| Town
to Issue RFP for Day Site Operator |
By Jackie Allder
Observer Staff Writer |
| The Town Council approved 6 to 1 a resolution to issue a
request for proposal for a new operator of the town's day
labor site. Although the council did not approve a final RFP,
there were a number of suggestions as to what should be included
in the document. Most significant was that the site's operator
verify each employee is legally allowed to work in the United
States. |
| "What we are doing in this RFP is we're asking the
operator of the site to follow the laws of the nation, the
state," said Councilman Charlie Waddell. Reston Interfaith
currently operates the Herndon Official Workers' Center, and
it does not check legal status of the workers. |
| The issue with the labor site has always been "the
presence of illegal aliens," and not with helping the
immigrant community, Vice Mayor Dennis Husch said. |
| The draft proposal states the site could be placed on private
property in or near the town or on public property that could
be leased from the town for a nominal fee. About 132 workers
visit the site daily, but the town anticipates that the number
of day workers who would be serviced at the new site would
be "substantially less than this number," according
to the draft RFP. |
| Barbara Glakas, a Herndon resident, questioned whether a
private business would want to oversee the day labor site
operations since there would be so few workers and the operations
would only be allowed for five years. |
| Husch said while they probably would not receive an overwhelming
amount of proposals, he thought they would get enough to make
a choice. Whether the site would be self-sustaining, he said
would be something to see in the future. |
| Former Councilman Richard Downer said he did not know what
spaces in town could be used. He said he had not identified
any private locations in town that would work for the site
and the only public facility that would work is the current
location at the old Herndon police station. |
| About 20 people from Herndon and surrounding areas addressed
the council about the proposal, with more than half supporting
the changes to the day labor site. "Other than the fact
that we're going to deal with people who can be employed legally,
there's nothing different," said William Campenni, a
Herndon resident. |
| Councilman Harlon Reece opposed the resolution, saying he
thought the federal government needed to finalize immigration
reform before the town starts to tackle the issue. "We
really need a nationwide policy approach of dealing with the
millions of illegal aliens," he said. |
| Reece mentioned a number of lawsuits that have focused on
the rights of laborers seeking work, and he said judges in
these cases have found "the constitutional guarantee
of free speech is not limited to immigration status."
|
| In one case, a federal court struck down an anti-solicitation
law in California because banning day laborers from seeking
work was a violation of free speech even though the city had
a day labor site, he said. He said Herndon could face the
same risk. |
| Town staff suggested an optional pre-proposal conference
for Jan. 23 at 10 a.m. at the municipal center, but that meeting
was not finalized. Once the RFP is issued, there would be
a few weeks until all bids would be due. The town could then
take two to three weeks to evaluate the bids and one to two
weeks to interview or negotiate with the bidders, according
to Elizabeth Hagg, director of neighborhood resources. |
| In other business, the Town Council approved the following: |
| • An ordinance granting a 10-year telecommunications license
to Fibergate of Virginia, LLC |
| • A zoning ordinance text amendment to increase civil penalties |
| • A subdivision ordinance text amendment to provide for
shared public utility easements for electricity, telecommunications
and cable television |
| • A resolution to adopt the parks and recreation 2007 to
2012 strategic plan |
| The Town Council deferred a decision on a zoning ordinance
text amendment that would treat property for which a variance
has been granted as conforming and an ordinance to allow the
town to sign a lease agreement with the Dulles Regional Chamber
of Commerce. The chamber recently changed its name from the
Herndon-Dulles Chamber of Commerce and the updated agreement
would reflect that. |
| The Town Council will hold a work session Tuesday, Jan.
16, at 7 p.m. |
