Falls Church and Northern Virginia's Premier Weekly Newspaper
Monday, January 25, 2021
In the context of the punishing consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic on business development activity worldwide, three of the large mixed use projects now in development in Falls Church are requesting potential revisions in their agreements with the City to take into account prospects for pulling back.
Two days prior to yesterday’s historic inauguration of Joseph R. Biden, Jr. as the 46th president of the United States, his longtime ally and current U.S. Representative from the 8th District of Virginia that includes the City of Falls Church, Donald S. Beyer Jr. was here in the Little City for a ceremonial event marking Martin Luther King, Jr. Day at the Tinner Hill Foundation.
After the deadline last Friday, the number of applicants seeking appointment to fill an unfinished term on the School Board ballooned to 11 in the last 24 hours.
One major feature of the renegotiated changes is a six month delay in the delivery date for Phase One of the plan. With that, the first four payments on the ground lease will be cut from $7 million to $4.5 million, being offset by the agreement to increase the ground rent payments to begin in 2025 instead of 2031.
Dr. Noonan hailed the decision, saying that once the teachers and staff then receive a second dose a month later, that all City schools’ classrooms could be open for direct teaching by Feb. 22 or 23.
But it turns out that working with the numbers in the meantime and taking the Council’s projected 2.7 percent overall increase in revenues for the coming year into account, that Noonan said Tuesday his budget will indeed fit within the overall budget scheme.
As the wide parameters of the treacherous event come to light, it seems that we are in store, as a nation, for a bumpy ride going forward, and it is going to take some harsh measures by the incoming Biden administration to keep things in check.
The proposed budget is balanced, falls within Falls Church City Council Budget Guidance, provides a wage increase for school employees and additional supports for students.
The Northern Virginia Police Chiefs and Sheriffs Committee announced Tuesday the creation of the Northern Virginia Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT).
The Virginia Department of Health has given notice that Covid-19 vaccinations for persons in Phase 1b of the department’s schedule will start Monday, January 11.
