BVSCA Newsletter January 1999
Contents:January 25 Meeting Agenda
Please refer to the newsletter for a summary of agenda items.
7:00 pm Executive Committee meeting
7:30 pm Full Membership Meeting
7:35 pm Proposed Day Care Facility
8:00 pm VA Square Newspaper Boxes
8:30 pm Community Policing Station
9:15pm Adjournment
BVSCA dues paying members may participate as observers in meetings of the BVSCA Executive Committee. Note: BVSCA Membership Meetings are held on the last Tuesday of each month from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) building, 4301 Wilson Boulevard, in Room CC-2 of the Ellipse Conference Center. Free garage access is provided at NRECA's underground parking garage for BVSCA meeting attendees arriving between 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm only. After 8:00 pm, the garage's automatic exit device allows exit-only traffic.
VA Square Child Care
Ms. Denise Cobham will make a presentation to BVSCA members regarding her interest in converting the building located at 3501 Washington Blvd. into a child care facility. The building space, most recently occupied by a locksmith, is located near Uptown Bakery and Giant Food. Ms. Cobham currently manages a child care center at Community United Methodist Church.
Trash or Treasure: A Pressing Issue
March winds herald the advent of spring - and the unappealing site of newspapers blowing out of unsecured vending boxes. Arlene Linn of the Ballston Partnership's Urban Environment Committee will solicit BVSCA feedback on a recommendation to the County to more actively monitor newspaper boxes.
Community Policing Site Unseen
As discussed in the November 1999, BVSCA monthly meeting, Arlington police have taken steps to locate a community policing station in Ballston. The proposed site is a commercial space on Utah St. near what was formerly Bistro Bistro. Unfortunately, the owners of the building have not met the site plan conditions established by the county. Of particular interest to BVSCA, a key site plan condition requires completion of a meeting space in the building for use by Windsor Plaza condominiums and BVSCA. Mr. Jeff Green, President of the Windsor Plaza condominium board and Treasurer of BVSCA will provide an update on the negotiations.
Life in the Fast Lane May Slow Down
The Arlington Police Department is preparing to launch a Community Speed Monitoring Program. This program empowers groups of three residents to monitor and record vehicle speeds on their neighborhood streets, resulting in an advisory letter sent from the police to the registered owner of the speeding vehicle. A policy statement, program guidelines, and a copy of the letter that will be sent to offenders are available for consideration. To request an electronic copy of this information or to participate as a speed monitor, please contact DeAndra Beck at (703) 528-5126.
Volunteer Opportunities
We welcome support of interested neighbors who would like to contribute time and talent to BVSCA, including the following areas:
* Social planning
* Membership outreach
* Neighborhood surveys
* I-66 Widening
If you are willing to help - even on a sporadic basis - please contact DeAndra Beck at (703) 528-5126.
Miscellaneous News Items
The Role of Green Building Technology in a Sustainable Community. A public forum on the Arlington Urban Village will be held Wednesday, January 26th, 7-9:30 p.m. NRECA Conference Center, 4301 Wilson Blvd. to discuss green building technologies.
Focus Group Meeting on Concrete Maintenance Program. A meeting will be held on Monday, January 31st, 7:00 p.m. at the Courthouse Plaza Conference Room B, 2100 Clarendon Blvd. to discuss conclusions of a task force assembled to provide recommendations for concrete maintenance.
I-66 Widening Opponents. The Arlington Coalition for Sensible Transportation has a website http://www.acstnet.org that provides lots of useful information. Check it out!
Listserv. BVSCA members are cordially invited to subscribe to the BVSCA listserv. The listserv is a good way to receive periodic updates on issues of neighborhood interest. To subscribe, send an email message to the list coordinator, William P. Jackson, Jr. (Bill), at wpj@translaw.com advising that you would like to join. Include your name and post office address in your message along with the email address(es) from which you will be sending messages. When you are added to the list, you will receive a "Welcome" message with details regarding how to use the listserv. Remember that a message sent by a BVSCA listserv member to BVSCA-L@rootsweb.com will be relayed automatically to all listserv members. To prevent senders of unsolicited commercial email from using our list for unauthorized purposes, only listserv members may send messages to the mailing list from a subscribed address. So, if you use more than one email address, include all of your addresses.
President's Prerogative
The Arlington Police Department is to be commended for a renewed commitment to community partnerships. Under Chief Edward Flynn's leadership, Arlington has been divided into four operational districts. BVSCA is located in district 2-D, under the command of Captain Tom Hoffman. Captain Hoffman and his officers meet regularly with civic associations, taking action on priority concerns. Recent police initiatives include the Ballston community policing station, "ride alongs" with 2-D officers, and a neighborhood speed monitoring program. BVSCA is fortunate to have highly trained, professional police officers working in our community.
DeAndra Beck
President, BVSCA
How to Join the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association or Renew Your Membership
All individual persons who are residents of the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association's area or who in their individual capacity own residential property located therein, shall be eligible for membership in the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association. For the purposes of this organization, the boundaries of the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association are Kirkwood Road on the east, Glebe Road on the west, Wilson Boulevard on the south, and the I-66 right of way on the north.
If interested in joining the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association, please complete the BVSCA Membership Application Form and send your application and dues to Jeffrey Green, Treasurer, Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association, who may be reached at (703) 276-2723. Dues are payable when first joining and are renewable each year on or before the annual anniversary of that date. New members and members who have not paid their dues within the three preceding Association years must pay their dues 30 days before they receive voting privileges. Former members who have been members in good standing within any of the three immediately preceding Association years may be reinstated as voting members by paying their dues for that year.
All members of the Association are volunteers. Dues are used to help fund the Association's activities and sponsored events. Please join the Association today, or renew your dues paid membership. Visit us at (http://www.bvsca.org)