Waltherson Improvement Association
January 4, 2012
HARBEL
7:45pm

Ron Lesperance – chaired meeting
Everly Brown – note taker
21 in attendance

New Business:
1.       5009 Harford Rd. Hookah Bar – 3rd district Councilman Bobby Curran spoke about regulations the proposed business will need to satisfy.  It must be an accessory to the tobacco shop and meet Clean Air Act criteria for indoor air if they sell anything other than tobacco. Councilman Curran said that he will keep WIA advised if approval for the business is brought up before the City Council, however, even if the Council does not approve the owner can go to the BMZA and they can approve by conditional use as with Visions Catering.  The property is zoned B-3.

The owner has indicated that he wants to be open until 4AM.  Baltimore City Police have cleared out several parties at the location of late.  They found loud music, underage drinking and anywhere from 20-60 people using first the front door and then the side door via a breezeway. No liquor was found being served from a bar.
2.        5503 Richard Ave. Visions Catering (http://www.visionsbanquet.com/) – Councilman Curran put in a land use issue ordinance re: Visions at the 12/1/2011 City Council meeting. Visions is arguing that the Lodge that was there before had banquets (although it was non-profit). Regina stated that the day care on the premises was still operating and had received permits from the Fire Department.
3.       Crime Stat Data -  2nd district Councilman Brandon Scott described legislation coming up before the City Council on Monday, January 9, 2012 that would require police department to post monthly crime stat data online (covers all major “part 1” crimes).  Councilman Scott will also be pushing to see if City Police have reviewed their training tools to evaluate their effectiveness.
4.       Round-about at Frankford & Belair – Brandon Scott will ask higher ups at DOT about the status of the project.
5.       PLAY Initiative – (Productive Lives Active Youth) Liam Davis described City Council President Young’s work on the project.  They are looking to improve athletic areas for youth and have toured local ball fields to assess their condition.
6.       Treasurer’s Report -  Francis Beane, WIA Treasurer, reported that the Association had $829.07 in the bank account as of January 2012.  He reminded members to renew ($10 regular, $7 for seniors). The group did save money by no longer mailing our newsletter through USPS.
7.       Waltherson Sign – needs repair and is starting to rot.
Old Business:
1.       3019 Ailsa Islamic Religious Services (Dahira Touba-Baltimore) - Zoning is trying to come by unexpectedly, however, they need to come by on Sundays between 10PM-3AM.  Rob will send an email to Brandon Scott with the group’s email and website information. Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dahira-Touba-Baltimore/143383962403646?sk=info

Crime Report:
Lt. Robinson, NE Operations Commander reported to the group.
1.       October 23, 2011 discharge of firearm incident on Holder Avenue – a correctional officer was there to conduct a class on firearm safety and was clearing weapon. The incident was deemed to be an accident and the officer was not charged.
2.       Police reports – you must go online or write to request a report.  Helene stated that she was not given a report after calling police when her camera was stolen.  See http://www.baltimorepolice.org/contact-us/faqs/149-records-and-permits/329-how-do-i-request-a-copy-of-a-police-report
3.       Helene reports that drug dealing at Southern and Arabia Avenue is continuous but sporadic.  The dealer appears to come from the apartments at the top of the hill on Southern (near the Lighting Depot).  Helen will forward the best description possible of the offenders to Lt. Robinson.
4.       Burglary Initiative (December 18, 2011 – January 18, 2012) -  CALL if you see any suspicious people.  The focus will primarily be in the lower part of the NE district.  It has been difficult to establish trends or clusters in the NE, so Police have decided to pick one are and see if an impact was made.  There has been a noticeable impact over the past 3 weeks as burglaries have gone down in the chosen area, from 9-10 a day to 2-3 a day.  3-5 burglary groups have been terrorizing the district and are now probably lying low.  The Police expect them to pick back up in the next few weeks once their money dries up.
5.       Mike Hilliard handed out the crime statistics report