County Recognizes NVAR
Fairfax County recognized the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors a few weeks ago for its contributions to hurricane relief.
NVAR donated $20,000 to Fairfax County to help provide housing for victims, and also contributed $10,000 each to Alexandria City and Arlington County to provide temporary shelter and permanent housing assistance. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors recognized NVAR on Monday, Nov. 21, for its contributions, which will support long-term assistance to evacuees of Hurricane Katrina. Tracy Pless, NVAR chairman of the board, accepted the certificate of recognition for NVAR.
Proposed Water Rate Increase
Fairfax Water, formerly known as the Fairfax County Water Authority, has proposed a rate increase effective April 1, 2006. The rate for Fairfax Water Customers would increase from $1.45 per 1,000 gallons to $1.50 per thousand. Fairfax Water estimates this increase will cost the average customer $4.80 per year.
They also propose an increase in charges for new connections to the system, turning water on and off, late payments and the account charge.
For more information about the proposed increases, visit www.fairfaxwater.org.
A public hearing on the proposed rate increase is scheduled for Dec. 15, 6:30 p.m. at Fairfax Water’s offices, 8570 Executive Park Ave., Fairfax.
Vienna Broker, Resident to Lead NAR
Thomas M. Stevens, a real estate broker from Vienna, was elected the 2006 president of the National Association of Realtors, the largest trade association in the country, representing 1 million members involved in residential and commercial real estate industries.
Stevens, a Realtor since 1972, is senior vice president of NRT, Inc., a residential real estate brokerage. He was NAR’s first vice president in 2004 and also served NAR as vice president and liaison to government affairs.
Active at the state and local levels, Stevens was president of the Virginia Association of Realtors and Northern Virginia Association of Realtors. He was named “Realtor of the Year” by the state association in 1991. Active in his local community, Stevens has been involved with the Wolf Trap Foundation for Performing Arts, Fairfax Chamber of Commerce, Vienna Chamber of Commerce, Northern Virginia Building Industry Association, the Cerebral Palsy Campaign of the National Capital Area, the board of directors for the Northern Virginia Chapter of the American Cancer Society, and served on the board of the Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance.
2006 Officers at NVAR
Officers were elected to the 2006 Northern Virginia Association of Realtors’ Board of Directors this month. Six board members were also selected. Margaret Ireland of Weichert Realtors will serve as chairman of the board. Luis A. Lama of Long & Foster will serve as chairman elect. Tracy Pless of Long & Foster is immediate past chairman. Susan Mekenney of RE/MAX Allegiance will serve as secretary/treasurer.
The board members selected include Larry Anderson of Brio Realty, Judi LaMorte of Long & Foster, Laura Fall of Fall Properties, Jane Quill of RE/MAX Presidential, Trudy Severa of Long & Foster.
Anderson joined NVAR in 1976 and specializes in commercial and residential real estate. He is the principal broker of Brio Realty in Centreville. He has served on and chaired numerous NVAR committees, and has been an NVAR instructor for more than 15 years.
LaMorte has been a member of NVAR for 19 years and has served on numerous committees, including Sales Advisory, Realtor Outreach, and the Grievance Committee. She is currently a member of the Real Estate Finance Forum.
Fall has been a member of NVAR since 1984. She is the principal broker and owner of Fall Properties in Arlington. She is chairman of the Real Estate Finance Forum, and helped lead NVAR’s Annual Economic Summit at George Mason University for the past seven years.
Lama became a Realtor in 1988 and obtained his broker’s license in 1999. He is an associate broker for Long and Foster’s Falls Church office. He has chaired NVAR’s Outreach and Equal Opportunity/Cultural Diversity committees and teaches conversational Spanish for Realtors at NVAR.
Quill is associate broker for RE/MAX Presidential in Fairfax. She has been active in the real estate community for more than 25 years and served on numerous NVAR committees, including the Commercial Forum for which she is the current chairman.
Severa has been a member of NVAR for 11 years and is a sales associate with Long and Foster’s Reston-North Hills office. She served on NVAR’s Education Committee from 1995 to 1998 and was appointed Education Committee Chairman in 1999.
Alexandria City Invests in Affordable Housing
The Alexandria City Council allocated $12.8 million to the nonprofit Alexandria Housing Development Corporation to help buy the Gunston Hall apartment complex outside Old Town. The money will be used by AHDC to buy the 56-unit property to refurbish and keep as affordable rental housing.
The sale of the complex, which was originally built in 1939, is not yet final. First, the city will inspect the property, and then the offer must be accepted by the current owner, who originally planned to raze the property and build 60 luxury condominiums and townhouses.