Madison Park

MINUTES OF JUNE 14, 2004 MADISON PARK HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION

Jun 17, 2004

Madison Park Homeowners Association
June 14, 2004 Meeting
Minutes
WWW.Neighborhoodlink.com


[NB: Beginning with tonight?’s meeting and going forward, 30 minutes -- from 7:00 to 7:30pm -- has been added to allow neighbors time to socialize. Soft drinks or coffee will be served depending on the season of the year.]

The meeting was called to order at 7:30 PM by President Ted Peters.
35 attendees were present with 2 police officers.

Officer Monroe from the South Division gave his May incident report for MP on the South Side of Tyvola Road. There was one aggravated assault between a boyfriend and girlfriend. The other incident was on Tamworth where a mailman reported an open front door while delivering mail. The home had been broken into in what appeared to be a very quick search and grab burglary of electronic appliances and jewelry. Estimated time within the home: less than 5 minutes.

Officer Hairston of the Westover Division reported that larcenies during May had occurred at 1340 and 1327 Abbey Place. There was one suicide call on Huntercrest. There were several larceny calls throughout the Westover Madison Park area involving thefts from vehicles. Officer Hairston stated that car doors need to be locked. The officer suspected that the MS13 Gang might be responsible for some of the car break-ins in the area. Car stereos are the main target of thieves. Stereos with detachable fronts are especially targeted. Residents should remove the face plates from their autos in order to prevent theft.

Most of the home break-ins are happening during the day. REPORT SUSPICIOUS PEOPLE TO 911. It is important to let your neighbors know if you are having workers around when you?’re away at work or on vacation. Alarms are still good deterrents as well as dogs.

Officer Hairston reiterated that Madison Park does not have much of a problem with gang activity.

Also reported in May, an SUV drove into MPHOA member Carol Clarke?’s home. Speeding and drinking were contributing factors. Police responded by setting up a perimeter search and the driver and passengers who had fled on foot were apprehended. The responding fire fighters expended truly heroic construction and extraction efforts in order to remove the SUV from the house and to secure the structure with extensive bracing, jacks and tarps. [Carole has already personally extended her deep appreciation for their efforts. MPHOA will, as is our custom, make a special effort to recognize our local fire fighters and patrolling police divisions during our September picnic.]

The only other news from the officers was to restate that the NO PARKING in yards ordinance is in affect. Officers are now handling calls of repeat violators. EVEN THOUGH POLICE OFFICERS HANDLE REPEAT OFFENDERS, DO NOT CALL 911 TO REPORT PARKING ON LAWNS. Please follow the procedures outlined on the website and in last month?’s minutes. Call 704-336-7600 which is the city?’s customer service number or you can e-mail Martydoss@aol.com who will act as the neighborhood coordinator and make the call for you. Either way you will need to know the time the offense is occurring and the make or at least the color of the car. You will also be asked if the vehicle has moved and appears drivable. The fine is $25.00 for parking in your front/side yards. If you wish to park in the yard you must put in an approved surface parking pad such as concrete, pavement, brick or gravel. Grass or dirt is not allowed for parking.

Next, Judy Bratton was recognized and spoke about the petition drive with which she is involved along with Steven Whitson and Becky Brown. These Murrayhill residents want the sidewalk project scheduled for completion in the fall of 2005 stopped. They are not in favor of the sidewalks being built. 106 residents have signed the petition from the Wedgewood and Murrayhill areas. The petition is attached to a 2-page letter to Pam Syfert, Charlotte City Manager. They are also contacting the Mayor and County Commissioners. Judy had the petition available for members to sign at the meeting. They are requesting Pam Syfert meet with them and ride or walk the road. The members heading the petition feel the project will be negative to the environment and damage many hardwood trees. From their observations, 40 trees will be at risk of root damage and 50 will be cut down. [MPHOA notes that the city has stated that they plan to save as many of the large trees by going around them and have stated that only 4 large trees will need to be removed along with a couple of fences relocated for the project to be installed. This information was obtained by MPHOA executive officers during a discussion recently at the SCIP meeting with one of the project planners of the Murrayhill sidewalk.] The drafters of the petition feel the sidewalk will cause harm to the roots of the trees and lead to their demise. This could in turn be a hazard to property especially during storms. They also feel that given the extant speed humps on Murrayhill the sidewalk is not needed. They request that the sidewalk money be allocated to another neighborhood with a more immediate need.

