South Lamar Neighborhood Association

February 21, 2002 Meeting Notes

 

Bryan King, President, called the meeting to order.  Since there were so many new neighbors attending, we began by introducing ourselves and telling where we lived.  Following introductions the meeting began with some updates:

·        Patricia Fiske reported on the sidewalk committee. There will be a workshop, presentation, and neighborhood walk on March 9^th, from 9AM-1PM sponsored by the Trans Texas Alliance (under a grant from TxDOT). An invitation has been given to our civic leaders to join us for this event to assess what can make our neighborhood safer. Everyone is invited to attend. For more information email Patricia at pfiske@austin.rr.com.

·        Dustin Lee, APD District Rep. Dustin introduced Officer Kenneth (Kenny) Nash who will replace Dustin as our District Rep in about 2 weeks. The officers reported on:

o       Smash-n-grab crimes have been occurring in the area

o       7 or 8 convenience store robberies in the SW Austin area. The perpetrator has been caught.

o       The smart trailer (the speed detection sign) was placed on Del Curto last week. Will be in the area again next week on Thornton, Clawson, Kinney, or Del Curto, which are known problem areas for speeding. A suggestion was made also for Morgan. Any other speeding problem areas should be reported to Bryan or Dustin (or Kenny).

o       The new 311 non-emergency number is in place. The rule of thumb for using 311/911 is: if you need an officer to come out, then call 911. If you need to make a report on something that has happened in the past, then call 311. The examples were given of someone out walking the street checking car doors – that is a 911 call. If a ladder was stolen, that is a 311 call.

o       To contact our APD District Rep, call 974-8241 and talk to the secretary, Arlene Lozano. She can get you to the correct person. This is an interim number while the District Rep is transitioning from Dustin to Kenny. Later we will have a number for Kenny.

·        South Austin Culture Club – Bryan reported that they are having an event in April (he thought on the 23^rd but not sure) called the “Whole Enchilada”. There will be food and candidates at the Miller Crocket Bed and Breakfast, on South Congress.

·        Bobby Hubertus reported on the treasury – we currently have about $800.

·        Bryan invited everyone to the weekly Friday evening get-togethers. Every Friday at 6PM at Maria’s Taco Express on South Lamar. Look for the SLNA folks there to meet your neighbors.

·        Kevin Lewis, ANC (Austin Neighborhood Council) and SCC (South Central Coalition) rep told everyone that his contact information is on the website http://www.southlamar.org. Contact him for info. ANC meets once a month. SCC meets once a month as well, the 1^st Saturday of the month, at Mexico Linda on South Lamar (the old La Feria location).

·        Bryan reported that Carol Gibbs coordinated distributing the latest newsletter. If you are able to help distribute newsletters once every other month, then please contact Carol at 442-8060 carol.gibbs@unisys.com. Many more volunteers are needed.

·        Two main agenda items this evening are 1) the parking ordinance and 2) oak wilt.

·        Bryan introduced Barbara Cilley, who is running for County Commissioner, Precinct 4. The SLNA takes no position on political candidates, but provides an open forum for those wishing to speak. Barbara discussed the cost overruns, and poor work quality of the county court building. She also noted that this precinct is very underrepresented in matters of parks, flood damage, the Dove Springs area, and bus routes. She came in under her 3 minute allotted time. She distributed a campaign flyer. For more information contact cilley2002@yahoo.com. The Democratic primary election is March 12.

 

Parking Ordinance

There was a pro/con discussion of the parking ordinance. Bill will put a copy of the proposed ordinance on the web site:   http://www.southlamar.org.

 

Representing the PRO side of the debate was Bob Baker, North Austin Civic Association. The NACA is an area from Hwy 183 to Kramer, and Lamar to Burnet, with approximately 27500 residents. Bob presented the following pro arguments;

1. The home is the largest investment most people make, and we want property values to be high.
2. Want to correct deterioration of property values by not allowing yard parking. This has a positive impact – property values increase, fosters a favorable economic climate for new companies to come to the area, and enables the police to correct problems.
3. A citation will be issued only after a complaint has been made, and two warnings issued.
4. Yard parking is visual pollution – the “broken window” syndrome.
5. There is a precedence for this ordinance – of 50 major cities, 72% have parking ordinances, and some (such as San Antonio) are more restrictive. Dallas, Ft. Worth, Arlington, El Paso, and San Antonio all have ordinances.
6. There will be exclusions to homes with hardships.
7. Working with ANC and the city council on this issue. Want Austin to be “funky, not junky”.

Elloa Matthews(sp?) gave a personal perspective – she lives near St. Ed’s in Sherwood Oaks. Many houses in that area are rental properties housing many students, with many cars per house. This causes erosion and more problems during last Nov. floods. She also noted “shade tree” mechanic problems with oil drainage issues, etc that they have had to deal with.

