Ms.McQuinn began the meeting with an update on the budget conflict between city council and the mayor. She then touched on the Downtown Master Plan, saying that the plan will next go to the Land Use commitee, and council will vote on the plan in probably October or November.

Discussion of the Downtown Master Plan prompted a question from the audience about Echo Harbor. Stating that “developers have a lot of clout”, the citizen declared that “we need 5 council members to stand against Echo Harbor”. McQuinn replied that while “we (city council) are not against development”, “access to the river and protecting the viewshed is essential” and promised that the coucnil is committed to doing what is right. It came out during this exchange that changes have been made to the Echo Harbor plan, but that no one has seen any new drawings.

Captain Paul Ronca of the First Precinct was next up. He stated that crime is down, though there has been some seasonal property theft: lawmowers, mopeds, theft from vehicles. The HVAC units are being taken from the outside of homes (mostly from houses under construction/renovation), keep an eye and ear out for that kind of thing. Ronca introduced Dective Lamont Tucker as a key element in the recent clean-up on 22nd Street, spoke to prostitution and gang concerns from Fulton, and took comments about prostitution north of Fairmount Avenue.

Ms.McQuinn then announed a few upcoming dates to note:

• National Night Out will be Tuesday August 5th (somehow the hottest day of the year).
• Aug 4th 9:30AM – Dig begins at the Lumpkin’s Jail location.

Up next were community concerns:

• A man spoke about a house that he has recently begun renovating on the 500 block 33rd Street, but the city wants to demolish it?
• There is a block of 35th Street that has dubios construction, people hangin’ out, drinking.
• Complaints from Fulton about DPW driving on lawns to paint street lights
• 1400 block of 23rd Street – vacant houses, not boarded up, folks seem to be doing illicit stuff in and around the houses.
• There seem to be a rash of older trees dropping limbs into the yards of older residents north of Fairmount Avenue.

Ms.McQuinn let us know about a skunk sighting on 33rd Street to end the meeting.

For what it is worth, in the audience were mayoral candidate Robert Grey, school board candidate Don Coleman, and representatives from New Visions Civic League, the Church Hill Association, and the Greater Fulton Civic Association. Mayoral candidate Lawrence Williams made a brief appearance as well.

25th Street Traffic Control Circle

First up was M.Khara of the Department of Public Works, speaking on the ongoing process of getting the 25th street traffic circle (or “roundabout”) actually constructed. Khara says that statistically, traffic circles have less accidents and are more efficient than traditional signalled intersections. The circle should increase pedestrian safety, slow traffic speed, and offer a gateway feature to the neighborhood. Budgeted at $550,000, the project will include installation of the landscaped traffic circle, new sidewalks, divider medians approaching the circle, and new signage and pavement markings. Delayed for some time by budgetting issues, construction is slated to begin in April 2008 and should be completed by August 2008.

In the Q&A session after Khara’s presentation, a wide-ranging discussion erupted on the specific needs of other areas in the neighborhood (missing sidewalks, potholes in the roads), and of the other recent improvements made to 25th Street corridor including the decorative lights and sidewalk improvements.

Senior Heating Bills/Payment Plan

Joyce Brent and Michelle Tarry from the Department of Public Utilities were next up and shared information about Senior Heating Bills/Payment Plans. They made available registration forms for Senior Care and gave out free weatherization kits to folks 65 or older. Senior Care is a program that puts in place protections for senior citizens so that no late fees are added and utilities will not be cut off during the winter months.

2008 Assessment Updates

James Hester, City of Richmond Assessor, gave a presentation on how the annual assessment process works. The assessment is an annual determination of the value of property if it were to be sold on the open market. He pointed out that as they are getting ready to mail out the 2008 reassessments, it is important that the Assessors Office have on file the correct mailing address for the current owner. He noted that the average increase city-wide for the year has been about 4 1/2%. He cited an un-named commercial neighborhood in the west end where value has jumped 78%. To dispute or request a review of an assessment value, follow the directions on the assessment notice that will be mailed to you.

