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Annual Neighborhood Night Out:
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Tuesday, August 6, 2002
Details and registration at
forestparksoutheast.org/nno.
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Rainbow Park - new date
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St. Louis Childrens Hospital and Metro Ministries have
agreed about the improvements to Rainbow Park (corner of
Gibson and Taylor). The new "build"; date is
tentatively set for July 27 or 28. Neighborhood volunteers
are needed to join hospital staff and other volunteers. For
details about jobs to be done and tools needed for the
build, call Edna Campbell, 422.3104 (cell phone).
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Park East Information
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Marcella Palmieri, executive director of the Forest Park
Southeast Housing Corporation, provided information about
the Park East project. The project is a collaboration of
the housing corporation with the Regional Housing and
Community Development Alliance (RHCDA), USBank
(construction financing), and Washington University (loan).
No Block Grant funds are used in the development.
Park East I, involving 24 rental properties, will be done
first. "Substantial completion"; is required by
December, 2002 or the low-income tax credits will be lost.
Park East II, involving 12 for-sale buildings, are still
getting city and state approval for tax credit eligibility.
The hope is that completion of the for-sale property would
be about six months after the rental properties.
Association members expressed concern that the plan was
not being carried out in the spirit of the original support
and that the housing corporation was not resident-driven.
Members particularly asked about a preference for current
residents, especially renters who wanted to move to home
ownership. Palmieri said that the real estate broker could
not legally give preferences but that RHCDA and the housing
corporation could do that upon approval of their respective
boards and the funders. She reported that the housing
corporation board had not authorized release of the
addresses of the buildings in the for-sale project.
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Housing Corporation Board Member
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With the resignation of Phil Minden as the Gibson Heights
representative on the Forest Park Southeast Housing
Corporation, the association can nominate a replacement.
The board makes the final decision upon considerations of
maintaining diversity on the board and will next meet on
August 5.
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Security and safety issues
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Effective January 1, all of Forest Park Southeast will be
part of he Ninth District instead of the Third District,
for a six-month trial period. The boundaries of police
districts had not changed for forty years and population
shifts had overloaded the Third district with service
calls.
A new effort regarding building code violations is
underway, headed by assistant city counselor Stephen Kovak,
622.3361. Kovak will select neighborhoods partly on the
basis of calls and letters about violations.
All in-progress crime should be reported to 911. Problem
properties (locations of persistent nuisances, even if not
criminal) should be reported to 622.3600 and abandoned cars
to 444.5420. Residents should report visible code
violations to the Citizens Service Bureau, 622.4800.
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Renard parking lot changes
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Gary Filmore, commercial district manager for the
city’s Community Development Administration,
presented a plan by Renard Paper Company to expand the
parking and loading area to the east of its building at
Manchester and Taylor. The change would use some of the
green space at Manchester - Newstead - Oakland. The purpose is
to reduce blocking Manchester when trucks are pulling into
the loading docks.
Members expressed concern that Renard had not met earlier
landscaping commitments and immediate neighbors may be
affected. After discussion, approval of the plan was
conditioned on further discussion directly with the
company.
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