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Neighborhood Block Party and Membership Drive this Monday night

RICHWOOD PLACE NEIGHBORHOOD

BLOCK PARTY

Monday, May 7, 2012

6pm-8pm

1800 Block of Lexington

Southeast Corner of Hazard and Lexington

*POTLUCK DINNER

Bring something yummy to share with your neighbors

*We will not be grilling this time

*bring lawn chairs if you would like to sit

RPCA will provide drinks

Current 2012 RPCA members will be entered to

win the raffle (drawing at 7:45pm)

2012 Dues are $50, please join today by visiting http://www.richwoodplace.org

Or, you can join by check at the event

We hope to see you and your neighbors Monday night!

RICHWOOD PLACE- Corner of Hazard and Lexington

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Neighborhood News and Block Party Next Monday

National Night Out- 2011

Dear Neighbors,

It’s that time of year again! Time for our Annual Spring Neighborhood Block Party and Spring Membership Drive! We will be hosting the block party thanks to the new and soon to be-previous owners of 1853 Lexington at the corner of Lexington and Hazard (South East corner). The party is from 6-8pm. It is a potluck. Please bring a dessert or side dish to share. We will provide burgers, hot dogs, fixins and some beer and wine. If you would like to bring extra wine/beer to share, please do. The more the merrier.

Also, this is a membership drive for our Civic Association. All current members (paying $50 in 2012) will be entered to win the raffle which will be drawn at 7:45pm. You can pay your dues by check that evening or you can pay ahead of time via our website. http://www.richwoodplace.org Click Join Now at http://home.richwoodplace.org/membership/

We are also still accepting items for the raffle basket. If you would like to contribute, please let Rebekah know by Sunday. Items we need: wine, gift certificates to local shops/restaurants, tickets to events, etc. elrebekah@gmail.com Membership dues support our presence in the neighborhood, beautification projects, safety, deed restriction enforcement, printing of fliers, parties and much more.

Many thanks to Liuda Flores for these "repurposed" signs!

Curbside recycling is scheduled to take place in our neighborhood every other Monday. Our pickup was missed a few times recently. However, we are working on that and trying to increase the participation in the neighborhood by reminding everyone when to put out their recycle bins. These reminder signs went out in the neighborhood over the weekend. Many thanks to Liuda Flores for getting the signs for us and painting them with the correct day. Thank you to the block captains for taking on this new responsibility to help us increase recycling in our neighborhood. Recycle bins must be put out by 7am on our recycle day. If you put your item out on time and your pick up is missed, please call 3-1-1 to report.

In other news, construction is nearly complete at 1850 Norfolk and the home will be opening for a grand event Wednesday evening. One of our local real estate agents asked that we let each of you know that there will be a party this Wednesday bringing a large number of people and cars to our neighborhood. So please be aware of this as our neighborhood is showcased this week.

Pre-construction drawing of 1850 Norfolk- THE SUYAMA HOUSE

Have a great week and we hope to see you Monday evening!

Sincerely,

Rebekah Maddux El-Hakam

President, Richwood Place Civic Association

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2120 Southwest Freeway Variance Request Information

Please review the following information from the City of Houston Planning department re: a new development proposal along Lexington between Greenbriar and Sandman/S. Shepherd. The proposal is to construct a seven story structure for an Audi dealership on the South side of Lexington and a storage parking structure on the North side. There is a planning commission meeting this Thursday that will include public comment.

PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING INFORMATION:
Thursday, April 26, 2012, beginning at 2:30 p.m.
City Hall Annex Building, 900 Bagby Street
City Council Chamber, Public Level, Houston, Texas

 

2012-04-18_2120 Southwest Freeway_Variance Information_DRAFT

2120 Southwest Freeway_Notification Letter

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Neighborhood Spring Block Party!

Save the date for our Spring Membership Drive- Neighborhood Block Party, Monday, May 7 from 6-8pm. We originally had it on the schedule in April, so be sure to note the change on your calendars.
Also, we are looking at having the party in the 1800 Block of Lexington to show off their beautiful streets, curbs and sidewalks…if you are a resident of this block and want to help host, we would love to have you help! What we need from you: your driveway, and front yard and (hopefully) use of your grill. Let one of the Board members know if you or a group of neighbors would like to host together. It is always a fun time!
Happy April!

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SIGN TOPPERS! and many thanks!

Here are some photos of the sign toppers being installed in late October. These signs really look amazing. Thank you to all who helped install them. Especially Andrew Stefaniak for leading the team. Thank you to Moustapha El-Hakam for the great design and to Cliff Helmcamp for being instrumental in having the signs fabricated. We have many neighborhood realtors to thank for paying for the signs:

John Daugherty Realtors  – Jim Smith.

Greenwood King Properties – Ruth Adams and Cliff Helmcamp.

Heritage Texas Properties  – Jerry Blum and Suzie Herring.

Modern City Properties – Lisa Thompson.

New Leaf Realty – David Houston.

Thank you all for your contribution to our great neighborhood. Your neighbors appreciate you!

I also want to thank Andrew Stefaniak for installing our new neighborhood watch signs. They look amazing. Last year the Neighborhood Watch team logged 723 volunteer hours patrolling our great neighborhood. Great job everyone! Special thanks to Sue Bailey and Larry Wood for keeping our Neighborhood Watch group organized.

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Happenings in and around the neighborhood…

Good afternoon, neighbors! Hope you are all keeping dry out there on this wet March day.

I just wanted to send out some updates about things that are going on and have been going on in the neighborhood.
We had our first general meeting of the year on Tuesday, February 21 from 7-8pm at Zoe’s Kitchen. There were approximately 20 residents in attendance. We also had a visit from Council member Ellen Cohen’s chief of staff.

