Minutes of the Belmont-DeVilliers Neighborhood Association -- Feb 2, 2011 Meeting

 

The meeting was opened at 5:35 p.m. by President Dolores Curry. Attending were: Dolores Curry, Rosemary Kirkland, Dottie Dubuisson, Vivian Lamont, Diane Mack, Rev. Carl Reeves, Ann Hill, Neil Richards, Eddie Todd, Tony McCray, Danny Lewis, Reginald Dogan, George Hawthorne and guests Raela Villanueva with Students for Suicide Awareness, Kim Kimbrough of the Downtown Improvement Board and Councilman Brian Spencer.

Minutes of the last meeting were read and approved.

Rev. Carl Reeves said (1) the Pensacola Police Department will hold a series of Town Hall meetings, with the first one focusing on the area west of "A" and north of Cervantes Streets. The meeting will be from 6 to 8 pm on Tuesday, Feb. 8, at the Fricker Center,

900 North F Street

. The chief, divisional officers, mayor and others are expected to be on hand to address questions from the public. (2) The time for the second police surveillance camera demonstration was set for 1 pm on Wednesday, Feb 9 at the Police Dept. on Haynes.

George Hawthorne, diversity program advisor for the Gulf Coast African American Chamber of Commerce, thanked the Rev. Reeves and the chief of police for their support at the recent strategic planning meeting for Providing Avenues to Hope (P.A.T.H.). The Jan. 28 meeting was attended by more than 60 city/county officials/agencies, community organizations, community leaders, UWF and school district leaders and staff. At this meeting, there was a consensus that there is a need to galvanize the community and stimulate community mobilization to address violent crime, at-risk youth, gangs and community/economic development issues that affect Escambia/Pensacola. He said there will be another meeting in two weeks. For more information, contact Mr. Hawthorne at grghawthorne@yahoo.com or at the Gulf Coast African American Chamber of Commerce at (850) 433-0593.

A Pensacola News Journal article on Mr. Hawthorne’s offer to buy the old Brownsville Middle School was noted. The article in online at http://www.pnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011102030317 .

There was a brief discussion on the damaged graves at the Magnolia Cemetery owned by the AME Zion Burial Association and whether the city should step in to clean up these grave yards when they become havens for criminal activity.

Tony McCray, governmental affairs direction for IBIS Partners LLC, gave an update on the Gulf Coast Regional Equity to Achieve Prosperity (R.E.A.P.) summit set for March 17-19 at the Pensacola Hilton. He will be sending out an email-blast invitation to our members this week. He noted that Academy Award-winning actor Louis Gossett Jr., Ibis Foundation director, will be a speaker at the summit. Mr. Gossett stars in a new faith-based movie that will be released in theaters on Feb. 25. Gossett plays George Wright, a civil rights pioneer and long-time activist minister who provides wisdom and advice to Sam, his grandson. Mr. McCray also expects Florida Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll to attend. Mr. McCray still needs an association logo and it was suggested that he contact Eddie Todd about this. Ms. Dubuisson suggested that a musical note should be part of the logo.

Guest Raela Villanueva introduced herself and said she became involved with the suicide prevention group after she lost her brother to suicide. The group holds open “escape sessions” from 6 to 9 pm on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month at the Belmont Building. Attendees create artwork the first half of the meeting and talk the second half. The group holds two major fundraisers annually, one being the Seeds of Hope 5K Community Walk at UWF in November and the other a Survivors of Suicide Art Exhibit planned for April. Donations of any art supplies and cash to pay for materials on the warning signs of suicide are welcome.  She thanked the Rev. John Powell for allowing the group to meet at the Belmont Building. Ms. Villanueva was recently featured on WEAR-TV’s Angels in Our Midst. You can view this at http://www.weartv.com/newsroom/features/angels/videos/vid_101.shtml . Raela writes for Bella magazine and works for a catering service and can be reached at 554-1827.

Vivian Lamont gave a round-up of recent Belmont Youth Band activities, including performances at the Heritage Museum. Upcoming performances will be at Pensacola State College, a senior citizens organization and Festival on the Green set for April 1-2. Since the airing of the WEAR show, they have added 10 new students. Here is the link to Angels in Our Midst: feature on Angels in Our Midst:  http://www.weartv.com/newsroom/features/angels/videos/vid_187.shtml.

Dolores Curry suggested the Youth Band find a piano instructor, as she gets calls of people looking for pianists.

Neil Richards reported that the Pensacola aquarium proposal was pretty much tabled after one of the workers apparently disappeared with the petitions and misrepresented support from various government officials. He discussed the Hot Glass Cold Brew event set for 5 – 9 pm on Friday, Feb. 4 and the upcoming series of “It Takes Two” pottery workshops. Details at http://www.belmontartscenter.com/ .

Eddie Todd reported that the Community Maritime Park Associates (CMPA) is looking to use contingency funds to help pay for about $5 million in park enhancements. He noted that the Quint Studer family will contribute an additional $2 million to help pay for stadium enhancements.

Dottie Dubuisson discussed the free “Tones and Bones” open mic jam sessions that are held 7:30 to 10:30 pm on Tuesdays. The Super Suburban Charity Art Auction to support Catholic Charities will be held 6 to 10 pm Feb. 11. Ms. Dubuisson said the Studers had donated laptops to the center and that the required hazard inspection and contractors certificates have been obtained. The Friday night music jam has been discontinued for now.

Diane Mack gave a follow-up on the Philips Livable Cities Awards, noting there has been a delay on the announcement of the short list of winners. She will continue to monitor this.

Ms. Curry noted that Mayor Ashton Hayward will be at the opening of the Black History Arts Festival on Feb. 19.

The treasurer was unable to attend and there was no report.

Ann Hill discussed the two websites for the neighborhood, one established some time ago at belmontdevilliers.com and a new one developed by Ms. Hill and her daughter at Belmont-devilliers.com. The minutes of the meetings for the past year are now online as well.

Kim Kimbrough said that declining revenues forced the Downtown Improvement Board to postpone new projects that included the application for a national historic designation for Belmont-DeVilliers. He discussed the effort to develop an infill housing strategy that identifies vacant lots. Programs in a number of cities have been studied with the idea of creating a program for Pensacola. The next meeting on this topic will be March 16 at 8:30.

Councilman Brian Spencer said that he also has an initiative for addressing the need for infilling by treating it as a zoning issue. He noted that a Belmont-DeVilliers study found more than 50 percent of the property here is vacant lots. He is an advocate of the SmartCode template developed by a husband-wife architect team. A basic explanation of this changing mindset of land planners can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SmartCode .

Mr. Spencer is concerned about boards of education who abandon schools and then build new ones. The blight caused by these abandoned properties also concerns Mr. Hawthorne, who suggested increasing fines on school properties that are in disrepair.

Ms. Dubuisson said Bob Prine in North Hill has set up a community garden that has water on the grounds. Members are invited to participate.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:30 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Ann Hill

Secretary