Author Archives: Lou Bernard

About Lou Bernard

Current Secretary of FPCA 2019-

Forest Park Civic Association Meeting Minutes: April 9, 2023

Forest Park Civic Association Meeting

Date: 09 Apr 2023

OFFICER REPORTS

President’s Report  Ed Vanasdale ed1vanasdale@gmail.com

Call to Order

Pledge of Allegiance

Attendance by Roll Call

Discussed the NCC Banquet, which will be held on April 20, 2023 to honor the volunteers of Forest Park and the surrounding neighborhoods.

 Stuffing of the May Forester will be held on April 22, 2023 at 1:30pm at Schoedinger Funeral Home. They have updated their hours so they are no longer open on Saturday but are opening specifically for the Civic Association. As usual, they will provide soft drinks, water, and cookies. The Civic Association will provide pizza for all the volunteers.

Beginning April 17, 2023, the north side of Karl Road at 161 will be closed for 90 days while the city does construction and installs a mini roundabout. 

Vice President’s Report Trevor Secord tsecord@une.edu – Absent

Secretary’s Report  Lou Bernard loubernard3@gmail.com – Absent

Katie Van Mercetta filled in and took attendance:

  1. Officers/Committee Chairs Present: EV, RW, MS, DVM, KVM, SL, SB, KG, DP
  2. Officers/Committee Chairs Absent: TS, CL, LB, SP (deceased), MB, AR, ER
  3. Area Reps in Attendance: 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 11, 12, 13
  4. Area Reps Absent: 1, 6, 7, 8, 10, 14 (area 14 remains vacant)
  5. We had two new area rep volunteers: 
    1. Suzanne Conway for Area 4
    2. Mark Bell for Area 13 

Total people in attendance: 28

Minutes from March were reviewed, approved, and voted into the official record.

Treasurer’s Report  Cheryl Lutman cllutman17@gmail.com – Absent

1) Income for the month: $1,560.17

2) Expenses for the month:  $3,776.30

3) Above or below budget for the year:

4) Number of new members (households and businesses) for the month: 4 new household membership and 3 new business memberships

5) Any other notes of interest (i.e. committee chairs need to let you know about budget amounts needed):

Please see the Treasurer’s Report in the Forester. 

1)    It’s the year-end report.  We ended the year in the black, in terms of income vs expenses, but that was because we trimmed expenses.  The good news:

       4 new household memberships

       3 new business memberships – Circle Smoke Shop, Circle Drive Thru and Sequoia Pro-Bowl.

       The only unanticipated expense was the printing of the envelopes for the annual mailing.  That added $965 to our expenses for this year that should have been on next year.

       People are buying mulch!! 

2)  A Chart!!  I did a pie chart that showed what our expenses were – the largest expense is the Forester.  Followed by Security, then Membership and Beautification.  The “Other” category includes Office Expenses, Committees and the Garage Sale.  I hope this helps our members visualize where the money goes.  Having figured out how to do them in Office365 online (so I don’t have my full desktop Excel with all the fun options you get), I’m happy to create others, if you feel they’d be beneficial.  Let me know what you’d like to see!

Public Relations Report  Mary Sguerra Mary.Sguerra@HERrealtors.com

  1. Garage Sale: May 20, 2023
  2. Bowling Party at Sequoia Lanes: May 20, 2023 from 12pm – 3pm. 
  3. Gabby’s Night is Saturday, May 27, 2023 at 6:30pm
  4. Ads continue to come in so let us know if you or anyone you know wants a business membership.

We hope to see you at all the upcoming events!

Forester Editor’s Report  Rita Woeste forester_ed@fpcivic.org

  1. Articles are due Friday, April 14, 2023.
  2. We have extra Foresters from April’s delivery so if there are any local businesses who want to showcase them, please let us know. 
  3. Columbus Square dropped their ad in the Forester so we have a spot to fill.
  4. The person who covers the east side of Karl is no longer available to deliver so volunteers are needed for about 40 in that area and area 13 still does not have a deliverer. Please reach out if interested.
  5. Someone claimed the lucky ticket in Forester Park East so they will be receiving a gift card. No one has come forward from Forest Park West yet.
  6. If any changes are needed to the contacts listed in the Forester, please email forester_ed@fpcivic.org.

Supplemental Security Report  Daryl Van Mercetta dvanmercetta@gmail.com, Katie Van Mercetta kvanmercetta@gmail.com Dan Yandrich (CPD Liaison Officer) dyandrich@columbuspolice.org

  1. There have been no house checks in the past month but they’re expected to pick up next month.
  2. We are researching security companies to shop around for pricing and coverage and more information will be forthcoming. 
  3. No report from Officer Yandrich

Business Representative Marty Biggs Marlynabiggs@yahoo.com – Absent; Sheridan Landin sheridanlandon@yahoo.com; Alan Ray  aray.bergahorn@gmail.com  – Absent

  1. Our business reps have been talking to CalFit, the YMCA, and 20th Century Care Center as potential new business members.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Welcome Committee Chair  Ellin Ray  eclaire1226@gmail.com – Absent

No report

Volunteer Coordinator  Scott Biggs  volunteerfpca@gmail.com

  1. The Mulch Sale is going well with 176 total orders to date totaling $2,245.00 worth of mulch sold and $898 revenue for the Civic Association. We still have 2 weeks left to order; April 23rd is the last day.
  2. We are looking for volunteers for the mulch delivery on May 6, 2023 from 9am – noon. 
  3. Welcome to our new volunteers!
  1. Suzanne Conway is volunteering for Area 4 in Forest Park West
  2. Mark Bell is volunteering for Area 13 in Forest Park East
  3. Andrea Philipsen is volunteering to be our new Social Committee Chair

Social Activities Report  

  1. Andrea Philipsen volunteered and was voted in as our new Committee Chair.
  2. She is a Columbus native and is moving from Westerville to Forest Park next month. She was a social chair for her neighborhood and organized social events for her neighborhood and friend group totaling 40+ per year and about 8-10 for her old neighborhood. She looks forward to bringing her connections, experience, and enthusiasm to Forest Park and is open to any ideas or feedback from the neighborhood. 

Welcome to the Forest Park Civic Association!

NCC Representative  Ken Gilbert kgilbert78@att.net

  1. We have several liaisons moving on, including our liaison Alfred.
  2. There is an upcoming NCC banquet on April 20, 2023 and more information can be found on the NCC’s website.
  3. The NCC is looking for a Parade Committee from each neighborhood to help organize.
  4. The next meeting is going to be held April 15, 2023 at Epworth Church and will be available remotely via Zoom. More information can be found on NCC’s website.

Please see the article from Ken Gilbert for more information.

NCC Development Representative Ed Vanasdale ed1vanasdale@gmail.com

The co-chairs are Dave Paul and Bill Logan (from Woodland Park Civic Association). They discussed five cases:

  1. Hamilton Road – there is a laser tag facility that they are wanting to turn into a basketball and pickleball court.
  2. 1289 East Dublin-Granville Road: aka the old Red Carpet Inn – they asked for a counsel variance to operate as a residential care facility under the conditions that they have to meet the building codes and they are the only company allowed to operate as such in this location (so the zoning will remain as a hotel/motel and cannot be converted to residential living).
  3. Caprese Bowling Alley – the National Church Residence purchased it and wants to create a 5 story building housing 145 units. This was approved but cannot exceed 145 units.
  4. An Automobile Repair shop on Karl: located at Morse and Karl – requested the ability to add storage containers. The matter was tabled for future discussion as the shop had been written up for several violations, including too many unregistered vehicles, too much debris, and not maintaining a 20 foot clearance around the property.
  5. 2400 East Dublin-Granville Road – it’s a hookah bar that requested to classify a food truck as a “portable shed” so it could remain in front of the establishment. The board recommended disapproval.

