Information from Seminary Hill Association re: City Issues and Meetings

from Seminary Hill Association:  

I try not to fill your email boxes with too many emails, but as we predicted, the City is moving full speed ahead with several important meetings and events on a short timeline that I would like to bring to your attention so you can participate if you wish.

The first series of events will be 3 lectures sponsored by ACPS in conjunction with the plan to rename TC Williams High School. Dr. Douglas Reed, the author of the very informative book, "Building the Federal Schoolhouse", which contains a large amount of information on TC Williams High School, will speak at each session. All sessions will be via Zoom from 6-7 pm. The first session will be Thursday, September 24th, and will discuss who TC Williams was, and his role as School Superintendent, and as a segregationist in Alexandria. The second session will be held on Thursday, October 1st, and will cover Alexandria's Role in Massive Resistance and Segregation. The third lecture will be Thursday, October 8th, and is titled The Real Story Behind Remember the Titans. You can learn more about these programs at the ACPS website at https://www.acps.k12.va.us/Page3412. All lectures will be taped for viewing if you are not able to watch them live.

The second important meeting will be the Community meeting to be held regarding the Taylor Run Stream Restoration project. This meeting will be held via Zoom on Tuesday, September 29th at 7:00 pm. As you may be aware, this project is intended to help meet the City's requirement to reduce the City's pollution load to the Chesapeake Bay, but as now planned, will involve serious environmental damage, including the loss of approximately 270 trees and irreversible damage to a rare wetland swamp found along the stream bed in the Chinquapin Heritage Trail. The Seminary Hill Association is very concerned about the impact of this plan and earlier this summer had asked the City to halt planning for this project until further information could be provided to residents. Nevertheless, during the summer, the planning proceeded ahead and now residents will be presented with a plan that is basically complete, but we are being asked for our input. Please go to the newly-created website for this project at http://www.alexandriava.gov/tes/stormwater/info/default.aspx?id=117629 to read more about this project and register to participate in this Zoom meeting

Finally, we were just informed about the invitation to participate in a virtual presentation on a Joint City and ACPS Facilities Master Plan (JFMP) We are asked to view the pre-recorded 12-minute visual presentation which discusses the need to maximize the use of public lands for multiple uses. This does, of course, include other uses on school grounds. After viewing it, you will be directed to a survey to provide feedback about your thoughts on the joint use of city facilities. As is the case with all surveys, you will notice a certain phrasing of the questions that can make it difficult to express your point of view.  So please take the opportunity to write comments in the spaces provided if you do not feel that the questions can adequately reflect your thoughts. The website for more information and the survey is https://www.alexandriava.gov/planning/info/default.aspx?id=113618#MeetingsandEvents.  The very short deadline for responses to this survey is September 30th, so please try to find a few minutes to register your thoughts before the City closes the survey.

For those who are interested in the project planned to build an apartment building and 15 townhomes on 2 single family lots adjacent to Fire Station 206 on Seminary Road, we want to provide an update. Along with neighborhood residents, Seminary Hill Association did testify at the September 8th City Council meeting, where pre-development loans were approved for 3 affordable housing projects located in areas of the city. Council did approve the $250,000 loan for the Seminary Road project, but in response to questions raised by SHA and neighbors, the approval came with a contingency. Thanks to the efforts of Council members Amy Jackson, Mo Seifeldein, and John Chapman, city staff was instructed to address, either in writing or by a virtual meeting, the concerns we raised regarding the topography and water issues on this stretch of property. A response from T&ES staff is expected next week. The developer attended the SHA meeting on September 10th and assured us that they will work closely with us as they proceed to determine if the project is possible. Seminary Hill will continue to monitor this project, as our initial reaction to the proposal is that this is a very inappropriate location to consider this kind of density in an area zoned for single-family homes with serious water issues, not only for the property in question but for all the neighbors surrounding the property.

The design for MacArthur School was approved by City Council on September 12th, so we can expect to begin seeing the demolition process in the near future. You should be aware that the initial budget for the school was $695 million.  During the design process, the budget apparently grew to $77.5 million, although the members of the MacArthur Advisory Committee were not aware of the increase during this time. Recent statements from ACPS indicate that the budget could now be $5 million over even that latest estimate. ACPS is in the process of trying to make adjustments to the project that can reduce the cost. Much of the cost overrun is alleged to come from the need for the underground parking garage in order to accommodate the larger staff and activities at the school. In addition, the school is scheduled to be a Net Zero energy building with solar panels, and the cost of the solar panels, which ACPS considered to be a future addition to the building, is not included in the latest cost estimates.

Thank you for participating in these events as you are able. The Seminary Hill Association will continue to do our best to monitor proposals that the City is pushing out at a rapid pace, and inform you of meetings and other events. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have concerns or issues you would like the Association to address. We are here to hear your concerns and represent you to the best of our ability.  As a reminder, our next SHA board meeting will be Thursday, October 8th at 7:00 pm. More information will be posted about this meeting later this month

Carter Flemming, President, Seminary Hill Association

Alexandria Listserve Created to connect community for storm related flooding issues

 A fellow Alexandrian has created a listserv to help unify the different neighborhoods who have been affected by the 

recent flooding. Please see the details below. If you would like to join please email Katie at kfwaynick@gmail.com. 

