WEINLAND PARK COMMUNITY CIVIC ASSOCIATION

2012 YEAR IN REVIEW

FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE WPCCA
2012 was a busy year for us. To name a few:
From development - we had dedications and welcoming new neighbors in
their habitat homes. The Ribbon cutting ceremony with Mayor Coleman
for the construction of the new NRP homes as well as the rehabilitation of
the vacant and abandoned homes. Then we celebrated the ribbon cutting
for the NRP homes and our new neighbors. We had our annual roots and
roofs which included a tour of the NRP and NSP (rehab) homes.
From safety we had the cameras installed in our neighborhood, which at
last reporting shows a 33% decrease in crime in our neighborhood.
From planning our ongoing work with MORPC and the challenge grant
for development of the old 3M site.
From external home repair many homeowners have experienced vital
repairs that have improved their homes and they are grateful for this
opportunity.
We have had an increase of activities within our committees. You have stepped
up to participate in our neighborhood activities, planning, and hard work to make
this the neighborhood of choice. We have been both encouraged and
supported by our collaborative to become independent thinkers and doers in our
neighborhood. Because of your commitment to our neighborhood, other
neighborhoods are encouraged by our successes and civic growth. I thank each
of you for your dedication to our neighborhood. Because of you we are moving
forward every day. Because of you we have and are taking charge of our
neighborhood. Because of you we care about each other, and are working to
obtain the unity that we talked about when we put our WP plan together so many
years ago. Today we are seeing the fruits of our labor. As your president, I am
humbled, grateful and extremely proud to represent you, advocate for your
desires to improve our neighborhood, and most of all, be your neighbor. Thank
you for allowing me to lead our efforts.

FINANCIAL REPORT:
NPG 2011 $943.21
Estimate -415.00 newsletter invoice
BAL
$528.21
WPPCA
Estimate
Balance

$629.80
-500.00 Insurance
$129.80

SAFETY GRANT
Balance $31,482.11

BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE, Michael Wilkos, Anna Soter, Evelyn Van

Til
The Beautification Committee between May and October supported six major
service projects in addition to numerous smaller litter clean-ups throughout the
year. The Beautification Committee also supported other beautification projects
led by other organizations including a service day with CityYear Columbus.
Major Accomplishments included:
- May 12th Root & Roofs 2012: Approximately 100 residents and supporters
attended a half-day program that included a comprehensive litter clean-up, flower
planting, and community gardening at Godman Guild, 4th Street Farms and in the
public areas around Weinland Park Elementary School and in the park.
Information tables and kiosks were set up to provide information regarding
housing opportunities throughout the neighborhood. A community lunch was
provided by Local Matters with a brief program and Jenis Splendid Ice Cream
was provided during a wall raising for Habitat for Humanity on North 5th Street.
- July 12th Limited Brands WP Service Day: Approximately 45 Limited Brands
employees joined a handful of WP residents for a service day that included
weeding, edging, mulching and trimming the grounds at Weinland Park
Elementary School, 4th Street Farms, and throughout the public park. A litter
clean-up also occurred on public streets throughout the neighborhood.
- Columbus Volunteer Challenge Day, August 25th: More than 100 volunteers
from several local companies and WP residents participated in a full day
Saturday project for the City of Columbus/United Way of Central Ohio kickoff with
a Family Day of Service. Participants edged flower beds, pulled weeds and
mulched several areas throughout the neighborhood including two community
garden sites. Litter was also cleaned-up throughout the neighborhood.
- Community Care Day September 11th: Two dozen staff of the Columbus
Foundation planted 700 bulbs in public areas throughout the neighborhood as
well as weeded and trimmed flower beds around Weinland Park Elementary
School and throughout the park as part of United Way of Central Ohios
Community Care Day 2012.
- Make a Difference Day October 27th: Led through a relationship with
HandsOn Central Ohio, 150 volunteers planted over 1,000 bulbs, mulched,
weeded, picked up litter, and prepared the Godman Guild community garden for
winter. A survey of alley conditions was conducted recording broken dumpsters
and the locations of bulk items. Data was reported to the City of Columbus for
remediation.
- Installation of Weinland Park Neighborhood Signs: Two signs were erected
(East 7th & North High and East 11th and Summit) to welcome people to the
neighborhood. The signs are replicas of other welcome signs erected in nearby

Short North neighborhoods. The funding was secured under a grant awarded by
the Neighborhood Partnership Grant program. A third sign (East 5th & Courtland)
was erected in early January 2013.

