Arlington County Retired Employees Association, Inc

Arlington County Retired Employees Association, Inc.
P.O. Box 10023, Manassas, Virginia 20108
~ Established 1973 ~
[email protected]
2011 Board of Directors
John Bassett, Sharon Berry, Ralph Darne, Edward Plaugher, Marcia Smith,
Gregory Kurasz – Luncheon Coordinator, Richard Alt – Retirement Board Representative
__________________________________________________________________________________________
No.105
September 2011
The Chairman’s Corner
By: Ralph Darne
Greetings to all and as you will soon see your
newsletter has taken on a bit of new look from
the past and we hope you enjoy it. However,
feedback from our membership is important in
making it interesting and useful. Your thoughts
for this newsletter and topics you would like to
see included or excluded in future editions are
important and encouraged.
I must say that things have been a bit of a
challenge since Eileen Williams decided to
step down from her position on the Board. It
would be an understatement to say most did
not have a good understanding of how big a
role she played in keeping things afloat. On
behalf of the Board we sincerely thank her for
all the dedication and hard work she so
unselfishly gave to the ACREA for 10 years.
With Eileen’s departure yours truly decided it
would be a good time to seize the opportunity
and have a better understanding of all she was
doing. I can now honestly say that it has been
an eye opening experience. Matter of fact I did
find that you can teach an old dog new tricks,
albeit taxing, but a lesson well learned.
During my personal involvement in updating
our Membership data etc., it become apparent
a number of our members are behind in their
dues. Rather than just remove them from the
rolls it was decided to maintain everyone for
one more cycle of the newsletter as it is the
Boards intention to recruit new members and
not remove them without pre-notification.
Please take a look at your mailing label which
includes the year you are ―Paid Through.‖ If
you find that we have made a mistake with the
date or your information in the Membership
Directory please let us know.
Fall Luncheon
Thursday October 13, 2011
Please RSVP by October 10
At the Little Falls Presbyterian Church, 6025 N.
Little Falls Road, in Arlington. Social Hour
begins at 10:30 and the buffet lunch will follow
at 11:30 followed by the business meeting and
election of officers to the 2012 Board.
Price is $10 per person, cash or checks
accepted at the door. If you bring a guest
eligible for ACREA membership who joins for
one year at the luncheon both you and your
guest will attend free. There will be a raffle and
door prizes for some lucky attendees.
RSVP using the Membership Form included in
the newsletter or email [email protected].
In the spring edition all members were asked to
complete the revised Membership Form so our
database could be verified updated and many
did respond. Please be sure to include, agency
retiring from, chapter retiring under, year you
retired, and best guess as to the year you
joined ACREA.
Welcome New Members
Sharon Andrews – ECC
Randy Bilder – Police
Richard B. Chesley – DHS
Robert Cornwell – Fire
Rafaela Cruz – DHS
Anita M. Fruman – Library
Helen E. Guthrie – DPHD
Fran Lunney – CPHD
Jeff Marin – PRCR
Charles McDermott – DES – WPCD
Terence Murray - Police
Isabel Turman McDermott - DHS
James K. Pate – Police
Gus Vega – MDF
 Information for the Memorial Section of
the newsletter. We do catch a few but
know that many we never hear about.
The Member’s Corner
Thank you for the newsletter and to the
persons who work on the Board of Directors
and the newsletter. The info is very useful.
Anna-Maria Alfara, JDR Courts
An informative issue! Enjoy the photos.
Carl J. Beyeler, JDR Courts
Upcoming Vacancies on YOUR Board
At the upcoming 2011 Fall Luncheon/Annual
Meeting an election will be held for three Board
positions. ACREA members who are interested
in running for the Board and/or have skills to
offer are asked to submit their name.
Nominations from the floor will be permitted.
I appreciate all your good work for us.
Carol G. Bruce, PRCR
Always look forward to receiving the newsletter
and find it very informative. Thanks to those
who work on the newsletter and their service.
