June 22 – 28, 2017
Fa lls Chur c h, V i r g i ni a • ww w. fc np. c om • Fr ee
Fou n d ed 1991 • Vol. X X V I I No. 17
Falls Church • Tysons Corner • Merrifield • McLean • North Arlington • Bailey’s Crossroads
Inside This Week Falls Church to Launch Food Waste Pickup The City of Falls Church announced a new curbside food waste collection service last week, one of the first of its kind in Virginia. The program will begin August 2. See News Briefs, page 9
Cavalier Trail Playground Closed
A construction project to address poor drainage among other issues is underway at the end of W. Westmoreland Rd. in the City of Falls Church and will last for about three months. During the duration of work, the playground at Cavalier Trail Park will be closed.
F.C. Council Mulls Tax Saving Option Of Ditching Library Improvement Plan Final Decision to Record-Setting Graduation Come Next Month On Hefty Debt Lift
by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
exercise and awaits some further refinements, include the adoption of a four-year old Urban Land Institute team’s overnight, back of the envelope recommendation for the land development that designated land off the intersection of Route 7 and Haycock Road as the best area for commercial
With the prospect of financing a $120 million new high school, a proposal from Falls Church City Hall staff to dash the Mary Riley Styles Library renovation and expansion project in an effort to ease the tax and debt burden on taxpayers was at least temporarily shelved by the City Council at its work session Monday night. This Monday, the Council is expected to give a preliminary approval to a Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) package that includes the high school, $13 million for City Hall improvements, and $8 for the library renovation. But that may be far from the final word. That full package will cost taxpayers nine cents on the City’s current tax rate of $1.33 per $100 of assessed real estate valuation. On the other hand, the package without the library component will add four cents. Both of those estimated numbers are conditioned upon the City’s ability to sell or lease its 10 undeveloped acres of commercial land at the west end school campus site for around $40 million, with such a transaction completed by 2022. Monday’s work session reflected a conflicted community that is expecting to be weighing in heavily before the Council takes its final vote on all this by July 24. The Council is pressing to finalize gathering as much information and making as many decisions as possible prior to its deadline in early August to submit language to the Arlington Circuit Court for a November school bond referendum.
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See News Briefs, page 9
Paul Krugman: Zombies, Vampires & Republicans
Zombies have long ruled the Republican Party. The good news is that they may finally be losing their grip — although they may still return and resume eating conservative brains. See page 16
‘Wizard of Oz’ is an Overwhelming Success The current production of Frank Baum’s “The Wizard of Oz” at Falls Church’s Creative Cauldron is a bona fide replica of the original adaptation to the stage first produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1987. See page 8
A SCHOOL-RECORD 194 students received their diplomas Wednesday during George Mason High School’s 2017 commencement ceremonies at DAR Constitution Hall. The latest Mustang graduating class hurled hats high at the Washington, D.C. venue before heading off to the school’s annual All Night Graduation Celebration later that evening. (Photo: Kevin Clark)
Consultants Tell F.C. Campus’ Commercial Land Worth $43.5M
by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
Index
Editorial..................6 Letters..............6, 15 News & Notes.10–11 Comment........ 12–14 Business News....16
Calendar........18–19 Classified Ads......20 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword...........21 Critter Corner.......23
The consulting firm of Alvarez and Marsal told the Falls Church high school property economic development working group last Friday that the value of the 10 acres of the 36 acre site identified for commercial use is roughly $43.5 million, slightly more than
City officials expected, and that the City could capture the entirety of the funds by the end of 2022. The City is planning on using the money to offset the cost of a new high school, which could top $120 million and will be subject to voter approval of a school bond referendum in November. The assumptions of the consultants’ report, which was a 10-day