tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74411595919729254962024-03-05T10:48:20.450-05:00The Pimmit Hills ObserverNews & Information of Interest to the Pimmit Hills Neighborhood
of Falls Church, VirginiaThe Frace-Heller Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13701098681782498885noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7441159591972925496.post-90418971369952205052012-03-29T11:30:00.049-04:002012-06-16T03:38:54.076-04:00Supervisor John Foust's McLean Neighborhood is Group-Home Free!<span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >'No Group-Homes Here, Thank You!'</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Foust and CSB's Top Officials Live Miles Away From CSB Facilities,</span><br style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">But Have No Problem Proposing Group-Homes For Other People's Neighborhoods</span><br style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:85%;">By The Frace-Heller Family<br />Updated: March 31, 2012 12:12 p.m.<br />Published: March 29, 2012</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><a href="mailto:fungible1@verizon.net">Contact us</a></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Websites:</span><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.pimmithillsnews.blogspot.com/">The Pimmit Hills Observer</a></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pimmithillsmomsanddads/">Yahoo! Pimmit Hills Moms and Dads Group</a></span><br /><br />Pimmit Hills, Falls Church, VA -- The McLean cul-de-sac where <span style="font-weight: bold;">Dranesville District Supervisor John W. Foust</span> (D) resides with his family boasts <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/7822-Swinks-Mill-Ct-Mc-Lean-VA-22102/59786308_zpid/">8,400 square-foot</a> homes (average sale price: $2.7-$3.2 million) set on house lots of nearly a full acre.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZdLlnAd8PPAzGBDt6GJyatCw1Mq5QypTpA3UwuC83dRj5mV62Q5DK4TVLGtNF40jl5fl5i_1kltWn-iz3BGZCTxt48XouwJNJQksGPECm524Z1K3r-NglClY4FHXzzHzLJm-BUJZ-oRq8/s1600/FoustResidence1a.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 238px; height: 197px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZdLlnAd8PPAzGBDt6GJyatCw1Mq5QypTpA3UwuC83dRj5mV62Q5DK4TVLGtNF40jl5fl5i_1kltWn-iz3BGZCTxt48XouwJNJQksGPECm524Z1K3r-NglClY4FHXzzHzLJm-BUJZ-oRq8/s400/FoustResidence1a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5725597624223736642" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><<span style="font-weight: bold;">Fairfax County Supervisor John W. Foust's</span> residence on Swinks Mill Court in McLean, Virginia.</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.zillow.com/homes/Swinks-Mill-Ct,-McLean,-VA_rb/#/homes/for_sale/Mc-Lean-VA-22102/67148_rid/38.947182,-77.212348,38.944212,-77.222455_rect/16_zm/1_fr/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Swinks Mill Court</span></a> offers its well-heeled residents large back yards where almost half the homes have designer swimming pools.<br /><br />But what Supervisor Foust's Swinks Mill neighborhood does not sport is the kind of group-home that the <a href="http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/csb/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fairfax County-Falls Church Community Services Board</span></a> (CSB) is now proposing to build in another part of Mr. Foust's Dranesville District, <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pimmit_Hills">Pimmit Hills</a>, a neighborhood subdivision <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://maps.yahoo.com/#q1=Swinks+Mill+Ct%2C+McLean%2C+VA++22102&q2=1845+Cherri+Dr%2C+Falls+Church%2C+VA++22043-1073&lat=38.44777174658948&lon=-95.23234605789185&zoom=14&mvt=m&trf=0tp://">3 miles away</a> from Swinks Mill, on the other side of Dolley Madison Blvd., the main drag in McLean (aka Chain Bridge Road, state highway 123).<br /><br />The proposed CSB-operated group-home would be used to house adults -- the elderly and "aging" in the words of CSB officials -- including persons with severe mental disabilities, handicaps, and psychological maladies for whom the County is, in effect, the 'landlord of last resort'.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguRFx49IbvsTAGdHScL1rQWUqD4qfNmUyi_7iDUdhsx7Ha1z5odIgItVeqDi_T4EjxXqlKtorqqPLNa9ewBP6c68HqxoqU-1Fu7bKWbUHhvJolEX7hEMItmen0tSFmfp9EaGQhgLwHOsqq/s1600/Foust2.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 152px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguRFx49IbvsTAGdHScL1rQWUqD4qfNmUyi_7iDUdhsx7Ha1z5odIgItVeqDi_T4EjxXqlKtorqqPLNa9ewBP6c68HqxoqU-1Fu7bKWbUHhvJolEX7hEMItmen0tSFmfp9EaGQhgLwHOsqq/s200/Foust2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5725347212947666962" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">Dranesville District Supervisor <span style="font-weight: bold;">John W. Foust</span>></span><br /></div><br />Supervisor Foust, who for 26 years practiced construction law in Fairfax County before being elected Dranesville District's top official in 2007 (re-elected last November to a second term), is not alone in commending to build property-value-killing group-homes in other people's neighborhoods:<br /><ul><li>CSB's executive director, <span style="font-weight: bold;">George Braunstein,</span> resides in Fairfax City along quiet tree-lined Woodland Drive, yet the closest CSB group-home to Mr. Braunstein's neighborhood is 2 miles away.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Carolyn Castro-Donlan,</span> CSB's deputy director, enjoys her Folley Lick Court home in Herndon, while she's more than 16 miles from the nearest CSB facility.</li><li>CSB's investment & development manager, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Jeannette Cummins Eisenhour,</span> doesn't reside in Fairfax County, but her Alexandria home on East Oxford Avenue is more than 5 miles from a CSB-operated property.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Belinda A. Buescher,</span> CSB's communications director, lives in an Annandale cul-de-sac called Cockney Court, a stone's throw away from beautiful Long Branch Stream Valley Park, but by car the closest CSB group-home is over a mile-and-a-half away on the opposite side of the park's winding stream of the same-name.<br /></li></ul><p>County-run group-homes like the one CSB is proposing for Cherri Drive in Pimmit Hills are for persons whose personal histories make it nearly impossible for them to obtain accommodations in privately-owned residential and treatment facilities.</p><p>Such persons can pose a threat to the safety of a private landlord's other tenants, especially when the CSB 'client' has a history of psychotic, dangerous behaviors or criminal activities.</p>CSB acknowledges that a hefty percentage of its clientele includes persons who have had what CSB officials call "interaction with the criminal justice system".<br /><p>By far the largest segment of CSB clientele are those beset with severe mental health problems, impairments and intellectual disabilities.</p><p>Persons exhibiting varying sub-types of <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipolar_disorder">Bipolar Disorder</a> and <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizophrenia">Schizophrenia</a> are common amongst CSB clientele.<br /></p><p>Behavior of persons afflicted in these ways can turn violent, suddenly and without warning.<br /><br />Private group-home operators don't want the risk inherent in dealing day-to-day with persons at such high risk, where a client's simple act merely forgetting to take medication can have serious consequences including violent confrontations.<br /><br />For such unpredictable and potentially dangerous persons, the County is thus landlord of last resort.<br /></p><p>It is for such persons that CSB builds and maintains facilities like the one it proposes to construct in Pimmit Hills.</p><p>Supervisor Foust and his fellow county supervisors have direct jurisdiction over CSB, and by political necessity a CSB facility proposed for any district must go through the respective supervisor in charge of that district, and ultimately before the full board of supervisors, before getting final approval. <<<<<</p><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Group-Home Horror Stories:</span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">(Links to media reports of violence at Group-Homes)</span><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><a href="http://www.middletownpress.com/articles/2012/03/22/news/doc4f6ab2a5ea653808960736.txt">Middletown man accused of assault at group home</a></span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Published: Thursday, March 22, 2012<br />By LAUREN SIEVERT<br />The Middletown Press<br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;">MIDDLETOWN, CT — A city man at a group home is facing a breach of peace charge after allegedly assaulting another resident, police report.<br />(Continued -- Click on above link.)</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/13/nyregion/13homes.html?pagewanted=all"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">At State-Run Homes, Abuse and Impunity</span></span></a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Published: March 12, 2011</span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">By DANNY HAKIM<br />The New York Times<br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;">Nearly 40 years after New York emptied its scandal-ridden warehouses for the developmentally disabled, the far-flung network of small group homes that replaced them operates with scant oversight and few consequences for employees who abuse the vulnerable population.<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/03/13/nyregion/20110313_home_video.html?ref=nyregion"></a><br /><br /></span><div class="articleInline runaroundLeft"><span style="font-size:85%;">A New York Times investigation over the past year has found widespread problems in the more than 2,000 state-run homes. In hundreds of cases reviewed by The Times, employees who sexually abused, beat or taunted residents were rarely fired, even after repeated offenses, and in many cases, were simply transferred to other group homes run by the state.<br />(Continued -- Click on above link.)<br /></span><br /></div><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><a href="http://ferndale.patch.com/articles/parolee-arrested-in-alleged-sexual-assault-at-group-home-in-ferndale">Parolee Arrested in Alleged Sexual Assault at Group Home in Ferndale</a></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.kpho.com/story/17015003/group-home-employee-arrested-in-assault">Group home employee arrested in assault</a></span><br /></blockquote>The Frace-Heller Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13701098681782498885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7441159591972925496.post-26732996394345719922012-03-12T11:00:00.020-04:002012-06-16T05:11:59.999-04:00Response to PHCA Editor's Libelous Editorial<span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >Name-Calling is No Substitute for Facts</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Frace-Heller Family's response to the editorial authored by PHCA's Webmaster</span><br style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">By The Frace-Heller Family<br /></span></span><span style="font-size:78%;">Pimmit Hills<br />Falls Church, VA 22043<br /><a href="mailto:fungible1@verizon.net">Contact us</a></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Websites:<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Pimmit Hills Observer:</span> <a href="http://www.pimmithillsnews.blogspot.com/">http://www.pimmithillsnews.blogspot.com/</a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Yahoo! Pimmit Hills Moms and Dads Group:</span> <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pimmithillsmomsanddads/">http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pimmithillsmomsanddads/</a></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><br />Pimmit Hills, Falls Church, VA -- That sniping, libelous rant entitled, <span style="font-weight: bold;">"Executive summary of the March 6 PHCA meeting"</span>, saw publication Thursday, March 8th on the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Pimmit Hills Citizens' Association</span> Internet Web site (<a href="http://www.pimmithills.org/">www.pimmithills.org</a>) , two days after PHCA's evening 'Town Meeting' held at the Pimmit Hills Senior Center on Lisle Avenue.<br /><br />PHCA's Webmaster, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Cindy Kwitchoff</span>, who doubles as editor of <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Pimmit Hills Dispatch</span> newspaper as well as the organization's e-mailed <span style="font-weight: bold;">Pimmit Hills News</span>, closes her attack with the lament: <span style="font-style: italic;">"It's a very sad time for the Association on its 61st anniversary."</span><br /><br />When private citizens in Pimmit Hills are defamed and attacked falsely for conducting <span style="font-style: italic;">due diligence</span>, for fact-finding, for alerting neighbors, and for inviting public discourse regarding a County-proposed project that offers no positive benefits for the neighborhood, then indeed, it <span id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_21_1331370286001530" style="font-style:italic;">is </span>a sad time.<span id="yui_3_2_0_17_1331508539785189"><br id="yui_3_2_0_17_1331508539785190" class="yui-cursor"></span><div id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_21_1331370286001527"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PHCA Parroting-Back County's Official Line</span><br /></div><div id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_21_1331370286001490">Further, after keeping up to date on what has been published thus far in the PH Dispatch, Pimmit Hills News, and on PHCA's Web site, it appears to us that PHCA's Board has all along been merely parroting back to its membership County officials' public statements and press releases without bothering to check the veracity of any of it.<br /><span id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_20_1331251811612540" style="font-weight:bold;"><br id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_20_13312518116121063"></span><span id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_20_1331251811612540"><span id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_22_1331370286001188">Article II</span></span> of <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.pimmithills.org/incorporation">PHCA's <span id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_20_1331251811612644">Articles of Incorporation</span></a> states the following:<br /><br /></div><div id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_20_1331251811612529" style="margin-left:40px;"><span id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_18_1331370286001516" style="font-weight:bold;">"The purpose for which the corporation is organized is:</span><br style="font-weight:bold;"><span id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_18_1331370286001519" style="font-weight:bold;">To promote and advance the welfare of the residents of Pimmit Hills subdivision and immediately adjacent subdivisions. In furtherance of this purpose, the corporation shall endeavor to promote cultural, social, moral, educational and recreational activities for the benefit of the residents of Pimmit Hills subdivision and immediately adjacent subdivisions."</span><br style="font-weight:bold;" id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_20_1331251811612547"><span id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_18_133137028600178"></span></div><br />There is no mention in PHCA's Articles of Incorporation any notion of promoting County projects that could negatively affect Pimmit Hills' quality-of-life and property values. Also, there is no mention of promotion of projects <span id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_18_133137028600184" style="font-style:italic;">that fail to </span>"advance the welfare" of PH residents.<br /><br />Yet, at the March 6th PHCA Town Meeting, <span style="font-weight: bold;" id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_22_1331370286001201">Fairfax County Supervisor John W. Foust </span> (D) and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Fairfax County-Falls Church Community Service Board</span> (CSB) officials admitted that the County <span style="font-style: italic;">could offer</span> <span style="font-style:italic;">no guarantees whatsoever</span> that Pimmit Hills residents or their relatives <span id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_22_1331370286001209" style="font-style:italic;">would ever </span><span id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_22_1331370286001209">have opportunity</span> to reside in the proposed Cherri Drive facility, let alone have first-priority for the group-home's few available openings.<br /><div id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_21_1331370286001491"><br /></div><div id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_21_1331370286001711">Before any judge us based on the malicious, factually incorrect PHCA Web site editorial, consider the following:<br /></div><div id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_21_1331370286001728"><br />Since the County wants to place this project on the same street where our children play, and on what is now <span style="font-weight: bold;">Fairfax County Park Authority</span> land where our children also play, and since we only just got wind of the County's proposal in the weeks after that first January 11th 'informational' meeting, we decided to find out what was really going on.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">First 'Informational Meeting' Not Even Held in Pimmit Hills</span><br />Please note, that the January event at Lemon Road Elementary School, labeled as an 'informational meeting', was the first public notice anyone has had about this project. This, despite the fact, as we have since learned, that this project has been in the works in County Supervisor John W. Foust's office and at CSB <span style="font-weight:bold;">for as long as </span><span id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_18_13313702860011373" style="font-weight:bold;">two years!