Westmoreland Shopping Center Sold!

After years of sitting in decay and disrepair, the Westmoreland Shopping Center has been sold to Catholic High School! The school has immediate plans to tear down the vacant portion of the shopping center adjacent to CVS. The school is also focusing its efforts on a long-term master plan for the campus including the Westmoreland Shopping Center. For more info:

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/latest/112396029.html

Holiday Social is this Friday!

Hello All,

Just a reminder about the MVNA Holiday Social this coming Friday, December 17th at 7pm. It'll be located at 538 & 546 Arlington: Our home and Melissa Braud & Shelley Warrington's home. We'll set up between the houses in the driveway under a canopy of lights. We'll provide tables and some chairs, but feel free to bring a portable chair as we may not have enough for everybody. We'll be providing sodas and bottled water, ice, plates, cups, napkins, etc and we'll also have the fire going in the back. If for some reason it decides to rain, we'll just move the party inside. Again, so the burden doesn't fall on any one person, please bring a dish, dessert, snack of your choice and BYOB. Looking forward to seeing you all there on Friday and don't hesitate to call if you have any questions.

Justin

225.931.4863

Holiday Social

OK All, the responses are in and we'll be holding our first annual MVNA Holiday Social on Friday, December 17th.

We don't have a location finalized yet so stay tuned. Let's make this a potluck. Every house bring your favorite side, dessert, snack, appetizer, etc and I'll provide the beverages and ice. As always, BYOB. Email me with any questions and hope to see you there!

Justin Lemoine
President, MVNA
225.931.4863
jklemoine@gmail.com

Holday Social

Since it's the holiday season, I figured we should hold off on having another formal neighborhood meeting until after the new year. This time of year is tricky. Instead, I thought we could have a holiday social to get together, talk about holiday plans and neighborhood safety. This would also be a good chance for us to meet more fellow residents and further develop the Neighborhood Watch. Email dates that would be preferable for this party to our neighborhood email address: montevistabrla@gmail.com

Thanks,

Justin

2010 Monte’ Vista Trick or Treat will be on Sunday, October 31st from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

We have an officer scheduled to patrol our neighborhood during this time. The cost is $100. If you would like to contribute, please let Camie know a.s.a.p. and/or send a check to Camie Wall at 569 Arlington Ave. no later than Wednesday, October 27^th. Please make all checks payable to Camie Wall, as she will write one check to the officer.

PLEASE drive with Caution during this time and don’t forget to turn on your front door/porch light if you would like to participant in the Trick or Treat fun. You can also turn on other outside lights around your house to help light up the neighborhood for safety.

Monthly Meeting

Hello All,

I wanted to invite you guys to our next MVNA meeting next Thursday night, September 30th 2010. This time, we'll be at Sam Muffoletto's house at 663 Arlington (yellow house on the corner of Oleander & Arlington, closer to Government). Sam has graciously offered his back yard, or front porch if it rains. We'll be starting up at 7pm.

I'm working on getting the guys from Radio Bar to stop by to give us a detailed description of their plans and let us know what kind of support they'll need from us at the Metro Council meeting on October 20th.

We'll also be discussing the Neighborhood Watch program and how we can all help Sheri get it off the ground.

BYOB if you'd like a drink and feel free to bring snack foods for us to munch on.

See you there!

Justin

Town Hall Mtg on Crime 9/16!

TOWN HALL MEETING ON CRIME

The East Baton Rouge Parish Metropolitan Council will host a community-wide Town Hall Meeting on crime prevention, intervention and remediation. The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 16, 6pm – 8pm at the BREC Headquarters Ballroom, 6201 Florida Blvd., in Baton Rouge. Joining members of the Metropolitan Council will be Mayor-President Melvin “Kip” Holden and panelists from Law Enforcement Agencies including East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar C. Moore III, East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff Sid J. Gautreaux, East Baton Rouge Parish Constable Reginald R. Brown and Baton Rouge Chief of Police Jeff LeDuff. Panelists discussing social issues will also be on hand including Director ICARE, EBR School System, Becky Young, Eclectric Cognitive Behavioral Center, Dr. Jacqueline Mims, LPC, Unity Day Youth & Family Zone President-Founder, John Daniels, District 61 State Representative Michael Jackson, Pastor Raymond A. Jetson, Star Hill Baptist Church and Educational Outreach Coordinator of the EBRP Office of Mayor-President, Roxson Welch. An exposition area will be dedicated to public agencies, service providers, and businesses that offer a credible response to citizens in need of crime-related advocacy, counseling, products and services. All citizens are urged to attend this community “Call To Action!” meeting and are encouraged to register on-line at www.brgov.com by clicking on the “Town Hall Meeting on Crime” icon, located on the front page or by calling 389-3121. There will also be an on-site registration, and doors will open at 5:30 p.m.

