Author Archives: Center Hill Neighborhood Association

October 1, 2020

       I.          Meeting called to order at 6:30 PM by Vice President Addie Calhoun in light of Pres. Powell absence.

    II.         October meeting agenda was accepted; purpose statement read. Minutes were read.

  III.        President’s Report was given by Ms. Calhoun

 A.  Ms. Calhoun provided a video recap of neighborhood clean-up. It was suggested that we consider scheduling another clean-up during the MLK Holiday in observance of the “Day On- Not a Day Off” movement.

          IV.        Report of the Committees:

A.      Beautification: Welcome to Miranda Blais. Miranda will be spearheading the beautification committee and has requested that neighbors email MirandaBlais@gmail.com to share suggestions and assist with coordination of events.

B.   Communication: The official CHNA shirts have been designed and you can now place your order. As of today, only 7 shirts have been reserved, and we would like to order shirts this month. In order to multiply the impact of the monetary gift to be used for t-shirts, Jason would like the neighbors to consider reallocating some of the t-shirt donation money to secure yard signs promoting CHNA. So that we honor the donor intent, and with the full support of the association by an 8-10 vote, Jason will work to get Mr. Abebe’s approval. As a cost savings and beautification measure, neighbors are encouraged to grab unauthorized “We buy homes” signs so we can recycle the metal stakes. Residents are also able to grab voting signs after election day. 

C.  Education: No report. Open position.

 D. Environmental: Ben Norman Letter of Intent Form for Community Building + Legacy Grants was filed on 9/1/2020. The grant award is for $25,000. The application indicates that CHNA needs assistance with clearing out undergrowth and building walking/biking trails through the wooded areas; adding walking paths connected by a few bridges over Proctor Creek to create easy access between existing ball fields; adding bicycle racks to front entrance. Individuals at Park Pride suggested that the first phase include creating “mini trails” (about 990 feet long, 4’ wide trail) through walking areas by clearing out the area by basketball pavilion and run parallel against Proctor Creek. The estimated cost is about $20 per foot to clear. There’s about 30 acres ripe for trail access. If the city clears the land, it’s up to the neighborhood to maintain it. (We may be able to enlist high school kids for community service projects to help maintain.) The official application is due November 1^st. November 8^th is presentation date to City of Atlanta Park and Rec. Next step: Ben, on behalf of the Environmental Committee needs a letter of support from CHNA and NPU-J.

       A motion was introduced to officially submit project on behalf of CHNA. Motion carried.

 CHNA voted to submit an official letter of support on behalf of CHNA to Park Pride as part of our application (along      with letter from NPU-J)

E. Public Safety: In regards to the uptick in gunshots heard around the community, a discussion was had regarding what measures the city has put in place to correct this. Since “Shot Spotter” hasn’t been that effective, we should look into a way to track this at a neighborhood level. The idea of a members only area on the website to document gunshots on Google Forms as opposed to a forward-facing FB document. Jason Davis and Chris Bartlett will explore a prototype and ways to deidentify data and protect the privacy of neighbors. CHNA is still in need of someone to chair this committee.

 D. Finance: Balance 383.70. Pay dues online at centerhillatl.com

E. Zoning: No zoning updates

V. New Business

1. The Bylaws Committee (Addie Calhoun, Chris Bartlett) provided an overview of the revisions to the bylaws to better facilitate voting next month. Suspend rules that would prohibit neighbors from voting due to the COVID pandemic. The annual $12 membership due will be voluntary and not affect eligibility for voting. All members in attendance at the November 2020 meeting will be able to vote. Qualification of officers: must have attended at least 2 of the regular meetings within the last 12 months. Voting will be done virtually. 
2. Officer Nominating Committee consists of the following neighbors: Gail Character, Gwen Lee, Aline Malone-Farrar

Meeting adjourned at 7:53 PM

September 3, 2020

       I.          Meeting called to order at 6:31 PM by President Rolanda Powell

    II.         Motion made and approved to forgo reading of minutes; minutes will be posted online instead.

  III.        President’s Report was given by Ms. Powell

 A.  Ms. Powell encouraged everyone to become familiar with the members of the executive board, their respective roles, and any vacant leadership positions.        