</span><br /><br />The Lemon Road ES meeting, sponsored by Supervisor Foust, was also noteworthy for the fact that <span style="font-weight: bold;">the meeting did not take place in Pimmit Hills</span>, but rather on the southern-most edge of Supervisor Foust's Dranesville District, in a school located nearly 2 miles by car from the proposed Cherri Drive project.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">No Public Notice Posted at Barn Site </span><br />Let's be honest: how many even saw the notice Supervisor Foust's office posted regarding that January meeting?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>What's more, there was never notice of any type posted at the Barn site on Cherri Drive where the project is intended to be built, as is customary practice in Fairfax County, notably on large orange <span style="font-style: italic;">DayGlo</span> signs whenever official 'hearings' of any kind are scheduled to take place related to a parcel of real estate.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Foust Waits Til After Re-Election to Announce Group-Home Project</span><br />It seemed plain to us at the time that Supervisor Foust's office was trying to slide/sneak by the public in as quiet a fashion as possible with little public awareness of what actually was being planned, this entire matter and all its ramifications for the neighborhood.<br /><br />Noteworthy as well is that though this project has been near two years in the making, Supervisor Foust <span id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_22_1331370286001263" style="font-weight:bold;">waited until </span><span id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_18_13313702860011406" style="font-weight:bold;">after his re-election </span><span id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_22_1331370286001349" style="font-weight:bold;">this past November</span> to let the public in on this controversial and plainly divisive project.<br /><br />If this project is so good for Pimmit Hills, <span style="font-weight: bold;">why didn't Supervisor Foust brag about it in his campaign</span> and about his role in bringing it to fruition in our neighborhood?<br /><br />What does all this say for Supervisor Foust's honesty and transparency?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PHCA Board Failed to do 'Due Diligence' </span><br />So, after our Family heard about the January Lemon Road ES meeting (which few actually attended -- wasn't it <span>PHCA president Martz,</span> speaking at March 6th's PHCA Town Meeting, who said "<span style="font-style: italic;">six people showed up</span>"?), we decided then that it would be appropriate to perform the kind of 'due diligence' that appeared to be sorely lacking based on what we had been reading up to that point on the PHCA Web site and in the PH Dispatch.<br /><br />What we mean by 'due diligence' is not accepting as Gospel that which the County says.<br /><br />The first thing we did was to read, in its entirety, CSB's own <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'<a href="http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/csb/reports/housing-report.pdf">2011 Housing Needs Report</a>'</span> (33 pages). That document identifies CSB's 'clients' as: <span style="font-weight: bold;">"people with intellectual disabilities, mental illness or substance use disorders." </span><br /><br />It bluntly states that many CSB clients have had <span style="font-weight: bold;">"Interaction with the criminal justice system,"</span> and that most of CSB's clients <span style="font-weight: bold;">"(86 percent) need supervised or intensive levels of assistance."</span><br /><br />Further, CSB's report makes abundantly clear that <span style="font-weight: bold;">"CSB clients who need affordable housing require flexible housing programs with adaptations and modifications that address key housing barriers including accessibility, credit issues and criminal history."</span><br /><br />Indeed to this day, neither Supervisor Foust nor CSB officials have been able to give any assurances nor specificity concerning just which kinds of clients would be housed in the project other than that they will be elderly or 'aging'. County officials refuse to say whether those elderly clients will have criminal histories, drug addictions, mental illnesses (e.g. schizophrenia, bi-polar), or other maladies which might lead to violent behaviors.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Group-Home Residents Free to Roam Neighborhood Day and Night?</span><br />Further, CSB officials have yet to answer questions as simple as whether clients assigned to the proposed Cherri Drive facility will be free to roam around the neighborhood without restriction, or whether they can have driving privileges and access to motor vehicles?<br /><br />Yet, nowhere in any of the material being published at the time on the PHCA Web site was there any mention of the percentage of CSB's clients who had criminal histories, who exhibited schizophrenia and/or bi-polar disorder (with the inherent potential for sudden violence that such conditions can evoke) , who needed supervision to stay on their medications, and who had the kinds of dangerous mental conditions that were scaring the bejeebers out of us as we read through CSB's own 'toned-down' 33-page report.<br /><br />We thought about what daily life here would be like with such persons -- and the visitors and friends they might attract -- having free reign about our Pimmit Hills neighborhood, where on an average sunny day there can be at least a dozen elementary school-age children running around within just the first half-block of where the Park Authority Barn now sits.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">CSB Officials Misquote Laws Governing Their Own Field</span><br />So we started by asking CSB officials for a list of addresses of CSB's facilities around the County so that we might survey neighbors in those neighborhoods where CSB already maintains group-home facilities.<br /><br />We considered this to be a <span style="font-weight: bold;">minimum</span> level of 'due diligence', which had PHCA's Board been 'promoting and advancing' the welfare of Pimmit Hills residents per the organization's Bylaws, one might expect the Board to do as well.<br /><br />We telephoned CSB on January 26, 2012 and were quite clear with the official with whom we spoke as to our intent to conduct a survey of CSB's neighbors in the neighborhoods surrounding its other operating locales.<br /><br />Yet, the very first thing this CSB official did in response to that good-faith request by a constituent of the Dranesville District seeking information on CSB-related matters was to deny, immediately and categorically, the request both verbally and then in writing.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Jeannie Cummins Eisenhour</span>, CSB's investment & development manager, claimed in that phone conversation that to honor our request would compromise "the civil rights" of residents of the group-homes in those various neighborhoods. Ms. Eisenhour followed-up in an email sent the very same day, writing: "As I mentioned on our call, Fair Housing laws and Health Information privacy laws prohibit me from sharing addresses of our group homes with you."<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO7-Rl9uUzApMuu1Novq0wf9jVBeDUX1UyC5saPdhwVDcgpnrdT7jFcIgq2Y4p80FnjSZIr7SvMNCfZnmNY0C0mnjstZlxUbdqVR5TzsHNPRgI3BKzc_gLKfEbshnSsaMyvSXvBYQphSQD/s1600/JeannieCumminsEisenhour2.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 161px; height: 166px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO7-Rl9uUzApMuu1Novq0wf9jVBeDUX1UyC5saPdhwVDcgpnrdT7jFcIgq2Y4p80FnjSZIr7SvMNCfZnmNY0C0mnjstZlxUbdqVR5TzsHNPRgI3BKzc_gLKfEbshnSsaMyvSXvBYQphSQD/s400/JeannieCumminsEisenhour2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719625929220318578" border="0" /></a>That same day, Ms. Eisenhour e-mailed <span id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_21_1331370286001943">PHCA president Martz</span> reiterating her denial of our request. That letter received prominent posting, of course, on PHCA's Web site by PHCA's Webmaster.<br /><br />The problem with all this is that CSB's Eisenhour, and subsequently as well CSB's executive director, <span style="font-weight: bold;">George Braunstein</span>, were wrong.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">< Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board investment and development manager <span style="font-weight: bold;">Jeannie Cummins Eisenhour</span> </span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzeWsdLTTAdtbxIIJ_dRkJK3xi5BQVTozZk7usgjWzxOM0GBUqOr3QYDMxo4yJEVb78IH_yocHHdrT7K-05yuRIYkOoymCWYtFWS-asonriqUzXW-tNWccWknuIj8RH8axZiz9bRFMl0Fe/s1600/GeorgeBraunstein1.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 109px; height: 118px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzeWsdLTTAdtbxIIJ_dRkJK3xi5BQVTozZk7usgjWzxOM0GBUqOr3QYDMxo4yJEVb78IH_yocHHdrT7K-05yuRIYkOoymCWYtFWS-asonriqUzXW-tNWccWknuIj8RH8axZiz9bRFMl0Fe/s400/GeorgeBraunstein1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719582704212662930" border="0" /></a>Neither the Fair Housing Act (<span id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_21_13313702860011018" style="font-style:italic;">Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968</span>), nor HIPAA (<span id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_21_13313702860011019" style="font-style:italic;">Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996</span>) have ever contained any language whatsoever that would prohibit release to the public of information regarding location of facilities, which are, after all, government-owned and/or operated buildings.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board executive director<span style="font-weight: bold;"> George Braunstein</span>><br /></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">CSB's Executive Director Makes-Up Own Policies</span><br />And it gets worse. Once CSB officials were informed of their error by the County Attorney, did they correct their error and produce the addresses?<br /><br />What follows is the text of an e-mail Mr. Braunstein sent us Sunday, February 26, 2012 after asking for and receiving from <span id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_22_1331370286001492" style="font-weight:bold;">Fairfax County Attorney David P. Bobzien</span> his interpretation of the two federal laws. CSB executive director Braunstein writes:<br /><br /><div style="margin-left:40px;font-weight:bold;" id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_50_1331251815576509" class="yiv101594437MsoNormal">"I have received consultations from our County Attorney and they are clear that while there is no definitive mention in the code about publishing addresses of our homes.<span style="font-weight: normal;">(sic)</span> Therefore, it becomes a question of where we establish our policies. Obviously we do not publish the addresses of the homes of any of the other 20,000 people we serve every year, including those that we regularly visit in their private homes as part of our effort to provide our disabled customers the same rights as any other resident of this county. <span id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_21_13313702860011052">To live in the community of their choice.</span><span style="font-weight: normal;">(sic)</span> Therefore, I am making the judgment to uphold our policy and require a submission of a FOIA request. Otherwise, we have been willing to offer you a visit to one or two of our residential sites that serve a similar population to the home we are proposing at the Pimmit Barn property. Thank you for your efforts to make sure we are accountable to the residents of your district and Fairfax County."</div><br />In other words, two federal laws quoted by two senior County officials, Eisenhour and Braunstein, did not say what they claimed the laws said, and so CSB executive director Braunstein <span style="font-weight:bold;">on his own</span>, without CSB's board voting on or even considering the matter, made up a new policy to cover his continued refusal to release requested information. CSB's board never signed-off on Mr. Braunstein's made-up new policy because CSB's board was not scheduled to meet for another month.<br /><br />It finally took until March 2nd to obtain release of the information that our Family had first requested January 26th. What this goes to show is that County officials all along were either woefully misinformed regarding federal laws governing their special area of expertise, or alternatively, that CSB officials were intentionally being deceitful. Let the reader decide. Why do <span style="font-weight: bold;">you</span> think CSB officials would not want people from a neighborhood where CSB was seeking to build a facility to survey folks in neighborhoods where CSB already has facilities?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Can County Officials Be Relied Upon to Tell the Truth?</span><br />This dismal experience in getting simple information out of County officials also begs the question: Can County officials be relied upon to be forthcoming and transparent with the public regarding matters under their jurisdiction and purview?<br /><br />Experience tells us: apparently not. Please note that though Supervisor Foust assured PHCA's members attending March 6th's Town Meeting that there are CSB-operated group-homes located in McLean, the list CSB provided to our Family, a list that is supposed to be 'comprehensive', shows no such CSB facilities anywhere in McLean nor even nearby. Further, none are listed in Great Falls nor in Langley.<br /><br />Our survey of CSB's neighbors in the communities where CSB operates its group-homes is simply intended to inquire whether CSB is a good neighbor. We want to know whether, if a neighborhood were given the chance all over again to invite CSB to establish a group-home, would its own neighbors agree to let CSB in?<br /><br />Just as important, we want to inquire as to what CSB's presence in those neighborhoods has done for neighborhood property values?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PHCA Refused to Publish Facts the Public Needed to Know</span><br />Please note that when our Family followed-up by sending letters to PHCA's Webmaster for publication on PHCA's Web site in order to keep our fellow Pimmit Hills residents informed regarding our 'due diligence', PHCA's Webmaster, except for our first letter of January 23rd and our brief update of January 26th, refused after that to publish any more of our letters.<br /><br />Yet, PHCA's Web site, in a claim posted prominently by PHCA's Webmaster, continued to insist in the five-week run-up to the March 6th PHCA Town Meeting that <span style="font-weight: bold;">"In this post is all the information, pros and cons, concerning the proposed redevelopment of the old barn on Cherri Drive in Pimmit Hills."</span><br /><br />Except, that claim was disingenuous at best. Our Family was continuing to provide PHCA with more detailed information based on facts as we continued our 'due diligence', only PHCA's Webmaster totally refused to publish on PHCA's Web site any of our subsequent letters nor did the Webmaster publish any of the information contained in those letters. So if one were to be relying on the PHCA Web site for information regarding CSB's proposal, one would certainly not be getting <span style="font-weight: bold;">"..... all the information, pros and cons .....".<br /></span><br />We subsequently set up Web sites: <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.pimmithillsnews.blogspot.com/">The Pimmit Hills Observer</a> and the <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pimmithillsmomsanddads/">Yahoo! Pimmit Hills Moms and Dads Group</a> in order to aid in dissemination of information as we got it. We note as well that it is not just <span style="font-style: italic;">our</span> letters that are not being published on PHCA's Web site, it appears as if no one else's are either. This, despite our having received many e-mails and posted comments pro and con on the subject. <<<<<<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Horror Stories About Group-Homes:</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://www.lowellsun.com/highschoolfootball/ci_20085107"><span style="font-weight: bold;">'Chelmsford group-home resident indicted on assault charges'</span><br /></a><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-01-30/news/ct-met-disabled-beating-death-0130-20110130_1_group-home-assisted-living-home-eastern-illinois-university-student">'Disabled Joliet man beaten to death in group home, authorities say'</a><br style="font-weight: bold;"><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_18155749">'Woman fatally attacked in Denver group home identified'</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.news-gazette.com/news/courts-police-and-fire/2011-11-30/family-man-who-died-following-attack-charleston-group-home-re">'Family of man who died following attack at a Charleston group home to receive $450,000 in settlement'</a><br /><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2011/03/23/17721926.html">'Group home attack builds fear'</a></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.wlwt.com/r/30096116/detail.html">'Teen Charged With Murder In Fatal Group Home Attack'</a><br /><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2011/04/15/man-pleads-guilty-in-duluth-group-home-attack/">'Man Pleads Guilty In Duluth Group Home Attack'</a><br /></span><br /><a href="http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2011/04/15/man-pleads-guilty-in-duluth-group-home-attack/"><span style="font-size:78%;"></span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /></span></div>The Frace-Heller Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13701098681782498885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7441159591972925496.post-41402684432074994732012-03-12T10:30:00.002-04:002012-06-15T18:57:49.218-04:00Foust-Led PHCA 'Town Meeting' Yields More Questions Than Answers<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Plus:</span> A Group-Home Real-Life Horror Story</span> </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">By The Frace-Heller Family<br />Updated: March 14, 2012<br />Published: March 12, 2012</span><br /><a href="mailto:fungible1@verizon.net"><span style="font-size:85%;">Contact us</span></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Websites:<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.pimmithillsnews.blogspot.com/">The Pimmit Hills Observer</a></span><a href="http://www.pimmithillsnews.blogspot.com/"></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pimmithillsmomsanddads/">Yahoo! Pimmit Hills Moms and Dads Group</a></span><a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pimmithillsmomsanddads/"></a><br /></span><br />Pimmit Hills, Falls Church, VA -- March 6th's PHCA Town Meeting at the Pimmit Hills Senior Center generated far more questions that rancorous Tuesday night than were answered by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Fairfax County Supervisor John W. Foust</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Fairfax County-Falls Church Community Services Board</span> ("CSB") officials.