Most Recent Item Dulles Direct Annual Report 2021
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Supervisor Matt Letourneau’s Dulles Direct Annual Report Dear Dulles District Resident, elcome to the 2021 Dulles Direct Annual Report. withholding over $100 million in expenditures from the WWe skipped our report last year due to the FY21 budget, of which $50 million was later released. As a COVID-19 pandemic, so there is a lot to cover this year. result, our “AAA” bond ratings–the highest possible–were This report will update you on the status of transportation recently affirmed by the three major credit rating agencies. and infrastructure projects and other issues in the Dulles AAA ratings allow us to finance our projects at the lowest District. interest rates possible (in this year’s case, 1.46%), saving our taxpayers money. Now in my tenth year on the Board of Supervisors, I continue to be grateful to have the opportunity to serve Loudoun’s stellar track record of job growth was interrupted you. The past 9 months have been very challenging for me in 2020 due to the effects of COVID-19. From our pre- personally, as I was badly injured when a baseball struck my pandemic low of 1.9% unemployment in December 2019, face at high velocity while coaching my son’s Little League we hit a high of 10% in April 2020 as the impacts of the team last September. It took me several months and extensive pandemic on our business community peaked. As of our therapy to resume activities, and I continue to recover from most recent data, unemployment is down below 5% and the injuries. This summer I will likely be undergoing more continually dropping–showcasing the durability of the surgery to restore useable vision to my right eye, which County and the strength of its workforce. The Department took the brunt of the trauma. In the meantime, if there is a of Economic Development reported $5.8 billion of pirate patch joke out there, I’ve probably heard it by now! I new commercial capital investment in 2020, despite the appreciate all the well wishes and support from my friends, pandemic. During that time, 35% of local tax revenue family, colleagues, and constituents during this time. was derived from the commercial tax base, an increasing number which helps keep residential taxes low. The entire While we mourn the loss of more than 280 Loudoun DED team, led by Director Buddy Rizer, did a great job residents who have died from the COVID-19 pandemic, communicating with and helping businesses during the I am proud of the way the County and our citizens have worst of the pandemic. responded. Loudoun County had well established pandemic plans which allowed us to move quickly to address the health emergency and stand up a major vaccination effort. As of this writing, we have one of the highest vaccination rates in the Commonwealth and our Dulles Town Center vaccination pod continues to operate efficiently. Since 2015, I have served as Chairman of the Board’s Finance, Government Operations, and Economic Development Committee. The Finance Committee has oversight over many of our government’s operations, including the County budget. The Board took aggressive actions at the onset of the pandemic to help our business community, with over $12 million in grants Executive Director of Economic Development Buddy Rizer and to keep businesses open. We protected our finances by Supervisor Letourneau While data centers aren’t the most popular, the industry is consuming, but we are weathering the storm; I have updates anticipated to produce $586.8 million in tax revenue in the on Silver Line Phase II below. In addition, I continue to FY22 budget year via our computer equipment tax, which serve on the executive committee of the Northern Virginia has enabled Loudoun to keep the tax burden lower than Transportation Commission and as a member of the neighboring jurisdictions. While data centers continue to National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board, grow, most of the County’s efforts are spent on attracting which is the federally designated planning organization for other businesses, and this year, 28 Loudoun companies made the region. Inc. Magazine’s annual list of fastest growing companies in My office in Leesburg is staffed full time by my aides Tom the nation–a healthy sign that our diversification efforts are Parker and Jared Midwood. The three of us stand ready to working. serve you however we can, so please feel free to reach out. I continue to think it is important that Loudoun be While I maintain an active Facebook presence (look for represented at the regional level. At the beginning of 2020, I “Supervisor Matt Letourneau”), the best way to reach us is was honored to be chosen by my peers to be one of Virginia’s by email at [email protected]. two representatives on the Washington Metropolitan Area We look forward to hearing from you. Transit Authority (WMATA) Board of Directors. Helping