Nov. 21, 2023 Board of Supervisors Meeting

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Fairfax County Board of Supervisors 5h 18m 6 speakers 8 agenda items transcribed 8 hours ago official recording ↗

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What opening remarks and moment of silence are given at the start of the meeting?

Jeffrey C. McKay 0:06

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our Board of Supervisors meeting of November twenty-first, twenty twenty-three. And we are gonna begin our meeting uh with a moment of silence to be followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. And before we uh rise, for those who are able for a moment of silence, I'm gonna ask my colleagues uh this morning if they have anyone that they would like to keep uh in their thoughts and prayers during that uh period of time. And and I'm gonna start. Uh, and then recognize others. Um if we could keep uh in our thoughts the family of uh Mort Downey. Uh Mort Downey, uh folks probably read uh about him in the Metro section of the Post recently. They did a life tribute to him. Uh he was spent a lifetime uh working in the public transit uh industry and sadly passed away um on November 2nd at a retirement home in Oakden.

Jeffrey C. McKay 0:59

Uh he was 87 years old. He was the U.S. Transportation Department's longest ten year deputy secretary uh serving from nineteen ninety three to two thousand one. Uh as the chief operating officer for eight years, he played a role in initiatives such as reforms to Amtrak and the drafting of the Transportation Equity Act of 1998, the most expansive public works legislation ever passed by Congress. It authorized an outlay of $217 billion. That would be the equivalent of over $400 billion in today's dollars. And granted locality. More flexibility in spending federal funds on mass transit. He spent six years on the Metro Board of Directors, and including four years during the period of time that I served with him on the Metro Board of Directors, which was probably the worst period of time in Metro's history.

Jeffrey C. McKay 1:55

Those will remember that he was chairman of the Metro Board. uh when the horrible uh red line crash happened uh on the metro line Um and so he he has just spent really uh many, many decades advocating for, working for public transit. Uh he was a resident, longtime resident uh of Fairfax County, and frankly, uh some of the network of transit opportunities that exist today in Northern Virginia, um, I would say would not be there if it weren't for the work uh of Mort Downey. And so uh if we can keep Mort Downey And his family in our thoughts and prayers as we progress uh through the day, that would be appreciated. Uh others who would like to be recognized, let me start on this side with Supervisor Alcorn.

Jeffrey C. McKay 2:43

Uh thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I'm sad to

Andres F. Jimenez 2:45

announce uh that uh constituent and beloved community member uh and friend Eileen Minorick passed away earlier this month. Eileen was a

Jeffrey C. McKay 2:55

Montessori early childhood educator touching hundreds of lives over almost half a century. She was actively involved in the

Andres F. Jimenez 3:03

Montessori community since nineteen seventy four as a parent, teacher, trainer, and even as a grandparent. She helped establish the Montessori program at Green Hedges School in 1976, where she completed her teacher training and became a lead teacher. She then focused on rest in Montessori in 1984, which she operated out of her home for two years. In 1986, she took up on a partner and they worked together for eight years. In

Jeffrey C. McKay 3:28

1994, Or Eileen sold Reston Montessori to her partner and founded Sunset Hills Montessori School. In 2003, after success in her original location,

Andres F. Jimenez 3:39

Eileen took the giant leap of purchasing the former United Christian Parish Church on South Lakes Drive in Reston, vastly expanding the school's capacity and the quality

Jeffrey C. McKay 3:48

of its facility for the children. In both 2022 and 2023, Sunset Hills Montessori was voted

Andres F. Jimenez 3:56

The best Montessori school in the Washington, Maryland, Virginia region by Washington Parent Mag magazine. She also served the community in in many other ways, including making the assembly hall and her building available to charities and other community organizations, including providing a long-term rehearsal and occasional performance space for the

Jeffrey C. McKay 4:14

Rustin Community Orchestra. So our sincerest condolences go out to Eileen's family, to Joe, and to her Montessori community. Thank you, Supervisor Alcorn. Others who would like to be recognized, uh Supervisor Palchik.