Madison Park

Minutes for the October 13, 2003 Meeting

Oct 19, 2003

President Ted Peters called the meeting to order at 7:35 pm
23 attendees were present

Ted gave Recognition regarding the annual fall picnic and Thanked All who
came and all who served and even included all those wounded. Special
mention of thanks went to Debra Campbell, Dee McCandlish, Marty Doss, and
Scott Andrew. Ted said it was a culinary Success and a Apiary aftermath
as several people were stung by yellow jackets after Ted Peters and Marty
Doss stepped on an underground hive while taking down the yellow ribbon
that was tied around the tree. A quick account of the number of stings
was given, with Marty Doss receiving the most at 5. Ted said he was
thankful the picnic was over and most members had already left when the
yellow jackets attacked those cleaning up.

The meeting was then turned over to Speaker Charles Hodges from Code
Enforcement with the City who is the inspector for Madison Park. Mr.
Hodges explained how the program works and how to make complaints.
Madison Park neighbors are urged to make complaints about homes directly
to any member of the Madison Park Association board. However any citizen
can make a complaint at www.charmeck.nc.us or by calling 704-336-8600.
Mr. Hodges said in order to make a complaint under the City of Charlotte
Housing Code, which requires homeowners and landlords to maintain all
housing in a safe and clean condition the following must happen. There
are 3 ways to get a home inspected. First you can file a petition on any
property by just getting 5 signatures on the petition and submitting it
to Neighborhood Development, 600 East Trade Street, Charlotte, NC 28202
or fax your request to 704-336-3489. When this happens the housing
inspector must visit the property within 3 working days to determine if
work is needed based on the Housing Code Standards. The inspector then
will contact you after the inspection to keep you abreast of the status
of their activities on the property. In addition you will be notified of
any scheduled hearings so that you might attend. The second way is if
police see a problem house they can turn it in to codes directly. And the
3rd way to get a property inspected is if the inspector sees a violation
when out driving through the neighborhoods. When a property owner has
code violations of the housing codes he will have 30 days to make
improvements. If the improvements are not made in 30 days he is then
granted 30 more days. If a home is inspected it is inspected from crawl
space to attic on all violations must be repaired to standards. Mr.
Hodges then discussed the Health and Sanitation Code Enforcement
Ordinance, which requires property owners to maintain their premises in a
safe and sanitary condition. Violations include high weeds/grass,
accumulation of trash or junk, junk automobiles etc. Any citizen can
call the city at 704-336-7600 to report a violation. If you leave your
name and number the inspector will get back with his findings to you.
Most violations must be corrected in 7-10 days. If the resident is
making and effort to improve them that deadline might be extended. If no
action is taken the city will clean the property, mow the grass, etc. and
bill the owner of the property for the work. If the owner fails to pay
the bill, a lien will be placed against the property so when it is sold
the city will recoup its money. Mr. Hodges then discussed vehicles and
noted that a resident can park as many cars as he likes in his yard at
the present time although the city is considering an ordinance to ban
this practice. If this passes vehicles will have to be parked on parking
pads of some type. Mr. Hodges said that only junked inoperable vehicles
violate the vehicle ordinance. This would include dismantled vehicles,
those being used as storage or those surrounded by trash and high weeds.
If a car is abandoned on the public street it will be stickered by the
city and towed in 7 days. This would include cars without current tags
and stickers and cars sitting with flats. Mr. Hodges then noted a
property on Keystone was being looked into presently for violations. One
member voiced that she was concerned the resident of that property on
Keystone was having financial problems and could not make the repairs
without hardship. She requested that the problem be dealt with kindly
due to the number of children and the situation. Another member noted
that the home was thought to be a rental and the landlord would have to
make the repairs needed not the renters. Mr. Hodges stated the landlord
would be responsible in that type case. Mr. Hodges then invited members
to call him with any problems involving any city departments. He said he
would make sure the proper person was notified noting that having to
repeat something 5 times to different people was frustrating and he
wanted to prevent citizens from having to go through that problem.

