District Potluck

Last week was the District 8 potluck, and this was the first year I've been able to attend. What a great event! Four different neighborhood associations were there, and for me it was another reminder of how nice is to live in a city where people are active in their communities. It also helps that we have a city government that supports community organizations like neighborhood associations. The event was held at the Gainesway community center - a beautiful new facility right here in our district. It's open to the public, they offer a variety of community programming for all ages. The building is on Milano drive off Center Parkway, an it's generally open from 12-3 during the week. They offer help with job searches, computer skills, movie nights, activities for children. For the latest information on programming at the center, call LexCall at 311.

Disc Golf is Fun!

Thanks to all who joined us for the fall meeting. We had some good discussions, and we updated our contact list for the neighborhood watch. If you were unable to attend and would like to participate in the watch or have other questions, please feel free to e-mail me at jeremy.brann@gmail.com. We're still collecting dues for this year, which are $40.

If you haven't seen it yet for yourself, the new disc golf course at River Hill Park (across Crosby drive) is a HUGE success. It's generating a lot of interest in the sport, and dozens of people are using the course daily (myself included). For more information about the sport and the equipment, visit the Professional Disc Golf Association or Innova Disc Golf. I picked up a beginner's set at Dick's sporting goods (Fayette Mall) for $25, which includes a driver, mid-range, and putter. The River Hill course is 9 holes, which you can play in 30-40 minutes.

We're still planning to do a pot luck in collaboration with the Gainesway and Tates Brook neighborhood associations (12/15, 6:30pm at the new Gainesway community center off Centre Parkway). We're also doing a holiday decorations contest like we did last year. If you want to enter your home in the contest, just let me know before December 6th - it's free to enter. There are three categories to enter, and prizes will be awarded in each one:

• Decorated door, porch, or balcony
• Lighted house/yard decorations
• Un-lit house/yard decorations

We're also looking for a generous neighbor who is willing to store the two wreaths we hang at the entrance to our neighborhood (you'll see them up there soon). If you have room to store a couple wreaths with your holiday decorations, please e-mail me. Thanks!

Fall in the Bluegrass

Hello Neighbors. Looks like fall has hit us full force this year. Hopefully we'll have some warmer days before winter comes.

I just got back from a meeting with the Gainesway neighborhood association to discuss some exciting events in our district. Here is the low down:

1) November 7th is the opening celebration for the new Disc Golf course at River Hill Park. Details on the Bluegrass Disc Golf Association (BDGA) website. Special thanks to James Miller with BDGA, LFUCG, Parks & Recreation, and Councilman George Myers. It took all these people and groups working together to make this course possible, and I think it's a wonderful recreation option for Park Place residents.

2) Fall meeting - Tuesday, 11/3, 7pm, Tates Creek Library community room

3) Holiday decorating contest. We'll be doing this again this year in collaboration with other neighborhood associations from district 8. Prizes are awarded in 3 categories: House lighting, Door/porch lighting, whole yard lighting. Details will be made available by 11/22. The contest is free to enter.

4) Holiday District 8 pot luck. This will be the 2nd year for this event, which is a great opportunity to get to know your Southeast Lexington neighbors. This year we'll be adding some special activities for children. The party will be 12/15 at 7pm at the Gainesway community center. More details T.B.A.

Disc golf coming soon!!!

Thanks to LFUCG, the Bluegrass Disc Golf Association, and Lexington Parks & Recreation we're making good progress towards installation of a Disc (frisbee) Golf course over at River Hill Park. We've got a company to design signage for us, Parks & Rec is starting to clear out the course, and most of the equipment has been purchased. I'm really excited about the benefits this will bring to Park Place residents and the community. The diagram above is a layout of the 9-hole course. I will post updates once I know more details about the construction.

Great news

Looks like we'll be getting some additional improvements over at River Hill Park! The Parks Department is going to be putting in a Frisbee/Disc golf course. This is a really fun sport that is growing in popularity. It will also (hopefully) help draw more people to use the park, which carries the added benefit of discouraging loitering and shady activity over there! More details to come.

Also I just got a notice from Councilman Myer's office that the Tatesbrook Neighborhood Association is holding an Ice Cream social tomorrow, 6/13 from 1-3 PM, at Tatesbrook Church at the corner of Trent Blvd & Appian Way. Councilman Myers plans to attend.

Neighborhood Notes:

Looks like spring has finally arrived here in the Bluegrass, and I wanted to update everyone about some neighborhood happenings.

1) Special thanks to Janice Fisher and all those who helped her with the beautiful landscaping at the front entrance. We will be applying for some of our matching funds to cover the cost of labor/materials for these improvements
2) Our winter meeting was very productive. We elected a new treasurer and welcomed some new members. We talked about what to do with the matching funds that the city awarded us for this year, and we selected a date for our neighborhood garage sale.
3) The neighborhood garage sale will be May 16th. We will advertise in the Herald Leader and place some signs in the area
4) We are looking for some generous neighbor to store our holiday decorations in their garage or attic. Ann & Rob are simply out of room and they have been kind enough to hold them for several years now.

Further bulletins as events warrant :-)

Winter Meeting Scheduled

Apparently the Tates Creek library is going through renovations in March, so our normal meeting place is unavailable. Instead I just decided to invite everyone to my house for the meeting. It'll be Monday, March 9th at 7pm, 1169 Narrow Lane. We're at the very end of the street - white house with a red front door. I'm hoping some of our new neighbors will join us for this.

There are still plans to re-schedule the (now twice post-poned) community pot-luck, which will be a get-together between several neighborhood associations in our district at the new community center. I'll post details as soon as I have them. Thanks!

Quick Update

My apologies for letting this blog go so long without updates, but we really haven't had much to report... until now!

• I received a copy of our matching funds agreement, signed by the mayor. This means we have 365 days to spend the money they have awarded us
• Our winter pot luck has been canceled due to weather... twice. This pot luck will be with several other associations in our district once we can finally get the weather to cooperate. It will be held at the new community center, and I will pass along details as soon as I get them.
• I have received several complaints about "abandoned" vehicles. Again, the association has no enforcement powers, but the Lexington Police do (258-3600). The LFUCG standard is that any car parked on the street for 24 consecutive hours qualifies as an abandoned vehicle.
  
• We need a new treasurer. We write about 20 checks a year, so mostly this job is just the person who keeps track of our account balances and logs when people have paid their dues.
  
• We'll be having a meeting before March Madness, I promise.