Croissant Park General Meeting- January 2014

Happy New Year, Croissant Park neighbors,

We kicked off the new year with a huge turn out for the January Potluck Supper meeting.  The meeting began at 7:05 with the Pledge of Allegiance led by Board VP Michelle.  Other Board members present were our President Pat, Heather, Joe, Beth, Virginia, and our new Board member Manny.  We were glad to see our ex-President John McNamara and his wife Shakira here for the first meeting of 2014. 

Fort Lauderdale police Officers Stevens and Dejo gave us our crime report.  Starting with the November figures, there were 2 home burglaries and two vehicle break-ins.  December had 4 home burglaries, 2 vehicle break-ins.  January (to date) has had 2 home burglaries, 1 vehicle break-in and 1 business burglary.  According to Ofc. Stevens, our crime numbers are down, and when asked how we are doing in comparison to other local civic associations, she tells us we are doing really well, that our crime numbers are low in comparison.  One neighbor asked how FLPD goes about responding to a 911 call.  Ofc. Dejo tells us that they park their cruiser a few houses away, so as not to scare off the perpetrator, and then they surround the premises.  Homeowners are asked to stay back, never enter your house if you believe there might be someone inside.  Let the police do their job without interference.  Neighbors asked what we can do to prevent break-ins:  close and lock any gate that leads to side and backyards, don’t leave any valuables outside.  The same goes for cars: keep valuables out of sight and always lock your car.  Regarding the helicopter activity and police street blockage at 11pm last Wednesday night, neither officer had any infomation to offer.

After the FLPD report we chowed down at the long buffet table full of all sorts of casseroles, stews and chilies, noodle, quinoa and caesar salads, assorted interesting items and lovely desserts.  Once we had our fill, we got down to business and talked about a few things that affect our neighborhood.

First up was the 15th Street near 6th Ave project that is going to be on the Planning and Zoning Board agenda in March.  Pat will let us know exactly when that is so that those of us interested in attending and putting in our 2 cents‘ worth, can do so.  

The Monitor lizards are back!!  A few have been spotted and it is their egg laying season, so be on the lookout.  They can be nasty when protecting their territory.  If you happen to get bitten, treat with antibiotics right away.

A neighbor brought up the issue of trains and how we will be dealing with many more trains once the commuter starts from Miami to Orlando.  There is concern that we need to have the types of gates that eliminate the train horns from blowing though out the night.  The Board will look into this and see what can be done.

A discussion ensued about speed humps on certain streets that create more traffic for the adjacent streets. More discussion to follow.

The age-old issue of dog owners who don’t pick up after their dogs has raised its ugly head yet again.  We will be posting signs that include the enforcement code that addresses this problem.  A question was asked about what other neighborhoods do and we believe it is a universal problem in the area, judging by the numerous different types of signs spotted in all the neighborhoods. 

It has been suggested that if you have abundant fruit from your fruit trees, put a notice on Nextdoor to share with your neighbors.  This could discourage people from taking fruit that doesn’t belong to them.  One neighbor on 17th Street had a man climb her coconut tree to help himself to the coconuts, without her permission.  Or you could do what Jack Timmins, owner of T&T Realty did, he dropped off a huge basket of avocados from his trees to share with everyone. Thanks, Jack.

Let’s all make an effort to try a little kindness towards our neighbors on the Nextdoor website.  There has been a rash of snarky comments flying around, causing at least one longtime resident to remove herself from the site.  The purpose of this website is to share information. 

For the 50/50 raffle we had some extra bonus items to give away, thanks to the generosity of Ralph Clark.  Mary Lou won a wall clock, Bob Simac won a “Baby Cakes Mini-Cupcake Maker” (we might see some mini-cupcakes from Bob in the future),  Joy Stafford had the winning tickets for a camera and a set of garden tools, Norm Kublin and Jo Bowker each won a Ft Lauderdale License tag thing-a-ma-bob, and our Grand Prize winner was Alan McClung who won the 50/50 cash of $46 and promptly donated it back to the Association. Thank you, Alan.   And thanks to Ralph for all the fun raffle prizes.

Suzy from Expresso on Andrews Avenue supplied the coffee, as she always does at our meetings.  Thanks again, Suzy.

And a big thank you to all of you who contributed and participated in our Pot Luck Supper.  The food was great and it was a terrific way to see old friends and meet new neighbors!

All the best for 2014.

Virginia Dill Russell-Secretary CPCA