September 2017 CPCA Neighborhood meeting

September 2017 Neighborhood CPCA meeting

The meeting began at 7:10 pm and was attended by Board members Pat, Michelle, Rhonda, Heather, Beth, Jodi, Joe and Virginia, and 18 Croissant Park neighbors.

Dr. Ben Sorenson in white shirt

After the Pledge of Allegiance, our Neighborhood Crime Watch team Officers Fernandez and Cuevas gave us the crime report for July and August: 6 auto burglaries, 3 of which were stolen auto parts, and 3 of which were from unlocked cars.  One stolen bike from a bike rider.  No residential or business burglaries.  We are reminded to lock our cars and leave items inside the car hidden or remove them to the trunk.  FLPD is promoting a campaign called “Not fun to lose your gun”.  Don’t leave it in your car, bring it with you if you have a carry permit.  A grant has provided the police department with gun

George and Fritz center

lock boxes with combination locks for cars that are tethered underneath seats.  Our Crime Watch team will bring some to our October meeting, first come, first serve.  A neighbor asked if a lot of people carry guns, the answer was a resounding YES.  Some post-hurricane looting  occurred and they are considered “heightened crimes” and bring tougher charges.  Another neighbor asked for the definition of trespassing: it occurs when a person enters private property unwanted, however they must be forewarned.  A “no trespassing” sign is considered fore warni

Walter Duke on right

ng but the perpetrator must be given the opportunity to leave.  If they are stealing fruit in a yard, it takes 2000 pieces of fruit to make an arrest.  Another neighbor asked about parking enforcement where people are parking in a manner that obstructs the view of traffic.  Ofc. Fernandez will look at the code and get back to us.

Two well known and beloved Croissant Park neighbors have passed: Marian Ready, a long-time resident passed away at the age of 94. Joe Shover, also a long-time resident who served as a CPCA President.  Joe moved back to Michigan where he celebrated his 100th birthday last year.  He passed away this year.

Nominations for the CPCA Board of Directors for 2018 was announced.  Virginia nominated the current Board and officers.  There is still time to nominate anyone who might be interested to serve.  We will vote at our next meeting which will be held at the Community Center on Tuesday, October 24th at 7pm.  We are holding the meeting on the 3rd week of October instead of the 4th because Halloween falls on the 4th Tuesday and we all might be well-advised to be home for Trick-or-Treaters on the 31st.  

Speaking of Halloween, the annual Ft. Lauderdale Halloween event at the Community Center will be on the afternoon of Saturday, October 28th.   If you would like to contribute candy please drop it off at the Community Center before the event.  There is also a local event in the ‘hood “Phineus Taylor’s Circus & Freak Emporium” at 510 SW  16th Street on Tuesday, Oct. 31st. staring at 7pm  Great fun for all ages.  Games for little ones, candy and prizes.

Our Board member Beth Falkenhagen reminded us that volunteers are needed for the Ocean Conservancy  Beach Cleanup.  She will post the details on nextdoor.com.  

Michele DiMaria & Beth Falkenhagen

Beth would like to propose an Adopt-a-Street for GreenYour Routine(GYR).  It would hopefully be SW 4th or 9th Ave and would require  a quarterly trash pick up. High school students who must fulfill volunteer requirements could be a perfect fit for this project. 

Beth is hoping to coordinate with the City for a Tree Giveaway in the near future.  Good timing after the hurricane. 

Beth wants to thank the volunteers who turned out for the butterfly garden at Snyder Park.  

As you might have guessed, Beth is doing a great job of keeping us “green” and lighting a little fire under us to volunteer for these activities.  CPCA receives points from GYR for our volunteering efforts, the points then turn into money for the Association’s activities and contributions to various needs.

We had three candidates attend our meeting tonight: Mayoral candidate Charlotte Rodstrom, and two District 4

Commissioner candidates, Ben Sorensen and Walter Duke.  Each candidate introduced him/herself and spoke briefly.  We hope to have a candidates’ night to hear all before the election in March 2018.

