REPORT: The BV-WNA Annual Meeting

On Saturday, January 28, the Board convened our annual General Meeting for the membership, and we're delighted to report that we had great attendance for this meeting: more than 50 neighbors came to Smokey's BBQ for a delicious dinner, conversation, and the annual report by the Board.

Guest speakers included our Neighborhood Patrol Officer (NPO) Valle, who gave us updates on some important topics:

(1) Residents often report (usually on NextDoor) gunshots being fired. NPO Valle recommends that residents immediately phone 911 when they hear these sounds so that it can be triangulated and traced back to a source. Most recently, a resident called 911, and the shots were traced to a homeowner who was allowing guests to shoot into a creek bank on his property. While this is not a violation of the law, the homeowner was informed that the sounds were alarming residents, and the homeowner agreed to limit this activity for the sake of the neighborhood.

(2) NPO Valle also recognizes that the old Tennis Club area (including the deserted school building) have become an attraction for local transients, and could become a magnet for crime. He regularly patrols and parks in this area. (For more information on this subject, see Gyna Bivens' talk below.)

(3) He also assures us that regular police patrols are being done in our area, and encourages us to call 911 when we see suspicious activity such as strangers approaching doors of houses, trying doorknobs, etc.

Also speaking at the meeting was our City Councilmember Gyna Bivens, who provided information sheets of frequently called numbers (you can download this information here in PDF form), and spoke on several topics of interest to our neighborhood.

(1) There will be an upcoming bond election, and our neighborhood should begin to come up with how we want those funds used to the betterment of our area immediately, and present her with those ideas so that she can make decisions on how to apply the funds earmarked for our district. Please see this thread on the NextDoor site for this discussion.

(2) Regarding the Tennis Club (referenced earlier by NPO Valle), Councilmember Bivens informed us that the property, worth about $600,000, has reverted to the City after nonpayment of property taxes in the amount of about $45,000. This means that the City is free to make a deal for use of that property at a reasonable rate. She asked for the neighborhood's input on how to use that property. This discussion is also included in the Bond Package discussion on Nextdoor.

BV-WNA continues to work closely with city officials, the Fort Worth Police, and other agencies to make our neighborhood better and safer. Please support our work by joining the association!