Town Council Candidates Talk Sidewalk Funding, Traffic In First Community Forum

Vienna Town Council candidates fielded questions on Tuesday about sidewalks,  traffic and other town issues at a community forum hosted by The National Active and Retired Federal Employees (NARFE)  at the Vienna Community Center.

The forum was the first of two opportunities this week for residents to meet and ask questions of Laurie DiRocco, Howard Springsteen, Carey Siencki and Hamid Barahmand, who are competing for three open seats on the council.

The council's non-partisan, at-large members are elected on staggered two-year terms. DiRocco and Springsteen are both nearing the end of their first term on the council. The third open seat was left vacant this fall with the departure of longtime council member George Lovelace; said when he took office that he would not run for the position.

The crowd of more than 50 residents became vocal and unsettled early on in the discussion, after Barhamand began answering a question that asked about his assertion that the Vienna Town Green was built for the Vienna Presbyterian Church, a statement which appeared in the town's April newsletter.

"You need to check your facts because you haven't got a clue what you're talking about," one man in the audience told Barahmand.

Barahmand said if he mentioned the church, he was sorry.

Vienna Patch compiled video clips of the eight questions candidates responded to in Tuesday's forum. The first four can be played in the media viewer above.

Question 1: To Mr. Springsteen and Mrs. DiRocco, What comments
do you have about Mr. Barahmand's statements about expensive contractor estimates for sidewalks? Barhamand, a contractor, claimd that contractor bids for town sidewalk projects per linear square foot were far more expensive -- more than 10 times as much -- than they should be.

Question 2: What more could the Vienna Police Department do to keep intersections clear?

Question 3: For Mr. Barahmand: You say traffic light cameras cause accidents. How so?

Question 4: For Mr. Barahmand: On what did you base your claim that the Town Green was built for the  Vienna Presbyterian Church?

Videos of the last four questions will appear in another article this week.

The Northeast Vienna Citizens Association will host another candidates forum from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Friday, also at The Community Center.