January 26, 2015
Sgt. Kornberg Crime Updates:
Crime stats are down 2.9% for Metro in 2014
Crime has been up slightly in January ‘15
Total number of incidents in our ‘zone’: 2013 – 457; 2014 – 470
This was due to thefts from vehicles and an increase in street robbery.
There is a new gang working out of Buena Vista – their MO is street robbery, pairs of 15-17 year old boys, most often when people are exiting from cars. They may be calling out “Mom’s away” as a gang identifier
Residential burglary stats are flat
Tied shoes tossed over power lines has been indicative of drug dealing in the past – please call in any new shoe sightings to the non-emergency number
Germantown residents state that they feel like there is less of a visible police presence in the Cap District.
Sgt Kornberg says they are doing more ‘Terry stops,” have had SkyCop on 5th & Monroe, and will talk to his commander about increasing the visibility of patrols in the area.
Sgt Kornberg will also check into the reports of a man offering to sell people information on their stolen belongings.
Several property developers were in attendance to discuss their upcoming Salemtown projects.
Property at 4th & Garfield, on the SE corner
Replacing the existing 2 tri-plexes with 8 units
All front doors will face the street to keep the row-home feel
Adding sidewalks and trees/greenspace to set it back from the street
Implementing the Low Impact Design Manual for storm water management – these are the newest and highest standards set out
Jeff Zeitlin is the investor behind the property – he also has several properties in Germantown
Groundbreaking will be summer of 2015 at the earliest
2000-ish sqft, mid $400K, considering making 1 unit Affordable Housing
Property at 6th & Garfield
Owned by Murphy (and Bernice) Goodman, one of the original developers in Salemtown (dating back several decades)
Planning on turning the 10 existing units (5 duplexes) into 20 units (in 3 buildings)
Each unit will have a 2-car garage – there will only be 6 onsite outside parking spaces
Freddie O’Connel asked about how this will affect (displace) the current residents. Developer gave a non-answer, that they will be “responsible” with the project. This does not answer the question about how this will affect the current residents.
Mike Byrd asked about what will happen to the decorative lamp post on that corner. The architect said they will do their best to preserve the lamp, or will replace it with a similar one if it cannot be removed cleanly.
They are working to make each unit look ‘individual,’ similar to 5th & Garfield
The Historic Commission will be ruling on the “massing drawing,” it will then go before the Planning Commission. Erica Gilmore has requested to see the renderings before she signs off on the project. The project may be before the Planning Commission as soon as Feb 28.
Concerns have been raised about parking availability – if people are using their garages for storage, will 2 cars really fit? Will people end up parking on 6th and Garfield, further increasing danger to pedestrians and motorists? The developers say they can address that in the HOA bylaws – that the residents have to park in their garages, and signs will be posted on the street for no-parking areas.
This project will theoretically be done in phases.
They will add new sidewalks/trees/greenspace, to set the buildings back from the street.
The general feeling from the SNNA members is that this is a huge number of units, and it feels like we are allowing more density than we are comfortable with. The developer acknowledges that this really is all about money.
There will be onsite trash and recycling for residents
Units will be 1850-ish sqft, mid $400K, may have 1-3 units as Affordable Housing
The SNNA Budget was presented. We will be applying for 501c3 status, which will allow us to receive tax-deductible in-kind and monetary donations for events, and is useful when we request permits. The 501c3 is a one-time fee, but does require extra filing.
The 2014 and 2015-to-date Treasurer’s Reports were presented.
The Budget at Treasurer’s Reports were approved by the voting members.
The Social Committee is open to anyone who wants to help plan this year’s events.
Someone asked about kid-specific events, and they were told they are welcome to spear-head any events, and the SNNA would support that.
The Membership Committee suggested that use a two-prong approach to bringing in new members; we set up ‘block captains’ to welcome new neighbors and tell them about SNNA, and we reach out to existing neighbors who haven’t joined SNNA since moving in.
The idea of a Salemtown Newsletter was also proposed. This would be done on a quarterly basis and put in the mailboxes of residents. Ad space could be sold on the back page to help cover costs.
In other SNNA business, LaNedra Lee-Doucet resigned from her position as VP. Mindy Quinn was appointed as her replacement.
