Meeting Agenda:

5:00pm-5:30pm – 9th District Police Report
5:30-6:30pm – Updates on new city jail, community gardens, civic association workshop  pre-introduction
6:30pm – Community Dinner provided

Meeting Location:

Agenda:
Richmond Police Department Monthly Report 5:00-5:30pm
Meeting 5:30-6:30pm
Community Dinner 6:30-7:00pm

9th District Councilman Doug Conner presided over the February 15, 2011 9th District Community Meeting at Southside Baptist Christian School, which covered the following issues in the community:

-RPD monthly report given by Lt. Angela Greene. One important issue noted is that the curfew for children under 18 is 11:00pm
-Representative Benjamin Lambert unexpectedly appeared and spoke briefly, commending Councilman Conner on the work he’s done in the 9th District.
-John Lewis, Reid Elementary, spoke on Reid Greenhouse Garden project
-Representative, Maritz Feliz-Reyes, from Public Works gave a presentation on Traffic Calming Projects planned for the 9th District.
-Alicia Zatcoff and Dr. Carolyn N. Graham, of City Human Services, gave a presentation on Richmond’s proposed ordinance and plans for community gardens.

Traffic Calming Projects are described as: speed cushions, traffic circles, splitters, chokers and raised crosswalks, and can be found installed around the district. Residential traffic circles have been installed at Boroughbidge Rd and Reedy Ave and and Bassett Ave. Splitters have been installed at Westbook Ave while Chokers – curb extensions that are found all over the Fan and Carytown – are now at Bainbridge sT and 27 St and at Perry St and 29th St. Raised crosswalks have been installed at 10th Street in Manchester. Projects to come include the areas of: Clearfield St between Orcutt Lane and Bryce Lane, Orcutt Lane between Hull St Rd and Booke Rd, and White Oak Dr. Construction expected to be completed in April 2011.

Reid Garden Greenhouse Project is the only greenhouse and community garden on Southside, and has the mission to bring awareness and education about agriculture to children of Reid Elementary and George Wythe High School to assist with crime prevention and encourage a healthy lifestyle. This community-wide project includes support from Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia State University, Richmond Behavioral Health Authority, Communities in Schools, City Parks and Rec, Access in Food, Inc, Richmond Public Schools, and Reid Elementary.

The public is encouraged to support this effort through volunteering or financial support, plus are invited to attend the following events:

March 26 – “Reid Planting Party” – students, parents, partners and community will participate in a gardening activity at Reid Elementary by helping to clean and restore the greenhouse and garden while planting spring crops and flowers.

April 18-22 – “Reid Earth Celebration” – Reid Elementary will be recognizing Earth Day during the week of April 18 by maintaing the greenhouse and garden, hosting Green educational speakers and participating in fun conservation and environmental activities.

June 11 – “Reid Greenhouse Open House” – Students, parents, partners and the community are invited to celebrate the reopening of the newly refurbished Reid Greenhouse and Garden. Participants will help to honor the students that helped coordinate this effort as well as community partners who have helped. Healthy foods and produce will be served.

City of Richmond Community Gardens are on their way to becoming a reality as described by Ms. Alicia Zatcoff in a recent presentation of “Richmond Grows Gardens” which is part of the Mayor’s “Green Richmond Initiative”. As part of the Mayor’s plans to encourage healthy lifestyles, an ordinance will go before City Council on March 28, 2011 designating the creation of official community gardens in the city. Many will be located in the city’s low to mod income areas where few grocery stores are located, but unfortunately no plots were selected in the 9th District during this first round. After research by the City on which empty city lots that have been underutilized, it agrees to give these plots to organizations to manage either as one large plot or to be divided up and rented to many gardeners. There will be permit process including a nominal fee of $50 for the first year and $25 thereafter, and that the managing organization (nonprofit, community association, church, etc) must obtain insurance. While no sites have been chosen in the 9th District, the community is encouraged to recommend potential plots for future consideration.

Information can be obtained at: RichmondGrowsGardens@RichmondGov.com

The March Community Meeting for the 9th District is scheduled for Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 5:00pm
Southside Baptish Christian School
5515 Bryce Lane (just off the 5500 block of Hull Street Road)
Richmond, VA 23224

a local community garden

Unfortunately the planned discussion on the Mayor’s Participation and Communications Corps (MPACC) has been cancelled for tonight’s 9th District Meeting, but we will instead be treated to a different interesting issue. Dr. Carolyn Graham, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Human Services, will be speaking on the City’s plans for turning unused city property into Community Gardens and John Lewis will be speaking for the Reid Elementary School Community Garden on Whitehead Road.

