20 Neighbors in Attendance

Meeting began at 7:01pm

1. Greeting with Thanksgiving poem: Gloria Bouldin
2. Reading of the Minutes: Secretary Libby Germer and Treasurer Leah Page-Jean
3. Maymont Park Open House: December 4^th from Noon-5pm (lots of holiday events, see website)
4. Red Holiday Bows: Informal poll among attendees showed that we are still interested in hanging the bows and multiple volunteers raised their hands to assist with the hanging of the bows.
5. Feed More: A motion was passed by all attendees to donate $100 of MCL funds to local, needy families for a Thanksgiving meal.
6. New slate of nominees for Civic League recommended for the vote by Joy Whitney-Rogers:
   1. President: Mark Brandon
   2. Vice President: Andrea Almond
   3. Secretary: Thomas Hanson
   4. Treasurer: Davis Barry
   5. Financial Secretary: Caleb Harris
7. Lieutenant Woo: Update from the police department Precinct 3 … 7 car break-ins have occurred in Maymont, Randolph, and Byrd Park areas over the last month, but have only included small items and petty cash. One indication that it may be homeless people is that Monroe Park has recently been closed to itinerant people. There were also home robberies on Meadow St. and a break-in on Texas Ave. Lots of nighttime gun fire has been reported and the only tip the police have is an “older silver four-door car” and the police request phone calls whenever we hear gunfire.
8. Other matters:
   1. Progress on Riverview Community Park: the ground is set to be broken this spring on a new playground
   2. RRHA: seems to be moving slow, but have promised to auction off homes in our neighborhood (map on Civic League website)
   3. Christmas Decoration Competition: a motion was passed to create a competition between neighbors who want to decorate their homes in creative ways for the Holidays
   4. Sidewalks: continuing to be constructed throughout the neighborhood. A neighbor is going to speak to the homeowner whose mulberry bush is overgrown on the corner of Meadow and Pennsylvania.
   5. Bus routes: are they being changed throughout the neighborhood? We should pay attention to the changes being made
   6. Cheryl Williams-Boney made a donation in the amount of $28.43 on behalf of the MCL to the family of Mr. Henry Smith, deceased.

Meeting Commenced at 7:04pm
35 in attendance

1. Vice President Mark Brandon introduced Mayoral Candidate Jack Berry, Maymont Park CEO Parke Richeson, Lt. Woo from 3^rd Police Precinct, a representative for Mayoral Candidate Jon Baliles, and 5^th District School Board Candidate Dr. Patrick Sapini. All of whom gave a short updates to those present.
2. Secretary Libby Germer spoke about the history of the neighborhood, credited the strong commitment of several elderly neighbors who can’t be with us tonight, and shared the May 16^th meeting minutes.
3. 5^th District Councilman Parker Agelasto spoke about his candidacy for a second term in office. He mentioned successes as our neighborhood clean-ups, sidewalk creation, and budget reforms in the area of schools and park funding, as well as tough talk for delinquent tax payers who are now paying up.
4. Gloria Bouldin introduced our Maymont Civic League Nominating Committee process and requested three volunteers. Thomas Hansen, Joy Rogers, and Toni Halsey volunteered their time and energy to select community members for the Maymont Civic League Board. Elections for the board will be held at the November meeting.
5. RRHA Real Estate Devt Rep. Marcia Davis came to update us on the status of RRHA-owned homes in our neighborhood and all over the city. As of May 2016, a decision has been made that 33 homes will be purhcsedby either Habitat for Humanity or Project Homes and the other 33 will be auctioned off at market value (public bidding). RRHA is now waiting 120 days for HUD’s approval. Ms. Davis then took questions from the floor. All houses in our neighborhood will be owned by one of the non-profits (Habitat for Humanity or Project Homes) and will be sold at low-cost to qualifying buyers. Parker Agelasto’s office will follow up when HUD approves the disposition. The list of homes being sold by RHHA is uploaded to the Civic League website here.
6. Treasurer Leah Nevada Jean read her financial report.
7. Leah Nevada Jean also introduced two guests from the Richmond Area Skate Alliance and updated us on the status of the Riverview Community Park. Councilman Agelasto spoke about the strong possibility of the City’s easement being lifted, so that the Parks Dept. can officially name the Riverview Community Park and begin the community garden, walking trails, and playground. The Kiwanis Club and other partners will be contributing labor and materials. Creation of the park’s footprint will begin as early as this October. Great news! The skate park portion of the project may take more time as expanding the skate park will expand the impermeable surface in the park and will require changing the current conservation easement boundaries. Leaders of the Skate Alliance spoke about the long timetable of their project and their interest in speeding up its closure.
8. Woo spoke about a greater police presence at Texas Beach. Six major operations, one involved a water landing, ended in 45 arrests at one point but only 12 at the last “sting”, a sign that the message is getting out that alcohol and off-leash dog laws are being enforced. The only remaining issue is a nudity violation that went all the way to court and if we, the neighbors, see “The Yeti” at Texas Beach, we need to report him because he is banned from all city parks.
9. Crime Alert: We have had 8 stolen vehicles found in our neighborhood in just the last month and folks at the Skate Park have noticed the contents of stolen cars dumped by trash cans.
10. Financial Secretary Daria Christian spoke about the purpose of membership fees and asked folks to pay tonight ($5 for individuals/$10 for household).
11. Vice President Mark Brandon invited neighbors to participate in our Neighborhood Cleanup on Saturday, Oct. 15^th. He also spoke about local physical improvements to the neighborhood. From the floor, the issue of dead branches and trees was raised. A local tree steward may come and help us identify trees needing pruning. The public works budget needs to be raised, so that they can address these issues. But in the meanwhile, neighbors should report dangerous limbs and branches so that the City is liable if/when our property is damaged by their trees.
12. Councilman Parker Agelasto updated us on regional issues. He also credited Parke Richeson of Maymont Park with helping to obtain 18 scholarships for elementary students at John B. Cary for park programming over the summer.