B.  Ms. Powell also used this time to review responses to the neighborhood engagement survey sent the week prior to the meeting. 

  C. A summary of responses/trends follows: A majority of respondents have been in the neighborhood five years or less. Most residents are concerned about the trash dumping, abandoned homes, walking paths and commercial development. Email is the preferred method of contact, and to that note, neighbors are encouraged to visit the CHNA website and FB page for other digital content. In terms of planned activities, a majority of neighbors are in favor of neighborhood clean-ups and would like to partner with community representatives/businesses for support. Monthly trash pick-ups were discussed, as well as the need for more trash receptacles along the DLC corridor near commercial properties. Alan Holmes of Councilmember Dustin Hillis commented that he would work with Councilmember Hillis to review the possibility of getting more trash receptacles near the MARTA stop along DLH. 

D. CHNA clean-up day scheduled for Saturday, September 5^th. Residents will meet at Johnnie B Moore at 10:00 AM to disperse supplies and coordinate route.

          IV.        Report of the Committees:

At this time, we are still in need of leadership for various committees. President Powell provided an overview of the committees as well as which ones have a vacant chair position. No other reports provided

A.      Finance- Balance to date of CHNA treasury is $383

  V. Announcements:

A.    Alan Holmes, of Councilmember Dustin Hillis office shared important updates with CHNA. COVID testing is still being offered every Saturday in September and October from 903 at Springfield Baptist Church located at 1730 Hollywood Rd NW. The turnaround time for results is approximately 1-2 days, and it is a shallow nasal swab. They have currently tested over 3,000 people. In regards to the Atlanta Waterboys, City Council diverted $18,500 to Help Empower Youth nonprofit to inspire, motivate and mobilize these young men to economic success. Lastly, a temporary eviction moratorium is in place until December 31^st. Renters are eligible if they earned less than $99,000 ($198,000 for couples).

B. Alfred Tucker shared information regarding a free virtual workshop and grant program for installation of rain gardens on private property. Sign up @ www.gacd.us/gcap. Workshop is on Sept 10.

C. Anyone interested in learning more about rain barrel collection can email DeeDee at imperialsouthco@gmail.com

Adjourned 7:30 PM

   Meeting called to order at 6:31 PM by President Rolanda Powell

    II.          Agenda approved by majority vote

  III.        Minutes approved and read

IV.        President’s Report was given by Ms. Powell

A.  In light of current events, Ms. Powell encouraged all Center Hill residents to keep open lines of communication with each other, find productive outlets for channeling emotions and aim to simply be “good neighbors” to one another.

B.   Ms. Powell encouraged discussion around increasing community engagement on social media platforms. It was suggested that we create a poll to gain feedback on slogans for the forthcoming CHNA t-shirts as well as creating weekly or monthly FB opportunities for giveaways.

C.  Ms. Powell shared updates regarding three Center Hill households who have volunteered to post a book exchange box in their yard. Details to come regarding how this will be implemented.

          V.            Report of the Committees:

At this time, we are still in need of leadership for various committees. President Powell provided an overview of the committees as well as which ones have a vacant chair position.

A.      Beautification- No report

B.      Communications- If you have stories, old photographs or other info to share that provides some historical context on our neighborhood, please share with Jason so that we can find the proper space for it on our website https://centerhillatl.com/. Additoinally, community member Mike Abebe has offered to purchase 100 t-shirts and donate them to CHNA. It was suggested that all current members receive one t-shirt for free and moving forward, be included with 1 year payment of dues. Final t-shirt design and color to be determined.

C.       Entertainment-  No report

D.      Environmental- Ben Norman (chair), provided notes regarding the most recent Center Hill park walkthrough and much-needed improvements (bike rack, torn banner, drainage problems, repaired lights, better access between zones, etc.) Residents are encouraged to document our requests via the appropriate city channels in hopes of getting funds to rehabilitate the park grounds. It was also suggested that we explore working in conjunction with neighborhood businesses with interest in contributing to the overhaul and upkeep.

