GREEN MOUNTAIN CIVIC LEAGUE
April 2019
http://www.greenmountaincivicleague.org
PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THESE UPCOMING EVENTS!
SPRING GREEN
MOUNTAIN CIVIC LEAGUE GENERAL MEETING
Sunday, April 28th, 2:30 pm
at the Madison County Nature Trail Pavilion
SPRING GREEN MOUNTAIN CLEANUP
April 13th, 2019
Meet at the Madison County Nature Trail at 9 a.m.
Please take a morning to preserve the beauty of our neighborhoods! With enough helping hands, it only takes an hour or 2 hours at most. Thanks!
Also if driving during that time, please slow down when approaching our cleanup crew!!!
The Huntsville Police Department will be patrolling for speeders and the Green Mountain Volunteer Fire Department will be providing escort.
WORDS FROM THE PRESIDENT:
Good Day to all our Green Mountain Neighbors,
We will be hosting a Spring General Membership meeting of the Civic League, per the agenda below, on Sunday, April 28th, at the Madison County Nature Trail. First, our guest speaker will be Caroline Kennedy, Capital Campaign Director of the new South Huntsville Library, which will be followed by completing our standard General Membership Meeting (agenda items below).
Both the Minutes and Treasurer’s Report from the Fall General Membership Meeting are included for your review and concurrence. Please come prepared to discuss any exceptions, and vote on both of these at the meeting.
Also, please do extend an invitation to any Green Mountain residents who are not current members of the civic league. We will have membership forms available at the meeting for new members, and current members will be able to pay 2019 dues as well.
And finally, per the Announcements below, we are also looking for additional volunteer support for Community Watch and the Green Mountain Volunteer Fire Department. The appropriate contact information for each is provided, along with a listing of your current slate of officers, and their associated contact information.
Hope to see you on Sunday, April 28th, for the Spring General Membership Meeting!
Mark Prill
President, GMCL
AGENDA
Green Mountain Civic League
Spring General Membership Meeting
April 28th, 2019
Guest Speaker
Caroline Kennedy,
Capital Campaign Director of the new South Huntsville Library
President
Fall 2018 GeneraMembership Meeting Minutes Approval
Vice President’s Report
Treasurer’s Report
Committee Chairs Report:
Database
Membership
Emergency Notification System/Next Door
Beautification
Public Safety
Communications
Events
Liaison
Bylaws
Ex-officio Member Reports:
Volunteer Fire Department
Community Watch
The Preserve at Clayton Pond HOA
Inspiration on Green Mountain HOA
Archives
Old Business
New Business
The minutes from the Fall General Membership Meeting and the Treasurer’s Report are below. Please come prepared to vote on both of these at our spring meeting.
Green Mountain Civic League
Fall General Membership Meeting Minutes
September 23rd, 2018
Board Members Present:
Mark Prill, President
Anita Reck, Treasurer, Database, & Membership
Nancy Corbeille, Beautification
Shelly Harris, Safety
Susan Prill, Communications & Community Watch
Norma Oberlies, Events & Archives
Fred Hinckley, Emergency Notification
Dignitaries and Special Guests Present:
Dr. Jennie Robinson, District 3 Huntsville City Council
Mr. Craig Hill and wife Karen, Madison County District 3 County Commissioner
Captain Ken Brooks and wife Lisa, South Huntsville Precinct
Ms. Bekah Schmidt, Executive Director, South Huntsville Business Association
Ms. Brandi Quick, Executive Director, Huntsville Madison County Marina and Port Authority, Ditto Landing
Gayle Lee, Green Mountain Postal Carrier Retired
Guest Speaker: Ms. Brandi Quick, Ditto Landing Future Plans & Timelines
Ms. Quick gave an overview of the planned work at Ditto Landing, which includes: constructing a new entryway, raising the road for flooding, adding 31 campsites, interconnecting the lakes for flood control, and clearing overgrowth along the Tennessee River Greenway. The Ditto cleanup was 22 September 2018 with approximately 100 volunteers. To generate enough revenue to sustain a restaurant, Ditto will need 70 campsites and more Greenway use. The Pavilion will provide revenue with it being rented March through October, and the plan is to incrementally grow to 180 campsites and include professionally-constructed ziplines. The City also gave the small bridge over Aldridge Creek to Ditto Landing, and another Greenway will eventually be built under the Parkway. Ownership of the Madison County Boat Harbor just to the east of Ditto was transitioned to Ditto Landing and Ditto will be constructing a new layout and relocating boat slips. Dr. John Wisda, Emergency Room Physician and local developer, donated 200 acres, with lake access within the newly (Huntsville) annexed parcel on the south side of the Tennessee River, in Morgan County, to Ditto bringing Ditto to a total of 600 acres.
