Approved- September 2022 HCA Meeting Minutes
HCA Meeting September 1, 2022
Zoom meeting attendees: 20
Officers:
Tamara Srader, President
Mark Rogers, Vice President
Michelle Arsenault, Secretary
Michael Hamill, Treasurer (not present)
a. Call to Order @19:32
b. Approval of Minutes. The minutes from the August meeting were approved with no corrections. The president will update the webpage to reflect the correct month for the notes.
c. Treasurer’s Report.
Tamara Srader gave the treasurers update. Last year the HCA changed the schedule, so dues are collected at the beginning of each year. Currently there are 22 paying members, and 400 people on the mailing list. Dues are $12.00/year and are used to pay fees for website maintenance ($400.00/year), registration to the state of VA so we can maintain a bank account, as well as membership dues for several Mount Vernon Citizen Councils. Currently there is about $400.00 in the account.
Tamara sent reminders this week to everyone on the mailing.
A member noted that there is an issue with the donation page – there is nowhere to add your name to indicate who is paying. Tamara and Michael are working to resolve that.
d. Committee and Other Reports
Mt. Vernon Council meetings. http://www.mvcca.org/record-archive
Environment and Recreation Committee (E & R) (Rep. Alan Ruof). No update. The Committee hasn’t met but will meet later this month.
Planning & Zoning Committee (Rep. Ray Novitske). The Committee heard a presentation from company that wants to take over the old gas station on the corner of Huntington and Richmond Highway. They are looking to put in a “recognized convenience store” that will have food to go. It sounded like it will be higher end than a 7-11 or Wawa. Without naming the company, they are seeking feedback about the level of support. Issues that were discussed included potential traffic congestion, storm water, the overgrown ditch on corner, however, the Committee didn’t have a lot of negative comments. The community encouraged pedestrian access and are grateful that the property will be maintained. Members discussed support for fast casual, walkable establishments, but did a member expressed concern for growth that involves more car-oriented grab-and-go businesses. Since there are many communities surrounding it, it would be more valuable to not have grab-and-go. A member also added that there are plans for a restaurant across from there on Richmond Highway.
Infill Development (Ray Novitske). Ray had to leave the call, so Tamara gave a brief description about what infill is. It occurs when people buy a property, (single family homes) and then build between structures (infill).
Public Safety Committee (Rep. Jason Zaragoza). No meeting in July/August. There will be a joint meeting with the Transportation Committee in September. Topics of discussion include pedestrian safety at several intersections like GW Parkway at Belle Haven and Belle View. According to a recent pedestrian survey, they are not pedestrian friendly, so they are discussing changes including speed bumps, etc. Jason shared a link and noted that the meetings are not well attended. Tamara will also add the link to the HCA Facebook page and webpage.
Daphne mentioned the intersection near Richmond Hwy at end of Huntington. Jason indicated that is part of study area. She also mentioned the recent shooting on Huntington near the shopping plaza where the ABC store is.
Jason offered to invite the safety officer to a future HCA meeting.
Tamara informed the group about the intent to build 12 townhomes on the property located behind Riverview Terrace at the top of Biscayne In the forested area. The property at corner of upper Biscayne was sold to a developer about a year ago and the owner of the property behind Riverview are working together to build 12 townhouses. Currently there are two single family homes back there, and they are working with a lawyer because of the easement that is involved.
Education Committee (Mark Rogers). No update.
e. President’s Report. Update from Tamara Srader.
Tamara continued to address issues resulting from the construction on the corner of Biscayne and Huntington Ave. around the Arden Development by Wesley Housing. She recently called the Fairfax police non-emergency number about construction parking, trash, and the pothole at the end of Biscayne. Although there is no parking enforcement officer for this area, they did eventually send an officer to speak with them and got confirmation that they will monitor parking, repair the pothole on Biscayne, and will repave the streets around the building soon. Wesley will also address trash issue especially in alleyway between
Tamara encouraged members to call the non-emergency number if there are any more issues.
Tamara will invite the representative from the Aventon Development (at the Metro Station at the top of Biscayne) to the next HCA meeting.
Reminder that membership dues are due in January, and if you want to vote on HCA matters such as resolutions and officer elections, you must be a paying member. Join here: https://www.huntingtononline.org/join-hca Dues are $12.00/year, and you are supporting a small volunteer organization.
HCA Officer elections are in November, and we will vote for a President, Vice President, and Secretary. Reach out to Tamara for information in case you are interested.
Last fall we had a Halloween activity/treasure hunt, party. Looking for volunteers to organize something for this year.
The lack of retail in the area is a constant topic of conversation, and many developments have included it in their initial plans only to eliminate it later. Tamara wants to do a survey to gauge how many people would support the HCA contacting Supervisor Storck’s office about this. A member mentioned that there is planned ground-level retail included in the future development near the Parker. This new development will be where the lawn is now and was part of the master development plan. The developer filed a plan amendment request, which will be discussed at the October Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. Jason will ask Nick in Supervisor Storck’s office about statistics on the density of the area and report back.
Huntington Club development. It is uncertain whether the planned renovations will happen, but if so construction will start at the top of hill (on North Kings Highway), and work its way down to Huntington.
Tamara and Jason walked the forested strip of land between the Metro parking garage and Biscayne, behind the duplexes, because there is talk of it being developed. It is owned by Metro and is public land.
Metro shutdown starts September 10, 2022 and is supposed to end October 22. No trains running South of DCA. Buses will replace trains. The last time Metro shut down and they ran buses instead, there was a problem with trash at the bus stations on Huntington, and a member of the community ended up cleaning it herself every day. Tamara will contact Metro and request that they add extra trashcans.
Tamara shared a link for the Mount Vernon Council report, and highlighted information about the road diet/bike lanes on Huntington. www.Virginiadot.org/programs/resources/bike/23671-
f. Published Agenda Items and Resolutions. None.
g. Member Time.
A member asked about lawn cutting and path clearing. Someone suggested calling Fairfax County Park Authority or VDOT. Both are responsive.
A member shared a picture of a new signpost at the levee behind Parker. Alan thinks the signs were put up by the developer.
h. Area Associations’ Time. N/A
i. Invited Guests’ Time. No rep from Wesley Housing/Arden or the Aventon on the call so did not have an update.
j. Other Elected Representatives’ Time. N/A
k. Public Time. N/A
l. The meeting was adjourned at 20:34