Website Administrator  Scott Biggs  volunteerfpca@gmail.com  Dave Paul dwpaul@fpcivic.org  

Please check it out! Lots of good info.

  1. Forms have been added and updated so they can be easily exported for various needs.
  2. Events have been updated – check out the site for more information!

New Business/Announcements/Ideas  

  1. The City is currently under a court order to replace handicap ramps because the ramps they installed a few years ago are not up to code so construction will be occurring in our neighborhood.
  2. The YMCA purchased the neighboring Karl Road Christian Church property. The intentions behind the acquisition are unknown and no zoning actions have been taken.
  3. Laura proposed a running/walking club and will provide more information for the Forester.
  4. Ed discussed having the following guests attend a future meeting:
    1. AEP: recent power outages
    2. Department of Public Service: recent removal/addition to trees in the hellstrip
    3. Department of Forestry
    4. Food Waste Recycling Program Representative

Meeting adjourned at 8:00pm.

Minutes submitted by Katie VanMercetta (a big thank you from Lou Bernard)

Forest Park Civic Association Meeting Minutes: March 14, 2023

Forest Park Civic Association Meeting

Date: 14 Mar 2023

Location: Epworth United Methodist Church

Meeting called to order @ 7:05 PM by Ed Vanasdale 

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Attendance was taken via role call.

OFFICER REPORTS

President Ed Vanasdale evanasdale@insight.rr.com

  1. Discussed power outage last week. A large oak tree took out a major power line, 6 poles, and the back of a home. There was discussion about having AEP come to discuss general things to do in case of a power outage and other preventative measures. Ed will make calls to get a rep here as a guest speaker.
  2. Cheryl Lutman discussed budget short falls and ways to address them. We are currently $2300 in the hole. 2800 homes in FP, only 480 joined. We are going to run with the budget having a slight deficit, and hoping to get more households. A motion was put forth, voted on, and passed that the membership fee will be raised to $30 for this year forward.
  3. The question about continuing to allow Areas 13 & 14 to participate in the FPCA. They have not had a rep since anyone can remember. This will be discussed at the next meeting when membership numbers and cost involved in keeping them on, will be presented.
  4. Due to budget and delivery concerns, the Welcome Folder will be put on hiatus. There will soon be a meeting to discuss the future upgrade of the Welcome Folder.

Vice President Trevor Secord  tsecord@une.edu      See NCC Rep Report

Secretary Lou Bernard –  loubernard3@gmail.com

  1. Attendance:
  • Officers/Committee Chairs Present: EV, TS, LB, CL, MS, RW, DVM, KVM, MB, SB, KG, DP
  • Officers/Committee Chairs Absent: FQ, AR, SL, ER (Social Activities remains vacant)
  • Area Reps in Attendance: 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11
  • Area Reps Absent: 3, 4, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14 (Areas 4, 13 and 14 remain vacant )
  1. Minutes from February were reviewed, approved, and voted into the official record.

Treasurer Cheryl Lutman – cllutman17@gmail.com

  1. Please see the Treasurer’s report in this month’s Forester.  We received 6 household memberships and 4 business memberships – Schoedinger Funeral Home, Massey’s Pizza, Karl Road Christian Church and Cindy Fenstermaker.
  2. Expenses were limited to our security patrols.
  3. Right now, we have a surplus.  We have the check written to Insley Printing for $985 for the March Forester clearing in early March, plus just paid for three more security patrols – $562.  We also need to renew our PO Box later this month, and that is $248
  4. So far in March, we have one household membership and Mary S. renewed her business membership.  Plus, we have advertisers checks of $770 to deposit.
  5. Cheryl has prepared and filed our 990-PF last week.  No taxes were due.
  6. Our new advertising manager, Lowell Lutman, went through all the advertising information received, and is reaching out to the advertisers to find out about the next issue.  We will be emailing the invoices and his email for this purpose is fpca.newsletter.ad.manager@gmail.com.  Please direct anyone making inquiries there.  All payments should be sent to:

Forest Park Civic Association

Attn:  Advertising Manager

PO Box 29160

Columbus, OH  43229

Public Relations Mary Sguerra –  marysguerra@howardhanna.com

  1. May 20th FP Garage Sale.
  2. May 20th FP Bowling Party from 12-3 pm, $15/person to bowl, free shoes, 3 hours of bowling at Sequoia Lanes. There will be another day for a bowling party on September 17th.
  3. 3 new business memberships! Sequoia is one of them!! Circle Drive Thru and Circle SMoke Shop and Gabby’s are now business members.

Forester Editor’s Rita Woeste – forester_ed@fpcivic.org

  1. Articles are due by Friday the 17th.
  2. There is a lucky ticket in one bag for FP East and FP West. The ticket entitles you to a gift card, please contact Rita.
  3. Membership Month in May. April 22nd, Saturday will be the stuffing day for this year’s membership drive.
  4. Looking for people to help deliver Foresters.

Supplemental Security Daryl Van Mercetta – dvanmercetta@gmail.com

  Katie Van Mercetta – kvanmercetta@gmail.com Dan Yandrich (CPD Liaison Officer)   

     dyandrich@columbuspolice.org 614.645.1418

  1. Supplemental Security continues to operate in the neighborhood. 2 house checks this month. 
  2. Stay vigilant and stay in contact with your neighbors.
  3. No report from Officer Yandrich.

Business Representative Marty Biggs – Marlynabiggs@yahoo.com  Sheridan Landin – sheridanlandon@yahoo.com– Absent    Alan Ray – aray.bergahorn@gmail.com– Absent  

No Report

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Welcome Committee Chair Ellin Ray – eclaire1226@gmail.com – Absent

There are welcome folders to pass out. Area reps need to attend meetings to get the folders to pass out to our new neighbors.

Volunteer Coordinator Scott Biggs – volunteerfpca@gmail.com

  1. The Library and Rec Center have been contacted about becoming regular contributors to the Forester. No word back from them.
  2. Working with Dave Paul to update our FP database of members and households.
  3. Mulch Sale/Fundraiser: Ohio Mulch will sell us mulch at a discounted price and then we sell it to residents for a fundraiser. A vote was taken and there will be the first annual FP Mulch Sale.
  4. Thanks to all those residents helping to maintain the flower boxes at the entrances to the neighborhood.
  5. We have a potential member to become Area 4 Rep. That will be confirmed by next week.
  6. Thanks to all volunteers and reps you are doing great.

Social Activities Vacant – No Report

NCC Representative Ken Gilbert – kgilbert78@att.net Trevor Secord – tsecord@une.edu

See separate article in the Forester

NCC Development Representative Ed Vanasdale – evanasdale@insight.rr.com 

4 cases were heard. But only one near or concerning Forest Park:

Application to reduce the building setback from 110 feet from R/W to 12 feet from the future right of way 

Horizon Science Academy Inc., 2350 Morse Rd, 43229

  • The Committee approved (16-0) a motion (by FPCA/BCCA) to RECOMMEND APPROVAL WITH ONE (1) CONDITION:
  • That the text of the Statement of Support and the site plan be revised to reflect that the variance requested is modified, from 12′ from the future R/W, to 70′ from the existing R/W with approval of a waiver of Right of Way Dedication recommended by the Division of Traffic Management.

