Minutes

Chris Kupczyk called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. and moved to approve the May BSCL meeting minutes. Jennifer Lis seconded the motion, which was then approved.

Budget Report and Approval

Jennifer Lis presented the proposed BSCL budget for 2016-17. She noted that 1) newsletter ads were up, 2) the BSCL bank account balance is above $90,000, and 3) Barbara Swart was reviewing bids for re-painting the Barcroft Community House exterior. Following some questions on the community house water bill, insurance, and how we market the house for rental, the membership voted to approve the budget.

Call for Newsletter Articles

Alyssa Ford Morel, the Barcroft News editor, reiterated her recent request via the BSCL e-mail list about the need for more newsletter stories. The group also suggested including the minutes of the previous BSCL meeting in each newsletter. Randy Swart recommended that, in lieu of the full minutes, the secretary could prepare a brief summary of the previous meeting for the newsletter, which was the practice in years past.

NCAC Update

Deborah Wood, our liaison to the Neighborhood Conservation Advisory Committee (NCAC), reported that the membership needs to vote on a new funding priority for the coming year. That discussion will take place at the October BSCL meeting. Deborah also mentioned that the project we voted to submit last year—improvements to the intersection of Route 50, Abingdon, and Henderson—is currently undergoing study by the Virginia Department of Transportation. Deborah also stated that our neighborhood conservation plan, last revised in 2008, needs new priorities. It was agreed that parts of the conservation plan would be put in the newsletter.

Committees

Chris announced that Charlie Smiroldo and Keith Fred will represent Barcroft on the Columbia Pike Form Based Code Advisory Working Group. In addition, Rosemary Leffler has agreed to represent Barcroft on the County Community Development Citizen's Advisory Committee (CDCAC). Chris further noted that he is convening a bylaws revision committee composed of himself, Keith Fred, Randy Swart, Eric Harold and Dedra Curteman.

Missing Links Sidewalk Discussion

Tim McIntosh, county liaison to the NCAC, gave a presentation on the NCAC missing links program, which seeks to complete missing portions of sidewalk. Generally, such projects can be completed in a matter of months, assuming there are no engineering challenges and at no cost to the affected property owners. He further noted that the initiation for such projects is civic association-driven and that the county has completed such projects both with and without the owners' consent.

A lengthy and vigorous debate about applying for funding to install a missing portion of sidewalk on 8th Street then ensued. The owner on whose property the sidewalk would be built spoke in opposition to the sidewalk. A representative of a group of other 8th Street residents, among others, spoke in favor of it. As a compromise, David Michaelson introduced a motion for the county to explore a long bump-out extending from Wakefield Street to just past the affected property. That motion failed by a vote of 12-17. The membership then voted on a motion to apply for funding to install the sidewalk as originally planned. The motion passed by a vote of 20-7, with 3 abstaining. Chris thanked everyone for conducting a civil discussion and said he would submit the application shortly.

Following this final vote, a motion to adjourn was seconded and approved.

Respectfully submitted,
Christine Hopkins, Secretary