Notes from SPAR public meeting - 10.29

[fsu813]

- Hope the new JSO guy can be as effective and well liked as Srgt. Short. He seemed ok, but everyone really liked Short. JSO stated that they haven't seen crime levels in the general area this low since the early 70's.

- The Northside Community Shuttle by JTA program is interesting. It's a good concept at least. Apparently has worked well in other parts of town. Doesn't go on the Eastside of Main though, for some reason. Minimum 2 hour call ahead time is ok, but the presenter made it sound like you better call much earlier than that (like the day before) to assure you have a ride.

- Hogans Creek Plan was VERY impressive. For a preliminary report and design....wow.....it looks very good. Hit a home run with it so far. I think the guy in charge said it would probably take 2-3 years to secure the funding, which is dissappointing but relaistic. It looks like a 100 million+ dollar project. So maybe 5 years from now you're looking at completion?

- unlike what some predicted, there was a public forum at the end of the meeting. noone was "stonewalled". the car wash/conveneince store proposal and the 'tear down unlivable houses / preserve them' argument was brought up. decidedly favored preserving, while demo'ing only certain cases may be ok. (the ghost house on 8th was brought up). calling code enforcement in mass was recommended to get the city's attention on this issue.

- perhaps the most interesting thing that was brought up......apparently there will be a community-wide public forum on the topic of boarding houses in the next few weeks, defintely in November. I sure hope Strider, Sheclow, Stephen, and anyone else who has a strong opinion on this one way or another will show up.

- great shot of JFK on Main Street in the newsletter. i never get mine in the mail. seems as if Louise's column was directly pointed at some of the discussion on this board, as she went through various issues in "fact vs misperception". she dispells a lot of misinformation that was brought up.

all in all good meeting, another 15 minutes of public forum would have been nice, but it was heading towards 9pm.

[sandyshoes]

demo'ing only certain cases may be ok. (the ghost house on 8th was brought up).
Say what?  Please tell me about this ghost house?

[Dan B]

If its the one I'm thinking it is, Its one of the remnants of the Van Horn empire. Its not so much a ghost house, as much as the shell of what once was a house. One of the last three or four on 8th St. Its between Silver and Pearl on 8th. He put refurbished windows in it a few years ago, but never finished buttoning it up, and as a result, the thing is quite literally falling apart. It may be a case of it may actually fall down before its torn down.

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Jacksonville,+Duval,+Florida&ll=30.346084,-81.658523&spn=0,359.972126&t=h&z=16&layer=c&cbll=30.346007,-81.657729&panoid=HZSYRyE9OoZxbbBm9vVR6w&cbp=12,230.83,,0,3.72

[danno]

The one east of it had a pretty big fire a couple of years ago and was eventualy demolished.  We helped our neighbors spray water on their garage to keep it from spreading.

[Southbanker]

Wasn't there some talk on this forum several months ago about running 1 of the downtown trolleys into SPR?  Or did I dream that?  Has that been discussed lately?

[fsu813]

 there was exploration, including a ride with the mayor aorund a possible route, but it's on hold for now i think.

[tufsu1]

so wait...fsu813, are you saying that SPAR actually had an opn public meeting and took public comment....and are organizing a community forum on the boarding house issue?

I thought some have said this could never happen....or perhaps it is only happening because of the uproar 

[Springfielder]

I don't think it was so much that it could never happen, it's more that it usually doesn't.

[fsu813]

tufsu1,

yup.

[chris farley]

The meetings are public it is always that way and I have seen many similar since I have lived in Springfield, there is generally no discussion since very few show up usually.  The meeting dates are posted so everyone who can should show up.
The JFK photo came out of the SHEC archives,  Nixon was also in town that same day

[fsu813]

question is.......are you actually going to show up to this boarding house forum?

or, like usual, will you talk about it to exhaustion on MJ but be absent at the meeting.

i'm noticing a pattern, perhaps i'm wrong.

[fsu813]

i don't know whether to laugh or yawn.

1) having a public, community meeting on a topic is just fine, don't you agree? If there were too many red-lights, palm trees, stray dogs, BMW's or whatever.....if enough people think there is cause to hold a public meeting about it, why would you be against it? Anyone can share whatever views they have.

2) So you chastize people that say most of the neighborhood doesn't want more boarding/rehab houses, yet when the suggestion of having a door to door survey comes up.......guess what, you critisize it.

Then you chastize SPAR for not being more open & transparent, especially on this issue. You rip them for supposedly only listening to a few board members, ignoring the membership. You rip them for being akin to a members-only Stepford club. You go so far to say you'd be "stonewalled " if you brought i up in the last night's meeting........and guess what, you critisize it when SPAR hosts a very public forum open to the enitre community.

The words "obvious" & "agenda" come to mind, in that order.

Perhaps you know exactly what neighborhood sentiment will be, that's why you'd rather regurgitate a few people's arguments than actually hear what the public has to say?

No, that couldn't be it.....

[sheclown]

JFK is riding in an open car right directly in front of Miss Lucy's rooming house!  Got to love the irony. 

(P.S. it was a rooming house back then, too).

[tufsu1]

you really dont get it do you fsu813.

Your little club doesnt really represent the neighborhood anymore.

It really hasnt for a while.

what makes you so sure that your viewpoint does?

[fsu813]

Stephen,

oh jeez. don't you learn from your mistakes? you don't know me at all.

last time you guessed as to my personal habits & lifestyle you came up empty.

yet you go back you the same dry well.

the "you don't know what your talking about because you're well-off, white, have a new SRG home, are member of the small SPAR club, and were lured here not knowing how it really is" line. again.

remember what happened last time, Stephen?

"no, i'm not well-off, i don't own an SRG home, & i wasn't lured with false promises here." that was last time.

this time you add the 'white' and 'only talk to certain people' line. good golly.

i thought you were more intelligent than this Stephen, really.

but you don't mind lying to people publically about others you literally don't know. that much is clear.

personally, i'd be embarrassed to guess haphazardly as to someone else's life. but you seem to take pride in your ignorance. well, ok. it takes all kinds.

getting to know me would shatter your ridicuous stereotypes, so for the sake of your argument, i wouldn't.

so spare the "you don't get it, you're the problem" crap. that's irony defined.