DUH...Goofed Again!!

Yesterday's entry is a prime example of my short term memory malfunction. I keep blaming it on medication but the fact is I do have difficulty with remembering names from time to time. However, readers of the blog world are right there to proofread for me. I apologize for the mistakes & ommissions.

One group I missed was those from the Main Street Preservation Assoc. who participated in the cleanup effort on Ekin. Also the Southern Regional Director of Historic Landmarks of Indiana is GREG Sekula, not Dave. For some reason I keep getting Greg confused with Dave Barksdale when I write. I suppose that's because when I see one of them, I usually see the other also.

Again, sorry for the confusion and keep checking my facts!

Cooperative Endeavors Net Positive Results

On Friday last a heretofore rare occurrence took place. Due to the combined and willing efforts of the Historic Landmarks Foundation, the neighborhood associations of Uptown, East Spring Street, Sue Ellen Jones, Silver Grove, the New albany Board of Works, and a host of volunteers (including some from Jeffersonville, Sellersburg & Clarksville), the home at 1746 Ekin Avenue in New Albany got a new lease on life.

This property was on the city's demolition list with but a few weeks remaining when Dave Sekula of the HLFI tracked down the owner, proposed to him that Landmarks purchase the home from him, assist him in clearing his personal property out of it and put in on the market as a salvageable property as opposed to another vacant lot of weeds in our city.

The owner agreed to the deal, the city agreed to give HLFI a grace period to make it happen, and Dave started asking for volunteers.

On Friday May 4th at 9:30 AM in spite of the rain and it being a workday for many of us, a small army from all around our area assembled and went to work. By the end of the long day the house was empty, the owners personal belongings were in storage, a dumpster was full to the brim, and a group of tired folks took a step back to proudly view their collective efforts.

Many of these people had no direct connection to this issue... or did they? Have we possibly reached a point wherein we realize that our "Neighborhood" extends beyond our privacy fence or the house two doors down. We can only hope that this experience can and will be repeated all over New Albany, Floyd County, and ultimately Southern Indiana & beyond.

The small flame has been lit and I encourage us all to fan the fire until it grows to blazing proportions.

To all of those volunteers who gathered this past weekend to strike that match, I say well done and THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!

Honest..It's True!

I hesitate to write this post for without any of our team present save myself I fear being suspected of drunkedness of drug abuse. Even the Video taping was absent on this occasion. Based on recent history I too would be skeptical had I not witnessed it.

This nights Common Council meeting was so calm as to be scary for one who has a history of attendence. There was very little obstructionest debate and no wailing & gnashing of teeth at all!

All agenda items that were brought to the floor for a vote passed 9 to 0 without as much as a whimper. That includes the hiring of a Sewer Utility Manager.

I admit I left prior to the afterglow of public discussion of nonagenda items so fireworks may have insued later, but I felt it behooved me to get out while the getting was good.

Perhaps every meeting should be held under the umbrella of "Election Eve".

Remember; Vote till it hurts!

Batter Up---Play Ball!!

As with many things in our day to day lives, timing is everything and many times it sucks.

Case in point.

One of the homes on the city's demolition list (one which, by the way, the city invested something to the tune of $6K to put a roof on last year) has been acquired by Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana for the purpose of not only saving it but selling it as a single family residence (as opposed to it becoming another slumlord cash cow).

This particular property is located at 1746 Ekin Avenue and has been determined to be in structerly sound condition. It basically just needs a serious face lift and some TLC.

The Landmarks folks took this action because they saw not only the potential for this property to be restored into a beautiful home but also to reinforce the concept that single family homeowners on the tax roles are much more productive to our neighborhoods than are transient renters.

Here is where we, the neighborhood groups come in. This coming Friday May 4th, we are asking for as many volunteers as possible to help clean out the contents of this house & outbuildings. Some of it is going into storage and a lot is going into a dumpster. Arrangements for both have been made and now live bodies are needed to make it happen.

As I said previously, the timing sucks, but the planners felt that Derby Day would be even worse and as I understand it, there is a limited time frame involved in acheiving the desired results.

So now is the time for as many of us that can to put our time & energy into what we've been talking about for a long time. Grab your gloves, broom, & cleaning supplies, and join in the fun at 9:30 AM! After all, these are our neighborhoods.

Thanks in advance for your help!