Website Administrator Scott Biggs – volunteerfpca@gmail.com Dave Paul – dwpaul@fpcivic.org  

The website has been updated, and old links have been fixed. If you have any problems using or accessing anything on the website, please let us know.

OLD BUSINESS

The last Thursday of every month, various FPCA officers, committee chairs, and reps will be meeting at Gabby’s at Tamarack Circle for conversation and cheer. Come and meet the FPCA leadership and share your good ideas and some goodwill. We will meet from around 6:30-8:30. We are hoping to make this a regular happening, and we look forward to seeing you. 

NEW BUSINESS/ANNOUNCEMENTS/IDEAS

Meeting adjourned at 8:13 PM

Meeting minutes submitted by Lou Bernard, Secretary, FPCA

Forest Park Civic Association Meeting Minutes: February 14, 2023

Forest Park Civic Association Meeting

Date: 14 Feb 2023

Location: Epworth United Methodist Church

Meeting called to order @ 7:02PM by Ed Vanasdale 

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Attendance was taken via role call.

OFFICER REPORTS

President’s Report   Ed Vanasdale evanasdale@insight.rr.com

  1. Elections were held for the positions of President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. The slate of candidates included Ed Vanasdale (P), Trevor Secord (VP), Lou Bernard (S), and Cheryl Lutman (T). All ran unopposed, and were reelected. Assistant City Attorney, Sarah Pomeroy, joined the meeting via Zoom and swore in all officers, committee chairs, and area reps who were present.
  2. Ed thanked all who attended the different meetings about the hotel issue. They went down to the meeting of the Development Commission of the City of Columbus. The committee suggested the Shelter Bd. table the issue until they can come back with a new proposal that will answer the serious concerns the commission had. The FPCA and NCC reps will be back at the future meetings to stand up for our neighborhood!! Your membership dollars at work!

Vice President’s Report  Trevor Secord  tsecord@une.edu

Gave NCC Report

Secretary’s Report Lou Bernard –  loubernard3@gmail.com

  1. Attendance:
  • Officers/Committee Chairs Present: EV, TS, LB, CL, MS, RW, DVM, MB, SL, SB, DP
  • Officers/Committee Chairs Absent: FQ, AR, ER, KG, KVM 
  • Area Reps in Attendance: 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11
  • Area Reps Absent: 3, 4, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14 (Areas 4, 13 and 14 remain vacant )
  • 23 people in attendance/Guest Speaker: City Attorney Sarah Pomeroy
  1. Reviewed and approved minutes from the January meeting.

Treasurer’s Report  Cheryl Lutman – cllutman17@gmail.com

  1. 3 new household memberships
  2. Shout out to the FP Business Reps–2 new business memberships – Forest Park Christian School and Krieger Ford. Good work to our business membership team! And, to give a quick update, in February, we received business memberships from Cindy Fenstermaker, Massey’s Pizza and Karl Road Christian Church.
  3. At the end of January, we were $250 over budget from what was projected for business memberships. With the three new ones, we are $475 over! That definitely helps with our household membership shortfall of $900.
  4. Expenses are greatly reduced, with the final security patrols being paid and no payments for Forester Printing. We are currently positive cash flow to the tune of $3,705.78. Remaining expenses that I am aware of for fiscal 2023 (ends March 31st), are the renewal of our post office box for approximately $232. April Forester will be a hard copy and delivered. We probably want to carry over about $2,800 into the next budget year (April 1st) as we’ll need to renew our bulk mail permit and pay for the printing of the household data sheets before the membership income starts rolling.
  5. As a final note, Cheryl’s husband is standing by to take over the advertising job. We haven’t heard anything from anyone (though Massey’s did pay $40 for an ad).

Public Relations Report Mary Sguerra – Mary.Sguerra@HERrealtors.com  

  1. The FP Spring Garage Sale date is being finalized and will be released soon.
  2. There are not many concerns coming in from area residents, so that is good.
  3. Long time resident and FPCA Volunteer Frank Tolbard passed away earlier this month. See the article in this Forester.

Forester Editor’s Report  Rita Woeste – forester_ed@fpcivic.org

  1. DUE date for March Forester items is Friday February 17. Can’t stress enough need for articles/ads/photos/news  in a timely manner.
  2. Could we find a volunteer who might want to contact either local schools or churches for local news from them (I don’t have time to do it)?  
  3. Flyer/PDF of 2023 Meeting & Due dates concerning the Forester were emailed to the FPCA list.
  4. NEED a decision this week on whether we will print the April Forester so that the printer has time to order paper, etc…
  5. Paul, our Printer is requesting: if they are planning on printing the envelopes , for membership drive, I will need some advanced notice to insure I have the envelopes – still hard to get.
  6. Need substitute delivery person to handle FPWest, Ironwood Drive for the month of March 56 homes total
  7. Looking for NEW delivery person to handle 12 homes FPEast, on Rolling Rock Court, Area 13
  8. Looking for NEW delivery person to handle FPEast, Northcliff Loop East, West & North, 37 homes, Area 10
  9. And possibly, NEW delivery person needed in FPWest, for Pegwood Court & Drive, 38 homes, Area 2

Supplemental Security Report  Daryl Van Mercetta – dvanmercetta@gmail.com

  Katie Van Mercetta – kvanmercetta@gmail.com Dan Yandrich (CPD Liaison Officer)   

     dyandrich@columbuspolice.org 614.645.1418     See Officer Dandrich’s Report in this issue.

Business Representative  Marty Biggs – Marlynabiggs@yahoo.com  Sheridan Landin – sheridanlandon@yahoo.com  Alan Ray – aray.bergahorn@gmail.com  

  1. Massey’s Pizza is now a business member and donated gift cards to be used as awards by the FPCA.
  2. Cal-Fit Center is seriously considering becoming a member.
  3. Krieger Ford has become a member, as well.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Welcome Committee Chair Ellin Ray – eclaire1226@gmail.com 

Welcome folders were passed out to the Reps present.

Volunteer Coordinator Scott Biggs – volunteerfpca@gmail.com

  1. Thank you to Rev. Jennifer Kimball Casto of Epworth UMC for their membership and the use of the church as our meeting space.
  2. We have a new official FPCA Facebook page, Twitter, and Instagram accounts. Check us out on social media.

Social Activities Report Vacant

NCC Representative  Ken Gilbert – kgilbert78@att.net

See the report in article in this Forester.

NCC Development Representative Ed Vanasdale – evanasdale@insight.rr.com 

There were 2 cases heard this month, but only one (1) case pertains to FP:

Application to permit the use of a former hotel property containing 82 units for long-term, permanent supportive housing under lease to Homefull; concurrent variances to maintain an existing vehicular easement across the property, and to maintain the existing billboard on the site; and to reduce required parking spaces to the existing 106 from the 123 required without variance for this use. Address: 1289 E Dublin-Granville Rd, 43229 • The Committee approved (15-0) RECOMMEND DISAPPROVAL of the applications.

