BELMONT-DEVILLIERS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION MINUTES OF THE APRIL 4, 2012 MEETING

The meeting was opened at 5:30 p.m. by President Dolores Curry. Attending were: Dolores Curry, Vivian Lamont, Dottie Dubuisson, Rosemary Kirkland, Rev. Carl Reeves, Pattie Krakowski, Ann Hill, Eddie Todd, Robin Reshard, Jim Myatt,  Abdekunle Karriem, Eleanor Johnson, Danny Lewis, the Rev. John H. Powell, Dr. Alexa Canady-Davis, Brad Nihls, Tony McCray, Burnett Williamson and Geraldine Vaurigaud. Guests included City Councilman Brian Spencer, at-large City Council candidate Charles Bare, School Board Superintendent candidate Claudia Brown-Curry, Christian Wagley of the Mayor’s Urban Redevelopment Advisory Committee, Kim Kimbrough of the Downtown Improvement Board and Michael Conrad from the Belmont Arts Center. Minutes were read and approved.

Rev. Carl Reeves reported on the Police Academy and extended an offer for another neighborhood orientation on the police surveillance cameras. There was a discussion about the 4-way stop sign at A and Government Sts. With the opening of the park, police have increased their patrolling and monitoring of speed limits.

Vivian Lamont introduced Michael Conrad, president of the Belmont Arts Center, and he discussed the proposed relocation of the arts center to Longhollow, where the arts board feels there would be more autonomy over the building they use. The proposal should be presented to City Council in the next few weeks. Ms. Lamont is raising money for the Belmont Youth Band through the sale of tickets to the annual Belk Charity Sale on Saturday, April 21 from 6 to 10 am.

Eddie Todd said this month’s proposed walk along the DeVilliers corridor with Councilman Brian Spencer was cancelled, and he turned the floor over to Mr. Spencer, who said he hoped to have a workshop on the topic. He also addressed the letter sent by the association on the topic of gentrification. He agreed with the points made in the letter, stating “you can never resurrect what you remove” and if the historic nature is not preserved, “bit by bit the texture of the neighborhood is gone.” He suggested documentary maker Robin Reshard would draw up a list of cherished building in Belmont-DeVilliers. He offered a personal gift of $500 to support the goals of the association and said that the Mayor’s Urban Redevelopment Advisory Committee would hold a separate meeting to address the Belmont-DeVilliers and Tanyard districts at which all interested parties could be heard.

Claudia Brown-Curry introduced herself to the members, narrating her diverse background in banking, probation and parole, guidance counseling and earning an Ed.S. degree at UWF,  She discussed the high school dropout rate among African Americans in Escambia County and blamed this on insufficient resources, programs and vocation tracks. She plans to implement some of these things if elected as school superintendent.

Tony McCray discussed the city’s disparity report due in the next couple of months and wants to make sure any recommendations are implemented. He is working to strengthen the Gulf Coast African American Chamber of Commerce and is looking for a museum location for historic preservation.

Dottie Dubuisson talked about upcoming meetings, including the Mayor’s URAC and City Council and Planning Board meetings. She discussed presentations on housing by the Downtown Improvement Board and heritage tourism by UWF’s Matt Altier.

Rev. John Powell discussed the children’s Easter celebration sponsored each year by Truth for Youth.

Christian Wagley gave an overview of the 4-month mission of the 7-member Mayor’s Urban Redevelopment Advisory Committee. He described the members’ task as seeking creative ways to raise money to cover projects that can be realistically achieved in the next 3-5 years. Geraldine Vaurigaud noted that Mr. Wagley walks the talk in that he rides a bike, promotes healthy living, growing food and has worked as produce manager at Ever’man’s. Mr. McCray said he and Mr. Wagley both participated in last year’s Clean Economy Roadshow.

Dr. Alexa Canady-Davis collected membership dues and explained the imminent loss of Escambia County funding facing the West Florida Library System. That amounts to about 70% of the library’s budget. The loss would necessitate the closing of the Century and Southwest branches, plus consolidating other branches while curtailing service and book purchases. To offset this loss is a proposal of a Municipal Service Taxing Unit (MSTU) of 0.35 mills, which would be added to the ad valorem tax bills of Escambia County properties outside City of Pensacola limits. She urged everyone to attend the County Commissioners meeting at 9 am on Thursday, April 12 at 221 Palafox Place. Library supporters are asked to wear red. It was moved, seconded and approved to write a draft letter to commissioners urging them to find a solution to this funding issue.

Geraldine Vaurigaud gave an update on her community outreach efforts and discussed the Brain Gym movement-based children’s learning program (see braingym.org).

Charles Bare explained that Lara McKnight had withdrawn her candidacy for the council at-large seat currently filled by Sam Hall, and that he is now running for this seat. He said he needs 1,299 petition signatures by May 12 to qualify to run.

Four persons will be sponsored for the July 12-14 Florida Neighborhood Conference, hosted for the first time by the City of Pensacola. Attending will be Dolores Curry, Ann Hill, Eleanor Johnson and Dottie Dubuisson. Tony McCray also plans to attend.

Mr. Todd discussed the opening of the Maritime Park and stadium. He was given an appreciative round of applause for his service to the park development.

It was noted that the Palafox Market’s new season begins May 1.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:40 pm, and all enjoyed a delicious meal courtesy of Sheikh Aziz and the sisters of Muhammad’s Mosque #98.