1. Call to order. Linda LeDuc, President called the meeting to order at 7:05 PM on Zoom.
Agenda:
1. Status of Palazzo mural
2. October 17 Meeting with County Community Engagement
3. November 9 Meeting with County Manager
4. AMCA Goals for 2024
5. Rep for Arlington Neighborhoods Program
6. Other
· Ms. LeDuc updated the status of the Palazzo mural project, and it seems that we need to apply for funding, but this is only going to be given to artists that live in the county. If we choose to do a mural with artist from elsewhere, we will have to do a fundraising event to pay for the muralist and supplies.
· On October 17, some members of the AMCA Board met with Ms. Sarah Tracey, Director of Public Engagement in the Arlington County Manager’s Office to discuss increasing participation in the Civic Association, and it seems that many of the Civic Associations across Arlington County are having difficulty increasing participation.
· One of the strategies discussed was to involve high school students. They have to do community service hours, and AMCA can expedite a certification process once they do a certain amount of hours.
· Another idea was to hold meetings in English and Spanish so people that don’t feel confident speaking English can participate in the meetings with AMCA in Spanish.
· Note: After our meeting, Ms. Sarah Tracy also sent the AMCA Board a lengthy report explaining all the meetings held in Arlington County with all the presidents of the Civic Associations and the outcomes. The report can be shared with neighbors interested in the meetings that Ms. LeDuc attended on behalf of our neighborhood.
GOALS for 2024
· Organize a clean up day on the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.
· Continue our representation in different committees across Arlington County including the Form Based Code, Civic Federation, (recently we paid our dues to participate in 2024) and the Arlington Neighborhood Conservation Plan.
· Mr. Omari Davis will be our volunteer to update the neighborhood’s program plan.
Many neighbors gave other suggestions for 2024 as follows:
· Make the authorities aware that people don’t respect STOP signs inside Arlington Mill, specifically on 8th Rd. and S. Harrison; 7th Rd. and S. Jefferson; and 7th Rd. and S. Greenbrier.
· Also, more streetlights are needed in the neighborhood because it is a little dark at night. Speeding tickets should be issued for people going more than 25 miles per hour. Sometimes people drive extremely fast and it is dangerous.
· Commercial cars, vans, landscaping trucks, food trucks, and big trucks with MD license plates are parked in the neighborhood, and it seems that these drivers don’t live here. During the day they leave their car parked and at night they come back to park the truck and leave in their cars again.
· We need commercial vehicle parking restrictions in the neighborhood to prevent people from other areas parking here. We know that our location is privileged, but the parking available on the streets is for neighbors and visitors not for commercial vehicles and people that don’t live here.
· A neighbor mentioned that the neighbors pay taxes for their houses, pay mortgages, or rent to live here, pay vehicle taxes to the county, and Arlington Parking enforcement doesn’t do anything to prevent other people to be here parked for 10 or 15 days without moving their cars. There used to be some oversight; now they don’t check on these issues anymore.
· Another neighbor reported that a maroon car is changing places all the time between 8th Street and 8th Road. The vehicle owner used to live in the duplexes, but now he still leaves the car parked for weeks on end. This issue has been reported by many residents.
PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
· A Cleanup day on Martin Luther King, Jr Day - January 15, 2024. AMCA would like to have our neighbors come out and help us clean our local parks (Tyrol Hill Park and Long Branch). Dr. King devoted his life to equality, social justice, economic advancement, and opportunity for all. This volunteer event is part of a nationwide effort to empower individuals, build community connections, and celebrate Dr. King’s conviction that ‘all of life is interrelated’ by protecting the parklands that increase our regions social and climate resilience. SAVE THE DATE.
· Following up with neighbors interested in requesting Arlington County to prohibit commercial vehicle parking in residential areas: This petition needs to come from all the neighbors to the Parking Enforcement Department. A plan to discuss these issues could be organized for the beginning of 2024 with this office to understand the policies in place and what we can do about it. A discussion is needed to move forward following a plan of action.
· Ms. Janeth Valenzuela resigned from the Board as co-membership coordinator and her position is available for anyone interested. Please contact us if you need additional information or what entails to volunteer.
· Our next meeting, the first one of the year, will be January 16, 2024. Everyone is always welcome--newbies or people that haven’t participated before but have lived in the area for a long time.