Madison Park

May 8th, 2006 Madison Park Homeowner''s Association Minutes

May 15, 2006

May 8th, 2006 Madison Park HOA Agenda
www.Neighborhoodlink.com 28210 Madison Park

Meeting Called to order at 7:30 PM

Attendance 39
Officers 2
Guest Speaker 1

CRIME STATS (special note on locations)?…these are the block numbers not specific locations. There had been some confusion in the past from residents and members. One resident e-mailed Marty to say they had not had a burglary. The addressed listed was for the block not the actual address of the occurrence.

South Division Crime Stats presented by Officer Jenny Woodlief (April)
1. 5200 Chedworth ?– theft from car (items were taken & the vehicle was not locked)
2. 5400 Londonderry ?– Armed robbery: a man was walking when he was accosted
UPDATED INFO ON THIS INCIDENT It happened on 4/30th at 10:50 PM. 3 young b/m suspects in an early 70's gray or silver car with a loud muffler and black peeling top.
3. 1500 Tamworth ?– Theft; a ladder was stolen from the home
4. 1700 Emerywood Dr. ?– Non-aggravated assault by person who had been doing maintenance work for the homeowner. (Not considered Madison Park)

Westover Division Crime Stats presented by Officer Patrick Hairston (April)
1. 600 Cooper Dr. ?– Attempted theft of a Honda Accord
2. 700 Rome Court ?– Breaking & Entering: broke a kitchen window to gain entry. This happened between 8am & 2pm when the residents were at work.
3. 5300 Furman Pl. ?– Auto theft: black Oldsmobile. This can was recovered
4. 1200 Barkley Rd. ?– Resident was at home when suspect broke in at 1:45am.

Officer Hairston advised if this happens to anyone to stay in the bedroom with the door locked, call 911 and stay on the phone with them. Other security measures to discourage break-ins:
- keep you bushes trimmed to no more than 3 feet tall around your home, especially under windows
- install an alarm system with motion detectors
- watch out for workers in the neighborhood.
- close your blinds at night!


GUEST SPEAKER ?– JENNIFER KRUPOWICZ
Water Quality Educator for Storm Water with the City of Charlotte

Jennifer works with the quality (pollution) of the water flowing into our rivers (the Catawba & the Yadkin). Creeks in our neighborhood flow into the Catawba River where we get our drinking water. We need to protect this water because it?’s limited. The drainage system is a BIG challenge to keep maintained.

The Little Sugar creek used to be called the ?“City Sewer?” & perfume was dumped into it to hide the smell. It has improved but there are still a lot of contaminants going into this creek and the other creeks in our area. Toxins include excess fertilizers, herbicides and insecticides, motor oil & other harmful chemicals. A gallon of used oil can pollute an acre of surface water.

FIVE THINGS YOU CAN DO TO PROTECT WATER QUALITY:
1. Never dump anything down storm drains or in creeks and lakes.
- Car washing is also a source of water contaminants. You can Park on the grass area temporarily while you wash you car.
- Dumping grease down your sink causes manhole overflows of sewage. This infects the creeks & ponds with fecal coliform.
2. Reduce the amount of fertilizers you need to apply by testing the soil in your yard first.
3. Pick up after your pet. Animal waste contains bacteria that can harm our creeks and lakes and kill fish. A single gram of pet waste contains an average of 23 million fecal coliform bacteria, some of which can cause disease in humans.
4. Be a Water Watcher! Call 704-336-5500 to report water pollution.
5. Avoid spraying pesticides and fertilizers onto sidewalks, driveways, or streets. Sweep them off the driveway and sidewalk and onto the grass.

Lamar Gunter said if anyone has oil to dispose of, he would take it to the recycling center.

