Hampton Hills Neighborhood Association » City Hall

housing the homeless

Garinns — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 15:06:03 +0000

As you may have heard, the Dallas Housing Authority plans to open 100 apartments at its 180-unit Cliff Manor building on Fort Worth Avenue to longtime homeless people who have mental illnesses and addictions. The agency, which operates public housing throughout Dallas, has 52 vacant units ready at the building and will make the rest of the 100 apartments available as current residents move out, according to MaryAnn Russ, the housing authority’s president and chief executive officer.

Cliff Manor is situated about 2.5 miles from Hampton Hills. Consequently, we won’t be directly impacted by the plan. Moreover, it’s located in City Council District 3, which accounts for District 3 Councilman Dave Neumann’s intense interest in the project. But our neighborhood is not an island. Every Oak Cliff neighborhood connects to another, so we owe it to ourselves to understand the debate and determine what, if any, action we need to take.

As we’ve followed the debate, we’ve learned that opponents to the plan object to it for the following reasons:

Council 3, which includes parts of West Dallas and North Oak Cliff, already has a disproportionate number of housing authority properties compared to other districts.
Cliff Manor is less than 200 feet from Stevens Park Elementary School.
Jobs in Oak Cliff are scarce, so it would be difficult for 100 people to find work in the neighborhood.
Fort Worth Avenue is undergoing redevelopment and there is some concern that developers could pull out for fear that the change would adversely affect property values.
There’s no clear “exit strategy” if the plan doesn’t work.
The quality of the building is outdated, and the neighborhood already has a high amount of crime.

Proponents of the plan make the following points:

The residents who would move to Cliff Manor are people who’ve done work to prove that they are responsible enough to live on their own with help.
A full-time caseworker would be on site for them. The housing authority has hired a property manager who also has a background in social work. And all the staff is trained to deal with the particular problems these residents are likely to have.
There would be zero tolerance for drug abuse or violent crime among residents.
Properties adjacent to successful permanent supportive housing communities in New York City and Fort Worth have increased in value.
Homeless people are often misunderstood. Statistics indicate that they are unlikely to be criminals.

town hall meeting

Garinns — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 18:24:29 +0000

Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert and District 3 Councilman Dave Neumann will host a town hall meeting on June 21 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss the proposed use of Cliff Manor on Fort Worth Avenue as permanent supportive housing for the chronically homeless. The meeting will be held in Methodist Dallas Hospital’s Hitt Auditorium. We urge you to attend and participate in the debate. It’s worth noting that Oak Cliff has the highest percentage of affordable housing units of all the City Council districts.

dogs day

Garinns — Wed, 26 May 2010 17:23:58 +0000

The Dallas City Council approved a new ordinance making it illegal to keep or sell a loose dog without making an effort to find its owner. Under the new ordinance, you violate the law if you take possession of a stray dog and knowingly fail to make, within 72 hours, a reasonable effort to locate the dog’s owner by: (1) calling the telephone number listed on the dog’s tags; (2) taking the dog to a licensed vet for a micro chip, tattoo or other ID screening and calling the owner identified through the screening; (3) calling 311 to request that animal services pick up the dog for identification and screening and impoundment; or (4) delivering the dog to the city’s animal shelter for identification and screening and impoundment. Violators could be fined up to $500.

Dog lover Brad Kirby is largely responsible for getting this ordinance passed. More than two years ago, his dogs were stolen from his yard and, although they were tagged and micro chipped, the dogs were never returned. In addition to working to get this ordinance passed, Kirby also started a website to make it easier to find lost dogs.

too mulch of a good thing

Garinns — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 14:33:28 +0000

Residents are invited to pick up free coarsely ground mulch from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday at the Bachman Transfer Station, 9500 Harry Hines Blvd., or 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday at the McCommas Bluff Landfill, 5100 Youngblood Road. Bring your own shovels and containers and help yourself to all you want. You must show a Texas drivers license with a Dallas address or a Dallas utility bill and a photo ID. For more information, call 214-670-6150 (Bachman) or 214-670-0977 (McCommas).

recycling roundup

Garinns — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 21:13:30 +0000

Dallas goes green on Saturday, April 24 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with its Spring Recycling Roundup. Simply bring items to one of four locations and they’ll be hauled off for recycling.

Recyclables include:

Electronic items such as televisions, video games, cellphones, computers, calculators and printers

Toys

Paper

Glass

Clothing

Hardback books

Scrap metal

Auto and alkaline batteries

Small appliances

Fluorescent and incandescent light bulbs

Tires

Plastics

Clean Styrofoam

Packaging foam

Bubble and shrink wrap

Plastic bags and packaging (without food residue)

Mattress sets

Any gently used furniture

Used cooking oil

Do not bring:

Household chemicals

Paint

Building supplies

Water beds

Locations:

Elliott’s Hardware
4901 Maple Ave.

Everglade Park
5100 Jim Miller Road

Central Market
5750 E. Lovers Lane

Fretz Park
6990 Beltline Road

For more information, call the Recycling Hotline at 214-670-4475.

a second chance

Garinns — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 20:23:02 +0000

If your trash or recyclables weren’t picked up today because you had your carts in the wrong place, don’t fret. Call 311. Mary Nix, Dallas’ director of Sanitation Services, says trucks will swing by tomorrow. For the next couple of weeks, the City is giving everyone a second chance for pickup.

response from the sanitation department

Garinns — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 03:55:11 +0000

Mr. Garinn:

As follow-up to our phone conversation today, please be advised that the collection point for the 1300 and 1400 blocks for Hollywood will be collected in the alley. We will notify each affected customer on Monday, March 1 that both recycling and refuse will be collected in the alley. Just in time for their OneDAY which is Tuesdays.

There are no other waste collection point of service changes that affect the Hampton Hills Neighborhood Association area.

Thank you for your contact.

It was a pleasure to have had the opportunity to serve you!

Please feel free to contact me if you have any other questions.

Karen Plunkett, Executive Assistant
Sanitation Services
214.671.8135
karen.plunkett@dallascityhall.com

president’s letter to delia jasso

Garinns — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:30:13 +0000

Dear Councilmember Jasso,

As president of the Hampton Hills Neighborhood Association, I have heard from many residents who are unhappy with the decision to move their trash pickup from the alley to the curb. They can’t understand why this should have to happen, especially since they have enjoyed alley pickup for many years. If the carts take up too much room in the narrow alleys and trucks have a difficult time maneuvering, we deserve a chance to fix the problem before imposing such a sweeping change and perhaps a physical hardship on some residents.

Not only are the carts difficult to roll across grass, in some instances, trying to roll them across damaged driveways and sidewalks could prove treacherous. As you well know, Hampton Hills has many problematic sidewalks and driveway entrances. Moreover, our front yards are terraced, and even trying to roll a cart up or down the slightest incline could be dangerous in certain conditions.

Please, add me to the list of concerned residents who want to retain alley pickup where possible.

With cordial good wishes, I am

Sincerely,

Jon Garinn

curb your enthusiasm

Garinns — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:02:38 +0000

If you want to protest the new trash and recycling pickup at the curb, call District 1 Councilwoman Delia Jasso’s office at 214-670-4052 or send her an e-mail. Remember, the sqeeky cart wheel gets the grease!

census kicks off on april 1

Garinns — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 20:20:22 +0000

The City of Dallas is asking every resident to take part on Census Day on Thursday, April 1.

Taken every 10 years, the census affects political representation and directs the allocation of billions of dollars in government funding.

The questionnaire asks 10 questions that take about 10 minutes to complete, but the answers will have an impact on our city and neighborhood for the next 10 years.