Neighborhood News

Working Together to Make Our Neighborhood Better
Vol. 2 – No. 3 July, 2009

NEIGHBORHOOD GET-TOGETHER ON NATIONAL NIGHT OUT - August 4, 7:00 PM

We are inviting all our neighbors in Lakewood Northeast and Lakewood Heights to get together Tuesday evening, August 4, as our neighborhoods participate in National Night Out. Come and bring the family.

We will meet at 4533 Purnell Drive at 7:00 PM for a walk through our neighborhood. After the walk, around 7:30 PM, we will have ice cream on the front lawn at that same address. This is the home of Kevin and Julie Nichols. If you want to come for ice cream only, that’s fine.

Ice Cream will be provided by Northeast Lakewood Associated Neighborhoods. Everyone is asked to bring a lawn chair to the ice cream social. We have asked permission to close Purnell Drive to traffic. Therefore, we ask that you walk and not drive to the get-together. We will provide a ride to anyone who needs assistance getting to the ice cream social.

If you can come, please send an email to charlieknott@sbcglobal.net or call Charlie at 554-0425.

This will be a great opportunity to get better acquainted. Come join us.

National Night Out
Two purposes of National Night Out are to 1) strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships and 2) heighten crime and drug prevention awareness.

ELECTRONIC CHANGEABLE MESSAGE BOARD SIGNS
By Presley Melton

Presley and Jo Melton, two active members of our neighborhood association, submitted the following article. NLAN officers invited them to submit an article because they are knowledgeable about this issue and how the signs may impact our community.

North Little Rock citizens have an opportunity to get involved and speak out about an issue that may adversely affect the appearance of our neighborhood and city, and may affect driver safety.

New technology has brought a new type of sign – the electronic message board sign. You may have already seen these at a few businesses and churches in North Little Rock, such as a travel agency in Park Hill on JFK between A and B streets and First Pentecostal Church on I-40. This type of sign is extremely bright, has vivid colors, and the message and background colors can change every few seconds. Many people across America have found them to be offensive to the eye and are concerned about the effect the changing messages have on traffic safety. Numerous cities from California to Maine and from Washington to Florida have already severely restricted or enacted total bans on these signs. Conway successfully enacted a total ban some years ago. I have recently visited Colorado Springs; Scottsdale, AZ; and some Florida cities that have also banned these signs. All those cities are growing and thriving since choosing to not allow electronic signs, and NLR would benefit by doing the same.

At the April 27th city council meeting the aldermen passed a four-month moratorium on installing these bright electronic message board signs. This moratorium gives us all time to learn more about these signs that draw our attention with intensely colored scenes and messages that totally change within seconds. The moratorium expires on August 31st, and if new legislation limiting these signs is not passed prior to that time, more of them will start appearing in our city.

At this time there is no regulation to protect our residential neighborhoods from these easily programmed signs being placed at nearby commercial businesses, churches, and schools.

If you oppose these bright, electronic message board signs in North Little Rock, please contact our aldermen and ask them to adopt strict laws regulating or totally banning electronic message board signs. We can make those other cities’ success stories our own, as we promote our attractive city to new homeowners, businesses, and tourists.

Contact Information for Aldermen
Charlie Hight chight@northlittlerock.ar.gov 758-8396
Murry Witcher mwitcher@northlittlerock.ar.gov 835-0009


Our Next Association Meeting
Monday, August 3 at 7:00 PM
Lakewood Property Owners Association office building
Come at 6:30 to meet and visit with neighbors
Bring a neighbor

• Alderman Murry Witcher will tell us the status of pending legislation on electronic changeable message board signs.
• Alderman Charlie Hight will give us an update on parking regulations that will affect our neighborhood.
• Ken Sullivan, Director of LPOA, will update us on the issue of 62 properties on Valley Brook, McKee Circle, and Oak Tree Circle and whether a petition was filed in court to include the properties in the Lakewood Recreational Improvement District.
• Police Officer Brandon Davidson will give a crime report

PARKING DISTRICTS AND REGULATIONS

The Lakewood Recreational Improvement District has completed its application to become a “Restricted Parking District” which, when approved, will give them authority to implement certain parking regulations for our neighborhood. The commissioners for LRID signed the application at their July 13 meeting. When submitted, the City Clerk must give public notice, and then it must be heard at a City Council meeting.

As stated in our April newsletter the Commission had voted on April 13 to adopt new regulations as described below.

• Parking in front or side yards. It shall be unlawful for any person to park, store, or keep any vehicle on a front or side yard unless the vehicle is parked, stored, or kept within a carport, garage, or upon a proper parking surface, that connects to the street or roadway.

• Parking commercial or large recreational vehicles. It shall be unlawful for any person to park, store, or keep any commercial or large recreational vehicle (taller than 8 feet or longer than 25 feet) on any front, side yard, or street within the district.

LRID included in their application a request that owners of large recreational vehicles be allowed to park in the street for up to 48 hours when loading for trips and unloading after trips. Previously existing regulations allowed 72 hours, but the new regulations did not include a provision of any time for this purpose.


COMMUNICATIONS

Neighborhood website http://northeastlakewoodneighbo.blogspot.com
Check out our website for some information we have not had previously.

Newsletter--We will post the newsletter. You will be able to see it a little sooner than by mail and may be able to see it when you are away from home.
Agenda for upcoming association meetings—Since the agenda is not included in the mailed newsletter, you will be able to check it out online before the meeting.
Minutes of association meetings—“Draft” minutes of the previous meeting will be posted on the website to allow time for review before the next meeting.

Email
If you would like to be included in email communication, please submit your email address to Wanda Smith at smith2767@att.net. When we send emails, we do not show individuals’ email addresses. If you have an item you want to communicate to our neighborhood by email, please call or email Charlie Knott. 554-0425 -- charlieknott@sbcglobal.net .

Newsletter
Please call or email Charlie with any feedback on our newsletter.

Having Way Too Much Fun
Since Nate Brandes finished his term as President of NLAN, he and Judy have made several trips in their RV with friends in the “Ark-A-Bago” camping club, including Hot Springs, Natchez, and Maumelle Park. Nate said he has been Social Director for the past two years, setting up camp activities—I think he’s the Party Guy. In March they joined another camping club called the “Arkansas Travelers Club” and went to Cotter with them. They just got back from Branson and have trips planned for Petit Jean, Bull Shoals, Lake Charles, Eureka Springs, Hot Springs, and Branson again.
This all started in 1969 when Nate and Judy spent their honeymoon in a 9’x12’ tent on the shores of Lake Superior. He didn’t tell me any more about the honeymoon. They have been camping ever since and love taking their grandchildren, when they can.
When he left office he assured me the job of president didn’t take much time. I still think about that when I’m on the computer, working on a newsletter, and call him only to find he’s not home—again. To make it worse he likes to tell me how much fun he’s having. Seriously, we appreciate all Nate and Judy have done and hope they have a great time.


CONTACT INFORMATION
OFFICERS OF NORTHEAST LAKEWOOD ASSOCIATED NEIGHBORHOODS

Charlie Knott 554-0425 charlieknott@sbcglobal.net

Kevin Nichols 258-0246 remodelguy98@yahoo.com

Judy McDowall 758-1668 judymcdo@swbell.net

Wanda Smith 791-0717 smith2767@att.net