The City has composting receptacles available for purchase to compost your yard waste. For more information, visit their website: http://stormwater.charmeck.org


SOUTH BLVD. STORM WATER PROJECT PHASE II CONCERN
Ruth Tansill from Murrayhill e-mailed Marty over the weekend of the 7th to ask if he could help get their fences reinstalled after the Storm Water Phase Two Work had been completed in their yards. Mayor Pro Tem Susan Burgess said it was unacceptable that this work had not been done and that the residents could not get help. Mrs. Burgess requested names, addresses, along with phone numbers for home and work in order for her to turn this in as a constituent concern! Marty also copied the Mayor and City Manager along with all the contacts for the Storm Water Project in that area. Hopefully the residents will see some corrective action soon! Peter Goss, the project manager, e-mailed this morning and said he would try to get a date. Peter Goss said they like to group these jobs together and not just do them on an individual basis.

WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBERS!

TREASURY REPORT from Dee McCandlish Dee is out of town on business!
Dee called the report in to Marty stating we have 393.93 in our account! Remember dues are 15 dollars per household for the calendar year. If you have not paid your dues please pay them. We have several events planned in the near future and will need the funds! You can pay in person at our meetings or mail a check to:
Dee McCandlish at 812 Fairbanks, Charlotte NC 28210. Make your Check payable to Madison Park HOA

NEIGHBORHOOD SYMPOSIUM was a fun/educational event. We had four People from our HOA in attendance. In attendance were Ted Peters, Ingrid Lachner, Debra Campbell and Martin Doss. We all attended different sessions to get the most out of the courses.

We had two members that live in Montclaire that attended the event as well.
Montclaire had a meeting last month to see if they had enough interest to try and set up a Neighborhood Association for their specific area. They had around 75 people in attendance. They are currently working to organize their community. Some residents had asked if they could just stay in our Association. Residents are welcome to continue to participate with Madison Park, join both associations, or join Montclaire once they get set up. The Madison Park Garden Club will also still welcome members from either Neighborhood! Marty met with 3 of the residents working on reorganizing Montclaire to try and assist them with some tips on their organizing task.


CITY OF CHARLOTTE NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT QUALITY OF LIFE STUDIES
A new Study is coming out this summer. The current study shows the following:
Pedestrian Friendliness LOW on both sides of Tyvola.

On the South side of Tyvola the map IDs Madison Park and Montclaire as Closeburn/Kirkwood over to Archdale. On this side of Tyvola the Social Dimension, Crime Dimension, and Economic Dimension is listed as threatened with Physical Dimension as stable. (Yorkmont Apts. are included.)

On the Madison Park side North of Tyvola the ratings are all stable except for Social Dimension.


During the Symposium one of the Questions during Q & A asked was about the SWAT-A-LITTERBUG PROGRAM. Marty has included a link to make a report and information on our web page about this program. Basically IF YOU SEE ANYONE LITTERING FROM A VEHICLE you can jot down their license plate, location, time, date, and county and send in a report. The State of North Carolina will send a letter to the violator telling them they were observed littering by a citizen. The letter explains that if law enforcement had witnessed the littering they could have been fined 1000 dollars for the first offense and up to 2000 for the second offense. The driver when found guilty will also have 1 point on his/her driver?’s license. Reports can be made online, or by calling 1-877-DOT-4YOU (1-877-368-4968). The link on our website under Community Hotlinks will allow you to make the report online by just clicking the link!


TRANSPORTATION ISSUES

TRANSPORTATION ACTION PLAN (25 year plan) went before City Council on April 24th ?’06. It was not voted on and postponed until sometime this month for a vote. Our President Marty had seen this news in the Charlotte Observer and contacted Dorren Szymanski with CDOT, since she had reported a few weeks ago she would get our traffic calming changes such as 4 way stops, and 3 way stops, and eliminate the 1000 vehicle requirement included in this plan.

Unfortunately Mrs. Szymanski replied she was unable to do what she had planned in an e-mail to Marty on 4/25/06. Mrs. Szymanski said she would approach City Council separately on the 1000 Vehicle Rule. She went on to say she will get on the Transportation Committee Agenda so that she can get council to change this rule and possibly others having to do with the traffic calming program.


