The Oakdale Neighborhood Christmas Tree Sale was discussed. It was decided to order 175 trees (douglas firs, frazier firs, white pines and scotch pines). They will cost approximately $2,631.25. The idea of giving current 2010 members and 2011 members $5 off of the tree. A clean up day will be held in October. The date will be determined later. There is a tire amnesty day scheduled for Saturday, October 2, 2010. Fred Lanahan discussed the idea of alternate side parking for our neighborhood. This concept was previously discussed at the last PAPA meeting. Mr. Lanahan will bring this topic up at the meeting.

August 16, 2010 ONA Meeting Minutes

It was noted that the minutes from the June meeting were available on the ONA website.

Treasurer’s Report: The Treasurer’s Report was presented by Tom Tiernon and is attached to the Secretary’s minutes. We currently have 90 paid members (compared to 101 paid members in August 2009). There is currently $460.57 in the checking account and $3,451.99 in the savings account which makes a grand total of $3,912.56. A motion was made to approve the Treasurer’s Report as written. The motion was seconded and carried.

President’s Report: It was announced that 175 trees will be ordered and that a $5.00 discount will be given to members. The sale, at this point, will be held in “George’s” parking lot. Many volunteers will be needed for this event. A neighborhood clean up day will be in October. Exact date to be announced in the newsletter. Volunteers for that event would be greatly appreciated. The Tire Amnesty Day will be on October 2, 2010. Elections for new officers will be in December.

PAPA Report: The PAPA festival held on August 11, 2010 in Packard Park had a small turnout. This was most likely due to the event being moved from the original date of August 3, 2010. Nonetheless, PAPA will have the event next year. They had one of the new hybrid buses, a police dog, free food and ice cream, facepainting and a band. Fred Lanahan discussed the concept of alternate side of street parking on certain roads in our neighborhood. Some of our streets are narrow, especially when cars are parked on both sides of the street. If cars were parked on one side of the street, it would be easier to plow the streets, pick up leaves, or get a fire engine, police car, or ambulance quickly to your home. There would be certain pilot blocks that this concept would be tried on. This will be discussed at further ONA meetings. Please come to a meeting to get more information or to voice your opinion. Naomi Crone reported that she had a lawnmower removed from her garage and reminded everyone to keep their home and garage locked.

Old Business: Softball season is over. It was the Oakdale Neighborhood Association’s first year. Ryan Stark coached the co-ed team. He reported that there were a lot of rain cancellations. The team won one game and lost 6 games. It was difficult pulling a team together, but they did have fun. The next meeting will be held on September 20, 2010.

Treasurer’s Report:

• Presented by Tom Tiernon and is attached to the Secretary’s minutes. We currently have 85 paid members (compared to 99 paid members in June 2009). There is currently $31.19 in the checking account and $3,950.97 in the savings account which makes a grand total of $3,982.16.

President’s Report:

• As previously discussed in the Board Planning Meeting, the Oakdale Neighborhood Christmas Tree Sale will be happening this year.
• The July/August newsletter will be distributed soon.
• A fall clean-up day will be planned again this year. The City will provide a dumpster for our use. Volunteers will be needed and greatly appreciated. Date to be determined.

PAPA Report:

• PAPA recently passed new bylaws.
• PAPA will be hosting a Festival at Packard Park on August 3, 2010 from 4:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. There will events for the kids, food and music. Anyone interested in volunteering for this event should contact Jane Ford at 456-7077.
• Fred Lanahan reported that he has been attending the Direct Action Response (DAR) meetings which is a cumulation of city department heads from offices like planning department, police department, fire department, street department, etc. It is an excellent way to maintain contact with these various entities.
• Mr. Lanahan also attended the initial meeting of the Fairfield Avenue Business and Merchant Association which was formed in an attempt to get some interest in improving the Fairfield corridor. There will be a second meeting for commercial business owners on Saturday, July 31st, 2010 at 8:30 a.m. at Lightenup Wellness at 3501 Fairfield Avenue. As PAPA is requesting each neighborhood association pay dues in the amount of $50 based on their new bylaws, Mr. Lanahan made a Motion to send PAPA $50.00. The motion was seconded and carried. The funds will be used for PAPA neighborhood functions.
• It was announced that there will be a Rudisill Planning Meeting on June 29th at 5:30 at Redeemer Lutheran Church.

