Call to Order – 7:30pm.
GPNA President Robert Selby, president@gpna.org, welcomed attendees to our third in person meeting of 2025 and called the meeting to order. The agenda for the August meeting was presented and Oakland was thanked for hosting us. Community Member Steve Carr brought snacks for those in person and water was also provided. The meeting had a Zoom option for those needing remote access.
GPNA President asked everyone to please fill out a short Membership Survey by Sunday, Aug 24. Around 200 surveys have already been sent in. Your anonymous feedback will help shape the priorities and activities of the Grant Park Neighborhood Association (GPNA) for the coming year. GPNA will share the results. The link to the survey was shared in the Zoom chat for easy access by online attendees. Next the July community meeting minutes were approved.
Treasurer – Travis Peterman, treasurer@gpna.org, presented the financials. Travis corrected the $1,200 dollars incorrectly tagged as a storage facility expense in February that resident Steve Carr brought to our attention at the last community meeting. The expense was actually for a $1,200 payment to the Atlanta Preservation Center for GPNA Meeting Space use for the Homes & History Committee meetings. The July Balance Sheet and July Income Statement were presented and then a vote on two expenses: $100 for GPNA Membership Survey Prizes for 4 coffee shops gift certificates of $25 each. And then a $250 Donation to Zone 6 APD Holiday Lunch of individual gift cards. Vote was put up and seconded. It passed and the two items will be funded for an expenditure of $350 total.
Public Official and Committee Updates.
APD Zone 6. Officer Carlos Maldonado, Zone 6 evening watch commander was in attendance and asked if there was any improvement of traffic police presence in the area. The attending community members said “no” so he said he would bring month over month stats next month. The officer then shared that there was an uptick in vehicle break ins. A Kia Rio was taken from a street. Propane tank stolen from BP. And a bike stolen. Backpacks were stolen from vehicles on Berne, Rosalia and Memorial. Once again, the officer stressed to please not leave items in the vehicles. A drone was stolen from the back seat of car at the BP. Plus an apartment was burglarized. Question from community were asked of Officer Maldonado, first asked about hold/wait time on 911 when they called last week for an emergency. Sgt said to get in direct contact and he would get further information/explanation about the 911 issue. Then a question about crime stats year over year was asked and a further question about murder(s) that occurred from July. The officer shared his contact information for anyone wanting to get in touch offline.
Public Safety Chair – Loyal Charles, safety@gpna.org, shared information from the August Public Safety Zone 6 meeting. August items discussed and/or approved: Liquor license application for Bomb Biscuit in the Larkin was tentatively approved pending them attending the NPU meeting tomorrow night. Heal Your House event in the pavilions in Grant Park June 13, 2026 was approved. The other items discussed and approved at the meeting were but not in the GPNA area but shared as fyi: Red’s Fall Fest in Red’s Preserve in the EACA area October 26. Change of ownership application for El Sotano restaurant on Glenwood Avenue was deferred awaiting information on parking spots. Liquor license for a new restaurant on Garrett Street in SAND called Lucia was approved.
Land Use & Zoning Chair – Sky Hassan, luz@gpna.org, shared that the variance discussion for 316 Saint Paul Ave – Zoned R-5 was postponed/deferred and will now be discussed at LUZ August 28. Sky also shared information and rendering on the proposed Multifamily Development at 1030-1040 Grant Street at the Beacon. He stressed that the project was not official at the moment; it is just a proposal, but paperwork is in the process of being submitted. It has a condition that it has to be rezoned to build what is being proposed. Keep an eye out for further meetings from the developer that might be held. NPU-W voting requirements were shared 3 meetings attendance to vote. For NPU LUZ and NPU General people encouraged people to attend now so when this comes up for vote people will be eligible to vote. The project is 300-unit, 7-story (85 ft) apartment building with a 300-space interior parking deck. Developer (TCR) held an initial meeting with immediate neighbors on Aug 12. They plan to present at a future GPNA meeting. Key neighbor concerns include building height, new road access to the Beacon, sewer/water infrastructure, and preservation of the tree buffer. Community member Paul Simo asked a question about the size of the complex and there was some discussion about up to 8 stories being allowed if they get modifiers. Plus, previous buildings of this size set a precedent for this one.
