Table of Contents
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The Alexandria City Council is seeking residents to fill 92 vacancies across 32 city boards, commissions and committees, from the Waterfront Commission to the Human Rights Commission to the George Washington Birthday Celebration Committee.
The 32 bodies with openings in this round represent a little more than half of the roughly 55 boards, commissions, committees and authorities to which the council makes appointments, a roster that ranges from the Planning Commission and the Board of Architectural Review to the Towing Advisory Board.
Applications must be submitted electronically through the city's website by 5 p.m. Aug. 28. Applications received after the deadline may not be forwarded to the council, which will act on the appointments at its Sept. 8 meeting.
Applicants may submit only one application and may be considered for only one committee at a time. Multiple or duplicate applications will not be considered.
Two city ordinances govern who is eligible. Under Ordinance No. 2452, appointees must live in Alexandria unless the council grants a residency waiver. Under Ordinance No. 2641, city employees may not apply for seats on bodies that relate to the work of the department that employs them.
Not every opening is a wide-open seat. The city distinguishes between two kinds of vacancy, and the difference matters to anyone weighing whether to apply.
An expiring term means a current member's term is ending soon. That member may apply to be reappointed, and in many cases does — so an applicant for one of these seats may be running against an incumbent. An expired term means the term has been completed and no one is currently in the position.
Other seats on the list opened because of a resignation or an administrative action rather than the end of a term.
Fewer than a third of the 92 seats are expiring terms. The rest are already empty, meaning most of these openings are not contests against a sitting member.
The Historic Alexandria Resources Commission has the most openings, with eight. The Children, Youth and Families Collaborative Commission, the George Washington Birthday Celebration Committee and the Social Services Advisory Board each have six.
The vacancies
Each seat below is followed by the reason it is open. Seats marked expiring term may draw an incumbent seeking reappointment.
Alexandria Gang Prevention Community Task Force — 3-year term; meets quarterly. One seat: a member from or representing the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority, or a resident of ARHA-managed properties (administrative action).
Alexandria Housing Affordability Advisory Committee — 3-year term; meets the first Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. One seat: a commissioner from the ARHA board (resignation).
Alexandria Transportation Commission — 3-year term; meets the third Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. Two seats: one member of the Alexandria Transit Company Board of Directors, nominated by that board (resignation), and one member of the Planning Commission, nominated by the commission (resignation).
Alexandria Renew Enterprises — 4-year term; meets the third Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. One seat: a citizen member (expiring term).
Archaeological Commission — 4-year term; meets the third Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. Four seats: one at-large member (expiring term); one representative of the Alexandria Society for the Preservation of Black Heritage or an equivalent organization (expiring term); one Visit Alexandria representative (resignation); and one citizen member from Planning District II (resignation).
Beautification Commission — 2-year term; meets the second Thursday of each month at 7:30 p.m. Two citizen seats (expiring terms).
Board of Zoning Appeals — 4-year term; meets the second Monday of the month at 7 p.m. One citizen seat (expiring term).
Budget and Fiscal Affairs Advisory Committee — 2-year term; meets the third Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. Three seats designated by the council (expired terms).
Building Code Board of Appeals — 5-year term; meets when appeals are filed. Two alternate seats (administrative action and an expired term).
Children, Youth and Families Collaborative Commission — 3-year term; meets the second Wednesday of each month from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Six seats: one high school student, serving a one-year term (expiring term); four community members with experience as parents, guardians or teachers, or with expertise in early childhood, youth or general education policy, subject to approval by the Alexandria School Board (expiring and expired terms); and one city staff member identified by the city manager (resignation).
Citizen Corps Council — 3-year term; meets the fourth Monday of every other month. Three seats: one business community representative (expired term); one representative of the Commission on Persons with Disabilities (expired term); and one resident designated by an Alexandria School Board member (expired term).
Commission for the Arts — 3-year term; meets the third Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. Two seats: one member with arts expertise, including educators, practitioners and administrators (expiring term), and one member with visual arts expertise as a practitioner, curator or administrator (expiring term).
Commission for Women — 3-year term; meets the second Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. Two citizen seats (resignations).
Commission on Aging — 3-year term; meets the second Thursday of every month at 4 p.m. Five seats: one member with leadership experience in a volunteer organization (expired term); one representative of the Commission for Women (resignation); two citizen members age 60 or older (one expiring term, one expired term); and one representative of a supportive service provider (expired term).
Commission on Employment — 2-year term; meets the second Tuesday of each month at 8 a.m. Four seats: one citizen member (expiring term) and three representatives of recognized area businesses, including minority-owned and small businesses (expired terms and administrative action).