Website Administrator Scott Biggs – volunteerfpca@gmail.com Dave Paul – dwpaul@fpcivic.org  

OLD BUSINESS   No Report

NEW BUSINESS/ANNOUNCEMENTS/IDEAS

The idea was discussed to have a monthly informal get together at Gabby’s. It would give residents a chance to meet and talk with the FPCA officers, committee chairs, and reps. Possible dates are being discussed. Look for more in the future.

Meeting adjourned at 8:14 PM

Meeting minutes submitted by Lou Bernard, Secretary, FPCA

Forest Park Civic Association Meeting Minutes: January 10, 2023

Forest Park Civic Association Meeting

January 10, 2023 (condensed notes, secretary not present)

Pledge allegiance 7:32pm 

Roll call Not here – secretary, past president, welcome committee chair, forest park east Reps 6,8,10 

NOTE: At this meeting, the Community Shelter Board presented its ideas on taking over the old hotel on 1289 E Dublin Granville Rd. location. More info on page 1 of this edition.

  1. President made the group aware that the presentation today is special and there is a joint meeting. Questions will be after the presentation and normal business will be after presentation 
  2. Lianna Carter director at Community shelter board Partner agencies are present as well. Conversation is about 1289 E Dublin Granville rd. Location. Presentation is provided and will be attached. 
  3. Discussion was had from 8pm -9pm 
  4. Normal business of the FPCA was tabled to the next meeting. 

Motion To adjourn by Ken Gilbert, seconded by Cheryl Lutman at 9:06pm

Forest Park Civic Association Meeting Minutes: December 13, 2022

Forest Park Civic Association Meeting

Date: 13 December 2022

Location: Fujiyama Steak House of Japan – Officers and Board Meeting/Holiday Gathering

Meeting called to order @ 6:20 PM by Ed Vanasdale 

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Attendance was taken via role call.

OFFICER REPORTS

President’s Report   Ed Vanasdale – evanasdale@insight.rr.com

  1. Thanked everyone present for all of their hard work and efforts over the past year.
  2. Correction on information concerning the Homeless Board’s intent when acquiring the hotel next to Popeye’s. The hotel owner would like to have the property rezoned from “hotel use” to “multi-family use” (i.e. apartments). They would lease the building for one year to the Homeless Shelter Board with the HSB assisting in paying people’s rent for one year. Please come to hear their proposal and you will have a chance to ask questions and voice any concerns. This is an important issue for our neighborhood and your input will be important.
  3. A motion was put forth to postpone the January officer and board elections until February. The motion passed, and elections will take place at the February meeting. 
  4. If anyone is interested in running for one of the officer or board positions, please contact President Ed Vanasdale or Secretary Lou Bernard to place your name on the ballot.

Vice President’s Report  Trevor Secord – tsecord@une.edu – No Report

Secretary’s Report Lou Bernard – loubernard3@gmail.com

  1. Attendance:
  • Officers/Committee Chairs Present: EV, TS, LB, CL, MS, RW, DVM, KVM, MB, SB, MS, KG, DP
  • Officers/Committee Chairs Absent: FQ, ER, AR, SL
  • Area Reps in Attendance: 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11
  • Area Reps Absent: 1, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14 (Areas 4, 13, and 14 remain vacant )
  • 26 People in attendance
  1. Changes to November minutes were reviewed, voted on, and approved into the official record.

Treasurer’s Report  Cheryl Lutman – cllutman17@gmail.com

A budget meeting will be held next week with the executive board to decide where cuts need to take place due to budget shortfall caused by low membership returns.

We need 118 more household memberships (we’ve received 21 in December). We received Karl Road church’s business membership in November, and Jonathan Allen Landscaping and Epworth United Methodist in December. That puts us at $275 – which is over what was budgeted based on prior years. Thank you to the Business Representatives for your efforts!

Expenses are in line. Our plan calls for two more print runs of the Forester, and another bag order. We’ve also budgeted for security for the rest of the year. While we appreciate Ellin’s comments relating to the folders, she’s used all the funds earmarked for the Welcome Committee for this year. However, that’s ~$490 that can be put back in for 2023.

Public Relations Report Mary Sguerra – Mary.Sguerra@HERrealtors.com – No Report

Forester Editor’s Report  Rita Woeste – forester_ed@fpcivic.org

Articles due on Dec. 28th. January is an ONLINE ONLY issue.

Supplemental Security Report – No Report  

Daryl Van Mercetta – dvanmercetta@gmail.com 

Katie Van Mercetta – kvanmercetta@gmail.com

Dan Yandrich (CPD Liaison Officer) – dyandrich@columbuspolice.org 614.645.1418 Absent

Business Representative – No Report  

Sheridan Landin – sheridanlandon@yahoo.com Absent

Alan Ray – aray.bergahorn@gmail.com Absent 

Marty Biggs – Marlynabiggs@yahoo.com

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Welcome Committee Chair Ellin Ray – eclaire1226@gmail.com – No Report  Absent

Volunteer Coordinator Scott Biggs – volunteerfpca@gmail.com – No Report

Social Activities Report Vacant – No Report 

NCC Representative  Ken Gilbert – kgilbert78@att.net – No Report

NCC Development Representative Ed Vanasdale – evanasdale@insight.rr.com 

       Dave Paul – dwpaul@fpcivic.org – No Report 

Website Administrator Dave Paul – dwpaul@fpcivic.org  Scott Biggs – volunteerfpca@gmail.com – No Report

OLD BUSINESS

NEW BUSINESS/ANNOUNCEMENTS/IDEAS

The next meeting will be 10 January 2023!! We wish you happy holidays and peace in the new year.

Meeting adjourned at 6:50 PM

Minutes submitted by Lou Bernard, Secretary, FPCA

Forest Park Civic Association Meeting Minutes: November 8, 2022

Forest Park Civic Association Meeting

Date: 8 November 2022

Location: Epworth United Methodist Church

Meeting called to order @ 7:05 PM by Ed Vanasdale 

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Attendance was taken via role call.

OFFICER REPORTS

President’s Report   Ed Vanasdale – evanasdale@insight.rr.com

1. Guest Speaker:  311 Customer Service Center      Carmen Duckens (311 Service Manager). There are 24 people on staff. Even though they have a phone app and computer website, you can still call in and talk to a live person M-F, 7 am-6 pm. Carmen discussed and answered many of the issues and questions that the residents who were in attendance had. Her presentation walked everyone through how to submit a service request.

2. We received word from the IRS admitting that they made a mistake by revoking our 501(c)(3), and they have reinstated us!! Yay!

3.The December 13th meeting will be held at Fujiyama’s for representatives, committee chairs, and officers only. An Evite will be sent out this week for people to RSVP to.

Vice President’s Report  Trevor Secord – tsecord@une.edu  No Report

Secretary’s Report Lou Bernard – loubernard3@gmail.com

  1. Attendance:
  • Officers/Committee Chairs Present: EV, TS, LB, CL, MS, RW, DVM, KVM, SL, AR, MB, SB, MS, KG, DP
  • Officers/Committee Chairs Absent: FQ, ER
  • Area Reps in Attendance: 2, 5, 6, 9, 11, 12
  • Area Reps Absent: 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 13, 14 (Areas 4, 13, and 14 remain vacant )

Treasurer’s Report  Cheryl Lutman – cllutman17@gmail.com

  1. We received 21 new household memberships and our first business membership of this budget year – thank you Toro Meats! Revenues for the other areas are as noted, and are in line with expectations. We remain short of our budget for household memberships and need about 130 more households to join in as of 10/31. We understand, however, we may be getting two more business memberships – to those organizations, we say “thank you”!
  2. All our PayPal fees were covered this month, and thank you to those folks for being kind enough to do that.
  3. We had no expenses for the month – well, we did – the checks just didn’t clear until early November. So there will be some doubling on the November report.

