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November, 5 2004

I hope you are recovering from the late night watching the poll returns. Alexandria had a great day last Tuesday. With over 61,000 votes in the City, almost 67% of eligible voters cast a ballot in Alexandria. That says a lot about our City. We should be proud of the level of participation by Alexandrians.

From time to time I send out messages about different issues and events occurring in the City. I wanted to update you on a few items and as always, ask for your feedback about issues in our City.

I look forward to hearing from you.



Rob Krupicka
Rob@Krupicka.com

Habitat for Humanity Re-Store Opens

I had the pleasure of participating in the ribbon cutting for Habitat for Humanity’s new re-store behind the Gold’s Gym on Richmond highway. This new program meets three key goals for our region. First, it provides a convenient way to recycle used or not-so-used construction materials. Instead of sending them to a landfill, you can have the Re-Store come and pick them up for you. Second, it helps affordable housing as all proceeds from items sold go back to support Habitat’s home ownership programs. Third, it represents a great coming together of government, non-profit and private enterprise to improve our region. I strongly encourage individuals, and especially builders and developers to recycle their unused building materials with the re-store. For more information, visit www.restorenova.org.

Costumes for Kids

Community Partners for Children has launched its first ever Halloween costume drive. Please consider giving your used costumes to them so that they can clean them and fix them up to give to kids next year. This is a great way to ensure every child can have a happy Halloween and that nobody is left out. To donate a costume, put it in a plastic bag and drop it off at the Caboose Café on Mt. Vernon Avenue. Nancy Dunning and I had talked about this idea last year and we asked some friends if they could help us make it happen. I am proud that Community Partners has agreed to start this new community program. For more information, please contact Pat Miller at 703-683-1012 or pmiller@freedomsanswer.net.

Shipbuilder Monument

There is a new statue in Waterfront Park at the foot of Prince Street. It is a fantastic rendition of a shipbuilder. I strongly encourage you to go take a look. This is a great example of public art. I know many of us would like to see more public art in the City. The City Arts Commission and many other groups are all working to bring more public art into the City. If you have thoughts or ideas about public art in Alexandria, please feel free to share them. 

Police Worksession

The Council has received an increase in comments from residents about crime in the City. While overall crime is down again this year, there have been activities that have attracted press attention and have raised legitimate comments and questions. I recently asked for a City Council – Police worksession to review crime trends in the City, neighborhood policing, gang and other initiatives. Everybody should feel safe in our City. If you have any thoughts, comments or questions about crime in Alexandria, please let me know. 

Affordable Housing

Last year, Councilman Gaines and I worked with the Council to create a new program to help City employees buy homes in the City. This program is funded through affordable housing contributions from developers and it provides down payment assistance to encourage employees to live in the City they work in. In the recent City-Wide survey, affordable housing ranked as one of the most important issues to residents of Alexandria. As the job market grows, the regional housing shortage increases and the cost of housing goes up. This forces moderate-income residents to live further and further from their jobs, increases traffic and changes the composition of our community. I have talked to many Police Officers and Teachers that would like to live in Alexandria, but simply can’t afford to.

What are your thoughts about affordable housing? What tools do you think we should consider using, if any? Arlington has recently increased its requirements for on-site affordable housing with any development or re-development project. What do you think? I’d like to have a round-table conversation with anybody interested in talking about this topic. Please let me know if you are interested in participating.

The Waterfront

In the early part of 2005 the City will begin a comprehensive community planning process to create a world-class waterfront. This is a key part of the Green Crescent envisioned in the Open Space Plan. The Green Crescent is a north-south, east-west connected green space that surrounds the City. Some of the waterfront efforts will involve the City buying land for increased open space and access along the waterfront. Some of it will include creative planning and partnerships with property owners. All of it is intended to benefit the entire City. A world class waterfront can strengthen our economy by adding new vitality to Old Town. It can provide expanded recreation for all Alexandrians -- ideally making it possible to walk, run, stroll and bike along the entire Waterfront. It can increase opportunities for boats to use our harbor, one of the oldest and most historic harbors in the Country. It can improve Alexandria’s already strong reputation as a beautiful and attractive City. We need the entire community’s participation, input and vision. We have to work closely with current waterfront property owners. We have to address parking in Old Town. We have to create a plan for how we pay for it. We have a great opportunity to create something that can last for generations and be the envy of the world. 

America Recycles Day on November 15th

In 2003, Alexandria residents recycled 5728 tons of paper, plastic bottles and jugs, glass jars, metal cans, and cardboard. America Recycles Day activities are sponsored locally by the Office of Recycling, Alexandria Library, and Alexandria City Recreation Centers. For more info, visit http://www.alexrecycles.org or call (703) 751-5872. Visit one of two locations to renew your commitment to recycling and enjoy recycled art.



1) “Rethink Recycling” Art Show
Durant Center Open House
1605 Cameron Street
Saturday, November 13,
10 pm to 2 pm

2) Vola Lawson Lobby
City Hall
301 King Street
Wed. Nov. 10 thru Mon. Nov. 15
8 am to 5 pm