Jan '01

Florenz Sterling edited and Mary Garber produced the January, 2001 issue of the Newsletter. That issue includes:

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Civic Association General Meeting ? February 6, 6:30 PM for pizza; 7:00 pm for meeting, Christ Ascension Church

Security Patrol Training ? February 22, 7:00 pm, Battery Park Christian Church, Call Winnie Cobb (264-0959) or Chris Sterling (266-7496) for information.

Here's a roundup of what's going on in and around Bellevue, and how your civic association is getting involved on your behalf.

Still waiting on Crisis Pregnancy

To update you on an issue discussed in the last newsletter, Crisis Pregnancy Center (CPC) has now obtained ownership of the medical complex at 4100 Brook Road (just behind the stores at Bellevue and Brook). CPC currently operates in Carytown, but lacks facilities to conduct diagnostic tests on its clients and to conduct birthing classes. CPC's executive director, Michael Daily, met with the Bellevue Board in July to brief us on plans for the Brook Road site. Before they can offer these services, though, they must apply to the City's Department of Community Development to obtain a use permit as a nonprofit medical services provider. The permit must then be approved by City Council. To date, no paperwork has been filed with the City, so we have no definitive plans to respond to. If you'd like more information or are interested in getting involved, please contact Tim Pfohl at 264-1362 or Delaney Mescall at 262-2608.

At the request of our Ginter Park neighbors, we joined several civic associations and organizations in opposing an application for an off-premise alcoholic beverage permit for a convenience store to be opened at 837 Azalea Avenue. The store will be owned by Teresa West of Jolly Company Inc., and operated as Jolly Mart. The applicant passed the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control's background check, but a number of issues alarmed the neighbors and were conveyed to the ABC special agent overseeing the application, Mr. Orlando Caraballo. Concerns include the history of crime problems in the area, the proliferation of nearby ABC outlets, and the proximity to facilities for youths and other citizens at Pine Camp recreation and cultural facility (which it abuts), John Marshall and Henrico High Schools, Henderson Middle School, and the Northside YMCA.

Based on the objections, the ABC staff has notified us they will schedule a hearing on the application (no word yet on a specific date). Watch the Bellevue website for more info, or call Agent Caraballo at 213-4620 or the ABC hotline at 1-800-552-3200. Feel free to attend the hearing and express your views.

Westminster-Canterbury plans

At the gracious invitation of Westminster-Canterbury President Don Lecky, Bellevue has been represented at a multi-month planning process to determine the future role and physical configuration of our institutional neighbor on Westbrook Avenue. Westminster Canterbury obtained the former Charter Westbrook hospital property last year, and has undertaken this planning process to examine an array of opportunities. Westbrook Avenue resident Beryl Riley has represented Bellevue in the meetings, and she reports that the task force has studied issues including growth onto the adjacent Charter Westbrook and Azalea Mall properties and further enhancing community services and activities for Westminster-Canterbury residents and surrounding communities. Draft recommendations are being sent to the task force for review during January. If you have any questions, please call Beryl at 262-6746 or Westminster-Canterbury Vice President for Community Services Wilda Ferguson at 264-6000.

Cities unite for tax equity

A coalition of Richmond neighborhoods called Concerned Civic Associations of Richmond held a meeting in December that featured a presentation by Richmond Deputy City Manager Connie Bawcom on the inequities of state tax revenue allocation that harms all older Virginia communities. Ms. Bawcom provided evidence indicating that flawed revenue distribution formulas are costing Richmond upwards of $117 million in annual state tax revenue allocations for education, road maintenance, and mandated social services. She includes in that figure the foregone value of tax exempt state properties and the state's failure to fund so-called "599" payments (for giving up annexation rights). Delegate Viola Baskerville and State Senator Henry Marsh attended the meeting and expressed support, but stressed the challenge of gaining significant relief. A coalition of older, larger cities -- called Virginia's First Cities ? will join Richmond in lobbying for more equitable revenue allocation at this year's General Assembly, but declining state revenues due to a cooling economy and political footballs like car tax relief promise to take center stage.

