Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Historic Neighborhoods Alliance First Annual Meeting

The Historic Neighborhood Alliance will host its first Annual Meeting on Wednesday August 16th at 6:00PM at the historic Stokes-Snider House ~ 324 N. Fulton Street.

If you live in, work in, or care about one of Salisbury's 10 historic districts, you should attend the First Annual Meeting of the Historic Neighborhoods Alliance ~ this Wednesday at 6PM at the Stokes~Snider House, 324 N Fulton Street. This organization needs support from residents of historic districts, neighborhood organizations, and interested parties. The premise is that what has an effect on one historic neighborhood affects all! 
 
The HNA hosts the Candidates Forum each local election year, and presents the Buy History annual historic open house event! Bring a dish to pass and see how you can help improve the quality of life in Salisbury's downtown neighborhoods!
 
HNA members have historically been 1-2 representatives from each historic neighborhood association.  However, all historic neighborhoods do not have formally organized associations and we feel they should not be excluded.  Further, there are aging neighborhoods, such as the City Park neighborhood, that do not have historic overlay designations but share similar issues as the designated districts.
 
Many projects are on the HNA 'wish-list'.  You could help these come to fruition!  One such project is the Historic District Map & Driving Tour. This project is eligible for a grant from the Tourism Development Authority!
 
We hope to see you at the first Annual Meeting of the Historic Neighborhoods Alliance!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

HNA May Meeting Minutes

Attendees: Sue McHugh (North Main), Julie Upp (North Main), Debbie Lesley (Ellis Street), Andrew Pitner (Fulton Heights), Jack Thomson (HSF), Betty Carli (West Square), Rebecca Hyde (North Main), Garth Birdsey (Park Avenue), Edward Clement (West Square) and Christine Wilson (Fulton Heights).


Neighborhood Reports: concise update from each neighborhood. There were 5 neighborhoods represented at this meeting.

· North Main Street (NMSHD): Sue McHugh introduced Julie Upp who is a new resident of the North Main neighborhood. She also told about the Arbor Day celebration on Miller Street. Several neighbors participated in the first Fork & Cork event. This is a progressive snack and drink event. Koco Java is staying open late to host their neighborhood association meetings. They are planning a group event for Pops at the Post on June 5th. They are considering a ‘revisit’ to their neighborhood watch program. Mark Martin (arborist with the City) will attend an upcoming neighborhood meeting.

· Fulton Heights (FHHD): Andrew Pitner gave a review of the Buy History open house event. Christine mentioned that the FH board is discussing options for the neighborhood listserv communication tool that is no longer working. Several other neighborhoods said they would be interested in learning more about the next tool FH chooses to use.

· West Square (WSHD): Betty Carli said their neighborhood has launched a lawn of distinction program. Janet and Keith Gapen are the first recipients. Their community watch program is working very well. Officer Anne recently told their board that West Square has the lowest crime rate in the City of Salisbury right now. They have 5 neighborhood parties planned for the rest of 2010. The July 4th party hopes to block a portion of Fulton Street for a parade. They are having another garage sale to raise funds.

· North Ellis Graded School (NEGSHD): Debbie Lesley said the neighborhood is planning a social event for June. She told about the Plein Air Carolina group that set up at Shober Bridge and painted lovely images of the bridge. Some of them can be viewed at www.pleinaircarolina.com. The group discussed how nice it would be to have some of the paintings displayed in town (possibly Tastebuds). Debbie will check with Phyllis Steimel.

· Park Avenue Historic District (PAHD): Garth Birdsey said they are working with Chris Branham (Code Enforcement). He is spending some time to identify problems in the neighborhood. Chris gave them a spreadsheet with problems he identified. The neighborhood has had a problem with final clean-up of the mill site. Some progress is being made and there is now a fence around the property. They do not have an organized neighborhood watch but are calling the police when they see problems. The VITA tax assistance was a good success. Garth has set up a Facebook page called Historic Salisbury, NC. He wants people to join and add photos or links to things of interest in Salisbury. He found it hard to find info about Salisbury all in one place.

