Councilman Webb and longtime Falls Church city resident Walter Mess during the dedication of Walter Mess Plaza on 03/25/2012
Over the coming months, the Council will engage in deliberative process with key stakeholders and industry leaders to chart out the future of its water and sewer systems. A sale of the water system would require approval by City voters by referendum. Should that be the preferred option, it is possible that a referendum for sale of the system could be before the voters by the Nov. 6, 2012 General Election.
“By issuing this REI, we are inviting industry and public water authorities to provide us with information that will help the City evaluate the best options for the future of this critical utility service. We want to make sure that no stone is left unturned.” said Councilman Lawrence Webb, member of the Council’s Public Utilities Commission. Read more at FallsChurchTimes.com Although residents were most interested in the cost controls, the latter action likely will have the greatest impact on the local utility business, particularly in the Tysons Corner area.
Tysons, which is poised for significant redevelopment around its four new Metro stations, is served by both Fairfax Water and Falls Church water. The change will be bad for the county’s redevelopment efforts, Falls Church officials say. The new regulations will “force county developers to construct new water mains that overlap the existing system in order to hook-up to Fairfax Water, an enormous unnecessary cost that could stop the exciting Tysons and Merrifield redevelopment effort in its tracks,” said Falls Church Councilman Lawrence Webb. Read more at FairfaxTimes.com "My partner and I want to adopt at some point," but said that "as born and bred a Virginian as you can get," he does not want to have to move to Maryland to do it. "I would want our children to grow up in Falls Church," he said, adding, "Children don't care about the sex of their parents, they just want a loving, stable home and people to provide for them." Read more at Falls Church Patch "Webb was first elected to the F.C. City Council in May 2008, becoming the first openly gay African-American elected to public office in the history of Virginia. On the Council, he initiated the process that resulted in the referendum last November when voters determined to move local elections from May to November, a switch that will commence in the 2013. Already, as F.C. Assistant City Manager Cindy Mester reported to the City Council Monday night, has already cleared one chamber of the State Legislature by a unanimous vote." Read more at FCNP.com I am running for re-election to the Falls Church City Council. It took time to make the decision to run again considering all the difficult decisions the council had to make during the economic downturn. My friends and family helped me to see that those difficult decisions are starting to pay-off and the City of Falls Church still needs energized voices to completely return to its strong fiscal state. I believe I am capable of providing a balanced approach to helping the city completely recover moreover; I recognize the council cannot complete this task without the assistance of our citizens. Growing up in rural southern Virginia my parents instilled the value of hard work and giving back to your community. They also thought me the value of spending for necessities and saving up for big ticket items. With that being said, I have brought those small town values with me to our “Little City”. We have experienced one of the most challenging recessions in years; one that made us make some tough choices to be able to get to this point today. Our “Little City” is in the beginning stages of observing a recovery and we are seeing increased interest from developers. With the current work being done on area plans, we will be in a stronger position to share what we want in future development in the City of Falls Church. I am looking forward to engaging our citizens in conversations about what we want the City of Falls Church to look like in the next decade. We have heard about “The Falls Church way” is to get buy in from citizens because we know a plan without citizens input will be dead on arrival. At this time a taskforce has been established by the city council to begin the tough work on developing an affordable housing policy that will set realistic goals when it comes to taking cash versus units within mixed use developments. The group has all the stakeholders at the table: developers, city board and commission members, community groups and citizens talking about all the different aspects of what a good policy will need to be effective. As the council liaison to the taskforce, I will make sure when a decision is rendered to take cash in these developments there will be a plan in place. One that will either maintain existing affordable housing or work to expand regionally affordable housing near the city limits. Fortunately our schools are one of the best in the state. For the past two years I’ve visited George Mason High School to help provide information to seniors and parents on what will be the first of many challenges that a student will face and that’s choosing the right college to attend. I believe strongly in the value of education however; I will continue to advocate for a revenue sharing agreement between the schools and the city. This plan can strike a balance that will fully fund our schools while taking into account the services we provide to city residences. After witnessing the flooding experienced by residents during several storms this fall, it is very important that we continue to fund and expand our storm water management plan in the city. We have an updated Watershed Management Plan which outlines the needs of our city. One of my goals is to make sure we have the appropriate resources to alleviate flooding in our city. As we continue litigation over our water system, I will work hard to ensure that the system continues to provide safe and quality water to all of our customers. I will, when it is appropriate, communicate to our counterparts in Fairfax to discuss and work on positive solutions. Yet, when it’s time to protect the interest of the City of Falls Church I will be the first to protect our rights. I recognize that we have experienced some challenging times in Falls Church and that some decisions made were not popular. But in making those decisions I carefully considered input from citizens and city staff, and weigh those insights with what I thought best supported our city. I have tried to make those decisions that would allow the city to maintain, survive, and eventually thrive. Over the next several weeks I will work diligently for your support in allowing me the opportunity to continue the job that has started to make our “Little City” a star here in Northern Virginia. I welcome you input during and beyond the campaign. Sincerely, Lawrence Webb Members of Falls Church City Council |
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