Charlotte Rodstrom

Joe Russell

We had an in-depth discussion about waste water moving from one neighborhood to another.  Many neighbors have spoken up about this issue, so its best we get an idea of why this is happening. Our Board member Joe Russell described how a sewer lift station works, and doesn’t work sometimes.  Charlotte Rodstrom tells us these sewer problems will continue because of an aging infrastructure.  The sanitation trucks are taking from areas that may overflow with storm water and sewage and depositing it in various neighborhoods that can handle it.  Croissant Park is not being singled out.  It is acknowledged that dumping in a manhole next to your home can be frustrating and seemingly illegal, but it’s happening all over the City and the infrastructure is groaning under the pressure.  Yes, major things need to be fixed and it may take bond issues and accountability.  We are all disappointed in the way this has been handled.

Vegetative debris on swales is beginning to be picked up by crews from all over the country.  16th Street has a crew from Iowa.  These are hard working great guys who appreciate an offer of cold water. At this time FEMA will not allow them to pick up anything but vegetative debris, no black bags, no fences, or anything else!!  We are told Friday, September 29th will resume normal pick up of trash in black bins.  

Neighbors have suggested some apps that have proved to be very helpful during and after the storm: GasBuddy is helpful in finding gas stations that are pumping gas/diesel, have generators, etc.  WhatsApp is an app that a group or neighborhood can stay in touch with each other during and after a storm.  Zello is another app that works like a walkie-talkie and does not require the Internet.

Janet & John

Our 50/50 raffle featured our brand-new roomy cotton canvas CPCA shopping bags (we’re keeping it green!) and 50/50 money, of course.  The winners of the canvas bags were our new neighbors Janet and John, who just met and will share the bag, and George, who provided the sandwiches tonight and could have used the bag beforehand to haul the grub!  The 50/50 money was won by  Chris Falkenhagen who promptly donated it back to the Association.  Thanks Chris!

Meeting adjourned at 8:20pm.

Minutes by Virginia

Photos by Rhonda

Marty Kiar Newsletter July 2017

Dear Neighbor,

In this newsletter, I share how excited we are about a new state law to help first responders, and I tell you of other ongoing work of the Broward County Property Appraiser's office. First Responder’s Disability Exemption The property tax exemption for certain totally and permanently disabled first responders and surviving spouse’s bill was recently implemented. This bill allows for a Florida first responder who is totally and permanently disabled as a result of injuries sustained in the line of duty to be exempt from taxation on their Homesteaded property. There are specific requirements for this exemption so please contact my office if you have any questions. As a result of this newly enacted Florida law, I had the privilege of signing up totally and permanently disabled Florida first responders for a full exemption from all ad valorem taxes. One of the first to receive this exemption was Howard, a former Broward Sheriff's deputy who became totally and permanently disabled while assisting other first responders at Ground Zero after the 9-11 attacks. Our first responders are true heroes and deserve whatever assistance we can provide, but more importantly our respect and appreciation.

Estimate of Taxable Value On June 30, I certified the 2017 Estimate of Taxable Value for the various taxing authorities. For months, the employees of our office have been working diligently determining the value of all property in Broward County. These property assessments are important because the property tax a property owner pays is determined by the assessed value of the property, less any tax-saving exemptions, times the millage rate, plus any non-ad valorem fees set by local taxing authorities. The tax roll certification I signed certifies that these values are accurate and correct. In Broward County, there was an overall increase in taxable value of 9.32%, including new construction, with the taxable value for existing properties increasing 7.82% in the county. This increase is based on the sales from January 1, 2017 back through January 2, 2016. Florida law requires our assessments to be a year in arrears meaning the current real estate market will impact the 2018 property assessments. These values are significant because they are used by the county, school board, cities and other taxing authorities to set their budgets for the upcoming fiscal year. If you would like to see the increase in taxable value by city, click here 2017 TRIM Notices The Property Appraiser’s Office will be mailing the 2017 TRIM (proposed tax) Notices in mid-August. This notice will show your property assessment, exemptions, and the proposed taxes. Included in this notice are the hearing dates and times for the various taxing authorities’ budget hearings. This notice is your opportunity to review your property assessment and ensure you are receiving all the exemptions you are entitled to. If you believe you are entitled to an additional tax-saving exemption or if you have questions about your assessment, please do not hesitate to contact my office directly. Exemption questions - please contact our Customer Service Department at (954)357-6830. Residential property assessment questions - please contact our Residential Department at (954)357-6831. Condominium and time share questions - please contact our Condo Department at (954)357-6832. Commercial property assessment questions - contact our Commercial Department at (954)357-6862. The deadline for applying for any 2017 tax-saving exemption or appealing your property assessment is September 18, 2017. If my office can ever be of assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at (954)357-6904 or by email at martykiar@bcpa.net Take care, Marty Kiar Broward County Property Appraiser