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw-18oVisavA6MQrPTTz71m-rCyWEA56MRaHxk0x7xwXUmOatNdy8UOfdGDLga5I_YyeR1XoTvJKv7YMUo2swjDSTJ6ulVhfWQBsV0wdXTB1VGalUZDcfO3GzCWZBj7qCzaZq1odggEtYs/s1600/Foust3a.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 152px; height: 187px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw-18oVisavA6MQrPTTz71m-rCyWEA56MRaHxk0x7xwXUmOatNdy8UOfdGDLga5I_YyeR1XoTvJKv7YMUo2swjDSTJ6ulVhfWQBsV0wdXTB1VGalUZDcfO3GzCWZBj7qCzaZq1odggEtYs/s400/Foust3a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719574517817021970" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Questions That Won't Go Away For Foust and CSB Officials</span><br />1. Why haven't County officials been honest with PHCA's Membership regarding the likelihood that most of those who will be residing in CSB's proposed Cherri Drive group-home facility, elderly or not, will be persons with criminal histories, serious problems related to drug-addiction, and/or mental illness (bi-polar disorder, schizophrenia, psychotic behaviors associated with extreme violence)?<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fairfax County Supervisor John W. Foust</span>><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Photo Credit:</span> Bobbi Bowman<br /></span><br />2. Will CSB clients residing in the proposed Cherri Drive facility be restricted to the facility, or can they freely come and go at will, and roam around the neighborhood anytime day or night?<br /><br />3. Will any CSB clients in residence in the proposed Cherri Drive facility have driving privileges and access to motor vehicles? If so, where will these persons be parking their vehicles?<br /><br />4. Supervisor Foust's first notice of the January 11th meeting introduced the proposed CSB project as "<span style="font-style: italic;">a home for 6 disabled adults.</span>" <span style="font-weight: bold;">Jeannie Cummins Eisenhour</span>, CSB's investment & development manager, via e-mail, gave the following assurance as well regarding the proposed Cherri Drive facility: <span style="font-weight: bold;">"..... we do know the home will serve </span><span id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_22_1331370286001820" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">no more than</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> six individuals."</span> (Please note Ms. Eisenhour's own use of italics to emphasize her words.)<br /><br />Yet, at March 6th's PHCA Town Meeting, Supervisor Foust stated matter-of-factly that as many as <span style="font-weight: bold;">EIGHT</span> persons would be residing in the facility!<br /><br />So which number is it? Is it 6, is it 8, or is it some larger number (especially if the County runs into a shortage of group-homes for CSB's clients and makes policy changes in how it decides to run these places)?<br /><br />What is the absolute maximum number of CSB clients that would ever be placed in the proposed facility, and will the County agree not to expand the size of the building in the future to hold even greater capacity? (Further, as was brought up at the March 6th PHCA Town Meeting, why won't the County agree to a deed restriction as to the total number of residents permitted and as to future expansion?)<br /><br />5. If the proposed facility is only to be used to house 6 (or is it 8?) elderly persons, then why the need for 4,000 square feet? (That's more space per person -- 666 square-feet -- than most Pimmit Hills homes offer today, let alone what was offered to families who originally settled in the then new PH subdivision in the 1950's.)<br /><br />6. Why won't County officials produce a simple architectural rendering of the proposed project <span style="font-weight: bold;">before</span> asking Pimmit Hills residents and PHCA's Membership to approve CSB's proposal?<br />(For example, County officials have plans to expand <span style="font-weight: bold;">Westgate Elementary School</span> and have produced architectural drawings which have been put on display at the school. So why hasn't CSB done the same thing prior to seeking PHCA Membership approval, especially after already spending taxpayer dollars and as much as two years preparing for this project?)<br /><br />7. What exactly are the benefits to neighborhood taxpayers of having a group-home placed in Pimmit Hills if County officials cannot guarantee <span style="font-weight: bold;">in writing</span> that eligible Pimmit Hills residents or their relatives <span id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_22_1331370286001209">will be granted first-priority </span>for residency in the proposed Cherri Drive facility (and first-priority for open slots as they become available in the future)?<br /><br />County officials failed to answer the root question, PHCA's <cite>raison d'être</cite>: How does CSB's proposed facility <span id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_18_1331370286001519"><span style="font-style: italic;">"... promote and advance the welfare of the residents of Pimmit Hills ..."</span>?</span><span id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_18_1331370286001519" style="font-weight:bold;"> </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">(See PHCA's <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.pimmithills.org/incorporation">Articles of Incorporation</a>)</span><br /><br />8. Why, at the March 6th PHCA Town Meeting, did County officials repeatedly stress <span style="font-style: italic;">"the children's needs"</span> when in fact County officials have all along insisted that the proposed Cherri Drive facility is not for children at all, but rather to be used solely to house elderly and 'aging' adults?<br /><br />9. Why, when <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.pimmithills.org/phca-bylaws">PHCA's Bylaws</a> clearly state that <span style="font-weight: bold;">all</span> members get to vote at PHCA Town Meetings, were those rules suddenly changed four days before the March 6th Town Meeting to restrict the vote to only one vote per household?<br /><br />10. Why were PHCA members being asked to vote on CSB's proposal the same night in which they were first being given formal presentation in Pimmit Hills on the matter, and without first being given a reasonable period of days to analyze County officials' answers to questions about the proposal?<br /><br />11. In the days leading up to the March 6th PHCA Town Meeting, PHCA's Web site prominently posted the following two claims:<br /><br /><div id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_18_1331370286001608" style="margin-left:40px;"><span id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_22_1331370286001848" style="font-weight:bold;">"PHCA President Matthew Martz spoke with Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust who assured him that the decision on whether the proposal is continued is dependent on the associations yes or no vote. Which ever way we vote is the way that Supervisor Foust will follow through with it." </span><br /><br />(This second claim, written by <span style="font-weight: bold;">PHCA president Matthew G. Martz</span> himself, was even highlighted in yellow):<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">"</span><span id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_18_1331370286001387" style="background-color:rgb(255, 255, 0);font-weight:bold;">If the community says yes, then Supervisor Foust will give the go ahead for the project and if the community has an overwhelming no, then he will shoot down the idea and the Park Service will put the land up for private auction.</span><span style="font-weight:bold;">"</span><br style="font-weight:bold;"> </div><br />Yet, according to an e-mail sent by a PHCA member who attended the March 6th PHCA Town Meeting (and who requests not to be identified): <span id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_22_1331370286001863" style="font-weight:bold;">".....by the end of that meeting the other night, Foust and the CSB said very point blank (to answer several people who'd asked the question flat-out) that basically this is a done-deal."</span><br /><br />If that's the case, then why did Supervisor Foust and CSB officials go through the charade in the first place of coming before PHCA's Membership claiming to seek approval to proceed with the project?<br /><br />12. Why did Supervisor Foust's first 'informational' meeting on CSB's proposal, the one held January 11th, take place <span style="font-weight: bold;">outside Pimmit Hills</span>, nearly two miles by car from the Barn site?<br /><br />The PH Senior Center on Lisle Avenue, where PHCA's Board always holds its Town Meetings, is <span style="font-weight:bold;" id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_22_1331370286001792">less than </span><span id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_21_13313702860011203" style="font-weight:bold;">one block</span><span style="font-weight:bold;" id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_22_1331370286001801"> </span><span style="font-weight:bold;" id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_22_1331370286001783">away</span> from the Barn, and certainly far more convenient to those most affected by CSB's proposed project.<br /><br />Further, why did Supervisor Foust's office fail to post any notice in front of 1845 Cherri Drive, the Park Authority-owned Barn property itself, site of the proposed CSB project? Isn't it customary whenever property hearings take place in Fairfax County to provide notice to the public on signs prominently placed on-site? Where was notice of the January 11th and March 6th 'informational' meetings?<br /><br />13. What kinds of tax abatements are County officials prepared to offer neighborhood residents in the event the proposed CSB facility causes real estate values on Cherri Drive and surrounding streets Griffith Road, Lisle Avenue, etc. to drop?<br /><br />14. What is the game plan should the County proceed with CSB's proposal? What entity would ultimately have title to and own the Barn parcel?<br /><br />In other words, will the Fairfax County Park Authority transfer title to CSB, and then will CSB retain title to the property? <span id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_22_1331370286001904">Or, alternatively, will CSB then transfer title to a not-for-profit entity that will finance construction of the building and then lease-back the premises to CSB?</span><span id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_22_1331370286001904" style="font-weight:bold;"> </span><span id="yiv101594437yui_3_2_0_22_1331370286001904">If the latter, what is the process by which CSB determines which not-for-profit entity is awarded title to the half-acre Pimmit Hills property?</span><br style="font-weight:bold;"><br />15. At Tuesday night's Town Meeting, Supervisor Foust claimed there are two, maybe three, group-home facilities located in McLean. Where are these group-homes located? Why do the addresses for these facilities not appear on the supposedly comprehensive list provided to our Family by CSB? Where are CSB's proposals to build group-homes in Great Falls, Langley -- and in McLean if Supervisor Foust is mistaken in his information?<br /><br />16. Why Pimmit Hills? Wouldn't it be more efficient and better for CSB's clients to place CSB's facility closer to a medical center or subway station?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >A Real Life Horror Story</span><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><a href="http://www.whas11.com/news/crimetracker/Group-home-resident-charged-with-allegedly-attacking-caregiver-119019629.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Group home resident charged with allegedly attacking caregiver</span></a></span><br /><blockquote>(WHAS11.com) -- Beuchel, Kentucky -- A resident at a group home for the mentally ill is charged with allegedly assaulting his caretaker.<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">(Continued -- Click on link above.)</span></blockquote>The Frace-Heller Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13701098681782498885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7441159591972925496.post-65847314544126333832012-03-07T11:28:00.078-05:002012-03-08T15:08:57.028-05:00PHCA Board Cancels Vote Rather Than Proceed According to By-Laws<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:180%;">Attempt to <span style="font-style: italic;">'Gerrymander'</span> Who-Can-Vote Fails</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">Informed Source: Supervisor Foust Intentionally Waited Until After Re-election to Let Pimmit Hills Residents in on County's Plans for Barn</span></span><br style="font-weight: bold; font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br style="font-family:arial;"></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">by The Frace-Heller Family<br />Published: March 7, 2012</span><br style="font-family:arial;"><br style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;">Pimmit Hills, Falls Church, VA -- Confronted with a legal opinion stating that the </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >Pimmit Hills Citizens' Association</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;"> board of directors would be in violation of the association's Bylaws were the board to conduct a vote that did not give all members in good standing a vote at Tuesday night's Town Meeting on a controversial County proposal, the PHCA board instead opted at the meeting to cancel the vote entirely and blame others for the board's actions, specifically those who sought legal advice that put the board on notice in the first place.<br /><br />The PHCA board on Friday </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;"> just days before Tuesday's long-scheduled Town Meeting on a controversial proposal by Fairfax County officials to place a group-home in Pimmit Hills, </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;">notified its membership via notice posted to the association's web site that for Tuesday's vote, only one vote per household would be allowed. Historically, PHCA had, as stipulated in the association's Bylaws, always allowed all members to vote on issues before the membership, and families with two adults in the house counted as two members as long as annual dues were paid up.<br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The political maneuver to disenfranchise, known in election circles as 'gerrymandering', is the practice or process by which changes in voting rules or geography of a district are used to achieve a desired electoral result </span></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;">to help or hinder a particular demographic, political purpose, or </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">outcome -- in this case to get PHCA member approval for the group-home proposal backed by the County.</span><br style="font-family:arial;"><br />In the instant matter, </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;">PHCA's Friday maneuver would have taken away votes from as many as 38% of PHCA's membership -- specifically spouses and domestic partners -- the very people who likely were also parents and who likely would also be counted on to vote against the County's proposal. The proposed group-home facility would be for persons the County was unable to place into private facilities because private operators do not want the liability attached to providing residence for persons with severe substance abuse problems, severe mental disorders, prior criminal histories, episodes of psychotic behavior, violence, etc.. </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;">PHCA's board posted notice of the change in voting rules on the association's Web site -- PimmitHills.org -- on Friday, four days before the scheduled Tuesday vote.</span> <div><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;">Shown below is a copy of the letter sent by </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >Virginia Attorney Kellie M. L. Budd</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;"> to PHCA board members. Ms. Budd </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;">represents The Frace-Heller Family of Pimmit Hills. </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;">Budd's letter, prompted </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;">by the PHCA board's sudden move Friday to curtail member voting rights </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;">was e-mailed Monday afternoon with more than twenty-four hours to go before the start of Tuesday's Town Meeting.