minutes

West Hills Community Association Minutes

Minutes April 2009
Dr. Reuben Pelot opened the Executive Board meeting at 7:10 pm. He thanked everyone for coming and attending. He told the Board to look over the minutes and see if everything was correct. Motion to pass the minutes was approved and second. Dr. Pelot went over Treasurer’s report and stated that Lynn Day is wheelchair bound and will skip meetings, but will continue to do the work and reports. The balance as of April 20, 2009 for the WHCA is $6,096.26. The balance for the WHCA Gazebo fund as of April 20, 2009 is $5,458.14. A motion was made and then passed to accept Treasurer’s report by the Executive Board Committee.
            Chris Austin reported on the Easter egg hunt. He said $321.61 was spent on the event this year compared to 775.84 on last’s year total. He expects future years to be close to the 2009 totals. The hunt was held on Saturday the 4^th. This was one week earlier than normal due to a scheduling conflict at the gazebo. The hunt had just as many people as last year, even more adults. 61 kids RSVP, however, more kids showed up. Knology provided drinks and finger foods. Approximately 800 eggs were given out, and 12 volunteers showed up. Chris said the event went very well and with perfect weather!
            Officer Sharon Terrell gave the KPD report. Officer Terrell has 20 years of law enforcement experience, 14 years being with the city. She said that Officer Wagner has been instrumental in retrieving stolen property back to West Hills residents. A man who lives on Amherst (off Middlebrook Rd) was arrested for stealing in West Hills. She said that in today’s economy we are “not seeing the everyday thief.” More people are desperate, because they have lost jobs and homes due to the economy. She called it “desperation crimes” and said that the month of March criminal activity map was high.
She also talked about burglar alarms going off accidently, and that if not reported then it goes down as a false alarm. After 3 incidents of false alarms police will not go back to that location for a year. She informed us that when a false alarm goes off to give password or (code) to security and tell them to cancel police. She reported that false alarms are taking police away from “real jobs” and real problems.
She stated that in our area our main concern is with traffic problems, however there were a lot of “suspicious person calls.” She went over the importance of taking everything out of your car, cds, books, even trash, everything and lock your car. She also said to report anything that had been stolen. They have a new service called teleserve, which is an answering service where you can leave a message and a police officer will call you back and write up a report. They can arrange a crime lab to come out and fingerprint if needed. This service is for nonemergency calls only. President Pelot thanked Officer Terrell for sharing valuable information to the Board.

                                    COMMITTEE REPORTS


Parks and Recreation: Allen Douglas reported that a band concert by the Knoxville Recreational Band is scheduled for July 12, 2009. Time for the concert is TBA. More details for it will be at the next meeting or newsletter. Allen said that he hoped we could get the word out to the community so that there would be more attendance for the concert.
Allen also informed us that there are fire ants in West Hills and they are very hard to get rid of. Their mounds are crusty looking. There will be more information about this in the newsletter.
President Pelot informed us that the organization MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) would be having a walk this Saturday at 9:30am. They will start at West Hills Gazebo and walk through the trails. Learn more about this at their website MADD.Org

Code Enforcement: AB Kliefoth said that the home with too many animals and unkempt yard has been reported along with some other issues. He also said that we might want to consider forming a group that would volunteer to help those in our neighborhood who were elderly, handicapped, and perhaps suffering economically right now by cutting their grass, trimming bushes etc. President Pelot asked for a show of hands of people who would like to help. Several people raised their hands in favor of helping and/or organizing a committee that would serve this purpose.

Beautification: Marjorie Lloyd said that many yards had been awarded for the month of April. She also stated how beautiful West Hills look during spring (Dogwood season) and we all agreed!

Traffic: Bob Wilson said that the traffic committee had been working on the issue of lowering the current speed limit which is 30 mph to 25 mph in West Hills. He made the argument that Crestwood Hills and in the county the speed limit is 25 MPH. He also said that installing rumble strips and posting signs of entering a neighborhood would help with speeding. Cap Hardin made a motion to take the proposal of lowering the speed limit from 30 to 25 MPH (in neighborhood) to be discussed at the next West Hills Association meeting. Bob Wilson seconded the motion. President Pelot took the vote by count of hands and the motion passed to take the proposal to the next West Hills Association meeting for discussion and debate.

Zoning: Jean Teague said that there was no report.

Newsletter: Lee Hume stated that he needs someone to help out in advertising /ads. The deadline for articles for the newsletter is May 1.

West Hills 5K Run: Eddie Reymond said that he would be heading up the committee for this year, but they would need to find someone for 2010. The date for the 5kRun is August 1, 2009. He said that it would be good to name a particular charity that the money would go towards. Eddie said that typically in the past the money has gone back to the park. Last year the money went to Tennis improvements. Barbara Pelot suggested that the money again be pledged in continued support of Phase II of the Tennis facility. Dr. Pelot said that there had been complaints that there were not enough swings in the park. He also commented that on vacation he had seen “Doggie Pots” which looked nice and was a good way to get rid of the doggie waste. It was decided that the money should go to Park improvements with a portion also going to Phase II of the Tennis facility.

New Business: Dr. Pelot asked if there were any new business to be discussed. AB Kliefoth said that perhaps a column in the newsletter for good contractors, lawn services, etc. would be useful and liked by our readers. Laura Golliher read an E- mail from Holly Williams, a West Hills resident, who is interested in show casing remolded homes (tour) in West Hills for an admission with proceeds going back to the West Hills Association. There will be more information on that and other issues at the next Association meeting scheduled for May 18, 2009 at West Hills School.