Sgt. Kornberg Crime Updates:
Crime stats are down 2.9% for Metro in 2014
Crime has been up slightly in January ‘15
Total number of incidents in our ‘zone’: 2013 – 457; 2014 – 470
This was due to thefts from vehicles and an increase in street robbery.
There is a new gang working out of Buena Vista – their MO is street robbery, pairs of 15-17 year old boys, most often when people are exiting from cars. They may be calling out “Mom’s away” as a gang identifier
Residential burglary stats are flat
Tied shoes tossed over power lines has been indicative of drug dealing in the past – please call in any new shoe sightings to the non-emergency number
Germantown residents state that they feel like there is less of a visible police presence in the Cap District.
Sgt Kornberg says they are doing more ‘Terry stops,” have had SkyCop on 5th & Monroe, and will talk to his commander about increasing the visibility of patrols in the area.
Sgt Kornberg will also check into the reports of a man offering to sell people information on their stolen belongings.
Several property developers were in attendance to discuss their upcoming Salemtown projects.
Property at 4th & Garfield, on the SE corner
Replacing the existing 2 tri-plexes with 8 units
All front doors will face the street to keep the row-home feel
Adding sidewalks and trees/greenspace to set it back from the street
Implementing the Low Impact Design Manual for storm water management – these are the newest and highest standards set out
Jeff Zeitlin is the investor behind the property – he also has several properties in Germantown
Groundbreaking will be summer of 2015 at the earliest
2000-ish sqft, mid $400K, considering making 1 unit Affordable Housing
Property at 6th & Garfield
Owned by Murphy (and Bernice) Goodman, one of the original developers in Salemtown (dating back several decades)
Planning on turning the 10 existing units (5 duplexes) into 20 units (in 3 buildings)
Each unit will have a 2-car garage – there will only be 6 onsite outside parking spaces
Freddie O’Connel asked about how this will affect (displace) the current residents. Developer gave a non-answer, that they will be “responsible” with the project. This does not answer the question about how this will affect the current residents.
Mike Byrd asked about what will happen to the decorative lamp post on that corner. The architect said they will do their best to preserve the lamp, or will replace it with a similar one if it cannot be removed cleanly.
They are working to make each unit look ‘individual,’ similar to 5th & Garfield
The Historic Commission will be ruling on the “massing drawing,” it will then go before the Planning Commission. Erica Gilmore has requested to see the renderings before she signs off on the project. The project may be before the Planning Commission as soon as Feb 28.
Concerns have been raised about parking availability – if people are using their garages for storage, will 2 cars really fit? Will people end up parking on 6th and Garfield, further increasing danger to pedestrians and motorists? The developers say they can address that in the HOA bylaws – that the residents have to park in their garages, and signs will be posted on the street for no-parking areas.
This project will theoretically be done in phases.
They will add new sidewalks/trees/greenspace, to set the buildings back from the street.
The general feeling from the SNNA members is that this is a huge number of units, and it feels like we are allowing more density than we are comfortable with. The developer acknowledges that this really is all about money.
There will be onsite trash and recycling for residents
Units will be 1850-ish sqft, mid $400K, may have 1-3 units as Affordable Housing
The SNNA Budget was presented. We will be applying for 501c3 status, which will allow us to receive tax-deductible in-kind and monetary donations for events, and is useful when we request permits. The 501c3 is a one-time fee, but does require extra filing.
The 2014 and 2015-to-date Treasurer’s Reports were presented.
The Budget at Treasurer’s Reports were approved by the voting members.
The Social Committee is open to anyone who wants to help plan this year’s events.
Someone asked about kid-specific events, and they were told they are welcome to spear-head any events, and the SNNA would support that.
The Membership Committee suggested that use a two-prong approach to bringing in new members; we set up ‘block captains’ to welcome new neighbors and tell them about SNNA, and we reach out to existing neighbors who haven’t joined SNNA since moving in.
The idea of a Salemtown Newsletter was also proposed. This would be done on a quarterly basis and put in the mailboxes of residents. Ad space could be sold on the back page to help cover costs.
In other SNNA business, LaNedra Lee-Doucet resigned from her position as VP. Mindy Quinn was appointed as her replacement.