CPCA June 2017 Neighborhood meeting

Minutes - June 2017 CPCA Neighborhood Meeting

Greetings Croissant Park Neighbors,

Our meeting opened a few minutes after 7pm with the Pledge of Allegiance.  Board members in attendance were Pat Rathburn, Joe Russell, Rhonda Kramer, Heather Cunniff, Beth Falkenhagen, Nicohle Kallio, Jodi Perraud, Virginia Russell.

Rhonda and Pat were busily setting up the pet photos and voting “machines” for our much advertised Pet Photo Contest.  Voting to take place after all the speakers.

Our Neighborhood Crime Watch team from FLPD reported six home burglaries, two robberies, thirteen auto burglaries, and two auto thefts.  Keep in mind that these statistics are over a three month period, but a troubling trend is the amount of auto burglaries (13!).  These are when an auto is broken into either by breaking a window or merely opening an unlocked car and stealing contents from  inside.  Remember that the odds are in your favor if you lock your car at all times and don’t leave any valuables in plain sight.  Burglaries of homes usually occur through bathroom jalousie windows and sliding doors that are not properly locked. Crime Watch team reminds us that when school is out for summer break, the break-ins increase, so be extra vigilant.  ALWAYS call 911 first when you are a victim or witness any crime.  If you plan on leaving town on vacation you can request a security watch of your home by FLPD.  Go to p2c.fortlauderdale.gov for more information.

Dr. Ben Sorenson, who will be running for our District IV City Commissioner in February 2018, introduced himself and answered a few questions.

Our Board member Beth informed us of a Croissant Park Get Together on September 16th at Gore-Betz Park that will feature local musicians and artists. If you would like to take part, Beth will post more info on nextdoor.com.  She also reminded us that volunteers will be welcome to help plant a butterfly garden at Snyder Park on August 5th. 

Our next speaker was Rob Bostian,  a Sr. Project Manager for the WAVE light-rail streetcar that will be running a route from  Andrews Ave. and 17th Street to Sistrunk Blvd., through Downtown and back. There will be 14 stations on which to board the streetcar. Many changes will occur on the route, including tree removal, new stoplights and crosswalks, a rebuild of 3rd Avenue Bridge, and much more.  For more information visit the website wavestreetcar.com.  

Restoration is nearing completion at the  South Side School at 701 S. Andrews. Patrick, the coordinator of after-school sports at the CP Community Center has informed us that South Side is searching for instructors for a variety of interesting programs: math & science tutoring, culinary lessons, performing arts, yoga & pilates classes, music and dance classes, and much more, including your own unique program.  For more information call: 954-828-7108 or email: lalexander@fortlauderdale.gov

The votes are in: the winner of the much-touted Pet Photo Contest (drumbeat please)…Moggetts  who lives with Nina and Stan Kramer.

Runners up:  1) Tank  (Beth Falkenhagen)  

                      2) Chicken Little (Natalie Dluggosz)

Congrats to all the pets and owners! Moggetts will be featured on the cover of our soon-to-be famous CPCA Newsletter for January 2018. We hope to publish a Pet Photo Pin-up Calendar for 2018.  Stay tuned.

See you at our next meeting on September 26th….

