I. Mark called the meeting to order and introduced the Board members present.

II. Lt. Woo presented a neighborhood police report:

• Property crime is down 38%
• The leading crime is larceny – especially from sheds and vehicles
• There are no major crimes to date
• He encouraged neighbors to keep sending videos of crimes
• He mentioned the gunfire reports and the police are trying to track these down; they have mostly been in Forest Hill
• There is a special program, Light Up the Night which focuses on neighbors keeping on porch lights during dark hours (consider changing to 500 lumens)
• Lt. Woo is on NextDoor if you need to contact him

III. Lori Markum gave an update on the 1901 Georgia property

• If the single family home has a 25 foot setback on both Kansas and Greenville, that only leaves 20 feet to build
• The proposal is a 16 foot setback off of Kansas (9 foot setback reduction)
  • The Board of Zoning Appeals meets on January 2
• The proposed house is less modern with no rooftop deck. It is more of a farmhouse/craftsman style home.

IV. Greenville/Carter rezoning has to go through the Planning Commission

• Chris Leesfeld and wife, Jodie are requesting the City to vacate part of the end of the road on Greenville as well as the west alley Carter Street
• They will live on a lot there and develop the other 4 lots.
• Concerns about sewage and future development were brought up.
• Sewer from the end on Carter would cause potential issue and each house would have a grinder pump.
• Questions were raised about how to mitigate and avoid wetlands and how to get back to original grade.
• Mark and Chris will plan an organized walk there as a site visit.
• A public comment will take place at the Planning Commission meeting and then at the City Council meeting.
• For additional information, please contact a Board member or email info@maymontcivicleague.org for a map.

V. The Greater Byrd Park Geese Management Task Force reported on their plan to limit the goose population in the Byrd Park area. There is a summary report that is available to neighbors upon request (info@maymontcivicleague.org).

VI. Stephanie Lynch, City Council member-elect spoke on several upcoming events and her plans in office.

• The first week in January there will be an open community member forum/listening session forum for Navy Hill. This will be in collaboration with other civic leagues around the City.
• Her goal is to provide objective, non-biased education about the Navy Hill project including the VCU study and Davenport study that have been done.
• She will be at Albert Hill on Wednesday, November 20 from 6:00 – 7:30 pm.
• She can be contacted at: stephanie.lynch@richmondgov.com; electstephanielynch@gmail.com; and 703-945-4619.
• Amy Robins will stay on with Stephanie and can be contacted at amy.robins@richmondgov.com or 804-646-5724.
• There will be a Holiday/Farewell/Welcome Party at the Randolph Community Center on Thursday, December 12 from 6:00 – 8:00pm.
• A cleanup will be coming up for parts of Harrison and a date is TBD.

VII. The next meeting will be January 20, 2020 at 7:00 pm.

September 16, 2019 – 7:00PM (48 neighbors and friends of the neighborhood in attendance)

I. Mark Brandon, President, introduced the Board.

II. Parke Richeson gave an update on Maymont. Currently, the park is working on an exhibit to tell the story of Maymont during the Jim Crow era.

III. An update on the geese in Byrd Park will be presented in the November meeting.

IV. The tax abatement program was summarized. For more information or assistance on applying, please contact the Maymont Civic League Board and we would be happy to assist.

V. The Maymont Civic League gave approval on getting a P.O. Box. More details to come.

VI. Lt. Woo presented his neighborhood report: crime has continued to decrease. Car thefts are the biggest issue (3 thefts in Texas Beach parking lot cameras have been installed). Texas Beach looks good overall. The Richmond Police has been working with VCU to educate students. He reminded the neighborhood to call in any report.

VII. Amy Robins presented a report on behalf of our City Council member, Parker Agelasto. She reminded the neighborhood of the RVA 311 app for problems around the City, especially regarding potholes. She informed the neighborhood of several important dates: October 24 – Navy Hill report at St. Andrews; September 25 – City Council candidate forum at Richmond City Democratic Committee building. She mentioned the City’s tax abatement for personal property tax program and said they are fixing the brochures and should be circulated around Thanksgiving time. The City’s lead paint program is not getting much attention from City residents so please contact Parker’s office for information on how to qualify for this program as well.

VIII. The Maymont sidewalk issue is being resolved as there were concerns about disruption of the trees on Pennsylvania.

IX. Crystal with RRHA discussed Project Homes and Habitat for Humanity houses in the neighborhood. 18 homes in Phase 1 are almost complete. There will be a dedication for a home on Kansas Street in November and it would be nice to see a neighborhood presence. 16 homes will be part of Phase 2. There are many volunteer opportunities which can be found on the Habitat for Humanity website (or checking the Maymont Civic League Facebook page).

X. Three City Council candidates shared their backgrounds, platforms, and their reasons for running for the 5th District City Council seats. These included Mamie Taylor, Robin Mines, and Thad Williamson.

X. A proposal was presented to the neighbors by Lori Markum about the property on 1901 Georgia (corner of Kansas and Georgia). The builders are requesting a special exception to the setback rule because of several unique features of the property (corner lot, empty lot behind it). The plans show blueprints for a modern house and many neighbors expressed concerns about the aesthetics. Direct neighbors expressed concerns about the height of the proposed house. There will be a meeting on October 3 with the City and the neighborhood’s opinion will be taken into consideration. Neighbors brought up points about this exception becoming a slippery slope of exemptions while others expressed concerns with never allowing exceptions becoming an issue in the future. The neighbors were unable to come to a full agreement on the issue.

XI. Two more City Council candidates shared their backgrounds, platforms, and their reasons for running for the 5th District City Council seats. These two included Jer’Mykeal McCoy and Stephanie Lynch.

