Highland Park Neighborhood Association

SUMMER 2008 notes from website editor

Jul 14, 2008

At the moment we do not have a newsletter, but that does not mean there is no news! Jack Elder has continued to serve as president of Highland Park Neighborhood Association. He will be volunteering the remainder of 2008 in Costa Rica and has additionally reached his term limit so once again HPNA will be asking for those who have not previously shared leadership in the association to step up and commit to serve their community.

Many times I have said that there are hundreds (sometimes thousands) of visitors to the website each month but they rarely attend meetings. That has changed! We are all so happy to have more and more young families moving into the neighborhood and not only locating us on the Internet, but showing up at the monthly meetings! There is a cycle in urban areas when many age and then adapt and are reborn when many of the residents who have lived there for years leave their earthly lives. Once again the young looking for a future see hope in the urban area and adapt it to their needs of a community.

Possible revival of some former Highland Park traditions, and elimination or change of others has all been discussed as the neighborhood association and members continue to grow together and adapt to community needs, finding a way to attain our common vision of a sustainable and responsible shared space.

However, there is one particular change that does need to be emphasized. The vacant fire station at 2903 South New Braunfels Avenue will be demolished this month. For those of you who have continued each month to check this space and see whether we have started publishing the newsletter again [As website editor I get statistics on exactly how many visitors each section gets--but don't worry I don't get your names or IP addresses!], I am writing this note to alert you that I have added another 'page' in the community links with details about this demolition.
This section would be incomplete without mentioning that during the various times that HPNA addressed concerns about the responsible reuse of the former fire station, that our former District 3 City Councilwoman Helen Dutmer also acted on behalf of HPNA to meet with then-City Councilwoman Toni Moorhouse and try to get the City of allow use of the facilities for a not-for-profit organization that would benefit the community, with a possible use of one that assists our seniors. For those of you new to the area, you may find it interesting to know the rumor that Helen Dutmer was the reason that the City of San Antonio instituted term limits. As she liked to tell us, that was the only way that the other City Council members could get her silenced (joke or not?). When she was there representing District 3, Mrs. Dutmer was on the City Council longer than any other representative before or since. Although for family reasons she has often been unable to attend HPNA meetings, we appreciate how she assisted us to advocate.

For more about the demolition of the former fire station, please look at the list under "add-a-page" section.

Also of note: I've posted the number of our new SAFFE officer under association contacts. Ralph Delgado is no longer assigned as a SAFFE officer here by SAPD. There are now two officers sharing responsibilities for different parts of Highland Park. If you need assistance, you can call the number listed for Officer David Nouhan or contact Sgt. Michael Shepherd at the Eastside Substation. Shepherd supervises all the SAFFE officers in our area.

http://www.sanantonio.gov/sapd/east.asp#estaff