Presenters
Mae Wells-Kress, Communications Chair
TJ Keating, Treasury Chair
Nelson Grover, Landscape and Maintenance Chair
Meeting Overview
Attendance: Roughly 30-40 people
We had a great turnout and a lot of great energy at the open meeting. There were a lot of new faces and people are starting to step up to help with areas that have fallen through the cracks. We had a lot of great discussions and came out with action items.
Topics of Discussion:
Annual Dues:
We are only at 30% of homes paying dues this year. Each year it continues to decrease, last year was close to 40%. We are at a tough spot as we are unable to make a lot of repairs and improvements to the neighborhood due to lack of financial participation. We ask that everyone please contribute to the neighborhood costs, we are in dire need of financial participation in order to continue maintaining our grounds. You can pay your dues online here.
- Dues are $65 annually. Much lower than all surrounding neighborhoods which charge around $40 monthly. Homes in Upper Albany West pay $427 more per year than the homes in our neighborhood.
- Dues cover landscaping, maintenance of the fence (which is why it is in such bad condition), garage sale ads, social events (which is why we have not had many events over the past few years).
Landscaping and Maintenance:
There was much concern over the appearance of both the landscaping at the entrances and the grass bordering the fence line.
- We are in contact with our landscape company, Arnholt, to ensure that they are in fact weeding the beds and putting down fertilizer on the grass to combat the weeds.
- We are also looking to see the cost of upping the number of applications for weed treatment, moving forward on this would depend on the price as well as how households have paid their dues for the year.
- We need to contact Lifestyle Communities to ask that they remove the old mailbox post on Harlem. The mailbox was property of the home that resided across the street before they tore it down, so it is their responsibility to remove it, as it is anchored with cement and not able to be removed by hand.
Board Positions:
The West Albany board needs help. We will be creating a post on facebook and nextdoor listing the areas where we need help. We would like to gain volunteers to join the board in the following areas:
- Social Committee: A few people dedicated to planning a block party, fundraising and social events.
- Welcoming committee: We will be adding on a welcoming committee in attempts to not only make new residents feel at home, but also inform them of the West Albany Civic Association, rules, dues and social media accounts to follow.
- Extra Hands: We always need volunteers to help with delivering newsletters, clean up events, and social event set up/ tear down, and we will most likely need a few people who can help with some heavy lifting this fall with the sign.
The Fence Debacle
This topic was a bulk of the discussion this past meeting. In case residents have not been made aware, the city is widening Central College Rd and putting in turn lanes, sidewalks as well as a traffic light. Because of the construction the city has eminent domain and we are forced to comply to the following actions:
The city will remove the PVC fence along Central College Rd. This is their responsibility and we are not financially responsible for it.
- The city will acquire 10 feet of land from residents whose yards back up to Central College Rd. These residents are being compensated from the city to buy the land.
- We are financially responsible to put up a new fence. We have started to get quotes and so far they are running between $8,900-$14,000 to replace that stretch of the fence.
- This is the largest hold up for the association. Our dues are only in at 30% this year, and unless we can get closer to full participation, we will not be able to fund the fence.
- We are looking to raise money for the fence this year, if residents would like to make suggestions and help, we are all ears.
- We are looking at fighting the fence, but this is doubtful and the city plans to put sidewalks in along all of Central College.
Additional Construction in the Area:
The city of Columbus will be putting in a new fire station at the corner of Harlem and Central College
Social Events
- Garage Sale: This year’s garage sale will be on June 8th. Please email westalbanycivicassociation@gmail.com or send a contact note to state that you would like to participate.
- Block Party: We would like to hold a block party this year. We will use this as an opportunity to help fund the fence, charging a small price for admission. This is a great way to meet your neighbors, have a burger, and enjoy the weather. Please contact the board if you are interested in volunteering to help or would like to plan the party.