Notes from the Springfield Roundtable – July 7, 2010
Those in attendance were: COJ—Martin Kennelly, James Richardson, Kenny Logsdon; Residents—Cynthia Fisher, Don Downing, JoAnn Tredennick, Chris Farley; SPAR—Brenda Boydston, Jeremy Hubsch, Kristen Mock; LISC—Bob Rodeheaver, Gene Montgomery; MacTechPro—Darren Dillinger; JEA—Greg Corcoran; Hester Group—Greg Bruce
Brenda Boydston opened the meeting at 10:30 AM. She passed on greetings from Louise DeSpain and introductions were made around the room.
I. Public Works—no representative
a. Potholes, cave-ins—Springfield residents are submitting the locations of pot holes and cave-ins to the SPAR office to be reported to the proper authorities and tracked. Greg Corcoran of JEA let us know that if the pot hole/cave-in lines up with the sanitary sewer (manhole covers that have sanitary sewer imprint), it is probably a sewer cave in and needs to be reported to JEA at 665-6000. He also cautioned that it might take some time to fix the problem as they can’t just throw some dirt into the hole. If the barricade gets knocked down, please call JEA again.
b. Streets—JoAnn Tredennick reported that some of the bushes in the Main Street median have gotten really tall and have become a hazard. James Richardson stated that both the state and the city have cut back on median maintenance. They won’t even build new landscaped medians until a group takes responsibility for the maintenance. He suggested that SPAR check with the city forester to see if we can take out the big bushes (since the July Roundtable, the bushes have been trimmed). The issue of the up lighting in the median was also brought up. While SPAR is paying the electric bill for the lights, it was the original intention that businesses would cover the expense. SPAR took on the responsibility and Mike Trautmann paid the bill for an extended period. Brenda Boydston will locate the documentation which has specific language regarding the responsible party for maintaining the medians.
II. Planning & Development—no representative
III. Zoning & Unsafe Structures—no representative
There has been an increase in vacancies and those houses are at a high risk of being stripped and gutted. In one recent example, a vacant house had the front door stolen. Then, the washer and dryer were stolen resulting in a flood and next, an electrical fire caused further damage. Now, the house has been stripped of everything down to the kitchen cabinets. In pursuing this issue, SPAR has found out that property rights are involved. An open, vacant house is considered a nuisance, not an unsafe structure. Before Code Enforcement may board up a house, due process requires that the owner be given 15 days notice to address the violation. Only after the owner has been given the opportunity to remedy the violation can the city step in. If the property is in foreclosure, the banks can delay the process so they don’t have to take responsibility. The Urban Core CPAC has asked the city to legislate some changes to the current process.
IV. Historic Inspection & Compliance—Martin Kennelly Mr. Kennelly, who also works with the building inspection system, provided the following information on how the system is supposed to work. When contractors or homeowners ask for permits, they are flagged as historical. The city won’t issue permits until a COA has been obtained.
V. Recreation & Community Service—no representative
VI. JEA Update—Greg Corcoran
There are no current projects in Springfield.
a. Alley Lighting—JEA works at the city’s direction, and will put street lighting (for lighting streets) wherever the city wants. JoAnn Tredennick, SPAR Alley Task Force Chair, said that Public Works has made a commitment to keep the alley lights on.
b. Security lighting—Security lights can be installed for a monthly fee. JEA will trim the trees to let the light shine through. There must be a pole with power to it already in place and it must have certain features. Someone will look at the pole to determine if it can take a security light.
VII. Trees–Don Robertson, Urban Forester (on vacation)
Brenda Boydston expressed a big thank you to Mr. Robertson and CSX for the trees that CSX planted in Klutho Park. The contractor will take care of replacing any dead trees. Don Downing asked if the placement of the trees in Klutho followed the master plan. SPAR contacted Mr. Robertson when he returned from vacation. His response was “Yes.” He further explained that he studied the conceptual plan and that the location of the trees was based on recommendations in the conceptual plan. (It is actually a “conceptual” rather than a “master” plan because it hasn’t yet been adopted.)
A resident noted that some of the trees that were planted last summer have died. Please notify SPAR of the location of these trees and we will forward the information to Mr. Robertson.
VIII. Neighborhoods—Kenny Logsdon, Senior Planner; James Richardson, Human Services Planner
Mr. Logsdon - Weed & Seed has funding for only 2 ½ years of the 5 year program. They will try to raise funds through grants. A coordinator has been interviewed. The NSP is going well with 95% of the funds having been spent or encumbered.
Mr. Richardson – Metro North has decided to have its boundaries pick up where Springfield leaves off, thereby enhancing continuity. The RFP for 9th & Main is almost complete. It has taken so long because it keeps dropping down the priority list.
IX. Crime Reduction—Sgt. Jackson Short
The Weed & Seed program has added a full time sergeant to the target area which includes Springfield.
There has been some minor stealing, but not like the spree we had earlier. There have been six residential burglary arrests in Springfield this year with one being in the past seven days. A resident asked if burglars could be caught when they tried to pawn things. Sgt. Short replied that “bad guys” are often caught through the pawn shop database.
They have a couple of tips on this year’s two arsons.
Sgt. Short said that the residents’ efforts to keep the alleys clean and lit help the officers who patrol them. If they can’t get their patrol cars through an alley, they can’t patrol it.
X. Ash Remediation—Greg Bruce, Hester Group
The EPA is still working on adjusting the language on the Property Record Cards. The City is trying to get properties that are sampled and found to be clean removed from the Superfund Site, and they hope to indicate that a property has been cleaned when remediation is complete. New language has been proposed. Also, they feel better explanation can be given through the PRC.
There will be a meeting in July with lenders in the area.
Remediation and sampling is ongoing. Cleanup in Springfield (OU2) can start before OU1 is finished. The timeline could see movement in the next year; it depends on property owners. Clean up priority goes to areas that have children and pregnant women.
All this information is on the website. You can see a sample of ash at Myrtle Ave.
