January 4, 2006 Membership Meeting of the Victoria Park Civic Association
President Thornie Jarrett called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.
Motion was made by Pat Mayers to accept the minutes for the November 2, 2005 meeting. It was seconded by Dan Gabbianelli and passed unanimously. The Treasurer's report was presented by Elena Kirsch.
Thornie Jarrett reported that the general election for the Mayor and City Commissioners will be held in March. When there are more than 2 candidates for a position, a primary is held in February. The Council of Ft. Lauderdale Civic Associations is sponsoring a city wide candidate's night at City Hall on January 13 at 6:00 p.m. There are currently 7 candidates for District II, which covers Victoria Park, and there was discussion about whether they should be invited to our February meeting.
Motion was made Larry Wallenstein to invite the District II candidates to the February meeting. A committee, to be appointed by Thornie, will determine the format and develop some predetermined questions, which will not be provided to the candidates in advance. Each candidate will be given 2 minutes or less to answer each question. It was seconded by Dan Gabbianelli and passed unanimously. It was suggested that each candidate should be given a minute or so for a short introduction and then another minute or so to recap at the conclusion of the questions. Thornie appointed Larry Wallenstein, Richard Reed, Bob Oelke and Miriam Rodriguez to the committee.
Motion was made by Peg Nusser to include the Mayoral candidates at the February meeting if a primary election is needed for that position. Otherwise, the current two candidates will be invited to the March meeting. It was seconded by Fred Sistarenik and passed unanimously.
Thornie announced the following: 1) The annual meeting will be held in February, at which time an election will be held for officers. Candidates for Treasurer, Secretary and Vice-President are needed; 2) The agreement with Hanover has been finalized; and 3) FPL has provided a list of addresses where Royal Palms are growing into the power lines. The association was asked for help in working with these homeowners to determine solutions.
Barbara Hadsell gave a presentation on stormscaping. She recommended trees and shrubs that have proved to hold up well during hurricanes and a list of those that have not. She also provided information on how to plant to minimize damage from the storms and how to provide after care to damaged plans. Full details can be found in the book Stormscaping: Landscaping to Minimize Wind Damage in Florida. In addition, she noted that she works with a gardening organization that provides assistance to Habitat for Humanity and noted that they accept donations for that project.
Steven Draft, representative to the Council of Ft. Lauderdale Civic Associations, reported that the Council is currently focused on the elections and he reiterated information about the candidate's night and invited everyone's participation.
Jeanne Lalli reported that the committee has two projects coming up. The first is a volunteer project on January 14 to clean up the pocket park located between 14th and 15th avenues north of 6th street. The second project is an Art & Jazz event that will be held March 12th at Victoria Park.
Pat Mayers asked everyone to be cautious of unknown persons knocking on their door. Often this is a deliberate distraction that allows others to break in through the back. She also suggested being cautious of unknown contractors. There have been reports of those who ask for all the money in advance and then do shoddy work or do not complete the work. Always try to get references and work out a payment schedule for the work as it progresses. There have also been reports of illegal dumping on residents' properties and this should be reported if witnessed.
Coreen Schmidt-Nillies reminded everyone that dues are now being collected for 2006 memberships.
Bob Oelke reported that the committee has been involved in applying for a county grant for $15,000 to provide funding for the master plan.
Thornie reported that additional residents of Victoria Park have completed the training to become part of the neighborhood's CERT team. Four of them were present and were acknowledged.
The committee has been working with Aesthetics in the organization of their events. Also, National Night Out Against Crime will be celebrated in a few months.
There were complaints about speeding in the neighborhood and it was suggested that the police department should be notified.
Stephen Draft reported that he has been working with the Planning & Zoning Committee on the master plan grant. The committee is also in the process of identifying and interviewing master planners.
Miriam Rodriguez reported that the Welcome Committee is gearing up for new baskets to be distributed in 2006.
Motion was made by Pat Mayers to adjourn the meeting at 8:25 p.m. It was seconded by Hans Hochkamp and passed unanimously.
Submitted by: Glenda Rowley, Secretary