The meeting was then turned over to Officer Patrick Hairston CMPD
Westover Division. He passed out the crime reports and noted that they
were from August. The computerized cutoff is now falling on a date after
our meetings so that the reports are essentially a month behind.
Officer Hairston went over the report in detail. Incidents reported were
29 including residential burglary, commercial burglary, larceny from
autos, larceny from building, non-aggravated assault, forgery, vandalism,
hit and run and even a missing person-age 16 that turned up ok. Officer
Hairston stated a lot of these incidents occurred in apartments. The
officer once again stressed the need to lock all doors. Lots of the
incidents in Madison Park turned out to be situations where the
resident/victim knew the suspect. Officer Hairston said that any one
renting a room out in their home should do a background check before
allowing someone to move in. He offered to help with this check if you
would get in touch with him. The officer noted that Scaleybark Road had
30 vehicle break-ins. Member Lamar Gunther ask the officer had he heard
about the homes being broke in where only checks were being stolen after
seeing this on the local news. The officer was not aware of this and
Martin Doss noted he had seen the same news story and that the report
said that checks were being removed in the middle of checkbooks so not to
alert the owner immediately. The officer said in his opinion that this
is most likely teens with drug problems. A first time attendee noted
that he lived on Murray Hill and that speeding was a big problem even
with speed bumps on the road. Officer Hairston noted that Officer
Collins uses radar trailers to measure traffic number and speeds. The
officer said he would get in touch with officer Collins to try and set
this up. Another member asked the officer about a previous report of a
break-in on Ebb Place. The member said that he went home after the
meeting and the property number mentioned did not exist. Officer
Hairston said it could be Ebb Ave instead of Place or a typo of the house
number. Then member Diane Gunther asked how to get Keystone Court speed
lowered to 10 mph. Officer Hairston said he doubt it would be done but
said to contact the DOT to make a request. Another member complained
about barking dogs and was told to complain to animal control with that
problem. Animal control will make a report and must come out and
observe the problem. Ted Peters said he had noted a problem driver on
Sharon Amity. He said he wanted to report this to police while he was
driving but could not get a tag number because the vehicle had a
temporary license plate. Officer Hairston CMPD had stated that residents
could report problem drivers to the 911 police number and that the
captain of the police would contact the driver via a letter. Officer
Hairston was thanked for his report and was given a round of applause.

Ted Peters then noted the death of Resident Paul H. Poetzsch who was a
charter resident of Wedgewood Drive. Ted noted how Mr. Poetzsch
contributed to the re-formation of the current association with his
knowledge and overview of the roots of our community. He passed on
10/03/03. Condolences went out to his wife Dot Poetszch.

Candace Armstrong was not present to make a report on Crime Watch
progress.

An update was then given on sidewalks coming to Murrayhill Road from
Woodlawn to its Eastern end at Wedgewood Drive. The sidewalks are
scheduled for the left side from Woodlawn entrance. The sidewalks should
be 5 feet wide with a 4-foot planting strip between the curb and the
sidewalk. Some members wanted to know if they could petition for the
sidewalk to go on the other side but Eric Stenstrom noted that the
grading made the choice unlikely on that side of the road. Martin Doss
mentioned that the recent brochure that was mailed out from the cities
South Corridor Infrastructure Program mentions that the south side will
be getting 18 miles of sidewalks. He stated that we could most likely
expect more sidewalks to be built in conjunction with the new light rail
system going up the South Boulevard Corridor. Another member mentioned
the bike routes on the roads and it was noted that 9 miles of
Bicycle/Pedestrain Projects were planned with the project. The sidewalk
project has been surveyed by the City's engineering department and is now
in its design phase. Update postcards will be mailed to affected
residents and the Association.

Ted then asked Marty Doss to give information on the Rabies Vaccinations
upcoming in November. The dates of the shots November 3-7 and are being
offered at 53 local veterinarians. Pet owners are asked to call
Veterinarians office first to make an appointment the cost is ?½ price or
$7.50 per animal. It was noted by another member that the rabies clinic
is also given in May. Marty noted that the shots are required for all
pet cats, dogs and ferrets 4 months of age and up. The first shot is
valid for 1 year then subsequent vaccinations are valid for 3 years.
All pets are required to display a valid rabies tags failure to do so
could result in a fine of 15.00 dollars and if the pet is not inoculated
the fine jumps to 50.00 dollars. Martin noted that just last year that
the county health department went door to door on Seacroft south of
Tyvola after a rabid raccoon turned up. Animals that are suspected of
being rabid must have their heads removed and the brain tissue verified
to check for the disease. Animals not given vaccinations and are
attacked by a rabid animal must be euthanized or quarantined for six
months at the owners expense. The Gunther's then mentioned that they
found a Copperhead snake on their property and that they had called
animal control to remove the snake. It ended up costing them 85 dollars
since the snake was outside. If the snake were inside the city would
remove it for free.

