October 2016 – General Meeting Minutes

Fairmount National Historic District General Meeting

October 24, 2016

Meeting Called to Order by Pat Bradley – 7:00 p.m.

Introduction of New Members – Shawn & Lauren on Alston!

AGENDA

Neighborhood Police Officer Update – Sergio Guadarrama

• 5 burglaries of vehicles (all cars were unlocked)
  • Locked or unlocked, please always empty your car
• Recruited several new Citizens on Patrol candidates during the neighborhood/police force meet & greet
  • Large turn-out: 80 burgers and 75 hot dogs distributed in first 20 minutes
• Says Sergeant Halpern – “Fairmount is a revitalization neighborhood. Don’t leave anything in your car that you wouldn’t leave on your car hood”

 Mike Brennan – Near Southside, Inc.

• “Envision Hemphill” – includes the expansion of Firehouse Park by revitalizing vacant space near the convenience store.
  • Restructuring will feature safer cross walks, and passage for all modes of traffic
  • Watch on Facebook/etc for details on upcoming evening presentations on this topic scheduled for December 7-10
  • Ideas for this park include: dog park, food truck court, bocchi ball, all-ages playground, skateboard park, farmers market
• The city is giving the $200,000 for Phase One improvements.
• It was motioned/seconded/passed to contribute $5000 investment towards Near Southside’s education workshop to discuss/evaluate/educate/disseminate conceptual design information regarding upcoming changes to the park and all along the Hemphill corridor. (Vickery to Biddeson)
  • The voting membership agreed to this investment, in part, because Fairmount would likely most benefit from updates to the Firehouse Park area.
  • $2000 of the FNA contribution was taken from unspent funds originally allocated to street lights in the 2015/2016 budget.

 Ellen Timberlake-Volz – Tarrant County Historical Commissioner

• Ellen is our liaison with the state historic commission and is the local gatekeeper for landmark submissions.
• She outlined the landmark creation process and said that the state is accepting applications for the Class of 2017 historic markers/landmarks through November 15. For details and requirements see:  http://www.thc.texas.gov/MarkerToolkit
• Home markers, in addition to the required research, cost $100 (non-refundable) for the application and $800+ for the actual marker if your home should qualify.
  • A home is qualified on a number of characteristics including: age, architecture, and the significance or contribution of the dwelling’s early inhabitants.  It is a one-year process.

BOARD UPDATES

Geri Cotton – Safety

• Citizens on Patrol has a class on November 12. Contact Geri for details.

Roxanna Latifi – Historic Preservation

• No report

Steve Halliday for the Honeymooning Alex Thieroff – Promotions

• Looking for a lead team and homes for Home Tour 2017
• Festivus will be Mon., Dec. 12 from 5:30 until 8:30p
• Christmas Party will be Sat., Dec. 10

Betty Spitzberg – Communications

• Obtaining competitive prices for the monthly newsletter

Carrie Carter – Membership

• No report

Melanie Dotzour – Finance

• (Approximate) available account balances: Checking = $16,500; Garden = $2300; Savings = $17,000; CD = $17,000

Kim Worley – Administration

• No report

David Thrapp – Infrastructure

• Thanks for another successful “National Night Out”!
• There will be an Infrastructure Meeting on Nov. 15, see David for details.

OPEN DISCUSSION

• Next social will be at the Robinson Home at 1900 5^th on November 18. Watch Facebook and Constant Contact for details.
• Fairmount Supper Club will meet at Flying Carpet (opening just for us that night) on Sunday, Nov. 6 from 5-8:30p. $27/pp. BYO

Adjourned:  8:15 p.m.

Submitted by Kim Worley, 11/9/16 (FAIRMOUNT’S GONNA SCARE THE BOO OUTTA YOU!!!)