Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Decorating Contest!

The Walnut Hills Housing Committee is holding a Christmas Decorating Contest. We will have several people from the association go out and view the entire area for the most unique, cutest or the one with the most originality. We will award first place $25, second place $10, and third place $10. Each winner will also receive a certificate. The winners will be announced in the January newsletter and at the January meeting.

Happy Holidays to all our residents!

It is that time of year when the weather can get the best of us and we have to be considerate of our neighbors. If you have the ability, clear sidewalks of snow for those who don't. If you are clearing alleys, don't pile the snow in front of a neighboring garage. The neighbor may have a car in there! When digging your car out of the snow, do not throw the snow on the sidewalk where an area has already been cleared. If you have a vehicle that won't run, park it in front of your own house and not the one across the street, you prevent your neighbor from having the opportunity to park in front of their own house. Often we are so focused on our own problem that we fail to realize that we are creating problems for the person next door or across the street.
On another matter, it was noticed last month that most people in this neighborhood do not put their porch lights on at night and many of those that do actually deliver these newsletters! The cost to leave your porch light on all night is about $3.00 a month. By not leaving it on, you invite crime to happen.

Twin Towers Cellular Patrol

The Twin Towers neighborhood have established a neighborhood patrol that covers their neighborhood and a portion of ours. If you would like to participate in this then contact Barb Bauer at 253-1616 for details and ways that you can help.

New Priority Board Committees

The Southeast Dayton Priority Board has changed their committee organization and is looking for additional citizens to get involved. You do not have to become a priority board member to participate in the committees, just a concerned resident of southeast Dayton. The committees will consist of the following categories;

Public Safety Committee – Activities relate to Police and Fire issues as well as court-watch projects and generally anything considered to impact public safety.

Community Development - Activities combine much of what the former committees of Community Relations, Business and Industry and Human Services used to engage in. For example Business and Industry activities related to retaining, attracting, increasing, promoting and improving the physical appearance of Southeast businesses. Community Relations activities related to promoting and marketing the SEPB to the community by improving communications and facilitating promotional functions. They also provided training opportunities for Board members. Human Services activities related to promotion of children’s health and communication issues, holding the City’s Recreation and Parks Dept. more accountable for youth programming, becoming more involved in non-City sponsored youth/teen centers, and supporting the Dayton Public Schools. They also educated residents regarding homeless issues.

Housing – Activities relate to holding the City more responsible for housing inspection results, education of property owners regarding their responsibilities and resources available to them, and advocacy for neighborhood cleanliness and maintenance of infrastructure, and responsible placement of homeless shelters.

Public Works - Activities relate to trash pickup, alley sweeps, traffic control issues, street repairs, RTA issues, advocating for an equitable distribution of revenues to SE public works projects, and coordinating issues related to medical services and providers such as expansion plans for MVH.

Financial Committee - Activities relate to researching and soliciting of grant monies for priority board projects and oversight of board expenditures and purchases for such projects. This group will work closely with the Treasurer who and the Coordinator.

This is one more tool that has been created by our Priority Board to allow members of the general public to have an influence on “Quality of Life” issues within our neighborhoods. The Priority Boards establish citizen participation in local government. These committees permit anyone in southeast Dayton to influence the Priority Board membership. For details or to join a committee, contact Ken Marcellus at 333-7381.

Winter Raffle

Tickets are $1 or six for $5.

Available from any of the officers or committee chairpersons listed on the front of this newsletter.

Prize is a Compaq Presario Notebook Laptop computer. This thing is slick! It has the following;

*Intel Celeron M processor 420 with 533MHz front side bus, 1MB l2 cache and 1.6GHz processor speed
*512MB DDR2 memory for multitasking power, expandable to 2GB
*80GB Serial ATA hard drive (5400rpm)
*DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive
*15.4” WXGA wide screen high-definition display and 1280 x 800 resolution
*Built in high speed wireless LAN (802.11b/g); 10/1000Base-T Ethernet LAN with RJ-45 connector;56 Kbps high-speed modem
*Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 with up to 128MB shared video memory
*2 High-speed USB 2.0 ports for fast digital video, audio and data transfer
*Weighs 6.4 lbs and measures 1.8” thin for portable power

Comes with Microsoft works, Microsoft Money, Windows Media Player, Sonic Digital Media Plus, Adobe Acrobat Reader,Real Rhapsody and more.

Historic South Park to Hold Holiday Home Tour

Release Date: Wednesday, November 29, 2006

The Historic South Park neighborhood will hold its semi-annual Holiday Home Tour this Saturday, December 2, from 2:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. A dozen historic homes will be lavishly decorated inside and out for the holidays. The RTA Wright Flyer Trolley will traverse the route, providing a narrated tour of the neighborhood, carolers and other musicians will provide entertainment along the way. Participants can also enjoy a delicious holiday dessert buffet and browse the neighborhood antique shop. Tickets are $10 in advance and can be purchased from www.historicsouthpark.org or by calling 228-3501. On the day of the tour, tickets are $15, and may be purchased at Hope Lutheran Church, 500 Hickory Street (the starting point of the tour). Come and see city of Dayton living at its finest!

