Alex 311 (Submit Service Requests to City Agencies)
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June 23rd Republican Primary
Given social distancing requirements, the City will not be able to open all polling places. As a result, we are strongly encouraging absentee voting for all voters wishing to participate in this primary.
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2020 Census
The decennial census is vital for the City to capture a snapshot of our community and support efforts to achieve additional Federal funding in the future.
Please complete your questionnaire today!
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ACPS Strategic Plan
Our School Board is working to develop a new Strategic Plan for our schools.
On Tuesday June 9th, the School Board will be accepting public comment at 12:30 PM and 7:00 PM.
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Mulch, Delivered
Online leaf mulch delivery orders can be submitted starting today.
Mulch is available in a full or half truckload, and each delivery ranges from $65 - $130.
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ARHA Voucher Waiting List Open
The Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority (ARHA) has opened their waiting list the Mainstream Voucher program.
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Parker Gray High School
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Parker-Gray High School.
The former school educated African-American students for decades in our City.
For both recognition and fundraising, a memorial sidewalk is being installed.
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The shooting and the miscarriage of justice that followed set off unrest in our community that carried over into the ensuing election and resulted in change in our community.
While we continue our struggle with our nation's original sin, a new crisis continues to face our community. While the COVID-19 outbreak has threatened the lives, well-being and financial stability of so many in our community, as we have at so many inflection points in our history, we will recover.
Two months ago, when I wrote you, 44 of our neighbors had tested positive for COVID-19. A month ago, 754 had tested positive. As of yesterday, 1,974 Alexandrians have tested positive for this virus. Sadly, 44 have lost their lives.
To the families of those who have been lost, you are in our thoughts during this time. I am hopeful that the support of our community for you can be felt during this isolating moment.
Yet, we have made progress:
- COVID-19 testing has become widely available, with Alexandria leading the region and the Commonwealth with a high testing rate.
- Our hospitalization rates have remained low.
- Our hospital capacity has remained stable.
- Our positive testing rate continues to trend downwards.
- A week ago we held our largest testing initiative to date, with 2,980 residents being tested for COVID-19 at two sites in the City.
In April, the Governor released his "Forward Virginia" blueprint, which lays out an approach to the easing of the current public health restrictions and details efforts to increase testing capacity and protective equipment. On Friday, we entered Phase 1, the first phase of that easing.
Yet, we are still not out of the woods. The City still has one of the higher infection rates and significant community spread.
Since the beginning of April, I have been doing a weekly Virtual Living Room Town Hall sessions to answer questions from the public regarding the City's on-going response. You can view the sessions from May online: May 7th Living Room Town Hall
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The City Responds to COVID-19
If you have questions about the outbreak that cannot be answered by your physician, the Alexandria Health Department has set up a hotline staffed during business hours at 703-746-4988. Additionally, the Virginia Department of Health has a hotline at 877-ASK-VDH3.
While 1,974 Alexandrians have been diagnosed with COVID-19, 9,356 tests (PCR) have been administered and 190 residents have been hospitalized.
Inova Alexandria hospital is currently operating with 313 beds, of which about 63% are currently being utilized. They are currently treating 41 COVID-19 patients, which is a reduction from recent numbers.
There are plans in place to construct a 500+ bed "surge" capacity hospital facility for Northern Virginia at the Dulles Expo Center, but at this point the Governor has not proceeded with that construction.
The Governor has issued two successive orders that impact our economy and our daily lives.
 The Alexandria Health Department is advising residents to practice social distancing by maintaining 6-feet of separation from any other person, washing hands frequently with soap or hand sanitizer and wearing a face covering whenever in public where social distancing might not be possible. This is not only to protect your health, but to protect the health of others.
The City has an extensive contact tracing effort underway, to ensure that all those who may have come into contact with someone infected with COVID-19, are notified and take appropriate precautions. The City's Medical Reserve Corps is seeking volunteers, both with and without medical training, to assist during this crisis. You can sign-up on-line.
The City is working quickly to assist businesses that have been hard hit by this crisis.
Visit Alexandria launched "ALX At Home" to make it easier for residents to support shopping at Alexandria businesses.
We worked with businesses across the City to implement new  delivery and pick-up parking zones in front of their establishments.
All of the utilities serving the City have suspended disconnects due to non-payment, including:
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Getting Alexandria Back To Business
It is still too early to take stock of the full economic impact of COVID-19 and the resulting public health restrictions, but it is safe to say that Alexandria businesses have suffered a devastating blow.
Alexandria small businesses, particularly those in the service economy, employ many of our residents who live dangerously close to poverty. Supporting these businesses helps us support our residents. In many cases, these residents are those who did not qualify for some of the Federal assistance that has been available recently.
 We have worked with businesses to access Federal grants and lending. We have made a variety of regulatory changes to support the transition of our businesses to a "new normal."
As we now begin reopening, the City is launching the Alexandria Back to Business Grant Program. This program, utilizing a portion of the City's Federal CARES Act funding, will provide grants to Alexandria businesses that have been impacted by COVID-19.
The grants, of up to $20,000, are designed to support the investments that our businesses must make to adjust. Designed to fund the purchase of PPE, health and safety equipment, cleaning services, etc. Anything that helps ease a business' transition to this new environment will be considered for this program.
Ultimately, Alexandria needs our small businesses to survive. While we cannot solve the economic dislocation caused by this crisis, we are working to help our businesses change and thrive.