<br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;"><br />Despite Budd's clear invitation to board members to discuss the matter, n</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;">o one from PHCA's board contacted attorney Budd prior to Tuesday's meeting.<br /><br />In order to have the scheduled vote, all that PHCA's board would have had to do was to follow the association's Bylaws, post notice on PHCA's Web site that <span style="font-weight: bold;">all</span> PHCA members at Tuesday's Town Meeting would indeed be allowed to vote in accordance with those Bylaws, and then proceed with Tuesday night's vote as scheduled without fear that the voting process was in violation of association rules.<br /><br />Instead, PHCA's board continued to maintain as it does to this day the message posted to its <a href="http://www.pimmithills.org/">Web site</a>, that says voting is limited to "only one vote per house".<br /><br />According to Attorney Budd's letter, </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >".... the board cannot restrict the right of any member in good standing to vote ......"</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;"><br /><br />Nonetheless, the PHCA board yesterday during its three-hour Town Meeting repeatedly offered rationalizations and excuses for not holding the vote, blaming fear of lawsuits, which statements appeared all the more self-serving and disingenuous in light of the Board's failure to contact attorney Budd in the twenty-four hours prior to the meeting as well as Budd's presence in the hall fielding periodic questions from the assembled membership.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">CSB's Controversial Plans for Barn Site Kept Under Wraps Til After Foust's 2011 Re-election</span><br />In a related development, an informed source requesting anonymity claims that <span style="font-weight: bold;">Fairfax County Supervisor John W. Foust</span> has known for at least 18 months and perhaps as long as two years of the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Fairfax County Park Authority's</span> desire to sell or rid itself of its Cherri Drive parcel.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin0l2-Lg7S5LeJt9P2Vn7llo141HKyQ9Ovk7eaQ0mpZclBT8qGFMTxVH_0aiYJW57DupBxcPzhW1wisFlH5SX47kpZAKd96coEnzrAPmCzVVbP8bbZ47hVMYtWU9fUT3ZDr_AaZMo668Z-/s1600/Foust2.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 174px; height: 229px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin0l2-Lg7S5LeJt9P2Vn7llo141HKyQ9Ovk7eaQ0mpZclBT8qGFMTxVH_0aiYJW57DupBxcPzhW1wisFlH5SX47kpZAKd96coEnzrAPmCzVVbP8bbZ47hVMYtWU9fUT3ZDr_AaZMo668Z-/s400/Foust2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717280501003673074" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Dranesville District Supervisor <span style="font-weight: bold;">John W. Foust</span>></span><br /><br />Further, according to the source, Mr. Foust has been working closely for almost that same length of time with <span style="font-weight: bold;">Fairfax-Falls Church Community Service Board</span> ('CSB') officials to place a county-run group-home on the parcel, where a barn, alleged to be </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;">the only barn left in existence inside the Washington Beltway, has stood since at least the 1940's before Pimmit Hills became a subdivision in the 1950's.<br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1st Hearing Held Outside Pimmit Hills Nearly 2 Miles From Proposed CSB Facility</span><br style="font-family:arial;">The source further stated that Mr. Foust intentionally withheld from the Pimmit Hills community, CSB's plans for the barn parcel pending his re-election last fall due to the controversy the project was likely to create within the Pimmit Hills community, and that only relatively recently have CSB's plans been made known to the local community when Mr. Foust's office posted notice of its first informational meeting on the proposed CSB project, a meeting held this past January 11th at Lemon Road Elementary School, a school outside Pimmit Hills on the most southerly edge of Mr. Foust's Dranesville District, by car almost two miles from the proposed Cherri Drive CSB facility. <<<<<<br /><br />-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /><span style="font-size:100%;">Attached below is Virginia Attorney Kellie M. L. Budd's letter (with cover-letter) sent Monday, 5:33 p.m via e-mail, via first-class USPS mail, and also via hand-delivery to PHCA's board members.<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">(These letters have been edited for clarification purposes and to remove personal information but no substantive changes have been made.</span></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_18_1331220187894237" class="yui_3_2_0_18_1331220187894121" style="sans-serif";font-family:";font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D;" ></span></span><span class="yui_3_2_0_18_1331220187894123" style="sans-serif";font-family:";font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D;" ><span style="font-size:85%;">)</span> </span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">From: Kellie Budd [mailto:XXXXXX@XXXXXXXX.XXX]</span><br style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Sent: Monday, March 05, 2012 5:33 PM</span><br style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;">To: sarah rock; mark kinnane; animesh gupta; matthew martz</span><br style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Subject: Pimmit Hills Citizens' Association Inc.</span><br style="font-family:arial;"><br style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Dear Board of Directors,<br /><br />My office has been retained by The Frace-Heller Family with respect to Pimmit Hills Citizens’ Association. Please find attached correspondence objecting to the Board’s purported change in the voting policy. As you will see in the attached letter, we maintain the Board does not have the authority to restrict a member’s right to vote by limiting the vote to one per household without an amendment of the governing documents.<br /><br />Please review the attached correspondence and contact me to discuss. </span><br style="font-family:arial;"><br style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Best Regards, </span><br style="font-family:arial;"><br style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Kellie Budd </span><br style="font-family:arial;"><br style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Kellie M. L. Budd, Esq.</span><br style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Doumar Martin PLLC</span><br style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;">2000 N. 14th Street, Suite 210</span><br style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Arlington, VA 22201</span><br style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Tel: (703) 243-3737</span><br style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Fax: (703) 524-7610</span><br style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;">E-mail: xxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx</span><br style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;">www.doumarmartin.com</span><br style="font-family:arial;"><br style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;">This message may contain confidential attorney-client communication and is intended for the named recipient(s) only. Please notify us by return e-mail and delete this message if you have received it in error. Thank you.</span><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">--------------------------------------------------------------------</span><br style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;">DOUMAR MARTIN PLLC</span><br style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;">LAW OFFICES</span><br style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;">1629 K Street, N.W.</span><br style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Telephone 202-349-1674</span><br style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Facsimile 202-331-3759</span><br style="font-family:arial;"><br style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;">2000 N. 14th Street, Suite 210</span><br style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Arlington, VA 22201</span><br face="arial"><span id="yui_3_2_0_17_1331141278445245" style="font-family: arial;font-family:";font-size:100%;" >Telephone 703-243-3737<span id="yui_3_2_0_17_13311412784451426" style="mso-tab-count:1"><br />Facsimile: 703-524-7610<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;">Email: XXXXXXXX@XXXXX.XXX</span><br face="arial"><span style="font-family:arial;">www.doumarmartin.com</span><br /><br />March 5, 2012<br /><br />VIA HAND DELIVERY<br />AND ELECTRONIC MAIL<br /><br />Board of Directors, Pimmit Hills Citizens’ Association, Inc.<br />Attn: Elizabeth Hall, Corporate Secretary<br />XXXXXXX@XXXXXXX.XXX<br />Falls Church, VA 22043<br /><br />VIA REGULAR MAIL<br />AND ELECTRONIC MAIL<br />Board of Directors, Pimmit Hills Citizens’ Association, Inc.<br />Attn: Matthew Martz, President<br />XXXX XXXXXXXXXX<br />Falls Church, VA 22043<br /><br />Re: Pimmit Hills Citizens’ Association, Inc.<br /><br />Dear Board of Directors:<br /><br />Our firm represents The Frace-Heller Family. The Frace-Heller Family has asked that we contact you regarding the purported change to the Pimmit Hills Citizens’ Association, Inc. voting procedures.<br /><br />It is our understanding that the Board recently notified the membership that voting is now restricted to one vote per household. However, the Association’s governing documents are very clear on member voting rights. Specifically, Article III of the Articles of Incorporation states as follows:<br /><br />There shall be one class of members open to all residents, eighteen or more years of age and non-resident property owners, of Pimmit Hills subdivision and immediately adjacent subdivisions. Members in good standing, as defined in the Bylaws, shall have the right to elect the directors and officers of the corporation and to vote on all other matters presented to the members by the officers and directors.”<br /><br />Further, Article I, Section 3 of the Bylaws states that voting shall be limited to all members. If the Board seeks to amend the Bylaws to restrict voting to just <u>one</u> member per household, in lieu of <u>all</u> members as dictated by the Bylaws, the Board must follow the amendment procedures outlined in the Bylaws.<br /><br />Pursuant to Article XI of the Bylaws, a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting at any meeting is needed to amend the Bylaws. Further, the proposed amendment must be submitted in writing, proposed and seconded at a previous regular meeting of the membership and a copy of the proposed amendment must be delivered or published not less than ten and no more than 50 days prior to the date of the meeting.<br /><br />To our knowledge, the Board has not complied with the requirement to amend the Bylaws or attempted to amend the Articles of Incorporation. Accordingly, the Board cannot restrict the right of any Member in good standing to vote at the March 6, 2012 scheduled meeting.<br /><br />Moreover, The Frace-Heller Family notes that it appears their access to the Member only website has been suspended improperly and without due notice. The Frace-Heller Family are paid members in good standing and are entitled to enjoy all of the privileges of Membership, including Member only website access. Please contact me at XXX-XXX-XXXX to confirm that The Frace-Heller Family membership privileges are fully restored prior to the meeting scheduled for March 6, 2012 at 7:00 pm.<br /><br />I will be in attendance at tomorrow’s meeting on behalf of The Frace-Heller Family and am happy to discuss these matters with the Board prior to the meeting.<br />However, if the Board continues their attempt to wrongfully limit the right of members in good standing to vote, contrary to the Pimmit Hills Citizens’ Association Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation, The Frace-Heller Family may file a lawsuit in Fairfax County Circuit Court to enforce the provisions of the governing documents.<br /><br />If you have any questions please contact me.<br /><br /><br />Sincerely,<br />Doumar Martin, PLLC<br /><br />________________________<br />Kellie M. L. Budd<br /><br />Cc: Sarah Rock<br />Mark Kinnane<br />Animesh Gupta<br />(via electronic mail only)<br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops:.5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 284.25pt"> </p>The Frace-Heller Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13701098681782498885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7441159591972925496.post-27231343166354735122012-03-04T21:17:00.032-05:002012-03-05T02:10:18.195-05:00PHCA 'Town Meeting', TUESDAY EVENING at 7:30 p.m., Pimmit Hills Senior Center<div style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:150%;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Pimmit Hills Property Values, Quality-of-Life Threatened </span></span><br /></div><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">WHAT:</span> Pimmit Hills Citizen's Association `Town Meeting'.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">WHEN:</span> <span id="yui_3_2_0_1_13308785378051270" style="font-weight:bold;">THIS TUESDAY EVENING,</span> March 6th at 7:30 p.m..<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">WHERE:</span> Pimmit Hills Senior Center at 7510 Lisle Avenue (formerly PH High School).<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">PURPOSE:</span> To hear the County's Proposal, and also to let the PHCA Board know your views about whether or not the County should place a `halfway-house' in Pimmit Hills. PHCA's Web site says: <span style="font-style:italic;">"..... a position vote will be taken ....."</span> of PHCA's Members.<br /><br />The <span style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;" >Fairfax County Board of Supervisors</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> is proposing to tear down the old barn located on </span><span style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;" >Cherri Drive near Lisle Avenue,</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> and in its place to construct a single-story, four-thousand (4,000) square-foot `group-home' facility to be operated by the County.<br /><br />The facility would be used to house adults (the elderly and not-so-elderly), who, according to the County's own </span><span style="font-weight:bold;font-style:italic;font-size:100%;" >`<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/csb/reports/housing-report.pdf"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1330908275_0">2011 Housing Needs Report</span></a>,'</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> can have </span><span style="font-style:italic;font-size:100%;" >"criminal"</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> histories. These persons are also likely to have </span><span style="font-style:italic;font-size:100%;" >"<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.dbhds.virginia.gov/"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1330908275_1">mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, intellectual disabilities, or substance abuse disorders</span></a>"</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> (e.g.: Crack Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamines), according to </span><span style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;" >Virginia's Dept. of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br />These are persons who require near-continuous monitoring 24-hours per day, and who may be subject to anti-social behaviors, serious emotional disturbances, incidents wherein they are psychotic and out-of-control, exhibiting outbursts of violence that cause such persons to be totally unfit to be placed anywhere but in government-run facilities with on-site security personnel, as well as medical and/or psychiatric professional staff near at hand.<br /><br />Privately-owned care facilities will </span><span style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;" >not</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> accept these persons because of the risk and liability factors inherent in their daily care. That is why the County, in order to provide housing for such persons, has no other choice but to build and manage its own facilities.<br /><br />The 1940's-era barn on Cherri Drive is presently leased to </span><span style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;" >McLean Youth Athletics.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> It is being used to store athletic equipment owned by </span><span style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;" >McLean Mustang Football, McLean Youth Soccer,</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> and </span><span style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;" >McLean Youth Lacrosse.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span> <span style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;" >THINK:</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> Do you want living near you and your children a group of adults whom the County is </span><span style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;" >not</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> able to place into private surroundings, because private care operators do </span><span style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;" >not</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> want the risk of dealing with unpredictable persons prone to extreme or violent behaviors? (Further, consider as well just who may be visiting those who reside within the County's proposed Cherri Drive facility.)<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;" >County Refuses to Produce Architectural Drawings for its Proposed Project</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />Pimmit Hills residents are being asked to vote on and approve the County's proposed project without so much as even being given opportunity to see first on paper what the project is supposed to look like, nor what is actually being proposed. Isn't this 'putting the cart before the horse'?