| Meeting Minutes
September 28, 2005
Crystal Spring Elementary School
Current President Frank Smith called the meeting to order at 7:05pm. The first order of business was to present the new slate of officers for a two-year commitment on the board: Bill Thomasson - President, Dr. Kurt Stockstill - Vice President, Curt Davis - Treasurer, and Stewart Putney - Secretary. The slate was approved and passed with a unanimous vote.
Frank Smith gave the Treasurer's report for Curt Davis. The cost of membership is $20.00 per year. This is to cover the cost of informational mailings to the membership. The current balance is $4,063.43. There is a separate fund for donations made for the ongoing legal costs associated with the Peakwood suit.
Bill Thomasson assumed the position of new President by leading the meeting; he thanked Mr. Smith for his hard work and time during his tenure.
Three main issues were discussed. First, the plan to decrease traffic on Avenham Avenue is in the engineering department for the city. The Board should hear back from them within 60 days, and the plan should be approved by City Council. The project should be started in 2006. The plan is to change the entrance from a "veering off" onto Avenham into an entrance that has a right hand turn entrance. This should reduce the excessive amount of outside traffic entering the neighborhood. Second, the safety of pedestrians crossing Evans Mill Road has been addressed. The fence has been moved back to allow for better visibility of oncoming traffic. Another crosswalk will be added. Third, merchants along Crystal Spring Drive have contacted the neighborhood association to enlist their help in making the area more accessible and inviting. More lighting, landscaping, and additional parking (made by creating angular parking spots between Lipes and the post office) would return it to its original feel when the section was known as "The Village at Crystal Spring." City Council has been extremely responsive to these requests. A resident voiced concern about the problem of cars being parked in front of private residents for extended periods of time. He suggested the possibility of issuing stickers to residents. Bill Thomasson replied that when the Board is notified by City Council in October about their decision regarding the requests that he will instruct residents as to how to voice their concerns.
The speaker for the evening was Attorney Quentin Emick. He clarified the lawsuit pending involving Jacqueline Logan and 14 other property owners vs. Boone, Boone, & Loeb and the City of Roanoke. The owners believe that their property values as well as their safety are being threatened by adding construction trucks as well as the amount of cars that will take the road once houses are built. Boone Co. has proposed building 60+ upper priced homes off of Peakwood Drive. Peakwood Drive does not meet the specified code for grade, width, etc. to allow for construction truck traffic. It is too winding and too narrow. The city granted approval to Boone, Boone, & Co. anyway, so the lawsuit ensued. Judge Dorsey agreed with the plaintiffs on several of the counts and has agreed to hear the case. The next phase of the legal action will be to take depositions will from Roanoke City employees and Boone employees interview potential expert witnesses. The trial is set for July 17-21, 2006 with Judge Dorsey.
President Bill Thomasson dismissed the meeting at 8:20pm.
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