Our current schedule of membership meetings planned for 2026 is as follows. All meetings are planned to be hosted at the North Ave branch of the Richmond Public Library located at 2901 North Ave. Richmond, VA 23222 in the main conference room unless otherwise noted:
- Saturday, January 24,2026. Monthly Meeting.
- Saturday, February 28,2026. Monthly Meeting.
- Monday March 30,2026 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM. This will be a condensed meeting. **Due to the Library overbooking the conference room we have had to move our March meeting date and time.
- Saturday, April 25, 2026. Monthly Meeting.
- Saturday, May 23,2026. Monthly Meeting.
All dates are subject to change and will be announced here as well as on our Facebook. NOTE: This list was last updated on March 4,2026.
Meeting Agendas
Want to speak at one of our meetings? Have ideas for formats, etc.? Reach out to us at nbhca.rva@gmail.com.
Meeting Minutes
Meeting Minutes will be saved online for six (6) months. After that term a hard copy will be created and maintained in the civic association datafiles for historical purposes. Members may request older hard copy’s of meeting minutes via an email request nbhca.rva@gmail.com
March 30,2026 Meeting
Scribed and entered April 2, 2026
- President calls meeting to order @0705PM
- Minutes for our February 28,2026 meeting were scribed and uploaded on our website. Hard copies provided on the sign in table.
- Reports from Officers:
- TREASURER REPORT
- Reports of Special Committees. NONE
- SPECIAL REPORTS – PRIORITY BUSINESS. NONE
- Old business –
Our civic associations primary concern will remain the same in regard to the Code Refresh Proposal. Next Draft Map #3 could potentially be released in May 2026 or earlier. Our officers continue to attend Leadership meetings with Councilperson Kenya Gibson, attend ZAC Meeting held at City Hall monthly as well as we are active participants in the citywide Code Refresh Working Coalition.
No one has self nominated for the position of the Vice President. Mr. Arthur Freeman was our interim VP. His term ended March 18,2026. We will continue to search for a nominee that is qualified and accepts the position of Vice President for the remainder of the current term which will expire on December 31,2026. Do you have a member that you would like to nominate? Let us know.
Carol Freysinger has returned and will continue with her presentation of the Group-IO/Listserv at todays meeting. For those who were not present at the January meeting Carol introduced the Groups.IO (ListServe) app which is an electronic mailing list management software that allows users to send and receive email messages to a specific group of people. It also has a chat option as well as storage for photos, videos etc. *However this chat/storage option comes at a minimum cost of $20.00 PER month.
- New Business – None
- ANNOUNCEMENTS – we are actively looking for highly motivated volunteers for our Honey Do Crew. Our group of volunteers offer pro bono work throughout NBH to those who are financially unable to make simple home repairs.
PRESENTATION by member Carol Freysinger on the potential use of an alternate email app Groups.IO (Listserv). Brief slide show.
As of February 4,2026 we requested that Carol provide the following information [Questions in BOLD].
- Prepare recommended guidelines based on your past experience with a listserv.
CF Reply: To be drafted by a committee to be formed.
- How and who will collect the emails?
CF Reply: This is part of the beauty of a listserv: no one has to collect the emails.
Any individual who is a participant in the listserv can post their own email to the
email listserv address, and it goes automatically to the entire group. At the
bottom of each email posted will be links for individuals to post a reply to the
group, or reply just to the individual. Posters can also attach documents, photos,
etc. that are relevant to their message.
- Who will ensure the privacy of each listserv participant?
CF Reply: Groups IO is the platform that hosts the listserv. Groups IO insures the
privacy of each listserv participant. Unlike Facebook or Meta, Groups IO does
not collect data from the participants or sell data to other entities.
o The privacy policy of Groups IO can be found here. For comparison purposes,
see the Facebook privacy policy. In addition, individual participants will not be
able to access the email addresses of others.
- In the event of conflict who will have the final say?