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Emergency Rent Assistance Available
With this precipitous increase in unemployment throughout our City, our residents have been faced with challenges in paying their rent.  While foreclosures have been deferred due to the closure of Virginia's courts, our residents who are out of work are incurring overdue rent, late fees and other expenses that will burden them even once they are able to go back to work.
Too many of our residents are facing the choice between complying with Stay at Home orders and other public health restrictions, and paying their rent.
For eligible residents, who have had their employment impacted by this crisis and meet eligibility requirements, the City is provided up to $600/month, for up to 3 months to assist.
This will not solve all of the economic challenges that are impacting our residents, but we are hoping it will help keep residents afloat during this time.
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Policing in Alexandria
We have a highly skilled and diverse police force serving Alexandria.
 The department is taking steps to improve the diversity of the workforce in future recruiting efforts. We are fortunate to have a skilled and professional Sheriff's Department with a sworn workforce that similarly represents our community's diversity.
Our officers participate in training aimed at de-escalation of volatile situations. We outfit our police officers with non-lethal force options to assist in the de-escalation of these incidents. Our officers have been trained in crisis intervention and the proper ways to address civil disobedience.
The City has also worked to improve the transparency of data related to policing in Alexandria.
The goal of this review was to identify possible areas of biased policing. While the study authors provide significant detail as to the challenges of bench-marking this type of data, the result of the study should prompt further analysis and conversation.
Our Police Department has gone beyond what most departments not under consent decrees have chosen to do proactively. This has been the result of community activism and leadership within the Department.
Yet we can never declare "victory," Every day, these efforts must continue as we work to provide a level of transparency that increases public confidence in the great work done by the men and women who serve and protect our community every day.
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The CARES Act In Alexandria
The City of Alexandria may possibly receive up to $27 million of the Commonwealth's allocation of Federal CARES Act funding. The City Council is developing plans to put that money to good work immediately to serve the residents and businesses of our community.
From the beginning of this crisis, it has been clear that the two levels of government, local and state, who are required to balance our budgets annually, could not address the immense financial need that has been created. Only the Federal Government could provide a sufficient amount of money to address some of these challenges.
In late March, the President signed the CARES Act which provides $2 trillion to assist residents, businesses and government. With this legislation and the prospect of further legislation ahead, my focus has been to ensure that we leave no dollar on the table.
Our City government has worked to assist residents and businesses to access the various funds that have been made available for their benefit. The legislation also created a $150 billion fund to assist state and local governments. Virginia will receive $3.3 billion of these funds. Jurisdictions with a population of 500,000 or more go directly to the Federal government and the remainder is distributed by the applicable state government.
1) Expenditures incurred as a result of the pandemic response.
2) Expenditures cannot already be in the City's budget (must be new spending)
3) The money must be utilized by the end of 2020
The City has already spent approximately $5 million in expenses that we believe will be eligible for these funds. The remainder of the funds are expected to be allocated in these priority areas:
- Public health staffing and capabilities
- Food assistance
- Residential rent assistance
- Small business assistance
While we have expended significant amounts of money to address this crisis, the largest financial impact on the City has been the loss of revenue. These funds are not allowed to replace the revenue that the City lost, but it will help us support the residents and businesses who are suffering during this time.
I am still optimistic that Federal policymakers will arrive on an approach that addresses the significant lost revenue that the City and other jurisdictions around our nation have experienced.
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 Host a Town Hall in Your Living Room! As Mayor, I am continuing my regular series of Town Hall Meetings.
You supply the living room and a bunch of your friends and neighbors. I will supply the Mayor who will hopefully have the answers to any of your questions about our City.
Just drop us a line and we'll get a Town Hall on the calendar! Thanks for the interest! |
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Upcoming Issues
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Inova Alexandria Hospital
While the hospital has gone through quite a bit of transition (and a few locations) since it's original founding in 1872, the facility on Seminary nears 60 years of serving our community. We are fortunate to have excellent healthcare professionals serving  our community at Inova Alexandria Hospital, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, modernizing healthcare delivery in a growing community requires a modern hospital facility. Alexandria deserves such a facility. Recently, Inova has been working to determine the future of their real estate, including the Seminary facility. In my April newsletter, I wrote about the newly announced Inova HealthPlex, which will be built in Oakville Triangle, across Richmond Highway from Potomac Yard.
"As part of the ongoing eastern region assessment, Inova continues to review options for modernization of Inova Alexandria Hospital and is working with partners and city officials on options for the best path forward. All options, from renovating in place to relocation, are under evaluation. Additional information will be made available as this project develops."
Whether Inova decides to pursue a new Alexandria Hospital facility on their existing location or another location in the City, there are both opportunity and risks. The City continues to work with Inova to ensure a modern hospital facility to serve our community for generations to come.
King Street Pedestrian Zone
Now, over a decade and a half later, a newly expanded Waterfront Park, with public art, active programming and adjacent businesses has created expanded visitation. Councilman John Chapman and I proposed that the City prepare a new recommendation for a pedestrian zone in the unit, 100-block and potentially 200-block of King Street in Old Town.
Yet, the moment may have met the proposal, at least temporarily. The crowding on the sidewalks in Old Town has made it difficult to safely socially distance. Additionally, the transition into Phase 1 of reopening has increased demand for outdoor dining options. To accommodate both, the City recently implemented a temporary closure of the 100-block of King.
This was not how we intended to pilot this concept, nor how anyone envisioned implemented it, but this will serve as a test of an idea whose time has come.
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