Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins addressed a range of community concerns and upcoming city events during her monthly conversation with ALXnow on Monday (June 9), emphasizing the city’s response to recent severe weather events and highlighting key items on Tuesday’s City Council agenda.
The City Council meeting on Tuesday includes several significant items for public attention, according to Gaskins.
“There are several items that we’re going to be having some discussion on that I think the public should pay attention to,” Gaskins said.
Among these are potential updates to the Alexandria Fund for Human Services, which supports local nonprofits delivering core community services. The council will also discuss the memorandum of understanding between Alexandria City Public Schools and the Alexandria Police Department.
“I think there are some areas of concern that the council has and that the community has sent us, particularly as it relates to the sharing of student information,” Gaskins noted.
The council will vote on its long-range work plan, which sets priorities for planning, zoning, parks, and recreation departments. New additions to the plan include a focus on the Old Town North Arts District and an update to the Long Range Facilities Plan with Alexandria City Public Schools.
Gaskins addressed community concerns about recent severe weather events that have caused power outages across the city. She acknowledged the increasing frequency and intensity of storms and outlined steps the city is taking to improve its response.
“Our communication has increased,” Gaskins said, noting that the city has accelerated communications about street closures and business closures following lessons learned from January’s snowstorm.
The city’s new director of Emergency Management conducts monthly training sessions with staff and partners to increase emergency resilience and response capabilities. During storms, city officials receive updates every few hours on the number of affected residents and expected service restoration times.
Gaskins has been proactively reaching out to utility companies to understand what can be done to improve infrastructure resilience.
“About three weeks ago, I actually went out to the Dominion operations center to understand what they are doing to improve the resilience of their infrastructure,” she said.
The mayor also addressed the upcoming school board vote on redistricting, clarifying that while this is solely a school board decision, she is paying close attention both as a parent and as mayor.
“I’m closely paying attention to it, both as a parent, but just also it is my job as mayor to understand kind of how we are growing as a city, what implications that has as our schools and then how our two bodies plan together,” Gaskins explained.
When asked about potential land for additional school facilities, particularly in the West End, Gaskins outlined three approaches the city is taking. First, the city and school board are working together on long-range planning through the city schools committee. Second, the long-range work plan for planning and zoning will include a facilities update. Third, the city has set aside funds in the recent budget for a real estate study.
“That’s an opportunity for us to understand the land that the city owns, the land that other city partners might own, and kind of begin to understand where are those opportunities,” she said.
The mayor encourages residents to attend the upcoming Town Hall on Thursday, where council members will take questions from the community. This will be the second of four planned town halls for the year, with additional sessions expected in September and November.
“The town halls are an effort by the council to make sure that we are getting out into the community and taking your questions, your concerns and your ideas,” Gaskins said.
Looking ahead, Gaskins highlighted several upcoming events, including Alexandria’s birthday celebration on July 12, which will feature fireworks and the traditional cupcake distribution by council members.
The city is also preparing to kick off planning for the Duke Street corridor plan and will receive updates on the community health assessment and economic summit before the council goes on recess.
Gaskins encourages residents to use the city’s 311 service for questions or concerns, emphasizing its value not only for getting quick responses but also for helping the city track and analyze data to improve future responses.
“I think it is really the fastest and most and best way to get answers to questions or concerns that you may have,” she said.
Watch the full conversation below