Ted then gave update on the Pinewood Elementary School work. It was
noted by a member that workers had been grading the property at night.
This member said he had complained to at least 10 people and called the
police due to the noise. Ted Peters said he had the site manager's
number and he would make a call about the disturbance.

Ted then noted the problem houses in the neighborhood 1043 Keystone Ct.
was mentioned again in the meeting. That property is being checked now
by codes. Another member mentioned a concern due to a trampoline in the
front yard of a Murray Hill home.

Ted then gave an update on the Signs to announce Neighborhood Meetings
saying we had budgeted $200-$250 for 10 signs. The signs are two color,
double-sided. Past President Debra Campbell noted that the board had
already approved the signs months ago. Marty Doss then noted the cost of
the signs should not be an issue since we should be able to submit the
cost of the signs to the Matching Grant Program. Eric Stenstrom said we
indeed needed to work that Matching Grant Program for what ever we can
get from it. Ted Peters noted yes and brought up the Boy Scouts uniforms
that were purchased for one neighborhood association as an example.

Ted then discussed that he had been asked to convey a response to the
D.O.T. for his opinion on the proposed abandonment of a portion of
Westfield Road. The opinion was rendered in favor 10/2 to remove this
section of abandon road and take down the red triangle signs. This will
become part of the Little Sugar Greenway (noted Debra Campbell). This
will facilitate neighborhood improvement. The stretch of road is just
behind Park Road Shopping Center at Brandywine Rd. It was noted that the
pavement should be removed and signs taken down when this happens.

Treasurer Dee McCandlish was not present so no report was available.

Ted then mentioned that the yellow ribbon campaign to show support for
troops is continuing and that ribbon for those requesting it is available
after the meeting.

The topic of Shut-In Awareness / Fix-Up Crew sign-up continues. Sign up
sheets are available for those who want to help. There is a need to
identify those in need and determine if they would like assistance. It
was noted that some residents would not seek help due to Pride. Debra
Campbell had noted that in the past while she was president that there
was no one identified to help. Ted asked that those interested in
providing assistance to just place an "s/a" next to their name on the
sign in sheets for the meeting. [6 neighbors indicated their interest in
helping any shut-ins who request a little cleanup of their houses.]

The meeting was then opened up for New Business. One member asked about
the Crime Watch progress being headed by Candance Armstrong. 51% of the
residents along any particular section of a street need to sign up in
order to get signs for that section. There is one sign available that
was left at a meeting in the past. Martin Doss noted that his street
Londonderry Road has a sign and that a couple of years ago the pole it is
attached to was knocked down. The sign was not put back up and when he
called to get it put back up he was told he should put it up himself.

Another member asked if there was any more info on the Queens University
Sports Complex proposals. Ted Peters noted that Pamela Lewis from Queens
University had written to the board a letter dated 9-16-03 that thanked
us for welcoming the university to the neighborhood. Candy Bridges was
present to represent Meck.County Parks and Recreation. She said that
there was no scheduled work being done and that even included fun raising
activities according to information from her boss. There was nothing
scheduled until spring 2004. It was noted however that some
under-the-radar development/contribution/fundraising was already going on
for the project. Members stated they wanted to be kept informed as land
purchasing and so forth occurred for the project. Ted Peters noted that
the President's letter contained an invitation for the Association to
join an advisory committee.

Several new members were introduced Wallace Whitlock, Sara Lazenby, Cliff
Anderson and Pastor Jeff McNeil Pastor of the Nazarene Church on Senaca
Place. Although The Pastor does not live in the neighborhood he stated
that he was a doctor and was throwing around the idea of opening a
neighborhood clinic at the church or possibly an after school program for
children. Pastor McNeil gave his number 704-525-4966 in case anyone
needed or wanted to speak with him. He was thanked for attending the
meeting.

The meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted: Martin Doss