Madison Park

July 12th Monthly Minutes of Madison Park Homeowners Association

Aug 12, 2004

July 12, 2004
Madison Park Homeowners Association
Minutes
(www.neighborhoodlink.com)

After a social ?½ hour beginning at 7:00 PM, Ted Peters opened the meeting at 7:33 PM. There were 24 attendees, 2 officers and 1 animal control officer.

Officer Monroe from South Division was unable to attend due to a bike school so he emailed his report to Ted Peters

There were two calls in South Division
1. Harassing phone call on Farmbrook
2. Domestic Assault on Farmbrook

Animal Control officer Lloyd spoke next stating that a pet owner on Valley Forge that owned 2 labs was court ordered to remove his pets from the county. He stated that the neighbors had been instructed to watch to ensure the resident did not bring the dogs back into the neighborhood since he still owned the home. Apparently the residents in the area had problems with the dogs.

Officer Lloyd stated that any one could e-mail him with problems but not to expect a response for 2-3 days if using e-mail. If something requires immediate attention, call Animal Control.

The Parks Dept. representative, Candace Bridges, did not really have any new information on the Queens University Sports Complex Project but said the project has been turned over to the county commissioners. The commissioners possibly will discuss the project at the upcoming July County Commissioners meeting.

A member asked if there were any updates on the sale of property for the Queens project. That has not happen as of yet as far as the committee or Candace knows.

Officer Hairston arrived late and gave his crime report on the Westover Division?’s patrol area within Madison Park. There were 40 total incidents in his area with 17 directly effecting Madison Park North of Tyvola Road. The incidents were as follows

1703 Tyvola Road vandalism-building
4601 Bayberry Drive Residential Burglary
5426 Milford Non criminal incident
815 Seneca Place Suicide attempt
1215 Terrence Place vandalism auto
5600 Wedgewood Drive Vandalism other
815 Seneca Place Larceny from building
501 Inwood Drive Aggravated Assault-Knife
1352-E Woodlawn non-aggravated assault
805 Seneca Place Larceny-other
5401 Baker Place Missing person
4829 Murray Hill Road other criminal charge
4900 Vincent Lane Hit and Run
1356 Drexmore Ave Larceny from Auto
1200 Montford Drive Hit and Run
308 Cooper Drive Residential Burglary
521 Inwood Drive Residential Burglary
300 Copper Residential Burglary

Officer Hairston stated that the following tips should be utilized to avoid being burglarized since 98% of crimes happen while residents are at work during the day.

Keep blinds shut during the day. Don?’t advertise your belongings.
Keep your shrubs cut to a height no higher than 4 feet around windows
Know your neighbors and report suspicious people or activity at once to the police.
[If your gut is telling you that something is wrong, most likely something is not right. Call the police. If you call 911, state that you think that ?“this is a non emergency?” but that you think that it just doesn?’t feel right.]

Officer Hairston stated his home was broken into in May. He subsequently installed an alarm system to protect his property.

Tuesday, August 3rd is National Night Out which is a Nationwide Event. The police want citizens out of their homes having block parties, cookouts, etc. Residents are asked to participate and leave their porch lights burning all night. The website for the event is Nationalnightout.org.

On July 27th the police chief will be hosting a teleconference for neighborhood leaders to detail plans for the National Night Out event in Charlotte.

Ted Peters asked officer Hairston for details on the vandalism cases. 1703 was damaged property. 5600 Wedgewood Drive was a smashed front door.

Carol Clarke wanted to know if the vandalism was personal (i.e., perpetrator knows victim) or done at random. Officer Hairston responded it was a little of both.

Another member inquired about car jackings and if there was anything that could be done. Officer Hairston stated these are rare and that you should just be sure to keep your doors locked and not fight back if you do become a victim.

Another member then inquired if anything could be done about stolen license plates. Officer Hairston said actually NO and that most of the times it was happening in shopping centers or apartment complexes. He gave an example of a car thief stealing a Honda Auto. He then might look for another Honda to steal a plate. This way he could drive around in a stolen car and the plate would match the make of car if police were to run the tag.

