Minutes of the Neighborhood Meeting 5/25/2010

The meeting began at 7:00 in the Croissant Park Community Center.
Board Members in Attendance: Pat Rathburn, Rhonda Kramer, Steve Cook, Karla Carlson and John McNamara. We had a quorum.
John lead the Pledge of Allegance.

Pat Introduced the first speakers - Jackie Scott and Mary Fertig from the Colee Hammock neighborhood. They explained a zoning request that has been submitted to the City for a Planned Unit Development (PUD) in their neighborhood and how it could affect future zoning changes all over the City. A professional opinion by Michele Mellgren is attached. Jackie and Mary asked for support of a moratorium on this zoning issue to allow time to re-examine the language and prevent future overbuilding in other neighborhoods.

A motion to support the moratorium was made by Steve Cook and seconded by P.S. (Joe) Shover. The motion passed and Pat Rathburn will write a letter on behalf of the Croissant Park Civic Association to be sent to the City.

Pat gave the Police Report on what is going on in the neighborhood. Good news: the police caught two individuals who have been breaking into cars via 'smash & grab'..... yeahhh!

The next speaker was our own neighborhood gardening angel - Karen Doyle who spoke about lawn choices, care and how to solve some of the problems we experience in south Florida. Karen offered to visit neighbors (free!) to discuss their gardening issues.

Karen Doyle won the 50/50 drawing (she donated most of it back to the Association - Thank You)

Rhonda made cookies.

Expresso Coffee provided the delicious coffee.

The meeting adjourned at 8 pm with peace and harmony prevailing.

p.s. congratulations to Charlie Law whose grandson, Charles, just graduated from West Point as a Lieutenant (Wow - that's impressive!) Charlie had some great stories about the protocol and events that they participated in. Guess it gets a bit involved when the commencement speaker is the President of the United States.

Oil Spill Flyover by Congressman Ron Klein

From: Congressman Ron Klein [mail to: fl22ima@mail.house.gov]
Sent: Monday, May 24, 2010 2:56 PM
To: Romney Rogers
Subject: Oil Spill Flyover

May 24, 2010

Dear Friend,

On Friday, I joined some of the top scientists in the country on a nine hour research mission on board a WP-3D Orion aircraft flying over the Gulf of Mexico. Led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the scientists on this mission dropped key sensors into the Loop current that will allow them to monitor the oil spill as it is carried by the current, possibly onto South Florida beaches.

During the mission, we flew over 46,000 square miles and dropped nearly 70 different surveillance devices to monitor the Loop Current and any oil flowing through it. I saw, first-hand, streaks of oil on the surface of the ocean and sheen covering large areas. We spotted oil for the first time in a section of the Gulf 60 miles south of where any oil had been previously reported. That spot is just 100 miles from Cuba, making the sighting an important new development. The sensors we dropped in the water immediately sent information back to the plane about where the oil is and specifically its position in the critical Loop current.

On the flight, I accompanied Captain Brad Kearse, Commanding Officer of the Aircraft Operations Center, Corps Lt. Cmdr. Nancy Ash, and Dr. Nick Shay, professor of meteorology and oceanography at the University of Miami, as well as 14 other scientists and experts.

Having talked with these experts and seen the oil spill first-hand, it is clear that this tragedy will have a huge and lasting impact on all of us who live and work near the coast. I participated in this mission on behalf of every business owner and coastal resident in our comunity, because I know our livelihoods and local economy depend on our response to this spill.

One thing was absolutely clear to me: BP's claim that only 5,000 barrels of oil per day are leaking into the Gulf just doesn't add up. BP has to come clean with real information about how much oil has been released into the Gulf - and how much continues to leak. Our scientists and experts have to know the how, when and where in order to plan and execute our response.

Also, BP must take responsibility for all cleanup costs and compensation to local business and property owners. I will fight to make sure that not one dime comes out of taxpayers' pockets for this disaster.

As a follow up to Friday's mission, I will talk to the head of NOAA, Jane Lubchenco, to pass along what I saw first-hand as well as the recommendations of Dr. Shay of the University of Miami. I will not rest until we have done everything we can to make sure South Florida is fully prepared for the possibility of oil reaching our shores in the days ahead.

The necessary response to this disaster is an all-hands-on-deck approach. I appreciate the hard work of the Coast Guard, NOAA and other experts, but there is still more to be done. We cannot do enough, every hour of every day, to get this spill under control and protect our South Florida coasts.

I will continue to keep you updated on this oil spill. Please feel free to forward this email to your friends and neighbors, and do not hesitate to contact my office with any questions at all.

Best Regards,
Ron Klein
Member of Congress

Neighborhood Meeting Tuesday, May 25

Hi Neighbor,

Well its time for a neighborhood meeting before summer officially hits us like a bucket of water. This meeting will have a couple of speakers:

1. We will have a visit from the Gardening Angel - Karen Doyle. Karen has indicated that she is getting a lot of calls about lawns right now. So, she is going to bring her helpful hints and tricks for solving your lawn problems. But that's not all ... she is a fountain of gardening information and will be answering questions from the crowd.

2. There will also be a speaker to address zoning changes that are being proposed in a nearby neighborhood (Colee Hammock) that would allow a parking garage to be built in a residential area. This is an awareness issue for those of you who are interested in zoning changes and how they could impact other neighborhoods in the future.

3. We hope to have our neighborhood Police Officer on hand to give a crime report and address any incidents you may know of. There were a few incidents reported on the blog in May.

Cookies and coffee from Expresso Coffee will be served. Hope to see you there.

Tuesday, May 25 - 7:00 p.m.
The Croissant Park Community Center
245 West Park Drive (south side of school - next to the pools)

You do not have to be a member to attend these meetings - it is open to everyone. But, It's never too late to join your Civic Association - just send $20 to the address on this page and you're a member! Only members are allowed to vote on Association issues.

Where the Boys Are & Traffic Updates

You can get all the details about the huge Memorial Day Party at the beach by going to the Croissant Park Website. You will also find some important traffic updates that might effect you in the next few weeks.

https://sites.google.com/site/croissantparkcivicassociation/

State of the City Address - Tues, May 25

Mayor Jack Seiler has invited all residents to attend this event. Free parking with the attachment on the webpage:

http://info.ci.ftlaud.fl.us/news/2010/soc.htm

please copy and paste the webpage if it does not open for you.

May Crime Report

There have been two incidents reported to the Croissant Park Civic Association this month:

1. A car had tail lights stolen while parked on 6th Avenue.

2. Orchids were stolen from the front porch of a home on 14 Street.

If you see suspicious activity, do not hesitate to call 911.

There will be a neighborhood meeting at the Community Center on Tuesday, May 25th - 7:00 p.m. Community awareness is very important - hope to see you there.