Thursday, August 20, 2009

Historic Neighborhoods Alliance Meeting August 12, 2009 5:15 pm, Steele House


Attendees: Alisa Palmer (Fulton Heights), Janie Allen (Downtown), Garth Birdsey (Park Avenue), Ken Weaver (Brooklyn South Square), Jack Thomson (HSF), Sue McHugh (North Main), Betti Carli (West Square), Andrew Pitner (Fulton Heights) and Christine Wilson (Fulton Heights).

Neighborhood Reports: concise update from each neighborhood. There were 7 neighborhoods represented at this meeting.

· Brooklyn South Square (BSSHD): Ken Weaver said they recently had a neighborhood watch meeting with the police. On National Night Out (Aug 4, 2009) several neighbors met and roamed the neighborhood, stopping to chat and visit with neighbors door-to-door. They handed out info about the neighborhood association. The 321 E Bank project is coming along nicely. Ken said he wants to organize a work day or two for volunteers who would like to help paint. Chris Branham, Code Enforcement Manager, attended their last neighborhood association meeting.

· North Main Street (NMSHD): Sue McHugh said they had a neighborhood association meeting recently and it was well attended. They recently hand-distributed fliers to the neighborhood about their upcoming August meeting. The association is going to launch a fund raising campaign to provide lighting on the Miller Street sidewalk project. This is an expensive (80K) proposition but they think this will add a much needed dimension to the project. They are discussing an official name change for their association. Their current name is Old North Salisbury Association which neighbors said lacks name recognition to their area. Ideas are NoMa or something else North Main related. They are discussing creating a welcome packet for new neighbors. Also possibly adding neighborhood quadrant captains to help organize and advertise activities. They may have a home and garden tour of the neighborhood in the spring of 2010 as a fundraiser. Maggie Blackwell, City Council candidate and previous president of Fulton Heights Neighborhood Assoc, attended their last meeting. See www.oldnorthsalisbury.blogspot.com

· North Ellis Graded School (NEGSHD): Andrea Anders called in a report to Christine because she and Gwen were unable to attend the meeting. She said their July 11 first neighborhood meeting was very successful with 13 attendees and great discussions. She wants to thank Ken Weaver for attending the meeting and explaining how the Brooklyn-South Square associations as benefited their neighborhood. She said 2 attendees brought old photos of the school. They discussed some of their desires for the neighborhood such as possibly having an email listserv (similar to Fulton Heights), Halloween parties, possibly expanding the historic district boundaries, among other ideas. They obtained emails for future communication. One attendee is going to develop a newsletter. They will have a potluck on 8/23/09 at Pete and Debbie Hoffman’s house. At this event they plan to do more organizing for the association.

· Fulton Heights (FHHD): Alisa Palmer said they hosted a National Night Out event in Centennial Park. It was well attended and police representatives were present. They recently had a board meeting. They will host their annual Halloween party and have a Christmas house tour the first Sat. in December. They are thinking about a neighborhood calendar. They plan to publish a fall newsletter. 3 residents of FH are running for City Council.

· Park Avenue (PAHD): Garth Birdsey said the City organized a National Night Out event but by the time he went to it, everyone (including the organizers) had left (before the scheduled end time). The neighbors are continuing to share complaints and issues with Code Enforcement which he reminded everyone is a complaint driven process. Garth has been elected to the Board of Directors for the Park Avenue Redevelopment Corporation. There 6 neighborhood residents on the Park Avenue Redevelopment Board ~ Garth is the only new member since its inception in 1999.

· Downtown (SHD: D): Janie Allen said the downtown has hosted 2 recent Friday Night Outs which were very well attended. Downtown Salisbury Inc. continues to work on the downtown master plan revisions. Janie asked that the neighborhood associations identify significant properties in their neighborhoods and determine if there is appropriate signage to help identify and tell about the property. The first weekend in December the Symphony will host a downtown home tour.

· West Square (WSHD): Betti Carli said they recently had an ice cream social and had 60 attendees. They will have their annual neighborhood picnic at the end of Sept. where they will discuss OctoberTour and mum purchases. They continue to have House of Hope issues. 90 new street lights have been installed. She said Bank Street residents are discussing the replacement of the gas lights with new lights. They will have their annual Halloween party. The police have been responding well to complaints. Community Watch signs are really helping.

Historic Salisbury Foundation updates: Jack Thomson

· Jack handed out OctoberTour 2009 save the date cards that list information about the October 10-11 event. Mums, Tickets and 5K race info available online.

