7:35 P.M. Meeting Called to Order – Myron Polster, EACA President
Recognition of Elected Officials: Robbin Shipp, representative from Georgia House District 58
• Attended groundbreaking of Imagine Charter School – excited about the opportunity this new school provides our community.
Opening Comments - Myron Polster
• Reminder that monthly EACA meetings will begin at 7:00pm instead of 7:30pm as of September meeting.
• EACA and the community will be very involved in the design of the revamped Moreland entrance into East Atlanta Village (part of the upcoming Phase 2 Streetscape)– if you want to get involved, contact Myron.
• The old church building near Sylvester Cemetery (in Dekalb County, used to be “Inner Sanctum”) was foreclosed upon; the owner is looking to get a variance (special use permit) purportedly to allow property to be used as a church (see zoning section, below, for more).
• An increasing number of EACA members live in unincorporated Dekalb County, and many of these residents are coming together to get a neighborhood watch in place—more details to come, but inquire if interested.
• EACA has paid the 2nd installment of our grant to the EAV Farmer’s Market. The market has been a huge success—Jonathan Tescher was congratulated for his efforts.
City Council Representative - Natalyn Archibong – Report:
• Gave special recognition to Jonathan Tescher again on the success of the Farmer’s Market
• Has had sidewalk requests for Van Vleck and lighting requests at Glenwood and Monument – she is working on those and trying to secure funding.
• In the last budget, we got additional funding for code enforcement inspectors to receive new handheld computers to record violations in the field that will go straight into the system. This should help speed up the enforcement process significantly.
• Natalyn will approach code enforcement about attending one of our meetings or allowing a committee of our members go meet with them to discuss outstanding neighborhood code issues.
LEAP Report – Jennifer Mullins and Coach Betty Jackson (from Burgess Peterson Academy):
• Over $5,000 is still needed to secure the $5,000 Kaboom matching grant we’ve been awarded, and we need to raise a total of $11,000 to build the playground as currently designed (sketch of design was presented to meeting attendees).
• Donations and In-kind gifts are encouraged: landscaping, benches, food, children’s activities at install, etc.
• Jackson thanked Traders for continuing to help the fundraising efforts by donating money, hosting fundraisers, etc.
• Atlanta Public Schools will do the surfacing for the new playground—a thick rubber surface will be paid for with SPLOST money
• The playground must be completed by November 30. Will have Home Depot volunteers, but will need many volunteers from the community for the playground build—it will be on a weekday TBA.
• A playground benefit concert will be held on Friday Aug 10 at the Earl, headline band is Deerhunter.
• Edivia Tangren from Adams Realty is pledging a $300 donation from each real estate transaction she closes in the next three months to the playground fund and Adams Realty will advertise this in the AJC, which will add to fundraising and publicity efforts.
• There will be an Open House at Burgess Peterson Academy on August 10 from 9-3 for neighbors to come check out the facilities, meet the staff, etc—all are invited.
Battle of Atlanta - Henry Bryant
• Reminder to come participate in the upcoming Battle of East Atlanta (B*ATL) events on Saturday, July 21. See www.batlevent.org for full schedule of events, tours, music, etc.
Police Report - Major Propes
• Introduced new nightwatch commander, Lt Brady.
• Discussed the recent kidnapping a few blocks from the East Atlanta Village and the combined efforts of officers in Zones 6, 4 and 3 to locate the victims quickly. As of meeting time, two of the alleged perpetrators (Christopher Maddox and Christopher McFarland) had been jailed and a case was still being built against two other perpetrators. Major Propes suggested writing letters to the DA to keep these guys in jail and to impose the harshest sentencing. Jen Murray will get name and address of DA and will publicize via EACA newsletter.
Crime Report – Jennifer Murray
• June Crime Statistics and 6-month 2007 combined stats are on EACA website and include all of Beat 610 (East Atlanta but not including unincorporated Dekalb).
• Looking at YTD totals compared to 2006 we were up in larceny auto and larceny other (getting stuff stolen out of car or yard). These are some of the most controllable and preventable crimes—so don’t leave stuff in your car!
Variance Issues - Andy Schneggenburger
• Addressed the special use request for the building previously used as a church at 2040 Braeburn Circle—this will be on EACA agenda next month, so come to the meeting with your questions (there have been unsubstantiated rumors among neighbors that the owner wants to build a cell tower there).
• 1484 McPherson – sideyard variance request. Scope of work is within existing footprint of house and no trees would be impacted. NPU Land Use and Zoning voted to approve 6-1-1. Motion passed EACA membership via handvote: 21-0-2.
• 584 Flat Shoals – request to reduce frontyard setback to enclose and widen front porch to existing width of house. No trees impacted. Approved 27-0-0.
• 2045 Graham Circle – CHRIS Kids project. Request for parking reduction from required 77 spaces to 31. Use of the facility will be for kids who don’t generally drive or have cars. Approved 25-0-1.
• Reminder that NPU meetings are the last Wednesday of each month at Community Hall at Martha Brown 7:30. Interested neighbors are welcome to attend.
EACA Website Redesign - Jessica Anderson
• Presented progress on new design.
NPU Report – Ed Gilgor:
• Old Tucker Auto location to become “Midway Pub.”
Public Safety Report – Ed Gilgor:
• Reminder to call 9-1-1 when you see anything suspicious.
• Will be asking Zone 6 police to be targeting crosswalks for pedestrian and vehicular violations.
• Dog attack follow up: dog owner did not show up for court date; bench warrant issued for owner, who has not been retrieved. Victim is doing well. Review of rules: dogs cannot be off leash in a city park, including Brownwood
• Reminder to call 888-891-0938 to report power outages; send Ed an email when you come back from out of town and there has been an outage, letting him know so he can correlate w/other neighborhood outages and push for improvements.
Transportation Report - Larry Johnson
• Larry’s song this month, sung to the tune of “I Saw the Light,” was about the new traffic light to be installed in next 3-4 months at I-20 Westbound off-ramp to prevent back up on off ramp for vehicles turning left onto Moreland.
• There is currently a proposal in to improve the pedestrian crosswalks around Moreland and I-20 as well as south of Glenwood down Moreland, and Glenwood Avenue from Moreland to I-20. Call Larry at 404-664-2034 for more information.
East Atlanta Strut Update – Mary Yetter
• Saturday, September 15 will be the 10th year of STRUT. All encouraged to get involved in our premiere neighborhood festival. Email Strutsponsorshipgmail.com if you know of any possible sponsors, and Strutvolunteersgmail.com to volunteer. Next planning meeting will be held at the Galish Group office at 752 Moreland (corner of Moreland and Ormewood) on July 11 at 7:30.
