Over the FenceNews for Neighbors
Over the FenceGreetings. I hope you all have been out enjoying the lovely Spring weather. This is always a fun time of year when we get to see many of our neighbors for the first time in months, especially after the bitter cold winter we have experienced. I hope you will all come out for our upcoming meeting to catch up with your neighbors and learn about some important initiatives going on in the county.
I am very excited about our program that evening and hope you will mark the date on our calendar. First, we have the privilege of hosting our Arlington County Board Chair, The Honorable Barbara Favola, who will discuss a number of issues of importance to our neighborhood including our traffic calming project and work on Columbia Pike. We will then learn of a proposed athletic project at Thomas Jefferson Middle School and also be briefed on new metro initiatives along the Pike. We have also invited our new Third District police team to come and meet us and introduce themselves. Please plan on arriving early as Ms. Favola has another meeting following ours and so we must begin promptly at 7 pm.
Do you hate seeing your electricity bills climb in the summer when the air conditioning is on? Do you wonder why your bills seem high during other parts of the year? In this free presentation we'll talk about how you can make your major appliances like air conditioners, refrigerators, ovens, washers, dryers, and others work the most efficiently to save you money and help protect the environment at the same time. Arlington County's energy manager will be on hand with lots of useful tips and information.
When: May 20th, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Where: Arlington Central Library auditorium, 1015 N Quincy Street
For more information call 703-228-6417. Sponsored by Virginia Cooperative Extension, the Arlington County Office of Support Services, the Arlington County Department of Libraries, Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment, and Potomac Overlook Regional Park.
One of the more unique programs in Arlington County is the Neighborhood Conservation Program (NCP). It was created in 1964 and has become a means by which neighborhoods and residents can direct the County to put funding towards implementing infrastructure and much needed improvements based on the desires of the individual neighborhoods. Projects range from beautification of existing parks to new sidewalks and streetlamps.
Many of the sidewalks, curbs, gutters and nice new Carlyle streetlights around Arlington Heights Civic Association (AHCA) are a direct result of the neighborhoods participation in the Neighborhood Conservation Program. Since 1989 AHCA has had twelve infrastructure projects funded, designed and built through the NCP.
AHCA currently has two projects approved for funding by the County Board that should see construction beginning soon. These are:
There are six additional AHCA projects waiting to get recommended by the Neighborhood Conservation Advisory Committee to go to the County Board for funding. Unfortunately, some of these have been waiting a long time, since 1998, for funding. The County has added more staff to try to reduce the backlog of NCP projects.
The uniqueness of the NCP lies in the fact that it is neighborhood driven. Only the neighborhood determines what projects should be submitted for funding and what the scope of those projects should be. At every AHCA meeting the membership votes on what projects and what priority the projects should take for funding. The current AHCA priority project to be considered for funding is the installation of curbs, gutters, and Carlyle type streetlights on South Garfield Street between Arlington Boulevard and 2nd Street South. If you have any questions about this project you can contact the AHCA NCAC representative Betty Siegel by calling (703) 892-1959 or AHCA President Carole Lieber.
For more information about the NCAC visit: http://www.co.arlington.va.us/cphd/ons/conservation.htm
AHCA is looking for a few good volunteers. We have a number of committee spots available and also need a new newsletter distributor to take over for Bahar Hess. Bahar has done a wonderful job distributing the newsletter for years and we have appreciated her dedication and service to us. She is no longer able to continue serving in this vital role. Thank you Bahar for your dedication and service. Neighbors, if you are able to help with this, we would be most appreciative of your service. We normally distribute newsletters 4-5 times annually and the job of the distributors is to help recruit block captains and facilitate the distribution of the newsletters to the captains and throughout our neighborhood. If you are interested in helping, please contact Carole Lieber at 703-892-0362. Thank you !
Write to AHCA-subscribe@yahoogroups.com to get e-mail about construction, lost cats, meetings, and other fun stuff.
| May 7 | Senior Law Day - DHS Bldg., 3033 Wilson Blvd., 7th Floor, 9:15 A.M.-Registration |
| May 8 | Neighborhood Day Parade-2:00 P.M., Clarendon Metro To Courthouse |
| May 9-15 | National Senior Center Week - "Senior Centers On The Move"---Visit A Center This Week |
| May 22 | Ms. Senior Virginia Pageant - 20th Anniversary, Fairfax High School |
| May 25 & 26 | "Home Safe Home" -Home Modification Seminar, DHS Bldg, 3033 Wilson Blvd., 7th floor, 9:30am |
| May 28 | "Antiques & Collectibles Appraisal Fair" - Langston-Brown Senior Center, 12:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. 2121 N. Culpeper St. (off Lee Hwy.) Limit 2 items, $5 per item |
For more information call Office of Senior Adult Programs 703-228-4744
Over the last year, AHCA member Betty Siegel has put together lists of contractor and service people who have been recommended by our neighbors. To add mode comments, please write Betty Siegel at access@Kennedy-Center.org. Inclusion on this list does not imply an endorsement of any kind by the Arlington Heights Civic Association (AHCA). The opinions expressed here represent those of the individual AHCA resident who posted them.
With all the recent renovations going on in our neighborhood, I thought we could share contractor/construction renovations: