SPAR revolt?

[uptowngirl]

That is assuming Riverside is in better shape that Springfield...I think that is debateable. I think Riverside may have more commercial business, but not sure it is any better in any other way. In fact I would be willing to argue if it is safer or not.....

[AlexS]

A community patrol or neighborhood safety watch seems like it would be a natural idea, and again RAP provided those things based on volunteers back in the early days.  SPAR on the other hand apparently spends 100 grand or thereabouts with heavy subsidy from one of the local residential developers to purchase security guards.

The details about this SPAR program can be found at the link below. They are off duty JSO officers and not security guards.
http://www.sparcouncil.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=4151
SPAR is the organizer of the crime fund. How much or how little every one donates is up to the individual donors. It is restricted donation money which has to be paid out to the JSO officers.
I personally don't see anything wrong for a residential developer to donate large amounts for additional security. It is better for the developer and better for the community. A win-win situation. One crook off the street no matter where in SPR is one less who can do harm. After all it does not matter where they are caught, as we all know they roam around.
I would also prefer that JSO would take care of all the criminals in the area and be proactive. Maybe one day we won't need a security fund or Shadco meeting, but today I believe we still do and it's a good thing we have it.
Why would anyone have an issue or not appreciate if someone else donates their money to make the neighborhood a better place ?

[strider]

OK, AlexS, I'll bite.

The security fund exists only because SRG benefited in some way.  Whether it made the "donation" more credible for tax purposes rather than just spending the money on security as a business expense or some larger benefit, I do not know.   There was a reason they wanted it to be run through a non-profit.  You know what?  That's perfectly OK.  Absolutely nothing wrong with that.  As long as the fund is there to help everyone in the community.  There has been some discussion that it has not been.  Some have suggested that it was run in a way that had the extra officers only in areas that SRG wanted them in.  That means some areas of Springfield never saw the extra efforts.  There seems to be either an inability to come up with proof of this one way or the other or just a lack of proof exists. I don't really know. I do know that the apparent resistance of the executive board on some fronts indicate they either want to hide something or just don't care if the information gets out or not.  All that attitude does is fuel more fear that they are up to something and causes mistrust of things like the security fund.

You asked what's wrong with a developer donating money?  Nothing.  As long as everyone in the community recognizes that there is something in it for the business that makes the donation or they would not do it. A business does not spend it's money to go find a better tax donation credit only to not partake of it themselves.  Again, nothing wrong with that, but everyone must realize that it would not have been done if the business didn’t benefit from it. And like some people often do, sometimes businesses that make those donations expect something extra in return.   If the organizations give that extra to the businesses, it’s bad on them, for the business is just doing what it should do and watching out for it’s bottom line.  What I have said all along is that the community's best interests may not be served by the same thing as what is best for a particular company's bottom line.  Which is why there should be some amount of distance between those businesses and the community organizations.

[sheclown]

me too me too me too 

I would be very happy to volunteer.  I have worked on many of these houses and love talking about them.  I think having workshops would be a great idea. 

[fsu813]

For the record, Riverside is safer than Springfield in general. However, each has their own areas that aren't very nice and neither is as safe as Avondale or San Marco. Neither is overly dangerous though either.

[jbm32206]

Historic Springfield is quite safe, and I don't agree with your 'for the record'....the majority of what's reported as happening here in Historic Springfield, isn't. Actually, there's very little crime that happens in this square mile neighborhood.

[alta]

For the record.  Crime is significantly lower in Springfield than in Riverside.  I know that's hard to believe for people that watch the news about a shooting in "Springfield" that was acutally at 30th and Main.  I pulled the crime data recently.  Look it up online at www.coj.net 

[michelle]

After my family sent me crime stats on the 32206 zip code, that compared to Newark, NJ I did some digging around on my own and came to the realization, that just as Alta said, there is very little crime inside Springfield.  I guess it is just the surrounding areas that make Springfield seem unsafe.  It does seem though, that since I have been on this forum that a lot of crime has been happening in Riverside.  But maybe that is just a perception issue.

Off topic, but I am very excited to say that we finally have a move date in which we will be moving to Springfield!  I am looking forward to being a part of the community and this forum has really helped me learn a lot about Jacksonville before our move.

Michelle

[strider]

Just to add to this discussion, there is a thread about appointments and such in the SPAR Council Board part of the forum that brought up the fact that the current President, Secretary and one other board member were elected in 2005 and so their terms were up this past October.   This means that technically, they are not legally on the SPAR Council board anymore - since the elections that were supposed to be held in October were not held at all.  Nor is there any evidence that they have been appointed back on the board by the board.  So at least two key members of the current administration  should not be conducting SPAR Council business.  And this even by the “new and improved” by-laws passed in June, 2008. Interesting, no?

[jbm32206]

I find it quite interesting....and it all seems to tie into them not having elections...until of course, those of us that have spoken up about it

[uptowngirl]

Did anyone understand the recent SPAR news letter?

Circumstances beyond anyone’s control have resulted in a delay of the question and answer session scheduled for next week. A close family member of SPAR President, Claude XXXX, is ill and has been hospitalized. Additionally, Jack XXX has been required to be out of town for several days, and cannot be available for the meeting. Given the situation, there will not be a General Meeting in November. The SPAR Open House, where the community is invited replaces the December meeting, therefore the Question & Answer session will be re-scheduled for January 2009. As you are aware, the election, appointment of additional board members etc. is being reviewed by the Governance Committee. Work is still being done. We apologize for having to postpone the Q&A Session but invite you to continue to submit questions.

Huh? Isn't this the same reasons we couldn't have the October meeting? Now we wait until Jan 09?!!!

Then this piece...what the heck does this mean?!!!

Here’s a sample question received by the SPAR Office:

Q: What would I do if I wanted to open a rooming house in Springfield?

A: One strategy would be to undermine SPAR, an organization that is actively working to prevent any new rooming houses from opening in the historic district.

[jbm32206]

That's a crock, and they know it....if the questions had to be submitted prior to the meeting, then what difference does it make who of the board is there? They've had plenty of time to get their answers together, and present them. Plus, I'm sure they're picking the questions they want to answer.

As for that sample of questions...I agree...huh? I can't think of anyone who would've submitted a question like that...and their answer isn't very professional...isn't there already an ordinance or whatever in place, to prevent any new places from opening? So that's a non-issue and certainly not one that pertains to what's happening....such as the changing of bylaws, appointments without elections...etc...

[downtownparks]

While I appreciate the ever warm and glowing praise from such a man of character, the question had nothing to do with me. I am not a board member, I have nothing to do with the weekly update, and aside from going to Mondays meeting to back up Alex, I have had no communication with anyone of note.

[uptowngirl]

While I appreciate the ever warm and glowing praise from such a man of character, the question had nothing to do with me. I am not a board member, I have nothing to do with the weekly update, and aside from going to Mondays meeting to back up Alex, I have had no communication with anyone of note.

I am note sure who or what this is in reference too? I have only seen two women post wuestions about the weekly update?

[soxfan]

It would be my guess that considering some of who is involved in this tread that someones posts have been deleted....