COMMUNICATION COMMITTEE, Jennifer Mankin

Fact Sheet
Information in the fact sheet would include various demographic data
regarding neighborhood population, focusing on race/ethnicity, migration
(changes over time), housing, poverty, and Weinland Parks student
population. It would ideally include similar information for surrounding
neighborhoods, allowing for adequate comparisons
Allow WPCCA leadership to refer to a common set of statistics when
being interviewed

Allow leaders and membership to respond factually and consistently to

press articles

Serve as a reference document for publications

Interaction with Short North Foundation

Negotiations over signage and other Short North SID involvement have
created an entree to greater and more positive interaction with the Short
North Foundation. The WPCCA Communications Committee should
potentially serve on the vanguard of these interactions.
Mural projects
Over the past several months the Communications Committee has been a
locus of discussion for various mural projects in the neighborhood.

Installation of the first three Weinland Park/Short North welcome signs, at

Summit and 11th, High and Seventh, and Courtland and Fifth
Plans for overhaul/redesign of the WPCCA website, transferring the
hosting to WordPress
Social media activity - 247 `likes' on Facebook and 229 Twitter followers.

HOUSING COMMITTEE, Omar Elhagmusa and Rory Krupp

Worked with the University Area Review Board, Columbus Department of

Development, and Building Services about regulating illegal renovation
and conversion of the historic housing stock into student group homes and

explored ways to curb major changes to the historic housing stock of the
neighborhood.

Acted as point of contact with Weinland Park Collaborative developers, i.e.

Wagenbrenner Development and NRP and viewed presentations about
upcoming developments such as the proposed senior housing project on
5th and Grant.

Met with the Ohio State Office of Student Services about student behavior.

Initiated tree planting campaign for the neighborhood.

Provided a forum for residents who had any issues or programs they
would like to see happen in the neighborhood.

Held the first quarterly meeting of representatives of Campus partners

updating the community on the status of projects in the community.

Continued to build better relationships with our City partners such as

Columbus City Council. Department of Development, Building Services,
and the University Area Review Board.

LAND USE & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, Evelyn Van Til & Woody
Drake

Formally became recognized as a committee and met regularly on the 3 rd

Sunday of the month 6PM at the Godman Guild
Evelyn Van Til was appointed alongside Woody Drake as co-chair for the
committee
Executed Community Engagement Planning Session that produced a
Strategic Planning Document to guide the next few years of work in terms
of mission, values, objectives & tasks
Facilitated community engagement input into several business & mixed
use developments at key gateways to the neighborhood improving the
outcomes as much as possible at Orton Lab, E. 7th Av. & N. High St.; E. 5th
Av. & N. High St.; N. 4th St. & E. 5th Ave; & Columbus Coated Fabric Site.
Built bridges to surrounding neighborhood organizations, like the Short
North Alliance, Short North Foundation, Italian Village, Victorian Village,
Dennison Place/The Circle, Harrison West, Short North Civic, University
District Organization, University Area Commission, University Area
Review Board, Glen Echo, SoHo, Old North Columbus, NECKO, Peach
District, and increased collaboration amongst area businesses
Engaged in planning facilitated by the City and the Short North Alliance
administration of the SID and created the Weinland Parks SID

recommendations to the SNA endorsed by the WPCCA Steering

Committee
Explored and evaluated the usefulness of pursuing a Business Expansion
& Retention Program. Creation of a Weinland Park Business Database.
Currently seeking funding to support an active BR&E program.
Participated in Community Care Day, Make a Difference, Roots & Roofs,
& Weinland Park Festival

