Merry Oaks Neighborhood Association

Newsletter Sept 2002

Previous Newsletter Excerpts

Mona Past Newsletter Articles
Articles from past newsletters are excerpted here and do not necessarily include the complete past newsletter. If you should need to view complete copies of past newsletters, please contact Nancy Pierce Shaver for the archives.

January, 2003 – Volume 5, Number 1. posted in its entirety, click on “Newsletter Jan 2003” on the main web page. Calendar entries and contacts, etc. may be found elsewhere on the MONA web page.

September, 2002
June 15 – there was the first annual picnic, organized by Cate Martin and Jeanna Motmans with burgers & hot dogs cooked by Dean Coley and the Fire Dept. visited with their truck.
Oct. 19 – there was a Creek Walk at 9 a.m.
Oct. 31 – Halloween at the Roundabout, 6 p.m.

President’s Message: Four years ago this month I recruited the first officers and Board and volunteered to be the first president of Merry Oaks Neighborhood Association. Two years ago I agreed to continue for one more term. I would love to keep on, but I believe it’s bad for a neighborhood to have the same president for too long.
I’m not going anywhere, I’ll still be a very visible and vocal activist for Merry Oaks and East Charlotte. But despite the fact that my son Ben says I should just declare myself “emperor”, that would be a bad idea. New leadership and new ideas have to emerge.
We have a strong and capable Board, with some great new members (pending your vote on Sept 19), but no one is yet quite comfortable taking on the leadership role. “Let go of it,” they told me at the last meeting. “Trust that things will work out.”
Here are a few closing thoughts from me:
- Build on the neighborhood’s strengths: close-in location, mature trees, solid older homes, great variety of people.
- Be optimistic. Stay focused on a vision of what we can become.
- Act out of hope, not fear. Build bridges, not walls.
- Know that the City and County work slowly. Don’t give up.
- Forgive each other. We’re all doing the best we can. I made plenty of mistakes.
- Figure out what people are driven to do and let them do it.
- Don’t twist arms. If no one wants to do it, perhaps it doesn’t need to be done.
That last one is going to take me awhile. Stay tuned. Nancy Pierce Shaver

September 19, 2002 meeting included a police report, a discussion with Project Manager Todd Thorne about the roundabout at the Draper and Merry Oaks intersection, and some problem solving around two issues that neighbors have expressed concern about: roving groups of young teens and shopping carts.

What a school!
Merry Oaks School has been awarded a major grant to integrate art within the academic curriculum, a method which has had much success in helping children learn. This grant will enable the school to bring in dance, music and art professionals from the community for special events and hands-on workshops, using their lessons as a basis for creative expression. To kick it off, Origami artist Jonathan Baxter will help the children create a giant paper sculpture installation for the lobby of the new school. Merry Oaks neighbors are invited to participate! Call art teacher Nan Bloom at the school, 704-343-6422.
Merry Oaks now offers three preschool classes as well as classes for adults including parenting skills, English as a second language, high school equivalency, job skills and resume writing classes.

Excerpts from Neighborhood News & Updates
A tree in the roundabout is to be planted in Fall 2003 and the Central Avenue streetscape should be underway in early Spring, 2003.

Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Department has committed to a joint use (with CMS) park facility at Merry Oaks School and the long-range capital needs assessment does include funds for this purpose.

Briar Creek Greenway: Properties along Masonic and Harbinger Court have already been purchased and some removed. We will have to wait for another bond sale next year to actually have enough construction money.
Street Resurfacing: scheduled for Fall, 2003.

Charlotte East: MONA is a member of two organizations which work on improving East Charlotte: Charlotte East Community Partners (CECP) and East Neighborhood Council (ENC). Both groups deal with issues affecting East Charlotte although the difference is this: ENC is more focused on the residential neighborhoods bordering Central Avenue, while CECP takes a broader view of East Charlotte as a whole. ENC meets the first Thursday evening of each month at Eastern Hills Baptist Church. CECP meets as needed in committees.
If you can offer your energy to working with either group, please call Nancy at 704-535-7409.

Feature Are You Ready To Move Up?
Need more room? Here’s what Al Schilling would say to you: “Move Up, Not Out!”
OK, granted, that’s how Al makes his living. He’s a general contractor who pays for his own home addition (in Dilworth, but oh well….) by topping off other people’s houses. He firmly believes that people get the best value when they add on to small but solid older homes in up-and-coming neighborhoods. Like Merry Oaks.
“Merry Oaks is just beginning the renaissance that Chantilly had 10 years ago, Plaza Midwood had 20 years ago and Dilworth had 30 years ago” he says. These places are sought-after by young families, couples and single people who want to live close in to the central city.
“Right,” you think. “Dilworth we’re not.”
Think again. Sure, some of Dilworth’s (and Plaza Midwood’s) homes are big and loaded with character. But look closely and you’ll see that a lot of them started out as – you guessed it – one-story brick ranches or bungalows. Just like we have here. In the sought-after edges of Dilworth and Plaza Midwood, many homes look just like those on Draper, Arnold, Graybark. But guaranteed – in a few years many of them will have second stories, additions, porches.
So you know where this is going. Our real estate agent friends may not like this.
They’ll get over it. OK, here it is: STAY HERE! ADD ON! Listen up. You can get a new tract house out in the ‘burbs for $90 per square foot (and they all look the same). You can buy a house in Chantilly for $135 per square foot or thereabouts.
Al says he can add a good quality second story to your house for as little as $100 a square foot. Architectural details such as arches, gables, hip roofs, dormers, cedar shakes, windows with different grill patterns, and a variety of roof pitches can add charm for a little more money.
Right now that’s about what it costs to buy a house here -- $100,000 for a thousand square feet. But as the neighborhood improves property values will increase. So adding on is a good investment for the long term and gives you more space now.
For example, Al just finished working on a house in Plaza Midwood that started out with 1300 square feet. He added 800 square feet of office and master suite (with hardwood floors) upstairs and a full front porch (including a new foundation) for a total of $90,000. A lot of money? Sure, but now they have a mostly new 2100 square foot house in the heart of Plaza Midwood. They couldn’t do better anywhere else.
Why add a second story instead of a backyard addition? It’s less expensive to add a top because it involves no foundation work, plus you get a completely new roof. Also, you use the original roof line as a design break and can change from, say, brick to vinyl without that “added-on look” you get when you go horizontal off existing brick. And finally – and this is what’s really important if you have, like, a busy life that you can’t just suspend – going UP is less disruptive. Al recently completed second stories on three houses, and the families never had to move out. “It’s noisy,” he said. “But it’s not as dirty as opening up an entire back wall.”
And how long does it take? Four months to add a typical second story.
Best thing: Al will talk with you about your house for free. You’ll find his phone number in his ad on page 7. Which he bought after we called him for this interview. Honest. Nancy Pierce Shaver
Note: since ads are not included in these newsletter excerpts, Schilling Home Improvement’s number is 704-334-8676.