Forest Park Civic Association Meeting

Date: 10 September 2024

Location: Epworth United Methodist Church

Meeting called to order @ 7:01PM by Ed Vanasdale 

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Attendance was taken via roll call.

OFFICER REPORTS

President Ed Vanasdale – ed1vanasdale@gmail.com

1. A moment of silence for long time member and volunteer, Mary Hinebaugh passed away on Wednesday, Aug. 21st. Our sympathies, thoughts, and prayers go out to Bob and family.
2. The Board of Trustees, in accordance with our bylaws and constitution, report that they met on July 24th and voted to remove Andrea Philipsen, Social Activities Committee Chairperson, from her position due to actions unbecoming of an officer and irreconcilable differences. Because this is a private matter, no further information will be shared. The position will remain vacant until a replacement can be found.

Guest Speaker: Devin Deal, Northland Area Neighborhood Liaison with the City of Columbus in the Dept. of Neighborhoods. He discussed the Neighborhood Best Practices Conference in Columbus on Sept. 14. Discussed Play Book Columbus, a 10-year vision plan for the Columbus Rec. and Parks department. Please go to PlaybookColumbus.com and fill in a survey – they are looking for input to decide what to do with area rec. centers. The more surveys we can get turned in  for our area can increase our chances for improvements. Devin fielded questions and concerns from area residents. Contact Devin at: 1393 East Broad Street, Columbus, OH 43205, (614) 645-7964, DDDeal@columbus.gov

Vice President Trevor Secord – tsecord@une.edu  Absent

Secretary Lou Bernard – loubernard3@gmail.com

1. Attendance:
   • Officers/Committee Chairs Present: EV, LB, CL, MS, RW, DVM, KVM, SL, CA, LH, EM, KG, DP, SB, QM
   • Officers/Committee Chairs Absent: TS, MS, AH
   • Area Reps in Attendance: 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13
   • Area Reps Absent: 1, 3, 6, 8, 10, 14
   • Total meeting attendance: 29
2. Reviewed minutes from July and August, no changes or corrections needed, minutes have been approved and were entered into the official records.
3. Attendance Sheet thru Sept. 

Treasurer Cheryl Lutman – cllutman17@gmail.com

1. We received 11 household memberships and one business membership: Cindy Fenstermaker, Realtor, renewing business member.
2. We sold 2 t-shirts at National Night Out.
3. Our primary expenses were: 
   • printing the Forester 
   • buying additional bags for Forester delivery
   • paying for our security patrols
   • paying for the parade candy for both 2023 and 2024 
   • the annual NCC membership check cleared 
   • sending flowers to Mary Anne Hinebaugh’s funeral
4. We still need 4 more business memberships and 60 more household memberships.

Public Relations Mary Sguerra –  marysguerra@howardhanna.com

Announced that the Forest Park Community Garage Sale was coming up the weekend of Sept. 14th.

Forester Editor Rita Woeste – forester_ed@fpcivic.org

1. Deadline for October 2024 Forester is Friday Sept 20. We need articles, ads, photos and anything else.
2. Will need to have folks step up. We will not have a “Forest Park Gardener” article for the next 3 months, so we are looking for a variety of articles to post in the newsletter. 
3. Looking for delivery folks to cover:
   • 19 homes: 1608-1632 Sienna Lane N (4) 4970-5029 Sienna Lane (15)
   • 48 homes: 2049-2079 Torchwood Loop SOUTH (7), 5280-5388 EAST (25), 5289-5358 WEST (16) (George S. is covering for now)
   • 50 homes: 2307-2425 Green Apple Ave(29); 5262-5297 Blackgum Pl(13); 5272-5301 Sweetgum Pl (8) (George S. is covering for now)
4. Upcoming due dates for Forester articles, pictures, etc.:
   • November and December will be a combined Issue – due Oct. 18th
   • January and February will both be online issues for budgetary concerns

Supplemental Security Daryl Van Mercetta – dvanmercetta@gmail.com, 

Katie Van Mercetta – kvanmercetta@gmail.com, 

Dan Yandrich (CPD Liaison Officer) – dyandrich@columbuspolice.org 614.645.1418

See report in the Forester.

Business Representative Sheridan Landon – slandon52@gmail.com  Cynthia Alkire – 1classicyn@gmail.com

Sheridan has been visiting local area businesses and spreading the word about joining the FPCA. 