Historic Salisbury Foundation updates: Jack Thomson

· HSF is organizing a formal presentation to City Council for June 15 to discuss Shober Bridge. This meeting has a public comment at the end of the meeting. Neighborhoods should send notice to their residents asking them to attend this meeting as a show of support – we’re looking to PACK THE ROOM- and looking for volunteers to step forward and speak at the end of the meeting about rehabilitating the bridge.

· He explained that HSF will have a number of speakers who will each articulate a particular point of view on the rehabilitation of the bridge. The planned speakers are as follows

§ Introduction: Charles Floyd – Real Estate expert

§ David Fishetti – Engineer

§ A City Planner – New Urbanism

§ Traffic Engineer –

§ Lawyer – to discuss legal challenges

§ Wrap-up: Sue McHugh – Salisbury citizen and community leader

· Jack is also working with Charles Floyd and Pat Ivey (NC DOT) to identify the needs for rehabbing the bridge and what is sufficient to meet the need.

Preservation Plan:

· The City applied for and received a grant to do a preservation plan for the City. They were granted $15K that requires a match from the City of $8K for a total of $23K in funds.

· HNA needs to show that the city that they heard the requests of the historic neighborhoods and approve of what they did.

· It is vital to inject the neighborhoods NOW into this plan. HNA is the conduit to the neighborhoods.

· The board voted to write a letter to the Mayor and send copies of this to the city council. Sue McHugh as president and Andrew Pitner will send a letter of support for the plan and the funding and ask to be involved in every aspect of the preservation plan from the beginning to the end.

· A suggestion was made for HNA to send a letter to all the possible consultants in the state who could possibly help with this type of plan. Doing so before the city will show HNA plans to be involved.

· Christine will check the Charleston Plan and see who made up the committees that worked on developing the plan.

· The process used to develop the plan is vital.

Housing Commission update: Garth Birdsey

· The city is going to develop a housing commission and they are looking for people to apply for seats on the commission. An application can be found here http://www.ci.salisbury.nc.us/council/Boards_Commissions.htm

· The original group that is formed will evaluate all aspects of a housing commission. This is expected to take one year. The city hopes to have volunteers for the commission by July 1st.



Updates: Christine Wilson

Our IRS application for non-profit status is almost ready to be mailed.


Next meeting date, time, and location


· June 9 12, 2010 at Garth and Belinda Birdsey’s house 429 Park Avenue


· Please RSVP to Christine at hnaoffice@bellsouth.net


· Meetings are held the 2nd Wednesday of every month at 5:15

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

HNA April Meeting Minutes

Attendees: Alisa Palmer (Fulton Heights), Sue McHugh (North Main), Debbie Lesley (Ellis Street), Andrew Pitner (Fulton Heights), Jack Thomson (HSF), Martha Hawkins (West Square), Ken Weaver (Brooklyn South Square), Edward Clement (West Square) and Christine Wilson (Fulton Heights).


Neighborhood Reports: concise update from each neighborhood. There were 5 neighborhoods represented at this meeting.

· North Main Street (NMSHD): Sue Miller said the Miller Street project was chosen for the City’s Arbor Day celebration and tree planting. This will happen on 4/23 from 11:30-1:30. Neighbors are organizing a Fork and Cork progressive dinner event. They are also working on a public interactive art project to install near Miller Street.

· Fulton Heights (FHHD): Alisa Palmer said Mambo Grill has plans to open in May in the old Foil Grocery building on South Fulton Street. They recently held a neighborhood interest hope house. The neighborhood had an Easter egg hunt at Centennial Park which was well attended. Fulton Heights was selected by Rowan Magazine as the Best Neighborhood. Selections were based on votes by the public.

· Brooklyn South Square (BSSHD): Ken Weaver said he is actively working on a rehab project on Shaver Street. House by house, they are starting to clean up the neighborhood. Also Neighborhood Watch signs have been installed.

· West Square (WSHD): Martha Hawkins said they are preparing for the neighborhood yard sale set for sometime in May.

· North Ellis Graded School (NEGSHD): Debbie Lesley said the neighborhood is actively working on the Shober Bridge issue. They are also working to get the redistricting of the lot near the Prince Charles apartments turned down.

Historic Salisbury Foundation Updates: Jack Thomson

· Shober Bridge photo for This Place Matters turned out great. The photo was sent to Preservation North Carolina and will be placed in an online album on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s website www.preservationnation.org. The This Place Matters sign will be used again in the future to promote other vulnerable sites.