Old Business:

• Fred has spoken with Mr. Singh (the new owner of the gas station/convenience store) and he is hoping to begin construction the end of June. Bruce has conveyed to Mr. Singh the complaints of the trash behind the building and that there have been quite a few trucks and other vehicles parked in the parking lot.
• Call the City at 3-1-1 for the following issues: street lights that are out, weed length in violation of Neighborhood Code Enforcement, abandoned cars, potholes.
• The police desk sergeant’s telephone number is 427-1222. You can call this number for non-emergencies such as firework violations or if you observe something suspicious.
• There will not be an association meeting in July. The next meeting will be Monday, August 16, 2010.Submitted by Kristine Lagemann

There was also discussion regarding reviewing and tightening up our current ONA Bylaws as they are a few years old.  PAPA has just adopted new Bylaws which were modeled after Southwest Neighborhood’s Bylaws and the ONA Board decided to review ONA’s Bylaws and PAPA’s Bylaws to see if any changes could or should be made.

• The minutes from the April neighborhood meeting were approved as written on the website.
• The Treasurer’s Report was presented by Tom Tiernon and is attached to the Secretary’s minutes. We currently have 78 paid members and $4,132.45 in the account.
• The Great American Clean-Up was this past week. We had a small turnout of 6 people who combed the alleys of Oakdale Association in search of trash and limbs.
• Tom reports that he has no new information on George’s Market on Fairfield. Hopefully by the June meeting construction will have either begun or we will have information regarding the hold up.
• Tom also reports that at this time there is no new information on the sale of Taylor.
• Dirt was delivered in two locations and made available to members of the association. At this time, there is still dirt available at the Oakdale location.
• June 5^th is the date for the PAPA neighborhood garage sales. An add has been purchased advertising this garage sale so there should be a lot of activity in the neighborhood.

NEW BUSINESS: There was discussion regarding the large amount of vacant properties in the Oakdale Neighborhood and what can be done to keep the properties looking nice. There was a suggestion to find out who the property owner is and to send them a letter from the Association requesting them to mow, weed wack, etc. There was also discussion regarding how we can get more homeowners to become members of the Association and attend monthly meetings.

Submitted by Kristine Lagemann

• The Neighborhood Meeting Minutes were approved as written on the website.
• Tom Tiernon gave the treasurer’s report. There is $3,560.09 in the savings account and $702.48 in the checking account. Last year at this time there were 58 dues paying members and today we have 68 dues paying members.  The treasurer’s report was approved and is attached to the secretary’s copy.
• Mr. Lehman reports the following: The ONA board met on Sunday the 18th and discussed the Christmas Tree Sale, and planting/maintaining flowers on each of the approximate 15 corners throughout the Oakdale neighborhood.  We should start seeing construction action at George’s Market relatively soon.
• Mr. Lanahan and Mr. Tiernon attended a meeting regarding Taylor University where an announcement was made regarding the Leona Group Charter School Corporation signing a letter of intent to purchase portions of the campus. There were no commitments made by the Leona Group.
• Paul Lagemann, a representative of Earth First, the company, vying to be the city’s next trash contractor, gave a presentation about Earth First and answered questions.
• Bruce Stier, who is running for Wayne Township Trustee, spoke about the job and responsibilities of a Trustee. Dick Fishering and Tom Tiernon, both from the Oakdale neighborhood, are also running for Wayne Township Trustee.
• Fred Lanahan reported that the next PAPA (Packard Area Planning Alliance) meeting is going to be this Wednesday. New bylaws for PAPA will hopefully be adopted at that meeting and the Fairfield Corridor Project will discussed. The Fairfield Corridor Project is a project that will organize a business association along Fairfield from Rudisill to Brackenridge and will improve the streetscape.