ACORN grows

If you haven't yet heard of or attended their seminars, the Alliance to Conserve Old Richmond Neighborhoods (ACORN) is a great resource to check out and support. ACORN provides information on available properties, financial and technical assistance and other strategies to protect the architectural heritage of Richmond neighborhoods. ACORN also recognized our own Delegate Viola Baskerville with their Marguerite Crumley Preservation Award this past October. Find out more on their www.richmondneighborhoods.org or call them at 422-2148 -- and consider supporting them with a dues payment of $25 per year.

Thanks to your dues checks and our advertisers, we are on somewhat better financial footing than six months ago, but we still have only a few hundred dollars in our general fund. With that and the new calendar year in mind, please take a moment to fill out the dues application on the back page and mail it to us at Post Office Box 9282, Richmond, Virginia 23227. Dues are still only $6, but if you would like to include an additional contribution for the Arch Fund or Security Patrol, we'd be most appreciative! If you have questions about dues, please call our Treasurer, Ed Parks, at 264-8867.

The North District Neighborhood Team, with representation from several civic associations and interested citizens, meets the third Thursday of every month at Richmond Neighborhood Housing Services, 2712 Chamberlayne Avenue. Dr. Norma Murdoch-Kitt of the Ginter Park Residents Association is the North Team's new chairperson. For agenda info contact Senior Planner Charles Lynch in the City's Department of Community Development at 646-7426.

Basically it's a list of the crimes the police think they all should know about. John Anderson is posting it daily to the Bellevue ListServer that Paul Johnson has created. You can get it if you link to http://www.egroups.com/group/Bellevueneighborhood and sign up.

The server will send you everything (at least 35K Bytes per day) or just a list of what's available (less likely to clog your modem).

On January 12, 2001 the Safety Committee met at Westbrook-Canterbury (Thanks, Libby!) with Jeff Swanson, the District Manager for CVS. Jeff said he manages seventeen CVS stores in his district.

Neighbors from Ginter Park Residents Association, Rosedale Civic Association, Hermitage Road Historic District Civic Association, and Near West District Teams, along with Lt. James of the Richmond Police Department, joined us to discuss the rash of armed robberies at the Bellevue Avenue CVS store.

Dr. McCue of the Police Department had furnished the list of robberies in the 1200 block for 2000:

(These followed two stickups in '99). The December 17 robbery involved a woman driving down Brook Road who stopped, thinking the store was open. It was closed. The robber took her wallet.

We told Mr. Swanson that the CVS looks to be turning into a crime magnet that imperils the safety of neighbors, customers, and employees.

Mr. Swanson told us that up to about 14 months ago, the store had been burglarized frequently for cigarettes. In response, they have now locked up the cigarettes, and they leave the store lights on, both as a deterrent and to aid the police in the event the alarm is triggered.

In response to the robberies, the store has installed further in-store security, including the TV monitor that you see when you enter the store and the sign saying that the entire store is under surveillance. The manager now is visible. Mr. Swanson said that they "have addressed" the security of the video camera tapes in response to the earlier robbery when the robber took the tapes.

Following a spirited discussion, we reached consensus on the following items:
* CVS will install a large "Closed" sign for use when the store is closed.
* Officers Wacker and Hartnett, who are trained to perform CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) surveys will survey the exterior of the building.
* We will meet with Mr. Swanson in mid-February to consider the CPTED survey and to continue our discussion.

The following matters remain open:
* CVS will consider offering a reward for the December robber.
* CVS will consider signs, similar to those in the 7-Eleven, announcing the limited cash available at the registers.
* CVS is not currently willing to provide uniformed security or to change the displays that block much of the front window.

We have seen the uniformed officers in the Walgreen's at Brook and Azalea and the CVS at Boulevard and Broad. We all hope that kind of security will not be necessary in Bellevue.

The in-store changes are major improvements. We all hope that those changes, in conjunction with other improvements that may result from our discussions, will resolve this problem. If not, the Committee will demand uniformed, in-store security.

