The same day that take out and delivery for mixed drinks opened up throughout Virginia, the City of Alexandria announced a suite of eased restrictions on businesses in Alexandria.
The biggest of these is opening up sidewalks and parking lots to vending for restaurant and retail establishments. In a press release, the City of Alexandria announced that retail and restaurants can set up shop on adjacent sidewalks or parking lots.
Update 10:40 p.m. — City Spokesperson Craig Fifer noted that the city has offered deferred payment of certain businesses taxes until June 30 and offered 12-month payment plans after that, which is the same offer available to the artists. Fifer also said that rent is paid to the city because the city owns and manages the building, with management resumed in 2016.
Artists can still access their studios and derive value from having a place to work, make online sales, and store their supplies and art. Because some artists derive more income from walk-in sales than others, it would not make sense to apply a one-size-fits-all approach to studio rent. We notified each of our 119 leaseholders on March 31 that they could request rent relief with just a simple email, and only eight so far have done so.
Alexandria’s Emergency Operations Center is fully operational through the COVID-19 pandemic, and it’s nearly empty.
Ray Whatley, the city’s acting emergency manager, is operating the EOC with a skeleton crew of four full-time staff in the Public Safety Building at 2003 Mill Road. The EOC remains pivotal during the city’s first bonafide emergency since the facility opened last year.
(Updated 1:10 p.m.) As expected, this year’s $753.3 million city government budget will be significantly cut down — with a $46.6 million reduction from the operating budget and $140.6 million in the capital budget put forward in April.
City Manager Mark Jinks called the new document “Budget 2.0,” representing the possibility that its contents are subject to change at next Tuesday’s (April 14) City Council meeting and throughout the budget process. Jinks said the total projected revenue loss for the 2020 and 2021 fiscal year is $92.2 million, and that the sharp reduction in the budget is due to a deferral of the 2 cent tax residential tax increase initially proposed and a steep drop off in commercial tax revenue.
The city is pleading for residents to minimize their trash after piles have steadily grown higher as people are staying at home during the pandemic.
Residential trash tonnage has increased by 40% over the last month, according to a press release.
City Manager Mark Jinks presented the City Council with preliminary estimates for a $743.5 million fiscal year 2021 budget on Wednesday night — a $56.4 million reduction from the budget he unveiled in February.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced Alexandria to drastically change its budget over the course of the last month. Preliminary cuts include eliminating the previously proposed 2 cent real estate tax increase, implementing a city hiring freeze [except $2 million to hire new Health Department staff], deferring raises for city staff and reducing the multi-million dollar transfer to Alexandria City Public Schools.
With restaurants in Virginia now relying on take-out and delivery for their survival through the pandemic, Alexandria is joining other localities in urging the state government to allow restaurants to make cocktails to-go.
While Alexandria’s library network is closed for the foreseeable future, the library has a new selection of electronic options to help Alexandrians through the quarantine.
“The City of Alexandria has given the Library $50,000 to purchase additional eBooks and eAudiobooks,” the city said in a press release. “With Governor Northam’s announcement that Virginians are to stay at home, residents need virtual options to Library services even more than ever.”
Noah Lyles Relieved Olympics Postponed — “It was a little relief to see that it’s been decided to postpone the Olympics because my first concern was that everybody would be healthy and everybody would have a fair place to compete.” [Running Magazine]
Former Medical Employees Plead Guilty to Running ‘Pill Mill’ — “Two women pleaded guilty yesterday [March 30] for their respective roles in helping run a “pill mill,” which led to the fraudulent dispensing of thousands of prescription opioid pills.” [DOJ]
Gov. Ralph Northam issued a stay at home order for all Virginians that will be in effect until June 10 unless otherwise rescinded or extended.
Northam made the announcement in a press conference today, and said that those congregating in groups of ten or more could be charged with a class 1 misdemeanor. The order requires that Virginians stay at home unless they are getting food, medical attention, going to work or getting a little fresh air.
Alexandria is cutting down its parking enforcement even further as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
The city said on its website that the changes in parking enforcement were aimed at helping the disrupted routines caused by working from home and other effects of social distancing.
