Julie Dime was familiar with the Kingstowne Community Center and took a seat in the back row at Del. Tom Bolvin's (R-43rd) quarterly Town Hall meeting with the same agenda she had last time.
Dime wants the high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes to be shifted from three passengers per car to two, which would make her commute into Washington a lot smoother. According to her, the HOV lanes on I-66 are two-person as are HOV lanes in Los Angeles.
"It's so frustrating to just sit there," she said, recalling the days when she sits on I-395 and all the other cars in the HOV lanes go by. She used examples when there is an accident and the HOV lanes are open to all, and she wants them to be open to two-passenger cars at all times.
"Didn't you ask that last Town Meeting?" Bolvin responded.
Although there was no immediate resolution, she wasn't expecting one. Dime was happy to be exercising her right to be heard in the political process. It is one of the intentions Bolvin has when scheduling the Town Hall meetings.
"We have to, that is our job as Americans. We should all take part in local government," Dime said.
Carl Sell, president of the Rose Hill Civic Association, had a solution to the latest property assessments and the education/transportation funding dilemma. His property assessment rose 16 percent.
"I would not object to some of that going to education and transportation," he said.
Other concerns were Bolvin's record on the latest budget vote, increased identification safeguard for drivers licenses, the Van Dorn extension, transportation projects and a homeowners association rule that the citizen wouldn't get into in detail.
"This is the ultimate in citizens participating in the government process. It's the ultimate form of participatory government. This forum provides them the opportunity to have access," Bolvin said.
Janet Neves is a veteran of Bolvin's Town Hall meetings as well.
"I think he gives us the information on a more personal basis. He gives us information, and we get to know him. It's more down to earth. If you disagree with something, he discusses it," she said.
TO KICK OFF this quarterly meeting, Bolvin invited Vince Callahan, chairman of the Appropriations Committee and chief House budget writer, to talk about the state budget in general terms. He quickly went through several items that are on the state agenda, including raising the price of cigarettes to earn extra tax money. Then he discussed some of Virginia Department of Transportation's plans and noted the lag time some of the projects experience.
"They've had stuff that's been on the six-year-plan for 20 years," he said.