Our Community in Fairfax County, Virginia
Did you know that Loehmann's Shell (formerly Texaco) has been advertising in our newsletter for a decade, more than any other advertiser? They also are a great place to get your car worked on. Kathy and I have been getting our cars repaired and inspected there for over 20 years. If you ever stop by the service department, let them know you appreciate their continued advertising in our Westlawn newsletter.
You probably know the Frozen Dairy Bar now sells pizza, but have you tried their hot subs and Italian entrées? If not, you are missing a real treat! Their melted parmesan subs are loaded, with a generous amount of sauce and cheese that lasts to the last bite. Their pasta dinners are some of the tastiest around, and again they are generous with their portion size. We often share a pasta or chicken parmesan dinner, always making sure to save room for some frozen custard. Yummy!
Corpus Christi School, Holy Trinity Church, and Graham Road Church often hold social events that are open to everyone at Westlawn. There is no pressure to join, and for many years we took our children to picnics and festivals at all three. And we still go, even after our children have grown up! These organizations also offer a wide variety of excellent religious-based studies and activities for anyone so inclined.
Local residents often advertise in our newsletter, and we have had good experiences using their services. Gutterman Services, Fairfax Realty, BK Painting and Home Improvement, and Waggin' Tails Pet Sitting Service are all recent advertisers who also are Westlawn residents. It seems to me that customer satisfaction is often high when the person providing the service is someone who lives in or near your neighborhood.
Home foreclosure rates are up dramatically in Fairfax County compared to last year. However, of the more than 4,000 properties reported in foreclosure countywide since January of 2007, only 267 are in Mason District.
As of late March, nine of the 950 homes in Westlawn were under foreclosure, which is a foreclosure rate of 1%. This rate is similar to other neighborhoods in Mason District.
The highest foreclosure rates in Mason District are in a few condominium complexes in the eastern part of the county, where the rates exceed 3%.
Looking at the long lines at the Frozen Dairy Bar every evening this summer makes you think that it must do great business. It does, and if every day in the year were above 80 degrees, it would be a highly profitable business. However, operations that serve just ice cream can lose up to 90% of their monthly income during the five coldest months of the year, which is no surprise given that their menu consists of only cold dairy products.
But no more! Later this fall, the Frozen Dairy Bar will move a few feet east and take over the site currently occupied by Perk's Café. The new store will be called Frozen Dairy Bar & Boardwalk Pizza. The new store will sell Beach Fries and pizza, but there will be much more.
The owners feel that the boardwalk theme will really tie their pizza and frozen custard together like no other theme could achieve. After all, frozen custard originated in East Coast boardwalk resort towns like Coney Island, Atlantic City, Ocean City MD and Wildwood. And pizza has always been a staple grab-and-go food item on theses boardwalks.
In order to preserve the Frozen Dairy Bar legacy, there will be a separate counter set up just for the FDB, and we will still be able to come in and get service from a counter just for the FDB. We also can order food and custard products at the same time at the pizza counter. Eat-in or carry out, but no delivery.
So how does the company plan to make its pizza stand out from the crowd? Besides high quality ingredients and fresh pizza dough, the company will be installing a $15,000 pizza oven. This oven is a traditional "Stone Floor" oven used to bake real NY pizza, not the kind that is cooked in a conveyer oven or baked in a pan (sometimes called NY-style, which also tastes good, but is not the same).
With a larger restaurant and expanded menu, the dairy bar will be welcoming sport teams and birthday parties. Pizza and ice cream are two of my favorite food groups, and they are always popular with children's parties. There will be seating both inside and outside, which is a major change from the current location.
The décor will be in an art deco, bright and fun motif that will try and capture some of the design aspects of the "Old" dairy bar. One wall will be dedicated to FDB memorabilia.
The Frozen Dairy Bar has been a good neighbor to Westlawn since 1950, and this expansion looks like it will continue to serve our community for many years to come.
