Minutes February 11, 2002

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DRAFT MLPA Board Meeting Minutes, February 11, 2002

President Olansky called the meeting to order at 7:37 p.m.

Board members attending: Ruth Alexander, Kerry Brown, Michael Carew, David Garr, Joe Giardina, Charlotte Gillis, Martha Porter Hall, Van Hall, Jodi Mansbach, Norman McKay, Dianne Olansky, Mae Reich, Steven Rowell.

A motion was made to approve the minutes of the January meeting. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously. Minutes for this meeting taken by Martha Porter Hall as acting Secretary.

Committee Reports:

Security Patrol: Michael Carew introduced Detective Rick Vasquez, lead officer of the Security Patrol, who reported that Morningside has had an increase in burglaries recently. And an arrest! Office Stapler, an MSP officer, checked out the tag of a suspicious vehicle he observed while patrolling for Morningside Security. The vehicle was reported stolen. Officer Conner from Zone 2 and Officer Stapler tracked the vehicle down and arrested the driver. The suspects were delivering stolen items to a pawnshop. An investigator from the Burglary Division of APD is investigating the case; it is to be hoped that this arrest and investigation will resolve some (hopefully, all) of the recent burglaries. On a positive note, vehicle larcenies are dramatically down; instead of the usual 9 to 11 cases per month, we had only one in January.  Lead Officer Rick Vazquez has purchased a white Ford Taurus with “Morningside Security” on both sides in reflective letters. (Wave when you see it!) Mike Carew submitted a bill of $945 for printing and postage expense. Motion was made to approve payment of the bill; motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

Membership: Jodi Mansbach reported that we have approximately 750 members. She has organized the list of members in 2000 who did not renew membership into lists of ten to twelve names and asked for volunteers to make follow-up calls. After distributing the lists to a hardy cadre of workers, Jodi recommended that we also send a second renewal notice to the nonrenewals. The mailing would cost around $200. A motion was made to approve the expense; it was seconded and passed unanimously.

Newsletter: Van Hall reported that the winter issue of the MLPA News is in the mail. The next issue will focus on “The Greening of Morningside,” reporting on parks, gardening, tree planting – green stuff. The deadline for submitting items for publication is March 1. The newsletter will also have information about the Annual Meeting (Monday, April 29, 7:30 p.m.) and Celebration of Summer (Friday, May 24, 5-8 p.m.). Van submitted a bill for $2,822.80 for printing of the newsletter. Motion was made to approve payment of the bill; the motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

Parks: Charlotte Gillis stated that, in partnership with Trees Atlanta, we have scheduled a tree planting on Saturday, February 23, 9 a.m., at Sidney Marcus Park and at Lenox-Wildwood Park. Norman McKay reported that Arthur Cohen of Tecton Construction has agreed to donate labor for the installation in the spring of the planned bridge at the eastern end of Wildwood Gardens.

Beautification: Kerry Brown has contacted Intown Hardware who has agreed to give MLPA a 20% discount on planting supplies for our green spaces. Anyone who will buy equipment for MLPA beautification should contact Kerry to arrange to get the discount.

Schools: Joe Giardina reported on the 2001-2002 ranking of Georgia public schools that is done by the Georgia Department of Education. Morningside Elementary is ranked at number 8 out of 1,100 grammar schools around the state; Inman Middle is 5 out of 427 middle schools; and Grady High is rated 8 out of 340 high schools. The complete report can be found on the Internet at http://accountability.doe.k12.gaus/Report01/default.html. Joe urged people who are interested in the public schools to attend the March 13 CINS meeting, at noon at C.W. Hill School. There will be a report and discussion of the “Build Smart” program.

Special Events: President Olansky reported for Mike McCool. Mike is recruiting volunteers for Celebration of Summer, May 24, and is also searching for a Co-Chair. Mike can be contacted at home, (404) 872-3633, or email at mjmccoll@mindspring.com.

Tour of Homes: President Olansky reported for Zac Pasmanick that plans are moving forward for the 2002 Tour.

Traffic: President Olansky reported for Bill Ellis and Bruce Maloy. They met with URS n January 31 about moving forward with the results of the traffic study. The first street meeting will address North Rock Springs Road and will be scheduled as soon as new URS drawings for North Rock Springs are complete. The Board approved a payment request for $523 for URS. The committee has met with Anne Fauver’s staff about several issues. During the Traffic Committee sponsored SlowDown on February 8, several occurrences pointed out the difficulty of enforcing existing pedestrian and crosswalk laws. Members of the Committee will meet with Major Andersen, head of Special Operations with APD, to discuss how to focus on and address these issues at the next SlowDown.

Sidewalks: President Olansky reported for Lee Kintzel, who is looking for a co-chair.

Treasurer’s Report: Ruth Alexander distributed the monthly financial report and stated that during the period October 1, 2001 to February 11, 2002, we have received $13,596 in MLPA memberships and $59,924 in Security Patrol memberships. Ruth would like to open a Vanguard money market account that would pay interest for the Security Patrol funds. Motion was made to do so; motion seconded and passed.

Zoning: To the dismay and regret of all present, there were no zoning issues. Let’s all hope for a better time next month.

Miscellaneous: the Nominating Committee will meet on Wednesday, February 27. We need Co-Chairs for the following committees: Membership, Parks, Special Events, Zoning, and North MLPA (Sidewalks). Recommendations and suggestions will be welcome.

New Business:

Sam Zamarippa, candidate for Georgia Senate District 36, expressed his interest in the support of Morningside residents.

President Olansky stated that the Executive Board of Neighborhood Planning Unit F is compiling a list of requests to be submitted for insertion in the City of Atlanta 2002 Comprehensive Development Plan. She asked for suggestions.

The City of Atlanta is holding a public hearing on the proposed City budget for 2002 in City Council Chambers on Tuesday, February 12, at 7 p.m.

The Intown Women’s Group will hold an art auction on April 11. More info to come next month.

There being no more business, motion was made to adjourn. Motion was seconded and passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 8:52 p.m.

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