Category Archives: Meetings

The FPCA needs your talent! Can you volunteer?

We need your talent!

If you already do volunteer… THANK YOU! You are one of the wonderful people who help us make Forest Park a great place to live. As you may know, we are a non-profit volunteer-run organization that serves 2,780 households.

But only a small fraction of residents volunteer with the FPCA. And we need some more help!

HERE ARE SOME VOLUNTEER POSITIONS WHERE WE NEED YOUR HELP:

Membership Coordinator – URGENT NEED
Memberships are our primary revenue and our connection to our community households. We need help to keep membership growing. No experience is necessary. We are looking for someone to help coordinate the process. This involves joining us at the monthly meetings 10 times a year, helping us plan and mail our annual membership packet, promoting the many benefits of membership, and tracking membership. You get plenty of help from our seasoned veterans.

Business Representative – URGENT NEED
Our Business Representatives connect with our many businesses in the area to promote business memberships, encourage advertising in our monthly Forester newsletter, and maintain good relationships with our local businesses. No experience necessary.

Area 14 Representative – Forest Park East
We need an Area Rep for Area 14 in Forest Park East, which includes a few streets near Lyle Rd. and Denise Dr. just south of Northland High School. Our Area Reps attend monthly meetings, deliver Welcome Folders to new residents in their areas and communicate news and concerns to and from the FPCA.

Website Administrator
The Website Admin helps update our website at fpcivic.org with news and events and performs other minor maintenance. WordPress experience is helpful.

Social Media Help
Are you handy with social media? Help us get the word out with your skills!

Area Representatives
Assist your current Area Rep by promoting membership, delivering Welcome Folders to new residents, and passing information to and from your block and the FPCA.

Other Opportunities
Please connect with us or attend a meeting if you are interested in something not listed here.

Email volunteerFPCA@gmail.com for more information.

Join us at our November Meeting!
Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023
7 pm to 8 pm
Epworth United Methodist Church
5100 Karl Rd.

Our Block Watch meeting starts at 6 pm and our Code Enforcement meeting starts at 6:30 pm. This is our last public meeting of the year.

Zach Williams from State Bank will be the guest speaker. He will be sharing community outreach efforts and financial literacy class info. Free desserts will be served by the FPCA Social Committee.

Block Watch and Code Enforcement meetings will now precede FPCA meetings

We have made changes to our monthly meeting to become more efficient. Block Watch/Security and Code Enforcement/Development now have their own meetings preceding the FPCA meetings every month. Location is Epworth United Church at 5100 Karl Rd. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend all meetings.

Tuesday, June 13 – 6 to 6:30 pm
Block Watch/Security Meeting
Our Columbus Police Liaison officer Dan Yandrich and FPCA Supplemental Security Chair Daryl Van Mercetta will provide updates and take questions prior to the FPCA monthly meeting. Security issues will NOT be discussed at the regular FPCA meeting. If you have any concerns about crime and enforcement issues, THIS is where you get answers and make a difference.

Tuesday, June 13 – 6:30 to 7 pm
Code Enforcement/NCC Development Report
If you have any questions regarding any code issues (semi-trucks, cars parked on street, neighbor’s grass is uncut, etc.), this is the time to come and talk with the FPCA President and NCC Development Commission officers concerning those issues. You also get updates on what is being built around the neighborhood, roundabouts, street lights, speed bumps, traffic changes, etc. Code issues will NOT be discussed at the regular FPCA meeting.

Tuesday, June 13 – FPCA Monthly Meeting – All welcome!
7 to 8 pm – Epworth United Church, 5100 Karl Rd.
Get updates on community events, issues and news. Sit in and watch or get involved. Note the change in security and development reports above.

City of Columbus hearing on hotel rezoning set for Feb. 9, 2023

By Scott Biggs, FPCA Volunteer Coordinator

The future of the former hotel property at 1289 E. Dublin-Granville Rd. near Satinwood Dr. in Forest Park West will be on the agenda at a Feb. 9 public hearing by the City of Columbus’ Development Commission. The property is between Popeye’s Chicken and Satinwood Dr.