Minutes by Virginia-Secy

Photos by Rhonda

Arboreal Massacre! The WAVE

Wow!

From: Cal Deal [mailto:caldeal@gate.net]
Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2017 9:49 AM
To: Jack Seiler; Romney Rogers; Bruce Roberts; Dean Trantalis; Robert McKinzie; Lee Feldman; Dale Holness; Nan Rich; Steve A. Geller; Tim Ryan; Mark Bogen; Barbara Sharief; Chip LaMarca; Beam Furr; Michael Udine
Cc: Arian Campo-Flores; Tim Smith; Rolando Otero; George Mihaiu; Larry Barszewski; Dan Christensen; Brittany Wallman; Bob Norman; Jess Swanson; Andrew Abramson
Subject: Wave Marks S Andrews Trees for Death

 

 

ARBOREAL MASSACRE!

 

Wave Streetcar targets ALL South Andrews median trees for death!

 

 

Funny thing … the Wave people never bothered to post their Tree Mitigation [aka “Destruction”] Plan on their web site … until I asked for it. The Plan went online yesterday. Here is a block-by-block look at details from the plan. Xs show which trees, large and small, will be killed and dragged away. The plans are followed by GoogleEarth images of the living trees as they beg for mercy. Basically, everything in the medians would be a goner.

 

The trees will be “replaced by sets of black poles on either side of the street, connected by wire and holding up streetcar wires. These sets of black poles will be about 90 feet apart.

 

Cal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With two lanes of roadway, they designed it to take out the trees. This is SW 18 St, where the streetcars

would leave South Andrews and head toward the maintenance facility.

 

 

 

--------------------------------

 

Cal Deal

 

1317 SE 2nd Ave.

Fort Lauderdale FL 33316

(954) 295-3726

 

CANCEL The Wave Streetcar!

 

NOTE: I live in the area they say will most benefit from The Wave. At first I liked the idea, but after reading and reflection, I am AGAINST it. Instead of deploying 1880s technology, we need to join the transportation pioneers of the 21st Century and become a showcase for how to do a modern transit system and do it well. We need to DREAM!  Please join me in opposing this $200 million-plus  boondoggle — and don’t forget to tell your commissioners what you think. (See below)

 

Click here for info:

WaveGoodbye.net

 

EXCELLENT, 10-POINT CRITIQUE OF THE WAVE

by Randal O’Toole. Click here.

 

Email your commissioners … 

Click here for a pre-addressed form:

http://www.wavegoodbye.net/email.html

 

Give them a piece of your mind!

 

In WaveGoodbye.net

 

• Page One — BOONDOGGLE BACKERS: Six Broward County commissioners vote to keep project going (6/13/17)

• Angry Crowd — NOT ONE PERSON SPOKE IN FAVOR OF THE STREETCARS (6/5/17)

• Library — Videos, key documents, studies, maps

• CRA Broke Law? — Possible misuse of $7.5 million!!!

• Take Email Action — It’s easy! Go here to get a pre-addressed blank email to ALL city & county commissioners

• Kansas City — Ridership trendline down after one year

 

More to come!

 

PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO YOUR EMAIL LISTS, ETC.!

 

May 2017 Croissant Park Neighborhood Meeting

May 30, 2017 CPCA Neighborhood Meeting

Board members in attendance were:  Patricia Rathburn, Nicohle Kallio, Jodi Perraud, Heather Cuniff, Virginia Russell, Joe Russell, Beth Falkenhagen and Rhonda Kramer.  Absent - Michelle DiMaria 

Hello Croissant Park Neighbors,

We opened our meeting at the Community Center with the Pledge of Allegiance.  Usually we have our FLPD Neighborhood Watch officers to give us our crime report but they were not able to make it to tonight’s meeting.  They were out keeping the neighborhood safe…

Our President Pat took the time for some reflection about our homeless situation.  She brought our attention to a homeless man who has been living and sleeping on the ground at a bus stop near the Broward General ER entrance.  We have compassion for these unfortunates and it is crucial that we recognize their plight and work towards solutio

Our first speakers were Amal Khoury and Liz Tobin, Family Service Counselors for Dignity Memorial, a family funeral home network.  They are committed to providing practical guidance to families and individuals who are dealing with the loss of loved ones.  They stressed the importance of pre-planning and familiarizing with all the many arrangements that must be attended to.