Bill Christian, Fire
Terms Expiring December 31, 2011
Sharon Berry – (DPHP)
Ralph Darne – (Fire)
Marcia Smith – (DPHP)
Always interest in hearing news from ACREA.
Henry Churchborne, Police
Terms Expiring December 31, 2012
John Bassett – (ECC)
Edward Plaugher – (Fire)
I really enjoy the newsletter as it gets better
and better. Keep up the good work.
Richard G. Flynn, DHR
We always need to hear from YOU
Your Newsletter Editor has received a little
more information than usual from our
membership that has been added to this
edition.
With this being said we would
appreciate your assistance by providing the
Board with:
 Happenings you would like to share
with our members. This can be just
about
anything,
i.e.,
vacations,
birthdays, anniversary’s, family events,
old work or county photo’s, etc., etc. as
you can see in the comments in the
Members Corner.
Thanks to all ACREA leadership for your good
work. Dotty Dake, County Manger’s Office
Time and distance is an issue for me to be able
to participate.
John E. Gamble, Police
Sorry I am not able to attend the Spring
Luncheon as I am unable to walk.
Marit A. Grachow, DHS (retired in 1961)
Thanks for all your hard work.
Rosemary Guida, Police
Thanks for all you do.
Helen E. Guthrie, Planning
I became a widower on 09/02/2008 –
Daniel Hartle, Police
Thanks for all who volunteer to serve on the
ACREA Board.
Martha Anne Jesnak, Williamsburg, School
This letter does not say anything about this
year’s COLA, we did not get one last year. I
am also from MPDC, last year we got a 2.5%
and this year we got 1.5%. The COLA from
D.C. is based on the same information as
Arlington County so why did Arlington County
not give us a COLA last year?
Richard Laird – Sheriff’s Office
Update: Chapter 46 Retirees received a 1.6%
COLA effective July 1, 2011
engineer in February 2008 and has pursued a
bevy of town sidewalk projects and other
assignments since then, frequently giving
presentations before the Vienna Town Council.
Town officials chose six candidates from 54
initial applicants and these selectees then
underwent a question-and-answer session with
the public-works employees, who graded the
job seekers.
Johnson emerged as the best candidate for the
job, said Vienna Town Manager Mercury
Payton.
I am most appreciative of being a member.
Evelyn V. Snoots, Revenue
Did you know that my ex-secretary, Rosemary
Guida and I have contacted each other by
phone for the last 26 years on every April Fools
Day? Charles Walker, Police
Richmond Police Chief Bryan T. Norwood
named three new deputy chiefs, including
Tonya Vincent, a captain with the Arlington, VA
police department, to Deputy Chief of
Administration.
Thanks to everyone who keeps all of us retired
people up-to-date. I was 84 on April 29th and
am down here in the little old town Clarksville,
This is the best fishing hole in VA and anyone
driving through give a holler. I would love to
hear from them.
Peggy Wilkinson, Voters Registration
Retired Detective Bernie Lunsford celebrated
his 90th birthday in March at his daughter’s
home in Boston, VA. His ACPD partner, Otto
Koch, was in attendance.
Miscellaneous Updates
Dennis Johnson
ARLnow is the up-to-the-minute source for
breaking news, politics, events and community
happenings. Email Subscription is available at
http://www.arlnow.com/
for afternoon
updates, delivered to your inbox around 4:00
p.m. daily. No spam, we promise!
Another very useful site for information is
http://news.arlingtonva.us
A 34-year veteran of the Arlington County
government has been tapped as director of the
Vienna, VA Public Works Department.
Dennis Johnson has served as acting director
of the department ever since April, when
former
director
Holly
Chu
resigned.
Johnson, 64, joined the department as an
ARLINGTON, VA – Moody's announced on
Thursday, May 26 that it has reaffirmed
Arlington's Triple-A bond rating, making this the
eleventh consecutive year that the County has
received the coveted Triple-Aaa bond rating,
with Standard & Poor's, Fitch Ratings and
Moody's all giving the County's debt the
highest rating.