· Jack appealed to everyone who has not written a letter to the editor to do so. He will provide you with advice on the topic if you ask him

· Jack asks that the HNA form a task force to evaluate doing a preservation plan for Salisbury. The group discussed this idea and decided that they should ask for volunteers who would like to be on this task force.

· HSF has sold a couple of properties from its revolving fund and is in need of new properties. If there is a house in your neighborhood that you think is of potential for the fund please let Gwen know about it.

Buy History Event: Andrew Pitner

· 23 Houses will be open during the event. They have had a good response and have created a website for the event. They need some help distributing material on Saturday.

HNA Updates: Christine Wilson

· Our IRS application for non-profit status is almost ready to be mailed. The by-laws were updated some and Christine reviewed the updates and asked the board to accept the changes. The board voted unanimously in favor of the changes.

· Christine also reviewed the representatives for each of the neighborhoods that are represented as voting members of the board and the board officers. She asked that a motion be made to accept this information and for it to be included in the application. The board voted unanimously to accept the information. See below:

Board of Directors: each with neighborhood has 1 vote and HSF has one vote.

o Sue McHugh, 910 N Main Street, Salisbury 28144 – North Main Neighborhood Association (NOMA)
   Rebbeca Hyde, 919 Scales Street, Salisbury 28144 – North Main Neighborhood Association (NOMA)

o Andrew Pitner, 615 Wiley Avenue, Salisbury – Fulton Heights Neighborhood Association
   Alisa Palmer, 309 Wiley Avenue, Salisbury - Fulton Heights Neighborhood Association

o Betti Carli, 419 South Ellis Street, Salisbury – Residents of Olde Salisbury
   Martha Hawkins, 408 South Fulton Street, Salisbury – Residents of Olde Salisbury

o Ken Weaver, 424 East Bank Street, Salisbury – Brooklyn-South Square Neighborhood Association
   Lorraine Reidda– Brooklyn-South Square Neighborhood Association

o  Jack Thomson, PO Box 4221, Salisbury, 28145 – Historic Salisbury Foundation

Officers: Elected for a one-year term and shall hold office until a successor is qualified.

o Chair: Sue McHugh
o Vice Chair: Andrew Pitner
o Secretary: Christine Wilson
o Treasurer: Alisa Palmer

Next meeting date, time, and location :

· May 12, 2010 at the John Steele House
· Please RSVP to Christine at hnaoffice@bellsouth.net
· Meetings are held the 2nd Wednesday of every month at 5:15

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

April 17th & 18th - BUY HISTORY~ 2010! Historic Open House


Greetings Everyone.

The Historic Neighborhood Alliance is pleased present the inaugural Buy History ~2010! open house this weekend.  There are a total of 23 historic homes for sale whose real estate agents have agreed to offer in an open house that will be open across Salisbury's historic neighborhoods on Saturday and Sunday, April 17th and 18th from 1 to 4 pm.

The homes available for visiting are:
  • 705 Maupin Avenue
  • 506 Maupin Avenue
  • 400 Wiley Avenue
  • 201 Wiley Avenue
  • 417 Elm Street
  • 516 West Bank Street
  • 420 West Bank Street
  • 215 West Thomas
  • 629 South Fulton Street
  • 302 West Monroe Street
  • 500 South Jackson Street
  • 530 West Monroe Street
  • 300 South Main Street, Suite R, Kress Plaza
  • 300 South Main Street, Suite S1, Kress Plaza
  • 321 East Bank Street
  • 525 West Council Street
  • 625 West Liberty Street
  • 324 North Fulton Street
  • 300 North Fulton Street, No. 30, Prince Charles Condos
  • 300 North Fulton Street, No. 35, Prince Charles Condos
  • 317 North Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue
  • 901 North Main Street
  • 919 Richard Street



Please check the website below to view a map of the open homes and links to the brochures that we'll have available at each location:

Please feel free to share the file and link with your co-workers, clients, friends, and neighbors.  Help the HNA get the word out. Thank you for participating!

