Minutes-Lake Claire Neighbors
Monthly Meeting: Thurs. Feb 16, 2023
7:15 PM via Zoom
The meeting began at 7:15 with 31 members and 1 guest attending
Guest speakers (Representatives of the City Council, and Atlanta Police Department) Patrick Hudson,Representative for Councilmember Liliana Bakhtiari
LCN officers attending and reports:
Carol Holliday, VP NPU and Planning; Eileen O’Neill, Treasury VP; Melissa Pressman, Environment VP; Beth Grashof, VP Zoning; and Joe Agee, President
Eileen gave the treasurer’s report: Current checking account with the Bond Federal Credit Union: $1,836; Reserve acct.: $4,044; PayPal acct.: $2,239 for total of $8,119 in available funds for the LCN.
Funds held for other purposes: $10,300-Lake Claire Park; $1,559- Halloween Parade; $2,873-DeKalb Ave. Mural. 77 dues payers for 2022
Announcements and current issues:
Safer McLendon Project: Melissa Pressman: The survey is still live and can be accessed at: https://docs.google.com/forms/
Review and vote on the Freedom Park Master Plan (this will be presented in NPU-N Meeting on February 23): Carol Holliday
https://freedompark.org/
Carol introduced Beth McDonald, President, Freedom Park Conservancy (FPC) who spoke about the Master Plan and its history that goes back to the early 90’s when CAUTION, the group that founded the FPC, had it designated at as a passive park by the City of Atlanta. She noted that the park has a great many visitors with approximately 100,000 residents who live within 10 minutes to the park. The City has also designated the area as an art park. She emphasized the importance of cooperation with the surrounding neighborhoods and the ecological aspects of the FPC. Specific goals concern highlighting the arts program, working with local businesses, addressing mobility issues, and looking for more partners. Carol added that the LCN Land Use Committee supports the master plan since its recommendations have now been incorporated but also pointed out the necessity of ensuring that ongoing maintenance be attended to as the park implements its plan. She then emphasized the importance of mobility and that there be a process for review as the master plan progresses. Beth ended the conversation commenting that the master plan should only be seen as a guide and not as a definitive document.
Concerns about the Atlanta Public Schools (APS) Board’s plans for redistricting: Annsley Klehr. Annsley began by noting the large amount of energy produced by the prospect of redistricting and that she is the president of the Jackson Cluster for the APS. She will also create and chair a LCN 10 person committee to develop a letter to APS regarding concerns about redistricting and meet with the Mary Lin PTA. For more information, she can be reached at education@lakeclaire.org. Annsley then introduced Deanne Uroic, President of the Mary Lin PTA, who indicated that her goal is to open lines of communication with all the parties involved. She also recommended a meeting with the LCN Education Committee and the APS since the latter will be making decisions soon. Some members expressed concern about waiting too long to develop a letter since APS Board can sometimes post its proposals before getting input from all the affected neighborhoods. Carol suggested a letter that would request a delay without specific recommendations.
The meeting adjourned at 8:30.
Other issues – Those with concerns or information they wish to bring to the membership.
Lake Claire Neighbors meets the third Thursday of each month.
The next regular LCN meeting will be Mar. 16, 2023