Meeting Details:

• Updates from Del. James Malone - Our November meeting started on a positive note as Del. James Malone reported on upcoming plans for the widening of I-695 from I-95 to Frederick Road, expected to start in early 2001. A representative of the State Highway Administration will be invited to an upcoming GACA meeting to provide more information about the widening and what impact it may have on the Arbutus area.
  
  Del. Malone then read a letter from Councilman Sam Moxley, who was unable to attend, announcing a grant for the history project. Donna Cameron has been working on a history of the Arbutus area for several years and funding was sought for continued research and publication. We are very pleased to have the approval and expect the funds soon. We are also proud of Donna's hard work on this project.

• Updates from Capt. John Spiroff - Our next speaker was Capt. John Spiroff, commander of Precinct One. Capt. Spiroff advised that crime statistics for Arbutus show declines in robberies, breaking and entering, and auto theft. He attributes the decline to several factors, including cross jurisdictional cooperation, community input, and solid police work.

A survey was recently placed in the Arbutus Times to allow community input. The survey asks for information on problem areas and provides for follow up from the department, if desired by the respondent. Surveys may be submitted anonymously as well. GACA will be putting the survey on its web site within the next few weeks, along with a link to the Precinct One home page.

Lt. Regina Eckert followed up with some additional information, including a new County program which allows for notification of elderly residents of potential crime problems in their communities. Frequently in the spring and fall, homeowners are approached by individuals claiming to offer contracting services. Typically, the service is either entirely bogus and is a pretext to gain admission to the home, or the service is worthless. If the police become aware of "scam artists" operating in the area, the automatic notification will be activated.  Lt. Eckert and Capt. Spiroff encourage the membership to continue to act as their eyes and ears and report suspicious activity.

Donna Cameron and Paula Wolf attended a Community Forum on November 17, at the Catonsville Campus of the Community Colleges of Baltimore County, conducted by Precinct One. At that meeting, the strategy of community policing was more extensively described, along with the various programs underway locally. One area of possible interest to our membership is the Police Community Relations Committee. The contact for the Committee is Emily King, 410/744-4130. The Committee meets monthly September - May on the second Tuesday of the month at the District Court Building.

• Brad Ebersole, Baltimore County Mediation Office - Our next guest speaker was Brad Ebersole of the Baltimore County Mediation Office. The function of the Mediation office is to assist County residents in coming to a mutually satisfactory agreement when disputes between neighbors occur. When relatively minor differences between neighbors escalate into calls for police or other county services, the Mediation office will provide a trained facilitator to meet with the parties. Mediation is unlike arbitration or a court imposed decision, in that the goal of mediation is for the parties to reach an accord through discussion. Mediators are trained volunteers and there is no cost to the participants. Local disputes are resolved at a local office, typically the Multi Purpose (District Court) center on Walker Ave. Anyone interested in additional information about the program may find the link on our web site.

• Election of Officers - Eleanor VanDevender announced the proposed slate of Officers for the 2000 year.
  
  Secretary Donna Cameron
  Treasurer Kathy Hartig
  Vice President Evelyn Paul
  President Paula Wolf
  
  The officers were elected unanimously.

• Announcements & Updates - Eleanor then gave us a report on a Liquor Board matter. A hearing has been rescheduled to address the transfer of a class D license from Garyfallia Glekas, etal, dba Tubby's to Irene C. Lewis, Christopher's LLC dba Bootlegger's. During the course of a prior hearing, certain matters arose and it was found that Ms. Lewis had an outstanding warrant. The hearing was abruptly terminated and Ms. Lewis was taken into custody. A review of Ms. Lewis' prior business at 2324 Boston St. in Baltimore City revealed a number of complaints and calls for police service. When Ms. Lewis was asked about her record in Towson, she indicated that she did not have any complaints. GACA will attend the hearing on December 6, 1999, 1:20 PM in the County Office Building, 111 W. Chesapeake Ave., Towson, and oppose the transfer. Letters from Regional Management, and the Arbutus Shopping Center have also been directed to the Liquor Board. Anyone wishing to attend is encouraged to do so. Please e-mail us for directions if needed.
  
  GACA is pleased to announce that we were successful in having the Arbutus Elementary School named to the County's Preliminary Landmark list. The parts of the building now protected by Landmark status include the Library/Media Center, which served as the original school house, and the 1920 and 1930's additions which face Willys Ave. Because the property was previously listed with the Maryland Historic Trust, the architect was alerted to contact Kimberly Abe with the County Planning office and the windows which will be installed shortly will be consistent with the style of the original windows. Additional work planned for 2000 will also be reviewed by Ms. Abe's office for historical authenticity. Over the next six months, the Planning Office will continue to process the paperwork needed to take the matter before the County Council. A final public hearing will be held before the Council and if there is no opposition, a bill will be introduced and Arbutus Elementary will be placed on the Landmark list.
  
  Thanks to the hard work of Kathy Hartig and Joe Wickless in the Arbutus area, and Donna Cameron and Eleanor VanDevender in the Maiden Choice area, we have some new members. We would like to welcome you to GACA and hope you will bring us your ideas and suggestions.
  
  As you may have noticed, we are a lot easier to find these days at www.arbutus.org. Joe Wickless made some inquiries and located a host who has offered us a discount on our site. Please visit us often and we will try to keep you up to date with any information we think might be helpful. Feel free to submit to us by e-mail or "snail mail." Also look for a quarterly GACA newsletter, coming in January, 2000.

• Next GACA Meeting - Our next meeting is scheduled for January 20, 2000. If Baltimore County schools are closed that day due to inclement weather, our meeting will be held on February 17, 2000.
  

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