Monday, February 1, 2010

The Shober Bridge (Ellis Street Bridge)


The Historic Neighborhoods Alliance met on January 13th for its first monthly meeting of 2010.  While the group heard updates from the historic neighborhoods present, the main focus of the meeting was how to save the Shober Bridge, also known as the Ellis Street Bridge.  The Shober Bridge crosses over the Southern Railroad tracks on Ellis Street between W. Kerr and W. Cemetery Streets.  The City of Salisbury, for several years, has had the "Ellis Street Bridge Project" on its books - with the ultimate goal to demolish the existing bridge and replace it with a modern structure, elevating the grade by several feet (reports vary here), and transitioning Ellis Street into a high functioning traffic corridor.  (The photo here is from the Salisbury Post, taken by Jon C. Lakey)


The Shober Bridge is one of the historic highlights of the Ellis Street Graded School Historic District, along with the school at the south end of the bridge.  It is unique in structure, a small humpback bridge with wooden handrails outfitted for pedestrian traffic.  The Shober Bridge has a good deal of folklore associated with it, but stakes its largest chunk of history as the very bridge site that General Stoneman's Union troops passed over to occupy the City of Salisbury at the end of the Civil War.  The Shober Bridge is cited as a contributing structure in the inventory taken to establish the Ellis Street Graded School District as a National Historic District. 


The City of Salisbury is marketed as 'Historic Salisbury'.  When citizens wish to demolish, upgrade, or modernize an historic home, they must go through a highly defined process through the City's Historic Preservation Commission.  Often, if our plans do not coincide with the original structure's design elements and materials, our requests are denied.  Our City Council members, newly elected, ran on platforms and spoke at forums supporting the City's historic neighborhoods, the jewels in Salisbury's crown, and the establishment of accompanying preservation plans. Yet now, the City is moving with head-spinning swiftness to abolish the existing historic Shober Bridge, without so much as a nod to the Historic Preservation Commission.  There is no engineered design in place yet, only a sketched plan to spend money on a new bridge.  This begins to ring of rhetoric.


The citizenry of the City of Salisbury needs voices to support the rehabilitation and restoration of this historic bridge in the heart of a historic district, a rather obvious omission in the City's plans.  The Historic Neighborhoods Alliance urges you to write to City Council, who has formed a committee to make recommendations on this bridge, and express the obvious benefits of restoring and preserving the Shober Bridge, over demolition and restructuring:


  • Restoration of Shober Bridge is less costly to the City than demolition and rebuilding a new bridge.
  • Restoration of Shober Bridge allows the City to honestly and with integrity claim itself 'Historic Salisbury'.
  • Restoration of Shober Bridge preserves this uniquely designed bridge, few of which can be found in the State of North Carolina.
  • Restoration of Shober Bridge preserves the character and nature of a historic neighborhood whose homes and architecture date back to the late 1800's.
  • Restoration of Shober Bridge preserves this historic site for generations to come.
In addition to the marked change the demolition and new bridge will make on the neighborhood and the City, the rebuild project is estimated to take a couple of years.  If you have not already driven down the Fulton Street corridor to see how the current temporary Shober Bridge closing is impacting traffic, you ought to take a look.  To close the Shober Bridge for years, and thereby close off the Ellis Street corridor, one of only three railroad overpasses in downtown Salisbury, makes no sense for the greater good of the public when renovation will take only months - not years - for completion.


You can make your voices heard by addressing letters to City Council and/or addressing letters to the editor at the Salisbury Post.  Additionally, City Council meetings held the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month allow an open forum at the end of the planned agenda.  Citizens have 3 minutes to speak on a topic of their choice.  In 3 minutes or less, you can say, "I, a citizen of Historic Salisbury, support renovation and restoration of the Shober Bridge.  I do not support demolition and the restructuring of a new bridge at this historic site. Thank you Council Members."


Please step forward to preserve the historic nature of our structures, our neighborhoods, and ultimately our City. 


Thank you.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Historic Neighborhoods Alliance Meeting Minutes November 11, 2009

Attendees: Alisa Palmer (Fulton Heights), Sue McHugh (North Main), Betty Carli (West Square), Gwen Matthews (Ellis Street & HSF), Andrea Anders (Ellis Street), Andrew Pitner (Fulton Heights), Jack Thomson (HSF), Jim Carli (West Square), Shelley Smith (Salisbury Post and West Square), Gary Birdsey (Park Avenue), Edward Clement (West Square), Christine Wilson (Fulton Heights).