So with Richmond’s foodie rage and growing interest in gardening and sustainability, this is a perfect and timely topic of discussion. Everyone is invited to the 9th District Community Meeting Tonight! The meetings start at 5pm with a report from the Richmond Police Department, so the real agenda doesn’t start until around 5:30pm, so please feel free to attend even if you’re running late from work. People come and go throughout the meeting.

Updated Agenda:
5:00PM-6:30PM
Monthly Report from the Richmond Police Department
Southside Richmond Community Gardens
Speed Bump Locations with Public Works
6:30PM—7:00PM 9th District Community Dinner

LOCATION:
Southside Baptist Christian School
5515 Bryce Lane (Off Hull Street Road)
Richmond, VA 23224

For more information, here’s an interesting story from November 2010 that WWBT12 did concerning the Mayor’s nod to more community gardens in the City. These Southside city lots are noted as being considered for this beautiful and useful transformation:

801 West 44th Street
805 West 44th Street
807 West 44th Street
3300 Mcdonough Street
712 West 26th Street
4050 Midlothian Turnpike
1301 Perry Street
3911 Stockton Street
4212 Ferguson Lane
404 East Broad Rock Road

Join Councilman Doug Conner on Tuesday, February 15, 2011 for February’s 9th District Community Meeting.

DATE:
Tuesday, February 15, 2011

LOCATION:
Southside Baptist Christian School
5515 Bryce Lane (Off Hull Street Road)
Richmond, VA 23224

MEETING AGENDA:
5:00pm-6:30pm – Report from Richmond Police Department; Mayor’s Participation and Communication Corps (MPACC)
6:30pm-7:00pm – 9th District Community Dinner

Concerning the meeting’s major topic of discussion (Mayor’s Participation and Communication Corps) below is a statement from the City of Richmond about the Mayor’s initiative to improve communications between neighborhoods and the City.

Dear Community Leader:

As you are aware, the Mayor is dedicated to collaboration, communication and cooperation between Richmond ’s citizens and his administration.  Mayor Jones knows that citizens expect and deserve a responsive government.

Many of you may know about the old “neighborhood teams” process. In an effort to improve upon service delivery and include residents and business owners in the decisions that affect them, Mayor Jones has created the Mayor’s Participation and Communication Corps (MPACC). MPACC is an integral enhancement to the sharing of information and increased community involvement.

MPACC has two major components:

1)       Proactive, service driven initiatives including but not limited to matters relating to land use, public safety, parks and recreation, all of which will strive to improve services and conditions; and

2)       Rapid, courteous responses to your requests for services such as fixing potholes, removing abandoned cars, addressing blighted properties, and cleaning up illegal dump sites.

To make sure services are close to you, MPACC has been organized around the four Richmond Police Department Precinct structure. Each sector within a precinct will have a MPACC Sector Team. Mayor Jones has selected co-chairs from each sector to lead these MPACC Sector teams.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011
5:00pm – 7:00pm

Southside Baptist Christian School
5515 Bryce Lane
Richmond, VA 23224

Agenda:
5:00pm – 6:30pm - Midlothian Turnpike Improvement Projects
6:30pm—7:00pm - 9th District Community Dinner

For More Information, please call Councilman Doug Conner at 804-363-3443

FINAL 9th DISTRICT MEETING OF THE YEAR!

The 9th District Meeting will be held Tuesday, December 2nd at 5:00PM – 7:00PM

Location: Southside Baptist Christian School
5515 Bryce Lane, Richmond , VA 23224

Agenda:

2008 9th District Highlights and 2009 9th District goals.

A free dinner will be served!

For more information, please call Councilman Doug Conner at 804-233-8288.

The tent event will also involve a clean up of the area and removing half of the fencing at the site.

Event Information is contained in the full post.

8:00AM – 2:00PM

6391 Daytona Drive

(Near the intersection of Whitehead and Daytona Drive)

Agenda:

8:00AM – 11:30AM Southside Richmond Community Cleanup Meet up at Southside Baptist Christian School,5515 Bryce Lane, 23224

12:00PM – 2:00PM Lunch, District Meeting & Daytona Fence Removal. Meet up at 6391 Daytona Drive