Comunity Concerns

The audience shared with us…

• Lerry Schaftlein shared information about a petition to slow traffic speed on Venable Street, calling for more speed limit signs, and 4-way stops at Venable&21st, Venable&Jasmine, and Venable&Tulip. Copies of the petition are up at Jumin’J’s and Captian Buzzy’s.
• McQuinn: How can we raise participation in these meetings?
• Why is water so expensive? McQuinn: We are in the process of looking into this as a council.
• Next time: The future of the development at Nine Mile, 25th, and Fairmount.
• Are there incentives to bring businesses into the area? CARE & Enterprise Zones
• The post office is so pitiful…
• $.99 store is in the works for 22nd and Fairmount.
• There is a rumor that VCU want to buy and demolish Mosby Court, that they’ve already bought Fair Hills apartments. (john_m: Fair Hills and Jefferson Townhomes are owned by Genesis Properties)

Agenda to include:

• The 2008 Assessment Updates
• The 25th & M Street Traffic Control Circle Turn About
• 7th District Crime Stats
• Winter Fire Prevention
• Winter Home Heating Bills and Payment Plans for Seniors

After a welcome from Representative McQuinn, first up was City Assessor James Hester speaking on the role of the City Assessor’s office in an attempt to get ahead of the yearly crunch that happens early in the year. The core responsibility of the Assessor’s Office is to assess the value of a property as of a certain day. This is based on general changes in the market and the physical condition of the property. Towards this end, they are in the field year-round checking on the physical data. Once the assessment value is determined by the office, the Department of Finance actually does the billing. To talk about how the value was determines, contact the Assesor’s Office. To discuss the billing, contact the Finance Department. The tax rate, which actually determines what a resident pays as their tax, is determined by the City Council.

Next to present was City Auditor Umesh Dalal. Dalal explained that his 12-person office is tasked to ensure that there is proper accounting in city offices and that the city is in compliance with laws and policies. He stated that the maximum benefit comes from reviews of efficiency and effectiveness among city programs, looking for fraud, waste, and abuse.

The City Auditor’s Office has performed several audits since Dalal’s arrival, with a look at the Richmond City Public Schools occuring soon after he arrived. From looking at the Richmond Public Schools numbers, it was determined that RPS spending per student is some 20+ percent higher than surrounding school systems. Dalal stated that, astonishingly, per student technology spending is higher in Richmond than in Henrico but that a much lower percentage is actually spent on the students. Also: more ongoing audits of RPS; have also audited administration (calling the Fleet Services “mismanaged”, no other way to put it); recent audit of Richmond Behavioral Health Authority (RBHA). Fraud hotline: (804) 646-5697 or Richmond Fraud Squad.

Next was a presentation of recent 1st Precinct crime stats from 1st Precinct Executive Officer Jeff McKenney. He began by thanking the crowd for turning out and emphasizing the importance of community involvement. The 7th district is about 2/3rds of 1st precinct; for both this is the 3rd consecutive year of crime being down. As you know, citywide in July & August robberies went up (there were 19 robberies in 7th district in August, for instance). In response, the police initiated a targeted initiative which resulted in there bieng only 3 robberies and 7 arrests for robbery in September. Homocide is down for the year, which is in contrast to the national trends. The clearance rate on homocides is 20-30% higher than national average.

Voting at Precinct 703 has been moved from the Boys & Girls Club based on ADA issues with the Boys & Girls Club. A representative gave a quick overview of new voting machines that can be carried out to car to help ensure than seniors are able to vote without having to go into the building to vote.

George Ross, representative of the firms working on the Echo Harbor project, gave a prentation on the development that they are working to build on the currently vacant industrial site. They’ve been working for almost 2 years towards getting the 200 unit river front condos bult. They showed plans that have been “redesigned to accommodate community concerns”. The buildings are 80 to 180 feet in height, with an average height of 150-160 feet. Ross spent some time talking about the benefits of the project: many of the units would be garden-roofed, an extension of canal-walk/river walk, improvements to Shiplock Park, plans to use condo fees to help maintain area. He cited studies that show that the condos would be expected to send 6x the money back to city what the city would need to spend on sevices. I had to leave during this presentation; I have no idea what happened after this…

When I had to leave, presentions were still on the agenda for Bill Axsell speaking about Rocketts Landing, a look at Elected vs. Appoointed School Board, and time for open community concerns.

Next meeting is scheduled for Octobe 25th, 2007, at 6:30PM @ The Neighborhood Resource Center.