New Business:

• Mr. Lehman reported that he has been meeting with a few individuals regarding a marketing program for living in the south side of Fort Wayne. The slogan is “Living South and Loving It!” This would simply be a push for good public relations for neighborhoods in our area.
• Dirt Delivery. At this time the board is not sure whether or not they will provide dirt for dues paying members as they have done every year.

Old Business:

• Ryan Stark reported that he has formed an Oakdale Association co-ed softball team. Anyone still interested in playing should contact Ryan. Their schedule will be announced so members of ONA can attend the games and cheer the team on!
• May 15th is clean up day for the neighborhood and possibly dirt day.
• Call the City at 311 if you notice any street lights out.

The next meeting will be May 17, 2010 at 7:00 p.m.
Submitted by Kristine Lagemann, Secretary

• Neighborhood Meeting Minutes were approved as written on the website.
• Tom Tiernon gave the treasurer’s report and it was approved.
• Fred Lanahan announced that there would a PAPA meeting this coming Wednesday evening. The organization currently does not have bylaws in place so there will be discussion surrounding creating them. There has been and will be discussion regarding asking each neighborhood association to contribute $50.00 to help fund PAPA events. The creation of a business association along the Fairfield corridor will also be discussed at the meeting.
• DAR (Direct Action Response) will meet this Tuesday. At this meeting members from the individual neighborhood associations will be able to meet with directors of city departments regarding current issues.
• John Haynes reported that at the last SWAP meeting there was discussion regarding street repair and lighting. A representative from the City informed them that is costs $125,000 to resurface a mile of road in asphalt vs. $600,000 – one million to resurface a mile of road in concrete.
• A Homeowner Improvement Project was also discussed. There is a limited amount of funds ($800,000.00) that can be used for maintenance improvements on homes. If anyone is interested in applying for a portion of the funds they need to call the City at 3-1-1 to obtain the necessary forms and make an appointment for an interview. The nice thing about this program is that the homeowner can designate who they want to do the work.
• There was discussion at the SWAP meeting about Rudisill being changed to three lanes of traffic with an addition of a bike lane and that the turn arrow will be returned to the Rudisill/Fairfield intersection. Also, it was noted that the Clinton Street Martin Luther King bridge just north of Headwaters Park would be closed for approximately one year. This will happen sometime later this year.
• The Christmas Tree Committee has been formed and is moving forward with plans to hold the sale this year.
• Fred has contacted Phil Troyer to get an update on the convenience station on Fairfield. According to Mr. Troyer, the owners have obtained the financing and the project is set to begin in the spring.
• There is no new information on the future of the Taylor University campus.
• Master Gardener, Pam Schneider, gave an informative presentation on planting trees, shrubs and flowers and answered questions.

The meeting adjourned at 8:05 p.m.
The next meeting will be on April 19, 2010
Submitted by Kristine Lagemann, Secretary

• Tom Tiernon gave the treasurer’s report, which was approved.
• ONA has an immediate opening for a secretary as well as a board member. If you are interested in getting involved in your neighborhood please feel free to contact any board member to give you more information on those positions.
• The Christmas tree sale was discussed and a team of 4 officers have volunteered to do more research on the cost, marketing, and confirm the use of “George’s.”
• Bruce then discussed the “How well do you know your property” pamphlet from the city which pertained to easements on your property. He encouraged everyone to do a little research to know your property.
• Bruce also shared about a program between the Fort Wayne Police Department and the Mad Ants. It is called the “Safe Haven Program”. This is something residents would need to be approved for and then they could provide a safe haven for someone in need.
• PAPA is working on renovating and/or updating the Fairfield corridor between Rudisill and Baker St.
• John H. gave an update from SWAP in which the FWPD shared that crime was down by 8% in our district. John is also investigating the potential CEDIT  money that may be available to our neighborhood (GO JOHN!). He also shared that there was discussion from the city about the speed limit be lowered from 30 mph to 25 mph for safety reasons. This was not favorably received by those present. John is planning on attending the Feb. 17th meeting and will update us next month.
• Bruce also mentioned that the recorders office is offering a free notification service to those  who sign up that they be notified anytime their name or address is recorded. This could be a great security tool.
• PAPA is also trying to organize a seven neighborhood garage sale in may or June (this was confirmed by PAPA…see story at right!)