Public Relations Report Mary Sguerra – Mary.Sguerra@HERrealtors.com  No Report

Forester Editor’s Report  Rita Woeste – forester_ed@fpcivic.org

  1. We need all articles by Friday November 11th,  The December Forester needs to be at the printer on Monday Nov 14, early morning. Please help out and get articles, photos and ADs to Rita by Friday. Would love some articles with Christmas spirit, get it to Rita ASAP. Remember the January Forester is ONLINE only, so she will put it together later in December and will email out reminders.  
  2. At the end of this Month, November 2022, Joel Kin, will be stepping down as AD/business caretaker for the Forester.  Joel is happy to help guide whoever will take the job over. Will connect with him to get the basics of what the job requires.  
  3. New idea for this Forester to work on getting more memberships. Rita is working with Marty Biggs at getting some gift cards from businesses and then in 2 of the Foresters for December, we will put in surprise tickets that the owner who finds them will have to present to FPCA editor for the prize. If the person is a FPCA member they will get double the prize and if not a member, they will be encouraged to join with a membership attached to their prize. 
  4. Update on delivery folks:  Thanks to Lou, Mary & Daryl, with phone calls and leads they gave Rita, she believes she has all areas covered with delivery folks except that small group of homes in area 14, (Coghill, Judwick, Lyle & Dandridge, total of 45 homes). She has 3 folks helping her deliver to the 55+ delivery folks, but could use one more to help cover 10 houses of delivery folks in FP East, areas 6 & 7. She still wants to connect with all delivery folks to make sure they are delivering and to answer any questions. 

Supplemental Security Report  Daryl Van Mercetta – dvanmercetta@gmail.com

  Katie Van Mercetta – kvanmercetta@gmail.com Dan Yandrich (CPD Liaison Officer) – 

     dyandrich@columbuspolice.org 614.645.1418  No Report

Business Representative  Sheridan Landin – sheridanlandon@yahoo.com 

    Alan Ray – aray.bergahorn@gmail.com Marty Biggs – Marlynabiggs@yahoo.com

  1. A Business Membership was secured from Toro Meat Market! They are also interested in doing some advertising and would like to be added to the distribution list of The Forester
  2. Marty reached out to and confirmed with Krieger Ford and Jonathan Allen Landscaping that they would like to be Business Members for the 2023 year. She will follow up on collection of funds for those memberships. She dropped off paper applications to Gabby’s and Donato’s and will do the needful to get those businesses on board for the 2023 membership drive. 
  3. Marty either called or emailed all of the Business Members listed in The Forester (except those in current good standing with their memberships). She is awaiting call backs/emails from them. She will continue to gently nudge them along to support the civic association and all of its wonderful deeds.
  4. Marty is also looking into securing new businesses for memberships for the 2023 year. The first attempt was Massey’s Pizza on Rt. 161. An email was sent to the owner. 

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Welcome Committee Chair Ellin Ray – eclaire1226@gmail.com ABSENT No Report

Volunteer Coordinator Scott Biggs – volunteerfpca@gmail.com

Volunteer of the Month: Ken Gilbert: Current NCC Rep, past president, past vice president, Area 3 Rep, Block Watch organizer, and many more. Thank you Ken for your many years of service to the FPCA. 

Social Activities Report Vacant  No Report

NCC Representative  Ken Gilbert – kgilbert78@att.net

NCC Development Representative Ed Vanasdale – evanasdale@insight.rr.com 

       Dave Paul – dwpaul@fpcivic.org 

  1. Good News: The M-Star Motel (the old Knight’s Inn) will not be turned into micro apartments. The NCC Dec Committee successfully defeated the developer’s intentions to bring this to our neighborhood (they were NOT affordable housing $850/mo. for 650 sq.ft. under 300 sq.ft.).
  2. There were 5 cases heard, only 4 are close to Forest Park.
  • Case #1 Application to accommodate a driveway expansion from 20′ to 29′ 2′′, and to reduce the parking setback from 25′ to 0′ from ROW to allow parking of vehicles on the driveway expansion at 2978 Wallcrest Blvd, 43231 • The Committee approved (17-0) a motion to TABLE the application.
  • Case #2 Application to permit construction of an automatic car wash at 990 E Dublin Granville Rd, 43229 • The Committee approved (17-0) the application.
  • Case #3 Application for the construction and maintenance of an outside automobile storage lot for excess inventory associated with the dealership at 1888 Morse Road; 1769 E Dublin Granville Rd, 43229 • The Committee approved with conditions.
  • Case #4 Application to permit the construction of a multifamily affordable senior independent living facility, number of units and site plan TBD; 5860 Roche Dr, 43229 • The Committee approved (14-2 w/ 1 abstention) a motion to recommend disapproval of the application.

Website Administrator Dave Paul – dwpaul@fpcivic.org  Scott Biggs – volunteerfpca@gmail.com   No Report

OLD BUSINESS

NEW BUSINESS/ANNOUNCEMENTS/IDEAS

  1. Mary Sguerra suggested an idea of creating a door knob placard that lists compliments and/or suggestions that area reps may have and distribute in their areas to neighbors. The idea will be discussed with the board members to see how and if to proceed.
  2. The December 13th meeting will be held at Fujiyama’s for representatives, committee chairs, and officers only. An Evite will be sent out this week for people to RSVP to.

Meeting adjourned at 8:40 PM

Minutes submitted by Lou Bernard, Secretary, FPCA

Forest Park Civic Association Meeting Minutes: October 11, 2022

Forest Park Civic Association Meeting

Date: 11 Oct 2022

Location: Epworth United Methodist Church

Meeting called to order @ 7:06 PM by Ed Vanasdale 

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Attendance was taken via role call.

OFFICER REPORTS

President’s Report   Ed Vanasdale evanasdale@insight.rr.com

Guest Speakers: Toro Meat Market: Samuel (manager) and Fernando (owner). They are in the old Carfagna’s. Grand Opening was May 1st. They explained that their mission is to be a part of the community and work to always improve their service and relationship with the neighborhood. Sat. Oct. 15th they plan to host a hispanic cultural education event and are giving away gift cards to the first 188 attendees.

Vice President’s Report  Trevor Secord tsecord@unioncountyymca.org

Introduced himself to everyone. Thanked everyone for national night out attendance and support. Trying to do things with the North YMCA and begin more programming with them.

Secretary’s Report Lou Bernard –  loubernard3@gmail.com

  1. Attendance:
  • Officers/Committee Chairs Present: EV, TS, LB, CL, MS, SL, SB, MS, AR
  • Officers/Committee Chairs Absent: FQ, RW, DVM, KVM, ER, KG, DP 
  • Area Reps in Attendance: 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 12
  • Area Reps Absent: 1, 2, 4, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14 (Areas 4, 13, and 14 remain vacant )
  1. Eileen Kunkler will be the new Area 7 Rep. Welcome and Thank You, Eileen!
  2. Marty Biggs will be joining the Business Reps Team.
  3. Reviewed minutes from September. Correction to last month’s minutes: Area 6 was present last month, they were marked absent. This will be corrected.  The correction and the minutes were voted on and approved into the official record.

