3-22-06
Board members in attendance:
Neighbors in attendance:
This is last board meeting for currently-elected board. Elections at next neighborhood meeting.
Next newsletter will have nominations for board positions. Elections at April general neighborhood meeting at Doctor's Hospital. List of current nominations passed around, additional nominations added. List is not finalized. Terry Syler is chairman of nominations committee.
Discussion of damage to yards on houses on south side of Galway roughly between Tranquilla and Athlone. There's a creek behind several of those houses, and several yards lost a lot of land. Discussion about conversation about erosion between Terry Syler and Councilman Gary Griffith. Gary characterized erosion as one of the most serious problems of district 9. David Dybala of City of Dallas indirectly sent Milton Brooks, a Dallas engineer, to the neighborhood Wednesday morning to review creek damage problem. He took pictures which will go in front of “needs committee” which assembles the currently proposed 5 year bond package that goes before city council in April or May 2006.
Sam Robertson's land is high priority because of how close creek is to his house now. His erosion is also 8' from Presley's foundation. Milton says that Sam's erosion is the worst he has seen in all 19 creeks in this precinct.
Because of how the bond program works, nobody will get help before summer 2007.
A solution will have to encompass the entire neighborhood. I.e., erosion wall will have to go all the way between Garland Rd. and Buckner Rd. and on both sides of creek.
Important to tag this need as one that needs to happen in beginning of 5 year bond package.
No emergency funds available to fix this. Immediate repairs have to come out of homeowner pockets. Sam was strongly advised to do something now. Despite this, it is thought to be unlikely that homeowner-financed improvements would be reimbursed by bond money.
Geotechnical engineer said $30K-$80K to fix problem on Jennifer Presley's land (which is not as bad as Sam's land).
Emphasis on:
Discussion of types of communications that will be most effective.
The engineer gave business cards to a few residents and will respond to calls to check on the status of this issue.
Option was raised to eliminate creek and fill it in. Apparently this is prohibited by EPA.
Recommended to have an ad hoc committee to address this problem. Approved by consensus that Richard Fleming will chair this committee.
Richard will produce photos for the LPENA web site.
Rory Yocum reports that sanitation department is concerned that alley behind Tipperary will collapse into creek.
Background: Partly funded by federal funds under CMAC (a congestion mitigation/air quality program). Not taking any private residence lands, just taking some property at Buckner/Garland intersection to create right-hand turn lanes in three directions and two left-hand turn lanes in all directions.
Casa Linda/Little Forest Hills/Lake Park Estates has a joint committee to monitor and address issues. Committee has been pushing for accents and colors that tie intersection in architecturally with Casa Linda Shopping Center. Special pavement treatments, special lights, special light poles and light pole colors.
Updates from Feb. 28, 2006:
They will try to do the bulk of their work at night to avoid increasing congestion.
Concerns about cut-through traffic through neighborhood.
This will improve pedestrian access to shopping center. Adding crosswalk(s?) with stamped, colored asphalt at signal near Blockbuster. Also will redo sidewalks on side. Question about guardrails or other separation between sidewalk and road.
This construction will specifically not address any problems with creek. There is a need for a barrier to prevent Garland Rd. trash from getting into creek.
Garland Rd. reconstruction from Loop 12 to Spur 244: schematics recently finalized. June 2008 is tentative (“very, very optimistic”) bid date. $3.5 million expected.
Wil will type up other notes for newsletter.
All Texas native low water landscape. Irrigation system is donated, Casa Linda Shopping Center owners pledged to donate water.
MOWmentum project has been approved. Stipulations:
“Thank you” to Jeff Soyner of Monopoly Place who donated $500 to Galway Circle project. We need to send a Thank You letter.
Need to find someone to spearhead this, and we need to find funding for entire project.
Need to find funds to finance the entire out of pocket expenses. Suggestion: attachment in newsletter w/SASE. Also need to push this at the election meeting.
Approval letter should arrive in mail any day. We have six months to complete this project.
Discussion of Kristen running implementation committee.
Treasurer not present.
Aren and Rory are working on getting calendar and crime watch form on web site. Rory wants to get everyone's name, cell number, types of cars, and license plate numbers so that volunteer patrollers will know what doesn't belong if they spy something odd. Proposed to combine this information with membership drive/fund raiser.
Any crime watch information on the web needs to be password protected. Will will ask for board permission for approval for $200 for needed equipment. (Quorum was lost right before this.)
Discussion about what cars are more likely to be hit. Ones without alarms and with tinted windows are more likely to be hit.