Category: Meetings

The FWLNA held its last meeting of 2017 on December 7th.

The program was the Future of the Fort Worth Botanic Garden. Big changes underway in our Garden and it was  very interesting to hear from the experts about those changes. League Director Susan Urshel, a professional gardener, moderated a panel of the following Botanic Garden principals:

Sandra Youngblood, Assistant Director, Fort Worth Park & Recreation
Bob Byers, Director, Fort Worth Botanic Garden
Laura Harrison, President, Fort Worth Garden Club
Judy Koslow, Past President, Fort Worth Garden Club

It was a very interesting discussion revolving around the 2010 Master Plan and the 2016 Strategic Plan for the garden. The biggest change may not be visible but will smooth the operation of the garden and the implementation of needed improvements. That change is to the organizational structure, allowing better financial management and control. The strategic plan may be found on the Botanic Garden website.

In addition to the program, the following  officers and directors were elected to serve through 2018.

League Board of Directors – 2018

Name	Position	Neighborhood
Gene Bibb	President	Stoneglen at Fossil Creek HOA
Doyle Willis, Jr.	VP	Oakhurst NA
Belinda Fenter	Secretary	Ridgmar NA
Julie Alexander	Treasurer	Central Meadowbrook NA
Andrea Anderson		Marine Creek Ranch HOA
Peggy Carr		Western Hills North NA
Paul Clark		Meadows West HOA
Maureen Corns		West Byers NA
Fred Fernandez		White Lake Hills NA
MeLinda Hamilton		Carver Heights East NA
Donald Jones		Overton South NA
Carl Pointer		Glencrest Civic League NA
Susan Urshel		North Hi Mount NA
Sarah Walker		United Riverside NA

 

The next membership meeting of the League will be March 1, 2018, and subsequent meetings will be quarterly on the first Thursday.

Program – Neighborhood Air Quality Monitoring

At the September 7, 2017 membership meeting of the FWLNA, we were pleased to have a reprise of an event held in June that was very well received. On June 26, FWLNA partnered with Downwinders at Risk and the University of North Texas Health Sciences Center (UNTHSC) to spend an evening discussing air quality sensors in neighborhoods and how they might be used by individuals, especially those with respiratory problems, to plan their day. We asked the same speakers to present the information again at our league quarterly meeting.

Currently air quality is monitored by very few, very accurate sensors that are few because they are very expensive. In the last few years, small and inexpensive sensors have been developed that might be used in monitors that are more densely located. It might be possible to have one or more in a neighborhood with everyone having real-time internet access to their local conditions.

The role that air quality plays in our day-to-day well-being, the potential uses of actual, real-time local air quality, and the participation of Fort Worth neighborhoods was discussed by Dr. David Sterling of the UNTHSC, Mr. Jim Schermbeck of Downwinders at Risk, and by Libby Willis, past-president of the League of Neighborhoods.

Jim also introduced Kari Northeim, a doctoral candidate in Environmental Sciences at the University of North Texas, who brought a very small, very portable ozone monitor for us to see.

The program was very interesting to all in attendance. Many thoughtful questions were posed to these experts and their answers helped us have a better idea of what we might do now and what we can expect in the future.

The League is grateful to these excellent speakers for providing such a memorable experience. Their command of the subject was awesome and their passion was contagious.

The Fort Worth League of Neighborhood Associations joined with Downwinders at Risk to present an evening of science and socializing on Monday, June 26, at The Ginger Man, 3716 Camp Bowie. The evening introduced an exciting collaboration between area universities and citizen groups to bring air quality monitoring to the grass roots. Some of the area’s leading researchers were on hand to field questions.

The Fort Worth League of Neighborhood Associations was happy to have Matt Zavadsky of MedStar as our speaker for the quarterly membership meeting on June 1 at University Christian Church.

Mr. Zavadsky explained the structure and governance of this public agency, why it was created in 1986, the unique economic model for MedStar, how ambulances are deployed in the community, how 9-1-1 calls are processed, and the numerous innovations that have made MedStar one of the most recognized EMS agencies in the country. Matt’s presentation was  informative and entertaining. You may view it at this link. There were lots of good questions and Matt had all the answers. There was considerable interest in the membership plan, MedStar Saver. The League is very grateful to Matt for an excellent program.