John Butcher

Our Bellevue Civic Association bylaws outline the purpose, structure, and function of our organization. Ours have served us well, but are very specific about a number of aspects of how we are organized. Overtime this specificity has become less appropriate and applicable to what we are and what we do. For instance, dues have been specifically set at$6 annually since the early 1980s, the five months that we are obligated to meet are specifically listed, and the seven specified standing committees do not reflect our current committee structure that is effectively meeting most of our needs.

We're also not entirely sure what version of the bylaws is currently in effect, because we are not sure what changes may have been made to the bylaws over time. Therefore, the Board proposes to bring the matter of bylaw amendments before the membership at the February 6 general meeting. The bylaws state that amendments may be made "at any regular meeting of the Association by a two-thirds vote of the members present; notice having been submitted in writing to the members prior to the meeting."

Rather than printing the entire three pages of bylaws, the principal changes proposed by the board are summarized below. Anyone wishing to see the entire bylaws as (we think) they currently exist, can contact Tim Pfohl by phone at 264-1362 and let us know if you would like a copy by fax, e-mail, or mail. Copies of proposed changes will be available for review at the February 6 meeting.

Dues - remove the reference to $6 dues and state that dues shall be recommended by the Board and approved by the membership at an annual meeting. Change the start of the membership year from September 1 to January 1.

Meetings - remove references to the five specific months when meetings shall be held and state that at least three meetings of the general membership shall be held, including an annual meeting, with notification of members in writing prior to each meeting.

Committees - remove the reference to the seven specific standing committees and state that committees shall be created as determined by the Board and consistent with the object of the Association ("to promote community welfare, education, safety, preservation, social and recreational activities").

The Board feels these changes will make the bylaws a more flexible and effective tool for managing the organization, and remove any doubt about what they currently call for!

Tim Pfohl

Mauri Shaw, longtime Chairman of the Bellevue Security Patrol, retired from this position in December 2000. We thank Mauri for his dedicated and tireless service and recognize that no one person can take his place. For 2001, Chris Sterling and Winnie Cobb, both former Captains of Patrol Team A, will serve as Chairman and Vice-Chairman, respectively.

Winnie, Chris, and the Captains of Patrol Teams A, B, C, and D pledge to continue the core business of the Bellevue Security Patrol: putting committed neighbors to the task of driving the streets of Bellevue to deter activities which threaten overall neighborhood security.

The Patrol needs your help. If you can commit 1 1/2 hours per month either driving or riding, please consider becoming a Patrol member. We will hold a Patrol Training Session for potential new members on
February 22, 2001, at Battery Park Christian Church, 4201 Brook Road. Training will begin at 7 pm. Please call Chris Sterling (266-7496) or Winnie Cobb (264-0959) if you are interested.

If you cannot commit time to patrolling, you still may be able to help the Patrol. If you own a scanner, you can assist by monitoring it for activity in or near the neighborhood. If you would like to help offset some of the Patrol's nominal equipment costs, we would welcome your donation. If you have some other special knowledge or skill which you think might be useful to the Patrol, please let us know.

We remind our neighbors to call the Bellevue Security Patrol Community Voicemail at 257-9705 for information on recent incidents within Bellevue. Please leave a message at this number to report such incidents to the Patrol. In the event of an emergency, please call the Richmond Police first and report the incident to the Patrol thereafter.

The hot topic is CVS with two armed robberies within a month and an armed assault and robbery outside the front door!

This is not acceptable. They need to and have taken some responsibility. Bellevue has a strong Security Patrol and Neighborhood Watch. The Richmond Police are giving us extra coverage. You can call the District Manager, Jeff Swanson and voice your concerns. His number is 672-3732, and his voice mail is 1-888-556-4336. We are told the police have arrested a suspect from one of the robberies. That is the good news. The bad news is others are still out there, and CVS is easy picking and an entrance to Bellevue. Let's help stop this NOW!

We still need more Block Captains. Let's try for 100% coverage in 2001. Also, Block Captains, please keep your phone trees updated and get copies to your Section Leaders and/or me. Thanks for all the good work and dedication. Happy New Year!

