Mistletoe Heights Neighborhood Meeting

Host: Anne and Adam Weiskittel, 2345 Mistletoe Ave

May 16, 2017 7-8:15

Officers Present: President: Josh Lindsay, Vice President: Chad Jung, Treasurer: Jeri Jo Blackmon, Newsletter: Mary Ellen

Secretary: Valerie Ewing

Attendees: 20 Mistletoe Heights Neighbors as per attendance sheet

Guest: Neighborhood Police Officer Joshua Caprio

Contact info: joshua.caprio@fortworthtexas.gov. Phone: 817-858-8609

7:08pm: Meeting began, Josh distributed an agenda for the meeting then introduced special guest Officer Caprio. Officer Caprio has been covering our area for about two years. He reports it has been quiet in the hospital district although we still have occasional car break-ins. With summer approaching, we will see an increase in crime so do not leave valuable items in your car and remember to lock your doors.

Question: can anything be done about speeding on FPB? One resident reports that this has been witnessed during non-peak driving times; 8 or 9pm. Officer Caprio indicated there should be more enforcement and consistency on the part of the PD and he will look into it.

Question: when the new pedestrian bridge is complete, will there be an increase in homeless trafﬁc? Officer Caprio does not think so. He stated that if a camp or increased homeless activity is spotted then call it in. Good news: at this time, there are no camp cities in our area, i.e., 20-30 tents, as FWPD is on top of it. General comment to Officer Caprio: We appreciate your help in getting a four way stop at Mistletoe Ave and Jerome.

Parking on Jerome along Newby Park near the new multiplex: The city of FW wants to wait and see what happens before addressing any parking issues. One concern about waiting is that right now there is a congestion issue, for instance, if cars are parked on both sides of the street then there is only room for one-way trafﬁc. General consensus among attendees: would like to push for parking limited to one side of street only and do so sooner rather than later. Comment: maybe Ann Zadeh’s office could put us in contact with the right person to assist in getting this done?

7:24p Officer Caprio’s guest appearance concluded, he left the meeting.

7:25pm: Call to order

Approval of the minutes: Minutes from the quarterly meeting held in February were distributed to all in attendance and approved.

Ofﬁcer reports:

Josh: 2300 West Rosedale South has a new Captain of that block. Hao Tran has volunteered to be our new social director.

Mary Ellen: Newsletter - June/July issue will be delayed in order to include the pictures of the July 4^th Parade.

Chad: The lights at Newby park have been ﬁxed so it will no longer be dark at night. Movie night was a success this year.

Jeri Jo: Treasurer Report – a list of income and expenses was distributed around the room. Summary: we are just now starting the annual dues donations request. This month we have collected $1700 in dues donations. Please send in your dues when you can, envelopes are provided in the newsletter. Other expenses discussed: water expense for the berm has been high ($839). Comment: the berm has a drip system for irrigation. If you see running water (in the street), please notify Robert Comacho as there may be a leak. If a leak is found and repaired, the FW Water department will reduce the water bill by half when you provide an invoice proving repair. Question on the donation in the amount of $524: This covered the new backstop at Newby Park and the plaque that will be placed in honor of Drew Medford.

Committee Reports:

Development: The Berkeley Apartments – there was an investor looking into buying the property and using part of the apartments for workforce housing. Latest update: sale is on hold. Statistically, only 20% of the residents are TCU students.

Old Business:

Pedestrian bridge may be done by July. The path on our side of the river will continue north to the Tilley bridge. These plans have been in the works for about 15 years.

Newby Park and the dedication plaque: the plaque is done, there will be a sign that says Charlie's ﬁeld dedicated to Drew Medford. One suggestion was to put the plaque in concrete because a sign is at risk of being stolen or damaged. This option will be looked into before a final decision is made.

Hidden Gardens Tour will be held in Berkeley Heights on May 21, 2017. If you buy tickets online then you can pick up the welcome packet at: 2205 Glenco Terrace.

Forest Park Pool party with Berkeley on June 9^th at 7-9pm.

July 4 Parade - discussion about a possible new time as the usual 6:30 pm time is overly hot. Consensus concluded: an email will be sent to neighbors to choose from two times: 11am or 7 pm with majority rule deciding final time.

Robert de Vargas: water at the Triangle Park - goal is to get water to the park which would improve the appearance of grass and make it more usable. At this time there are mostly weeds and stickers. Costs involved in getting water to park - $1700: this includes $1300 to tap main line and a $400 fee for environmental drainage. The Triangle Park is owned by the city but too small to be ofﬁcially recognized as a park. Electricity (needed for sprinklers) is already at the Triangle but Oncor will need to set up a meter.

Street lights: The 2300 Block of Mistletoe Drive will be getting two new street lights around the time of the sidewalk installation. They will be 10’ high and match the street lights in the rest of Mistletoe Heights. The City also has a goal to eventually change all lights to a warmer color and more uniform so they all match.

Historic guidelines set for our neighborhood: they will be put in the newsletter, in welcome baskets, and are also on the website. If you know of someone new to the neighborhood, please notify Mary Ellen Peipert: mepeipert@gmail.com, so that we can get a welcome basket sent. A discussion then occurred among attendees about the directory and how to update it. General consensus is that one approach will not reach everyone so we need multiple methods of getting in touch with everyone. Question about online directory: Lily B has one. Privacy is a concern but you can limit what information is put on the database. No final decision was made on this topic.

Question: what is being built on the lot at Windsor and 8th Avenue? Storage unit.

Next quarterly neighborhood meeting will be held on August 15, 2017 – location TBD. If you would like to host a meeting, please get in touch with Josh Lindsay: leroylindsay@yahoo.com or Hao Tran: haotran13@gmail.com

Thank you to the Weiskittel family for hosting the meeting!

8:15 pm Meeting adjourned