The Historic Neighborhoods Alliance met on Wednesday November 11th at the historic John Steele House in the North Main neighborhood. Our meeting began with the Neighborhood Reports - concise updates from each neighborhood. There were 5 of Salisbury’s 10 historic neighborhoods represented at this meeting.


• North Main Street (NMSHD): Sue McHugh said they had a great neighborhood party with double the attendance of last year. They also met recently with Downtown Salisbury, Inc and had a great discussion with them. Although DSI cannot provide money to the North Main Neighborhood Association (NOMA), they will help in other ways to support NOMA in their efforts and want to work together. They also commented that HNA is a great vehicle to get things to happen in the city because of different neighborhoods helping each other and carrying a common voice on issues. Showing that the many historic neighborhoods support improvements in North Main carries more weight with City Council. NOMA is planning a parade and celebration when the Miller St. sidewalk and North Main St. crosswalk project is finished.


• Fulton Heights (FHHD): Andrew said they recently had a general meeting followed by a board meeting. The Halloween celebration was a great success. They are finalizing a calendar fundraiser for the neighborhood association. The color calendar will feature neighborhood homes and will sell for between $10-15. They have sold all the monthly photos and most of the available daily message space. They hope to make this an annual fundraiser. They are working with Quick Copy to design and publish the calendar.


• West Square (WSHD): Betty Carli said they had over 100 attendees at their Halloween party. They will have a Christmas party in December. The West Square board passed along thanks and support for the recently held HNA city council candidate forum and they hope HNA will continue having forums during future elections. They continue to have problems with the House of Hope and she said there is now a second location open(ing) on South Main Street. Sue McHugh asked, “Why is the House of Hope a bad thing?” Betty said it is a halfway house but for more severe crime issues. Their board is doing more research and will provide more information soon. Ed asked for a copy of the board of directors for House of Hope.


• North Ellis Graded School (NEGSHD): Gwen Matthews said they recently had a great ‘Alley Cat’ party with lots of food and fun. They had a TV set up near the party and this was a great success because those who wanted to attend but still had a football game to watch could participate and it helped to show who in the neighborhood are big football fans. They are focusing mostly on doing social events right now to get folks to know one another before they get to more formal neighborhood association things. They are excited though to have a core group of neighbors and that they are adding neighbors who have children to the events.


• Park Avenue (PAHD): Garth Birdsey said he is now on the board for the Park Avenue Redevelopment Corp and that they are making progress toward addressing problematic issues that plague the neighborhood. They are having a kids Christmas party in December. He passed out information on VITA tax preparation services and asked if anyone was interested in helping others with tax prep to contact Marjorie. He plans to volunteer again this year and said it is a worthwhile experience.




Historic Salisbury Foundation updates: Jack Thomson and Gwen Matthews


• Jack asked that the neighborhood associations send their correct website address or blog address to HSF. He is working toward having the neighborhood websites linked through the HSF website.


• He attended a meeting with city staff where they presented ideas for changes to the historic preservation guidelines for local districts. The changes were mostly in regard to timelines for completion of projects that have been given Certificates of Appropriateness (COAs) and how to audit the completion of approved COAs. The Code Enforcement department will be the ‘enforcers’ of the COAs.


• At this meeting they also discussed signage for Historic Preservation Commission hearings or COA applications (similar to what is posted with Zoning hearings).


• They are looking to develop some type of placard that would be displayed on the house of an approved project.


• They are talking about exterior paint colors and possible regulation/deregulation.


• They are discussing that grants through HPC not be awarded to home owners who are in violation of guidelines at any property they own in the historic district.


• Gwen passed out fliers that list the properties for sale at HSF. She said they were thrilled with the response to 321 East Bank project.


• She was very thankful that they Rowan Board of Realtors helped her to advertise a brokers open at 321 East Bank.