• Praised for deep and diverse economy,
exceptional financial management,
strong reserves and financial flexibility
•
Arlington one of only 36 counties in the
United States with ―triple-triple-A‖ rating
from all three agencies
•
Rating ensures lowest costs to residents
for County capital investments
―Maintaining our AAA ratings is especially
important
in
the
current
economic
environment,‖ said County Manager Barbara
Donnellan. ―It allows the County to make
critical investments in the ongoing capital
needs of the County at the lowest possible cost
to residents and businesses.‖
Agencies cite County’s excellent financial
management Fitch and Standard & Poor’s both
noted the County’s excellent financial
management, solid reserve levels and financial
flexibility. Both also noted the County’s
moderate debt levels and the strong economic
performance of the County against key state
and national averages in the areas of
unemployment, income and the local tax base.
―Arlington County’s outstanding financial
management, highlighted by conservative
budgeting, timely tax and fee increases, and
closely monitored expenditure
controls,
consistently produces surplus operating results
leading to solid reserve levels and liquidity,‖
Fitch said in its press release.
―We expect the county to continue to manage,
what we regard as, its strong financial profile
prudently,‖ Standard & Poor’s said in
explaining its rating. ―Moreover, we expect
county management to respond proactively
and quickly to budget challenges that could
potentially arise given the uncertainty of
economic recovery. Therefore, we do not
expect to change the rating within the outlook's
two-year horizon.‖
High ratings mean low interest rates
The high ratings ensure that the County will
enjoy lower interest rates for its planned sale of
General Obligation Public Improvement Bonds
on June 13-15, 2011. Currently, $127 million in
new-money bonds are planned. The County
continues to monitor market conditions and
may also refinance a portion of its outstanding
debt to achieve debt service savings. New
money bond proceeds will finance:
•
Arlington Public Schools projects,
including design and construction of
Wakefield High School, Yorktown High
School construction, and HVAC and
roofing projects
•
Transportation, Maintenance Capital
and Neighborhood Conservation
projects
•
Design and construction of Arlington Mill
Community Center and Long Bridge
Park
•
Improvements to the Water Pollution
Control Plant
•
Metro rail system and facilities
improvements County will offer bonds
directly to public
This year’s bond issuance was similar to 2009
when the County offered bonds directly to
County residents through a retail sale. On
June 13 and 14 residents were able to
purchase the bonds through one of five brokers
participating in the sale.
The Arlington County Board has
voted to plug a $221,088 budget gap caused
by a cut in federal grants. The board voted to
use
its
existing,
two-year-old
Budget
Stabilization Fund to make up the gap, caused
by a $442,077 reduction in federal community
block grants. The grants are used to fund local
human services and education projects, to
support affordable house and homeless
prevention initiates, to improve neighborhood
safety and to enhance economic opportunities
for residents.
It is a good thing that Arlington has the
reserves available to get us through FY 2012,‖
said
County
Board
Chairman
Chris
Zimmerman. ―This is, however, a temporary
solution. We expect the federal government to
make far deeper cuts in FY 2013, cuts that
may seriously affect programs that create
affordable housing, house the homeless,
provide training for the unemployed and more.
We are starting now to make contingency
plans with our non-profit partners for FY 2013.‖
Meet your Human Resources Team
more is just a click away at the link below. If
you scroll down a hot link to ACREA is on the
left side where you can find the Membership
Form and more at www.arlingtonva.us/retirement
Note: The County HR Dept. manages pension
benefits for both County and School retirees as
long as they are not in Virginia Retirement
System (VRS).
The County HR doesn’t
manage life insurance and/or health for
schools.
Human Resources Department (County)
2100 Clarendon Boulevard, Suite 511
Arlington, VA 22201
703-228-3500 (Option 1 for benefits & retirement)
[email protected] (email for general
personnel matters)
www.arlingtonva.us/retirement (Retirement
Website)
[email protected] (email for retirement
and County benefits)
Human Resources Department (Schools)
1426 N. Quincy Street Arlington, VA 22207
703-228-6000 (for retiree life & health benefits)
Before moving be aware CIGNA
coverage is not available everywhere
Below is an actual situation one of our retirees
encountered and the response from HR
Benefits Manager, Amy Rozier. The exchange
has been edited slightly to ensure protection of
the retiree’s privacy.
