Meeting - November 18, 2024

November 18, 2024

Board Members Present

  • Joy Rogers (President)
  • Leah Hopper (Vice President)
  • Kirk Millikan (Secretary)
  • Anne Rhodes (Membership Coordinator)

Community Members Present

  • Lieutenant Andorfer (City of Richmond Police Department)
  • Charles Blevins
  • Mark Brandon
  • James Browne
  • Elise Corliss
  • Christina Garnett
  • Kim Griffin
  • Toni Halsey
  • Amy Robins (5th District City Councilmember Liaison)
  • Susan Rischewski
  • Clara Russell
  • Lee Williams

Police Department Updates

  • Update from the 3rd Police Precinct, Lieutenant Andorfer from Sector 312:

    • No crime over the last 28 days in the neighborhood or in Maymont Park.

    • If you have a Hyundai or Kia, steering wheel locks are still available from the precinct office. Do not leave anything of value in plain sight, including change in center console.

    • Theft of catalytic converters has been picking up, particularly from Toyota Priuses. Thefts have been consistently low over the last year, but they are picking up a lot recently. Midas of Richmond will paint catalytic converters free of charge, and the paint can act as a visual deterrent against thefts.

5th District and Maymont Updates

  • Update from the 5th District City Councilmember Liaison Amy Robins:

    • Tonight there was a city civic league event to bring together civic leagues.

    • Tuesday December 10th from 5:30-8:30pm is the 5th District Holiday Party at Maymont’s Westover building. The party is free to attend, and an RSVP is requested for a head count for food. If you know any 5th District businesses that could provide food, contact Amy Robins.

    • Texas Beach bridge: the work to repair the bridge has gone out to bid, with bids closing at the end of November. The City hopes to award the project in mid-December, and the contractor will set the schedule to repair the bridge in 2025. In the future, there will be a police camera tower put back in the Texas Beach parking lot to record the parking lot. There will likely be a lot of visitors when the bridge reopens.

    • The City is down about 150 police officers city-wide, with 23 in the police academy right now.

    • A neighbor recommended that city police do sobriety checkpoints on Texas Avenue when the bridge reopens.

    • Amy mentioned that there are two new park rangers in the James River Park System who can talk to park visitors.

    • Amy emailed Riverview Playground survey results to everyone who responded to the survey, with over 80% of neighbors supporting the playground. Community gardeners support the shift of the community garden. A timeline for the community garden relocation and playground construction is to be determined, and the community garden will be shifted first.

    • Amy is working on budget requests for the next fiscal year. There will be a request to repave the asphalt paths in Maymont.

    • A neighbor asked about leaf pickup. Amy said that there is information about leaf pickup in recent 5th District newsletters that are emailed out. The City will come by for $35 to pick up leaves that are piled up in front of your house right next to the street. Amy recommended that neighbors get together and combine leaf piles so that only one $35 fee has to be paid.

General Community Notes

  • Neighborhood discussion:

  • Civic League Treasurer Report:

    • The bank account balance is currently $2,591.64. A $100 donation was recently made to the Richmond SPCA in memory of a neighbor who passed away.

  • Garden Glow recap:

    • Overall, this year was a much better experience for neighbors than previous years. Changing the entrance was a big help.

    • A neighbor mentioned that lights were not pointed directly at the houses on Hampton like they had been in previous years.

    • 235 tickets were given out to neighbors.

    • Making Hampton Street one way during the event was asked for by Hampton Street residents to help with traffic flow, but this did not take place this year. It will be brought up for next year.

    • A neighbor brought up concerns regarding driving through Byrd Park at night with lots of pedestrians crossing the road from the gravel parking lot to the Nature Center.

    • Amy said that the neighborhood could pursue parking permits for the neighborhood that would be $25/car/year. Half of the parking ticket revenue goes back to the neighborhood association. Guest passes would be available.

    • Joy mentioned that Resident Only Parking placards could be placed in the neighborhood similar to those in City Stadium, but those are not enforceable.

    • A neighbor brought up trash concerns within a few blocks of Maymont. Maymont staff picks up trash in their parking lot shortly before the park opens but does not pick up trash outside of the parking lot.

  • Halloween recap:

    • Door tags were passed out to indicate houses that were handing out candy. A neighbor mentioned that she had very few trick or treaters, but other neighbors said they had a lot.

    • In the future, the Civic League will still provide door tags but not plan an official neighborhood gathering on Halloween.

    • Amy said that some neighborhoods make a list of houses that are handing out candy and send out a recommended path between houses.

    • Next meeting will be January 27th to avoid the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

    • There will be a January 1st neighborhood gathering at 4pm. Look out for more information on the location.

    • Joy’s term as president will be up in March 2025. If anyone is interested in being president, please email maymontcivicleaguerva@gmail.com.

  • Christmas Bows: the Civic League will reimburse anyone who would like to purchase bows for the trees on their block.

    • The Civic League plans to make a donation of $150 to FeedMore for Thanksgiving.

    • Amy is handing out turkeys to city residents on Saturday. If anyone is interested in helping, contact Amy.

  • Meeting adjourned at 8:15pm

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