A new member and Murrayhill resident, Drew Brown, then stated that a blind resident had requested the sidewalk and that was the reason the project was moved up to 33rd on the list for all projects in the city. According to Mr. Brown, Rebecca Chambers with the city stated that petitioning for relief from the strict parameters of the current plan, i.e., 5 foot wide walkway with a 4 foot wide grass median between curb and walk, could possibly result in width reductions at points along the planned route; but, the project will not be scrapped.

It was suggested that the city arborist be contacted regarding the effected trees and that residents opposing the project should write letters to the editor of the Charlotte Observer.

[The Murrayhill sidewalk is not entirely part of the Light Rail project known as SCIP. SCIP calls for both sides of Murrayhill Road (from Woodlawn Road to its intersection with Inwood Road) to have sidewalks. Then, SCIP specifies that the sidewalk continue along Inwood Road to South Blvd. This section on Inwood Rd. is directly related to the light rail project. The remainder of the Murrayhill Road sidewalk route (extending to its terminal end at Wedgewood Drive) is not part of the project. Where Murrayhill Rd. crosses Wedgewood Drive, a ?“spur?” of the sidewalk would continue along Wedgewood Drive to join the back entrance of the new Pinewood Elementary School according to current plans.]

MPHOA member, Candace Armstrong, a master gardener in her own right, then gave a brief presentation on plans for the new Madison Park Garden Club. The first meeting will be at Co-Chair Debra Campbell?’s home at 7:00 PM., JUNE 23, 2004. Debra requests that you bring your own chair. Her home is located at 5718 Wedgewood Drive.

Candace then mentioned that there is concern that the commissioners will cut out funding for the county?’s Extension Office and cause the office to be closed. According to Candace this would result in the loss of federal/state matching funds of 22 dollars for every one dollar expended by the county. Candace as well as other members voiced that this is an important service for our county. Those opposing this closure due to a cut of funding are encouraged to contact County Commissioners at once via the phone or email.

Joyce Merritt mentioned that there was a problem with funding for the Senior Center at Marion Diehl Park as well. Word has it that Commissioner Tom Cox has told the seniors that they could complain if they like but it was going in the trash. [Apparently he is not running again and doesn?’t care how the seniors feel.] The link for commissioners is available on our website for Charlotte Mecklenburg. Please email your commissioners and let them know how you feel about these cuts to the budgets.

The mission statement of the Garden Club is to offer neighbors of Madison Park an opportunity to share gardening experiences, learn to be better gardeners and to develop community projects. Ted Peters noted that the Garden club will be a subcommittee of the Madison Park Homeowners Association. Ted then noted an article that appeared in the Living section of the Observer concerning one of our neighbors, Pat Gubbins. The gardens within her corner lot at Wedgewood and Seneca Place were featured in the paper.

The HOA?’s Queens University Advisory Council members consisting of Dan Carriagan, Tom Miller and Lamar Gunter spoke next. Queens had two meetings recently -- a small one at the university campus and a larger one at the Marion Diehl Center. Dan was happy to report that the main concern of protecting a large boundary of natural area seems to be in the plans by keeping a lot of the natural area bordering MP as a buffer. Dan also reported that a planned on-site clubhouse will capture the new architectural style of Queens University. With the university paying $12-15 million for the project, the club house will have a semi circle road going to the clubhouse and the road will encircle the facility grounds. Dan stated that a police officer voiced his concerns against the current design of the ?“circle?” road because of the danger it posed to children tempted to run, jump and dart from the swimming pool complex across the road. The same officer also mentioned the attraction such a road would have for car cruising.

