Greater Accokeek Civic Association

Next Meeting:

Wed., Apr. 25

Apr. 25  Annual Meeting

The Annual Meeting of the Greater Accokeek Civic Association will be on Wednesday, April 25, at 7:30 PM at the Accokeek Volunteer Fire Department meeting hall. The guest speaker will be Lori Arqulles, the Executive Director of the Alice Ferguson Foundation. This meeting is also the meeting where we honor Accokeek’s “Citizen of the Year” and hold annual elections of GACA officers and members of the GACA board. There will be refreshment and a “free table” so please try to make this important meeting.

Highway Cleanup – GACA will sponsor a cleanup along 210 on Sat., April 28.  Meet at Clagett's Realty at 9 for trash bags & safety vest & gloves.  We stop at 11:30 a.m.  We're happy to have anyone who can help for an hour (or more). Please plan to join us!

Historic Preservation - Three nearby Prince George’s County Neighborhoods Join National List of American Historic Districts: Piscataway Village, Broad Creek and St. Thomas Episcopal Parish Historic District were recently added to the federal government’s list of important American historic districts.  These historic districts, which are among some of the region’s oldest neighborhoods, were recognized on March 20^th  during a meeting of the Prince George’s Historic Preservation Commission in Upper Marlboro.  

Anti-Preservation Activity - Sealing the fate of an almost two centuries-old Oxon Hill historic site, Prince George’s County’s Historic Preservation Commission voted unanimously Jan. 4 to support removing some of its environmental protections, making way for a developer’s proposal to build an 80-store outlet mall and hotel on the grounds. The decision follows months of objections by community groups who say the 2.7-acre Salubria plantation should be preserved because of its importance to the county’s black history. The plantation sits in the middle of the proposed 44-acre planned Tanger Outlets being developed by National Harbor’s developer, the Peterson Cos. based in Fairfax, Va. Opponents argue that building a new mall is not “smart growth” because it would be much more appropriate to invest in the declining Rivertown shopping center just up the street, which Peterson also owns.

Upcoming Town Hall Meeting: May 16, 2012, 7 PM there will be a 2^nd Community Town Hall Meeting at Surratts-Clinton Library Auditorium. At the meeting the Prince George’s County Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning  will give updates on current and future community projects.

Beware of Gambling Hype – County leaders are working hard to promote gambling in the county. GACA has a position that is against gambling within 30 miles of Accokeek because of many studies that show gambling brings real negative impacts to communities. Studies also show that there is a net economic drain on communities because of the social problems generated. We have yet to get a detailed presentation of the whole National Harbor proposal, what costs the tax payers are expected to pick up, what are all of the costs that the promoters will pick up, and who will pay for infrastructure and other expenses. We have not gotten the details how the county plans to thwart the negative societal impact that gambling cities have.  How do we protect ourselves from becoming an Atlantic City with the mob, drugs, prostitution, increased crime, and gambling addicts losing their homes, etc.?

The new Public Safety Non-Emergency Dispatch Number is 301-352-1200.  This number will be answered and processed in the 9-1-1 Center by the same highly trained Public Safety Communications personnel that process 9-1-1 calls. In case of an emergency, residents should call 911. The old Public Safety Non-Emergency Dispatch Number (301-333-4000) will be maintained and forwarded to the new facility for a period of time to ensure there is minimal impact on the service provided to the public. Individual agencies should continue to be contacted to request information, request copies of reports, or to reach agency personnel.  Please continue to use the following phone numbers to reach other public safety agencies:

 ANIMAL CONTROL INFORMATION NUMBER – 301-780-7200

 DISTRICT COURT COMMISSIONERS INFORMATION NUMBER – (301) 583-7191

 DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS INFORMATION NUMBER – (301) 952-4800EMS DEPARTMENT INFORMATION NUMBER – (301) 583-2200

 OFFICE OF THE SHERIFF INFORMATION NUMBER – (301) 780-8600

 POLICE DEPARTMENT INFORMATION NUMBER – (301) 772-4420 

District IV: Oxon Hill (301) 749-4900

GACA MISSION

GACA is dedicated to the civic and social betterment of Accokeek, MD