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Description
Arlington County Board Member Matt de Ferranti's New Year's remarks at the Arlington County Board Organizational Meeting, held on Jan. 2 2019.
A
And
taking
us
home
mr.
Deever
aunty,
thank
you
and
thank
you
for
the
pronunciation.
Not
everybody
here
may
know
exactly
how
to
pronounce
my
last
name,
so
it's
de
fer
auntie,
just
so
that
you
know
so.
Thanks
also
for
the
warm
welcome
to
each
of
you
over
the
last
few
weeks
and
month
and
to
mr.
manager,
mr.
County,
Attorney
and
all
of
the
staff
who've
made
me
so
welcome.
A
I'm
excited
humbled
and
honored
to
join
you
on
the
Dyess
today,
the
two
biggest
issues
we'll
face
over
the
next
six
months
will
be
Amazon
and
the
fiscal
year
to
2020
budget
I'd
like
to
share
my
initial
thoughts
on
both
first
Amazon
I.
Consider
any
agreement
we
may
reach
through
four
standards.
First,
an
agreement
must
provide
a
significant
net
benefit
to
our
whole
community.
This
can't
be
a
close
call.
Second,
we
need
to
know
that
an
agreement
considers
and
furthers
our
plans
on
housing,
transportation
and
our
schools.
A
Third,
as
we
implement
an
agreement,
we
must
fully
consider
small
businesses
the
lifeblood
of
our
community
and
fourth,
we
must
have
a
fair
and
transparent
process.
Our
community
must
have
a
chance
to
consider
the
choices
we
will
make
in
an
agreement,
I'm
confident,
but
not
certain-
that
we
can
reach
that
agreement
based
on
the
documents
that
are
already
public
I,
believe
we
can
get
there
I
do
not,
however,
prejudge
the
outcome.
A
I
look
forward
to
hearing
from
and
listening
to
the
community
before
making
any
decision,
and
the
devil
will
be
in
the
details
beyond
these
standards
for
an
initial
agreement,
I'm
hopeful
that
we
can
reach
further
engage
with
Amazon
in
the
developer,
JBG
Smith
to
reach
an
even
better
win-win
partnership
to
expand
opportunity
and
yes,
equity
for
all
Arlington
Ian's.
Three
key
investments
could
make
this
a
once-in-a-generation,
transformational
win-win,
first,
significant
in
public
and
private
investment
in
affordable
home
ownership
and
rental
housing.
A
Second
energy-efficient
buildings
and
renewable
energy.
Yes,
Amazon's
renewable
commits
commitments
in
Virginia
are
significant
and
we
should
be
able
to
get
it
get
to
YES
on
this
one
of
the
reach,
kegels.
Third,
fair
pay
for
those
who
work
on
and
in
the
buildings
that
will
be
built
for
Virginia
law
does
not
allow
this
body
to
require
project
labor
agreements,
but
it
also
does
not
preclude
such
agreements
between
private
parties.
I
agree
with
you
miss
crystal
and
mr.
Dorsey
and
I
believe
others
all.
A
Maybe
perhaps
all
the
my
colleagues
that
this
is
an
area
that
we
should
proactively
discuss
with
jbg,
Smith
and
Amazon.
These
three
goals
are
each
possible,
but
they're
not
inevitable.
They
will
take
leadership
and
vision
from
everyone
involved:
Amazon,
jbg,
County
staff,
all
Arlington's
residents
and
citizens,
community-based
organizations
and
yes,
the
board
I
look
forward
to
digging
in
second
the
fiscal
year
2020
budget.
Our
projected
deficit
of
up
to
70
million
is
the
most
difficult
budget
estimate
the
county
has
faced
in
almost
10
years.
Since
the
Great
Recession
a
few
thoughts.
A
We
must
be
fiscally
responsible,
but
we
cannot
allow
our
day-to-day
needs
to
prevent
us
from
investing
in
our
future.
Among
our
priorities,
I
believe
should
be
the
resources
to
put
the
county
in
a
position
to
fund
the
building
of
another
high
school.
