The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted on June 23 to petition the Circuit Court to place two bond referendums on this year’s general election ballot.
County leaders will seek voter support on Nov. 3 for a $180 million parks bond and $75 million human services bond to support a number of capital improvements.
Court approval is a necessary, but largely pro-forma, step required to get the referendums on the ballot. Voter approval in November is anticipated, given recent voting trends in Fairfax.
The park bond would support improvements to recreation centers ($89 million), including the Audrey Moore Rec Center, and address deferred capital renovations ($51 million). Additional funding sought as part of the bond would provide for miscellaneous improvements and/or land acquisition.
“New park amenities in existing parks could include playgrounds, skatepark, trails, revenue generating amenities or splash pads,” staff said in a memo to the county board.
The human services bond includes $35 million for renovations to the Joanne Jorgenson Public Health Laboratory, which currently occupies spaces in the former Belle Willard School in Fairfax City.
Facilities there “severely space-constrained, hindering safety layouts, staff training and the capacity to shift testing methods as public-health threats evolve,” staff said in the board memo, adding:
“This project will deliver a modernized, expanded footprint to sustain the advanced, diversified testing equipment acquired in recent years and ensure the county is fully equipped for future infectious disease outbreaks and public-health emergencies.”
An additional $40 million would support comprehensive renovations at the Tim Harmon Campus, which provides residential substance use and behavioral health services.
The Chantilly campus is home to A New Beginning, a 35-bed adult rehabilitation program for co-occurring disorders, and the Fairfax Detox Center, a 32-bed residential detoxification facility. A detox and crisis center for teens also opened there in March.
County officials earlier chose to defer a planned library bond referendum that would’ve funded improvements to Herndon Fortnightly and Kings Park Library. A proposed referendum to support early childhood facilities was also dropped from the bond schedule.
At the June 23 meeting, board members authorized a request to the Fairfax County Circuit Court allowing a two-year extension in the time allowed to sell public safety bonds authorized by voters in November 2018.
State law requires localities to sell bonds approved by voters after 1991 within eight years of issuance, but allows the court to grant a two-year extension. Fairfax voters in 2018 authorized the $182 million bond for public safety projects — $123 million of which remains unissued.
County officials say they plan to issue the remaining bonds in 2027 and 2028.
Voters approved the 2018 public safety bond with 73.5% of the vote, according to state election data.
