HISTORIC KENWOOD NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION

General Membership Meeting

January 6, 2016

The General Meeting of the Historic Kenwood Neighborhood Association was called to order at 7:00 pm on January 6, 2016 at the Metro Wellness Center, 3251 3rd Ave. N., St. Petersburg, Florida by President Brenda Gordon.

AGENDA:

1. Food: The Queenshead, 2501 Central Avenue. Tracy Asalita is the owner and she discussed the new menu coming out at the end of January; traditional menu items will remain and new items such as gluten free and Italian style offerings will be added.

2. New Attendees:

·  Joy Rose: 28th Street North, she is an artist and musician

·  Jonothan Long and his fiancée, Sara: Dartmouth Avenue North

·  Jeff Beardsley: He is with The Temple of the Living God, the church on the 20th Street in Kenwood; he and other church members want to get more familiar with Kenwood as the church is in the neighborhood.

4. President Gordon asked if representatives from Mosley Motel were present: Joyce Cole , Manager of the Mosely Motel, was present

5. Crime Report

Officer Christian gave report regarding crimes in the neighborhood over the past month

·  3 auto thefts

·  8 car burglaries

A task force has been created to address the homicides that have occurred in the City of St. Petersburg (the homicides have not occurred in Historic Kenwood) over the past several months in an effort to prevent future homicides.

3. 22nd Street Update: Carolyn Gambuti gave update on speeding issue on 22nd Street North, between 1st Ave. N and 5th Ave N. The petition that was circulated to petition for speed humps was signed by almost all residents that live along that street. Mike Frederick, Manager of Neighborhood transportation with City, provided another option. The classification of 22nd Street can change from a “neighborhood collector” to “local street”. Collectors cannot have stop signs; local streets can. It should take about 6 months to move this reclassification through the city/state process and at that point, stop signs can be placed on 22nd Street between 1st Avenue N and 5th Avenue N.

4. Artists Enclave of Historic Kenwood (AEHK) Update: Dianne Caton gave update on AEHK. It is $10 year to be AEHK member. The next meeting is Tuesday at 6:00 pm at Craftsman House on Central. There will be four organized events in 2016:

Open Houses/Studios will take place the 1st Saturday of every quarter (starting March 5th) along Burlington Avenue N and 3rd Avenue North. The dates coordinate with Brocante Market. Currently there are 10-11 artists signed up on tour. Other artists can participate by showing their work in the homes that are on the tour.

6. Guest Speaker: Rob Gerdis with Director of Codes Compliance for the City of St. Petersburg presented information on the Codes Department. There are 39 employees: 24 are investigators, 3 are specialists (snipe signs, evening and weekend inspections). The budget for department is 4.9 million dollars. 1.9 million dollars was returned in 2014.

The department brings in money through three methods:

·  Foreclosure Registry; banks must register homes and there is a fee associated with it

·  Code liens

·  Demolition of unsafe structures and boarding up of open/vacant structures (property owner is assessed for cost);

Cases: The department handles appx. 32,000 cases/year. This translates to about 90,000 investigations.

To report a code violation, call 727-893-7373 or use the See-Click-Fix app.

In 2015, Historic Kenwood had 520 codes issues; the majority were property maintenance violations (peeling paint, rotten wood, overgrowth)

6. Announcements

Porch Party: Friday, January 8, at 7:00 pm: Sara and Charlie Powell, 2300 block of 2nd Avenue

Newsletter Volunteer Needed: A new organizer is needed for a few months starting in February. A volunteer is needed to take on her role, see Brenda Gordon if interested.

Drink and Food Coordinator for HKNA Meetings Volunteer Needed: A volunteer is needed to take on this role, see Brenda Gordon if interested.

Booker Creek Clean Up: will be toward the end of January on a Saturday morning. The city has not scheduled a definite date yet.

Founders Day: March 12th, it is a neighborhood cook-out during lunch, mark your calendars!

Easter Egg Hunt: March 26th

Pinot in the Park: April 2nd, it is an elegant salmon bake in Seminole Park

Brenda presented Carolyn with a gift for being the 2015 HKNA president and doing an excellent job of leading the board.

Alley Recycling Pick-Up: begins January 25th

Christmas Tree pick: January 9th.

Carrie Harrill-Smith moved to adjourn the meeting, Sally Heckett-Brown seconded, all approved. Meeting adjourned at 8:01 pm.