A handout of Ditto Landing Events was provided, and Ms. Quick stated that a Ditto Ferry will be part of the Bicentennial.
A Q&A session was held after Ms. Quick’s presentation which covered the following information: Plans for boarding on boats will be years down the road because of sewage concerns; kayak training can be obtained through Row Huntsville; Ditto Landing activities can be followed on the Ditto Facebook page; food trucks are available at Ditto; the large structure across the river, the Riverside Event Center, is a rental property for weddings; Ditto plans to plant more trees back; discussions will be held regarding the possibility of horseback riding on the Wisda property; the Ditto office is located at the fuel docks, with cell and email information provided on the handout; and, a guard shack at the new entryway will be built to provide security at night and keep unauthorized people off boats.
President:
The Fall General Membership Meeting was called to order by the GMCL President, Mark Prill. The Spring General Meeting minutes were accepted as presented and adopted.
First order of business: Due to the new building construction going on with the currently vacant lot adjacent to the Green Mountain Volunteer Fire Department’s Firehouse, the GMCL will no longer be able to use the gravel lot for General Membership Meeting parking. Therefore, in the future, the GMCL will need to default to an alternative location for meetings; and the only logical location is to use the Nature Trail’s pavilion for all subsequent Spring/and special topic meetings. The GMCL membership voted to approve to use the Pavilion as our new meeting location.
Vice President: Beverly Humphrey attended meetings with the Huntsville Neighborhood Association, South Huntsville Business Association (SHBA) Main Street presentation, and Town Halls presented by City Council member Dr. Jennie Robinson.
The Main Street group collected and assessed residents’ inputs, from zip codes 35802 and 35803, as to the types of development desired to be incorporated along the improved Memorial Parkway from Martin Road to Hobbs Road, and subsequently presented summaries of the citizen inputs in a public forum. The citizens indicated they would like more restaurants, more high-end shopping, and sidewalks to be able to walk from home domiciles to, and between, the businesses. In conjunction with the future Main Street efforts, it is understood the Hays’ are working to a projection to tear down Haysland Square, replace it with mixed use, such as businesses with lofts above, and for subdivision developments behind the existing Haysland Square.
Treasurer: Anita Reck provided detailed information on the income and expenses for calendar year 2018, year to date. Beginning income January 2018 was $2901.21; ending balance as of August 31, 2018 was 3480.71. Future projected expenses are estimated at $400 for the picnic and $200 for the GMCL website renewal.
See Appendix A below for the complete report from the Treasurer.
Database: No report.
Membership: The current number of residents in the database was reported to be 351, with 150 residents having paid their annual dues. This reflects only 43% of total residents. This lower percentage, compared to previous years, was attributed to the alternative dues collection process attempted this past cycle. Instead of mailing the membership form and a return envelope, a notification was sent requesting everyone to use the link to the membership form from the GMCL website. A total of 134 reminders were sent September 11. Prior to next year’s membership drive, the suggestion was made for consideration being given to returning to the previous method of collecting dues.
Communications:
The GMCL had 318 Green Mountain addressees to which email notifications were being sent. Since the fall meeting the GMCL sent out 73 community-wide emails and 35 Community Watch email reminders for a total of 108 emails.
Prepared and mailed 134 membership forms and envelopes to previous GMCL members who had not paid their 2018 dues. After the fall newsletter was finalized, it was: emailed to 318 GMCL addresses, posted on the GMCL Facebook page for the 142 Facebook members, and hard-copy mailed to 141 households who had not provided email addresses to the GMCL.
For any Civic League members who are not receiving GMCL emails, please let Susan know.
Community Watch:
There were 44 households participating in Community Watch (CW) across all neighborhoods of Green Mountain. Since the fall general meeting, CW lost two households and gained four. Each participating residence will be doing Community Watch roughly every four months.