Some of the topics we discussed included: Security, CIP plan, Deed Restrictions, Drainage at Ervan Chew Park, our new Neighborhood identification and Citizen Patrol/Watch signs, Street reconstruction, drainage and sidewalk improvement initiative via 3-1-1.
We set a date for our Spring Membership drive/ Block party, Wednesday, April 18. 6-8pm. Possible location is the 1900 Block of Lexington unless another resident volunteers their driveway/yard. There will be a raffle. Every household that is a 2012 member of the Civic Association will be entered to win. NNO in the fall will be on the 1800 Block of Norfolk.

We heard a report on Graffiti by one of our neighbors working hard to abate graffiti very quickly. Thank you! Your work is really making a difference.

Behind 1857 Richmond there are several shopping carts. We could use a volunteer to drive by with a truck, pick up the carts and drop them in the parking lots of the stores where they belong- they are marked. At least 2 belong to Randall’s. I’ve asked them to come pick them up and they have not. Please let me know if you can help with this.

The city moved forward with drainage improvements to the soccer field at Ervan Chew Park this month. I will send out an update when I receive more information.

A new initiative to work toward seeing our streets, sidewalks and drainage improved will be rolling out soon. We’ll send out more info once the plans are finalized.

I’m posting pics of the new sign toppers in a separate post. Check them out!

Hope you all have a great day.

-Rebekah

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First General Meeting of the Year this Tuesday!

Please Join us this Tuesday, February 21 for our first General Meeting of the year at Zoe’s Kitchen. 7pm

I met with our District C Council Member, Ellen Cohen earlier this week about several ongoing and some new issues in our neighborhood. A few of these issues include: street reconstruction, drainage, sidewalks, graffiti, installation of proper drainage of the soccer field at Chew Park, crime, ongoing issues at Hazard and Richmond, and more. Please come to the meeting and be a part of the discussion and let us know how we can work together to make Richwood Place an even better neighborhood in 2012.

Meetings are open to all current members of the civic association. If you have not paid dues in 2012, please do so at the meeting OR online here: http://www.richwoodplace.org

Thank you!

Sincerely,
Rebekah Maddux El-Hakam
President, Richwood Place Civic Association

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4Q2011 General Meeting Minutes

RICHWOOD PLACE CIVIC ASSOCIATION

November 15, 2011, 7:00pm-7:25 pm

General Meeting Minutes

Zoe’s Kitchen, 3701 S. Shepherd

Meeting Start time:  7:00 p.m.

Number of Attendees:  19 neighbors, including all six board members

 

Approval of Minutes from July meeting – All approve, no abstains

Old Business (7:18 pm)

a)    CIP Update – Daniel Baker, chair – the neighborhood continues to look into ways to improve our sidewalk and streets.   One necessary requirement to meet the application process is that a large number of signatures must be obtained supporting the work.  The RPCA is looking for volunteers form individual blocks to help in this effort.  Please contact Daniel Baker for more information: dbaker@cuckoo.com

b)    Security Update – Rebekah El-Hakam for Larry Wood – Recruiting is underway for volunteers for Citizens on Patrol.  A copy of the information has been posted on the http://www.RichwoodPlace.Org website.  Crime watch signs are in and expect them to be up before our next meeting.

c)    National Night Out – Rebekah – What a great night with over 125 members present.  A special thanks to all the sponsors and volunteers.

d)    Drainage at Erwan Chew Park – the bid for the work fell through and the city will need to re-bid the job with hopes that it will be resolved soon.

New Business (7:28 p.m.)

a)    Deed Restriction Committee – If you haven’t seen the sign already the 1900 block of Norfolk will have a single family home erected on it.

b)    Montrose Management District – residents are encouraged to visit the Montrose Management District website (http://www.montrosedistrict.org/) for information on the goings on in around our area

c)    Block Captain for 1700 Lexington – A representative is still needed.  Call for volunteers.

d)    Elections – Elections were held by way of verbal voting process.  First call for nominations and then a call for those in favor and those against.  The election process was led by out-going vice-president Daniel Baker:

President – Rebekah El-Hakam

Vice President – Brian Kilpatrick

Secretary – Andy Stefaniak

Treasurer – Sue Bailey

Counselors – John Geiss and Ruth Adams

(A.Stefaniak joins deed restriction committee and R.Adams joins CIP committee)

e)    Goals for 2012 – Increase membership and look for ways to create a more tight knit community.

Meeting Adjourned at 7:25 p.m. 

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Save the Date(s) and Call 3-1-1

Dear Richwood Place Neighbors,
We have a couple of meetings coming up that we would like for you to know about and attend.
First, our first Board meeting of 2012 will be Wednesday, January 25 at the home of Treasurer,
Sue Bailey
1930 Norfolk
7-8pm
All members are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Our first general meeting of the year will be Tuesday, February 21 at Zoe’s Kitchen from 7-8pm.

Please visit our website http://www.richwoodplace.org to pay your 2012 dues of at least $50. You can also mail a check to our PO Box at
Richwood Place Civic Association
PO Box 980262
Houston, Texas 77098
or, you can bring it with you to the first meeting.

Up until quite recently, the amount of graffiti has been down in our neighborhood. Thanks, in part to the work of one amazing neighbor. However, last week, we encountered more graffiti at the park and on a residential fence. Some of it has been abated already. On Sunday, they could not take their truck, pictured below onto the soccer field because of the known drainage issue that we have been working with the city to fix for over a year. The ground was too wet to drive a truck on. The truck is pictured below. Please take time to look for graffiti. If you see the graffiti in the park or in other areas of our neighborhood, call 3-1-1 and make a report. Be specific about the markings, the color and what is said and mention “gang graffiti.”

Thank you and I hope to see you all soon.
Happy 2012!
-Rebekah