XII. The meeting was adjourned. The next meeting will be Monday, November 18, 2019 at 7:00PM.

27 neighbors and community members were in attendance.

Mark Brandon, President, introduced the Board.

The Treasurer reported $4,202.94 in the account.

Mark Brandon reported that the Byrd Park geese task force has a report on their findings and the report is now available.

Parke Richeson, Maymont Executive Director reported the following: 
– Maymont was voted many “bests” in Virginia Living magazine
– This school year, 9,000+ students visited Maymont
– 180 Girl Scouts participated in environmental education
– 147 schools were hosted (47% Title 1)
– There are many upcoming events at the park (June 8 – Vintage Market and Mimosas at Maymont; June 9 – Carriages by Candlelight; Music at Maymont outdoor concerts on June 21, July 13, July 20, and September 20; June 22 – Bumble Bee Jamboree; August 10 – 11 – Jazz Festival)

Parker Agelasto notified the group of the special election that will be held in November for his City Council seat. His last day will be November 30. He reported on the following: 
– The FY 2020 budget was adopted by City Council. Schools and roads make up the biggest items along with salary increases for City employees and starting salaries for police officers. The real estate tax rate will remain the same. 
– Progress is continuing for the houses on Kansas Street.
– Texas Beach traffic and parking are becoming issues as the weather gets warmer. Be vigilant and lock your doors. 
– June 8 is the neighborhood cleanup.

Dr. Ghazala Hashmi, candidate for Virginia Senate and Thad Williamson, candidate for City Council spoke to the group about their backgrounds and campaigns and answered questions.

Neighborhood issues brought up: groundhogs and cats.

The neighbors shared interest in a block party to coincide with National Night Out on August 6. The block party will take place near the skate park. Anyone interested in becoming a member of the planning committee should talk to Joy Rogers.

The meeting concluded. The next meeting will be held on September 16. 

22 neighbors and visitors were in attendance.

Mark Brandon, President, opened the meeting by introducing Lt. Woo, our neighborhood police officer. Lt. Woo reported the following:
– Crime is low and there has been a 64% decrease in crime
– Police officers are unable to see everything posted on NextDoor, please be aware of this.
– An Internet security system which will notify police through a new app will be up and running soon (more to come in the future)
= Texas Beach continues to have a police presence

Park Richeson, Executive Director of Maymont gave a report on Maymont:
– Last quarter 25 educators for project-based learning were educated at Maymont
– 625 students attended Girls Day and STEM Day at Maymont
– 3050 City kids have been educated at Maymont, many are Title 1
– Upcoming activities at Maymont include: Spring Break (first week in April), Family Easter on April 20, Herbs Galore on April 27, Beer and Wine Classic, Mother’s Day Tea on May 11, Music at Maymont will include Trampled by Turtles (June 21), Carbon Leaf (July 13), and others which will be announced in the future
– August 10 – 11 is the Jazz Festival

Betsy Carr, our House of Delegates representative provided an overview of the most recent session.

Mark reported the following:
– 911 texting will soon be available in Richmond
– New bus routes allow our neighborhood to go straight to Carytown – everyone was encouraged to take it for a ride.

Joy Rogers, Vice President, gave a playground update.

A Randolph neighbor attended to deliver flyers for the Randolph Farmer’s Market which is starting back up on May 7 and will be held each Tuesday from 3:00pm – 6:30pm in Randolph Park.

January 21, 2019
11 neighbors present (on a very chilly evening)
Mark welcomed the group and called the meeting to order.
Leah Schubel was introduced as the new Secretary.
In honor of Martin Luther King Day, Mark shared a quote, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
Joy shared the Treasurer’s report on behalf of the Treasurer, Davis Barry.
Guest Nikki D’Adamo-Damery of the Maggie Walker Land Trust spoke about the partnership the Trust has with Habitat for Humanity and Project Homes. 5 new homes in the Maymont neighborhood will be part of this land trust (3 are on New York and 1 is on Kansas, ?? on the 5th one). She briefly described how the Maggie Walker Land Trust goes about acquiring properties, specifically noting that tax delinquent properties are easier to acquire for their group because there is less competition. There will be a potential homeowners meeting on January 30.
Guest Parke Richeson of Maymont shared good news that Maymont had given over 19,000 tours through the holiday season and 7,000 students had participated in their holiday programs with many of those students being Title 3. The Jazz Festival is scheduled for the second weekend in August.
Guest Amy Robbins who works for Councilman Parker Agelasto highlighted several key dates for the group. The James River Parks System Master Plan will be revealed and discussed on Thursday, February 7 at 6pm at the Patrick Henry School. On February 28 at 6:30pm, Parker will hold a meeting at the Round House in Byrd Park to answer questions pertaining to the North of Broad Coliseum project and provide tax relief applications. She said Parker’s cleanup dates around the area would be forthcoming and the speeding problem in the neighborhood and the increase in car break-ins were on his radar.
Bill (last name?) and Ryan Ginsberg gave an extremely informative presentation on invasive plants. They shared an alarming case study on the James River showing the harm of invasive plants. They are part of the invasive plants task force and provided the anyone present with a book illustrating which plants are native and which are invasive to this area. They host a variety of volunteer events and gather weekly at Reedy Creek between noon and 3pm to pull out invasive plants. For additional information, www.jamesriverpark.org/invasive or email invasiveplanttaskforce@gmail.com. The week of February 24 is National Invasive Species Week and there will be a variety of activities everyday that week so they encouraged the group to look into any activities of interest. They also encouraged each person to remove English Ivy from trees in their own yards (the proper removal technique is to cut the vines around the base of the tree and a chunk about shoulder height and it will die on its own).
The Board will provide neighbors with notice prior to running races or other events taking place in the neighborhood which may cause disruption or additional traffic.