Fontaine Place Neighborhood Association
Jackson, Mississippi
Board of Directors Meeting
March 4, 2013
A board meeting of the Fontaine Place Neighborhood Association was held on March 4, 2013 at 6:00 p.m. at the home of Cecil Burnham, 1415 Fontaine Drive, Jackson, Mississippi.
Attending: Tad McCraney, President
Helen Greenberg, Vice-President
Cecil Burnham, Treasurer
Patti Barlow, Secretary
Ed Thomas
Jon Turner
Mary Jo McAnally
Debbie Christie
Jean Farish
Rob Stockett
Absent: Ginger Hoover
Call to Order
Tad called the meeting order. Roll was taken and it was noted that Ginger was out of town and was unable to attend.
Minutes of Last Board Meeting
The minutes of the August 27, 2012 board meeting were approved.
Treasurer’s Report
Cecil presented the treasurer’s report (attached) which showed that as of 03/04/13, the balance in the association bank account is $205.16. He stated that the outstanding balance on the line of credit with Trustmark Bank is $650, which was renewed for $10,000. He also noted that the association has had 20 paid households since October 1, 2012 (the association’s annual dues period begins October 1 each year). Celia Burnham graciously agreed to hand-deliver dues notices, along with community contact information, to each home where dues have not been paid this year in an attempt to increase dues collection. Also, board members reviewed the list of unpaid dues and agreed to personally contact several homeowners.
LeFleur East
Patti spoke with Kelly Headley, LeFleur East Executive Director, by phone prior to the meeting. In addition, Rob (a LeFleur East board member) provided an update and the following information was obtained.
The City Council approved the special exception application for LeFleur East house at 4658 Old Canton road (formerly the Creekmore house) to be used for office space. As such, LeFleur East may use it as a venue for events just as a homeowner can host events in his/her home. Acadia Court has agreed only to its use as an office and is appealing the City Council’s decision. In effect, Acadia Court is taking the City of Jackson to court and it could take as long as a year for the appeal to be resolved. In the meantime, however, the decision stands and Kelly stated that LeFleur’s “intentions are for this to be good for the area and will honor the guidelines previously submitted”.
The bus tour last month with Jackson’s city officials was successful as city has been working on projects identified as needing attention such as potholes and drainage issues. Other benefits of the bus tour are that LeFleur East is “developing working relationships with city officials and confidence that concerns about our neighborhoods will be heard”.
Highland Village was recently purchased by WS Development, a retail development company in the Northeast that has a number of commercial properties that contain Whole Foods stores. The president met with LeFleur East representatives in January this year with positive results. Information regarding the company can be found at www.wsdevelopment.com.
Landscaping plans for the east and west sides of I-55 in the LeFleur East areas continue, and the association is looking into sponsors and partnerships to fund these projects. Also, Maywood Mart owners are aware that additional lighting and landscaping is needed in their shopping center across from Highland Village.
Information regarding LeFleur East can be found at www.lefleureast.org.
Property Development Update
Ed stated there was no update regarding the home built by Carson Walker that has not yet sold. The price has been reduced but no other information was available. He also reported that the Heidel home at 1362 Northside has been sold. No other information regarding homes or property for sale was available.
Mary Jo stated that the Presbyterian Church on the corner of Northside and Old Canton has been sold to Bellweather Methodist Church. Several board members know leaders of new church and are confident it will be a positive addition to our neighborhood. Patti will ask Kelly if LeFleur East will have a parking agreement with Bellweather for venues at the LeFleur East house as they did with the Presbyterian Church.
Website Development
Jon reported that LeFleur East’s website includes neighborhood associations which will be able to link from their website. From a conversation with Kelly, Patti stated that LeFleur East is working on web sub-sites for its 20 neighborhoods. At this time, information can be sent to Kelly who will forward it to their IT network for it to be posted on the neighborhood associations’ sub-sites within LeFleur East’s website. It is hoped that with time and increased funding, all neighborhoods will be able to manage their websites but for now this service is limited. Patti is in communication with Kelly to update and provide information regarding our sub-site. Also, she is providing e-mail addresses of our association members to LeFleur East so they can receive its monthly newsletter.
Other Projects of Interest
**The board agreed that security is an issue of interest to all neighbors and there was discussion about street cameras, individual home cameras and additional street lights. Mary Jo stated she has contacted Entergy who indicated that our neighborhood is up to standards and requires no new streetlights. Debbie provided a list of specific areas that are dark and could use additional lighting and Patti sent an e-mail to all neighbors asking their suggestions about locations they would choose for city lights placement. The cost for individuals to request lights for existing electrical poles is around $6 per month, and Patti agreed to have a light installed at one of the locations Debbie identified as a need.
Next Board Meeting
The next board meeting will be scheduled for summer 2013. Patti will provide some potential dates.
Tad adjourned the meeting at 7:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
___________________________
Patti Barlow, Secretary
Approved,
___________________________
Tad McCraney, President
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