The county government is readying for major expansion of Penrose Square, with funding to start flowing in about three years — an effort bringing accolades from several Columbia Pike organizations.
County Manager Mark Schwartz has included $4.27 million in funding for fiscal 2030 in his proposed 10-year capital improvement plan (CIP) set for a final County Board vote in mid-July.
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.
Arlington school leaders have more work to do in sketching out how they might use public-private partnerships to construct new facilities in an era of fiscal constraints.
Superintendent Francisco Durán’s proposed fiscal 2027-36 capital improvement plan, unveiled May 14, makes reference to potential future partnerships to help defray costs of constructing and maintaining new facilities.
New restroom facilities at Gunston Park are expected to cost around $1 million — a grand total arising from the price of materials, installation and associated costs.
County officials present the cost as a financial win for taxpayers, even if not everyone sees it that way.
Budget cuts at Arlington’s historic preservation office could keep services relatively bare-bones, county officials acknowledge.
“We will need to be doing some adjustments — see what other options we have,” said Lorin Faris, the county government’s historic preservation supervisor, at the May 20 meeting of the county’s Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB).
County voters are likely to see nearly a quarter-billion dollars spread over five local bond referendums on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Revenues from future bond sales would support County Manager Mark Schwartz’s proposed new 10-year, $4.3 billion capital improvement plan, unveiled on Tuesday evening.
Even though the current Arlington County budget draft doesn’t include additional costs from this year’s change-ups at the ballot box, the county government is still planning to cover them.
Elections Director Gretchen Reinemeyer laid out budget pressures during an April 7 work session with Board members, voicing concern that her office’s proposed $2.18 million budget likely would not be robust enough to handle additional requirements this year.
A proposal to impose fees on applications for new historic districts in Arlington is drawing criticism from members of the county’s historic-preservation panel.
Kaydee Myers, chair of the Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB), argued that the small number of applications submitted annually would result in minimal revenue, but imposing a fee could dissuade future applicants.
Program cuts and staff furloughs could become a reality in Arlington if tax revenue continues to fall below expectations over the next two months.
County Manager Mark Schwartz said at a March 11 forum that there’s a possibility “we will have to shut down some of our services” and temporarily send staff home. Any cutbacks likely wouldn’t hit until the last two months of the fiscal year, which ends June 30.
A recent County Board work session touched on the question of who should be responsible for assessing Arlington real estate values.
Officials briefly considered the possibility of moving assessments from the government’s Department of Real Estate Assessments to Commissioner of Revenue Kim Klingler’s independent office. However, they put off any more serious discussion until later.
They have done it before, and supporters of the Cherrydale branch library say they will again fend off efforts to close the branch.
The advocacy group Citizens for Cherrydale Library is once again mobilizing to save the facility, this time from County Manager Mark Schwartz’s proposal to shutter the branch in order to save about $450,000 in the coming fiscal year.
County staff are defending a controversial cost-saving proposal to eliminate gymnastics programming and shutter Barcroft Sports & Fitness Center for up to a year.
“We need to make sure that we’re using our funding and resources to serve the most people and those in need,” County Manager Mark Schwartz told County Board members in a March 5 budget work session focused on the Department of Parks and Recreation.
