Tuesday, February 24, 1998

MEMBERSHIP MEETING 7:30 P.M.

Meeting at the National Rural Electric Association (NRECA), 4301 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia, 22203-1860, Ellipse Conference Center (Room CC2), Free Parking for Membership Meeting, Garage Entry Up to 8:00 P.M. (See Details Below)

1. Update on Residential Construction Project. Brief presentation by representatives of the Madison Homes, Inc., of Mclean, Virginia, on their by-right development of six (6) single-family residential homes on the northwest corner of the North Nelson Street and Washington Boulevard intersection. (7:30 to 7:45 p.m.).

2. Update on Library Courts Site Plan. Representatives of the site plan applicant will present the details of their revised proposal on the proposed development of 1040 North Quincy Street (located across from the Arlington Central Library at the corner of 11th Street), by William G. Carr, Representative of the Applicant, J. H. McMullin, Trustee. The site plan for this proposed development was deferred by the Arlington County Board at its December 13, 1997, Board meeting, to the April 1998 County Board meeting. The site plan applicant has informed the Association by letter that they are working closely with County Staff on design changes, and they are reviewing long term future site plan projects. The site plan applicant states in their letter that their studies have indicated that [the] proposed plan has a lower density than approved plans to [their] West and that site coverage remains at less than fifty percent ("50%"). The site plan applicant indicates that they currently have over one hundred ("100") names on a petition supporting their proposed plan. Also, the site plan applicant asks for the support of our Membership in helping them go forward with this project. The Association encourages interested members to attend this meeting and express your views. (7:45 to 8:45 p.m.).

Adjournment (no later than 9:00 p.m.).

1997-'98 Membership Meeting Schedule. Monthly Membership Meetings of the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association are scheduled at the National Rural Electric Association (NRECA), 4301 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia, Ellipse Conference Center (Room CC1 except as noted) for the following Tuesday evenings: 3/31, 4/28, 5/26, 6/30, 7/28, 8/25 (Room CC2), 9/29, 10/27, and 11/24/98. These meeting dates are the last Tuesday of the month.

Although the next Membership Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 31, 1998, at 7:30 p.m., the Association may change the location and date of the meeting to help enable the Arlington County School Board to visit our Association. Because the School Board is not available on the last Tuesday or Thursday of the month, we are currently considering several different dates and locations for the March Membership Meeting. The Association will announce the status of its coordination efforts at the February 24, 1998, Membership Meeting. Also, check the BVSCA home page ("www.bvsca.org") for updates.

For your information, NRECA provides free garage access for one hour at NRECA's underground parking garage for participants attending the BVSCA Membership Meeting (30 minutes prior, to 30 minutes following, the starting time of our meeting). The garage's automatic exit device allows exit-only traffic after the garage is closed. BVSCA participants should be prepared to state they are attending the BVSCA Membership Meeting in order to receive free parking. Members should be advised that the garage will be accessible only up to 8:00 p.m., 30 minutes following the 7:30 p.m. starting time of our Membership Meeting, and that once the garage closes vehicles will still be able to exit the garage. Access to the Conference Room will be provided at 7:00 p.m.; the room must be completely vacated no later than 9:45 p.m. Also, general cleaning of the room, including trash removal, is the responsibility of BVSCA. Further, furniture and equipment should not be moved or adjusted by non-NRECA personnel.

1997-'98 Executive Committee Meetings. The Executive Committee meets as often as is necessary to attend to the issues which come up and need to be dealt with. For the 1997-'98 membership year, at a minimum, the Committee will meet following the end of the Membership Meeting or the first Wednesday of the month. The Executive Committee's meetings are open to any dues paid member of the Association.

BVSCA Announcements. On January 26, 1998, the Executive Committee appointed Tom Sawner, as our new Vice-President. Mr. Sawner's appointment was made to fill the vacancy created by our Association's beloved Vice-President Deem Gillmore's passing away the second week of January 1998. Deem had lived in our neighborhood all his life and was a member of our Association and its two predecessor neighborhood Associations for more than 30 years. Deem Gillmore was also a Past President of BVSCA, and always volunteered to help our Association.

The Executive Committee also appointed DeAndra Beck, as BVSCA's new NCAC Representative to replace David Ryan, who will continue as the Association's Secretary. To fill the at-large Executive Committee vacancies created by these appointments, the Executive Committee nominated and appointed Ken Hughes and Rohan Samaraweera to the 1997-98 Executive Committee. These appointments were made pursuant to BVSCA's By-Laws, Article IV. Officers, Section 4. Vacancies, "In the event that any office or other elected executive post becomes vacant, the Executive Committee shall appoint any qualified member to serve until a successor is elected."

At the Arlington County Board Meeting, February 21, 1998, Agenda Item 6, the County Board will consider the Acting County Manager's, William T. Donahue, recommendation to advertise a proposed Calendar Year (CY) 1998 real estate tax rate for a public hearing on March 5, 1998. In his letter to the County Board dated February 12, 1998, Mr. Donahue states The Fiscal Year (FY) 1999 Proposed Budget identifies $3.5 million as the amount of "gap to be closed" to balance the proposed base budget. Additionally, there are other School and County funding issues to be considered, as well as fiscal impacts from state budget recommendations and other legislative changes pending in the General Assembly. An increase in the real estate tax rate is one of several options the County Board may wish to consider in closing the budget gap for FY 1999...The real estate tax rate will be set at the County Board meeting on April 18, 1998, after the budget and tax rate public hearings (scheduled for March 3 and March 5, 1998, respectively, at Kenmore Middle School) have been completed. The Association encourages interested members to attend these meetings and express your views.

On February 19, 1998, the Virginia Senate voted 31-9, including Arlington Senators Ticer's and Whipple's "nay" votes and Senator Howell's "yea" vote, to pass Senator Chichester's proposed floor amendment to Senate Bill 439 titled the Personal Property Tax Relief Act of 1998. This bill if subsequently passed into law would eliminate the local property tax on the first $15,000 in value of all passenger cars, motorcycles, and pickup or panel trucks used for non-business purposes. Also, the provisions of this bill require the Auditor of Public Accounts, the Auditor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, to conduct annual reviews of local jurisdictions' implementation of the requirements of this Act, and to report annually to the Governor, and the legislature, any material failures to comply.