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From YouTube: Board Wrap-Up: July 2021
Description
A wrap-up of decisions made at Arlington County Government’s July 2021 Board meeting.
A
Hello
and
welcome
to
county
board,
wrap
up
our
deep
dive
into
the
big
issues
from
this
month's
county
board
meeting.
I'm
your
host
cara
o'donnell
and
it's
a
big
day
here
on
county
board
wrap-up.
As
you
can
see,
we
are
officially
back
in
person
here
in
the
studio
more
on
that
in
just
a
moment,
but
first
here's
your
60-second
board
wrap-up.
A
After
several
months
of
work
sessions
and
community
feedback,
the
board
voted
this
month
to
approve
a
community
oversight
board
for
the
arlington
county
police
department.
This
board
will
provide
oversight
and
counsel
for
the
police
department,
as
well
as
investigate
citizen
complaints
and
offer
guidance
and
recommendations
on
policy.
A
Several
projects
relating
to
affordable
housing
were
also
approved,
including
a
22.7
million
dollar
loan
for
renovations
to
the
park,
sherlington
complex
and
an
agreement
with
amazon,
which
is
donating,
a
40
million
dollar
undeveloped
land
parcel
to
the
county
in
order
to
facilitate
affordable
housing
on
the
crystal
houses
site.
And
finally,
the
board
officially
approved
the
renaming
of
route
29
lee
highway.
In
the
county,
the
new
name
will
be
langston
boulevard.
A
Welcome
back
to
county
board
wrap
up
and
this
month's
big
story,
the
new
community
oversight
board
for
the
police
department.
Here
in
arlington,
I'm
joined
now
by
board
chair,
matt,
diferenti
and
board
member
takas
carantonis,
and
we
had
quite
a
bit
of
discussion
from
the
public
over
the
past
few
months
on
this
issue,
including
a
variety
of
public
engagement
sessions.
But
before
we
get
into
all
that,
let's
take
a
few
steps
back.
What
was
really
the
thought
process
that
went
into
the
idea
of
creating
a
community
oversight
board
here
in
arlington.
B
Sure
so,
over
a
year
ago,
in
the
weeks
and
months
following
the
murder
of
george
floyd,
arlington
wanted
to
take
a
look
and
really
understand.
Where
are
we
on
criminal
justice
and
and
fairness?
And
it's
appropriate
because
of
this
national
challenge
that
we're
facing,
but
arlington
also
has
a
its
own
history
and
we
have
had
a
police
department
that
has
been
has
served
our
community
well.
B
But
there
are
parts
of
our
community
that
have
felt
not
well
served,
and
so
we
wanted
to
listen
to
our
communities
of
color
and
seek
to
build
greater
trust
going
forward.
So
our
manager
over
a
year
ago
brought
forward
this
police
practices
group
with
four
subcommittees,
and
one
of
them
is
focused
on
community
oversight,
and
so
we
have
been,
we've
had
an
extensive
process.
B
The
ppg
group,
as
it's
called,
has
had
a
ton
of
meetings,
and
this
this
particular
subcommittee,
chaired
by
rodney
turner,
has
really
done
a
lot
of
additional
work
to
bring
this
forward,
and
so
we've
had
some
rec
initial
recommendations.
B
B
So
all
of
those
have
led
to
the
action
that
we
took
to
stand
up
this
community
oversight
board
and
I
think
we're
excited
about
this
opportunity,
and
I
think
we
both
need
to
understand
it's
precipitated
by
some
very
painful
events,
and
there
are
residents
who
don't
feel
trust
with
our
police
department.
But
if
we
look
at
it
as
an
opportunity
to
take
the
next
steps
to
further
strengthen
and
build
trust
with
communities
that
historically
haven't
felt
it.
B
A
Let's
break
down
like
there
have
been
a
lot
of
kind
of
iterations
of
the
details
of
this
community
oversight
board
since
it
was
first
proposed
back
in
may,
let's
break
down
the
ideas
of
the
main
functions
of
the
community
oversight
board,
daca
swisster.
