February | 2015 | Wards Corner Civic League

February 2015 message and meeting info

Posted on February 11, 2015 by Martin Thomas Jr.

The February 2015 Wards Corner Civic League meeting will be held on the 23rd at 6:30pm at the Fitness and Wellness Center on Newport Ave.

The agenda includes a conversation with Granby Elementary Principal and an Utility update from Rick Dempsey.

The president’s message:

Dear Neighbors,

I wish to thank all of you who attended the last civic league meeting that was held jointly with the Talbot Hall Civic League on January 20th at the Wellness Center. The purpose of the meeting was to hear the final proposal by Art Collins on his development project on Newport Ave. Following a detailed presentation by Mr. Collins and his staff, the membership of both civic leagues held a lively but civil debate on the project. A final vote of 44 to 4 in favor of the project ended the meeting. The proposal then went to the Planning Commission on January 22nd where it also passed. It now goes before City Council for final approval. You can expect to see demolition of the current apartments begin any day now with construction of the development to follow over the next few years. I am pleased that our two civic leagues were able to work together on moving this development proposal through the city processes. This is an example of how working together pays off favorably for all parties involved. Please also realize that the way the project was approved insures that it must be built as approved. Any changes must come back to the civic leagues for hearing and approval.

I would also like to thank those folks who came out to our first meet and greet at Gaud’s Restaurant on Wednesday February 4th. Approximately 50 people from our civic league and the newly forming Crossroads Civic League met and enjoyed food, drink, laughter and good conversation. It was a great evening. We will do it again as many suggested. Thanks to Scott Guirlinger for making the arrangements for this event.

Finally, I am happy to report that our Civic League area had a very good year in 2014. More stores opened including the grand opening of K&K Square at Wards Corner along with the new Harris Teeter grocery store. Other stores opened up in the business district on all of the corners. We saw more improvements to our city infrastructure this year including those to our streets, sewer lines and gas lines. Soon we will have a new public art display on Granby Street near the existing Wards Corner sign. In addition, the Wards Corner Business Association became viable again after a 10 year hiatus. Crime in our area, although still present, was less this year than in previous years. Thanks to Officer Bill Old, our Community Resource Officer, for looking out for us. Throughout the year we heard many great speakers at our monthly meetings and continued to work for the improvement of the area.

Therefore I am happy to report that the State of our Wards Corner Civic League and Greater Civic League Area has improved and is continuing to improve. Let’s keep up the momentum. Join our civic league if you haven’t already and help us achieve more great things.
Many thanks