MidCity Meeting!

Thursday, September 23 from 6:30-8:30 there will be a workshop for the new East Baton Rouge Comprehensive Plan (FutureBR) that will focus on a specific plan for MidCity. I encourage everyone to attend and help guide our sliver of the city forward in the best way possible. The meeting will be held in the Bonne Sante Wellness Center on BRCC's campus at North Boulevard and Foster. Let me know if you'd like any more info on this.

Thanks,
Justin

Old Gas Station

The old Quicksilver Gas Station at the corner of Claycut and Acadian has sold! Craig Smith (the man who owns a bunch of the green and tan storage units around BR) lives on Westmoreland. His wife was tired of looking at the property in its present state and so he decided to purchase it for her and make it a green space! They are getting ready to remove all the concret and get it landscaped. Hooray!

Radio Bar

Brian & Dave will be having a meet and great at Chelsea's on Sept. 2nd from 6-9 to discuss the new bar, Radio Bar, they are planning to open in the Ogden Shopping Center. Everyone is invited to come out and learn about their plans for this neighborhood venue!

Neighborhood Thefts

Just a note to pass along to you all letting you know that Jim & Michael over on Oleander & Kenmore had some lawn equipment stolen last night, so be extra vigilant!

Updates 8/12

A couple of announcements:

• The city is monitoring traffic on S. Eugene St. at Myrtle and then near Edward. Not sure if they are considering additional traffic controls, but this might impact both Eugene and the side streets in the future. Just something to keep an eye on.
• The property at 3081 Government Street in Ogden Market wants to rezone for operation of a neighborhood bar. Thoughts?
• Anyone interested in participating in a Monte Vista Neighborhood Watch program should contact Sheri Thompson at sjt@lsu.edu or 387-0634.
  

Catholic High

Just a little news for you guys:

Catholic High finally fenced off the notorious property at the end of Oleander Street, including the street istelf with a 4-foot chain link fence. No doubt, the article in the advocate mentioning prostitution in the area helped to nudge this little bit of progress along. I've got a meeting set up with the president of Catholic High this week and I'll try to find out a timeline for any work on the property.

If you guys see any issues such as this, feel free to email the association and we'll do our best to get them remedied in a timely manner. montevistabrla@gmail.com

You can also call 311 - the city's free hotline for fixing potholes, abandoned properties, etc.

Thanks, JL

Last night the Planning Commission voted to keep the Westmoreland Shopping Center zoned SPUD instead of reverting it back to C-1. This is a small victory, as the Cangelosi family merely seeks to zone it to whatever will get it sold as quickly as possible. C-1 zoning will allow that, but would permit the building of a big box retailer or other uses incompatible with the Mid City area. SPUD is a slightly more involved zoning designation that basically requires the developer to employ higher densities and more smart growth principles key to improving our area. To read more about it, see the article on the Advocate's website: http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/latest/99291829.html

Anybody interested in going to the Metro Council meeting where the decision will be finalized, let me know.

montevistabrla@gmail.com

MVNA Meeting a success!

Last week's Monte Vista meeting went well. We had just over 20 people in attendance! Thanks for coming out and listening to Sgt. Boudreaux. See an advocate article on the meeting here:

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/99079864.html

Sheri Thompson will now be heading up the newly formed Neighborhood Watch. We received 2 signs for the neighborhood and will be putting them up on Oleander and McGrath facing S. Eugene. We should be receiving a few more to put up on Arlington and Kenmore Shortly. If you have any questions, feel free to send us an email at montevistabrla@gmail.com.

Minutes of last week's meeting will be posted one day this week when we get them typed up. In other news, construction has started on Baton Rouge Magnet High across Government Street. Crews are out on site for the beginning stages of hazardous material abatement. The brunt of demolition should begin shortly with construction lasting approximately 2 years. Keep your eyes peeled for any unsavory activity around the construction site and email us with your concerns.

Have a good Monday

July Neighborhood Meeting Set!

The July Meeting of the Monte Vista Neighborhood Association will be held on Thursday, July 22nd at 7pm at The Red Shoes, located at 2303 Government St.

Sgt. Denise Boudreaux, a Crime Analyst with the EBRSO, will be in attendance. Sgt. Boudreaux will discuss with us ways to improve neighborhood safety and deter crime. I urge everyone to attend this meeting as this information will go a long way toward improving our neighborhood!

Email or call if you have questions.

Justin Lemoine

931.4863
montevistabrla@gmail.com
jklemoine@gmail.com

Crime Watch

Anyone know what happened at 12:15 last night on Eugene? There were sirens, a crash and more sirens.... There is nothing online about it yet.
-Sheri

First official meeting a success!

Hello all,

Thanks to everyone who came out to the meeting. If you weren't able to attend, see below for the full meeting minutes.

Thanks,

Justin Lemoine

Monte Vista Neighborhood Association

First Official Neighborhood Meeting

May 27, 2010 7pm-8pm

The Red Shoes, 2303 Government St.

Attendees: Rose Ruffin, Justin & Lauren Lemoine, Mike McClosky, Creag Banta & Jann Briesacher, Mellissa Braud & Shelley Warrington, Sam Muffoletto, Adolph & Ever Voigt, Ryland & Camie Wall, Michael Johnson & Jim Vogler, Julie Betz, Reno Broussard, Cody King, Jeff Snell & Sheri Thompson, Kate Suchanek

Meeting Minutes:

Julie Betz started out by thanking everyone for attending and giving a little background about The Red Shoes.

Justin then introduced himself and invited the group to go around saying their name and their address.

He then stated the purpose of the neighborhood association.

Justin outlined the boundaries of Monte Vista as shown on the map provided for attendants. Sam Muffoletto stated that Monte Vista was actually a smaller area as defined by the City-Parish. Justin stated that that was in fact true, but that the boundaries for the MVNA were drawn to be larger so as to include adjacent neighbors within the logical area as is defined by adjacent conditions.

Sam stated the necessity to follow City-Parish designations for legal matters. Justin & Sheri Thompson stated that the purpose of the NA was more about fellowship and a sense of community and less about legal matters. Justin said that all avenues would be explored as the group develops further and solidifies its purpose.

Sheri then read aloud the bylaws for the neighborhood association and fielded questions on a few portions of the text.

The Bylaws were then approved without an official vote and are subject to change as the group further develops.

The discussion focused back onto the bylaws and the topic of membership dues. Possible dues were discussed similar to those of Bernard Terrace. It was decided that those dues were too high and that we should do something much lower until there is a dedicated direction with which to spend any funds.

Creag Banta asked if it was necessary to have police presence. Several people described recent incidents and the need for some sort of presence.

Lighting was discussed as another way to deter crime from the area after dark.

The conversation was brought back to membership dues and it was decided that $10 per household per year would be set until further notice. Sheri put it up for a vote. All present voted ‘yes’. No one present voted ‘no’.

Sheri then turned the conversation to the nomination of officers. Sheri Thompson was nominated to the role of Secretary/Treasurer. She was then nominated to the role of Vice President. That vote was seconded and Sheri accepted the nomination. Justin Lemoine was nominated for the role of President. The vote was seconded and Justin accepted the nomination. Michael Johnson was nominated to the role of Secretary/Treasurer. He declined the position. Jim Vogler nominated Camie Wall to the role of Secretary/Treasurer. The vote was seconded and Camie accepted the nomination. Sheri Thompson put the vote of all officers for a vote of approval before all in attendance. All present voted ‘yes’. No one present voted ‘no’.

Jann Briesacher asked that all those present at tonight’s meeting be considered founding members and be grandfathered in so that if membership dues are raised, the members present would pay the original amount decided upon for the first year.

It was decided that meetings will occur on the last Thursday of every month. There was no decision as to whether there was a need for monthly meetings, but monthly socials were discussed.

Sheri thanked everyone for coming and the meeting was officially adjourned.

Meeting tonight

Hey guys,

The meeting is tonight at 7pm at The Red Shoes. If you have any questions, feel free to give me a call.

Justin

931.4863

Meeting 5/27 at 7pm! Here is the agenda

Agenda:

-Mingling

-Statement of Purpose for the Neighborhood Association

-Boundaries of Monte Vista

-Membership/Dues

-Officers/Block Captains/Committees

-Meetings

-Approval of Bylaws

-Priorities

-Issues/Concerns

-Adjourn

MVNA Meeting Reminder

Just a reminder that the first official Monte Vista Neighborhood Association Meeting is this Thursday, May 27, 2010 @ 7pm at The Red Shoes - 2303 Government St.
Refreshments will be provided.

Come on out to meet your neighbors and learn more about our neighborhood!

The neighborhood is now included in the Mid City Cultural District, and residents are eligible for some tax credits for historic rehabilitation. Thanks.



TaxSeminar2010.jpg





Carrie Broussard

Economic Development Manager

Carrie.Broussard@brgeneral.org

_________________________________

Mid City Redevelopment Alliance

419 N. 19th Street

Baton Rouge, LA 70802

225-346-1000

www.midcityredevelopment.org

Draft Bylaws!

Here are the draft bylaws for your review. We will finalize and vote on the bylaws at our 5/27 meeting. Please send any changes to the email address: montevistabrla@gmail.com.

BYLAWS
BYLAWS OF MONTE VISTA NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION

ARTICLE I PURPOSE
The purpose of the Monte Vista Neighborhood Association is to engage the area businesses and residents in order to build and maintain a strong sense of community, maintain the integrity of the neighborhood and provide a collective voice for neighborhood issues to the local government. The Monte Vista Neighborhood Association will not engage in activities otherwise prohibited by law or for tax-exempt, non-profit corporations.
ARTICLE II. BOUNDARIES
The boundaries of the neighborhood are set as:
Arlington and Kenmore south of Government and north of Claycut. South Eugene between Government to the north and Myrtle to the south.

ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP
A. The membership of this association shall be residents, property owners or businesses within the neighborhood.
B. A Voting Member shall be a household or business within the boundaries of the neighborhood that has paid dues. Each household or business within the neighborhood shall be entitled to one vote.

C. Dues will be determined by the voting members. Yearly dues are to be $_____ per voting member.

D. Membership shall not be denied on the basis of views or opinions contrary to the goals and purposes of the association.


ARTICLE II. OFFICERS
The voting members of the neighborhood association shall nominate and elect the officers of the association. The officers of this association shall hold office for a term of one (1) year or until successors are elected. The term of office shall begin at the close of the Annual Meeting. The officers of the association shall be President, a Vice President, a Secretary/ Treasurer. The officers of the association will comprise the Board of Directors.
A. The President shall call and preside at all meetings, shall act for and in behalf of the membership of the association, shall appoint any special committees necessary for the operation of the association business, and shall act as official spokesperson for the association.

B. The Vice President shall, in the absence of the President, assume all of the duties of that office and shall be responsible for publicity and notifications of meetings of the association.

C. The Secretary/Treasurer shall keep a permanent record of all formal meetings, all legal documents and legal transactions of the association, all financial receipts and a permanent record of all financial business of the association. An up-to-date financial report shall be submitted at each meeting. The Treasurer shall be responsible for membership.

F. Any officer can be removed from office by a 2/3rds majority vote of the dues paying membership (if applicable) after a special meeting has been requested at least ten (10) working days in advance.
ARTICLE III. COMMITTEES
A. The President shall have the power to appoint committees as necessary to implement the purposes of the charter.

B. The President shall be an ex-officio member of all committees.

ARTICLE IV. MEETINGS
An annual meeting shall be held during the month of May at a time and place designated by the President.
A. Not less than 10 percent of the Voting Members shall have the privilege of petitioning a special meeting at any time.

B. The Voting Members present shall constitute a quorum.

C. At least a 10 day notice shall be provided in advance of any association meeting. Every effort will be made to notify all interested parties and members of the Association of upcoming meetings either by email, flyers, official blog posts, or Facebook announcements.

D. All meetings shall be public and open to any interested persons.

ARTICLE V. NOMINATION, ELECTIONS, ANNUAL REPORTS AND INSTALLATION OF OFFICERS
A. Nominations of officers shall be made from the floor at the annual meeting.

B. Election of officers shall be held on the same day as the nominations.

C. Upon installation of the officers whose terms begin at the close of the Annual Meeting, all documents, records, and any materials pertaining to the duties of the office as designated in the bylaws which are in the possession of the outgoing officers shall be submitted to the newly elected counterpart within 30 days of the installation.

D. Any vacancies occurring during the year of any Officer or member of the advocates shall be filled by appointment by the association advocates.

E. Any officer may be removed from office for cause by a majority vote of the voting members.

ARTICLE VI. FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY
A. Expenditure of funds of the association may not be made without the signatures of at least two (2) Officers and the Treasurer.

B. Financial records and funds of the association shall be audited at least once a year by a committee of at least two (2) Voting Members appointed by the President/Chairperson prior to a new Treasurer's taking office.

ARTICLE VII. AMENDMENT OF BYLAWS
A. These bylaws may be amended by a majority vote.

B. Proposed amendments shall be sent to all members at least working days in advance of the meeting where action is to be taken or shall be read at the presiding meeting.

ARTICLE VIII. GENERAL
A. The rules in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order shall govern the association, the Board of Directors, and all subcommittees in all cases to which they apply and do not conflict with the specific provisions of these Bylaws or any special rules that the association may adopt.

B. If any part of these Bylaws or the application thereof is hereafter held invalid or unenforceable, the remainder shall not be affected thereby, and only the affected portions are declared eliminated.
C. No officer, representative, spokesperson or member shall have any financial liability of the association.

DATE ADOPTED:_______________________________

710 Arlington Avenue - $164,500

Adorable home in the neighborhood for sale! 710 Arlington is listed here.

Coleman held on B&E only

The girl whose house he was in, called the police station yesterday to find out what charges he was being held on. It's only a Breaking and Entering charge, which is nothing major and he might not be in jail for long. Maybe even already out for all we know. So be very careful and call us if you see him.

Jamie Coleman update!

Jamie Coleman was arrested last night after breaking into the two story rental on Kenmore close to Government. He was naked and in the bed of the woman that rents the apartment - she was not home! The upstairs neighbor called the police. When the police arrived, Jamie had drugs on him and a pending felony charge ... so as far as we know he is back in jail.

Jamie Coleman is back

Mr. Coleman has left rehab (or wherever he was) and has once again made his presence known in the neighborhood. According to the police, someone matching his description was propositioning women for sex. He also made the mistake of returning to the Wall residence. He has been forbidden to return and the police will be called if he does again.

Upcoming Meeting 5/27

Cami, Jeff and I are blanketing the neighborhood with flyers for the upcoming Monte Vista Homeowners Association meeting to be held at The Red Shoes at 7pm on Thursday, 5/27. All Monte Vista residents are welcome to join us (renters and owners included). I am working on a draft of the Bylaws and will post it here sometime this week. Stay tuned!
Regards,
Sheri

Ragusas

Hey guys, glad to report that Me-Moes Lawn & Landscaping is working today on installing some beautiful drought-tolerant plantings @ Ragusas in those dirt-filled dead planters! They're putting beautiful bald cypress, blue rug juniper, and variegated yucca. For a pop of color, they've got turquoise colored steel edging too. not sure when it'll be complete but this will go a long way to dressing up that intersection!

Neighborhood Get Together! Monday, 4/12

Justin Lemoine is organizing a neighborhood planning meeting so that we can get our association officially formed. Here are the details he wrote:

I'm pulling together the map for us to markup and decide the official boundaries of the NH Association. Let's get together Monday night (04.12.10) at about 7pm at our house to start preparing for the first official neighborhood meeting. Bring something to write with and on and come prepared with ideas of a location for a meeting, who we could get to provide refreshments, and what format we would like for the meeting to take. I think it should be slightly interactive so as to engage as many of the neighborhood residents as possible. Call me if you have any questions.

Justin 931.4863

625 Arlington Ave - for sale!

Ann Mullins of CJ Brown is the listing agent for what is described as, "Awesome "Fixer-Upper" in quiet neighborhood by BR High. This home sits on 2 lots, has 9ft ceilings & hardwood floors thru-out. Don't let it get away." The home is a 3 bedroom and two bath
with over 1800 square feet. Here is the link to the listing:http://cjbrown.com/RLNET/Listings/ListingDetails.aspx?ListingId=1264957

This is a fixer-upper (the kitchen and baths need redos, but the neighborhood boasts its own contractor! Mark Suchanek lives on Kenmore and is a very trustworthy and talented contractor.

625 Arlington Ave

As many of you are aware, there have been some strange goings-ons over at 625 Arlington Ave. Jaimie Coleman was hired by Nora McConnell to clean up the house to get it ready for sale. I spoke to Ms. McConnell today (her # is 225-229-2194)and she once again assures us that Mr. Coleman is almost done with his work. Today he was smoking something while sunbathing (shirtless) in the front yard (he sure seems hard at work). Ms. McConnell insists that he is working to get the glue off of the floors. She is apparently not interested in having them refinished properly. The property will be listed by a friend of hers and will be on the market for $174,900. Mr. Coleman has been talking to several neighbors and states that he intends to buy the property. As a "self-medicated" bi-polar ex-con, Mr. Coleman's stories reflect his ever changing state of mind. He told a couple of people he wants to turn the property into a halfway house and his latest story is that he wants to turn it into a yoga center. Fortunately, the house is zoned A2 so neither one of these options should fly.