(From L to R) Marcy Foster, HR Director, Julia
Kong, Benefits and Wellness Division Chief,
Amy Rozier, Benefits Manager, Cassandra
Mock Glover and Phyllis Hawkins, Benefits
Specialist, Takisha Folkes-Moye, Benefits
Analyst. Not pictured are Benefits Specialist
Velonta Adams, Caroll Ambrose, April Greer,
and Tina Quick.
Retirement benefits only a click away
To access just about anything you as a retiree
needs to know regarding retirement, benefits,
Retiree Link, Retirement Board, and much
I am looking for some advice, direction or
contacts that might be able to help me with a
problem my wife and I have been experiencing
with CIGNA. I retired in 2007 but before retiring
we built a home in Florida. Because of our zip
code, I have been told on numerous occasions
by CIGNA personnel that we do not fall into an
HMO network and therefore have no coverage
where we live.
I have contacted Arlington Human Resources
about this problem. To this point the only
answer I have received is you can change from
the HMO to the Point of Service Open Access
plan for an additional cost of approximately
$350.00 a month.
Amy’s Response………………
Some states have more stringent requirements
and restrictions that may prevent CIGNA from
developing networks in a particular area,
therefore, providers may not be available in the
immediate area of where you plan to move.
When we contracted with them, on their
information system, CIGNA only "opened" the
networks where we had employees/retirees. As
employees/retirees moved to areas where
there were networks and we didn't have
employees/retirees there previously, CIGNA
would "open" their network --- this simply
meant that they were "flipping a switch" (if you
will) on their information system to allow our
members to see contracted doctors in that
network, if a network existed.
CIGNA does allow ―guesting‖ for folks who
have a split-residency, but if you are moving
residences permanently, this option won't work.
Also, since there is no network where you will
be moving, this does not work because there is
no network in which to "guest".
CIGNA has worked with us to contract
providers in various areas, so if there are
providers in the area where you are moving
that you would like to see, we can engage
CIGNA to reach out to those providers to see if
they'll contract with CIGNA. I am trying to find
out if this is a viable option since there
currently is no network in the area to which you
are moving.
Since there is no network access where you
are moving to, the health plan the County has
available is the CIGNA POS plan. Which, as
you state, is more expensive, has a deductible
and coinsurance. Since we contracted with
CIGNA, we have been coaching retirees and
soon-to-be retirees that they should look into
network options before moving. We do this via
our meetings with soon-to-be retirees and
regularly via our retiree newsletter.
The overarching message is that if you are
planning to move residences, please check
with your health plan to confirm if your health
plan has adequate access to network providers
in the new area. If there isn’t adequate
network coverage, there are options, but it may
cost you more money.
Tip: Sometimes a solution may be as simple
as moving to a different zip code near where
you had planned on moving.
Virginia attorney general’s office on
the Bank of New York Mellon lawsuit
RICHMOND (August 11, 2011) – Today, after
seeking several continuances over several
months to investigate and attempt to resolve a
matter relating to trading practices the Bank of
New York Mellon performed for its clients, the
Virginia Retirement System and others,
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has
filed suit against the bank.
The Virginia Retirement System (VRS) and the
Arlington County Employees Retirement
System (ACERS) and Fairfax County
employee
retirement
funds
(all
three
collectively known as ―the funds‖) use the Bank
of New York Mellon as their custodian, to hold
and protect the pensions of their employees.
The bank is paid annual fees in excess of $4.5
million by the funds for these services.
The bank is the primary custodian for the
approximately $54.3 billion (as of March 31,
2011) VRS fund and the bank holds lesser
amounts in the local government funds. As the
funds have invested more in international
financial markets in recent years, the need for
foreign currency to complete transactions has
grown.
