EACA Meeting
May 9, 2017
Agenda
Welcome and Announcements
Atlanta Police Department
Committee Updates (Neighbor in Need – Nancy Carpenter, Chair, Membership – Vic Thomas, Chair, Arts & Culture – Jeanne Fore, Chair)
East Atlanta Village Farmers Market – Sam Grader, Market Manager
Save Ormewood Forest – Ralph Green, Organizer
BATL Frontline Tour – Henry Bryant, All Things History
Adopt-a-Street Relaunch – Lewis Cartee, President
Meeting start at 7:05 pm
Political Candidate Introductions
Liliana Bakhtiari – running for City Council. Grew up in O4W. Have been living in district 5 for 11 years. Why running? Prioritize long term sustainability over short term growth. Support new members of our community.
Sachin Varghese – running for House of Representatives. State is not working for Georgians today. Born in India, grew up in Georgia depending on public resources. Why running? Want to make the state work for our community.
Lewis Cartee – running for the Board of Education. EACA President. Has been involved in education in our community for over 12 years. Why running? Improve the “educational justice” in our school system
Update from Atlanta Police Department: Summer is coming… extra units being brought in. Normal reminders: don’t leave anything in your car!
Committee Updates
Neighbor in Need – Nancy Carpenter, Chair – May on May Update. Constantly raising money. Last weekend was our 10th annual May on May block party. Not a “community event” from a permit perspective, however still had over 275 attendees this year! Kentucky Derby theme this year – and it was super successful. Thanks to the community for several donated services and goods. Through wristbands and t-shirt sales, we raised over $3,300 dollars!
Membership – Vic Thomas, Chair Bring a friend to the meeting to be entered into a drawing for great East Atlanta prizes! So, start talking to your neighbors. 🙂 We are working towards our goal to increase the number of business under EACA Rewards – encouraging support of our local businesses. Consider shopping local and taking advantage of your EACA discounts.
Arts & Culture – Jeanne Fore, Chair – Great American Backyard Campout: Recently had our annual campout event! It has recently moved from the blazing summer to springtime to make overnight camping for enjoyable. Over 50 attendees! Erected a little “tent city” at the Zuber Jarrell house. Summer Movie Nights: Looking at three this summer at the Farmers Market lot. One will most likely be Labyrinth.
Community Updates
East Atlanta Village Farmers Market, Sam Gader Updates. Thank you EACA for your sponsorship! Changing address to Stokeswood to encourage accessing it from the neighborhood instead of walking across Flat Shoals. Thanks for the feedback. Kid friendly food and drinks – in progress! Kid friendly events – in progress! Alcohol – a little more complicated. We need your help. Increased community support and attendance. What are your barriers from attending?
Partnerships with local businesses Save Ormewood Forest, Alex Levy – Updates- 6-acre tract that is close to Flat Shoals and Ormewood. Mature trees, a stream and local wildlife are all present. Historically have not been able to find a developer that can work with the property and maintain its integrity. Opportunity to leverage city funds in partnership with Trees Atlanta to purchase this land (requires a minimum of 5 acres) for the purpose of conserving the canopy. Website in progress! www.ormewoodforest.com.
City Council Member Natalyn Archibong has challenged us to prepare what all benefits can come of preserving this land.
Q&A Q: Who owns the property? A: Someone who purchased the land during the recession. Apparently, their asking price is high.
Q: How much of the property is in the floodplain? A: Not too much.
BATL Frontline Tour, Henry Bryant This weekend’s tour. Battle of Atlanta went right through East Atlanta. Tour Saturday morning, approx. 1.5-2 hours long. You can purchase tickets at www.batl.org. Henry will do the tour this weekend if people ask! There is a BATL tour every month, check the website for the schedule.
BATL Trail Update – Large walking trail interchange in progress, almost $1million investment! Should allow pedestrians to cross I-20. Federal funding is helping pay for it, so cannot say much until the layout is approved. Have a conceptual plan that the parks department is in support of (was created in partnership with the department) Natalyn announced that council approved $127K for trail Monument.
Restoration Update – Raised $150K in pledges on the way to $192K to restore both monuments. Would like to begin the restoration process by November; need to complete restoration by this time in 2018 Historical Markers Update – Historic neighborhood markers within our community. Ultimately would like to tie altogether so you know where you are in regards to the battle Other BATL Events – Art Show at the library, photography of modern day culture in battlefield areas. Differences in culture from then until now. Art show at East Atlanta Library; speaker at the Carter Library on July 20.
Save the Old Prison Farm – What is it? Located just east of city limits. Recent Updates – Georgia Tech came out and did survey; lots of opportunity. Famous architect Ryan Gravel came to look at the Prison Farm. Impressed! Challenge of the Prison Farm is educating folks – visit www.savetheoldatlantaprisonfarm.org. How can the state & city work together on a cooperating agreement? Consider turning this site into a major regional park.
Adopt-a-Street Relaunch, Lewis Cartee – Reached out to folks at Keep Atlanta Beautiful Commission – partnering with them to manage. Take a look at the Monday newsletter. Adopt-a-Spot to help manage, train and provide tools to be successful.
Wrap-up Beer Fest May 20th is East Atlanta Craft Beer Fest – 12th year! Purchase tickets at www.eastatlantabeerfest.com Political Candidates (cont’d) Peter Amon – candidate for Mayor of Atlanta.
Motion to approve last month’s minutes and spend – Approved.
Meeting ended at 7:55pm.
Comments are closed.