President, Myron Polster:
• eaca.net email addresses were malfunctioning, but they should now be fixed. Please resend any email from which you haven’t gotten a response.
• Everyone is encouraged to fill out the EACA survey at eaca.net.
• The 5th Annual Brownwood Bike Rally has been scheduled for Saturday June 9.
Ed Gilgor, Crime Reporting:
• The 3/12/07 gun incident in Brownwood Park was proven unrelated to gang activity. Apparently, two young men were fighting for the attention of a female, which led one of them to pull out a sawed-off shotgun. Police were immediately summoned to the scene, all suspects were caught, and it is now being determined if the gun was fired. Police are looking for witnesses, so call Major Propes if you have additional info about the incident (404) 371-5003.
• Crime was up slightly this February as compared to last—check out the statistics using the link in the EACA Newsletter.
Fire Department Report: Captain Franklin
• New cadet program for high school students has started—our station has a local high school senior working in the firehouse from 1-5 Monday-Thursday until May.
• February stats: 133 runs and 4 fires.
Introduction of new neighbors.
Police Report, Major Propes:
• A suspect has been apprehended in the recent Bound to Be Read Books Robbery.
• Auto thefts are trending up city-wide. In particular older Hondas seem to be a target (95 total cars stolen since first of year, 17 in our district (most in Highlands)), though Dodge owners have also been frequent victims.
• Three of the four young men apprehended in the Brownwood Park gun incident were McNair High students. Shots were heard but no witnesses have come forward, though the men were caught and the weapon was confiscated. Major Propes reassured attendees of park safety with these statistics: of the 113 stops in the park since 2005 when Propes started, 95 were routine patrol stops, rather than suspected crime stops. She reiterated that they patrol the park on foot frequently.
• Ed Gilgor interjected at the end of Propes report to spur people to participate in the public safety process by advocating for more police and more judicial support when it comes to repeat offenders. Email Ed at publicsafetyeaca.net for more info on how to get involved.
Miscellaneous:
• February Meeting Minutes approved by voice vote.
• The 2007 EACA Budget was approved 31-0.
• Review of the new designs for the EACA website will be postponed until the April meeting.
• The 3/20/07 special election for SPLOST III (the 1% sales tax in Dekalb County to benefit schools by contributing to capital improvements or for paying down debt) was discussed.
Education, Coach Jackson from Burgess Peterson Elementary:
• Burgess Peterson needs a playground and has applied for a large grant from KABOOM. Jackson recently attended a KABOOM conference in New Orleans, where she learned about building and installing a playground. KABOOM has notified Jackson that Burgess Peterson has moved to the next level of the grant process and will be granted a phone interview.
• The next playground meeting is March 20 in the BP media center 7:30 PM. Tax deductible donations can be made to the “Burgess Peterson Academy Athletic Fund.” Email bmjacksonatlanta.k12.ga.us if you want to volunteer or donate.
• Visit the Kaboom website to check in on the progress of the playground build: http://projects.kaboom.org/burgess
Membership Committee, Heath Turner:
• Membership discounts finally have been defined, and all EACA members can now use their membership cards at participating businesses (see eaca.net for the list of discounts).
• We have been getting some great feedback via the EACA online survey—it will be up for another few weeks at eaca.net, so please add your feedback. Email questions to vicepresidenteaca.net.
East Atlanta Business Association (EABA) update, Caryn Liss:
• Farmer’s Market will begin May 3 and will run every Thursday through October from 4:30 pm to dark. This year’s market will be bigger and better, featuring produce, art, a kid’s area, music, etc. EACA members get 20% off table rental.
• SOPO Bikes will be leading a bike ride from L5P to the Farmer’s Market one Thursday per month.
• Beerfest will be May 12 this year.
• Taste of East Atlanta will be July 21 in conjunction w/B*ATL (Battle of Atlanta celebration).
• New restaurant/bar “The Glenwood” will be opening soon, as will a new vegan restaurant.
