My Croissant Park: October 2014

Croissant Park General Meeting--September 30, 2014

Patricia Rathburn & Officer Dejo

Happy Autumn, Neighbors

The meeting began at 7:10 with the Pledge of Allegiance. All eight Board members were in attendance. The June General meeting minutes were approved.

Our first speaker was FLPD Officer Dejo reporting that in August we had 4 residential break-ins and 2 stolen cars. There were three arrests made so far as a result of those crimes. In September we had 1 residential break-in and 1 vehicle break-in. All in all, our crime stats in the neighborhood are substantially reduced. Ofc. Dejo reminds us to leave nothing in our cars overnight; take all your laptops, phones, etc inside the house for the night, and lock your car.

Ryan Henderson

Our second speaker was Ryan Henderson, Senior Management Fellow at the Div. of Neighbor Support in the Office of City Manager. Ryan will be our liaison with the City when we have issues in our neighborhood. He is pleased to know that we use the various social media sites, especially Nextdoor.com to communicate among ourselves, with other neighborhoods and with the City. Ryan has provided us with his email and phone number: rhenderson@fortlauderdale.gov. (954) 828 5213.

Our president Pat reminded us of the ‘No Sleeping Zone’ ordinance recently adopted in September 2014 that prohibits transients from sleeping in the downtown area, causing these homeless people to find new areas in which to sleep, usually in nearby neighborhoods such as Croissant Park. It is suggested that residents can call police if a person is found sleeping on their property.

A motion was made, seconded and passed by a simple majority to approve the newly revised Croissant Park Civic Association Bylaws, which were posted for all to review on the blog in April of this year.

Every September we invite Association members to become Board members. The slate this year will be Pat Rathburn, Michelle DiMaria, Rhonda Kramer, Heather Cunniff, Beth Falkenhagen, and Manny Carrera. It is not too late to add your name to the slate that will be voted on at the October 28th meeting. If you are interested please send an email to Beth at falkenha@gmail.com.

Medical marijuana will be on the ballot in November as a Constitutional Amendment. There will be many restrictions put in place, for example: 1)the number of dispensaries in any area, 2) a prescription must be written by a licensed doctor not affiliated with a dispensary, 3) only designated growers can produce the product, to name only a few of the restrictions. In California they have had legal medical marijuana dispensaries since 1996, and in the cities that imposed strict regulations from the start, they have had few problems. Massive amounts of information is available if you google ‘medical marijuana florida’. No matter how you stand on this topic you can make your opinion count by voting on Tuesday, November 4th.

A neighbor asked about the random patchwork paving that has been going on in Croissant Park, where some streets are paved and others are not. Ryan Henderson explained that it isn’t paving, but ‘microsurfacing’. It is a stopgap measure to make the worst of the street surfaces last a little longer until the actual paving project starts. The microsurfacing with eventually fade and blend in over time.

Regarding free trees for swales: the City Forester Gene Dempsey has to approve the sight because some swales are too narrow and others have overhead power lines. A member asked about the legality of a neighbor cutting down a mature mango tree. No one was able to give her a definite answer and she was advised to call Code Enforcement.

Don’t forget the annual Halloween event on October 25th from 4-6pm at the Community Center. We sell hot dogs and drinks for a buck, and help judge the costume contest. It’s a blast and you can join us--just show up at 4pm and we’ll give you something to do. If you can’t volunteer your time, how about a donation of candy or $$$ for candy for the kiddies at the event. You can leave your donations on Rhonda’s front porch at 712 SW 14th Street or call her at (954) 294-6630.

The Pantry of Broward annual food drive will be starting on Sunday, Oct. 26th when they will deliver flyers to doors, then return in one week, Sunday, Nov. 2nd to pick up donated food. What better way to put all that leftover Halloween candy to good use. Also, we will be collecting donated food items at our next Croissant Park General meeting on October 28th, so open your cupboards and hearts and share the wealth with those less fortunate.

The 50/50 raffle drawing this month featured boxes of Swiss chocolates donated by our good friend Jack Timmins, owner of T & T Realty. Yum. Thank you, Jack . Alan McClung won $10 in the cash portion of the 50/50 raffle and graciously donated it back to the Association. Thanks, Alan.

Jack Timmins, Jean & Marian Ready

Thanks to everyone who brought brownies and other baked goodies. And thank you also to our friend Suzy, owner of Expresso Drive-Thru on Andrews for supplying the coffee.