NOTICe COMMUNITY AND MEMBERSHIP MEETING

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Crowne Plaza Hotel

1. Holiday Social: 7:00 to 7:30 p.m.
2. Membership Business Meeting: 7:30 to 8:00 p.m.

Dick Moose, board member of At Home in Alexandria (AHA!), gave a brief presentation on this new organization and the range of services it will offer when it starts up this coming April. Like other such organizations in the Washington area and around the country, AHA will offer various services to assist seniors to remain independently in their homes. Membership fees for AHA are $550 for individuals and $800 for a household. Joining before January 2011, one will receive three months free membership. For more information, email Dick at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .  

President’s Report – Roger Waud

The agreement between the Mirant power plant and the City is still ongoing. During the second clean up phase, Mirant is supposed to install bag houses to trap fugitive coal dust.

A waterfront meeting is scheduled for Monday, December 13 at the United Way offices, beginning at 6 p.m. with an Open House, followed by a planning meeting.

Secretary’s Report – Ann Kaupp

The minutes of the September Community and Membership meeting had been emailed to members prior to this December meeting. Don DeVries moved to approved the minutes and Sally Ann Greer seconded. The minutes were accepted.

Treasurer’s Report – Tom Soapes

As of November 2010, NOTICe has a balance of $6,011.15. Tom thanked those who had renewed their membership and encouraged others present to join NOTICe.

Board Election

The slate of seven nominees and their bios were distributed via email to NOTICe members for their vote. NOTICe board members for the coming year are Roger Waud, Tom Soapes, Susan Wobst, Sally Ann Greer, Ernie Lehmann, Christa Waters, and Greg Ogden. All approved of the slate. Roger thanked the nominating committee consisting of Chair Dick Moose and Allan Benn.

Board Appreciation to President Roger Waud

Tom Soapes on behalf of the board of NOTICe expressed the board’s appreciation for Roger’s dedication and hard work for both NOTICe and the community, including his membership in the Mirant Monitoring Committee. Each board member donated towards a gift certificate to one of Roger’s favorite Old Town restaurants.

1. Ghosts Along the Waterfront – Michael Lee Pope, journalist and author    

Mr. Pope, who gives ghost story tours in Old Town, gave an illustrated talk relating some of the fascinating ghost stories he wrote about in his recent book, Ghosts of Alexandria, which is available from Haunted America, a division of History Press.

1. Fiscal Budget Outlook – Bruce Johnson, chief financial officer, Office of Management and Budget

Mr. Johnson gave an overview power point presentation on the Council’s Budget Guidance for FY 2012. He emphasized that the City makes financial decisions with an eye to the future. A couple basic ideas of the Budget Guidance are to hold taxes flat and the general fund growth is expected to be about 3.6%. The base real estate tax rate will remain at 97.8 per $100 assessed value. Staffing levels will not increase unless expenditures are reduced or revenues increased. The city manager submits the FY 2012 operating budget and ten-year Capital Improvement Program on February 8, 2011. The Council presents a budget in December 2010 with an adoption on May 2, 2011. Multiple work sessions take place and two public hearings before the budget is adopted. The new fiscal year begins July 1, 2011.

The meeting adjourned at 9:20 p.m.