Sherwood Forest

December 2002

Dec 08, 2002

THANKS TO FOUR VERY SPECIAL NEIGHBORHOOD VOLUNTEERS

Our streets are safe, your private security patrol drivers are responding quickly and professionally to residents' requests for service, and no one has received a letter lately threatening termination of the patrol for lack of financial support.

The fact is that this has been one of the best years for the patrol in a long time, and we attribute that to the fact that we began the new fiscal year last June 1 with a strong financial base. That didn't just happen. As usual, most residents did not respond when their patrol bill arrived in the mail last May. Many had to be reminded and cajoled repeatedly. Members of your Board of Directors are used to, but weary of, having to approach their neighbors for funds. Four residents agreed to make it their mission to help us increase patrol membership this year. They were tenacious in reaching their neighbors and selling them on the many benefits of a neighborhood patrol. It made a real difference, and we want to thank these four extraordinary residents. They are:

Rose Lucas of Canterbury
Pat Smith of Roslyn
Suncha Young of Parkside
Albertha Matthews of Berkeley

We are grateful to Rose, Pat, Suncha and Albertha for their commitment to the safety of Sherwood Forest.

We need the financial support of ALL of our residents. We regret to report that approximately 30 families who began the fiscal year by making a partial payment neglected to make their second payment in spite of two written reminders. If you are in that group, please send your check today. If you have questions about the status of your patrol membership, call Gordon Rodwan at (313) 342-5827.

SPEND AN EVENING IN FEBRUARY GETTING TO KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS

The Sherwood Forest Social Action Committee is looking for a "few good homes!"

In February 2003, the Social Action Committee will begin having social gatherings for Sherwood Forest residents and their guests. The gatherings are designed to give our neighbors and their guests the opportunity to meet, greet and network with one another inside some of our neighborhood's beautiful homes. These fun and exciting events have proven to be very successful in other historic neighborhoods in our city, such as Indian Village.

The host/hostess will not need to provide anything except the meeting place. Residents
and their guests will bring food, beverages, paper plates and cups, napkins and utensils. Each event will be centered around a theme, and we hope to meet quarterly.

Look for information in the mail soon concerning the locations and dates of upcoming events. If you wish to open your
home for our first such gathering in
February, or if you have comments or questions, please call me at 313-861-0554. Thank you!

Al Greene
Social and Cultural Committee


HALLOWEEN PARTY

From super heroes to princesses, the children, and the adults, had a good time scaring up some fun during our annual Sherwood Forest Halloween Party at All Saints Church on Saturday, October 26th. The party featured a variety of games, crafts and refreshments. The kids made lots of pictures, and earned prizes playing the games. We even had a special guest, Mandy Pandy the Clown, who led the kids in games, and provided balloon creations for them.

Once again, as part of the entertainment, I was the moving target that the kids took turns trying to hit with a ball from ten feet away. Alas, I think their aim is getting better, or I'm moving slower. Sigh.
I'd like to thank all those that helped make the party a success, including Florence Ganz, Ernest Thompson, and Catherine Mayberry, our decorators extraordinaire. The church hall really looked great. Also thanks go to our party helpers, Karen White, Lana Hardin, Vance Jackson, Terri Faison, Shannon Munn and Michele Davis. They did an outstanding job of keeping the kids fed, and entertained. Additional thanks go to the Jositis family for helping to sponsor the party, and to those who helped distribute our flyers, including Gail Rodwan. Finally, I would like to extend special thanks to my co-host, Alfred Greene, Jr. I hope I didn't miss anyone, but my thanks go out to everyone who helped. We couldn't have done it without all of you.

Now, if I can get some rest, maybe I'll be ready for next year.
Carl Hardin
Social and Cultural Committee

OUR NEIGHBORS ASK . . .

At our last general membership meeting in May at All Saints Church, several residents submitted written questions or comments to the members of the Board of Directors. We will answer one question in each edition of the Tattler.

RESIDENT'S QUESTION: Would it be possible to close off the street on Warrington at W. Seven Mile Road? With new businesses on Seven Mile, traffic congestion has become an all-day, all-night problem. Also, many drivers use Warrington as a cut-through in order to avoid traffic lights on Livernois.

