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Description
County Board member Christian Dorsey's New Year's address delivered at the Arlington County Board's Organizational Meeting of Jan. 3 2017.
A
Mr.
Dorsey
well,
thank
you
mr.
chair,
congratulations
to
you
and
miss
crystal
and
if
mr.
Vyse,
that
found
it
difficult
to
follow
the
two
of
you
imagine
how
I
must
feel
having
to
follow
the
four
of
you.
This
is
certainly
a
night
where
we
look
forward
to
the
rest
of
the
year
with
hope,
possibility,
perhaps
conditional
optimism,
but
first
I'd
like
to
take
a
step
back
and
look
at
2016
and
I'd
have
to
say
in
retrospect.
On
balance,
it
was
a
pretty
effective
year.
Mr.
A
Schwartz,
you
had
a
full
year
as
County
Manager,
without
that
pesky
acting
designation
and
I
have
to
applaud
your
performance
and
appreciate
your
careful
and
effective
management
of
our
government
and
your
your
leadership
and
inspiring
the
quality
work
that
was
performed
by
our
very
talented
staff.
We
proved
able
to
deliver
high-quality
services
and
reduce
project
backlogs
in
a
fiscally
responsible
manner.
We
definitely
navigated
course
corrections
such
as
was
the
case
with
fire
station
number
eight,
although
the
staff
recommendation
is,
you
may
recall,
was
different
than
what
the
board
directed
the
progress
towards
citing
this.
A
This
rebuilt
community
amenity
is
greater
than
I
anticipated.
We
also
made
substantial
progress
toward
advancing
major
projects
like
the
lubber
run,
community
center
transit
stations
along
columbia,
pike
and
the
long
bridge,
aquatics
and
health
facility,
with
practical
project
scopes
and
design-build
approaches
that
will
deliver
quality
infrastructure
and
amenities,
while
placing
a
premium
on
value
for
our
taxpayers.
It
is
a
best
practice
for
governments
to
move
with
all
deliberate
speed.
Ours,
however,
tends
to
overemphasize
the
deliberate
part
of
the
phrase,
but
in
2016
we
show
that
when
necessary,
we
can
move
expeditiously
without
sacrificing
quality.
A
A
notable
area
is
our
inconsistency
with
public
engagement
now
I
see,
progress
and
I
am
quite
pleased
with
the
resources
and
the
team
that
we
have
in
place,
but
we
cannot
be
satisfied
until
the
matter
of
public
participation
that
we
have
with
our
indefatigable
volunteers
as
well
as
our
infrequent
engagers
is
consistently
excellent,
which
brings
me
to
a
look
at
this
year,
everything
that
we
did
well
in
the
past.
We
have
to
continue
to
do
to
do
well,
and
we
must
make
progress
on
those
areas
of
relative
weakness.
A
Now,
in
my
assessment,
we
face
circumstances
that
will
require
the
very
best
from
our
staff,
from
this
board
and
from
our
community.
There
is
a
certain
unpredictability
which
we've
all
spoken
to
it.
How
national
issues
will
affect
us
locally?
We
must
be
ready
to
embrace
the
opportunity
to
improve
our
community
and
quality
of
life
while
being
defiant
in
the
face
of
any
attack
on
our
values.
A
Excuse
me
that
our
region
can
no
longer
stomach
and,
as
your
representative
to
the
wall
motto
board,
I
will
see
that
the
funds
are
prudently,
budgeted
and
responsibly
spent,
but
make
no
mistake,
millions
more
will
be
required
from
Arlington
and
that's
a
number
that
requires
are
making
hard
choices
and
perhaps
delaying
or
foregoing
other
priorities.
Now,
metros
importance
to
our
to
Arlington
in
our
region
cannot
be
overstated.
It
has
helped
our
region
grow
without
a
corresponding
increase
in
roads
and
congestion
and
environmental
degradation.
A
Making
sure
that
this
asset
can
continue
to
be
the
backbone
of
a
successful
regional
transit
network
is
a
high
priority.
Now
our
public
schools
and
Metro
are
key
components
of
what
I
see
is
our
chief
challenge
and
priority
in
the
coming
year,
growing,
maintaining
and
enhancing
our
infrastructure
assets.
Now
we're
practicable.
We
are
expanding
our
public
land
inventory
by
acquiring
land
outside
of
the
county
or
leasing
other
sites,
but
these
are
not
sustainable
solutions
for
all
of
our
needs.
