House Subcommittee Action Halts Casino Bill

February 12, 2025; 6:00 PM

Dear GFCA Members and Friends:

Late this afternoon the Virginia House Appropriations Subcommittee on, Commerce, Agriculture, and Natural Resources effectively halted Senate Bill 982 to authorize a casino in the Tyson Area of Fairfax County.

The Subcommittee agreed to "Pass the Bill By for the Day".  However, the Chairman, David Bulova, commented that today's meeting was the subcommittee’s last meeting of the session.  Therefore, the casino bill may be left in committee. 

Reacting to this action, Lynne Mulston, spokesperson for the No Fairfax Casino Coalition offered her grateful appreciation to all the elected officials who spoke up and spoke against this ill-conceived bill.  "We extend our deepest gratitude to Senator Jennifer Boysko, whose bold, decisive leadership led the opposition to this casino bill.  Of significance, we acknowledge the thousands of Fairfax County residents who signed petitions opposing the bill, wrote members of the General Assembly, donated to the fight, planted yard signs, attended our rallies and traveled numerous times to Richmond in order to voice opposition."  

As a community organization partner in the No Fairfax Casino Coalition, the GFCA, also thanks Supervisor Jimmy Bierman for his strong opposition to the bill, a position that he made clear on numerous occasions at events throughout the county and in Richmond.

Mulston emphasized: "This bill was not requested by the local government, unlike the five other casinos that were authorized.  This bill is the product of a local developer who stands to benefit from the carefully crafted language of the bill that targets his holdings and possibly one other nearby site.  Further, the idea of a casino has been rejected by thousands of residents of the county who believe that a casino does not comport with the long term plans for Tysons."

The No Fairfax Casino Coalition will continue to monitor the status of this legislation and is preparing for any future similar casino legislation.  Mulston added: "The current bill followed from a previous failed effort by Senator Dave Marsden, in last year's session.  So, it is likely to resurrect itself in another piece of legislation in the future."

GFCA’s Special Committee on Legislative Action and the Land Use & Zoning Committee will also continue to monitor the casino issue and any new initiative that may develop in the future.

  For any questions, email: legislativecommittee@GFCA.org

GFCA Community Meeting Regarding
Georgetown Pike/Library Crosswalk

Meeting Date:  Thursday Jan. 30, 2025
Meeting Time:  7:00 pm
Meeting Location:  Great Falls Grange, 9818 Georgetown Pike, Great Falls

Purpose of Meeting: GFCA is hosting an information meeting on the planned Library Crosswalk/Pedestrian Refuge Project.  The meeting will be held at the Great Falls Grange on Thursday January 30, 2025 at 7:00 pm.  The meeting is open to the public. 

The agenda includes a review of project plans and a presentation by Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) representatives.  Also, this meeting presents an opportunity to meet with and hear from our Dranesville Supervisor Jimmy Bierman who will be in attendance.  This important meeting is an opportunity for Great Falls residents and GFCA members to review the plans for the crosswalk project prior to their finalization and to ask staff questions.  GFCA has reached out to FCDOT and Supervisor Bierman for clarification of the FCDOT January report of project costs of $895,000, an increase from the $217,000 previously published throughout 2024.

Background:

• On February 28, 2022, GFCA submitted a list of our funding priorities to Dranesville Supervisor Foust’s office (See Attachment GFCA Top Priority Transportation Projects).  At that time, GFCA identified intersection improvements at the Georgetown Pike/Walker Road intersection as its top priority for funding. 
• On October 5, 2021, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a motion to set a goal to provide new funding for pedestrian and bicyclist facilities of at least $100 million through FY2027, in addition to any funding previously allocated to transportation projects.
• On November 1, 2022 the Board of Supervisors announced the release of a relatively small tranche of funding ($2.7 million) for pedestrian/sidewalk projects across the county. It included funding for a small pedestrian project in Great Falls, and a pedestrian refuge on Georgetown Pike near the Great Falls Library.  These projects were referred to as  “quick fix” projects where utilities do not need to be relocated or land/easements acquired.
• Also on November 1, 2022, a list of Crosswalk Projects was published by Fairfax County DOT (FCDOT) that included a mid-block crosswalk and pedestrian refuge on Georgetown Pike at the Great Falls Library.  This crosswalk was included in the first $5 million funding in support of county-wide projects involving Active Transportation Access and Safety Improvements.  The Library crosswalk was identified by county planners as among a group of “Lower Cost” projects that were identified and funded at $2.7 million.
  