The GMCL was represented at two meetings with the City of Huntsville Community Watch. These events included: attendance at the April 3rd Hsv Community Watch and Hsv Police Department Awards Ceremony where police officers and community watch leaders were recognized for their contributions; and the July 18th Police Department-hosted “Meet Your Community Relations Unit” meeting. At the latter event, Officer Johnson gave an initial talk and then introduced the Community Relations Officers (CROs), which includes Officers Michael C. Johnson and Steven Graham for the South Precinct.
Beautification:
The Fall Green Mountain Cleanup was Saturday, October 13, 2018. Volunteers picked up the supplies, donated by Huntsville’s Green Team, in the auxiliary parking lot of the Madison County Nature Trail. After an assigned section of the mountain was cleaned, the collected trash was returned to the parking lot and loaded into the large County-provided dump truck. Vests, grippers, unused trash bags and gloves that were given out were left there for reuse. Contact Nancy Corbeille at 256-361-6325 for any questions.
The Beautification committee chair was contacted by some members interested in working as a group to maintain or establish garden beds in public places around the mountain for the enjoyment of all. The Beautification Committee will set up a kickoff meeting in January to define the scope of such a project then report back to the Green Mountain Civic League Board and eventually its members. Note: this project will be totally independent of the fantastic gardens we enjoy in the Madison County Nature Trail.
Next Door: Submitted by Fred Hinckley. Green Mountain has a presence in the Nextdoor social network. The Green Mountain Nextdoor site was established in 2016 and encompasses all of Green Mountain (see attached map), with the exception of a small area established as the Inspiration on Green Mountain site under the leadership of Steve Shickles.
What is Nextdoor? This unique network only links people by neighborhoods. Quoting from their website: “Nextdoor is the private social network for you, your neighbors and your community. It’s the easiest way for you and your neighbors to talk online… People are using Nextdoor to:
- Quickly get the word out about a break-in
- Organize a Neighborhood Watch Group
- Track down a trustworthy babysitter
- Find out who does the best paint job in town
- Ask for help keeping an eye out for a lost dog
- Find a new home for an outgrown bike
- Finally call that nice man down the street by his first name
In addition to 132 Green Mountain neighbors currently members of the site, the City of Huntsville, Huntsville Police Department, Madison County Sheriff’s Department and Huntsville Utilities occasionally post notices of interest to the Green Mountain Community. In addition, members can elect to receive posts from other nearby neighborhoods. For additional info or to become a member see the nextdoor.com website, or contact the founding lead Fred Hinckley at fhinckley1@comcast.net, or one of the co-leads, Stuart Obermann or Vicki Jones.
Public Safety: Shelly Harris, Committee Chair of Public Safety, submitted the following report;
- Streets & Right of Ways: Nothing to Report.
- No Passing Zone Signs: No Passing Zone signs were erected at the top and bottom of Green Mountain Road to identify the beginning of the no passing zone areas. Passing on Green Mountain Road is permitted only within the designated passing lane, heading up the mountain.
- Low Hanging Communication Line: Following a storm on June 11th, a tree limb fell across a power and communication line along the entrance road to the Nature Trail, knocking out power to the Nature Trail office. Huntsville Utilities removed the limb and restored the power, but the Comcast communication line was left hanging dangerously low over the road. After multiple unsuccessful attempts were made to have Comcast re-stretch the line, Comcast, with the help of Huntsville Utilities, finally came out and tightened up the line on June 30th. The resolution removed the threat of tall vehicles, especially those used by Huntsville Waste Management and the Green Mountain Volunteer and Huntsville Fire Departments, snagging the line.
- Crime and Vandalism: No known instances of crime or vandalism were reported to the Safety Committee.
Website: No report.
Events: Norma submitted a report indicating readiness for the 23 Sept GMCL picnic.
Liaison: Beverly reported having contacted the Huntsville City departments to ensure the appropriate permit(s) had been issued for the access road work that was underway at the of Green Mountain and North/South Shawdee Roads intersection. She was able to confirm that the proper permitting had been accomplished. The private driveway was being prepared for a home to be built at a low point on the western slope on Green Mountain well below the north Green Mountain road guard rail.
By-Laws: No report.
Volunteer Fire Department: Russ Rawson provided an update. Two members of the GMVFD had recently completed extensive training in wildland and interface firefighting. These members join several others trained in wildfire firefighting. A cautionary message was provided to be aware that any outside fires, other than cooking fires, require a City permit. Late summer was much dryer than normal, and with the typically dry Fall season, care needs to be taken with any fires.