Meeting adjourned at 8:24pm

Meeting Commenced at 7:09pm
12 members in attendance

1. Minutes read by Secretary; financial report read by Treasurer
2. Executive Council members met with Lt. Woo and Parks Superintendent Burrell several weeks ago and both agreed to visit our meeting …
3. Lt. Bill Woo shared about local crimes (shed larceny in Maymont Park neighborhood; home robberies in the Fan neighborhood). Suspects are ID’d but have not yet been apprehended. There were only four incidences of crime in our neighborhood over the last month. There are two planned Texas Beach operations by the police departments 3rd Precinct. The police will be on the North Bank Trail looking to better enforce leash laws, check the parking lot for loiterers, watch for open fires, and enforce open container laws.
4.  Superintendent of James River Park System Nathan Burrell (804-357-8897)presented on recent, local park issues:
   Fun facts: 600 acres of wilderness area, 1.3 million visitors last year, most frequented park in our region, only 7 staff members, 20 different parcels make up the park (North Bank Trail is one), recycling bins/water fountains/bridges, etc. are almost always donated by volunteer community members.
   Major problems now: trash, grass, graffiti, are top 3 issues current. This is the only parks department responsible for its own grass control in the city. A concerned community member shared specific problems she is facing: homeless people showing up at her front door, signage should be more prominent, parking lot entrance gates should be locked at dusk, lighting should be better, cars are staying past nighttime and sometimes staying for days, and needles left on the sidewalk.
5. Riverview Community Park: presented by Leah Page-Jean (featured on local news today!) … language around the park’s construction needs to feature terminology like: “Maymont Civic League supported, all-ages, all-access park featuring a playground, skate park, beautiful green space with a walking trail”.
6. August 13-14th: Richmond Jazz Festival coming back to Maymont Park this summer for the 7th year! Our continued support is appreciated.
7. Mr. Henry Smith passed away recently. He was a former MCL President and Chaplain (1604 Georgia Ave.; granddaughter Tina Hunt lives there still). A representative was chosen to deliver a card to her with a $25 gift card from the MCL.
8. New and/or improved sidewalks are still coming. Consensus says that they have been a value-added improvement for the whole neighborhood.

Meeting adjourned at 8:22

Maymont Civic League (MCL) Meeting Minutes
Monday, March 21, 2016

7:08 Meeting Commenced
21 neighbors in attendance

1. Minutes read and reports issued (Daria Christian was unable to attend/report as Financial Sec.)
2. Pres. Gloria Bouldin and VP Mark Brandon reported the results of a City Planning Commission meeting on March 7:
   1. Both feel this will need to go back to the CPC because of boundary questions, many changes at Maymont Park, etc.
   2. Byrd Park now listed as a National Historic Place … maybe this is going to help our efforts to change the current site
3. Sidewalks: they are coming! And they look great. “Thanks, Councilman Parker Agelasto!”
4. Council Liaison Ida Jones presented on some recent interest in establishing a Parking District/Permit Zone. She brought several handouts and answered questions from residents. The permit would exclude visiting family members and out-of-town guests between hours designated by neighbors at MCL meetings.
5. Neighbors requested a greater police presence on Texas Ave.; drinking and driving is a problem, the gate needs to be closed nightly, off-leash dogs running wild, parking throughout the entire weekend is a problem for folks who live on the street. The solution needs to better policing and not parking restrictions! Could better signage be placed at the trail head? Neighbors are concerned about a changing reputation at Texas Beach, that it is now a party place.
   Action Points:
   • James River Park Association should be invited to our next meeting
   • Police officers should be contacted every time we see alcohol being carried into the park or an angry dog off-leash
   • We should request better signage and more law enforcement for alcohol and drug infractions
6. Council Liaison Ida Jones presented three important upcoming dates from Parker Agelasto’s office:
   a. Thursday, April 7th (District Mtg.) at 6:30, South Side Plaza
   b. Deadline for City of Richmond’s Tax Relief for the Elderly & Disabled Program (applications were distributed)
   c. Community Clean-Up for the Maymont neighborhood is scheduled for Saturday, October 15th, from 9am-Noon
7. “Heads Up” about the Annual Block Party from Leah Page-Jean … she proposes moving the event from October to late-Spring. Would anyone like to plan the event this year? A request was made to serve a full meal at the Block Party and to include a potluck. Volunteers for the Block Party Planning Committee:
   Agnes Lipscolme, Lillie Sanders, Kelly McClellan, and Agnes Nicholson
8. A request was made to bring in a representative from RRHA to share with us what the plans are for the boarded-up houses in our neighborhood.

Meeting adjourned at 8:15