Minutes: October 8, 2012 VHCA Board Meeting

Monday, October 8, 2012; the Church of Our Saviour 

CALL TO ORDER

Mr. White called the meeting to order at 7 PM.   The following board members were present:   John Becker, Lola Carlisle,  Arturo Cruz-Tucker, Genny Ferrero, Pamela Papner, David Rein, and Jack White.  Lauren Wilkes Fralick, Nicole Foerschler Horn,  Jennifer Keenan, and David Wolfson and were absent with notice.  Peggy Berg had provided notice of a conflict and arrived subsequently.

WELCOME FROM  FATHER JOHN BOLTON

Father John Bolton extended a warm welcome to the Association, guests, and community members.

ADOPTION OF AGENDA

Mr. White moved to approve the agenda, the motion was seconded by Ms. Carlisle, and the motion passed unanimously.

REPORTS FROM POLICE & FIRE REPRESENTATIVES

The evening shift commander for Zone 6, Neil Klotzer, spoke.   He noted that while he he did not have any statistical data available, the neighborhood’s crime statistics are available online.  He further welcomed any questions from the audience.

It was reported by an audience member that there were three robberies last month in the neighborhood, and that there is an unofficial discussion is ongoing as to whether the people who recently committed similar robberies in Midtown were the same.   Mr. Klotzer advised that he would look into the matter and invited further inquiries by providing his contact information ( [email protected]; 404-617-8157.    Following additional questioning, Mr. Klotzer further indicated that there were no reported incidents from the recent Streets Alive event.

Other elected officials & guests

None

VHCA Committee reports

Organizational Board Meeting.   Ms. Carlisle reported that the Board had its Organizational Board Meeting on September 23 and that Board officers were elected at that time as follows:   Jack White, President; Lola Carlisle, Vice President; Arturo Cruz-Tucker, Treasurer; Genny Ferrero, Secretary.   Ms. Carlise further commented on the appointment of committee chairs, all of which will be available on the VHCA website.

Planning

V-12-070;  1041 Greencove Ave. NE.   Applicant Mark Arnold spoke on behalf of owners Karrie Furman and Jeffrey Glover, who have requested a reduction in side yard setback from 7’ (required) to 3.5’.   Ms. Carlisle reported that during a site visit, no tree issue or runoff issues were observed and that the Planning Committee unanimously recommended approval.  Mr. White moved that the Board recommend approval to the NPU, conditioned upon the site plan dated 9/19/12 and proof of mailing to adjacent neighbors; the motion passed unanimously.

Parks

Mr. White spoke on behalf of Lauren Wilkes Fralick.  He reported that the application for a grant in support of the Association’s recently-approved John Howell Park Conceptual Plan had been submitted to Park Pride and that a decision was expected in the next month.  He further acknowledged and thanked all of the volunteers who made the October 7th Triangle Planting a success.   Ms. Papner spoke regarding New Highland Park, noting that construction of the park was proceeding  apace and should be substantially complete by the next meeting.   An audience member questioned whether Mr. Glancy has provided the funds raised from his race to the VHCA yet for the construction of New Highland Park.   He has not, Ms. Papner reported on behalf of VHCL.

Fundraising

Tour of Homes.   Angelika Taylor provided an update to the Board, stating that the TOH committee already has $10,000 in sponsorships. There will be six homes and one B&B on the Tour this year, and several magazines have also agreed to publish articles on the event.

Summerfest / New Highland Park.   Ms. Papner informed the Board that this was the best year ever – netting approximately $195,000 in Summerfest proceeds.

Safety/ Sidewalks  Ms. Berg spoke regarding ongoing and proposed sidewalk projects.   She noted that many crosswalks in the neighborhood have been recently improved at her request, and that she is investigating the possibility of adding ADA curbs on various sites.   She also presented a check to the Board for the amount received from the recycling and sale of pavers removed from old sidewalks during replacement.  She explained that the St. Charles bundle will be installed in the next couple of months and, moving forward, she moved for Board permission to investigate three possible bundles in the future and make necessary repairs that fall within the allotted budget.   Mr. White seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

Communications.   Mr. Becker spoke regarding the communications committee, and noted that all communications projects are proceeding smoothly.

There was no new business.

Calendar Items

Lola Carlisle commented that the next board meeting will also be held at the Church of our Saviour on November 12.

John Wolfinger reported that there is a graffiti clean-up scheduled for Saturday, October 20, at 9:00 am, to address the remaining graffiti at the back of the Highland Theater.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 7:50 PM.