Treasurer’s Report  Cheryl Lutman – cllutman17@gmail.com

1) During September, we received 20 household memberships and no business memberships. 9 of our 10 members paying through PayPal also covered their PayPal fees. Advertising income was $610. Several people continue to help fund our security, Forester and Beautification efforts. Finally, the garage sale generated another $105 in revenue to FPCA – and hopefully put some cash in our members pockets as well! 

2) Our main expenses this month were the Forester printing and our Security fees.

3) In terms of realigning our budget, $150 was removed that we had earmarked for neighborhood beautification awards from our current budget. The remainder of the budget will be reviewed and realigned. There is still a deficit, but it is a smaller deficit, provided we meet our membership goal.

4) Our 501(c)(3) status is in limbo. The IRS has been and continues to be bugged about our status.

Public Relations Report Mary Sguerra – Mary.Sguerra@HERrealtors.com  

20 people participated in the garage sale.

Forester Editor’s Report  Rita Woeste – forester_ed@fpcivic.org  ABSENT

1) All articles, ads, and photos for the November Forester are due Thursday, October 20th.  Looking for articles in honor of Thanksgiving about the folks who do things in your neighborhood (i.e. “I want to applaud the guy who brings his mower up to plant boxes at Satinwood and 161 and not only tends to those plants but mows the area to make sure the area looks great.”) 

2) We plan to get Foresters out to delivery folks the weekend of October 29th and 30th. 

3) BE AWARE that for the December Forester due date for ADS, Articles, Photos. This will be a very short turnaround from the November newsletter. All December items will be due, Friday November 11th. This is due to the Thanksgiving holiday at the end of the month and we have to have the final copy for the December Forester to the printer by November 14th.  

4) Rita is still working on the delivery system for the Forester. Below are streets that DID NOT get covered for the October issue of the Forester. As of today, she has no delivery people for the following:

  • Karl Road –  52 homes,West side from Hempwood down to Woodward middle school
  • Karl Road – 51 homes, East side from Sandalwood, going south to Norma
  • Tamarack Court South – 19 homes, entire street
  • Area 14, 12 homes on Coghill, 9 homes on Dandridge, 8 homes on Judwick, 16 homes on Lyle

So that is 167 homes not covered.  If you know of anyone who would like to help, text Rita on her cell or email her. There are 2 other streets where the delivery folks moved this past month and am working on getting those covered. Even if someone can only do 10-20 homes that is always a BIG help. If anyone would like to help deliver the packets to the delivery folks, email or text Rita. There are over 50 wonderful folks who deliver the Forester so it’s a bunch of stops to get them out. 

—After the meeting we had 3 people step up to volunteer delivering Foresters. Are you willing to step up and help out?

Supplemental Security Report  Daryl Van Mercetta – dvanmercetta@gmail.com

  Katie Van Mercetta – kvanmercetta@gmail.com Dan Yandrich (CPD Liaison Officer)   

     dyandrich@columbuspolice.org 614.645.1418  All were Absent

  1. Talked with the security company.They are not reporting much to Daryl. No one is calling or emailing much that needs to be looked into.
  2. There have been 3 vacation requests. 
  3. We would like to start the Block Watch up again, but we need someone or people to chair the committee. Please contact Ed or Daryl if you are interested. They will be willing to help you and work with you setting it up.

Business Representative  Sheridan Landin – sheridanlandon@yahoo.com 

    Alan Ray – aray.bergahorn@gmail.com 

  1. They have leads on a few new members. Will be contacting them this week.
  2. Marty Biggs is willing to join the Business Reps Team! Congrats and Thank you!

—On Wednesday, 10/12 Marty secured the business membership of the Toro Meat Market!!

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Welcome Committee Chair Ellin Ray – eclaire1226@gmail.com ABSENT

  1. New owner Welcome folders were passed out. 
  2. Two of your new owners were at the meeting – Welcome Tejai and Jenn.

Volunteer Coordinator Scott Biggs – volunteerfpca@gmail.com

  1. Thank you to all the volunteers!
  2. As the leaves are coming down, it is a great opportunity to meet your neighbors raking your leaves.
  3. The issue of street lights has come up, by area residents. 
  4. We are getting interest in some volunteer positions. Scott is continuing to work to get them into positions.
  5. Setting up Twitter and Instagram accounts for FP. 
  6. Fall Membership Drive: through social media, area reps, to drive up membership. A Winter flyer about the benefits of FP is being created.

Social Activities Report Vacant

NCC Representative  Ken Gilbert – kgilbert78@att.net  ABSENT

  1. Ed attended the meeting for Trevor and Ken. There were members of city council at the meeting explaining the new bond issues on the upcoming ballot.
  2. New poles are going up between sidewalks and streets in the area. These are Verizon cell phone towers. The state said they could do this and the city or the FPCA could do nothing to stop it.
  3. New Inspector General for the CPD was there to discuss the process for reporting misconduct by officers.

NCC Development Representative Ed Vanasdale – evanasdale@insight.rr.com 

       Dave Paul – dwpaul@fpcivic.org ABSENT

4 Cases were heard, only 1 is in our FP area:

Case #1 Application for special permit to allow a food truck to be parked on the site and not moved at night, by effectively defining it to be a “portable building” as described, rather than a food truck. This would allow food trucks to take up permanent residence in one spot. FPCA is fighting this.

Website Administrator Dave Paul – dwpaul@fpcivic.org  Scott Biggs – volunteerfpca@gmail.com

No report

OLD BUSINESS

NEW BUSINESS/ANNOUNCEMENTS/IDEAS

The next FPCA meeting will be November 8th at Epworth United Methodist Church at 7 PM.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:15.

Minutes submitted by Lou Bernard, Secretary, FPCA

Forest Park Civic Association Meeting Minutes: September 13, 2022

Forest Park Civic Association Meeting

Date: 13 Sep 2022

Location: Epworth United Methodist Church

Meeting called to order @ 7:04 PM by Ed Vanasdale

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Attendance was taken via role call.

OFFICER REPORTS

President’s Report   Ed Vanasdale evanasdale@insight.rr.com

  1. Thanked VP Trevor for his hard work on a successful Nat’l Night Out.
  2. If you get an email from anyone on the board asking you to help them by buying gift cards, please ignore, it is a scam. We would never do this by email.
  3. Area resident Michael Cote spoke and brought flyers about the upcoming 2nd Annual Northland Unity Festival. 60 small businesses, non-profits, and area vendors. The Mayor and head of the Dept. of Neighborhoods will be in attendance. They will love to hear your ideas–come and put a bug in their ear. Lots of music and dancing.

Vice President’s Report  Trevor Secord tsecord@unioncountyymca.org

  1. National Night out took place in the First Week of August at the North YMCA. It went well for a first year event. A decent turnout so thank you for all who made it out. We will plan for this next year.
  2. The NCC meeting spent most of its time talking about continued car thefts, new liaison officers and hotel/motel proposals for new housing alternatives that are positive and negative.