<br />The County claims the structure will be 4,000 square-feet of usable living space, 1-story high, plus space for parking. Where on paper is a simple rendering or plot plan showing the structure's proposed footprint, setbacks, lighting, outbuildings and designated parking areas?<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;" >Parking</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br style="font-weight:bold;"> Fairfax County's strict building code requires that, for government-paid-for construction, there be vehicle parking on-site, </span><span style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;" >not on-street,</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> sufficient for the maximum number of persons expected to reside in the government owned/operated building, along with parking sufficient to accommodate visitors, all staff regularly on-duty (24/7 for the proposed facility), plus emergency vehicles.<br /></span> <span style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;" >FACT:</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> It is likely that if the County gets its way, what is now a mostly grass-covered expanse with a picturesque barn set back from the street, will end-up being a big parking lot with a squat, out-sized institutional-looking building set square in the middle.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;" >Impact on Property Values</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br style="font-weight:bold;"> Why do prospective home-buyers come to Pimmit Hills? Is it to find a comfortable place to live amongst nearby homes with kids playing in yards, or is it to find a government-run 24/7 care facility populated with persons from whom neighborhood children are likely to be warned to stay far away? What do </span><span style="font-weight:bold;font-style:italic;font-size:100%;" >you</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> think the County's proposed project will do to neighborhood property values?<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;" >Proposed and Future Occupancy</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />County officials are claiming its group-home is intended to house six (6) residents. That number does not include full-time operating staff. What happens in the future should the County face budget constraints, changes in policy, etc.? Doubling-up would be easy, but that means there would then be 12 persons in residence.<br />Who can predict the maximum number of persons the County may end-up wanting to place in its Pimmit Hills facility, especially if at some future time the County decides it wants to expand and enlarge the structure it then already has in place? Once the County is <span style="font-style: italic;">in situ</span> and already operating a residence facility, it will likely proceed to do with the property as it pleases without further consultation with PHCA or anyone else in Pimmit Hills.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;" >Lighting</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />County officials are silent on the subject of lighting. Right now, the barn is totally dark at night offering zero impact on the neighborhood environment. The proposed facility and its parking areas will no doubt be ablaze all night with the latest high-tech lighting in keeping with the most current security protocols.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;" >Lofty Motives, Political Realities: <span style="font-style:italic;">Follow The Money!</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />Lofty, altruistic motives aside about `helping people,' the politics behind creating these government-run group-homes is such that these facilities, at their core, are vehicles for which literally billions of dollars annually in federal and state subsidies </span><span style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;" >(<a href="http://www.thearcofva.org/docs/2011_hhr_comm.pdf">$2.222 Billion in Virginia alone</a>)</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> are administered, the bulk of which monies are ultimately funneled to those who run the politically-connected so-called `not-for-profit' organizations to which local governments contract-out the day-to-day operations at these facilities. <<<<<</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:110%;" >For more information check out the following Web sites and Government documents:</span><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Pimmit Hills Observer:</span> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.pimmithillsnews.blogspot.com/">http://www.pimmithillsnews.blogspot.com/</a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Yahoo! Pimmit Hills Moms and Dads Group:<br /></span> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pimmithillsmomsanddads/">http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pimmithillsmomsanddads/</a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services:</span> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.dbhds.virginia.gov/">http://www.dbhds.virginia.gov/</a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Fairfax-Falls Church Community Service Board:</span> <span style="font-style:italic;">`2011 Housing Needs Report',</span> Published: September 2011: <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/csb/reports/housing-report.pdf">http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/csb/reports/housing-report.pdf</a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">VA. Dept. BHDS --</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">`FY 2010 Resource Deployment'; </span><span>PDF pg. 16:</span><span style="font-style:italic;"><br /></span> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.thearcofva.org/docs/2011_hhr_comm.pdf">http://www.thearcofva.org/docs/2011_hhr_comm.pdf</a>The Frace-Heller Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13701098681782498885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7441159591972925496.post-53043841922596299682012-03-02T16:04:00.098-05:002012-03-03T18:01:37.667-05:00PHCA Board Revokes Spousal Voting Rights Days Before Controversial Halfway-House Vote<span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">Couples Who Formerly Had Two Votes at Town Meeting;</span><br style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Now Have "Only One".</span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >PHCA Board Disenfranchises All Domestic Partners Who Planned to Vote March 6th.</span><br style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">By The Frace-Heller Family<br />Published: Friday, March 2, 2012</span><br /><br />Pimmit Hills, Falls Church, VA -- With just 4 days to go before the <span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Pimmit Hills Citizens' Association</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> is scheduled to take a vote of its membership on whether or not to approve a controversial proposal by the </span><span id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687753" style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Fairfax County Board of Supervisors</span> to build and run a halfway-house/group-home facility in Pimmit Hills, the directors of the citizens' association suddenly and without notice to members that they were considering such a move, authorized disenfranchisement of potentially half of PHCA's entire voting membership -- spouses and domestic partners -- who up until now shared equal voting rights at PHCA's Town Meetings with the head of their household under PHCA's By-Laws.<br /><p id="yui_3_2_0_17_1330751565687360"><span id="yui_3_2_0_17_1330751565687378" style="font-size:100%;">Up until yesterday, a neighborhood resident applying online for "Pimmit Hills Resident Family Membership" would pay $20 entitling the applicant at that "membership level" to receive a membership "bundle" for "up to two members" for one year. </span></p> <p id="yui_3_2_0_17_1330751565687321"><span style="font-size:100%;">The application form clearly specifies, "This membership level is for 2 adults residing at the same address." For those two new members the application also recommends the convenience that "each can have different email addresses to log on to the website".<br /></span><span id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687339" style="font-size:100%;"><br /><span id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687221">On another Web page, association officials tout further the benefits and privileges of membership, holding-out the carrot to non-members the guarantee that: "If you are a Pimmit Hills </span></span>resident, become a member and obtain voting rights at PHCA town meetings."<span id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687348" style="font-size:100%;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687460" style="font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SEE:</span> <a href="http://www.pimmithills.org/about-phca">http://www.pimmithills.org/about-phca</a></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">The following reproduces the application form that for months (if not years) has served as PHCA's official online membership application:</span></p> <p id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687355"><b id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687354"><span id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687353" style="font-size:85%;"></span></b></p><blockquote><p id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687355"><b id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687354"><span id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687353" style="font-size:85%;">Thank you for supporting your community!</span></b></p> <p id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687367"> <span id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687366" style="font-size:100%;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687365" style="font-weight: bold;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687364">Select membership level <span style="font-size:85%;">*Mandatory fields</span><br /></span></span></span></p> <div id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687248" class="fieldLabel"> <span id="ctl03_FunctionalBlock1_ctl00_memberApplicationMain_ctl00_stepTemplate_atLeastOneLevelSelected" class="mandatorySymbol">*</span> <strong id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687424" class="mandatoryLabel"> Membership level </strong> </div> <div id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687428" class="fieldItem"> <span id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687463" class="typeRadioContainer"> <input class="typeRadio" id="ctl03_FunctionalBlock1_ctl00_memberApplicationMain_ctl00_stepTemplate_levelListView_membershipLevelsRepeater_ctl00_membershipLevelRadio" name="membershipLevel" value="ctl03$FunctionalBlock1$ctl00$memberApplicationMain$ctl00$stepTemplate$levelListView$membershipLevelsRepeater$ctl00$membershipLevelRadio" type="radio"> </span> <span id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687427" class="label"> <label id="ctl03_FunctionalBlock1_ctl00_memberApplicationMain_ctl00_stepTemplate_levelListView_membershipLevelsRepeater_ctl00_membershipLevelRadioLabel" class="levelProperties" for="ctl03_FunctionalBlock1_ctl00_memberApplicationMain_ctl00_stepTemplate_levelListView_membershipLevelsRepeater_ctl00_membershipLevelRadio"> <span class="textLine"> <strong class="labelTitle"> <span id="ctl03_FunctionalBlock1_ctl00_memberApplicationMain_ctl00_stepTemplate_levelListView_membershipLevelsRepeater_ctl00_levelView_levelLabel">Non-Resident Member</span> </strong> <strong class="labelSubTitle"> <span id="ctl03_FunctionalBlock1_ctl00_memberApplicationMain_ctl00_stepTemplate_levelListView_membershipLevelsRepeater_ctl00_levelView_price" class="levelPrice">- $25.00 (USD)</span></strong></span><br /><span class="textLine"> <span id="ctl03_FunctionalBlock1_ctl00_memberApplicationMain_ctl00_stepTemplate_levelListView_membershipLevelsRepeater_ctl00_levelView_renewal" class="levelRenewal">Subscription period: 1 year</span></span><br /><span class="textLine"><span id="ctl03_FunctionalBlock1_ctl00_memberApplicationMain_ctl00_stepTemplate_levelListView_membershipLevelsRepeater_ctl00_levelView_recurring" class="levelRecurring">Automatic renewal (recurring payments)</span></span><br /><span class="textLine extraInfo"><span id="ctl03_FunctionalBlock1_ctl00_memberApplicationMain_ctl00_stepTemplate_levelListView_membershipLevelsRepeater_ctl00_levelView_description" class="levelDescription">For those NOT living in Pimmit Hills, such as owners of PH houses who live elsewhere, businesses and friends of Pimmit Hills.</span></span></label></span></div><br /><div id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687446" class="fieldItem"> <span class="typeRadioContainer"> <input class="typeRadio" id="ctl03_FunctionalBlock1_ctl00_memberApplicationMain_ctl00_stepTemplate_levelListView_membershipLevelsRepeater_ctl01_membershipLevelRadio" name="membershipLevel" value="ctl03$FunctionalBlock1$ctl00$memberApplicationMain$ctl00$stepTemplate$levelListView$membershipLevelsRepeater$ctl01$membershipLevelRadio" type="radio"> </span> <span id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687445" class="label"> <label id="ctl03_FunctionalBlock1_ctl00_memberApplicationMain_ctl00_stepTemplate_levelListView_membershipLevelsRepeater_ctl01_membershipLevelRadioLabel" class="levelProperties" for="ctl03_FunctionalBlock1_ctl00_memberApplicationMain_ctl00_stepTemplate_levelListView_membershipLevelsRepeater_ctl01_membershipLevelRadio"> <span class="textLine"> <strong class="labelTitle"> <span id="ctl03_FunctionalBlock1_ctl00_memberApplicationMain_ctl00_stepTemplate_levelListView_membershipLevelsRepeater_ctl01_levelView_levelLabel">Pimmit Hills Resident Family Membership</span> </strong> <strong class="labelSubTitle"> <span id="ctl03_FunctionalBlock1_ctl00_memberApplicationMain_ctl00_stepTemplate_levelListView_membershipLevelsRepeater_ctl01_levelView_price" class="levelPrice">- $20.00 (USD)</span></strong></span><br /><span class="textLine"><span id="ctl03_FunctionalBlock1_ctl00_memberApplicationMain_ctl00_stepTemplate_levelListView_membershipLevelsRepeater_ctl01_levelView_group" class="levelBundle">Bundle (up to 2 members)</span></span><br /><span class="textLine"><span id="ctl03_FunctionalBlock1_ctl00_memberApplicationMain_ctl00_stepTemplate_levelListView_membershipLevelsRepeater_ctl01_levelView_renewal" class="levelRenewal">Subscription period: 1 year</span></span><br /><span class="textLine"> <span id="ctl03_FunctionalBlock1_ctl00_memberApplicationMain_ctl00_stepTemplate_levelListView_membershipLevelsRepeater_ctl01_levelView_recurring" class="levelRecurring">Automatic renewal (recurring payments)</span></span><br /><span class="textLine extraInfo"><span id="ctl03_FunctionalBlock1_ctl00_memberApplicationMain_ctl00_stepTemplate_levelListView_membershipLevelsRepeater_ctl01_levelView_description" class="levelDescription">This membership level is for 2 adults residing at the same address.<br />Each can have different email addresses to log on to the website.</span></span></label></span></div><br /><div id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687440" class="fieldItem"><span id="yui_3_2_0_17_1330751565687276" class="typeRadioContainer"> <input class="typeRadio" id="ctl03_FunctionalBlock1_ctl00_memberApplicationMain_ctl00_stepTemplate_levelListView_membershipLevelsRepeater_ctl02_membershipLevelRadio" name="membershipLevel" value="ctl03$FunctionalBlock1$ctl00$memberApplicationMain$ctl00$stepTemplate$levelListView$membershipLevelsRepeater$ctl02$membershipLevelRadio" type="radio"></span><span id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687439" class="label"><label id="ctl03_FunctionalBlock1_ctl00_memberApplicationMain_ctl00_stepTemplate_levelListView_membershipLevelsRepeater_ctl02_membershipLevelRadioLabel" class="levelProperties" for="ctl03_FunctionalBlock1_ctl00_memberApplicationMain_ctl00_stepTemplate_levelListView_membershipLevelsRepeater_ctl02_membershipLevelRadio"><span id="yui_3_2_0_17_1330751565687263" class="textLine"> <strong id="yui_3_2_0_17_1330751565687262" class="labelTitle"><span id="ctl03_FunctionalBlock1_ctl00_memberApplicationMain_ctl00_stepTemplate_levelListView_membershipLevelsRepeater_ctl02_levelView_levelLabel"> Pimmit Hills Resident Membership</span></strong><strong class="labelSubTitle"><span id="ctl03_FunctionalBlock1_ctl00_memberApplicationMain_ctl00_stepTemplate_levelListView_membershipLevelsRepeater_ctl02_levelView_price" class="levelPrice">- $20.00 (USD)</span></strong></span><br /><span id="yui_3_2_0_17_1330751565687291" class="textLine"> <span id="ctl03_FunctionalBlock1_ctl00_memberApplicationMain_ctl00_stepTemplate_levelListView_membershipLevelsRepeater_ctl02_levelView_renewal" class="levelRenewal">Subscription period: 1 year</span></span><br /><span id="yui_3_2_0_17_1330751565687298" class="textLine"><span id="ctl03_FunctionalBlock1_ctl00_memberApplicationMain_ctl00_stepTemplate_levelListView_membershipLevelsRepeater_ctl02_levelView_recurring" class="levelRecurring">Automatic renewal (recurring payments)</span> </span><br /><span class="textLine extraInfo"> <span id="ctl03_FunctionalBlock1_ctl00_memberApplicationMain_ctl00_stepTemplate_levelListView_membershipLevelsRepeater_ctl02_levelView_description" class="levelDescription">For homeowners and renters currently living in Pimmit Hills.</span></span></label></span></div></blockquote><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">SEE:</span> <a href="http://tinyurl.com/89rqsam">http://tinyurl.com/89rqsam</a></span><br /><br />That was yesterday's membership application form; today's is displayed below. Speaking of the term "members" as used in the above-mentioned "Bundle (up to 2 members)", it is appropriate here to cite PHCA's By-Laws and Amendments, specifically Article I, Sections 1-5:<br /><p id="yui_3_2_0_17_1330751565687237" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><strong id="yui_3_2_0_17_1330751565687236"><span id="yui_3_2_0_17_1330751565687235" style="font-size:85%;"></span></strong></p><blockquote><p id="yui_3_2_0_17_1330751565687237" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><strong id="yui_3_2_0_17_1330751565687236"><span id="yui_3_2_0_17_1330751565687235" style="font-size:85%;">Article I. Membership.