Pizza and drinks served 6:30 PM
Meeting convened at 7:00 PM by Tim McCaffrey, President

News:
Snow shovels stolen from some houses
Report of gunshots at Lowes on Broad St

Garden Walk – Slated for May 23rd to take advantage of cooler weather
6 gardens are signed up at this time, with several more prospects
Moving along nicely

Clean Up – tentatively scheduled for late April

Plant Swap – scheduled for May 1

Monthly Yard Sales – Idea proposed by Bob Kocher, offering to have
yard sales in Once Upon a Vine parking lot.
No discussion or resolution took place.

New Restaurant in place of We All Scream on MacArthur – Dos Amigos coming in 2-3 months

Dots Back Inn update – Patio petition is on hold due to weak economy.

Security Patrol – Recruits are needed!!

Holton Garden Project – Susanna Raffenot reported groundbreaking is set for April 16th, with construction starting in May or June. The issue with the boundary lines between Holton and 13 Acres has been resolved with building permits anticipated for the end of April. Progress can be tracked at www.hudsonhouse.org and comments may be left there as well. Named for David Hudson, Principal of Holton. They are organizing workdays, compiling wishlists, and enlisting help from families who agree to work the community gardens over the summer. Each family will take a week during the summer. Susanna reported that they have partnered with Bon Secours in this venture, to include the areas of both nutrition and support.

Dog Park – Richard Sebastian addressed the group about the impending dog park for Northside. Heading the effort with him is Jason Creech and Jonathan Gilmore. They are working with Enrichmond, formerly known as Friends of Parks Foundation. This is a direct partnership with Richmond Parks Department. Many sites were scouted, and the selected one is Pine Camp near the parking lot. The City is providing gravel road work, grading, fencing, initial establishment of the dog park and ongoing maintenance. A water line is due to be installed by the City as well. The examples studied were Barker Field and the Chimborazo Dog Parks. The Master Plan for the City calls for the establishment of 5 dog parks, and they are fully supportive of having this one in the Northside of Richmond. Initial establishment costs are estimated to be $5000. An ongoing budget is being developed to cover fence repairs, mulch replacement and other needs. It is planned to have two sections: one for the full size dogs and one for the smaller dogs. Go to northsidedogpark.ning.com to track progress and opportunities to participate.

History Presentation – Barbara Taggart delivered a fascinating and informative talk on the Stone House and Edgar Allen Poe.

CERT – Anthony McLean, Assistant Director of the Office of Emergency Response gave an informative presentation on being trained to help in the event of emergencies. The next scheduled CERT will be May 14th and 15th at the Richmond Ambulance Authority at 2400 Hermitage.

Announcements made by Tim McCaffrey, president: ∙ PA system donated to the BCA by a Westminster Canterbury neighbor. ∙ BCA board voted to donate $500 to Holton Elementary School.

Meeting adjourned at 8:00 PM. 30 people in attendance