C
Look
on
investigations
that
the
police
department
is
conducting,
especially
in
sensitive
things
like,
for
example,
if
it's
a
if
there's
an
allegation
of
misconduct
or
there
is
another
complaint,
etc
that
can
come
from
a
citizen
that
can
come
that
can
be
anonymous.
So
there
is
a
a
direct
recourse
to
to
to
the
community
oversight.
If
some
somebody
anybody
feels
that
there
there
is
an
issue,
and
this
will
be
so
number
one.
There
is
investigatory
power.
This
will
be
fully
and
thoroughly
investigated.
C
The
board
has
the
ability
to
access
all
all
documents
or
evidence,
actually,
the
the
that
to
be
appointed
independent
police
auditor,
who
will
be
essentially
the
staff
person
for
this
board
will
be
contemporaneously
so
at
the
same
time
with
police
on
the
investigation.
So
the
the
the
community
oversight
is
happening
from
from
the
point.
Zero
of
often
on
investigation
can
be
there,
and
the
second
thing
is
the
the
the
board:
if
there
is
still
an
issue
which
we
we
believe
it
won't
be
very
often
the
case.
C
C
The
oversight
board
can
and
will
issue
conclusions
on
on
on
on
their
findings,
and
this
will
be
reported
to
the
county
board
and
the
county
board.
Who
who
we
are
the
elected
representatives
of
the
people
in
arlington.
A
B
Sure
so
the
county
board
will
work
with
our
manager.
To
there
are
two
things
we
need
to
two
groups
of
individuals.
We
need
to
pull
together.
We
need
to
hire
an
independent
auditor
monitor
and
we
need
to
vet
community
applications
and
appoint
the
seven
members.
Well,
it's
seven
voting
members
and
two
retired
three-year
space
between
their
last
law
enforcement
job
and
then
so.
This
would
be
two
additional
non-voting,
but
essentially
experts,
technical
experts
that
could
help
us
to
be
the
last
two
members
of
the
civilian,
the
community
oversight
board.
B
So
we
need
to
find
those
people
and
have
a
fair
process
with
community
input
and
to
to
fill
those
spots,
and
we
discussed
how
important
it
is
that
this,
the
oversight
board
be
heavily,
have
people
who,
whose
experience
is
particularly
critical
to
this.
We
anticipate
a
large
number
of
our
into
those
individuals
will
be
individuals
of
color,
perhaps
organizations
that
have
returning
citizens,
and
so
we
need
to
find
those
people
and
there's
also
then
going
to
be
some
work
on
a
memorandum
of
understanding
to
work
out
procedures
and
processes.
B
But
the
big
picture
takas
referred
so
well
to
what
was
the
the
main
part
of
our
discussion
was
individual.
What
is
right
for
individual
complaints
with
respect
to
officer
more
or
less
officer
conduct,
there's
a
whole
other
piece,
there's
about
nine
items
in
the
oversight
board's
jurisdiction
that
would
include
in
sort
of
understanding
policy
and
practice.
A
great
example
is
traffic
stops.
B
That
was
a
subject
that
the
ppg
worked
on,
but
we
think
that
this
oversight
board
can
really
help
look
at
those
sorts
of
issues,
and,
frankly,
that
is
something
that
the
police
chief
has
said
has
expressed
such
an
openness,
as
have
our
police
to
say.
Let's
take
a
look
at
those
to
see.
Is
there
a
disproportionate
disproportionality
between
those
stopped
and
are
the
demographics
of
our
community?
B
B
This
is
about
what
we
can
be
as
a
community,
and
the
purpose
of
the
the
oversight
board
is
to
help
us
get
there
on
a
number
of
policy
and
complaint
related
issues
that
are
linked
to
our
criminal
justice
system,
because
it
is,
if
you
look
at
our
jail
population,
it's
a
fact
that
it
is
not
reflective
of
our
population
as
a
whole
and
we're
arlington.
So
we
want
to
do
better
and
on
racial
equity.
We
must-
and
this
is
one
way
we're
going
to.
C
If,
if
I
had
to
add
one
thing,
is
that
the
the
the
cob,
the
community
oversight
board,
is
a
place
of
where
we
really
bring
people
together?