CF Reply: The listserv moderator will have the responsibility to administer the
established guidelines (both the ones for the CA group and broader ones set by
Groups IO), and admit or block participants based on their adherence to the
guidelines. A person who repeatedly violates the guidelines may be blocked or
unenrolled from the listserv by the moderator. (Typically, the moderator will
send a warning to the offender the first time). As a best practice, the listserv
should not be used as a means of excluding individuals from communication as
long as they follow the guidelines.
- How will the civic association monitors and moderators be appointed?
CF Reply: Only one moderator or two is needed, and they would be volunteer(s)
from the CA membership. They should be asked to serve a finite term, such as a
year. They could sign up to continue for a successive year once their year is up.
Their job is to admit individuals to join the listserv who agree to abide by the
guidelines, monitor the listserv daily to ensure all posts are in conformance to the listserv guidelines
and resolve any conflicts that may arise by applying the
guidelines and advising participants thereof.
- It looks like the free level for up to 100 members has no chat option. Is chat needed to
create conversations? If it is, we would need to join at the $20/ month level, which
would[not] be an option at this time.
CF Reply: Groups IO offers a Free option for groups numbering fewer than 100 members. Chat is not needed.
The function of the listserv is to distribute emails
sent to it by participating members. Participants can respond to a listserv posting
to the group as a whole (Reply to All) or to the individual poster only (Reply to
Sender), the same way one does now when replying to an email.
- At the moment, the majority of our members are at the non-paying senior level, and
our yearly SCC, website/email costs outweigh our collected dues so potential costs could
keep us from being able to move forward.”
CF Reply: As part of the CA’s planning for the future, a revenue producing activity might
supplement the dues income and allow for other activities such as running the
listserv once listserv membership outgrows the Free option. For example, holding a
bake sale at a local polling place for voters on an upcoming Election Day could
generate some operating funds. It might also be worth considering charging dues for
all members, if the value proposition of CA membership (i.e., value of membership
vs. dues cost to the member) is positive. Maybe a reduced annual fee of $5 or $10
would be attractive to seniors if they see value in membership for themselves.
Also, the listserv could replace the email system currently in place. Depending on
the cost to the CA for the existing Mailchimp email system, the listserv using Groups
IO might save some money in the near term.
- Since the CA would eventually incur costs for over 100 participants, only CA members
may join to manage and moderate the listserv.
CF Reply: Please see above.
CF question: How many members does the NBHCA currently have in total? If there are
significantly fewer than 100 now, it may be a while before most or all CA members
join the listserv, and the listserv membership exceeds 100 and triggers a monthly fee
to Groups IO.
- If you need help preparing these items we recommend creating a special committee of
CA members.
CF Reply: Agree! I ask that the President or VP solicit volunteers via the FB page and an
email blast to all members. I can draft the “ad” to include what, where, when and
the anticipated time commitment.
Presentation was brought to the floor for discussion. While there was some interest there are also many questions/concerns insofar as Group.IO application process, obligatory requirements, cancellation policies etc. Board did confirm that the Mailchimp would not be replaced as it is the primary tool to create emails/announcements etc.
Our current email plan with Mailchimp is a Free Plan.
We are permitted up to 250 contacts (79 current contacts for 2025-2026) and ~Max emails of 500/mo or 250/day.
- Should we ever go over 250 contacts: as a Nonprofit we would receive a 15% discount off the $20.00 per month cost for up to 2,500 subscribers.
- Ability to create sign up forms
- Drag and drop via email editor
- Over 1,000 templates
- Colors, styles and images available to attach to emails.
- Email automations
- Performance trackers
Our closing comments in regard to the of Group.IO are as follows:
- Presenting a budget report for upcoming expenses and capital required for the next 12 months. Tom Johnson stated that a budget report should be presented at the end of the year for projected expenses for the following year. We concur. As we have three active accounts our transactions have been accurately recorded and are reported monthly. Ben Tyler requested that a budget report be compiled. We will comply and present at the next scheduled CA meeting. As we stated we are a NOT for profit association. We collect dues only to fulfill our annual renewals for GoDaddy web site; URL insurance and payment to the SCC [State Corporation Commission].
