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Historic district at work
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The approval of the historic district has led to new
rehabilitation efforts in the neighborhood. Debbie Purvis and Michele
Piperides are working on three buildings near Arco and Kingshighway, all
two-family rental properties. The first building, at 4570 Arco, will be
finished by June 7, the construction manager said. The intended market for
the buildings is students at the Washington University Medical Center, and
many more buildings will be rehabilitated after the first three are
finished, he said. Further information is available from the office:
314.781.7777.
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Crime issues
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Officer John McLaughlin provided details about the May 2 "nuisance
hearing" for 4520 Oakland Ave. He encouraged as many as possible to appear
in court as a group. Testimony would be needed about any quality of life
issues for surrounding residents, not just drug activity. [After the
hearing, Sue Lauritsen reported via FPSEtalk e-mail that the judge put the
4520 Oakland owners, two elderly women, on strict probation with orders
not to tolerate drug activity by younger people at the property.]
McLaughlin will be making rounds in the neighborhood with a
building inspector to identify vacant problem properties. He encouraged
people to report persistent problems to 241-COPS. The accumulation of
service calls leads to focusing attention on problem properties even if
officers are too busy with priority calls to give immediate attention to
the matter.
He noted that sometimes mistakes are made in assigning priority to
911 calls where someone is in danger. If you feel that you do not get an
adequate response to a call, you should call the watch commander at
444-0100. -
Car problems
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To address the car-theft problem (twenty-five since the first of
the year), Officer McLaughlin applied for a grant to get "car clubs,"
devices for steering wheels that discourage thieves. He asked an insurance
company to fund the effort to show a reduction of claims. The clubs are
expected to be available soon.
Derelict cars are also a problem. At times the city's storage lot
is too full to take more cars. For towing of derelict cars, contact
Leonard Whitehead by dialing 444.5420, then 7, then 3973. Cars on private
property can be towed only if they are a hazard. -
Wichita Closing
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Sonda reported that 30 to 40 Wichita residents showed up for the
meeting about the plan to close the street with a cul-du-sac at
Kingshighway. She said that, following the meeting, the residents were
happy with the plan. She encouraged continued activity for the residents
with a neighborhood watch group.
Rachel Smith, the assistant circuit attorney in charge of the
Neighborhood Justice program, outlined the basics of neighborhood watch
program: a "call chain" on the block; establish problem times and make
reports; and be flexible to meet needs of specific blocks -
Housing Corporation information
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The Housing Corporation was not represented at the meeting. Phil
Heagney noted the lack of a response to the request for information about
Park East properties. Heagney moved to write letter to Phil Minden and
Marcella Palmieri on the issue. Motion passed.
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Operation Brightside
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President Sonda Thompson thanks everyone who helped out. Some
small projects got done throughout the neighborhood. Dan Corbin had group
of kids who did cleanup in a few blocks.
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Parks
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Progress on all the planned parks has stalled. For Rainbow Park,
the executive director and attorney for Metro Ministries changed and the
new people are reviewing the matter. There are difficulties in acquiring
the lot for Teddy Bear Park. The installation of the equipment at Adams
Park has been rescheduled for June 22 by the sponsors, Healthy Kids at
Play.
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Forest Park Access
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Stosh & Penny Korn went to the most recent Advisory Board meeting
where the Access Committee adopted our compromise proposals for: keeping
the current setup for Clayton Avenue; when I-64/Forty is rebuilt, revisit
current situation; President of the Advisory Board to support the
footbridge with a letter to MODOT; and FPSE residents will be allowed to
use Steinberg Parking lot for general park use. The Advisory Board seemed
generally receptive to the committee's recommendations.
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