Wooten Neighborhood Association – January 9, 2017 – 7:00pm
Divine Redeemer Cafeteria
President Melinda Taylor presiding
Approval of November minutes (led by Melinda Taylor)
Joanne Garrett motioned for approval, Betsy Thaggard second the motion. Motion passed.
Treasurer’s report (Joanne Garrett)
General fund: $1,864.68
Park fund: $4,913.20
Good News
- Thanks to Adam Turner for organizing the Christmas Caroling. $168 raised in hot cocoa sells. $150 donated by Baby Greens. Thanks to all who donated which included Genuine Joes. Other events similar to the Christmas Caroling event are being considered.
- Approximately 30 people turned out for the kickball tournament. Good turnout for the first event.
- Wooten Park Update: Saturday March 4th is “It’s My Park Day”. Concrete painting is planned around the playscape. Park committee is anticipating to hear back regarding two grant applications which were submitted. The awardees for the grants should be announced in January and the second in February. Appreciation was expressed to the Parks Committee members for their efforts and dedication.
City Council (Michael Gaudini)
- Zoe’s Place is considered a group home, which means it’s federally protected under fair housing act and must be treated as any other residence. Types of limitations which can be placed on residential areas include occupancy limits and safety issues. Some residences can be considered nuances if there are repeated offense.
- Transportation Issues / Solutions: Local area traffic management is structured to require some level of community support as well as have an objective list of need which can be ranked. This allows for local area traffic management to be prioritized. If a community’s local area traffic management is not identified through this prioritization then place making grants may help with traffic calming issues. There are efforts on the state level to create a blanket legislation to reduce residential roads to 25 mph.
- Beacon implementation is out for bid. Goal to have beacons all done by end of the year. This would impact Kramar/Fairfeild and Anderson/Hardy.
Question, Answer and Comment with Michael Gaudini
Q: Thanks for the update and for attending the meeting. Is Zoe’s Place different from a group homes and halfway house?
A: No.
Q: Can state agencies assist with the monitoring of Zoe’s Place?
A: The state will investigate if something regulated by the state is done at the residency, such as medication distribution. Zoe’s Place stopped all state regulated activities years ago.
Q: In regards to the bonds, is there any high priority items in the Wooten area?
A: Prioritization criteria is based on avoiding ripping out work of the 2012 bond and on high value areas.
Q: What resources are available for homeless in the area?
A: Housing First efforts are under which is carried out by a staff member within the Austin Police Department. This person does outreach with homeless to provide more direct assistance.
Austin Police Department APD (Officer Chapman)
- Zoe’s place has received 561 calls to APD for services which are worrisome. Investigation is on-going. Street crossing in an unsafe way is an issue which can be addressed by APD.
- Putnam has four directive patrols which means officers have been asked to patrol the area during their down time.
Question, Answer and Comments with Officer Chapman
Q: Is Zoe’s place a money making business?
A: Yes
Q: What is the purpose of the investigation on Zoe’s place?
A: The investigation identifies if there is a financial drain on the community, if there is a safety issue, and/or is nuisance abatement needed.
Comment: Three cars were tagged in the area, which was really helpful.
Response: As long as a car is inoperable it can be tagged. After 48 hours of tagging, the car can be removed.
Q: Has there been progress on the search for a new Chief of Police?
A: No, update at this time.
A: (Micheal G.) This position will be filled after the City Manager position is filled.
A: (both Micheal and Chapman): Reassurance was provided regarding the Interim Chief of Police ability to well manage this position in the mean time.
Q: How can we get flags on stop signs?
A: Send Micheal G. an email to begin this conversation.
Neighborhood Resources
Recommendation given to call 311 to learn more about available resources.
Graffiti Abatement and Litter Committee
These agenda items were tabled at this time due to time limitation. Recommendation made to continue the discussion either at the next meeting or online.
Wootenanny
Blackstar Co-Op is being considered as the next meeting location. Although Blackstar may not be open after the end of the Month, if there is not an increase in patronage.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:00pm by President Melinda Taylor