- The Board is currently researching the feasibility of amending our By-Laws. Specifically, we are evaluating the removal of free memberships for seniors and a restructuring that may exclude certain founding senior members. These changes, along with other suggestions, have been proposed to fund the Group.IO email service.
- Any amendments to the By-Laws will require a vote by a quorum of 15 or more members. This will be conducted in person, with an online voting option available should a quorum not be met in person.
- Group.IO is commonly used for group discussions, announcements, and information sharing – in our case it would NOT be used outside of the civic association membership body. To use the Group.IO service individuals would need to be members with accounts current and active.
- Regarding the Group.IO proposal, we would like to clarify whether it will be brought to the floor for a vote or if the Board will make the final decision. Please note that we will not move forward with this proposal until all outstanding questions have been answered.
- According to the Bylaws, the Board may approve transactions costing less than $200.00 without a vote. However, further research is required as several Bylaws would need to be amended should this proposal proceed.
Shavonne Johnson, from the Office of Neighborhood Engagement who is the Neighborhood Engagement Coordinator for the City joined us and shared an exciting event coming up this month. We are cordially invited to the Neighborhood & Civic Association Summit! City Wide civic Associations, HOAs and other community associations will be in attendance.
Our Civic Association President is slated to speak at one of the workshops.
Meeting adjourned at 7:55.
NEXT MEETING – April 25,2026 Saturday 12:15-1:45.
February 2026 Meeting
Scribed and entered March 4, 2026 @4:10pm
Meeting Date: February 28,2026
Meeting Location: 2901 North Avenue Library
Attendees: 14
Meeting came to order at 12:17 PM by President Karen Link-Aaron.
Meeting Minutes for January 24,2026 were approved.
Treasury Resport given by President Karen Link-Aaron.
Agenda presented by President and Secretary, Melissa Harl.
SPECIAL REPORTS/Priority Business [klla]:
- Update for interim VP.
Position filled by Mr. Arthur M. Freeman. A Richmond native Mr. Freeman is an avid world traveler, black art collector, herbal and medicinal expert and retired Washington DC school principal.
After his retirement Mr. Freeman returned to his family’s homestead in North Barton Heights. We are very happy to have Mr. Freeman onboard.
As per our vacancy notification at the January 24, 2026 meeting and subsequent emails the self nominationg process has begun and will continue until March 18,2026 @ 11:59.
Self nominations must be emailed to NBHCA.rva2@gmail.com. In-person self nominations will not be accepted nor considered.
Reminder that all officer positions require that the nominee be a current member and in good standing with the civic association.
If no one self nominates or there are no qualified self nominations we will continue our search for a nominee that is qualified and accepts the position of Vice President for the remainder of the current term which will expire on December 31, 2026.
In accordance with the Robert’s Rules of Order there are three main officers that are essential to an organized group.
President
Vice President
Secretary
Therefore we are in accordance with the rules of order.
2. The position of the Treasurer has been vacated without cause or provocation. The officer resigned prior to any financial access reports, funds or reports were transferred into his custody.
In accordance with the NBHCA By-Laws Article V ‘Officers’ states the following:
“The President also serves as the alternate Treasurer and shall always have access to the Association’s financial records and funds. The President and Treasurer can authorize checks and disbursements of funds up to $200 without a membership vote”.
As such the President has/will continue to serve as the alternate Treasurer until such time that a suitable replacement can be vetted and voted into office for the term ending December 31, 2026.
The President, Karen Link-Aaron, is in full custody of any and all financial reports, passwords, debit card, funds and other recordings.
OLD BUSINESS
Member Carol Freysinger had asked that her interest in a Listserv Email program be further discussed and asked for it to be added to the agenda. In light of her absence it was decided to shelf until such time research can be shared with the members.
Announcements:
NBHCA sponsored another Clean City cleanup in our neighborhood. On February 21, 2026 with a handful of residents, a great group of honor roll students from J. Sarge Community College we were successful in picking up 337.1 LBS of trash in one hour. Kudos!
VISITORS:
Councilperson Kenya Gibson stopped by to visit and subsequently became our unofficial/official visitor as the scheduled visitor was a no-show.
We happily gave her the floor where she shared a plethora of community and city news.
