GPNA Monthly Meeting Minutes
April 17, 2018
Time: 7:30pm – 8:00pm
Location: Zoo Atlanta ARC Building, Coca-Cola World Theater
Officers/Chairs Present: Dr. Michelle Kirby, President; Ron Hatch, Vice President; Lauren Rocereta, Secretary; Chris Newman, Public Safety; Steve Powner, Economic Development; Laura Keen, Fundraising; Heidi Reis, Philanthropic; Stephanie Warner, Technology; Rick Hudson, Land Use & Zoning; Paul Simo, Homes & History
President – Dr. Michelle Kirby (president@gpna.org)
- Welcome, housekeeping rules, and thanks to Zoo Atlanta for use of the theater for the meeting.
- Reminder: The purpose of the monthly general GPNA meeting is for GPNA officers/committee chairs, local organizations, elected officials, etc. to provide brief updates to the community. In-depth discussion occurs at the committee level.
- Moment of silence for Jeffery E. Rogers, Sr.; gofundme.com/rogersboys.
- Zone 6 APD Update – Sergeant Hines:
- Low crime trend in Grant Park continues.
- Vehicle larceny is the main problem in Grant Park, especially for visitors to the area in North Grant Park visiting the restaurants. Please remove/hide all items in your vehicle.
- Grant Park Conservancy (GPC) – Michelle Blackmon, Executive Director:
- Workday program, 4th sat of every month in partnership with Hands on Atlanta.
- Anna Hauser with Fine Pruning is leading structural pruning of the trees and shrubs in Grant Park. Volunteers are encouraged and welcome to join.
- Summer Shade Festival is August 25 & 26. Volunteers needed!
- GPC applied for the Park Pride Park Visioning Program. The intent is for landscape architects to vision and plan for what the northeast section of the park, from the Grant Park Gateway to Atlanta Ave, will be in 10/20 years. A steering committee made up of 14 individuals from the community will meet monthly and include four community sessions (locations to be announced.
- Sunday, June 10, 10:00am – 11:00am
- Wednesday, July 11, 7:00pm – 8:00pm
- Saturday & Sunday at Summer Shade, Aug 25 & 26
- Saturday, September 22, 9:00am – 10:00am
- Neighbor question: Concern expressed about multiple bodies designing pieces of the park and this may not interpret well for the larger picture with regards to the park. Does this work mix in with the Master Plan for the park? The current master plan is from around 1998 and is considered somewhat outdated. It could combine or nix current ideas in the master plan. The desire is for a community driven process.
- Grant Park Parents Network (GPPN) Update – Meredith Bier, Marketing Chair:
- Justin Landis Group and Round Here Renovations real estate event: Renovate or Move: An Insider’s Guide to Getting Your Dream Home, April 26, 8:00pm, 551 Broyles Street
- GPPN Yard Sale: May 19, 8:00am – 12:00pm
- Summer Social – date may change
- Music in the Meadow: May 3, 6:00pm – 7:30pm, Ormond-Grant Park
- GPPN Playgroups – Playgroups focus on getting Grant Park’s youngest neighbors together to play. Join a group!
- Oakland Cemetery – Update provided by GPNA President, Michelle Kirby:
- Learn about all upcoming Oakland Cemetery events from Volunteer Days, Malts and Vaults, Arts at Oakland, May 19 and Tunes from the Tombs June 9 by visiting oaklandcemetery.com/events.
- Leslie Grant, APS District 1 Representative:
- Discussed possible school redistricting, Premature information about possibly shifting school repopulations was discussed online. There is a need to reduce the number of low enrollment schools vs. high enrollment schools; ideas were floated which resulted in heated conversations so it has been slowed down to explore options along with hard data and not jump on decisions.
- Community coffee: twice a month; Next one is May 4, 8:30am, Blueprint Church at 475 Boulevard.
- NPU update:
- Bartaco Special Use Permit to operate a Food Truck for five years instead of the 90 days allowed was approved unanimously. Passed GPNA last month.
- Subdivision of 681 Home Avenue was presented by the owner. This was informational only and NPU-W has no comment to provide to the City of Atlanta. The owner basically wants to take the lot on Home Ave back to the original historic makeup and build two homes in character with the street and have one home facing Robinson and one home facing Home Avenue.
- NPU-W unanimously approved the following motion which also passed through GPNA last month: 800 Glenwood with regards to ongoing community discussions with Fuqua, NPU-W hereby reaffirms its position, commitment and expectations that the elderly housing component shall be constructed on the out parcel, as originally proposed & agreed to as a condition of Zoning and Beltline Special Administrative Permit approvals.
Vice President – Ron Hatch (vicepresident@gpna.org)
- Passed around committee sign-up sheet and encouraged neighbors to check in and sign up for any committee they may be interested in. Interested neighbors should hear from the committee chair, but if not, please know all committees are open to the public. You can contact committee chairs at http://gpna.org/net/content/contacts.aspx?s=2173 for questions/concerns and see committee meeting dates on the GPNA calendar.
- Meeting signs are available for neighbors to put in their yard. Please email vicepresident@gpna.org.
- Bylaws subcommittee meeting: May 2, 7:00pm at Atlanta Preservation Center.
