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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCBC 04-02-1991April 2, 1991 Dear Commissioner: Please find enclosed an outline of. a plan to begin to clean up our City. I was challenged to put this together as a result of comments received from an Arts Center Volunteer while having lunch. She knew the Board member at our table and made the comment 'I hesitate to invite friends to my home in Westover Hills because they have to drive down Asher to get here.' She commented that there were some beautiful and expensively built homes in her neighborhood but these were losing value due to the increasing •number of unsightly blights in the surrounding area. She wanted to know who to talk to and what could be done about it. I have not had the occasion to drive out Asher but plan to do so to see what she is referring to. Thus the idea of having us tour the City and make note of some things that simply should not be. For example the burned out church on the I-630 expressway at the Chester Street Exit. This has been there for at least a year and is certainly not a welcome sight for newcomers or visitors nor our life-long residents who commute back and forth everyday. I hope we will have time to discuss this proposed plan at our next meeting. I invited Hs. Kirkland to attend our meeting and discuss some of the 'blights' she was referring to. It may be that we can ` facilitate resolving some of these problems by contacting departments that have jurisdiction over the respective areas or that we as a Commission can address the problem areas. Our neighborhood association has 3 judging positions for City Beautiful Commissioners in our 'Most Colorful, Prettiest Landscaped and Best -Kept Lawn & Garden Contest' See enclosed newsletter. Please let us know who you are by April 8th. Thanks for you�.participation!!! See you soon. Charlene CITY BEAUTIFUL LAYS OUT PLAN FOR BEAUTIFYING LITTLE ROCK The City Beautiful Commission announces a 3 step plan to improve the quality of life in Little Rock by cleaning up our City. TOUR OF CITY Commissioners will tour all areas of the City, cataloging each area's scenic areas as well as problem areas. Each of the nine Commissioners will be responsible for a section of the City; the size of the area to be determined by the amount of clean-up necessary. Each Commissioner will work with residents in his or her assigned area to eliminate problem areas, promote scenic areas and add greenery. PROMOTION OF GREENERY The second step of the plan is to work with businesses, neighborhood groups and private citizens in encouraging the planting of more green. The Commission will facilitate access to expertise through Garden Clubs, Master Gardeners and the Pulaski County Extension Service in determining what, where and when to plant. GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT LITTER The City Beautiful Commission in co-operation with the LRPD will work together in 'fighting dirty' against litter. A phone-in -line will be established and publicized for citizens to call in when littering is observed; with the license number and the time and place of the littering incident. The existing line the City has established for reporting of illegal dumping will be publicized as well. Other goals for the Commission are to work with neighborhood groups and the Neighborhood -Revitalization Program in acquiring abandoned, vacant lots from the City to form community garden plots. \-In addition the Commission hopes to see the voluntary removal of billboards from the City's scenic corridors by working -with local --businesses and non -profits in discouraging the use of billboards along scenic corridors. Commissioners acknowledge these goals can not be accomplished without citizen part�Hardcastle represe your a of the City in the 'LittleRoe,ty Campaign cal Gai Owens, (371-4770) or Ch 74-2687) oVZ� o vim- C/ City To Shed Light On Property Standards At Next Meeting, April 1 The guest speaker of the next Capitol View Neighborhood Association will be Jim Hathcock, the neighborhood programs manager for the City of Little Rock. Hathcock will speak on the subject of housing and property standards -- explaining the rationale for these standards and providing us with the propermeans of bringing properties into compliance. Make your plans to attend this important meeting which will be held 7:00 p.m., April 1, at the Capitol View United Methodist Church, 3rd & Pulaski Streets. City Donates Dumpsters For Neighborhood Clean - Up, Starts This Weekend CVNA is already a leader among city neighbrhoods. We're the first to start an annual neighborhood -wide Spring clean-up. At the encouragement of the Association, the Little Rock Public Works has donated two dumpsters for use by neighborhood residents in cleaning up refuse and dibris that would otherwise need to be taken to the City Sanitation Landfill.\ These dumpsters will be donated for two weekends only — March 30, 31 and April 6, 7. One dumpster will be located at the corner of Markham and Vernon, on the parking lot of Chiro- practic Associates. The other dumpster will be located at 2201 Markham, on the parking lot of Lloyd Litsey photo- graphic studios, just across from the Southeast corner of the Blind School/ Deaf School area. These sites were donated by your neighbors. Please make an effort to get all the trash in the dumpster and keep the areas clean. So now's a perfect time to get rid of all the things that you've been stepping over since last summer.... those old tires, worn out lawn furniture, scrap lumber, tree limbs, etc. If you need assistance in hauling your stuff to the dumpster, the Associa- tion will attempt to provide a pick-up service between 9 a.m. and 12 noon on April 6. Call 374-2687 or 372-1710 to reserve a time for a truck to come by. Help your neighbors if you can. There's plenty of work to go around. Mutual support between neighbors for the betterment of our neighborhood is what our Association is all about As a regular city service, Little Rock will pick up at your curbside many items which the sanitation department cannotharsd The cit wtI of pick up car pare or building