Neighbors,

 

Good evening. My name is Katie and I live on the northern end of Del Ray. After the flooding of July, my street started coming together as a more unified group to press for changes to relieve area flooding. As days progressed into weeks, we have picked up neighbors as far north as Arlandria and as far south as Old Town. Today, our full list has over 145 names and it keeps growing. I’ve tried to compile the most relevant notes and resources we have come up with, below, and will include all of you on future communications to the full group. 

 

With the list growing I do my best to protect privacy and have kept my full email list private and blind copy everyone when I send things out. As a general rule, my goal is to help get information out to include city resources on flooding and information on upcoming meetings related to it. 

 

 

ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE 

 

1.     File a claim with the city for damages sustained – every claim has to be investigated and some have been able to get money for the city to support clean up efforts in their home. 

1. https://www.alexandriava.gov/Risk  
   
   

2.     Report issues 

a.     Anytime there is an issue on one of our streets – flooded basements, manhole covers coming off in storms, backed up storm drains, alleyway drains not working, etc. – report it through Alexandria 311. Every data point the city has provides valuable information. You can also download the 311 app and report from your phone. https://www.alexandriava.gov/Alex311

 

3.     Contact City Council

a.     In July we were really pushing reaching out to the City Council. It helped answer some basic questions and establish a good baseline for dialogue. At this point, they know people are struggling so I haven’t emailed them again but if at any point you would like to, follow this link to write one letter and send (via form) to all council members. https://alex311.alexandriava.gov/customer/request/CTYCNCL/details

 

b.     I’ve found the mayor to be incredibly responsive across all channels, email and social media. If email isn’t your thing, here is the link to his official facebook page. It is also a great resource for keeping up with meeting information and other topics related to the city, as he maintains an active presence there: https://www.facebook.com/justindotnet

 

 4.     Attend City Meetings and Town Halls – Consider Speaking or Asking Questions

a.     Many meetings have been made available digitally and flooding has been added to the docket of upcoming meetings. City Meeting Schedule Info: https://www.alexandriava.gov/council/info/default.aspx?id=9026

 

b.     Flooding was discussed at a meeting this morning. I was not able to attend but have been told it was recorded and am waiting to watch that. I was hoping to have the link to send out, but have not seen it yet. 

 

c.     An additional meeting will be held on 9/22 and it would be great to have a strong showing from this area. 

                                               i.     September 22^nd Legislative Meeting Info: https://apps.alexandriava.gov/Calendar/Detail.aspx?si=32160

 

d.     The mayor also holds a monthly virtual town hall and has encouraged residents to submit questions on this and other topics. They are held via facebook live and seem to be held during the first week of each month.

5.     Documentation

a.     It is vital that we continue to document these events in order to give a full account of what we are experiencing. If and when flooding occurs, try to get pictures and/or videos during and after the event, damages sustained, and anything else that tells the story of your house, street, alleyway, and neighborhood. If you aren’t able to get pictures during an event, look for high water lines from dirt and debris that can show where and how high the water rose. 

 

b.     This will also be helpful to better understand the different issues that all lead to flooding. Ask yourself the following related to the water you have enter your home. We have found that different homes on the same street will answer differently but all are important data points. 

 

I’m not asking for you to answer these for me, but you should be able to answer these in the event that it becomes relevant in your own discussions with the city concerning your property and/or street. 

                                               i.     Is sewage backing up within an inside basement shower, toilet, or other drain?

                                              ii.     Is a drain in your basement stairwell backing up?

                                             iii.     Do you have a backflow preventer? If so, do you have exterior drains that may back up if they are not able to drain via your sewer line if and when the valve checks?

                                             iv.     Does water enter through a back door? Where does that water come from?

                                              v.     Do you live near street storm drains that become overwhelmed?

                                             vi.     Do you live off an alleyway that becomes overwhelmed?

                                            vii.     Does your alleyway have drains that regularly backup, compounding the issues in the alleyway?

                                           viii.     Does water seep in through your foundation? Do you have window wells that fill with water and leak into your home?

                                             ix.     Does water enter your yard from adjacent property?

                                              x.     Do you have a combination of those listed above?

                                             xi.     What other factors or details have you noticed? 

  

RESOURCES

 

The following are some pieces of information that have been very useful in better understanding the full scope of the issue the city faces. The first, a 2016 report, looks at the 8 sub-watersheds within the city and analyzes everything from how topography affects runoff, to the size of pipes in the area and how they manage runoff. These are large documents, still working my way through them myself. 

 

1.     2016 CASSCA Stormwater Report

a.     Alexandria commissioned a report that was completed in 2016 that took an in-depth look at the 8 sub-watersheds located throughout the city and their stormwater capacity. Each watershed has its own sub-report and solutions packet and all can be found at the following link:https://www.alexandriava.gov/tes/stormwater/info/default.aspx?id=117415

 

b.     Summary report: https://www.alexandriava.gov/uploadedFiles/tes/Stormwater/CASSCA%20Final%20Summary%20Report.pdf

 

2.     City of Alexandria Sewer Master Plan: https://www.alexandriava.gov/uploadedFiles/tes/info/SanitarySewerMasterPlan-FINAL.pdf

 

  

Hope everyone is in the process of drying out and has an enjoyable end to your weekend.

 

Katie Waynick