It's
not
a
battlefield,
it's
not
a
dividing
place.
It's
a
a
place
of
community
community
oversight
is
about
improving
on
on
arlington
and
our
community,
and
I
believe-
and
this
is
why
everybody
agrees
to
have
one
everybody
agreed
to
have
one.
C
So
I
am
definitely
positive,
and
I
expect
that
this
independence,
the
the
way
that
the
board
will
be
do
the
investigation
on
a
complaint
that
is
fundamentally
comes
from
an
independent
point
of
view.
Fair
means
independent
means
impartial,
and
this
is
why
their
their
findings
will
be
also
far
far
better
accepted
and
digested,
and
they
will,
you
know,
contribute
to
to
lasting
improvements.
C
This
is
the
outcome
we
want
to
see.
We
never
denied
that
we
have
issues
with
you
know
racial
discrimination
and
other
types
of
issues.
This
is
not
the
only
type
of
misconduct
that
exists,
so
the
the
board
will
definitely
bring
us
a
very
big
step
forward.
This
is
a
real,
great
improvement.
A
All
right
well,
of
course,
there
was
plenty
more
to
discuss
from
this
month's
board
meeting
and
that's
where
we're.
Turning
to
you,
the
viewers,
we're
going
to
answer
your
questions
on
some
of
the
hot
issues
from
this
month's
board
meeting
and
let
you
know
how
you
can
participate
when
we
come
right.
A
Back
welcome
back
to
county
board
wrap-up,
I'm
cara
o'donnell,
and
I'm
here
with
county
board,
chair
matt
diferenti
as
well
as
board
member
tacus
carantonis.
Now
this
is
the
segment
where
we
open
things
up
to
you,
the
viewers,
by
taking
your
questions
submitted
via
email,
and,
of
course,
if
you
have
questions
for
us
on
the
actions
of
the
board
meeting,
just
email
us
at
county
board
rap
at
arlingtonva.us,
and
we
will
get
to
as
many
of
those
questions
as
we
can.
But
first,
let's
talk
the
renaming
of
lee
highway
to
langston
boulevard.
A
B
Well,
it's
going
to
take
some
time
to
make
sure
that
we
change
all
the
street
signs.
That
will
be
a
a
process.
We,
I
think
we
set
out
about
a
year
time
frame
year,
plus
time
frame
for
that
that
will
occur,
but
we
will
engage
with
businesses
over
the
next
coming
months,
as
we
have
been
to
to
lay
out
for
them
the
next
steps
and
help
make
sure
that
they've
they're
aware
it
will
take
time.
B
We
we
recognize
that
changing
address
has
some
challenges,
but
the
benefits
I
am
so
confident
of
langston
boulevard
will
come
it's
first
boulevard
not
highway.
It
will
be
a
place
that
people
are
more
attached
to
and
it
will
also
be
the
the
the
more
we
continue
to
learn.
At
least
I
continue
to
learn
about
john
m
langston.
What
an
extraordinary
figure
we
he
may
be:
the
first
elected
african-american
in
united
states
history
having
been
elected
in
ohio,
but
then
his
work
for
the
freedmen's
bureau
after
the
civil
war.
B
B
The
lee
highway
alliance
will
change
its
name,
but
it
will
engage
with
our
businesses,
as
will
the
county,
as
we
work
to
help
with
the
changing
of
the
signs,
but
also
the
next
steps
on
helping
businesses
know
how
they
can
help.
We
already
know
that
the
the
us
post
office
mail
will
continue
to
go
no
problem,
so
this
is,
it
was
very
exciting
to
get
to
vote
on
it.
Even
if
we
didn't
have
a
lot
of
speakers
because
we
frankly
didn't
have,
but
one
in
opposition
throughout
the
whole
process.
B
A
B
A
B
C
We
know
that
amazon
has
a
community
investment
fund
for
for
housing,
and
this
is
a
significant
amount
of
money
over
300.
I
I
believe
the
380
million
dollars
that
are
invested
here
and-
and
it
started
a
few
months
ago
with
providing
a
a
you-
know
very
low
interest
loan
to
the
washington
housing
conservancy
to
buy
crystal
houses.
