Full Meeting Notes Coming Soon
Zoom Recording Here
Password: +4.uCn^y
GRIA Community Meeting 11/19/2025
Board Members Present: Wynnona Engle-Pratt (President), Sam Horn (Secretary), Corey Jennings (Vice President), Michele Baskin, Sadie Baker
Staff: Jen
Landscape architect student Kelly
Mary Jo- Maryland Insurance Administration
Cristina- Councilman Jones’s Office
J. Wallace- BFD Chief, Jennifer
Modesto Rivo- BPD Northern District
Councilwoman Odette Ramos
Councilman Jermaine Jones
Total Attendees: 22
On Zoom- 5
Zoom Recording
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Agenda
- Community Introduction
- Baltimore Fire Department
- Chief Wallace- Huge Kudos to neighbors that helped knock
- 3 fires in the city that week were NOT related, do not appear to be malicious intent, likely accidental
- Fire on 23rd likely started outside of building, confident on the site of origin and theories on what sparked it
- Wind and rooftop solar panels increased the chances of roof collapse; Roy Taylor’s video shows the extent
- 10-15 minutes into fire they were confident the building was gone; efforts moved to protecting the homes
- 4+ alarm fire- close to 5 alarm fire. Pleased that nobody was hurt
- If you don’t have smoke alarms, call 311 and BFD will install free of charge and also have “bed shaker” alarms for hard of hearing folks
- Q Wynn- What is the structural integrity of the commercial building post- fire. Who should they communicate with?
- Comment- Councilwoman Ramos- have neighbors seen owners or anything? Neighbor said they saw people today (11/19)
- Comment- it’s boarded up but
- Trash inside is a full story high
- Odette- Councilpeople will reach out to owners then DHCD that
- Corey- Sisson Street bridge is out. What were the issues with water pressure and how the bridge demolition impacted it? Are there safety concerns due to the bridge demo?
- Cannot speak to prior but residential neighborhoods have 6” mains; but when larger buildings are embedded in residential they need to tap into larger mains outside of the residential areas
- Corey- given the large industrial buildings in that area, can you please review the water mains in that area to ensure that this doesn’t happen again
- Question- Fire hydrant at 29th and huntingdon cap was off, how do we know if it’s operational
- AnswerHydrants are “dry” so they need to be manually opened by firefighters. Missing caps mean that junk may get thrown down it- causing problems. 311 all issues with fire hydrants to DPW.
- Q- Megan H.- currently displaced from home; interior of home is covered with white soot; What is the level of toxicity in the soot due to the contents of the building?
- Lumber on one floor, plastics on another floor- burned black d/t solar panels and plastics. Residue in home- have it cleaned professionally via insurance covered professionals. You can theoretically have it tested. Some academic facilities
- Odette- Green Healthy Homes Initiative and can connect to the right resources
- Insurance Commissioners office- mitigation companies should have connections with labs and it should be covered
- Q- Is there a case number/incident number on file for insurance claims?
- Odette and BFD have the case numbers- will share with GRIA
- Insurance companies go thru fire marshalls’ office
- Case # is 251102273
- Q- do you feel that the lack of the Sisson Street Bridge Hampered ability to fight the fire
- Has not analyzed the CAD data to see if the bridge demo
- “Anytime you have a straight shot to anything you’re in a better place”
- Comment- my bigger issue is not about fire trucks getting in- residents could not get OUT.
- Comment from Jen- received phone calls from multiple people that could not get out
- Comment- Remington Residents would appreciate support in egress
- BGE Lines were still hot throughout the fire
- BPD Northern District-
- 1 Robbery (shoplifting at Walgreens), 2 shoplifting, 1 larceny (domestic), 1 agg assault Domestic, arrrested/closed, 2 burglaries (2200 block of Hampden); looking into
- Q- attempted rape and assault on Wyman Park Drive near Agora Building- photos sent around.
- Cannot comment, but can ask and find out the status
- Passed photo around
- Q- any large traffic related incidents from the last month?
- No
- Councilwoman Odette Ramos and Councilman Jermaine Jones-
- Odette:
- DOT- resurfacing of 29th street may not happen this year due to running out of warm weather
- Jermaine Jones- You don’t know how great of a community you have until there are hardships.
- Citation for Michele Baskin!
