Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Arlington County Board adopts rules that allow public-private partnerships to finance major transportation projects.
The Arlington County Board on Monday adopted guidelines that will allow public-private partnerships to help finance major transportation projects, like the Columbia Pike streetcar, after an unusually heated discussion. Board member Libby Garvey, who was elected in November to her first full four-year term partially on a platform that included opposing the streetcar, fought an uphill battle all night. She fought — with question after question, after question, after question. For about three hours, the board dissected the Virginia Public-Private Transportation Act and pages of new or amended county procurement guidelines. Garvey insisted that the guidelines did not include enough public safeguards — that the new policy would allow a large …
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Chairwoman Mary Hynes announced resolution on Saturday. It will be discussed Monday in conjunction with public-private partnerships.
The Arlington County Board on Monday will consider a new transparency measure in an attempt to squash recent allegations that one of its member's employment creates a conflict of interest or appearance of a conflict. The resolution, announced in a statement Saturday by Chairwoman Mary Hynes and board members Walter Tejada and Jay Fisette, would complement the county's likely adoption of guidelines for public-private partnerships to fund major transportation projects. It is in direct response to board member Libby Garvey's release this week of a series of emails where she expressed concern about the new guidelines — specifically, about public safeguards and about board member Chris Zimmerman's involvement in the decision-making process. …
Friday, December 7, 2012
Newest board member also questions public safeguards in public-private partnership guidelines.
Arlington County Board member Libby Garvey is working on two fronts to delay a vote on what's potentially a key funding mechanism for the Columbia Pike streetcar and other major projects. Garvey on Thursday released a number of emails in which she expresses concern about the board's planned adoption of guidelines that would allow public-private partnerships for the development of transportation facilities. Garvey wants fellow board member Chris Zimmerman — a leading proponent of the streetcar — to recuse himself from the matter to avoid a conflict of interest or, just as damning, the appearance of a conflict. "This is NOT about the streetcar for me, but about transparency and ensuring competition on large capital projects," Garvey stated …
Allen Muchnick
2:53 pm on Wednesday, December 12, 2012
I don't know any Alan Muchnick, but I'm certain that C.D., Janet, Barry, and a host of other unidentified names are aliases for one James T. Hurysz. more ›