There
will
be
twists
and
turns
the
state's
budget
and
our
own
projections
will
change
impacting
the
revenues
available
to
the
county,
as
well
as
the
schools
I
commit
to
working
hard,
staying,
engaged
and
focusing
on
equity.
Those
are
my
thoughts
on
Amazon
and
the
budget,
and
perhaps
the
first
six
months.
A
A
Second,
our
long-term
need
to
fund
and
build
the
schools
to
educate
every
child,
well
I'm
thrilled
to
be
joining
mr.
Getchell
as
a
liaison
to
J,
FAC
and
I'm.
Grateful
to
you
miss
Garvey
for
allowing
me
the
opportunity
to
do
so.
Third
housing
affordability
on
Sunday
I
met
two
homeowners
from
South
Arlington,
who
shared
their
stories.
A
They
asked
me
for
coffee
and
they
said.
Florencia
is
a
health
care.
Researcher
and
Ruben
is
retired
local
government
government
employee
from
actually
all
the
way
out
in
Vienna.
Both
ask
me
how
it
can
be
that
they
may
be
priced
out
of
their
condos
that
they
lived
in
for
decades
and
have
to
leave
Arlington
to
serve
families
like
Rubens
and
Florencia.
We
must
be
creative
and
relentless
on
housing.
A
Affordability
on
relentlessness
I'll
be
open
to
all
ideas
to
help
get
us
closer
to
our
goal
of
six
hundred
affordable
units
per
year,
rental
units,
when
we've
averaged
about
280
since
2015
I'm,
open
to
adjustments
to
our
zoning
code
and
look
forward
to
you
working
with
you,
mr.
chair,
to
reach
solutions
that
will
be
workable
for
Arlington
and
address
the
need
for
increased
supply.
I
also
look
forward
to
working
with
you,
mr.
A
Getchell,
on
the
missing
middle
and
to
learning
from
and
working
with,
each
member
of
the
board
on
housing,
as
we
do
so
I
ask
that
you'd.
Consider
the
community
trans
Land
Trust,
idea
that
I
discussed
during
the
campaign
and
that
we
look
for
land
for
a
building
that
could
serve
as
a
site
for
such
a
trust.
A
I
know
lands
at
a
premium,
but
we
should
still
take
a
look
I'm
grateful
for
the
opportunity
to
serve
as
liaison
to
the
Housing
Commission
and
to
work
with
all
of
our
community
and
advocates
to
make
a
measurable
difference
this
year
on
housing
in
the
American
Dream
forth,
climate
change
and
renewable
energy.
I
look
forward
to
serving
as
the
liaison
to
the
Environment
and
Energy
Conservation
Commission
to
work
on
this
issue.
I
believe
it
joins
equity
as
one
of
the
two
biggest
issues
we
face
as
a
country.
A
We
must
put
the
county
back
in
a
leadership
role
on
this
issue
in
our
region
and
in
our
nation.
That
means
funding
for
the
air
program
and
time
and
energy
on
ideas
like
purchase
power
agreements.
It
also
means
working
constructively
with
the
state,
where
possible,
to
develop
our
renewable
energy
portfolio
v,
ending
child
hunger
in
Arlington.
If
you
haven't
seen
the
post
page,
ten
has
an
article
about
the
school
lunch
program.
Today,
mr.
Dorsey
destination,
27
2027
miss
crystal
all
of
us.
We
can
work
on
ending
child
hunger.
A
There
are
still
two
thousand
two
hundred
families
that
go
to
a
FAC
every
week
and
we
are
still
the
fifth
wealthiest
County
in
the
country.
We
can
invest
in
equity
and
end
child
hunger.
So
those
are
my
priorities
and
I'm
looking
forward
to
digging
in
and
working
on
them,
I'm
sure
we're
all
ready
for
a
break
and
to
talk
with
the
Civic
Federation.
Thank
you
for
your
time.
Happy
New,
Year
to
everyone.