Meeting Notes: General Membership – April 22, 2024

Attendees: See sign in sheet

Minutes:

Call to order: 7:04 PM

Kelci Cox welcomed everyone and called the meeting to order.

Officer Updates:

• NPO:
  • Not present
• Code
  • Officer Overa is present – the regular officer is off today since he worked yesterday
  • 40 cases in the last month – 21 high grass, 6 illegal dumping, 3 homeless camps, 3 multifamily substandard conditions – these are for the entire police district, not just Fairmount
  • Note for a May 18^th free class for citizens (9 AM – 1 PM). One is held every 2-3 months.
• Deputy Constable
  • Not present
• District 9
  • Anthony Rojas is present
  • 3 overarching issues in District 9:
    • Crossing at Berry and Cleburne – an agreement with a company and the city is going to council vote
    • Changes to EMS system coming soon but is years out for any changes to take place. Shortage for MedStar funding. Ad hoc committee came up with 4 recommendations – these can be found online. The city is one of the largest stakeholders in the MedStar system.
      • 4 options (fire based, civilian based, and two others)
      • Recommendations are not yet finalized
    • West 7^th – Ambassador ship program – guys with yellow vests – help with litter, safe walk to car, connect with PD. Working on Near Westside group to tax themselves and use funds for improving infrastructure.

Community Garden:

• Adding more plots since the shed was torn down – some from the waitlist (4 years old) may be reached out to
• Capital improvements to the fence

Community Library:

• Hosting seed event
• Votor registration drive May 11
• Kid summer camp happening – different themes per day – register online

Board Updates:

• Home Tour: Kelci Cox
  • Last general FNA meeting before home tour
  • May 11 and 12
  • Saturday morning parade, then fair with the library and garden
  • 8 locations on the tour (2 business, 1 work in progress, and 5 houses)
  • Need volunteers – sign up on the website
  • Fair vendors – no fees, sign up on the website
  • Send any ideas if you want to be part of the parade – get with David Weuste
  • Home tour shirt mockup – can be ordered online or bought at the fair on Saturday
  • Need a face painter for the fair
• Public Safety:
  • Need volunteers for Citizens on Patrol. Get with Ray if you are interested.
• Membership: Barbara Crotty
  • Monthly socials
    • April – at the community library next Saturday from 6 – 9 PM
    • Cake, coffee, and drinks – regular social gathering
  • Garage sale
    • Not membership event
    • Not postponed due to rain
    • Can have your own sale any time – do not need a permit
    • Some people are saying that they plan on holding their sale during Home Tour. FNA would prefer people to volunteer at home tour rather than hold a yard sale on that day.

Special Guest Speaker: Fort Worth Transportation and Public Works – Traffic Calming Process and Discussion

• 3 people from the city – Martin, Chelsea St Louis, and Namoo
• Everything above the pavement is in their scope
• Can see the stuff that Chelsea presented to council recently online
• Service request number online – then you can track the situation through the app with the number
• Chelsea:
  • Informal report to council was presented recently
  • “Speed management”
  • The goal is to slow vehicle speeds on residential streets
  • Target – under 30mph or 5mph range above. 35mph or more is not desired, then traffic calming measures would be recommended. Focused on the 85^th percentile speed – some changes are working on the federal level and may see changes on the local level later.
  • Go online or call to create a service request
  • Consent forms are required from all on street. 2/3 on street need to be in agreement. If in front of property, all in direct location need to agree. Could take 3-4 months to get installed once all signed papers are in.
  • This is a new process for the city
  • This is for installing speed cushions or tables (rubber) – less invasive for emergency vehicles. Not speed bumps (concrete)
• Oct 2023 – first one installed in the city
• Roundabouts (Martin) – T intersections create t bones, roundabouts are more of a side swipe and less hazardous wrecks.
• University/ West 7^th intersection – a roundabout was discussed at some point for this but did not pass. May be because too many lanes would be required. Traffic circle is different and larger and there is a street that has a right of way. Stock Show traffic was a noted issue back then too.
• Neighbor on Lipscomb:
  • Situation where a large SUV crashed into a parked car – narrowly missing a neighbor who rides his wheelchair in the street since sidewalks are in disrepair
  • Are there other factors if the 85^th percentile numbers are not there?
  • Could be considered. 5mph is picked because that is what could be enforced with cops
  • If 85^th percentile is less than 30, then not really considered. BC there is only so much reduction that can be achieved with speed cushions. Once someone goes over a bump, they will speed back up to get out of the neighborhood.
  • Can include this extra info on the application
  • Include some other infrastructure requests for the next bond program. Sidewalks have been for the adjacent property owner to keep up but could be putting an undue burden on property owners.
  • There are 3000 miles of sidewalk in Fort Worth – it is not possible to fix them all.
• Designing better streets could help, but there is a LOT of existing roads that cannot be redesigned. The issue is reaching and addressing driver behavior.
• Fairmount has had multiple attempts to go through this process and one has already been denied.
  • Namoo noted in one of these about a school zone that is not even there – it’s on another street. Need some criteria.
  • 3 – Lipscomb, College, and Fairmount
  • How to take the next steps since denial?
  • Vision 0 action plan process being rolled out with the city. Data driven solutions.
  • Not “denied” but traffic calming is not recommended due to “not enough data”
  • Issue depends a lot on the time of day and people coming to pick up kids.
  • Next step would be to work with traffic divisions and NPO on targeted enforcement or driver feedback signs for temporary awareness to drivers
  • Can the neighborhood buy a speed cushion? Not an option since this is the city ROW.
• Many narrow streets with parked cars on either side and full speed of 30 approaching an intersection is not safe. Unlikely to have an incident report. May have slow police or NPO response – sometimes hit and runs happen. May need to include parking data. Could consider only allowing parking on one side of the street.
• Reconsider some of the Fairmount streets based on discussion today with the neighborhood.
• Reconnect with the NPO to establish more of a presence. Officer Bell is out on leave for the next few months. Officer Rockwell is working with Officer Caprio in the meantime.
• Additional criteria to consider: stop signs being ran
  • This is a different traffic concern
  • Look if there is a visibility issue to see the sign
  • Could lead to a signal in the future
  • Iterative process
• How to report if a stop sign is blocked by a tree growing over it – MyFW app or call the call center to create a ticker with TPW or park department. Work with utility companies.
• My FW App is the best way to keep track of and discuss
  • 2500 service requests last year – emails get lost
• Existing speed bumps needing better markings – not sure if these are all identified in GIS system for the city. Pavement markings budget increased by council. Report on the app if there is a bump that needs to be better marked.
• Roundabouts – Main and Morningside – if you’re in the circle, you have the ROW.
• Intersection visibility – 30 ft of a stop sign or light it is illegal to stop or 20ft of a crosswalk (whether marked or not). PD requests that signage is placed before.

Adjourn: 8:08 PM