We discussed:
- Concerns over Cold Refresh and the changes to the Draft 2 map which included BPB being upgraded to MX-4 down the corridor.
- Baker Development Group in regard to the three property’s located at 300-304 BPB.
- How the Mayor is ‘driving the ship’ of ZAC however the final vote for Code Refresh will come from the 9 council persons.
- Encouraged everyone to try and make comments on the Draft 2 map before 11:59 PM March 1, 2026. At the very least know what your property could be changed to and the immediate dwellings that surround it.
- How the City has ‘loaned’ money to the Squirrel Ball park and what the payback deal is.
This was a very neighborly meeting where residents were given the opportunity to ask questions on a number of topics. We could have very well been in someone’s living room. Like a fireside chat with a good friend.
No doubt all of us learned so much by her visit.
Her ability to tell a story that is peppered with her unique humor was welcomed and appreciated by all.
NEXT MEETING is March 30, 2026 which is on a Monday evening from 7:00-8:00 PM. This change is due to the Library overbooking.
Meeting adjourned at 1:49 pm
These minutes will remain on-line for six months however will be available to members for up to two years in a paper format. Copies will also be presented at the next meeting in March for approval. To order a historical report please email us.
January 2026 Meeting
Scribed and entered January 28,2026 at 13:58.
Meeting Date: January 24, 2026
Meeting Location: 2901 North Avenue Public Library
Attendees: 29 In person
Meeting came to order at 12:19 PM
Welcome by President Karen Link-Aaron
Agenda presented by President and Secretary, Melissa Harl.
Reading of the Treasury Report for November – December 31, 2025 by President.
Top Topic:
The Vice President of the North Barton Heights Civic Association has stepped down.
The remaining officers will be appointing an interim member to fulfill the duties of this position for, up to, two (2) months.
At the end of the two months a new VP must be elected by the membership.
We will be announcing the interim VP in the next 10 days, if there is an eligible candidate after which Members may self-nominate to fill the role by informing the remaining officers by email for consideration. This self nomination must be done up until one week prior to the second monthly meeting post-vacancy.
All Officer positions require that they be in good standing with the association. Good standing requires dues [where applicable] are paid and current.
Refer to Position Description for details.
Vice President Duties:
- Presides of the NBHCA meetings in the absence of the President.
- Assists with the President’s duties as needed.
- Will automatically serve as President should the person serving as the President vacates the role or otherwise becomes incapacitated.
- Attendance at the Leadership meetings held by-monthly with our City Council Person and other district 3 Civic Association board members is not mandatory however recommended.
REMOVAL or RECALL of ANY Officers:
Any officer can and will be recalled from any position by a unanimous vote of the other members in good standing for any unexcused absence of two consecutive meetings.
An excused absence is any prior notification to the officers for missing a meeting due to travel, work schedule, illness or personal matters.
For more information email the board at:
NBHCA.rva@gmail.com
Meeting Minutes: None to pass on from October due to the office vacated by the Secretary due to move to another city. Video is at large. November is our official membership drive month and December is set aside for new officer installments and our end of year celebration.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Northside Fresh Value Grocery Store. Location to be at 2917 North Avenue. Keeping up email exchange with Mr. Bobby McIntosh. He has asked for a Letter of Support from our association. We will comply. His presentation at our end of year celebration was very informative. Everyone was excited about the layout and the services he is proposing. City did reject an inspection of the property due to the excessive flooding in the basement. Bobby is working with the owner trying to get this last hurdle taken care of. Bobby has reported receiving his LOI [Letter of Intent] pending resolution of the code violations issued to the building owner. The Mayor’s office has assigned an Economic Development team to assist Bobby with development and funding efforts.
SUP -175124-2025 ICO BPB and Woodrow Avenue.
Baker Development Resources initiated contact on 11/12/2025. We took the initiative to procure the SUP number, who was the assigned PDR rep and what was the status. Marisa Perez has been our POC with our President with copies going to PDR, and other interested parties. The initial plan presented to PDR was rejected due to an overwhelming rejection from the surrounding neighbors as well as our civic association. Initially Marisa Perez and others were to have visited us on this date to present their proposal for the civic association approval. On January 7, 2026 the developer expressed that they were making extensive changes to their proposal and had been working with a resident near to the site proposed.
