Your 2010 Board of Directors:
President: Jim Gilreath
Vice-President: Mike Cubelo
Treasurer: Lois Graves
Recording Secretary: Phyllis Gilreath
Membership: Joyce Murphy
Webmasters: Michael Huskey
Chad Chandler
* The Board of Directors meets the first Wednesday evening of each month at 6:30 PM at the Bobby Pearse Community Center or other local venues.
Planning Stone Avenue – You Can Still Get Involved!
For those of you who participated in the various activities during the week of March 20, you got a glimpse into what the future of Stone Avenue could be. Most of the comments I heard were very positive regarding the Planners and the outcome. But….implementation will be slow. For those of you who were not able to participate, you still have an opportunity to take a look at the draft plan, along with drawings, comments and surveys that came out of those activities. Just go to their website to take a look. According to this site, the consultant team will continue to work with the citizenry and the City of Greenville in the coming months to refine and revise the draft Plan. Updates and revisions will be posted on the Plan Stone Avenue website. Community members are encouraged to contact the City of Greenville Planning Department and Dover, Kohl & Partners with questions and comments about the plan. The consultant team will return to Greenville in late May or June to present a draft plan report to the community and to receive feedback. A date for this meeting will be announced shortly. Please check back on the Plan Stone Avenue website for more information. The NMCA will also send emails when we have the date and location of the meeting.
2010 NMCA Membership Drive
This year one goal of the NMCA is to get more members involved in the association. At only $10 annually, it’s really a bargain. To kick off the membership drive, you are invited to join us on Thursday evening, May 6, at the North Gate Soda Shop, from 5pm to 8pm for Happy Hour. Stop and have a free beer and get to know us. New or renewal members will be eligible for door prizes.
You can help!! We all know at least one neighbor who is not a member. Maybe they just forgot to renew or maybe they are new to the neighborhood. Why not invite them to come on out and meet old friends and make new ones. Looking forward to seeing you there!!
Brookside Construction Violations Shock Community
There certainly has been no lack of disturbing development issues of late for communities in this area. The latest was the removal of several very large legacy trees on the site of Brookside Gardens, the new low-income apartment complex for senior citizens on the corner of Gilfilling Rd. and Brookside Circle. As you may have seen in the media, the trees were removed by Douglas Development in direct violation of their permit. The project is a 3-story structure that covers about 68,000 ft2. The loss of these trees not only removed the natural “screen” , but dramatically changes how the proposed structure will look and ‘blend in’ with the surrounding neighborhood.
Perhaps there is justice after all…Late this week we learned the permit for Brookside Gardens has been revoked. The developer has the right to appeal this decision to the Board of Zoning Appeals within 10 days. If this happens, the property will be posted with notices of a Public Hearing, and there will be public notice of the date and time of the hearing. If the developer chooses to submit a completely new design, the review process will take place under the current multifamily design guidelines, which involve a Public Hearing before the Planning Commission, again with public postings and notice. This is a milestone in our effort to get city officials to be more assertive with developers and to get our elected representatives more involved. We all have to continue monitoring Brookside Circle since Douglas will probably be back… We’ll keep you posted as new developments occur. Check our website for news or follow the latest on our Facebook page.
North Main Rotary Park in Bloom
With the forecast for beautiful weather this week, you owe it to yourself to take time to visit the North Main Rotary Park. Many of the native azaleas and other plants are now blooming and the hard work of all the volunteers who have participated in past work days is starting to pay off. For those who may not know, this is part of what your $10 annual dues helps pay for….new plants for the park…..a small price to pay for a beautiful, peaceful area to spend time. So, if you’re not a member, please join. If you’ve been a member, but forgot to renew…we’d love to have you back. Just go to http://northmaincommunity.org/membership/ And take a walk to the park one morning or maybe in the evening after work…you’ll be glad you did!
Keys to the City of Greenville
For those of you who may not have flown recently, you probably missed an excellent article highlighting some of the best things about the city we call home. The secret is out….Greenville is a great place to live and work and has become a model for other towns all over the country. Take a look at the recent article that was in the US Airways magazine.
RSS Feed on Greenville’s New Website
The City of Greenville’s new website is up and running! It is the same link but with great new tools, including RSS feed capabilities. Just go to the City’s website. At the bottom of the site there is a link that says Subscribe to RSS . There have been some early access problems reported by some. Council member Jil Littlejohn checked into this and her reply from the city is as follows: “Our RSS feed is functioning properly. We may have discovered the source of confusion. If you watch this video “step 1” is the piece I think people are missing. People who are new to RSS feeds may not have downloaded a RSS reader. Without a reader they would have to go to our website RSS page when they want our info. With a “reader” then the info comes to them. If you go to Channel 4’s Website and look at how you sign up for their RSS feeds – they have the ability to download the “reader” and get the feeds in a more user friendly manner. We did not have the programming money to add this feature. This does not mean our RSS feed does not work – just the user has to take the initial step of adding it to their already downloaded reader.” (Editor’s note: You can get free RSS readers from places like Google, Mozilla, Bandit, etc.) Thanks to Jil for keeping on top of this and providing this information.
