8/1/02
Last Sunday, as on any hot summer day, the Country Club Hills pool was full of youngsters and residents trying to cool off. For the most part it was a normal and uneventful day inside the fence; outside the fence, however, in the adjacent field, a crowd of city residents milled in front of tables of food and their children jumped and played in and around a moon bounce.
Throughout the crowd were members of the Fairfax City Council, talking with attendees and enjoying the third of the summer's Friends and Neighbors Socials (FANS) events.
Sunday afternoon's event, intended for residents of Barrister's Keepe, Comstock, Country Club Hills, Farrcroft, Fairfax Oaks, Fairview, Foxcroft, Great Oaks, Little River Hills, Lyndhurst, and Old Lee Hills, featured food and drinks from Red Hot 'n' Blue, who donated a percentage of their profits to the represented neighborhood associations.
Council member Scott Silverthorne characterized the event as a great way to "bring up issues on [city residents'] turf," and many of the friends and neighbors present agreed with him, and said that they valued the opportunity to speak to the mayor and council without having to stare up at a podium.
SEVERAL COUNCIL members noted that Mayor Robert Lederer deserves the credit for suggesting these events. Council member Joan Cross said that the mayor brought up the idea of having community socials early in the summer, and that the council has been planning these events since early June.
Lederer added that, with these events, the council hopes to send the message that they care about the communities that make up the city. The council plans to hold more FANS events in the future, as well as community-based meetings and traveling "open microphones," where city residents will be able to air their concerns to the council without having to trek to City Hall.
In attendance from the council on Sunday were Lederer and council members Patrice Winter, Scott Silverthorne, Gary Rasmussen, Joan Cross, and Gail Lyon, as well as representatives from the Country Club Hills Civic Association and the Fairfax Noonday Optimists.
Paul Sullivan of the Country Club Hills Civic Association was on hand to talk to Country Club Hills residents about community involvement. He estimated that turnout for this FANS event was about 150 people, but noted that the crowd had been rotating frequently. "A lot of people came from the pool to hop in the moon bounce," he said.
MANY PEOPLE LEFT the moon bounce to hop in the pool, as well. The day was hot and sticky, and attendees compared clothing choices, joked, and fanned each other in an attempt to overcome the heat. Attendee reactions to the event were positive despite the weather.
Dimitri and Leah Klimenko of Country Club Hills were there with their son, Connor. They had received a flyer in the mail telling them about the event and were glad they'd attended. "We're having a good experience," Dimitri Klimenko said as they chatted with Winter.
The Fairfax Noonday Optimists had coolers full of shaved ice and bottles of syrup at ready, as well as stores of popcorn and cotton candy. They dispensed snow cones and other snacks to the children on hand, restocking supplies from their stash at Fairfax High School. Optimist Larry Lamborn said that the organization had been approached by the council about helping out at the event and were happy to be involved. They were there to meet the children, support the council, and provide a community service. He added that several city officials, including Rasmussen and Lederer, are Optimists.
The council will be holding two more FANS events this summer;
* From 2-4 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 4 they will be at Keith Avenue Park for the Fairfax Triangle, Layton Hall, Fairfax Mews, Rustfield, and Windy Hills neighborhoods, and
* From 5-7 p.m. they will be at Dale Lestina Park for the Cambridge Station, Mosby Woods, and Mosby Woods Condos neighborhoods.
On July 21 they held events for the Assembly, Cobbdale, Fairchester Woods, Aspen Grove, Boltons, Breckinridge, Chancery Park, Chancery Square, Courthouse Square I and II, Crestmont, Crossing, Green Acres, Kirkwood, Maple Trace, Ridgecrest, and Southeast Fairfax neighborhoods, and in addition to last Sunday's afternoon event for residents of Country Club Hills and surrounding neighborhoods, they also held an evening event for Ardmore, Autumn Woods, Fairfax West Condos, Warren Woods/Joyce Heights, and Westmore.