County Board candidates say economic uncertainties make it unlikely a new branch library for Columbia Pike is on the horizon.
“I would love to see a [new] library on Columbia Pike,” Julie Farnam said at a July 20 candidate forum sponsored by the Douglas Park Civic Association. “But right now, I think that’s not feasible.”
County Board members have directed staff to move more quickly in considering future uses of the Central Library and Lee Community Center parcels.
In a change from the plan as proposed by County Manager Mark Schwartz, Board members said on Tuesday that staff should hire a consultant in fiscal year 2029 to develop a plan for potential uses of the Central Library site in Virginia Square. That timeline will allow planning to advance on roughly the same timetable as consideration of future uses at the adjacent Quincy Park.
County Board members are wrestling with the timing and potential scope of future changes to Central Library and adjacent Quincy Park.
At a July 14 capital-spending work session, Board members tried to find common ground on how to approach what could become one of the county’s most contentious planning efforts of the 2030s.
Having saved the Cherrydale Library from closing, advocates now want the county government to address the building’s accessibility issues.
Making upgrades to reach Americans with Disabilities Act standards “will allow the library to better serve the neighborhood and the county, and strengthen its long-term viability,” said Michael Gessel, president of Citizens for Cherrydale Library, at a public hearing on the proposed FY27-36 capital improvement plan.
With a promised community library for Crystal City on the sidelines for now, one library advocate has floated an alternate proposal.
Speaking at the July 7 public hearing on the county’s new 10-year, $4.3 billion capital improvement plan, Crystal City resident Michael Skros urged county leaders to focus instead on upgrading the nearby Aurora Hills branch library.
Arlington’s proposed 10-year capital improvement plan (CIP) includes no funding for planning or building new library facilities near Columbia Pike, despite the desires of some in the area.
Still, County Manager Mark Schwartz says he and his staff haven’t forgotten residents’ wishes for an expanded or brand new community library.
The Arlington library system has opened a new window on the county’s history during the 1980s-90s.
The library’s Charlie Clark Center for Local History has digitized approximately 3,000 photos from the Arlington Courier, a weekly newspaper covering the county during that period.
Community leaders and neighborhood residents celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Aurora Hills branch library on Saturday.
Megan Wianecki, manager of the branch library, said the day’s events were not just a celebration of the centennial, but all those who support the library and community.
A man who attacked frequent County Board candidate Audrey Clement while she was gathering signatures outside a library has been sentenced to 100 days of active jail time.
Jonathan Rogers, 47, was sentenced to just shy of two years, with all but 100 days suspended, for the March 7 attack in which he struck Clement in the back of the head and hit another man in the eye, according to sentencing documents. He must also pay $16,050 in restitution for the violent, and apparently unprovoked, struggle outside Central Library.
Details remain to be worked out, but County Board members have informally decided not to eliminate gymnastics programming or close Cherrydale Library in the coming year.
Details on both decisions are likely to come into clearer view this afternoon, when Board members hold their budget markup session starting at 2:30 p.m. Final budget adoption is slated for next Wednesday, April 22.
The storms haven’t even arrived yet but there’s already a power outage in Arlington.
About 1,000 Dominion customers are without power in the Ballston area due to an “equipment problem,” according to the power company’s website.
County leaders know there is a parking problem for users of Central Library. What they don’t have yet is a plan to address it.
“We get lots of feedback from users about the inadequacy of parking,” library director Diane Kresh said during a March 5 work session focused on library operations.