The overall number of calls for services, especially emergency medical services has increased significantly over the past year. Calls for routine medical transport need not be directed thru 911. Volunteers, especially nurses or people willing to train as EMTs are needed. The department has secured funding to replace some of the obsolete GMVFD Automatic External Defibrillators. The vendor has been selected, and the acquisition was proceeding.
The Preserve at Clayton Pond: No report.
Inspiration on Green Mountain HOA: No report.
Archives: No report.
Old Business:
- Mail Box Numbers: The search continued for an appropriate volunteer group to affix mail box numbers on both sides of mailboxes, as needed, to assist fire trucks and ambulances looking for an address. The ideal volunteer would be an Eagle Scout candidate, but contact with the Scout Masters at the area churches has not yet produced a volunteer.
- Emergency Medevac Landing at the Passive Park: Russ Rawson, our Volunteer Department Fire Chief, provided an initial report that a Medevac group representative had indicated the first major hurdle that must be addressed was that the City of Huntsville had passed an ordinance which prohibits helicopter landings medical emergency landings anywhere in the city, without an appropriate permit. And, unfortunately, according to Huntsville City feedback, the City currently has no current process in place to even issue permits. If the permitting challenge were to be resolved, the Medevac representative also stated that to enhance landing flexibility, it would be better to remove the small tree grove near the center of the park, and the utility pole currently located on the northeast corner of the park, should be returned to its original location on the east side of South Shawdee Rd. A subsequent conversation with another Huntsville City representative provided conflicting information to that previously provided by the Medevac group representative. The GMCL Board accepted the ACTION to continue the investigation to collect information and validate the actual situation.
- Proposal for a New Gardening Club: In conjunction with a tour of his home’s gardens this past Spring, Mr. Bob Jones expressed a willingness to help establish/coordinate the creation of a Green Mountain Gardening Club. It was envisioned that the Club would be formed as an adjunct to the GMCL Beautification Committee. As reported above, further information on a Club’s creation will be forthcoming, and in the meanwhile, interested parties should contact Nancy Corbeille to identify their interest.
New Business:
- Hazardous Tree Situations: The Board had hosted a conversation about potentially troublesome/dangerous dead or dying trees, within the road right of way, or on private property, along Green Mountain roads. Incidents have occurred where one or more of these trees have fallen on the utility lines and caused power outages. ACTION: the Beautification Committee Chair to contact the Huntsville Utilities Arborist to get any information or guidance that she/he will provide regarding proactive identification and subsequent removal of the threat trees before any subsequent issues are experienced.
ACTIONS:
- The GMCL Board accepted the action to continue the investigation to collect information and validate the reality concerning any Emergency Medevac Landing at the Passive Park.
- The Beautification Committee Chair took the action to contact the Huntsville Utilities Arborist to get any information or guidance that she/he will provide regarding proactive identification and subsequent removal of any threat trees.
Appendix A – Treasurer’s Report
| January ’18 beginning cash | $ 2,901.21 |
| INCOME | |
| Dues/donations | 1,195.00 |
| Decal reimbursements | 36.00 |
| Total Income | $ 1,231.00 |
| EXPENSE | |
| Postal box rental | (120.00) |
| Stamps for spring newsletter | (31.50) |
| Install Passive Park plaque | (500.00) |
| Total Expenses | $(651.50) |
| Net Income | $ 579.50 |
| August ’18 ending cash | $3,480.71 |
The meeting was adjourned and was followed by additional guest speakers representing the South Huntsville Business Association and Google Fiber/Huntsville Utilities.
South Huntsville Business Association
Ms Bekah Schmidt & Ms Brandi Quick
For the current Haysland Square, the front of the property will be softened, and the site is destined to accommodate multi-use, single/multi-family homes. Anchor stores have not yet been announced. The Main Street Alabama Group wants to be able to walk from one business to another, and Community Development Corporation grants will be used to address walkability and ensure Americans with Disability Act compliance.
Google Fiber
Ms Lauren Johanesmeyer, Google Fiber’s Huntsville City Manager
Huntsville Utilities
Ms Stacy Cantrell, Vice President of Engineering
Huntsville City is currently the only municipality with Google agreements. The planned rollout of fiber includes fiber coming up to the mountain, with one half of the mountain to be built out for service by the end of 2019 or early 2020. The main travel and most populated sections will be built out first, with the less dense areas will be built last. Huntsville Utilities provides the fiber on the poles and Google owns the fiber from the street to the house. For inquiries, send an email to lojo@google.com, putting the property address in the subject line and context in the body of the email.