- Changes at Margaret Brent Elementary/Middle School
- North Ave proposes closing Dallas F Nichols elementary and moving elementary students to Margaret Brent. Middle Schoolers would go into
- Meeting 12/2 at 5:30 to discuss proposal, school board 12/11 and ⅛
- If there’s general interest in a school choice workshop, a local org does workshops and could be hosted here
- GRIA can advertise on socials to gauge interest- at least 4 attendees to hold the workshop
- Jermaine- This is a PRELIMINARY proposal- please provide feedback. School is closing due to decreased population- they’re considering keeping the building as an annex for North Ave. Parents like the size of Margaret Brent and increasing the size could assist Margaret Brent’s power
- Sisson Street Task Force
- 11/10- same day as Keswick Castle Fire- very deep discussion about current situation at Sisson Street, what DPW would like in terms of an ideal situation that they don’t have room for, Renovations that are happening at other transfer station
- Amount of money that it’s taking to renovate bowleys lane and reedbird facilities
- Reedbird- $30mil renovation
- Bowleys- same, adds composting
- Short term options for Sisson discussed- including 20-30 million in renovations
- NW station with trash trucks and small haulers- Bowleys lane would have small haulers.
- IF renovations occur, can those two sites take the tonnage from Sisson? YES
- Not convenient d/t location
- Next steps- sites that were presented during testimony, citizen suggested sites
- Keep it, close it, move it, and if move it then, where
- Clarification- discussions still ongoing, can we start eliminating certain options that are very low
- Wynn- Will there be another option for public testimony once sites are narrowed down
- Jed- Taskforce member repping Bikemore- overwhelming opposition to moving to Falls Rd.
- Capacity adding to Reedbird and Bowleys is IMMENSE.
- Sisson is only elevated platform in the city- adding 24 bays to each site (48 total)
- Potentially funds from the sale
- Current city budget does not have anything to update to trailers or permanent improvements at sisson
- DPW does not believe
- Less Waste Better Baltimore- “deconstruction center” for materials in good shape for upcycling and utilized elsewhere
- Wynn- Seawall spoke at last Land Use committee Meeting- recorded and on the website
- Corey- How are other communities using the Sisson Street location and how can Remington benefit from those? Ex- benefits districts in Midtown Benefits District and Charles Village- property owners pay an additional tax to create these special districts. Needs density and property value- includes access to dump the trash that they collect- hence why they want to keep Sisson at the location
- Jermaine- Deal that was struck some time ago, and trying to get the info on the deal when he meets with DPW
- Other organizations get to use the amenity while GRIA volunteers get turned away, while they accept from the benefits districts
- Tree Plantings and Cleanups- Jen
- Big Jump Cleanup- Partnered with Reservoir Hill and Bolton Hill- Concrete Barriers in place! Easier to walk path and cleanup
- No December Cleanup- Indoor Cleanup in January
- Community Announcements
- Barbera from Church of the Guardian Angel- thanks to GRIA for helping to make
- Resiliency Hubs- there’s funding for opportunities
- Thank you to the neighborhood for helping the food pantry via donations and volunteering
- Thanksgiving Dinner on Thanksgiving 11-1
- Stephanie- Thank you for Hauntingdon- Could Baptist Church open their bathroom for the event?
- Volunteer call out for flyer distribution! Please reach out to Jen at volunteers@griaonline.org to take a flyering route next month. Routes are ~2 blocks and a great way to meet your neighbors
- Church of the Guardian Angel thrift shop, runs 1st & 2nd Sat of the month, 10am – 2 pm, bring donations during open hours only, also seeking volunteers; Food Pantry, every
Wednesday from 9 am – 10 am, need volunteers for delivery drivers and some muscle on Tuesday mornings to unload trucks (9:30 – 10:15ish). Registration preferred but not required - Church of the Guardian Angel Thanksgiving meal here in Kromer Hall- all are welcome!
- Mount Royal Soaps Night Markets – Every 3rd Friday from 5 pm to 9 pm (April through November), includes food, vendors, free drinks!
- RemFest Merchandise for sale at Mount Royal Soaps- proceeds will benefit GRIA
- Councilwoman Odette Ramos-
- Amy Sherrald exhibit at BMA- 11/2 through April including the Michelle Obama Portrait. There will be 2 community days w/ free admission!
Next Community Meeting: December 17, 2025