Officer Hairston was thanked for attending and given a round of applause.

Ted Peters then gave an update on the Pinewood Elementary School post-construction use plan. At last month?’s meeting (see June Minutes) a member mentioned he heard the old school would not be torn down. As it turns out, this is indeed the case. Ted?’s discussions with the construction coordinator, Brett Hannaford, revealed that the ?“old?” school would not be torn down. It will be used as swing space for Elementary Schools that are under renovation or construction. These students would use the old Pinewood Elementary for classes. This could go on for the next 3-4 years. It was mentioned that the new school will be only at 50% capacity when it opens in 2005. This change of use for the old school was brought on in part due to bond issues and budget problems for CMS.

Kevin Geyer wanted to know if the school would still develop the playing fields. Ted Peters mentioned that the mounds of construction dirt were to be used for that project. Answers for both of these questions will be researched for the September meeting.

Murrayhill sidewalk plans (primarily for the odd numbered side of the road) had no representatives at the meeting tonight. Judy Bratton, Steve Whitson and Becky Brown had delivered their letter/petition to the City Government Building on June 25th but had received no responses as of tonight?’s meeting. Some members in attendance tonight wanted to make it clear they were generally in favor of sidewalks for Murrayhill Road. Many in attendance felt sidewalks add to the neighborhood?’s quality and provide safe passage throughout the neighborhood. One of the attendees tonight lives on the side of Murrayhill slated for installation of the sidewalk project and said even though his yard would be torn up it would be worth it to him to have sidewalks.

A couple of residents from Seneca Place stated they were not able to get too much input into their sidewalk before the construction started. Some accommodations were made and they like their sidewalks now. Martin Doss noted that if you visit the Charlotte Mecklenburg Website you can give your input for future designs of Charlotte?’s Streets by taking an online survey. [The survey allows you to help with selecting sidewalks, intersections and mediums for future projects by viewing and rating numerous photos of different styles. Those taking the survey can go even further by providing direct feedback after each category of the survey. To take the survey just visit our neighborhoodlink.com website and click on the Mecklenburg County link located on our homepage. This will in turn take you to the main page of the Mecklenburg website where you can just click on the Visual Opinion Survey.]

It was mentioned: that Carol Clarke had a speeding SUV (driving at 70 mph) crash into her home and that walking in the streets is simply not safe. Carol has been promised that her street will have its speed lowered and that signs will be set in place warning of the curve in front of her home.

Ted Peters mentioned that the Executive Board of the Madison Park HOA has not voiced any opinion, for or against, the Murrayhill sidewalk project at the present time. The Board is under the distinct impression that, over time, many of our neighborhood streets will have sidewalks as the city grows over the next few years. In order to provide the neighborhood with accurate information regarding trees to be cut down during the Murrayhill project and to answer questions in detail on the project, the next Madison Park Homeowners meeting will be entirely devoted to Sidewalks on Monday, August 9th. This was unanimously accepted by all in attendance at the meeting. The city will provide knowledgeable speakers for the meeting and will entertain questions. The city will also be sending out post cards to all neighbors immediately affected by the Murrayhill sidewalks inviting them to attend the meeting. The meeting is expected to last at least 1?½ hours with 1 hour for presentation and another ?½ hour for residents to ask questions.

Ted Peters then mentioned the HOA Annual Fall Picnic. The date of Sunday Sept. 26th has been selected for the picnic. Diane G?¼nter has offered to head up the committee for the picnic this year. If you would like to help her, please contact a member of the executive board through the website and leave a note for her. The picnic will be from 2-6pm. The Association is thinking of providing a main dish this year such as Ham with those in attendance bringing desserts and sides. Ted mentioned the bee/hornet incident last year when several of those cleaning up were attached by angry hornets. Martin Doss noted that no one has stepped forward to head up our Social Committee. This committee would oversee events such as the Fall Picnic, Holiday Social and any other events we might add to our calendar.