 

Representing the CON side of the debate was Laurie (last name?) from the East Cesar Chavez Planning Team. The arguments presented were:

1. Making this issue a traffic ordinance enforced by the police department becomes more of a civil rights issue, with civil rights violations possible.
2. Many inner city neighborhoods were developed before automobiles were commonplace, and they simply don’t have the room to park.
3. This is an elitist, class issue. It affects renters to a greater extent. There is an affordable housing problem in the city forcing more people to rent and share housing, and these are the people who will be most affected. These people are less able to pay a $40 parking fine.
4. This group suggests this should be a neighborhood planning, smart-growth tool. The parking ordinance should be voted in or out through a planning process, as opposed to a small number of people deciding the issue.

 

Following the PRO/CON presentations, there was a short Q&A session.

 

Bryan asked if we should take a position on this issue as a neighborhood association. A motion was made that we oppose the ordinance. A substitute motion was made that we NOT take a vote on a particular position. The substitute motion was seconded and a vote was 22 to 9 in favor of it. So the substitute motion carried, meaning that the SLNA will remain neutral on the issue.

 

Oak Wilt – Jay Culver

Bryan showed a short video that he put together with Bill Stoughton and Jennifer Marine. The video showed oak wilt devastation in SLNA. The largest areas affected are along Bannister, Morgan, Fortview, Valleyview, and Clawson.

 

Bryan introduced Jay Culver, who is the Forester for the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department, and head of the Oak Wilt Suppression Project. Jay discussed the symptoms of oak wilt, and showed some examples of leaves from an affected tree. Here are the facts presented by Jay:

• Oak wilt is a fungus which is spread from tree to tree by beetles and through underground roots.
• Oak wilt spreads at a rate of about 100 feet per year.
• Estimates are that Austin has lost around 10,000 trees due to oak wilt, but Jay puts this number at up to 20,000 in the last 15 to 20 years.
• Jay has dealt with oak wilt in Austin for the last 10 years with the Oak Wilt Suppression Project.
• One of the best preventatives is to always paint tree wounds to prevent beetles from spreading the spores.
• Trenching is a method which has been used to stop the spread of oak wilt. It is very expensive, and is, in general, not an option in the SLNA area.
• The fungicide Alamo should be applied to trees that are “immediately threatened”. A healthy tree is considered immediately threatened if it is within 100 to 200 feet of an affected tree.
• Treating a tree with Alamo is an invasive procedure, and should only be done if a tree is immediately threatened. Holes are drilled into the tree, and the fungicide is injected. This should only be done when needed.
• The procedure involves exposing the flare roots of the tree. These are the roots at the surface, and this is generally the hardest part of the process.
• Treating a tree yourself with Alamo costs about $3/diameter inch. (The diameter is measured at 4’ off the ground.) The current price for a quart of Alamo is around $243 and treats 95 diameter inches (usually about 3-4 trees). Having an arborist treat the tree will cost anywhere from $8 to $15 per diameter inch.
• A spray rig costs about $150
• Treating a tree that is not already showing symptoms of oak wilt is about 90% effective. Treating a tree that is showing symptoms of oak wilt, is only about 50% effective. So it is best to treat a tree with Alamo when it becomes immediately threatened, before it shows any symptoms.
• Jay gave out some Oak Wilt brochures.
• Bur oak, post oaks, chinquapin oaks do not get oak wilt.
• He mentioned that trees make up to 13-19% of real estate value.
• Once treated, trees will need to be retreated with Alamo about once every 3-4 years. This protects the new growth.
• There are currently 240 oak wilt cells in Austin.
• The utility crews in Austin are required by contract to sterilize their equipment, and paint wounds. Carl Shatenberg (sp?) is the utility crew supervisor.
• Call Jay Culver for an inspection and to have him assess your particular situation.
• He can be reached at 440-5195
• PLEASE chain up your dog.
• Jay also said to note that live oaks are currently in the process of getting their new leaves and so are dropping the old leaves, so don’t be alarmed. But if you do suspect a problem, do not hesitate to call him.

 

[NOTE: Please do not rely on these notes for oak wilt concerns. Contact Jay Culver directly for information]

 

Bryan proposed that SLNA buy the spray equipment, which can be available to SLNA members for loan. The motioned was seconded, and passed by vote.

 

The manager of the Oak Run apartments was in attendance. She mentioned that the apartments are very much affected by oak wilt, and that it will take about $100,000 for them to treat their trees.

 

 

 

 

There were about 45-50 people in attendance.

 

The next SLNA meeting is set for the third Thursday in April (April 18^th).

 

Corrections to meeting notes should be submitted to Hilary Dyer or Bryan King prior to the next meeting.  You may also contact Bryan with items for the agenda.