President Derek Lewis called the meeting to order, and asked everyone to stand for the Pledge of Allegience. After the pledge, he announced that the meeting was a skeleton meeting because of the cold, but our trusty NTL, Ofc. Juan Rio was there to give us a report. He reported that there was an increase in burgleries. Before it was with houses, now it seems to be with vehicles. Some of these are due to people not locking their doors or leaving their windows open. Also, leaving things in plain sight like a gps, tv's, etc. If you want to leave something in the car, hide it. House burgeries have decreased, and the good news is they have apprehended two of the theives. Two are pending. Three years ago there was a burglery at 2331 Funston. Four kids were breaking into a house and they were caught. Three of them lived in Hollywood, (they burglerized their own neighborhood) and one in Hallandale. They are looking to see if they have committed any other burgeries. He assured us that even though you may not see the police, they are in the area. He answered some concerns brought out by the neighbors such as kids being repeat offenders, but nothing being done until they are eighteen. It's basically the way the system works. Some programs such as Big Brother and Sister might be a possiblitiy to help these kids.

Code Officer Jim McGeelet us know that our code officer decided to get his Master's Degree so he will be going back to school for five weeks. He'll be back the 16th of Feb. There will be two other officers covering our area besides Jim. If you have any questions or complaints, give them to him and he will see that they are taken care of. After the 16th, things should go back to normal. Beam mentioned working together with the NTL's which seemed to work well in another neighborhood. Someone asked a question about housing, and Jim talked about combining housing with code. They need new manuals due to this change. Little by little they are cross-training each other. It's a work in progress. Beam answered some questions about the RFP's and Adam St demolition.

Derek acknowledged the fire dept. present and invited them to speak. The Capt. from Station 105 (one of the newer stations) took the floor. There's not too much going on. The rebuilding of Station 40 is under way. They are up for regrading on ISO (insurance service organization), and they are looking to maintain their Class One rating. The insurance organization actually does the rating. If they maintain this rating it encourages business to do business here because of reduced insurance rates. He answered some questions about flooding and helping out the Haiti disaster.

Charles Lassiter from Public Works told us about the new recyling program and the blue cans. The concern was that a lot of people had not received their cans yet. He was there to assure us that they would be delivered in time for the program which was to being in February. He also encouraged everyone to activate their account before the start date. You get 2.5 points per pound. There is a limit of 450 points a month. The pickup is every other week. There was quite a discussion about this issue.

Special Presentation....Larry Stafford received the January Showcase House of the Month Award. A certificate signed by Mayor Bober was presented as well as something extra thanks to our former Neighborhood Resourse Specialist Sharon Paxton.

Old/New business....We talked about having a flea market sale to be announced in the near future. The other new business is Crime Watch being started in our neighborhood which Beam will address. But before that, Cheryl, our treasurer reported that we had an opening balance in Dec. of $1,189.47. We received a check for $135 from the City for a Cash For Trash project held on Nov. 25, 2009, bringing the balance for Dec. to $1,324.47.

It's back to new business as Commissioner Beam Furr took the floor. He feels that one of the things we need to be working on as a community is Crime Watch. Even though crime may have dropped in the past, as we've heard from Ofc. Rios, there is a spike going on now, and we need to recognize that. We need to start communicating with our neighbors. We are having a meeting for this neighborhood on Jan. 27 at city hall in room 215 to get started, so,we're encouraging you to invite your neighbors as well as those who might have been victims. He reminded us this is not an association project. This involves the whole neighborhood. He will also announce this at the United Neighbors meeting as well. This can also be used as a way to get other information out to the neighbors. A good discussion followed from some neighbors that have made it a point to watch and report any suspicious activity.
Beam met with Anne Murray about using McNicol as a park. There are issues that need to be worked out but it just has to work it's way thru the system. He also mentioned the demolition of the pink building on Adams St. and other possibilities that could come to that particular area. Tango Gardens is no longer so it's back to square one. Nothing new on Alexander Park. He talked a little about what's happening at Lincoln Park. Also, a question about the new water meters was addressed, and the City going wireless as well.

Since we didn't have a raffle this month, the meeting was adjourned.