Adjacent property owners should have already been notified of this meeting directly by the city. All Forest Park residents can attend the 4:30 p.m. hearing, watch it online, and email statements for consideration. See below for more information.

HOW TO ATTEND OR WATCH THE HEARING

The Development Commission of the City of Columbus will hold a public hearing on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023, to consider rezoning the hotel from commercial to residential.

The public hearing will be at the Michael B. Coleman Government Center, Second Floor Public Hearing Room, 111 North Front St., Columbus, OH 43215. The hearing begins at 4:30 p.m. and is expected to include eight applications including this rezoning application for the 1289 property. The agenda shows this issue listed as fifth of the eight applications at the hearing (this is subject to change).

Parking is available in the parking garage located north of the Michael B. Coleman Government Center and is accessed from Ludlow Alley north of West Long St.

SUBMIT TESTIMONY VIA EMAIL

The FPCA encourages residents to submit testimony via email before the deadline. Please reference Record Z22-083: 1289 E DUBLIN-GRANVILLE RD.

Anyone wishing to provide testimony in favor or in opposition to this rezoning can submit a statement in writing via email to Tim Dietrich at tedietrich@columbus.gov. Written testimony must be received at this email by noon on the day of the meeting.

WATCH THE MEETING ON YOUTUBE

You can attend the meeting in person and also watch the hearing online at the city’s YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/cityofcolumbus.

ABOUT THE REQUEST

The Community Shelter Board is requesting a rezoning that would permit the use of the former Red Carpet Inn property containing 82 units for long-term, permanent supportive housing under lease to Homefull.

This request was the subject of a well-attended monthly meeting of the Forest Park Civic Association on Jan. 10 at Epworth United Methodist Church.

More than 60 Forest Park residents listened as the Community Shelter Board and its partners described their plans for the property. Homefull, which provides property management and case management for a property at 1111 Mediterranean Ave. (located in a former hotel behind The Waffle House near I-71) would lease the hotel property and provide the same services at the 1289 site. The Community Shelter Board explained that the property would serve as permanent supportive housing for disabled homeless people.

NCC VOTES TO RECOMMEND AGAINST REZONING

The Northland Community Council’s Development Committee considered this application at its Jan. 26 meeting and voted 15-0 to recommend that the City of Columbus DISAPPROVE (reject) the rezoning. The City is not required to abide by the NCC’s recommendation, but the unanimous consensus is expected to carry some influence in the City’s decision.

The Northland Community Council (NCC) represents 26 area civic associations and organizations in the Northland area. The NCC represents more than 100,000 households and ensures that the City of Columbus recognizes Northland as an important political voice. Two FPCA volunteers currently serve on the commission and provide detailed reports at every FPCA meeting. Ed Vanasdale, the current president of the FPCA, and Dave Paul both serve on the NCC Development Committee.

Dave Paul, a co-chair of the NCC Development Committee, a representative of the Northland Community Alliance, and an active member of the Forest Park Civic Association, explained his concerns at the January FPCA meeting. While acknowledging that there is a need for affordable housing for disabled residents in the city, Paul noted that the rezoning would permanently allow residential use for the hotel property. This would mean that if the Community Shelter Board abandoned its plans at any time, the hotel could be used by another group for a variety of residential uses that could negatively affect the neighborhood.

Residents at the FPCA meeting raised concerns that the proposed plans would attract increased crime, vagrancy, alcohol abuse, drug activity and other issues in its vicinity. They asked how residents would be monitored, how they qualify to participate in the housing, and what security services would be in place. Several mentioned current issues with panhandlers in the I-71 and Dublin-Granville Rd. area and concerns that the situation could worsen.

THANK YOU TO OUR NCC REPRESENTATIVES

Many thanks to Ed Vanasdale and Dave Paul for their continued VOLUNTEER work to represent all residents of Forest Park on this issue and many more that protect our interests. They spend a lot of time in service to their community.

Part of your $25 annual FPCA membership helps fund the NCC and its important work to represent Northland in decisions made by the City of Columbus. If you have not joined the FPCA this year, please consider membership.

Manager of the city’s 311 service promotes new features at FPCA meeting

Carmen Duckens and Darian Price from the City of Columbus 311 Department (fourth and seventh from left) with FPCA officers and other residents at the November 2022 FPCA meeting.

One of the most important services that the Forest Park Civic Association provides is our close relationship with the City of Columbus and its officials.

With nealy 3,000 households in Forest Park and more than 100,000 households in the Northland Area, we are able to speak with a common voice that is larger than our voices as individuals.

As a result, we were happy to welcome representatives from the city’s 311 service at our November FPCA meeting. Carmen Duckens, 311 Service Manager, and Darian Price, a 311 Service Representative, provided a presentation the service’s new features.

The 311 service is your primary customer service connection to the City of Columbus. It is available online, by phone, via email, and with the 311 mobile app for your smartphone.

For 20 years, 311 has connected residents to the city’s services and resources. The improved website and the new CBUS 311 mobile app makes it easier to submit your service requests 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

You can look up your trash collection day, report code and animal violations, request information about social services, ask about licenses and permits, contact officials, and perform dozens of other similar tasks. Carmen noted that bulk trash pickup requests are the most popular requests from residents.

Notably, Columbus now will pick up old televisions. Previously, it did not accept older model tube TVs.

Carmen explained that her staff of 18 Customer Service Representatives handle nearly half a million 311 contacts a year. The representatives field the requests and route them to the appropriate city department. The 311 service is available live Monday through Friday and recently expanded its hours from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

After maintaining the same number of staff members since 2006, the 311 staff is expanding this year to handle a continual increase in contacts. They are actively hiring now to add staff. The staff expansion will allow the department to staff the center on Saturdays.

Carmen and Darian walked the attendees through the service and answered questions from Forest Park residents. She also distributed tote bags full of information about city services, magnets, and COVID-19 test kits.

The newly improved 311 version includes several convenient new features:

SMART GROUPING OF REQUESTS
Learn right away if an issue has already been reported. View the community map to see other requests in your area.

UNIQUE RESPONSE FIELDS
New information fields to speed the accurate routing of requests to the right areas.

PIN DROP ACCURACY
Describe your request with pinpoint accuracy by dropping a pin on the exact location where service is needed.

NEW INFORMATIONAL ARTICLES
Access the library of articles in the Knowledge base to learn about city processes and policies.

You can contact 311 online at www.columbus.gov/311, by phone at (614) 645-3111, and by email at 311@columbus.gov. You can also download the CBUS311 mobile app.

Representative of Columbus 311 Service is the featured guest at the November FPCA Meeting

A representative from the City of Columbus 311 Call Center will be the featured speaker at the next Forest Park Civic Association meeting. The rep will give a presentation on how to use the city’s new online 311 reporting system and answer questions from attendees. As a resident of Columbus, the 311 service is our one stop “customer service” contact for all non-emergency city services.

https://www.columbus.gov/311/

All Forest Park residents are welcome and encouraged to attend.

The church where we meet each month (thank you for donating your space, Epworth United!) will also host voting on that day. We meet in a separate room.

If you have not yet joined or renewed your membership for the year, you can join at the meeting, via your November Forester Newsletter, or online below.

November FPCA Meeting
7 – 8 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022
Epworth United Methodist Church
5100 Karl Rd.

What does your $30 FPCA membership do? A lot.

What does your $30 do?

Some benefits of FPCA membership are easy to see. Some are not.

By Scott Biggs, FPCA Volunteer Coordinator

Thank you to everyone who has already joined the Forest Park Civic Association this year. We are below our membership goals for 2023 and we are doubling our efforts to invite more households to join.

As of September, only a fraction of the nearly 3,000 households in Forest Park are members of the civic association.

I am asking you to join today so we can continue our work to keep Forest Park a great place to live. You can join the FPCA online right now.

Across Columbus, you can see the difference between neighborhoods that have an active civic association and those that do not.

We are not a homeowner’s association. We do not enforce neighborhood rules. We are a civic association that works to benefit all Forest Park residents.

Membership in the FPCA is only $30 per household. The FPCA is entirely run by volunteers who are residents just like you. That means every dollar is used to directly benefit our neighborhood.

We are dedicated to transparency and publish our Treasurer’s Report every month in The Forester newsletter. Our volunteer treasurer also provides an update at every FPCA monthly meeting (I invite you to join us for our next meeting).

What do you get for your annual membership contribution? Some benefits are obvious because you see them every day.

Benefits that you see:

We pay to maintain the landscaped islands at the Satinwood Pl. entrances at Karl Rd.
We recently paid to replace all Welcome to Forest Park signs at all entrances to Forest Park East and West.
We pay to print The Forester newsletter every month and pay for the bags which allow volunteers on your street to hang the newsletters on your door.
We pay the professional supplemental security patrol officers who regularly drive through the neighborhoods in their marked cars. Planning a vacation? Every FPCA member can request free home checks with the form in each Forester newsletter, at www.fpcivic.org or by emailing our volunteer Supplemental Security Coordinator Daryl Van Mercetta at dvanmercetta@gmail.com.
We pay for the welcome folders and printed materials that we drop off to new residents who just moved into our neighborhood. These packets include information about Forest Park, maps of the streets, nearby businesses, voter registration information, and other helpful items to make our new neighbors feel at home.
We pay for programs that recognize neighbors for their beautification efforts in the annual Beautification Contest, rewarding our neighbors who enrich our streets with improvements.
We pay for supplies to build our float for the Northland Fourth of July Parade.
We pay for awards for kids who decorate their bikes and trikes in the Fourth of July Parade.
We pay for printing and postage to mail our annual Membership Packet to nearly 3,000 households, encouraging residents to join the FPCA.
We pay for advertising to promote two Community Garage Sales each year, attracting buyers from around Central Ohio.
We pay to design and print the Forest Park Directory, which is updated every several years and delivered to all member households.
We pay for neighborhood social events, including the Easter Egg Hunt, Block Parties, and the Halloween Party. These events were cancelled during the pandemic, and we are reviving them in 2023.

Some benefits are not obvious but are just as important.

Benefits that you do not see:

We pay dues to the Northland Community Council. The NCC is a critical organization that represents 26 area civic associations and organizations in the Northland area. The NCC represents more than 100,000 households and ensures that the City of Columbus recognizes Northland as an important political voice. Two FPCA volunteers currently serve on the commission and provide detailed reports at every FPCA meeting. The NCC is our most effective connection to the City of Columbus and makes recommendations to the city on behalf of Forest Park residents. Among many other services, the NCC protects us from many development and zoning plans that would harm our neighborhoods and maintains a direct two-way channel to city officials.
We pay for insurance that is required for our non-profit organization.
We pay for a P.O. Box and office supplies that are necessary to conduct our operations.
We pay for payment processing fees that are necessary for online membership payments.

Join your neighbors today with your FPCA Membership

You can join the FPCA right now and pay online.

We also welcome your participation and talents.

Want to learn more and get involved? Join us at our next monthly meeting.

Toro Meat Market will be the featured guest at the October FPCA meeting

A representative of the new Toro Meat Market will be the featured guest at October’s FPCA meeting. They will speak on their experiences taking over the former Carfagna’s market location at 1405 E. Dublin Granville Rd. and serving the Forest Park community.

The meeting will also include updates from committee chairs, including area development updates from the Northland Community Council and neighborhood security reports from our police liaison and security chairman. Attendees can raise issues and ask questions.

We are looking forward to seeing all FPCA Area Reps at the meeting.

All residents of Forest Park are invited! (We will wrap it up on time so we can watch The Guardians win!)

FPCA October Meeting
Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022
7 – 8 p.m.
Epworth United Methodist Church
5100 Karl Rd., Columbus, OH 43229