· They still need volunteers for OT including docents. He asked that associations share this with their neighbors and ask potential volunteers to contact the office office@historicsalisbury.org or 704-636-0103.

· They are trying to organize a lecture event for the Friday before the tour (10/9) at the library to focus on historic preservation.

· Sue McHugh has volunteered to be the house manager for 321 E Bank. She asked for volunteers who would like to be docents at the home contact her.

· He emphasized to call Gwen 704-636-0103 if you know of someone who would like to tour one of their properties.

Updates/action item review and next steps:

· Brochure Update: Sue shared that a committee has been formed to develop an advertising brochure for the historic neighborhoods: Sue, Garth, Ken and Cynthia Hooper. Below is a recap from a recent meeting

Target Audience:

  • Chamber of Commerce/Visitors Bureau
  • Realtors
  • Historic Salisbury Foundation
  • Website(s)

Funding:

  • $500 from Preserve America Educational Foundation
  • Potential for sponsorship from:
  • Downtown Salisbury Inc.
  • HSF
  • CAC
  • Visitors Center
  • Additional business ie: B&B’s, Antique Shops, etc. as needed

Paper:

  • 11.5” x 17” to accommodate map with full info
  • Full Color
  • Paper quality to be determined

Layout:

  • One side full map
  • 6 sections for info
  • Half fold x trifold

Information:

  • Reasons to live in Historic District
    • Tax Credits
    • Grant Potential
    • Proximity to downtown amenities, parks
    • Tree Canopy
    • Restoration potential
    • Character
    • Quality
  • “Links” or references to agencies ie: HSF, City of Salisbury, Downtown Salisbury Inc. et al
  • Blurb on Historic Neighborhood Alliance
  • Contact: HSF (with permission)
  • List of Districts with description to include representative dates of architecture in area.
  • Map:
    • Historic District Boundaries
    • Room for District Names in margins
    • Unique color boundary with matching color text box outline for each
    • Show street names
    • Show I-85
    • Landmarks (fountain replica, historic mural, cemetery, etc.)

Things that need development:

  • What will the cover look like?
  • Tag line? We mentioned this briefly but need to develop something.
  • Photographs
    • Representative architecture
    • Landmarks
    • Welcome to Salisbury
  • Descriptions
  • Meet with Trolley company to begin talks about expanding tour

· Garth has met with city staff in the GIS dept to help with map creation.

· They need to know what should be used as the contact information on the brochure. Historic Salisbury Foundation was suggested at least for phone. Possibly creating another email address for email.

· Jack suggested they look to the National Register nomination descriptions for verbiage about the neighborhoods and to include points from the past that make the neighborhoods unique.

· National Register nomination forms can be found at the Foundation office or at the library history room.

· Landlord registration: Christine explained that she sent members’ links to programs in Raleigh and Monroe that are focused on implementing corrective actions with those rental properties that have problems (code, crime, drugs, etc) versus have a registration process that covers all rental properties. She asked that attendees read over the materials she has emailed for discussion in the future.

· Candidate Forum: We discussed holding a city council candidate forum with HSF. Attendees were generally in support and several said they would help organize the event. We need to do some more research first to determine what type of event we would like to have and if we have enough time to organize the event. Jack offered the Salisbury Station event space for the forum. It would need to be after OctoberTour. HSF will not organize the event but will provide support. Jack said he is willing to contact Michael Bitzer, Catawba College Political Science professor and moderator of many of the candidate forums at Catawba, to set up a meeting with him to discuss our idea and gain insight. (UPDATE: Mr. Bitzer has been ill and will not be able to meet with us for several weeks. Jack can contact him at a later date if we still want to meet with him) Christine will research candidate debates and send members information. We will need to act quickly on this and likely make a decision as to what we want to do before our next meeting.

· Attendees agreed that even if we do not have our own forum, HNA needs to submit questions to the Catawba forum and attend the event and other events that are held. We need to work on questions.

Updates: Christine Wilson

· Christine left a message for John Hudson and he did not call back.

· Our next HNA meeting will be held at the newly rehabilitated HSF property located at 321 East Bank Street!

Next meeting date, time, and location

· September 9, 2009 5:15 pm, 321 East Bank Street

· Please RSVP to Christine at hnaoffice@bellsouth.net

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

Review of Action items:

1. Jack to contact Michael Bitzer to set up meeting to discuss candidate forum. (DONE)

2. Christine to send information about organizing candidate forums.

3. All to work on developing questions for city council candidates.

4. All to respond and discuss via email, organizing a candidate forum hosted by HNA / HSF.

5. All to review PROP materials sent by Christine about rental permit processes.

No comments:

Post a Comment