Mistletoe Heights Neighborhood Association Meeting

May 17, 2016 7:00 – 8:30pm

Attendees:

Officers: Josh Lindsay, Chad Jung, Jeri Jo Blackmon, Mary Peipert, Valerie Ewing

Neighbors: 36 (per attendance sheet)

Special Guest Speaker: Jacob Browning – City of Fort Worth   (Jacob.browning@fortworthtexas.gov)

Host: Jack and Carol Benson at 2324 Mistletoe Drive  

7:15 pm Meeting started with Josh Lindsay call to order and making a general statement about the recent neighborhood cleanup being a success with many people getting involved.  Then he asked Chad, VP, if he had anything he wanted to add and Chad introduced himself and asked if everyone would introduce themselves and state where they were born.  Everyone volunteered around the room.

7:23pm Josh then passed out the Income & Expenses to review as Jeri Jo would be late getting to the meeting.  In sum, total expenses this quarter is $2305 with a net income of -$330.  Josh then mentioned welcome baskets and putting out a request to anyone that if you are new or know someone who is new to the neighborhood could you please notify him so that a welcome basket can be provided. In the past we had acknowledged and welcomed new people by putting their names in the Newsletter and it would be nice to do so again. 

7:26pm Committee Reports

Robert Camacho – Berm update, he met with Ann Zadeh and discussed three things of which so far one has been addressed: 1. Trees – the smaller trees have been replaced with larger ones per the original agreement.  2.  The sound wall is supposedly anti-graffiti but for this to be effective then when graffiti gets removed a new coating of anti-graffiti needs to be applied and this is not happening. 3.  Sprinkler system: at this point we do not know where the sprinkler is nor how it works and we need to get the city to give us more information. And transferring the financial responsibility from the City to our MHA has not occurred yet.  

7:31pm Josh introduced our guest speaker: Jacob Browning who is a City of FW Community Engagement liaison.  He is who you can contact for concerns regarding the city or your neighborhood and he will either provide you with the name of the person to contact or he will put it in a report to be submitted to the appropriate person. What followed were a number of comments on concerns that need to be addressed in our immediate neighborhood: Lights at Mistletoe Blvd and FPB need to be painted, sign directing people to the Pavilion for fireworks that during off season is laying on the ground should be stored out of sight when not in use, the street lamps in our area used to have a warm light but they are being replaced with a bright light, etc.

Panhandlers that are present at FPB and Rosedale: call the police officers right when you see them.  Example Officer Caprio can be reached at: 817-856-8609 and be prepared to provide the following information: what are they wearing, was there a sign, ethnicity and you can also ask for a follow up call.  Another suggestion is text Officer Caprio a picture of the panhandler.  If you have a smart phone, check out the app:  myftworth – you can take pictures of any code violation and it can “geo-locate” the picture which then goes to the code department.

7:51pm Kate Lovelady – Lily B Clayton Elementary update: the school had a net profit of $106,000 and then she thanked those in our neighborhood for their financial support.

7:53pm Historic Overlay Committee – A question has come up about the original brick on a home and can it be painted.   Answer: It is discouraged but there is nothing in the historic overlay that specifically prohibits it. There was some talk about how the original overlay could be amended to address this but no conclusion was reached.

7:57pm Development Committee – Newby Park Construction: the committee consists of the following members: Claudia Camp, Mary Ellen Peipert, Will Northern, Gaye Reed and they met with Randy Primrose last week and were provided a rendering of the new apartments.  There will be 35 units total: 3 Townhomes and 32 Flats consisting of 1 and 2 bedroom apartments.  No completion date provided as yet and presently they are building a large retaining wall east near the RR tracks. What ensued was a discussion concerning the increased volume of traffic on Jerome: if stop signs are needed to slow traffic down, should parking along Jerome Street be limited to day time hours or limited to one side of the street.   The parking available to the apartment complex is 32 outside slots and 17 in the garage, that’s 1.5 per unit.

8:20pm Old Business: Garden Tour that occurred in Mistletoe Heights last Sunday: excellent turn out this year, in excess of 1500 people, quite possibly their highest turnout yet. 

8:23pm New Business: Newby Park Garden – we are in need of a volunteer who can attend to the garden at Newby Park, water is provided.  Suggestion: how about a committee of several people taking turns so that the burden does not fall to one person.  Rosaline volunteered to help coordinate the committee by providing emails or contacting people to remind them that it is their turn to take care of the garden.  She made it clear she was not volunteering for this duty but she would call Dottie Guffey to pin down exactly what the duties are. 

8:26pm Jerome Sidewalk – discussion about a possible Ribbon Cutting Ceremony celebrating the completion and success of installing sidewalks along Jerome, we could invite Kyle back for this occasion and even have another walking school bus.  Josh then broached the subject of sidewalks along the southern aspect of Mistletoe Drive where it turns a corner heading SE and ending at FPB, as the corner is unsafe for pedestrians.   Josh also mentioned talking to Jason Brown, Berkley Neighborhood Association President, and David Choudhry of City of FW regarding sidewalks. 

What followed was another discussion on Jerome Street and the excessive speed of cars.  A neighbor observed that it appears to be used as a method to avoid the traffic on FPB rather than a street used primarily by local residents to access their home street.

8:38pm: Motion to permit Taylor Coy and Courtney Estes to be the Traffic Committee: seconded and approved.

8:40 pm Meeting adjourned.