The Commonwealth of Virginia is suing for
both damages and penalties.
The
commonwealth is asking the court for $120
million plus interest in damages, based on
estimated actual damages of $40 million and
the fact that under FATA, Virginia is allowed to
recover treble damages.
Virginia is also
seeking the maximum allowable penalty of
$11,000 for each of the 73,784 falsely reported
foreign currency trades executed, for a total of
$811,624,000 in civil penalties.
The case was initiated by a whistleblower
against BNY Mellon. The allegation is that
when executing certain types of foreign
exchange (FX) transactions for custodial
clients like ACERS, BNY Mellon systematically
did so at unfavorable prices, negatively
impacting clients while profiting the bank.
Earlier this year, the Virginia Attorney General
(AG) intervened on behalf of VRS, the 3
Fairfax plans and ACERS under the Fraud
Against Taxpayers Act (FATA).
After an
unsuccessful attempt to settle the case out of
court, the suit was filed on August 11, 2012
and is in the discovery phase.
New Fire Station 3
4100 Old Dominion Drive
Arlington County officially dedicated its newest
fire house – Fire Station No. 3 – July 29, 2011.
The new fire station is a state-of-the-art facility
that meets the needs of our growing
community and supports Arlington County Fire
Department (ACFD) firefighters.
In terms of ongoing operations, in early 2011, a
benchmarking analysis was performed by an
outside firm to determine what, if any, action is
necessary to improve ACERS current FX
practices. The study found nothing atypical,
concluding that while some managers perform
very well with regard to FX, others have room
for improvement. Staff has had discussions
with those managers and new processes have
been implemented where appropriate.
Richard Alt, ACREA’s Retirement Board
Representative, advised that AG Office brought
the case forward for all public employee
retirement programs within VA. Arlington’s
retirement trustees will be having a deep
discussion on this matter in November and in
the mean time we have requested the County
Attorney’s Office to keep us abreast of any
obligations on our part. We thought there
might have been room for a negotiated
settlement last month but those conversations
appear to be dead for the time being. I think we
will be in a better position to provide
information after the November meeting.
The link below explains the case from the
stand point of the Virginia Attorney General’s
Office.
http://www.oag.state.va.us/Media%20and%20
News%20Releases/News_Releases/Cuccinelli
/81111_NewYorkMellon.html
The uncoupling of a fire hose serves as the
appropriate "ribbon-cutting." (L to R) Board
Members Walter Tejada, Vice-Chair Mary
Hynes, Chairman Christopher Zimmerman, Jay
Fisette, Barbara Favola, Fire Chief James
Schwartz, and County Manager Barbara
Donnellan.
The new Fire Station No. 3 is a state-of-the-art
facility designed to address the evolving nature
of the emergency environment and the modern
demands on our professional firefighters.
Personnel:
Fully
staffed
with
15
firefighters/EMTs over three shifts. A Battalion
Chief is also housed here. The station is under
the command of Captain II Joe Lightfoot.
Capt. Lightfoot represents his family’s third
generation of fire service. Joe’s father, Capt.
John Lightfoot, retired from former Station 3
after 32 years of service with Arlington County.
Another firefighter assigned to Station 3, Doug
Barb, is also the son of a retired Arlington
firefighter, Clarence W..(Bill) Barb, who passed
away in 2010 .
James Schwartz. ―We are grateful to the
community and the County Board for giving us
a facility that will truly meet the needs of our
professional firefighters in service to the
community. We thank the community for its
patience on this project.‖
The station has four equipment bays and is
home to Engine 103 and Battalion 112. This is
the first Arlington station to have bi-fold doors,
which are easy to maintain, faster to open and
can easily be manually operated.
LED alerting system: This state-of-the-art
system alerts firefighters with both sound and
light displays. By starting softer and increasing
in intensity, the system lessens the stress in
waking up firefighters in the middle of the night.
