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HCA Meeting, 4/4/2019

Huntington Community Association Meeting

April 4, 2019

MINUTES

1. Welcome and Introductions:

• Art Ovalle, President

• Caitlin Wilson, Treasurer

• David Sears, Secretary

Attendance: 16

2. Guest Speaker: MPO Marvin Goodley, Fairfax County Police Department

  • MPO Marvin Goodley has replaced Officer Robert Urps as our police liaison. Officer Urps moved to a West Springfield District to be closer to home.

  • Officer Goodley distributed graphs showing service calls and criminal reports for the neighborhood, all of which showed Huntington fairly quiet. The two hot spots for what crime there is continue to be the Metro and 7-Eleven, but there is no upward trend in events.

  • He encouraged participation in our Neighborhood Watch program (see below).

  • Join the Community Resiliency Group (CRG). Next meeting on June 4, 2019 from 7:00pm – 9:00pm.

3. HCA Committee Reports:

  • Mount Vernon Council of Community Associations (MVCCA)

  • General Council Meeting – Art Ovalle

  • Riverside Apartments expects to start work on their redevelopment late this summer. At the moment, they don’t own the Sunoco and won’t include it in plans for now.

  • The Embark project to widen Route 1 is researching how to fund moving utility poles and wires underground.

  • Planning and Zoning - Ray Novitske

  • Apparently, Fairfax County doesn’t allow gardens above a certain size in your front yard. Don't worry, though: it’s not an ordinance the county enforces.

  • Arden Apartments (next to 7-Eleven)

  • On Tuesday, April 9th at 2:00pm in the Mount Vernon District Government Center (2511 Parkers Lane, Alexandria, VA 22306), there will be a Planning Commission meeting to discuss the project.

  • 7-Eleven at 8629 Richmond Highway (Lukens Lane & Route 1)

  • The committee approved a resolution supporting 7-Eleven’s proposal to add 8 gas pumps to its site as it redevelops.

  • Transportation - Jeff Woodward

  • A recent report on Route 1 traffic determined we don’t need a flyover at Huntington Avenue, even after the Riverside Apartments redevelopment.

  • VDOT has two small semi-portable speed caution signs but we can’t request them for Huntington Avenue because they’re only used on 3-lane (each direction) roads.

  • Environment and Recreation - Alan Ruof

  • Huntington Levee Update

  • The levee ribbon-cutting ceremony is still scheduled for the first week of June. As of now, it’s scheduled for a weekday morning, but Art Ovalle is working with Supervisor Storck and the project manager to find another date and time where more community residents might be able to attend.

  • Per our contacts at the County (Mr. David Franklin), local residents’ properties will be out of the floodplain for insurance purposes as of April 11, 2019.

  • Education – Meghan Woodward

  • Every senior at Fairfax County public high schools has a 50-hour community service requirement so the HCA might consider that for future work projects in the neighborhood.

  • Budget and Finance – Christoph Schmid

  • The County’s fiscal year begins July 1st. There will be public hearings over the budget next week (week of April 8th) in Fairfax City. Property tax rates should stay the same in the new FY but because of property value increases people may still see an increase in the amount they pay. Sewer charges will be going up.

  • Neighborhood Watch – Nick Lombardo

  • If you would like to participate in Neighborhood Watch, there is training required. It’s short, a one-hour “class” at district police headquarters, and Nick will schedule it if there is enough demand. Contact him at NeighborhoodWatch.Huntington@gmail.com.

  • Nick will be moving soon so the HCA is looking for volunteers to take over his NW duties. If interested, please send a note to the above e-mail.

4. New Business/Action Items:

  • HCA Board Member Departure

  • Caitlin Wilson is moving so will be unable to continue her Treasurer duties. Art Ovalle thanked Caitlin for serving the Huntington Community over the last few years and wished her the best. Laura Main (not present) has volunteered to fill the treasurer role. Art presented her as a candidate for the position. Jeff Woodward nominated her and Jamie seconded the motion. By a vote of 13-1, we approved Laura as our new Treasurer.

  • MVCCA Education Committee Representative Departure

  • Caitlin Wilson also served as HCA’s liaison for the MVCCA Education Committee so that has left a vacancy on that committee. Meghan Woodward has volunteered to take Caitlin’s place as our HCA representative. Thank you, Meghan!

  • HCA Neighborhood Watch Liaison Departure

  • Nick Lombardo is moving out of the neighborhood. He has led our NW program for the last couple of years. We need someone to replace him so if you would like to volunteer, contact Nick at NeighborhoodWatch.Huntington@gmail.com, or email Art Ovalle at President@HuntingtonOnline.org.

  • Earth Day cleanup

  • We’ll have a neighborhood clean-up on Saturday, April 20th at 10:30am. We’ll send out a reminder via email. As always, meet at the Old Chicago's Pizza restaurant parking lot and bring your clean-up tool of choice. We’ll focus on picking up trash along Huntington and sweeping gravel from the sidewalks.

5. Old Business/Updates:

  • Dim Light Program –

  • The new LED lights have been installed on Arlington Terrace but the new lights for Farrington Avenue are delayed. A County representative told Art the delay is due to County negotiations with Dominion Power over the cost.

  • The Upcoming Closure of the Huntington Metro Station this Summer

  • Metro has been working late hours on the “Kiss and Ride” area along Huntington Avenue. Normally they’re not allowed to make noise after a certain time but the contractor has been granted a temporary waiver.

  • Art Ovalle and Alan Ruof will attend a WMATA briefing in the next couple of weeks and report back to us at the May HCA meeting.

6. Upcoming Local Events in Fairfax County:

• 2019 Fairfax County Teen Job Fairs – Friday, April 5th and Saturday, April 6th. For more information visit https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/springfield/teenjobfairs

• Richmond Highway Urban Design Pop-Up #2 - April 6th at 11:00am. For more information visit https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/mountvernon/richmond-highway-urban-design-pop-2

7. Other Community Issues:

  • Mount Eagle Park invasive weed pulling and clean-up: Saturday, April 13th from 10:00am – 12:00pm.

  • Congratulations to Sara Mariska, who recently had a baby girl. Sara is a local lawyer with Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP who has represented several development projects in the area and has presented to the HCA membership many times.

  • Someone mentioned they’ve noticed trash appearing in easement areas between Glendale Terrace and Fairview Terrace. Dumping in these areas is against the law; the HCA encourages anyone observing such activity to report it to the police, Fairfax County via the county website, the Fairfax County Non-Emergency Phone Number, or the HCA Neighborhood Watch.

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