• She introduced a new idea that is still in its infancy stage. She called it the Shoulder-to-Shoulder project that would help to bring volunteers with home improvement skills together with homeowners in historic neighborhoods that need assistance but cannot afford the cost of an entire project. She has several volunteers with skills in the paint, carpentry, masonry, and plumbing areas that want to help. Most of the volunteers would need to donate time on weekends or evenings. She’d like the neighborhoods and HNA members to help identify potential homeowners and to work with HSF to verify the legitimacy of the projects. Homeowners would need to help where they can and provide the funds for supplies. She said they are still working through some of the legal issues with this idea but she wanted to know what HNA members thought. Betty Carli said it is a wonderful idea and that folks need help. Sue McHugh said the North Main Association has had plans to begin a similar 'helping hands' team and liked that it could be a bigger program. Gwen said it needs a good name so if anyone has a suggestion for a name, let her know.




Updates/action item review and next steps:


• Candidate Forum: Sue said the forum was a huge success and she has received many positive comments. Many said it was the best-attended candidate event, the most sophisticated, and best organized. Susan Kluttz told Jack that the event was the best-attended forum in her history. Sue stated that the time the HNA sponsors a forum that the planning phase needs to begin much earlier. We had great volunteers but could have used more time to pay attention to detail and more people on the planning committee to distribute tasks more evenly. Andrea said the use of Facebook to promote the event was great. Despite the fact that there were many other events scheduled in Salisbury on the same night, attendance was still phenomenal, indicating our community's interest in preserving our historic neighborhoods. Sue did a great job with communication to the candidates and leading the forum planning committee. Christine will review the video from the forum and transcribe the answers given by those candidates that won a council seat (Kluttz, Blackwell, Kennedy, Miller, and Woodson). Christine has also organized a folder with materials from the event and feedback that she has gathered so that we can use this at a future forum.


• Housing Commission: Garth said the Neighborhood Leaders Alliance has formed a housing subcommittee that will meet twice in the next month to formulate a suggested approach for a housing commission to be discussed by Council members at their February 2010 retreat. He will attend the meetings and asked if anyone else from HNA would like to attend that they contact Lynn Raker with the City of Salisbury.


The Historic Neighborhood Alliance will not meet in December, but will begin the 2010 year with a brain-storming and kick-off meeting on January 13th.  Stay tuned for more info!  Happy Holidays!

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Historic Neighborhoods Alliance Meeting Minutes November 11, 2009

Attendees: Alisa Palmer (Fulton Heights), Sue McHugh (North Main), Betty Carli (West Square), Gwen Matthews (Ellis Street and HSF), Andrea Anders (Ellis Street), Andrew Pitner (Fulton Heights), Jack Thomson (HSF), Jim Carli (West Square), Shelley Smith (Salisbury Post and West Square), Garth Birdsey (Park Avenue), Edward Clement (West Square) and Christine Wilson (Fulton Heights).

Our meeting begain with the Neighborhood Reports; a concise update from each neighborhood. There were 5 neighborhoods represented at this meeting.
• North Main Street (NMSHD): Sue McHugh said they had a great neighborhood party with double the attendance of last year. They also met recently with Downtown Salisbury, Inc and had a great discussion with them. Although DSI cannot provide money to the North Main Neighborhood Association (NOMA), they will help in other ways to support NOMA in their efforts and want to work together. They also commented that HNA is a great vehicle to get things to happen in the city because of different neighborhoods helping each other and carrying a common voice on issues. Showing that the many historic neighborhoods support improvements in North Main carries more weight with City Council. NOMA is planning a parade and celebration when the Miller St. sidewalk and North Main St. crosswalk project is finished.
• Fulton Heights (FHHD): Andrew said they recently had a general meeting followed by a board meeting. The Halloween celebration was a great success. They are finalizing a calendar fundraiser for the neighborhood association. The color calendar will feature neighborhood homes and will sell for between $10-15. They have sold all the monthly photos and most of the available daily message space. They hope to make this an annual fundraiser. They are working with Quick Copy to design and publish the calendar.
• West Square (WSHD): Betty Carli said they had over 100 attendees at their Halloween party. They will have a Christmas party in December. The West Square board passed along thanks and support for the recently held HNA city council candidate forum and they hope HNA will continue having forums during future elections. They continue to have problems with the House of Hope and she said there is now a second location open(ing) on South Main Street. Sue McHugh asked “Why is the House of Hope a bad thing?” Betty said it is a half-way house but for more severe crime issues. Their board is doing more research and will provide more information soon. Ed asked for a copy of the board of directors for House of Hope.
• North Ellis Graded School (NEGSHD): Gwen Matthews said they recently had a great ‘Alley Cat’ party with lots of food and fun. They had a TV set up near the party and this was a great success because those who wanted to attend but still had a football game to watch could participate and it helped to show who in the neighborhood are big football fans. They are focusing mostly on doing social events right now to get folks to know one another before they get to more formal neighborhood association things. They are excited though to have a core group of neighbors and that they are adding neighbors who have children to the events.
• Park Avenue (PAHD): Garth Birdsey said he is now on the board for the Park Avenue Redevelopment Corp and that they are making progress toward addressing problematic issues that plague the neighborhood. They are having a kids Christmas party in December. He passed out information on VITA tax preparation services and asked if anyone was interested in helping others with tax prep to contact Marjorie. He plans to volunteer again this year and said it is a worthwhile experience.

