Co-Presidents Bob Breeze and Gary Penn presided over a series of action items, the most pressing of which was how to cope with the fast-growing alley crisis. Generous rains this summer have put the ongoing alley issue on a fast track, as city garbage trucks continue to struggle against the vegetation encroaching the alley space. Thanks to errant or absentee landlords, Hyde Park is in danger of losing its traditional back-of-house solid waste service. Unless the alleys are cleared of detritus soon, the city has declared its intention to force residents to set their garbage in the neighborhood's streets. Hyde Park, with its pedestrian and bike-friendly tree-lined streets, can ill afford to lose this privilege.
A long-term plan was suggested to make this issue a revenue item for the city. Wanda Penn urged the association to explore the possibility of allowing the city to add a fifty-cent charge to the solid waste bill if the city would take
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over the maintenance of the alleys. To cope with the immediate crisis, Co-President Bob Breeze made a motion authorizing the HPNA steering committee to allow expenditures up to, but not exceeding, $1,500 to for labor and associated costs needed to clear the alleys. An amendment was offered by Co-President Penn to cap the cost at $600, but the original motion passed by three votes.
Neighborhood Planning Chairwoman Karen McGraw spoke about the ongoing effort to bring the Hyde Park Northern Annex, the area north of 45th street and below 51st, into the Hyde Park Neighborhood Combining and Conservation District. Fiscal pressures city -wide have slowed the City's involvement in the process, and perennial concerns were again voiced about the general lack of code enforcement faced by all neighborhoods. The Hyde Park Planning Committee is expanding to ramp up for the challenge. Anyone
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interested in becoming involved in the Hyde Park North project is urged to call Bruce Nadig at 452-0781.
Informal discussions are underway about the possible formation of a community-owned wireless broadband network. New wireless technologies are rapidly becoming cost-effective alternatives to Roadrunner Cable and Southwestern Bell. HPNA Secretary Glen Coleman, yours truly, took the floor to outline in the most general terms what that network might look
like ( fewer wires ) and what membership might entail. Anyone interested in learning more is invited to call me or to call Pete Whitfill at 431-0430.
Each year Hyde Park donates a portion of its Homes Tour proceeds to a nearby charity. This year the Austin State Hospital Volunteer Program was selected as the recipient. Two motions addressed the amount to be dispersed. A motion by Co-President Breeze set forth