We had many new faces at the meeting last night so Beth recommended that we go around the room to introduce ourselves and tell where we live in Croissant Park.  At least two couples have moved into the neighborhood very recently. And we were joined by our old friend of Croissant Park, Jack Timmins, a local realtor who lives in Edgewood.  Also attending tonight is a well-known Fort Lauderdale resident, Charlotte Rodstrom, who is running for Mayor in 2018.  Welcome to all.

Our second speaker was Fort Lauderdale developer Gus Carbonell who came to show us the plans for the 1-story office building he hopes to build. The proposed sight is on the corner of SW 9th Avenue and S.R. 84, the now-empty lot that was a Shell gas station.  This property is in Edgewood but would be something that would potentially be seen by us on a regular basis.  On another matter, Gus informed us that the City has finally adopted the architectural guidelines for new residential properties mandating that front doors must face the street and eliminate the preponderance of garage doors that face the street, causing front doors to be located around to the side of the residence. Our Association has been a strong advocate for these code requirements, that have been pushed aside for several years.  We are glad to see them become a reality.

Our third speaker was Sherri Sloan who is representing the “Meet Your Neighbors” project. They are planning a City-wide Block Party and Sherri asked for and received two volunteers, Beth Falkenhagen and Natalie Dlugosz, for the Croissant Park planning committee.

Ms. Tobin and Ms. Khoury from Dignity Memorial held a drawing for a gift basket that was won by our new neighbors Natalie and Matthew Dlugosz.  Congratulations and welcome to the neighborhood. 

The Pet Picture Contest began with many people bringing their favorite pics of their pets.  We will be extending the contest to Nextdoor so people can submit their entries for the June voting.  The contest is open to 2017 members so don't forget to send in your membership application.  The winner will be featured in the next Newsletter and the CPCA 2017 calendar along with the runner-ups.

The 50/50 raffle was won by Julia Breschia.

Minutes by Virginia
Pics by Rhonda

February 2017 CPCA Neighborhood Meeting

Hello Croissant Park Neighbors,

Our February meeting began at 7:10 with the Pledge of Allegiance. 

The crime report was brought to us by the FLPD Neighborhood Watch Team Officers Fernandez, Pekrol and Rodrigues.  Our neighborhood crime rates have fallen substantially in this period.  The only burglaries reported were of cars that were unlocked.  The speed limit on 4th Avenue has been lowered from 40 MPH to 35 MPH, hopefully resulting in fewer traffic accidents and fatalities. 

Virginia with Owl House

Our CPCA President, Pat, provided us with detailed information about Eastern Screech Owls that dwell in our neighborhood. Screech owl breeding season is from mid-March to June, usually producing 3 eggs, Male screech owls are smaller than the females and they mate for life.  They live in hollow trees and are active at night, but can be heard day or night. Because the owls prey on rats and mice, it is ill-advised to use rat poison as it could lead to the death of the owls that eat those rats. Fun fact: a group of owls is called a parliament. Board member Joe Russell built an owl house to be raffled tonight. The owl house should be mounted on a pole with a predator guard 10-30 feet from the ground, or hanging under a tree limb.  The bottom of the house should have 2-3 inches of wood shavings, and house should not be painted or stained. Fun fact #2: Owls will introduce blind snakes to the nest that eat insect larvae which help to keep the owlets healthy as they grow.

Michele, Jodi, Nicohle, Pat

Joe Russell with Crystal Aiken

Heather Cunnif with Virginia Russell

John Bertino, Community Liaison for Broward County Commission attended the meeting.  

The lucky winner of the Owl House raffle is Crystal Aiken.  

submitted by Virginia Russell, Secretary
pics by Rhonda