1900 TYVOLA ROAD special curbing to stop vehicles from crashing in their front yard went through the design phase work on 4/24/06. The bidding and construction should take place by end of summer 2006, to help make the Chan?’s front yard safer and prevent auto crashes on her property!

PRESENTATION TO THE GREENWAY ADVISORY COUNCIL
Marty was asked to do a presentation to the Greenway Advisory Council on his suggestions for bike lanes, changing the old Marion Diehl Entrance to match with Farmbrook Road, and hopefully a new traffic light on Tyvola. The Advisory Council liked the suggestions and encouraged Marty to make the same presentation at a couple of other similar Councils. One suggested council presentation was to make it to the Marion Diehl Council.

The Greenway will have bike lanes connecting to the rear of Marion Diehl Queens Sports Complex down to the Greenway. While researching the maps online Marty discovered that there is a conceptual Greenway Plan to develop the land on the right (south side of Tyvola), into Park Land in the future. Marty advised the Greenway Council that he did not think this plan would be accepted very well in Madison Park or Montclaire. He reminded the Council of all the wildlife that lives in that section of our community. Marty also pointed out he was basically shocked to learn of this proposed use of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Utilities land, since just last year we were being told the Department of Homeland Security did not even want the Greenway going through the area. There was even talk of a huge fence going up at one point. Apparently all these issues have been resolved.

If you would like to see the Greenway future plans just go the Charlotte Mecklenburg web site and click on Leisure and Education. Then click on Greenways and download the plans. You can scan through the plans and locate these maps of future plans in our community!

Marty had been told the last week of April 06 that deer hunting stands are in the woods across from Marion Diehl. He had been told by one of the Montclaire residents last month that there was a dead deer near the creek on the Archdale side of the woods. Our volunteers a couple of months ago during our Adopt a Street pick up found dead dear remains near Tyvola and the Creek. Members have also reported seeing other dead deer in recent weeks. Based on this new information Marty contacted City Manager Pam Syfert asking if hunting was allowed in the woods. Pam Syfert immediately responded that this would be NO, but was going to check with Charlotte Mecklenburg Utilities. She apparently forwarded the info to the Police and Charlotte Mecklenburg Animal Control. Animal Control has alerted the North Carolina Wildlife Agency and has sent investigators out to speak with some residents and search the woods. This was according to Captain Tim Jayne of the Animal Control Division.


311 ON LINE
RESIDENTS WITH NUISANCE issues can now click on the Charlotte Mecklenburg web link from our web site www.neighborhoodlink.com 28210 and make their complaint online. From the Charlotte Mecklenburg home page select 311 in the right column. You can now make over 20 different 311 complaints online from any computer. SPECIAL NOTE: Even though it says you must leave your phone number and name YOU DO NOT! In those boxes just type NO or Don?’t Post, or don?’t give. As long as you put something in the boxes the complaint will process.


PROPOSED LETTER TO LANDLORDS
One of our members is working on drafting a letter to send to landlords and rental companies that we will test to see if it improves issues with rental properties in our community. The letter will alert the landlord or rental company that we have HIGH STANDARDS in our community. It will encourage them to rent to tenants that will adhere to our standards. The letter will highlight common problems such as parking in front yards, not following Curb It procedures and so forth. Hopefully this will cut back on the rental problems in our community. Once the letter has been drafted it will be sent to the Madison Park HOA board for approval.

CURB IT CHARLOTTE WASTE SERVICES sent Marty their official letter for residents that don?’t follow the Bulky Items scheduling. The letter basically states that the resident did not follow procedures and that we scheduled their pick up this time for them. It encourages them to ensure cleanliness of our neighborhood by scheduling bulky items. Director, Ingrid Lachner already uses her own version of this to try and educate residents. She leaves a curb it rules book and a note. Marty has observed many times the same rental properties are in violations over and over for things like trash and bulky items. Hopefully this will help reduce the problem some, when we start using this program. Remember anyone can call 311 and ask if a bulky item was scheduled. If the answer is NO you can simply provide the operator with the address and a description of the items and have it scheduled. Different trucks pick up different bulky items so they need to know what the items are for that reason. The reason this is needed if we just schedule it for the residents they might not ever know that just putting things at the curb and not calling does not get it removed. They need to know they must call it in to 311 or schedule it online for pick up. Remember items should not ever be put out, even when scheduled, until the day prior to the confirmed pick up.

