NORTH ROSSLYN CIVIC ASSOCIATION
TO: NORTH ROSSLYN CIVIC ASSOCIATION
FROM: JENNIFER ZEIEN (FOR ANNE SPIESMAN, SECRETARY)
SUBJECT: DRAFT MINUTES OF THE JAN 29, 2008 MEMBERSHIP MEETING
DATE: JANUARY 30, 2008

MEETING MINUTES
The regularly scheduled membership meeting of the North Rosslyn Civic Association was called to order at approximately 7:00 PM on January 29, 2008 at the Atrium. President Mark Antell, Treasurer Paul Derby, and Directors Jennifer Zeien, Paul Mulligan and John Seidel were present, along with an assortment of members and guests.
1. Mark Antell announced that there would be a short business meeting followed by a presentation from the local police for District #2.
2. Treasurer's Report: Paul Derby stated that the Association operated with a budget of approximately $500 per year, $300 to $400 of which was rolled over from prior years, and that the goal of the Association was to reach a wider audience within its geographic boundaries. He said that NRCA intends to hold a picnic in September to provide an opportunity to meet others in the community and encourage membership in the association. In addition to individual members, ten associations participate in the NRCA. Residents at the Palomar and Turnberry will be within the NRCA boundaries when these buildings come on line. He encouraged everyone to pay their dues, noting that the web site now accepts credit card payments.
3. Rosslyn Renaissance Update: Jennifer Zeien reported that the principle developments in the Rosslyn Renaissance were the approval of Monday Properties' development at 1812 N. Moore St. Landis Jones added that the 1812 Development had as a community benefit the lease, rent free for ten years, of the space once occupied by the Newseum. Various proposals for use of the space have been forwarded. Jennifer Zeien said another effort underway in Rosslyn Renaissance was development of site plan conditions for new developments. She encouraged NRCA members to provide feedback on the list of conditions posted on the web site.
4. Rosslyn Metro Station Update: Paul Derby updated the group on current Metro-related activities. He stated that many of the items identified for Rosslyn station had been corrected, with the exception being cleaning of brake dust from the track side signs on the lower level platform. He is also working with Paul Bumbry on needed improvements to the Arlington Cemetery Station, since the station has no natural constituency.
5. Turnberry Tower Update: Paul Derby reported that Turnberry had recently poured the ceiling to the main entry for the residential tower. The finished building will be ten stories higher than the Holiday Inn on the adjacent property.
6. Wilson School Update: Mark Antell summarized developments on NRCA's effort to have the school retained for educational purposes and to remove trailers from the ball field. He reported that there have been some positive developments – the school board may adopt a resolution Thursday night to maintain the facility as an elementary school. This will give us green space when that elementary school starts, but it does not solve the current green space issue – the trailers are still there and the school board has no immediate plans to remove them. Arlington Public Schools has appealed the NRCA's victory respecting the trailers from the Board of Zoning Appeals to the Circuit Court. In sum, it is still possible that development on this site can be stopped.

7. Rosslyn Commons: John Seidel reported on the January 10 site plan review committee meeting for Rosslyn Common. Being just south of Clarendon Boulevard, the development is not in NRCA's geographic area. The Radnor Heights Fort Myer Civic Association ("RAFOM") has taken the lead on community input to the process. RAFOM and residents in the adjacent Belvedere Condominium were satisfied with the developer's proposal, but concerns were raised by the site plan review committee including: lack of green space – proposed to be increased by putting townhomes back to back or by replacing townhomes portion of the development with a second tower. The latter proposal would increase density on the site and is opposed by RAFOM.
8. Community Service Project: John Seidel raised the possibility that NRCA could perform a community service project, providing an additional dimension to the organization and potentially attracting additional members. Volunteer opportunities exist whereby people in the community can become engaged. He encouraged those present to watch for information on the web site.
9. Presentation by Community Police: The floor was ceded to Captain Brian Berke, the Second District Commander, and three members of his force who gave a presentation on current policing in the Rosslyn area. He explained the redistricting that changed the number of districts in Arlington from 4 to 3, creating a patrol captain and allowing the remaining three district commanders to focus on longer-term county issues. Currently, Rosslyn is part of District #2, which now includes Clarendon, Court House, Rosslyn, and Crystal City/Pentagon City South. Officer Birmingham gave a synopsis of crime and accident records since October 28. Historically, the area has had a low crime rate for the last seven years, but there has been an uptick since the beginning of 2008. It is impossible to say at this point whether this reflects a trend or is a temporary situation. The officers discussed a recent series of robberies currently under investigation. They were hopeful that they would obtain sufficient evidence in the next couple of weeks to apprehend the perpetrators. Their advice was (1) don't walk alone after dark, (2) stay in well lit areas, (3) be ready to dial 911, preferably before any crime occurs – alert the police if there is a developing situation where you do not feel comfortable. A second crime trend involves larcenies from vehicles. They advised attendees to (1) lock vehicles, (2) remove GPSs and I-Pods from vehicles when parking them, as well as all vestiges that such systems may be in use – suction cups on a windshield or wiring for a GPS unit can prompt a break in. A third trend (in Districts #1 and #3) is towards vandalism of vehicles using spark plugs, BBs, and rocks. This is a very difficult type of crime to solve since there is no physical evidence linking perpetrators to the crime. Captain Berke recommended Richard St. Clair (crime prevention officer) and Heather Hurlock (crime prevention specialist) to NRCA as a resource for information or presentations on personal safety. He also called attention to Arlington Alert as a resource available to the community. Issues raised by those in attendance included homeless use of Skywalks for sleeping and urinals and danger to pedestrians in cross-walks.
10. Meeting was adjourned at 8:15 PM.