ANSWER: You are not alone in your concern about the increase in traffic on Warrington, and we thank you for your very timely question. At our monthly board meetings, we have been discussing for some time the pros and cons of street closure at the intersection of Seven Mile and Warrington. Our first step was to request a feasibility study from the city. In August of 2001, the Traffic and Engineering Department conducted a traffic study on a portion of Warrington, as well as on a portion of Cambridge. That study revealed that during peak hours, 100 cars per hour travel on Warrington and 142 cars per hour travel on Cambridge. In October of 2001, we received a letter from the Detroit City Council stating that the council did not support closure of Warrington. However, the letter included for our consideration a design for a proposed cul-de-sac. The design was created by the Traffic and Engineering Department. In May of 2002, we received a letter from the Mayor's Office stating that the office did not support the proposed closing of Warrington because it had concluded that closure would impede the entry of fire trucks and other emergency vehicles into Sherwood Forest and simply cause the traffic to shift to other streets within our neighborhood. The letter stated that Sherwood Forest could still pursue the idea if we were willing to bear the design and construction costs of closure, which would include acquisition of one lot on Warrington.

Board member Emma Foster, a member of our Property Restrictions Committee and a resident of Warrington, has the design for the proposed cul-de-sac as well as the correspondence from the city regarding this matter. She reports that many Warrington residents still want to see Warrington closed. At this point, we have no way of knowing what the cost to the neighborhood might be. We are very much interested in hearing from all of our residents on this question. If you have an opinion, please call Emma Foster at 861-4642, or call any other board member. Our phone numbers are listed on the first page of this Tattler.


JUNE 5 CHOSEN AS DATE
FOR SPRING CELEBRATION

As we announced in the last Tattler, we are planning a celebration to mark our recent designation as an historic district and to honor Sherwood Forest residents, past and present. The party will be held at the Detroit Historical Museum, where there is a special display featuring Sherwood Forest and other Detroit neighborhoods. It will take the involvement of many neighbors to make this event a success. If you can help with the planning, please call Linda Jones at 863-8301 or Michele Davis at 345-7120. Linda and Michele need people to work on invitations, refreshments, entertainment, locating former residents, publicity and more.

QUESTIONS ABOUT
HISTORIC DISTRICT REQUIREMENTS

In the last Tattler, we encouraged residents to check out www.ci.detroit.mi.us/historic, the new web site of the Detroit Historic District Commission. The web site includes a section on frequently asked questions about historic designation, as well as a handy list of contractors who specialize in repair and maintenance of older homes.

Each month the Detroit Historic District Commission holds hearings on requests submitted by residents of historic districts for approval of changes to the exteriors of their homes. Almost every month, a request from one or more Sherwood Forest resident is included. We are heartened to know that so many of our residents recognize the value of this process and after only a few months already are in the habit of contacting the commission for approval before making improvements to the exteriors of their homes. However, there are some residents who still need to be reminded of this new requirement.

Perhaps some confusion stems from the fact that homeowners do not know what kind of work requires approval. In one recent incident, a Sherwood Forest homeowner did not realize that he needed commission approval for a repair, as opposed to a renovation. He did call the commission office, however, where he was informed that any exterior repair costing $3,000 or more is consider "major" and requires approval. Another resident asked whether landscaping is included. It is, if it is classified as "major." When in doubt about what constitutes "major" work, call Kristine Kidorf at the office of the Detroit Historic Commission, (313) 224-6536. And remember that securing approval for your home project is not difficult. In many instances, all it takes is a phone call. Here is a partial list of the kind of work that requires commission approval:

?· Constructing a new building or addition to your home
?· Demolishing all or part of a building, including garages
?· Installing or replacing shutters or awnings
?· Installing new windows, including storm windows, and new doors, including garage and security doors
?· Reconstructing all or part of a porch
?· Reconstructing masonry walls, chimneys and floors
?· Replacing roofing, flashings, gutters
?· Installing new or replacement fences
?· Removing large trees and shrubbery
?· Changing exterior plaint colors

READING YOUR TATTLER ONLINE

The Sherwood Forest Association spends between $350 and $450 to publish and mail each Tattler. We used to publish ten Tattlers a year, but now we publish six, not because there is less news, but because the cost has become prohibitive. And it will only get worse.

We send the Tattler to all Sherwood Forest residents, even those who never pay their Sherwood Forest Association dues. Historically, we did this because the newsletter was our sole means of communicating with all of our residents. That is no longer true. Today we can send the electronic Tattler to as many people as we want, as often as we want, and it doesn't cost the Sherwood Forest Association one cent. The more than $2,000 we spend each year on the Tattler can now be spent on many other worthwhile projects that benefit the entire neighborhood.
So what's the problem? The problem is that although the Tattler has been available online ever since we developed our neighborhood web page at www.neighborhoodlink.com/detroit/swoodforest, only a minority of our residents have been willing to give up their "hard copy" of the Tattler. As editor, I hear from people who tell me that while some members of their household read the Tattler on line, others do not, so they must have a copy mailed to them. The solution to that seems simple: the online reader can print out a copy for family members who don't read online. I hear from others who say they prefer the look of the hard copy, and it is true that the formatting has been somewhat different for the on-line version. However, that is about to change with the purchase of some new software.