The president of our association relayed to both PDR and the developer that while resident input is valuable the consensus of the entire neighborhood would be used in determining what/if their proposal is acceptable or not. The civic association would vote once the proposal is presented. The developer is required to present a proposal at a minimum of one visit.
On January 7, 2026 the president requested the developer to provide a high level overview of what changes are in the works so that we could share with our members. No reply at that time.
January 21, 2026 The developer is now reevaluating and possibly changing from a multifamily build. The Civic Association extended an invite to them to our next meeting on February 28,2026. They have accepted.
ACCOMPLISTMENTS in 2025 – Looking in the rearview mirror!
- Three Honey Do projects completed which include rebuilding steps, power washing and painting two front porches for seniors in our neighborhood. All work is pro bono.
- Poopie station was donated by our cleanup BPB crew and installed by the Honey Do crew at the North Avenue Library median strip.
- We installed a new seed library at the North Avenue Public Library. We have plenty of drawers for flowers and veggies.
- Four members completed the Citizen Emergency Response Team aka C.E.R.T. course given by the Emergency Management Division of RVA and FEMA. All received their certificates, backpacks and a ton of new gear. DPU Bobby Vincent got us signed up for RED E and the Director of CERT were also visitors.. Signed us up!!
- Two members completed the RVA TREE Steward course. We had the Director Dana Marshall come for a presentation prior to signup. Courses were at Pine Camp from September through November 2025.
- Five Code Refresh Training modules were created and presented at the North Avenue Public Library.. We sponsored 5 Code Refresh Workshops open to not only the civic association but to surrounding communities. What we gained through these workshops is we now have a strong working knowledge and understanding of what the CR is bringing not only to NBH but to the city as a whole.
- Over two dozen YouTube Code Refresh videos were created by a member and widely distributed by other civic associations and the Mayor’s office.
- NBHCA sponsored 12 BPB RVA Community Cleanups. Our totals for the year was 666.72 LBS!! WOW!
- We sponsored a Fund and Food drive for the St. Thomas Episcopal Church located at 3602 Hawthorne Ave. From October through December 21, 2025 our QR code generated over 900 ‘pings. Director Cummings relayed via email that our contributions were substantial. We also donated over 25 bags of non-perishable food, 300 plus handled paper bags, and signed up to be an ambassador to a nearby neighbor so we could pick up food on his behalf.
- We held two membership drives in 2025. One in April where we hand delivered to over 720 doorknobs [where feasible].
- We had over two dozen speakers visit us between March and December.
- We sent over 892 emails.
- Our Advisory board member and our President attended and participated in over 24 city sponsored Code Refresh workshops and virtual meetings as well as over a two dozens meetings with RVA’s Leadership Coalition for Code Refresh.
Whew! Yes it’s been a whirlwind year. 2026 is looking very promising as well!
GUEST SPEAKERS:
- Presentation by Carol Freysinger. A new way of getting emails out faster and with more focus on our immediate neighborhood where members can exchange communication.
- Mr. Anthony Cherry a two time Virginia Golden Gloves champion and a Silver Glove Title holder. Mr. Cherry is opening up Cherry Pick’d Boxing and fitness gym at 201 W. Brookland Park Blvd. He brought along several students to showcase and give us an example of what they’ve learned. One young man is going for a state title. Hoping to be open in five months which would be great – right in time for summer break! He offers mentorships as well as they teach other skills to local kids. We are very excited. Welcome to the neighborhood!!!
Actions before next meeting.
Discuss in more detail how emails would be collected. Who would make up the team? Who would act as moderator. What can and cannot be discussed within this email forum. We have already heard that no politics will be up for discussion. No sexual topics. Etc. TBD
The next meeting is scheduled for February 28,2026.
The meeting adjourned at 1:46 PM. Folks stacked chairs. Good to hear a lot of folks talking afterwards sharing ideas and getting to know one another