E.      Public Safety- no report

F.    Zoning- No report

G.   Finance- Balance to date of CHNA treasury is $382. Erin (treasurer) provided a reminder of the due amount per household and encouraged support.

        VI.            Announcements-

A.     NPU-J will resume monthly meetings this week. Regarding CHNA, Rolanda suggested creating a survey to gauge residents thoughts on hosting in-person meetings at Salem Bible Church, or outdoors in a public park space while observing social distancing practices.

B.      Residents were encouraged to complete the U.S. Census, participate in voting at their designated polling place and save the date for the July 26th drive-in movie at Salem Bible Church hosted by Rolanda Powell and Councilmen Dustin Hillis.

Meeting adjourned at 7:29 PM

Submitted by Erin Nickson

Treasurer

1. Meeting called to order at 6:31 PM by President Rolanda Powell
2. Agenda approved by majority vote
3. Minutes approved and read
4. President’s Report was given by Ms. Powell 
   1. Ms. Powell requested household participation in supporting multiple neighborhood library boxes. These boxes would be placed in the yard of participating neighbors and stocked with books offered up by community residents. Three neighbors have expressed interest thus far (Antonio, Tre’Chic and Timaley).
   2. The official Center Hill Neighborhood Association website is live and available at centerhillatl.com. Thank you to committee chair Jason for seeing this project through completion.
   3. Special Guest, Councilmember Dustin Hillis: Councilmember Hillis thanked Center Hill residents for their support of efforts to bring crosswalks to DLH and participating in the pedestrian count months ago. Councilmember Hillis plans to reach out to GDOT for an updated timeline for completion since the original February 2021 date might have changed in light of recent events. Crosswalks were slated to be installed at Woods Drive, Center Hill Ave and S. Eugenia. Councilmember Hillis is also working to get a MARTA shelter stop at DLH and Cedar, but this would require the consent of the property owner. The roadwork on Baker Rd should be wrapping up soon; the next phase will see road interruptions along Commodore. Georgia Power will begin infrastructure upgrades to include placement of new power grids that will reduce the number of outages experienced in our community. Fire station 22 needs a projected $1 million in upgrades; a new location is being proposed at Hollywood and N. Eugenia. Councilmember Hillis can be reached at drhillis@atlga.gov or 404-623-4903
   4. Special Guest, Councilmember Antonio Brown: Councilmember Brown’s office was represented by Perrin Bostic. Councilmember Brown secured a deal with gourmet meals to supply 15,000 meals to 27 senior facilities and worked to ensure students in his district have access to wifi during the pandemic. Superintendent. Carstarphen and APS provided a chromebook to each student that reached out with a demonstrated need. Councilmember Brown hosted a Taco Tuesday food event where attendees also received detergent and PPE gear. Two mobile COVID-19 testing events are confirmed in the general area: Vine City and Dixie Hills. Registration is preferred over walk-ups and they’re working with MARTA to reassess cut bus routes so that district 3 residents can get to work safely. Councilmember Brown is also working to provide rental assistance to those in need and supporting legislation that would make that loans granted from the business continuity fund forgivable.
5. Report of the Committees:
   At this time, we are still in need of leadership for various committees. President Powell provided an overview of the committees as well as which ones have a vacant chair position.
   1. Beautification- No report
   2. Communications- If you have stories, old photographs or other info to share that provides some historical context on our neighborhood, please share with Jason so that we can find the proper space for it on our website.
   3. Entertainment- Antonio Rolle has volunteered to host a Netflix watch party for residents of Center Hill. Details will be shared via FB and email once confirmed.
   4. Environmental- Ben Norman (chair) has established the Friends of Center Hill Park and scheduled a neighborhood walk through the park this Saturday. Time and meeting spot to be determined.
   5. Public Safety- Special Guest, Uzma Khan. In light of COVID-19 concerns Ms. Khan shared info regarding reputable resources for information such as cdc.gov and dph.ga.gov. Good Samaritan health clinic has a free COVID-19 help line, while the Pink Coat Coalition offers free COVID-19 counseling every Thursday evening via their FB page. In light of Georgia’s partial opening, frequent hand washing and the use of face coverings is encouraged. For additional questions, Ms. Khan can be reached at 678-779-3912.
   6. Zoning- No report
   7. Finance- Balance to date of CHNA treasury is $382. Erin (treasurer) provided a reminder of the due amount per household and encouraged support.