Secretary – Lauren Rocereta (secretary@gpna.org) – Minutes on the table; Motion to approve will be taken at the end of the meeting.
Treasurer – Michelle Botwinick (treasurer@gpna.org; Update provided by President – Dr. Michelle Kirby) – Reminder: GPNA is a recognized 501(c)(3) organization. All donations are tax deductible.
Public Safety – Chris Newman (publicsafety@gpna.org)
- Public Safety meetings are held in conjunction with NPU Public Safety meetings every 4th Wednesday, 6:30pm, Village Church of East Atlanta.
- License Review Board:
- Zoo Atlanta seeking liquor license for new food and beverage concessionaire to replace Sodexo. Service Systems Associates does a focus on zoos, museums, aquariums.
- Approved unanimously.
- Grant Park Public House – 1039 Grant Street seeking liquor license; applying as a restaurant with American fare; family entertainment-oriented venue with a concept called “fowling,” a mixture of football and bowling. Capacity of about 240 in 10,000 square feet; occasional DJ; no dedicated dance floor; available for private events; patio space with no plans for amplified music; ingress/egress on Hill Street and Grant Street. Approved unanimously.
- Echoed Sergeant Hines’ report. Please send concerns to publicsafety@gpna.org and keep your cars cleaned out of visible items!
- Brad Nevin – Grant Park Neighborhood Watch; if you need a block captain email neighborhoodwatch@gpna.org; goal is to get to know your neighbors and help each other stay safe.
- Interested in touring the 911 center, video communication center, firearms safety class, or have any ideas? Please email Chris at publicsafety@gpna.org.
- New “no turn on red” sign westbound turning left on Boulevard; new sign on Woodward Avenue; neighbor concerns about constant police presence pulling over people and police lights flashing in neighbor windows. This concern will be passed to APD and brought up in Transportation. Feeling that the sign has created more traffic problems than it has solved.
- Zoo Atlanta seeking liquor license for new food and beverage concessionaire to replace Sodexo. Service Systems Associates does a focus on zoos, museums, aquariums.
Fundraising – Laura Keen (fundraising@gpna.org)
- The GPNA annual sponsorship package has been revamped. So far Mezcalitos and Six Feet Under have become 2018 sponsors.
- Tour of Homes: Heidi Reis: Please volunteer for the Tour of Homes committee or put your home on the tour. Please contact Heidi Reis at philanthropic@gpna.org.
Economic Development
- New Business: Love Box Collection art show, May 12, 6:00pm – 10:00pm at Art-Haus 332 Ormond Street.
- Sunbursts are available for purchase at gpna.org/sunburst.
- Neighborhood Gathering, Ziba’s Bistro, April 18, 6:00pm.
Philanthropic – Heidi Reis (philanthropic@gpna.org)
- Tour of Homes: 10 Houses; May 19 & 20; 12:00pm – 5:00pm Saturday & Sunday; volunteers needed; 1 free ticket per volunteer shift.
- Prepare meals for the families at The Nicholas House in Grant Park. Volunteers are needed. Please email Heidi at philanthropic@gpna.org.
Technology – Stephanie Warner (technology@gpna.org)
- Make sure you and your neighbors are signed up to receive email correspondence from GPNA at gpna.org.
- We are looking for a way to allow neighbors to electronically sign-in at meetings to speed up the process.
- A neighbor at the meeting volunteered to help with the GPNA Twitter account.
- Technology Committee meetings are every 4th Tuesday, 8pm, 393 Ormond Street.
- Kroger Plus Cards neighborhood rewards and& Amazon Smile (get info from the website).
Homes & History – Paul Simo (historic@gpna.org; Update provided by President – Dr. Michelle Kirby)
- Meetings every 4th Monday at Atlanta Preservation Center at 7:00pm; enjoy wine and cheese!
- 681 Home Avenue Update: Typically 95% subdivisions won’t work, however the lots on Home do have historic platting that used to indicate two lots and 681 Home Avenue is one of those. This did come through Homes & History and received support from this committee.
- 289 Little Street received committee support for subdivision as it also has historic platting showing two lots.
- Looking to expand the Grant Park National Historic Registry District to northern Grant Park areas.
- AUDC Fees as related to fences; retaining walls, decks, building permits, etc.; go to City Hall and pay fees to avoid stop work orders; Go through proper channels and seek the help of the Homes & History committee; don’t listen to contractors who say you don’t need to pay fees!
Land Use and Zoning – Rick Hudson (luz@gpna.org)
- Recommendation from committee; 702 Grant Terrace asking for a reduction in; supported unanimously.
- Friends of Memorial Drive Greenway; working w/Park Pride to get benches, tree plantings, general improvements to the entry of the Memorial Drive Greenway; Small Change Grant; supported unanimously.
- Breezeway/Garage duplexes issues; showed planning a loophole in the duplex wording; looking at changing the code to tighten the vertical wall requirement.
The following item received support via voice vote: March 2018 minutes supported unanimously.
New Business/Open Floor: Urban Recipe: fundraising opportunity for providing food security for low-income families in conjunction with food co-ops; Sunday, April 29 Tummy & Soul Mason Fine Art; Plasters Avenue; evening of art, food, drink, and live music.
Adjourn – 8:52pm
