S.A.M.B.A.'s speaker gets (deliberately?) misquoted.

[Miss Fixit]

I had a similar reaction, Live in 32206.  There was absolutely no need for the SPAR ED to try to discredit this neighbor.  

The board of SPAR needs to take action to improve both the quantity and quality of communication with its members and the community at large.

As others have suggested, the new ED has assumed a challenging position.  

At the heart of it, is it a "communication" issue here, Miss Fixit?  I hope so, as that would be rather easy to fix.  

However, it smells like the same problem that has occurred for years.  And that goes to what is behind the communication issue, and that is more difficult to fix.

(I mean, really, look to the title of this thread -- communication issue?).

Yes, I think this is a communication issue but you are right that the problem is deep so not actually easy to fix.  SPAR should have a representative (preferably a board member) whose primary responsibility is communication - communicating with the media and with SPAR members and members of the community.  The person selected should be familiar with the historic problems in the neighborhood.  Communication should be open, honest, reasonable and never vindictive.

There was no legitimate reason for SPAR's ED to try to discredit the community member who reached out to Dr. Gaffney.  I cannot know for certain what her motivation was, but I  imagine that exposure to all of the turmoil of the past has put her in a defensive posture.

The SPAR board needs to sit down with the ED and have a serious discussion about how to interact with the community as Springfield moves forward. 

[Livein32206]

If you read the original letter, which is what I did first, you'll see it was addressed to the councilman, and then cc'd to spar, the mayor and the rest of the council. I assume that was out of respect, if not to reach out to anyone who would step up to the plate and help. I also noticed that the first on that list of cc'd, was the spar office.

As I said, I can only assume at this point, however; if it were me, I probably would have done pretty much the same thing. As a block captain, problems are reported to the appropriate departments, and to spar if it's assumed they can assist. However, that's not always the case, as I know that other problems are not reported to spar and are only reported to specific departments: such as ECARE.

I would agree that this is a communication issue, but that it was a failure to communicate on behalf of the councilman and spar. But for the spar director to try and discredit this person for what ended up being a goof up on spar's behalf, is just so wrong. The email was sent to them, they're the ones who 'lost' it. Personally, there needs to be an apology to this neighbor, they did nothing wrong.

[strider]

It is a communication issue when the letter or e-mail gets lost or forgotten and the ED comes back and says ”sorry we missed this” or “Sorry we dropped the ball with you, but here is what we are doing…would you like to help?”

It is not a communication issue when the ED jumps up and makes a very concerted effort to quickly discredit the person who sent the original e-mails and does so in correspondence to the councilman. 

I’m sorry, but this is a very familiar tactic (one that I have born the brunt of more than once)  and I fear we have may a “Louise” here by any other name.  Same channel, same script, different cast of characters.  Same big issue for the community.

[ChriswUfGator]

Oh gawd...

Great. The new E.D.'s obviously as bad as the old one. The whole lot of them need to go.

[Springfielder]

I've set up a time/place to meet with CW Johnson. Klutho Park (at Silver street) 10:00 AM, Saturday March 27th. Anyone is welcome to join.

[sheclown]

Is the meeting about the alleys?

[Springfielder]

The alley lights that JEA and/or the city is removing and not replacing the burned out bulbs

[Springfielder]

The issue is now in the media: http://www.firstcoastnews.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=72910218001#/News/Neighbors+Worried+About+Crime+if+Alleys+Go+Dark/50619441001/50624658001/72910218001

[sheclown]

Doug did a great job on camera.

[Springfielder]

First of all, I thank all of the neighbors who attended the meeting. I felt we had a very productive meeting with CW Johnson, where she met with several neighbors and listened to their concerns about the alley lighting issues.

Some of the concerns expressed:
It was explained that since JEA removed lights, that there's been an increase in pedestrian traffic after dark, which causes a great safety concern.
That JEA has refused to replace burned out bulbs, and that it seems when a light has been reported, it's suddenly removed from the pole.
Residents have offered to pay for the lights, and are flatly refused by JEA
How Sheriff Rutherford has explained how lighting such areas helps reduce crime

CW Johnson has asked the neighbors to do the following:
Write letters of concern, explain the situation and how this has impacted the areas that are now in the dark
That neighbors show for the council meeting on April 6th (Tuesday) at 5 PM, to tell your concerns to the full council, which then becomes public record
Give a listing of lights out or that were removed, (including pole numbers if possible)

If you know of a pole that the light is no longer working or has been removed, please list it here, so that information can be collected and submitted.

Perhaps one of the moderators could split this thread and create one just for the alley lights?

[strider]

I got ahold of the current lalley lighting survey.  The street names are difficult to read i this image.  Anyone who wants a straight PDF of it, PM me and I will try to send it to you.

[Livein32206]

So, what every happened with this issue. I heard Gaffney tell a neighbor that spoke up about it at a recent council meeting, saying that he's fixed it. So are we now going to have the lights returned and burned out bulbs replaced?

[cindi]

can't wait to see the outcome since JEA is supposedly proposing every other street light go dark to save money.