Commission on Information Technology — 3-year term; meets the second or third Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. One seat: a member from the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce (resignation).
Commission on Persons with Disabilities — 2-year term; meets the second Wednesday of every month at 7 p.m. Three seats: one citizen member (expiring term); one representative of the Commission on Aging (expired term); and one Chamber of Commerce business representative (expired term).
Community Policy and Management Team — 2-year term; meets the fourth Wednesday of the month at 2 p.m. One seat: a representative of a private organization or association of providers of children's or family services operating in the city on a continuing basis (resignation).
Community Services Board — 3-year term; meets the second Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m. Two seats: one consumer member currently receiving services (expired term) and one citizen member (expiring term).
Economic Opportunities Commission — 2-year term; meets the third Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m. Three seats: one Category I seat for an elected public official currently holding office, or a representative (expired term); one Category II seat for a representative of residents living with low income or from historically marginalized communities, certified by the commission (expired term); and one Category III seat for a representative of business, industry, labor, religious, welfare or other private groups, certified by the commission (resignation).
Environmental Policy Commission — 2-year term; meets the third Monday of the month at 7:30 p.m. One seat: a member working in the environmental sciences, such as environmental or sanitary engineering, ecology, geology, botany, hydrology or chemistry, or a member with Alexandria waterfront expertise (expiring term).
George Washington Birthday Celebration Committee — 2-year term; meets the third Monday of each month at 7 p.m. Six seats: one citizen member (expiring term); one member nominated by the American Legion (expiring term); the city manager or a designee (expired term); one member nominated by the City of Alexandria Pipes and Drums (expired term); the director of the transportation division of the Department of Transportation and Environmental Services (administrative action); and one member nominated by the Gadsby's Tavern Museum Society (expired term).
Historic Alexandria Resources Commission — 2-year term; meets the third Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. Eight seats: one Planning District I representative (expiring term); one member representing historic houses of worship, congregations or sites significant to the city's cultural, social and religious history (expiring term); one citizen member (administrative action); one Planning District III representative (expired term); one representative of the Alexandria Society for the Preservation of Black Heritage or an equivalent organization (expired term); one Office of Historic Alexandria friends group representative (expired term); one representative of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial Association (expired term); and one representative of the Public Records Advisory Commission (expired term).
Human Rights Commission — 3-year term; meets the third Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. Three seats: one citizen member (expiring term); one representative of the Commission on Persons with Disabilities (expiring term); and one representative of the Commission for Women (expired term).
Independent Community Policing Review Board — 3-year term. Two seats: one member representing an organization, office or agency that seeks racial or social justice or advocates on behalf of historically, racially or socially marginalized communities, particularly those that may have experienced disparate policing (resignation); and one member from such a community in Alexandria or Virginia (expiring term).
Local Emergency Planning Committee — 2-year term; meets quarterly at the call of the chair. Four seats: two owners or operators of facilities subject to federal emergency planning requirements under the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (expired terms); one community group representative (resignation); and one representative of broadcast and print media (resignation).
Potomac Yard Design Advisory Committee — 2-year term; meets at the call of the chair. Four seats: one representative of the Potomac West area (expiring term); one representative of the Potomac East area (expired term); one National Park Service representative (expired term); and one representative of the Potomac Yard area (expired term).
Public Health Advisory Commission — 2-year term; meets the third Thursday of the month at 5:30 p.m. Four seats: one citizen member (expired term); one physician practicing in the city, nominated by the Medical Society of Northern Virginia (expired term); one representative of the Alexandria City School Board, nominated by the board (resignation); and one representative of Inova Alexandria Hospital, nominated by the hospital (resignation).
Public Records Advisory Commission — 2-year term; meets the first Tuesday of the month at 7:30 p.m. One citizen seat (resignation).
Sister Cities Committee — 2-year term; meets the third Monday of each month at 7 p.m. Three citizen seats (expiring terms).
Social Services Advisory Board — 3-year term; meets the third Monday of each month at 7 p.m. Six seats: one client of the Department of Community and Human Services (expired term); four parent members (expired terms and resignations); and one citizen member (resignation).
Waterfront Commission — 2-year term; meets the third Tuesday of the month at 7:30 a.m. One seat: a representative of the Alexandria Park and Recreation Commission (expired term).
How to apply
Applicants must complete a Personal Data Record form electronically at boards.alexandriava.gov/application.
The full list of vacancies is posted on the city's boards and commissions vacancies page, and more information about the city's boards and commissions is available at alexandriava.gov/Boards.
Questions about the vacancies or the responsibilities of individual bodies can be directed to the Office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council at 703-746-4550 or alexboards@alexandriava.gov.