When you get a chance, stop by and say hi to Michael Natoli, the new General Manager of the FDB. He hails from northwest NJ and has worked as a chef and waiter in the foodservice industry for over 25 years. Michael owned and operated a pizzeria in Morris County NJ, then a full service Italian restaurant. Michael has brought his years of foodservice and culinary experience to the operation and has been instrumental in the creation of this new custard/pizza concept.
Fairfax County's Weekly Agenda is no longer available in printed form as a result of budget reductions. Instead, a free electronic e-mail newsletter will be disseminated in a more timely manner, using no paper, at less cost, in a more complete form. With the new electronic version, the information will be provided in its original, unedited format, providing more information to you about Fairfax County government actions.
Go to www.fairfaxcounty.gov/email/lists and sign up now for the new electronic Weekly Agenda by adding yourself to the e-mail subscription list!
Richmond Update: Delegate Bob Hull provided us with an update on new state legislation that was passed this year. He said that there was no significant new legislation because there was no money for new initiatives. Because of a decline in state revenues due to the sluggish economy, the budget was cut. Bob stated that some state services, such as the DMV, have suffered.
He reported that he has been trying for five years to give Virginia counties the same taxing authority as cities. Cities like Falls Church City can create, raise, lower, or repeal local taxes on hotel/motel rooms, meals, and cigarettes as they see fit. But, counties like ours must get the state legislature to approve every local tax initiative other than raising or lowering property taxes.
Bob said that the main source of tax revenue for counties is the real estate tax. He said that if the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors had the authority to charge some of these other taxes, then they could reduce our property taxes. Once again, the General Assembly moved Bob's bill to the land of limbo for further "study," ensuring that it would not be voted on this year. Undaunted, Bob intends to reintroduce the legislation next year.
On a sad note, Bob noted that state redistricting had moved state senator Leslie Byrne out of the district Westlawn is in and into the same district as another incumbent Democrat, so Leslie has decided not to run for reelection. Veteran Senator Dick Saslaw will now represent Westlawn. We appreciate the efforts Leslie has taken these past years to represent our community's interests in Richmond and to speak at our meetings. We wish her the best of luck!
Our first guest speaker at the October 2002 General Meeting was State Senator Leslie Byrne. Her remarks focused on three priorities of hers for the next legislative session in Richmond.
The first priority for these funds each year is for maintenance, with building new roads and mass transit a second priority. In Northern Virginia, major road projects were being funded mostly by Federal dollars, with the state contributing only about 20 percent. Federal funding has dropped over the last 20 years to 50 percent at best, putting a greater burden on the state.
Within the Beltway, funds from the sales tax increase would have gone primarily to intersection improvements. One project close to home would be an overpass at the intersection of Lee Highway and Gallows Road similar to that at Route 50 and Gallows Road. (Voters did not approve the referendum.)
Bob also discussed his efforts to create a new license plate design called Fight Terrorism. These plates are available at a cost of $10 per year extra. The extra cost of special license plates in Virginia is intended to help the state raise revenue, as the one-time cost to manufacture these plates is rather small.
The police spoke about how they monitor all streets for speeding with Radar trailers, which tend to enforce voluntary compliance, and stealth pads, both of which record speeds for later analysis. They explained that a perceived increase in the number of cars on the streets is due to more cars overall, clogged major roads creating a need to use secondary roads, and secondary roads used by residents familiar with the area.
Fairfax County Police also spoke about their efforts to monitor juveniles who congregate at parks such as the one adjacent to Westlawn Elementary School. They monitor for gangs in order to prevent juveniles from drinking, hanging out, and trespassing. If the police are summoned to the park to investigate suspicious activity, they are able to arrest offenders on drunk in public charges. Before the police remove the offenders, they frequently have the offenders clean up the park.
The police officers encouraged residents to help by noting vehicle descriptions or license plates when observing suspicious activity at the park. They suggested that the houses surrounding the park leave on their backlights at night. A resident suggested placing a sign that noted that the park closes at dark and that the trees surrounding the park be trimmed.
The issue of junk cars was discussed. Police officers mentioned how they constantly monitor the neighborhood for abandoned and illegally parked vehicles, which can be ticketed and towed.
