Arlington Voters Face $170 Million in Bonds

On Election Day, Arlington County voters will decide on four local bond issues totaling $170.2 million. The bonds would cover school construction and design, supplement an upgrade of the Water Pollution Control Plant, upgrade Metro and fund improvements on streets, parks, libraries and other local facilities.

The bonds are $99.4 million for Arlington public schools, $50 million for utilities, $10.8 million for community infrastructure and $10 million for Metro.

"On the county side, this is one of the lowest referenda requests in years and years and years, in light of all of the economic and budgetary concerns that we're facing in Arlington and our peers are facing in other jurisdictions around the region," said Michelle Cowan, assistant chief finance officer in the county's Department of Management and Finance.

Voters approved five bond issues totaling $207.1 million two years ago.

Cowan said County Board members decided on less expensive bonds this time when they approved the Capital Improvement Plan because they know they "can't do the same level of projects as in the past."

All four bond proposals were endorsed by the Arlington County Civic Federation and the Arlington County Democratic Committee. The Arlington County Taxpayers Association supports the Metro and utilities bonds but opposes the bonds for schools and community infrastructure.

The biggest expenditure would be $99.4 million for schools. According to the school system, nearly $83 million of the bond funds would complete reconstruction of Yorktown High School; $11.1 million would complete the design of Wakefield High School; and $5.35 million would address capital needs at the Arlington Career Center.

The Wakefield design work would end with the completion of final construction documents in late 2010. The Career Center's mechanical systems would be upgraded and its roof replaced.

The biggest non-school item is $50 million toward upgrading the Water Pollution Control Plant. Cowan said the funding for it comes from water and sewer fees instead of general taxes. And she said the state and federal governments require the county to do the project to meet new standards, minimize the environmental impact on the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay, and meet future needs from growth while also allowing the plant to reduce nitrogen output below the current limit.

Of the $10.8 million for community infrastructure, $9 million would go toward neighborhood conservation, which funds public improvements requested by neighborhoods and approved by the County Board. Those include street improvements, traffic management, park improvements, street lighting and landscaping.

There's also $1.8 million for joint county-school facilities, providing improvements to extend the useful life of such county-school facilities as the Arlington Career Center. These funds, in addition to the schools' share, will be used to repair or replace major mechanical systems and fire and life safety systems.

The $10 million for Metro is part of required contributions supporting the Metro Matters program, as approved by the County Board in 2005. The county's annual contribution will go toward facility and system upgrades in support of future eight-car train operations, the purchase of buses and support facilities.