Flower Estates Civic Association



Flower Estates Civic AssociationMinutes of the Annual General MeetingDecember 12th, 2019The meeting was called to order by Nancy Wagner at 6:04 PM in the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church Gym. The PowerPoint slides that were presented during this meeting (including both the ones that were prepared by the FECA Board and the ones that were prepared by Fire District #2) are included at the bottom of these minutes.Review of 2019 Activities: Nancy said that we finished installing security signs and we had the 3rd annual night out against crime. Regarding the park - we obtained insurance for the park, did tree removal work and formed a committee for the park. We investigated and addressed new businesses on LA 21 (supported them as appropriate, including the Ochsner Cancer Center), we fixed the light at LA 21 and Zinnia, we reported a raw sewage leak at Pelican Landing, we worked with Chase Bank to get the fence fixed behind the bank that was blown down by a storm, and we obtained the Parish schedule for constructing the right turn lane from Hyacinth onto LA 21 (scheduled for late spring or early summer of 2020). Also, we added website enhancements(added a notifications page and the option to pay annual dues from the site), we supported Holy Trinity in their re-zoning request for their new church, and we dealt with issues regarding the proposed Medline distribution center re-zoning and Colonial Pinnacle (as addressed in detail below).2018 Financial Report: Debra explained the assets and labilities (as shown on the PowerPoint slide), and then she explained the expenses slide (emphasizing that we had new expenses consisting of park insurance, groundskeeping in the park (including tree removal), security signs, and public records requests, and that we try to not spend too much money). She said that the current balance is $44,449.47 . Fire District #2 – Randy Hess, Chief, and Joey Sanders, Fire Protection Officer Randy emphasized that a millage is their only source of funding (they receive no sales tax income, like the sheriff’s office does). He explained that their coverage area is mostly I-12 to the lake and the Tchefuncte River to the Tangipahoa Parish line, including Normandy Oaks and Flower Estates north of I-12. He said that they average about 1,500 calls a year, including meds, wrecks, cats in trees, etc. He said that they have a public fire education program through schools and other events, they have a smoke detector installation program, they do building inspections and code enforcement, they assist other agencies as needed - and they do fund raising for needs such as muscular dystrophy, they manage a special needs registry program, they do fire hydrant inspections, and they assist other fire departments in big fires as necessary. He emphasized that you should call 911, rather than the fire station numbers, in case of a fire. As shown on the PowerPoint slides, Joey gave fire safety trips for holiday Christmas trees, candles, space heaters and fireplaces (water the tree daily, inspect the Christmas lights and outdoor lighting for pinched or frayed wires, don’t let the tree block an entrance, keep candles at least 1-1.5 feet away from anything flammable, turn off space heaters when you got to bed, keep anything flammable at least 3 feet away from a space heater, get updated ones with more safety features, plug space heaters directly into a wall rather than into a power strip, have the chimney cleaned before use, make sure the fireplace is out before you go to bed, burn dry wood only, keep flammable items at least 5 feet away). He said that 4-foot by 8-foot is the maximum size of materials to burn for a yard fire; also, the pile should be a minimum of 50 feet away from the house, a minimum of 100 feet away from property lines, there should be a water source handy, and the fire must be put out by dark. Colonial Pinnacle Costco: Nancy said that she has changed her opinion on this project since last year, since working with Costco may be the best way to protect Flower Estates South from Medline truck traffic noise (hoping that Costco would build a wall along the south side of Flower Estates South); she said that we have a conference call with Brookfield (owner of Colonial Pinnacle) scheduled this Monday to see what they have planned for the whole development. Nancy stressed that the power to approve Costco still rests with 51% of the Flower Estates lot owners. Medline Update: Nancy said that Pat Brister has 10 days (until Dec. 20th) to veto, sign or return without signature regarding the December 5th Council vote on the Medline rezoning ordinance. She said that area residents have worked countless hours to stop the re-zoning. She said that FECA Board members (among others) have formed the Coalition for Responsible Zoning, LLC, and that Marty Dean (our councilman) had voted with Bruce Wainer over the interests of his constituents. Nancy said that, if you want to be on the Coalition update E-mail list, please sign your name and E-mail address on a sheet in the back of the room. Nancy read Philip LeJeune’s letter (President and CEO of LLOG) opposing this re-zoning. Hwy 21 Bowers “Development” (Fat Spoon): Nancy met with homeowners and with Marty Dean regarding flooding of North Dogwood properties from this project, then she followed up with the Parish Planning and Zoning Commission and LA DEQ. Fat Spoon is presently prohibited from doing any more construction as of now, and action is being taken because they violated the Planned Corridor Overlay rules when they cut down too many trees along 21. Nancy said that the concrete plant on site shouldn’t have been allowed, but Nancy got an E-mail from Sidney Fontenot telling Bowers that it was OK.Public Works Request: Nancy explained that, on the bottom right corner of the home page on the Parish website, a request can be sent by clicking on “work order request”. The request can be for drainage, signs missing, a pothole, ditch cleaning, an illegal sign (such as prohibited signs along LA 21) - or they can be called instead of sending them a work order request online.FECA Treasury Report and 2019 Board Nominations: Nancy thanked the 2019 board members for their contributions. Dr. Dan presented the PowerPoint slide thanking Ken Miller and Jim Hingle – long-time Board members who had passed away within the past two years. Nancy presented the 12 board members who are proposed for 2020. Motion was made and seconded to approve all 12 proposed board members, all in favor.Presentation of door prizes New Business/Questions: None Meeting adjourned at 7:15 PM by Nancy Wagner. ................
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