April 11, 2023 DRCA Membership Meeting
Agenda
Alive Ribbon cutting ceremony this morning
Introduction and Welcome
Crime and Traffic report by Captain Dennis Andreas
- 2 burglaries in 1600 block of Mt. Vernon
- 7 larcenies at CVS
- 2 stolen autos, they arrested a suspect
- City-wide have seen increases including aggravated assault
- 31 traffic stops, 1 DUI
- April is distracted driving awareness month – don’t text and drive and don’t use your cell phone
- GW Middle School was selected for the school speed camera pilot program
Sheriff’s Office report by Sheriff Sean Casey
- Hiring 13 deputies, just hired 2
- Animal Welfare League brought puppies into the jail today
- 20 inmates graduated from a program
- Opening a sober living unit next month
Congressman Don Beyer joins for a Hill update and Q&A
- Trying to slow down immigration from the “northern triangle”- Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador
- Admitted 1 million legal immigrants last year
- 10 million jobs advertised
- Paying a lot of attention to Afghani and Ukrainian refugee needs
- Check out CleanEnergy.com to learn how you can make your household climate-friendly
- Earmarks are back and we got 4 for Alexandria including funding for affordable housing in Arlandria, funds for police body cameras, $1.5 million for ALIVE, $750K for flood remediation.
Q&A
- Low-income housing tax credit including funds to help people in the Ready to Rent program
- The Congressman is most excited about the future of fusion energy
- He is most worried about the debt ceiling – $31 trillion
Update from ALIVE! Alexandria with Jenn Ayres and Karl Bach
- Assist with afterschool programs
- Distribution centers around the city
- Today they opened a food hub in Del Ray. It is a mini grocery store where residents can pick out produce
- Serve over 500 households a month
- They accept donations of fresh produce, canned goods, hygiene items, spices, cleaning supplies
Announcements
- DRBA – First Thursday postponed to this Thursday, April 13
- May 25, DRBA for Old Town Business Association softball game
- DRCA Gardenfest is Sunday, April 23 from 12-4pm. Learn more here.
Zoning for Housing discussion and vote
We are voting for or against the following recommendation from the LUC:
The Del Ray Citizens Association requests the Planning Commission and City Council provide a 60 day review period between the release of the analysis / findings and the first public hearing to ensure the public has adequate time to review and comment on the Zoning for Housing proposals. This 60 day period gives the DRCA sufficient time to analyze the proposal and have our membership vote on the initiatives.