Ted then discussed an initiative of perhaps having brick-topped patterns added to the pavement under the crosswalks on Tyvola Road at Wedgewood and at the Smith Language Academy school crossing. These would not only be decorative but make the crosswalks stand out and serve as visual esthetic ?“ties?” within Madison Park. Tyvola has been noted as being such a problem with speeders. Martin Doss noted that just in the last month he had seen 4 different accidents in his block of Tyvola while walking his dogs. The Association has around 10,000 dollars in escrow funds that are designated for Traffic Issues in our community. Ted Peters gave an example of a previous use of this money for the application of the brick-topped pattern to the speed humps on Wedgewood Drive between Tyvola and Seneca Place. The association endorsed the results of a petition drive along that stretch when the required number of residents signed in support of the humps. Members of the Executive Board then attached a letter releasing some of the money in the escrow account for the brick top surface.

Carole Clarke wanted to know with the light rail project coming if the city had any priority uses or done any studies for future traffic issue needs in our neighborhoods. That topic will be researched.

Another member wanted to know if members remembered the good ole days when Tyvola Road did not go all the way through to Park Road but stopped at Wedgewood Drive.

Rich Horton suggested we form a committee to study uses for the money and for that committee to make a presentation at the Sept. 2004 meeting. This was set to motion and passed unanimously by all present.

Dee McCandlish gave the treasurer?’s report: 49 members paid dues this year (two more after the meeting). All bills were paid with balance of 733.98 in account. [Dues can be paid by printing and mailing your 10.00 dollar annual dues to Dee using the form and the address provided on our website.] Or, you can pay at any monthly meeting (except December?’s Holiday Social meeting where Dee will encourage you to pay your dues for 2005 at the January meeting).

A member suggested that 49 members paid out of all the households in our association?’s geographic area (numbering around 1000) are not that many. Ted Peters mentioned that the association now has a Membership Committee under our Marketing Committee. Lamar Gunter, Martin Doss, Carole Clark and Rich Horton are all on the committee. [Look for membership initiatives to ramp up beginning at the Fall Picnic in September.]

Ted Peters then mentioned the Shut-In Awareness Program. He suggested that some residents might not need anything more than just a daily phone call to check in on them. This is a different approach to helping our neighbors in need. Ted suggested that this idea be incorporated into the Shut-In Awareness Program. We have yet to identify or have any requests for our services. [NB: Knowing that such real needs exist and are not being reported to the HOA means that neighbors are indeed helping neighbors. These needs are being met without a formal response from the Program. There are unsung angels doing the work for their neighbors.]

Ted Peters had some Voter Registration forms available for those that wanted them. It was noted that the Primary Dates have past and if not registered by now you could not vote in the upcoming election Tuesday, July 20, 2004. Registration for the general election in November is still possible, however.

Carla DuPuy who is running for County Commission was present at our meeting. She is running in District 5 located on the North Side of Tyvola. The South Side of Tyvola (Madison Park is district 6). Carla was the Chairman of the Mecklenburg County Commission from 1984-1990. She said one of the things she played a big part in during her first run on the Commission was the recycling program that we now utilize in our city.

The floor was then opened for new issues/business.

Kevin Geyer wanted to know if we had any information on the Seneca Commons Mixed Use Shopping Center planned for Park Road and Seneca Place. Executive and general members of the Madison Park Homeowners Association had attended zoning meetings on the project and were satisfied with the proposed plan of use months ago. Ted Peters said he would try and get and update on the status of the project. The land has been vacant for years.

Kevin Geyer also suggested that we make bumper stickers carrying our neighborhood logo. These could be passed out to residents and used to promote our neighborhood to other communities by getting our name and association out in the public.

It was also suggested by several people that we still needed more signs: Yard signs and banners to advertise the meetings.

Ted Peters congratulated our Vice President Rich Horton who will be getting married in a couple of weeks. We all wish him and his future bride Our Best.

Dee McCandlish mentioned that the Limousine business operating at the corner of Fairbanks and Farmbrook Road continues to be a problem. They are parking cars in the yard and operating a business or at least the dispatch end of the business from the home.

We had one new member at the meeting, Matt Magnasco from Murrayhill. He works for the Dept. of Transportation for the city of Charlotte. His courage for attending the meeting and letting the membership know that he worked for DOT was applauded.

The meeting was adjourned