Kenner Manor Association

Survey Distribution & Updates

Aug 22, 2006

Sorry it?’s been a while since my last update. I started my own business earlier this year and it has had me under water for most of the time. Luckily there hasn?’t been too much going on over the past few months, but I?’d like to give you a few quick updates and then share with you my plans going forward for solidifying our neighborhood association.

First the updates:

Ensworth School has just entered into a contract to purchase the two duplex units on Ridgefield Court, which is the tiny cul-de-sac directly across from the parking lot behind Bookstar. I received a call from a member of their board to notify us of their intent to purchase the duplexes, tear them down, and convert the area into green-space (an extension of their practice fields and a non-paved overflow parking area for their largest attendance days ?– graduation, Super Saturday, etc.). While they don?’t need anyone?’s approval to purchase the property or tear down the duplexes, they will need Council approval to close the street and tear it out to allow for more field space. So you will probably begin to see hearing notices on that property once they move forward.

The Bookstar property has broken ground and will be name Belle Meade Town Center. Check out the links to news stories and Giarratana's project website in the community links section of this site's homepage.

The Golden Acre site looks to be nearing a groundbreaking as well. Check out links to the Newport Development project website in the links area as well.

No word on the time frame of the Richard Rhea development, but you may have noticed that he has begun renovating a couple of the houses that he bought along Kenner behind the project (as was agreed to in our previous negotiations, he will renovate the first three houses as well as any other adjacent properties sold to him, renovate them, place them in a single-family PUD zone, and then sell them to individual buyers).

As you can see, while it has been quiet here lately, it may just be the calm before the development storm. Which brings me to my second reason for this email: to begin taking steps to have our neighborhood association better-defined and better-organized leading into these changes and to do more to create involvement from and interaction within the neighborhood.

Janie Clark was able to dig up a copy of neighborhood association bi-laws (see the community pages area of the website), which were written-up in the Spring of 2000. As many of you know, the initial reason for creating the association was primarily for the purpose of qualifying for the traffic calming program. After that we continued to see the benefits of the association in having representation in the Town Center Overlay Design process, in pushing Public Works for re-working the triangle with curbs and grass, and in negotiations with Richard Rhea over the Manning properties. While the bi-laws aren?’t quite as detailed in some areas as some may like, they do define both the boundaries and the leadership structure that should be in place for the association. The boundaries are defined as Kenner Avenue, Woodmont Circle, Clearview, and Crescent. The leadership structure is said to be made up of a six-person board of directors, a President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer. We currently only have one position filled which is myself as President (and an un-elected one at that). I think our neighborhood would benefit greatly from filling these positions as well as creating a few standing committees such as a social committee, zoning/codes committee, and beautification committee. However, if I?’ve learned anything from being in this position, it?’s that not everyone shares my opinion (sometimes vehemently). So what I would like to do in the next few days is distribute a survey. The questions on the survey will allow everyone to indicate whether they would like to have and be a member of the association, whether they think we should collect dues as a requirement for membership, as an optional donation, or not at all (the bi-laws have optional $5 dues written in, of which there was $85 dollars and a bunch of un-cashed checks in the folder ?– sorry if your checkbook hasn?’t balanced for the last 5 years but I don?’t plan on cashing any of the checks), and whether you would be willing to be considered as a board member (bi-laws indicate 6 with at least one from each of the four streets), President, VP, Secretary (responsible for taking minutes at meetings and updating the neighborhood when needed) or Treasurer (whether we collect dues or not, this position will be responsible for spearheading the effort to create a trust into which the $50,000 promised the neighborhood by Wilson Manning can be deposited) or whether you would be willing to serve the social, zoning/codes/ or Beautification committees. I would also leave some space for your thoughts and suggestions as to what direction the association should take in the coming months/years. After verifying whether there is significant interest in membership on the aforementioned streets (altering the boundaries of the association if it turns out that there is not) and hopefully collecting a list of candidates for the leadership positions, I will work to schedule a time and place for us to have what will become an annual membership meeting at which the Board is elected. The Board then will elect the positions of President, VP, Secretary and Treasurer as well as name the members of the committees. Soon after that, I would like to see an event planned that would only be for getting together, having a good time, and getting to know some of the new additions to our neighborhood, because I think its too easy to fall into a routine of only meeting when there is a contentious issue at stake.

This survey will only be going out to the streets indicated as being in the boundaries of the association per the bi-laws. While we have received interest from some on Woodmont in being a part of our association, I will leave that decision for after there is an elected leadership.

I look forward to reading your thoughts on the survey and I encourage participation if you are interested in how this neighborhood will look and feel in the future.

Thanks

Will Johnston

Acting President ?– Kenner Manor Association

187 Kenner

(615) 293-7032