SAFETY AND MOBILITY COMMITTEE, John Risteter and Chris

Orban
The Safety Committee and the Traffic and Mobility
Committee agreed to merge in mid-2012. The
respective committee chairs, John Risteter and Chris
Orban, were named as co-chairs of the combined
committee.
The committee in early 2012 discussed the threat of
suspicious fires set in vacant houses. A list of
vacant properties was prepared. Residents agreed to
monitor vacant properties on a regular basis, but
organized monitoring has not been implemented.
Staff members of the Columbus Metropolitan Library
compile crime statistics for Weinland Park each
month based on the reports distributed by the
Columbus Division of Police.
Statistics are available for each month since
January 2009. The number of crime reports made
in 2012 totaled 948 compared with 1,095 in 2011
and 1,243 in 2010. The statistics include a
breakdown by category of crime.
Representatives of the committee attended a public
hearing by Columbus City Council on the operation of
the city's safety cameras installed in several
neighborhoods, including Weinland Park.
The committee worked with representatives of the
city and state governments regarding bicycle lanes
and street improvements to East Fifth Avenue. The
committee also met with the city's community
mobility engineer and fire fighters regarding
streetscape enhancements to intersections on
Indianola Avenue and along East Sixth Avenue.
The committee hosted a public meeting in October with a
representative of the American
Civil Liberties Union to discuss citizens' rights in dealing with
police officers.

 The committee sent a letter to Columbus City Council requesting

that the city oppose the renewal of the liquor license for a problem
carry-out.
The committee discussed common concerns about vehicular
traffic on North Fourth and Summit streets and parking demand with
a representative of the Italian Village Society.

HEALTH AND WELLNESS COMMITTEE , Julia Orban

Our health committee had a lot of fun this year working together to
promote health and also forge relationships between neighbors.
Along with Godman Guild staff we helped organize/promote weekly
Zumba classes at Godman Guild which were quite popular through
summer of 2012. We are working to get them restarted here in 2013.
We assisted Leslie Passmore's Bird Sanctuary/garden project on 5th by
helping spread the word regarding work days and donation needs. There
was a lovely work day in March where a lot of residents and also people
from outside the neighborhood assisted her to get ready for the spring.
Trish Clark from Local Matters came to many of our meetings and many
neighbors were able to get connected to her Growing Matters program
where she assisted residents with questions they had as they set up their
own backyard or container gardens. She also donated a lot of soil, plants,
raised beds to help people who were getting started. Our committee time
was often a time for gardeners to exchange plants/seeds and also
exchange ideas and troubleshoot issues they were having with their
gardens.
In May we had a cooking club at Georgina's house where Jim Bach and
Jennifer Cheeks shared their favorite recipes and about 15 neighbors
cooked and dined with each other.
At the end of May we organized a neighborhood strawberry picking outing
where 75 neighbors went to Circle-S farm and picked strawberries
together. It was a lot of fun.
In August we organized another Cooking Club event and had a large
cookout at the Bird Sanctuary. 95 people attended and it was a wonderful
summer evening with music and good company.
After August, we took a break from committee meetings but will be
resuming in March or April 2013. Call Julia Orban's cell (937) 572-2751 if
you are interested in being a part of this committee.

WEINLAND PARK NEIGHBORHOOD FESTIVAL PLANNING

COMMITTEE, (Ad hoc), Diane Dixon, WPCCA Vice President
The annual Weinland Park Neighborhood Festival was held on Saturday, August
18, 2012, from noon to 4 p.m. in the park behind the elementary school. The

weather was perfect for the festival. More than 500 people attended, the largest
festival yet.