Residential level: 10 separate gender-neutral
dormitory quarters (private bedroom and
bathroom, and storage for three shifts) for
firefighters, providing improved conditions for
our ever-growing number of female firefighters.
The residential level includes a commercialgrade kitchen, with storage for all three shifts.
Two fire poles whisk firefighters quickly from
the residential level down to the equipment
bay. At 21’ high, the poles are the tallest in
Arlington County/Falls Church.
Continuous education: Includes a state-of-theart training room and Fire Dept. library.
Environmentally-friendly LEED building.
The station is a sustainable, environmentfriendly design that meets Green Building
Council LEED Silver award criteria. Features
include: Insulated glass to reduce energy
usage; all finishes are low- to no-odor. Storm
water retention area to reduce runoff.
Off-street parking area includes a large portion
of permeable surface to help reduce runoff. A
new public green space on the south side of
the relocated 21st Road N. Part of the project
included relocating and rebuilding a portion of
21st Rd. N.
―This station is a real example of Arlington’s
commitment to community service and the
environment,‖ said Arlington County Fire Chief
As a guest of honor, Retired Captain William E.
Conover along with his two daughters (L-R)
Betty Owens, Dot Wilson and granddaughter
Cathy Wilson, attended the ceremony. Captain
Conover retired in 1967 from Station 3 and will
celebrate his 98 Birthday on October 12, 2011.
The original Fire Station No. 3
The Cherrydale Volunteer Fire Department
was the first fire company in Arlington County.
Formed in 1898 and officially established in
1904, it originally consisted of 10 leather
buckets and a ladder.
A community fundraising effort, including a
contribution from U.S. President Woodrow
Wilson, resulted in the construction of the
Cherrydale Firehouse in 1921. The masonry
building became the first permanent fire house
in the County located at 3900 Lee Highway.
This firehouse continued to serve the citizens
of Arlington County until completion of new Fire
Station No. 3.
Traffic assistance for those living and
traveling in Virginia is close at hand
Check out this website www.511virginia.org
which will give you all the tools you need to
take control of your travels throughout Virginia
like never before. To get started, sign up for a
personalized My 511 Control Room today —
it'll let you see live traffic cameras, receive free
mobile alerts and lots more!
Retiree Memorials
Bill Jeunette
Police Department - Sergeant
ACREA Leader for many years
April 7, 2011
Beloved husband, father and friend, passed
away after a short battle with leukemia, on April
7, 2011. He is survived by his wife of 57 years,
Barbara Ann (Boots), daughter Lynn Marie
(Robert) Jeunette-Tedesco, sons William
Becker (Debbie) Jeunette and Jon Fredrick
(Susi) Jeunette, and grandchildren, Julia Ann
and Kate Lynn Tedesco and William Cody and
Shannon Kylie Jeunette and his half brother,
Karl-Heinz Zaage living in Wilhelmshaven,
Germany and his wife Ursula and daughter
Tina.
Bill was born in Braddock PA on August 30,
1930. He was raised by his parents William
Alfred and Alma Louise (Becker) Jeunette and
holds a BA in Administration of Justice from
American University.
After serving as a radio man in the USN from
1947-51, he joined the Arlington County Police
Department, retiring as Sergeant Commander,
Youth Resources Unit in 1980. During his
career he developed the concept of Youth
Resource Officer for Arlington County Schools.
Upon retirement they moved to Gore VA. An
avid outdoorsman and traveler, Bill and Boots
visited, all 50 states, except Hawaii. He
watched NASCAR every Sunday, the Tour de
France every summer and the Redskins, if they
were winning. Bill was a compassionate,
intelligent, and loving man. A memorial service
was held in his honor on April 23 at 2 p.m.
Millwood Station,
Winchester, VA.
