May 2000
vol3, no4

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Bluemont Civic Association
PO Box 5134
Arlington, Virginia 22205
http://members.nbci.com/bluemont/

BCA Officers and Representatives

7th Street next in project queue

Jefferson Street is nearing a successful completion of the first petition. So far we have 42 'yes' votes out of 58 potential votes for speed humps, and 42 'yes' votes out of 58 potential votes for sidewalks - a 72% approval rate for each. The church approved their share of votes. In addition, we expect 2 to 3 more 'yes' votes from absentees that have been contacted by phone.

Kensington design meetings will not start until late July or early August due to the lengthy cue of approved projects. Abingdon should occur sooner, however, we are not sure of the timing of this project. The design phase of Jefferson Street will be delayed until August as well.

We are initiating the next project in our Neighborhood Conservation Plan: 7th Street between Buchanan Street and George Mason Drive, Buchanan Street between 7th Road and 7th Street and the east side of Albemarle Street near Wilson Boulevard. We will be forming a committee at the May 24 General Membership meeting to begin the petition process. For more information, contact Carol Spicer (524-7843, spicerca@gunet.georgetown.edu).

Transitional home plans at May meeting

Richard Lutz, President and other members of the board of Borromea Housing attended our April general membership meeting and gave a presentation on their planned Abingdon Street transitional housing. Concerns about parking, safety, the proposed renovation, visiting hours and supervision of the girls were all addressed.

The use permit has been requested for transitional housing for teen-age mothers. They plan to update the house, adding 4 bedrooms and 3 baths. This makes 6 bedrooms and 4 baths total.

John Hensley Architects is expected to have designs to their board by mid May. Mr Lutz has been invited to share these with us at the May 24 General Membership meeting.

The plan is to house 4 mothers with their children. The mothers are under 18 years of age so require adult supervision 24 hours a day. There will be a resident who will be there overnight and professional staff during the day. Parking will be provided behind the house. The young mothers are not expected to own cars.

A standard condition for the use permit is to establish a neighborhood advisory committee, which will provide a method for dealing with anything that comes up after the house opens up, probably in January.

Slate of nominees for 2000-2001

The following people (see next column) have been nominated for next year's BCA officers. The election will be held at our Annual Meeting on June 14. If you would like to make another nomination, please contact Carl Hallinan (812-4797, challinan@aol.com).

BCA NOMINEES: 2000-2001 President: Ed Fendley First Vice President: David Springberg Second Vice President: Talmadge Williams Treasurer: Carol Spicer Secretary: Karen DeCarlo Neighborhood Conservation Representative: No nominees Neighborhood Conservation Alternate: David Springberg Civic Federation Delegate: Adrienne Pilot, Bob Atkins, Gerry Procanick, Talmadge Williams Civic Federation Alternate: Bernie Berne, Ellen Arbruster, Melodee Melin, Carl Hallinan

Neighborhood cleans stream, plants tree for Neighborhood Day

Come by Lacey Woods Park and see the new Sweet Gum tree planted near the intersection of North Frederick Street and North 11th Road.

Volunteers from Arlington ReLeaf assisted us in the planting of a beautiful specimen. The Fendley and DeCarlo children helped backfill with dirt, apply mulch, and water. Elenor and Rick Hodges of ACE (Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment) stopped by after sponsoring a cleanup of Four Mile Run in the Bluemont neighborhood.

The tree will require watering each week that sufficient rain doesn't fall until October or November. Residents close to the park will be signing up to 'adopt' the tree for a week or two during this period to keep it watered. Roy and Shirley Beck have offered use of their water faucet to keep anyone from having to hike too far carrying loads of water (it requires 8 to 10 gallons per week).

The Sweet Gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) is a deciduous broadleaf tree of upright habit that grows to heights of 30 to 50 feet spreads 20 to 30 feet. Glossy, green, star-shaped leaves (a bit like maple) turn yellow, orange, red, and purple in the fall. The fruit is spiny, brown and round. An additional ornamental feature is the winged or corky bark projections that develop along the branches. The sweet taste and gummy feel of the sap are the origin of its common name. It likes to have plenty of water. If the Sweet Gum Tree is given room to develop, few trees will approach it in symmetrical beauty.

Tree Care for Drought Season

Mulching can help trees weather a drought be retaining moisture in the soil. Studies have shown that mulching and irrigation produced dramatic increases in growth in transplanted trees. Another reason for mulching is to prevent damage to the trunk from lawn mowers or trimmers.

Tips from the Virginia Cooperative Extension:

• Mulch, but don't over mulch newly planted trees and shrubs. Two to three inches of mulch is best -- less if a fine material, more if coarse. Use either organic mulches (shredded or chunk pine bark, pine straw, composts) or inorganic mulches (volcanic and river rocks).
• Keep mulch from touching tree trunks and shrub stems. This prevents disease and rodent problems if using organic mulches, and bark abrasion if using inorganic mulches.
• Don't use black plastic beneath mulch around trees and shrubs because it blocks air and water exchange. For added weed control, use landscape fabrics that resist weed root penetration. Apply only one to two inches of mulch atop fabrics to prevent weeds from growing in the mulch.

BCA Calendar - Meetings & Events

Officers

Membership

BCA membership costs $12 per household per calendar year. Dues are prorated $1 per month for new members who join after the beginning of the year (e.g., currently, membership is $10 for the remainder of 2000). To renew or join, send a check to: Treasurer, Bluemont Civic Association, PO Box 5134, Arlington, VA 22205 (Please include your name, postal and e-mail addresses, and phone number).