Neighborhood Meeting Notes - May 4, 2008

The Sardis Woods Block Captains met at the David Clark's Sunday, May 4th at 4 pm. David Clark led the group through a discussion and vote in the following matters:

The group discussed the positives of the Sardis Woods Neighborhood Meeting held on March 8th at the East Baptist Church on Monroe Road. The consensus was that the less formal setting of the fellowship hall of the church lent itself much better to our goal of neighbors meeting informally with neighbors. The give and take of the meeting was much better. There was a room full of Sardis Woods residents. The addition of desserts and drinks was well received.

The block captains want to extend their appreciation to the East Baptist Church in a tangible way. Judy Clark will contact the church this week to express our willingness to help in whatever upcoming project the church may have that might need our participation as a gesture of thanks.

Kathleen Haley reported that the landscaping committee is planning some continuing upgrades around the Covedale entrance signs. Kathleen also announced the next Woods Watch will go out the first week in June.

The updated list of resident emails from the March 8th meeting will be shared with the appropriate block captains. Judy Clark will send those out to the block captains for their use in keeping contact with neighbors in their area of responsibility.

David Clark reported of the efforts of Gene Stewart to facilitate the installment of speed bumps on Sunnywood. The city no longer requires the signatures of the affected residents, if the representatives of the neighborhood association request such an installation. The motion was made by Suzanne Butler and seconded by Nancy Kute that we request speed bumps installed as already approved by the city streets department for Sunnywood. The motion was passed unanimously.They will be installed in the summer of 2009 and the city will inform the residents of the affected area. The fall meeting of the Sardis Woods Association will provide opportunity for discussion.

The Clarks reported on attending the last Charlotte City Council Meeting, April 28th. Crime and its prevention was the major topic of the meeting. Ten residents of Charlotte spoke to the council expressing their concern for a greater city wide stand against the increase of crime in Charlotte. Personal property crime and danger to the physical well being of citizens were of greatest concern. A new organization, Neighbors for a Safer Charlotte, (www.neighborsforasafercharlotte.org ) outlined their goals to seek municipal and state action supporting all aspects of crime preventions and prosecution. The CMPD gave a thorough report on their action plan against crime but stated strongly that the best defense against crime is neighborhood watch organizations. Citizens must train themselves to be aware of their surroundings and call 911 at any suspicious activity or personages in their neighborhood.

Dave Clark was contacted to attend a meeting to inform as well as discuss the area plan for the Independence Boulevard corridor which encompasses Sardis Woods. The meeting is May 14th and Mr. Clark will represent Sardis Woods. He hopes to learn the status of the development of the land facing Monroe Road but bordering the lower end of Sardis Woods (Smokehouse, Bent Pine and areas of cul-de-sacs off of Longbrook)

Suzanne Butler reported about government funding for community development through social events such as block parties. Since Sardis Woods has been sponsoring such activities over the past years, we are interested in the opportunities such funding would bring us. There is a meeting scheduled for Thursday, May 13 and Judy Clark, and Suzanne Butler plan to attend. There is an open invitation to any block captain who is available to come as well.

The group discussed the fact that the block captains are urged to initiate socials, block parties with their respective areas over the summer months because the decision was made earlier not to try to promote a gathering during National Night Out due to the difficulty of the weather during early August. The last two years have been hampered by the excessively hot temperatures. Sardis Woods will look into planning a large group gathering sometime in the fall.

Alex Blum, a block captain on Sunnywood, had been looking into the construction of an entrance sign on Sunnywood, however, Dave Clark' has attempted to contact him and received no information as to the progress the association is seeking to make on this project. There will need to be further attempts to determine where we stand at this time and what our next step should be.

The group spent the remainder of the time discussing some of the best ways to stop criminal activity on our streets. The group agreed that every neighbor needs to be kept aware of any undesirable incidents in Sardis Woods such as drug dealing, harassment, vandalism, truancy, and other forms of property or personal threat. There were tips shared about proper outside door installation methods that deter break ins, the use of cameras, and the necessity to keep each other informed at all times. The block captains were enthusiastic about the benefit our neighborhood watch has been and will continue to be to all the residents of Sardis Woods.

Minutes recorded by Kathleen Haley