BCA held its Executive Board and General Membership meetings a week earlier than usual, on December 14, 2011, to avoid the holidays. During the Executive Board Meeting, the November Executive Board meeting minutes were approved with the changes that were discussed. Neighborhood Conservation (NC) Plan Update Committee Chairman David Van Wagner reported that there are eight chapters that he expects to be completed over the next year. Two will be ready in the next couple months and will be presented to the BCA membership as they become available. First, NC Advisory Committee Alternate Representative Mark Haynes reported on the recent NC Advisory Committee meeting, saying that six projects were funded from other neighborhoods. However, BCA is not far away from having a project funded in the next funding round, depending on the county’s financial situation. BCA’s highest priority project is a sidewalk project in the 1000 block of N. Edison Street. President Judah dal Cais discussed the design that was selected by the county for the Carlin Springs Road overpass, which was presented at the November BCA meeting. The county is proceeding with “option 2”—10.5-foot and 11.5-foot lanes for cars, a 5-foot lane for bicycles, and 8 feet available for pedestrians. More information is available on the county’s Website. Dal Cais also reported that the county would be holding a long-range planning meeting regarding the site plan for the Harris Teeter–American Service Center sites on January 4, 2012, at the Navy League Building, 2300 Wilson Blvd. in the large conference room. No motions were made during the Executive Board meeting.

The General Membership meeting began with a presentation by Democratic primary candidate Terron Sims, who hopes to run for the Arlington County Board. Sims is an Iraq war veteran who retired from the Army to pursue his passion for local government. Simms has experience rebuilding communities and providing municipal services in Iraq. In Arlington, he has been engaged with mentoring and tutoring youth and has served as chair of Arlington’s Fiscal Affairs Advisory Commission.

BCA members Ed Fendley and Chris Healy gave a presentation about work previously done to improve sidewalks and pedestrian safety on Wilson Boulevard in Bluemont through the county’s arterial transportation management (ATM) program. They highlighted several areas where sidewalks are not up to standards based on width guidance from the county and Americans with Disabilities Act. BCA members unanimously agreed that sidewalks were a concern to the community and voted to authorize the formation of a task force that would continue working on the problem and exploring options to address the issue. Anyone interested in joining the BCA Task Force on Arterial Road Sidewalks and Pedestrian Safety should email Task Force Co-Chairs, Ed Fedley, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), and Chris Healey, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Meetings will be held at Two Chefs Restaurant (5019 Wilson Boulevard) at 8:00 am on the third Saturday of each month beginning January 21.

After one outstanding item was confirmed, the membership voted to approve the November General Membership meeting minutes as drafted. The General Membership meeting included a motion to spend up to $100 for purchasing tines for the tiller in the existing neighborhood Tool Loaner Program, which was approved. Tools are made available to BCA members during the spring and fall, as announced in the BCA newsletter. Discussion of adding tools to the program will continue at a future meeting.

[Note: Full BCA meeting minutes will be posted to the BCA Website once they have been approved by the membership (for General Membership meetings), or by the Executive Board (for Executive Board meetings.)]