May 1st, 2023
Attendance
Aimee Haber, President
Barry Ringstrom, Executive Vice President
Cecilia Armstrong, Treasurer
Brian Marczak, Secretary
Bob Hutchison, Board Member
Gina Gianfagna, Board Member
Michelle Timmons, Board Member
Terrell Carstens, Board Member
Agenda
Welcome
Brookhaven Police Department Community Engagement
Social Events Update
2023 Financial and Membership Update
Zoning Update
Welcome Wagon
Peachtree Creek Greenways & Brookhaven Bike Alliance Announcements
Nominate BFCA Board Members “At Large”
Adjourn Meeting
Minutes
Welcome
Aimee Haber, President of the Brookhaven Fields Civic Association, began the annual meeting by welcoming everyone. This was followed by each of the board members introducing themselves. There was a brief appeal to consider volunteering for the board as the board currently has eight board members, but per the bylaws, four of the board members are required to roll off in May of 2024. The bylaws provide that the BFCA can have up to eleven board members.
Brookhaven Police Department Community Engagement
Aimee introduced Officer Hawkins and Officer Moore of the Brookhaven Police Department. Officer Hawkins encouraged the residents of Brookhaven Fields to use their situational awareness and to keep their homes well lit at night—proper lighting deters many crimes. She shared that the Brookhaven police department has been fielding a lot of calls for car break-ins lately. And in many cases, unsecured firearms are being stolen. These weapons are incredibly difficult to track down as many people who leave unsecured guns in their vehicles also do not keep track of the serial numbers of their weapons or have them properly tagged.
Michelle asked about the Citizens on Patrol program. Officer Hawkins offered that this program would be starting up within the month. And she added that she hopes to re-establish neighborhood watches in this area soon.
Ashley asked when it was appropriate to call 911 or whether there is a non-emergency number. Officer Hawkins said that if your car is broken into, call 911. And she added that there is a link on the website to upload footage from home security cameras through Operation Plugged In. Officer Moore instructed people to not report incidents on NextDoor, adding that while they do check it from time to time, they aren't staffed to check it continually. Officer Hawkins then shared the non-emergency number: 404-637-0600, which residents can call if they want to schedule a residential security check when out of town.
Terrell asked about drag racing on Clairmont Road and Buford Highway. Officer Hawkins again instructed people to call 911 if witnessed, as many times the police can be on location within a few minutes. Officer Moore added that the Brookhaven Police Department now uses Live 911 which allows them to listen in on 911 calls while they're en route, and this cuts down on response times.
Officer Hawkins shared that the next citizen police training classes will start June 7th. And you can register online at the Brookhaven Police Department at www.brookhavenga.gov/police.
Social Events Update
Aimee introduced Michelle to cover the social calendar. Michelle offered that the social committee is open to ideas and encouraged everyone to attend the upcoming Spring Fling, Happy Hours, beginning- and end-of-summer Ice Cream Socials, and the yard sale after Labor Day. Michelle asked people to please RSVP for events on BrookhavenFields.org which helps with planning and catering.
2023 Financial and Membership Update
Cecilia gave the Treasurer's Report: As of the date of the annual meeting, the Brookhaven Fields Civic Association had $12,155 in its account. The board has set a budget of $7,000 per year and, on an annual basis, this requires 200 members to fund. As of the date of the annual meeting, the Brookhaven Fields Civic Association had 110 members. Amy encouraged everyone to pay their annual membership dues at the beginning of the year in order to help with event planning.
Zoning Update
Terrell gave the annual zoning report: The Zoning Committee reviewed two events in 2022 and decided to take no action on either one.
Welcome Wagon
Gina introduced the Welcome Wagon and encouraged everyone to let her know any time a new neighbor moves into the neighborhood.
Peachtree Creek Greenways & Brookhaven Bike Alliance Announcements
Betsy covered upcoming events at the Peachtree Creek Greenway and offered that Friday night MODA would be hosting a Moonlight tour of the greenway. Betsy offered that the Brookhaven Bike Alliance has many upcoming events too, including Sunday’s annual family-friendly Pedal the Parks event.
Nominate BFCA Board Members “At Large”
Aimee offered neighbors the opportunity to volunteer for the board and three volunteers stepped forward: Alfonso Fernando, Karen Grant, and Julie Kamenetzky.
Ashley made a motion to approve the new board members and Brian seconded the motion. The members of the Brookhaven Fields Civic Association voted and unanimously approved the addition of the three new board members.
Adjourn Meeting
Aimee concluded the official business of the annual meeting and announced the winners of the annual raffle.
In a moment both poignant and celebratory, Michelle closed the meeting by offering a special plaque to Meredith O'Connor, widow of Riley O'Connor, to commemorate the Brookhaven Fields Civic Association’s naming of the Riley O'Connor Memorial Bridge at the intersection of Peachtree Road and Dresden Drive.