• In November 2023, a group of GFCA Transportation Committee members met with FCDOT engineers on site to conduct a preliminary review of site conditions.  Subsequently, GFCA submitted a list of questions and concerns and continued to track project plans throughout 2024.  You can review the GFCA questions and FCDOT answers Here.
• Click (Here) to review the FCDOT Project Page.

If you have any questions, please email transportation@GFCA.org

We look forward to seeing you there.

John Halacy, President
Great Falls Citizens Association

New County-wide Trash Collection Plan Announced

Fairfax County is developing a new trash collection platform called the Unified Sanitation Districts (USD) to roll out over the next few years. Under this proposed system the county will manage waste hauling contracts directly with private contractors.  All trash collection will be by individual contractors, selected by the county for the various geographic districts.

Trash collection services have been a continued concern for our residents over the years.  County officials state that a centralized system will improve reliability, lower costs and reduce the number of trucks on the roads (reducing greenhouse gasses).

Last September GFCA announced the Fairfax County Zero Waste Resident Survey.  The county invited residents to complete the survey to provide feedback on current trash and recycling practices and the proposed countywide zero waste strategies.  The survey was open until September 30. Seventy-six responses came from Great Falls out of the over 300 from the Dranesville District.  The survey questions and cumulative results are at: https://publicinput.com/Report/ggu4ieyaq1l). 

On December 10, Matthew Adams, Division Director of the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services, presented the update on this initiative.  To listen to the report visit: https://video.fairfaxcounty.gov/player/clip/3629?view_id=9&redirect=true

The GFCA Environment and Parks Committee will host Mr. Adams at their June 9 zoom meeting for further updates on this trash collection initiative.

GFCA recognizes that there are many unanswered details associated with this trash collection initiative and GFCA will continue to update as more information becomes available.  For current information and the public input timeline visit: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/boardofsupervisors/sites/boardofsupervisors/files/Assets/meeting%20materials/committees/2024/Agenda%20Item%202_SWMP%20Update_A-1a.pdf

General Assembly’s  2025 Legislative Session to Open

The 2025 Virginia General Assembly session begins on January 8 and is scheduled to continue until it adjourns on Saturday, February 22.  As of press time, GFCA Communications determined that more than 200 bills have been submitted by legislators during a pre-filing period that ends January 8, 2025 on which date the General Assembly convenes.  This is a short legislative session.

The General Assembly meets annually, beginning on the second Wednesday in January, for 60 days in even-numbered years and for 30 days in odd-numbered years, with an option to extend annual sessions for a maximum of 30 days.

Because of time constraints, legislators and staffs have to balance their priorities and work at an accelerated pace, as attendees at a December 16 Legislative Town Hall conducted by State Senator Jennifer Boysko and Delegate Rip Sullivan.  They emphasized that the schedule dictates that the scope of proposed bills will by tightly focused. 

Delegate Sullivan has identified several of his top issues including the environmental impacts of data centers relating to their widespread usage of diesel-powered back up power; exploring ways to give back the state budget surplus to the localities; support for a Fairfax County proposed pilot on enforcing of loud vehicle exhausts; and restating his opposition to a Fairfax County Casino.

Similarly, Senator Boysko told attendees at the Town Hall that there will not be movement on a broad range of topics, given the session’s duration.  But she reaffirmed her stance opposing a Fairfax County Casino indicating that, in every other case across the Commonwealth, the local government petitioned the General Assembly for a Casino authorization,  She expressed the view that Tysons in Fairfax County is not the proper placement for a casino and that it is inconsistent with the County Comprehensive Plan.

Sen. Boysko has committed to supporting gun violence prevention and will attempt to bring back a gun safety bill this term.   

The leadership of the Standing Committees of the GFCA (EP, LUZ, TRN) and the Committee Coordinator, met on December 4, 2024 to review and discuss edits to the GFCA 2023/2024 Legislative initiatives.  The Executive Board of the GFCA unanimously adopted the revised initiatives on December 17, 2024 (See next article).

GFCA's provided testimony during the public hearing before the Fairfax County delegation to the General Assembly on January 4, 2025 highlighting the organizations positions on several key legislative initiatives.

The initiatives identified by the GFCA closely track with those previously adopted and, in several cases, are identical to those presented in the last legislative session.