Meeting Minutes 5/21/24

Opening:  Stacy Vermette, LPENA president, convened the quarterly general meeting of the Lake Pasadena Estates Neighborhood Association (LPENA) at 6:30 pm on May 21, 2024, in the Menorah Life conference room and noted the importance of these quarterly meetings in building a sense of community. She also offered the availability of forms for attendees to complete personal information and interests if they so desired. Minutes from the previous general meeting, held February 20, 2024, are posted on the www.lakepasadenaestates.com website (shortcut: Ctrl+click Bit.ly/lpenastpete). No old business was outstanding.

Officer LeNard Cox, Community Services Officer: Officer LeNard Cox, St. Petersburg Police Department (SPPD) Community Services Officer for Lake Pasadena Estates (LPE) and other neighborhoods on the western end of the city provided statistics of the prior 3-months’ crimes in Lake Pasadena: Two property crimes (one vehicle burglary on Central Avenue, and one residential burglary involving intoxication), and one indecent exposure incident on Central Avenue. Officer Cox stated that SPPD maintains a website where residents can check crime statistics during the interim between quarterly LPENA general meetings (Click Here). He also announced an upcoming event sponsored by SPPD, to be held October 8 from 5:00 to 8:00 pm. (Free food and events!) A flyer will be posted to our website when available. Finally, Officer Cox provided his cell phone number and email address for non-emergency contact purposes (see Resources in website).

Fire Department: Stacy introduced St. Petersburg Fire Department personnel from Station 9, located on the corner of 5th Avenue and 66th Street North:  Lt. R. Benison, E. Wright, and Wm Ellis.  Station 9 covers fire and rescue calls from its designated area (18th Avenue North to 1st Avenue South, from 58th Street on the east to Park Street on the west). Spokesperson Lt. Benison provided statistics for the number of Station 9 responses in all areas, noting that rescue calls for falls are the most frequent (>2000 in the past year).

Other topics covered:
Hurricane Expo to be held at Cate Recreation Center (5801 22nd Avenue North) on May 30 from 5:30 to 7:00 pm. All are invited.
Website https://fire.stpete.org/community_services/public_education_programs.html

Services: (some require fees)
CPR Training
Smoke Detection Installation
Blood Pressure Checks
Swimming Pool Alarms for Accidental Falls
Health Buddies Program
Telemedic Red Plastic Magnetic Refrigerator Pouches for Health Emergencies

Finally, Lt. Benison stated that our Fire Department can help citizens with ideas for providing emergency-personnel access, such as purchasing a coded hardware store lockbox for a door key (and providing the code to the local Fire Station), and pre-entering medical information in the station database if citizens provide such information.

Three LPE neighbors provided personal testimonials on the rapid and effectives responses they had received in response to emergency calls.

Lake Pasadena Update: Cheri Riley, LPENA VP, provided an update on the City’s recent and planned efforts to stabilize the Lake Pasadena shoreline (installed boulders, covered them with topsoil and then turf), initial planting of native plants along the shoreline. A kickoff event will be held June 1 at Lake Pasadena from 9:00 am to noon when the City will turn over responsibility to the neighbors for cleaning, planting, and maintaining Lake Pasadena, with the guidance of SoUL (Stewards for Our Urban Lakes) environmentalists. If you love our beautiful lake and are willing to make a difference, please attend this event and sign up for and participate in future monthly maintenance events.

Yard of the Month: Cheri showed the new LPENA Yard of the Month sign and announced its award to 6244 4th Avenue North for its lovely new landscaping. The sign will be moved each month to the next yard selected by the Board of Directors at its monthly meeting from nominations submitted by YOU to any director. (See list of officers/directors below and on the website Home page www.lakepasadenaestates.com.

CONA:  Aron Bryce, newly elected president of the Council of Neighborhood Associations (CONA)–St. Petersburg spoke to the association about its history (established 1955) and its newly elected young and diverse Board of Directors. He stated that CONA conducts four food drives annually and also announced an upcoming event of west St. Petersburg neighborhood associations, scheduled for September 28 from 2:00 to 9:00 pm at Azalea Park, which will feature craft vendors, artists, and community activities. He encouraged LPENA to rejoin the organization. Carol Gruszka, LPENA treasurer, responded that the LPENA BOD has already approved the expenditure and she will mail a check for membership very soon.

Treasurer’s Report:  Carol Gruszka provided the treasurer’s report:

  • Operating Account: $2,098.36 (total of $2,908.36, less $810 from prior donations for Pasadena cul-de-sac fence maintenance)
    Expense since 2/20/24: $61.25 for annual SunBiz renewal (several expenses still outstanding)
    Income since 2/20/24: $224.99 dues and donations. Please let Carol know if you paid by Square on 5/2 or 5/8 as Square did not identify payees. (carol@prismeffects.com or 727‑410-0665)
  • Six additional households paid dues before or after the general meeting.
  • Please support our efforts to offer social activities and contests (e.g., Winter Fest, Plant Swap), maintain the website, continue registering as a tax-exempt organization on SunBiz, document the neighborhood’s history, etc. Officers and directors work hard and often donate personal funds to keep us active. We need everyone’s participation.

Next General Meeting: The next quarterly general meeting will be held at Menorah Life on August 20, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. Please attend, tell your neighbors about our organization, and pay dues ($25 annually via check or cash to any director, or $26.05 online via Square) so we can keep on working for you and for our lovely Lake Pasadena Estates neighborhood, known 100 years ago as the “Garden Spot of St. Petersburg.”

Closing:

The meeting was adjourned at 7:20 pm.

Respectfully submitted,
Carol H. Gruszka, LPENA treasurer



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