At the same community workshop, a neighborhood rumor that direct vehicular access from the neighborhood would be constructed via Horton Court is not true. The engineer giving the presentation categorically stated that no vehicular access from the surrounding neighborhoods was or is planned. However, a pedestrian entrance bridge connecting to the Sugar Creek Greenway is planned over Little Hope creek where Buckingham currently dead ends.

The purchase of a wedge of property for the project is about to be announced and is thought to be favorable to the Advisory Council members especially with regard to the acquisition being an outright purchase and not a land swap (as originally was discussed). An announcement by the 15th of June is expected. Cruising traffic is an issue that the Parks Dept. Advisory Committee must still consider.

There will be a walking/handicapped accessible trail over a small creek and back to the complex. It is hoped that the trail will be natural and blend in with the environment.

The MPHOA Advisory committee is open to suggestions from neighbors. The committee will in turn voice your ideas to the University. The committee was asked about lights and noise but don?’t feel they have much control over the issues. There will be no lights along the trails. The Sports Complex hours are until 11:00 PM. The university and Advisory Council members hope that the noise and lights won?’t be disruptive to the community. Grading won?’t get started until $5-6 million of the money for the project is raised. There has been no formal fund raising yet. The design must be approved by the county commission before fund raising/development begins. Tennis courts have been moved again on the plan, now nearer Valley Stream. This is the 3rd change on plans for the tennis courts. The lease agreement and Joint use plan are thought to be going before the County Commission in the next couple of days.

Ted Peters then spoke briefly on the Evolution of the Madison Park Homeowners Association Meeting. Going forward, the use of more committees to address issues will be developed. A committee will be formed to address an area or concern/need in our community/neighborhood and will consist of two Co-Chairs. When issues arise that are concerns of our members they will be directed to the committees to resolve, work on or research in obtaining an answer for our members. The Open Discussion Period at the end of each of our monthly meetings will remain an established part of the agenda. It is hoped that by developing a committee structure within the HOA that problems or issues will be addressed more efficiently at our meetings. Thus, our meetings will run more smoothly and timely while providing you, our membership, with more valuable information and less unfocused and repetitive questioning.

Ted then discussed the new Marketing Committee. Co-Chairs of the committee are Lamar Gunter and Rich Horton. Carole Clark will be joining the committee in July. Lamar said he has expertise with dealing with the media in both Television and written media (newspapers). He will make sure that anything that needs media coverage in our neighborhood is covered by the media or at least they are aware of the matter or event. Rich Horton will be concentrating more on membership drives and growing our new members. Anyone that would like to join this committee is welcome to contact us through the website Neighborhoodlink.com feedback form or contact us at our next meeting.

There will also be a Social Committee for our events, picnics, holiday party and so forth. If you would like to be a part of that committee please step forward or email Ted Peters or Martin Doss using the Neighborhoodlink.com contact links.

Dee McCandlish then gave the treasurers report. Account balance is $699.98 with all bills paid. 44 members have paid dues in 2004. Remember the dues are only $10.00 for the year. Only cash or check can be accepted. Dee?’s address is available on the website under the Join Our Association link. You can print the form then mail the 10.00 dollars to her directly to join if you like or bring your dues to the next monthly meeting which is always the 2nd Monday of each Month at 7:30 PM. Social ?½ hour begins at 7:00PM.

Yellow Ribbon Campaign continues to show support for our troops. Ribbon is always available at the meetings.

Shut-In Awareness / Fix up crew sign-up continues. Anyone needing assistance from time to time due to health, age or so forth can contact us for assistance. Ted Peters mentioned that Martin Doss had added a link to our website discussing the program with directions for contacting Madison Park HOA if you need help.

There was one first time new member, Drew Brown. He had seen a yard sign on Murrayhill.

