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Saturday, February 16th, 2008 2pm to 4pm Ashburn Village Mills Recreation Center Rough Outline of Opening Remarks/Agenda (presented by GSA volunteer spokesperson Nicholas Graham) - Welcome and thanks for attending and participating - Special thanks to Ashburn Village for hosting meeting - Thanks to Rick Clements, Don Neff, and Laura Plummer for their community leadership - Purpose of the meeting: initialize the Neighborhood Advisory Council NAC information emailed to all attendees already; extra copies were present at meeting - Agenda and timeline for the meeting: GSA opens with a quick narrative to set the scene, then go directly to statements by HOAs and residents; then to Q&A and discussion. - Introduction of GSA Board members and staff - Audience introductions - Sign in sheet - Purpose of the NAC - Structure of the NAC - Special Note: all small businesses in the Old Ashburn vicinity very welcome to attend and participate - Short history of how we got here& - What is the GSA? (25 year history; served 4000 women, children and families; currently operate 3 shelters and a drop-in center in Leesburg plus Sterling Thrift Store; success rate of almost 70% in 2007; work closely with County and law enforcement and support agencies - Why did GSA select the Ashburn site? - What will be at the new Ashburn site? - What will not be located at Ashburn site - Explanation of County zoning re-determination + GSA position - Architectural renderings and drawings present at meeting - Things the GSA has done to become a good neighbor: - Ongoing HOA meetings in Nov, Dec and Jan - Meeting with members of the Board of Supervisors - Presenting at Board meetings, and meetings of the Loudoun Delegation to the General Assembly - Very proactive with local media to inform of plans and activities - Issued five Letters to the Community since late October - Landscaping and beautification projects at Ashburn site - Formed the NAC Q&A Session/Discussion Issues Addressed at the Meeting During Q&A/Discussion Period: - GSA will invite representative Ashburn Firehouse to next meeting (already has been done as of 2-18-08) - GSA did invite representative of Loudoun Sheriffs office to attend; they have told the GSA they will attempt to make the next NAC meeting - Discussion took place concerning use of a small office area at the new Ashburn facility for potential law enforcement use after-hours to make phone calls or file reports - Illegal immigrants as volunteers and staff members; does GSA provide services to them? Answer is no. - Will GSA use our new site as a voter registration center? No. - Background checks: they are provided to all clients, adult volunteers, and staff at of the GSA - Public transportation of GSA clients to new offices; no new bus routes, no rented buses or vans will transport clients to the site. They might take Loudoun Transit; clients will also make use of their own transportation, or be driven by staff/volunteers and/or their case manager to and from the shelters. - How does GSA currently handle drop-ins? - Does GSA take in clients with either severe substance abuse or mental severe health issues? No. - Do we assist in the enrollment of children staying at our shelters in Loudouns public school system? Yes. - Discussion took place around GSAs purchase of land in Ashburn (how and why it took place), and need to consolidate Thrift Store operations and administrative offices into one site - GSA reiterated that the new site will NOT be used as a drop-in center; GSA reaffirmed that all showers and lockers and Lounge Area have been removed totally from the floor plans - GSA addressed ongoing landscaping and beautification projects, as well as security systems, fence, and front gate - Donation drop-off processes were discussed GSA is committed to working with community to help prevent unsightly donation drop-offs after-hours - Other commercial uses of the GSA property were discussed such as extending the Thrift Store or locating an antique store there; these are long-term ideas only; the local community, residents and HOAs will be properly notified in advance of any changes on the property - GSA mentioned that site will hopefully be completed by late April/early May; all residents and HOAs are invited to tour the site by appointment anytime between now and that time to review construction efforts - GSA discussed the number of guests that will be at the new site during the week, what the purpose is of case management meetings, and the makeup of the guest population at its shelters - The GSA cited statistics concerning the number of turnaways that took place in 2007 - Discussion of rising homeless #s and foreclosures also occurred - An overview of hours of operation for the administrative offices and Thrift Store was provided to the group - Next meeting of NAC likely to take place at 2pm, Saturday, March 15th at the same location. Action Items for GSA Board of Directors to Address: - Invite Ashburn Volunteer Fire station representative to attend next NAC meeting (done by Ms Trickett, 2-18-08) - Invite representative of Loudoun Sheriffs office to attend next NAC meeting (done by Ms. Trickett) - Invite more local (Old Ashburn) small business owners to attend next NAC meeting (TBD) - Discuss the donation drop-off process for the new site and come up with some options for after-hours drop-offs to avoid collection of unattractive piles of goods outside the gates or along the fence. (TBD) Attendees Present: GSA: Joy Trickett, Mark Gunderman, Bob Ohneiser, Bahman Batmanghelidj, Nicholas Graham HOAs: Ashbriar, Ashburn Courts & Ridges, Ashburn Farm, Ashburn Mews, Ashburn Station, Ashburn Village, Belmont CC, Cameron Chase, Canterbury Reporters: Washington Post (LoudounExtra), and WashingtonPost.com/ Living in LoCo |
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