</span></strong></p> <span id="yui_3_2_0_17_1330751565687228" style="font-size:85%;">1. Membership shall be open to all residents and non-resident property owners of single family homes within Pimmit Hills. Pimmit Hills is defined as that area within the boundaries of Route 7, Magarity Road, the Dulles Access Road and Pimmit Run. Members shall be eighteen or more years of age.<br /><br /></span> <p id="yui_3_2_0_17_1330751565687223" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_17_1330751565687222" style="font-size:85%;">2. Membership shall be annual and will be granted upon payment of an annual membership fee effective from September 1 through August 31 of each year. At the annual meeting each year, membership fees will be determined for the next year.</span></p> <span id="yui_3_2_0_17_1330751565687215" style="font-size:85%;">3. Voting shall be limited to members. Members shall not have proxy, absentee, or cumulative voting privileges.<br /><br /></span> <p id="yui_3_2_0_17_1330751565687210" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_17_1330751565687209" style="font-size:85%;">4. The membership shall have the right to elect all officers and directors of the corporation.</span></p> <p id="yui_3_2_0_17_1330751565687202" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_17_1330751565687201" style="font-size:85%;">5. The membership shall have the sole right, subject to the requirements of a quorum and majority as hereinafter provided.</span></p> <blockquote style="margin-right: 0px;" dir="ltr"> <p id="yui_3_2_0_17_1330751565687188" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_17_1330751565687187" style="font-size:85%;">a) To determine the policy of the corporation.<br />b) To authorize expenditure of corporate funds except as otherwise provided herein.<br />c) To authorize the corporation to enter into any contract, agreement or arrangement of any kind or nature.</span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" dir="ltr"><p id="yui_3_2_0_17_1330751565687188" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><span id="yui_3_2_0_17_1330751565687187" style="font-size:85%;"></span></p> </blockquote> <span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">SEE:</span></span> <a id="yui_3_2_0_17_1330751565687247" href="http://www.pimmithills.org/phca-bylaws"><span id="yui_3_2_0_17_1330751565687246" style="font-size:85%;">http://www.pimmithills.org/phca-bylaws</span></a><br /><br />Today Friday, writing about the March 6th Town Meeting on the PHCA Website's homepage and the upcoming vote on the County's controversial group-home proposal for Cherri Drive, PHCA officials are emphatic: there is to be <span id="yui_3_2_0_17_1330751565687383" style="font-weight: bold;">"Only one vote per household."</span><br /><span id="yui_3_2_0_17_1330751565687389" style="font-size:85%;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_17_1330751565687388" style="font-weight: bold;">SEE:</span> <a href="http://www.pimmithills.org/">http://www.pimmithills.org/</a></span><br /><br />That defining restriction will by itself disenfranchise half of every pair of PHCA members who had earlier signed up under PHCA's longstanding Pimmit Hills Resident Family Membership 'bundle' believing they had in fact contracted for as long as they kept their annual membership dues up to date (and unless changed by a vote of the membership) to have <span style="font-weight: bold;">two</span> votes should their <span style="font-weight: bold;">household</span> contain two adults.<br /><br />The following is the new membership application that online greets prospective members now seeking to join the association, including those who will likely be waiting until the last minute to become members on the day of the upcoming vote so they can have an official say in the day's Town Meeting.<br /><br />Please note the glaring omission in PHCA's 'new' Resident Member & Family Membership: the 2-member 'bundle' is no longer being offered (nor even is it mentioned).<br /><blockquote><span id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687470" style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Become a member of the Pimmit Hills Citizens Association (PHCA). Membership levels are: </span> <ul id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687478"><li id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687477"><b id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687476"><span id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687475" style="color:#006600;">RESIDENT MEMBER & FAMILY MEMBERSHIP</span> (Yearly Dues: $20)</b></li><li id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687491" style="list-style-type: none; display: inline;"> <ul id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687490"><li id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687489">All homeowners and renters currently living in Pimmit Hills</li><li id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687500">Family Membership enables two different email addresses to access the website</li></ul><br /></li><li id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687506"><b id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687505"><span id="yui_3_2_0_17_1330751565687146" style="color:#006600;">NON-RESIDENT MEMBER</span> (Yearly dues: $25)</b></li><li id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687515" style="list-style-type: none; display: inline;"> <ul id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687514"><li id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687513">Owners of Pimmit Hills houses who don't live in Pimmit Hills</li><li id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687524">Former residents</li><li id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687529">Local businesses</li><li id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687534">Friends of Pimmit Hills</li></ul></li></ul></blockquote><span id="yui_3_2_0_17_1330751565687117" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">SEE:</span> <a id="yui_3_2_0_17_1330751565687116" href="http://www.pimmithills.org/join-phca">http://www.pimmithills.org/join-phca</a></span><br /><br />When PHCA board members were contacted Friday for comment about this matter, one refused to take any questions or make any statement whatsoever, and another failed even to return the call.<br /><br />Voter disenfranchisement is serious business. So is wholesale violation of a citizens' association's By-Laws by members of its own board. Various laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia may apply in the instant matter: Breach of contract; violation of Virginia's Consumer Protection Act, etc.. The arbitrary actions taken this past week by PHCA's board are also sure to focus member attention on another article in PHCA's By-Laws and Amendments, specifically Article IV, Section 5, which reads as follows:<br /><blockquote><strong id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687616"><span id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687615" style="font-size:85%;">Article IV. Officers.</span></strong><br /><span id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687327" style="font-size:85%;">5. An officer may be removed from office only for cause upon the written complaint of a member or members. Such complaint shall be submitted at a regular membership meeting. A hearing on the charge or charges, before the membership, shall be scheduled for the next regular membership meeting or at a special membership meeting not less than two weeks or more than six weeks after submission of the complaint and only after notice to the membership of said complaint. Disposition of the charge or charges shall be determined by secret, written ballot of three-fourths of the members present and voting.</span></blockquote><span id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687310" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" >SEE: </span><a id="yui_3_2_0_17_133075156568770" href="http://www.pimmithills.org/phca-bylaws">http://www.pimmithills.org/phca-bylaws</a></span><span id="yui_3_2_0_17_133075156568775" style="font-size:85%;"><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Contact: </span><a href="mailto:fungible1@verizon.net">The Frace-Heller Family</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Websites:</span> <a href="http://www.pimmithillsnews.blogspot.com/">The Pimmit Hills Observer</a></span><a href="http://www.pimmithillsnews.blogspot.com/"></a><br /><span id="yui_3_2_0_17_133075156568775" style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pimmithillsmomsanddads/">Yahoo! Pimmit Hills Moms and Dads Group</a><br /></span><span id="yui_3_2_0_14_1330751565687310" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><a href="http://www.pimmithills.org/phca-bylaws"></a></span>The Frace-Heller Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13701098681782498885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7441159591972925496.post-27716718057868130592012-02-16T18:24:00.231-05:002012-02-28T04:16:19.544-05:00County's Group-Home 'Clients' CAN'T Be Placed Privately<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">CSB's Dirty Secret: That's why they're in county-run facilities!</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><br /></div><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">Ankle Bracelet </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Chíc.</span> Is Your Pimmit Hills Property's Value in Danger?</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: right; font-weight: bold;">Check Out These Links:<br /></div><div style="text-align: right; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><i style="font-weight: bold;"> <a href="http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/csb/reports/housing-report.pdf">CSB's '2011 Housing Needs Report'</a></i><br /><b><a href="http://www.pimmithills.org/">Pimmit Hills Citizens Association</a></b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b>PHCA:</b> <a href="http://www.pimmithills.org/phca_board_blog?mode=PostView&bmi=793100">'Notes and thoughts from the Pimmit Barn Redevelopment Meeting' by <strong>PHCA Pres. Martz</strong> </a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: right;"><b>PHCA:</b> <a href="http://www.pimmithills.org/phca_board_blog?mode=PostView&bmi=805282">'A PH family opposes group home on the old barn site on Cherri Drive'<br /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: right;">plus <a href="http://www.pimmithills.org/phca_board_blog?mode=PostView&bmi=805282"> <b style="font-weight: normal;">'Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board responds'</b></a><br /><b><a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pimmithillsmoms/">Yahoo! Pimmit Hills Moms Group</a><br /><a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pimmithillsmomsanddads/">Yahoo! Pimmit Hills Moms and Dads Group</a><br /><a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pimmithillsmoms/surveys?id=3087082">Vote in the 'Pimmit Hills Moms' Poll</a><br />Google Satellite Image: </b><b><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=1845+cherri+drive,+falls+church,+va+22043&hl=en&ll=38.915371,-77.206196&spn=0.002258,0.004823&sll=0,0&sspn=136.927415,316.054688&hnear=1845+Cherri+Dr,+Falls+Church,+Virginia+22043&t=h&z=18">1845 Cherri Drive (Milk Barn)</a><br /></b><span style="font-weight: bold;">More Links below!</span><br style="font-weight: bold;"><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Post Comments Below</span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPpvOQ_M5TnU_kDmitqoHQDqGkGOqClfH7OZk8P0VCB1Uegu_b_mheneT8nHIAJfnvnN2M1_X3q5PqRE0su1TKQIPvuj03O5BcaRfQJq_P89ksL-d1WK5c9b-Tn-apm6Sd-Ve5xroaKxhE/s1600/anklebracelet.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 206px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPpvOQ_M5TnU_kDmitqoHQDqGkGOqClfH7OZk8P0VCB1Uegu_b_mheneT8nHIAJfnvnN2M1_X3q5PqRE0su1TKQIPvuj03O5BcaRfQJq_P89ksL-d1WK5c9b-Tn-apm6Sd-Ve5xroaKxhE/s320/anklebracelet.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709919653332754434" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">What may soon be a common sight on Cherri Drive if CSB's 'halfway-house' gets built in Pimmit Hills. </span></span><br style="font-weight: bold;"></div></div><div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:small;"><b><br />Mark your calendar:</b></span><br /></div><span style="font-size:130%;"><div style="text-align: left; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size:large;"><b>Tuesday, March 6, 2012 at 7:30 p.m.</b> </span><br /><span style="font-size:large;">Pimmit Hills Citizens Association Meeting to Vote on This Matter! </span><br /><span style="font-size:large;"><b>Pimmit Hills Senior Center</b></span><br /><span style="font-size:large;"><b>7510 Lisle Avenue</b></span><br /><span style="font-size:large;"><b>Falls Church, VA 22043</b></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">(<a href="http://maps.yahoo.com/#tt=&q=7510+Lisle+Ave%2C+Falls+Church%2C+VA++22043-1050&conf=1&start=1&lat=38.91658&lon=-77.204948&zoom=16&mvt=m&trf=0">Yahoo! Map locator</a>)</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">By The Frace-Heller Family</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br style="font-family:arial;"></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Published: February 16, 2012<br />Updated: February 20, 2012 <br style="font-family:arial;"></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br face="arial"></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">To All Pimmit Hills Moms and Dads,</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br face="arial"><br face="arial"></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board</span> ("CSB") is refusing to provide a list of the locations of its halfway-house/group-home facilities, claiming that by doing so would somehow violate the civil rights of CSB's 'clients'. CSB officials have cited <span style="font-weight: bold;">'Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968' ("The Fair Housing Act")</span>, as well as </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">the <span style="font-weight: bold;">'Health Information Privacy Protection Act' ("HIPPA")</span>, which protects privacy of an individual's specific health information. We have attempted to get from CSB the specific citations within those respective Acts which CSB is claiming buttress their refusal to divulge the locations of what in essence are government-owned and/or government-operated buildings.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Surveying Neighbors in Other CSB Halfway-House Communities</span><br />The reason we think it is important to know actual addresses for Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board's halfway-house/group-home facilities in Fairfax County is so that Pimmit Hills taxpayers may have the opportunity to inquire of people -- neighbors -- who already live nearby such facilities. How does one go about surveying CSB's neighbors if one doesn't know the exact location of CSB's facilities?</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br face="arial"><br face="arial"></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Why the big secret anyway? Why do county officials have a problem with Pimmit Hills residents surveying fellow taxpayers who happen to be living beside CSB facilities? What is the problem asking friendly questions neighbor-to-neighbor about the appropriateness, desirability, and financial impact of having such a facility in one's midst? <span style="font-weight: bold;">Remember, these CSB group-homes are caretaker facilities for persons Fairfax County is NOT able to place anywhere else and certainly not into private circumstances.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors</span> ("The County") and the Community Services Board apparently expect Pimmit Hills residents to take officials' collective word that long-term impacts of a 24/7 CSB operation in Pimmit Hills would have negligible impact on residents, on the surrounding neighborhood, on quality-of-life, and on property values.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Accepting the County's 'Assurances'</span><br />Despite assurances given by County officials, The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has ultimate legal and political jurisdiction over whether proposed CSB projects go forward -- NOT the local communities into which these halfway-houses/group-homes are inserted.<br /><br />This means, for example, that <span style="font-weight: bold;">Pimmit Hills Citizens Association</span> ("PHCA") members can take a vote on the matter, but such poll is only advisory and is not legally binding upon County officials.<br /><br />PH residents are also being asked to accept County officials' 'guarantees' regarding the alleged 'permanent' number of CSB "clients" that will be residing within the premises, what the place will look like once built, and just how the operation will be run day-to-day. In its '<a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/csb/reports/housing-report.pdf">2011 Housing Needs Report</a>' ("The Report"), CSB defines "clients" as <span style="font-style: italic;">"people with intellectual disabilities, mental illness or substance use disorders"</span>.<br /><br />A big problem is that certain aspects of what county officials are presently telling the public make little or NO sense. For example, CSB claims in its Report that it is moving away from 'place-based' assistance -- meaning supervised group-homes and halfway-houses like the type being proposed for Pimmit Hills -- to a system whereby needed services <span style="font-weight: bold;">are brought to</span> CSB clients wherever they happen to be.