Secretary’s Report Lou Bernard –  loubernard3@gmail.com

  1. Attendance:
  • Officers/Committee Chairs Present: EV, TS, LB, CL, MS, RW, AR, ER, SB, MS, KG, DP
  • Officers/Committee Chairs Absent: FQ, DVM, KVM, SL
  • Area Reps in Attendance: 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 11
  • Area Reps Absent: 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14 (Areas 4, 7, 13, and 14 remain vacant )
  1. July’s minutes were voted on and approved. There were no  Aug. minutes due to the NCC Picnic.

Treasurer’s Report  Cheryl Lutman – cllutman17@gmail.com

  1. We are about halfway to meeting our overall budget of $27,589, with $17,601 received. In the month of August, we received 44 household memberships – thank you!! We have met and exceeded our income budget for Beautification and the Forester, and we are about halfway to meeting our advertising goal. Between those two goals, we fund about 80% of the cost of the Forester. For Security, we’ve budgeted $2,000 in additional contributions, to fund about 20% of the anticipated cost. We are very close to meeting this goal! My big concern is we have received no business memberships since this budget year began, and we haven’t really received any since February. We trust that the team continues to work on our local businesses.
  2. In terms of expenses, all the PayPal fees were covered by our members this month – thank you all!  We’re about half way on the cost of Foresters, and Rita purchased enough bags to last through February of next year. The total cost of our parade (float + bikes and trikes) did exceed the budget, but not significantly. The big categories that have had no, or very minimal expenses are our social committee, and the Island Maintenance.  I do see the islands being mowed, but I have received no invoices for that cost. The $150 spent to date merely includes the cost to repair the sign boxes.
  3. We are, at a minimum, 120 memberships short this year. FP residents PLEASE support your civic association and all of the good works we do. Fill out your membership forms and mail them in, or go to our website and do so online. We need your help NOW!

Public Relations Report Mary Sguerra – Mary.Sguerra@HERrealtors.com

FP Garage Sale is happening this weekend – Sat. Sept. 17th. Mary is looking for volunteers to help out. Garage Sale participants are down by about half.

Forester Editor’s Report  Rita Woeste – forester_ed@fpcivic.org

  1. We need help in the Forester delivery area. We need to get the file of Forester deliverers from David Laughlin. There are about 200-400 people not getting the Forester. We need a new Delivery Coordinator. Please volunteer.
  2. We need lots of articles and ads.

Supplemental Security Report  Daryl Van Mercetta – dvanmercetta@gmail.com,

Katie Van Mercetta – kvanmercetta@gmail.com Dan Yandrich (CPD Liaison Officer) 614.645.1418

dyandrich@columbuspolice.org

  1. There have been narcotics complaints coming in. Please know, Officer Yandrich will pass the info on to the narcotics detectives. He does not do this work. They are working on it.
  2. The CPD is working on the homeless camp along the on ramp of 71 N.
  3. The CPD and city attorney are constantly working the area hotels.
  4. Since the CPD is short staffed, officers will no longer be dispatched for fender benders. Take pictures, get info and call your insurance companies.
  5. The KIA and Hyundai thefts continue to be a problem.
  6. Be safe out there. There are large numbers of crazy drivers out there.

Business Representative  Sheridan Landin – sheridanlandon@yahoo.com

Alan Ray – aray.bergahorn@gmail.com  No Report

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Welcome Committee Chair Ellin Ray – eclaire1226@gmail.com

Passed out some Welcome Folders for new residents.

Volunteer Coordinator Scott Biggs – volunteerfpca@gmail.com

  1. Thanked all volunteers. Volunteers of the Months were given out: Mary Squerra – July,   Rita Woeste – August, Dave Paul – September.
  2. We need a Block Watch captain. If you are interested, please contact Scott.

Social Activities Report Vacant

NCC Representative  Ken Gilbert – kgilbert78@att.net

  1. Oct. 8 and Nov. 12, are the dates for the next 161 clean-up. Look for more info in the Forester.

2. Sarah Pomeroy had 2 good reports: 1) the bar at 161/Karl is closed, and 2) The Norwood Hotel is under scrutiny to clean up.

  1. Mid Sept. Latino Month in Columbus. Look in the paper for more info.

NCC Development Representative Ed Vanasdale – evanasdale@insight.rr.com

Dave Paul – dwpaul@fpcivic.org

NCC heard 5 cases only one (1) pertained to the FP area:  Case #5  to permit the conversion of an existing 110-room, 4-building motel to 105 apartment units, with a limitation text to cap density at 33.8 du/AC and address development and design standards; and a concurrent Council variance to vary building setback, perimeter yard width, dumpster location, interior landscaping, parking setback, and minimum number of parking spaces required, to accommodate existing site conditions to the requirements of the AR1 district) @ 1294-1300 East Dublin Granville Rd, 43231

  • The Committee approved (16-0 w/ 2 abstentions) a motion (by FPCA, second by WRA) to RECOMMEND DISAPPROVAL of the application.

This was later voted down by the City of Columbus Development Commission!! Congrats and thanks to the FP/NCC reps for their dedication to keeping our neighborhood in good shape.

Website Administrator Dave Paul – dwpaul@fpcivic.org  Scott Biggs – volunteerfpca@gmail.com

No Report

OLD BUSINESS

Construction on the roundabouts on Maple Canyon has begun with underground work.

NEW BUSINESS/ANNOUNCEMENTS/IDEAS

  1. The Beautification Awards have been tabled for this year. There was a lack of entries and due to budget shortfall, it makes sense.
  2. The next FPCA meeting will be October 10th at Epworth United Methodist Church at 7 PM.

Meeting adjourned at 8:24 PM

Minutes submitted by Lou Bernard, Secretary

Forest Park Civic Association Meeting Minutes: July 12, 2022

Forest Park Civic Association Meeting

Date: 12 July 2022

Location: Epworth United Methodist Church and Zoom

Meeting called to order @ 7:12 PM by Ed Vanasdale 

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Attendance was taken via role call/Zoom Participant List by Lou Bernard

OFFICER REPORTS

President’s Report   Ed Vanasdale – ed1vanasdale@gmail.com

The 4th of July Parade was a huge success. Thanks to all who helped. Bikes-n-Trikes was a great success. Very solid turnout. Thanks to Rita Woeste for purchasing the gift bags to all of the kids who participated. Over 20 kids participated. A shout out to Mary Sguerra for creating a fantastic float for the FPCA. We won the Best in Theme Award.

Vice President’s Report  Trevor Secord – tsecord@unioncountyymca.org

NCC Meeting 

  1. Police report car thefts are still a high concern for our area with Kia and Hyundai vehicles being targeted.
  2. CPD Bike unit – “Street Team” was there to report on what they do and how they make an impact. 
  3. City attorney is continuing to work on the hotel issues and has two hearings this month
  4. NABA had their “161 Clean-up” on July 9th, and are asking for more volunteers to keep 161 clean. Only 2 volunteers showed up this month
  5. City of Columbus 311 event will be at the library to go over the new system-look for info in the news or the website.
  6. Special guest Emmanuel Remy was there to answer questions about city safety – he reaffirmed that the city changes to the police department were only codifying “best practices” they already had or were putting into place. No change to their funding. Youth Organization grants through the city will be available $500 each. 
  7. The Northland Parade was a success, but costs will go up in the next few years due to insurance. 
  8. Speaker was Dayna McCrary from the department of development discussing their program, the Columbus Financial Empowerment Center. Effort to help those who want to take charge of their life and their finances. Not just for those in financial need but anyone looking for financial literacy or guidance in their lives. FREE Program 
  9. NCC picnic is August 9th at Blendon Woods Park Dogwood Pavilion. This will replace the regularly scheduled August FPCA meeting.
  10. FPCA National Night Out is on Tuesday, August 2nd being hosted at the YMCA on Karl Rd. Food trucks, live music, and bounce houses are expected. More info to come!!

