6/27/2018 Fairmount Neighborhood General Membership Meeting at Southside
Preservation Hall
Meeting minutes
Board members in attendance: Sara Karashin, Breinn Richter, Melanie Dotzour, Susan Harper, Geri
Cotten, Leah Suasnovar, Betty Spitzberg, Deanna Stuart
Call to order at 7:04 pm
Welcome New Members
Sergio unable to attend, so no update from NPO. Just remain vigilant in not leaving any valuables in
your vehicles as there have been reported break-ins, and they do have suspects they are investigating.
Code Compliance, Eric Mohammed update: 306 violations for May, with 71 of those resulting in
abatements. Many reports coming in for high grass and weeds in alleys, reminder that this is not
enforced by Code Compliance. You will need to Neighborhood services to speak with someone
regarding that issue: 817-392-7540. Ultimately, alleys are the homeowner’s responsibility to maintain.
Mr. Mohammed will no longer being serving as the Code Office to our area, as he has been promoted. A
new person will be assigned ASAP.
Resident, Rachel Gollay: Presentation highlighting Pride Month. Rachel offered pride flags (that she
purchased personally) to many local businesses to display this month, in all, 29 local businesses
accepted her offer and are displaying Pride flags to reflect and foster an inclusive and accepting
environment. Brief discussion of possible upcoming pride events during pride week in October. Thank
you Rachel for efforts on this important issue!
BOARD OF DIRECTORS UPDATES:
Finance Director, Melanie Dotzour update: Account balances – CD: $15,290.04, checking: $11,904.61,
Garden account: $2577, Savings: $17,000, Netted approximately $20,783 from Home Tour. Big shout
out to Barb Diehl for her excellent work in booklet sales for this year’s home tour. Also, this position will
be coming up for election in August. Please contact Melanie at finance@historicfairmount.com for any
question regarding the responsibilities of this Board position.
Historic Preservation, Susan Harper update: Several residences received their historic tax site
exemptions this month. Tear down structure was approved for 1818 5th Ave. Many administrative
approvals were pushed through without FNA approval, per the new ordinance allowing the HCLC to
approve things without FNA input. This has streamlined the process for the City, but, could also bear
the consequence of the City approving items that would not necessarily be approved by the
Neighborhood. It’s allowed authorization of COA’s to be issued more easily by the City. A member
inquired if this could jeopardize the historic status of the neighborhood, and at this time, it is not felt as
though this could be a threat to our historic status. Important to note that new construction within
Fairmount neighborhood can NOT be approved by City with FNA input. There will be a Preservation
Palaver at the Fairmount Community Library on 6/28, hosted by Martin Dahl, to discuss any questions
you may have regarding preservation/historic sites. If you have any questions regarding historic
preservation, or are interested in serving on the Board as the Director of Historic Preservation, please
contact Susan Harper at: preservation@historicfairmount.com.
Membership, Deanna Stuart: See bullets on printed agenda. Also, an update from Mel Strom, Social
Chair, highlighting the recent Fairmount Social benefiting the Birthday Brigade at The Space. The mission
of the DFW Birthday Brigade is to provide birthday parties for unsheltered youth and offer
encouragement, support, and programs to continue their education.
https://www.dfwbirthdaybrigade.org/
Communications, Betty Spitzberg: For school aged children in Fairmount, please submit a drawing of
what “Summer” means to you for consideration for the cover of our monthly newsletter. Submit
renderings to communications@historicfairmount.com. Also, the Communications position is up for
election in August. If you are interested in this position and its responsibilities, please contact Betty with
questions.
Safety, Geri Cotten: There have been numerous car burglaries. Two important points regarding the
burglaries. #1 PLEASE REPORT THE BURGLARIES. Many residents do not report the burglary if nothing is
taken, but it is important that they are reported so patrols in the area can respond accordingly. #2
PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE WEAPSONS IN YOUR VEHICLE. This is VERY important, because, when the
weapons are stolen you have armed what could have been a previously unarmed criminal. It was
reported that one of the recent weapons stolen was valued at over $2k. Geri would also like to remind
residents to not use hand held phones while driving. This position is up for election in August, and if you
are interested in this position please contact Geri at publicsafety@historicfairmount.com.