<br /><br />CSB's Report states that: <span style="font-style: italic;">"Instead of operating residential 'programs,' make supportive services independent from existing housing so clients can change service levels but retain their housing and vice versa."</span> (SEE: Report: PDF pg. 4); and also that: <span style="font-style: italic;">"One key policy consideration will be 'de-linking‛ supportive services from existing housing."</span> (SEE: Report: PDF pg. 24).<br /><br />Yet, County and CSB officials are assuring everyone that the proposed Cherri Drive group home will be dedicated to providing full-time assistance to aging citizens in need of such assistance. Further, according to the Report, CSB's need for client housing is growing.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Difficulty in Placing Many CSB 'Clients'</span><br />What is of greater significance, though, to Pimmit Hills residents is this: According to CSB's Report, it is extremely difficult to place CSB clients who have had <span style="font-style: italic;">"interactions with the criminal justice system"</span> into privately-owned facilities. The same holds true for CSB clients with particular psychological illnesses that, if not consistently controlled, can result in violent or otherwise dangerous behaviors.<br /><br />Therefore, government-run facilities, like the one proposed for Pimmit Hills, appear to be the only real option for persons for whom criminality, substance abuse, violence, or severe psychological problems have been a way of life. (Note: If CSB is allowed to build a halfway-house on Cherri Drive, how long before ankle bracelets are a common sight on CSB clients hanging-out around that facility on a sunny day?)<br /><br />If there are no risk factors associated with the aging citizens we are being told would populate CSB's Pimmit Hills facility, then why are these people even being considered for placement in a secured government-run facility rather than in private facilities where they could just as easily and more economically be provided for with assistance services 'brought to them' as envisioned in CSB's Report, and paid for with CSB, state and/or federal subsidies?<br /><br />The point we are trying to make is that if an otherwise well-behaved elderly or mentally-disabled CSB client is merely low-income and needs a place to live, there are private facilities into which CSB can place these persons, and the government (federal, state, local) provides subsidies that pay for it. The fact is private placement is preferred precisely because it is more cost-effective than having to maintain an individual in an expensive government-run facility.<br /><br />A halfway-house/group-home like the one CSB is proposing for Pimmit Hills is going to end-up being for people who, even if elderly, are NOT able to be placed into private circumstances. It might be for reasons associated with those individuals having earlier in their lives had "interaction with the criminal justice system," or because they currently have severe drug addiction, or violent and/or psychotic and/or other anti-social behaviors.<br /><br />Private placement for such individuals, elderly or not, is far more difficult to arrange because, frankly, private operators do not want to have to deal with such problematic individuals; they don't want the liability, the aggravation, the danger inherent in dealing with out-of-control persons with a history of violent, erratic, and/or psychotic behaviors. Would you?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Future Occupancy</span><br />Even assuming County and CSB officials' intentions are 'pure' right now, what happens in the future should there be budget constraints, 'belt-tightening,' changes in leadership, etc.? One cost-saving avenue the politicians may pursue, for example, might be placing CSB's elderly clients, the ones the Cherri Drive facility is supposedly geared to have, into more cost-effective private rentals, thereby freeing-up beds in the Pimmit Hills facility for the more 'problematic' (read: deranged or violent) clients needing the closer supervision and greater security the Pimmit Hills facility is scheduled to provide.<br /><br />A similar scenario would have CSB doubling or tripling-up occupancy in its Pimmit Hills group-home, or even converting it to housing for ex-convicts and/or other potentially dangerous persons. Or worse, the county at some future date could decide to use CSB's institutional facilities as neighborhood settings for overflow 'non-violent' prisoners in pre-release from the County's possibly-overcrowded-in-the-future Adult Detention Center (formerly the County Jail).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">CSB's Lack of Transparency; Failure to Provide Even Simple Architectural Drawings of Proposed Project</span><br />In a family-oriented neighborhood, due diligence to protect our children's safety is paramount. If the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and CSB have nothing to hide, then providing location information on CSB's other group-homes/halfway-houses around the county for the purpose of enabling our neighbors to interview their neighbors should not be an issue.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> Transparency in a matter like this is everything.<br /><br face="arial"></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Another curious aspect of the present proposal is that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and CSB have conveniently not bothered to present a simple architectural rendering of what is being proposed for the Cherri Drive site. So far nothing in the way even of rough drawings has been forthcoming. Yet, this glaring omission by county officials has not prevented them still from seeking community approval of CSB's proposal by asking Pimmit Hills Citizens Association officials to poll association members at the upcoming March 6th PHCA meeting. Isn't this a classic example of 'putting the cart before the horse'?<br /><br />Some facts: The present Milk Barn measures 37 feet, 5 inches in depth (approx.) by 83 feet, 4 inches in length (approx.). These are the measurements we got using a surveyor's tape placed along the outer edge of the barn's cement block foundation. The Barn thus has a footprint of approximately 3,122 square feet. County and CSB officials are claiming that the proposed halfway-house/group-home will be a one-story structure with 4,000+ square-feet of usable living space.<br /><br />A simple plot plan showing the proposed structure's footprint, setbacks, areas designated for parking, lighting, outbuildings, etc. would at minimum seem to be the politic thing to do for politicians and government officials claiming to be acting in good faith. Is it reasonable or even logical for officials to ask a local community to vote on a project potentially disruptive to quality-of-life in the neighborhood, and where long-term negative impact on property values is a near certainty -- and ask that all this be done sight-unseen of what the project is actually supposed to look like?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Handicap Accessibility and the 'Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990'</span><br />Regarding handicap accessibility: <span>The</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> 'Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990' ("ADA")</span> is applicable to all government-paid-for construction and in the case of new construction requires that exterior and interior features be fully ADA-compliant.<br /><br />In the case of new construction intended for dwelling and paid-for with taxpayer dollars, this means that every bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, hallway, and stairwell must be made fully ADA-compliant no matter the age or physical condition of those scheduled to be living on the premises.<br /><br />There appears to be misunderstanding amongst the general public for just how far-reaching the requirements of ADA actually are. For example, we received just yesterday an email from a Pimmit Hills resident who follows local issues closely and who took the time to attend CSB's 'informational meeting' this past January 11th at Lemon Road Elementary School.<br /><br />Here follows an excerpt from that email: <span style="font-style: italic;">"It doesn't make sense to me for the county to incur the expense of building a new-ADA compliant home for 6 elderly adults (as they are claiming they will do) just to turn around and use that home for people who have had interactions with the criminal justice system, but have no physical disabilities. I support the proposal to make the home an ADA-compliant residence for elderly disabled people with no criminal history."</span><br /><br />Where the concerned email writer is mistaken is in the assumption that the County Board of Supervisors and CSB, once the decision has been made to construct a group-home, somehow have a choice in whether to build a fully-ADA-compliant structure or one that is either minimally or not ADA-compliant at all, in order of course to save the County the extra costs associated with building to full ADA standards. The writer also appears to presume that if the building were intended to house only persons in tip-top physical condition rather than those with disabilities, that ADA-compliance would then not be necessary at all and could even somehow be waived altogether, thus saving County taxpayers all that added ADA-related expense. <span style="font-weight: bold;">The answer to all these eminently logical presumptions: Not so!</span><br /><br />The fact is that under the Americans with Disabilities Act, signed into law, July 26, 1990, by Pres. George H. W. Bush, any and all new construction that is in any way paid for or subsidized by federal, state, or local government monies must -- repeat: MUST -- be made FULLY ADA-COMPLIANT. In the case of a residential structure paid for with government money, that means regardless of who the intended occupants are meant to be <span>and</span> <span>regardless of whether or not any of those occupants actually have disabilities,</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">the residence must still meet full ADA-compliance</span>!<br /><br />In the case of the group-home proposed for Pimmit Hills (or for any CSB-inspired residential construction anywhere in the county), that means that should the County Board of Supervisors opt to commit to the project, then <span>Fairfax County and CSB are required, by law, to build the structure fully ADA-compliant,</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">even if the new building is never once used by anyone with a physical disability!</span><br /><br />Of course, this all seems counter-intuitive and incredibly wasteful of taxpayer dollars, but that is how the law is written -- and as the saying goes, "Write your Congressman". So, whether it's for old folks in wheelchairs or for 'former' M-13 gang-bangers capable of bench-pressing 350 pounds, any new residence that CSB builds is required to be fully ADA-compliant.<br /><br />It also means that all things being equal, an elderly CSB client who is kindly and well-behaved, is not going to have any difficulty whatsoever being placed by CSB into ADA-compliant private circumstances, and that CSB is going to reserve its expensive security-focused accommodations like the one proposed at Cherri Drive, for those clients -- elderly or not, handicapped or not -- who CSB is <span style="font-weight: bold;">unable</span> to place anywhere else, and who therefore need to be living in closely-monitored, 'controlled' circumstances.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Parking</span><br />In re parking: Fairfax County's building code requires that there be vehicle parking on-site, NOT on-street, sufficient for the maximum number of persons expected to reside on the premises, along with parking spaces sufficient to accommodate all on-duty staff (24/7 for the proposed Cherri Drive facility), emergency vehicles, as well as visitors.<br /><br />In the event CSB doubles or triples-up on occupancy in the coming years, more parking spaces per the code would have to be created on the parcel itself in order to accommodate that increased number of residents. Cherri Drive simply cannot handle that volume of street parking in addition to the needs of the taxpaying residents. It's very likely that if CSB gets the go-ahead on its proposal, that what is now a mostly grass-covered Barn site will end-up being one big parking lot with an out-sized institutional-looking structure set squarely in the middle or just to the rear.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lighting</span><br />Regarding the exterior of the proposed structure, county officials are silent on the subject of lighting. Right now, the Milk Barn is totally dark at night offering zero impact on the neighborhood's nighttime environment. The proposed new building and parking areas will no doubt be ablaze all night with the latest in high-tech lighting -- a glaringly charming addition to Cherri Drive, don't you think?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Impact on Property Values</span><br />On the matter of property values, let us be frank: What would a prospective home-buyer coming to Pimmit Hills be looking for? Is it a comfortable place amongst nearby homes with kids playing in yards, or is it living beside a government-run 24/7 care facility populated with institutionalized 'clients' from which neighborhood children are warned to stay far away?<br /><br />For all these reasons, we believe it important for Pimmit Hills taxpayers to be able to survey families in neighborhoods where CSB's other care facilities are located. These other neighborhoods' folks are the ones who can be counted on -- not high-level County officials who likely live miles away from any of this -- to provide an unvarnished view of what it's like day-to-day living beside a CSB operation, and who also can be counted on to know whether or not their property values have been impacted.<br /><br />Thanks to all of you for your time on this matter.<br /><br />Sincerely yours,<br /><br />The Frace-Heller Family<br />Pimmit Hills<br />Falls Church, VA 22043<br /><a href="mailto:fungible1@verizon.net">Contact via e-mail</a><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">or Post Comment Below.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></span></span></div></span></div></div>The Frace-Heller Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13701098681782498885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7441159591972925496.post-18978669624793857292012-02-16T18:10:00.014-05:002012-02-28T04:18:33.057-05:00CSB Refuses to Release List of Other CSB-Run Halfway-Houses<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Decision on CSB Group-Home Rests With </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" >County Board of Supervisors</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;"> NOT Pimmit-Hills Community</span></span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">By The Frace-Heller Family</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Originally published: January 26, 2012</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">To all Pimmit Hill Moms and Dads:</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> (CSB) is refusing to release a list of addresses for its 'group home' facilities in Fairfax County.</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">A request was made today to CSB officials seeking addresses for CSB's group home properties so that inquiries could be made in the respective surrounding neighborhoods as to just what kind of neighbor a CSB group home actually is; and also inquiring of the surrounding neighborhood whether if neighbors had it to do over again, would they agree to allow CSB to come in and construct a group-home in that respective neighborhood?</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">A CSB official at CSB's main office categorically refused the request for a list of addresses for CSB's group homes, claiming that to release such a list would compromise </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">"the civil rights"</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> of the residents of those group-homes.</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">When it was made plain that there would be no effort whatsoever to contact actual residents in any of the group homes on the list, but rather to communicate only with area neighbors in the respective neighborhoods, the CSB official would not budge in refusing access to the information.</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">ALSO: The same CSB official also revealed that whether or not citizens at the upcoming </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Pimmit Hills Citizens Association</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> (PHCA) meeting in March vote for or against the construction of a CSB group-home in Pimmit Hills, the ultimate decision </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">legally</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> rests solely with the </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Fairfax County Board of Supervisors</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> and NOT with the Pimmit Hills community.