6. Announcements- 
   1. NPU-J will meet at Anderson Park ballpark on May 26^th at 7:00 PM. This general body, socially distant meeting will allow for revision of the bylaws to allow virtual meetings.
   2. Presidential primary and MOST tax moved to June 9^th. Early voting: May 18^th – June 5^th. MOST: 1 cent sale tax meant to fund capital projects like the sewer line/EPA mandated updated for dept. of watershed. If MOST passes, the costs associated with these updates are spread across everyone that spends money within the boundaries of the city of Atlanta. 

Adjourned 7:26 PM

Submitted by Erin Nickson
Treasurer

1. Meeting called to order at 6:30 PM by President Rolanda Powell
2. Agenda approved by majority vote
3. Minutes approved and read
4. President’s Report was given by Ms. Powell 
   1. By a general body vote, the leadership of the various NPU-J neighborhoods agreed to allocate $3,000 for reflective neighborhood house number signs for seniors (62 yrs). Each neighborhood will get an equal number of signs. Each sign will be personalized to neighborhood and neighborhood will be responsible for distribution.
5. Report of the Committees:
   At this time, we are still in need of leadership for various committees. President Powell provided an overview of the committees as well as which ones have a vacant chair position.
   1. Beautification- No report
   2. Communications- Jason Davis (chair) provided screenshots and overview of neighborhood website tabs. The agreed upon domain name will be centerhillatl.com and should be on-line by next meeting. The association will look into partnering with real estate agents  selling homes in the area to pre-pay the association dues for their client or buy them a CH swag kit to include t shirts, yard signs and two year membership. Neighborhood business owner Mike Abebe agreed to sponsor 100 CHNA t-shirts w/ logo. 
   3. Entertainment- No report
   4. Environmental- Ben Norman (chair) has established the Friends of Center Hill Park. Ben suggested CHNA residents work in conjunction with Park Pride, whose aim is to help communities activate their park via fundraising activities, providing access to grants, training/resources, tool rental and ability to work under their 501c3 umbrella to accept charitable giving. Ben donated the $50 to officially create a Friends of Center Hill Park and needs support from neighbors. Center Hill park is 46 acres and ripe for development (dog parks, senior exercise machines, walking trails, connection to baseball park in Center Hill. Ben suggested that this committee work with designated city designer to draw up architectural sketch of wish list, understanding that sometimes the Path Foundation will absorb the cost for a redesign.

5. Zoning-

2481 DLH- Mike Abebe- variance has already been approved w/ contingencies. Mr. Abebe presented his plan for a 100% affordable, 108 unit, 5 story senior residence. Parking is usually underutilized, so the variance request is to remove 5 parking spaces and increase more green space. Ground breaking should take place in May. The 30 million project should take 15 months to complete. The project will include 103 1 bedroom units and 5 2 bedroom units with the 1 bedroom projected to rent at $700/month. Mr. Abebe has already requested an extension to update the property in 15 years so that it will stay affordable for 30 years. 

The plan received Center Hill approval by majority vote.

1576 DLH- Grove Theater- Plans are in place to rezone in order to add an additional building to the footprint. The 300-500 occupant performance space will be built with support and partnership from the Fox Theatre. Grove Theatre received a $100,000 grant for a new roof, but plans also include retail options such as a coffee shop. Performances will be cost appropriate for the respective neighborhood in order to encourage attendance and support accessibility. 

6. Finance- Balance to date of CHNA treasury is $379. Erin (treasurer) provided a reminder of the due amount per household and encouraged support.

6. Announcements- 
   1. NPU-J mtg March 24^th @ Frederick Douglas High School
   2. NPU Co-ed Kickball League- Deadline to sign up is March 27^th. Contact Jennifer McIntosh chair@npuatlanta.org to register. No cost. 18 years or older.
   3. CHNA committee and exec board mtg- March 18^th– Time TBD

Adjourned 7:21 PM

Submitted by Erin Nickson
Treasurer