember the County Board’s approval of another theater project in January 2012. As part of site plan concessions, the County will receive a black box theater on Wilson Boulevard. The County will pay to fill in the developer-provided shell, but it will make out well on the lease, at $1 a year. This is a similar deal to the 15 years of free rent for the Artisphere. The new theater will likely not be saddled with the repayment of a huge construction loan, something Signature still owes to the tune of $7.8 million.

So, will the financial honeymoon end soon after operations begin as it did with the previous two projects? According to the press release announcing the new theater last January:

“County staff will work with the Arlington Commission for the Arts and others to develop a business plan and economic options for the operations of the theater. These will address a series of cost, use and operational alternatives for review by the County Manager in the preparation of future budgets.”

Hopefully these are not the same county staff who assisted with the Artisphere’s original business plan or its “new” and “more realistic” plan. Of course, if they can count on the County Board for ongoing subsidies and bailouts, creating a business plan is little more than an intellectual exercise anyway.

The bottom line is Arlingtonians deserve more accountability than we are getting from our taxpayer-funded arts endeavors.

Mark Kelly is a former Arlington GOP Chairman and two-time Republican candidate for Arlington County Board.

With a “soupy and sultry” weekend in store, how do you plan to beat the heat?
 

On the way down to Richmond for the GOP convention, I found myself in the stop and go (mostly stop) traffic caused by the hazmat incident that shut down I-95 south for four hours. After slowly making our way around some back roads, my wife and I arrived at the junction of highway 17 and I-95 just as the interstate was being re-opened.

While waiting for the traffic to move, I spotted a man walking in the middle of the highway with water bottles and realized it was none other than Terry McAuliffe. The Democrats’ presumptive nominee for governor was politicking with fellow stranded motorists — a smart political move. There is no question that McAuliffe has a larger than life personality, an asset he is sure to bring to the campaign trail this year.

Before the Republican convention was gaveled to a close the next day, Virginia Democrats were attacking the Republican ticket as “too extreme for Virginia.” If that sounds familiar, it is precisely the same rhetoric they used unsuccessfully four years ago.

My counterpart here at ARLnow, former chairman of the Arlington Democrats and current State Democratic Committee member Peter Rousselot, got the memo and joined in the attack. In fact, he has written multiple columns attacking Republican nominee Ken Cuccinelli. In last week’s column he even presumed to know what Arlington Republicans would think about the entire 2013 GOP ticket.

Rousselot’s most recent column did drop the specific criticism of health clinic regulations, presumably in light of the horrific Kermit Gosnell case in Pennsylvania. At the same time, Rousselot has written exactly zero columns supporting his party’s candidate. I do not recall that there has even been a single supportive sentence in his columns for McAuliffe.

This “attack first” strategy should not come as a surprise. McAuliffe failed to impress Democratic primary voters four years ago. He was called out as a forum shopping candidate with little to offer Virginia Democrats. He eventually lost the nomination contest convincingly to State Senator Creigh Deeds, who went on to lose to Governor McDonnell by more than 17 percentage points in November.

McAuliffe’s problems with the failed promises of GreenTech Automotive are well documented. In fact, McAuliffe’s overall business record raises a serious question — with no elective office to judge him on, does his record as CEO give voters confidence in his ability to manage the Commonwealth?

Cuccinelli is laying out a straightforward platform in this campaign. At the top of his list: more jobs in Virginia created by a more competitive economic environment.

Whether Republicans in Arlington agree with Cuccinelli on every “social issue” or not, they do appreciate one thing about him — what you see is what you get. This is a refreshing character trait in a politician and something that will appeal to Independents as well, particularly when put up against the slick-talking McAuliffe.

Mark Kelly is a former Arlington GOP Chairman and two-time Republican candidate for Arlington County Board.

Last week, ARLnow reported that the Arlington County Board had voted unanimously to provide a $250,000 financial bailout to the Signature Theatre in Shirlington.

Let’s reserve final judgment on this until the grant agreement between the county and Signature is made public. However, the facts made public so far raise serious questions about whether the county has the right standards regarding when it will provide public subsidies for the arts.

It certainly does not generate confidence when the County Manager tries to justify the bailout by saying, “Signature is thriving.” Any private organization that is thriving neither needs nor is entitled to a public bailout.

If there is a justification for this bailout, it must include the assumption that Signature is NOT thriving, but that there is a reasonable basis to believe it can return to financial health in a reasonable period of time. Why didn’t the County Manager say that?

Other aspects of the story also raise questions. As ARLnow further reported: “Signature Theatre has sole access rights and branding capability in its current space within a county owned building. It is responsible for the full costs of operating that facility, including real estate and business tangible taxes. Other county supported arts groups performing in county subsidized spaces are not required to pay taxes.”

Assuming this report is accurate:

• What standards does the county apply in deciding which arts groups are granted the right to perform in county subsidized spaces — and for how long?
• What standards does the county apply in deciding which arts groups performing in county subsidized spaces are required to pay taxes?
• What standards does the county apply in deciding which arts groups performing in county subsidized spaces have sole branding capability?

As I have written previously, Arlington needs to develop a consistent framework for prioritizing and paying for its core services. There definitely is a place within such a framework for public support for the arts.

But, to generate sufficient public confidence, both the core services framework itself and the standards for providing public subsidies for the arts need to be carefully articulated and explained.

Arlington’s policy statement regarding public support for the arts is now 23 years old. A quarter-million-dollar Signature bailout, provided despite Arlington’s new financial realities suggests this is a good time for Arlington to click “refresh” on its public arts policy.

Peter Rousselot is a former member of the Central Committee of the Democratic Party of Virginia and former chair of the Arlington County Democratic Committee.