materials. Other restrictions apply as well. Call 568-7274 for complete details or more information. Beautification Project Competition To Be Judged By City Officials, Nomina- tions Open. A neighborhood beautification project has taken shape as a competi- tion for the most beautiful lawns and gardens within our Association boundaries. There are three categories of competition: • Best kept • Most colorful • Prettiest landscape. Any neighborhood resident may nominate any neighborhood lawn or garden, front or back yard. Time will be allotted for these nominations at the April 1 meeting. If you are unable to attend the meeting, it's still easy to make a nomination. Simply call Joan Page, Beautification Project Chairperson (375-7425), or Billie Kirkpatrick (663-1449). Now's a great time to recognize the "green thumb" and hard work of your neighbor. Or even yourself. All you have to do is make a nomination at the April 1 meeting, or by telephone. The judging will be conducted during a neighborhood tour that will begin 11:00 am., Saturday, April 13. Dailey, City Director Meredith Catlett, members of the City Beautiful Com- mission, and Janet Carson, a spokes- person for the Pulaski County Exten- sion Service. The three winners will be announced following a meeting of the judges. This meeting is planned for noon at Pizza d'Action, 2919 W. Markham, right in our beautiful neighborhood. CVNA Member Decals Available At Meeting Each paid member of the Capitol View Neighborhood Association is entitled to a Member decal, complete with a color version of the logo, and the word, "MEMBER," printed at the top. When affixed to the rear window of an automobile, this decal will alert area merchants to the economic power of our neighbors and will bring about greater awareness of our neighborhood. No matter how you use it, you'll be letting people know that you are committed to the betterment of Capitol View. Each paid membership gets one decal as part of the membership package. Additional decals for home doors or other autombiles are available for S 1.50 each. Membership Continues To Grow, Here's How You Can Join The Capitol View Neighborhood Association now has 66 paid member- ships which represent approximately 110 members. Each paid membership represents a household which may have more than one person in residence. Association dues are S5 annually for households, considerably less than most neighborhood associations in Little Rock. Corporate memberships are avail- able for S50. Your participation is the key to neighborhood betterment. To join, just come to the next Association meeting. Or call Marge Dunlop at 374-2859. Our neighborhood will be a better place with your involvement You can make a difference. 1 Crime 'Watch Meeting A Big success, Two Coordinators Needed Officer Jennifer Frederick of the Little Rock Police Department is to be thanked and congratulated for her outstanding presentation on a Crime Watch program. Her presentation was at the last CVNA meeting. One of the most important points covered by Officer Frederick was the marking of your valuables. A special marking tool is available through the Little Rock Police Department. The The police will also provide you with a door sticker indicating that your possessions are so marked. Officer Frederick reported that 95% of the houses with these stickers are avoided by criminals. Additionally, Officer Frederick made available to CVNA members two booklets: Neighborhood Crime Watch Handbook, and 9-1-1 How To Use it. These handbooks are available by calling Craig Rains, 374-0640. Officer Frederick encouraged us to call her with our questions at 888-1527. Message From the Association President If neighborhood clean-up/spruce-up continues at this rate, serving on the Property Standards Committee should be a rewarding experience. It's very encouraring, to see the yard clean-up throughout the neighborhood, as well as the reconstruction taking place at the intersection of Fern and Capitol, and the renovation occurring at 301 Booker. I hope we can express our appreciation to these two fixer -uppers with some type of acknowledgment, and to others who are making significant improve- ments. We gained approximately 20 new paid memberships at the last meeting, bringing our membership to 110 members. This means we have more members to ask to serve as block captains, and traffic, membership, and historical committee members!!! We have worked out the details of our Spring Beautification Project. All the details are printed in this newsletter and will be discussed further at our next meeting. To give us a chance to clean up prior to the tour, Public Works has agreed to set out dumpsters for us on two consecutive weekends, March 30- 31 and April 6-7. If you have items that need to be hauled to the dumpstcrs, the Association will provide a free pick-up on Saturday, April 6, between 9 a.m. and 12 noon. You will need to call 374-2687 or 372-1710 prior to that Lime to give us the address of the items to be picked up. Our April 1 meeting will be held 7 p.m. at Capitol View Methodist Church. Jim Hathcock, Neighborhood Programs Manager will give a presen- tation on City Housing and Premises Standards. In addition we need to gear - up our Crime Watch Program by recruiting two volunteers to serve as Crime Watch Co -Captains, one for Capitol View Heights (North of Markham), and one for Capitol View (South of Markham). We also need to hear from committees on how things are progressing;'needs, problems, division of r6sponsibilides, und6rstand- ing of purposes and goals among com- mittee members, opportunities for members to participate/contribute, etc. See you then. Charlene Hardcastle Where is Capitol Vies}'? The Capitol View Neighborhood Association represents residents living in an area bounded on the East by the grounds of the state Capitol complex, on the South by Wilbur Mills freeway, on the West by Johnson Street, and on the North by Riverview Street. These boundaries were approved by the memberhip at the March 4, 1991, meeting. Join The Capitol View Neighborhood Association. NEXT MEETING: 7:00 p.m., Monday, April I Capitol View United Methodist Church, 3rd & Pulaski.