Dr. Pelot said that the summer picnic is set for July 20, 2009 and there is no secondary site. Dr. Pelot ended the Executive Board meeting at 9:05 pm.
Laura Golliher

Minutes January 2009

President Fuhr opened the meeting at 7:03 pm. Robert Peppel introduced Arthur Garrett, president of the Buckingham community, as their new representative to this Association. Fuhr reminded everyone that our inaugural “Open Gardens” program will be held on the Saturdays of April. Details will follow in the Spring Newsletter.
Erika Fuhr presented the treasurer’s report, which was approved following a motion by Lee Hume, and second by Sandy Robinson.
Officer Knopf, KPD, presented the crime report, which showed a very quiet, crime-free time. He reminded everyone that checks and other identity documents should not be placed in our home mailboxes. The red flag tells potential thieves that something is available. He also noted that many traffic citations are being written for West Hills residents who are ignoring stop signs, or driving too fast.

School proposal: Ailsa Schuller presented a proposal that West Hills demonstrate its support for the education mission of West Hills Elementary School by sponsoring an essay or book reading contest for students. The issue was received enthusiastically, with many comments and suggestions. Ailsa was encouraged to check with the school principal regarding the best form and time for such a competition.

Easter Egg Hunt: Chris Austin reminded everyone that Easter is early this year, and therefore the Hunt is scheduled for Saturday, March 22. Chris distributed a list for people to volunteer for different activities, from stuffing eggs to monitoring hunt areas. Some slight modifications from last year’s event are planned including a later start to encourage people to congregate, and meet one another. A special handout will not be necessary this year, because the Newsletter will come out shortly before the hunt date.

Beautification: Marjorie Lloyd presented the report, which commented on the festive aspect of the neighborhood this past holiday season. She commented on the many decorated mailboxes. Ten prizes were awarded and additional letters of commendation were given to other mailbox decorators. The committee is currently planning for the upcoming Yard of the Month season. A new replacement Dogwood tree has been planted in memory of Katherine Luton. The commemorative plaque has also been set out.

Codes: A.B. Kliefoth reported no current problems.

West Hills 5K Run: Eddie Reymond had a business conflict, but sent a report. He has agreed to organize the race once again, but volunteers from the executive committee, and the community are absolutely necessary. Everyone is asked to please consider making known their commitment at this time.
Fuhr reported that discussions with the City’s law department and Office of Risk Management have not produced a resolution of the problem about the city’s liability insurance requirement. West Hills has always had coverage, but our insurer has indicated it cannot comply with the rules as spelled out by the city. We are checking whether insurance can be obtained through the USA Track Federation (USATF).
Everyone was reminded that if the race goes forward, the goal was to expand its sponsorship base, with the net proceeds to be directed to improvements of the city’s tennis facilities in the park.

Newsletter: Lee Hume reported that the next Newsletter will be coming out shortly before the February General Meeting. There will again be a special Spring edition, which should be out shortly before the Easter Egg Hunt, and April’s Open Gardens. He also indicated that the Newsletter committee evaluated cost for ads, and decided at this time to leave the price unchanged.

Parks: Allen Douglass indicated the tree lights in the park have been turned off, but that the lights will be left up through the year. He indicated that the lighting may be expanded next year to the large evergreen trees adjacent to the Gazebo.

Traffic: Joe Fuhr reported that the city’s traffic calming program has undergone some revisions. Now community requests will require, as an
initial response, an expanded education program. This will include new signage and placement of rumble strips before a more extensive engineering solution can be considered. No community fees will be assessed until the process has been completed through the rumble strip program.

Zoning: Joe Fuhr gave an update on the proposed development of the 106 acres of the Waterhouse property. The plan still includes a Lowe’s center and a large grocery outlet as well as some smaller retail presence. The most recent traffic analysis prepared for the developer projected 17,000 more cars/day on Middlebrook. Road improvements could include closing old Weisgarber, and creating a road from the development site, across 4th creek to new Weisgarber at the point of an existing traffic signal. Other road improvements could include selective widening of Middlebrook, and creation of turning lanes. The executive committee believed that the development, which included commercial as well as residential and assisted living could be as acceptable as the current Sector Plan recommendation of mixed use (office, condos, single family). The over riding concern centered on the impact of traffic attracted to the commercial business, and which cut through West Hills. Fuhr indicated that he has requested additional traffic information from the developer’s traffic engineer, which would include hourly projections of density, and more analysis of potential traffic on new Weisgarber, Vanosdale, Sheffield, and West Hills roads, as well as Middlebrook.
The general feeling of the committee was that Middlebrook may be the least of the concerns, but that the traffic through West Hills could be destructive of community in West Hills. A number of suggestions were made that could be considered to reduce the number of cars cutting through. Some suggestions centered on speeding traffic along Vanosdale, e.g. widen road, remove stop sign at Bennington, replace stop sign with traffic light for school rush hours, etc.; other suggestions centered on interfering with side street traffic,e.g. install humps and bumps, elevated intersections, closing West Hills road, etc. The committee seriously evaluated the development proposal because of concern that if this proposal failed some other developer, less willing to work with the community, may step in and create an even worse situation.
Fuhr promised to keep the committee informed as he learned more specifics.
Meeting adjourned at 8:45 pm

West Hills Community Association Knoxville,Tn. 37909

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