Hillcrest Garden Club
Many do not even realize there is a Hillcrest Garden Club…one of 19 member clubs in the Greenville Council of Garden Clubs, Inc. A bit of history…It was founded in 1947, had up to 75 members, cost $1.00 a year and sometimes met at the Country Club. The area included Montclair to Chick Springs to Ashley and Garraux Branch to West Hillcrest Extension to Camp Rd., but excluded houses facing Camp Rd. You could miss only three meetings. You had to write an excuse for even that. If you moved out of that area you could keep membership for only a very short time. The Hillcrest Garden Club (HGC) meets the second Thurs. of each month at 10:00am at the Greenville Woman’s Club and would love to welcome either visitors or new members. Several NMCA residents are current members. If you are interested in attending, please contact Mary Gilreath Roberts, First VP, at 458 -7735 or 238-6851. She will be happy to have you as her guest. Thanks to Mary for providing the information for this article.
Calendar
April 15 – Waffle House Hearing. 11:00 am. Greenville County Court House. (Corner of East North and Church Streets). Waffle House will be asking the judge for a summary judgment regarding their hours of operation as part of the company’s lawsuit challenging changes to the zoning code that makes 24-hour a day, 7-day a week operation subject to special regulation in areas zoned C-2.
(Note: as this newsletter is being posted, the arguments were heard and the Judge is taking it under advisement. No action was taken this morning, but we will keep you posted as we learn the results.)
April 16 and April 17 – GCGC’S Garden Tour: Downtown Greenville’s “Historical Garden Traditions” Belmont and Crescent Avenue area, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM. This is the primary fundraiser for the year. Garden Club members will receive 4 advance tickets, at $12 each, in the mail. Please plan to purchase them. A garden tour ticket will be the perfect gift to introduce others to GCGC’s purpose and activities.
April 22 – Arbor Day Celebration. Kilgore-Lewis House, 4:00 PM-6:00PM. GCGC partners with the Greenville County School District. Bring your children, grandchildren, and neighbors to promote Earth Day and Arbor Day.
Want to honor a Garden Club member? Donate $1 or more to our local “Golden Days” of South Carolina DAFFODIL Project. Honorees will be recognized during our Arbor Day program. Please call 864-232-3020 for information or email judy@kilgore-lewis.org
April 22 – TreesGreenville’s Releaf Party & Membership Drive. 7-10pm, The Village Studio’s & Gallery, 1278 Pendleton St., Greenville. $25(members), $35 (non-members, includes membership). Food, drink & entertainment. For information go to TreesGreenville.
April 24 – Greater Greenville Master Gardeners Plant Sale. 8:00 am – 11:00 am. McAlister Square, 225 S. Pleasantburg Rd.
April 24 – Mauldin Garden Club Spring Fling 2010. 9:00 am – 3:00 pm. Mauldin Cultural Center. 101 East Butler Rd. Plant Sale plus Silent Auction, Rummage Sale, Homemade Baked Goods, Small Petting Zoo, Local Artists and Crafts. Free Admission. For information call 288-7535.
May 1 – Hands On Greenville (H.O.G.)Day – Registration will take place at each project site from 8:30 – 9:00 a.m. Projects will run from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., followed by a thank you celebration and lunch held at Fluor Field in Downtown Greenville. Service projects for H.O.G. Day will take place at approximately 90 sites throughout Greenville County, including emergency shelters, public schools, group homes, playgrounds, parks, food banks, and soup kitchens. For more information or to volunteer go to Hands On Greenville.
May 6 – North Main Community Association (NMCA) Social Hour/Membership Drive – 5 pm – 8 pm. North Gate Soda Shop. Stop by after work for a free beer and visit with your neighbors and get to know new ones. Door prizes for those who join or renew that evening. Come join the fun!!
City Council Formal Meeting and Work Session schedules can be found at the City Website.
The following classes will be held at the Bobby Pearse Community Center on the dates indicated. For additional information or to register for programs call or email Pam Davis at 864-467-4331 or pdavis@greenvillesc.gov .
April 13 – First Meeting of The Greenville Storytellers Guild. 7 pm – 9 pm. FREE. Open to the public. The Guild, in association with the City’s Parks & Recreation Dept. will be meeting monthly at the Center. Storytellers and listeners are welcome. Stories told should be ten minutes in length or shorter, and must be appropriate for all audiences. Genres include local folk lore, ghost stories, family narratives, classic tales, and much more.
April 20 – May 27 – Homeschool Fitness Class. Ages 6-12 years. Two Class Options:
Tuesdays ONLY 9am-11am (Fees: 1st child – $30; 2nd -$20; 3rd – $10; 4th child or more – FREE
Tuesdays & Thursdays 9am-11am (Fees: 1st child – $40; 2nd – $30; 3rd – $20; 4th child or more – FREE
May 1 – June 5 – Eight Pieces of Brocade and Tui Na. 6-week session. Saturdays 9 am – 10 am. Fee: $30 for 6-week session. The eight movements of the set are said to impart a quality of health to the body to be likened to a fine brocade fabric. The origins date back to the Song Dynasty (between 960 and 1279). Classes also will include a number of valuable Tui Na self-massage techniques. Tui Na is one of the essential foundations of Traditional Chinese Medicine and has been practiced by Chinese martial artists, Qi Gong practitioners and healers for thousands of years. It’s a wonderful way to relieve stress.
May 11 – June 1 – Folk Dance for Seniors. Tuesdays 10:30am – Noon. Fee: $20 for 4-week session. Instructor: Theresa Pizzuto. The class is geared to adults 55 years and older. Learn social dances that have simple steps and rhythms from countries and cultures around the world, done in circles, lines or with partners. Benefits include increased coordination and balance and decreased stress. Register on-line: Greenville Parks & Rec or contact Pam Davis, 467-4331, pdavis@greenvillesc.gov
