Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust answers questions submitted by Patch readers.
Question: I am wondering who makes decisions re: landscaping in McLean? Specifically, the section in front of the Madison Building was replanted with an array of non-native plants, which is a missed opportunity on many counts. Answer: The owner of the Madison Building, on Old Chain Bridge Road, recently re-landscaped his property as part of a rezoning application approved in 2009. The application review process took over a year and included an evaluation by the County’s Urban Forestry Department. The Urban Forester reviews landscape plans to insure there is adequate planting space, species diversity, and compliance with the 10-year tree canopy requirements. The Urban Forester also reviews whether proposed landscaping provides for native or…
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust answers questions submitted by Patch readers.
Question: What is your opinion on the $12 million reserve fund held by the McLean Community Center? Answer: The budget recently proposed by the MCC Governing Board for Fiscal Year 2014 (July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014) projects a total reserve fund balance of approximately $9.7 million, not $12 million. The MCC maintains three reserve funds: the Equipment Replacement Reserve ($583,926), the Operating Contingency Reserve ($1,250,000) and the Capital Improvement Reserve ($7,828,851). The Equipment Replacement Reserve and the Operating Contingency Reserve are appropriate and represent good fiscal planning by the MCC Governing Board. I believe the Capital Improvement Reserve is appropriate but too large unless the MCC Governing Board adopts a …
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust answers questions submitted by Patch readers.
Question: In July 2012, the County joined with the State of Virginia to sue the United States Environmental Protection Agency claiming that the EPA exceeded its authority to regulate stormwater in the Accotink Creek watershed. Why were you the only Supervisor to vote against filing the lawsuit? Response: As I explained at the time the decision was made, I supported the County filing a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency with respect to the Accotink Creek regulations. I believe the EPA overreached and, if left unchallenged, the result would be significant and unnecessary costs imposed on County taxpayers with minimal environmental benefits. My issue was not with the County’s decision to file a lawsuit to challenge the …
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust answers questions submitted by Patch readers.
Question: What was the public consensus of the Salona Park public meeting? Answer: Salona Park was created when the Fairfax County Park Authority entered into an agreement with the landowners to place over 40 acres of land into a conservation easement. The conservation easement is intended to preserve the land from development and to create a park which would integrate the cultural, natural and historic nature of the property with opportunities for active and passive recreation. In November 2010, the Park Authority presented a draft Master Plan for Salona Park to the community. During the meeting and in the subsequent comment period, the Park Authority received numerous suggestions and proposals for how the park could be used and …
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Dranesville District supervisor John Foust says county was better prepared to handle Sandy.
Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust's McLean home has no power Tuesday morning, but he is praising Fairfax County, the Virginia Department of Transportation and Dominion for improving response times to Hurricane Sandy, which hit the East Coast on Monday evening. He said the response is markedly better than the response to the June 29 derecho, which knocked out power to hundreds of thousands in the D.C. metro region. "I think the response has been significantly better than after the derecho - the preparation and the response," Foust said. Communicating storm-related information with the public and warning residents about dangers was drastically better, too, he said. "The county has done an outstanding job getting out statuses and …
Monday, October 22, 2012
Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust said hundreds of comments were submitted at a public meeting more than two weeks ago.
More than two weeks after the Salona Park Task Force hosted a public meeting at the McLean Community Center on the future of Salona Park, officials are still combing through hundreds of comments submitted by the public on the future use of the park. Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust said the task force will continue to read through the submitted comments before moving forward with a recommendation. "They are working diligently," Foust said. The task force is charged with making a recommendation to the Fairfax County Park Authority with a plan for the future use of Salona, a historical site in McLean. Although the land is privately owned, Fairfax County purchased a conservation easement on the property six years ago, which permits …
Do you have a question you've always been dying to ask? We'll get it answered for you.
You may not have time to attend the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors meetings. You may not even know where Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust's office is located in McLean. But that doesn't mean you're not naturally inquisitive. Do you have a question about Tysons Corner development? The express lanes? What about property taxes in Fairfax County? Is the Silver Line ever going to reach Dulles International Airport? Do you want a traffic light installed at a busy intersection? Here's your chance to ask. Supervisor Foust, whose district includes McLean, Great Falls, and parts of Vienna, Falls Church and Herndon, will answer questions submitted by our readers once a week. But before he can start, we need your questions. Just write …
Jane Peterson
7:19 am on Wednesday, January 30, 2013
John, I agree with Catherine. When will the trail along Old Dominion near the small shopping center and 7eleven be finished? more ›