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09/16/1996NORTH GREENWOOD COMMUNITY TASK TEAM CITY OF CLEARWATER September 16, 1996 Present: Reverend William Graham Chair David Grice Team Member Joe Marshall Team Member Dennis Golden Team Member MacArthur Boykins Team Member Kathy S. Rice Deputy City Manager Lt. Jeff Kronschnabl Special Assistant to the City Manager/Community Response Team Rich Baier City Engineer Scott Shuford Director of Central Permitting Michael Holmes Assistant Economic Development Director Brenda Moses Board Reporter Absent: Bertha Kelley Team Member Mayme Hodges Team Member Beverly Bryant Team Member Samuel Collie Team Member Mary Samuel Team Member Tal Rutledge Team Member Reverend Lucius Pitts, Jr. Team Member The meeting was called to order by Reverend William Graham at 6:09 p.m. at the Martin Luther King Center, 1201 Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, Clearwater, Florida. To provide continuity, the items listed were not necessarily discussed in that order. Deputy City Manager Kathy Rice acknowledged Commissioner Hooper. A memorandum from Lt. Jeff Kronschnabl addressed to Ms. Rice was distributed to team members. Included in the memorandum were plans and accomplishments in the Greenwood area, which were derived from the combined efforts of citizens and task team members. City staff suggested categorizing issues and concerns from NGCTT (North Greenwood Task Team) meetings into four major areas: 1. Crime and Police Issues 2. Economic Development, Jobs and Community Development 3. Recreation and Activities 4. Stevenson’s Creek and the Reclaimed Water Plant Task team members would be assigned to one of the four groups, with City staff members serving as scribes. Members could invite whomever they wished to the group meetings. Some task team members expressed concern about being divided into separate groups, and felt all issues should be addressed as one group. A remark was made that every city in America has crime and police situations, and it was suggested changing “Crime and Police Issues” to “Infrastructure” or “neighborhood improvements”. Ms. Rice noted defining specific concerns was the intent of splitting into groups. Individual groups would come together to discuss their findings, and the entire team would finalize recommendations to be presented to the Commission. A member said splitting into groups may result in individual perspectives, rather than a group effort. He felt the group was being guided to an extent. He said he was approached by several members of the community who felt this task team was replacing other organizations already in place. Ms. Rice said the City Staff’s intent is to serve as facilitators, and not to guide the team. She noted this task team was formed because residents felt the City was not listening to community concerns. Issues discussed to date will be put into list form for team members to sort into appropriate categories at the next meeting. Members will not split into individual groups. At that time, members can also discuss ways of sharing NGCTT information with other existing community organizations. Reverend Graham said the objective of the NGCTT was to gather information from residents and members. He asked NGCTT members to review specific issues discussed and listed in previous minutes before the September 30, 1996 meeting, and be prepared to identify major issues which can be presented to the Commission. Ms. Rice reviewed forthcoming community improvements: - Renovations to the Martin Luther King Center are scheduled to begin within 30 days. - Chief Klein will address current Police Department procedures, especially impoundment of vehicles. - Alternatives for more parking on North Greenwood Avenue are being reviewed. - The City obtained a 10-year lease with the School Board to provide a paved parking lot behind the library. Construction will begin within 3 weeks. The parking lot will be shared with the school system. - The Parks and Recreation Department is addressing landscaping for North Greenwood Avenue. - Plans for 2 City-sponsored, City-wide events in Jack Russell Stadium will be addressed. - Clean up and shrubbery plantings are being scheduled for Stevenson’s Creek. The Brazilian Pepper clean up will be done when grants are obtained. - A tree inventory will be done in the neighborhood. - A site plan has been developed for a parking lot for the Greenwood Panthers. More signage was requested to direct people to the Martin Luther King Center. City Engineer Rich Baier will address the issue. Mr. Grice stated he was uncomfortable at the last meeting when Chief Klein asked him to hold a juvenile’s rap sheet. It was noted there was a good representation of residents, and some very important issues were discussed at the meeting. Mr. Grice said some of the issues surrounding the Plaza Park area are different than the rest of Greenwood. He said unemployment and crime are low. One of the biggest issues is the possible widening of Drew Street and how it will affect the subdivision. He said a letter from City Economic Director, Alan Ferri, indicated the City was exploring the possibility of utilizing the property on the northern edge of the neighborhood for a high tech manufacturing or assembly site. Plaza Park is situated between the downtown core and the stadium. Residents fear the neighborhood will be bombarded by traffic, making it an undesirable place to live. Mr. Grice noted a large piece of property is for sale on Myrtle Avenue, which is zoned commercial. He said the subdivision is circled on three sides with commercial properties. Residents do not want the subdivision to get lost in the growth of the downtown core. A remark was made that most people think of North Greenwood as the “grove” or the “strip”. That area is no longer only a black residential area. Mr. Grice said neither Plaza Park, nor Country Club Estates have ever been a part of the “grove”. Because of this, residents in these areas do not always feel they are included as part of the Greenwood community. A stop sign at Vine and Pennsylvania Avenue was suggested to slow down traffic in the park. Mr. Baier said the speed limit had been lowered in that area. A traffic count will be done and results provided to team members. Mr. Grice said there will be traffic problems as more events are scheduled in the stadium. Drew Street becomes completely blocked when Greenwood backs up. He asked the City to keep residents informed of all proposed changes in the community. A resident said blacks are not the only people being stopped in the neighborhood. While riding his bicycle or driving through the neighborhood, he has been stopped and questioned by Police. He was not complaining about Police efforts, although he felt he had the right to be in the neighborhood without being told he “looked suspicious”. A team member agreed with the resident, stating a black in the Belleair neighborhood would most probably be stopped and questioned by Police. The meeting was recessed at 7:07 p.m. and reconvened at 7:16 p.m. Reverend Graham shared a letter he received from Greenwood Apartment residents. Residents’ concerns included: - Why does it take more than a week to get Florida Power to put street lights back in order at the apartments? - Would the City put speed bumps inside the complex to better ensure the safety of children? - People in Greenwood Apartments who are receiving new housing stop paying rent and it is becoming a major problem. What can be done about it? Ms. Rice said the problem of residents not paying rent at the apartments after obtaining new housing can be addressed through CDBG (Community Development Block Grant). She stated the entire city is experiencing the street light problem, which is being addressed with Florida Power. Mr. Baier will address the speed bump issue. Mr. Boykins indicated his concern about effective task team participation relative to achievement of goals. The effectiveness of the team could be diluted if members are not sensitive to City government and the ability of the task team to address neighborhood concerns. Identifying issues and accomplishing objectives within the scope of the task team was discussed. He felt it important to “remain neutral” as an information fact-gathering team in presenting issues to the City. In answer to a question, Mr. Boykins said he felt some issues at the last meeting may have been out of scope for this task team. He felt that focusing on isolated incidents was not within the charter of the team. Ms. Rice said the City staff who attend the NGCTT meetings simply serve as facilitators, and everyone’s goal is to make things better for the community. Reverend Graham said the NGCTT will gather information from team members and the public at NGCTT meetings. He said he viewed City staff as facilitators. He noted the final report to the Commission will come from team members, reflecting pertinent community issues. Ms. Rice offered to contact task team members not in attendance at tonight’s meeting to invite them to upcoming meetings. It was noted Ms. Hodges, Ms. Samuel and Ms. Kelley notified her they would be unable to attend this meeting. The next meeting will be September 30, 1996 at 6:30 p.m. at the Martin Luther King Center, 1201 Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, Clearwater, Florida. The meeting adjourned at 7:51 p.m.