General membership concerns were addressed next. One member wanted to know the status of the neighborhood/community watch. The South Side of Tyvola Road is basically finished and has the necessary number of signatures. The North Side of Tyvola Road Madison Park needs help. There is a link on the website with information for anyone interested in working on gathering names for the South side of Madison Park.

Member Anne Stuck of Londonderry voiced concern with the new systematized format unveiled tonight with the use of committees. She stated she felt that this eliminated individual concerns and voices, detracted from the ?“town hall?” feel of the meeting and decreased its democratic structure.

[The reason for the new committee structure is NOT TO eliminate anyone?’s voice. The Madison Park Homeowners Association always welcomes your feedback and your concerns. The subcommittees are being created to facilitate and insure that concerns and issues are being addressed timely.] Individuals can, as Martin Doss pointed out, always contact the board through the use of the links on our website for feedback. Martin pointed out that many residential issues and questions are being addressed monthly and weekly and daily through direct responses to the residents asking questions through the links on the website. Many of these neighbors don?’t attend the regular monthly meetings. As always, Open Discussion is a time to voice your concerns. However, some questions going forward will be directed to committees for their response at the next meeting or with the person raising the issue directly at a later date. Not all questions can be answered on the spot. This will also address the problem with repetition of the same topics being covered over and over at each meeting.

Another member wanted to know if anyone knew for sure if the soon-to-be former Pinewood Elementary School buildings, i.e., ?“old?”, would be torn down. He had heard that they would not be torn down and would be used for other CMS purposes. A second member stated he had heard that one of the schools in the Montclair neighborhood would be closed while a new school was built and those students would use the old Pinewood school while their new one was being constructed. The answer is not known but Ted Peters was going to look into the matter and should be able to report back at the July Meeting. The original plans were to tear down the old school once the new school was completed and occupied.

A member wanted to know when the light rail project would be completed. Ted Peters pointed out that lack of timely funding from the Federal Government could slow the project. Ted?’s source of information was a recent Charlotte Observer article relating problems caused by the city?’s rider ship planning model being declared not up to current standards by Federal Transportation planners. However Martin Doss and Debra Campbell had attended the recent SCIP meeting for the project and the project is scheduled to be operating fall of 2006. Martin Doss has added all the planned projects for both the Woodlawn Station and Tyvola Road area improvements to the website. Hopefully the project will be completed as scheduled. But, we all know the delays that have happened with just the Trolley running its route Uptown. (Now set to open last day of June 2004.)

A member was concerned with Speeding on Baker between Tyvola Road and Seneca Place. Her concern was that children would be hit. Ted Peters noted that anyone seeing reckless driving, who could obtain vehicle information such as tag number, car make and color, contact police. The Chief of Police will then send a letter to the vehicle owner. Martin Doss will contact our community officer for this member regarding the speeding.

Martin Doss then noted the continuing problem with community appearance standards at 1813 Tyvola Road. The residents dump hundreds of aluminum cans on their driveway weekly. They then spend several days driving over the cans to flatten them. They are cleaned up and then the process starts over again. Codes Enforcement Inspector Charles Hodges has been contacted and we were told the problem would be addressed. However, this ?“business activity?” has continued and has been going on since January of this year. Ted Peters suggested that we try a different approach by going through the city business licensing office with regard to operating a business out of a home (e.g., a recycling business run out of a home in a neighborhood not zoned for such a business).

Diane Gunter then gave a brief update on a home on Keystone Court that our Association had worked on through City Codes last fall that needed improvements, i.e., an identified ?“problem?” house. The home has a new roof and new paint job. Apparently the basement was flooding and that is being corrected now. Diane reported that the family especially the children are happy with the work and glad the home improvements were made. This was a direct result of the Associations involvement with inspector Charles Hodges!

The Park?’s Dept Representative, Candace Bridges, did not have any new information for the Association tonight. She kindly agreed to carry our questions back to the Parks Dept. South District office. We thanked her for her attendance.

The Meeting was adjourned