Agenda
Welcome / New Neighbor Introductions
Review and Approve Minutes and Financial Report
Community Announcements
Committee Updates
East Atlanta Kids Club Update
Save the Prison Farm Update
Adjourn
Notes:
Meeting opened at 7:02 with new attendee introductions
Community Announcements
Sgt. Rainey, Atlanta Police
Sgt. Rainey has been with the force for 20 years and has previously served East Atlanta. As of July 15th, there were 2 robberies (one at Mary’s, although the victim waited 2 days to report), 3 burglaries, 3 larcenies, 8 vehicle larcenies with 2 attempted stolen vehicles, and 7 vehicle thefts. The Honda Element is being targeted for catalytic converters.
Ted Bradford, Councilwoman Archibong’s office
Code Enforcement Summit on Saturday, August 16th. This is a free event at the Civic Center.
Atlanta City Council is on recess until next week.
A new study on the Memorial Corridor is being conducted by Georgia Tech students. Community members will be asked for feedback.
Q&A
Can a summary from the summit be provided?
Ted will look into it
What is going on with the Gordon School? Why hasn’t it been demolished after the fire?
It was inspected by Code Enforcement on 7/31 and the owners have 30 days to reply. For vacant lots with absentee owners, can we turn them into community gardens? There are probably a lot of legal reasons why that could not be done without the permission of the property owners.
Announcements
East Atlanta Strut is coming up on September 27th
EAV Run Fest starts at 8 AM
Arts, music, food and parade from 10 AM to 7 PM
Lots of volunteer opportunities please sign up at www.eastatlantastrut.com
Mike from Armour Tire is also trying to organize a Roll on Friday the 26th
EAVoWeen will be October 31st
Will start the planning soon and will need volunteers for the costume contest, public safety and distributing candy to the children. Contact events@eaca.net to participate
Committee Updates
Education, Lewis Cartee
Reminder about EAV Run Fest on the morning of the Strut (9/27)
King/Coan merger: Lewis is participating in a monthly committee meeting to discuss the merger
SEACS (Southeast Atlanta Communities for Schools)
Next meeting is this Thursday, August 14th at 6:30 PM
Q&A with school officials
Luana Slaughter, APS / King merger
Thanks to those who came to Community Fest. King’s first local school council (LSC) meeting is Tuesday, August 19th, 6:00-7:00 PM. Curriculum night is Tuesday, September 17th, 6:00-7:30 PM. King will participate in the Strut and are accepting donations of uniforms for students who don’t have uniforms. Please contact Luana at lkslaughter@atlanta.k12.ga.us
Q&A
What is your role?
Primarily communications
Other
Community member shared that his family is thrilled with their experience at Burgess-Peterson
Parks, Laird Ruth
EACA resubmitted 3 new ideas for Love Your Block Grant in place of Frisbee golf proposal. Atlanta Parks selected the landscaping at the south end of Brownwood Park project. August 24th, 10:00 AM workday to remove shrubbery and re-mulch. Workday will be followed by a Brownwood Frolic with kid’s pools and grills for cookout.
Membership, Mary Yetter
Annual household dues are $10; members receive voting privileges, discounts from local businesses. A new batch of yard signs will be coming. We are continuing to work on rebranding effort, but selling these yard signs in the meantime. Signs are $25 and a house number can be added.
East Atlanta Kids Club, Jill Sieder
EAKC is a non-profit, after-school tutoring, mentoring and enriching for promising youth from underprivileged families throughout the community. The club is open to all children aged 7-17 in the community. Kids Club is 7-12 years, Teen Club, 13-17 years.
There is one-on-one mentoring. Summer camp just wrapped up and
60+ kids attended every day for 6 weeks for a variety of educational activities. Visit www.eastatlantakids.org to see a list of items needed. One need is an LCD projector. EAKC partners with AmeriCorps Vista program. Members serve with EAKC for one year.
Marketing, fund development, volunteer management: Averri Liggins, Outreach and Resource Development Coordinator is
looking for volunteers for both kids club and teen club. Click “Volunteer” tab on website to learn more.
Hannah Jones, Marketing and Resource Development Director is leading online presence (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)
Brigette Mictchell, Co-Director, Fundraising Chair
Jaye Liptak, Brownwood Park Recreation Center Facility Manager / EAKC Operations Manager at 602 Brownwood Avenue. Rental opportunities are available; the main room accommodates 100 people. Cost is $30/hour for City of Atlanta residents. Alcohol is permitted with designated bartender (doesn’t require license)
For more info, call 404.624.0747, or find rental info on www.eastatlantakids.org or https://www.facebook.com/pages/Brownwood-Park-Recreation-Center/143786942348919
Bike Rally, September 6th
Cycling festival with races for both kids and adults. This is a bike safety rodeo and health fair. There will be food vendors, festival games and activities. Proceeds support the Kids Club, year-round cycling program. 150 volunteers needed for the event which is sponsored by Midway Pub, Tomatillos and Grant Central Pizza.
Councilmembers Natalyn Archibong and Mary Norwood will be in attendance. Sponsorship opportunities are still available; deadline for logo inclusion is Friday, August 16th. They are still looking for raffle items. They are partnering with professional artist to create a mural themed “doing good for the community”. All kids in the community are invited to help. Planning for the mural will be in September, painting will be Saturday, October 4th. The freestanding mural will be close to the swings in Brownwood Park.
Save the Prison Farm, Scott Peterson
The movement is gaining momentum and interest in DeKalb County. Scott has heard good feedback from Larry Johnson and Scott Rader about proposed redevelopment of the Prison Farm. The plan would include recreational spaces and a hub for bicycle paths. Currently they have 3, maybe 4 strong advocates among County Commissioners. Stones dumped in the Prison Farm have been stolen. Scott needs a volunteer to help talk to Friends of the Library. Please help communicate our interest to DeKalb County officials. There will be a picnic on Sunday, September 14th, 1:00 PM to hike and learn more about the Prison Farm. People can sign up for tours.
Q&A
What are we saving the Prison Farm from?
Previous site of a Prison Farm; City wanted to build another landfill on the property. State intervened to prevent that. The city responded by not doing anything with the property. The buildings are in complete disrepair and pose a threat to visitors, venue for assaults and animal abuse. Scott wants to redevelop the 300 acre property into a greenspace. The goal is to convince DeKalb County to take control of the property. Previously a deal was on the table but fell through (during tenure of Mayor Shirley Franklin / DeKalb CEO Vernon Jones).
What is the current status of the project?
DeKalb County officials understand this as a public safety hazard.
Should we sue DeKalb County for neglect?
How should we communicate to DeKalb officials?
A group of folks helping Scott with the effort are reviving a website; will post bullets to communicate to DeKalb. The Goal is to avoid stock letters. Contact Joe Peery (transportation@eaca.net) to see a sample letter to DeKalb officials.
Steve recommended invoking EPA involvement, considering legal action
Other Business
July minutes and financial report approved
Update on Glenwood Retail project
Grant Park / SAND pursued legal action, cut a deal with developer to receive various concessions. The developer just announced that the big box retailer is not Walmart, but a Kroger Marketplace (~Target). The developer will have to submit 3rd amendment to plans for approval. NPU will be submitting comments. There is still a major concern is that amendments to application might open the door for unwanted future use. Go to https://www.facebook.com/800GlenwoodAveSAP for updates
Meeting adjourned at 8:21
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