Algiers Point Association Board of Directors
Minutes of Meeting of May 18, 2017
In Attendance were: Susan Aspinwall, Leighton Barrett Strong, Rob Booms, Ralph Bradshaw, Connie Burks, Brian Dufour, Kelsey Foster, Skip Gallagher, Vlad Ghelase, Virginia Hebert, Paul Langenwalter, Leann Logsdon, Jeremy Miller, Gary Mouton, Tom Roche, Tricia Sperier, and Marty Stroble (100%).
Minutes: The minutes of the April 20th board meeting were approved.
Treasurer’s Report: Available funds total $23,312.83, which includes $45.90 in Membership income and a disbursement of $100.00 as part of the APA Crime Camera program. The report was approved.
Planning & Zoning Committee Report:
a) NOLA City Beach. The board passed a motion that the APA will not issue a letter or other form of support to the City Beach developer without a public forum that allows us to gauge support from APA members.
b) Riverfront Overlay. The P&Z Committee sent comments on behalf of the APA to the New Orleans City Planning Commission (CPC) concerning the Riverfront Overlay District Study and was authorized by the board to submit additional comments if necessary before the June 13 public comment deadline. If the overlay ends up including the West Bank, the APA is advocating for assurances by developers of visual and pedestrian access to the Mississippi River, public amenities, adequate parking, green infrastructure, and sensitivity to the scale of Algiers Point as a National Historic District.
c) Master Plan Amendments. Amendments will come before City Council in June. The P & Z committee will monitor.
d) The Patterson residential development is going forward.
e) A Florida developer is still contemplating a 400-unit housing development up river from the Mardi Gras World property.
f) Work is being done at the Deep South Studio site.
g) Kelsey displayed a copy of the newest edition of the Blight Resource Guide. She also informed the board about the RTA Strategic Mobility Plan and Phase 3 of the Orleans Parish Jail expansion.
Neighborhood Improvement Committee Report:
a) Self-Guided Walking Tours. Kevin Herridge passed around copies of the Algiers Point Walking Tour brochure. The revised brochure is set to go to the printer, with the cost being underwritten by neighborhood businesses. Leighton suggested the inclusion of a link to the Confetti Kids website, where visitors can find activities to do with children. Several board members suggested going digital through an app or website link. Rob asked Leann to notify the tour guide interested in adding Algiers Point to her existing tours that the revised brochure will soon be available.
b) Street Light Repairs. Marty submitted the street blocks inventoried by Al Schmitt and Vlad where lights were out or flickering and heard back from the City that we need to clarify exact addresses and pole numbers before work orders can be generated.
c) Patterson “Begin One-Way” Sign. Ms. Lisbeth Pedrosa, District C Community Liaison, had the “Begin One Way” sign on Patterson at Vallette replaced with a new and readable sign. Work will continue on trying to get red and white “Wrong Way” signs installed along Patterson facing the opposite direction.
d) Additional Trash Bins. More trash containers are needed along the levee walk and Leighton informed the group that the Levee Board maintains those receptacles. Options for installing pet waste bag stations and bins throughout the neighborhood will continue to be explored.
e) Opelousas Avenue Neutral Ground. Sue contacted Parks and Parkways to request maintenance of the landscaping along the avenue’s neutral ground.
f) Street Repair. Potholes on some blocks have been patched.
g) Public Transit Advocacy. The board voted for the APA to sign on as an official partner of the Coalition for Quality Transit, a grassroots collaborative network committed to advocating for public transportation options that connect people to work and play and provide environmentally sound alternatives that benefit residents by offering them access to greater opportunity.
Events: The Wednesdays on the Point concert series (6 to 8) will begin after Labor Day. Fay Faron, chair of the series, spoke to the board of the need for sponsors. The site will be the batture, which it is hoped will be dry by that point in the year. Gary believes that people attend the outdoor concerts specifically to sit on the batture at the river’s edge and enjoy the music and the sunsets. Plans have changed for the Behrman Park outdoor pool, which is scheduled to be replaced by an indoor pool after this summer. Rather than locating the new pool in Lower Coast Algiers, it will be built at Behrman Park. After a lengthy discussion on the pros and cons of closing the outdoor pool and replacing it with a shallow indoor pool, the board voted against taking a stand to oppose the plan. Instead, a committee will be formed to study the issue and report its findings at the June board meeting. The Algiers Point Home Tour will take place the weekend of October 21-22. Michael Verderosa and Virginia Hebert are serving as co-chairs and have begun to draft committee chairs for this year’s event. The Mini Art Center will once again be involved in creating art works of the featured homes. The Movies on the Point spring series of outdoor family screenings continues this weekend.
Algiers Ferry Terminal: The RTA is holding a public meeting on Tuesday, May 23rd at the New Orleans Military and Maritime Academy (NOMMA) from 6:30-8:30 PM to hear what residents envision for a future renovation of the Algiers Ferry Terminal.
Ochsner Fitness Center: The Algiers Development District will take over management of the Ochsner Fitness Center located in Federal City at the end of May. Leighton pointed out that keeping the center, previously run by the YMCA and then by Ochsner, is important to the quality of life of Algiers Point residents. She will form a committee on behalf of Confetti Kids to study the situation surrounding the future of both the Federal City and Behrman Park pools and will report to the June board meeting. Virginia shared with the board that the Behrman Park pool has summer Adult Swim from 5:00-6:00 PM each day.
Residential Parking: Vlad made the case for reinstating residential parking permits in Algiers Point. The board voted to communicate the rationale behind residential parking permits in the APA newsletter along with information about how residents in a particular block can begin the application process if they meet the criteria for reaching consensus among the residents living there.
Corporate Restructuring: The Board of Directors of the Algiers Point Association, a Louisiana non-profit corporation, resolved unanimously to dissolve the Algiers Point Association. The APA Board affirmed that none of the corporation’s shares have been issued and that no debt of the corporation remains unpaid. The net assets of the corporation remaining after the winding up are to be distributed to the designated successor organization, namely The Algiers Point Foundation, a 501 c 3 corporation.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 PM.