Libby Clark

266-6753

President - Tim Pfohl, 1511 Bellevue Avenue
Vice President- Ed Parks, 4203 Crestwood Road
Treasurer - Paul Johnson, 1422 Lorraine Avenue
Secretary - Kathleen Sadler, 4023 Clinton Avenue

The former Church of Christ building at 4006 Hermitage Road has been purchased by St. Alban's Anglican Church, which plans to begin holding church services in the building by this Easter, reports Hilda Braswell, president of the Hermitage Road Historic District Association.

Neighbors may recall that Imperial Plaza announced in 1999 it had obtained an option to buy the property and planned to convert it to a senior citizen physical therapy and rehabilitation center. Subsequent objections from the Hermitage Road Historic District Association and Rosedale Civic Association, which were supported by the Bellevue Civic Association, led Imperial Plaza to rethink its plan last year. The surrounding neighborhoods objected because Imperial Plaza's intended use of the building would have been out of compliance with the residential zoning on Hermitage Road. St. Alban's purchase of the building for continued use as a church is welcome news!

Many thanks for the neighborhood volunteers who participated in the Fall Cleanup last October. Your efforts, and the efforts of those who have participated in the past, have had an immense impact on the neighborhood's health, safety, and appeal. Bellevue has benefited with lower crime, higher property values, and a higher overall quality of life because of your work. You are true local heroes.

The Bellevue Civic Association would also like to thank Bellevue Hardware for providing invigorating cups of hot coffee, the Brook Run Ukrops for providing nourishing doughnuts, and Shenanigans for providing a lunch special for the volunteers.

The Bellevue Civic Association will soon schedule a Spring Cleanup sometime in late April or early May. Be on the lookout for future announcements.

Preparation for the Thirteenth Annual Garden Walk begins in February, and the Garden Walk Committee needs your help. There are two ways in which you can help:

For further information, call Co-Chairmen Michele Banalett at 264-8276 or Florenz Sterling at 264-8704.

The Ginter Park Library has started a writers' group for writers of all levels. The group met initially on December 18. Meetings will be held at 6:30 pm on the third Monday of each month. For further information and questions, contact the Ginter Park Branch Library.

Ginter Park Baptist Church is looking for artists and crafters for the March into Spring Craftshow to be held March 31 at the church. Potential vendors can contact the church office for information and an application at 359-2475.

The church is also having a two-day pottery hand-building workshop: Clay and Nature. The class meets Saturday, February 17, to build pots and Saturday, February 24, to glaze the pots. The cost of materials is $25 per person. To sign-up, contact Karen Wright at 515-1776.

Ginter Park Baptist Church
1200 Wilmington Avenue
Richmond, Virginia 23227
Phone 804/359-2475

Join us for Lenten and Easter Services

    Wed. Feb. 28, 6:45 p.m. - Ash Wed. Service

    Six Sundays of Lent (March 4 - 25, April 1 - 8),
    4:30 - 5 p.m. Vesper Service

    Maundy Thursday, April 12, 6:45 p.m. - Service of Tenebrae and Communion

    Good Friday, April 13, noon - Worship Service

    Saturday, April 14, 10:30 a.m. - Children's Easter Party with egg hunt, arts/crafts, stories

    Sunday, April 15, 10:30 a.m. - Worship Service

Child care provided at each service

President	Vacant
Vice President	Tim Pfohl	264-1362
Secretary	Kath Sadler	262-6835
Treasurer	Ed Parks	264-8867
Past President / Arch	Chuck Epes	264-7123
Education	Cliona Robb
Garden Walk	Michelle Banalett	264-8276
Garden Walk	Florenz Sterling	264-8704
Neighborhood Cleanup	John Fisher	262-0469
Neighborhood Cleanup	Joe Robertson	262-2121
Neighborhood Watch	Libby Clark	266-6753
Preservation	Anne Dervishian
Safety	John Butcher	264-5942
Security Patrol	Winnie Cobb	264-0959
Security Patrol	Chris Sterling	266-7496
Website	Rick Wilmoth
At large	Lisa Harr
At large	Paula Moolhuyzen
Security hotline		257-9705