HYDE PARK NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION COMMUNITY MEETING DECEMBER 15, 2022 6:00 PM

Midwest Bank Center

Present at Meeting:  Fatimah Muhammad, Bobby Bonner, Gloria Boyer, Colin Nelson, Mark Pappas, Chad Warner, Brittany Hubbard, Denean Vaughn, Angelica Were, Regina Dennis, Evie Williamson-Moore, Larry Cohn, Veronica Ross-Michan, Charles Bryson, Alderman Brandon Bosley, James Sykes, Ronda Smith- Braoch, Michael Woods, S. Gail Guelker

Meeting was called to order by Fatimah Muhammad at 6:10 pm.  

HYDE PARK NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN AND HOW TO GET INVOLVED

Denean Vaughn explained that the core committee gets together once a month.  They would like to have more community participation, which is key to the plan.  There is a real need to get ideas from the community.  Having a block-by-block approach or going door-to-door for ideas might be essential.

Regina Dennis stated this is Hyde Park’s plan and so we need to be strategic.  Need to get the youth involved for their input.  No one attended the session that was held with the youth, so we don’t know how it went.  A possible way to engage the youth is to go where they are—for example, Dream Builders 4 Equity.

NUISANCE PROPERTIES UPDATE

Brittany Hubbard explained how they use Missouri law to hold people accountable. The Vacancy Initiative team of Legal Services of Eastern Missouri is moving to Old North (14th Street Mall) in January.  At this point there are only two judges hearing cases which is slowing down the process on North Park Place.  For more information go to stlvacancytools.com. Properties of concern are: 1107, 1111, and 1117-1119 North Park Place.

TRAILNET—STREET CALMING PROJECT UPDATES

Charles Bryson stated that the bump outs on Salisbury could happen by spring 2023.  Also talked about BB 4 (passed) and BB 120—both deal with streets and funding.  

HYDE PARK NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION COMMITTEES

Fatimah stressed the importance of the committees that function according to the by-laws. There are three open spots for committee chairs that can be viewed on the website. You do not need to be a resident to be a committee chair, but you are not allowed to vote.

DREAM BUILDERS 4 EQUITY 

  • Fatimah thanked Michael for hosting the meeting.  
  • For information on Dream Builders contact construction@dreambuilders4equity.org.  
  • Presently they are looking for 5 seniors who need some basic assistance with improvements on their home. If you know of someone who needs this type of help, contact Dream Builders.
  • Dream Builders has a Summer Program (June-August) where 30-50 students work 32 hours per week.  This program teaches the students various skills and initiates them to construction work. For more information contact Lucy at lucy@dreambuilders4equity.org. 
  • A home on Randall Place sold for $95,000.  The hope for the property at 1522 Mallinckrodt is a sale price  *The House of Vision retail shop had a soft opening on Saturday.  Book, t-shirts, artwork sales, etc. are an opportunity for the youth to be involved in developing and selling merchandise.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

James Sykes from the City of St. Louis Treasurer’s Office stated that the property at 1901 Penrose, plus several adjacent parcels are now owned by the City.  The former police station is now looking for project proposals from the residents. They have been in discussion with Urban Farmers and Pocket Parks. *Larry Cohen was introduced by Fatimah. Larry was in the restaurant industry for 20 years and is a business developer.  He has a great interest in Hyde Park and has a desire to make the city stronger.

ADJOURNMENT 

The meeting adjourned at 7:22 pm.

NEXT MEETING

The next meeting is January 21, 2023 at 11:00 am.