• Just opened: “Champagne Taste”, a new boutique on Flat Shoals near the theater.
• Go to eastatlantavillage.net for more information on what’s happening in EAV.
• Local business Trader’s will turn 10 in April and is inviting the neighborhood to a sale and reunion party Saturday, April 28th for drawings, discounts and refreshments.
Kevin Lynch, President of SouthStar:
• SouthStar recently was involved in securing a grant of $95,000 to fund hiring well-qualified planners and consultants to survey and help shape the future of the South Moreland Avenue Corridor (Moreland from Memorial south to the city limits). SouthStar is a local, non-profit community development corporation which was formed to support sustainable, diverse, and healthy communities in South Atlanta. They welcome community input—visit www.southstarcdc.org for more information.
East Atlanta Strut, Mary Yetter:
• The Strut will be held on Saturday, September 15. This year is the 10th year of the Strut. Planning is well underway, but the Strut needs community support and volunteers. Go to eaca.net and follow links to Strut for more information on becoming an event sponsor, donating to the silent auction, or signing up to volunteer. You can also email strutvolunteersgmail.com.
Parks, Joanie Stovall:
• Inviting all interested volunteers to participate in the annual Earth Day clean up April 21st. Trader’s is sponsoring the event, which will focus on replanting beds in front of the Brownwood Park Rec Center, cleaning up the south side of the park and the stream area, and addressing erosion. Tire round-up will also be held on Earth Day and is sponsored by councilwoman Archibong.
• All interested neighbors are invited to participate in monthly clean-ups, held the 4th Sat of each month. This month’s will be March 24th from 9:30-11:30AM at the Ormewood Avenue flower bed in the Park—bring yard tools if possible. Email parkseaca.net to volunteer.
NPU-W Report, Ed Gilgor:
• Next NPU-W meeting will be held March 28 at 7:30PM at the East Atlanta Library.
• Zoo Atlanta is officially not leaving Grant Park.
• Beer Festival will be held May 12 from 1-6pm on The Gordon School Property. Volunteers are needed to man grills at the festival—go to eabfonline.com for more info or to get involved.
• A lease has been signed by “My Sister’s Room,” which will be located at Gresham and Glenwood.
• Send information on power outages (your address, when power was out and for how long) to publicsafetyeaca.net so he can compile for power company.
Land Use and Zoning, Dennis Madsen (for Andy Schneggenburger):
• Presented an application for special permit for the corner of Graham Circle and Fayetteville road. The proposed project is for CHRIS Kids, which cares for kids aged 17-21, who are coming out of the foster care system. The existing apartment buildings on site would remain, and an additional support center will be built on the site. Several Board Members of CHRIS Kids live in East Atlanta. Land Use and Zoning voted to accept at their last meeting. EACA voted 25-1 with 2 abstentions to approve.
Transportation Report, Larry Johnson:
• The next EACA Transportation meeting will be Monday, April 2, 7pm, at Martha Brown United Methodist—all are welcome to attend.
• Johnson’s song this month, sung to the tune of “Stop, in the Name of Love,” was about the 4-way stop sign that mysteriously appeared at Flat Shoals and McPherson.
• SOPO Bikes is installing bike racks in East Atlanta and elsewhere—interested businesses should visit
Sylvester Cemetery Report, Larry Johnson:
• Tours of Sylvester Cemetery in conjunction with the Atlanta Preservation Center’s “The Fifth Annual Phoenix Flies: A Citywide Celebration of Living Landmarks” went well—more tours will be held to finish out the Celebration this weekend.
Final announcements:
• Security Patrol renewals coming out soon. People not currently members are encouraged to learn more at http://patrol.eaca.net.
• The next EACA meeting will be held Tuesday, April 10 at 7:30PM at Branan Towers. Among other agenda items, EACA will be reviewing the options for the new EACA website, and reviewing EACA survey results (go to www.eaca.net to take the survey).
• To sign up for the weekly EACA email newsletter, go to www.eaca.net. To submit news, email newslettereaca.net.