All this is a prelude to the announcement that every household for which I have an e-mail address will receive the first two Tattlers of 2003 online only. After that experimental period, if you are unhappy about receiving an online Tattler only, e-mail me at Rodwan@sbcglobal.net (my new e-mail address) and let me know. Depending on how many people I hear from, I will then assess what other money-saving steps I may be able to take in publishing the Tattler.

If I do not have your e-mail address, and you would like to be a part of this "electronic Tattler" experiment, please let me know right away so I can add your address to my growing list. If you change your e-mail address, let me know that, too. Together we can make Sherwood Forest the most "wired" community in Detroit. Join the fun and become an electronic reader of your favorite neighborhood newsletter.

Gail Rodwan


ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIP

Thanks to all who responded promptly to our $45.00 Sherwood Forest Association annual dues notices. Now we need to hear from those who have not yet responded so we can keep our streets snow-free this winter and provide many other benefits for our neighborhood during the coming year. If you have mislaid your notice, call Sue McMillan at 862-6366.


SHERWOOD FOREST THROUGH THE YEARS

During a recent futile attempt to clean out the basement,
I found a box of Sherwood Forest Association minutes dating back to the very first meeting on April 26, 1940. Reading through those old minutes, I was struck by the truth of the adage that life is always changing, yet manages to remain the same. I thought other residents might enjoy reading some excerpts from those minutes:

April 26, 1940: The first meeting was held at All Saints Church, and it was decided that the annual dues would be $10.

June 26, 1940: The Restrictions Committee was directed to take the necessary steps toward requiring the owner of the fruit stand at the corner of Livernois and Seven Mile Road to comply with restrictions.

November 18, 1940: The following resolution was passed: "BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Directors of the Sherwood Forest Association that the said Board of Directors, acting on behalf of the Sherwood Forest Association of Detroit, Michigan, hereby places itself on record as opposed to the construction by the City of Detroit of an airport on the property between Eight and Nine Mile Roads just west of Wyoming Avenue . . ."

October 11, 1945: "RESOLVED that the president and treasurer be authorized to make arrangements for the removal of snow from the streets of Sherwood Forest when deemed necessary and, in connection, to approach the Palmer Association for rental of its snow plow if possible."

March 24, 1955: "After a full discussion amongst the directors of the Dutch Elm Beetle problem, it was decided to send out an Association letter to residents recommending the spraying of all elm trees."

November 2, 1955: "A discussion was had of a plan for the blocking off of certain streets and intersections to motor vehicle traffic within the subdivision for the purpose of controlling the large number of vehicles driven through the subdivision by non-residents taking a short cut, often at excessive rates of speed."

June 8, 1960: One director remarked that recently there has been a tendency for "teenagers" to engage in shotgun fire. This will be watched.


February 8, 1961: There was a discussion of unattended dogs attacking pheasants in the vicinity of Berkeley and Cambridge.

March 22, 1962: One director recommended that the Association purchase a portable dog kennel to be used to pick up dogs on the loose.

I guess these Association minutes should remind us, when we find ourselves becoming annoyed by excessive traffic, an unplowed street or a neighbor's dead elm or running dog, that these are the same problems we have been plagued with in Sherwood Forest for more than sixty years!

The entries about dogs that are allowed to run free in the neighborhood particularly resonate with me because I received a call just last night concerning a homeowner on Parkside who is permitting his or her dog to run about the neighborhood, particularly annoying the other residents of Parkside. I was asked if I could put a reminder in the Tattler. Here it is, but given our history, I doubt it will do much good.

Gail Rodwan


LEAF BAGS

The city says it is issuing violation notices to those who leave leaf bags and other bulk trash at the curb prior to bulk pickup day. For us, that is the third Tuesday of each month, which will be the 17th this month and the 21st of January 2003. If you have a lawn service, it is your responsibility to see that the bags are properly stored until pickup day. On Thanksgiving, our neighborhood was already littered with bags that will not be picked up until December 17. These bags are a real eyesore in our beautiful community.


LOST DOG

Small black chow with short hair and fluffy tail. Lost November 30. Please call Pat Little at 313-864-8645 with any information.