Current Announcements
(1) GREEN MOUNTAIN CIVIC LEAGUE MEMBERS WANTED
Please reach out to our new or current neighbors who may not be members and ask them to join the civic league.
(2) COMMUNITY WATCH CHAIR & VOLUNTEERS WANTED
Our Community Watch Chair position is vacant, and we are in need of a volunteer to lead this community-wide effort. Additionally, our current roster of volunteers has been diminished due to relocations and opt-outs among residents. The result is that our time between duty cycles has been reduced to four months, and more volunteers to increase that interval to six months or even a year would be great.
Please contact the Acting Coordinator, Susan Prill, and the Membership form is below.
(3) VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT MEMBERS WANTED
Our Green Mountain Fire Department manning level its low, and the Department can use any and all volunteer support as firefighters, as well as additional emergency response support crew members. Please consider helping to support our neighbors.
Green Mountain Civic League (GMCL) Officers
President: Mark Prill (president@greenmountaincivicleague.org)
Vice-President: Beverly Humphrey (vicepresident@greenmountaincivicleague.org)
Secretary: Ann Phillips
Treasurer: Anita Reck
Standing Committees, the Chairperson, & the responsibilities of each committee:
Beautification: Nancy Corbeille, Schedule and manage clean-up days on the mountain.
Communications: Susan Prill (email_distributions@greenmountaincivicleague.org) Facilitate and expand communications among residents through newsletters, email announcements, and the Green Mountain website.
Website: Michele Garrett (webmaster@greenmountaincivicleague.org) Maintain/update the GMCL website.
Data Base: Anita Reck, Maintain and secure the GMCL data base of residents’ names, addresses, and email addresses.
Events: Norma Oberlies, Manage the annual GMCL fall picnic and any other organized recreational events held by the GMCL.
Membership: Anita Reck, Expand membership and maintain accurate and timely records.
Public Safety: Shelly Harris, Monitor and alert residents to crime, vandalism, and threats to property on Green Mountain, contacting proper authorities if necessary.
Liaison: Bev Humphrey, (vicepresident@greenmountaincivicleague.org) Contact and communicate with local government entities in matters pertaining to the interest of the GMCL.
By Laws: Vacant. Maintain and update the GMCL by-laws.
Nominating Committee: Vacant. Generate candidate lists for the GMCL officer and committee chair positions.
Emergency Notification/Nextdoor: Fred Hinckley, Provide rapid two-way communication in urgent or emergency situations
Ex-officio Members:
Community Watch: Susan Prill (acting), (communitywatch@greenmountaincivicleague.org) Manage neighborhood surveillance program in which residents keep watch over one another’s houses, patrol the streets, etc., in an attempt to prevent crime.
Volunteer Fire Department: Russ Rawson, Manage fire department composed of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for Green Mountain.
Archives: Norma Oberlies, Maintain accurate and comprehensive records of the GMCL and public issues related to Green Mountain.
Preserve at Clayton Pond: Kerry Brunson
Inspiration on Green Mountain: Donna Quick-Keckler
GMCL MEMBERSHIP FORM
Please Print Clearly
NAME:______________________________________________________________________
Last First Spouse
ADDRESS:___________________________________________________________________
PHONE:______________________________________________________________________
Home Cell Work
EMAIL1:_____________________________________________________________________
EMAIL2:_____________________________________________________________________
(by providing you are giving GMCL permission to send email to your address)
MEMBERSHIP (per household per calendar year)
GMCL $12.00
Green Mountain Decals: $_________ ($2.00 each)
Total $_________
Make check payable to: Green Mountain Civic League
Mail to: Green Mountain Civic League
P.O. Box 14327
Huntsville, AL 35815
Please indicate your interest in participating on a Civic League Committee:
Beautification__________
Communications__________
Events
__________ Membership __________ Public Safety __________
Would you like to participate in the Community Watch Patrols? _____________
Volunteers are needed by the Green Mountain Volunteer Fire Department when the volunteer fire fighters are on a call. Would you like to assist:
Being Present in the station during a call __________
Directing traffic at the required site _______________
Cleanup at the station __________________________
Please include your check for dues! OR BRING THIS FORM AND YOUR CHECK TO THE MEETING!