Promotions, Sean Ford (not in attendance): Planning for Mounti Gras is already underway! See Kim
Worley if you want to join in on the fun of helping plan and organize this event. Also, don’t forget the
Fairmount vs. Ryan Place Baseball game at Daggett Elementary directly following the Ryan Place 4th of
July parade. There will be a Live Feed of the game, players WILL have microphones, and kids in
attendance will be allowed to run the bases during the 7th inning. This year should be a great match up,
The Fairmount Ferals have been working extra hard with their new Coach, Nathan Spitzberg. Come out
and cheer on your neighbors at this free event on July 4th.
Infrastucture, Breinn Richter: Final conclusions, including boundary changes, from NEZ study will be
presented at August’s City Council meeting. The Hemphill Right sizing project will begin in November.
The Hemphill Corridor task force will be meeting June 28th at 5:30 at Southside Church of Christ (2101
Hemphill St). The contractor/FNA/City meetings have begun regarding the improvements at Fairmount
Park. The electricity is being installed as we speak, it is still being determined how that will be paid for.
FNA is eager to get the improvements completed as the Texas Society of Architects are doing a tour of
Fort Worth in November, which will conclude at Fairmount Park. There will be a Community
Conference on homelessness Saturday, June 30 at University Christian Church., 2720 South University
Drive. NSI has let FNA know that the lights you see in the trees along Magnolia will be replaced with
new lights by Arts Goggle. In 6-8 weeks, “No Truck” signs will appear on Magnolia, preventing large 18
wheeler delivery trucks from turning into the neighborhood. If you see trucks turning into the
neighborhood, you might consider taking a photo, emailing to City council member Ann Zadeh,
District9@fortworthtexas.gov , and even reporting to 911, as the truck will be breaking the law. There is
a new manager at Fairmount Music Hall. He has reached out to FNA to address noise issues, he wants to
ensure they are not disturbing the neighborhood and encourages you to call with any concerns. 817-
720-6300. If necessary, Breinn has a decibel reader residents can use to measure noise. Question from
resident regarding signs in neighborhood being covered by trees – you can contact code compliance to
report this issue. Looking for volunteers to hang flags throughout the neighborhood for the 4th of July.
Please contact a Board member if you can volunteer your time or vehicle (trucks needed for this
project!) If you are interested in volunteering or assisting Breinn with any infrastructure related
projects, please email her infrastructure@historicfairmount.com.
President, Sara Karashin update: The parking study funding by NSI is wrapping up. Initial data shows
that during peak hours, parking is at 153% capacity, meaning that we have a large amount of vehicles
illegally parking. Permitted parking is still being seriously considered, but there are several details to be
worked out. NSI has stated they will support what the neighborhood wants. There are going to be open
board position coming up! Now is your chance to volunteer for Board for the following positions,
Director of public safety, director of finance, director of historic preservation and director of
communications.
OPEN DISCUSSION:
Fred Harper inquired as to what improvements are being made at Daggett Middle. Nancy Strickland
(FNA School liaison) recommended he contact Valerie Kitchens for an update.
Announcement that long time Fairmount resident and volunteer Sue McLean will be honored at the
June City Council Meeting for her winning a national award of “Who’s Who in America’s Neighborhood
from NUSA. Several Board members and neighbors are planning on attending in a show of support for
Sue and all her hard work and dedication.
http://www.nusa.org/Nusa/assets/File/2018%20Whos%20Who%20in%20Americas%20Neighborhoods
%20Press%20Release.pdf
Motion to adjourn at 7:53 PM. The next FNA meeting is scheduled for 7/30/2018 at Southside
Preservation Hall at 7:00 pm.
Meeting minutes submitted by Leah Suasnovar, 6/27/2018.