The Fort Worth League of Neighborhood Associations held its March General Membership Meeting on Thursday, March 2, 2017 at University Christian Church. The intent of this meeting was to learn more about getting ready for the upcoming election of city leaders on May 6, 2017.

Our guest speaker was Jeane Grisham from the League of Women Voters of Tarrant County. Her topic was about practical planning to increase neighborhood awareness of local elections. She told us about herself and her passion for electorate education and about the League of Women Voters and its history. She covered voter registration, voter education, and sponsoring a candidate forum, and about resources available from the League of Women Voters. She concluded with a list of important election-related dates between now and May 6.

Jeane answered quite a few questions from the group. She was a delightful speaker. The League of Neighborhoods is grateful to Jeane, and to Sharon Austry for the St. Patrick’s Day themed table settings and Melissa Hunter for the cookies.

The candidates that have filed for the May 6 election are listed on the City’s website. More information about and from the LWV of Tarrant County can be found on their website.

The Fort Worth League of Neighborhood Associations held its December General Membership Meeting on Thursday, December 1, 2016 at 6:30 pm at University Christian Church, 2720 South University Drive.

Our guest speaker was Mr. Jeff Law, Chief Appraiser, Tarrant Appraisal District. Mr. Law gave a very informative overview of the appraisal and property tax systems and helped us understand the demarcation between the appraisal process and the tax rate and collection activity.

In addition, we elected the board of directors and officers for 2017.

We are very grateful to Olivella’s for providing a huge and tasty selection of pizza for our meeting. It was super! Olivella’s Neo Pizza Napoletana is located at 6333 Camp Bowie Boulevard.

The Fort Worth League of Neighborhood Associations held its Fall General Membership Meeting on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016 at University Christian Church. The focus of the program for the Sept. 1, 2016, meeting was: “How can neighborhood leaders use their communications network to let people know the needs of the 22 FWISD schools that were rated in August as ‘Improvement Required’?”

Our distinguished guest speaker was Dr. Kent Scribner, Superintendent of the FWISD.

Dr. Scribner’s presentation gave facts and figures about the district as a whole and then demographics of the students in the district.  Dr. Scribner’s motto is that “students are not a problem to be solved, they are an asset to be invested in”. Our future depends on these students and they must be provided with an education that increasingly extends beyond a high school diploma.

Twenty-two schools needing improvement is down from twenty-eight a few years ago, but with creative community support, the number could go down faster. The role of the League is to establish communication between the ISD and the neighborhood organizations where the targeted schools are located. To start this collaboration, the league invited the Trustees, the City Council, and representatives of all neighborhood organizations where the 22 schools are located. We were pleased to have two trustees, one Councilman, several FWISD personnel, a city staff member, and many neighborhood representatives attend the meeting.

Most neighborhood leaders work with their respective Council Members.  We hope they will also establish a working relationship with their FWISD Trustees, if they have not already done so.

This is not the sort of initiative the Fort Worth League of Neighborhoods has undertaken in the past; however, it makes sense in that “education and community success are inextricably linked,” in the words of Superintendent Kent Scribner.  The League will serve as a catalyst.

 

 

The second quarter General Membership Meeting was held on Thursday, June 2, 2016, at University Christian Church. The guest speakers were Melissa Opheim and Jeff Salavarria of Leadership Fort Worth Class of 2016. They presented the details of their project to install the city’s first micro-park. The Magnolia Micro Park was dedicated on May 18th. This is a great idea and learning about the process was very informative.

The Board of Directors met on Monday, May 9, with ten members present. We had five guests with a presentation on Micro Parks. It is a project of Leadership FW 2016, Near Southside, Inc, and TSG Designs. The installation of the first Micro Park, the culmination of this project, can be seen at Henderson and Magnolia.

We discussed ZC-16-096, a zoning case to allow a concrete recycling facility on the east side, near E. 1st and Oakland. We decided to take a position against this for many reasons.

The board met on Monday, April 11, with thirteen members present.