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

City of Dayton Initiates Unprecedented
Downtown Redevelopment Project
$230 Million Effort Features Housing, Retail, Commercial and Entertainment

Release Date: Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Contact: Shelley Dickstein, Special Projects Administrator, 333-3600

The Dayton City Commission today announced one of the largest redevelopment efforts ever undertaken in this region – a $230 million project that would create a mixture of housing, retail, commercial and entertainment venues along Dayton’s downtown waterfront.

At tonight’s Commission Meeting, the City Commission adopted a Preliminary Development Agreement with two development partners, one of which is the lead principal of the Dayton Dragons baseball team – Mandalay Baseball Properties, LLC.

The development agreement was approved between the City of Dayton, Bear Creek Capital, LLC, and Ballpark Consultants, LLC (Mandalay). A preliminary site plan submitted by the developers calls for the creation of a dynamic mixed-use development, including a retail-entertainment center, modern residential units, and a mixed commercial-retail center.

The estimated total project investment is $230 million, with approximately $197 million for development activity and the remainder for utility and infrastructure improvements. The use of any City of Dayton General Fund tax dollars are expected to be minimal.

Other partners engaged in this initiative include the Downtown Dayton Partnership, CityWide Development Corporation, Montgomery County and the Miami Conservancy District.

Under terms of the agreement, the parties will pursue a three-pronged redevelopment of land along the Great Miami River in the northeast quadrant of downtown. The three specific parcels of property are defined as the following:

· Parkside Site, 37 acres of land currently owned by the Dayton Metropolitan Housing Authority. This site will be redeveloped as a retail center featuring “big-box” anchor stores. Projected investment: $40 million.
· Deeds Point Site, 12 acres of land owned by the City of Dayton and operated as park space. This property is intended to be developed as high-density, multi-family residential units, including condominiums and/or apartment complexes. Projected investment: $77 million.
· Webster Station Site, 23 acres of land adjacent to Fifth Third Field and currently comprised of mixed uses. This area will be developed as a mixed-use entertainment, retail, office and residential project, including restaurants and off-street parking facilities. Projected investment: $80 million.

“This is absolutely fantastic news,” Dayton Mayor Rhine McLin said on behalf of the City Commission. “This project has the potential to transform the downtown landscape to a degree few people have thought possible. The combination of housing, retail, commercial and entertainment venues along the beautiful waterfront presents a host of opportunities for residents of Dayton and the surrounding region.”

“We are especially excited about once again partnering with Mandalay on a major downtown revitalization project,” said Rashad Young, Interim City Manager. “Mandalay first had the vision and courage to invest in Dayton when they decided to bring the Dayton Dragons to town, and that investment has certainly paid off. We are confident that this latest redevelopment partnership will enjoy the same level of success.”

Based on the preliminary development agreement, the City of Dayton and the Developer will, over a six-month period, conduct various undertakings, including site assembly, economic feasibility studies, etc.

“Nothing of this magnitude has been attempted before in this region,” Mayor McLin said. “However, the developers on this project are proven professionals with the experience to complete such a large-scale, high-impact development. They each boast a track record of performance and building strong relationships within the communities where they work. We are excited about the credentials and the portfolio of successes they bring to the table, and we share the vision for what downtown Dayton can become.”

Ballpark Consultants, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mandalay Baseball Properties, is known for constructing new state-of-the-art ballparks for its baseball franchises, as well as spearheading development of real estate in and around communities where those stadiums are located.

Bear Creek Capital is a Cincinnati-based real estate firm, which has been highly successful in developing residential, retail, office and mixed-use properties across the nation, with specific experience in redeveloping several urban communities. The company has approximately 10 million square feet of real estate assets.

Architectural work on the project will be performed by the Development Design Group, an international design group with a history of achievement and successful waterfront renewal projects.

Friday, November 10, 2006

City of Dayton Seeks Community Input on Kroger Site Proposal

Release Date: Friday, November 10, 2006
Contact: Gwen Eberly, Acting Economic Development Director, 333-3805
Keith Klein, Senior Development Specialist, 333-3812

The City of Dayton Office of Economic Development has tentatively selected Midland Atlantic Development as the preferred developer for the proposed 12-acre site located at the corner of Wayne Avenue and Wyoming Street. The proposed site plan will be presented for community input at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, November 13 at the Southeast Priority Board, located at 2160 E. Fifth Street. A representative of Midland Atlantic will make a brief presentation on the proposal at that time. The public is encouraged to attend and comment on the site plan.