The main topic at our 8 October General Meeting will be a discussion and vote on proposals to add four-way stops at the Westlawn Drive intersections with Barrett Road and Greenway Blvd. If you cannot attend the meeting, you can contact me by mail (Box 2003, Falls Church, VA 22042), e-mail (kdconway@cox.net), or phone (703-237-8572). If possible, come to the meeting and join in on the discussion.
In February 1998, the Westlawn Civic Association met and strongly endorsed the addition of multi-way stops at three Barrett Road intersections: Route 50 service road, Westmoreland Road, and Westlawn Drive. After forwarding our request to Supervisor Gross, VDOT inspected the area and rejected the intersection with Westlawn Drive. Recently Burl Seimers, our Traffic Committee Chairman, asked a VDOT traffic engineer to revisit our request. She inspected the intersection and indicated that she would approve the installation of a four-way stop if she received a request from Supervisor Gross.
Without this change, Westlawn Drive will remain the only long street in our neighborhood heading east from Wayne Road with no stops anywhere until the end of the road. For the minority of drivers who like to speed through our neighborhood, Westlawn Drive is an inviting road because of no stopping at the intersection with Barrett Road like we have with Westmoreland Road and the Route 50 service road. Residents on Westlawn Drive have asked for this change in the hope of slowing down some speeders and reducing the attractiveness of this road to speeders.
The proposal of adding a four-way stop at the intersection of Westlawn Drive and Greenway Blvd is more controversial. There are no multi-way stops at any of the Greenway Blvd intersections in our neighborhood. Changing one without changing the others could impact traffic patterns and shift more traffic to the streets with fewer stops-exactly what we fear has happened with Westlawn Drive over the last four years. However, without multi-way stops on Greenway Blvd, speeders have long stretches of straight roads to choose from in Westlawn.
Unfortunately, VDOT has not conducted any studies to determine the extent of speeding on Westlawn Drive to give us a sense of the magnitude of the problem. Also, while new stop signs can alter traffic patterns a bit, their effectiveness in reducing speeding is limited. Speeders know which intersections have little traffic from the side roads, and experience shows that they are likely to run stop signs that were installed simply to reduce speed. It is a complex issue, and we will discuss it further on 8 October. Be there if you can!
We need your help! As happens from time to time, some of our newsletter deliverers move out of the area, and we need new people to take their place. The job requires walking a route of about 35 homes in your area and dropping off newsletters four times a year (September, January, April, and June).
No door-to-door soliciting. No phone calls from me. You can expect a bag full of newsletters to show up on your doorstep with the addresses to deliver to and usually two weeks to deliver them at your convenience (the two weeks is why some people get their copies before others).
Please give me a call on 703-237-8572 or send me an e-mail at kdconway@cox.net. We especially need volunteers who live on or near Blundell Road. It would be great to have so many volunteers that we could have a waiting list to call on the next time we need someone!
The Fire Department is familiar with the Westlawn neighborhood and its narrow streets with parked vehicles along both sides. There are a few segments, such as the top of the hill on Kenfig Drive and the east end of Beechview Drive, where the streets curve. While negotiating these curves in a fire truck with parked vehicles on both sides can be challenging, the Fire Department has reassured us that they can get through.
At our General Meeting on Tuesday, 6 February, we unanimously decided to change our membership year to run the same as the calendar year-1 January to 31 December. It used to run from 1 June to the end of May. We also decided by majority vote to extend memberships of current dues-paying members through the end of the year. If you paid your dues in 2000 or earlier this year, please do not renew your membership until early next year!
As of early April 2001, we had 153 members. That leaves us almost 800 households that have yet to show their support for the good work that we do in Westlawn. We are more than just a spot on the map. With our Neighborhood Watch, our informative newsletter, our meetings that bring us face-to-face with key public officials (police, zoning, VDOT, local politicians, etc.), our special events (National Night Out and the Halloween parade), and an elected board that gives you a place to go to with issues that concern you, we are a community. Please show your support if you are not already a member by sending in the form near the back of this newsletter.
Ever wonder how the state and local government agencies keep track of what needs replacing or repairing in the Westlawn community? Simply put, they rely on us. For example: