Minutes
Thursday, February 2, 2006
Good things are happening in our neighborhood: Rotten trees and abandoned vehicles have been removed, new home construction and renovation is going on and neighbors are helping senior citizens maintain their yards. All these actions help stabilize and improve the appearance of our neighborhood.
President Cline advised the members to report such situations as zoning violations, abandoned vehicles, rotten trees, stray animals and overgrown sidewalks. You must report these issues and problems to the city government. The city government does not actively enforce many of its ordinances and relies on residents to inform the appropriate departments. For example, the city government does not actively enforce the animal confinement �leash� law. The city does not pick up unconfined animals unless you report them to Animal Control.
Our focus for the next three months will be on reporting abandoned vehicles on private property. Please let me know the location of abandoned vehicles. A vehicle that is obviously not operational is abandoned. I will compile a list and send it to the city government.
Mr. Mac Cochran of �Keep Dublin/Laurens Beautiful� spoke to the members. He explained what his role and function was and how it related to the DHNA.
He asked for volunteers from our organization to assist with several upcoming community projects.
President Cline asked the members if they had any issues or concerns about our neighborhood. Members brought up the following concerns and issues. Mike Nemzek reported that the lots on Lancaster Street will most likely be up for rezoning for additional high end condominiums soon. Mr. Willie Dugas mentioned that he saw a dead tree in the neighborhood and took a form to report it to the city government. The members discussed extending the time for the city to post a rezoning request on property from 15 to 45 days. Senior citizens are reporting that they are afraid to walk around their own blocks because of unconfined dogs roaming the neighborhood. Ann Woods expressed concern over rental property that was in disrepair in the neighborhood. President Cline informed members that city council enacted a new nuisance ordinance that makes prosecuting violators more efficient and effective. The alleged violator is cited and given a court date immediately. A member wanted to know how to find out who owns a piece of property and she was told that the best way to do that is to go to the property and deed records at the Laurens County Courthouse. Also, searching the database at the County Assessor�s Website is another way to identify a property owner, but the database is not current.
The members discussed and agreed that the city government should put up several bulletin boards in strategic locations for posting community announcements. There is no bulletin board at city hall for posting official government announcements. The city should put up a bulletin board in the City Hall lobby and place all official announcements on it.
President Cline reminded the members that the DHNA website has links to useful information and local government websites. He asked the members to contact him if they would like to have a picture of their home added to the pictorial of our neighborhood on the DHNA website.
The next meeting will be in April or May. There was no more discussion or business. The meeting adjourned at 7:30 PM.
