SPAR revolt?

[strider]

So I went to the recent (Monday - 02/09/09) board meeting.  This was the first time the “new” board met after the “election”.  It is of interest not only for that reason, but also as a follow up on the various issues that were raised recently.

Apparently this meeting was “as soon as possible” after the election as this meeting was where the “re-organization” of the executive board took place. In the past, this special meeting was held immediately after the election as in many cases some board members were leaving and new ones coming on board.  The post election board does not seem to be following the by-laws anymore than the pre-election board did.

The Governance Committee actually decided who was going to be on the executive committee.  I don’t remember reading that in the by-laws either.  SPAR Council still has basically the same executive committee - with Jack Meeks as Treasurer (also head of the Governance Committee) , Kharis Quaintance as vice (A new addition and possibly the good one), Claude Moulton as Pres and Barbara Sweet as Secretary.  As a side note, as we all know that Claude and Barbara were supposed to be up for reelection and a quick check of the board meeting minutes show they were not simply appointed again, so apparently if you just continue to hold your office until the Governance committee decides you can stay on as President and Secretary, you do not have to be re-elected or re-appointed to the board, you automatically are.

Some of you may remember that a couple of  years ago, back when SPAR Council actually had real elections, Jennifer Holbrook was on the ballot.  She was not elected on to the board.  This was one of the reasons Louise Despain told me the board needed to be able to appoint more people, the membership could not be trusted to put the right people on the board.  So, effective on Monday, the newest board member is officially Jennifer Holbrook.  I’m sure she will fit right in.

There were a couple of good presentations.  Expect to be hit up for money soon.  And look for some campaigning for a rubber wheeled trolley on behave of  Mack as he really thinks it is a good idea.  Also look at a lot of the crime fund going towards concentrating efforts on getting Sammy’s “straightened out” so that 3rd and Main can be safe.  Perhaps if Shands didn’t think 3rd and Main was going to be safe, then they shouldn’t have entered into the contract to start with.  Of course, what if there wasn’t really a contract?

Overall, don’t look for your ideas to be brought up, discussed or acted on unless they happen to be the same as those people who are on the executive committee.   They have proven they do not have to listen to the membership and can do whatever they want to. 

If you want it to be different, all you have to do is go to meeting and speak up, both here on the forums and in person.  They had elections, such as they were, because some of you spoke up.  If there is something important to you, you must make sure you are heard loudly and often, otherwise, the SPAR Council executive committee, as has been proven, will not listen and will do whatever they wish.

[strider]

The most interesting thing in this current addition of "SPAR Speak" is:

Coming Soon: The SPAR General Meeting, Thursday, October 29th, 7pm, 1321 N Main St.

There will be some great presentations at the SPAR General Meeting including:

An Update on the Hogan’s Creek/Park Plan
A chance to meet the new JSO Zone Commander for Zone 1
A presentation from JTA on the great new Community Shuttle

And why is this important? Well, try this from the by-laws:

Section 6. ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS. Once a year during the month of October,
or as soon as practical thereafter, at a time and place designated by the Board , the membership shall
elect Directors from a slate of candidates presented by the Governance Committee of the Board and
transact any other business as may properly come before the meeting.

Of course, I guess you could say there is an out as it does sort of say as close as possible, but one would think that there would be talk about the upcoming election. Now, I know that I am, though I am a member, purposely kept out of the loop on a lot of things, like the August 7th “SPAR Speak”, but still, this is something that shouldn’t have to be hidden for any reason. In fact, after last year, it should have been yelled out about from the roof tops. But, alas, nothing, not a peep.

Yep, the current dictators at SPAR Council certainly have the best interests of “their” people at heart. We, the general public, just don’t know who those people are…it certainly isn’t us.

[sheclown]

So...instead of an election, there will be a pep rally?

[Springfielder]

As if the last time there was a real election....   They select whom they want and maybe, just maybe they'll allow the membership to give their approval. Not that it matters, because it doesn't

[Sportmotor]

Glad I live in St. Johns lol.

[sheclown]

No...you miss a lot not being here.

We are vocal.  We are all passionate about our beliefs.  And we are fighters or we would not have chosen this place. 

We need changes here in this neighborhood.  But we need changes throughout the world, don't we?  We need to stop being so frightened of boogeymen, in whatever form they take, and realize that we are no better nor any worse than the man standing next to us.  That evil hides in sweet smelling places and good is often hidden from view.  And finally, we need to see and think for ourselves and not buy into what others tell us.

I'd like to have SPAR sit down with us and talk to us about our "sober houses" just as I would have liked for them to talk to us about our halfway house years ago.  But we were the "boogeymen" , not so pretty on the outside and scary as hell.  And then to justify their fears, they stirred hatred up against us. 

But really, none of this has anything to do with the lack of elections, by-law irregularities, except it comes from the same place of entitlement.  They are fine upstanding citizens and we are not.  End of story.  Door slams shut.  And in the meantime, countless feelings get hurt, and men, these guys whose self-esteem is in the toilet already, get to read about how their neighbors think they are vile.

Some of the finest people I have ever met have lived under a bridge. 

[strider]

Anyone know why the forum part of the SPAR Council site is "is currently unavailable."  Seems a little odd is all, normally the entire site goes down, not just a part of it. 

[nvrenuf]

Actually it happens quite often with the SPAR site, but no, I don't know why.

[02roadking]

Probably needs a good cleaning.....

[CS Foltz]

Forum part is down just so they don't have to listen to all of the complaints! Makes perfect sense to me.....I say the natives need to get restless big time!

[fsu813]

I say the 5 or 6 people who are constantly bashing & complaining about SPAR have thier work cut of for them.

How to create more contraversy and slanted, one-sided propaganda with the same information?

Hmmmm. Time to put thier heads together. Perhaps pull an all-nighter.

[fsu813]

I'm all for fixing whatever problems there are. 100%.

- I'm not sold that by producing an email that has no context to it, that a problem exsits with SPAR demo'ing houses that otherwise wouldn't be or shouldn't be. Obviously. Anyone that just goes by that and assumes anything conspiratorial or devious is grasping at straws. Not saying there couldn't be something, but not based on what's come out of your mini-crusade.

- Who says SPAR has a problem "coexisting" with anyone? Besides the usual suspects. I'm sure there are some who don't like it, for whatever reason....political i assume, but there's no question more people view SPAR as a positive, a unifier, a change-maker, a news maker, and an effective tool in getting things done. The same people with, just coincindece i'm sure, past conflicts with SPAR aren't going convince anyone that SPAR is undermining the integrity of the neighborhood. Not to mention that many of these people don't even live in the 'hood.

If I thought these were problems then, hell yea, let's fix them. But from everything I see it's a handfull people not liking SPAR's agenda and making a lot of noise about it, while at the same time exaggerating any misdeeds and neglecting any positives that they are responsible for.

That's how I see it at the moment. Of course that could change. I'm certainly not 'sainting' anyone.

[sheclown]

I'm all for fixing whatever problems there are. 100%.

- I'm not sold that by producing an email that has no context to it, that a problem exsits with SPAR demo'ing houses that otherwise wouldn't be or should be. Obviously. Anyone that just goes by that and assumes anything conspiratorial or devious is grasping at straws. Not saying there couldn't be something, but not based on what's come out of your mini-crusade.

Perhaps you are looking at the wrong email.  We are talking about the one in which the Executive Director of SPAR is bitching and demanding that houses be demo-ed and is upset with the city officials in the historic department because they are not tearing them down at her request.

Is that the one that has "no context?" 

[thelakelander]

By "no context", while the email as written can be quite disturbing, there are still follow up questions and evaluations that need to be considered before jumping to conclusions. 

For example, I'm still waiting to see the list of buildings (and images of them) described in the email?  Are we talking about non-significant structures that may be older than 50 years or buildings that contribute to the area's architectural and historic makeup.  An example of a non historic structure could be a plain jane concrete block garage built in someone's backyard in 1958 (making it 51 years old).  Has anyone talked to Joel?  What is his response to the email?  He should be able to shed some light on this situation from his perspective since he's directly involved and is the city's preservationist.  I think this is the type of context fsu813 and many others are looking for.   This type of information can either make or break this entire argument.

[chris farley]

I am not very good at this so I may have already sent this message though in a slightly different format.  I suggest that you go take a look at the minutes of the HPC meeting prior to this so called email and see who did and who didn't stand up for demolition.  It was a triangle between the owner of the building, HPC and Code.  It is an issue of who decides, between HPC and Code, and I have great respect for both parties.   I also suggest that the promise made when joining this web be kept and some little decency be shown.  As they say you may disagree without being disagreeable. If I have sent this twice - sorry

For what it is worth here is my statement,  I did write two letters but I am sure under the sunshine law you will be able to find them.

If that is a true email the present interpretation is incorrect  Re the Bungalow on Hubbard
Eva had been told by code that the building was not viable.  Eva did not wish to have the city take it down, it would have meant a 10,000 lien against the property.  She approached the HPC for permission to take it down herself, she did not pay the $200 for a COA.  At the meeting the HPC turned down her request for demolition, saying that code was not the decider, but an engineer’s report was required.
The next day Eva called me, she was furious angry, why?  Because Louise HAD NOT stood up at the meeting to support the request for demolition.  I told her I would look at the bungalow and take pictures and if I thought it was not safe I would write a letter to Louise and Joel.  I told her to pay $200 for a COA request and get it back on the agenda and to get an engineer’s report.  It went back on the agenda but the engineer, agreeing that the building was gone,  would write a letter for a fee of $425.  All this for a bad property, I believe its date is 1920, that was already costing money more that 5 times it s current value.
It stands next door to a restored property which is a throw away, it is sad.
As I said before when I was in the place taking photos a beam came down and I got out of there fast.  I then wrote two letters below is the one I believe I sent and I BELIEVE IN RESTORATION.
The letter

July 22nd 2009

Joel McEachin, Planning
Louise DeSpain SPAR


I write this letter in support of Eva Ayre’s request to be allowed to demolish what is left of a bungalow at 1819 Hubbard.  I say what is left because very little is left, and nothing that could be called historic.  The floors are almost non existent, the walls float away from the sides, the roof beams are severely charred from a previous fire.  It has not been a viable home for a long time now, it is hard to believe that people did exist in there within the last few years, their shower was a hose over a cinder block wall.   I am a firm believer in preservation and restoration and, never thought I would write such a letter, but in this case the building is gone.  It has not one contributing feature.
Eva bought it, and paid too much and held the mortgage, believing that she was helping a friend who said he would rebuild it.  He walked away leaving her a with a large debt.  Bringing this house back would not be a restoration but a complete rebuilding, costing well over $100,000.  The market in Springfield will not bear that kind of cost right now, so this represents severe financial hardship for Eva.
She can get an engineer to write a letter saying the building is gone, but at a cost of $425.00.  Then it would come before the committee and most probably be approved for demolition, it is such a waste of time and her money.  I went in there to take photos for Eva and while I was doing it a beam came down in the little back room, I got out of there very quickly.
Eva owns four buildings on her property, all beautifully restored and maintained, even through the worst times of blight on her particular street.  She was the only “light” around.  She is a restorer and would not seek to do this unless forced to do so, as she currently is.  Please help her.



Christine Farley
402 6th Street East
Springfield 32206


I apologize for the names contained herein but this farce has gone on long enough, Louise was caught in a triangle of code, HPC and a resident, (all good faith people) it was no win, whichever way she went she was blamed.

It is my understanding that the Vinas houses had been previously approved and came back on the agenda for some reason.











Christine Farley
402 6th Street East
Springfield 32206


I apologize for the names contained herein but this farce has gone on long enough, Louise was caught in a triangle of code, HPC and a resident, (all good faith people) it was no win, whichever way she went she was blamed.

It is my understanding that the Vinas houses had been previously approved and came back on the agenda for some reason.