GONDBA Meeting

6/25/14

Today's meeting was held at Amber Rose Restaurant and was very well attended by many local business owners and managers.

·        Barry Hall, president, opened the meeting with introductions and called on Ann Siefer from the Old North Dayton Neighborhood Association to update the group on National Night Out and the Taste of Old North Dayton Festival.

o        The event will be held on August 5th from 5:30 to 8:00 at Stuart Patterson Park and is sponsored by ONDNA and GONDBA. There will be ethnic food from various groups and churches, entertainment for kids and adults and a bicycle decorating contest. Local police will be registering bicycles for the contest. Contact Ann if you are interested in helping out or participating in the event.

o       Ann also mentioned that Mayor Whaley wants to meet with the neighborhood association to discuss neighborhood concerns and issues as well as future opportunities and barriers for success.

·        Barry also asked the group for fund raising ideas to help our group with its monthly meetings and help us continue to support projects like NNO. Please contact Barry with your suggestions.

·        Officer Grieshop reported that overall crime is down 6% for the year. Burglaries are down 06% from last year. Please contact crimestoppers if you have tips on drug houses or on crimes in the neighborhoods. Look for lots of great information in the EPOD newsletter.

·        Major Brian Johns asked the group for assistance with the Graffiti Task Force. Help is especially needed in acquiring supplies for the projects. Donations can be made for the purchase of paint, rollers, etc by contacting Major Johns at brian.johns@daytonpolice.org or by going to the task force website at http://www.daytongraffititaskforce.org. They are in the process of assessing the areas on Troy, Valley and Stanley to get an idea of the help and supplies needed.

·        Gary Leitzell, former Mayor of Dayton, provided information on the recent letter sent out to business regarding an assessment for Lighting Fees. According to Leitzell, the lighting assessment first came up in 2008 and was looked at again by the Dayton City Commission in 2012. He recommended that businesses and property owners go to daytonohio.gov and review the list of assessments, as errors in valuations have been reported. July 7th is the deadline for objection on property valuations. Details on the assessment and its ramifications were sent in an email after the meeting.

Featured Speakers:

Mike Grauwelman—Executive Director of the Montgomery County Land Bank

Andy Badinghaus—CityWide Development Corporation

·        Mike explained to the group what the Land Bank is and how it works.

The Land Bank’s mission is to facilitate the transition of blighted, foreclosed, and abandoned properties into viable, marketable properties by working collaboratively with public and private entities in a financially responsible, transparent manner with a long term goal of returning these properties to the tax roll. The organization works to stabilize market values and encourage reinvestment. It works as a regional grant coordinator to pursue funds to acquire properties, clear tax burdens and prepare for renovation. In 2013, 650 structures were demolished. Funding comes from a variety of sources, including Moving Ohio Forward out of the Attorney General’s office and the Neighborhood Initiative Program from the US Treasury.

Old North Dayton is considered to be a “tipping point” neighborhood that has structures the potentially decrease overall property values.

·        Andy gave the group and abbreviated presentation on updates on the Wayfinding and Branding project. The project is now at the point where they are gathering input from the community, including residents and businesses of Old North Dayton and McCook Field neighborhoods. Several options were presented for the overall “brand” to provide a consistent identifier for our area. As previously discussed, this brand will be part of signage, navigation and potential marketing messages presented to the general public. Brand options include: North Dayton, Greater Old North Dayton, Northeast Dayton and identifier options include: International Village, International Community. Neighborhoods could be part of signage for specific areas, such as McCook Field and Old North Dayton. Many in the group participated in the discussion and great ideas were presented for consideration. Andy assured the group that the decision on the brand would involve many groups and thanked everyone for their input.

Barry closed the meeting, thanking everyone for their participation. Our next meeting will be held on July 23rd. Watch your email for the location. Remember to save August 5th on your calendar for National Night Out at Stuart Patterson Park!

Thanks for keeping our businesses strong! See you next month.

   Archive of Meeting Minutes

webmaster : jarays@hotmail.com

Sponsors