SENECA AND PARK ROAD
The Shurguard Storage appears to be Morningstar Storage now. The Shurguard sign was covered over last week. Morningstar was in the process of a hostile take over of Shurguard according to some online info, so this might have played in to this changed. Update Our secretary Cheryl Fur found an article after the meeting that stated this was to be a joint project between Shurguard and Morningstar. They apparently are working jointly on this project. Not sure why the original sign was covered over just recently with the Morningstar banner. The article was from March 25th, 2005.

PFEIFFER UNIVERSITY REZONING
TUESDAY, MAY 16, 2006 at Park Road Baptist Church there will be a meeting to discuss the rezoning Petition of 6.204 acres between Park Road, Mockingbird Lane and Hedgemoore. It was reported in the Observer last week that the University desires to build condos/retail and then a new academic building on their property.


NATIONAL NIGHT OUT 8/01/06 STREET PARTY
We will need around a dozen volunteers minimum to make this a successful event. National Night Out, National Association of Town Watch, has all kinds of neat merchandise for sale. Marty is duplicating some of these items through the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department for free.

The current planning committee needs more members to help us with this event. We have decided to buy the official National Night Out T-Shirts. They are all 100% Cotton, pre-shrunk, full color, quality tee. We are going to request the volunteers purchase a tee-shirt for $6.89. Current planning committee volunteers have all agreed to purchase their own t-shirt. This will save money but allow those in attendance to easily recognize Event Staff the night of the Street Party. If you can volunteer see Marty after the meeting or e-mail martydoss@aol.com as soon as possible. Volunteers will need to be available no later than 6:15 PM on August 1st, but hopefully can start earlier to help with set up. This event takes lots of prep work so Please Volunteer if you can help!

GARDEN CLUB
The Madison Park Garden Club will meet on Monday, May 15th at 831 Faircrest. This is a free club and any one interested in Gardening is welcome to attend.


NEW BUSINESS/ISSUES
CATS LIGHT RAIL forgot to include the Madison Park neighborhood on their maps. Marty discovered this at the open house and brought it to their attention.

SIDEWALK ISSUES

At the corner of Glenham Drive and Tyvola Road...directly across from the school (about where the old cross walk and flashing yellow light at Smith was taken down last year), the sidewalk is overgrown and forces pedestrians to walk on about 12 inches or less of concrete directly next to the street! The rest is covered with soil, leaves, grass and some overgrown brush! This needs to be cleared for safety reasons! This is directly in that curve across from the school, so makes it more dangerous due to the curve!

Marty put this in to CDOT this past weekend. The initial request to 311 a few weeks ago did not provide any improvement.

Marty just received the following response from Doreen Szymanski:
Chip is out of the office this week, but I'm glad to see who might be able to move this along. As I understand it, the adjacent property owner is responsible for debris (leaves), but that's about it. I'll assign to the investigator for that area (Terry VonCannon), and see what we can get going. He'll let you know his findings. I entered this into our customer service system, (#77945).

Doreen

Terry VonCannon with CDOT agreed the problem was BAD and needed corrective action. This was in a response dated 5/9/06. Hopefully this will be corrected soon.

Mr. Paul Deese the current owner of 5340 Farmbrook property that was slatted to be demolished (a.k.a the Cat House) is nearing competition of his renovations on the property. He plans on hosting an open house and some type of cookout for residents that would like to tour the grounds in June 06.

Our meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully Submitted,
Cheryl Furr