Five
and
six.
I
believe
so.
These
are
down
along
richmond
highway
on
22nd
street.
C
These
are
two
very
big
apartment
buildings
and
now
the
surrounding
land.
The
surrounding
parcel
has
been
bought
by
amazon
for
40
million
dollars
and
has
been
given
to
us
under
the
condition
that
the
county
fines
development
partners
to
to
develop
at
least
550,
affordable
housing
units
there,
out
of
which
about
a
quarter
a
little
bit
more
than
a
quarter,
should
be
affordable
to
households
earning
less
than
50
percent
of
the
area.
C
Median
income,
which
are
you
know
the
50,
is
these:
are
households
household
of
two
it's
less
than
forty
thousand
dollars
a
year,
so
these
are
really
targeted
towards
our
lower
income.
Households
and
the
rest
will
be
eighty
percent
of
area
median
income.
So
this
is
a
significant
investment.
It
brings
us.
It
brings
us
forward
to
put
it,
though,
in
a
in
a
frame,
this
would
be
about
a
year's
worth
of
what
of
what
of
the
number
of
units
that
our
market
should
produce
in
order
to
be
compliant
with
our
housing
goals.
B
It's
a
it's
a
they
have
given
with
a
condition
which
is
keep
it
affordable
and
make
it
affordable
for
those
most
in
need,
taking
together
the
381
million
that
is
in
the
broader
crystal
house
area,
and
this
40
million
dollar
gift,
with
the
condition
of
of
affordability,
really
helps
us
one
to
two
years
of
what
we
need
county-wide.
But
it
makes
a
huge
dent
in
what
we
need
to
do
in
that
part
of
the
county
to
stay
affordable,
and
so
it
is
these
two
together.
This
is
a
game
changer,
we're
thrilled.
B
We
know
we
have
to
keep
working,
but
the
in
answer
to
the
resident's
question.
It
helps
us
both
in
that
area
of
the
county
and
with
affordability
both
for
workforce
and
those
working
to
get
in
to
the
middle
class,
and
so
it's
a
a
a
thrilling
step
forward
for
us
not
the
end.
We
got
a
lot
more
work
to
do,
but
a
thrilling
step
forward.
C
And
in
addition
to
that
I
should
say
this
is
also
investment
in
the
right
place,
because
this
is
the
most
one
of
the
most
the
places
in
ireland
that
are
under
most
pressure,
but
it's
also
a
place
that
can
support
this
kind
of
housing,
with
transportation
with
services
etc.
This
is
all
really
coming
together
in
in
a
very
good
way.
That's
important
that
actually
makes
it
even
more
precious.
A
B
Sure
we
had
two
two
pieces
of
guidance
for
the
manager.
One
relates
to
the
issue
of
electric
buses.
We
have
20
25
and
20
35
community
energy
plan
goals
and
to
reach
those
goals.
We're
going
to
have
to
shift
from
our
current
natural
gas
fleet
to
electric
and
natural
gas
is
better
than
diesel,
but
electric
is
the
standard
that
we
have
to
get
to
and
there's
what
we
said
is
for
2024
and
then
further
for
2025.
B
When
we
have
our
bus
maintenance
facility
come
online,
we're
going
to
be
moving
towards
electric
buses
as
the
buses
that
we
purchase
and
we
had
some
language
in
there.
That
reflects
the
reality
that
we
have
to
work
with
staff
and
the
realities
of
the
market,
but
we
are
making
a
commitment
to
moving
in
this
direction,
and
this
is
really
in
response
to
a
number
of
advocates
and
a
number
of
residents
who
said
we've
got
to
work
on
this.
We've
got
to
do
this,
and
so
that
is
a
huge
first
step.
C
Two
things:
first
of
all
anything
we
do
and
any
guidance
we
give
about
electrification
of
our
own
county
fleet
during
the
normal
budget
and
the
the
annual
the
annual
operation
operation
budget
and
now
the
guidance
on
electrifying
our
bus
fleet.
All
this
is
not
just
to
reduce
the
fossil
fuel
dependency
of
our
of
our
vehicles.