New Business:
Ryan Stark would like to have a neighborhood softball team. It could be coed or not depending on the interest. Please call Ryan at 456-0809 if you have any interest.

Meeting was adjourned 7:50pm
Next Meeting Monday, March 15th
Submitted by Tom Tiernon, Treasurer

1. Neighborhood Meeting Minutes were approved as written on the website
2. Appreciation was given to John Nichter for his service as treasurer to ONA
3. Re-zoning for George’s market was approved by City Council.
4. Pathfinders gave a presentation on helping people of low income to get down payments for buying homes.

“Pathfinders Community Connections” has helped 1,400 people to buy homes. They want to help neighborhoods revitalize and look to work from the inside out. Surveys will be taken about what is or isn’t working. Pathfinders hopes to have meetings/ surveys with residents and to become a source of information for working on problems and help neighborhoods get technical assistance for what you want to do.

Other plans include neighborhood engagement / bring information into Ft. Wayne Make Non profits stronger.

Vice President Fred Lanahan shared topics for a PAPA meeting that was held on November 18th with discussion about economic redevelopment of main arteries (Fairfield, Broadway, & Calhoun) as well as redevelopment of commercial activity within PAPA. Any proposals are greatly appreciated for the Jan. meeting of the PAPA group.

NEW BUSINESS
Discussion of bushes and fence on southeast corner at Dayton & Fairfield.
White Owl studio opening in the neighborhood.
Vessel House to be adopted for caring and joint fundraisers. They need gently used items.

Next meeting Jan. 18th, 2010

The meeting was called to order at 7pm by president Bruce Lehman.

Announcements made were:
Financial statement was given by John Nichter. A motion was given & seconded to accept & approve financials.
Bruce introduced Phil Troyer who gave a presentation on the proposed renovations to georges. Phil introduced the current owners ( The Rongos) as well as the potential owner Bob Singh. Phil had a visual presentation on his laptop as well which was shared with all that wanted to see it.

Fred & Bob Schaab were introduced as PAPA president & Historic South Wayne Assoc. president. They instructed those present that 3×5 cards were going to be passed out & question could be written down & they would ask them as they were given to Tom T. Attendees were encouraged to remain respectful & courteous towards each other & the principals. It was stated that the presentation & questions were to close by 8 pm.

Phil answered approx. 20 questions as they were given to him with confidence & assurance that the best interest of the neighborhoods were taken into consideration & that the owners want to work with the neighborhoods.

As was stated at 8pm questions were stopped. Fred & Bob shared that PAPA had voted strongly in favor 5-2 in support of the renovation. Bob shared that as president of SWA & the assoc. that Georges is located, that they strongly support the renovation. Fred then welcomed & introduced 3 of our councilmen Tim Pape, Glynn Hines, & John Shoaff & gave them an opportunity to give there opinion of the renovation. Although they shared there opinions & concerns they would not commit 100% but appreciated being asked to attend & would carefully consider what was presented. Afew questions were asked of the councilmen & then meeting was adjourned at 8:35pm

Submitted by Tom Tiernon

Tire Day – Saturday, October 17, 2009, starting at 8 a.m. at George’s Express on Fairfield Ave.

ONA Cleanup Day – Saturday, October 24, 2009, starting at 8 a.m. at George’s Express on Fairfield Ave.