Transportation Chair – James Austin, transportation@gpna.org, next provided an update. There is still a push to do a traffic calming study for Sydney & Connally intersection. And with Boulevard Complete Streets there are discrepancies between drawings that were presented to community earlier and the final plans. Council Member Winston is meeting tomorrow at 5:30 at Grant Park Coffee House at Grant St and Georgia Avenue with anyone who wants to discuss Boulevard Complete Streets. In particular, the main pushback on Boulevard Complete Streets and is regarding street parking being eliminated. James then shared that the Beltline released its proposed transit stops. Grant Park landed three stops at Glenwood, Boulevard and Hill.
Old Business
Last month GPNA President Robert Selby nominated Daphne Lin for Economic Chair. The nomination had to be withdrawn. Daphne Lin’s address is outside of the official boundary for Grant Park. Daphne is staying involved and authored the Membership Survey we shared earlier in the meeting.
Sunburst Packaging was then discussed. We currently deliver the sunburst with no packaging. Plus the sunbursts get damaged in storage. To upgrade the delivery experience and better protect the Sunburst we are looking at packaging options. Volunteers will be needed to help assemble the boxes once they arrive. Regarding fulfillment we would like to eventually move toward shipping them and not have to bring them to each purchaser in person.
New Business
GPC Communications and Engagement Coordinator – Ceci Villanueva, CVillanueva@gpconservancy.org.
Shared that this is the 23rd year of the Summer Shade festival. It will take place this Saturday and Sunday August 23 & 24. Live bands, food trucks and artist markets. Bouncy house village for the kids needs volunteers. Sign up at summershadefestival.org.
GPNA president Robert Selby informed everyone that Stephanie Lee jewelry signed a license agreement with GPNA to sell sunburst necklaces during the Summer Shade Festival. $5 from each sale will go to GPNA.
Technology & Communications Chair – Ariel Jordan, technology@gpna.org, announced a new GPNA event which will happen in early November ideally. The GPNA Community Yard Sale. Event will be at each person’s house and GPNA will put together a map to check out different homes. Kick-off and more information coming in September.
Discussion: Proposed GPNA Bylaws Updates: GPNA President Robert Selby went over a number of changes being proposed. We are proposing them now so we can vote on them in the future – Likely at the September meeting. These changes included: Modernize governance by replacing steering committee with a board of directors. Change succession plan and term limits. Trademarking sunburst for more licensing opportunities. Update the website. Add more events. Redo the sidewalks in grant park. All these ideas are great, but they take longer than a year so continuity is needed. Correct membership boundaries. Proposing to increase size of the footprint to the original footprint at the time of the park donation. Flexible meetings needed. Bylaws were put in pre-Covid. We need flexibility for in person, hybrid, or fully remote. To encourage sustained participation. Change voting eligibility from 1 meeting at any time. Change to adopting NPU voting model which is 3 meetings within a rolling 12-month period. Add insurance. We do have D&O insurance today but this would make it a requirement. Remove the 5-year Bylaw Review process. Refine board attendance policy.
After discussion of the above, it was decided to remove the one about community boundaries of Grant Park because then we might be in multiple NPUs. We will shelve that one for now. Attendance being 3 times to vote had push back from some community members. For instance, something with a short timeframe would not have enough time to attend 3 meetings before a vote would have to happen. There is technology for this but we are all a volunteer organization and it’s a heavy admin lift. Pros and cons for each shared. It was also suggested that “property owner” who does not live in the property should be part of eligible membership. A link to the Bylaw Review Recommendations was shared for review outside the meeting. A question about voting was asked would all be voted on together or individually, and GPNA president, Robert Selby, answered he would like to vote on all together.
Adjournment – 8:45 p.m.