to guide one of the nation’s largest transit systems through a pandemic has been both extremely challenging and time Completed Projects in 2019/2020 hen I took office in 2011, County infrastructure was severely lagging behind population growth and we had no an- Wnual money set aside for road improvements. This was especially true in the Dulles District. During my first year in office, I was among a group of Supervisors who decided to dedicate two cents from our tax rate as a recurring revenue stream for transportation projects. In the years since, we have developed a robust six-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) to set aside funds for infrastructure, school, and transportation projects years in advance (this year, the CIP totals $3.2 billion). We complete several of these projects every year. While we have much more work to do and some of our ongoing projects are enumerated in the next section, I think it is important to note the progress that has been made so far. Well over $900 million in infrastructure projects have been completed in the Dulles District alone since I was first elected. Since 2019, the following projects were completed. This list includes both transportation and other infrastructure projects. • Braddock Road widening–Gum Spring Road to • Mooreview Parkway/Croson Lane sidewalk and shared Paul VI eastern entrance use path • Braddock Road/Gum Spring Road intersection • Public safety firing range improvements • Route 28 (Dulles Toll Road to Sterling Boulevard) • Braddock Road/Northstar Boulevard signal widening • Kirkpatrick Fire Station • Route 50/Fleetwood Road/Lenah Mill Boulevard signal • Lightridge High School • Route 50/Stone Springs Boulevard signal modifications • Metro Station parking garages • Tall Cedars Parkway/Elk Lick Rod interim improvements • Millstream Drive pedestrian safety improvements • Tall Cedars Parkway/Nations Street interim safety • Millstream Drive/Stone Springs Boulevard signal improvements phasing update • Tall Cedars Parkway/Riding Center Drive signal • Moorefield Station Community Park • Tall Cedars Parkway/Stone Springs Boulevard signal 2 Ongoing Transportation Projects ou may recognize some of these projects from previous installation to begin later this year. Having those signals in Yannual reports. Projects in our CIP are funded over place is critical to actually opening the road to traffic. multiple years and often receive altered timelines or funding Phase 3–Arcola Mills Drive to Route 606/Loudoun County amounts, so this information is the most recent and accurate Parkway–is also proffered, but that proffer has not yet been available. One thing to note: our budgetary constraints are triggered. The County is providing $15 million in funding based on how much we can borrow and the amount of to accelerate this piece of the project and construction is debt we can take on–not just the tax rate. For more expected to begin later this year. There is no timeline for information on the projects below, visit completion just yet; it will depend on when right of way www.loudoun.gov/underconstruction. is secured. Once the proffer trigger is reached, the Arcola Arcola Boulevard: Arcola Center is constructing Arcola Center developer will repay the County for the project. Boulevard between Route 50 and Route 606/Loudoun Arcola Mills Drive: Arcola Mills Drive (formerly Evergreen County Parkway in keeping with their proffers, which were Mills Road) will be widened from Belmont Ridge Road to negotiated several years ago in exchange for about 25% Stone Springs Boulevard at a total cost of $49.7 million. more data center space than the developer would have been Construction funding will not kick in until FY25, with an permitted without the Board’s approval. In exchange, the estimated completion date of FY27. This portion of Arcola construction of Arcola Boulevard from Route 50 to Arcola Mills Drive will be a three-lane roadway with a continuous Mills Boulevard was accelerated and is being constructed and left turn lane and right turn lanes spaced in the median paid for by the developer, which will be a critical link both between Belmont Ridge and Stone Springs. Construction to allow traffic to flow from Dulles Landing to the west and includes intersection improvements at both Belmont Ridge to relieve traffic at the Route 50/Loudoun County Parkway and Stone Springs. intersection. Belmont Ridge Road Widening: The final portion of Construction is underway on Phase 2 between 50 and Dulles Belmont Ridge to be widened is from Truro Parish Drive West Boulevard with anticipated completion of that phase to Croson Lane. Utility relocation is underway and a this summer. Phase 1A and 1B–Dulles West Boulevard to construction contract should be awarded this year. The total Arcola Mills Boulevard–is largely complete, except for the cost is $42.7 million, and it should now be completed sooner installation of traffic signals.