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Over thirty individuals attended the 5:30 PM, January 29, 2008 General Meeting at Spring Creek BBQ. Mary Davis opened the meeting and explained that the plan for this meeting is to be complete within one hour. To accomplish that goal each committee chair was be asked to hold their reports to no more than five minutes. Notes below have been inserted into the Agenda headings shown in bold. 1. Welcome/Introductions - Mary Davis
2. Celebrating successes – Group Gordon Landwemeyer - Reported success with removal of a mangled and collapsing sign in a strip center along FM 1960. John Keir - Reported a number of success in dealing with trash being picked up by Harris County as well as talking to those who post bandit signs and getting them to remove their signs. Both encouraged the group to continue in their quests for small successes although it many times takes persistance. Jack Busa correctly reminded the group that as important as the success are, it is very important to thank those that respond positively. Mary encouraged those that have an interest to sign up for the bandit sign training class being offered by Harris County Prct. 4. The following is the latest from Constable Hickman about the classes: 2nd Class Notice
The first response to the first Bandit Sign Volunteer Training Class on February 21st has been great and this class is almost full. We have now scheduled the second training class and will begin accepting applikcations for attendance for the class to be on March 12th, 2008 from 9am until 11am.
The class will be held at the Precinct 4 Constables Training Center located at 4625 F.M. 1960 West, in the North Oaks Shopping Center. The class size is limited to 25 persons so anyone interested needs to call (281) 580-1210 and reserve a spot.
This class is for citizens who want to get involved in their community and assist us in the removal of Bandit Signs in the area. Persons completing this training will be eligible for certification by Harris County Commissioners Court to be Trained Volunteers. This volunteer training is conducted by the Precinct 4 Constable’s Office on a program developed in conjunction with the Harris County Attorney’s Office to combat the bandit sign issue address in recent legislation.
3. Focus for 2008 – Mary Davis - Mary reported on the outcome of the Steering Committee meeting where the recommendation to the Board for projects to be prioritized was decided to be: Crime Awareness/Reduction; Green Medians; and Planning with the Model Block focused on all three, formation of a management district and fundraising. 4. Model Block Activities – Kim Walsh - Kim reported that the Model Block committee meets regularly and enjoyed a very successful Saturday morning on December 8 when students from Spring and Klein ISDs accepted the challange to help cleanup and improve FM 1960 during the launching of an initiative called "The 1960 Challenge". Spring ISD students working on a GIS project were on the streets January 18 on a very cold wet day. Their work will help in the planning portion of the area visioning process. Mary added that the students are getting the opportunity to learn a very highly used skill in the workforce and learning about community service. The students are being trained in GIS by ExxonMobile staff and Renaissance 1960 is their real world project. Kim encouraged people to join the effort as the Model Block area runs from I45 to Red Oak with consideration of it expanding to Ella, which will only be possible if more people contribute to the work that is needed. She encouraged anyone interested to email her and get involved. Kim can be emailed at
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5. Brief reports from attending committee chairs Green Medians - Chairperson Barbara Schlattman reported that planning process with both TxDOT and the landscape architect Clark Condon Associates is well underway. Through the display boards she brought she demonstrated the gray vs. green median concept and encouraged people to support the greening of the medians. Crime Awareness - Chairperson Marinell Mendoza reported on the monthly meetings of the Crime Awareness group. They meet on the 3rd Monday of each month at 7:00PM at the Texas Repertory Theatre. The latest meeting was to inform the community about gang activities within the school districts. She encouraged the audience to pass the word regarding the meetings and to attend.
6. Guest Speaker – The Economic Impact of the Arts, by Steven Fenley, Associate Artistic Director & Director of Public Relations, Texas Repertory Theatre Steve gave a very informative presentation with many facts that demonstrated the economic value to a community and region provided by the arts. He proudly cited values to the local community provided during the very successful first two years of production. He referred to several studies recently released that provide even more details. 1. One of the studies can be downloaded from links at the Americans for the Arts. Click here to go to the page with the links to the study. You will have to scroll to the bottom to see the links. 2. The other study Steve cited was the Cultural Impact Study for Houston. The Final Report issued in January 2007 can be downloaded by clicking here . 7. Sponsorship – Mary Davis - Mary urged everyone to help with finding sponsors as we have many great volunteers but the landscape and urban planning consultant expect to be paid. She referred everyone to the web site for information on the sponsorship levels. 8. Q&A Time
9. Next General Meeting - Tuesday, February 26, 5:30 PM, Spring Creek Barbeque, 4220 West FM 1960 |
Meeting--11/27/07 
