To the Editor:
Why I endorse Donna Fossum for City Council and why she should be elected:
I want to give a warm thank you to Donna Fossum who quickly stepped in to help Frizzles, a salon business in the Carlyle area, resolve a three-year parking problem. As the PTO garages are normally closed on weekends, Frizzle’s customers on these busy days have a hard time finding available parking spaces. I’ve been a customer of Frizzle’s since they opened and know that business owners Sami Marina and Alexandra Khalaf have been frustrated trying to convey their plight to various city officials and even tried to appeal to the local Chamber of Commerce with no results or feedback.
Several weeks ago, Sami and Alexandra attended a public hearing on planning issues and met Donna who is on the Planning Commission. She immediately grasped their situation and facilitated communication with appropriate city staff to arrange for parking signs to be installed in strategic spots in the Carlyle area so customers could quickly locate public parking. (Currently, there is only one public garage open on the weekends and metered parking is available only Monday through Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m. so spaces fill quickly during off hours.) Donna is also working with City staff to see about getting the landlord of the PTO buildings to agree to open more garages on weekends — Carlyle is a rapidly growing area for business and retailers, and this issue has been ignored for too long.
Donna’s many years of service on city commissions and her in-depth knowledge of city policies makes her a great asset to the residents of Alexandria. She has a singular talent for finding the “disconnects” between business and the city and wants to be an advocate for others in Alexandria as a City Council member. I hope she succeeds.
Carolyn Boyd