Historic Salisbury Foundation updates: Jack Thomson and Gwen Matthews
• Jack asked that the neighborhood associations send their correct website address or blog address to HSF. He is working toward having the neighborhood websites linked through the HSF website.
• He attended a meeting with city staff where they presented ideas for changes to the historic preservation guidelines for local districts. The changes were mostly in regard to timelines for completion of projects that have been given Certificates of Appropriateness (COAs) and how to audit the completion of approved COAs. The Code Enforcement department will be the ‘enforcers’ of the COAs.
• At this meeting they also discussed signage for Historic Preservation Commission hearings or COA applications (similar to what is posted with Zoning hearings).
• They are looking to develop some type of placard that would be displayed on the house of an approved project.
• They are talking about exterior paint colors and possible regulation/deregulation.
• They are discussing that grants through HPC not be awarded to home owners who are in violation of guidelines at any property they own in the historic district.
• Gwen passed out fliers that list the properties for sale at HSF. She said they were thrilled with the response to 321 East Bank project.
• She was very thankful that they Rowan Board of Realtors helped her to advertise a brokers open at 321 East Bank.
• She introduced a new idea that is still in its infancy stage. She called it the Shoulder to Shoulder project which would help to bring volunteers with home improvement skills together with home owners in historic neighborhoods that need assistance but cannot afford the cost of an entire project. She has several volunteers with skills in the paint, carpentry, masonry, and plumbing areas that want to help. Most of the volunteers would need to donate time on weekends or evenings. She’d like the neighborhoods and HNA members to help identify potential homeowners and to work with HSF to verify the legitimacy of the projects. Homeowners would need to help where they can and provide the funds for supplies. She said they are still working through some of the legal issues with this idea but she wanted to know what HNA members thought. Betty Carli said it is a wonderful idea and that folks need help. Sue McHugh said the North Main Association has had plans to begin a similar 'helping hands' team and liked that it could be a bigger program. Gwen said it needs a good name so if anyone has a suggestion for a name, let her know.

Updates/action item review and next steps:
• Candidate Forum: Sue said the forum was a huge success and she has received many positive comments. Many said it was the best attended candidate event, it was the most sophisticated and best organized. Susan Kluttz told Jack that the event was the best attended forum in her history. Sue said that planning for the next forum needs to happen much earlier. We had great volunteers but could have used more time to pay attention to detail and more people on the planning committee to distribute tasks more evenly. Andrea said the use of Facebook to promote the event was great. Despite the fact that there were many other events scheduled in Salisbury on the same night, attendance was still phenominal, indicating our community's interest in preserving our historic neighborhoods. Sue did a great job with communication to the candidates and leading the forum planning committee. Christine will review the video from the forum and transcribe the answers given by those candidates that won a council seat (Kluttz, Blackwell, Kennedy, Miller, and Woodson). Christine has also organized a folder with materials from the event and feedback that she has gathered so that we can use this at a future forum.
• Housing Commission: Garth said the Neighborhood Leaders Alliance has formed a housing subcommittee that will meet twice in the next month to formulate a suggested approach for a housing commission to be discussed by Council members at their February 2010 retreat. He will attend the meetings and asked if anyone else from HNA would like to attend that they contact Lynn Raker with the City of Salisbury.