GREATER
AVENUES COMMUNITY COUNCIL Minutes
December 6, 2000 ~ Page 3
SCHOOL BOARD: Karen Derrick- 4 issues you might be interested in. 1) High School schedules: We are thinking of the possibility of putting them on the same schedule. 2) We had to close schools because during the teachers' strike for safety reasons. May 25th is the make up day. 3) We are voting on the idea of whether we going to close schools. Not which one, or how many, but will we need to close some to be fair to taxpayers. 4) About the Stanford Achievement Test - we did not test English deficiency students. We felt that kids who could not express themselves fluently in English, should not be tested with the ones who could. We felt that if they cannot read English on the test and cannot respond in English, we did not feel it was a fair estimate of what they had learned. We have 30% of kids in the Limited English Proficiency, who can't speak, read, or write in English, so we declined to test them with the SAT test. The State said we skewed the results. Next year we will do something different. Call me at 355-8232, if you have a question about schools.. I would be happy to answer it.
VACATING AN ALLEY: Jeff Rayner - (Showed an overhead transparency of the area they wish to have deeded to them.) We want the City to vacate this alley, and they would turn this property to the abutting owners, and it would be part of our property. It is a pain for them to upkeep. They don't snow plow it. We need to know how the Community feels about it. We need a vote from the GACC Community Council to take to the City Council.
QUESTIONS: How many use it? Are you going to gate it? Not right now. Will you gate it? No, only if there are trespassers. The abutting property owners are required to enter into an agreement for its upkeep Will you pay the City? No, only that we will have to maintain it. Why are you doing it? What will you get from it? RESPONSE: We can maintain it better. Are you planning to build on it? RESPONSE: Part of the right-of-way deed says they can't build on that area. RICHARD: Is there anyone opposed to this move for the City to vacate this alley? Michael Martin: I am opposed to it. They will cut me off from this alley, and we use it. COMMENT: Michael Martin has already gated the "private right-of-way" that is at the side of his house, and won't let people use it. RESPONSE: People are free to use the right of way. We don't 't lock the gate. RICHARD: If you plan on privatizing the alley so you can cut Michael Martin out, because he cut you off, then I think we should look at it further as a Community Council before we okay the authorization of this. We don't want any more discussion, we want a vote. RICHARD: If this is not a "get-even" issue, then why cannot you not agree not to block the area? RESPONSE: We don't want any more extra traffic on it, if we have to maintain it. The City said that they encourage the privatization of the alley as long as it doesn't inconvenience any one. Yet you appear to want to inconvenience Michael Martin. COMMENT: I am looking it as an outsider. If the majority approve, then the block will be better suited if they majority wanted it private. Comment: I have an alley behind my house, and I have vagrants coming up my alley. I see why you want to do it. COMMENT: I am a property owner of an alley. There is garbage left on it, huge holes, no one will agree to help maintain it. It is a nightmare. RICHARD: You said you got permission from all abutting property owners. Have you got permission from the people who own the private right of way, which abuts the alley? RESPONSE: Mr. Martin claims to own the private driveway, but it is not on record. RICHARD: We can't make a vote, until we know who owns this private right-of-way, because every property owner who abuts this alley needs to be represented. RESPONSE: No one owns it. MOTION: I move that we vote in favor of approving this petition to vacate the alley. SECONDED: VOTE: All in favor - most hands raised. All opposed - 3 hands were raised. The motion passed.
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