 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 17, at Fairfax City Hall, 10455 Armstrong St.
Engine Demo: 10:30 a.m., noon, 1:30 p.m.
Live Music: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Trophy Presentation: 2 p.m.
Kids Safety Day activities: fire escape drills and skills, leave a handprint on a police cruiser, fingerprinting, traffic garden, balloon art, decorate cookies, crafts, and more.
Hosted by City of Fairfax Parks and Recreation and the Early Ford V-8 Club of America, Northern Virginia Regional Group. Food from Knights of Columbus and Rita's Italian Ice.
Asian Festival on Main Returns to Old Town Fairfax May 18
 Noon to 6 p.m.
Details at asianfestivalonmain.com.
 Live Music. Food Trucks. Beer Garden.
May-October. Old Town Square. 6:30-9:30 p.m.
Council Reporter for the May 13 Meeting
 Pictured from left to right: Mayor Catherine Read and City Councilmembers Anthony Amos, Billy Bates, Stacy Hall, Stacey Hardy-Chandler, Rachel McQuillen, and Thomas Peterson.
The Council Reporter for the May 13 meeting includes video segments linked to agenda items. View the Reporter. A summary is provided below.
The city council convened a closed meeting to discuss appointments to boards and commissions.
Presentations and Proclamations
- Mayor Catherine Read presented proclamations acknowledging May as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Mental Health Awareness Month, Older Americans Month, and Small Business Month; May 7 as National Children’s Mental Health Day; and May 11-17 as Police Week in the City of Fairfax.
Consent Agenda
- Approved consideration of a resolution to establish a Safe Streets for All steering committee. The federal Safe Streets for All grant awarded to the city requires creating a committee to develop a citywide safety action plan.
- Awarded a $327,628 construction contract to Environmental Quality Resources, LLC, to install a concrete encasement within the Dale Lestina Tributary, regrade the eroded stream banks, and restore two outfall channels.
Public Hearings
- Approved, unanimously, a special use permit for Eliana’s Childcare LLC at 10941 Byrd Dr. View the presentation.
- Approved, unanimously, a special use permit for Learning Tree Bilingual Montessori, LLC, a home daycare located at 3936 Providence Pl. View the presentation.
- Endorsed an application to VDOT for Transportation Alternatives funding for the Norman Avenue sidewalk project and adopted a resolution to submit applications to VDOT for Revenue Sharing funding for First/Second Street sidewalks, Dwight Avenue improvements, and the Northfax East-West Roadway. View the presentation.
Work Session
- Discussed a grant supplemental appropriation resolution in the amount of $1,047,794 for FY 2025 federal, state, and use of balance sheet funds for expenditures.
- Discussed the Virginia Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy program. C-PACE is a voluntary financing mechanism that enables private commercial, industrial, nonprofit, and multifamily (with five or more units) property owners to access long-term, fixed rate financing for energy efficiency, renewable energy, water conservation, and resiliency improvements in both new and existing buildings. View the presentation.
- Received an update on the Stormwater Utility. View the presentation.
- Discussed the Virginia Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act and response to Request for Information. Councilmembers received an explanation of background, uses, procedures, advantages, and risks in using public-private partnerships established under the PPEA. View the presentation.
- Discussed potential zoning ordinance amendments related to small area plans. The Small Area Plan Zoning Ordinance Amendment project was initiated to improve compatibility between the zoning ordinance and small area plans, reduce dependence on negotiations and special approvals, and generally improve the land use review process. View the presentation.
- Postponed to May 27 the discussion on the new proposed alignment for the George Snyder Trail.
Held a closed meeting to discuss personnel matters and consultation with legal counsel for non-litigation.
A city council meeting is slated for 7 p.m. May 27. View the agenda (subject to change).
Meetings are held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday nights in City Hall. Watch meetings live on Channel 12 (COX/Verizon) and online, or catch a replay at 10 a.m. or 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Attend the West Campus Development Town Hall, May 22
George Mason University will host an in-person town hall from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on May 22 at City Hall. The meeting will continue the conversation regarding the ongoing development planning on the western portion of the Fairfax Campus.
The university encourages the community to attend and learn more.
|
City Council Adopts Fiscal Year 2026 Budget
On Tuesday, May 6, Fairfax City Council approved the budget for FY 2026 and Capital Improvement Program for FY 2026-2030.
The total approved FY 2026 budget for all city funds is $290.2M, a 10% increase from the corresponding FY 2025 amount.
The adopted FY 2026 General Fund budget is $198.6M, an increase of 9.9% from the current fiscal year. It maintained the city’s 17.7% unassigned general fund balance, exceeding the minimum policy requirement and providing additional support to the city’s AAA bond rating.
This budget fully funds the city school tuition contract at $71.4M, an increase of 21.4%, or $12.6M, from the previous year.
The city council set the real estate tax rate at $1.055, an increase of $.025 from the previous budget. Additionally, the stormwater and wastewater rates each increased by 6% in the FY 2026 budget, which supports the utility infrastructure and services.
The meals tax remains unchanged at 4%.
Read more.
|
Swap Gas-powered Lawn Equipment for Electric Replacements
 Clean Air Partners has partnered with A Few Cool Hardware Stores to offer residents a chance to exchange and recycle gas-powered lawnmowers, trimmers, and leaf blowers for a FREE electric replacement
The 2025 exchanges will take place the weekends of May 24–25 and June 7–8 at participating A Few Cool Hardware Stores locations—including the City of Fairfax ACE Hardware—part of a network of employee-owned ACE Hardware stores in the greater Baltimore-Washington region.
Eligibility: Limit one exchange per person. Participants must be 18 years or older and a resident of Maryland, Virginia, or the District of Columbia. Additional terms and conditions apply. Info: https://cleanairpartners.net/exchange
Share Your Best Tree Snaps (tap image for details)
The 2025 Solarize Virginia Campaign Runs Through July 15
|