252
Costello
Drive,
Webb Butler
Police Department
June 25, 2011
Oliver L. Mauck
Public Works
July 17, 2009
_____________________________________
William A. McClintock
Fire Department
July 11,1936 - August 12, 2011
James D. Rudd
Fire Department
November 29, 1945 – June 30, 2011
_____________________________________
Russell Slaughter
Police Department
March 2, 2011
_____________________________________
Ronald J. Smith
Fire Department
April 17, 1948 – May 13, 2011
Bill Summers
Police Department
March 2, 2011
_____________________________________
Quentin E. Tabscott
Fired Department
March 24, 1939 – April 30, 2011
_____________________________________
Chapter 46 Multiplier Update
As a follow up to the multiplier increase for
Chapter 46 employees from 2.5 to 2.7% in
2009 the County has stated that this is not
feasible as noted in the article under the
County Manager on the following page.
As a brief overview, ACREA has continued to
work with the County on behalf of a number of
Chapter 46 retirees who had retired prior to the
change who felt it should have been retroactive
to those who had already retired.
Unfortunately, as with changes of this nature,
some are always impacted by not being in the
right place at the right time. This same
situation came about when the County enacted
the Chapter 46 Retirement System to replace
Chapter 21 for new employees effective
February 8, 1981.
With this change a similar situation prevailed
for employees who originally came to work
under Chapter 21 who had a break in service
and later returned to work after the effective
date for Chapter 46 were not able to pick up
where they left off under Chapter 21.
Barbara Donnellan
County Manger
A hearty thanks to the ones who plan and
prepare our great meals. Pictured are Gregg
and Rae Kurasz and Church Custodian Ross.
Not pictured is Gregg and Rae’s untiring
assistant Lowell Schuyler who was unable to
attend this luncheon.
The Little Falls Presbyterian Church has been
a wonderful place to hold our luncheons for a
number of years and we sincerely appreciate
the hospitality shown us by Pastor Matt Merrill
and his staff.
As some of you may be aware, in 2009 we
changed the Chapter 46 benefits for current
employees to include a .2% increase. At the
time, we discussed with our actuary the cost of
matching this benefit for all our retired
employees and found that the cost to do so
was prohibitive. Since that time, we have
reviewed the issue based on retiree feedback,
and unfortunately, at this time we will not be
able to change the Chapter 46 retirees'
pensions as we did for the active employees.
Arlington County greatly values its retirees, and
we will continue to reassess the possibility of
adding this benefit with each fiscal year.
.
Memories from the
2011 Spring Luncheon
The first stop at the luncheon is staffed by
current Board Member Marcia Smith and Edna
Eagle, wife of retired Police Officer Roscoe
Eagle.
Marty Parr, far right, is the person we all can thank
for taking luncheon photos that are used in the
newsletters. Marty is joined by his retired ECC coworkers Sharon Andrews, Craig Allen and his wife
Julie.
Showcase Arlington
In this edition and the upcoming issues of the
newsletter we will be sharing sections of
Arlington that you will find quite interesting if
you haven’t been there for a while.
Shirlington began when Joseph Cherner,
automobile dealer and banker, established the
Shirlington Corporation to build a shopping
center for nearby Fairlington and Park Fairfax.
He began with a 231⁄2-acre (9.5 ha) site on
which the first store opened in June 1944. In
1959, the Lansburgh's department store
opened a 150,000-square-foot (14,000 m2),
$2.5 million store, its second suburban branch.
However, by the 1970s, Shirlington was an
aging traditional shopping center facing
competition from shopping malls.
In the 1980s, Shirlington was partially
renovated to create a "traditional main street"
along South 28th Street (now Campbell
Avenue) with two office buildings at one end
and a big box store and a cinema at the other.
However, Shirlington remained small.
By 2000, Arlington County authorities, who had
previously concentrated on development of
areas adjacent to Washington Metro rail lines,
began giving more attention to areas not
served by Metro, such as the Columbia Pike
corridor and Shirlington. The property's owner
and the county spurred the creation of a
Shirlington Phased Development Site Plan
(PDSP) and the associated Shirlington Design
Guidelines. A conceptual design for the area
was established and almost 1,000,000 square
feet (about 93,000 m2) of new mixed-use
development was envisioned. Emphasis was
placed on making the area pedestrian friendly
with automobile parking located behind the
commercial buildings. This plan was approved
by the Arlington County Board in 2001.