Midland Atlantic Development submitted a proposal in partnership with the Kroger Company. The proposal calls for a 76,000-sq.-ft. grocery store with a gas station and two additional 10,000-sq.-ft. retail buildings. City of Dayton Economic Development staff will negotiate a development agreement with Midland Atlantic to finalize the terms of the Wayne and Wyoming project. These discussions will include establishment of a site plan for the project. City staff expect the proposal to be formally presented to the Dayton City Commission for approval early next year.

Midland Atlantic has constructed more than four million square feet of space throughout the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions, which includes an impressive list of successful retail developments. Their projects have included large mixed-use projects, power centers, neighborhood retail, and free-standing build-to-suit developments.

The project is based on the City of Dayton’s 1999 long-range plan, CitiPlan 20/20. The plan calls for concentrating commercial activity at strategic locations, known as clusters or nodes, in order to increase economic benefits to the community. The City hopes to build upon other successes in the area, including new Family Video and Family Dollar stores, CoCo’s restaurant, and the University of Dayton expansion.

For further information, contact Keith Klein, Senior Development Specialist, at 333-3812. Media inquiries should be directed to Gwen Eberly, Acting Economic Development Director, at 333-3805.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Special Investment Districts

PLEASE READ THIS

I am looking into the details of establishing Walnut Hills as a “Special Investment District” or a “Community Investment District” after reading an article on page 180 of the October edition of Better Homes and Gardens magazine. From what I can tell, no one has attempted to establish a residential investment district in Dayton and possibly in Ohio. Downtown Dayton and Canton have Business Investment Districts and the Dayton one is affiliated with the Downtown Dayton Partnership.
Effectively, we agree to impose a special tax on ourselves. I am thinking along the lines of $50 per structure per year. The money is collected by the county as part of your real estate tax bill and put into its own separate fund. The money can ONLY be spent in Walnut Hills for the Walnut Hills community. It can be used to support the park, improve sidewalks and alleys and even for festivals within the neighborhood. I would like to find out if the money can be used to increase police presence and to demolish vacant nuisance structures. Although the city or county has custody of the funds, they do not decide how it is spent or who gets it. The residents have that authority through a board of trustees.
In order for the tax to take effect, a petition must be signed by 60% of the property owners within the proposed district agreeing to the tax. The tax is in effect for 5 years and to renew it the petition process must be repeated.
I don't have all the details yet and I am trying to get copies of the Downtown Dayton paperwork to use as a model. If we run with this concept it will still take two years before anything happens because real estate taxes are collected one year in arrears and it will take a few months to get the petition and paperwork finalized. Realize this, though, if there are 2000 structures in the neighborhood the tax would raise $100,000 that can only be spent in Walnut Hills. If you have attended the neighborhood meetings in the last few months then you would have heard me say on several occasions that the time has come where we have to take care of ourselves. The city does not have the money to support the services that they should provide and Walnut Hills is nowhere on their radar screen. Although it will cost all of us, this is one tool that we can use to make our neighborhood the best one in Dayton to live in. If we don't use it then we are paying a higher price individually through crime, vandalism and reduced property values. I would rather attempt this and fail, then not attempt it at all. We can blaze a trail for other neighborhoods to follow.

Neighborhood Cookbook Idea

We are considering putting a neighborhood cookbook together as a fund raising vehicle for next year. Besides recipes it will be filled with the old trivia captions from the newsletters and possibly old photos taken in the neighborhood. If you would like to contribute your favorite recipe or have additional ideas for this project, contact Chad Snoke at 258-2392.

Wayne and Wyoming Development Meeting

There will be a public meeting on Monday November 13th at 6 pm at the Southeast Dayton Priority Board Offices located at 2160 East Fifth Street to discuss the proposed development of the new Kroger store in Twin Towers neighborhood. A representative from Midland Atlantic Development will be present to answer questions.

Annual Thanksgiving Dinner

The "Free" Thanksgiving Dinner is open to residents of Walnut Hills and will be on Tuesday, November 21st from 6:30-8:30 PM. We are planning a great evening of food and getting our community together at this special time of year. Home delivered meals are available for the elderly and physically disabled of the Walnut Hills Area. Requests but must be received by Sunday, November 19th. If you would like to volunteer, make a donation or arrange for a meal to be delivered please call 254-7522.

Rock KidsChurch is a part of Church On the Rock located at 321 Edgar Ave., between Wayne and Wyoming Ave.

Computer Raffle

This year’s raffle will be for a personal computer. We are looking at the availability of different systems. Once purchased, a full description will be included in the December newsletter. The computer system should be valued somewhere in the region of $450 - $500. The tickets are $1 each or 6 for $5 and are available from the Association officers listed and the committee chairpersons. The drawing is scheduled to be held on Monday, January 8th, 2007 at the neighborhood meeting.