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ADNA Home > About ADNA > Meeting Minutes
July 16, 2002
ADNA
is welcomed at the Wyndham
Below
are minutes for the January 8, 2002, meeting of the Atlanta
Downtown Neighborhood Association. Notes were written by Wendy
Darling.
Introduction
We had about 30 people at the latest meeting, a good turnout. Special guests included Zelda Jackson (office of District 2 City Councilwoman Debi Starnes), Jennifer Tinker (Centennial Olympic Park), and Jennifer Ball (Central Atlanta Progress).
Presentations
Hello from City Hall
Zelda Jackson made a brief appearance on behalf of District 2 City Councilwoman
Debi Starnes, handing out the super-handy District 2 "At Your
Service" booklets, designed as a quick reference for access
to all local City services. Zelda also handed out the latest
copy of Debi's "Keeping In Touch" newsletter. Many residents
thanked Zelda for the work she and Debi and the rest of the
District 2 office has been doing. Zelda also repeated Debi's
contact information: 404-330-6038 or dstarnes@ci.atlanta.ga.us.
Festival Volunteers
It seems like a long way off, but planning for next year's Downtown Neighborhood Festival is already rolling and Jennifer Henderson, festival co-chair, offered an update as well as a pitch for volunteers. With 10 months to plan -- as opposed to this year's 10 weeks -- festival planning work won't be nearly as stressful and volunteers should expect to meet only about once a month, plus carrying out whatever tasks need to be completed as part of their volunteer position. So would you like to help recruit artists? Want to find some good vendors? Do you have any experience finding bands or performers? Are you a budget or accounting type person? Into fundraising? Whatever your bag, if you're interesting in helping out, call Jennifer Henderson, 404-244-0184 or email downtownatl@hotmail.com (the email will be forwarded to Jen).
Downtown Welcome Packets
Patti Clark is picking up on a project she and Susan started some months ago -- Downtown welcome packets for new residents and even Downtown hotel guests. Packets would include information on the association, life Downtown, local restaurants and attractions, real estate, MARTA, etc. and would appear in welcome packages for new condominiums (like Centennial House) and at hotel concierge desks. To get involved, email Patti at kimchee110@msn.com.
Centennial Park Update
Jennifer Tinker, on staff at Centennial Olympic Park, gave residents a big hello
and invited us to put on our garden gloves, take out our trowels,
and join in the next volunteer weedpulling, this Saturday 9
a.m. - 12:30 p.m. The group meets up at the park Visitor's Center
and volunteers actually will be given gloves and trowels. Afterward
there's a free Chik-Fil-A lunch. Jennifer also mentioned other
volunteer opportunities like work at the Visitor's Center (provide
tourist information and sell park merchandise), landscaping
work, event set-up, clean-up, etc. For more volunteer info,
see
listings on the park web site or call Jennifer at 404-223-4093.
Downtown Livability Code Update
Jennifer Ball stood up and offered a great update on the Downtown Livability Code,
laying out the objectives, scope, process, etc. Jen also gave
an overview of the history of Downtown zoning and what zoning
can and can't do to shape our built environment. Currently the
code rewrite process has moved from focus area meetings on to
a working committee which includes a mix of individuals, including
people from the City, local residents, businesspeople, etc.
The current working committee includes four Downtown residents:
Ross Davis, Ardath Pendergast, Enrique Bascunana (City of Atlanta,
also a resident), and Caleb Racicot (Tunnell-Spangler Associates,
also a resident). An Advisory Committee will meet in either
August or September to review the work committee's work. Once
Jen concluded her presentation there was about 15 minutes of
discussion of Downtown issues, questions about zoning, suggestions
for enforcement, details of City ordinances, etc. For more information
on the code update, see
the CAP web site or call Jennifer Ball at 404-658-1877.
Announcements & Discussions
After the main presentation we had 25 minutes of open discussion, which we used to bring up old business, ideas, offer announcements, and run a raffle. Below is a summary:
- Caliterra gifted us with 3 gift certificates for the Aug. 2 wine tasting, each for two people, a $70 value. Drawing names from Cooper's hat, we made three attendees happy.
- Bill Whitlock reminded us that Cotton Patch Gospel opens
tonight at the Rialto and that we should all look to Theatrical
Outfit and the Rialto as a real benefit of living Downtown.
For more info, see http://www.theatricaloutfit.org
and http://www.rialtocenter.org.
- Erich Starrett brought up the benefits of the new Wyndham
Signature Club, which many Downtown residents are buying
into (for around $150 a year) as a means of basically having
a local country club, with pool usage and unbelievable discounts
at Caliterra (free catering, breakfast and dinner discounts,
etc.) and killer deals on hotel rooms. For info., ask your
neighbors or email downtownatl@hotmail.com.
- Erich Starrett gave a heads up on something the Association might be tackling (and possibly using member money on) in the next couple months: getting a storage unit and P.O. box.
- Jodi Mount offered an idea of doing some sort of yard sale, possibly as a benefit to the local police precinct. This led to a discussion of maybe doing some sort of picnic or event for local officers and their families. We also talked about doing a white elephant or tag sale at next year's festival.
- Cooper Holland says she'd like to see us focus a monthly meeting on the issue of public safety, inviting City of Atlanta, MARTA, and GSU police, the Ambassadors and other to talk about public safety issues in Downtown and how we can all work together to make the area safer for everyone.
- Tony, Erich and others offered a little re-cap on the Fourth of July parade. Apparently we got more press coverage than almost any other group. Patti got us on tape! If anyone has pictures, please email them over to adna@atlantadna.org.
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