Friday, July 22, 2005

* Lunt Avenue Residents Meeting - Ten Days Later

This semi-mass email was sent to me yesterday. Anyone who got this email knows where it came from. I'm choosing to leave the persons name out. The fact is this letter could have been written by anyone of us who attended this meeting. Here goes...
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Well, if I remember correctly, all of us who attended last Monday's meeting, signed in and gave our email. I recall Alderman Moore being very concerned about having Alicia take specific notes on the demands being placed on the property owners and his repeating those demands.

Maybe my email got lost, so I'm wondering if anyone else got any type of follow up from this meeting? You know, even a thank-you for coming, would be nice. Alicia was supposed to send me her notes so I could put them together with mine. Nothing. So, I'll recap what I wrote down as the demands:

1. Different person to do background checks (Kaplan is a slumlord) for Mr.Medina. (1237-1243)

2. Give list of tenants to 24th District to get background checks.

3. Pool resources and hire a part time security guard to have an immediate effect.

4. Install security gates out front.

5. Talk to Dan Sullivan to get some advice on how to clean up a building.

6. Post a camera in the common area inside the building an also one or more outside.

7. Provide name, address and phone# of owners.

8. Put up Criminal Trespass signs.

9. Sell the buildings!


I've strongly suggested to the Alderman that he NOT meet with the owners individually by himself. That the major source of the problem with both buildings is that these owners are not responsive to their peers. If we have to call the alderman everytime we need to talk to a fellow property owner, we're going to need more than one alderman.

Seriously, though, these owners cannot be allowed to have their private little meetings with the alderman and avoid facing their peers when the hard negotiating goes on.

My suggestion is that 2 or 3 of us represent the group and participate in these individual meetings with the Alderman. I have yet to hear back and don't expect to hear back and I really don't have time to waste constantly calling the office and trying to get information. THIS too is a problem. We've taken up the gauntlet and have the most to lose and yet are being left out of the follow up process.

It will be interesting to see how the rest of the summer goes, because at this point, unless I hear differently I'm going to assume that Alderman Moore has taken this upon himself to resolve.

As for us, we can go to the CAPS meeting in August and waste time being ineffective in a large group setting after most of the summer has passed us by. I think I'll stay home.

And just so no one thinks that things have quieted down, I had an opportunity to sit out at the Heartland last night (Monday night) between 8 and 10pm with a few friends. Across the street, stretched from 1345 West Lunt and under the viaduct and across Glenwood to the store front directly across from the Heartland Cafe, they ran their open market. One of them EVEN SET UP A TABLE! "Want some lemonade with that crack?"

A couple times an unmarked police car came down Glenwood, shone their lights, and kept going. You think maybe that's a problem too?

So here's how I see the demands being implemented:

Immediately - within the next 5 business days:

1. Hire private security for both buildings 24x7.

2. Give list of tenants to 24th District to get background checks and get turnaround from the 24th.

3. Both owners talk to Dan Sullivan to get some advice on how to clean up a building.

4. Provide us name, address and phone# of owners.

5. Put up Criminal Trespass signs.

Within the next 30 days:

1. Different person to do background checks (Kaplan is a slumlord background checker) for Mr. Medina. (1237-1243 West Lunt)

2. Install security gates out front of both buildings

3. Post a camera in the common area inside the building an also one or more outside.

4. Individually meet with representatives from our group.


Don't hold your breath!

Signed,

A Lunt Avenue Resident

ps. This is 1/3 DevCorp North's fault. One of these properties is in the Special Service Area #24 boundries.

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