The festivals activities included live and recorded music, games for children
and youth, face-painting, art activity, bounce house, information tables, and
free food donated by Kroger, Jens Ice Cream and corn-on-the-cob from Local
Matters.
The festival planning committee began meeting regularly in June to prepare
for the festival. The committee included residents and representatives from
Godman Guild Association, Community Properties of Ohio, OSU Extension,
Girl Scouts, Campus Partners, Urban Impact, Veritas Church, Continuum
Church, Columbus Foundation, and Ohio States International Poverty
Solutions Collaborative.
Even with a large amount of donated food and volunteers, the festivals cost
was $3,600. Major expenses included tent rental, bounce house, and
entertainment. Funding for the festival came from Wagenbrenner
Development, The NRP Group, Weinland Park Collaborative, a Neighborhood
Partnership Grant from United Way and The Columbus Foundation.
In a review session after the festival, the planning committee recommended
that preparation for the festival in 2013 begin earlier to attract donations;
efforts be made to move the festival toward being more self-supportive; and
improvements be made to the food preparation and service so the food line is
not so long.

WEINLAND PARK NEIGHBORHOOD DIALOGUE, (Ad hoc)

The Weinland Park Community Civic Association is sponsoring a series of public,
small-group dialogues now underway for residents to discuss a vision for the
neighborhood and how to meet the challenges of growth and change in
Weinland Park.

The civic associations Steering Committee began discussing the need for
dialogues with trained facilitators in the summer of 2011. With the agreement
of support from the Weinland Park Collaborative, the Steering Committee in
the fall of 2011 interviewed consultants to lead the dialogue process.
Frances Frazier, a senior associate with Everyday Democracy, was engaged
in early 2012 to lead the process, develop materials, and train neighbors as
facilitators. In addition, Ohio States Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race
and Ethnicity prepared demographic information on the neighborhood and led
a goal-setting session for the dialogues in May 2012.
Ms. Frazier led a pilot set of four dialogue sessions in July and August 2012
with members of the Steering Committee and other residents.
The Steering Committee sponsored a public meeting in early November 2012
to explain the dialogue process and recruit members of an Organizing
Committee to plan and implement the dialogues. Ms. Frazier directed a

daylong training session mid-November for the 20-member Organizing

Committee.
The Organizing Committee, Ms Frazier and its subcommittees in December
2012 developed a plan to recruit 12- 15 Facilitators, do a full-day training plus
2 evening dialogue sessions during January and February 2013 at the
Godman Guild Association, (at least 10 of the Facilitators, WP residents).
The Organizing Committee and its subcommittees began meeting regularly in
December 2012 to plan the kick-off event for the dialogues on February 12,
2013. The dialogue process will conclude with an action forum on
Wednesday, March 27, at 6:30 p.m. at the Schoenbaum Family Center.

WALKING CLUB, C.J. Hodge

-

Walked about 1200 miles as a total for the walking group during 2012.
Averaged three people walking on Fridays and two people walking on
Tuesday
Recruited 20 people for scholarship memberships at Thompson Recreation
during winter months beginning in January 2012 for the Aerobics and Weight
rooms.
Began walking outside in April 2012.
Walked outside until end of November.
Took an extended break from December until March 15, 2013.
Did a special walk through Franklin Park which we hope to repeat and add 2
walking sites outside WP as extra activity in 2013.

ORGANIZER, R. Anthonio Barno

-

Attended 11-of-12 Steering committee meetings.

Attended all but 9 committee meetings.
Have been attending the FCC meetings as part of a support team to Ms
Hughes.
Have been one of three coordinating members of the Community Dialogue
Circles from the beginning of this project; and through last year.
Produced and coordinated the delivery of WPCCA monthly newsletter until
suspension in October.
Regular attendance of statewide Affordable Housing Preservation
Committee, Columbus Area Affordable Housing Task Force, and
participation with Coalition On Homelessness and Housing In Ohio on-line
Rhino.
Worked on WP Collaborative Safety Task Force which produced a proposal
which has been funded through collaborative effort.
Delegated the Year End Report for 2012.
Development of Block Clubs in our community.

Regular attendance of the monthly WPCCA meetings.

Served as chair of the 2012 Nominating Committee with Anna Soter, Jason
Yoder, and Susan Colbert
Worked on the Festival Committee.
Worked on all of the Beautification projects.
Will be attending WP Collaborative meetings during 2013.