July 18, 2023 Meeting Minutes
Minutes Arlington Mill Civic Association
July 18, 2023
1. Call to order. Linda LeDuc, President called the meeting to order at 7:05 PM on Zoom.
Agenda:
1. Welcome and introductions
2. Update on west end Pike mural
3. Meet Arlington's new Sheriff Jose Quiroz
4. Update on planning for the September 9 neighborhood Arlington Mill Festival
5. Other - any items you wish to raise
· Ms. LeDuc welcomed everyone and reported that Ms. Noreen Quill, board member, organized the county’s neighborhood clean up almost singlehandedly. A shout out to her and all her efforts. Next year we need more helping hands to accomplish this goal.
· Ms. Quill reported that more than 12,000 pounds of items were picked up during the cleanup of Arlington Mill.
· Wall mural at Palazzo. Ms. LeDuc provided an update. If all goes as planned, the county will contract to have the wall painted a light blue starting in August and finishing by September, but the project of the mural is on hold; we don’t know if the county has funds to complete this project.
· Ms. LeDuc proceeded to ask members of the board on the call to introduce themselves. Ms. Janet Valenzuela introduced herself first. Secondly, Ms. Miriam Bolanos as a secretary of the Board, Mr. Chanda Choun as Vice-President of the Board, and Ms. Noreen Quill as membership coordinator of the Board. Ms. Quill added that she needs a bilingual person (English – Spanish) to assist her with outreach, as many members of the community members’ primary language is Spanish. This assistance would help her expand her efforts.
· We proceeded to introduce our new Sheriff Mr. Jose Quiroz. He is newly elected to the position, and he loves serving his community. We are very grateful that he agreed to participate in our meeting.
· We discussed the event plan for the September 9, Fall Festival, in Arlington Mill with other members of Arlington County as follows:
Mr. Justin Beck, Public Engagement Specialist from Arlington County;
Ms. Stephanie Ferris, Community Engagement for the Arlington County Sherrif’s Office; and Corporal Montoya from the Arlington Police Department. ASPHA, a Spanish member organization chaired by Janeth Valenzuela, will also participate.
· Ms. LeDuc gave general information about the festival that will take place in Tyroll Park. We are applying for $1,000.00 in small grant funding from Arlington County to make it work. We are planning to provide hotdogs, ice pops, ice, water, and popcorn.
· Arlington County will invite their partners to set up a table with information about services and different resources in the county.
· Arlington Police will be able to block the street and organize the traffic and the logistics so event attendees can safely come and go from the park. They will also bring a snow cone machine for the public.
· We are going to hire a Moon Bounce with all the accessories, so kids can play safely from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm
· AMCA needs to work on a “Save the Date” invitation. Georgina Argueta has volunteered to lead the design.
· There was an idea from Corporal Montoya to reach out to our closest supermarket, Megamart, to donate water for the Arlington Mill Festival.
PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
· The AMCA board is to make a list of departments that will participate apart from ACPD, ACFD, Sheriff’s Office, and Fire Department.
· The AMCA board is to create a map of the event, so we know where everyone is located.
· Provide Cynthia Cocuesta Cutier with a due date to submit the “Save the Date” flier to the AMCA for review and approval.
· Close to the Arlington Mill festival send another invitation to all residents and Arlington County members involved in the planning of this event.
· Make a list of the food and beverages that AMCA will donate and other donations from other parties.
· Make flyers in English and Spanish with the details of the Fall Festival and to invite neighbors to join.
· Engage the community living in Arlington Mill to participate.