A
I
need
to
be
very
clear
that
just
won't
be
possible
now
that
said,
I
trust
that
there
are
creative
solutions
to
meeting
our
facility
needs
and,
as
has
been
described,
there
will
be
robust
opportunities
for
our
public
to
engage
in
finding
these
solutions,
given
Arlington's
expertise
in
master
planning
sites
and
land-use
planning
of
our
neighborhoods
I
am
confident
that
we
can
effectively
utilize
space
and
create
municipal
infrastructure
that
is
reasonably
attractive
in
form
and
efficient
in
function.
Now,
speaking
of
planning,
I
look
very
much
forward
to
continued
progress,
which
mr.
A
Vyse
dad
is
helping
coordinate
on
planning
the
future
of
the
four
mile
run
valley
and
to
commencing
in
earnest
planning
segments
along
lee
highway.
It
is
also
my
hope
that
we
look
strategically
at
the
Columbia
Pike
car
door
to
see
where
public
investments
or
public-private
partnerships
can
accelerate
our
revitalization
goals,
and
we
should
make
it
a
priority
to
imbue
these
and
all
other
planning
efforts
with
quantitative
analyses
of
near
and
long-term
fiscal
and
demographic
impacts.
A
When
I
talk
about
asset
management,
however
I'm
not
just
talking
about
land
or
facilities
or
or
neighborhoods,
I
also
mean
human
capital,
and
that's
why
economic
development
is
such
a
countywide
priority.
A
diverse
revenue
base
means
more
income
for
our
residents
and
when
they
have
more
income,
they
are
more
secure
when
they
are
more
secure,
they
spend
more,
which
creates
a
cascading
effect
of
positivity
for
our
small
businesses,
who
then
get
what
they
need
most
customers.
A
Now
the
paradigms
that
guided
non
residential
commercial
development
have
changed.
We
must
be
nimble
and
creative
in
seizing
opportunities
during
these
changing
market
dynamics
and,
of
course,
when
it
comes
to
maximizing
human
capital,
we
cannot
forget
the
primacy
housing
affordability.
It
is
a
core
element
of
our
being
a
diverse
community
and
increasing
and
increasing
opportunities
for
our
families.
We
must
maintain
our
investments
in
affordable
housing
and
reserve
the
capacity
as
we
did
this
year
to
take
advantage
of
unforeseen
opportunities
and
then
on
the
non
spending
side.
A
We
must
become
permissive
of
and
encourage
the
the
use
of
innovative
lot
designs
and
housing
types
that
create
market,
affordable
solutions,
because
we
cannot
solve
our
affordable
housing
issues
if
we
don't
have
conditions
that
create
the
acceleration
of
market
rate
units.
Now,
the
docket
of
priorities
that
we
have
all
mentioned
tonight
are
beyond
our
capacity
to
sufficiently
address
all
at
once.
A
We
are
going
to
have
to
prioritize
the
allocation
of
our
resources,
we're
going
to
have
to
fit
infrastructure
and
uses
where
there
may
be
initial
initial
neighborhood
resistance
and
we're
going
to
have
to
delay
or
decline
action
on
projects
we're
in
a
better
world.
We
would
commence
action
right
away.
I
recognize
this
all
sounds
quite
negative.
It's
not
really
meant
to
be
so,
but
it
is
important
to
be
clear
and
to
manage
expectations.
A
Despite
all
I
have
just
said,
I
remain
optimistic
because
we're
unlimited
dollars
are
not
the
answer.
Creative
solutions
often
are,
and
there
seems
to
be
something
about
Arlington
that
compels
are
working
together
toward
a
common
good
and,
while
elsewhere,
parochialism
and
narrow
interests
to
find
community
conversations.
A
I
have
every
hope
that
Arlington
residents
and
stakeholders
will
rise
to
the
occasion
and
go
counter-cyclical
by
working
with
all
of
us
to
meet
our
facility
needs,
even
if
it
means
locating
those
uses
in
their
backyard
by
embracing
inclusivity
and
recognizing
the
value
of
diversity,
despite
the
tenor
of
the
national
conversation
and
being
patient
in
the
face
of
delayed
priorities
or
attention
to
areas
where
there
might
not
be
a
direct
personal
benefit.
In
conclusion,
if
we
all
do
our
part,
this
challenging
year
can
become
quite
the
rewarding
one
and
I'm
ready
to
get
to
work.