This
also
works
for
every
citizen,
because
this,
the
infrastructure
that
has
to
be
in
place,
the
infrastructure
we
have
to
study
for
and
implement,
is
actually
the
infrastructure
that
will
serve
everybody
else's
electrification
efforts.
C
So
there
is
a
real
deal
benefit
from
the
county
government,
leading
with
sustainability
improvements
for
every
single
one
in
arlington,
every
single
resident.
Then
it's
the
guidance
of
actually
presenting
budgets
and
presenting
the
our
our
capital
improvement
plans,
and
next
year
will
will
go
back
to
normal
this.
This
year's
israel
is
a
bridge
plan,
is
actually
to
be
able
to
report
that
each
and
every
investment
we
make.
How
does
this
investment
improves
on
advances
ours
on
our
sustainability
goals?
C
This
is
climate
emergency
response,
we're
talking
here
and
climate
emergency
response
has
to
materialize
in
specific
action,
and
we
have
to
be
able
to
report
how
our
each
each
and
every
measure
we
take
each
and
every
allocation
of
of
money.
Taxpayers
money
helps
to
advance
on
these
goals.
This
is
what
the
the
essence
of
the
guidance
we
gave
to
the
country
manager
to
think
how
we
do
that.
We're
moving.
A
Forward
and
of
course,
then
we
wouldn't,
we
would
be
remiss
if
we
didn't
talk
about
several
actions
that
were
taken
at
this
board
meeting
with
regards
to
labor
and
wages.
We
had
a
lot
of
folks
show
up
at
the
board
meeting
in
support
of
these
measures,
both
collective
bargaining
and
a
prevailing
wage.
Can
you
just
give
us
why
the
board
felt
it
was
important
to
take
these
actions
at
this
time?.
B
You
know
we
don't
always
get
applause
when
we
finish
an
item,
but
this
item
not
just
last
month
when
we
talked
about
it,
but
this
month
we
got
applause
and
I
actually
felt
good
that
it
was
both
bringing
in
as
partners
as
more
full
partners,
our
staff,
those
who
serve
arlington
county,
both
public
safety,
non-public
safety,
and
I
think
that
a
collaborative
approach,
a
partnership
as
we've
done
with
collective
bargaining,
is
really
going
to
serve
the
interests
of
our
community
as
a
whole
best
over
the
medium
to
long
term,
and
that
is
you
know,
even
in
the
short
term
they'll
be.
B
We
think
we
need
to
pay
and
value
our
employees
well,
and
we
have
a
history
of
doing
that.
But
this
puts
in
a
process
and
some
some
ways
to
make
sure
we
do
it
on
collective
bargaining
and
prevailing
wage
is
also
a
victory,
because
on
our
projects
we
should
be
paying
that
we
bid.
We
should
be
paying
people
a
fair
wage
to
get
here,
and
all
of
that
is
done
while
seeking
to
preserve
a
broadly
strong
customer
service
ethos
that
we
have
in
arlington
county.
B
We
may
not
be
perfect,
but
customer
service
is
a
hallmark
of
what
we've
done
and
I
think
collective
bargaining
will
help,
because
we
have
retained,
of
course,
some
protections
so
that
the
manager
and
the
management
can,
if
there's,
if
there's
an
individual
or
if
there's
a
case
where
someone's
not
doing
in
what
they
need
to
be
doing.
We
retain
that.
But
overall
we
have
that
that
cooperative
framework
via
collective
bargaining
and
prevailing
wage,
so
I
know
we're
both
pretty
thrilled
about
it.
A
Well,
with
that,
we
will
come
to
an
end
to
this
month's
county
board,
wrap
up.
Remember
if
you
have
questions
for
us
after
a
board
meeting.
Let
us
know
contact
us
on
social
media
or
email
us
at
countyboardrap
arlingtonva.us
about
an
issue.
That's
important
to
you,
we'll
try
to
answer
your
questions
right
here.
Remember
you
can
always
find
out
about
these
topics
and
more
by
visiting
the
county
board
website
at
arlingtonva.us
and
searching
county
board.
Just
a
reminder.