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Welcome Committee Chair Laura Hayes – hayeslaura2@gmail.com

1. Welcome Folders for this summer are ready! We’ve had 23 new neighbors move in May-Aug. 
2. Area reps should pick up their folders at tonight’s meeting and start welcoming our neighbors as soon as tomorrow! 
3. Discussion about how to handle rental properties. Everyone agreed to treat residents as homeowners and supply them with a Welcome Folder.
4. 1-2 volunteers to help restuff folders this month! Possibly this Sunday, 3-4pm? 2 people volunteered to help. 
5. A new supply of the physical folders for the remainder of this year/next will need to be ordered.
6. Discussed new ideas to include in the folder. 
7. Thanks for being great neighbors! 

Volunteer Coordinator Erin Materu – mmateru@hotmail.com

Tallied up all of the volunteer information and can pass it out to those who would need the information. We will be reaching out to our New American residents to encourage them to join.

Membership Coordinator  Mike Stone – msto0103@yahoo.com  Absent

1. The end of September will conclude the membership campaign. I want to express my sincere appreciation for everyone who worked in different capacities to help move us in a forward direction. We’ve done a reasonable job of promoting the campaign and will continue to make some last second pitches. The focus now is primarily with “seeding the lawn” for the following year’s cycle. Doing so will take the following steps:
   • Expressed appreciation to our members through electronic messaging. The secondary level is to extend that appreciation to those who did not provide email but did provide addresses. Depending on the number of people in this category I might need the help of area reps to drop off some thank you notes.
   • A more thorough tracking of active members. If we can ensure their retention while further growing the base we have an opportunity for expansion. 
   • A reevaluation of the current system, and how to improve the process.
2. Some specific notes:
   • We do want to get another list in the Forester to recognize names since the last publication. This should be a modest list since there were 11 new members recorded for this cycle, and I had one person reach out to me being asked to be recognized. Uncertain of who has what, I am guessing that this would be either Cheryl and/or Katie.
   • Thank you notes will be going out shortly and this will take some time.

Social Activities – Vacant 

We are currently looking for a volunteer to take on this position. If interested, please contact Erin (Volunteer Coordinator).

NCC Representatives Ken Gilbert – kgilbert78@att.net, Trevor Secord – tsecord@une.edu  Absent

See Ken’s report in the Forester.

NCC Development Representative Ed Vanasdale – ed1vanasdale@gmail.com

Three cases were heard at the August 28, 2024 meeting. None of the cases were in the Forest Park immediate area.

Grant Writing Committee Quentin Monden – q.monden@gmail.com 

• We won a grant!! –  $5,000.00

1. The Civic Integration Seed Grant is a new component of the New American Program. Grants made via the Seed Fund will help to create access to funding for New American serving organizations and foster community building, youth engagement, and strengthen organizations to serve new arrivals effectively. 
2. Small Biz Cares Nonprofit Partner Program: As a partner, we will have more visibility to small businesses for volunteers, fundraising and other programs. Small Biz Cares will also provide additional awareness and content opportunities to help share our mission. There is no cost to join. https://smallbizcares.org/free-nonprofits-program/
3. COhatch – Work.Meet.Live-Impact scholarship program to receive discounted or free access to their locations to help us grow, innovate, and make our communities greater.
4. Designer Brands – DSW Foundation Community Grant: We are applying and it’s due October 18th. 

Website Administrators Scott Biggs sbiggsmail@yahoo.com (Website/Facebook)   Dave Paul dwpaul@fpcivic.org (Website)   Absent   Ashley Howard ahoward@ashleynicolecounseling.com (Instagram/Facebook)  Absent

Our website/Facebook page is always – always being updated with new and upcoming info! Please check it out!! Please subscribe/follow us.

OLD BUSINESS

The Forest Park sign on the corner of Satinwood Blvd. and Pegwood Ct. was run over. A 311 incident report was filed. Lou spoke with Kane Murray from the Dept. of Public Services and they will be replacing the sign for us. We will keep you updated if we learn any more important information.

NEW BUSINESS/ANNOUNCEMENTS/IDEAS

The Board of Trustees has approved a “Conduct Policies For Board Members, Committee Chairs, and Area Representatives of the Forest Park Civic Association”. The document has been made available to the membership for review. The Code of Conduct will be published in this Forester and on the FPCA website.

According to the current  bylaws, when there are going to be changes in or amendments made  to the bylaws and/or constitution, the items must first be presented at a FPCA meeting. At the following month’s meeting, the item/s will be reviewed and voted for adoption. When/If adopted, the items will become part of our bylaws and standard practice for the Association after 60 days. 

Members of the Board of Trustees and Committee Chairs will then be asked to sign a copy of the Code of Conduct after the next elections are held in January, and every year thereafter. (See a copy of the proposed Code of Conduct Policy in this month’s Forester and online.)

Meeting adjourned at 8:18 PM

Meeting minutes submitted by Lou Bernard, Secretary, FPCA