Secretary’s Report Lou Bernard –  loubernard3@gmail.com

  1. Attendance:
  • Officers/Committee Chairs Present: EV, TS, LB, CL, DVM, KVM, SL, AR, ER, SB, KG, DP
  • Officers/Committee Chairs Absent: FQ, MS, RW 
  • Area Reps in Attendance: 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 11, 12
  • Area Reps Absent: 3, 4, 7, 8,10, 13, 14 (Areas 4, 13 and 14 remain vacant )
  • 1 person on Zoom/ 25 present
  • Officer Dan Yandrich – not present
  1. Official documents on the website updated to include a new copy of the complete constitution and bylaws. All fonts and spacing have been made consistent, and now include the new amendments passed in January.
  2. Minutes from the May meeting were approved as published.

Treasurer’s Report  Cheryl Lutman – cllutman17@gmail.com

  1. 41 household memberships received through PayPal. Of those, 25 households included the PayPal fee in their total membership. 80 household memberships mailed in.
  2. While we have received an additional 125 memberships in the mail, those weren’t processed until early-mid July. This does not include memberships received through PayPal. All will be updated in the July report.
  3. Advertising funds received were $920. The additional donations towards Supplemental Security were $855, Beautification $305 and the Forester $255. In addition, Garage Sale revenue was $135. Expenses for the Garage Sale advertising were $52.42.
  4. Expenses included funds on our bulk mail permit, more folders for the Welcome Committee, paying our security patrols and Forester Printing.
  5. We need about 560 households to join the FPCA to meet our basic budget dollars, so please continue to reach out to your neighbors to join.
  6. Treasurer’s Reports were voted on and approved.

Public Relations Report Mary Sguerra – Mary.Sguerra@HERrealtors.com   Absent – No Report

Forester Editor’s Report  Rita Woeste – forester_ed@fpcivic.org  Absent

  1. Deadline for Ads, articles, and photos is Thursday July 21st
  2. We are still looking for a delivery coordinator to help with the monthly Forester. If you know someone let me know…. Please. 

       This person would need to:

  • maintain records of delivery people
  • send a monthly reminder to delivery people that Foresters are coming to deliver
  • help count out some sets & deliver them to delivery people, half of it is done for you already and everything is stuffed into bags when you count.
  • check volunteer list to fill in gaps of streets not covered 
  • you only have to do this 10 months of the year. The January issue is online and May or June issue is mailed

Supplemental Security Report  Daryl Van Mercetta – dvanmercetta@gmail.com

  Katie Van Mercetta – kvanmercetta@gmail.com  Dan Yandrich (CPD Liaison Officer) dyandrich@columbuspolice.org

  1. There were more vacation checks in June and July so far.
  2. In May, a woman reported that she lives near Northland High School and when she got out of her car, a youth jumped in and tried to steal it. Luckily she had her keys with her. Stay aware of your surroundings.
  3. Continuing to talk with security company about upgrading services. If this is going to happen, we need more neighbors to join the FPCA.
  4. Remember to keep your lights on at night. Don’t let your vehicles run without you in them. Stay vigilant. Look out for your neighbors!

Business Representative  Sheridan Landin – sheridanlandon@yahoo.com 

    Alan Ray – aray.bergahorn@gmail.com(Absent) 

  1. Sheridan is continuing to canvas the area businesses trying to get more of them to join. He spoke with the owners of the Toro Meat Market on 161. We will be having them as guest speakers soon.
  2. Thank you to all those people who helped to get the business members listed in the Forester.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Welcome Committee Chair Ellin Ray – eclaire1226@gmail.com ABSENT-No Report

Passed out many Welcome Folders to Area Reps to deliver to the new neighbors. She is continuing to make more regularly.

Volunteer Coordinator Scott Biggs – volunteerfpca@gmail.com

  1. Thank you to everyone who is volunteering and helping with the civic association.
  2. Thanks to all for the great Membership stuffing event, 28 volunteers. Thanks to Mike Stone, Dave Paul, Andy Hunt, Mary Sguerra, Rita Woeste for all of the prep work and delivering the massive amounts of envelopes to the post office. 
  3. Thanks to all who participated in the parade on the 4th!
  4. Will be processing a lot of volunteer applications soon. Look for a call from Scott!
  5. July’’s Volunteer of the Month is Ed Vanasdale, our president. Thank you for your countless hours and stepping up to fill in the role of president in an emergency.

Social Activities Report Position Vacant  ABSENT-No Report

NCC Representative  Ken Gilbert – kgilbert78@att.net

  1. Beware-catalytic converters are being stolen in large amounts.
  2. Dave Leland, our state representative, will not be running in the fall. He will be running for a judge position.
  3. NCC picnic is August 9th at Blendon Woods Park Dogwood Pavilion. This will replace the regularly scheduled August FPCA meeting. There will be NO August FPCA meeting.
  4. 161 Clean-up dates: Aug.13th, Sept.10th, Oct. 8th, Nov. 12th

NCC Development Representative Ed Vanasdale – evanasdale@insight.rr.com 

       Dave Paul – dwpaul@fpcivic.org 

5 Cases were heard, only 1 relevant to FP area:

Case #3 A woman was applying for a variance to permit the operation of a Type A family child care facility in the Devonshire area. It was approved.

Website Administrator Dave Paul – dwpaul@fpcivic.org  Scott Biggs – volunteerfpca@gmail.com

OLD BUSINESS

  1. No movement on the FP Block Watch. Still looking for a captain.

NEW BUSINESS/ANNOUNCEMENTS/IDEAS

  1. Northland Unity Festival: LOCATION-North YMCA,1640 Sandalwood Pl, Columbus, OH 43229. The event will take place from 2:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.on September 18th. Zaki Grill and Tibetan Momo will be on-site serving food, support our vendors! The first 100 people to visit our sponsor’s table, The Economic & Community Development Institute (ECDI), will get a $10 voucher for the food trucks! More than 3 dozen vendors, including local makers and services. Entertainment, including a Nepali dance troupe, Zumba, theater groups and more! 
  2. Beware of scammers using false email addresses from civic association’s officers. We will never ask you to buy gift cards for us.
  3. We received an email from one of our past presidents expressing the nice job that everyone is doing. Thank you George Schmidt for your kind words! We appreciate it. We wish you luck recovering from your foot surgery!
  4. We are looking to get someone from the Toro Meat Market to come in as a guest speaker in September and Columbus 311 to come in as a guest speaker in October. 
  5. Construction on the roundabouts on Maple Canyon will begin sometime this summer.
  6. The next FPCA meeting will be September 13th at Epworth United Methodist Church and Zoom at 7 PM.

Meeting adjourned at 8:17 PM

Minutes submitted by Lou Bernard, Secretary