West Central Neighborhood Association (WCNA)

Plan Committee Meeting

Minutes

March 8, 2010

Attendees: Joanne Bruce, Tom Cain, Joe Francis, Russ Garriott, Scott Greider, David Long, Barbara Schoppman, Nancy Schoenle.

The minutes from the last meeting were approved as submitted. (Scott’s motion, Barb’s second)

Other items discussed were as follows:

The 1000 Block of Broadway. David reported that he spoke on March 8 with Cindy Joyner of Code Enforcement for an update to Cindy’s report on the 1000 block of Broadway at the March 15 WCNA general membership meeting. Cindy said that when her officer checked out the block for violations, all five structures on the block were cited for various reasons. She said that to date only Scott Greider had contacted her department about the violations and would soon submit a work plan to remedy his problems. Scott reported that he spoke with a member of St. John’s congregation at the WMEE Baby Fair where St. John’s had an information table. He said he was told that, according to this source, St. John’s is open to offers about their buildings on Broadway.

Old Dimension Ford Addition to Swinney Park. Tom Cain reported that there was a public meeting at United Faith Presbyterian Church, 1616 West Main St., at 7:00 pm, on Thursday, March 11. He said Alec Johnson of the Parks Department would conduct the meeting for public input on how best to make use of the land. Tom said that the land had been cleaned of all toxic materials and pavement, and that topsoil had been added. He said one of the drawbacks of the area to be added to the park is that it is on the Flood Way, which means that the area is where there is moving water during a flood, not just overflow. He said that the planned Cougar Trail addition to the Rivergreenway that would connect Swinney Park to Saint Francis would connect through this area. Tom said people should also think of uses that could lead to economic development of the surrounding area (such as a soccer field for tournaments could lead to more restaurants, etc.). Tom also said that the Swinney Pool could open again and be part of the overall new addition. Tom urged people from West Central to attend the meeting.

Neighborhood Housing/Market Study. Russ Garriott reported that the city has hired Laurie Volk & Assoc. as consultants to do a housing market study of the West Central Neighborhood. The firm also was hired to do a similar but separate study of the Renaissance Pointe Neighborhood. Russ said the study had begun and the firm would be coming to Fort Wayne in early April to present their findings so far and to seek public and other shareholder input. Other shareholders would include Realtors, lenders, city staff and developers such as Henry Hall and Chris Flick. Representatives from the firm hope to meet with WCNA representatives on Thursday, April 1. Russ said their preference would be to meet with interested neighborhood representatives who know the issues such as the Board of Directors and Plan Committee members at an earlier meeting that day followed by a full, public meeting at 6:00 pm. Tom Cain suggested that another stakeholder group would be landlords with a long-time commitment to West Central such as Tom DeLong, Eric Fisher, Bill or Eric Hefley, Bernie Gump, Mike Anderson, Ann Herman, and himself. Russ said to email him any names of individuals that the neighborhood thinks would have important input for the study.

Thieme Drive. David reported that the Army Corps of Engineers would be starting this spring on the project to restore the riverbank at Thieme and Washington Blvd. as previously discussed.

Local Historic District (LHD) Expansion. David brought up the effort last year to add more area to West Central’s Local Historic District and whether that would be a worthwhile project for this year. A motion was passed that since LHD expansion is one of the goals of the West Central Plan, the committee recommends that the Board of Directors appoint a committee to reconsider the expansion, including the boundaries. (Nancy’s motion, Barb’s second)

Other Business. Scott Grieder reported that Emmanuel Lutheran Church is moving forward rapidly on an expansion to the east front of its property that would add approximately 11,000 square feet to the church. He said the church was about two weeks away from a pledge drive to raise $2.5 million for the expansion. Joanne Bruce started a discussion about the contemporary, nearly all-glass design of the addition, and Tom Cain suggested that Emmanuel check with Don Orban and the preservation commission since the church is in the local historic district.

Scott also brought up the city’s downtown design manual and thought that West Central should take a stand on it. He said that he attended the public meeting that was held February 11 and reported that not everyone is happy with the manual. Tom Cain said that he thought the manual would have the effect of stopping bad design rather than stopping good design. Scott said he disagreed. It was suggested that Scott look for guidance in the West Central Plan to relate it to the committee, and bring that back to the April meeting.

Scott also reported that Emmanuel church is looking to their national organization for money to help elderly people in West Central that need financial help fixing problems in their homes. He said Mike Anderson was working on this. He said they need to identify worthy individuals for the church.

It was further decided that all the members would spend the next month studying the West Central Plan and would be ready for a discussion of the plan and how the committee can best work with the board of directors to implement the plan’s goals.