The development, a public-private partnership
between developer Federal Realty Investment
Trust of Rockville, Maryland (the operator of
several
other
regional
town-center-like
developments such as Bethesda Row,
Pentagon Row, and Rockville Town Center)
and the County, began in the mid-2000s. As
the plan was implemented, South 28th Street
was extended westward and a building to
house both the Signature Theatre and the
Shirlington Library was constructed. Several
new residential and parking structures were
added as well.
Original Shirlington Shops on S. 28th Street,
now Campbell Avenue, looking toward 395
from S. Randolph Street.
S. 28th Street, now Campbell Avenue, was
extended west toward the Trades Center
where the Old Lansburg Building and huge
parking lot use to be located.
Looking up S. Randolph Street towards
Fairlington from Campbell Avenue. Building on
right is where Lansburg’s Store was located.
The Shirlington House is not visible behind the
large residential complex at the far end of the
street.
Looking east on Arlington Mill Drive toward 395
from S. Randolph Street.
Looking west on Arlington Mill Drive towards
the Trades Center from S. Randolph Street.
Looking down S. Taylor Street, and off to the
right, are the high-rise buildings on Arlington
Mill Drive that abuts the Trades Center
property.
Shirlington Bus Station on S. Quincy Street just
off the exit ramp for 395.
The Arlington Trades Center
South Taylor Street looking toward the main
entrance off Arlington Mill Drive. On the right,
where the first vehicle is parked, is the lower
entrance to the two story parking garage as
shown in the upcoming photos.
Standing on a parking deck of the nearest
high-rise building shown in the photo above is
the Trades Center looking toward S. Taylor
Street. The tall building in the far upper left is
the Shirlington House.
The next several photos are panning to the
right from same position as the previous photo.
The Schools Operations Building and bus
parking lot are still where they use to be.
However, just to the right of the school buses is
the new PRCR Building.
Pictured above is the new Operations Building
for the Department of Parks, Recreation and
Cultural Resources (PRCR.) An impressive
building with lots of "green" features to include
a big meeting room on the second floor.
The brown building on the right is the back side
of the Equipment Division‘s Repair Garage.
Spotlight - The Campbell Family Building Community
"Campbell Avenue" now runs through the heart
of Shirlington. South 28th and S. Stafford
Streets in Shirlington were renamed "Campbell
Avenue" in 2007. The new street name
commemorates the life and contributions of
Edmund and Elizabeth Campbell, both to the
Arlington Community and to the Washington
region.
Parking garage for equipment is just opposite
the entrance to the Fire Training Academy.
Elizabeth and Edmund Campbell dedicated
their lives to public service and activism. Mrs.
Campbell founded WETA Public Television
and was the first woman elected to school
board in the history of Virginia.
Mr. Campbell was a pioneer civic leader, and a
champion of civil rights, playing a pivotal role in
battling school segregation. In 1959, he took
on the James Almond case in federal court
seeking to strike down Virginia's "massive
resistance" laws, which were actions to prevent
school
desegregation.
His
work
was
instrumental in the end of segregation in
Virginia's public schools in 1959.
Looking east on Wilson Boulevard at N.
Buchanan Street toward Glebe Road. The
building under construction on left is on the
Bob Peck Chevrolet parcel.
Much more information on the Campbell
Family can be found at the Arlington Public
Library website noted below.
http://library.arlingtonva.us/departments/librarie
s/sites/librariessitescampbellscommunity.aspx
Looking east on Wilson Blvd., just west of
Glebe Road in front of Murphy’s Funeral
Home.
Upcoming issues will continue to
showcase other sections of the
County. But in the meantime here
are a few snapshots to peak your
interest.
Wilson Blvd. and Glebe Road. Building in
center is located in the surface parking lot that
was in front of the Hecht Company. The short
building directly behind it is the old Hecht
Company, now Macy’s.
Arlington County Retired Employees Association, Inc.
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