</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Very truly yours,</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The Frace-Heller Family</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Pimmit Hills</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Falls Church, VA 22043</span><br /><a href="mailto:fungible1@verizon.net">Contact via e-mail</a><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" href="mailto:hottomato@rocketmail.com"></a>The Frace-Heller Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13701098681782498885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7441159591972925496.post-17172197907426485632012-02-09T18:02:00.070-05:002012-02-28T04:25:06.422-05:00The Aging Parolees, Ex-Drug Dealers and Mentally Ill Up the Street (aka The proposed CSB 'group home' at the Cherri Drive milk barn)<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" >CSB Proposes Halfway-House to Replace Park Authority 'Barn' on Cherri Drive</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">How Politically-Connected 'Not-For-Profit' Execs Make $$$ Off CSB's 'Clients'</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:x-small;" ><span class="" id="yui_3_2_0_25_1328823940921784"> </span></span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><div style="text-align: right; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size:x-small;"><span class="" id="yui_3_2_0_25_1328823940921784"> </span></span><b>Check Out These Links:<br /></b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> <a href="http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/csb/reports/housing-report.pdf">CSB's '2011 Housing Needs Report'</a></i><br /><b><a href="http://www.pimmithills.org/">Pimmit Hills Citizens Association</a></b></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><div style="text-align: right;"><b>PHCA:</b> <a href="http://www.pimmithills.org/phca_board_blog?mode=PostView&bmi=793100">'Notes and thoughts from the Pimmit Barn Redevelopment Meeting'</a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: right;"><b>PHCA:</b> <a href="http://www.pimmithills.org/phca_board_blog?mode=PostView&bmi=805282">'A PH family opposes group home on the old barn site on Cherri Drive'<br /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: right;">plus <a href="http://www.pimmithills.org/phca_board_blog?mode=PostView&bmi=805282"> <b style="font-weight: normal;">'Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board responds'</b></a><br /><b><a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pimmithillsmoms/">Yahoo! Pimmit Hills Moms Group</a><br /><a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pimmithillsmomsanddads/">Yahoo! Pimmit Hills Moms and Dads Group</a><br />Google Satellite Image: </b><b><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=1845+cherri+drive,+falls+church,+va+22043&hl=en&ll=38.915371,-77.206196&spn=0.002258,0.004823&sll=0,0&sspn=136.927415,316.054688&hnear=1845+Cherri+Dr,+Falls+Church,+Virginia+22043&t=h&z=18">1845 Cherri Drive (Milk Barn)</a><br /></b><b>More Links below!<br />Post Comments Below<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz_mDHG_e3v_8OR0u3pZatORYI_9dWXC54qcT6hFHQFPxPchorbSUTl31XRxAi1z-Ys1JTPZNf71s0Jd6j2Fzdf8-H0YenNWGR_ICnuo5172QyOtf8ryn7zcdx-uxRyOmbZQ0VJVy7A3yY/s1600/PHBarn3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz_mDHG_e3v_8OR0u3pZatORYI_9dWXC54qcT6hFHQFPxPchorbSUTl31XRxAi1z-Ys1JTPZNf71s0Jd6j2Fzdf8-H0YenNWGR_ICnuo5172QyOtf8ryn7zcdx-uxRyOmbZQ0VJVy7A3yY/s400/PHBarn3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5707574168800545474" border="0" /></a></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size:xx-small;">The old Milk Barn at 1845 Cherri Drive in Pimmit Hills</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:xx-small;"><b>Photo Credit:</b> Frace-Heller Family</span><br /><span style="font-size:xx-small;">(Click on image to enlarge) </span></div><span style="font-size:small;"><b>Mark your calendar:</b> </span><br /><span style="font-size:large;"><b>Tuesday, March 6, 2012 at 7:30 p.m.</b> </span><br /><span style="font-size:large;">Pimmit Hills Citizens Association Meeting to Vote on This Matter! </span><br /><span style="font-size:large;"><b>Pimmit Hills Senior Center</b></span><br /><span style="font-size:large;"><b>7510 Lisle Avenue</b></span><br /><span style="font-size:large;"><b>Falls Church, VA 22043</b></span><br />(<a href="http://maps.yahoo.com/#tt=&q=7510+Lisle+Ave%2C+Falls+Church%2C+VA++22043-1050&conf=1&start=1&lat=38.91658&lon=-77.204948&zoom=16&mvt=m&trf=0">Yahoo! Map locator</a>).<br /><br />(The following letter was emailed to the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Pimmit Hills Citizens Association</span> and posted to the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Yahoo! Pimmit Hills Moms Group</span> on Sunday, January 22, 2012.)<br /><br />By The Frace-Heller Family<br />Originally Published: January 22, 2012<br /><br />To all Pimmit Hills Moms and Dads,<br /><br />When one considers the placement of a government-subsidized 'group-home', the real-life connotations for what that means better be thoroughly understood and reviewed with a healthy dose of skepticism.<br /><br />A facility run by the <span style="font-weight:bold;">Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board</span> (CSB) in conjunction with the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority</span> could, according to those entities' own published materials, be used to house <i>"people with intellectual disabilities, mental illness or substance use disorders,"</i> including people who are currently <i>"homeless"</i> living on the street.<br /><br />Despite assurances and promises from county officials to the contrary, this Cherri Drive facility could legally also be used as a half-way house for people who, in the words of CSB's <i>'2011 Housing Needs Report'</i>, have had <i>"Interaction with the criminal justice system"</i> -- meaning prison parolees, 'ex'-convicts, 'former' drug dealers, 'ex'-gang-bangers convicted of violent crimes, and 'ex'-sex-offenders.<br /><br />This type of group living facility may be great for downtown Fairfax, Annandale, Arlington, or industrial sections of these municipalities, but in a family neighborhood like Pimmit Hills, such government-run facilities could, and would, have a deleterious effect on real estate values and quality-of-life.<br /><br />Right now, for example, Cherri Drive between Magarity Road and Lisle Avenue, where the old milk barn sits and where the CSB facility would be constructed, is family-friendly with children playing on the sidewalk, side yards, backyards and front yards of local homes -- kids otherwise enjoying themselves unfettered to play just about anywhere they want up and down that neighborhood and neighborly street.<br /><br />Whereas, if parents now have to worry about a county-run group-home catering, for example, to pre-release felons coming from <i>"the custody of the attorney general"</i> (meaning from prison), then the likelihood is that parents will tell their kids to stay far away from <i>'that place'</i> and just hang out in the back yard.<br /><br />We know we will.<br /><br />Further, the proposed facility would be built to handle up to a dozen people and would be providing parking spaces for at least that many vehicles on what is now the lawn surrounding the barn.<br /><br />The Fairfax-Falls Church CSB and the affiliated <span>Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority</span> is run by the same county political machine which recently tried to ram a school bus maintenance facility down the neighborhood's collective throat when politicos wanted to convert a portion of the playing fields behind the Lisle Avenue <span style="font-weight: bold;">Pimmit Hills Senior Center</span> (the former PH High School) into a parking and a maintenance facility housing a large chunk of the county's school bus fleet.<br /><br />One could easily ask oneself why are Fairfax County public officials so intent on forcing upon Pimmit Hills these kinds of county facilities that have more than a little negative impact on private property values, and do nothing to improve local quality of neighborhood life for which Pimmit Hills' taxpayers pay so dearly in our local property taxes.<br /><br />No matter what county officials promise now in the way of the types of people who would be residing in the proposed CSB facility, once it is built, CSB can put <u>ANYONE</u> they want to live there. Further, there is <u>NOTHING</u> that the neighborhood can legally then do about it.<br /><br />Further, the motives for establishing these group homes may on the surface appear lofty, but as with all things political: <i>Follow The Money!</i><br /><br />No doubt the county politicos mouth high-sounding explanations rationalizing the need for these group-home facilities and expounding on their grand goals for same, <span style="font-weight:bold;">but the underlying economic and political reality is that these facilities are huge cash cows for those who are politically-connected!</span><br /><br />It is a fact that CSB and FCRHA contract out to tax-exempt, so-called <span style="font-style: italic;">'Not-For-Profit'</span> organizations to manage day-to-day operations at these facilities.<br /><br />The execs who run these NFP's invariably are on the receiving end of six-figure annual salaries with cushy perks and handsome pension, health, medical and dental benefits.<br /><br />No one should be surprised as well to find relatives and associates of county politicos and the politically-connected employed by these NFP's and in charge of managing these CSB-FCRHA group homes.<br /><br />Thus, lofty motives aside, the politics behind the creation of these group homes is that these facilities are, at their core, vehicles by which federal, state, municipal, and county monies ultimately funnel down to line the pockets of the politically-connected.<br /><br />If county officials truly want to make productive and positive use of the Cherri Drive property where the old barn sits, one suggestion would be simply to tear down the old building, plant grass, put in a couple benches, a nice 'jungle jim' and soccer net, and create a neighborhood playground on the near one-acre parcel, the kind of vest-pocket park that has proven successful in other Falls Church locations.<br /><br />Another suggestion is to put the parcel back on the tax rolls by selling the property at public auction to the highest bidder, who will no doubt build a couple million-dollar homes that would enhance the value of surrounding properties and simultaneously generate tax, water, and sewer revenues for the county.<br /><br />Think about this: Do you really want living up the block a dozen or so prison parolees, 'ex'-cons, 'former' drug addicts, 'ex'-gang-bangers, former street homeless, and others who have recently had <span style="font-style:italic;">"Interaction with the criminal justice system"</span>?<br /><br />Also, do you really want to deal with the line of visitors these group-home residents will likely introduce to the neighborhood?<br /><br /><b>Think:</b> Is this proposed project really worth any of the potential problems its presence may create?<br /><br /><b>Please</b>: Read CSB's own document, CSB's <i>2011 Housing Needs Report</i> and read it <span style="font-style: italic;">thoroughly</span>.<br />While so doing, remember to <i>read between the lines</i>, and more importantly, <i>follow the money!</i><br /><b>SEE:</b> <i>'2011 Housing Needs Report'</i>, Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board, September 2011:<br /><a href="http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/csb/reports/housing-report.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/csb/reports/housing-report.pdf</a><br /><br /><b>Look:</b> The following are just two examples of the many tax-exempt, so-called <i>'not-for-profit,'</i> organizations to which CSB contracts out services related to CSB group-homes and CSB programs. (Click on the organization's <i>IRS Form 990</i> shown below, scroll down to the referenced <i>PDF</i> pages, and please note how many senior executives in these <i>non-profits</i> are taking home annual salaries of six-figures, with cushy pensions and all manner of executive perquisites):<br /><blockquote>1.<b> Pathways to Housing DC, Inc.</b>, Washington, DC;<br /><b>Website</b>: <a href="http://www.pathwaystohousing.org/content/city_washington_dc">http://www.pathwaystohousing.org/content/city_washington_dc</a><br /><b>SEE:</b> <a href="http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments//2010/371/464/2010-371464353-0770510e-9.pdf%20">IRS Form 990</a> (Fiscal 2010); PDF pgs. 7, 25:<br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments//2010/371/464/2010-371464353-0770510e-9.pdf%20">http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments//2010/371/464/2010-371464353-0770510e-9.pdf </a></span></blockquote><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments//2010/371/464/2010-371464353-0770510e-9.pdf%20"></a></span><blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;">2. <b>PRS, Inc.</b>, (formerly <b>Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services</b>), McLean, VA;<br /><b>Website: </b><a href="http://www.prsinc.org/">http://www.prsinc.org</a><br /><b>SEE:</b> <a href="http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments//2010/540/880/2010-540880899-069300dc-9.pdf">IRS Form 990</a> (Fiscal 2010); PDF pgs. 8, 26:<br /><a href="http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments//2010/540/880/2010-540880899-069300dc-9.pdf"> <span style="font-size:78%;">http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments//2010/540/880/2010-540880899-069300dc-9.pdf</span></a></span></blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments//2010/540/880/2010-540880899-069300dc-9.pdf"><span style="font-size:78%;"></span></a>Hopefully, all the information above has whetted your appetite to seek out more information about the halfway-house/group-home that CSB wants to construct in the Pimmit Hills neighborhood on the site of the old Milk Barn.<br /><br />Please come to the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Pimmit Hills Citizens Association</span> meeting to vote on this important matter directly affecting your home's current and future value, and the safety of your neighborhood.<br /><br />Mark your calendar: <b>Tuesday, March 6, 2012 at 7:30 p.m.</b> at the <b>Pimmit Hills Senior Center, 7510 Lisle Avenue, Falls Church, VA 22043</b> (<a href="http://maps.yahoo.com/#tt=&q=7510+Lisle+Ave%2C+Falls+Church%2C+VA++22043-1050&conf=1&start=1&lat=38.91658&lon=-77.204948&zoom=16&mvt=m&trf=0">Yahoo! Map locator</a></span><span style="font-size:100%;">).</span></div><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Should there be questions regarding this important local matter, please feel free to contact us by email via the link below .</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Thank you and best regards,</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The Frace-Heller Family</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Pimmit Hills</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Falls Church, VA 22043</span><br /><a href="mailto:fungible1@verizon.net">Contact via e-mail</a><br /><br />-----------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" >Follow-up</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" > and Clarification:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" ><br /></span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">By The Frace-Heller Family</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Originally published: January 23, 2012</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">To all Pimmit Hills Moms and Dads,</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">In our letter yesterday, we do not mean to imply that CSB itself was specifically involved in the matter of school bus maintenance and parking at </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Pimmit Hills Senior Center</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">.</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">What we did state in our letter is the following (in </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">bold</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> for emphasis):</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><blockquote style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">"The Fairfax-Falls Church CSB and the affiliated Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority <span style="font-weight: bold;">is run by the same county political machine</span> which recently tried to ram a school bus maintenance facility down the neighborhood's collective throat when politicos wanted to convert a portion of the playing fields behind the Lisle Avenue Pimmit Hills Senior Center (the former PH High School) into a parking and a maintenance facility housing a large chunk of the county's school bus fleet."<br /></blockquote><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">In addition, regarding the various promises and assurances being made by CSB officials in their recent </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">'sales presentation'</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> to the PHCA board and residents (and in any future presentations made by ANY government officials) trying to sell Pimmit Hills residents on accepting the Cherri Drive group home, here is what we wrote regarding </span><i style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">"promises"</i><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> yesterday (again, in </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">bold</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> for emphasis):</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><blockquote style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">"<span style="font-weight: bold;">No matter what county officials promise</span> now in the way of the types of people who would be residing in the proposed CSB facility, <span style="font-weight: bold;">once it is built, CSB can put ANYONE they want to live there</span>. Further, <span style="font-weight: bold;">there is NOTHING that the neighborhood can legally then do about it</span>."<br /></blockquote><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">We hope this helps to make clear what we stated in our letter.</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Thank you.</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The Frace-Heller Family</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Pimmit Hills</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Falls Church, VA 22043</span><br /><a href="mailto:fungible1@verizon.net">Contact via e-mail</a><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" href="mailto:hottomato@rocketmail.com"><br /></a>The Frace-Heller Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13701098681782498885noreply@blogger.com9