Mistletoe Heights Neighborhood Meeting

Host: The DeVargas home at 2312 Harrison

August 21, 2018 7:00–8:42 pm

Oﬃcers Present: President: Corey Bearden, Vice President: Mark Philpot, Treasurer: Jeri Jo Blackmon, Newsletter: Hannah and Jeff Parks. Secretary: Val Ewing

Attendees: 21 Mistletoe Heights Residents

Guest Speaker: Officer Cory Carpenter, NPO for MH. Mobile: 817-999-8057, Email: Cory.carpenter@fortworthtexas.gov

CALL TO ORDER: Corey began the meeting and distributed an agenda.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Motion to approve minutes from May meeting. Approved.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Movie night: Saturday October 5, 7:00 pm at Newby Park. Movie TBD.

Pumpkin carving contest: October 30, at sunset.

Bow Tying Party: Sunday November 11, 2:00 pm at Gary Willis’ home at 2237 Irwin.

Next Neighborhood Meeting: November 20, 7:00 pm, location TBD.

Guest speaker: Officer Cory Carpenter was introduced and spoke on the following: National Night Out: Tuesday October 2^. He encouraged all residents to participate by turning their outside lights on and spending the evening outdoors. Car Theft: there’s been a spike in car burglaries with 19 BMVs and 6 near our neighborhood. In all cases, there was something of value visible in the car. UPS Drop Box Thief: a UPS drop box thief, who knows the door codes, has stolen from boxes located at: FPB & Rosedale, Windsor & 8^th, and the University parking garage. Mr. Jakes/ Phillips gas station: skimmers were found in card readers on outside pumps. It’s estimated the skimmers were there 5 days. If you filled up with gas at this location, check your bank account. Suspicious person: Today he responded to a suspicious-person call. The call came 15 minutes after witnessing the person which is ample time to escape. Report suspicious activity ASAP. Call Officer Carpenter for non-emergencies but anything suspicious or urgent, call 911. Stolen Packages: if you have a package stolen, file a police report so it becomes a formal record and they can track time and location of incidents. Speeding on FPB: Today he stopped someone going 53 in a 35-mph zone on FPB. A resident mentioned speeding on Jerome. Officer Carpenter requested a list of streets where speeding is a concern and he will increase patrol of those areas. Mark Philpot requested all streets be emailed to him (mark@leaguere.com) and he will send an email to Officer Carpenter. This concluded Officer Carpenter’s visit. He was thanked for his time and left the meeting.

OFFICERS REPORTS:

Presidents Report: Sidewalk Update: per Clint Hoover, w/ City, sidewalk instillation on Mistletoe Drive will begin September 4, completion date December 3; about 90 days. Streetlights: Washington style lights, predominant in MH, are not present on Harrison & Morphy. Corey spoke with Brendan McInnes and was told the cost to replace present lights with the older-looking style to match would be $7,000 to $11,000 per light and the city will not pay for it. This was confirmed with Ann Zadeh’s office. Security: Darren George, president of Berkeley Heights, is looking into adding cameras at main entrances to Berkeley. Cameras are motion activated, record street activity and license plate numbers. Darren approached Corey asking if MH would be interested in adding these cameras to their streets thus sharing the cost. Cost is about $1500 per camera. This conversation segued into researching hiring a patrol officer during times when petty crimes increase, like Christmas. Jeff investigated the cost of hiring a patrol officer. Here is a summary of details: $50 per hour, min 3-hour patrol in a marked police car. For 3 nights/ week it’s $500. Email Jeff if you have questions (jeffdparks@gmail.com). Jeff is also looking into crime stats, i.e., time of day, etc, of petty crimes and is finding it difficult to get accurate information reflecting our neighborhood since not all stolen packages and BMVs are reported. When you file a report, police patrols increase. Filing a report can easily be done online.

Vice President Report: MH Street sign Toppers: Mark spoke with the City and they will put Mistletoe Heights “Toppers” on street signs where they are absent.

Treasury Report: the treasury report was distributed with key points reviewed. Average cost to water the berm is $175/month, it’s a drip system installed by the City. Newby Park water bill is $85/mo. J. Bryant indicated he would like to investigate the water situation at Newby and the Berm as the bill seems high. This was met with approval. Next, a dues donation sheet was distributed which listed names of MH residents that have paid dues. If you’re not on the list, then you haven’t paid dues. Of 500 people living in MH, 20% pay dues. Discussion followed about how to get more people to participate in dues donations. Idea: provide an incentive, i.e., sticker, mugs, T-shirts with MH logo.

Newsletter Report: The cost to print the newsletter is 10 cents per page with a total cost of $500 each distribution. Some people get 2 newsletters per household and some who only read the digital version. What followed was a discussion on the pros/cons of going digital thus reducing the number of paper copies. The conclusion was to not pursue the idea for now as it would be too complicated to keep track of those who want a paper copy and those who do not. Presently, advertising income covers the cost to print the newsletter.

OLD BUSINESS

Triangle park electricity and irrigation discussion:

The concept of providing electricity and irrigation to the triangle began August 2015 and was presented at neighborhood meetings on multiple occasions. The triangle is a common space and the goal is to make it look representative of our neighborhood. Irrigation will be essential to keep the grass healthy. If we want irrigation, we’ll need electricity first. Our goal right now is to get electricity since we need it for movie night, bounce houses, band, and other events throughout the year. At the neighborhood meeting last May, a motion approved spending $10,000 on getting electricity and water to the triangle. Robert DeVargas met with Oncor and a contractor recently. Oncor will install the meter, 200 amp, and pull the line for free. To get electricity to the triangle, there is a transformer located on Buck. Two options for running electricity from this pole: under or over. Underground involves boring under a driveway and street. At the street, it would need to be placed 6’ down. Cost just to bore: $7k. Overhead: sink a pole on the Triangle easement and run the power line overhead (price unknown). Concern for the latter option are neighbors along this street may object to a power line going overhead. Solar power was discussed but it would help with irrigation and not electricity. Also, Solar technology advances may present a problem over time. Suggestion: the long-term view is to spend the money now so that in 20 or 30 years there’s a quality system in place. Fund raising idea: sell bricks to cover corners on the triangle where grass does not grow. Suggestion regarding park benches: place 2 at right angles to each corner to create a conversational area. Corey: we’ll investigate fund raising opportunities. Objection to Triangle irrigation/electricity: the opposition is against spending discretionary money and what happens when we need money and don’t have it?

Motion made by S. Ewing: Pursue underground placement of electricity dependent on final cost if it does not exceed $10,000. Seconded by C. Jung. Approved.

NEW BUSINESS

An Irwin resident’s home is turning 100 this year. They want to have a street party, with food trucks, and invite all of MH neighborhood. Tentative date is October 27. Question about blocking off the street: Answer: it requires approval from the city and signatures from most residents on the street. Corey: the celebration will be posted in the newsletter.

8:42 pm: meeting adjourned