City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: NOVEMBER 6, 2024
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: JAMES F. PARAJON, CITY MANAGER /s/
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Consideration of a Resolution Accepting City of Alexandria Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Federal Appropriations. [ROLL-CALL VOTE]
BODY
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ISSUE: Consideration of a Resolution accepting City of Alexandria FY 2024 Federal Appropriations.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council:
1. Endorse the Resolution (attachment #1) accepting City of Alexandria priorities for FY 2024 federal appropriations; and
2. Authorize the City Manager to execute the necessary documents that may be required.
BACKGROUND: In early 2021, the Senate and House Appropriations Committees announced the return of member requested funding, often colloquially referred to as “earmarks.” In the House, these funding opportunities are referred to as “Community Project Funding;” in the Senate, they are referred to as “Congressionally Directed Spending.”
Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending provides members of Congress the opportunity to direct funding to priority projects in their districts/states and provide targeted assistance to their communities. These funding opportunities are intended to allow Members of Congress, who well understand the needs of their districts and states, to target funds for important projects that can solve policy problems, create jobs, invest in both people and infrastructure, and work to address the ongoing needs of families, businesses, neighborhoods and communities across our country.
The City has worked closely with our Congressional delegation to identify, support, and secure funding from this source for several priority projects across the City, addressing needs in several key areas, including projects that address Council Priorities. These have included:
• In FY 2022:
o Piloting of body worn cameras in the Alexandria Police Department ($600,000)
o Storm sewer improvements to mitigate recurrent flooding at Clifford Ave., Fulton St. and Manning St. ($420,000), totaling $1,020,000 in funding for these projects.
• In FY 2023
o AHDC Arlandria Housing+ Project ($1,500,000)
o Full deployment of body worn cameras in the Alexandria Police Department ($1,000,000)
o The acceleration of the Notabene Drive, Four Mile Rd., and Old Dominion Blvd. flood mitigation project in Arlandria ($750,000).
• In FY 2024:
o On-route electric transit bus opportunity chargers ($1,000,000)
o Restoration of affordable housing at the 1022 Pendleton Street Boarding House ($850,000),
o Pilot crime and violence intervention and prevention programs in the city ($670,000)
o Establish a “Smart Mobility Lab” in partnership with Virginia Tech ($963,000).
• In FY 2025:
o Re-employment and upskilling programs and services ($2 million, scalable);
o Affordable housing preservation in Arlandria neighborhood ($1.5 million);
o Flash flooding “spot improvement” project ($1.565 million);
o Resiliency of City emergency shelter ($1.5 million);
o Emergency communications interoperability ($650,000);
o Historic preservation and interpretation at Freedom House ($2.5 million, scalable);
o Technology to support violence intervention and crime prevention ($670,000).
This funding is seen as an important and valuable way for each member to communicate their federal budget priorities for the fiscal year and advocate for programs that are important to their constituents and benefit their states.
The FY 2024 funding requests were included and approved in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, from the following subcommittees (see attachment #2 for project descriptions):
• Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD), Department of Transportation, Transit Infrastructure Grants (On-route electric transit bus opportunity chargers)
• THUD, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Community Development Fund (Restoration of affordable housing at the 1022 Pendleton Street Boarding House)
• Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs (Pilot crime and violence intervention and prevention programs in the city)
• Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, U.S. Department of Commerce, NIST-STRS (Establish a “Smart Mobility Lab” in partnership with Virginia Tech)
Federal agencies are now in the process of working with local governments to distribute the funds. This Resolution allows the City to accept the FY 2024 project funding and authorizes the City Manager to execute the necessary documents that may be required when accepting such funding.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution
2. FY 2024 Project Descriptions
STAFF:
Alethea Predeoux, Deputy City Manager
Helen McIlvaine, Director, Office of Housing
Chief (Acting) Raul Pedroso, Alexandria Police Department
Adriana Castañeda, Director, Transportation & Environmental Services
Dana Wedeles, Strategic Initiatives Officer, CMO
Alexis Quinn, Business Operations Manager, CMO